Vikings – Page 254 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Put the Lynx near Your Heart

Posted on May 2, 2012May 2, 2012 by David Shama

If you only reserve your money and emotions for winning teams, then invest in the Lynx. That’s the advice of Sports Headliners after contemplating likeability rankings of the major local pro sports franchises along with the Gophers.

Season outlooks for Minnesota teams are often dreary as real estate values. The April start by the Twins is the latest evidence of our “Losers Club,” but as we look toward the next 12 months we aren’t without hope.

Here are Sports Headliners’ rankings as to who is most and least likely to make us happy:

Love those Lynx. The 2011 WNBA champs brought the first pro title to town since the 1991 World Series Twins. The Lynx opened training camp last Sunday and have their star players returning, including three who will play for Team USA in the Olympics. Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen are winners, and that’s what these rankings are all about. No guarantees but it will be no surprise at all if the Lynx win the WNBA title again.

The hockey Gophers played in the NCAA semifinals where they lost to eventual national champ Boston College. Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson had a great season but is a senior and will have to be replaced. If the Gophers don’t see young talents like Nick Bjugstad leave for the pros during the off-season, or somehow experience other important personnel losses, Minnesota might be even better next winter than last. The Gophers could certainly start the season ranked among the top college hockey teams in the country.

Before Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio tore his ACL and was sidelined, the Wolves were approaching unprecedented recent popularity. Injuries later hit other teammates and the team’s collapse was as attention demanding as the wonderful start to the season led by Rubio and star forward Kevin Love. What’s next for this franchise isn’t easy to answer. Rubio might not be the same player next season as last, and the complementary pieces to Rubio and Love aren’t in place yet.

The Gophers basketball team looks good on paper. We’ll wait and see how they look on the court in February before moving them higher in the rankings. Academics, off-court behavior issues and injuries have wrecked past Tubby Smith teams. Like their predecessors, this Gophers team will not be deep in talent but Minnesota does have three exceptional starters in forwards Rodney Williams and Trevor Mbakwe, and point guard Andre Hollins. Pray for good fortune.

Jerry Kill has more admirers than any coach or manager I can remember who won just 25 percent of his games in a first season. Maybe all these admirers know something. I think they do. Kill’s second year team could win half its games and earn a bowl game invitation. More important, the Gophers just might look pretty good even in games they play against the better teams in the Big Ten. Put your money and emotions on Kill’s Gophers in 2014 and 2015.

The Wild has off-season personnel acquisition intentions like the Wolves. The franchise had a fast start under first year coach Mike Yeo who looks like the right guy on the bench for this team. But the Wild faded miserably during the season and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. Too many injuries and too few goals. This is a franchise that has shown it can draw fans, but not win many games. We’re waiting.

Maybe it’s the optimism of the off-season and the glitz of last week’s NFL draft, but we’re nudging the Vikings ahead of the Twins in the rankings. Yeah, the 3-13 record of last season will be remembered for a long time but this club has some playmakers. Like they say, on a lot of Sunday afternoons running back Adrian Peterson or wide receiver Percy Harvin can be worth the price of admission. And don’t you just feel better about yourself when Jared Allen does his calf-roping celebration after another franchise record sack? Come on downtown to see the Vikes before they head west. (Just kidding. I think).

It’s not all bad news about the Twins. I am still smiling after that acrobatic double play turned last week by shortstop Jamey Carroll and second baseman Trevor Plouffe against the Red Sox. New left fielder Josh Willingham can even hit balls over the fence at anti-home run Target Field. So far the starting pitching is probably the worst in the franchise’s 51 season history but there’s a way around that. The Sports Headliners method is to watch the half innings when the Twins bat. When the Twins pitchers are throwing, tune in the Golf Channel. Both your mood and golf swing will improve.

Comments Welcome

Worth Noting

Posted on May 2, 2012May 2, 2012 by David Shama

In recent espn.com power rankings for MLB, the NBA, NFL and NHL, the Twins are No. 30, the Wolves No. 22, the Vikings No. 31 and the Wild No. 25 in their respective listings. The NFL has 32 teams, the others 30 each.

The Vikings roster lists 11 rookies and nine other players who could be in their first NFL seasons if they make the 2012 team. The roster has 19 players beginning their second NFL seasons, six starting the third year and eight in the fourth. There are also six fifth year players, four sixth year, four seventh year, two eighth year, three ninth year and one player each heading into 10, 12, 14 and 16 years of NFL experience.

Vikings players are participating in their offseason conditioning program today, and on Friday the team opens its Rookie Minicamp.

The Gophers MarQueis Gray, a senior, may earn Big Ten post-season recognition this fall but he’s one of nine returning starting quarterbacks in the conference so he will have a lot of experienced competition.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien, who is also the Mr. Basketball chair, emailed that Lakeview Christian Academy junior guard Anders Broman has received scholarship offers from several schools including Holy Cross and Ohio.

Royce White is preparing for the NBA draft in Ames, Iowa and still attending classes at Iowa State, according to his grandfather Frank White. The younger White is lifting weights, doing yoga and receiving instruction from Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, the former Timberwolves guard and executive.

Frank coordinates the Twins Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program that is part of Major League Baseball’s international RBI organization. White said Target Field will host the RBI’s World Series on Sunday, August 5 with boys’ championships being decided in ages 13-15 and 16-18. The latter championship will be televised on the MLB Network.

The ninth annual Harmon Killebrew Classic, a two-day event June 27-28, will benefit the Twins Community Fund and Miracle League of Minnesota. Former Killebrew teammates Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Frank Quilici are involved. A dinner and auction will be held inside Target Field beginning at 6 p.m. on June 27. A celebrity golf tournament at the Legends Golf Club in Prior Lake will take place June 28. The public can find more information at www.harmonkillebrewfoundation.org.

Bill “Moose” Skowron, who played on the great Yankees teams of the Mickey Mantle era, died last week at age 81. He was a former resident of Austin, Minnesota.

The Timberwolves Luke Ridnour is one of six finalists for the NBA Sportsmanship Award. A vote by NBA players will determine which player they believe displays the best on-court sportsmanship.

Canterbury Park, whose live racing season opens on May 18, will be busy Saturday with Kentucky Derby wagering. Races from Churchill Downs begin at 9:30 a.m. Minneapolis time and lead up to the Derby at 5:24 p.m.

Comments Welcome

No New Vikings Stadium Until 2013?

Posted on April 30, 2012April 30, 2012 by David Shama

Sports Headliners’ sources don’t believe the legislature will pass a Vikings stadium bill in 2012. If so, that means no approval this spring, nor is it likely that Governor Mark Dayton will call a special session to address the stadium issue.

The reaction of the Vikings ownership and NFL is likely to be silence. That will add to drama and speculation about a possible franchise transfer to Los Angeles. The threat of losing the team will cause so much political pressure between now and the 2013 legislative session that a stadium bill is likely to be passed next winter.

The Vikings won’t try to move the team for the 2012 season and the NFL wouldn’t consider such a transfer. However, the Vikings ownership (present or new owners) could go before the NFL after next season and ask to move the team.

If the legislature is sure to pass a stadium bill during the early months of 2013, that will trump a request to relocate the franchise. Why? Because the Vikings have been a successful franchise operating in a desirable market for more than 50 years. Their business model blemish is the Metrodome; but fan support, corporate backing and TV revenues are first rate.

A Vikings stadium bill in 2013 can be addressed without the political pressure of an election year. That should help secure votes but there will still be squabbling over stadium financing and probably the site.

The stadium should be located in Minneapolis. The city has the infrastructure, parking and hospitality amenities to accommodate the Vikings and other large events. Building on the Metrodome site is the most cost-efficient new stadium option, although the Farmers Market location would add to an entertainment corridor that already includes Target Stadium and Target Field. Then, too, the economic vitality of the region’s largest city can only be enhanced by the building of the new stadium in Minneapolis and that is important to the future of the metropolitan area. Counting various attractions and uses, including even small community events, the stadium will be used hundreds of days per year.

Anti-Minneapolis online chat room bashers don’t consider these facts, nor are they aware it was Minneapolis that made the bond financing possible for Met Stadium and then the Metrodome. The state of Minnesota, by the way, contributed no money to building the facilities that first attracted and then maintained major league baseball and football here. It is Minneapolis and its core suburbs that historically made major league sports possible in Minnesota.

Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak deserves credit for championing the Vikings stadium before a reluctant city council. The city’s governing model puts the power in the hands of the council, and its membership was a tough sell for Rybak and other stadium advocates.

Whether Rybak can hold the 7-6 pro-stadium council majority in place during the coming months could be dicey. But with the help of business and labor advocates he might do so, and that would retain the city’s commitment of $150 million to the stadium project.

If not, Hennepin County is still the “gorilla in the room” regarding possible stadium funding sources. That card should give further hope to those who worry about the stadium issue and losing the Vikings.

Comments Welcome