Vikings – Page 35 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Put the Hit on Toothless Panthers for First Win

Posted on October 1, 2023October 1, 2023 by David Shama

“Harry the Hitman” and his defensive pals were too much for the inept Panthers’ offense today as the Vikings ended a seven-game losing streak dating back to the 2023 playoffs.

Harrison Smith, the Vikings’ 34-year-old veteran safety, had the first three sacks game ever in his NFL career — a 21-13 Minnesota win. The Vikings, now 1-3, had lost their first three regular season games and three preseason games last summer.

Smith’s third quarter sack of Carolina QB Bryce Young knocked the football loose and outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum did a scoop and score, running 51 yards for a touchdown that put the Vikings ahead to stay at 14-13. After the game, talking on KFAN Radio, Wonnum said, “I am not getting caught, man.”

As for Smith, he received high praise on the radio from head coach Kevin O’Connell. He referred to his 12-year veteran as having an “unbelievable performance” and characterizing Smith as one of his “favorite players” ever.

Smith, who sacked Young on the last Carolina play of the game, was part of a defense that often confused Young, a rookie who mostly ran an offense looking like it was using training-wheels. Among those joining Smith and Wonnum in disrupting Carolina was outside linebacker Marcus Davenport, the offseason free agent acquisition who had played sparingly in the first three games. But he was a force today disrupting both running and passing by the Panthers, who are now 0-4.

Carolina didn’t produce an offensive touchdown against the Vikings. The Panthers intercepted a QB Kirk Cousins pass near the goal line in the first quarter and ran it back 99 yards for one touchdown. They added two field goals in the second quarter, including one set up on another Cousins’ interception, but couldn’t get in the end zone against a Viking defense that made sure Minnesota got its first win.

Cousins threw two touchdown passes to WR Justin Jefferson (who else?). Jefferson had a four-yard reception in the second quarter and 30-yard score in the third quarter.

The defense had to come through on a day that the Vikings had possession of the ball 21:31 versus the Panthers 38:29. The problem was Carolina didn’t have much of a clue as to what to do with the football.

Worth Noting

Next Sunday’s game with the Chiefs at U.S. Bank Stadium will showcase a spirited split crowd with the popularity of the 2023 Super Bowl champions and the six-hour drive proximity of Kansas City to Minneapolis bringing fans up from Missouri.

Lindy’s Sports College Basketball magazine, on newsstands now, predicts Ben Johnson’s Golden Gophers will finish last in the Big Ten standings for a third consecutive season. “Clearly better than last year but still facing a steep climb,” Lindy’s writes.

Minnesota has been competing in basketball since 1896 and last season’s second straight last place finish was a program record. Johnson, of course, is hopeful of avoiding the cellar and expressed his pleasure recently about both returnees and quality additions to his roster and having a healthier team than in the past. “Lot to be positive about, lot to be excited about,” Johnson said. “Just really looking forward to continue to build on the process here in October.”

Gopher forward Dawson Garcia, the 6-11, 230-pound junior from Savage, is on Lindy’s All-Conference third team.

Word from someone in the Timberwolves travel party is about 200 people including players and staff leave from Minneapolis today for Abu Dhabi. The Wolves will play preseason games there October 5 and 7 against the Mavericks with NBA TV offering coverage.

Gray Duck Spirits is producing its first ever beer, Duck Duck Beer, along with a new seltzer Fan Pack, as part of a partnership with Dinkytown Athletes—the official University of Minnesota collective that assists with Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for Gopher student-athletes. The products, decorated in maroon and gold, are being sold in state liquor stores and bars/restaurants, with 20 percent of sales going to Dinkytown Athletes.

The Louisiana team the Gophers defeated 35-24 last Saturday is probably a better team than the Northwestern Wildcats who stunned Minnesota September 23 by overcoming a 21-point deficit to win 37-34 overtime.

What the Twins need to accomplish in the postseason, if nothing else, is end their 18-game losing streak in the playoffs. That’s the longest in North American professional sports history for the four major sports of baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

Sonny Gray will be a top vote getter for the AL Cy Young Award despite winning only eight games this season because of such poor run support from his Twins teammates. He finished third in the 2015 voting while with the Athletics.

Brooks Robinson, the Orioles’ immortal, died last week at age 86 and he is considered by many authorities to be the best fielding third baseman of all-time. The best fielding Twin at the position? John Castino or Gary Gaetti.

This is an exciting week for St. Anthony Village High School activities director and baseball coach Troy Urdahl because his book goes live on Amazon on Monday. Chasing Influence: Transformational Coaching to Build Champions for Life makes readers think about being better leaders.

Urdahl, who has been coaching baseball for 23 years, has been working for two years on the book that has earned praise from others including Terry Ryan, former Twins general manager. “I’ve taken all of the coaching and leadership lessons I’ve learned over my years as an athlete, coach, and athletic director and condensed them into a narrative where a fictional character is built around some of Tink Larson’s life story (Waseca baseball legend),” Urdahl wrote via email.

Larson, a friend and mentor of Urdahl, coached for 35 years at Waseca High School and is an icon known for his coaching of amateur baseball teams and leadership in the state even to this day.

A hockey insider said Massachusetts prep superstar forward Cole Eiserman (class of 2024) flipped his commitment from the Gophers to Boston University because of family and a desire to stay in his home state.

Ken Mauer Jr., the St. Paul native and former veteran NBA referee, is using a fundraising platform to help with costs involved in litigation against the league. “With two lawsuits now, one for discrimination in denying my religious exemption, as well as a second suit for refusing to release my pension…legal fees have been crazy,” Mauer said via email.https://www.givesendgo.com/kennymauer

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No Sleeping on Danielle Hunter’s Sacks

Posted on September 26, 2023September 26, 2023 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column.

After three games Viking outside linebacker Danielle Hunter ranks second in the NFL with five sacks. Long known as one of the league’s best rushers, Hunter missed all of the 2020 season and was limited to seven games in 2021 because of injuries.

“I’ve learned a lot about taking care of the body over the years,” Hunter told Sports Headliners. When Hunter was younger, he “used to stay up all night playing video games.”

What’s his approach to staying healthy now? “I feel like the biggest thing is just rest,” he said. “Sleep, nutrition. That’s the most important thing. Over the years, being younger, you think you don’t need sleep but as time goes on, sleep and nutrition is probably the most important thing.”

Hunter, 28 years old and now in his ninth NFL season with the Vikings, avoids unhealthy foods and takes magnesium before going to sleep because the mineral helps him relax. He targets about eight hours of sleep and doesn’t nap. “I try to stay up as much as I can and reward myself with a good deep sleep.”

Hunter’s fast start in accumulating sacks is not new. In the first seven games in 2021 he had six sacks.

Danielle Hunter image courtesy of Minnesota Vikings.

Hunter has averaged double figures in sacks four times during his career including last season at 11.5. He had 29 sacks and 36 tackles for loss in 2018-2019, ranking second and third in the NFL over that span.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Dalton Risner makes his first start for the Vikings Sunday in Charlotte against the Panthers. Risner, who signed as a free agent with the Vikings last week, played four seasons at left guard with the Broncos. He could line up there Sunday, with Ezra Cleveland moving to right guard where he has previous experience and replacing Ed Ingram.

Another possibility is Risner could play right guard, with Cleveland remaining on the left side. Risner has practiced at right guard with the Vikings.

His offensive line versatility includes playing center and tackle at Kansas State. “I can still snap the football,” Risner told Sports Headliners. “Primarily I think I am a left guard, right guard, right tackle, center emergency. I played three years at right tackle (in college). In the NFL, nobody talks to me as a right tackle, man. …I don’t know if you should trust me at left tackle.”

Alexander Mattison said some of the best advice he received from Dalvin Cook, the man he replaced as the Vikings’ starting running back, is “be the kid that fell in love with the game.”

That means playing relaxed and loose. Challenging? Yes, because Mattison can be his harshest critic and he said “no one can beat myself up, criticize me more than myself.”

Mattison had his best rushing total of 2023 in last Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. He gained 93 yards on 20 carries.

Former Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, now with 0-3 Carolina, said “next week (against 0-3 Minnesota Sunday) kind of feels like a playoff game.”

It’s that kind of dramatic situation for both teams, with ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell writing earlier this month that since 2002 99 NFL teams have started their seasons 0-3 but only one (the 2018 Texans) has made the playoffs. And only one 0-4 team has ever earned its way into the postseason, the 1992 Chargers. Take note, though, that the NFL started playing a 17-game regular season schedule in 2021 which now provides an extra game to recover from a difficult start.

Thielen, 33, is still a playmaker and last Sunday had 11 receptions for 145 yards, the fourth most for a single game in his 10-season NFL career.

Former Vikings quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre was a big hit in Winona earlier this month. A consummate storyteller, he was the celebrity speaker for the Morrie Miller Athletic Foundation Banquet. The dinner, along with a golf tournament, raised a record $410,000 for Winona area athletics. Many attendees said he was the best guest ever and the past celebrity list includes Joe Montana, Mike Ditka, Bart Starr and Bud Grant.

If Darius Taylor, injured late in last Saturday’s loss to Northwestern, can’t play in this Saturday’s Gopher Homecoming Game against Louisiana it will be interesting to see if redshirt freshman Zach Evans receives some reps. Evans, with an impressive reputation coming out of high school in Texas, hasn’t carried the ball in the first four games. He had a brief head turning debut in one game last season, with six carries for 29 yards and one touchdown against Northwestern.

Bryce Williams, now in his sixth and final season with the Gophers, seems the likely starter if Taylor can’t play. He knows his assignments and is probably the best receiver among the running backs. Sean Tyler, the Western Michigan transfer fumbled three times against Eastern Michigan, and since then had three carries against North Carolina and none in the Northwestern game.

Taylor is the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after accounting for 198 yards rushing and 18 receiving yards last Saturday. It’s the third consecutive week he has won the honor, something that is a first in Gopher history.

Disgruntled Gophers fans after consecutive losses to North Carolina and Northwestern can do something positive by assisting Dinkytown Athletes. The official collective of Gophers sports accepts money designated to a specific program and money exclusively for football can reward current players for their Name, Image and Likeness. More money directed to football helps retain these players and assist future Gophers. Ideally, word gets out in the future that Minnesota is a strong NIL school, and that can do nothing but help attract quality talent and make the Gophers successful on the field.

If only two percent of football season ticket attendees, approximately 480, gave an average of $500 this fall it will increase revenues by $240,000. If 1,000 fans who follow the football Gophers only on TV gave an average of $250, that would jump revenues by $250,000. Sums like that, added to what is already in place and coming, would considerably boost football NIL money. https://dinkytownathletes.com/

The Gopher men’s hockey team is predicted to win the Big Ten regular season championship, per a poll of league coaches announced yesterday. Six Gophers are preseason All-Big Ten selections. Jimmy Snuggerud and Luke Mittelstadt are first teamers; Bryce Brodzinski, Mike Koster and Justen Close second teamers, and Ryan Chesley is an honorable mention choice.

No telecast of the Wild’s preseason opening game (start time 7 p.m.) in Dallas tonight against the Stars but KFAN has radio play-by-play. 100.3 FM.

Twins president Dave St. Peter talking about upcoming playoff games at Target Field: “We expect to sell out postseason games.”

St. Peter enjoys attending games at tradition-laden college football venues and on November 18 (after the World Series) plans to be in Knoxville to watch Tennessee against Georgia.

Not often in their history have the Twins made an offseason minor league free agent signing that turned out better than their late 2022 acquisition of Willi Castro. His versatility playing in the outfield and infield, timely hitting and base running (leads the team with 32 stolen bases) has been a factor in the Twins winning the AL Central Division.

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Twins Transformation Excites Club Prez for October

Posted on September 24, 2023September 24, 2023 by David Shama

Twins president Dave St. Peter is excited about his club’s expected hosting of an opening American League Wild Card series starting October 3 at Target Field. Minnesota should have a couple of clear advantages in the best two of three games series.

The starting pitching tandem of Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray, with their experience and talent, is an asset past Twins playoff teams have often been without. “We have enough depth with the starting staff, and enough talent at the top of the rotation, that I think teams are concerned about matching up against the Twins,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “And that hasn’t always been the case in the postseason where we maybe haven’t had the starting pitching depth.”

Who would the game three starter be in the playoffs? Nobody of authority is saying right now but it’s clear the Twins can choose between two solid starters in Kenta Maeda and Joe Ryan.

The other first round advantage for the AL Central Division champion Twins is they will be playing all games at home. “We would much rather play at home and have players in their own beds in an environment that they’re very comfortable,” St. Peter said. “But the reality is we’re going to have to pitch well. We’re going to have to play good defense. We’re going to have to get some timely hitting if we’re going to win. We recognize other teams are in the postseason for a reason. But would we rather play at home? Yes, there’s no question about that.”

The trade that brought Lopez to the club in the offseason in exchange for 2022 AL batting champion Luis Arraez was controversial for many Twins fans. Arraez, now on his way to a NL batting title, has come through for the Marlins but so too has Lopez who has given the club a second quality veteran starter to pair with Gray in the regular season and playoffs.

“Pablo Lopez has been everything we thought he would be and more,” St. Peter said. “We feel like it’s a win-win trade probably for both teams because Louie really impacted the Marlins in a lot of special ways.”

St. Peter is excited anticipating October baseball. There will be an opportunity to see how far Minnesota can advance while ending the franchise’s streak of 18 consecutive postseason losses.

Dave St. Peter photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins.

His enthusiasm dates back to when the club left spring training, but he believes the Twins are only now beginning to play their best baseball after a first half to the season characterized by hitting and run scoring woes while the pitching was excellent. The offense, including clutch hitting, has complemented the pitching as the Twins moved toward winning the Central Division. “…I think we’re seeing what this team can be, and that’s why I am so excited about the month of October,” St. Peter said.

Injuries are always present, though, and there will be scrutiny in coming days as to who is on the postseason roster. Personnel may include pitchers Brock Stewart and Chris Paddack who could add quality to a bullpen that St. Peter already has confidence in.

The Twins will accomplish a baseball “hat trick’ if key regulars Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis are all able to play. Hopefully, Buxton’s knee problem will at least allow him to DH even if he can’t play center field and be aggressive running bases. He has been out of the lineup since August 1 and first was sidelined with a hamstring strain.

Buxton has played in 85 games and will again miss the 100-game target. Only once in Buxton’s nine-year MLB career has he played in 100 games.

Still, St. Peter remains optimistic about the 29-year-old talent who is having difficulty with the same right knee that has troubled him in the past and been one of multiple injuries that have limited his career development. St. Peter is hopeful about Buxton playing in the postseason and “we expect he’ll be a huge part of the 2024 Twins.”

Correa has been able to play “gold glove” caliber shortstop most of the season, despite having plantar fasciitis in his left foot, St. Peter said. “He’s been a pros pro. So, we’re very lucky to have him in our organization and ultimately, we’re going to need him in order to be in a position to make an October run.”

Correa went on the 10-day Injured List last Wednesday. It seemed like a move to allow him to rest his foot for the playoffs, with the Twins near clinching the division title.

Lewis’ left hamstring has sidelined him for games where Mr. Grand Slam might have been building a stronger resume for the AL Rookie of the Year. “…I can’t imagine there’s a rookie in baseball that’s had more of an impact on his team than Royce Lewis,” St. Peter said.

Lewis has been playing third base, but in the years ahead perhaps he will move to center field where he played briefly last season before tearing an ACL in his right knee. “He’s certainly a guy that brings versatility,” St. Peter said. “We know he can go play shortstop. We know he can play second base. He certainly could play the outfield. But that will be up to the manager over the long haul.”

Worth Noting

In partnership with the Star Tribune the Twins will give away Homer Hankies at postseason games at Target Field. The promotion dates back to the 1987 World Series in the Metrodome.

That building, much maligned by media and fans over the years, remains the only facility in the nation to host a MLB All-Star Game, World Series (two), Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four while also being home to MLB and NFL franchises, a Big Ten football team and for one season an NBA club.

It was a sad loss for the football Gophers in Evanston last night, blowing a 31-10 fourth quarter lead and losing 37-34 in overtime. Minnesota was outcoached by Northwestern late in the game and the players underperformed. Defensive breakdowns in pass coverage are alarming and there are too many inconsistent moments on offense.

Second year starting guard Ed Ingram said today’s game for the 0-2 Vikings is “definitely a must win.” The offense has to improve its consistency running and passing.

“We gotta get it (the offense) going,” he said. “Once we get it a lot of teams (are) going to be afraid of us.”

Ingram has struggled during his NFL career and admitted coming into camp last year as a rookie was a “little scary.” Knowing technique and the system now has increased his confidence. His intent is to build on a finish last season where he improved.

Mike Max, WCCO TV sports director who did news reporting during the social unrest in Minneapolis in 2020, is the latest guest on “Behind the Game.” The Gaylord, Minnesota native played baseball and basketball in college at Hamline. The show is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeuJ4x7npHQ&t=898s

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