Vikings – Page 45 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

95-Year-Old ‘Barn’ Still Special to Golden Gophers

Posted on July 16, 2023 by David Shama

Williams Arena is only five years away from its 100^th birthday. The home of Golden Gophers basketball turned 95 last February and if you ask Ben Johnson the facility, despite its age, is still special.

Johnson’s opinion counts and not just because he is Minnesota’s head men’s coach. He played in the building for the Gophers for two seasons, from 2002-2004, and was an assistant at Minnesota from 2013-2018. Before he was in college the Minneapolis native also watched the hometown team in the iconic building that features intimate seating and a raised floor.

Johnson, 42, told Sports Headliners he remembers his first game in Williams Arana like this: “You can get 13,000 people in here being wild and being loud cheering for their team. I thought that was pretty cool.”

Williams Arena. Photo credit University of Minnesota

Looking like an airplane hangar or barn on the outside, the revered building is the oldest arena in the Big Ten and among the most ancient college basketball venues in America. Named for former Gophers’ football coach Dr. Henry Williams, the arena once had the largest seating capacity in the country for college basketball, 18,025. With a wink to the fire marshal, the Gophers and Iowa packed “the Barn” in 1955 with a record crowd of over 20,000.

Renovations over the years, including partial replacement of bench seating, have brought capacity now to 14,625. Filling the building with fans was on Johnson’s mind the other day. His team is practicing this summer with the goal of major improvement from the last two seasons when the Gophers finished at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Last winter the Gophers didn’t sell out a home game, not even against border rivals Iowa and Wisconsin. Johnson knows a packed house with delirious fans can create an electric atmosphere helping his team win games that otherwise might end in losses.

“We have to do our job and have a really good product and get people excited to come out, but they definitely make a difference,” he said. “And if you can win your home games in this league you set yourself up really well for post season play…and to have a successful Big Ten league season, and that’s what we want to do.

“We want to have every advantage we can to put our players in a position to have that special year. …I’ve seen it as a player and a coach that when Williams Arena is full—and it’s packed and there’s juice and energy in there –that for sure is two, three, four wins without a doubt. “

When a facility is 95 and has limited glitz and fan amenities compared to state-of-the-art buildings, speculation surfaces about the building’s future. Johnson acknowledged “people are always asking and wondering” but he isn’t aware of any major renovations or tear down planned for the arena.

Fans may also wonder what impressionable 17-year-old recruits think of the facility that is older than their great grandparents. Does the arena’s age present Johnson and his staff with a challenge in recruiting?

“It’s never come up as an issue,” Johnson said. “If anything, I think they really like it because it’s historic. It’s a venue that’s different with the elevated floor…makes it unique. Our guys actually love it and look forward to competing on it (the floor and venue). And I know our new players that haven’t played there think it’s pretty cool and have heard stories and are really looking forward to this year.”

“The Barn” is not for everyone, though. With no windows in the interior, the building relies only on artificial light. There are still bench seats that are uncomfortable for older fans. There are also seats where patrons crane their necks around poles to see the action. Concourse space is cozy, and the building won’t win any design prizes for the size or feel of its bathrooms.

But when the old building is filled and rocking with fans, there is an atmosphere to rival any in college basketball.

Because of Johnson’s roots here he has long appreciated the venue. “You see new arenas that don’t have that home feeling. I think that is what separates us. I’ve been in a couple (of other) older arenas and there’s a mystique to it. Kind of a magical feeling…there’s a history.”

In five years, Williams Arena will be feted with a birthday celebration like no other in its history. Johnson wants to be around then and have an outstanding team worthy of that milestone. “Without question, that would be pretty special,” he said.

Worth Noting

Kirk Cousins is known as a polarizing figure and that comes through when reading Twitter comments about him prompted by the just released NetFlix docuseries “Quarterback” that chronicles the lives of NFL QBs Cousins, Patrick Mahomes and Marcus Mariota. Tweeters offer Cousins love, dislike and everything in between.

Odds seem likely 85-year-old Jim Marshall, known for his Iron Man playing streak of never missing a game in 19 seasons with the Vikings, will finally be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024. Marshall is up for consideration again and his peers, including the late Bud Grant, think the former defensive end who is in the Vikings Ring of Honor is overdue for induction.

Speculation continues as to where defenseman Matt Dumba will play next season, but it seems all but certain the free agent won’t return to the Wild.

Congratulations to family, friends and former teammates of the late “Miracle on Ice” hockey hero Mark Pavelich who contributed to the new mental health facility in Sauk Centre, The Ranch. Pavelich, the great 1980 hockey Olympian and former Minnesota North Star, committed suicide in 2021.

Fired Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald uses the same agent (Bryan Harlan) as the Gophers’ P.J. Fleck. Harlan BTW is the brother of Kevin Harlan, the original broadcast voice of the Timberwolves and a national sportscaster icon for years.

MLB.com speculated yesterday that if the Mets make 35-year-old left fielder Tommy Pham available in a trade this summer the Twins could be interested. A right-handed bat, Pham is batting .301 in his last 30 games.

Don’t expect the Twins to part with manager Rocco Baldelli any time soon, even if the club slumps during the second half of the season. If it’s a rough finish Baldelli might well have reason to worry about his job security.

Bill Robertson, former WCHA and USHL commissioner, is reviewing consulting opportunities from sports and entertainment entities as he makes his transition into semi-retirement and relocation from Eagan to Buffington, South Carolina.

Gopher pitcher George Klassen, who can throw over 100 miles per hour, and Gopher second team All-Big Ten outfielder Brett Bateman have signed contracts with the Phillies and Cubs respectively. Klassen was taken in the sixth round of the MLB Draft earlier this month and Bateman was drafted in the eighth, with both reporting now to minor league operations.

Sorry to learn of Joe Pung’s recent passing. He was captain of the 1964 football Gophers and a second team All-Big Ten center that year.

Popular emcee and former Gopher football and basketball public address announcer Dick Jonckowski reports he is cancer free since last September. He will be a celebrity host starting on September 7 for the Jay Buckley Baseball Tour to Boston, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.

The CORES lunch programs featuring prominent speakers, mostly from Minnesota sports, has been in place since 1985 but now there is a transition with long time organizers Jim Dotseth and Phil Ferek unable to continue their leadership. CORES speakers over the years have included Bud Grant, Rick Spielman, Jerry Kill, Mike Veeck, Pete Najarian and John Gagliardi who drew a record turnout of 216 attendees. Anyone interested in potentially stepping forward to assume leadership in the volunteer-based organization should email dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Sam Bennett, who finished as the 2023 Masters Tournament low amateur, speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers Tuesday, July 25. Bennett is one of four young pros who have been given sponsor exemptions for the 3M Open scheduled July 24-30 at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. The others are Brazilian Fred Biondi, and Minnesotans Derek Hitchner and Frankie Capan III who were state champions at Blake and Stillwater respectively.

The Minneapolis Aquatennial begins Wednesday with the Torchlight Parade. Three Grand Marshals for the parade will represent the Lynx in recognition of the franchise’s 25^th anniversary: coach Cheryl Reeve, GM Clare Duwelius, and Carley Knox, president of business operations.

Longtime Twin Cities TV news and sports anchor Jeff Passolt is retired living in Florida but spending summers at his lake home in Wisconsin. A native of Minnesotan, Passolt’s knowledge and recall of the state’s sports history is impressive.

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Contract Leverage Favors Danielle Hunter, Not Vikings

Posted on June 18, 2023June 18, 2023 by David Shama

If the Vikings intend to be competitive in the coming season, they need to make a new contract deal with star pass rusher Danielle Hunter. Worthy of inclusion among the NFL’s best at pressuring the quarterback, Hunter is in the last year of his contract and is too valuable to an already suspect defense to be without.

“You look at the depth chart right now, you definitely need Danielle’s presence on defense… so we’ll see if they can figure out a way to make it work,” said Daniel House who spends countless hours analyzing the Vikings and NFL, and publishes the Mnvikngscorner.com website.

No doubt the Vikings have tested Hunter’s trade appeal with other teams but unless they could acquire an impressive defensive return, they are better off with Hunter who had a bounce back season in 2022 with 10.5 sacks (14.5 in both 2018 and 2019). The 28-year-old is a valuable piece in a new start under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Flores who is expected to put an emphasis on speed and aggressive play to accomplish his task of improving a weak defense from last season.

House predicts the defense will play with creativity and sometimes implement pass rushing mismatches favoring Hunter. “It’ll just be a way more aggressive defense, which I think helps everybody involved.”

To satisfy Hunter it likely will require a contract in the $16 million to $20 million range annually for three or four years. A sticky point is how much money will be guaranteed. Hunter has a history of injuries, and the Vikings will want to protect themselves, while Hunter’s representatives are expected to pursue guaranteed money.

Hunter’s camp has signaled its displeasure with a 2023 salary believed to be about $5 million, and the lack of progress on a new contract. The message came through with the absence of the veteran from both voluntary and mandatory workouts this spring. Unless the Vikings have reason for serious concern about Hunter’s health or have cooked up an acquisition of equal talent, they need to settle on a contract in the coming weeks.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell expressed admiration for Hunter last week both as a player and person. He added that “we hope to have continued dialogue and have a really positive outcome.”

Worth Noting

Preseason recognition of multiple University of Minnesota football players continues to grow. Last week Phil Steele Publications honored seven Gophers including safety Tyler Nubin who was named a third-team All-American. Nubin and tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford also were honored as first-team All-Big Ten.

Wide receiver Daniel Jackson, tackle Aireontae Ersery and punt returner Quentin Redding were named second team All-Big Ten on offense. Redding was also honored on a All-Big Ten fourth team as a kick returner along with long snapper Brady Weeks. Quinn Carroll, Minnesota offensive tackle, was also a fourth team honoree.

Last month Athlon Sports honored nine Gophers including wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell who was named second team All-Big Ten. Because of additional eligibility granted to him, Autman-Bell is approaching his seventh season at Minnesota. The Vikings have only 10 players on their roster who this fall will have played seven or more seasons in the NFL.

Beleaguered former Timberwolves GM David Kahn, now a force in French basketball, is the subject of a feature in the new issue of Sports Illustrated and insists he left the Wolves “in a much, much better place than when I arrived.”

With a 35-year-old starting point guard in Mike Conley, logic suggests the Timberwolves could use their only selection in Thursday’s NBA Draft to take Nadir Hifi at No. 53 in the second round. He plays in France and the 6-3, 20-year-old might be a sleeper in this week’s draft.

Jonathan Mekonnen, the Eastview class of 2024 basketball wing, picked up an offer from Loyola Chicago last week. Power Five offers could be coming soon.

USC, who sources believe was interested in Gophers AD Mark Coyle in 2019, has a vacancy again.

Paul Molitor, who some Twins fans think should still be the club’s manager, was terrific in his analyst role recently on radio broadcasts. His knowledge had listeners aware of what just happened, why it happened and what likely was developing next in the game. He would be a superb addition to the roster of radio and TV analysts.

Jim Kaat, the former Twin who for years set the gold standard for baseball commentary during games here and nationally, isn’t working Twins games this year. Kaat, 84 and inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last year, pitched for the Twins and tight wad owner Calvin Griffith from 1961-1973. “Calvin threw nickels around like manhole covers,” Kaat said years ago.

Kaat spoke Friday to the popular Twin Cities Dunkers organization that just closed off nominations for review in July, with 40 applicants and five spots open.

Darren Wolfson reported on Skor North that Wild GM Bill Guerin is interested in filling the assistant coaching vacancy with someone having head coach experience. That could set up an interesting dynamic with head coach Dean Evason whose teams haven’t advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs.

Happy Father’s Day! Anyone remember this quote from the late Erma Bombeck? “When I was a little kid, a father was like the light in the refrigerator. Every house had one, but no one really knew what either of them did once the door was shut.”

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Ben Johnson Losing Supporter in Departing U President

Posted on June 10, 2023June 10, 2023 by David Shama

Joan Gabel is in the final days this month of her presidency at the University of Minnesota before becoming Chancellor at Pittsburgh. Gabel’s departure is a reminder she played a decisive role in the hiring of men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson.

The Gophers parted ways with head coach Richard Pitino in mid-March of 2021, creating an opening to lead the program. Less than a week later came the surprise announcement that instead of hiring a proven Division I head coach the Gophers were turning to Johnson, a former U player and experienced assistant whose stops had included 2013-2018 at Minnesota and more recently three seasons at Xavier.

Athletic director Mark Coyle vetted Johnson, a Minneapolis native, and presented his credentials to Gabel. Without Gabel’s endorsement Johnson never would have been hired. “To have someone like Ben Johnson leading this program – an ambassador for our University who grew up here, went to school here and knows what the University is all about – is tremendous, for our basketball program and our institution,” Gabel said in a statement announcing the hire. “Like so many Minnesotans, I’m excited to welcome Ben home and look forward to our team’s success under his leadership.”

Success hasn’t been easy to come by in Johnson’s first two seasons. There have been occasional high-five moments, but the Gophers have made program history with first-ever consecutive last place finishes in the Big Ten.

Alex Hickey from Saturday Tradition is probably among the first to predict Minnesota is headed for a third straight bottom of the league finish. Forecasting the Big Ten race for next year he wrote the following this week: “Minnesota is married to the Big Ten cellar until further notice.”

Jeff Ettinger, the former Hormel executive, will serve as interim president for up to a year until the U finds a permanent hire. Whoever takes over won’t have a history with Johnson and be influenced by having hired him. It’s been clear for a while Johnson must make the next two seasons much improved over the previous two.

Worth Noting

Timberwolves starting point guard Mike Conley turns 36 in October, but Chris Finch has no reason to believe his playmaker won’t return for another season. The Wolves head coach said Conley is dedicated to his conditioning and training. Conley joined the Wolves during the season after a three-time trade and he was able to play 24 games for Minnesota averaging 14 points, five assists and providing much needed leadership on and off the court.

“He just does so many things that you can’t measure,” Finch said. “His leadership and presence is invaluable to what we’re trying to do here. His teammates and the organization in general respect him immensely, and that’s not something that we would want to just move away from easily.”

Gophers football legend Darrell Thompson left the Minneapolis area Friday for Atlanta where the 2023 Hot Rod Power Tour starts Monday. Thompson has a 1970 Camaro, a five-speed with 350 horsepower. Billed as the largest travelling car show around, the tour goes into multiple states before ending next Friday in Tennessee.

Wife Stephanie will pass on the adventure. “She will do a drive with me but to lock up in that car for 10 hours does not do anything for her,” said Thompson who is president of the Minneapolis-based Bolder Options nonprofit.

Thompson said son Race, who played basketball in the Big Ten for Indiana, will try out next week with the Timberwolves. Earlier workouts have been with the Nets and Wizards. Projecting as a combo forward, Race hopes to attract interest by an NBA team this summer and play his way onto a roster.

Jim Kaat, who pitched for the Twins from 1961-1973 and last year was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, speaks to the Twin Cities Dunkers next Friday. Kaat has been a superb baseball analyst on TV for years, including Twins broadcasts.

Jonathan Mekonnen, the Eastview class of 2024 basketball wing, is among the most sought-after preps in the state and has offers from St. Thomas, Colorado State, Drake, Illinois State and Northern Iowa, per head coach Danny Olsen. A visit next week to Loyola Chicago is likely to earn another offer, Olsen said.

Mekonnen is a skilled shooter, including three-pointers, but can also post up and could play small or big forward in college. He has rebounding and shot blocking abilities, too. “He’s very athletic above the rim,” said Olsen who recently became head coach at Eastview.

Prep Hoops ranks Mekonnen as the No. 5 prospect in the state of Minnesota for the class of 2024. Daniel Freitag, formerly of Bloomington Jefferson and now Southern California Academy, is No. 1 and followed by Isaac Asuma, Cherry; Jack Robison, Lakeville North; and Jackson McAndrew, Wayzata.

The Iron Sheik, the famous professional wrestler whose death at 81 years old was national news this week, was trained by Minneapolis wrestling icon Verne Gagne. It was Gagne’s wrestling camp that for many years developed a long list of performers who had successful careers in this market and elsewhere.

Former Gopher football player and pro wrestler Jim Brunzell recalled in an email being at Gagne’s camp with the Iron Sheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri from Iran) and others. “The 1972 camp included Ric (Fliehr) Flair, Bob Bruggers, NFL linebacker and Gopher great from Danube, Minnesota, Ken Patera, Olympic weightlifter (first to clean and jerk over 500 pounds), Khosrow Ali Vaziri, national Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling champion, Greg Gagne, Wyoming QB and Verne’s son, and yours truly, Jimmy Brunzell from White Bear Lake and former Gopher wide receiver and high jumper.

“Bruggers’ career was cut short by a near fatal airplane crash. The rest of us had a pretty successful 20 year plus wrestling career, headlining cards around the world!

“It’s hard to believe that camp was 51 years ago. By the way, the camp was in Verne’s barn on Lake Riley (Eden Prairie). It was 4 months long, 6 days a week, 6 hours per day. The British heavyweight champ, Billy Robinson, trained us in submission holds, throws, and stressed wrestling balance for a successful and injury free career. As always, with about 30 minutes to go in our day, Verne would show up and physically manhandle one after another of us until we ran out of gas! Daily I used to ask myself, ‘What did I get myself into?’

“After a 28-year career, nearly 5,000 matches and 12 surgeries…I managed to survive a crazy career that prepares one for nothing. One thing I know for sure, the best tag (team) partner I had was and is my wife of 48 years, Mary.”

Former Vikings GM Rick Spielman on Twitter yesterday: “I wish I could put into words how special the Wilf family is. I lost all my Viking Game Balls during Hurricane Ian. To my surprise, I received a box today replacing all those game balls. I was truly blessed to work for the Wilf family and thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

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