Vikings – Page 60 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers’ Mafe Draws First Round Talk

Posted on February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 by David Shama

The NFL Scouting Combine starts Tuesday in Indianapolis and former Golden Gopher defensive end Boye Mafe is a name to watch between now and the NFL Draft April 28-30. Mafe had a head-turning performance at last month’s Senior Bowl and his draft stock could be rising with some NFL teams intrigued by his talent.

When Mafe announced in December he was forgoing his final season of eligibility with the Gophers, he projected as a second or third round pick. He still might be selected on the second day of the draft, but there is increasing speculation he could go late first round.

Ryan Burns, the college football authority who has tracked Mafe since his days at Hopkins High School, told Sports Headliners there is a “chance” at the first round. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network has the Packers taking Mafe at No. 28 in the first round of his mock draft from last week. “The Packers love raw, explosive edge rushers,” Jeremiah wrote.

Mafe, 6-4 and 265-pounds, has long been known for elite athleticism but seen more as a project than a finished first round product. He could play as an outside linebacker in the pros where extraordinary pass rushers are among the most valued of personnel.

Interestingly, another edge rusher gaining notice is Minnesota native Jermaine Johnson who finished his college career at Florida State after previous stops at Georgia and junior college. ESPN’s Todd McShay had the former Eden Prairie DE going to the Cardinals at No. 23 in the first round of his mock draft earlier this month. McShay was impressed with Johnson’s Senior Bowl performance.

Jeremiah had the Vikings using their No. 12 first round selection on Washington State cornerback Trent McDuffie. Interestingly, Jeremiah doesn’t project a quarterback being selected in the first round until the Saints choose Pitt’s Kenny Pickett at No. 18.

Former Vikings GM Jeff Diamond told Sports Headliners he expects cornerback to be a draft priority for Minnesota: “Because you really need to have four or five good cornerbacks in this day and age,” he said.

This is the second year college athletes, including football players, can monetize deals for name, image and likeness (NIL). Big payoffs are in place in some communities around the country, or are being planned, but apparently not in this state. “I would say Minnesota is behind the ball,” Burns said when asked about the presence of NIL benefitting Gopher football.

Outsiders need to lead NIL efforts because athletic departments aren’t allowed by the NCAA to do so. NIL opportunities will become increasingly more important in recruiting success for schools and their various programs.

Burns said in the Big Ten West Division it’s not just the football Gophers who aren’t benefitting from NIL. “There’s nothing going on with NIL at Wisconsin. There’s nothing going on with NIL at Iowa.”

Meanwhile, the SEC and some of its schools are drawing attention for their NIL efforts. As an example, WBIR TV in Knoxville reported in December that over 300 University of Tennessee men and women athletes profited from NIL since its inception about six months prior.

Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is 40 years old, coach Kevin O’Connell 36. Mensah hired Ryan Grigson, with 23 years of NFL front office experience, to help with personnel decisions. O’Connell hired assistant head coach Mike Pettine with 28 years of coaching experience. “I think those both were really smart moves to bring in… experienced guys when you’ve got a first-time head coach and a first-time GM,” Diamond said.

The new regime didn’t retain veteran defensive line coach Andre Patterson, now on the Giants staff. Vikings defensive end Daniele Hunter, a top talent but injury-prone, has a $22 million salary cap hit in 2022 (second only on the team to QB Kirk Cousins). If Adofo-Mensah moves on from Hunter to clear salary cap room, could the Giants be a landing spot?

In a ranking of Big Ten football transfer classes last week, Steven Lassan from Athlon Sports had the Gophers at No. 5. Nebraska, at No. 2 behind Michigan State, was the only West Division program ahead of Minnesota.

Earlier in the month Lassan ranked the Big Ten quarterbacks for next fall and had Minnesota’s Tanner Morgan No. 8 in the 14-team league.

Photo credit: Matt Krohn/University of Minnesota athletics

Coach Bob Motzko’s Gopher hockey team finished February with an 8-0 record for the month, including a weekend home sweep of the Badgers, 8-0 and 5-0, that gave Minnesota its first Big Ten championship since 2017. Minnesota outscored opponents 37-11 during the win streak.

As the No. 1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament, the Gophers have a bye in the quarterfinals and will host a semifinal game at 3M Arena at Mariucci March 12.

The Gopher men’s basketball team ends its home schedule tonight against Indiana and will not have one sellout crowd for 2021-2022.

Wishing a successful recovery to Mike Wilkinson after falling at home and having back surgery. Wilkinson authored the biography about former Gophers football national championship coach Murray Warmath, The Autumn Warrior.

Condolences to family and friends of Tommy King, the Edina native and halfback on Warmath’s 1960 national championship team, who passed away earlier this month. Tommy’s father, Ray King, was a 1937 All-American end at Minnesota who played on national championship teams in 1935 and 1936.

Popular Dave Schwartz, who many viewers expected to succeed Eric Perkins as KARE TV’s No. 1 sports anchor, turned 43 Friday and has a new career in communications with the Minnesota Wild.

Celebrity sightings at the Timberwolves-76ers game Friday night at Target Center included O’Connell. Sitting courtside was MLB Hall of Famer Dave Winfield who played on championship Gopher baseball and basketball teams. It was 50 years ago this winter Winfield and his teammates won Minnesota’s first Big Ten basketball championship since 1937.

Eagan resident Pat Fraher, with more than 18 seasons of NBA officiating experience, was in Minneapolis Thursday night working the Timberwolves-Grizzlies game.

The CORES luncheon group welcomes Stew Thornley as its guest speaker March 10 at the Bloomington Event Center. The Minneapolis native has authored numerous local sports books and is a long time official scorer for the Twins. Reservations must be made by March 7. For more information contact Jim Dotseth: dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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Ex-Vikes GM: Cousins Needs to Stay

Posted on February 20, 2022February 20, 2022 by David Shama

Count former Vikings general manager Jeff Diamond among those in favor of retaining controversial 33-year-old quarterback Kirk Cousins, the team’s starter since 2018.

Minnesota has missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, and Cousins prompted a storm of criticism by refusing COVID vaccination last year, and his current contract is a huge burden on the payroll, but Diamond says not so fast to the chorus of critics wanting a change in 2022.

Diamond ranks Cousins in the top half of NFL quarterbacks and believes the timing is right to retain him. “I think Cousins needs to stay for one more year because I think the team is not that far away from being a playoff team,” Diamond told Sports Headliners.

The Vikings have significant personnel holes to fill, but they also possess talented players in multiple positions. They lost four games by four points or fewer last season and had other ulcer inducing defeats. Several NFL teams made the playoffs in 2021 who hadn’t qualified the year before, an indication of how fortunes change from one season to the next.

Diamond, who was the NFL Executive of the Year for 1998 when the Vikings went 15-1, made those points in his Sports Headliners interview. He added Cousins isn’t that different from Matthew Stafford, the veteran quarterback who was a key contributor to making the Rams 2022 Super Bowl champions after years of frustration playing with the hapless Lions. “He’s at least good enough to see what Kevin O’Connell can do with him,” Diamond said of Cousins.

O’Connell, the new Vikings head coach, is known as something of a “quarterback whisperer.” He was Cousins’ quarterback coach for the 2017 season in Washington. Since taking over in Minnesota, O’Connell has publicly been upbeat about his quarterback.

O’Connell and new GM Kwesi Odofo-Mensah are tasked with finding a solution to Cousins’ guaranteed contract for $35 million that counts as a $45 million hit to the salary cap as of right now. Diamond is doubtful Cousins, now in the last year of his deal, will accept a new contract paying him less money but is laden with incentives.

What Cousins might agree to is a contract extension of a year or more. Such a deal involves converting a portion of his salary into a signing bonus amortized over the length of the contract. The result can be a significant reduction to the franchise salary cap and help the Vikings add or retain impact players.

Cousins was willing to do a contract extension in 2020 so this is not new ground for him. There are also potential salary restructures with other players on the roster.

Cousins’ willingness to extend his contract now could be impacted by a favorable relationship with O’Connell. Cousins and former head coach Mike Zimmer appeared to have a distant relationship, at times not even meeting on a regular basis.

The culture under Zimmer has been criticized since his firing in January, with linebacker Eric Kendricks referring to a lack of communication and a “fear-based organization.” Zimmer was known for his cantankerous ways and the 36-year-old O’Connell is expected to create a new culture.

O’Connell talked last week at his news conference about consistent communication. “They’ve got to know we care about them from day one,” he said about his players. “I will not hire a coach that will not connect on a one-on-one- basis with their players in their (meeting) rooms.”

Diamond was impressed with O’Connell at the news conference. He liked the first-time NFL head coach’s personality and intelligence. There was no missing O’Connell’s enthusiasm and intent for a collaborative organization.

“I think that he’s going to be…kind of a breath of fresh air to the players, compared to the previous regime,” Diamond said. “I like Zim. … (But) This is a big culture change.”

Worth Noting

At this weekend’s NBA All-Star break the Timberwolves’ record is 31-28, with 23 games remaining on the regular schedule. The Wolves will have to go 14-9 the rest of the way to fulfill my prediction before the season they could have 45 wins. The club has earned that many victories or more just once since the 2003-2004 season.

The Big Ten’s media rights expire in 2023, with major networks expected to show plenty of interest. Front Office Sports speculated a new deal might provide $1.1 billion annually for the Big Ten. Split between the conference’s 14 schools that could mean about $79 million per year for the University of Minnesota Athletic Department.

The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program will host a virtual discussion Friday about the future of college sports and athletes as school employees. There are ongoing legal challenges on the issue and the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the NCAA violated antitrust law by restricting educated-related benefits to athletes. A four person virtual discussion will include former University of Minnesota regent Michael Hsu and Big 12 Conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby. Contact: jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org

Tongue-in-cheek from Dick Jonckowski who said the Twins are donating a new field in Minneapolis called Miguel Sano Park. It has three swings and a bench, the “Polish Eagle” joked.

The Shakopee-based event speaker and former Gophers basketball public address announcer is recovering from COVID after being hospitalized in January. He hopes to do PA work for state tournament girls and boys basketball games next month.

A 1982 mint condition rookie Hulk Hogan collector card is generating live bids today on Heritage Auctions, including $6,750.

The Minnesota State High School Coaches Association awards ten $1,000 scholarships to children or grandchildren of current or lifetime members of the MSHSCA. Contact: jmarshall@isd192.org

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Super Bowl LVI Worthy of the Hype

Posted on February 14, 2022February 14, 2022 by David Shama

A few Super Bowls tempt you to hold your nose. A bunch make you yawn during most of the game. Not last evening. America was mostly entertained from the opening kickoff all the way to a dramatic ending at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The Bengals had a chance to turn a last minute drive into a game winning touchdown, or at least force overtime with a field goal. Wasn’t to be, though, with the Rams’ Aaron Donald making what will become known as legacy tackles on third and fourth downs to lock up a 23-20 win over the Bengals.

The home town Rams won the NFL’s biggest prize after moving to Los Angeles just six years ago. Owner Stan Kroenke orchestrated the transfer from St. Louis and bitter fans there have no time for him. Think of him as the St. Louis version of North Stars owner Norm Green. But he stood on the field after the game as a Tinsel Town hero.

“Another ending fit for Hollywood, “NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said to Kroenke, the stadium fans and the TV audience.

This was a close and compelling game most of the night. The Rams led 16-13 at halftime but trailed going into the fourth quarter 20-16. The Bengals put together a field goal, and a touchdown in the third quarter that shouldn’t have happened. Bengals receiver Tee Higgins pulled the facemask of Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey who fell to the ground, allowing a 75 yard touchdown. No replay, no overturning the play.

The Rams, trailing 20-16 in the fourth quarter, had to rally on their last possession. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who played in NFL purgatory for years with the hapless Lions, made clutch throws on a long drive, mostly to Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Cooper Kupp. With 1:25 remaining in the game, Kupp caught a one-yard touchdown pass to put the Rams ahead to stay.

If Rams fans were enraged by the no-call that Higgins scored on, they could empathize with the Bengals faithful late in the game. Before Kupp caught the TD pass a flimsy defensive holding penalty inside the 10-yard line on Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson kept the drive going for the Rams.

The Super Bowl can seem like a football game sandwiched around a suffocating parade of TV commercials. For some Super Bowls a restless viewer can’t reach quickly enough for the remote, even stumbling on to something called the “Puppy Bowl.” But last night’s fourth quarter should have moved you to the edge of your seat.

Here are other Super Bowl musings including a few with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

The big game’s halftime show? NBC’s Maria Taylor teased it as perhaps the “greatest” ever. Oh, my.

Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. Hmm. Hmm.

You could be at home today, pulling a “Ferris Buehler” after the big game. If so, remember not to post photos on social media that show you seeking a hangover “remedy” at a favorite watering hole.

Americans are convinced their country is in a downward spiral so why not chip further away at “our national fabric” and declare the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday? Or switch the Super Bowl to Saturday nights? Ease the guilt of millions who call in sick on Mondays.

Hate to disappoint but at the last minute the Sports Headliners’ Board of Directors nixed a $7 million expenditure to buy a :30 second TV commercial for last night’s extravaganza. And they wonder why readership is flat.

$7 million? A paltry sum when compared with the record $7.6 billion that was expected to be wagered on the game, per the American Gaming Association. And how was your trip to Wisconsin or Iowa to bet on the Bengals or Rams?

Now 30 states offer legal betting, but not the North Star State. That could change sooner than a Kirk Cousins departure from the Vikings.

The Super Bowl is all about money, from expensive rings to player bonuses, from escalating franchise values to billions spent by American consumers on products and services. See any connection between the disappearance of protests at NFL games and an apparent agreement between league powers and the players’ union?

TV viewership numbers for Super Bowl LVI could be publicized today with the number expected to be about 115 million. Word is neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump watched. Speculation is Biden fell asleep prior to kickoff, while Trump spent the evening in front of a favorite mirror.

During halftime I checked the furnace to see if it was operational. I am traumatized on Super Bowl Sunday because a few years ago I blew out part of the electrical wiring in the house while using a powerful space heater. Ever tried to find an electrician the night of the Super Bowl?

Honestly, I’d prefer to watch the big game near a beach in Florida. A longtime friend sent a post card from the sunshine state and asked when I was headed that way. “I’ll look for you but it’s a big state,” he wrote.

The two head coaches in this year’s Super Bowl, Sean McVay, 36, from the Rams, and Zac Taylor, 38, of the Bengals, weren’t even born when the Vikings played in their last Super Bowl, 1977. The combined ages of McVay and Taylor are the youngest two-some in Super Bowl history.

There has been one MVP in Super Bowl history that played for the losing team. Linebacker Chuck Howley of the Cowboys won the honor in Super Bowl V even though his team lost the game 16-13 to the Colts.

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