Vikings – Page 86 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Why Vikings Balk at Dalvin Cook Deal

Posted on July 27, 2020July 27, 2020 by David Shama

Whether Dalvin Cook reports to the Vikings opening of training camp tomorrow is one of the NFL’s trendy stories this week. The gifted running back, after three seasons with Minnesota, wants a new contract presumably paying him $13 million or more annually.

That the Vikings leadership, including general manager Rick Spielman, hasn’t made a deal with Cook and his agent in the offseason indicates how far apart the parties involved appear to be. The Vikings recognize Cook, whose 1,135 yards rushing was 10^th best in the league during the regular season last year, is an impact talent, and at 24 years old isn’t even near his peak as a rusher, but there are factors giving them pause including salary cap issues.

Although Cook is the team’s most dynamic player on an offense built for running, he isn’t going to command the NFL’s top salaries for running backs that are reportedly $15 to $16 million. Not only do the Vikings have cap issues, but Cook’s NFL career has been marked by both spectacular performance and injuries that have sidelined him.

Then, too, the Vikings have an NFL caliber starting running back in Alexander Mattison. As a rookie last season playing behind Cook, he rushed for 462 yards and his 4.6 yards per carry was similar to Cook’s 4.5. Mattison may not be as explosive as Cook, but he is a quality runner and was a third round steal from the 2019 NFL Draft.

Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak’s zone blocking scheme is favorable to runners. He proved that not only in his first season with the Vikings, but in prior years with the Broncos in Denver. Cook is fortunate to play in a scheme that can showcase his talents of running inside and outside, plus catching passes (53 receptions last year, 9.8 average).

NFL players are fined for not being in training camp. That’s hardly an incentive for Cook to miss much, or any time, with the Vikings in coming days or weeks. It just might be that all involved could agree on a multi-year deal that pays Cook in the range of $10 to $11 million annually.

Although it’s been speculated the Vikings might trade Cook for a high future draft choice, that seems improbable and foolish. The Vikings need Cook in 2020 and the seasons beyond with their focus on the running game. A Cook-Mattison tandem takes a lot of pressure off skittish quarterback Kirk Cousins and a receiver group trying to recover after the offseason trade of star Stefon Diggs.

Worth Noting

Friends and former teammates of Noel Jenke were saddened last weekend to hear of his death. Noel, 73, died of unknown causes several days ago in Wisconsin, and the Owatonna, Minnesota native is remembered as one of the Gophers’ greatest athletes ever.

Noel earned seven letters at Minnesota, with three each in football and hockey, and one in baseball. He was an outstanding linebacker on the Gophers’ 1967 Big Ten championship football team. Teammate Jim Brunzell said this via email: “God, what a great athlete and human being. He was one tough linebacker!”

Another football teammate, Jim Carter, played with Noel at Minnesota and in Green Bay with the NFL Packers. “He had lots of heart and he was fun to be around,” Carter texted.

Noel played five seasons in the NFL with three teams, the Vikings, Falcons and Packers. Baseball might have been his best sport but football coach Murray Warmath wouldn’t let him play because of the conflict with spring football. As a senior, and after his football eligibility expired, Noel played college baseball for one season and hit .402. It was 50 years ago last summer he made his minor league debut as an outfielder in AAA for the Red Sox’s Louisville farm team, but he never made it to the majors.

A celebration of Noel’s life will be held for family only tomorrow (Tuesday) at a church in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Ruttger’s, located near Deerwood, Minnesota, opened its 9-hole golf course 99 years ago this year, becoming the first resort golf course in Minnesota. The course was rough by today’s standards with sand tee boxes, dirt greens and fairways “mowed” by the resort’s livestock. The course was the brainchild of long-time resort guest Hans “Zig” Ziegler, who convinced owner Alec Ruttger to convert some of the resort’s pasture land into a golf course, and it opened to the public in 1921.

The course has had many names through the years, starting with Ruttger’s Golf Links, but is now known as Alec’s 9 in honor of Alec Ruttger. Much of the 2,135-yard par 33 layout of the course has been maintained, but brought up to modern standards. In other words, the tee boxes are neatly mowed grass, and you won’t see any cows on the fairways.

Among pregame activities for the Minnesota Twins home opener tomorrow night will be the playing of both the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black national anthem.

Happy birthday to former Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton who is 57.

Anonymous Sports Headliners reader with a tongue-in-cheek reference to the Minnesota Timberwolves: “I’ll admit it took me awhile to figure it out, but I’ve recently come to the realization that the T-Wolves defense this season was ahead of the curve in practicing social distancing on the court.”

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Holmgren Likely to Wait on Decision

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column with news about prep recruiting, the 3M Open and more.

Don’t look for megastar recruit Chet Holmgren from Minnehaha Academy to announce his college choice this year. While recruits and their families can tire of the relentless contact by recruiters, Holmgren’s father David told Sports Headliners his 7-foot, multi-positional son is unlikely to accept a college basketball scholarship during the fall signing period.

David Holmgren said the most informed decision can be made in the spring because of several factors. Those variables can include the job status of coaches, and transfers going in and out of programs.

Chet Holmgren, who may emerge next winter as the consensus top recruit in the nation for the class of 2021, has a list of seven schools he is focusing on including Minnesota. David, a former Gopher, said his son’s final choice will be “more up to him” than it will be a collaborative family decision.

Totino-Grace tight end Joe Alt, who was a top target for Minnesota’s 2021 recruiting class, verbally committed to Notre Dame yesterday. 247Sports national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu had predicted Alt would choose the Irish over Minnesota, Iowa and other offers.

In a story by Trieu yesterday he quoted John Alt, Joe’s dad, that the recent departure of often praised Iowa strength coach Chris Doyle was a factor in Joe not selecting the Hawkeyes. “He wanted to be trained by (Chris) Doyle and Doyle is gone,” said John Alt, a former Hawkeye. “It fell into place with Notre Dame and it’s hard to argue it.” …

Alt likely is attracted to Notre Dame by a combination of factors including the program’s success in developing NFL linemen, the school’s academic excellence, faith-based values, and storied football tradition. Alt is close to four-star status, per 247Sports.

Jeff Ferguson, who retired as Totino-Grace’s head football coach in February, knows a lot about Alt and has high praise for him as a person and football player. “I think he is just a tremendous prospect,” Ferguson told Sports Headliners.

Alt was a ninth grade quarterback, sophomore inside linebacker and last fall as a junior played tight end for Totino-Grace. In college he projects as an offensive tackle. His adaptability to new positions has been dictated by more than growth spurts that now have him at about 6-7, 240 pounds. “He is very intuitive on the field,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson described Alt as an “amazing” young man who is likeable, level headed and focused on football, academics (near 4.0 student), family and friends.

Ferguson was the Eagles head coach for 18 seasons, winning eight state titles. He continues to work part-time at Totino-Grace in fundraising and while he may coach in the future it won’t be as a head coach.

In March Ferguson’s wife Barb was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has experienced 14 chemo treatments, with three more to go before a mastectomy in September. Ferguson is upbeat about his wife’s health, referring to the cancer as “treatable and curable.”

Spring Lake Park alum Troy Merritt tied for eighth last weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. Merritt tied for seventh in last year’s 3M Open, winning almost $180,000 in his home state. This year’s 3M Open field won’t entirely be known until July 17 but tourney boss Hollis Cavner expects Merritt to play.

The PGA Tournament will be July 20-26 at TPC Twin Cities, and Cavner told Sports Headliners Merritt could do well again. “Good story and good contender,” Cavner said.

Merritt not only knows the course but it’s favorable to the Minnesotan’s fairway and short game efficiency. “It’s a second shot course,” Cavner said about TPC, a layout that doesn’t mandate bombing the golf ball off the tee.

Will Tiger Woods play for the first time in the second-year tournament? “We have no clue,” Cavner said while pointing out many players are delaying commitments these days.

How about paying $1,000 for a club seat between the 30 yard lines at US Bank Stadium for the September 13 Vikings-Packers game? That was the top price yesterday at Ticket King, per Mike Nowakowski of the local ticket outlet.

Nowakowski said his business is down 95 percent since March and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While his office is taking calls about tickets for the Vikings and college football, he isn’t optimistic about business returning to normal until next year.

There is no word yet about the Vikings allowing fans in US Bank Stadium for games this year but there are ticket buyers despite the uncertainty. The NFL has made its intent clear about having a season but that is subject to debate, with or without spectators.

Nowakowski said prior to March there was an increase in interest in Gophers football tickets. “Before COVID there definitely was some buzz after the (successful) season and the (2020) recruiting class,” Nowakowski said.

Condolences to the family and many friends of Lou Holtz whose wife Beth passed away last week after a long battle with cancer. The legendary Holtz’s coaching stops included the Golden Gophers where he and Beth once were Edina residents.

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Potential Twins Rosario Trade Logical

Posted on June 30, 2020June 30, 2020 by David Shama

With the Minnesota Twins training this week for their 60-game schedule that begins in late July, it would be surprising if the front office isn’t thinking about trading left fielder Eddie Rosario for pitching help. “The wheels” are likely turning, a veteran baseball observer told Sports Headliners.

He said Rosario’s age, productive past and minimal contract, combined with high potential replacement candidates from Minnesota’s farm system, point toward the five-year veteran clearly being the most likely Twin who could be traded this summer. Rosario, who turns 29 in September, had a career season in 2019 in home runs (32) and RBI (109, sixth best in the American League).

While Rosario is in his peak years and has impressive traditional stats like a .279 lifetime batting average in the majors, other metrics are less desirable such as chasing pitches outside of the strike zone. At times observers have also questioned his hustle and fielding.

Rosario is in the final season of his contract and in 2020 is paid $7,750,000 per Spotrac.com. That’s not a lot by MLB standards for a hitter of his quality. A new deal might pay him a not so costly $13 million in 2021. That’s attractive to teams who could be looking for one more solid bat in the race for the 2020 playoffs and success in the postseason.

Minnesota’s minor league system has two hyped left field candidates to replace Rosario, if not this season, then perhaps next. Alex Kirilloff, a former first round draft choice in 2016, was ranked the 32nd best prospect in baseball by MLB.com earlier this year. Trevor Larnach, a first round selection in 2018, is also one of the most valued prospects in the Twins’ system. Both are left-handed hitters like Rosario.

In the short term, the Twins have other options in replacing Rosario. In parts of two seasons Jake Cave has impressed in the outfield and been okay with his hitting. Multi-positional veteran Marwin Gonzalez, who in 425 bats last year for the Twins drove in 55 runs, plays in the infield and outfield.

Minnesota’s 40-man roster announced earlier this week has just four left-handed pitchers. Devin Smeltzer and Rich Hill have MLB resumes both starting and relieving, while Taylor Rogers and Lewis Thorpe are bullpen specialists. The imbalance between left-handed and right-handed pitchers (four versus 18) could certainly figure into analysis for a Rosario trade.

Twins front office executives Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have multiple options in offering the attractive Rosario as trade bait. They might acquire an established pitcher of value in return for Rosario, with possibly a minor league prospect included, too. The Minnesota farm system isn’t deep in quality pitching prospects and another option could be asking for two of the better minor league pitchers from a rival franchise.

The organization certainly has incentive to further strengthen the roster of a team that won 101 games last season and added one of baseball’s best sluggers this winter in Josh Donaldson. Twins president Dave St. Peter has stated the 2020 World Series is the club’s goal.

Worth Noting

Hope the University of Minnesota takes the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the school’s last national championship football team, the 1960 Golden Gophers.

It was welcome news for Bloomington, Minnesota native Lane Kiffin yesterday when he heard about Mississippi’s decision to remove the Confederate battle symbol from the state flag. Kiffin is the first-year head coach of the SEC’s Mississippi Rebels.

Minnehaha’s Chet Holmgren, per some authorities the No. 1 prep basketball player in the national class of 2021, lists his top seven college possibilities as Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State. If things follow the norm, Minnesota and Big Ten rivals Michigan and Ohio State won’t land the athletic 7-foot Holmgren whose father, David, was a Gopher reserve from 1984-1988.

Minnesota’s elite preps usually haven’t chosen the Gophers for several years now, with Amir Coffey and Daniel Oturu being exceptions. Dawson Garcia, Matthew Hurt, Tyus and Tre Jones, Gary Trent Jr. and Kerwin Walton are among star players who decided to play elsewhere, but not for Big Ten programs. (Wisconsin is the outlier here attracting both quality and role players from Minnesota for decades, but with the Holmgren family background it’s difficult to see Chet becoming a Badger).

With Minnesota coach Richard Pitino on the hot seat, it’s probable rival recruiters will suggest it should be an easy choice to play at their programs where the future leadership is more certain.

Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph will for a second straight year be the ambassador for the 3M Open. The second-year PGA tournament will be July 23-26 at TPC Twin Cities and played without spectators. Today Rudolph will be at 3M headquarters in Maplewood helping with a tourney associated food drive.

When the Minnesota Wild play in the rescheduled Stanley Cup playoffs this summer, it will be interesting to see the development of forward Kevin Fiala who was dazzling opponents when the COVID-19 pandemic closed the NHL regular season in March. Fiala looks like a breakout star playing for interim head coach Dean Evason, whose experiences together date back to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.

Fiala was inconsistent in production and attitude with the Admirals. Evason, who coached the minor league Admirals for six seasons, saw a player with potential needing to mature. Fiala tied his NHL career high of 23 goals last season. In the last five games he had seven points including four goals.

Wally Langfellow, publisher of Minnesota Score magazine and also heard on Score Radio, is running for mayor of Robbinsdale. Langfellow has been covering sports in the Twin Cities since 1982.

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