Wild – Page 55 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins President Remains Upbeat

Posted on June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column including the Twins, Vikings, Gophers and Wild.

The Twins won two of three games against the Central Division leading Indians last weekend after demoting 2017 American League All-Star Miguel Sanó to Single-A Fort Meyers on Thursday. Dispatching the underperforming Sano for hitting and conditioning rehab to Florida doesn’t mean club president Dave St. Peter is down on his club. Sanó has played in 37 games for the Twins this season, hitting .203 (30-for-148) with nine doubles, seven home runs, 27 RBI, 14 walks and 66 strikeouts.

Center fielder Byron Buxton’s performance has been a disappointment, too. Like Sano, he has been injured and his stats are not impressive, either. Buxton has played in just 28 games, hitting .156 with no home runs and four RBI.

Buxton and Sano were counted on before the season to be leaders of the now struggling Twins offense. St. Peter told Sports Headliners this morning that the two young players have “tremendous potential” and he remains optimistic about them. “I can assure you we’re not giving up on them,” he said.

Minnesota’s record is 31-37 and the Twins are 5.5 games back of the Indians who they don’t play again for several weeks. Their last remaining meetings against the Indians come in late July and August—a total of three series.

The Twins need to be at their best for a three-game series against the Red Sox that starts tonight at Target Field. Minnesota has struggled for years against baseball’s better teams. The Red Sox, 49-24, are co-leaders of the competitive East Division and play the Twins for the first time this season, while planning to use three starters who are a combined 22-11.

Chris Sale, 6-4, is scheduled to start tonight, followed by David Price, 8-3, and Rick Porcello, 8-4. The Twins will counter with Jose Berrios, 7-5, Lance Lynn, 4-5, and Kyle Gibson, 2-4.

Minnesota’s starting pitching has been a team strength. “We have more consistent good starting pitching than we’ve seen here in a long, long time,” said St. Peter who is hopeful of the Twins earning their way into the postseason.

The Twins are 3-10 this season against East Division teams. The co-leading Yankees, 47-22, swept a four-game series against Minnesota in New York earlier this year.

The Vikings’ 2018 offense could be exciting, and not only because of new quarterback Kirk Cousins and holdovers like Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. It’s anticipated the schemes and playcalling of new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo will be impressive.

“He’s got a lot of creative things under his belt,” Vikings offensive lineman Nick Easton told Sports Headliners. “He likes to keep a defense on edge, (and) never let them get a beat on what we’re doing. I think it’s going to really pay off for us.”

DeFilippo’s coaching resume includes the 2007 season working for Lane Kiffin when the Bloomington, Minnesota native was head coach of the Oakland Raiders at age 31.

Brandon Zylstra, the 2017 Canadian Football League All-Star wide receiver from Spicer, Minnesota, impressed the Vikings this spring. DeFilippo gave the impression last week that the 6-2, 215- pound 25 year old could make the final roster.

“…He’s a big, strong guy,” DeFilippo said. “People are going to have a hard time getting up in his face and pressing him. He has tremendous hands. He’s smart. He’s one of the guys that can line up anywhere, (and) we could put him at any position. We’re very fortunate he’s on our football team.”

Athlon magazine includes North Dakota State safety Robbie Grimsley, from Hutchinson, Minnesota, on its first-team FCS All-American defense.

Athlonsports.com believes the “Big Ten might have the best collection of head coaches among Power 5 leagues for the 2018 season.” Predictably, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer leads the list. Minnesota’s P.J. Fleck is No. 10 in the 14-team Big Ten and ranked ahead of Maryland’s D.J. Durkin, Rutgers’ Chris Ash, Indiana’s Tom Allen and Illinois’ Lovie Smith (No. 14).

Steven Lassan’s June 12 story for Athlon.com praises Fleck’s recruiting success and he writes the second-year Gopher coach has Minnesota “trending in the right direction.”

Vic Viramontes, the Gopher quarterback who recently transferred back to junior college to become a linebacker, has 19,600 followers on Twitter.

Bobby Bell, who turned 78 on Sunday, is arguably the most legendary former Golden Gophers football player still alive. Bell was a two-time All-American defensive tackle and won the 1962 Outland Trophy. From 1960-1962 he was a major reason why the Gophers had a 22-6-1 record with two Rose Bowl appearances and one Big Ten title. The 6-4, 228-pound Bell was a high school quarterback and so athletic he could have played any of several positions for coach Murray Warmath.

When I was involved with Minnesota North Stars marketing years ago I worked with general manager Jack Ferreria. He was one of the most professional front office people I have ever known. He joined the Wild earlier this month as an assistant general manager.

Ferreria, 74, coached new Wild GM Paul Fenton when he was an amateur player. Fenton later was on the San Jose Sharks roster when Ferreria was the team’s general manager.

Fired Wild GM Chuck Fletcher may keep his Minneapolis suburban residence for awhile. Fletcher’s son will be entering his senior year of high school later this summer.

Minneapolis-based Jostens might produce the Washington Capitals Stanley Cup rings. Jostens has a history of rings with Stanley Cup winners and also produced the rings for the 2018 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Comments Welcome

Battle for Fans Tight in Twin Cities

Posted on May 21, 2018May 21, 2018 by David Shama

On a gorgeous Sunday yesterday we got a reminder about our crowded sports marketplace. The Twins and United played outdoors, while the Lynx opened their season indoors at Target Center.

The Golden Gophers and our seven pro teams (add in the Saints, Timberwolves, Vikings and Wild) often butt heads on the same day. The winners are Minnesota sports fans who have a plethora of professional and Gopher teams to follow in a society that thrives on choices and variety in everything from autos to wieners.

This area’s sports smorgasbord is among the most diverse in the nation. We also rank at the top with our lineup of (mostly) modern venues: Allianz Field, CHS Field, Target Center, Target Field, TCF Bank Stadium, 3M Arena at Mariucci, U.S. Bank Stadium, Williams Arena and Xcel Energy Center.

Ask the business side leaders of Minneapolis-St. Paul teams how they view all the competition from one another, and then get ready for a politically correct answer. They will tell you how great it is to have a rich sports landscape and that all the teams can be successful financially. The stock answers will include how they cheer for each other and wish for success by all.

Kumbaya? Maybe.

Truth is, if you eliminated several of the teams, popularity and box office success would increase for at least some organizations. Last Sunday the Twins drew 28,577 fans and the Lynx attracted 13,002, according to the Star Tribune. Despite playing in spectacular weather against border rival Milwaukee, the Twins missed a sellout by about 10,000 customers. The Lynx, in a seaon opener celebrating last year’s WNBA title and playing a top team in the Sparks, had over 6,000 seats that went unsold. The United reported a sellout audience of 23,117 at its temporary home at TCF Bank Stadium.

At 3.5 million, this is one of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the country and that large population helps to support all of our entertainment options, but imagine if neither the Twins, nor the Lynx, or United, had box office competition in the spring and summer. What if the Gophers didn’t have to battle the Vikings, Timberwolves and Wild for football, basketball and hockey customers?

Some operations get hurt in this crowded sports marketplace that includes a battle not just to sell tickets but also to generate revenues from suites, sponsorships, venue and broadcast advertisers, concessions and merchandising. Despite four WNBA titles in seven years, the Lynx work hard to sell tickets including in the playoffs. The Timberwolves and Gophers, even with infrequent successes, have histories of disappointing their fans. Support for these teams can be iffy and conditional.

You can add the Twins to that list. They and MLB also face the problems of inclement weather, lengthy games and slow pace of play.

The Vikings win any and all popularity contests here. With a winning team and fabulous venue in U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings can withstand any number of competitors for the sports dollar in this marketplace. The NFL, despite its infamous reputation for head trauma, remains at the top of the American sports kingdom including in Minneapolis.

The Wild has produced competitive teams but little to cheer about in the playoffs. The organization, though, excels at customer relations and is in sync with the rabid hockey market in Minnesota. Hockey fans have a special passion for their sport and the Wild has never seriously broken the bond with its fanbase.

It’s niche loyalty that serves the Saints, too. The local independent baseball franchise’s shtick has branded the Saints as entertainment first, winning second. Comedian Bill Murray is an owner and there seemingly is no end to the gimmicks in the organization’s marketing plan. The Saints do it right, including dividing up their CHS Field seat allotment into thirds for season tickets, groups and individual sales.

Saints games are family friendly and tickets inexpensive compared with many of the offerings in this market. Affordable pricing is part of the United’s strategy, also. The second-year Minnesota MLS franchise is aiming to fill its stadium with what executives see as an unfilled opportunity to satisfy the existing and growing soccer interest in the state.

Part of what’s fueled the population growth in this area is an increasing immigrant population. Many of those newcomers love the “world’s sport”—soccer. A lot of immigrants are young and like other Minnesota millennials have grown up playing soccer.

Millennials, though, are an elusive target for some sport marketers. Baseball, football and golf all want to score with millenials who have a reputation for short attention spans. Ask a millennial if he watched a Twins game, or even the Vikings, and a predictable answer is he opted for a 25-second video recap.

For now at least there isn’t any downsizing in this busy sports marketplace that includes the Minnesota Whitecaps, the women’s pro hockey franchise that has been around since 2004. Leaders announced last week the Whitecaps are joining the National Women’s Hockey League. That’s the highest level of American women’s professional hockey, so we’re big league in that, too.

Expansion of the sports menu appears likely with Minneapolis-St. Paul trading the 3M Championship senior golf tournament for a PGA Tour event starting in 2019. More competition for the sports dollar locally but another option for the consumer.

Comments Welcome

Age in Footrace with CB Newman

Posted on May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column including a former teammate’s perspective on ageless Terence Newman, and speculation about who the state’s most coveted 2019 prep football recruit will choose for college tonight.

That was no golden parachute the Vikings gave the 39-year-old cornerback Newman by re-signing him. He started seven of 16 regular season games last year, and could even be a regular again.

“Oh, for sure,” said Ben Leber. “There’s definitely a little bit of a step that he’s lost, but he’s still better than 80 percent of the rookies and the young guys out there.”

Leber, the retired Vikings’ linebacker who provides analysis during team radio broadcasts, played with Newman at Kansas State where the former Wildcat was also a track star. Leber estimates his former teammate still has “90 percent” of his top football speed.

Newman’s 15 years of experience allows him to mentor other defensive backs, and to use his knowledge most effectively for his own benefit. “His mind is invaluable as far as leadership…(he also) puts himself in the right position,” Leber said. “You watch the way he plays the game now. He’s so precise with his angles. He knows exactly where the receivers are going to end up.”

Newman is returning for his fourth season with Minnesota. He has the most career interceptions (42) among active NFL players and is the oldest active defensive player in the league. He has participated in 47 games with the Vikings, making 33 starts.

It wouldn’t surprise Leber if the Vikings and Newman agree on another contract a year from now. He describes Newman as “a machine,” while acknowledging people may kid the veteran about playing at such an advanced age.

“If you’re 39 going on 40 and you still have sweet hips like he does, no, you’re not old,” Leber said. “It’s fun to rib him about it because it just doesn’t happen in our league. But he’s definitely put himself in position to earn that, keep doing it and to keep collecting checks—and to keep chasing that (first Super Bowl) championship.”

Sounds like Edina’s Quinn Carroll will announce Notre Dame as his college choice tonight on KARE 11. The offensive tackle is among the most sought after prep players in the country for the class of 2019 and he has shown considerable interest in the Golden Gophers, but I will be surprised if Carroll doesn’t verbally commit to the Fighting Irish during the 10 p.m. newscast of the Minneapolis NBC affiliate.

“I would be absolutely flabbergasted if it’s not the Notre Dame Fighting Irish,” said Ryan Burns of GopherIllustrated.com. “They’ve been the consensus favorite here for many months.”

Burns believes Notre Dame’s football prestige and the Catholic focus of the school favors an ultimate commitment for the Irish. “It also doesn’t hurt that Notre Dame just had two offensive linemen go in the top nine picks of the NFL Draft, while Minnesota hasn’t had an offensive lineman drafted since 2006,” Burns said.

Carroll’s dad, Jay, was a tight end for the Gophers and named the team’s Outstanding Offensive Player in 1983. Burns estimates the younger Carroll has visited the Minnesota campus more than 10 times since Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck was hired in January of 2017. “It’s not every day you see a guy keep coming back to campus…and not end up choosing the University of Minnesota,” Burns said about so many unofficial visits.

Burns predicts the Gophers will finish as Carroll’s No. 2 choice. As of late the Gophers have been “bridesmaids” on high profile recruits including Council Bluffs, Iowa quarterback Max Duggan who chose TCU.

Fleck received good news recently when the NCAA granted medical redshirts to two of his more promising young players. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and wide receiver Demetrius Douglas, both 19, have been given additional eligibility following injuries last season. Winfield will be a redshirt sophomore next season, and Douglas a redshirt freshman.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said at Sunday’s Minnesota Football Honors Awards that coach Mike Zimmer wanted to use the team’s first round draft choice on an offensive tackle but Spielman and the scouting department opted for cornerback Mike Hughes.

Jake Wieneke, the free agent wide receiver from Maple Grove signed after the NFL Draft by the Vikings, prompts comparisons with Adam Thielen but Wieneke had a much more impressive college career. Wieneke was named to All-America teams all four seasons at South Dakota State and is the Missouri Valley Conference’s all-time leader in career receptions and receiving yards. Detroit Lakes native Thielen, who was signed as a free agent by the Vikings in 2013, has become one of the NFL’s better wide receivers but in college at Minnesota State his highest honor was being named All-Northern Sun Conference South Division as a senior.

A source close to the Wild told Sports Headliners there probably isn’t anyone within the organization that will fit the candidate pool to possibly become owner Craig Leipold’s next general manager.

Former North Star and ex-Tampa Bay GM Brian Lawton is interested in the position. He said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” on Sunday that he has spoken with Leipold.

Former Sharks and Kings executive Dean Lombardi, with ties to the old North Stars, might be another name to follow.

While Wild GM Chuck Fletcher was let go last week, it appears head coach Bruce Boudreau will return for a third season. No NHL coaches were fired during the regular season for the first time since the 1960s.

Kevin Gorg, the Fox Sports North reporter on Wild and Twins games, will be sharing his wagering expertise again this year at Canterbury Park which opens for live racing Friday. He’s sold a $2 tip sheet at the Shakopee racetrack for years.

Not a good start for new Twins pitching coach Garvin Alston whose staff has an American League second worst ERA of 5.29. Dating back to last Friday’s first game of the homestand, the Twins have given up 30 runs in four games.

The inaugural Cretin-Derham Hall Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet will be May 17 at the University of St. Thomas. Matt Birk, Joe Mauer and Chris Weinke are among those who will be inducted.

Early birthday wishes: Lynx point guard and Gopher women’s basketball coach Lindsay Whalen turns 36 on May 9.

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