Wild – Page 73 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers No Cinch for NIT Return

Posted on February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 by David Shama

The possibility draws a yawn from Gophers basketball fans but the team that once had NCAA Tournament goals is now more realistically competing for a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Gophers, 14-9 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten, have eight remaining regular season conference games including four at home against Purdue, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State. The Gophers must play Iowa, Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road. Of those seven opponents, only Northwestern, 1-8, and Penn State, 2-8, have losing records in the Big Ten. The other five teams are a combined 33-15 in league games.

Let’s say the Gophers win four of their final eight regular season games—leaving them at 18-13 overall and 7-11 in league games going into the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago March 11-15. That resume won’t interest the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. To qualify for the “Big Dance” the Gophers probably would need to win all their games in Chicago, earning automatic entry into the NCAA field of teams as the Big Ten Tournament champion. The chances of winning the league tourney are minimal because several conference teams have superior personnel.

If the Gophers win one Big Ten Tournament game before losing a second, the team’s overall record could be 19-14. That probably earns a place in the NIT, the postseason tournament for second level teams.

But what if the Gophers only win three more games? If they went 3-5 in their remaining regular season games and then lost the Big Ten Tournament opener, Minnesota’s record would be 17-15. Last year Indiana finished 17-15 and was left out of the NIT’s 32-team field. A record around .500 is no sure thing to win the approval of the NIT Selection Committee which must include Division I teams that won their regular season league titles but weren’t invited to the NCAA Tournament.

The Gophers have participated in the NIT 14 times and won three championships, although the 1998 title was later vacated because of NCAA violations. Minnesota’s record in 2013-2014 was 25-13, including five consecutive victories in the NIT to win the tourney. With four starters returning, the Gophers looked like a team that could finish among the top six in the Big Ten standings and be selected for the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota breezed through a mostly unchallenging nonconference schedule, playing 10 games at home and compiling an 11-2 record with impressive team numbers in steals and assists.

But the Gophers haven’t recovered from a slow start in the Big Ten with a schedule that had them playing three of their first four games on the road. Minnesota also lost its first two home games on the way to a 0-5 start.

Despite the disappointing record to date of 3-7 in the Big Ten, the Gophers have played competitively. Minnesota has lost six conference games by a total of 21 points.

What’s the problem? The Gophers need to be better defensively. They rank ninth among conference teams in points given up per game (league play only) at 66.3 points per game.

A major issue is defensive stops when needed, particularly late in games. That’s not just on the defense because other teams get second and third shots by out rebounding Minnesota. The Gophers rank 13th out of 14 teams in defensive rebounding.

The Gophers have created problems for themselves, too, with excessive fouling and giving opponents free throws. Also, Minnesota’s free throw percentage of .665 ranks 11th in the league.

Despite the struggles, coach Richard Pitino likes his team’s attitude. Since the 0-5 start, the Gophers are 3-2, with home wins over Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska. “They’ve never really felt sorry for themselves, and just found a way to win,” Pitino said. “That’s the way it’s gotta be with our guys.”

Gophers senior point guard DeAndre Mathieu said if the team becomes better defensively they can beat anybody. “We definitely aren’t down on ourselves. We feel like we can win a few games.”

The Gophers played last Saturday against Nebraska and for the first time this winter don’t have a midweek Big Ten game. The rest is welcome during a long season when fatigue and nuisance injuries can pile up. “These guys are banged up,” Pitino said. “It’s never been a question of effort, so they need that break because we don’t have a lot of depth right now.”

The Gophers play a physical Purdue team tomorrow led by twin-monsters Isaac Haas (7-foot-2) and A.J. Hammons (7-feet). In the season opener at Purdue Hammons hurt the Gophers the most, with 11 points and nine rebounds in the Boilermakers’ 72-68 win.

The Gophers need different results tomorrow, because—strange as it is to write on February 6—this team is playing for an NIT invite more than anything else right now.

Worth Noting

Timberwolves Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew Wiggins and Gophers center Mo Walker, both natives of Canada, know each other. “We’re pretty cool,” Walker said. “Like if I see him, I’ll say, ‘What’s up?’ He’ll say, ‘What’s up?’ He knows who I am and I know who he is.”

The Gophers football team opens its 2015 schedule on Thursday, September 3 against national championship contender TCU, but Michigan and Wisconsin have interesting first weekend games, too. The Wolverines will have a rare road opener at Utah on September 3 in a game sure to draw a boisterous crowd in Salt Lake City. The Badgers play Alabama, another national title hopeful, on Saturday, September 5 at neutral site AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A hockey source told Sports Headliners he believes the Wild will “make several million” dollars from the outdoor game (NHL Stadium Series) scheduled for next winter at TCF Bank Stadium. The February 21 game against the Blackhawks—the Wild’s first outdoor game at home—can be a revenue stimulus for ticket sales and other income sources.

The source said the game represents a tryout for the Wild to one day host the prestigious and even more lucrative Winter Classic outdoor game held annually in a host NHL city during early January. The NHL’s Stadium Series and the Winter Classic are national TV attractions, generating revenues for the league and NBC TV.

The Wild has won four consecutive games. New goalie Devan Dubnyk has given up only four goals in the last five games. After a slow start before the NHL All-Star Game break, the Wild are trying to recover and make the playoffs. “They’ve got a lot of ground to make up,” the source said.

Minnesota State University, Mankato is the No. 1 ranked men’s college hockey team in the polls. Coach Mike Hastings might be the hottest college hockey coaching name in the country now. During the next couple years the Mavericks may have to fight to keep Hastings who reportedly annually earns $225,000. He is considered an outstanding communicator who relates effectively to players and others.

The Minnesota Minute Men announced the 10 candidates (high school seniors only) for the 31st Annual Mr. Hockey Award: Jack Achcan (Burnsville), Will Borgen (Moorhead), Dixon Bowen (East Grand Forks), Jake Jaremko (Elk River), Dylan Malmquist (Edina), Jack Poehling (Lakeville North), Nick Poehling (Lakeville North), Jack Sadek (Lakeville North), Peter Tufto (Saint Thomas Academy) and Christiano Versich (Saint Thomas Academy). Stephen Headrick (Breck) and Dyllan Lubbesmeyer (Burnsville) are the finalists for The Frank Brimsek Award in recognition of the state’s top senior goaltender. The 31st annual Mr. Hockey Awards Banquet will be held at noon on Sunday, March 8 at the Grand Ballroom at RiverCentre.

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Frazier Knows Vikes but Will It Matter?

Posted on October 20, 2014October 20, 2014 by David Shama

A year ago Leslie Frazier was the Vikings head coach but on Sunday his job will be to help defeat his old team. In his role as the Bucs defensive coordinator, Frazier will not only lead the plan of how to stop the Vikings but he is qualified to provide information to his fellow Tampa Bay coaches about the personnel he had on the Minnesota roster.

“I am sure this is going to be one he wants to win,” Vikings linebacker Audie Cole told Sports Headliners today. “You want to beat your last team. I am sure he’s going to be thinking about it.”

Frazier’s familiarity with players he coached here could help the Bucs. “It always gives a coach the upper hand” knowing his former players, said Vikings long snapper Cullen Loeffler who like other players interviewed voiced respect and fondness for Frazier.

It won’t be Frazier’s intent but he could witness an improvement in the Vikings’ offense on Sunday. The Vikings, 2-5, have managed to score just 45 points in their losses, averaging nine points per game. Frazier has seen his unit give up the most points, 204, of any NFL team so far this season.

The Bucs, 1-5, had a bye yesterday. It had to be welcome after a 48-17 loss to the Ravens a week ago Sunday. In that game Tampa Bay was behind 38-0 in the second quarter. The Bucs are giving up an NFL worst 422.8 yards per game and fans have to wonder if the team’s Tampa 2 defensive alignment is passé.

Frazier and Bucs coach Lovie Smith have long been advocates of the defense but things haven’t gone well in their first season together in Tampa Bay. Results aren’t so good in the points production category, either. The Bucs have scored 120 points and that total ties them with the Vikings for lowest in the NFC.

The Vikings, though, have 120 points in seven games, while the Bucs have only played six games. Minnesota has scored just two touchdowns in the last three games, all losses. Playing with “spare parts,” the Vikings’ offense is without five starters who began the season as regulars including quarterback Matt Cassel, running back Adrian Peterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph.

The Vikings’ offense has to be hoping it’s the same old same old on Sunday for the Bucs’ defense. Both teams are almost desperate in need of a win as the midpoint in the NFL schedule approaches. The Vikings will take that win against anyone including their former coach, Frazier. “We’ll talk to him after the game but I gotta get ready for a win against Tampa Bay,” said defensive end Brian Robison. “That’s all I am concerned about.”

Worth Noting

A bronze statue of Bud Grant will be unveiled outside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers stadium this week. Grant coached the Bombers to four Grey Cup championships. He led the Bombers of the CFL before coaching the Vikings to four Super Bowls.

Troubled wide receiver Percy Harvin, who was traded last week by the Seahawks to the Jets, was dealt by the Vikings to Seattle in 2013 for draft choices that turned out to include defensive back Xavier Rhodes and running back Jerick McKinnon, both contributors to this year’s team.

Here’s how Sports Headliners ranks the Big Ten teams at about halfway through the college football season: 1. Michigan State; 2. Ohio State; 3. Nebraska; 4. Wisconsin; 5. Maryland; 6. Minnesota; 7. Iowa; 8. Penn State; 9. Northwestern; 10. Michigan; 11. Rutgers; 12. Purdue; 13. Illinois; 14. Indiana.

A representative of the Florida Citrus Bowl attended the Gophers-Purdue game on Saturday and later congratulated Minnesota coach Jerry Kill on his team’s win. Located in Orlando, Florida, the bowl was formerly known as the Capital One Bowl and is seeking a new corporate sponsor. The Citrus Bowl is played on January 1 of each year. The Gophers, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, haven’t played in a January 1 bowl game since 1962.

Kill on coaching this team: “I told them all year, if you listen to us (the coaches), you listen to me, good things will happen.”

The Gophers sold about 9,700 student tickets for the Purdue game with about 9,000 of those tickets used, according to an athletic department source. The announced attendance of 51,241 was a TCF Bank Stadium record for a Gophers game.

Former Iowa All-American quarterback Chuck Long, who was in Minneapolis to provide color commentary on the game, was asked if he will lobby Big Ten Network decision makers to work the telecast of the November 8 Gophers-Hawkeyes game on November 8. “They won’t let me do Iowa games,” he said laughing. “I show too much bias.”

The optimistic guess on Gophers running back David Cobb is he will be a midround NFL Draft choice. Cobb, who is fourth among Big Ten rushers with 144.7 yards per game, doesn’t have breakaway speed but he is an extraordinary runner for Minnesota. A senior, the Gophers wish they had redshirted him.

The Gophers Tommy Olson is one of 167 semifinalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy given to the best college football scholar-athlete. Others on the list include Division II players Thomas Obarski, Concordia, St. Paul; Charlie Kem, Southwest Minnesota State; and Ryan Gerts, Winona State; and from Division III Josh Treimer, Bethel; Josh Sinnen, Northwestern, St. Paul; and J.T. Ford, Saint John’s.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen was in his second season with the Bulldogs in 2010 when the Gophers were looking to replace head coach Tim Brewster. Mullen, who has Mississippi State No. 1 ranked in the polls, wasn’t interested in the Gophers job, a source told Sports Headliners on Saturday.

The Don Lucia Radio Show will be heard Monday nights from 6 to 6:30 p.m. on 1500 ESPN. The first show of the season is tonight and the Gophers hockey coach is joined by co-hosts Judd Zulgad and Wally Shaver.

Minnesota Wild—the restaurant—is scheduled to open later this month at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The hockey-themed restaurant will seat over 200 customers and will be located beyond the Terminal 2-Humphrey security checkpoint. There will be displays of goalie helmets, jerseys from the Wild and also youth players from around the state of Minnesota, and a mosaic made with hockey pucks in the shape of the State of Hockey logo.

WCHA commissioner Bill Robertson meets tomorrow with representatives from Xcel Energy Center and Visit Saint Paul to discuss ideas to make the league’s March 20-21 Final Five Tournament a hospitality success. The agenda will target ways to benefit fans including through the involvement of bars and restaurants.

George Smilanich, 92 and a former Iron Range coach, served in World War II and was a consultant for the new movie “The Fury” starring Brad Pitt. Smilanich drove a Sherman tank during the war.

Highlights of the Gophers’ baseball schedule for next year include a March 4 exhibition game in Fort Myers against the Twins. The Gophers will also play games at Maryland and Rutgers, the two new programs in the Big Ten Conference which now has 13 teams (Wisconsin doesn’t participate in baseball). Minnesota’s home opener is scheduled for March 24 at Siebert Field. The Big Ten Tournament will be at Target Field May 20-23.

Major League Baseball faces a roll of the dice every year with the World Series and the weather gods but 2014 should not be problematic. When the Royals host games 1 and 2 in Kansas City Tuesday and Wednesday evenings temps will be in the 60s and 70s. Giants games in San Francisco figure to be played in mild weather too.

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Vikings Likely to Tame Lions on Sunday

Posted on October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 by David Shama

Although the Vikings embarrassed themselves in last week’s loss to the Packers in Green Bay, a win seems likely against the Lions on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. You don’t have to buy a crystal ball from the Vikings Locker Room store at Mall of America to be optimistic.

The 42-10 loss to the Packers occurred on Thursday, while this past Sunday the Lions’ inept field goal kicking cost them a win at home against the Bills. The Vikings, 2-3, will have the advantage of extra preparation time for the Lions game. No doubt the 3-2 Lions wish they had played Thursday because more rest might increase the chances of injured offensive stars Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush being available in Minneapolis.

The Lions will be using their third field goal specialist this year against the Vikings after dismissing Alex Henery who missed three kicks in the Bills game. That doesn’t speak well for the Lions, long known as a dysfunctional organization and one the Vikings have a 69-34-2 all-time record against including wins in three of the last four games.

The Vikings played without Teddy Bridgewater at Green Bay but the 21-year-old rookie quarterback returns on Sunday. That figures to give the whole team a lift while juicing an adoring crowed that will roar approval every time he completes a pass or scrambles for yardage.

The Vikings should be in a determined mood on Sunday—looking for a make-good performance. Mike Zimmer preaches resiliency and the Vikings can show what they have learned from their head coach. Veteran defensive end Brian Robison talked to Sports Headliners awhile ago about Zimmer’s influence.

“It doesn’t matter what happens to us. All we can do is move forward and get ready for the next opponent,” Robison said last month. “I think that’s the approach he takes and I think that’s the approach he’s instilled into us. …And that’s what you want out of a head coach.”

Worth Noting

The game with the Lions can be considered sold out. Vikings’ executive vice president Lester Bagley told Sports Headliners on Monday that at mid-week there are likely to be tickets returned by the Lions from their visiting team allotment.

The game at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus will be the club’s fifth, counting regular season and preseason games. Bagley said reaction by fans to the team’s new temporary home has been positive. “Our fans love it because it’s such an upgrade from the Metrodome.”

Transportation and parking have been a challenge for fans. “Our message is plan ahead on how to get in and out ,” Bagley said.

This Saturday and Sunday is the only weekend when the Gophers and Vikings both have home games at TCF Bank Stadium. Scott Ellison, the Gophers’ associate athletic director for facilities, said it will require eight workers about 12 hours to prepare the stadium for Sunday’s NFL game after the Gophers finish their contest with Northwestern on Saturday. The Gophers’ game begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday but Ellison said even if Minnesota was playing at night his crew could have the stadium ready Sunday morning for the Vikings.

The Vikings announced yesterday quarterback Chandler Harnish has been signed to the practice squad where he provides depth behind Bridgewater and Christian Ponder. Harnish replaced McLeod Bethel–Thompson who was released.

Last month ESPN announced the results of what fans think of all 122 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises. The results were based on surveys, research and calculations developed by Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center that figures “how well teams turn fans’ money into wins.” Results on each franchise were calculated in the following eight categories: affordability (price of tickets, concessions, parking), coaching, fan relations, ownership, players, stadium experience, bang for the buck (“wins in the past year, per fan dollars”) and title track.

Title track means “championships won or expected within the lifetime of current fans.” In that category baseball’s Cardinals are No. 1 while the Timberwolves are last at 122nd. The Vikings are No. 102 while the Wild are 61st and Twins 51st.

In the overall rankings of the 122 franchises the Wild are No. 24, Twins 62, Vikings 103 and Timberwolves 114. The Wild are fourth among all franchises in stadium experience while the Twins are ninth.

The Wild rates No. 7 among 14 Western Conference teams, according to the October 8 Sports Illustrated NHL power rankings. The Blackhawks—picked by S.I. to win the Stanley Cup—are first in the rankings with the Kings, Ducks, Blues, Avalanche and Stars also ahead of Minnesota. The magazine said the Wild’s strength is on “the blue line” and noted Minnesota defenders last season allowed “just 27.7 shots-against per game, fifth best in the NHL.”

The Wild’s season opening game will be tomorrow night starting at 7:30 p.m. at Xcel Energy. A pre-game party outside Gate 2 will be from 5 to 7:15 p.m. and includes music, food, beverages, happy hour prices and interactive games.

In a move to reduce payroll, the Blackhawks traded former Gopher Nick Leddy to the Islanders. Leddy, a 23-year-old defenseman reportedly making $2.7 million, was a key contributor to the Blackhawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup championship.

Author George Rekela’s new book, A History of Professional Hockey in Minnesota from the North Stars to the Wild, is a well researched and entertaining description of the highs and lows of the NHL here through the years. More at Historypress.net.

Former Gophers’ golfer and New York Times best selling author Harvey Mackay received a surprise birthday present last month when wife Carol Ann provided—on 48 hours notice—a trip to Scotland to watch the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup, he told Sports Headliners, had been on his personal “bucket list.”

East Ridge High School junior quarterback Seth Green is expected to announce his college choice October 15 with Michigan State, Minnesota and Oregon the contenders. The guess here is he will choose Oregon where he visited September 6.

Dr. Phil Esten, the former Gophers’ associate athletic director who was most recently working in the University of California athletic department, starts a new position next week as deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer for intercollegiate athletics at Penn State. His career experiences also include University of Minnesota Alumni Association president.

Congratulations to Les Viken from Fosston High School and Bill Weiss of Chisago Lakes High School who earned their 100th career coaching wins on September 26. Viken’s record at Fosston is 100-102 in 20 seasons while Weiss’ record is 100-75 in 18 seasons at Chisago. Congratulations, too, to Underwood High School coach Chuck Ross who won his 100th career game last Friday, increasing his 18 year record to 100-75.

Bridget Hennen is the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for women’s soccer after scoring three goals in Bethany Lutheran College’s two recent wins. Hennen, a junior midfielder from Apple Valley, was also the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week in late September two years ago. She is only the second player in UMAC history to win both awards during her career.

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