Wild – Page 74 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Ex-Coach Expects AP to Remain a Viking

Posted on April 17, 2015April 17, 2015 by David Shama

Former Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton would be shocked if Adrian Peterson refuses to play for the Vikings this season. He is also convinced the future Hall of Famer won’t cause problems for coach Mike Zimmer after the Vikings begin practices.

Dalton was a Vikings assistant from 1999-2005. Peterson didn’t become a Viking until 2007 but Dalton knows him from being around the team. Although Peterson’s agent has made statements about whether his client’s future should be with the Vikings, Dalton questions whether that’s how Peterson feels.

Dalton told Sports Headliners Ben Dogra’s stance could be based on trying to leverage a better contract here or elsewhere. Yesterday the NFL reinstated Peterson from his suspension involving mistreatment of his son last year. The fact Peterson is now officially eligible to play in 2015 prompted the question of whether the controversial superstar will intentionally cause trouble with Zimmer and the team as a means for escaping Minnesota.

“I would say absolutely not,” Dalton said. “I think he would be 180 degrees from that. Having known the young man since he was drafted, (I know) his heart is in the right place.

“He’s more than served his punishment for disciplining his son. I would suggest that the good people of Minnesota will welcome Adrian back and Peterson will welcome that.”

Dalton said Peterson won’t give Zimmer and teammates “anything less than 100 percent.” During an eight-year career Peterson has scored 86 touchdowns and in six seasons rushed for more than 1,000 yards. Although Peterson turned 30 in March, Dalton expects Peterson to be refreshed and determined after playing in only one game last year because of the suspension.

Despite Dogra’s comment about playing in Minnesota not being in his client’s best interest, Dalton believes the most likely of scenarios would have Peterson with the Vikings next season. “I definitely don’t think they will release him,” Dalton said about speculation the Vikings might want to rid themselves of Peterson’s team-high expensive contract and his seemingly disgruntled agent.

A trade is a possibility, Dalton acknowledges, but he said transactions involving teams and a star player like Peterson can be challenging. Still, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman has a history of pulling off surprising trades including sending troublesome receiver-runner Percy Harvin to the Seahawks in 2013 for three draft choices.

Dalton laughed recalling an early experience with Peterson. During Peterson’s rookie training camp team owner Zygi Wilf approached Dalton. Wilf asked Dalton if he wished the Vikings could have drafted Peterson when he was still coaching. “I would still be your running backs coach,” Dalton answered.

Worth Noting

When the Wild defeated the Blues last night in their opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs it was only the second loss in April for St. Louis. The Blues had also won five of the last six games at Scottrade Center against the Wild, outscoring Minnesota 22-10. But the Wild, who last year struggled to win on the road in the playoffs, were impressive last night with a 4-2 victory.

For the first time in program history, the Gophers last night had two players selected in the WNBA Draft. Center Amanda Zahui B. was the No. 2 pick overall by Tulsa and forward Shae Kelley was the No. 35 choice by the Lynx.

Cameron Botticelli, a senior leader as a defensive tackle on last season’s Gophers football team, is unlikely to be chosen in the NFL Draft. “I am predicted as an undrafted free agent which is fine by me,” he told Sports Headliners. “If you look back in high school and coming here as a walk-on, I’ve never had the red carpet rolled out for me—which is totally fine, but I have had an opportunity and I feel that’s all I need to show that I belong.”

Botticelli didn’t draw interest from major college football programs while he played at Marquette University High School in Milwaukee. He surprised observers by becoming a starter and contributor on the Gophers’ defense. Now he’s hoping to succeed in the NFL and is using Minneapolis-based Blake Baratz (Institute for Athletes) as his agent. Botticelli has been training with other Gophers having NFL ambitions, David Cobb, Cedric Thompson and Damien Wilson.

“Just working out every single day,” Botticelli said. “Trying to get better and give myself the best shot, wherever I get an opportunity this May.”

If not the NFL? “You know what? As far as a plan ‘B,’ it’s been well documented and I‘ve not been shy shy about it, I am just as passionate about a career in law as a career in football. So if things weren’t to work out that’s where I would be headed.”

Botticelli earned a 3.6 GPA while majoring in political science and earning a degree. He has a serious interest in politics but first would want to establish himself in the private sector. Media members, impressed with his intelligence and articulation, refer to him as “the Senator.”

“Kyle Gergely, the equipment guy, calls me the Governor,” Botticelli said. “I didn’t know how I feel about it but, yeah absolutely, that’s something (politics) I feel very passionately about and I want to pursue.”

Gophers fans were disappointed redshirt freshman quarterback Jacques Perra wasn’t available for last Saturday’s spring game because of a thumb injury. That injury isn’t expected to be an ongoing problem but it came after having a sore arm. “He has had arm problems all spring so he hasn’t been able to throw the ball with zip,” Gophers coach Jerry Kill told Sports Headliners.

Perra, a walk-on last fall from Roseville High school, could push redshirt sophomore Chris Streveler for the No. 2 quarterback spot. Perra might have more passing potential than any quarterback on the roster.

Former Gophers center Elliott Eliason is working with Teddy Archer, the local agent who also represents Austin Hollins and Maverick Ahanmisi. Eliason is hoping to secure a contract in the near future from a European team. Hollins played this past season in France while Ahanmisi was in the Philippines. Both were teammates of Eliason but one year ahead of him at Minnesota.

Eliason started 35 games for the Gophers as a junior in 2013-2014 but played fewer minutes last season than he did as a sophomore. His playing time dropped to minimal minutes in the last several games and he told Sports Headliners there was a “lack of communication” between him and coach Richard Pitino. In retrospect both he and the coach could have done more to understand each other, Eliason said.

Eliason will graduate from the University of Minnesota with a marketing degree this spring. Eventually he hopes to play in the NBA. During his junior season he finished third among Big Ten players in blocked shots and his 6.6 rebounds per game was sixth best in the league.

Jessica Plant—announced this week this week as one of two winners of the 2015 Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award—is the first female winner from the Gophers to ever be honored with the prestigious Big Ten scholarship. The award began in 2008 and is an annual scholarship recognizing one male and one female Big Ten senior student-athlete pursuing a postgraduate degree for achievements in academics, athletics, extracurricular activities and leadership.

Plant, a swimmer at Minnesota, is a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, two-time Academic All-American and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. She enters her final undergraduate academic semester with a 4.0 GPA as she progresses toward her art history and classical civilizations degrees.

Minnesota State, Mankato athletic director Kevin Buisman announced three candidates have been selected as finalists in the search for a new women’s hockey head coach. The three are Bemidji State women’s hockey assistant Amber Fryklund, former St. John’s men’s head coach John Harrington and UMD assistant coach Laura Schuler.

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Tyus Jones Supporters in Indy Tonight

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

Tyus Jones will have plenty of Minnesota support tonight when he and his Duke teammates play Wisconsin for the NCCA championship in Indianapolis.

The Blue Devils freshman point guard can look into the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium and see his mom, dad, brothers and other family and friends he has known while growing up in the Minneapolis area. Family is important to Jones and he earned many admirers while becoming a high school All-American at Apple Valley High School. Tonight he will be hoping the Blue Devils can defeat the Badgers just like they did in early December in Madison when folks from his Minnesota constituency were also in the stands cheering for him.

Jones enjoyed a Midwestern homecoming in Madison on December 3, leading then No. 4 ranked Duke to an 80-70 win over No. 2 Wisconsin. Jones scored 22 points, driving to the basket with success and making outside shots (2 of 3 three point attempts). The 6-foot-1 Jones also had a team-tying high of six rebounds and the most Duke assists with 4 during 37 minutes on the floor.

In the past the Badgers have shown vulnerability to guards like Jones who can penetrate the lane and score, or pass to teammates for easy shots. But teams make adjustments and tonight will show what answers the Badgers have for Jones.

There’s no doubt both the Blue Devils and Badgers are better than when they played in December. Duke starts Jones and two other freshmen, center Jahlil Okafor and forward Justise Winslow. Those players are not only exceptionally talented but have progressed since early December as they gained more experience. That’s a plus for Duke but Badgers fans remember that when the two teams played in Madison star forward Sam Dekker was recovering from an injured ankle.

Dekker is a junior and often shares scoring honors with Associated Press Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky, the 7-foot center. Kaminsky is a senior, as is starting guard Josh Gasser. Those three are joined in the starting lineup by two sophomores, guard Bronson Koenig and forward Nigel Hayes. All five played last year when the Badgers lost to Kentucky in a semifinals Final Four game.

All that past playing time might give the Badgers an edge tonight, just like it did in the closing minutes of last Saturday evening’s game when Wisconsin defeated a more inexperienced Kentucky team (71-64) by playing with better precision and poise. But the Blue Devils also looked like a potential national champion on Saturday night, easily defeating Michigan State 81-61.

Win or lose, Jones has proven he can play with college basketball’s best point guards. Al Nuness, the former Gopher guard and cousin to Tyus, has been impressed. “Early in the season no one knew how a freshman point guard would play,” he told Sports Headliners. “But he hasn’t played like a freshman point guard. He’s so cool, calm and collected. He sees the court as good as anybody I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t get anxious. He doesn’t try to take over the game.

“No one expects him to score a lot but he can. Everybody says he passes. He (also) penetrates. He shoots the three as good as anyone. His whole thing is getting everyone else in the game. …”

Nuness predicted it will be a “great game” tonight. As a long time Gophers booster, he has loyalties to the Big Ten but when he sorts out his emotions it’s clear he wants Duke to win. “Family always comes first,” he said.

Tonight Jones will see family and friends from Minnesota make him a priority by being in Indianapolis.

Worth Noting

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino, whose name has been linked in the last couple weeks with openings at St. John’s and Alabama, must pay the University of Minnesota $1.5 million if he decides to leave prior to April 30, 2016, according to his contract. Anthony Grant, the Alabama coach who was fired last month, was once head coach at VCU where Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague hired Grant when he was AD there. Grant’s name was mentioned with the Minnesota job before Pitino was hired by Teague two years ago.

Internet reports now are that former NBA coach Avery Johnson will take the Alabama job.

Two players the Gophers reportedly are recruiting, Chris Boucher and Mychal Mulder, were included on the All-American National Junior College Athletic Association first team announced recently. Ten players were named first team All-Americans. Boucher is a 6-10 sophomore center at Northwest Florida State College and Mulder is a 6-4 sophomore forward from Vincennes University.

Eric Musselman, the son of former Gophers and Timberwolves head coach Bill Musselman, was an assistant coach at LSU last season before recently being hired as head coach at Nevada. Eric is friends with Wolves coach Flip Saunders and it wouldn’t have been surprising if Musselman had been added to the NBA team’s coaching staff last year.

Bolder Options, the youth mentoring nonprofit headed by former Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, celebrates its 21st anniversary with a gala on Thursday evening May 28 at TCF Bank Stadium. NBC Sunday Night Football reporter and long time Minneapolis area resident Michelle Tafoya will be the keynote speaker.

The Twins open the regular season today with an afternoon game in Detroit against the Tigers, and Minnesota’s 25-man roster has changed a lot from one year ago. Twelve players weren’t with the Twins when they opened the 2014 season. Here is a listing by position of the 12: pitchers – Blaine Boyer, J.R. Graham, Tommy Milone, Tim Stauffer and Aaron Thompson; catcher Chris Herrmann; infielders – Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas; outfielders – Torii Hunter, Shane Robinson and Jordan Schafer. Graham is the only player without previous major league experience.

The Wild plays its final regular season home game tonight against the Jets and with a win in regulation can clinch a playoff spot for the third straight year. The club has sold out its previous 40 home games this season and is working on a stretch of 71 consecutive sellouts at Xcel Energy Center dating back to 2013-14.

Goalie Devan Dubnyk started his 37th consecutive game for the Wild in last Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Red Wings. That’s the most in the NHL since Evgeni Nabokov made 43 straight starts for the Sharks (in 2007-2008), according to Elias Sports Bureau. Dubnyk has given up only 62 total goals for a 26-7-2 record in 36 straight starts since joining the Wild January 15. He has allowed two goals or less in 27 of those 36 games.

The 2015 Gophers women’s hockey national championship team has 17 of 21 players returning for next season. A year from now 12 of those 17 are expected back for the 2016-2017 season, so the likelihood for continued success is considerable.

UMD is the only women’s program that has won three consecutive NCAA hockey titles. Can the Gophers win two or three in a row?

“That would certainly be the goal,” coach Brad Frost told Sports Headliners. “In 2012 and 2013 we went back to back (titles) and then lost last year in the championship game, and then won it this year. So to be in the national championship game three of the last four years and win three of those I think is remarkable. People probably think it’s pretty easy but I can promise you it’s not.”

The Gophers begin their off-ice spring conditioning work this week. Part of their endurance building in the weeks ahead will include running the steps at Mariucci Arena. Frost said players laugh about the challenge but also cry because the task is so demanding. “They love it and hate it at the same time,” he said.

Frost, who earns $170,000 from the athletic department in salary and other compensation, left town to recruit after the Gophers won the national title on March 22. He knows prospective players and their parents look at the Gophers with more interest coming off a national title. “I think we’re building something pretty special here at the University,” he said.

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Dubnyk and Wild Look at Big Stage

Posted on March 30, 2015March 30, 2015 by David Shama

What an interesting spring this will be for the Wild and “Superman” goalie Devan Dubnyk.

The Wild has six regular season games remaining before the Stanley Cup playoffs begin. A franchise with shaky playoff ambitions a few months ago, the Wild has made a remarkable recovery since acquiring Dubnyk in a trade. The man wearing a “Wild cape” has won 26 times in 34 games for Minnesota. The NHL’s hottest team and hottest goalie look like they will not only play in the postseason, but be a favorite for a deep run.

In the playoffs a superb goalie can be even more valuable than during the regular season. With a short series, it’s win or start relaxing on the golf course. The Wild and their fans hope they see the same goalie in the playoffs they’ve watched with awe in January, February and March.

That’s not a guarantee, though. Despite Dubnyk’s superhero performance so far he is (as far as we know) human. In his NHL career with three other clubs he didn’t win or compile the same impressive goals against average (1.70) and save percentages (.939) as with the Wild. A change in goaltending technique that better helps him track the puck receives at least partial credit for the upgrade that puts Dubnyk among the league’s best goalies now.

Dubnyk’s salary, reportedly at $800,000, certainly doesn’t place him among the NHL’s top paid goalies. At 28, with five previous seasons in the league, he is a journeyman who has found sudden success, almost like a character in a Broadway play. Dubnyk turns 29 on May 4 and if the Wild are still in the playoffs and toying with the possibility of winning Minnesota’s first Stanley Cup ever, it will be a great script for the 6-foot-6 Canadian.

Dubnyk, who has led the Wild to five straight wins and 10 in a row on the road, is an unrestricted free agent after this season and unless he flops in the coming weeks he will command a huge pay upgrade. Not as much compensation as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s $8.5 million per season (per Spotrac.com) but perhaps in the $4 million to $5 million range.

Those numbers are much more likely if Dubnyk doesn’t lose his kryptonite and the Wild at least make the Western Conference Finals, if not the Stanley Cup finals. An NHL title is a no-brainer for a long-term deal at major money.

Dubnyk is in his prime career years and 2015 could be his best and last chance to secure a max deal. Lundqvist is the league’s top paid goalie and six others make $6 million or more, according to Spotrac’s 2014 goalie salary rankings. If Dubynk is wowing the NHL as summer approaches, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher will have competition in re-signing the goalie he aced with his trade last January, giving up a third round draft choice to the Coyotes.

If Dubnyk has the Wild in a bidding war, the team’s fans can feel some confidence about owner Craig Leipold’s willingness to open his wallet. Leipold wants to win and he puts that in writing every time he signs the checks of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, two players he signed to long-term $98 million deals in July of 2012.

The challenge for the Wild, though, is how to fit all the salaries on their roster together and stay near the league’s expected payroll cap of about $73 million. Part of the puzzle and challenge is there are other free agents beyond Dubnyk. One helpful move could be to buyout the contract of backup goalie Niklas Backstrom who reportedly is due $4 million for next season.

The summer of 2012 was interesting. This spring will have its own drama.

Worth Noting

In Sports Illustrated’s baseball preview issue last week the magazine included a story on Byron Buxton, saying he can “hit to all fields like Kirby Puckett, possesses the arm of Russell Wilson” and “is nearly as fast as Bo Jackson.” The 21- year-old center fielder is ranked No. 1 by Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com, according to the magazine, and the publication reports the much-hyped Twins prospect threw a 98 miles per hour fast ball in high school and has been timed in 3.9 seconds from home plate to first base.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association has honored the O’Brien family including Gophers senior associate athletic director Dan O’Brien and his 15-year-old son Casey O’Brien with its Cal Stoll Award. Casey has recovered from bone cancer after an ordeal that included a seven hour operation and 24 rounds of chemotherapy. His support group includes his family and Gophers coach Jerry Kill who has praised the young man for his courage. The award is named after Stoll, the former Gophers football coach, and is given to someone who has overcome adversity.

The MFCA honored Dwight Lundeen, the only coach in Becker High School football history, as its Man of the Year on Saturday night. Lundeen coached Becker to 13 consecutive wins last year including the 4A state title.

The MFCA’s Minnesota Football Clinic had a record 1,263 registrations and 67 vendors last week. The clinic dates next year are March 31, April 1 and 2.

Joe Haeg, the 6-6, 300-pound former Brainerd High School player who walked on at North Dakota State and is now an All-American, has the interest of pro scouts and might be selected as an offensive tackle in the early rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft. He will be a senior for the Bison this fall.

Greg Kleven reported in the March 26 Eden Prairie Sun Current that Eden Prairie High School safety and linebacker Blake Cashman will be a preferred walk-on with the Gophers this summer. Kleven wrote that Cashman turned down Division I offers from Iowa State and North Dakota State, hoping to earn a scholarship at Minnesota.

Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino signed four recruits late last year for his 2015 incoming class this summer. He has three more scholarships available, although not all of them maybe used this spring. “We believe we will have a top-25 recruiting class when it’s all said and done,” Pitino wrote on his Gophersports.com blog last week.

Big Ten women’s basketball drew a record total of more than 869,000 fans for the home games of its 14 conference teams this past season. The Gophers, with an average of 3,846, finished 10th in average home attendance.

The women’s WCHA is represented by 40 current or former players at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships that started last Saturday and continues through April 4 in Malmö, Sweden. Seventeen of the women played during the 2014-15 season, while 23 are WCHA alumnae. The list includes three Gophers from the 2015 national championship team: Hannah Brandt, Dani Cameranesi and Lee Stecklein.

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