Wild – Page 78 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Could Wild Lose $1.5 Million Per Game?

Posted on September 14, 2012September 14, 2012 by David Shama

A Sports Headliners hockey source estimates the Wild could lose up to $1.5 million per game if the upcoming NHL season is postponed or cancelled.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players expires tomorrow night. If a new deal isn’t struck during the immediate hours ahead the source predicted it could take until about January 1 to start the season.

Even having a new agreement in place by then would be better than eight years ago when failed negotiations between players and owners wiped out the entire season of 2004-05. “A terrible time,” the source said.

His believes the Wild might lose $1 million in ticket revenues for each game played next season, plus other revenues including concessions, merchandising, suite purchases and parking. The pending work stoppage comes at an unfortunate time for the Wild who with the summer signing of free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter caused such a stir in the local sports market it’s possible the franchise could move to No. 2 in popularity behind the Vikings.

Most NHL players don’t get paid until the season starts but Parise and Suter received bonuses of $10 million this summer, according to the source. He also said the Wild ownership is probably working on a plan now regarding how front office employees will be compensated if the coming season is delayed for a long time.

Wild players have been working out at local rinks including the Bloomington Ice Gardens and Orono Ice Arena. They are expected to be physically prepared whenever the season starts.

Football Notes & More:

The Gophers (2-0) are favored by only a few points to defeat Western Michigan (1-1) tomorrow at TCF Bank Stadium, and there was talk earlier in the week about the Broncos being the odds-makers’ choice. Either way it doesn’t impact senior Gophers quarterback MarQueis Gray.

“As a freshman I was worried what outsiders thought about us,” Gray said. “You realize the only people that matter are the ones wearing the uniforms or that’s in this building (Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex). The comments and stuff that people say doesn’t stick to me anymore.”

Minnesota players were aggressive and focused last week, despite playing FCS New Hampshire. Coach Jerry Kill wants his team to approach each game with an “underdog” mentality, regardless of the opponent. “We feel we should do that every weekend,” Gray said looking back on the New Hampshire game.

The 6-4, 250-pound Gray ranks eighth among Big Ten rushers with 177 yards. He’s no proponent of sliding to avoid tacklers. “I don’t think about it,” he said. “I just think about how big I am. I just use my size and know that I am basically like a d-end playing quarterback. I can fall forward to get two yards. Lowering my shoulder or trying to get out of bounds are my best options. So sliding is never an option.”

Speculation a few years ago was the Gophers’ Ra’Shede Hageman would be a standout tight end in college. Although he played offense and defense at Washburn High School, he knew his preference.

“I didn’t care about defense,” he said. “I didn’t like it.”

Now a junior and one of the most promising defensive linemen in the Big Ten, Hageman has three sacks in two games and is tied for the Big Ten lead in that category with Purdue’s Kawann Short.

Broncos quarterback Alex Carder threw five touchdown passes last Saturday in a 52-21 win over Eastern Illinois. Since the start of the 2010 season he’s thrown 67 touchdown passes. The Broncos rank No. 13 in passing offense (333.50 yards per game) among NCAA major college teams.

Carder, who is on preseason watch lists for the nation’s top quarterback, is one of five fifth-year starters on the Broncos offense. The lone Minnesotan listed on the roster is Jonathan Harden, a 5-9, 319-pound No. 2 nose tackle from Cretin-Derham Hall.

Western Michigan lost its opening game this season at Illinois (24-7) but the Broncos are considered a contender to win the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

The Broncos are 0-3 against Minnesota, with the last meeting in 1977, a 10-7 loss to the Gophers. Broncos alumni include Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings and former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema.

Big Ten teams lost six of 12 nonconference games last weekend. The conference has only three teams in the Associated Press top 25, with Michigan Statethe highest ranked at No. 10. The SEC has four teams ranked among the top nine, including No. 1 Alabama.

Don’t believe the hype that major college football programs just schedule “cupcakes” in nonconference games. Northwestern plays Boston College tomorrow and the Wildcats’ first two games were against Syracuse and Vanderbilt. Michigan State plays Notre Dame tomorrow and opened its season against western power Boise State.

Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said Adrian Peterson still has a “ways to go” in reaching the performance level he had last season prior to his ACL injury.

Musgrave was asked if he’s ever seen anyone run harder for his size than Percy Harvin (5-11, 184): “No. Never have. What would be the term? No fair dodging. That’s Percy’s theme. He’s not going to avoid anybody. He can make people miss… he’s agile but he’s not going to run out of bounds. He’s going to run through or run over somebody.”

When St. Thomas played at Saint John’s two years ago the game drew 16,421 fans, a record for Division III football. The Tommies and Johnnies, both 2-0, play tomorrow in Collegeville with such a large crowd expected the Saint John’s sports website is featuring information about travel and parking information.

John Gagliardi will coach his 600^th game for Saint John’s tomorrow. He is college football’s winningest coach and is in his 60^th season as Johnnies head coach.

Gophers’ wrestling coach J Robinson, a former U.S. Army Ranger, was asked about the September 11 anniversary this week and he said Americans have been mostly “insulated” from evil during their lives. “They got a real taste of what it was like and they didn’t like it,” he said.

But Robinson also said the “wake-up call” has been forgotten by many and not much has changed since 9-11-01 for millions of Americans other than security checks in airports. That won’t alter the reality that America has its enemies. “Evil exists in the world and we are very naive in not addressing it,” Robinson said. “Evil can not co-exist with good anywhere.”

This school year is his 27^th as Gophers wrestling coach. The program has won three national titles with Robinson as coach. At 66 years old, how many more can he coach? “A bunch,” he said. “I plan to but whether I will or not that’s another thing.”

Robinson expects his team to be ranked No. 2 or 3 nationally this fall. “Half of our team are All-Americans and the other half want to be All-Americans. So that’s good.”

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien is guessing that Apple Valley junior point guard Tyus Jones will attend Kentucky. He said the prep super star’s final three college choices could be Kentucky, Michigan State and Duke.

Kentucky coach John Calipari visited Apple Valley High School this week and North Carolina coach Roy Williams will be in town next week, according to Lien.

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Worth Noting

Posted on August 27, 2012August 27, 2012 by David Shama

Ted Mondale, Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority executive director, will be the speaker on Thursday, March 14 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. NBA referee and Minnesota native Ken Mauer Jr. will speak at C.O.R.E.S. on Thursday, September 13. Anyone interested in more information can email Jim Dotseth at dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

The Vikings and Gophers will give local football fans a rare local football TV doubleheader on Thursday night. The Vikings play at Houston in their final preseason game starting at 6 p.m. and KARE 11 will televise. The Gophers open their nonconference season on the road in a 10 p.m. start against UNLV broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Vikings rookie offensive tackle Matt Kalil is relieved to have experience now in preseason games. He told Sports Headliners it was “nerve-racking” prior to the preseason opener against the 49ers but he was comfortable after the first play.

The Vikings offense is similar to what Kalil played in at USC but more sophisticated, he said. The Trojans, Kalil predicted, will probably win the national championship.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, 29, acknowledged he’s in his prime years after leading the team in tackles last season with 174 and playing in his first Pro Bowl.

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier recalled how substandard the secondary performed on last season’s 3-13 team. He said an opposing secondary coach even called to tell him “you guys have to address your secondary.”

“…It’s not a lot of fun, but I think we have addressed some of those issues this offseason and now if we can keep our guys healthy it should help us to answer some questions when we play opposing offenses,” Frazier said.

John Gagliardi is preparing for his 60^th season as Saint John’s head football coach. He needs 16 wins to reach 500 career victories (484-133-11). The Johnnies open their season on Saturday at home against Northwestern College.

Saint John’s will finish fourth in the MIAC, according to a conference coaches poll. St. Thomas is picked to win the title followed by Bethel, St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Concordia, Gustavus Adolphus, Augsburg, Carleton and Hamline.

Former Gophers captain and Roosevelt High School alum Mike Svendsen will be among those inducted into the Minnesota Old Timers Football Association Hall of Fame on September 18 at the Prom Center in Oakdale. Others being induced that evening are Bob Meslow, Tom Turk, Frank Seidel and Dick Walker, according to www.tommiesports.com.

Phil Esten, University of Minnesota Alumni Association president and CEO, will leave his position in October to become executive associate athletic director for advancement at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his alumni assignment, Esten was associate athletics director for the Gophers.

Based on sales at wnbastore.com, the Lynx’s Maya Moore jersey is the best seller in the WNBA. Teammate Lindsay Whalen’s jersey ranks No. 10 among league players. The Lynx are No. 1 in team merchandise sales.

Pearl Park Field No. 1 in the Washburn High School district has been renamed Harmon Killebrew Field. Improvements to the field have been made including new dugouts and a scoreboard featuring Killebrew’s name and No. 3 uniform number. Funding of $300,000 was provided by the Hennepin Youth Sports Program, and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Washburn has historically fielded some of the state’s better baseball teams.

Wild coach Mike Yeo and college coaches will speak at the first Herb Brooks Foundation Leadership Conference on September 15 at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The conference goal is to share with coaches from all levels of hockey what motivates players.

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Low Expectations for U Opening Foe

Posted on August 1, 2012August 1, 2012 by David Shama

The UNLV team the Gophers open the season against on August 30 is predicted to finish ninth in the 10-team Mountain West Conference, according to a poll of media who cover the league’s football teams.

The Gophers’ second opponent, New Hampshire, will be a fourth place team in the 11-team Colonial Athletic Association, according to a poll of media and coaches. Reporters covering the Mid-American Conference predict Western Michigan will finish third in the six-team West Division. The Broncos are the third team on the Gophers nonconference schedule that concludes against Syracuse, a team that is forecast by the media to place seventh in the eight-team Big East. (All polls referenced here were announced last week or this week.)

UNLV has been 2-10 and 2-11 in two seasons under third-year coach Bobby Hauck. The Rebels have finished 2-6 and 1-6 in conference standings. Mountain West media, who picked Boise State to win the league title, didn’t include any UNLV players on the 25-player preseason all-conference team.

Asked about the predicted low finish for the Rebels, Gophers coach Jerry Kill said: “I can’t control the people that we play. I can control what we do and I am more concerned about the Gophers and us getting started and getting ready to play UNLV.”

Kill has known and respected Hauck for years. Hauck was a national championship coach at Montana before taking the UNLV job.

The Gophers are in no position to disregard UNLV when the teams play in Las Vegas, or the next three nonconference teams — all of whom come to TCF Bank Stadium. Big Ten media predict a last place finish for the Gophers in the Legends Division after Minnesota was 3-9 overall in 2010 and 2011.

Kill is establishing his program in year No. 2 including academics. The team’s cumulative GPA’s for the fall and spring semesters during the 2012-13 school year have been over 3.0. The GPA’s compare favorably with Northwestern football players, a school long known as among the best in the country academically.

Kill said the plus-3.0 results aren’t something that will happen every semester. “You take 115 students; it’s hard to do that good. …I’ve been coaching for 29 (years) and most of the time you get excited if you’re about a 2.55 or 2.6 overall in football because you deal with so many numbers. Those GPA’s (fall and spring) are exceptionally high.”

Gophers and other notes:

Condolences to family members on the passing Monday night of Murray’s Restaurant owner Pat Murray who was 72. Pat was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2011. He was a popular figure not only at the restaurant but as a civic leader in Minneapolis. “People knew what he was like. He was very dedicated professionally and personally,” his son Tim Murray said. “He loved everything about the restaurant business yet somehow juggled his time to do all he could for his kids.”

Visitation is scheduled tomorrow from 4 to 8 p.m. at Washburn-McReavy Edina Chapel. Memorial services Friday will be at St. Olaf Catholic Church downtown beginning at 10 a.m. and visitation will be one hour prior. Memorials of the donor’s choice are welcome.

Kill meets with the media tomorrow, and has several practices open to the public from August 4-8, all beginning at 10:25 a.m. at the Gibson-Nagurski Complex. The Gophers open practice on August 4.

The Big Ten Conference has a rule that athletes transferring from one member school to another can’t receive a scholarship from the new program. However, the NCAA will allow Penn State football players to transfer to Big Ten schools and receive scholarships.

Congratulations to Dick Larson, Rick Meyer, Mike Wilkinson and others who helped make possible the Murray Warmath conference room at the new fitness center at Friendship Village in Bloomington. A celebration at Friendship Village was held last week attended by former Gophers, including those from Warmath’s first team in 1954 to his last in 1971. The conference room is decorated with Warmath memorabilia including his national championship and Big Ten title teams.

The Vikings are not only an overwhelming favorite to finish last in the NFC North, but they have lost 11 consecutive division games.

Look for Charlie Johnson, moved since last season from left tackle to his more comfortable position of left guard, to possibly lead a resurgent and rebuilt offensive line that also includes rookie left tackle and No. 1 draft choice Matt Kalil.

New Vikings defensive coordinator Alan Williams worked several years for Tony Dungy. Williams said yesterday a lot of his philosophies and schemes “comes from coach Dungy.”

The Wild have sold over 3,000 new season tickets since July 4 when the signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were announced.

With a likely NHL labor dispute ahead, the 2012-13 season for the Minnesota Wild and other clubs probably won’t start as scheduled. The Wild are scheduled to open the season at home October 13 against the Avalanche. By early November the NHL schedule may resume.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, last night Francisco Liriano was the first White Sox starter to make his debut the same season against the same club he was acquired from since Marino Pieretti on June 19, 1948.

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