Wild – Page 79 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Tyus Jones Open to Early College Exit

Posted on October 23, 2013October 23, 2013 by David Shama

Debbie Jones, mother of Apple Valley senior point guard Tyus Jones, told Sports Headliners her son is open to playing only one year of college basketball. “If the opportunity presents itself, then absolutely,” Debbie said.

Leaving for the NBA after one season has been discussed with coaches recruiting Jones. The possibility of playing only as a freshman hasn’t deterred the biggest names in college coaching from pursuing Jones who is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 5 player in the nation for the prep class of 2014.

The final schools Jones is considering signing a Letter of Intent with are Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Minnesota. NCAA rules allow high school seniors to sign from November 13-20. There is a second signing period next spring from April 16-May 21.

Jones plans to sign with a school in November. An announcement regarding his college choice will come during the first or second week next month, according to his mom.

How the announcement will be done hasn’t been determined but Debbie said, “We’ll probably do something at the school (Apple Valley).” She indicated her son’s announcement is likely to happen at the same time as Jahlil Okafor’s. A well publicized pact between Jones and Okafor to attend college together is likely to remain in place. Okafor is a center from Chicago’s Whitney High School and is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 1 player nationally in the 2014 class.

Debbie said it’s “doubtful” her son and Okafor will choose separate schools, and acknowledged the Chicago superstar doesn’t have the Gophers on his final list of possible colleges. “If they go together to school that unfortunately would eliminate the Gophers,” Debbie said.

Okafor’s list of schools is reportedly Baylor, Duke and Kansas. He and Tyus visited Kansas together last weekend and over Labor Day weekend were at Baylor. Okafor is expected to join his friend at Duke this weekend.

Jones and his mom leave tomorrow for Duke, the last official visit the two will make in narrowing down the list of schools. On Saturday they will watch the Blue Devils in an exhibition game against Bowie State.

Tyus has been one of the most coveted athletes in Minnesota prep history. Debbie said the family is appreciative of all the attention but it will be a relief to end the selection process.

She also said there haven’t been any offers from schools that are in violation of NCAA rules. “I think people kind of know who we are. They know they’re dealing with people who don’t operate that way.”

Worth Noting

Debbie Jones’ youngest son, eighth grader Tre Jones, starts tryouts with the Apple Valley High School varsity on November 11. She said Tre will know after the first week of practice whether he made the team — as older brother Tyus did as an eighth grader.

The Timberwolves play the Sixers tonight who have a preseason roster that includes former Gophers Royce White and Rodney Williams. White leads the Sixers in personal fouls per game, 4.25. In five games he is averaging five points. Williams has played in one game for 19 minutes and didn’t score but had one block, rebound and assist.

Look for the Vikings to honor Cris Carter at their home game on November 7 against the Redskins. The former wide receiver was enshrined earlier this year in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Despite the combined dismal 1-10 record of the Vikings and Giants, their Monday night game was the most watched NFL telecast on ESPN in three weeks, according to a story yesterday on Sportsmediawatch.com.

Fans are welcome at the Gopher Gridiron Luncheon program starting at 11:30 a.m. on Friday at Jax Café in northeast Minneapolis. The program includes a Gophers coach and two players with Mike Grimm as emcee. More information is available at GoalLineClub.com. Membership in the Goal Line Club is not required to attend the luncheon which previews Minnesota’s game at home on Saturday against Nebraska.

A hockey source requesting anonymity told Sports Headliners that Wild owner Craig Leipold’s “patience” with coach Mike Yeo may not last more than a few more weeks. “They should be (playing) better than they are,” the source said earlier this week before the Wild defeated Nashville 2-0 last night.

The Wild is 4-3-3 in the first few weeks of the season. Not only is the win total disappointing but the team isn’t reaching its potential in creating “scoring chances,” the source said. The Wild had one goal last night until scoring on an empty net with 24 seconds remaining.

This is Yeo’s first NHL employment as a head coach and third season with the Wild. The team made the playoffs last season after a five year absence but the source suggested the Wild isn’t playing at last year’s level when the final record was a mediocre 26-19-2.

With a ho-hum start, the Wild has been behind the Vikings, Gophers football and even the Timberwolves (season hasn’t started) in generating local sports interest.

Sam Warning, the Gophers 21-year-old junior wing, is tied for the nation’s scoring lead in points with Kevin Roy from Northeastern. Warning has nine points in four games after scoring 23 last season in 29 games. He is the first Missouri native to ever play for the Gophers.

The Gophers men’s and women’s hockey teams are ranked No. 1 in the country in the USCHO.com polls.

Daydreaming about the Twins? What if the front office used some Target Field revenues to acquire Tigers stopper Max Scherzer who is expected to sign with another MLB team during the offseason. Scherzer in a Twins uniform gives the club a No. 1 starting pitcher and signing with Minnesota weakens Central Division rival Detroit. Thoughts of a starting staff in a few years of Scherzer as the No. 1 guy, Alex Meyer No. 2 and Kyle Gibson No. 3 is intriguing.

Yesterday’s announcement that Paul Molitor will join the coaching staff with responsibilities that include in-game strategy leaves Twins followers wondering just how “hot” Ron Gardenhire’s manager seat is.

Local business leaders Dave Mona and Susan Adams Loyd are volunteer co-chairs for the National Senior Games to be held at various Twin Cities venues during July of 2015. The National Senior Games is the largest multi-sport event in the world for adults 50 and over, and 12,000 athletes and 30,000 guests are expected to attend the 2015 gathering. Loyd competes in track and field events for seniors, while Mona’s sports interests include co-hosting WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle.”

Comments Welcome

Owner: Wolves Have Title Aspirations

Posted on October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 by David Shama

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor was asked this week if he expects his team to end a 10-year absence from the playoffs next spring. The Wolves had playoff potential last season but injuries ruined their season and the club finished with a 31-51 record.

“When I talk to team members and coaches and all that, their expectation is they want to prepare to win the (NBA) championship,” Taylor told Sports Headliners. “They’re not just saying they want to make the playoffs. The expectation is how deeply can they go.”

The Wolves have a nucleus of three players who are among the best in the NBA at their positions, power forward Kevin Love, point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic. But the optimism coming from Wolves training camp is also based on other players including offseason acquisitions Kevin Martin at shooting guard and small forward Corey Brewer.

New president of basketball operations Flip Saunders is responsible for those moves and others. His work has impressed Taylor who gives Saunders an “A” grade since being hired last spring.

“I had high expectations of Flip and he’s made all of them come true,” Taylor said. “His level of communications is excellent and I am very appreciative of all he’s done.

“In the personnel area we had talked previously about the type of personnel he wanted. He just moved on it very quickly and found the type of players the staff wanted.”

Saunders has more than 20 years of professional basketball experience. This is his second period of employment by Taylor and the Wolves, having worked here from 1995 – 2005, first as general manager and mostly head coach. Head coaching assignments with the Pistons and Wizards followed before Taylor brought him back to his organization.

Taylor describes his top basketball executive as a “unique” hire because of their previous relationship and all of Saunders’ skills. He said Saunders’ experiences after he left the Timberwolves of working for other teams and also a short period as an NBA analyst for ESPN “rounded out his understanding of the league.”

Taylor is projecting the Wolves will make money in 2013-14 for the first time in years. “It’s not like we’ll make a lot, probably $2 or $3 million,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s other basketball team, the Lynx, is in the WNBA Finals for the third time in three years. Last year the franchise earned a profit approaching $500,000, the first time the Lynx made money, Taylor said. This year the team could finish in the black and “approach” $1 million.

Taylor said the pending deal with the city and AEG Facilities to renovate Target Center for $100 million is taking “longer than anticipated” but he remains optimistic about it being completed. After the renovation he expects Target Center to be a better arena than “over 50 percent” of the other NBA venues.

Worth Noting

New Vikings quarterback Josh Freeman had differences with his Bucs coach, Greg Schiano. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said, however, Freeman is excited about a “fresh start” here and believes the two will “co-exist.”

Although Freeman’s career performance has been inconsistent, he was reportedly wanted by multiple NFL teams. After being released last week by the Bucs, David Steele wrote the following on Sportingnews.com: “The rest of the NFL likely doesn’t feel about him the way the Bucs do. He’s done nothing to make the entire sport give up on him now, as it did on JaMarcus Russell.”

Rib injuries are slow to heal and whether Christian Ponder is healthy enough to be an option to start on Sunday against the Panthers isn’t known. But Matt Cassel seems the more likely starter with Ponder trying to heal and Freeman too unfamiliar with the offense to start.

Ponder may soon lose his starting job for the remainder of the season. “I am a man of faith,” Ponder said. “I believe that God’s got my future in his hands. I don’t know what that means. But I am trying to get healthy and I think ultimately it will make me a better quarterback.”

Is Ponder’s confidence shaken after being replaced two weeks ago by Cassel and now the acquisition of Freeman who has started 59 NFL games dating back to his rookie season in 2009? “In my eyes I am getting prepared to play,” Ponder said. “As long as I play well, then I am the one on the field.”

Vikings defensive end Kevin Williams is a team leader and is unsure what impact Freeman will have. “I don’t know, we’ll have to see. The management made a decision, we have to go with it.”

Williams, though, knows Freeman has talent. “He’s a first rounder for a reason. He has great potential. He just has to bring it to the table and shine.”

Tomorrow the Vikings are offering “No Service Fee Day” sponsored by U.S.Bank. Fees are waived for fans purchasing single game tickets through Ticketmaster.com.

Steve LaCroix, the Vikings vice president of sales and marketing, e-mailed that tickets remain for home games against the Redskins November 7, the Eagles December 15 and the Lions December 29.

The Vikings sold “just under” 8,000 new season tickets this year, according to LaCroix.

The SportingNews college basketball yearbook ranks the best coaches in each conference. Mick Cronin is No. 4 in the American Athletic, Shaka Smart No. 1 in the Atlantic 10 and Buzz Williams No. 1 in the Big East. All had their names prominently mentioned with the Gophers’ opening last March after Tubby Smith was dismissed.

Although the magazine said it was time for Smith to move on, he is rated the third best coach in the Big 12 where he now leads the Texas Tech program. The top five coaches in the Big Ten, according to the publication that predicted the Gophers will finish ninth in the conference, are Tom Izzo, Thad Matta, John Beilein, Bo Ryan and Tom Crean.

Timberwolves players Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio bought 500 tickets to give away for last night’s Lynx WNBA Finals Game at Target Center. The Lynx, with a 2-0 series lead in the best of five series, play the Dream on Thursday night in Duluth, Georgia with ESPN 2 televising the game starting at 7:30 p.m. Minneapolis time.

It might be an interesting meeting today for Gophers football coach Jerry Kill and athletic director Norwood Teague. The two normally meet at noon on Wednesdays, and Kill suffered a seizure last week preventing him from coaching the team on Saturday at Michigan. Although Kill has experienced multiple seizures since becoming the Gophers coach, last week was the first time he missed a game.

The Gophers 0-2 start in Big Ten games isn’t pretty and neither are their offensive and defensive numbers in conference games. Minnesota ranks 10^th in rushing offense and eighth in rushing defense. The Gophers are 11^th and eighth in passing offense and defense. Minnesota is tied for last in scoring offense and ranks eighth in scoring defense.

Matt Majka speaks to the CORES group on Thursday, November 14 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. Majka is chief operating officer of Minnesota Sports and Entertainment, a company whose business interests include the Minnesota Wild. Reservations for the luncheon and program should be made by Monday, November 11. Anyone interested can contact Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.

The Wild, 0-1-1 against Winnipeg last season, play the Jets tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center. Zach Parise has 23 points in 24 career games against the Jets, while Jason Pominville, has 23 in 27 games. Both Wild wings have played most of their NHL careers with other teams.

It’s a major disappointment for the Wild to have Charlie Coyle, the 21-year-old center with star potential, out three to four weeks with a sprained knee.

Comments Welcome

Bowl Prospects Dim for Golden Gophers?

Posted on September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 by David Shama

What now for the Golden Gophers?

Passionate Gophers fans had a disappointing day on Saturday when Iowa defeated Minnesota 23-7. It was a game many thought was a likely win because Iowa was coming off a 4-8 season and had lost its opening game to Northern Illinois.

Wrong assumption.

It was suggested here last Friday the Hawkeyes have better personnel than the Gophers. Correct analysis.

The Hawkeyes dominated Minnesota starting with the line of scrimmage where Iowa’s superiority in offensive and defensive linemen was evident from the opening minutes of the game. But the Hawkeyes were better in other positions, too, including linebackers, running backs, quarterbacks and wide receivers.

The Gophers came into the game 4-0 and need two more wins to be bowl eligible. Iowa was supposed to be win No. 5, with the Hawkeyes projected among the most likely victims on Minnesota’s Big Ten Conference schedule. Now, with seven league games remaining, all Gophers fans can do is cross their fingers the team can find a couple more wins.

Except for the November 2 game at Indiana, the Gophers will send inferior personnel onto the field in the weeks ahead. And the Hoosiers might be Minnesota’s equal in talent, and will have home field advantage. Assuming a victory against the Hoosiers is a mistake.

The Gophers play at Michigan on Saturday where the shaky but undefeated Wolverines are difficult to defeat. Michigan has had two weeks to prepare for the game. Then the Gophers have their own bye before playing in Evanston on October 19 against one of the best Northwestern teams in years.

Nebraska comes to TCF Bank Stadium on October 26 and the Gophers might have a chance for an upset against a Cornhuskers defense that can be clueless. But don’t count on a win and for sure the Gophers face long odds against Wisconsin at home on November 23 and at Michigan State November 30. A declining Penn State program (the Nittany Lions are at TCF Bank Stadium on November 9) might provide the best opportunity for a win among the remaining opponents.

Reality is the Gophers may fail to qualify for a bowl game. The four wins leading up to the Iowa game were nice but came against the softest nonconference schedule in the Big Ten. UNLV, New Mexico State, Western Illinois and San Jose State — a combined 7 wins and 12 losses for four teams without much personnel. Nobody in the Big Ten had it easier than Minnesota.

That’s the kind of schedule Gophers coach Jerry Kill wants. He’s trying to reshape the talent-poor program he was given in 2011. The plan calls for winning all the nonconference games, finding a couple of league wins and going to a lower level bowl. Extra practices have value but just as important is using a bowl game for a sales tool with recruits, part of the patter the program is improving and will be a winner.

The Gophers are better than two years ago. This is not the same program Kill inherited. The talent is superior, the players are bigger and stronger. They play hard but are often overmatched and out-executed.

It takes time to construct a more competitive roster. Kill has only had two recruiting classes that were the work of him and his assistants. Building a football program is an exercise in not only acquiring skilled players but also increasing total numbers on the roster and putting those players through a process of becoming stronger and more experienced.

The Gophers might surprise their disappointed fans and find a couple more wins this season but even the most optimistic scenario won’t have Minnesota doing much better than last year’s 2-6 Big Ten record. Minnesota hasn’t won half of its conference games since 2005 when the Gophers were 4-4.

Put down 2015 as a possibility for climbing to .500 in the Big Ten. Kill knows what he is doing and the Gophers will be better next year, and the year after. For disappointed Gophers fans that might not represent much encouragement but could be reality.

If you want to rant, don’t direct your comments to Kill. Send them to the school administration. Tell them you want the Gophers to have more resources comparable to the better college football programs including improved practice, academic and training table facilities.

And if you want a little encouragement look at undefeated Northern Illinois’ record this season. The program Kill helped build — led by quarterback Jordan Lynch who Kill recruited and developed — is 2-0 against Big Ten teams. The Huskies are the first Mid-American Conference team in history to have two wins against Big Ten teams in one year.

Just ask Iowa and Purdue.

Worth Noting

A source with knowledge about the Twins organization told Sports Headliners he expects the club to announce today Ron Gardenhire won’t return as manager for 2014. The same source said Paul Molitor could be the team’s new hire.

Don’t expect the Twins to name a successor today if an announcement is made regarding Gardenhire leaving the franchise. If interested, the well-liked Gardenhire is almost certain to be offered a position within the organization if he is no longer the manager. You can be sure Gardenhire’s Twins colleagues and bosses feel bad he finished the season two wins short of 1,000 career victories.

The Twins completed their 2013 season yesterday with a loss to the Indians and a final record of 66 wins, 96 losses. The Twins were also 66-96 last year and 63-99 in 2011. The three year cumulative record, 195 wins, 291 losses, is the worst in Twins history dating back to 1961.

What’s next? Well, from 1997-2000, the Twins’ record was 270 wins, 376 losses. Breaking that record is in play unless the club unexpectedly improves its starting pitching — by a lot.

Average home attendance declined by about 4,000 per game. The season per game averages since Target Field opened in 2010 are: 39,798, 39,112, 34,512 and 30,588.

Adding to the frustration for fans is seeing the success of Twins alums with other teams. Among the achievers in 2013 were outfielder Michael Cuddyer who won the National League batting title with a .324 average and pitcher Francisco Liriano who tied for third in the NL with most wins, 16.

Relief pitchers and ex-Twins Joe Nathan and Grant Balfour were top six finishers in AL saves. Slugger David Ortiz hit 30 home runs and drove in 103 runs, while Carlos Gomez hit 24 home runs and stole 40 bases — painful reminders the Twins had less productive players at designated hitter and center field.

Sports Illustrated offers an NHL preview including power rankings in its September 30 issue. The Wild is ranked No. 6 in the 14 team Western Conference. The Penguins are No. 1 in the Eastern Conference with the Blackhawks No. 1 in the West and the magazine’s choice to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

S.I. chose Wild second year defenseman Jonas Brodin as its “Breakout Player” in the Central Division. “Polished beyond his years in the defensive zone, look for the 20-year-old Brodin’s offensive game to blossom this season,” S.I said.

The new Robbinsdale High School Athletic Hall of Fame will induct its first honorees from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, October 18 at Robbinsdale Middle School. The inductees are Dennis Claridge, Don Dale, Verne Gagne, Tom Heinonen, Julian Hook, Len Lilyholm, Tom Loechler, Irv Nerdahl, Larry Peterson, Cindy Sneddon, Randy Sonenfeld and H.W. “Doc” Spurrier.

Robbinsdale High closed in 1982 but the building is still used by the middle school. More information about the hall of fame is available by calling 763-537-3317.

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