Wild – Page 80 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Williams Wants to Help Set Legacy at U

Posted on September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 by David Shama

Redshirt freshman tight end Maxx Williams impressed with his blocking and also making a difficult touchdown catch in last week’s Gophers win over UNLV. He hopes the win and his four seasons of eligibility is the beginning of a new era for Minnesota football.

“I want to know I was part of something that became great,” Williams told Sports Headliners. “I think that would be one of the best things that I can do. I helped build that program.”

The 6-4, 254-pound Williams from Waconia High was recruited by other schools including Gophers’ rivals Wisconsin and Iowa but he was never serious about any college but Minnesota. He realized he wanted to help turn around a program that has struggled for decades trying to win Big Ten games.

He also has affection for his home state. “I love it here,” Williams said. “It’s where I always wanted to be.”

Williams’ dad, Brian, played football for the Gophers and so did his uncle, Ron Goetz. His mom, Rochele, was a volleyball player at the U. Those “bloodlines,” as Jerry Kill described them, had the Gophers coach almost gushing about Williams the other day, talking about “great instincts” and the running ability of his 19-year-old tight end.

Williams impressed Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson a few years ago. Nelson’s Mankato West team beat Waconia three consecutive seasons. “He was the whole offense,” Nelson said. “When Waconia was running the ball he was the running back. When they were throwing it he was either the tight end or the quarterback. I’ve known since day one that guy can make plays. I think he’s going to be a big role in this offense.”

Nelson said injuries held Williams back last season but now there is an opportunity for the two to help improve a Gophers offense that often struggled last season and at times against UNLV. Test No. 2 comes tomorrow night in Las Cruces when Minnesota plays at New Mexico State.

Worth Noting

The Aggies better not conclude from scouting the Gophers in the UNLV game that they have seen all of Minnesota’s offense. Nelson said his team “probably showed about 50 percent of the offense” in last week’s opener. “We’re always kind of switching things up running our offense,” he said.

The Gophers may use some no-huddle offense during the season, according to Nelson.

Sophomore Rodrick Williams, who may start tomorrow night at running back in place of the injured Donnell Kirkwood, is nicknamed “Nugget” because he ate so many chicken nuggets on his recruiting trip to Minnesota while in high school. Linebacker James Manuel is nicknamed “Mule” because of his physique.

With Kill declaring Andre McDonald off the team indefinitely, the Gophers are now without three wide receivers who a year ago looked like major contributors for a few seasons. McDonald, A.J. Barker and Devin Crawford–Tufts are no longer with the team.

It’s for certain the Lions will try to exploit the inexperienced Vikings cornerback group including Josh Robinson (two years experience) and Xavier Rhodes (rookie) on Sunday in Detroit. “This is going to be a big week for them (the cornerbacks) but they’ll do a good job,” said Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier. “They’ll be ready.”

Former Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick said yesterday morning on ESPN Radio with hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic that Adrian Peterson had a “stunning” total of 33 runs of 20 yards or more last season. “At best, a team will average 11 or 12 a year,” said Billick, who will provide commentary on the FOX telecast of Sunday’s game.

Peterson, who was NFL MVP for the first time after last season, said yesterday he deserved to win the award earlier in his career.

Former Gopher Keith Ballard believes controversial and aggressive forward Matt Cooke will play a major part in the Wild’s success next season. Ballard told Sports Headliners any grievances Wild players had with Cook in the past will be forgotten in the locker room. Both Cooke and Ballard, a defenseman who contributed to national titles with the Gophers, are off-season acquisitions. The Wild open training camp next Thursday.

St. Thomas, hoping to compete again for a Division III national football championship, opens its season tomorrow with a 1:10 p.m. home game against UW-Eau Claire. The Tommies home and away games will be broadcast on WCCO Radio.

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Gerhart Open about Future Post-2013

Posted on June 7, 2013June 7, 2013 by David Shama

Toby Gerhart becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season and the Vikings’ second team running back told Sports Headliners he isn’t about to predict where he wants to be employed in 2014.

“Totally open. We’ll see. It’s going to be interesting. For me I am just focused on this year. We have a good team. …”

In three seasons Gerhart has mostly warmed the bench with a close-up view of all-world running back Adrian Peterson. The exception occurred in 2011 when he started five games, mostly because Peterson was injured. That season he rushed for 531 yards and a career best 4.9 yards per carry. In his rookie year of 2010 he rushed for 322 yards but last season just 169 as Peterson dominated the offense while coming within nine yards of breaking the NFL all-time single season rushing record.

Playing behind Peterson is something like being vice president of a country with a dictator for president. There is The Man, and then everyone else falls in line. Peterson is 28 and Gerhart is only two years younger. Peterson is incredibly gifted and also motivated including his zeal for offseason training and apparent will to play at a high level for years to come.

Gerhart, an All-American at Stanford and second round draft choice by the Vikings in 2010, is a power runner with deceptive speed. At the NFL scouting combine, Gerhart said he was timed at 4.53 seconds. He spent much of the last offseason working to increase quickness and his weight is down a few pounds from his 235 of last season. “Feel quick, feel good out here,” Gerhart said after practice on Wednesday.

Gerhart also believes his skills are that of an NFL starter but his opportunities have been so limited with the Vikings where he’s accepted his role without complaining. “It’s hard to show what I can do when you get one carry in the first (quarter) and another carry in the fourth (quarter). That’s not really my style of running. I am a grind down the defense type of back.

“I hear everybody say he only averaged three yards a carry, or whatever it is. But given the circumstances and the situation that I am in, in terms of carrying the ball, I just gotta do a job and a role. It makes it tough but, hey, we’ll see what happens.”

Obviously 2013 is a year that will provide answers about Gerhart’s future. Will the Vikings ease the pounding on Peterson and give Gerhart more opportunities in the offense? Or will Gerhart’s total carries be similar to 2012 when he had a career low 50? Will the Vikings trade Gerhart between now and their opening game in September? Such a move would acknowledge what most observers already believe and that is the Peterson system will be status quo in 2013. A trade could bring the Vikings more value in return than waiting to lose Gerhart for a compensatory draft pick next year.

Whatever the answers, Gerhart has the right attitude by emphasizing the present moment and not focusing much on a future that is only partially under his control.

“Are the Vikings going to sign me back? I don’t know,” Gerhart said. “Hopefully I put enough good stuff on tape that A they want me back, or B another team wants me…we’ll see what happens.”

Worth Noting

Gerhart reportedly earns $630,000 in base salary this season, according to various Internet sources.

Gerhart talking about expectations for third-year quarterback Christian Ponder: “I expect him to continue to grow. I think he’ll grow as a leader. So far this spring he’s actually thrown the ball really well around here. He’s good with his reads, good velocity and been accurate so far. So he’s looking good this spring.”

Gerhart and two friends were fishing on Lake Minnetonka near Big Island on Monday. “We probably caught (and released) 50 bass,” Gerhart said. “It was unbelievable. There was streaks where six casts in a row I would reel in a bass. Another time there was four casts in a row. …It was one of my best fish days of my lifetime.”

The Vikings expect 200-300 members of the press at their game against the Steelers in London on September 29.

Former Viking center Matt Birk told KFAN FM yesterday morning he and his world champion Ravens teammates will receive their Super Bowl rings today. Birk chose not to join his teammates at the White House earlier this week for a Super Bowl celebration with President Barack Obama. Birk said on KFAN that the President’s comments several weeks ago saying “God bless Planned Parenthood” were the reason he chose not to attend the White House event. Birk is known for his pro-life views.

Fox Sports North will televise the minor league Kane County game against Cedar Rapids (Twins’ super prospect Byron Buxton) on Monday starting at noon. Replay Monday night beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love said on ESPN TV yesterday morning that he and guard Ricky Rubio will workout together in Los Angeles this summer in preparation for next season.

Dave and Linda Mona have country music star Kathy Mattea booked for the fourth annual Camden’s Concert on Wednesday, July 17 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Dave e-mailed that more than $100,000 has been generated from past events to benefit cystic fibrosis research. Some revenues are generated from the silent auction, and items that will provide experiences such as great seats to a game, or riding a Zamboni are being sought for this year’s event. Suggestions can be emailed to: l.mona@creativeenvironments.net.

Some offseasons are more interesting than others, and there’s nothing boring about what lies ahead for the Wild. The club has no first round draft choice but it wouldn’t be surprising if a trade changes that before NHL teams make their picks on June 30.

Decisions will have to be made about whether to retain selected Wild free agents. Salary cap restrictions are expected to make the Wild cautious about who they bring back and also acquire, but after having a mediocre season on the ice everyone knows the team has to improve. “The single biggest need for next year is to get bigger on defense,” an NHL source told Sports Headliners.

Adding more quality players throughout the roster, including more productive scorers, is a need, too. The responsibility for making changes starts with general manager Chuck Fletcher who is being judged by an impatient owner, Craig Leipold, and skeptical fan base, according to the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The team doesn’t have a winning legacy and recently announced season ticket price increases for next year. The source said some season ticket holders are debating about renewing and could be hold-outs at Xcel Energy Center until after the schedule begins, waiting to see how the team is playing.

Although there was speculation about the job security of Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo earlier this spring, the source doesn’t believe Leipold was close to making a change. The dynamics will be different next season, though. “If the Wild gets off to a bad start, it may be the demise of the whole (coaching) staff,” the source said. “If in the first 15 games they lose 10, it will not be good.”

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Saunders Tested Buyer Interest in Wolves

Posted on May 8, 2013May 8, 2013 by David Shama

Write down the names of well-known Upper Midwest businessmen T. Denny Sanford and Bill McGuire as potential Timberwolves owners. Flip Saunders told Sports Headliners he contacted representatives of both men last summer about the Minneapolis-based NBA franchise.

At that time Wolves owner Glen Taylor was interested in identifying a majority owner for the club who would eventually take over for him. Since then Taylor decided to remain in control but less than a year ago Saunders, then looking for his next basketball opportunity, made contacts with Sanford and McGuire representatives.

Saunders, a former NBA coach who last week was named by Taylor as the Wolves’ president of basketball operations, thought that Sanford and McGuire, both wealthy basketball fans, “would be good people” for the organization. It might be that one day either or both are involved financially.

Saunders himself is now a minority owner. “The reason I’ve invested is because I believe we’re moving forward,” he said.

Saunders didn’t barter his undisclosed minority share. He paid cash and plans to buy more interest in the club some day.

The Wolves were devastated by injuries last season, finishing with a 31-51 record. The club is much better than the record indicates with Olympian forward Kevin Love, promising point guard Ricky Rubio and other worthy players but Saunders knows he has plenty of work ahead in building a better roster.

“If I had to say a word, it’s going to be a process. I am realistic. I am not going to buy into it’s great and everything is rosy… (and) everything is ready built because there are 30 other teams in the league and a lot of those teams are saying the same thing. So it’s a process but we have some pieces to put together.”

Worth Noting

Good guy and former Gopher basketball player Larry Overskei is disappointed his nephew Chris Halvorsen, a non-scholarship player, is no longer on new coach Rick Pitino’s Minnesota team. Halvorsen participated in a few workouts but since has been told the Gophers are going in a “different direction,” according to an e-mail Overskei sent at the request of Sports Headliners.

Overskei’s comments included this: “So now we have an ’M’ man, all-Academic Big Ten and graduating on May 10th with a degree in Bio-medical Engineering and he is told he is not wanted back for his last year of eligibility. GO FIGURE! Plus his uncle is a basketball alumni.”

Halvorsen, 22, played in seven games for the Gophers last season and averaged 0.6 points per game. The 6-8 former Henry Sibley High School graduate transferred to Minnesota from Valparaiso after the 2009-10 season.

Goalie Niklas Backstrom has missed all four Wild playoff games including last night’s 3-0 loss to the Blackhawks. His unavailability for the team’s first playoff series since 2008 can’t be helpful for his future with the club.

Backstrom is an unrestricted free agent this summer. At 35, he earns a reported $6 million in the last year of his contract. A pro hockey source, speaking on condition of anonymity, speculated the Wild will let Backstrom go elsewhere and use Josh Harding and Darcy Kuemper in goal for 2013-2014.

Other Wild players with expiring contacts as unrestricted free agents are forwards Matt Cullen and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Both might be playing their final games this spring for the Wild, although the source said Cullen is especially valued for his attitude. “He is a coach in the locker room,” the source added.

After last night’s game the Wild trail 3-1 in the playoffs and while “anything can happen” in postseason hockey the source also said Minnesota’s speed among its players is “not close to Chicago.” “My observation is their depth and team speed needs to improve,” he added.

He predicted this summer the NHL will announce the 2015 NHL Winter Classic will be hosted by the Wild, with Target Field the more likely site than TFC Bank Stadium.

Sports Headliners reader Tim Hoff e-mailed that on a trip to Israel he and his wife unexpectedly saw Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf. “In Jerusalem we stayed at the Ramada. While there we noticed Zygi Wilf in the lobby and were told he owned the Ramada. During our stay we toured the Israeli Museum which features the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the King Herod display. During the tour we were told one of the exhibits would soon be dedicated. The Wilf name appeared on this exhibit.”

Former Viking running back Ted Brown, who was drafted out of North Carolina State, was announced yesterday by the National Football Foundation as one of 12 players named to the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame.

Saint Benedict’s first-year second baseman Kim Lidstone saw her near-season-long 31-game hitting streak come to an end last week — the longest since 2004 in NCAA Division III softball and tied for fourth longest ever.

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