Dave Mona has “crossed paths” with many characters including probably a few he wishes he never met during a media career that dates back to the 1960s.  Certainly a guy he worked with at WCCO TV who turned out to be a serial killer fits into the category of undesirables.

Mona writes about the serial killer and also about many respected Minnesotans in his book Beyond the Sports Huddle being published by Voyageur Press and targeted for distribution starting with the State Fair in August.  The long time co-host of WCCO Radio’s Sunday morning Sports Huddle show plans to promote the book at the station’s state fair booth.

Mona, who once covered the Minnesota Twins for the Minneapolis Tribune before developing a successful public relations career, said most of the book is devoted to sports figures but approximately 25 percent is about other interesting personalities he’s known such as Garrison Keillor.

Not surprisingly, the book will offer plenty of laughs along with reminiscences and trivia. “There’s a general sense of humor throughout,” Mona told Sports Headliners recently.  “A lot of stories I hope will make people smile including a few things they’ve probably never heard before. …”

Former Twins owner Calvin Griffith is a Mona favorite.  He was interviewing Griffith about Tony Oliva but as was his habit Griffith digressed.  He brought up the name of Carlos Paula, a Cuban like Oliva but a player not well known to the general public.  Griffith recalled that Paula, a classic good hit, bad field player, once managed to misplay a ball twice on the same play in the outfield.  First Paula let the ball go through his legs, and then it bounced off the outfield wall and through his legs again.  “Calvin thought at the time that may have been the only guy to ever get two fielding errors on a single play,” Mona said.

Mona, who has written previous books on the Metrodome and the Twins, brought up Sid Hartman’s name, mentioning he has compiled the most complete list ever of “Sid-isms.”  Over the years, including on WCCO Radio, Hartman has said one thing while intending to articulate something else.

Mona said, “I’ve been keeping a written list for years. …”  On that list is the time Hartman told listeners about the lack of “INCONSISTENCY” by baseball umpires. The quote was later published in Sports Illustrated.  Another Mona favorite was Hartman’s defense of Barry Bonds, claiming there’s no evidence the home run king used “stereos.”

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NFL expert Dean Dalton on Vikings reserve quarterbacks Brooks Bollinger and Kelly Holcomb: “Both are kind of career journeymen and that’s all they will be.”

Dalton, who was a Vikings assistant coach from 1999-2005, said he’s had two offers in recent month from NFL teams to return to coaching.  Although some day he would “love” to coach again, he and his wife are first committed to raising their two teenage sons in Eden Prairie.

Former Duke and Timberwolves star Christian Laettner at No. 12 is rated ahead of Michael Jordan (No. 13) on the list of the IBM top 25 greatest players in college basketball history seen on ESPN.  That’s accurate given Laettner’s college accomplishments (the shot seen around the world to beat Kentucky) during four seasons versus Jordan’s two at North Carolina.

Gopher basketball coach Tubby Smith lost a sister to cancer two years ago.  “I tell our players people don’t care what you know,” Smith said.  “They want to know how much you care.”

Junior Mike Bruesewitz of Henry Sibley, who verbally committed to Wisconsin earlier this month, was compared to the Badgers’ Joe Krabbenhoft in an Internet story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  Krabbenhoft is a player who seldom scores many points but does a lot of things that help the Badgers win.  Both players are physical forwards, about 6-foot-7.

Undefeated Hopkins, 22-0, remains No. 1 in prep basketball expert Ken Lien’s latest rankings of the state’s top 10 boys’ teams.  St. Bernard’s has joined the top 10, replacing Wayzata.  Here are the teams: Hopkins, Osseo, Minnetonka, Henry Sibley, Cretin-Derham Hall, Benilde-St. Maragaret’s, Crosby-Ironton, Shakopee, St. Bernard’s, and Stillwater. Lien, chair of the Mr. Basketball program, compiles his top 10 based on who he considers the best teams regardless of school enrollment size.

Bad news for young women: Twins first baseman Justin Morneau is now engaged and off the short list of the town’s most eligible bachelors.

The Gopher men’s hockey team (13-13-8) is one short of the single-season school record for nine ties.  Minnesota and Wisconsin played to a 4-4 tie on Saturday. It was the Gophers’ seventh overtime game in their last 11.

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Team president Chris Wright has been with the Timberwolves franchise since one season after its inception and he’s impressed with the attitudes on this year’s young team.  Although the Wolves have the second worst record in the NBA, 11-42, Wright is encouraged by the demeanor and talent of a team he thinks can be in the playoffs in a couple of years.

“Right now we have the best chemistry and the best locker room that we have had in our franchise history,” Wright told Sports Headliners.  “Have the results on the court been what we want them to be?  No, but these guys are 21, 22, 23 year old guys.

“Kevin McHale (vice president of basketball operations) reminds us every day that experience wins games. In the end, these guys have got to grow.  They’ve got to mature.   They’ve got to gain the experience that’s necessary to win games. …”

The way Wright sees it, Wolves management will use good judgment in further shaping its talent and roster.  “The next move has got to be a very careful move because you don’t want to necessarily upset the chemistry and the progress that we’re making with this younger team that we have,” he said.  “We have some really, really nice pieces here. Now the trick is going to be how do you complement the pieces that we already have in place. …”

Wright thinks the Wolves will be a “much better team” next season.  What that translates into regarding wins and losses is anyone’s guess, although he speculates a season that produces 40 or some wins could be two years away.

Eventually Wright sees the nucleus on this team, led by 23-year-old star center Al Jefferson, having the potential to be “something special.”  He said Glen Taylor, owner since 1995, is committed to having a winning team and will spend the necessary money.

“As long as Glen has been here he has not been afraid to sort of maximize opportunities with players and spend what he has considered to be the right amount of money on players,” Wright said.  “I think that going forward, I don’t see that Glen would change that.  I think, like all owners, Glen does really, really want to win. …”

Taylor made Kevin Garnett the highest paid player in the league.  A few years ago he stretched the payroll, too, to acquire veterans Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, two stars who along with Garnett almost took the Wolves to the NBA finals.  Taylor told Sports Headliners in December he expects to lose $10 to $15 million on the franchise this season and forecasts more losses next season.

Wright said the Wolves have sold less than 6,000 full season tickets.  He said that’s not the lowest total in franchise history but the most minimal since the mid-1990s when the total was “just over 5,000.”

Through last weekend’s NBA All-Star break and weekend, the Wolves ranked 25th among 30 franchises in league attendance, averaging 14,380.  On Sunday the Wolves will play to their fourth home sellout crowd of the season against Dallas.

Wright said league representatives were in Minneapolis this week and expressed a “wow” with the attendance success the franchise has had, given the team’s record and recent past that includes no playoff appearances since 2003-2004.

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