Adam Weber might catch a pass or two next fall, and he won’t take every snap in Gopher games, but make no mistake the sophomore-to-be quarterback from Mounds View figures to remain Minnesota’s starter.

Coach Tim Brewster said last week that “I truly expect him to be our starting quarterback” and the Gophers won’t have multiple starters.  Almost in the same breath, Brewster made it clear he expects “dynamic” play out of the quarterback position and he doesn’t want to ask a player to do things he isn’t comfortable with.

That will mean some opportunity for transfer David Pittman who had 556 completions for 6,346 yards and 61 touchdowns in junior college. He is so athletically versatile he will probably play at wide receiver, running back and perhaps in the defensive secondary.  Brewster said Pittman may even throw a pass or two to Weber when the Gophers alter their personnel in the team’s varied spread offense.  The coach describes Pittman as a leader, a player with charisma and someone who is “going to help us immediately.”

Weber was the Sporting News all-Big Ten freshmen team quarterback last season.  Playing as a red shirt in the mentally and physically demanding spread offense, the first year quarterback set school single-season records for passing yards (2,895), completions (258), touchdown passes (24) and total offense (3,512) during the 2007 season.

Brewster was pleased with Weber’s development during the 12 game season (he started every game) but wants more progress.  That will include not only mastering the complex offense even more and throwing with better accuracy (19 interceptions), but Brewster expects Weber to be a team leader, to be vocal and show charisma.

The Gophers begin spring practice on Wednesday, March 26. The annual spring game open to the public is Saturday, April 19.

The development of Weber and Pittman will be storylines to watch in the spring, but also of interest will be the defense.  Minnesota ranked last among Big Ten teams during conference play giving up almost 500 yards per game.

Brewster said the Gophers will approach spring drills with an “emphasis to be physical” on defense and there will be a lot of time devoted to tackling.

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The Twins announced last week that former closer and all-time saves leader Rick Aguilera has been elected to the team’s Hall of Fame. Aguilera will become the 19th member when inducted during an on-field pre-game ceremony, Saturday, June 21. 

The Hall of Fame honors players, managers, coaches and off-field personnel who have contributed to the organization’s growth and success.  The late Halsey Hall deserves enshrinement, joining the others inducted since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 2000.  In the 1960s and 1970s Hall provided color commentary on Twins broadcasts for WCCO Radio and WTCN TV (now KARE).  He was affable, knowledgeable and absolutely hilarious.  This town has never had a better story teller than Hall who could have listeners laughing so hard from a good yarn or a fast quip that your belly was shaking.  Hall was as entertaining as a Harmon Killebrew home run or a Tony Oliva line drive. Both, by the way, are in the Twins Hall of Fame.

Inflation makes a huge impact on building costs.  A Twins executive wrote via e-mail that the projected expense in 1997 to build a retractable roof baseball stadium in downtown Minneapolis near the Mississippi River was about $350 million.  The downtown open air stadium being built now will cost beyond $520 million.

The Timberwolves much anticipated game with Kevin Garnett and the Celtics in Boston last Friday produced a larger TV audience than other Wolves games of late but the telecast’s 2.6 rating is very modest.  (A rating point is a percentage of households watching a particular program).

The Wolves’ Al Jefferson was named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday for games played January 21-27, the league announced. Jefferson averaged 28.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals as the Wolves went 3-1 on the week.

Timberwolves’ first-year center Chris Richard, who had played in only 24 of the team’s 43 games while averaging 9.2 minutes, was assigned to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the NBA Development League on Monday. Listed at 6-9, Richard told Sports Headliners on Sunday that his height is 6-7 or 6-8.  The second round draft choice from Florida has a one year contract with the Wolves.  He’s impressed with his likeable attitude and on-court hustle.

Third-year guard Rashad McCants said the right knee that caused him to miss 44  games last season because of microfracture surgery is 100 percent healthy.  What does bother him, he said, is the Wolves not winning more games.  McCants played on a national championship team at North Carolina, a state championship in high school and said “he’s not used to losing.”

The Gopher women’s basketball program was hoping for its 23^rd Williams Arena crowd of over 10,000 on Sunday when Minnesota defeated Michigan State to move within one-half game of first place in the Big Ten Conference behind Ohio State.  The advance promotion was billed “Pack the House,” bench seats were available for $5 and a large group of basketball alumni were welcomed back.  Announced attendance was 9,849, but capacity is 14,625.

Minnesota’s Emily Fox was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week on Monday after the junior guard led the Gophers to a pair of important victories over nationally ranked Ohio State and Michigan State. Fox averaged 22.5 points and 5.0 assists in the wins.

Minneapolis Community and Technical College men’s basketball coach Jay Pivec earned his 500^th career coaching win with a victory last week and was the subject of a feature on January 25 in the online Downtown Journal.

Tonight’s Willd-Anaheim game at the Xcel Energy Center starts at 6 p.m. and will be seen on the VERSUS network.  The teams play for the fourth and final time this season tonight. The road team has won the first three games including the Ducks 4-2 win at Xcel Energy Center on January 18. Brian Rolston leads the Wild in scoring against the Ducks in 2007-08 with four points.  A 1,000-pound Brahma bull from the World’s Toughest Rodeo will greet fans from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the lobby of Xcel Energy Center. The rodeo is at the Xcel Friday and Saturday nights.

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Sunday’s Super Bowl will be played in the Phoenix area, continuing an almost exclusive pattern of warm weather sites for the NFL’s showcase game.  Since the game’s inception in 1967, only three games have been played in northern cities, two in the Detroit area and one in Minneapolis in 1992.

Could another Super Bowl be played here?  It’s certainly possible, according to Vikings executive Lester Bagley who is a leader in the effort to build a new stadium on the Metrodome site.  The Vikings and the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission are hoping for a legislative bill in 2009 that will authorize a $950-plus million retractable roof stadium.

Bagley told Sports Headliners that as progress is made on the stadium issue, there may be a visit here from NFL officials talking about a future Super Bowl.  “When Detroit got their new facility (Ford Field), they got a Super Bowl (2006),” Bagley said. “There’s no guarantee.  It’s a vote by the owners, but we would make the case internally that a Super Bowl is going to be a huge economic return to the state of Minnesota.  It’s a $200 to $300 million return to the communities that host it every year.

“So it’s very important not to the Vikings, but for the community.  … In order to have that, we’ve got to solve the problem (of a new stadium).  The facility has to have a retractable roof because we’re not interested in a fixed roof, and the league has got to step up. But I think that the feedback that we’ve gotten has been positive.  There’s no guarantee but commissioner (Roger) Goodell…he’s had conversations with folks in Minnesota about the likelihood of getting a Super Bowl back in Minnesota once we solve the facility problem.”

The Vikings have been lobbying for a new stadium since the 1990’s, a span that covers three ownership groups.  There’s a growing acceptance of this position: Zygi Wilf and his group will NOT move the franchise if a new stadium doesn’t become a reality.  Instead, the speculation is the present owners might sell the club and new ownership could move the team from Minneapolis where the Vikings’ stadium lease expires after the 2011 season.

Bagley praises the Wilf group saying this ownership group will invest money in building the new stadium and developing the surrounding neighborhood, plus continue a commitment to spend resources to have a winning team.  “If we can’t solve this issue with these guys as owners, we never will,” Bagley said. “…There may be a point where they throw in the towel, but right now I think they feel confident. …  I think 2009 is a crucial year for us.  We understand 2008 is going to be difficult (for gaining legislative approval) but we need to move our issue forward and try to set it up, resolve it in ‘09.”

The Vikings have for years ranked among the lowest of the 32 NFL teams in stadium revenues, despite consistently selling out the Metrodome.  Bagley said 25 of the 32 franchises have new or renovated stadiums since 1992.

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