Playing against a more impish than impressive calendar of opponents so far, the Gopher basketball team has been adding admirers under new coach Tubby Smith.  The Gophers, 6-1 after Saturday night’s 94-71 win over Colorado State, have played team basketball and done so with an intensity perhaps not seen in Williams Arena since the last century.

Last season the Gophers were 9-22 and lost their last nine games. Under Smith the Gophers have won three games by more than 30 points, including two of their last three.  Statement making was the Gophers 68-58 win over Iowa State in Ames.  The one loss was against another major college basketball school, Florida State, 75-61 in Tallahassee.

Former Gopher coach Jim Dutcher, now a TV color commentator, told Sports Headliners last week that the next step of progression is for Minnesota to learn to “play against good competition.”  The non-conference schedule, though, doesn’t set up effectively to meet that task.  In the rear view mirror are teams like UC-Riverside and North Dakota State, and the remaining non-conference games include South Dakota State, Santa Clara, Nicholls State and Kennesaw State.

The “reality” game, Dutcher said, will be on December 30 in Las Vegas against UNLV.  The Rebels, 7-2, are considered a contending team in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV will also be the Gophers last game before opening the Big Ten Conference schedule on January 5 in East Lansing against Michigan State, a national power and favorite to win the league title.

Dutcher said he’s watched all the conference teams and categorizes them in three groups.  Michigan State and Indiana are at the top.  Then a group comprised of Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota and Purdue.  The bottom teams are Michigan, Penn State, Iowa and Northwestern.

The improved prospects for the Gophers, who with the same players last year finished ninth in the Big Ten, is a tribute to Smith and his coaching staff.  Smith came to Minnesota with a reputation for being an outstanding teacher and game coach.  He has the players believing in his ways and executing them.

“I think he is as advertised,” Dutcher said.  “He’s got the players believing it.  He’s getting the maximum output from everyone on the roster.”

Dutcher said it doesn’t matter who the player is, someone who makes a defensive mistake will soon be on the bench.  There is “no favored treatment” Dutcher said and that kind of mentality encourages players to dive for loose balls, scramble for rebounds and pass unselfishly.

Smith has from the beginning shown faith in a group of players who previously didn’t inspire a lot of confidence.  Testimony to that is what Dutcher said was an “immediate” commitment to using 10 players for major minutes in games.  That can include having two freshmen guards “when the game is on the line.”

The contributions of freshmen guards Al Nolen and Blake Hoffarber have surprised Dutcher and others.  Nolen has shown leadership and much needed quickness at point guard.  He leads the team in assists with 28 and steals, 18. Hoffarber has played with poise, too, while offering some needed and consistent long range shooting. He had a coming of age party Saturday night in the team’s win over Colorado State, scoring 21 points, making six of 11 three point shots.  The former Hopkins star is the Gophers’ fourth leading scorer at 10.4 points per game.

Shooting guard Lawrence Westbrook and wing Damian Johnson, both sophomores, have been resurrected under Smith.  Dutcher said he wasn’t even sure either, or both, would last in the program but instead they, too, have been inspired contributors.  Westbrook has improved his shooting and driving to the basket while Johnson has been an exceptional defender, including on the Gophers full court press, and a valuable rebounder.  Both players are tied for fifth in team scoring at 7.4 points per game.  Johnson leads the Gophers in blocks with 11.

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Paul Carter, the outstanding junior college basketball player from Missouri State-West Plains College who will play for the Gophers next season, is expected to recover from his sports hernia injury in four weeks or more and resume his season, according to Minnesota assistant coach Ron Jirsa.

Gopher athletic director Joel Maturi gives Tim Brewster a “B” letter grade for his work so far as football coach.  Brewster received an “F” for the Gophers 1-11 season record but in all other areas including setting expectations and reaching out to people the first year coach earned “A” grades.

Maturi is a jogger just like Brewster, but Maturi said the two don’t run together very often.  “He’s just too fast,” Maturi said.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said on C-SPAN2 last Friday that the Red Sox will win the World Series next year, with or without Johan Santana.

Don’t discount the role of egos in the eventual trading of Santana.  The Twins star pitcher and his representatives have large expectations about the money and who the employer will be.  Twins management wants to make a shrewd deal while those executives who ultimately acquire Santana will enjoy an outcome where they obtained arguably baseball’s best pitcher and left everyone else with their noses pressed against the window in envy.  Plus, there’s so much ego and momentum already invested in this soap opera that it’s unlikely he will remain a Twin.  No turning back now.

Patrick Klinger, the Twins vice president of marketing, told Sports Headliners the organization will continue to use its award winning advertising theme “This is Twins Territory” for a fourth year in 2008.  He predicts the theme will probably be used in 2010 when the Twins begin play in their new downtown ballpark.

The organization already has one new TV commercial produced for next year (with Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer) and plans to film three more during TwinsFest next month.  Klinger said it’s uncertain who the players will be in those ads but among the candidates are new outfielder Delmon Young.  The popular ads that aired this year included a commercial with Joe Nathan riding in a car driven by Santana.  Klinger said the commercial won a regional Emmy.  The success of the commercials has reached a point where players are “honored to be asked to be in the spots,” Klinger said.

Brett Favre has befriended former Viking Koren Robinson, now with Green Bay. Favre said in last week’s Sports Illustrated that his own past “substance abuse” problems were probably worse than Robinson’s.  Favre has been helpful to Robinson who has struggled for years with alcohol and is trying to restart his career in the NFL as a wide receiver and kick returner.  The magazine honored Favre as its Sportsman of the Year, recognizing the great quarterback for his imact on helping others.

Minnesota tennis legend David Wheaton is the radio host of The Christian Worldview with David Wheaton, a program focusing on “current events, cultural issues and matters of faith.”  The show is heard live on Saturdays from 8 to 9 a.m. on KKMS, 980 AM. It’s also rebroadcast from 5 to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Wheaton told Sports Headliners he is coaching former Eden Prairie High School star Nick Edlefsen, 23, who is preparing to start on the pro tour in January.  Wheaton has suggested to Edlefsen, who also played for the Gophers, that he make a two-year commitment to the tour.

Wheaton, 38, said he won’t decide until next spring whether he will play in Wimbledon and U.S. Open events for veteran players.  He will continue to write Grand Slam event previews for the Star Tribune next year, starting with the Australian Open in January.  He’s been previewing the major tournaments for the newspaper since 2002.

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Former Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton told Sports Headliners that Vikings head coach Brad Childress had a team “in discontent” earlier this season but now has “found the formula” for improvement.  The Vikings had played so poorly in a 34-0 loss to Green Bay about a month ago that they had disgusted just about everyone inside and outside the organization.  The team’s record dropped to 3-6 and part of the problem was not creating the best plays and alignments for the players.

Dalton, who is an NFL media analyst living in a Minneapolis suburb, said Childress “was losing his team” and that players were “disconnecting” from the second year head coach.  “Childress to his credit was astute enough to realize he was losing his team and he better figure out a way to make some things happen,” Dalton said.  “He adjusted and simplified things.  The team responded by executing and winning some games. …”

The Vikings have won three straight since the Green Bay game and are considered among the most likely candidates to make the playoffs as a wild card team in the NFC.  “Now they’ve found the formula which is to play to your personnel’s strengths within your package…,” Dalton said.

The coaches have simplified the offense, including the game plan each week.  “They’re calling plays that (quarterback) Tarvaris Jackson does well,” he said.  “They’re playing to the strengths of their quarterback which is three step passes, as we’ve seen a lot of quick slants (pass patterns).  And then the play action passes is when they take their deep shots (down field).  Playing off the run game, they’re getting linebackers and safeties to suck up into the box (near the line of scrimmage), and then they’re getting some single match-ups on the outside. …”

That run game, of course, has been the center piece to the offensive success.  With a league leading rusher in rookie Adrian Peterson, and stellar work by Chester Taylor, the other featured runner, plus a solid run blocking line, the Vikings lead the NFL in rushing at 176.8 yards per game.

Dalton also emphasized adjustments made to defend the other team’s passing.  “Defensively, I think they have some veterans back there, but they lack the ability to completely match-up with a lot of man (one-on-one) coverage match-ups,” he said.  “…The coaching staff has done a lot more zone pressures, fire zone blitzes.  And they’re bringing different players and disguising that much better than they used to so that it’s confusing to the quarterback. …”

Defensive adjustments have included changes where Minnesota is able to confuse receivers, with Vikings defenders coming from different directions, moving into passing lanes, breaking up throws and making interceptions, Dalton said.

He also said the Vikings “are getting to the quarterback more” with their rushing schemes.  The Vikings will show seven potential rushers and rush five, but the defense doesn’t know which group of five is coming for the quarterback.  The result is more pressure on the passer.

If the Vikings can continue their momentum, Dalton likes the odds of the team making the playoffs for the first time since 2004.  “Winning is the ultimate elixir and so now everyone is back to happy,” he said.

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