Gophers’ basketball coach Tubby Smith was asked recently about freshman Blake Hoffarber who had a storied career at Hopkins High School and enrolled at Minnesota as a top 100 recruit.  The 6-foot-4 Hoffarber has been slowed recently by a high ankle sprain but Smith has seen enough to form impressions.  He likes Hoffarber’s work ethic, shooting skills and basketball intelligence.

“His athleticism and speed is deceiving,” Smith told Sports Headliners last week.  “And being a lefty, that creates a problem for an opponent as well. …”

Hoffarber is a shooting guard but Smith said he may play point guard, too.  What about playing minutes?  “He’ll help us a lot,” Smith said.  “How many minutes?  I don’t even talk about minutes.  Minutes is not something I even discuss with players.  Each player will determine how many minutes they get based on how they perform, and how they do in practice.  Based on what he’s doing in practice, he’ll play a lot.”

The Gophers open their schedule with an exhibition game starting at 7 p.m. tomorrow night in Williams Arena against Minnesota State, Mankato.  Hoffarber is expected to play. The game will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Brooks Bollinger, the Vikings’ third string quarterback forced to play in last Sunday’s game because of injuries to Kelly Holcomb and Tarvaris Jackson, answerd a question about how rusty he was: “Well, it’s tough.  The last couple of weeks I was the third (string), and the second, and back and forth. You don’t get a ton of reps with our offense. …The main thing (in the games) is making sure your cadence is the same.  I haven’t had a chance to just be in the huddle with those guys a whole bunch of late but as far as the job description you just try to go in there and communicate and take care of the little things. …”

Vikings’ coach Brad Childress said after the game that Bollinger did “okay” considering the “limited reps” he had received prior to the game.

A fan held up a “Fire Brad” sign in the Metrodome after Sunday’s 23-16 loss to Philadelphia.

The Vikings are donating 200 tickets for the November 18 Oakland game at the Metrodome to victims of the recent floods in southern Minnesota. The organization is providing 100 tickets to the Morrie Miller Youth Football program that serves the Winona area youth, and 100 tickets to the Rushford-Peterson School. The tickets will be distributed to youth directly affected by the flooding. The Vikings also gave a $1,000 check to the United Way of Olmsted County that will be directed toward flood relief.

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Former Vikings’ assistant coach Dean Dalton hosts “Late Hits” on Saturday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. on Sirius NFL Radio.  Past guests have included various NFL personalities including Vikings alums Michael Bennett, Daunte Culpepper, Nate Burleson and Mike Tice. The program is on channel 124.

The Timberwolves announced yesterday that guard Randy Foye has suffered a stress reaction of his left patella (knee cap). On Monday, Foye received an MRI and a CT Scan that revealed the injury. Foye will be out indefinitely.

The Wolves play their regular season opener Friday night at Target Center against Denver. Ten players will make their Minnesota regular season debuts: Greg Buckner, Corey Brewer, Michael Doleac, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Chris Richard, Sebastian Telfair and Antoine Walker. The first 8,000 fans in attendance will receive a Timberwolves stocking cap courtesy of U.S. Bank.

Sports Illustrated’s NBA Preview predicts the Timberwovles will finish last in the Northwest Division.  The magazine rates the Wolves last among the 15 Western Conference teams. Dallas will defeat Detroit in the NBA finals, according to S.I.

Sporting News recently rated Indianapolis’ Tom Moore as the best offensive coordinator in the NFL.  Moore, 68, once coached at the University of Minnesota, working for head coach Cal Stoll in the 1970s.  Another assistant for Stoll was Norm Parker who coached with Moore and now is an assistant at Iowa. He is arguably the best defensive coordinator in the Big Ten Conference.

The same issue of the Sporting News listed Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier as one of five “head coaches in waiting.”

The Wild’s Brent Burns is scheduled to appear and sign autographs at the Cub Foods store located at 20250 Heritage Drive in Lakeville on Sunday from 5 to 6 p.m.

Local resident David Nash reported via e-mail that the US International Tennis Club  defeated the British International Tennis Club 36-18 in a match last weekend in La Jolla, California. Known as the Avory Cup, the match is played semi-annually.  Nash captained the American team.

Augsburg junior quarterback Jordan Berg, Carleton junior strong safety Drew Ziller and St. Thomas freshman wide receiver Ben Wartman have been chosen as the offensive, defensive and special teams football players of the week in the MIAC.  Saint John’s senior Chris Erichsen and Bethel University sophomore Marie Borner are the men’s and women’s cross country athletes of the week.  Saint Benedict first-year middle blocker Laurel Heggernes, Concordia senior outside hitter Michelle Honek and St. Thomas freshman setter Emily Foster are volleyball athletes of the week.  Carleton junior forward Brian TenHoor and Hamline first-year goalkeeper Katie Gardner have been named soccer athletes of the week.

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Two games away from the halfway mark of the season, the Minnesota Vikings’ record is a below average 2-4.  With the “first semester” ending soon, Sports Headliners interviewed a former NFL personnel evaluator who was asked to grade the Vikings’ offense, defense and special teams.  Here’s a detailed breakdown by the expert who requested that his name not be used:

Quarterbacks: D-  Tarvaris Jackson has completed only 45.9 percent of his passes and thrown five interceptions and just two touchdown passes in four games.  The evaluator likes Jackson’s “skill set” but said the 24–year-old quarterback’s performance hasn’t matched his potential.  “The development hasn’t kept up with the amount of preparation that’s gone into it,” he said.  The quarterback situation has placed the season in jeopardy.

Running backs: A  Chester Taylor has been productive and my source said rookie Adrian Peterson “is a super star in the making.”  Peterson, who leads the NFL in rushing, is under utilized.  “He should touch the ball 25 to 30 times including carries, receptions and kickoffs,” the source said.

Receivers, including tight ends: C- The evaluator said the grade is “gracious” considering how under utilized wide receiver Bobby Wade and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe have been.  No one has emerged at wide receiver as a deep threat.  “The wide receiver down field blocking is exceptional, and a credit to George Stewart (wide receivers coach),” the evaluator said.

Offensive line: C+  Overall, the run blocking has been encouraging, and the source praised center Matt Birk and left guard Steve Hutchinson, said the right side of the line is “a work in progress,” and added that right tackle Ryan Cook at times is in “over his head.”

Defensive line: A-  Tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams are the “best duo in the NFL,” according to the evaluator.  Defensive end “production” has improved significantly from last season because of Ray Edwards, Kenechi Udeze and rookie Brian Robison. “They (the unit) still need to bring more pass rushing production,” the source said.

Linebackers: A-  The move of E.J. Henderson to middle linebacker (“explosive tackler”) has been a success, Ben Leber is versatile and effective, and 24-year-old Chad Greenway has “shown flashes of his upside,” the evaluator said.  All three can play effectively against the run and pass.

Secondary: C+  The source said “there have been some breakdowns” in the secondary including confusion last Sunday on a touchdown reception by Terrell Owens of Dallas.  Inexperience and match up problems have been part of the difficulty.  As expected, teams have picked on rookie cornerback Marcus McCAuley and second year corner Cedric Griffin.

Special teams: B  Punter Chris Kluwe is averaging 44.2 yards and has “been exceptional.”  Long snapper Cullen Loeffler is as good as ever and “never gets enough credit,” the evaluator said.  Veteran place kicker Ryan Longwell who won the Chicago game with a last play field goal is “very good.”  Blocking by the field goal unit needs to improve, but the return and coverage teams are solid.  However, the source is “shocked” that the Vikings aren’t using Mewelde Moore to return punts instead of Wade.  Moore had 71 yard touchdown returns in both 2005 and 2006.

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