Ask Joe Mauer if he can repeat as American League batting champion and he responds with a humble expression and laugh.  “If that means we can get back to the playoffs, I hope I do,” he said yesterday. 

Mauer, who could become the first hitter since Boston’s Nomar Garciaparra to repeat as American League batting champion, hit .347 last season in a story book season for him and Justin Morneau, league MVP, and Cy Young winner Johan Santana.  The Twins, with hearty performances from many players, pulled off a national headline making season, coming from 10.5 games behind Detroit in August to win the Central Division championship. 

An opening playoff loss to Oakland left Mauer feeling frustrated.  “It was just fun to see many people have great years and that definitely contributed to the team’s success,” he said.  “Obviously last year you probably couldn’t have had a better regular season but the early exit from the playoffs kind of left a sour taste in a lot of guys mouths.  We want to get back there and improve on that (the playoffs).  So that’s kind of what’s driven us during this off-season to get ready for the 07 season.”   

Mauer, 23, only hit .220 in spring training but said there’s no concern about the average and that he used the time in Florida to prepare for the season.  He hit a career high 13 home runs last season.  Does he see himself becoming more of a home run hitter? 

“I am not a big numbers guy,” he said.  “If I hit home runs that help our team win that’s good but I am going to keep doing things that help us win.”

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Minnesota tennis legend David Wheaton hopes to return to Wimbledon to play doubles later this year.  Wheaton, with partner T.J. Middleton of Mobile, Alabama, won the 35 and over doubles in 2004 and finished second the last two years.  Wheaton told Sports Headliners he doesn’t have an invitation currently because so many former Wimbledon singles champions expressed interest in the doubles which is no longer 35 and over, but 45 and under.  Also, the number of teams for doubles has been reduced from 16 to eight. 

Wheaton, who once was ranked No. 12 in world singles, is the new touring pro at Wayzata Country Club where his brother, John, is the new director of tennis.  Wheaton will be involved with group and individual activities.  Tim Herron is the club’s touring golf pro. 

Ben,Wheaton’s eight-year-old yellow lab retriever, has terminal prostate cancer. A bachelor, Wheaton describes Ben as his “best friend.” 

Tom Wistrcill, University of Minnesota associate athletic director, talking about whether character and ethics were important in hiring Tubby Smith as the new Gopher basketball coach:  “Extremely important. He’s such a man of character, such a good person, great family man.  The discussions we had with him about academics, about building the family and all that were fantastic so we knew he was going to bring that here (from Kentucky) as well.” 

“Hi, Everybody,” Herb Carneal’s autobiography, is available through Adventure Publications, 763-689-9800, or 800-678-7006.  Carneal, who past away Sunday, began his career as a Minnesota Twins play-by-play announcer in 1962, the team’s second year here. 

Wild single-game tickets for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs  go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office and noon at all Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.com) locations. Fans can also order by calling Ticketmaster at 651-989-5151.  There’s a limit of two tickets per game per person. 

Tickets went on sale Monday for the Minnesota Vikings Draft Party on Saturday, April 28 at Winter Park.  General admission tickets at $20 each can be purchased at Vikings Locker Room stores, or by calling 612-33-VIKES.   Special Red Zone tickets are $70 each and benefits include an autograph session with 2006 No. 1 draft choice Chad Greenway.  Other Vikings expected at the party are Tony Richardson, Cedric Griffin and Mewelde Moore, plus team alumni. The event has sold out six consecutive years. 

Through the end of the winter sports season, five MIAC schools ranked in the United States Sports Academy Directors’ Cup Top 100. Schools receive points for team placements in national championship events. At No. 22 and with 302.5 points, Gustavus Adolphus is the top ranked MIAC school. Next are Saint John’s (24th, 289.5 points), St. Thomas (54th, 187 points), St. Olaf College (83rd, 140 points) and Bethel (85th, 136.5 points).  Williams College (Mass.) leads the national standings with 704.5 points.

 

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Three years from this month the Minnesota Twins will be playing outdoors at home for the first time since 1981.  What the weather gods will choose from their April bag of tricks is harder to predict than the next Anna Nicole Smith headline.  The weather worry warts are already in anxiety mode about games in April of 2010 in the new downtown ballpark but team president Dave St. Peter has a calming message. 

The Twins anticipate playing almost all their games as scheduled, April-October. St. Peter said rain will cancel only a handful of games and the team will play in cold weather.  “A state of the art” drainage system will allow the grass field to accept “significant amounts of rain” and still be suitable for play, according to St. Peter.   The field will be heated, too, making the grass not only green during cold weather but safer for the players. 

While there is no possibility of adding a retractable roof to the stadium, St. Peter said the Twins are planning to make fans comfortable during inclement weather.  There are plans for heating concourses and some seating areas.  It may also be possible to both heat and cool individual seats, just like in cars.  Four or five lounges with capacities of 150 to 200 people will provide indoor viewing and be open to the general public.   Sixty private suites will offer the ultimate in climate controlled comfort but even fans paying on the cheap, sitting in the bleachers, will have something going, too–the most exposure to the sun in the ballpark. 

The Twins open the season this year at home during the first week of April but prefer later home openers starting in 2010.  St. Peter said major league teams have some influence in determining schedules. “We hope for the middle of April to open up (at home),” he said. 

The Twins also have input on whether games are played during the day or night.  While some April games such as the home opener will certainly be played during the day, St. Peter said the Twins will play at night in April.  Weekday games, because of all the downtown workers, will provide parking challenges for fans. 

On the Twins Web site St. Peter’s blog includes research on how Minneapolis compares favorably in temperature and precipitation with other northern major league cities.  Minneapolis and Cleveland have an average April temp of 57 but seven other cities are between 58 and 62 degrees.  For April-October precipitation, Minneapolis has the second smallest amount among nine cities. 

Small crowds of less than 20,000 were the norm during April when the Twins played in Met Stadium but the new ball park will have lots of customers every month of the year.  Season ticket projections are about 17,000, although the total could go to 20,000, exactly half of the stadium’s capacity.  Individual and group sales will be brisk, too, as fans respond to the opportunity to see outdoor baseball for the first time in more than a quarter century. 

 

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