Pavol Demitra is the only player on the Wild and one of the few in the NHL who uses a wooden stick instead of a composite.  “For me I can shoot much harder and (with) more accuracy,” he said.  “I can hit any corner I want.  Every shot is just exactly the same kind of speed. …” 

The Big Ten Conference athletic directors are expected to discuss expanding the number of conference football games when they meet this spring.  Each school now plays eight conference opponents and if there is any increase a ninth game might be most likely, according to a Big Ten source. 

Jim Dutcher, the best TV analyst in the Big Ten Conference, offers these Final Four picks:  Florida, Ohio State, North Carolina and Kansas. 

Four of the nine head coaching basketball positions in the Mountain West Conference are open, Wyoming, Colorado State, New Mexico and Utah.  Will former Gopher coach Dan Monson show interest? 

The lineup of concerts coming up at Xcel Energy Center includes Christina Aguilera, March 19; Rod Stewart, April 25; Billy Joel, May 9; Kenny Chesney, May 13 and The Police, July 3.

The MIAC recently announced its men’s hockey award winners and Augsburg College senior forward Aaron Johnson was named Player of the Year. Johnson finished the conference season in the top four in points, goals and assists. Augsburg’s Chris Brown was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Auggies to a third place MIAC finish and a 9-3-4 record.

Gustavus Adolphus College senior defenseman Andrea Peterson was named the women’s Player of the Year. Peterson earned her fourth MIAC Player of the Year award after leading the Gusties to the MIAC title and a 17-1 conference record. St. Olaf head coach John Bazzachini was named Coach of the Year. The Oles finished the MIAC regular season in second place with a 12-5-1 mark.

College of St. Catherine senior forward Angie Johnson received the 2006-07 Sheila Brown Award. The award is given to a senior who has made a long-term contribution to her team’s success and consistently competed with good sportsmanship.

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Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra shared their optimism last weekend with Sports Headliners about the Wild’s playoffs prospects.  With 12 regular season games remaining, Minnesota looks like a playoff team for just the second time in franchise history.  The Wild are in seventh place in the eight team playoff race in the Western Conference and could move higher before season’s end. 

“This is the best team in Wild history,” Gaborik said Saturday.  “No doubt about that.  There’s great talent, great players here. We’re playing as a team so that’s big.”

Gaborik’s linemate, Demitra, picked up two assists on Sunday to help the Wild defeat Colorado, a team trying to enter the elite eight of the playoffs.  Demitra is in his first season with the Wild but likes this club.  “I think we can compete against any team in the NHL,” he said.

Sunday’s win gave the Wild a 24-7-5  record when Gaborik is in the lineup.  Overall the team is 39-24-7 with 85 points and been playing some of the best hockey in the NHL for two months.  The explosive Gaborik missed 34 games with a groin injury and if anyone needed evidence of the 25-year-old’s importance to the team his absence was conclusive proof.  Gaborik, although he’s played in only a little more than half the team’s games, has 23 goals, second on the Wild to Brian Rolston’s 27.   Rolston has played in 31 more games.  

Gaborik thinks he’s playing as well as ever during his six year career.  “I feel very good on the ice, and then we’re clicking with Demitra there,” Gaborik said.  “He’s a great player.  He’s helping out and we’re helping each other out.  We’re good out there.”

Demitra said his fellow Slovakian “can get open all the time and score goals.”  He admires Gaborik’s “incredible speed” and ability to “score big goals.”

Demitra is tied for the team lead in assists with Rolston (56 each).  Demitra assessed his performance modestly, saying it was “okay” and there are inconsistencies during an NHL season.

While goal tending and defense will be vital to any playoff success for the Wild, there’s no doubt Gaborik’s health now and in the future is a franchise focus.  Groin injuries can be recurring and he has a plan for this summer.

 “I need to address it over the summer and have a good training,” he said.  “It’s going to be important so I try and be healthy the whole year. …”

At 25, Gaborik can anticipate even better performance in the future. “Hopefully I can get better and better,” he said.  “Hopefully I can try to get healthy and play a whole year, and just improve every game so hopefully the peak is going to come.”

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No one has been more of a victim from the Timberwolves’ seven guards traffic jam than Bracey Wright, the 22- year-old 2005 second round draft choice from Indiana.   He has played in two games for a total of five minutes since January 22.                

The return of 2005 No. 1 draft choice Rashad McCants from injury  has reduced Wright’s minutes (minimal anyway).  Wright has played in 14 games this season, averaging 8:30 minutes per appearance, only five times playing more than 10 minutes.  He is averaging 2.9 points per game.

Wright’s best stretch of game action was from late December through January 21.  He played sparingly, but at least was on court for most games.  During that 11 game period he sometimes showed the scoring ability (particularly with his outside shooting) that attracted the Wolves to him when they drafted him as a 20- year-old player.  He made 36% of his three point shots and 38% of his other shots in the 11 games, plus six steals. 

Wright was encouraged and not surprised by his play during that period, the best opportunity he’s had with the Wolves (he only played in six games last season after spending most of his time in the NBA Development League).   “I am a confident player by nature,” he said.  “I believe in what I can do, but just going out there and actually doing it boosts your confidence a little bit more. …Things I worked on paid off in the game.   It just let’s me know I am moving in the right direction.”

He said he’s received no explanation about why he’s not playing but you just “roll with the punches.”  Frustrating?  “It has been but I look at myself as a valuable player, a valuable guard so I think I can play. …But it is what it is and we’ve got eight guards on the team and the staff chooses who they feel gives them the best opportunity to win each and every night so my number just hasn’t been called.”

Wright will be a free agent after this season and is taking a “we’ll see” approach to his future in Minneapolis. “Once the season is over my agent and I will sit down and we’ll go from there.  I really don’t know. I don’t know the plans that they have for me here. …”

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