David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

CB Richard Sherman Could Help Vikings

Posted on March 3, 2021 by David Shama

Cornerback Richard Sherman, 32, has been an elite player during his NFL career and he becomes an unrestricted free agent later this month. The former All-Pro has the profile and experience to complement what otherwise is a young Minnesota Vikings cornerback roster.

A former NFL executive (familiar with NFC North teams like the Vikings) told Sports Headliners a veteran cornerback might be on Minnesota’s free agent shopping list. “Maybe they can negotiate a good deal with someone like him (Sherman),” the authority said.

The source mentioned offensive guard, defensive tackle and possibly cornerback as priority positions for the Vikings as they consider 2021 free agents and college draft choices. He would use Minnesota’s first round draft selection at No. 14 on Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore. “I think he would be a really good target for them,” he said.

Vikings fans weren’t happy with the defense last season, including the performance of the line. They certainly could welcome Barmore, a redshirt sophomore All-American who might have been the most dominant defensive tackle in college football last season.

The Vikings have 10 draft picks as of now and will pick up a couple more adding compensatory choices for players lost through free agency. With so many selections in the seven round draft, general manager Rick Spielman will be doing a deep think on how he can better the club’s future. “I am sure he’s going to be moving around (trading picks and perhaps veterans). He always does,” said the authority who asked that his name not be used.

Mock drafts have several quarterbacks dominating the first 10 selections of the opening round but the NFL source wouldn’t use the Vikings’ draft collateral to move up to select a replacement for starter Kirk Cousins. “I think he’s good enough to win with,” he said. “Certainly they need someone long term to draft (at QB). I wouldn’t go in the first round (this year) and get one of those (college) guys. Maybe (get a) third round type of quarterback. You can find really good players in the third and fourth rounds (Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott are prime examples).”

The source considers Cousins a top 15 NFL quarterback, maybe even first 12, and questions the credibility of speculation the Vikings are interested in trading him. That’s partially because he sees Cousins as a potential winning piece directing an offense with playmakers like running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Also, the Vikings have salary cap issues and would have unwelcome “dead money” allocated against them if they moved the veteran quarterback.

The NFL has yet to establish the final salary cap number for franchises but it could be $185 million per club—a figure that has Vikings management crunching numbers. Minnesota is unlikely to franchise tag a player like last year when safety Anthony Harris received $11.4 million. With that deal expiring soon, he might be among players released in the coming weeks as the Vikings try to create “wiggle room” with the cap and the ability to chase free agents, perhaps including Sherman. Other Vikings could be headed toward restructured deals, with that looking like the direction for offensive tackle Riley Reiff.

The Vikings were 7-9 last season after playing most or part of the year without the following key defensive personnel: end Danielle Hunter, tackle Michael Pierce and linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks. “It’s a whole different deal if those guys were all there,” the source said. “I don’t think there’s any question that they would have been a playoff team… .”

Spielman will meet with the media via Zoom today to discuss the offseason.

Worth Noting

There was preliminary discussion between the Gophers and Minnesota Twins prior to the pandemic about establishing a high tech pitching lab on the University of Minnesota campus. Gophers coach John Anderson told Sports Headliners such a facility could help pitchers to not only improve performance but prevent injuries.

The expertise of sports science and kinesiology authorities at the U are part of what makes the idea of a pitching lab intriguing. Anderson said the Gophers and Twins have an ongoing successful relationship and are always interested in projects that will enhance baseball in the state.

Anderson is in his 40th year leading the program and has 1,325 wins. That’s the best in Big Ten history and he can start adding to the total when the Gophers begin their season Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota has games Friday, Saturday and Sunday against Indiana and Rutgers.

The pandemic cut short the season in 2020 and the Gophers’ overall record was 8-10. Anderson has seven positional starters back from last year’s team whose season ended March 11. He believes the Gophers “have enough talent” to achieve a winning season playing a schedule of Big Ten opponents only and no Big Ten postseason tournament.

Anderson will be without Max Meyer who was drafted last season by the Miami Marlins and could eventually join Glen Perkins as the two best pitchers he has coached. Already one of baseball’s top prospects, Anderson believes Meyer has the “stuff” to have a long MLB career.

Longevity will require continuation of a healthy right arm. “We didn’t over pitch him at Minnesota,” Anderson said. “We protected him and didn’t overuse him.”

At Woodbury High School Meyer weighed only about 165 pounds but at Minnesota he physically matured and benefitted from weight training. Analytics and other tools helped the 6-foot right hander improve, too. At Minnesota he developed a fast ball clocked at three digits to complement a slider he was using since high school. “He touched a couple hundreds in the short season we had in 2020,” Anderson said. “Quite a jump that he made.”

Twins 40-year-old DH Nelson Cruz has hit 311 home runs since 2012, the most in the big leagues.

When Marcus Carr totaled 41 points against Nebraska last week he came within two points of breaking the men’s single game scoring record for Gopher players. Eric Magdanz and Oliver Shannon each scored 42 points in a game. Carr’s 41 moved him into a tie in the record book with Andre Hollins.

Two Minnesota natives and former Gophers are on the WCHA 2000s All-Decade team announced by the Twin Cities-based league Tuesday. The team includes defenseman Jordan Leopold from Golden Valley and forward Johnny Pohl of Red Wing. Others on the team are forwards Peter Sejna and Brett Sterling, both from Colorado College; defenseman Matt Carle of Denver and goaltender Brian Elliott of Wisconsin.

All-decade teams this winter are part of the league’s 70-years celebration.

Maurice “Mo” Forte, believed to be the first ever African American assistant football coach of the modern era with the Gophers, died last Friday in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Mo, a native of Hannibal, Missouri, was an outstanding running back for the Gophers in the late 1960s before becoming an assistant at Minnesota from 1970-1975. His coaching career included the head job at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and assistant positions at major colleges and with two NFL teams. His 74th birthday would have been last Monday. Condolences to his family and many friends across the country.

Dr. Joel Boyd, recognized as one of the top knee surgeons in America and Minnesota Wild team physician since the franchise’s inception, will be the guest speaker for the Twin Cities Dunkers March 10.

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Money Unlikely to Stop Pitino Buyout

Posted on March 1, 2021 by David Shama

Via social media, emails and private conversations the verdict is in to fire University of Minnesota men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino.

No argument here. He should have been told to move on three years ago.

However, the public won’t decide Pitino’s fate. The decision will be made by school athletic director Mark Coyle and president Joan Gabel. Coyle’s job is to lead the athletic department and bring important matters to Gabel. There is no reason to believe that the relatively new president (started in 2019) will not follow the recommendations of her department head.

If Coyle wants to replace Pitino, I don’t think money will deter him and Gabel from doing so. This opinion is based on talking with authoritative sources with present or past connections to the University. They understand the second-guessing that will come with a decision to shake up the basketball program given the budget deficit facing the U and the bad feelings in place from eliminating three men’s sports, but they also see a path to make a change and enhance future revenues.

Pitino’s contract buyout is for $1.75 million and that’s just the beginning of expenses for past U mistakes that include extending his contract and providing a sizeable retention bonus. There presumably will also be expenses incurred with settling contracts from Pitino’s staff, and certainly costs associated with bringing in a new coaching staff. Those expenses could include money to cover the new head coach’s buyout at his old school and a possible salary larger than Pitino’s $2 million.

Budgets are always a challenging issue in the (generally) self-supporting U athletic department. Money is dramatically more sensitive now because of the pandemic, and a department deficit for this school year could total $50 million or more. It was reported in December the entire University of Minnesota system is facing about a $166 million overall budget shortfall by fiscal year end in June.

In the months ahead money via a loan (or perhaps sale of bonds) is expected to bolster the system budget. A significant portion of the money (whatever that sum is) will go to Gopher athletics, perhaps totaling over $50 million.

The athletic department has borrowed money in the past from the U central administration. This isn’t new ground, although past amounts are believed to be less than $10 million. Those loans had to be paid back and presumably this would be the expectation when the department receives a mega loan to work with for school year 2021-2022.

Part of the loan could be targeted to pay for changes with the basketball program. This scenario makes funding for a new direction in basketball viable. And Coyle, if he chooses, could forecast significant increases in future revenues with a successful new coach. Interest in the program has declined during Pitino’s eight years but there is potential for Gopher basketball to be the cash cow it once was.

The combination of high ticket prices and regular sellouts once put the Gophers toward the top of the Big Ten in basketball revenues. There was even a time in the 1980s when Gopher basketball TV ratings were second in the market only to the Vikings.

If Coyle and Gabel pursue a change, they will need final approval from the Board of Regents. Generally, the board’s position is to be supportive of the president and her leaders. Thumbs down by the regents on major decisions is unusual and could signal a breach with the president. I don’t see that happening if final approval of a new direction for basketball is presented.

Coyle and Gabel won a 7-5 regents vote last year to eliminate men’s gymnastics, indoor track and tennis. The savings for one year will be similar to the cost of Pitino’s buyout, but over five years and longer the savings will be considerably more, supporters of the move would say. The controversial downsizing, leaving the U with 22 sports in the athletic department, is also based on Title IX issues, per Coyle.

Eyes glaze over trying to understand the details and explanations about eliminating the three sports. But the programs aren’t coming back unless there is miraculous outside funding (keep your eye on tennis). Non-revenue sports are being cut all over the country as schools struggle through the pandemic and its impact on finances. The 22 sports total at Minnesota is more than many prominent universities elsewhere support.

Minnesota has three revenue producing sports in football, basketball and men’s hockey. All have considerably more financial upside for the athletic department treasury that depends on local and Big Ten revenues including the TV money machine (so far broadcast rights fees continue to escalate).

As an AD, Coyle has to judge his coaches on more than how many games they win and how much money they dump into the program’s coffers. Coyle looks at a coach’s relationships with his players and their academics. He makes judgments about how that coach works with him and others in the department. He must hold the coach accountable for compliance with NCAA and department policies. Certainly Pitino checked some boxes favorably over the years to hold Coyle’s support.

Fans don’t even think about such matters and that’s understandable. Big time college basketball is a business and the public isn’t buying the product. In eight years Pitino, hired by failed athletic director Norwood Teague, has a Big Ten record of 54-94, a winning percentage of .365. Only twice have his teams made the NCAA Tournament, winning one game. This season’s team is 6-11 in conference games and in free fall having lost five consecutive outings.

Gopher basketball is potentially better than this—much better. Both in quality and depth the state’s talent pool of high school players is nationally praised. The U is the only school in the state representing a powerhouse basketball conference, and that should make recruiting easier than at many other places.

Closing down the state’s recruiting borders has been a laughable thought this millennium and no one expects it to happen any time soon—perhaps never. But from home grown walk-on kids to blue chip future pros, the U can be much more successful with its in-state recruiting while still looking for players beyond its borders. With a transformation led by the right head coach, the Gophers can annually take up residence among the better teams in the Big Ten.

The chorus of critics is singing that tune today.

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Twins Could Delay Alex Kirilloff Debut

Posted on February 24, 2021February 24, 2021 by David Shama

No everyday position in the Minnesota Twins starting lineup will receive more scrutiny during spring training than left field. Eddie Rosario was plugged in there for several Opening Day starts but the Twins cut him from the roster last winter, leaving a void in left field that 23-year-old Alex Kirilloff might fill during most of the 2021 season.

Kirilloff is one of baseball’s top prospects but it could be the Twins will start the regular season in early April using utility man Luis Arraez in left field. Kirilloff, even if he dazzles in spring training, might be assigned to the Triple A St. Paul Saints roster but later called up to the Twins.

Why wouldn’t Kirilloff begin 2021 in the majors? A factor could be MLB’s service time policy that determines when players eventually become eligible for free agency. If a player accumulates 172 days on a big league roster (either in one year or multiple seasons), he earns a year of service time. After six seasons a player is eligible for free agency. By delaying “the clock” on a prospect like Kirilloff, perhaps adding him to the roster in May, the Twins gain a future financial advantage.

In three previous minor league seasons the left-handed hitter had 1,103 at bats with a .317 batting average, 36 home runs and 177 RBI. Minnesota’s first round draft choice in 2016, Kirilloff makes solid contact with the baseball, hitting to all fields with line drives and also demonstrating power.

Kirilloff has the athleticism, including a strong arm, to play left or right field for the Twins. He also has experience at first base, making him a versatile player already. If anything, the excitement about Kirilloff becoming a big contributor to the Twins has been slowed by past injuries but he has the profile of a top 30 MLB prospect.

Kirilloff is already the answer to an intriguing trivia question. Who is the only MLB player to get a base hit while making his big league debut in a playoff game? Kirilloff, starting in right field, singled in four at bats for the Twins in their final playoff game last September.

Worth Noting

The Twins announced this morning all 14 of their home spring training games at Hammond Stadium sold out within 30 minutes.

Fox Sports North will televise the Twins’ first spring training game starting at 12:05 p.m. March 3 (against the Boston Red Sox).

MLB.com offered its first power rankings of spring training Monday. The Twins are No. 7, one spot behind their newly hyped division rival, the Chicago White Sox. The top five teams are the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

The Detroit Tigers may have three former Twins in their regular lineup, with left fielder Robbie Grossman, catcher Wilson Ramos and second baseman Jonathan Schoop.

Former Twin and free agent starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi remains unsigned. He turns 31 next month and could help a club as a No. 3 or 4 starter, but with the Twins’ starting rotation apparently set it doesn’t look like his future will be in Minnesota.

Happy early birthday wishes to Twins TV announcer Dick Bremer who will be 65 next Monday.

It looks like status quo for head coach P.J. Fleck’s Gophers football staff who had expiring contracts January 31. New one year deals are in place including for Rob Wenger who leads special teams that struggled in 2020.

Because of the pandemic, the Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s outstanding annual clinic will be held via Zoom April 8-10.

The MFCA announced its 2020 Mr. Football Award winner Sunday—Wisconsin Badgers-bound Jake Ratzlaff, a strong safety/tight end from Rosemount High School. “As a high school football player, I have never seen one player impact a game in so many different ways,” Rosemount coach Jeff Erdmann said in a news release. “He could start for us at any position offensively or defensively. He could have been our starting QB, offensive tackle or even nose guard because of his athleticism, aggressiveness, and style of play.”

Fired Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders, 34, could resume his career with a college job. If so, he might be interested in using the famous and entertaining pre-game warm-up routine that rocked Williams Arena when Ryan’s dad Flip played for Gopher coach Bill Musselman. Although Flip was a Gopher before Ryan was born, the warm-up show that filled the arena with delirious fans is something the younger Saunders knows about.

Ex-Gopher center Janel McCarville, 38, is still playing professional basketball in Sweden. McCarville and playmaker Lindsay Whalen are the names best remembered from Minnesota’s 2004 Final Four team that played in New Orleans.

Next year the women’s Final Four returns to Minneapolis for the first time since 1995 and the field will likely include Minnesota prep legend Paige Bueckers leading the Connecticut Huskies. Coach Geno Auriemma won the first of his 11 national titles here that year.

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