David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Opportunity Looms in 2023 for Cousins

Posted on May 16, 2023May 16, 2023 by David Shama

The coming NFL season will be intriguing to watch quarterback Kirk Cousins because he finally has continuity with his offensive coordinators and systems.

The payoff could be special for the 34-year-old veteran who joined the Vikings in 2018. Entering last season, he had worked for five coordinators in his first five years. Now he is in preparations for a second go-round with offensive guru and head coach Kevin O’Connell who is also Cousins’ play-caller.

“Big difference in the second year for a QB in the same system,” a former coach said in a text message to Sports Headliners that has been edited. “All the off-season practices and film sessions add up, repetition matters. It also is easier to add wrinkles and make adjustments. Though Kirk has many years of experience in different systems, the second season will give him a level of comfort, which will lead to faster timing and decision making.

“Even a bigger deal, this is coach O’Connell’s second season in his system. He has never called plays before (the 2022 season) and I’m sure he will add wrinkles from his past systems he has been part of over the years.

“Just hope he doesn’t follow the ‘book’ when it comes to fourth down! The book is just a suggestion, not an absolute. Should be a very explosive offense and just need to outscore teams. After all, everyone loves offense!”

The reference to the “book” is the analytics NFL and college football coaches use to make key fourth down decisions, including whether to punt or try for a first down. While the stats indicate the probabilities of success in a fourth down situation, they aren’t infallible. There are so many variables in a football game—personnel, score of the game, field position etc.—that taking a conservative approach can be the best decision no matter what the home crowd is imploring, and the analytics say.

Cousins said he didn’t even know how to say the plays and couldn’t see them in his head a year ago. “It’s just night and day from last year,” he said in early May.

Cousins faces a 2023 season that could be a career highlight in offensive production, team success and for his national profile. His accurate throws and strong arm will likely target the most explosive group of receivers he has ever worked with. Justin Jefferson is all-world, rookie Jordan Addison has the potential to be a home run target like Jefferson, and third wide receiver K.J. Osborn at 25 is coming off his best season. T.J. Hockenson is a big play threat for a tight end and his familiarity with Cousins and the offense should be improved after joining the team during the 2022 season.

Then, too, the offensive line could be the best Cousins has worked with in Minneapolis. Tackles Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw are highly praised and center Garrett Bradbury silenced some critics in 2022. Guard play is a work in progress.

The Vikings won 13 regular season games in their first time around under Connell but took an early exit in the playoffs. The play of Cousins, who threw for a career high 4,547 yards in 2022, will again have much to do with whether the team wins 10 games or more. But it’s just as much about how far Minnesota goes in the postseason. Minnesota hasn’t won a playoff game since 2019 and hasn’t been to the Super Bowl in more than 40 years.

The Cousins watch will be fascinating when his team plays against some of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks. In the second game of the season on a Thursday night before a national TV audience the Vikings play in Philadelphia against the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts who could be the best quarterback in the NFC after a dominant passing and running performance in 2022. Then Justin Herbert, a top 10 talent, comes to Minneapolis with the Chargers on September 24. Two weeks later the world champion Chiefs are in town with Patrick Mahomes, the 2022 league MVP. If Mahomes doesn’t earn that recognition again, quarterback Joe Burrow might. The Vikings play Burrow’s Bengals in Cincinnati December 17.

And there’s also a November 19 date in Denver to play the Broncos and former Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson. “They’re going to play five elite Pro Bowl type quarterbacks,” said a former NFL executive who has ranked Cousins among the top dozen at his position in the league.

Cousins, though, won’t draw comparisons to Aaron Rodgers this year. The former Packers quarterback, who Cousins and the Vikings had to duel with twice per season as part of their past NFC North Division schedules, is now with the Jets and not on Minnesota’s list of opponents. Rodgers’ absence creates opportunity and expectations for Cousins and the Vikings, including a repeat of last season’s division championship.

Part of the looming opportunity, too, for Cousins is playing for his next contract. This off-season he and the Vikings didn’t agree on a contract extension. The former fourth round draft choice of the Redskins, has had to prove himself before in both college and in the NFL, and so this fall is more of the same. “…Wanting to go out there and prove it again, and do it again, and play at the highest level I can, and that’s really where my focus is,” Cousins said.

Minnesota’s quarterback could see his fame and profile enhance with a soon to be released Netflix film called Quarterback. Netflix had inside access last season to Cousins on and off the field as part of a film that also included Mahomes and Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota.

The quarterbacks were mic’d up for every game including the Cousins-led greatest comeback in NFL history when the Vikings rallied to defeat the Colts after trailing 33-0 at halftime. The docu-series will show Cousins and the others in all kinds of situations from the huddle to inside their homes with families.

The humblest of celebrities, Cousins has never sought the spotlight with the Vikings but the nature of his position and circumstances in 2023 have him poised to be the center of much attention.

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Twins Won’t Rush Royce Lewis to Bigs

Posted on May 14, 2023May 21, 2023 by David Shama

Royce Lewis made his 2023 debut Thursday night with Double-A Wichita after rehabbing in Florida earlier this spring. Lewis, who figures to play shortstop and third base for the Twins’ minor league farm team, struck out three times and was hit by a pitch. He cleanly handled one chance in the field at third base.

Not a “wow start,” but predictable for a player on recovery road. And Saturday was better, with Lewis having two hits in three at bats and driving in a run for the Wind Surge.

Last year Lewis had ACL surgery on his right knee for a second time, having also suffered a tear requiring surgery in 2021. Understandably the Twins’ approach with Lewis is cautious. “He will come out of games early, then get a day off,” Twins executive Derek Falvey told Sports Headliners. … ”It’s really a slow ramp up for him.”

It’s been a weird path the last few years for Lewis. He and other minor leaguers didn’t play during the 2020 COVID year. He missed all of 2021 because of the first ACL injury. Then last year after being promoted from Triple-A to the Twins he suffered that second ACL injury on May 29.

“We want to be very attentive to the return (in 2023),” said Falvey, the team’s chief baseball officer. “Maybe even more conservative than you might normally be. I think just putting him in the best position to be healthy.”

Falvey said there is no timetable for a return by Lewis to the Twins. That will be determined by “health, performance and opportunity,” Falvey explained.

At 23, Lewis is still considered among Minnesota’s most valued prospects, but will he retain the athleticism and other attributes that convinced the Twins to make him their No. 1 draft pick in 2017? Will he, for instance, have the same elite range in the field that made him both a special infield and outfield prospect? The same pop in his bat that he showed in 12 games with the Twins last season, hitting .300 with two home runs and five RBI?

After two surgeries and so much time off, those are unanswerable questions now. Falvey said, “But in theory it’s fixed. It’s not a muscle injury. It’s a ligament. So ultimately when the ligament is fixed his athleticism, his burst, his speed, his power should all be the same. We just need to keep him as healthy as possible.”

The Twins are struggling to score runs and the kind of bat Lewis showed last season would be welcome. After hitting .313 in 34 games at Triple- A St. Paul, Lewis teased Twins fans with his potential at bat and in the field where he played 11 games at short and one in center field.

The Twins could have an ASAP need at third base this season. After an impressive rookie season in 2022, Jose Miranda got off to a disappointing start hitting and in the field before being demoted to St. Paul. Kyle Farmer, 32, is the replacement for now but not long term.

Falvey said the front office and Lewis have also talked about the native Californian playing in the outfield. “He is such an eager kid. He just wants to find a way to help the team,” Falvey said.

Hopefully, Lewis finds his spot with the Twins and has a long run with the club, but Falvey pointed out the uncertainty of big-league baseball careers. He said this spring MLB’s 30 teams only have about 4.5 players on their rosters who played for them in 2019. The Twins have three 2019 alums from the opening day roster: second baseman Jorge Polanco who was a shortstop then, DH Byron Buxton who was the centerfielder, and right fielder Max Kepler who is still in the same position.

Worth Noting

Lewis is considered the Twins’ No. 2 prospect behind Brooks Lee, the club’s 2022 No. 1 draft choice. His background, too, is shortstop and he is also at Wichita. Falvey told Lee in spring training he didn’t care if the Cal Poly alum hit “.100 or .700,” he just wanted him to learn from veterans like shortstop Carlos Correa and Buxton about how to prepare and be a big leaguer.

Lee hit .303 with three minor league teams last year and is off to a .258 start this spring. He is an impressive athlete who can help a team in multiple ways including in the field. “I think this kid is a big part of our future,” Falvey said.

Former Twins infielder and 2022 AL batting champion Luis Arraez is leading the majors in hitting with a .379 average. Pitcher Pablo Lopez, who the Twins acquired during the offseason in a trade sending Arraez to the Marlins, is 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA.

Falvey said the Twins tried to make different deals “without Luie in it but couldn’t.” He added the Marlins, in need of offense, were “fixated on Luie and we were fixated on Pablo.” The Twins believe high performance starting pitching is difficult to find.

Since the trade the Twins have reached agreement with Lopez on a four-year contract extension that commits him from 2024-2027. Falvey doesn’t anticipate any similar deals during the rest of the season including with pitcher Sonny Gray who has been dominant with a 1.39 ERA and 4-0 record. He is a free agent in the fall.

Not only has Gray been the team’s best pitcher but he contributes to a healthy environment in the clubhouse. “Sonny gets along with everybody. He engages with everybody in the room,” Falvey said.

In last year’s draft the Twins selected Ben Ross in the fifth round out of Notre Dame College in Ohio (yes, that is correct). Another shortstop, Ross is hitting .308 at High-A Twins affiliate Cedar Rapids and committed only one error in the field.

The late Herb Carneal would have turned 100 last Wednesday. The radio voice of the Twins for 45 seasons, Carneal started broadcasting games for the club in 1962, one year after the franchise relocated to Minnesota from Washington D.C.

Danny Olsen is the new Eastview High School boys’ basketball coach, replacing long-time and much-admired head coach Paul Goetz. Olsen, a 1999 Eastview grad, has extensive AAU and high school coaching experience. The last 10 years he has been the head sophomore coach at Eastview and a varsity assistant.

Dick Jonckowski shares emcee duties with sports columnist Charley Walters Monday night at the 37^th annual Mancini’s Sports Hall of Fame dinner at Mancini’s Char House in St. Paul. Former Cretin Derham-Hall quarterback Steve Walsh, who played at Miami and in the NFL, is among the inductees.

Jonckowski will emcee and speak Friday night in Fridley at the Minnesota Senior Sports Association’s seventh annual Hall of Fame banquet. The event at the Banquets of Minnesota facility honors individuals and teams from various recreational sports.

Reservations are still being accepted for the May 21 tribute to the late Bud Grant, the Vikings’ legendary coach. The free event at U.S. Bank Stadium begins at noon and requires a ticket. http://www.vikings.com/legends/bud-grant

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Connelly Tells Owner Taylor He’s Staying with Wolves

Posted on May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 by David Shama

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners on Monday his president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, isn’t leaving for a similar role with the Wizards.

Taylor said Connelly reached out to him “very recently” to speak about speculation he was going back to the Wizards organization where he worked for 10 years starting in 1996, rising from an intern to director of player personnel. “He said he is not interested,” Taylor stated during a phone interview.

Taylor considers Connelly, who the Wolves hired away from the Nuggets about a year ago, to be transparent. “He said don’t worry about that (leaving the Wolves). This is what I am going to do (stay).”

Connelly’s name has been rumored with the Wizards since late April when the Washington D.C. based NBA franchise fired Tommy Sheppard, its president of basketball operations. Fair or not, Connelly has drawn considerable criticism from the media for not being absolute enough in his commitment to stay in Minneapolis with the Wolves.

Connelly not only spent 10 years in D.C. with the Wizards, but he is also a native of nearby Baltimore. He and his wife Negah both have family ties to the D.C. and Baltimore areas. Connelly is a graduate of Catholic University in Washington. Four years ago he turned down an opportunity to leave the Nuggets and run the Wizards’ basketball operations.

In the 12 months since joining the Wolves Connelly and Taylor have built a relationship. Taylor said he appreciates the clarity with which his basketball boss speaks about problems. “I don’t think he’s got any hidden agenda, and I don’t think he tries to make me feel good just by making me feel good, or any of that.”

The Wolves are coming off a disappointing regular season and first round playoff exit in five games. Minnesota’s regular season record was 42-40, after finishing 46-26 in 2022. Last spring the Wolves pushed the Grizzlies in a first round series but weren’t competitive this year against the Nuggets.

Taylor is “overall disappointed” in the 2023 results but believes he has a “good team.” What the Wolves must do, he believes, is figure out how to play better with the core they have.

Is Taylor advocating for trades? “No, I am not.”

Nor does the longtime owner expect a knee-jerk reaction to the results of 2023 by Connelly. “Don’t shake it up just for the sake of shaking it up,” Taylor said.

That, of course, doesn’t guarantee the Wolves won’t make changes in personnel in the offseason. When Connelly was first introduced as the new basketball leader in the organization, he said he wouldn’t be afraid to “push the envelope.”

Connelly could hardly have done more to make his point than last summer’s surprising trade of five players and multiple draft picks sent to the Jazz to acquire All-NBA defensive center Rudy Gobert. The pairing with center-forward Karl-Anthony Towns gave Minnesota a “Twin Towers” look to contrast with the “small ball style” of most rivals. The experiment didn’t get a full trial because Towns’ calf injury sidelined him for 52 games.

Taylor acknowledges the question of how well the tandem can play together is on his mind. “They could play better but they must do it. …We have to figure out (how) to run a system that utilizes their abilities and complements each other. And I am not sure that we…reached that potential yet.”

Taylor didn’t like the lack of discipline from some players, including behavior that led to technical fouls. Displeasing him, too, were incidents at season’s end. Gobert threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during the last game of the season and then was suspended from participating in Minnesota’s play-in tournament game with the Lakers to determine playoff seeding. Another starter, forward Jaden McDaniels, badly injured his right hand at half-time in that final game when he punched a wall. He didn’t play again after the incident.

“Childish behavior should not be tolerated,” Taylor said.

Meanwhile, Taylor and his wife Becky are scheduled to host about 60 players and staff from the Lynx tonight at their home in Mankato. That’s a welcome gesture the two have done for years with both the Wolves and WNBA Lynx.

As usual, Becky will make lasagna for the group. Taylor will speak to the gathering and then many of the attendees will play billiards or enjoy other entertainment. “After eating, that’s the highlight. I don’t think listening to Glen Taylor is the highlight.”

The Lynx open the regular season at home May 19 against the Sky. Taylor expects a lot of competition for playing time from a team that needs to improve its defense from last season but could be a surprise.

Taylor, who turned 82 last month, hasn’t been able to attend Lynx preseason games, and was absent from some spring Wolves games. “I had back surgery, but I don’t know the results of it yet,” he said.

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