David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Maturi Attending Greatest Game Reunion

Posted on September 13, 2016September 13, 2016 by David Shama

Former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi and his wife Lois leave for South Bend, Indiana tomorrow and Notre Dame’s 50th reunion of the 1966 “Game of the Century.”

It will be a half century in November that the Fighting Irish and Michigan State played one of the most famous college football games of all-time in East Lansing. Maturi, a graduate of Chisholm High School on Minnesota’s Iron Range, was a student trainer on the 1966 team.

A series of reunion events starts Friday and continues Saturday night at the game between the 2016 Fighting Irish and Spartans at Notre Dame Stadium. At halftime the Notre Dame alums from the 1966 team will be honored with a ceremony.

Attendees are also using the reunion to raise money for the helping others foundations of former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian and Alan Page who was an All-American tackle for the Irish in 1966 and later an All-Pro for the Minnesota Vikings. Parseghian, 93, was the Notre Dame coach for 11 seasons starting in 1964 and is expected to attend the reunion.

Maturi is bringing a large number of family members to celebrate the weekend including his three-month-old granddaughter. He spent over $1,000 on game tickets but said no to Notre Dame’s policy that everyone—including infants—must have a ticket. Balking at buying a ticket for granddaughter Lucille, Maturi contacted a school official who agreed to “smuggling” the infant into Notre Dame Stadium Saturday night.

Maturi remembers many details about the famous game between the two undefeated teams with star players galore, including Irish quarterback Terry Hanratty and 6-foot-7 Spartan defensive lineman Bubba Smith. Hanratty got hurt in the game and Irish All-American running back Nick Eddy didn’t even play because of a bad shoulder. “We had lots of injuries,” Maturi remembered.

The night before Irish games Maturi visited the hotel rooms of players to provide medications. He remembered a disgruntled player greeted the knock on his door like this: “Maturi, you’re the only guy who wakes somebody…to give him sleeping pills to go to sleep.”

Maturi talked about gamesmanship even before kickoff in East Lansing on that famous November 19 day. “I remember some of the Michigan State guys standing outside greeting the bus as we were entering (the stadium). Kind of trying to intimidate, I would say, in some ways. …”

The game ended in a 10-10 tie when Parseghian decided to run out the clock rather than try to position his team down field for a possible winning field goal. Irish quarterback Coley O’Brien had taken over for Hanratty but wasn’t physically strong, Maturi said. O’Brien had diabetes and was physically run-down. Maturi believes that may have been a reason Parseghian was conservative at game’s end.

After the 10-10 tie the Irish made a statement in the next game, a season-ending 51-0 win over USC. Back in 1966 national champions were determined by polls—not playoffs—and most polls selected Notre Dame as No. 1, although some honored Michigan State.

Worth Noting

Dick Jonckowski, public address voice of Gophers basketball and baseball since the 1980s, will be presented with an Honorary M at the M Club Hall of Fame event October 20 at TCF Bank Stadium. Jonckowski starts his 31st season of Gophers basketball this fall and last spring finished his 29th season of baseball.

Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi, formerly the defensive coordinator at Michigan State and now in his second season at Pitt, will be a featured speaker at the Minnesota Football Clinic next spring. The Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s website also reports other clinic “headliners” will be North Dakota State head coach Chris Klieman and former Gophers interim coach Jeff Horton now an assistant at San Diego State.

J.D. Spielman, the 2015 Mr. Football Award winner from Eden Prairie, has yet to catch a pass or make a run in two games as a wide receiver for Nebraska. The 5-9, 180-pound freshman was one of the most explosive runners and kick returners in state history.

With a 21-6 record in nonconference games after two weeks play, and featuring five teams in the top 15 of the Associated Press college football rankings, the Big Ten Conference can do a little strutting. High scoring games have been common with five teams totaling over 50 points last weekend, including the Gophers’ 58-28 win over Indiana State. It’s the first time the Big Ten has had five teams top 50 points since September 13, 1997.

After two weeks following the 14 Big Ten teams, impressions are more solid than in August. With that introduction, here are my initial power rankings of Big Ten teams.

1. Ohio State. Urban Meyer is 52-4 as Buckeyes coach. That’s code for the talent is good and deep in Columbus where OSU is ranked No. 3 nationally.

2. Michigan. Coach Khaki has the No. 4 ranked Wolverines headed for a national championship. We just don’t know how soon.

3. Michigan State. The No. 12 ranked Spartans are defending Big Ten champions and will find out how good they are Saturday at Notre Dame. Nobody scowls better than Spartans coach Mark Dantonio.

4. Wisconsin. The No. 9 ranked Badgers defeated SEC bully and preseason national title contender LSU in their season opener. Maybe the Badgers should play all their games at Lambeau.

5. Iowa. The No. 13 Hawkeyes have got a bunch of exceptional players and a great one in cornerback Desmond King who won the 2015 Jim Thorpe award. Among Iowa’s best are senior quarterback C.J. Beathard and freshman defensive end Anthony Nelson who at 6-7 reminds some folks of the legendary Ted Hendricks.

6. Nebraska. The Huskers are 2-0 but have a lot of damage control work to do after last season’s 6-7 Mike Riley coaching debut. Probably time to start believing if Huskers, averaging 47.5 points per game and giving up 13.5, defeat No. 22 Oregon Saturday in Lincoln.

7. Minnesota. Is this too high a spot for the Gophers? They are an iffy team but we’ll know what to make of Year One in the Tracy Claeys era after Minnesota’s opening Big Ten game at Penn State on October 1. Not good that two cornerbacks are suspended and potential all-Big Ten tight end Brandon Lingen is injured again and out for an indefinite period.

The remaining power rankings look like this: 8. Penn State, 9. Indiana, 10. Northwestern, 11. Maryland, 12. Illinois, 13. Rutgers and 14.Purdue.

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Vikings Show Patience with Bradford

Posted on September 11, 2016September 11, 2016 by David Shama

The Vikings’ offense struggled today in the team’s NFL regular season opener but head coach Mike Zimmer didn’t turn to Sam Bradford for help. That might have surprised the casual football fan but it was likely too soon to use Bradford who joined the team nine days ago and is still acclimating to his situation.

Learning a new offensive system and adjusting to teammates is a major transition for an NFL quarterback. Bradford probably wasn’t ready to play today and there’s no guarantee he will be ready next Sunday when the Vikings open their home season. The learning process is complicated and the Vikings don’t need to repeat the disaster of a few years ago when they rushed newly acquired Josh Freeman into a game only days after he joined the team. It was an embarrassing performance by Freeman and loss by the Vikings against the Giants before a national TV audience.

The Vikings’ offense didn’t score a touchdown today in a 25-16 win over the Titans in Nashville. Shaun Hill, the 36-year-old quarterback who has taken over for injured starter Teddy Bridgewater, completed 18 of 33 passes for 236 yards. He missed two throws that could have been touchdowns but he avoided turnovers.

Hill might be the starting quarterback for awhile. Bradford, 29, is a more highly regarded passer but he must do well with his learning curve and if the team keeps winning Zimmer might stay with Hill indefinitely. Hill is looked at by Zimmer as a game manager, and while the Vikings will have to start scoring touchdowns they don’t want to give them away, either, like the Titans did.

Minnesota’s defense used two Titans’ turnovers on read-options by quarterback Marcus Mariota to score second half touchdowns. Linebacker Eric Kendricks made a third quarter interception and ran the ball 77 yards for a touchdown that gave the Vikings their first lead of the game, 12-10. In the fourth quarter another read-option mistake led to a fumble recovery and 24-yard run for a touchdown by Vikings’ defensive end Danielle Hunter.

The Vikings had trailed at halftime 10-0 before Blair Walsh kicked two third quarter field goals to narrow the score. The first field goal was set up by a 61-yard kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson to begin the third quarter. Big plays like that fueled the Vikings’ comeback on a day when All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson rushed 19 times for 31 yards.

Peterson didn’t have many holes to run through as the Vikings try to develop their offensive line with new starters in guard Alex Boone and tackle Andre Smith. To the line’s credit, though, the pass protection was often solid, particularly in the second half.

Regardless of how soon—or if—Bradford plays, the Vikings will need to get their run game going. In the offseason the Vikings made red zone offense a priority. Today the offense hardly had a sniff inside the Titans’ 20 yard line. Pass receivers, particularly in the first half, had difficulty getting open from defenders and Hill missed some throws. The run game, mostly led by Peterson, was a flop.

With Hill, or Bradford, the Vikings need to get some touchdowns from their offense but for today they had enough other options to win against a Titans team that was 3-13 last season and might not be improved.

Worth Noting

Fans attending the first-ever regular season game at U.S. Bank Stadium next Sunday between the Vikings and Packers can expect a memorable night for more reasons than football. Vikings executive Lester Bagley told Sports Headliners the event atmosphere and entertainment—including a “Super Bowl quality halftime”—will be special. “The building will be rocking and it will be electric,” Bagley said.

A video will recognize key figures that helped support and obtain the votes to make funding for the stadium a reality. Leaders include governor Mark Dayton, former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak and the late David Olson who for years was president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. “He was one of the most important people in getting votes for the stadium,” Bagley said of Olson who died from cancer in 2014.

Former Gophers coach Jerry Kill was in town Friday and Saturday signing copies of his new book Chasing Dreams: Living My Life One Yard at a Time. A VIP signing Friday morning raised about $200,000 to assist the fight against epilepsy, the coach told Sports Headliners.

Kill was introduced to the crowd during the Gophers-Indiana State game Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium and received a standing ovation as fans chanted, “Jerry!, Jerry!” Kill, who now works administratively with the football program at Kansas State, was able to be in Minneapolis because the Wildcats had a bye in their schedule on Saturday.

The Gophers might have several true freshmen who eventually become impact players and difference-makers this season and in the years ahead. Receiving playing time already and worth watching are linebacker Carter Coughlin, defensive end Tai’yon Devers, linebacker Kamal Martin and wide receiver Tyler Johnson.

Minnesota used six freshmen, either true first-year players or redshirts, on kickoffs during the 58-28 win over Indiana State.

With franchises in Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL, NHL and WNBA, plus Gophers basketball, football and hockey, the competition for attention and revenues in this marketplace is intense and about to become fiercer with the arrival of Minnesota’s new Major League Soccer franchise and stadium. Glen Taylor, who owns the NBA Timberwolves and WNBA Lynx, told Sports Headliners he isn’t that concerned about soccer splitting the sports revenue pie in too many pieces.

Taylor sees the soccer audience as having large segments that aren’t necessarily passionate fans—or fans at all—of the other teams in town. The pro soccer crowd in Minnesota is expected to include immigrants new to the state and younger patrons such as college students. For individuals and families, the affordability of tickets compared to the major pro sports teams could make the Minnesota soccer franchise a popular alternative.

Taylor analyzed factors like those mentioned above—and that soccer is the most popular game in the world—and decided to buy 15 percent of the new franchise that is led by majority owner Bill McGuire, and begins play next year. Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune, said his ownership stake was motivated by a desire to add diversity to Minnesota’s sports offerings.

“That’s my most important one (reason for involvement),” he said. “No. 2, I think, it would be an event (sport) that will grow in the future. It just appears to me it is going to be more dominant in the United States. …I hope it will be somewhat similar to the Timberwolves, that as the league evolves the value of the franchise increases and it will be a good investment for my family.”

San Diego State is searching for a new athletic director but the eventual hire won’t change the status of Bloomington, Minnesota native Brian Dutcher who carries the title of assistant coach and “head coach in waiting” for the men’s basketball program. Brian’s father, Jim Dutcher, said that his son has been assured the promise to succeed head coach Steve Fisher remains in place. Fisher’s son Mark Fisher has been struggling with ALS for years but continues to be an assistant coach.

U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III will announce three of his four Ryder Cup Captain’s picks tomorrow at 10 a.m. from Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska. The Golf Channel will televise the news conference.

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What Vikings Fans Need to Know & Do

Posted on September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 by David Shama

With the Vikings’ season starting in a couple days, there is a new book to help fans celebrate their franchise. Star Tribune sportswriter Mark Craig educates and entertains fans with 100 Things Vikings Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (Triumph Books).

Craig has been a regular on the Vikings beat for years and is known for his comprehensive coverage. Craig’s thoroughness shows up in his paperback book that includes the prominent names from the franchise’s start in 1961 up through 2015. There is plenty of good storytelling in 100 short chapters, with surprises mixed in including the song Prince wrote for his favorite team.

Mark Craig book Vikings fans will learn how the franchise got its name and why the first game was played in South Dakota. Howard Webb Field in Sioux Falls is where the Vikings got their start in August of 1961 before 4,954 fans. Craig suggests Vikings fans visit the field as one of the things that true Purple Heads will enjoy. Other recommended destinations include Kezar Stadium in San Francisco where Jim Marshall made his infamous wrong-way run for a touchdown.

Craig interviewed many sources for the book including former Vikings owner Red McCombs who talked about his trade of star receiver Randy Moss in 2005. McCombs dispatched Moss to the Raiders shortly before selling the team. Craig writes that McCombs didn’t make the trade out of revenge for not being able to secure funding for a new stadium. Moss, moody and unpredictable, had just worn out his welcome with McCombs and a lot of other people.

In the chapter about Moss’ trade to the Raiders, Craig recalls details about the closing seconds of the 2004 season finale against the Redskins when Moss left the field, and later in the locker room where he was confronted by livid teammate Matt Birk. That wouldn’t be the end, though, to Moss’ erratic behavior in the NFL.

Moss is a recurring figure in Craig’s book. Chapters include “Randy and Red Resurrect a Franchise,” “Visit Lambeau Field, the Site of Moss’ Moonshot,” and “Eat at Tinucci’s—Where Randy Moss Wouldn’t Take His Dog.”

Moss had a brief but second hook up with the Vikings, joining the team in 2010 after the season began and lasting less than a month. Craig writes that in a move that didn’t follow franchise protocol, Vikings coach Brad Childress unilaterally released Moss after the wide receiver had been “wildly insubordinate” the day before in a game against the Patriots. Within weeks team ownership fired Childress.

Craig acknowledges that the former Vikings coach annoyed players because he was too strict. Childress won no popularity contests with the fans, either, but Craig reports how without notice the coach once stopped what he was doing in his office and accompanied offensive lineman Anthony Herrera to his U.S. citizenship ceremony in St. Paul.

It was Childress who coached the Vikings in 2009 when almost 40-year-old Brett Favre arrived as the Vikings quarterback. Craig tells about Favre’s magical debut game when in the closing seconds he brought the Vikings from behind to win a game that almost blew the top off the Metrodome. Receiver Greg Lewis caught the winning touchdown pass with two seconds remaining. Favre was under such pressure he didn’t even know who he was throwing to and six years later Adrian Peterson still called it “the most amazing” play he’s ever seen.

Peterson receives his own attention in the book including a chapter about his startling and successful comeback from knee surgery. Peterson had torn up his left knee in a game on Christmas Eve in 2011 but soon was determined to return for the next season, and he did so rushing for over 2,000 yards.

There are a lot of feel-good stories in Craig’s book including the author’s suggestion fans visit Peterson’s hometown of Palestine, Texas. In June of each year Adrian Peterson Day celebrates the future hall of famer’s achievements on the field and gifts he has made to the community.

Readers will find some chuckles as they make their way through the book. There is, for example, a chapter on “prankster” Wally Hilgenberg, and another on the “dirty jobs” that some former Vikings experienced prior to their pro football careers. For “dirty” details you will have to buy the book.

Craig told Sports Headliners it took a year to write the book. “Learned to wake up early,” he said. “Getting up at 4:30 in the morning and putting things together—talking to people.”

Craig is pleased he can pass along his Vikings knowledge and the new tales he learned in a year’s worth of research. “I get to share them (all) in a book form,” he said. “It’s a pretty neat concept, I think, being able to present 100 things that people should know or do.”

Worth Noting

Former Gophers coach Jerry Kill is in Minneapolis tomorrow and Saturday signing copies of his new book Chasing Dreams: Living My Life One Yard at a Time. Kill will be in the Dairy Queen Club at TCF Bank Stadium from 8 to 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. From 1 to 3 p.m. tomorrow he will be at the University of Minnesota Bookstore at 300 Washington Ave. S.E. Saturday Kill will be available from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Buffalo Wild Wings location at 2001 University Ave. S.E.

A friend in Las Vegas reports the Vikings’ odds to win the Super Bowl are 10 to 1. He visited a sports book yesterday and learned that with the addition of quarterback Sam Bradford, the Vikings’ odds are superior to all but five other clubs. The five with shorter odds are New England 6 to 1; Arizona 6 to 1; Green Bay 8 to 1; Seattle 8 to 1; and Pittsburgh 9 to 1.

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen after being asked this week about Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers: “I am focused on the Tennessee Titans. I don’t know who Aaron Rodgers is right now.”

The Vikings open their regular season Sunday against the lowly-regarded Titans before facing the Packers and Rodgers in their home opener September 18. The Packers have won the last three games in Minneapolis.

Eden Prairie native and offensive tackle Carter Bykowski, who was added to the Vikings’ practice squad this week, told Sports Headliners he was going to give his pro football ambitions at least another 30 days if no NFL team had signed him. Bykowski, 26, has a business degree from Iowa State and some day could end up working for a local company.

Former Gophers quarterback Philip Nelson completed 28 of 32 passes including five touchdown passes in his debut game for East Carolina last Saturday when the Pirates routed West Carolina 52-7.

Creative Charters is offering Gophers football fans travel packages to away games including November 12 at Nebraska—with no overnight stay. A charter plane will leave Minneapolis the morning of November 12 and fly to Lincoln for the 6:30 p.m. game between the Gophers and Cornhuskers. The charter returns to Minneapolis following the game.

Creative Charters is offering transportation and more to all five away Gophers games but the Illinois and Maryland games are already sold out. For more information, visit the company website, creativecharter.com.

Pioneer Press sports columnist Charley Walters comes from a golf family. He has an 11.2 handicap and brothers Dick and Steve Walters, who work part-time at Wayzata Country Club, have handicaps under five. Charley has played a lot of courses including in Ireland but Augusta National is his favorite. “As good as it gets,” he said.

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