David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

‘Championship Depth’ on Vikes Staff

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

As head coach, Mike Zimmer has led a turnaround of the Vikings. After a first-year 7-9 record in 2014, the Vikings won the NFC North Division last season going 11-5.

In only two seasons Zimmer has been anointed one of the NFL’s best head coaches. A May 25 article in USA Today, for example, ranked Zimmer the fourth best coach in the league.

Zimmer had never been a head coach in the NFL when general manager Rick Spielman hired him in January of 2014 to lead a rebuilding of the team. From the start Zimmer, a former defensive coordinator with the Bengals, showed a commitment to defense. He also insisted that all his players perform with extra effort and football intelligence.

An example of on field I.Q. is that last season the Vikings were the least penalized team in the NFL with 88 flags. The offense was the least penalized in the 32-team league with 30 penalties.

The Vikings improved in Zimmer’s first season and clearly made even more progress last year. The franchise is on a shortlist of NFL organizations who smart observers predict will be Super Bowl contenders in the coming years. The dream scenario, of course, is the Vikings will play in the 2018 Super Bowl that will be held at U.S. Bank Stadium.

But Zimmer hasn’t set the Viking ship in a new direction by himself. Spielman has drafted wisely in recent years, acquiring young talent like quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, tight end Kyle Rudolph and safety Harrison Smith.

The personnel matters but so too does the coaching. And Zimmer has surrounded himself with impressive assistants, most of whom were with him last year too. Last week former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton watched practice and talked about a staff that got even better this winter with the addition of tight ends coach Pat Shurmur and offensive line coach Tony Sparano. “It’s a very impressive group,” Dalton told Sports Headliners.

Shurmur is starting his 18th NFL season this year, Sparano his 19th. They are not only former NFL assistants, but also ex-head coaches—Shurmur with the Eagles and Sparano with the Dolphins. Dalton sees the addition of the two veteran teachers as “juicing the staff” and providing “championship depth.”

Dalton said championship teams need depth in player personnel and so do coaching staffs. And it’s not only the number of years coaching that counts, but also the varied experiences in different systems and philosophies that matter.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is an ex-NFL head coach with the Chargers and Redskins. Dalton said Zimmer shows confidence in himself with a willingness to have three former head coaches on his offensive staff. “I’ll bet their meetings are really interesting because they’re going to bring different takes on it (what to plan) and they’ll find the right matchups for the Vikings’ offense,” Dalton said.

While Zimmer likes his staff, the best news he probably received last week was when Spielman got a contract extension done with Smith for a reported five years and $51.25 million. The extension had been a subject of speculation going back to last year, and earlier this spring Smith told Sports Headliners he didn’t know what the timeline would be on a deal even though he was set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

“I figured it would get done,” Zimmer said. “I don’t think that Harrison is the kind of guy that really cares that much about money. I think he loves playing football and loves being out here and working, and things like that. So, I figured it would get done eventually.”

Rudolph signed a reported five-year extension two years ago and his experience is that it’s a plus to get contracts done. “…You can say all you want that you’re not worried about it, you’re not thinking about it, but it’s just done and binding now and he can fully focus on football,” Rudolph said. “He’s one of the best I know at preparing, coming in everyday, working hard, practicing everyday. No one prepares more than Harrison does, and he deserves every penny that he got and I am happy for him.”

Rudolph benefits from practicing against Smith, a safety he regards as the best in the NFL. “He can do everything,” Rudolph said. “He can cover. He can play in the box. He can blitz. And I think he’s part of the reason why our defense is so successful. He’s a guy that can be put in almost any situation and he’s going to succeed.”

What does Zimmer believe Smith means to his defense?

“Well, he’s a leader by example,” Zimmer answered. “He plays real hard. He’s tough. He’s smart. You know he’s like a lot of our guys.”

Plays hard, tough and smart? Yeah, sounds familiar.

Twins Notes

This is a weird schedule week for the Twins. They defeated the Red Sox at home yesterday and start a three-game series in Anaheim tonight, before returning to Minneapolis and playing a four-game series against the Yankees.

The Twins are an American League worst 19-43 after yesterday’s extra inning 7-4 win against the Red Sox. The club has 100 games remaining on the schedule and must improve to avoid the franchise’s worst record ever. The 1982 Twins finished 60 and 102. To reach 61 victories the Twins will need to win 42 percent of their remaining games. The final record would then be 61 and 101. Not likely.

Max Kepler (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

Twins rookie outfielder Max Kepler, who won yesterday’s game with a three-run home run, was rated the organization’s third best prospect entering this season and best at strike-zone discipline by Baseball America.

Twins shortstop Eduardo Nunez is the team’s only serious All-Star Game candidate. He is seventh in batting average among Major League players at .327. His total of 14 stolen bases ranks as sixth best.

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Twins Big Papi Loss Still Haunts

Posted on June 10, 2016June 10, 2016 by David Shama

During a season of bad memories for Twins fans, a “nightmare” is back at Target Field—presumably for the last time.

The “nightmare” has a name, David Ortiz. He and his Red Sox teammates play their only series in Minneapolis this weekend starting with tonight’s game and continuing through Sunday. The 40-year-old designated hitter has said this is his last Major League season. If so, local fans won’t be so “haunted” in the future by an All-Star slugger who could have had a dreamy career in this town.

In late August of 1996 the Twins acquired Ortiz in a trade with the Mariners for third baseman Dave Hollins. The move could have turned out to be the best ever made by general manager Terry Ryan. Ortiz was a minor league prospect and first baseman when he joined the Twins, but he participated in 15 big league games starting in 1997 and was with the club at least portions of each season through 2002. During his last year with the Twins he hit 20 home runs and drove in 75 runs.

In the 2002 offseason Ortiz was arbitration eligible and the Twins had to make a decision whether to pay him more money and keep him around. The club had veteran Doug Mientkiewicz at first base and in the minors there was a converted catcher prospect named Justin Morneau. The Twins decided to move on without Ortiz so the Red Sox signed the then first baseman.

Ryan has acknowledged he made a bad decision releasing Ortiz, while the Red Sox front office has been high-fiving from the beginning of the Ortiz era. His first season in Boston, he hit 31 home runs and drove in 101 runs. Perhaps the greatest hitter in Red Sox history except for the immortal Ted Williams, Ortiz has 519 career home runs. Only 21 big leaguers have ever hit more.

Ortiz has been a major contributor to the best run in Red Sox history starting in 2004. He has played on three World Series championship teams during that span and was the 2013 series MVP.

This season the Red Sox, 34-25, are contenders in the American League East. Guess who is leading the club in most major hitting categories? Yeah, it’s the old man who is batting the ball around ballparks so productively he is a candidate to win the Triple Crown.

Ortiz is hitting .338 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI. He ranks third in average, and fourth in home runs among American League hitters, and is first in RBI. He is also the league leader in slugging and on-base percentages.

In other words, the Twins still miss this guy even as he approaches his 41st birthday in November and makes a farewell tour of MLB parks. The Giants honored him in San Francisco earlier this week and the Twins will do the same this weekend.

Among Twins players who will have some of their last looks at the man nicknamed Big Papi is Miguel Sano. Too bad the 6-3, 230-pound Ortiz isn’t in a Twins uniform where he could mentor Sano. Both players are from the Dominican Republic. Sano is 22 years old and has Big Papi potential but his professional approach to his work is being questioned. As a Twin, Ortiz could have been a mentor, a major influence on Sano who has struggled learning to play right field and has seen his batting average fall drastically from last season’s .269.

Ortiz has shaped a good-guy image off the field. He has developed the David Ortiz Children’s Fund that assists kids in New England and the Dominican Republic with pediatric care. In 2011 he was honored with the Roberto Clemente Award given annually to a major leaguer who best represents the game on and off the field.

Yes, when the Twins parted ways with Ortiz they said goodbye to an eventual megastar and leader. But if you want to remember—and not forget him—here are a couple of suggestions. Show up at Target Field this weekend, or visit Bigpapi.com where his website celebrates “the end of an era with David Ortiz.” Memorabilia available for purchase ranges from coffee cups to bases.

Worth Noting

With a major league worst 17-40 record, the Twins aren’t headed for any championships this season but 25 years ago the franchise had a club that would win the 1991 World Series. That team started slow but took off in June with a season best month of 22-6.

Minnesota native Harvey Mackay and wife Carol Ann are in Louisville today for the Muhammad Ali memorial service. The two have been close friends of Ali, who died last week, and his spouse Lonnie Ali. The couples frequently enjoyed dinners together.

The service for Ali will be held at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville this afternoon with about 15,000 expected to attend and millions following the event around the world. Celebrities expected include Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal, Bryant Gumbel, Steve Wynn and heads of state.

The outpouring of sympathies extended to Lonnie and the Ali family has come from various parts of the world as media coverage reported the passing of a man whose popularity transcended his legendary boxing career. “In my lifetime I have never seen anything like the media explosion on his passing. He had the most recognizable face in the world,” said Mackay, a 1954 University of Minnesota graduate.

Mackay, who played golf for the Gophers before establishing Minneapolis-based Mackay Envelope and becoming a New York Times bestselling author, has drafted an article on Ali for his syndicated business column. The column focusing on lessons learned from Ali will be printed in a couple of weeks in various U.S. newspapers including the Star Tribune.

Timberwolves fans may do a double take when they next see Tyus Jones. The Minnesota native and Wolves point guard has changed his body, becoming more muscular with off-season training this spring in California.

The Minnesota Wild announced that $15,635 was raised as part of the event held at the BMO Harris Bank in Edina last month to help support people affected by the devastating wildfires around Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. Wild players Erik Haula, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Nate Prosser, Jared Spurgeon and Jason Zucker signed autographs for fans who donated $50 and the Minnesota Wild Foundation is providing an additional $5,000 to the Red Cross. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross to support those affected by the wildfires in Alberta.

With free admission to the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am, the public is welcome to watch professional and amateur golfers at Southview Country Club in West St. Paul. The men’s event begins today, with competition continuing through Sunday. The women’s event will be Saturday and Sunday.

The men’s field includes last year’s champion Ryan Helminen who three times has won the tournament. Seven-time champ Don Berry and four-time winner Dave Tentis will also play. Two-time titlist Martha Nause is part of the women’s field.

For over 44 years the Tapemark Charity Pro-Am has been raising money to help people with developmental disabilities. The Tapemark has raised and donated more than $7 million to nonprofits serving the disabled and their families. More at Tapemarkgolf.org.

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Wolves Owner Sees NBA Glory Ahead

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

Glen Taylor is watching the NBA playoffs this spring, including the Finals between the Cavs and Warriors, and thinking about his team becoming a force.

The Wolves owner hasn’t seen his franchise in the playoffs since 2004 but he has a roster of young players that every basketball expert on the planet acknowledges is very promising. The group is led by the NBA Rookies of the Year the last two seasons, forward Andrew Wiggins and center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Asked about the likelihood his club could make a deep playoff run within four years, Taylor said: “I don’t think it’s next year but I certainly think the potential is there.”

Glen Taylor (photo courtesy of Minnesota Timberwolves).

Then Taylor thought for a second and talked about a longer period of time where he envisions the Wolves challenging for NBA titles. “I would say over the next 10 years because of the age(s) of our players we should be a challenging team in many of those years,” he told Sports Headliners on Monday.

The Wolves’ roster has nine players 26 years old or younger. Wiggins is 21 and Towns 20. Even veteran point guard Ricky Rubio is only 25. Rubio’s starting teammate in the backcourt, Zach LaVine, is only 21.

When Taylor watches the playoffs and the teams making deep runs including the Cavs and Warriors, he sees contrasts with his club. The Wolves, he said, must develop better team defense, improve their three-point shooting and be able to make the biggest of plays. And while Taylor likes the nucleus of his starters, he sees a need for a deeper and better group of reserves coming off the bench.

The talent pool figures to improve this offseason. The Wolves will have the No. 5 pick in the NBA Draft later this month and Taylor said new basketball bosses Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden are sorting out options. Those options include who to draft, or whether to trade the pick.

Thibodeau is president of basketball operations. Layden is general manager. “They’re very thorough,” Taylor said. “They’re doing a lot of work. They work good as a team.”

Taylor said the Wolves have moved beyond the mission of prioritizing the acquisition of young talent and now will give more emphasis to older players via free agency or trades. All tools could be in play this summer, and there is ongoing speculation Thibodeau wants to acquire a veteran or two from the Bulls where he coached before coming to Minneapolis.

Whether 40-year-old Kevin Garnett returns for another season is undecided. Earlier this spring Taylor was interested in talking to Garnett but the timing wasn’t right because Garnett’s mother-in-law was in hospice and recently died. “I just kind of got off of it,” Taylor said. “I think the next communications will probably be between Thibs and KG. That’s probably the more important one, and that’s what I have suggested to both of them that they get some time together.”

Taylor said he and a Chinese businessman expect to finalize the sale of a five percent share of the franchise this week. Taylor declined to identify the new investor, but the two men were introduced by a mutual friend awhile ago and then meetings developed.

About 10 days ago transactions were completed and approved by the NBA involving a 9.5 percent share of the franchise to Meyer Orbach from New Jersey.

Worth Noting

The Timberwolves began play in 1989 but in more than 25 years the franchise has never advanced to the NBA Finals. Contrast that with the Minneapolis Lakers who won five pro championships from 1949-1954.

The coach of all five championship teams was John Kundla who still lives in Minneapolis and turns 100 on July 3.

Archives in the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting in St. Louis Park include several moments of a 1959 Minneapolis Lakers-Detroit Pistons radio broadcast. Ray Christensen, who made his fame broadcasting Gophers games, does the play-by-play.

Sympathies to family and friends of Bill McMoore who died Monday morning at age 90 in Plymouth. A Minnesotan for most of his life, McMoore was one of the first African-American football players at the University of Minnesota. McMoore made a career of leadership in the Minneapolis public schools including tenure as athletic director for the city’s high schools.

Former Gophers basketball captain Al Nuness said McMoore was revered for his pioneering career. “He was very, very well respected and was Mr. University of Minnesota to many athletes including African-Americans,” Nuness told Sports Headliners.

McMoore was a member of the University Alumni Association board of directors, former president of the “M” Club and is a member of the “M” Club Hall of Fame. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Peter’s AME Church in south Minneapolis.

The goal posts in the new U.S. Bank Stadium were installed Monday. Upon request, individual Vikings are touring their new home but as a team the players won’t take the field until warm-ups for the first preseason game in August.

The city of Minneapolis has inspected and approved the stadium, and provided notification of the findings to the building’s general contractor, M.A. Mortenson. That means organizations such as SMG (the building’s stadium management company) and the Vikings’ ticket personnel can move into the facility.

For the 51st consecutive year the Vikings will hold training camp on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Vikings report to camp Thursday, July 28, and hold their first team practice Friday, July 29. The Vikings will have an evening practice for fans Saturday, August 6 in Blakeslee Stadium followed by a team introduction and fireworks.

Studies are showing soccer ranks No. 1 in concussions as measured by percentage of participants. Football ranks behind not only soccer but a few other sports.

Twins shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who never hit more than five home runs during six previous MLB seasons, already has nine. He has homered in four of his last five games including two in last night’s win over the Marlins. He is hitting .400 in his last 13 games and has hit safely in 12 of the games.

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