David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

No Bonuses for Gophers Coach Pitino

Posted on March 13, 2015March 13, 2015 by David Shama

This season Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino won’t earn any incentive bonuses tied to his team’s on-court performances. The coach’s contract with the University of Minnesota includes many potential bonuses including $25,000 for winning the Big Ten Conference Tournament, but the Gophers were eliminated from the tourney in Chicago last night. Minnesota defeated Rutgers on Wednesday but lost to Ohio State last evening.

The Gophers had a disappointing season after winning last year’s NIT championship and returning four starters. Expectations in 2015 were for an NCAA Tournament invitation and winning record in the Big Ten. Instead the Gophers finished 6-12 in regular season league games and won’t be considered for an NCAA invite with their 18-15 overall record. Pitino’s contract guarantees him a $50,000 bonus for a winning record in the Big Ten and the same amount if the Gophers are regular season conference champs.

There are no bonuses for postseason tournaments other than the NCAA tourney. Pitino can earn $50,000 for getting his team into the NCAA tourney, $50,000 for making the Sweet 16, $50,000 for the Final Four, and $100,000 for winning the national championship.

Contract incentives also include $25,000 for being honored as Big Ten Coach of the Year and $50,000 for National Coach of the Year.

Pitino didn’t earn any of the above mentioned bonuses this year or last. Pitino’s 2013-2014 team, his first at Minnesota, finished with an 8-10 record in the Big Ten. That group was considered an overachieving team that won seven of its last eight games including five straight to win the NIT title.

This season’s team, led by five seniors, has lost six of the last eight games. Among gloomy experiences were road and away losses to Penn State, and a home loss to Northwestern—two of the Big Ten’s historically worst programs.

The Gophers lost eight conference games by six points or less. Pitino has said the team hasn’t been lucky at times and he is correct, but the Gophers’ defensive failures have been a cause of misfortune. Minnesota hasn’t been able to correct its season long weakness in defending three point shooting, has been in ineffective at making key defensive stops, and sometimes been overmatched in defensive rebounding.

With the seniors leaving the program, the Gophers’ starting lineup, and certainly the roster, is somewhat of a mystery for next season. Pitino has scholarships to work with this spring and one source close to the program predicted at least two new players will be added, perhaps a small and power forward.

Pitino, 32, was hired by athletic director Norwood Teague in the spring of 2013. The contract he and University representatives signed in May of that year stated a base salary of $500,000 per year and supplemental compensation (for media, fundraising, community involvement and more) of $700,000. Annual salary increases are subject to evaluation by the University.

Worth Noting

Gophers leading scorer Andre Hollins made five of nine field goal attempts in the first half of last Sunday’s final regular season game against Penn State, then went 0-5 for in the second half. In Wednesday night’s opening Big Ten Tournament win over Rutgers he was 0-5 from the floor, and then last evening made four of 14 field goal attempts. That’s a four of 24 shooting slump for the senior guard who has been one of Minnesota’s best players for four years.

Despite a career low batting average of .277 last season, Joe Mauer still compares favorably with other hitters past and present. Among active players, Mauer’s .319 lifetime average is second only to Albert Pujols at .320. For career batting averages since 1950 among major leaguers, Mauer ranks seventh. His on-base percentage of .402 is third among today’s players, trailing Joey Votto at .427 and Miguel Cabrera, .411.

Ervin Santana, the right-handed veteran pitcher who the Twins signed as a free agent last December, could be the staff ace and is capable of being dominant. Twelve times during his 10 season MLB career he has produced double-digit strikeouts in a game. In seven starts for the Braves last season from July 18-August 18 he had a six-game win streak, going 6-0 with a 2.98 ERA.

Coach Don Lucia’s Gophers hockey team plays its last two regular season games tonight and Saturday evening at Mariucci Arena with second place Minnesota one point behind first place Michigan State in the Big Ten standings. The Gophers are defending conference champions, and in 2012 and 2013 Minnesota won WCHA regular season titles.

This weekend’s series will be the final two games at Mariucci Arena for six seniors. Seth Ambroz, Travis Boyd, Christian Isackson, Ben Marshall, Kyle Rau and Sam Warning comprise one of the most successful classes in program history with three straight regular season conference titles (a Gophers men’s record) and two trips to the NCAA Frozen Four. A second consecutive Big Ten title would make the senior class the only group at Minnesota to win regular season titles in each of four years together. Their record is 101-42-15 (.687), including 60-13-7 (.812) at Mariucci Arena.

Bemidji State, Bowling Green, Lake Superior State, Minnesota State, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan are teams participating in this weekend’s opening round of the WCHA men’s hockey playoffs. Rosters include many Minnesotans such as Bemidji State freshman Michael Bitzer (Moorhead High School) who leads WCHA goalies in save percentage (.932) and is tied for second in goals against average (1.76). Bitzer was honored yesterday as the WCHA Rookie of the Year. Bowling Green junior goalie Tommy Burke (Academy of Holy Angels) is seventh in both save percentage (.919) and goals against average (2.19).

Minnesota State forward C.J. Franklin (Forest Lake) is second among freshmen scorers with 24 points. Senior teammate Zach Palmquist (South St. Paul) is second in scoring among WCHA defensemen with 26 points.

Former Gophers basketball assistant coach Dan Kosmoski has his St. Olaf men’s team (23-5) in the Division III Sweet 16 with a game tonight against Marietta in Rock Island, Illinois. The Oles have won a school record number of games for one season and can play Saturday against either Augustana or Mount Union if they win tonight. A Saturday win sends the Oles to the Division III Final Four.

Automated telephone calls were made to the public this week urging recipients to contact state legislators regarding a bill to reverse Minnesota State High School League transgender policy. League officials voted in December for transgender athletes to play on the school teams best aligned with their gender identity.

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Gophers’ Postseason Future Not Clear

Posted on March 11, 2015March 11, 2015 by David Shama

Gophers seniors Elliott Eliason, Andre Hollins, Kendal Shell and Mo Walker have already played in two National Invitation Tournaments during their college careers. They and their teammates might have to win a couple of Big Ten Tournament games this week to get another invitation—even if that “ticket” isn’t exactly coveted.

The Gophers, the No. 11 conference tourney seed, play No. 14 seed Rutgers tonight in Chicago. Minnesota finished 6-12 in the Big Ten and is 17-14 overall. The Gophers have lost five of their last six games and overall have a lackluster resume.

The cold truth is the NIT Selection Committee might not want the Gophers. Nixing an invite will be made easier if Minnesota loses to Rutgers and finishes its schedule with a 17-15 record. Rutgers, 2-16 during its first season of Big Ten basketball, is 10-21 overall and has lost 14 consecutive games. Last year Indiana had a 17-15 overall record and was left out of the 32-team NIT team field.

The next postseason step down from the NIT is the College Basketball Invitational, a lesser quality 16-team tournament created in 2007. Invites to the CBI aren’t always accepted and the suspicion here is the Gophers would say no—thereby ending a disappointing season that saw them start 0-5 in the Big Ten, lose their last regular season game at the buzzer and disappoint a fan base who thought a team with four starters returning from the 2014 NIT champs could earn its way into the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, the Gophers haven’t been as good as either they or the fans expected. Minnesota was mostly competitive in Big Ten play but lost eight conference games by six points or less. The latest heartbreaker came Sunday when Penn State’s D.J. Newbill hit a three-pointer as time expired to break a 76-76 tie.

Nobody blamed Gophers freshman guard Nate Mason for not doing all he could to defend Newbill but often the team hasn’t made defensive stops in close games when it should have. “We have defensive lapses,” Hollins said.

After the game coach Richard Pitino was frustrated about his team. “I think they’re playing really, really hard. I really do. I feel bad for the seniors that they go out with a loss like that.”

Could the Gophers look forward to playing in the NIT? “I don’t know,” Pitino answered on Sunday. “I think they’re looking toward playing in the conference tournament.”

In the locker room Sunday the gloom was in contrast to the sunny weather outside. Hollins admitted an NIT encore for a third time in four years would be difficult. “I don’t know. I am a competitor. I like playing, so I don’t want my career to end on a bad note. I am not even thinking about that (the NIT).”

When Eliason was asked about the NIT he said he “wouldn’t be too excited about that.” Walker, though, put a smiley face on another NIT. “Yeah, sure. I just want to play for as long as possible this season. Whoever it is, I want to play as much basketball as possible. I am never going to get this opportunity back.”

To earn an invitation to the NCAA Tournament the Gophers have to win five games in five days in the Big Ten Tournament and emerge as tourney champs. That would be the most improbable of stories but an NIT invite is at least possible—even if it wasn’t what the Gophers had in mind back in January.

“It’s not a real entitled group so I don’t think they’re above anything,” Pitino said. “Nor should they be, and I guess we’re just focused on the conference tournament right now.”

Worth Noting

Big Ten Conference statistics show the Gophers weren’t effective defensively. Minnesota ranked 12th in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense, and last in three-point field goal percentage defense among 14 teams.

The last part of the season Pitino allocated more playing time to 6-9 Gaston Diedhiou and 6-11 Bakary Konate. Both are freshmen who have potential but also much to learn. Pitino played the two together for a few minutes against Wisconsin last week. Next season they could be on the floor together a lot. “They’re certainly going to be a major part of it next year,” Pitino said.

The Gophers, who sold out four games last season at Williams Arena, sold out only one in 2014-2015, the Wisconsin game. Minnesota finished ninth among league teams in average home attendance for Big Ten games. The Gophers averaged 13,013 for nine home games, finishing ahead of Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue and Rutgers.

Bryan Green, the father of highly recruited East Ridge High School quarterback Seth Green, has moved the family to the Dallas area because of a job change. Seth, once considered one of the top Minnesota prep football recruits for the class of 2016, will play his senior season for Allen High School in Allen, Texas. Green has verbally committed to Oregon.

The opinion here is Eden Prairie High School junior linebacker Carter Coughlin, who has said he will announce his college choice soon, will choose the Gophers. Coughlin, could be the state’s best senior next fall.

Next Monday Vikings fans who have signed up on a waitlist can start touring the New Stadium Preview Center. Up until Monday, tours at the downtown center are only for existing season ticket holders. The new domed stadium is on target to open in 2016.

Bryant Allen, who played for both the Gophers football and basketball teams during the 2009-2010 school year, is a starting senior guard on the Dakota State basketball team playing this afternoon in a first round Division II NAIA national tournament game against the College of Idaho. Allen, 24, was at Illinois State before transferring to the NAIA school located in Madison, South Dakota.

Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer, South Dakota head coach Joe Glenn and former NFL player and motivational author Joe Ehrmann will be headline speakers at the Minnesota Football Clinic. Priefer speaks March 26 while Glenn and Ehrmann will talk March 27 at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. The clinic is March 26-28 and is a partnership between the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Gophers.

Torii Hunter empathizes with Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton in a March 2 USA Today story in which the Twins right fielder acknowledges the drug habit of his 64-year-old father Theotis. Hamilton was recently suspended for a drug relapse. Hunter told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale his dad has been hooked on drugs almost as long as he can remember. “It’s like a demon that takes you over,” Hunter said in the story.

A lot of people in baseball and beyond sympathize with the horrors of drug abuse. New Twins manager Paul Molitor can speak from personal experience. Ron Simon, Molitor’s agent as a young major league baseball player, wrote about his client’s problem with cocaine in Simon’s 1993 book The Game, Behind the Game, Negotiating in the Big Leagues.

“The police were called to my house on Christmas Day, 1980,” Simon wrote. “They had to break in to see if Paul Molitor was inside, dead or alive. Molitor was in my house, sleeping off a wild night of cocaine abuse.”

Simon wrote in his book Molitor stopped using cocaine after that memorable night. Since then Molitor has talked to others about what he went through, sharing his experience.

Dick Miller, a tackle on the Gophers’ 1960 national championship football team and former athlete at Rochester Lourdes High School, will be inducted into the Rochester Quarterbacks Club Hall of Fame on April 20. The club president is long time Rochester radio sports commentator Ed Rauen.

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Nanne Raves about Wild GM Fletcher

Posted on March 9, 2015March 9, 2015 by David Shama

When Chuck Fletcher was an assistant general manager of the Penguins six years ago his resume had the approval of Lou Nanne. Now Nanne believes there isn’t a better GM in the NHL than the Wild’s front office boss.

Nanne played for the NHL’s North Stars, later coached them and also led the franchise as general manager and president. He remains a passionate and knowledgeable observer of the Wild and NHL.

Fletcher, the Wild’s general manager since May of 2009, earned the attention of the Minnesota sports public three years ago when he and owner Craig Leipold brought high profile free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter here by signing them to $98 million contracts. Last spring Fletcher’s roster and Mike Yeo’s coaching had the Wild making an improbable playoff run that ended in the second round against the Blackhawks.

This winter Fletcher has negotiated trades that have included bringing goalie Devan Dubnyk and forward Chris Stewart to Minnesota. Dubnyk has made 24 straight starts, a franchise record, and has won 18 games.

Stewart, 6-2, 230 pounds, was acquired just last week and adds size and toughness to a roster that has been lacking those qualities. He complements the team’s speed and depth. The Wild is unbeaten in three games since his arrival from the Sabres.

Nanne said the addition of Stewart rounds out the roster while the trade for Dubnyk is in a class of its own among trades made this year by NHL clubs. “Far and away,” Nanne told Sports Headliners. “There’s nothing like it.”

Before Dubnyk joined the Wild the team was nine points out of a playoff spot. Now the Wild are No. 1 in the Western Conference Wildcard standings.

Nanne raves about Fletcher’s work as GM. “He’s been terrific. I expected him to do a real good job but he’s done a sensational job. He’s definitely one of the best general managers in the National Hockey League.”

Nanne praised Fletcher’s hockey support staff. “I think the Wild have been very fortunate with the front office staff that they’ve hired. They’ve identified…real quality people. They’ve hired them. They’ve let them do their jobs. I think the Wild operation is sensational.”

Fletcher’s staff is impressive but sometimes decisions have to be made by one person. “…He’s not afraid to make decisions,” Nanne said. “That’s very important for a general manager. You have to make crucial decisions at critical times, and some people are not good at it, and he’s terrific at it.”

Decisions sometimes go against the majority opinion. A franchise’s inner circle, media and fans may see things differently than the GM. “…He’s steadfast,” Nanne said of Fletcher. “He knows what’s going on and he’s got the confidence to go forward when many people are pushing in another direction.”

The Wild are on a 16-3-1 streak, including five wins in their last six games. Despite the club’s recent success, Nanne isn’t changing his prediction from awhile ago about the team’s 2015 postseason chances. “If they’re healthy at the time the playoffs begin, if they’ve got their whole team—like I said at the beginning of the year—the team is capable of winning the (Stanley) Cup or missing the playoffs. That’s how tough it is in that conference.”

Worth Noting

The telecast of last Tuesday night’s Wild-Senators game from Xcel Energy Center was the highest-rated regular season Wild game ever on Fox Sports North. The game had a 7.12 household rating in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market area, according to Nielsen Media Research and was the No. 1 program in the area among all male demographics.

The Wild defeated the Senators in a shootout game, 3-2. Also adding interest to the telecast was the addition of Jordan Leopold and Chris Stewart through trades the previous day. The 7.12 rating broke the previous 6.13 record the Wild set on February 24 against the Oilers. February’s 4.63 average was the highest-rated month ever for the Wild on Fox Sports North.

In the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, 17,280 households represent one rating point, indicating more than 123,000 households tuned in for Tuesday evening’s game.

On Senior Day yesterday the Gophers lost their fifth game in the last six when Penn State won 79-76 on D.J. Newbill’s last second three point shot. Minnesota is 17-14 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten heading into the conference tournament on Wednesday when the Gophers, the No. 11 seed, play Rutgers, the No. 14 seed, starting at 6 p.m. in Chicago.

Gophers senior center Elliott Eliason, who started 35 games last season, has been given minimal playing time as of late with coach Richard Pitino using more minutes on freshmen. Eliason received his second start of the season yesterday but only played four minutes after not participating at all in the two previous games.

Apple Valley High School sophomore shooting guard Gary Trent, Jr., who is among the state’s most recruited prospects, sat in the second row near the Gophers’ bench for yesterday’s game. Trent has offers from Minnesota, Providence and Texas Tech, according to Rivals.com. Trent’s teammate, junior center Brock Bertram, has an offer from Tech where former Gophers coach Tubby Smith has finished last in the Big 12 Conference with a 3-15 record.

Ken Lien from the Mr. Basketball Committee e-mailed names of the five finalists for the 2015 Mr. Basketball Award: Sacar Anim, DeLaSalle; Bjorn Broman, Lakeview Christian Academy; JT Gibson, Champlin Park; Jarvis Johnson, DeLaSalle; Marshawn Wilson, Hill-Murray. The award goes annually to a high school senior, and this year’s winner will be announced after the boys state tournament games.

Next Sunday ESPN airs the new “30 for 30” documentary on Christian Laettner. The program focuses on his career and polarizing fan reaction that followed him long after his game-winning shot against Kentucky, advancing Duke to the 1992 NCAA Final Four. Laettner, the former Timberwolves No. 1 draft choice, will be headlining two youth clinics at Wayzata East Middle School in Plymouth on March 21 for the Timberwolves Basketball Academy.

The Gophers football team has spring practice sessions Tuesday and Thursday at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Both practices begin at 4:15 p.m. and are open to the public. Thursday’s practice is the Gophers’ last until resuming sessions again on March 24.

The Minnesota United leaves for Brazil on Wednesday to hold a preseason camp. The NASL club had an earlier preseason camp in Arizona and opens its regular season on April 11 at Tampa Bay. The home opener at the National Sports Center in Blaine is April 25.

The United has six Brazil natives: forward Pablo Campos, midfielders Ibson, Daniel Mendes and Juliano Vicentini, and defenders Tiago Calvano and Cristiano Dias. The United roster includes forward Miguel Ibarra who is also a member of the U.S. Men’s National team.

The United will play several exhibition games in Brazil and return home on March 24.

Ryan Galindo, who was announced as the new Washburn head football coach last week, is a 1999 graduate of the Minneapolis high school. He played college football at St. Thomas and from 2003-2009 was an assistant coach at Washburn. Later he was an assistant at Gustavus Adolphus under former Washburn head coach Pete Haugen before rejoining the Millers staff. He was offensive coordinator for the Millers last year, working for head coach Giovan Jenkins who last week started as a volunteer coach at Minnesota.

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