David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Likely to Tame Lions on Sunday

Posted on October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 by David Shama

Although the Vikings embarrassed themselves in last week’s loss to the Packers in Green Bay, a win seems likely against the Lions on Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. You don’t have to buy a crystal ball from the Vikings Locker Room store at Mall of America to be optimistic.

The 42-10 loss to the Packers occurred on Thursday, while this past Sunday the Lions’ inept field goal kicking cost them a win at home against the Bills. The Vikings, 2-3, will have the advantage of extra preparation time for the Lions game. No doubt the 3-2 Lions wish they had played Thursday because more rest might increase the chances of injured offensive stars Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush being available in Minneapolis.

The Lions will be using their third field goal specialist this year against the Vikings after dismissing Alex Henery who missed three kicks in the Bills game. That doesn’t speak well for the Lions, long known as a dysfunctional organization and one the Vikings have a 69-34-2 all-time record against including wins in three of the last four games.

The Vikings played without Teddy Bridgewater at Green Bay but the 21-year-old rookie quarterback returns on Sunday. That figures to give the whole team a lift while juicing an adoring crowed that will roar approval every time he completes a pass or scrambles for yardage.

The Vikings should be in a determined mood on Sunday—looking for a make-good performance. Mike Zimmer preaches resiliency and the Vikings can show what they have learned from their head coach. Veteran defensive end Brian Robison talked to Sports Headliners awhile ago about Zimmer’s influence.

“It doesn’t matter what happens to us. All we can do is move forward and get ready for the next opponent,” Robison said last month. “I think that’s the approach he takes and I think that’s the approach he’s instilled into us. …And that’s what you want out of a head coach.”

Worth Noting

The game with the Lions can be considered sold out. Vikings’ executive vice president Lester Bagley told Sports Headliners on Monday that at mid-week there are likely to be tickets returned by the Lions from their visiting team allotment.

The game at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus will be the club’s fifth, counting regular season and preseason games. Bagley said reaction by fans to the team’s new temporary home has been positive. “Our fans love it because it’s such an upgrade from the Metrodome.”

Transportation and parking have been a challenge for fans. “Our message is plan ahead on how to get in and out ,” Bagley said.

This Saturday and Sunday is the only weekend when the Gophers and Vikings both have home games at TCF Bank Stadium. Scott Ellison, the Gophers’ associate athletic director for facilities, said it will require eight workers about 12 hours to prepare the stadium for Sunday’s NFL game after the Gophers finish their contest with Northwestern on Saturday. The Gophers’ game begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday but Ellison said even if Minnesota was playing at night his crew could have the stadium ready Sunday morning for the Vikings.

The Vikings announced yesterday quarterback Chandler Harnish has been signed to the practice squad where he provides depth behind Bridgewater and Christian Ponder. Harnish replaced McLeod Bethel–Thompson who was released.

Last month ESPN announced the results of what fans think of all 122 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises. The results were based on surveys, research and calculations developed by Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center that figures “how well teams turn fans’ money into wins.” Results on each franchise were calculated in the following eight categories: affordability (price of tickets, concessions, parking), coaching, fan relations, ownership, players, stadium experience, bang for the buck (“wins in the past year, per fan dollars”) and title track.

Title track means “championships won or expected within the lifetime of current fans.” In that category baseball’s Cardinals are No. 1 while the Timberwolves are last at 122nd. The Vikings are No. 102 while the Wild are 61st and Twins 51st.

In the overall rankings of the 122 franchises the Wild are No. 24, Twins 62, Vikings 103 and Timberwolves 114. The Wild are fourth among all franchises in stadium experience while the Twins are ninth.

The Wild rates No. 7 among 14 Western Conference teams, according to the October 8 Sports Illustrated NHL power rankings. The Blackhawks—picked by S.I. to win the Stanley Cup—are first in the rankings with the Kings, Ducks, Blues, Avalanche and Stars also ahead of Minnesota. The magazine said the Wild’s strength is on “the blue line” and noted Minnesota defenders last season allowed “just 27.7 shots-against per game, fifth best in the NHL.”

The Wild’s season opening game will be tomorrow night starting at 7:30 p.m. at Xcel Energy. A pre-game party outside Gate 2 will be from 5 to 7:15 p.m. and includes music, food, beverages, happy hour prices and interactive games.

In a move to reduce payroll, the Blackhawks traded former Gopher Nick Leddy to the Islanders. Leddy, a 23-year-old defenseman reportedly making $2.7 million, was a key contributor to the Blackhawks’ 2013 Stanley Cup championship.

Author George Rekela’s new book, A History of Professional Hockey in Minnesota from the North Stars to the Wild, is a well researched and entertaining description of the highs and lows of the NHL here through the years. More at Historypress.net.

Former Gophers’ golfer and New York Times best selling author Harvey Mackay received a surprise birthday present last month when wife Carol Ann provided—on 48 hours notice—a trip to Scotland to watch the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup, he told Sports Headliners, had been on his personal “bucket list.”

East Ridge High School junior quarterback Seth Green is expected to announce his college choice October 15 with Michigan State, Minnesota and Oregon the contenders. The guess here is he will choose Oregon where he visited September 6.

Dr. Phil Esten, the former Gophers’ associate athletic director who was most recently working in the University of California athletic department, starts a new position next week as deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer for intercollegiate athletics at Penn State. His career experiences also include University of Minnesota Alumni Association president.

Congratulations to Les Viken from Fosston High School and Bill Weiss of Chisago Lakes High School who earned their 100th career coaching wins on September 26. Viken’s record at Fosston is 100-102 in 20 seasons while Weiss’ record is 100-75 in 18 seasons at Chisago. Congratulations, too, to Underwood High School coach Chuck Ross who won his 100th career game last Friday, increasing his 18 year record to 100-75.

Bridget Hennen is the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for women’s soccer after scoring three goals in Bethany Lutheran College’s two recent wins. Hennen, a junior midfielder from Apple Valley, was also the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week in late September two years ago. She is only the second player in UMAC history to win both awards during her career.

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Notre Dame Gameday a Special Experience

Posted on October 6, 2014October 6, 2014 by David Shama

Two Minnesotans traveled all the way from Minneapolis to South Bend, Indiana last Saturday to find Torii Hunter.

Well, that’s kind of misleading. Tim Murray and I attended the Notre Dame-Stanford game in search of a classic college football gameday experience. At Notre Dame Stadium we found Torii Hunter, Jr.—the son of the famous Tigers outfielder and former Twins favorite. Torii Jr. is a sophomore wide receiver for Notre Dame and he caught a couple of passes for 24 yards in the Irish’s 17-14 win over Stanford on Saturday.

There were several other players with Minnesota connections at the game including Notre Dame starting sophomore linebacker James Onwualu, the former Cretin-Derham Hall star. Stanford had more Minnesota connections than the Irish but the Cardinal player who really caught our attention with another famous name was Barry Sanders. Like his Hall of Fame football dad, young Sanders is a running back and he gained 14 yards on three rushes Saturday.

But this was no attempt to scour the rosters of Notre Dame and Stanford searching out every name—this was a quest to visit a football shrine and famous university. So our trip to Notre Dame was not a hastily planned affair, although the original intent was to see Alabama play a home game in Tuscaloosa.

Pardon my irreverence, but Tuscaloosa is where “god” once resided and we wanted to see where he did his best work. I am speaking, of course, about former Crimson Tide deity Paul “Bear” Bryant who coached Alabama to six national championships. The Bear passed away a long time ago but his legacy and impact live on. No wonder the stadium video screen at Bryant-Denny Stadium has shown the Bear drawlin’ and growlin’, “I ain’t nothin’ but a winner.”

Tim and I didn’t score seats for a big Bama game this fall so we changed our focus to Notre Dame. The Irish know a thing or two about national titles, too, claiming 13 of them—the most in college football since 1936 when the Associated Press started certifying championships.

Last Saturday we watched two of the better teams in college football as No. 9 and undefeated Notre Dame played No. 14 and one-loss Stanford. With Saturday’s win the Irish moved up to No. 6 in the Associated Press poll and the Cardinal fell to No. 25.

We saw two teams that could push and shove with anyone in the beleaguered Big Ten Conference. The quality of the football certainly made the game special but at Notre Dame there is so much more to the gameday experience including the stadium with its marvelous sightlines and devout fans.

There is a legendary story about Minnesota’s old Memorial Stadium that opened in 1924 and preceded Notre Dame Stadium. Supposedly a group of stadium planners from Notre Dame came to Minneapolis and assessed Memorial Stadium. “Gentlemen, this is how not to build a football stadium,” a group leader reportedly said.

Whatever Memorial Stadium lacked—and that certainly included inferior sightlines—Notre Dame Stadium seems to have. We sat in Section 9, Row 52, Seats 23 and 24 on Saturday. Our location, thanks to a friend with Notre Dame relationships, was on the 50-yard line—probably the best viewing for a football game I have ever experienced and that includes various Minnesota venues, plus the Rose Bowl, Michigan Stadium and Ohio Stadium.

Notre Dame Stadium, with a seating capacity of approximately 80,795, offers amazingly intimate seating. Obviously some seats are much further away from the field than others but most are between the goal lines and there are no “nose bleed locations.”

Last Saturday was a miserable weather day at Notre Dame Stadium but nearly every seat appeared filled at kickoff. The fans were loud and loyal, cheering for the Irish while “bailing” water out of raincoats and wishing they had wiper blades on their eyeglasses.

Prior to kickoff the Notre Dame public address man informed the crowd that local weather conditions included a “31 degree wind chill.” The fans laughed and applauded the announcement. Then he said temps were in the 80s at Stanford’s home in Palo Alto, California. The crowd let loose with boos.

Tim and I chuckled about that, but wished we could have “tweaked” the weather. “I would rather that it had been about eight degrees cooler so it was snowing (not a steady rain),” he said.

I didn’t make Tim feel any better telling him the normal daytime high in South Bend in early October is about 66 degrees—but the weather couldn’t drown our gameday experience. How could it when you step on to campus hours before kickoff and the sound of the famous “Notre Dame Victory March” can be heard from blocks away? Again and again the band played on…”Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame”…and the song never wore out its welcome with us.

There is an extraordinary spiritual and historical feel to the campus, although there is, of course, a touch of commercialization too including $95 tickets. Weeks ago a friend urged me to visit the Hammes Bookstore where Notre Dame clothing, plus foot wear, computers, jewelry and many other items are available for purchase. “They sell everything except books,” he wisecracked.

The Joyce Center adjacent to the stadium is open hours before the game and provides interactive games. The place is a theme park of Fighting Irish football, and part of the on-campus reminder about the school’s football glory and the men who made Notre Dame one of the most famous sports brands in American history.

Tim Murray, David Shama at Knute Rockne Memorial. — Tim Murray, David Shama at a Knute Rockne memorial.

We stopped at a Knute Rockne memorial in a campus building and listened to a pep talk on film from the legendary coach…”Rock’em, sock’em.” Outside the stadium is a Rockne statue along with statues of other famous Fighting Irish coaches including Lou Holtz. It was Holtz who won Notre Dame’s last national title in 1988 and just three seasons after he coached the Gophers.

Someone wrapped two neckties around Holtz’s statue on Saturday, giving the old coach a livelier look and perhaps trying to make a connection with him. And why not because Notre Dame is a spirited and sacred place where a visitor can stop and pray at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, gaze up at the statue of the Virgin Mary atop the Golden Dome and admire the Word of Life Mural of Jesus on the exterior of the Hesburgh Library. “Touchdown Jesus” as it’s known can be seen at a distance by fans inside the stadium.

From stadium personnel to students to alums to other fans, everyone we encountered at Notre Dame Stadium and on campus was courteous and helpful. They were happy as the hours approached before the game, and after a rain-soaked, windy and cold Saturday they were no doubt even happier. The Fighting Irish, now among the highest ranked teams in the land, will perhaps soon be in the conversation for an invite to college football’s first playoff next January.

As Tim and I discussed our Notre Dame experience on Sunday we knew it would be long remembered. “It was really fascinating, and makes me want to have even gone to school there,” he said.

I knew he meant that. He might have even uttered those words right after we left the stadium last Saturday—sloshing in our shoes and walking nearly a mile back to our rental car.

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Day after Prescription for Vikings Fans

Posted on October 3, 2014October 3, 2014 by David Shama

Vikings fans don’t feel so chipper this morning after last night’s 42-10 loss to the boys from Brown County.

I get it. You’re not sure whether to jump off the Stone Arch Bridge, or start the morning with a double Bloody Mary. But don’t panic. Read this space—and then put your horns back on.

Do you think Jesse Ventura—our former Governor and world-class rassler—is feeling inferior to Packers fans today? Heck, no. No doubt Jesse is willing to wrestle all Wisconsin Governors—past and present—to show those Dairylanders who is boss.

The fact our ex-Governor could whip all of their leaders is a good prescription for feeling better, but why stop there? Yeah, Aaron Rodgers got lucky last night and threw three touchdown passes but our new guy, Teddy Bridgewater, is only 21 years old. When Rodgers is retired and living off the income from his annoying insurance commercials, “Touchdown Teddy” will still be lighting up the Pack.

And speaking of the Pack, let’s discuss these nicknames for the two teams. The original Vikings crossed the Atlantic centuries ago and discovered America. We’ve got the Kensington Runestone here in Minnesota to prove what the Vikings accomplished.

The Packers? Anyone can be a Packer. Pack cans…pack meat…pack clothes…blah-blah-blah. What was discovered in Wisconsin? 3.2 beer? Cheese hats? Maybe the polka?

Remember the 2009 NFL season when Brett Favre led the Vikings to two wins over the Packers? Well, he was the league’s best quarterback that year at age 40. He must have liked the water, or maybe it was our superior beer in Minnesota. And since grandpa Favre last played in the NFL for the Vikings—not the Packers or Jets—I figure we’ve got first call on him if he comes out of retirement.

Packers fans like to talk about the holy and ancient record of their football glory that includes 13 world championships and Hall of Fame heroes. There is, for example, a historical figure named Curly Lambeau—not a very inspiring football name—and, of course, “Saint Vince.” Now the thing about Vince Lombardi is he did win the first two Super Bowls but he also dumped you Green Bayites. He left the Packers to take over the—close your eyes Representative Betty McCollum—the Redskins.

Our legend is Harry Peter Grant. Bud is a smart guy. He had no choice to grow up in Wisconsin but guess what? He attended the University of Minnesota, played pro basketball for the Minneapolis Lakers and spent his entire NFL coaching career with the Vikings.

Grant lost four Super Bowls in the 1970s but that didn’t shake our collective self-esteem as Minnesotans. Not when Wendell Anderson, our Governor, was pictured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1973 with the caption: “The Good Life in Minnesota.” Wendy was holding a big fish on a stringer and we were, no doubt, making a lot of Wisconsin folks jealous.

We can not only play in Super Bowls but host them, too. Now when did you ever hear about Green Bay and Brown County putting in a bid to stage the Big Game?

You didn’t, and one reason for that is Green Bay is just a modest sized place with a population similar to Rochester, Minnesota and not a lot bigger than Bloomington. I mean how many motel rooms and tents could Green Bay make available for out of town Super Bowl guests?

We’re a pretty classy area here (not to boast or anything like that). Much of our workforce is employed by Fortune 500 companies who have also attracted Wisconsin “immigrants.” We probably have more live theatre per capita than any area other than New York City. We quote both Shakespeare and Sir Francis Tarkenton while Packers fans ice fish and watch reruns of “Grumpy Old Men” (filmed in Minnesota, by the way).

Even sportswriters in MSP are smart and creative. Legendary Minnesota columnist Don Riley once promised to get on his hands and knees to push a peanut with his nose between Green Bay and Appleton if the Vikings lost to the Packers. Never mind that he didn’t do it. What mattered to Riley was that he found another way to antagonize Packers fans whose city he always referred to as “Green Bush.”

Now that you’re feeling better, circle November 23 on the calendar. When the Packers come to Minneapolis, things are going to be different than last night. We have “Touchdown Teddy,” Cordarrelle Patterson—“The Silent Assassin,” and the ghosts of marauding Norsemen.

No more “Minnesota Nice.”

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