David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Will RB Recruit Help Gophers Early?

Posted on February 4, 2013February 4, 2013 by David Shama

National Football Signing Day is Wednesday and it appears the Gophers will have only one running back among their signees. Rivals.com lists 16 players who have verbally committed to the Gophers, including Berkley Edwards ranked by Rivals as the No. 9 all-purpose running back in the country.

Edwards, from Chelsea, Michigan, is about 5-9, 185 pounds. If he fits the classic definition of an all-purpose back, he can block, catch the ball and run effectively inside and out.

Despite lobbying by older brother and former Michigan star Braylon Edwards, the Wolverines didn’t want Berkley who is ranked a three-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout.com. On Wednesday five-star recruit Derrick Green, perhaps the nation’s most coveted prep running back, is expected to sign with Michigan.

Braylon tweeted last year how he couldn’t understand how his brother, despite running the “eighth” fastest time in the 60 meters in the country, was not being recruited by the Wolverines, according to an August 14 story by Miprepzone.com. Berkley’s coach, Brad Bush, said in the story: “He has the ability to be a big time back at the next level.”

Will Edwards contribute as a freshman for the Gophers next fall? Running back is among the positions that freshmen most often earn playing time in college football. And the Gophers need help in the backfield.

Minnesota has been searching for multiple impact runners. The Gophers’ leading rusher last season, sophomore Donnell Kirkwood, averaged only 71.2 yards per game. He had a 38-yard run, the longest of the season by any Minnesota running back and an indication of the minimal explosiveness by the team’s rushing offense.

The most promising of the running backs was freshman Rodrick Williams, the 5-foot-11, 228-pound native of Lewisville, Texas who showed Big Ten quality muscle while often bullying his way through tacklers. Could the speed and quickness of Edwards be the right complement to Williams next fall?

Edwards, who drew only mild interest from major college programs, might fit that undersized, under the radar recruiting philosophy the Gophers coaching staff is associated with. Head coach Jerry Kill knows he can’t bring the elite out of state running backs like Green to Minnesota, a program that is among the have-nots of the Big Ten.

But that doesn’t mean Kill and his staff don’t have confidence in their recruiting. Past success is one reason for that confidence. Edwards, for example, was recruited by assistant coach Rob Reeves, according to Rivals, and Reeves has been a running backs specialist at other schools where he’s worked for Kill.

At Northern Illinois Reeves coached Chad Spann who was first team All-MAC for two seasons and league MVP for one. At Southern Illinois Reeves coached four All-Americans.

But for now forget the post-season awards. Reeves would no doubt just welcome Edwards earning regular playing time next fall.

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Nanne: U Potential Frozen Four Team

Posted on February 1, 2013February 1, 2013 by David Shama

Here is a Friday morning Sports Headliners roundup including Gophers hockey and basketball, the Wild, the Wolves and NBA commissioner David Stern, and even Cuban bully Fidel Castro!

Hockey authority Lou Nanne told Sports Headliners the 2013 Gopher team is “skilled at every position and has excellent goaltending.” No. 1 ranked Minnesota played in the Frozen Four last year and Nanne can see a return engagement.

“If they play up to their capabilities, they should be in the Frozen Four,” he said.

The Gophers, 18-4-4, have scored four or more goals in eight of their last nine games. In their 4-1 win over Minnesota State last Saturday night four different players had goals. Among the four was Nate Schmidt who leads the nation’s defensemen in scoring.

Minnesota leads the WCHA in power play goals and penalty killing. Goalie Adam Wilcox has a WCHA-best 17-3-4 record.

St. Cloud State and the Gophers are first and second in the league standings. The two teams play each other February 8 and 9 in St. Cloud. Minnesota has a bye this weekend.

Nanne said the Wild are talented and could finish among the better teams in the Western Conference. The key is “balanced scoring and defense.”

The Wild play at Anaheim tonight, facing a Ducks team that may pose problems in the Western Conference playoffs. In this week’s ESPN.com NHL power poll the Wild are ranked No. 9 and the Ducks No. 10 among 30 league teams.

The Wild’s Matt Cullen, who led the team in points (six) in four games against Anaheim last season, played in 427 games with the Ducks from 1997-2003. The 36-year-old center, scoreless in his first six games, scored twice in the Wild’s 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday night.

Wild prospect Jason Zucker, representing the Aeros, scored a goal for the Western Conference on Monday in the AHL All-Star game. The Western Conference defeated the East, 7-6. Zucker leads the Aeros in points with 36.

Nanne and wife Francine spent a week visiting communist Cuba late last month as part of a University of Minnesota Alumni Association trip. Asked for a quick impression, Nanne said, “Too much government.”

Cubans use ration books for food, and some buildings have no running water. The higher wage earners, including doctors, make $500 a month in American currency, Nanne said.

There are many 1950s American cars on the streets in Cuba and Nanne even rode in a 1932 vehicle. “It had a rumble seat,” he said.

Nanne also said Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, in poor health for years, was recently seen walking with a cane. His brother Raul Castro runs the country.

The basketball Gophers, who ended a four-game losing streak with a home win over Nebraska (84-65) earlier in the week, play Iowa at noon Sunday. Minnesota, 16-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten, lost twice to a mediocre Iowa team last season, 64-62 and 63-59.

The Hawkeyes were frequently the more aggressive team in those wins, combining for 21 steals. In Iowa’s 63-59 win in Iowa City the Hawkeyes not only had 11 steals to Minnesota’s one, but they out rebounded the Gophers.

Iowa, 3-5 in the conference and 14-7 overall, has several returning players from last season and is again a scrappy, well coached team. “I think, honestly, we just didn’t have the toughness mentality (last year),” said Minnesota junior guard Maverick Ahanmisi. “This year I think we have a lot of guys on this team that can take it upon themselves to slow the game down, or know when we need a shot or a basket. Last year we just let the game get away from us. Once they started scoring on us, we just put our heads down and stopped moving (fighting back).”

Center Trevor Mbakwe is disappointed with the Gophers’ start to the Big Ten schedule but still thinks Minnesota can be one of the nation’s best teams and win the league championship. “Little surprised (with the start),” he said. “We thought we had a chance to be 6-2 coming out of those two big games (losses to Indiana and Michigan). …We played a tough schedule so far. It’s the best conference in the country.”

Nebraska coach Tim Miles predicted the Gophers can win games in the NCAA Tournament. “I am really impressed with them. …If they don’t turn it over they’ll be good.”

The Gophers came into the Nebraska game averaging a Big Ten high 14.6 turnovers a game but had only five against the Cornhuskers. Among those responsible for the improvement was Ahanmisi, a reserve point guard who entered the game with 20 turnovers in 207 minutes this season. He had no turnovers in 19 minutes on Tuesday night.

Ahanmisi said his confidence, including shooting the ball, has improved. He scored nine points and made four of seven shots on Tuesday. His season field goal percentage of .463 and three point percentage, .417, are major improvements from last year’s numbers of .361 and .294.

“Back in high school I was a shooting guard.” Ahanmisi said. “That was my game. I used to shoot a lot of threes. When I came here I just got away from it. Tried to really turn into a point guard.

“It’s kind of something I really worked on—my shooting again. I think it’s coming back.”

Miles, in his first season at Nebraska, will have his Cornhuskers playing in a new state-of-the-art arena next fall. Each players’ locker has an iPad.

The first in a series called the Minnesota Timberwolves Business Alliance will be held next Wednesday at the Graves 601 Hotel and NBA commissioner David Stern will be the keynote speaker. The event, preceding a Target Center game against the Spurs, will bring together Wolves season ticket holders and corporate partners for networking opportunities.

Wolves president Chris Wright told Sports Headliners efforts to bring the NBA All-Star game back to Minneapolis (last here in 1995) will wait until his organization completes negotiations with the city for Target Center renovations. There’s no timetable for completing negotiations.

Wright and others with the Wolves have never seen a stretch of hard luck like this year’s team has experienced with numerous starters and reserve players sidelined with injuries for days, weeks and months. And even coach Rick Adelman missed 11 games to be with his wife who suffered seizures.

Since the early days of TargetvCenter there’s been speculation the franchise’s misfortunes have been tied to constructing the arena on an ancient Indian burial ground. Not true, said Wright. “That may have come from a couple of drunken guys talking at the (Cafe) di Napoli 20 years ago,” he joked.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien e-mailed this week that DeLaSalle power Reid Travis has been offered a scholarship by Arizona.

The Wednesday Sports Media News e-mail reported Brett Favre will be a guest on the NFL Network morning show Sunday preceding the Super Bowl. The network is providing more than 16 hours of live pre-game and post-game Super Bowl coverage on Sunday, according to SMN.

Denis McDonough, a 1992 Saint John’s graduate and a three-year starter for the Johnnie football team, is President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff after serving as deputy national security adviser the past two years.

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Vikings: 2014 Super Bowl Possible?

Posted on January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 by David Shama

The Vikings haven’t played in the Super Bowl since 1977 but it’s not a completely Pollyanna approach to think the Purple could be back in the big game next year or in 2015.

Emerging talent—including a list of impact players 27 and younger—led a turnaround season in 2012 when the Vikings finished 10-6 and made the playoffs for the first time in three years. Improving dramatically on their 3-13 record in 2011, the Vikings ditched their “rebuilding” label and gave notice they’re contenders in the NFC North.

But a Super Bowl in 2014? Former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema doesn’t scoff at the question.

“If they get a deep threat, they have a great opportunity to definitely get in the playoffs, and then it’s a crapshoot (to the Super Bowl),” said Lurtsema who predicted last summer the Vikings’ 2012 record would be 9-7.

He wants the Vikings to not only acquire a deep threat to loosen up opposing defenses but also add a defensive back. “We could (then) be in great, great shape,” he said.

Lurtsema suggested there is a “70 percent chance” Packers’ wide receiver and free agent Greg Jennings will play for the Vikings next season. The Packers, with a stable of young and productive wide receivers, are believed to have minimal interest in the 29-year-old Jennings who missed games the last two seasons because of injuries and has seen his statistics decline. But Jennings’ age doesn’t bother Lurtsema who said peak years for NFL players are 28 to 33. He believes Jennings, who has 53 career touchdown receptions in seven NFL seasons, is just what the Vikings need.

In the parity-based NFL, the separation in talent is so minimal among at least several teams that a surprise entrant or two can make it all the way to the Super Bowl. The teams most likely to do so, according to Lurtsema, are the ones with outstanding lines, particularly on offense.

Lurtsema said the importance of the offensive line can be measured not only in scoring points but in controlling the clock with consistent play. That kind of performance minimizes “three and outs,” and the number of plays a defense has to be on the field.

“The success of a lot of teams still comes down to the offensive line and quarterback,” Lurtsema said.

He likes the work of left offensive tackle Matt Kalil who minimized mistakes in his rookie season and was rewarded with a Pro Bowl invitation. The drafting of Kalil allowed Charlie Johnson, the 2011 left tackle, to play left guard where he’s more effective. Kalil, Johnson and the other offensive linemen helped Adrian Peterson, 27, rush for 2,097 yards in 2012, the second highest single season total in NFL history.

Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder’s play stabilized during the team’s drive to make the playoffs. “I am happy with Christian Ponder,” Lurtsema said.

If you want to hear excitement in Lurtsema’s voice ask him about second-year tight end Kyle Rudolph. Two years ago Lurtsema described him as “the steal of the draft.” Earlier this week Rudolph’s performance in the Pro Bowl earned him the MVP award.

And Lurtsema could really get excited about the Vikings playing in the 2014 Super Bowl that will be hosted by the Giants at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. He spent part of his NFL career with that franchise and is planning to attend the game where he and other Giants alumni will be hosted by the club. “The Giants really take care of their alumni,” Lurtsema said.

Of course Lurtsema, who remains close to the Vikings and has lived in the Minneapolis area for years, will be excited to see the Purple in any Super Bowl in the near future. The franchise is 0-4 historically in the big game. “Sometimes I wonder if the good Lord doesn’t want the Vikings to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Minnesota,” said Lurtsema who played for the Vikings in their Super Bowls of 1973 and 1975.

Worth Noting

Lurtsema also said “I love the kid” but he expects much talked about Vikings’ receiver-kick returner Percy Harvin to be traded.

Vikings fans will closely watch 49ers wide receiver Randy Moss in the Super Bowl on Sunday. At 35, Moss doesn’t have scary speed anymore but Lurtsema said the former Viking is a “tremendous student” of the game.

Often quoted pro football writer Peter King said on SI.com video last Thursday the only for sure hall of famer playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl is Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis. That leaves doubt about hall of fame chances for Moss and Ravens center Matt Birk, another former Viking. Both players could retire after Sunday’s game.

A Monday e-mail from Sports Media News reported the Super Bowl culminates “three years of record-breaking NFL TV viewership.” SMN noted that since September 1, 2010, NFL telecasts have accounted for 55 percent of all TV shows averaging 20 million viewers, 70 percent of programs averaging 30 million viewers and 92 percent of shows averaging 40 million.

It will be 10 years this spring that Delmon Young was the No. 1 overall pick in baseball’s amateur draft. Young is now with the Phillies after the Rays, Twins and Tigers decided not to retain him. His best year in the majors was with the Twins in 2010 when he hit .298 with 21 home runs and 112 RBI.

Big Ten followers don’t believe the conference—with the recent additions of Maryland and Rutgers—is done expanding at 14 teams. A 16-team league could be next, with perhaps two of the following joining the Big Ten: Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh or Virginia.

With six days until college football’s National Signing Day, Scout.com and Rivals.com have the Gophers last in 2013 Big Ten recruiting. Scout ranks the Gophers’ class at No. 84 nationally based on verbal commitments so far. Rivals ranks Minnesota No. 72.

Supporters of Gophers coach Jerry Kill, though, insist the Minnesota recruiting classes of last year and 2013 are much better than the rankings of national experts.

The Timberwolves—starting tonight against the Clippers—play six consecutive home games. Other games are the Lakers (Feb. 1), Hornets (Feb. 2), Trail Blazers (Feb. 4), Spurs (Feb. 6) and Knicks (Feb. 8).

The Wolves have lost four consecutive games and nine of their last 10. “We keep fighting, even with injuries and everything else,” guard Luke Ridnour said last week. “We’re not going to get down.”

As of Monday, Wolves guard Alexey Shved ranked second among NBA rookies in assists (4.6), and fifth in minutes (288) and scoring (10.7). His Russian teammate, forward Andrei Kirilenko, has seven double-doubles after having a combined five in his most recent NBA seasons of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

Tim Larson, who once worked in the Gophers’ sports information office, has resigned his position as Jostens president and CEO.

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