David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Mo Walker: ‘I love it Here’

Posted on December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 by David Shama

About two years ago the Gophers lost a valuable player from Ontario when guard Devoe Joseph left the program during his junior season because he wasn’t happy, but Maurice Walker, also from Ontario, said not to be concerned he will leave Minnesota. Walker, a redshirt sophomore forward-center, told Sports Headliners that despite minimal playing time so far during his Minnesota career he’s committed to being a Gopher.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll be here. I love it here.”

The 6-foot-10, 289-pound Walker is averaging 8.6 minutes per game, 11^th lowest on the team. Only deep reserves Wally Ellenson, Kendal Shell and Chris Halvorsen are playing fewer minutes than Walker who has been used in 11 of 12 games this season.

But Walker is a potentially key part of the Gophers’ drive for an NCAA Tournament invitation. He’s the biggest body on the team and a player who has the skill set to relieve the Gophers’ primary inside players—Elliott Eliason, Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams.

Walker can contribute by knocking down opponents who drive the lane against the Gophers. He can block some shots and take up space on defense. On offense he has soft, large hands for grabbing rebounds, and he has shown a shooting touch outside and inside that is exceptional for such a big player.

It’s next season, though, that Walker would appear even more valuable to the Gophers because Mbawke and Williams are seniors. They will be gone and so too will Andre Ingram, an undersized 6-7 senior who sometimes is used ahead of Walker to help with interior defense. In 2013-2014 Walker and Eliason, who is also a sophomore, will be the team’s only returning big men.

The opportunity for a lot more minutes for Walker is obvious. “I realize that,” he said. “I understand that. Coaches are really like, easing me into it so I am ready.”

Walker is averaging just 3.3 points per game and 2.6 rebounds. He’s struggled to find his game, at times looking tentative and perhaps out of shape. He said last month the Minnesota coaches want him to lose about 10 pounds but more recently he told Sports Headliners the goal hasn’t been reached.

“I feel like my conditioning is pretty good,” Walker said. “I don’t really get too winded out there so that’s good.”

Although he is 21 years old, Walker hasn’t seen much playing time since arriving in Minneapolis two years ago. He played as a reserve averaging 9.6 minutes in 12 games and showed promise including by making two of five three point attempts. Then on December 23, 2010 he injured his right knee and missed the rest of the season. Last season he missed all of 2011-2012 recovering from that injury.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that Walker’s mishap was the worst knee injury he’s seen, comparing it with someone being in a “major car wreck.” Smith said he’s pleased with Walker’s “growth and development” this fall. He also noted that while at Minnesota Walker’s weight has dropped from close to 350 pounds to under 300.

While working on his comeback from the long layoff, Walker has drawn some of the biggest cheers from fans at Williams Arena. They particularly delight in seeing him score, or even coming close to putting the ball through the hoop.

Walker appreciates the support. “I got a large fan base,” he said. “I love the fans. I love everything about here, and the Barn and the atmosphere, and my teammates. Everything is great.”

Worth Noting

Walker and the Gophers (11-1 and ranked No. 13 in the country by Associated Press) haven’t played a game since last Tuesday when they defeated North DakotaState. Next up—and the final nonconference game—is Saturday night at home against a 4-8 Lafayette team that lost to Kentucky, 101-49, and Maryland, 83-74. Lafayette is located in Easton, Pennsylvania, also known as the home of former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes.

Lafayette has one Minnesotan on the roster, 6-7 sophomore guard Seth Hinrichs from Clara City. He’s the team’s second leading scorer at 14.2 points per game.

Gopher football fans have a reputation for travelling in small numbers to bowl games. A transplanted Minnesotan now living in Texas emailed Sports Headliners about the virtues of Houston (VisitHouston.com) where the Gophers play on December 28 against Texas Tech in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. He suggests Minnesotans head to Houston first to watch the Vikings next Sunday and then stay in town for the Gophers.

“Texas Tech sold out their ticket allotment the first day and we can’t let the Big 12 show up the Big 10! It is a great event for players, fans and families,” my friend wrote in the email. “Lots to do in the area and fans can take…light rail directly to Reliant Stadium. Best of all there is no snow on our palm trees!”

Coach Kevin McHale will have his Rockets in town on December 26 to play the Timberwolves at Target Center. It will be a difficult holiday homecoming for the Hibbing, Minnesota native whose 23-year-old daughter Sasha died in a Twin Cities hospital last month. McHale was in tears during a post-game hug with Kevin Garnett after Friday night’s Rockets-Celtics game in Houston. McHale drafted Garnett for the Wolves in 1995 and assisted Garnett’s career for several years in Minnesota before trading him to the Celtics.

Gophers assistant head baseball coach Rob Fornasiere emailed that “final touches are going in and construction trailers are moving out” for the new Siebert Field. Next season will be the 125^th year of baseball as a University of Minnesota sport. The first game at the new Siebert Field will be April 5 against Ohio State.

The Twins will switch their Single-A Beloit farm team to Cedar Rapids next year, setting up a shorter drive for curious fans wanting to travel from Minneapolis-St. Paul to see prospects. Twins general manager Terry Ryan said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that among the interesting players likely to play there in 2013 will be German outfielder Max Kepler. Miguel Sano, the power hitting third baseman who needs improvement in the field, is likely to play for Single-A Ft. Myers where manager Doug Mientkiewicz is a an adept defensive instructor, Ryan said.

Dave Mona, co-host of the “Sports Huddle,” will be the speaker on January 10 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. Anyone interested in more information can email Jim Dotseth at dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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Award Fate Rests with Peterson

Posted on December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 by David Shama

Adrian Peterson has three regular season games to break the NFL single season rushing record of 2,105 held by former Rams running back Eric Dickerson. If the Vikings monster rusher does that he should be a cinch for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Peterson has 1,600 yards rushing in 13 games and needs to average 169 yards per game the remainder of the season to break the record. He has run for a career best 100-plus yards in each of his last seven games, and for the season is averaging six yards per carry while gaining more total yards than most of the teams in the NFL. Peterson’s career high single season total is 1,760 yards in 2008.

Those are remarkable numbers, but within the context of recovering from reconstructive knee surgery earlier this year they are astounding. After ACL surgery most athletes hope for a return to previous form. The 27-year-old Peterson is having his best season, working his tail off to achieve the greatest numbers of his career and break a benchmark NFL record.

“Boy, it’s hard to imagine someone overcoming as much as he has,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told Sports Headliners. “He’d get my vote (for comeback award). He’s been incredible in every sense of the word. Just a terrific accomplishment when you consider how devastating an ACL injury can be on a player’s career. Not only comeback (award) but…an MVP candidate as well. He’s been terrific.”

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, who missed last season because of his neck injury, is Peterson’s primary rival for comeback honors. Manning has led the Broncos to eight consecutive wins and the AFC West title. He has thrown 30 touchdown passes, second in the NFL only to Drew Brees, and his passer rating of 104 is right behind Tom Brady’s league leading 104.2. All of this despite having to adjust to new surroundings and football assignments during his first season in Denver.

“You can’t discount what Peyton’s overcome.” Frazier said. “Four neck surgeries. That’s pretty serious stuff to come back and play at the level he’s playing at.”

But Manning is surrounded by more offensive help than Peterson has in Minnesota. The Vikings’ limited passing game hasn’t done much to create opportunities when Peterson carries the ball. Even the casual fan knows Peterson is going to run the ball often in the team’s offense but waiting defenses still can’t stop him.

If Peterson not only breaks the league single season rushing record but carries the Vikings into the playoffs, his resume for NFL MVP will be loaded too. There’s a bias toward making a quarterback MVP in the pass-happy NFL but all the more reason to recognize a record breaking rusher if he’s beast enough to carry his otherwise subpar offense into the playoffs.

Worth Noting

Vikings radio analyst Pete Bercich said on a broadcast last month from Chicago that he rates the now deceased Walter Payton, who Bercich watched while growing up, an even greater runner than Peterson.

The Vikings, 7-6, have remaining games on the road against the 6-6-1 Rams and 11-2 Texans, and at home versus the 9-4 Packers. Based on the records of opponents in 2011, there are only seven teams in the NFL who have more difficult schedules than the Vikings in 2012.

What’s the key to the Vikings winning on Sunday in St. Louis? “For us, it seems when we travel we don’t do a good job of protecting the ball,” Frazier said. “Then we gotta execute our assignments across the board. But we gotta do a good job of protecting the ball and then trying to take the ball away.”

In six road games the Vikings have lost five fumbles and quarterback Christian Ponder has been intercepted six times.

The Vikings started five rookies against the Bears last Sunday, the most in one game in franchise history—safety Harrison Smith, cornerback Josh Robinson, offensive tackle Matt Kalil, fullback Rhett Ellison and wide receiver Jarius Wright.

Rookie kicker Blair Walsh is among the NFL leaders with 41 kickoff touchbacks, one more than the previous Vikings franchise record of 40.

Don’t be surprised if Darrell Bevell, the former Vikings offensive coordinator, is the next Badgers football coach. Bevell, who is now offensive coordinator with the Seahawks, has a high football IQ and is a quality person. He was Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez’s first Rose bowl quarterback when Alavarez was coaching and resurrecting the Badgers program.

Because of Jerry Kill’s history with seizures, the NCAA allows his wife Rebecca to accompany him on recruiting trips. Kill is committed to better understanding his condition, and despite the news media attention about the seizures they haven’t caused him to miss an entire game while coaching at Minnesota.

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood disorder when he was five years old. He credits the doctors at Yale-New Haven Cancer Center for helping save his life, and in appreciation he set up a living trust with the hospital as the beneficiary.

Caruso’s Tommies play Mount Union tonight in Salem,Virginia for the Division III national championship. The game begins at 6 p.m.Minnesota time and will be televised on ESPNU.

The championship game is another step during a remarkable head coaching career for Caruso that began in 2006 at Macalester where for two years his records were 2-7 and 4-5. At St. Thomas his teams have been 7-3, 11-2, 12-1, 13-1 and now 14-0.

Wild prospect Mikael Granlund returned to the Aeros lineup last week after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. Despite playing in fewer than half the team’s games, Granlund is tied for fourth in points with 13.

Aaron Hicks is only 23 but he might be able to make the jump from Double-A New Britain to starting center fielder for the Twins next spring. In search of a center field replacement for the traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, Hicks is a switch-hitter with potential power in the big leagues and the athleticism to chase down the ball. He hit .286 with 13 home runs and 61 RBI at New Britain last season.

TwinsFest will be January 25-27 at the Metrodome and tickets went on sale this week. Adult tickets are $9 each ($15 at the door) and tickets for children are $5 ($8 at the door).

The Gophers basketball team was No. 14 in national RPI ratings on Monday when the Big Ten Conference issued its weekly news release. Minnesota is ranked No. 13 in the country by the Associated Press.

Stats in the news release include the Gophers leading the Big Ten in steals at 9.8 per game and blocked shots at 7.2. Minnesota guard Andre Hollins is listed with the single game scoring high among conference players after his 41 points against Memphis last month.

Canterbury Park’s 2013 thoroughbred stakes schedule includes 26 races worth $1.76 million, an increase of more than 20 percent over this year. The 69-day 2013 race meet, the longest scheduled since 2006, begins May 17 and concludes September 14.

Canterbury and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community agreed to a cooperative marketing and purse enhancement deal this year that will put $75 million into the horsemen purse fund over 10 years.

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Frazier Not Anxious about Job

Posted on December 12, 2012December 12, 2012 by David Shama

With three regular season games remaining, there’s no official word yet on extending coach Leslie Frazier’s contract but that seems likely to happen before too long.

Frazier reportedly has a three-year deal that commits the Vikings to him through next season. To let Frazier go very long into next year without an extension wouldn’t show much faith in him and probably won’t happen.

Vikings ownership and general manager Rick Spielman are believed to be supportive of the man who was promoted from defensive coordinator late in the 2010 season to interim coach and later head coach. Frazier won three of six games in 2010, then went 3-13 last season as the franchise began rebuilding. This season the team is 7-6 with the playoffs a possibility for the first time since 2009.

Frazier, preparing this week for Sunday’s game with the Rams, told Sports Headliners he doesn’t worry about his tenure as coach. “Not at all. I talk to our players all the time about control what you can control, and from my standpoint it’s true for me as well.

“My concentration has to be on the St. Louis Rams in this case, and really focusing on that. All those other things take care of themselves as long as I concentrate on the task at hand.”

The Vikings’ record looks like an accomplishment to those who thought before season the team was in for a dismal year. Despite losing playmaker extraordinaire Percy Harvin to injury, and having to develop a second-year quarterback and other young players on both offense and defense, there are only six teams in the 16-team NFC that have a better record than the Vikings.

Frazier’s likeable personality enhances his popularity with the franchise, media and fans. “I try to be myself as much as I can,” he said. “Some people will like that person and some people won’t, but it’s important to be yourself. That’s one thing I’ve learned over the years. Be who you are. Hopefully people will accept you for who you are. …”

Frazier said when he was an NFL player he always appreciated coaches and others who were honest with him. He tries to do the same now in his leadership position.

“When you start trying to mislead people, I don’t think that’s a good deal,” he said. “You don’t create the trust that you have to have in the environment we’re in.”

Worth Noting

Ted Mondale, executive director for the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, told Sports Headliners an announcement about whether the new Vikings stadium will have a retractable roof will come in “late February or early March.”

That announcement will be made after a construction company is hired and can determine what amenities are affordable on the $975 million budget. An announcement naming the company is expected January 25.

The Vikings want a retractable feature for the stadium but budget limitations might dictate that rather than a costly sliding roof something like a huge window that can be opened and closed will be what is affordable. The stadium will have either a fixed or sliding roof—open air isn’t an option.

In the December 10 issue, Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is one of 10 individuals profiled in Sports Illustrated for service to others. The Cardinals All-Pro wide receiver is particularly known here for his work in the fight against breast cancer, a disease that took his mother Carol’s life. But he’s also a world traveler whose causes in other countries include the Starkey Hearing Foundation and USO.

“If you get consumed by fame, your world can be a very small bubble,” Fitzgerald told Sports Illustrated.

Steve and Dorothy Erban’s Creative Charters is working on filling up a second airplane with fans wanting to attend the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston on December 28 between the Gophers and Texas Tech. www.creativecharter.com

Eden Prairie High School football coach Mike Grant is expected to interview this week for the Saint John’s head coaching job, according to a December 8 St. Cloud Times online story.

Chad Rogosheske, named Hamline football coach on Monday, was a running back for the 1995 Pipers—the school’s last team to have a winning record. He was all-MIAC in 1996, blocking for Eric Johnson who set school records for rushing yards and touchdowns. Rogosheske also spent three seasons at Ohio State as a graduate assistant.

Will tonight be Ricky Rubio’s season debut when the Timberwolves play the Nuggets at Target Center? The second-year Spanish point guard played in 41 games as a rookie before injuring his left knee and ending his season.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith took the redshirt status off Rice Lake, Wisconsin freshman guard-forward Wally Ellenson last night in Minnesota’s win over North Dakota State. With one nonconference game remaining before the Big Ten season begins, the athletic Ellenson will add depth to the roster.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones made 20 of 22 free throws and seven of 14 field goals to score 36 points in the Eagles’ 82-68 win over Minnetonka last night. The junior preseason All-American also had six assists.

My son Bill and I had dinner with former Gophers basketball captain Paul Presthus last night. Presthus and my father were both from Rugby, North Dakota— a small town known as the geographic center of North America. Presthus was famous as a high school player and before his senior season was included with Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) as a first team prep All-American.

The announcement Monday that the NHL has cancelled regular season games through December 30 now means 42.8 percent of the schedule for 2012-2013 is lost.

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