David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Stumbling Gophers Try Madison Next

Posted on January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 by David Shama

Embarrassing.

There’s not a better word to describe the Gophers’ 55-48 loss to Northwestern on Wednesday night in Evanston. The Wildcats have minimal talent and are playing out the season minus their best player, Drew Crawford. The Gophers have the personnel to dominate the dwarfs of the Big Ten like Northwestern, and to defeat any team in the league.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody saw his team behind 27-24 at halftime, but he saved a half-court zone trap for the game’s last 20 minutes. The Gophers have faced the same defense for years and often have been ineffective versus the scheme. In Evanston, the Minnesota coaches and players looked baffled again.

Attempting to start the offense, the guards spent precious seconds trying to pass out of double teams. When the Gophers were able to advance toward the basket by dribbling or passing, they found multiple defenders again and couldn’t create scoring opportunities.

More decisive passing and better positioning of players on the floor could have attacked the trap more effectively. Instead Minnesota not only scored just 21 second half points, but also created baskets for Northwestern with turnovers.

The Gophers had 15 turnovers in the game, just about their average of 14.7, highest in the Big Ten. In Madison tomorrow the Gophers will play a Badgers team with the lowest average, 9.1. And while Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan has a team that annually plays virtually mistake free basketball, the Gophers have been talking about eliminating turnovers since last fall.

The Gophers have lost three consecutive games, the first two to top 10 ranked Indiana and Michigan. The dream of chasing a Big Ten championship looks dead seven weeks before the season ends. Minnesota is 3-3 in conference games with likely losses ahead in road games at Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State. The way the Gophers performed against Northwestern—making 33.3 percent of their field goal attempts and 41.2 percent of their free throws—they could lose to a bunch more teams, on the road and at home.

“Unimaginable” was a word Gophers coach Tubby Smith used to describe the three game slide to obscurity. Smith made that comment on his post-game 1500 ESPN radio show on Wednesday night and also expressed frustration that his team wasn’t “mentally tough.”

Last Sunday on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” he said the team (following the Indiana and Michigan losses) “should really be sitting here at 15-1.” Instead the Gophers are now 15-4 overall and will be plummeting in the A.P. national rankings from their No. 12 spot unless they defeat the Badgers.

Minnesota’s inability to beat the league’s best teams—and even the mediocre ones—is consistent with the Smith era. In five-plus seasons his record in regular season conference games is 41-55.

Last October Smith told Sports Headliners he has three potential NBA first round draft choices in guard Andre Hollins, center Trevor Mbakwe and forward Rodney Williams. But the Gophers are stumbling and a disgruntled fan made this prediction about how only one thing may change from Wednesday night to tomorrow:

“Look for a superstitious team to switch from gold uniforms to maroon.”

Worth Noting

TwinsFest at the Metrodome starts today and ends Sunday afternoon with announced attendance likely to be near 30,000.

With high fan interest and a unique venue to host the event, the annual attendance is the largest in MLB for fan festivals. Profits go to the Twins Community Fund, and this year’s contribution is likely to be $275,000 or more. Since the inception of TwinsFest in 1989 the Community Fund has received more than $4.2 million.

While players from other MLB teams are compensated for their time at similar fan festivals, Twins players are not. Expenses such as airfare are paid by the Twins.

More than 60 current and former Twins, including Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, are expected to participate during the three day event. TwinsFest opens today at 4 p.m.

The delay to the start of the Wild’s season was frustrating but the team is likely to make fans happy in the coming months, according to a Sports Headliners hockey source who spoke on condition of anonymity. “They have much more depth than they have ever had,” he said. “This is (also) the most talented team in club history. …I don’t see any major weaknesses.”

The Wild, 2-1, play at Detroit tonight and then in St. Louis on Sunday. The source said if the Wild can start 10-2 or 10-3, the club could then play .500 hockey the remainder of the regular schedule and still qualify for the playoffs “where anything can happen.”

He credited general manager Chuck Fletcher with exceptional work in rebuilding the feeder system and already adding outstanding players like Mikael Granlund. “They’ve done a marvelous job,” he said.

Fans are responding enthusiastically to the team, particularly because of adding star performers Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Last Saturday’s season opener set a TV ratings record for a Wild game on FOX Sports North.

The Wild could sell a lot of season tickets for 2013-2014, although reaching the club’s record high of over 16,000 established several years ago will be a challenge.

St. Thomas men’s basketball coach Johnny Tauer teaches psychology classes so it’s not surprising he can see both aspects of the Tommies’ reputation. The Tommies entered this week ranked No. 1 in the country by D3hoops.com and are 84-9 in their last 93 MIAC games.

Those numbers can command the attention of opponents, even giving the Tommies an edge before the game starts. “Teams can think these guys (the Tommies) are really good,” Tauer said. “The flip side is we get everybody’s best shot.”

Tauer’s recollection is the other team “rushed the court” in celebrations after each of those nine St. Thomas losses. And that includes Monday night’s loss at Concordia, 54-52.

St. Thomas won on Wednesday night, though, defeating St. Mary’s 87-46 while building this season’s record to 17-1 overall and 12-1 in the MIAC. Tomorrow Hamline plays at St. Thomas.

Two years ago the Tommies won the Division III national title when Tauer was an assistant coach. The club featured a senior group, just like the 2013 Tommies. “That team played its best basketball at the end of the year, winning six straight and the national tournament,” Tauer said.

He likes the depth on this year’s team. Asked about a closer to finish out games, the coach said, “We really have eight or nine guys I would be comfortable with taking the shot.”

Gophers’ freshman Adam Wilcox (16-2-4 record) leads the WCHA in wins at 16, winning percentage at .818 and goals against average, 1.72 per game. He’s unbeaten in the last 10 games. The No. 1 ranked Gophers play Minnesota State at home tonight and in Mankato tomorrow night. The two teams split an earlier series this season.

Wild draft choice Erik Haula leads the Gophers in points with 29. Another Wild prospect, Louis Nanne, has 13 goals and 14 assists in 32 games playing for Penticton in Canada.

Golden Valley-based Buffalo Wild Wings has a partnership with the NCAA to be the “Official Hangout of March Madness,” according to a Wednesday email from Cynopsis: Sports.

Happy birthday to KSTP TV’s Darren Doogie Wolfson who was 33 on Sunday.

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Local Super Bowl Perspective: Birk vs Moss

Posted on January 23, 2013January 23, 2013 by David Shama

In journalism school the professors taught us to be objective about what we wrote. However, they gave us an out regarding objectivity when writing our opinions in editorials and personal columns.

Today I exercise my option.

I am pulling for the Ravens to defeat the 49ers in the Super Bowl a week from Sunday. It boils down to a preference to see Matt Birk on the winning team, not Randy Moss.

The two were Vikings draft choices in 1998. Nobody knew if Birk, a sixth round pick from Harvard via Cretin Derham-Hall, would make the team. But everybody couldn’t wait to see “The Freak,” the team’s No. 1 draft choice, blow by defensive backs and catch long distance touchdown passes.

At Winter Park I learned more about Birk and Moss than I ever could turning on a TV set. Birk was approachable, Moss could be intimidating.

Birk, who developed into an All-Pro and Pro Bowl center for the Vikings, would cruise around the locker room with a smile on his face, willing to talk about subjects ranging from football to his Twin Cities restaurants. The lasting image I have of Moss—the 6-foot-4 All-World wide receiver with cheetah-like speed—is watching him bolt out of the Winter Park locker room so angry I might have guessed his dog died.

“He (Moss) has had some bad PR,” acknowledged Dean Dalton, a Vikings’ assistant coach from 1999-2005. “He comes across unfiltered. He can be a thoughtful (considerate) guy.

“I’ve watched Birkie pretty close this year. He contemplated retiring (after last season) but his competitive spirit compelled him to go back. He’s been one constant on a line with injuries.”

Birk made a reputation here and in Baltimore for community service. He’s a past winner of the Ed Block Courage Award and Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, national honors recognizing inspiration and charity. Moss has reportedly done good deeds too but the resume is filled with negative stuff including his days with the Vikings.

In early 2005, Birk and Moss clashed after a loss to the Redskins with playoff implications for the Vikings. Moss left the field in the closing seconds and headed to the locker room, embarrassing teammates and angering fans. “Enraged, Birk confronted Moss in the locker room,” wrote Kevin Seifert on Monday for his espn.com blog.

The Vikings’ ownership tired of Moss and traded him to the Raiders during the 2005 offseason. He returned to Minnesota for four games in 2010 but apparently his immature behavior helped convince the Vikings to part ways. His most well publicized incident was a rant about food served by a local caterer at Winter Park.

Birk left the Vikings via free agency after the 2008 season. He’s the Ravens’ starting center and at 36 is playing in his first Super Bowl. Moss, who turns 36 on February 13, played on a Patriots team that lost the 2008 Super Bowl to the Giants. He came out of retirement to play for the 49ers this season and has been a modest contributor to the team’s success, catching 33 passes including three for touchdowns.

49ers’ coach Jim Harbaugh wants Moss to return next season, according to an nfl.com story by Dan Hanzus last Friday. Moss, who no longer terrorizes defenses but reportedly has been more civil and even helpful to teammates in San Francisco, has not made his plans known. Birk told Sports Headliners earlier in the year he’s undecided about how much longer he will play. Birk acknowledged he is physically not the player he once was “but I like to think I am a little smarter.”

This much is known about the future for the two former high profile Vikings: Birk or Moss will win a Super Bowl ring, and you know who I am pulling for.

Worth Noting

In addition to Birk and Moss, three other players in the upcoming Super Bowl have Minnesota connections. Ravens’ regular left tackle Bryant McKinnie, the former Viking, has become a late season success on a re-energized line. Ravens’ starting outside linebacker Terrell Suggs was born in Minneapolis and spent part of his childhood in the Twin Cities. Reserve 49ers’ defensive back Tramaine Brock was recruited by former Gophers coach Tim Brewster, and lettered for Minnesota in 2008.

Dalton, who provides NFL analysis for Sirius Satellite Radio, predicts a three point win by the Ravens in the February 3 game. The teams have similar strengths but the 49ers have been struggling with field goals. “I just really like both teams,” he said.

The Vikings need help in the 2013 draft at multiple positions. A record number of 74 college underclassmen have declared for the April 25-27 NFL Draft, according to the January 16 issue of USA Today. The list includes 15 defensive linemen, 13 defensive backs, 12 running backs and 11 wide receivers.

The NFL Scouting Combine for evaluating draft eligible players is February 23-26 in Indianapolis.

The basketball Gophers, losers in their last two games to top 10 ranked Indiana and Michigan, will try tonight for a second win this month against Northwestern in Evanston. The Gophers, who only led 17-14 at halftime in the January 6 game, defeated the Wildcats 69-51 in Minneapolis. Minnesota out-rebounded Northwestern 47-20 in that win. Look for the Wildcats to give the Gophers problems with a half court trapping defense.

According to Big Ten Conference statistics released Monday morning, the Gophers were second in rebounding margin among Big Ten teams at +9.8 per game. The Gophers were first in blocked shots per game at 6.4 and steals at 9.7. Minnesota, though, has the highest turnover average among the conference’s 12 teams, 14.7 per game.

Ross Bernstein, the local author and motivational speaker who c0-wrote Marc Trestman’s biography, told Sports Headliners that Trestman interviewed for the Browns head coaching job before being hired last week to lead the Bears. Trestman’s wife Cindy is from Cleveland so the Browns job would have been a good family fit and expectations for winning are lower than in Chicago. “He would be a hero if he won five games (the first season) in Cleveland,” Bernstein said.

The St. Louis Park native and former coach of Montreal in the CFL has never been a head coach in the NFL, although he was an assistant with the Vikings and other teams. “In my opinion his dream job would have been with the Vikings,” Bernstein said.

But Trestman, of course, is excited to be coaching the Bears, a team with potential to finish ahead of the Vikings in the NFC North next season. “Expectations are high in Chicago,” Bernstein said.

What did he learn about Trestman when the two co-wrote Perseverance: Life Lessons on Leadership and Team Work? “Just how smart the guy is. He is brilliant. He is also a quality human being.”

After Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall tweeted about Trestman’s book, sales increased dramatically and Bernstein said it is now among the top 100 sellers on Amazon.com.

Congratulations to Saint John’s men’s basketball coach Jim Smith who won his 750^th career game on Monday night when the Johnnies defeated Carleton, 73-66. He is the 19^th coach in college basketball history (all divisions) to reach 750 wins.

Condolences to the family of Conrad Smith, my former North Stars marketing colleague and friend for many years. Conrad passed away recently after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He worked for the North Stars, Twins and Timberwolves during his career, and most recently was chief operating officer of the Lynx. Conrad’s warm smile and quick wit made him a delight to be around.

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Just No Forgetting Ex-Stars Owner

Posted on January 21, 2013January 23, 2013 by David Shama

I was sitting in a Caribbean restaurant last Wednesday morning eating pancakes when I caught a partial glimpse of the TV screen. Something about the former owner of the NHL San Jose Sharks.

Even before learning the full details approximately 30 minutes later, I was sure one of the Gund brothers had died.

George Gund III, 75, died of cancer in Palm Springs, California last week. The news revived my memories of working for the Gunds in the 1980s.

The two brothers owned the NHL North Stars and operated Met Center. I was involved with marketing both entities, and mostly became acquainted with the Gunds through my boss, the late Frank Jirik.

Frank loved to tell stories including many jokes you couldn’t use in today’s sensitive office environment. A favorite tale was Frank’s story about George’s unpredictable behavior. The way I recall it, George was traveling in Europe with his wife and friends. The group was at an airport waiting for the plane to depart.

“George wanders off, sees a travel poster and takes a flight to that destination without telling anybody where he’s going,” Frank told me.

Several days later word reached George’s family and others as to his whereabouts.

If you didn’t guess by now, George was a character and free spirit. He had bushy eyebrows thick enough to hide the safe deposit box key where his inheritance might have been secured. He also mumbled, and when Frank impersonated George it was high comedy.

George and his brother Gordon grew up in Cleveland where their father, George Gund II, was a wealthy businessman. George II might have been interested to see how George III enjoyed his inheritance. His son loved to travel, collect art, and play hockey, chasing the puck even into his 40’s or maybe 50’s. He was also a well-known philanthropist and long time supporter of the San Francisco Film Society.

An online story in last Tuesday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer by Pat Galbincea recalled that George once suited up as a goalie for a North Stars practice and liked to show off a picture of himself in uniform. The same article referred to the Gund brothers owning the NBA’s Cleveland Cavs for many years and how George enjoyed dropping Cuban cigar ashes on the scorebook of the team’s radio play-by-play guy, Joe Tait.

“He was one unique individual,” Tait said in the story.

George spent time in his adopted hometown of San Francisco. He was also enamored with Squaw Valley, California. Frank and I talked about encouraging either George or Gordon to buy a home in Minneapolis and establish more identity in this community. Never happened, and while Gordon was somewhat of a regular around the Met, I just don’t think Minnesota was very often on George’s world travel itinerary.

In the late 1980’s the North Stars were struggling at the box office. Bad hockey produced bad results on and off the ice. The dress suit season ticket holders crowd from the franchise’s early days had been replaced by single game buyers who often relieved themselves on the sidewalks outside the building.

Frank and I had built our reputations filling the Met Center for concerts, family shows and other events including a Lakers NBA exhibition game. “If there’s one empty seat (for any event) it’s one too many,” I told Frank.

He loved to hear that and shared the statement with Gordon, a capable businessman who was blind because of retinitis pigmentosa. Gordon, who once was featured on TV’s “60 Minutes,” was a pleasant guy who watched the bottom line of his businesses.

Our management team made money for him on the non-hockey events, but we disliked not being profitable with the North Stars. We tried to convince the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission to invest over $10 million in the renovation of Met Center, adding suites and remodeling concourses. After negotiations failed, George and Gordon sold the team to Norm Green and other investors in 1990.

George and Gordon weren’t done with hockey, though. They bought an expansion team for San Jose that began play in the NHL in 1991. The club was and still is the city’s only major league sports franchise. George was popular in San Jose and is fondly remembered among Bay Area residents more than 10 years after selling the Sharks.

Frank moved to San Jose in the early 1990s to continue working for the Gunds. I talked to Frank about joining him in California, but never did.

In the 1990s the Sharks were a new team in a new NHL market with a new arena—a classic “honeymoon” situation. The building was packed for concerts like Pavarotti and Sharks games. Frank might have thought about my mantra, “If there’s one empty seat, it’s one too many.”

If he mentioned it to George and Gordon, I’m sure they were pleased.

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