David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Goalie Wilcox Gophers MVP

Posted on December 5, 2012December 5, 2012 by David Shama

Gophers coach Don Lucia agreed with the suggestion freshman goalie Adam Wilcox is the early season team MVP. “I think without question so far what he’s done. …His numbers are phenomenal and he’s given us a chance to win every night he’s started so far this year.”

Wilcox has a WCHA-leading 1.61 goals against average. Stephon Williams from Minnesota State is second to Wilcox at 1.92. Wilcox’s 819 game minutes is also best in the league.

Before the season it was uncertain who would replace last year’s senior All-American goalie, Kent Patterson. But Wilcox has responded so well he’s been a major contributor to the Gophers 10-3-2 record with Minnesota being ranked among the nation’s best teams despite struggling to score goals.

The Gophers opened their season dominating Michigan State at Mariucci Arena, winning 5-1 and 7-1. Fans may have expected similar performances from the talented Minnesota roster.

“Michigan State had a very young team,” Lucia told Sports Headliners. “They had four freshmen defensemen playing their first college games after one week of practice. We were able to jump on them and seal the deal early in the game both nights. That (series) was more of an aberration than anything else.

“We have a long ways to go as a team. It’s been a struggle for us offensively. Defensively we’ve played pretty well. Our shots against are very good, low 20s where you want them. Our specialty team play is good but we have to try to figure out a way to score … five on five.”

Lucia said the Gophers, thought by some to be the No. 1 team in the country before the season, were probably overrated. The optimism was based on the Gophers qualifying for the Frozen Four last season, having healthy players in 2011-12 and a “lot of things” going right, according to Lucia. He said the Gophers miss last year’s seniors who played “integral roles” and there have been more injuries on the team this fall. There are players too, the coach said, who need to play better.

Does this team have the potential to be better than last season’s group? “I think your team always has potential,” Lucia said. “Now I think a big part of it is going to be two things. Your best players have to be your best players night in and night out. That next group of guys that are your support players have to take their game to another level.”

The Gophers, 5-3-2 in league play, are at Colorado College, 8-5-3 and overall 8-7-1, Friday and Saturday nights. USCHO.com ranks the Gophers No.4 in the country, Colorado College No. 19.

Worth Noting

Can’t help but wonder if the Vikings and Bears will play a fine-free game on Sunday at Mall of America Field. A week ago Sunday in Chicago, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher were involved in plays resulting in fines of $21,000 and $15,750 respectively.

Adrian Peterson wasn’t hurt on Urlacher’s horse-collar type tackle but Bears offensive lineman Lance Louis suffered a season-ending ACL injury after being hit hard by Allen. Allen said last week he doesn’t expect revenge from the Bears but will deal with what comes on Sunday.

The Vikings will honor the 30-member Minnesota all-state prep football team at halftime of the Bears game. The team was selected by media, the Vikings and high school coaches. Dwight Lundeen of Becker, whose 2012 team was a Class 4A power, was selected Coach of the Year.

The all-staters: Marley Allison, Edina; Jordan Anderson, Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s; Brady Ayers, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown; Dalton Bass, Hills-Beaver Creek; Lance Briard, Springfield; Zach Creighton, Lakeville North; JT DenHartog, Hopkins; Jake Disterhaupt, Moose Lake-Willow River; Tucker Forsgren, Pelican Rapids; Alex Grove, Willmar; Aaron Haatja, Dassel-Cokato; Jordan Hein, Perham; Jared Lea, Chanhassen; Chase Morlock, Moorhead; Jack Nelson, Byron; Daulton Olinger, Spring Lake Park; James Onwualu, Cretin-Derham Hall; Elijah Patrick, Prior Lake; Ashanti Payne, Robbinsdale Cooper; Jacob Peterson, St. Cloud Tech; Daniel Polansky, Goodridge/Grygla; Nate Ricci, Stillwater; Noah Scarver, Washburn; Shaun Schindler, Hutchinson; Brandon Schmitt, Dawson Boyd; Jordan Staples, Morris; Bridge Tusler, Osseo; Brett Watercott, Becker; Jake Wieneke, Maple Grove; Alex Wood, Lakeville North.

Two Minnesotans are first team selections on the American Football Coaches Association FCS All-American team—Marcus Williams, the North Dakota State junior cornerback from Minneapolis, and Zach Zenner, the South Dakota State sophomore running back from Eagan.

Texas Tech, the Gophers opponent in the December 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston, sees benefits playing in that football-rich area. The Red Raiders have a large alumni base in the Houston area and have put a bull’s-eye on recruiting in Texas’ largest city, according to a Sunday online article by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said in the story: “The lifeblood of a program is recruiting. Players win games. For our program right now, for what we need to do and where we need to go, I think this is good for us.

“I know we’re recruiting a lot of players from that area, trying to get more players on the team from the Houston area. We were kind of lacking the last few years, but our coaches have gone into Houston and selling our program, selling Texas Tech, and it’s worked pretty good.”

The Gophers recruit Texas and three of their more promising freshmen are tight end Lincoln Plsek from Waco, and running back Rodrick Williams Jr. and nose guard Scott Ekpe, both from Lewisville. Minnesota has several Texans on its two-deep depth chart.

Texas Tech could be about a two touchdown favorite in the Meineke game. The Big Ten will have six other teams in bowl games and all of the conference’s schools may be underdogs. The Big Ten has no teams in the top 15 of the BCS standings, with Nebraska at No. 16, Michigan No. 18 and Northwestern No. 20.

UW-Oshkosh plays at St. Thomas on Saturday in a game starting at 2 p.m. involving two undefeated teams trying to advance to the national Division III football title game. The Titans have drawn attention for not only winning but their comebacks, according to the school’s website.

After trailing St. Scholastica 10-0 in their playoff opener, the Titans scored 55 unanswered points in a 55-10 win. Bethel scored the first 14 points in a second round playoff game but the Titans responded with 37 straight points in a 37-14 victory.

Last Saturday, trailing 21-6 at halftime against Linfield, the Titans tied the game with 15 unanswered fourth quarter points, then won 31-24 in overtime and ended the Oregon school’s 26 game home winning streak.

Baseballamerica.com posted its listing of the Twins top prospects and also the projected lineup for the big league team in 2016. The November 20 article ranked third baseman Miguel Sano No. 1 among prospects with outfielders Byron Buxton, Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks at numbers 2, 3 and 5 respectively. Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson ranked No. 4.

For the 2016 season, Gibson is projected as the No. 1 starter on the Twins with Sano at third base, Buxton in center field, Hicks in right field and Arcia the designated hitter. Other projected starters: catcher Joe Mauer, first base Chris Parmelee, second base Eddie Rosario, shortstop Daniel Santana and left fielder Denard Span. Span has been traded to the Nationals since the article was posted.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was at St. Louis Park High School last night watching Apple Valley junior point guard Tyus Jones play against the Orioles. MSU is on Jones’ final eight schools under consideration for college.

The 9-1 Gophers basketball team, 88-64 winners over South Dakota State last night, play next at 3-4 USC in a 7:30 p.m. start Minneapolis time on Saturday. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network. The Trojans lost 63-51 at Nebraska on Monday night.

USC, coached by former Northwestern coach Kevin O’Neill, is led in scoring by J.T. Terrell and Eric Wise, their only double figures scorers at 12.7 and 10.4. Minnesota, ranked No. 14 in the latest A.P. poll, defeated USC, 55-40, in Minneapolis last December.

KSTP TV sportscaster Joe Schmit said on Monday night a source predicted injured Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio may play his first game this season on December 15 at Target Center against the Mavericks.

Dave Mona, co-host of the WCCO Radio Sports Huddle, will be the speaker on Thursday, 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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Frazier: Ponder to ‘Bounce Back’

Posted on December 3, 2012December 3, 2012 by David Shama

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was asked about the confidence of quarterback Christian Ponder on KFAN Radio after yesterday’s 23-14 loss to the Packers. “He’ll bounce back,” Frazier said from the locker room on the post game show. “He’s a tough kid. High character kid.”

Ponder threw two second half interceptions, including one ball picked off in the end zone to end Vikings’ drives. The first interception followed a 48-yard run by Adrian Peterson to the Green Bay 12 yard line to open the third quarter. After a Peterson run to the eight yard line, Ponder’s pass was intercepted by Morgan Burnett in the end zone. A touchdown would have sent the Vikings ahead 21-10.

It was also Burnett who intercepted Ponder on the Green Bay 13 yard line to stop another drive. The play ended the third quarter when the Vikings were trying to overcome a 20-14 Packers’ lead. “I can’t let it get me down,” Ponder said at the post game news conference aired on Vikings.com. “I gotta move forward.”

Ponder’s passes were consistently inaccurate for much of the game. The first interception where Ponder appeared to have a good view of Burnett in the end zone seemed almost inexplicable.

Ponder has struggled in his last two games. He has thrown three interceptions, while completing 34 of 68 passes for two touchdowns. His passing ratings have been 58.2 and 41.9.

Frazier’s confidence in the second-year quarterback is the sort of commitment that coaches are expected to voice about struggling players. Yet if it was difficult for the coach to be positive after the game no one could blame him. Not on a day when the 6-6 Vikings could have made a statement about being serious playoff contenders.

Instead the Packers and Bears look to be best positioned to contend for the NFC North title, with the loser possibly making the playoffs. With yesterday’s win, the Packers are 8-4 and so, too, are the Bears after losing to the Seahawks.

The Vikings had led 14-10 at halftime with the highlight being a career-best 82-yard run by Peterson. For the game he ran for 210 yards, the sixth consecutive time he’s rushed for over 100 yards.

Defensive end Mike Neal had predicted in a Saturday Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel online story that Peterson would break long runs. “He’s a monster,” Neal said.

The Packers, playing without injured starters on offense and defense, exhibited poor tackling and a leaky offensive line but Green Bay had both a passing and running game on Sunday and that was too much balance for the Vikings yesterday despite a solid performance by the defense. The Vikings didn’t have anything near the kind of run-pass balance they had hoped for while preparing in practice last week.

“We want to be able to use our entire offensive game plan,” Vikings center John Sullivan told Sports Headliners last week. “Be able to pass the ball effectively. Be able to run the ball to help set up the pass. If we’re able to do those things we should be successful.”

The Vikings, with four games remaining, will try to make the formula work next Sunday at home against the Bears.

Kill Built MAC Champs & Other Notes

Northern Illinois won the MAC football championship last Friday night with a roster of players Gophers coach Jerry Kill and his assistants recruited. The Huskies, with 18 of 22 starters recruited by Kill, won their second consecutive MAC title defeating Kent State 44-37 in double overtime.

Redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Lynch ran for 160 yards and passed for 212 in the win. Lynch was recruited by Kill in 2009 and at that time was rated a two-star player by Rivals.com. He was voted the MAC’s 2012 MVP and the school is promoting him as a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Junior tailback Akeem Daniels, 5-foot-7, ran for 128 yards in the win for the top 25 ranked Huskies. Daniels was part of Kill’s 2010 recruiting class and was also a Rivals two-star recruit.

Kill coached at Northern Illinois for three seasons, leading the Huskies to three bowl games with his best season in 2010, a 10-3 record. His successor, former Badgers assistant coach Dave Doeren, has coached the Huskies to records of 11-3 and 12-1. The Huskies will play in the 2013 Orange Bowl, the first MAC team to earn a BCS bowl game invite.

North Carolina State is hiring Doeren as its new football coach, prompting speculation members of Kill’s staff will be considered for the Huskies’ job. But Doeren earned less than $500,000 and the school likely won’t pay his successor much more than that, perhaps less.

Former Vikings assistant coach Monte Kiffin resigned last week as USC’s defensive coordinator. His reported $1.5 million salary at USC is more than the $1.2 million that Kill is believed to earn with the Gophers.

Kill said the Gophers will start bowl practices on Friday and continue on Saturday and Sunday. The Gophers will play in the December 28 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston and have 15 practices to prepare.

Kill said injuries will prevent defensive tackle Roland Johnson and linebacker Brendan Beal from playing in the bowl game.

The Gophers have a history of playing in bowls that don’t pay a lot of money like the Meineke bowl. But former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi said his department never lost money because of cost saving measures like sending the marching band to the game by bus.

Vikings center John Sullivan talking about playing in small town Green Bay including historic Lambeau Field: “It’s got a cool feel. They’ve got a great fan base. Obviously they really care about their team there. It’s got a little bit of a different atmosphere than a normal NFL stadium. Little bit of a college atmosphere to it. It’s definitely a fun place to play.”

The Packers radio network includes 1220 KLBB AM in Stillwater, plus stations in Bismarck, North Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Sioux Falls, South Dakota and four stations in Michigan, according to Packers.com.

Joe Mauer, who married Madie Bisanz on Saturday in St. Paul, had his name rumored on the Internet last week speculating the Twins catcher will be traded to the Red Sox (Bleacher Report) and Yankees (Sports World Report). To complete a Mauer trade the Twins would require an extraordinary deal with not only the right players but right salaries to fit team payroll. Would Mauer be intrigued about playing for a storied franchise and a better chance of earning a World Series ring?

The Gophers basketball team was one of six Big Ten teams ranked in the Associated Press top 25 last week. Indiana was ranked No. 1 followed by Michigan No. 3, Ohio State No. 4, Michigan State No. 13, Minnesota No. 21 and Illinois No. 22. Former Gophers coach Jim Dutcher was asked when the Big Ten has appeared this strong. “Never,” he said.

Gophers radio play-by-play announcer Mike Grimm said the Big Ten Conference Tournament could be more difficult to win than the Final Four.

The Gophers hockey team became the first WCHA team to earn 10 points with a win over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night. The Mavericks, who beat the Gophers on Friday night, have players from 21 states including five from Minnesota, plus five from Canada and one from the Czech Republic.

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Linebackers U Recruiting Priority

Posted on November 30, 2012November 30, 2012 by David Shama

Ask prep recruiting authority Zach Johnson where he thinks the Gophers personnel priorities are for 2013 and he emphasizes junior college linebackers. The Gophers are losing two of their three starting linebackers, seniors Mike Rallis and Keanon Cooper. Junior Aaron Hill returns next season but Spencer Reeves, a key reserve behind Hill, is also a senior.

Jerry Kill and his coaches have long known about those departures but they didn’t expect to see reserve junior linebacker Brendan Beal, Rallis’ backup, suffer yet another knee injury this month which prompted speculation about his future.

“The key (for 2013 recruiting) is finding a running back, and finding linebackers, and not only linebackers but linebackers that are ready to play next year,” said Johnson, the publisher for Gopherillustrated.com. “When you look back at last year (2012 recruits), they (the coaches) went and got what? Three or four defense backs. I think they’ll go and get probably two juco linebackers, a juco defensive tackle, and that might be about all they need out of the juco ranks.

“If they could find the right juco receiver and juco running back that falls in their laps, they might take them. But as far as need goes, I think they need to go get a junior college defensive tackle and two junior college linebackers.”

Johnson said last weekend in an interview with Sports Headliners that the linebacker unit in 2012 wasn’t all that outstanding and if the coaches had reserves who were better they likely would have put those players on the field. Kill lifted the redshirt status off freshmen in other positions who could help the team.

Rivals.com lists nine players who have made verbal commitments for Minnesota’s 2013 recruiting class. Only one, Wayzata’s Chris Wipson, is a linebacker. But before National Signing Day on February 6, the Gophers will finalize a lot more than nine players and for sure more than one linebacker.

Six of the players on the Rivals list are three-star recruits while three others receive two-stars. “I don’t see any major four-star guys even on our (the Gophers) radar right now,” Johnson said.

The Gophers 2012 recruiting class was ranked last in the Big Ten by Rivals. Johnson thinks the 2013 class might also finish 12^th among the conference programs.

“Until they turn into a Big Ten legitimate team—you’re talking eight, nine wins—I think you’ll see Kill’s recruiting continue to be under the radar guys—sleepers, guys that might be an inch or two shorter than what the big teams want at their positions. And just using their (Gophers coaches) connections to find these guys that are not on the typical recruiting trail.

“I think you can win to a point in the Big Ten with that. I think you can go 6-6 and 7-5 and maybe on a good year get to 8-4, but I don’t think you can win consistently in the Big Ten when you’re competing against the likes of Wisconsin and Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State. …”

There’s hope and optimism among the Gophers faithful the 2012 class will ultimately prove it was judged way too low in comparison with other conference recruits. Johnson is not ready to conclude it will happen.

“I mean we know that they can win at Southern Illinois and at Northern Illinois but we don’t know if they can recruit (outstanding) under the radar guys (at Minnesota). Sure we’ve got some nice players but we don’t have any proof that they can find those guys and turn them into eight, nine win teams.

“We don’t even know if we can turn them into six win teams because a lot of the top players on the team right now are (former coach Tim) Brewster’s guys, at least defensively. So we really don’t know if they (Kill and his coaches) can use the same (under the radar) formula and compete at the Big Ten level. We’re assuming they can. But we’ll see what happens.”

Gophers coaches are recruiting this week while the team has the week off before bowl preparations begin. Johnson said Fairhope, Alabama cornerback Nate Andrews is expected to visit here this week. The 6-foot Andrews reportedly has offers from Florida State and Mississippi.

Gophers, Vikings & Other Notes

Former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners he was aware of Jerry Kill’s health history before he hired Kill away from Northern Illinois in 2010. While Maturi did his “due diligence” about Kill, he said the health factor didn’t give him pause before making him the new Gophers coach.

“I knew he had seizures and was a cancer survivor. We checked with the medical people at Northwestern (where Kill was treated) and with doctors here,” Maturi said.

Maturi was told Kill is healthy enough to coach. Since coming to Minnesota Kill has experienced three game day seizures but has missed minimal coaching time at games and practices.

The Big Ten will add to its 12 schools membership with Maryland and Rutgers joining the conference in 2014. Maturi wouldn’t be surprised to see further expansion to 16 teams. Who might the next two schools be? “You have to look at who brings in television sets,” Maturi said.

Speculation about additional Big Ten members includes Boston College, Kansas, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

ESPN.com’s November 20 Big Ten Blog, using USA Today as its source, lists annual salaries of Big Ten football coaches. Now fired Purdue coach Danny Hope was last at $970,000 while Kill was 11th at $1.2 million. Indiana’s Kevin Wilson and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald are just ahead of Kill at $1.26 million each. Ohio State’s Urban Meyer earns a league-leading $4.3 million.

The Vikings and Packers make history on Sunday when the two teams play in Green Bay. Never before have the two rivals played their first game of the year against one another in December. When the Packers come to Minneapolis on December 30 for a second game, it will be the first time the two franchises have played both games in December.

Adrian Peterson’s 1,236 yards not only leads all NFL runners, but his yardage is more than the totals of 18 other league teams. He has rushed for over 100 yards in five consecutive games and is now tied with Robert Smith for the Vikings franchise record.

Peterson said “he’s been preparing as if” Packers All-Pro linebacker Clay Matthews was playing on Sunday but an ESPN report yesterday morning predicted Mathews will be sidelined. “He’s one of their playmakers on defense,” Peterson said. “He’s a talented guy. It will definitely be easier with him not out there.”

Peterson missed the team bus from the hotel on Sunday when the Vikings travelled to Soldier Field for their game against the Bears. He said he slept through his wake- up call.

Defensive end Jared Allen said he doesn’t expect the Bears to pursue revenge against him when Chicago plays here a week from Sunday. Although Allen said there was “no ill intent in it,” the NFL fined him $21,000 for the blow he delivered to Chicago offensive lineman Lance Lewis who suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season. “You never want to injure anybody,” Allen said.

Asked whether he budgets for NFL fines, Allen said he will check to see if the money can be deducted under the “tax code.”

Wide receiver Percy Harvin is 12^th in league receptions with 62 despite missing two games. It’s uncertain whether he will play against the Packers because of his injured ankle.

Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway is second in the NFL in tackles with 107. He should be a Pro Bowl selection for the second time in his career.

Center John Sullivan and other Vikings Notre Dame alums will take a private jet to Miami for the January 7 BCS title game to watch the Irish play if there’s not a conflict with the Vikings’ playoff schedule.

The North Florida team the Gophers play in basketball tomorrow afternoon at Williams Arena is 2-4 including a 15 point loss to Memphis and eight point defeat against Florida State. Minnesota, 7-1 and ranked No. 21 nationally by Associated Press, has played four teams highly regarded by Sports Illustrated in its November college basketball preview issue. The Gophers lost to Duke, but have wins over Memphis, Stanford and Florida State.

The Nebraska-Omaha team that plays the hockey Gophers tonight and tomorrow night at Mariucci Arena is 2-0 in road games this season while Minnesota is 5-0-1 at home. Mavericks head coach Dean Blais is a 1973 Minnesota graduate while assistants Steve Johnson and Troy Jutting have previous experience coaching respectively at St. Cloud State and Minnesota State.

When the Twins acquired right-handed pitcher Alex Meyer yesterday from Washington in exchange for center fielder Denard Span they received a player ranked earlier this year as the sixth best prospect in the Nationals organization by Baseball America. The 22-year-old Meyer pitched collegiately for Kentucky and was drafted 23rd overall by the Nationals in 2011. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound right-hander was 10-6 with a 2.86 ERA, 45 walks and 139 strikeouts in 25 starts with Single-A Hagerstown and Single-A Potomac last season.

Outfielder Nate Roberts and pitcher Kyle Gibson from the Twins organization were included on the 22 member Arizona Fall League’s Top Prospects Team announced this week, according to mlb.com. Roberts led the AFL in batting with a .446 average. Gibson, who had a 3-2 record, was among the league’s winningest pitchers.

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