David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

DiNardo: U Done Losing to NDSU’s

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

The Big Ten Network football crew including commentators Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith was in Minneapolis last weekend to evaluate the Gophers as part of a 12-campus tour of Big Ten football programs. DiNardo and Griffith are impressed with coach Jerry Kill and the improvement of the Minnesota team.

“I think we’re all gonna see (in 2012) why Minnesota hired Jerry Kill,” DiNardo said on the network’s Gophers preview show. “He’s a guy that maximizes his (player) personnel. We’ll see him do that. He maximizes his staff because they’ve been with him so long.

“The biggest surprise to me a year ago is when Minnesota lost to New Mexico State and North Dakota State. That won’t happen again. Minnesota will win every matchup opponent. Matchup opponent is someone that’s a little better or a little less personnel than you do (have). He’ll win every one of those games. …It’s taken him maybe a little bit longer here than some of the other places he’s been.”

The Gophers were 3-9 last season including those surprise nonconference losses to the Aggies and Bison. If DiNardo is correct, the Gophers will sweep their 2012 nonconference games against UNLV, New Hampshire, Western Michigan and Syracuse. Then Minnesota has to find two wins among eight conference opponents to reach the qualifying six victories to be eligible for a bowl game.

Minnesota is a second-year rebuilding program under Kill, and Griffith thinks the Gophers are still going to “take their lumps.” Griffith likes the direction of the program with Kill and said the players “have bought into the message that he’s talking about from the front of the room.”

No Gopher discussed on the preview show received higher praise than junior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman. Griffith doesn’t believe any center in the Big Ten can block Hageman who was outstanding in Minnesota’s final game last season against Illinois and has continued to progress. “In my mind he’s going to be tough to block for anybody,” Griffith said.

Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys told the Big Ten Network that Hageman, a former tight end, is now understanding the demands of his position. “There’s not a better athlete in the United States playing d-tackle than what Ra’Shede Hageman is,” Claeys said. “The more he continues to learn the game, the better off I think he will be.”

Griffith thinks senior quarterback MarQueis Gray can have a “tremendous year.” DiNardo said proven running skills and improved passing could make Gray the best “dual-threat” quarterback in the conference.

Asked to identify “newcomers” of note this season, Griffith selected redshirt freshman defensive end Theiren Cockran, a promising pass rusher whom Kill has praised in the off-season. DiNardo chose true freshmen Jamel Harbison, a wide receiver that has shown athleticism in practice this month, and converted quarterback KJ Maye, an exceptionally quick athlete who could play both receiver and running back for the Gophers.

Olympic Basketball & Other Notes:

Minnesotans may never again see an Olympics where men and women with ties to this state played such significant roles in the gold medal success of USA basketball teams. Kevin Love, the Timberwolves’ best player and an NBA All-Star, ranked down the list of premiere players on the men’s roster but he was Team USA’s best rebounder despite limited minutes, while Lynx players Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen were contributors to the USA women’s team championship run in London.

On a team lacking size and rebounding, it was Love who consistently came off the bench to lead the USA in rebounding at 7.6 per game and he was fifth in team scoring with an average of 11.6. Balls that he couldn’t control he would tap to teammates. With the USA only ahead by one point at the end of three quarters in the championship game against Spain on Sunday, Love was asked to play major fourth quarter minutes surrounded by his all-world teammates including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

Love showed his usual basketball IQ in the gold medal game, not only positioning himself effectively for rebounds but in the fourth quarter, despite playing with four fouls, he effectively defended Spain’s best player, Pau Gasol. Despite being undersized against Gasol, he made it difficult for the Spanish center to score, including in the low post.

Love demonstrated something else in the Olympics, too. He’s a great player but he will never be an alpha dog scorer, the kind that can carry a team to an NBA championship. If the Wolves are ever to dream about a title, they will have to find a James, Bryant, Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony to team with Love.

It’s highly doubtful if a healthy Rick Rubio, playing forSpain, could have been the difference in the title game. The Wolves point guard is not yet a dominant enough all-around player, nor the kind of defensive force that the Spanish team needed.

While the USA men had to struggle in a 107-100 title game win over Spain on Sunday, the women defeated France 86-50 in their title game Saturday. The Lynx Olympians combined for 17 points. Moore averaged 9 points and 5.6 points per game during the Olympics while Whalen made 56.4 percent of her shots and averaged 8 points. Augustus averaged 7.8 points.

Augustus, Moore and Whalen will hold a news conference in Minneapolis tomorrow.

The 12-members of the USAmen’s team weren’t paid to play in the Olympics but Kurt Badenhausen writing on August 6 for Forbes.com said those players earned $230 million in NBA salaries and outside endorsements during the last 12 months. Their Olympic experience will be a further boost to their commercial appeal.

Working for the Big Ten Network on football coverage this fall will be former Gophers Derek Rackley and Justin Conzemius, and ex-Minnesota coach Glen Mason.

Are the Twins moving their metro area radio broadcasts of games to KTWN-FM starting in 2013?

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau is hitting .400 in his last 10 games and moved his average up to .276. Morneau’s contract expires after next season. He reportedly earns $14 million this season, according to online information from Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

There have been 126 home runs hit at Target Field this season, the same total as in all of 2011. In 2010, the opening season of Target Field, only 116 total home runs were hit.

The Twins have drawn over 2 million fans at home this season, the eighth consecutive year they have done so.

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‘Barometer’ Season Ahead for Frazier

Posted on August 10, 2012August 10, 2012 by David Shama

The Vikings play the first of four pre-season games starting tonight in San Francisco, and then open the regular season at home against Jacksonville on September 9. This is a “barometer” year for coach Leslie Frazier, according to Dean Dalton.

Dalton, the former Vikings assistant coach who hosts an NFL Saturday program on SiriusXM Radio, told Sports Headliners the upcoming season is a “huge” year for Frazier but likely not a situation where if the Vikings don’t make the playoffs the coach is out.

Frazier was interim coach for six games at the end of the 2010 season. That was an unstable season with the Vikings not meeting expectations, a troubled locker room and even the Metrodome roof collapsing.

Then last year the NFL labor dispute prevented the normal off-season and pre-season preparations with players. That was a disadvantage for Frazier who was starting his first full season as Vikings head coach and first assignment as boss of any NFL team.

This year has been normal for preparations and Dalton said the off-season front office move to create more authority in the personnel department is another asset for Frazier. Rick Spielman, promoted during the off-season to the newly created position of general manager, works effectively with Frazier and gives the Vikings more definitive management of personnel than has been in place.

All of this puts more “structure” in place around Frazier, according to Dalton. “Even the stadium is settled,”Dalton said, referring to the off-season approval to build a new facility.

What Dalton thinks ownership wants to see from Frazier’s team this season is progress. Not to be measured so much by wins or losses but by performance improvement.

“You want to show you’re improving every week,”Dalton said. “You want to see a team that is ascending.”

Dalton said Vikings improvement means “there’s no games where the team is mailing it in,” not trying because of the situation or circumstances. “They look competitive (in each game),” he explained. “There’s no situations where there’s turmoil.”

Dalton said Frazier has already demonstrated his leadership in the locker room, showing he’s an “excellent” manager of players. Now Frazier has the opportunity to show what he and his staff can do coaching during a full season in a normal NFL environment.

The Vikings were 3-13 last season and Dalton said five or six wins is probably a reasonable expectation in 2012. “They can be pretty good,” Dalton said. “The challenge is playing teams we know will be very good. It’s tough to say.”

Pro football analysts aren’t forecasting playoff games for the Vikings. Several teams on the schedule look better, including NFC North rivals Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay, and the Vikings are in the process of shuffling personnel. “It’s a young, inexperienced group,” Dalton said.

Dalton suggested fans watch for a couple of developments that will ultimately tell how well the Vikings play in 2012. He said the offense “could be really explosive” if the deep passing game is effective. Stretching the field and taking an extra defender away from the line of scrimmage will create running opportunities for all-world halfback Adrian Peterson.

On defense, Dalton said the “secondary really has to step up.” In the pass-happy NFL, it’s mandatory to have multiple defensive backs who can make plays. Another defensive development Dalton will be watching is the progress of linebacker Jasper Brinkley who is replacing E.J. Henderson.

Progress. There’s that word again.

Vikings notes:

As of this week, the Vikings had 41 new players on the 90 man roster – 14 free agents, 10 draft choices and 17 undrafted free agents. The roster has to be reduced to 75 by August 27.

Among the storylines to follow in tonight’s game at San Francisco and the other upcoming preseason games is who will emerge as Minnesota’s No. 3 running back behind Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart. Peterson, recovering from his ACL surgery, won’t play for awhile yet and Frazier said Gerhart’s carries will be limited tonight.

Frazier also said that in addition to Peterson, the following injured players won’t play against the 49ers: Robert Blanton, John Carlson, Kamar Jorden, DeMarcus Love, Geoff Schwartz and Jordan Todman.

Because it’s the first preseason game, Percy Harvin won’t return kickoffs. He ran 101 yards on a kickoff return for a touchdown in a regular season game against the 49ers in 2009.

The 49ers roster includes former Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss. Vikings assistant coach Mike Singletary was the 49ers head coach from 2008-2010.

Former Vikings coaches Jerry Burns, Dean Dalton and Paul Wiggin were among those attending last Saturday’s induction of ex-Vikings defensive end Chris Doleman into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The 49ers-Vikings game will be televised on WUCW in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The game will be simulcast on KFAN Radio. Paul Allen will do play-by-play with Pete Bercich providing analysis, plus Greg Coleman and Ben Leber reporting from the sidelines. The Vikings’ other three preseason games, including next Friday at home against Buffalo, will be simulcast on KARE 11 and KFAN.

The 49ers, 13-3 last season, play a regular season game against the Vikings in Minneapolis on September 23.

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Gray Looks for U Bowl Win

Posted on August 8, 2012August 8, 2012 by David Shama

Gophers senior quarterback MarQueis Gray played briefly in his team’s 2009 Insight Bowl loss to Iowa State. The last two seasons Gray has been on 3-9 Minnesota teams but he believes the Gophers, who play their first game on August 30 at UNLV, will be improved and he talked about his determination in 2012.

“To leave here without a bowl win, that would be heartbreaking. I feel like we put too much time and work and effort …to not get rewarded, and that would be shocking to me.”

Among the reasons Gray chose the Gophers is his determination to help turn around the football program. While a high school player in Indianapolis, he was ranked by Rivals as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country and top player in Indiana.

Gray said Minnesota was the only recruiting visit to a prospective school that he made. He was impressed with what he saw and heard including information about the local business community. “Minneapolis is one of the top cities in the country in Fortune 500 companies so I was figuring if it doesn’t work out in football I know I have some people around here that would be willing to hire me,” he said.

Gray has become a Gophers leader. With practice having started just last Saturday, he and his teammates are understandably optimistic about the season ahead, even if Minnesota is a popular media choice to be among the Big Ten’s worst teams. The Gophers believe in second-year coach Jerry Kill and his staff. Veteran players like Gray have the advantage now of many months spent learning the coaching staff’s schemes and philosophies. Then, too, there’s an influx of new players including several junior college transfers.

Junior safety Brock Vereen acknowledged the optimism. “There’s talk (in the locker room) about being great, being successful. Whatever comes with that, that’s what we want. That’s what we have to have.”

The Gophers were 6-7 in 2009, and then came the 3-9 records. Vereen sees a different attitude now than his first two teams at Minnesota. “This is the most confident (team). This is the most optimistic that this team has been since I’ve been here. I think everybody is so excited.”

Senior linebacker Mike Rallis said the Gophers aren’t interested in alibis for their opening game in Las Vegas. The game will likely be played in high temperatures and start at 10 p.m., presenting a time zone adjustment for the Gophers.

“I think the challenge is UNLV the team,” Rallis said. “We’re going to have to play them (the Rebels). We’re not going to have to play against the heat and the time zone. Those are just excuses and we’re not thinking about that at all. We’re just trying to prepare for a good UNLV team.”

Gophers notes:

Rallis attended Edina High School, as did sophomore wide receiver Devin Crawford-Tufts of whom much is anticipated this season. Rallis said Tufts initially came into the Edina program as a “track guy.” Rallis added: “Just like coach Kill, I am expecting big things from him this year.”

Vereen’s brother, Shane Vereen, plays for New England in the NFL. Brock said he talks to his brother every day about football and other subjects. Shane has been a mentor who exemplifies confidence and willingness to sacrifice for the team, Brock said.

Gray and fiancée Alison Behr are parents of eight month old twin boys. “I am a great father,” Gray said when asked about his parenting. “I hold the kids responsible for the things they do. …She’s more the cuddlin’ type. …I am the coach of the house.”

Gophers football practices are open to the public tomorrow starting at 9:10 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. at the Gibson-Nagurski Complex. Also the Friday practice starting at 10:25 a.m. is open to the public.

The Gophers football program has produced six national championships and 18 Big Ten titles but after recent decades of losing seasons, Minnesota’s all-time record in conference games is 37 wins under .500, 326-363-28.

Despite an attractive home schedule last season that included games with North Dakota State, Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin, the Gophers didn’t sell out a single game at TCF Bank Stadium (capacity 50,805). None of those schools is on the home schedule in 2012, with the best draws being Syracuse, Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State.

Ticket prices for the Gophers game at UNLV are $19, $25 and $40, according to a July 31 article at lasvegassun.com.

Golden Valley-based Buffalo Wild Wings is the new title sponsor for the former Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona where the Gophers played in 2006, 2008 and 2009. The bowl is renamed the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl and will be played on December 29.

Correction from Monday’s column: New Gophers center Brian Bobek, a transfer from Ohio State, will have two seasons of eligibility with Minnesota starting in 2013, not three.

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