David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

Posted on April 16, 2012April 16, 2012 by David Shama

The Twins have played five consecutive days or nights and won’t have a day off until April 26. They open a four-game series against the Yankees tonight in New York.

Infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who hit .226 for the Twins last season, is batting .128 with no RBI in 39 at bats for Triple-A Rochester.

This year the Miller Lite Vikings Draft Party will be held at Mall of America Field for the first time. The event begins at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 26 and continues through the conclusion of the NFL Draft’s first round. General admission tickets are $10 and can be purchased on the Vikings website. There’s no charge for season ticket holders. Activities will include games, stadium and locker room tours, and a bean bag tournament. Current and former players will sign autographs to benefit the Vikings Children’s Fund.

Game times have been set for the four Vikings preseason games: 8 p.m. at San Francisco, August 10; 7 p.m. for home games on August 17 and 24 against Buffalo and San Diego; and 6 p.m. at Houston, August 30. All times are Central Daylight.

The Gophers annual spring football game begins at 11 a.m. Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. A replay telecast will be on the Big Ten Network starting at 6 p.m. next Sunday.

The Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game will be played at St. Cloud State, not at theUniversity of Minnesota as previously announced. The June 30 game has switched locations because of NCAA legislation passed last year prohibiting all-star games from being held on Division I and IAA campuses.

The Wild have the second best visiting team dressing room in the NHL, according to results of a players’ poll published in the April 16 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Through games of last Wednesday, the Wolves Kevin Love had 10 games this season of at least 30 points and 15 rebounds while all the other players in the NBA had nine games combined.

Arlotta Stadium, named after the Arlotta family, is featured in the title of a lacrosse show on NBC Sports Network, “Notre Dame Lacrosse: Inside the Walls of Arlotta.” Minnesota Swarm owner John Arlotta and his family pledged the lead gift toward Arlotta Stadium in 2008. The half-hour show reports on the Irish men’s lacrosse team and is scheduled for airing on Wednesday starting at 2:30 p.m. and Friday at 2 p.m.

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Nathan vs. Twins: Not Just Another Game

Posted on April 13, 2012April 13, 2012 by David Shama

Expect former Twins closer Joe Nathan to pitch with extra adrenaline this weekend when his new team, the Rangers, plays a three game series at Target Field. There’s no guarantee, of course, that Nathan will be relieving in the games but former Twins shortstop Roy Smalley, now a Fox Sports North analyst on Twins telecasts, told Sports Headliners players want to make a statement when they compete against ex-teammates and former fans.

Nathan, often among baseball’s best closers when he pitched for the Twins from 2004-2011, signed as a free agent with the Rangers during the last offseason. Tonight’s game in Minneapolis will be the first that Nathan has been in a Rangers uniform against the Twins.

“It’s not just any other game when you compete against your old club,” Smalley said. “He doesn’t want to come in and not do the job.”

Smalley played for the Rangers, Twins and Yankees. He never wanted to look at his former teammates and know they had defeated him.

Smalley said Nathan will have more “butterflies” pitching here against the Twins than when Minnesota goes to Texas. “The juices flow more when you come into your former park,” he said. “It will be easier for him to pitch in Texas. He doesn’t want to fail in front of all these (Twins) fans.”

Nathan has been given the closer role with the Rangers. His record is 0-2 but he has saved two games. His ERA of 9.00 reflects some difficult moments in the young season and is worse than the 4.46 he had last year with the Twins.

In 2011 Nathan was making a comeback from 2010 elbow surgery. He wasn’t the Nathan of old and the Twins decided that a 37-year-old coming off surgery with a fast ball in decline wasn’t worth the two-year, $14.5 million deal the Rangers reportedly offered.

Smalley has no doubt the Twins made the right decision. “To pay that kind of money for a 37-year-old when a team is rebuilding doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he said.

In Nathan’s prime his fast ball could be clocked up to 97 miles per hour, according to Smalley. Now he might be throwing it in the low 90’s. “I have never known any pitcher, other than maybe Nolan Ryan, not to lose velocity when he gets older,” Smalley said.

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Worth Noting

Posted on April 13, 2012April 13, 2012 by David Shama

Smalley will be among the substitute analysts for Bert Blyeven on Twins telecasts this season. Smalley’s first assignment will be the series here against the Royals April 27-29. Then he will work road games in Anaheim and Seattle.

Josh Willingham, who has four home runs in six games, has hit more than 20 home runs four times in the big leagues since 2006. In the first five games this season he hit three home runs and drove in six of the team’s 12 runs. The Twins new left fielder has played first base and catcher during his professional career, but has primarily been an outfielder.

Joe Mauer homered at home yesterday for the first time since August 18, 2010. He and Justin Morneau homered together for the first time since July 6, 2010.

Ex-Gophers football players are responding to Minnesota coach Jerry Kill’s request to assist with costs associated with the funeral of former linebacker Gary Tinsley and the expense of flying the team to Florida. Kill reached out to ex-players asking them to consider making a donation to the University of Minnesota Foundation – Gary Tinsley Memorial Fund.

Kill’s willingness to fly the entire Gophers team to Jacksonville for tomorrow’s funeral is yet another example of the character he’s demonstrated since being named head coach in December of 2010. The Gophers will catch an early morning flight and fly back after the funeral.

It looks like the state legislature and University of Minnesota will agree on a policy to serve alcohol in suites and also have a beer garden available to all fans at TCF Bank Stadium for Gophers football games next season.

Minnesota prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Nebraska coach Tim Miles has offered 6-9 Alex Illikainen, the Grand Rapids High School freshman, a scholarship.

Hopkins High School basketball coach Ken Novak told Sports Headliners his former player Trent Lockett has been considering Baylor, Gonzaga, Iowa State and Marquette. Lockett, who led Arizona State in scoring average last season at 13 points per game, is leaving the Sun Devils. Novak said the 6-5 guard earned his undergraduate degree in three years at Arizona State, and will be eligible next fall to play one season for his new college team.

Hopkins senior forward Zach Stahl has offers from Northeastern University in Boston and the University of Hawaii, according to Novak.

Novak’s dad, Ken Sr., celebrated his 83^rd birthday last month and is expected to be a Hopkins assistant coach again next season. “If he’s out, I am out,” his son joked.

The older Novak is known for his energy and friendliness. Ken Jr. said when he returned from Hawaii during spring break he found his entire yard had been raked by his father.

Kevin Thompson, a 6-1 sophomore wing who played high school basketball at Minneapolis North, has been named Dakota County Technical College’s first ever National Junior College Athletic Association Division II All-American.

1500 ESPN talk show host Patrick Reusse discussed the shooting ability of Gophers forward Rodney Williams on the air Monday and said he could beat Williams in a game of H-O-R-S-E with a week’s practice to prepare.

Former Gophers basketball coach Dan Monson, whose Long Beach State team won the Big West regular season and conference titles, turned down head coaching interest this spring from Colorado State and SMU.

The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame will honor outstanding individuals from professional and amateur football in Minnesota at the Chapter’s annual awards dinner on Sunday, April 22 at the University of St. Thomas. Two-time Gophers All-American defensive tackle Bobby Bell will give the keynote address, and Bell’s 1960 national championship team will be honored with the Murray Warmath Legendary Team Award.

The Bobby Bell College Impact Player of the Year Award will be presented to Fritz Waldvogel, a two-time All-American who started a school record 50 games at St. Thomas. There will be other award recipients including Bruce Kruckeberg from Gustavus (scholar athlete award) and Derek Klinkner from Southwest Minnesota State (courage award), and also seven high school players for their academic-football achievements: Beau Bates (Minnetonka), Adam Bungum (Triton), David Holien (Cotter), Cavonte Johnson (Edina), Zack Moheban (Bloomington Kennedy), Sean Murphy (Nicollet) and Matthew Suek (Fergus Falls). The event is open to the public and begins at 6 p.m. in the Anderson Student Center at St. Thomas. Ticket information is available on the chapter’s website, nffminesota.org.

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