David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Maturi Supports Smith Contract Extension

Posted on April 6, 2012April 6, 2012 by David Shama

Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners earlier this week he hopes an announcement will come soon regarding a contract extension for Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith. The Gophers athletic director said University of Minnesota attorney Mark Rotenberg is talking with Smith’s agent, Ricky Lefft.

Smith’s contract has two years remaining and an extension has been speculated upon for about a year. Discussions have been on and off over the last 12 months with the two sides unable to reach a deal, although neither Smith nor the University has publicly detailed the differences.

Smith said yesterday at a season-ending news conference he doesn’t expect an agreement to be reached until after a new athletic director is hired in May or June. “I am confident we’ll get it done,” he said.

Maturi, who is leaving his position at the end of June, has talked with Smith about his contract and so too has new University president Eric Kaler. “He’s (Kaler) comfortable with me being here,” Smith said.

Maturi hired Smith in 2007, thinks highly of him and wants him to stay with the Gophers. Maturi has no doubt provided a favorable report on the coach to Kaler.

“I think it’s (the contract extension) the right thing to do,” Maturi said. “I’ve always felt good about Tubby Smith. I think he’s the right fit for Minnesota.”

Smith reportedly earns close to $2 million on his present deal, and by achieving certain goals in his contract can earn more. His five year stay at Minnesota has been criticized by some fans and media. In addition to off-court problems involving the basketball program, his Big Ten record is 14 games below .500. He’s coached two teams to the NCAA tournament and this spring led the Gophers to second place in the National Invitation Tournament.

Smith’s name has often been rumored with other college openings including South Carolina last month. His agent is based in that state but the Gamecocks hired Kansas State coach Frank Martin for their opening.

Comments Welcome

Worth Noting

Posted on April 6, 2012April 6, 2012 by David Shama

Maturi said the contract hasn’t been signed but it’s likely the Gophers will play a major conference opponent that will be a local box office draw as part of next fall’s nonconference schedule. The Gophers nonconference home schedule is frequently criticized for not having marquee opponents.

The Big Ten and ACC annual series has helped enhance the nonconference schedules for teams in both leagues. A new alliance between the Big Ten and Pac-12 might lead to an annual basketball series, further improving nonconference schedules.

A Monday article in the Wall Street Journal ranked the Gophers as the 10^th most valuable Division I college basketball program in the country. Citing a study by Ryan Brewer, an assistant professor of finance at Indiana-Purdue Columbus, the publication listed Louisville ($211.5 million) No. 1 followed by Kansas, Indiana, Ohio Sate, Arizona, North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, UNLV and Minnesota ($87.9 million). The study included a formula using current revenues and expenses, and also other data. The Gophers and fellow Big Ten schools Indiana and Ohio State benefit from the lucrative Big Ten Network revenues.

Jerry Robertson, grandfather to Gophers forward Rodney Williams, said his grandson benefitted from playing near the basket when inside players Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III weren’t able to play because of injuries. Williams had three straight 20 point games in the NIT. “Rodney was forced to step up his game instead of deferring to Mbakwe and Sampson,” Robertson said.

Robertson, who coached Williams in AAU basketball, thinks his grandson will come back for his senior season rather than pursue the NBA draft.

Redshirt freshman center Elliott Eliason, a business management major, was the only Gopher basketball player to make Academic All-Big Ten this past winter. Minnesota and Ohio Sate were the only schools to have just one selection while Purdue and Indiana had a league-leading seven each. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten, student-athletes must be letter winners who are in at least a second academic year at their institutions and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

Don’t be surprised if the basketball Gophers lose one or more players with remaining eligibility who decide to transfer.

The Gophers women’s swimming and diving team had 23 Academic All-Big Ten student-athletes. The men’s gymnastics team 13, the men’s swimming and diving team 11, and the women’s basketball team 10.

Timberwolves president Chris Wright said the franchise has renewed 98 percent of its Target Center lower bowl season ticket holders, and 94 percent overall. The club has sold over 900 new full season tickets and hopes to reach 2,000 by next season. That would push the total on full season tickets to more than 8,000, Wright said.

Timberwolves rookie point guard Ricky Rubio tore his ACL on March 9. The Wolves were a .500 team with him but their record is 4-11 since he’s been unable to play.

The Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced tonight from Tampa as part of the Frozen Four. The finalists for the award honoring college hockey’s best player are Spencer Abbott, senior forward from the University of Maine; Jack Connolly, senior forward from the University of Minnesota-Duluth; and Austin Smith, senior forward from Colgate University. The announcement will be aired live on the NHL Network and on the Hobey Baker website at 5 p.m. Minneapolis time.

WCCO TV’s Mark Rosen signed copies of his new book, “Best Seat in the House,” for two hours last week at the downtown Barnes & Noble store. Chapters include one devoted to former Vikings coach Bud Grant who signed copies of the book at the store and surprised Rosen by staying for 90 minutes. “I would have been happy if he had stayed 15 minutes,” Rosen said.

No dates and times yet but the Vikings will play preseason games (in this order) at San Francisco, home against Buffalo and San Diego, and at Houston.

Congratulations to St. Croix Lutheran’s Carl Lemke, honored as the 2011 MFCA Coach of the Year at the Minnesota Football Coaches Clinic last week. St. Croix Lutheran won the Class 3A state championship last fall. Lemke was also recognized as the Class 3A coach of the year. Other coach of the year winners by class: Class 5A, Mike Grant, Eden Prairie; Class 4A, Mike Rowe, ROCORI; Class 2A, Brent Schroeder, Caledonia; Class 1A, Cory Larson, Dawson-Boyd; Nine Man, Andrew Fleischman, Edgerton/Ellsworth.

Wally McNeil, “Wally the Beerman,” said racehorse Wally’s Choice is retired. McNeil was a part owner of Wally’s Choice, a horse that earned the second most money ever for a Minnesota bred racehorse.

Comments Welcome

Don’t Let Taxes Bug You, Turn to Baseball

Posted on April 4, 2012April 4, 2012 by David Shama

Another MLB season is starting and it’s a feel-good time of year. Yup, you might still be wrestling with Uncle Sam over taxes and if your kids are on spring break they’re driving you nuts but come on, start humming “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Or at least whistle a couple lines from John Fogerty’s classic, “Centerfield.”

Now that we’re in the mood, here’s what I am feeling and thinking about baseball:

Baltimore’s Camden Yards, where the Twins open on Friday, is 20 years old in 2012. The park started the chain reaction of building retro ballparks and remains one of baseball’s best venues. The problem is the Orioles have stunk for years and moving a major league team into nearby Washington,D.C. has delivered a double-shot of attendance woes at Camden.

The best of stadiums built in the 1960s was Dodger Stadium. The home of the Los Angeles Dodgers turns 50 this year and new franchise ownership gives Dodgers fans reason to celebrate.

Baseball’s newest park is Miami’s Marlins Park, a retractable roof facility that opened this year. Speculation is that in sultry Miami the roof will be closed for all but a handful of games.

Target Field celebrates year three and right now not even last season’s 99 loss Twins season can dim enthusiasm for the home opener next Monday against the Angels. The charm of opening day is that the results of the game are secondary to the experience.

There will be plenty of time to scrutinize how the Twins play in April without getting too worked up by the results in Baltimore and on opening day in Minneapolis. Before the month is over the Twins will compete against some of baseball’s best clubs — the Angels, Yankees, Rays, Red Sox and Rangers. I don’t expect Twins Nation will be thumping its collective chests on May 1.

My guess is that after last season’s 63-99 record, Twins fans might get excited about a season of .500 baseball. Maybe I have consumed too much morning coffee, but I think the record could be 81-81 if the team’s best players stay on the field.

The Twins are likely to score more runs than any of us thought. If Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Josh Willingham, Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe, Ryan Doumit and Danny Valencia hit like they can, the Twins won’t be at the bottom in runs scored like last year.

Pitching? Yeah, you had to bring that up. But if Francisco Liriano is ever going to put together a full season that approaches his potential, this will likely be it and he could be the top of the rotation guy the club is looking for. Lirinao is 28 and in the last year of his contract and is pitching for a future big buck deal. It’s now or never for Frankie.

In the bullpen Glen Perkins may turn out to be the closer. That means failure for the guy fans love to hate, No. 1 closer Matt Capps. This much is for sure: the bullpen — long relievers, short relievers and closers — won’t be this team’s strength.

The season ahead looks like it could require a Chicago Cubs fan mentality. Soak up the experience of being at Target Field, or watch your boys of summer on TV. I am not worried about the starting pitching or the first time Morneau slides hard into second base. I am more concerned about how long the line will be for a Kramarczuk bratwurst, or whether I can purchase good seats for a game on Father’s Day weekend against the Brewers.

If the team can’t be expected to contend for a pennant, we’ll find other ways to entertain ourselves. That could even include reading up on Twins history. The other night I was digging through an old file and came across some favorite quotes from the book Holy Cow! The Life and Times of Halsey Hall. Hall was part of the Twins’ first broadcast team and he was among the most colorful characters this town has ever enjoyed. Hall hated to fly and once remarked to an airline clerk: “Give me one chance to Chicago.”

Before broadcasting Twins games, Hall was a sportswriter for the Minneapolis Star. A colleague remembered Hall’s less than tidy housekeeping at the newspaper: “A building move by the Star sports department forced him (Hall) to clean out his desk one day. Not since King Tut’s tomb was opened was there so much dust. In one drawer he found a pair of socks as good as new and in another a two-year-old sandwich that wasn’t.”

Years ago Twins fans looked forward to rain delays so that there would be more time for Halsey Hall storytelling. These days we’re all more likely to use any pause in the game to surf the web, and hard core Twins fans will no doubt direct searches to the organization’s minor league operations.

Down at Triple A Rochester the Tsuyoshi Nishioka saga will continue. Of this I am sure: the Japanese infielder is a lock to have a batting average to match his weight (175).

Brian Dozier is also in Rochester and with a spring training average of .277, three home runs and nine RBI for the Twins it seemed possible he would make the jump from Double A shortstop to big leaguer. He still might do that in 2012 and is on the short list to replace 38-year-old Jamey Carroll who will start the season as the Twins regular shortstop.

I am not planning a road trip to Rochester but could find myself on the way to Beloit some time this summer to see the Twins Class A farm team. I expect to find a lot of other cars with Minnesota license plates in the parking lot outside the Beloit Snappers stadium. Twins fans visiting Beloit will be taking pictures and tweeting comments about 18-year-old, 240-pound power hitting third baseman Miguel Sano.

Sano could be the best prospect in the Twins organization, a home run hitting talent bringing much needed power and excitement to Target Field. But his debut is for another time and 2012 is what we have right now.

Enjoy it.

Comments Welcome