David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Fans Focusing on QB Nelson Already

Posted on November 2, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Minnesota was 3-9 last season and 2-6 so far in 2011. Kill frequently reminds the fan base it’s going to take a few years to make the program a winner and that has fans looking at recruits including Nelson who has emerged as the poster boy of the 2012 class.

Johnson said Nelson is on pace to graduate from high school early and join some other 2012 recruits in spring practice with the Gophers. “I know Phil Nelson, they (the U coaches) love him,” Johnson said. “I think they think he can come in here and be a three or four year starter at quarterback.”

Johnson “wouldn’t be shocked” if Nelson was the Gophers’ No. 1 quarterback next season. That’s predicated not only on Nelson’s development but also junior starter MarQueis Gray’s faltering in Minnesota’s last four games this fall. The preferred option, Johnson said, is for Gray to be successful and Nelson to use 2012 as a redshirt season.

Blue Earth offensive tackle Jonah Pirsig is another publicized Gophers recruit from Minnesota. Johnson considers him “more of a project that you take time to develop on the offensive line.” Mississippi junior college running back James Gillum is the most recent commitment listed by Rivals. Johnson sees him as a complement to the power running of Gophers freshmen David Cobb and Donnell Kirkwood.

“I think Gillum will be a back they (the coaches) try to use to get into space,” Johnson said. “Be more of that third down back, but also bring some speed to the position. One thing the Gophers haven’t had in a long time is an explosive running back with that extra gear and I think they hope Gillum’s that guy.”

Among other recruits listed by Rivals, Johnson believes the Gophers coaches are high on North Carolina wide receiver Jamel Harbison. He also thinks Florida defensive back Dinero Moss might be able to “play right away.”

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Worth Noting

Posted on November 2, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Lindy’s Sports College Basketball Magazine’s choice for “Most Entertaining” player in the Big Ten is Minnesota’s Rodney Williams. The 6-7 junior forward hasn’t approached his potential but his athleticism is eye-catching. In practice Williams has not only been in his usual role of small forward, but he has also played power forward.

Senior forward Trevor Mbakwe played like an All-Big Ten player last night in Minnesota’s opening exhibition game, a 71-58 win over Bemidji State. Mbakwe played hard and was an inside force scoring and rebounding for the Gophers, finishing with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed news that 6-foot-7 forward C.J. Neumann from Cretin-Derham Hall has committed to Wofford.

Wonder if anyone who sent a wedding gift last August is asking for a return after this week’s announcement that former Gophers ball hog Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian plan to divorce?

When the WNBA draft lottery is held Thursday, November 10, the Lynx have the second best odds of winning the No. 1 pick. The lottery is for teams who didn’t make the playoffs but the WNBA champion Lynx have Washington’s draft pick ─ currently slotted at No. 2 ─ because of a trade earlier this year. The lottery determines the first four picks in the draft.

Iowa athletic director Gary Barta compared his 2010 hire of basketball coach Fran McCaffery with Minnesota’s decision to choose Jerry Kill as the new Gophers coach. Both coaches were program builders at lower level schools before coming to the Big Ten and Barta said it’s not always the “sexy hire” who is the best person for the job.

Barta, who played high school football for Burnsville, describes Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz as the “best” football coach in the country. Under Ferentz Iowa has only two losing seasons in the Big Ten since 2000.

Wherever Kill has coached, he’s made special teams a priority. The Gophers’ two wins this season have turned on a few big plays including a blocked punt returned for the decisive touchdown against Miami (Ohio) in September and an onside kickoff that set up the winning drive in last Saturday’s win over Iowa.

Talkative Vikings punter Chris Kluwe hosts the “Know Your Vikings” segment on the Mall of America Field video screen during home games. He includes a question for the interviewee like this: If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound?

Rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph didn’t hesitate with an “of course not” correct answer to that question.

Christian Ponder said in the October 31 issue of Sports Illustrated that Green Bay’s Clay Mathews told him during the Vikings-Packers game in Minneapolis last month to stop running because he “wasn’t Tim Tebow.”

In the preseason MIAC women’s hockey coaches poll, Gustavus received nine of 10 first place votes. A 2012 Gusties league title would be the program’s eighth in a row.

The men’s hockey poll resulted in considerably more difference of opinion, with St. Thomas picked to finish first in the conference race. The Tommies received 60 points followed by Gustavus (52), Concordia (51) and Hamline (49).

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Mpls. Council President: Arden Hills Plan ‘in Trouble’

Posted on October 31, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Minneapolis City Council president Barbara Johnson told Sports Headliners she doesn’t expect a special legislative session to be called in November to address the Vikings stadium issue. “I would be surprised if the governor (Mark Dayton) and the legislature can get agreement to go ahead on one (stadium) proposal,” she said.

The Ramsey County-backed Arden Hills stadium proposal is “in trouble,” according to Johnson who is working with mayor R.T. Rybak to promote stadium sites in Minneapolis. “People want a referendum on Arden Hills and that will kill it (the proposal),” she said.

Johnson believes there are also “too many unknowns” about the Arden Hills site to gain state approval in November, and she said a stadium there leaves Vikings fans “captive to ownership.” Those who have the latter opinion will argue the Arden Hills site doesn’t have access to public transportation, fans will pay the Vikings to park, and food-drink and entertainment options presumably will be less varied than downtown if a new stadium is built in any of three potential locations supported by Johnson and Rybak. Minneapolis advocates claim their proposed sites are all less costly than Arden Hills.

The Vikings are adamant in supporting the Ramsey County plan that the two parties reached accord on earlier this year. Johnson knows Minneapolis isn’t being courted by the Vikings while franchise leaders try to push through a special session and a vote in favor of an Arden Hills site. “We just have to continue to be like Rocky (Balboa),” she said. “We’re not discouraged.”

The Minneapolis funding proposal to become the local partner for the stadium would increase the sales tax now dedicated to paying off bonds for the city’s Convention Center. The sales tax would increase from .50 percent to .85 percent and generate benefits beyond a stadium including property tax relief for city residents, according to Johnson.

The effort to keep the Vikings downtown would be made easier if Hennepin County became a partner. “I’ve been talking to county commissioners and the mayor has, too,” Johnson said. “They’re more willing (for now) to sit on the sidelines.”

Although Johnson believes there’s a need to expedite the stadium solution process, she doesn’t believe it has to be in November. “The governor heard from the NFL ‘you better do something,’ ” she said. “He’s trying to be responsive.”

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