David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Notes Including U Football Valued at $125.5 Million

Posted on October 26, 2011December 27, 2011 by David Shama

The Indianapolis Business Journal reported earlier this month that Indiana University professor Ryan Brewer developed a methodology to determine the financial worth of major college football teams representing public institutions. Brewer’s study ranked the Gophers No. 26 in the country with a valuation of $126.5 million. Only Indiana and Purdue ranked lower than the Gophers among Big Ten schools, according to the Journal.

The Journal reported that Texas, a school that boasts the Longhorns TV network, was No. 1 on the list with a valuation of $848.3 million. That was almost double No. 2 Georgia at $483.6. The SEC had six teams in the top and the Big Ten placed five in the first 15.

Jerry Kill’s contract announced yesterday pays him $1.2 million, according to Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi who acknowledged the compensation is among the lowest for Big Ten head football coaches. The median salary of conference head coaches is $1,781,759, according to a September 30 article by the dailynebraskan.com.

The seven year deal pays Kill $1.2 million annually unless the University approves increases. The compensation is more than three times Kill’s salary at Northern Illinois.

Maturi said Kill’s top assistants, defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys and offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover, have salaries in the $300,000 to $325,000 range.

Kill said on WCCO Radio Sunday that among Gophers football redshirts who have potential is 6-5, 275-pound offensive tackle Foster Bush from Menasha, Wisconsin.

Gophers fan Dave Henry emailed with news about his in-laws, Bob and Till Kraay of Owatonna who were married on October 29, 1951. They plan to celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary with family and friends on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium when Minnesota plays Iowa. Not only will it be 60 years to the day that the two were married, but the Kraays went to Iowa City on November 3, 1951 after returning from their honeymoon and watched the Gophers and Hawkeyes play to a 20-20 tie. “They sound like fans of the day to me!” Henry wrote in his email.

Speculation about NFL franchises that might relocate to Los Angeles includes not only the Vikings but two organizations that years ago moved from southern California, the Raiders and Rams.

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Notes Plus

Posted on October 26, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso will be the speaker on Thursday, November 10 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. The undefeated Tommies are ranked with the top teams nationally and could win a Division III national championship. C.O.R.E.S. members can contact Jim Dotseth for more information, dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S is an acronym for coaches, officials, educators, reporters and sports fans.

Myron Medcalf has left the Star Tribune to join ESPN.com. He’s been replaced as the Gophers basketball beat writer by Amelia Rayno who joined the newspaper as an intern in 2010.

Gophers assistant basketball coach Saul Smith admired former Green Bay Packer Sterling Sharpe while growing up. Smith’s dad Tubby also wore Packer green while playing basketball in high school so Saul grew up a Packers fan and was at Mall of America Field on Sunday cheering for Green Bay.

Tubby Smith said he’s seen enough in early practices to be impressed with this team’s shooting. The best since coming here from Kentucky in 2007? “No question about it,” he said.

Prior to Monday’s practice, Smith said freshman Joe Coleman had made 50 percent of his three point attempts in practices while redshirt freshman Oto Osenieks had converted 46 percent.

The Gophers ran out of point guards last season in part because players transferred either before or during the season. Sophomore point guard Maverick Ahanmisi is the team’s one returnee at the position. He’s competing with newcomers Andre Hollins (freshman) and Julian Welch (junior college transfer) to determine the No. 1 point guard. Ahanmisi said he wants to be the starter but is willing to accept a reserve role if necessary and plans to spend his career with the Gophers.

Smith said none of the point guards has emerged as the best but Welch “probably has the least turnovers.” Andre Hollins had several stitches in his cheek at practice on Monday after a recent collision with Austin Hollins.

Lester Patrick Trophy 2011 honorees Mark Johnson, Bob Pulford, Tony Rossi and Jeff Sauer will be at the RiverCentre in St. Paul tonight for an awards ceremony. The trophy honors individuals for “outstanding service to hockey in the United States.”

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Vikings Hold Cards Now on Stadium

Posted on October 24, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

What a mess! Back in the 1990s a Vikings executive told me Governor Arne Carlson informed franchise leaders to be patient until the Twins need for a new stadium could be resolved.

Guess what? Three governors later and the Vikings are still waiting. During the last 15 years, new stadiums for the Twins and Gophers football were approved while the Vikings unsuccessfully courted host communities to help them.

Get the idea the Vikings upper management and ownership is frustrated. Bet your autographed Adrian Peterson jersey on that!

Now if you don’t care whether the Vikings stay in Minnesota and you oppose public funding for a new stadium, then God bless you and the Constitution. You have plenty of company, but understand the majority of state political leaders are likely to disagree with you. If they don’t today, sometime soon they will.

The Vikings will remain in Minnesota.

Franchise owners and the NFL office in New York have leverage like never before with the Minnesota stadium issue. The whole mess is reaching critical mass. Not only have the Vikings been knocking on the doors of governors and host communities for more than a decade, but their lease in the Metrodome expires at season’s end and Los Angeles is flirting with the franchise.

It’s a new Minnesota stadium or bust mentality that the Vikings and NFL are presenting. That view threatens a cultural entity even more important to some Minnesotans than our 10,000 lakes.

No wonder Governor Mark Dayton is scrambling to call a special legislative session before Thanksgiving. He wants no repeat of 60 years ago when Los Angeles became the new home of the Minneapolis Lakers.

Dayton might be able to convince enough legislators to approve a new stadium in the coming weeks, but even if he has to kick the can a little further down the road that’s not likely to send the moving vans to Winter Park before New Year’s Day.

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