David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Minnesota Wild Face Ticket Sales Challenge

Posted on October 5, 2011October 9, 2011 by David Shama

Look for the Wild to announce a sellout on Saturday night when the local NHL franchise opens the regular season at home against Columbus, but ticket sales will be a challenge in coming months.

An NHL source told Sports Headliners the franchise has experienced a drop-off in season ticket sales and the real total now is “between 10,000 to 12,000.” That’s down from a franchise high several years ago of approximately 16,500.

A declining season ticket base leaves a lot of unsold inventory during a 41-game home schedule in the 18,000 seat capacity Xcel Energy Center. Reports were that the building was “half full” during the team’s preseason games.

The problem? “No. 1 is team performance ─ far and away,” said the NHL source. The Wild hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2008.

It’s challenging, too, to sell tickets when the franchise lacks a superstar like Marian Gaborik who now plays for the Rangers. And the difficult economy doesn’t help the Wild either as individuals and corporations have to make choices on where to spend entertainment dollars.

The Wild are gambling that Mike Yeo, a rookie NHL coach, can help restore team performance. The “honeymoon” period that began with the franchise’s inception in 2000 is over and while the Xcel remains a hockey palace, fans want to see a playoff product.

That’s not an easy assignment in the competitive Western Conference. What will help is if the Wild can ditch their typical slow starts and win seven or more of the first 10 games.

That will build confidence in the players and coaches. The Wild are working on the trust factor this week during a trip to the North Shore that includes not only practice in Duluth, but also team building exercises.

The Wild should have solid goal tending and the potential to improve a lack of scoring in the past. Newcomer Dany Heatley has twice been a 50 goals scorer in his career. A line that includes Heatley and Mikko Koivu could be fun to watch.

A healthy Pierre–Marc Bouchard might be worth 60 to 70 points and the Wild hope a better conditioned Guillaume Latendresse will have a productive season.

Pleasant surprises will translate into ticket sales this season and probably more season commitments next year. That’s no honeymoon outlook but an upbeat way to look at things.

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No Division II Football Plans for UST

Posted on October 5, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Fourth-year coach Glenn Caruso told Sports Headliners his roster includes many players recruited by Division I and II football programs but the Division III powerhouse Tommies have no plans to play at a higher level in future years.

The 5-0 Tommies are ranked No. 3 nationally and last Saturday whipped MIAC tradition-rich Saint John’s 63-7 (49-0 at halftime). In Caruso’s first season of 2008 he led the Tommies to the third biggest turnaround in Division III history. In 2009 St. Thomas was 11-2 and last season the Tommies were ranked No. 4 in the country and had a 12-1 record.

Caruso said St. Thomas is comfortable at the Division III level, offering student-athletes a “balance” between academics and football. That Division III tag, though, hasn’t stopped Caruso from attracting quality players. He estimates “probably half” his roster is comprised of players who either could play in the higher divisions, or received offers from Division I or II schools.

Among his standouts are wide receiver-kick returner Fritz Waldvogel and offensive lineman Chad Vandergriff. Could those two Division III preseason All-Americans play for the Gophers? “Oh, geez, I don’t know,” Caruso said. “And for me to speculate on that would probably be ignorant. Just glad they’re playing for St. Thomas.”

Caruso isn’t ready to label the 2011 Tommies his best club “but what stands out is this team hasn’t made similar mistakes twice.” The Tommies were plenty good last Saturday, dismantling the Johnnies with a performance that only surprised Caruso a “little bit.”

“It wasn’t like it was out of the realm of possibility,” he said. “I have often been asked could you ever have dreamed this in your wildest dreams? Well, heck, yea. …I wouldn’t be a competitor if you couldn’t dream about where your program is going to go at the highest of levels. But I did not expect that to necessarily happen this Saturday, but it felt pretty good.”

Caruso, who grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, has worked hard to turnaround the Tommies program. It’s a work ethic he and his siblings learned from their father Frank, an attorney who practiced law at home to give his children more direction.

“My dad worked tirelessly to make sure all of his kids were hard workers, were good- natured people that cared about others (and) that tired to look at the world optimistically,” Caruso said. “…My dad worked his butt off every single day not to try and make our lives easier, but to try and teach us how to navigate all the stuff that’s going to happen throughout our life.”

Caruso and the Tommies are navigating pretty well these days.

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Winless Start Won’t Derail Vikings

Posted on October 3, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Don’t expect the 0-4 Vikings to emotionally collapse starting with next Sunday’s home game against Arizona. The winless start has surprised the players and coaches but while fans are bailing out the Vikings won’t.

First year head coach Leslie Frazier was the choice of the players after being interim boss last season and before that the defensive coordinator. He’s liked by his players and his calm demeanor generates support.

The locker room leadership will keep spirits in place, too. Jared Allen, Chad Greenway, Adrian Peterson and Ryan Longwell are veterans committed to helping the team turnaround.

Part of the Vikings’ fan base has quit on this team already and the boos will come fast and furious at Mall of America Field next Sunday if things don’t go to the fans liking. There have been lots of empty seats in the upper deck at the Metrodome for the first two home games and why wouldn’t there be even more for the Arizona game? Looking for a $20 upper level ticket next Sunday? See your first ticket hawker on the street Sunday.

The Vikings have lost four games by a total of 19 points. That’s indicative of a team which is far from incompetent, but not making enough big plays to win games.

What’s particularly troubling is that the Vikings haven’t been able to make Peterson a dominant weapon for most or all of each game. With limited talent among the receivers and at quarterback, the Vikings’ hope going into the season was to ride Peterson’s powerful legs for consistent yardage and big plays. In four games Peterson has rushed for over 100 yards only once.

Opposing defenses are placing a lot of defenders at the line of scrimmage. The Vikings’ offensive line, mediocre at best by NFL standards, too often can’t move the tacklers for Peterson. This is a line that never has recovered from the departure of center Matt Birk and is even seeing its best blocker, the 34-year-old Hutchinson, growing older.

It was the 0-3 Chiefs, not the 0-3 Vikings, who got a win yesterday. Down in K.C. some folks had been vocalizing this: “Suck for Luck.” The implication being to have such a bad season the Chiefs could draft Stanford quarterback phenom Andrew Luck with the first pick in next year’s NFL draft.

Somebody will adopt it here in the North Country.

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