David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

Posted on November 9, 2011December 28, 2011 by David Shama

Today begins the fall signing period for college basketball teams and these are heady times for Big Ten schools. Michigan is expected to sign a top two or three player in Mitch McGary. The Wolverines and Indiana may have 2012 recruiting classes that are close to the best in the nation. Iowa might end up with a top 25 class. Based on 2011 recruiting classes, or projected classes for 2012, the following Big Ten schools either were or could be (again) top 25 ranked: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State.

As reported here on Monday, it looks like the Gophers will sign forward Charles Buggs from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and Wally Ellenson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

How about this for freak scheduling? The No. 1 ranked Gophers hockey team is in Madison for games on Friday and Saturday against Wisconsin, while the Badgers football team plays Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday, and then Monday night a national TV audience will watch the Vikings try to upset the undefeated Packers in Green Bay.

Jerry Kill, Gophers coach, talking about a Wisconsin team that except for two last minute plays would be undefeated: “We’re going to have to play our guts out.”

Vikings lineman Jared Allen, a top candidate to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the favorite for league MVP, will have a national stage to bolster resumes.

The Vikings, 2-6, don’t command a lot of national respect but they may make Monday night’s game close against the 8-0 Packers. The Vikings have not only found a quarterback in Christian Ponder, but are coming off a bye week that allows players to rest bodies and minds. Because the game is Monday night, the Vikings didn’t practice yesterday and won’t today either.

Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson is being promoted by the school for the Heisman Trophy. He was made available to media, including Minnesota reporters, on Monday via teleconference. That’s uncommon practice for a Big Ten player.

Local author Ross Bernstein has a new book, Raising Lombardi: What It Takes to Claim Football’s Ultimate Prize. He interviewed more than 75 current and former NFL players and coaches who were champions.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference begins play in 2013 and is expected to announce the name of its commissioner in about 60 days. The league will be based in Colorado Springs and members will be Colorado College, Denver, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, UMD and Western Michigan. The 2013 start coincides with the beginning of the six team Big Ten comprised of Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Don’t expect the Twins to sell a reduced number of season tickets for next year despite the team’s awful 2011 record. Target Field remains a valued entertainment destination and the franchise has long maintained a list of potential season ticket buyers.

The volleyball Gophers, including the co-Big Ten Player of the Week Ashley Wittman host Michigan State tonight in a match televised by the Big Ten Network.

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Tubby Smith: No Contract Extension Now

Posted on November 7, 2011December 21, 2011 by David Shama

Tubby Smith told Sports Headliners talks about a contract extension between himself and the University of Minnesota have ended for now. He wants to focus on the season ahead and pursue a new practice facility.

A possible extension has been public knowledge since the end of last season and even last month Smith told Sports Headliners an extension agreement might be signed within 24 hours. However, representatives involved in negotiations didn’t finalize an agreement, and the coach wasn’t definitive as to why.

Smith said he isn’t upset and is very comfortable with his contract status. “I’ve got three years on my contract,” Smith said. “It’s nothing I am concerned about. …I know coming off the year we had last year ─ hell ─ I wasn’t expecting to get any extension anyway. That was something that was talked about. It wasn’t me bringing it up.”

Smith, who with base salary and incentives can potentially earn over $2 million this season, said money wasn’t the issue with the extension. So what was?

What likely is a factor from Smith’s perspective is whether the University is going to build a $20-plus million practice facility to match what other major college basketball programs have. It’s probable, too, that Eric Kaler, the new University president who began work on July 1, needs more time to assess the athletic department, including the basketball program, before making long term commitments.

Smith certainly wants to see the Gophers athletic department and University make a “commitment” to the practice building. The lack of a facility is limiting the “progression and development” of the basketball program, according to Smith.

State-of-the-art practice facilities have become major assets in the recruiting pitch of college coaches. The need for such a facility is probably even greater at Minnesota than at most schools because the Gophers both practice and play at 83-year-old Williams Arena. While it’s an exciting place on game day, the arena is a drab looking facility when empty.

Smith, the former Kentucky national championship coach, came to Minnesota in 2007 and said he’s “pretty comfortable” with his situation here, but it’s imperative that the program have what’s needed to be competitive. “The one thing I saw when I first got here was that we lacked the facilities that other major programs had to be successful,” he said.

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Financing Plan Still Needed for Facility

Posted on November 7, 2011December 27, 2011 by David Shama

Smith suggested the possibility of a financial package that will both renovate the arena and build a new practice facility. How to finance it? Smith’s ideas include perhaps a combination of large gifts from donors and use of basketball game day parking revenues that are now retained by the University and not the athletic department.

The Gophers coach knows winning will help make the facility a reality. He acknowledged a Big Ten championship would make a difference, but the Gophers are coming off a 17-14 season. It was the first time in 18 years of coaching that a Smith team didn’t play in a post-season tournament.

Two of Smith’s first three teams made the NCAA tournament, with the other participating in the NIT. He wants to compete for championships and had hoped his program would be further along after four years. But he’s upbeat about the coming season that starts with a regular season game against Bucknell on Friday night after the Gophers conclude their exhibition schedule versus Augustana at home tonight.

This is also a newsworthy week for recruiting since college basketball teams can sign prep players to national letters of intent starting on Wednesday and continue through November 16. “We’ll sign two, maybe three (players),” Smith said. “We’re excited about the guys. …”

Coaches can’t talk about specific recruits now but it’s known the Gophers have a commitment from Rice Lake, Wisconsin shooting guard Wally Ellenson. Another player who might end up being a Gopher is Charles Buggs, a power forward from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

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