David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Worth Noting

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

Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is no admirer of the Metrodome, except for the passionate fans. “The Metrodome is bad,” he said. “Maybe four showers with hot water down there. We have such great fans and they continue to come to the dome. …They deserve a new stadium more than anything too. …”

Here are the Sports Headliners weekly rankings of Big Ten Football teams: Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota.

My advice to college coaches targeting nationally recruited Apple Valley sophomore point guard Tyus Jones: He will want to play for a winning program and not care about stats while contributing to team success. He won’t want to be the center of attention.

Big Ten basketball media day will be Thursday, October 27 in Chicago. Look for Bloomington native and Wisconsin senior Jordan Taylor to rival Ohio State sophomore center Jared Sullinger for preseason media Player of the Year. Taylor, a point guard, finished among the conference’s top 10 scorers and assists last season, 18.1 and 4.7.

In a downsizing move, retired Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher put his Eden Prairie home up for sale, but with three daughters living in the Twin Cities will continue to live here.

Dutcher said Jimmy Williams expects to hear a decision within a “couple of weeks” from the Minnesota Court of Appeals regarding the Williams lawsuit against the University of Minnesota. Litigation has been ongoing for several years in the case with the possibility of a large financial settlement for Williams. Williams was an assistant coach to Dutcher in the 1980s and had wanted to again work for the University after Tubby Smith was hired as Minnesota coach in 2007.

New Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman and wife Mary Kay have been married for more than 40 years. They have six children.

The Twins are not a “knee jerk reaction” organization but I will be surprised if there isn’t some “subtraction” and “addition” in the baseball department before year-end.

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Mauer’s Grandpa: Joe ‘Ashamed’ of 2011

Posted on September 30, 2011November 27, 2011 by David Shama

Jake Mauer told Sports Headliners that grandson Joe Mauer is “ashamed” of his 2011 season but determined to improve next season and help the Twins become a winner again.

Various injuries and ailments limited the all-star catcher to 82 games. The stats were totally unlike past seasons for the former American League batting champion and MVP. Mauer hit .287 with three home runs and 30 RBI. The club finished the season on Wednesday night with a 63-99 record, the second most losses in Twins franchise history.

The older Mauer has been a mentor to Joe since he was a toddler. He said his grandson’s spirits have been low. “He thinks he let everybody down because of his injuries,” Jake said by telephone this week.

On October 12 Joe will travel to Florida and begin working with a trainer, determined to build up his body including his legs for next season, according to Jake. “He has to prove a lot next year, boy, and he knows that,” Jake said. “He’s going to stay with the schedule with his trainer and himself, and going to build himself back up.

“He said, ‘Grandpa, I’ll go out there next year and I hope…God is with me to produce, that I can not be ashamed of what I did the year before.’ He wants to do good.”

Sports journalists have frequently written this season about Mauer being in the first year of a $184 million contract and producing so little for his ballclub. “Joe don’t like that,” Jake said. “It bothers the … out of him. He knows that big salary he gets, he isn’t producing. He just can’t help it. But he wants to do it but he just can’t because of his health.”

Jake said the Twins have been supportive of his grandson this season, listening to Joe’s needs and referring him to the best doctors. “He’s really pleased with the Twins,” Jake said. “There’s no question about it. But he thinks he let them down because of his health but he hopes to build them up next year and change everything and put the Twins back on top.”

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Worth Noting

Posted on September 30, 2011October 9, 2011 by David Shama

Mauer’s backup, Drew Butera, hit .167 this season ─ an average that tied him with Jerry Zimmerman for the lowest in franchise history for players with at least 230 at-bats. Butera hit safely in four of his last six games.

Twins rookie first baseman Chris Parmelee reached base in 19 of the 21 games he played. His impressive performance included a .355 average and four home runs.

This season Twins first basemen combined to hit .303 with 18 home runs and 91 RBI.

The Twins open next season on the road, April 6 in Baltimore.

Vikings defensive end Jared Allen played his first four NFL seasons in Kansas City so Sunday’s game against the Chiefs will be a homecoming. He said yesterday his current contract is “10 times more” than the one he was considering while in Kansas City. He’s happy with the Vikings after he parted with Chiefs football boss Carl Peterson under less than ideal circumstances.

Allen said the outdoor tailgating experience at Arrowhead Stadium is memorable. “You can smell the barbeque from like a mile away,” Allen said. “The smell of the coals burning, it just gives you chills because you know this is football. …I am excited to go back there and play, and go get a ‘W’.”

The Vikings need down the field playmakers and it wouldn’t be surprising if rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph receives more playing time soon. His 6-6 size and athleticism, including speed, make him an exceptionally mobile tight end. He averaged 11.5 yards per reception at Notre Dame

The Vikings are 0-3 and have blown three double digits halftime leads but former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton expects head coach Leslie Frazier’s calm approach to be a major asset in attempting a turnaround. “Don’t panic and cause a bunch of anxiety in the building,” Dalton said.

Is the overall Vikings personnel just average? “That’s a fair assessment of the talent,” Dalton said. “They’ve got some holes where they’re below average, and then they’ve got some places where they still maintain Pro Bowl caliber players. So across the board it’s not an outstanding football team.”

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