Timberwolves business executive Chris Wright told Sports Headliners that the franchise’s signing of Ricky Rubio to a contract last week jump-started season ticket sales. Wright reported yesterday morning that since noon last Friday the club has sold 500 new full season tickets.

 

Those sales have pushed the team’s full season ticket sales to about 7,000, the franchise’s best total since 2005-06.  (The Wolves also sell partial season ticket packages where fans can buy a portion of the home schedule.)

 

Rubio’s international name and flashy passing have caused excitement in this marketplace as fans anticipate his rookie season in 2011-12.  But Wright said the two year wait to get Rubio here after drafting him in 2009 accounts for the boom in ticket sales, too.  “There’s been a buzz building, and now he’s here,” Wright said.

 

With the addition of Rubio this fall, the Timberwolves are likely to have three European players on their roster:  Spain’s Rubio, and centers Darko Milicic from Serbia and Nikola Peckovic of Montenegro.

 

Wolves assistant general manager Tony Ronzone is known for his international scouting expertise.  It’s not that speculative to believe the Wolves’ roster of foreign born players will continue to grow.

 

German-born Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks was the 2011 NBA Finals MVP, and his selection symbolizes the presence and sometimes high performance of European players.  The Dallas forward earned the MVP award while leading the Mavericks to a six game series win over Miami.  No doubt European audiences watched with pride and will do the same tomorrow night when the NBA draft is televised from New York.

 

Reversing a trend of recent years when numbers were low, almost 25 percent of players drafted tomorrow evening are likely to be foreigners, most of them from Europe.  In their NBA draft previews last week Sports Illustrated and Sporting News Magazine predicted seven of the 30 first round draft choices will be from countries other than the United States.  (The number becomes eight if USC’s Nikola Vucevic, a player whose home is in Montenegro, is counted.)

 

Among the countries represented are Lithuania, a nation that both Sports Illustrated and Sporting News predicted would have two players chosen in the first round, forwards Jonas Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejunas.  S.I. predicted the Timberwolves will choose Motiejunas with their No. 20 pick in the first round.

 

Top American college players like Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger chose not to declare themselves eligible for this year’s draft.  The result is a less deep and talented draft that created opportunities for more foreign players to be chosen in the first round.

 

 

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The Wild could make a “splash” this week with a trade, a hockey source told Sports Headliners.  “I think they (the Wild) are really open to trading anybody except Mikko Koivu,” the source said.

General manager Chuck Fletcher and his staff are in pursuit of goal scorers in the draft and via other teams.  The NHL Entry Draft starts Friday and continues on Saturday in St. Paul.  NHL free agency begins July 1.

There is already excitement in the organization over wild prospect and goal scorer Mikael Granlund.  The Finnish player might join the Wild next season, but more likely for 2012-13.  “He’s considered the best potential goal scorer the Wild have had since Marian Gaborik,” the source said.

Fletcher is starting his third season as general manager and the franchise hasn’t participated in the playoffs for three straight years.  No doubt Fletcher and team owner Craig Leipold consider next season a priority year for the organization and one that needs to excite the fan base.

Fletcher signed former Houston Aeros coach Mike Yeo to coach the Wild last week after much speculation that Craig MacTavish would become the franchise’s third head coach.  MacTavish might have reduced his standing with Fletcher by interviewing for the Winnipeg position while the Wild was seeking a coach.

It’s also believed that MacTavish wanted a salary of better than $1 million per year.  That compensation would place MacTavish in the top one-third of highest paid coaches in the NHL.

Yeo’s salary is likely in the $400,000 to $500,000 range per season and similar compensation to what fired coach Todd Richards earned.  It’s likely that Yeo’s less expensive salary was a factor in not hiring MacTavish, but not the only reason.

 

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The Wild expect crowds of over 12,000 at Xcel Energy Center on both Friday and Saturday for the NHL Entry Draft.  The Saturday attendance could be the largest of the weekend, partially because more players with Minnesota ties will be selected than on Friday.  Wild season ticket holders have been given priority with draft day tickets.

The entry draft hasn’t been held in Minnesota since 1989 when the North Stars hosted at Met Center.  The North Stars’ first pick was Rochester’s Doug Zmolek.

Tickets are $20 for the Wild Fan Fest at St. Paul’s downtown Crowne Plaza on Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and can be purchased on wild.com.  Celebrities expected to participate include Gary Bettman, Scotty Bowman, Brad Brown, Jack Carlson, Ryan Carter, Tom Chorske, Cal Clutterbuck, Chris Dahlquist, Karyn Bye-Dietz, Colton Gillies, Mikael Granlund, John Harrington, Darby Hendrickson, Phil Housley, Willard Ikola, Dave Jensen, Antti Laaksonen, Reed Larson, Craig Leipold, Gigi Marvin, Brad Maxwell, Rob McClanahan, Lou Nanne, Bob Paradise, J.P. Parise, Mark Parrish, Steve Payne, Shjon Podein, Jenny Potter, Tom Reid, Gordie Roberts,Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Brad Staubitz, Clayton Stoner, Wes Walz, Doug Woog, Tim Young and Tom Younghans.

Ricky Rubio’s parents are expected to live with the 20-year-old during the coming season.  Rubio said he’s excited about house hunting in Minneapolis.

Look for Tubby Smith’s Gophers basketball team to open with home exhibition games against Bemidji State on November 1 and Augustana November 7, followed by the regular season opener versus Bucknell at Williams Arena on November 11.  The schedule hasn’t been officially announced yet.

The Twins rank No. 39 among MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL teams in the annual ESPN The Magazine Ultimate Standings measuring how much franchises “give back” to the fans.  The Wild rank No. 92, the Vikings No. 106 and the Wolves 118 of 122 franchises.

The Twins, who continue Interleague play this week against San Francisco and Milwaukee after sweeping San Diego last week, are among baseball’s winningest franchises ever in games between the American and National Leagues.  The Twins’ record is 144-109.

The 38^th annual Minnesota High School All-Star Football Game will be played on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. in TCF Bank Stadium.  For the first time since 1979 teams will have North and South designations, not Metro and Outstate.  Players from the metro and outstate areas will be on both teams.  The game is one of the successful projects of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association.

Indicative of the trend toward winning warm weather baseball programs, Athlon Sports didn’t include a single Big Ten player on its 2011 college All-America team.

 

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