After a long holiday weekend, the Sports Headliners notebook is full.  Here’s what made the final draft:

The irony of the Twins’ late inning relief pitching situation is that the team’s closers, Matt Capps and Joe Nathan, who combined earn over $18 million, have blown eight of 24 save opportunities so far this season, and haven’t been as impressive as Glen Perkins, the guy who is the team’s current ninth inning savior.

Capps, who earns $7,150,000, is the MLB co-leader with the Angels’ Jordan Walden in blown saves, according to ESPN.com.  Capps has 13 saves as the team’s No. 1 closer, while blowing six and compiling an ERA of 4.79.

Nathan, who earns $11,250,000, has saved three games and blown two.  While Capps has been shaky of late, Nathan has been sharp in his last few games and lowered his ERA to 6.20.

Perkins earns $700,000 and has been transitioning from a starter to a reliever but has been so impressive he’s been called upon later in games now than earlier in the season.  On Sunday he took over for Capps in the ninth inning with two men on base and only one out.  He struck out two batters and preserved a 9-7 win over Milwaukee.  Last night he again replaced Capps, who had already given up one run, two hits and a walk, and got the final out as Tampa Bay left two runners on base in Minnesota’s 3-2 win.

Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. is among the best wide receivers in football and his contract with Arizona is up after next season.  The Vikings need receivers but he expressed loyalty to Arizona during an interview with Sports Headliners.

“I don’t like to speculate on woulda, coulda, shoulda,” he said.  “I enjoy my time there (in Arizona).  They have been good to me there.  If they want me back I would love to continue to play there. …”

Fitzgerald is in Minneapolis each year from late May until the end of July and has a home in the suburbs.  “I love it.  It’s home,” he said.  “It’s really nice to come back and see the people that I grew up with.”

The Gophers’ recent weight room renovation will benefit football and other athletes at Minnesota.  Nebraska hired the first college strength coach years ago and strength programs have long been compared with those found in Lincoln.  Gophers’ head strength and conditioning coach Eric Klein told Sports Headliners that Minnesota’s resources are comparable and his program isn’t at a disadvantage.

The end result for the Gophers, he said, will be how hard everyone works.  “Their (Nebraska’s) room might be a little bigger,” Klein said.  “They have maybe a little larger staff than what we have. …”

The Gophers also renovated outdoor practice fields at the Gibson-Nagurski football complex.  The new Field Turf will keep players cooler when practicing and also is similar to the artificial surface at TCF Bank Stadium.  Jarrett Yehlen from the Athletic Department staff estimated that the two-year-old surface in the stadium will need to be replaced in six years.

The total cost for the weight room and outdoor practice fields upgrade is $1,135,488.50.

New Gophers football coach Jerry Kill joked (I think) about Klein saying: “He’s got the toughest job in America.  He’s got to get those guys bigger, faster and stronger.”

Kill takes over a 3-9 team that is a near consensus choice nationally to be the Big Ten’s first or second worst team.

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The University athletic department is transitioning to a donation-based seating program for men’s basketball and hockey season ticket holders starting with the 2012-13 seasons.  Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners he expects his department to gain $2 million or more initially from the change.

The University remains hopeful that in future years the Legislature will allow alcohol in preferred seating areas at TCF Bank Stadium, Williams Arena and Mariucci Arena.  Maturi said not being able to offer alcohol made his department reduce the cost of preferred seating by 10 percent.  The situation also places the Gophers at a competitive sales disadvantage with the pro teams and their venues in the Twin Cities.  The athletic department is losing “over $1 million” annually because of the no alcohol policy, according to Maturi.

Dave Mona’s agreement with the athletic department ended last month.  He was a special assistant to Maturi and assisted with the football coaching search resulting in the hire of Kill.  He’s also been involved with other projects including solicitation of corporate jets for the Gophers.

Mona was the guest of Maturi and other leaders in the athletic department for a lunch last week at the University’s Campus Club.  Mona was given a Kill autographed white football helmet.

Mona said a recent lunch with new school president Eric Kaler left him impressed with Kaler’s willingness to learn.  The former Stony Brook provost had many questions for Mona about the community and school as Kaler tries to reduce his learning curve.

Associate athletic director Marc Ryan said the Gophers have yet to replace Texas on the nonconference schedules for 2015 and 2016.  He expects that will be addressed later in the year.

Athletic department officials said it’s not finalized that Big Ten football games will move away from 11 a.m. starts this season, and whether the conference will have each league team playing nine Big Ten games starting in 2017, or stay with eight each.

Although Jim Tressel resigned several weeks ago, his brother Dick, an assistant coach and also former head coach at Hamline, remains on the Ohio State coaching staff.

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