Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, 81, has announced he will return next year for another season.  Twins radio play-by-play man John Gordon, 70, hasn’t made an announcement about his plans.  “We would love to see him continue,” Klinger said.

Gordon has been broadcasting Twins games since 1987 while Scully has been with the Dodgers even before the franchise moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in 1958.

Former Twins pitcher Carlos Silva, now with the Cubs, has been on the disabled list for cardiac evaluation but was scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment soon.  Silva has a 10-5 record with a 3.92 ERA.

MLB.com includes Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano among American League candidates for comeback player of the year.  Liriano, 12-7 with a 3.41 ERA, is having his best season since 2006 when he was injured and unable to complete the season. This season Liriano has career highs for innings pitched and strikeouts.

Wild backup goalie Josh Harding has impressed with his off-season dedication this summer.  Harding has been a regular at Xcel Energy Center workouts focusing on weights, conditioning and spending time with goaltending coach Bob Mason.

Training camp opens for the Wild at Xcel Energy Center on September 17.  Players will be on the ice for the first time September 18.

Look for the Wild to be close to the NHL salary cap of $59 million this season.

The NHL is expected to announce the site for a 2012 outdoor game after January 1 of next year.  Target Field and TCF Bank Stadium remain possibilities.

The Wild will announce the top 10 games in team history as selected by fans beginning at noon on Sunday at the Minnesota State Fair’s FAN Central building.  Next season is the Wild’s 10^th in the NHL.  The top two games will be featured in a Year Ten DVD. Fans can purchase the DVD for $19 at the Wild’s State Fair booth and at Hockey Lodge locations immediately following the announcement of the Top Ten games.

Several prep football coaches are pushing for milestone wins going into this season. Richard Risbrudt of Fergus Falls needs nine more to total 200, according to information provided by Jim Dotseth, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association.   Rosemount’s Jeff Erdmann, with 99 wins, and Hutchinson’s Andy Rostberg, with 96, are among those nearing 100.  Hawley’s Peder Naatz, Fertile-Beltrami’s Brian Nelson and Litchfield’s Jon Johnson all have 95 wins.  Totino Grace’s Jeff Ferguson and Westbrook Walnut Grove’s Carter Ross have 93 each.

Gophers coach Tim Brewster, with an introduction by Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman, will be the speaker at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon on Thursday, September 9 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington.  C.O.R.E.S. organization members can make reservations by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net.  (C.O.R.E.S. is an abbreviation for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans).

Vikings coach Brad Childress is not only efficient with his X’s and O’s but also adept at analogies.  Earlier this week while answering a question concerning medical tests for wide receiver Percy Harvin he said: “I know he’s got a couple more tests he’s got to accomplish in the medical area.  We would hope to get those done in relatively quick fashion.  It’s not like making a reservation at a hotel or a restaurant. There are people in front of him.”

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If you have never played golf, tennis or been on a vacation don’t bother to read today’s column.  Those who qualify, please proceed to paragraph two.

Last weekend, as I trudged through a miserable round on the The Lakes golf course at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge, I pondered giving up the game that has tortured me for almost 20 years.

While playing the back nine, I knew for certain I wouldn’t attempt the tee shot across the water at No. 18.  Nope, not with an outdoor deck of diners and drinkers near the green, a crowd that might heckle a hacker with the same passion a hungry press corps devours a troubled politician.

But inexplicably I felt a surge in determination and confidence.  Maybe these feelings came from anger generated by previous failings on past holes.  Perhaps it was outrage from observing the boorish behavior of eight or so partying golfers who could have been auditioning for roles in “Caddyshack II” while yelling at one another, playing loud music and posing for photos on the fairway.

My tee shot on No. 18, a par three, took off low and straight, then landed on the green within a few feet of the hole.  Two putts and I finished with a par.

Now I was looking to play to the crowd on the nearby deck.  The apprehension of several minutes ago was gone, replaced with anticipation of admiration, perhaps even applause.

There was a problem, though.  No one had paid any attention to me.  Hardly anyone was on the deck and the few who were seated had no clue I revived my golf psyche.  I wanted to doff my cap after that surprising par but no one was interested except my wife who acknowledged I made a “nice shot” on my drive from the tee box.

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Golf is a psychologically wretched game that can in a moment turn from cruel to inspiring.  A feel-good shot or a hole with a bogey fuels renewed dedication among hackers like me.

My golf game is so bad I’ve probably gone 100 miles per hour in a car more times than I have shot a round with a score less than one, zero, zero.  I find comfort in making even the luckiest of shots—something that also happened to me on the beautiful but challenging Ruttger’s course last weekend.

My tee shot from No. 15 bounced on the cart path and landed within a few feet of the hole.  Two putts and another par three!

So last weekend I left the course with a couple of pars, one bogey and a lot fewer golf balls than when I arrived.  But at least I could walk.  Several years ago I stepped in a hole in the rough on The Lakes and sprained my ankle.  A few days later I was the slowest moving dude at a convention in Las Vegas.

With my recent fatalism for injury or illness I am grateful to have escaped the course with only a bruised ego.  Within recent weeks I have cut a finger trying to open a covered container in a buffet line, stepped on the sharp end of an earring at rest on the bottom of a swimming pool and caught a nasty cold.

The cold was wicked enough to infect my wife who hardly ever catches a cold virus.  Her weekend vacation and mine were compromised by illness, but a few adult refreshments did make us feel better.

I take responsibility for giving her the cold.  If there is a virus within our zip code I am at risk.  Not always, but maybe with the same frequency that Shaquille O’Neal converts free throws.

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