TV sports reporter and radio show host Mike Max talking about the Vikings’ popularity: “The Twins can take over for awhile but as soon as the Vikings start up:  Boom!  Everything changes.  You can just feel it in people. Their conversations change.  So they’re (the Vikings) the king and always will be. …”

Interest in the Vikings is intense but many fans choose to follow the team through the media instead of attending games.  To encourage ticket sales the Vikings are advertising free parking and a $20 concession coupon through Valpak, a direct mail advertiser.  The offer is for regular season games against Miami, Detroit, Arizona and Buffalo.

The Vikings and USA Football are ready to help Minneapolis area youth football coaches prepare better for the coming season.  USA Football’s Minneapolis Coaching School presented by the Vikings will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Saturday at Winter Park.  The clinic will address coaching philosophy, the teaching of fundamentals, concussion awareness and education, proper equipment fitting, and communicating with parents, players and other coaches.  Registration for the event is $40 and includes instruction from high school coaches, plus lunch and a USA Football Certificate of Completion.  Youth coaches can register at www.usafootball.com.

Are you kidding? Sporting News magazine has the Gophers ranked No. 98 among 120 major college football teams while Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota’s season opening opponent, is rated No. 43.

When BCS schools like Minnesota and Southern California play each other the visiting team receives $400,000, according to Marc Ryan, associate athletic director at Minnesota.  The Gophers host the Trojans here on September 18 and then play in Los Angeles next year.

Former NBA and world championship coach Bill Fitch talking about recently traded Timberwolves star Al Jefferson: “I’ve always thought Jefferson was a better player than he’s shown so far.”

Kevin Noreen, Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball who recently committed to West Virginia, plans to major in business and complete a master’s degree in four years.  He earned a perfect score on the English portion of his ACT college entrance exam.

Noreen said basketball legend Jerry West’s son, Jonnie, finished his undergraduate degree in two years at West Virginia.

Twin Cities Live host John Hanson of KSTP TV is a 1994 grad of Apple Valley High School and a passionate sports follower.  Hanson, who sometimes fills in for Joe Schmit as Ch. 5 sports anchor, has been a Texas Rangers fan since 1983 when the Twins traded Gary Ward, his favorite player, to the Arlington-based ball club.

Former Pioneer Press sportswriter Gregg Wong is a volunteer for the St. Paul Urban Tennis program that teaches kids tennis and life skills.  Wong reported on various sports for the newspaper including tennis, golf, hockey and baseball.

St. Thomas seniors Nikki Arola and Alison Wright, and St. Olaf senior John Schantzen, have been selected as recipients of the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.  They are among 58 spring sports scholarship winners, each receiving $7,500 scholarships.

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If it seems like Mike Max is everywhere it’s because he is.  Sort of.  The 45-year-old sports journalist is a full time employee of both WCCO TV and WCCO Radio.  He also produces and hosts “The Sports Show” seen on WUCW, Ch. 23 every Sunday night.

Max’s work week totals 70 hours or more.  He is both a sports reporter and anchor for Ch. 4.  He also hosts “Life to the Max,” a 30 minute show on the station Saturday nights that profiles sports newsmakers (John Wooden and Michael Jordan included).  Max’s week night talk show on radio is filled with local sports news and guests, and the program is sometimes sandwiched between his 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. anchor duties at the TV station.

The weekly routine includes spending “quality” time (usually mornings) with wife Jennifer and the couple’s two young children.  And Max can often be found working out at a Life Time Fitness club during the week and at church on Sundays.  There’s occasionally time for friends and recreational pursuits like hunting, but his calendar is full with just the normal weekly activity including prioritizing family activities.

No wonder he called his show “Life to the Max.”  Not that he’s complaining about a great professional and personal life.  Long hours are something he prepared for growing up in Gaylord, Minnesota and later attending Hamline University in St. Paul.   Sports and education filled his life including at Hamline where he played both baseball and basketball.  The routine of school, sports and part time work became routine.

“I think that’s why it’s easy for me to work a lot of days and a lot of hours because I just got used to that because I was so active in sports and what not,”  Max said.

Max is modest about his work ethic.  Does he believe, though, that his weekly hours distinguish him from other sports journalists, a profession that isn’t identified first for work ethic?  “Oh, I don’t know that people would perceive much of that,” he said.  “I don’t work hard to distinguish myself as much as I work hard just because I think it’s the right thing to do. …”

That work ethic has helped achieve a career that even in college he never foresaw.  He once thought coaching might be his calling, or perhaps selling insurance.  He started out as a business major at Hamline before one class and teacher changed his direction.

“I was majoring in business and took a video production class for fun and my professor said you seem to have a passion for this,” he recalled.  “I really enjoyed putting a video together.  She said you should try to go get an internship in this and I didn’t even know an internship existed.  And that’s when I started knocking on doors and finally I got in to Ch. 4. …  It wasn’t like I set out to be a reporter.  I literally kind of fell into it that way.”

After college, he used his relationship as an intern at WCCO TV to be hired as a sports producer.  After awhile he was working for both Ch. 4 and the station’s cable entity Midwest Sports Channel.  Later came the opportunity at WCCO Radio.  Whether it was producing or being on the air, Max realized he had a passion for sports journalism.

“I like to focus on short term,” he said.  “Having grown up competing (in sports)…the closest thing…is reporting.  It is the greatest challenge in the business…being a great reporter, I think.”

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Max broke the story locally in 2007 that Tubby Smith was on a private plane headed from Kentucky to Minnesota, likely to become the Gophers new basketball coach.  Smith, of course, did accept the job and Max considers that his biggest scoop, breaking news that he collaborated with sources.

Max has contact information for hundreds of sources who he knows must feel they can trust him.  “Because I’ve played sports I’ve always had great respect for guys that are in sports because I know how hard it is to get to where they are,” he said.   “I know how hard it is to make it with the St. Paul Saints, let alone the Minnesota Twins. …I know how hard it is to be good at it (playing sports.)”

Max has had to work hard at more than reporting.  His on-camera presence now is more polished than years ago.  How did he improve?

“Beat yourself up a lot,” he answered.  “I grew up right here in this market.  Maybe I should have gone somewhere else.  It all worked out, but…most people don’t start here.  But I mean I’ve done everything.  I’ve taken voice lessons, acting lessons.  I’ve done all kinds of things because they never thought that I was great natural talent. …  So I had to really work.  I always thought I knew what I was talking about but I had to really work at diction, at communicating, at relaxing and all those things. I did all those things to help on that end of it and there is no substitute for repetition. Looking at yourself.  Don’t like that, don’t like that.  Lots of stuff like that.”

Ask Max about interesting characters he’s known and he mentions Brett Favre and Michael Jordan.  Then he brings up Sid Hartman’s name, the 90-year-old outspoken Star Tribune columnist, WCCO Radio personality and regular guest on “The Sports Show.”

“…There’s no bigger character than Sid Hartman,” Max said.  “I think he’s the most fascinating guy I’ve ever been around because he’s so driven.  He’s so good and he won’t quit.  He just keeps goin’ and goin’ and goin’.  He just amazes me.”

Max believes Hartman has greeted each day of his adult life with the attitude he must prove to the world he’s worthy.  A sports executive in town offered that analysis to Max years ago and he’s bought in.  “I don’t know where that comes from but I think that’s pretty apropos,” Max said.

Other regulars on the “The Sports Show” are Star Tribune columnist/KSTP radio host Patrick Reusse and former WCCO Radio host Dark Star.  Hartman and Star have had their on-air confrontations but Max said the two might then turn around and go out for dinner.

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