You wonder if 22-year-old starter Kyle Gibson, a power pitching right-hander, will be on the Twins roster by August.  Gibson, who slipped to No. 22 in the 2009 first-year player draft, is pitching for Double-A New Britain.  His record is 3-1 with a 1.37 ERA.

Twins starting left-hander Francisco Liriano apparently likes Target Field.  He has allowed seven earned runs in 28 innings this season pitching in the team’s new ballpark.

In 11 of the last 14 games between the Twins and Yankees, the games have been decided by three runs or less.

Gophers baseball coach John Anderson, whose team plays an opening game in the NCAA tournament tomorrow night against Cal State Fullerton, will talk to Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi about a new contract this summer.

Maturi, who is chair of the Big Ten athletic directors, will be the only conference AD attending this weekend’s semi-annual meeting of league presidents and chancellors in Chicago.

A friend visiting the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas last week reported that the Vikings are the betting favorite there to win the NFC Championship (3-1 odds) and the second pick to win the Super Bowl (6-1).  Only Indianapolis in the AFC has better Super Bowl odds at 5-1.

Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier talking late last week about Chris Cook, the team’s rookie cornerback who was the club’s highest drafted rookie: “Chris Cook has done a great job for us these few practices we’ve had with him.  He’s got great length. The one thing that has been really impressive has been his awareness. He has good intelligence. That’s a key component to being successful in our league. You feel like he’ll be able to adjust to some of the things he’ll be able to see with his physical ability. He’s been a plus.”

Former Gophers basketball captain Al Nuness will retire as of August 1 after 20 years as an executive at Jostens.

Representatives from the Wild were in Toronto last week to watch the top 100 prospects for the June 24-25 NHL Entry Draft perform at the NHL Scouting Combine. The Wild staff met and interviewed prospects, and saw them tested off-ice.

Blaine’s Nick Bjugstad, ranked as the No. 13 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, had an impressive combine.  He recorded the second-highest pull strength score (307 pounds), tied for second on the anaerobic fitness – mean power output test (11.3 watts/kg) and tied for third with 18, 150-pound bench presses.  He tied for fourth with a 152-pound left-hand grip, tied for sixth lowest with 7.3 percent body fat, ranked seventh in the average leg power test (1,693.8 watts) and tied for ninth with a 110-inch standing long jump.

Cretin-Derham Hall’s Mark Alt recorded the top score with a 31.8-inch vertical jump, ranked fourth in the peak leg power test (6,611 watts) and had the 10^th-longest wingspan at the combine (77.75 inches).

Be careful where you source in-demand tickets.  A transplanted Minnesotan lost $1,100.00 on two counterfeit tickets for game two of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Chicago on Monday night.

Comments Welcome

Justin Morneau was frustrated during spring training but he’s answered any doubts he or anyone else may have had with an impressive start this season.  The Twins first baseman is leading the American League in hitting with a .369 batting average, and ranks in the top five in both home runs and RBI.

Morneau didn’t play after September 12 last season because of a stress fracture in his back.  In spring training this year he hit .160 with two home runs and eight RBI in 50 at bats.

But so far Morneau’s bat production has been so good it even invites tepid speculation about a Triple Crown season.  No one in the American League has been the leader in batting average, home runs and RBI since Carl Yastrzemski did it playing for Boston in 1967.

That 43 year drought says plenty about the difficulty involved in winning a Triple Crown.  Yet Morneau is gifted and last year Twins Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew told Sports Headliners the “sky’s the limit” for the 29-year-old first baseman.

Morneau has been turning heads since 2006 when he won the American league MVP award with career best totals of 34 home runs, 130 RBI and a .321 average.  In each of the last three seasons he has driven in 100 or more runs and two of those years had 30 home runs or more.

Morneau, who has been with the Twins since 2003, once struggled in the big leagues until he gained more experience and manager Ron Gardenhire helped him to better production.  Killebrew, who hit 573 career home runs, admires Morneau’s power and remarked last year how far Morneau has progressed.

Morneau is sometimes crowded out of the headlines by teammate Joe Mauer, perhaps baseball’s most valuable property.  The odds against a Triple Crown are considerable but if Morneau did lead the American League in batting average, home runs and RBI it would certainly make the baseball world appreciate him even more.

Comments Welcome

Forbes national editor Michael Ozanian wrote earlier this month that after another failed attempt to obtain legislative support, it “seems that Zygmunt Wilf is on his way to Los Angeles.”  Ozanian bases his opinion on more than the legislative experiences and the early 2012 expiration of the franchise’s lease in the “antiquated” Metrodome.

Ozanian writes that the franchise has over $300 million in debt.  He states that Wilf has invested “personal cash” and made “multiple capital calls to his partners.”  Further, Ozanian reports that his sources say the Vikings will receive “first nod” by the NFL to move to Los Angeles. https://blogs.forbes.com/sportsmoney/2010/05/minnesota-vikings-lose-new-stadium-vote/

A local source with knowledge of the Vikings said the franchise might carry the amount of debt referred to by Ozanian.  The club’s finances aren’t part of the public record.

The same source, speaking anonymously, questioned why the league would give the Vikings preferential treatment for a Los Angeles move.  Other franchises, with Jacksonville being the best example, have also been linked to a possible Los Angeles relocation and represent smaller markets than Minneapolis-St. Paul.  “Moving the Vikings to Los Angeles is not a net gain for the NFL,” the source said.

Vikings’ stadium efforts will peak during the 2011 legislative session.  The fate, however, of whether a bill is passed might be decided much earlier after the race for governor sorts itself out.  The state could end up with a pro, neutral or anti-stadium leader.

The Metrodome site remains the most likely place for a new stadium but much isn’t decided about the facility including where it will be and how to pay for it.  City of Minneapolis leaders haven’t shown strong support for funding the stadium and the city is still paying off the Convention Center.  What hasn’t been reported in the media is that the city owned Target Center will need tens of millions of dollars in renovation in coming years and that could be a larger priority for Minneapolis than a new Vikings stadium.

The source believes the state will need to solve the funding question, although he mentioned Hennepin County might play a role.

Comments Welcome