Junior college hall of fame coach Jay Pivec has applied for the new men’s head basketball coaching job at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount.  Pivec’s coaching job was eliminated at Minneapolis Community and Technical College when the school disbanded its basketball programs after last season.  Dakota County Technical plans to start men’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs for the next school year.  Dakota already has soccer, baseball and softball teams.  The new basketball coach will need to assemble a roster and schedule, plus help determine practice and game sites (not available on campus).  It was 20 years ago this spring that Pivec was hired at Minneapolis Community and Technical College where he had a legendary career.

Don’t expect the Washington Wizards management, including coach Flip Saunders, to struggle with who to pick at No. 1 in the upcoming NBA draft.  With the first overall choice, the Wizards will take Kentucky point guard John Wall, not Ohio State forward Evan Turner.

Gophers basketball season ticket holders will pay $2 more per game ($33) for next season.  It’s the second increase since 2002.

It’s not difficult to realize why the Twins pitching is so-so, just look back to 2006.  Four years ago the Twins had a promising prospect in rookie Matt Garza, a first year wonder in Francisco Liriano, a Cy Young winner in Johan Santana and All-Star closer Joe Nathan.  Garza, now with Tampa Bay, is 5-3 and among the league leaders in wins.  Liriano, who has impressed several times this season, is still trying to prove he’s a dominant pitcher after Tommy John surgery nearly four years ago.  Santana hasn’t been Cy Young-like while pitching for the Mets, but could help the Twins a lot.  Nathan is out for the season following Tommy John surgery.

Garza, with 57 strikeouts, is the right-handed power pitcher the Twins lack in the rotation.  He’s also durable.  In five of his last 10 starts he’s pitched eight innings.

Anthony Slama is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA at AAA Rochester.  The right-handed relief pitcher, 26, has impressed in the minor leagues but Twins general manager Billy Smith said on KSTP Radio last Sunday that Slama has more work to do in the minors.  “He’s going to be a big league pitcher,” Smith said.

The baseball Gophers, who won the regular season Big Ten title, will play their first game today in the conference tournament in Columbus against Indiana starting at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time.  All tournament games are being televised on the Big Ten Network.

Sports Illustrated writer Peter King stirred up the Green Bay-Vikings rivalry with his recent power rankings of NFL teams.  He has the Packers No. 1 and the Vikings (a “bubble team” for the playoffs) at No. 13.  He writes that the Vikings offensive line is in “decline.” https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/05/16/ranking/index.html

Dustin Byfuglien, the Minneapolis born, Roseau raised hockey player, has eight goals in 16 NHL playoff games this spring for Chicago, a team that opens the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday against Philadelphia.  The 6-4, 257 pound wing, who also has played defense, only scored 17 goals during the regular season.

The Hockey News rated Blaine forward Nick Bjugstad as the second-best American prospect and ninth-best prospect overall in its final rankings before next month’s NHL Entry Draft.  Defenseman Cam Fowler, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, is ranked No. 3.

Gustavus’ Max Hanson is the Central Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, Bethel’s Marie Borner the region’s Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and Gustavus’ Janey Helland the Field Athlete of the Year.

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For Sports North has announced the names of the 50 greatest Twins in recognition of the franchise’s 50^th season in Minnesota.  Today Sports Headliners goes a step further offering my opinion on the 25 best to ever play here.

Winning baseball starts with pitching so let’s begin there with starters and relievers.

Rik Aalbert (“Bert”) Blyleven: born in the Netherlands, raised in California, he is the franchise’s career leader in complete games, shutouts and strikeouts, and second in wins.

Jim Kaat: he worked more innings and won more games for the Twins than any pitcher ever, and fielded with the best, winning Gold Glove awards year after year.

Camilo Pascual: the Cuban curve ball master threw a pitch that “dropped off the table,” was twice a 20 game winner and ranks third all-time in franchise complete games.

Jim Perry: he ranks fourth in career wins (128) and third in ERA (3.15) and is one of only three Twins to ever win the Cy Young award (1970 when he was 24-12).

Brad Radke: played his entire career with the Twins, is third all-time in club wins and helped revitalize the franchise in the early 2000’s.

Johan Santana: he broke a lot of hearts when he left for New York but before doing so won two Cy Young awards with the Twins.

Frank Viola: he was a dominant starter in the 1980’s including on the 1987 World Series champion miracle team and the next season won the Cy Young award.

Our all-time roster also includes three relief pitchers:

Rick Aguilera: the closer for the 1991 World Series champs, he’s the all-time franchise leader in saves with 254.

Eddie Guardado: he pitched 11 seasons for the Twins and ranks third in saves with 116 (behind Aguilera and Joe Nathan, 246).

Joe Nathan: regardless of whether he ever plays again, many observers will rank him as the greatest relief pitcher in franchise history.

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Here’s the batting order for the eight position players and designated hitter:

Rod Carew: the man who flirted with hitting .400 in a single season won seven league batting titles with the Twins while playing second base.

Joe Mauer: at 27 he’s already won three batting championships, one league MVP award and two Gold Glove awards for his catching.

Kirby Puckett: he dazzled in the field and at the plate for two World Series champions.  With a nod to teamwork, Puck plays in left field on this team so that Gold Glove winner Torii Hunter (seven times with the Twins) can play center.

Harmon Killebrew: an all-time slugger who struggled in the field and on the bases, the “Killer” hits cleanup as our DH and hits home runs with a frequency that no other Twins player has ever approached.

Tony Oliva: he had a strong arm playing in right field but it was his line drive hitting that made him one of baseball’s best in the talent rich 1960’s and early 1970’s while winning three league batting titles.

Justin Morneau: at 29 he still has much of his Twins career in front of him, but we’ve seen enough to put the 2006 American League Most Valuable Payer ahead of Kent Hrbek at first base.

Torii Hunter: just like his idol Puckett, Hunter made plenty of noise at bat, in the filed and around the clubhouse for the Twins.

Gary Gaetti: besides having one of the coolest nicknames in Twins history, the “G-Man” was a Gold Glove third baseman who hit for power.

Greg Gagne: consistency wins the shortstop competition and Gagne was that.  He was the shortstop on both the 1987 and 1991 World Series teams, and in 12 post season games in the Metrodome never committed an error.

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