Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi told Sports Headliners that a contract extension for basketball coach Tubby Smith is being worked on.  Representatives for both sides are in discussions.

“We feel confident we will get something done,” Maturi said.

Maturi didn’t offer details on compensation or years, and said it could be months before something is settled.  He said that’s the nature of negotiations and although Smith came here in March of 2007 he didn’t sign his first contract until December.

Smith’s seven year contract paid him close to $2 million last season and it includes incentive bonuses.  A contract extension exemplifies commitment by Smith and the Gophers to one another.  Rumors of Smith leaving for another school have been numerous since he arrived in Minneapolis where he’s coached two of his first three teams to NCAA tournament invitations.

In addition to the contract, Smith wants a new practice facility and Maturi said fundraising will be the source of money for the venue that’s expected to cost about $20 million.  The location hasn’t been determined and fundraising is in process.

Asked if a $20 million practice facility raises a question of whether such money should be used toward a new basketball arena to replace 82-year-old Williams Arena, Maturi said a change won’t happen while he’s athletic director.  While Maturi acknowledged the building’s age will eventually become an issue, the athletic department already has sizeable financial commitments including for its 23 sports and isn’t looking to take on a project perhaps costing $300 million.

The budget could receive a boost in 2012 if plans develop to stage an outdoor January or February hockey game involving the Gophers men’s team and another college program.  Maturi has seen other athletic departments host successful outdoor games and wants to pursue the temporary installation of an outdoor rink at TCF Bank Stadium that might cost $600,000 with total operations expenses of $750,000.

Revenues could exceed $1 million.  While the outdoor rink is in place, Maturi believes it may make sense to have a series of other games involving the Gopher women, Division III programs and prep teams.

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About 25 years ago I was a member of the Governor’s NBA Task Force to bring a franchise to Minnesota.  There had been a void here since the Lakers left Minneapolis for Los Angeles in 1960.  In the late 1980’s NBA popularity was surging and the league liked this town’s white collar money and pro basketball roots with the Lakers who had won five world titles here.

While working for the Met Center in the 1980s, I had pushed for a series of successful NBA exhibition games that included one night stops by the Lakers, Sixers and Bulls.  Minneapolis businessmen Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson took note.  By 1989 their Timberwolves were a first year expansion team and attracting some of the league’s larger crowds to the Metrodome while awaiting completion of Target Center. The team’s first season record was 22-60.

Way back then who could have imagined that the 2010 Wolves would play like an expansion team and be offering season tickets at 50 percent off?  Owner Glen Taylor and his partners have in recent years been losing millions annually while operating the team.  Speculation is the franchise will lose $15 to $25 million this season which ended last night with a loss to Detroit.  The Wolves finished with a 15-67 record, tied for the worst record in club history.

The franchise’s basketball operation has everything to prove starting with president David Kahn and coach Kurt Rambis.  Kahn is a former sports columnist turned basketball executive and during his brief employment here the roster hasn’t improved.  It’s less talented than a year ago and has only a few above average players.

Clearing salary cap room for pursuit of free agents this off season and making intelligent draft choices in the NBA draft this June sounds good but can the front office make it a reality?  Team executives didn’t dazzle last year including in the NBA draft when the Wolves passed on Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry.  They are two of the three best NBA Rookie of the Year candidates along with Tyreke Evans who Sacramento chose before the Wolves had a draft pick.

Rambis, like Khan, can’t fairly be judged after one season but his choice of the triangle offense is being questioned and also the defensive effort of the Wolves.  His mentor, coach Phil Jackson, used the offense with success in Chicago and Los Angeles.  But if the offense is so effective why have so few teams used it over the years?  Coaches are often copycats when it comes to offenses and defenses.

Triangle, or not, critics should be more concerned about the team’s defensive performance this past season.  Why didn’t the coaching staff get more effort and defensive success out of this team?

The team’s best player is forward Kevin Love, a gifted rebounder and passer who plays with intelligence and unselfishness.  He needs to become a better defender but the Wolves should recognize his importance and provide more minutes on the floor.

Al Jefferson is among the league’s better low post scorers but he needs to improve on defense, too.  Both Jefferson and Love play the same position (power forward) but that doesn’t mean the franchise can’t keep them both, juggling minutes and surrounding them with better talent.

Late season acquisition Darko Milicic does provide size at center but this is his fifth NBA team.  At 24 he has the option of playing here next season or in Europe.  If he stays he must prove he has the desire to perform at his best for 82 games.

Milicic is an okay defender.  He has the physical skills to be more assertive.  So, too, does rookie point guard Jonny Flynn who showed his defensive inexperience coming out of a college environment at Syracuse where he played in a zone defense.  Offensively, Flynn needs to make better decisions on the court and involve his teammates more.

The team’s best defender is shooting guard Corey Brewer who stepped up his offense this year to average 13 points per game (his first double figure average for a season).  But even his defense couldn’t make too much difference on a Wolves’ team that gave up almost 108 points per game, second worst in the league.

That’s the stuff of expansion teams, but unfortunately the Wolves are working on their third decade of play.

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Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson had a one year contract with the Dodgers last season and his deal with the Twins expires at the end of 2010.  Hudson will be 33 in December and teams are cautious about long term commitments to older players.  The Twins are paying him $5 million this year, according to Cot’s baseball contracts.  https://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/minnesota-twins_17.html

Hudson is hitting .225 for the Twins, with no home runs and one RBI.  His switch hitting gives the Twins, who face a steady lineup of left-handers, versatility hitting No. 2 in the batting order.

Hudson has no errors thus far and been effective on double plays teaming with shortstop J.J. Hardy.  Hudson has had a base running lapse or two in the team’s first nine games.

The Twins left 11 runners on base in yesterday’s 6-3 loss to the Red Sox.  For the season the Twins are 0-11 with the bases loaded.

Delmon Young is batting .383 (31-for-81) with six homers, 23 RBI and 14 runs scored in 21 games for the Twins since September 22, 2009.

Former Twin David Ortiz has struck out 12 times in his last 21 at bats for the Red Sox.

Twins owner Jim Pohlad is a certified public accountant.  No one needs to explain an income statement to him.

KARE 11 reports that “Target Field does have the coldest averages of any outdoor baseball stadium in the country, but not by as much as you would think.  Denver and Detroit, for example, average April temperatures are just 2 degrees warmer than Minneapolis.  Chicago and Cleveland are only 3 degrees warmer. In October, the temperature differentials are basically the same.”   https://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=847706

Baseball America’s top 10 Twins prospects are Aaron Hicks, Wilson Ramos, Kyle Gibson, Miguel Sano, Ben Revere, Danny Valencia, Carlos Gutierrez, Angel Morales, David Bromberg and Max Kepler.  This is the second consecutive year Hicks, an outfielder, has been ranked by the publication as the No. 1 prospect in the organization.

Former Gophers and Cincinnati Bengals football player Ben Utecht sang the national anthem at last week’s Cincinnati Reds season opener.

The semi-finals of the Vikings cheerleaders’ swimsuit competition is Sunday night at Pantages Theatre.  See the Vikings Website for more information including ticket prices.  https://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/Minnesota-Vikings-Cheerleaders-Swimsuit-Competition-Set-For-Sunday/3439f7c7-55ca-4152-9fbf-a9180c272b2c

Despite a schedule that includes five likely top 25 teams, at least one passionate and optimistic Gophers football insider is talking about an 8-4 record.

Condolences to the Stoll family on the death of Jill Stoll.  She is the daughter of the late Cal Stoll, the former Gophers football coach.

Wild head coach Todd Richards will for the first time be an assistant coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team.  The Wild’s Brent Proulx will also be a part of the staff as equipment manager.  Team USA will open the International Ice Hockey Federation World Men’s Championship against host Germany on May 7.  The game will be played in a soccer facility and is expected to draw a world-record hockey crowd of more than 76,000 fans.

Mikko Koivu finished the season with a career-high 70 points (21-59=70), the third-highest total in Wild history.  Marion Gaborik is No. 1 with 83 points, Brian Rolston is second at 79.

Two Gustavus players, junior defender Kirstin Peterson and senior forward Melissa Mackley, and also St. Catherine junior forward Micheala Michaelson, have been named to the RBK Hockey College Division All-America first team for the West Region as chosen by members of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA).

Chris Berenguer, son of former Twins pitcher Juan Berenguer, is a hockey defenseman for Hamline and was recently named a West Region All-American by the AHCA for the RBK men’s team.

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