The Gophers split their series at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center over the weekend.  The building was the site of Sonmor’s first WCHA game as Gophers coach in 1966.  Back then the Bulldogs had a revered player in Keith “Huffer” Christiansen.  Sonmor recalled going to the building the morning of the game and seeing that the playing surface was water, not ice.  That led to this quip from Sonmor:  “I’ve been told as far as I know, there’s only one guy who can walk on water and that’s ‘Huffer’ Christiansen.”

Sonmor describes sophomore forward Jordan Schroeder as the most “skilled” player among the Gophers.  He thinks Schroeder, who leads the team with 19 assists and 27 points, will likely return next season rather than join the Vancouver organization that drafted him in the first round last June.

The Twins plan to announce the name of their official hot dog provider on March 8, according to Patrick Klinger, vice president of marketing.  The Hormel-supplied Dome Dog won’t be continued at Target Field but Klinger expressed confidence the new offering will be popular with fans.  That confidence comes from the franchise’s commitment to provide an extraordinary fan experience at the new ballpark including food offerings that will feature a Murray’s Restaurant steak sandwich, Kramarczuk’s sausages, pork chop on a stick, Walleye fingers and vegetarian selections.

Former Purdue and Timberwolf player Brian Cardinal said the Gophers Ralph Sampson III is a “talented player” and has improved from his freshman season but wouldn’t say that the 6-11 sophomore center will make it in the NBA.

A KARE 11 source predicted via email that Brett Favre’s upcoming appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday night will be seen by about 320,000 viewers in this market.

The MIAC led all NCAA Division III conferences in football attendance for the fifth straight season in 2009. The conference’s nine teams averaged 3,178 fans per game with 152,560 total attendees.  The MIAC had four teams rank in the top 30 of Division III.  For the 13th time in 17 years, Saint John’s was first in Division III attendance, averaging 8,208 per game and attracting 49,249 fans for six home games.

Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport will headline an exhibition on Saturday, April 10 at Eden Prairie High School as part of the Tennis Festival of the North weekend.  The festival will be April 9-11 at the high school and includes on-court demonstrations, a vendor fair and other tennis information.  Organizers hope the festival will become an annual event and expect this year’s activities to attract about 2,000 people, according to an email form Marcia Bach who is coordinating the festival for USTA Northern.  www.tennisfestivalofthenorth.com.

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Royce White will meet with coach Tubby Smith next week to explore returning to the Gophers basketball program, according to White’s grandfather.  The older White told Sports Headliners he and his grandson will have a meeting with Smith but as of last night the date hadn’t been determined.

“We’re going to sit down with Tubby next week and have a conversation,” Frank White said.

Royce White was the state’s Mr. Basketball last year and his arrival at Minnesota as a McDonald’s All-American was highly anticipated but he dropped out of school a few weeks ago after never playing in a game during the 2009-10 season.  Smith disciplined him for incidents at the Mall of America and on the University of Minnesota campus.

What’s the specific purpose of next week’s meeting?  “To talk about possibilities of Royce getting back in school,” Frank White said.

Has his grandson changed his feelings about the University?  “…I think Royce has some concerns that don’t have anything to do with the basketball team,” Frank White said.  “I think he’s confused about some of the frustrations that he’s had with the (University) police department and maybe how he was treated in the laptop situation (on campus).  I don’t want to speak for him but I am sure that’s part of what he’s concerned about.”

White is a 6-7 freshman power forward that most observers agree would have helped the Gophers who are struggling through a below .500 season in the Big Ten Conference and appear to have little chance of making the NCAA tournament.

Multiple sources have said White excelled in academics during last semester at the University.  “Royce is a very smart kid,” his grandfather said. “Royce is not going to have any problems with education and learning.  Royce’s challenges might be a little bit more in terms of being disciplined enough to be organized and take care of business.

“I would hope that Royce really takes a look at what he’s lost this first year.  And what he loves, and who he associates with.  I think Royce would tell you that he’s learned from the mistakes he’s made.”

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Attendance will be limited to 25,000 for the first ever baseball game at Target Field when the Gophers play Louisiana Tech beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 27.  Limiting attendance to about 15,000 under capacity will make it more manageable to use the game as a trial run for vendors and workers.  Only general admission tickets costing $2 each will be sold for the game with proceeds benefiting the Twins Community Fund.  Tickets will be available only at Target Field beginning at 8 a.m. on game day.

Stubhub.com listed tickets from $152 to $7,000 on Wednesday for the initial regular season game at Target Field on April 12 against Boston.

The New York Knicks have bought out the contract of former Wolves forward Brian Cardinal.  Cardinal, 32, told Sports Headliners he wants to continue playing and if another NBA team doesn’t sign him he would be eligible after 30 days to rejoin the Wolves if there is mutual interest.

The Timberwolves begin an aggressive season tickets marketing campaign for 2010-11 on March 1 with discounts up to 50 percent.  The Wolves have been losing money in recent years and a good guess is that owner Glen Taylor’s franchise will lose at least $10 million this season.  Management has decided it’s better to put more people in the seats at surprisingly steep discounts than not sell those tickets at all.

Basketball boss David Kahn said on the Ch. 45 TV broadcast of the Wolves game Sunday night that his rebuilding team probably won’t make the playoffs next season but hopes the win total will push past 30.

It’s obvious the coaching staff doesn’t want to commit even short term to a lineup offering heavy minutes to both Al Jefferson and Kevin Love at the same time.  Rather than have the two 6-10 power forwards on the floor, coach Kurt Rambis wants more size.  Playing either Ryan Hollins or Darko Milicic, both 7 foot centers, with Jefferson or Love provides better defense.

Milicic, the 24-year-old whom the Wolves acquired earlier this month form New York, has played intelligently and made his teammates better.  Those attributes are ones that rookie point guard Jonny Flynn can improve upon.

With 37-year-old Pat Williams a possibility for retirement, popular speculation is that the Vikings will pick Tennessee defensive tackle Dan Williams at No. 30 on the first round in the April NFL draft. He is about 6-2, 329 pounds (Pat Williams, 6-3, 317).

Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said earlier this week on NFL.com he thinks quarterback Brett Favre will return for another season.

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