Zach Parise, the former Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep who was born in Minneapolis, deserves NHL MVP consideration for his play with New Jersey, a team that’s second in the Eastern Conference with 97 points.  Parise is second in goals with 41 and fourth    in points, 88, among NHL players.

Former Gopher Blake Wheeler, now with Boston, is tied for first in the NHL in plus-minus points with 36.

The 10 candidates for the 2009 Hobey Baker Award, honoring college hockey’s top player, are: Louie Caporusso, Michigan; Matt Gilroy, Boston University; Chad Johnson, Alaska Fairbanks; Zane Kalemba, Princeton; Jacques Lamoureux, Air Force; Jamie McBain, Wisconsin; David McIntyre, Colgate; Viktor Stalberg, Vermont; Brad Thiessen, Northeastern; and Colin Wilson, Boston University.  Fans can vote at www.hobeybaker.com

Darren Sharper, who will be 34 in November, is likely to be a starter at free safety for New Orleans after leaving the Vikings as a free agent.  Sharper told Sports Headliners last year he wasn’t interested in finishing his career as a reserve.

Vikings coach Brad Childress talking about starting cornerback Cedric Griffin who recently signed a contract extension: “We are glad to have Cedric as our right cornerback going forward.  He is an aggressive, physical, contact football player, whose best football is in front of him.”  Griffin, a second round draft choice in 2006, has started 38 of 46 games.  He had one interception last season but ranked among the team leaders in tackles.

The Friends of South High Foundation invite the public to attend a ground breaking event on Wednesday beginning at 2:45 p.m. for a new building that will provide rest rooms, ticketing, concessions and storage for athletics.  The building will be located adjacent to Les Bernard Athletic Field, 20^th Ave. South and 31^st Street, across from South High.  For more information, contact Jim Bloom, 952-941-3778.

Win Willy, a horse owned by Jerry and Marlene Myers of Minneapolis, could qualify for the Kentucky Derby on May 2.  An offer to buy the horse for $3 million was turned down last week, according to the Canterbury Park Web site, https://www.canterburypark.blogspot.com/

Star Tribune columnist Sid Hartman had his 89^th birthday earlier this month.

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Today and tomorrow more than a few Minnesota basketball fans will let their minds wander when they consider a what-if scenario that could have included North Dakota State guard Ben Woodside and Kansas center Cole Aldrich as Gophers.  If former Gophers coach Dan Monson had brought those two to Dinkytown, Minnesota would be included on anyone’s list of the better teams in the NCAA tournament.

The Gophers, 22-10 overall and coming off a 9-9 regular season Big Ten Conference finish, play Texas tonight in their opening NCAA East Region game.  The Longhorns, a No. 7 seed, figure to win against the Gophers, a No. 10 seed.  Texas, 22-11, has more experience with a team that played four games in the tourney last year.  The Longhorns also have more proven talent, featuring senior guard A.J. Abrams and swingman Damion James, both of whom were second team all-Big 12 Conference selections.  No Gopher players have NCAA tournament game experience.  The best Minnesota could do for post-season recognition was guard Lawrence Westbrook’s inclusion on conference honorable mention teams and forward Damian Johnson’s selection to the all-defense team.

Woodside, the former Albert Lea High School player, scored 60 points in a game earlier this season.  Now a senior leader for the Bison, the Gophers reportedly said no to him and instead opted for a San Diego prep guard named Rico Tucker who had a brief career at Minnesota.

Aldrich, the 6-11 center from Bloomington Jefferson, wanted to play for Kansas coach Bill Self.  Aldrich might have had a different desire, though, if the Gophers had been a winning program while he was in high school.  Now a sophomore, Aldrich is a cinch first round NBA lottery pick, perhaps this year.

Ken Lien, the Mr. Basketball chair, coached Woodside in AAU basketball.  Aldrich was a 2007 finalist for the Mr. Basketball award.  Lien was asked about the difference Woodside and Aldrich could have made for the Gophers.

“I think it would be dynamite,” he said.  “They would provide two strengths, leadership at point guard, and post play with a player who can score and defend.”

Minnesota’s starting point guard, Al Nolen, makes 34 percent of his field goals while averaging 6.6 points per game.  Woodside averages 22.8 points per game, making almost 46 percent of his shots with a near 43 three point field goal average.  He also had 202 assists, 64 better than any Gopher.

Aldrich averaged about 14 points and 10 rebounds while being all-conference and Big 12 co-defensive player of the year (league leader in blocked shots).  Freshman centers Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson combined to give the Gophers about 11 points and eight rebounds per game.  Both Iverson and Sampson have upside but there’s no guarantee either will be as good as Aldrich who ranks with the best three centers in the country, along with North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet.

Although Woodside and Aldrich will never play for the Gophers, their teams meet tomorrow morning at the Metrodome in a first round Midwest Region game.  That’s the closest they’re coming to Dinkytown.

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Greg Davis, the Texas offensive coordinator, was in town last week to meet with Gopher coaches.  Davis, one of Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster’s best friends, discussed such topics as how to change offensive tempo and two-minute offenses, according to Brewster.

Brewster and Davis also talked about Minnesota freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray who will be participating in his first spring practice starting next Tuesday.  “He’s extremely similar to Vince Young in a lot of different ways,” Brewster said.

Davis coached Young, an All-American quarterback who led Texas to the 2005 national championship.  Davis and Brewster talked about how to use and develop a quarterback with the athleticism of Gray.  Although the Gophers won’t have a system emphasizing runs by the quarterback, Brewster made it clear Gray will have opportunities to use option plays where he can run.

Starting quarterback Adam Weber is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and won’t have contact this spring.  Gray is expected to benefit by directing the first team and gaining experience before he backs up Weber next fall.  Brewster regards Weber, who will be a junior, as a player who could rank with the nation’s best quarterbacks next fall.

Brewster, who has been the Minnesota coach for about 26 months, expressed  satisfaction with the team’s academic success.  He said the Gophers had 46 players with a 3.0 GPA or higher last semester.  He believes the total is the best in school history.

Brewster also said the program has experienced just one off field incident in two years where players got in trouble.  Other programs have fared much worse with irresponsible behavior.  Brewster said he tells his players, “Those who refuse to study history, are doomed to repeat it.”

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