The late Cal Stoll, the former Gopher head coach who recruited Dungy to play quarterback for Minnesota in the 1970s, was proud of the emotionally strong Dungy whose accomplishments include coaching Tampa Bay to the first winning season in franchise history.  “All football teams reflect the personality of their head coach,” Stoll once said.

In 2000, when Dungy was coaching in Tampa, Stoll said that he expected his former player to become the first African American head coach to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  There’s no doubt that will happen.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe was a major disappointment after joining the Vikings in 2007 as a free agent but he was much improved last season, including statistically going from 323 yards in receptions and one touchdown to 596 yards and seven scores. Earlier this month coach Brad Childress described Shiancoe as a “different cat” now.

“I’ve just seen a quantum change in him as a person. (It also) reflected on the playing field,” Childress said. “He’s comfortable with what we’re doing. He understands the work ethic here. He understands, I always talk about, the mantle of what it takes to be a starter, the importance of being out at practice and taking those reps. … What it was that led to that epiphany, I don’t know. I just think he’s pushed through it and worked himself into a really different cat right now.”

Jason LaFrenz, Gopher assistant athletics director for marketing and ticket sales, reported via e-mail earlier this week that about 1,500 tickets were available for tomorrow night’s basketball game at Williams Arena.  Purdue, 3-2 in the Big Ten Conference and 14-4 overall, is a favorite for the league title.  The Gophers, 16-2 and 4-2 in the conference, can take a major step toward a first division finish in the league with a win against Purdue, ranked No. 18 in the country.

The Gophers, ranked No. 20, received a wakeup call on Sunday about how difficult winning away games can be when Northwestern, previously winless in the conference, beat Minnesota 74-65.  The Gophers had won their first two conference road games, at Iowa and Wisconsin.  With a win at Evanston on Sunday they could have won three straight conference road games for the first time since 2005.

The Northwestern loss exposed a season long weakness: ball movement.  The Gophers couldn’t solve Northwestern’s trapping one-three-one zone defense, holding the ball too long before passing.  Point guard Al Nolen led the futility and contributed six turnovers to the team total of 19.

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Former Minnesota North Stars fans will watch with nostalgia when Mike Modano plays in the NHL All-Star game on Sunday in Montreal.  Modano, 38, was the first overall pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft when the North Stars chose the Michigan native to play for them.  He moved with the franchise to Dallas in 1993 and has been with the Stars since then.  He is tied for second on the team in goals with 13.

Goalie Niklas Backstrom will be the Wild’s only representative in the all-star game.  Last year Marian Gaborik was the one player from the Wild.

Mike Gartner, whose NHL career included playing for the North Stars, holds the fastest skating time of 13.386 seconds for making a lap around the rink in the 1993 all-star weekend skills competition, according to www.nhl.com.

Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who spends part of the off season in Southwest Florida, flew back to Minneapolis from Fort Myers on Saturday night.  He’s scheduled to be at TwinsFest this weekend at the Metrodome.

Mauer is featured in Twins’ ads for spring training tickets appearing in the News-Press newspaper serving Southwest Florida.  The Twins, who open their spring training home schedule in Fort Myers on February 25 against Boston, started selling exhibition game tickets on January 10.  At 4 a.m. gates were opened at the Lee County Sports Complex to accommodate fans who wanted to be among the first to buy tickets starting at 9 a.m., according to the News-Press.

By 2012 the Twins could be sharing the Fort Myers area with two major league teams, the News-Press reported recently.  The Baltimore Orioles, whose president is former Twins executive Andy McPhail, are interested in moving from Fort Lauderdale.  The Red Sox are already in the Fort Myers area and plans are developing for a new ballpark replicating a smaller version of famed Fenway Park.

There’s a website devoted to Bert Blyleven and his deserving to be voted into baseball’s hall of fame, www.bertbelongs.com.  Blyleven didn’t receive enough votes earlier this month to be voted in but is deserving of being in the hall of fame with a career that included 287 wins and clutch pitching, often performing with mediocre support.

Coach Steve Fritz and his St. Thomas men’s basketball team is undefeated at 15-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country by www.d3hoops.com.

Former Wayzata High School tennis player Karl Gregor is an assistant volunteer coach for the men’s team at Harvard.  He is a graduate of the Air Force Academy.

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If Jim Dutcher is correct, the Gophers are headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005.  Dutcher, the former Gopher coach and one of the smartest basketball authorities in this area, left the following voice mail message for Sports Headliners earlier this week:

“The Gophers go 11-7 in the Big Ten, 12-0 nonconference (and) 23 and 7 (overall).  They’re in (the tournament).  Can’t miss.”

Coach Tubby Smith’s team opened the Big Ten schedule last week by splitting two home games, losing to Michigan State and defeating Ohio State.  In the Michigan State game the Gophers were dominated by a team that’s ranked No. 8 in the country by Associated Press and deserves to be the conference title favorite.  But Minnesota, ranked 19^th  in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 22^nd by A.P., looked like an NCAA tournament team in beating Ohio State, showing a determined defense and interchangeable personnel in the 68-59 win.

Smith said his team improved after the first two league games and added this: “…There was a big learning curve after we lost to Michigan State.  We got a rude awakening and lesson in just how hard they have to play.”

The Gophers, with a 13-1 overall record, play their only game this season against Iowa tomorrow night in Iowa City.  Dutcher figures the Gophers will win against the Hawkeyes (1-1 in conference, 11-4 overall) and here’s how he projects Minnesota’s record versus other Big Ten teams:

The Gophers will be 2-0 against Indiana, Northwestern and Ohio State.  They will be 1-1 versus Illinois, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin.  Minnesota will be 0-2 against Michigan State and 0-1 versus Purdue, presumably the conference’s other best team.

As usual, every segment of the conference schedule will be challenging including the next four games with three of them on the road, at Iowa, Wisconsin (January 15) and Northwestern (January 18).  The next two home games are Penn State on January 11 and Purdue on January 22.

If the Gophers have only one or two losses by January 22, Williams Arena could be jumpin’ for the Purdue game more than at any time in the Smith era which began last season.

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