A parking ramp incident angered fans leaving the University of Minnesota’s Oak Street Parking Ramp following Wednesday afternoon’s Gopher-Michigan State basketball game at Williams Arena.  When customers entered the ramp for the 11 a.m. game there were no parking attendants to pay.  Instead, fans had to pay following the game, causing long delays in exiting the ramp.

About 2:15 p.m., more than one hour after the game, vehicles were bumper-to-bumper from the ground level pay booths to the fourth floor.  A frustrated customer cancelled a 3 p.m. dental appointment and instead headed for a nearby restaurant for a late lunch.

Good news. By 3:15 p.m. there was no backup of cars on the fourth level!  But there was parking ramp gridlock starting on level three.

Upon arriving at the pay booth I questioned the common sense of paying for the parking.  The University could have waived all those cars through the exits at no charge, thereby treating their basketball customers with the gratitude they deserve for putting up with the inconvenience.

Instead the parking attendant announced he was charging the usual event parking rate of $8.  Give the young man credit, though, for being courteous and willing to offer an explanation for the problem.

Let me give his answer a bit of dramatic pause before sharing it with you.  It was an explanation only a bureaucrat could love.  “The University can’t charge for event parking in the morning,” the attendant said.

So if events start in the morning, then no one will take parking money from customers entering the ramps, thereby causing long delays in the afternoon.  The possible rationale for this policy is that the University doesn’t want to confuse event parkers with hourly customers.

An empathetic athletic department spokesman, who emphasized his department has no control over parking at the University, told Sports Headliners on Saturday that the policy is specific to Monday through Friday parking, not weekends.  I guess that’s of some comfort to anyone who dares to park at the Oak Street Ramp next fall for morning football games at TCF Bank Stadium.  But all those customers last Wednesday who might have missed dental appointments, or picking up friends at the airport, or arriving home on time to relieve anxious baby sitters will long remember the frustration and inconvenience of December 31, 2008.

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The Gophers, 1-1, play their first Big Ten road game on Thursday night in Iowa City against Iowa, 1-1.  The Hawkeyes lost in Columbus to Ohio State 68-65 last Wednesday and then beat Indiana in Iowa City on Saturday, 65-60.

Minnesota defeated Ohio State at home on Saturday, 68-59.  The Gophers lost 70-58 on Wednesday to a Michigan State team that’s likely to win the big Ten championship.

If Tubby Smith is going to build a championship program at Minnesota he will have to deliver a team that can compete with the Spartans in rebounding.  Annually one of the most physical and best rebounding teams in the nation, Michigan State out rebounded the Gophers by 22 in the game, with a 10 point edge in offensive rebounds.

Spartans’ coach Tom Izzo thinks Smith is “struggling” to find his best rotation of players.  He likes junior college transfer Paul Carter, a forward, and thinks his playing time could increase for the Gophers.

The Gophers couldn’t defeat No. 15 ranked Michigan State but did beat No. 9 Louisville on December 20.  Izzo said the Gophers could have beaten “any team” in the country that day.

The Gophers’ quick point guard, Al Nolen, was impressive against Michigan State and Ohio State.  Izzo said Nolen “is as good as anyone” in penetrating near the basket.

For what it’s worth, there’s early speculation the Gopher football team won’t equal last year’s 7-5 regular season record.  The most demanding nonconference schedule in years and adding Penn State and Michigan State to the Big Ten schedule while dropping Indiana and Michigan will be a challenge.  Wins in the first two games, at Syracuse and home in the TCF Bank Stadium opener against Air Force, could set an early tone.

The MLB Network debuted last Thursday with a reach of approximately 450 million cable and satellite TV homes, according to a news release from major league baseball.  This exceeds any previous cable TV launch by about 20 million.  The network offers original programming, highlights, classic games and coverage of baseball events.

Minneapolis Lakers’ fan Dick Jonckowski said a book about Jim Pollard will be available for purchase later this year.  Pollard’s wife, Arilee, will come to Minneapolis to help promote the book about Pollard, a hall of fame forward for the Lakers who helped Minneapolis win five pro basketball championships.

Patrick Reusse’s commitment to work seven days a week for KSTP Radio, including 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and his revised Star Tribune schedule going from three or four columns per week to two, only adds to speculation about the future of newspapers in this market.

Matt Leer, 18, the former Edina High School hockey player, was recently voted “most impressive rookie” by his teammates on the Northern Iowa Outlaws of the North American Hockey League, according to his dad, Robb Leer, the former KSTP TV reporter who now has a successful public relations agency in suburban Minneapolis.

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Because of an injured back, quarterback Gus Frerotte didn’t start the last three regular season games of the year for the Vikings but he was the most important player in the locker room this season.  That’s the opinion of former Vikings’ assistant coach Dean Dalton who assisted Sports Headliners with identifying the team’s most valuable players, most improved, pleasant surprise, and best rookie and coach during the Purple’s 2008 season.

Frerotte, 37, began pre-season and the regular season as a mentor to 25-year-old Tarvaris Jackson.  Then he took over as the team’s starting quarterback after two games.  He helped the Vikings to eight wins in 11 games including at Detroit when he was injured and replaced by Jackson.  But Frerotte continued to be supportive of Jackson and a team leader.  Dalton, who now analyzes the Vikings and NFL in the media, said Frerotte’s attitude avoided a potentially “divisive” and dysfunctional locker room situation.

No surprise that Dalton likes Adrian Peterson as offensive MVP.  Peterson led the NFL in rushing with 1,760 yards.   “This team is not in a position to play for the playoffs without him,” Dalton said before Sunday’s win over the New York Giants.

Dalton is an admirer of team sack leader Jared Allen (14.5) but his choice for defensive MVP is tackle Kevin Williams.  He describes Williams as such a “force inside” that he makes Allen’s job easier and more effective at defensive end.

The special team’s MVP is kicker Ryan Longwell who won last Sunday’s game with a last minute 50 yard field goal against the Giants that made sure the Vikings qualified for the playoffs.  Longwell accounted for 127 points of the team season total of 379.  “Ryan Longwell is steady,” Dalton said. “He’s money. He gets a lot of points for this team.”

Jackson and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe are co-title holders for most improved.  Jackson threw seven touchdown passes and only one interception in the last three games of the season, all starts.  The Vikings won two of the three playoff drive games.

Dalton would like to see Jackson stop taking open field hits when he runs but he praised the “maturity and poise” shown by the 2006 second round draft choice.  “He’s the quarterback everybody wanted him to be right now,” Dalton said prior to Sunday’s game.

Shiancoe came to the Vikings as a free agent in 2007 and was a flop last season and for awhile this year.  He was dropping balls earlier in the season and not showing “courage” going over the middle of the field, according to Dalton.  But after awhile Shiancoe was used more on vertical patterns, started catching passes and did display courage in the middle of the field.  He caught 42 passes including seven      touchdowns compared with totals of 27 and one last season.  “I would say his blocking is adequate now where before it was poor,” Dalton said regarding another improved aspect of Shiancoe’s play. 

Bernard Berrian, the pricey wide receiver who came here as a free agent from Chicago, is Dalton’s most pleasant surprise pick.  Initially Dalton thought spending that money (reportedly $42 million) was a “big reach” but Berrian began to produce when Frerotte took over at quarterback.  His vertical speed (seven touchdowns) made the running game of Peterson and Chester Taylor better.

Tyrell Johnson is an easy choice as top rookie.  He was a capable replacement for Madieu Williams at free safety early in the season when Williams was injured.  Johnson, a second round draft choice, led a minimal rookie group comprised of six players.

Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier did the best coaching job on the staff, Dalton said.  He also said the Vikings had a “bend but not break” defense that was efficient in limiting red zone scoring.  “They’ve been great at creating turnovers and if you give them the lead they’re monstrous,” Dalton said.  “Plus, they continue to be the best running defense in the National Football League.”

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