You wonder if 22-year-old starter Kyle Gibson, a power pitching right-hander, will be on the Twins roster by August. Gibson, who slipped to No. 22 in the 2009 first-year player draft, is pitching for Double-A New Britain. His record is 3-1 with a 1.37 ERA.
Twins starting left-hander Francisco Liriano apparently likes Target Field. He has allowed seven earned runs in 28 innings this season pitching in the team’s new ballpark.
In 11 of the last 14 games between the Twins and Yankees, the games have been decided by three runs or less.
Gophers baseball coach John Anderson, whose team plays an opening game in the NCAA tournament tomorrow night against Cal State Fullerton, will talk to Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi about a new contract this summer.
Maturi, who is chair of the Big Ten athletic directors, will be the only conference AD attending this weekend’s semi-annual meeting of league presidents and chancellors in Chicago.
A friend visiting the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas last week reported that the Vikings are the betting favorite there to win the NFC Championship (3-1 odds) and the second pick to win the Super Bowl (6-1). Only Indianapolis in the AFC has better Super Bowl odds at 5-1.
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier talking late last week about Chris Cook, the team’s rookie cornerback who was the club’s highest drafted rookie: “Chris Cook has done a great job for us these few practices we’ve had with him. He’s got great length. The one thing that has been really impressive has been his awareness. He has good intelligence. That’s a key component to being successful in our league. You feel like he’ll be able to adjust to some of the things he’ll be able to see with his physical ability. He’s been a plus.”
Former Gophers basketball captain Al Nuness will retire as of August 1 after 20 years as an executive at Jostens.
Representatives from the Wild were in Toronto last week to watch the top 100 prospects for the June 24-25 NHL Entry Draft perform at the NHL Scouting Combine. The Wild staff met and interviewed prospects, and saw them tested off-ice.
Blaine’s Nick Bjugstad, ranked as the No. 13 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, had an impressive combine. He recorded the second-highest pull strength score (307 pounds), tied for second on the anaerobic fitness – mean power output test (11.3 watts/kg) and tied for third with 18, 150-pound bench presses. He tied for fourth with a 152-pound left-hand grip, tied for sixth lowest with 7.3 percent body fat, ranked seventh in the average leg power test (1,693.8 watts) and tied for ninth with a 110-inch standing long jump.
Cretin-Derham Hall’s Mark Alt recorded the top score with a 31.8-inch vertical jump, ranked fourth in the peak leg power test (6,611 watts) and had the 10th-longest wingspan at the combine (77.75 inches).
Be careful where you source in-demand tickets. A transplanted Minnesotan lost $1,100.00 on two counterfeit tickets for game two of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Chicago on Monday night.