Junior college hall of fame coach Jay Pivec has applied for the new men’s head basketball coaching job at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount. Pivec’s coaching job was eliminated at Minneapolis Community and Technical College when the school disbanded its basketball programs after last season. Dakota County Technical plans to start men’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs for the next school year. Dakota already has soccer, baseball and softball teams. The new basketball coach will need to assemble a roster and schedule, plus help determine practice and game sites (not available on campus). It was 20 years ago this spring that Pivec was hired at Minneapolis Community and Technical College where he had a legendary career.
Don’t expect the Washington Wizards management, including coach Flip Saunders, to struggle with who to pick at No. 1 in the upcoming NBA draft. With the first overall choice, the Wizards will take Kentucky point guard John Wall, not Ohio State forward Evan Turner.
Gophers basketball season ticket holders will pay $2 more per game ($33) for next season. It’s the second increase since 2002.
It’s not difficult to realize why the Twins pitching is so-so, just look back to 2006. Four years ago the Twins had a promising prospect in rookie Matt Garza, a first year wonder in Francisco Liriano, a Cy Young winner in Johan Santana and All-Star closer Joe Nathan. Garza, now with Tampa Bay, is 5-3 and among the league leaders in wins. Liriano, who has impressed several times this season, is still trying to prove he’s a dominant pitcher after Tommy John surgery nearly four years ago. Santana hasn’t been Cy Young-like while pitching for the Mets, but could help the Twins a lot. Nathan is out for the season following Tommy John surgery.
Garza, with 57 strikeouts, is the right-handed power pitcher the Twins lack in the rotation. He’s also durable. In five of his last 10 starts he’s pitched eight innings.
Anthony Slama is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA at AAA Rochester. The right-handed relief pitcher, 26, has impressed in the minor leagues but Twins general manager Billy Smith said on KSTP Radio last Sunday that Slama has more work to do in the minors. “He’s going to be a big league pitcher,” Smith said.
The baseball Gophers, who won the regular season Big Ten title, will play their first game today in the conference tournament in Columbus against Indiana starting at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time. All tournament games are being televised on the Big Ten Network.
Sports Illustrated writer Peter King stirred up the Green Bay-Vikings rivalry with his recent power rankings of NFL teams. He has the Packers No. 1 and the Vikings (a “bubble team” for the playoffs) at No. 13. He writes that the Vikings offensive line is in “decline.” https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/05/16/ranking/index.html
Dustin Byfuglien, the Minneapolis born, Roseau raised hockey player, has eight goals in 16 NHL playoff games this spring for Chicago, a team that opens the Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday against Philadelphia. The 6-4, 257 pound wing, who also has played defense, only scored 17 goals during the regular season.
The Hockey News rated Blaine forward Nick Bjugstad as the second-best American prospect and ninth-best prospect overall in its final rankings before next month’s NHL Entry Draft. Defenseman Cam Fowler, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, is ranked No. 3.
Gustavus’ Max Hanson is the Central Region Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, Bethel’s Marie Borner the region’s Women’s Track Athlete of the Year and Gustavus’ Janey Helland the Field Athlete of the Year.