Among the incentives in Tubby Smith’s contract is he receives $100,000 for coaching his Gophers into the NCAA tournament.
San Diego State senior forward Ryan Amoroso, from Burnsville High, scored 11 points and had 15 rebounds on Saturday when San Diego State lost 52-50 to Utah in the Mountain West Conference tournament championship game. The Aztecs were a “bubble” team that didn’t receive an NCAA tournament invite.
North Dakota State’s Ben Woodside, who scored 60 points in a game earlier this season, broke the career scoring record at Albert Lea High School of his dad who topped the record held by his father, according to Ken Lien, the Minnesota Mr. Basketball chair who coached Woodside in AAU basketball. The Bison-Kansas game on Friday from the Metrodome is among the more anticipated first round NCAA tournament matchups.
Gophers football coach Tim Brewster has a website targeting potential recruits, www.play4brew.com. Rachel Lee, the daughter of WCCO Radio’s Dave Lee, talks about the program on the website. She is a student at Minnesota and intern in the football program.
Civic leader Denny Schulstad said fundraising for the veterans tribute area outside TCF Bank Stadium totaled $580,000, exceeding the goal of $460,000.
Frank Stallone, Sylvester’s brother, has been added to the celebrity lineup for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Scott LeDoux benefit event on Friday, April 10 at Champions Event Center in Elko. Stallone, a former boxer, will perform songs from the Rocky movie series including “Far from Over” and “Take You Back.” Performers will also include 1980’s rock entertainers Jimi Jamison, formerly of Survivor, Alex Ligertwood, former lead for Santana, and Fergie Frederiksen, former lead of Toto.
Tickets are $15 in advance. More information is available at www.headlinersinc.net. LeDoux, one of the most prominent Minnesota boxers ever, announced in recent months that he has ALS. His friend Mike Woodley is an event organizer and has produced a LeDoux video airing on YouTube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWWomRDi8Lc
The Minnesota Minute Men announced yesterday that Nick Leddy from Eden Prairie High won the 25th Annual Mr. Hockey Award, given to the outstanding senior boys high school hockey player in the state. Casey O’Connor of Bloomington Jefferson High School received The Frank Brimsek Award, in recognition of Minnesota’s top senior goaltender. Jeff Poeschl (Mahtomedi High School) and Lee Smith (Eden Prairie) won The John Mariucci Award, given to the Class A and Class AA high school coaches of the year. Tom Saterdalen of Jefferson received The Cliff Thompson Award, presented to the “Old Timer Coach” of the year.