A couple of opinions on the Brett Favre fiasco. One, he will never play for Green Bay again. Too many egos involved. Two, the only way he ever shows up in a Vikings’ uniform is if within a year or two a team other than the Packers trades him here.
Subhub.com lists a ticket range of $1 to $319 for the Vikings’ home preseason opener against Seattle on August 8. The site shows a range of $28 to $6,000 for Green Bay’s preseason opener against Cincinnati on August 11.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship event on August 9 at Target Center has already generated over $3 million in ticket sales revenue, according to a source. That’s a record amount for a Target Center event and although the event isn’t sold out yet it’s expected to do so.
At 25 years old and in his third season with the Twins, Scott Baker is being characterized more and more as the franchise’s best starting pitcher. Last Sunday against Texas he lost for the first time since June 15 at Milwaukee. It was the third time this season Baker has started a game that ended with the Twins losing 1-0. His season record is 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA. He has an ERA of 2.66 during his last 10 starts with a record of 4-3 in those games, and the Twins have scored a total of only 27 runs to support him.
Well traveled Sidney “Suitcase” Ponson, 31, was the starting and winning pitcher for the Yankees on Monday when they defeated the Twins 12-4. Ponson, who is 4-1 on the season, has pitched for six major league teams. Going back to 1998 he’s pitched for Baltimore, San Francisco, the Yankees (two different stops), St. Louis, the Twins and Texas.
Robert McChesney, writing for nbadraft.net, came up with a system to rank the 80 greatest NBA players since 1956. The top five (in order) are Tim Duncan, Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Former Timberwolf Kevin Garnett earned a No. 19 ranking. More at https://www.nbadraft.net/mcchesney005.html
Former Mounds View basketball player and assistant coach Mark Sembrowich has been added to head coach Johnny Dawkins’ staff at Stanford, according to https://gostanford.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061608aab.html
Minnesota Thunder interim coach Donny Gramenz won his first game last night as his team defeated Seattle, 2-1, at the National Sports Center stadium in Blaine. The Thunder had been 0-6-4 in its previous 10 USL games.
Thunder general manager Djorn Buchholz told Sports Headliners that the team’s record and play on the field prompted a coaching change when Gramenz succeeded Amos Magee earlier this week. “At the Thunder now, losing is not accepted,” Buchholz said. The Thunder, in the first season of new ownership, will be looking for a permanent head coach who is a “proven winner,” Buchholz said. He hopes that a new coach will be hired by late September or early October. Gramenz will be considered for the position if he’s interested, Buchholz said.
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) will induct its 2008 Hall of Fame honorees tonight at the Best Western Kelly Inn in St. Paul. Inductees are Irv St. John, Bemidji State University; Nancy Trebbensee, Southwest Minnesota State University; Randy Sullivan, Minnesota State University Moorhead; Brian Paulson, Winona State University and the 1993-94 Northern State University women’s basketball team.
Canterbury Park will host a dedication ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. on Monday to celebrate the opening of the Dean Kutz Memorial Chapel, located in the stable area of the Shakopee racing facility. The 3,000 square foot facility includes a large multi-purpose area, meeting room, office and kitchen. The chapel will be used for worship services, events, and group meetings. The facility is named for Kutz, the deceased jockey who twice led the track’s jockey standings and was the first rider inducted into Canterbury’s Hall of Fame.