Although there was talk to the contrary, Gopher basketball coach Tubby Smith told Sports Headliners yesterday that no other school spoke to him in recent weeks about leaving Minnesota. Smith has only been the Gopher coach for one season and has made a commitment here including to incoming players. Regarding a one and out departure Smith said, “You don’t do that kind of stuff.”
A new area can be an adjustment for a coach and spouse. Smith said his wife Donna “loves” the city and its amenities including downtown shopping. “She’s more happy than I am,” Smith said with a smile explaining he wanted a better record than 20-14.
Smith estimated he’s attended “eight or nine” of the last 10 Kentucky Derby races, including Saturday’s. He described Big Brown’s dominant win last Saturday as “amazing” and predicted the horse will win the Preakness Stakes on May 17.
Gophers football coach Tim Brewster said junior college transfer Traye Simmons will be eligible to enroll next month at Minnesota. Simmons was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 4 junior college defensive back in the country. Projections are that Simmons will be a starting cornerback for Minnesota. “We recruit junior college players expecting them to start,” Brewster said.
Kevin Whaley, the incoming freshman running back from Virginia Beach, Virginia who was the victim of a random shooting in March, “is doing great”, according to Brewster and will be able to play for the Gophers beginning in August. Brewster praised him as a student-athlete. “He’s an excellent student,” Brewster said. “He’s a kid who was offered scholarships by Penn State, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Michigan State. He’s a great football player. …”
Derek Smith, a defenseman for the Minnesota Thunder who has been part of the team’s spring advertising campaign, had sports hernia surgery and is a couple of weeks away from joining the team. Coach Amos Magee said Smith, who is from Hopkinsville, Kentucky and has yet to play a game this season, has athleticism and toughness. Magee has been pleased with the Thunder’s defense in three games (two goals allowed) and said Smith will have a challenge earning a regular position in the lineup.
The Thunder, 2-1, play the Montreal Impact at Griffin Stadium in St. Paul beginning at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow night (Saturday). Montreal, 2-2, prepared for the USL season with games in Italy and Portugal.
Local media personality Larry Fitzgerald interviewed ESPN baseball commentator Joe Morgan in Phoenix recently. Among the subjects he quizzed Morgan on were American League superiority and the decline in the number of African-Americans in the big leagues. You can read the article by visiting Fitzgerald’s Web site (www.larry-fitzgerald.com) and selecting Journals/Articles on the home page menu.
New York Times best selling author Harvey Mackay recently delivered the commencement speech at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix where he was given an honorary doctorate degree. Mackay, who played golf for the Gophers before building his successful envelope company in Minneapolis, is working on a new book that could be ready for distribution within six months or so.