Former Twins broadcaster John Gordon, 72, is spending his first spring retired from baseball and “enjoying the retired life,” according to Patrick Klinger, the team’s marketing vice president. “He’s playing a lot of golf,” Klinger said.
The Twins finished the month of May with a 12-16 record. Their sweep of the A’s earlier in the week was only the second of the season against an opponent.
Outfielder Josh Willingham leads the club in home runs with 10. The first Twins hitter to reach 10 last year was Michael Cuddyer on June 16.
Now that spring semester has ended, the Gophers football team has put together consecutive semesters of collective GPA’s over 3.0 for the first time in our memory.
Former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, now with the Steelers, is ranked the fourth best head coach in the NFL by Sportingnews.com. Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier is ranked No. 27 out of 32 head coaches. Former Vikings tight end Mike Mularkey, now head coach at Jacksonville, ranks No. 25 while the Giants Tom Coughlin, coach of the Super Bowl champions, is No. 1.
Frazier and others with the Vikings organization, including players, volunteered their time yesterday to help build a playground at Sheridan Arts Magnet School in Minneapolis. The playground is being paid for by the Vikings and The Toro Company.
Mark Rosen’s new book, Best Seat in the House, was No. 3 in the sports essays category last week for Amazon Kindle sales, according to the WCCO TV sports anchor. He also told Sports Headliners that about 8,000 books have been printed. He’s been busy with book signings in the metro area and other parts of the state. “I realize more and more you can’t just put a book on the shelves,” he said.
Rosen said it’s been an “amazing” and enjoyable experience meeting so many people who have their own stories about the Minnesota sports heroes he writes about in his book. “I’ve met a lot of great people,” he said.
Minnesota native Tom Lehman, who will play in the 3M Championship in Blaine later this year, has three top 10 finishes on the Champions Tour in 2012 but has not won a tournament. www.pgatour.com
The Timberwolves will select Dion Waiters, a 6-4 shooting guard from Syracuse, with the No. 18 pick in the NBA draft later this month, according to www.nbadraft.net. Waiters averaged 12.6 points per game as a sophomore last season.
Former Hopkins forward Royce White will be drafted by Boston at No. 21, according to the website. White is unusually strong for a small forward but must improve his outside shooting in the pros.
For the fifth consecutive year St. Thomas finished first in both the men’s and women’s MIAC all-sports final standings. Gustavus and St.Olaf placed second in the men’s and women’s standings. St. Thomas won eight conference titles in men’s athletics, five in women’s sports during 2011-12.
The Mr. and Ms. Lacrosse winners will be announced on Sunday afternoon during a banquet at the Crowne Plaza Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. A total of 14 high school boys and girls are finalists for the awards (presented by the Minnesota Swarm). A selection panel will also choose the Mr. Goalie and Ms. Goalie of the Year winners. To see the names of candidates and learn more about the banquet, visit the Minnesota Minutemen website. www.minnesotaminutemen.com