Ted Mondale, Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority executive director, will be the speaker on Thursday, March 14 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. NBA referee and Minnesota native Ken Mauer Jr. will speak at C.O.R.E.S. on Thursday, September 13. Anyone interested in more information can email Jim Dotseth at dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S. is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.
The Vikings and Gophers will give local football fans a rare local football TV doubleheader on Thursday night. The Vikings play at Houston in their final preseason game starting at 6 p.m. and KARE 11 will televise. The Gophers open their nonconference season on the road in a 10 p.m. start against UNLV broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Vikings rookie offensive tackle Matt Kalil is relieved to have experience now in preseason games. He told Sports Headliners it was “nerve-racking” prior to the preseason opener against the 49ers but he was comfortable after the first play.
The Vikings offense is similar to what Kalil played in at USC but more sophisticated, he said. The Trojans, Kalil predicted, will probably win the national championship.
Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, 29, acknowledged he’s in his prime years after leading the team in tackles last season with 174 and playing in his first Pro Bowl.
Vikings coach Leslie Frazier recalled how substandard the secondary performed on last season’s 3-13 team. He said an opposing secondary coach even called to tell him “you guys have to address your secondary.”
“…It’s not a lot of fun, but I think we have addressed some of those issues this offseason and now if we can keep our guys healthy it should help us to answer some questions when we play opposing offenses,” Frazier said.
John Gagliardi is preparing for his 60th season as Saint John’s head football coach. He needs 16 wins to reach 500 career victories (484-133-11). The Johnnies open their season on Saturday at home against Northwestern College.
Saint John’s will finish fourth in the MIAC, according to a conference coaches poll. St. Thomas is picked to win the title followed by Bethel, St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Concordia, Gustavus Adolphus, Augsburg, Carleton and Hamline.
Former Gophers captain and Roosevelt High School alum Mike Svendsen will be among those inducted into the Minnesota Old Timers Football Association Hall of Fame on September 18 at the Prom Center in Oakdale. Others being induced that evening are Bob Meslow, Tom Turk, Frank Seidel and Dick Walker, according to www.tommiesports.com.
Phil Esten, University of Minnesota Alumni Association president and CEO, will leave his position in October to become executive associate athletic director for advancement at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his alumni assignment, Esten was associate athletics director for the Gophers.
Based on sales at wnbastore.com, the Lynx’s Maya Moore jersey is the best seller in the WNBA. Teammate Lindsay Whalen’s jersey ranks No. 10 among league players. The Lynx are No. 1 in team merchandise sales.
Pearl Park Field No. 1 in the Washburn High School district has been renamed Harmon Killebrew Field. Improvements to the field have been made including new dugouts and a scoreboard featuring Killebrew’s name and No. 3 uniform number. Funding of $300,000 was provided by the Hennepin Youth Sports Program, and Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Washburn has historically fielded some of the state’s better baseball teams.
Wild coach Mike Yeo and college coaches will speak at the first Herb Brooks Foundation Leadership Conference on September 15 at the National Sports Center in Blaine. The conference goal is to share with coaches from all levels of hockey what motivates players.