Kill said on WCCO Radio’s Sunday Sports Huddle program that he wants his first recruiting class to have “24-27” scholarship players, plus “10-12” walk-ons.
There will be a Signing Day ’Sota Social tonight starting at 5 p.m. in the DQ Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium. Kill will speak at 6:30 p.m. with comments on his recruits. Although the event is sponsored by the Goal Line Club, nonmembers are welcome and for $25 can register at the door. For more information, or to join the Goal Line club, visit www.GoalLineClub.com.
Minnesota, 5-4 in the Big Ten, needs to win tonight’s basketball game against mediocre Indiana, 2-7, in Bloomington. The Gophers have five home conference games remaining and after tonight only three on the road. Minnesota has won five of the last six games against Indiana, although coach Tubby Smith’s team had an unexpected loss against the Hoosiers in Bloomington last season.
Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe leads all Big Ten players in double doubles with 13 and is tied for seventh in the country, according to stats released by the Big Ten office on Monday.
Former Gophers basketball player Walter Bond, now a nationally recognized motivational speaker, turned 42 yesterday.
Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he expects MLB commissioner Bud Selig to announce this spring or early summer a National League site for the 2013 All-Star game. As an American League team, the Twins organization remains in pursuit of the 2014 game. “We continue to be very bullish on our chances for 2014,” St. Peter said.
The franchise will induct pitcher Jim Perry into the Twins Hall of Fame at a Target Field game June 11. The Twins will retire pitcher Bert Blyleven’s No. 28 at a home game ceremony on July 16 before he’s inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame on July 24. Blyleven wore that jersey number for most of his major league career but was No. 22 with Pittsburgh.
The Twins have commitments from most of their players from the 1991 World Series championship team to participate in a 20th anniversary celebration in Minnesota the weekend of August 5-7. Shane Mack and Chuck Knoblauch aren’t committed yet but the Twins are working on their participation, too, according to club marketing executive Patrick Klinger.
FOX Sports North will televise five Twins spring training games including March 14 starting at noon against Florida. Other telecasts will be March 21, 23, 28 and 30.
The NBA’s Charles Barkley and NFL’s Michael Strahan were eating at Chicago Cut Steakhouse as the Wild had its annual rookie dinner last week. Barkley and Strahan talked with the players for about an hour.
The Wild, which plays its first post All-Star break road game tomorrow night in Denver, is 14-8-3 away from home. That tops the road record for the entire 2009-2010 season, 13-24-4.