Monthly Archives: October 2009

Things looking up for Minnesota hockey teams

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Minnesota hockey fans needed a night like Friday.

The University of Minnesota men’s hockey team and the Minnesota Wild both have gotten off to very difficult starts this season. But on Friday, you can follow the old cliche and "throw out the records."

Let’s take a look at what went right:

  • The Gophers nabbed their first victory of the season, despite falling behind 1-0 to the typically hapless Alaska-Anchorage squad. Minnesota rattled off five uanswered goals to pick up the victory over the Seawolves 5-1. Minnesota is now 1-3-1 overall and in the WCHA.
  • The Minnesota Wild defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in a battle of two teams previously going in very different directions. It was the Wild’s first victory in regulation this season. Minnesota is now 3-9-0 on the season, while the Rangers are 8-4-1, thanks in part to …
  • Marian Gaborik. The former Wild star returned to St. Paul for the first time since leaving the only franchise he ever played for as a free agent during the offseason. Gaborik has been white-hot so far this season, but fittingly, he was injured for the first game against his former team. Injuries always hampered Gaborik’s Wild career, and now his Rangers career is hitting a bit of a snag. Wild fans have been shaking their heads all year at the start Gaborik was off too. His injury at the very least eases their pain.

 

Ernie Harwell tries to make most of final days

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Courage is a term too often used in sports. Sure, trying to shut down the New York Yankees lineup, or trying to figure out a game plan to stop Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts offense is difficult. But courageous? No. That’s their job.

But facing an opponent that can’t be beaten? That’s real courage.

I saw a feature on former longtime Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel yesterday. For those who hadn’t heard, Harwell was diagnosed with inoperable cancer.

There’s an age-old question: If you could find out when you were going to die, would you want to know? Harwell doesn’t know a specific day, but he’s come to grips with the fact that he might not see another Opening Day.

Doctors told him that he has six months to live, maybe more, but maybe less. He said he has days where he tries to spend as much time with his family as he can. Some days are much better than others.

It was hard to ignore the lump in my throat watching him talk about what it’s like to have inoperable cancer. At 91 years old, he’s lived a long and full life. And for more than 40 years, he was the voice of the Detroit Tigers, leaving quite an impression on generations of baseball fans in the Motor City.

I was just struck by the dignity and grace he was handling it. If that was me, I imagine it would drive me crazy knowing that cancer is inside of you, and there’s nothing to be done about it.

Harwell’s mark on the game of baseball will never be forgotten, but his legacy will extend far beyond the ballparks he broadcast in.

 

Notes from Coste’s appearance

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Major league catcher and Fargo native Chris Coste - who will be a free agent this offseason – joined us in studio today for "Sports Talk" on WDAY 970-AM. Here’s a few things he had to say:

  • Coste is interested to see what kind of offers he’ll get during this offseason. He’s open to listening to any team.
  • Of course, that means he’ll listen to the Minnesota Twins. But even with Mike Redmond being a free agent, the Twins still have Joe Mauer and Jose Morales. Ron Gardenhire does feel more comfortable carrying three catchers, so you can never rule it out. Redmond has said he has no plans to retire, so the Twins could always bring him back.
  • He still has a lot of close ties to players with the Philadelphia Phillies, who are facing the New York Yankees in the World Series. Coste and the Phillies won the World Series last season.
  • Coste said he’ll get a World Series ring and a half of a player’s share of money should the Phillies win the World Series again.
  • He would be interested in one day becoming the manager of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks should current manager Doug Simunic hang up his cleats.
  • He has no plans to do any more writing. When asked if anything was happening with the Chris Coste movie, he said there are producers out there interested in doing a film about him. Coste didn’t reach the major leagues until age 33, spending over a decade in the minors.
  • I asked him who would play the role of Simunic in the film about his life. Coste said he hoped Wilford Brimley would accept. Coste added that Matthew McConaghey would play him. Who would play Jeff Kolpack? I’m not sure.

Chris Coste on the radio today

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I’ll be on "Sports Talk" from 1-2 p.m. on 970-AM today.

While I know that’s more than enough reason to listen, we’ll have major league catcher Chris Coste in studio for the entire hour. We’ll talk to him about becoming a free agent – which happened yesterday – and the World Series, which starts tonight. His former Phillies teammates take on the New York Yankees at 7 p.m. this evening.

Feel free to call in and ask Chris a question at (701) 293-9000.

Picking the pinstripes

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The New York Yankees seem better than everyone else. It’s the best team money can buy, and I expect they’ll win the World Series.

I remember telling one of my friends before the postseason started that the Yankees are the one team that I can’t find a flaw in. They do everything well. They got a lineup with a lot of power and enough speed. They have great starting pitching, especially in a series like this when you can dump your fourth and fifth starters. And they have a great bullpen.

The Phillies have a lot of these things, too. And while Brad Lidge has enjoyed another spectacular postseason, I give the edge in bullpen to the Yankees. Lidge was awfully shaky during the regular season, so it will be interesting to see how he reacts to pitching at Yankee Stadium.

At the very least, it’s an interesting matchup. The defending champion Phillies against the favorites year-in and year-out in the Yankees.

So I’m going to say the Yankees win this series, and I’ll even say it will be over in five games. I think last year I picked the Rays over the Phillies, so don’t bet the farm on my pick.

Feel free to include your predictions below.

Despite the loss, Vikings have to be feeling pretty good

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It’s been suggested by one Star Tribune columnist that the Minnesota Vikings looked better in defeat on Sunday than they did in victory.

I won’t go that far – the Vikes looked pretty tough in beating the Green Bay Packers earlier this season – but I see where he’s coming from.

My reasoning for the Vikings feeling good is that they are clearly the class of the NFC North. I’ve mentioned before that I grew up as a Chicago Bears fan, for reasons I’m not going to divulge again on this blog.

Those Bears got beat pretty good on Sunday if you hadn’t heard, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals by a healthy margin (it’s too painful to revisit it, so I’m not going to look it up again).

The Lions are the Lions, and I still don’t have a lot of faith in the Packers offensive line being good enough to not only open holes for Ryan Grant, but also being good enough to keep Aaron Rodgers happy and healthy.

The Bears and Vikings have yet to do battle this season, so a lot can change between now and their first meeting. However, the Bears had better find some consistency - and some semblance of a running game – if they hope to overcome the Vikings and take the NFC North title.

Right now, I just don’t see that happening. It’s not to say the Bears couldn’t get a wild card, but a division title seems completely out of reach right now.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT …

I went to a fast food restaurant tonight - the name I won’t reveal – and the establishment had a special on cheeseburgers. I ordered a cheeseburger w/no cheese – I’m not a cheese guy – and was told I couldn’t do that. Very strange. I’m troubled by it.

I’m not trying to be the architect of any widespread change in the way fast-food restaurants are conducted. I just don’t see how ordering an item with less on it than normal isn’t allowed.

I guess that was my Larry David moment of the night. Felt I should get it off my chest.

Canada poised to take NHL teams back

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Times have changed for the NHL, and Canada now finds itself poised to lure NHL teams back to the Great White North.

About a week ago, Quebec City’s mayor announced plans to build a $400 million arena for, among other reasons, luring an NHL team back to Quebec’s capital, which has been without an NHL team since the Nordiques bolted for Denver in 1995.

The Nordiques were just one of a number of franchises looking for greener pastures in the south during the mid-1990s. The Hartford Whalers, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota North Stars all left northern cities for southern ones. Expansion franchises popped up in Miami, and later in Atlanta and Nashville.

But with the Canadian dollar gaining strength, the tables have turned in the NHL. And now these cities which lost teams due to the then-weakening dollar are in better shape to get their teams back.

The question is whether or not the league and commissioner Gary Bettman will have a change in philosophy about the league. The shift in teams during that decade was a part of the NHL’s bigger picture. These teams left behind hockey-crazed cities with smaller populations for bigger markets that lacked familiarity with the sport.

The league tried to broaden its reach, hoping bigger markets meant bigger dollars.

Has it worked? In a word, I’d say "no." Many teams are struggling throughout the league, but mostly in the southern half of the USA.

Hockey, to me, is mostly a regional sport. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just hard to expect cities that lack ice, that lack hockey on the college and high school levels, to latch on the NHL.

Gophers should follow lead of Cobbers, Bison by swapping QBs

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Adam Weber is digging quite the Gopher hole. If it gets much deeper, a bowl game could be out of reach.

In a 38-7 loss to top-25 Ohio State on Saturday, it’s impossible to pin the blame on any one individual. But for Weber – the Gophers starting QB since his freshman year – it might the final stage in an act begging for an intermission.

Weber, a junior, threw two interceptions in the loss to the Buckeyes, putting his season totals at 6 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions, with top-notch receiver Eric Decker hauling in the bulk of those scores.

Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Marqueis Gray quietly put together a nice showing in place of Weber. Gray, who has primarily been a change-of-pace option in place of Weber, went 5-for-6 passing for 51 yards and his first college TD pass. He also ran for 81 yards on 11 carries.

Gray was one of the more highly regarded recruits persuaded by current head coach Tim Brewster. And there’s no doubt the offense moved the ball better against the Buckeyes when he was in the game.

Is Gray the answer? I don’t know. But the Gophers offense has struggled, especially when Decker is out and Weber is in.

Minnesota is currently one of worst rushing teams in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. If Gray’s presence could give this team more of a run game, maybe this offense could start to hit its stride.

It is time for a change. The Gophers’ bowl hopes, and the future of Brewster, are riding on it.

What a surprise? Nathan has surgery

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A couple of pieces of news regarding the Minnesota Twins that might be of interest.

Twins closer Joe Nathan underwernt surgery Tuesday to remove two bone chips from his right elbow. He acknowledged that he’s pitched much of the season not feeling right.

I didn’t exactly go out on a limb when I suggested some sort of injury would probably pop up after the season. It was the only logical explanation as to why a shut-down closer is suddenly giving up more homers and walks than he normally does.

Nathan is expected to be ready for spring training.

Also this week, Twins mega-prospect Miguel Angel Sano received his work visa. The top Dominican prospect, who is believed to be 16 years old, can now work in the United States.

Other than determining his actual age, this was the biggest hurdle for the Twins and Sano to overcome. He will head to Fort Myers to play in the Gulf Coast League next season.