Tag Archives: gophers

Maturi’s take on the Gophers, BCS, etc.

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I had the privilege of attending the Minnesota Associated Press Sports Editors convention in the Twin Cities earlier this week.

It’s always a good time being able to chat with so many of your peers and share ideas on how to improve both the print and online products. Another added bonus was getting the chance to talk with a pair of speakers: former University of Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi, and Minnesota Vikings vice president for public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley.

We also had the opportunity to ask Maturi and Bagley questions. Soon I will post some of the more interesting Bagley tidbits. Here are a few notes and quotes I wrote down from our visit with Maturi:

Former Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi, right, is disappointed that the WCHA broke up. Associated Press photo

  • On his tenure with the Gophers: “There was a perception that the revenue-generating sports needed more attention than Joel Maturi was giving them.”
  • On the BCS: Maturi explained how commissioners control the Bowl Championship Series and essentially major college football, not the NCAA. “Isn’t that kind of crazy?”, he added.
  • On a playoff system: “I think the fans want a playoff of some sort. … I’m hoping we retain our bowl system. We have a bit of a history with the Rose Bowl.”
  • On the breakup of the WCHA: “I’m disappointed that it broke up. … It’s because of the Big Ten brand and now there are six teams.”
  • On college hockey in general: “I am concerned about the future of the WCHA and college hockey.” He added that he was concerned about lower-revenue programs, saying “My assumption is that their travel budgets will increase. My assumption is that their revenues will decrease.” Maturi also said that a Beanpot-style tournament will be held in the Twin Cities annually going forward, featuring the Gophers and three other Minnesota-based programs.
  • On Notre Dame: “Notre Dame had two chances to join the Big Ten, and it came much closer (to happening) than a lot of people realize. … Notre Dame has the attitude that they are different, they are special, they are national.”

What can the NIT do for you?

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If you opted to read beyond the headline of this post, chances are you are more a Gophers fan than just a casual sports fan.

But if you are the latter, keep hanging with me for a second. Tell me if this makes any sense: A victory in the NIT men’s basketball championship would have an impact on the University of Minnesota program.

Words like “impact” are always open for interpretation. But my point is that prior to the start of the NIT, I thought Golden Gophers basketball was dead. It had bottomed out.

But if the Gophers managed to put together a run of what would be five straight victories against mediocre competition, perhaps that makes the Gophers mediocre, or even a little better than that. And this was done without their best player in Trevor Mbakwe, who has missed almost the entire season with injury.

Mediocrity isn’t much. But considering what I thought of the Gophers before the NIT started, I think fans of the team would be content with mediocrity at the end of this season.

Minnesota pays for not following Pittsburgh stadium model

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The Minnesota Vikings took another big step this week to getting a stadium of their own when team officials agreed to a deal with city and state officials. However, history may judge that the biggest decision during Minnesota’s recent stadium boom came nearly a decade ago.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Minnesota was facing significant budget deficits and was enduring a government shutdown. But on Thursday, it was announced that the state would fund $398 million of a proposed Vikings stadium, albeit without raising taxes.

The stadium deal still needs approval from the Minneapolis City Council and the Minnesota Legislature. But if it does pass, it would mark the third stadium built for a Metrodome tenant in the past decade.

As the Vikings stadium saga has dragged on, my mind wanders frequently to Pittsburgh. As one of the NFL’s smallest markets, the Steelers got a new stadium in time for the 2001 season. However, the team shares it with the University of Pittsburgh.

There were attempts to do a similar Vikings/Gophers shared stadium in Minnesota. But those attempts failed, as sides couldn’t agree to terms. All the while, University of Minnesota officials argued for an on-campus stadium, citing a lack of revenues generated at the Metrodome.

The Gophers would get their own stadium, with the state agreeing to pay for 48 percent of it. But as we in the sports world know, an on-campus site isn’t enough to generate revenue. Nothing puts people in the seats like winning, and even in TCF Bank Stadium’s first year, empty seats could be seen at home games as the Gophers struggled – and continue to struggle – on the field. On campus or not, the Gophers won’t draw fans if they don’t win.

I’m left wondering if the state would have been better off continuing to pursue a joint stadium deal. With the Vikings and Gophers football teams needing a stadium for a combined 15 or 20 home dates a year, does the Twin Cities need two football stadiums?

Of course, that isn’t a reason not to build a Vikings stadium, and that’s not what I’m arguing. But a little more foresight 10 years ago may have prevented my case of hindsight today.

Gophers basketball team still has plenty to prove

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A Thanksgiving work shift and a complete lack of desire to go Black Friday shopping meant only one thing: I watched a whole lot of sports these past couple of days.

For the first time this season, I got a glimpse at the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team. I watched the first half – and apparently, the wrong half – of Thursday’s game and caught almost all of Friday’s game at the Old Spice Classic.

The Gophers pulled out victories in both games, despite having halftime deficits in each of them. Neither opponent – DePaul and Indiana State – was overly impressive, as the Gophers find themselves undefeated at 6-0 heading into Sunday’s tournament title game against Dayton.

Despite the unbeaten mark, I didn’t like what I saw. The Gophers seem to lack the type of defensive intensity that head coach Tubby Smith‘s teams are usually known for. And I sure don’t think they have enough offensive firepower to overcome it.

Junior-college transfer Julian Welch gave the Gophers a nice boost on Friday with 17 points. Rodney Williams has had his moments on the offensive end, but the reputation as a “highlight dunker” has not been replaced by “complete player” yet.

And Pat Reusse‘s turkey column hit the nail on the head: How disappointing is Ralph Sampson III? There wouldn’t be expectations of him if he didn’t show flashes of being a really productive post presence. He’s earned those expectations, yet despite being a senior, he still disappears for stretches at a time.

Trevor Mbakwe is an absolute beast of a rebounder, maybe one of the best the Gophers have ever had. He’s a handful down low, and Minnesota should do more to try and get him involved offensively.

Undefeated or not, I need to see more to believe the Gophers can even be an above .500 team in Big Ten play.

Week 12 NFL picks

A 2-3 week last week snapped a pretty good run I was on of going 3-2. Here’s my picks for this week:

  • New York Jets by 8 1/2 vs. Buffalo: Bills
  • Houston by 3 1/2 at Jacksonville: Texans
  • Carolina by 4 at Indianapolis: Panthers
  • Tennessee by 3 1/2 vs. Tampa Bay: Titans
  • New Orleans by 6 1/2 vs. New York Giants: Giants

Nothing short of a Big Ten title will do for Gophers

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After hearing so much about the recent struggles of the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team, I had to watch the Gophers for myself yesterday.

I should start by saying sorry about not blogging much recently. The first few weeks of March are the busiest time of year for sports writers and editors. And my days off have been hectic too. Went to the UND men’s hockey game last Sunday. Drove to Thief River Falls on Thursday to watch my hometown Prowlers in the Minnesota Class 1A, Section 8 boys hockey championship. Not much time to blog, or watch the Gophers or anything else for that matter.

The Gophers lost on Sunday to a Big Ten middle-of-the-road opponent in Penn State. Minnesota is now 17-13 on the season and just 6-12 in the Big Ten.

Long story short: The Gophers have to win the Big Ten tournament title to get an NCAA bid. Nothing short of that will suffice.

So, what happened?

Well, I’m going to go the easy route and point to the injured Al Nolen as being a big reason why the team went from NCAA sure-thing to needing a prayer to make the field.

The Gophers have lost nine of their last 10 and are 2-9 since Nolen played his last game. Nolen is working his way back from a broken right foot.

Nolen’s stats don’t jump out at you. But for a team that lacks a big-time scoring threat, I think it really meant a lot to the Gophers to have a senior point guard with plenty of knowledge of how to run an offense. Take that away – and the transfer of backup Devoe Joseph – and suddenly the Gophers are just a collection of defensive-minded players that, besides Blake Hoffarber, can’t hit big buckets when they need to.

Gophers guard Nolen could miss rest of season

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This from the “What more can go wrong?” department at the University of Minnesota, via the Star Tribune’s Myron Medcalf:

The Gophers’ worst fears were confirmed Sunday, when the team learned that starting point guard Al Nolen broke his right foot in Saturday’s win at Michigan.

During Monday’s Big Ten media teleconference, Tubby Smith said Nolen will have surgery Wednesday. The timetable for his return has not been determined. Smith said there’s no guarantee he will return this season.

“That’s a real blow to us,” Smith said.

Tubby has got that right. With Devoe Joseph transferring to Oregon, that leaves Chip Armelin and Maverick Ahanmisi running the point for the Gophers men’s basketball team.

Nolen – a senior – is as solid as they come. He’s considered a good manager and point man for the offense. He’s not flashy, but he’s just a solid, reliable player. Other than Trevor Mbakwe, he’s the toughest guy to replace on the team.

And for some Monday late morning links:

Devoe Joseph to leave Minnesota men’s basketball team

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Just a year ago, Devoe Joseph looked like the best player on the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team. And here we are on Tuesday, and Joseph has decided to leave the program.

That’s according to a report by the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Myron Medcalf.

It’s been an interesting year for Joseph, who was suspended earlier this season for an unspecified violation of team rules. He had since been reinstated, but he missed the team’s last game as well.

As a few of us like to say in the office, “What’s going on over there?” It does make you wonder. First, it was highly touted prospect Royce White‘s drawn-out decision to leave. Now, Joseph bolts.

They could be isolated incidents. Or maybe it’s just a case of head coach Tubby Smith running a tight ship, and some guys simply can’t handle it.

Either way, the Gophers have now lost two players who were supposed to be their stars for the next couple of years. With Al Nolen in the fold this year, they can handle losing Joseph for now. But eventually, when Nolen graduates, they will REALLY start to miss him.

Football outside? You know you love it!

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I have to admit that it just seems right that the Minnesota Vikings will honor their 50th anniversary team with a setting more like the one most of the players in franchise history played in. Of course, that’s ignoring the fact that, to steal a line from the movie “Grumpy Old Men,” it will be “butt cold” outside.

TCF

Crews are already working to clear the snow off of TCF Bank Stadium's field. Associated Press photo via the Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Vikings will host the first-place – I sure love saying that – Chicago Bears on Monday night at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota. It was determined on Tuesday that the Metrodome will not be ready to host the team’s home final.

There are so many storylines to follow this week. Will the NFL get a waiver to allow alcohol to be sold at the on-campus stadium that doesn’t allow the sale of it? How can the Vikings handle the fact that the Metrodome seats about 13,000 more people than TCF? Who gets left out in the cold, so to speak?

It’s been a drama-filled season for the Vikings, and once again Brett Favre is in the mix too. Interim coach Leslie Frazier actually said Tuesday that he might play on Monday.

Gophers depth to be tested, plus NFL picks

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The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team will have its depth tested at one key position for the forseeable future.

Al Nolen

The Minnesota men's basketball team will miss defensive stopper Al Nolen (0) for the next couple of weeks. Associated Press photo

Point guard Al Nolen will miss the next couple of weeks and maybe more with a foot injury. The 15th-ranked Gophers are already without one of their more talented players in combo guard Devoe Joseph, who is suspended indefinitely for violating unspecified team rules.

Minnesota’s next game is one of its last solid tests before the Big Ten season begins. The Gophers face Virginia in a Big Ten/ACC Challenge game at 6 p.m. Monday on ESPN2.

Week 12 NFL picks

I’m back to my old ways again, going 3-2 last week after a 1-4 week the week before. That puts my season record picking the spread at 24-21.

Here we go for Week 12:

  • Pittsburgh by 6 at Buffalo: Steelers
  • Kansas City by 1 at Seattle: Chiefs
  • Baltimore by 7 1/2 vs. Tampa Bay: Bucs
  • San Francisco by 2 1/2 at Arizona: 49ers
  • Philadelphia by 3 1/2 at Chicago: Eagles (As a Bears fan, this pick kills me, but I just think Michael Vick is more machine than man right now. The guy is unstoppable.)

Gophers are good. Vikings are not.

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Yesterday, I encouraged Minnesota Vikings fans on Facebook to turn their attention to the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team. Now, I ask GSB (Goethe Sports Blog) Nation to do the same.

What do you want first? Good news or bad news? Let’s go with the bad.

The Vikings are not a good football team. I would say up until two weeks ago, fans were holding out hope they would get things turned around. But after back-to-back clunkers against division rivals Chicago and Green Bay, it’s pretty safe to say at 3-7 that the season is over.

To make matters worse, those Vikings fans ready to run head coach Brad Childress out of the snow-filled Upper Midwest will have to tolerate his presiding over the team for at least one more week, according to this story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

NOTE: Scratch that above statement. The Vikings fired Childress and promoted Leslie Frazier to interim coach a couple hours after I wrote this. I’ll leave the rest of the post as is for now.

After watching the Vikings the last couple of weeks, I’ve noted how surprisingly deep the Vikings problems run:

  • Any discussion about the Vikings starts and ends with Childress. I’ll never understand how their best player – Adrian Peterson – is limited to just 15 touches in a game like he was Sunday. And in his last three games, he hasn’t reached 20 carries in any of them. Their second-best player on offense – Percy Harvin – had just two catches for 12 yards. Chilly has to find a way to get Peterson and Harvin more involved.
  • Brett Favre is brutal right now. And unlike any other team that has a struggling QB, I don’t think Vikings brass is capable of sitting Favre. I know it’s hard to believe for some people, but I think we’re at the point where Tarvaris Jackson gives you the best possible chance to win. In an NFL that’s built to encourage offense, Favre has 10 TD passes and 17 interceptions. Wanna take a guess how many QBs with enough pass attempts to qualify for QB rating have thrown more picks than TDs this season? Just five. And three of the other four have the difference between the two categories at two or less. Favre, by the way, has the worst QB rating of any player who has played in more than six games this season.
  • The Vikings corners and safeties are having a really difficult time right now. Chris Cook, of course, got plenty of attention Sunday, and not just for his struggles on the field. He got into an argument with defensive end Ray Edwards on the sidelines that that TV cameras caught, too.

I could go on and on, but let’s get to those beloved Gophers.

The Minnesota men’s basketball team won the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship Sunday. In back-to-back games, they beat the No. 8-ranked team in the country – North Carolina – and a Final Four participant from a season ago.

Sunday’s game was pretty well-played, much moreso than Friday’s win over the Tar Heels. West Virginia had a guard that in the first half couldn’t miss in Casey Mitchell, who finished with 27 points. Yet the Gophers built a one-point lead at halftime, then kept a slim lead throughout much of the second half.

I’ve heard the naysayers point out that the Mountaineers aren’t even ranked and that the Tar Heels hardly looked like the eighth-best team in the country. I have two points for you:

  • Aren’t teams looking bad against the Gophers a byproduct of Tubby Smith’s defensive system?
  • The Gophers are doing all of this without their best player in guard Devoe Joseph, who is serving an indefinite suspension for violating team rules.

The Gophers look really deep right now. They have had depth the last few years. But that depth is now starting to really develop.

Al Nolen was superb on Sunday. Still like to see him cut down on taking long-range shots, but he’s pretty adept at doing anything else.

Trevor Mbakwe is a man among boys down in the post. And Blake Hoffarber was doing his thing as well, knocking down open 3s, including a big 3-pointer in the final minute to give the Gophers a lead on Sunday. And South Dakota’s own Colten Iverson had a great game Sunday too.

Although I don’t really need to tell North Dakota State fans any of this. Bison fans can see for themselves what the Gophers look like on Wednesday when NDSU travels to Williams Arena. Should be fun.