2008 Prospects

As mentioned earlier, it looks pretty likely the Gophers will have four scholarships available for the class of 2008. Looking at scout.com, it doesn't look like a pretty picture, but seeing as Tubby has just started recruiting for Minnesota instead of Awesome Dan Monson, hopefully some of the players who weren't interested in the Gophers will change their minds.

The top two instate players are already gone (Thanks Dan!), both Jordan Taylor of Benilde and Jared Berggren of Princeton have signed with Wisconsin. So that sucks. There really isn't much other talent of note in the state, and the Gophers already signed two star center Andrew Brommer of Rosemount, who probably sucks since he was signed by Monson.

There are two three-star players who are listed as having interest in Minnesota right now, SF Klay Thompson from California, and PF Draymond Green from Michigan. Thompson is not likely, as every other school on his list is on the west coast, and it seems unlikely he would sign with the Gophers.

Green is a very interesting possibility, as he had originally signed with Kentucky and pulled out when Tubby left. What is also interesting about this, is that Tubby still has to hire to assistant coaches to round out his staff. According to Jeff Shelman, one person he's considering is Saginaw High School's head coach Lou Dawkins, which just so happens to be the school Draymond Green is attending.

Even more interesting, is that this doesn't look like it would be a simple hire just to get Green to sign. Dawkins played under Smith when he was at Tulsa, and has been very successful at Saginaw, going 78-7 in his three years there and winning the state title this year. Hiring him would not only get a good, up and coming assistant, but would also increase the chances of Draymond Green signing with the Gophers. So hurry up and do it already.

UPDATE: So Draymond Green is from Michigan, and I found a blog written by Joe Rexrode for the Lansing State Journal. He says that he talked to Green about Michigan State, and Green said '"Ever since I was a child, MSU was my dream school. Even this year I wanted to go there, but then Tubby Smith came and presented his program to me. I didn't have an offer from Michigan State and I can't just constantly wait, so I committed to him."
And if MSU came after him now? "I don't know what I would do right now," he said.'

So basically he wants to go to Michigan State, he just hasn't been offered (he's been offered by Minnesota, Clemson, Boston College, and DePaul.) The Spartans have signed just two players for 2008, and I have no idea what their scholarship situation is, but I think it would be nice to just hurry up and get him signed already.

I think I'm OK with this

According to Jeff Shelman of the Star Tribune, Tubby Smith has no plans to add any players to the Gophers for this upcoming season.

When Smith was hired, he originally said that he wasn't going to add any players just for the sake of adding one, and if he was to sign anyone they would have to be ready to contribute immediately. Apparently he couldn't find anyone willing to sign who would make an impact, so the team will remain as is for this coming season, which sucks, but whatever.

By not signing anyone, it means the Gophers will have at least four scholarships to offer next season, when Smith will have had an entire season to recruit players to the U, instead of just a month. Smith said he's currently recruiting several talented players, which could just be coachspeak but hopefully not.

It would have been great if Tubby could have gotten somebody in here for next season on such short notice, but it probably wasn't realistic. We'll just have to take the current team and hope Tubby's coaching (markedly better than Super Dan Monson) and the improvement of current players like Dan Coleman (get stronger and tougher), Lawrence McKenzie (seriously, pass the ball), and Lawrence Westbrook (I think he can be a quality player with greater opportunity), will be enough to make next season a little more entertaining. Of course, this also means another year of Kevin Payton at point guard, and that's a bit worrisome, but hopefully he didn't do anything all summer but practice not sucking.

My Face! My Valuable Face!

Torii Hunter was hit in the face this afternoon in the first inning by a pitch from Zack Greinke. It's unknown if it hit him directly in the face or grazed off his shoulder first.

Hunter started to charge the mound after being hit, but crumpled to the ground in pain before he got very far. He probably would have won too.

He left the game and was replaced by Jason Tyner. Early reports are Hunter is Day-to-Day.

Everyone is Stupid

For the seven hundreth year in a row, a large amount of underclassmen are declaring for the NBA draft, with little to no chance of being picked in the first round, and a good chance of not getting drafted. Granted, some of these guys won't sign with an agent and will have the option to pull out and return to school, but what's the point if you aren't even going to get first round consideration? Here's a list of idiots, with projections courtesy of NBADraft.net:

Unlikely to be Drafted:
Dwight Brewington, Liberty
Aaron Bruce, Baylor
Jaycee Carroll, Utah St
Marcel Jones, Oregon St
James Mays, Clemson
Shaun Pruitt, Illinois
Maurice Rice, George Washington
Reggie Williams, VMI
JamesOn Curry, Ok State (hasn't announced, but is rumored to be going)

Late Second to Undrafted:
Roy Bright, Delaware St
Wilson Chandler, DePaul
Glen Davis, LSU
Joseph Jones, Texas A & M
Marcelus Kemp, Nevada
Charles Rhodes, Miss State
Ramon Sessions, Nevada
Sean Singletary, Virginia
Joey Dorsey, Memphis
Dominic James, Marquette

These people are all the same as Rick Rickert. Good luck in Europe guys.

Torii Hunter is Going to Jail

Ok, not really. But he did violate a rule that could have earned him a minimum of a three year suspension.

According to ESPN.com, Hunter sent the Kansas City Royals four bottles of Dom Perignon to congratulate and thank them for their sweep of the Detroit Tigers last September, which allowed the Twins to catch and pass them for the Central Division title. Which it turned out didn't really matter because the Twins sucked against the A's in the playoffs (see above picture.)

There is a little known rule which has a lot of blah blah blah in it, but basically boils down to the fact that you can't give a gift to another team for beating or attempting to beat another team, with the punishment being ".....declared ineligible for not less than three years."

The Twins contacted the Royals, who are returning the bottles unopened, so it appears Toriiiiii has escaped punishment. When reached for comment, Hunter said, "You know, the real crime here is that I'm paid as much as I am, when I'm a mediocre hitter and an overrated fielder. It's nice to know the fans out there, like WWWWWW's mom, are blinded by the fact that I've robbed a few homeruns and have a nice smile, so Terry Ryan has to keep me around to keep the rubes happy."

Engen Nurumbi has Landed

Former Gopher Engen Nurumbi, the worst recruit of an already questionable bunch by the Great Dan Monson, has decided to enroll at Grand Canyon University in Arizona.

Nurumbi, who you probably don't remember, only played in nine games this year, averaging 2.4 minutes per game. He was recruited our of Arizona Western Junior College after leaving the Congo, and was a project from the start. Why you would recruit a JC player who is a project to a Big Ten school is something that makes no sense at all, but then again it was Dan Monson, so we're lucky we didn't get five of these kind of players a year.

Nurumbi should fit in much better at D-II Grand Canyon, and since it's a D-II school, he won't have to sit out a year before becoming eligible. Grand Canyon made the D-II tournament this year, and the basketball program has been around for 57 years. They have produced two NBA players, no one of real note, as well as former Suns and Lakers Coach Paul Westphal.

Also funny - you can attend this school soley online and get a degree.

I was Wrong About Rick Rickert

When Rick Rickert decided to go pro after his sophomore year with the Gophers - averaging 16 pts and 6 rebs, I thought he was making a huge mistake. When he didn't get drafted until almost the end of the second and final round of the draft, and it was by the Wolves who felt sorry for him, I laughed. When he got cut, I laughed. When Garnett punched him in the face, I laughed even harder. And when he got stuck playing in the D-League, I laughed.

But I was wrong. Oh, so wrong.

My friends, the great Rick Rickert has a chance to be a champion. His Colorado 14ers will be playing the Dakota Wizards this Sunday for the D-League championship.

Rickert got everything he wanted. After averaging eleven points and six rebounds per game in the NBDL, he's managed to carry his team to the championship, averaging 8 pts and 8 rebs per game in the playoffs. And now, on Sunday, he'll be playing for every little boy's dream: an NBDL championship.

I apologize Rick Rickert. I was wrong. You win.

Nobody Famous Played Golf this Weekend

This weekend's PGA Golf Tournament was the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and nobody famous entered. The most recognizable names were David Toms and Mark Calcavecchia. Toms was never a factor, but Calc was right in the race until he shot a Final Round 71 (-1), dropping him from second to open the day down to a tie for fifth.

The champion was first-time winner on the PGA 25-year old Nick Watney, who outlasted another man searching for his first PGA win, Ken Duke. Duke and Watney were tied going into the par 4 fifteenth, where Watney birdied, Duke bogied, and it was pretty much over from there as Watney ended up winning by 3 strokes.

The last three PGA winners have now been the extremely famous to casual fans Zach Johnson, Boo Weekley, and Nick Watney.

Iowa's Losing Players

Iowa may be regretting letting Steve Alford go as head coach this off-season, as they've now lost two players because of it. First, top recruit and 28th rated point guard Dairese Gary asked and was granted a release from his letter of intent to go to Iowa, and will instead follow Alford to his new hangout in New Mexico.

Now it has been announced that Iowa's top returning player, freshman Tyler Smith, will be transferring from Iowa to be closer to his father, who is sick with cancer. Smith averaged 14.9 pts and a team leading 4.9 rebounds last season. Although Alford leaving wasn't directly the reason why Smith is transferring, it is likely he would have stayed with the Hawkeyes if Alford was still around.

Smith is from Tennessee, so I'd guess Memphis, Vanderbilt, or Tennessee will be getting a very nice place two seasons from now.

So the NBA Playoffs are Starting

It seems the NBA playoffs are finally starting. In order to keep my interest, I may have put some money in play on three of the teams to win their series.

#3 Toronto over #6 New Jersey: Toronto might be one of those teams that gels at the right time and makes a nice little run. Chris Bosh is one of the best players in the league, T.J. Ford can run the offense efficiently, and either Juan Dixon or Andrea Bargnani can get hot at any time. More importantly, I can't stand either Vince Carter or Jason Kidd on New Jersey. It'll be interesting to watch the Raptor fans go after Carter, after he screwed them over a few years ago.

#4 Miami over #5 Chicago: Defending champion Miami is actually an underdog in this series according to Vegas, but I'll take the experience of last year's champion over the youth of the Bulls. Dwyane Wade is banged up for the Heat, but he's a warrior and I think he'll still be able to play well. Miami also has Shaq Diesel, who, although he's getting up there in age, I still believe can take over a game and a series. Plus, the Bulls' point guard is Kirk Hinrich, who went to Kansas, and Kansas always chokes in the NCAA tournament, so that means they'll lose here.

#6 Denver over #3 San Antonio: Sure, the Spurs are good and have been for years, but they're boring. Same old thing every year. I'm just sick of Tim Duncan and the Spurs in general. They ruin every final they get to because they're so boring. Denver has upset potential, with two of the top six scorers in the league this season with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson, and Marcus Camby should be able to bother Duncan. Plus, the odds were right at +450.

Ohio State is Losing Everybody

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook all plan to release a statement that they will forego their college careers and enter the NBA draft. They all came in together, so they all plan to leave together. Sort of like the Florida juniors last season, except the exact opposite of that.

Oden is planning to sign with an agent, and his leaving was pretty much automatic. If your worst case scenario is that you'll be drafted second overall, you should probably go ahead and enter the draft.

Conley and Cook say they don't plan to hire an agent until after they work out for teams and are evaluated. Conley is projected to go early-mid first round, with Cook late first to second.

Cook should really stay another year. Being at Ohio State this year was tough, since they were very deep and very talented and it really limited his playing time. With Oden and Conley leaving early, and Ivan Harris and Ron Lewis graduating, Cook would be the number one option on the Buckeyes next season, and has the talent to vault himself into the lottery with that kind of playing time. He averaged 10 pts and 4 rebounds this season in only 20 minutes per game, imagine what he could do in 35 minutes.

All the Wolves Guards Want to Leave

Mike James, Troy Hudson, and Marko Jaric all have recently expressed a desire to not be a Timberwolf next year - and Bracey Wright, but he's not overpaid to suck, he just sucks. Oh no. Not that.

If only it were that simple guys. Look at your contracts, then look at the results, and then realize how difficult it will be to trade any one of these guys, much less all three.

James: 3 years, $18 million. After averaging 20 pts and 6 assists with 44% 3-pt shooting last season, was signed by the Wolves to that ridiculous contract. Averaged 10 pts, 3.5 assists, and shot 37% from three. Thanks Mike! You're an Ass!

Hudson: 3 years, $19 million. FOR A DAMN BACKUP!! Averaged 6 pts and 2 assists per game this season. Sweet. Sixteen minutes per game average in 36 games. Awesome contract. Just a terrific signing. Apparently there's a buyout option where if we can't trade him, and good luck on that one, we can buy him out and make him go away. I don't know how much it would cost, but whatever it is it would be worth it.

Jaric: 4 years, $27 million. Oh. My. Dad. I seriously thought you couldn't get worse than that Hudson contract. Also realize that not only did we trade Sam Cassell for this retard, but we also have to give them a first round pick. 5 points, 2 assists this season per game. Which really pisses me off. But then look at what his stats were the season before we traded for him: 10 pts, 6 assists. We gave up a first round pick, Sam Cassell, and eleventy billion dollars for that? What the hell. By the way, Cassell averaged 12 pts and 5 assists, and he's like 80 years old.

Nice team McHale.

McHale to Return as Wolves VP.

Oh goody.

I am so excited. What's even better, is that he says he's going to overhaul the roster and make some trades to improve the team.

Who are you going to trade? There's almost nobody tradeable on this team. Let's look (I have no idea where to find specific contract information, so this might not be perfect. Deal with it):

NOT TRADEABLE BECAUSE OF SUCKING: Bracey Wright, Justin Reed, Mark Madsen, Trenton Hassel

NOT TRADEABEL BECAUSE OF CONTRACT: Ricky Davis, Marko Jaric, Troy Hudson, Mike James, Mark Blount

Now, any of these guys could be included as a throw-in in a different deal, but none of them could really be a centerpiece, unless we get the same kind of crap back.

So that leaves four guys with any kind of trade value: KG, Randy Foye, Craig Smith, and Rashad McCants.

McCants and Smith won't get much of anything, at all, because they are relative unknowns at this point. Better off keeping them.

Foye is the future. You'd be an idiot to trade him. So he''s probably as good as gone with McHale.

KG. McHale said in the same interview that he won't trade KG. As much as I love the Big Ticket, the only way you can do anything with this team at this point is to trade him. You just have to. There's no other assets on this team, other than the 1st round pick this year, and he better damn well not trade that.

I've heard things like KG to the Bulls for Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, and a couple of first rounders from Chicago, one of which will be around number 5 this year. Why not do that? There would have to be some throw-ins to make salaries work, and I'm too tired to work that all out, but I really think it's time to trade KG. If not to make the Wolves better, at least to get the poor guy somewhere he can have a chance to win. This crappy roster will never do anything. And don't forget, not only do we still owe the Clippers a pick (not this year, good job losing last night boys), we also owe the Celtics our pick in 2009. Sweet.

Carlos Silva is Good?

What......the.........F? Seriously, what's going on? I figured Silva would be released by now, instead, he's practically guaranteed himself a spot in the rotation until the All-Star break, no matter how much he explodes from then until now.

After going 6 1/3 innings last night, giving up 8 hits and 3 runs while striking out 4, Silva brings his season totals to 18 innings pitched, with a 2.00 ERA and a respectable 1.33 WHIP.

I have no idea how this is possible, considering he had an ERA of 5.94 last year with a WHIP of 1.54. Opponents batted .324 off of him. .324! Plus, he's really fat. New nickname = el Gordo.

They're still batting .288 against him this year, which isn't great, so I predict he'll come back to earth and end up not very good, but he's delaying the inevitable Garza call up. Hopefully Ponson will continue to suck and we can get him up here.

Mark Buehrle Minimizes Rangers

So Mark Buehrle pitched a no-hitter last night against Texas. Nine innings, no hits, one walk, as the White Sox won 6-0.

But what's even more impressive than the no-hitter, is the minimization. That's right, he pitched to only 27 batters, the minimum possible in a nine inning game. The one walk he gave up was to Sammy Sosa, who he then picked off of first base. Pretty good considering he really, really sucked last year.

I really don't have much else to say about that.

Indiana catches a break

Indiana junior forward and second team All-Big Ten selection D.J. White will return for his senior season and not enter the NBA draft, which is a bummer for Gopher fans, but very cool for D.J. White fans, like me.

Indiana should be a solid team next year with the return of White, Armon Basset, and AJ Ratliff, and a very good recruiting class with four players rated with four stars and 5-star and possible top overal recruit Eric Gordon.

Come on Wolves, You can do it!

The Timberwolves play Memphis tonight in a very important game, and simply put, the Wolves cannot afford to win.

They are currently 32-49 this season, tied for the sixth worst record in the NBA, thanks to an inspired current six game losing streak. They currently owe the Clippers their first round draft pick this year, in a very deep draft, but only if it is outside the top 10. If they finish seventh or lower, no matter what happens in the lottery they can't drop out of the top 10, and get to keep the pick. Not to mention that the higher up they can get, the better.

If they can stay in the 6-9 range of picks, they're looking at Corey Brewer, Jeff Green, or Julian Wright instead of, well, nobody. And who knows,

Of course, mighty Memphis is only 21-60, so it won't be easy to lose. However, Memphis has already locked up the number 1 spot in the lottery, so they have nothing to lose for. Worst case scenario: the Wolves screw up and win tonight, while Portland, Charlotte, and Sacramento all lose. This puts Minnesota in a four-way tie for seventh. If they lose all tiebreakers, which are determined at random, that puts them at the 10th slot. All that would have to happen is one team moving up in the lottery to send that pick to the Clippers, and guarentee another crappy Wolves season. Plus, even if they stay at 10, they would be looking at Joakim Noah, Spencer Hawes, or Mike Conley - not as attractive as the other group.

So just lose Wolves. Do it for KG.

ACC/Big Ten Challenge Announced

And the mighty Gophers will travel to Tallahassee to face the Florida State Seminoles, Tuesday, November 27. Minnesota is 3-5 overall in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, while Florida State is 5-3, the teams have played twice before and split, with the road team winning each game.

Florida State was 22-13 last season, just missing the NCAA tournament, and won two NIT games. The Seminoles lost Third Team All-American Al Thornton to graduation, but they still have at least three players who are better than any Gopher, and should win the game by 20.

The other matchups:

Wake Forest @ Iowa
Georgia Tech @ Indiana
Northwestern @ Virginia
Wisconsin @ Duke
Purdue @ Clemson
NC State @ Michigan St
Illinois @ Maryland
BC @ Michigan
North Carolina @ Ohio St
Va Tech @ Penn State

I predict the Big 10 to go 5-7 and lose the Commissioner's Cup for the ninth straight year.

'Lil Romeo can Ball

Percy "Romeo" Miller Jr., formerly 'Lil Romeo has signed to play with USC for 2008. Seriously.

Now, he's not ranked at all at Scout.com other than he's given one star. I've been trying to gather some information, and although he averaged 14 points and 5.6 assists last year and made the second team All-Ocean League in California (which I think is like second-team all-conference), he's not regarded as a high D-I prospect.

It appears that what is going on is that 'Lil Romeo is good buddies with a guy named Demar Derozan, the #9 small forward in the country, and they want to attend school together. It also sounds like 'Lil Romeo won't take a scholarship and will just walk-on, so really this is a good move by USC coach Tim Floyd to get a prized recruit without giving up an extra scholarship. Prep and AAU coaches are given assistant coaching jobs all the time to land recruits (see Michael Beasley), and this doesn't cost anything so I don't see why not.

This is my favorite story ever.

Georgetown is Going to Suck

Georgetown's two best players, junior center Roy Hibbert and junior forward (and Big East Player of the Year) Jeff Green have declared for the NBA draft, although neither signed with an agent so they can still pull out of the draft.

That's unlikely, even though Hibbert should, as NBAdraft.net has Green going seventh and Hibbert eighth to the T-Wolves, which really, really better not happen.

Green is a very versatile player, who can do a little bit of everything for you and should be a very good pro. Hibbert is a big, 7-2 doofus who stumbles around and sometimes blocks a shot and can also sometimes throw the ball through the hoop, mainly because if he extends his arms the ball is only about four inches from the rim. Seriously, whoever drafts this guy is going to be very sorry.

And Georgetown is going to be just fine. They still have several good players and two McDonald's All-Americans coming in. Which is how many the Gophers have had. Ever.

Best Fantasy Baseball Team Ever

C - Russel Martin, LA
1b - Prince Fielder, Mil
2b - Ian Kinsler, Tex
3b - David Wright, NYM
SS - Rafael Furcal, LA
OF - Jason Bay, Pit
OF - Michael Cuddyer, Min
OF - Vladimir Guerrero, Ana
OF - Juan Pierre, LA
CI - Adrian Beltre, Sea
MI - Scott Drew, Ari
Ut - Frank Thomas, Tor

SP - Jake Peavy, SD
SP - Kelvim Escobar, Ana
SP - Curt Schilling, Bos
SP - C. C. Sabathia, Cle
SP - Tom Glavine, NYM
SP - Daniel Cabrera, Bal
RP - Francisco Rodriguez, Ana
RP - J.J. Putz, Sea
RP - Dan Wheeler, Hou

Possible Gopher?

I can't find a whole lot of information on this guy, he's not listed anywhere on scout.com, but (http://www.bearcatnews.com/recruiting/bio/368/) article was linked at gopherhole.com. It discusses a high school senior PG named Courtney Fortson, who was named Alabama's Mr. Basketball and remains unsigned at this time.

According to the article, he's unsure if he'll qualify academically, and if he doesn't he plans to attend a prep school for a year. The article says he is ranked the #25 PG in the country by rivals.com, and the Gophers are a finalist for his services next season, along with Alabama, Tennessee, and Kansas.

Good luck Tubby, go get 'em.

Nothing has Changed yet, but Looking Better

Former Minneapolis native and current Stoneridge Prep (CA) Junior point guard Angelo Johnson has signed with USC. I don't know if Tubby made any effort at stealing him away late, but I'm confident in saying Monson didn't bother with him, but his three finalists were USC, Cinncinnati, and Tennessee.

Johnson was a four-star recruit, and the #11 ranked PG in the country.

In better news, Tubby is already getting on the radar of a couple of local kids, top sophomores Royce White of De La Salle and Rodney Williams of Cooper. Anything he can do to repair the damage Monson did with the local schools would be a huge step in getting this program turned back in the right direction. Now, scout.com only has both White and Williams rated at one-star, but hopefully it's just because they're sophomores and not on the national radar yet. Hopefully.

Nobody will be Kicked off the Team

According to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Tubby Smith has no plans to clean house and remove any players from the basketball team.

The good news, however, is that Smith says he'll be watching his players closely to make sure all the players attend all classes, every weight room session, and all meetings and workouts. Hopefully, this will be his way of getting some of the dead weight off the team, but being more diplomatic about it than just kicking people off.

Limar Wilson and Engen Nurumbi have already decided to transfer.

Most Frustrating Gopher Team

PG - Kevin Burleson
SG - Kevin Clark
SF - Voshon Lenard
PF - Kris Humphries
C - Rick Rickert

An Icon is Dead

Not sports related, but I'm saddened today by the loss of one of the greatest American Novelists of all-time. Kurt Vonnegut died yesterday at age 84, after suffering brain injuries from a recent fall at his home in Manhattan.

Vonnegut's books have always been among the most enjoyable I've ever read, and they always got you thinking. He was anti-war, anti-religion, anti-almost everything other than thinking for yourself, but it didn't really matter if you agreed or disagreed, the way he wrote entertained and at least got you thinking.

My favorite book of his is still Hocus Pocus, likely because it's the first book of his I read (thanks Chad) and it really opened me up to him and his style. I highly, highly recommend however, anyone who hasn't read Slaughterhouse Five to stop whatever you're doing and start reading it immediately.

Vonnegut's main character in many of his books, Kilgore Trout, was in many ways Vonnegut's representation of himself. In the novel TimeQuake, Vonnegut's last, he states that Trout died at age 84. Vonnegut himself was 84 when he died yesterday.

So it goes.

Aaron Afflalo may be making a Mistake

Junior Aaron Afflalo of UCLA has declared for the NBA draft. He also put his name in last year, but pulled out because he didn't like what he heard, so under NBA rules he will not have the opportunity to pull out this year. Afflalo lead the Bruins to consecutive Final Fours, and averaged 17 pts, 3 rebs, and 2 asts this year. Not exactly numbers that blow you away.

Afflalo is projected somewhere in the second round, or possibly even undrafted, although NBADraft.net (http://nbadraft.net) has him going late in the first. ESPN expert Chad Ford (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2832825&name=ford_chad) has more intelligent thoughts than me.

Are the Gophers the new Vikings?

With no Viking arrests this off-season, the Gopher football squad is doing their best to fill the void. With three Gopher players already in trouble for rape, Alex Daniels, Keith Massey, and EJ Jones, add another to the list in Robert McField.

McField was a top rated Defensive End from Missouri who was singed by Glen Mason (which should have been a giveaway something was wrong, since Mason never singed top prospects). It now turns out, that he was a suspect in two armed robberies in St. Louis, and has since plead guilty and will likely spend a good amount of time in jail. He was dismissed from the team, which was probably a good idea at this point. Apparently he's still enrolled at the U however, which is weird and slightly disturbing.

In an interesting little fun fact, McField was roommates with Massey and EJ Jones. What a fun group they must have been.

The Twins are Bad

Went to the Twins game last night at the Dome against the Yankees, where the hometown team got waxed 10-1. A few, fan related observations:

1. Stop trying to do the wave. Just stop. It's not 1982 anymore. Give it a rest.

2. Don't yell things unless you're funny or clever. Most of you aren't. You just sound stupid.

3. Someone please explain to me why A-Rod gets booed, but not Doug Mientkewicz (he's on the Yankees, if you weren't aware). Why boo A-Rod? Because he's overpaid or something? Really, if you want to get into, all these guys are overpaid. I mean, the Texas GM wanted to pay A-Rod $25 million a year. You wouldn't take it? He might be the best hitter of our generation, and he's certainly in the top 5. Do you realize last year he hit .290/.392/.523 with 35 homeruns and that was considered a horrible year? MVP Justin Morneau was only .321/.375/.559 with 34, not that far off.

Now onto Mientkewicz. Why was I the only one booing him in the place last night? Did everyone forget how he left? Remember, he was an ok player who had a couple of nice years, but nothing special. The year Morneau came up, Mientkewicz went into bitch mode right away. I don't remember exactly, but when Morneau was given the starting gig, he gave an interview whining about it and saying that he should be starting because "he was there for all the previous division championships." What? Does that mean if Tim Laudner shows up tomorrow he should be given the job over Joe Mauer? The year Dougie Baseball forced the trade, he was hitting .246/.340/.363 with 5 HR in 283 AB. Morneau ended up .274/.340/.536 with 19 in 280. I think the choice was clear. Mientkewicz had a chance to stick around, be a mentor to Morneau, play in another playoff, and then get traded in the off-season and still be a hero. Instead, he bitched and whined until they shipped him off to Boston for nothing just to shut him up, and now he has a world series championship ring. If anyone should be booed, it's this ass.

Kevin Durant and Julian Wright are about to get Paid

Freshman Kevin Durant of Texas and Sophomore Julian Wright of Kansas are declaring for the NBA draft. Wright made the announcement yesterday, and Durant is expected to make the announcement at a press conference later this afternoon.

According to Texas Coach Rick Barnes, Durant hasn't told him what he plans to do, but based on the fact that Durant won every individual major award as a freshman, and is a guarenteed top 2 pick, it would only make sense that he goes pro. ESPN's Andy Katz reported that Durant plans to enter the draft, but will not withdraw from school and will finish out the spring semester.

Wright is officially in the draft, however he has not and has no plans to hire an agent at this time. This means that if he doesn't like his draft position he can withdraw from the draft by June 18 and go back to school. Currently he is projected to go ninth, and said that he expects to go from tenth to sixteenth.

I don't get why he wouldn't stay another year. He improved his numbers quite a bit from freshman to sophomore year, but they still weren't overwhelming at 12 pts and 8 rebs. He was also very inconsistent with 15 games in single-digit scoring (including the last two in the NCAA tournament) and only three games over 20 pts. In addition, the lack of a 3-pt shot (3-13 this year) from a projected wing player is a bit of a warning sign.

If Wright stayed in school one more year, developed a three point shot, more consistentcy, and showed he could produce in big games, he'd be a top three pick. But, I suppose you still make some good money getting in drafted in the teens, and you don't have to go to class anymore, so I can see the positives there.

Trent Tucker needs a Job

Tubby Smith has hired many of his assistants already, and it's good for him to get the people he wants and that he is comfortable with. I've since heard that he's still looking for an assistant with Minnesota ties. Apparently the number one candidate is Jimmy Williams, a former Gopher assistant coach under Bill Musselman and Jim Dutcher.

Williams was with the Gophers from 1971 - 1986, and was even head coach for the final 11 games of the 1986 season after Dutcher resigned. He has since been as assistant at Tulsa, San Diego St, Nebraska, Louisiana-Monroe, Oklahoma State, and with the NBA's Timberwolves and Warriors. He resigned recently from Oklahoma State, presumably to put himself into contention for the Gopher job.

The issue is that the administration is still terrified to hire someone who might break the rules. Williams was here with Musselman, whose staff was found guilty of numerous violations. Since the Clem incident, everyone is terrified of anything remotely associated with any issues, shown by the hiring of a terrible, terrible coach who was a terrible, terrible recruiter, just because they knew he was clean.

Nevermind the fact that none of the schools Williams has been at since Minnesota have had any sanctions against them, or even rumors of impropriety. But, whatever. If they want to be scared little girls and not hire a very qualified coach, fine. Then hire Trent Tucker.

Sure, he has no experience, but that's not what you need. Tubby already hired his first choices for assistants, so I'm guessing that means he has his lead recruiter and lead X's-and-O's guy. Trent obviously wants to coach, since he went back to school to get a degree, specifically so he'd be qualified. His name still resonates in this community, and would go a long way towards repairing the damage done by The Great Dan Monson.

Tubby Hangin' in Arkansas

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Tubby Smith is currently on the recruiting trail in Arkansas. A look at scout.com reveals that there is a 3-star recruit, Michael Sanchez, who has not signed with anyone yet. According to scout, he has been offered by Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas A & M.

Neither Arkansas or A & M have a head coach right now, so I would guess Oklahoma is the leader for him, but if that's why Tubby is there, hopefully he can change his mind.

He's a 6-8, 220 PF who was ranked as one of the top sophomores in the country at one point. Patella Tendonitis and a torn miniscus limited him in his junior season, but he still averaged 18pt and 11 reb per game.

What Might Have Been

I remember several years ago, when Minneapolis North had a 7-foot center named James Davis, who was ranked as one of the best high school centers in the country. He was recruited by Minnesota, as well as some of the top schools in the country. Somehow, someway, horrible recruiter Dan Monson managed to get him to sign with the Gophers. Wow. I was pumped.

Unfortunately, Davis was not as booksmart as we would have hoped, and the Gophers decided not to let him in to school at this point. No other schools were interested anymore due to the academics, so Davis signed with Garden City Community College in Kansas.

He played well at Garden City, despite almost quitting the team at one point, however things took a bad turn when he got in a fight with some teammates and then did go ahead and quit the team. At this point, he was still planning on attending the U of Minnesota to play basketball, the team still wanted him, and was still 7 feet tall the #1 ranked JUCO center in the country.

After quitting the team, the Gophers didn't want him. Nobody else did. He ended up attending Lamar, a small college in the Southland conference, but still D-I at least. He was named to the All-Southland Conference Third team this year, after averaging 15.6 points (2nd in conference), 7.8 rebounds (4th in conference), and 1.44 blocks (7th), and no off-the field or academic incidents.

Sure, it's a small conference and all, but he's 7-1, 335. I'm betting he's better than Spencer Tollackson.

Some Guy has a Green Jacket

Zach Johnson won his second ever PGA Tour event yesterday, which just so happened to be the Masters. He finished at +1, which tied for the highest score ever to win the event, beating out El Tigre and Retief Goosen by 2 strokes.

Long Beach State is Going to Suck

I don't know who the Athletic Director at Long Beach State is, but whoever it is certainly has made some strange decisions. First, despite the team going 24-8 and making the NCAA tournament, he decided not renew the coach's contract. Secondly, he replaced him with the one, the only, the great Dan Monson. Everyone always remembers how Monson's 118-105 career record with Minnesota, despite never playing anyone in non-conference, but don't forget he lead the Gophers to the prestigious NIT three straight years. THREE!

Also, LBSU's top seven scorers from last year all graduated. Good luck Danny-boy.

Devin Hester has Mad Wheels

According to ESPN.com, Devin Hester of the Bears has received the first ever 100 speed rating in a Madden game, getting the perfect score for upcoming Madden 2008.

Sure, he's fast. I don't know if he's faster than a lot of other guys were in their prime back in the day, but I guess when you return 800 kicks for TDs in a year, you get rewarded.

New Site Name

I've now registed the domain name, www.downwithgoldy.com, so you can just type that in to get to the site now.

Proud Day to be a Gopher Fan

Just heard on the radio that three Gopher football players have been arrested for rape. The players are DE Alex Daniels, CB Keith Massey, and RB EJ Jones (Single Game Career High: 9 yds). Apparently, with the Vikings reduced to near-irrelevant status, the Gophers feel like they need to pick up the slack on the police blotter. You're almost pros already boys, congratulations.

Adam Scott sucks at Golf

Seriously, he's losing to this guy. I mean come on.

I also heard he likes making out with dudes. Like Hal. I'm just saying.

Pete Weber I am Not

Oh no, that's not my score. That's my father-in-law. I'm pretty sure he's mastered the game. I, on the other hand, suck. I'm pretty sure I could invite a homeless guy over for a sandwich and a game of Wii bowling, and he'd kick my ass. I don't really know why I would invite a homeless guy over, but hey, I need friends too.

Yikes

Huggy Bear

One other thing, regarding Bob Huggins jumping from K State after one year to take the job at West Virginia.

Is it kind of crappy, him leaving K State after one year, particularly after having promised Bill Walker he'd be there with him? Yeah, sure it is. Not only Walker, but also Michael Beasley, who might be the best incoming freshman next year. As well as the fans and administrators at K State. But come on Wildcat fans, you can't be that shocked. This is Bob Huggins we're talking here. He's not exactly the most stand-up, loyal guy in the whole world. Did you really think he was going to build a program at K-State over the next ten years? When you were basically the only school who was willing to hire him? Now you can go get a younger coach, maybe one who will stick around and try to build a program instead of just looking for another quick job.

With all that said, however, I still think Huggins shouldn't be villified here. It's not like he came to K State, promised to stick around and build the program forever, and then took some random job. He went to school at West Virginia, played at West Virginia, and was at assistant at West Virginia. I've read he still roots for the team, and considers himself a fan. I think it's pretty clear that this is his dream job. I can't blame him for taking it. I'm pretty sure if my dream job came along and was offered to me, I'd jump at the chance too.

Oh, and Bill Walker and Michael Beasley, I'm pretty sure Tubby can make some room for you on the team, if the whole K State thing doesn't seem right for you anymore.

Welcome to Down with Goldy

I guess I'm starting my own blog. With 80 billion people out there sharing their thoughts, why not me? I'm mainly going to concentrate on Minnesota Gopher sports, particularly basketball.

I'm thrilled with the Tubby hiring. Who thought we'd get this guy? I didn't even know he was in the running until my brother called me to tell me we hired somebody. He wouldn't tell me and made me look it up for myself, and I remember just being in total shock. Way too surprised to even react. After calming down, I'm really happy about it. Even if he isn't as driven now as he was when he was younger, he's still the biggest name we've ever had here as coach, and that will bring it recruits on it's own.

I've heard some worries that Tubby might not be that great a recruiter, because Kentucky basically recruits based on its own name, regardless of coach. Well, there may be some truth to that, but I don't think it's that a big worry here. People were unhappy with him at Kentucky, despite making the sweet 16 six times in ten years. I think we'd be pretty happy with that here. Additionally, he took Tulsa to the sweet sixteen twice when he was there. I don't think Tulsa attracts recruits with its name.

Bottom line is, he is going to be the best recruiter we've had just based on his name, and he's a hell of a game coach too. Certainly better than Monson. Which isn't very hard to do.

It's a great time to be a fan. We have hope. Haven't had that in what feels like forever.