Charley Walters: For ’22 Vikings, an 0-2 start could be ruinous

It would seem the Vikings need to at least split their first two games of the season, at home against the Green Bay Packers and on a Monday night in Philadelphia. An 0-2 start could mean a third straight season out of the playoffs. The Vikings started 0-2 in 2021 and 2020.

In the 2020 season opener in Minneapolis, with no fans allowed due to COVID-19, the Vikings lost 43-34 to the Packers. The last two games of this coming season, the Vikings are on the road against the Packers and Chicago Bears. Some smart people wonder whether the NFL schedule makers, also smart people, made the Packers the Vikings’ first opponent in a packed U.S. Bank Stadium in case of a potential surge of COVID.The Vikings’ stadium is indoors; the Packers’ stadium is open air.

On Opening Day, chances of the Twins making the playoffs was 40.4 percent. Now it’s 54.5 percent, per FanGraphs, which projects 84.6 victories for the team.

The Gophers football team already is a 38-point favorite over Jerry Kill’s New Mexico State on Sept. 1 in Minneapolis. It’s the largest season-opening point differential game by BetOnline.ag.

The Twins’ Yennier Cano the other day had just finished his warmup pitches and was about to make his major league debut when the game against Houston was suspended after a rain delay.

Had Cano not made his debut the next day against the Astros, mlb.com points out, he would have tied Larry Yount as the only pitcher in major league history to appear in the official record book without ever having faced a batter. On Sept. 15, 1971, Yount, with Houston, had to leave the game due to an injury while warming up. It was his only major league appearance, but he never faced a batter. By the way, Yount is the younger brother of ex-Milwaukee Brewers hall of famer Robin Yount.

Despite the chilly spring, the Twins have averaged 17,944 ticket buyers per game, 22nd-best in baseball.

It was 11 years ago this past week that the greatest Twin in history, hall of famer Harmon Killebrew, died at age 74 of esophageal cancer. On Saturday, former Twin Kent Hrbek turned 62.

Soccer in Minnesota has gained enough backing to affect liquor laws. On Friday, the state legislature passed a bill allowing municipalities to permit bars and restaurants with liquor licenses to sell alcohol during and 30 minutes before and after live broadcasts of men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup matches, regardless of the time of day or the day of the week a match is played.

If Minnehaha Academy grad Chet Holmgren is chosen by Orlando with the No. 1 pick in next month’s NBA draft (as projected by CBS Sports), he would receive a $28.5 million, three-year contract. Holmgren’s high school teammate, Jalen Suggs, made $6.6 million this season with Orlando as last year’s No. 5 overall pick.

Shooting guard Jaden Hardy, 19, from the G League Ignite developmental program is projected at No. 19 for the Timberwolves. Kendall Brown, the ex-East Ridge star, is projected at No. 21.

The Gophers men’s basketball team is legitimately optimistic for the coming season in that it has two Big Ten big bodies in transfer Dawson Garcia (6-foot-11, 235 pounds) and Isaiah Ihnen (6-9, 220), plus 6-4, 190-pound transfer point guard Ta’Lon Cooper, with 6-7 Jamison Battle returning with 6-8 leaper Parker Fox.

Hazeltine National, which hosts the 2024 U.S. Amateur men’s golf championship and the 2029 Ryder Cup, got it right with the hiring of Phil Anderson as general manager last week from among more than 50 candidates from across the country. He begins in July.

In the next two weeks, Hollis Cavner, who operates the 3M Open, meets with pal-Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, intent on convincing him to play in the tournament at the TPC in Blaine for the first time July 21-24.

Tre Jones, the former Apple Valley star with the San Antonio Spurs, got married the other day to fellow Duke grad Maddy Torres, who is from Wayzata but didn’t meet Tre until they were at Duke. The pair reside in San Antonio.

Ex-Twin Joe Mauer is grand marshal for Sunday afternoon’s Twin Cities Auto Show at the State Fairgrounds.

Josh Donaldson, whose $92 million contract the Twins were able to dump on the New York Yankees for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela, is batting .252 with five homers in 35 games. Sanchez is batting .229 with four homers, Urshela .225 with three homers.

Using a pitch clock, expected to be enforced in the major leagues next year, has shortened minor league games by an average of 20 minutes. The St. Paul Saints recently began using a clock (under 20 seconds to deliver a pitch) and games are averaging 2 hours, 44 minutes. Last year, without a pitch clock, Saints games averaged 2:58.

Among former baseball Gophers from the program’s championship seasons who were celebrated at Siebert Field the other day were Jon Andresen, Bill Davis, Mark Merila, Rob Fornasiere, Jeff Hagen, Brian Bowlin, Jim Brower, Greg Olson, Jim Rantz, Bob Wasko and Mike Kvasnicka.

Blake grad Derek Hitchner of Pepperdine is the only collegiate golfer from Minnesota to qualify for the NCAA tournament that begins this week in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Stanley E. Hubbard and Reed Larson will present Dave Brooks’ induction into the Johnson High School Hall of Fame on Monday at 1:30 p.m. with Warren Skon also inducted.

Electees to the Monroe High Athletic Hall of Fame for induction June 12 at DeGidio’s: Bill Paradise, Len Salstrom, Ron and Len Tschida, Gary James, John Benton, Ken Hjelm and Cornelius Riebel.

Inductees to the Cretin-Derham Hall Athletic Hall of Fame on June 16 at the Joe Mauer Fieldhouse: Mike Scanlan, Cathy Childs Clyde, Lauren Gibbemeyer, Courtney Norman, Natalie Roedier Bollinger, Corbin Lacina, Ryan Harris, Jack Hannahan and Ray Hitchcock.

St. Thomas Academy Athletic Hall of Fame inductees on Sept. 16 during homecoming: Richard Honousek, John Knip, Leo Kelly, Earl Wetzel, John Backfield, Nicholas Flood, Zavier Smith, Robert Worthington and Tom Vannelli.

Mike Robertson, 74, the former St. Thomas Academy hall of famer who resides in Placentia, Calif., was in St. Paul this weekend to attend a family wedding.

Mark Courtney, after nearly 45 years, plans to retire as Catholic Athletic Association director at the end of June.

A fundraiser (gofund.me/99e8cb0a) has been set up for esteemed former University of St. Thomas and Cretin-Derham baseball coach Dennis Denning, 77, who is in long-term medical care with exhausted resources.

Rivalry: St. Thomas Academy plays Cretin-Derham Hall in baseballl on Monday evening at the Saints’ CHS Field.

No surprise: The Vikings’ biggest draft bust since 2000 was wide receiver Troy Williamson, chosen in 2005 with the No. 7 overall pick, as statistically calculated by bookies.com. Williamson, by the way, at his first Vikings practice dropped the first seven passes he was thrown.

Gophers football season tickets this year begin at $249 per seat up to $1,130 per seat, and $1,500 per seat for Club Cambria seating.

Gophers men’s basketball season tickets start at $340 per seat to $1,040 per seat, and $3,500 for Balcony Club seating. For basketball, the university wants a per seat “contribution” of $3,500 for a $1,000 courtside season ticket.

DON’T PRINT THAT

If he remains healthy and productive, the Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov will be the NHL’s highest-paid player after his current contract expires in four years, opines a league insider.
Kaprizov, 25, last summer declined a $72 million, eight-year offer from the Wild and instead accepted a $45 million, five-year deal. This season, the NHL’s highest-paid player is Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, 25, who is in the fourth year of a $100 million, eight-year contract. Kaprizov’s next contract is expected to be for the maximum eight years.

Unlike their predecessors, new Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah warmed a recent Dunkers gathering at Interlachen Country Club.
O’Connell said he and Adofo-Mensah figured the Packers, with the 34th overall pick they received from the Vikings in the draft, would take a different wide receiver than Christian Watson, whom they chose out of North Dakota State. When that occurred, they figured they had made a good trade and gave each other a hug.

Asked if Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell and salary cap whiz Rob Brzezinski, after three months of working together, have a nickname yet, Kwesi joked, “three blind mice.”

O’Connell, who was offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams last season, said Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, outside of the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, is the best receiver in football. He said the Vikings’ Dalvin Cook is among the best four or five running backs in football.

O’Connell has revamped the Vikings’ training program to help Cook avoid injuries. He refers to Cook and fellow running back Alexander Madison as “Thunder and Lightning.”
O’Connell also said he wants more girth and size on the offensive line, and that if the offensive side can hold blocks for just one more second, it’ll give QB Kirk Cousins more time to succeed. He said Cousins, 33, is still developing.

O’Connell said he’ll be calling the Vikings’ offensive plays next season.

Spielman apparently has taken a consultant job with the University of Alabama.

Cousins, at $48.5 million including endorsements, is the 27th highest-paid athlete in the world this year, per Sportico.

Twins outfielder Byron Buxton, playing for $10 million this season, can earn another $8 million for being the American League’s Most Valuable Player, $3 million if he’s voted sixth-through-10th for MVP. At this juncture, he’s certainly among the half-dozen front-runners.

Buxton has a no-trade clause this season through 2026 as part of his $100 million, seven-year contract but can designate five teams to which he can be traded in 2027-28.

There’s already buzz that the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks have Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards in their sights when he becomes a restricted free agent in 2024.

It still looks like the University of St. Thomas, rebuked by Town and Country Club, will end up building a hockey rink, and baseball and softball fields near the old Ford plant in St. Paul.

Two national companies are vying for jersey patch endorsement rights for next season for the Wild, which would be worth between $4 million and $5 million to the team.

Good guess: Timberwolves coach Chris Finch’s new four-year coaching deal is worth about $17 million.

No Timberwolves player jerseys are among the NBA’s most popular this season.

Justin Jefferson of the Vikings ranks No. 38 among NFL sold jerseys, one spot behind ex-Viking Stefan Diggs of the Buffalo Bills. No other Vikings are among the top 50. The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers is No. 9.

The real Reggie Fowler-Vikings investment story remains curiously unclear. Fowler, 63, recently pleaded guilty to charges in New York in a $600 million cryptocurrency scheme. Remember, he tried to become the lead investor in the Vikings 17 years ago, then was a limited investor through 2014.

Fowler clearly never had anywhere near the wherewithal to buy the Vikings. The unknown question is why he was publicly presented as the lead investor before Zygi and Mark Wilf swooped in to buy controlling interest in the team for, coincidentally, $600 million.

It turns out that not as many members are leaving Edina’s storied Interlachen Country Club as were initially projected after plans for $28 million in course, clubhouse and other upgrades was approved. Members will be assessed $25,000 apiece to be paid in $5,000 installments a year.

Cretin-Derham boys hockey coach Matt Funk also becomes athletics director, succeeding Phil Archer, next week.

The football Gophers will finish 8-4 overall, 5-4 in the Big Ten, predicts 247sports.com. Conference losses: at Michigan State, at Nebraska, Iowa at home and at Wisconsin.

The Vikings continue to build in Eagan with new residences to begin in the fall. After the success of their Kindred Hearth, the organization is looking into building another restaurant and an event center.

Only seven of the Big Ten’s baseball teams have conference records above .500.

Forest Lake grad Scott Poepard’s Kansas State baseball record for career home runs (37) was broken the other day after 25 years. The former outfielder, 47, still holds career records for at-bats, runs batted in, doubles and total bases.

Poepard played one season in the minor leagues for the Twins’ Fort Wayne, Ind., club before an arm injury ended his career.

A Jostens-manufactured 10-karat gold and diamond Twins 1991 World Series championship ring that belonged to scout Floyd Baker was recently sold for $15,180 on a VSA online auction.

OVERHEARD
NBC Sports NFL analyst Peter King, on the Vikings’ first draft under GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah: “One of the most intriguing things was a rookie GM trading in the first round with a team in his own division, then trading in the second round with another team in his division. And both of those division rivals picked receivers who could haunt the Vikings.”