Charley Walters: Athlete compensation changes came too late for ex-Gopher Darrell Thompson

Jul. 10—Darrell Thompson played football for the University of Minnesota from 1986-1989 and still owns the school's career rushing record of 4,518 yards as well as touchdowns (40).

Thompson remembers as a Gophers sophomore walking with close friend and teammate Chris Gaiters through a sports apparel store at Minneapolis City Center with "$14 or $15" in his pocket. Gaiters happen to notice a Darrell Thompson No. 39 jersey for sale in the store.

Surprised, he asked Thompson, "Do you get anything for that?"

Thompson replied, "What do you think? You know I don't have anything."

Had Thompson, the popular former Rochester John Marshall star, been playing for the Gophers today, he would be a prime prospect for hefty compensation from marketing his name, image and likeness (NIL), an opportunity recently approved by the NCAA via a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

"Yeah, I would have enjoyed that," said Thompson, who went on to play five seasons for the Green Bay Packers.

"It would have been nice if you could make money; it would have made a difference," he said of his college experience. "It will be interesting to see what the young men and ladies do to capitalize on it now. I hope it doesn't get out of control. But I think the market will eventually self-regulate itself, similar to what it does in the NFL."

Adam Weber, who quarterbacked the Gophers 2007-10, still holds a handful of school passing records.

"I think it's fair that people get compensated for their likeness," the celebrated Mounds View grad, who went on to NFL contracts with Denver and Tampa Bay, said. "But it could be scary. How much does that become your driving factor? Potentially, some of these guys are looking at a lot of money. The more engagements you try to do, things that could eat up their time. It's college; there's still school. It's one of those slippery slopes.

"I left school with no complaints in regards to being paid for likeness. A couple dollars in the pocket would go a long way, for sure. But that would have been just a bonus."

By the way, compensation from NIL is taxable income.

That was former Twin Corey Koskie, 48, who hit 124 major league home runs, hitting a two-run homer for town team Loretto Larks last week. Koskie was the team's DH. Two of Koskie's sons, first baseman Bradley and second baseman Joshua, were also in the Loretto lineup.

Before his career is over, Cretin-Derham Hall grad Ryan McDonagh, 32, the Tampa Bay defenseman who now has helped the Lightning win two straight Stanley Cups, could have even more championship rings considering how deep and talented his team is.

Gonzaga-bound Chet Holmgren, the seven-foot Minnehaha Academy grad, scored 17 points with 10 rebounds to lead the USA Under-19 men's basketball team to a 132-60 victory over South Korea in a World Cup game last week in Riga, Latvia.

Woodbury grad-former Gopher Max Meyer, 22, who pitches in Sunday afternoon's Futures All-Star game in Denver, is off to a 4-1 start with 54 strikeouts in 54 innings and a 1.67 ERA for the Miami Marlins' Double-A Pensacola team.

Ex-Twin Tony Oliva has been mentoring 21-year-old Cuban boxing star David Morrell Jr., who now lives and trains in Minneapolis.

Ex-Twins manager Paul Molitor was in his Twins uniform working with St. Paul Saints players last week at CHS Field after spending the previous week at Double-A Wichita.

Former St. Thomas Academy three-sport star Mike Robertson, 74, was in town from California last week visiting family.

Spring Lake Park grad Troy Merritt, who won $667,500 for his runner-up finish in last week's Rocket Mortgage PGA Tour tournament in Detroit, will play in the 3M Open July 22-25 at the TPC in Blaine. Merritt, 35, has won $1.8 million this year.

Tom Lehman has designed a nine-hole expansion to be complete in 2023 at the Cragan's Legacy courses near Brainerd. The former Gopher, 62, has earned $426,818 on the Champions Tour this season.

Last week, Burnsville's Cam Beckman, 51, won the Dick's Sporting Goods Champions Tour tournament in Endicott, N.Y., by one shot over Ernie Els. Check: $307,500 for a season total of $526,085.

New member at Bearpath Country Club: former longtime Wild center Mikko Koivu, who joins another former NHLer at the Eden Prairie club, Jamie Langenbrunner, as well as new Viking Patrick Peterson.

Jake Guentzel, the former Hill-Murray hockey star who was second only to Sidney Crosby in goals (23) and points (57) for the Pittsburgh Penguins this season, gets married in three weeks in Florida. Father Mike, the popular former Gophers associate head coach, is a pro scout for the Arizona Coyotes.

The Washington Capitals will lose Minnesota native T.J. Oshie, 34, to Seattle in the July 21 NHL expansion draft, the Hockey News projects.

Minnesota Wild executive advisor Mike Modano, a zero-handicapper playing with Oshie in Friday's first round of a national celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev., made a double-eagle (albatross) on the par-five, 572-yard 18th hole, knocking in a 205-yard second shot a seven-iron after a 376-yard drive.

Retired lawyer Jake Crandall, 74, a 14-handicapper at Somerset Country Club, the other day knocked a seven-iron into the No. 11, 149-yard hole at the posh Mendota Heights course. The next day, playing the 150-yard No. 4 hole, he scored another ace, this time with a five-iron.

The holes in one were the third and fourth of his career.

"It took 60 years to get the first two and then I get two in a weekend," he said. "Mind-blowing. I've had a lifetime of them rolling by and all of a sudden, two of them drop in."

Crandall has hole-in-one insurance through the club.

"Which is a good deal," he said.

Referee Pat Fraher, 47, who was valedictorian of his Hastings High School class, was awarded to work the NBA Finals.

Sarah Jantzi, who coaches USA Olympic gymnast Grace McCallum from Isanti, is wife of Vikings assistant athletic trainer-physical therapist Dave Jantzi.

Former Orono and Wisconsin basketball star Jon Leuer will be inducted into the Badgers athletic hall of fame on Sept. 10.

Wisconsin will celebrate "Barry Alvarez Day" honoring the retired Badgers football coach-A.D. on Oct. 2 in Madison.

Henry Sibley track star Brandon Morris, a four-sport honor roll student headed to St. John's-Collegeville next fall, is recipient of the Minnesota Minutemen Foundation's $5,000 scholarship.

Rosemount's Payton Otterdahl, whose 71 feet, 11-inch throw in the shot put has earned a berth in the Olympics in Tokyo, is the grandson of Tom Otterdahl, the late Bloomington High basketball star.

Simley golf star Bella McCauley, 17, who missed the recent U.S. Women's Open cut in San Francisco by two shots, left Friday for the U.S. Girls Junior championship in Chevy Chase, Md., that begins Monday.

Former Gophers women's basketball player Amanda Zahui B, who who averaged nine points for the WNBA New York Liberty last year, this season is averaging11.7 for the LA Sparks.

Nia Coffey, the Hopkins and Northwestern grad and daughter of former Gopher Richard Coffey, last year averaged 2.7 points for the Phoenix Mercury and this season is averaging 7.9, also for the Sparks.

Happy birthday: Former Wimbledon tennis champion Jeanne Arth from St. Paul turns 86 on July 21 and is doing well. At age 23, the Central High and St. Catherine grad won the Wimbledon doubles title with Darlene Hard.

George "Doc" Nagobads, the iconic team physician for the 1980 USA gold medal men's hockey team and a rare confidant of coach Herb Brooks, resides in Edina and turns 100 in November. And he's as sharp as ever.

DON'T PRINT THAT

Uh-oh: The Vikings don't a have backup QB who has taken even one snap in a regular-season NFL game. Rostered are Kellen Mond, Jake Browning and Nate Stanley.

It looks like Kentucky has filled its point guard openings, so Kansas has become the best transfer bet for former Gopher Marcus Carr who, as expected, withdrew from eligibility for the July 29 NBA draft.

The Twins remain desperate for pitching. Meanwhile, four former Twins pitchers — Kyle Gibson of the Rangers, Ryan Pressly of the Astros, and Lance Lynn and Liam Hendriks of the White Sox — plus infielder Eduardo Escobar of the Diamondbacks, are All-Stars for Tuesday's game in Denver.

Escobar, 32, playing for $7.5 million this season and a free agent next year, is expected to be traded soon to the White Sox, who are 10-2 against the Twins this season and in need of a second baseman.

For trading Escobar to Arizona nearly three years ago, the Twins received three prospects: Jhoan Duran, who is inactive with an elbow strain and has pitched just 16 innings for the St. Paul Saints this season, and in six minor league seasons is 23-29; outfielder Ernie De La Trinidad, who is with Double-A Wichita this season and in his four minor league seasons has a career .283 batting average, and Gabriel Maciel, with Class A Cedar Rapids in his fifth year in the minors has a career BA of .285.

Since his trade to the Diamondbacks, Escobar has hit 67 home runs and driven in 219 over four seasons. This season, he has 20 homers and is tied for the NL league lead in RBIs (60).

Tigers leadoff hitter-outfielder Akil Baddoo, 22, acquired via the Rule 5 draft when the Twins declined to include him on their 40-player roster win December, is batting .274 in 69 games, third-best on the club.

It's still likely that Twins DH Nelson Cruz, 41, will be dealt to Tampa Bay for prospects before the July 30 deadline.

A sports collector at a recent Twins-Reds game at Target Field was able to buy baseball hit for a single by Cruz, his 1,845th career hit, for $50.

The Twins authentic store charges $150 for balls hit for singles by Cruz, who despite his age (41) should end up with more than 2,000 hits and 450 home runs. That could increase his chances of election to baseball's hall of fame. Edgar Martinez was elected to Cooperstown shrine with 303 homers and 2,300 hits.

The Twins are stuck with undistinguished third baseman Josh Donaldson's $92 million contract that makes him virtually untradeable.

The Twins' only trade untouchables are Byron Buxton, 27, and Jose Berrios, 27. That doesn't mean, however, that the club isn't listening to offers for Berrios (7-3, 3.36 ERA).

It could take the Twins at least $75 million over four years to extend Berrios, who is making $6.1 million this season and eligible for salary arbitration after the season. He can become a free agent in 2023.

Max Kepler's improved production of late and the Twins ample supply of outfield prospects makes him expendable for the right deal.

Minneapolis Roosevelt has received 37 applications for its athletic director job, made vacant with the recent retirement of Dennis Stockmo.

Ex-Viking Everson Griffen, 33, continues to work out in Minneapolis hoping to rejoin the team, but that's not going to happen.

Pssst: It hasn't been announced, but Sean Sweeney, the former Cretin-Derham Hall and University of St. Thomas star point guard, has joined new Dallas Mavs coach Jason Kidd's staff as a top assistant.

More than a few prominent former football Gophers and supporters are livid that their alma mater's traditional maroon and gold colors at TCF Bank Stadium are planned for replacement by green and white colors logo signage of Huntington Bank, which recently purchased TCF Bank.

The Vikings have increased in value by 86 percent the last five years and are worth $2.95 billion, the 34th most-valuable sports team in the world, according to Forbes.

Zygy Wilf bought the franchise for $600 million in 2005. The Green Bay Packers, purchased in 1921 for $100, rank 31st at $3.05 billion.

Vikings limited partner Leonard Wilf has claimed $66 million in tax losses from his investment in the team, ProPublica pointed out last week in a financial analysis of billionaire sports owners and their tax rates.

Despite the civil strife in downtown Minneapolis and COVID-19 restrictions, the Twins are 18th among baseball's 30 major league clubs in attendance, averaging 13,175 after 44 games at Target Field.

The Twins ranked 20th in major league attendance in 2018, 21st in 1017 and 23rd in 2016. In 2019, they ranked 15th.

Some St. Paul businessmen have taken notice of Minneapolis' boxing success holding matches at the downtown Armory and are planning a big fall event for their city.

For his 8.06 ERA with the Twins this season, recently released Matt Shoemaker will receive $2 million.

OVERHEARD

Eric Musselman, the former Timberwolves assistant now head coach at Arkansas, tweeting on ex-Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau, named the NBA's coach of the year this season for his work with the Knicks: "He always reverts back to five core values: rebounding, defense, low turnovers, sharing the ball and using the paint as a fundamental weapon.' "