Posted February 4, 2011
Jake Mauer, who met LeBron James on Monday night, thinks the Heat superstar may have dunked a ball for him in Miami’s win over Cleveland.
Mauer to Host Super Bowl Party in New Home
Twins catcher Joe Mauer has moved into a Southwest Florida “mansion” and will entertain relatives from Minnesota on Sunday to watch the Super Bowl, according to Jake Mauer, his grandfather.
The beachfront home was built about four years ago but never lived in and Joe paid $4.5 million in cash, a few million less than the previous owner paid, Jake told Sports Headliners.
The Spanish style home has four levels and among its features are an elevator and bathroom larger than a cabin. “It’s a mansion,” Jake said. “It really is. It’s huge.”
The house includes a batting cage, workout room, billiards room, and wet bars and refrigerators on three levels. Each of the four bedrooms has a lanai.
“It’s (the house) unbelievable,” Jake said. “…It’s hard to describe.”
Jake said his grandson is “flying in” 11 relatives from Minnesota to be his guests for the Super Bowl party. Joe will root for Green Bay in the game and believes the Packers will win, according to his grandfather.
Jake spends his winters in a Southwest Florida condo that Joe provides. Mauer, who signed a $184 million contract last year, has other residential properties including a previous Florida house he lived in now being used by Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, Jake said.
The 80-year-old Mauer attended a Heat-Cavaliers game in Miami on Monday night. Before the game he met Heat superstar LeBron James. “…I shook his hand and told him, ‘LeBron, you’re my idol and I watch you every night on TV, and you give me so much thrill, excitement, that if you played the next 10 years I could live to be 100.’ ”
Jake
Mauer said his grandson Joe will root for the Packers in the big game.
U May Upset Unbeaten Bucks on Sunday
It appears improbable but the Gophers might defeat No. 1 ranked and unbeaten Ohio State at Williams Arena on Sunday. Minnesota is 5-5 in the Big Ten and 16-6 overall, while the Buckeyes are 10-0 and 23-0.
The Gophers played a pathetic first 10 minutes against Indiana on Wednesday night before losing 60-57 in Bloomington. Lack of energy and poor shooting defined the early Minnesota performance in that game, the Gophers’ second consecutive loss.
Minnesota is 1-2 since losing starting point guard Al Nolen to a broken foot. The team’s point guard issue has been made worse by the January departure of combo guard Devoe Joseph (now at Oregon) and the transfer last spring of point guard Justin Cobbs to California. Damaging the team’s talent pool and depth, too, has been the loss of veteran forward Paul Carter who transferred to Illinois-Chicago after last season and freshman forward Maurice Walker who injured a knee in December and is out for the season.
The Gophers trailed Indiana 18-6 in the first half on Wednesday night. Minnesota struggles to score and is like a football team that falls way behind in a game and has no passing attack with which to quickly rally. The Gophers, too, make victims of themselves with careless ball handling and missing free throws (11 of 22 against Indiana).
So why consider a Minnesota upset of Ohio State on Sunday? In the Big Ten playing at home is a much more likely place to experience success than on the road. The Gophers are 4-0 in Big Ten home games and 1-4 on the road. Except for Ohio State, no conference team has a winning record on the road and nine have one win or none.
The Buckeyes have won close road games and at home, but their good fortune is likely to end soon. Ohio State won by one point at Northwestern (3-7 in the Big Ten) last Saturday. Earlier in the season the Buckeyes won by four points at Michigan (3-7) and five at Iowa (2-8).
The Buckeyes are led by the nation’s best freshman, forward Jared Sullinger, and surround him with experienced and talented players. Collectively it’s a very good team, but not a great one. And one that’s not going undefeated in the Big Ten.
Is Sunday the day perfection stops for the Bucks? If not here, then probably February 12 when Ohio State plays at Wisconsin (6-3).
Ohio
State won by one point at Northwestern last Saturday. Earlier in the season the
Buckeyes won by four points at Michigan and five at Iowa.
Devoe Joseph
Worth Noting
It’s been 34 years since the Vikings were in the Super Bowl. My friend Dana X. Marshall emailed stats for that era showing that the Vikings, with 18 appearances, have made the playoffs more than any NFL team except the Cowboys and Steelers with 20 each and the Eagles with 19. The 49ers also have been to the playoffs 18 times during the 34 year period.
But what separates the Vikings from the other four franchises is all of them have at least two more 12 win seasons than Minnesota (two compared with 11 by the 49ers), and more importantly all four organizations have been in Super Bowls since 1977. During the last 34 years the Steelers have participated in six Super Bowls, the 49ers and Cowboys five each, and the Eagles two.
Larry Fitzgerald Sr., who is heard on Minneapolis-St.Paul radio stations KMOJ FM and WDGY AM, is in Texas this week covering his 31st Super Bowl.
Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith often attends church services on Sunday mornings.
Despite what may have been written, Jerry Kill was among many candidates under consideration for the Gophers football job from the beginning of Minnesota’s search.
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, among the fan favorites for the opening, isn’t likely to leave the academy. He reportedly turned down the Tennessee job last January.
Kill will be Grand Marshal of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival's Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in downtown Saint Paul. Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is the Hometown Marshal for the parade.
Scott Diamond, the 24-year-old left handed pitcher acquired by the Twins from the Atlanta organization during the off-season, has never pitched in the major leagues but might be a name to watch in spring training with Minnesota.
Noah Dahlman, the former Braham, Minnesota prep player, is practice teaching American history at a South Carolina school while scoring 20.7 points per game for his Wofford team, according to a February 1 article on ESPN.com by Diamond Leung. Dahlman broke Wofford's all-time Division I career record for points last night.
The St. Thomas men’s basketball team is 35-4 in February games over the last five seasons including Wednesday’s win over St. Mary’s. The 18-2 Tommies had their 53-game home conference win streak stopped Monday with a 73-68 loss to St. Olaf.
Andrew Brunette, who played in his 1,000th NHL game on Tuesday, will be honored by the Wild next Wednesday before Minnesota’s home game against Colorado, Brunette’s former team.
The Wild’s Martin Havlat and Guillaume Latendresse will appear at the Dog House Bar and Grill in Maplewood from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday. More at www.wild.com.
Jerry Kill
Martin Havlat
