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Prognosticators Pessimistic on Gophers
Ugh. I am trying to think of a synonym for ugh that’s appropriate
for general audience readership. Otherwise, you will be reading the
word more than either one of us cares to see it. The problem is I have
been buying 2007 college football magazines, and Gopher fans please
accept this as a warning: proceed with caution at your local newsstand.
I
have been devouring college football magazines since Eisenhower was in
the White House. The arrival of these publications on local newsstands
in July and August has been a summer highlight for decades. Long ago I
realized that kind of like pro wrestling, many of the storylines are
pure hype but who cares when team rankings, conference predictions,
schedules and all-America teams pump you up like an over-time win
against a bitter rival.
From
a provincial perspective here in Gopherland, this year’s crop of
magazines isn’t one to save for the grandchildren. In fact citizens of
Gopher Nation should only read these publications if they have normal
blood pressure and advanced training in anger management.
So
here we go--out with the truth, no matter how painful. The Gophers who,
despite returning 15 of 22 starters, are a popular choice to finish last
in the Big Ten Conference. They were 6-7 overall last season, 3-5 in
the conference. The publications don’t like the quarterback situation
(no experienced returnee) and believe mastering the new spread offense
will be a challenge. Double ugh.
Our
hated rivals to the east (novices, listen up, we’re talking Wisconsin
Badgers) have been darn good for some time, winning more games than any
Big Ten school in the last three years, according to Street and
Smith’s college football magazine. Now the Badgers are supposed to
be gaudy good as in ranked No. 3 in the country by Street and Smith's,
plus Big Ten favorites and contenders for a national championship.
The
Good Book says to love our neighbors. I am not completely aligned with
that but I do hope Iowa beats the brains out of Bucky this fall. God
knows, we love Iowa, right?
Even
those mildly educated about college football magazines recognize the
name Street and Smith’s. I grew up on Street and Smith’s
annual college football magazine. Seems like I read it forward,
backward and even upside down from the backseat of the car on family
vacations. Every year there was some highly hyped golden boy on the
cover, more often than not from Ohio State. For years the players posed
wearing helmets with no face bar, and they looked weird even in the
1950s.
Now
take a deep breath and flash to the present! Imagine the angst picking
up a 2007 collector’s issue of Street and Smith’s with an Ohio
State cover boy, sans face bar, whose name is
James Laurinaitis. Yup, that’s the kid from Wayzata High School who
we thought was going to be a Gopher, who became a Buckeye and is now an
all-America. A junior all-America, no less. Allow a quadruple ugh,
please!
Laurinaitis is kept company on pre-season all-America teams by tight end
John Carlson of Notre Dame. Yes, that John Carlson from
Litchfield, Minnesota.
Done
with the ughs. Damn! |
Gopher fans please accept this
as a warning: proceed with caution at your local newsstand.
The publications don’t like the
quarterback situation (no experienced returnee) and believe mastering
the new spread offense will be a challenge.
The Badgers are supposed to be
gaudy good as in ranked No. 3 in the country by Street and Smith's,
plus Big Ten favorites and contenders for a national championship.
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Brewster: U Can Win 2007 Big Ten
Let’s
get positive. When I need a better perspective on the Gophers there’s
only one man to turn to for help. New coach Tim
Brewster is 24-7 intent on building a great future for Gopher
football. No reports of pessimistic prognostications can slow his
enthusiasm and determination.
I
plopped down on the couch in Brewster’s office and asked for relief from
the doom and gloomers. “As I’ve told you before, I think that’s
tremendous fuel for our fire,” Brewster counseled. “Our football team, I
think, thinks they’re better than that. I think they’re better than
that. They were a bowl team last year. There’s no reason for us to be
in the bottom of the Big Ten and I certainly think our guys, when the
dust settles, won’t be.”
What
about the inexperienced quarterbacks and offense not being able to
execute? “There’s a process that we’re growing through offensively,”
Brewster said. “But I think whoever we decide is going to be the
starting quarterback for us will be a winning quarterback for us. He
will be a winner and, hey, we’re evolving as an offense, we’re evolving
as a defense. But I think we think we will be a very good football team
September the first against Bowling Green.”
Where
will the Gophers finish? “Well, obviously our goal is to win the Big Ten
championship,” Brewster answered. “That is our stated goal. That will
be the goal every day of every year I am here, is to win the Big Ten
championship. Is that possible? Certainly it’s possible. Without
question in my mind, I believe 100 percent (that) if these kids get
close enough, if they get committed enough to each other, buy into blind
loyalty to this program we can win a Big Ten championship this year.”
So
take that, Street and Smith’s, Athlon, Sporting News,
and all the rest of you magazines! (Oh, and go Iowa on September 22
against Wisconsin!) |
“But I think whoever we decide
is going to be the starting quarterback for us will be a winning
quarterback for us."
Tim Brewster
Tim Brewster
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Worth
Noting
The
Sporting News college football magazine lists incoming Gopher
frosh Harold Howell as one of its four “newcomers to watch” in
the Big Ten Conference. The speedster from Florida is a potential big
time play maker for the Gophers as a return man and wide receiver.
When
the Gophers open their new on-campus football stadium in 2009 they will
have the newest stadium in the Big Ten Conference. The Metrodome is the
newest stadium currently. Indiana’s Memorial Stadium, opened in 1960, is
the second newest.
Local
dentist Dr. John Williams reports that approximately 35 of
his former teammates from the 1967 football Gophers will be in Canton,
Ohio on August 4 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the
team’s Big Ten Conference championship and see
Charlie Sanders inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sanders, who enjoyed an outstanding pro career as a tight end with
Detroit, played wide receiver, tight end and defensive end for the
Gophers from 1965-1967. Williams said ex-Gophers headed to the
celebration include Bob Stein, former all-America
defensive end and Minnesota Timberwolves president, and McKinley
Boston, former defensive tackle and Gopher athletic director.
Long shot: undrafted Minneapolis native
Kammron Taylor is trying to make the NBA by first impressing as a
member of the Timberwolves summer league team playing in Las Vegas.
Although he was a point guard in college at Wisconsin, he averaged more
rebounds per game than assists. His career averages: 10 points per
game, 2.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Senior year averages: 13.3 points,
2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He made a team best 68 three-pointers.
Long balls: Kevin
Slowey, demoted to the minors last week, gave up 13 home runs in
just 37 innings while pitching for the Twins. His record: 3-0, with a
5.84 ERA.
Any future pro tennis exhibition in this
area should include Rochester native and former Gustavus Adolphus star
Eric Butorac. Ticket buyers from Rochester
and St. Peter will help boost sales for a tennis card that would still
need a headliner other than Butorac who is making a name for himself in
doubles. He and partner James Murray made it to the third round
at Wimbledon last week.
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Kevin Slowey, demoted to the minors
last week, gave up 13 home runs in just 37 innings while pitching for
the Twins.
John M. Williams, DDS
Cosmetic & Family Dental Care
612-521-7611 |
