Posted November 11, 2009    

•Darren Sharper

•Student tickets

•Brad Childress

•Jonny Flynn

•Jordan Schroeder

Ex-Viking Sharper Early Choice for Defensive MVP 

For Brett Favre life might begin at 40, but with Darren Sharper he’s settling for 34 right now.  The former Vikings safety celebrated his 34^th birthday on November 3 and his career revival in New Orleans has been sweet so far.  

Sharper is tied for the most interceptions (seven) in the NFL with Jairus Byrd of Buffalo.  He was named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month in October after intercepting three passes and returning two for touchdowns. 

After eight games with the 8-0 Saints, Sharper is within two interceptions of tying his all-time season high set with the Vikings in 2005.  He’s already established a career single season high with three interceptions returned for touchdowns, and also for total interception yardage (317) and passes defended (12). 

An NFL players poll article in the November 9 issue of Sporting News Magazine reported that Sharper was the top vote getter for midseason Defensive MVP in the league.  All of this is spunky for any player, particularly a 34-year-old safety who had just one interception for 12 yards in 16 starts for the Vikings last season.  

Sharper signed with the Saints as an unrestricted free agent during the last offseason.  The Vikings replaced him at strong safety with Tyrell Johnson, 24, who has one interception. 

The Vikings decided to go younger and Sharper is thriving in a system down in voodoo country that is producing magical results yet is fundamentally sound.  New Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has a reputation for results, and his schemes and coaching have made a big difference in the Saints who in the past have had plenty of offense but not a “D.” 

Sharper, who is now a free safety with the Saints, considered the Vikings defensive approach more restrictive than what he’s experienced in New Orleans, according to an article at http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=capress-fbn_sharp_sharper-302633923&prov=capress&type=lgns.  

"If I'm in one position the whole game, teams know where you are," Sharper explained. "They know, OK, this is a guy back there that if we throw in this area, pretty much he's going to intercept the ball, so we won't go over there." 

When Sharper was here he told Sports Headliners that even as an older player he didn’t want to be a reserve and mostly sit on the bench.  That won’t be a concern this season. 

 

Darren Sharper has returned three interceptions for touchdowns this year. With his seven interceptions he has totaled 317 yards.

Darren Sharper

No Counting on University of Minnesota Students 

On a warm, sunny and perfect day to watch a football game, an estimated 4,000 University of Minnesota students chose not to use their tickets to see the Gophers and Illinois last Saturday.  The University athletic department sold almost 11,000 student tickets for the season but at least 4,000 students chose not to show up despite the beautiful day and the Gophers having won an exciting game the previous Saturday against Michigan State. 

The student section at the bowl end of TCF Bank Stadium has consistently had open seats during all six home games but Saturday was the lowest turnout.  A new outdoor, on-campus stadium with a team striving to qualify for a bowl game apparently isn’t enough to send nearly all the student ticket holders to games. 

State legislation that approved funding for the stadium requires the University to set aside 20 percent of the seats for students.  With a capacity of 50,805, the students are entitled to over 10,000 seats.  If all the seats are not sold as season tickets in a given year, then students have priority on buying remaining tickets from the allotment as single game tickets.  Those tickets have to be purchased up to one week before a game, a Gophers spokesman told Sports Headliners.  

Students, who this year paid a bargain rate of $77 for seven home games, will be entitled to even more seats using the 20 percent formula if the stadium is ever expanded.  That could be interesting, even though the University’s Minneapolis-St. Paul campus is one of the nation’s largest with a student enrollment of about 50,000. 

The athletic department needs to look at ideas regarding student use of tickets.  Convincing Gopher youth to attend the games might be impossible, but by combining student and public sales perhaps selling more tickets than there are seats is an answer.  

And a parting thought about last Saturday: nowhere in the stadium were the boos louder than from the student section during the first half.  Quarterback Adam Weber and the Gophers offense received the loudest chorus of boos in memory at a University home game.  That is disappointing because Weber, who did have a poor first half throwing the ball, is a 22-year-old student-athlete doing the best work he can and usually is the top performer on the offense.   

Did any of the boo-birds stop to think that their actions could make things worse for Weber and the Gophers? 

 

Worth Noting 

A pro sports executive who spoke on condition of anonymity guessed that the Mall of America will pay $2 million to $3 million per year to the Vikings for naming rights at the Metrodome.  Earlier this fall the Vikings announced a three-year deal for Mall of America Field at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.  

During the recent bye week, destinations for Vikings players reportedly included Paradise Island in the Bahamas.  

Vikings coach Brad Childress answering a question about whether his team might lose focus because of its 7-1 record: “I don’t think so, because among other things that you talk about, you talk about wanting to defend the NFC North. They had a taste of the playoffs last year. It’s no secret that the people with the best record in your conference are able to play at home as long as they can. So it’s just important that we continue to play well and play well this week. Things have a way of adding themselves up.”

Gophers' freshman cornerback Michael Carter is expected to be a starter next season.  He has played frequently this season and the Gophers have two senior cornerbacks in Marcus Sherels and Traye Simmons.   

The Gophers play Miami in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on December 2 and the University basketball office is promoting a fan trip to south Florida.  The trip package is for December 1 and 2, and includes lodging at the team hotel, transportation on the Gophers airplane charter, game ticket and more.  For more information, call Caitlin Mahoney in the basketball office, 612-625-2061. 

Wolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn told Sports Headliners his most difficult challenge so far as a pro is understanding the complexities of the team’s offense.

Flynn said the Wolves have the makings of a great team with the skill sets of center Al Jefferson, forward Kevin Love and himself.  

Apparently driven by finances, some NBA teams aren’t even carrying the maximum number of players (15) on their rosters.  

If the Twins offer a seven year, $150 million deal to catcher Joe Mauer, he would be wise to accept it in today’s fragile economy that has just about everyone, including sports teams, worried.  

Mauer, a St. Paul native, is now a Florida resident, according to his grandfather Jake Mauer.  

Unless the Tigers surprise with some big money deals for prominent players, the Central Division that also includes the Twins, White Sox, Indians and Royals is likely to remain mediocre next season.  No team seems built for beyond the first round of the playoffs. 

Zach Schroeder, brother of the Gophers Jordan Schroeder, is a junior forward at St. Thomas Academy and is generating interest from colleges including North Dakota and University of Minnesota Duluth. 

Jordan, who was second in WCHA scoring last season for conference games, is receiving lots of attention from opponents this fall as teams “key” on him to stop the Gophers from scoring.  The Gophers forward is expected to play for Team USA next month in the World Junior Championships.  If so, this will be his third time with Team USA.  He is already the all-time leader in assists with 15.  

Four MIAC volleyball student-athletes have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 5 team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).  Saint Benedict senior outside hitter Emma Jaynes (Hibbing, Minn., accounting - 3.85 GPA) is a first team selection.  St. Thomas senior outside hitter Kyley Crotty (Maplewood, Minn., biology - 3.70 GPA) is a second team pick.  On the third team are Saint Benedict senior setter Beth Hanson (Faribault, Minn., elementary education - 3.76 GPA) and Carleton College junior outside hitter Kelly Lovett (Portland, Ore., political science - 3.82 GPA).

 

 Brad Childress

 Emma Jaynes

Kyley Crotty