David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Hope Vikes QB Room Won’t Resemble a MASH Unit in 2026

Posted on March 22, 2026March 22, 2026 by David Shama

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has been steadfast in his commitment to having a deep and competitive quarterback room for the 2026 season. It looks like he’s accomplished that with the offseason additions of Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz to compete with J.J. McCarthy.

The trio, though, looks a bit like a potential MASH unit. (That’s a mobile army surgical hospital for those that don’t know).

Start with the 28-year-old Murray, the wagering favorite to be the No. 1 quarterback and is also seen that way by a former front office executive with NFL teams who corresponds with Sports Headliners. “I expect Murray to be the Week 1 starter and see if he can stay healthy,” he texted.

Murray has missed significant playing time during his NFL career that began as a No. 1 draft pick by the Cardinals in 2019. The diminutive 5-10, 207-pound Murray has experienced an ACL tear, ankle sprain, hamstring strains and a foot injury. He has reportedly missed more than 20 games due to injuries.

The source quoted above, speaking on condition of anonymity, texted that “with Kyler’s injury history, I think J.J. will get his chance to play.”

J.J. McCarthy, Vikings QB, image by David Shama — J.J. McCarthy

McCarthy, 23, missed all of his first Viking season in 2024 with a knee injury. Awarded with the starting spot in 2025, McCarthy managed to play in 10 games, but he was impacted by a high ankle sprain, concussion and hairline fracture in his right throwing hand.

When on the field McCarthy’s performance was inconsistent and it cast doubt on whether he should lead the Vikings in 2026. McCarthy, who the source wrote now faces an uncertain future, wasn’t injury prone in high school or at Michigan where he led the Wolverines to the 2024 national championship.

McCarthy’s replacement for five games was Wentz. His season ended with a severe shoulder injury. The Vikings re-signed him last week.

Wentz, 33, has been troubled by injuries for much of his career including an ACL tear, back fractures, ankle sprains, a concussion and most recently shoulder surgery. After all the pain he has endured during stops with six NFL teams, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had retired this offseason. “I don’t see how Wentz fits in unless Kyler or J.J. get hurt for an extended period,” the source said.

Worth Noting

The popularity of Gopher women’s basketball has long had a lot of potential. It will be interesting to see how many fans attend today’s second round NCAA tournament game at Williams Arena against Ole Miss. Attendance for Friday’s opening round win over Green Bay was announced as 10,355 at Williams Arena (capacity 14,625).

Former Golden Gophers football coach Glen Mason thought the world of Tom Moe who passed away last month at age 87. At Tom’s funeral Mason offered a eulogy with anecdotes about the former Gopher athletics director who once was his boss.

Mason recalled Tom’s first bowl game when the Gophers were in El Paso to play Oregon in 1999. Tom asked if it was okay if he attended Gopher practices. This got Mason’s attention because he was accustomed to athletic directors who often spent their bowl game hours at the swimming pool, golfing or even at the bar.

After the Gophers returned from their Sun Bowl game Tom stopped by the coach’s office. “What did you think?” Mason asked his boss in reference to the experience.

Tom proceeded to show Mason three large legal pads with handwritten notes front and back. Mason said his friend had the “most detailed notes” on every coach and player, and bowl related events. “He was there to work,” Mason told Sports Headliners.

Tom played end for the Gophers and was team MVP in 1959 He was a prominent attorney in Minneapolis with the Dorsey & Whitney law firm. He never sought the glitz of the AD job but served as interim AD starting in December of 1999 and later full-time director until 2002 because the University asked for his leadership. In February the U renamed its athletics director position the Thomas O. Moe Director of Athletics.

Tom, who was also a standout on the Gophers 1960 national championship baseball team, was a highly principled man who had the admiration of so many Minnesotans not only for his career but his dedication to family. “The best (of individuals),” Mason said.

Former Gopher pitcher Max Meyer, whose progress in the majors has been slowed by injuries, might have a breakout season with the Marlins in 2026. In three games over seven innings in spring training, he’s yet to give up a run. A hard thrower, he’s struck out 12 batters.

The storytelling will be fun on Wednesday, April 8 at Mendakota Country Club when Minnesota natives and “Miracle on Ice” players Rob McClanahan, Buzz Schneider and John Harrington speak to the breakfast group. Joe Schmit will moderate the discussion with the heroes from the 1980 gold medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team. For more information, contact Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com.

Larry Higgins, a standout player on the 1961 Bemidji basketball team that lost 51-50 to Duluth Central in the state championship game, is searching for film from that game. Central was led by former Gopher Terry Kunze and the game had a controversial ending. Anyone who knows of game film (either in part or whole) should email ds@shamasportsheadliners.com.

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Potulny & Raboin Might Be Top Targets for U Hockey Job

Posted on March 20, 2026March 22, 2026 by David Shama

A trusted source tells Sports Headliners two names are at the top of the candidates list for the University of Minnesota men’s hockey head coach opening. The source said people “close to the program” tell him that Grant Potulny and Garrett Raboin are the top targets of athletics director Mark Coyle. Another source couldn’t confirm that but wasn’t surprised to hear the report.

Potulny, the former Gopher national championship player in 2002 and 2003, was an assistant coach at the U from 2008-2017 under Don Lucia. The 46-year-old was a three-time captain for the Gophers. He’s been coach of the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack since June of 2024. Prior to that he was head coach at Northern Michigan for seven seasons and was WCHA Coach of the Year in his first year. A challenging place to win, he was 128-113-17 with the Wildcats.

Raboin has Gopher roots, too. He was an assistant coach at the U for four years prior to taking over as head coach at Augustana University in Sioux Falls in April of 2022. At Minnesota he was an effective recruiter who helped bring gifted players to Dinkytown. He launched the Augustana program into Division I and had a winning record by his second season. This year the Vikings are even more successful with a 22-11-4 overall record. Raboin is 40 years old.

Bob Motzko parted ways with the Gophers earlier this week. It’s not known what, if anything, Motzko will do careerwise in the foreseeable future. He is 64 and sources say he wants to relax and enjoy himself at least for a while. He has carried the weight of his high pressure job and the tragic loss of his son in a 2021 car accident.

Potulny and Raboin know the culture of the U hockey program. Coyle is likely to see that as a favorable thing. He presumably also wants someone who can excel as a teacher, strategist and recruiter including effective use of Name, Image and Likeness money.

Coyle, who meets with the media to discuss the men’s and women’s hockey head coaching openings on Monday, is likely relying on an advisor or two with puck knowledge to help with the search.

He hired Motzko in March of 2018. That hire didn’t bring the Gophers the national championship they have sought since 2003. This past season the Gophers were 11-22-3 overall and 7-15-2 in Big Ten games. It was the program’s worst season since 1971-72.

Long considered the best hockey coaching job in the nation, sources tell Sports Headliners that is still true. The program’s actual and potential resources include access to high quality high school talent from the state of Minnesota, revenue from the Athletic Department to pay players, high potential NIL money, large and loyal fanbase, quality facilities and a great tradition. The Gopher men’s hockey program is one of the few in the nation that is a money maker for its athletic department.

Motzko reportedly earned a base salary of $750,000. The Gophers can afford to pay their next coach with similar money, making their guy among the best paid college hockey coaches in the country.

Interestingly, Coyle’s name has drawn speculation as a replacement at Kentucky for retiring athletics director Mitch Barnhart. Coyle was deputy assistant athletics director in Lexington under Barnhart from 2006-2011. The Wildcats are basketball blue blood and Coyle is a hoops aficionado who was the top administrator overseeing the Kentucky program.

Coyle’s basketball knowledge helped him identify two outstanding hires now at the U. Women’s coach Dawn Plitzuweit has the Gophers in the NCAA Tournament in her third season. Men’s coach Niko Medved has been lauded for his first-year work in rebuilding the Gophers.

Coyle has been the U AD since 2016. His family has put down roots in St. Paul and as an Iowa native he has spent much of his life in the Upper Midwest.

Worth Noting

Former Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor — Glen Taylor

Glen Taylor told Sports Headliners he doesn’t know if the Mavericks contacted his Timberwolves over a year ago concerning a trade of superstars. The rumor last winter was the Mavericks and Wolves talked about sending Anthony Edwards to Dallas with Luka Doncic coming to Minneapolis.

Doncic, 27 and now playing for the Lakers, leads the NBA in scoring with an average of 33.4. Edwards, 24 and out for a while with a knee injury, is third in scoring at 29.5.

Taylor, who finalized his ownership sale of the Wolves last June, has been spending a lot of time in Naples, Florida. He’s passionate about his former club and “watches all the games” on TV.”

Taylor said he’s long liked the “potential” of the Wolves to go far in the playoffs. He doesn’t think the defense is as effective as it can be.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher, whose 1982 team won the Big Ten championship, turns 93 on April 17. Other than troublesome knees, his health is good. His brother Norman from Alpena, Michigan passed away earlier this year at age 97.

Dave Christian, the Warroad native who was a member of the legendary 1980 U.S. gold medal winning Olympic team, joined hosts Patrick Klinger and Dave Boden on the latest “Behind the Game” show. Google the most important sports event in US history, and the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” comes up No. 1.

The U.S. team had a strong Minnesota influence with native sons like Christian playing and St. Paul’s Herb Brooks coaching and masterminding his amateur players to a stunning semi-final win over the heavily favored Soviet Union before going on to defeat Finland in the finals. “Behind the Game” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuGnBTx-4f0

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What to Know for Office Pool Bracket & U Run for the Crown

Posted on March 18, 2026March 18, 2026 by David Shama

There is a lot of “noise” out there about predicting the “Big Dance” winner. Why listen to this platform?

Well, I have never been wrong in an office pool. (Full disclosure: Never entered one, either.)

Credibility? I’ve been following college hoops for so long I remember when only the Big Ten champion was allowed to be in the 25-team field.

I recall when the Final Four wasn’t on TV. I listened to static-filled broadcasts from out-of-town radio stations and reception was so bad I often didn’t know the score.

Impressed yet? (Should I mention coaching a ninth-grade basketball team to the Minneapolis city title?)

Now that you’re on board, here we go:

Want a dark horse to emerge at the Final Four? While we learned in Minnesota that not all Pitinos are alike, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm just might grind their way to the finals in Indianapolis.

To do that the Storm will have to upset Duke in the East Region. The risk-taking part of my brain says a Final Four of St. John’s, Arizona, Michigan and Florida. The Cinderella Pitinos, with their 73-year-old coach and full court maniacal defensive pressure, could bring the “Big Apple” a national championship before the Knicks can win their first NBA title since 1973.

The cautious side of my cranium says it will be Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida in the finals. The boys from the desert, those talented Wildcats from Tucson, win it all!

For support on that assertion, I turn to my friend Jim Dutcher. “They just have been the most consistent team all year,” the former Gopher coach said. “They’ve got great guard play and they’ve got good depth. Very good defensive team. …When they play any of the big teams, they still manage to win.”

What about St. John’s, Dutch? “Yeah, the way they came through and just killed UConn (in the Big East Tournament title game last Saturday). UConn is a good team. They beat them by 20. And, of course, Pitino is a good coach. He’s proven it at every level. …They’ve had a great year and they’re a dangerous team for sure.”

The authoritative Kenpom.com website has Duke, Arizona, Michigan and Florida with the four top net ratings among men’s college teams. The first three are above the gold standard of 35.00, with Florida coming in at 33.79. A team at 35 is expected to outscore an average team by 35 points per 100 possessions.

CBS college basketball guru Clark Kellogg has Purdue in his Final Four. Dutcher doesn’t see the Boilermakers going that far because their “outside shooting” isn’t good enough. He thinks Michigan has the best chance of the Big Ten’s nine tourney teams to make a long run. “It wouldn’t be a great surprise to see Michigan go all the way,” he said.

Wisconsin, a No. 5 seed in the West, has two of the better guards in the nation in Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. Boyd played previously for Dutcher’s son, Brian Dutcher, at San Diego State. The Aztecs made the Final Four in 2023 for the first time ever, but with the impact of NIL money in major college basketball now you can make the odds long of mid-majors causing a big splash in the tournament.

The divide between high majors and mid-majors is that considerable. There are reserves on high major teams earning six-figures, so be wary about picking “have nots” to win much in the tournament. “Money talks,” Jim said.

The Gophers, 15-17 overall and 8-12 in Big Ten regular season games, have accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas starting April 1. Other teams are Colorado, Creighton, Baylor, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Stanford, and West Virginia. The Gophers, No. 77 in Kenpom.com net rating, open against Baylor, No. 49, on April 1, with a 9:30 p.m. Minneapolis tip off time scheduled. The game will be televised by FS1.

In coach Niko Medved’s first season, playing with limited talent and virtually no depth because starters were sidelined with injuries, he far exceeded expectations. The Gophers upset three top 25 teams and in the regular season standings finished ahead of seven other schools in the 18-team Big Ten.

“He did an unbelievable job,” Dutcher said of Medved. “To go into a team (place) like Michigan and take them right down to the final wire. And see some of the other games, they were just unbelievable and had some great upsets.

“But then they lost to some teams like a Rutgers (and) that isn’t that good. So, they just don’t have the depth. But he did an outstanding job. It was good to see upwards of 8,000 people at Williams Arena again.”

What about Minnesota’s fate in the upcoming tournament?

“You can’t win a tournament with a six-player roster,” Dutcher said. “Sometimes five player roster. They just don’t have the depth. They’re capable, as we saw, of beating some really good teams, but you’ve gotta have more depth than they have to make a tournament run.”

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