Now that the Vikings have completed their three preseason games and practice scrimmages with the New England Patriots, it looks like their Monday night regular-season opener in Chicago on Sept. 8 will be a pick’em game with no favorite.
If the Vikings beat the Bears, it’ll be because of their defense and that their running game has improved. Rookie quarterbacks, which essentially is what Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy is because he didn’t play last year, generally get better as the season goes on. Washington’s Jayden Daniels and Denver’s Bo Nix both had good rookie years last season, but played much better during the second half than they did in the first half.
It would be unrealistic to think that McCarthy is going to excel from the start.
— The Vikings will run the ball more this season than any of coach Kevin O’Connell’s previous three years in Minnesota. That’s why they added offensive linemen Will Fries and Ryan Kelly and running back Jordan Mason.
— Meanwhile, it would be a substantial risk for the Vikings to go into Chicago with ex-Gopher Max Brosmer as No. 2 QB. That would mean both top QBs had yet to play a regular-season snap.
— Depending on the circumstances, smart people say there’s about a 40 percent chance of wide receiver Adam Thielen returning to the Vikings from Carolina.
— McCarthy will pass for 3,651, 24 touchdowns with 14 interceptions this season, per BetOnline.ag, while the guy he replaced, Sam Darnold with Seattle, will pass for 3,451 yards, 21 TDs and 14 picks.
— The Vikings have increased 18 percent in value over the past year and are worth $6.28 billion, per Sportico. A $7 billion valuation, though, might be more accurate. As for the Green Bay Packers, their value increased 20 percent and are worth $6.48 billion.
— Nine years ago, Jen Pawol from New Jersey and Emma Charlesworth-Seiler from Hopkins were the only female umpires in professional baseball.
Both worked their way through the minor leagues. Pawol continued. Charlesworth-Seiler loved baseball, gave umpiring her best effort for several years, then decided she didn’t enjoy it as much and that the grind wasn’t worth it. After all, she had other interests.
Two weeks ago, Pawol, 48, became major league baseball’s first female umpire to work a regular-season game. Charlesworth-Seiler, 30, couldn’t be prouder of Pawol, and has no regrets she didn’t continue her umpiring career.
“People would ask me when I was in the game, ‘do you want to be the first woman to umpire a major league baseball game?’ And I was like no, actually, I don’t. I really, really don’t.
“Jen was still in it at the time and I was like, I hope Jen makes it before me. I think people thought I was trying to be humble or something, but I wasn’t,” Charlesworth-Seiler told the Pioneer Press.
“I hope the spotlight is on Jen, because she can handle it and is going to do a great job of it. I’m truly so, so happy for her. I don’t think I know anyone else who has worked harder and prepared more for this moment. Ever since I’ve known her, she prepares like no one else, and I’ve always been very impressed with that.
“She has a great perspective, keeps her head down and does her thing. And obviously it paid off.
“I have no regrets, and I’m so happy that she made it.”
These days, Charlesworth-Seiler, a Hamline University political science and sociology graduate, works in communications for a legal nonprofit in St. Paul.
— Pawol worked home plate during a Twins-Colorado Rockies spring training game in March and after the game gave a Minnesota fan two baseballs as mementos.
— Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, after recently chatting at Target Field with the club’s first-round draft pick, shortstop Marek Houston, 21, who received a $4.5 million signing bonus out of Wake Forest as the No. 16 overall pick: “If you’re listening more than talking when you go into a new environment, that’s always a good sign.”
— George Thole, the legendary Stillwater football coach who passed away at age 86, when he took the job in 1971 would regularly visit Lakeview Hospital and leave little plastic footballs with newborn baby boys. A celebration of life for George and late wife Karen will be Sept. 13 from noon to 2 p.m. at Stillwater High School, followed by a service and gathering.
— Twins hall of famers Rod Carew and Jim Kaat received standing ovations after speaking appearances at a Dunkers breakfast at Interlachen Country Club last week.
St. Thomas men’s basketball coach Johnny Tauer and men’s hockey coach Rico Blasi speak at a Capital Club breakfast on Wednesday at Mendakota Country Club.
— Former teammates at Gophers slugger Mike Walseth’s recent memorial service: Phil Flodin, Dave Cosgrove, Gary Petrick, Bob Nielsen, John Peterson, Lu Gronseth, Scott Frantzen, Jack Palmer and Bob Micheletti.
— Wishing the best for Otto “Snap” Leitner, 79, the beloved retired St. Paul fire captain who has been in and out of Mayo Clinic this month for heart issues.
— New assistant athletics director overseeing facilities at Cretin-Derham Hall will be Jack Hannahan, the former Gophers baseball star who played eight seasons as a superb major league infielder.
— Toby Peterson,46, the former Bloomington Jefferson hockey star, will be head coach of the Dallas Stars’ AHL Texas Stars team next season.
— Condolences to the family for Dick Stanford, who passed away at 86 the other day. Stanford followed Bob Utecht as the North Stars’ public address announcer and was the PA voice for Minnesota high school basketball and hockey tournaments.
— St. Thomas Academy grad Brian Smith is headed for the NFL this season as a replay operator.
— St. Thomas Academy is looking for a new head basketball coach.
— Dave Tentis, 63, the esteemed golf professional at the Troy Burne club in Hudson, Wis., is retiring Sept. 28 after 20 years at the Hudson, Wis., club and could be entering a new golf venture.
— First college tournament for incoming Texas Christian golfer Sam Udovich, the former Cretin-Derham Hall star, will be at famed Pebble Beach next week.
— Former Stillwater baseball star Drew Gilbert, 24, of the San Francisco Giants last Sunday hit his first major league home run against Tampa Bay. He’s playing right field and batting .125 in 24 at-bats.
— Ex-Stillwater pitching star Will Frisch, 25, who owned a 99-mph fastball until undergoing three arm surgeries, has retired after a minor league career with the Chicago Cubs. Plans are to complete an engineering degree at alma mater Oregon State.
— Before noon on the first day this month that Division I schools were allowed to contact high school baseball players, junior pitcher Ike Crouser of 4A state champion Cretin-Derham Hall heard from Minnesota, Iowa, Notre Dame and Creighton.
Don’t print that
— A little birdie says baseball commissioner Rob Manfred wasn’t happy with the Pohlad family’s announcement two weeks ago that it had decided to retain ownership of the Twins after exploring a sale for nearly 10 months. The Pioneer Press last month reported the Twins had a buyer in place who was in the process of securing financing for a purchase in the $1.7 billion range.
That abruptly changed when the Twins instead of a sale announced early in the morning that the club would take on two limited partners, who will assist in paying down a reported $400 million debt. Speculation is that the partners will spend about $200 million apiece to be part of the deal, which could include a right of first refusal to eventually buy controlling interest.
— The Pohlads are expected to wait until baseball’s labor agreement is settled after next season, then hope to get the price they want. But a lockout seems likely, because baseball’s owners are hell-bent on getting a salary cap.
— At least one member of the prospective buyer’s group was taken by surprise at the Pohlads’ reversal to sell and immediately called Manfred’s office, seeking explanation. Manfred also was taken by surprise — he had indicated to a group in Cooperstown, N.Y., at the recent Hall of Fame inductions that a Twins sale would soon be announced.
— Cambria president Marty Davis, who is a substantial name, image and likeness (NIL) Gophers athletics financial booster, is telling people he’s not interested in buying the Twins. But Davis, a Twins Champions Club member whose family’s worth has been estimated at nearly $2 billion by Forbes, loves baseball, and it would be surprising if he doesn’t get involved in an ownership transaction.
Also, some smart people wouldn’t be surprised if Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, who have built a real estate empire in Eagan and operate out of New Jersey, consider becoming limited partners in the Twins.
— Pssst: A prominent former Twins player was to be a limited partner of the group that was to buy the club. Meanwhile, there’s whispering that a prospective investor group is connected to ownership of the Fort Myers Miracle minor league team in Florida.
— The Pioneer Press reported in May that it looked like the Pohlad family would end up retaining ownership of the Twins or have to sell at a price lower than the anticipated $1.7 billion. Among reasons, an interested buyer at the time confided after reviewing the team’s financial books, that prospects for a sale were “dismal.”
— Asked in February if there was a chance the Twins wouldn’t be sold this year, owner Jim Pohlad told the Pioneer Press “there’s always a chance.”
— Insiders say the reason the Twins traded relatively inexpensive relievers Jhoan Duran (Philadelphia) and Louie Varland (Toronto) is that statistically few relievers are effective over a five-year period.
— Among pitchers the Twins received in the sell-off, Mick Abel, acquired for Duran and the starter Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, was the most effective after three starts for the Triple-A Saints. Taj Bradley, acquired in a trade for Griffin Jax, after three Saints starts underwhelmed. The same with Kendry Rojas, who the Twins got for Varland.
— Tim Laudner, catcher for the Twins’ 1987 World Series champions, comparing the evolution of that team to this season’s Twins after the recent players sell-off: “In the early 1980s, we went through a bit of an overhaul, which is one of the reasons why I got to the big leagues.
“(Owner Griffith) Calvin got rid of payroll. Whether he was positioning himself to sell the ball club or not, I don’t know. But I do think, if you were to do the math, which I’m not inclined to do, the salaries that Calvin got rid of probably is, on a percentage basis, pretty close to the amount of salary percentage that the Twins (recently) got rid of.
“Has this (current) club already gone past its peak as the 26-man club? So, you know what, blow it up and start over. Give some young kids opportunities to play.”
— Deadline for Twins 2026 season ticket renewals is Thursday. One regular ticket holder reports even a slight decrease in prices, another no increase. Don’t be surprised, though, if Champions Club seats increase $78, raising to $450 per seat.
A lot of season ticket cancellations are expected.
— Because he threw his cap after being ejected by the home plate umpire recently against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli will be fined $1,000 by Major League Baseball. It was Baldelli’s fourth ejection this season and 25th of his seven-season career. He pays the fine out of his pocket, not the Twins.
— Netflix the other day flew 14 members of coach Herb Brooks’ 1980 Olympic hockey gold medal champions to Lake Placid, N.Y., for a reunion movie to be aired just before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy.
— Major oversight: Not asking Phil Housley, a member of a half-dozen hockey halls of fame, including the biggie in Toronto, if he were interested in being on the upstart Minnesota Hockey Hall of Fame’s Advisory Board.
— That was Baseball Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre in Mankato last week watching son Adrian Jr. play for the Northwoods League Moondogs, who also have Caleb Koskie, son of new Twins hall of famer Corey Koskie.
— It’s astounding that the publicly-supported University of Minnesota has gotten away with charging regular students this year a $200 fee to help pay the school’s athletes.
— No Gophers are among ESPN’s 40 “most important” college football players this season. In the Big Ten, reigning national champion Ohio State has three — Julian Sayin, Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs.
Speaking of Ohio State, coach Ryan Day this season is having his players read “Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall In Love With the Process of Becoming Great” book, the Wall Street Journal points out.
— The Orono home that ex-Timberwolf Karl-Anthony Towns bought seven years ago for $4.5 million now has a $5.5 million price tag but hasn’t sold.
— Warroad native T.J. Oshie, recently retired after 16 NHL seasons, is building a home in Edina.
— Good guess: The Twins ended up getting about one-fourth of the $12 million yearly Security Financial jersey patch deal they were seeking.
— Ex-Twins reliever Emilio Pagan, 34, who for the Twins during his two seasons (2022-23) had 10 saves, this season for the Cincinnati Reds has 25 saves.
Overheard
— Hopkins High grad Emma Charlesworth-Seiler, on her former career as a minor league baseball umpire: “There were some parts I loved, and some parts I hated.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred speaks to the media after an owners meeting on June 15, 2023, in New York. (John Minchillo, AP)
Clockwise from top left, Dick Bremer, Audra Martin, Glen Perkins, and Tim Laudner, chat on Zoom as a part of a new series on Fox Sports North. “Unscripted” will debut next week and will feature interviews with prominent people in Minnesota sports. It’s an attempt from Fox Sports North to stay relevant as the coronavirus pandemic has effectively eliminated sports events for the time being. (Courtesy of FOX Sports North)
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns reacts after being called for a foul in the second half of Game 7 of an NBA second-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Denver. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
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