1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Random Reusse

Heartfelt goodbye to my old pal, Random

2012-01-10T17:00:25-06:00

Ken Murphy was the sports editor of the Pioneer Press, St. Paul's morning newspaper, in 1970. I was a 24-year-old in my second year at the newspaper when informed in the summer that Ken was considering retirement and there was in need to start grooming a replacement.The idea was that "Murph'' would spend a couple of years training me in the job, and I would be fully prepared to replace him when...

Mighty thoughts, starting with Joe Webb

2012-01-02T07:00:09-06:00

JOE WEBB did everyone a favor with his lousy second-half performance in Sunday's hard-to-achieve, 17-13 loss to the Chicago Bears in the Metrodome.If Webb had shown a modest degree of competence, this would have been an offseason for the Purple loyalists to shout that the second-year player from Alabama-Birmingham should be taken seriously as a candidate to be the Vikings' starting quarterback in...

What might 2012 bring ... for the Twins?

2011-12-29T16:33:33-06:00

The Twins announced the firing of Bill Smith and return of Terry Ryan as general manager on Nov. 7.Ryan signed five veteran free agents during a five-week period starting Nov. 16: infielder Jamey Carroll, catcher Ryan Doumit, reliever Matt Capps, outfielder Josh Willingham and starter Jason Marquis.During this same period, the Twins lost reliever Joe Nathan and outfielders Michael Cuddyer and...

What might 2012 bring ... for Gophers BB?

2011-12-27T12:20:16-06:00

Tubby Smith's basketball team did not engage in an arduous nonconference schedule to prepare for tonight's Big Ten opener at Illinois. The Gophers played 13 games; three were neutral-site games in a tournament in Orlando, and the other 10 were played in Williams Arena.The Gophers lost both a game, to Dayton, and star Trevor Mbakwe, to knee injury, in the final of the Orlando tournament.There have...

What might 2012 bring ... for the Wolves?

2011-12-26T07:27:30-06:00

There was an e-mail suggestion over the holiday weekend that offered this cheery suggestion: Ricky Rubio was destined to become the Timberwolves' version of Tsuyoshi Nishioka when it came to an ineffective import for a local pro franchise.Rubio would have to turn out to be the equivalent of Ndudi Ebi in order to be fairly compared with Nishioka, the bust the Twins brought in to play in the middle...

What might 2012 bring ... for the Vikings?

2011-12-25T09:17:00-06:00

The Vikings suffered the most-heartbreaking victory in franchise history on Saturday. The events in Washington created the following scenario for 2012:*Running back Adrian Peterson tore up his left knee and will undergo reconstructive surgery. We are certain to hear this spring and summer of the phenomenal progress that Peterson is making in his rehabilitation, because that is the way teams _ and...

This also drives me crazy about the NHL

2011-12-18T12:18:01-06:00

And there's another thing that drives me crazy about the NHL: Every game is reviewed as a morality play, with more attention paid to the perception of a team's effort than the actual result.If you were to ask hockey zealots to identify the hardest-working athletes in team sports, they would answer: "Hockey players, of course.''Yet, we need a full discussion from the coach, the participants and...

The Linnemann Travelogue: Final Chapter

2011-12-18T10:28:28-06:00

Tom Linnemann, the former St. John's quarterback, now a family man and business executive, is back from Asia, after pretty much killing it. He has chronicled his adventures with a travelogue on 1500ESPN.com.TOMMY HEADS HOME WITH NEW SUITS, SHIRTS AND A FIGHTER HELMETWe went to the fabric market when we got back to Shanghai and made a major order for some tailored clothes. Since I work in...

The Linnemann Travelogue: Chapter 4

2011-12-16T10:50:36-06:00

Tom Linnemann, the former St. John's quarterback, now a family man and business executive, is back in Asia, pretty much killing it. You are invited to follow his adventures on 1500ESPN.com.TOMMY DOESN'T SHARE PHILIPPINES' ENTHUSIASM FOR COCKFIGHTINGIn my generation Michael Jordan, transcended sport and became iconic as a brand manager for Nike. Manny Pacquiao is somehow even bigger but Mars...

Contrived fight enlivens Wild, Blackhawks

2011-12-14T22:23:16-06:00

There is considerable controversy over the role of fighting in the NHL. There is increasing paranoia over concussions, what with the career of a superstar such as Sidney Crosby seeming to be in jeopardy.There was also the recent New York Times series on Derek Boogaard, and the damage to his brain that might have been caused by his role as a hockey brawler. There was no other role for Boogaard,...

The Linnemann Travelogue: Chapter 3

2011-12-14T17:35:19-06:00

Tom Linnemann, the former St. John's quarterback, now a family man and business executive, is back in Asia, pretty much killing it. You are invited to follow his adventures on 1500ESPN.com.TOMMY CRASHES A JELLYFISH PARTY There is always that moment when you're traveling in a third-world country where you stop breathing for a split second and ask yourself, "What have I done?" In this case, it was...

The Linnemann Travelogue: Chapter 2

2011-12-13T06:08:13-06:00

Tom Linnemann, the former St. John's quarterback, now a family man and business executive, is back in Asia, pretty much killing it. You are invited to follow his adventures on 1500ESPN.com.TOMMY PARTY ROCKS MANILA BOXING RINGManila, Philippines, 6:17amWe arrived in Manila and took a cab to the Peninsula, probably the second best hotel in the entire country. It's a damn shame that we used it as a...

Vikings only can look down on Carolina

2011-12-12T11:38:22-06:00

The Vikings played in the NFC title game in January 2010. Since then, the Vikings (8-21) are No. 31 among 32 teams when it comes to record. They are better only than Carolina (6-23). They also have a 10-game losing streak in the NFC North, but that's another story.Here are the NFL standings since the start of the 2010 season:NFC W L GB1-Green Bay ...

The Linnemann Travelogue: Chapter 1

2011-12-12T03:37:32-06:00

Tom Linnemann, the former St. John's quarterback, family man and business executive, is back in Asia, pretty much killing it. You are invited to follow his adventures on 1500ESPN.com.TRAVELIN' TOMMY MAKES IT TO SHANGHAIWhen sailors embark on journeys they look to signs to indicate how their travels will play out. As I left for Shanghai and the Philippines, I sat on the plane by my version of a...

Being worse than '84 would be amazing feat

2011-12-11T23:04:29-06:00

The notion that the 2011 Vikings could put together the worst season in the 51-year history of the franchise seemed preposterous. Two years earlier, the Vikings had more players (nine) named to the Pro Bowl than any NFC team _ and Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Steve Hutchinson, Kevin Williams and Jared Allen still were around from that bunch.Plus, another Pro Bowler from the 2009 season, Donovan...

An endorsement for baseball's drug testing

2011-12-11T11:22:29-06:00

UPDATE: Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal is reporting today that Ryan Braun tested positive for a prohibited substance that was not a performance enhancer. Here's the Rosenthal report. I'll stick with this thesis on baseball, Bud Selig and drug testing for now:ESPN 's revelation that Ryan Braun had a positive test for a banned substance during the playoffs in being labeled by numerous media types and a...

Adelman's staff brings a new atmosphere

2011-12-10T07:04:40-06:00

Rick Adelman's first practice with the Timberwolves went for more than 2 andfrac12; hours and concluded with a fast-paced scrimmage. That was not quite the end of it for the 17 participants Friday evening on the main practice court at the downtown Lifetime Fitness.Adelman brought the players together at one end of the court and explained the finale for this long first day of work:Everyone would...

The Linnemann Travelogue: The Prequel

2011-12-06T11:25:16-06:00

The Reusse and Company morning show still was in business in January 2010, when Tom Linnemann and his wife Danica were on a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. He started sending e-mails and John Burns, the producer of the morning show, started posting them on the former AM1500 Website.The Linnemann communiquandeacute;s developed an underground fan base, including my wife.Tommy is headed back to Asia _...

Phil Housley named to Int'l Hall of Fame

2011-12-05T15:53:00-06:00

Phil Housley has been underrated, when it comes to naming the greatest athletes produced in Minnesota. A main reason for that is that Housley left South St. Paul High School and went directly to the National Hockey League.If he had paused to put in some time with the Gophers, as did Neal Broten, or wound up playing for the North Stars, as Broten also did, we would have a larger appreciation for...

Happy 100th in memory of Calvin Griffith

2011-12-02T09:45:48-06:00

Charley Walters started writing his notes column for the St. Paul Pioneer Press about this time 28 years ago. I was a teammate and had only one piece of advice to offer: "When in doubt, call Calvin Griffith.''This was probably unneeded, since Charley had been a pitcher in the Twins' organization and was aware fully of what a colorful character we had in Mr. Griffith.Walters made excellent use of...

This wasn't first throwdown for Joe Kapp

2011-11-29T19:06:27-06:00

Joe Kapp was on the cover of Sports Illustrated on July 20, 1970. It was to kickoff the first of a three-part "as told to'' series with SI's Jack Olsen.Kapp had become an NFL cover boy by leading the 1969 Vikings to the Super Bowl. His over-the-top personality and on-the-field flair made him hugely popular in Minnesota, and also a character of interest around the country.As training camps were...

LV Neal's great honor: Sam Lacy Award

2011-11-27T16:04:54-06:00

Joe Christensen has a blog with some interesting baseball items today on startribune.com. The final item was this:"WRITER AWARD: Congratulations to my esteemed colleague, La Velle E. Neal III, for winning the Sam Lacy Award (Baseball Writer of the Year) from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. La Velle will be honored at the museum's annual banquet in Kansas City on Jan. 28. We'll be sure to toast...

Wolves will provide intrigue after all

2011-11-26T05:04:54-06:00

This hockey season is going to be just fine in the Twin Cities, if you're into that sort of thing.Chuck Fletcher, the Wild general manager, appears to have gotten it right in his second try at hiring a first-time NHL coach. The local boy, Todd Richards, didn't make good, but the tight-jawed Mike Yeo has the attention of both the vets and the young guys that he coached in Houston.So, yeah, next...

Munson: Minnesotan turned Dixie classic

2011-11-22T05:05:15-06:00

Larry Munson died this week. He grew up in Minneapolis in the 1920s and found fame in Dixie, as the voice of the Georgia Bulldogs football team.My friend Gerry Fraley worked for a considerable stretch at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He was greatly amused by Munson, because Larry was from the old school and always feared the worst was about to occur for the Bulldogs.I laughed at Fraley's...

Comparison of Kill's first team with 2010

2011-11-21T18:59:49-06:00

This e-mail arrived on Sunday afternoon, soon after the Vikings had lost 27-21 to Oakland in the Metrodome. This put the record at 2-8, a 10-game start achieved only once previously in franchise history.And that came 50 years ago, in the Vikings' first season as an NFL expansion team.The e-mail asked the question: "What would the record be for the Vikings if Jerry Kill was the coach?''The...

Biggest upset of weekend was in St. Cloud

2011-11-20T10:46:07-06:00

There was a shocking upset in major college athletics over the weekend and I didn't miss a minute.No, it wasn't sitting in the TV den for four hours to watch Iowa State knock off Oklahoma State on Friday night, or to watch Southern Cal hold on to upset Oregon late Saturday night.It was a hockey game -- yes, a hockey game -- on Friday night, and I took it in from the friendly sightlines of St....

Tebow is second coming of Bobby Douglass

2011-11-18T11:21:30-06:00

This isn't the first time that old-time NFL fans have seen this act. The Chicago Bears selected Bobby Douglass from Kansas in the second round _ and the 41st overall pick _ of the 1969 NFL draft.Douglass was 6-4 and 225 pounds. He was left-handed. And as with Tim Tebow, he couldn't hit a bull in the rear end with a bazooka.The Bears were in a horrible down cycle when Douglass arrived. He made...

Dang! I found credentials as Mason booster

2011-11-16T20:02:34-06:00

I was looking through the Star Tribune's electronic library to find some columns written on a college football coach. It wasn't Glen Mason, but for some reason, a column I had written on Mason for publication on Aug. 11, 2005 popped up.That led to another column that I had written for publication on Dec. 15, 1996, the day after the University of Minnesota hired Mason as the replacement for the...

Park Board ready to gouge Theo Wirth Golf

2011-11-14T11:44:00-06:00

Michael Hinton is the local executive director for First Tee, am organization devoted to bringing golf to kids that otherwise would not be introduced to the game. Hinton forwarded me an e-mail that he had to golf and First Tee supporters.It was a subject completely new to me, even though I drive by Theodore Wirth Golf Course on my rush-hour commutes most days of the week. Apparently, the...

History makes Bielema's Badgers look good

2011-11-13T11:52:28-06:00

The University of Chicago dropped football in 1939 and then withdrew from the Big Ten Conference at the end of the 1945-46 school year.So, the Big Ten was actually called the Big Nine when it started sending teams to the Rose Bowl after the 1946 season. It was not until 1953 that Michigan State was admitted and the conference again became the Big Ten.The Big Ten had a self-imposed no-repeat rule...

Now or never to get Camilo in Twins' Hall

2011-11-11T08:45:16-06:00

I have spent several years woofing at younger colleagues (which is everyone but Sid) about the injustice of pitcher Camilo Pascual not yet being voted into the Twins Hall of Fame.I decided after last year, when Camilo was rejected again in favor of shortstop Greg Gagne, that my choice this time was going to be tear up the ballot and send it back in the official envelope.This seemed like a very...