Charley Walters: No playoffs could mean big changes for Vikings

Aug. 21—It's 22 days until the Minnesota Vikings open their regular season against the Bengals in Cincinnati. The way it looks now, the Vikings are an average football team that could maybe win nine of 17 games.

Whether nine victories will get the Vikings into the playoffs is unclear. What does seem clear is that if the team doesn't make the playoffs for a second straight year, there will be a new

coaching staff, and perhaps front office, in 2022.

Zygi and Mark Wilf have owned the Vikings for 16 years. There are a lot of their players whose contracts end after the season, and it wouldn't be surprising if ownership set it up

that way in case there's a regime change.

The Vikings are stuck with QB Kirk Cousins' contract ($56 million guaranteed the next two years), so he'll stay. The only player worth extending now is right tackle Brian O'Neill, 25,

whose market value is in the $18 million-per-year range. If the Vikings don't make a long-term commitment with O'Neill, they could franchise tag him next March for about $20 million for one year.

There's little doubt the Vikings' No. 2 QB will be Kellen Mond, 22, drafted in the second round last year. He's expected to get most of the snaps in the final exhibition game

against the Chiefs in Kansas City on Friday. Jake Browning looks to be the No. 3 QB, retained in case of emergency.

After getting limited minutes with the Gophers, Jarvis Omersa last year left for Division I-bound University of St. Thomas, which seemingly would have been a perfect fit for the 6-7,

235-pound highly-athletic junior from Orono. But now, it turns out, Omersa has opted for the NCAA transfer portal.

It's turned out the Twins got a great bargain in signing Jorge Polanco to a $25.75 million, five-year contract two years ago.

Polanco, 28, has become the Twins' best player, hitting .276 with with 21 home runs and 70 RBIs through 114 games. He's playing for $5.5 million this season.

Polanco is the obvious choice to represent the Twins in the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association's Heart and Hustle Award competition. Ex-Twin Robbie Grossman is

the Tigers' representative, and ex-Twin Eduardo Escobar was the Diamondbacks rep before his trade to the Brewers.

Unrestricted LA Clippers free agent and ex-Gopher Amir Coffey hit five 3-point field goals in the Clippers' 94-90 Las Vegas summer league victory over the Jazz last week, finishing

with a game-high 20 points. In the game, another ex-Gopher, Daniel Oturu, scored 12 points for the Clippers with eight rebounds and two blocked shot, then was traded to the Jazz.

Undrafted Rochester native Matthew Hurt, who signed a two-way contract with the Rockets, will spend much of next season in the G League with the Rio Grande Valley Pipers for

about $80,000.

He's averaged 3.7 points in his first three summer league games after averaging 18.3 points his sophomore season at Duke.

If Hurt makes it to the NBA Rockets, depending on games played, he could make a pro-rated $400,000. The Wolves host the Rockets in this season's home opener.

Nuggets second-year player Zeke Nnaji from Hopkins made only 2 of 18 3-pointers in summer league play.

Ex-Timberwolf Kevin Love is buying into an Oregon winery featuring Pinot Noir, wine spectator.com mentions.

Former Gophers running back star Darrell Thompson is convinced hard-running, 5-10, 210-pound Gophers senior Mohammed Ibrahim will be in a NFL camp a year from now.

The Gophers' Tanner Morgan is the 36th-best QB among college football's 130 Division I teams, according to profootballfocus.com . Wisconsin's Graham Mertz is No. 26.

Van Holmgren, 22, the long-hitting 6-feet-8 Wayzata native who made it to the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur golf tournament at storied Oakmont last week, plans to turn

professional this week and enter Korn Ferry Tour Q-School in Georgia.

Holmgren, a plus-5.7 handicapper, played brilliantly at Oakmont against the best amateurs in the world. Winning the tournament would have meant entry to next year's Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

"Not on the course, but all the down time in between rounds I think about that stuff, but on the course, it doesn't help to think about that," Holmgren said. "But going to bed, those

thoughts creep into your head."

There were 7,811 entries for the U.S. Amateur that required a handicap of 2.4 or better.

It was a somber and deeply emotional funeral mass for Tom Kelly Jr. and his family attended by pretty much a who's who of the Twins organization, current and past, at

Transfiguration Church in Oakdale the other day.

Viking Dalvin Cook will be the second running back, behind the Panthers' Christian McCaffrey, in fantasy drafts this year, Sports Illustrated says.

Jerry Koosman's No. 36 Mets jersey will be retired in New York on Saturday. Koosman, 78, also wore No. 36 with the Twins, for whom he won 20 games in 1979.

There were 201 rostered players for the start of St. John's-Collegeville's opening football practice.

California NBA super agent Bill Duffy, a former Gophers basketball teammate of Chris Engler, spent a couple hours at Engler's Lake Elmo home the other day wishing well for Engler, 62, recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS).

Individual daily ticket prices for the Friday through Sunday (Sept. 24-26) Ryder Cup matches at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis., range from $275 to $400, with daily practice rounds

(Tuesday through Thursday) ranging from $60 to $130.

It's a girl, Ryland Claire Swanson, for former Gophers women's basketball player Shannon (Schonrock) Swanson and husband Colby, who played basketball for Concordia-St.

Paul.

Of the 15 players on the 1957 Larry Ross-coached International Falls state boys hockey champions, eight are deceased. Three — Jim Wherley, Tony Nagurski (Bronco's son)

and John Kerry—_ of the seven living members were to attend the team's Hall of Fame induction last weekend. Star of the team was the late Oscar Mahle, who went on to star for the Gophers.

North St. Paul plans to honor its 1961 Polars for their overall athletic success and in particular pitcher Don Arlich, now 78, who in one 13-inning game struck out 31 of 39 batters with

an overpowering fastball.

Hill-Murray Athletic Hall of Fame electees for induction Sept. 26 at the school: Greg Langevin, Bethany Doolittle, Vince Conway, Rod Romanchuk, Tessa Cichy and Paul Thurmes.

St. Thomas Academy will also honor its 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame class — Tom Campion, Ted Gonsior, Tom Linstroth, Ed Bifulk, Chris Thome, Nate Howard and Dan Fitzgerald

— that was delayed due to the covid pandemic last year during homecoming weekend this fall.

Simley hall of famers to be inducted Sept. 3 at football halftime: Pat Kavanagh, Steve Iverson, Jim Bell, Charlie Rea, Cory Haala and Kim Madigan.

New co-head wrestling coach at St. Thomas Academy is former Gophers All-American Cole Konrad. New Cadets baseball coach is Bobby Thompson, a former captain at the Mendota Heights school.

Longtime Twins-Vikings merchandise manager Mickey Giuliani, son of beloved late Twins scout Angie Giuliani, passed away this month at age 78 from pancreatic cancer.

Dale Welter and Denny Laufenburger, both of whom work tirelessly to promote the State Town Ball baseball tournament in Chaska, Waconia and Hamburg through Sept. 3, are

hoping to draw 25,000 spectators for the games.

Ex-Twin Bert Blyleven's son Todd, who carried dozens of wounded to safety during the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival mass shooting in Las Vegas four years ago, will be featured

speaker on a Capital Club Zoom meeting on Thursday.

St. Paul birthdays: Baseball hall of famer Paul Molitor turns 65 on Sunday, retired sporting goods hall of famer Ted Steichen 87.

After a spring delay due to the COVID pandemic, ex-International Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion Mike "The Rice Street Rocker" Evgen is bringing amateur boxing back to St. Paul for the first time in some 20 years with the help of ex-Gophers hockey player Jim Boo on a sponsorship card Oct. 23 at a site to be determined.

It'll be 35 years ago on Sept. 6 that Gov. Rudy Perpich proclaimed "Brian Brunette Day" in Minnesota after the St. Paul junior middleweight boxed world champion Patrizio Oliva for

the WBA world championship in Naples, Italy.

The fight was halted when Brunette suffered an accidental thumbing to his left eye. Brunette is 63 now and works in marketing for the Minnesota Laborers Union and as a FAA commercial pilot flight instructor.

DON'T PRINT THAT

Pssst: The Wild have offered NHL rookie of the year Kirill Kaprizov a seven-year deal for $8 million per season and may go up as high as $9 million. But the team's leading scorer

isn't expected to sign for less than $10 million a season.

Insiders say the $10 million-plus, one-year offer Kaprizov has from a Kontinental Hockey League team — CSKA Moscow — is for real. CSKA Moscow, by the way, is the favorite of

Russian president Vladimir Putin, who occasionally skates with the players, and is well financed.

Luis Gil, 23, the pitcher the Twins traded to the Yankees three years ago for outfielder Jake Cave, 28, hasn't given up an extra base hit or run in his three major league starts with a

fastball clocked regularly between 96 and 98 mph. Cave is batting .183 with two homers in 52 games.

The Twins signing Josh Donaldson for $92 million for four years meant there was no room to retain for C.J. Cron, who was subsequently released and now is playing for the Rockies

for $1 million this season.

Donaldson, 35, who is paid $142,000 per game, is batting .248 with 17 home runs and 51 RBIs in 96 games. Cron, 31, the National League player of the week early this month, is hitting .269 with 21 homers and 68 RBIs in 102 games.

There was buzz that ex-Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders would end up as an assistant with the Heat or Celtics this year, but now it looks like he'll be sitting out.

Of 130 ranked college football teams entering the season, the Gophers are No. 46, according to cbssports.com rankings. Alabama is No. 1. Ohio State, which visits Minneapolis in

the season-opener the evening of Sept. 2, is No. 4. Fiesta Bowl executive director Mike Nealy, an Alexander Ramsey and Gophers grad, will be at the Ohio State-Gophers game.

Three Ohio State players — wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, and cornerback Sevyn Banks — are projected as first-round picks in next spring's NFL draft.

Hazeltine National in Chaska, which has hosted two U.S. Opens (1970, 1991), is conspicuously absent among U.S. Golf Association announcements of future U.S. Opens

through 2050.

Look for former Gopher Cory Laylin, who has been head men's hockey coach at Hamline University the last seven years, to become an assistant at the University of St.

Thomas. Ex-Gopher Natalie Darwitz last month left Hamline as head women's hockey coach to become an assistant at her alma mater.

The Timberwolves have not retired Kevin Garnett's No. 21 jersey. New Timberwolf Patrick Beverley wore No. 21 with the Clippers.

Attendance: The Twins are averaging 15,166 per Target Field game this season, 19th-best in the major leagues. The crosstown Saints are averaging 6,043 at CHS Field, fifth-best in

all of the minor leagues.

Dave Lee is enjoying retirement so much that the former WCCO-AM icon has declined an invitation to continue broadcasting University of St. Thomas football, which he's done with

mega-talented Eric Nelson for 10 years. Lee will continue working high school state tournaments, however.

One bettor wageredt $17,500 that a noted Minnesota golfer would win the recent 100th anniversary Resorters tournament in Alexandria. The golfer was eliminated in match play. Total

betting pot was $126,550; last year's pot was $65,200.

St. Thomas, in its first season moving from Division III to Division I, was picked to finish eighth among 11 teams in the Pioneer Football League's preseason coaches poll.

Ex-Vikings offensive lineman Charles Goodrum's 1974 NFL Championship gold and diamond size-11 ring made by Josten's has received a VSA online auction bid of $14,000.

Meanwhile, late Twin Kirby Puckett's 1987 retirement gift red Corvette convertible with 29,352 miles has received a bid of $7,321.

The Gophers athletics department continues to factor season ticket seating upgrades based on financial contributions./l

OVERHEARD

Ryan Suter, 36, now with the Dallas Stars, on his 13-year contract with the Wild being bought out after nine seasons, in theplayerstribune.com : "Our family...we did not see this

coming. None of us. Not in a million years. I really thought I was going to retire in Minnesota. So when the call came in about the buyout, I was basically in shock....That's just life in 2021, right?"