Charley Walters: Vikings all in on J.J. McCarthy as starting quarterback
The Minnesota Vikings seem to have done everything achievable to prepare J J McCarthy as their starting quarterback next season including eliminating the threat of competition The threat was eliminated with the latest signing of Sam Howell as McCarthy s backup Had the Vikings signed for instance a veteran such as Kirk Cousins it could have made an uncomfortable situation for McCarthy Howell has much to prove to warrant consideration as starter If McCarthy were to get injured a transaction for a veteran maybe even Cousins for the right financial deal could be a possibility At the very least Vikings coach Kevin O Connell whose QB expertise helped Sam Darnold reap a million contract with the Seahawks is getting another chance to prove how good he really is at progressing QBs McCarthy regardless of repeating the clich last week that pressure is a privilege will be under intense pressure to succeed Personally I think the more pressure the better that s something I thrive off of he explained That s something you sign up for when you play in the National Football League especially at the quarterback position I feel like pressure all it does is just bring out what s inside of you and I feel pretty good about what s inside of me McCarthy practices meditation daily Extremely critical he mentioned It s something that just keeps me neutral somewhere I can come from a response not react-type of state It s dependably there for me whenever I need it times like this times on the field When things aren t going great at home you can use it everywhere McCarthy has - odds to be NFL comeback athlete of the year next season per SportsBetting ag Twin Byron Buxton batting with six home runs is - odds to be American League comeback player of the year per BetOnline ag NBA analyst Charles Barkley after the Timberwolves in traded four first-round draft picks and five players to Utah for Rudy Gobert Worst deal in NBA history That was so stupid that bargain Last Wednesday in Los Angeles Gobert scored points with rebounds to propel the Timberwolves into the second round of the NBA playoffs The Wild s per-game attendance average for the regular season tied for first in the NHL with Las Vegas in percent of arena threshold Zach Parise was paid million by the Wild this season while coaching squirt hockey in Edina Twins Authentics which sells authenticated game-used memorabilia at Target Field had the baseball that fractured promising rookie Luke Keaschall s right arm the other day against the Angels for sale for It s the same ball on which Byron Buxton first struck out Word within the NFL is that the Vikings did exceptionally well in signing undrafted free agents and are paying more than in past years Among signees ex-Gophers QB Max Brosmer received a guaranteed contract plus a signing bonus regardless of whether he makes the -player advancing roster The NFL first-year minimum salary next season is Among other undrafted free agent signed by the Vikings linebacker Chaz Chambliss from Georgia was guaranteed tight end Ben Yurosek from Georgia was guaranteed offensive lineman Joe Huber from Wisconsin gets a guaranteed plus a signing bonus running back Tre Stewart from Jacksonville State gets a signing bonus and guaranteed wide receiver Dontae Fleming from Tulane gets guaranteed and a signing bonus safety Mishael Powell from Miami has a guaranteed deal and a signing bonus and defensive end Tyler Batty from BYU gets a signing bonus and guaranteed Among current Vikings Ivan Pace Jr Eric Wilson Ryan Wright Dwight McGlothern and Taki Taimani were undrafted free agents Former Twins great Tony Oliva and Kent Hrbek commented Friday they re doing OK after each suffered minor strokes a month ago Hrbek is also recovering from a second knee replacement Jake Guentzel the former Hill-Murray star with Tampa Bay and son of ex-Gopher Mike Guentzel who scouts the NHL for Utah has career goals in NHL playoffs games That s why he s the fifth-highest paid million sportsman in the NHL this season Simley grad Michael Busch hit his first career grand slam for the Cubs in their - accomplishment over the Brewers on Friday Busch playing for is hitting with six homers and RBIs Nearly baseball players coached by Dennis Denning at Cretin-Derham Hall turned out for a wonderful tribute Friday afternoon at the St Paul school which bedecked left field with a large No the jersey he wore during an iconic career The high-end Tepetonka golf club with a membership initiation fee of is scheduled to open a year from now near Willmar Fourteen holes are completed That was -foot- Notre Dame-bound Tommy Ahneman of Cretin-Derham Hall and parents dining at J R Mac s in St Paul last week Ahneman leaves for early classes and basketball workouts June in South Bend Ind The Irish he reported were by far his first choice during recruitment That was a dozen local hockey luminaries including Gary Gambucci Murray Williamson Mike Lefty Curran Jerry Melnychuk Dave Metzen Larry Johnson and Art Miller lunching at Willy McCoys in Bloomington the other day Curran recalled the season when he was goalie for the World Hockey Association Minnesota Fighting Saints in St Paul If we had played the Broad Street Bullies NHL s Philadelphia Flyers then I d say they might have beaten us about - Curran announced But when the gloves came off and the fighting started you never would have heard of the Broad Street Bullies We would have beat the crap out of them Best fighter on that Saints unit Jack Carlson Curran reported Retiring Wild future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has played for Pittsburgh Las Vegas Chicago and Minnesota during a -year NHL career and has chosen to live in Edina with his family in retirement A six-year-old son James is a goalie He likes to dive around Fleury advised the Pioneer Press Former Gopher Max Meyer of Woodbury after Tommy John surgery nearly two years ago leads the Miami Marlins in strikeouts in innings tied for sixth in the National League and ERA Red Wing s Tim Droogsma who was press secretary for Sen Rudy Boschwitz and Gov Arne Carlson has been an usher at club level at Xcel Ability Center since the Wild s first battle in October of and in recent times received a team-signed jersey for being the first usher to work games at the St Paul arena Steve Stone Schneider the former Cretin-Derham Hall star will be the basketball representative for the Mancini s St Paul Sports Hall of Fame banquet May at the Char House St Thomas Academy president Brian Ragatz last weekend received two distinguished leadership awards one from alma mater St John s University the other for contributions to private coaching Chansey Willis Jr a - freshman basketball guard leaving Western Michigan for the Gophers is ranked the th-best competitor in the NCAA transfer portal per Hoops HQ The latest Masters golf tournament was the th worked by former Gophers-Vikings linebacker Mark Dusbabek who is chief PGA Tour rules analyst for CBS-TV Wilmis Castro younger brother of Twins utility star Willi Castro is a sophomore outfielder at St Cloud State where he s hitting with doubles and nine home runs Don t print that Don t be surprised if Grand Casino Mille Lacs this summer succeeds Xcel Power Center after years as the Wild arena s corporate naming rights holder There is only a slight chance about that Glen Taylor after having lost in arbitration will be able to retain ownership of the Timberwolves and Lynx That chance will depend on whether NBA owners determine that principal buyers Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez by themselves don t have the wherewithal to buy the teams for the original billion price The concern for Taylor is that Lore and Rodriguez were able to add Michael Bloomberg and Eric Schmidt to their purchase package and they certainly have the information Bloomberg the former New York mayor and Schmidt the former Google CEO have a combined worth estimated at billion It could be thought-provoking though if Bloomberg and Schmidt ultimately end up running the Wolves-Lynx At the latest playoff games against the Lakers at Target Center Taylor and wife Becky were in their regular courtside seats near the Wolves bench The pair will retain those seats for years as well as ownership of an arena suite as part of a sale arrangement with Rodriguez and Lore While Taylor and his wife attended the first-round home playoff games Rodriguez was highly visible across court in suit and tie Lore wore jeans a crew neck shirt and sneakers Among celebrities at a few of the playoff games were Kevin O Connell Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Dave St Peter Niko Medved Dave Thorson Justin Jefferson Napheesa Collier Josh Duhamel Ice-T Aaron Jones Jordan Addison Christian Darrisaw Josh Metellus and P J Fleck Pssst Taylor who will be worth nearly billion if he sells the Timberwolves-Lynx has received several calls seeking his interest in buying the Twins First though he wants his basketball transaction to be finalized Also in attendance at the Timberwolves playoff was Bill Beise the Minneapolis stockbroker who for the first years of the Wolves franchise was very visible at courtside banging a tournament project on the floor encouraging the home organization There are several reasons Cretin-Derham Hall grad Tre Holloman opted for North Carolina State rather than remain at Michigan State for his senior basketball season The - point guard who had a splendid junior season for the Spartans didn t enjoy being a backup And a million name image and likeness NIL deal didn t hurt By the way Holloman didn t hear a peep from the Gophers when he opted for the NCAA transfer portal five weeks ago Nolan Groves the Orono basketball star who decommitted from Yale has switched to Texas Tech with a per year NIL deal It was Texas Tech that lured in ex-Gophers guard Elijah Hawkins with a per month deal A little birdie says Jimmy Snuggerud in recent days signed by the St Louis Blues had a NIL deal his final season with the Gophers Greater part impactful Gophers last season received NIL stipends of a month The University of St Thomas Kendall Blue is getting a NIL deal from Nebraska for his senior season while teammate Mike Barnstable is leaving for from Tulsa Meanwhile the Tommies coming off -victory season have landed - Nebraska redshirt guard Nick Janowski - Tommy Humphries from Furman and - Isaiah Johnson Arigu from Miami as transfers The NCAA men s basketball portal window for next season in recent weeks closed after more than players had entered Coaches who know say now it costs between million and million to buy players skilled enough to get to the Final Four Don t think that Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle and St Thomas Johnny Tauer didn t chat about the head basketball coaching job that went to Niko Medved this spring Twins shortstop Carlos Correa million the th-highest paid competitor in the major leagues this season is off to a -for- start Vikings coach Kevin O Connell next season will have assistants on his staff Bud Grant who coached the Vikings to four Super Bowls had eight assistants No departing Gophers including star Dawson Garcia are among the players invited by the NBA to its Draft Combine May - in Chicago Fans criticized the Twins February signings of Ty France three home runs and Harrison Bader three home runs but they ve been the club s best hitters Ex-Viking Adam Thielen has restructured his Panthers contract for million for a final upcoming season Prayers are welcome for Ron Docken the former Minneapolis Roosevelt and Gophers goaltender undergoing recovery for a stroke Docken who acted in the cult classic Slap Shot film became a good friend of the movie s star Paul Newman Hopkins grad Paige Bueckers whose NIL deals total more than million as the No pick in the WNBA draft by Dallas will play for this season With the bulk of free agency complete the Vikings are - odds tied with the Bears to win the NFC North next season But the Lions are favored at the Packers next at per SportsBetting ag St John s-Collegeville hit a grand slam with the naming of Dan O Brien as interim athletics director the other day The Vikings are focusing on getting the NFL draft for in Minneapolis Minnesota Sports Events intent on acquiring the roving draft had its group in Green Bay for last week s event The NFL will decide on the site of the draft in The Ryder Cup is already scheduled for Hazeltine National in Chaska In Green Bay for the draft particular residential businesses near Lambeau Field were charging to park and a church in the neighborhood was getting per Sportico Guy to watch University of St Thomas junior and Cretin-Derham Hall grad Zach O Connor who the other day in St Cloud won the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves boxing championship at pounds fights in the national tournament in two weeks in Tulsa Okla Boxing makes me confident strong disciplined keeps me in shape and I just enjoy punching people he noted Overheard From a noted former NHL executive on Wild star Kirill Kaprizov who will be eligible for a contract extension in July They should just give him Xcel Potency Center then buy it back Related Articles Frost roar into the postseason spot with - win over Boston Saints rained out give up on double-header How Anthony Edwards cracked the NBA s codes I think he s a genius Six moments that defined the Wild s first-round exit Twins lose to Red Sox dropping fourth straight championship
