Link: Claeys tells favorite story about Leidner, talks replacing LG

Link: Wolitarsky says offense is improved

Link: Pirsig talks Northwestern, Dovich, Leidner's mental state

They sing the song "borrowed time". They do it perfectly.

I have watched the YouTube video multiple times.

There are multiple groups and singers that have songs by this name. Can anyone help me and let me know who sings that version originally ?

In last nights loss to creighton it looked like a team that fouled and turned the ball over a lot more than a bo ryan team. Also Wisconsins first free throw attemp was with like 5 minutes left in the 2nd half. Another thing bo ryan teams did a lot of. Not saying it can't change back but something to look at. Also i believe Koenig has been overrated his whole college career. Anybody agree with me.

CBS Sports now has Gophers playing Washington State at the Holiday Bowl ... still not all that bad ... I'm guessing he has us splitting the last two to get there.

The Gophers take on Mount St. Mary's tonight at The Barn. Game tips-off at 7 on BTN Plus, so unfortunately you need a subscription to watch.

Game preview here: Mount St. Mary's Preview

Link: Johnson talks Northwestern, the run game, Leidner, and more

I have no clue on which it is, or what combination of each it is, but this year got me thinking,

Is it that the Gophers haven't recruited a good QB lately or is it that we have the QB with all the right tools, but the staff hasn't developed them ?

Les Miles recruited stud QBs but couldn't develop them to save his life...or job.

Texas Tech has 3 QBs (1 current and 2 that are playing elsewhere as they transfered) that will get drafted in the next few years. So they recruited awesome.

Michigan State has for years developed decent recruits into really good QBs by the time they have finished school.

It is an anomaly that I can't figure out for our Gophers.

Presser will begin shortly. Follow along here for the main points.

Link: Gophers in the Pros: Week 10

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Johnson said he's not sure who will fill in for Weyler or even if Weyler's for sure out for Saturday. He said Bronson Dovich will maybe fill Weyler's spot.

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Sawvel's said he's impressed with Northwestern and that they're obviously a much better team than their first two games. He regrets not redshirting Jalen Myrick freshman year.

Link: Leidner talks Senior Day, Northwestern, lack of TD passes

I have gotten DNA testing done with both ancestry.com & 23andMe.

Ancestry.com results:
Europe East 26%
Europe West 24%
Great Britain 15%
Scandinavia 14%
Ireland 10%
Finland/NW Russia 9%
Iberian Peninsula <1%
Native American <1%

23andMe results:
Scandinavian 19.5%
Finnish 7.7%
British & Irish 6.9%
French & German 2.5%
Broadly Northwestern European 39.8%
Eastern European 15.1%
Balkan 0.4%
Broadly Southern European 0.6%
Broadly European 7.5%
Unassigned < 0.1%

Maternal Haplogroup V1a
Paternal Haplogroup R1b1b2a1a1
296 Neanderthal variants accounting for < 4% of my overall DNA (have more Neanderthal variants than 78% of 23andMe customers)

Claeys said Tuesday that Weyler may or may not the Northwestern game, but today he said that Weyler is out for Northwestern and Wisconsin but will be back for the bowl game.

Gonna be a chilly one!

There is a world of difference between this year and last year's team, for the good. This team passes so much better and can get out to run because they defend the interior and rebound so much better. The new players have such an impact on the floor and are all good additions. We have so much length added to the roster. Dupree McBrayer is like a different player out there playing with confidence. Amir Coffey has a lot of ability and think he will be a different player for the good by the end of they year, if he stays healthy. Eric Curry works hard out there. Reggie Lynch is a bit better offensively than I thought he would be for us. Nate Mason is the one guy that we cannot afford to lose. We are desperately thin at the PG until next season. I agree with Gopher Rube that a healthy Jarvis Johnson would have benefitted this team so much for so many reasons. Jordan Murphy is so quick off his feet. Our free throw shooting looks so much better than the past couple of years.

There are things that stick out to me that are in need of improvement. We don't shoot the ball all that well and probably need to pay good attention to shot selection on each possession from the next game to the end of the year. We specifically need better scoring from the frontcourt. We have gotten putbacks and some easy inside buckets, which is a good thing. But we really don't have that 'go-to' guy on this team yet, in terms of scoring. Great balance in scoring, which is a huge positive. Personally, I would like to see Curry and Murphy develop their faceup game to where they could get a patented move to hit that 8-12 foot midrange jumper. Of course, they each need to work on getting a consistent jump shot. Something consistent to develop their game. I don't see either one as a 'back to the basket' type of player. I think everyone wishes Jordan would be 2-3 inches taller but as it is, he may struggle to create space to get a shot in a back-to-the-basket position. Bakary Konate will still need to develop to give Lynch a breather, We need Hurt or Gilbert to step into that role of coming off the bench to give the team spark on offense. Springs just needs to get familiar with this team and he should contribute, I would think.

I like this team.. We will find out how good they really are in the upcoming games with bigger programs with better players... Confidence is good right now but we know from past experience that it can be a fleeting thing. Coffey may not be the top scorer but it wont be long before he is the best all around player on this team, if he remains healthy.

Pitino recruited very well and has good contributing transfers so this should move this team to progress. Next year's recruits can't get here fast enough to take another step forward. Either way, this team will be fun to watch, if we don't have to deal with injury or off the court issues.

This year, the Gophers are averaging 44.7k per home game. They'll likely announce 41 or 42 for Saturday, meaning this will be the worst attendance at the Bank since the stadium opened. In fact, it will have the lowest average since 2002. The largest attended game this year was Iowa at 49.1k. That is the smallest "high water mark" in any given season since 1991.

What is depressing is that 2015 had an average of over 52k, the highest since 1987.

Teague's donation hikes lined the pockets, but emptied the stadium. I've had season tickets since 2001, and I've never had a problem giving tickets away like I have this season. The Vikings stadium, the loss of Jerry Kill? I don't know what happened specifically, but apathy has set in. How the Gophers play this week in front the fans for the final time, at Sconnie in our bowl will have a huge impact on the atmosphere for next fall.

My thoughts are that this is an area where we gotta get this down. One thing is I hope the front court can develop shots off the catch that we can get a post entry against the zone to score. You don't want bigs dribbling in the zone at all but maybe 1 or 2 quick dribbles at the very most to get a rhythm on the shot if you have the room. Our bigs have to develop that skill to become effective against the zone.

When setting up an offense, you want the defense to have to move to areas to cover that open up other areas for the offense.. Then, you break down the integrity of the defense. In order for that to happen, you have to have guys that can be threats to score in different areas.. You saw Texas-Arlington overcommit players to Amir Coffey in the 2nd half, because they got behind and were trying to recover, which opened up other areas for the Gophers. This makes offense in basketball so much easier. That is the idea of running an offensive set. Getting the defense to move to places that create problems in coverage for them.

People talk about outside shooting and reversing the ball against the zone, which is very important no doubt. We have to have guys that can shoot over the top of the zone... I would argue it is EQUALLY IMPORTANT to have guys that can score inside the zone, so the defense has to collapse at times. That is where the skill of 'catch and shoot' needs to come into play for Lynch, Curry, Murphy, Konate, etc. That forces the zone to rotate and scramble back to the outside to react to a pass back out, where good passing will eventually find an open shooter.

The one thing that drives me nuts is when we pass the ball around the perimeter and settle for a contested outside shot, when we run out of time on the shot clock. When that happens, I watch the WEAK SIDE(opposite side of the ball) of the zone offense.. If guys are standing around , the defense has no threat to concern itself outside of what is basically in front of them..... TO CORRECT THAT, you need to always have at least 2 motions on the opposite side of where the ball is being passed. Somebody needs to be flashing across the key and at least a switch of positions of the person out high and at the opposite wing. Got to get the defense to overthink. Standing on the perimeter and receiving passes around the perimeter is a recipe for failure. Gotta have motion in running a zone offense so the opposing defense has to think.. That is going to be the challenge to overcoming teams that play a lot of zone against us this year. Guys have to be able to find spaces to hit the shots once they are in the area to make the offense that much more effective this year.

Eden Prairie defensive end Jermaine Johnson - Johnson caught one pass for five yards and a touchdown in Eden Prairie’s 63-21 victory over Maple Grove. They will play in the state tournament on Friday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. TGR does not expect Minnesota to have much involvement with Johnson moving forward.

Reason for not expecting Minnesota not having much involvement with this player? The player is
not interested, or the gophers looking elsewhere.

2:30 kick for the Axe

Mitch Leidner

• Excited to play one last home game, it will be a little emotional.
• Wishes he had waited longer on the interception and that he went through his progressions more.
• Drew Wolitarsky has become a great leader for the younger receivers.
• Once we get into the redzone, we want to run. Helps explain just five touchdown passes. All embrace Shannon and Rodney running it down their throats.
• Seniors have been meeting together. There's still a lot to play for.

Damarius Travis

• Time at Minnesota has been very special. Learned a lot from the coaching staff and state of Minnesota. If I could do it all over again, I'd come back to Minnesota. I loved my team here.
• Underclassman still have incentive to play for the seniors, even with the Big Ten West probably out of reach.
• Northwestern wide receiver Austin Carr is very quick and gets separation.
• Decided to play football instead of baseball because football pays full scholarships and baseball doesn't. Still loves baseball, though. "I was definitely a home run hitter. I was batting the four spot."
• Most proud of not panicking when something goes wrong. We always have each others back and can stay composed about issues.
• When Jalen Myrick first got here, he didn't realize the importance of practice. I had to learn that too.

Nick Rallis

• I don't know if it's hit me yet that it will be my last game. Focused on preparing for Northwestern. "If you don't go without a win, it's not going to be a great memory."
• Blake Cashman is a beast. He doesn't realize how good he can be.
• Clayton Thorson's improved as a quarterback. He's efficient, doesn't make a lot of mistakes with the football, can run decently.
• Jackson's up there as maybe the best running back they've played. He's got great patience and cuts well.
• Kind of insane with preparation. Works with strength coach Dustin Perry to work on explosive movements on a lot of Friday nights.
• Most proud of the togetherness this team has. It's one cohesive group. When the seniors meet, we try to get ahead of any issues that might come up.

Tracy Claeys

• This senior group was a big part of changing the culture here. They've won 29 games, which is the third-most of any senior class since 1937.
• Damarius Travis is a complete professional. He's involved in the community, good student. I'd trust him with my life.
• Sounds like it's going to be a little windy on Saturday. We have to limit Justin Jackson. It all starts with him for Northwestern. We're concentrating on stopping Jackson first.
• Thorson's made strides from last year.
• Our offense is better by far, and Mitch is a big part of that.
• Need to work on getting more pressure on the quarterback. Devers' ankle is fine.
• Lingen's still out.
• We've seen a little bit more man coverage and haven't got enough separation. Also dropped a couple balls.
• Thought the team handled the noise at Memorial Stadium well, very few penalties.
• As far as making plays and how many are playing, this is the best true freshman class you've had. They also make mistakes, but for how much we put on their plate, we wouldn't be where we're at without them.
• We'll be fine with tackling. For the most part, we've tackled awfully well this year and do tackling drills every week in practice.
• Northwestern is maybe the most balanced team they've played with skill players between Jackson, Thorson, and Carr. They get their good players the ball in space.

For years the football HC was on the air with WCCO radio a lot during the week (mornings, afternoons, and evenings). I think they still did it when they no longer carried the games. Sid interviewed the AD a lot on Sundays. Those days are gone, I guess. I also miss the weekly show on Fox Sports North, night and day from the putrid Facebook show. The Tuesday afternoon radio show on K-Fan stinks thanks to the questions asked by Rosen and Grim.

My friend and I just got back from Lincoln with our wives on a fun trip. Took in a winery, brewery, and a self guided tour of Memorial Stadium. Went down to a place a lot of people go to before and after games called the rail yard. Did a lot of walking. I think the top day on my Fit Bit was over 17,000 steps.
But the things that impressed us the most was the fans. Wow, they go out of their way to make you feel good. We were in Panera the first morning and a couple of guys came in and immediately came over and asked how we were doing and thanked us for coming down. We talked with them a long time and got information on what we might like to see and go to. Then before the game we were at a restaurant and someone came over to us with a $20 and told us the next round was on them. And walking back to our hotel after the game a guy pulled up and rolled his window down and told us what a great game it was. The four of us were just amazed at how these fans would go out of their way to say hi, and tell us to have a great time.
Their stadium in very impressive just seeing it on the outside, and even better inside. I've never been in stadium with 90,000 fans. And being a part of their 353rd straight sellout. And again the fans went over and beyond to make you feel good.
Thanks to all the Nebraska fans. You are awesome.