The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating a criminal sexual conduct case, and a department spokesman said Saturday officers are investigating the possible involvement of four Gophers football players.

The case was reported Sept. 3, and the victim was a 22-year-old female.

“The victim reported being sexually assaulted,” the police report said. “Victim sought medical attention prior to making report.”

Gophers coach Tracy Claeys suspended four players for Saturday’s 58-28 win over Indiana State at TCF Bank Stadium: cornerbacks KiAnte Hardin and Ray Buford, safety Dior Johnson and defensive end Tamarion Johnson.

“We are working to determine how they are involved in the case at this time,” Minneapolis officer Corey Schmidt said in a statement provided to the Pioneer Press on Sunday.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/09/10/gophers-suspend-cornerbacks-kianta-hardin-and-ray-buford/

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Creamer visited Tulane last weekend and will visit Minnesota the weekend of October 7 and Maryland the weekend of October 15.

from what is listed at ESPN...

#33 Big Red giving 3 in Lincoln to #22 Oregon...

WMU giving three to Illini in Champaign...

Ohio State giving 1.5 in Norman..

.Fitzie is 0-2 to MAC and FCS but vs ACC Duke is giving 3.5 in the Dyche..

Sparty getting 8 from the Irish in the South Bend...

Rutgers at home not even a full td fave vs New Mexico (5.5)...

Penn State at home not a full 1.5 score fave vs little Temple (9)...

Maryland on road against UCF, one of worst teams from 2015 is only an 8.5 point favorite....

Michigan by 20 at Ann Arbor vs CO

Bucky by 35 in Madtown vs GaState

Offshore has Iowa by 15 over Bison I heard.

Right back on the recruiting trail goes Coach Pitino and Kimani Young. They went to visit Hasahn French at his school and watched him play in open gym yesterday already. Have to give them credit for effort here. Hasahn is scheduled to visit Minnesota next weekend.

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http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl...elebration/ar-BBwdDtn?li=BBnba9I&ocid=U218DHP


Headline drew me in, turned out to be a bit of nothing, but its still Decker related. One of my favorite ex Gophers.

It appears that Americans are no longer capable of acting rationally (or morally) on juries involving lawsuits. Our move toward Socialism/Communism has people of the mindset that the business or school should always pay a huge amount to the plaintiff, no matter what. Anything to take money from those who have and give to those who don't is considered to be a good thing by Americans these days.

The latest is the case of a woman who picked up a needle in a Target parking lot and pricked herself in the hand with it. She didn't receive disease or injury or anything. But a jury still awarded her $4.6M.

http://www.startribune.com/4-6m-awarded-to-woman-stuck-by-needle-in-target-parking-lot/392988461/

Too often, I feel that we are divided, whether it be basketball, football, or whatever else comes to mind. We are one family! If it were up to me, any sport we compete in I hope we win a national championship in. I want Claeys to succeed, same with Pitino, and any other U coach. May every sport be successful and kick some rear end. Lets focus on our positives. Football: solid players, solid foundation, competitive, success is attainable. Basketball: solid and experienced players returning, good recruits, could be the surprise team of the year. I hate that we have almost been torn between which sports we want to be successful. If someone's opinion, or multiple peoples opinions, on here keeps you from cheering on the Gophes then that makes me sad. I hope ALL U of M sports beat the hell out of any one they compete against. The point of this thread is to bring everyone together in unity and talk out how we reach our goals in all sports. Hopefully football, basketball, and all other sports succeed. Thats what I want as a fan and hope we make it happen.
SKI-U-MAH

Link: Best pictures from the Gophers win over Indiana State

Rivalries have interesting demographics.. Many times, it is geographic proximity, whether in the same state or bordering areas. Sometimes, it is greatness of programs without being close in geography(see USC vs. Notre Dame in football).. The military academies have rivalries.. Historical greatness and longstanding playing of games(Michigan vs. Minnesota). I wonder if rivalries, once established, ever end??

Most rivalries go into streaks where one team is dominant... Ohio State has beaten Michigan 13 of the last 15 years. The losses of the Buckeyes were one year for Jim Tressel and the year that Luke Fickell led the program... Otherwise, the Buckeyes have dominated the last 15 years.. Before that, the Lloyd Carr-led Wolverines dominated the John Cooper-led Buckeyes. Michigan is looking to re-gain relevance so that the result of the games start to even out.. They feel the hiring of Jim Harbaugh will level the playing field a bit with Urban Meyer.. The talent in both programs is unbelievable. It will be interesting to see if Harbaugh can get Michigan to win the Ohio State-Michigan battle to bring it back for the Wolverines.

Michigan State is an interesting situation.. I think when they were originally voted into the Big Ten, Michigan voted for University of Pittsburgh instead.. Dont think the Spartans ever forgave them.. Michigan State had a rivalry with Notre Dame just like Michigan did, especially when Duffy Daugherty was head coach for the Spartans... But Michigan State looks to Michigan as its arch rival though Michigan does not reciprocate that... Their rivalry of focus is Ohio State. Michigan treats Michigan State like a red headed step child yet Michigan State has gotten the best of the Wolverines in the recent history.

Notre Dame and USC have had a good rivalry though there have been long win streaks for both teams at times. The 1974 game where USC was down 24-0 at half, then Anthony Davis returned the 2nd half kickoff for a TD and the comeback was on..Final score: USC 55 Notre Dame 24.. That was one of the greatest comebacks I have ever seen between top 10 ranked teams. That riled up the rivalry all the more. Notre Dame, without being in a conference, has established some reall good rivalries.

My question is that if one team wins most of the matchups, does the rivalry ever end?? I understand the geographic proximity thing, but is there a true rivalry if one team continues to dominate and win most of the games between the programs?

i know it's a ways away and I'm super excited for this season because we have some solid pieces but locking in Washington has me excited for the future beyond this season as well. Here is our projected 2017-18 lineup led by some upperclassmen in mason, Murphy, lynch:

Pg - mason, Washington, sharp
SG - mcbrayer, Coffey, mason
Sf - Coffey, Fitzgerald, Hurt
Pf - Murphy, curry, French?
C - lynch, curry, konate

* gaston and Gilbert odd men out IMO

I think Washington and mason will share the court at times but once again we are pretty thin at guard.I never encourage anyone to transfer but I can see Gilbert going elsewhere since he will be low on the depth chart. Like RJ always said, someone always transfers it seems. I can see a schollie open up that is used on a guard similar to springs since the following year 5 schollies open up or perhaps sharp earns it.

The other thing about this team I notice is there is depth if someone isn't producing. If someone isn't doing the job there are other options to go where we haven't had that recently.

Excited for gopher hoops... It's a different kind of excitement, excitement of high expectations. Hope I don't get burned

Another Top 100 2017 wrestler Brent Jones committed yesterday to the U! Brent is a 3 times state champ and a 7x Fargo AA who projects to 133/141. Brent has been improving a lot lately and may be much higher ranked by the time he starts college in another year.

Here's the article from The Guillotine:


College Recruiting: Three-time state champion Jones to Minnesota

The Guillotine
Sep14, 2016

Brent Jones of Shakopee announced on Twitter his commitment to wrestling for Minnesota following his upcoming senior season.

Brent Jones ‏@jonesbrent266 21h

Proud to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Minnesota to further my wrestling and academic career




Jones is a three-time state champion. He won the Class AAA 126-pound title in 2016 as a junior. He placed first at 120 pounds as a sophomore and first at 106 pounds as a freshman. Over three seasons his record stands at 122-4.

Jones was a double Junior Nationals All-American in Fargo this summer, placing fifth in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.

Jones is InterMat’s No. 99 overall ranked wrestler in the Class of 2017. He is projected to wrestle at 133 or 141 pounds for the Gophers.

The Guillotine Wrestler Files
Brent Jones, Shakopee
2016 USA Wrestling Nationals FS Junior 132 5th
2016 USA Wrestling Nationals GR Junior 132 5th
2016 Northern Plains Regional FS Junior 138 2nd
2016 Northern Plains Regional GR Junior 138 1st
2016 MN/USA Wrestling State FS Junior 138 1st
2016 MN/USA Wrestling State GR Junior 138 1st
2016 MN HS State Tournament 3A 11th 126 1st 40-1
2015 MN Christmas Tournament 3A 11th 126 1st
2015 USA Wrestling Nationals FS Junior 120 DNP
2015 USA Wrestling Nationals GR Junior 120 3rd
2015 MN/USA Wrestling State FS Junior 126 1st
2015 MN/USA Wrestling State GR Junior 126 1st
2015 MN HS State Tournament 3A 10th 120 1st 41-3
2014 USA Wrestling Nationals FS Cadet 113 8th
2014 USA Wrestling Nationals GR Cadet 113 4th
2014 FILA Nationals GR Cadet 110 4th
2014 MN/USA Wrestling State FS Cadet 113 3rd
2014 MN/USA Wrestling State GR Cadet 113 1st
2014 MN HS State Tournament 3A 9th 106 1st 41-0
2013 USA Wrestling Nationals FS Cadet 94 3rd
2013 USA Wrestling Nationals GR Cadet 94 3rd
2013 FILA Nationals FS Cadet 93 3rd
2013 FILA Nationals GR Cadet 93 3rd


Brandon Paulson‏@lovethefight 20 hours ago

Brent Jones commits to the Gophers! 3timer, 7 time Fargo AA, and still under rated.


#bluechip @jonesbrent266 @GopherWrestling

looking at true frosh QB this week...third QB in three weeks

http://www.coloradoan.com/story/spo...-could-start-qb-colorado-state-week/90307588/

Reading Coach Pitino's blog, this is obviously a huge year to recapture momentum for the BB program and he believes this team will be much improved and we all want to see that happen. From a pure x's and o's standpoint, what does Gopher BB need that it has not had in recent years to get back to the NCAA tourney in today's game? Is it better 3 point shooing, guard play, better defense, hustle, certain position length, end of game management, etc? A bit better at each or have we been really weak in one area?

Thoughts on this article?

http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-basketball-talent-boom-bypassing-gophers-so-far/393491051/

U success in retaining top in-state basketball talent has been spotty

Theo John sat in bed Monday night tossing around the idea of playing for the Gophers.

It didn’t matter to John that none of the record three McDonald’s All-Americans from Minnesota in the 2014 class decided to stay home, including Apple Valley guard Tyus Jones, who went on to play for Duke and the Timberwolves.

It didn’t matter that three of the state’s top players the past two years did pick the U, including the reigning Mr. Basketball, Hopkins guard Amir Coffey.

In the end, it didn’t even matter that Gophers coach Richard Pitino’s team went 8-23 last season.

“Marquette just popped into my head,” the 6-9 Champlin Park senior center said. “And I said, ‘This is where I need to be.’ ”

As poorly as things went for Pitino last season, the Gophers still had a good chance to land at least a couple of prospects from Minnesota’s loaded 2017 class — a group on par with the state’s best classes of the 2000s.

The Gophers offered six in-state seniors, believed to be the most in over a decade.

They got none.

Missing out on top local prospects happened to former U coaches Dan Monson and Tubby Smith, too, and Pitino experienced it his first year. You lose some, but you usually get some, too.

The state has four seniors ranked in the national top 100.

“It was a big year in Minnesota this year,” Rivals.com recruiting analyst Eric Bossi said. “And I’m sure they would’ve liked to have somebody. I’m sure it’s something that causes them some concern. I’m sure it’s something that causes the fan base a little bit of concern.”

The classes that follow in 2018, 2019 and 2020 are packed with prospects who are either already offered by the Gophers — and other high-major programs across the country — or will be soon. A whopping 16 players from the 2017-2019 classes have major-conference offers.

Recruiting headlines were made locally at the end of summer when big-name coaches such as North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Kansas’ Bill Self and Texas’ Shaka Smart turned their attention toward Minnesota.

“The most talent that I can remember coming out of the state,” Scout.com recruiting director Evan Daniels said.

Three years ago, Pitino was hired too late in the recruiting process to get Jones, Rashad Vaughn and Reid Travis after he arrived. But Pitino signed Coffey, DeLaSalle guard Jarvis Johnson (who was not medically cleared to play by Gophers doctors last season) and Rochester John Marshall forward Michael Hurt in the past two recruiting classes.

New Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle has expressed his desire for Pitino to keep Minnesota’s best players.

Champlin Park teammates John and guard McKinley Wright, who chose Dayton on Tuesday, said they dreamed about playing together with the Gophers. It was still a reality up until last weekend.

But four-star St. Raymond (N.Y.) point guard Isaiah Washington, the Gophers’ top point-guard target, committed after his official visit Sunday.

Recruiting analysts said Pitino did the right thing by taking the better player in Washington. Wright had a chance to make a commitment earlier but didn’t.

“It’s important to get the right kid,” Pitino said last month. “Obviously, if he’s from the state, that’s great. But you’ve got to get the right fit on and off the court. We’ve got some momentum with good kids, some good players from our home state that’s worked out great. We want to continue to do that.”

Minnesota: Hoops hotbed

Former Minneapolis North standout Kammron Taylor was the first Minnesotan that Greg Gard helped the Badgers sign in 2003. The Badgers, with their 18 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, have now established a pipeline.

From 2007-2009, they brought in Jordan Taylor of Benilde St. Margaret’s, Orono’s Jon Leuer, Princeton’s Jared Berggren and Henry Sibley’s Mike Bruesewitz. More recently, Grand Rapids forward Alex Illikainen played as a freshman last season, and Lakeville North center Nathan Reuvers and Maple Grove guard Brad Davison will join Gard in Madison next year.

“High school coaches, grass roots coaches and AAU coaches have continued to do a better job in Minnesota,” said Gard, who was promoted from former coach Bo Ryan’s longtime assistant to his replacement last year. “... I don’t think it’s one thing specific. The Minneapolis-St. Paul area, being a metro area, there’s a lot more kids focusing on basketball in the last 15-20 years.”

But it’s not just the Badgers the Gophers have to compete with in their backyard. Eight seniors in Minnesota received offers from at least one school in the six major conferences.

Of the six Minnesotans the Gophers offered, a case could be made that only three were true misses for Minnesota: John, Reuvers and Cristo Rey Jesuit forward Jericho Sims, who committed to Texas. The Gophers hoped these players could fill frontcourt needs.

For the other three players, Pitino perhaps either viewed the player as out of the Gophers’ reach, or pursued instead an out-of-state player. With former Apple Valley guard Gary Trent Jr., Pitino didn’t recruit him as hard as his five-star ranking deserved, according to Gary Trent Sr., a former Wolves player. Before the senior transferred to Prolific Prep (Calif.), Trent narrowed his list to Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State and UCLA. And Wright and John leaving home can be attributed to fallout from focusing on Washington.

“But I think there was a lot of pressure to sign somebody locally just because this class has been so heralded,” said GopherIllustrated.com’s Ryan James, who has covered Minnesota recruiting for more than a decade. “Even if [Pitino] got a couple really nice out-of-state prospects, there will always be fans watching locals go elsewhere and say, ‘What if?’ ”

When to offer?

Figuring out which player gets the red-carpet treatment becomes easier when they have interest from other top programs. But how do you prioritize recruiting your state’s late bloomer or under-the-radar prospect?

Reuvers, Sims and Davison were offered by other Big Ten schools before the Gophers. That was used against Pitino and his staff in recruiting, interviews this summer revealed.

“If there’s any room for concern [for Gophers fans], it might be that guys like Davison and Sims who were maybe a bit under the national radar [went elsewhere],” Bossi said. “And you had a little more time to work on them before other people came in. Maybe there can be some questions asked about what type of evaluation was done on them.”

Trent was Minnesota’s only consensus top-100 2017 player a year ago, but Sims, Reuvers and Davison are there now. John and Wright are top-150 players.

When Trent and John were sophomores, the Gophers staff made them their top in-state targets. The next offer for a Class of 2017 player didn’t come until March of this year, when Pitino told Reuvers after a state tournament semifinal game he had a scholarship at the U if he wanted it.

That came five days after Wisconsin offered, however, and the 6-10 four-star center committed to the Badgers in May.

Wisconsin also beat Minnesota to an offer for the 6-3 Davison, this time by a month. The Gophers had offered another guard, Wright, back in April, signaling their priorities. Four days after receiving that late Gophers offer in the middle of his breakout summer, Davison joined Reuvers as a Wisconsin recruit.

Sims had a Gophers offer come his way in April, but there had been a buzz about his elite athleticism for over a year. The son of former Gophers player Charles Sims eventually became a top-50 prospect.

Pitino can’t comment on specific players until they sign, but he recently defended the way he evaluates locally.

“When you’ve got local kids, you have to make sure that everything from top to bottom is covered,” he said. “Everybody has got an understanding of what our situation is, where we feel a player fits in. The tough part, too, is sometimes you might not need a kid locally. You’re going to get pressure from people to recruit the kid, but he may not fit your team. There are a lot of variables.”

With only two scholarships available for a loaded 2017 class, Pitino had to keep some local players waiting.

“I always tell kids who are consumed with an offer — I say, ‘If I offer you, are you going to commit?’ ” Pitino said. “Normally that’s not the case. With offers, it’s a small, necessary step. But it’s just a first step in a long line of steps in recruiting.”

Domino effect

Race Thompson is watching how well local players are doing with the home state program.

Thompson’s father, Darrell, was a star running back at the U, and Race grew up watching games at Williams Arena.

The Gophers hope growing up with program ties convinces Thompson to stay home, like Coffey. But Coffey making an early impact could be more influential on the next wave of top players in the state.

“I think that helps Minnesota recruiting with big-name hometown kids going to the U,” said Thompson, a 6-8 junior forward from Armstrong. “Just because everybody knows who they are. They’re going to play right away. So they’re going to help the team get better. I always keep that in mind.”

Pitino has five open scholarships for the 2018 class. So far he’s offered Thompson, Apple Valley guard Tre Jones, Cretin-Derham Hall forward Daniel Oturu and DeLaSalle guard Gabe Kalscheur from Minnesota. Rochester John Marshall forward Matthew Hurt, the most highly recruited in-state big man since Hopkins’ Kris Humphries, has an offer in 2019. Minnehaha Academy guard Jalen Suggs could be the first 2020 player to end up with an offer.

“The talent level in Minnesota right now is unreal,” Thompson said.

Thompson and Hurt, who could be the best players in their classes, are both D-I Minnesota AAU players who are close with Wright. Tre Jones, Oturu and Kalscheur were Howard Pulley teammates of John.

Will the decisions by the Gophers and top seniors this week turn off elite prospects in future classes to go to the U?

Time will tell. But the Gophers will have a chance to show on the court this year why players should stay home.

“Obviously, the fans are clamoring for more wins this year,” Bossi said. “There’s no question about that. I think that’s going to be a bigger story than that they didn’t get anybody out of Minnesota.”

It's early but the bye week has arrived and made us restless. After two weeks...

1. Things you're pleased with

2. Things you're disappointed with

3. Things you'd like to see moving forward

If Mitch Leinder leads a Penn State victory. I'd surround him with a small militant of soldiers carrying AK47's and missile launchers for the rest of the season.

That's the level I like to bring it to. National championship thinking is not this pop Warner bullshiz damnit

Cheers,

TNM

Is he still scheduled to visit Minnesota on September 23 ??

because of marijuana. Says he played high in all but one game

http://www.coloradoan.com/story/spo...-football-ncaa-marijuana-csu-report/89987592/

I'm surprised not to see any type of discussion around the decision tonight of the Champlin Park duo. Maybe I'm not as informed as others but if they were to get these two, wouldn't it give the Fighting Richie P's another top 20 recruiting class?

Gophers Coach Richard Pitino tweeted out his latest blog with an update on the team, recruiting, and expectations for the season. Certainly a good read.

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/091416aaa.html

I'm slightly confused by basketball rankings. Is it just me or do the rankings not match up with offers? It seems like guys that are rated really high in some cases don't have many offers. Is it because of fewer scholarships or another reason?

Theo is down to two. I'd assume those two are Minnesota and Marquette, or Minnesota and Cal. He's planning to make a decision by the end of the month.

I'll have more on him very soon.

It's football season, baby.

DO THE GOPHER!

I'm thinking after two weeks into the season, Iowa and Wisky are the best two teams in the West. Wiscy's D appears to be legit, however I think Iowa is much more balanced on O and D. The Hawkeyes don't appear to be messing around out of the gates like they normally do in non-conference which is concerning, hopefully NDSU can rattle their cage a bit. Will be fun to see how Nebraska stacks up against Oregon on Sat, should give us a good indicator as to how much of a threat they will be. Here's my ranking to date:

Wisconsin - they get the #1 spot now, but by season's end I think Iowa will be on top.
Iowa
Minnesota
or
Nebraska
Illinois
Purdue
Northwestern

Flip a coin right now with Minnesota and Nebraska. Our D is better, but their O with a controlled Armstrong is dangerous.

I tracked down a few of the top Gopher football targets to see how they performed last weekend. Several commits also had breakout games. Check it out:

https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/f...ack-glover-near-perfect-holmes-leads-comeback