Wayzata DE and preferred walk-on commit Nick Kramer did end up taking a visit to South Dakota last weekend. I texted him how it went, and he told me: ""Really good!!!! Hard to turn down a full scholarship..." He would not say that he was leaning towards South Dakota, though. "I have no idea. It's a tough process."

He's still planning to visit Wisconsin this weekend, as well. Wisconsin is recruiting him as an OLB, whereas Minnesota is recruiting him as a DE but talked to him about potentially playing a handful of positions. I don't think he has a preference to which position he plays.

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Market is a defensive lineman from St. Thomas Academy. You can watch his Hudl here.

I think Iowa wins tonight and they are looking like the team to beat in the Big Ten. Indiana has been a nice surprise but their schedule is so "BACK LOADED" in February and early March, so we will have to see... This SHOULD be the best game of the year and the only time these 2 teams play in the regular season.. Iowa has so much length and shooting ability. Maryland has all kinds of talent, as well........My DVR feature is screwed up so I will probably be switching from the presidential debate and the game... The debates are now just political "TV REALITY SHOWS" so I am not sure why I am wasting my time with it, but I like to hear the ideas for our country.....I DIGRESS......Who do you think wins tonight??

Badgers get running back commit. Iowa, Illini, Syracuse, Vandy offers.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Sam-Brodner-168457

Badgers add 2 star db from Tx w good offers:

https://rivals.yahoo.com/minnesota/football/recruiting/player-Caesar-Williams-171942

Sparty landed a 3* off tackle from Ohio...Iowa State, Illinois, Purdue, Maryland, MAC offers.

https://rivals.yahoo.com/minnesota/football/recruiting/player-Luke-Campbell-183680

Am I correct in assuming he won't be signing with anyone next week?

Press release:


Minnesota to be Featured in 2018 Super Saturday Doubleheader at MSG

The Minnesota Golden Gophers men’s basketball and men’s hockey teams will be headed to the Big Apple together in 2018, as the Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday its future pairings for the “Super Saturday – College Hoops and Hockey” doubleheader series.

Both games will compete at legendary Madison Square Garden on Saturday, January 20, 2018. The men’s basketball team will tip off against Ohio State, while the men’s hockey team will face Michigan State.

“We are excited for the opportunity to be a part of the Super Saturday doubleheader in 2018,” Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino said. “With the Big Ten Tournament scheduled to be played at Madison Square Garden later that year, it will give our team valuable experience on the court there. Our guys will be excited to play at one of basketball’s greatest venues. We look forward to facing Ohio State in what will be a fantastic event.”

“The Super Saturday doubleheader will be an exciting event for our program and our fans, and we’re certainly looking forward to playing in the World’s Most Famous Arena,” Minnesota head men’s hockey coach Don Lucia said. “Madison Square Garden is an iconic venue for a hockey game, and we want our players and fans to enjoy memorable experiences like this one as often as possible.”

For the men’s basketball team, the Super Saturday game will represent the third trip to Madison Square Garden under head coach Richard Pitino. In 2014, the top-seeded Gophers captured the National Invitation Tournament championship after defeating SMU. The following November, the team finished third in the NIT Season Tip-Off after a victory over Georgia in the consolation game.

In total, this is the eighth visit to MSG by the Gopher men’s basketball team, with an all-time record of 8-6 there. The team will return to Madison Square Garden later in the winter of 2018, as the arena will play host to the Big Ten Tournament from Wednesday, February 28 through Sunday, March 4.

Meanwhile, the men’s hockey team will be making its first appearance at the current Madison Square Garden. Previously, the Gophers played two games at Madison Square Garden III for the ECAC Holiday Festival during the 1966-67 season. Minnesota went 1-1-0 at the tournament, losing to 5-8 to Boston University on Dec. 20, 1966 and then beating St. Lawrence 11-3 on Dec. 21, 1966.

Other pairings for upcoming Super Saturday doubleheaders were also announced, including 2017 (Wisconsin vs. Rutgers men’s basketball, Wisconsin vs. Ohio State men’s hockey) and 2019 (Illinois vs. Maryland men’s basketball, TBD men’s hockey).

Grand prize awarded in Minneapolis was a free beer every day for a year.



Strib linky-dink: http://www.startribune.com/competition-gets-hairy-at-annual-beard-mustache-contest/365602811/

Who is in? Where are people meeting before hand (last one I made was a slim showing at BWWs)?

I am trying to get the sled dogs aligned to make the trip. always want to meet fellow gopher fans, put faces to names, monikers etc.

Hope to see many of you there, including 42 if the locust count allows him to attend.

linked (http://goallineclub.com/ ) for your convenience is a sign up for the social. Even you are not sure you make it, sign up, money goes to a great cause.

be there or be a badger or hawkeye.

SIAP - Sawvel to Defensive Coordinator is now official. Making the same amount of cashola that Jay Johnson is as OC. Good for him, money WELL spent.

http://www.startribune.com/sawvel-p...oordinator-salary-rises-to-550-000/366748041/

Seems to debunk premise that message boards dont impact recruiting. The Iowa attacks on Fant struck a nerve. Would seem it could resonate everywhere.

Information is power. With power comes responsibility. Responsibility requires balancing big picture with instant gratification.

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Press release:

The University of Minnesota baseball program received an upgrade to its locker room by a $419,000 gift from an anonymous donor. The gift was established as an estate gift back in 2003 from a fan who enjoyed coming to and watching Gophers games.

The locker room has an impressive amount of new features that were made possible from the generous donation. State-of-the-art custom lockers were installed and included a secure cubby with charging stations for cell phones and computers among many others. In each player’s locker, there is a home plate model with all of the former Gopher baseball players who have donned the respective uniform number, including the current player.

An entertainment wall was put in place that has multiple high-definition televisions – one that was given to the program by former player Jack Hannahan. The wall also holds a refurbished kitchenette with storage compartments, refrigerator, espresso machine and a Playstation 4 – recently donated by current Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins.

The entrance of the locker room is secured by a fogged-over glass door with a keypad. The furniture and carpet are all fully customized to match the established University of Minnesota athletics brand.
Along with the freshly renovated locker room, the baseball program has been in the process of building a brand-new hitting facility that will be located next to Siebert Field. The hitting facility is set to open midway through the 2016 campaign.

Link: Johnson talks Gopher offer

Tamarion Johnson spoke with me about his Minnesota and Purdue offer. Minnesota's been talking to him longer and obviously has had more success on the field recently. Johnson also knows Dior Johnson.

Harrison Barton (OL) is now listed as having a MN offer...really?

Jordan Elliot (DT) is back on the market...like our chances

Talked with Darrell a couple weeks back and this morning sat down and translated my chat with him for this story. Really enjoyed this. Really like the approach he has taken with his sons and Darrell is definitely one of the nicer people I've interviewed in twelve years

https://minnesota.n.rivals.com/news/hoops-is-also-part-of-the-thompson-bloodline

I just received a message that Missouri is confident they locked in Trystan Castillo after his visit this weekend and that he's agreed to do a precommitment article with a Missouri writer. All is not lost as I'm sure the staff will visit Castillo tomorrow or Tuesday. It's possible a great in-home visit could turn the tides, as Castillo really did love his visit here, and he has plenty of connections to the Gophers.

RIP Abe Vigoda.

For real...

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I'm sure many of you saw this. Turns out McCrary was visited by Louisville today, but he tells me he's solid and won't be taking any more visits.

Maybe its wishful thinking, but I'd love to see Minnesota get a commitment tonight when they make the in home visit.

They've been on him for so long, made so many visits. I hope they're rewarded for all the hard work they've put in to try and land him.

By the way, Kobe McCrary tweeted that schools are still after him, even after giving Minnesota the verbal. Signing Day can't get here soon enough.

my high school lost 26 to 123 to Braham and I guess it wasn't as close as the score would indicate

This site has him as a Minnesota commit if you go down to the "athletes"

http://minnesota.247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/Offers

Is this true? or a mistake? I've heard another Golden ticket is coming today but it can't be Fant already yet? He hasn't even visited yet.

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Are you going to have articles on all the guys who visited? Why is Williams not listed for this upcoming weekend, and why did he not visit last weekend?

on the GLC Beer & Football Social at Fulton be up? Joe C. & Andy G. reportedly had some quotable comments...

Link: Lindsey describes "great" visit

If I'm a betting man, I think Minnesota lands Lindsey, but I don't think it's a shoo-in. I'm not really sure what the backstory is on his Mississippi State and North Carolina offers and if those were ever committable, but he's told me before that he doesn't care if a school's power five and that it's all about fit to him. Minnesota has positioned themselves well for a flip. We'll see what happens.

Link: Tamarion Johnson is an option at DE

On Wednesday, Reeves visited Tamarion Johnson. Reeves will watch Johnson's basketball game tomorrow. Visits two weeks in a row makes Johnson a name to watch closely.