Sports Desk
Sports Desk
Sports Desk is a sports talk podcast where the Radio K Sports reporting team gather for topical on Gopher sports as well as National Sports. Sports Desk also has a Gopher athlete or coach interviewed each week to get to know them on and off the field. Updated thursdays, Sports Desk offers topical sports roundtable discussions that you are sure not to find anywhere else.
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Sports Desk June 14, 2009
Posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Sports Desk is back from a May term hiatus, Adam Wells and Bobby Baumann are here to break down all the major sporting news headlines. This episode they talk about the Stanley Cup Finals, reflect on the NHL season, Bobby predicts how the NHL awards will shake out and they break down the NBA Finals. They also go into a discussion about the possible alcohol ban at TCF Bank Stadium and make their weekend guarantee picks of the week all on the Radio K Sports Desk.Top Gopher Sports Stories of 2008-2009
Posted on Friday, May 15, 2009
Max Sanders leads Marco LaNave and Adam Wells in a discussion of the top 10 stories in University of Minnesota athletics over the past academic year.
The Sports Desk: 14 May 2009
Posted on Friday, May 15, 2009
A finals week edition of the Sports Desk is shortened to allow for more studying time (we think). For the first time ever, Bobby Baumann is not part of the Sports Desk, ending a streak of 26 consecutive appearances. Adam Wells tries to lead the crew through it all, though, as Brian Johnson, Marco LaNave, and Max Sanders discuss the Preakness, the NBA Playoffs, and the Twins-Yankees series this weekend.
Marco LaNave talks about baseball coach John Anderson being one win away from 1,000 career victories.
Interview: Gopher Football Coach Tim Brewster
Posted on Sunday, May 10, 2009
Marco LaNave chats with Tim Brewster about the spring practices, his coaching career, and bringing football back to campus.
The Sports Desk: 7 May 2009
Posted on Sunday, May 10, 2009
Reporters and discussions pack an hour-long episode. Adam Wells leads Bobby Baumann, Joel Hanson, Brian Johnson, Marco LaNave, Colton Mehrhof, and Max Sanders in a survey of issues across sports. The reporters discuss the breaking news of Manny Ramirez testing positive for PEDs, speculation about Brett Favre coming to Minnesota, and the new book about Alex Rodriguez. They also run through the NHL and NBA playoffs and the Kentucky Derby.
Marco LaNave analyzes Gopher baseball with Brian Johnson, who also previews the Gopher tennis team's trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Sports Desk: 28 Apr. 2009
Posted on Monday, May 04, 2009
Playoffs in the NHL and NBA start the discussion among Adam Wells, Bobby Baumann, Joel Hanson, Brian Johnson, and Max Sanders. The NFL draft is a hot topic for a few hopeful Vikings fans among the crew, and the guys share thoughts about the NFL Network and cable packages.
In Gopher sports, Brian Johnson gives an update on the men's tennis team, and shares his observations from the Gopher football spring game.
The Sports Desk: 21 Apr. 2009
Posted on Friday, April 24, 2009
The Sports Desk continues to grow, as a record 7 reporters share their analyses of the sporting world. Adam Wells leads Bobby Baumann, Brian Johnson, Marco LaNave, Colton Mehrhof, Max Sanders, and the new guy, Joel Hanson, as they discuss the NFL Draft, the retirement of John Madden, and the NBA and NHL playoffs.
In Gopher sports, Max Sanders recounts his experience at the NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championship. Brian Johnson previews the Big Ten Tennis Tournaments.
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.
Blog
Weekend Guarantee Standings - Spring 2009
Posted on Sunday, May 17, 2009 by Marco LaNave
Bobby Baumann 10-6
Adam Wells 8-8
Marco LaNave 4-10
Max Sanders 4-10
Jason Rantala 3-1
Joel Hanson 2-1
Brian Johnson 2-5
Colton Mehrhof 1-3
UNC-Mich St matchup gives Baumann the title
Posted on Saturday, April 04, 2009 by Marco LaNave
Bobby Baumann clinched the Radio K Sports Desk Bracket Challenge championship when Michigan State defeated Connecticut and North Carolina defeated Villanova on Saturday. Baumann is the only sports reporter with his national champion (North Carolina) alive. He also won the Fall 2008 Weekend Guarantee competition and is leading the Weekend Guarantees this spring.
Jason Rantala, who finished second, was eliminated from the Challenge when his national champion (Connecticut) lost in Saturday's first semifinal.
Adam Wells, who, along with Baumann was a regular leader in the competition, lost a chance to win the title when Villanova fell to North Carolina in Saturday's second semifinal.
Thank you for following along with this year's bracket challenge, and congratulations to Bobby Baumann, the first ever champion.
Final Score: Michigan State 74, USC 69
Posted on Sunday, March 22, 2009 by Marco LaNave
The final tournament game at the Metrodome this weekend was also the most exciting. The No. 2 seed Michigan State defeated the No. 10 seed Southern California, 74-69.
With the victory, the Spartans (28-6) advance to the Sweet 16 to play the No. 3 seed and defending national champion Kansas in the Midwest regional semifinal in Indianapolis on Friday.
Senior guard Travis Walton scored six of his team-leading 18 points during a critical six-minute stretch in the second half, capping it with a two-point jumper at the 3:39 mark to give Michigan State the lead for good.
USC (22-13) held a 47-42 lead less than four minutes into the second half, but Michigan State used a 10-0 run to take the lead. USC followed with a 10-3 run to take their largest lead for the remainder of the game. After the 12:04 mark of the second half, neither team led by more than two points until Spartan senior center Goran Suton made two free throws with 1:19 to play.
The score remained within one possession of either team for nearly the first 15 minutes of the game, and neither team ever held a lead of more than five points. There were 16 ties and 14 lead changes in the contest.
USC seemed to suffer from the absence of junior forward Taj Gibson, whose foul trouble limited him to just three points - all on free throws - in just 23 minutes. Gibson fouled out with 5:28 to play.
Michigan State remained consistent by shooting around 43 percent in both halves, while USC saw its percentage drop from 48 to 33 percent after halftime.
Final Score: Kansas 60, Dayton 43
Posted on Sunday, March 22, 2009 by Marco LaNave
The defending national champions returned to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year with a 60-43 disposal of 11th-seeded Dayton.
The Jayhawks (27-7) were again led by junior guard Sherron Collins, who was the leading scorer in the game with 25 points and picked up 7 rebounds.
With 13 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 blocks, Kansas sophomore center Cole Aldrich became the first player to have a triple-double in a tournament game since Marquette's Dwyane Wade had a 29-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance in an Elite Eight game against Kentucky at the Metrodome. The last player to achieve a triple-double with 10 blocks in a tournament game was someone from LSU named Shaquille O'Neal, who had 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 blocks in a first-round game against BYU in 1992.
The Flyers (27-8) scored the first basket of the contest, but two layups by Aldrich over the next 1:25 gave KU a lead it would not relinquish.
The Jayhawks held Dayton to just 22 percent shooting for the game, while improving their own shooting percentage from 36 percent in the first half to 55 percent in the second half.
Dayton finished its season with the second-most wins in program history.
Final: Michigan State 77, Robert Morris 62
Posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Marco LaNave
The Michigan State Spartans showed their strength and depth in a 77-62 victory over the 15th-seeded Robert Morris Colonials on Friday at the Metrodome.
The Colonials evened the score 30-30 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half, but the Spartans scored 21 straight points over the following nine minutes to all but put away the game.
Junior forward Raymar Morgan and freshman forward Draymond Green each chipped in 16 points for the Spartans, who had five players with double-digit scoring efforts. Senior center Goran Suton led all players with 17 rebounds, which contributed to MSU's 49-28 rebounding edge. Ten Spartans played at least 10 minutes, but no one played more than 25 minutes in the game.
Final Score: USC 72, BC 55
Posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Marco LaNave
Southern California defeated Boston College, 72-55, on Friday evening at the Metrodome.
The Trojans used a 22-7 run through much of the second half to take a lead over the Eagles. USC junior forward Taj Gibson led all players with 24 points on a perfect 10-for-10 from the field. Dwight Lewis added 20 points - including four 3-pointers - for USC. DeMar DeRozan contributed 18 points and 9 rebounds.
But the USC defense might have made the biggest difference. BC shot under 33 percent from the field for the game, and shot only 23 percent in the second half. USC also dominated in the paint with 20 field goals inside.
Final: Dayton 68, W. Virginia 60
Posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Marco LaNave
The No. 11 seed Dayton Flyers upset the No. 6 seed West Virginia Mountaineers, 68-60, at the Metrodome on Friday afternoon.
In their first NCAA tournament victory in 19 years, the Flyers took a 4-3 lead less than two minutes into the contest, and never let the Mountaineers pull even. Chris Wright led the way for Dayton with 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting, to go along with 10 rebounds. Charles Little added 18 points for the Flyers (27-7) who will meet No. 3 seed Kansas on Sunday.
West Virginia (23-12) struggled to just 37 percent shooting on the afternoon. Darryl Bryant led the Mountaineers with 21 points.
Be sure to check out Jason and Marco in a post-game recap on the Sports Desk.
Final Score: KU 84, NDSU 74
Posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Marco LaNave
Game 1 final: Kansas 84, NDSU 74
North Dakota State fell short in an attempt to upset the defending national champions. Kansas rode a 32-point performance by junior guard Sherron Collins, and a 23-point effort by sophomore center Cole Aldrich. Senior guard Ben Woodside scored 37 for NDSU. KU coach Bill Self that Woodside is the best guard his team has seen this season.
Radio K at the NCAA Tournament
Posted on Friday, March 20, 2009 by Marco LaNave
Marco LaNave and Jason Rantala are at the Metrodome for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Check the Sports Desk page for their analysis between each game, and check this blog for halftime and end-of-game scores.
2009 NCAA Tournament Brackets
Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Marco LaNave
The Radio K Sports reporters think they have figured out this year's edition of March Madness. Check out each of their brackets. See who wins the inaugural Radio K Sports Desk March Madness Challenge.
Weekend Guarantee Standings - Fall 2008
Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 by Marco LaNave
Bobby Baumann 6-4
Adam Wells 5-5
Marco LaNave 5-5
A.J. Holler 1-2
Adam Sallet 1-2
Jason Rantala 0-1
Gopher Basketball Takes Opener
Posted on Saturday, November 15, 2008 by Marco LaNave
The Barn reopened for the 2008-2009 men's basketball season with the NABC Classic on Friday, and host Minnesota did not disappoint in their first outing of the season.
The Gophers defeated Concordia University-St. Paul, 76-51, in front of a crowd of 11,818 at Williams Arena on Friday night.
After taking a lead within four minutes of the tip-off, Minnesota never looked back, as they converted 50% of their field goal attempts in the first half to build a fourteen point lead, and coasted to victory.
Point guard Al Nolen, Jr. had a hot start, scoring 13 of his team-leading 17 points in the first eleven minutes of the contest. He seemed impressively confident on the court, and said that has come from the support of his teammates and coaches.
"Over the summer they really worked well with me,...talked to me about being a better point guard," said Nolen. "Coach [Tubby] Smith obviously shows a lot of confidence in me out on the floor."
Nolen also led the team with six assists. Junior guard Lawrence Westbrook added 13 points to the cause. Sophomore guard Blake Hoffarber had a game-high 12 rebounds. With the Gophers missing senior center Jonathan Williams and junior forward Damian Johnson due to injuries, two freshmen stepped up. Center Colton Iverson and forward Ralph Sampson III both scored all of their nine points after the break to lead Minnesota in the second half.
"I thought they did...a pretty good job," said Smith, "Both Ralph and Colton are going to be good players."
The Gophers were preceded in victory at Williams Arena by Bowling Green, which defeated Georgia State, 77-76, on a buzzer-beating three pointer in overtime.
The NABC Classic continues tomorrow with Concordia meeting Georgia State at 6:00 pm, followed by the Gophers facing Bowling Green.
Dreams of Roses Evaporate
Posted on Saturday, November 01, 2008 by Marco LaNave
Tipped ball. Interception. Touchdown.
It happened just that quickly on Saturday. With the largest home crowd of the season expecting the Gopher football team to pull out a win and continue their remarkable turnaround, the Northwestern Wildcats silenced Gopher Nation with a 24-17 upset.
With a 17-17 tie, and less than a minute remaining, Adam Weber threw across the middle to his favorite target, wide receiver Eric Decker. The ball went off of Decker's hands and was tipped into the waiting arms of Wildcat safety Brendan Smith, who ran it back 48 yards for a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining.
It was the only score in the second half of the final homecoming game at the Metrodome.
Coach Tim Brewster said Northwestern had an all-around victory, but he especially pointed to the inability to contain Wildcat quarterback Mike Kafka. The usual backup for Northwestern burned the Minnesota defense for 217 rushing yards, more than double the previous single-game high allowed by the Gophers. Conversely, the Gophers only mustered 68 yards on the ground, with Weber accounting for all but 15 of them.
Northwestern jumped out to 10-0 first quarter lead, the largest by any opponent in the opening period this season. Minnesota's first score - and only offensive touchdown - came on the first play of the second quarter, as Weber completed a 7-yard pass to Decker, giving the junior wide-out his sixth receiving TD of the season. On a 1-yard catch midway through the second quarter, Decker broke the team's single season receptions record (which he set last year) with his 68th catch of the season. Decker hauled in seven passes to bring his season total to 74.
The Gophers took a 14-10 lead when cornerback Traye Simmons intercepted his third pass of the year and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown.
Northwestern reclaimed the lead later in the quarter on a 2-yard pass from Kafka to tight end Josh Rooks with 5:33 to play in the second quarter. A 21-yard field goal by Joel Monroe tied the game with 36 seconds remaining before halftime.
Minnesota, ranked 20th in the AP and coaches' polls, and 17th in the BCS standings, fell to 3-2 in the Big Ten, and 7-2 overall. There were some whispers of achieving a Rose Bowl berth if the Gophers could win out and catch some breaks, but all of that is essentially thrown out, as three teams have fewer losses than Minnesota, and Northwestern has two.
The Gophers will play three "trophy" games to wrap up the regular season: for the Little Brown Jug against Michigan, Paul Bunyan's Axe at Wisconsin, and Floyd of Rosedale, the Bronze Pig, against Iowa in the final game for Minnesota football at the Metrodome.
World Series Predictions
Posted on Wednesday, October 22, 2008 by Marco LaNave
Here are the Radio K Sports team's predictions for the 2008 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays.
The winning teams and number of games are listed.
Bobby Baumann: Rays in 6
A.J. Holler: Phillies in 6
Marco LaNave: Rays in 7
Jason Rantala: Phillies in 7
Adam Sallet: Rays in 6
Mikey Southern: Rays in 6
Adam Wells: Rays in 6
Weekend Guarantees: Oct. 16
Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2008 by Marco LaNave
Here are the Weekend Guarantees made by the sports reporters on this week's Sports Desk episode:
Bobby Baumann: The Gopher women's hockey team will sweep Ohio State this weekend.
Marco LaNave: The Michigan State football team will upset Ohio State in a match up of top-25 Big Ten teams.
Adam Wells: The Minnesota Vikings will defeat the Chicago Bears, 35-28, to take over first in the NFC North.
Wait and see if these guys really know it all.
Gophers Spoil Homecoming for Illinois
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008 by Marco LaNave
The one Illinois alumnus who was happy after Saturday's football game in Champaign was Tim Brewster.
The former Illinois tight end defeated his alma mater in his first return as a head coach, as his Minnesota Gophers (2-1 Big Ten, 6-1 overall) upset the Fighting Illini (1-2 Big Ten, 3-3 overall), 27-20.
The Gopher defense was again impressive, forcing three turnovers - all in the second half - and sacking Illini quarterback Juice Williams five times.
Minnesota scored on its first possession with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Adam Weber to Eric Decker, and led for the rest of the game. Weber finished the day 18 of 26 for 184 yards, and Decker led the Gopher receivers with 9 receptions for 86 yards.
Starting the second half with a 7-3 lead, the Gophers forced a fumble inside the Illinois 10-yard line, which led to a 1-yard touchdown run by DeLeon Eskridge. Illinois responded with a field goal, but the Gopher defense made a goal-line stop on the next Illini possession, halting Williams just short of the goal line on third and fourth down.
After scoring a combined twenty points in the previous three quarters, the two teams erupted for four touchdowns in the final period, starting with DeLeon Eskridge's 46-yard dash for his second touchdown of the afternoon. Eskridge finished with 124 yards on 26 carries. On the very next possession, the Illini cut the defecit to a single touchdown on a 54-yard strike form Williams to A.J. Jenkins with ten minutes remaining. But on the first play of the next Illinois possession, Simoni Lawrence recovered a Williams fumble and ran it in for the score, extending the lead to 27-13. Once again, Illinois responded with a long passing touchdown from Williams to Jenkins, this one for 35 yards, that brought the Illini within seven again.
The Gopher defense was up for the challenge, intercepting a pass after the offense lost a fumble for its only turnover of the game. That all but sealed the first Big Ten road victory for Minnesota in 23 months. Despite allowing 550 yards (of which 503 came through the air or on the ground courtesy of Williams) to the Illinois offense, the defense held on, continuing its turnover success.
With their sixth win, the Gophers achieved bowl eligibility, which is a huge step for a team that finished 1-11 - and winless in the Big Ten - a year ago.
Minnesota will not have a game next Saturday, but will resume conference play with a visit to Purdue on October 25.
Gopher Football at Illinois Today
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2008 by Marco LaNave
The Minnesota Golden Gopher football team will try to pick up its first Big Ten road victory in Champaign today.
The Gophers (1-1 Big Ten, 5-1 overall) are seeking their best seven-game start in five years.
Illinois (1-1 Big Ten, 3-2 overall) spoiled Minnesota's homecoming with a 44-17 win at the Metrodome last season, so the Gophers will be looking to return the favor as the homecoming opponent today.
Kickoff is set for 11:00 am CDT. In case you did not hear this week's podcast, Adam Wells predicted a Gopher victory.
While the Gophers are on ESPN, get ready to flip the channel to ABC. The game to watch during the commercials is #5 Texas at #1 Oklahoma.
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.
The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by Radio K (KUOM) and the University of Minnesota.
