U of M spent over $6 million per football win, but still made money

Categories: Sports, U of M
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The U of M ranked 20th overall in spending on college sports.
Talk about getting little on-field bang for the buck.

A Memphis Business Journal analysis indicates that during the 2010-11 academic year, the University of Minnesota spent $17 million on its football program -- the 36th most out of any school in the country and the ninth-most in the Big Ten. That season, which was the last in the disastrous tenure of coach Tim Brewster, the team went 3-9.

In other words, the U of M spent over $6 million per football win. But despite disappointing on-field results year in and year out, the football program is a huge money-maker for the school -- an analysis by The Business of College Sports found that the U of M made $16.5 million from football in 2009-10.

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Kevin Love suspended for Scola face-stomp [VIDEO]

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Scola spiked the ball off Love's balls days before he got stomped.
Just as the Timberwolves hit the .500 mark for the first time in over a half-decade, the team will have to play two games without its best player.

Kevin Love has been suspended two games without pay by the NBA for stepping on Luis Scola's chest and face during Saturday night's victory over the Rockets.

The play came days after Scola felled Love by spiking the ball off Love's, um, balls during a previous Wolves victory over Houston. (Video of both incidents below the jump.)

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Cris Carter: Snubbed by Pro Football Hall of Fame, again [VIDEO]

Categories: Sports, Vikings
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Cris Carter is a top-five all-time receiver. There are more than 20 receivers in the Hall. Therefore, CC is getting snubbed.
On Saturday, football media selected six players as the 2012 inductees to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Conspicuously absent from the list, as he has been for the past five years, was Cris Carter, unarguably the greatest receiver in Vikings history and possibly the second best receiver in NFL history behind Jerry Rice.

Considering that there are more than 20 receivers in the Hall, including relatively unheralded players like former Buffalo Bills WR James Lofton, it makes absolutely no sense for CC to be on the outside looking in.

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Childress bringing "kick-ass offense" to Cleveland

Categories: Sports
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Chili isn't looking so bad after the Vikings 3-13 2011.
In December 2006, fresh off an offensively bereft 9-7 loss to the hated Green Bay Packers, Brad Childress took the podium at Winter Park, cleared his throat and uttered the following preposterous statement:

"I know it's a kick-ass offense when it's properly executed."

Over a year after being unceremoniously shown the door by the Vikings, Brad Childress is getting a chance to resurrect the ass-kicking days of yore. Today, he was hired as the Cleveland Browns new offensive coordinator.

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Forbes: T-Wolves worst NBA team for the money

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Forbes quantified the pain Wolves fans have felt since KG was traded.
These days, things are finally looking up for the Timberwolves.

The team just signed all-star forward Kevin Love to a 4-year extension, Ricky Rubio has been as good as anyone could've hoped, and after a road win last night against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, the T-Wolves are now 8-10 -- the latest in a season they've been within two games of .500 since Kevin Garnett was playing alongside Ricky Davis.

These glimmers of positivity are magnified by the fact that the last seven years have been almost entirely miserable for T-Wolves fans, a reality confirmed by Forbes' ranking of the "worst NBA teams for the money" during the last half decade.

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Twitter controversy erupts as PiPress reports K-Love extension [UPDATED]

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When a contract extension is done, K-Love will be happy to report it himself, thank you very much.
Kevin Love has agreed to a 4-year, $62 million extension with the Timberwolves!... or has he?

Around 8 p.m. last night, the Pioneer Press' Ray Richardson -- a relatively low-profile T-Wolves beat reporter -- put his reputation on the line by tweeting that a deal is done. But shortly thereafter, other Wolves reporters and K-Love himself took to the Twittersphere to refute Richardson's report.

The episode serves as a fascinating example of how quickly misinformation can be disseminated in the social media age.

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Savannah Jack, ex-wrestling champ, dies

Categories: Sports

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Savannah Jack in the prime of his life
​Ex-wrestling champ Savannah Jack died last week.

Savannah Jack, whose real name was Savannah "Ted" Russell, played football for the University of Minnesota and was a star wrestler for a brief period of time in the 1980s. He wrestled for the Universal Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, a time when UWF owner Bill Watts attempted to make his company a national competitor to the WWF.

Jack's most notable career accomplishment came when he held the UWF television title, which he won from legendary wrestler Freebird Buddy Roberts.

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Dagger Dolls win Minnesota RollerGirls Home Season Championship

Categories: Sports

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It's the Dagger Dolls first championship victory since the league's inaugural season.
​The Golden Skate has found a new home.

The Daggers Dolls beat The Rockits 76 to 71 at the Minnesota RollerGirls Home Season Championship Saturday night, marking the team's first championship victory since the league's inaugural season.

Including the championship, the Minnesota RollerGirls home teams play four games every year. The Dagger Dolls came into Saturday's game with a 3-0 record. The Rockits had a 2-1 record. Of the eight home championships since the RollerGirls started, The Rockits have one four.

Here's a breakdown of past season winners:

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T-Wolves, Love nearing Wednesday contract deadline [VIDEO]

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T-Wolves management must soon decide whether K-Love is worth a max contract.
Before a national TV audience on Friday night, Kevin Love shot the Timberwolves back into relevance after years of being regarded as the NBA's Siberia.

As the buzzer sounded, Love drained one of the most dramatic game-winning three-point shots in franchise history, pushing the T-Wolves past an up-and-coming Los Angeles Clippers squad (video of the shot is below the jump).

It's possible that shot could be worth nearly $20 million for the all-star power forward. That's because T-Wolves management has just three days left to sign Love to a maximum contract extension, and during negotiations, Love's Friday night heroics can only serve as more evidence he's worthy of a maximum deal.

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New Saints ballpark highlights Governor Dayton's bonding proposal

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A rendering of the Saints' proposed Lowertown ballpark. The project is one of many in Gov. Dayton's $775 million bonding proposal.
It isn't $500 million for a new Vikings stadium, but today, Gov. Mark Dayton proposed a bonding bill that would allot $27 in public funds for a new St. Paul Saints ballpark.

The $50 million ballpark would be located in the Lowertown area of downtown St. Paul between the farmers market and the Lafayette Bridge. St. Paul would spend about $13 million in site preparation and land acquisition, with the Saints kicking in about $10 million and the rest coming from the state's coffers.

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