Former Golden Gopher John Hoese Signs with Green Bay Packers

Former Golden Gopher running back John Hoese has finally signed an NFL contract with the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers. Hoese was not drafted in April's draft so he had to wait for the NFL lockout to end in order to sign with a team.

Hoese walked on to the Gopher football team as a safety. He was converted to running back during the 2008 off season. He went on to start 7 games last season as the starting full back for the Gophers. What a guy.

Good luck to you in the NFL, John and go Gophers!

Golden Gopher Football Team Projected to Finish Last in Big Ten

The Minnesota Gophers were overwhelmingly chosen to finish last in the Legends division. 23 of the 24 members of the media who voted on it believed the Gophers would finish dead last in the division next year.

Nebraska and Wisconsin were chosen as the heavy favorites to win the first ever Big Ten Championship game. Nebraska received 12 first place votes while Wisconsin received 11 first place votes. Michigan State received one.

I've got a feeling the Gophers won't finish dead last this season. Jerry Kill is such an established coach who can get the most out of these players. Tim Brewster brought in a lot of talented players, but he also didn't discipline them enough with their style of play. I can see Kill transforming some of these players and getting them to play football the right way.

Adam Weber Signs with Denver Broncos, Reuinites with Eric Decker

Former Golden Gopher quarterback Adam Weber was unable to sign with an NFL team for five months, but made a quick decision Tuesday morning. This morning, at 9 am, Adam Weber signed with the Denver Broncos. Here's what Weber had to say about signing with the Broncos:

"It's really crazy. I had a few good options, and I had to look at them really quickly and make a decision so I can get to work," Weber said. "Teams have different motivations that you have to figure out -- like some are just looking for an extra arm for camp -- but it wasn't hard. When I looked at the Broncos, it was kind of a no-brainer."

Weber started every single game during his four years as a Gopher. He performed admirably in his first two seasons, but struggled mightily through the last two seasons. A lot of that success in the beginning of his career had to do with Eric Decker, so hopefully he can rediscover what made him great by reuniting with Decker.

Tyus Jones Impreses at Peach Jam Tournament

With tons of college coaches in attendance, Tyus Jones had an unbelievable performance at the Peach Jam Day 3.

Jones scored 31 points on 13-19 shooting. This was huge for Jones. Duke coach Mike Kryzeski and Syracuse coach Jim Boehim were in attendance. Duke is said to be extremely interested in Jones. He solidified his status as the top point guard in the class of 2014 with his performance.

Tubby Smith, you better start recruiting this guy like never before. He is going to be a stud. If you don't get him to commit soon, he is so going to go out of state and play for a powerhouse like Duke. Hopefully the Gophers can sign him.

U2 Playing at TCF Bank Stadium

U2 is playing in front of 58,000 at TCF bank stadium this saturday. Wow, that is going to be nuts! This is the first big outdoor concert in the Twin Cities in 33 years. They usually have these types of big concerts at the Metrodome.

TCF Bank Stadium probably won't see more than one big concert a year. They have to book talent that can fill that entire stadium. Luckily they found U2, who is clearly able to do that. U2's 360 tour is a stadium only show that costs 85,000 to produce. When it's all said and done, the tour will have made 717 million dollars.

That's so cool.

In-State Players Take a Liking to Jerry Kill

Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Jerry Kill has done an unbelievable job keeping in-state talent in Minnesota. Four in-state seniors to be have already committed to play for the Gophers, including Phillip Nelson, who as a Sophomore at Mankato West said this to his father "There's no way I'm going to be a Gopher. "Ruled them out right away."

Jerry Kill is putting together a really nice recruiting class. He has gotten some of the state's top in state talent to stay home early on in the recruiting process. If he can keep his players away from Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio State, then we could be watching the beginning of a very good era of Golden Gopher football. Keep bringing in those recruits Jerry and go Gophers!

New Power Conference in Hockey Gets Name

The new super conference in College Hockey has a name, finally: National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The new conference consists of Miami (Oh), Denver, Colorado College, Nebraska Omaha, North Dakota, and Minnesota Duluth. All six teams run highly successful programs that have won a combined 17 National Championships. These teams all have very successful programs and want to get a lot of national exposure.

Don't worry Gopher fans, the Gophs are still the Yankees of college Hockey. The Big Ten is still a really good hockey conference with power teams such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. I wouldn't be too worried about the Gophers having any trouble in this conference.

Golden Gopher Basketball Target Loves Tubby Smith

Minnesota's elite AAU basketball team played Iowa's elite AAU basketball team yesterday. It was a really good chance for Tubby Smith to watch one of the top Gopher targets in the class of 2012 in Iowa's Adam Woodbury. Woodbury is a 7-1 prospect who scored 9 points and grabbed 8 boards in the 69-64 win over Minnesota's Howard Pulley. Highly touted Apple Valley's Tyus Jones is on the Howard Pulley team. Here's what Woodbury had to say regarding Minnesota:

"Tubby's a great guy. I have a lot of respect for him. They're definitely up there on my list."

There's nothing wrong with getting another 7 footer. Get this guy Tubby and go Gophers!

Mike Guentzel Back as Associate Head Coach

Don't worry everyone, Mike Guentzel is back as the Associate Head Coach of the Minnesota Golden Gopher Men's Hockey team. The University of Minnesota rehired him today after a three year absence.

The team relieved him of his duties in 2008, although publicly he said he resigned. During his time away from the Gophers he coached a USHL team in Des Moines and was an assistant coach over at Colorado College.

Prior to his three absence, Guentzel had coached for the Gophers for 14 seasons. He also played for the Gophers as a defenseman ffrom 1981-1985. Guentzel will replace John Hill who was let go a few weeks ago.

Nebraska is in the Big Ten Now and I Can't Wait

To beat the Huskers!

Nebraska has a storied program and it should be a ton of fun to watch the Huskers compete with the Gophers for years to come. Personally, I like Nebraska much better than I like Ohio State or Wisconsin.

The Huskers come to TCF Bank Stadium this year. It's Jerry Kill's first year, but he does have some talent on this team. Tim Brewster, with all of his flaws as a coach, was a great recruiter.

I can't wait to watch the Huskers and the Gophers this year! Buy Gopher Husker football tickets from Ticket King today!

Defensive Tackle Josh Tauefa Leaves Team

Josh Tauefa was granted release from the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. This move was confirmed on Thursday. The 6 foot 4 280 pound redshirted last season as a freshman.

Tauefa is the third player to leave the program this month. DeLeon Eskridge and Tiree Eure are the other two.

New President Eric Kaler: Who He is And How He Effects Maturi

The University of Minnesota has a new President! Eric Kaler took over for Robert Bruininks on Friday and talked to the media for the first time as well. Kaler was named to the position in November. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1982.

Kaler hasn't decided the fate of athletic director Joel Maturi. He had this to say about Maturi:

"I'm going to take the first 100 days of my time to evaluate, and I'm not going to make any personnel decisions," said Kaler, the former provost at Stony Brook University in New York. "I have met Joel, great guy."

Interestingly enough, he might not have to fire Maturi since he has already turned down contract hours on two occasions. He turned down a one year and two year extension.

What Malcolm Moulton Brings to the Gophers

As I wrote about earlier, Malcolm Moulton is a new wide receiver for the Minnesota Gophers. One of new Gophers head coach first courses of action was to get Moulton on the team. Moulton came to the gophers from Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. He hails from Georgia and has blazing speed. Here's what Jerry Kill had to say about going after Moulton:

"I knew once I got here and saw the morning workouts that we didn't have a lot of speed and guys who can make some plays," Kill said. "We certainly hope [Moulton] can establish some things. He can run. Hopefully he can adapt to our system."

Hopefully Moulton provides the Gophers with a game changer who can make some big plays for a team that was seriously lacking in big plays last season and during the Tim Brewster era.