Gophers to Announce Tubby Smith Deal

Now that Jerry Kill has signed his contract of seven years, it can be expected that Gopher fans will soon hear about a Tubby Smith / Gophers contract next.

Smith is signed through the 2013-14 season for $1.8 million annually. There has been word that the deal between Smith and the Gophers is basically completed, but that the illness of Smith's lawyer held back the announcement.

Kill will receive $1.2 million a year.

Gopher Basketball is Here!

With the NBA season on hold, many people aren't thinking 'basketball' yet. This is wrong.

What about college hoops?! Exhibition games are here and there are deals to be had! The place I get my tickets, Ticket King, has Gopher basketball tickets for cheap - for some games more than half off!

Sure, it is still football season, but why not catch all the Gopher action you can? Get your Gopher basketball tickets because people realize its basketball season!

Jerry Kill Wants Noise

Jerry Kill is asking Gopher fans to pump up the volume this Saturday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Bank.

He said, "Nebraska goes to the line of scrimmage, and (quarterback Taylor) Martinez calls evey play" from there. The QB uses cues from the defense to call a play. If the stadium is filled with crowd noise on every Nebraska snap, Martinez may not be able to make a check.

TCF isn't know as a loud stadium, but Kill is asking fans to make it happen this Saturday. Let's help 'em out, shall we?

Don Lucia Receives Extension

Don Lucia, the men's hockey coach for the Golden Gophers, was granted a three-year extension. The extension will keep the 13-year Gophers coach in Minnesota through the 2014-15 season.

Last spring, Joel Maturi (athletic director) told Lucia that he wanted him to remain with the school and restore a championship atmosphere in the program.

Looks as though we've accomplished the former. Could the Gophers be on their way to the latter?

The Gophers are 4-0-0 and off to a positive start after sweeping a two-game series last weekend at Minnesota-Duluth, the defending national champion.

Minnesota at Minnesota Duluth

You can't deny how great the Gopher hockey defense has looked this year... on the ice or on paper. They haven't allowed a goal yet!

Few rivalries are more storied or speckled with glory than the competitive rivalry between Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth. The Gophers lead the all-time series with a 129-72-15 record, but the Bulldogs have made a stunning comeback, winning six of the last 10 meetings.

The teams played four really fantastic and close games last season and split the season series 1-1-2.

Minnesota will be heading to Duluth to play the national champion this weekend to begin WCHA play. Since the Gophers won back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003, they have played 12 games against the defending national champions. Minnesota is 9-3-1 in those games.

Minnesota Has Bye Week, Then Cornhuskers

Well thank goodness the Gophers have a bye this week. We are sitting at 1-5 and will be hosting the 5-1 Nebraska a week from Saturday, who also have a bye this week.

This season has gone terribly and the Gophers could use a break. Don't get me wrong, I think the Gophers are on their way to turning things around and will, in a couple of years, be a football team that can break into contention, but that this is a rebuilding stretch. Coach Jerry Kill knows what he is doing; it just takes time to implement drastic changes.

A suggestion I have would be to work in those lower classmen more. The upper classmen are not getting it done, whether they are afraid or just lacking the talent, its time to get a fresh pair of legs in there. Sorry boys, it's true.

What are your suggestions? Or as Yoda would say, 'what suggestions have you?'

Minnesota Gophers Purdue Boilermakers

The Gophers hit the road and head to West Lafayette, Indiana this weekend to battle the Purdue Boilermakers (2-2). The Gophers will attempt to redeem themselves after a 58-0 steamrolling by Michigan last week.

Minnesota is 1-4 this year and looked completely outmatched in its first Big Ten game under head coach Jerry Kill.

The Gophers played at Purdue last season and were defeated 28-17 in Tim Brewster's final game before he was dismissed.

Purdue has yet to play a Big Ten game this year, but sits 2-2 on the season. They were beat last week 38-10 by Notre Dame.

Coach Kill Returns to Gophers Practice

Coach Kill is back!

After four days of testing at May clinic, Coach Kill is back on the field working with the Gophers again with a more effective medication.

Kill's seizures continued on a regular basis until he spent the four days at Mayo, under the supervision of a branch of doctors who rank with the best epilepsy experts in the world.

The first practice following Kill's returned was closed to all media, despite the normal protocol of having the first 20 minutes open. Apparently Kill was as upset about the Minnesota loss to NDSU as Gopher fans were. Kill gave the team a piece of his mind as well as sitting down with the seniors and urging them to maintain perseverance.

We will see how effective Kill's return to the home base is when the Gophers play at Michigan this weekend.

North Dakota State Bison Know How to Party

With Coach Kill back on the field after a short stint in the hospital following a seizure on the field at TCF Bank, the Gophers are looking to pick up another win at home this weekend against North Dakota.

North Dakota comes to town this weekend and apparently there could be as many as 20,000 North Dakota State fans coming with the team. Holy smokes. There have been more than 1,000 nights at five downtown hotels.

On Friday night, Bison fans will gather at the Depot in downtown, where dueling pianos will take requests. On Saturday morning, those same fans will head to the State Fairgrounds for a massive midday tailgating party.

I don't know who these fans think they are, but I like them a lot. They know how to party.

Let's get our act together Gopher fans.

Kris Humphries, Ex-Gopher

The newly married Kris Humphries has received a lot of press lately... not all of it good.

Turns out the former University of Minnesota star has a long history of bad first impressions dating back to his recruitment process during his senior year in high school. On his official visit to Kansas, as a prospective Jayhawk basketball player, Humphries did anything but impress with his off the court social talents.

In an excerpt from "Beyond the Phog: Untold Stories from Kansas Basketball's Most Dominant Decade," former guard Keith Longford expands on why Humphries failed to become a Jayhawk.

"Kris Humpries came on a visit and tried to commit. He really wanted to come here. But no one on the team liked Kris Humphies. He was arrogant. He told everyone he was going to come in and be the leading scorer as a freshman and that we'd all have to take a backseat to him. We were trying to be respectful and not say anything. But he was an absolute jerk. It was tough, because Roy was really excited about his. Kris Humphries was a big deal. He was a one-and-done or a two-and-done kind of player. Roy wanted him to commit on his visit. But we told him, "Coach, you can't bring this guy in. You can't do it." You'd figure Roy would say something like, "Let's work on him," or "Let's give him another chance." Instead he told Humphries, "Sorry, but can't come.""

After being turned down by Kansas, Humphries eventually chose the powerhouse Duke, but changed his mind and came to Minnesota instead.

Unlike Roy Williams, the ex-Minnesota coach (Humphries coach) hold positive feelings for his former player. Dan Monson was even invited to the Kardashian-Humphries wedding. Bliss.

Ok. Who cares? I just lost a million brain cells.