“Joe Coleman has made the decision to leave the Golden Gopher basketball program. We wish him the very best in the future,” said Pitino. “We appreciate the contributions he has given the program the last two years.”

Coleman played in 72 career games in Maroon and Gold, including all 34 games last season. He contributed career-highs in multiple categories as a sophomore, including points (8.7 ppg), rebounds (3.6 rpg), assists (1.5 apg), steals (1.1 spg) and minutes played (26.3 mpg). He will leave the program with career averages of 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds.

TWINS NOTES: ­

· The Twins extended their winning streak against the White Sox to three games, their longest streak against the Sox since winning nine straight September 14, 2010-July 8, 2011.

· The Twins have won five of their last seven games…they are one game over .500 for the third time in their last five days.

· After allowing two runs in the top of the first, the Twins have allowed their opponents to score 39 runs in the first inning this season; entering today, only Houston had allowed more first inning runs in all of baseball with 42…the Twins have allowed their opponents to score the game’s first run in 21 of 35 games played.

· Pedro Hernandez earned his second career win tonight and set a single game career-high with four strikeouts…he did not allow a walk, giving Twins starters just six walks allowed in their last eight games (41.2 IP).

· Joe Mauer (1-for-2) extended his hitting streak to a season-high 12 games, marking his longest since June 17-July 3, 2012 (also 12)…he is hitting .447 (21-for-47) during the streak…it is the longest current streak in the AL after Miguel Cabrera went 0-for-4 tonight against Houston.

· Justin Morneau (3-for-4) extended his hitting streak to nine straight games and is hitting .417 (15-for-36) in that span…he has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games, batting .358 (24-for-67) in that span…Morneau drove in four runs tonight, giving him 17 this month; he entered today with the most RBI in baseball for the month…the four RBI set a single-game high for the season, his most since August 6, 2012 at Cleveland (also 4).

· Trevor Plouffe (1-for-4) has 10 RBI in his last 11 games (since May 3)…he went 1-for-2 off Sox starter Hector Santiago and is now hitting .400 (10-for-25) against left-handed pitching this season…Plouffe’s third inning double was his 200th career hit.

· Aaron Hicks hit his second career home run in the fourth inning, both have been hit as a right-handed batter…Hicks has hit safely in 13 of his last 18 games.

· Hicks gave the Twins their first player with a two-homer game this season, the previous being Justin Morneau September 9, 2012 vs. Cleveland…it was also Hicks’ first career multi-hit game.

· Hicks became the youngest Twin (at 23 years, 223 days) to record a multi-homer game since Justin Morneau did it August 12, 2004 at Seattle (23 years, 89 days).

· Pedro Florimon recorded his fourth bunt hit…Manny Machado was the only player in baseball with four bunt hits entering today.

· Joe Mauer was intentionally walked in the eighth inning, giving him 99 for his career, tying him with Rod Carew for fourth on the Twins all-time list.

In the Past Masters Division amateur Rick Ehrmanntraut of Southview CC finished at 11-over par 155 to win the title by one shot over Terry Comstock of Prairie Green GC.

The 2013 Minnesota Golf Champions is supported by Clarity Sound Design & Vision, aboutGolf and Prime Mortgage.

REGULAR DIVISION RESULTS

1   Clayton Rask (p)     Crystal Lake           74-66-70–210 -6  $2,250.00

 2   Sammy Schmitz (a)    Valleywood GC          69-73-69–211 -5

 T3  Justin Smith (p)     University of MN       69-72-72–213 -3  $1,250.00

 T3  Ryan Helminen (p)    Ridgeway G&CC          67-70-76–213 -3  $1,250.00

 5   Tom Hoge (p)         Fargo CC               70-70-74–214 -2  $800.00

 T6  Trent Peterson (a)   Valleywood GC          70-79-68–217 +1

 T6  Thomas Campbell (p)  University GC          71-74-72–217 +1  $625.00

 T6  Jeff Sorenson (p)    Columbia GC            72-74-71–217 +1  $625.00

 9   Stephen Bidne (p)    Monticello CC          70-73-75–218 +2  $500.00

 T10 Don Berry (p)        Edinburgh USA          72-75-72–219 +3  $425.00

 T10 Scott Cole (p)       New Richmond GC        68-78-73–219 +3  $425.00

 12  Chris Meyer (p)      Braemar GC             73-77-70–220 +4  $350.00

 13  Cameron White (p)    University GC          71-76-75–222 +6  $300.00

 14  Scott Gustafson (a)  Hazeltine National GC  70-77-77–224 +8

 T15 Chris Peterson (p)   StoneRidge GC          74-76-75–225 +9  $212.50

 T15 Eric Chiles (p)      Chaska TC              74-76-75–225 +9  $212.50

 T15 Brent Snyder (p)     Troy Burne GC          73-76-76–225 +9  $212.50

 T15 Eddie Wynne (p)      University GC          71-78-76–225 +9  $212.50

 19  Jim Sorenson (p)     Momentus Golf          76-71-79–226 +10 $150.00

 T20 Danny Sinksen (p)    Elmwood Park GC        72-77-79–228 +12

 T20 Troy Johnson (a)     Rush Creek GC          71-76-81–228 +12

 T20 Robert Bell (a)      University GC          76-73-79–228 +12

 23  Chris Bailey (p)     North Oaks GC          71-79-80–230 +14

Eden Prairie, MN (May 9, 2013) – The University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms on a Facility Use Agreement that allows the Vikings to use TCF Bank Stadium for the 2014 and 2015 NFL seasons. The agreement also allows for two additional seasons, if necessary.

The agreement is subject to approval by the University’s Board of Regents, which will vote on the proposal during its meeting Friday, May 10.

“We’re pleased to enter into an agreement with the Vikings to allow them to play at TCF Bank Stadium,” said Vice President for University Services Pam Wheelock. “With Board of Regents approval, we plan to start work right away to ensure the facility is ready for the Vikings in 2014.”

“This partnership benefits the University, its neighbors, the Vikings and all Minnesota football fans,” said University President Eric Kaler. “The Vikings will remain part of the Twin Cities region during construction of their new stadium, while proceeds will be used to enhance Gopher Athletics and invest in the fabric of our surrounding neighborhoods.”

The use agreement stipulates that the Vikings will reimburse the University for any required TCF Bank Stadium capital improvements, as well as all game-day operational expenses. In addition, the Vikings will pay the University a per-game rent of $250,000 for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, with minimal increases if additional seasons were to be required. The team will also share $50,000 per game in concessions, advertising and sponsorship revenue. In total, the Vikings will pay the University $300,000 per game, with a maximum of $3 million for each NFL season.

“This collaborative process between the Vikings and the University has led to an agreement that will benefit all parties,” said Vikings Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Warren. “With this agreement solidified, we can now move forward on finalizing a plan that ensures the Vikings provide a great game day experience for our players, coaches and fans while having a positive impact on the University and the surrounding neighborhoods.”

“We appreciate the University’s commitment to host the Vikings while the new downtown stadium is being constructed,” said Vikings Owner and President Mark Wilf. “We look forward to hosting our fans in TCF Bank Stadium in 2014 and 2015.”

The agreement also includes the creation of a Minnesota Vikings Good Neighbor Partnership Fund, which will be established and administered through the existing University Good Neighbor Fund. The Vikings will contribute $125,000 per NFL season, a combination of cash and in-kind contributions, to the Partnership Fund, which will be used to implement tangible and visible projects during the years the Vikings play at TCF Bank Stadium. The projects selected must be beneficial to the nearby neighborhoods and businesses, allow for participation by the Vikings and their partners and be approved by the Vikings.

The Minnesota men’s basketball program announced today that Deandre Mathieu has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Gophers.

Mathieu joins previously signed Daquan McNeil as part of head coach Richard Pitino’s inaugural recruiting class at Minnesota. Both players will be eligible to compete during the 2013-14 season.

“Deandre is the type of player that fits our style of play, both offensively and defensively,” said Golden Gopher head coach Richard Pitino. “He is an up-tempo point guard that does just about everything on the court, which was really evident in the numbers he put up last season. He is a great addition to our program.”  

The Knoxville, Tenn. native was an NJCAA First-Team All-American for Central Arizona College last season. He averaged 17.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists on the way to being named the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Mathieu helped lead the Vaqueros to the second round of the NJCAA Division 1 Tournament. He scored a season-high 29 points in a win at Eastern Arizona College, and also posted a pair of 28-point games during the season. He finished the season shooting 52 percent from the field.

Prior to arriving at Central Arizona, Mathieu walked on at Morehead State. He played in 29 games as a freshman, starting the last seven games of the 2011-12 season. 

Mathieu is a graduate of Knoxville Central High School. 

The Wild took 63 shots but only 25 “made it through” said Wild head coach Mike Yeo after the loss. Yeo also was fretting about his team’s power-less power play which is now an astounding 0 for 15 in the series. The Wild were 0 for 6 on the man advantage on Thursday. Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford pitched the shutout for Chicago and Patrick Sharp had the game’s first two goals.

The Wild were also thrown another curve when goaltender Josh Harding  left the game with an injury after one period of play. 22 year old Darcy Kuemper made his post-season debut for Minnesota starting the 2nd period and finishing the game. Harding’s status for game 5 is unknown. This of course, after the Wild lost #1 goalie Niklas Bakstrom during warm-ups before game 1. Kuemper spent most of this past season at the Wild’s AHL minor league affiliate in Houston.

Notes: The Wild outshot the Hawks 25-24, which included 26 blocked shots by Chicago; they also landed more hits again, outhitting them 20-10. Sharp now has four goals in the series to lead all scorers

In addition, the Wild also announced that Game 5 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series with the Chicago Blackhawks has been set for 8:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, May 9 at United Cente in Chicago.

    Suter, 28 (1/21/85), recorded 32 points (4-28=32) including 15 power-play points (3-12=15), 24 penalty minutes (PIM) and a plus-2 rating in 48 games with Minnesota this season. He led the NHL in TOI/game at 27:16, ranked second in assists and third in scoring amongst defensemen. Suter ranked first on the Wild in assists and blocked shots, tied for second with seven multi-point games and fourth in scoring. His time on ice total set a new franchise record. Suter skated more than 30 minutes in 10 games this season and logged a season-high 32:54 of ice time in Minnesota’s 3-1 win at Colorado on April 27 to help the Wild advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2008. The Wild went 18-3-3 when he registered a point this season and were 15-1-1 when he skated to a plus-rating.

    The 6-foot-1, 198-pound native of Madison, Wis., has tallied 270 points (42-228=270), including 114 power play points (14-100=114), 420 PIM and a plus-45 rating in 590 career games during eight seasons with Nashville and Minnesota. This marks the first time that Suter, and a member of the Wild, has been named a finalist for this award.

    Members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association submitted ballots for the Norris Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winner will be announced during the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, with more detail on format to be released at a later date. The James Norris Memorial Trophy was presented in 1953 by the four children of the late James Norris in memory of the former owner-president of the Detroit Red Wings.

“Chris has meant a great deal to the Vikings both on and off the field in his eight seasons here. He contributed to many victories and we wish Chris and his family the best and thank him for his contributions to the Vikings organization. Out of respect to Chris, we decided to release him now and allow time for him to sign with another team.” - Vikings GM Rick Spielman