Seasons
SEASON: 66 | YEAR: 2014
HEAD COACH: JON GURBAN
Game 818 | January 9, 2014 | Don Lucia, Joel Johnson
Men's Coach Don Lucia talked about switching from the WCHA to the new Big 10 hockey league. His team went on to win the first conference title and lost to Union 7-4 in the finals of the NCAA Hockey Championship. Senior forward Nate Condon, a guest that day, finished the season with 25 points. Johnson, chief assistant to Gopher Women's Coach Brad Frost, talked about the team's record 62-game winning streak and the pressure of back-to-back national championships. The team finished the season with a 38-2-1 record and lost 5-4 in the NCAA Championship final game to Clarkson. Two-time captain Bethany Brausen spoke on behalf of the team.
Game 819 | January 24, 2014 | Ricky Nolasco, Brian Dozier, Cory Provus
Appearing in conjunction with the Twins' annual TwinsFest, the meeting featured a free-agent pitcher, Nolasco, and returning second baseman, Dozier. Nolasco had trouble adjusting to American League batters and finished the season with a 6-12 record. Dozier, on the other hand, led the team with 23 home runs and became one of the best second baseman in major league baseball.
(LtoR) Brian Dozier, Ricky Nolasco, Jon Gurban, Cory Provus, Dave St. Peter (physician), Dave Mona
Game 820 | February 21, 2014 | Mayor Chris Coleman
Elected Mayor of Saint Paul in 2006, Coleman had been elected to his third term before talking to Dunkers. He described the advantages of moving the minor league Saint Paul Saints into the soon-to-be built CHS Field in downtown Saint Paul and said the Minnesota Wild hockey team has been a major contributor to both the economy and energy level in downtown Saint Paul.
Game 821 | March 4, 2014 | Joe Schmit
Dunker member and long-time KSTP TV Sports Director Schmit spoke on the eve of the release of his book, Silent Impact. Schmit shared anecdotes about athletes and others who had made a major impact on his life.
(LtoR) Bill Popp (physician), Joe Schmit, Jon Gurban
Game 822 | April 1, 2014 | Michele Kelm-Helgen
Kelm-Helgen, another Dunkers member, was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton in 2012 as the chair of the newly created Metropolitan Sports Facilities Authority. As work was beginning on the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, she showed and discussed the design of the facility and how it was scheduled to be completed in advance of the 2016 Vikings season.
Game 823| April 14, 2014 | Randy Sampson, Paul Allen, Kevin Gorg
Canterbury opened in 1985 and was purchased by the Sampson family in 1993. The family was in its 20th year of presenting live racing. In 2012 Canterbury entered into a 10-year agreement with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux, operators of nearby Mystic Lake Casino. The agreement added $75 million to racing purses. Allen and Gorg led the audience through some handicapping for the upcoming Kentucky Derby.
Game 824 | May 1, 2014 | Ron Gardenhire
Less than a month after the Twins home opener, the Twins manager and general manager talked about prospects for the 2014 season, Gardenhire's 13th as manager. Despite early optimism, the team lost 90-plus games for the fourth consecutive season, and Gardenhire was fired after the end of the season in favor of Hall of Famer Paul Molitor.
Game 825 | May 13, 2014 | Rick Spielman
Just five days after the start of the 2014 NFL Draft, Vikings General Manager Spielman discussed the team's draft-day strategy. With the ninth pick in the first round the Vikings selected Anthony Barr, who quickly became a starting linebacker. Later in the day Spielman made a deal with Seattle to secure the final and 32nd pick in the first round. He used that pick for Teddy Bridgewater who became a starter early in the season and led all NFL quarterbacks in most statistical categories.
Game 826 | June 18, 2014 | Bill McGuire
The former CEO of United Healthcare described soccer as the sport of choice for the millennial generation and predicted that this area would be an ideal choice for an expansion team in the 19-year-old Major League Soccer. Less than a year later McGuire's prediction came true when his team, Minnesota United, was awarded a team in the 2017 season.
Game 827 | July 14, 2014 | Rod Carew, Jim Kaat, Jim "Mudcat" Grant
Three of the best players in the early years of the Minnesota Twins took questions and told stories on subjects ranging from the 1965 World Series, playing for Billy Martin, and how they've stayed connected with the Twins organization. Carew told of the time he stole home only to see Harmon Killebrew ready to swing at the pitch. Killebrew saw Carew at the last minute and Carew safely stole home, one of seven such steals in 1969. The next day, Carew found a sign on his locker with a drawing of a tombstone which read, "Here lies the body of Rod Carew, lined to left by Killebrew."
(LtoR) Dave St. Peter (physician), Rod Carew, Jim Kaat, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Jon Gurban, Dave Mona
Game 828 | July 22, 2014 | Mike Zimmer
In January of 2014 Zimmer was hired as the ninth head coach in Minnesota Vikings history, succeeding Leslie Frazier. Zimmer, previously a defensive coordinator with the Cowboys, Falcons and Bengals, coached the Vikings to a 7-9 record in his first season.
(LtoR) Dave Mona, Mike Zimmer, Jon Gurban, Steve LaCroix (physician)
Game 829 | July 31, 2014 | Tom Pernice, Jr.
A very young-looking 54-year-old, Pernice was the 4th leading money winner on the 2014 Champions Tour. He was in town to play in the annual 3M Championship which he won in 2013. The 2014 event was won by Kenny Perry with a one-stroke win over two-time 3M winner Bernhard Langer. Pernice tied for 20th in 2014 and took home a check for $21,000.
Game 830 | September 30, 2014 | Jerry Kill
The Little Brown Jug made its initial Dunkers appearance just three days after Kill's Gopher football team defeated a favored Wolverine team 30-13 in Ann Arbor. The season finished with the Gophers having an 8-5 record with wins over both Iowa and Nebraska as well as a close 31-14 loss to eventual National Champion Ohio State.
(LtoR) Doug Kingsriter (physician), Jerry Kill, Jon Gurban, Dave Mona
Game 831, 2014 | October 6 | Mike Yeo
Entering his fourth season as head coach of the Minnesota Wild. Yeo, the youngest head coach in the National Hockey League, talked about the need for more scoring and the acquisition of former Gopher Thomas Vanek. After a terrible stretch the team traded for goalie Devan Dubnyk and qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Game 832 | October 27, 2014 | Milt Newton
Now the General Manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Newton worked in player development with T'Wolves Coach Flip Saunders when Saunders coached the Washington Wizards. Newton grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and was recruited to Kansas where he started at forward for the team's 1988 National Champions.
Game 833 | November 12, 2014 | Marlene Stollings
In her first year as head coach of the University of Minnesota's Women's Basketball team, she coached the team to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. She came to Minnesota after brief head coaching experiences at Virginia Commonwealth and Winthrop University. Her Gopher team recovered from the early loss of All-American guard Rachel Banham. Stollings is the all time (boys and girls) high school scoring leader in Ohio high school basketball with 3,514 points (Lebron James had 2,657.)
(LtoR) Shae Kelley, Tiffanie Couts, Jon Gurban, Linda Mona (physician), Marlene Stollings, Dave Mona
Game 834 | November 18, 2014 | David Wheaton
During the height of his professional tennis career, Wheaton, a Minneapolis native, reached the semi-finals or better in every Grand Slam event, beating the likes of Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Jim Courier and Michael Chang. Now a producer and host of a syndicated Christian radio show, Wheaton appeared at Dunkers in conjunction with the release of his book, My Boy, Ben-A Story of Love.
(LtoR) Jerry Noyce (physician), David Wheaton, Jon Gurban, Dave Mona
Annual Meeting 2014 | December 11, 2014 | Sid Hartman and Dave Mona
Dave Mona and Sid Hartman interviewed a dozen Twin Cities sports personalities who also took questions from the crowd of more than 150 fellow Dunkers in the final meeting of 2014.