Backstrom in no hurry

Backstrom in no hurry


The Wild and goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who can become a free agent in five weeks, continue to talk about a new contract. And, for the Wild, the sooner the better for a deal.

"The reality of it is, if we can't get it done by July 1, we're probably not in it after that," general manager Doug Risebrough said. "We're trying to solve our problem with that situation before then; if we can't solve it before, it's probably naive to think it's going to be solved after."

A little birdie says it's likely Backstrom will wait until July 1, then choose from among several guaranteed three-year offers expected to be in the $10 million range.

Top Vikings draft pick Adrian Peterson says he doesn't expect any difficulty reaching a contract agreement, and that once he signs, he'll buy his mother a new house in Texas.

Look for Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis of Wayzata to be on the Playboy preseason All-America team and to be a top-10 pick in next year's NFL draft if he decides to come out after his junior season.

Patti Brooks, who was married to late hockey coaching legend Herb Brooks, will be remarried in two weeks in St. Paul to Mark Rhoades, an orthopedist from Patti's hometown of Yankton, S.D. She has known Rhoades for 51 years.

John Gagliardi, who has coached St. John's in Collegeville, Minn., to four national football championships, on the Johnnies' recent national title in golf: "It's good to see somebody else do it, especially in golf. I didn't think that was possible up here in the tundra."

Don't be surprised if former Gopher J.B Bickerstaff ends up as an assistant with the Timberwolves.

Ex-Gophers men's basketball coach Dan Monson of Long Beach State on Friday accepted an invitation for lunch from hall of fame coach John Wooden.

Ticket prices for the U.S. Women's Open golf championship at Interlachen Country Club on June 23-29, 2008, that go on sale June 11: weeklong grounds pass, $150; Monday through Wednesday, daily, $20 each day; Thursday and Friday, $45 each day; Saturday and Sunday, $50 each day.

Ex-Viking Brad Johnson has been the clear No. 2 quarterback to Tony Romo at the Dallas Cowboys' mini-camps.

That was DeLaSalle 6-foot-6, 215-pound junior Royce White at the Gophers men's basketball offices last week making an unofficial visit.

Former Gophers hockey teammates Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins and Ryan Potulny of the Philadelphia Flyers have committed to the 4-on-4 hockey league beginning June 18 at Drake Arena in St. Paul.

Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, asked if he feels pressure as the expected Vikings starter in just his second year in the NFL: "The only pressure I feel is pressure I put on myself to do well."

Ex-Park Center basketball star Andre Gilbert has committed to Kansas State, which also landed the country's top high school prospect, Michael Beasley of Washington, D.C.

Had Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman remained with Orlando as an assistant rather than move to Minnesota as an assistant a year ago, he might have been the new head coach of the Magic.

Former North Stars coach Pierre Page, who coached Berlin to two German hockey championships, is taking over the coaching job in Salzburg, Austria.

Tom Barnes from St. Paul begins his 22nd season as an NFL official next fall.

Vikings coach Brad Childress says linebacker Chad Greenway, returning from knee surgery that cost him last season, is on the practice field 35 minutes before practice.

St. Cloud State hockey assistant Eric Rud from Inver Grove Heights recently interviewed for the head coaching job at Alaska Fairbanks.

Ken Staples, the former Twins minor league and Osceola, Wis., town team baseball manager, will be honored June 1 in Osceola with a tournament named after him.

Former Gophers basketball player John Aune of St. Louis Park will return to Minnesota next month after two deployments to Iraq as a U.S. soldier.

The Wild are scouting former Wild first-round draft pick defenseman A.J. Thelen, who is starring for Vancouver in the Memorial Cup playoffs despite a finger he broke in the first game.

That was Gophers assistant coach Rob Fornasiere at Cretin-Derham Hall scouting slugging junior shortstop Jacob Esch the other day.

It's a baby boy, Charlie, for Vikings public relations assistant Tom Fanning and wife Molly.

St. Paul native Tom Herzan, who won the Arizona senior open golf championship, has added the Ohio senior open title and hopes to receive an exemption to play in the 3M Championship July 30-Aug. 4 at the TPC in Blaine.

Edina West grad Brian Burke, who is general manager of the Anaheim Ducks, on the Ottawa team he faces in the Stanley Cup Finals beginning Monday: "They have one huge line that no one's been able to solve yet."

If the Twins are clearly out of the playoff hunt by the end of July, it's expected they'll trade second baseman Luis Castillo, pitcher Carlos Silva and, perhaps, center fielder Torii Hunter, none of whom is signed for next year.

Some basketball people feel ex-Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders, after his Pistons contract expires in 2009, will be reunited with Kevin Garnett, who will be traded to the Lakers.

It's unclear whether Falcons quarterback Michael Vick could end up suspended for a game if found guilty for his alleged involvement with dog fighting. Atlanta plays its first game Sept. 9 against the Vikings at the Metrodome.

Culture shock: New Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith, who plans to conduct a midnight madness promotion for the opening of practice, was accustomed to seeing 20,000 fans for his midnight madness openings at Kentucky.

Vikings coach Brad Childress has been holding team goodwill meetings with corporate sponsors and season-ticket holders.

Although Golden State rookie Patrick O'Bryant of Blaine was active for the Warriors' 11 playoff games this season, he didn't play in any of them.

Don't think Winona State, which last season ran its unbeaten streak to 57 games before losing the NCAA Division II national championship game, wouldn't love to play the Gophers men's basketball team this season.

Wisconsin, Northwestern and Stanford are the main competition against the Gophers football team for Cretin-Derham Hall offensive lineman Joe Schafer.

The recent designation of mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting under the State Boxing Commission improves Minnesota's chances of getting an Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise.

Tony Zukowski, who was the head men's basketball coach at St. Mary's University, will be named boys coach at Winona Cotter High.

OVERHEARD

St. Paul's Bob Paradise, who was a teammate of Randy Carlyle with the Penguins, on the Ducks coach, who is in the Stanley Cup Finals: "He wasn't big on conditioning; he was the most unlikely player you would think would become a coach."

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