The story is still being told in St. Paul about the time Notre Dame welcomed 30 incoming freshman football players, including Cretin-Derham Hall grad Michael Floyd, with pizza and soft drinks for school orientation.
After eating, 29 players left their tables and headed for the door. One player — Floyd — didn’t leave. He found a wastebasket and proceeded to clean the tables and pick up leftover trash, on his own.
Floyd, now 27 and at practice with the Vikings last week, couldn’t specifically recall the pizza cleanup that day — it was nine years ago.
“But I do know,” he said, “that my mom would have been mad if I left some place very dirty.” 
This year will be Floyd’s sixth as a NFL wide receiver, having recently signed with the hometown team. He has absorbed, deservedly so, plenty of knocks for his alcohol-related transgressions.
But people who know him well, including his teachers at Cretin-Derham Hall, insist he’s an exceptional person, and that the Vikings did well in welcoming him home.
The Twins’ first season without Joe Mauer and his annual $23 million salary will be 2019. By then, the team’s young prospects — Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jose Berrios and Jorge Polanco — will have had even more experience. Middle infielder Nick Gordon, 21, who is hitting .303 with 22 extra-base hits at Class AA Chattanooga, should be ready.
And if Ervin Santana is still with Minnesota, the Twins should be a bona fide championship contender.
Santana, 34, is signed through next year with an option for 2019. After the Twins lost 103 games last season, it seemed a given they would be offering him in a trade this summer. Now it appears that not only will Santana be retained, but the Twins, in first place in their division, could be looking to trade for another starter.
Santana (7-2, 1.80 earned-run average) could be the starting pitcher in baseball’s All-Star Game July 11 in Miami. The Twins signed him to a $54 million, four-year free agent contract after he finished 14-10 (3.95 ERA) for Atlanta in 2014. The Twins have a $14 million option for 2019.
Twins third-base coach Gene Glynn, 60, is a former infielder who has been in professional baseball for 38 years. Glynn works tirelessly with daily fielding drills for third baseman Miguel Sano.
“Miguel is one of the best coming in on a ball — a slow roller or a bunt — and finishing the play that I’ve seen,” Glynn said. “He’s quicker than you think. He had the Tommy John (surgery in 2014) and missed a lot of defensive time, almost the whole year. He came up here (majors) and DHed partway, then the next year went to right field, then partway through that got moved to third base.
“So there was a long space in there where he didn’t really play many games at third base. If you ask a lot of guys (managers-coaches) who had him in the minor leagues, they all thought he was going to be a really good third baseman. I think he’s back to where the guys who knew him as a younger player thought he would be.”
New Vikings backup quarterback Case Keenum was position-coached for the Los Angeles Rams last season by Chris Weinke, the former Heisman Trophy winner from St. Paul.
“Chris is my guy — he’s awesome,” Keenum, 29, said. “Mechanically, I don’t know if there’s anybody in the game who knows more as far as drill work goes. The guy’s a great coach.”
Weinke, 44, won the Heisman Trophy as QB at Florida State in 2000. Today, he’s offensive analyst for Nick Saban’s Alabama team.
“Chris let us know (that he won the Heisman), everything short of bringing it in and throwing it on the table,” Keenum said with a laugh.
Vikings QB Sam Bradford, a zero handicap golfer, shot par 72 at Wayzata Country Club the other day.
“And he bogeyed No. 1, so he was knocking a little rust off,” said teammate tight end Kyle Rudolph, an 8-handicapper. “It was lights out from there on. If he ever took strokes, it wouldn’t be fair.”
On a wall in Twins manager Paul Molitor’s Target Field office is a Fender guitar given to him in 1999 by rocker Bruce Springsteen, who inscribed a long best-wishes note to the hall of famer.
“Bruce came to see me play in Yankee Stadium my last year, and he brought his son for his birthday,” Molitor recalled. “I got his son some Twins stuff and this and that, as we had a nice little chat.”
That Christmas, Molitor received a box in the mail.
“Inside was the guitar complete with music,” Molitor said. “He said he appreciated what I did for his son.”
Another guitar gift on Molitor’s office wall is one from Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Molitor had hoped to get one of Paul McCartney’s guitars when he performed at Target Field three years ago.
“But we were out of town and I couldn’t finagle it,” Molitor said.
Molitor, 60, has tinkered at playing guitar.
“I don’t have the knack,” he said.
Rod Carew, recovering from heart and kidney transplants, is scheduled to appear at the Minnesota Sports Collectible Convention Oct. 28-29 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee.
Also appearing: Cal Ripken Jr., Tim Raines, Jack Ham, Rollie Fingers and Mike Epstein.
St. Paul’s Kenny Mauer Jr. is expected to referee his 13th NBA Finals this week. Mauer’s brother, Tommy, is in his 18th season officiating WNBA games. Hastings’ Pat Fraher advanced to third-round NBA playoffs as a referee for a fourth straight season.
Gophers freshman catcher Eli Wilson is the son of former Gophers-Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson.
Jeff Meslow from White Bear Township, Jason Nickleby from Cottage Grove and Matt Kukar from Edina have been promoted from the Mid-American Conference to the Big Ten as on-field football officials for the coming season.
Hutchinson’s Mike Cannon and Eagan’s Steve Thielen will return as Big Ten on-field officials, as will White Bear Lake’s Brian Smith as a Big Ten replay communicator.
Dan Novak from Mendota Heights and Will Steinke from Edina will return to the MAC as on-field officials.
Sunday is National Hamburger Day across America. Coincidentally, Mark Hamburger (2-0) will start for the St. Paul Saints on Sunday against the Kansas City T-Bones at CHS Field.
Retired Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway is doing a lot of corporate and public speaking. His message: “Teamwork, captainship, leadership, how to deal with different egos and get them all moving in the same direction, things you deal with being captain of a football team,” he said.
Construction work continues at the Wild’s downtown St. Paul Treasure Island Center rooftop practice rink facility that on the bottom floor also will house an orthopedic clinic, a brewpub, a drug store, restaurants and an event center overlooking Wabasha Street.
The rink will also be home ice for the Hamline University men’s and women’s hockey teams, and opposing NHL teams are expected to practice there, too.
Vikings legend-former Minnesota Supreme Court justice Alan Page, who rarely makes public speaking appearances, speaks at a Capital Club breakfast at Town & Country Club on Wednesday.
Ricky Nolasco, the Angels’ Opening Day starter after being traded by the Twins last August, is 2-4 with a 4.37 ERA in 57 2/3 innings. Hector Santiago, whom the Twins got in the four-player deal, is 4-3 with a 4.07 ERA in 55 1/3 innings.
Ex-Twin Alex Meyer, whom the Angels got in the deal, is 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. Alan Busenitz, whom the Twins acquired in the trade, is 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 19 2/3 innings at Class AAA Rochester.
Michael Cuddyer was to represent the Twins at Saturday’s Hall of Fame Classic game at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Landan Salem, son of former Gophers QB Tim Salem and grandson of ex-Gophers football head coach Joe Salem, is director of football player personnel at Florida Atlantic under new head coach Lane Kiffin, the Bloomington Jefferson grad.
Ex-Twins outfielder Oswaldo Arcia is hitting .364 with 10 home runs in 38 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Class AAA Reno Aces.
Former Gophers shortstop Joe Kordosky is retiring after a splendid career as activities director at Mounds Park Academy.
Condolences to the family of Minneapolis’ Jack O’Brien, the St. Thomas Academy hall of famer and one of the stars of the College of St. Thomas’ celebrated 1949 Cigar Bowl team. O’Brien died at age 90 last week.
Don’t print that
It’s beginning to look like the video the Vikings released last week of knee-rehabbing Teddy Bridgewater, 24, passing during a workout could be a move to shop the 24-year-old QB for a trade.
Bridgewater’s trade market would be determined by his health, and any draft pick probably would be conditional on performance.
Before long, Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who can become a free agent after this season, is expected to sign a five-year contract extension that could be worth at least $13 million annually.
Rhodes, 26, said last week that he’s unaware of current contract talks.
“I’m only a football guy just out here playing ball,” he said. “I told my agent to call me when it’s time for me to come in and sign on the dotted line.”
The Gophers men’s basketball team is considered among favorites to win the Big Ten title next season. But at the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas last week, Minnesota was 110-1 to win the NCAA championship. Wisconsin and Indiana were 60-to-1, Michigan State 7-to-1, Northwestern 80-to-1, Michigan 30-to-1 and Iowa 300-to-1.
Zach Lofton, the former Columbia Heights basketball star who was released by the Gophers two years ago, then transferred to Texas Southern, has withdrawn as an early candidate for next month’s NBA draft. As a junior guard last season, Lofton led Texas Southern in scoring with a 16.8-points average.
There is a chance that Albert Pujols’ 600th career home run could come during four games against the Twins in Anaheim this week. The future hall of famer has 597 homers.
Baseball’s best team to date, the Houston Astros (33-16), who the Twins host for three games beginning on Monday, has had the major league draft’s No 1 overall pick for three straight years (2012-14), and the No. 2 overall pick in 2015. The Twins (25-19), who have the No. 1 overall pick next month, had the Nos. 6, 5, 4 and 2 overall picks between 2012 and 2015.
The Ryder Cup isn’t until 2020 at Whistling Straits, but the Kohler, Wis., golf club already is selling loads of Ryder Cup-logoed merchandise, the same as did Hazeltine National when it hosted the event in Chaska last summer.
There was a time when major league outfielders were required to use both hands to catch fly balls. In vogue now are outfielders catching fly balls one-handed.
“There are even some infielders taking ground balls one-handed now that never used to,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Molitor, 60, said catching one-handed doesn’t concern him — too much, that is.
“When they start catching it low one-handed, that’s a little more problematic for me,” he said. “As long as their eyes can follow (the ball) in the glove. It’s that low one-handed that kind of leaves me a little more nervous.”
The WNBA Lynx are averaging announced crowds of about 8,500 since their move to St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, the same as they averaged at their Minneapolis Target Center, which continues to undergo major renovation.
The Twins have a team psychologist, Dr. Rick Aberman, who is director of Peak Performance and in his 10th year with the organization. He also works with Twins minor leaguers.
“Talent is important, but it isn’t nearly as important as everybody says, believe me,” Aberman said. “It’s the mental stuff, and that’s a much better predictor of sustained long-term success.”
The Twins had long-term failure last season, losing 103 games. This season, they lead their division.
Aberman meets with players individually as well as in groups.
“Sometimes when things aren’t going well, sometimes people are more open because it’s hurting bad enough,” he said. “I don’t see it so much as ‘I need help or I don’t need help’ — I see it about growth. We want players to be in a constant state of growing. Even when things aren’t going well, we want to continue to grow versus just reaching a destination.
“I’m starting to get a sense that the (Twins) are a sense of a team, which is good, and people are open to continuing to learn about themselves and the game.”
Overheard
QB Case Keenum, asked why he chose the Vikings as a free agent: “Why not — there are so many reasons why.”
