John Gilbert

Cancer cuts short Swanny’s optimism

This should be a week of excitement and happiness for sports fans, with the Twins playing better than we could have hoped, the Stanley Cup Playoff series all featuring phenomenal competition in every first-round series, and the biggest event in motorsports coming up this weekend, with the Indianapolis SPORTS 500 ready to roll Sunday after a spineJOHN tingling finish to GILBERT qualifying.

But a reallife drama that took a shocking and horrible turn over the weekend has reduced the enjoyment factor for anyone and everyone who ever knew or came into contact with Dick Swanson, the long-standing girls softball coach at Denfeld, who was whisked away from us Sunday night, just when we all believed he was succeeding in his fight against pancreas and liver cancer.

Universally known as Swanny, or simply Swan to those who knew him well enough, Swanson had blazed a larger than life trail coaching Denfeld softball. He had coached other sports at Denfeld, too, but he was softball coach since he took over the Denfeld team in 1990.

He knew a stocky young man named Tim Utt, who was a fast-pitch pitcher in the Duluth area when men’s fastpitch was a big-time sport. So Swanny asked Utt to come along and assist him, which he did, for 30 years and 299 victories.

“Our first year, we went to state,” said Utt, who remains as loyal as any assistant can be, and is responsible for bringing along the always-impressive Hunters pitching prospects. “I was with Swan every year since, except for two years, when I got sick in 1998.”

Always with a twinkle in his eye, Dick Swanson gathered with nine of his Denfeld softball players – and a cream-filled donut.. Photo by John Gilbert.

Sick meant a multiple melanoma when Valpo was a big-time sports powdiagnosis that gave a “bad prognosis,” er. Utt said. “I came back, and we’ve won Wally Gilbert starred in football, 299 games together, although Swan has basketball and baseball at Valparaiso, over 350 himself.” was captain of all three, and was

Swanson was one of those coaches named All-American in football his who was soft-spoken but forceful senior year. He went on to play for the enough when necessary, although Brooklyn Dodgers, Duluth Eskimos and his girls always mention his sarcastic on touring AAU pro basketball teams – humor that was such a big part of his all at the same time – in the 1920s and heckling players to better perform30s. ances. So Swanny questioned them enough

But he also was one of those that a year ago, Valparaiso did indeed coaches that you couldn’t dislike. I put him into their hall of fame. would bet no opposing coaches ever They sent me the program from the had an intense rivalry because of his ceremony, which was nice. personality. In fact, if there was a hassle So last Thursday, I learned that Tim in a game, Swanson would usually Utt had rounded up the right people head over to the opposing team and and got the approval to dedicate the apologize after the game. softball fields adjoining Wade Stadium.

He also made big impacts on the They had been renamed in honor of Gilbert family. He contacted me when Swanny, but Utt made sure signs were the Denfeld Hall of Fame, which he made and there would be an official helped organize, got rolling in 2015 dedication. I hustled out there last and he wanted me to attend the Thursday for the 1 p.m. ceremony. ceremony to represent my dad, Wally When Swanny arrived, he had Gilbert, who was being inducted as one walked from his house to his car, drove of Denfeld’s greatest athletes ever, back himself to the park, and was walking before 1920. through the parking lot when I caught

That was a beautiful ceremony, and up to him. I told him I just wanted a couple of years ago, Swanny called to thank him for the impact he had me and said he had been pestering the on Valparaiso to help get my dad top officials at Valparaiso University inducted into their hall, and this was in Indiana because they had started a my first chance, since the coronavirus hall of fame but never inducted Wally pandemic wiped out the spring sports Gilbert, who had quite a career there, seasons.

We had a nice talk walking across the parking lot. He told me the doctors had told him they had done as much as they could, and the cancers were under control, and they were taking him off more chemotherapy for a month to see if the disease had stabilized. He said he had lost 80 pounds from the chemo, but he had accepted the consequences and was feeling good about the progress of his fight.

Swanny never married, and said it was because he was so married to sports and coaching that he didn’t have time to pursue such ventures. Utt, who has been fighting a successful battle against a new cancer on his cheek, gathered up a half-dozen other assistants, and got nine of the softball players to show up at the Wade Stadium fields. A couple of them asked Swanny to meet them there to talk about some hitting techniques, so he’d be sure to come. Once gathered, Utt read a brief introduction, then assigned Swanny to pull the curtain off the sign that said the fields would forevermore be known as Dick (Swan) Swanson Fields.

Swanny spoke briefly, and said most of his games and time were spent on those fields, so it was a special honor. Then the girls from his softball team surrounded him for a few photos. “They’ll be the key parts of our team, and I can’t wait to get out there with them next year,” Swanson said.

Nice ceremony, and after Swanson drove home, Utt gave him a call last Sunday to see if he wanted to join the usual group of coaches for their weekly round of golf. “He said he had missed the last two weeks, and he thought he’d sit out one more week, then come back next Sunday,” said Utt. “He went in and sat in his wellworn recliner, and we think he was watching golf on TV, and took a nap. He never woke up.”

Swanny’s sister called Utt with the news Monday morning, and it hit him like a sledgehammer. “He looked good, and he sounded so optimistic it was sort of a double shock,” Utt said. “The only good thing is that he wasn’t in the hospital, he was still at home, and he fell asleep in his favorite chair and never woke up. I figure God must have liked him, because there’s not a much better way to go.”

There was to be a visitation at Wade Stadium at 10 a.m. this Thursday, followed by the funeral, in Wade Municipal Stadium. We’re all going to miss you, Swanny.

Twins on a roll

The Twins are getting the thunder of home run power and the superb hitting of Nelson Cruz, while Jorge Polanco surging up and over the .300 batting mark, and proving the Twins don’t need home runs all the time by squeezing in a big run to finish off Kansas City. But the big surprise is that the two presumed aces of the pitching staff, Jose Berrios and Jorge Odorizzi, are languishing at the bottom of the staff statistics, while the two aces so far have been Randy Dobnak and Kenta Maeda.

Dobnak started the week with a 4-1 record and a 1.43 earned run average, while Maeda was 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA. We’d heard good things about both of them, but we hadn’t seen it, so it’s been a great reward to long-suffering Twins fans.

As for the hitting, we know that the low numbers for Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Josh Donaldson, Ehire Adrianza, Mitch Garver, and the woefully terrible figures for Miguel Sano and Jake Cave are going to come up, right along with the groove-finding of pitchers Berrios and Odorizzi, and the emergence of Homer Bailey and Rich Hill. As it is, defensively the Twins are making highlight video plays every game. It makes them fun to watch, fans or no fans.

Many hockey fans quit watching the NHL playoffs because the Wild didn’t make it, but watch anyway! There are great games, highly competitive, every night, and this first round is special, because you can see all or part of four or five games every day. After this round, the games get even more serious, but the number falls off because half the teams are eliminated.

Minnesota impact

Virtually every Stanley Cup Playoff game has a Minnesota influence, even without the Wild. The biggest surprise has got to be the New York Islanders, who have used balance and depth to take a jolting 3-0 lead on the powerful Washington Capitols. The Caps have TJ Oshie from Warroad, but the Islanders have captain Anders Lee from Edina and Notre Dame, on the first line with Brock Nelson, from Warroad, and Nick Leddy, from Eden Prairie with a brief stop with the Gophers, on defense. Calgary has Derek Forbort, from Duluth East; Vegas has Nate Schmidt, an outstanding defenseman from St, Cloud.

Philadelphis has Matt Niskanen, an Iron Ranger who starred at UMD, on defense, and Tyler Pitlick, nephew of Gopher star Lance Pitlick, played a year at Minnesota State Mankato then left to play Major Junior in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Montreal counters with Ryan Poehling, former St. Cloud State standout from Lakeville. Vancouver has Brock Boeser from Burnsville and North Dakota, facing former UMD defenseman Justin Faulk, playing for St. Louis.

Tampa Bay has Ryan McDonough, standout defenseman from White Bear Lake who played at Wisconsin. Arizona has former Gopher Alex Goligoski from Grand Rapids and a former Gopher, and former Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been a star against Colorado. The Avalanche have defenseman Erik Johnson, from Bloomington by way of the Gophers. The Boston Bruins have former UMD captain Karson Kuhlman, from Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, and former / Wild winger Charlie Coyle; and the Carolina Hurricane have Brady Skjei, former Gopher from Lakeville, defenseman Jake Gardiner from Minnetonka, who played three years at

the University of Wisconsin.

That’s 20 guys with Minnesota connections who help enliven the playoffs for true hockey fans.

Indy 500 on Aug. 23

A stirring last lap claiming of the pole will heighten Sunday’s running of the Indianapolis 500, as Marco Andretti, son of Michael Andretti, snatched the pole position with a 4-lap average speed of 231.068 mph, eclipsing the quest of Chip Ganassi star Scott Dixon, who had an average of 231.051. That, friends, is close! Honda appears to have taken the fight to Chevrolet at Indy, as the only Chevy-powered race car to make the Fast Nine for the final pole-winning bid, was driven by Rinus VeeKay, a 19-year-old from The Netherlands.

In fact, of the 33 starters, 11 of the top 12 will be Honda-powered, while 12 of the last 13 will be Chevroletpowered, with the middle eight being 4-4. Roger Penske, who now owns the Speedway, has all his top drivers clustered at the rear. Josef Newgarden is 13th, Will Power is 22nd, Simon Pagenaud is 25th, Helio Castroneves 28th. Michael Andrettis’s four cars are Marco Andretti on the pole, Ryan Hunter-Reay fi.fth, James Hinchcliff sixth, and Alexander Rossi nin