BleedGopher
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per PiPress:
Jim Petersen will be seated on the Minnesota sideline when the Lynx open the 2016 season with a preseason game in New York on Thursday night.
The question for some is why?
This will be Petersen’s eighth season stationed on the Lynx bench. He was elevated from assistant coach to associate head coach during the offseason by Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Still, a better title was on the table. Petersen was offered the Connecticut Sun’s head coaching position this offseason. Connecticut features one of the league’s best young rosters, top-notch facilities and a women’s basketball-crazed fan base.
Reeve noted Petersen’s commitment to the Lynx and what they have built with their run of three WNBA titles in five years and a roster that features four U.S. Olympians. But just as responsible for keeping Petersen, a Gophers alum and St. Louis Park High School grad, in Minnesota was his broadcasting gig with the Timberwolves.
Petersen is the Wolves’ color analyst for Fox Sports North. He is paid on a per-game basis. Had he taken the Connecticut job, he estimated he would have had to cut 25 games from his regular-season schedule and wouldn’t have been able to work any postseason games should the Timberwolves ever get there.
With those limitations, it’s no guarantee Fox would have even been able to keep him. So taking the Connecticut job would have jeopardized Petersen’s entire situation, and he said the Sun couldn’t offer the financial compensation necessary for him to take the leap.
“I’ve got the best two jobs in basketball,” Petersen said. “Being the TV analyst for the Timberwolves and being an associate head coach with the Lynx, who has it better?”
http://www.twincities.com/2016/05/04/lynxs-jim-petersen-plans-to-keep-coaching-and-broadcasting/
Go Gophers!!
Jim Petersen will be seated on the Minnesota sideline when the Lynx open the 2016 season with a preseason game in New York on Thursday night.
The question for some is why?
This will be Petersen’s eighth season stationed on the Lynx bench. He was elevated from assistant coach to associate head coach during the offseason by Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve.
Still, a better title was on the table. Petersen was offered the Connecticut Sun’s head coaching position this offseason. Connecticut features one of the league’s best young rosters, top-notch facilities and a women’s basketball-crazed fan base.
Reeve noted Petersen’s commitment to the Lynx and what they have built with their run of three WNBA titles in five years and a roster that features four U.S. Olympians. But just as responsible for keeping Petersen, a Gophers alum and St. Louis Park High School grad, in Minnesota was his broadcasting gig with the Timberwolves.
Petersen is the Wolves’ color analyst for Fox Sports North. He is paid on a per-game basis. Had he taken the Connecticut job, he estimated he would have had to cut 25 games from his regular-season schedule and wouldn’t have been able to work any postseason games should the Timberwolves ever get there.
With those limitations, it’s no guarantee Fox would have even been able to keep him. So taking the Connecticut job would have jeopardized Petersen’s entire situation, and he said the Sun couldn’t offer the financial compensation necessary for him to take the leap.
“I’ve got the best two jobs in basketball,” Petersen said. “Being the TV analyst for the Timberwolves and being an associate head coach with the Lynx, who has it better?”
http://www.twincities.com/2016/05/04/lynxs-jim-petersen-plans-to-keep-coaching-and-broadcasting/
Go Gophers!!
