SID's JOTTINGS

• Michigan's Brady Hoke was one of the top college football coaches the Gophers looked at for their vacancy after the 2010 season before Jerry Kill was hired. Hoke, who was at San Diego State at the time, landed at Michigan about a month after the Gophers hired Kill.

• Kill and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire have become close friends, and nobody was happier to see Gardenhire stick around than Kill. Incidentally, Twins President Dave St. Peter had Kill make a motivational speech to all the Twins employees.

• The Wilf family paid the travel expenses to London for all the Vikings employees involved in the organization of the trip, plus more than 50 relatives and friends.

• One pitcher who might wind up back with the Twins is Scott Baker, who, because of delays in his comeback from 2012 elbow surgery, pitched only three games for the Cubs, posting a 3.60 ERA.

• Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman on improving the team's defense: "We've talked to the whole team already that our bigs need to talk more. I think when you see the good defensive teams in the league, who maybe their big men aren't great defenders — I look at Memphis with [Marc] Gasol and [Zach] Randolph, they talk and let their team know what's going on because they see what's going on in the game. Our guys don't do it enough."

• The Gophers men's basketball team is scheduled to have two games on either ESPN or ESPN2: Jan. 16 vs. Ohio State and Feb. 13 at Wisconsin.

• With the Metrodome not available anymore, the Gophers baseball team will play 20 road games before playing its first game on Siebert Field vs. St. John's on March 26. The conference opener comes two days later against Michigan State.