Hartman: Rice tries to emulate star by same name

Vikings wide receivers coach George Stewart coached the great Jerry Rice with the 49ers from 1996 to 2002.

Now, Stewart is coaching another wide receiver named Rice,as in Sidney Rice, for the third year.

While Jerry will be a Hall of Famer very soon, the fast-improving Sidney has a long way to go before he reaches that point in his career. Stewart said that when Sidney Rice was a rookie, he thought the former South Carolina star would parallel Jerry Rice.

"He reminds me a lot of Jerry," Stewart said. "He's a 6-foot-3 athlete [Jerry is an inch shorter]. The knock on both of them was that they don't have the big speed to win down field.

"With Sidney, he's coming off knee surgery from a year ago, so he's still building speed. They are both very comparable. They both are hard workers. They both understand the game of football very well. They are both dedicated to the class. They are both Southern guys [Jerry Rice is from Mississippi]. They both have great hands. They are both outstanding receivers."

Sidney Rice, after catching 10 passes for 136 yards against the Steelers last Sunday, ranks second in the NFC and seventh in the NFL with 545 receiving yards.

Stewart said one reason for the big improvement in Sidney is that he did work with Jerry Rice this past summer with Larry Fitzgerald Jr. here in the Twin Cities.

"The thing that helped Sidney more than anything was having Jerry Rice here this summer," said Stewart. "Jerry came and worked with him for a week this summer, along with Larry Fitzgerald and Cris Carter. Sidney got a chance to see what it took to be a Hall of Famer, like Jerry Rice. Once he understood that work ethic, he has worked his tail off."

A year ago, Sidney Rice caught 46 passes for 537 yards during an injury-shortened regular season, a figure he has already exceeded.

What's the big difference between 2009 and '08?

"He's healthy. Sidney always made plays," Stewart said. "When he was a rookie, he made great plays and great catches. I don't think there is a better player in NFL at catching the football than Sidney Rice. As long as he stays healthy, he's going to be an impact player for us. Brett Favre has done a great job in building confidence in Sidney. Those guys have really worked well together."

Michigan State is a 4 1/2-point favorite against the host Gophers on Saturday.

The Gophers got a very tough break when Spartans linebacker Greg Jones committed to former coach Glen Mason, then the changed his mind at the last minute and enrolled at Michigan State. Jones, from Cincinnati, leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the NCAA in tackles with 12.1 stops per game, and has been named one of 16 finalists for the Dick Butkus Award honoring the nation's top defensive player. He also is a midseason All-America by SI.com. Jones leads the team in tackles with 97, tackles for loss (8 1/2 for 42 yards and sacks (five for 32 yards). Pass defense has been a big problem for the Gophers, and it won't be any easier on them at TCF Bank Stadium when they face the Big Ten's leading passing attack and the 22nd-toughest in the NCAA, averaging 273.5 yards per game.

Defensively, Michigan State gave up 29, 33 and 38 points in their second, third and fourth games of the season. Since then, they have held Michigan to 20 points, Illinois and Northwestern to 14 and Iowa to 15.

Gophers football coach Tim Brewster said that injured receiver Eric Decker was considering flying to Charlotte, N.C., to see a foot specialist, but no final decision has been made. However, there isn't any chance of Decker playing this year after hurting his ankle last Saturday, and that includes a bowl game.

Tuesday was a big night for a number of people with former ties to the Timberwolves. Former coach Flip Saunders coached his new Wizards team to a 102-91 victory in his debut over the Dallas Mavericks, with ex-Wolves guard Randy Foye scoring 19 points and forward Mike Miller adding six. And Kevin Garnett sparked the Celtics to a big victory at Cleveland with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Currently, the Vikings are $7 million under the top NFL cap of $127 million. ... The success of the 6-1 Vikings has made it apparent there won't be any blackouts, with even the tickets for the next home game against the 1-5 Lions selling at a strong pace. ... The Wolves have sold some 6,000 season tickets, 1,000 fewer than last year.

Apparently, former Wolves forward Wally Szczerbiak, who was with the Cavaliers last year, is out of a job this season. ... Kip Smith, a Colorado kicker who has committed to the Gophers, recently punted a ball 81 yards and he also has a 67-yard field goal to his credit this year.

Former Gophers defenseman Alex Goligoski is the third-leading scorer for the Pittsburgh Penguins with four goals and seven assists in 12 games and is also leading the teamwith a plus-11 plus/minus rating. ... Former Gophers winger Kyle Okposo is tied for second in scoring for the New York Islanders with two goal and six assists in 11 games. ... Another former Gopher, winger Kris Chucko, was tied for third in scoring for the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL with five goals and five assists in 12 games. ...Former Gophers forward Ryan Stoa has three goals and one assist in nine games for the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. ... Former Gophers forward Phil Kessel is practicing at full speed for the Toronto Maple Leafs and hopes to be cleared to play Tuesday. Kessel had offseason shoulder surgery after getting hurt during the playoffs for the Boston Bruins last season.

The Wild entered Wednesday having tied a franchise record this season with three consecutive home games going to overtime. Goalie Niklas Backstrom was unbeaten in 15 consecutive decisions at the Xcel Energy Center, dating to last February. It marks a franchise record, breaking his own 14-game unbeaten streak from 2008.

Wild goaltender prospect Matt Hackett set a franchise record with the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers with 40 consecutive starts. He ranks fourth in the OHL with a .921 save percentage.

According to mlb.com, former Concordia (Moorhead) baseball player Chris Coste is a free agent. The Houston Astros, who had acquired the catcher from the Philadelphia Phillies, outrighted him to their Class AAA Round Rock team. Coste refused the assignment and became a free agent.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com