Anoka-Ramsey Community College president heading to Duluth

Anoka-Ramsey Community College president Patrick Johns (right) will be recommended as the new president of Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Chancellor James H. McCormick said today.

Johns has been president of the Coon Rapids college since 1991 and will replace Kathleen Nelson, who is retiring June 30.

USA! USA!

Team USA humbled Canada 5-0 Friday in a preliminary-round game at the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Men's Under-18 Championships in Bobruisk, Belarus.

Jason Zucker and Bryan Rust scored two goals apiece and Jack Campbell made 30 saves as the Americans improved to 3-0-0-1 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and clinched a spot in the quarterfinal round.

Team USA has defeated Slovakia 7-3, Switzerland 5-1 and Canada, and lost to Sweden 4-2.

Team USA will play Belarus at noon today (CST) and faces a yet-to-be-determined opponent Tuesday in the quarterfinals. (Update: The Americans schooled Belarus 7-1, as seven different players scored.)

The semifinals are Wednesday and final Friday.

"It's an unbelievable tourney, a really cool experience," USA defenseman Derek Forbort (right) said in a private Facebook message Saturday.

Many scouts believe Forbort has the size, speed and length to play over 10 years in the NHL.

"Forbort is a kid that has only been with us a year and that's not the easiest thing to do because everyone else understands what it takes to compete at this level, but he has come in and done extremely well with the demands placed on him," said U.S. Under-18 head coach Kurt Kleinendorst. "He's probably one of our most skilled defensemen. He will go to North Dakota and help immediately. He's more offensive, but he's very capable defensively. He can carry the puck out of the zone and set up an offense.

"You challenge him and he challenges himself. He has to get a little grittier, but that's the only weakness he needs to turn into a strength — and he's been working on that."

Puck Notes

. Ryan Walters (right), a high-scoring forward for Des Moines of the USHL, has de-committed to the Gophers, the StarTribune.com's Roman Augustoviz is reporting. Read more.

NO ORDINARY JOE

Joe Mauer has a remarkable approach at the plate. Sure, he has a great swing. But more impressively, technically speaking, he stays back as well as any player in the majors -- meaning that he waits longer than most for the ball to cross the plate before uncoiling to hit the ball where it is pitched. He trusts his hands and makes last-second adjustments with his hands and feet -- his hitting stroke -- as needed, and sprays the ball around the entire field.

Consequently, because he sees the ball longer and is able to get the barrel of the bat on the ball while focusing on driving the ball up the middle. And his front shoulder doesn't fly open, so pitchers can't easily "roll him over" -- getting him to hit lazy grounders to the right side.

Like all good hitters, Mauer's approach is to "hit it where it's pitched, and to where they ain't." I like that the left-hander leaves his ego in the dugout and is bent on taking a pitcher's head off by hitting frozen ropes back up the box and to the opposite field. The goal is to make solid contact, to drive the ball. Homers and extra-base hits are the fruit of making good contact and driving the ball off the sweet spot of the bat.

This is why Mauer hits for a high average and with power, to all fields. He stays back on the ball, trusts his hands and uses the entire field. (Remember Rod Carew?)

I also like Mauer's professional approach both on and off the field. He's all business once he throws on the uniform, and his passion for the game is evident.

He's sort of a baseball rink rat, a "Let's Play Three" baseball junkie who believes swatting baseballs and chewing the fat with opponents and umpires is a privilege and not a job.

Years from now, I'll remember Mauer as a classy manchild ballplayer who shunned the lure of a more lucerative contract from a larger market team to sincerely make a positive difference in his state. This selfless approach shows in his continued respect for the game (It's obvious he views himself as smaller than the game) and how he conducts himself among teammates, opponents and fans at the ballyard and in the community.

His pulpit is baseball -- and while he's winning batting titles and serving as one of the game's best ambassadors, he's also setting a masterful example for other professional, college, prep, youth and adult recreational athletes to emulate.

Baseball will continue to be very, very good for Joe Mauer. And he's good for the game, especially for the Twins.

He's no ordinary Joe, to be sure.