SID's JOTTINGS

• According to Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague, none of the new athletic facilities will be under construction until money is available to start all the different projects at one time. At this point the university isn't close to the $120 million sought.

• The Gophers men's basketball team's fortunes will be a lot more promising if they can succeed in landing Chris Boucher, the National Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year. The 6-10 forward, who also has offers from Memphis, Texas Tech and Oregon, averaged 22.2 points and 11.6 rebounds this year for Northwest College out of Wyoming.

• Former Timberwolves player and executive and current Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg underwent open-heart surgery to replace an aortic valve at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester on Friday. It was the second open-heart surgery he has had since being diagnosed with an aortic root aneurysm before the 2005-06 Wolves season. "Everything went very well," Dr. Rakesh Suri of the Mayo Clinic said in a statement. "The operation was a success." Hoiberg will be out four to six weeks for recovery and then plans to start recruiting.
• Chris Weinke, the Cretin-Derham Hall quarterback who went on to win the Heisman Trophy at Florida State in 2000, was named quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis Rams, his first NFL coaching assignment.

• Tracking former Gophers in the American Hockey League, which sees its regular season end this weekend: Kyle Rau had two goals and one assist in six games for San Antonio; Adam Wilcox lost his debut for Syracuse, giving up three goals on 30 shots against Springfield; Brady Skjei had played in six games for Hartford with no points; and Seth Ambroz had no points in four games for Springfield.