Viking running back Adrian Peterson talking about recognizing Brett Favre’s 40th birthday tomorrow: “I don’t know if the team has any plans. I haven’t come up with anything yet, but I definitely plan on surprising him with something; some type of gift or something.”
Viking coach Brad Childress has a 14-3 record in his last 17 regular season games.
If the Vikings (4-0) win at St. Louis (0-4) on Sunday it will be the team’s sixth consecutive road win.
Gopher coach Tim Brewster talking about sophomore center Trey Davis who will be starting on Saturday and replacing the injured Jeff Tow-Arnett who is injured and out for the season: “He (Trey) played for us last year. Got some experience. He’s got strength. Explosive guy. He was a national champion shot putter, track athlete. He’s a smart guy. He’ll do a good job of making decisions at the center spot and help our offense. I feel very comfortable with Trey Davis stepping in and taking over the center job for us.”
Purdue first year offensive coordinator Gary Nord had the same title last year at Florida Atlantic when the Owls lost to the Gophers.
The Gophers don’t have a big tailback on the roster but that could change next season. Minnesota may have a special runner coming to campus if Lamonte Edwards, already about 6-2, 215 pounds, keeps his verbal commitment. The Woodbury High School running back is one of two four-star players to make a verbal commitment to Minnesota (the other is Irondale lineman Jimmy Gjere), according to Rivals.com. The Minnesota 2010 recruiting class has moved up to No. 32 in the rankings, https://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?Year=2010&School=46
Josh Sacco, a five-year-old from Tennessee, has been gaining attention for his memorization of Kurt Russell’s locker room speech in the movie “Miracle” that tells the story of coach Herb Brooks and his players on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/How-4-year-old-boy-mastered-Miracle-speech-in-?urn=nhl,193765&cp=13
Martin Havlat, who got his 400th career NHL point on his third assist in the Wild’s win and home opener on Tuesday night, goes through an extensive stretching routine (up to 45 minutes) prior to games and practices. He’s been able to avoid groin and hamstring injuries during his NHL career.
The Wild, who lost to Los Angeles last night, are on an 11-day road trip today, the longest of the season.
Wild head coach Todd Richards’ parents flew to Columbus to watch his NHL coaching debut last Saturday.
Gopher sophomore Jordan Schroeder has been named to the preseason All-American team by College Hockey News. Schroeder is also the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s preseason Player of the Year pick by both the coaches and the media. Last season he was the WCHA Rookie of the Year and was a second-team All-WCHA selection after ranking third in the country with 45 points and 32 assists in 2008-09.
The Twins didn’t want to make excuses after losing their opening playoff game to New York on Wednesday night, but they had to be tired after the intense schedule and emotions of recent games.
Twins right hander Nick Blackburn starts tonight’s game in New York and will need to keep his pitches down against the Yankees powerful lineup of hitters. Blackburn had no decision in a May start in New York, giving up six hits and four runs in 7.2 innings.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, 79, isn’t expected to attend the playoff series in New York with the Twins, according to Yahoo! Sports. He’s been in declining health and mostly stays in Tampa and seldom sees his Yankees. This post-season run will be seen as a win-one-for-George, whose Yankees last won the World Series in 2000. https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-yankees-steinbrenner&prov=ap&type=lgns
The Twins are selling Homer Hankies at their pro shops and the Metrodome. There will be a “white out” against the Yankees for playoff games at the dome on Sunday and Monday.
Rochester native and tennis pro Eric Butorac is promoting the Minnesota Tennis Challenge on Saturday, December 5 at the Fred Wells Tennis and Education Center, https://www.ebmntc.com./