The Vikings lead the NFL in arrests since 2000 and coach Leslie Frazier told Sports Headliners he will “hammer on” behavior when he meets with his team later this week to begin training camp.
“No question. We’ll definitely hammer on it and make our guys aware of the history here in Minnesota, and really try to curb that number.”
Media reports put that number at 39 after running back Adrian Peterson’s incident in Houston earlier this summer. “We’re going to do all we can in 2012 and beyond to make things a little bit better and hopefully decrease those numbers,” Frazier said.
Frazier also said that while arrests make headlines, the public may not be fully aware of the many good deeds by players. Even Frazier doesn’t always know about community causes when a Viking player may donate time or money.
“Every single player on our team is involved with community service of some sort,” Frazier said. “I didn’t say 60 percent, 70 percent. I said 100 percent participation.”
Vikings & other notes:
This will be the 47th consecutive year the Vikings have trained in Mankato. Among NFL teams, only the Packers have trained more consecutive years at the same site – 55 at St.Norbert College in De Pere,Wisconsin.
The Vikings report to training camp tomorrow and the first practice session open to the public at Minnesota State, Mankato will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday. All regular practices are open to fans and admission is free.
The Vikings player perhaps most likely to have a breakout season is Kyle Rudolph. The 6-6 tight end showed remarkable hands and the running potential to become a favorite of quarterback Christian Ponder.
Former Vikings head coach Mike Tice, now with the Bears, begins his first training camp as Chicago’s offensive coordinator this week. He was promoted by the Bears from offensive line coach after last season, and now perhaps has an opportunity to earn another head coaching job.
Former Vikings head coach Brad Childress, who succeeded Tice, begins training camp with the Browns as the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. travelled to Uganda last week, working with former President Bill Clinton and the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Before he left the country the Arizona All-Pro wide receiver appeared on ESPN where his mentor, former Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter, said Fitzgerald’s best playing weight is just under 220 pounds.
Carter has a new book about wide receivers called Going Deep.
Former Gophers quarterback Gino Cappelletti is retiring after 32 seasons as color commentator on Patriots radio broadcasts. Cappelletti’s last season with the Gophers was 1954.
The Big Ten Network will offer live coverage tomorrow of news conferences with all 12 of the Big Ten Conference’s football coaches. The conference’s annual football media gathering in Chicago will also include players such as the Gophers MarQueis Gray, Ed Olson and Keanon Cooper.
Former Gophers and other invitees will attend the dedication today of the Murray Warmath conference room in the new fitness center at Friendship Village in Bloomington. The deceased Gophers coach, who won the school’s last national football championship in 1960, was a resident at Friendship Village for several years.
Who could have predicted White Sox general manager Kenny Williams would use his time during MLB’s All-Star Game break to visit Egypt? Not sure whether he found any power hitters or power arms in the Middle East.
Former Twins starting infielders Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Danny Valencia are hitting .246 and .250 respectively with AAA Rochester. Nishioka has one home run and 19 RBI while Valencia’s totals are seven and 36.
If Joe Mauer wins the American League batting championship this season it will be his fourth title in seven years. Mauer is hitting .332, second best in the league but he trails Angels’ rookie Mike Trout by 25 points.
New York Times best-selling author and former Gophers golfer Harvey Mackay left yesterday for the Olympics in London where he will watch all 17 days of activities. The Minneapolis businessman has attended every summer Olympics for the last 40 years.
The 2012 Olympics will not include competition in baseball and softball.
Watching the NCAA over the years it’s been interesting to see how often the organization’s investigators appear to follow media reports, rather than initiating investigations of athletic programs.
Top boys and girls goalies participate in the four-day Minnesota Hockey Dave Peterson Reebok High Performance Goalie Camp starting tomorrow at the Super Rink in Blaine. For a list of past participants visit www.minnesotahockey.org.
Congratulations to my brother-in-law Mark Gilbertson who on Sunday swam across a part of Montana’s famed Flathead Lake, covering a distance of almost six miles during more than six hours in the water.