Author: David Shama

Former Viking Mike Morris, now a KFAN talk show host, thinks the Brett Favre-fueled Vikings can go 12-4 this season.  He told Sports Headliners if Favre is able to play at the level he did before injuring his arm last season with the Jets, the Vikings have a quarterback who will perform with the best in the NFC.  He ranks Favre No. 1 among quarterbacks in the NFC North.

Morris said it’s important that the Vikings limit Favre’s throws in practice and that is going to happen.  Coach Brad Childress said this week he isn’t going to put a number on the throws but “it seems prudent.”

Childress also expects Favre to start and play the first half of Monday night’s preseason game in Houston against the Texans.

Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher was asked in the August 17 issue of Sports Illustrated if there’s anyone in the NFL like Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson who led the league in rushing last year.  “No, there’s no one as explosive as him,” Urlacher told S.I. “He does some things I haven’t seen before.  He’s definitely the best offensive player in the game.”

Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier talking about rookie defensive back Asher Allen, a third round draft choice, and what he likes about him: “His quickness and the way he studies.  He really does a great job of preparing.  For a rookie to take the kind of notes that he does and ask the kind of questions that he does ask really lets you know that he is really into it and doing everything he can to mentally be engaged in what we are trying to get done. You don’t normally see that in rookies. They are usually more focused in trying to get through a practice physically. …”

Through two games the Vikings are the only NFL team that hasn’t given up a sack or turned the ball over.

St. Thomas is ranked in three preseason top-25 polls for Division III — the first national ranking in football since 1997. The Tommies were 7-3 last season under first-year head coach Glenn Caruso. Their plus-five turnaround from a 2-8 finish in 2007 was the third best out of 241 D-III programs. (Caruso’s first seven MIAC games were decided by eight or fewer points).

New Tommie assistant coach Eric Pulley worked at three different prep football coaching jobs in the same season during 2005.  When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in late August of that year, he moved to Mississippi to coach, and storm damage there forced him to relocate to Burnsville where he finished the season.

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Despite Brett Favre’s impact on ticket sales and other revenues, the celebrity quarterback is expected to cost the Vikings more money than he generates.  In discussions with three sports and entertainment sources who spoke anonymously, there was consensus the Vikings will lose money this season on Favre’s reported $12 million contract.

Since the announcement of Favre’s signing last week the Vikings have sold thousands of season and individual game tickets.  Let’s presume the franchise sells an additional 10,000 tickets per game (probably a generous estimate) at an average cost of $70 per ticket.  For a 10 game preseason and regular season schedule, that’s $7 million in gross sales.  But the Vikings don’t keep all of that money because the NFL requires the home team to share 40 percent of its ticket revenues with the visiting teams.

Playoff ticket revenues?  Nope, the NFL keeps all the ticket revenues from those games.

The Favre fan hysteria, including the rush for Vikings jerseys with his name on the back, will be big business.  However, NFL merchandising revenues are like TV revenues in that they’re divided up among the 32 franchises.

The Vikings will likely profit from an increase in local sponsorships.  If they were able to sell several additional sponsorships, sources thought those revenues might increase by $3 million at the absolute max.

The Vikings may reduce their payroll by $500,000 or more by cutting a player because of Favre’s roster spot.  That would mean another way to look at what Favre costs is $11 million, not $12 million, and the Vikings could have revenues of about $7 million to put against that figure.  Net loss: $4 million.  That’s minimum and probably under stated by a lot.

Vikings owners, including Zygi Wilf, didn’t sign Favre with worries about whether dime for dime he pays for himself in 2009.  Instead, this is another sizeable investment in player payroll to push the Vikings toward post-season success, perhaps a Super Bowl.

The Vikings are now mentioned in the same sentence with the most likely contenders for an NFC championship.  A championship will increase public enthusiasm and support for the Vikings beyond previous levels.  Instead of often being angry with the Vikings, this becomes a Purple-mad state.

And that’s exactly the kind of culture that will help persuade the public and government officials to push the drive for a new stadium into the “end zone.”  That’s what Wilf wants, and as part of that process the value of his franchise will jump from its estimated $839 million (lowest in the NFL according to Forbes.com) to over a billion dollars.  https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/30/sportsmoney_nfl08_NFL-Team-Valuations_Rank_2.html

So Favre is definitely a potential money maker for the Vikings.  Just don’t crunch the numbers too closely right away.

Any Twins fans interested in following the organization’s prospects have to be intrigued by Deolis Guerra.  The 20-year-old right handed pitcher has most recently been promoted to Double-A New Britain where his work has been described as “brilliant” and “inconsistent.”

Guerra’s performances have included a no-hit, nine strikeout six inning performance but his 5.19 ERA indicates inconsistency.  A recent online article in the New Britain Herald said Guerra’s out pitch is his changeup and described it as “devastating.”  https://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/08/22/sports/doc4a8f559506754372078426.txt

Twins farm director Jim Rantz talked to the Herald about that pitch and Guerra’s development.  “Everything works off your fastball,” Rantz said. “If he can locate the fastball and throw strikes, that changeup is deadly. That’s a weapon. …

“This is only a 20-year-old kid and he’s already got about four years under his belt. I’m pleased with the advancement that he has made and how he’s come along.”

Guerra’s potential arrival some day as part of the Twins’ rotation has appeal beyond the obvious need that the big league club is struggling to find starters.  As part of the infamous Johan Santana trade in 2008, Guerra has been considered by some observers to be the gem of the four-man package that also brought center fielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey to the Twins organization from the New York Mets.  A productive career by Guerra would make those with a Twins bias feel a lot better about losing two-time Cy Young award winner Santana.

Guerra, who is 6-3 with New Britain and has struck out 45 batters in 52 innings, was once an eye candy kind of prospect in the Mets organization.  The Venezuelan was signed as a free agent for $700,000 by the Mets who viewed him as a pitcher loaded with potential.

Guerra’s performances have been inconsistent during his minor league career.            The velocity of his pitches has been questioned and his stamina, too.  But Guerra at other times has shown big league velocity and he has both the youth and the body frame, 6-5, 200 pounds, to develop more stamina.

Almost still a teenager, Guerra is two levels from the major leagues.  Since he’s already advanced from Class A to AA this year, the Twins might not call him up in September when their roster expands from 25 to 40, but it will be surprising if he doesn’t have the opportunity to make the team in the spring of 2010, or 2011.