It is no ordinary June for Vikings starting center John Sullivan who this week is at Winter Park practicing with teammates. He will be married on June 14 in Long Island, New York. He dclined to give his fiancée’s name but did say the couple will enjoy an Alaskan honeymoon cruise in late June.
Sullivan was drafted by the Vikings out of Notre Dame in 2008. Since 2009, when Sullivan became the starting center, he has missed only three of 77 games. A calf injury, knee surgery and concussion have been challenges. After the Vikings went through one of their recent Organized Team Activities he was asked about his health.
“I don’t know if you’re ever 100 percent as a professional football player but I am as close as I’ve been in a long time,” he told Sports Headliners.
Any lingering injuries? “Nothing. We always call it total body soreness. That just means you got a lot of games under your belt.”
Sullivan, who turns 29 on August 8, was named All-Pro by Pro Football Weekly in 2012. With his age and experience, he could be positioned to have his best season in 2014.
“That’s always the goal,” Sullivan said. “Every year your goal is to play the best you can as an individual, because that’s how you help the team win, and that’s what it comes down to.”
The Vikings’ record was 5-10-1 last season. A prediction late last month by the Las Vegas Hilton wagering authorities said the team will win only six games this season, but that doesn’t mean anything to Sullivan.
“I hadn’t heard that,” Sullivan said. “Frankly, we don’t care what Vegas says. We don’t care what anybody says. The people that have control over that situation are the ones that are here now, on this practice field and this building going to work everyday. We’re going to put the work into it to win as many games as we possibly can.”
The number of wins, of course, will have much to do with quarterback production. In practices Sullivan is impressed with veterans Matt Cassel and Christian Ponder, and rookie Teddy Bridgewater.
“Teddy looks great so far,” Sullivan said. “He’s a confident young guy. He’s made some incredible throws, and obviously we know who Matt and Christian are. They’re both guys that have led teams to playoffs in the past. We feel like we have three guys who can go out and get the job done.”
Sullivan is pleased new head coach Mike Zimmer retained offensive line coach Jeff Davidson who was with the Vikings for three prior seasons. Davidson’s reputation as an instructor and technician is well established at Winter Park.
Sullivan is impressed, too, with his new head coach after watching Zimmer lead the team in spring activities. “There’s no nonsense out here. No BS. Coach Zimmer is concerned with holding everybody accountable and winning football games. That’s all it comes down to.”
Sullivan is a leader who over the years has been involved with community activities including the drive to build the new stadium opening in 2016. Then in 2018 the stadium will host the Super Bowl. Wouldn’t it be special if the Vikings were playing in that Minneapolis game?
“It would be amazing just to be in a Super Bowl,” Sullivan said. “We don’t care where it is. You could play in a parking lot in Missouri. We don’t care.
“Yeah, would it be nice to play in a Super Bowl, here? Of course.”
Worth Noting
The Vikings continue their Organized Team Activity sessions this week at Winter Park. Players and coaches, as part of the franchise’s community work, will help build a playground on Wednesday at Lucy Craft Laney School in Minneapolis.
Pedro Florimon, who hit .108 in 65 at bats with the Twins this spring, is batting .237 in 59 plate appearances since being demoted to Triple-A Rochester. Former Twins starter Scott Diamond, also with Rochester, is 2-6 with a 7.51 ERA. Teammate and hot starting pitching prospect Alex Meyer is 3-1 with a 3.31 ERA and impressive 62 strikeouts in 51.2 innings.
Joe Schmit’s book, Sudden Impact, is now in its second printing. The KSTP TV sportscaster said the first press run was 5,000 and now another 5,000 have been printed.
Schmit’s hometown is Seymour, Wisconsin. That’s also the hometown of prep shooting guard Sandy Cohen who reportedly was recruited by the Gophers but will attend Marquette.
The Minute Men, the volunteer organization supporting Minnesota sports for more than 50 years, will honor outstanding high school lacrosse players at a noon banquet June 15 at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul-Riverfront Hotel. The finalists for Mr. Lacrosse are Max Elsenheimer (Eagan), Michael Lamb (Benilde-St. Margaret), J.R. Riley (St. Thomas Academy), Sam Turner (Academy of Holy Angels), Charlie Venable (Eden Prairie), Carter Yepson (Rosemount) and Conner Yepson (Rosemount). Finalists for Ms. Lacrosse are Sophie Buelow (Chanhassen), Sheila Hirsch, (Edina), Anna Johnson (Eden Prairie), Katie Larson (Apple Valley), Ali Ridge (Minnetonka), Anne Slusser (Blake) and Lydia Sutton (Blake).
Finalists for Mr. Goalie are Max Fehey (Eden Prairie) and Aaron Wiederhoeft (Prior Lake), while finalists for Ms. Goalie are Oralee Hespenheide (Bloomington Jefferson), and Maddie Kohlbeck (Farmington).