The Vikings playing in San Francisco on Sunday stirs memories for many fans of Jim Marshall.  In 1964 the former Vikings defensive end scooped up a fumble in San Francisco against the 49ers and ran the ball into the wrong end zone. The result was one of the most famous safeties in football history.

Daunte Culpepper didn’t play last week for the Oakland Raiders because of a quadriceps injury. Culpepper, though, has the most passing yards among former Vikings quarterbacks now with other teams. Culpepper ranks 27^th in the NFL in passing yards with 1,331, while Gus Frerotte of St. Louis has thrown for 983 yards and Brad Johnson of Dallas has yet to attempt a pass.

A Boston Globe Internet story yesterday, quoting an unnamed National League executive, suggested that the Detroit Tigers, by way of their recent trade with Florida, are now the American League favorites, and that if the Boston Red Sox acquire Johan Santana the New York Yankees could be looking at a wild card spot at best for the next five years.

One reason it’s good business for the Twins to field a playoff contending team is the new stadium will not have a roof.  That means the Twins want to sell a lot of season tickets so much of the stadium seating is purchased in advance, not leaving to chance what the weather will be and the impact that has on ticket buying.  A contending team gives the organization the best likelihood of selling season and individual tickets in the off-season. 

Alexi Casilla, the 23-year-old Twins infielder who has had problems with mental mistakes, will be among the most intriguing players to watch in spring training because of his versatility and potential. Casilla has been playing winter baseball in his native Dominican Republic.

Sports Illustrated honored St. Paul as America’s new hockeytown this week.  The article recognizes the success of the city and Twin Cities as home to professional, college and high school hockey.  From the city of Herb Brooks, to the nation’s best high school tournament, to continuous sellouts by the Minnesota Wild since their inception, St. Paul has been a special hockey city.

Four Gophers will represent the United States at the International Ice Hockey Federation Under-20 World Junior championships December 26-January 5 in the Czech Republic. Sophomore forwards Mike Carman, Ryan Flynn and Kyle Okposo and freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild will be on the 22-member roster. Minnesota’s four selections are the most of any school. The U.S. team begins practice on December 16 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Gophers are at North Dakota for a weekend WCHA series starting tonight.  The Sioux has the returning WCHA Player of the Year and Hobey Baker Award winner in Ryan Duncan who leads the team in scoring with five goals and nine assists for 14 points. Gopher senior forward Ben Gordon leads Minnesota in scoring with four goals and nine assists for 13 points.

WCHA teams have a 23-8-6 record in non-conference play. The league has six teams among the top 15 in this week’s USA Today/USA Hockey poll including No. 8 ranked North Dakota.  Minnesota is not ranked.

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The last few weeks have been a case study of how varied the roller coaster of emotions can be for Minnesota Vikings followers.  After the Vikings lost at home to Philadelphia in late October their record was 2-5.  Coach Brad Childress had a career Vikings coaching record of 8-15. Through the last 10 games of 2006 and first seven games this season his record was 4-13.  The Vikings appeared to have a quarterback puzzle with no pieces that fit and an offense not capable of producing many more points than their turn-miscues-into-touchdowns defense.

The talk shows and e-mailers suggested that Childress leave town and quarterback Tarvaris Jackson could be on the same airplane.  A lot of media joined the rock throwing, suggesting that the Vikings didn’t have a plan to win and there was speculation the season might end at 4-12, or 5-11.

The pit party for the Vikings was too soon.  The first lesson to be learned is don’t judge a season until it’s over.  The second lesson is to allow a second year coach like Childress to have time to see what he can accomplish before trying to terminate him.

The 6-6 Vikings are an improving group but it will make things a lot saner around here if fans and media understand this is not an elite team.  Jackson is playing better but a second year quarterback has a lot of potential for growth.  The wide receiver corps (bless them for their downfield blocking) rates with the least talented and effective units in the NFL.  The right side of the offensive line is still a project (kudos to guard Anthony Hererra for his improvement) and the secondary can have pass coverage issues, particularly in man-to-man coverage.

Before the season I targeted the Vikings for a 7-9, 8-8 or 9-7 record.  With a talented running game, opportunistic defense and four upcoming opponents with a combined record of 18-30, I will luck out on my prediction.

Of course only a playoff spot for the Vikings will satisfy the masses.  With the team playing better and so many mediocre NFC teams, it just may happen.  As of today in the 16 team NFC there are five teams with 5-7 records and three with 6-6 records. The NFL’s legacy of parity is alive and flourishing.

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State political leaders made it known earlier this week that a Vikings stadium most likely will not be part of the 2008 legislative agenda, but yesterday owner Zygi Wilf issued a statement to the media that said he looks “forward to advancing” the issue during next year’s session. “We appreciate the willingness of Minnesota’s state leaders to meet with the National Football League this week and address the state’s stadium situation,” Wilf said. “The seriousness of the stadium issue has risen to a priority at the league level. The Vikings and the NFL understand and respect the priorities and pressing issues facing the state, but at the same time the stadium issue needs to be resolved in the near future. Construction costs are rising significantly each year that we delay and there is an urgency to reach a solution. We are confident that state leaders and the Vikings will work together to reach a solution, just as many other NFL cities have done in recent years. We look forward to advancing the stadium issue during the 2008 legislative session.”

Former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton told Sports Headliners that Detroit was not a “confident” football team in its game against the Vikings last Sunday.  He said the Lions’ performance was “sloppy” in their 42-10 loss.

KFAN talk show host Dan Cole suggested on his show earlier this week that Childress could be the NFC’s Coach of the Year.  Wade Phillips of Dallas (11-1) and Mike McCarthy of Green Bay (10-2) are favorites.

You can be sure the Vikings will be following Thursday night’s game in Washington D.C. between the Redskins (5-7) and Chicago (5-7).  Those two teams along with the Vikings are on a list of several Wild Card playoff contenders in the NFC.  Plus, both come to Minneapolis to play the Vikings in the weeks ahead with the Bears here on Monday, December 17 and the Redskins visiting on Sunday, December 23.

The Vikings are at San Francisco on Sunday to play a 49ers team (3-9) with less than imposing stats. San Francisco averages an NFL league low 13.1 points per game (New England is first at 39.1).  The 49ers average 231.7 yards in total offense per game, last in the NFL.  The 49ers are also last in passing per game at 145.1 while the Vikings are just ahead at 164.5.  The 49ers are 27^th among the 32 NFL teams in rushing per game at 86.6 yards per game.

The Vikings are No. 1 in the NFL in rushing offense and defense.  The Vikings are averaging 176.8 rushing yards per game, while giving up only 70.5 rushing yards to opponents.

Adrian Peterson’s 6.5 yards-per-carry average is the highest individual average in Vikings history. Robert Smith’s 1997 average of 5.5 yards per carry ranks second. The team’s overall 5.6 yards-per-carry average this season is also the best in team history, exceeding the 2002 team’s 5.3 average.

Peterson leads the NFL in rushing with 1,197, almost 200 yards more than Willie Parker of Pittsburgh, 1,093.  The two games Peterson missed because of injury made his chances minimal for gaining 2,000 yards on the season.  He would need to average about 200 yards per game in the last four games to reach the 2,000 yard level.

Vikings first year wide receivers coach George Stewart deserves credit for the development of rookie wide receiver Sidney Rice.  The 21-year-old second round draft choice from South Carolina has established himself as the team’s best long ball threat. He has four touchdown catches, including one each in the last two games.

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