The Vikings announced their 140^th consecutive sellout yesterday, but a street ticket hawker said before the game that sales were slow and offered an upper level $115 ticket for less than $80.

Here are Sports Headliners’ weekly rankings of Big Ten Football teams: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern, Indiana and Minnesota.

Peter Najarian, the former Gophers linebacker from Minneapolis Central High School and now a national financial authority, could one day see his name speculated upon for the University of Minnesota athletic director job.

Vikings offensive guard Steve Hutchinson will host an early Halloween party for young patients and their families tomorrow at the new University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.

The October 24 issue of Sports Illustrated reports the Green Bay Packers are expected to offer individual shares of stock for $200 each to fund Lambeau Field renovations.

Former Timberwolves owner Marv Wolfenson is living in San Diego.  Wolfenson was the franchise’s initial co-owner along with Harvey Ratner who is deceased.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that Tyler Vaughan from Braham High School has committed to Minnesota State Moorhead.

Former Twin Nick Punto, now with St. Louis, is hitting .375 in eight at bats against Texas in the World Series.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the versatile infielder (a manager Ron Gardenhire favorite) back with the Twins next season.

The Cardinals’ Allen Craig, who according to Fox Sports is the first player to have two games with pinch hit go-ahead RBI singles in the same World Series, once played for Alexandria in the Northwoods League.

KSTP TV sports anchor Joe Schmit turns 54 next month, while WCCO TV’s Mark Rosen will be 60 in November.

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Don Riley was laughing this week while telling stories about how he incensed Green Bay fans writing about the “Bushers” in his St. Paul Pioneer Press column.  Riley, who turns 89 next month, wrote a provocative column called the “The Eye Opener” for 31 years and Packers fans were often targeted.

“I never mention them as Green Bay,” said Riley who retired from the newspaper in 1987.  “I just said the capital B Bushers.”

The Packers come to Minneapolis as almost double-digit favorites to beat the Vikings on Sunday.  But Riley, during a telephone interview with Sports Headliners, talked about how close the scores and games have been over the years, and then announced he wouldn’t be surprised if the 1-5 Vikings beat the 6-0 “Bushers.”

Riley chose the term “Bushers” because it was “derogatory” without picking on one individual.  But that didn’t mean Riley wouldn’t take an occasional shot at someone in Dairyland including Vince Lombardi, the Packers coach who back in the 1960s was building his legacy by winning NFL titles.  Lombardi’s wife Marie wanted Riley fired from the Pioneer Press because he was “mean” to her husband, but the coach said no way.  “Vince told her to lay off because he’s selling tickets for us,” Riley said.

The Packers recognized Riley’s inflammatory words were building the rivalry between the Vikings and Green Bay.  “Ironically, they (the Packers) hired me to be their emcee for their western Wisconsin football rally and I would get a standing boo before it started,” Riley recalled.  “Then I would have a few security guys…search them (the fans) for all the silverware that I claimed that they had stolen the previous dinner.”

Riley’s columns sold newspapers in western Wisconsin and he was often invited to speak at sports banquets.  He was greeted with boos.  “It went on for almost 40 years,” he said.

Riley was creative in bashing the “Bushers.”  He told Packers followers that Green Bay was known for having the “world’s biggest toilet paper factories.”  And one time he made an outrageous prediction about a Vikings-Packers game that prompted thousands of letters from Green Bay fans.

“I told them if we don’t beat you next Sunday by three touchdowns, I’ll push a peanut with my nose from Appleton to Green Bay,” Riley said.  “That was my guarantee.  Well, they (the Packers) knock us off.  They had a cartoon in the newspaper over there on the front page.  Color cartoon of me pushing a peanut, (and it) says ‘Come on.  Show your guts, Riley.’

Well, Riley wasn’t about to push a peanut from Appleton to Green Bay and the result was profanity-filled letters poured into Riley’s mailbox.  Maybe 3,700 letters from about “35 states and six foreign countries.”

 

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Through the years Riley received irate telephone calls at all hours of the “day and night.”  He changed his home telephone numerous times.  And someone once put glue in his typewriter.

Even the Packers got in on giving Riley a hard time.  He often didn’t attend games in person but one year went to Green Bay late in the season.  He expected to be assigned to the warm press box but instead was given a ticket to sit in the stands where his companion was a patch of snow apparently left deliberately for the “Bushers” basher.

Down in Florida Riley once met a Wisconsinite while playing golf.  The stranger asked if he was the Riley who inflamed Packers fans for years.  Riley confirmed his identity and so did the stranger, a prominent Wisconsin politician.  The guy admitted to hating Riley’s guts.

Riley picked on other Wisconsin targets besides the “Bushers.”  He referred to Wisconsin-River Falls as “Moo-U.”  That stirred up folks in western Wisconsin and someone once sent him a can of manure.

Riley has no dislike for Wisconsin and its teams, including the Packers.  He admires Wisconsin fans for not only their support of Wisconsin teams, but also their knowledge about Minnesota teams.  “I still say those fans over there are great fans,” he said.  “They’re a little crazy.”

Riley might argue that the Packers-Vikings rivalry is the greatest of pro sports rivalries not only because of the competitive games but also the large number of fans who travel to each other’s cities for games.  He is pleased about the rivalry he helped fuel.

“It goes on and the young people have carried it over,” he said.  “It’s as fierce, ferocious as ever.  I know a fellow that never had a fight, argument or anything in his life and he went over there and got in a fight with a Green Bay fan in the stands.  …He says, ‘Nobody did I ever want to fight, but a Green Bay fan.’  I think that sums it up.”

 

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