Smith described freshman guard Austin Hollins as his best conditioned player.  He said the son of former NBA player Lionel Hollins “plays his heart out.”

Minnesota’s election earlier this month delivered one certainty for the Vkings and their stadium campaign.  Their message will be heard by a lot of new legislators and a new governor.  How that translates into success or failure in gaining legislation to build a new stadium is anyone’s guess.

Stadium sources won’t predict whether the new Republican majorities in the House and Senate will positively affect the push for a stadium that has been going on for more than 10 years.  Although election results aren’t official until certified by the State Canvassing Board on November 23, it appears the Republicans will have a 72-62 majority in the House, 37-30 in the Senate.  It’s expected there will be 60 new legislators.  Both Democrat Mark Dayton and Republican Tom Emmer expressed support for a stadium during their campaigns, and whoever emerges from the recount as governor could be a Vikings ally.

The Vikings stadium lease expires at Mall of America Field after the 2011 season and rumors connect the franchise to a Los Angeles relocation but the stadium campaign remains unsettled in Southern California, too.  https://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/news.html

The clearest sports winner from the new Republican legislative power might be Canterbury Park and its racino efforts.  Canterbury has long advocated adding slot machines, a model that has boosted horseracing in other states, but particularly Democrats have been opposed to supportive legislation here.

The Lakers are in town on Friday night to play the Timberwolves and it was 50 years ago that the franchise relocated from Minneapolis to Los Angeles.  Although now one of the most popular sports franchises in the country, the Lakers of 1960 weren’t a big deal in Los Angeles.  In a November 5, 1960 story Don Page of the Los Angeles Times wrote: “Bigger crowds have watched knitting tournaments than have viewed the Lakers so far.”

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The Vikings lost a game and perhaps their season in Chicago yesterday.  The Vikings, now with a 3-6 record, lost to the Bears in a game that last week Minnesota players were describing as “huge” in determining their fate.

Running back Toby Gerhart’s comments last Thursday were typical. “We need this win. …This is an NFC North opponent.  We’re trying to make a run halfway through the season now.  Make a run and establish ourselves and try to win the NFC North and get into the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl.”

By 3:15 p.m. yesterday the Vikings were looking up in the NFC standings at not only the 6-3 Bears but also the 6-3 Packers who come to Minneapolis next Sunday.  On KFAN Radio’s postgame show reporter Greg Coleman told coach Brad Childress the Vikings’ loss puts the team in “a tough hole to dig out of.”

“No question,” Childress said. “Weren’t good enough today. …Hats off to the Bears. They were able to do things we weren’t.”

Those “things” included moving the ball on offense and scoring points.  After trailing 14-10 at the half, the Vikings produced only three more points in a 27-13 loss.

It was nothing new but again in this game Vikings problems were exposed including an ineffective offensive line that neither run blocked or pass blocked enough to sustain drives and help generate points.  Adrian Peterson ran for only 51 yards and quarterback Brett Favre was often under pressure, seldom able to throw long.

Favre’s receivers had no better a day than the linemen.  Dropped passes characterized part of the problem and so too did receivers slipping to the ground leading to two Favre interceptions.

By game’s end Favre was working with a second string group of receivers because Percy Harvin was injured in the second half and Bernard Berrian (seldom reliable this season) sat out the game with a groin injury.  Sidney Rice, out all season after hip surgery, might be back to face the Packers but the Vikings missed him yesterday when they finished the game with Greg Lewis, Greg Camarillo and Hank Baskett.

In the we have seen this before “file” were pass coverage problems by the secondary.  Among those struggling was rookie cornerback Chris Cook who was criticized by Coleman in the second quarter.  “His confidence is shot,” Coleman said.

By late yesterday afternoon you wondered if the team’s season, with seven games to play, was shot, too.

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