Although he spent last season on the Vikings practice squad and has never played in an NFL game, Ian Johnson considers himself a candidate to win the backup running back job this summer.

The 23-year-old is among candidates the Vikings will consider for the role to replace veteran Chester Taylor who used free agency this off season to join the Bears.  Taylor’s pass catching, blocking, running and leadership leaves a void behind Adrian Peterson, a runner for the ages but one who sometimes yielded to Taylor in passing situations and took a seat on the bench.

It’s presumed the Vikings will consider a few candidates to replace the 30-year-old Taylor including Albert Young, a third year back from Iowa who was on the roster last season and might be the favorite for the job.  Young was a practice squad player his first season with the Vikings, just like Johnson was last fall.

Johnson finds irony in the situation of possibly replacing Taylor.  “He’s probably one of the sole reasons I am still here because he took me under his wing (and) taught me as much as he possibly could,” Johnson said after practice last week.  “I’ve learned so much from that guy.  I almost lose an asset in (not) having him here but I gain an opportunity to play more and more often.”

Johnson described the Vikings’ offensive scheme as “elaborate” and said last year was a learning process.  At times he was unsure of what he was supposed to do, but not any more and that comfort level provides confidence while competing for the starting job.

He feels comfortable with his pass receiving skills and is enthusiastic about his blocking. “That’s something I lived on, being able to block at Boise State,” he said.

It was at Boise State that Johnson made a national name for himself.  He rushed for a school record 58 touchdowns, but he also made news when he proposed on national TV to Boise State cheerleader Chrissy Popadics following the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

The two are married and for awhile she worked in a store at the Mall of America.  She stopped, though, because a stalker was following her and making telephone calls.  “She was doing it (working retail) for fun and it’s not fun when someone is kind of stalking,” Johnson said.

The family income will receive a nice increase if Johnson can make the team.  Practice squad players earn less than $100,000 and Johnson said his salary will go up about seven times if he makes the Vikings’ 53-man roster.

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With only a few weeks remaining in the legislative session, the Vikings stadium drive has surprisingly gained momentum despite the difficult economic environment.  The state’s economic woes may actually be hastening a stadium decision.

With the state perhaps facing a $5 billion deficit for the 2012-13 biennium, legislators might be more willing to approve a bill for a new Vikings stadium this year than next.  Prevailing wisdom has been that the legislature would put off a decision until 2011 because 2010 is an election year and many legislators prefer to distance themselves from stadium legislation, but the state deficit keeps growing and this year might be a more favorable budget time to act on a new facility.

If a stadium bill passes it could be for a retractable roof facility costing about $870 million, according to a Vikings source.  The facility is likely to be funded by taxes related to the stadium and the Vikings, and perhaps hospitality industry taxes paid by visitors.  The Vikings are expected to pay for about one-third of the stadium.

Various sites for the stadium will likely be mentioned but the Metrodome location appears to be the front runner.  That site has existing infrastructure, while locating the stadium in other places might add a few hundred thousand dollars more to the project.

A new Vikings stadium could be built in about three years, with the team possibly able to play one year of the construction period in the dome. The other two years would certainly have the Vikings playing at the Gophers’ TCF Bank Stadium.

Evidence of the Vikings’ legislative push includes a recent speech by owner Mark Wilf at a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Executive Briefing, and a re-launch of the Minnesota Momentum Website.  That site claims the stadium project will create 7,500 construction jobs for the state.

The Website encourages stadium supporters to recruit others to join the cause and provides other information.  www.minnesotamomentum.com

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The Vikings choose No. 30 in the first round of Thursday’s NFL draft that begins at 6:30 p.m. Minneapolis time.  Rounds two and three start at 5 p.m. Friday. The draft resumes at 9 a.m. on Saturday with rounds four through seven.  The time allocated for each selection during the first round is 10 minutes, with seven minutes in the second round.  Teams have five minutes for each selection in the remaining rounds.  ESPN and the NFL Network provide draft coverage.

Instead of hosting a first round draft event this year at Winter Park, the Vikings are participating in draft parties at 12 metro area locations.  More at https://www.vikings.com/schedule/2010-vikings-draft-party.html.

Gophers football coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners that senior safety Kim Royston had successful surgery Friday on his broken left leg.  He expects Royston, who was injured during spring practice, to return “if not for the first game, certainly early in the season.”  The Gophers open on the road September 2 at Middle Tennessee State.  “His leadership will be missed,” Brewster said.

The Gophers’ spring game is Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium and offers free admission to fans.  The game begins at 1:30 p.m.

Cory Joseph, the nationally sought prep point guard who is considering the Gophers, told the Dallas Morning News yesterday his college choice will be made in the “next week or two.”   Don’t bet on him coming to Minnesota. https://collegesportsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/04/top-hoop-recruit-joseph-explains-his-tho.html

Tom Lehman will make a presentation to the Edina Country Club membership on Monday, April 26 to finalize plans for renovation of the golf course.  His design company will provide services for a major project that includes work on bunkers and greens, re-seeding fairways and a new irrigation system.  The front and back nines will be reversed, although the yardage of about 6,860 will remain the same.

The extensive renovation begins this spring and the private suburban Minneapolis course will be closed to members at the end of May.  Reciprocal agreements with more than a dozen other golf clubs, including Interlachen and Minikahda, will accommodate Edina members this spring and summer.  Edina’s new course is tentatively scheduled to open in June of next year.

Edina was one of the few local private courses to gain members during the off-season, according to a golf industry source.  He said the club’s initiation fee was reduced by more than $20,000 and the club added about 50 members.

Here’s a Target Field visitor’s tip: most fans enter the stadium at gates 29 and 34.  That traffic adds congestion at concession stands near home plate and first base.  Walk further away from those areas to find less crowded concession areas.

The Royals have won two of their last 12 games against the Twins after yesterday’s 10-5 victory at Target Field.

The Twins have won each of their first four series this season, a franchise record.

Michael Cuddyer of the Twins went hitless yesterday, only the second time that has happened in 13 games this season.

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