Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners that the club could draw 100,000 fans for the final game in the Metrodome next Sunday if that many seats were available.  That game is part of an historic series of sports events including the first ever Big Ten Conference football game at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday and the first matchup of Vikings quarterback Brett Favre against his old team, the Green Bay Packers, next Monday night at the Metrodome.

The Twins play their last series in the dome Friday, Saturday and Sunday, ending the 2009 regular season while looking forward to next year and a new home at Target Field.  St. Peter said that if the Twins are still in contention to win the Central Division championship, all three games could be sellouts.  “Even in a worst case scenario” he expects a crowd of close to 40,000 on Friday and above that on Saturday, with a sellout of more than 50,000 on Sunday.

Normal baseball capacity is about 46,000 but the Twins are raising the curtain in right field to use seats there to increase capacity to over 50,000 for Sunday’s game which is sold out.  Ticket demand for the game has been intense and the franchise is also giving away free tickets to people who have worked for the Twins since the dome opened in 1982.  St. Peter said if the Twins were in contention for the division title and there was enough capacity a crowd of 150,000 might watch the historic final game.

The Gophers will try to win back Paul Bunyan’s Axe when they renew their border rivalry with Wisconsin on Saturday.  Like all home games at TCF Bank Stadium, capacity 50,805, the game is sold out.  The last three Gophers home games against Wisconsin in the Metrodome attracted crowds of 59,000 or more.  With both teams off to winning starts (Wisconsin 4-0, Minnesota 3-1), a crowd of 60,000 to 70,000 would be a certainty if TCF had more seats.

Next week’s Monday night Vikings game is a local, regional and national phenomenon.  This is a “perfect storm” involving the Vikings and Packers, two long time NFC North Division rivals with their own border battle legacy.  Both teams entered this season among the favorites to play in the NFC title game.  Favre played in Green Bay for 16 seasons, winning a Super Bowl, setting numerous NFL passing records and creating a love affair with Packers fans who now feel betrayed by his signing on here to play at age 39.  And then interest went to an even higher level (if possible) with Favre’s miracle throw yesterday to lift the Vikings over the 49ers, 27-24.

The game will be a sellout in the dome with about 64,000 fans, mostly Vikings supporters but also including Packer backers.  But demand for tickets could push attendance to 90,000 if the dome had that many seats, according to  knowledgeable sources.

The game will be televised across the country by ESPN and seems likely to set a ratings record for cable TV programming.  Last year’s Monday night telecast of the Eagles-Cowboys game was seen in almost 13 million homes.

On Tuesday night, October 6, night the Wild will open its home season at the Xcel Energy Center against Anaheim.  A capacity crowd of 18,064 will attend, the franchise’s 342^nd consecutive sellout, the longest streak in the NHL.

The Twins, Gophers, Vikings and Wild will play before about 265,000 fans in four days.  And that total might be 75,000 or higher if there was larger capacity for the games at the dome and TCF Bank Stadium.

The attendance total would grow even bigger if the Twins play a one game Central Division tie breaker against Detroit a week from Tuesday before a Metrodome crowd of potentially 50,000 or more.  And although it’s more of a participant than spectator event, tens of thousands will be involved with the annual Twin Cities Marathon next Sunday.

Extraordinary days lie ahead.

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Among the subtle storylines in the Gophers’ 35-24 win over Northwestern in Evanston on Saturday were contributions by players coach Tim Brewster and his staff have recruited in their brief time running the program.  Brewster was named coach in January of 2007 so his first recruiting class that signed on in February didn’t have much of his signature on it.  On Saturday senior defensive end Cedric McKinley, a junior college recruit in 2008, forced a quarterback fumble and McKinley recovered at the Northwestern three yard line.  The Gophers turned that opportunity into a touchdown pass to Eric Decker to put Minnesota ahead 35-24 with less than two minutes to play.

On Northwestern’s next possession quarterback Mike Kafka fumbled again, this time being stripped by redshirt freshman defensive end D.L. Wilhite, another 2008 recruit. The Gophers offense relied, as usual, on former coach Glen Mason recruits Adam Weber and Eric Decker, but there was more help than in the past from newcomers including freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray (35 yards rushing) and redshirt freshman running back Kevin Whaley (31 yards rushing).  Another young contributor was sophomore wide receiver Brandon Green who caught important third down passes on the Gophers fourth quarter touchdown drive to overcome a 24-21 Northwestern lead.

The Wisconsin team that comes here on Saturday is 4-0, with all their wins coming at home.  The Badgers, who won their Big Ten opener on Saturday 38-30 over Michigan State, are a surprise team so far in the conference.  Among the reasons is new starting quarterback Scott Tolzien who has directed an offense that’s been efficient and scored 144 points in four games.

The Gophers and the Xcel Energy Center have expressed interest in an intersectional game involving a marquee basketball opponent, according to a source who requested anonymity.  He said the potential game would likely be played in December and seen on national TV.

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell answered a question recently about whether running back Adrian Peterson has to take such hard hits near the sidelines.  Bevell answered that Peterson delivers blows as well as takes them.  “I am not going to pull that card out of his deck because it is a great one,” Bevell said.

Vikings special team coach Brian Murphy was asked recently about the longevity of kicker Ryan Longwell, 35, who now has 302 career field goals after kicking two yesterday in the team’s 27-24 win over the 49ers.  How long can Longwell play?  “He’s had great longevity to this point, I would say,” Murphy said.  “I don’t have a crystal ball, but I will tell you this, he keeps himself in great shape.  He works at his craft. He can play as long as he wants to.  From a physical stand point, he is in great shape and he works at the things that he needs to do to continue, not only to play, but be successful.”

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The Vikings might not have needed Brett Favre’s miracle throw and touchdown to Greg Lewis with two seconds remaining if the 49ers hadn’t blocked Longwell’s field goal attempt in the closing minute of the first half, with Nate Clements running 59 yards for a San Francisco touchdown and a 14-13 lead.  After the game coach Brad Childress didn’t know who failed the Vikings while blocking but “that should be a fairly routine play and it wasn’t.”

The Tigers organization will honor its 1984 World Championship team tonight before the game with the Twins.  Among those former players expected to participate in the celebration is St. Paul native and ex-Twin Jack Morris.

Twins president Dave St. Peter said the Gophers may play the first baseball game at Target Field but plans haven’t been finalized.  The game would be prior to the Twins Target Field exhibition games against St. Louis on April 2 and 3.

St. Peter also said it’s possible that some Twins players may take batting practice at Target Field after the season.  The purpose would primarily be to reward stadium construction workers by allowing them to watch.

The Wild’s Martin Havlat has about 12,600 followers on his frequently updated Twitter page, https://twitter.com/martinhavlat

The Wild won’t be among the eight western conference teams making the 2010 playoffs, according to the Sporting News magazine issue of September 28.   The publication predicts in its NHL preview that Pittsburgh and Detroit will play again in the Stanley Cup finals.

A crowd of 800 is expected for the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Minnesota Wild Face-Off Luncheon starting at 11:30 a.m. this Thursday at the Crown Plaza Riverfront.  Ticket information is available by calling 651-265-2775.

Minnesotan Matt Vanda will fight Phil Williams from Queens, New York in a super middleweight bout headlining a boxing card on Friday, November 13 at Grand Casino in Hinckley.

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Board of Directors voted to consider expanding to 16 institutions in the 2012-2013 academic year.  The board requested that NSIC Commissioner Butch Raymond solicit potential new members immediately.  Potential members must submit a letter of interest to the conference office by June 1, 2010.  The NSIC is a 14-team, 17-sport, NCAA Division II conference with teams located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

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