While fans won’t be able to consume alcoholic beverages at Gophers games in TCF Bank Stadium, there are nearby options.  In addition to Stadium Village bars, the public is welcome at the McNamara Alumni Center where starting three hours before game time free admission entitles fans to buy food and beverages.  More at https://www.minnesotaalumni.org/s/1118/content.aspx?sid=1118&gid=1&pgid=719&cid=1846&ecid=1846&crid=0&calpgid=61&calcid=885.

In designated surface lots, the University is allowing tailgating before and after games.  Consumption of alcoholic beverages is permitted, according to https://stadium.gophersports.com/prk_tailgating.html.

Official kickoff time for the historic TCF Bank Stadium opener on Saturday is 6:02 p.m. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. at the stadium’s student entrance.

During the pre-game ceremonies, the Air Force Falcon and a bald eagle from the University of Minnesota Raptor Center will be on the field.  As Air Force takes the field, a video tribute honoring the U.S. armed forces and featuring the Air Force, will be seen on the video boards.  Following the National Anthem, four F-16 fighter jets will perform a fly-over.

Nine Gopher legends will serve as honorary captains, while former head coach Murray Warmath, 96, will be the honorary coach. The honorary captains: Bernie Bierman (represented by James Bierman); Bobby Bell; Billy Bye (represented by Julianne Bye); Paul Giel (represented by Paul Giel Jr.); Bud Grant; Bob McNamara; Bronko Nagurski (represented by a family member); Bruce Smith (represented by son Bruce Smith); and Sandy Stephens (represented by Ray Stephens). Also, legendary Minnesota broadcaster Ray Christensen will call the first Gopher offensive series of the second half.

More than 400 former Gopher players will be in attendance at Saturday’s game. They will have a picnic at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex from 1 to 3 p.m. They will be on the field prior to the game and honored as the Gophers leave the field following pre-game warm-ups.

Twins general manager Bill Smith said on his KSTP Radio show last Sunday that the team hopes to take batting practice at Target Field this season.  The Twins will play exhibition games against St. Louis on April 2 and 3 for their first games in the new stadium.

Smith also said the franchise is “excited” about shortstop Trevor Plouffe’s future but declined to be specific about how he might fit into the team’s plans for next year.  Plouffe, a first round draft choice in 2004, has been playing at AAA Rochester where he’s hit .260 and made 26 errors in 118 games. The Twins must make an off-season decision on whether to try to retain 34-year-old free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera.

Vikings coach Brad Childress on whether Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels is going to be his No. 2 quarterback for Sunday’s opener in Cleveland:  “We will probably end up declaring that probably an hour and a half before the game.”

The Vikings are promoting kickoff parties tonight (Thursday) at area Buffalo Wild Wings with appearances by team players.  Among the locations and players are Chanhassen (Bernard Berrian), Lakeville (E.J. Henderson), Savage (Ben Leber) and Eagan (Tyrell Johnson).  All appearances are from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow from 4 to 6 p.m. there will be a Vikings’ kickoff event at Peavey Plaza downtown that includes live music, free food, and appearances by cheerleaders and team alumni.

Marty Nanne, the son of former North Stars executive Lou Nanne, has been named a part-time scout for the Wild.  The younger Nanne has previous scouting experience with the Florida Panthers.  He will focus on high school, college and USHL games.

Eden Prairie’s Chad Rau signed an amateur tryout contract with the Wild last week when he became a late addition to the team’s roster for the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan this week.  Rau is the only Minnesotan on the team and the Wild will retain his NHL rights until October 1.

The Wild will partially open its first two days of training camp to the public.  Fans can attend free scrimmages on Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.

Thank you to our new advertisers, Washburn-McReavy (see below) and TCF Bank (top of page).

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Quarterback Brett Favre has thrown only one interception thus far for the Vikings, the fewest after four regular season games in his nearly two decades career.  His 68 percent completion percentage is close to the team record of 69.2 by Daunte Culpepper (2004).

There’s no question Favre has been fortunate not to have a few balls intercepted but he’s thrown accurately much of the time.  His minimal interception total is a result, too, of often featuring short, high percentage passes, and at times a preference to run the ball featuring Adrian Peterson.

Favre, who celebrates his 40^th birthday tomorrow, has made 273 consecutive career starts.  That’s a record and so, too, is being the first starting quarterback in NFL history to defeat all 32 teams.  That was accomplished on Monday night when the Vikings defeated Favre’s former team, the Packers, 30-23.

The Vikings-Packers Monday Night game broke a ratings record as the watched event in cable TV history. Favre drove those ratings just as he has other popularity numbers including NFL jersey sales where he ranks No. 1, according to figures on merchandising, amount of Web traffic and ticket sales released by the Vikings.  The Vikings’ Web site, www.vikings.com, is receiving four times the amount of traffic compared to recent years and he’s made ticket sales jump, too.

Favre signed a two-year contract with the Vikings on August 18 and his impact on business was immediate.  In the 72 hours following his signing the franchise sold over 4,000 season tickets and more than 15,000 individual game tickets.  The three Vikings Locker Room retail stores and Vikings.com sold more than 5,000 Favre jerseys. Vikings.com had over 1 million visitors. The Vikings had 800,000 page views in the first 24 hours after the signing (compared to an average of 100,000).

For Vikings fans the most important of all the numbers is the team record, 4-0.  If the Vikings win at St. Louis on Sunday, they will be off to their first 5-0 start since 2003.

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MarQueis Gray will emulate Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson in practice this week as the Gophers prepare for the academy’s much publicized triple option offense that produced the largest victory margin in school history last Saturday in a 72-0 Falcons win.

Minnesota coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners he will use Gray, the Gophers’ much publicized second team quarterback, to give his defense a feel for the run- oriented Air Force offense.  Jefferson completed five of seven passes for one touchdown against hapless Nicholls State but, as usual, it was the Air Force ground game that dazzled with the Falcons running for 474 yards while producing 576 yards in total offense.

Brewster said Gray won’t be tackled in practice this week but his athleticism figures to help the Gophers prepare for the unorthodox Air Force offense that features multiple runners and option decisions by the quarterback. The Gophers play their first game ever in TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday with kickoff at 6 p.m.

Gray, a freshman, was rated among the best dual threat quarterbacks in the country coming out of high school.  He played briefly last Saturday in the Gophers 23-20 overtime win at Syracuse, but didn’t attempt a pass or run.

Gray will play more in future games, giving the Gophers another playmaker along with quarterback Adam Weber, and wide receivers Eric Decker and Troy Stoudermire.  Brewster expects his offense, which struggled last Saturday with penalties and passing miscues, to play better against Air Force.

Brewster said a huge storyline coming out of the overtime win was the psychological element and the Gophers writing an ending to their liking in a raucous environment that forced Minnesota into mistakes.  “Syracuse had its first sellout in 10 years and the crowd was tremendous,” Brewster said.

The Gophers won their first road opener in 20 years against a BCS school by keeping their poise in the Carrier Dome against a Syracuse team that was trying to win a first game for new coach Doug Marrone and home town quarterback Greg Paulus who was making his college football debut. The Orange led 20-14 at halftime after the Gophers struggled on offense and defense in the first half.  “I told them at half time there was no reason to flinch,” Brewster said.  “There was a tremendous calmness among our players and coaches.”

Past Minnesota teams sometimes seemed to have a “woe is me” and the “sky is falling” attitude facing such adversity but Brewster said the Gophers made a statement on Saturday.  “This team found a way to win it with its chemistry and belief,” Brewster said.  “There’s been a hope for the best and expect the worst (approach in the past).  It felt good how we responded.”

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