Twins fans have to be hoping for 2006 deja vu.  Not only was that the last time the franchise won the division, but Joe Mauer was the American League batting champion and Justin Morneau the league MVP.  Mauer, hitting .320, is third in the batting race now while Morneau is second in the AL in RBI with 108.   He’s been Mr. Indispensable again for the Twins, hitting .312 and leading the team with 21 home runs, making himself a contender for league MVP.

Two years ago pitcher Johan Santana won 19 games for the Twins, including seven in August, September and early October.  Santana is up to his old ways now with the Mets, closing fast for a team that is leading the National League East by one game.  In his last 10 games he is 5-0 with a 2.24 ERA.  He’s 12-7 overall with a 2.70 ERA.

Gulp!  Sports Illustrated pro football writer Peter King picks the Vikings to have a 13-3 regular season record and advance to the NFC championship game where they will lose to Philadelphia.  Of course, King wrote that before last week’s four game suspension of left tackle Bryant McKinney.

The Vikings had seven players named to the Pro Bowl last year and added Pro Bowler Jared Allen in the off season, but they also have a journeyman left tackle replacement in Artie Hicks.  Then, too, Tarvaris Jackson missed two preseason games with an injured left knee, and that just prolonged the mystery of how he will play in his third NFL season.

Super Bowl champ?  King picks New England.

Chad Greenway, the Vikings’ third year linebacker, is a good bet to be the team’s most improved player in 2008.

Subhub.com lists a ticket range of $49 to $6,000 for Monday night’s Vikings-Packers game in Green Bay.  Kickoff is 6 p.m.

The Vikings and Buffalo Wild Wings are offering a grand prize drawing of a trip for two to the Green Bay game.  The Vikings will also have a promotional event from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Mall of America that includes former and current players.  Appearing from 3 to 5 p.m. will be defensive linemen Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, Kevin Williams and Pat Williams.

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The NFL’s personal conduct policy that can result in suspensions like that of the Vikings’ Bryant McKinney is applauded by those who are weary of misdeeds by football players and other athletes.

ESPN reported on its telecast of last week’s South Carolina-North Carolina State football game that Mike Davis, a running back for the Gamecocks, was seen on a campus security monitor breaking into a team refrigerator last month.  Davis played in the game, although ESPN speculated he might be suspended for the Wofford game.  His college major?  Criminal justice.

Gopher football coach Tim Brewster awarded one year scholarships last week to walk-on players including true freshman linebacker Mike Rallis of Edina who was impressive on kickoff coverage in Saturday night’s win over Northern Illinois.  Brewster said his son Nolan, a true freshman at Texas, played on special teams in the Longhorns’ 52-10 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday.  The Gophers play the Owls on September 20 and Brewster will have insights on that team from his son and also his former boss at Texas, head coach Mack Brown.

MIAC football teams begin play this week.  In the preseason coaches’ poll Saint John’s is the favorite to win the MIAC title with Bethel receiving the second most votes, followed by Concordia, St. Thomas, St. Olaf, Augsburg, Gustavus Adolphus, Carleton and Hamline.

Saint John’s coach John Gagliardi has more MIAC coaching experience than all other conference coaches combined. Gagliardi, 81, has been coaching in the MIAC for 55 years while all the other coaches have a combined total of 46 years.

Schools from the conference have advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA playoffs for the past 12 seasons.  Augsburg played in the second round in 1997, Concordia advanced to the second round in 2004 and 2005, Saint John’s in 1996, 1998-2003, 2005-2007 and Bethel in 2007.

The Wild will participate in the 2008 NHL Centre I.C.E. Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan, September 13-17.  The Wild’s roster features 10 draft picks, including the team’s most recent first round draft choices, defenseman Tyler Cuma (2008, 23^rd overall) and center Colton Gillies (2007, 16^th overall).  Fans can visit www.wild.com for tournament updates from assistant general manager/player personnel Tom Thompson.

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With a year of experience learning the plays and offensive terminology, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, second in the NFL in rushing yards as a rookie, might be even better.  Certainly he will be able to play with even more instinct because of his first year experience.

Vikings fullback Thomas Tapeh, who has played four previous years in the NFL, talked about the difference between first and second seasons.  “When you first come in it’s like you’re hearing Chinese,” he said.  “But after you’ve heard Chinese for awhile, okay, this means go there.  Blue means I gotta go right.  Red I go left. …”

It’s not that Peterson, last year’s NFL rookie of the year, can’t increase his knowledge base in year two.  Tapeh has been willing to help.

“He’s eager to learn,” Tapeh said.  “He’s got the whole book thrown at him.  He’s taking his time.  When I am out there I communicate with him.  I just remind him, ‘You got this over here.’   ‘Okay, okay.’  Because he’s got a lot of things going through his head.   He’s doing a great job.  He’s holding everything in.  He’s being a professional.”

Peterson ran for 1,341 yards last year.  He missed two games last season because of a knee injury and that probably cost him the NFL rushing title.   LaDainian Tomlinson led the league with 1,474 yards.

Peterson is a popular choice as no worse than the NFL’s second best running back after Tomlinson.  Sports Illustrated gave him the No. 2 spot in its Fantasy Football rankings of running backs.  The Sporting News lists him as the No. 9 best player in the league and sort of apologizes for not having him higher.  The publication also published a recent story headlined: “ ‘He’s a Freakin’ Beast.’ ”

Tapeh recognizes that Peterson, at 23, is right there with the best in pro football.  “You put on film, you see the man is gifted,” Tapeh said.  “The man do things that you just can’t coach or teach. …”

Tapeh only had five rushing attempts last season for Philadelphia.  His ball carrying will be minimal here, too.  His job is to block for the running backs, starting with Peterson.

Fun guy to block for?  “Oh, yeah,” Tapeh answered.  “It’s a different guy to block for.  I don’t do too much. Put a body on (defenders) and (he) do the rest.”

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