Tarvaris Jackson was asked by Sports Headliners earlier this week if he expects major improvement in his performance next season.  “Exactly,” he replied.

The Vikings’ quarterback finished two weeks of OTA’s with his teammates earlier this week.  The Organized Training Activities allowed the Vikings and outsiders to make some observations.  Among those with an optimistic outlook is Jackson who was asked if he’s ready for a big year.  He replied with a team answer. “The team, we’re just ready for a big year,” he said. “…Just go out there and show that we can do it.”

Whether the Vikings keep company this fall with the NFL’s best teams after finishing 8-8 last season and missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season depends on many elements but vital among them is Jackson.  After two seasons of highs and lows, Jackson knows he must be more consistent.

That word, consistency, represents a goal for the 25-year-old quarterback who started 12 games last year, throwing 12 interceptions and nine touchdown passes.  Jackson said he thinks about being consistent in practices, games and the playoffs.  Each week he wants to be “accurate with the football” and make good decisions.

Experience makes Jackson believe he’s more confident and ready for this season.  He said he’s better now than the last game of the 2007 season and that his comfort level with being an NFL quarterback is “night and day” improved from 12 months ago.

Jackson’s knowledge and confidence now allows him to help others.  “I am not just thinking about, well, I gotta do this, I gotta do this,” he said.  “I am thinking about trying to give the offensive linemen tips in the huddle.  Trying to give wide receivers tips. …”

The Vikings added 36-year-old backup quarterback Gus Frerotte to the roster in the off-season.  His presence presumably will assist Jackson’s development, too.  “He’s helped me a lot,” Jackson said.  “Just watching him out here on the field.  The way he thinks about things. …”

The process for Jackson continues in several days when the team’s mini-camp for  veterans takes place June 6-8 at Winter Park.

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Nicolas Platter knows about patience.  The 26-year-old Californian waited two-plus seasons to become the Minnesota Thunder’s starting goalkeeper.  Platter told Sports Headliners he learned patience during his high school and college soccer careers when he waited for opportunities.

Platter didn’t play regularly in high school until his senior year.  In college at Cal-Davis he waited awhile to play, too.  The exercise in patience even included last season with the Thunder when Platter had to recover from an off-season ligament injury to his right thumb.

Eventually he won the starting goalkeeper position with the Thunder.  He played in 18 games, finishing fifth in saves among goal keepers in the USL.  The year before, 2006, he had played in only five games.  He played in just two games with the Thunder in 2005.

The season is early but Platter has been a major contributor to the Thunder’s success.  His statistics include four shutouts (tied for second in the USL) and a 0.714 goals against average (tied for third best in the league).  The Thunder’s record is 4-2-1 and the team is tied for third place in the USL.  The Thunder has only scored more than one goal in a game once this season, more evidence of Platter’s importance to the team’s successful start.

Last season the Thunder was 5-12-11, finishing next to last in the standings.  The roster has been improved and Platter likes what he sees. “We believe we can win,” he said.

The Thunder won for the first time in 11 years at Vancouver in late April, Platter said.  Now second place Vancouver plays here tomorrow night (Saturday) at the National Sports Center in Blaine.  Platter described it as a “big game” and a hoped for point in the standings.  “Any time we play Vancouver it’s always a struggle,” he said.

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Stubhub.com lists tickets ranging in cost from $22 to $275 for the Twins-Yankees series at the Metrodome tonight through Monday.  Contrast that with the Orioles series at the dome starting on Tuesday where the range is $1 to $149.

Advance sales for the Yankee series were about 100,000 as of Wednesday afternoon, with hopes for 120,000 total, Twins vice president of marketing Patrick Klinger said via e-mail.

The Twins have to be the only team in baseball where the starting left fielder (Delmon Young) has no home runs, the right fielder (Michael Cuddyer) has one and the No. 3 hitter in the batting order (Joe Mauer) has zero.  The Twins, though, rank fifth among 14 American League teams in runs scored.

Cuddyer, well-known for his love of magic, does one of his card tricks on the following Web site:https://ballhype.com/video/michael_cuddyer_s_card_trick_2/.

The annual Minnesota Twins Fantasy Camp will be January 10-18 at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. The camp is a weeklong event for those 30 or older. Campers participate in major league-style batting and infield practice on the Twins spring training fields and play up to two games each day. Campers receive daily instruction from former Twins players attending the camp.  The cost is $3,895 and more details are available at www.twinsbaseball.com.

Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards told KSTP TV’s Ryan Kibbe earlier in the month that next season he plans on breaking Michael Strahan’s NFL sack record of 22.5.  Edwards, drafted on the fourth round by the Vikings in 2006, has been a part-time starter in the past but looks like a regular in 2008.  Read more at https://kstp.com/article/stories/S454606.shtml?cat=10005

Coach Tim Brewster makes two appearances today to promote the Gophers’ 87-county drive to raise funds for TCF Bank Stadium. He will be at the Golden Valley McDonald’s restaurant (720 Winnetka Ave. North) at 10 a.m. and participate in the Grand Opening of the new McCafe.   He will also be a guest on the “Twin Cities Live” show that airs from 3 to 4 p.m. on Ch. 5.  He will talk about the 87-county tour and phase three of the fund-raising project for the stadium.

Former Mounds View star Nick Horvath became a New Zealand citizen earlier this year and is playing professional basketball in that country, according to https://www.stuff.co.nz/4563576a1823.html.  Earlier this week he was averaging 17.9 points while shooting over 50 percent.  A center, Horvath was averaging over 10 rebounds per game and was second in the National Basketball League in blocked shots.

Balkrisna Sukharan of Blaine has seen his horse, Lookinforthesecret, win $488,940 since January of 2007 when the six-year-old thoroughbred was purchased for $12,500.  The latest success was last Saturday at Canterbury Park when the horse won the $50,000 Honor The Hero Turf Express.  Lookinforthesecret has run 19 times since being purchased, winning 13 of those starts and finishing second five times.

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