If Vikings fans are discouraged by the team’s 1-2 start, linebacker Ben Leber has a suggestion: “Hang with us. We’re working everything out. We’ll get some more wins.”
Vikings players, perhaps most of them, prefer a bye week later in the season when they’re more in need of rest. “Unfortunately it’s in week four,” placekicker Ryan Longwell said. “That’s not the best draw.”
Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin, troubled in recent weeks by migraine headaches and his right hip, said: “…I get a week of rest and I should be perfectly fine when I comeback.”
Wide receiver Greg Lewis said there’s been nothing wrong with quarterback Brett Favre’s timing on his passes this season. The wide receivers have to receive opportunities and then make plays, he said.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said on his KSTP Radio show Sunday that Michael Cuddyer, usually a right fielder who has been at third base, second base and first base this season, wants to play shortstop to complete his infield experience. Gardenhire said it could happen, if not this year, in the future.
Outfielder Joe Benson, named the Twins Minor League Player of the Year on Monday by the organization, only hit .252 this season but had 27 home runs in 459 at bats. Right-hander Kyle Gibson, named Pitcher of the Year in the organization, held batters to a .242 average in the minors. Before the season started Baseball America identified Gibson as the third best pitching prospect in the minor leagues. Benson and Gibson are both 22.
A basketball source told Sports Headliners that highly sought after Cedar Rapids guard Josh Oglesby will announce his college choice today as either Iowa, Minnesota or Arizona State.
Nebraska joins the Big Ten next year. If the Cornhuskers were in the league now the conference would have seven teams in the top 25 of the polls, more than any other league.
Nebraska’s resurgence in football had been led by head coach Bo Pelini, a defensive specialist. His brother, Nebraska defensive coordinator Carl Pelini, was the 2004 defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Minnesota State Mankato, working for head coach Jeff Jamrog, a former Husker player and assistant coach now working in the Nebraska athletic department.
The countdown of the 50 Big Ten Icons is under 20 now and one of the remaining names to be announced is likely Dave Winfield, the former Gopher baseball All-American and starter on the 1972 Big Ten championship basketball team.
There could be a record MIAC crowd when No. 5 ranked St. Thomas plays at No. 18 Saint John’s on Saturday. The existing MIAC record of 13,103 was set at Saint John’s in 2003 when Johnnies coach John Gagliardi broke Eddie Robinson’s record for career wins.
It will be a home field advantage crowd for Saint John’s, with most in attendance pulling for the Johnnies. A St. Thomas spokesman estimated that even when the two teams play in St. Paul, about 40 percent of fans are Johnnies supporters.
This will be the first time ever that the Tommies will visit Saint John’s with a top five national ranking in the AFCA Division III poll. Four of the last nine games between the two teams have been decided by seven points or less. Saint John’s has long dominated the MIAC in football but since St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso arrived in 2008 the Tommies have the best record among league teams at 22-5, one win better than Saint John’s at 21-5.