A local TV executive said the Vikings-Packers game next Monday night is likely to have a 50 rating in this market place, and that Super Bowls produce ratings in the 40’s.
Vikings coach Brad Childress had no trouble sleeping after Sunday’s dramatic win over the 49ers. A tired Childress was in bed by 8:30 p.m.
Vikings vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix told Sports Headliners that the No. 1 selling NFL jersey in the country is Brett Favre, with Adrian Peterson No. 5.
Earlier this week the Gophers’ 2010 football recruiting class was ranked 35th in the country by Rivals.com and 39th by Scout.com.
Rivals ranked Ohio State’s 2010 basketball recruiting class No. 1 in America. The Gophers weren’t in the top 20. https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=992682
Steve Erban of Creative Charters is offering fan transportation to Gophers road games including Penn State where there are only a few remaining seats on the plane going to State College, Pennsylvania.
Wide receiver Eric Decker, whose 8.75 catches per game ranks No. 6 in the nation, has 48 percent of the team’s receptions. Gophers coach Tim Brewster said the team will continue “to script ways” for Decker to receive the ball. He also said Decker is the “best wide receiver, bar none” in the country.
The Gophers are one of nine teams in the Big Ten that don’t have a bye. Wisconsin, which plays the Gophers on Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium, has two byes as does Illinois.
It’s easy to identify Joe Mauer as the Twins’ MVP, but even though Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel have experienced career seasons, our No. 2 choice is reliever Joe Nathan. Nathan is second in saves in the American League with 45, a career best after topping his previous high 44 with a save in yesterday’s 3-2 win over Detroit.
It was no surprise that the Twins and Tigers split yesterday’s double header in Detroit. A sweep of a doubleheader happens only 26.2 percent of the time, according to Wikipedia and information from the Elias Sports Bureau, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubleheader_(baseball).
The Gopher hockey team is No. 6 in the USA Today/USA Hockey preseason men’s rankings. It’s the 10th straight year the Gophers have started the season ranked in the top 10. Minnesota begins practice on Saturday and has a 4 p.m. exhibition game at home on Sunday against British Columbia.
The Gophers have been picked to finish fourth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in media and coaches polls. Denver is the preseason favorite in both polls with defending champion North Dakota picked second and Wisconsin predicted third. Both polls selected sophomore Gopher forward Jordan Schroeder as the league’s preseason player of the year.
Former Timberwolves owner and Minneapolis native Marv Wolfenson is living in La Jolla, California.