The Vikings Draft Party tomorrow night at Mall of America Field opens at 4 p.m. Admission is free to season ticket holders. For others the cost is $10.
The Vikings are viewed as the fourth place team in the NFC North, although Bears tight end Matt Spaeth wouldn’t say that. He said with injuries and other variables it’s difficult to predict where teams will finish. “They’ve (the Vikings) got a lot of good players so they could be good,” the former Gopher told Sports Headliners.
Former Vikings head coach Mike Tice is the new Bears offensive coordinator. “Coach Tice’s offense is going to be a tight end friendly offense so I am excited about this year,” Spaeth said.
Spaeth, who has been a part-time starter during five previous NFL seasons, likes the improvement the Bears have made during the offseason. “We’re going to definitely contend (in the NFC North),” he said. “The Packers are tough. It’s going to be a tough deal for us, but we’re going to be good.”
Pioneer Press columnist Charley Walters undergoes right shoulder replacement surgery tomorrow. “Too many fastballs,” the former Twins pitcher said. He won’t be writing again until May 7.
Nick Blackburn, the Twins losing pitcher last night, is 0-6 in his last nine starts dating back to July 25, 2011.
Twins starters now have a combined ERA of 6.73.
New Gophers athletic director Norwood Teague signed a five-year contract in 2011 with a base pay of $240,000 at Virginia Commonwealth University, according to a story posted Monday by the Richmond Times-Dispatch website. Teague, according to Minnesota media reports, will earn $400,000 in base salary, plus incentives, at the University of Minnesota.
Former Gophers running back Darrell Thompson, who runs the Minneapolis-based Bolder Options program, will hold his organization’s annual dinner at TCF Bank Stadium on May 17. WCCO Radio’s Dave Lee will be master of ceremonies with the keynote speech given by Terry Hitchcock, who at age 57 in 1996 ran the equivalent of 75 marathons in 75 days. More information on the dinner is available at the Bolder Options website.
St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso notes that he, Vikings center John Sullivan and former Twins infielder Tim Teufel (now the Mets third base coach) are all from Greenwich, Connecticut.
Long range TV calendar planning: The summer Olympics begin on NBC July 27, and CBS will televise the Notre Dame-Navy football game from Dublin, Ireland on September 1.