Vikings placekicker Ryan Longwell, along with Steve Hutchinson and Jared Allen, flew down to Mississippi in August to encourage Brett Favre to play another season. Longwell talked about the 41-year-old quarterback who rallied the Vikings to an overtime win on Sunday after trailing by two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter. “It’s exactly why you get on a plane and go try to talk him back into coming (here), because with him at quarterback you always have a chance to win a game no matter what the scoreboard says,” Longwell said.
Vikings rookie running back Toby Gerhart said he couldn’t explain why he fell to the turf last Sunday when no tackler was between him and a short run to the end zone. Gerhart talked about playing against the Bears and Chester Taylor this Sunday, the man he replaced as the backup to Adrian Peterson, and admitted there might be a “little added pressure.”
The Vikings haven’t won in Chicago since 2007. The Bears, 5-3, already have NFC North wins over Detroit and Green Bay. The Vikings, 3-5, have lost to Green Bay and defeated Detroit.
Former Vikings head coach Mike Tice, now coaching Chicago’s offensive line, would enjoy a Bears win on Sunday. Tice, who was fired shortly after Red McCombs sold the team to Zygi Wilf and partners, is considered one of the NFL’s best offensive line coaches.
Gophers interim coach Jeff Horton was asked about the talent gap between the Gophers, winless in the Big Ten, versus teams just ahead of them that have won about half their conference games. “I don’t think it’s as big as some people think,” he said. “I think there’s some key areas that need to be filled in here that you can do. I don’t know if it will happen overnight. …
Horton said the Gophers have some “good young players” but not much depth. The 2011 freshman class will be important for filling needs.
Horton, who has yet to win a game at Minnesota, talking about a 19-game losing streak for him that dates back to when he was head coach at UNLV: “I think we need to win for them (the 1-9 Gophers). Who cares about me?… Coaches come and go. They (Gophers players) need something good to happen to them.”
Horton expects MarQueis Gray to receive increased playing time at quarterback in the team’s final two games starting tomorrow at Illinois.
GOP governor candidate Tom Emmer played hockey at Alaska Fairbanks when Gophers coach Don Lucia was coaching there.
The latest issue of the The Fischler Report says former Gopher Paul Martin is still adjusting offensively with his new team, Pittsburgh. The publication also says Edina native and Toronto general manager Brian Burke challenges the media covering his Maple Leafs to be more critical of the players and less so of coach Ron Wilson.
New Wild assistant coach Rick Wilson is earning compliments for his impact so far this season. He’s a leader and his calm approach has won praise for upgrading the team’s defensive performance.
Wild draft picks Erik Haula (seventh round, 182nd overall, 2009 draft) and Jason Zucker (second round, 59th overall, 2010 draft) are being noticed in their freshmen WCHA seasons. At Minnesota Haula is second among WCHA freshmen and fifth overall in assists (nine), while Denver’s Zucker is second among league frosh and fifth overall in goals (seven).
Augsburg sophomore Chad Gilmer is the MIAC Men’s Soccer Player-of-the-Year and his head coach, Greg Holker, is Coach-of-the-Year. Carleton junior forward Niki Tomita is the Women’s Soccer Player-of-the-Year and her head coach, Keren Gudeman, is Coach-of-the-Year. All winners were determined by a vote of league coaches.