With the Vikings' 2013 Regular Season schedule recently announced, I thought I'd make some preliminary predictions about the games. Keep in mind that this is all before OTA's, Training Camp, etc., and before the final roster is even close to being set. I figured it would be fun, and then closer to the season opener make some revised predictions. Here we go: Week One: At Detroit The Lions don't usually put up a fight against the Vikings. While the Vikings have definitely made strong improvements in the off-season, the Lions are the Lions. Roster changes, the release of Titus Young, and the other distractions have put the Lions in the bottom of the NFC North. Vikings win. Week Two: At Chicago The Vikings will always play the Bears tough, no matter the venue. It will still be nice in Chicago, and the Vikings have Adrian Peterson. The Bears no longer have...

The 1975 Vikings, by many experts' estimations, were perhaps the best Vikings team of all time. They started off the season on a 10-0 tear, averaging 16.2 more points per game than their opponents. In their 14 games that year, the team's defense gave up ten or less points 6 times, and 13 points or less an amazing 8 times. They were 3rd overall in the NFL in points scored (377) and 3rd overall in points allowed (180). They had one shutout (a 38-0 beating of the Atlanta Falcons) and two games allowing 3 points. It seemed that the team could do no wrong. Strong both offensively AND defensively, the team was destined for greatness. The Vikings began their climb to the top of the NFC back in 1968, the year of their first division championship. Winning the Central Division of the NFL (before the NFC and AFC were formed), the...

Injuries. That one word. It’s the one that’s been running like a jackrabbit through my head for the past few days. It all kinda’ started to get me thinking when I was watching the Wild’s first playoff game against the Chicago BlackHawks. Seeing Niklas Backstrom go down in warm-ups wasn’t something we see very often. It forced the Wild into emergency mode and yes, good dude Josh Harding was great. Had he been injured, who knows what would have happened. We see it all the time.  Look at the Boston Celtics and how they are adjusting to losing team leader Rajon Rondo for the season. They are making it a great series against the NY Knicks with a dramatic win, on the road, in Madison Square Garden to shrink the Knickerbockers lead to a game at 3-2. Wing west and the former SeattleSuperSonics turned OKC Thunder have their hands full with...

The Vikings wrapped up the NFL Draft last Sunday and now that the dust has had a chance to settle, the Vikings clearly plundered the college ranks grabbing three top talents at key positions of need. The Norsemen had treasure fall into their laps on April 25th, grabbing Florida defensive tackle Shariff Floyd (who unexplicably fell to them) at pick 23, Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes at pick 25, and then traded with New England to get back in the first round to address the wide receiver corps with Tennessee wideout Cordarrelle Patterson at pick 29.  Rarely does a team have three picks in the first round and what makes every Viking fan excited is that on paper, Minnesota vastly improved three team needs in one night.  This is a playoff team that just got a lot better—and that was just Thursday.  On Saturday, day three of the draft, the Vikings...

Last Thursday, I had the privilege to attend the Vikings' 2013 Draft Party at the Metrodome, MOA Field. I had attended previous events at Winter Park, but this was the first time I had attended at MOA Field, and also the first time I attended in the VIP Red Zone area. The first thing I was impressed about was the field setup. There were plenty of things to do while there. The new uniforms were placed on mannequins for all to see up close, the Vikings Locker Room was set up in the middle of the field, and there seemed to be plenty of tables and chairs for people to sit on. There were also booths set up from various vendors, as well as food and drink for plenty to consume. I saw a sea of purple, it was amazing. Everyone was dressed in his or her own version of uniforms,...