It appears Percy Harvin may have worn out his welcome in Viking-land.  There were whispers that his ankle wasn’t the only reason that sidelined Harvin in December when Minnesota was pushing hard, ultimately successfully, for a playoff spot.  While not officially being benched for “contract detrimental” it seems that Harvin has repeatedly had heated exchanges with coach Leslie Frazier over various topics.  Harvin is as a dynamic of an offensive talent as there could possibly be in a 5’10” 190 pound receiver.  He is blessed with exceptional agility, speed and toughness that makes him a threat from anywhere on the field.  The Vikings have lined him up at both wideout positions, in the slot, in the backfield and has made gamebreaking plays at special teams.  Opposing defenses first focus on Adrian and then spend any additional energy and time making sure they account for number 12. Unfortunately, Harvin is basically a...

Last Friday marked the Swarm’s second home game of the season at Xcel Energy Center and also the franchise’s second victory of 2013. In the team’s first home game against the Toronto Rock since 2008, transition player Tyler Hass put forth a huge effort. The 6-foot-6 Victoria, British Columbia native posted the second hat trick of his career, including the first goal of the game in the third minute. However, it was Hass’s final goal that iced the overtime game for Minnesota as they came away with the victory 13-12. In the Toyota Postgame Report with the Swarm’s Howard Green, Hass claimed that he worked on his conditioning considerably in the offseason so that he could get back to taking advantage of fast break opportunities. “I felt real good today, I felt loose,” said Hass. “I felt like I’m ready, and I just needed to put the ball in the net...

Well, the lull is upon us. This is the time of year that most NFL fans dread - the time off between the Super Bowl and the NFL draft. Nothing to do but sit and wait and anticipate. This is when mock drafts start heating up, as each team's fans start to anticipate what positions their teams have needs for, what players are ranked in the upcoming draft, and who might be joining their team, or who may be leaving, via free agency. There are several intriguing possibilities for the Vikings. Number one has to start with WR Percy Harvin. In his time here with the Vikings, Percy has been both dynamic and enigmatic. A big playmaker, a game-changer, Harvin has also been trying for the Vikings' front office as well. From migraine headaches (and the time he's missed because of them) to various injuries (missing a good chunk of last...

Players weren’t sugarcoating this one after it was finished. Another 48 minutes. After it was all played out, it was another tough night at the office for the Wolves as they battled the San Antonio Spurs. A loss that dropped the home team to 10-games under 500 and work to do to reach their post-season goal. There was significant buzz heading into this one.  The Commish, David Stern, was in town to talk business with civic leaders. The Wolves big man, Kevin Love, was back on the bench (if not in street clothes) to cheer on his mates after rehabbing in New York. There were bright spots on the court too. The return of Ricky Rubio is progressing nicely as the point guard scored 9-points, dished out 11 assists and had four rebounds. In fact, Rubio tossed five assists in the Spurs game's first seven minutes; that effort followed up a...

Minnesota is looking to go dancing in March, but will need to take care of business in February- one game at a time.  On Sunday evening in Williams Arena, the No. 18 Minnesota Gophers will play a game against an Illinois team that just beat the number one team (Indiana) in the land.  The Gophers (17-6) are arguably at their seasons crossroads with the team dropping four of its last six and key Big-10 matchups ahead.  After a 15-1 start, the senior-laden team has lacked energy and has struggled getting their big men touches.  In a Big-10 that lacks a dominant man, Trevor Mbakwe, the Gophers 6”8 -245 pound sixth-year center, is working through injuries and isn’t getting enough looks.  Even more disconcerting is the Gophers (5-4 in conference play) seem to lack movement, crispness and urgency in their half-court sets. The Gophers haven’t been blasted in any of their losses...

Sunday is the big day - the game will finally be here. Everyone who is a football fan has some kind of plans for the Big Game. Some will host a party, some will attend a party, some will watch the game at home, some will go to a bar or restaurant to watch. Those out of the country will be scrambling to find the game SOMEWHERE. Hopefully, the brave people in our armed forces will be able to catch a break and catch the game somehow. The Super Bowl is an American tradition. Since 1967, two teams have been getting together to decide the best team in the NFL (or American football in the case of SB I-IV, when the top team in the NFL took on the top team in the AFL). The fun part for me is knowing the history of the game and predicting the outcome beforehand....

This edition of SimonsSays comes to you from the land of Pelicans, Hornets, Ravens and a few of the old time ‘49ers! From afar, GameON! is watching the start of the T’Wolves vital January homestand and cheering loudly. Upon arrival in New Orleans, I was shuttled about and had arrival meetings and more meetings.  Mindful of the time (of course, not to be “late” to a meeting) I was keeping an eye peeled on the new Christmas present watch because of tip-time. It neared 7pm central and it was time for the Wolves to dig in against the new look LAClips. This played out for two hours. Me hitting refresh and getting score updates while easing into the NOLA night. It’s my first time back into New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina and it’s nice to see how many things have returned and how spirits are better. I’ll never forget the post-Hurricane...

After a 10-6 year and making the playoffs the Minnesota Vikings have plenty to be excited about in the future. The NFL year officially ended for the Vikings last weekend at the annual Pro Bowl, which ended in a 62-35 thumping of the AFC by the NFC squad. Several Vikings, including Pro Bowl MVP tight end Kyle Rudolph were stars of the game that featured more competitiveness than recent Pro Bowls. Join Rudolph on the Pro Bowl squad was All-World running back Adrian Peterson, defensive end Jared Allen, linebacker Chad Greenway and kicker Blair Walsh. These guys had some incredible seasons for the Purple Posse in 2012 The NFC was unstoppable on offense and made plenty of plays on defense, forcing the likes of Peyton Manning, Matt Schaub, and the like into five turnovers. While last year the fans booed the players for not trying, this year the competition was much...

We are now down to 1 final game to put the finishing touches on the 2012-13 NFL season. The Baltimore Ravens and SanFrancisco 49ers both arrived in New Orleans and the big game is now only days away. Tuesday of this week is the media circus known as media day. Hundreds if not thousands of reporters, photographers and other journalists will spend the day hoping that they have come up with a unique question that the guys have not heard in the past week and change. The Harbaugh bowl was squashed early on by Jim, er was it John. Man talk about confusing. Before we dive in to all the matchups lets mention quickly the Minnesota Vikings and the 2013 Pro Bowl. I thought the game was entertaining. It was nice to see the NFC break the record for most points scored with 62 (the previous record was 59 set by...

The Minnesota Twins head into the 2013 season with admittedly more questions than answers after a 66-96 finish in 2012, good for last in the American League Central.   Good news about 2012: The team scored 80 more runs than it did in 2011, with outstanding offensive seasons from free agent left fielder Josh Willingham (.260 – 35 HR – 110 RBI) and Joe Mauer (.319 – 85 RBI, 90 Walks) plus an encouraging return to action from 2010 MVP  Justin Morneau (.267- 19 HR – 77 RBI).   The offense also got surprise contributions from C/IB/DH Ryan Doumit  (.275 -18 HR- 75 RBI) and Trevor Plouffe (24 HRs).  The table was set by speedsters Ben Revere and Denard Span (57 stolen bases combined).Unfortunately, a pretty good offensive season by the Twins hitters was for naught as the pitching couldn’t miss bats (.274 batting average against – 29th in the MLB) and couldn’t...

These are tough days at the office inside Target Center. No question about it. One night after a nice crowd gathered to watch the hometown team lose in a hard fought game against the resurgent Brooklyn Nets, there’s still plenty of wounded bodies and a little over half the season still remaining for the Wolves. Here’s how SimonsSays sees it. The Wolves are battered and fighting to keep in a “playoff chase” until the injured return. The list is long. Among the wounded, it appears Alexey Shevd will be back soon from turning his ankle.  Big Pek, Nikola Pekovic, will likely be another week after suffering that painful quad contusion. The T’wolves are still waiting for Head Coach Rick Adelman to return as he deals with a family matter involving wife Mary Kay.  Long term, All Star Kevin Love, Chase Budinger, Malcom Lee and Brandon Roy are on the shelf. It...

This year's Super Bowl in New Orleans features two very similar teams, the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49'ers. Both teams have stout defenses, feature hard-nosed running backs and have mobile passers who can make plays with their legs in addition to their strong arms. Joe Flacco, QB for Baltimore, has a few more years of experience than the sophmore QB for the 49'ers, Colin Kaepernick. In addition to the similarities between the two teams, media stories will focus heavily on the Ravens' LB Ray Rice, who is playing in, most likely, his last game. Also a big deal is the fact that the two head coaches (Ravens' John Harbaugh and the 49'ers Jim Harbaugh) are brothers. Many media members and fans are calling this the Harbowl. I'd like to focus, however, on the Minnesota connections to the game, namely the 49'ers WR Randy Moss and the Ravens' C Matt...

One of the most anticipated seasons in Minnesota professional hockey in recent memory will be underway in less than a week.  Finally, the National Hockey League, after a seemingly ten-year hiatus, returns January 19th when the Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche at the Xcel Energy Center. Wild fans are excited and expectations are high for this club.   Last year the Wild started red-hot, playing like the best team in hockey as late as week before Christmas (20-8-5) leading the entire league in points before the team crashed and fizzled out of playoff contention.  The young team’s offense failed them eventually, finishing last in goals scored (2.02).  They were outshot nightly and were plagued by injuries. To address the problem head-on, the Wild opened up the checkbook and signed two premier offensive threats, hometown superstar forward Zach Parise (13 years-$98 Million) and defenseman Ryan Suter, a defenseman with a considerable offensive resume....

If you have some time tonight, catch GameON! host Rod on KTwin radio 96.3 @ 9pm with Rider! Music and baseball on the agenda. Then give us your thoughts...you like those two together?! Let's make the call!! http://www.ktwin.com/...

I was always schooled that you never, ever, start a story with a question. So, in an attempt to get around that directive, I’m allowing the last sentence to suffice and now I ask you, have you ever woke up saying “this day can’t get any worse than yesterday”?! It’s what our Wolves gotta’ be muttering. These have been tough days in a season that has had the Wolves in a full nelson since the opening night tip-off. We spent time kicking it around last week, you know, all that pre-season optimism hammered by injuries as soon as the season started. The Wolves trying to stay in the Western Conference race while watching players shuffle in and out of the locker room and fight injury after injury. This week has been one for the ages and it’s now filtered to the top.  We know that the team is missing its bench...