Access Vikings reports

Rest easy Vikings fans. You will be able to watch your team play host to the Eagles in a wild card playoff game Sunday.

The team announced this afternoon that it sold the remaining 3,100 tickets and thus avoided the team’s first local television blackout at the Metrodome since the 1997 regular-season finale. That means the Vikings’ first home playoff game since the 2000 season will be aired on Fox affiliate KMSP (Ch. 9) in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas as well as in secondary markets, including Alexandra, Redwood Falls, Austin, Mankato, Rochester, Bemidji and Mason City, Iowa.

This didn’t come without quite a bit of effort. Because only 55 percent of the Vikings’ season-ticket holders elected to purchase playoff tickets, the Vikings had 20,000 tickets to sell last Monday. That was a day after the Vikings clinched the NFC North title and a playoff berth with a victory over the New York Giants.

What made the challenge heading into today so great was that the remaining tickets weren’t exactly cheap. Tickets were priced at $80, $120 and $160.

The NFL’s blackout rules state that if a game is not sold out 72 hours before kickoff it can’t be televised in the home market, but the Vikings were given a 24-hour extension until 3:30 p.m. Friday. One extension isn’t rare, especially considering that it was a holiday on Thursday. However, when the game was not a sell out by Friday afternoon, the NFL granted another extension until 3:30 this afternoon. The NFL requires the Vikings to sell 62,000 tickets to consider a Metrodome game sold out.

Although two extensions are rare, the Vikings weren’t the only team to benefit from that this week. The Arizona Cardinals also were given until 24 hours before kickoff of today’s game against Atlanta to sell the remaining seats at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals managed to reach a sell out and avoid a blackout in that market.

What will be interesting now is to see the crowd that fills he Metrodome on Sunday. The Eagles had been encouraging their fans to “paint Minneapolis Green” and there is no doubt some folks from sports-crazed Philly probably took the advice.

Sunday’s game will mark the 115th consecutive sellout for the Vikings.

 

 

No Clue What it is...U of M Athletic Director Joel Maturi is going to be Adressing the Media tonight during one of the intermission breaks during tonights Gophers game vs Brown College in the Dodge Holliday College. Don will Not Be Coaching Tonight's game and is iffy on coaching tomorrow night's game vs the Winner/loser of the Northeastern. I Hope to god this isnt serious. Assistant Coach John Hill(Mike Guentzel's Replacement) will be coaching tonight and probably tomorrow's games...Hopefully The Don will be able to get back to 100% for the Big North Dakota Series up @ Ralph Englestad Next weekend.

according to a Press Release just read on KFAN's Chad Hartman Show The Vikings Have been Granted another 24-hour Extension. They have 3,100 Tickets Left to sell by 4:30 est tomorrow...Hopefully they can get this sold and/or Zygi/a couple of companies can step in and prevent the blackout.

Please No Blackout...Please no Blackout...Please No Blackout!!!!!! I cant think of any more words to fill the 75 word minimum.

only got 3 Votes...Peyton Manning is the mvp with 32 Votes. Michael Turner gets 4 votes, so did Dolphins QB Chad Pennington.Steelers Linebacker got 3 votes..Chargers QB Phillip Rivers got 2 votes and Tennesse RB Chris Johnson and Arizona QB Kurt Warner got 1 vote apiece.

Congrats to Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts for winning the MVP. i cant think of any other words to say so i'm saying this

The starting times for the four wild-card games are set.

On Saturday, NBC will televise the Falcons-Cardinals game at 4:30 p.m. EST.  At 8:00 p.m. EST, NBC will broadcast the Colts at either the Broncos or the Chargers.

On Sunday, the Ravens will visit the Dolphins at 1:00 p.m. EST on CBS.  At 4:30 p.m. EST on FOX, the Eagles will face the Vikings in Minnesota.

Regardless of whether the Broncos or the Chargers nail down the AFC West crown, our guess is that the four road teams will all be favored.

You Know what this Means Vikings Fans...Yes We Get JOE BUCK AND TROY AIKMAN Calling the game sunday...Jesus Christ...

West Virginia Destroys #15 Ohio State 76-48....Means The Gophers at 11-0 are the only Team left in the Big Ten thats undefeated and are one of the 9 teams left in the nation that havent lost yet...heres Part of the Associated Press Story.

The wide smile, while shaking hands with and winking at Mountaineers fans as he left the court, told a different story.

Alex Ruoff scored 17 points to lead the way in a 76-48 victory over No. 15 Ohio State on Saturday.

It was a particularly sweet victory for Huggins, a schoolboy star in Ohio who played for his famous coaching father. Huggins served as an assistant at Ohio State under Eldon Miller but, after coaching at Akron and turning Cincinnati into a perennial power, was snubbed twice by Ohio State administrators when the head coaching job opened.

On top of that, the Buckeyes wouldn't even schedule Cincinnati while Huggins was there.

''It's always fun to play well in front of friends and family,'' Huggins said, looking drained after the game. ''I had a lot of friends and family here: Four sisters, two brothers, their spouses and (kids) and tons of friends. I've spent the majority of my life here. Probably three-fourths of my life here.''

His players knew Huggins had some unfinished business with Ohio State.

''He came in and he said he was really proud of us. That means a lot coming from him. It's hard to make him proud,'' Ruoff said of his coach, who hands out compliments about as often as he applauds defensive lapses. ''It meant a lot to him.''

Da'Sean Butler, who had 14 of his 16 points in the first half, said he could tell the win was special.

''Seeing him come home and beat a team like Ohio State, a team as prestigious as this school, it kind of felt good,'' Butler said.

The Buckeyes (9-1) had their perfect season and a 14-game winning streak end, in addition to a 54-game winning streak against unranked teams at home. They were stunned by the lopsided outcome.

''A start to a bad day ended in a horrible day,'' said Evan Turner , who had 10 points, almost seven below his average.

West Virginia (10-2), which has won four in a row, also got 11 points from Darryl Bryant and 10 from Devin Ebanks .

Voice of the Vikings Radio Network and KFAN Host Paul Allen had a link on his show page at KFAN.com to this artice in the Chicago Tribune by Steve Rosenbloom..Read and Laugh

The HAL 10,001 cannot simulate luck: For Bears, good; for Vikings, bad.

It's Friday, and I have all the answers ...

If the Bears and Texans played Sunday's game 10,001 times, the Texas would win 20-18, on average. At least, that's the way the computer simulations at WhatIfSports.com have it.

Here's the box score, but way down at the bottom, you'll find Robbie Gould missing one of two field goals.

In this kind of game? Are you kidding me? Robbie Gould miss?

See, that's the problem with just crunching numbers: They don't factor in the luck that is one of the Bears' four major food groups this month.

One thing that numbers can do, however, is show the Cubs-like choking ability of the Vikings franchise. Brad Childress is 1-6 in games played Dec. 17 or later. Talk about the perfect Vikings coach. If only the Bears could worry about just showing up in Houston, then the Vikings would do the rest for them. Beat the Giants? In December? Look, the Vikings couldn't beat the lowly Cardinals on the last play of the game to miss the playoffs after starting 6-0 in 2003. And that's just one of many chokes on this list. 'Course, the Bears tried the "just show up" thing in Green Bay, and how'd that work out for everybody?

The Giants say they'll play their starters -- at least, those who have a note from the doctor. The Vikings' strategy, of course, is to pray for the Giants to treat it like an exhibition game. Said Vikings safety Darren Sharper: "I want to line up with the practice squad players and maybe the third-teamers, if they have any third-teamers. But it is easier to ask for than to have it done."

The Bears took Rashied Davis out of the starting lineup, hoping to find more guys who can't get open. Marty Booker got open, and promptly dropped a pass that hit him in the chest.

Bears receivers keep getting worse, yet the Bears keep winning games, and I'm thinking, any opponent that knows how awful the Bears' receivers are and continues to put their linebackers instead of their cornerbacks on the tight ends deserves to get beat.

If it's true that Bears coach Lovie Smith has been giving more specialized coaching to Danieal Manning, who has been making plays all over the field, then do we add yet another count on the indictment of Bob Babich's shortcomings, or are we just more numb to it by now? I'll hang up and listen for my ayn-serrr.

I have three in the John St. Clair False Starts Against Mario Williams Pool.

You just know the Vikings are going to lose. I can't stress that enough. It is what the Vikings do. Question is, can the Bears get and hold a lead -- emphasis on the "and hold" part -- before it gets dire?

 

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/rosenblog/2008/12/the-hal-10001-c.html

The Twins have always felt that a knuckleball pitcher would be successful in the Metrodome. And in the Twins' final year inside the Dome in 2009, the club could have one on its staff.

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey told MLB.com on Wednesday that he's agreed to terms on a contract with the Twins. It's a Minor League contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training. As a six-year Minor League free agent who has service time, Dickey will be paid one level of salary while he's in the Majors and another for the time he'd be in the Minors.

Dickey, 34, went 5-8 with a 5.21 ERA in 32 appearances (14 starts) for the Mariners last season

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081224&content_id=3728374&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min

There's a belief that the Wild and Atlanta Thrashers have been talking about a Trade that would send Marian Gaborik and Kim Johnsson to the Thrashers in exchange for Kovalchuk and Colby Armstrong. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rumors/post/Wild-Thrashers-talking-deal-for-Gaborik-Kovalc?urn=nhl,130712

I would Do this Trade in a heartbeat...especially Since we are so Deep a Defense..Plus Foster is Returning in about a month is what is being said so Please Doug...Do this Once the Roster Freeze Ends!!!!!!!