Sporting the Twin Cities
'Football Follies,' edition one

Andrea Jackley

Vince Lombardi once said, "We didn't lose the game, we just ran out of time." It is a concept that is apparently being applied quite liberally by Minnesota sports teams lately.

And only to exacerbate the feelings of loneliness and despair experienced by Minnesota football fans, border rivals the Green Bay Packers and the University of Wisconsin's Badgers have experienced recent success. Borderline-geriatric quarterback Brett Favre relived a little of his past glory, helping bolster the team to a 35-13 win over the New York Giants and allowing rookie running back DeShawn Wynn showcase some talent with a 38-yard touchdown. The Badgers' 45-31 win over The Citadel earned freshman wide receiver David Gilreath the Big Ten's Special Teams Player of the Week award, and continued assurance that the squad will be one of the year's top college contenders. Oh joy.

Twins
After a more-than-dismal September, the Twins continue down the road of desperation as the club clutches to near-impossible hopes that everything might go right for a stretch, at least enabling the team to end their season on a respectable note…maybe like a .500 season or slightly better. Could I paint a prettier picture?

Over the last couple of weeks, the Twins have won only one series, against Kansas City, and have been swept twice by Cleveland and Detroit, their main division rivals. The club will close out the home season against the Chicago White Sox, and then go directly to Detroit for three games and Boston for four to finish the year. With questions looming about the club's ability to pay for soon-to-be free agent and All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter, and multiple Sy Young award-winning pitcher Johan Santana, the future is getting harder to read.

To top off a rocky season, beloved general manager Terry Ryan announced his resignation after 13 years in the position. He said of his decision, "I look like I'm 75 but I'm 53, and I'd probably be better served out in the field and out there on the diamond instead of behind that desk."

While the Twins organization will no longer boast one of the MLB's most recognized general managers, Ryan won't stray far. As Bill Smith, a member of the organization since 1986 and assistant general manager for the past 13 years, assumes the title of general manager, Ryan has been named senior advisor to the general manager and will assist in assessing talent in both the major and minor leagues.

Vikings
The first game of the 2007 season for the Purple People Eaters brought both tragedy and triumph, depending on how you look at it. The one pleasant surprise of the 2006 season, newly-acquired runningback Chester Taylor, suffered a bruised hip during the Vikings' trouncing of an injured Atlanta Falcons team, who are expected to flounder this season after the loss of star quarterback Michael Vick to the nation's judicial system. The inopportune injury combined with a defective opponent gave Adrian Peterson his chance to shine. In his debut, Peterson rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries, including a 60-yard touchdown on a spectacular backfield catch.

In an interview with the Associated Press after the exhibition against the Falcons, head coach Brad Childress said, "My vision is having Chester and Adrian carry it equally. Obviously it's nice to have somebody take up the slack."

However, the "slack" seems as though it may need to be picked up in more areas than just at the running back position.

The second game of the season had the Vikings playing a more complete opponent in the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Coach Childress was looking for two things: consistency and the ability to hold penalties to a minimum. Last season the Vikings finished first in the league in penalties—an achievement, one would hope, they wouldn't like to repeat.

But after a nonsensical performance against the Lions, which resulted in a 20-17 loss, the Vikings had been penalized 12 times, six on offense, five on defense and one on special teams.

It was young quarterback Tarvaris Jackson's first major-league road game, which also had the coach paying special attention. Jackson made heads turn by tying a team record with Daunte Culpepper: most interceptions, at four.

However, the most disastrous mistake came after Jackson left the game with a mild groin injury. Second-string quarterback Brooks Bollinger fumbled a snap that allowed the Lions defense to recover and eventually led to the game-winning field goal. Childress announced shortly after the loss that Jackson, contingent on his health, would continue to be the starter.

He also admitted that the combination of turnovers and penalties were "not a good formula for winning on the road." It was an astute observation.

Gopher football
The debut of the “Tim Brewster Era” of Golden Gopher football has been about as encouraging as the Vikings' offensive line. All of the hype-building exercises the sports department unleashed, from flashy slide shows on the Gopher sports Web site to educational seminars for girls, may have actually had a damaging effect: setting expectations too high.

The Gophers stand at 1-2-0 after just a month's worth of play, falling to teams like sub-par Florida Atlantic. Yet somehow, the struggling team is ranked 4th in the Big Ten, and 25th overall in scoring. The University of Minnesota describes the team's offense as "explosive," but the Gophers haven't been able to blow-up enough of their egos, or fan confidence, to produce some wins.

To make matters more pressing, the Purdue Boilermakers are headed to town next, coasting on a 45-22 win over Central Michigan. The Gophers fell to the Boilermakers last season in a difficult 27-21 loss at Ross-Ade Stadium. However, the Gophers defeated the Boilermakers, then ranked 10th in the nation, in their last meeting at the Metrodome, 42-35 in overtime, undoubtedly the most notable accomplishment of the 2005 season.

Wild preview
On October 4 the Wild will open their 2007-08 season against the Chicago Blackhawks to a sold-out crowd - sold-out in ten minutes, as a matter of fact, along with games against Pittsburg and Edmonton. Returning stars Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra, Brian Rolston and Niklas Backstrom have driven sales to playoff-hungry fans. Upcoming talents include Sean Hill and Eric Belanger.

Reports from training camp are that Mark Parrish and Brent Burns are showing their experience..