In covering the NFL and the Vikings all these years since 1978, I feel the disappointment and frustration of Vikings fans. The purple pain cuts so deep because expectations were sky high for this team. Not since 2003 when the Vikings started 6-0 under Mike Tice and also missed the playoffs have the team’s prospects […]
Vikings/NFL
Sports: a space for local and national sports stories, with emphasis on issues pertaining to African Americans.
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Playoffs? Forget about it!
The end is near. The Vikings are now 7-7 with two games left on this injured season. Adrian Peterson returned Sunday, and what many thought would be a much-needed, no-excuses spark turned into a reality check. It’s not likely going to happen in 2016. The Vikings are alive for the playoffs but need a respirator, divine intervention, […]
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Vikings stay alive with 25-16 win
It ain’t over until the fat lady sings, and so goes the Vikings’ season. With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Vikings are still in the playoff chase. After losing six of seven games, the Vikings got Head Coach Mike Zimmer back on the sidelines. Zimmer missed the Dallas game and returned Sunday. He […]
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Worshiping at the Church of Football
The cost to attend a Minnesota Vikings game is, in a word, costly. One ticket is equivalent to a couple of car notes or cable bills, or for some of us at least a month’s worth of groceries. Our front-page story this week on the affordability of attending Vikings games (part of our “People’s Stadium” […]
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Vikings fly high into the bye 5-0!
Could 2016 be the year of the Vikings? U.S. Bank Stadium seems to have cast an iron will with focus and determination on this team. This in a season in which no fewer than five starters have been lost to injury; quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (season), Adrian Peterson (eight weeks), left tackle Matt Kalil (season), defensive […]
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Vikings stadium: Boosters see clear benefits where skeptics see more empty promises
Fourth of a multi-series Half the cost of the newly opened Vikings Stadium, known as the “People’s Stadium” before its corporate branding, has come from the people’s money — taxes and related public subsidies totaling more than half a billion dollars. Now is the time to assess just what the people, especially Black people, have received for […]
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Hometown peeps representing in the NFL
There are five NFL players with ties to the Twin Cities that have been contributing to their respective teams two weeks into the season. Defensive back Marcus Williams — who starred in football and basketball at Hopkins High School before going on to star at North Dakota State University — has eight tackles and two […]
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Vikings beat Packers 17-14, but Adrian Peterson hurt!
It’s a new day and chapter in Vikings history. The experience has never been quite like this combined with the expectations. Quarterback Sam Bradford, in his first start with the Vikings, delivered a big time performance, outplaying Aaron Rodgers in a 17-14 hard-hitting Vikings win before 66,813 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Sunday’s early season showdown in […]
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Fitzgerald scores career No.100!
GLENDALE, Ariz. — For their first game of the season, the New England Patriots were without quarterback Tom Brady who was suspended for four games by Roger Goodell. And even without All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, the team still managed to survive. A missed 47-yard field goal by Arizona’s Chandler Cantanzaro secured a 23-21 win against […]
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Vikings pull trigger, move on
This is the 38th year for me covering the Vikings and the NFL, and never has there been a season with quite the built-in pressures and expectations for the Vikings as this season. Head Coach Mike Zimmer, now in his third season, already was rewarded with a contract extension. The Wilf brothers ownership really believes […]
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New stadium opener — more Black workers than spectators
Many Blacks wore blue and purple at Sunday’s Minnesota Vikings preseason game at their new downtown stadium, but most of them were employees, not spectators. Could the cost factor be keeping many at bay? According to vividseats.com, the Vikings’ median ticket price for home games is $245, seventh highest in the National Football League, and […]
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No place like home — Vikings 23-10 over San Diego!
Since 1982, the MetroDome was home to Minnesota Vikings football. U.S. Bank Stadium is now the spectacular new home on the old Dome site. Since training camp, the Vikings have been wearing black tee-shirts reading “No-Excuses.” That will serve as the theme into 2016 and the new horizon of Vikings football. The Vikings, with 66,143 […]
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NFL owes us one
As we know, the NFL’s Hall of Fame (HOF) game in Canton, Ohio between Green Bay and Indianapolis was canceled because of poor field conditions. Lawsuits have been filed by angry, frustrated fans left empty-handed. A settlement offer has been made in the HOF lawsuit of $450 per ticket-holder. Tony Dungy, inducted into the Pro […]
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Vikings hit Mankato running
Defending the NFC North after winning their first Division title since 2009, the Vikings are talking big stuff. This is the 51st consecutive year the Vikings, the state’s most prized sports franchise, is in Mankato, Minnesota — but only for nine days. This week the Vikings break ground on construction of their new Eagan practice […]
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Vikings have spectacular new home
If you have not had the opportunity yet to see the fabulous new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings, you are in for a treat. The remarkable new home for Vikings football is finished. The historic ribbon cutting ceremony was Friday, July 22. “It’s a special day, said Vikings COO Kevin Warren. “A lot of work […]
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Jets’ Marcus Williams gives back to Northside community
“It’s a great thing for the community,” declared North High Football Coach Charles Adams of the day-long football camp held on his home field June 25. An estimated 200 boys (ages 8-12) — nearly half were walk-ups — participated in “techniques and qualities critical to developing as a leader both on and off the football […]
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Creating opportunities for coaches of color
The headline writers for the local Minneapolis daily newspaper — well known in our community for its culturally conditioned coverage, especially in sports — were recently in rare form: The headlines “In Good Hands” and “We finally got it right” were placed above photos of White faces along with one columnist’s thesis that they provide […]
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Former Gophers hopeful and ready for draft day
KJ Mays, Rodrick Williams and several other now-former Gopher football players will be at their respective ‘draft parties’ this week. The three-day NFL Draft starts April 28, and these young men hope their names are called at some point in the process by a pro club executive.
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2016 NFL draft this week!
Here we go! My hometown of Chicago is a more than fitting place to host the NFL college draft for the second year in row. For the first time in memory, the top two picks overall in the draft have already been traded.
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NFL puts Vikings in prime spotlight
Nothing like a state-of-the- art brand new U .S. Bank Stadium to help generate local and national excitement.