Vikings

The Vikings headed into Thursday night's 1st round of the NFL draft with the 11th selection. For the first time since 2011, the team ended up with only one first-round pick. Minnesota selected Michigan State junior cornerback Trae Waynes. Waynes becomes the highest drafted cornerback in Vikings history and will pair with 2013's 29th pick Xavier Rhodes on the outside.

"Man, I'm so excited. It's a great feeling. I can't wait to get to Minnesota and start working," Waynes said.

Waynes is no stranger to playing in TCF Bank Stadium, as he played there as a Spartan in 2012 as a redshirt freshman. Waynes started...

"Time heals all wounds," said a wise man once. With the sting of the Vikings Thursday night expedition to Wisconsin receding into the catastrophes gathering dust in Minnesota's collective memory, it is finally time to move on.

Things Worth Mentioning, but not Dissecting

• Christian Ponder, who played last week in Green Bay, did not have a good showing. Let's not beat up the guy for it. Maybe there is a team out there for him, maybe not. Let it go.
• The banged up and under-performing offensive line didn't look great against the Packers. Let's see a few more games before...

The warm weekend served Minnesota football well. The Vikings have more to give this season than a good spot in next year's draft it seems; but few could dismiss the fact that all is still not well in Purple Nation. First, here are the most savory statistics from the Vikings 41-28 deconstruction of the Atlanta Falcons:

• With 317 passing yards and 241 rushing yards, the Vikings are the only team in the NFL to have over 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a game this season.
• Matt Asiata is the only player in the 2014 season to carry three rushing touchdowns...

In my semi-professional opinion, nobody in Viking-land wants to read about the 30-7 route of our beloved team this past Sunday. Other than the painful reminder of how underwhelming the men in purple are without their star running-back, the game helped to put optimism on hold (and the bandwagon keys back in the drawer).

Adrian Peterson Apologizes

In a statement...

Nobody predicted that our Vikings would be walking away from St. Louis with a blowout win. Before Rams quarterback Sam Bradford re-tore his ACL, the most common prediction among fans was an 0-3 start to our season; but with Bradford gone a victory seemed possible, if not slightly likely. Yet, the thought that the Vikes would score over 20 points through the Rams defense seemed laughable, even by me. But then they went ahead and won 34-6.

A Skolded Perspective

Purple-clad Minnesotans don't let each other get too high off of wins, especially...

Mankato is nearing half a century of hosting the Minnesota Vikings Training Camp (next year will be the 50th), but the legendary purple invasion will never get old. Each year the horned masses gather where the Minnesota River turns north to find a blank slate... and we're thankful for it. All of the most successful seasons for our beloved Vikings have ended with losses. The coming year always has the potential to be "the one," the greatest, the most memorable ever. In this statewide pilgrimage, in homage of our nation's most successful sport, any lingering fan knowledge from...

The new Vikings stadium is being built for Minnesotans, by Minnesotans, mostly. About 92% of those working on the new building are Minnesotans, with the rest being mostly from Wisconsin. Governor Dayton used the possibility of creating job opportunities for Minnesotans in his push for the public to pay for part of the stadium, and it seems this possibility has been realized. The construction manager, Mortenson Construction, is Minnesota-based...