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If this were the NCAA tournament, America’s brackets would probably be in shreds. The Packers looked more like the team who lost to the Chiefs than the one who looked like the team to beat for most of the season. The defending champs joined the Saints on the canvas, and now both conferences look totally unpredictable with one game to play before the Super Bowl.

So what’s next? We’ve got questions.

1. So what are we going to talk about without Tebowmania?

As frustrating and illogical as the sports world’s obsession with Tim Tebow was, let’s not pretend it didn’t give us one more interesting team. Given how little Tebowmania had to do with football, remember what we would have had without it: a worse-than-its-record 8-8 team in the second round running a prehistoric offense with an aesthetically unpleasant passing game. Now, we’ll have to talk about…football. Which, like it or not, doesn’t seem to be as entertaining to the average sports fan.

2. Will a 14th win earn the 49ers some credit?

The Saints were like the Heisman Trophy candidate who played a conference championship while a better candidate was off that week. New Orleans went into the game as the favorite, and the world forgot the 49ers all-time great run defense mattered nearly as much as the Saints’ all-time great passing game. One Pierre Thomas concussion, a disrupted Saints gameplan and 37 rushing yards later, and the Niners are in their first conference championship since 1996. Just because it came down to the end doesn’t mean the first half didn’t matter. Speaking of the end…

3. How many times will Alex Smith be unfairly compared to Trent Dilfer?

Dilfer’s name has become synonymous with “game manager,” but he was the same poor decision-maker in Baltimore as he was when he was run out of Tampa Bay the year before. In 2000, he had one of the best defenses ever behind him, which masked the 10 interceptions he threw in nine starts. Smith threw five in 16 regular season starts. From Week 15 until the Super Bowl, Dilfer never threw more than 176 yards in a game. Smith, on the other hand, made big play after big play and honest-to-god led San Francisco to a postseason win, something Dilfer was never trusted to do. He’ll never live up to the hype of being a No. 1 pick, but calling him “Trent Dilfer” is using a pejorative Smith does not deserve.

4. Will the Ravens lose to a good team?

The Ravens had one big problem in the regular season: it kept losing to awful teams, dropping games to four teams who didn’t make the playoffs. But they beat everyone else, including Pittsburgh twice (in both dominating and dramatic fashions) and Houston with and without Matt Schaub. If complacency was the Ravens’ kryptonite, there’s little to fear, unless they buy too much smashing the Pats in Foxboro two years ago. As for New England…

5. Can the Patriots beat a good team?

Say what you want about Denver, but those two wins over the Broncos are the best on the Patriots’ schedule. New England looked incredible against the Fightin’ Tebows, but it’s the same flawed team it’s been all season. There is no vertical threat to stretch the field. The pass defense remains porous. And Baltimore has the pass rush that can do the only thing we’re certain can slow Tom Brady: get in his kitchen. Anyone betting on Pats-Ravens is in it for the adrenaline, for there’s no way anyone could be sure which way this will go. Because…well, see No. 6.

6. Will Joe Flacco have anything cute to say this week?

Hey, look at Peter King being effectively clever! He’s right: T.J. Yates did more for Baltimore than its own quarterback did, this after his passive-aggressive complaints that he doesn’t get credit. Flacco might want to take that up with Ray Lewis, who’s gotten the props signal caller’s usually get for the last 16 seasons. And seeing how Lewis still looks like Jason Voorhies at times, and how Baltimore’s defense held on while Cam Cameron called another head-scratching game, Flacco should just be glad he’s not getting roasted for a loss.

7. Are the Packers built for winters at home?

I’d be remiss not to look back at the odds-on favorite going down. It’s less than scientific, but here’s a question: if the Saints were headed to Lambeau, wouldn’t we wonder how their aerial attack would fare outdoors in arctic temperatures? So why don’t we ask the same about the Pack? Remember, Aaron Rodgers was 17-30, 244 yards and two picks in last year’s NFC Championship Game in Chicago, and none of their postseason games were at home. It wasn’t cold enough to justify Sunday’s eight dropped passes, but it is enough to raise an eyebrow at a counterintuitive relationship between a team and its habitat.

8. Is this 2007 all over again?

No. Don’t believe me? I’m sure the date is on your watch, cell phone or computer. There is no room for argument on that. But it’s still hard to believe is the same group of guys who lost at home to Washington, when Rex Grossman and Eli Manning were indistinguishable. Maybe they’re on a roll. Maybe they’re just healthy. Either way, Tom Coughlin will die on the job. He will never be fired. He’s a rich man’s Wayne Fontes. And, I imagine, not so hard to deal with when he’s got his guys a win away from the Super Bowl.

9. Is anyone under more pressure than Tom Brady?

He’s not to blame for New England’s postseason disappointments since 2004, but think of what’s happened since. Jake Plummer’s Broncos dominated the Pats in ‘05. Peyton Manning redeemed his reputation as a big-game quarterback with a comeback in the ‘06 AFC Championship Game. The helmet catch. An embarrassing loss at home to Baltimore, and one that probably hurt more, to the Jets last season. It’s been a long time, and Brady has nothing to prove. But a team doesn’t build around two big tight ends unless it believes its quarterback is that damn good, and Saturday was the first time we’ve said that in many Januarys. And if New England loses to Baltimore, it will — and should — be forgotten.

10. Giants and 49ers at The Stick…shouldn’t it feel a little cooler?

For the ‘80s babies in the house, this sounds almost like Celtics-Lakers. With all due respect to Joe Gibbs, these were the teams of that decade, the two with the longest sustained success and identity. Lawrence Taylor on one side, Joe Montana on the other. There are memories of Marc Bavaro taking Ronnie Lott for a ride in ‘86, Lott and Phil Simms jawing in ‘90 and Leonard Marshall effectively ending Joe Montana’s time in San Francisco the next time they played. And with all that said, who outside of the Bay and the Tri-State area is excited about this one? Cuz I’m not.

Eden Prairie, MN (September 10, 2011) – The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a long-term contract extension with RB Adrian Peterson. The Vikings’ 1^st-round draft pick in 2007, Peterson has re-written the Vikings record book in his opening 4 seasons and has become one of the most decorated players in team history in a short time. Peterson holds the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards against San Diego in 2007, is tied for the Vikings career rushing TDs record with 52 and has 4 of the top 5 single game and single-season rushing marks in team history. Peterson is 2^nd in Vikings history to Robert Smith in career rushing yards and career 100-yard rushing games by 1,036 yards and 5 games respectively.

Peterson has been a Pro Bowler each of his 4 seasons, earned 2007 Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, has earned Associated Press All-Pro honors in 2007, 2008 and 2009, was named the Bert Bell Award winner in 2008 by the Maxwell Club, was selected as the Vikings Offensive MVP by his teammates in 2007 and 2008 and in 2010 earned a spot on the 50 Greatest Vikings squad.

“Adrian’s performances on the field have given fans so much excitement since he first joined us as a rookie. His talent and determination are remarkable and we are proud to have him be a part of the family for years to come. We are excited that in the past week we have been able to lock up Chad Greenway and Adrian for the long term. Both players have come up in our system and are the foundation to the future of the Vikings.”

- ZYGI WILF

“Adrian has given everything he has on the field for the past four years and has earned the respect of teammates, alumni and fans during that span. He is the kind of cornerstone you can build a franchise around and he is perfectly suited for leading our team into the future.”

- MARK WILF

“Adrian is, to me, the best running back in pro football and we’re happy to have him as a part of the organization for the long term. He’s a fan favorite and a great teammate. Adrian’s a guy we lean on when he’s on the field with the ball in his hand and as a leader in the locker room.”

- LESLIE FRAZIER

Pop that champagne and light up your favorite cigar, boys and girls. Football is back!

Today, the NFL Players Executive Committee will meet in Washington D.C. to recommend ratifying the settlement the owners adopted last week.

Later this afternoon, or evening, each team’s player representative will vote on the agreement, and then take it to the individual players, who are expected to vote Wednesday when they will also report to their respective teams.

According to almost everyone involved with the dealings, all of the voting is just a formality at this point.

Teams will be able to negotiate with its own free agents, perhaps by Wednesday, and sign undrafted players.

Training camps and free agency are both expected to start by the weekend.

So this half-a-year lockout in essence amounted to the players getting a true “offseason’’. There were no OTA’s, no minicamps, no phone calls from coaches, nothing.

Oh yeah, and the Rams and Bears got a break when the Hall of Fame Game was cancelled.

Players hate playing four preseason games, do you think either of those teams were thrilled by a fifth preseason game.

They weren’t.

Will any of this matter once the past two Super Bowl champs, Green Bay and New Orleans meet opening night at Lambeau Field, Sept. 8?

Not that much.

What the lack of the offseason and a somewhat abbreviated training camp will do is help teams such as Green Bay and New Orleans, who for the most part had the majority of their rosters set once last season ended.

Rookies will have a lot more catching up to do, and the same goes for those bottom of the roster players, or even players in the middle of the roster trying to move into the starting lineup.

Next weekend, however, will be interesting as teams try to sign free agents in order to get them in camp as quickly as possible.

What you may see here are more players staying where they are, instead of trying to learn a new system, providing of course the money is at least close.

Speaking of money, with the new 10-year CBA (no opt out), players will get a little over 48 percent of the adjusted revenue this year and never less than 47 percent over the length of the deal.

Also negotiated into the deal is that teams league wide must spend 99 percent of the $120,370,000 salary cap this year and 95 percent next year.

The minimum a team must spend is 89 percent of the cap starting next year.

There will be no rookie wage scale so to speak, but there will be cap of $824 million spent on rookies this year.

Also, first-round picks will receive four-year deals with an option for a fifth year.

Players selected after the first round will all get four-year deals and undrafted players will get three-year deals.

Minimum salaries also increased $55,000, which means undrafted rookies will make $375,000 this year and players with at least 10 years experience will make a minimum of $910,000 this year.

Where the players really made out in the new deal is the amount of offseason work, and even in-season work, they will have to do going forward.

Beginning next offseason, teams cannot have more than nine weeks of activity, with two weeks just for strength and conditioning.

There will be three weeks of individual work, and four weeks of the OTAs, which also includes a four-day minicamp.

During training camp, there will be just one padded session per day (teams had gotten away from two-a-days anyway) and during the season there will be just a total of 14 padded practices (again, it’s rare to see more than that).

Another new twist is players will receive five days off during the bye week.

That was always a perk of sorts for winning before the bye week.

And some teams would practice during the bye week, especially if the team was not playing well. No more.

Hey, with all the cuts in practice, maybe that’s why Favre is re-thinking his retirement again.

Would you pay $0.20 cents per week for a fancy new football stadium and a guarantee of a permanent NFL presence in Minnesota?

One billion dollars.  That’s all the state needs to pony up for a new Vikings stadium.  That’s an up-front, one time fee.

Spread over the expected 20-year lifetime of the new facility, and divided by the population of Minnesota (5,220,393 – Jul 2008. Source: U.S. Census Bureau), that one billion dollars breaks down to about $0.18 cents per week per every man woman and child in the State of Minnesota—less than $40 dollars a year for a family of four.

Look at the benefits gained by building a new Vikings Stadium.  Yes, there’s the standard arguments regarding job creation and economic impact.  But many of the jobs created by a replacement for the Metrodome either already exist, will be of such short term benefit as to not make a decisive impact, or are jobs of the low-paying, low taxpaying sort.

Look instead at the intangible, less obvious benefits a new, billion dollar, state of the art facility would bring.

The National Football League’s presence in the Twin Cities’ (and, to be fair, the outstate and Dakotas’ markets as well) brings with it a certain prestige and credibility.  Civic pride goes a long way towards fostering involvement in and a sense of community.  A new stadium will certainly bring another Super Bowl to the region.

Moreover, let’s face it, rooting for and following our beloved Vikings—week after week, year after year, despite all the ups and downs and heartache—is a hell of a lot of fun, Favre or no Favre.

The argument against giving a billionaire a billion dollars so he can make a billion more is both obvious and compelling. The State subsidizing the cartoonishly rich is, of course, a ridiculous notion.

However, the State of Minnesota has spent well over one billion dollars in taxpayer money on ethanol subsidies over the last 20 years, a highly popular program, especially with General Mills, Conagra, and ADM.

Zygi Wilf should by no means be given a blank check.  If the people of the State of Minnesota are going to bankroll a billionaire’s playground, certain concessions should be demanded. 

An iron-clad guarantee that the Vikings franchise will never move from the state, including riders on any future sales of the team prohibiting the relocation of the Vikings to another market, will put a stop to the “Pay Up or We’ll Move Your Team” blackmail party once and for all.

A sizable portion of the seats in any new stadium should be reserved at below-market prices, guaranteeing access for everyone.

The Minnesota Vikings should, beyond a shadow of a doubt, be playing football outdoors.  Perhaps the stadium subsidy should be $1.1 billion, assuring the installation of heated seats.

At less than $10 dollars per year per head, spread over 20 years, a publicly financed Vikings stadium is a bargain, even at double that price.

Eden Prairie, MN (June 15, 2011) – The Minnesota Vikings continue preparations for hosting the team’s 2011 training camp at Minnesota State University, Mankato. In respect to the University and the Mankato community, we have informed school officials that July 18 is the latest date to officially determine whether having training camp at Minnesota State University this year is feasible. The Vikings will maintain contact with University officials moving forward, and we remain hopeful we will practice in front of thousands of Vikings fans in Mankato later this summer.

Source: profootballtalk.com

The list of likely destinations for Plaxico Burress has typically included St. Louis, Philadelphia and the New York Jets. If Adrian Peterson has anything to say about it, we should add Minnesota to the list.

Peterson said on ESPN Tuesday that he would welcome the opportunity to play with Burress.

“I would love him to be a part of my team,” Peterson said, via Scout.com. “He’s a guy -– before he left the game for two years – he was one of the top receivers in the league.”

Peterson said he believes that if Michael Vick could have an impact after prison, Burress can, too.

“You look at Vick, when he came out, how explosive he was. I’m sure [Burress] is going to be on fire and he’ll be ready to contribute to whatever team picks him up,” Peterson said.

Another similarity between Vick and Burress is that both have Tony Dungy as a mentor. And Dungy’s friendship with Vikings coach Leslie Frazier could help Burress’s chances of getting a look in Minnesota.

On the other hand, the Vick-Burress comparison may not be as apt as Peterson thinks, considering that Vick was 29 when he joined the Eagles and Burress will be 34 at the start of the 2011 season. Burress may never get back to his pre-prison form.

But Peterson would like to find out.

Associated Press

Minneapolis leaders offered Monday to have the city pay 22 per cent of the cost of a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings at the current Metrodome site, putting the longtime home of the team in competition with an offer from neighbouring Ramsey County.

The Minneapolis plan throws in a sweetener by setting aside money to renovate the aging Target Center basketball arena, relieving what’s a decades-long burden on property taxpayers in the state’s largest city. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak called the proposal “two stadiums for the price of one.”

“In the long struggle to find a new home for the Vikings, and in the long battle to end stadium debates, today we have a game changer,” Rybak said at a Capitol press conference.

Ramsey County has been trying to woo the team out of Minneapolis with a suburban site about 16 kilometres north of St. Paul, one that would offer the opportunity for new retail, entertainment and hotel development. But with significant environmental cleanup and infrastructure improvement costs attached to the former Army ammunition plant in Arden Hills, the Ramsey County site is likely to carry a higher overall price tag.

Team spokesman Lester Bagley said the Minneapolis offer had good points but that the team was not consulted as city officials assembled it. Bagley said the proposed Vikings share in the Minneapolis plan — US$400 million, or 45 per cent of the total cost — is more than the team wants to pay.

The Minneapolis plan would require the demolition of the Metrodome, and the Vikings would play at the outdoor TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota for up to three seasons. Bagley said that would cost the team about $40 million in lost revenue, and that team officials are concerned about being fully competitive in the campus stadium.

“We do appreciate the city stepping up and saying here’s our proposal,” Bagley said. “But we are going to continue negotiations with Ramsey County hopefully to put together a deal.”

Either plan requires state legislative approval. There are two weeks left in a state legislative session in which Gov. Mark Dayton and lawmakers are simultaneously trying to erase a projected $5 billion budget shortfall.

“The sooner they choose the better,” Ted Mondale, Dayton’s point man on the stadium push, said of the Vikings. The governor has said he would sign a stadium bill, saying the team is a statewide asset and touting the construction jobs that would come with the stadium construction.

The Minneapolis plan calls for the city to put up $195 million for a $895 million, covered stadium. The city share would be raised by an admission tax on stadium events, a parking surcharge on NFL game days, extending the downtown Minneapolis hotel, restaurant and liquor tax to the entire city and raising the general city sales tax by 15 cents for every $100 purchase.

It would also set aside $95 million for Target Center renovations. Officials with the NBA’s Timberwolves have called fixing up the facility a necessity, and team owner Glen Taylor appeared with Rybak Monday to endorse the city’s plan. The city would turn over ownership of Target Center to a new state stadium authority that would also own the football stadium; Rybak said taking the city off the hook for Target Center upkeep and operations would mean about $50 million in property tax savings to Minneapolis residents and business owners.

The team and the state of Minnesota would pay the rest of the cost for the football stadium. The state would pay $300 million, or about 33 per cent of the total costs, which would be raised by through a 10 per cent state sales tax on sports memorabilia, a sales tax on luxury seats at the new stadium and on digital video recorders, and proceeds from stadium naming rights and a football-themed state lottery game.

Rybak and City Council President Barb Johnson, who supports the proposal, said they believe they could round up the necessary votes to get it through the city council.

Raising the necessary city sales taxes would require the Minnesota Legislature to vote to override the city’s charter commission, which prohibits sales tax increases without a vote by city residents. Several members of the city’s all-Democratic legislative delegation said that would be a very tough sell with their constituents, particularly given likely deep cuts to state programs in the face of a projected $5 billion state budget deficit.

“We’re constantly hearing that the Vikings are a statewide resource, with statewide benefits,” said Rep. Diane Loeffler. “To ask Minneapolis, which is so over-burdened in so many different ways, to step up with additional revenues seems to me very unfair and not the kinds of priorities I hear about from my constituents.”

I am going to have let this one simmer over the weekend. Hopefully I will see this one more clearly on Monday morning. Enjoy the weekend!

A decade. Ten years. For most businesses, surviving a decade is cause for celebration. For sports teams, a decade at or near the top of the heap is rarefied air, something seldom savored.

Unless, that is, you are the St. Paul Pioneers.

The Pioneers in the past decade have been five times league champions, one-time national runners up, 2009 National Champions – all since playing their first season in 2002. Rare air, indeed.

And, so, as the St. Paul Pioneers embark on their 2011 season – one that follows a 2010 NEFL title – perhaps they can be excused from expecting big things again. Make no mistake. Nobody with the Pioneers is taking another championship for granted. Nothing is won on paper. No one looking at the Pioneers’ pedigree is going to lie down for the team in cardinal and black. If anything, the 2010 title in a new league against nearly a dozen new teams simply painted a bigger target on the Pioneers’ backs.

But if their past success has taught St. Paul anything, it is that they must continue to scratch and claw and fight through all kinds of adversity, simply to stay at the place where so many of their fans and followers have become accustomed – the top. The 2011 season will be a battle, with St. Paul playing in perhaps the toughest overall division in the Northern Elite Football League. And, yet, this is why they play – to see if they have what it takes to win it all, again.

Pioneers Head Coach Mark Heiser, level-headed and cool under pressure, is sure to keep the team on an even keel in this, his fourth season at the helm.

Offense

Many of the Pioneers’ chances for continued success will rely on how well St. Paul’s offense retools and reinvents itself. Gone are starting quarterback Alex Neist and top-flight receiver Rashem Sharpe. But in their place are new arms, new legs and some all-star returnees who promise to make the Pioneers offense not only as exciting, but perhaps even more balanced.

All-everything wideout Joseph Mapson, the Pioneers offensive MVP in 2010, returns, as do big-play receivers Reggie Houston and the timeless Damien Rochon-Washington. Tight end Joe Ubani and running backs Nick Graham, Brian Holmes and Brian Warden are expected to carry a bigger share of the offensive load, behind a beefed-up offensive line – led by C.J. Sanderson, Shannon Johnson, Chad Michaels, Thomas Broussard, Jacob Husnik, Lonal Van, Zach Thompson and others – that boasts skill, grit and depth. In all, the Pioneers have added talent throughout the offense, from a stable of backs that goes six or seven deep, to receivers who can stretch the field and score from anywhere.

“We’ve got a lot of talented running backs, which, again, is a good problem to have,” offensive coordinator Rob Neumann said. “The guys are all team players and know that they’ll be sharing the ball. And that definitely helps.”

At quarterback, the Pioneers head into 2011 with two signal-callers battling for the starting job. Veteran Paul Ciochetto, who led the Pioneers to a 2004 MFL championship, returns and is competing with Bryan Trulen, St. Paul’s back-up quarterback from last season.

“Having a QB battle is good for us,” Neumann said. “The decision on who starts won’t be an easy one. Both guys have what it takes to be successful for us.”

Defense

The Pioneers lost some top-notch talent from the defensive side of the ball, with a handful of players heading to Eau Claire to join the Chippewa Valley Predators. St. Paul defeated the Predators last year in the league semi-finals. But defensive coordinator Jim Walsh said the players who return – all-America defensive tackle Jeff McGaster, conference MVP linebacker Josh Hollie, team defensive MVP Nate Beulah and interception machine and all-star game hero Terry Jones – will once again make St. Paul’s defense formidable.

“McGaster and Hollie have been beasts for us these past few seasons. Both are young, fast, strong and smart,” Walsh said. “But we have lots of guys with talent, speed and smarts.”

Stalwarts Guillaume Paek, Kym Trueblood, Darrell Young, Adrian Mitchell and Andre Spencer will ensure the Pioneers continue to be stingy. Veterans Cliff Gordy, Patrick Mitambo and John Robinson are expected to take on more significant roles. Newcomers T.J. Juneau and Jake Schoenecker should contribute.

“I would be surprised that with the guys we have back, combined with fresh blood and new excitement on the D-line and with the linebackers, if we are not among the league leaders again this season,” Walsh said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Special Teams

Special teams are expected to be a Pioneers strength again in 2011, picking up on the momentum last year’s squad gained as the season went on. League all-stars Kyle Stelter (long-snapper) and kicker Jay Harding are back, reprising their roles. They will be joined by healthy competition among several young, fast players hoping to make their mark on coach Peter Globa’s kicking and return units.

“We are younger, faster and hungrier than ever,” Globa said of the special teams. “Guys want to prove themselves. We will give them that chance.”