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Three local firms make bids on parking for Vikings stadium deal

Game two of the series is going to go much better than game one did, right? OK, I’m not terribly confident about that, either, but we can hope. If you want something to at least look forward to… kind of… the Twins announced today that Sam Deduno would be called up to start on Friday in Detroit. It’s not that we should assume Deduno will be incredible, but he won’t be any of the same guys we’ve been watching fail miserably to start seemingly every other game recently. In the mean time, here’s tonight’s line up: TWINS @ BRAVES Carroll, 2B Simmons, SS Mauer, C Heyward, RF Willingham, LF Upton, J, LF Morneau, 1B Freeman, F, 1B Plouffe, 3B McCann, C Doumit, RF Uggla, 2B Hicks, CF Francisco, J, 3B Florimon, SS Upton, B, CF Pelfrey, P Hudson, T, P

Everything you need for Tuesday night's Twins versus Braves game is right here!

Thought this might be a good time killer for those of us who can't wait for football. Here's the rule, you can only comment with a GIF. No text at all. I'm sure some people may not know how to post a GIF. You just place an exclamation point on both sides of the URL for the pic. The GIF could be in response to another GIF, or it could just be something funny or whatever. So have at her. Thought this might be a good time killer for those of us who can't wait for football. Here's the rule, you can only comment with a GIF. No text at all. I'm sure some people may not know how to post a GIF. You just place an exclamation point on both sides of the URL for the pic. The GIF could be in response to another GIF, or it could just be something funny or whatever. So have at her.

This is mostly a reprint of a recent blogpost of mine, but since Part 1 received some positive feedback, I thought I'd include Part 2 here as well. Comment or Flame at your leisure. This fanpost is a continuation of this fanpost. If you’re not sure what the premise is, go back and read the opening paragraphs of Part 1. But in a nutshell, I’ve decided to assign every team in the NFL an instrument in the symphony orchestra. In Part 1, the NFC was assigned the woodwind and brass instrument families, and now it’s time to turn our attention to the AFC, who gets the percussion, keyboard and string instrument families. Most of the teams of the AFC grew out of the old American Football League, which was formed in 1960. These teams were added to the NFL during the merger in 1970. So, without any further delay, here are the Percussion, Keyboard and String instruments, continuing in score order. AFC Teams – Percussion, Keyboards and Strings Timpani – New England Patriots The timpani was for a long time, the only percussion instrument in the orchestra and it was a founding member of the orchestra. They hold an elevated place among all other percussion instruments as they are one of the few “pitched” drums, able to play both high and low and loud and soft. A timpani roll may just be the most stereotypical symphonic sound that there is. Despite their founding member status from the Classical era, their role in the orchestra is merely rhythmic support, and until recently they were rarely featured. And so, it is fitting for the New England Patriots to be the Timpani. They were an early AFC team, originally the Boston Patriots formed in 1959 for the AFL. And until the Tom Brady era, hadn’t won a Super Bowl. Glockenspiel – Denver Broncos The glockenspiel is the fancy German name for a xylophone, although any serious percussionist will point out that a xylophone’s bars are made of wood, while the Glock (not the gun) is made of metal. This instrument entered the orchestral ranks in the early romantic era, and has a very distinctive sound. Despite having no German connections to speak of, the Denver Broncos are a great fit for this instrument. The Broncos entered football in 1959 along with the AFL, and have even won two Super Bowls, making them a fairly prominent team. Their distinction comes from being one of the few teams in the NFL to never move or change names since their founding, just as we're still using the old German name for this instrument today. Snare Drum – Oakland Raiders Another easily recognizable drum of the percussion family, the snare drum gets its name from the metal snares underneath the drum that give the snare its characteristic rattling sound. It entered the orchestra in the early Romantic era. Snares are common in lots of other types of music (rock, marching bands, etc), and a famous snare roll opens the Star Spangled Banner. While the Oakland Raiders are something of a laughing stock these days (haven’t made the playoffs since 2002), they were a well-respected franchise once upon time. They entered the AFL in 1960, and have even won three Super Bowls and a pre-merger Championship. When I think of snare drums, I immediately think of a trap set, and then rock music. And while this may be a stretch, Metallica is a huge fan of the Oakland Raiders, even having given some impromptu performances during tailgating. So, the connection of the Raiders and rock music makes this instrument assignment a good one. Bass Drum – Buffalo Bills The Bass Drum is the driver of many orchestral pieces, and it’s been said that the bass drum player of Sousa’s famous band was the highest paid member of the group. It’s the bass drum’s job to keep the tempo steady, but not once have they been given the spotlight. Like the snare, it entered the orchestra in the early

Finally there is some love for our favorite teams' quarterback Christian Ponder. Check it out, it's not a bad read. I agree with a lot of you all out there that this is the year that Ponder needs to show steady improvement, but expecting him to miraculously transform into the second coming of Fran Tarkington in his third year in the league is a bit much. http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/is_minnesotas_christian_ponder_the_rodney_dangerfield_of_nfl_quarterbacks/13655515 Finally there is some love for our favorite teams' quarterback Christian Ponder. Check it out, it's not a bad read. I agree with a lot of you all out there that this is the year that Ponder needs to show steady improvement, but expecting him to miraculously transform into the second coming of Fran Tarkington in his third year in the league is a bit much. http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/is_minnesotas_christian_ponder_the_rodney_dangerfield_of_nfl_quarterbacks/13655515

The Minnesota Vikings made a minor roster move on Tuesday, releasing offensive tackle Mark Jackson. Jackson was an undrafted free agent that the team gave a $3,000 bonus to in the wake of the 2013 National Football League Draft. He played his college ball at Glenville State. The news of Jackson's release isn't really that big a deal. What is important about it is the fact that it leaves the Vikings one body below the 90-man roster limit, as they currently have 86 players signed to contracts and contract offers out to rookies Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, and Cordarrelle Patterson. This could mean that a signing is coming sometime in the near future here. Could this move have been made to create space on the roster for the rumored Brian Urlacher signing? At this point, that might be too big a conclusion to jump to, but it is a possibility. Hopefully we'll find something out in the next couple of days.

Mar 23, 2013; St. Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise (11) celebrates his goal against the San Jose Sharks at the Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Sharks 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports Not only did Zach Parise make an immediate impact with his new team last season, he also made major contributions to Minnesota-based organization Defending the Blue Line (DTBL). DTBL’s mission is, “Ensuring that children of military members are affored every opportunity to participate in the game of hockey.” DTBL was started by Shane Hudella, who woke up with the idea while serving his country with the Minnesota Army National Guard on active duty. He founded the organization in 2009 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit designed to help military families with the high costs of hockey an helps ensure that children of military members are given every opportunity to participate in the sport. The organization provides free hockey equipment, access to summer hockey camps at no charge and provides monetary help to cover local association fees for military families. Parise’s partnership with the charity has increased partnerships off the ice as, this past season, DTBL partnered with Gander Mountain for the “Puck for a Buck” campaign. Puck for a Buck sold hockey pucks at retail and online Gander Mountain outfits. In addition to Parise, fellow Minnesota Wild players Cal Clutterbuck and Clayton Stoner, and former Wild forward Matt Kassian, also helped raise funds. The Wild has been an annual partner with DTBL by wearing camouflage jerseys in pre-game warm-ups before auctioning them off. The latest such game was on April 23rd before a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings. “Things like the camo jersey auction will go toward paying association fees that might be out of reach for some of these families,” said Hudella. “The goal is to take one of the stresses for military families by getting their kids onto the ice. “For a lot of these families, hockey is out of reach. We help bridge the cost barriers.” Parise’s contributions didn’t stop there, however, as he also donated $10,000 to the organization prior to the game. He jokingly hinted that he might possibly try to bid on Wild captain Mikko Koivu’s camo jersey. “You want to be able to give them the ability to buy equipment for someone or hockey fees for someone,” Parise said. “Every little bit helps them.” For the full story from Wild.com, click here.

Earlier this week, Voice of the Vikings Paul Allen was asked to compile his list of the Top 50 current NFL players. After some hemming and hawing and a fairly laborious few days in which he went b...

Braves Tim Hudson #15 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves Height: 6-1 Weight: 175 Bats: R Throws: R Born: Jul 14, 1975 W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP 2013 - Tim Hudson 4-3 9 9 0 0 0 0 51.0 52 29 29 6 15 39 5.12 1.31 Tim Hudson didn't pitch in 2012 because, much like his opponent, he had Tommy John's surgery. Also much like his opponent, Hudson's been struggling a bit. In his last start against Arizona, Hudson gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits and only pitched 5 innings. Hudson told reports after the game that the scouting report on Eric Chavez--who drove in 3 of the earned runs--hadn't been correct, but come on, Tim. Come on. The Twins players who have faced Tim Hudson in the past don't have a very good track record--although they obviously all faced him before his Tommy John's surgery. The Twin who's had the most success against Hudson is Ryan Doumit, who's still only 1 for 4 (.250 BA) against him. Josh Willingham is a dismal 1 for 20. You can see the full rundown here. Twins Mike Pelfrey #37 / Pitcher / Minnesota Twins Height: 6-7 Weight: 230 Bats: R Throws: R Born: Jan 14, 1984 W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP 2013 - Mike Pelfrey 3-4 8 8 0 0 0 0 38.1 57 30 28 4 11 18 6.57 1.77 Like Hudson, Mike "My Tongue Gives Me Powers" Pelfrey is also coming off of Tommy John's surgery, and also struggling. Pelfrey's last start against the White Sox was even worse than Hudson's in fact--Pelfrey surrendered 5 earned runs on 8 hits but only pitched 4 innings. Before that last start, Pelfrey had showed signs of improvement, however, so hopefully he can pick back up on that trend. Having previously pitched in the National League East for the Mets, Pelfrey has a lot of experience against several of the Braves veterans--and it doesn't look good. Brian McCann is 18 for 39 (.462 BA) with a .533 OBP and 2 home runs in his career against Pelfrey, and even Tim Hudson is 3 for 6 with a double. I'm not even going to go over the rest of the list because it's pretty depressing, but you can take a look for yourself.