My how the momentum has shifted...

It was a mere 4 weeks ago that the whole state of Minnesota was ragging on Brad Childress, praising Adrian Peterson, and thinking that the whole Minnesota Vikings season was going down the drain. That was following a 34-0 drubbing at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, and things were looking pretty bad. Since then, not only have the Vikings gone 4-0, they have beaten opponents by an average of more than 20 points per game. Now at this point the Vikings have their fans thinking playoffs, and if they keep playing the way they have been lately, they can definitely go pretty deep in the postseason.

The most recent game that the Vikings dominated was in San Francisco against the 49ers, where they easily handled the Alex Smith-less Niners 27-7. The Vikings defense was spectacular yet again with 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries (unfortunately their defense wasn't enough to get the win for me in fantasy this week). The positive sign for this weeks game was the fact that AP was held in check, carrying 14 times for only 3 yards, but the Vikings used the second head of their two-headed monster to carry the load. Chester Taylor carried the ball 8 times for 101 yards and a touchdown, and Tavaris Jackson looked solid for the fourth consecutive week in a row with short, effective passes that moved the chains down the field.

The Vikings set the tempo of the game early on when big Kevin Williams picked off Trent Dilfer and returned it 18 yards to the house just 14 seconds into the game. From there on, the Vikings were in total control. The Vikings now control their own road to the playoffs. If they can defeat the Chicago Bears next week, the Washington Redskins in two weeks, and the Denver Broncos in the final week of the season, the will secure a playoff spot. Like I mentioned before, when (yes when, not if) the Vikings make the playoffs, if they can keep the motivation they have right now, they will be one dangerous team to face.

While the Vikings are tearing up the field, Minnesota Twins GM Bill Smith is holding strong in his efforts to get the maximum value for his Ace Johan Santana. While a lot of fans are clamoring for Santana to be traded soon so that the drama will go away, I applaud Smith for keeping his cool and not settling for anything less than the best. Now I, as much as the next die-hard Twins fan, would love to have the Twins sign Santana long-term, but I have come to terms with the fact that Carl Pohlad will not shell out the $100+ million that Santana is asking to keep him, so I'm OK with Smith being patient with this whole ordeal. I am still personally getting over the Hot-Stove week with all the different scenarios and trade rumors (that whole week consisted of sitting at the computer and refreshing every baseball-related web page waiting for the trade to happen). The Twins are definitely going be a different team next year, but I really do feel that they are getting better and better with every trade or little roster move. Bill Smith has already proven he knows what he is doing, and as anxious as I am to get this trade over and done with, I am happy that Smith has shown that he is as stubborn with this trade as Jacques Lemaire is when it comes to giving Martin Skoula ice time.

The Minnesota Wild are going back and forth again in the win-loss column, so let's hope they can extend their current winning streak of one (1) with a win tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks. The Wild are in the middle of a pretty brutal road trip (Detroit, Columbus, San Jose, Anaheim, and Los Angeles), and if they were to get their season back on track, this would be a good trip to do so on. Mikko Koivu is still out with a broken bone in his leg stemming from the ridiculously illegal hit by Mattias Ohlund a few weeks ago. Until Koivu comes back, I fear the Wild may be hovering around mediocrity.