I will absolutely miss the "small town kitsch" of tc in Mankato...But for the future? Sounds pretty amazing:

When Minnesota Vikings fans descend on the team’s training camp next summer in Eagan, they will be greeted with large plazas for events, two small lakes and looping, landscaped walking and biking trails.
A land bridge between the lakes will have a Viking ship theme, with a boardwalk and a team hall of fame paying homage to former players with decorative paving and plaques.
Meanwhile, future plans call for a large “Skol Pavilion” for events.
The bells and whistles are found in a plan the team recently presented to Eagan city officials for areas around the team’s new headquarters and practice areas, now under construction on 40 acres of what was the former Northwest Airlines campus east of Dodd Road and south of Interstate 494.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/25/new...-interact/

MANKATO — Sack master Everson Griffen signed a $58 million contract extension Wednesday that secures the defensive end through 2022 while the man who negotiated the deal could get a pink slip if the Vikings face plant again.
Rick Spielman has been playing with house money since owners Zygi and Mark Wilf promoted him to general manager in 2012 and empowered the longtime personnel director to shape the 53-man roster and coaching staff in his image.
Minnesota is 0-2 in the playoffs and has missed the postseason three of the past four seasons during Spielman’s reign. Last year’s 5-0 launch death-spiraled to 8-8. There will be a reckoning in 2017.
Mike Zimmer’s fourth year commanding the Vikings sideline will define his ambiguous head coaching career and answer the central question — is this the ascending 11-win team that ground out a 2015 NFC North championship, or a snake-bitten franchise that collapsed last season under haughty expectations and biblical crises?
http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/26/bri...ng-season/

MANKATO — A day before Vikings veterans arrive to training camp, head coach Mike Zimmer took some of the blame for Trae Waynes’ lack of productivity since the team selected him in the first round in 2015.
“When he came in, he had a lot to learn,” Zimmer said Tuesday at training camp. “I probably messed him up a little bit by trying to play him at nickel some. I was giving him a little more to do with some of that. He’s not a real talkative guy, he’s pretty quiet and reserved in the things he’s done.”
Zimmer said he believes Wayne has learned a lot from teammates such as Terence Newman and Xavier Rhodes, as well as defensive backs coach Jerry Gray.
“I think he’s handled it really well,” Zimmer said. “I think this will be a big year for him, hopefully he comes in and he plays great. That’s what we’re expecting.”
http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/25/vik...struggles/

Former #Cowboys WR Lucky Whitehead has been claimed by the #Jets, source said. He finds a new home after a wild week.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...ith-chiefs

First a mfgr in Volvo declares, now an entire nation...

Hey, I am as much as anyone an advocate for a healthier planet tomorrow. I just hope everyone has a plan for all those dead batteries that'll be lying around. And figures out how much coal and fossil fuels it'll take to power those ev vehicles. 

Put me smack in the wind and hydrogen power camps...

Britain will ban sales of new gasoline and diesel cars starting in 2040 as part of a bid to clean up the country's air.
The decision to phase out the internal combustion engine heralds a new era of low-emission technologies with major implications for the auto industry, society and the environment. "We can't carry on with diesel and petrol cars," U.K. environment secretary Michael Gove told the BBC on Wednesday. "There is no alternative to embracing new technology." 
Almost 2.7 million new cars were registered in the U.K. in 2016, making it the second biggest market in Europe after Germany. 
Meeting the 2040 deadline will be a heavy lift. British demand for electric and fuel cell cars, as well as plug-in hybrids, grew 40% in 2015, but they only accounted for less than 3% of the market. 
Still, experts say sales of clean cars are likely to continue on their dramatic upward trajectory. 
http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/26/news/uk-...index.html

http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/3-...c106de0b64

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/video...3d0359fdad

Tom Pelissero‏Verified account @TomPelissero  3m3 minutes ago

As the Vikings continue to lock up their core long-term, Everson Griffen will be signing a massive extension upon reporting to training camp. He is the first of 3 that are likely to be extended.