Friday morning and Favre says “Hai”, and Buy-one-get-one-free on the Metrodome.

FAVRE WATCH!!

Yes folks, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. After 2 and a half weeks of nothing, the Silver Fox has finally returned from the wilderness to make contact with us, the little people! Was this the moment that he finally declared he would be back for another year, back to lead the Vikings to the promised land?

No, of course not!

But he did send his thanks to the Vikings Nation and beyond for all the support he had last year. He said “It was truly an amazing experience to be a part of the Minnesota Vikings this past season.” But, most crucially he didn’t give much, if any indication on whether he would be back.

Regardless of what the future holds, I want everyone to know that I will cherish the memories of the past year for the rest of my life.

My guess is still that he will be coming back, but the above statement in my opinion should be interpreted as a message to Vikings’ fans that he knows how highly we hold him in our hearts, and that he is going to take this into consideration when he does get around to making his decision. Or he could just be saying “No more bloody billboards!”

The second big story of the day is the suggestion by Reb. Paul Kohls that the Metrodome is sold to the Vikings for $1. This has news created quite a buzz within the Vikings’ community, but as the Pioneer Press points out, it is not the solution the Vikings really want. If this were to happen, we’d probably be hit by insane property taxes for one, and of course it is only a short-term solution to the main issue of securing the Vikings’ long-term future in Minneapolis. But money in the state is really tight at present, and with a potential stadium bill going as high as $870m with a much needed mechanical roof being added to the mix, maybe a short-term solution like this is what we need, at least until the money can be secured to give us a new home in the Twin Cities.

Our final 2 stories of the day concern 2 of our defensive players, and to be honest, neither are that exciting but here they are:

Jared Allen wins the PFT Alan Page Award from NBC Pro Football Talk.

CB Antoine Winfield will not need foot surgery according to Rick Alonzo of the Pioneer Press and will be back and ready for training camp in the summer.

Right, that’s your lot for the day. Coming up tomorrow will be part 2 of my countdown of the top ten moments from the Vikings last year.

Vikings news, Winfield’s feet, Griffin’s knee, and Favre Watch Day 4

Good morning all, I’m powering down that 1st coffee of the day, and thankfully it’s strong enough to take the enamel off my bath. There’s a fair bit of Vikings’ news today, mostly building on old stories though, but you gotta make the most of it, because it’s all going to dry up in the coming months, especially if Brett makes his mind up sooner rather than later.

So, on with business. Cornerback Antoine Winfield is set to see a foot specialist in North Carolina, which should hopefully sort out the sub-par form he had at the end of this season. We missed Winfield when he was out, and when he came back he was only at around 80%, so our secondary still suffered. Having Winny back at full strength will be a big boost for our pass defence next year.

But his partner in crime, Cedric Griffin could miss the start of the season as he is due to undergo major knee surgery, which will see him out of action for 6-9 months. Griffin has proven his worth to the team time and time again, and when he and Winfield are fit we look a lot more assured at the back, so we’ll just have to hold our breath that he will be good to go in September.

Should Cedric Griffin fail to make the start of the season, his understudy is likely to be Asher Allen who we picked up in the third round of last years draft. Whilst no relation to dear old Jared, Asher made an impressive start to his Vikings career, making Big Ben Sethrogensberger* fumble in the fourth, and he made a key tackle on a kick return to save a touchdown. He’d relish the chance to get out on the field again and pick up some more experience, especially considering Griffin is no spring chicken.

* Ever seen Seth Rogen and Ben Roethlisberger in the same room? Thought not… Imagine if Rogen guest starred in House, now that would be really weird.

Which one's the funny guy?

But I digress, the next order of business if McNabb Watch! Speaking to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (wasn’t he Aragorn in Lord of the Rings?), he stated that “We’ve been going through this the last two or three years, and I’ve been in one spot.  I don’t want to be anywhere else but Philly.  Andy came out to say it, and the guys want me back, and that’s the most important thing.” That seems like a pretty clear “I’m going nowhere” to me, but I also have a feeling the speculation will continue at least until Favre makes his mind up. Chilly’s links to McNabb should also add fuel to the great fire that is the sports rumour mill.

Kevin Rogers, our quarterback coach will interview today for the vacant Offensive Coordinator post at the Chicago Bores. It would definitely be a step up for Rogers, but I don’t know how much he’d fancy the donut incentivized training that Jay “Pass the Krispy Kreme” Cutler is used to. Still there is the possibility that he could go in as a Vikings’ Secret Agent, and make Cutler even more of an interception machine.

On NFL Total Access, VP of Officiating, Mike Pereira talked about some of the key calls in Sunday’s game, explaining why the key decisions were not overturned. But as the article points out, it doesn’t make a blind bit of difference to the result, and it might just make the average Viking boil with rage…

If you are still peeved at the end of our season, Phil Hartman wrote a very good article about keeping the faith for next year so do check it out.

And as usual, I’ll end with more chatter from the NFL’s water cooler, it’s FAVRE WATCH

Scott Favre, Brett’s brother talks about how the Silver Fox was “beat up physically and mentally” by the Saints on Sunday. He also talked about how he’s torn as to whether he wants his brother to return to football, but added that Brett’s bond with the team was so strong that Brett’s likely to feel the pain of loss even more because he wanted to win for them as much as himself, but this could also drive him on for another season.

And amazingly that’s it so far for FAVRE WATCH today… But I’ll be sure to update if there’s anything else to report.