Do you think Devonte Edwards kept the ball? The Minnesota Vikings rookie from North Carolina State, who told ABC's John Madden earlier that he dreamed of playing against Brett Favre, intercepted the Packer star and returned it for a touchdown in the first half in the Vikings 20-17 win Monday night.
He may have slept with the ball Monday night.
- Superman?: Is it any wonder the Minnesota Vikings tried to get Aaron Kampman to defect from Green Bay last summer.
All the Packers' defensive end did Monday night was wear out the Vikings offensive line, recording three sacks, forcing a fumble that the Packers recovered and showing the Vikings they might be wise to spend their money elsewhere next year rather than on that guy posing as an offensive tackle, Mike Rosenthal.
After Rosenthal couldn't handle Kampman, his replacement, Marcus Johnson, couldn't either.
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Last summer the Vikings signed Kampman, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet.
The Packers eventually matched the offer sheet, and Kampman stayed in Green Bay - with a nice pay raise.
Madden recited chapter and verse on how Kampman was beating the Vikings and what they should do to contain him.
Not much worked.
- And more lines: There were more story lines for the game than you could count:
Vikings may have saved their season last week in a history-making upset of the New York Giants, Packers fresh off an upset of the Atlanta Falcons, Favre possibly playing his last Monday Night game, Darren Sharper returning to Green Bay as a Viking, Packers facing their first losing season since 1991.
But perhaps the best story of the night, and one ABC jumped all over, was on the newest Packer star, Samkon Gado.
The reigning NFC offensive player of the week was as popular as a Lambeau Field brat Monday night.
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An undrafted rookie free agent and former member of the Kansas City and Packer practice squads, the Nigerian-born Gado was "a legend in the making," according to ABC's Al Michaels.
Well, if three NFL games makes you a legend, he may be. But after a second-half fumble, his third in three games, he spent the rest of the game on the bench.
- Season from hell: There is no doubt, however, that the Vikings' season from hell has become the stuff of legends. ABC chronicled the debacle that is 2005, starting with the departure of Randy Moss to Oakland, new owner Zygi Wilf taking over the team, the "Love Boat" scandal, starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper suffering a season-ending knee injury, Mike Tice's problems with his injured knee and his coaching, and finally, the team's new code of conduct.
And while ABC surely reveled in the Vikings' problems, you have to guess that Madden, Michaels & Co. were only marking time until their game next week between the undefeated Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh.
- The ads: While the Tailgators ads have become a staple for Vikings games on FOX, that's the only network you will see the frumpy Vikings, Bears and Packers fans mixing it up. No ABC or CBS for Tailgators.
Owner Rick Nymark said he pays about $12,000 to $13,000 a year for the package of ads on FOX.
Sunday's game in the Metrodome against Cleveland is on CBS, as is the Dec. 18 home game against Pittsburgh.
Last night's game in Green Bay was the only Monday night appearance this season for the Vikings, who also visit Baltimore Christmas night for an ESPN game.
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Nymark said Bankshot Productions of Fargo produces his ads, which he said he buys a year in advance and generate lots of positive feedback.
"I get more comment from those ads than anything else I do," he said. "I've never had anyone get angry from them."
The Bud Light ad, featuring Venus de Milo, is a prize winner.
It didn't seem like there were as many beer ads Monday night as there are on Sunday afternoons. Or maybe I wasn't watching close enough.
The officials: The holding call against the Vikings with about six minutes left was a horrible call. Replays showed no holding, so instead of a first down deep in Packer territory, the Vikings ended up punting and Green Bay went the other way for the tying field goal with just more than three minutes left.
Readers can reach Forum Sports Editor Dave Jurgens at (701) 241-5504 or djurgens@forumcomm.com
