Lightning Round

Cleaning up some business from the past week…

Kenechi Udeze, who has been stricken with leukemia, announced on KFAN host Dan Barreiro’s show Friday that he will have a bone marrow transplant early next month. Udeze will receive the donor marrow from his older brother Thomas Barnes who is a 100% match.  Obviously, we wish Kenechi well.  But from a heartless pragmatic strictly-business point-of-view? Udeze’s loss became irrelevant when we traded for Jared Allen.

On the legal front:  Bryant McKinnie learned Friday that his criminal case will be continued. McKinnie’s lawyers have been trying to get the assault charges dismissed by convincing the judge to let him enter a pretrial diversion program.  The next court date is September 24, but it won’t interfere with Bryant’s football schedule because he doesn’t have to show.

It somewhat sucks having the McKinnie thing hanging over the team, especially given all the enthusiasm we feel over Jared Allen and Bernard Berrian and a second season of Adrian Peterson.  But that’s how it is when you have an overgrown juvenile delinquent on your squad.

On the personnel front:  The Vikings pared their roster down closer to the 80-man limit by cutting RB Arkee Whitlock and WR Justin Surrency.  I like the name Arkee.  It reminds me of legendary B-movie producer Samuel Z. Arkoff.

Darren Sharper participated in an NFL broadcasting bootcamp. Said Darren of the experience:

"It’s excellent. I’m learning a lot about all the different areas of broadcasting from script writing, to reporting, to interviewing guys. It’s a great because I’m meeting a lot of great contacts and learning things that will help you grow to be in whatever type of broadcasting that you want to get into."

Darren will one day work for ESPN I suppose.  They have a never-ending need for ex-players who have nothing to say, and are willing to become pure corporate stooges.

A final item of interest:  USA Today says Maurice Hicks is the favorite to return kicks.  Well, that’s why they signed him.  Cripes, USA Today is really on top of things, hey?  I bet they’ll soon report that Steve Hutchinson is the favorite to start at left guard.