Tice apologizes to new owner
Sid Hartman, Star Tribune
July 4, 2005 SIDH0704
Zygi Wilf, the majority owner and chairman of the board for the Vikings, got a phone call from coach Mike Tice last week. The Vikings coach called after he was fined $100,000 by the NFL; he wanted to apologize for the mistake he made in scalping Super Bowl tickets.
"He apologized both to me and the team and the fans," Wilf said. "Again, we both spoke about looking forward to a great season, and hopefully we can get this behind us."
Coming off a vacation in Colorado, Wilf will be in town this week and plans to spend a lot of time here with the season approaching.
Wilf will continue to discuss stadium issues, primarily the Anoka County site. He is interested in building a complex around the stadium, which would include a facility that would allow the training camp to be in Blaine instead of Mankato.
"Depending on the acreage that is involved, of course there will be the stadium," he said. "We'll also have, hopefully, a Hall of Fame walk for the Vikings, a shopping facility and housing. It all depends, of course, on how much land will be made available to us, in our attempt to make this a world-class venue for both sports and for an entertainment venue."
Wilf still favors an open-air stadium but has ideas about how to satisfy fans who don't.
"Since I announced that idea, several weeks or months ago, I got some feedback from many people," he said. "Many people are enthused about an open-air venue. Again, much of the football season takes place in the months of September, October and November, and it's a very nice time of the season to enjoy football.
"We would still certainly look at the open-air venue being in a closed environment. Certainly the suites or certain seats will be available in closed environment. We're going to try and reach out and be able to satisfy everyone's demands."
Wilf is committed to building the finest stadium in the NFL.
"That's exactly what we're looking for," he said. "Right now, we're in the process of meeting with several planners, but more important, during the season as I have a chance to visit the different venues we visit on our away games, I'll have chances to spend time with the owners of those teams and with the people of the stadium authorities there and review what they've done and see what's the best.
"We're lucky that at the end of the cycle of stadiums, we're able to go ahead and pick and choose from the best of all of them so we can deliver, like I state always, the best world-class venue that the Twin Cities can have."
Wilf said he is very happy with the current Vikings staff at Winter Park and doesn't plan any changes.
Hoiberg recovering
Fred Hoiberg, recovering after heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic, said there have been some complications, hopefully not serious.
"The doctors are trying to get my heart back in rhythm," the veteran Timberwolves guard said from his hospital bed in Rochester. "I might have to wear a pacemaker."
Hoiberg didn't know how wearing a pacemaker would affect his career. But Wolves physician Sheldon Burns said he is optimistic that Hoiberg will make a strong recovery.
Hoiberg will be hospitalized until Wednesday, then faces a long rest period at home.
Better record
The Twins are 8½ games behind the White Sox, even though they have a better record than they did last season at this time. The Twins are 45-34 after sweeping Tampa Bay and were 43-36 last season on their way to a third consecutive division title.
"The White Sox are just one hot team," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Twins closer Joe Nathan was happy to be named to the American League All-Star team but felt bad for teammate Jesse Crain. Crain, 8-0 with a 1.41 ERA, gave up critical home runs in two of his past three outings, and Gardenhire thought that cost Crain an All-Star berth.
Nathan, 1-3 with a 3.57 ERA and 23 saves, made the All-Star team even though he hasn't been as effective as he was last season, when he was 1-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 23 saves at the break
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