Charley Walters: Will the Vikings rest players down the stretch?

As the Vikings approach their first division championship in five years, and with a handful of players beginning to get dinged up, it will be interesting if and when the team decides it can rest some people for the playoffs.

That’s assuming, of course, they make the playoffs. And on their seeding for the playoffs.

But if the Vikings don’t need a victory in the last game of the season against the Bears in Chicago on Jan. 8, a playoff clinch could mean resting QB Kirk Cousins, 34, and giving Nick Mullens, 27, a chance to start.

Mullens earlier in the season said he’s ready.

“I’m fully confident,” he said. “I prepare like the starter every week.”

— As it looks now, the Vikings likely will play either the Seahawks, the Commanders, the Giants or the 49ers in the first round of the playoffs.

— It’s hard to recall any NFL team, let alone the Vikings, in modern history that has won as many close games in a season as the Vikings have this season. One insider said it’s been like hitting Black Jack nine times in a row. The only game the Vikings won that hasn’t come down to the wire was the first game against the Packers, 23-7.

— Winning the NFC North would be worth $33,000 for each Viking on the 53-man roster. Winning the conference championship would be worth $59,000 per player, and winning the Super Bowl, $150,000 per player. Losing the Super Bowl is worth $75,000 per player.

— The most popular jersey at the Vikings’ Mall of America store is Justin Jefferson’s No. 18, which was sold out last weekend. The next most popular is Dalvin Cook’s No. 4.

— In what might be the best football coaching job of the year, former Gophers coach Jerry Kill, in his first season at New Mexico State, which last year was the worst Division I program in the nation, is taking the Aggies to the Quick Lane Bowl against Bowling Green in Detroit on Dec. 26. New Mexico State lost its first four games this season, including a 38-0 blowout to Minnesota, then finished 6-6.

— There was a decent chance the Gophers would have been invited to the Quick Lane Bowl had they not defeated Wisconsin in their season finale.

— The average high temperature in New York City on Dec. 29 for the Gophers-Syracuse Pinstripe Bowl is 42 degrees. Average low is 31.

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— Glen Taylor told the Pioneer Press that Timberwolves-Lynx investors Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore “are to make a payment at the end of this year (2022) and another payment at the end of next year, and if they made all their payments and this and that, I told them that they kind of have control at that point. I’d still have a bunch of stock.”

— Although he’s missing his NBA rookie season after foot surgery, 7-foot-1 Minnehaha Academy grad Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City was flipping in 3-point shots during Thunder warmups at their game against the Timberwolves in Minneapolis last weekend.

— Guard Marcus Carr, 23, who played for Pittsburgh, then the Gophers, is averaging 14.6 points and 4.3 assists for No. 2-ranked Texas as a graduate student in a communication-leadership program. At Minnesota as a junior, Carr averaged 19.4 points and 4.9 assists.

— Another basketball player benefitting from the transfer portal is Joli Daninger, who was a 1,000-point career scorer and 2017 Andover High grad and was a scholarship point guard at DePaul, where she earned degrees in communications and marketing. Through the portal and an extra year of eligibility for COVID, Daninger moved to the University of North Dakota, where she’s a two-year starter and working on a third degree, a masters in business administration.

— Besides Japan, South Korea seems an option for former Twin Miguel Sano if a major league team doesn’t gamble on the 29-year-old DH.

— Cretin-Derham Hall grad Ryan McDonagh, 33, of the Nashville Predators, received a thunderous standing ovation on Thursday night from Tampa Bay fans during his first trip back to the arena where he helped the Lightning win consecutive Stanley Cups. McDonagh’s father, Sean, from St. Paul, was there to witness the moving tribute to his son, who is sidelined with a facial fracture after taking a puck to the face last weekend.

— Max Shikenjanski’s father, Jim, was an integral member for Clem Haskins’ Gophers basketball teams from 1986-1990. Max, the Gophers-bound Stillwater senior QB, is the East Metro Football Player of the Year.

The best advice on athletics Jim gave Max, who also is a star basketball player for the Ponies?

“The most consistent advice I gave him is play hard, have fun and play like it’s the last opportunity you’re ever going to have to play,” dad said.

— The Chicago Blackhawks last week promoted former Gophers Hobey Baker Award-winning goaltender Robb Stauber’s son Jaxson, also a goalie, from their minor league Rockford team.

— Vinni Lettieri, 27, son of former Minnesota Kicks goalkeeper Tino Lettieri and grandson of Lou Nanne, has 21 points in 21 games for the Boston Bruins’ Providence team, which is paying him $750,000.

— Nanne, 81, will do TV (Ch. 45) analysis of the state high school boys hockey tournament for a 59th year this spring. He has a great grandson who is four years old, so, Lou said, he intends to continue his tournament work for at least another dozen years.

— Shortstop Terrin Vavra, 25, the former Gopher and son of former Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra, hit .258 for the Baltimore Orioles in 40 games.

— Former Totino-Grace star Joe Alt, a sophomore at Notre Dame and son of former Kansas City Chiefs Pro Bowl offensive lineman John Alt, has been named a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus and is projected as a future first-round draft pick. PFF ranks the 6-7, 317-pound Joe Alt the No. 1 college offensive lineman in the country.

— Ex-Vikings All-Pro center Jeff Christy’s daughter Kennedy’s Juniata College (Calif.) volleyball team won the Division III national championship the other day. Jeff, 53, who won a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay, is having fun as an Uber driver in Pittsburgh.

— Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, 66, the Twins former manager of the year (2017), will be back with the Twins to work with player development next year.

— Hoping for the best for “Crazy” George Schauer, who entertained thousands of Williams Arena fans with pregame cycling and juggling during Bill Musselman’s tenure as the Gophers men’s basketball coach. Schauer is in a Texas hospital after COVID and a heart ailment.

— Ten of Dennis Denning’s former baseball players threw in $100 apiece to cover refreshments at Plums Bar following the wake of the iconic Cretin-University of St. Thomas coach. Those attending the funeral have been in great admiration of Johnny Tauer’s beautiful and poignant eulogy of his former coach.

— The Gophers have a pitcher whose fastball has been clocked at 102.5 mph.

“Pretty incredible,” one major league scout said last week.

The pitcher is redshirt sophomore is George Klassen, a 6-2, 185-pound right-hander from Port Washington, Wis.

Klassen’s fastball was recorded by Trackman radar at the university. He missed his freshman season with the Gophers due to Tommy John surgery and is eligible for this summer’s major league draft. How high he goes will depend on his control, which needs to improve.

— The Gophers’ Tanner Morgan is ranked as the 38th-best QB for next spring’s NFL draft, per si.com.

— The three-point difference in Elk River’s 29-26 Class 5A Prep Bowl victory over Mankato West last weekend were three extra-point kicks by Breanna Bernardson, the team’s only female player.

— Chandler Withington, the former Hazeltine National head golf professional, has launched a new business: beautifully hand-drawn art of golf’s biggest events in history.

— Denise Rosen, who died of brain cancer last year, told husband Mark, the popular longtime former WCCO-TV sports anchor, that she wanted happiness for him going forward, and Mark has found that with Karin Nelsen, the Vikings’ lead counsel.

Don’t print that

— A little birdie says one negative in the Twins-Carlos Correa contract negotiations is that Correa, 28, isn’t keen on going through what could be a lengthy rebuilding process.

— Scott Boras, the agent who represents Correa, is estimated to have made nearly $120 million in player commissions during his career. Boras is extremely intelligent, has an army of people working for him and is extremely well-prepared in negotiations.

— Record-setting Wild star Kirill Kaprizov, 25, is signed for three more years at $8 million per season. Retaining him after 2027, though, considering an increase in the NHL salary cap, probably will take at least $14 million. Meanwhile, it’s a good bet the Wild will try to move his family to Minnesota after this season rather than take a chance on him returning to precarious homeland Russia.

— It looks like the Gophers athletics department, which still owes millions for construction of its Athletes Village and last week increased football coach P.J. Fleck’s salary to $6 million a year, is banking on the Big Ten’s new TV deals that could be worth nearly $90 million per school per year beginning in 2024. Besides Fleck’s pay raise, Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is going from $800,000 a year to $1.1 million.

— It’s clear the best coaching job Fleck can get is the one he’s got now. His $6 million salary is market value for the job he’s done over six years.

— Despite a 50,805 capacity, the Gophers football team (8-4) didn’t have a single home sellout all season.

— Gophers 7-foot-1 basketball signee Dennis Evans is the second-leading scorer, averaging 16.5 points, for his 1-3 Hillcrest (Calif.) prep team. He’s averaging 11 rebounds and 5.3 blocks.

— Lakeville North’s 6-10 Nolan Winter, who has signed with Wisconsin and is the son of former Gophers center Trevor Winter, scored 24 points in a season-opening victory over East Ridge last week.

The Badgers already have 6-9 senior Tyler Wahl from Lakeville North. Wahl leads the team in scoring (13.9 ppg). Also for the Badgers, seven-foot junior Steven Crowl from Eastview is averaging 9.46 points.

— Wahl has a name, image and likeness (NIL) account through Wisconsin that charges a minimum of $183 for a personal social media post, $155 for a personal appearance, $114 for him to record a personal shoutout video and $97 for an autograph.

Crowl, who last season was academic All-Big Ten, has an NIL account through Wisconsin that charges a minimum of $50 for a personal appearance, $47 for a social media post, $29 for a video shoutout and $25 for an autograph.

— It’s questionable whether the Vikings will be able to retain center Garrett Bradbury after this season because of all the money they are paying offensive tackle Brian O’Neill ($93 million over five years) and will have to pay fellow offensive linemen Christian Darrisaw and Ezra Cleveland.

Other big offseason decisions include Adam Thielen, 32, Eric Kendricks, 30, and Dalvin Cook, 27. None of Thielen’s ($11.8 million), Kendricks’ ($9.2 million) or Cook’s ($10.4 million) 2023 salaries are guaranteed, as well as that of Harrison Smith ($14.7 million).

— Kevin Fiala, traded in June to the L.A. Kings for a first-round draft pick and rights to Gophers defenseman Brock Faber, leads the Kings in scoring with 30 points.

— Chris Engler, 63, the steadfast 6-foot-11 former Gopher and NBA center from Stillwater, is in his 20th month since his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “Getting weaker in my arms and grip, but other than that, I’m keeping the attitude up,” he said.

Engler has been told there have been 58 known recoveries from ALS. Former Twins Kent Hrbek and Terry Steinbach have assisted Engler in events seeking a cure.

“The FDA just approved a new drug — relyvrio — that I’m on,” Engler said. “Right now we’re in an era where there’s a lot more hope than there ever has been.”

— Chatted with Gaylord Perry at Bert Blyleven’s Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, N.Y., in 2011. Asked if his Hall of Fame colleagues needled him about his illegal spitball use, he insisted he had no idea what I was talking about. Perry died last week at age 84.

— The Vikings are now valued at $3.2 billion, per Sportico. The Packers: $3.5 billion.

— The Harvard football team that hosts St. Thomas next September has former Edina star Matt Cavanaugh, but the 6-1, 211-pound junior linebacker has seen little action his previous three years. Harvard, which finished 6-4 this year, doesn’t play St. Thomas again until 2029 in St. Paul.

— Jeff Rosga, who was a three-sport star at Cretin-Derham Hall, will take over the Raiders’ girls lacrosse program next season.

— Kyle Rudolph, 33, the ex-Vikings tight end who resides in Wayzata, has played in just six games for Tampa Bay this season and has two receptions.

Overheard

— Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson, 25, who began this season with the Lions, asked whether he can be even better than what he’s been in Minnesota: “100 percent. I’m still young in this league and I’ve got a lot to prove.”

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