Minnesota Vikings Football Team

The Minnesota Vikings are 5-0 and have exceeded even the expectations of owner Red McCombs, who envisioned a three-year plan when he hired Mike Tice before last season. But to the disappointment of McCombs, the team doesn't have a new stadium, and there are no firm plans for one on the horizon. For that reason, McCombs can't say for sure how much longer he will stick around as an NFL owner.

NFL coaches have fostered "a perverse, insidious and deadly culture" that contributed to the death of Minnesota Viking lineman Korey Stringer, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by the player's family. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, was filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, on behalf of Stringer's widow, Kelci. It alleges NFL coaches, trainers and doctors subject players to potentially fatal conditions during practices conducted in high heat and humidity.

Korey Stringer's widow will ask an appeals court to reinstate her $100-million lawsuit against the Minnesota Vikings now that she has settled with the last defendants. Kelci Stringer reached a deal with the Vikings' training camp physician, David Knowles, and his Mankato Clinic for an undisclosed sum, Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson said Monday. Last month, Larson dismissed all of Stringer's claims against the Vikings and team officials.

Red McCombs, who amassed a fortune selling cars in San Antonio, knows how to cut a deal. He bought the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 for $264 million, a bargain by today's standards. But there's one deal he just can't seem to close: A new stadium in Minneapolis. McCombs met in New York last week with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and discussed, among several topics, the return of football to Los Angeles. Could the Vikings fill the void left by the Raiders and Rams? McCombs doesn't rule it out.

The efforts to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles have taken a turn both peculiar and predictable. Just as Rose Bowl officials are putting the finishing touches on their proposal to make their stadium the future home of a pro football team, the NFL is actively negotiating with a group in Carson to restart that city's stadium push.

A judge dismissed claims by Korey Stringer's widow against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday but allowed her $100-million wrongful death lawsuit to go forward against the team's training camp physician and his clinic. The Vikings had asked Judge Gary Larson to throw out the lawsuit filed by Kelci Stringer. She contends her 27-year-old husband did not receive proper medical care when he collapsed during training camp July 31, 2001.

The Minnesota Vikings are trying to exploit the current anti-ephedra climate -- and the recent death of Baltimore Oriole pitcher Steve Bechler -- to try to deflect blame for the heatstroke death of Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, attorneys for the Stringer family said Wednesday.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper and Nike Inc. announced a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the maker of sports apparel. As part of the settlement, Culpepper will continue to endorse, wear and use Nike products throughout the National Football League season. Further terms were not released. Nike filed the lawsuit in June to contest Culpepper's signing an endorsement contract with rival Reebok International Ltd.

The TV cameras were rolling last month as Randy Moss walked through the lobby of the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center in Minneapolis. Several reporters waited outside in the drizzle, and, even through the thick glass windows, they could hear the Minnesota Viking receiver whistling a tune. He popped open an exit door and the throng was there to greet him. "Randy, can you fill us in on what happened?" a reporter shouted. "No. You'll hear about it later." "What can you tell us?"

After spending a night in jail this week because of an incident involving a Minneapolis traffic officer, Randy Moss solidified his status as the NFL's public enemy No. 1 but promised to take out his frustrations on the football field. That would be good for the Vikings, who are 0-3 heading into Sunday night's game at Seattle and desperately need Moss to play to the level of his ego.