Vikings get a great effort on both sides of the ball in upsetting SF

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Minnesota's Christian Ponder threw a pair of touchdown passes to Kyle Rudolph and also ran for a score as the Vikings stunned the San Francisco 49ers with a 24-13 victory at the Metrodome yesterday. Ponder went 21-of-35 for 198 yards for the Vikings, who improved to 2-and-1 on the season. Percy Harvin had nine receptions for 89 yards and Adrian Peterson rushed for 86 yards on 25 carries in the win. Alex Smith completed 24-of-35 passes for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the 49ers, who were aiming for their first 3-and-0 start since 1998. Vernon Davis had five catches for 53 yards and a score in the setback. Minnesota and San Francisco are each 2-and-1 on the season. The Vikes visit Detroit next Sunday.

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Former Vikings receiver Randy Moss returned to the Metrodome and caught only three passes for 27 yards for the losing 49ers. Moss was not on the field all that much, as the Niners chose instead to play receivers Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, and Kyle Williams in their three-receiver sets most of the day. When asked after the game if he was satisfied with the amount of playing time he got, Moss simply said "next question."

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Peter King of "Sports Illustrated" and NBC reports the NFL and the locked-out officials met with a federal mediator in New York on Sunday. According to the report, talks ended without a new deal and there are differences that remain on a number of issues. No talks are reportedly scheduled in the future. The news comes as replacement officials came under heavy scrutiny for the second straight week. Referee Ken Roan in yesterday's Vikings game mistakenly allowed San Francisco to challenge two plays when they should not have been allowed to challenge them.

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The University of Minnesota football is 4-0 after beating Syracuse on Saturday night at TCF Bank Stadium 17-10. That's five straight wins for Minnesota dating back to last year's season finale, which was a victory over Illinois. The Golden Gophers will open Big Ten Conference play this weekend at 2-and-2 Iowa, which was stunned by Central Michigan at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday 32-31. Minnesota still enters the game as a touchdown underdog, according to oddsmakers in Las Vegas. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday.

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The 12th-ranked University of Minnesota volleyball team moved to 11-2 on the season and 2-and-0 in the Big Ten with a four-set win over Northwestern yesterday in Evanston. Minnesota had beaten Illinois on Friday in straight sets. The Gophers host Ohio State on Friday and Saturday nights.

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Minnesota's Seimone Augustus tallied 18 points as the Lynx fell to San Antonio 99-84 last night in Texas. Monica Wright added 16 points for Minnesota, which ends the regular season with a WNBA-best 27-7 record. The Lynx open postseason play at home on Friday against the Storm. __________________________________________________________________________

The Twins completed a doubleheader sweep of the Tigers with a 2-1 win in 10-innings in Detroit. Jamey Carroll smacked an RBI single in the top of the 10th for Minnesota in the rubber match of the three-game set. Jared Burton earned his second win. Glen Perkins notched his 14th save. Miguel Cabrera had an RBI double for Detroit, while Jose Valverde took his fourth loss. Joe Mauer's RBI single sparked a five-run sixth inning as the Twins rolled to a 10-4 win over the Tigers in the opener. Mauer also had a two-run triple as part of a four-run eighth inning for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game slide with the game one victory. Scott Diamond gave up two runs through seven innings of duty to improve to 12-8 on the season for Minnesota. Minnesota hosts the Yankees tonight. The Tigers are a game behind the White Sox for first place in the AL Central.

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Today was supposed to be the first full day of NHL preseason games. Ten games were on the schedule, but the league canceled all preseason games through the end of the month last week due to the lockout. Ottawa and Montreal were to have begun the exhibition campaign as the lone game last night. The NHL and Players Association have been unable to negotiate a new labor deal as they remain at odds over how to split revenue. The league locked out the players after the previous collective bargaining agreement expired September 15th. This is the fourth labor-related work stoppage in NHL history. The last one resulted in the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season. Minnesota's first preseason game was slated for tomorrow night.

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