Covering the Lynx game tonight, my column on the team will be in tomorrow's paper. Someone remind me how you write about a winning team again? If any of the Lynx players come down with bilateral leg weakness as I'm sitting courtside, then we'll know that I'm the carrier... Spanning the globe, or at least the part of the globe threatened by hurricanes, earthquakes, recessions and stick food: -Chester Taylor's departure was overrated, and the potential of him returning was overblown. Backup running backs, even good ones, are easy to find. While I think the Vikings reached when they used a second-round pick on Toby Gerhart (because he's just a backup running back right now), he's better at this point in his career than Taylor is. If there's anything more overrated than a backup running back, it's an older backup running back who averaged 2.4 yards per rush last year at the age of 31. Gehart and Lorenzo Booker can handle anything Adrian Peterson can't, and Gerhart will have to prove his worth as a starter if anything happens to Peterson. Who, by the way, could have an immense season. Think about it: A healthy, eager Peterson in a contract year in a power-running offense. If he stays healthy, I could see him buying Jim Kleinsasser, Jeff Dugan and Visanthe Shiancoe Rolexes at the end of the year, along with the offensive linemen. -I spoke with Justin Morneau after Sunday's game, during which he ran around like a maniac on the bases and in the field. Now he's sitting out in Chicago because of more concussion-related symptoms. That's about the worst thing I've heard all year. Here's a guy who was trying to set an example for his teammates by hustling, and he once again raises the specter of an injury that just won't go away. As for Joe Mauer, I'm developing a pet theory after talking to lots of people in the Twins' organization: I think he's depressed about something. Seriously. If you've ever been depressed, or read about depression, or known anyone who has battled depression, you know that in depression's throes, a person is much more prone to have the common cold turn into the flu, and is much more prone to having a minor injury become a major setback. I don't say this lightly. If Mauer is struggling with something in his personal life, that would explain a lot. -I read with interest reports of the University of Kentucky sports information department banning a student reporter from interviews with basketball players because the reporter contacted two walk-on players without going through SID channels. I went through that while covering the University of Missouri basketball team, coached by the cantankerous Norm Stewart. Norm heard that I had tracked down a player on campus to follow a lead, and he stopped speaking with me. (Of course, I've caused a few people over the years to stop speaking with me, including a lot of people I now really like. Including Jerry Burns, like Jerry Burns.) My situation was slightly different than the current Kentucky dust-up. Stewart didn't ban me from interviews with players or restrict my access, he just stopped giving me bonus time with him. He was well within his rights to do so, and I didn't complain because I had no basis for complaint. The Kentucky situation is a little more complex than many national media reporters are making it seem. While I agree that no SID or school should ever restrict a news organization's first-amendment rights, all Kentucky did was restrict the reporter from a round of interviews that were not available to all media members. While I would put up a fight if I were the Kentucky student newspaper, sometimes we (reporters and columnists) simply have to accept that if we aggressively pursue information, we're going to forfeit opportunities to receive help from PR people. I've had a lot of people turn down interview requests from me because I criticized them or they didn't want to discuss the topic I was interested in, and that's their right. -I've been saying this on the radio all week: The Vikings' offense really reminds me of Joe Gibbs' Super Bowl winning offenses when he was in Washington. What's good about that is that Gibbs didn't need a great quarterback, running back or deep threat to win Super Bowls. He won Super Bowls with three different non-Hall of Fame quarterbacks and three different featured running backs. Eras have changed, and quarterbacks may be more important now than they've ever been, but Gibbs' philosophies should hold some promise for today. He likes power running, multiple tight ends (or H-backs), and softening the defense up for the long pass. Those tenets should be pretty timeless. -The consensus among local media outlets seems to be that the Wolves' coaching job is Rick Adelman's for the taking. I can't say that's not true, I can only say that I think owner Glen Taylor wants to take a good hard look at hiring Sam Mitchell, and Taylor is free to trump David Kahn's judgement on this hire if he wants to. While the long, torturous process has turned off a lot of people, I actually think the Wolves are in good shape here. Adelman is an excellent coach, although he may be reaching a time of his life – he's 65 and reportedly his wife isn't keen on him coaching this year – where basketball might not be a consuming passion. Mitchell was an NBA coach of the year not long ago and is the lone candidate who can bring back memories of the Wolves' competent years and might be the best candidate for toughening up a soft roster. And Don Nelson, while likely to flame out quickly and head back to Hawaii, would at least make the Wolves more fun to watch. Personally, I'm pulling for Mitchell because I like him and think he would look at this as the opportunity of a lifetime, instead of just another paycheck. -Michael Vick's contract, even when simply looking at guaranteed money, seems like a huge risk to me. There is no guarantee his speed and skills will survive the beatings he's taking as a running quarterback, and no one knows how he'll react to once again having a lot of money in his pocket. I wouldn't have signed him to this deal, especially since the Eagles' coach, Andy Reid, is so good at developing quarterbacks. It's obvious the Eagles are going for it this year, but I still think they're maybe the third-best team in the NFC, behind the Packers and perhaps the Saints. (I see the Saints reounding this year.) -Upcoming: I'll be flying to LA for the weekend to cover the Gophers at USC and the Twins at Angels. My twitter name is @Souhanstrib.