Sid Hartman: Williamson's work will pay off in the fall

For those fans who are concerned about the Vikings wide receivers, coach Brad Childress looks for 2005 No. 1 draft choice Troy Williamson -- who caught a total of only 61 passes for 827 yards and two touchdowns in the past two seasons -- to really have a big season.

The evaluation by Nike vision consultant Alan Reichow and the corrective drills given to Williamson have done wonders for the wide receiver, according to Childress.

"There's a guy that's built a lot of equity in terms of really, in this offseason, learning how to be a pro, in terms of his work ethic and by any means necessary making himself better," Childress said. "And that's what I've seen from him. I just believe it will pay us back in spades as we go to the fall."

Childress said wide receivers coach George Stewart has worked Williamson hard.

"[Williamson] has probably caught -- you know George Stewart keeps track of that -- between 13,000 and 15,000 balls [since returning from Nike headquarters in Oregon], and that's before we left June 23.

"He's done some things to put himself in a better position there. Now, the proof's in the pudding. He will drop a ball this year somewhere along the line, but he's not going to look back and doubt how he worked to get himself better. I've just seen a change for him, personalitywise and confidencewise, and I just want to see it go into the fall. I sure believe it has, just based on what I've seen."

If you talk to Childress about the right side of the offensive line, which had problems last year, he will tell you that tackles Ryan Cook and Marcus Johnson, backups last year, have made a lot of improvement.

Childress also discovered some versatility in his offensive linemen. "I learned some things about [guard] Artis Hicks here in the offseason, in terms of being able to swing and play a bunch of different positions, and I think it's a good place to start," he said. "I think we're going to let [guard] Anthony Herrera get in there and swing it around and see if he can compete, too."

Childress takes discipline seriously, and he has personally visited most every bar or cafe where players recently have gotten in trouble. No doubt he will give a scouting report on what he expects of the players regarding these places when he greets the squad today.

• The Vikings have tickets available for all games, including against the Packers and Bears. To get a ticket to the Bears game on Dec. 17, fans must purchase a ticket to the Aug. 30 preseason game against Dallas. To get a Packers ticket for the Sept. 30 game, fans must buy a ticket to the Aug. 10 preseason opener against St. Louis. There is also a new package requiring fans to buy a ticket for the Sept. 9 regular-season opener against Atlanta in order to buy a Packers ticket. There are about 3,000 tickets left for both the Packers and Bears games.

Jottings

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, commenting on the four Gophers who recently were kicked off the football team for allegedly being involved in a rape: "You have 95 [players] or 100 doing great, you know you're doing way better then the average, but all you're going to hear about is the four or five that have some problems."

You want to compare designated hitters in the American League Central Division? The White Sox have Jim Thome, the Tigers have Gary Sheffield, the Indians have Travis Hafner, the Royals have young sensation Billy Butler. And the Twins? A group that can't compare until Rondell White rejoined the team. And White has proved to be a much better hitter as a left fielder than when used as a DH.

The USGA is hoping for the first sellout in the history of women's professional golf when the 2008 U.S. Open Women's Open Golf Championship comes to Interlachen Country Club next June 23-29. The USGA has set a limit of 22,500 paid customers on any tournament day. Tickets went on sale June 11. Sales of $263,000 to date are more than double any previous U.S. Women's Open. ... Also, the club has found 2,900 of the 3,000 volunteers it will need and expects to have all volunteer positions filled by mid-August of this year.

Maurice Greer, an all-state running back at Denver (Colo.) Mullen High School in 2005, has committed to Minnesota. Greer, who is now cured of testicular cancer discovered about a year ago, attended Garden City (Kan.) Community College last year. ... Michael Floyd, the highly recruited Cretin-Derham Hall wide receiver, keeps telling local media people that the Gophers are still in the picture, but he recently told Gator Country "Football Recruiting" that his top four schools are Florida, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame.

One of Twins first baseman Justin Morneau's Christmas gifts to his father was an autographed Mickey Mantle baseball to replace one he and his brother ruined by playing catch with it.

The Wild might be interested in taking another look at 2004 first-round draft choice A.J. Thelen, whom the team released at the end of the season, if the Savage native doesn't get any other tryout invitations. ... Wild 2007 first-round draft choice Colton Gillies has been selected to play with a Canadian Junior team that will play four games in Russia, then four games in Canada in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Red Deer and Vancouver. Gillies, in town to take part in the Wild's prospect camp this week, was confident he was going to be taken by Edmonton until Wild assistant general manager Tommy Thompson surprised Gillies by interviewing him that morning for the first time.

Playing in the Nike Supercase AAU event in Orlando with the Howard Pulley AAU team are three of the top young basketball players in the state: Royce White of DeLaSalle, Rodney Williams of Cooper and Jared Berggren of Princeton. White and Williams have been invited to Nike's Global Challenge held July 21-31 at the University of Portland. The top 40 high school basketball players are split into four teams, which compete against teams from Senegal, China, Puerto Rico and Canada.

Anoka high school senior and Gophers wrestling recruit Jake Deitchler will join Gophers freshman Brandon Sitch and compete for the U.S. team in the 2007 Junior World Championships Aug. 21-26 in Beijing.

Former Gophers kicker Rhys Lloyd, who booted a 56-yard field goal in NFL Europa this past season, has signed with Baltimore and will compete with Matt Stover for a roster spot. Chris Murray, the local agent who represents Lloyd, said another of his former clients, former Gophers wide receiver Aaron Hosack, has signed with the Saints.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast shartman@startribune.com