Judd Zulgad has been on the NFL beat since the 2003 season, when he began a (gasp) two-year stint covering the Green Bay Packers for the Star Tribune. Zulgad has covered the Vikings since 2005 and is as shocked as anyone that he is again following the daily exploits of Brett Favre.
Chip Scoggins knew his second season covering the Vikings would be eventful when he saw the news helicopter tracking Brett Favre to Winter Park and a guy dressed in a full parrot costume standing outside.
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Harvin limited in practice
Wide receiver Percy Harvin was limited in practice today because of a shoulder injury but that was an improvement on Wednesday. Harvin, who was hurt in the second quarter against St. Louis on Sunday but was able to continue, did no work yesterday.
"He moved around and did most everything today," coach Brad Childress said. "[He was] semi-limited. Hopefully he takes another step [on Friday]."
Also limited for the Vikings were right tackle Phil Loadholt (ankle); left guard Steve Hutchinson (back); defensive end Ray Edwards (hamstring); wide receiver Darius Reynaud (hamstring); and fullback Naufahu Tahi (ankle). Cornerback Cedric Griffin (hand) was on the report but not limited for a second consecutive day.
For the Ravens, left tackle Jared Gaither (neck) did not practice for a second consecutive day and almost certainly will miss a second game in a row. That means rookie right tackle Michael Oher probably will be shifted to left tackle again. Three Ravens players were limited, including linebacker Jarret Johnson (shoulder); defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (back) and tight end Edgar Jones (hamstring).
Wide receiver David Tyree, the former New York Giant, was able to take part in all of practice despite the fact he's had a hamstring problem.
On another note, Vikings offensive lineman Artis Hicks said the NFL fined him $5,000 for his hit Sunday which resulted in the Rams' Gary Gibson suffering a season-ending broken ankle. The play happened in the third quarter when the right tackle hit Gibson as Brett Favre was delivering a 47-yard pass to wide receiver Sidney Rice. Gibson had been engaged with right guard Anthony Herrera just before the hit. The officials did not call a penalty.
Hicks said he was surprised by the fine. "I didn't really think it was late or cheap," Hicks said. "I know [a fine] is always a possibility because they are trying to crack down on some stuff like that, but I still didn't think I'd get fined."
Chris Myers, who was doing play-by-play of the game, called the hit "cheap."
"A lot of times you might not understand offensive line play," Hicks said, "but I didn't set out to hurt the guy or anybody. You just set out to try to do the best [you can], being physical up front and do the best to block guys and set a physical tempo. I didn't feel like it was cheap. It was unfortunate the guy got hurt."
Hicks said he won't try to reach out to Gibson because he meant no harm with the hit.
"It wasn't something that was vicious or malacious, I didn't go low on the guy," he said. "I didn't cut him with his back turned. It was nothing like that. It was just one of those situations where he was just in a bad position. I don't even think I hit him with my helmet, it was just a punch with my hands. Like I said, stuff happens and it was just one of those unfortunate situations.
"I understand you hate being out because this is our livelihood, this is how you feed your family. It wasn't malicious, I didn't set out to try to take a shot on a guy with his back turned. It wasn't anything like that. It's unfortunate the commentators didn't see it that way but, hey, we're offensive linemen. We're used to it."
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| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| Sep 13 - at Cleveland | 12:00 PM | 1 | 0 | 34-20 |
| Sep 20 - at Detroit | 12:00 PM | 2 | 0 | 27-13 |
| Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco | 12:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 27-24 |
| Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 PM | 4 | 0 | 30-23 |
| Oct 11 - at St. Louis | 12:00 PM | 5 | 0 | 38-10 |
| Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore | 12:00 PM | 6 | 0 | 33-31 |
| Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh | 12:00 PM | 6 | 1 | 17-27 |
| Nov 1 - at Green Bay | 3:15 PM | 7 | 1 | 38-26 |
| Open | ||||
| Nov 15 - vs. Detroit | 12:00 PM | 8 | 1 | 27-10 |
| Nov 22 - vs. Seattle | 12:00 PM | 9 | 1 | 35-9 |
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | 10 | 1 | 36-10 |
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 7:20 PM | 10 | 2 | 17-30 |
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | 11 | 2 | 30-10 |
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | 11 | 3 | 7-26 |
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | 11 | 4 | 30-36 |
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM | 12 | 4 | 44-7 |
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