C.J.: For Vikings QB Teddy B., E is for encouragement and L is for legendary

That "legendary" pep talk Vikings coach Mike Zimmer gave Teddy Bridgewater may have been just what the young QB needed. Wish it had been conveyed before those games with Packers and Cardinals.

Bridgewater had a Brett Favreesque career day Sunday when the Vikings beat up on the Bears.

According to Fox game callers John Lynch and Kevin Burkhardt, last week Z dropped the L-word on the QB.

"I love the fact that Mike Zimmer, a defensive coach, meets with Teddy every Thursday at 6 a.m. They talk ball, they talk life; I think it's great they've developed that relationship," said either Lynch or Burkhardt, whose voices sound about the same to me.

"We asked Zimmer 'Why did you choose that, why this week?' " to talk to Bridgewater about becoming a legendary NFL player. Coach Z told them he had insider information that someone had been talking to Bridgewater about the chance to become a legendary QB, and so the coach was reinforcing that motivational point.

One of the announcers also described Bridgewater with a word not often heard from the macho world of a concussion-generating sport. After meeting with Bridgewater, the game callers were impressed that the QB comes off "as sweet; he really is a nice kid."

If thinking of himself as LEGENDARY is all it takes for Bridgewater to perform, coach Zimmer should next use one of these as motivational buzz words in the next weeks: fabled, apocryphal, mythological. And we're off to the Super Bowl.

Don't know, but I've been told that Bryant was interested in visiting Peterson at Winter Park, when Bryant was making his final appearance at the Target Center. There would likely have been some social media photos — but then again, maybe not, since Bryant is kind of private and so is Peterson.

At least, labor is getting shorter for singer Alison Scott.

Scott and her husband, Andy, recently welcomed Harrison, a 9-pound boy.

"It was long," Scott said Monday of the most eventful element of this blessed event. "Yeah, 14 [as in hours long]. My daughter [Grace, 2½] was 26. Progress," said Scott, who is hoping for one hour of labor if she has another child.

Scott is sure Harrison will eventually inspire new music in mommy, but with a baby and a 2-year-old, "it's going to be so long before I get the chance to sit down."

She said "people just assume" that the song is a reference to her personal life. "They are like, 'Oh I can't wait to hear the drama behind that.' … For me it was my general feeling on the topic. I know people who have been in bad situations like that and I've definitely have been in some emotionally abusive relationships but nothing violent. You get to point where you hear enough stories and you hit a wall and want to say your piece. We had some super fans step up to back [as in finance] the making of the video. The director, Joe Brandmeier, donated his time to make the music video."

"Stone Cold Love," is not a reference to domestic violence by the way, said Scott, who said it's "love, not necessarily anything in particular."

Kelly Carlson has never been this phone call-impaired with me.

Since reports surfaced on the Web that the "Nip/Tuck" actor had married her longtime beau, retired NHLer Tie Domi, I've been calling. She usually takes her time but she has returned my calls.

Noticing that Wikipedia — not always the best source of information — has not yet updated Carlson's nor Domi's page with data about a first marriage for her, I decided to try something else. I called her mom, who still lives here. Before I could ask, Carlson's mom volunteered that Kelly had gotten married and cheerfully said, "You should call her." Carlson's mom gave me one of the numbers at which I have previously left messages.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Jason Show." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.