Jared Allen's character is already apparent

Over the years, there have been a number of Vikings players who have gotten themselves into different types of problems, legal and otherwise, including drunken driving arrests.

But I never have seen an athlete stand up like new Vikings defensive end Jared Allen did on Wednesday, face the media, and talk freely about his past -- his three drunken driving arrests that got him a two-game suspension and his being a general bad boy.

There was the Love Boat situation during the Mike Tice era that nobody involved would talk about before being forced to do so in court.

To my knowledge, Bryant McKinnie hasn't talked publicly about the brawl at a Miami nightclub that led to his being charged, though I hear reports about his role in it were somewhat exaggerated.

Dwight Smith had problems off the field and in the locker room, but there wasn't any comment.

But Allen didn't duck a question, no excuses, no alibis -- he just took the blame for what he had done and promised to be a good boy.

"Yeah, you expect that," he said about the questions. "I've never run from my mistakes. I've owned up to them."

"I've made the changes necessary to be a better man, and that's what I explained to them," Allen said. "Obviously, we went into greater detail about it. My biggest thing is, you don't have to hear me tell you how I've changed; you can come and see me live. People in the community will get to know me and see, wow, this is how he lives and this is his life.

"The important thing for me to express was these changes were not made just so I would look good in the eyes of the NFL. These changes were made for me as a man and to be a better man for my family, to represent the name on the back of this jersey."

Wilf, Rick Spielman, the vice president of player personnel, and coach Brad Childress grilled Allen intensively.

"Like I told Coach, now that I am a part of this family, and as I told Mr. Wilf, now that I am a part of his family and a part of the Vikings family, I will do everything to represent that family as if I am representing my personal family. All I can ever do is be truthful and honest. If you are truthful and honest you don't ever have to worry about what you say because, you know what? That's what it is. Like I told coach, God gave me eyes in the front of my head to look forward and not in the back so I don't have to look back. I've dealt with it and I've moved on."

This young man has a great personality. He made Gophers coach Tim Brewster look like an amateur as he sold himself at his news conference.

Liriano has problems Twins lefthander Francisco Liriano had just completed a start against Cleveland in the Metrodome last Friday, a 4-0 loss where he gave up four hits, three runs and five walks in five innings. Manager Ron Gardenhire was asked about the future of Liriano, who had such a great year in 2007 -- a 12-3 record and 2.16 ERA -- before he was sidelined because of elbow problems that led to surgery.

"Well, we don't know. I mean, honestly, it's a game-by-game progression; all we like to see is if he improves game by game when he goes out there," Gardenhire said. "He was better [against Cleveland] this time, there's room for improvement, he's been out a long time."

On Thursday against Oakland, Liriano pitched 2/3 of an inning, allowing five hits, six runs and three walks. For the season, he has a 11.32 ERA, having allowed 15 hits, 13 earned runs and 13 walks. He has struck out seven.

"He has to throw the fastball over the plate. If he can't master that he's going to have trouble," Gardenhire said. "The big thing with us, he's got a good breaking ball, he's got a decent changeup, and it can get better. But, you still in this league have to throw the fastball over the plate, and right now he's not doing that enough. We believe he's going to get there, we've seen him do it before and it's just a matter of confidence and a little better mechanics on a pitch-to-pitch basis. He gets out of whack out there and starts kind of flying all over the place and rushes and loses the zone. [Pitching coach Rick Anderson's] working with him about staying more compact and not flying off the ball, and then the fastball will get back in the zone."

No doubt, it looks as if it's going to take a lot more time before we see the Liriano of old, based on what he has done so far. And this team definitely needs him if it is going to be a contender.

The Twins trade that sent Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza to Tampa Bay for Delmon Young and Brendan Harris is working out in favor of the Twins. Bartlett is batting .217 with six RBI and 13 strikeouts, and the shortstop has made four errors. Garza is on the 15-day disabled list and was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA before being sidelined. On the other hand, Harris is hitting .275 and Young .262. Twins pitcher Carlos Silva, who signed as a free agent with Seattle, is 3-0 in five starts with an impressive 2.83 ERA.

Jerry Noyce, the former longtime Gophers coach, is being inducted into the college tennis Hall of Fame on May 21 in Tulsa, Okla., during the NCAA tennis tournament.

Notre Dame is building a new hockey rink, and it will be named after South St. Paul's Lefty Smith, who retired after starting the program there in 1968 and serving as coach for 19 seasons. ... There was this unusual ad on the Star Tribune website: "Minnesota State University, Moorhead, assistant football coach. Seeking both an assistant football coach (offensive coordinator) Instructor and Asst. Football Coach/Instructor. Apply to: Dept of Athletics, MN State University, Moorhead, Mn 56563. Star Tribune.