The Star Tribune sports team in Los Angeles today: Ben Goessling, Andrew Krammer, Mark Craig, photog Carlos Gonzalez and myself.
We're in the open-air press box at ROKiT Field for the Vikings-=Chargers game.
First, my condolences to anyone who knew Doug Woog. He was highly successful, and he was kind and generous to me and everyone I know.
On to football.
I've never been in an NFL stadium like this. It's small, quaint and surrounded by palm trees. It feels far more like a spring training venue than the site of an NFL game.
It's sunny, but the locals think 60 degrees is freezing. We passed a security guard wearing a hooded parka.
It's a beautiful, sunny, day, and this might be the easiest time I've ever had getting into an NFL venue. Our hotel is six miles away and it took us 15 minutes, no traffic, no trouble parking or getting in. This is not Philadelphia.
As far as the game, this is a strange and dangerous matchup. The Chargers are the rare team that actually is better than their record indicates. They've won big and lost close, and they seem to have fixed their red zone problems of late.
