Sid Hartman: Frerotte will do his all to play today

If as expected, injured Vikings quarterback Gus Frerotte doesn't start today's game at Arizona, then Tarvaris Jackson will get the call for the first time since Sept. 14.

Frerotte is listed as doubtful, meaning he has a 25 percent chance to play. However, one person who said he believes the 37-year-old will give it a shot is Eric Sugarman, the Vikings trainer and one of the best in business.

Sugarman has been working with Frerotte all week in an effort to improve the condition of the quarterback's back, injured in the first half at Detroit last week. While it would be almost a miracle if Frerotte plays today, Sugarman has performed such miracles before this season, helping keep defensive end Jared Allen in the lineup every week.

Rest assured that Frerotte will do everything he can to persuade coach Brad Childress if the team doctors and Sugarman believe he can play.

Jackson gave Frerotte a lot of credit for his outstanding performance against the Lions last week. Speaking of his relationship with Frerotte, Jackson said: "Obviously, he's better than me at that because he's been in the league and seen a lot of stuff. So, I just try to get inside to what he's seeing and ask him like, 'Why did he do that?' ... I feel like I learned a lot just by watching [Frerotte]: just the way he uses his head, uses his eyes, stuff like that."

Jackson has had plenty of time to think things over, with Frerotte having started 11 games in a row.

"Being on the sideline I've learned a couple things and learned this league and how it is and how it goes," he said. "I'm just trying to use that stuff to my advantage and I plan on being better."

"We have a good working relationship, and we're pretty cool," Jackson said.

Decker had problems The real story why the Gophers football team didn't win any of their past four games, starting with the Northwestern game at the Metrodome on Nov. 1, was that receiver Eric Decker not only sprained his ankle against the Wildcats, but he also suffered a knee injury serious enough that his ability to run naturally became a problem.

Decker, who ended up missing two games, waited until after the season to have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday. But he will be healthy enough to play in the Insight Bowl against Kansas on Dec. 31.

Similarly, Gophers quarterback Adam Weber had knee surgery Oct. 5, following the Gophers' victory against Indiana. Weber certainly wasn't 100 percent healthy after that.

Jottings The federal courts located in the Twin Cities have not been very good to the NFL this year. Judge David Doty ruled in February that former Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick could keep $16.25 million of his $20 million in bonuses from the Falcons, even though Vick had pleaded guilty to running a dogfighting operation and was in prison at the time. To the NFL's displeasure, Doty ruled the collective bargaining agreement didn't allow for bonus money to be forfeited once it had been earned. Now this month you have Judge Paul Magnuson blocking the NFL from suspending the Vikings' Pat and Kevin Williams as well as three New Orleans Saints players over violating the league's steroid policy. Magnuson hasn't said the suspensions will ultimately be overturned, but he was critical of the league in his ruling Thursday that allowed both sides to present their case.

Former Hill-Murray and Gophers baseball player Robb Quinlan was tendered a contract by the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, after some speculation that he might not get offered a contract and enter the free-agent market. Quinlan, who has more than five years of major league service time with the Angels, hit .262 with 11 RBI and 15 runs scored in 68 games last year.

Bloomington Jefferson standout quarterback Moses Alipate, who committed to play for the Gophers, will not enroll at the university in January because he wants to play basketball for the Jaguars with younger brother Marcus, a sophomore who is being recruited by a number of schools to play basketball. ... Jimmy Gjere, a 6-7, 280-pound junior tackle from Irondale, hasn't received much attention when it came to local recruiting, but high school coaches who have seen him play rank him with the best players available in this area.

Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton reports the Associated Press ran the wrong goaltender's name in its Pittsburgh-New York Islanders scoring summary from Thursday night, a game the Penguins won 9-2. The goalie in that game was former Breck athlete John Curry, who played college hockey with Boston University. The rookie had 24 saves Thursday and was sent back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League the next day. Curry is 2-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in three games for the Penguins this season. Dayton knows Curry well because he is one of the best friends of Dayton's son Andrew. The AP summary listed Dany Sabourin as the goalie.

Former Gophers goalie Adam Hauser is playing with the Kassel Huskies of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany. Through 17 games, Hauser had a 2.80 GAA, 11th best in the league, with a .911 save percentage.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, one of the finalists for the vacant San Diego State football coaching job is former Gophers defensive back DeWayne Walker, the defensive coordinator at UCLA. Aztecs athletic director Jeff Schemmel is a former assistant AD at Minnesota. The other finalists are Ball State coach Brady Hoke and former Texas A&M and Alabama coach Dennis Franchione. Schemmel is expected to make a decision next week.