Sid Hartman: Robison is one more gem from '07 draft

While the 2009 draft has been one of the most successful ever so far for the Vikings, club officials can look back to their selections in 2007, when they were equally fortunate to get running back Adrian Peterson, wide receiver Sidney Rice and defensive end Brian Robison.

The Vikings were very fortunate to get Rice when they traded their second-rounder (41st overall) for the 44th overall pick and an additional fourth-round pick. Rice was chosen with the pick they got from the Falcons.

Jedd Fisch, the current Gophers offensive coordinator, was with the Ravens at the time, and said they were trying to improve their draft position to get Rice, but failed in the effort.

With good judgment of talent and shrewd use of trades, it was a good draft day. The Vikings also were to make another deal with Tampa Bay for the draft choice used to get Robison. The former Texas Longhorn has come around lately and played very well, getting three sacks in the past four games.

While overall Robison doesn't have the stats he had last year, he does have 4 1/2 sacks compared with only two last season, and has been seeing more action lately due to injuries on the defensive line.

A year ago Robison played a lot more than he did earlier this season and had 20 tackles, three tackles for loss, 19 quarterback pressures, one forced fumble and one pass defended.

This year his totals include 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and 13 quarterback pressures.

Speaking of improvement, I don't believe any Vikings player has ever made bigger strides in one season than Rice made from 2008, when he was hurt, to 2009. Not only has he been healthy, but he also has a quarterback to throw to him in Brett Favre.

A year ago, Rice had 11 catches for 105 yards, a 9.5-yard average. He had three touchdown receptions and the longest was 23 yards.

Compare that with this season, when he had 83 catches for 1,312 yards, a 15.8 average, 63 yards the longest catch and eight touchdowns.

Mauer gets bonus Twins catcher Joe Mauer received a $100,000 bonus for being named the MVP of the American League. ... Free agent Orlando Cabrera, who finished last season as the Twins shortstop, still is unsigned. Manager Ron Gardenhire would like to sign him and play him at second base. Catcher Mike Redmond still is looking for a job.

Twins President Dave St. Peter said he feels strongly "about our chances to draw 3 million people in 2010." Season tickets will be mailed out in late February or early March. In the past, St. Peter said the club typically sold about $1 million in group sales but he expects to $1.5 million to $1.6 million or more. ... The Twins still have a few of the 60 suites available at Target Field, but their club seating -- both the champions' club and the legend club seats -- are about 95 percent sold. TwinsFest will be held at the Metrodome from Jan. 29 to 31.

Twins General Manager Bill Smith will receive a Distinguished Service Award from the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association at their annual Hall of Fame and Honors Banquet in Madison on Feb. 13.

Jottings While the Gophers have suspended Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe because of their legal troubles, UCLA is allowing Nikola Dragovic to play even though he is accused of a felony assault. Mbakwe is scheduled to go to trial in Miami in February unless the charges are dropped. In the case of White, who was suspected in the disappearance of a laptop that was returned, it's hard to understand why the Minneapolis city attorney's office is taking so long to resolve the case, something that is unfair to White.

Wild coach Todd Richards said the loss of Chuck Kobasew, who injured a knee, "was a big blow for us because he had been playing extremely well, and he added a lot to our lineup as far as just speed and going into corners and some of that grit that you're looking for and a lot of character there. Hopefully, in maybe about a month from now, he'll get a better feeling about his knee and how it feels. And if we can get through the year and he can play with it, then that would be great -- but we won't know for probably about another month or so."

Former Twins infielder Denny Hocking is a coach for the Baltimore Orioles' Frederick Keys farm team in the Class A Carolina League.

Former Gopher Ryan Potulny had two goals and one assist in his past seven games, giving him eight goals and six assists in 28 games for the Edmonton Oilers since being recalled from Springfield of the AHL on Nov. 7 ... Boston's Blake Wheeler, another ex-Gopher, had a goal and an assist Thursday against Chicago, giving him four goals and four assists in his past six games. He has 11 goals and 15 assists and is the Bruins' second-leading scorer. ... Former Gopher Kyle Okposo has two goals and three assists in his past six games and is tied for the Islanders' scoring lead with 28 points (seven goals, 21 assists) in 43 games. ... Ryan Stoa recently played in two games for the Colorado Avalanche before being sent back down to Lake Erie of the AHL, where he has 14 goals and five assists in 35 games. Former Blaine standout Matt Hendricks has played in 32 games for the Avalanche, compiling five goals and two assists. ... Former Gophers defenseman Stu Bickel had one goal and 11 assists and 44 penalty minutes in 22 games for the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL before being called up by San Antonio of the AHL, where he has one assist in 10 games. ... Former Gopher Gino Guyer has four goals and four assists in 19 games for Bakersfield.

With Jensen's signing, all six defensemen from the 2007-08 Minnetonka High School team have Division I college commitments. The list includes Jake Gardiner (Wisconsin), Anthony Raiola (Massachusetts) and three players on the current Skippers team ranked No. 1 in the state -- Justin Holl (Gophers), Troy Hesketh (Wisconsin) and Andrew Prochno (St. Cloud State). The other Division I signee on the Minnetonka team is forward Max Gardiner, brother of Jake, who signed with the Gophers.