Sid Hartman: Vikings newcomers show early promise

You're going to see a lot of new names on the Vikings roster this year, including quarterback Sage Rosenfels, offensive lineman Phil Loadholt and receiver Percy Harvin, along with center John Sullivan moving to a starter's role. They have all been very impressive in the OTA workouts at Winter Park this past week.

And running back Adrian Peterson has looked better than ever.

The Vikings don't have any regrets about giving up a fourth-round draft pick to Houston for Rosenfels, who coach Brad Childress said has done a real good job in the preseason practices.

"There are a few different little tweaks when you go to the West Coast offense [from the Texans'] Gulf Coast offense," Childress said. "The principles are the same, but a lot of times the coaching points are slightly different. He's getting up to speed that way. He has spent the whole offseason here."

The Vikings came close to getting Rosenfels previously.

"I think he was just an unrestricted free agent," Childress said. "I think Houston paid him pretty good to come there [from Miami] and be their backup or their starter."

Childress said that Peterson is having a great offseason.

Childress is happy with Loadholt, the former Oklahoma lineman who is causing some lineup shuffling.

"We are moving [tackle] Ryan Cook around," Childress said. "Ryan has jumped in there and given us some snaps at guard. He's taken some snaps at center as well.

What about Sullivan stepping in to replace Matt Birk?

"[Sullivan]'s kind of the guy that directs that whole offensive line. I haven't seen him miss a beat at all," Childress said.

Childress said Sullivan has a chance to be pretty good.

And what about Harvin, the top draft choice from Florida?

"He can run. He has a very good football IQ," Childress said. "You can see that he played in a throwing offense at Florida. It's happening pretty fast for him right now, and we are overloading him because we want to stick it all on and then we'll go back and refine it."

Harvin's versatility is a plus.

"We have a number of athletes you can do a lot of different things with. You have to use their God-given skills, and we will," the coach said.

No changes for Mauer Twins catcher Joe Mauer has put on a surprising power display so far, and he's already one home run away from matching his career season-high of 13.

Mauer works out after each game.

"I'm just trying to keep what I got going," he said. "Just a little bit, a little bit each day, I guess. "

Mauer is working out now, even though he had great success despite not being able to work out during the offseason because of injury.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire compared Mauer's great start to that of Al Oliver with Montreal in 1982.

"He is swinging really good, I don't remember too many guys on the ball as well as he has been on the ball for this long," Gardenhire said. "I saw Al Oliver in 1982 my first [full] year in the bigs [with the Mets]. I saw him do that all year, every time we played them, four bullets a game, and I think he won a batting title that year [with a .331 average]. Joe is really swinging good -- I don't know how much more we can talk about it. It's just amazing, really it is."

J.C. Romero's 50-game suspension for using a banned substance has ended, and the former Twins lefthander made his season debut with the world champion Phillies on Wednesday, pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief at San Diego. "In a situation like this, you really have some time to reflect into what went on," Romero told the Philadelphia Inquirer, adding: "I'm glad it's over. But sometimes I put my head on the pillow, I still have flashes of that feeling when I found out I was going to be suspended."

David Kahn, new general manager of the Timberwolves, has a long to-do list. "I don't think we'll have everything put together the way I see fit for another 17 months," he said. "What I mean by that is, I'm talking about the team and everything. We have a lot of opportunities, starting with this draft, through this summer with free agency, trade deadline, next summer's draft, next summer's free agency. We have several windows of opportunity to really transform the team and add some significant pieces."

Vikings linebacker E.J. Henderson runs a nonprofit youth foundation that makes a difference in the lives of inner city youth. Next Saturday, Henderson will join more than 30 Vikings players, including Peterson and Harvin, in a charity softball game pitting the offense against the defense. The game starts with a home run derby at 2 p.m. at the University of Minnesota's Siebert Field. There will be a live and silent auction, autographs and other activities, with all proceeds going to the E.J Henderson Youth Foundation. For more information go to www.ejhyf.org. Tickets are $20 and children under 12 are free.

Lee Hutton was a receiver for the Gophers from 1996 to '98. Now the Gophers are recruiting his brother Logan, who is from La Marque, Texas. ... GoldenSports.net continues to rank Cretin-Derham Hall tackle Seantrel Henderson as the top recruit in the country. And what is amazing is that not only are a ton of schools recruiting him for football, but he is being sought by a few schools to play basketball.