JOTTINGS
• Vikings left guard Pat Elflein on how he's working with rookie Garrett Bradbury at center: "Garrett is a really smart guy and he's really picking up our offense and like the nuances of the game at this next level. I am happy with him. ... I always try to give him some tips about my experience as a rookie center, but he is doing a great job right now."
• The Gophers football team will have no cakewalk in its Aug. 29 opener against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits are ranked No. 3 in the nation in the FCS media poll, matching their highest preseason ranking in school history.
• Gophers coach P.J. Fleck talked about the No. 2 quarterback situation with Zack Annexstad going down and Tanner Morgan being the starter. "Jacob Clark and Cole Kramer, they are both really talented," Fleck said. "They have to be able to expedite their maturation process a lot faster. We will. We will continue to pour into them. They are going to get a lot more reps in practice. And then just be creative as we continue from there."
• Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said selling season ticket packages isn't just an issue for the University of Minnesota. "I saw a piece yesterday where Ohio State, for the first time, is selling many season ticket plans and trying to get creative and sell season ticket plans, too," he said. "It's not just a Minnesota issue. It's an issue for all of college football."
• Luis Arraez entered Saturday on pace for the best batting average in Twins history for a player 22 years old or younger. Of players with at least 100 at-bats, the highest average for a player that young belongs to Joe Mauer, who hit .308 in 107 games as a 21-year-old in 2004.
• The Twins might have been disappointed because they didn't sell out the Thursday Cleveland game, drawing an announced 32,517. That figure increased to 36,641 for Friday's game.
