Stringer Case Tossed

On a day when the Vikes are looking forward, a judge ended a sad chapter of the past -- throwing out claims by the family of Korey Stringer that the Vikings were negligent and liable in his death.

With draft day upon us, the Vikings and the other 31 NFL teams are looking ahead. But, Friday we were reminded of the past, as news came out Friday afternoon that a decision had been made in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Korey Stringer.

Judge Gary Larson ruled that the Vikings were not negligent or liable in his death, although the doctor in charge of training camp medical procedures and his clinic were not dismissed from the suit.

The Vikings released a short press release Friday, saying that the team still feels the loss of Stringer and that he was and remains a member of the Vikings family.

The immediate reaction to the announcement was that, with the potential $100 million judgment against the team out of the way, this may now clear the path for Red McCombs to sell the Vikings to Glen Taylor. While the two have never publicly been tied together, behind the scenes several team officials said it would be difficult to sell the Vikings if the organization was tied into a lawsuit of that magnitude.

DRAFT DAY EARLY NOTES
* The talk of the Vikings trading down may get some more credence as they near their pick in the first round. With teams looking to move into position to take several players, the Vikings will be a hot-topic spot when they get on the clock. While VU still believes the team will take Jimmy Kennedy with the seventh pick, we've been hearing for a month that some in the organization have warned of big-time bust potential with the Penn State DT. A name that has surfaced is Johnathan Sullivan, another DT who has been more consistent from game to game. Scott Studwell has made a point to discuss watching game film and, depending on the games they watched from Kennedy, he could be a no-brainer or a potential pass at No. 7.
* Remember yesterday when we said for Vikes fans not to hold their breath about the Bears taking a QB on the first round? Now that they traded out of the No. 4 spot, it looks like, if available, they will snap up Cal QB Kyle Boller with the 13th pick. The Bears loved their individual workout with Boller and he could make Kordell Stewart's journey as Bears QB a short one.
* If the Vikes trade out of the No. 7 pick, don't expect it to be a team looking to take Kennedy. From what we're hearing, teams looking to move into the seven slot are looking at CB Marcus Trufant and QB Byron Leftwich.