Of the three teams in the hunt, Minnesota has the most challenging schedule ahead of them; their last six opponents combined for a 31-29 record, including a season finale against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, currently 9-1.

By contrast, Chicago’s last six opponents have a 24-36 record this season, and face Houston (3-7) in their final game, while Green Bay’s last six have a 25-35 record and the Pack will host Detroit (0-10) in their season-finale… at Lambeau Field.

Whichever of these three finish strongest will go on to the playoffs; it’s unlikely one of the wild card teams will come from a division with such mediocre records. So that’s the challenge for Purple Pride: win enough to take the division, or spend January at home.

Is that a strong enough pitch to land me some jobs in marketing? Probably not.

While the Wolves have plenty of young talent, even with the addition of Mike Miller, they simply haven’t come into their own just yet, and their “W” column looks like a supermodel on cheap diet pills.

Still, there are signs of hope, right?

Not really. Not at this point. Sorry.

Colton Iverson and Ralph Sampson III have lived up to their top billing so far, as Iverson came out of the gates rumbling with nine blocks in the first game alone. It was Lawrence Westbrook who took home top honors from the four-team tourney as he collected 48 points in three games over the three days of the tournament.

That’s a bigger deal than landing a good price on cell phone amplifiers, that’s for sure.

After a win streak apparently on a diet pill this season, the Nordic warriors needed a “W” after a disappointing but hard-fought loss to Chicago going into the bye.

The Vikings D came up big, knocking Matt Schaub out of the game with a bad knee and forcing the Texans to turn to Sage Rosenfels instead. For their part, the Vikings eked a solid offensive performance out of their signal-caller as Gus Frerotte threw for just under 200 yards, but earned three touchdowns off 11 completions.

But the highlight of the day was Adrian Peterson, who scored the first touchdown of the day and ran for 139 yards off 25 carries.

Rarely does pre-season success suggest anything for the regular season. Still, the Wolves have been down for so long now, any sign of hope is a positive thing for Randy Wittman’s crew. The line on Minnesota’s big stars was as follows:

Ryan Gomes scored 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field for the Timberwolves (5-1). Mike Miller had 17 points, Al Jefferson added 15, Craig Smith 13 and Randy Foye 12. Foye also had 15 assists.

If the team can manage to play like this, they should be able to get off to a decent start on the season. But that’s a big if, considering Nuggets coach George Karl held back so many starters that former Timberwolf reserve Anthony Carter led the Nuggets in scoring.

Like I said, bet your wireless router on this little nugget: preseason success means nothing in basketball.

Color us humbled. Still, despite the team’s current 6-1 record (2-1 in the Big 10), there’s still a long and difficult schedule ahead for the maroon and gold, and to achieve a top bowl bid, they can’t drop more than one game the rest of the way. If they do, I wouldn’t bet my MBT shoes on a January bowl appearance.

The remaining schedule for the Gophers is somewhat favorable. There are only two road games left, including Purdue and Wisconsin. The team also faces home games against Northwestern, Michigan and Iowa.

The team ought to be able to win three of the last five, given their performances so far this season. That would put Minnesota at 9-3, which would ensure a good bowl, but probably not a January bowl. If the Gophers can manage four wins, a January bowl would not be out of the question, but that would mean beating either Wisconsin on the road, or Michigan at home - tall order.

The Gophers are clearly the front-runner on Mbakwe’s list, but Miami remains a contender. He is the last Top 100 power forward the Gophers have a shot with for 2009, though, since Andrew Fitzgerald just gave his commit to Oklahoma.

Call it a glitch in Mac memory, but while there are still lower-rated big men on Tubby’s radar, it’s clear that he now has his sights set firmly on Mbakwe; and the St. Paul native would indeed make a great addition to a 2009 recruiting class that so far has rounded out quite well.

With a recruiting class that already includes Royce White, Rodney Williams Jr. and Justin Cobbs. With Mbakwe added to the mix, Smith would be assured of once again having one of the top recruiting classes in the Big 10, as well as one of the top 25 recruiting classes in the nation.

In the end, though, it was Gus Frerotte’s fourth interception, the fourteenth turnover of the day by the Vikings offense, that sealed the team’s fate in a 48-41 loss to the Bears. When a team can have 14 turnovers and only the last one takes away their ability to come back and win the game, you know it’s been a sloppy day on defense for both teams.

Adrian Peterson did his best, offering up 121 yard rushing and two scores in the game; Frerotte threw for just under 300 yards and scored two touchdowns despite the four interceptions. And the game was not an example of sterling offense for the Bears, as three of their scores came off special teams or defensive plays.

The Vikings definitely gave this one away. But with Childress going 2-1 over the past three games and entering the bye week with a record of 3-4, I believe he’s earned a reprieve. Let him finish out the season and avoid the chaos of a mid-season coaching change.

But make no mistake about it: he’s still a prime target for firing, once this season is over. Zygi should can him as quickly as possible after the season and open up the coffers wide enough to lure a quality head coach to this team.

Bill Cowher’s still out there, my friends. Ripe for the hiring.

Part of the identity issue was solved last season when Al Jefferson, the cornerstone of the trade that sent Garnett to Boston, asserted himself as the team’s top big man, posting better numbers than Garnett most of the season, despite being on a losing team while Garnett rode the Celtics to his first NBA Title.

Love will be part of the mix this year, but whether he plays starter minutes alongside Jefferson or comes in off the bench alongside Jason Collins remains to be seen.

First, on Monday Night Football tonight, the Vikes will have a showdown with the New Orleans Saints, a game they ought to win. After that, there will be key division match-ups against NFC North foes Detroit and Chicago.

If Childress secures all three wins, he’ll survive the season, at least, leading the Vikings into their bye week with a 4-3 record. He’ll probably survive if he drops one of those games.

However, if Childress loses two of the next three games, or worse, loses all three, we may see a coaching change going into the bye week. And it will be long overdue.

If owner Zygi Wilf does decide to release Childress during the bye, look for assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier to be named to the interim spot, with a strong chance to retain the job once the season’s over, if he can turn things around. If Frazier can’t turn things around, expect Wilf to clean house and start over fresh in January.

You heard it here first.

By comparison, Floyd has only 21 catches for 333 yards over five games.

So forget all those Fenphedra-popping wannabes; Decker is the real thing for the Gophers and is a big part of elevating the team from a one-win train wreck last season to a 5-1 phenom this season.

While the Big 10 schedule is sure to take its toll on the Gophers and add a few more losses, one more win will make the Gophers technically bowl-eligible, and two more wins in the Big 10 will seal the Gophers for a post-season bowl bid.

Considering where the team was last season, anything beyond seven wins is gravy!