The winner of today's Minnesota (14-2) at Detroit (14-2) game wins the NFC North and the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs; they also would need to win just 2 home playoff games to reach the Super Bowl.

The loser gets the #5 seed and would (likely) have to win 3 playoff games on the road to reach the Super Bowl.

Vikings buy 1,900 tickets for Lions showdown at Ford Field​

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  Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff Writer
• Jan 4, 2025, 08:45 PM ET

The Minnesota Vikings found an effective but expensive way this week to increase their in-stadium presence during Sunday night's winner-take-all NFC North matchup with the host Detroit Lions.

The team purchased roughly 1,900 tickets near the Ford Field visitor's bench on the secondary market, ESPN confirmed Saturday, at roughly $1,000 per ticket -- or just under $2 million in total. The Vikings then offered them to team-based stakeholders at a cost that ranged from $200 to $300 per ticket, ESPN confirmed.

In a statement, the Vikings said: "Given the uniqueness of this game, we wanted to offer our stakeholders -- staff, family, season ticket members and team partners -- an opportunity to attend."

The Lions declined to comment when reached by ESPN.

The series of transactions is unusual but within NFL rules, highlighting the significance of Sunday's game to both teams. The winner will clinch the NFC North title as well as the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed with a first-round bye, while the loser will be the No. 5 seed and open the playoffs on the road in the wild-card round.

Sports Illustrated first reported news of the Vikings' ticket acquisition.

after a term of good relations in her term of Secretary of the Interior. Wifey has a niece who is married to a Navajo who has praised her work. He has worked for that Department for years.

At a farewell speech in Washington D.C. this week, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland reflected on President Biden's formal apology last October for the U.S. government's historic assimilation policies and its Indian boarding school system. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, children were separated from families, with no full accounting of those who went missing or died.

"I believe we are in an era of healing," she told the crowd. "That healing has been among the most important things I have done as secretary."

Haaland went on to reflect on traveling with Biden to one of the most notorious boarding schools in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, now a national monument.

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"As I stood next to the president, I felt the power of our ancestors who persevered through unthinkable odds so that we could all be there that day," she

When you get a random text (not from a contact) that just says "How are you?". I need some better responses than "fook off".

President Biden made what many considered a "disgusting" joke during his remarks on the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires Thursday.

Biden convened senior administrative officials to address the federal response to the Palisades Pacific wildfires that have continued to rage throughout the county, forcing the displacement of thousands of California citizens and destroying thousands of homes and buildings.

After briefing the public on the federal government’s plan to help local officials during the disaster, Biden gave the floor to Vice President Kamala Harris, who hails from California, and made a quick joke.

"Madam Vice President, I know you're directly affected. So you fire away, no pun intended," Biden said.

X users were quickly shocked by the comment and began blasting the president.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS DUDE," Redstate writer Bonchie exclaimed.

"Is the empathy in the room with you now?" Townhall.com video editor Kevin McMahon wrote.

Townhall.com columnist Derek Hunter wrote, "Most of the time, @JoeBiden is just a mean, vindictive person (has been his whole career), but in this case I think this can be blamed on his senility."

The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller remarked, "Even Kamala at this point is like ‘You serious dude?’"

"Completely tone deaf," Libs of TikTok wrote.

"What a jerk," Conservative commentator Steve Guest said.

Conservative writer Ben Kew remarked, "Probably not the time to be making puns."

During the briefing, Biden announced that the federal government will cover 100% of the costs of disaster response over the next 180 days.

"That's going to pay for things like debris and hazard material removal, temporary shelters, first responders' salaries, and all of the safety measures to protect life and property," he said. "I want to underscore, I told the governor and local officials: spare no expense. And we're doing literally everything we can at the federal level."

Biden had already faced backlash one day earlier during a meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and firefighter officials.

After signing a disaster declaration and reiterating his support for the state, Biden took the time to announce the birth of his first great-grandson.

"The good news is I'm a great-grandfather as of today," Biden said.

Biden was also criticized for a joke in a similar situation in 2023 after addressing the devastating wildfires that took the lives over 100 people in Maui.

Prior to a speech he made on site, Biden met and shook hands with a group of officials, stopping in front of a search and rescue dog. While petting the dog, he joked about the boots the canine was wearing.

"You guys catch the boots out here?" Biden appeared to ask the press watching him. He smiled and said, "That’s some hot ground, man."

A powerful coalition of African American churches is calling for the suspension and investigation of MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton, alleging that donations from Kamala Harris’s campaign to Sharpton’s National Action Network have compromised the integrity of the black Church and journalism.

Last week, MSNBC admitted it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign had paid $500,000 to Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a favorable interview with the Democratic nominee on October 20, just weeks before the election, according to Fox News.

(just more proof no one likes the left or their extinctionist ideas)

Phone says we have a chance at 50 here in Dallas county with a light west wind..... real feel will be upper 30s....

6:00 p.m. CST. The good and holy North Dakota State Bison against the commie-loving Montana State Bobcats. Iowa fans will wish they would have had either of the starting QB’s you’ll see tonight.

In case you missed it, Statehouse Republicans have a mandate. The Golden Dome of Wisdom is now redder than a Tesla fire.



“Iowans have spoken, loud and clear. They demand common sense, and it is incumbent upon us to continue implementing common sense solutions,” said Senate President Amy Sinclair in her remarks on the opening day of the 2025 legislative session.


“The verdict issued by Iowans and Americans leaves no doubt about what direction they want government to take,” said Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver.




Readers, too, have been reminding me that Republicans rule, and I drool.


“Apparently (and not surprisingly), you haven't gotten the message yet about the presidential election,” a reader wrote.


“If you, a TDS liberal, have forgotten that elections have consequences, you are in for considerable heartache ahead,” he added.


Others were slightly more emphatic.





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“What a piece of s--- you must be at the core not to wake up to reality truth and facts !!!! A feel sorry for you !!! Hope you someday find a moral compass,” a reader wrote.


Can pieces of s--- even have moral compasses?


It’s true, Iowans clearly have chosen Republican governance over the last five election cycles. Voters have given Republicans historic majorities in the Iowa House and Senate. Gov. Kim Reynolds has been elected twice. I would never argue that somehow these election results are in any way ambiguous, unlike my critics.


Iowans want Republicans in charge. Case closed.


One of the spoils of victory is, apparently, ignoring the concerns of hundreds of thousands of Iowans who did not support Republicans. They won, so that means you need to shut up. Bring your views in line with the majority or remain silent. If you don’t like it, move to California.


Republicans love to rule but they don’t like to listen.


Republican leaders skipped out on a traditional pre-session forum where journalists could ask them about their agenda. Many GOP candidates skipped forums during the campaign where voters could ask about their plans. I’ve heard from Iowans who say attempts to communicate with their lawmakers leads to silence.


The governor, who once promised weekly news conferences, rarely takes questions or grants interviews. Fox News, notwithstanding.


The GOP majority calls public hearings on legislation affecting a sizable swath of Iowans to be held on weekdays in small room. They limit floor debate so it’s possible to shove bills through faster. In some cases, bills have sprung from behind the scenes to the governor’s desk with remarkable speed. Bills that couldn’t pass through the normal, public process are added as little surprises to budget bills at the end of the session.


Checks and balances have eroded. The Legislature no longer provides any meaningful oversight of the Republican-controlled Executive Branch. Political blood is thicker than law.


Did you ever think you’d hear a Republican governor brag about how government is now “centralized.” More power for the governor, less for the people.


Women who want abortion rights, public schoolteachers, trans Iowans and those of us who want to clean up our dirty water are among those who have been bulldozed by lawmakers and Reynolds’ regulators. Think tanks from out of state have more say in legislating than Iowans.


Want to turn to local government? State edicts have weakened their authority.


But the Legislature is not supposed to be a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party, governing only on behalf of its political allies. The GOP controls the agenda, but it should not ignore other voices. That governing for the common good the late Republican congressman Jim Leach often described has fallen far out of fashion.


And if Iowans oppose what’s happening at the Capitol, it’s their civic duty to weigh in. Questioning authority is a necessity, not an annoyance.


But the message from the Capitol often is, “Cry more, libs.”


Maybe there is an upside to the Republican push to make sure Iowa kids get a big dose of the Founding Fathers in social studies class.


“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny,” James Madison wrote in Federalist 47.


"All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression,” Thomas Jefferson said in his second inaugural address.


John Adams often warned against the “tyranny of the majority.”


I’m not screaming “tyranny!” in a crowded Statehouse. But the founders lived with having their concerns ignored by the powers that be across the pond. Their anger over the trampling of the minority was a real and fresh wound.


So, loyal opposition, don’t shut up or go away. Continue to speak out and question legislative actions. It’s your right as a citizen. No voter mandate, no matter how clear, can take that right away.


(319) 398-8262; dorman.todd@thegazette.com

Opinion: A mandate doesn’t mean you have to shut up

Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers the annual Condition of the State address to the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, …

www.thegazette.com

SIAP -

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is suggesting that one way to deter U.S. President-elect Donald Trump from imposing new tariffs is for Europe to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from America.

Stressing that the EU still buys significant amounts of energy from Russia, von der Leyen asked: “Why not replace it by American LNG, which is cheaper for us and brings down our energy prices? It’s something where we can get into a discussion, also [where] our trade deficit is concerned.”

Utterly frightening that this idiot is going to be in charge::

President-elect Donald Trump will begin his second term stronger and more dominant as a player on the world stage than when he was sworn in eight years ago. The world that awaits him, however, is far different — and more threatening — than when he left the presidency four years ago.


Get the latest election news and results

Trump’s “America First” second-term focus purports to be principally on the home front. The deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants was one of his leading campaign pledges, and his initial appointments suggest he is serious about this priority. The proposal is fraught with practical and political questions.
Dealing with the domestic economy through tax and spending cuts and regulatory changes was another key promise. Polls suggest the economy — mostly inflation — counted more than other issues did in Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. But many economists have said that Trump’s economic agenda — tariffs and an extension of tax cuts — could lead to a new round of inflation and more debt. Deportations, too, would disrupt the economy.


Trump has also pledged to bring the civil service to heel. An initiative that includes cost-cutting and finding inefficiencies will be led by multibillionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and onetime rival Vivek Ramaswamy. The two have grand ambitions and, seemingly, the president-elect’s blessing. Nonetheless, they face multiple challenges before they will be able to deliver more than symbolic changes.

Still, Trump could quickly be drawn into foreign policy challenges. He will confront a world of chaos and conflict: a prolonged war in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin more hostile than ever, and the Middle East still in turmoil after more than 15 months of warfare, with Iran weakened, Syria without Bashar al-Assad and Israel stronger militarily but scarred internationally because of its conduct in the war in Gaza.
China presents other challenges for Trump, who has threatened major new tariffs on a country with serious economic problems and growing military ambitions. As an indication of his intentions, Trump plans to populate his incoming administration with several China hawks. Meanwhile, governments of key U.S. allies in Europe, particularly France and Germany, are weakened, with right-wing, populist parties on the rise.
Trump prides himself as a dealmaker. His approach to foreign policy in his first term appeared to be more personal than strategic. He prefers dealing with autocrats rather than working with traditional alliances. In his second term, he probably will find it more difficult to work with the likes of Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leader who sent him what Trump called “love letters,” North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.


Daniel Benjamin, president of the American Academy in Berlin, said one of the biggest changes since Trump was last in office is what he called “an axis of resistance,” which includes Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. “That is now a hard and fast reality,” Benjamin said.


As one former European diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations put it, “It’s not like the old Cold War, but you can see a global pattern of jostling and tension.” In that environment, Trump’s jousting adversaries are seen as less inclined to make short-term deals that benefit the incoming president.
“Trump’s old playbook involved making believe that, on any given day, he could strike an amazing deal with any of them and be the opposing leader’s best friend. Think back to that wacky personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un,” Benjamin said. “That won’t cut it now.”
Ivo Daalder, chief executive officer of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, said, “The big thing is that Russia is at war with the West.” He said Putin is focused on subjugating Ukraine, with the longer-term goal of regaining Russia’s strategic position that was lost at the end of the Cold War.


“That means Putin is a very different character,” Daalder said. “More isolated. More focused on a singular goal than he might have been when Trump last met with him.”
The war in Ukraine could become a first test for Trump, given the status on the battlefield there, the exhaustion of depleted Ukrainian forces and declining support in the United States, particularly among Republicans, for continued assistance to Kyiv.
Trump said during the campaign that he could strike a deal to end the war in a day, the kind of hyperbole for which he is famous. Reality is different. The worry among European analysts is that Putin will have maximalist demands and that Trump, eager to get an agreement, might concede too much.

Trump’s potential moves on Ukraine are a source of considerable concern among U.S. allies in Europe, who have been part of the coalition assembled initially by President Joe Biden and who have their own security issues depending on what happens. Will Trump sell out the Ukrainians with an agreement that essentially destroys their sovereignty? Could Ukraine be forced to give up territory, but in return for guarantees that would tie them to the West?

Trump has the opportunity to help remake the Middle East, but there are at least two big questions. First, to what extent will he give Israel a free hand in ways that Biden did not? Second, what will his posture be toward Iran? Will he see an opportunity for negotiation or take a very hard-line approach? His choice for Israel ambassador, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, who is strongly pro-Israel, has been interpreted as a sign that he will yield more to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than Biden has.
Trump will come into office with some U.S. allies weakened and absorbed with internal problems. French President Emmanuel Macron has been dealt a series of political defeats in recent months. In Germany, the coalition government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has collapsed, with new elections coming. South Korea’s government is in turmoil after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saw his deputy prime minister resign in protest and is deeply unpopular with the public.

In Germany and France, far-right parties are gaining strength, and Musk recently sparked controversy with an op-ed article calling the AfD (Alternative for Germany) that country’s “last spark for hope.” In Britain, Musk has been sharply critical of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and has flirted with the populist hard-right Reform Party. Party leader Nigel Farage, a Trump ally, has even appealed to Musk for financial support for his party.

Europeans will see Trump differently today than at the beginning of his last term. His second victory came as a surprise to many European analysts, and his agenda is now taken more seriously than ever. Trump’s hectoring of NATO is an ongoing concern, and the prospect of new tariffs is deeply worrying to America’s European allies.
Among foreign policy analysts, there is a sense that Trump comes to his second term better prepared to carry out his foreign policy priorities. And, they say, Trump begins with some clear assets to enhance his ability to shape events around the world but with perhaps less room for swagger. As Robin Niblett, a distinguished fellow at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, noted, in a more dangerous world, “the cost of throwing his weight around could be greater.”

Gotta be something to do with Caitlin, right?

The Ohio State game Adam and I covered is probably my favorite sporting event I’ve covered. Said it before, but that was like a religious experience. Phenomenal game, phenomenal atmosphere.