Just a reminder, ladies and gentlemen, that the first of the two public hearings about the Vikings' stadium situation will be held in Room 15 of the State Capitol tomorrow afternoon from 9 AM to 1 PM. Hopefully some of you fine people are planning on going. If you are, leave us a FanPost to let us know how it all went.

Redemption, thy name is Sullivan One name that is sticking out like a sore thumb at the top of the rankings in a "what are you doing there?" kind of way is John Sullivan (+7.5) of the Minnesota Vikings. In two seasons since taking over from Matt Birk in Minnesota Sullivan has ranked 28th (in 2009) and 26th (in 2010). His poor play as a run blocker, along with most of the rest of the offensive line has been a thorn in the side of the Vikings. The poor play of Sullivan and his fellow linemen has limited the impact Adrian Peterson has been able to have the last two seasons, which makes what he has achieved all the more impressive. This season however, Sullivan has very quietly raised his game and at the midway point of 2011, Sullivan is our third-ranked run blocking center. In years past, Sullivan has struggled even against the worst defensive tackles in the league but this Sunday he showed the extent of his progress, claiming a season high +2.5 run-blocking grade against the Panthers’ subpar interior defensive line. The Vikings averaged 5.3 yards per carry on runs off his left hip and on 35 rushes off of his right hip this season the Vikings are averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Those sorts of numbers would have been unheard of around Sullivan in years past, and backup the notion that to this point Sullivan is a leading candidate for the most improved player in the league.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said Ponder is making him excited, and there's no reason to hide it. "With a QB, poise is definitely important, and confidence," Shiancoe said. "Confidence in himself, confidence in the other players around him, especially the line. And it seems like he has a lot of confidence in both areas. Which has given us confidence in his abilities, as well, and making us play a little bit more and helping him out."

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison said today he was fined $20,000 for kicking Packers offensive lineman T.J. Lang in the groin during a field goal attempt on Sunday. Robison was on his back after a Mason Crosby field-goal attempt with Lang standing over him when he kicked Lang and drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Robison apologized to Lang on Twitter on Sunday, and Lang tweeted a response Monday: "All joking aside I think @Brian_Robison is a heck of a player.. just caught up in the emotion of the game.. apology accepted."

" JasonLaCanfora Jason La Canfora Vikings have released WR Bernard Berrian, a move that was expected. He's been inactive lately and having some issues with the staff

"Berrian said he believes he’s the same player he was in 2008 and that he actually feels like he’s faster now." So he's got that going for him...which is nice.

You want more proof that Bernard Berrian isn't very good? Here's what Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com had to say about him (h/t to raiden2332 for posting this earlier): We nominated Nolan Carroll as the worst player in the league through two weeks. At the quarter-pole, it's time to give Berrian the nod. This season, Berrian's been thrown 16 passes. He's caught two of them. Two. That's an unreal catch rate of 12.5 percent, and it actually rose on Sunday, because he went 1-for-6 on targets. The average starting wideout is right around 58 percent over the past few years. The poor guy even had a 13-yard catch called back by an offensive hold this week. Put it this way. Through Week 4's action, Donovan McNabb has completed 59 percent of his passes and averaged 6.1 yards per attempt. If you cut out the passes to Berrian, McNabb's completing 66 percent of his passes and averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. Maybe the Vikings need to cut out the passes to Berrian.