Minnesota Vikings News And Links, 9/6

It's the last work day before the Minnesota Vikings' 2013 season opener in Detroit against the Lions. We already had the official season opener, as Peyton Manning became the first person since our own Joe Kapp to throw seven touchdown passes in a game. Condolences to those of you that are facing Manning in your fantasy leagues this week. . .and big ups to people like me who are starting him in at least one league. (Granted, I'm only in two leagues, but I'm still pretty happy with it.)

Since the last time we brought you an Open Thread. . .

-Arif brought you both halves of the latest installment of Norse Code, one with a review of the roster, and one with a preview of this Sunday's game.

-Eric put together his first picks column for the season. (SPOILER: He's 1-0 already.)

We're going to have our Five Good Question exchange with our friends from Pride of Detroit this morning, so keep your eyes out for that.

From some other outposts around the internet. . .

-It turns out that not everyone has definitively drawn a conclusion on quarterback Christian Ponder yet.

-The starting offensive tackles for the Minnesota Vikings are both pretty big guys. Apparently that's where the similarities end.

-Jarius Wright will serve as the back-up punt returner this Sunday.

-Lions' rookie cornerback Darius Slay is looking for a measure of revenge against a guy that got the better of him last year, Vikings' rookie wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.

The rules of the Open Thread are the same as they ever were, ladies and gentlemen. . .no politics, no religion, no feeding of the trolls, and keep the bad language to a minimum/use the spoiler tags if you feel the need to curse.

One more "unusual" song for this week before, as promised, we get into themes again next week.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. . .the theme song from Game of Thrones, with lyrics provided by the Godfather of Soul.

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open for this Friday, folks. Enjoy the rest of your day, and keep your eyes open for Five Good Questions and some of the other things we'll have for you leading up to this weekend's game.