Peterson, Rice In L.A.

Peterson, Rice In L.A.


Two Vikings draft picks are in Los Angeles for a four-day marketing session that, while not affecting the Vikings directly, has at least a couple of teams upset that players are blowing off minicamp because they're required by the league to attend.

There have been some complaints arising from the four-day Reebok Players Rookie Premiere that started Thursday and runs through today. The league invited 30 draft picks to the symposium and made attendance mandatory. The list of players includes the Vikings' top two picks – Adrian Peterson and Sidney Rice.

While there has been no problem from the Vikings concerning the event, other teams have gotten their noses out of joint a little bit, including Colts head coach Tony Dungy. His first-round pick – wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez – was among the players required to attend, even though it conflicted with the team’s mandatory minicamp this weekend. The same is true for the Packers and second-round running back Brandon Jackson, who should be fighting for a starting spot but won’t be at this weekend’s minicamp that has become the talk of the league after the “I’m-not-coming-I-am coming” saga of Brett Favre.

The league isn’t doing the event simply to teach players about money management and the potential pitfalls of being a pro athlete. Thursday’s agenda included a photo shoot for trading cards that will surely be marketed by the league in some capacity. The event is presented by EA Sports, which makes the popular Madden video game series and gives players a chance to meet with corporate sponsors and NFL licensees for potential endorsement deals now or in the future. Friday night the players took part in a Rookie Madden Bowl competition and participated in multiple media-related appearances. The different activities are being filmed for a one-hour special produced by PLAYERS INC. and the NFL Network for broadcast during the summer on the NFL Network.

Surprisingly, fifth overall pick Levi Brown of the Cardinals was not invited, while Dolphins RB Lorenzo Booker – a third-round selection – was invited to the event, as were fourth-round running backs Michael Bush and Antonio Pittman.

SUNDAY NOTES
* The times for the Vikings-Chiefs practices have been set – the teams will practice jointly at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, at Mankato and at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Chiefs training camp site in River Falls, Wisc.

* Josh McCown of the Raiders won the 2007 Quarterback Challenge, a competition that included current former Vikings starter Brad Johnson, Saturday in the Cayman Islands.

* When Ahman Green went to the Texans, he figured he would have to pay RB Jason Simmons to keep his No. 30. The two agreed to a deal, but instead of paying Simmons a wad of cash, he gave up the number on one condition – Green make a down payment on a home for a single parent in the area. Who says class is dead in the NFL?

* Daunte Culpepper took part on a limited basis during the Dolphins four practice sessions this week, but neither ran nor threw deep passes.

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