y riders, Mikel Nieve of Spain and Blel Kadri, a Frenchman who won S

MINNEAPOLIS - The Super Bowl has been secured. Now the Minnesota Vikings have set their sights on soccer. With construction underway on their new stadium, the Vikings have intensified their pursuit of a Major League Soccer franchise for the NFL facility that team owners designed in hopes of accommodating both sports. Co-owner Mark Wilf met this week with MLS officials, the latest dialogue between the two parties. The Vikings also announced a partnership with promoter Relevent Sports, a major player in the soccer world that is helping sell an international tournament game between two European teams to be played at the University of Minnesota in August. "We like to go to new markets," Revelant Sports CEO Charlie Stillitano said Wednesday. "It seems like wherever we go an MLS team follows, and I think its a good thing." Most MLS teams, 15 of the current 19, play in soccer-specific stadiums for around 20,000 fans in a more intimate setting, but the Vikings have been touting their plan to classily cover the upper bowl of their new venue and reduce capacity from 65,000 to between 20,000 and 25,000. The translucent roof and five pivoting glass doors on the front of the building -- plus seats and suites close to the action -- give the facility a more vibrant feel. "Theres a real opportunity there, and we really have a lot of respect and admiration for the ownership group," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said earlier this year. Atlanta will begin play in 2017 at that citys new retractable roof NFL stadium to be built for the Falcons, whose owner Arthur Blank acquired the soccer club. Plans there will convert the 71,000-seat football facility to a soccer capacity of 29,000 by only using the lower bowl. With the regular season starting in March and the MLS Cup held in December, a roof would be ideal for a team in Minnesota. When Sporting KC won the championship game outside last year, the game-time temperature in Kansas City was 22 degrees with a wind chill of 12 that plummeted as the sun set. The MLS has added five teams in the last five years with a goal of 24, and New York City and Orlando will make 21 next season. Miami has also granted a franchise to former star David Beckham, contingent on a soccer-specific stadium being built there. That only leaves one spot left, and Garber said earlier this year Sacramento, California, San Antonio and San Diego are also under consideration. MLS executive vice-president for communications Dan Courtemanche said theres no specific deadline for awarding the next franchise. "There is no shortage of demand for future MLS expansion teams, and many markets and potential ownership groups have contacted the league office to inquire," he said. Criteria for MLS expansion include a committed local viable ownership group with a comprehensive stadium plan it controls, in an appropriate market attractive to sponsors and television networks with a history of strong fan support. The Twin Cities area currently has a team, Minnesota United FC, in the North American Soccer League, a level below the MLS. "We think our stadium is the perfect fit for MLS. We also think that Minneapolis-St. Paul has tremendous potential for MLS," Vikings vice-president for public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley said. The legislation authorizing funding for the stadium included a five-year window from the opening during which the Wilfs have exclusive rights to bring an MLS franchise to the venue. That doesnt mean another group couldnt beat them to it at another site. Minnesota United owner Bill McGuire, the former CEO of United Health Group, has been linked with Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad as potential partners in an MLS franchise. But that would require money for and construction of yet another new sports facility in a crowded market. Vikings officials will use the Aug. 2 match between Manchester City FC and Olympiacos FC, part of the Guinness Cup tournament, as an opportunity to gain more knowledge of and grassroots support for the sport. About 20,000 tickets have been sold so far, Stillitano said. Quincy Williams II Jersey . Last year, Matt Kuchar closed with a 4-under 68 to beat Kevin Chappell by two strokes for his second win of the 2013 season and sixth of his career. Jawaan Taylor Youth Jersey .Cameron sustained his third concussion in three seasons last week on a hit by Oakland safety Brandion Ross, who was fined $22,050 by the NFL for the helmet-to-helmet blow. http://www.officialjacksonvillejaguarspro.com/Chris-conley-jaguars-jersey/ . Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. Josh Allen Womens Jersey . Patty Mills had 20 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in limited action, and San Antonio rolled to a 110-82 victory over Milwaukee that kept the Bucks winless in the new year. Yannick Ngakoue Youth Jersey . At quarterback, all agree that Andy Dalton has been a wonderful surprise, but to truly progress he has to play his best in the playoffs. The two losses in the wildcard rounds keep the evaluation on Dalton open -- just like it did for Peyton Manning many years ago and Matt Ryan until last year. ARGELES-GAZOST, France -- Vincenzo Nibali crushed everyone on the last mountain leg of the Tour de France on Thursday, all but ensuring he will be crowned champion when the race ends in Paris in three days. On the big, final climb of Stage 18, the Italian broke out of the peloton, chased down breakaway riders, and rode solo in front for the last eight kilometres (five miles) uphill. Nibali, who captured his fourth stage of the Tour, stuck out his tongue, tapped his chest, and raised a fist skyward as he finished the 145.5-kilometre (90-mile) leg more than a minute ahead of Thibaut Pinot of France, who was second. Rafal Majka of Poland, in third, was another two seconds back. The remarkable effort by Nibali, set to become the first Italian to win the Tour since Marco Pantani in 1998, essentially reduced the race drama to who will join him on the podium on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. "I didnt want to lose command. My goal was to win here," Nibali said. "It was important to me to win another stage in the Pyrenees. The team worked really hard and this victory is for them." He is also set to become only the sixth rider to win all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain. He won the 2013 Italian Giro and the 2010 Spanish Vuelta. One man basking at the finish line was Alexandre Vinokourov, the general manager of Nibalis Astana team, and a former rider who was expelled from the 2007 Tour for blood doping. He said the stage victory was "not by chance." "We said, we need to show that theres a boss," Vinokourov told French TV. The last time the term "boss" was used regularly at the Tour was when a doped-up Lance Armstrong won seven in a row. While three stages are left, Fridays is mostly flat and unlikely to allow a breakaway rider to gain time. The last real challenge will be Saturdays individual time trial, but Nibalis lead is so big -- 7 minutes, 10 seconds ahead of Pinot, and 7:23 ahead of Frances Jean-Christophe Peraud -- that it would take a disaster for him to lose the yellow jersey before Sunday. "It was a very good day," said Pinot, who rose a spot from third, "but Nibali is untouchable.dddddddddddd" The race for second heated up: Alejandro Valverde of Spain lost crucial seconds on the last climb and fell from second overall to fourth, two seconds slower than Peraud. But Valverde is considered a stronger time-trial rider than Pinot, and possibly Peraud. "Everything is possible," Valverde said. "Before, I was ahead, now Im behind, but its very tight. Im pretty happy." After setting off from Pau, riders tackled the famed Tourmalet pass -- the highest Pyrenean peak on this Tour -- before heading up to Hautacam ski station. Both climbs are among the toughest in professional cycling. Two breakaway riders, Mikel Nieve of Spain and Blel Kadri, a Frenchman who won Stage 8, were the first over Tourmalet more than 4 1/2 minutes ahead. But by the valley below, the duo had lost two minutes: Nibalis chasing bunch was gaining. That was partly because Valverdes Movistar squad bolted ahead in a challenge to Nibali. The Italian didnt let that last long, and Valverde was caught within a few minutes. By the foot of Hautacam, the main contenders were bunched together. Then, American Chris Horner, who beat second-place Nibali in the Vuelta last year, broke away. Nibali stayed with him, and then, rounding a curve and looking back for the peloton, burst ahead. Nibali said later he had memories of Horners Vuelta victory in mind. That said, Horner was little threat for the Tour title: He was about 35 minutes behind when the stage began. On the way up, Nibalis shoulder whacked the outstretched elbow of a woman speaking on a mobile phone on the side of road, with her back to the peloton. He winced briefly. "Happily, it wasnt serious for her or me," Nibali said. Stage 19 on Friday in southwestern France will likely end in a sprint finish, and Nibali and his Astana teammates will keep a close watch on the riders closest to him in the general classification. They are no longer rivals, nor challengers. ' ' '