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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Through their first two preseason games, the best performance from Minnesotas first-team offence has been by rookie punter Jeff Locke. The Vikings havent done much well in these exhibition games yet. Each incompletion by Christian Ponder or three-and-out series by the unit has only heightened concerns whether this team can be balanced enough to build off last years playoff appearance. Even when the wins and losses dont matter, decent showings will somewhat appease the fans, soften the skepticism of the analysts, and most importantly give the coaches and players confidence in a chemistry carry-over to the regular season. "Yeah, there would be some reason for concern if we dont do certain things that weve set out to get accomplished in this ballgame, or any ballgame," coach Leslie Frazier said on Wednesday. The Vikings are at San Francisco on Sunday, and most of the starters are expected to play into the third quarter. But before this becomes an anxiety-raising, must-thrive event, theres a critical fact to point out about the way the offence bumbled through the first two games. "I was coming off the sideline saying, Oh, my gosh, what are we doing?" wide receiver Greg Jennings said. "Like, we were struggling. And then I saw this guy on the sideline that had this 28 jersey on, and he wasnt dressed, and Im like Oh, yeah. I forgot. We dont have a big part of our offence out here that draws a lot of attention. So this week will be a lot better." Assessing a team without the leagues rushing leader and Most Valuable Player is hardly worth it, especially considering the way the Vikings revolve around their star running back Adrian Peterson. This week against the 49ers, the plan is for Peterson to be on the field. "If youre an offensive player, we definitely want to take some steps forward," Peterson said. The Vikings have averaged only 14 first downs and 276 yards over the first two games, though that includes all of the time logged by backups and long shots trying to make the team. Ponder is 6 for 14 for 68 yards and one interception. His passer rating is 28.3. So this next exhibition will be a valuable opportunity for Ponder to continue trying to establish a rhythm with Jennings, rookie Cordarrelle Patterson and the rest of his receivers. Dont expect a polished product either, Jennings said. "Kinks will never completely be ironed out," he said. "There will always be a new wrinkle that we put in that were going to be trying to perfect. Just our relationship, our chemistry, were going to try to perfect that forever." NOTES: The finalists for the punt returner role are incumbent Marcus Sherels and fellow CB Bobby Felder, according to special teams co-ordinator Mike Priefer. The Vikings have been grooming Patterson for that job, too, but theyre trying to narrow his focus for now. ... DT Sharrif Floyds minor left knee operation went fine, Frazier said, and hes expected to be ready for the first week of the regular season. ... In addition to Floyd and FB Jerome Felton, whos out for the rest of August recovering from an appendectomy, the only other significant player held out of practice Wednesday was WR Jarius Wright (concussion symptoms).Cheap Air Max Plus Uk Online .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Cheap Air Max Plus Sale .Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. http://www.cheapairmaxplusuk.com/ . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Cheap Air Max Plus Uk Sale . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Cheap Air Max Plus Onlin . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It has been a while since Ohio State redshirt junior forward Stephanie Mavunga had played in real game. She nearly forgot how much the game had changed since she last played for North Carolina in the 2014-15 season.Still, she managed to score 15 points and grab 14 rebounds to help the No. 7 Buckeyes beat Duquesne 89-69 on Friday in the opener for both teams.Last season the womens game switched from two, 20-minute halves to four, 10-minute quarters. Mavunga was first team All-ACC for the Tar Heels before she sat last season per NCAA transfer rules.I remember asking my teammates, `We play quarters? Mavunga said. Even though I watched it last year, its different when you actually got on there and played quarters. That was a little change I wasnt used to.She was one of four Buckeyes in double-figure scoring. All-American guard Kelsey Mitchell managed 18 points; Sierra Calhoun had 13 points and Shayla Cooper 12.Calhoun last played 13 games for Duke in 2014-15. She also had to sit out last season when the Buckeyes went 26-8 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.Being a fan on the bench, thats fun, too, learning things, she said. But its extremely fun to get out there on the court and playing with your teammates and having a good time.Mitchell played 34 minutes and finished 6 of 17 from the field, including 2 of 9 on 3-pointers. She was an AP first-team selection in 2016 when she was third in the nation in scoring at 26.1 points.Sometimes you have to remind her how good she is, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. Shes so hard on herself that she wants everything to go perfectly, and she wants to impact the team in such positive ways that shes not her normaal self.ddddddddddddChassidy Omogrosso led the Dukes with 17 points. Julijana Vojinovic had 16 and Amadea Szamosi 13.The Buckeyes led 46-26 at the half and increased the lead to 55-29 midway through the third quarter. Duquesne went on a 12-2 run to make it 57-41 before OSU pulled away.I hate to say this, theres no moral victories, but to be only 20 down to a team of that caliber with such youth that we have, Im not overly disappointed, Duquesne coach Dan Burt said.ON THE BOARDSOhio State held a wide margin in rebounds, 55-33, including 23 offensive boards. The Buckeyes had 22 second-chance points compared to nine for the Dukes. We made plenty of mistakes, but we played hard, McGuff said. We rebounded, so we limited their ability to get second shots.QUOTABLEWhen you graduate a backcourt like we had graduate and we literally had one guard with experience, youre always going to be concerned when you play a possible Final Four team, Burt said.TIP-INSDuquesne: The Dukes are 24-20 in season openers. . Although Duquesne dropped to 1-6 vs. the Buckeyes, the Dukes won the most recent game against them, 71-67 on Dec. 18, 2010, in Columbus.Ohio State: The Buckeyes returned to their original home for the game because Value City Arena hosted a mens hockey game. OSU first played in St. John Arena in the 1974-75 season and have won 265 games and lost 65. This was the Buckeyes 26th game in the building since the move to Value City Arena before the 1998-99 season.UP NEXTDuquesne hosts Lehigh on Sunday.Ohio State hosts No. 4 South Carolina on Monday. ' ' '