Well, we won't have Randy Moss to kick around any more. You've most likely heard already that the Vikings are trading Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders. Here's what Sean Jensen has in the Pioneer Press:

Seven years ago, when he dropped into their lap in the 21st slot in the NFL draft because of concerns about his character, the Minnesota Vikings were confident they could nurture Randy Moss into an elite NFL receiver.

In six days, the Vikings officially will give up on Moss, although he has gained more receiving yardage in his first seven seasons than any other player in NFL history. The Vikings have agreed to trade the mercurial receiver to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris, plus the seventh overall selection in the coming NFL draft and a seventh-round pick in this year's draft. Neither team can announce the deal until March 2, per league rules.

Whenever there's a big sports story folks at the Capitol inevitably ask what will this mean for the stadium? I would guess it probably won't mean much, given that the Vikes are last in line anyway. More important to the stadium discussion may be the casino item in the Star Tribune. The governor has said some of the profits from a state run casino could be spent on things like stadiums. Patricia Lopez had that story:

The state of Minnesota and three northern Indian bands are closing in on an agreement to launch a metro-area casino/entertainment complex that would be operated through the Minnesota State Lottery, tribal leaders told the Star Tribune on Wednesday.

George Goggleye, chairman of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, said tribal attorneys were working out details with the governor's office on Wednesday and an announcement could be made next week.

Ron Valiant, executive director of the White Earth Band, said the bands and the governor's office "are getting very close to final agreement. We're down to figuring out the final details."

Dan McElroy, Gov. Tim Pawlenty's chief of staff, confirmed late Wednesday that, "yes, we're close. We're down to details and language." McElroy also said he expects an announcement next week.

If the deal happens, it would represent a breakthrough for Pawlenty, who has been pressing for more than a year to get the state's Indian-owned casinos to share revenues with the state.

It's interesting to me that it's taken the governor this long to reach a deal with the northern tribes. After all, they stand to gain millions of dollars from a metro casino. And this is just the first step. The real heavy lifting will come trying to get a casino plan through the Legislature.

The governor was on MPR's Midday program Wednesday. Among other things, he urged Bloomington officials to give a Mall of America casino another look:

We're not going to force them to have something like this if they don't want it, you know, we'll go elsewhere. There are other communities who are more than happy to host a facility. It won't be as big or as exciting, but I think in my view, it's a little premature for Bloomington to just slam the door on this, but if that's what they want to do, then we'll move on down the road and look for another location."

As the governor spoke a House committee took its first look at a proposal to require a public vote before a casino could be located in a community. MPR's Tom Scheck had that item:

Rep.Ann Lenczewski, DFL- Bloomington, says her constituents are worried they won't have a voice in the matter.

"This is not a little thing. It is not a road or something we're already doing like gas taxes or stadiums. This is something we have never done. And the costs and potential policy questions for a host city are tremendous."

The House Gaming Division did not vote on the proposal but decided to lay it over for possible inclusion in the omnibus gambling bill.

Opponents of the move argued that voters don't have veto power over other economic development projects and there's no reason they should have a say on a casino.