The Love Boat

Mike Tice and the Minnesota Vikings season has been a sinking ship long before a bunch of his players boarded two cruise boats last Thursday on Lake Minnetonka. The reports say that about 90 people were on these boats that returned to shore more than two hours earlier than scheduled when crew members complained about nudity and visible sexual activity from many of the party goers. Some of the Vikings players are denying that anything happened like what has been reported.

No criminal charges had been filed as of yesterday, and it might be several weeks before investigators finish interviewing all of the party-goers. Rumors are swirling that Cornerback Fred Smoot paid for one of the cruise boats – but his agent and he are vehemently denying those claims. The Vikings front office has been given the names of 17 players who may have been involved, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Mike Tice said he exchanged a handshake at the start of the season with new owner Zygi Wilf that he will coach the Vikings throughout this season, regardless of the team's record. Earlier this week Wilf reitterated his feelings, saying that Tice would not be the “scapegoat for bad decisions made by some players.”

For some reason I didn’t expect the fellas to just open right up about this one. This is just flat-out stupid. If a group of players wanted to do some kinky stuff they should do it in the privacy of one of their own homes – not on a cruise boat in the middle of a popular lake where other boats are. This story will continue to develop over the next several weeks, but I’m very interested to find out more details. Another crazy situation in Viking-Land…maybe Wilf should think strongly about not having a “handshake” before next season?