10 Websites and Forums Every Vikings Fan Should Visit

Which of the following are "Phase Three" team activities for an NFL football team: A) Lifting weights after practice and conditioning drills B) Working on special teams following offensive and defensive work C) Signing Brett Favre to add that last piece to your Super Bowl puzzle, or D) A three-legged race where Phil Loadholt is tied to a Vikings cheerleader at the annual team picnic?

The answer is none of the above, and it's certainly OK if you don't know what phase three activities are, because if you do, and your name isn't Adam Schefter or Mike Mayock, you're probably spending way too much time following your favorite professional football team.

Which, or course, many of you do anyway (see picture above).

No, phase three team activities signal the quietest time of the year for NFL franchises. Basically, beginning this week and running through the end of June, teams can gather for OTAs (organized team activities) and one mandatory veteran mini-camp. 

Vikings fans learned how important these seemingly insignificant get-togethers are, as the lack of any offseason last summer due to the lockout had the entire Vikings organization looking like it had two left feet in 2011.

In honor of phase three month kicking off around the NFL, we bring you 10 of the best websites and forums to keep yourself up to date with everything going on with the Minnesota Vikings.

Kevin Seifert's NFC North Blog on ESPN.com

Yes, there's much to loathe about the monolith that is the ESPN empire, but their website is still a go-to resource for updated, useful information, especially when it concerns their No. 1 cash-cow, (read the following in your most pretentious, ostentatious voice) the National Football League.

ESPN has to be given credit for pilfering many of the top football writers in the country away from their local newspapers and on to the mothership. For Vikings fans, the NFC North blogger is certainly a familiar face, Kevin Seifert, who covered the Vikings beat for the Star-Tribune for eight years.

Seifert is an excellent source of information not only on the Vikings, but obviously across the division as well. Kevin knows his football and does a great job of weeding out the pertinent information from the morass of press releases sent out by all the clubs.

Always entertaining and informative, Seifert is a must-read for all Vikings fans and followers of the NFC North. 

Daily Norseman

Christopher Gates is a tireless blogger who is always up to date with all the latest Vikings news and gossip. 

The Daily Norseman is not beholden to the club or to the NFL (though it does fall under the SB Nation umbrella), so Gates is free to let it rip in his analysis and viewpoints on the team. A credible source and an entertaining read, Gates uses a sense of humor that's been brandished by his long time devotion to the club.

The Daily Norseman is not only a must read for Vikings information, but it does a fantastic job of keeping up with league wide news.

Gates writes in his bio, "I didn't choose to be a fan of the Minnesota Vikings...the Minnesota Vikings chose me. Someday, that loyalty will be repaid with a trip to the promised land."

How many of you out there feel the exact same way? 

Vikings.com

The official website of the Minnesota Vikings is in fantastic hands with Mike Wobschall, the energetic, information machine at the helm of all things purple on the Vikings home base.

Wobschall is all over anything that happens concerning the men in purple. Need to know the latest in signings, contract negotiations, injury updates, what drill is coming up next at practice? Wobschall is your guy.

Vikings.com is loaded with all sorts of fun ancillary pages as well. Vikings history, Vikings in the community, Vikings away from the football field; if there's something you want to know about the Minnesota Vikings, look no further than Vikings.com.

Star Tribune: Access Vikings

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune's duo of veteran Mark Craig and relative newcomer Dan Wiederer do a wonderful job of covering all Vikings news from top to bottom on Access Vikings site.

Craig has been an NFL writer for 20 years, with the last nine covering the Vikings, and Wiederer has a nice pedigree, winning the North Carolina top sports columnist award in 2010 before heading north to cover the Vikings.

Both writers are excellent reporters that bring a sense of level-headedness to Vikings news, which is easier said than done these days in a world where everyone has a voice (and almost everybody wants theirs heard, especially when it comes to their NFL squads.)

Because the Star-Tribune has long been the go-to place for Minnesotans to get their sports news, the comments section on Access Vikings is always a fun read, usually filled with a mix of rational thought and a larger group that only sees the world through purple goggles.

The Paul Allen Project on the KFAN Website

Speaking of seeing the world through purple goggles, the radio voice of the Vikings and host of his own talk show on KFAN, Paul Allen is where Vikings fans go when they need to feel a little bit better about all things Vikings.

Allen is far from a Vikings apologist; he tells the truth even when the news isn't good, but "PA" has a great knack and ability to put a shine on things even when they're at their worst.

The inimitable radio play-by-play man, whose raucous touchdown calls are a favorite on SportsCenter highlights, brings out the little kid in all of us in rooting for a pro football team, and I mean that as the highest compliment.

Allen's "Bits and Boredom" blogs on KFAN's site are packed with insider information and presented in a fun and entertaining way. A bit of a homer to be sure (OK, more than a bit), but that's OK; that's what's the Internet is for. If you just want the facts, buy a newspaper.

The Purple Jesus Diaries

Speaking of what the Internet is for, how about a site that is all about having a good time while covering the Vikings? Look no further than The Purple Jesus Diaries, named after one of the early nicknames given to the best running back to ever wear a Vikings uniform.

If you're down in the dumps about your favorite team (a common malady last season), then a quick cure is this blog, which does nothing but have a lot fun with the club, in good times and in bad.

Recent posts include bits on whether or not President Obama might be a better quarterback than Christian Ponder and some possible first names for Jay Cutler's impending baby boy.

If you're looking for Vikings wisdom and analysis, this might not be your blog, but if you want a good laugh, The Purple Jesus Diaries won't let you down.

Viking Update

Viking Update, at min.scout.com, is a site by Scout from Fox Sports that gives any Vikings fan everything they need to know about what's going on at Winter Park.

The site has a large stable of resources, and it uses them wisely, giving readers an in-depth look at their favorite team and keeps them up to date on all the news and notes around the NFL.

The forums and chat rooms on Vikings update are mostly meat and potatoes football talk, and if that's your cup of tea, you can get lost for hours on their forum threads.

It's a pretty cut-and-dried news source site. If you're looking for a hometown slant or more of a rah-rah read, you should head elsewhere.

Purplepride.org

Purple Pride has a little bit of everything for the hardcore Vikings fan.

News, notes, analysis, blogs, picks and pans and a pretty active and growing forum board that tackles all topics. The site is pretty raw and lacks a lot of the bells and whistles found elsewhere, but it's full of Vikings spirit and has a ton of down in the trenches football talk.

If you're missing the day-to-day action provided by the NFL season, you can certainly fill your time by heading to Purplepride.org to get your fill of Vikings information.

KFAN's Rube Chat

Do you want to read some of the most insane Vikings commentary you can find anywhere on the web?

Vikings rube chat on KFAN radio's website is chock full of...stuff. Opinions, some insane, some slightly thought-out, some actually pretty well thought-out, you can find just about anything on this board.

Half the fun of the Internet is spilling out all of that stuff that you hardcore fans have somewhere in your brains, but might not get the chance to ever say out loud. Rube chat is the place where people go to write it down. 

You might not get any smarter reading this board, but you'll almost surely get a kick out of it. Don't stay too long, though; your mind might turn to mush.

Bleacher Report: Vikings Coverage

Well, duh!

For in-depth analysis of all things Minnesota Vikings, just stay right where you are and you'll do just fine. 

The Bleacher Report has every facet of the Vikings covered, from in-depth draft and offseason analysis to bulked-up coverage during the season with game previews, recaps and live blogs that will tell you everything you need to know about your favorite team.

For all of you bloggers and sites out there who didn't get a mention, it's certainly not that you don't deserve it. Keep at it; we just couldn't include them all!