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. Penguins Jerseys 2020 . Bozak and Clarkson suffered the injuries in pre-training camp workouts, according to Carlyle, who said they made "small amounts of improvement" from Friday to Saturday. After the players were deemed less than 100 per cent by doctors after Thursdays medical testing, the Leafs held them out of on-ice testing and are being cautious. Pittsburgh Penguins Store . Striker Dario Mandzukic scored the opener in the 22nd minute but was given a red card nine minutes later for a reckless tackle and left Croatia with 10 men for the remainder of the match. https://www.cheappenguinsjersey.com/. After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th. Stitched Penguins Jerseys . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night. Penguins Jerseys 2019 . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up.Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Maria Sharapova is now the overwhelming favorite at the French Open and played that way Friday after Agnieszka Radwanska became the latest womens high seed to fall at Roland Garros. The third-seeded Radwanska followed in the footsteps of Serena Williams and Li Na, exiting with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Croatias Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round. Li, the second seed and 2011 French Open champ, was knocked off in the first round and Williams, the No. 1 seed and two-time winner at Roland Garros, fell in the second round. Radwanskas ouster leaves fourth-seeded Simona Halep as the highest-seeded player remaining in the womens draw, but Sharapova is now the clear-cut choice to claim her second French Open championship. Sharapova, the 2012 winner and last years runner-up to Williams, needed a mere 51 minutes to dispose of Argentinas Paula Ormaechea in a 6-0, 6-0 rout. She has dropped just 10 games in her first three matches and on Friday was simply dominating. Ormaechea won only 17 of the 71 points played and four of those came on double faults from Sharapova. The seventh-seeded Russian blasted 23 winners to Ormaecheas one and won all 14 points on the Argentines second serve. Despite the front-runner status, a tough fourth-round match against former U.S. Open champ Samantha Stosur awaits Sharapova. "My next opponent is Samantha Stosur, whos had a lot of success on these courts and loves playing on clay so thats my next challenge and I look forward to it," said Sharapova. Stosur, the 2010 French Open runner-up, knocked off ninth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4, 6-4. "Im really happy with the way I played today and I think its the first time I won three matches in a row for a while, too," said the 19th-seeded Stosur, who last reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the 2012 U.S. Open. "I just love playing here. Ive had some really great moments here and some of the best matches of my career actually. Hopefully I can still have a few more matches like this." Stosur, who lost to Francesca Schiavone in the 2010 French final, continued her mastery of Cibulkova, beating the 2014 Australian Open runner-up for the fifth time in as many tries without dropping a set. She also beat the Slovakian two years ago in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and earlier this month in the first round at the Madrid Open. The Aussies stay in Madrid ended with a third-round loss to Sharapova. Stosur is 2-13 lifetime against the Russian, inncluding 0-3 on clay.dddddddddddd "I have beaten her before. I know what it takes," added Stosur about the next matchup with Sharapova. "I know I have to play very well against her. I know there are certain things I have to do well and if I dont, then it makes life very, very tough that day. I will go out there and certainly give it my best shot." Cibulkova had her best Grand Slam finish earlier this year with a loss to Li in the final of the Australian Open. Her best result at the French Open was a semifinal loss to Dinara Safina in 2009, but its been a rough spring for the four-time WTA winner as she also dropped a first-round match in Rome after her first-round exit against Stosur in Madrid. Tomljanovic, meanwhile, is playing at Roland Garros for the first time and has now beaten three established veterans. Ranked 72nd in the world, she took out Schiavone in the first round and also knocked off Russian veteran Elena Vesnina in the second. "After seeing the two first seeds go out, (I) feel like I can do this, too," said Tomljanovic. "I grew up with these girls that are beating (the top seeds). Obviously, you respect everyone, but you dont fear anyone. This year Ive been in a few situations where I was up and didnt execute, so I wanted to make it right this time." Next up for Tomljanovic will be Spains Carla Suarez Navarro. The 14th seed eased past American teenager Taylor Townsend in a 6-2, 6-2 thumping. One of the giant killers, Spains Garbine Muguruza, followed up her stunning win over Williams with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Slovakias Anna Schmiedlova. Schmiedlova had previously eliminated Venus Williams on Wednesday. Muguruza will next play Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier, who rallied for a 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph over Germanys Mona Barthel. Also Friday, eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany beat the darkness and Slovakias Daniela Hantuchova, completing a 7-5, 6-3 decision just before play was suspended due to insufficient light. Kerber will face Canadas Eugenie Bouchard in the round of 16. Bouchard, coming off her first career WTA victory last week in Nuremberg, came away with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Swedens Johanna Larsson. Saturdays third-round action will include matches for Halep and a pair of former French champions. Halep will take on Spains Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor, while 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova will meet fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova and 2008 champ Ana Ivanovic will square off against Lucie Safarova. ' ' '