Staff
Sam Ekstrom
Sam Ekstrom is an executive producer and host at Locked On Sports Minnesota. He's previously covered the Vikings for 105 The Ticket, Zone Coverage, Purple Insider, and the Associated Press. He grew up in Vermillion, S.D. rooting for the USD Coyotes (not SDSU) and graduated from Dordt (not "dork") University in Sioux Center, Iowa.
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Vikings
Defenses Are Cracking Down on Adam Thielen as He Continues Setting Records
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 31, 2018
Adam Thielen leads all receivers in receptions, targets, yards and first downs. He’s on the verge of having a 1,000-yard season at the bye week thanks to eight […]
Vikings
Vikings Encouraged By Rookie Class at Season’s Halfway Mark
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 30, 2018
The Minnesota Vikings are one of the youngest teams in football. They also believe they are in the middle of a Super Bowl window thanks to a […]
Gophers Big Man Eric Curry Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out 4-6 Weeks
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 29, 2018
The Minnesota Golden Gophers might be having an unpleasant dose of deja vu Monday afternoon as another preseason knee surgery set back one of their key contributors […]
Vikings
FOOTBALL MACHINE POSTGAME: Sam Ekstrom on What Went Wrong Against the Saints
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 29, 2018
Minnesota Vikings beat writer Sam Ekstrom discusses Minnesota’s aggressiveness on fourth down versus their conservative decisions with clock management, breaks down the game’s two critical errors on […]
Vikings
Saints Squeezed Life Out of Vikings With Second-Half Efficiency
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 29, 2018
At first glance, the 30-20 final score might be alarming for those expecting a big defensive performance by the Minnesota Vikings on their home turf. At second […]
Vikings
Vikings Cash In on Two Fourth Downs, But Could’ve Used One More
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 29, 2018
Knowing they’d likely need to score points to keep up with Drew Brees and the high-powered Saints, who were leading the NFC in scoring entering play, the […]
Vikings
LOCKER ROOM VIDEO: Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kirk Cousins
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 28, 2018
The Minnesota Vikings top three offensive playmakers put up big numbers in Sunday night’s game against the New Orleans Saints, but they come with a collective asterisk. […]
Vikings
RAPID REACTION: Saints Score Off Turnovers, Beat Vikings in ‘Miracle’ Rematch
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 28, 2018
The Minnesota Vikings did many of the things they needed to do to win Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints. They intercepted Drew Brees. They established […]
Vikings
PREDICTION: Vikings vs Saints
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 28, 2018
Season prediction record: 4-2-1 In truncated fashion, let’s sneak in a pick for Sunday night’s tilt. Facing each other for the third time in about 13 months, […]
Vikings
Two-Point Conversions Being Attempted, Converted at Record Pace
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 26, 2018
If there’s one way to generalize the sweeping impact of analytics on sports, it’s this: Scoring points is valuable. Take baseball, where hitting home runs — even at […]
Vikings
Vikings Wary of Versatile Alvin Kamara, the Saints’ Most Unique Weapon
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 25, 2018
Before Stefon Diggs made his miracle catch, before New Orleans Saints kicker Wil Lutz hit the go-ahead field goal, and before Kai Forbath gave the Minnesota Vikings […]
Vikings
Saints Hope For Boost From New CB in Advance of Vikings Showdown
By Sam Ekstrom - Oct 24, 2018
With their pass defense struggling, the New Orleans Saints made a trade Tuesday to bolster their secondary, giving the Minnesota Vikings another player for whom to prepare […]