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Arizona Cardinals. Vikings needed win to get into playoffs, but McCown hit Nate Poole for TD on final play to win it. ... Banged-up Bears' defense is on track to give up more than 2,300 yards rushing. ... Game features two of most dynamic return men in league in Chicago's veteran Devin Hester and Minnesota's rookie Cordarrelle Patterson, who returned kickoff 105 yards for score in first meeting. ... Vikings have won eight of last 10 against Bears at Metrodome. This will be final game of rivalry at Metrodome, which will be destroyed to make way for new Vikings stadium. ... Vikings RB Adrian Peterson is 154 yards away from 10,000 for career. ... For first time in a month, Vikings go into game without question at QB. Christian Ponder had one of best games last week, completing 21 of 30 passes for 233 yards with TD and no turnovers. ... After rushing for 28 yards on four carries in first nine games, Vikings backup RB Toby Gerhart has 158 yards on 15 carries in last two.
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AP News in Brief
Fate of 16 giant balloons in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade rests on wind, gusts -- and NYPD
• NEW YORK (AP) -- The fate of Spider-Man, SpongeBob SquarePants and Snoopy rests in the hands of the New York Police Department.
• The 16 giant balloons that fly between Manhattan skyscrapers during the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade may be grounded if windy conditions from a storm that snarled holiday travel along the East Coast pick up Thursday morning -- and the final determination will be made by the NYPD.
• The iconic characters cannot lift off if sustained winds top 23 mph and gusts exceed 34 mph, according to city rules enacted after fierce winds in 1997 caused a Cat in the Hat balloon to topple a light pole and seriously injure a spectator. Balloons have only been grounded once in the parade's 87-year history, when bad weather kept them from flying in 1971.
• On Wednesday, NYPD Chief of Patrol James Hall said the latest weather reports looked good for takeoff, stressing that balloon handlers were trained in maneuvering, lowering and deflating wayward inflatables if need be.
• "If there's something I see that I don't like, I can say lower the balloon and I can say remove the balloon but, you know, I think really at the latest reports that we've gotten from the National Weather Service, I think we're gonna be in good shape tomorrow," he said.
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