EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- Mike Tice has given plenty of injury reports this season. Monday was the first time his name had to be included. The Minnesota coach sprained a ligament in his left knee in the first quarter of Sunday's victory over the New York Giants when Vikings cornerback Laroni Gallishaw blocked Jamaar Taylor into him on a punt return. Taylor plowed into Tice, toppling the 6-foot-8 coach who was looking the other way at the time. Tice said Monday he would not miss any games because of the injury and would wait until after the season to have surgery if it is warranted. "Mike will have an MRI performed today at 2:30 and will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis," Tice read from an imaginary injury report by trainer Chuck Barta. "Going by past history he will be ready to perform." Tice said that if the MRI exam shows he needs surgery on the knee, he will wait until after the season to have it done. "I don't know what it's going to tell me. My knee hurts? Yeah, it hurts," Tice deadpanned. "There's nothing we're going to do right now. If we have to do it, we're going to wait, anyway. I will not have surgery. I don't know why we're having the MRI. I can tell you that it hurts." At halftime, Tice joked to a television reporter that he tore all three ligaments in his knee, just like quarterback Daunte Culpepper did against Carolina three weeks ago. The injury didn't turn out that serious and Tice said he will definitely be on the sideline at Green Bay on Monday night. "This is an insignificant injury," Tice said. "You can't keep me off the sideline. MCL, PCL, ACL, cartilage, I don't really care. I don't have to tackle or block or do any of those things. I just walk up and down, talk in the headphones." Culpepper had a meeting scheduled with renowned orthpedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews on Monday regarding his surgery. Tice said they would set a date for the surgery then. Running back Moe Williams also will have arthroscopic surgery this week to determine the extent of the damage to his injured knee. Add to that Pro Bowl center Matt Birk missing the entire season after having hip surgery and cornerback Fred Smoot out indefinitely with a broken collarbone, and Tice's injury doesn't seem so severe. "I can still blow that whistle with one knee or two knees, and I can still yell with one knee or two knees," Tice said. "So my knee has no significance or bearing on us playing Green Bay or beating Green Bay or practicing. So that's a non-issue."http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AvtI...ov=ap&type=lgns
