State senator protests football on Christmas Eve

ST. PAUL (AP) -- A state senator who is also a Lutheran pastor -- and a football fan -- wants to stop NFL games being played on Christmas Eve.

"I would like you to keep the holiest of holidays in mind for next year's schedule," Sen. Dean Johnson wrote in a letter to commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

The Willmar minister is perturbed because the Minnesota Vikings and the Indianapolis Colts will be playing at 3:15 p.m., when he says many churches begin Christmas Eve services.

Johnson says given their recent stumbles, the Vikings might be better off praying than playing on the night before Christmas.

"On a personal note," he wrote Tagliabue, "I don't know how I am supposed to explain to my congregation the wires coming out of my ears and under my robe."