In brief: Have-nots need win in Week 3

NFL: When three of Brett Favre’s Minnesota Vikings teammates went to the quarterback’s home in Mississippi last month and convinced him to play a second season with the team, the clear expectation in the Twin Cities was that Favre and the club would go a step further than they did last season and reach the Super Bowl.

This season also began with seemingly realistic Super Bowl aspirations in Dallas, with the Cowboys coming off a division-winning season and hoping to play in the sport’s showcase event in February as well as hosting it at their palatial stadium in Arlington, Tex.

Much has changed in only two weeks of the new season, as the Vikings and Cowboys surprisingly are among the eight NFL teams with 0-2 records. They’ll be playing today to try to keep their seasons from unraveling any further, with the Vikings hosting the also-winless Detroit Lions and the Cowboys playing the unbeaten Texans in Houston.

“It’s tough to start 0-2,” said former NFL coach Dan Reeves (in photo). “But it’s still better to lose your first two games of the season than your last two games of the season.”

NFL matchups, C9

Sounders defeat Chicago Fire 1-0

Soccer: Blaise Nkufo’s deflected goal in the 88th minute lifted the Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 victory over the slumping Chicago Fire on Saturday night in Bridgeview, Ill.

Seattle, bidding for a second playoff berth in as many MLS seasons, is 3-1-1 in its past five matches.

Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who made five saves, collected his 11th victory and 11th shutout.

Associated Press

UPS loses in battle of futility

Football: Whittier College outlasted Puget Sound 42-39 in a game that went six overtimes with scoring that occurred in only two of the extra periods.

Because of turnovers and missed field goals, neither team scored in the first three overtimes.

Casey Larson finally put the Loggers ahead with a 1-yard run in the fourth OT and the Loggers made a two-point conversion for a 39-31 lead.

However, the Poets escaped a fourth-down situation with a 20-yard touchdown pass and ensuing two-point conversion to tie the game. After another scoreless OT, the Loggers missed a 42-yard field goal and the Poets won with a 26-yard kick.