Hi gang. Stepped out for a few hours and returned to find that the Williams Wall will stand for the rest of the season.

In case you haven't seen the news story, a U.S. District Court judge in Minnesota issued a ruling Thursday that will effectively allow Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams to continue playing through the playoffs. The legality of their four-game suspensions, along with those of three members of the New Orleans Saints, almost certainly won't be addressed until the offseason.

The scenario confirms a timetable that NFL.com's Adam Schefter and others predicted earlier this week: That the players' attorneys would, at the very least, find a way to push the suspensions back to a point where it impacted neither the Vikings' season nor the players' paychecks. It also means that a process that began last summer will drag into the new year.

But now, the absolute worst-case scenario for the Williams Wall is that it will miss the first four games of 2009. A week ago, the players were faced with the prospect of missing the final four games of this season with their team hanging on to a one-game lead in the NFC North. I don't think you'll find anybody who would turn down that trade.