Adrian Peterson was given some surprising news

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Two months ago, around the time the Minnesota Vikings were losing their second preseason game, Adrian Peterson was given some surprising news. The star running back says he found out then he had a 2-year-old son living in Sioux Falls, S.D., named Tyrese Robert Ruffin. He had been working with Tyreses mother to arrange a meeting with the boy when he received a call last week that the child was in the hospital with severe injuries. Peterson raced to South Dakota last Thursday, where he saw little Tyrese for the first time. The boy died a day later in an alleged case of child abuse, and Peterson has been trying to come to grips with it ever since. Peterson attended Tyreses funeral Wednesday and returned to Minnesota for practice on Thursday. His voice wavered when he discussed Tyrese publicly for the first time, trying to grapple with mourning the death of a son he never got to know. "I was planning on seeing him. I had a talk with his mom and we got some things together as far as financially helping her," Peterson said. "Unfortunately, this situation took place. Its devastating." A man the boys mother was dating, 27-year-old Joseph Patterson, is being held on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated battery. Tyrese died after Patterson was arrested, and prosecutors plan to convene a grand jury to consider more serious charges. "It was a difficult day, just taking in the circumstance and the whole situation," Peterson said of the funeral. "A child was buried. Thats difficult for anyone." Peterson played against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, rushing for 62 yards on 10 carries in a 35-10 loss, and he plans to play against the New York Giants on Monday night. Its been a theme for Peterson for nearly his entire life -- football has been a refuge in difficult times ever since he was a youth. "A lot of people wont ever understand the situation that Im in and see it the way Im seeing the situation," he said. "Its tough, but Im able to deal with that and got a good supporting cast around me thats been supporting me through this tough time." Peterson thanked his teammates and the Vikings organization for their support. "Theyve been great, organization, teammates, theyve been supporting me as well," he said. "I cant tell you how many calls Ive gotten and texts from the guys up top in the organization and players just making sure that Im OK and Im doing well." He has always prided himself on finding the positivity even in the darkest of times -- and now he finds himself searching again. "Im standing strong, man. I am," Peterson said. "My main focus has been on my son and their family down there in Sioux Falls. Just trying to wrap my head around things and trying to stay focused and play ball as well. So things have been tough, but I can handle a lot. Im built for anything that comes my way. This right here will pass." Peterson said he has been in touch with authorities in South Dakota to stay on top of the proceedings and didnt expect to miss any more time this season to deal with the situation. "I have the contacts that I need to be able to stay involved as far as the investigation," he said. NOTES: Peterson only practiced on a limited basis on Thursday because of a sore hamstring. ... K Blair Walsh (left hamstring), S Harrison Smith (turf toe on left foot) and CB A.J. Jefferson (right ankle) did not practice. Jose Izquierdo Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Carlos Sanchez Moreno Jersey . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. 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DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov preferred his play do his talking, and it spoke volumes for the Colorado Avalanche. Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Matt Duchene also scored in the shootout for the Avalanche, who have won three straight -- with the last two thanks in large part to the play of their reticent goaltender. "I hate talking about myself. Ask Patrick," Varlamov said, deferring to coach Patrick Roy. Colorado didnt need much offence with Varlamov in net. After stopping 46 shots in a 3-2 overtime win in Chicago on Tuesday, Varlamov had another strong game against the Devils. He made five saves on a power play early in the third and then made another on Patrik Elias point-blank shot from the slot with about 13 minutes left. The Avalanche nearly took a 2-0 lead on Duchenes wrister moments later, but Schneider made the save. Varlamov had five saves in overtime and then stoned Elias and Adam Henrique in the shootout. "I got a guy lying on his stomach and I couldnt finish it," Elias said. Roy had no problem praising his goalie. "I like the effort we had from our goalie. He made some great saves," Roy said. "We put a lot on our goalie and our goalie has been phenomenal." Cory Schneider stopped 37 shots and Andrei Loktionov scored for the Devils, who had their two-game winning streak stopped. The Devils are 0-8 in shootouts this season, with Schneider losing half of those. New Jersey has lost 12 straight shootouts dating to last season. Schneider couldnt end the drought after keeping his team in the game for the first two periods. "I dont know what it is right now, Im not coming up with the saves in the shootout,&qquot; he said after his fourth shootout loss of the season.dddddddddddd. "When youre not getting wins from it and youre leaving points on the table, it matters." The Avalanche played without centre Paul Stastny (leg) and defenceman Cory Sarich (back) for the second straight game. Roy chose to dress just 11 forwards and go with seven defencemen against the Devils. OReilly, double-shifting on the fourth line, opened the scoring at 8:55 of the first. He took a pass from behind the net from Patrick Bordeleau and beat Schneider with a high snap shot from the slot. It was his team-leading 18th of the season. "We ran a cycle play after Malone kept the puck in," OReilly said. "Malone did that and Bordy saw me alone out front and I got the shot off quick." Colorado held a 13-2 shot advantage in the second period and controlled play for most of the first 40 minutes. Things changed in the third when New Jersey found its legs and put 18 shots on Varlamov. "The way we played in the third, it seemed like they couldnt play with us," Elias said. "It was like two different games." The Devils tied it at 1 when Loktionov beat Varlamov with a slap shot from the right circle at 8:59. Colorado had two good chances late in the third, but Schneider made a save on John Mitchell and Nathan MacKinnon shot wide of the net. New Jerseys Steve Bernier nearly scored right after that when his shot skipped through the crease. NOTES: Duchene celebrated his 23rd birthday Thursday. ... The Devils activated Elias and C Jacob Josefson from IR and assigned F Mike Sislo to Albany of the AHL ... Colorado sent G Sami Aittokallio to Lake Erie of the AHL. Aittokallio served as Varlamovs backup while Jean-Sebastien Giguere dealt with back spasms. 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