We're always looking for things to bring you during this sort of "down time" between the end of free agency and the start of the NFL Draft, and the folks from CBS Sports have given us something that I think fans of the Minnesota Vikings are going to like.

Brad Gagnon has put together what he calls an "All-Time Power Ranking" from the Super Bowl era. He credits teams with 20 points for a Super Bowl victory, 10 points for a Super Bowl loss, three points for each Hall of Famer from that franchise, and 1 point for each division title they've amassed in the Super Bowl era, as well as including points for their winning percentage.

With all of that figured in, it turns out that the Vikings are a Top Ten all-time NFL franchise on Gagnon's list. With a total of 104 points, they are listed at #9 on the list. (They're actually tied with the Miami Dolphins in number of points, but for some reason the Dolphins are listed at 8 while the Vikings are listed at 9.)

They're the only team to crack the Top Ten on the list without a Super Bowl victory. . .in fact, the other nine teams in the Top Ten all have multiple Super Bowl victories. Nobody else that's lacking a Super Bowl victory even cracks the top half of the list. . .the next-highest team in that category on the list is the Buffalo Bills, who find themselves at #17.

Gagnon was pretty surprised that the Vikings wound up ranking so highly.

I was a bit surprised to discover that the Vikings have the sixth-highest regular-season winning percentage in modern NFL history, ahead of teams like the Ravens, Packers, Patriots and Colts. Throw in 13 Hall of Famers and they fare pretty well for a franchise that hasn't won a Super Bowl. On this scale, that's enough to edge out Super Bowl winners Denver, Indy, Baltimore, Kansas City and Chicago.

At the present time, I'd be willing to wager that the Minnesota Vikings are the most successful team in any professional sport that hasn't won a championship. (Well, a championship that's broadly recognized. . .we know the Vikings won the NFL Championship in 1969.) Honestly, I'm not sure what other team in any sport would even be close. Just about every franchise in Major League Baseball has a World Series championship. . .yes, even the Twins and even the Cubs. In the NBA, you're probably looking at either the Phoenix Suns (.556 all-time winning percentage and 47 years without a championship) or the Utah Jazz (.536 and 41 years). Still, I'm not sure if those teams have achieved the level of success in their sports that the Vikings have in theirs.

Hopefully the Minnesota Vikings will have some more points tacked onto their total if the folks from CBS Sports decide to rerun these rankings again next season.