Winds of Change

Can things finally be going our way? I mean, things just haven’t been the same since 1998. We’ve gone through more personnel changes than the Bush administration and consistency is one of those four letter words. It seems that things may be changing with the Minnesota Vikings.

Going into a game where, on paper…and in reality the Vikings were outmatched, they should have folded. Tarvaris Jackson should have thrown 3 INT’s, Chester Taylor should have gotten injured and the defense should have looked like a bad 9th grade team. Instead, Jackson was statistically impressive, Taylor stayed healthy and had a good day on the ground and the defense had 3 touchdowns while making Eli Manning look like…well…Eli Manning.

I was on my way back to school this afternoon, so I had the pleasure of listening to the game from Paul Allen’s perspective. After watching Fox for the last couple weeks and then listening to PA today, I understand why my grandfather always listens to games on the radio while the T.V. is on mute. Advantage: Listening to great and energizing announcing as well as not having to see Tony Siragusa eating a cheddarwurst while explaning why New York has the best pizza and drinking water in the greater northeast region. Disadvantage: Not getting to actually watch the thrashing that the Vikings gave to the Giants today.

The win today instantly means that the Vikings season is worth paying attention to again. The team is 2-0 with rookie sensation Adrian Peterson on the sideline (word has it that he will be playing against Detroit on Sunday at the Dome) and Childress/Bevell have been calling the right plays as of late. They aren’t putting Tarvaris Jackson in “must throw” situations which allows him to throw the ball with limited pressure. Although he had a solid game, Jackson still needs to be able to rid of the ball quickly or get out of the pocket when a rush is on. He’s got an arm (see: Sidney Rice, 60 yard TD pass from T-Jack) and when used wisely he can do some damage. So a big key to the Vikings success in these next 5 games will be how well Childress and Bevell call the game offensively.

The story of today though was the Vikings defense. Defensive Coordinator Les Frazier called a great game yesterday. He had Eli Manning completely baffled and almost every throw was rushed and would result in terrible passes. Dwight Smith and Darren Sharper came up huge with their interception returns and the pass defense that has been a punchline for the last few seasons looked like the old Tampa Bay/Baltimore defenses that have been successful. Since the Vikings will not be facing a quarterback who can beat them by himself for the next 5 weeks, Les Frazier’s defense should be able to continue this momentum. The Vikings face Jon Kitna, Jason Campbell, Rex Grossman, Trent Dilfer (yes…I was just as surprised that he’s still playing as well) and Kurt Warner. With the exception of MAYBE Jason Campbell, none of these quarterbacks are mobile. So as long as Frazier switches up coverage schemes and blitzes, the Vikings defense could look for some big weeks coming up here.

Next week, we get Adrian Peterson back and a Lions team who is reeling from 3 straight losses. The Vikings should have beaten them in week two had Jackson not fumbled the ball in OT. With 3 out of their last 5 games at the Dome, people should get behind this team and help push them into the playoffs. Right now, the Vikings are arguably playing the best out of all the teams involved in the Wild Card race. They just dismantled the WC leader, should beat the WC # 2 next week and take care of the Redskins and Cardinals at home in the ensuing weeks before facing an incredibly inconsistent Broncos team at Invesco field in Denver.

So my question posed at the beginning was “could things finally be going our way?”

…Stay tuned.

Man oh Man

Let's look back to August 16th, 2007.

I was at the Mall of America with Alec and we were on a search. I was just looking around for some hats and shoes (the usual) and he was on a Lord of the Rings type quest for a Joseph Addai jersey.

While having trouble finding the Addai jersey, we stumbled into the big Foot Locker on the 3rd floor. He noticed that they were selling rookie jersey's for $49.99. Included in these jerseys was new Vikings rookie Adrian Peterson. Earlier that week he had romped over the Jets and gave us all a little preview of how this season might go for him. I hadn't really been a die hard Vikings fan because I was tired of cheering for a team who spent more time in jail than in the Red Zone and they didn't really have a superstar.

Alec looked at the jersey and goes, "Dude, he's going to be a stud...and it's only $49.99, buy it". So I gave into peer pressure and bought my first Vikings jersey since Randy Moss was burning the turf (not the way many of you may think, the legal way of course).

In all honesty...who would have known it would have been the smartest jersey buy of my life? Well Alec did.

Yesterday, those of you who got a chance to watch the Vikings/Chargers game may have seen the emergence of the next great thing in the NFL. In a state where the most popular player since Kirby Puckett was traded to Boston and where Kirby's replacement is surely going to another team, Minnesota was in dire need of a superstar. Well, we've got one.

Adrian Peterson, "All Day" dubbed by him and his teammates, ran for an NFL single game record of 296 yards. He would have had well over that had he not been horse collar tackled by a San Diego cornerback. He also had 3 touchdowns to go with that. A 1 yrd, 64 yd and 45 yd. He is carrying this team on his back. He was running so well that even Brooks Bollinger looked like a steady quarterback with his big strike to rookie Sidney Rice.

Yesterday was truly the day of the rookie for the Minnesota Vikings. As much problems coaching that Childress has had and Vikings brass for their incompetence, they drafted pretty dawggone well. They drafted the next Eric Dickerson (maybe better?) as well as a talented receiver who can leap forward about 5 yards.

The Vikings defense shut down a Chargers offense who can score at the drop of a dime. LaDanian Tomlinson looked like the rookie on Sunday. Only having one Touchdown and maybe 45 yards rushing or so. And don't even get me started on Philip Rivers. I think Marshawn Lynch had a better game passing than Rivers did. He made the Giants look great for taking Eli off of the Charger's hands a couple years ago. Give the front line credit as well. Kevin Williams and Pat Williams got amazing pressure on Rivers to force him into those bad throws.

The part that I'm excited about? The schedule gets very favorable from here on out for the Vikings. They are at Green Bay next weekend, then after that they have Oakland, Chicago, Detroit and Washington at home and the New York Giants, San Francisco and Denver away. The Vikings are only 3-5 right now and have yet to get completely blown out in a game. If they can get some consistency at QB and have AP run like he has been, this team could easily see the playoffs. Jeff George did it without an AP and he went 8-2, so anything's possible.

I'm very excited to see where this team can go. There are glaring problems at QB, but like I said, as long as AP runs like that, just hand the ball off Brooks...hand it off.

Timberwolves season predictions

It is currently the middle of the first Wolves game of the year, and I decided that I needed to make some predictions for the next 82 games and subsequent offseason. (Also, I'd like to mention that through 3 quarters, the Wolves have thoroughly outplayed the expected Northwest division winner, the Denver Nuggets)



Prediction 1: Al Jefferson averages a solid double-double. Jefferson will be one of the West leaders in rebounding, and will average upwards of 20 points. I don't expect an average of more than 20 points a game just because the Wolves will be able to spread the ball around a lot, to Foye, McCants, Gomes, Smith, and Walker.
Prediction 2: The Wolves will have no problems with Antoine Walker. Walker reportedly was overweight for the Heat, and had fallen out of favor with Heat coach Pat Riley. I think as a veteran presence on this roster, he will help a lot of the players, and eventually average upwards of 10 points a game once he learns the offense.

Prediction 3: The Wolves will stop talking about KG around the All-Star game, once Jefferson makes it. This is more hopeful than anything. They need to celebrate these new guys, and move on from KG. These new guys look pretty damn good.

Prediction 4: Theo Ratliff will have his best season in 5 years. The guy looks rejuvenated this year, playing hard both on offense and defense. I think he could play his way into a new contract with the Wolves if he does well this season as their starting center, especially after considering their lack of talent there in the past. I think in general they will try to keep this team together for a while.

Prediction 5: The Wolves will contend for the last playoff spot. Yes, I realize this is a big prediction, but I honestly feel that without Blount and Davis, this roster will flourish. These guys will learn to love playing with each other, and it will be like a playground game out there. They don't have the immediate talent of other teams, but these guys are hungry to prove something. I expect them to surpass their 32 wins from last season and be in the hunt for the last spot for a while, and there is a possibility they could win that 8th spot. No one expects it from them, and that almost makes it easier for them, since no one will take them seriously. Honestly, there has never been a team much like them in this or any other professional league, a team with nearly all unproven players. Just because they are unproven, doesn't mean they aren't good.


Well there they are, my season predictions. I won't be the least bit disappointed if they don't make the playoffs, but if they do, you heard it here first. I also want to say that Foye will average over 15 points a game and 5 assists, and McCants will average nearly as many points per game as Foye. Again, just a prediction.

Either way, you need to watch these teams. There is an excitement to these games that hasn't been seen since 2004, and I know that I've been convinced just in these first 3 quarters.

And so it begins...

I am excited....

More excited than I have been in years. And why is that?

Because the Timberwolves start their NBA season today.

Now many of you, I am assuming, are skeptical of how this team will finish this year. Just about everyone and their mom has them finishing 15th in the West (which is actually 6th in the Eastern Conference). Not to mention not even giving this young group of guys a chance in the NBA. My question is, how many times do you see a trade that includes 5 players from the same team going to a team together? It's tough enough to bring a new player into a team that he's never played with before but these guys all played together last year. That's a step up from a lot of other trades in NBA history.

If you'll remember my KG tribute article, you'll know that I am the first person that wishes we still had KG. But if you really want the Timberwolves to have a successful future, KG HAD to go. Taking up so much payroll really hurt their chances of signing a lot of players. Not to mention, he wasn't going to win a title in the West when everyone else was improving so much. So shipping him off to the Deveopmental league of the NBA was the best choice for all parties involved.

Today is not the start of the "Post-KG era"...STOP CALLING IT THAT! There is a guy that is emerging as possibly one of the best old-school post players in the NBA. Today is the start of the "Al Jefferson Era". When did you ever hear KG say, "I really didn't think that I'm worth the max yet". KG let his agents rule what he thought he was worth. Jefferson had a better first two seasons than KG did all around and yet KG was making $121 million just a few years after he had been in the NBA. This kid is the truth. Hard worker and not full of himself? That's like finding a successful WNBA franchise. I'm excited to see him go up against Duncan and see what he can do.

This team has a lot of question marks surrounding it. I am excited to see a bunch of guys, my age mostly, grow into a solid NBA team. It may not happen right away this year, but trust me...It will happen. Don't fall off the Wolves bandwagon just yet. I've fallen into that trap as a Minnesota fan, as the teams suck the ticket prices seem to go up (except for the Twins, thank you) and we decide to stop watching until they are good again. But stick with these guys, for once in my life, I feel like McHale and Taylor did something right. Now, they have the chance to screw it up but they signed their best player to an extension before it became an issue during the season and even traded away the Stacey Patton of the NBA (aka Ricky Davis).

My prediction for the Wolves is that they will surprise people this year. A bunch of young guys with good work ethic and chemistry? That is dangerous in today "me first" NBA society. By saying that, I predict that the Wolves will win between 25-30 games this year. I don't see lottery but if we get there, understand that this team will get much better. Look at the teams who have evolved in the last couple years. The Nuggetts, Bulls, Blazers, Warriors...all teams with young cores who worked their way to respectability.

So watch the Wolves tonight, tomorrow and the rest of the season. Get on that bandwagon tonight so that in a couple years you don't look like a fool when you're standing at the stop while we're speeding off towards the NBA Finals.

Monday Round-up

Happy Monday to all!

I would like to start off by saying congratulations to the Boston Red Sox for beating the 2007 5A Colorado High School champions. It was nice that they won that contest to play in the World Series but I felt bad that those kids probably missed some school this month just to get swept. But I'm sure that it's an experience that they will all remember as they go through college and such.

My only thoughts are, 2 titles within 4 years of each other after waiting 86 years for just one? Either the curse is gone or Babe Ruth went comatose even in the afterlife. Needless to say, the Red Sox are one player signing away from becoming the New York Yankees (See: A-rod opts out of his contract). You know that they are going to try and sign him and why not? He's a great player. Boston has a good group of playoff guys, so A-rod's playoff choking may not even hurt them at all. You must understand that if Boston does sign A-rod, I'm making peace with all my family and friends because of the certain looming of the end times. The vortex of good sports teams has stalled over the Boston Area and shows no signs of leaving any time soon. The Patriots are destroying anything in their way and leaving women and children in their deadly wake, the Celtics might even win more than 20 games this year, Boston College is second in the BCS ( if they win the title, can they play the Pats for fun?) and the Bruins...well...we can't have everything we want.

Anyway, enough with my Boston rant. On to much bigger and not so better things.

I am talking about the Vikings.

(Sigh)....another loss to a Philly team who is definitely not the same team that used to dominate the NFC. They lost to the Bears and the Vikings essentially beat up on the Bears...so statistically that would make us better than the Eagles right? Wrong, because neither of those teams have Brad Childress, Kelly Holcomb/Brooks Bollinger, Bobby Wade as their # 1 receiver. There is something wrong with this team and it's pretty easy to figure out. We have NO pass defense and no Quarterback. It's gotten to the point where I've even had the discussion that involved "Hey, Aaron Brooks is available..." I get lightheaded just thinking about the Vikings putting their trust in Aaron Brooks. The sad thing is that he is an upgrade to our situation. My only question is why do we even have WR's? If our leading receiver has about 3oo yards this year, couldn't we trade those yards for more salary cap money or something? There has to be some compromise with Commissioner Godell on this.

The road only get's harder here on out. The Vikes have the Chargers next Sunday at the dome (a team that scored 35 first half points against the Texans yesterday) and then Green Bay at home. The last time we beat GB at home, Randy Moss made Joe Buck throw up his lunch and go on a 5 minute tirade of why fake mooning the Lambeau faithful was like throwing a puppy in the trash can. Hopefully the Vikings can do something to save this season. If not, it'll be good for the fans I suppose. We wont have to watch for too long in the draft next year to see their pick.

If you haven't already, go see Saw IV. If you've seen the first 3, you'll enjoy this one. If you don't understand the movie after you see it, check out the Wikipedia page on it. Just keep your eyes open during the movie and try to remember some of the past characters because some of them may show up in this movie. It wasn't as gross as the 3rd one but still had some pretty sick (literal meaning and slang meaning) traps. Also, there is a new Alien v. Predator movie to go along with my personal favorite National Treasure 2. Nicolas Cage is just a solid actor (see: Lord of War & Face Off).

As always, leave your feedback and enjoy the day!

The Emergence of a Star

Ladies and Gentlemen…may I present to you the 2007-08 MVP of the National Football League, Adrian Peterson.



Sorry, I might be getting ahead of myself a little bit here. But any of you who caught the Vikings vs. Bears yesterday afternoon saw something special.


You saw the emergence of the next great running back in the NFL not named LaDanian Tomlinson.


I’m tired of hearing that the Bears defense was lacking some of it’s firepower. I must have been watching the wrong game, but I remember seeing Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Adewale Ogunleye, Adam Archuleta and Alex Brown. But yes, you’re right…the Bears were clearly missing their Defense.


Shenanigans.


Adrian Peterson rushed for 224 yards on 20 carries and even had a 53 yard kick return to set up Ryan Longwell’s 55 yard field goal to beat the Bears as time ran out. The rookie from the University of Oklahoma, also the first running-back taken in the 2007 draft, has arrived in the NFL and he brought the snacks.


"I just got comfortable, more comfortable with the speed of the game, I knew anything was possible," Peterson said


He got comfortable alright. He made himself at home at Soldier Field. Rumor has it that the maintenance crew put up a locker in the Bears locker room with Peterson’s name on it. Since only the home running back is supposed to run like Peterson did.


He broke Chuck Foreman’s team record of 200 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976 and Ricky Williams’ record of 216 at Soldier Field in 2002. In other words, he had a day.


As for the rest of the team, yes…Adrian Peterson did not play every position today, the Vikings looked like an NFL team. Tarvaris Jackson did not turn over the ball, 9-23 with 136 yds and 1 td to Troy Williamson. The defense shut down the Bears rushing attack and made Brian Griese toss the football 45 times. If Rex Grossman had been starting today, the Vikings might have won this game by 35+.


Coming out of the bye week, the Vikings looked like they were on a mission. They looked crisp and not very sluggish for a team that hadn’t played for a week.


They’ve got another test next week down in Dallas against a Cowboys team that was subsequently crushed by the Patriots today 48-27. Other than that, the Vikings have a favorable schedule ahead of them.


10/21 @ Dallas

10/28 Philadelphia

11/4 San Diego

11/11 @ Green Bay

11/18 Oakland


The Vikings have a chance to win all of those games, but I say they go 3-2 in that stretch. That would bring them to 5-5 and still in the playoff hunt in the wide open NFC.


My interest in the Vikings has been revived. I nearly went hoarse and nearly had an aneurism at the end of that game.


As always, your comments are welcome and have a great Monday!

A Great 2007 Major League Season

While the 2007 season was a disappointing one for many Twins fans, baseball as a whole experienced one of the greatest years in recent memory. In case you tuned out of baseball after the Twinkies were eliminated from contention, here are just a few things you may have missed: Barry Bonds last game as a San Francisco Giant; the Boston Red Sox finally taking the American League East away from the New York Yankees; the New York Mets losing the N.L. East title to the Philadelphia Phillies and missing the playoffs after leading the division by seven games with seventeen left to play; and finally, the thirteen inning exhilarating Colorado Rockies-San Diego Padres one-game playoff to determine who won the N.L. Wildcard. The Rockies won the aforementioned game to reach the playoffs for the first time in twelve years, and only the second time in the history of the franchise. As one can see, even the final week of the major league season was packed with twists and turns, and that doesn’t even begin to describe the great stories from this year.

This season saw the most historical achievements than any other previous year. Three players, Alex Rodriguez, Frank Thomas, and Jim Thome, joined the 500 home run club, along with slugger Sammy Sosa joing the 600 home run club. Also, the hallowed all-time home run record of 755 home runs, set by Henry Aaron, was eclipsed by Barry Bonds. Other milestones reached this year included a 300 win pitcher (Tom Glavine) and 3,000 hits (Houston second baseman Craig Biggio). Finally, the man who took much of the heat for the San Diego Padres one-game playoff loss, Trevor Hoffman, became the all-time saves leader this season, and currently sits at 524 for his career.

So much happened just in personal milestones, it almost hides the fact that young hitters came up from the minors for one of the best rookie classes since, well, last year. But these past two seasons have produced some of the best rookies in a LONG time, with many either already or on the verge of becoming all-stars (Hanley Ramirez, Prince Fielder, David Wright). Here are my predictions for A.L and N.L. Rookie of the Year:

A.L. Rookie of the Year – Dustin Pedroia (2B, Boston Red Sox): Pedroia held down the second base position the entire season, and finished the season with a .317 batting average, good enough for tenth in the American League. Considering that he also helped Boston to the best record in baseball, Pedroia seems like a lock for the Rookie of the Year award. Other possibilities for this year’s award include Tampa Bay outfielder Delmon Young and Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

N.L Rookie of the Year– Troy Tulowitzki (SS, Colorado Rockies): Tulowitzki literally won this award at the last possible moment in my mind. Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Ryan Braun had this locked up, but in the end baseball is about offense AND defense. Braun, when called up from the minors, went on to hit 34 home runs with a .324 average, but his defense was terrible. He ended the season with 26 errors, and a .895 fielding percentage, both good enough for worst in the league. Insert Tulowitzki. He finished the season with a .291 average, 24 home runs, and had some spectacular defense down the stretch, leading the Rockies to win 13 of their last 14 games. He also went four for seven in the one game playoff for the wildcard, and scored the game tying run in the bottom of the thirteenth inning. To me, offensive and defensive stats, combined with a team’s performance, are what make a rookie of the year, and Tulowitzki had it all.

With that look at the year’s best rookies, all that is left are the Cy Young and MVP predictions. Two of the four have been decided since midseason, and the other two may have been decided in the last week of the season.

A.L. Cy Young – C.C. Sabathia (SP, Cleveland Indians): Sabathia finished well down the stretch, winning his final five decisions. Throw in the fact that he led the Indians to the playoffs and out dueled 2006 Cy Young winner Johan Santana three times this season, and he is the easy choice for the award.

N.L. Cy Young – Jake Peavy (SP, San Diego Padres): Peavy won the N.L. pitching triple crown (wins, strikeouts, and earned run average), much like Johan Santana last year. Peavy is a shoo-in.

A.L. MVP – Alex Rodriguez (3B, New York Yankees): It seems like A-Rod has had this award since the first day of the season. He has simply been the best offensive threat in the A.L. all season long. Combine the fact that he eclipsed 500 career home runs this year, and A-Rod is also a lock to win the award.

N.L. MVP – Matt Holliday (OF, Colorado Rockies): This award really could go to Holliday or any of the deserving Philadelphia Phillies (Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, or reigning MVP Ryan Howard), but Holliday I feel deserves this award because he is the only MVP candidate on his team. When you have a team like the Phillies that have that many players producing, you expect to win. Holliday took the Rockies on his back, and took them headfirst into the playoffs. Plus, he literally took them into the playoffs by scoring the winning run of their one-game playoff by diving head first into home plate, leaving a nice scrape right on his chin in the process. Holliday deserves this award this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes elsewhere.

That about does it for the 2007 season recap. Baseball fans across the nation tuned in this year to witness one of the best seasons ever, with seemingly new stories every night. It’s hard to imagine that the season could get any better, but remember this – there are still the playoffs. As Dane Cook puts it SO delicately in those postseason commercials, there is only one October! Go Rockies!

A much needed break

I am leaving for Kansas City, MO this morning.

I will be headed down to catch a Royals game and get some much needed R& R away from the "exciting" Iowa.

Until then, look for some stuff from Owen and maybe even Alec.

As always, have a safe weekend (when it rolls around) and don't let fantasy football give you a brain hemmorage...as it will do to me soon as the proud owner of Steven Jackson, Peyton Manning, Hines Ward, Cavin Johnson and a 1-2 record.

(and yes, that is Frankie goes to Hollywood in the picture)

Embarassment in Kansas City...and no...I don't mean the Royals

Don't be fooled by the fact that this is a fictional cartoon character...

Homer Simpson was on the sidelines during the Vikings 13-10 loss to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon.

If you remember, in season 9 of the Simpsons, Bart joins a pee-wee football team coached by Ned Flanders (often times confused to be coach Childress, except Flanders coached his team to wins). Homer's taunting of Ned eventually leads to him quitting and giving Homer the coaching job.

Homer is too dumb to keep Nelson in at QB, plays favorites and puts Bart in as QB. The team loses several games and eventually Bart has to sacrifice himself (posing as Nelson when the police show up to arrest Nelson for a crime he committed) in order to save the team's season.

Lesson learned? Sometimes it really isn't the players...it's the coaches.

Brad Childress called about as good of a game as a indigenous tribe member from the Arctic could. First drive? Amazing, Adrian Peterson blows past Ty Law and puts the Vikings up 7-0. After that, the Chiefs somewhat figured out AP and now it was up to journeyman Kelly "I couldn't make it with the Browns or Eagles OR Bills" Holcomb. Even our 3rd string RB had a better arm (see touchdown pass to Shiancoe). It was deemed an incomplete pass by the referees and they were defended by the announcers as saying that maybe they didn't have that angle that we all saw. CAN SOMEONE GET THOSE GUYS A LITTLE TV SO THEY CAN GET THAT DAWGGONE ANGLE?!

Holcomb would later overthrow a wide open Robert Ferguson in the endzone which would have put the Vikes up 17-6. The guy hasn't played in a couple months and was thrown into a game against the Chiefs. Not the greatest team in the world, but it was an away game at a very intimidating stadium and the guy doesn't have the greatest track record. First bad coaching move by Childress.

Second bad move was running on first and second down and then relying on Timmy Twizzler Arm to get a first down. Sure AP had another solid game, but relying on a rookie RB won't really get you W's.

Third bad coaching move? The entire 4th quarter. Run, run, Incomplete pass, punt....Run, run, incomplete pass, punt. Referring back to our Simpsons episode, I can already see Childress with his electric football game saying "Alright Matt, hike the ball to Kelly and Kelly....you run around in a circle and then fall down".

I don't like to think that because I play Madden way too much that I can coach better than Childress...but I think that had he just pressed square (for PS2 users) for the 'Ask Madden' option, Madden would have let him know "Show them that you aren't afraid...run the ball up the middle"....oh wait...maybe he did use the 'Ask Madden'...

Either way, with the way the Green Bay Packers (leading candidates for the "Ringers of the Year" award) are playing right now...the Packers will most likely be 4-0 by 3:15 pm next Sunday and the Vikings will be thinking "who do we take with the number 3 pick?"

As always, leave your feedback and have a great Monday.

Long time, No See...

Good morning!


(I started writing this at 11:40 pm and since it was before midnight, the post says Wednesday...it really is meant for Thursday...but let's get on with it)

It has been a while since our last post here at Court's Sports. Due to unforseen events, mainly me deciding to be a real college student and actually go to class and do homework all the time, it's been pretty busy around these parts.

I would love to spend time catching up on everything that has been happening since last week, but if you read this blog I am going to trust that you haven't been under a rock for a week and know what's going on.

So I would like to focus on the one thing that has been plastered all over ESPN, and every other news outlet during the last few days, and that is OJ Simpson's recent arrest.

This whole situation stinks with confusion. The jist of the story is that someone told OJ that someone else was selling some personal effects and OJ wasn't having it. So he took some people that he met at a wedding reception and Pulp Fictioned his way into jail. One of OJ's new friends apparently had a gun, some say OJ did but it isn't known at this point. 11 felony counts later, OJ is back in jail and has the Goldman family giddy with joy.

With bail set at $125,000, OJ seems to be back in the same situation he was when he was being tried for murder. Is it really a case of "wrong place, wrong time"? Or is OJ really the guy that most of America thinks he is?

I was 8 years old when '85 white Ford Broncos were no longer known as "trucks" but "getaway vehicles". I remember the glove and sitting in front of the TV when he was being acquitted. Was I excited? Sure, but for what reason?

I had heard that he was guilty as all guilty can be. And then he somehow moonwalks his way out of murder charges?! First thought at age 8? "He is the man!"

Forgive me, I was 8, but that's what it looked like to a lot of people. Until this point in American history, if a black man went to trial...there was a good chance that his plans were going to change for the next 15-20 years. And now "Juice" was getting acquitted of murder when it seemed to be a very clear cut trial? Unbeleivable.

You could play the celebrity card of course, but that card was a 2 of a kind to the royal flush that was the race card.

I've never been one to cry race at anything. Sure, I may use it in the comical sense, but people need to deal with their lives regardless of skin color. I've been a part of many situations that dealt with racism, so I know what it's like. But not everything in life is black and white.

Unfortunately, this situation also stinks with the dreaded "P" word..."profiled"

I feel that OJ was very un-intelligent about this situation. First off, who were the guys with him. If I'm at a party with OJ, not only am I nowhere near him, but if I am and I hear about a plan to run into a hotel room with a gun to get his stuff back...I make my way over to my date and do not join in such activities. Second, well knowing his past with the police, why would he go with a gun and a bunch of guys. Like Whoopi Goldberg said on the View the other day, (my mother told me, I'm in class at the time) "Involve the police!"

Now, OJ was quoted as saying that he no longer has faith in the police and that his dealings with them have been less than satisfactory since the '95 trial. Really OJ? The police have been "less than satisfactory"? Surprise. Either way, if he calls them and they refuse to go to the hotel it falls on them for not doing their job to serve and protect.

Unfortunately, when you have the past experiences that OJ has had, then yes, authorities may deal with you differently. To me, this is where the profiling ends.

You, in the next few weeks, may hear "Well if Tom Brady had been in this situation, then he wouldn't have such harsh charges. Maybe, maybe not...we'll never know. Want to know why we'll never know? BECAUSE TOM BRADY WILL NEVER BE IN THIS SITUATION.

I don't often deal in absolutes, but come on. Unless something goes terribly wrong, I don't see the distant Kennedy (check out his pictures online, creepy) doing this ever. Some people just find themselves in stupid situations and OJ is the current league leader in stupid situations.

I would like to leave you with these links though : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070918 (ESPN's Jemele Hill has a great article that goes into great detail about the situation)

Scroll down to the "Jason Simpson Theory" section (on Wikipedia) and read it. Not many have talked about this theory, but something tells me that it makes more sense than OJ actually committing the murders.

This situation is a loaded gun. It screams confusion, racism, profiling and mainly stupidity on OJ Simpsons part.

We here at Court's Sports in no way support OJ Simpson in anything he does unless it involves him in a USC or Buffalo Bills uniform. Nor do we support Wikipedia as a source of great information, just a great way to pass time in class.

Have a great Thursday!

Terry Ryan & Greg Oden...friends?

I ask this question mainly because as of today, neither of these gentlemen will have much to do.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, and about 70 other sources, Twins GM Terry Ryan has stepped down from his position in the Twins organization.

This comes as a great surprise to many since Ryan has been with the organization for 12 years now and the Twins will be at possibly the most important crossroads in their storied history as they try and find the funds to re-sign their most important players.

Ryan will be replaced by Assistant GM Bill Smith, who according to sources, is a very motivated and competent replacement.

Ryan has been lauded by owners across the league for being able to put competitive teams on the field year in and year out with a very limited budget. He was able to trade AJ Pierzsynski for Boof Bonser, Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano. That trade is considered by many, one of the most lopsided trades in recent MLB history. Ryan had a great eye for talent and it showed.

As for the other part...

Greg Oden, who elected to have microfracture knee surgery a couple weeks ago, will apparently be out until March and maybe even the entire season.

This is a blow to the TrailBlazers organization who was banking on Oden helping them to the playoffs this year.

The best thing is that since Oden, age wise, is young he could return quicker than thought.

And yes, he still will have to shave every 6 hours.

Peyton's still here...and he's brought friends

The New Orleans Saints really thought that they had a chance to beat the Colts in Indy last night....I'm sure of it.


Well, any of you who watched last night would know that wishes sometimes just don't happen. Sounds sad, but nothing is more sad than coming in with high expectations for your team and having every single person on your team underacheive. Even the water boy spilled Deuce McAllister's Gatorade during the 3rd quarter.


Reggie Bush, considered by many to be one of the most explosive players in the NFL, gained a grand total of 47 yards last night...47 YARDS!? For a player with high expectations, that better be the last time that happens or else Fantasy owners across America will revolt.


Drew Brees threw for about 180 yards and 2 INT's. They weren't tipped INT's, they were the "what were you thinking when you threw that?!" INT's. He looked sharp on the first drive but past that he looked like me in Intramural football last year, erratic and blaming everyone else for my bad passes.


The consolation, as said by Sean Salisbury, is that they are in the NFC. Barring anymore games against the Colts, the Saints could go 15-1 this year. Most likely they won't, but that's what wishes are all about.


Peyton & CO. looked rough on their first drive. 3 and out on the first drive makes it hard to gain momentum for the rest of the game but on the next drive, Peyton found Marvin Harrison on the left side of the field for the first time in 10 years and they continue to build on their NFL record of QB to WR Td's (now sitting at 683).


Reggie Wayne and Joe Addai stole the show last night though. Addai, after getting torn apart by Mike McKenzie (who else was surprised that he actually made a tackle?), went on to rush for over 100 yards and a TD while Wayne had 7 - 125-2 for the night.


The Colts look like nothing has changed and that spells trouble for the rest of the AFC.

Christmas Come Early

Today is the day…


The day that men all across America have been waiting a year for…


Football…


Season…


Is…


HERE!


At 7:30 pm Central Standard time, The Colts and Saints will kick off the 2007-08 NFL season from the hidden gem of the Upper East-Midwest, also known as Indianapolis, IN.

Some interesting storylines surround this game:


Can Peyton Manning repeat his past seasons of QB dominance? As well as, Can the Colts repeat as Super Bowl champs or will they fall prey to the dismal seasons the Buccaneers and Ravens had after they won Super Bowls?


Will Reggie Bush repeat his 1,300 all purpose yardage again for the Saints this year?


Can Joe Addai be the feature back that everyone thinks he can be?


Can Drew Brees, Marques Colston and Devery Henderson have a season like they did last year?



My answers to all of these questions?


Peyton Manning is about as consistent as the sun rising and setting. He not only will have a great year, but he will also be the AFC Offensive player of the year barely beating out LaDanian Tomlinson. The Colts will also be the team to beat in the AFC. Even though Tom Brady got some huge help this offseason, the Colts are still the team to beat. Plus, compare the three teams involved in that question. Colts, Bucs and Ravens? Come on, when was the last time you heard Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer and Peyton Manning in the same sentence when it didn’t end with, “Are you kidding?”



Not only will Reggie Bush repeat his season numbers from last year, he’ll do better. I imagine Reggie getting near 1,000 yards rushing and 700 receiving. He will be HUGE this year for the Saints. He is my early leader for NFC Offensive player of the year. If that doesn’t sell it for you, remember this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwS5x920i8A


Joseph Addai will be good for the Colts this year. One of the most ridiculous things that I ever heard this offseason was, “Hey, the Colts are going to be a running team this year, you watch!” There are a lot of reasons why that is stupid but the main reason is that if anyone remembers that the Colts have one of the best QB’s since…well…ever, WHY WOULD THEY TURN INTO A RUNNING TEAM?! Addai is simply a nice distraction for any defense that faces the Colts. Look for 1,100 yards maybe.


Drew Brees and Marques Colston will have great years. When you have a running game that includes Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush, you can’t help but think, “hey, my job is pretty easy” (Brees and Colston speaking). Devery Henderson was very streaky last year and I wouldn’t expect much from him this year.


Like the “experts” at ESPN and every other media outlet around the world, here are my “expert” picks.


NFC North : Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers

NFC South: Saints, Panthers, Falcons and Bucs. (Falcons and Panthers in second place is a wash in my mind)

NFC East: Giants, Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins (you watch, Eli will come up big this year. If not, well then so be it.)

NFC West : Rams, Seahawks, 49ers and Cardinals (this, for the first time since the Korean War, was incredibly tough. The Rams and Seahawks are very similar in their styles and skill and so are the 49ers and Cards. I can see this going any which way. Now that Denny Green is gone, the Cards have an honest shot at winning more than 6 games.


AFC North : Bengals, Steelers, Ravens, Browns.


AFC South : Colts, Jags, Texans, Titans (this is the “Mid-90’s NL East” of the NFL. One dominant team surrounded by other teams that just fight each other to not look that bad)

AFC East : Patriots, Bills, Dolphins, Jets


AFC West : Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders



Superbowl prediction : Bears vs. Colts (Yes, again. I see this turning into the new “Cowboys/Steelers” superbowls of the 90’s. )


A disclaimer on predictions like this should ALWAYS go on websites that put up their predictions. The only thing that separates me from Sean Salisbury right now is a college education and a steady job (your pick on that one). So please, as always, leave your comments on what you think of my predictions and enjoy the game tonight!

NFL Problems

Well...I knew that this was too good to be true. As soon as I showed an interest in the NFL again, things got pretty heavy again.

Rodney Harrison has been suspended by the NFL for 4 games for admitting that he purchased and consumed Human Growth Hormones. Am I the only one that isn't that surprised about this? Anyone that has watched Rodney Harrison the last couple of years can testify that he is absolutely nuts on the field. Not Ray Lewis' "I need to get my team hyped and I'm stoked to be here" kind of nuts but "Hey, I'm going to kill you if you come over the middle and then date your sister after" sort of nuts. He admitted to taking them the past 2 years to recover from his injuries faster but this comment confused me :

"I want to make it clear," Harrison said, "that never once did I take steroids. I did admit to the commissioner that I took a banned substance."

Isn't HGH a form of steriods!? Maybe instead of Sex Education we need to be teaching our kids about sterioids so that when they get older and maybe get in a situation like this, they don't look like an idiot.

The NFL needs to crack down on this and Roger Goodell has a lot of work to do.

Luckily, College football gets into full swing tomorrow. Go Trojans...Go Gophers...and LSU sucks.

Have a great weekend.

Placing Johan Santana into History

Man its a hot one.

Like seven inches from the midday sun

I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone

But you stay so cool

My mu equita my spanish harlem mona lisa

Your my reason for reason

The step in my groove...

-Smooth (Santana featuring Rob Thomas)



Every superhero has their theme music...Every professional wrestler has their entrance song…and Every baseball player has their song when they bat, pitch or come in from the bullpen.





So why does a collaboration by Rob Thomas and super guitarist Santana have a special meaning to me?





Two reasons…a left arm and charisma that could bring peace to the Middle-East.




Johan Santana.




The Metrodome is a teflon covered toilet. Since 1982, it has brought nightmares to players as well as fans. Balls get lost in the off-white ceiling, hit speakers and ricochet 20 feet away from where it was going to land. None of the seats really face home plate (watch or go to a game sometime and notice how the section by the left field foul pole is ALWAYS empty).



All is forgotten on the special days when Santana pitches…



There is a different feeling when you walk into the dome. A confidence, because Johan won’t let the other team sniff home plate. The song “Smooth” is played during Santana’s warm up pitches before the game starts. It’s like associating a pro-wrestler or superhero with their theme music. You hear it and automatically think of that person before you think of who actually wrote the song.


Now, I may be biased on my thoughts on Johan Santana (being from Minnesota myself) but I feel that he may be one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in Major League history. This is a big statement when considering other lefties that have graced the dirt mounds across America. These players range from Sandy Koufax to Steve Carlton to Tom Glavine to Randy Johnson and to the man who has the award for “Best Left-Handed pitcher”, Warren Spahn. There is no doubt that Santana is the best lefty pitcher currently but why not go a little further and compare him as one of the best lefties ever to play the game.


Let’s look at three categories : Strikeouts, Wins and ERA as well as comparing where each pitcher was with each category at Santana’s age (28) and years in the league (8). Future projections are based on whether Santana stays healthy and pitches at the same rate continually.


Strikeouts :

Spahn – 2,583 strikeouts

Koufax – 2,936 strikeouts

Carlton – 4,136 strikeouts

Glavine – 2,556 strikeouts (and counting)

Johnson – 4,616 strikeouts (and counting?)

Santana – 1,344 strikeouts (and counting)


Johnson has the most strikeouts for lefty pitchers in MLB history. If we base greatness on strikeouts alone, then Randy Johnson wins. He’s been pitching since 1988 and is getting close to the end of his career. His size alone puts fear into opposing batters, plus his 96 MPH fastball helps as well. Right now, Johnson could arguably be the best lefty pitcher in MLB history. Johnson needs 16 more wins to reach 300 and 484 strikeouts to reach 5,000. Neither of which are within much reach for Johnson unfortunately because of injuries. But let’s compare where Santana is at this point in his career.


By the age of 28, Randy Johnson had 948 career strikeouts after 5 years in the league. If you use age as a comparison, Santana leads Johnson by 396 strike outs. On the other hand, if you use the years in the league as a comparison, Johnson leads by 285 strike outs. If Santana keeps on pace with his strike outs and plays the same length as Johnson (assuming this is his last year) he will accumulate 3,360 strike outs. This, of course, is hypothetical. Injuries, among many other things, can change these numbers. Assuming that Santana stays healthy, he could make a run at Johnson’s numbers, especially with Johnson’s career coming to an end soon.



Wins:


To many, wins probably make the most difference between pitchers. A pitcher could strike out 2,500 batters in his career but what does it say if he only had 96 wins? The true sign of a dominating pitcher comes with how many wins he had in his career.

Spahn – 363 wins, 65 by age 28, 122 by 8 years in the league (gaps in years played due to World War 2)

Koufax – 165 wins, 112 by age 28 and 68 by 8 years. (began at age 19 in the league and didn’t put up big numbers until after age 28)

Carlton – 326 wins, 117 by age 28 and 104 by 8 years in the league

Glavine – 301 wins (and counting), 108 by age 28 and 108 by 8th year in the league (most correlative to Santana by age and numbers at this point)

Johnson – 284 wins (and counting?), 56 by age 28, 106 by 8th year in the league.

Santana – 92 wins (and counting), 92 by age 28 and 92 by 8th year in the league.


Even with World War 2, Spahn destroys the win record for lefties. He won games at such amazing rates that it will be hard for any lefty to ever catch him. Glavine is the closest for active players with his 301 wins but he is also 41 years old. He still is behind Carlton who finished with 326 wins. Who knows how many wins Sandy Koufax would have accumulated had Tommy John surgery been around when he was a player. Johnson is close but his degenerative back problems will most likely keep him from ever reaching that goal. Assuming that Santana pitches at the same rate of wins for the next 12 years, Santana would finish with 273 wins. This would put him in good standing in terms of career wins.


Era:


A pitcher’s Earned Run Average is something that many look at when comparing stats. Typically, a career ERA under 3.50 is considered pretty special. There are few players in MLB history that have been in the league for more than ten minutes that have a career ERA under maybe 3.05. Let’s look at our lefties again :


Spahn : 3.09 for a 21 year career

Koufax : 2.76 for a 12 year career

Carlton : 3.22 for a 24 year career

Glavine : 3.49 (active statistic)

Johnson : 3.22 (active statistic)

Santana : 3.15 (active statistic)


Koufax’s ERA stands out in this group of pitchers. He only pitched for 12 years, but had he not had elbow problems he may have had many more years of low ERA’s. Over the last 5 years of his career, his ERA averaged 2.38. For a pitcher in any era, those numbers are staggering. Santana at this rate would finish 3rd and possibly 2nd in this list of lefties for career ERA. Santana’s ERA has fluctuated the last 4 years but has been under 2.88 each year.


So let’s get a final look at Santana’s career stats as far as Strikeouts, Wins and ERA:


K’s – 3,360 W’s – 273 ERA – 3.10



With stats like that and not being a concrete starter until 2004, Johan Santana has a great shot at not only Cooperstown but a shot at being considered the most dominant lefty to ever play the game.

Fantasy Football 2007-08

It’s that time of year again…


No no no...not the State Fair…Not August & September pennant races…


It’s THAT time of year again…


Fantasy Football is here!


This past weekend, 11 of us got together in the Kinsky basement for the annual Woodbury Fantasy Football league draft.


This is the first year that we are all college students. Previously, only 4 of us were college students but the other guys have graduated and will be attending college. Upon coming home this summer, I found out that about 86% of their graduating class was going to the same university (University of Minnesota-Duluth). Does that even count for college? I mean, when you leave high-school to grow up on your own and meet new people, and then 200 kids from your graduating class join you on that exact same journey?


Anyway, each year that goes by, our draft starts to look more and more like the Academy Awards. On paper, it seems like it should take about 2.5 hours and somehow when 11:30 rolls around you start to think, “When and where did this go wrong?” Maybe we need an orchestra to start playing music when things start getting a little long to hurry things up.


It’s an auction style draft where we go around in a circle and throw out player’s names to bid on. If you are confused, just think of what the Jets have been doing for the past 5 years and that’s what we do.


This year, I believe that we finished somewhere around 3.5 hours. I could be wrong, but when you have 5 guys to pick and only $5 left…it starts to get a little long.


Here is my team and some information about each player. Give some feedback on what you think of my team and anything else interesting pertaining to fantasy football/NFL.


QB’s : Peyton Manning & Philip Rivers. Manning has been Mr. Fantasy for the last couple years. He has endless receivers and a solid running back this year. He sees the field very well and rarely makes mistakes. He was my QB last year and only two weeks did he not do so hot. In a 16 week season, that’s pretty good. Rivers was my back-up last year and did well. He broke out last year by throwing for 3,388 yards, 22 TD’s and 9 INT’s. It killed me some weeks because both Manning and Rivers had good match-ups. But as usual, the smarter side of me went with Manning. Both will have a great year.


RB’s : Steven Jackson, Marshawn Lynch & Lorenzo Booker. Jackson is my bread & butter. This guy is ranked #2 behind LT in just about every fantasy magazine across America. He rushed for 1,528 yards and 13 TD’s and had 806 yards REC with 3 TD’s. In Scott Linehan’s great offensive scheme, Jackson will get a lot of carries again this year. The O-line has improved and with the usual targets of Holt and Bruce, I’m looking for Jackson to have another great year. My prediction is that he will be better than LT this year, maybe even MVP. Yeah…I said it.

Lynch is another great back. He is getting some big praise around the NFL before his rookie season officially starts. He runs hard and fast and can hit the holes hard. He may only be a rookie, but he’ll have solid fantasy value as Buffalo’s feature back. Booker…well…let’s just hope that Ronnie Brown needs a breather here and there because I could really go for Booker coming up big this year.


WR’s: Calvin Johnson, Bernard Berrian, Jerricho Cotchery, Brandon Marshall, Kevin Walter, Michael Jenkins. At this point, if you haven’t figured out the gaping hole in this team….HERE IT IS! Other than Johnson and…well Johnson…I don’t have much confidence in my WR corps. Cotchery and Berrian could have solid seasons but they both have to catch balls from iffy QB’s. Marshall will be catching passes from Jay Cutler and could have a surprise season. He learned from Rod Smith all of last year and Mike Shanahan is looking for big things from him this year. Kevin Walter was a filler pick. I’m going to be frank…I had no idea who he was before I picked him. But you better believe that if he has a good year that I’m going to act like I knew what I was doing.


Fantasy Football Golden Rule # 1 : ALWAYS ACT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING…even if it was crystal clear that you did not and it was just pure luck.


TE’s: Vernon Davis & Greg Olsen. Davis should have a break out year. He was hurt last year and Alex Smith has grown by leaps and bounds as a QB. Other than Antonio Gates, Davis is my pick for best TE of the year. Olsen still has to prove himself as a rook. But according to my buddy’s brother…”Urlacher says that he’s the best TE he’s EVER seen…”


DEF/K: Matt Stover, Miami & Green Bay. Stover kicks about 5 FG’s a game and his leg has yet to fall off. Accurate kicker with a questionable red-zone offense (this = good for kickers). Miami D was solid last year. Jason Taylor returns and is the cornerstone of this D. The pass D needs to come up big this year in order to take Miami to the top of the D standings. Green Bay added defense in their draft this year and the improvements are there. This is clearly my back-up pick but watch for Nick Barnett and AJ Hawk to get 300 tackles a piece this year.


So that’s my team for the 2007-08 Fantasy Football season. From time to time, I will be giving updates on how the team is performing this year. Again, please leave your comments, musings or “what an idiot” comments about my team.

A Bleak Outlook

A quick comparison-

Starter #1
Career stats:
111 wins, 1196 strikeouts, 3.67 ERA, and .234 batting average against (BAA), 1 Cy Young
2007 stats - record 9-11, 100 strikeouts, 4.88 ERA, and a .252 BAA
Current contract - 7 years, $126 million or $18 million per year

Starter #2
Career stats:
78 wins, 1004 strikeouts, 3.37 ERA, and a .225 BAA
2007 stats - record 14-9, 139 strikeouts, 3.86 ERA, and a .231 BAA
Current contract - 5 years, $91.5 million or $18.3 million per year

Starter #3
Career stats:
90 wins, 1320 strikeouts, 3.17 ERA, and .220 BAA, 2 Cy Youngs
2007 season - record 12-9, 174 strikeouts, 3.02 ERA, and .220 BAA


As you may have guessed, that 3rd starter is Johan Santana. He has better career stats than both starter 1 and 2. Way more career strikeouts, and fewer wins that Starter 1 due to less seasons to his record. His ERA is a full half run better than starter 1 over his career, and has a lower BAA and ERA than both starters 1 and 2. All I'm trying to show here is that the Twins are going to have to give out a HUGE amount of money to Johan in order to retain him in the future. Considering his stats will be even better by the time his contract is up after next season, Johan could command easily over 20 million a year, and possibly closer to 25 million dollars a year than 20. Starters 1 and 2, better known as Barry Zito and Carlos Zambrano, are currently the highest paid starting pitchers in the league over the length of their contracts. Each is due over 18 million a year for at least 5 years.

Unless 93 year old Carl Pohlad decides to open up his wallet for Johan, to the tune of at least 20 million a year, and most likely much, much more, Johan will be pitching elsewhere when the Twins debut in their new stadium. My guess - the Boston Red Sox, since it seems that every good former Minnesota player is being delegated to the New England area.

Friday Frenzy

Well, I am officially back from California.

It's struggle-fest 2007 right now since I have slept in until about noon every day now. Initially, this wouldn't be a problem at all but seeing as how I need to be at school by Monday and I still have to pack...it's a problem.

The flight was pretty good minus the part of it being a red-eye. Interestingly enough, I saw Red-Eye earlier this year and couldn't help but wonder if I would have to go through the same thing.

I am convinced that there aren't many more personally embarassing things than airport security. Led by people who may or may not have graduated high school the first time around, it doesn't give me much hope.

Here is why President Bush should be wary of airport security:

As I got through MSP security, I hear "bag check!" In my mind I was screaming, "Come on! What am I going to have in my bag!?" Then the top flight security guard looks at me and says with waaaay too serious of a tone, "Is this your bag sir?" I sheepishly said yes and he brought me over to THE table. I had already been berated for not taking my laptop out of my computer bag by a lady who rivaled a similarityof a cross between Roseanne and Krusty the Clown. So I took this as an opportunity to not crack any jokes. The security guard asked if I had anything sharp in my bag. I had immediately remembered that I had my toiletries in that carry on. I told him that I had my razor (bad idea) and my shave gel in there. He pulls them both out and hold them in his hand and goes..."Sir....this shave gel is too big to not be checked through security. I can check it back through for you or throw it away." I told him to toss it and was hoping that he wouldn't toss my razor since they are about $15 for a new one. HE PUT THE RAZOR BACK IN THE BAG and told me to have a good day!

Needless to say, due to him throwing out my shave gel, he may have averted a security crisis and someone on my 757 to LAX may have gotten out of me threatening to give someone the closest and smoothest shave of their life. Thank you MSP security...thank you.

Now, it's not something that I ever want to think about or ever want to happen again...but if good ol' Bin Laden decides that planes are not passe, then we know who to blame. Don't blame the President, blame the guy who let me take my razor on the plane.

Normally on Friday's we have "Land O' Links" but tomorrow is our 3rd annual Fantasy Football Draft and I am pretty far behind on not caring who I draft. I've got my ESPN the Mag fantasy football edition and that's all that I need. I will leave you with this one story that I laughed at and then got a little worried that it could have been me...thank God for Northwest.

Look for the Marathon FF Draft 2007 recap on Monday morning.

Have a great weekend and be safe!

Twins finally make a move

Earlier today I read this rumor on Yahoo! Sports. I dismissed it as just that, since, I mean honestly, who wants Ramon Ortiz.

Terry Ryan, that crazy old man, actually pulled off getting another team to take on Ramon Ortiz and his ridiculous contract (one which he didn't deserve in the first place).

The Twins shipped off Ramon Ortiz to Colorado for AAA-infielder Matt Macri. This gives the Twins now 2 open spots on their 40-man roster, with the other one coming from departed infielder Jeff Cirillo. Brian Buscher was added to the 40-man roster when Luis Castillo was traded. With the roster openings and the now available money, one would hope Terry Ryan could pull the trigger on a deal to bring a bat over.

The fact that Terry Ryan was able to unload Ramon Ortiz on some poor team renews my trust in the Twins G.M. While I was disappointed after the trade deadline with no moves other than the Castillo trade, the man shows he knows what he is doing by unloading a terrible pitcher for yet another young bat.

Also, this is yet another sign that P Glen Perkins is almost ready to come off the disabled list, since Ortiz has held his long relief role since he became injured. Getting rid of Ortiz, with no viable long relievers in Rochester indicates Perkins is probably only a week away from returning.

Macri, a 25 year old currently playing 3B, began the season on Colorado's Double-A affiliate, and hit .298 with 11 home runs. He also can play SS and 2B, which makes him quite valuable to the Twins right now, since their current utility infielders should be in Triple-A. While it seems as if Macri won't be major league ready for a little while, seeing as he was only recently promoted to Triple-A, this may free up the Twins to bring up Matt Tolbert from Rochester to replace Ortiz on the major league roster.

Friends with the NFL again?....

NFL football has been ruined for me.



To some, this may be a bold statement. For those of you who live in Minnesota, or are Vikings fans from other parts of the nation, know what I’m talking about.


Since the great playoff choke of 1998, football in Minnesota hasn’t been the same. That year, the NFL saw the most explosive and proficient offense in its history. Randall Cunningham was re-born, Chris Carter found a second life and even Jake Reed got some press time. Randy Moss proved to the 18 teams that passed on him that they were truly missing out on one of the best receivers to play the game.


A tiny Irishman named Gary Anderson refused to miss a field goal and all was good in the frozen tundra.


Until the Falcons came to town.



They were lead by a bruising running-back and a 73 year old quarterback who was thisssclose to having his arm fall off. They won the game in overtime and the Vikings dream was over. Since then, professional football in Minnesota has never been the same.


Randy Moss got more bitter about being there, Denny Green just stopped caring and the curse of the Madden Cover hit Daunte Culpepper pretty hard. Coaches have come and gone and who can forget the infamous boat scandal?


Even with all of this in the past, things are looking up for the Vikings.


We’ve almost made it through an entire training camp without an embarrassing arrest or conviction. Let’s hear it for acting like responsible adults (insert clapping here).


Although the team is very young and is surrounded by question marks, I am excited to say that my enjoyment of NFL football is slowly coming back. Since 1998, I have been a Fantasy Football owner and not a NFL fan. I’ve watched the Super Bowl for the commercials and like 98% of other NFL fans, I never watched the Pro-Bowl. But in celebration of my near NFL recovery, I want to look at some of the questions that surround the 2007 Minnesota Vikings.



Offense :


This is the Vikings biggest question mark. Starting with the most important part of the Offense, which is the Quarterback…Tarvaris Jackson. He is a very raw talent who has great potential to be a star in the NFL. His two problems are his lack of experience and lack of help. Although he has two of the better running backs in the league, Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson, he has un-proven wide receivers. The veteran is Bobby Wade and after that is the slippery fingers of Troy Williamson and rookie Sidney Rice. The young group has some promise to impress but will have a lot of work to do.


The Vikings potentially have the best offensive line in the NFL. Behind mammoth men Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson and Harvard grad Matt Birk, Taylor and Peterson are waiting to run through pretty large holes. This has been the Vikings strong point over the last couple years.


This is obviously the Vikings biggest question. If this can be answered, they should have a strong showing in the NFL.



Coaching :


This is a question surrounding this team for two reasons. One, can Brad Childress help instill his west coast offense into the young quarterbacks on his team? Two, will the loss of Mike Timlin to the Steelers hurt the Defense?


As anyone may have seen last year against the Packers, Tarvaris Jackson has a cannon for a right arm. He can throw the ball. Can he do it without making mistakes? That will be the key to Childress’ west coast offense. He helped bring along another quarterback by the name of Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia and has shown that he knows his quarterbacks. If Childress can get Jackson, or any of his other quarterbacks, to understand this incredibly complicated system then the Vikings may surprise some people in the NFL.


Losing Mike Timlin was a huge loss to this team. In reading some stories in ESPN Magazine as well as stories from last year in the newspapers, Tomlin was a very motivating coach and was definitely the brains behind the Vikings defense that ranked 7th overall last year.


My favorite story came from ESPN Magazine. It chronicled some stories of how Tomlin motivated his players. During the week, he would recognize players who worked hard and did things the right way but he would also call out those players who didn’t do things the right way. In Minnesota, the biggest “fan” of this was Fred Smoot. Vikings fans may know him as “that guy who used to be good and who was paid a lot of money to have fun on a boat and be replaced by a rookie last year.” Smoot openly complained about Tomlin’s coaching style, which may tell you why Smoot didn’t have a good year last year. Any 8 year old is taught to listen to his coach no matter what and apparently Fred Smoot forgot that somewhere between Starkville and Minneapolis.


Losing Tomlin could hurt the Vikings defense immensely. Let’s hope that the guys can still tackle without their coach.

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There are many question marks that surround this team. They have the 23rd hardest schedule in the NFL, so with this, I feel that the Vikings will finish 9-7. I want to say 12-4 (4 losses coming at Chicago, at Dallas, at San Fran and at Denver) but I think that 9-7 will have less people thinking that I’m crazy. Notice that none of those losses were at home. I am speaking to you Vikings fans. That dome is a mud hole but it is OUR mud hole. Dome-field advantage needs to play a big part this year if we ever want to see the Vikings do well at home.


So there you have it. For those of you who read this, you are a part of history. For the first time in 9 years, I am actually starting to care about NFL football. Will I go out and pay $75 for a Tarvaris Jackson jersey? Nah, not yet. But I will maybe tone down the “Love Boat” jokes and cheer more for the team from the land of 10,000 lakes.