Tag: sports

NFL Week Three

This is the weekly NFL open thread. Skol Vikes!

Although I’m unhappy about AD being out for the season, I’m confident that Asiata and McKinnon can pick up where they left off two years ago. Especially with Bradford at quarterback instead of Cassel.

Free speech is for BLACK athletes

No doubt all of those championing the right of Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players to disrespect the national anthem will rush out to defend this Major League Baseball player’s right to free speech, right?

The other shoe has dropped in the Steve Clevenger saga: The Seattle Mariners have suspended the injured catcher for the rest of the season because of racially-charged tweets about the Charlotte protests, the Black Lives Matter movement and President Obama.

General manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement:

“As soon as we became aware of the tweets posted by Steve yesterday we began to examine all of our options in regard to his standing on the team. Today we have informed him that he is suspended for the remainder of the season without pay.”

Clevenger was already on the 60-day disabled list and wasn’t going to play this season anyway. This isn’t about playing time, rather they’re punishing him in his wallet. He’ll now forfeit the remainder of his $516,500 salary for this season. That comes out to about $31,900 for the final 10 games.

This is why the NFL’s position on the Black Lives Matter protesters is so transparently hypocritical. The professional sports leagues don’t respect free speech in the slightest. They regularly crack down on white players while excusing black players anything short of physically beating women and children.

I’d stop watching Major League Baseball in protest, but I don’t watch it anyhow.

The cowardly commissioner

Roger Goodell has put his foot in it again because he’s an indecisive coward who always seeks to work around the issue rather than address it directly. A USMC colonel writes a scathing letter to Goodell:

You are complicit in this! You’ll fine players for large and small infractions but you lack the moral courage and respect for our nation and the fallen to put an immediate stop to this. Yes, I know, it’s their 1st Amendment right to behave in such a despicable manner.

What would happen if they came out and disrespected you or the refs publicly?

I observed a player getting a personal foul for twerking in the end zone after scoring. I guess that’s much worse than disrespecting the flag and our National Anthem. Hmmmmm, isn’t it his 1st Amendment right to express himself like an idiot in the end zone?

Why is taunting not allowed yet taunting America is OK? You fine players for wearing 9-11 commemorative shoes yet you allow scum on the sidelines to sit, kneel or pump their pathetic fist in the air. They are so deprived with their multi-million dollar contracts for playing a freaking game!

You condone it all by your refusal to act.

The Marine officer hits the key point. Since the NFL aggressively fines its players for other protected expressions, its failure to do so when the players are openly disrespecting the flag and the national anthem makes them complicit in that disrespect.

Personally, I thought Bud Grant did it right. Line up straight, stand at attention, and provide a good example of discipline and respect for the kids. I was always proud of how the Grant-era Vikings looked in comparison with the slovenly, undisciplined other teams.

There is nothing wrong with what the players are doing, anymore than there was anything wrong with John Randle painting his face or Jim McMahon wearing his headbands. But the NFL’s hypocrisy with regards to the matter is both wrong and contemptible.

NFL Week 2

The weekly NFL open thread. Sorry for the delay, but I haven’t been paying attention today because the Vikes-Packers are the late game.

I have to say, I love seeing the LOS ANGELES Rams in their traditional blue-and-yellow.

Prolonging my career

We had a make-up game last night against one of the better teams in our league. It didn’t look promising, as neither of our goalies could make it and we had no substitutes. I don’t think I’ve been that nervous taking the field in the 30 years since the high school state tournament, because for the first time in my entire soccer career, the captain had me playing defense, specifically, left defender.

Fortunately, I knew the other team’s attackers and I’ve been watching Ender play defense for several years now, so I wasn’t completely lost. Their best attacker and leading scorer knows I’m as fast as he is, so he focused his runs on the right, which left me to become the goalie’s primary outlet. This meant that I found myself in a very unfamiliar and unwelcome role, which is essentially that of point guard bringing the ball up to half-court.

I played it very conservatively at first, passing the ball to the closest unmarked midfielder; if there wasn’t one, I just passed it inside to the sweeper. That worked well, and for the first 20 minutes, we didn’t permit any good chances and I only made one mistake when I had no unmarked options and made a dumb pass in between two of our midfielders instead of putting it right on the feet of the better midfielder and allowing him to try to beat his man.

One of our starting defenders showed up late, so once he was ready I took myself out of the game with some relief. It was a solid 20 minutes, though, and I’d realized that from the back, I could see the lanes which the other team’s defense was leaving for our attackers and wings. I even made two long passes past the defense which created decent chances for us, although their keeper kept the ball out of the net.

Ironically, I’d only been out for 30 seconds when they scored their first goal. Then they scored a second one a few minutes later, and the captain put me back in at my traditional position of attacker. We managed to get a goal back, then promptly gave up a third right before halftime, which was frustrating.

I was a little shocked at halftime when the captain moved me back to right defender, especially since that’s where all three of their goals had come. It struck me as a fairly solid recipe for disaster, but I figured that we were already down 3-1, so how much worse could it get? So, I assured him I was happy to play wherever I was told and did my best to try not to look too nervous.

Now, I was under strict orders not to dribble around or try to beat anyone with the ball. One of the huge problems with putting midfielders on defense is that they frequently, and stupidly, try to beat the fastest players on the field, the attackers, and often end up losing the ball and leaving the defense in a very vulnerable position. That being said, when the attackers put on pressure, it is sometimes necessary to do something to avoid blindly kicking the ball up the field to no one. The safest thing, of course, is to take the ball outside, where one can simply kick it out if necessary, thereby giving up the ball, but also giving the defense time to get set.

About one minute in, a long ball rolled to our goalie, who passed it to me, at which point it became apparent that they were going to play pressure, as one attacker cut off my inside pass to the sweeper, while the left wing rushed me. However, as basketball fans know, speed beats pressure. So, I just pushed the ball outside and up the field, beating the wing, which left open space all the way up to the middle of the field. I brought the ball up, spotted our center mid open, sent him the ball, which he one-touched to our best attacker, who hit the ball on his first touch. Bang-Bang-Bang-Goal. 3-2.

We fought our way back into the game and actually managed to take the lead, 4-3, but their leading scorer beat our offsides trap –  he didn’t really, he was two steps off, but the ref was at a bad angle to see it – and managed to somehow get a step on our sweeper and slide the ball past our stand-in keeper. That was disappointing, but 4-4 was a very good result considering we were playing 12 against 18 and without a proper goalie.

And after the game, the captain told me “that was really good, no more attacker for you”. Which I doubt is entirely true; I’m still the fourth-best attacker on the team and I expect I’ll be moved up front when needed from time to time. But I already knew something had changed when our longtime starter on right defense was ready to come back in towards the end of the game, I automatically moved up to take the place of the right wing who was going out, and the captain ordered me to stay back at right defender while he put the defender on the wing in front of me.

The truth is that I’m only 80 percent as good as the average defender when it comes to defense. I’m weak in the air, I’m not very tall, I can’t take the ball away from anyone, I don’t win enough 50-50 balls, and I need to be more disciplined about holding the offsides line. My speed and strength somewhat make up for those deficiencies, but I’m still decidedly below-average. However, when it comes to assisting the attack, I’m probably 150 percent as good as the average defender, maybe even more. I can see the lanes where I would want the ball myself, and more importantly, I can deliver them there. Two of our four goals came actions that started with my long passes, and I dropped in a high cross that really should have been a third. So, I can see why the captain is reconsidering how to use me, and I’m no longer terrified by the prospect even though I prefer to play in my traditional position up front.

This team doesn’t play to my strengths as an attacker anyhow, so it would probably benefit the team to move me back. I have no idea if I’ll end up starting on defense, or if I’ll start on the wing, come out to recover, then move back to defense in the second half when the starters need a break. I’m not concerned either way; I’ll play wherever they want me to play. If you can’t be a star, the next best thing is to be a utility player capable of playing multiple positions. And I suspect that adding outside defender to my existing repertoire of attacker/outside midfielder will grant me another two or three more years of effective playing time.

I can live with this

Sam Bradford is observably the best passer the Vikings have had since Bret Farve’s One Bright Season. I suspect he will prove better than Teddy Bridgewater, having seen every pass the latter has thrown in a game since he entered the league. Bradford doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he hits crossing receivers in stride and he can deliver an accurate ball even when he’s under pressure.

I would not be at all surprised if Bradford started the game against Tennessee next weekend, since Norv Turner has a history of preparing newly acquired quarterbacks quickly. Besides, how hard can it be for an NFL starter to learn the Shaun Hill gameplan?

  • First down: hand off to AD
  • Second down: hand off to AD
  • Third down: fake handoff to AD, play-action route to a) Stefon Diggs or b) Kyle Rudolph
  • Repeat if SUM(1D:3D) is greater than 10 yards. If SUM(1D:3D) is less than 10 yards, punt

The Bradford trade

This is an excellent trade for the Vikings, in light of what the options were after Teddy Bridgewater went down. Bradford compares pretty favorably with Bridgewater; he’s not quite as mobile but he has a slightly stronger arm. Like Bridgewater, he doesn’t throw many interceptions, but Bradford had as many 40+ yard passes last year as Bridgewater did in two years. And while he’s not elite – he wouldn’t have been available if he was – he’s pretty solid. He’s accurate, and Pro Football Focus even had him ranked as the 12th best QB in the NFL last year.

Compare:

65.0%, 3,725 yards, 19 TD, 14 INT, 86.4 rating
65.3%, 3,231 yards, 14 TD, 9 IND, 88.7 rating

That’s not bad, considering that the Vikings had the better team. Obviously, Vikings fans would prefer that Touchdown Teddy was behind center come opening day, but I see no reason not to be confident in Bradford’s ability to take advantage of the opportunities that Adrian Peterson will create for him. Given the talent around him, it would not be even remotely surprising if Bradford had an unexpected career year in 2016, since he no longer needs to feel the pressure to

#No49ers

The media has been sweeping it under the carpet, but the real reason behind the recent Kaepernick controversy regarding his public disrespect for the American national anthem is that the 49ers QB is now a Muslim convert engaged to a Black Lives Matter activist:

A controversy has erupted today because San Francisco 49er’s Quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand up during the playing of the national anthem.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” ~ Colin Kaepernick

So what exactly is going on.  Well, there’s a little more to the story than most are willing to accept.  The media and the NFL will avoid these discussions like the plague, but what the heck – the Truth Has No Agenda.

During the off-season Colin Kaepernick converted to Islam.   Colin Kaepernick is also engaged to Black Lives Matter activist and hip-hop radio personality DJ Nessa Diab. Black Lives Matter as an activist group is synonymous with promotion of authentic Islam…. According to NFL players who are friends with Kaepernick, Colin and NessA Diab are going to have a traditional Muslim wedding.

Although I am a lifelong NFL fan, I won’t watch any 49ers games as long as Kaepernick is with the team. I’m using the #No49ers to indicate as much.

Fortunately, after Donald Trump wins in November, Kaepernick can be repatriated to his newly adopted homeland in Saudi Arabia.

A tutu per tutti

Seriously, what is wrong with you people? I mean, sure, I’ve got the legs for it, but there is clearly something wrong with anyone who is willing to pay to see me in a tutu.


And now it is going to happen. It’s all your fault!


Also, thank you. I wrote this a few days ago, but I suppose this is the right time to post it. Note that it was made possible, in part, by the same research team whose work you are supporting through the Color Run.

So, Ender played his first game with his new team. He had no idea where he would be playing, or even if he would be playing at all, since they have four goalies to divide among the two teams. The situation is in flux, as the presumed first team starter was dreadful in the first friendly, and lost his position to the first team number two. There was even speculation that he’d be sent down to the second team, which might well end up in Ender replacing him as the second team starter.

But when they suited up, the coach went with only one goalie, the club number three, who is surprisingly mobile despite being huge. I mean, we’re talking 6’2″, 280 at a minimum. Ender was dressed for the field, and assumed that he’d probably go in as either a defender or a wing, as those are the two field positions he’s played before.

Now, keep in mind that I was his coach for the first four years of his soccer career and I’ve seen nearly every game he’s ever played. He’s a mediocre goalie and a slightly above average defender, which is why his insistence on playing goalie has always been a mystery to me. Decent size, good discipline, good awareness, below-average ball control, average speed, good toughness. Not a star player, not necessarily even a starter, but a solid and reliable player you can trust to come off the bench and hold his own without hurting the team. He’s scored precisely one goal in his entire career, putting a pass from a corner kick into the upper right corner from just outside the left corner of the box.

He’s also the youngest player on the men’s team by at least a year. I still don’t understand why he’s not eligible for a junior team, but the ways of the national sports bureaucracy are byzantine and impenetrable. He also hasn’t played on the field for more than two years; even in the practices in which he was able to take part for a while, he was playing in the nets.

The game started off reasonably well, but it soon became clear that the team has a fundamental problem. They have a fair number of skill players, and two with serious cannons attached to their legs, but they have no natural scorers. Despite generally controlling the game and creating multiple scoring chances, they were down 2-0 as their designated striker put the ball over the net, to the right of the net, and to the left of the net on three successive one-on-ones with the goalie. Forget the net, he couldn’t even hit the keeper! He’s a good player with good speed, but he simply cannot handle the pressure that being in scoring position places upon the player.

It was a friendly, so the substitutions were not limited. Ender was the third man in, and to my surprise, the coach put him in at striker. He didn’t do much at first, and clearly didn’t know what to do or where to go, except when his team was attacking. But when the midfield was in possession and brought the ball over the center line, his positioning was reliably excellent, which paid off after about 10 minutes when the other striker beat the left defender and fired over a knee-high cross that Ender redirected effortlessly into the net. 1-2. The team was totally fired up, redoubled their attack, and about five minutes later, Ender took a pass on the left side and returned the favor, sending a nice low cross to the other striker which he promptly put in the back of the net. 2-2. Fifteen minutes of playing striker and he’d already racked up one goal and one assist… talk about a flying start!

I was standing next to the coach, who nodded approvingly and mentioned how well Ender was playing. His expression, when I told him that it was the first time Ender had played up front, was downright comical. I’m not entirely sure that he believed me.

Unfortunately, the other team was very good and had two third-league players who promptly responded by carving up our defense to make it 3-2 at halftime. In the second half, Ender had a good chance that caught him wrong-footed, as well as a perfect cross that the striker somehow managed to whiff on in front of an empty net, after which he moved back to the wing, and then defense when one of the defenders got hurt. He played nearly the second half and was competent in all three positions. They lost 5-3, but everyone felt pretty positive about how the team had hung in there against what was observably a better team.

And despite the loss, I have to say that it was about as close to a perfect evening as one can hope to see in this world.