Tag: sports

86 Suburban Churchians (4-4)
60 Mounds View Meerkats (3-5)

79 63Mercury Marauders (4-4)
59 Greenfield Grizzlies (6-2)

77 RR Redbeards (4-4)
64 Boot Hill Hangmen (2-4)

81 Fromundah Cheezheads (7-1)
60 Bailout Banksters (3-5)

94 Bane Sidhe (5-3)
45 Bradford Gamma Rays (2-4)

The Meerkats are scoring, they’re just not scoring enough to keep up with the Grizzlies and Cheezheads. Both Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster are underperforming this year, which is disappointing.

Though not as disappointing as the meltdown at Minnesota QB. If, as per Coach Frazier, starting Ponder gives the Vikings their best chance to win today, they obviously don’t have much of a chance to win.

Let none ever say the football gods are not cruel:

In January of 1975, after the Vikings lost to the Steelers in the Super Bowl, Emmett Pearson made a promise. He wouldn’t shave his beard until the Vikings won a Super Bowl. He kept that promise, too.

Most likely, Pearson never figured he’d live another 38 years without shaving – a trim, maybe – and die with his beard intact.

The fan from Welch Township, Minn., who got a bit of attention a few years ago when the Vikings almost made the Super Bowl, died at 83 years old on Monday, according to his obituary.

Pearson was 31 years old for the Vikings’ first season in 1961, and lived until he was 83. And he never saw his team win it all. The Vikings lost four Super Bowls and had a good chance to win it all a few other times, most notably 1998 and 2009, only to fall short in heartbreaking fashion in the NFC championship game.

Anklebiters and other critics would do well to keep this in mind when they’re trying to get my goat: I’ve been a die-hard Vikings fan since I was a little boy. What can you possibly do beyond what the the No-Name Defense, the Steel Curtain, John Madden’s Raiders, Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson, Denny Green, Gary Anderson, Brad Childress, and Tracy Porter have already done?

Some people consider me heartless. But then, what Vikings fan isn’t?

My theory is that it was probably the Josh Freeman debacle that killed the poor guy. When you’re resorting to starting Christian Ponder after exhausting every other possible option, it is eminently clear that there is no hope.

64 Fromundah Cheezheads (6-0)
60 Greenfield Grizzlies (5-1)

89 Mounds View Meerkats (3-3)
26 Boot Hill Hangmen (2-4)

64 Bailout Banksters (3-3)
43 Bane Sidhe (3-3)

88 Suburban Churchians (3-3)
83 ’63 Mercury Marauders (2-4)

60 RR Redbeards (2-4)
57 Bradford Gamma Rays (1-5)

It appears the Matt Cassel era has ended already in Minnesota. It wasn’t that Cassel actually looked worse than Christian Ponder; among other things, his interceptions had some pop on them and were thrown downfield rather than on curls and three-yard outs where they are liable to be returned for touchdowns. But he definitely showed that he was unable to create any space for Adrian Peterson to run.

Tom Powers and other Minnesota columnists have speculated that it might be time for a Herschel Walker trade. And if Trent Richardson commanded a first round draft pick, one would think AD would be worth at least three. But that’s not likely to happen due to salary cap considerations that weren’t a problem back in the Walker days.

And, if one looks at the St. Louis Rams, it’s hard to argue that three first round draft picks are going to create some sort of magical difference with a GM who passed on drafting both Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson in favor of Christian Ponder at the helm. The Rams collected a nice bounty of draft picks for RGIII, but they’re still 2.5 games behind the Seahawks in the NFC West.

Bob Costas, Peter King, Bill Simmons, and ProFootballTalk are waging a remarkably stupid crusade to ban the name of the Washington Redskins because they believe that mentioning Native Americans is offensive. Apparently they would prefer that the Native Americans were not only stowed away on reservations, but every last reference to them was scrubbed from the public discourse as well.

Ironically, they would have been advised to wage their campaign against the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  As per Wikipedia:

Oklahoma: oʊkləˈhoʊmə (Pawnee: Uukuhuúwa, Cayuga: Gahnawiyoˀgeh) is a state located in Southern United States. Oklahoma is the 20th most extensive and the 28th most populous of the 50 United States. The state’s name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning “RED PEOPLE“.

How dreadfully offensive! This campaign is simply the product of left-liberal nannies who spent absolutely no time looking into the subject before they start wagging their fingers and declaring what absolutely must be done.

Never, never, never use clips when going even moderately heavy with free weights. Some people put them on to keep the weights from sliding, but they can be disastrous, potentially even fatal.

Until three weeks ago, it had been nearly six months since I last went heavy, courtesy of a nagging shoulder injury. Yesterday, I started out with 10×225, and pyramided up to 275, which I did with a spotter. At failure, we forced four of them, then I took 50 pounds off to rep out. (Note to self: rep out at 195 next time.) My spotter didn’t realize my intentions and left the weight room without me realizing he had gone. I didn’t think of asking for a spot, because it was only 225, after all, forgetting that I’d already hit complete muscle failure.

I did as many as I could, then stupidly decided that I had enough left in me for one more, which turned out not to be true.  When the bar didn’t make it up, and then didn’t make it up on the second try – as if it ever would –  I glanced around and realized I was alone in the weight room. So, there I was, sitting with 225 pounds suspended over my chest, which left me with three options.

1. Shout for help. Yeah, right.
2. Roll the bar down my chest until I could sit up. It turns out this works fine with 95, at least as long as you’re not wearing a weight belt. Not so well with 225.
3. Dump them.

So, I went for option three. Tilt the bar left until the first plate drops off, then pull down on that side to prevent the two plates on the right from slamming onto the floor too violently. This worked and didn’t even attract any attention from anyone, which was nice. However, this would not have been an option had I put clips on.

Clips are fine for curls and skullbangers and so forth. But don’t ever use them when you’re benching or squatting, even if you’re not alone.

I used to go to Gopher football games back when Tony Dungy was the quarterback. I still remember when they upset Michigan. I couldn’t believe it when they moved their games to that ridiculous Dome. And they haven’t won the Big 10 since before I was born. But if they do, in my lifetime, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was due to the toughness and determination of their epileptic coach:

Immediately after Jerry Kill has a seizure on the sideline, one longtime assistant takes over the headset and communicates with officials. The defensive coordinator handles the postgame news conference and splits the remaining news media obligations with the offensive coordinator. Should Kill miss practice, they revert to their schedule from a week earlier, with adjustments based on their next opponent.

Always, Kill returns soon after to his office at the University of Minnesota. The assistants come to work and see him at his desk and nod and head to their own offices, not a word exchanged. 

Kill, 52, is a reconstruction specialist, an expert in taking over
feeble programs and turning them into something better. He is probably
also the only college football coach in the country who has a seizure
protocol. There is no three-ring binder or written list of step-by-step
instructions, only the calm and routine borne from years spent side by
side with his trusted assistants, as they climbed from the lower levels
of college football to the Big Ten. 

Three times in the last three seasons, Kill could not finish games
because of epileptic seizures. Each time, thousands witnessed him
splayed on the ground, as spasms shot through his limbs and his body
shook uncontrollably and some of his players cried.

Talk about the courage of being willing to get up again after being knocked down; this man epitomizes it. The life lesson he is teaching his players, however upsetting it is to them, is much more valuable than the Xs and Os.

I like the idea of fewer preseason games, but further watering down the playoffs is not going to make them more exciting.  What makes the playoffs exciting is that they are exceptional games, so the more playoff games there are, the less exceptional and exciting they become.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Sunday that the league is “urgently discussing” the possibility of shortening the preseason from four games to three, with that adjustment coming hand-in-hand with an expansion of the playoff field from 12 to 14 teams.

“That would offset teams’ lost revenue from the elimination of a preseason game, and it also could lead to additional television revenues for the league,” Mortensen wrote on ESPN.com.

Commissioner Roger Goodell strongly hinted at the possibility of a more populated postseason in an NFL.com interview last week. “A reasonable argument could be made that there are teams that should qualify for the playoffs and don’t and could win the Super Bowl,” Goodell told Judy Battista. “I don’t think we want to expand just to have more teams. We want to create more excitement, more interest and give teams a chance to win the Super Bowl.

A 14-team playoff — seven teams per conference — likely would limit first-round byes to just the top qualifying team. With that setup, six teams from both the AFC and NFC would compete in the current “wild-card round,” giving the NFL an extra game that weekend. The divisional round would maintain its current format.

I’d much rather see the playoffs consist of all four division winners only. No wild cards.  The second-round games are rarely all that entertaining; home teams win 74 percent of divisional playoff games compared to 57 percent of regular-season games. Anything that strengthens divisional play is good, anything that weakens in in the names of benefiting “the best teams” is short-sighted foolishness for the love of trouble-making.

There is nothing unfair about an 11-5 team sitting home when an 8-8 team goes to the playoffs. Win your division. Unless you’re dumb enough to go all the way, throw out the playoffs altogether and simply award the league championship to the team with the best regular season record, you’ve already conceded the point.  You’re just quibbling over where the line is drawn.

The NFL responds, weakly, to the politically correct opinion editorialists who deceptively call themselves “sportswriters”:

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell softened his stance on the Redskins name on Wednesday when he said that the NFL had to listen to concerns about the team’s nickname even if only one person is concerned about it.

In an interview on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, Goodell, who grew up in the region as a Baltimore Colts and then Redskins fan, said, “I think what we have to do though is we have to listen.”

“If one person is offended, we have to listen,” he said.

Goodell’s remarks come after Sports Illustrated’s Peter King’s website decided to refer to the team as the Washington football team. Earlier in the year, in response to 10 members of Congress who wrote him demanding action, Goodell defended the name. Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he will “NEVER” change the team name and does not intend to sell the franchise. 

Then listen to this, Mr. Goodell. I am offended, DEEPLY AND SINCERELY OFFENDED, that Christian Ponder is frequently referred to, in print, radio, and television media, as “the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings”.

What is the NFL going to do about this insulting and offensive travesty that tarnishes the legacy of a proud franchise and a loyal, emotionally scarred fan base?  That’s what I want to know, Mr. Goodell.  THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW!

I’m also offended by all the hot pink. I have a solution, though. If the NFL wants to raise breast cancer awareness for a month, just have the cheerleaders go topless. That will raise considerably more awareness than all the ridiculous pink accoutrements.

This would be your weekly open NFL thread. Like most Vikings fans, I’m looking forward to seeing if Christian Ponder can finally beat a defense daring him to do so.  He has enough firepower at WR and TE this year, so there isn’t any excuse for failing to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the defense focusing on trying to slow down AD.

My expectations aren’t terribly high. If they can make it to the playoffs again as a wild card, they’ll be doing very well.  Denver looked like the team to beat in the AFC even before Peyton went off against Baltimore, while Seattle, San Francisco, and Atlanta all look tough in the NFC.