Shades of Gray

"I feel like if we do what we're supposed to do, have less turnovers and have some fun, anything's possible."
-Gopher QB MarQueis Gray, before the Nebraska game.

Final Score:
Nebraska 41
Minnesota 14

Article written after the game:
Headline: After Nebraska, optimism is a survivor at U
Sub headline: Despite newly infected bruises courtesy of Nebraska and a 1-6 start, these Gophers, says Coach Jerry Kill, still could win a game in the Big Ten.

"Eliminate the negative plays and we should move the ball on any team."
-Gopher QB MarQueis Gray, after the Nebraska game.

Dirty Old Town

OH HELL YES.

Folks, it's back.  That feeling that was whisked away when ol' Number 4 threw to the WRONG TEAM in New Orleans.  That unbridled optimism.  That disconnection with reality.  That old wind, she blows again.

Vikes fans in the early days had their guard up all the time.  Those 4 Big Dance losses in 11 years kept them permanently expecting the worst (and delivering!).  But then came a prolonged period of sucking, to which they responded by letting the guard down a little.  It came down more and more each year, as they started building a few pieces in the 90s.  By the time they came out with that fucking "Miami" parody in 98, the guard was all the way down.  Hands at the sides, like Roy Jones, taunting.  Gary lines up for that kick and they are already raising their hands in triumph.

Then they were somehow simultaneously punched in both the mouth and crotch.

The guard stayed up for awhile thereafter.... it remained all the way through 2001 (41-0) and most of the 2000s.  Even when dick-texter came over, they still kept the guard up.  But AP had been helping them lower it a little bit at a time.  He would peel off 200 yard games and the hands would drop just a tad.  D'Ter would throw to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone... a little more.  They would rout the overrated Cowboys and D'Ter would slap an defensive lineman's ass... almost all the way down.

Then they would go to New Orleans FULLY EXPECTING A WIN.



The punch landed so square that the fans literally did not know what to do.  Nobody had any idea how to react.  The radio man screamed like a buffoon.  The coach was on the chopping block.  The fans constantly alternated between hating him and trying to get excited for the next season.  But make no mistake about it... the guard was back up.  All the way up.

Since Tracy Porter picked D'Ter off to end any hope of actual success, it's been quite a comedy of errors for the purple.  Brett took pictures of his scroto-sack and sent it to a woman who was not his wife.  They traded for Randy Moss, then cut him.  D'Ter was toss'd to the ground head first, and not even a member of his team would help him up.  He was hit in the face on a pass, leading to an interception, which led to his replacement by Tar-Var, who somehow had the game of his life.  The coach had to sit and listen to his home stadium chanting "FIRE CHILDRESS" louder than they had cheered all season long.  More recently, everyone has stopped trying, they are being outcoached by Todd Haley and Lovie Smith, and the cornerback choked a woman and spent the weekend in jail.  Needless to say, things aren't going well.

When they traded for Donovan McFatts, I would have to say that was when the guard had reached its apex.  Nothing could hit them now.  They had a fat, baby-armed QB who had failed twice in the previous two seasons.  He literally gets tired at the end of the games and can't throw a spiral.  Everyone knew it was a stupid decision, even the homeriest of homers.

But then, someone flashed that smile...

And folks, here we are.  The guard is not down, oh no.  But it has started its cycle back towards the floor.  It starts with a "moral victory".  Next up (but not anytime soon) there will be an actual victory.  Then he might complete a last-second pass.  Then could come a winning streak.  And then, as only the NFL can do, they will run a freak streak of luck and good bounces into the playoffs, where Anything Can Happen.

By that time, the guard will be fully down again.  Nobody will remember 98, or 09, or 87, or Super Bowls 4, 8, 9 or 11.  And just as they peak over the edge of the cliff to see what might be waiting for them...

WRONG.  TEAM.

Ah, this dirty old town.  You've got to love it.

Is he open?

This isn't going to go well

Al, you sand-bagging son of a bitch, you taught Hue well...

Hey Carson, how many footballs have you thrown in the last 6 months?

"It's hard to say...  Not many....  None."

He was "retired" for the season, yet he is telling people he can get up to "game shape" quickly, and that he's been working out.  Really?

Just look at this clown show.  You've got Hue up front being all fake-bad-ass, giving snide answers to reporters and pretending that he's in charge, and you've got Carson, who literally is sitting there thinking "Oh FUCK, it's the Raiders."

The absolute highlight is when they asked Hue how it worked that he traded for Palmer even after the Bengals had refused to trade him all season.  Here is the transcript:

"Hue, up to this point, Mike Brown, it seemed like he was set, he wasn't going to trade Carson Palmer and yet, you give him a call, and now Carson is here.  How did that happen?  Did that have anything to do with your relationship with him?"

"Probably so.  I have so much respect for Mike.  Having worked there with him, been in drafts with him, coached some of his best players.  I think he has a respect for this organization and Coach Davis.  I think the respect is mutual.  He said so.  He said 'Hue, I like you.  I want to see you do well.  And I want to see Carson do well.  And I want us to do well, being the Bengals.'  At the end of the day, I think it worked out for everybody."

I WILL TAKE ONE OF MY LIMBS OFF IF THE OWNER OF THE BENGALS TOLD THE COACH OF THE RAIDERS THAT HE WANTS CARSON PALMER TO "DO WELL".

No, Hue.  That's not what happened at all.  You are a huge liar.  You are lying about what happened.  What actually happened is that the Bengals (who could fuck up a cup of Maxwell House Instant), were sitting there waiting for another team - like the Raiders (who could fuck up a glass of ice water with ice) - to give them a call and offer them WAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY too many draft picks for a player that they didn't need anyway.  Mike Brown didn't move Palmer to Oakland because he respects Al Davis.  He moved him because you idiots gave him way more than he was worth.

End.

Oh, these are getting sad now...

This can't be fun anymore...

"The purple and gold horse has not done much to become engaged in the race..."

How many more horse racing analogies are we going to see before we finally hit pay-dirt with "and it's off to the glue factory"?  Like one more game?

At this point, it might be time to can the fun little horse-race theme.  The whole thing seems much more St. Croix Meadows than anything else...

Is it possible to run out of breath while speaking?

Oh MAN, is this guy gassed. What is that around his neck? An oxygen tank? A camera? Butte College football reporter... that looks good on a resume.

So simple, it's stupid

Let me see if I follow here:

This team is close to a Super Bowl.  "Closer than some think".  As long as the QB plays like Sanchez, they get a starting Left Tackle (which are growing on trees!), a deep-threat wide receiver (like Julio Jones or AJ Green, there are so many of them out there!), a starting safety, and one (2) starting cornerbacks.  It's a snap!

The winner though is the follow-up comment:  just draft a tackle in the first round, then a WR, then get a free agent guard.  Because every draft pick ever goes on to start and play 16 games as a rookie.  Every one!

When you are putting together your list for "things we need in order to get to a Super Bowl", and your argument is "it's really not that many things we need!", then I would say by the time you mention a FIFTH position that needs a significant upgrade, it might be time to just close the text document you've been working on and take a long walk.  Because by this rationale, Miami is right on the doorstep too.  If they just upgrade QB, O-line, WR and RB, they're in there, baby!

Oh, and...

Switcheroo

OK Vikings fans, let's talk hypothetical.  I'm going to give you a choice of two quarterbacks - stats only.  Which would you pick?  (These stats are through the first 4 games of the season)

Quarterback A:
74/131 (56%), 861 Yards, 5 TDs, 7 INT's

Quarterback B:
65/111 (59%), 680 Yards, 4TDs, 2 INT's

Now, by stats alone, who would you take?

Looks like Quarterback B makes fewer mistakes.  He doesn't throw for as many yards, but doesn't throw as often.  Probably the better choice, right?

Quarterback B is Donovan McNabb's stats through the first 4 games.  Coach Frazier is taking to the airwaves, consoling the Zubaz's by sticking by his QB and saying things will turn around.  As a matter of disclosure, McNabb was QB for my team most of last year.  My experiences were my advice to Viking fans this year: he won't win OR lose a game for you.  He's just there...don't let him throw deep...and he has no mobility.  Dink and dunk and run the ball, that's what you should do.

The Vikings have a Heisman runner-up on the team that seems to get 2 carries a game.  Wise move.  Whatever strengths McNabb still has (and it's not much) Frazier (sounds like Brazier...who's up for a Dilly Bar?) ignores.  Imagine - two headed monster of Peterson and Gerhart always in the backfield...carries could go either way.  Now, if they do that, you KNOW who's getting the ball.

Enough of that - let's suppose for whatever insane reason you chose Quarterback A.  You know the keeper of those stats?  That's BRETT FAVRE and his first 4 games last year.  Team went 1-3...and wasn't any better than this year.  Think back - were people calling for the Ol Gunslinger's head?!  Were there demands for Joe Webb to supplant the texter?

No, and no...which is yet another reason why the Vikings and their fans are so entertaining.  Maybe this is a waste of time...consider "Access Vikings" recent take:

"Again, it's not a slam against McNabb to suggest it's time for Ponder to start. At this point, there just doesn't seem to be any point in going forward with a quarterback who isn't going to be here next season."


Giving up already/Why did you sign him/Having trouble with this whole "draft" thing, errrrrrr?

With friends like these...

Hard to believe they're having trouble coming up with the support for this stadium.

Maybe someone like Diggz can convince the Ramsey County Commissioner to raise taxes...

Sid Hartman needs to retire

There, I said it.

Reason: the kind of shit like you'll read below has gone on his entire career.  I know he doesn't remember what he wrote yesterday, but since the Hometown Rag doesn't spot check these things, I'll have to do the honors.

September 4th, 2011, following a loss at then-ranked USC

"Well, all of those experts who selected the Gophers to go 0-8 during the conference season and 3-9 for the season will have to make another guess."

"[T]he new Gophers coach found out he had a team that could come back in the second half and play as well as they did in one of the toughest stadiums in the country for opponents to play in."

"Kill and his coaching staff should be praised for the great job they did in adjusting their defense at halftime."

"Now they return home for three games and a chance to get a lot better and surprise some of their conference foes."

September 25, 2011, following a loss at home to NORTH DAKOTA STATE


"Yes, this Gophers football team gave people some false hope when it outplayed one of the more ordinary Southern California teams in several years."

HOLD ON!  I thought this was a top notch team they played, in one of the "toughest environments" in college football!  You used the term "Hollywood" and that it shook up the Gophers in the first half...this can't be.  It's just a good thing YOU weren't given false hope, Sid, because you've seen it all.  You're not "some people."

"More false hope came last week when the Gophers beat a Miami (Ohio) team that is 0-3 and struggling after being favored for the Mid-American Conference title."

Hey, folks in Minnesota.  Did ANYONE think all was well after being taken to the dick by Miami of Ohio and winning on the last play of the game?


"This team wasn't going to show any consistency with the few good football players recruited by former coach Tim Brewster who are now seniors."

But you just LOVE the rah-rah guys!  Just like Lou!  We'll never be able to tell you exactly WHY he got fired, because messy facts get in the way, Sid.  If Coach Kill can't win with these good Brewster players - what now?

Glen Mason coached this team to some success.  His thoughts were included in your column.

"He and his staff have their own system. Let's face it, I think ... the great recruits that were coming to Minnesota [under Brewster] probably weren't as good as advertised."

Sid neglected to add that Mason followed up this sentence with "Hey, at least I BEAT NDSU...but I make more cash now.  Good luck, Sid.  Sure, I can open that bag of peanuts for you."

A metaphor for the entire coming Vikings season

"We thought it would be a good idea to run the wildcat with a QB who can't keep the pee out of his pants, and also I'm not sure what you mean by 'turn the 9/11 ribbon the right way'."

Excuse me, Mr. Reusse . . .

Let me put out a few disclaimers:
A. I realize Jerry Kill hasn't won a game, yet.
B. I realize I could be getting ahead of myself.
C. Maturi is a combo between lucky and awful.

That being said, let's see what someone wrote on 12/05/2010.

"There are several questions to be asked of the M&M boys, Joel Maturi and Dave Mona, but here's the one that most intrigues a beat-up old sportswriter:

If you were going to the Mid-American Conference to find a new football coach for the Gophers, why didn't you hire the guy who won the MAC title game on Friday night, rather than the loser?

Miami (Ohio) was a 17 1/2-point underdog to Northern Illinois in Ford Field. Final: Miami 26, NIU 21.

And what did our traveling tandem do after that result came in? They hired Jerry Kill, 49, the coach who lost as a large favorite, rather than Mike Haywood, 46, a coach responsible for a rapid turnaround of downtrodden Miami."

Cool, Pat. Mike Haywood you say. Let's take a look at Mike Haywood a month after Reusse's post:

Haywood was arrested about 3 p.m. Friday after a custody issue developed with a woman with whom Haywood has a child, police said. The unidentified woman told police that Haywood grabbed her by the arm and neck and pushed her as she tried to leave the home that Haywood owns in South Bend, Ind., where he once was a Notre Dame assistant.

Your thoughts, Pat?

You can't hide the "gold"

Roughly a year ago, I posted found footage of Nebraska's 80+ life adjustment to the beloved Gophers.  That video has since been "removed by user."

Well, huskersrecap.com was kind enough to re-post the footage.  With the Maroon and Gold due to play them again at home this fall...here's a refresher.



Why do I guess that Sid wrote something like "Gopher reserves show promise at end"

In other news, Peyton Manning is also not coming to Minnesota

Oh my god, Viking fans, you never cease to amaze.

Let's do a couple of facts here:

According to most sources, the Vikings are dangerously close to the salary cap, stunting their ability to sign even an replacement player for this upcoming season.

Larry Fitzgerald is not a replacement player.

The Arizona Cardinals have approximately 14 million dollars in cap room.

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How exactly did we get here?  Well, the good old Minnesota Mindset got us here.  It goes something like this....


"This guy wants to come to Minnesota.  Maybe he doesn't know it yet, but he wants to.  He's from here.  He's one of us.  He would come home, if he could.  He's a good receiver.  We need a good receiver.  I don't understand things like numbers and dollars, but I know I like watching guys like Chad Greenway because his name is easy to pronounce.  So is Klein-sauce.  Me and my buddies call him "Sauce".


Anyway, Fitzgerald's out there, and we should go get him, because we have a football team that he could play for.  So get it done.  (Pause)  It's done.  He's coming here.  I read it on a Star Tribune comment.  He's coming here."

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In what alternative universe would Larry Fitzgerald coming to the Vikings make sense?  This is a team that dumped hundreds of millions on olds like Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson.  Then they've got Peterson to think about.  Now they draft a young cheap QB, and then spend too much money on an old one.  The roster looks like it is constructed by monkeys.  Where would the money come from for Larry?

And furthermore, why is the reaction to his signing a contract extension that he is "not coming to Minnesota"?  He's also not going to 30 other teams in the league.  This would be funny if it was a joke, but its tone is serious.  "Awww damn, we missed out on Larry".   Newsflash guys, you missed out on a lot this offseason, and you're going to be missing out BIG TIME in the coming years.

Vikings fans STILL don't have what they want

You would think that they would be happy!  I mean...McNabb is joining this list: 

Quarterbacks the Vikings pick-up well after they became good and/or famous:
Archie Manning
Jim McMahon
Warren Moon
Randall Cunningham
Brett Favre

So, he must have some gas left, right?  Hell, he can overthrow a receiver just like a rookie can.  Just ask me.  But yet, there's this comment on CBS Sports...
_______________________________________________________
Posted on: July 28, 2011 2:07

Log-in to rate:Donovan McNabb trade to Vikings 'done'

Being born and raised in Minn, I am a die hard Viking fan. I dont like chilly either. Neither does my sisters living in MN who have season tickets. I want Bud back.!!!! (there has to be a coach like him somewhere for the Vikes)
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You know, the Vikings DID get Bud back.  He returned after the Steckel season and lead the team to a losing record.  It was all "thanks for righting the ship" talk but...you bring a guy out of retirement to coach one year?  That was a very MN polite "thanks for helping but...that'll do."
 
Yet, his legacy sticks in the minds of some people who weren't even conceived yet.  If they could only have a guy "like" Bud...
 
If only our porch was finished...my wife and I could have friends over but GEEEEEEEE

At least they got back Napoleon Harris for Moss, right?

Cross Post Bonanza

As seen here, I've dug up some gems from olden days, and I feel it's only appropriate to cross-post them on as many blogs as I can. Should I be Tweeting this too?

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A higher-res version of this picture... between this and the Timberwolves' "Buy a can of corn and get free tickets to the game which are actually worth less than the can of corn" promo, I think we've got two pictures to clearly sum up these franchises.

Nobody wants it more than me, huh?
22 days after this issue hit the stands, Randy drove his car the wrong way into construction, over a traffic cop who was ordering him to stop.  Cops found marijuana in his car.  He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (his Lexus) and possession.  Luckily the "Randy Ratio" really helped his team on the field... to a 6-10 record.

Hey there!  Do yourself a favor and read some of that article.... this kind of stuff in hindsight just makes me giddy. Hey, was there any pressure on you?  If you've never done so, I highly suggest checking out the Esquire article on Todd and his father... great stuff.

Also, who let Ashley Shaeffer into Todd's photo shoot?

Finally, we have Nate Newton. First of all, I did not know that Nate was nicknamed "The Kitchen". Apparently he ballooned up to over 400 pounds after his retirement (not surprising), and had the gastro-bypass surgery, dropping him to a svelte 220. Hey, way to go, Nate.

He also was arrested twice in 2001 for possessing almost 400 GODDAMNED POUNDS OF MARIJUANA.

No wonder he had put on so much weight.  (that was an easy one)

Even when the Vikings WIN...

God bless you, Burnsie...you are nothing but gold.  If only we could hear his responses on the 2010 season...






"This game reminds me of a Cleveland Brown game we won at old Met Center."

Another update from fans who wanted Jeff George over Randall Cunningham

Well, the Fail-Vikes are failing again, this time by their rookie quarterback hiring none other than Chris Weinke to help them with workouts.

And of course, there's some controversy.  Take it away, commenter:

First, I'd like to point out that the word "Ponder" appeared next to the words "Brees", "Manning" and "Brady" in the same sentence.  Let's try that out for me:

One time, Drew Boatman attempted to grow a mustache and hair appeared on his upper lip like Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott and Wilford Brimley.

Nope, something's wrong there.

But then, he goes and pulls a "Vikings Fan".  When you can't outwardly be racist (and around here, believe me, you can't) you've always got the old fallback... criticize the "work ethic".  Yep.  Harvin is lazy.  So's Rice.  They just don't work hard.  Never mind that they are two of the best players in the NFL at their position.  "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY".

I just wish Randall Cunningham had put the time in at the film-room like Jeff George.

The grand sum of all Viking fans, rolled into one entity

Lack of brains in heads

Here's a quick primer to bring you up to speed:

The Vikings would like to build a stadium.  They need to put together a billion dollar package to make this happen.

The Metrodome, where they currently play, looks like this:

They have a few options.  The first is to tear down the Metrodome and build a stadium on that site.  The second is to tear down the Farmer's Market in Minneapolis and build it there.  The third option is to build it on an old ammunition dump in Arden Hills.

These are all simple, easy choices.  They all have benefits, weaknesses, challenges, etc.

But nobody in this entire state is making an informed choice as to which is better.  Why?  Because there isn't a single source of information out there that isn't so far fucking skewed because they have something to gain in the deal.

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Let's start with the easy target:  The Star Tribune.  To read their "reporting" on the matter, there would be no doubt in your mind that the only feasible option is to build it on the Metrodome site and keep the team in Minneapolis.  As the rest of "Vikings Nation" shouts approval of actually moving on the Arden Hills location, the Star Tribune is VERY QUICK to point out that this thing still has a long way to go in the legislature, and that there are road infrastructure upgrades that are necessary.  Why are they like this?  OH, IS IT BECAUSE THEY FUCKING OWN ALL THE LAND AROUND THE METRODOME??????  They've been sitting on it for decades, just waiting for that payout.  And if the Vikings move to the suburbs?  Oh shit, they're fucked.  No one uses the dome, and suddenly their land is utterly worthless.

Let's keep in mind... this is a media organization.  I can't think of a way in which a medium could have a larger conflict of interest.  It's not possible.  Let's also bring in the fact that the Star Trib is losing money, as are all newspapers, and this is the last gamble that just HAS to go right.

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Ok, so if you read stadium news in the Star Tribune, you are an idiot.  So where else do you go?  The Pioneer Press?  Well, here we run into a thornier problem.... St. Paul sure has wanted to take away the Twins and Vikings for, what, 50 years?  The media organizations in St. Paul are utterly blind to reality... all they know is that a stadium in Ramsey County means they "won" and, more importantly, Minneapolis "lost".  I live over here now, and it just stuns me that people from St. Paul view Minneapolis as "dangerous" and "rowdy".  YOU GUYS ARE LIKE THE SAME FUCKING CITY.  Does Fargo feud with Moorhead like this?  If Baldwin and Woodville can get along, why can't the Twin Cities???

The Pioneer Press makes sure to mention how massive this project is, trying to rev up interest, and how unsettled the Minneapolis stadium site is.  This headline says it all:  Vikings have "concerns" about Minneapolis site.

For fuck's sake.

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So, you can't trust any local media outlet.  So, do you go national?  Oh, heavens no.  The national press absolutely has their hand wrapped 'round the knob of the NFL, so ANY stadium news is GREAT GREAT GREAT.  Take a look at that horeshit article... it's not until the FIFTEENTH paragraph that they mention this:

The stadium discussion had been largely put off at the Capitol as legislators struggle to resolve a $5 billion state deficit. It picked up speed last week, with Dayton saying he had met privately with the Wilfs and that he was ready to sign a stadium bill.

OH WHAT'S THAT, THE STATE IS BROKE??? No bother, because the governor wants it.  GO NFL GO!!!  Outlets like the AP, ESPN, Yahoo, etc, they ALL stand to gain from new stadiums and by proxy, NFL success.  The bigger the league gets, the more readers they have, simple.

Also, in that article, what the fuck is this:

Rosen's bill calls for the state to raise its share with a 10 percent state sales tax on sports memorabilia, a sales tax on luxury seats at the new stadium and on digital video recorders, and proceeds from stadium naming rights and a football-themed state lottery game.

What the shit?  How can you add sales tax on luxury seats at the new stadium?  Wouldn't that just be the price of the seats?  Like "Hey, these luxury boxes are 10,000 dollars per game.  But there is going to be a 10% "tax" on that, the revenue from which will go to pay off the state.  YOU WANT ONION RINGS WITH THAT?"  Just make the price higher.  It's like building a mall, then using a really high tax on everything sold in the mall to pay it off.  Makes no sense.

And what is this about digital video recorders?  So everyone that goes and buys a Flip from Best Buy in Minnesota kicks in for the stadium?  Why not just tax Fuji apples?  Shocks and struts from Autozone?  I love this state... just when you think they can't possibly tax anything else, they just raise the price of Handicams.

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Ok, so you can't trust the local media.  You can't trust the national media.  You sure as shit can't trust what any single politician says about this, because they literally are incapable of making a decision.  The state is 5 billion dollars in the red (or the black... or whatever the bad one is), but there are LOTS of Vikings fans, and they tend to yell dumb things at Town Halls.  So you can't trust them.  What's left?  TO THE GROUPTHINK-MOBILE!

You see, the last bastion of information is the Vikings blogs.  This tenuous gathering of ill-informed homers are completely blind to almost every economic and social reality in modern America.  They know only one thing:  GET THE STADIUM DONE SO I CAN WATCH GREENWAY!

Take a look at this:

I only have one question in this whole stadium issue:
Zygi, what took you so long?
There were three things that struck me about the stadium unveiling yesterday in Arden Hills:
1)  What a GREAT FREAKING PLAN!
2)  Minneapolis is butt hurt, and that kind of makes me smile.
3)  Bud Grant is STILL awesome, and I think if he asked me to, I would try and run through a wall for him.

I don't have anything to say here.  Nothing.  This is a perfect encapsulation of Vikings fans.  Anything I say would just detract from that perfect fail.

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So, in summary, there is no truth but the truth which you believe.  Which could be anything.  And what does it really matter?  It's been a long slide down into the muck, but don't worry, the last few feet will pass quickly.  Sorry LA, it looks like the mouth-breathers will win again.  And to think... we could've BOTH been happy.

Win Away the Pounds!

Rex, I heard a rumour, and I don't know if it's true.  It was that you're on another diet.  This diet consists of only eating carry-out chili.  Is it working?

"Fuuufffffffffffffffffffffff."

Well, this will likely become my signature at the end of each and every blog post

"With the twelfth selection in the 2011 draft, Minnesota selects..."

How'd that 3rd round pick work out?

Not exactly a scientific poll, but...

I mean, I don't know what it means, but it can't be good.

"Hmm... didn't have him on my draft board."

Oh my...

by Tswing on Mar 8, 2011 2:29 PM CST



Well i dont think we are going to get Gabbert, and I personally dont want Newton; and with question marks at all the other quarterbacks in the draft why not use one of our 5th round picks and snag a hometown boy. Last year there was a little talk about grabbing Decker, which we didnt do and with all the injuries to the WR core last year we definately could have used him. I was real big on Decker coming out of the draft last year mainly because of the fact he would have been the Vikings version of Joe Mauer. With another opportunity with Weber, I dont see what we have to lose. At 6'3" 220 lbs, he seems to have the size. With 50 starts, he seems to have the experience; and with 56 touchdowns he seems to have the arm. Today Spielman is at the pro day with Weber and with Spielman choosing to go to the Gopher's pro day as opposed to Auburn or Arkansas - I think he is contemplating the same thing. So what do you think - draft weber? Get our hometown hero?

THAT'S THE GREATEST THING I'VE EVER READ ABOUT SPORTS IN THIS STATE. EVER.