Everything Lately

So it's been a rough week at work, and tomorrow is my first day off in a while, so tonight I celebrated at the local watering hole, AKA OLD CHICAGO.

I was there with some great friends, and we talked about everything sports. There were some interesting situations concerning MN Sports presented to me tonight, and I'm curious to how everyone would have responded to them.

First of all - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TWINSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! - As of two nights ago, the Twins clinched the AL Central over the lowly Chicago White Sox. This basically means nothing more than we are going to the playoffs. We will HOST the first round of the playoffs and there is about a 50/50 chance we would host the second of the playoffs if we get there.

The Vikings decided to lose to themselves this week and are now 0-2. This is terrible news for my bold prediction of 13-3, but hey, mathematically it is still alive. We'll talk more about the Vikings in a moment.

My Timberwolves Season Tickets came in the mail today. No that isn't a joke.

The Wild opened up an exhibition game last night, HOCKEY IS BACK!

Finally the Gophers lost to USC 32 to 21 a week after losing to South Dakota by 3. I'm not really sure what that means other than a lot of people are extremely upset that we scored the last touchdown to kill the spread of 11 1/2.

Lets talk now about the Vikings. Many of you are probably wondering why I didn't post anything about the Vikes after their week 1 loss to the Saints. It was mainly due to me being upset. We had chances in that game. Then week 2 rolled along and we beat ourselves. Props to Miami for not making mistakes. This isn't the terrible Miami Dolphins team of a few years back. It is a decent football team, a team I thought we would lose against this year. However, when you turn the ball over like we did, get beat in both trenches, and have what looks like half the team not try, you aren't going to win many football games. At this point I would call the play of the Vikings pathetic. At least look like you want to win. I give AP props, he is still running the ball as hard as ever, but he can't do it all. Now the Lions roll into town. Everyone is probably thinking easy win. WRONG. The Lions have looked good in two football games this year, and while they are 0-2, they bring some exciting young talent to Minneapolis. (In my opinion the Lions should be 1-1 - See Calvin Johnson Process Catch) The Lions are also playing with a fire inside of them, watching their games, you can see they want to win. I haven't gotten that from the Vikings. I could write a book about how bad our play calling is. I have no problem whatsoever with them going for it on either of the 4 downs we had this week. What I do have a problem with, is selling the play. Miami was murdering us in the trenches, and we basically said AP was going to run it at you. I know he needed 2 yards, and he usually can get that on his own, but not when the whole stadium knows he is getting the ball. Spread the line out. Put 2 or 3 receivers on the line, get some of those defensive backs out of the backfield, and at least make the defense think about a quick slant. SERIOUSLY. There is no way we should have lost that football game. Regardless, I like the Lions this week. I think everyone is assuming we will win this game easily and finally get back on track. It isn't that easy. The way Jahvid Best is running, and the way we have let people run on us, lookout. I'll take the Lions 31 - 17.

Lets go to the TWINS! As of right now the Twins are tied for the best record in baseball. That is pretty sweet. We will open up the ALDS at home on October 6th at Target Field. Playoff baseball is back. I am interested to see how the Twins will perform at Target Field as it gets colder and colder. As of right now the Twins could host a World Series game in November if they get there! Imagine that. Either way, we are on fire, especially without our best player. I have heard through the grapevine that Morneau is considering getting a pinch hit appearance here and there over the next week if it continues to go well for him. If we don't see him next week, I think we will have to make our run without him. GO TWINKS!

Finally, here is the situation presented to me at the bar. If you could choose 99 losing seasons and 1 championship for the Twins, or 100 Winning Seasons and no championships, what would you choose. I chose 100 Winning Seasons without question. Think of all the pain and agony the Twins have caused me in the playoffs. I wouldn't be the person I am today without it. (I would like to especially thank Torii Hunter at this point) There have also been epic times, and I would much prefer the roller coaster ride every year than winning the whole thing one time. Needless to say there was some drama concerning this question. What do you think?

The other question was how many professional championships will this state win in the next 60 years. Friend A, Friend B, and Bartender all said 2. I said a different number. That may or may not be revealed at a later time. So how many?

Vikes Saints

This will be quick as I have been tailgating at my house all day long. Hey don't judge me. It was my first day off in a while.

I think the Vikes roll. If you know me you know I've been talking about this game for months. I think the Vikings are as pissed off as I am. I'm so sick of every single media outlet picking the Packers to win the division and the Superbowl. Give me a break. Lets give some respect to the team that won the division and 12 games last year. This is the same team, a little older. While I know health is a concern, I'm confident enough in the team we send out tonight.

I think the Vikes ROLL. I'm going 38 to 28 Vikings. Here are a few predictions.

• Percy Harvin scores twice
• AP runs for over 150 and 2 touchdowns
• Favre does throw an interception
• Reggie bush scores twice
• Colston gets worked over all game
• Brees throws 2 picks
• Pierre Thomas has a quietly good game

So there you have it. I apoligize for the lack of elaboration. I'm fired up, AP jersey is on, ready to roll baby. Get on board, it's going to be a fun season! SKOL VIKINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Setting Sail

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Football season has finally arrived! Tonight, your very own Minnesota Vikings will take on the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. The game will take place in New Orleans at 7:30 central time. I'll give you a prediction of the game in the next post, but first of all lets take a look at the whole season!

The Vikings are coming off a 12 win season, the most wins they have had since 1998. Last year was also the most painful year since 1998, but it is a new year, with great things to come. The point is that they were a solid football team last year, and are returning basically the same team, but a year older. This whole "year older" thing typically isn't a problem, but when you start talking about turning 41 in the NFL, it becomes a problem. Brett Favre, the Vikings Quarterback last season, did indeed return for another season in the NFL. The Vikings will go as far as he and his banged up body can take them. Health will be the toughest opponent for this team this year. Which considering our schedule, is saying something. Lets take a look at the offense and defense.

Offense -

• The Vikings have, in my opinion, the best running back in football in Adrian Peterson. He is coming off a nice season of 1383 yards and 18 touchdowns. Most Vikings fans would probably agree that he seemed to have an off season last year as well. Which considering the numbers he still had, is scary. I look for Peterson to have a great year, rushing for 1650 yards and 21 touchdowns. He will take some pressure off Favre this year, which will be needed if Favre is to make it through the season.
• Receivers - This has become an interesting position for the Vikings since basically the beginning of training camp. We watched Javon Walker come and go, saw the signing of possession receiver Greg Camarillo, and saw the Vikings best receiver undergo hip surgery at an inopportune time. This leaves us with Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, the before mentioned Camarillo, and Visanthe Shiancoe. There will be other contributors, but in my mind those are the main four. I look for Harvin to have a breakout season. I think this is the year of Percy. I'm giving him 80 catches and 10 receiving touchdowns to go along with any other return touchdowns he might produce. Shiancoe will quietly have a decent year, and all the other receivers will have their games. I think we will depend on Harvin before Sidney Rice gets back from hip surgery.
• This leaves us with the QB position. I don't even know where to begin or where to end. I think if we can protect Favre, he will have another dominant season. There is no reason he couldn't throw for 4000 yards and 30 touchdowns again, while keeping his interception total in single digits. If he gets time, receivers will be open, and he will find them. I'm going optimistic this season, so I say he stays healthy, and we roll all season long.

The Defense -

• Defensive Backs......... So I've always been a little sketchy on our defensive backs, and that isn't changing much this year. I do love the drafting of Chris Cook, but unfortunately it looks like he will be missing some time with a foot injury. It leaves us with Winfield, a superstar when healthy, Asher Allen, who I enjoy watching play, and the veteran Lito Shepherd. At the safety positions we have Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams. INJURY PRONE. Winfield and Williams will miss time with injuries this season. It is only a matter of time. At that point we start to get into the younger talents that make mistakes a championship football can't have. I'm not overly concerned about the defensive backs we will start in a perfect world, but I am concerned in the defensive backs I know will be starting at points in the season. The D-Line and Linebackers can take some pressure off the secondary, but how much remains to be a question.
• Linebackers - I love the Vikings linebackers, lets just get that out there. E.J Henderson, Chad Greenway, Ben Leber, Jasper Brinkley, I can't get enough. I think they will have rock solid seasons. Henderson is a miracle story considering how gruesome that injury was last year. I think he feels like he has something to prove, and I would not want to be the person he is tackling to prove it. I'd like to see some more sacks by the linebackers this year. I'm willing to risk the open middle of the field for some big quarterback hits and potential turnovers. I think our offense will be more than capable of making up any big plays the defense yields.
• D-Line - Possible my favorite part of the team to watch. The Williams Wall, Jared Allen, and Ray Edwards. There is no reason it shouldn't be one of the best D-Lines in the league. They will cause havoc, and they will have great seasons. I look for Allen to bring home 16 sacks this year. I'm also going to say they cause more fumbles this year. With all the focus on AP fumbling, I think the line might have said "hey, maybe we can cause running backs to fumble too!" I think there will be an added emphasis on stripping the ball this year. Look for it to start tonight against the Saints.

So there you have it, the rundown of most of the positions. So what does it all add up to you ask? Well let me tell you. I will admit that I made a bold prediction around a month ago that the Vikes would go 14-2 this season if they could stay healthy. Now they have already lost star Receiver Sidney Rice for up to 8 weeks, so healthy doesn't appear to be happening. I however, do not think Rice costs this team much. I think he was beneficial of Favre stepping in and hitting it off with him. I'm assuming Favre does that again this year with a different receiver, that receiver being Percy Harvin. Taking Harvin's year with AP's, I think great things are in store for this team. I've never been more confident in a Minnesota team for a championship shot than I am with the 2010 Minnesota Vikings. I'm going to say we go 13-3, win the division by 2 games and take down the number one seed in the NFC. With home field, there is no way we should lose, no matter the opponent. I think the Vikings roll to Dallas for the Superbowl. At Destination Dallas, we defeat the Baltimore Ravens 38 - 31 - and finally win the big game. Judge if you want, but this is a damn good football team. They won 12 games last year without having played together. There were a lot of new faces and plays. This year there is one mission. Destination Dallas. I for one can't wait to get there.

Skol Vikes.