Friday, September 30, 2016

Notes

The Twins managed to win one last night. They are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Three games to go.

Football was on the NFL channel last night. The absolute worst place for games. Who subscribes to a premium channel just to get a handful of games a year?

For the first time in my adult life, I have no interest in the baseball playoffs this year. The Twins really sucked the baseball life out of me this season. Perhaps I'll start following the Cubs. Their pitching has been amazing this year.

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Vikings Move Up to Fourth in ESPN Poll

Only 5 teams remain undefeated after week 3. Denver passed New England in the number one slot. How much does this mean? Nothing. But for any Minnesota team not named Lynx, at least it gives us  fans something to smile about.

Loss 102

Four games to go for the Twins.

sigh

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

"Records"

The Twins' record this season now gives them  next year's number one draft pick.

Also, Dozier's 42 home runs is the most anyone has ever hit for a team that has lost 100 games or more.




Monday, September 26, 2016

Vikings

The game was played in two parts yesterday.

The first ten minutes was all Panthers. They took a 10-0 lead and were dominating. The rest of the game? All Vikings. The defense and special teams made the second quarter work. And in the second half the Vikings offense started to roll.

It was an amazing team performance, on the road, against one of the best teams in the league. The running backs weren't great, but they moved the ball forward, something that was clearly missing the first two weeks of the season.

Once the Vikings got that lead, it was the defense that simply took over. 8 sacks and three INTs against Cam Newton. One of the best performances I have ever witnessed.

Go Vikings!

The Twins? Loss number 100 with 6 games to go. 102 losses in a season is their record. At this point, it looks like we're going to smash that record.

sigh

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Panthers Game Declared "Extraordinary Event"

I just love how American media treats rioting and peaceful protests the same exact way. A BLACK police officer killed A BLACK man in an apartment complex parking lot on Tuesday night and rioting and looting broke out shortly thereafter.

I'm not even going to question the mindset of this. We, as a society, have now determined that this is acceptable, NORMAL behavior, ignoring the fact that if anyone else did this worldwide we'd consider it uncivilized.

Why is this happening? Even the people doing it, when interviewed, can't give any kind of consistent answer.

And now the Vikings game WILL be played there today because city officials have declared it "safe."

You see, they've hired "extra security."

Until government officials in this country, of all colors and creeds, declare this type of activity "criminal," and treat it as such, it's only going to get worse. The legal protests are being used as a smokescreen by lawless dissenters to do whatever illegal activity they want. And they are getting away with it.

Peaceful legal protests are one thing. And it is their right. Anything else should be treated differently.

I'm going to declare it something else.  These are domestic acts of terrorism. The perpetrators and their leaders should be treated as such.

I don't see how these situations are any different than the Oklahoma City bombings. No one has been killed yet, but it won't be long. This is violence for the sake of violence. It is done by motivated, misinformed, parties with deep seeded political agendas. It's our own local home-gown version of ISIS.

And we're letting it happen.

Somehow we think this type of reaction is understandable.  It's time for us to start thinking more clearly and to start acting more decisively. Hillary and Donald should both get on the same page here. And Colin Kaepernick and all of HIS follows and imitators should do the same thing. Rioting is not going to bring about positive results. Looting is not going to bring us closer together as people. It's only going to bring about a larger divide in an ever growing schism of radical, untempered thought. And its only going to cause bigger, longer term conflict. Generations of conflict. Each worse than previous generations.

We are sitting on a bombshell of society breakup. And we act like its all going to blow over.

It's not. And I wouldn't let the Vikings play anywhere near it.

Realistically, I KNOW things can't change. Political parties have been playing groups of people off one other for millennia. You see, if you're poor, it's the rich person's fault. You need to take more of their money to be happy. If you're black, it's the white people's fault. You need to take something from them to achieve societal balance. If you're Muslim, it's the Jews fault, or the Christians, or...

The list goes on and on. You see, that's what humans do. We don't live in a Star Trek society. We don't evolve past are baser, seedier roots. In reality we just get better at playing each other off one another. That's how political leaders get their power. That's how the truly successful political leaders KEEP their power. Especially when you have political pawns like Colin Kaepernick unwittingly  doing their masters bidding. People aren't naturally good. They never have been. They never will be. When someone achieves a level of success or power you see that. Most demonstrate it all along.

You've heard the saying, "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

In reality, we are all corrupt. The more power we possess, the more it shows.


Saturday, September 24, 2016

Kevin Garnett Retires Quietly

The Timberwolves bought out the remainder of Garnett's contract so that he could retire. He came back to work with coach Saunders, but when Saunders died, it kind of put everyone in a difficult situation. KG was one of the NBA's all-time greats, but 21 seasons was enough.

Patriots 3rd-String Quarterback Has Injury

Jacoby Brisset needs surgery on his right thumb to fix a torn ligament. No one knows, at this point, when that surgery will happen. The Patriots are being as secretive as ever. Jimmy Garoppolo, their second-string quarterback is "making progress" on his shoulder injury, injured week one. No one knows if he'll be ready by next week's game either, or if he'll need surgery. As usual, the Patriots aren't saying.

Brady has one more game of waiting, either way.

Julian Edelman, the Patriots star receiver, played quarterback at Kent State. Most assume he's next on the depth charts for the Patriots. The Patriots, when asked, aren't saying.

I'm starting to like Belichick more and more.


Friday, September 23, 2016

Dozier Hits Number 42

The Twins lose double header.

sigh

Patriots Win 27-0 With Third-String QB

Your number one quarterback suspended  on trumped up charges? Simply play your second-string quarterback and go 2-0. Your second team quarterback gets hurt? Simply play your third team guy, and shutout the previously undefeated Texans.

Bill Belichick has never lost a regular season game at home in which he has held the lead at halftime. That's something like 75-0. He wins about 4 of every 5 games there. And it doesn't seem to matter who his quarterback is.

Pro football has never seen his kind of genius. They even have to make up new rules to stop his brand of play. They can't even slow him down when they suspend key players for perceived, but unproven wrongs.

Go Patriots.

Except, of course, whenever you play the Vikes.

In the battle of Belechick vs. Goodell, the commissioner is utterly defenseless.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

The Crack of the Bat


Peterson Also Has Ligament Tear

Though none of the damage is considered severe, it will take awhile to heal after his surgery today. The Vikings will go with the same two backs (Asiata and McKinnon) who replaced Peterson a couple years ago when he missed the whole season. They have also added former Denver running back Ronnie Hillman who had nearly 900 yards rushing last year. He's only 25.

Their performance this year will determine how the Vikings view Peterson when he returns. His new contract demands a lot if the Vikings choose to keep him. For those wondering, Peterson is still over 6,000 yards away from Emmit Smith's all-time career record.  No one expects him to play long enough to break it. Even Peterson was talking about its time to think about winding down his career, and that was before the season started.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Power Rankings

By beating the number ONE Packers last week, the Vikes moved up to number 7 in ESPN's power rankings. This week's opponent, the Carolina Panthers, are number FOUR, and they have averaged over 40 points in their last seven home games.

The Panthers don't seem as good as last year's team, but the Vikes haven't given us enough games this year to see how good or bad they really are either. Losing your top quarterback and running back by week number three can puts a damper on your upward mobility.

Rankings are just a shot in the dark at this point, as demonstrated by Green Bay last week.

Go Vikings.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Peterson Has Torn Meniscus

He could have quick surgery and be back in a few weeks by simply having them shave off the tear OR have it fixed and the let it heal, in which case he will most likely miss the whole season. The longer term option gives him the chance at a longer career, but at 31 how many more years does he have in him?

This decision will affect how much money he can make in the next 3-4 years.

From a fan's stand point, I would love to see him to take the long term approach just so we could develop a real running game without him. He is not the back he used to be for quite sometime now. No one is willing to admit that in the media, but it's pretty obvious to those who have watched him his entire career.

It's highly unlikely that he will have another season as good as last year ever again. Our schemes might be better served by having blocking backs protect our quarterback, with an occasional run up the middle and screens. Just like other teams in the league. Focusing on Peterson  allows other defenses to put way too much pressure up the middle.

That hurts everyone.

We'll see what the Vikes come up with in the next couple of weeks. Preseason showed us we have some good, fast YOUNG backs in our system. Now it's time to figure out how best to use them effectively.

Monday, September 19, 2016

Vikings Beat the Pack!!!!!!

Sam Bradford was incredible in his debut for the Vikings last night. 287 yards on 22 for 31 passing. No INTs and two touchdowns. He took care of the ball with long and short tosses. The Vikings had 13 first downs last night. 11 were through the air.

The Viking defense stripped Aaron Rodgers of the ball three times last night. It's true that they only recovered one of those fumbles, but if the ball had bounced a little differently it could have even bigger win. Green Bay only had 65 yards in the first half. Their biggest play was a blocked punt.

Stephon Diggs had 182 yards receiving last night. He leads the league in that category after two weeks.

Jeff Lock's punting had the Packers starting their drives inside the 20 all night long.

Adrian Peterson was worse this week than last and left with a knee injury late in the third quarter. Early reports are that it is minor.

The Vikings clearly were the better team last night. That came as a surprise. Bradford exceeded even the most optimistic fan's expectations.

Go Vikings!!!


Sunday, September 18, 2016

Mr. Olympia

I watched the posing routines of the finalists last night but grew tired when they threw in another couple of competitions in between the posing and the finals. It truly is a miss-mash way of showing a competition.

I went to bed only to discover that Phil Heath won his sixth title in an article this morning. I also found out that the Rock is bigger than everyone else in the competition when he announced that his production company bought the rights to next year's broadcast and that it will be shown on the CBS Sports channel.


Vikings/Packers Tonight

This would be a much bigger game if the Vikings had their first string quarterback. As it stands right now, the Pack is a huge favorite even though the game is going to be played at the Vikings brand new stadium.

Despite coach Zimmer's best intentions to keep the starting quarterback a secret, most assume that Sam Bradford will start the game. If he doesn't, everyone will assume Zimmer is an idiot just to trick the Packers.

Bradford got most of the snaps in practice this week and has pronounced himself ready. Vikings fans want him to be really good, but know his history. Me? I iust want Adrian Peterson to run forward when he touches the ball, because if he doesn't it's going to be a really long night and I'll be going to bed early.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Olympia

I watched most of the first round prejudging last night with my brother, the expert, visiting from California. It was enjoyable and informative.

Even a casual viewer like myself could pick out the top guys from those who are merely participants.

The finals are tonight. I probably won't stay up as late to watch them, but I'll at least watch some of it. I find it fascinating that people can get this big and still not be as good as others.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Twins Win!

Lots of hitting. Good pitching. Only 29 1/2 games out of first with 17 games to play.

I just want them to win 63 on the season to avoid 100 losses.

Go Twins!

Monday, September 12, 2016

Twins: 5 Hits, 4 Errors

Wow.

Is it Time for Peterson to Retire?

I'm thrilled that the Viking's defense found a way to win yesterday, but let's face it, the team isn't going to get two touchdowns from the defense every week. Adrian Peterson was back to his old form yesterday, stutter-stepping when he got the ball and generally looking like a goof as he got tackled behind the line of scrimmage on play after play.

If he just would have ran forward at first, and hit the holes with a little speed he could have had SOME yardage. As it is, he was absolutely pathetic. 19 carries: 31 yards.

This is what I thought he was going to be like last season. It's time for him to step aside and let younger, smarter backs have their playing time. He may have some speed left, but that stupid sideways stumbling has become the norm.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Vikings

I have no idea how the season will go this year. While both Hill and Bradford are perfectly adequate NFL quarterbacks, they aren't Teddy Bridgewater.

What made Teddy special was his short passing game. He connected on 75% of them last year. THAT'S what kept the pressure off Adrian Peterson and the running game. Neither Hill nor Bradford have shown that ability. Without that short passing efficiency the Vikings are going to be a very different team.

Since most games decided among good NFL teams are decided by less than a touchdown, the difference between winning and losing is often a few extra plays of ball control.

The best stat in football for determining winners? Add the total rushing attempts by a team to their pass completions. The team with the most wins the vast, vast majority of the time.

That's what ball control is. If you're just a little bit worse at it, it will reflect in your final record. The Vikes should finish at .500 or better this year as long as neither quarterback suffers from turnovers. But, we're not going to be as good without Teddy,

I'm just hoping that Bradford and his $13 million dollar contract suddenly remembers how to be a great quarterback again, like he was in college.

And that everyone else can stay healthy.

CM Punk

CM Punk quit WWE a couple of years ago to become a UFC fighter.  He said this is where he belongs, he's never looking back.

Last night was his much awaited debut in a UFC match.

He was taken to the ground, clubbed like a baby seal for about a minute, and then quickly tapped out. All along people said there was no way he could make the transition to UFC.

It couldn't have went worse for him. I'm not even sure he'll get another chance.

I don't mind Punk being gone from the WWE, but he took AJ Lee, his wife, with him when he left. I miss watching her.

Him? Not so much.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Lamar Jackson

Louisville has one very talented sophomore. He's had 13 TDs in just two Cardinal games this year. Their showdown with Florida State is just a week away. College football is already in full swing. The playoff system destroyed most of my interest, but undefeated teams playing each other still means something.

Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow signed a contract with the Mets late Thursday. He'll report to their fall instructional league in a few weeks.

My list for top quarterbacks now playing for New York teams:

3) Ryan Fitzpatrick- Jets
2) Eli Manning- Giants
1) Tim Tebow- Mets

Friday, September 9, 2016

Denver Rallies, Beats Cam and the Panthers

Absolutely great start to the season!!!

Did I mention Cam LOST!

Whooo!!!!

Thursday, September 8, 2016

NFL Starts Tonight

Finally, something to watch!

Twins Win

I only get to type that headline about once every ten games lately, so I'm going to enjoy it.

No, Dozier did not hit a home run, but Sano had a good night.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Brian Dozier

The Twins pitching has been so incredibly bad this season that I've been missing one of the greatest power displays by a Twins batter in over 40 years.

Yesterday, Brian Dozier became the first Twin to hit more than 35 home runs in a season since Harmon Killebrew. And it he did it with style, hitting THREE yesterday. He now has 38 on the season. I believe that's the most home runs by an AL second baseman in a season EVER.

What's weird? I called all three, and the innings he would hit them before his first at-bat yesterday.

I know that sounds stupid, but in a year this bad, something has to get me interested.

Yes, the Twins pitching was atrocious again and the the Twins got pounded by KC, but Dozier deserves to be mentioned. He's on pace for a 40 home run, 100 RBI season. That's historic.

Go Dozier!

Update: That's the second most homeruns by a second basemen in AL history. Alfonso Soriano had 39 for the Yankees in 2002. And because of the DH rule only 36 of Dozier's homers were by him as a second baseman this season.

I repeat: Go Dozier!!!

Monday, September 5, 2016

Latest Art

There's less to talk about this morning so I thought I'd share my latest artwork instead. At least it's sports related instead of the super hero stuff I normally work on.

LeBron is the master of sports posing. This blog limits file sizes and resolutions so I'm also including a larger detail portion of the print.  LeBron is a master of posing...



Sunday, September 4, 2016

Sam Bradford

Bradford was great in college. As a six-year pro? Not so much. His QB rating for those six years is 40.5. Shaun Hill's much longer career is 46.5.

Bradford is not mobile. He's been hurt a lot, missing 33 of his potential 96 games, and he doesn't have the long pass. He's not even very accurate on short range passes.

So why did the Vikings give up next year's first round draft pick for him? He's way younger than Hill and we need two starters in case of another injury to either.

And everyone still thinks that Sam Bradford is going to have a breakout year one of these years.

We'll see. At least his interception percentage is lower than league average.

And late last year were the best games of his short career.

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Kaepernick

I don't want Colin Kaepernick in Minnesota. Why? Because I want a smart quarterback.

This insanely stupid stance against the National Anthem is only going to cause a bigger divide in this country. Refusing to stand because of the 1% of the police officers in this country who do a bad job, is like refusing to eat meat because some cow in Europe had mad cow disease.

I don't deny the right of any American to protest whatever they want. But, I have the freedom to say he's an idiot with a poorly informed opinion, a man who never developed thinking or reasoning skills. Its one thing to mention there are still some areas this country we could still be addressing in the area of rights and freedoms, but it's totally another to wear police officer pig socks. He's condemning an entire GROUP of people for the actions of a very small minority within that group.

That's the very definition of bigotry. You can't claim the moral high ground and be a bigot yourself.

This is why he's stupid. He owes police officers everywhere an apology.

It no longer matters what he says.  His own actions have labeled him a bigot who deserves to be called out on his hypocrisy. That NO ONE ELSE IN THE MEDIA is calling him out on this shows you how far we have come in this country to perpetuate hate.

His words might have meant something if his actions didn't brand him something else.

Lose the hate Kaepernick. It looks bad on you.





Friday, September 2, 2016

Twins Win!

The streak is at last over.

Jhurell Pressley

I watched quite a bit of last night's final exhibition game just to see who the Vikes currently have as back-ups to Shaun Hill. My observation? It's a good thing both quarterbacks can hand the ball off to running backs.

Pressley was especially impressive. With a kickoff return for a touchdown and a long run for a touchdown he was the offensive player of the night. Further observations? Our third string players are more fun to watch than their third string players.

I have no idea how a team this talented will look in the regular season with Shaun Hill as the expected starter.

Teddy's injury changes everything.

I hope I can stomach the change.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Losing Streak At 13

The Twins are spiraling downward.

Ricky Nolasco? He pitched a complete game shutout for the Angels yesterday.

sigh