Monday December 22, 2003
 

VIKINGS GAME THOUGHTS

TIMBERWOLVES THOUGHTS

TWINS/BASEBALL THOUGHTS

NFL “EXPERT” PICKS
 

GREAT MINNESOTA WEEKEND

This is pretty quickly written, as I had a long, enjoyable weekend with way too much traveling! (800 miles!) So bear with me today, and I will attempt to come back tomorrow when I’ll be back to myself.

First things first though. Congratulations to St. Johns (MN) University on their Division III National Championship. I think their 24-6 win over Mount Union had to shock a lot of people. Mount Union had not lost since the championship game in 1999, 55 consecutive games. In Mount Union’s semi-final game, they won 66-0. The big play of this game though was the final play of the first half. Needing about 20 yards for a touchdown, the Johnnies threw a swing pass. The receiver got two great blocks, then knocked the safety backwards as he lunged into the endzone to give St. John’s the 7-6 lead. Even I got pretty pumped up about that!

Second, be sure to check out the Aaron Gleeman interview on Rich’s Baseball Blog.  Very interesting stuff!

VIKINGS GAME THOUGHTS

As I mentioned last week, I had the opportunity to go to the Vikings game on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. Here’s what I said:

But I look forward to seeing a shoot-out. First, I would love to see the Vikings pull off the upset and beat the Chiefs. I think if that would somehow happen, the Vikings would win the division and have the #3 seed for the playoffs, meaning a first-round bye (Note- it would just mean a home game in the first round). If they don’t win, they’re probably looking at the #6 seed. But that’s why they play the games. The Vikings offense can put up big numbers against a very mediocre Chiefs defense. The Chiefs offense should have no problem putting up points against the Vikings defense. So, I really hope to see a high scoring game!

Prediction (unfortunately): Vikings 31, Chiefs 48.

Well, first as you know, I am very happy that the Vikings won the game 45-20, which is the best part about the whole thing. They really put themselves in a great position to make the playoffs. But, not only did they win, it was still a high scoring game with 65 total points scored.

What was the key to the game? The Vikings got ahead early allowing them to be more aggressive on defense. (They also were on the good side of a bad call!) That aggressiveness created some big turnovers, a couple of fumbles and a couple of Brian Russell interceptions. After going ahead 31-0 early in the 3^rd quarter, the Vikings did start to become complacent. It almost cost them. The Chiefs (meaning Priest Holmes) scored three straight touchdowns, making the score 31-20, with plenty of time left to play. However, when the Vikings scored a touchdown to make it 38-20, the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. On the next Chiefs drive, they got another turnover and turned that into a touchdown, and the game was over.

How good is Onterrio Smith? His strength, shiftiness and speed combination makes him a real Steal of the Draft, as he calls himself. Two straight 140+ yard games. 3 more touchdowns on Saturday. He really is that good. The Vikings have a very good situation with their three RBs; they all compliment each other so well.

How good is Randy Moss, and more importantly, How ‘bout that Hair???  First, he is the best wide receiver in the NFL, without question. On the second question, Moss’s ‘fro… I love it! That’s a lot of hair! I wonder how long it takes normally to put the cornrows in?

 

But now, the big question, Can the Vikings come back next Sunday and beat the Arizona Cardinals to claim the NFC North title? I want to say yes. I want to think that they will go into Arizona and dominate the Cardinals. Clearly, the Vikings have the better talent, and on paper, they have the better team. (Of course, games aren’t played on paper, they’re played on TV.) The same things could have been said when they played the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders. They have won just one outdoor football game in their last 16 tries.

So, can they come out and play as they should, get the win and go to the playoffs? Check back later in the week for my predictions.
 

RANDOM GAME THOUGHTS

First, again, thanks to Mike Brasel who let me tag along with his second ticket. Mike, my brother Justin Stohs, Ryan Jepma and I got into the cities and met up with Dave Mandt and The Three Mikes about 2 ½ hours before game time to do some tailgating. Justin forgot hamburger, but Dave’s father-in-law was nice enough to let us have some of their steak. (So, that turned out pretty well for us, huh?) So, thank you Mike! Gustavus’s leading tackler this season, Isaac Sieling, joined us later for the game. It wasn’t actually too cold (probably 30 degrees), but the wind was biting. But there was a fire, and there was food! Within the tailgating group, we had tickets in groups of two throughout the Dome. Mike and I had to check out the goings on on the plaza quickly before heading into the Dome about an hour before game time. It was strange because at that time, there was more Chiefs red in the stadium than Vikings purple. But I guess that makes sense, since it seems most Viking fans tailgate and come inside just before game time.  The Chiefs fans traveled well though.

Generally speaking, I enjoy watching pro football on TV more than in person because you can see the scores and highlights of the other games at the same time, and get injury updates and some of that kind of information that you can’t at the game. The beauty of actually being at the game is in the ability to see the bigger picture. On TV, you only see what the cameras show you. Mike and I sat on about the 12 yard line, seven rows up in the upper deck. We were in the corner where Randy Moss caught his first TD pass.  On that play, I could see the free safety shifting closer toward Moss and the corner back was not hiding his intent to blitz. What was about to happen was obvious. Moss with 1-on-1 coverage with a safety? Of course you’re going to throw it to him. On running plays, you can see just how big the holes are. It isn’t as obvious on television. So, there are definitely advantages to being there in person. The biggest thing though, is just being a part of the crowd, a part of the noise, feeling your insides shaking due to the volume.

Quick notes -

·         Favorite Viking - Kelly Campbell became my favorite Vikings player. In the pregame lineup announcement, he was just out of the tunnel, dancing with and pumping up his teammates as their names were announced. Throughout the game, he was the Vikings player getting the crowd into the game. Near the end, during a TV time out, he stepped out of the huddle and acknowledged the crowd. It was fan appreciation Saturday, so during other time outs, they would have players thank the crowd with messages on the big screen. Kelly Campbell stole the show with his humor and smile! When waiting for kickoffs, he was pumping himself up by dancing to the music. So, as my man, Jack Brewer would say, Kelly Campbell is the crunkest! (Not to mention the fact that he is a pretty good football player with big-time, big-play potential.)

·         Do not try to go to the bathroom at halftime! First, there is the whole trough thing at the Dome that is disturbing in its own way. But the lines in the bathrooms worked their way across the hallway outside of them. There must have been 25 people going at the same time, and 500 people trying to get into that bathroom. I slowly worked myself forward in the line, but it was seriously one of the scariest rooms I have ever been in! Vikings fans were trash talking. Chiefs fans were being very patient. And people were shoulder to shoulder. I got back to my seat after the first series of the 3^rd quarter.

·         Bring a business card to the game (or something with a phone # or e-mail address of something!) and have a couple ready in your front pocket! As I was working myself out of the bathroom and through the hallway, I saw a guy in a Vikings jersey holding the hand of a woman in a Chiefs jersey. He was bouncing up and down as if cheering. I thought it was a little weird, so I was going to just walk past them. The lady grabbed me and clenched onto my arm and walked with me a ways. She told me she had no idea who the guy was. She said that ‘our’ (Vikings) fans were scary and freaks! Now, this woman was probably 24 or so and VERY attractive. My mind was racing. Half of it was telling me to say to her, “Please don’t think that all Vikings fans are like that. He is a poor representation of the rest of us.” The other half of my brain was telling me to say “Will you marry me?” You can see my dilemma! And, I’m afraid that when I opened my mouth, it came out something like this, “Urr, blasoona ogleenie okleenuno bellictibum inclona eakondo sontoo.”  Smooth, huh!!!??? I fell in love with her, and then she was gone. If she is reading this, please e-mail me!!!

·         Postgame - First, be sure you have clear directions on how to get to your destination. We took a very interesting, somewhat intimidating tour of some North Minneapolis residential areas before finally getting to where we really wanted to be. But, it was all ok because… There is no better place for the post game than Buffalo Wild Wings! That is our post-Twins games place to go, and became the post-Vikings game place too. Mmmm… wingies!! (Chris Farley, Tommy Boy)

Any thoughts on the Vikings game or any of these thoughts? E-mail me.
 

TIMBERWOLVES THOUGHTS

When we finally got to Buffalo Wild Wilds, we were able to watch the Wolves, the Wild, the football game and much more. The Wolves were already ahead about 15 points when we got there.  They cruised to a 22 point, 102-80 win over the Indiana Pacers. The Wolves have been incredible in December. Indiana is a very good team, so this is really a big win.

The big news of the game was the return of Troy Hudson. He played just 13 minutes, which is smart. I hate when players come back and immediately play a lot of minutes. For example, Michael Olowokandi had knee surgery and even though he hadn’t practiced, he started the season playing 35 minutes a game. In Hudson’s minutes, he took 8 field goal attempts, making two for his five points. They will continue to increase his minutes, which is very important to the Wolves.

The negative of Hudson coming back is that former Gopher Quincy Lewis was released. That’s not very negative since Lewis really hasn’t played much at all for the whole season.

As always, the Wolves were led by Kevin Garnett. He scored 28 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, dished out 6 assists and added 7 blocked shots and 3 steals. He is a beast on both ends of the floor and clearly the best all-around player in the NBA! Fred Hoiberg added 21 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. Sam Cassell, who may be the best point guard in the NBA right now, added 18 points and 10 assists. Latrell Sprewell added 17 points.

The win improves the Wolves record to 17-9, ½ game behind the San Antonio Spurs in the Midwest Division. Of course, at this stage of the season, the Utah Jazz are in 7^th (last) place in the division and they are just 3 ½ games out of first.

The Wolves will be on the road this week, racking up plenty of frequent flyer miles. Tuesday night, they head to the east coast to play the Knicks. Then they will be making a west coast trip to play Portland on Friday night and Seattle on Saturday night.

Any Wolves Thoughts? E-mail me.
 

TWINS THOUGHTS

First, if you’re looking for a great article to read around the Christmas holiday, check out today’s Jim Souhan article on Al Newman. Al Newman is a lucky man, and he knows it. I certainly wish Al all the best in his continued recovery!

The Twins avoided arbitration by signing 2B Luis Rivas to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Seems like a lot of money for a player with a career .263/.312/.377 hitting line.  Of course, that looks like a bargain when compared to the $4.75 million that Cristian Guzman will be paid this season.

If Luis Rivas got $1.5 million, imagine what the three players they did offer arbitration will get. Doug Mientkiewicz is in his second year of arbitration eligibility, so obviously, he will be significantly higher than the others. I would estimate that number to be about $3.75 million. Santana and Romero are in their first seasons of arbitration. I would think Romero will sign for closer to $1 million, but Santana could demand far more than that. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him closer to $2.5 million.

The Twins also non-tendered utility infielder Augie Ojeda whom they had signed early in the offseason. However, they are expected to sign him to a minor league contract soon.

Here is the complete list of players who were non-tendered, 58 players who are now free agents. In my mind, most of these players are not worth giving a second look to, but I do believe there are a few players the Twins should at least consider attempting to sign.

There are just two starting pitchers who, if they would sign for relatively cheap prices, the Twins should offer contracts to. Baltimore non-tendered both Jason Johnson and Damion Moss. There are more relievers that are worth considering. I really liked lefty Valerio De Los Santos when he was with Milwaukee. He throws hard. I would compare him to the White Sox Damaso Marte! Braden Looper was the part-time closer for the Florida Marlins. He is certainly far from being a dominant, consistent closer, but I would think that he could help the Twins either in the closer’s role, or as a setup man. Danys Baez could be signed to make things interesting in the Twins clubhouse! I really don’t think there are any position players that the Twins should even consider. Shawn Wooten is a slower version of Matt Lecroy. I would think that maybe the Twins would show some interest in 2B Marlon Anderson or Damian Jackson, but the signing of Rivas makes that unlikely. 

It will be very interesting to see what Terry Ryan choses to do in this market, if anything. What do you think they should do?  E-mail me.
 

NFL “EXPERT” PICKS

In the past, I have provided a link to Rich’s Baseball Beat’s interviews. This weekend, he did an interview with Aaron Gleeman, one of our panelists, and the author of Aaron’s Baseball Blog. It’s well worth the read!

Aaron went into this week leading by 2 games over Ben Jacobs. So, how did they do this weekend?

Well, that is it for today. I drove over 800 miles this weekend, so I’m going to turn in early so I can wake up in the morning. It was a really fun weekend! Thanks again to all those who were also involved. If anyone has a question or comment on anything you’ve read, please e-mail me.

Have a great Christmas week!

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