Something for Gopher Nation to contemplate on a dull December night: The Gophers' last outright title in Big Ten football was 1941.
Not in Butch's lifetime!
Even Indiana has won an outright title since then (1945).
I have followed the Gophers since the mid 90's-Wacker vintage. There have only been a hand full of times the Gophers have been ranked.
Maroney/Barber is all I can remember.
the last time the Gophers had the B1G player of the year was Sandy Stephens in 1961, their last Rose Bowl year. It was a second-straight Rose Bowl for the Goofs, but an oddity:
Big Ten Conference champion Ohio State declined the invitation to play in the Rose Bowl. They were under no contractual obligation to accept the invitation following the demise of the Pacific Coast Conference after the 1958 college football season. Minnesota, the second-place team in the Big Ten, was then offered the "at-large" invitation, and accepted.
...
because of a faculty council dispute to emphasize academics over athletics, Ohio State turned down the Rose Bowl Berth.[3] Ironically, Minnesota would not have received the Rose Bowl invitation if they had, in fact, been the 1961 Big Ten champion and the conference had a formal agreement with the Rose Bowl for the 1961 and 1962 games, since the Big Ten had a "no-repeat" rule in effect until 1972.
Minnesota beat a weak UCLA team 21-3.
I followed them pretty closely in the Tony Dungy days. And Kent Kitzmann!!! I didn't exactly idolize Kitzmann, as he was from the hated John Marshall, but what a horse!
also, the Gophers will forever be tangentially associated with the greatest college prank evah, pulled at the 1961 Rose Bowl: the Great Rose Bowl Hoax.
I'm at the dealership having our car examined which is a shitty way to start a day. Our car developed an extremely high pitched whine / wheeze that moves with acceleration, but isn't a belt. A little research suggests that our CVT is on the fritz. If that's the case the work and parts will be covered by the extended warrantee. I've got my fingers crossed.
And I need a new transmission. But before they'll honor that I need to have the fluid changed at my expense..... 200 dollars for a new transmission isn't bad, but cripes just honor the warrantee. So, to answer spooky's question, I just finished my Christmas shopping.
And one of the mechanics just melted down in the shop yelling expletives and threatening his coworkers. The natural impulse is to look, but I was more concerned with taking cover.
that's what you get for going to the dealership đ
Have to for the warrantee . /booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
After getting the camera perfectly aligned to our gate, our trespasser did not violate it this morning.
I just want to nail him.
Around mid-September, I was driving home from golf when my engine exploded - like the "piston exploding out of engine compartment and bouncing down the road" kind of exploded. For whatever reason, my dad convinced me to buy a new engine and put it in with his assistance. I'm not a car guy of any capacity whatsoever, so that was... educational. It's not something I'd do again, and there were a variety of speedbumps along the way, but today, for the first time in about two and a half months, I was able to drive my car to work. So far, today is a good day.
Two and a half months of doing it yourself versus dealing with a mechanic? I think you made the right choice.
I'm definitely going to watch the first one in 48 FPS. The rest, we'll see.
Dan Haren signs for $13 million on a one year deal with the Nationals. That team is absolutely loaded.
I think he would have looked nice in a Twins uniform
Looks like the rotation will be some sort of combination of: Diamond, Hendricks, Lannan, Brandon Webb, Jamie Moyer, some dude from Bermuda, and coaxing Bert Blyleven out of retirement.
Agreed. I was hoping they'd trade for him in 2010 when they were chasing Cliff Lee. Instead we got Capps!
I guess I have my fingers crossed that maybe they'll get Edwin Jackson or Shaun Marcum but I'm thinking it'll be another poo poo platter of a rotation.
More time for summertime projects!
I really enjoyed when this was on the scoreboard at Target Center on Friday:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRgoNKFYmgc&feature=player_embedded
Pek is one hell of an actor.
Some of y'all have already seen my thoughts on this over on the Book of Face, but it's worth sharing all around...
I'm trying to encourage a "new tradition" around Christmas cards... given that we've got facebook and all that for usual life updates, yearly letters giving updates aren't nearly as important. Plus, they're usually pretty boring.
Instead, I propose sending out "one good story" as your Christmas letter. It can be fact or fiction, humor or drama, short or long, whatever. It gives people a chance to be creative, it gives them a chance to share something of themselves in a different way, and for recipients, it could be a very enjoyable experience - way better than "wow, what a year, I can't believe it's December already. Tommy played football and baseball and Susie still has her dance class, plus Mom started a new part-time job!"
Those yearly summaries are a great way to go back several years and see what the heck you were doing, though...
I actually like the yearly letter with updates. Some of them leave much to be desired, but there are lots of people I still care about who either are on social media sparingly or not at all. It's nice to see what they've been up to.
The "one good story" idea and annual updates aren't mutually exclusive, of course.
And where do YOU get all the free time to do both during the pre-Christmas rush?
At Christmas, of course, I get to tell what some consider the greatest story of all.
I half-ass my PWTP judging.
This man speaks the truth!
ah, another out-loud chuckle
You've been putting half your ass into that?
I've been reading, like, half of the entries, yeah.
which is pretty near where our regional office was
I've always associated the name "Big Muddy" with the Missouri River.
The Missouri's nickname, the "Big Muddy", was inspired by its enormous loads of sediment or silt â some of the largest of any North American river.
Interesting. And I've always heard it used with the Mississippi, ie: Pete Seeger's song (which takes place in Louisiana), etc. From where I live, you can't tell the rivers apart, in any case.
I was under the same impression
It appears that I misremembered the clip, but it still prompted a search.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUNMmSbkAG8
And if he continued driving another 30 minutes, he'd be plummeting into the now-westbound-bridgeless Missouri River.
It's metal -- a magnet and a barge'll have it up in no time.
I'm just going to get this out of the way. I seriously hope the Twins don't sign Brett Myers. I'd have a tough time rooting for someone who was arrested for punching his wife.
You would deny him the opportunity for redemption?
I would. I think he'd fit in better with the White Sox or Tigers. Maybe the Yankees or Red Sox.
The Rangers are good for redemption.
I laughed.
There's something interesting about these two headlines. I just can't put my finger on it.
I think it's a tough situation for Pau, but he has to realize we all got his back.
Just like in Orlando!!!!
I think it's a tough situation for Pau, but he has to realize we all got a knife in his back.
FTFY. I'm just glad the Wolves didn't end up with Gasol. That would have been bad.
I'm positive, absolutely positive, that some team will make a head-scratching trade for Gasol to bail the Lakers out.
KAHHHHHNNNNN
Yeah I have this fear he'll give them Pek for Gasol. That would have to go down as one of the worst trades in history right? I mean this side of the Lakers giving up damaged goods and nothing else of value for Dwight Howard.
it would be Gasol and third team dude for Pek and 1st rounder + another guy from third team and third team gets DWill 2015 1st round and Metta World Peace from LA
Pek Plus mucho because Gasol has a huge contract. Brandon Roy? Then again, Pek's not a good fit in LA. At least not until Howard leaves.
Crap.
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS : #yankees insured for 75-80 percent of a-rod deal if he keeps falling apart. cbsprt.co/Ywn8YT
One can hope he plays just enough to prevent the payments from kicking in.
how far off the cliff does he have to fall for the insurance to kick in, and who wrote that policy?
Apparently he has to be injured for a full season before they can look into it. Here's hoping he's back next year!
whoa
@YahooForde: Yahoo! Sports exclusive: Bret Bielema leaving Wisconsin for Arkansas.
Sh*t...I used to like the Hogs. Bielma is an overrated douche.
This seems... weird. Does he have a personal connection to Arkansas or something?
its gotta be through Cowboys owner and huge Arkansas booster Jerry Jones somehow.
Well now he has 25 million reasons to have a connection to Arkansas.
True. True.
Mmmm - Pesticide drift.* In other news, I used to volunteer with the fine organization which filed the Writ of Cert Petition. If only I'd stuck around longer, my name could've been associated with WRAP in some small way.
*for our SBG College of Law Alumni
I was at a reception two years ago and one of the people there was the lawyer hired to play Farmer Kelley.
It really is a small world.
"This decision is both unfair and wrongly decided."
Do we need both to appeal?????
[grumblegrumblegrumble]
The Twins are closing in on adding someone to give Trevor Plouffe competition at third base, writes 1500 ESPN's Phil Mackey. Twins GM Terry Ryan said that piece could be in place before the end of the Winter Meetings. Mackey writes that it's probably a solid glove at a reasonable salary, given the Twins' desire to spend nearly all of their offseason budget on the rotation.
Why don't they just move Mauer to third????
Given that SS & 2B are pretty much black holes offensively, and the 3B market is even thinner than that, I was hoping they'd work on getting someone there. Mackey said on Twitter they're only looking for help at 3B. It's really too bad someone like JJ Hardy isn't available to hold down the middle infield.
This. Plouffe >> the flotsam and jetsam they have up the middle.
Yeah, Plouffe is a butcher at 3rd but Carrol can play there in a pinch/as a late inning defensive replacement. He can also hit the damn ball and provide some value to the team. I have zero hope in the crap they're going to trot out there at 2nd and short. Why not take a shot at Sephen Drew or Kelly Johnson or even Hiroyuki Nakajima? I can't imagine it being worse than what they are heading into battle with.
Also, given the silly contracts being handed out already (3/$39 million for Victorino? Really, Cherington? Good luck with that one!), I wonder if it wouldn't have been better for the Twins to trade Denard this week. I'm thinking they might've been able to get a middle infielder from the Nationals along with Meyer. Sigh.
Given who they have, I'd make Carroll the regular second baseman. He's not great, but at least he can get on base, and my feeling is he's good enough there defensively.
Yeah, but this might be the season Laddie puts it all together! đ
It might be, but it won't be in Minnesota. The Twins put him on waivers a month ago and Baltimore claimed him.
Thus the smile... That was a move that I was completely onboard with.
I really believe the Twins still think that the middle infield not only can be, but should be manned by black holes on offense.
Speed up the middle. That's what was missing in 2010.
I had bad feelings that offseason. I didn't expect it would turn out as bad as it did. But sheesh. Don't address the actual weaknesses on the team. Just create more.
Brian Dozier has a career .779 OPS in the minors and Plouffe has a .724 OPS in the minors. It wasn't that long ago that Plouffe was considered a bust. I have zero confidence in Florimon being able to hit or even field enough to make it so he doesn't have to hit. I think Dozier could end up being decent as a second baseman.
Florimon had a 0.8 rWAR last year in only 150 PAs. Not counting his fielding (oWAR in the WAR table), he was at 0.1 last year, meaning if everything else stays constant, he will be a net positive.
Plouffe was all sorts of ugly in 2011, but he still had an OPS that was .094 higher than Dozier's in 2012. Dozier was certainly rushed last year, and I think he still has a chance to be okay, but I don't think relying on him is a good idea.
Hopefully Florimon is decent for a full year. We'll see.
I'll be really surprised if Florimon can hit. On the other hand, if none of the shortstop candidates can hit, it makes sense to go with the one who plays the best defense.
Any thoughts on Escobar? His minor league line doesn't impress...but he's only 23!
Being 23 is the best thing he has going for him. The highest OPS he's put up in a season is .709 in a 2010 split between A and AA. I have no idea how his defense compares to Florimon's. Again, I don't think any of the shortstop candidates is likely to hit, so unless the Twins acquire one, I'd go with the one who plays the best defense.
The 14th-ranked team in nation is playing a team that made the tourney last year w/a local star. Game is NOT on TV. Thanks, BigTen Network
you got a problem with Lamar at Purdue or Western Michigan at Michigan?????
yes!
well, the Gophers are on ESPN3
I cant seem to get that so I will have to watch it from the front row (even though I hate to use those seats)
I liked watching the wolves, but when I can't find (or access) the only local Div 1 basketball team on television, I get a little annoyed too.
LEN3:
Not much movement with free agents during the day. Things could change tonight as the Twins remain in contact with the agents for all the key starting pitchers. Will Ryan make a move before the winter meetings end?
âThatâs always a tough question," he said. "You never know. We could. We may not. So thatâs difficult. You canât predict that. I didnât know I was going to trade Denard that particular day either. I got a call saying they freed up the pitcher we were interested in so we made it. So thatâs how that happens. Itâs amazing. I had no idea.â
So, basically, it sounds like TR held firm to what he wanted for Span and the Nats relented. I imagine this deal would have been received a lot better if it had been made during last season when teams in last place normally trade major league players for prospects.
So the Wizards beat the Heat tonight. Know what television show predicted that a few weeks ago? That's right, Homeland. And everyone said that was the most far-fetched thing to happen on the show!
From Reusse's twitter feed:
Not in Butch's lifetime!
Even Indiana has won an outright title since then (1945).
I have followed the Gophers since the mid 90's-Wacker vintage. There have only been a hand full of times the Gophers have been ranked.
Maroney/Barber is all I can remember.
the last time the Gophers had the B1G player of the year was Sandy Stephens in 1961, their last Rose Bowl year. It was a second-straight Rose Bowl for the Goofs, but an oddity:
Minnesota beat a weak UCLA team 21-3.
I followed them pretty closely in the Tony Dungy days. And Kent Kitzmann!!! I didn't exactly idolize Kitzmann, as he was from the hated John Marshall, but what a horse!
also, the Gophers will forever be tangentially associated with the greatest college prank evah, pulled at the 1961 Rose Bowl: the Great Rose Bowl Hoax.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yoLX4P4THs
The Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbaccus pulled off a pretty good hoax this week as well.
I'm at the dealership having our car examined which is a shitty way to start a day. Our car developed an extremely high pitched whine / wheeze that moves with acceleration, but isn't a belt. A little research suggests that our CVT is on the fritz. If that's the case the work and parts will be covered by the extended warrantee. I've got my fingers crossed.
And I need a new transmission. But before they'll honor that I need to have the fluid changed at my expense..... 200 dollars for a new transmission isn't bad, but cripes just honor the warrantee. So, to answer spooky's question, I just finished my Christmas shopping.
And one of the mechanics just melted down in the shop yelling expletives and threatening his coworkers. The natural impulse is to look, but I was more concerned with taking cover.
that's what you get for going to the dealership đ
Have to for the warrantee . /booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
After getting the camera perfectly aligned to our gate, our trespasser did not violate it this morning.
I just want to nail him.
Around mid-September, I was driving home from golf when my engine exploded - like the "piston exploding out of engine compartment and bouncing down the road" kind of exploded. For whatever reason, my dad convinced me to buy a new engine and put it in with his assistance. I'm not a car guy of any capacity whatsoever, so that was... educational. It's not something I'd do again, and there were a variety of speedbumps along the way, but today, for the first time in about two and a half months, I was able to drive my car to work. So far, today is a good day.
Two and a half months of doing it yourself versus dealing with a mechanic? I think you made the right choice.
this could make for an interesting viewing experience.
I'm definitely going to watch the first one in 48 FPS. The rest, we'll see.
Dan Haren signs for $13 million on a one year deal with the Nationals. That team is absolutely loaded.
I think he would have looked nice in a Twins uniform
Looks like the rotation will be some sort of combination of: Diamond, Hendricks, Lannan, Brandon Webb, Jamie Moyer, some dude from Bermuda, and coaxing Bert Blyleven out of retirement.
Agreed. I was hoping they'd trade for him in 2010 when they were chasing Cliff Lee. Instead we got Capps!
I guess I have my fingers crossed that maybe they'll get Edwin Jackson or Shaun Marcum but I'm thinking it'll be another poo poo platter of a rotation.
More time for summertime projects!
I really enjoyed when this was on the scoreboard at Target Center on Friday:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRgoNKFYmgc&feature=player_embedded
Pek is one hell of an actor.
Some of y'all have already seen my thoughts on this over on the Book of Face, but it's worth sharing all around...
I'm trying to encourage a "new tradition" around Christmas cards... given that we've got facebook and all that for usual life updates, yearly letters giving updates aren't nearly as important. Plus, they're usually pretty boring.
Instead, I propose sending out "one good story" as your Christmas letter. It can be fact or fiction, humor or drama, short or long, whatever. It gives people a chance to be creative, it gives them a chance to share something of themselves in a different way, and for recipients, it could be a very enjoyable experience - way better than "wow, what a year, I can't believe it's December already. Tommy played football and baseball and Susie still has her dance class, plus Mom started a new part-time job!"
Those yearly summaries are a great way to go back several years and see what the heck you were doing, though...
I actually like the yearly letter with updates. Some of them leave much to be desired, but there are lots of people I still care about who either are on social media sparingly or not at all. It's nice to see what they've been up to.
The "one good story" idea and annual updates aren't mutually exclusive, of course.
And where do YOU get all the free time to do both during the pre-Christmas rush?
At Christmas, of course, I get to tell what some consider the greatest story of all.
I half-ass my PWTP judging.
This man speaks the truth!
ah, another out-loud chuckle
You've been putting half your ass into that?
I've been reading, like, half of the entries, yeah.
Oh, THAT is what the explosion was that I felt an hour ago!
Quite a magic trick. They blew it up and when the smoke clears, and it's still standing!
Is there no way to dismantle without dumping the debris into the river?
Or are they trying to build a coral reef in the big muddy?
That's the Missouri, not the Big Muddy.
[edit: I live 5.2 miles away to the WNW]
Not far from our corp HQ.
which is pretty near where our regional office was
I've always associated the name "Big Muddy" with the Missouri River.
Interesting. And I've always heard it used with the Mississippi, ie: Pete Seeger's song (which takes place in Louisiana), etc. From where I live, you can't tell the rivers apart, in any case.
I was under the same impression
It appears that I misremembered the clip, but it still prompted a search.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUNMmSbkAG8
And if he continued driving another 30 minutes, he'd be plummeting into the now-westbound-bridgeless Missouri River.
It's metal -- a magnet and a barge'll have it up in no time.
I'm just going to get this out of the way. I seriously hope the Twins don't sign Brett Myers. I'd have a tough time rooting for someone who was arrested for punching his wife.
You would deny him the opportunity for redemption?
I would. I think he'd fit in better with the White Sox or Tigers. Maybe the Yankees or Red Sox.
The Rangers are good for redemption.
I laughed.
There's something interesting about these two headlines. I just can't put my finger on it.
"Diamondbacks Discussing Kubel Trades"
"Diamondbacks Sign Eric Hinske"
Plus ca change...
What of Mark Prior? Where does he fit into all of this?
on the homepage, of course:
probation, dude
huh. "of" is misspelled "have" in that retired joak.
now YOU'RE on probation
Don't look now, SBG, but apparently the Mariners are one of the teams who has inquired on Kubel!
That would be cool.
Big boy pants. Put them on.
Just like in Orlando!!!!
FTFY. I'm just glad the Wolves didn't end up with Gasol. That would have been bad.
I'm positive, absolutely positive, that some team will make a head-scratching trade for Gasol to bail the Lakers out.
KAHHHHHNNNNN
Yeah I have this fear he'll give them Pek for Gasol. That would have to go down as one of the worst trades in history right? I mean this side of the Lakers giving up damaged goods and nothing else of value for Dwight Howard.
it would be Gasol and third team dude for Pek and 1st rounder + another guy from third team and third team gets DWill 2015 1st round and Metta World Peace from LA
Pek Plus mucho because Gasol has a huge contract. Brandon Roy? Then again, Pek's not a good fit in LA. At least not until Howard leaves.
Crap.
One can hope he plays just enough to prevent the payments from kicking in.
how far off the cliff does he have to fall for the insurance to kick in, and who wrote that policy?
Apparently he has to be injured for a full season before they can look into it. Here's hoping he's back next year!
whoa
Sh*t...I used to like the Hogs. Bielma is an overrated douche.
Relevant
Priceless. Thanks for that.
This seems... weird. Does he have a personal connection to Arkansas or something?
its gotta be through Cowboys owner and huge Arkansas booster Jerry Jones somehow.
Well now he has 25 million reasons to have a connection to Arkansas.
True. True.
Mmmm - Pesticide drift.* In other news, I used to volunteer with the fine organization which filed the Writ of Cert Petition. If only I'd stuck around longer, my name could've been associated with WRAP in some small way.
*for our SBG College of Law Alumni
I was at a reception two years ago and one of the people there was the lawyer hired to play Farmer Kelley.
It really is a small world.
"This decision is both unfair and wrongly decided."
Do we need both to appeal?????
[grumblegrumblegrumble]
Why don't they just move Mauer to third????
Given that SS & 2B are pretty much black holes offensively, and the 3B market is even thinner than that, I was hoping they'd work on getting someone there. Mackey said on Twitter they're only looking for help at 3B. It's really too bad someone like JJ Hardy isn't available to hold down the middle infield.
This. Plouffe >> the flotsam and jetsam they have up the middle.
Yeah, Plouffe is a butcher at 3rd but Carrol can play there in a pinch/as a late inning defensive replacement. He can also hit the damn ball and provide some value to the team. I have zero hope in the crap they're going to trot out there at 2nd and short. Why not take a shot at Sephen Drew or Kelly Johnson or even Hiroyuki Nakajima? I can't imagine it being worse than what they are heading into battle with.
Also, given the silly contracts being handed out already (3/$39 million for Victorino? Really, Cherington? Good luck with that one!), I wonder if it wouldn't have been better for the Twins to trade Denard this week. I'm thinking they might've been able to get a middle infielder from the Nationals along with Meyer. Sigh.
Given who they have, I'd make Carroll the regular second baseman. He's not great, but at least he can get on base, and my feeling is he's good enough there defensively.
Yeah, but this might be the season Laddie puts it all together! đ
It might be, but it won't be in Minnesota. The Twins put him on waivers a month ago and Baltimore claimed him.
Thus the smile... That was a move that I was completely onboard with.
I really believe the Twins still think that the middle infield not only can be, but should be manned by black holes on offense.
Speed up the middle. That's what was missing in 2010.
I had bad feelings that offseason. I didn't expect it would turn out as bad as it did. But sheesh. Don't address the actual weaknesses on the team. Just create more.
Brian Dozier has a career .779 OPS in the minors and Plouffe has a .724 OPS in the minors. It wasn't that long ago that Plouffe was considered a bust. I have zero confidence in Florimon being able to hit or even field enough to make it so he doesn't have to hit. I think Dozier could end up being decent as a second baseman.
Florimon had a 0.8 rWAR last year in only 150 PAs. Not counting his fielding (oWAR in the WAR table), he was at 0.1 last year, meaning if everything else stays constant, he will be a net positive.
Plouffe was all sorts of ugly in 2011, but he still had an OPS that was .094 higher than Dozier's in 2012. Dozier was certainly rushed last year, and I think he still has a chance to be okay, but I don't think relying on him is a good idea.
Hopefully Florimon is decent for a full year. We'll see.
I'll be really surprised if Florimon can hit. On the other hand, if none of the shortstop candidates can hit, it makes sense to go with the one who plays the best defense.
Any thoughts on Escobar? His minor league line doesn't impress...but he's only 23!
Being 23 is the best thing he has going for him. The highest OPS he's put up in a season is .709 in a 2010 split between A and AA. I have no idea how his defense compares to Florimon's. Again, I don't think any of the shortstop candidates is likely to hit, so unless the Twins acquire one, I'd go with the one who plays the best defense.
Interesting, if meandering, interview with Jerry Kramer.
AP guy makes a great point
you got a problem with Lamar at Purdue or Western Michigan at Michigan?????
yes!
well, the Gophers are on ESPN3
I cant seem to get that so I will have to watch it from the front row (even though I hate to use those seats)
I liked watching the wolves, but when I can't find (or access) the only local Div 1 basketball team on television, I get a little annoyed too.
LEN3:
So, basically, it sounds like TR held firm to what he wanted for Span and the Nats relented. I imagine this deal would have been received a lot better if it had been made during last season when teams in last place normally trade major league players for prospects.
So the Wizards beat the Heat tonight. Know what television show predicted that a few weeks ago? That's right, Homeland. And everyone said that was the most far-fetched thing to happen on the show!