169 thoughts on “December 30, 2012: Two Benders in a Row?”

1. An admirer worshipper wannabe good friend sent me a link to this year's Bulwer-Lytton "winners", and they were pretty entertaining. He correctly guessed that I was not the Historical Fiction Runner-Up.

2. I think Rhubarb has a caffeine problem. 2 cups a day is too much.

3. spoons forgotted the Cuppa categorization. One too many concussions?

   1. I did have a couple as a youth.

      Yeah, I was surprised to see mine didn't go up today - stupid categories. Well, it's my first day, so you understand.

      1. well, I checked the Cup category, and when I didn't see one...well anyway, hope there weren't too many loud noises for you this morning.

4. Ugh, I'm actually interested in watching an NFL game (for the potential historicalness of an AP rushing record) and its Buck-Aikman.

   1. So bad.

   2. He's quite good.

      1. Buck or Aikman?

      2. It's happening.

         1. Careful with a term like that.

            1. I'm going to make up some T-Shirts

               1. Don't forget a hashtag.

   3. When Joe Buck is engaged in the game, he is very good. I thought this past World Series he was good but Tim McCarver drags the whole broadcast down.

5. Blair Walsh is unbelievable.

   1. Yeah, back before I was NFL free I really loved having Longwell on the team. But I don't think they made any sort of mistake in deciding to go with Walsh instead.

      1. Of course, crap like that kick will all but guarantee I don't win my money league this week. (But still, in the championship despite easily being the lowest scoring team in the league makes me giggle.)

         1. Week 17 fantasy football? Oish. That happened in my money league once. Never again.

            1. yeah, we did it once, too. I think we got lucky and none of the teams involved rested their players.

               1. I've been in this league about four years now, and its always been this way and sucks. But its a weird league in which everyone makes the playoffs, so maybe it fits the theme.

   2. My cousin brought me a sixer of this from Oregon for Christmas (it would seem that a friend of his works for the brewery).

      Not bad, certainly not as smooth or full flavored as a Furious, but it's a hoppy IPA, and that's what I was looking for today.

      1. (There's no link)

         1. Yeah, I edited it in. Oops.

         2. Scratch that.

      2. Mmmmm, hops. I just drank my last IPA homebrew, but I still have that New Glarus Black IPA so I'm good.

         Also, I'm glad there's a 10 Barrel Brewing Company in Oregon because Madison can out-hipster them with an even smaller One Barrel Brewing Company.

6. I read the most excellent line in an NBA boxscore this morning: Cole Aldrich, 8:21 min, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 3 fouls, 4 turnovers.

   1. wooof

      Aldrich is one of us! (Bloomington Jefferson)

7. APIVVGAF

8. What does AP need (in total) for the record? I'm not watching TV, just checking in on score now and then.

   1. Somewhere around 145 yards.

      1. thx

         1. He's running really well, too, so its entirely in reach.

            1. Then again, there's Ponder, so it might be a bit tough.

9. Torii Hunter: Mr. Tolerance.

   1. He is really, really good at making me dislike the crap out of him.

      1. He fits in perfectly as a Tiger.

         1. touché

   2. Torii Hunter, among baseball's most thoughtful and intelligent players

      Uh, what?

      1. I wonder what it would take before the media would let that trope die.

         1. I'm hoping this will do it. Oh, who am I kidding.

            1. I'll give them thoughtful, as its clear there are many thoughts in his head. It's the intelligent part I would contest.

      2. Thoughtful = thinking out loud

10. Ponder makes the worst decisions...

    1. Only on the field.

       1. I was really hoping that would come with a link.

    2. You mean chucking it straight up in the air while getting destroyed is a poor idea?

       This is obviously not Green Bay's day.

       1. I dunno, I mean... Mason Crosby actually made a field goal. That has to be a good omen for the Pack, right?

          1. Well, I'm just hoping Crosby doesn't waste all his made FGA before the playoffs.

             Spoiler	SelectShow
             I think he just did.

11. Jon Krawczynski ‏@APkrawczynski

    Peterson with 17 carries for 91 yards. 11 yards to history. Dickerson doesn't look out of reach either. 117 for the record.

12. FOX using a Hives song to promote the Cotton Bowl. nice

    1. I need to give that album another try. It didn't seem to do a lot for me the first (and thus far only) listen.

       1. I listened to it a few weeks back. I am still disappointed in it, just like most of the new albums I bought this year.
          But, I also listened to The Black and White Album for the first time in forever and it was better than what I remembered

13. I see the Vikings made their halftime defensive adjustments to fun their Keystone Cops package.

    1. They look like the Packers' defense out there. First to 50 wins this game.

    2. That was... wow.

14. no Antoine Winfield. yikes

15. I predict this game ends poorly for Paul Allen.

    1. TOUCHDOOOOOOOOWN......

       NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

       1. one of my favorite calls of all time

          httpv://youtu.be/_PS4Xt3-q0M

          1. I just watched the Tecmo Super Bowl version the other day (thanks Beau!). The internet was made for moments like that.

             1. tremendous

                httpv://youtu.be/l_wfYAGosi4

          2. or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Choke.
             I've mentioned before, I was driving home from the in-laws that afternoon and listened to it on the radio.
             So one of dozen or less times I've listened to the Vikings on the radio, that's the call I got.
             It was beautiful.

16. Nice run. Under 100 yards to go.

    He needs to break the record if we're going to win.

    1. The previous matchup with the Packers proves this is an incorrect statement.

       1. "If" we're going to win. They're not mutually inclusive.

          1. Good point.

17. Corralling a loose football looks like it has to be the most frustrating thing a person can do.

18. Jerome Felton and AP as wideouts. wow

19. All. Day.

    1. Heh, AP might buy that lineman dinner for the personal foul.

20. My goodness.

21. AP is just incredible

22. That slow-mo of Rodgers looking at the fumble as it hangs in the air is priceless.

23. McCarthy throws the challenge flag on an automatic review. Thats a penalty (think Schwartz on Thanksgiving). I dont think the refs are calling it

24. Jordy Nelson is pretty damned quick on it.

25. that red flag rule is so freaking stupid

    1. I'm not mad that they're not doing the same thing that they did to the Lions on Thanksgiving, but you're right. Red flag rules (just about all of them) are insane.

26. has Les Frazier ever been red hot about anything???

    1. I saw him shaking his head in a laconicly annoyed manner. That's the angriest I've ever seen him.

       1. So he's TK of the gridiron?

27. this is like the Gophers game the other day. You are pounding on the ground, why are you freaking passing?

    1. Because.....surprise!

       1. I would say it worked there.

          1. Surprise!

    2. yeah, I don't get it. I believe with any play for any sport, until they prove they can stop something, keep doing it.

    3. Bet you guys feel dumb right now.

28. Is the Metrodome the home stadium for the Vikings or the Packers? I can't tell from the crowd noise.

29. Perfect pass. The fact that Jarius Wright has steeped up is reason (admittedly distant #4) we're competing for a playoff spot.

30. Peterson at 159 yards. Just 49 more to break the record.

    1. One big run.

31. Ponder with 3 TD passes. So... who had that? You stand to make some money.

32. how in the world did Jenkins catch that. wow

33. Fitting end to this season. What a game.

    1. yep. an absolute slobberknocker

       1. This is the best NFL game I've watched in some time.

34. the secondary is getting down to people coming in from the stands. yike

35. If AP breaks the record in overtime is there an asterisk?

36. That Jefferson is not so good, is he?

    1. he is being put in a position that he shouldnt be playing because of all the injuries.

       1. Ah, so, basically: MN sports.

          1. I think RandBall called it: '2012: The Year of the ACL'

37. One decent drive. Let Blair Walsh send them to the postseason. Seems fitting.

    1. after a 50 yard run

       1. I hope he breaks the record, honestly. Let him break one for 60 here to set the record, then the Packers send this game into OT. I don't want it to end, haha.

          1. This game does have the feeling of an all-time classic.

38. SEND HIM!!

    1. nice

39. Stay out of this, Gary Anderson.

40. BEAST!!!!!!!

    1. Nine yards shy. Ridiculous. He only got us nearly single handedly into the playoffs.

41. They should do a fake FG to AP

42. jeebus, what a game

43. MVP!!!!!

    1. Should be no doubt.

    2. I heard about 243 of ESPN's 346 NFL experts say that Adrian Peterson could only by MVP if the Vikings made the playoffs. It'll be interesting this week to see if they come up with some other nonsensical reason why the best player in the league shouldn't be MVP.

       1. Are you on record that Blair Walsh should be MVP?

          1. I'd say he might well be reason #2 why the Vikings are in the playoffs.

             1. I really don't know anything. What are the top ten WARs in the league?
                Do kickers ever have WARs near a highly-regarded position player?

                1. Football Outsiders has the Vikings ST's as pretty darned good

                   1. Even with those stats, baseball's still better.

                      1. Of that, there should be no doubt.

44. Great game. I hope next week's result is not the same.

45. not a record, but 2097 yards (and probably an MVP trophy) is not a bad season

46. At the beginning of the year, I told my friends that I'd consider six wins a solid season. Safe to say that this is one of the (few) bright moments as a Vikings fan. What a freaking game.

    1. agreed

47. Wow. That had a Game 163 feel to it (the good one).

    1. indeed. If I cared about the Vikings as much as I do the Twins, I would have gone ape. I was still pretty pumped, though

       1. When Jarius Wright caught that pass, I was as pumped as I've been as a football fan in three years.

    2. since the Wild are not playing and FSN needing programming, they should do a Lego recreation of that game 162 and run it about 50 times.

    3. I'm wishing this had happened before I emotionally severed myself from the team and its league.
       Focus on how the Wilfs basically extorted the state for a new stadium, all because they stopped being able to make money from Twins' games' concessions &c.

48. Annnnd the Vikings get to play the Packers against next week.

49. Brendan Harris with an absolute gem

    Brendan Harris ‏@BrendanHarris23
    Eric Dickerson hasn't been this happy since SMU gave him the keys to that trans am.

    1. I wonder if he has a hidden webcam in his apartment of him fistpumping after thinking of that joke.

       1. I love everything about this.

50. That was a hell of a game and all, but looking at the book of faces andd seeing certain things said by certain family members I haven't unsubscribed from yet (gonna have to take care of that) reminded of one of the reasons I've tried to distance myself from football.

    1. I assume most football fans on both sides of the rivalry will be insufferable about all this.

       1. Pretty mich. I've blocked Vikings fans as well as Packers fans. The sort of things my extended family will say to each other over football is mind blowing.

          1. My dad is a Vikings fan, my brother and I are both Packers fans. We've never gotten too ridiculous about things. We all hate the Bears, so that's the best part of all this!

             1. Seriously. Let's not forget that the best part of all of this is that the Bears started 7-1 and didn't make the playoffs.

                1. Here's hoping the result of all that is an extension for Lovie Smith.

                   1. or hire Andy Reid

                2. Really? That's fun.
                   I remember when the Vikings pulled off something like that.

                   1. Cards started 4-0, ended 5-11.

                      2003 season. Vikings started 6-0, and had yet to play any of the four teams that would end with the worst record in the league. Packers were 3-4. Vikings lost to all of them. (The Pack and the four other teams.) Hey! That's the same season as the Nate Poole game!

                      1. I think I'm gonna go watch that again.

                         1. NOOOOOO

                      2. Isn't that the year that they lost to the Chargers and Panthers (both 2-14 teams)?

                         1. Chargers and Raiders (both 4-12 that year) back to back weeks

                         2. Nope. The lost to the 4-12 Giants, Raiders, Chargers, and Cardinals in 2003 (and missed the playoffs by one game).
                            In 2001, they lost to the 1-15 Panthers and split with the 2-14 Lions.

                            1. The year that I was thinking of was 2001,. when they lost to the 1-15 Panthers (week one! ouch, Carolina) and the 2-14 Lions.

                            2. 2001 is the same year they canned the coach in his tenth season when his worst prior season was .500!

                3. all the Bears losses this year came against playoff teams (including twice to the Packers). weird.

                   1. Close to happening for the Packers, but the Giants won't make it.

51. does anyone like the McRib?
    I havent had one in years, and not likely to get one in the future (Ive stop going to McDonalds)
    but judging by the commercials, that sandwich looks weak. fake pork 'ribs', pickles, onions...and thats it?

    1. I'm just gonna guess hipsters, because otherwise it similarly makes no sense to me.

       1. Oh, yea, I am totally into something manufactured from "real pork" as they say on the adverts. Yummo!

          1. Maybe "lower-valued meat trimmings... reformed to produce a 'meat log'" didn't test as well.

             1. It worked for hot dogs.

             2. looks like it's science!

                1. From the creators of Meat Log and Pink Slime! And the producer of Mechanically Separated Chicken!

                   The McRib! Featuring lower-valued meat trimmings!

                   1. beaf!

                      1. all this beaf talk has me hungry for Taco Bell.

                      2. Beaf! It's what's for dinnur!*

                         *Dinnur and Beaf! are registered trademarks of the American Beef Council, are not real, and if found to be real should never be consumed by people. Or animals. Or pregnant women. Or women who may become pregnant or may think about becoming pregnant or who have been pregnant or anyone anywhere who have heard of being pregnant. Or were once inside a pregnant person (or animal).

                         1. mmm, "comminuted meat mixture" sounds delectable.

                            strat, you better watch out. I expect to see your The Rat's face adorning a series of "War on Meat" stories on Fox News any day now.

                            1. Oddly enough, I look exactly like my avatar. I rarely leave the sewers below my house.

    2. Just like the ribwiches in high school!
       (OK, like the ribwiches in high school with pickles and onions.)

52. Mike Shanahan sure knows how to pick running backs out of nowhere. Alfred Morris with 1600+ rushing yards as a rookie.

    1. And that is what Washington got from the Vikings for McNabb.

       1. really?

          Its like Ramos for Capps!

53. Man vs. Food does Minneapolis (from 2009). I missed the Jucy Lucy bits. On to the Meterwurst Challenge. This is still a thing?

Comments are closed.