I wonder how much the next Minnesota football stadium that hosts the Super Bowl will cost taxpayers.
*In a desperate attempt to redirect conversation*
So, the new phone is pretty much in full operation. I'm a little disappointed that I can't override the inbred Verizon system apps with ATT or Google (it's an unlocked Verizon phone I'm using on ATT). Screen protectors have arrived, case is in transit.
I've settled on Poweramp for my music playback; still have several days before the trial expires, but it's looking well worth the $3.99 price when the time comes.
Carrier apps can’t be uninstalled on Android phones? That’s some serious BS — especially with an unlocked model.
(Also, thank you for the redirect attempt.)
I'm not necessarily saying they can't, I'm saying that it's not readily apparent to me how to. I love a good challenge, though.
Have to say, so far I love the Galaxy S8+, stupid Bixby (and dedicated button(!)) notwithstanding. I'm anxious for the case I ordered to arrive -- the damn thing is incredible slippery to handle. Large as it is, it has to be a centimeter narrower than my previous phone, but the much improved resolution almost compensates when it comes to these older eyes reading off of it.
I would not be surprised if it's not possible unless you completely wipe the device and install a "custom" OS.
I look forward to the day that smartphone design abandons the “half-used bar of soap” aesthetic.
I've been using Poweramp for a few years. It is definitely well worth the $3.99.
I apologize if I missed someone mentioning this: The Athletic has hired a Twins beat writer — Dan Hayes, most recently the Pale Hoser beat writer for NBC Sports Chicago. Hayes also covered the Padres before moving to Chicago. I have no idea where he falls on the sportswriter spectrum.
I noticed that yesterday and intended, but forgot, to mention it today. Looks like he was let go in a lay-off in November. As with every writer they bring in, there's another 40% off deal now.
I wonder what this means for Warne. The Athletic sometimes has more than one person covering a team but I haven't seen anything from Warne in a while. Hayes, despite not starting until after some event in early February, already has his first article from TwinsFest.
Good question. There hasn’t been a ton of baseball news, so it’s hard to know what’s going on. I suppose Warne could be intended to function more as an analyst/columnist?
Signing a proper beat writer is probably going to get me to spring for a subscription, particularly at that rate.
I understand that Warne was just a temporary hire for the end of the season last year, and got some consideration for the permanent spot, but obviously didn't land it. I also heard that there's a rumor LaVelle turned it down.
My source says good things about Hayes.
I assume Warne is a freelance writer for them.
I wonder if The Athletic went hard after Berardino and couldn't land him.
Warne's Twitter still describes him as a writer for baseball for The Athletic. Any sites that purport to cover baseball on a daily basis would have to have 2 writers anyways just because of 162 games.
I think Warne also has another full time gig.
*in a continued redirection of conversation*
So...anyone else out there seen the trailer for Starz series Counterpart? I think I have another show to add to my watchlist.
I made a movie post so we can keep this CoC all about football and football only.
you b@st@rd!!1!
So... baseball!
BA's top 100 prospect list has Royce Lewis at 24, then no other Twins until the 90's, where they have 4. That's a bit disappointing.
Maybe that will be better than what they usually have, which is a bunch of top prospects that ultimately don't pan out.
Uhh, Byron Buxton excluded, of course.
All their prospects are playing in the majors.
In things I’ve read here & there, it seems like people have attributed the waning strength of the farm to two things: recent promotions to MLB & injuries. For example, Kirilloff was out all last year, and you’d figure he’d be well above #90 if he hadn’t lost a whole season. BA does seem to suggest the Twins are trending back upward as the players in the lower levels work their way toward MLB. It’s disappointing that no prospect better than Gonsalves is in a position likely to be helpful this season, but at least the Twins don’t have the Mariners’ system.
They did graduate a few to players recently. I think a better list might be players with less than two years of service time to account for recent graduates.
Nick Gordon went to AA, played the whole year, had his best year offensively and dropped from 60 to 93??
He hit .270/.341/.408 for an OPS of .749. League average is .245/.321/.367/.688, so clearly better but not really great.
As it seems Gordon’s likely to move down the defensive spectrum fairly soon, that batting line becomes less valuable.
Really? I thought defense was his strength.
I feel far less horrible today than I anticipated. I guess it is easier to take losing when you get out played and out coached at every level that to lose on a bad break, a bad call, or a missed field goal. I am not calling for anyone's firing today either. From what we have seen from Zimmer, he will probably spend a good month or two breaking down every aspect of this loss, from play calling and player performance, to how they prepared for the big game. He was correct on Case Keenum. The press sensed that he did not fully buy in to Keenum throughout the year, but his hands were tied and Case deserved his shot. I would be surprised if they give him big money for next year.
My hopes are that they continue to shore up the Offensive Line. It was better this year, but did not hold up in the playoffs. They need to inject some more youth into the defense. Love Terrance Newman, but we can't count on him against elite receivers and competent quarterbacks. Defensive line wore down throughout the year and we failed to provide consistent pressure using a 4 man rush. That must change.
I am already over it, and look forward to what they do this off season to shore up our flaws.
Pretty much all of this.
The nick Easton I just was a sneaky bad injury because it led to a lot of line shuffling in the playoffs. #69 Hill was a revolving door and they really never ran to the right side of the line.
I wouldn't mind a 3rd great WR and some more line depth
I've been seeing a number of videos of poor behavior from football fans from this weekend. Combined that with one of my cousins posting on facebook that he's proud of the Vikings because they broke Aaron Rodgers collarbone (it is shocking that anyone would think this is something ok to say out loud) and my anti-football stance is digging in deeper.
Yeah, I struggle with football for those reasons as well. I had season tickets for 10 years (98-07). Fan behavior was a big reason I dropped them. I was pretty disturbed that the Vikes had Sendajo playing 7 days after a concussion. Will the NFL ever learn on head injuries? There is no way anyone could convince me that we was safe to play without significant risk to his long term health. I am well versed in concussion protocol due to my involvement in youth hockey. Even 2 weeks is pushing it.
I mean, fan behavior is generally a problem in all sports (lest i be accused of being a hypocrite) which is why I will never sit in the left field bleachers at Miller park ever again, but I've just never heard such crazy "hoping for a traumatic injury to happen" type of sentiments from sports conversations outside of football. For some other reason, the majority of this type of conversation I've overheard the past few years has had Aaron Rodgers as the target for injury giddiness. Bears and Vikings fans seem to really hate that guy on a creepy level.
In any sport, I would always prefer to beat a team with their full squad. A win against a short handed opponent is never as sweet. Of course, many fans are happy to have a win with a * next to it. Not me.
One of my longtime qualms about football is that it seems to tap into the currents of tribalism far more deliberately & effectively than other major US sports. I can’t tell you how many times “So, you must be a Vikings fan” has been the immediate follow-up to mentioning I’m from Minnesota, not just here, not just in Illinois, but also in California. Not only is there the automatic assumption that I should care about football, which is its own problem, but Vikings fandom is apparently the defining reference point for my entire identity — and the questioner’s ability to relate to me — unless I specifically refute it. Imagine being hit with “You must be a Lutheran/Norwegian/a liberal/a canoeist/a moose” in that situation instead. Wouldn’t it seem odd?
It’s definitely a way to quickly categorize people, and I do find it odd. Other than your example what I hear from folks when they find out I’m from Minnesota is, “ sooooooo, you’re from Minnesooooooooooota”. I’ve found ways of coping that don’t include punching them in the face.
As to the footballs, I watched parts of 6 games this season, and all of them featured players being injured both in routine plays and in horrific accidents. One dude almost lost his leg here in New Orleans. There was next to no coverage of how seriously injured he was, yet they kept replaying the blow over and over because it was a play under review. To look at this as anything but a blood sport,in my opinion, is foolish. Yeah, I get the athleticism angle, and cheering for laundry (and that catch by Diggs!), but the big hits are a featured selling point as well.
A featured selling point and, if you really look at it, an integral part of the game. Get rid of the big hits or anything that could cause head injury and you basically have no game.
I was raised watching the Vikings on Sundays. My hometown has always had a good football team. (State champs again this year!) I went to college at a school that has arguably the greatest dynasty at any level (>9 wins a season on average for the last 54 years! 14 Nattys!). I think it's not true that big hits are the whole game. There is a lot of artistry and teamwork. Watching a Bison drive where they methodically move the ball down the field is tremendous. The line opens holes and running backs cut back. WRs block downfield. It's about precision and completing assignments and not so much about big hits, at least at that level.
But, there can be no doubt that the game is extremely dangerous and the long term effects are brutal.
That's why I categorized it not just as big hits, but as head injuries. Those blocks you talk about usually involve helmets whacking together and you can't get rid of those unless you're playing flag football. (I would be 100% ok with my kids playing flag football.)
the big hits are certainly a constant selling point by TV and the League, but I agree with the Boss that there is and should be a lot more to the game than that mayhem.
The NHL used to be a lot more about grind-it-out, dump-and-chase hockey and lots of violence. But the international game, on Big Ice, showed just how entertaining a less-violent, more free-wheeling game could be. And Gretzky, of course.
so I would think that the NFL could market a game less about violence and more about 7-on-7. The insurmountable problem, IMO, is the longterm brain damage of subconcussive hits. That is going to be a bigger and bigger (and bigger) liability concern for the game. Eventually, it will kill youth football and turn h.s. football into a more of a regional sport. Because there's just no stopping physics.
Make sure they don't forget the flags. I remember playing flag football in high school as an after-school IM sport and there were a couple times the flags were forgotten and so we just ended up playing tackle football without any pads or helmets. At least, I think that's what we did...
heh -- I get the accent thing all the time, but too often they give a poor imitation of Fargo or something more Canadian; I prefer to share my friend Eric's spot-on imitation of some of the old timers we grew up with:
I do always enjoy the look on people's faces after I respond with "no, I hate football." I generally hope they are as offended by me saying that as their facial expression betrays.
Not any different from soccer hoodlums, tbh.
Probably true, although I never run across soccer hodlums and I rarely watch EPL games anyway.
Yes, we've reached that point in history when Vikings fans felt very confident that they would go to the Super Bowl because the other team had their star QB from NDSU go down with a season ending injury. And the backup played every bit as well as my boy would have played. I tell you what. There is literally no end to the levels of absurdity that this team can reach. Truly epic! Nick Foles, looking like he was Tom Brady or Joe Montana against the #1 defense in the league. I should have seen that coming.
I think we all could have seen the result coming. It was the specifics of how and when that were missing.
In retrospect, it all made sense. #1 defense in the league, totally lets them down. Of course that's how it was gonna go down. In my mind, they were gonna lose in overtime after first kicking a field goal to take the lead. I missed the obvious play: the backup QB was gonna take down that defense. Of course!
Right. Honestly, I was hoping for something more creative. Something with a Bond-villain level set-up and intricacy. This was just an artless bludgeoning.
You've lived in Illinois for too long, apparently.
I laid out the OT scenario at work. Other guys were like, missed field goal. I felt, no they make the field goal and get beat by the new rules that weren't in place the last two times they lost in OT. But, instead, they reverted to the ancient Super Bowl ritual.
First of all. Foles is no scrub. He was in the Pro Bowl a couple years ago. I would definitely prefer him over Keenum, who the Vikings did a great job of masking his weaknesses, much like they did in '98 with Randall Cunningham, until the championship game. That being said, there was no way the Vikings should have been torched like that. Foles is a great backup, but he's no Carson Wentz.
Foles is a great backup
And he torched the #1 defense in the league. From Brian Barnwell:
Foles delivered the best single-game performance by any Eagles quarterback this season by both passer rating and QBR. Foles finished the game with 352 yards and three touchdowns. In the second half, he went 11-of-11 for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns, which was good for both a perfect passer rating (158.3) and QBR (99.9). That's the first time someone has done that on 10 or more attempts in the second half in more than five years.
It wasn't that he was really, really good. It was an almost historic performance as a backup who has been pretty terrible recently, against the best defense in the league. Barnwell again:
Less than a month ago, it looked like Foles was going to sink a very promising Eagles season when he traded disastrous pass for pass with Derek Carr in an ugly Christmas night performance against the Raiders. Foles did just enough after a late Raiders turnover to set up a game-winning field goal, which in turn handed Philly home-field advantage for Sunday's victory. A week later, Foles started 4-for-11 with an interception before being rested for the remainder of the Week 17 game.
Foles was pretty good against Atlanta, but he was MVP caliber last night. Credit to Foles and the Eagles, too, but that's an epic meltdown by the Purple Crew.
Don't forget to add in the second half against the Saints.
I watched the game on a flight from Orlando to MPLS. Satellite TV! On the airplane! No additional charge!
As soon as my plane landed, I did what I had to do: I called my dad. I said, "You hanging in there?" Dad, "Yes, I've seen it before." *Laughs*. I said, "You are never gonna see them win the Super Bowl. And neither am I." We both laughed.
On Saturday, January 6, I drove to SBGville to watch the Bison win another national championship with my Dad. And then back to B-Town. Round trip: 450 miles.
On Wednesday, January 10, I went to the B-town airport for a return trip to SBG World Headquarters. Flight canceled due to weather (full on blizzard in B-Town). Rescheduled for the January 11 flight at 5 AM. At 8:30, informed that the flight was delayed to 11:15.
On Thursday, January 11, I went to the B-Town airport. Returned rental. Walked to terminal (about 200 yards). Temperature was -10 and there was a 20 MPH wind. Fresh air. Flight delayed until 12:45. Actually took off at 1:45. Fly to MPLS. Unable to land. Diverted to Sioux Falls, SD. Get in the terminal. It is so cold in the terminal that you can see your breath. While waiting for the weather to improve, I received a notification from Delta that my flight was canceled. This causes panic, as you will understand below. Standing in line to get rebooked at the gate, contemplating renting a car to get home. 250 mile drive in the dark with bad roads. Wife is upset with me because I was terse on the phone. Ugh. Then pilot gets off plane and informs us that the flight is not canceled and waves sheets of paper that he says are the approval to leave. Fly to MPLS. Flight is extremely bumpy. EXTREMELY. Land. Take taxi home because wife can't pick me up due to skating.
On Friday, January 12, I call boss and tell her that I have to take an unscheduled vacation day because later that day SBG family is boarding plane to Orlando and I've been stranded in the Dakotas (both of them!) and couldn't get ready for the trip. We fly to Orlando on January 12th, as scheduled.
On Saturday, January 13, we embark on a 7-day Disney Cruise. The ship left on time and would have left without us, which is why I was worried in Sioux Falls.
On Sunday January 14th, it rained all day. My daughter informs me that she thinks she left her iPhone in the rental car because she hasn't seen it since we got on the boat. Since we are in possession of the rental car still, I'm hoping that's correct.
On Monday, January 15th, it was glorious.
On Tuesday, January 16th, we arrived in St. Maarten. We have an excursion to the beach. We are offered free Wifi. My phone immediately locks up like a brick. It is god damned hot there. We got a meal with our excursion. Hamburger is raw. Daughter says she wants to go back on the boat. I don't disagree. We head back via water taxi. St. Maarten is still in pretty bad shape because of the hurricanes. Buildings on the beach still boarded up.
On Wednesday, January 17th, we arrived at St. Thomas, USVI. Plenty of evidence of hurricane damage there, too. Lots of roofs were just tarps. We took a ride to Magan's Bay, which is on the other side of the island from the port and over the mountains. From a high-up view of Magan's Bay, you can see where the tides reached because all the trees are gone. But on the beach itself, new trees are planted and the beach is as stunningly beautiful as ever. I celebrate my 53rd birthday there.
On Thursday, January 18th, we sail north. Very nice weather, simply gorgeous. We book our cruise for next year (10% discount on the boat and the down payment is 100% refundable and we can change to any cruise in the next 24 months, so we always book and also we always go).
On Friday, January 19th, we arrive at Disney's private island in the Bahamas. The weather is a little cool and it is very windy, but the sun is hot and we are sheltered from the wind. Probably only reached 75 degrees. Almost all island activities (parasailing, glass bottom boat, snorkeling, etc.) are canceled. I suspect it's because they weren't sure we were going to be able to dock. My suspicions are confirmed at dinner. Another Disney ship was not able to dock the day before. Since the Disney island (Castaway Cay) is the absolute highlight of the trip, not getting there would be a major disappointment. We are lucky and it is a great day.
On Saturday, January 20th, we get back to Florida. Daughter's iPhone is in the car. Yes! We drive to Orlando and we go to Animal Kingdom. Not my cup of tea. Very expensive, bad food, big crowds. It's actually cheaper per day to go on a Disney Cruise and I'm telling you the experiences is 100X better. That night we stay at the Residence Inn in DT Orlando. I booked a one room suite (free because I have a bazillion Marriot points). I'm also platinum, so I get free upgrades and we got upgraded to a two-room suite and I got a late check out (4:00 PM). We spent the day recovering and I was a little worried about the weather, as we could see on the weather channel the storm heading our way. Thankfully, it waited until today and all runways are closed in MPLS. I hope it's better tomorrow, because I'm flying to Charlotte tomorrow for the rest of the week.
A rolling stone gathers no moss, friends.
Did the rental car have the wayward phone?
Yes. I put that in there, but maybe not in my first cut.
Every once in a while I still check in on the wind map. Today's is kind of cool.
I do as well, and we're definitely feeling it here in StL.
Question for the tech staff : is there a way to make it so it doesn't stretch out to a single letter per line when a thread gets nested when browsing the site of one's phone?
my solution: flip your phone to landscape.
ditto
gah...didnt think of that
gah...landscape mode
I haven’t discovered anything that helps except turning my phone to landscape orientation, which always feels weird.
Astros claim Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Twins.
The Cubs are apparently going to sign Chris Gimenez.
Aww, raspberries. Well, with the signings of Rodney and Reed, I guess there just wasn't a role for him.
I see what you did there. Nice.
I've seen some feel that is a move designed to convince Darvish to sign with the Cubs since they played together on the Rangers and I guess were pretty tight.
Drove to Omaha on Sunday so oldest daughter could tour Creighton Monday morning. Wake up Monday to an email that Creighton is closed due to the half inch of snow they got this morning. Ugh!
Stop by the UP HQ while you're there; the atrium on 1st and 2nd floors are open to the public
Next time.
Stuck in Clear Lake, IA tonight. Hopefully, 35 will be clear tomorrow morning.
Don’t get on a small plane headed north tonight.
Clearly she does not want to attend such a namby-pamby school.
She talked about visiting Carleton. They don't shut down for a little snow!
Damn straight! Tuition is too expensive to be cancelling classes. Except for "President's Day" (a floating holiday during spring term).
I see the Giants' center field "solution" is Austin Jackson. That seems like an Extremely Giants Move.
Teague hs been great down the stretch. Woofs gonna win this game.
Bjelly has got to learn to euro-step. WTF? How can a Euro guy not know how to euro-step?
OFFS.
Hahahaha!
I had both those two last reactions.
Just watched the highlights and it was easy to tell which two plays these were.
Heh, Griffin misses the pass down 4 with 10.0 left.
Doc waited too long to get tossed. Now he has to deal with post game traffic.
You get a T, and you get a T, and YOU get a T!
Haha, I didn't realize it was Cassel behind those glasses. I only caught the free throw at the time and heard it was him that got the T. Took me a couple seconds to realize it when I saw him on screen again after hearing he was a Clippers coach.
I don't want Eagles fans in town.
Crisco stock is way up.
I've got some bad news for you...
Hell freezes over again?
tbh, I have never understood the Eagles hatred.
I wonder how much the next Minnesota football stadium that hosts the Super Bowl will cost taxpayers.
*In a desperate attempt to redirect conversation*
So, the new phone is pretty much in full operation. I'm a little disappointed that I can't override the inbred Verizon system apps with ATT or Google (it's an unlocked Verizon phone I'm using on ATT). Screen protectors have arrived, case is in transit.
I've settled on Poweramp for my music playback; still have several days before the trial expires, but it's looking well worth the $3.99 price when the time comes.
Carrier apps can’t be uninstalled on Android phones? That’s some serious BS — especially with an unlocked model.
(Also, thank you for the redirect attempt.)
I'm not necessarily saying they can't, I'm saying that it's not readily apparent to me how to. I love a good challenge, though.
Have to say, so far I love the Galaxy S8+, stupid Bixby (and dedicated button(!)) notwithstanding. I'm anxious for the case I ordered to arrive -- the damn thing is incredible slippery to handle. Large as it is, it has to be a centimeter narrower than my previous phone, but the much improved resolution almost compensates when it comes to these older eyes reading off of it.
I would not be surprised if it's not possible unless you completely wipe the device and install a "custom" OS.
I look forward to the day that smartphone design abandons the “half-used bar of soap” aesthetic.
I've been using Poweramp for a few years. It is definitely well worth the $3.99.
I apologize if I missed someone mentioning this: The Athletic has hired a Twins beat writer — Dan Hayes, most recently the Pale Hoser beat writer for NBC Sports Chicago. Hayes also covered the Padres before moving to Chicago. I have no idea where he falls on the sportswriter spectrum.
I noticed that yesterday and intended, but forgot, to mention it today. Looks like he was let go in a lay-off in November. As with every writer they bring in, there's another 40% off deal now.
I wonder what this means for Warne. The Athletic sometimes has more than one person covering a team but I haven't seen anything from Warne in a while. Hayes, despite not starting until after some event in early February, already has his first article from TwinsFest.
Good question. There hasn’t been a ton of baseball news, so it’s hard to know what’s going on. I suppose Warne could be intended to function more as an analyst/columnist?
Signing a proper beat writer is probably going to get me to spring for a subscription, particularly at that rate.
I understand that Warne was just a temporary hire for the end of the season last year, and got some consideration for the permanent spot, but obviously didn't land it. I also heard that there's a rumor LaVelle turned it down.
My source says good things about Hayes.
I assume Warne is a freelance writer for them.
I wonder if The Athletic went hard after Berardino and couldn't land him.
Warne's Twitter still describes him as a writer for baseball for The Athletic. Any sites that purport to cover baseball on a daily basis would have to have 2 writers anyways just because of 162 games.
I think Warne also has another full time gig.
*in a continued redirection of conversation*
So...anyone else out there seen the trailer for Starz series Counterpart? I think I have another show to add to my watchlist.
I made a movie post so we can keep this CoC all about football and football only.
you b@st@rd!!1!
So... baseball!
BA's top 100 prospect list has Royce Lewis at 24, then no other Twins until the 90's, where they have 4. That's a bit disappointing.
Maybe that will be better than what they usually have, which is a bunch of top prospects that ultimately don't pan out.
Uhh, Byron Buxton excluded, of course.
All their prospects are playing in the majors.
In things I’ve read here & there, it seems like people have attributed the waning strength of the farm to two things: recent promotions to MLB & injuries. For example, Kirilloff was out all last year, and you’d figure he’d be well above #90 if he hadn’t lost a whole season. BA does seem to suggest the Twins are trending back upward as the players in the lower levels work their way toward MLB. It’s disappointing that no prospect better than Gonsalves is in a position likely to be helpful this season, but at least the Twins don’t have the Mariners’ system.
They did graduate a few to players recently. I think a better list might be players with less than two years of service time to account for recent graduates.
Nick Gordon went to AA, played the whole year, had his best year offensively and dropped from 60 to 93??
He hit .270/.341/.408 for an OPS of .749. League average is .245/.321/.367/.688, so clearly better but not really great.
As it seems Gordon’s likely to move down the defensive spectrum fairly soon, that batting line becomes less valuable.
Really? I thought defense was his strength.
I feel far less horrible today than I anticipated. I guess it is easier to take losing when you get out played and out coached at every level that to lose on a bad break, a bad call, or a missed field goal. I am not calling for anyone's firing today either. From what we have seen from Zimmer, he will probably spend a good month or two breaking down every aspect of this loss, from play calling and player performance, to how they prepared for the big game. He was correct on Case Keenum. The press sensed that he did not fully buy in to Keenum throughout the year, but his hands were tied and Case deserved his shot. I would be surprised if they give him big money for next year.
My hopes are that they continue to shore up the Offensive Line. It was better this year, but did not hold up in the playoffs. They need to inject some more youth into the defense. Love Terrance Newman, but we can't count on him against elite receivers and competent quarterbacks. Defensive line wore down throughout the year and we failed to provide consistent pressure using a 4 man rush. That must change.
I am already over it, and look forward to what they do this off season to shore up our flaws.
Pretty much all of this.
The nick Easton I just was a sneaky bad injury because it led to a lot of line shuffling in the playoffs. #69 Hill was a revolving door and they really never ran to the right side of the line.
I wouldn't mind a 3rd great WR and some more line depth
I've been seeing a number of videos of poor behavior from football fans from this weekend. Combined that with one of my cousins posting on facebook that he's proud of the Vikings because they broke Aaron Rodgers collarbone (it is shocking that anyone would think this is something ok to say out loud) and my anti-football stance is digging in deeper.
Yeah, I struggle with football for those reasons as well. I had season tickets for 10 years (98-07). Fan behavior was a big reason I dropped them. I was pretty disturbed that the Vikes had Sendajo playing 7 days after a concussion. Will the NFL ever learn on head injuries? There is no way anyone could convince me that we was safe to play without significant risk to his long term health. I am well versed in concussion protocol due to my involvement in youth hockey. Even 2 weeks is pushing it.
I mean, fan behavior is generally a problem in all sports (lest i be accused of being a hypocrite) which is why I will never sit in the left field bleachers at Miller park ever again, but I've just never heard such crazy "hoping for a traumatic injury to happen" type of sentiments from sports conversations outside of football. For some other reason, the majority of this type of conversation I've overheard the past few years has had Aaron Rodgers as the target for injury giddiness. Bears and Vikings fans seem to really hate that guy on a creepy level.
In any sport, I would always prefer to beat a team with their full squad. A win against a short handed opponent is never as sweet. Of course, many fans are happy to have a win with a * next to it. Not me.
One of my longtime qualms about football is that it seems to tap into the currents of tribalism far more deliberately & effectively than other major US sports. I can’t tell you how many times “So, you must be a Vikings fan” has been the immediate follow-up to mentioning I’m from Minnesota, not just here, not just in Illinois, but also in California. Not only is there the automatic assumption that I should care about football, which is its own problem, but Vikings fandom is apparently the defining reference point for my entire identity — and the questioner’s ability to relate to me — unless I specifically refute it. Imagine being hit with “You must be a Lutheran/Norwegian/a liberal/a canoeist/a moose” in that situation instead. Wouldn’t it seem odd?
It’s definitely a way to quickly categorize people, and I do find it odd. Other than your example what I hear from folks when they find out I’m from Minnesota is, “ sooooooo, you’re from Minnesooooooooooota”. I’ve found ways of coping that don’t include punching them in the face.
As to the footballs, I watched parts of 6 games this season, and all of them featured players being injured both in routine plays and in horrific accidents. One dude almost lost his leg here in New Orleans. There was next to no coverage of how seriously injured he was, yet they kept replaying the blow over and over because it was a play under review. To look at this as anything but a blood sport,in my opinion, is foolish. Yeah, I get the athleticism angle, and cheering for laundry (and that catch by Diggs!), but the big hits are a featured selling point as well.
A featured selling point and, if you really look at it, an integral part of the game. Get rid of the big hits or anything that could cause head injury and you basically have no game.
I was raised watching the Vikings on Sundays. My hometown has always had a good football team. (State champs again this year!) I went to college at a school that has arguably the greatest dynasty at any level (>9 wins a season on average for the last 54 years! 14 Nattys!). I think it's not true that big hits are the whole game. There is a lot of artistry and teamwork. Watching a Bison drive where they methodically move the ball down the field is tremendous. The line opens holes and running backs cut back. WRs block downfield. It's about precision and completing assignments and not so much about big hits, at least at that level.
But, there can be no doubt that the game is extremely dangerous and the long term effects are brutal.
That's why I categorized it not just as big hits, but as head injuries. Those blocks you talk about usually involve helmets whacking together and you can't get rid of those unless you're playing flag football. (I would be 100% ok with my kids playing flag football.)
the big hits are certainly a constant selling point by TV and the League, but I agree with the Boss that there is and should be a lot more to the game than that mayhem.
The NHL used to be a lot more about grind-it-out, dump-and-chase hockey and lots of violence. But the international game, on Big Ice, showed just how entertaining a less-violent, more free-wheeling game could be. And Gretzky, of course.
so I would think that the NFL could market a game less about violence and more about 7-on-7. The insurmountable problem, IMO, is the longterm brain damage of subconcussive hits. That is going to be a bigger and bigger (and bigger) liability concern for the game. Eventually, it will kill youth football and turn h.s. football into a more of a regional sport. Because there's just no stopping physics.
Make sure they don't forget the flags. I remember playing flag football in high school as an after-school IM sport and there were a couple times the flags were forgotten and so we just ended up playing tackle football without any pads or helmets. At least, I think that's what we did...
heh -- I get the accent thing all the time, but too often they give a poor imitation of Fargo or something more Canadian; I prefer to share my friend Eric's spot-on imitation of some of the old timers we grew up with:
I do always enjoy the look on people's faces after I respond with "no, I hate football." I generally hope they are as offended by me saying that as their facial expression betrays.
Not any different from soccer hoodlums, tbh.
Probably true, although I never run across soccer hodlums and I rarely watch EPL games anyway.
Yes, we've reached that point in history when Vikings fans felt very confident that they would go to the Super Bowl because the other team had their star QB from NDSU go down with a season ending injury. And the backup played every bit as well as my boy would have played. I tell you what. There is literally no end to the levels of absurdity that this team can reach. Truly epic! Nick Foles, looking like he was Tom Brady or Joe Montana against the #1 defense in the league. I should have seen that coming.
I think we all could have seen the result coming. It was the specifics of how and when that were missing.
In retrospect, it all made sense. #1 defense in the league, totally lets them down. Of course that's how it was gonna go down. In my mind, they were gonna lose in overtime after first kicking a field goal to take the lead. I missed the obvious play: the backup QB was gonna take down that defense. Of course!
Right. Honestly, I was hoping for something more creative. Something with a Bond-villain level set-up and intricacy. This was just an artless bludgeoning.
You've lived in Illinois for too long, apparently.
I laid out the OT scenario at work. Other guys were like, missed field goal. I felt, no they make the field goal and get beat by the new rules that weren't in place the last two times they lost in OT. But, instead, they reverted to the ancient Super Bowl ritual.
First of all. Foles is no scrub. He was in the Pro Bowl a couple years ago. I would definitely prefer him over Keenum, who the Vikings did a great job of masking his weaknesses, much like they did in '98 with Randall Cunningham, until the championship game. That being said, there was no way the Vikings should have been torched like that. Foles is a great backup, but he's no Carson Wentz.
And he torched the #1 defense in the league. From Brian Barnwell:
It wasn't that he was really, really good. It was an almost historic performance as a backup who has been pretty terrible recently, against the best defense in the league. Barnwell again:
Foles was pretty good against Atlanta, but he was MVP caliber last night. Credit to Foles and the Eagles, too, but that's an epic meltdown by the Purple Crew.
Don't forget to add in the second half against the Saints.
I watched the game on a flight from Orlando to MPLS. Satellite TV! On the airplane! No additional charge!
As soon as my plane landed, I did what I had to do: I called my dad. I said, "You hanging in there?" Dad, "Yes, I've seen it before." *Laughs*. I said, "You are never gonna see them win the Super Bowl. And neither am I." We both laughed.
Travels with SBG:
Did the rental car have the wayward phone?
Yes. I put that in there, but maybe not in my first cut.
Every once in a while I still check in on the wind map. Today's is kind of cool.
I do as well, and we're definitely feeling it here in StL.
I also check out the government's earthquake map; 5.0 in the central Atlantic in the past hour
Question for the tech staff : is there a way to make it so it doesn't stretch out to a single letter per line when a thread gets nested when browsing the site of one's phone?
my solution: flip your phone to landscape.
ditto
gah...didnt think of that
gah...landscape mode
I haven’t discovered anything that helps except turning my phone to landscape orientation, which always feels weird.
Astros claim Buddy Boshers off waivers from the Twins.
The Cubs are apparently going to sign Chris Gimenez.
Aww, raspberries. Well, with the signings of Rodney and Reed, I guess there just wasn't a role for him.
I see what you did there. Nice.
I've seen some feel that is a move designed to convince Darvish to sign with the Cubs since they played together on the Rangers and I guess were pretty tight.
Drove to Omaha on Sunday so oldest daughter could tour Creighton Monday morning. Wake up Monday to an email that Creighton is closed due to the half inch of snow they got this morning. Ugh!
Stop by the UP HQ while you're there; the atrium on 1st and 2nd floors are open to the public
Next time.
Stuck in Clear Lake, IA tonight. Hopefully, 35 will be clear tomorrow morning.
Don’t get on a small plane headed north tonight.
Clearly she does not want to attend such a namby-pamby school.
She talked about visiting Carleton. They don't shut down for a little snow!
Damn straight! Tuition is too expensive to be cancelling classes. Except for "President's Day" (a floating holiday during spring term).
I see the Giants' center field "solution" is Austin Jackson. That seems like an Extremely Giants Move.
he's got experience at CF in SF.
I'm not sure who this Wiggins guy is.
Bazz sighting in LA.
Does Thibs ever say a sentence that does not include at least one f-bomb?
Same question about Griffin.
I'm not sure who this Teague guy is.
Teague hs been great down the stretch. Woofs gonna win this game.
Bjelly has got to learn to euro-step. WTF? How can a Euro guy not know how to euro-step?
OFFS.
Hahahaha!
I had both those two last reactions.
Just watched the highlights and it was easy to tell which two plays these were.
Heh, Griffin misses the pass down 4 with 10.0 left.
Doc waited too long to get tossed. Now he has to deal with post game traffic.
You get a T, and you get a T, and YOU get a T!
Haha, I didn't realize it was Cassel behind those glasses. I only caught the free throw at the time and heard it was him that got the T. Took me a couple seconds to realize it when I saw him on screen again after hearing he was a Clippers coach.