#-1: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -2). Swept Iowa and took a Tuesday one-off against North Dakota State. That makes the Gophers 4-0 for the week and, even more impressive, 9-1 currently (with one cancellation). Why don't people get off the Twins teat and start paying attention to the college boys? They're primed to return to the postseason after a one-year absence. And Jeremy Mills of ESPN projects them to be a 2-seed (albeit in the same regional as LSU, which he deems the fifth-best team in the nation). Despite the hot streak, the Gophers are nowhere even close to any of the polls this week. Odd. This week they have only a three-game series at Michigan, who's fighting with Purude to get the sixth and last slot for the Big 10 tournament.
#-2: Vikings (Last Week: -3). Let me say this: Seeing and hearing all these reports and talk show chatter about Brett Favre coming here is very flattering. While flyover country is a nice place to live because we get to live anonymously, there is something about feeling like the entire sports world is concentrating on your team, your state, and therefore you. It's kind of like the surge in confidence I think the state of Minnesota received when we heard Tubby Smith was going to be the new coach of the Gopher men's basketball team. We were like, "Woo-hoo! Eat it, coasts! A world-famous coach wants to come to Minnesota! Here! Minnesota! Us!! You betcha, bitches!!!" But this is much, much bigger because you're talking about a legend (who, ironically enough, made his legend in, of all places, Green Bay, Wisconsin) wanting to stick it to the team he'll be inextricably linked with by joining the most popular pro sports team in the state. The NFL is fast becoming a year-round obsession in this country, and so we are taking full advantage of being the object of gossip. We Minnesotans kind of feel like Paris Hilton now.
But back to reality. Brett Farve still has a torn right arm and he hasn't gotten it fixed yet because he's "retired." He looked awful that last month when he helped the Jets piss away a sure playoff spot. And who cares how good his arm looks if he's still throwing interceptions like the gunslinging warrior he will always be? I saw ESPN draw up a graphic comparing Favre with Tavaris Jackson, and Jackson's numbers were better across the board, including wins. I don't know why and how T-Jack became everybody's whipping boy. He just doesn't look the part of a leader, I guess, because he's demonstrated some level of competence by the stats in that graphic. And to reiterate, T-Jack could've pulled out a win against the Eagles in last year's playoffs, but he didn't lose it (the defense played more of a part than he). Favre could be the difference if the Vikes get into such a situation again ... or he could have throw four picks and lead them to a 20-point loss. The publicity is great, but I don't know he's a much better QB than what we have, which is three quarterbacks, one of which we traded for this offseason.
One other point: This is football, where rosters are so interchangable the whole NFL is just one big pick-up game. But shouldn't there be some continuity in the most important position in the sport? And why can't management just fuckin' decide on a QB? Couldn't they see far enough ahead that Favre wasn't going to be a Jet after one year, and that he's going to change his mind because Brett Favre's word is no good?
#-3: Twins (Last Week: -1). Pending tonight's game against Baltimore, they are 2-4 for the week. They're lucky they're not in the AL East, or else we'd be writing off the season. But the way they've played this past week is just not acceptable. I heard a lot of Saturday's game against Kansas City, where Craig Breslow and R. A. Dickey choked and gave up three runs in the 11th inning. I saw some of the back half of Sunday's game against the Royals, where Scott Baker was throwing a no-hitter and then lost that, the shutout and the game in quick order in the seventh. And I read on TV about the three errors in their 9-0 beating at Detroit Tuesday. So Alexi Casilla pays the price for their stagnation and got sent down to Rochester yesterday in favor of another light-hitting infielder, Matt Tolbert. Yeah, he'll turn this ship around. After tonight, the Twinks come home to the Dome for six: this weekend vs. Seattle, and then a mid-week series against Detroit.
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