#-1: Vikings (Re-Entry!). The Brett Favre saga is over, at least for now. (I still think there's a chance he'll get back in the league midseason.) But I will tell you right now, the Vikings are a better team now that he has decided to stay retired. Yeah, he's better than both Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels combined ... when he's not injured. But he himself said the reason he decided to stay on his farm in Mississippi is his wrecked lower body, not the arm and shoulder he had surgery on. Moreover, it seems as if he has run out of gas late in recent seasons. If that happens as the Vikes are in the midst of a playoff push, a stalling Favre giving way to a rusty T-Jack or Rosenfels will give Vikings fans more anxiety than they usually feel.
But this is the best move simply because it gets the drama out of the way. Sure, it would be great for this state if Eden Prairie became the national capital of NFL Nation and the temporary home for ESPN's Rachel Nichols. But there is something the team now has that can't be underappreciated: certainty. They now know the QB's that must lead this team, and the type of team they now have, namely one with quite possibly the best RB in the league and a still-vaunted run defense (although the Williams Wall may be out of commission, pending a lawsuit they filed to stay their suspension). The man under center, whoever he may be, has to get better, and that's been the same damn thing the past two seasons, but in this case the devil you know is preferable to the one you don't. Favre's talents, if not his image, would demand he have at least a signifcant number of passes in the team's offensive attack, and when it's obvious he is becoming more of a liability than an asset, the rest of the team won't have time to adjust to the low-scoring, run-stopping strategy that got them to the postseason last year.
Besides, you can picture it: It's Week 17. Home against the Giants. Our division lead on the Lions is slipping away. In fact, we need a win -- no! A last-minute touchdown! -- to clinch a playoff spot. Time winding down to 0. Favre, evading pursuers, chucking the playbook, going out of the pocket, cocking his arm, launching the ball 30 yards ... and throwing another interception to seal our fate and send us home. Is that what we want? Because I would bet serious money he will let us down, either that way, or some other excrutiating mistake.
Trust me: We're better off without Brett Favre.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -3). I was at Tuesday's game, the one where Mark Buehrle set the record for most consecutive batters retired. It really looked like he was going to pitch another perfect game. When the streak ended on a walk to Alexi Casilla, I stood up. Some media accounts said we were standing up for Buehrle. Bullshit; it was for Casilla holding off on a full-count pitch that went low and inside. Now, when he left the game I stood and applauded for him, even though others were clapping for the way he started falling apart and allow four runs over 2/3 of an inning (I even saw one guy a few rows ahead of me give the finger). I'm glad the Twins won a game that went through all four seasons of the year, but that was an incredibly impressive feat by Buehrle.
That was the middle game of a sweep of the White Sox, and that, combined with Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of ... gives the Twinkies a 4-3 week. Sadly, they started off the week losing three at Anaheim. As almost unstoppable they seem to be in the Dome (preternatural strength they will lose when they move outdoors next year, and you can quote me on that), what does a losing streak on the road tell you?
But the worst thing of all is their refusal to even try to trade for someone by Friday's deadline. I agree with front office management to a point when they said the organization is dedicated to improving from within. Although revenue sharing has made for a more-even playing field, it is far from even. The Yankees and Red Sox can and will still be able to outspend the Twins. And even though Carl Pohlad turned out to be a miserly son-of-a-bitch, I don't think we as fans should expect an owner to lose money on a team he owns just because others are doing so. But shit, make at least one fucking trade. Freddy Sanchez would have been great because the Pittsburgh Pirates have basically decided to move down to Triple-A, but no, the Giants got him. Unless they do something by Friday, they are consigning themselves to a .500 season.
Oh yeah, they host the geographically-confused Angels this weekend, then visit Cleveland, a team also being gutted like a Minnesota trout, over the week. For all their stasis, they're only two games behind Detroit for the lead in the AL Central.
#-3: Lynx (Last Week: -1). Both Lynx All-Stars acquitted themselves respectably during the Western Conference's win. Charde Houston scored 16 points and tied for the lead on the West team with three steals. Tied, by the way, with Nicky Anosike, who scored only 2 points but had the West's only block.
The second half of the season, however, started with a six-point loss to Los Angeles at Target Center. Nothing stood out as a problem; however, with Lisa Leslie out with a sprained right knee, the Lynx should've killed this team, even one with Tina Thompson (who scored half of her 30 points in the 4th quarter). Yet another home loss to a squad below them in the standings, and this team is swooning yet again as the playoff are in sight. Same as it ever was? They face a dangerous back-to-back this weekend: at Detroit Friday, then hosting Phoenix Saturday.
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