Minnesota Sports

9/26 The Twins Clinch

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 00:59:09 GMT

From 11.5 games back in June, to a playoff birth here in late September, the Twins have made an absolutely unbelievable, impossible comeback in the last few months.

Hats off to Morneau the MVP, Mauer the batting title winner, Santana, unbeatable in August and September, Garza and Boof, who stepped up admirably as rookies, Punto, the Twins third baseman of the future, Castillo, who time and time again showed why he's a gold-glover, Liriano, already a top 5 pitcher in baseball when healthy, Torii, who came on strong late in the year, Cuddy, who didn't get every loss blamed on him this season, the bullpen for being the best in baseball, and, of course, Gardy for putting it all together.

Here's what the rubes are saying.

*Nobody understands how they win the way they do, they just go out and outplay everyone.

*WE'RE COMING! WE'RE COMING!

*Thank you Twins, for a summer that I will never forget, no matter what happens from here on out. You've brought me out of my chair on many occasions this summer with your many key hits and great defensive plays.

Hey Ozzy…

Let's get that division! Regardless, though, I'll check back here when the playoffs start.

9/15 Wha??

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 04:09:14 GMT

The Vikings win ON THE ROAD against a quality team?

And then they're gearing up to play a Panthers team without Steve Smith, and half of their starting offensive line?

Daunte tanks in his opener with the Dolphins, while Brad Johnson was great in his first outing?

Could things get any better for the Vikes?

Check out the details at Vikings War Cry.

9/7 Why We Should Be Positive About the Vikes

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 00:32:58 GMT

I picked up another site on Most Valuable Network...Vikings War Cry. I'm being partnered up, so that means this site will very likely continue to be updated...though maybe even more occasionally than it is now.

Every week, I'll still be doing a preview and recap of the Vikings game. It might work out where sometimes I do the preview here, and the game recap at MVN, or something like that. Regardless, check both this site and Vikings War Cry, and you'll find my pre-game prediction, or the post-game ripping that you're looking for.

For now, though, check out Vikings War Cry for why I think we should be positive about this year's Vikes.

And here's my Wolves site on MVN.

9/1 Preseason Wrap

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 23:47:42 GMT

C'mon Parcells...you don't send a preseason game into overtime. I understand that coaches would like to see as much of their players as possible, but OT in the preseason is just another chance for the players to get hurt in a meaningless game.

The preseason is already too long...don't need to make it last any longer.

Vikes finish the preseason 2-1-1, after tying with the Cowboys yesterday. The defense, while not as rock-solid as they were against the Ravens, made some big plays and should be set for the opener. The passing game is also fine.

The running game, though, is a different story. I haven't seen the stats, but I'd be really surprised if Chester Taylor averaged over three yards per carry through the preseason. Not that it's totally his fault things turned out that way...McKinnie and Hutch both had some problems in the first four games.

Chester, though, is a fringe starter...if the offensive line doesn't have their act together, the running game is in huge trouble.

Brad Johnson couldn't have had a better preseason. He ran the offense exactly the way Childress wants him to...extremely efficient, making no mistakes. Tarvaris came back down to earth in the last two games, so because of that, the Vikes were smart to pick up Brooks Bollinger in a trade.

Tarvaris won't have to be the backup QB now, which is a good thing. If Tarvaris had played like he did in the first two games throughout the whole preseason, denying him the backup job would have been a tough thing to do. But he showed that he's human, and reminded Vikes fans that he's got a long way to go in his development.

That's about it for the preseason...a nice 11-day break for the purple, and then they finally play some games that matter.

8/27 Wrecking the Ravens

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 22:21:17 GMT

Week three of the preseason, which should be the final week, is over. The Vikes won, but you knew that already.

A few concerns for this team, but first, gotta mention the dominant defense. The matchup between the Vikes first-team defense and the Ravens starters on offense was totally unfair. The Ravens never really got anything going, and were completely controlled by the d-line.

Pat Williams and Keneche Udeze were all over the place. And that's gotta be the first time since the beginning of this blog that Keneche played well enough to get mentioned here. Hopefully it's not the last time.

Liked the play from the linebackers as well...they played well enough for Steve McNair to call them "great." I wouldn't go that far, but they played a fine game.

Now the concerns...the offensive line still isn't coming together as Childress and Company would probably have liked. I say this because it seems like Chester Taylor is only getting 2-3 yards per carry on each attempt. That's Chester's fault as well, but the offensive line definitely needs to make more progress.

McMahon played better than before, but definitely didn't show enough to take the backup job away from Tarvaris. It's clear that Tarvaris will be the week one backup...and McMahon still isn't giving the Vikings any reason to keep him.

Don't really have anything else to say about that game...overall, last week was another positive for the Vikes. Things are really shaping up on defense, but there's definitely still some issues on offense to be worked out.

8/19 Tarvaris Continues to Impress

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 03:32:55 GMT

Holy crap, the Vikes have something special in Tarvaris Jackson. The rubes, including me, ripped the Vikes for taking him in the second round...were we ever wrong.

If these first two preseason games are an accurate representation of what to expect in the future, then bravo to the Vikings front-office. If Tarvaris continues to improve, then he'll have been an absolute steal as a late second round pick.

The Vikes beat the Steelers 17-10...all right, no one cares about the result of these games. Had the Vikes lost, my opinion would have been no different...things are looking pretty promising for this squad.

In the opening drive, the Vikings first-team offense was horrible, but Brad would remain in the game for the next two drives, and things got much better in those possessions. Brad was Brad....accurate, made good decisions, which are things I've said a thousand times about him.

A combined four receptions for Troy Williamson and Travis Taylor. Even before Koren's untimely departure from the Vikings, I wasn't comfortable at all with the situation at wide receiver. Now things are more iffy...but let's face it, Koren was anything but certain to be a difference maker at receiver. Let's just hope Troy is ready to be thrust into the roll of the number one receiver.

Back to the QBs...after a good day from Brad Johnson, Tarvaris came in and picked up pretty much exactly where Brad left off. Tarvaris got rid of the ball quickly, and was extremely accurate.

Only real negative about Tarvaris' performance tonight was that he has to always recognize where the blitz is coming from. This is a small negative though...only missed seeing a rushing defender once, and actually got rid of the ball quickly to avoid a sack during a few plays.

The running game remains a question mark...Chester Taylor didn't put up a whole lot of production.

All in all, though, I can't complain about the second game of the preseason. If you're not excited about Tarvaris you're not a Vikings fan...can't wait to see more of him in the weeks to come.

8/15 Greenway Goes Down For Year

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:28:52 GMT

OK...no need to panic by any means, but the defense took quite a blow yesterday in the preseason opener. Chad Greenway is out for the year, after tearing his ACL during a special teams play.

That one hurts...his rookie year is put off until next season, at a very bad time. This year is E.J.'s contract year, meaning that the Vikes are in a bind at linebacker. Any plans for Chad to take over for E.J. next season are gone.

But while it hurts future plans, there's no reason to be too concerned over Greenway's absence for this season. Some people just have to step up now. That's not to say this isn't terrible luck, though...I know hindsight is 20/20, but it would be nice to have Adul Hodge on the squad.

So that's that for Chad this year. Let's hope for the best as he rebounds from this injury, and continues on to what should be a solid NFL career.

Again, the sky isn't falling, and after the Vikings 16-13 loss to the Raiders, there's a bright-spot to focus on. Tarvaris Jackson opened his NFL career yesterday, and he's looking very, very promising.

Tarvaris showed excellent mobility, and routinely made people miss as he was on the run. Only thing he has to do in that regard, though, is remember to slide...Tarvaris took a hard shot to the head. But all in all, his mobility will definitely be a big weapon.

His passing game was just as impressive as his running game. The thing I noticed about Tarvaris was that he put a great touch on his throws, making it very easy for the receiver to catch.

Yeah, Tarvaris has a long way to go. But last night, he made the Vikes look very good for choosing him in the draft.

The promising parts of last night (besides Tarvaris): Chris Kluwe played great, the defense was solid, and Childress clearly has his head on straight, as shown by how he didn't go to overtime, even though a Longwell field goal would have tied the game in the fourth quarter.

Things to improve upon: Kicking coverage needs a lot of work, the running game was iffy, and QBs McMahon and O'Sullivan were not good at all. Childress needs to cut O'Sullivan, and make Tarvaris the backup.

8/11 KG Threatens To Leave

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 20:05:04 GMT

Two quick updates: first KG has said in an interview with Slam Magazine that he thinks the Wolves need to do more this summer, and that he's wants to leave if the Wolves don't improve.

Follow the link for the complete interview, or go to my other blog, Wolves Watch, for highlights and analysis of it.

Second, the Vikings kick off their pre-season this Monday, as Randy Moss makes his return to Minnesota.

I'm looking forward to seeing the crowd's reaction to Randy, but other than that, the Moss thing won't be a big deal. Mostly, I want to see the new guys on the Vikes...Chester Taylor, Tarvaris Jackson, Steve Hutchinson, ect. Getting a peak at the new-look Vikes should be a good time.

Back with reaction from Vikings game #1 next week.

8/8 Liriano Goes Down, Garza Called Up

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 20:04:57 GMT

All right, we can deal with Scott/Boof blowing up in big league starts, and earning quick demotions to AAA. Not the end of the world for the Twins.

But then something happened last night that was the worst-case scenario...Liriano went down, and he's going to the DL.

Garza has been called up from AAA Rochester to replace Liriano, and is being put in a less-than-ideal situation, to say the least. In a perfect world, Garza would have been a September call-up, and get used in middle relief for the rest of the year. Instead, he's going to make a start this weekend vs. the Blue Jays.

That makes the rotation Santana/Radke/Silva/Garza/...and then who?

Mike Smith was called up to replace Boof...who had replaced Baker. He only lasted three innings in his first start, which is a bad sign for the Twins, who have obviously had a mess in the fifth rotation spot. I think you've got to give Smith one more start, though, before considering another change in the rotation.

If his next start doesn't go well, you've got to make a change. At that point, look to the bullpen...try putting Guerrier in that fifth spot. Farm-system options are totally used up, I'm guessing, so putting a reliever in the rotation would be the route to go.

Regarding Guerrier...just by process of elimination, he'd likely be the guy the Twins would put in the rotation. Neshek's name would probably be mentioned, but would his style work in the rotation? He's a great "change of pace" pitcher...but would he be as effective over five or six innings?

Things are getting really, really interesting. A hyped pitching prospect has been called up, as another goes down due to injury. The Twins are virtually tied for the Wild Card. There's a ton of mystery surrounding the rotation. It looks like things are falling into place for an unbelievable finish.

8/2 Back To Football

Thu, 03 Aug 2006 00:23:44 GMT

A lot going on right now...been busy watching the Twins, also been working on Wolves Watch a lot. By the way, I'm very happy with the traffic that Wolves Watch is getting, especially considering it's the off-season.

But the Vikes are back in camp, so time to focus on those guys a little.

I'd really like to start making predictions about the Vikes, but if you have a good idea of what to expect from this team, you're fooling yourself.

Personally, I have no idea what to expect. I'd like to think Brad Childress is the next Belichick, but that's probably the delusional Vikings fan voice in my head. All I really know with regards to Childress is that his regime is going to be much more professional than that of Tice. You could argue that he handled the Culpepper situation poorly, but let's be honest...Childress won't embarrass the organization the way Tice did. Ever.

There's some talk that the Vikings are doomed if Brad Johnson gets hurt. I'd agree with that.

But Brad getting injured is anything but a sure thing. First, there's the revamped offensive line, and then there's the new offensive scheme...not often will Brad be throwing the long ball. With these two factors, I'd be very, very surprised if Brad got hurt this season.

There's mixed feelings over Chester Taylor. I think Sports Illustrated predicted him as the breakout player of the 2006 season, but then again, he's out of shape right now. I'd put Chester in the "impossible to predict what he'll do" category...I just don't know that much about him.

But overall, I have faith that the Vikes running game this year will make a big improvement over the ground game's incompetence of last season. If the actual talent at running back hasn't improved as much as Vikings fans wanted, the offensive line should make up for that.

Wide receiver is the biggest question mark on offense for me. A major key to the season is Troy Williamson, and whether he can have a breakout year. Also, can Koren Robinson hold his own as a number one receiver? I guess there's no other answer for those questions other than...time will tell.

That's a quick look at what I'm thinking about the Vikes situation at offense this season...as camp continues, and the preseason begins, I'll definitely get more in-depth.