The Dose: What up, yo?

Just some thoughts as the baby crawls around on the floor, pulling herself up and trying to walk (fun stuff, just wait BG):

1. The Fair kicked off yesterday, marking the end of Minnesota's Summer. Sweet Martha's Cookies grosses $1.3M in sales over the 10 days. Think about it.

2. "Schism" - sure you've heard about the schism at Winter Park. Not sure if you saw Sports Center but Jared Allen, tongue planted firmly in cheek, responded: "Schism??!?!? I don't even know what that word means or how to use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD at first and I was like "whoa, we practice abstinence around these parts." I like this guy.

3. Twinkies - Honestly, do we have a shot at anything?

4. Ted Kennedy died. When does Chappaquiddick come up in the retrospectives?

5. Went to a "open scrimmage" at The Bank last Saturday. The whole thing is finished now and pretty f'ing sweet!

Painful

I left BG a message on this, but I could not stomach it Friday night. I gave it a shot, but it was like some new faddish food that everyone swears is the greatest thing on earth but it tastes bitter and awful and you can't understand why everyone likes it so much. Bad taste in mouth. I kept saying "You're not on my team. Go home."

Brief Interlude

I know it's now all Favruh, all the time, but since we're collectively giving up on the Twins (the pitching staff just never picked it up, did they?), I thought I'd provide a brief mid-August update to break up the wall to wall Purple Judas talk. Then we can ignore the Twins until Mauer wins the MVP. So, two facts and a question, which is purely rhetorical because we all know the answers:

1. Mauer is leading the batting race by a full 15 points over the best singles hitter since Pete Rose, while at the same time has pulled into the top 10 in the A.L. in homeruns and RBI, despite missing the first 5 weeks of the season. His OPS is somewhere around .150 higher than anyone else in the A.L.

2. Speaking of OPS, if you consider it the best metric out there right now for determining the value of a batter, the Twins have 3 of the top 7 hitters in the American League this season. Yes, 3 of the top 7 (did I not tell you guys Kubel could hit?).

And the rhetorical question: how can a team with a catcher having probably the best batting season ever by a catcher (including Mike Piazza's glory years), as well as two of the other top 10 hitters in the league and the best closer in the Majors, playing in the weakest division in the league, POSSIBLY be 5 games under .500 in mid-August? Don't bother answering.

OK, back to your Vikings existential crisis. To cheer, or not to cheer? That is the question.

Noooooooooooo!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4406963

story broken by Jan

The Dose: Vikings Bloggin'

The Strib had a contest where you submit a 250 word answer to one of three Vikings-related questions and the best response gets to be a guest blogger on the Strib's website. Now, you don't get paid or anything and if you read the rules they actually take like 25 respondents but I decided to submit something. The question I answered "Evaluate Brad Childress up to this point and what does he have to do to warrant a contract extension in his 4th season." You can see my answer below. Friend of this blog B.S. also submitted something (also below) but was denied submission because he lives in D.C. Apparently the "contest" was only open to Minnesota and Wisconsin residents (maybe the Dakotas, can't remember) Well, B.S. wrote a letter to the Strib to reflect his anger over being denied access to a prizeless contest.

My submission:
"Childress inherited a team that reflected fat-mouthed owner Red McCombs - full of it. Daunte was working out in a strip mall in Florida refusing to return to the tundra unless his demands were met (did they offer “Negotiations” at Central Florida?) and Fred Smoot was working his way out of a Vikings uniform one subpoena at a time (who didn’t like that signing?) Childress proceeded to stumble through a 2006 campaign that was sometimes hard to watch. He exhibited questionable play calling and poor clock management skills, and sometimes he just choked games away. Some of those issues have persisted throughout his Vikings' tenure and remain troubling (how do you not beat the Colts at home up 15-0? don’t say ‘Peyton Manning’ because that’s a cop out.) However, he has also reshaped the roster through the draft (Purple Jesus is a cosmic "do over" for "Ready for War" Underwood) and Zygi's wallet (don't get me wrong, I love an owner who spends because he wants to win.) 2008’s 10 and 6 season and NFC North title erased some of the memories of 2006 but not enough to forget that he’s .500 as a head coach. He enters his 4th season with a loaded roster, but the season seems to now hinge on a competent QB running the show (ironic that his “piece of clay" is under center.) He has to win. He has to win big games. Nothing less than a NFC Championship appearance would suffice to re-up."

B.S. Submission:

I want to Like Brad Childress. I really do. I am willing to overlook the freezing on the sideline like Cindy Brady on a quiz show, I am willing to overlook the bizarre self help diatribes, or kicking to Reggie Bush three times and watching him run two back for touchdowns (three if he hadn’t tripped) when you’ve got the worst special teams in the league. I’m willing as long as he wins.

But either the Vikings need to raise their expectations or I need to lower mine. Winning starts at the top and it starts with a coaching staff who won’t accept anything less out of their players.

I am sick of listening to players and coaches say our goal is to win the division and make the playoffs. We’ve won the division 17 times. In fact, every coach except Norm VanBrocklin and Les Steckel won the division. And that includes Mike Tice. So setting that as a goal is like running for President and saying you hoped to come in at least second. We’ve put up with the choking, we’ve put up with the dysfunctional owners, we’ve put up with the boatride. They have the talent and an owner who’s willing to pay for it and a schedule that Belichik could dominate without cheating. The division should be a no-brainer. If he can’t get to and win a Superbowl with all that, then its time for a change. It’s been nearly 50 years, and we’ve rebuilt enough.

B.S. Letter to the Strib

It seems odd to me that the Star Tribune would limit the blog contest to
residents of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Having grown up in Minnesota I am
a die hard Vikings fan but my job has taken me out of state for the
last 15 years. Over that time I have almost never missed a game. In
fact, i dont remember the last time i did and have the bar and direct
TV NFL Ticket bills to prove it. Yet for some reason, a packer fan from
wisconsin can become a blogger? Why this litmus test? I assume everyone
understands that the internet has made it possible to both be informed
and able to express your opinions from almost any spot in the world. In
fact, i am sending this message from my couch in Washington. Over 1000
miles away! Dont be afraid. The internet is here to stay. If anything,
that gives someone a unique perspective. I have to deal with fans from
Washington, New york and every other craphole and defend this team on a
daily basis. I love Minnesota and someday plan to return, but until
then, i remain a devoted Minnesotan and don't need a MN license plate
to prove it.

Getting the fork ready

The Royals! The gosh darn Royals! Rat farts!

Born in the Golden State, but her heart's in the LOSBW

Men - thanks for the all the well-wishes. Here are a couple photos of the newest Twins fan (though she watched the game with me yesterday, so I'm not sure her first impression was very good).

The Queen!

I'm sure he's a little too busy to post here, so in case you hadn't heard, BG this morning became a father. Obviously, I don't have pictures, but I'm sure the new papa will get one up in good time. So, a big congratulations to BG and Mrs. BG on the arrival of Charlotte. Something about this group apparently screams "first child will be a baby girl."