Sports Talk (66)
Part 2 of 2
I don’t know about girls, but when you are a 13-year-old boy, your thoughts are pretty much limited to the here and now. You live in the present and don’t think very far ahead.
When we dropped that water balloon from the top of the hotel, we weren’t worried about the consequences of a wet, angry 230-pound football player and his desire to pound the pipsqueaks that soaked him. Jumbo was a hero at school, a good athlete, had a pretty girlfriend and was one of the leaders of the senior class. He was not used to being humiliated. As Jumbo stood there dripping wet, it occurred to Roger and me that we were in deep trouble. We looked at each other with stricken faces and ran for the elevator.
We got there, punched the elevator button, got it and started our descent. The Basinger Hotel elevator was vintage, but like today’s elevators, it didn’t stop if someone had punched the up button as the elevator went down.
We expected Jumbo and his friends would be waiting for us in the lobby. Get off at second floor? No, we would still be trapped in the hotel and eventually Jumbo would have us in his grasp.
What to do? It seemed at the time to be darn near a matter of life or death. We knew Jumbo was not the verbal type and certainly wouldn’t let us off with a cussing out. No way! We knew a bloody nose was likely and could only hope the beating would be short-lived.
Sometimes the answer to a problem is complex and sometimes simple is the best way to go. We knew Jumbo, although no mental giant, was no dummy. He wouldn’t climb the stairs, for he might miss us as we came down in the elevator.
However, we couldn’t stay in the upper floors of the hotel, for Jumbo might send his teammates to scout us out. Jumbo was camped on ground floor to give us a thumping as we got off the elevator. As he stood there dripping, Jumbo wouldn’t be very worried about hitting a couple of smart alecks. He would have one thing on his mind. Revenge!
However, we had one small advantage over Jumbo. I knew the hotel and the workings of the elevator better than he did. The elevator went one floor lower than the lobby to the basement. We could bypass ground floor and Jumbo and ride the elevator to the basement. This was a simple solution and hopefully one that would work. As we passed ground floor we looked out the wire glass window and saw Jumbo, his clothes sodden and his hair slicked down with water, waiting for us. We landed in the basement, threw open the elevator door and fled up the basement stairs to the alley in back of the hotel. No Jumbo. We split up to make a chase more difficult and went our separate ways home.
I wasn’t looking forward to school Monday morning for I didn’t know how much longer I could elude Jumbo. He was both much bigger and faster than me. I saw Roger and asked him if he had seen Jumbo. "No," replied Roger, "do you think he’s still wet?" We giggled a little bit, but not too much for Jumbo and his 230 pounds were still very much on our minds.
We needn’t have worried, for Jumbo never bothered us. I think that he either didn’t get a good look at us or more likely Jumbo realized he wouldn’t look good pounding on a skinny 13-year-old and decided to forgive us.
Editor’s note: Jon Laging is taking a break from his sports column to write a book about his home town, Mountain Lake, Minn. Upcoming columns will be excerpts from the book until further notice.
The incident had its beginning in the spring of 1950. That May was extremely warm in Minnesota. The classrooms were hot and there was no relief to be had. Air conditioning was in its infancy and only found in large city movie theaters.
Perhaps the warmth was the reason squirt guns became so popular, especially among us 13-year-old boys. However, there was another reason for their popularity. When we were younger there was only one type of water gun, a black metal gun that held only a single load of water and, after one squirt, you were pretty much done.
Then came a technology breakthrough. A plastic squirt gun that held water in the barrel and handle of the gun. It not only held much more water, the stream it ejected was longer and more forceful. Soon, almost all boys, teenagers and younger, had bought out the Ben Franklin Variety Store of its stock of squirt guns.
Squirt gun fights were very common and there was conflict between the contestants and the teachers and most squirt guns came to reside in teachers’ desks. The water fights then took a different direction and, as with all standoffs, there came into being new and improved weapons. Water balloons made their appearance.
Our junior high building had second-floor windows above the entrance. These windows could be opened wide during hot weather and a guy could lean out of the window and drop his water balloon on another unsuspecting seventh-grade boy. We didn’t bomb the girls. I don’t think it was chivalry, rather we knew we would really get in trouble if we got the girls wet.
This water ballooning didn’t last long when the school clamped down. And soon it was time for class picnics at the Mountain where we played tag and softball and competed to see who could drink the most Dad’s Old-Fashioned Root Beer.
Summer came and while all the summer activities were fun, there was something missing. Water balloons! Good friend Roger and I were talking about the balloons and bemoaning the fact there was really no good place to ambush some poor unsuspecting friend. Then the Hotel Basinger came to mind. We had been on the roof once before and thought it had it all over the second floor junior high building. What a great place to drop a balloon.
We filled a couple of balloons with water and made our way to the top of the hotel. We looked over the side of the building and you know, what doesn’t seem very high when you’re on the ground looking up, seems a lot higher when you’re up there. We test-fired one balloon by dropping it four stories. The test went just fine. However, it seemed a shame to waste our other balloon on the sidewalk. We waited for a target.
It was Saturday night, date night. Soon came Bertram (Jumbo) Jakes with his date. Jumbo was captain of the football team, weighed about 230 and when angry, dominated a football field. He was a man among boys and groomed to look it. Bertram and his date stopped on their way to Bill’s Café to talk with some of his teammates. Jumbo was probably explaining how he was going to win the next football game. His friends were listening intently, as was his girl.
As luck would have it, he was directly beneath us. Roger and I looked at each other and there was some hesitation, but we had talked a good game to each other for days and come too far to back down. We dropped the balloon. It was an amazing sight. One moment Jumbo was dry, the next he was sopping wet. His girlfriend screamed and his friends’ mouths dropped open as they stared with wonder at Jumbo. After a few seconds, they all looked up at the hotel and saw us.
Next week: did we escape the wrath of Jumbo?
This week was to be about the Twins’ pitching but, before that, here is a little more about the position players. When you look at the starting nine it becomes clear there is a solid nucleus of three players. They could play for anybody.
I’m referring to Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau. I don’t care if the team is Detroit or San Francisco; these three would be an asset.
Our next category is made up of Twins whose play could vary all the way from poor to very good. I’m talking about newcomer Aaron Hicks, Chris Parmalee and Trevor Plouffe. They have the potential to either star or fall flat on their faces.
Then we have a category of one. Ryan Doumit, who in all likelihood will remain an adequate catcher and decent hitter.
The final category doesn’t bring much encouragement. Brian Dozier and Pedro Florimon seek to be major leaguers in the field and at the bat. I hope they succeed, but their upside is limited.
Some of the team’s success may rest on Hicks, Parmalee and Plouffe. And as they go, may go the team’s hitting. But even if they are successful beyond our wildest dreams, the Twins are not pennant contenders.
For while the position players may combine to be an average major league team, the pitching does not and hasn’t since 2010. When you look at that year’s roster you see how far the pitching staff has fallen. The starters were Pavano, Baker, and Blackburn, Slowey and Liriano back when they were throwing well. The relievers included Joe Nathan, Matt Capps, Jesse Crain, Jon Raush and Matt Guerrier. This year only relievers Glen Perkins and Jared Burton match that group.
The pitching staff disintegrated after 2010 because of free agency, injuries and ineffectiveness. The one effective starter from last year, Scott Diamond, had surgery on his elbow and the Twins are anxiously awaiting his return which is slated for April.
The opening day pitcher, Vance Worley is the only starter on the staff that has done well besides Diamond. However, he too, is recovering from arm surgery and his effectiveness is yet to be determined.
Starter Mike Pelfrey is coming off Tommy John surgery and the last year he pitched, his record was 7-13. Pelfrey may be able to scare some hitters. He’s 6'7" and licks his hands between pitches.
That’s got to be somewhat disturbing to the hitter. It’s indicative of the state of the Twins’ pitching when Pelfrey is expected to be one of the mainstays in the rotation.
Kevin Correia, probably the No. 2 starter, has the virtue of being healthy, but he has been a losing pitcher throughout his career and there is no good reason why that should change with the Twins. Nobody but Terry Ryan knows why he signed Correia to a two-year contract.
The last starter in the rotation will probably be Cole Devries or Liam Hendricks, both of whom the Twins were forced to use last year and will again this year.
Perhaps the best pitcher the Twins have available this year is Kyle Gibson, who is also recovering from Tommy John surgery. You can expect to see him in a Twins uniform soon, no matter how well he fares in Rochester. If Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson can patch together a major league staff from the present pitchers, they are miracle workers.
Starting pitching is why our Twins will finish in the basement in the Central Division. However, there is hope on the horizon. We just have to get through this year.
A fictitious account:
I had not seen Old Foolish Fan since last summer, and I was a little worried about the old codger. Someone even stopped me in the street concerned about his whereabouts and also asked where the phrase "You mean" had come from. It seemed that it was almost magical in getting past the blather and bull roar of a typical big-time athlete’s response to questions.
My answer: Old Foolish Fan had probably first come across the phrase on a radio program in the late ‘40s. A popular comedian, Fred Allen, used it.
He had a weekly feature called "Allen’s Alley" in which Allen strolled through an alley asking questions of the neighbors such as Titus Moody, a dour New Englander. The question would be asked, followed by a long winded answer. Fred would then say "You mean" and give a short simple truthful answer. It worked for Allen and it seems to work for Old Foolish Fan.
The other day, I celebrated my birthday at the Branding Iron with my wife and two sons. On the way out, I saw Old Foolish Fan sitting in the lounge. He looked fit and tan.
I asked if he had been to Minnesota’s spring training talking with some of the Twins. He said he had. I wondered if he would share some of the information he had garnered. Old Foolish Fan was a little hesitant at first, but after I offered to buy him a beverage, he asked us to sit down.
He had talked with Manager Ron Gardenhire and the following was the gist of their conversation.
OFF: “Tell me Mr. Gardenhire, how does the future of the team with you remaining as their manager look?”
Gardenire: “I am really encouraged by what I see this spring. It’s a little early to tell, but we are rounding into shape and looking toward the start of the season. As far as my future is concerned, I don’t have any worries and am just pleased that I have had these years with this fine organization.”
OFF: “You mean?”
RG: “I just hope I can hang on ‘til next year.”
Josh Willingham was through pounding balls into the left field stands during batting practice and was getting ready to take his place in left field for some fielding practice.
OFF: “You know Josh, there is an old story about Ted Williams playing left field with Dominick DiMaggio in center. Whenever a ball was hit anywhere near left center, Ted would holler ‘You take it Dommy.’ “Tell me Mr. Willingham, how do you feel about your possible new centerfielder Aaron Hicks?”
Josh Willingham: “The centerfielder is the captain of the outfield and I look forward to working with another good fielder out here.”
OFF: “You mean?”
JW: “You take it, Aaron.”
Old Foolish Fan was able to find Terry Ryan in his office to ask a very important question.
OFF: “Can you tell me what you feel is the future of the Twins’ program?”
Terry Ryan: “We have had what I believe to be a successful off-season. There is promise for the future in the air. However, we look toward having a very interesting and competitive team on the field this season.”
OFF: “You mean?”
TR: “Keep buying those tickets.”
I wish we could have talked longer with Old Foolish Fan, but his beverage was finished and he looked anxious to be on his way. We bid him farewell until next time.
It appears that despite the midseason swoon, Tubby Smith’s Golden Gophers are going to the "Big Dance." There was some question before the Indiana game as the Gophers were getting blown out by 20 points or more in successive games. They were not only getting beaten badly, they looked they really didn’t want to be playing basketball.
A great many people were crying for Tubby’s head. The Indiana game stopped the "Get rid of Tubby" movement and Smith’s job is safe for at least another year. However, Tubby Smith had better get Trevor Mbakwe the big box of chocolates next Thanksgiving. He is the big reason the Gophers were able to defeat #1 ranked Indiana.
Usually a team is led by the point guard, much like the year Bobby Jackson took the Gophers to their only Final Four appearance. However, in the Indiana game it was clearly Mbakwe who took the team on his back and showed them how it was done. So behind Mbakwe, it seems that Tubby’s team will make the tournament and not only that, they will get a pretty good seed.
As the Gophers head into the NCAA Tournament they enter with a long tradition of not doing well. They have only succeeded in making the Final Four in 1997. Then the academic scandal under Clem Haskins came to light and the Gophers’ success was wiped out by the NCAA rules committee.
Can our team reverse their fortunes this year? As a Minnesota fan with one son who is a Minnesota grad, I sure hope so. But I would be very surprised to see the team advance beyond the first or second round.
Most NCAA winning teams have excellent guard play, particularly from the point guard. What with the advent of swarming zone defenses, inside play has been negated to a degree. In order for one good team to win against another good team, fine play is needed from a point guard to distribute the ball along with a shooting guard on the order of Blake Hoffarber. The Gophers have neither. It was expected the Hollins boys would supply both. It hasn’t happened, and the lack of production by those two have resulted in the team’s mediocre Big Ten record.
Perhaps the biggest flaw in the Gophers is the lack of outside shooting. In addition to the guards’ lack of marksmanship, the two starting forwards Rodney Williams and Joe Coleman, are not good long-range shooters. And by long range I mean anything beyond 15 feet. Williams is a wonderful athlete and occasionally will rock the "Barn" with his play ,especially with his dunks. (Did you see his block of an Indiana last-second shot? He must have gotten close to 13 feet in the air.) However, I’ve seen high schoolers with a better outside shot. Joe Coleman is an undersized Big Ten forward who also doesn’t own an outside shot.
The Gophers’ progress in the NCAA Tournament depends on one of our inconsistent outside shooters getting hot. If they do, that would open up the middle for Mbakwe and the Gophers will be tough to beat. Mbakwe is a big plus and if he gets some help, the Gophers can cause problems for any team.
If they are going to make any kind of statement in the tournament, they need to do it this year for the Gopher basketball future looks bleak as they lose both Mbakwe and Williams after this season. And judging from the past, Tubby Smith seems to be a little short on miracles.
Many negative words have been written recently about Minnesota sports. Included in the blackened group have been the Minnesota Twins. In reading the sportswriters and analysts it appears the Twins are in for a third consecutive losing season. I too, have not been very optimistic about the Twins’ chances this year. But I’ve decided enough of these dark forecasts. Perhaps it’s time to take a look at our team through rose-colored glasses.
I went to the Internet and got the following definition of rose-colored glasses. "If someone thinks about or looks at something through rose-colored glasses things look better than they really are." If anybody wishes to join me with the glasses, they are available on the Internet for $1.19 a pair. Pretty cheap for a change in one’s outlook.
Beginning with Manager Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire was named American League Manager of the Year a couple of years ago. Since then he has gained more depth as he has gone through two losing seasons. He is now a more mature and experienced Skipper and can be relied on to use his newly acquired knowledge well.
Leading off for the Twins is Rookie of the Year centerfielder Aaron Hicks. Hicks is the next in a long line of superb center fielders. Displaying a good eye at the plate, he provided speed and power at the top of the line-up.
Batting second is catcher Joe Mauer. Finishing third in the MVP balloting, Mauer kept his high average while adding power. Joe also received a Golden Glove, throwing out more than 50% of base stealers testing his arm.
Batting third is Joe Benson. A Mickey Mantle clone who came into his own joining the 30-30 club in home runs and stolen bases with previous luminaries such as Barry Bonds, and he did it without steroids. He showed off his arm in right field, gunning down 12 base runners.
Batting fourth, Justin Morneau reverted to form hitting both for average and power. It’s rumored he will soon be traded to the Detroit Tigers for Cy Young winner Justin Verlander.
Batting fifth is Josh Willingham. Rose-colored glassed didn’t help as Willingham did not improve on last season. However, that was plenty good enough.
Batting sixth, DH Chris Parmalee lived up to expectations and treated Major League pitching much in the same manner as he treated Triple A last year.
At third base, Trevor Plouff tied Joe Benson at 30 home runs, good for fourth place in the most home runs hit by a Twins category. And under the tutelage of Corey Koskie, Plouff won the title of most improved infielder.
Brain Dozier at second fulfilled all the hopes of Gardenhire and is expected to be the next Bobby Doerr.
Batting ninth, Pedro Forimon spent the offseason lifting weight,s gaining 15 pounds of muscle. He surprised everyone including himself by slugging 15 home runs at Target Field. His fielding was never a question and he brought the spectators at Target field to their feet more than once. He ended the season as one the Major Leagues top ten shortstops.
Jim Thome was signed to pinch hit and the 42-year-old slugger did very well, hitting one home run every 12 times at bat.
The Minnesota pitching staff did a complete reversal due to Terry Ryan’s acute free agent signings and trades with Vance Worley and Mike Pelfrey fighting it out down the stretch for the Cy Young award.
It was a wonderful year with the Twins setting a new attendance record, and even better things are expected next year.
In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, there is a passage that pertains to life and maybe even to sports and our Minnesota teams.
Brutus and Cassius are debating whether to attack Octavian’s and Marcus Antonius’ forces during Rome’s Civil War. Cassius is in favor of resting their troops and Brutus is against laying up and has this to say to Cassius:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." He goes on to say, "Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures."
In other words, Shakespeare is saying there is a good time to make your move and if you don’t, you’re going to regret it. Looking at the various Minnesota teams, is this the time they need to make their move and if they don’t, the moment is lost?
First, the Minnesota Twins. Are they prepared to make their move? The answer is simple. No, they are not! No matter what Terry Ryan says to bolster attendance, the Twins are far from that moment. They have traded two regulars for the future and the pitching they have acquired is stopgap. They have no front line pitchers and adequate starting pitching is the best we can hope for. High tide is not coming until 2014 and more realistically 2015.
Our Minnesota Gopher football team is moving forward and getting better, but there is such a long way to go that no one should feel badly if they just ascend to the middle of the pack. Their time is not now and one can only hope for the future.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were on the fringe of marching to the playoffs. It appeared the tide was coming in and the Wolves would make their move. It was not to be, as injuries have dismantled the team. Injuries have turned the Timberwolves into a fair team that can, on some nights, be a little better than fair.
The state of the team is much like Cassius and Biutus’ army, if they were ask to attack Octavian and Marcus Antonius without one of their legions. The Wolves’ spirit is strong, but their flesh is weak.
Our Minnesota Vikings are on the cusp of being a very good team. Sure, many point out there are weaknesses in the team and they need another year of draft choices and free agent stocking to be of championship caliber. That may be true, but a championship destiny could come a number of years earlier or even as little as one year earlier than expected.
President Barrack Obama is a good example of that tide rolling in sooner than expected. Obama had not held national political office until he was elected Senator from Illinois. This all stemmed from his keynote speech at the Democratic convention where he said, "We are not the red United States of America, we are not the blue States of America, we are the United States of America." Obama had the reputation of an up and coming politician. He could have laid back as a new inexperienced Senator and waited for events to unfold. Instead, he took on heavily favored Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President. He took the rising tide and is now being inaugurated for his second term as President.
So there is a time and place to catch the tide and one should take advantage of it, for it may not come again.
Wishing, pondering what might have been at Lambeau
Written by Jim LutgensWhen I took a halftime break during the last Viking-Packer game, it didn’t look good for the Vikings. They were down two touchdowns and replacement quarterback Joe Webb, after a good start, was looking to be in over his head. Yet, I posted on Facebook that the Vikings were still in it and they would soon unleash Joe Webb.
Why did I make such a dumb statement? It was my thinking that the Vikings would take a page from some previous teams and throw a different and unusual offense at their opponent.
There were hints that they might do so in the pre-game show. It seemed that it was the only option left to the Vikings if they were to make a game of it.
Darryl Royal, who just passed away, was a proponent of the Wishbone offense. Barry Switzer and the Oklahoma Sooners dominated college football for a great deal of the ‘70s and ‘80s with the formation.
The Wishbone consisted of the quarterback taking the snap from center with a number of options. He could fake or hand off to the fullback, slide along the line, pitch back to the trailing back, run it himself, or pass. It gives the quarterback four options and, if done properly, forces the defense to commit itself and take itself out of the play without the offense needing to block them.
It is primarily a running offense and that is not the NFL’s game, but it is the Vikings’ game. I thought that with the athletic and fast Joe Webb, (he runs a 4.4 40), it would be a success against a defense that was not prepared for it. Then too, the Vikings had the league’s premier running back in Adrian Peterson, who seems particularly well suited for the Wishbone.
What a surprise it would be to the Green Bay Packers! The Vikings wouldn’t use the formation until after halftime. Then the Packer coaches would not have much time to adjust the defense. And, if Webb and Peterson could remain uninjured, what a tactical advantage it would give the Vikings for the rest of the game.
There are certainly disadvantages to the Wishbone at the professional level. Your quarterback is constantly under siege and wouldn’t last long without being injured. But for one game, or in the Vikings’ case, a half of a game, he could probably escape injury. Another disadvantage to the Wishbone offense is that it is not a come-from-behind offense. All that running burns up the clock which is fine if you are ahead, but not if you’re behind.
Another problem with the Vikings using the Wishbone formation against the Packers or any other team is that it takes time to learn. The Vikings had a difficult enough time getting Christian Ponder and his receivers on the same page during available practice time.
So, the Wishbone was not really practical for the Vikings to use, but it would have been fun to see. And as a postscript, it would have given next year’s opponents something they would have to spend time on in practice, in case the Vikings might spring it on them.
The Vikings finished with a record of 10-7, which was about five more wins than expected — a fine season regardless of the final game. Next year should be a doozy. The Vikings do have some holes which need shoring up; pass receivers primarily, but their running game is the best in the league and Peterson is talking about a 2500-yard season next year. With help from Christian Ponder and a passing game, he just might do it.
New Year’s day in 2012 was nice weather-wise. Not so nice, as far as Minnesota sports were concerned, with the exception of basketball.
The Lynx, Gophers and Timberwolves were playing well. But, only the Lynx would continue their winning ways. The other two teams were struck by the same malady as their point guards and other starters went down with injuries.
After the Gophers got off to a fine start, (ranked 14th in the nation) Al Nolan, the team’s playmaking guard, was injured and out for the season. Devon Joseph, the backup guard, had transferred after Tubby Smith refused to start him, despite Joseph carrying the Gophers to the finals of the Big Ten Tournament the previous season. Trevor Mbakwe had injured his knee and the Gophers were through for the year.
The Timberwolves were in the hunt for a playoff spot with the play of Kevin Love and rookie Ricky Rubio until Rubio tore up his knee. The reserves failed to help the team and the Wolves fell to their former obscurity. Tubby Smith was strongly criticized for the first time since his arrival in Minnesota and Timberwolves’ coach Rick Adelman would have to wait for next year.
At the beginning of 2012, our Minnesota Vikings were coming off a 3-13 record and their rookie quarterback and coach Leslie Frazier were under fire. Not only that, their star running back had injured his knee severely. The Vikings were slipping in the public’s esteem and the only thing that enabled them to hold their place as the number one team in Minnesota was the abysmal play of the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins had a disastrous 2011 season that saw them finish last in their division with the worst record in the American league after being expected to contend for the Central Division title. Their pitching folded, as did All-Stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.
A great deal of the dismal showing in 2011 was chalked up to injuries. Hometown hero Joe Mauer was accused of being a slacker and General Manager Bill Smith was demoted. At the beginning of 2012, things were not well with the Twins.
As the year wore on, we sat through another disappointing baseball season as returning General Manager Terry Ryan watched the Twins finish last with the worst pitching in the Major Leagues. Pieces of good news were Mauer being the Mauer of old, Morneau staging a mini- comeback and new acquiree Josh Willingham enjoying a career year.
But the Twins had very little effective pitching and at the end of the year, Ryan was striving to bring the pitching staff up to its pre-2011 level. Ryan traded and signed free agents and we are waiting the outcome.
Our Minnesota Gopher football team was also coming off a dismal non-bowl-game season in 2011 and new coach Jerry Kill was faced with long-standing problems. The Gophers have not had a dominant team for more than 50 years and Kill had this huge rebuilding effort in front of him.
The Gophers appeared to be joining the Indiana Hoosiers as a permanent resident at the bottom of the Big Ten. However, at the very end of the 2012, Gopher fans were encouraged and saw hope for the future as the year ended with a well-played bowl game.
As 2012 comes to a close, there is a feel-good atmosphere surrounding the Timberwolves, basketball Gophers and Vikings. And no matter what happens in 2013, the Vikings have turned things around and once again, purple covers the land.
Next week: more about the Wolves, Gophers and Vikings.
Predictions are an inexact science at best. There are specialists in the field called Futurists and companies pay them big bucks. Their forecasts of the future may decide a company’s failure or success. They use many tools including paradigms and scenarios.
I don’t have near that sophisticated of an approach and must rely on common sense, a little knowledge and maybe a subconscious insight or two.
My first stab at the unknown is that the Vikings will defeat the Green Bay Packers. I’m writing this on Christmas day and the big game doesn’t occur until Sunday.
Did I mention that forecasts take courage also? I don’t expect the Vikes to go far in playoffs, for that takes a better quarterback than the Vikings have this year. But, this has been a good season and next year should be better.
As I write this, our Minnesota basketball Gophers are ranked 11th in the national poll. Tubby Smith’s team is loaded this year with four year seniors, one fifth-year and one sixth-year senior, Trevor Mbakwe. They will have one of the best front lines in college basketball when Mo Walker joins Mbakwe and Rodney Williams.
My prediction of the "Sweet Sixteen" for the Gophers, is more in keeping with conventional wisdom than the Vikings triumphing over the Packers, but we will see if Tubby can take the team that far. If not, there will be grumbling in Gopher land.
The outlook for the University of Minnesota football team is encouraging. They’ve got a couple of extra weeks of practice this year as they prepare for their bowl game. That should stand them in good stead for next year. The Gophers won’t rise above mediocrity, but should be a solid team.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have put together a fine team and have a good upside with playoff potential. Forward Kevin love is a proven all-star. Ricky Rubio is the catalyst and gives the Wolves a playmaker. Newcomer Andre Kirilenko has been a surprise, providing the team with passing, rebounding and shooting. He also plays tenacious defense.
What more can you ask? He reminds me of long time all-pro John Havlicek.
Nicola Pekovic has shown he can measure up with the best centers in the NBA. If the Timberwolves can find a shooting guard, which may be Brandon Roy, they will be tough down the stretch. They have the bench to do it with J.J. Barea and others helping out. If, and this is a big if, they can escape injuries, they will go deep into the playoffs.
The Minnesota Twins are trying to dig themselves out of the cellar and it appears that they have taken steps to achieve that lengthy process under the direction of Terry Ryan. They desperately needed pitching and have garnered a number of arms. Some for the future and some for now.
There are many question marks for the 2013 pitching. Many of the signed pitchers are recovering from surgery and some weren’t that good when they were healthy.
They did get young power arms, but not for this year. A guy has to wonder that if instead of Ryan spending $5 million here and $5 million there for mediocre pitchers, he had taken all the millions, and spent them on an ace, the Twins wouldn’t be better off. Ryan went for quantity, not quality.
Our Twins should climb one rung in the standings and escape the cellar, but we will have to wait until 2014 to see real improvement. There you have it and no matter what, it looks like a fun year for Minnesota fans.
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It’s time for the annual tradition of awarding Christmas gifts to those individuals, teams and groups that deserve to be on the gift list.
There are gifts that are awarded most sincerely and others not so much. I’ll let you be the judge of which is which.
May I please start with the knowledge of God’s love to the stricken families of Newtown, Connecticut. May he also give us peace and understanding and the will to do better in our lives.
The 2012 gifts:
• Barrack Obama, President: Four years of wisdom
• John Boehner, Speaker of the House: College course-Reasonableness 101
• Bill Clinton, Ex. President: U.N. Ambassadorship
• Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State: A year’s vacation
• David Petraeus, Ex CIA Director: A second chance
• Mitt Romney, Presidental candidate: A Do Over
• Ann Currey, Newscaster: A job worthy of her talent
• Sean Hannity, Fox News: Truth Serum
• Little Lulu Cartoon Character: A free ticket to Australia
• Minnesota Twins: A winning season
• Ron Gardenhire, Twins Manager: Tenure
• Rick Anderson, Twins Pitching Coach: A 20-game winner
• Scott Diamond, Twins Starting Pitcher: Company
• Joe Mauer, Twins Catcher: A third baseman’s glove
• Justin Morneau, Twins First baseman: A healthy season
• Josh Willingham, Twins Outfielder: A 2012 season rerun
• Terry Ryan, Twins General Manager: Good fortune
• Minnesota Vikings: A playoff berth
• Zigi Wilf, Vikings Owner: His own city block
• Leslie Frazier, Vikings Coach: Good health for Adrian Peterson
• Adrian Peterson, Vikings Running back: The NFL rushing record
• Christian Ponder, Vikings Quarterback: A long and happy marriage
• Minnesota Timberwolves: A playoff berth
• Kevin Love, Timberwolves Star: Some contentment
• Jerry Kill, Gopher football Coach: 1. Good health; 2. Winning Bowl game
• To all our Troops: A safe return home
• To my Loved ones and friends: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
• To all my readers: Happy Holidays, Peace on earth and good will to all!
Sports medicine has advanced far beyond expectations these past years. When I was playing sports, if you happened to sprain your ankle, the coach’s advice was to "walk it off."
And normally, the ankle was better after a few minutes. Then came the advice to put ice on it, which is still the accepted method of treatment for a lot of muscle and tendon injuries.
When a pitcher hurt his elbow the conventional wisdom was to rest. If the arm didn’t get better, the pitcher learned to be "crafty" or wound up in the Southern Minny.
Then a left-hander by the name of Tommy John blew out his elbow and a radical new surgery was proposed. A ligament would be taken from another part of the body and put in the elbow. It worked and is now a common operation. Some pitchers come back from surgery throwing harder than before .
The next step is on the horizon. Our neighbor, the Mayo Clinic, has given priority to Regenerative Medicine. According to a Rochester Post Bulletin article, the clinic has figured out how to take simple skin cells and make it possible for them to grow new tissue in an organ.
For example, they might replace damaged tissue in a heart. If this comes about in the next decade or two, how far behind is tendon regeneration?
But, with what I have concluded, I have found that Mayo Clinic is pretty conservative. It seems to me the clinic would not be headed down this road unless they foresaw a positive outcome.
Wow, what a huge impact on our society, but for now let’s stick with athletics. If a baseball player loses some of his keen eyesight, that could probably be fixed.
Athletic concerns would probably play a very small role in the overall objectives of regenerative medicine, but let’s use them for an example. A Joe Mauer could probably play long after he would normally have to hang up his spikes.
If this were possible and from a layman’s viewpoint, and it looks like it would, who would be eligible for regenerative medicine? In order to qualify, would you have to bat .300 and hit 30 home runs? Be a 20-game winner if you were a pitcher?
Who would decide? Baseball fans? Sports fans? U.S. citizens? Might you have to pay $10 in order to vote on a particular player? Would their club decide? Or maybe it would be done with money. Could the player afford it? Could he borrow the money against future earnings? Would this favor the rich player over the poor?
These options would certainly favor the male athlete over the female. Is that fair?
These questions can go on and on, as can the answers. And, if a book hasn’t been already written about these question, I’m sure one will be.
Regenerative Medicine will be a huge new challenge for the human race. The ethics involved are many and varied.
If the procedure is limited, who will determine those eligible? For example, let’s assume a repaired heart will not be cheap. Can just rich people afford it? Can we have insurance for it and if we can, would Obamacare cover it? Will it be limited to the most intelligent? Will it just be available to those benefitting civilization and if so, who determines the benefit? This is just the very tip of the bio-ethical questions that will be raised.
The Mayo Clinic includes in its research a bio-ethics committee. They certainly have their work cut out for them.
After weeks of Minnesota Vikings’ games, I thought I would taper off gradually with just a short note about the Vikes. They had a bye this past week after a very welcome win over the Detroit Lions.
Christian Ponder played well, the defense did likewise and Adrian Peterson was his usual self. If you were to pick an offensive player from the Central Division, I don’t know whom you would go with other than Peterson or Percy Harvin. Or maybe Green Bay’s quarterback Aaron Rogers, only because of the position he plays.
Over the years, the Vikings had standout running backs such as Chuck Foreman and Robert Smith. They were fun to watch, especially the shifty Foreman.
But Peterson, unless he’s injured, will rank up there with Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Gayle Sayers, O.J. Simpson and Alan "The Horse" Ameche. Ameche is usually not mentioned with the great running backs, but when I was a young guy, I used to enjoy watching would-be tacklers bounce off Ameche, kind of a slower, stronger Franco Harris.
The Vikings continue to surprise and may have saved coach Leslie Frazier’s job. They are still in the hunt and really, what more can you expect this rebuilding year?
George Allen, the successful Washington Redskins coach, used to trade his draft choices for established veterans. His teams did well and while Allen’s coaching philosophy was unusual, his teams were winners until the Redskins woke up one year with a poor, aging over-the-hill gang.
You’ll notice that in football and baseball, teams that may exceed expectations tend to be young. Perhaps now it is the Twins’ turn.
However, for this to work, the young teams have to be good. The Twins have positioned themselves well for offseason acquisitions.
They finished last in the American League Central Division enabling them to draft high in the forthcoming draft. They didn’t re-sign Scott Baker after his surgery, saving themselves $5 million, not too bad a move even though they badly need pitching.
Given Baker’s history, he appeared to be long ways from a sure bet. I think Terry Ryan was of the same opinion.
The Twins shed Tsuyushi Nishioka at his behest, saving $3 million. At first, I thought it was a sportsmanlike gesture on Nishioka’s part. However, it turned out he was going back to Japan for more money.
Therefore, things are in place for Ryan to have a good offseason. But, a good winter does not mean a good summer even if Ryan does well in his player acquisitions.
Our Minnesota Timberwolves were down to nine players and still had a winning record. Somebody should have coined a good nickname for the Timberwolves with their shortage of players.
It could have been on the order of the Chicago White Sox’s "Hitless Wonders" decades ago or the young Philadelphia Phillies "Whiz Kids." The "Whiz Kids" became the "Phiz Kids" after losing the World Series in four straight to the New York Yankees. Perhaps the Timberwolves could have been the "Nasty Nine" or something like that.
Our Minnesota Gopher football team, after qualifying for a post season bowl game, gave up a lot of that good feeling. They got stomped by Nebraska and showed they had a long ways to go to be ranked with the Big Ten elite.
Then they had an interteam squabble on the Internet between the coach and one of his players. On the Internet no less.
Simon and Garfunkel used to sing, "The times they are a changing." They were right. The Internet squabble proves it.
It’s not easy to cheer for a team that comes so close
Written by Jim LutgensAlthough the Vikings had a respectable club from ‘87 to ‘98, they were pretty much on the outside looking in. That all changed in 1998 with the addition of Randy Moss and the installation of Randall Cunningham at quarterback.
I often thought that the Vikings could have shed their offense and running game and just sent Moss out on a fly pattern every play. He was that dominant.
The Viking juggernaut was favored to win it all. In the conference finals, in spite of playing a lackluster game, the Vikings were ahead by a touchdown with two minutes left in the game when their kicker missed a 38-yard field goal despite not missing an attempt or extra point all season.
Their opponents scored a touchdown and then won in overtime when their kicker, also named Anderson, made a 38-yard field goal. Coach Dennis Green lost the respect of the media and most of the fans by not trying to score in the final seconds of regulation. It looked like he coached scared.
The next years, the Vikings remained a contending team with Randy Moss. Jeff George took over at quarterback. He was fascinating to watch.
George had the greatest arm and poorest technique I have ever seen. He could throw more than 50 yards with just a flick of the wrist. George sealed his doom by not going after a fumble he dropped.
A great physical specimen then took over at quarterback. Daunte Culpepper at 6-foot-4, weighing 240 pounds, looked like a tight end behind center.
Culpepper and the Vikings won the first playoff game and were favored to defeat the New York Giants in the NFC title game. They were humiliated 41-0. It looked like some of the Vikings gave up, including Moss. Things were never the same between Moss, the team and fans after that.
Mike Tice was brought in to coach and the Vikings never threatened to make the Super Bowl, although they did make the headlines with their love boat scandal. Because of previous Moss incidents and Tice scalping tickets, the Vikings lost much of Minnesota’s respect.
Zigi Wilf, New Jersey real estate mogul, bought the team and hired Brad Childress to coach. Childress also came under fire from the Twin Cities sports writers, but turned things around for a brief period when he lured Bret Favre out of retirement.
Favre, along with running back Adrian Peterson, took the Vikings to the conference finals where they lost to the New Orleans Saints due to a Favre interception and a coaching error in which the Vikings had 12 men on the field.
In spite of five turnovers, the Vikings were clearly the better team. The loss really rankled Viking fans when the Saints easily won the Super Bowl. Like 1998, the best team sat on the sidelines.
It’s not been easy being a Viking fan during the past 50 years. It’s a great deal like being a Chicago Cubs fan.
I think it’s a little bit harder to be a Vikings fan for the Cubs have not had the success the Vikings have had. If your team is good and it still doesn’t win the big game, it gets harder with each failure.
In the beginning, more that five decades ago, the team had several nicknames to choose from. One of the finalists was the Voyagers.
Perhaps that would have been better for our team. Voyagers means travelers and our Vikings are still traveling toward a winning Super Bowl. As long as they keep trying, I guess it’s still possible.