Opinion

“Hard Knocks” Not On The Vikings Agenda

May 18, 2012, by 2 comments

Long gone (umm, I hope) are the dramatic twists and turns that came with a certain ex-Packer quarterback, a inflatable roof refusing to stay inflated, mysterious hip injuries, a cross dressing head coach, a left tackle who thought he was the third sister of the famous tennis playing Williams duo, and… well, you get the point.

Apparently, the current Vikings regime would like to keep it that way.

Judd Zulgad of 1500 ESPN reports that the Vikings have turned down, for the second year in a row, the chance to appear on HBO’s awesome series titled Hard Knocks.

While it would be a blast to have that much access to our beloved Vikings as they go through the rest of the offseason, it is easy to see why Leslie Frazier and the gang would prefer to remain under the radar and low key.

Other than perhaps some financial gain, I’m not sure any team that has appeared on a season of the show could point out any actual benefit to doing so.  However, we need not look any further than Rex Ryan to understand there are plenty of reasons not to do it.

So, if you are a cheapskate like yours truly, there is no immediate need to upgrade to a premium television service.

WELCOME TO THE BIG SHOW: Greg Childs

May 16, 2012, by 9 comments

Welcome to part six of our ten part series entitled “Welcome to the Big Show” where we attempt to bring you a comprehensive, in-depth look at each of the Vikings ten Draft selections of 2012. In case you missed them, here are links to the first five: Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith, Josh Robinson, Rhett Ellison, and Jarius Wright.

Make sure to go back and check out Brett’s fine article on Wright.  As we all know by now, Wright and Greg Childs have been friends and teammates since a very young age.  Childs is the subject of today’s “Welcome to the Big Show” segment.

PERSONAL HISTORY

During his junior year at Warren High School in Arkansas he put up 65 receptions and made 15 of them count for touchdowns, and earned a spot on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s all-Junior team.  In 2007, he was an all-State selection as a senior.

Childs left high school as one of the most heavily recruited players in the nation.  He received scholarship offers from Tennessee, Ole Miss, Colorado, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech before deciding to stay close to home and become a Razorback.

Childs turned 22 on March 10th of this year which makes him the youngest receiver on the Vikings roster.

He met fellow Viking rookie Jarius Wright in the third grade when he moved to Warren.  Wright was a popular kid at the elementary school and they decided to target Childs for some old fashioned bullying.  It took about two years for them to finally become friends, and they have been teammates ever since the seventh grade.

Continue Reading →

Stadium Bill To Take Final State-Level Step Today

May 14, 2012, by 11 comments

While the “Mission Accomplished” banner is clearly strung across the deck of the aircraft carrier, and Minnesotan’s are rightfully celebrating what appears to be a guaranteed future of their pro football team within the State, it is not yet officially official.

On Monday, however, the State will make their commitment to the new stadium official when Governor Mark Dayton signs the recently-passed bill into law.

The bill will be signed at a ceremony within the State Capitol at noon on Monday.

In order for this thing to be a 100% done deal, however, the Minneapolis City Council must vote in favor of the bill within 30 days of the Governor signing the bill.  Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak predicts that the vote will take place on May 25th.

That means there is a nearly two week window for something absolutely, positively horrible to happen that throws a wrench into the whole thing.  Something like that would be more disheartening to Vikings fans than a Cowboys hail mary, a missed Gary Anderson field goal, and a 12-men in the huddle call all wrapped into one.

Now, I’m not trying to be an alarmist here or anything, as plenty of people who know far more than myself about this situation consider this a done deal.  However, weirder things have indeed happened.

The Council needs seven “yes” votes to put the bow on this bill once and for all, and Mayor Rybak has received seven letters of support for the original version of the bill from Council members.  The thing is, though, this isn’t the same bill they agreed to as it has been changed around by the House and the Senate.

At least one Minneapolis Council member that put forward a letter is reserving the right to change his mind should he see something in the bill that he doesn’t agree with.

“Right now I am reviewing every line of it, and obviously I have to determine if what’s in there, line-by-line, is consistent with some of the goals and concerns I had,” said Council member Kevin Reich. “So it’s undetermined at this time. It’s under review.”

In his comments, it sounds like Reich will be voting “yes” once again and that there is little to worry about.

As I have said in the comments section, however, there are significant events that could take place between now and May 25th that could make members reconsider their commitment to a professional sports venue.

Links Of The Weekend: Stadium Euphoria

May 12, 2012, by 2 comments

Well, we all know what topic has dominated Vikings news this week, and we’ll get back to assessing the ongoing roster transformation soon, but in the meantime let’s highlight some of best articles available right now.  Most are stadium related, but I tried to find a good mix.

Here To Stay

May 11, 2012, by 13 comments

“We’re here to stay.”

Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said these words from the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol on Wednesday, a statement that was received by cheers and high fives from fans that had gathered to celebrate what seems like a certain win in the Vikings stadium battle.

After clearing the State House and the State Senate, all that remains for the stadium bill is a stroke of the Governor’s pen and a final vote by the Minneapolis City Counsel.  The Governor has always supported the stadium bill, and Minneapolis appears to not be a problem.

After years of speculation and concern, it seems that the Los Angeles market is going to have to target a different NFL team, and the Wilf’s never even had to publically threaten to leave.

“We knew from day one that we were going to fight to ensure that this day would come,” Zygi Wilf said. “Our commitment to having Viking football here for generations was always the overriding factor.”

The end result of a decade’s worth of positioning (and then some) is a deal that will see the Vikings and NFL contribute $477 million, the State will contribute $348 million, and the City of Minneapolis will pick up the rest of the tab which comes in at $150 million.

The Vikings are expected to play the next two seasons in the Metrodome, but have already come to an agreement with the University of Minnesota to rent TCF Bank Stadium at a price of $250,000 per game while the Metrodome is demolished and the new stadium is finished.

It is expected that the new stadium, which does not yet have a name (any suggestions?), will be ready in time for the 2016 season.

That means that I have at least another four years of writing stadium articles, but these future ones are sure to be a lot more fun than the “will-they-won’t-they” articles we have all been scouring over for what seems like forever now.

“This will be truly special,” Mark Wilf said. “As hard as we’ve worked for this day, we will commit going forward that this will be first class and special, and something that all Minnesotans can be truly proud of.”

I am aware that this isn’t done, at least not in the true sense of the word, but the Wilfs’ willingness to celebrate this as a true victory sure is exciting.

I suddenly have a new found excitement for the upcoming season, that is for sure.

SKOL!

Spielman Indicates Longwell Decision Was Made In January

May 9, 2012, by 5 comments

I wasn’t all that surprised when the Vikings decided to select a kicker in the 2012 NFL Draft.  I wasn’t surprised that they cut Ryan Longwell.

Most surprising to me, however, was the timing of the move to waive Longwell.  That timing, as General Manager Rick Spielman explains it, was a matter of respect for Longwell.  Spielman wants to give him the best chance possible to find a good fit with another team.

“We felt that Ryan deserved an opportunity to go out and get employment instead of waiting through training camp,” said Spielman.  “Once we made the decision to go with Blair [Walsh], it was the only fair thing to do with Ryan, to give him an opportunity to potentially get hooked on with another team instead of waiting until the end.”

Spielman also indicated that the decision to move on from Longwell was one that was made when he gained full control of the roster.

“I think it all goes back to when we started our whole process of evaluating our roster back in January, when we started our meetings and evaluating everybody on our roster and making those difficult decisions on, like I said, some very good veteran football players,” Spielman said. “It makes it even more difficult because of the type of people they are as well.”

Longwell has always been a class act, at least until he came to his senses and left Green Bay (wink), and I look forward to seeing him kick a game winner or two in 2012… as long as it isn’t against us.

Once Again, Cris Carter Talks While Vikings Fans Cringe

May 9, 2012, by 13 comments

With the Saints player suspension less than a week old, former Vikings receiver Cris Carter re-confirmed what many of us already knew, or at least believed, about the sport of football:  “bounties” have long been a part of the game.

“I’m guilty of it,” Carter said of using bounties. “It’s the first time I’ve ever admitted it. But I put a bounty on guys before. I put bounties on guys. And the guys tried to take me out, a guy tried to take a cheap shot on me, I put a bounty on him, right now.”

Carter insisted that he used bounties strictly as a defense mechanism, but also witnessed times when bounties were use to target specific players on opposing teams.

“Protect me. . . . Protect me from him. . . . Especially if he’s playing a different position where I can’t protect myself,” Carter said. “I’d tell one of them guards, ‘Hey man, this dude is after me, man. Bill Romanowski.’ He told me he’s gonna me out before the game, in warmups. No problem. ‘I’m gonna end your career, Carter.’ No problem. I put a little change on his head before the game. Protect myself, protect my family. That’s the league that I grew up in.”

Since the day the news of “Bounty Gate” first broke I have maintained a pretty uninspired stance on the matter, despite some very emotional reactions from other Vikings faithful, but part of my measured response to this story has to do with the assumption that this troubling practice was not isolated within the City of New Orleans, with a Gregg Williams defense, or even just within the NFL.

Instead, it is becoming clear that this was a widespread problem that Roger Goodell has decided there is no room for in a league run by him.

The Saints will take the fall, but bounties have been around for a long time and have infiltrated many locker rooms.

Including, apparently, the Vikings locker room.