Quotulatiousness

July 28, 2011

Rice cashes in: $1 million per TD over the last four years

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 12:42

I really like Sidney Rice, and I’m sorry that he won’t be with the Vikings this year, but I have to agree with Ryan Boser on this: Seattle overpaid to get him.

In four seasons as a Minnesota Viking, Sidney Rice scored 18 touchdowns. Yesterday, he was rewarded with $18.5M in guaranteed cash from the Seattle Seahawks. In a nutshell, Rice’s 2009 breakout was so impressive that agent Drew Rosenhaus found a sucker willing to anti up a gaudy five-year, $41M deal for a guy with one great season smashed between three injury-plagued disasters.

Rice’s first two seasons were marked by underachievement and knee injuries. After stealing his paychecks in 2007 and 2008, Rice showed his true colors on the heals of his 2009 breakout.

Assisted by what may have been Brett Favre’s greatest season, Rice tallied 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight scores. With one year still left on his contract, Rice demanded a raise from the Vikings.

On the other hand, as has been pointed out by several people, an NFL player’s career can be cut short by injury so it’s hard to blame Rice for taking the bigger paycheck, especially the $18.5 million in guaranteed money.

July 27, 2011

Washington trades Donovan McNabb to the Vikings

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 07:17

I have to admit, I didn’t see this one coming: I’d expected the Vikings to either go with Christian Ponder or Joe Webb as the starting quarterback, not to bring in a big name veteran:

The Minnesota Vikings and Washington Redskins have agreed in principle to a trade sending QB Donovan McNabb to Minnesota.

The deal is contingent upon McNabb taking a significant pay cut, but according to Jay Glazer, “FOXSports.com has learned the Minnesota Vikings have agreed to acquire McNabb in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft and possibly a conditional 2013 draft pick.”

That’s a much lower cost in draft picks than Washington was supposedly asking, so it works well for Minnesota in that dimension. It’ll be interesting to see how McNabb works with the two young quarterbacks in training camp.

Update: Of course, no trade will satisfy everyone, but this particular one has Ryan Boser incensed:

If you’ve read my work here, you’re well aware of my disdain for McNabb. At 10:15 tonight, Jay Glazer tweeted that the Vikings have agreed to send two sixth-round picks (2012, and a conditional 2013) to Washington for the 34-year old.

The deal is contingent on the egotistical vet taking a massive pay cut from the $12.5M he’s owed this season (he’s just one year into a six-year, $89.2M deal).

The optimist in me hopes that the delusional McNabb, who still thinks he’s elite, will put the kibosh on it. Realistically, it’s a lock that the Vikings will head into the season with their third (or fourth) choice under center.

[. . .]

He’ll obviously take a pay cut, but he’ll still cost a sub-.500 team chock-full of holes way too much cap space (in addition to the draft picks). Specifics for the restructured deal are expected tomorrow.

If the coaching staff were really worried about throwing first-rounder Christian Ponder (who’s been preparing like a maniac) to the wolves, then spend pennies on the backup mentor and let Joe Webb take the early-season starts.

Ponder’s the future, so you have nothing to lose by letting a sixth-round wide receiver be the sacrificial lamb. Who knows, you might just discover that you stumbled on to a gem. As it stands, you can stick a fork in Joe Webb, the quarterback.

Update, the second: Dan Zinksi has a bit of advice for McNabb:

The drama this time reportedly revolves around McNabb himself and his apparent hurt feelings over not being shown a level of deference comparable to that which the Vikings showed Brett Favre during their pursuit of him the last two seasons. As ESPN puts it, “McNabb was concerned Tuesday night about how the Vikings’ side of the situation was handled.” Evidently McNabb expected several Viking veterans to fly to his home in Zygi Wilf‘s jet bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh and possibly a six-pack, and was bothered when this did not happen.

[. . .]

Here’s my advice for you Donovan as you embark upon your new career as the quarterback the Vikings had to settle for because they lost out on Tyler Thigpen: Get your hands on that playbook as fast as possible. Also, get hold of Sidney Rice‘s phone number and start working on him to stay with the Vikings. You could have a nice array of weapons in Minnesota — better than you had last year in Washington for sure — but only if Rice stays. Third, try to be humble. Come in and say all the right things and do all the right things. And if your coaches ask you to wear a wristband? Remember that it’s for your own good and just wear the damn wristband.

July 19, 2011

Virginia Tech publishes football helmet safety rankings

Filed under: Football, Health, Technology — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 12:41

Gregg Easterbrook has the details from a Virginia Tech comparative study of football helmets:

Researchers at Virginia Tech have produced the first brand-by-brand, model-by-model ranking for the likely concussion resistance of helmets. A star-rating system modeled on crash safety rankings for automobiles, the rankings clearly identify the best and worst helmets. Virginia Tech researchers give high marks to these helmets: the Riddell Speed, Riddell Revolution, Riddell Revolution IQ; the Schutt Ion 4D and Schutt DNA; and the Xenith X1.The Virginia Tech researchers give medium grades to the Schutt Air XP and Schutt Air Advantage. The Virginia Tech rankings warn players not to wear these helmets: the Riddell VSR4 and the Adams A2000.

Now the chilling part: the VSR4 — Virginia Tech’s second-lowest-rated helmet — was the most common helmet in the NFL last season. The VSR4 is widely worn in college and high school, too. Immediately after the Virginia Tech findings were released, Riddell advised football teams to stop using the VSR4, long the company’s best seller.

(The new Rawlings line of football helmets was not on the market in time to be included in the study. Virginia Tech will rank Rawlings helmets — which from the start is promoting safety features rather than styling — next year.)

July 1, 2011

Duleep Allirajah: “The Most Pointless Sporting Argument Ever”

Filed under: Britain, Soccer — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 11:32

He’s quite right: this has to be the nadir of international sporting debates:

Where do you stand on the controversial issue of a Great Britain football team? Disgusted that the British Olympic Association is threatening the independence and proud traditions of the home football nations? Angered that the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish associations are trying to thwart the Olympic dreams of their young players? Or, like me, do you want to be woken up when The Most Pointless Sporting Argument Ever is over?

If you’re wondering why the proposal for a unified British football team has caused such controversy, let me explain. There has never been a single UK football association. Instead, all four countries — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have their own football associations. Each country is recognised by FIFA as a separate entity even though they are not sovereign nations. It’s one of the residual privileges enjoyed by the nation that invented the game. Although the Brits have minimal influence within FIFA, as the 2018 World Cup bid and the farcical presidential election demonstrated, all four UK nations are represented on the eight-member International Football Association Board (IFAB), which is the sport’s law-making body. The home nations also retain the right to appoint a FIFA vice-president. Although the English FA is keen on fielding a British team in the 2012 Games, the other national associations fear that their independence and FIFA privileges will be jeopardised as a result.

The debate took a farcical twist this week when the British Olympic Association (BOA) announced that an ‘historic agreement’ had been reached with all the home nations to field a Great Britain team at the Olympics. However, no sooner had the BOA made its announcement than the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland football associations angrily denied that any agreement had been reached. Oops!

June 26, 2011

How much did the salary cap change the NFL?

Filed under: Business, Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 13:14

If this analysis of the 1975 Minnesota Vikings roster by John Holler says anything, it shows that the biggest change in NFL history was probably the introduction of free agency and the salary cap:

Many players believe the 1975 Vikings were the greatest team in franchise history. But, in the free agency era, there would have been no chance they could have kept the team together. Fortunately for Vikings fans, those players were locked into contracts that didn’t allow them leave. But, what would the ’75 Vikings have cost in modern-day dollars? Too much. Consider the following:

Fran Tarkenton was nearing the end of his career, but had never missed a game and was viewed by many as the best quarterback in the NFL. Given the current wage paid the top QB, Tark could easily have been given $15 million or so.

Chuck Foreman would have been entering the third year of his rookie contract and, most likely, would have held out in order to get a better deal in the current era. The Vikings would acquiesce and he would sign a deal of about five years for $45 million, with $15 million or so up front. Current cap total about $30 million.

On the offensive line, Mick Tingelhoff would likely not be earning top dollar, but would still be worth about $3 million a year. Guard Ed White would likely be coming up for free agency himself and would probably cost another $5-6 million a year. Ron Yary, the first overall pick in the 1968 draft, would likely be in the second or third year of his second contract, which, given his five straight Pro Bowl appearances, would probably put him in the $12 million range. So far, five players would have the Vikings on the hook for about $50 million, without even touching the Purple People Eaters.

In short, free agency and the salary cap totally changed the economic side of the game, and ensured that more teams would be competitive over the long haul.

June 23, 2011

This is amusing

Filed under: Cancon, Soccer — Tags: — Nicholas @ 11:21

There’s only one team in the world I favour over England, and they just saved themselves from elimination with this effort:

H/T to David Akin for the link.

June 16, 2011

Welcome to Vancouver. Please ignore the rioters

Filed under: Cancon, Sports — Tags: , , , , , , , — Nicholas @ 08:02

Lord Stanley’s Cup won’t be coming back to Canada this year, but as Brian Hutchison points out, that’s only one of the losses sustained by Vancouver last night:

The season ends, and the worst does come to pass. Vancouver, you have lost. Twice. But the game hardly matters now, does it? The score? Who cares? As I write this, my eyes are stinging, my is throat sore, having breathed in some sort of dispersal chemical that police deployed — in desperation, and perhaps too late. There could be some residual effect from having inhaled acrid, toxic smoke from burning cars, exploding cars, destroyed by lunatics still running crazy on the city’s downtown streets.

Blood in our streets. I saw people on the ground, bleeding. Shattered glass everywhere. Police cars set alight. Major bridges are now closed, preventing public access into the downtown core. Transit is plugged up, there’s no way out. More police and fire crews are arriving, from the suburbs, but again, it seems too late.

And as I write this, the sun has just set. Vancouver, what a disgrace.

Update: A Tumblr page posting photos of the rioters and looters:

The National Post has more photos of the aftermath.

Update: Joey “Accordion Guy” deVilla points out that one of these riots is not like the others. Oh, and a commentary on the most famous photo of the riots (so far).

May 27, 2011

Badminton: moving against the tide

Filed under: Sports — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 08:38

If they’d wanted to be sure that the sport got more media attention, they sure chose an effective way to do it:

In an attempt to revive flagging interest in women’s badminton as the 2012 London Olympics approach, officials governing the sport have decided that its female athletes need to appear more, how to put it, womanly.

To create a more “attractive presentation,” the Badminton World Federation has decreed that women must wear skirts or dresses to play at the elite level, beginning Wednesday. Many now compete in shorts or tracksuit pants. The dress code would make female players appear more feminine and appealing to fans and corporate sponsors, officials said.

The rule has been roundly criticized as sexist, a hindrance to performance and offensive to Muslim women who play the sport in large numbers in Asian countries. Implementation has already been delayed by a month. Athletes’ representatives said they would seek to have the dress code scrapped, possibly as early as Saturday at a meeting of the world’s badminton-playing nations in Qingdao, China.

“This is a blatant attempt to sexualize women,” said Janice Forsyth, director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario. “It is amazing. You’d think at some point, somebody would have said: ‘Wait a minute. What are we doing?’ ”

There are about 85 players at my badminton club. Only two women regularly wear skirts to play. Despite this ruling, I doubt that many of our players will choose to switch.

May 5, 2011

Christian Ponder on ESPN’s Sports Science

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 14:40

May 1, 2011

More about Christian Ponder

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 11:31

Some highly complimentary things about the Vikings’ new quarterback from Sid Hartman:

Greg Hudson, as good a defensive coordinator as the Gophers have ever had and who has the same role at Florida State, describes Vikings first-round draft choice Christian Ponder as the next Roger Staubach.

Staubach, the great Cowboys quarterback, was Hudson’s idol as he grew up, and so the Gophers defensive coordinator from 2002 to ’04 is paying the young man a huge compliment. Hudson said Ponder gave him headaches during Seminoles practices last year.

“I’m not telling you that he is [Staubach] right now, but he has the attributes to be a Roger Staubach-type of player,” said Hudson, who went to Florida State to work with head coach Jimbo Fisher after five years at East Carolina with Skip Holtz. “… Roger Staubach was my idol growing up in Cincinnati, that’s where [Staubach] is from. Christian Ponder could have been a Navy graduate [as Staubach was], high academic, very educated. Christian just has a lot of the attributes that Roger Staubach had.”

Hudson said the injuries that Ponder has suffered primarily have been self-inflicted because of how hard he played.

“The kid, at some point, just like [Jets coach] Rex Ryan got mad at [quarterback Mark] Sanchez for not learning how to slide. Christian Ponder’s got to learn how to protect himself. He plays quarterback like he’s a linebacker,” Hudson said.

[. . .]

Hudson said he had seen all the top quarterbacks, including the ones taken ahead of Ponder, on film, and he is sure the Vikings got the best QB in the draft.

“Here’s the thing, Christian Ponder is made for the NFL game,” Hudson said. “His mentality, his physical attributes, the kid’s mindset is made for the NFL game. That’s what separates him. He is prepared for the NFL in our offense, pro-style.

“We didn’t have great wide receivers. We had good, not great. He had to make things happen. His passing percentage was down because kids couldn’t run routes right.”

Hudson is confident that Ponder could start as a rookie.

“I think one because he can handle it physically, but No. 2 he can handle it mentally over other kids,” Hudson said. “You can’t evaluate based on the team’s record. Because if you look at Troy Aikman and [Peyton] Manning, they both had losing records their first year as [NFL] starters. But they were able to run the offense. Ponder will be able to run the offense. He’ll have to take his rookie growing pains, but man, I’d put the saddle on him and ride him all the way.

Vikings finish draft with 10 new players

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 11:26

After having only two picks over the first two days of the draft, the Vikings were much busier on the final day of the draft:

  • Round 4 (106th pick overall) — Christian Ballard, Defensive lineman, Iowa.
    With the Vikings’ Kevin Williams potentially facing a four-game suspension (and Pat Williams now a free agent), Ballard will have a chance to showcase his abilities early in the season. He was initially projected as a second round pick, but he slid down to the fourth round due to a reported failed drug test.
  • Round 5 (139th pick overall) — Brandon Burton, Cornerback, Utah.
    Cornerback is definitely a position that needs bolstering: Griffin and Cook both ended last season on injured reserve, and Winfield (while still a great player) is nearing the end of his career. Burton may push Asher Allen for a roster spot, although he has a reputation for a soft playing style according to Pro Football Weekly.
  • Round 6 (168th pick overall) — DeMarcus Love, Offensive tackle/guard, Arkansas.
    Another player who may have a chance to work his way into the starting line-up. Protecting the quarterback is always important, but with either Joe Webb or Christian Ponder under centre, it becomes that much more necessary. According to Chip Scoggins, his versatility along the line is probably why the Vikings chose to draft him.
  • Round 6 (170th pick overall) — Mistral Raymond, Defensive back, South Florida.
    Safety is another area in need of more depth. Raymond could push the incumbent players, or even displace one of them with a strong showing in training camp. Raymond has had a tough time in his family life over the last few years.
  • Round 6 (172nd pick overall) — Brandon Fusco, Center/guard, Slippery Rock.
    Another versatile offensive line player can always find a roster spot. Sullivan played injured for most of last season, so having a backup centre who can also play other line positions is great for depth. Judd Zulgad believes he’s going to end up on the practice squad this season.
  • Round 6 (200th pick overall) — Ross Homan, Linebacker, Ohio State.
    The Vikings may lose outside linebacker Ben Leber to free agency (once that starts), so having another linebacker in camp is a need they address with this pick.
  • Round 7 (215th pick overall) — D’Aundre Reed, Defensive end, Arizona.
    Another position that may be opening due to free agency loss. Judd Zulgad isn’t too impressed: “All I can think is the Vikings are either convinced Griffen is going to get his act together, they are planning on starting Robison at left end or they are convinced we’re going to play under the 2010 CBA and Edwards will be back because if that’s the case he will be a restricted free agent. Reed looks like a practice squad guy to me.”
  • Round 7 (236th pick overall) — Stephen Burton, Wide receiver, West Texas A&M.
    With Sidney Rice potentially leaving in free agency, the Vikings have a need for another receiver. Brief write-up on Burton here.

Unlike in previous years, where the draft is immediately followed by teams signing lots of undrafted free agents, the NFL’s labour situation prevents that until the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place (or the courts rule in a way to allow free agency to begin).

April 30, 2011

Vikings take TE Kyle Rudolph with 2nd round pick

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:50

I didn’t expect the Vikings to pick a tight end until much later in the draft (if at all, given all their other needs), but according to Judd Zulgad, they picked the best player rather than drafting for need:

The Vikings were accused of reaching by some on Thursday night when they selected quarterback Christian Ponder with the 12th pick in the first round of the NFL draft. The selection seemed to run contrary to the team’s long-standing philosophy of taking the best player available.

On Friday night, the Vikings returned to their usual means of operation and stayed true to their board by selecting Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph in the second round. However, the decision was a bit of a surprise considering that of the Vikings’ many positional needs, tight end didn’t seem to be near the top of the list.

“We felt that he was too good of a player to pass up,” said Rick Spielman, the Vikings vice president of player personnel. “We felt that he has a lot of unique skills as a tight end and we wanted to stay true to our board. That was a situation where there was a player that normally, if he hadn’t had that hamstring injury [last season], we wouldn’t even had a shot to get. We feel that we got great value when we got Kyle.”

April 29, 2011

QotD: The NFL draft is “The Oscars for Straight Men”

Filed under: Football, Humour, Media, Quotations — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 13:59

Some comedian once called the NFL Draft “The Oscars for Straight Men,” and there is something to that label. While everyone will “grade” the teams’ drafts, and fans will argue and kibitz about who their team should have drafted, there are no definitive winners or losers. One of the more ridiculous aspects of the day is how every team claims to have gotten the players they wanted or rated highest. Just once, it would be thrilling to hear a general manager come out and say, “Look, we know he’s a reach, but all of the guys we rated highest were picked already, the coach and head scout got into a screaming match, the clock was ticking down and so I flipped a coin. Knowing his pain-in-the-tush agent, he’s probably going to hold out most of training camp, anyway.”

Jim Geraghty, “Why Is the Draft So Engrossing to NFL Fans?”, National Review, 2011-04-29

The first round of the NFL draft

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 00:05

As I’ve said every year, the NFL draft is not a huge fascination for me because I don’t follow college football. I don’t know enough about any of the players, and after you’ve read two or three mock drafts, you know even less. Once the draft is over, you still won’t know whether your team was a big winner or a big loser in the draft . . . it really does take a few years to put perspective on it.

This year, the Vikings had the 12th pick in the draft and an immediate need for a quarterback, which meant they took Christian Ponder of Florida State. Joe Webb, who was a late-round draft choice last year got the chance to start a couple of games late in the season after Brett Favre was injured. He did fairly well, but he’s not widely considered ready to be a regular starter yet. Ponder will have a good chance to show what he can do in training camp (assuming that the labour situation is resolved fairly soon after the draft).

Here’s Judd Zulgad’s take on the Vikings’ draft choice:

Vikings executive Rick Spielman, coach Leslie Frazier and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave were among the members of the Vikings brass who spent a day-and-a-half with Christian Ponder last month in Tallahassee, Fla., putting the Florida State quarterback through various drills and evaluating his football smarts during a private workout.

“I thought the whole interview went great, the whole process,” Ponder said. “I was impressed by Musgrave and what he was doing on offense [and] Coach Frazier. I’m not sure how interested they were going to be, but I thought the whole process went well.”

[. . .]

While the Vikings could attempt to sign a veteran free agent to play in front of Ponder for a season, there also is the chance he will step in as the team’s starter. Frazier attempted to frame it as if Ponder will be competing with Joe Webb and Rhett Bomar for the job, but that’s a bit hard to believe considering the commitment the Vikings have made.

“I want it to still be an open competition with the guys that are on our roster,” Frazier said. “It will be those three. What happens with free agency? Who knows? We’ll eventually get to that point. But right now it’s a competition between those three and we’ll line up with the best guy when we get ready to line up against the Chargers [on Sept. 11 in the regular-season opener].”

In addition to a quarterback, the team has lots of other needs that could not be addressed in free agency, including both offensive and defensive linemen, linebacker, corner, safety, wide receiver, and tight end.

Update: Jim Souhan thinks that the jeering fans at the Winter Park draft party should give Spielman and Frazier a break:

The inebriated might wind up being right. Ponder might prove too fragile for the NFL and might become one of the many first-round quarterback busts in recent league history.

But this is one of those moments when it might be best to invest a little hope in the Vikings’ brain trust, because there is no greater thrill for the modern-day sports fan than to watch the development of a good, young quarterback, and there is no better template for winning than a coach and a young quarterback growing into their jobs together.

Let’s skip the usual draft-day analysis. It doesn’t matter whether the draft experts think the Vikings reached. Or think there were better quarterbacks available than Ponder. Or think there were better players at other positions available at No. 12.

Draft experts and NFL teams alike are often wrong, not because of a lack of due diligence but because projecting young quarterbacks is an inherently risky business.

[. . .]

What we know is this: Vikings coach Leslie Frazier was desperate to draft a quarterback who could lead his team, and he seemed very happy at the lectern late Thursday night.

Why not? This is a day for hope, and Ponder gives Vikings fans reason to do so.

The consensus: He’s smart, diligent and tough. His injuries gave his detractors reason to question him; the Vikings say they liked his toughness in trying to overcome them.

What we know for sure is that Frazier has tied his future to Ponder. So has personnel boss Spielman.

If Ponder develops into a star, Frazier and Spielman will be here a while. If he proves to be a bust, Zygi Wilf probably will be hiring a new personnel guru and coach within three years.

April 26, 2011

Urban mountain biking – Valparaiso, Chile

Filed under: Americas, Randomness, Sports — Tags: — Nicholas @ 13:47

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

H/T to Cycling Tips Blog (and to Roger Henry, who provided the link).

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress