Quotulatiousness

September 10, 2009

Random links

Filed under: Randomness — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 17:43

A few links that I found interesting or amusing:

  • It was 70 years ago today. Then: “Parliament will decide.” Now: “we require that military deployments … be supported by the Parliament of Canada.” Chalk one up for Mackenzie King, as he was right then and Stephen Harper is right to follow his precedent.
  • Let’s all hear it for “Open Mike” Duvall, former California Republican state representative. Everyone needs standards, and Duvall sets a very low one indeed.
  • The Minnesota Vikings cut WR Bobby Wade (in spite of him having taken a big pay cut to stay with the team this season) and replace him with former Philadelphia Eagles/New England Patriots WR Greg Ellis (who played for Brad Childress).
  • Wi-Fi Isn’t the Best Way to Network…Right?
  • The CBC shocks us all . . . and decides to broadcast a program that offends certain groups in Quebec.
  • Two Royal Marine officers traverse the Northwest Passage in an open boat.
  • Thinner is not cheaper: the paternalistic urge to get us all to lose weight won’t make healthcare any less expensive.

Oh, and last, but not least, “The Guild” Season 3, Episode 2 (belated H/T to Ghost of a Flea for bringing it to my attention):

<br /><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&#038;vid=bdab0fe5-ecc7-4f5e-a946-feefa45d531b" target="_new" title="Season 3 - Episode 2: Anarchy!">Video: Season 3 &#8211; Episode 2: Anarchy!</a>

September 7, 2009

Another record attempt?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 12:18

Along with all the other records Brett Favre currently holds, he apparently has a chance to break another long-standing record currently held by “Ironman” Jim Marshall:

Brett Favre will play his first regular-season game as a member of the Vikings on Sunday in Cleveland already holding just about every significant NFL career passing record.

Most touchdown passes? Favre’s got that one with 464. Yards? That belongs to Favre, too. Completions, attempts and yards? Check, check and check. Heck, Favre even has thrown the most interceptions.

But there is at least one record Favre stands to break this season — and the guy he would surpass couldn’t be happier about it. Favre will enter Sunday having played in 271 consecutive regular-season games, putting him 12 games from Jim Marshall’s longstanding record for a non-kicker or punter. (Punter Jeff Feagles has appeared in 336 consecutive games.)

September 5, 2009

Vikings choose to keep only 3 Quarterbacks on the roster

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 21:21

. . . but to my surprise, and possibly to the dejection of sportscasters nationwide who will now not have the opportunity to announce that “Coach Childress just made a Booty call” . . . the team chose to keep Tarvaris Jackson and released John David Booty, to get down to their 53-man final roster:

DB Colt Anderson, QB John David Booty, FB Nehemiah Broughton, DE Martail Burnett, OL Chris Clark, OL Brian Daniels, OL Juan Garcia, DE Otis Grigsby, S De’von Hall, LB David Herron, DT Antoine Holmes, RB Ian Johnson, DT Tremaine Johnson, OL Andy Kemp, CB Marcus McCauley, TE Garrett Mills, WR Nick Moore, TE Jake Nordin, WR Vinny Perretta, OL Drew Radovich, DB Marcus Walker and WR Bobby Williams.

The Vikings could still try to re-sign Booty to a practice squad spot next week, if he’s not picked up by another team. You’d have to assume that his performance in Friday’s game was a determining factor in this decision.

Update, 7 September: Yep, Booty was indeed signed to the Vikings practice squad, along with “safety Colt Anderson, offensive tackles Chris Clark and Drew Radovich, running back Ian Johnson, defensive tackle Tremaine Johnson, tight end Garrett Mills and wide receiver Nick Moore”. Unfortunately, free agent Jon Cooper who’d made the 53-man roster was cut to make room for Kory Lichtensteiger who was cut by Denver.

Rosenfels doesn’t dispel the doubts

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 10:18

Last night’s final preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys could have gone better, both for the team and for Sage Rosenfels, who is fighting for the backup QB spot behind Brett Favre:

Brad Childress knows he has his starting quarterback now that Brett Favre is wearing purple. But with eight days until the regular-season opener in Cleveland, the Vikings coach cleary isn’t happy with his quarterback situation as a whole.

That became clear after Sage Rosenfels and John David Booty threw third-quarter interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in the Vikings’ 35-31 loss to Dallas on Friday night in their preseason finale before an announced crowd of 62,334 at the Metrodome.

“At times [the quarterback play] was embarrassing,” said an upset Childress, who rarely is critical of his players in his postgame news conferences. “I’ll end up putting that on myself. Not having them ready to come out of the locker room at halftime. But all the quarterbacks I’ve ever coached have some regard for the football, and you can’t throw it to them.”

I’m still hoping that the Vikings hang on to Tarvaris Jackson, rather than cutting or trading him. He showed that he’s still got lots of potential:

Jackson started and played through the Vikings’ first series of the second quarter, completing two of four passes for 42 yards with a touchdown and a 127.1 passer rating. Rosenfels entered in the second quarter and finished 7-for-15 for 115 yards with a subpar 45.1 rating; Booty was worse, going 7-for-13 for 85 yards with a 42.1 rating. Childress said he benched both quarterbacks after their interceptions, meaning Booty replaced Rosenfels, threw one pass and then was lifted for Rosenfels.

“It always seems like you want to take back one play, and I wish I could take that one back,” Rosenfels said of a pass that was picked off by Cowboys cornerback Pat Watkins and returned 23 yards down the near sideline for a touchdown. “It was just a bad play by me. Other than that, I felt real comfortable out there, and I thought I did a pretty good job executing the offense other than that one play.”

Today is the worst part of the season for aspiring young players, or for veterans trying to catch on with a new team: it’s when teams have to cut down to their 53-man roster.

September 3, 2009

Tarvaris Jackson on the trade block?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:19

Last month I wrote,

Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson try to avoid saying anything newsworthy to the media. Hard to blame them . . . they’ve each just had their best chance for professional success kicked out from underneath them. I’m sure each is thinking “it’s only a one-year deal . . .”

Of course, there’s the other aspect: most NFL teams only carry three quarterbacks into the regular season — who’ll be the odd man out? Rosenfels played well in the pre-season opener, and was brought in for a 4th round draft choice. Jackson was a 2nd round pick, but still hasn’t shown that he’s able to be consistent. Booty is still the total unknown. Who will be given their walking papers?

The answer is apparently Tarvaris Jackson:

The Vikings have called teams to see what they would be willing to offer in exchange for backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, according to a league source.

The Vikings have four quarterbacks on their roster, which must be trimmed to 53 players by Saturday. Coach Brad Childress said recently the team possibly could keep four quarterbacks, but it seems more likely that it will trade or release one.

Jackson has been the subject of trade rumors since Brett Favre arrived. However, it remains unclear which direction the Vikings will go if they are unable to trade Jackson.

I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed. Jackson has the potential to be very, very good, as he demonstrated in the second pre-season game. Unfortunately, he’s not been as consistent as he needed to be. It’s likely he’ll be picked up by another team, but not many teams are looking at adding players right now: mandatory roster cuts are looming (teams must be down to 53 players by Saturday).

September 2, 2009

Gregg Easterbrook looks at “Favre-a-palooza”

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:41

Gregg Easterbrook’s annual NFC preview column includes his potted history of the previous two years of the adventures of Brett Favre:

Favre played well for Green Bay in 2007, then looked old and unhappy during the frigid NFC championship loss at Lambeau. In 2008, Favre played well for the Jets when the weather was clement, then looked old and unhappy once frost hit the pumpkin. Both 2007 and 2008 ended for Favre’s clubs with him throwing a killer interception on a cold day. Going to a dome team in Minnesota, Favre will mainly play indoors. This year the Vikes are likely to have only one cold-weather contest, at Chicago just after Christmas; in November, all their games are at home while their other outdoor December contests are at Arizona and at Carolina. It’s a schedule that could not be better if Favre drew it up himself.

There is obvious potential for fiasco in Minnesota’s bringing aboard Favre, and not just because his $12 million salary becomes guaranteed on opening day. Vikings players know Favre single-handedly dynamited the Jets’ organization last season — the starting quarterback was waived, the coaches fired — then walked out the instant it suited him. He demanded special favor after special favor from the Jets, then gave nothing back. Management and other players couldn’t wait for him to get out of Green Bay, so weary were both of Favre’s self-centeredness. Now he brings his “I love me” show to Minnesota. If the Vikings win, Favre will grab the credit; if they lose, Favre will once again say he was mistreated. No Vikings player other than Favre will get any media attention in 2008; if Adrian Peterson runs for 3,000 yards, Favre will claim the credit. Plus Childress waffled so much in his pursuit of Favre that now he seems weak, as if he were a factotum awaiting Favre’s instructions. Late in July, Childress told the Vikings’ locker room there was “not a chance” Favre would join the team, and that he expected them to rally around quarterbacks Jackson and Rosenfels. Now it turns out Childress was continuing to talk to Favre the entire time he was telling his team otherwise. What credibility can Childress have when it appears that he looked his players in the eye and lied to them?

The only way Childress retains his credibility is if the team wins through and goes deep into the playoffs . . . if they stumble, he’ll have sacrificed his chances of being re-signed as head coach for nothing.

September 1, 2009

Vikings beat Texans in 3rd preseason game

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 07:30

The Brett Favre era may have opened, but Adrian Peterson is still the heart of the team: he took a handoff from Favre for a 75-yard TD on the first play of the game. Here’s the press reaction:

Two weeks after joining the Vikings, Brett Favre played into the third quarter of his team’s 17-10 victory over the Houston Texans. The future Hall of Fame quarterback threw his first touchdown pass as a member of the franchise, twice lined as a wide receiver as the Vikings unveiled their version of the Wildcat offense and even threw a vicious block from that formation.

And if that wasn’t enough, Favre also caused a pregame stir when ESPN reported he might be playing with a cracked rib. But no matter what Favre was able to accomplish in his first extensive action in purple, one thing was made abundantly clear to the Vikings and a national television audience.

This remains Adrian Peterson’s offense.

It’s still very much the preseason, as the Vikings committed a disturbing number of penalties; they’re averaging 12 per game. Favre was scheduled to play the first half, followed by Tarvaris Jackson in the third and Sage Rosenfels in the fourth, but Favre lobbied the coach to get another series after halftime, so Jackson’s appearance was very short. Rosenfels got on the field after both teams had switched to second- and third-string players, so it wasn’t a great opportunity for him to shine like Jackson did in the previous game.

Favre will probably be getting a fine from the league for his illegal block on Eugene Wilson, who was injured on the play and did not return.

Update, 5 September: Yep. The league penalized Favre $10,000 for the illegal hit.

August 31, 2009

The last Whizzinator joke?

Filed under: Sports — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 07:21

Anyone remember Onterrio Smith? Anyone? Okay, an easier question: does anyone remember a Vikings player caught with a Whizzinator? That was Onterrio Smith. (Kinda topical posts on the old site legacy plays on:

Matt Little called his sister over the weekend and told her, “You’ll never guess what I just bought.” He then asked her if she had heard of the Original Whizzinator that had been in the news.

“She said, ‘Yeah, some idiot paid $750 for that thing.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that was me,'” Little said with a laugh Sunday night.

Little, 26, owns Buster’s, a sports bar in Mankato. He is the mystery man who purchased the Whizzinator that ex-Viking Onterrio Smith was so famously detained with at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport in 2005. That piece of inglorious local sports history — a device with a prosthetic penis attached to a jock strap and filled with “clean” urine to help pass a drug test — was up for auction Friday night in Shakopee.

It’s probably just the 7-year-old in me that finds it amusing that this particular device was being auctioned off in a place called Shake-o-pee.

August 22, 2009

What a contrast!

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 08:56

I didn’t get to see this game (no surprise at all during the pre-season), so I’m depending on press reports for the details. Wow! The amazing quarterback seems to have arrived in Minnesota, although he was booed by the crowd when he took the field: 12 completed passes from 15 attempts, 2 touchdowns, 202 yards, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. I’m very impressed . . . with Tarvaris Jackson.

Oh, and Brett Favre was also in the game: 1 of 4 completions for 4 yards over two series. But he got a standing ovation from the Metrodome crowd when he ran on to the field.

August 19, 2009

The Favrapalooza continues

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 09:11

Jim Souhan looks at the circus that has taken over the Vikings’ preparation for Friday night’s preseason game:

If you can get past the nagging facts in this story of a 40-year-old, self-absorbed, surgically repaired, still-injured, flipflopping quarterback who shunned training camp and manipulated his way onto the roster of the rival of the team that made him a record-breaking legend, you must come to this realization:

Brett Favre signing with the Minnesota Vikings ranks among most stunning stories in the history of sport.

If you can get past Favre signing a deal worth a potential $25 million and showing up for his introductory news conference looking like the Unabomber, if you can withhold all of the “You might be a redneck…” jokes after seeing him in his cargo shorts, gray stubble and sweat-stained golf cap, you must recognize the uniqueness of this event.

The most iconic quarterback of his generation, a player who mastered the most important and scrutinized position in sports while revitalizing the quaintest franchise in football, in two years maneuvered his way from the team that not too long ago regarded him as a deity to the team that not too long ago regarded him as Diablo.

While I don’t think the story is quite as big as Souhan does, I can’t disagree with this summary:

If Favre fails, the Vikings can’t be faulted for investing money, time and patience in the one position they had failed to upgrade since Childress’ arrival. If Favre succeeds, the Vikings will become the No. 1 story in the No. 1 sport in America. They will sell countless jerseys and tickets, and perhaps even raise the profile of their stadium pursuit in the Legislature.

I’m willing to see Favre succeed in his quest, if only because it would also mean the Vikings will succeed as well. I still mentally picture him wearing the wrong uniform, though.

August 18, 2009

On the plus side, at least the “coming out of retirement” stories are over ’til 2010

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 15:02

Well, it’s apparently official:

Favre_signs_contract

I wouldn’t call myself a Favre-hater, but I didn’t want to see him wearing the purple. Now that this is no longer a question, I’ll have to re-arrange my thoughts . . . I hope that this season does work out the way Coach Childress and the owners hope it will (that is, with a Superbowl win in 2010).

Update: Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson try to avoid saying anything newsworthy to the media. Hard to blame them . . . they’ve each just had their best chance for professional success kicked out from underneath them. I’m sure each is thinking “it’s only a one-year deal . . .”

Of course, there’s the other aspect: most NFL teams only carry three quarterbacks into the regular season — who’ll be the odd man out? Rosenfels played well in the pre-season opener, and was brought in for a 4th round draft choice. Jackson was a 2nd round pick, but still hasn’t shown that he’s able to be consistent. Booty is still the total unknown. Who will be given their walking papers?

August 17, 2009

Like a zombie, the Favre story just won’t die

Filed under: Football — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 12:31

I’m on record as hoping that Brett Favre stays retired. I’ve been saying it for a long time now, so stories like this just depress me:

Thus, here we go (again). Jay Glazer of the Fox Sports website speculates, predicts, forecasts in his Glaze Across America reports that Brett Favre will be joining the Vikings in the next few weeks, or at least attempt to join the team in that time frame. (That cup of coffee that just got spit out belonged to Sage Rosenfels. Tarvaris Jackson simply rolled his eyes.)

No, this isn’t a joke, although Glazer is basing his information on a feeling he had after having conversations with those involved with the Vikings during his stop in Mankato a few weeks back.

Here’s what Glazer wrote: “Granted, my camp stop occurred before Sage Rosenfels lit up the Colts in the preseason opener to the tune of 10-of-13 passing for 91 yards. And if Rosenfels can continue like this, he could squash this prediction as the preseason continues.

“But until I see it more consistently, I’m absolutely convinced. Why? For starters, because everyone else on the Vikings seems to be convinced of the same thing. I mean damn near everybody! During my two days in Mankato, nearly everyone I talked to within the team talked about Favre joining not as an ‘if’ but rather a ‘when.’

For what I hope is the last time: NO! Stay retired, Brett!

Oh, and no disrespect at all to Sage Rosenfels, but you can’t say he “lit up the Colts”, when he was playing against the second-or-third-string backfield. Neither starting corner was in the game, so you’d expect the Colts to give up more than the usual yardage to the passing game. It would have been much more upsetting if the Vikings hadn’t “lit up” the Colts’ defence under those conditions.

Update, 18 August: Oh, no, no, no, no, no:

Judd just received a text from a very good source with confirmation that Brett Favre will sign with the Vikings today and possibly could practice this afternoon.

Favre is expected to land in the Twin Cities anytime now.

Yahoo.com’s Jason Cole is reporting that Favre will receive a one-year contact worth $12 million. Here is his report.

August 1, 2009

Definitely probable

Filed under: Football, Media — Tags: — Nicholas @ 10:48

Vikings wide receiver Bobby Wade kicked up a ruckus with his former team, the Chicago Bears earlier this week. He said that the Bears’ Brian Urlacher had problems with the new Chicago quarterback, Jay Cutler. Jim Souhan has the story, including Wade’s amusing wordmangling:

This is why we love Bobby Wade, now more than ever.

He’s always been a nice guy, a quotable guy, a guy with NFL and life perspective. Friday, while Favre was mulling ankle replacement surgery that could have him taking snaps at Winter Park by Dec. 7, 2010, Wade was giving us something else to talk about.

“It’s something I definitely probably shouldn’t have said,” Wade said.

I disagree. He should be just getting warmed up.

Wednesday, Wade told KFAN Radio that Bears star linebacker Brian Urlacher used a derogatory term to describe new Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. “Pretty much,” Wade said, “[Urlacher] said Jay Cutler was a [bleep] for the most part.”

Cutler begged his way out of Denver when he felt new coach Josh McDaniels was too unwilling to administer total-body massages to his All-Universe quarterback. Since arriving in Chicago, Cutler has been spotted at more bars than Captain Morgan.

Friday, Wade said he shouldn’t have related Urlacher’s insult publicly. What was more interesting was that Wade didn’t retract the statement, didn’t even say that Urlacher is angry with him.

“If I had the opportunity back, I probably wouldn’t have said it,” Wade said. “However, moving forward, it was said, and my communication with Brian is still good, so it is what it is.”

Well, after the way the Green Bay Packers churned the Vikings for the last few months through the Brett Favre melodrama (and got away with it, no blame attached), it’s natural to expect the Vikings want to disrupt some other team. And really, after last season, you’d have to be a truly vicious sadist to want to make things worse for the Detroit Lions (first 0-16 season in NFL history), so the Bears were an obvious choice.

July 29, 2009

Jim Souhan castigates the Vikings

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:43

I’m happy that the Favre circus is finally over (please, please, please don’t restart the melodrama). Jim Souhan pulls no punches in letting the guilty parties know:

Brett Favre, the Hamlet of Hattiesburg, finally made a decision, finally told the Vikings that, after teasing them for months, he intends to remain retired.

Favre should be ashamed of himself for toying with an entire organization. The Vikings should be ashamed of themselves for investing hope and faith in the most self-absorbed great quarterback in NFL history.

Favre was the Vikings’ human lottery ticket, and the Vikings today feel like anyone who ever wasted their money on a long shot. The initial rush of adrenaline has been replaced by nausea and regret.

[. . .]

Vikings coach Brad Childress, who kept his players in the dark while winking at Favre, now must pretend that he was a luxury instead of a necessity, that his current quarterbacks are good enough to win a playoff game, that this 12-car pileup of a courtship was nothing more than a fender bender. Nothing to see here, folks; please move along.

Jackson and Rosenfels will sheepishly take first-team snaps early in camp, knowing the Vikings preferred a 40-ish serial retiree coming off arm surgery over them.

It’s that last part that really stings: how can you expect either Jackson or Rosenfels to act as if they have the full backing of the coaches and the ownership after this five-act farce? Jackson has already had the confidence-sapping experience of being benched for an extended period, while Rosenfels came to town finally believing he’d been given the chance to earn the starting role. Yet the Vikings clearly wanted someone else to come in and take the helm.

The only thing worse that the Vikings could do now is to start flirting with the idea of signing Michael Vick.

Green Bay’s plans work to perfection

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:13

You’ve got to hand it to those slick guys in Green Bay. They crafted the perfect distraction to keep Minnesota off balance and unsettled, by dangling the possibility of Brett Favre joining the Vikings. I don’t know how they got Brett to go along with it, but it has jerked the Vikings fanbase every which way for months, and will continue to be a divisive factor throughout the pre-season and into the start of the regular season. Hats off, Packer braintrust . . . you’ve more than earned your espionage bonuses this season.

I’m only surprised that Favre didn’t keep this “will-I-or-won’t-I” charade going for another couple of weeks.

Personally, I’m relieved that he’s staying retired (I called for him to stay retired the day the news broke). As recently as May, a majority of Minnesotans didn’t want the Vikings to sign him.

Of course, the local media appears to have really wanted the Favre-a-palooza to come to town:

All the hoopla, mystery and angst ended Tuesday, however, when the Vikings learned Favre won’t be joining the team.

After three months of buildup that seemed destined to end with the future Hall of Fame quarterback in purple, Favre called Vikings coach Brad Childress and told him he would remain retired. The call came a day before the Vikings report to training camp in Mankato, and three days before the team’s first practice.

The decision could be a blow to a team considered a Super Bowl contender with Favre, who holds every significant NFL passing record. His presence also would have guaranteed sellouts for a franchise that has struggled to sell tickets in recent seasons.

Now we’ll see how Coach Childress and the ownership try to rebuild their relationship with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels, who are probably rightfully feeling unwanted and unappreciated.

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