Some People's Kids: May 2008

Monday, May 26, 2008

Beckham 70 Yard Goal - LA Galaxy Vs. Kansas City Wizards -HQ

He's good at stuff.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Vikings now convinced that Erasmus James sucks too


The Vikings waived Erasmus James today. This makes myself and about 5 million others very happy. I didn't want Brian Robison and Ray Edwards losing playing time because James was once a first round pick and the team thought he'd be fully recovered one day. Maybe he can con Mike Tice into clearing a spot on the Jags roster for him right next to our OTHER first round draft pick from 2005.

Lets review... the pro-bowlers we could have selected instead of Williamson are Shawne Merriman, Jammal Brown or Demarcus Ware. We also could have selected Mark Clayton or Reggie Brown if you want to stick with Wide Receivers. The pro-bowlers we could have selected instead of James are Logan Mankins, Lofa Tatupu, Justin Miller, Frank Gore, Marrion Barber the III (home town!), Trent Cole (DE!) or Derrick Anderson. I also would have much rather had Justin Tuck, who will shortly become a pro-bowler as my Defensive End.

I understand that hindsight is 20/20 but this just helps underline the previous administration's ineptitude. Head over to the Daily Norseman to look at the list of all the Vikings drafted in 2005 and their lack lack of starting jobs. Having Cole/Tuck and Clayton/Brown instead of Erasmus James and Troy Williamson would have been way better. At least the new administration has given us hope for this and future vikings draft classes after only two drafts.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

We were at the wacky Twins game last night


Yesterday around 5 I was sleeping/ watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind when I got a phone call. On the other end was Bez offering me a ticket to go to the Twins game with him, Neubie and another friend of our... awesome, I love free baseball. Little did we know that I would get even more free baseball than originally thought. We figured that the game would go long because boof was pitching but we never expected to get the game that we did.

Minus the two HRs, the first of which I called as we walked to the ballpark, Boof cruised into the 7th and I though we had the game in hand. Back in the fourth I bet Bez a dollar that Everett wouldn't reach 1st. He did and Bez told me not to worry because Casilla was up next and the inning would be over soon and we'd still be down. About 5 seconds later we were celebrating Casilla's bomb... he hit that ball hard. Now Alexi Casilla and Everett both both have more home runs than Delmon Young and Joe Mauer, unbelievable.

Around the 8th when we were still down Neubie claimed that there was no need to worry because Delmon Young was going to tie it up. To my surprise he was right, young got a triple and Mike Lamb brought him home. Gardy put it all on the line (or so we thought) when he began pinch hitting in the 9th. Monroe and Redmond made appearances we got lost figuring out who was playing where when the 10th began. That confusion was quickly replaced by trying to figure out why Rincon could not be replaced in the same inning with 2 on. I may love baseball, but I don't carry a rule book in my back pocket so I didn't know that Gardy couldn't come to the mound after Rick Anderson had already been in the same at bat.

We figured that the game was over with the bases loaded and a call-up on the mound, (even adjusting out caps out of the rally position) but Korecky came through big time. We figured we had it made once Korecky got his first Major league hit, scooted to second after jumping over Harris' grass burner and touched down at third after they walked Mauer. Korecky became the first Twins' pitcher to get a hit in an A.L. game since the inception of the DH. Cuddy and the good Doctor disappointed that inning. Korecky came back and sat down some very good players to give us our opportunity in the 12th.

Go-Gomez made it on base and flustered the pitcher before reaching second when Young grounded out. Texas figured it was best to walk Mike Lamb to get a shot at career AAA player Howie Clark. We figured Clark was a goner and were really hoping to get to the next player. The next player to bat was to be Livan Hernandez, who has repeatedly asked Gardenhire for the chance to pinch hit in such a situation. Unfortunately for Hernandez, but fortunately for the Twins Clark roped athe ball right over Josh Hamilton's head and the game was over.

Insane... almost as insane as half the crowd getting to their feet at the end of the 9th and taking off. I don't care if you have a day job sit down and cheer your team on for at least one extra inning. Probably the best game I've been to ever, nothing that happened was expected and everything was exciting.

In Minnesota we consider not falling the same as winning.


I can't tell you how excited I got when the NBA had named the teams up to the 3rd spot in the lottery and the Timberwolves had not been called yet. I was sure that we would end up with the 5th pick. Picking 5th in itself wouldn't be that bad seeing as there is no solid 3rd best player behind Rose and Beasley, but knowing that we can trade out, get something extra and still get our guy is good to know. This will of course blow up in our face (see Roy v. Foye and Allen v. Starbury) but writing it down gives me peace of mind.

The player that I would select for the T-wolves with the #1 pick is Derrick Rose. The player that fits the Wolves best after Rose and Michael Beasley are off the board is in my opinion Brook Lopez. The thing is that one of the teams right behind us might O.J. Mayo or Jerryd Bayless badly enough to trade up. The last thing we need is another J.R. Ryder type personality (Mayo) or Foye backing up Foye (Bayless). Rose is a horse of a different color and good reason to turn Foye into an undersized shooting guard and then move McCants somewhere else.

The Grizzlies would make the most sense as trading partners assuming they want O.J. Mayo that badly. That would move us back to the 5 spot I was talking about and put Seattle between us and selecting Lopez. Having a division rival between the pick we've been given and the pick I've facetiously traded scares me, but I think that the Sonics have many big men on their squad and would go for Bayless as their PG. That allows us to select the guy I want on our team and hopefully would give us a third second round selection.

I'd like to turn around and trade 2 of those 3 for somebody in the 20's of the first round if he fits. I have no clue who or even what type of player we'd go after since we need so many different things. (Stephen Curry, Joe Alexander, Russel Westbrook, Ty Lawson, Kevin Love, Joey Dorsey?) This is all speculation of course... we'll probably end up taking Mayo at 3 because of the McHale/Hoiberg ties even though I don't want him and I don't think we need him.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Notes from the Foreskin Vol. 3





















Man, the resemblance is uncanny..
The Bears make me laugh. Every day, it seems, some other example of questionable decision making within the franchise comes to fruition. Just like 30 is the new 20, the Bears are the new Vikings. Going all the way back to the Lance Briggs situation, this has been a pretty comical series of events. Let's see, in the past three weeks, Brian Urlacher is threatening to sit out mini camps and part of the season if he doesn't get a better contract. Cedric Benson decided to add some resisting arrest to his drunken boating on Lake Travis in Texas. They failed to address the quarterback position in the draft, indicating once more, to everyone's astonishment, that they are committed to Rex Grossman. That's a laundry list of troubles that only the Vikings and Bengals are capable of duplicating. But wait, we're not done.. The best is yet to come. In their refusal to pay studs like Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher, who have earned their just due, they have chosen to make their kicker, Robbie Gould, the highest paid kicker in NFL history, edging out Adam Vinatari of the Indianapolis Colts. Hmmm let's see, kicking immortality who has made 3 Super Bowl winning kicks and countless other playoff boots that, along with some clever camera placement, helped the New England Patriots win 3 out of 4 Super Bowls.. Or a 3rd year kicker who hasn't proven anything. As a Vikings fan, this makes me smile. Since appearing in the Super Bowl just two short years ago, the Bears have succeeded in becoming one of the worst teams in the NFL. Sure, they will win a few games this year, (5 by Neubiedamus' count) but that's only because their pissed off, underpaid (relatively) defense is good for 2 games and Devon Hester is will win the other 3 for them. This team was the 3rd worst rushing team in the league last year and their top running back is now in serious danger of being cut. The hits just keep on coming. But at least they have their kicker locked up long term... Move over Detriot. Chicago is here to take the "Worst and most idiotic franchise in the NFL title" from ya. You held the reigns long enough.





In another shocker of a news story, the NCAA is investigating whether or not O.J. Mayo took gifts, in the form of cash and vehicles, while in high school and in college at USC. If you could actually here my tone of voice you might sense just a wee bit of sarcasm directed at that last statement. The story goes like this. Some sleazeball talked a poor, super talented black kid into accepting all this money to verbally agree to a contract with a sports marketing agency when he chooses to go to the NBA. Sound familiar?? Does Reggie Bush ring a bell? Same idea. Same school even. I think the moral of the story is. If you want money, no matter the consequence, go to USC. It seems like their athletic department is either too blind to see what the rest of us understand as commonplace, or they are just being enablers to the situation. Either way, I have a strong inkling that the NCAA is gonna come down hard on USC to make an example. Can you smell that? That's the can of worms just being cracked open. Just what America needs, another OJ causing a ruckus in Southern California. (I know its a really bad joke, but it was coming at me like an 83 mph fastball down the heart of the plate)

As for OJ Mayo, I don't think I've wanted a soon to be professional athlete fail more than I do this guy. Since I first heard the story of him walking into USC coach Tim Floyd's office and recruiting himself to the school, I have wished for his demise. It only got worse on hearing about and seeing the tape of him throwing an alley-oop to himself towards the end of a 40 point State Championship Game blowout and then getting ejected from his final game for chucking the ball into the stands. This might even be tolerable, if not excusable, but then he walked around the court, hands held high, basking in the cascading cheers of the crowd like some Roman Gladiator just having defeated a wildebeest. Only this is a high school kid, and it just proves what kind of cocky, attention hogging idiot this guy really is. The sad thing is, he has sick basketball talent and that will land him in a high spot in the upcoming NBA draft and probably some endorsement deals with Sunny D and Hellman's.


A note to PETA: As much as you would like Horses to speak, feel, talk and act like humans, they are not humans. Mr. Ed was just a TV show.

As you have probably heard about by now, two weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby, the second place finisher, 8 Belles, broke both ankles in a post race trot and had to be euthanized on the spot. When word got around about the happenings, PETA got on the horn and started spewing blame at everyone. The jockey was to be fined and fired. The trainer was to be held responsible. The entire horse racing industry is immoral. Please.
This was a fluke accident that could have happened to any horse at any time in any place. In our society, we are so quick to want to assign blame for everything, because that's what makes news and that's what people seem to want. Its like if a kid holding a baseball bat in the batter's box gets struck by lightning, and people want to blame the coach, the parents, and the baseball bat company for not making a more lightning-friendly bat for the kid to hold. This is sickening and PETA needs to go away. These horses get treated better than a majority of human beings do and they need to stop taking one incident and extrapolating it for the entire horse racing and training industry. Just stick to dealing with some lady who has 400 cats in her 1 bedroom apartment or Michael Vick's ignant ass, and leave the rest of us alone.

On a side tangent, horse racing in general sucks and the only people who care about it are the 80 or so people that actually raise horses. And no, the millions of people who bet on the Kentucky Derby and other horse races don't count. Just don't inform my current employer that I just said that.



Lastly, I came across a story earlier that made me do a double take. Clay Buchholz, a young pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, who just got lit up by our favorite club only a few days ago, was put on the Disabled List with a broken fingernail. Yep, I said it. A broken fingernail. Now, I've heard of some really comical injuries over the years in major league baseball, like pitchers having tired arms or Sammy Sosa throwing out his back during a sneeze, but this is absolutely unbelievable. Words couldn't describe the laugh that came out of my mouth after seeing this roll across the ESPN Bottom Line. What's next? A Yankees pitcher goes down for 6 weeks with an allergic reaction to a tampon? Or maybe, the oft-injured Rich Harden's next injury could be cornea strain caused by make up run-off. I don't know what the next one will be for sure, but I just don't want anyone to tell Joe Mauer about this story, because then he might conjure up a reason to sit out night games after night games, instead of just day games after night games, like usual.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Me thinks Craig Monroe should maybably has pinks bats all of the times


(and other strange Twins observations)

On Mother's day Craig Monroe hit two home runs and was the major reason the Twins won that game. He doubled his home run production for the year in a single game and pulled himself into a tie for the second most home runs on the team. Thats not a good sign, but this team has been scoring more as of late so I'm just going to hope that the team heats up soon.

Adam Everett has more home runs than Mauer and Delmon Young combined. Adam Everett has 36 home runs in nearly 2200 at bats. I think maybe Mauer spent too much time getting pointers from Jason Tyner last year. Young is the more troubling of the two, he was supposed to be a power hitter and an all-star in the making. He claims hes a slow starter but its pretty hard to label yourself something like that when you're 22 years old. Twinkie Town has a good little piece about Young and some stats that kind of scare me.

Mike Lamb has been a thorn in my side for the majority of the season so far, but this weekend he has two two-out, two RBI hits. Hopefully this trend continues.

Pat Neshek being out for the season scares the shit out of me.

After tonight's win Livan Hernandez is 6-1. I hope we finally picked up a cheap veteran pitcher who won't be gone from the team by the all-star break.

I feel horrible for waiting this long to mention it but I was extremely excited about Carlos Gomez' cycle. Gomez flashes brilliance far more often than I expected already; he's tied for the A.L. lead in steals, covers a lot of ground in the outfield and is doing a decent job at the plate. I'm probably going to hold off for a while longer but I'm strongly considering purchasing a Go-Gomez jersey. Thats a big deal because I tend to be bad at consuming things.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

An Homage to Kenechi Udeze


Life has been pretty hectic lately, making posting on here a problem. Benny has kept it up nice, thanks kid, but I have something that I thought needed to be on here.

As I'm sure you most know Kenechi Udeze has leukemia. Since it is the off season, I hadn't heard many updates on how he was doing. Today over at Fanhouse, Stephanie Stradley had a great post on Kenechi, please go check it out.

More importantly, since leukemia is a hell of a disease, she has a suggestion for how you can honor Kenechi:



Though you can't directly help Udeze's fight against leukemia, you can honor it by joining the National Marrow Donor Registry. Normally, there is a cost to join the registry, but during the "Thanks Mom Campaign," from May 5-19, the charges to join the registry are waived for the first 10,000 online signups. You fill out the form, and then they send you a cheek swab kit by mail. Some irresponsible TV shows make it look like donating marrow is very painful process, but for most people it can be done in a procedure not much different than giving platelets.


If you consider yourself a Vikings fan, or a fan of life, please take the opportunity to join the Donor Registry. This is a way to show your true passion for the Vikings, support a player when they're really needing the help.