Favre

Well, I hope the special treatment doesn't fracture team chemistry, it's obvious now a deal was in place a month ago, so Brett could avoid training camp.

And remember, even with all the impressive talent they have amassed, you still have the same blockhead Head Coach running the whole thing.

It's the same reasoning I used when they drafted Harvin, will Chili open up the offense & use him right?

Chili is an insecure, small man, so he tries to control everyone in his organization, we all have had a taste of these little Napoleon's.

Since he was never a player, and never even really an offensive coordinator (Andy Reid called the plays in Philly), he has tried to present himself as this cool, calm, intellectual.

As a big fan of the English language, I catch him all the time misusing "big" words, or blathering nearly incoherently.

To wit, here's his latest gem on his D-line: "Consequently, you have a wave and you only have a wave, if you feel good about the people you can wave in there."

A direct quote from Brett Favre's new coach, sounds like Denny Green!

Then again, if Favre beats the Pack in Lambeau, it's all worth it!

Chili's making my heart burn.

Now, I understand that after the most painful win in my lifetime by the Vikings (heck, I was there, the 12 year old kids playing at half-time had a more imaginative offense than the Vikes- they even ran a reverse!) emotions are riding high with calls to fire Brad Childress; so I’ve come up with 10 good reasons not to fire him.

Here goes…

10. What us rube fans call a predictable, unimaginative offense, he correctly identifies as “consistent”.

9. He’s never been a head coach before, so he deserves time to “develop”.

8. He always provides a good laugh when he tries to sound articulate & erudite at press conferences, it’s not his fault he "misunderestimates" the intelligence on Viking fans.

7. His “kick ass” offense believes in field goals.

6. He only has 6 Pro Bowl linemen to work with.

5. Remember when Zygi hired him, he said he picked us, we didn’t pick him. Well, we must reward that kind of magnanimous generosity with our undying loyalty.

4. He wisely refuses to resign Matt Birk, obviously not out of any petty jealousy, but because of Birk’s sub-par play and all of his many off-field incidents.

3. He has promised to stop fining players for attending family funerals.

2. This coaching gig gives him an excuse to duck Madonna’s calls.

1. Think of all the money he’s saving MN taxpayers by killing any public support of a new stadium.

Keep on keeping on Chili.

Chili's Last Stand

Well, our Vikings are 1-3, the question now is: What will Zygmunt Wilf do?

How long will it take until he admits to himself, that hiring Brad Childress was a fatal mistake?

As I see it, Zygi has an open checkbook, and he spends whatever it takes to bring quality players here.

The underlying problem is, the players aren't coming in to an established, solid, formidable franchise that just needs a few pieces of the puzzle; they are coming in to a circus led by a clueless ringleader: Childress, head coaching for the first time in his life.

They are now one loss away from a wasted season, and London style blackouts circa 1942.

I have no idea who recommended Childress to Mr. Wilf, but if I was Zigy I would reconsider that relationship.

Some of the worst advice I ever got, was from people I thought were friends, but now I see their advice was only self-promoting, and did not benefit me in any way.

Can you believe when Childress was hired, he said we didn't choose him, he chose us?

Well, with his pedigree, and all his coaching wins, that bravado was warranted.

Oh wait, he had none of either, so I guess it was just delusional arrogance on a grand scale.

Childress has never been a head coach before, but he has been an offensive coach for many years at the college & pro levels, so why has he never heard of clock management?

He always harped on T-Jack, to just “manage the game.”

How can a quarterback manage the game when his coach can’t?

Zygi has done his part, this team is loaded with talent, far more than a 1-3 record reflects.

The Vikings have many great traditions, unfortunately, a recent one has been keeping a deficient head coach around, and losing a defensive coordinator who should have replaced him.

Is there any fan in the Viking Nation who didn’t want Tony Dungy to replace Denny “No Room for Crybabies” Green?

I’d take Mike Tomlin over Chili, he made the playoffs in his first year as head coach.

Chili took a 9-7 team, a good team, and promptly drove it in to a 6-10 ditch. (I can use that line because even though it’s been copied many times now in the Twin Cities, I said it first on the Sid & Dave Sunday morning radio show).

The point is, Chili has taken a winning football team, and in spite of all the money and talent Zygi keeps adding, he’s molded it in his image: Mediocre.

You don’t get to a level of success that Mr. Wilf has by making bad decisions, and that’s what’s got to be so frustrating for him, but sometimes even the best make mistakes.

That’s what separates the elite from the great, they have to realize they are human, and maybe they were misled from the start, but it’s time to cut your losses Zygi.

Mr. Wilf, I appreciate your investment in our team, and it must drive you as nuts as it does me, to watch our team, which is brimming with talent, lose again this week.

Last week Chili said he was quoting George Orwell in his pregame speech, it turns out he wasn’t even close.

How can someone inspire others to greatness when he doesn’t even know who he’s quoting?

Childress is brutally overmatched in his job in every way, he needs to go.

Les Frazier wears a Super Bowl ring; he has “cred”, to borrow from Obama: “It’s time for change we can believe in.”

Wolves Draft 08

This is a tough call, OJ Mayo may be the real deal.

But at the same time, we know Marco Jaric is the lame deal.

Jaric is the most overpaid athlete in history of pro sports.

This supposed point guard couldn't get by a blindfolded wheelchair player.

It's a miracle McFailure got rid of his useless Serbian ass.

I'm Slovainian so I'm approved to say that.

All I know, is last year I had no hope, this year I see some possibilities.

Twins Trust Busted

I read Jim Souhan's column today (Mpls Star Trib) as usual, and, as usual, was not disappointed.

I too hope to get to a Twins spring training game one day.

I love baseball: I say if you can't get fired up about a base runner "rounding third & heading for home," it's time to call the coroner and see how long you've been dead.

Unfortunately, this year, I have a problem with the Twins.

Now, I love how they keep tradition alive by bringing in heroes of old, Tony-O, Moli, The Stein, Carew, & T.K., but I despise how they destroyed the foundation of a new legendary era by letting Torii go for nothing, and trading Santana for four men with a pulse.

What’s funny is they didn't somehow get Keith Van Horn in the deal too, by accident.

That trade was so poor, it'll one day make the Hershal Walker deal look respectable.

I thought the deal with the Pohlads' was, as a Hennipen County taxpayer & fan, we build a new ball park, and they use the increased revenue stream to keep our good players here.

Well, I held up my end of the deal. I supported a new stadium based on that theory; I even wrote the lead editorial in this paper May 7th, 2005, supporting a new stadium.

In another move to increase revenue, they changed radio stations from one we all get, to one we get, well...when the barometric pressure, wind, clouds, tide, and the God of Marconi, all align just right.

Believe me, I understand, sports today is a business, and that's what baffles me most!

The Twins organization keeps making bad business decisions, all to ostensibly make extra money in the short term.

I don't get it, Carl's not 24 years old, building for a long term future, he's 124 years old, and if I were him, I'd be trying to win now.

I've been going to Twins games since I was 12 years old. Proctor Jr. High had a bus take us to the old Met in 1976, we had seats in the upper deck of left field, where we looked down on the broad shoulders of Lymon Bostock.

I for one, am sick and tired of rebuilding, it seems like we’ve been doing it since 1991.

We all know Carl controls the purse strings, but let's face it, after Johann & Torii, if Bill Smith loses Joe Nathan too; I'm going to start referring to him as "Katrina."

Which unfortunately caused less damage.

And believe me, I realize calling the Hunter trade a big mistake, puts me in the same camp as Mr. Sid Hartman, who singled me out as lunatic on his radio show last year. I guess those are the chances we take writing letters to this paper.

When a sports franchise refuses to spend money on its most popular players, it engages in a dangerous game of chicken with its fans.

It bets the fans will come back and buy tickets, etc, just because they are the only game in town.

Well, let's look at the T-Wolves, they tried it and look where they are.

With K.G., they drew 18,000 a night, now they draw 14,000, and half of those tickets are given away so the crowd looks bigger than a Swarm game (no offense to the Swarm).

When Brad Childress traded Brad Johnson, I said we lost the wrong Brad, and when Kevin McFailure trade Kevin Garnett, I said we lost the wrong Kevin.

Call me stubborn, but this is the first year in 11 years that I will have not paid to see a Wolves game, and, quite frankly, I wish they would sign up with the Big Ten Network so I wouldn't have to watch them on TV either.

In the last year my sports world has been turned upside down.

In '05 & '06 Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire was an abject, clueless bungler, squandering the massive talent at his disposal, and then last year, replete with injuries, he does a masterful job of holding things together. Who saw that coming?

Will I buy a Twins ticket this year? I guess the jury is still out.

Don't get me wrong, I desperately want to, but I also don't want to reward management for their stingy, wrong headed ways.

They’ve been given everything they’ve ever asked for, and yet they still stick it to the fans.

My tolerance has reached its limit.

The clueless dolts at Winter Park went 8-8, and now raised ticket prices! As long as Col. Klink (a.k.a. Brad Childress) is in command, you won’t se me at the Dome.

I ask Twins management: Why should I invest in your product with heart and cash, when you may pull this talent fire sale again in 4 years with the likes of Mourneau & Mauer?

I guess we'll see what happens to Joe Nathan.

Santana Trade

Under normal circumstances I have great respect and admiration for people who graduate from trade schools, not anymore.

This last week we’ve learned Twins GM Bill Smith is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Kevin McHale Trade School.

This Santana trade is the worst trade in MN sports history, and that’s saying something!

The Vikes gave us the Hershal Walker trade, you’re welcome Dallas.

McHale gave us the Cassell for Marco “I’m the slowest man on the planet” Jaric & a number one draft pick.

Then he traded KG so we could make a run at being the worst team in NBA history, but at least he got Al Jefferson.

Now look at Smith, he traded the best pitcher in baseball for four pieces of lint.

McHale must be proud, his trade school protégé has made himself the worst GM in town.

Calm Emerges as Childress is out of Action

Sunday night and there is peace.

It’s been 5 weeks since I’ve had this type serenity.

I asked myself why?

And then the answer hit me, there was no sign of the DCD.

Oh, you aren’t familiar with the DCD? Well, that’s to be expected, we haven’t seen one in about 15 years.

DCD is short for: Defensive Coordinators Dream, a.k.a. Brad Childress, who routinely simplifies a “D” Coordinators job at the critical stage of the game by removing his most dangerous weapon (Adrian Peterson).

The NFC Norris division hasn’t seen this kind of moronic behavior since Wayne Fontes used to do it to Barry Sanders.

Thanks Wayne, and keep a bunk warm at the Old Coaches Asylum for Mr. Childress, he’ll be there in about 4 weeks.