Wild 2011-12: Hot and Cold

Image via WikipediaThe Minnesota Wild have a two-game winning streak going into the NHL's All Star break, with victories at home against the Dallas Stars and on the road (for the first time in 11 tries) at Colorado.  The Wild have a 24-18-7 record, totaling 55 points, which is currently good enough for the eighth seed in the Western Conference if the playoffs started right now.

That's a pretty decent record for first-year coach Mike Yeo, until you realize that it's a far cry from a couple of months ago when the Wild actually led the league.  Since then, a combination of injuries and ineffective play have contributed to an epic tailspin that dragged the Wild down from the heights, and into a battle for the final playoff spot with the Avalanche.  There have been so many callups from the team's minor league affiliate, that it seemed as if the entire Houston Aeros roster has taken turns skating for the Wild.

And the injuries keep coming.  Pierre-Marc Bouchard is out again.  Mikko Koivu will miss the All Star game in Ottawa and beyond.  Others have also been kept off the ice, regardless of whether their major booboo occurred in the upper or lower body.

So the Wild have been revealed to be a team that's been playing over their heads, and are now doing just enough to remain above water.  If they want to see the playoffs, they need to get healthy and improve their goal scoring (a well-placed trade or two wouldn't hurt, either).  Otherwise, a hot start could turn into a long, cold summer.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

• Realignment has been postponed for next season because the Players Association has been raising concerns over travel and compensation issues related to it.  This doesn't mean the proposal is dead, but it does mean it will be used as a bargaining chip in ongoing labor negotiations.
• The Boston Briuns paid a visit to the White House as just one of the perks of winning the Stanley Cup.  The only one who wasn't there was goalie Tim Thomas, who declined the honor of shaking President Barack Obama's hand and presenting him with a commemorative jersey.  Thomas is a conservative Republican, and says he doesn't care for mixing politics with hockey.  Especially not with Democrats.  Most of us, regardless of party affiliation, would be thrilled to share space with the President if only for a few minutes.  Thomas is entitled to his opinion, but he doesn't have to be a spoiled brat about it.  Obama sees enough of those in Congress.
• After another successful Winter Classic between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, which was held outdoors at the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park January 2, the Wild want one of their very own.  That's wonderful.  This is a no-brainer for the NHL to put the game in a city with a rich hockey tradition.  But first, it looks like the 2013 game will be played in Detroit.  Second, because the Wild pale in hockey tradition next to the Red Wings, the only way to get noticed by the NHL (and NBC) is to win a Stanley Cup. 

All Vikings Stadium Talk. No Action (Yet).

Image via WikipediaGovernor Mark Dayton of Minnesota is currently sifting through at least nine different proposals for a new Vikings football stadium.  He will then decide which proposal to recommend to the Legislature, which opens its regular session next week.  There, we will finally get an answer on where the stadium will be and how it's going to be paid for.  Or not.

The proposals have ranged from the ones you've heard of before (Arden Hills, Minneapolis) to the bolt from the blue (Shakopee) to the uh, well, imaginative.  A giant pickup roof topper, anyone?

The Vikings, whose lease at the Metrodome has expired and will not sign a new one unless a new stadium is in place, keep insisting that the Arden Hills site is still their top choice.  Lately, they've been hedging their bets because of the projected costs of cleaning up the former military munitions factory and Ramsey County's ability to raise funds without the city of St. Paul's help.  So they've turned to Minneapolis.

The city (that is, Mayor R.T. Rybak) has offered the current Metrodome site, which happens to sit next to property the Star Tribune newspaper wants to unload, as the cheapest alternative.  (Not to mention finagling the money to renovate Target Center, home of the Timberwolves)  But the Vikings don't seem to want to pay the "hidden costs" of playing games at the University of Minnesota for a couple of years.

The "Plan B" the team is considering is property near the Basilica of St. Mary on Linden Avenue.  It has nearly everything they want, and they can still play at the Metrodome in the meantime.  That is, if the parishoners don't mind traffic jams and exorbitant parking fees on Sundays.

The Shakopee site, located across from the Valleyfair amusement park, sounds tempting even if this was announced at the last minute.  But if you're coming down from the Twin Cities on game days, there's three ways to get there and two of them go through Eden Prairie (one of those routes goes through downtown Shakopee).  Oh, and the area has also been prone to flooding, given its location near the Minnesota River.  Maybe that's why the Vikings aren't seriously considering it.

As for how to pay for it, most scenarios revolve around setting up slot machines at horse racing tracks and casinos in downtown Minneapolis.  Native American tribes, who have enjoyed a monopoly of sorts on casinos in this state, will try to position this as another attempt by the white man to break a treaty and rip them off.  They're usually successful at this whenever their livelihood is threatened.

But don't expect any quick action on the stadium this session.  Republican leaders who control both houses of the Legislature have adopted a "go-slow" approach, which means it might be the end of the session before there's a vote.  Some legislators even think the Vikings are bluffing when they talk about taking their ball and moving to sunny California.  Well, this is an election year.  If the GOP diddles around like they did last year and the Vikings aren't bluffing, people will remember that at the ballot box.

Crimson Shutout In The Big Easy

Image via WikipediaThe University of Alabama and Louisiana State football teams played another defensive-oriented snoozefest Monday night at the Superdome in New Orleans, but for much higher stakes this time.  The Crimson Tide shut out the Southeastern Conference champion Tigers 21-0, claiming their second Bowl Championship Series title in three years.  Tuesday, they were voted the top college football team by Associated Press for the eighth time, tying Notre Dame for that honor.

Five field goals by Jeremy Shelly and one late touchdown by Trent Richardson were all that was required from coach Nick Saban's team this night.  Alabama's defense yielded only one trip beyond the 50-yard line for LSU's offense.

If you had been watching some of the bowl games in the last week or so, you might be forgiven if you thought you were watching college basketball by mistake.  The highest-scoring Rose Bowl in history?  Seventy points by West Virginia at the Orange Bowl?  Baylor 67, Washington 56 at the Alamo Bowl?  Compared to those, Alabama and LSU's combined 36 points in two games harkened back to the days of leather helmets and H-shaped goalposts.

With all the scandals and reshuffling in college football, it's interesting to note that SEC schools have won the last six national championships.  It seems that, in terms of quality football, there's the SEC and there's everybody else.

Everyone gripes about the BCS and its system of determining who gets to play in the championship game without messing with the existing bowls (this year's main gripees were Oklahoma State and Boise State), but no one does anything about it.  As this is written, members of the BCS are meeting to see how they can tweak the format a little.  Any changes won't take effect until after the current TV contract with ESPN concludes, which should be after the 2013 season.  Even then, nobody will be truly happy with whatever they decide.  But that's how it is in college sports.  Everyone has to protect their little fiefdoms.

Vikings 2011: Righting The Ship

Image via WikipediaThe NFL season that just concluded was not the worst the Minnesota Vikings and their fans have experienced.  They share that so-called honor with the 1984 squad, who also finished 3-13.  Unlike Les Steckel, who got fired after the '84 season, current coach Leslie Frazier will get another chance.  Everything else is up in the air.

Not only did the Vikings finish last in the NFC North, but they didn't win a division game all season.  They're going to pick third in the upcoming NFL draft behind the Indianapolis Colts (who will likely take Andrew Luck) and St. Louis Rams.  Rick Spielman has been promoted to general manager, the first the Vikings have had since Zygi Wilf bought the team.  They need so many things, it's hard to know where to begin.

So let's start with the quarterback.  The Christian Ponder era began after Donovan McNabb continued his downward spiral out of the league.  But the longer Ponder played, the harder it was to see the potential as a franchise QB everyone else saw.  He's certainly no Tim Tebow or Aaron Rodgers.  The flashier Joe Webb may have had his best game as a Viking in the win at Washington on Christmas Eve..  But the following week against the Chicago Bears was evidence that he's not the answer, either.  And having a porous offensive line doesn't help.

Adrian Peterson wrecked his knee during that same game with the Redskins, marking the second time this season that Percy Harvin and an evolving cast of backs have been pressed into service.  No matter how successful Peterson's surgery and rehabilitation turns out to be, it's time for the Vikings to look for a new running back.

Even though Jared Allen set a franchise record for most quarterback sacks in a season (coming just short of  Michael Strahan's NFL record), the defense left a lot to be desired.  Blowing big second-half leads and the inability to stop the other team's offense made for a toothless bunch once known as the "Purple People Eaters".

Of course, no Vikings recap would be complete without at least a mention of their ongoing stadium pursuit.  Their current lease at the Metrodome has now expired, which leaves Wilf to explore his options.  The top choice for a stadium remains in Arden Hills, but team officials have been reported to be sniffing around various Minneapolis sites just in case.

The Minnesota Legislature reconvenes for its 2012 session at the end of January, and this is where we should know once and for all if there's going to be a stadium, where it's going to be, and how it's going to be paid for.  The new Senate majority leader is said to be in favor of gambling profits to help pay for the stadium, but there is no concrete proposal of any kind awaiting legislative scrutiny.  And the odds of a stadium bill passing in this session are less than 50/50.

Having a football team that finished 3-13 doesn't help in getting you a new stadium.  The Vikings know (or should know) that they need to improve the product on the field, or they could be facing empty seats wherever they end up playing.
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The NFL playoffs will go on in the absence of the Vikings, as 16 teams go at it to determine who gets to spend the first weekend in February in beautiful downtown Indianapolis.  Our choice for the final two?  The Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints.