Up until Sunday, there was the strong possibility that the Minnesota Vikings could have become the first NFL team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Even the league hadn't anticipated something like this, judging from the scramble to get U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis ready for the big event.
Now the Vikings are back to being merely hosts, having concluded their season by losing the NFC championship game to the Eagles in Philadelphia 38-7. The way they played, they might as well not have shown up.
The Eagles proved why they were the NFC's top seeded team for most of the season with a better defense, a serious chip on their shoulders from being overlooked, and Nick Foles turning out to be the better substitute quarterback than the Vikings' Case Keenum. The Eagles will now face the defending champion New England Patriots, who continue to make history by coming back to defeat the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game.
Looking back, the Vikings' 13-3 division title winning regular season and playoff push hinged on a few factors: Keenum having a career year in relief of Sam Bradford, an improved offensive line and a great defense. They also benefited from getting breaks such as sending Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the sidelines with a collarbone injury, having a relatively weak schedule, and the so-called "Minneapolis Miracle". That one involved Keenum throwing a last-second heave to Stefon Diggs for the game-winning touchdown in the divisional playoff over New Orleans. Of course, if the Saints hadn't come back from a 17-point deficit to take the lead, none of this would have been necessary.
For next season, the Vikings have a lot of decisions to make, such as which quarterback to keep or say goodbye to. Keenum, Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater are all eligible for free agency, along with several other players on the roster. Coach Mike Zimmer also has to decide who his next offensive coordinator will be, because Pat Shurmur has been named the New York Giants' new head coach.
Was this Vikings season a fluke, or is this the best the team is going to get for the foreseeable future? It's been four decades since they last played in a Super Bowl, and they've lost the conference championship game six consecutive times. It would require another miracle to break the habit of turning in bad performances when a championship is on the line, and your fan base is subjected to yet another year of "wait 'til next year". This is where the Minnesota Vikings are today.
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Now our official Super Bowl pick: Patriots over Eagles.
Monday, January 22, 2018
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg: Giants of the Mike
Keith Jackson and Dick Enberg were two of the most important voices of sports on TV in the late 20th century. Much like Curt Gowdy, Chris Schenkel and Jim McKay in a previous generation, and Joe Buck, Al Michaels and Jim Nantz are in this one.
Both Jackson and Enberg covered the NFL, college football, the NBA, the Olympic games, boxing and golf. Both had their trademark catchphrases. For Jackson, it was "Whoa Nelly! and "Fum-BLE!". For Enberg, it was "Oh My!" and "Touch 'em all".
Both men had different career paths. Jackson was best known as ABC's voice of college football, covering many a big game from Michigan's "Big House" to the Rose Bowl aka "the granddaddy of them all", and everywhere in between. He was also behind the mike for three World Series, the first season of "Monday Night Football" (1970), the United States Football League, and many other events for "Wide World of Sports".
Enberg began as a local sportscaster in Los Angeles in the 1960s, broadcasting Rams football, Angels baseball, and UCLA football and basketball during the John Wooden era. Then for three different networks (NBC, CBS and ESPN, in that order), he called eight Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls, and many Wimbledon tennis championships. He also helped usher in college basketball as a TV sport with his coverage in 1968 of the Houston-UCLA game at the Astrodome, the first to be seen in prime time. Later he did the NCAA Final Four men's tournament for NBC with Al McGuire and Billy Packer.
Both men did other things on TV besides sports. Jackson appeared in commercials. Enberg did game shows, most notably "Sports Challenge", along with a few acting roles in which he mostly played himself.
Both men chose to end their careers on a high note: Jackson with the Rose Bowl national championship game between Texas and USC in 2006, Enberg with local San Diego Padres baseball telecasts.
And both men died within a few weeks of each other: Enberg on December 21 at age 82, Jackson on January 12 at 89. In an era where today's play-by-play announcers are anonymous by comparison and more likely to talk about "walk-off" home runs and "two touchdown" football games, they could have learned a thing or two from Dick Enberg or Keith Jackson on how to call a sports event without sounding like a corporate drone.
Both Jackson and Enberg covered the NFL, college football, the NBA, the Olympic games, boxing and golf. Both had their trademark catchphrases. For Jackson, it was "Whoa Nelly! and "Fum-BLE!". For Enberg, it was "Oh My!" and "Touch 'em all".
Both men had different career paths. Jackson was best known as ABC's voice of college football, covering many a big game from Michigan's "Big House" to the Rose Bowl aka "the granddaddy of them all", and everywhere in between. He was also behind the mike for three World Series, the first season of "Monday Night Football" (1970), the United States Football League, and many other events for "Wide World of Sports".
Enberg began as a local sportscaster in Los Angeles in the 1960s, broadcasting Rams football, Angels baseball, and UCLA football and basketball during the John Wooden era. Then for three different networks (NBC, CBS and ESPN, in that order), he called eight Super Bowls, nine Rose Bowls, and many Wimbledon tennis championships. He also helped usher in college basketball as a TV sport with his coverage in 1968 of the Houston-UCLA game at the Astrodome, the first to be seen in prime time. Later he did the NCAA Final Four men's tournament for NBC with Al McGuire and Billy Packer.
Both men did other things on TV besides sports. Jackson appeared in commercials. Enberg did game shows, most notably "Sports Challenge", along with a few acting roles in which he mostly played himself.
Both men chose to end their careers on a high note: Jackson with the Rose Bowl national championship game between Texas and USC in 2006, Enberg with local San Diego Padres baseball telecasts.
And both men died within a few weeks of each other: Enberg on December 21 at age 82, Jackson on January 12 at 89. In an era where today's play-by-play announcers are anonymous by comparison and more likely to talk about "walk-off" home runs and "two touchdown" football games, they could have learned a thing or two from Dick Enberg or Keith Jackson on how to call a sports event without sounding like a corporate drone.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Alabama Gets Away. Again.
The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide won the national college football championship for the fifth time in nine years Monday in Atlanta, overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat the University of Georgia's Bulldogs in overtime 26-23.
Tide coach Nick Saban made the fateful halftime decision to replace his starting quarterback with a first-year student named Tua Tagovailas, who then proceeded with his teammates to complete the comeback by throwing the winning touchdown pass in overtime to DeVonto Smith, another first-year player.
For Saban, it was his sixth national title, tying him with another Crimson Tide coaching legend named Paul "Bear" Bryant. For the state of Georgia, this is the second time in the past year that a local football team blew a big lead to lose the big game in overtime to a dynasty.
So the Tide rolls once more, even though other institutions of higher learning (including Georgia) spent tons of money to lure away some of Saban's assistants to be their head coaches. But they still haven't learned how to defeat the master. Saban is now 12-0 against his former assistants.
Elsewhere, the University of Central Florida declared itself national champions with an undefeated season. But because they're not a Power Five school (Big 10, Pac-12, ACC, SEC and Big 12), they were ignored by the people who run the College Football Playoff and had to settle for a Peach Bowl appearance on New Year's Day. Alabama, by the way, ended up with a 13-1 record.
The CFP turned out to be another Southern affair, with all four teams from the same geographical area (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma) participating, with two of them from the same conference meeting in the final. Those who complained about this lack of regional diversity have advocated for an eight-team playoff, which isn't going to happen at least until the CFP's TV deal with ESPN expires in 2025. Until then, if you want to find the best college football anywhere, go south.
Tide coach Nick Saban made the fateful halftime decision to replace his starting quarterback with a first-year student named Tua Tagovailas, who then proceeded with his teammates to complete the comeback by throwing the winning touchdown pass in overtime to DeVonto Smith, another first-year player.
For Saban, it was his sixth national title, tying him with another Crimson Tide coaching legend named Paul "Bear" Bryant. For the state of Georgia, this is the second time in the past year that a local football team blew a big lead to lose the big game in overtime to a dynasty.
So the Tide rolls once more, even though other institutions of higher learning (including Georgia) spent tons of money to lure away some of Saban's assistants to be their head coaches. But they still haven't learned how to defeat the master. Saban is now 12-0 against his former assistants.
Elsewhere, the University of Central Florida declared itself national champions with an undefeated season. But because they're not a Power Five school (Big 10, Pac-12, ACC, SEC and Big 12), they were ignored by the people who run the College Football Playoff and had to settle for a Peach Bowl appearance on New Year's Day. Alabama, by the way, ended up with a 13-1 record.
The CFP turned out to be another Southern affair, with all four teams from the same geographical area (Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma) participating, with two of them from the same conference meeting in the final. Those who complained about this lack of regional diversity have advocated for an eight-team playoff, which isn't going to happen at least until the CFP's TV deal with ESPN expires in 2025. Until then, if you want to find the best college football anywhere, go south.
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