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.

Finding 2011

Image via WikipediaAs we look back on the past year, we found that . . .

• getting fired from a top-rated sitcom because of your wild and crazy antics involving drugs and women isn't exactly "winning!".  His replacement is finding that out, too.
• winning a few football games at the last minute doesn't mean you're the Second Coming of anything.
• covering up for someone who's been accused of child molestation can be hazardous to your career.  Even if you're an "untouchable" legendary football coach.
• with all the singing talent shows on TV, there's "American Idol", and then there's everybody else.
• daytime TV is adjusting to life without Regis Philbin, Oprah Winfrey and "All My Children".
• superstar-laden basketball teams do not win NBA titles.
• Joe Mauer is not who we thought he was.
• the Twins and Vikings could fall so far, so fast.
• the Timberwolves are already there.
• the Wild briefly righted the ship before going on a long losing streak.
• the Vikings are closer to a new stadium than ever before, and yet are so far.
• we don't hear so much from Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco any more.
• major college conferences keep adding and subtracting while chasing those TV dollars.
• the Kardashian family's view of reality is a bit skewed.
• getting knocked senseless during a game is no longer a minor issue.
• the novelty has worn off at TCF Bank Stadium and at Target Field.
• when you name a TV channel after Oprah Winfrey, viewers expect to see more Oprah.  Not some lame reality show, or an old movie.
• Amy Winehouse moved into the ultimate rehab facility.
• war is not a video game.
• Tiger Woods no longer plays golf like he used to.
• the NBA and NFL nearly locked themselves out of business.
• Adele is this year's Queen of Pop, rolling in her misery for our entertainment.
• Who is Whitney Cummings, and why does she have two network sitcoms?
• "Beavis & Butt-head" is back on TV, and they haven't changed a bit.  OK, maybe the music videos have been replaced by "Jersey Shore" clips.  But still . . .
• Hope Solo and Abby Wambach become household names to folks other than soccer nerds.
• Lance Armstrong's feats may be made of clay.

Now let's go find 2012.

NBA 2011-12: The Rich Get Richer

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe National Basketball Association, fresh off a lockout of its players that nearly canceled the season, returns Christmas Day with a 66-game schedule.  That means, in order to get to the playoffs in late April, teams must now play three games in a row several times during the season.  It's great for hoops junkies, but not so much for teams with aging legs who might not be able to take the grind.

One of the things the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was supposed to fix was the migration of star players from small market teams to bigger cities and warmer climates.  It hasn't happened yet.  Chris Paul is the most notable example.  He was supposed to go in a trade from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers, but NBA commissioner David Stern--whose league owns the Hornets after the previous owner turned in the keys--vetoed the deal, presumably for the good of the sport.  Eventually, Paul did go to L.A.--the Clippers, not the Lakers--leaving Kobe Bryant a bit upset.  Let's just say this was not Stern's finest moment.

The Lakers did send Lamar Odom to the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, which means wife Khloe Kardashian will have to make a few visits to Yee Haw, Texas.  Sister Kim's soon-to-be-ex Kris Humphries is still playing for the New Jersey Nets, and is apparently not well-liked by the rest of the league.  Ron Artest competed on "Dancing With The Stars", and has changed his name to Metta World Peace.  And Dwight Howard, who had been making noises about leaving Orlando, will play at least one more season for the Magic--unless he's traded by the time you see this.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, struggling to remain relevant after putting up the NBA's second-worst record last season, decided to make a few changes.  They said goodbye to coach Kurt Rambis (who landed in that ex-coaches rehab facility known as ESPN), and hello to Rick Adelman, who has had winning records with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings.  They have added top draft pick Derrick Williams, J.J. Berea from the Mavericks (talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse), and Ricky Rubio to support its star Kevin Love.

All eyes are on Rubio, who had been playing in Europe the past two years since being drafted by the Wolves.  The transition to the NBA is not going to be easy, but if Rubio makes the grade, this will be general manager David Kahn's crowning moment.

The Wolves will not make the playoffs again this year, but they will be less awful than they have been, winning a few more games under Adelman.  Having swept the two-game preseason series with the Milwaukee Bucks, they seem to show a lot of promise.  Now let's see if they deliver.

Here's who we think will make the playoffs:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:  Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Bobcats.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:  Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns.

Realigning Hockey's Concussion Problem

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe National Hockey League's Board of Governors recently approved a plan that would reshuffle the deck as far as divisions are concerned, a move made necessary by the transfer of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg.  Going from six five-team divisions to four eight-team conferences starting next season (pending players' association approval), the intent is to develop more geographical rivalries by placing all (or most) of the teams in one region in the same group while reducing travel time.

Realigning the league is an easier task compared to making sure the men who play the games stay healthy.  Lately, there's been a surge of concern over the number of concussions athletes in all sports, no matter what the level, have been taking.  This is very true in hockey, where having a helmet on will not protect you from banging your head on the ice or another hard surface, or for putting up your dukes for no good reason.

The New York Times recently reported that Derek Boogaard, the former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers player who died in May of an accidental drug overdose, was found during a post-death autopsy to have had chronic traumatic encephalopothy.  CTE is in direct relation to Alzheimer's disease.  Since Boogaard was primarily known during his NHL career as an enforcer, he got hit in the head a lot through punches exchanged with the other team's enforcer, not unlike a boxer.  Having CTE also meant that Boogaard would have suffered from a form of dementia had he lived.

Boogaard was not the only one.  Former NHL players Bob Probert, Reggie Fleming and Rick Martin were also found to have CTE.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said there's no conclusive link between concussions and CTE.  The league's best and most marketable player, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, recently returned to the ice after suffering a concussion almost a year ago.  If that's not a wake-up call, I'm not sure what is.

You can add more padding inside the rink and make better helmets, but that's not going to stop those who insist on turning hockey into demolition derby.  Or a poor man's imitation of a championship fight.  Fighting and checking into the boards has been ingrained in hockey's culture since who knows when.  Really?  The NHL claims the rough stuff sells tickets and drives TV ratings, not the pure skating found in international and Olympic hockey (which might as well be figure skating).  Since when?

I've been watching hockey for a long time, either in person or on TV.  I never cared for the brawlers or the cheap shot artists who turn an otherwise well-played game into a highlight reel that's more likely to make "Sportscenter" and the network news than the winning goal.  That's why players like Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitols and their style of hockey need to be emphasized more than the Boogaards of the world (no disrespect intended), if the NHL ever hopes to grow the sport in the U.S.  If they don't, then they're going to end up with a bigger problem down the road, as we find out more about the effects of too many head knockings.

The 2011 Owljock Bowl Guide

Image via WikipediaOnce again, as a public service, we present our list of the 35 college bowl games that will take place between December 17, 2011 and January 9, 2012.

Our emphasis will be on the names of these bowl games, which in recent years has become the province of corporations and websites who pony up millions of dollars to be its title sponsor.  Some of them might even attract the attention of the local chapter of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The games themselves are notable only if you're a fan of the schools involved, or if you have time to kill during the holidays.  Some of these esteemed football programs are playing for the national championship.  Some of them whine about not getting a better shake from the Bowl Championship Series.  Some did just enough to be bowl-eligible, and some have been tainted by scandal.  But the NCAA allows them to play anyway.

Here's how the OBG works:  We list the name of the game, where it's played, who's in it, and what the title sponsor's business is.  Unless otherwise noted, many of the games will be seen on ESPN and its Family of Networks.  The list comes from ESPN.com.

Gilden New Mexico Bowl:  Temple/Wyoming  (Albuquerque, NM 12/17)
Clothing supplier.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:  Ohio/Utah State (Boise, ID  12/17)

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  San Diego State/Louisiana-Lafayette  (New Orleans  12/17)
Shipping firm.

Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl:  Florida International/Marshall  (St. Petersburg, FL  12/20)
Restaurant chain.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl:  TCU/Louisiana Tech  (San Diego, 12/21)

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl:  Arizona State/Boise State  (Las Vegas, 12/22)
Chain of auto repair shops.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl:  Nevada/Southern Mississippi  (Honolulu, 12/24)
Hotel chain.

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl:  Missouri/North Carolina  (Shreveport, LA  12/26)
Nutrition supplements.

Little Caesars Bowl:  Western Michigan/Purdue  (Detroit, 12/27)
Pizza delivery chain.

Belk Bowl:  Louisville/North Carolina State  (Charlotte, NC  12/27)
Regional department store chain.

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman:  Toledo/Air Force  (Washington, DC  12/28)
Defense contractor.

Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl:  California/Texas  (San Diego, 12/28)
Online college.

Champs Sports Bowl:  Florida State/Notre Dame  (Orlando, FL  12/29)
Chain of sporting goods stores.

Valero Alamo Bowl:  Washington/Baylor  (San Antonio, 12/29)
Energy company.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl:  Brigham Young/Tulsa  (Ft. Worth, TX  12/30)
Defense contractor.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl:  Rutgers/Iowa State  (New York, 12/30)
Sports apparel.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl:  Mississippi State/Wake Forest  (Nashville, 12/30)
Financial services.

Insight Bowl:  Iowa/Oklahoma  (Tempe, AZ  12/30)
Business technology supplier.

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl:  Texas A&M/Northwestern  (Houston, 12/31)
Auto repair shops.

Hyundai Sun Bowl:  Georgia Tech/Utah  (El Paso, TX  12/31)  CBS
Automaker.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl:  Cincinnati/Vanderbilt  (Memphis, 12/31)  ABC
Auto parts chain.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl:  Illinois/UCLA  (San Francisco, 12/31)
Food giant teaming with anti-hunger organization.

Chick-fil-A Bowl:  Virginia/Auburn  (Atlanta, 12/31)
Restaurant chain.

Ticket City Bowl:  Houston/Penn State  (Dallas, 1/2/12)
Ticket reseller.

Outback Bowl:  Michigan State/Georgia  (Tampa, FL  1/2/12)  ABC
Steakhouse chain.

Capitol One Bowl:  Nebraska/South Carolina  (Orlando, FL  1/2/12)
Financial services.

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl:  Ohio State/Florida  (Jacksonville, FL  1/2/12)
Tax preparation website.

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio:  Wisconsin/Oregon  (Pasadena, CA  1/2/12)
Consumer electronics.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:  Stanford/Oklahoma State  (Glendale, AZ  1/2/12)
Snack food brand.

Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Michigan/Virginia Tech  (New Orleans, 1/3)
Insurance.

Discover Orange Bowl:  West Virginia/Clemson  (Miami, 1/4)
Credit cards.

AT&T Cotton Bowl:  Kansas State/Arkansas  (Arlington, TX  1/6)  Fox
Communications.

BBVA Compass Bowl:  Southern Methodist/Pittsburgh  (Birmingham, AL  1/7)
Financial services.

GoDaddy.com Bowl:  Arkansas State/Northern Illinois  (Mobile, AL  1/8)
Domain name registration.

Allstate BCS National Championship Game:  Louisiana State/Alabama  (New Orleans, 1/9)
See Sugar Bowl.

Oh, one more thing.  No Kardashian sisters picture this year.  Sorry.