The Grammys: Saying Goodbye

Image via WikipediaThe 54th Grammy Awards had already been marked by the sudden death of Whitney Houston when the show went on from Los Angeles' Staples Center Sunday night.  Host LL Cool J began the CBS telecast with a prayer, followed by a video tribute to Houston, who won six Grammys during her career.  Later in the show, Jennifer Hudson performed Houston's classic "I Will Always Love You".

Most of the rest of the ceremony was in tribute mode, a reminder of how much music had lost in the past year and will lose in the future.  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed, but without Clarence Clemons.  Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt saluted Etta James with "Sunday Kind of Love".  The Beach Boys marked their 50th year as a band with the help of Maroon 5.  Glen Campbell, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, gamely got through his own tribute with the help of The Band Perry and his backup band.  Tony Bennett got a Grammy for his duets CD, which included a song he did with Amy Winehouse.  The only legendary performer who had any kind of spirit on stage was Paul McCartney.

Of course, there was also the business of handing out awards, which seem to be fewer and fewer every year as the Grammy telecast emphasizes performances.  Adele, to no one's surprise, took home six trophies.  That includes Song of the Year and Record of the Year for "Rolling In The Deep", and Album of the Year for "21". 

Adele also performed for the first time since throat surgery forced her off the stage last fall.  The song was "Rolling In The Deep" which, like "21", dominated the record charts last year.  The more you listen to "Deep", the more you think of another song in the "woman scorned" category:  Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know".  Only less profane and sexually explicit.

One surprise winner was Bon Iver as Best New Artist.  He was supposed to perform at the ceremony, but backed out when Grammy officials tried to pair him with another artist.  He noted in his acceptance speech how "uncomfortable" he was about receiving the award.

For three and a half hours Sunday night, the Grammys were like watching a televised wake with occasional bits of weirdness from Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Foo Fighters.  It reminds us that while music may be eternal, the people who make the music are not.  Enjoy them now while they're still with us.

Giants Win Super Bowl In "Peyton's Place"

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe New York Giants and Eli Manning are now 2-0 in Super Bowls against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, winning the 46th edition at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (dubbed The House That Peyton Manning Built) 21-17.

The Giants weren't supposed to be here, having had a mediocre 9-7 season resulting in just barely winning the NFC East title.  But then they ran the table in the playoffs, beating Atlanta, Green Bay and San Francisco to win the conference.  The Patriots had a slightly better season, finishing 13-3 to win the AFC East.  They rolled past Denver in the playoffs, and would have lost the AFC championship to Baltimore had the Ravens made the last-second field goal.

The winning score came on what will forever be remembered as the "reluctant touchdown".  See, the Giants wanted Ahmad Bradshaw to stop just short of the goal line after Manning drove over eighty yards with the team trailing by two, so they could waste more clock and kick the winning field goal with almost no time left.  Bradshaw scored six anyway, the two-point conversion failed, and Brady got his chance to be the hero with under a minute left.  It didn't work.  Brady heaved a 50-yard pass into the end zone that fell incomplete.  Giants win.

For Eli Manning, who won the Super Bowl MVP, he's now one up on brother Peyton in winning the Big Game (they've won three between them).  But who knows if Peyton will get another chance?  He hadn't played all season because of a neck injury, and his Indianapolis Colts tanked without him.  Now Colts management is planning to draft for Peyton's eventual replacement, quarterback Andrew Luck of Stanford.

For Tom Brady and his coach Bill Belichick, they have won three Super Bowls together in the last decade and have lost the last two.  Their legacy is secure, even if their methods have not endeared them to folks outside the New England area.  Or the fact that Brady is married to a supermodel.

As for other aspects of the modern-day Super Bowl that make it as much a cultural event as it does a football game:  Madonna, the once-daring chanteuse now considered safe as milk by the NFL, was this year's halftime show headliner.  In spite of that, she put on a great show and had no need for guest stars Nicki Minaj and Cee Lo Green (who was probably there to remind one and all that "The Voice" follows the football game on NBC).  The Material Woman especially didn't need M.I.A giving the Unholy Finger to a worldwide TV audience, but there it was.  Whatever M.I.A.'s intent was, she certainly succeeded in making a name for herself.  This is just a warmup for Madonna's concert tour, which means she'll be taking a break from directing movies and dissing Lady Gaga for being too much like her.

The commercials?  The bullets, please.

• NBC promoted the heck out of "The Voice" (an "American Idol" ripoff) and "Smash", which is really "Glee" on Broadway.  They don't have much to offer other than that.
• The most depressing ad has to be the one for Chevy Trucks, in which they somehow survived the Mayan Apocalypse and Ford trucks didn't.  Don't even go there, General Motors.  If you ever find yourself cash-strapped again . . .
• Budweiser's ad celebrates the end of Prohibition.  Um, you might want to explain to younger viewers (over 21, of course) what Prohibition was about, if Ken Burns didn't already do that with his recent PBS special.
• More ads for movies featuring comic book heroes and mass destruction.  The kind you won't see nominated for awards.
• Clint Eastwood giving the nation a pep talk in his "halftime for America" ad for Chrysler.  Thanks, Clint.
• The only ad that was worth anything was the one for Pepsi, with Elton John as a king and Melanie Amaro as a commoner belting out "Respect".   For those of you who don't watch "The X-Factor" (which Pepsi sponsors), Amaro won the show's big prize.  Now we hear that Simon Cowell has cleaned house, dropping fellow judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, as well as the guy who hosted the show.  His name escapes me.
• KARE, the local NBC affiliate, weighed in with an ad featuring their news anchors putting on their "game faces", with the help of former Minnesota Viking John Randle.  They all looked like raccoons.  Or was the Lone Ranger missing a mask, kemosabe?  Now, if they only put this much effort into their newscasts . . .

All in all, this was one Super Bowl that was better as a football game than a TV show.

Football (and TV) The Way It Was

Image via WikipediaInstead of the usual Super Bowl preview, we thought we'd go back nearly 50 years to December 23, 1962.  Thanks to the magic of You Tube, we recently got to view the original ABC telecast of the American Football League's championship game between the Dallas Texans and Houston Oilers, with Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman calling the action.

The Texans won the AFL title 20-17 on a 25-yard field goal by Tommy Brooker, with nearly three minutes gone in the second overtime period.  Before that, it was a tale of two games:  Dallas scored their 17 points in the first half, and the Oilers scored their 17 in the second half.  It remains the longest championship game in pro football history.  By comparison, we have yet to see a Super Bowl game end in overtime.

Usually, our football history comes through the prism of NFL Films and its well-made-if-orchestrated highlights package.  Tapes of TV broadcasts--the way most of us saw these games--are either lost or locked in a vault someplace, never to see the light of day (For example, coverage of the first Super Bowl, which was seen on two different networks).

But this game wasn't.  Somebody actually took the time to upload much of this particular AFL championship game (minus commercials) to You Tube.  Compared to today's coverage, this one looked like a cable access production.  Here's what we learned from it:

• The goalposts were at the goal line, not the back of the end zone.
• There was no instant replay, end zone cameras, virtual first-down lines, or plugs for network prime time shows.  But there was a hulking hand-held camera patrolling the Dallas sidelines, mostly getting shots of coach Hank Stram.
• Jack Buck was used as a sideline reporter.  Years later, he would team with Stram on CBS Radio's coverage of "Monday Night Football".
• The halftime entertainment was provided by a local marching band.
• Gowdy, in promoting ABC's telecast of the Orange Bowl game between Alabama and Oklahoma (then coached by Bear Bryant and Bud Wilkinson, respectively) on New Year's Day 1963, mentioned that President John Kennedy would be attending the game.  You're not going to hear that today after what happened to the President less than a year later.  In the state of Texas, no less.
• When it came time for the overtime coin toss, Buck was there at midfield with the referees and the team captains.  Dallas won the toss, but Texans captain Abner Haynes mistakenly elected to kick to the Oilers.  Houston didn't score, so no damage was done.
• Gowdy also mentioned during the telecast that the city of Houston had approved the building of a domed stadium, while Boston was considering one with a retractable roof.  That Houston stadium became the Astrodome, and the Oilers played there for many years.  Boston never built their dome, so the Patriots bounced around the city during the AFL years until they got their own stadium in Foxborough.
• The game was played at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, where more than 37,000 squeezed into the tiny (by today's standards) venue.

Postscript:  The AFL lasted ten seasons before merging with the National Football League in 1970.  The Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963.  And the Oilers became the Tennessee Titans in 1997.

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.