The Return...Packer/Viking Week

Less than 48 Hours to Kickoff.

I'm going to touch on a couple points and make my NFC North Picks and call it a weekend.

All week I've been hearing Viking fans and Viking experts talking about two things:

1) The Vikings loss to Pittsburgh was a GOOD LOSS?!

2) The Packers have had two EASY WINS the last two weeks.

Let's cover the 2nd topic first.

Let's get this straight...the Packers beat two easy opponents...the same easy opponents the Vikings beat Weeks 1 and 2?

I heard a few murmur's from Vikings experts talking about how their first two wins were easy wins, so yes, some of the smart football minds out there knew, they won, but they were easy wins. The Vikes had a last second game winning touchdown pass against the 49ers and a missed field goal by Baltimore...in two games that were very close. Otherwise, I know the Vikings have been pretty dominant in their wins.

Let's get to my point. I'm going to compare the two wins by both teams:

Minnesota

Win 34-20 at Cleveland

Win 27-13 at Detroit

The Vikes were trailing both of these games at halftime.

Green Bay

Win 26-0 vs. Detroit

Win 31-3 at Cleveland

The Packers never trailed, and their defense was stellar.

I'm just saying you can compare the wins, you can say they were both easy, but the Packers defense stepped up against these teams, it should be a different game on Sunday.

My second complaint. How the HELL can you say this was GOOD LOSS? That sounds a little bit like an oxymoron. No loss is a good loss. Are you saying it was a good loss because it came against the World Champion Steelers? What if Baltimore made that Field Goal or Brett Favre overshot Greg Lewis? Would those be "GOOD LOSSES" as well? If you lose, accept it. The Packers lost to a better Bengals team and lost to a better Vikings team.

To quote Herm Edwards, "YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk5sMHj58I

That's it. That's all I'm saying. It will be a fun fun game on Sunday.

Here is my NFC North Picks. I'm 7-0 after starting two weeks ago. If Chicago doesn't beat Cleveland on Sunday they just need to shut it down for the season. Detroit plays the winless Rams...this in a sense, is a coin toss...Heads Detroit...Tails Saint Louis....Detroit wins. Finally, the big game. Aaron and Brett will both have good games...Aaron will top 300 yards...2 or 3 TD's...and I'm calling Brett being picked off by one of 3 guys...Barnett, Woodson or Collins. Packers win 31-27.

There you have it. If the Vikings win Sunday, they're 7-1 and they control their own destiny. If the Packers win they improve to 5-2 and should be 6-2 after next Sunday when they play Tampa Bay and a dead heat atop the NFC North.

May all your teams win and your fantasy teams dominate.

Go Pack Go!

Beer, Big Ten Football and Will Tebow Lose?

Well, I was looking forward to having a fun fun night of beer and athletics. I set up a special channel list on my Dish Guide....with these games in the rotation

Wild/Hurricanes

Iowa/MSU

Texas/Mizzou

Florida/Mississippi State

Yankees/Angels

But the Yanks/Angels were rained out, I was really looking forward to that....I really hope they push it to a game 7.

ESPN has already been making match ups for a Yankees/Phillies series. I would love to see that come back to bite them on the ass because they're all over the Yankees on EVERY Sportscenter episode.

Iowa/MSU are tied at 6...its been a heck of a game....4th quarter, about 5 and a half left and Iowa just got down to the MSU 10....I'm pulling for the Hawkeyes.

Texas is blowing out Mizzou....so we'll ignore that.

Miss. State is within a field goal of Florida in the 4th...and they're driving.

Wild/Canes....tied to start the 3rd period...the Wild win at home and lose on the road...its a home game...should win this one!

I'll be honest, it's been a pretty slow sports week, nothing too exciting going on.

I bought the Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 video game this week, it's honestly one of the best 'Rasslin video games I've played in a long time.

Oh, my...mmhmm....situation that required Preparation H is gone, so....we're all good on that front.

Alright...I've got nothing else so lets get to my NFC North Picks this week. I was 4-0 last week, the Vikings should have lost the game, their defense was non existent in the 2nd half. Fortunately, for the Packerfan this week....the Vikings will Lose to Pittsburgh...the Packers will beat the Browns...the Lions won't lose this week...they're on a Bye....and it's going to be tough to pick the Bengals/Bears game...what Bengals team will show up? The team that beat the world champion Steelers? Or the team that lost to Houston? The Bengals are at home, and the Bengals will win by a field goal.

Last Week: 4-0

Happy Sunday Eve, may all your fantasy and real teams win.

GO PACK GO!

Preperations A through G were failures....

What a weekend it has been since I last blogged.

I'll make a +/- list of things that have happened over the past couple of days.

+ I turned 24

- I'm halfway to almost 50

+ I spent Sunday with some of by best buddies.

- We didn't win a bucket of beer.

+ We did win a bottle of Vodka and 4 Guinness Glasses.

- I hate Guinness.

+ Something other than Guinness can go in the glasses.

- The Vikings won, even though they should have lost.

+ The Packers won.

- Chad Clifton got hurt in the 4th Quarter.

+ He should be just fine.

- We spent a lot of money at the Village Pub.

+ Charlie McCloskey picked up the tab for my birthday gift.

- We went to Jake's.

+ Jake's lowered their prices.

- Not on beer.

+ We went to Joe Sensers in Vikings gear.

- No one got upset.

+ We went back to the Village Pub.

- This time I had to pick up my tab.

+ We hung out with Joe McGovern and Dan O'Malley.

- I don't remember the rest of the night.

+ I went home with Dan's really cool hat.

- Again, I forgot most of the night.

+ I'm told it was a fun night.

- I puked up McDonalds around 5am.

+ I fell back asleep and woke up with a potential job interview next week.

---- I awoke with a hemorrhoid. It sucks.

In a nutshell, that was my weekend. I've been laying on my side and applying Preperation H when needed, it's almost gone. I separated my shoulder in January and it was an inconvenience then I get this little fu*king hemorrhoid, and it is the worst thing since Miller Chill. Anyway, onto bigger and better things.

Today was really the first day I've done anything productive since, well, my situation developed, so I did my grocery shopping and was playing Madden. I love Madden, but I've gotten a little bored by it. I traded in a few old games I don't play and bought the brand new WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010, from what I've played, it's definitely the best game in the franchise. The gameplay is pretty smooth and the storyline modes are insane! Enough nerd talk.

Just saw a horrible commercial....Who would really buy a Chia-Obama? "Chia Obama makes the statement, I'm proud to be an American." What does it mean if I buy a Chia Garfield? I'm proud to hate Mondays and eat lasagna?

Also, just saw another cool thing. After the Jason Werth 2-run shot in the 1st inning by Philly, James Loney lead off the top of the 2nd and hit a solo shot. The fan who caught the ball, caught it one handed and as quickly as he caught it he threw it back, very cool. I've always loved that tradition of throwing opposing teams home run balls back.

Which brings me on to the playoffs. I'd love to see the Angels come back, but lets face it; It's probably going to be a Yankees/Phillies World Series. I will be pulling for Philly, and I really thing they can take down the bombers. They match up very evenly with the Yanks. What scares me is that you spend $200 Million on a franchise, and you can only pull out 3 starters? I would much rather have the Phils starters, but the Yankees bullpen.

My unofficial pick because it's not confirmed yet: Phillies over Yankees in 6.

How about the umpiring last night in the ALCS/ALDS? If baseball was thinking about expanding the instant replay before last night, they NEED to expand it now. It's understandable if an umpire makes a mistake, but we've seen enough mistakes this postseason. Could the Twins have won the series if the umpiring was spot on? I don't think so, but they could have won at least a game. What really gets me is that once the postseason starts the MLB ADDS 2 MORE UMPIRES SO CALLS LIKE THAT DON'T HAPPEN!! COME ON!

Here is how I would expand MLB Replay:

-Balls and Strikes are NOT Reviewable.

-Home Run calls are automatically reviewed.

-Plays at the plate are automatically reviewed.

-Plays at 1st, 2nd and 3rd can be Challenged by Managers.

-Questionable Foul/Fair Balls can be Challenged by Managers.

-Managers can challenge if a batter was hit by a pitch.

-Managers are allowed 2 Challenges per 9 innings.

-Anything that occurs in extra innings that meet the criteria above will be reviewed by an Umpire in the booth.

People think this will slow it down, I don't think so at all. Do what the NHL does on goals: let the umpire run to a station, put on a headset and watch a monitor and let an umpire in the booth review it with him. 30 Second delay, max!

I'll be back later in the week with my NFC North Picks and anything else that's happened in the world of sports. Go Phillies....11 Minutes until Glee!

This Weekend in Football featuring a Rant!

I wonder how much Sam Bradford regrets not going pro after last season? This kid got rocked in the 1st quarter vs. Texas. If it is the same injury, I would keep him out until its fully healed, their backup did just fine only losing by 3 to the #3 team in the nation.

Here's something that bothers me right now. I'm watching #14 Penn State vs. Minnesota on ABC (Cheap Plug) and Matt Millen is the color man in the booth. How the hell does this guy have ANY credibility? Yeah, he played for Penn State and he played pro ball, but his best days were as a broadcaster for FOX before he set a franchise back about 10 years. I have more credibility than him. I think back to an episode of The Simpsons where Homer pulls out a card in his pocket that says "Do Opposite of what the boy says," and Bart says "Don't give that card to me," Homer quickly realizes not to give the card to him. What I'm getting at is there should be a Matt Millen card that viewers can use during a Matt Millen game, kinda like the SAP feature. Turn the MM Card and it will give you all the right information during the game.

So what's going on this weekend? Well, I'm flipping back and forth between USC/ND and MINN/PSU. This Gopher defense is putrid, they can stop plays on 1st and 2nd down but come 3rd down its like they all lay flat on their faces. They just need to get their offense going, being down 6-0 with a buck left to play in the 1st half is a lot better than I expected.

Where were the Angels bats last night? Man, CC is looking great in the postseason. I think they'd match up better with the Phillies, but I'd love to see Manny take out the Bronx Bombers.

If I could suggest an improvement for the Madden Video Game franchise for next year...PLEASE let there be downloadable content where you can change the broadcasters. I cannot stand listening to Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth. Since its an NFL game, they obviously should keep the main team Hammond(or Al Michaels) and Collinsworth, but they should give you the option to download the MNF team, the CBS and FOX #1 Broadcast team. I would much rather listen to Nantz and Simms or Aikman and Buck call games instead of those two hacks. That is all.

Tomorrow is my birthday! I don't know if there's too much planned. I figure to meet up with some of my good pals at our favorite bar to watch the Packers and Vikings play (easy, easy, different opponents) I will probably sport my Aaron Rodgers jersey and I think I'll find my Ravens jersey, just to use if the Pack are really blowing out the Lions. I don't want a huge drunken barhopping evening, but I'm thinking once the sun starts going down, the more I'll probably want to do that.

Hopefully the fantasy teams hold up too. I'm 3-2 in my main league that I run and 2-3 in another league that I'm in. I'm pretty confident with both teams tomorrow.

Now, I think I've covered everything I wanted to talk about...onto my rant.

Yes, by the blog title, and by my story in my last post, yes I am a Packer fan and I live in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota. I've been a Packer fan since I was 8 years old, I've dealt with people saying 'Packers suck' and other stupid comments. I'm fine with it. The point of my rant are just idiots who try to start something just to get under my, or any other Packerfan's skin. I'm aware that I live in Minnesota, and I'm aware that the Packers are a Wisconsin team. First and foremost, the Packers main rival are THE BEARS, not your purple team. I've been to Packer/Viking games and this year, during week one, I experienced my first Packer/Bear game at Lambeau Field. Its amazing how different the atmosphere is between both the Bears and Vikings games. Bear fans have a respect for the Packers as do the Packers the Bears. I talked to SO MANY Bears fans who say they love coming to Lambeau because the games are so much fun, I was never once told "Packers suck" or some stupid uneducated comment. Fast forward 4 weeks to October 5th, at my favorite bar. Of course, its probably 70% Viking fans, 30% Packer fans, I know what to expect living in Minnesota. I have tons of friends who are Viking fans and we constantly bust each others balls about our respective teams, it's all in good fun, it's sports, there's more to life. Anyway, were at the bar, everyone knows us there, we go there a couple times a week. Bartenders and servers are cool. I'm sitting in a position where i'm facing a booth with a couple in it, above their booth is a flat screen TV and to my right is the bar with 4 TV's in a square above the bar (A lot like a scoreboard above a basketball court). So I'm sitting there with my pal Chaz, his folks, and a family friend with his wife. So, we're enjoying ourselves just watching the game having fun. I feel eyes just staring through me, I look and its the guy in the booth in front of me. I say, "Do ya need anything?" He says. "The Packers f*cking suck." I said, "Okay buddy," and continued to watch the game. He then starts talking to my buddies dad and tries to get us all riled up and ruin our night. Finally, he says something to me about this Viking team being a lot like the '98 Viking team. I said, "The same '98 team that lost in the NFC Title game? Okay, sit down and watch the game." It shut him up for a while. We met up in the bathroom and i'm washing my hands, and he's looking at me with a sh*t-eating grin and I said, "What do you want?" He says, "I'm just looking at your stupid Rodgers jersey, Favre is gonna kick your ass." I said, "Dude, what's your deal? Just enjoy the game, I'm not giving you any sh*t." I go back to my table, he goes back to his, the Vikings pick off Rodgers, I can't remember if he scored or what, but this guy gets up and starts pointing at us and screaming. Whatever, he was an idiot. So, when Clay Matthews stripped AP for a TD I did the same thing to him. It was fun to watch his body language when the Packers were doing well, or the Vikings not doing well, he would be quiet, look sad and pouty and not really look at us, but if it were the opposite situation, he would be staring at us, hoping to get under our skin. I was drunk, he probably was too. Once the Packers lost, we talked to him, shook his hand and said, "We're just having a fun time, we'll see you here November 1st." We thought, okay, he was just putting on a show for his girlfriend and we all just had a good time, as he's leaving and walking out the door he says to us, "We'll still kick your f*cking ass in a month, fudgePackers."

This is what I'm getting at. It's a FU*KING FOOTBALL GAME! We lost, we accepted it. You won, congratulations! The Vikings played an excellent game, the Packers made it interesting at the end, but in the end, Brett Favre was NOT losing that game.

I love when people give me sh*t, its all in good fun, but when you do give me sh*t, please back it up with something other than "Packers Suck" or "Rodgers is a Pu**y." Why do we suck? Is it because our offensive line plays like a Brooklyn Center HS O-Line? Is it because our running game is about as powerful as a pack of butterflies? Most of my Viking fan friends, know what their talking about, most of the Viking fans that give me sh*t on Twitter or Facebook, know what their talking about.

I brought this up because my friend Chaz was out to the bars last night and was wearing a Packers jacket. Some girl said to him..."blah blah blah...Packers Suck!" His response was, "Okay, well, once you win a Super Bowl to contend with our 3, then we'll talk." She said, "I don't live in the past." He, being his witty self said, "Oh, so I guess the Steelers aren't the defending Super Bowl champs, and I guess the Vikings are 0-0 and didn't beat the Packers." She said, "We kicked the Packers ass this year." Then he walked away, proving her ignorance. I live in Minnesota and I am a Packer fan, but living in Minnesota means I see all the Viking coverage and games, so I know a lot about 'Your favorite purple team,' too. :)

All I'm getting at is, in ANY SPORT with ANY RIVALRY or ANY MATCHUP. If you're going to dish it out, make sure you can back it up, or you'll make yourself look like an idiot., because if anyone knows me well, they know I cannot stand stupid people.

I'll give my NFC North Predicitons now, which I will do for the remainder of the season

The Vikings should improve to 6-0, unless a different Ravens team shows up this week. The Packers will handle the Lions while I wish I had Aaron Rodgers on my fantasy team, and not play against him, the game of the week in the NFC North should be the Sunday Night matchup of Chicago vs. Atlanta. I'd take Chicago if this game were in Soldier Field, but Atlanta is coming off a huge win against San Fran, I like Atlanta.

If my picks are right here are the NFC North Standings come Monday Morning:

Minnesota- 6-0

Green Bay- 3-2

Chicago- 3-2

Detroit- 1-5

Thanks for tuning in! Hopefully everyone has a safe and Happy Sunday!

You can follow me on Twitter @CMnagel or comment on this very blog!

-C

NFL Week 5 and The MLB Playoffs!

October. Is there really any better month in sports?

Well, obviously March Madness is a close second, but you're getting the NFL in full swing, October Baseball, the NHL has kicked off and the NBA is right around the corner as well.

We can forget about the 'Chase for the Cup' and is that golf playoff thing done, or I don't even think Tiger knows how it works.

October is my favorite month, not only because of those reasons but, it's my birthday month, and I turn it into a celebration that is a week long. I've been battling a terrible cold/fever for 2 days and hopefully I've shook it off and can enjoy the rest of my awesome week.

This blog will be used to talk a lot of Minnesota sports (I like) and some I don't (Vikings), and just share my opinions on a lot of other sports related topics.

Let's cover what I like right now

1) MLB Playoffs: I love October baseball. Nothing can match some of the epic contests I've witnessed. I was at the Twins/Tigers play in game a week ago, and I've never seen a better baseball game. Simply fantastic. I know the Yankees swept the hometown boys, but they gave it a great run when going up against the Goliath $$ from New York. Each game had some sort of base running error that could have led to runs by our guys, or the fair ball that was actually foul. Whatever it is, our boys need to put on some shades if the big bright scary lights of Yankee Stadium turn them into a deer caught in the headlights. If you expect to compete in the playoffs, chances are you'll draw the Yankees, love 'em or hate 'em, they'll always be in contention to make the playoffs, unless their roster was full of $20 Million Nick Punto's. On to Punto...Yes, he makes some good defensive plays and doesn't commit too many errors. He has played great the whole month of September and really helped out the Twins, but...come on Bill Smith, there's someone out there that can hit the ball better and help this franchise out a lot more than Nick Punto. This guy flirted with batting .199 most of the season...that's 100 points higher than One Handed Pitcher, yes, One Handed Pitcher, Jim Abbott's career average. I'll stop at that and leave the Twins ranting to a minimum until next season or until Punto is signed to a 4 year, $60 Million extension this offseason. I am looking forward to Target Field!

Who I like in the A/NLCS:

Angels over Yankees in 7

Dodgers over Phillies in 6

I'm really pulling for Torii Hunter, just a complete class act all the way.

2) NFL Season: There's been some great games like the Packer/Viking game last Monday night and some surprising starts like the Broncos 5-0, Bengals 4-1 and Titans 0-5. We've only just passed the quarter point of the season and I'm still not completely sold on two division leaders. Those being San Fransisco and Minnesota. Here's my reasoning:

San Fransisco: First of all their upcoming schedule will really prove if they are for real or not. The next 5 games will test them at Houston, Indianapolis and Green Bay and home against Tennessee and Chicago. Along with divisional games vs. Seattle and Arizona they also travel to Philadelphia. I was on the fence with them before their 45-10 loss at home to Atlanta, but if you want to contend you have to win big games at home. Not get blown out. Yes, they beat St. Louis 35-0 which ties into my next team.

Minnesota: 3 of their 5 opponents they've played have a combined record of 2-13, the other two, San Fran and Green Bay are 5-3. The next three weeks will prove if the Minnesota Vikings are for real when they face Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Green Bay. Personally, I think November 2nd, there will be a 3 way tie atop the NFC North at 5-3. I love the Minnesota defensive line, their backs/linebackers give me worries, Aaron Rodgers put up career best passing yardage against them and Shaun Hill had a good game as well.

Team I am sold on:

Indianapolis: Two Words, Peyton Manning. That is all.

We should be in for a fun ride in both conferences I can't wait to see how the next few weeks go.

3) NBA/NHL: Alright, I'm not really that excited for both these sports to start on up this month, but if I had to pick, I'm excited to see how the Wild handle their new changes this season, more on the NHL in January when I have to shovel, or put off shoveling. The NBA...well..I'm not a huge fan, but I am interested to see how a Kurt Rambis team is ran. I don't recognize most of the roster but I am interested to see how they do.

Well...just finished watching a great Jets/Dolphins match up with a LOT of Wildcat formations. I give it 2 or 3 years until this fad has completely died out. The Wildcat is like a guy who hasn't sex in a long time and finds a 3 or a 4 at a bar that's been into him for a while, so, he takes her home and has his way with her. It's fun the first time, but once you've stuck your back through the hole and surprise the defense, eventually...well...you have to go back to that bar, and she'll probably be there and you probably won't want to do it again, trust me.

Oh, so I'm always asked, 'How can you be a Twins fan and a Packers fan?' Here's the story:

Back in 1993-94 when I was 7-8 years old, I'd always end up watching football around 3-4pm. Since Dallas was a hot draw for FOX, being the Super Bowl Champs with Aikman, Smith and Irvin, they were usually on around that time. I would have basketball on Sunday's so I never watched the noon games. The playoffs came around in 93 and Dallas beat Green Bay 27-17, I pulled for GB. I remember on Thanksgiving the following season, the Packers played Dallas, it was a high scoring game, but GB lost. Right there is when I started pulling for them, I wanted to see the Packers beat Dallas. The Packers played the Cowboys again in the playoffs in the 94-95 season and got blown out. So, I was a full fledged Packer fan at that point. The 95-96 season came around and of course, Dallas beat Green Bay in the regular season, that was one of their 3 losses, but the playoffs came around and Green Bay didn't run into Dallas and won Super Bowl 31. :)

How'd I become a Twins fan? Duh, when I had my baby pictures taken I was wearing a Twins shirt and hat while holding a baseball.

How different would my life be if I was put in a purple shirt and given a football.....probably more heartbreak!

Have a good night all!