Time to take one day off from football. This will be just a rambling jumble of thoughts thrown together to see if anything makes sense and sticks. For those who remember the band Chicago, you are probably familiar with their song “Harry Truman”. “Harry Truman” is a song written by Robert Lamm for the groups album Chicago VIII (1975), with lead vocals by Lamm. The first single released from that album, it reached #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Written after the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon, the lyrics are a tribute to a former President that Lamm felt the American people could trust — straight-talking Harry S. Truman. “America needs you, Harry Truman.” A sampling of the lyrics: “America needs you Harry Truman Harry could you please come home Things are looking bad I know you would be mad To see your favorite men Prevail upon the…
Archive for the ‘Vikings’
Best Movie Line Ever?
For the movie buffs among you, what movie is this classic movie line from and who uttered it? “Gozer the Traveller - he will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldronaii, the Traveller came as a large and moving Torb! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the Meketrex supplicants, they chose a new form for him - that of a giant Sloar! Many Shubs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Sloar that day, I can tell you!” Need a clue? C’mon, take a day off from football…and that Packer press conference…and lay down some great movie lines in the Comments area. Maybe I’ll have some football Friday, maybe I won’t. I do know one thing. We need to win the Super Bowl and in a hurry. Our time is short. What you are…
There Is No Crying in Football
First, there was T.O.: Now Brett Favre, who actually held a press conference and announced he was quitting. Crying like a baby. What is happening to the men of the NFL. Are they all high on estrogen now? Trying to get in touch with their feminine side? I mean, really. OK, before you Cheeseheads start with your hate e-mail, I’ll miss him just as much as you. Favre was always good for an interception or three at the Metrodome. I was reading a blurb on Pro Football Talk and they mentioned Favre’s consecutive games streak. And that got me to thinking: One thing I’ve had to endure from Cheeseheads is how great Favre’s consecutive games streak is. How he was going to climb past Jim Marshall and stick that in our craw as well. Well, boo friggin’ hoo. Guess what. He quit short of that record. Actually, the consecutive games…
Bad Karma
John Lennon once sang about how “Instant karma’s going to get you”. I often think I must have been a very bad person in a previous life. Last year my health took a bit of a dive and we’re still dealing with a bit of that. Yes, it did have a bit to do with my year-long hiatus, but I’m not going into more detail at the moment. Maybe another day. Back to today’s topic. Thursday I woke up and started my usual routine for heading into the office. One of those steps is putting in “my eyes” as I have every day for nigh 25-years now. Boy, contacts have come a long ways since the old days of hard lenses and heated cleaning schedules. On this occasion, I placed in my left lens. Then my right. I had immediate pain in my right eye and just assumed that the…
Viking Underground Podcast Fifty-Nine
This week’s podcast is another return to the year 1997. Last week we heard my interview with then Vikes defensive coordinator Foge Fazio. Two weeks ago it was then offensive coordinator Brian Billick. This week, it is former Vikes special teams coordinator Gary Zauner. Zauner is the first coach I’ve come across who has his owb blog….which is current…so check it out. In the spring of 1997, I had conducted a series of interviews with Vikings coaches and front office personnel. Back then, I had used an old micro-cassette recorder to conduct the interview and then set to transcriping it for the ol’ Viking Underground. You see, there were no such things as digital recorders or podcasts in those dark days of yore. I recently located those old tapes and have set to making them available via VU podcasts. While they are dated, they make good listening. So sit back…
Number 17 Redux
Back on January 9, I posted the following blog entry. I think for the most part, it is still current. No comments were left at that time…maybe now? It’s way to early for me to think about April, that time of year when my son and I celebrate our respective birthday’s. That time of year that I pull my annual April Fool’s Day joke and piss off the poor saps that fall for it. But its never too early to look back and take a sneak look ahead. Last year the Vikes had the number seven overall pick. There was a lot of talk of whether the Vikes had the grapefruits to move up into the number 1-3 spots or whether they would fold like a card table and move down later in the first round or even out of the first round altogether. Instead, they held at number seven…
Where Is Hicks?
On March 4, the Vikings website was reporting that free-agent running back and return man Maurice Hicks had been signed by the team. Hicks supposedly became the fourth free agent to sign with the team. He’s expected to take over as the Vikings’ primary kick returner. But as of Sunday (3/9), Hicks does not show on the Vikes roster moves section of the site. There is nothing on the Media Center portion of the site. Nothing on the roster portion of the site. I was starting to panic. Did a break-down in negotiation take place? Did Hicks spend a weekend in the Twin Cities during the recent cold snap and high-tail it out of here for warmer climes? I finally found mention of it on the news archive, buried deep. But the report is still there so it has to be true, right? I had gone looking to get an…
Viking Fans On-Line
I received a e-mail from Ohio this past weekend. It was one of those blast from the past type of messages: “Hey bro, how the hell are ya? Found this old pic, thought you’d get a kick out of it. The carefree salad days of the old email list…Viking Jim” The photo is from 1996. As far as Vikings fans across the world were concerned, a significant event happened off the field during the 1996 season. The early precursor to the Viking Underground Fan message board, Viking Fans On-Line, was formed. By the seasons end, Viking Fans On-Line boasted 500 strong and was represented by members in 47 states and 9 countries. It was directly responsible for the Vikings setting a single day attendance record on September 22, 1996. The Viking Underground web site, begun by Dan Hildreth, was honored in The Net magazine as the best personal NFL football…
Milestone!!
I recall a time many, many moons ago when my Dad piled everyone into the ol’ Chevy Impala for a momentous occasion. My sister and I thought that meant another family dinner at the local A&W drive-in for some hamburgers and french fries whilst sitting in the car. But not on this trip. Dad started to head out to the country and then asked everyone to keep an eye on the car’s odometer. I peered over the back-seat…there were no required seat belts in those days. We kids were referred to as “sliders” as we would slide across the vinyl seats in the opposite direction of what the car was turning. My Dad always made sure he turned the corners a biiiiittt faster than required just so my sister and I could pretend we were on a ride at the fair. My Dad pointed to the odometer and proudly…
Spring Around the Corner?
I spent last weekend pouring over my duathlon & triathlon racing possibilities for the upcoming season. For those unfamilar with the sports a duathlon is an athletic event (not to be confused with biathlon) that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format bearing some resemblance to triathlons. I first got hooked on the sports when I lived in Texas during the late ’80s. I was getting bored with simply running and wanted to do some other disciplines that would be a little easier on the old joints. Before I knew it, I was training 3 to 5 hours each day and racing every weekend, sometimes twice a weekend. It was fun as hell and I was in the best shape of my life. In my first big triathlon, held in Waco, I went up against a young punk by…