So I get home from work a few days ago, and I found a nice surprise in my mailbox from the good folks at Sports Illustrated Books.  It was a copy of Peter King's new tome Monday Morning Quarterback: A fully caffeinated guide to everything you need to know about the NFL.  Now, I know that I've had my differences with Mr. King in the past. . .well not with Mr. King, per se, but with some of the things he's had to say about our Beloved Purple over the years.  However, the guy is where he is because he's a heck of a writer, and really seems to enjoy what he does.  Hell, who wouldn't?

I've been reading furiously over the past couple of days, and the MMQB book is full of good stuff.  A lot of it is a compilation of King's columns of the same name from SI.com, as well has some lists about "What I Think I Think."  But he does include some good, original material in there such as his top 100 players in today's NFL.  (Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson, Kevin Williams, Antoine Winfield, Bryant McKinnie, and Chad Greenway all made the list. . .but I won't tell you where.)

King makes lots of good insights, and many of you will be happy to know that the columns taken from previous SI.com entries are limited to just football. . .so, those of you that dislike hearing about stuff like girls field hockey and what he thought about the barista that served him his double-half whipped mocha-choca-latta ya ya he got from the Starbucks at the Denver airport can be spared such things.  (Yeah, I worked a "Lady Marmalade" reference in there. . .big deal, wanna fight about it?)  In my personal opinion, some of the best columns in the book aren't really football-related at all. . .if you read the story about the King family having to put Woody, the family dog, to sleep and don't get at least a bit of a tear in your eye, you need to check yourself for a pulse.  But if you want football, football, and a little more football, King gives you plenty of that as well.

MMQB not only gives you some good, entertaining football stories, it also gives you an opportunity to look behind the scenes and gain a perspective that you ordinarily would get from a book about football.  It's pretty light reading, much like King's column is, but you can sit back, read a story or two, and put it away at your leisure.  This book will make you laugh and make you think as well.  I know I've enjoyed reading it immensely thus far, and I've still got plenty of reading left to do to complete the entire thing.  If you're looking for a good read about football. . .and, hey, the Vikings have a bye week coming up, so why not. . .you'd be well-served to grab yourself a copy of this book.  Or, in honor of Mr. King, you could go to your local bookstore, get yourself a coffee, and read it in the cafe.  Either way, some time with Monday Morning Quarterback will be time well-spent.

Yes, it's officially that time of year. . .everyone's waiting for Training Camp to start, the release of Madden (insert year here) is a month or so off, and everyone's jonesing for a football fix.  Oh, and this year, we're all waiting for that whole "Favre" thing to resolve itself, too.  However, there is something to take your mind off of all that stuff, and that's what I've spent the better part of my weekend doing.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that of which I speak is the latest installment in the NCAA Football series from EA Sports, NCAA Football '10.  Yes, I know that the college game isn't the same as the NFL game, and that's a big part of what makes it great.  Now, I used to be one of those people that would get both the latest NCAA Football and Madden games every year, but lack of disposable income last season caused me to miss NCAA.  So, all I have to compare this year's version to is NCAA Football '08. . .which, quite frankly, was pretty abysmal, particularly by next generation standards.  There were no real features, no real bells and whistles. . .it was really a pretty boring experience, and I don't recall playing it very much before Madden '08 came along.

Believe me, there's no such shortage this year.  Particularly with all the online options that this year's game comes with.  What do I mean?  Well, hit the jump and you'll find out!

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In typical fashion, my early morning browsing session led me to come across an interesting article about using Madden '09 to predict real life game results.  The team at EA Sports created a "sim-Super Bowl" which predicted a score of 28-24, and a Steelers win.  Pretty good for a computer, eh?

This got me thinking - could someone (anyone) use this as a tool to predict our upcoming season?

To start, here's the original article: http://www.popsci.com/entertainment-amp-gaming/article/2009-02/madden-predicts-winner

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(Photo courtesy of "ndfan93" at Photobucket.com. . .get your own full-sized version by clicking on the picture.)

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, even after I said that I wouldn't be getting the game after EA Sports made the announcement about who was going to be on the cover, with the changes the Vikings have made this season, I couldn't help but succumb to the annual madness that was the release of Madden NFL 2009.  While it was tempting to spend the extra $30 or so that would have been required to get the Collector's Edition of the game, I thought I'd hold onto that money, get a sweet customized cover like the one you see to the right there (curse-free, thank you very much) and go about the business of leading my virtual team to glory.

One of the unique aspects of this year's version of Madden NFL is what's called "Madden IQ."  The first time you fire up the game, you're given the opportunity to play in a Tron-esque world of red and blue football players, going through various drills to determine your Madden IQ, which sets your own personal difficulty level for the games you're going to play.  The game rates your skills at running the football, throwing it, stopping the run, and defending the pass.  You're also given the opportunity to re-visit the simulator after games and pretty much any other time you'd like as well.

While the Madden IQ feature is a good idea in theory, its implementation seems to need a little bit of work.  For the most part, the offensive drills seem to be way too easy.  What this means is that, for example, you get a higher rating in your "run offense" rating. . .which, in turn, makes it harder to run the football when you actually get on the field.  For a team with Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor manning the backfield, I've been averaging right around three yards per carry, which is pretty awful.  After each game the ratings adjust based on your performance on that particular afternoon/evening, so I suppose eventually your real "Madden IQ" will come out based on your play style, but the time it takes to make that adjustment is a bit frustrating.

Graphically, this is one of the prettiest darn things that will grace your TV set short of one of TNT's bi-weekly "Charmed" marathons.  After seeming to lag behind the power curve of the next generation systems for a season or two, Madden '09 finally takes full advantage of the processing capabilities of the PlayStation 3 and the XBox 360.  I have the 360 version at my house, and I don't think that there's a game in my entire collection that even approaches this game graphics-wise.  From the opening shots of the stadium to the weather effects and everything in between, this game is a graphical bonanza.

The game has many of the same modes that you're used to, including the Franchise mode, which I'm completely immersed in right now.  I'm not sure how (or if) the off-season activity stuff has been upgraded, as I'm only 4 games into the first season of my franchise, but a lot of the other reports I've read are saying that it's the same as it ever was.  For me, that's plenty good enough. . .I usually don't like to bother with contract negotiations or anything like that, but I DO love me some draft day activity and things like that.

The gameplay seems to have definitely been tightened up from last year's version as well.  The camera automatically adjusts to keep all of your team's players on the field, so there are no more "cross your fingers and chuck it" passes to players you can't see that may or may not be covered.  The play control is pretty smooth as well, and each team has their own customized playbook that's in tune with the real life team's play tendencies.

All in all, this is definitely the best version of Madden that's come out for the next generation systems.  I can't speak as much for the PS3 version or any of the other versions, but I can say that the XBox 360 version is nothing short of outstanding.  If you can find the Collector's Edition, it comes with some interesting throw-ins, including a playable version of Madden '93 and a copy of EA Sports' NFL Head Coach.  From what I've heard about Head Coach, it's kind of like Out of the Park Baseball from a management standpoint, and if that's the case, it would definitely be worth your time (I'm a closet OOTP junkie, myself).

If I were to assign a numerical rating to this year's version of Madden, it would be firmly in the 9-out of-10 range.  It's a very good addition to the library of any sports gamer.  I can only hope that some of you out there are having as much fun with the game as I am.

Speaking of having fun, enjoy the rest of your Wednesday, and we'll see you back here tomorrow!

There aren't a whole lot of sporting events outside of the "main" sports that really capture my interest.  I do watch a lot of football and baseball, and I'll stop and watch Arena Football and stuff like that when it's on, but usually if I'm watching something outside of the baseball or football world, it's one of the really big events.  I'll watch stuff like the finals of the tennis grand slams (and if you missed the Wimbledon men's final last weekend, try to track down a copy somewhere), and I'll watch the Masters as well.  But, honestly, my favorite sporting event to watch has to be the British Open golf tournament, which kicks off on Thursday at Royal Birkdale in Scotland.

(And, since I'm going to be talking about golf, I'd be crazy to not throw in a plug for Waggle Room, SBNation's outstanding golf site.)

Anyone that's read the site for a while knows that I tend to like my reading with a bit of humor to it, and all three of these books have that in spades. . .largely because they were all written by the same man, someone who I think is one of the funniest people I've ever listened to in any field anywhere.

If you've played any of the recent Tiger Woods golf games for your PC or video game console, you're familiar with David Feherty.  His voice is the one that you hear just after his broadcast partner (Gary McCord, who serves in that capacity in real life as well) states something completely obvious.  While the games can't completely capture the essence of his wit and humor, the books that he has written certainly do.  If you'd like to see whether or not Feherty's humor is for you prior to purchasing any of the books I'll be looking at here, he writes a column for Golf Magazine, as well as a bi-weekly column at Golf Online, the archives for which you can find here.

His first effort, A Nasty Bit of Rough, is actually a novel, as opposed to the random short stories that appear in the books that I'll be getting to later on.  The story centers around a dispute between two rival golfing clans.  The first is comprised of the members of the Scrought's Wood golf course, of which Feherty's "Uncle Dickie" (aka Major General (retired) Sir Richard Gussett) is a member.  They're locked in a rivalry with the MacGregor clan of the Tay Club.  The matter being disputed?  Whose ancestors really invented the game of golf.  Twice every century, the two clans do battle for a trophy known as The Digit.  The Digit is. . .seriously. . .the petrified middle finger of St. Andrew.

To take Feherty's own words from the introduction:

This book is about people who oppose each other, in more ways than one.  It is about greed and envy, hatred and tolerance, love and stupidity (quite a lot of stupidity, actually).  But most of all, it is a story about the faith that real friends have in one another and how that faith is never wasted, so long as at least one of them holds on to it.

And what it is, when you add it all up, is a very funny story that can even be a bit touching at times.  The characters are a little over-the-top. . .and by "a little," what I mean is "completely and totally". . .but they're also very sympathetic, and you find yourself really pulling for them by the time it's all said and done.  If you like golf and you like to laugh, you owe it to yourself to pick up this book.  Take the boys from Monty Python, put them in Caddyshack, and you basically have what A Nasty Bit of Rough is on the humor scale.  Amazon.com currently has the paperback available for about $11.  If you want the hardcover version, you might have to hunt around a little bit.

If you want observations from Mr. Feherty that are similar to what you see on his website, I've got a couple of recommendations to satisfy you as well.  The first one is his first compilation, which came out not long after A Nasty Bit of Rough, entitled Somewhere in Ireland, A Village Is Missing an Idiot.  After further review, it appears as though the title may have come from Gary McCord, as a glance at the back of my copy of A Nasty Bit of Rough has McCord using that exact sentence to describe Feherty's book.  (Right above a quote from a then 8-year old Rory Feherty, whose contribution to the back cover is "I didn't know Dad could write.")

Somewhere in Ireland is almost identical to the format of his Golf Magazine columns.  While Feherty, by his own admission, was never much of a golfer (though he played on the European Tour and several Ryder Cup teams in his younger days), he's an absolute natural when it comes to writing.  Be forewarned. . .there are a lot of bodily humor type jokes.  I find it hard to believe that there's anybody on the planet that's soiled themselves on a golf course as much as David Feherty apparently has.  So, if that sort of thing offends you, you might want to steer clear of it.  There are also a couple of stories with a more serious side to them, notably his story about the grief felt by the entire PGA Tour after the death of Payne Stewart.  It's also full of life lessons and some practical tips as well.  Overall, it's an outstanding compilation of golf stories, written by one of the best storytellers in the world of golf, or of any world in general, really.

Unfortunately, a quick check of Amazon.com shows me that if you want to get a copy of this book, you're going to have to settle for a used one.  The prices are good, and the books are in varying conditions. . .but if you don't happen across a copy in your local bookstore, it's worth going that route to get a copy of this one.  You'll also be able to find it in either hardcover or paperback going the used route as well.

The last one I'll take a look at is another compilation book entitled An Idiot For All Seasons.  This book is mostly the same as Somewhere In Ireland, but it's divided up into the four "seasons," presumably based on when Mr. Feherty penned the columns for Golf Magazine and/or Golf Online.  The big addition to this one is Feherty's Mailbag, in which he answers questions that have been sent into him by readers.  The questions seem to be serious. . .but, in many cases, Feherty's answers are about as far from serious as one can actually be.  Outside of that, the book is another outstanding compilation of Feherty's wit and humor.

Amazon.com has An Idiot For All Seasons in hardcover for about $18, and the paperback version for about $11.  Choose your format of choice, hit the "Order" button, and enjoy.

Mr. Feherty also has a couple of books that I've yet to get to.  There's another golf book called David Feherty's Totally Subjective History of the Ryder Cup: A Hardly Definitive, Completely Cockeyed, But Absolutely Loving Look at Golf's Most Exciting Event.  (Yes, that's all one title. . .apparently Feherty thinks he's Fiona Apple.)  He's also written a travel book called David Feherty's Irish Pilgrimage:  Where to Play, Where to Stay, Where to Eat, and Where to Drink, But Not Necessarily In That Order.  Do some web searching for the latter one if you're interested. . .I've been told that it's pretty hard to find.

That's all for tonight, ladies and gentlemen.  Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and we'll see you back here tomorrow. . .hopefully with some news that's not in any way, shape, or form related to that quarterback from Green Bay.

This week's installment of the summer reading list is going to take a bit of a departure from Viking land, in part because I'm waiting for an order to come in from Amazon.com with some more reading materials in it, and partially because I feel the need to make up for something that I missed a little while back.

I'm sure that you all heard about the passing of George Carlin, a man that might have been the finest stand-up comedian of all time.  There are very few people that could argue that they can sit upon that throne, although that sort of thing is subjective, based on one's personal tastes.  Though you might have been offended by the way he got his points across, everyone can pretty much agree that nobody expressed his thoughts on stage quite the way that George Carlin did.

Many people are quite familiar with the numerous specials that Carlin did for HBO, and the myriad of audio CDs of his stand-up routines.  However, Carlin's spirit is very well encapsulated in the three books that he wrote during his lifetime.

Carlin's first tome, which is now a decade old, is called Brain Droppings.  This one, even though it is the earliest, might be my personal favorite, as it contains what amounts to transcripts of some of Carlin's more famous stand-up routines, particularly The Difference Between Baseball and Football and the amazing A Place For My Stuff.  But it's not all a re-hash of past stand-up routines. . .not by any stretch.  There's a lot of outstanding original material from Mr. Carlin in the book as well.  It's also filled in a couple of places with pages of "Short Takes," which are pretty much random thoughts and observations that George Carlin had made over the years.

Brain Droppings checks in at just over 250 pages, but despite the length, it's a remarkably fast read.  There's no real "flow" from one chapter to the next, but that's really not a bad thing.  If you find yourself in a section of the book you don't like (which is going to be a rarity at best, if you're a Carlin fan), just flip a few pages and go to another section.  You're not going to miss anything in-between that's going to leave you wondering what Carlin is talking about.

The second book, published in 2001, is entitled Napalm and Silly Putty.  It has the "Short Takes," similar to Brain Droppings, but in Napalm and Silly Putty, Carlin seems to be getting even more cynical.  Napalm and Silly Putty is also a bit more organized than the previous effort was.  The strange thing about this book. . .and I use the word "strange" because I honestly can't come up with a better word for it. . .is the fact that some of the things that Carlin talked about in the book actually took place not too long afterwards (things like buildings and buses blowing up).

You can find some of the stuff that you can read in Napalm and Silly Putty in Carlin's stand-up album entitled You Are All Diseased, but there's still a lot of good, original stuff in this one as well.  At around 270 pages, it's slightly longer than Brain Droppings, but that just means there's more Carlin goodness inside.

Carlin's final book is the one  you see the cover from above, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?  The title of the book tells everyone what many Carlin fans already know. . .that there was no subject that Carlin was afraid to joke about, be it religion or politics or anything in-between.

Sadly, there are a lot of people that I've talked to that read this book and didn't like it nearly as much as his previous two efforts.  Many of those folks point to the fact that while Carlin has put away much of the vulgar language in this book, it seems that he's also taken away much of his cynicism and replaced it with out-and-out anger.  I agree with that take to a certain extent, as the book does seem a bit more mean-spirited than its predecessors, but I personally enjoyed it all the same.  When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops is Carlin's longest book, checking in at just over 290 pages, and it's not the one you want to give someone that's not intimately familiar with Carlin's work.

You can find all three of Carlin's books at Amazon.com for a relatively low price, as they have been out for a while.  There's also a set you can purchase that contains all three books entitled An Orgy of George, which Amazon is currently selling for the pretty outstanding price of $16.47.  If you're only going to purchase one, then Brain Droppings would probably be my recommendation, but for that price, you can hardly go wrong getting the entire George Carlin book collection in one fell swoop.

In the relatively short time the Minnesota Vikings have been a part of the National Football League, their biggest rival has, without a doubt, been the Green Bay Packers.  While each team has had their periods of time where they've been dominant over the other, the all-time series has never really been more than a couple of games in favor of either side.

As you can probably imagine, there are a lot of good stories to have come out of this rivalry.  That's where Todd Mishler comes in.  His book, Cold Wars:  40+ Years of Packer-Viking Rivalry, breaks down the rivalry between these two teams decade-by-decade.  The last update of the book runs through the 2003 season. . .so, we get a complete rundown of the last weekend of the 2003 season, but nothing (unfortunately) about the Vikings destroying the Packers in the only post-season contest between the two teams.  Maybe Mr. Mishler will do another update of his book in the future to include that glorious event.

In addition to going though every game in the history of the Viking-Packer rivalry, Mishler also gives us his list of the Top 10 Viking-Packer games.  You can probably guess a few of the matchups that are listed, but to hear the stories re-told is a pretty enjoyable experience.  There's also a chapter about the fans of both teams, as well as the stadiums that both teams call home.  To conclude the book, there's a chapter full of a lot of obscure facts about many of the players that have played for the Vikings and Packers over the years.  For example, did you know that former Vikings kicker Fred Cox was responsible for the invention of the Nerf football?  I certainly didn't, until this book told me that he was.

Overall, this is a highly entertaining read.  Todd Mishler presents this rivalry in a manner that captures all of the excitement and passion that each game has to offer.  He also manages to present it in an even-handed manner, never really favoring one side over the other as he tells his stories despite the fact that his bio states he grew up in Wisconsin and grew up watching the Packers.  He's gotten many quotes from players on both sides, which add depth to many of the stories.

One thing I do have to caution you on when searching for this book.  There are two different versions, one that was published in 2002, and one that was published in 2004.  The picture to the left there is of the 2004 version, which can be distinguished by the little "REVISED" strip in the upper-right corner.  The updated version simply includes a few more seasons of Viking-Packer game recaps.

There are many places that you can order Cold Wars from, but I'd recommend going to the site of the author himself.  There, you can not only order the book (for which you'll pay through PayPal), but Mr. Mishler will also customize the book for you.  The cover price of the book is $18.95, but the $21.00 price on Todd Mishler's website includes the personalization and the shipping fee.  If you're a Big Ten fan, he's also written a book about Big Ten football rivalries called Blood, Sweat, and Cheers.  He's also written an informational pamphlet called Great Moments in Wisconsin Sports.

Cold Wars:  40+ Years of Packer-Viking Rivalry is definitely a book that Viking fans AND Packer fans. . .the ones that can read, anyway. . .should seek out.  Informative and entertaining, it will be a welcome addition to the library of fans of either team

As yesterday was the first official day of summer. . .even though it's been hotter than bejeezus here in Mississippi and numerous other places across the nation already. . .it marks the time of year where people are going to start road-tripping or going to the lakes or just taking time away from work to relax and get away from the daily 9-to-5.  To that end, it has also come to my attention that there are a lot of great books out there that people need to be exposed to, and that's going to be the purpose of my "Gonzo's Summer Reading List" series.

What I'm going to do is point all of you, the loyal Daily Norseman community, towards some tomes that I personally find enlightening and stimulating.  Ideally, all of them will have something to do with the Beloved Purple (and there are numerous great books out there about the team), but I might have a few weeks where I'll slide a few different types of books in there.  But the first couple of books, at the very least, will have a distinctively purple theme to them.

The first book we're going to have a look at, as you can probably tell by the large graphic on the right over there, is A Tradition of Purple by James Bruton.  I originally got this book in time to make an attempt to review it for the Christmas season, but with everything that was happening with the Vikings towards the end of 2007, coupled with being quite busy at home, I didn't get the opportunity to do so.  I sincerely apologize to Mr. Bruton and the book's publisher (Sports Publishing L.L.C.) for this lapse.

Mr. Bruton's book includes many unique stories, and as they're told from a fan's perspective, they're quite different from things that you might get from the mainstream press.  Starting back in 1963 when a then 18-year old Bruton approached Coach Norm van Brocklin about wanting to kick for the Vikings. . .a goal he achieved in 1967 and 1971, even though both of his stays were brief. . .all the way up to Zygi Wilf's purchase of the team and beyond, there are very few dull moments encapsulated in the 229 pages that Jim Bruton has given us.

Whether you've been a fan of the Vikings for 48 years or 48 months or even 48 days, the odds are very good that you'll find a lot of things in this book that will make you say to yourself, "Wow. . .I had no idea that that ever happened."  For someone like myself that has been a fan of the Vikings for approximately half of the history of the franchise and missed the majority of the Bud Grant era. . .remember, I've referenced here before that the first year I really paid attention to football was the Les Steckel "era" the autumn I turned 8 years old. . .I loved reading the stories about Coach Grant's temper, such as it was.  Or the story about Bud reacted to Carl Eller wanting pancakes instead of steak for the pre-game meal one week.  I won't give away the ending, but sufficient to say. . .everybody got their pancakes, alright.

However, this isn't simply a book of "insider" type locker room stories or anything like that.  Far from it.  A Tradition of Purple also highlights what the Minnesota Vikings have done over the years for the Twin Cities community, too, highlighting the work that the Vikings and their players have done for such charities as the Courage St. Croix House (a non-profit resource and rehab center for people with disabilities), the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Smile Network International, and the Shriners Hospitals.  It also includes a chapter that talks about all of the Vikings that are either in the NFL Hall of Fame or have been inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor.

All in all, A Tradition of Purple is a very entertaining and enlightening read, especially if you're as interested in learning as much about the history of the franchise as you can.  Bruton's style of writing is very easy to read, as well as unique and insightful.  Like I said, there are quite a few stories contained in this book that you're not going to find anywhere else.  So, if you or another Viking fan in your life needs something to read at the lake or in the car or wherever, A Tradition of Purple is a very good place to start.  It's currently available for around $18 (new) at Amazon.com, or at a book store near you (the cover price is $24.95).

I'll have another book review here next week. . .I'll try to make this a regular Sunday feature, at least until the season starts.  Enjoy what's left of the weekend, and we'll see everybody back here tomorrow!