Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. . .just didn't feel right doing anything with the rescue efforts in the I-35W bridge going on. I have a brother that occasionally went over that bridge to get to some of the Cub Foods stores he's the head of security for, and my wife and I were pretty freaked out when we saw the cut-in on the news. He's alright and everything, so we're relieved.
But the show must continue, and continue it shall. . .so here are some things I've found while trying to figure out who the heck Nick Punto has compromising photographs of.
(Hey, have you got a better explanation for why the guy is still in a MLB starting lineup?)
-Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is, apparently, still whining about the play he got injured on in last year's game against Minnesota. Now, prior to moving to Mississippi, I spent 3 1/2 years at McChord AFB in Tacoma, just south of Seattle. Nice city, beautiful stadium, good people. . .the weather, not so much, but overall it's a nice place. I have nothing against Seattle or the people that live there.
With that said. . .damn, Matt, shut up already. Go back, look at the film, realize that a Seattle player blocked E.J. Henderson into your knee, and then feel free to apologize to Mr. Henderson for implying that he's a dirty player (he's not). Hell, if your sister-in-law could stand up to Rosie O'Donnell, surely you can move past this.
-Tonight in Mankato, the Vikings are scrimmaging against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that they'll see in KC in Week 3 of the regular season. According to Judd Zulgad over at Access Vikings, it appears that Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, and Aundrae Allison would be held out of tonight's scrimmage. Damn, I was looking forward to seeing how AP and Allison did. Ah, well, I guess we'll have to wait until next Friday.
Hopefully.
According to Sean Jensen at Vikings Now, the full list of players not playing tonight against KC consists of Peterson, Taylor, Allison, Ben Leber, Ronyell Whitaker, Wendell Mathis, Seppo Evwaraye, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Antoine Winfield, and Troy Williamson. No word on why Williamson isn't out there tonight.
-I would be remiss if I didn't mention the death of NFL coaching icon Bill Walsh earlier this week. Walsh was, quite simply, the best damn football coach of my lifetime. An innovator and a master motivator, he took a team in San Francisco that had been horrible for as long as anyone could remember and turned them into the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen. He also had an outstanding eye for talent. . .not just on the field, but on the sidelines as well, as evidenced by the famed Walsh coaching tree. No fewer than half of the current NFL head coaches, including every current NFC North head coach (Holmgren, Reid, Childress, Fox, McCarthy, Gruden, Shanahan, Kubiak, Fisher, Billick, Del Rio, Linehan, Dungy, Smith, Tomlin, and Marinelli) can be traced back to Bill Walsh. Simply amazing. He'll be greatly missed by Niner fans and non-Niner fans alike. Fooch over at Niners Nation has some pretty good coverage of Walsh's life and times.
That's all for tonight, folks. . .remember, this time a week from now, the Vikings' first pre-season game should just be wrapping up. Woo-hoo!