Tuesday Open Thread: December 26, 2017

Merry Tuesday, everyone!

Man, here I was all excited, then I found out that Bismarkie is actually NOT from Bismarck. Bummer. Oh well, welcome aboard anyway. So, can we now say you’re just a friend?

Hey, the Vikes are very close to clinching a first-round bye. If the team wins its final game at home against Chicago (which seems likely, but as we know, nothing is guaranteed), they will have a first round bye. Even with a loss to Chicago, they can still get a first round bye if the Saints win OR the Panthers lose. Basically, the only way the Vikes play in the first round of the playoffs is if they lose to Chicago AND the Saints lose to Tampa AND Carolina beats Atlanta. Let’s just beat Chicago.

Around the DN since our last open thread:

There may be a new “most famous Vikings fan”, per Chris.

Wludford has a little stat to share, the Vikings now have the best defense in the NFL. This is an amazing fact when you consider that the Vikings had the NFL’s WORST defense when Coach Zimmer took this team over in 2014. What he’s done with the team in a short time is nothing short of miraculous, and one of the reasons I have a lot of respect and admiration for the man (also for his charitable work). I am VERY thankful that we have him.

Vikings news from other sources:

From Vikings.com, Vikings players spent time giving back to the community over the Christmas holiday break, see Coach Zimmer’s locker room speech after Saturday’s game, hear the coach address the media via conference call on Sunday, and lots more to look through in the media vault.

News from around the rest of the NFL:

The Sporting News has an updated NFL playoff picture. There are lots of ifs, ands, and ors; I think the final answer is 4.......or C.

The NFL is facing more scrutiny after another ridiculous TD reversal, from ABC Sports. Shocking to absolutely no one is that the Patriots were the beneficiary of the latest botched reversal. Even league sycophant, Mike Peirera, says they got the call wrong. Seriously NFL, you’re making this way harder than it has to be.

Vikings old pal, and aspiring locksmith, Tyler Heinecke saw some action yesterday when he replaced TJ Yates as the Texans QB.

We come to today’s media selection.

Well, why not?

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-This isn't a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door
-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
-Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
-No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
-If you can't disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it's sarcasm

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on. Don't forget to tip your waitress, & try the head cheese