Tuesday Open Thread: July 18, 2018

Merry Tuesday, everyone!

We’re getting ready for training camp, and the unofficial start to the NFL season. I know when THEY say the season starts, but we know when it REALLY starts.

How many of you are going to make it to training camp for the Mankato grand finale? It looks like I’ll be there sometime during the weekend of July 28-30. If anyone else will be there that weekend, let me know & hopefully we can at least say hi in person.

Around the DN since our last open thread:

Chris is down to number 52 in Minnesota Vikings By The Numbers. One of my favorite people should be the winner of this one.

Chris wants your opinion on whether Teddy Bridgewater will start the season on the PUP. I really don’t know what to expect. A month ago, I’d have said yes. Now, he’s looking much further along in his recovery than I expected, but I still feel like they’ll bring him along cautiously and slowly. No sense in risking his career when you have a more-than-capable player to hold down the fort.

The Vikings rank 30th among the world’s most valuable sports teams, per Chris.

Vikings news from other sources:

The Strib is down to number 5 on their list of the 17 most important Vikings.

From Vikings.com, Wobby opened the Monday Morning Mailbag, Anthony Barr is giving back to the community with a football camp, Harrison Smith plays the role of both teacher and student in the Vikings defense, and Stefon Diggs equates running routes to painting.

Around the rest of the NFL:

Execs from 5 NFL teams call Kirk Cousins a top 15 QB, per NFL.com. This seems to be the new journalist craze. Instead of naming “an anonymous source”, they just go with “an NFL executive”. I think it’s still the same make-believe person that talks to them when they’re putting the story together.

From Fox Sports, the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell failed to reach an agreement on a long-term deal. Bell will play on a one-year deal under the franchise tag.

Also from Fox Sports, Carolina fired their GM after four seasons.

We come to our media selection.

I like me some Ozzy, especially his earlier stuff, & here’s one of my faves of his.

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 vulgar language to a minimum, using spoiler tags if you must
-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.