I haven't posted in a while, life has been pretty crazy lately. Today I went to the final regular season baseball game in the Metrodome, and although there will be one on Tuesday, with hopefully subsequent play-off games, it was amazing to be a part of the fare-well ceremony. As I was driving down, I started thinking of the great sports experiences that I have been a part of through the years. I've devised a list of the ones that I have actually attended, not watched on TV. Hopefully there are many more to come. :-). Here are my top 5:
#5. UMD Hockey/Football/Basketball 2004-2007. My gophers/non-band friends will groan at this prospect, but those who joined in it with me can attest that it was a thrill of a life-time to be a part of something like this. The basketball and football carry good memories, but the for those 3 years, life revolved around Hockey. I got to attend games, travel with the band and just be all-out crazy. The UMD team wasn't the greatest through those years, posting some disappointing seasons, and finishing with an overall record in those years of 39-63- 15. The winning wasn't important, it was the feelings of being a part of something bigger. "Don't blame us if we ever doubt ya, you know we couldn't live without ya."
#4, Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox, September 25, 2008. The American League Central race was becoming tight, the Sox had a division lead for 2 weeks, forcing us into a must win situation. Coming into the three game series, the Sox held a 2.5 game lead with 6 games left, putting the Twins in a virtual must sweep situation in order to have a shot at the post-season. Twins won the first two games: 9-3 and 3-2. Game three started out in a despairing manner, with the Sox jumping out to a 6-1 lead and Twins SP, Kevin Slowey, getting pulled after3 1/3 innings pitched. But the Twins fought back, scoring two runs in the 4th, one in the 6th, and two in the 8th on a Denard Span Triple. Two scoreless innings brought is to the bottom of the 10th. Two walks, a few ground outs and a wild pitch landed Nick Punto at 3rd base, with Alexi Casilla at the plate with 2 outs. Casilla, who batted .243 all year, blooped a single over the second basemen to plate Punto for a 7-6 victory, putting us 0.5 games ahead. The Dome erupted. I've spent years standing in front of trumpets, and that was nothing compared to the roar. The Twins would ultimately tank against the Royals, then lose a 1-game play-off in Chicago, but the one game we gave us hope and filled us with excitement. Plus...we beat the Sox!
#3 Retiring Brett Hull's jersey. Duluth, MN, February 3, 2006. This is the one memory on the list where my team didn't win, ultimately losing to Wisconsin, 7-2. But to be present during the retirement of the jersey of the greatest Bulldog, and one of the greatest Wingers in NHL history was victory enough. In his two seasons with UMD, Hull set schools records that still stand today: Most goals in a season (52), goals by a freshman (32), Hat Tricks in a season (7), Career Hat Tricks (10) and Most PPG in a season (20). It was a definite thrill to see the 29 lifted to the DECC rafters, and a once in a lifetime opportunity for any UMD fan. To watch the ceremony, http://www.sportsoundproductions.com/Hidden.html. "LET'S KICK SOME BADGER BUTT!"
#2 Metrodome Farewell and the last regular season Twins game in the Dome. October 4, 2009. Ok, so I know this just happened today, well yesterday now, but I don't know if I have a Twins memory to top this. It's the same principle as the Brett Hull retirement, to be a part of something this special, with a team that has mean so much to me throughout the years and the only major league stadium I've ever seen a game at. The game was riveting: a 13-4 victory over the Royals which secured a playoff game with Detroit. Sure it would've been incredible to win outright, but it was still something. Jason Kubel and Delmon young each hit two HR, and the place was rocking in a playoff atmosphere. But it was the ceremony after the game that cements it into the #2 spot. Twins greats from the Dome era such as Kent Hrbek, Jack Morris, Gary Gaetti and Frank Viola lined the base-paths with current Twins. Video montage of the 10 greatest Dome moments, a video tribute to Kirby Puckett, and the selection of the all metrodome team. It was capped off by Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and Harmon Killebew raising the flags at Target field, followed by a Kent Hrbek speech in which he promised to come back on Tuesday and "Drink more beer". Go Twins!
#1 2009 WCHA Final Five. Xcel Energy Center, March 19-21, 2009. Of all the sports moments I have experienced, this is stands alone above them all. The Bulldogs, who were 7th in the conference going into the tournament after getting swept by last placed UAA, beat #3 Colorado College in two games to earn a Final Five bid. They went on an unbelievable run, outscoring their opponents (Minnesota-Twin Cities, North Dakota and Denver) by a combined score of 9-1. Alex Stalock, who won the tournament MVP, was a wall, stopping 91 of 92 SOG. This on top of scoring prowess by MacGregor Sharp, who topped off an amazing tournament with a hat trick. Fans of more legacy programs will try to berate the win as it was only the conference championship and not the national title. But for a program like this, who has gone through years of disappointment, to pull out a win like this is truly amazing. And to do it through three of the conferences biggest teams as well. No team has ever won the tournament as the low seat, no team has even come from the play-in game to win. The ability to walk with some swagger, to celebrate my teams victory, after the years of anguish they have put me through, to see all the other teams fans become UMD fans, if just for one night, makes this the greatest sports experience of my life.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
More Sports
Hey everyone,
It's been a crazy week so I haven't had a chance to write much. I have some topics other than sports I wish to rant about, just haven't had the chance yet. So for today, more Vikings talk.. Also, congrats to Alex and Danielle on their wedding :-D.
Was anyone else getting as nervous as I was during the Vikings/Lions game on Sunday? I, like the other Vikings faithful, fancy the Vikes as a Superbowl contender. They sure did not look like it though trailing the Motor-City Kitties, who have now not won in 19 games, 10-7 at half time. And our seven points came at the end of a late second quarter drive, capped off by a Favre-Shiancoe hook-up. I was feeling a little nervous.
But, with what seems to be the pace for the Vikings this year, they went on a 20-3 scoring streak to win the game with a final score, 27-13.
Some Highs and lows from the game: Adrian Peterson got off to a rough start, fumbling the ball in the Vikings first posession. Peterson flubbed the hand-off from QB Favre and it went rolling right to the waiting Lions. It was a fumble clearly on Peterson, as watching the replay he took his eyes off it before it was in his arms, looking for a good cut-back lane. Just like baseball, you have to watch the ball in before you do anything else with it. AP, like the rest of the Vikings, had a slow first half, but recovered in the second to finish with 92 yards and a touchdown. Including one very AP-like touchdown scamper for 27 yards.
Favre looked good, I really have no complaints with him thus far. He is taking quite a few sacks, which I would blame more on the offensive line. But being 40 years old and possessing litle ability to scramble, I'd rather him tuck the ball in and not try anything crazy that winds up in an interception. But you really cannot complain about 115.3 passer rating. This was Favre's 271 consecutive start, breaking former Viking Jim Marshall's record. To give you an idea of this length of span, to break This record, the Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford would have to start every game from now until 2026. Yeah.
Speaking of the offensive line, Bryant McKinnie looked pretty terrible again. There were miscues all-around, and maybe I just focus on McKinnie's, but for someone who is a leader on the line, he needs to step up and protect his aging QB.
Defensively we were alright. Too much over-pursuit in the first half lead to some big gains by Lions RB, Kevin Smith. Jared Allen and company, seemingly trying to retaliate for a chop-block last year that landed Allen on the side-lines, looked angry and flabber-ghasted trying to stop the Lions in the first half, even taking some un-ncessiary penalties. They did settle down, getting two sacks throughout the game. Including one by Jared Allen, marking his first of the year. The other note-worthy player, Chad Greenway, had a funble recovery and two interceptions in this game, doubling his career INT total. He did miss a couple key tackles early, but made up for them with big plays. This also marked the 25th consecutive game in which the Vikings have not allowed a 100-yard rusher, though we might have some problems next week again Frank Gore.
Not much else to say except that Percy Harvin continues to look good, I would look for him to get at least one kick return TD this year. The Vikings have fared well against these weak teams, but will need to figure out a way to get some first-half potenc or they are going to have problems keeping pace with teams such as the Steelers and Packers later in the season.
Thats about it on the Vikings and for the post, later in the week I hope to post some thoughts on the Twins and Wild. As well as some other topics not sports related.
It's been a crazy week so I haven't had a chance to write much. I have some topics other than sports I wish to rant about, just haven't had the chance yet. So for today, more Vikings talk.. Also, congrats to Alex and Danielle on their wedding :-D.
Was anyone else getting as nervous as I was during the Vikings/Lions game on Sunday? I, like the other Vikings faithful, fancy the Vikes as a Superbowl contender. They sure did not look like it though trailing the Motor-City Kitties, who have now not won in 19 games, 10-7 at half time. And our seven points came at the end of a late second quarter drive, capped off by a Favre-Shiancoe hook-up. I was feeling a little nervous.
But, with what seems to be the pace for the Vikings this year, they went on a 20-3 scoring streak to win the game with a final score, 27-13.
Some Highs and lows from the game: Adrian Peterson got off to a rough start, fumbling the ball in the Vikings first posession. Peterson flubbed the hand-off from QB Favre and it went rolling right to the waiting Lions. It was a fumble clearly on Peterson, as watching the replay he took his eyes off it before it was in his arms, looking for a good cut-back lane. Just like baseball, you have to watch the ball in before you do anything else with it. AP, like the rest of the Vikings, had a slow first half, but recovered in the second to finish with 92 yards and a touchdown. Including one very AP-like touchdown scamper for 27 yards.
Favre looked good, I really have no complaints with him thus far. He is taking quite a few sacks, which I would blame more on the offensive line. But being 40 years old and possessing litle ability to scramble, I'd rather him tuck the ball in and not try anything crazy that winds up in an interception. But you really cannot complain about 115.3 passer rating. This was Favre's 271 consecutive start, breaking former Viking Jim Marshall's record. To give you an idea of this length of span, to break This record, the Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford would have to start every game from now until 2026. Yeah.
Speaking of the offensive line, Bryant McKinnie looked pretty terrible again. There were miscues all-around, and maybe I just focus on McKinnie's, but for someone who is a leader on the line, he needs to step up and protect his aging QB.
Defensively we were alright. Too much over-pursuit in the first half lead to some big gains by Lions RB, Kevin Smith. Jared Allen and company, seemingly trying to retaliate for a chop-block last year that landed Allen on the side-lines, looked angry and flabber-ghasted trying to stop the Lions in the first half, even taking some un-ncessiary penalties. They did settle down, getting two sacks throughout the game. Including one by Jared Allen, marking his first of the year. The other note-worthy player, Chad Greenway, had a funble recovery and two interceptions in this game, doubling his career INT total. He did miss a couple key tackles early, but made up for them with big plays. This also marked the 25th consecutive game in which the Vikings have not allowed a 100-yard rusher, though we might have some problems next week again Frank Gore.
Not much else to say except that Percy Harvin continues to look good, I would look for him to get at least one kick return TD this year. The Vikings have fared well against these weak teams, but will need to figure out a way to get some first-half potenc or they are going to have problems keeping pace with teams such as the Steelers and Packers later in the season.
Thats about it on the Vikings and for the post, later in the week I hope to post some thoughts on the Twins and Wild. As well as some other topics not sports related.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Easy Start
Alright, I started this blog which is something I have wanted to try for a while. I want a spot where I can rant about things that I feel like ranting about, so we'll see if anyone gets interested. For my first blog post ever I am going to talk about something I know very well: Minnesota Sports. Specifically the Vikings and Twins. I'll start with the Vikings tonight.
The Vikings beat a sub-par Cleveland team yesterday 34-20, although this game was not as close as the score would indicate. The Vikings offense lead by the aging Brett Favre took some time to get going, trailing 13-10 at halftime. Cleveland's first-half touchdown came on a punt return touchdown in which return-man Joshua Cribbs went 67 yards virtually un-touched. Special teams, along with poor quarterback play, was a real achilles heel of the Vikings team last year, a hole that was hoped to have been filled. With the exception of a few field goals and some good running by Adrian Peterson and his Cleveland counter-part Jamal Anderson, the first half shaped up to be a defensive battle. A battle in which the Browns should not have stood a chance.
The second half played out much more like expected. Brett Favre, though still having some trouble communicating with his receivers, apeared comfortable in the pocket, zipping the ball like the Brett Favre of old. He took four sacks, altough frustrating from an offensive line that prides itself as one of the better ones in the league, Favre did a good job of tucking the ball and not trying to force anything with his 40 year-old, bionic, NFL interception record holding arm. Cannot really complain though about 14/21 and two touchdowns. Including one to the ever-more impressing Percy Harvin.
Back to the offensive line, I expect some inadequacies from the center and right side. Phil Loadholt (RT) will be an excellent lineman down the road but is still a rookie in his first regular season game. Anthony Herrera (RG) in his sixth season out of Tennessee, who has never been too impressive and is a substitute teacher at best played to expectation. And 2nd year center John Sullivan, same as Loadholt, looked about as good filling Matt Birk's shoes as could be expected. The disappointment came on the left side of the line, in the mountain of a man: Bryant McKinnie. McKinnie is big and strong and can be an able Tackle, but he just looked slow and lost against the blitz, once even being beaten by a safety.
Adrian Peterson looked back to usual form, getting stuffed a couple times when trying to run against the blitz. He seems to be doing a better job of admitting defeat on running plays and just diving forward instead of dancing around and losing more yards. Other than that, you can't get upset over 186 yards and 3 touchdowns. Especially if he happens to be on your fantasy team...
Defense looked good, pass defense still needs a little work, but over-all was a good effort. Jared Allen got close to a sack on a couple plays, I look for him to have another outstanding season, as with the rest of the line. The Williams wall I have no complaint about, except the whole diuretic issue. Even Ray Edwards, with whom I have never been too impressed, managed a sack. Cedric Griffin had an excellent game with an interception, a forced fumble and a pass deflection. The only other thing I have to add on the defense is this: I love Antoine Winfield, but I hate how everytime I watch a vikings game, they only thing the announcers can do is talk about how hard he hits. We get it.
The NFC North will be a tough division this year, SI picked the Bears to win the division with Minnesota and Green Bay taking the two NFC wild-cards. I was at work so I didn't catch the entire Packers/Bears game, but what I saw Jay Cutler looked terrible. Not to take anything away from the Packers defense, which has only gotten better since an impressive year last year. But Cutler did not look competant at all, if the Bears are looking later in the season, maybe we dangle Tavaris Jackson to see what we can get. I maintain that the divison race will come down to a tight race between the Packers and Vikings. And hopefully the Motor-City Kitties can win something this year...hopefully a game against the Packers :-).
Well, that about wraps up my first blog post in a long winded fashion. To those of you who actually read through the whole thing, thanks. To those who just skimmed to the end looking for the conclusion, thanks for looking anyways. I hope to put these up in fairly common order. (Don't worry, they won't ALL be sports related, just most of them.)
That about wraps up my first blog post in a
The Vikings beat a sub-par Cleveland team yesterday 34-20, although this game was not as close as the score would indicate. The Vikings offense lead by the aging Brett Favre took some time to get going, trailing 13-10 at halftime. Cleveland's first-half touchdown came on a punt return touchdown in which return-man Joshua Cribbs went 67 yards virtually un-touched. Special teams, along with poor quarterback play, was a real achilles heel of the Vikings team last year, a hole that was hoped to have been filled. With the exception of a few field goals and some good running by Adrian Peterson and his Cleveland counter-part Jamal Anderson, the first half shaped up to be a defensive battle. A battle in which the Browns should not have stood a chance.
The second half played out much more like expected. Brett Favre, though still having some trouble communicating with his receivers, apeared comfortable in the pocket, zipping the ball like the Brett Favre of old. He took four sacks, altough frustrating from an offensive line that prides itself as one of the better ones in the league, Favre did a good job of tucking the ball and not trying to force anything with his 40 year-old, bionic, NFL interception record holding arm. Cannot really complain though about 14/21 and two touchdowns. Including one to the ever-more impressing Percy Harvin.
Back to the offensive line, I expect some inadequacies from the center and right side. Phil Loadholt (RT) will be an excellent lineman down the road but is still a rookie in his first regular season game. Anthony Herrera (RG) in his sixth season out of Tennessee, who has never been too impressive and is a substitute teacher at best played to expectation. And 2nd year center John Sullivan, same as Loadholt, looked about as good filling Matt Birk's shoes as could be expected. The disappointment came on the left side of the line, in the mountain of a man: Bryant McKinnie. McKinnie is big and strong and can be an able Tackle, but he just looked slow and lost against the blitz, once even being beaten by a safety.
Adrian Peterson looked back to usual form, getting stuffed a couple times when trying to run against the blitz. He seems to be doing a better job of admitting defeat on running plays and just diving forward instead of dancing around and losing more yards. Other than that, you can't get upset over 186 yards and 3 touchdowns. Especially if he happens to be on your fantasy team...
Defense looked good, pass defense still needs a little work, but over-all was a good effort. Jared Allen got close to a sack on a couple plays, I look for him to have another outstanding season, as with the rest of the line. The Williams wall I have no complaint about, except the whole diuretic issue. Even Ray Edwards, with whom I have never been too impressed, managed a sack. Cedric Griffin had an excellent game with an interception, a forced fumble and a pass deflection. The only other thing I have to add on the defense is this: I love Antoine Winfield, but I hate how everytime I watch a vikings game, they only thing the announcers can do is talk about how hard he hits. We get it.
The NFC North will be a tough division this year, SI picked the Bears to win the division with Minnesota and Green Bay taking the two NFC wild-cards. I was at work so I didn't catch the entire Packers/Bears game, but what I saw Jay Cutler looked terrible. Not to take anything away from the Packers defense, which has only gotten better since an impressive year last year. But Cutler did not look competant at all, if the Bears are looking later in the season, maybe we dangle Tavaris Jackson to see what we can get. I maintain that the divison race will come down to a tight race between the Packers and Vikings. And hopefully the Motor-City Kitties can win something this year...hopefully a game against the Packers :-).
Well, that about wraps up my first blog post in a long winded fashion. To those of you who actually read through the whole thing, thanks. To those who just skimmed to the end looking for the conclusion, thanks for looking anyways. I hope to put these up in fairly common order. (Don't worry, they won't ALL be sports related, just most of them.)
That about wraps up my first blog post in a
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