Not good times. Bad times.

Shoulda woulda coulda. See you in the spring boys. Take care of business at home next time and you won't have to worry about a coin toss, a black-out, or not hitting a lick during a play-in game.

Ain’t nothin’ I can say.

We believe in curses. We believe in the ability to jinx a team. We didn’t want to write about the Twins/White Sox series because even though it doesn’t make sense, we didn’t want to have any kind of influence on the Twins, the series, or any of the players.

Whenever we get our hopes up, the Vikings crush our dreams. Whenever we think the Twins are dead, they come storming back.

We will watch and we will love every second of it, but we can’t possibly say anything that hasn’t already been said. This is going to be a great weekend of baseball. And, the Vikings are playing too. It’s nice to have those priorities this close to October.

The playoffs start today for the Twins.

The Twins can't split this weekend's series with Tampa Bay. They need to take 3 of 4. In fact, they probably need to sweep this series to have a chance at making the playoffs.

Currently sitting at 2.5 games out of first place in the AL Central, the Twins continue to struggle holding leads and closing out games. The White Sox take on Kansas City this weekend and we don't see them losing more than one game in that series. More than likely, they will sweep.

If the Twins are more than 2.5 games out of first when the series with the White Sox starts next week, we can all stop pretending this team has a chance at post season play.

Gus Frerotte might be the answer. Or not.

We have no idea what to think of Gus Frerotte at this point in his career. But, we know he isn't Tavaris Jackson and right now that is good enough for us.

It's no secret we don't really like Brad Childress as a head coach and this move is either going to rejuvenate or end his head coaching career with the Vikings. Something had to be done about the quarterback play and its not TJack's fault. He wasn't good enough right now to be a starter. He might not ever be good enough.

Now Chilly is turning to Gus. Good luck. Open up the play book, be assertive, and let him throw his 2 TD's and 2 INT's every game. With word coming down yesterday that Adrian Peterson has a strained hammy, things are going to be that much tougher. But it can't get any worse for the Vikings with Gus in there. Right?

Let's hope.

Same as it ever was.

The D-line still can't get to the QB. T-Jack still can't complete a routine 10-yard out pass. The special teams play was brutal. Visanthe Shianco still can't hold onto the ball. Adrian Peterson is still a stud.

You could look at just about any game from last year and compare it to last night -- it looks the same.

The Colts come to town next week. Who has a better chance of going 0-2, T-Jack or Peyton Manning?

Exactly.

Look at that Booty

Brooks Bollinger got cut today and that means your boy JD Booty made the team. We don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. We saw about twenty minutes of Vikings football this pre-season and we haven't been this unprepared for football season since we were trying to run the wishbone-option offense back at good old Paynesville High School. The Vikings should be good this year. That's what we keep hearing. We have no idea if its true, but we can't wait for the real games to start.

Twins still hanging tough.

The Twins are in California this weekend and so is Cold Omaha. However, we are up the coast about 250 miles north of LA right now and we won't be able to take in any of the Angels/Twins series.

We thought the Twins would be four games out of first place by the time we got back to Minnesota and we could then focus on the Vikings. But...it looks like the Twins are going to continue to make us watch them to see if they really can make the playoffs with that bullpen.

Brett Favre is a Jet.

Whew.

Let's celebrate.

Brett Favre is going to be a Viking.

I know. It sucks. I hate the idea of Brett Favre playing in purple. But, it’s all but a done deal. Favre met with Mike McCarthy, Packer head coach, last night and it didn’t go well.

This from Favre today, according to Chris Mortensen:
"We're at a stalemate," Favre said. "Mike and I both agreed last night that me being out there is a distraction and will continue to be a distraction. We all know the reason I'm here is because the commissioner reinstated me so we have a lot of things to figure out. It's simple and complicated, both at the same time…they want to know if I'm committed but I want to know if they're 100 percent committed. The problem is that there's been a lot of damage done and I can't forget it. Stuff has been said, stories planted, that just aren't true. Can I get over all that? I doubt it… so they can say they welcome me back but, come on, the way they've treated me tells you the truth. They don't want me back, so let's move on. I don't know where it's headed. We'll see."

The idea of Brett Favre playing for the Vikings is incomprehensible to me. I don’t want this to happen. Not at all. I’ve avoided even thinking about it because the thought makes me ill. How do you cheer for someone you hate? How do you cheer for a guy like Brett Favre? How do I not cheer for the Vikings this year? Do I hate the Packers or do I hate Brett Favre? I have never really believed in the old joke that you are just “cheering for laundry” when you cheer for a sports team, but if I have to cheer for Brett Favre as a Viking, I guess I will believe it.

Worst case scenario – we will win the Super Bowl, Brett Favre will be our quarterback, and it won’t feel like “we” really won anything at all. We will win with the Packers quarterback. Who wants that?

Not me.

Hold on for one more day.

Wilson Phillips also did a song called "Release Me." If this were still 1991 and if we were going to give Brett Favre a mix tape, we would start here.

--
I know there's pain
Why do lock yourself up in these chains?
No one can change your life except for you
Don't ever let anyone step all over you

Just open your heart and your mind
Is it really fair to feel this way inside?

Some day somebody's gonna make you want to turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know? Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can you hold on for one more day
Things'll go your way
Hold on for one more day

You could sustain
Or are you comfortable with the pain?
You've got no one to blame for your unhappiness
You got yourself into your own mess
Lettin' your worries pass you by
Don't you think it's worth your time to change your mind?

I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and break free the chains
Yeah I know that there is pain
But you hold on for one more day and you break free, break from the chains

Some day somebody's gonna make you want to turn around and say goodbye
Until then baby are you going to let them hold you down and make you cry
Don't you know? Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way if you hold on for one more day yeah
If you hold on

Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
If you hold on
Can you hold on hold on baby won't you tell me now
Hold on for one more day
'Cause it's gonna go your way

Don't you know things can change
Things'll go your way
If you hold on for one more day
Can't you change it this time
Make up your mind
Hold on Hold on baby hold on

Tav on the Ave, Blakeslee Field, and The Albatross...

We've been around the state of Minnesota a time or two in our day. We've lived in towns and cities big and small, but Mankato will always hold a place in our hearts because of the three things mentioned in the headline above.

And, it holds a special place because of Vikings training camp. We will never forget working the sidelines of training camp for KMSU back in 1995, rubbing shoulders with Michelle Tafoya, Randy Shaver, and some guy from the Mankato Free Press. We almost got run over by Korey Stringer as he lumbered his way toward the weight room and we were yelled at constantly for standing too close to the field. My tape recorder didn't have a tape in it, because we weren't going to play any sound from training camp on a public radio station, but I carried that thing with me everywhere. That recorder and my "press pass" was just as good as the stuff carried by the big boys in Minneapolis and I didn't have to worry about anything other than watching Denny Green in his super tight gym shorts and tucked-in Vikings polo shirt. Ah...the good old days.

Camp opens today and it couldn't come at a better time. Sure, we don't want summer to be over, but we also don't want to have to pin our sports hopes on a Twins team that won't deal for another hitter so...let's play some football.

It's like having an east coast bias, but kind of different.

Josh Hamilton hits the baseball pretty well. The folks at ESPN were rooting for him to win the homerun derby last night. He didn't. Justin Morneau did. Nobody pays attention to this thing -- and they probably shouldn't. But the network pretty much ignored Morneau the entire evening while Hamilton was the subject of discussion for nearly three hours. If Brett Favre played baseball, he would be Josh Hamilton.

I can't imagine what will happen if Hamilton ends up playing for a New York team when he is a free agent in three years. ESPN might start an entire channel just for him. It is a nice story, he overcame a drug addiction and we are happy for him. But let's not make him out to be something he isn't. He's not a hero, he's a ball player who snorted $4 million worth of coke, messed up a huge opportunity, and then found a way to come back and make it right. Good for him.

Want to know how little respect Justin Morneau got last night? The Major League Baseball VP who presented him the trophy after the event called him Jason Morneau. Sounds about right.

How about a homerun hitting third baseman, is that something you might be interested in?

Back in 2004, we were spending a lot of our time in Las Vegas and Adrian Beltre was hitting homeruns like Nick Punto hits lazy pop flies to the shortstop. Now it is 2008. We haven’t been to Vegas in years, Punto is still popping out weakly (and daily) to short, and Adrian Beltre can’t allegedly take steroids anymore, so he’s not hitting homeruns at such a torrid clip. But, he’s still hitting homeruns. And, compared to the rest of the Twins regulars, he’s hitting homeruns like it is still the steroid era, banging out 26 last year and 25 in 2006.

The Twins might end up with Beltre playing third base sooner than you think. According to the Star Tribune, the Twins contacted the Mariners to see if Beltre is available. The Mariners said “of course” and now it looks like the Twins might make a deal for the decent hitting, great fielding third baseman.

We could use him on this team. We most definitely need help against left-handed pitchers and more power is always a good thing. So he doesn't hit for average and he strikes out a lot, big deal. We need more power. Get this deal done over the break. Please.

BREAKING NEWS: We were wrong about this one.

Last year Justin Morneau participated in the home run derby at the All-Star game. Here’s what we wrote last July:

“Don’t believe the baloney you hear about the home run hitting contest ruining a player’s swing and turning him into an upper-cut hitter who strikes out more than he makes contact.. “

Um…he only hit 7 homeruns after the all-star break last year, so we were probably wrong about this. Still, since he is going to be in the thing again this year, we might as well watch it.

It will be nice to watch ESPN for three hours and not have to hear about Brett Favre. Plus, watching ESPN for more than an hour will mean we get to see the “BRIAN DEEGAN” commercials 650 times – and that’s a good thing. Listen closely to the voice; doesn’t that dude all dressed in black and wearing the Darth Vader helmet sound a lot like Bill Murray’s brother, the guy from Groundhog Day?

We don't know who Brian Deegan is, but we have been saying his name pretty much non-stop for the last five days.

Not quite ready for prime time.

Playing in the Nature Valley Amateur Tournament wasn’t my idea. Well, it was my idea at first in a “there’s no way I would ever have the guts to actually do this, but it would be cool to try it” kind of way. Once I started talking about it, the gal worked hard at convincing me to play.

And, she was right – it was good for me to play in the tournament, to get out of my comfort zone and to challenge myself. I mean, at what other point in my life would I have a chance to play a championship golf course set up for a real event on the Senior PGA circuit? Long rough, Sunday pin placements, and fairways that never open up beyond 85 yards sounds great on paper, but how much fun would it be to actually play that kind of course?

Well...it was fun…but it was stressful. Here’s a quick look at what happened to me when I played in my first real golf tournament in more than 20 years.

--
When I was a kid, I played in junior league golf tournaments every summer at the Koronis Hills Golf Club. I even won a couple of them. But other than some matches against friends and of course the battle for the Spaulding Trophy over the years, I hadn’t played true competitive golf in a long time. How was I going to react?

Warming up/getting loose.
I arrived at the TPC Twin Cities about 90 minutes before my 10:10 tee time. I wanted to hit balls and work on my putting/chipping since the greens at TPC would be two or three times faster than anything I have played this year. I checked in and a club house attendant threw my clubs on the cart. No use wasting any time, so I was off to the driving range to see if I could hit the ball while my hands were shaking from the nerves.

The warm-up went well. I was relieved to see that some of the guys on the range were duck-hooking their drivers and sculling their irons. Maybe I wasn’t the only nervous one out here today. I hit a bunch of balls and felt good about my swing. After practicing my putting stroke for a half hour and even working out of the sand trap for a few minutes, it was time to tee it up.

HOLE 1 -- 370 Par 4
I was paired with two other golfers and our threesome was the final group of the day. One of the guys (the eventual winner of my flight) was a member of the TPC and he told me that his “normal” handicap was about a 10, but he wasn’t playing well this season and it ballooned to a 16. The other guy was a 22 handicap and I am a 15. We seemed pretty evenly matched before we started, but it was clear that the guy with the "bloated" handicap was clearly better than a 16 and I would have guessed he was an 8 or so if he hadn’t told me differently.

Anyway…the first hole went well for me. Great drive, right down the middle, fantastic approach within four feet and one putt for birdie – this was going to be easy!
---

HOLE 2 -- 350 yard Par 4
Okay…not so easy. I hit three-wood off the tee because of the narrow fairway, and I pushed my drive into the water on the right. After taking a penalty stroke and dropping at the point of entry, I hit another ball into the water on my approach. Another stroke, another drop. I hit short of the green twice and finally got on the green in 7 – and then two-putted for a 9. Ouch. A birdie on the first hole and a 9 on the second hole! I am FUMING at this point and I can’t believe I actually put two balls in the water. Oh well…put it behind you and move on. Little did I know, things were going to get much worse.
---

HOLE 3 -- 501 yard Par 5
I am admittedly frustrated right now, but feel fine as I tee up for my drive. BOOM…out of bounds on the right side. Tee up my second drive and BOOM… out of bounds again to the right. This time I hit a house. Now I am screwed. I am beyond angry and am pretty close to withdrawing from the tournament. BOOM…my third attempt at hitting driver goes into the water on the left side. I actually said the words “Thank God I can drop from up there” and did just that instead of hitting another sideways drive off the tee. I finish the hole okay but end up making a 12. I was ready to quit after three holes. I was searching for the beer girl but she wasn't around. Probably for the best.
---

HOLE 4 – 138 yard Par 3
Finally some relief. I put my drive on the green and two-putt for a three. I have a par, a birdie, a 12, and a 9 through the first four holes. Golf is a crazy game.
---

HOLE 5 – 360 yard Par 4
I pulled out the driver again here. I wasn’t going to let the third hole kill my confidence, I can hit that driver, it was just one bad hole. I was right, at least this time – I made par here and was feeling pretty good about things and thought I could still break 50 on the front if I played well over the next 4 holes.
---

HOLE 6 -- 527 yard Par 5
Ugh. Another tee shot out of bounds. I reload the driver and actually hit it well, but the next shot goes into the water on the left. I finally finish out the hole with another…gulp…9. So to recap I have a birdie, two pars, two 9’s and a 12. If I don’t start playing better, I might seriously end up shooting in the 120’s today. My goal coming in was to break 100 and now I am seriously questioning whether or not I will finish the round.
---

HOLE 7 – 276 yard Par 4
I hit three-wood off the tee on this short par 4 and I ended up placing it right down the middle. The approach was great and I two-putted for a par. My total score for the front nine right now is 44. If I par out, I can shoot a 51 and all things considered, that wouldn’t be terrible.
---

HOLE 8 – 156 yard Par 3
A nice simple par 3, but the pin is all the way on the back, left side of the two-tiered green. You need to clear four sand traps and land the ball on a sloped green. I didn’t do that. I crushed a 7-iron, but the wind was blowing at this point and the ball came back off the front side of the green and started rolling toward the bunkers. Please don’t go in the sand. Please don’t go in the sand. Please don’t go in the sand. It didn’t. I got lucky and the ball stayed up in the rough in between two of the biggest, deepest bunkers I have ever seen. It would have taken me at least three shots to get out of there. I chip on and two-putt for the most wonderful bogey I have had in a long time.
---

HOLE 9 – 417 yard Par 4
Okay, I can’t shoot a 51 on the back, but if I par this hole I can shoot a 52. Had you told me this right after #6 I never would have believed it. I drilled my drive and hit the green on the approach. I missed what was a pretty simple putt for birdie, but tapped in for par. Whew. So…4 balls in the water, 3 out of bounds equaled one birdie, one bogey, 4 pars, 2 nines and a twelve on the front for a total of 52. The back should go better, right?
---

HOLE 10 – 321 yard Par 4
I pushed my drive into the deep rough, but it stayed in bounds! I hit my approach into another one of those giant sand traps and this time it did take me two strokes to get out of it. I limped in with a 7 to start the back nine. My goal is to break 50 on the back, but I would still love to break 100 overall. That means I need to shoot a 47 or better. Doable, but not probable.

HOLE 11 – 345 yard Par 4
I am still feeling confident in my driver even though I probably shouldn’t be at this point. I hit by far my best tee shot of the day here at 11, carrying over the right-side fairway bunker (261 on the yardage book to clear it) and end up placing my approach two feet away from the hole. A nice birdie to help make up for the 7 on number 10. Okay…things might be on track now.
---

HOLE 12 – 542 yard Par 5
I won’t lie, I am nervous about this par 5. I took a 12 and a 9 on the par 5’s on the front and this hole looks even more menacing than those two did. I choose to play it safe off the tee and hit 3-wood right down the middle. I was going to be okay with taking four shots to get to the green, but I end up being on in regulation and two-putt for par. I am on pace to shoot a 45 right now. Don’t think about it; just keep the ball in play!
---

HOLE 13 – 170 yard Par 3
I thought I had seen the deepest and largest bunkers back on the front 9, but the bunker here at 13 makes those tiny things look like a sandbox. I missed the green on my drive – I hit it as far away from the bunkers as I could while still hoping I could get up and down. I didn’t. But, I did make 4 and I will take it.
---

HOLE 14 – 377 yard Par 4
I am an idiot. I tried to blast my driver over the water here and really should have hit 3-wood off the tee. I end up in the water on my first try, put the driver away, and place my next drive – with a 3-wood -- in the fairway the way I should have in the first place. I make 7 here after struggling with my putter. Still…this hole easily could have been worse.
---

HOLE 15 – 390 yard Par 4
A relatively short par 4 should have meant 3-wood off the tee again, but I pulled out the driver and hit it well. I miss on the approach, chip on in three and two-putt again for 5. My putter is absolutely saving me on the back even though I three-putted on 14.
---

HOLE 16 – 337 yard Par 4
The wind is really blowing at this point and this hole looks a lot longer than 337 playing into the wind. Against my better judgment, I hit driver off the tee because I really want to get to the green in two. I placed the drive okay, hitting it in the short rough on the right side – the drive only went about 210 yards. I pushed the approach shot into the water on the right…again…and end up making 7 here. For those scoring at home, that’s 5 (6?) balls in the water and three out of bounds on the day. Not good times, bad times. But still, I only have two holes to play. If I par out, I shoot a 98 for the round. That’s respectable for a guy like me. Sure, I would have loved to break 90 and if I would have kept the ball in play, I could have, but that’s golf. You have to keep it in play. Anyway… on to 17.
---

HOLE 17 – 149 yard Par 3
Another hole that just looks longer than it is. The wind is really howling now. I normally hit my 8-iron 150 yards, but I hit a six iron here because of the wind. I stayed short of the bunkers on the back side of the green (barely) and chipped it within 2 feet. I tapped in for par and now all I have to do is make 6 on number 18 to break 100. I can do this.
---

HOLE 18 – 489 yard Par 5
Oh boy. Another par 5 with lots and lots of water. I am more nervous now than I was on the first hole. I hit driver here because it’s incredibly windy and I really can’t reach the water or the out of bounds off the tee. I hit it well and put myself in good position to play it safe and get to the green in three. My next shot is not good. I hit my 4-iron way left into the super-long, let’s grow it out for the PGA event, rough. I have no chance of placing the ball on the green from here, even though I am only 100 yards out. I crush a 5 iron and hit the ball no more than 20 yards. So…I need to get on here and two putt for a 6. I decide to not go at the pin, which is surrounded by water on the front and bunkers to the back and left. I hit the big part of the green and leave myself a 50-foot putt for par. I won’t be making this putt, but I need to get it close. And…I did. Sort of. I left myself about 7 feet short of the hole. All things considered, this next putt was as big or bigger than any other I have hit in awhile. I nailed it for a six – total score on the round = 99.

I ended up placing 3rd in my flight and had a better net score than some of the single digit handicappers. Not too shabby. After all those balls in the water and out of bounds, after having to go back and hit shots instead of dropping where I went out of play, I am absolutely thrilled with breaking 100 at the TPC.

And, while I know for a fact I could score better out there if I could play it again, I am happy with how things went. Playing tournament golf is tough and I wasn’t sure I could handle it. Now that I know I can, I am looking forward to trying it again someday.

Hopefully someday soon.

Kevin McHale can’t get out of his own way.

He did it again.

For six hours, OJ Mayo was the biggest name on the Wolves roster. We aren’t at all surprised that Kevin McHale traded him away for Kevin Love and we won’t be surprised when McHale talks later today about how great it will be to have Love and Mike Miller on this team working inside and outside as “pure” basketball players.

The Wolves moved Marco Jaric and Antonie Walker in the deal. Both had bloated contracts and it will be nice to have those players off the roster. But didn’t McHale make the deals that put them here in the first place? It’s great that they are gone and I am all for correcting your mistakes, but McHale is making a habit out of screwing his team over and then trying to fix it on the fly two years later. Mayo could have been the face of the franchise, one that needs some star power -- and now we have a couple more pieces to a puzzle that nobody in the organization knows how to put together.

We won’t lose sleep over losing OJ Mayo. In all honesty, he probably wouldn’t have made us pay that much more attention to the Wolves next season anyway. But trading him and getting Kevin Love in return doesn’t do much for us either. We can’t even work up the energy to be angry about the moves Kevin McHale makes anymore; he’s turned us into apathetic fans. Is there anything worse than that?

Whatever

The Twins are still kind of in this thing.

We know you expect more from us. But we don't think you are going to get it. We are trying... but life keeps getting in the way of putting out a good Minnesota sports blog. We love that all of you keep coming back.

The Twins are still only 2 games out of first place in the AL Central. The Yankees are in town. We would love to be at the Metrodome tonight, because we expect big things tonight and tomorrow from the home town nine. We won't be there, but we will be watching.

Go Twins.

If Lopez is the pick, you can board up the franchise.

While we think OJ Mayo might be the second coming of JR Rider, we want him in a Timberwolves uniform if we can't have Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.

But you know Kevin McHale is drooling over Stanford center Brook Lopez and he would love nothing more than to work with another slow 7-footer with a "big basketball IQ" and few skills.

Cold prediction: Pistons in six

Flip Saunders handled his exit from Minnesota better than KG did, that's part of the reason we are picking Detroit to win the East. Plus, we think Flip can win on the road and the Celtics can't. So...we are taking the Pistons.

And...since there are only two good players in the draft this year, the Wolves won't get one of those two picks. They will no doubt pick 4th or 5th. You heard it here first.

2,000 yards ain't nothin' but a thing.

Adrian Peterson is looking for an MVP trophy. He says his goal next year is 2,000 yards. We would love to see that.

From the Strib:
"I definitely feel like I can do it," Peterson said Thursday when asked about being voted the league's top player. "Anything is possible. Especially with how my mindset is. I set my bar high. I expect a lot from myself. I'm surrounded by a great group of guys offensively and defensively on both sides, special teams, so it's possible for anything to happen."

First though, Adrian should probably watch his back. In this picture, Zygi Wilf looks like he really really like him.

Hey Creepy!

SCHMACK!

Starbucks has a new logo. She's purdy.

Hitting for the cycle is a big deal

Carlos Gomez hit for the cycle against the White Sox last night and he did it in reverse order, hitting a home run, triple, double, and finally... a single to complete the process. We didn't expect Gomez to be better than Delmon Young this year. Maybe in four years, but even then, we didn't see that coming.

No Twins player has hit for the cycle since Kirby Puckett did it back in 1986. We are pretty sure we saw that game on TV, but we don't remember the details.

To make the night even more unusual, Livan Hernandez pitched a complete game for the Twins. He's 5-1.

Joe Mauer breaks up history

You can make all the baby Jesus jokes you want, but Joe Mauer is a pretty good hitter. Tonight in the 9th inning with 1 out, he broke up Gavin Floyd's no hit bid.

Sure the Twins lost 7-1, but at least they didn't get no-hit. Thanks to the best singles hitter in the game.

Jimmy Kimmel is like Miguel Tejada

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

If you've seen the ESPN Show "E60" you have probably seen the infamous Miguel Tejada "you aren't really as old as you say you are, why are you lying, what's your real name" interview. Well...here's a pretty good parody of the video.

We should start paying attention.

As our readers can attest, we haven't been paying much attention to the Twins lately. The pitching staff makes us nervous and they still don't hit many home runs but...um...they are in first place in the AL Central, so it might be time to give them some love. After being down 6-0, they came back to beat the Tigers again yesterday to complete the sweep. The Twins are off today and they start a three-game set with the White Sox on Tuesday.

Here are the latest standings...

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/standings/index.jsp

Hi there! I might be an idiot!!

John David Booty scored a 14 on the Wonderlic test. That's a terrible score. The best you can do is score a 50 -- nobody did that this year but Minnesota's own John Carlson did have a 40. Goes to show you that you can actually have a productive, successful life even if you attend high school in Litchfield.

In case you are wondering, Tarvaris Jackson scored a 19 and Daunte Culpepper had an 18.

Roger Clemens makes the leap.

We weren't all that surprised to hear that Roger Clemens allegedly slept with Mindy McCready. We were kind of surprised that he allegedly started sleeping with her when she was 15-years-old. If this is true, Clemens officially enters the "I will believe any story about that person no matter how crazy it sounds" realm of the sports universe, right up there with Mike Tyson, Dennis Rodman, and Randy Moss.

McCready didn't deny the story today saying, "I cannot refute anything in the story. Yes, I have known Roger Clemens for a long time. He's a kind and caring man. He's also a legendary athlete..."

Yikes. First Roger throws his wife under the bus for using HGH. And now this. She might make out okay in divorce court, huh?

Vikings make a Booty call.

Yeah, we know. You will hear or read something about "Booty calls" a few times today. We don't care if it was easy, we like the idea of having a Booty on our team. JD played in a pro-style offense, he can make all the throws, and he played at USC -- that's a school we actually saw in action once or twice over the last couple of years.

As for the Vikings first pick, we don't know anything about safety Marcellous (Tyrell) Johnson. We didn't think the Vikings need another safety, but they ended up getting a QB and some help on the offensive line so...we shall see what happens.

Uh oh...more Gophers players facing a police lineup?

Nope...not this time. They are just showing off the new uniforms for 2008. You can't blame us for being confused and jumping to conclusions.

Another day, another blue-chip recruit. Yawn.

That’s Royce White. He’s a good basketball player and he just verbally committed to Tubby Smith and the Golden Gophers. White is ranked as the #32 recruit in the nation by Rivals.com and he’s one of us since he plays his prep ball at Hopkins High.

We won’t mention any of the “issues” surrounding White at De La Salle and the fact that he was booted off the team last year – everyone makes mistakes. Welcome to Gopher Nation Royce – and thanks Tubby for turning this thing around so quickly.

Jared Allen is a Viking!

The NFL Network has the news -- the Vikings are going to send their first-round pick (No. 17 overall) and their first selection in the third round (No. 72) in this weekend’s draft to the Chiefs for Jared Allen. The big defensive end is then going to sign a huge long-term deal with the Vikings that will finally give them a real defensive end.

Sure, Allen has been a wild child off-the-field. So what if he was suspended for the first four games of 2007 after being arrested twice for drunken driving. That suspension was later reduced to two games and Allen has said in interviews that he no longer drinks alcohol. Good enough for us.

In fact, he could drink during the games if he has 15.5 sacks again next year. We don't care about having character guys anymore, we want a winner. If T-Jack can limit his turnovers next year, we might have one.

Little Jerry Seinfeld approves.

Ron Burgandy says you have to keep your head on a swivel when you are in a vicious cockfight. And we say there isn't much going on in Cold Omaha related to sports or otherwise. But...there is some news about a cockfighting ring in the southern suburbs so...that's something.

http://wcco.com/crime/cockfighting.ring.busted.2.705466.html

We are just like you, we are waiting for the Vikings to finally sign Jared Allen and we are waiting for the Twins to start hitting the ball. Until those things happen, expect more cockfighting stories and maybe even a running diary of my day at work.

The Vikings could use some sacks.

Our first reaction to the Jared Allen possibly coming to the Vikings rumors was “wow – that would be great!”

After looking up his stats and finding a picture of him, our overwhelming reaction was “wait…Jared Allen is white?”

Yep, every website and sports related radio station in the upper Midwest is reporting on the news that Jared Allen could become a Viking.

We would love to see this happen, but question whether the Vikings would actually have the stones to give up their pick at #17 this year and then actually give Allen the raise he so richly deserves.

Allen had 15.5 sacks last year and we think that might be more than the Vikings entire front line had last year combined.

The best part about this deal would be that if the Vikings traded their first round pick, we wouldn’t have to do nearly as much draft research in preparation for the annual Vikings draft day disappointment. And w.e get a guy who wears jersey #69. It's almost a no-brainer

Cold Omaha approves, get this deal done.

Lambert Field will be rocking.

The Vikings get to open the season at Green Bay on Monday Night Football. The game will get a lot of attention because the Packers will retire Brett Favre's jersey that evening.

Wouldn’t it be great if Favre decides to come out of retirement and they could still retire his jersey even though he’s on the active roster? Would anyone be surprised by this?

The Vikings have a schedule of games.

The Twins bullpen can't seem to hold down a lead and we wouldn't be shocked if they finish 15-20 games out of 1st place in the AL Central. Maybe its time to focus on the NFL already. The league released the schedule for next year -- here's how things shape up for the Purple.

1	Mon, Sep 8	at Green Bay	6:00 PM
2	Sun, Sep 14	Indianapolis	12:00 PM
3	Sun, Sep 21	Carolina	12:00 PM
4	Sun, Sep 28	at Tennessee	12:00 PM
5	Mon, Oct 6	at New Orleans	7:30 PM
6	Sun, Oct 12	Detroit	12:00 PM
7	Sun, Oct 19	at Chicago	12:00 PM
9	Sun, Nov 2	Houston	12:00 PM
10	Sun, Nov 9	Green Bay	12:00 PM
11	Sun, Nov 16	at Tampa Bay	12:00 PM
12	Sun, Nov 23	at Jacksonville	12:00 PM
13	Sun, Nov 30	Chicago	7:15 PM
14	Sun, Dec 7	at Detroit	12:00 PM
15	Sun, Dec 14	at Arizona	3:05 PM
16	Sun, Dec 21	Atlanta	12:00 PM
17	Sun, Dec 28	NY Giants	12:00 PM

Twins help Tigers make themselves whole again.

The Tigers haven't been playing well so far this season. They needed something to get them back on their "A" game and the Twins more than made that something happen last night by imploding and giving the Tigers a win.

Nick Blackburn pitched pretty well again and Jason Kubel continued his great hitting. Carlos Gomez continued to fake bunt and then really bunt and then not get on base. Mike Lamb continued to not get the ball out of the infield.

You can say Detroit was due for a game like this, but having the Twins in town is always a cure for what ails you.

A Wild time in the playoffs.

We aren't really hockey fans here at Cold Omaha. Sure, we will cheer for the Gophers when they are doing well and Mankato State will always be near and dear to our hearts.

But, we have never really gotten into the NHL. We actually liked the North Stars, or at least the idea of the North Stars when we were kids, but the Wild hasn't ever really been on our radar screens. Even when they made that playoff run in 2001 (2002?), we just couldn't get into it.

The Wild continue their series tonight against Colorado -- they are all tied up at 1-1 and both games have apparently gone into overtime. You won't read about the result here tomorrow. If the Wild win the Stanley Cup, we will make sure to congratulate them.

Actually, we won't even do that. This is the first and last Wild related post you will see here at Cold Omaha this year.

Let's just say it -- Tiger choked.

Even if you are the best player on the planet, its hard to putt with both hands wrapped around your throat. Tiger choked away the Masters yesterday. We like Tiger, but he only wins when he's winning -- he can't come from behind.

He blew 3-4 putts from inside of 5 feet yesterday and if he wants to be called the best ever, he has to make those putts on Sunday.

No wonder we traded so many guys for him.

The Herschel Walker trade doesn't really haunt the Vikings anymore. But, Herschel is haunted by multiple personality disorder. We can't make light of a situation like this, so here's the story:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3346240

Hoping for some Masters drama.

There are 94 players taking part in the Masters this weekend and everyone says Tiger Woods is going to pick up his first major tournament on his way to a true grand slam this year. We say yes...that's probably true...but we hope Phil Mickelson -- or anyone else for that matter -- can at least give Tiger a game and make him win it on Sunday.

We love all the majors, but the Masters is our favorite. It means the end of winter (unless you live in Cold Omaha) and the start of a new season.

Just for fun and obviously not for gambling purposes at all, here is how we think the leader board will shake out on Sunday -- these five guys will be there at the end:

1) Tiger Woods
2) Vijay Singh
3) Paddy Harrington
4)Geoff Ogilvy
5) Angel Cabrera

One final note -- we have no idea why, but we know for a fact that Jose Maria Olazabal will be on the leader board sometime during the first day or two. He's always there on Thursday and sometimes makes it into the top 20 come Saturday. He won the event once or twice back in the 1990's and he plays well at Augusta.

Phil Mickelson (we hope) could be in contention this weekend, but for some reason we aren't seeing him have much success. We have been wrong before, but this doesn't seem like Lefty's time.

Jason Kubel is killing us softly.

For those of you who have been with us for awhile here at Cold Omaha, you know we love Jason Kubel and we firmly believe that if he gets 500+ at bats in any given season, he will hit 30 home runs and drive in 100 RBI.

With that in mind, we have been adding and dropping him on our fantasy baseball teams for the last four years in the hope that this year would be the year for Kubel. This might be the year. And, we just dropped him in all three of our leagues.

Kubel hit a grand slam and had 6 RBI last night as the Twins beat the White Sox 12-5. We didn't get to see it because we still can't figure out Direct TV's sports package and even though we have MLB Extra Innings, it wasn't there either. Is Rochester really considered a local market in Direct TV's eyes? Really? Then why are we forced to watch Rochester news and local channels in unspectacular non-HDTV?

Anyway, we might consider picking up Kubel again later if we really need him. For now, we will just watch as a fan.

Here comes The Franchise

Francisco Liriano will get the start tonight for the AAA Rochester Red Wings. It will be his last stop on a quick minor league "rehab tour" and he will start for the Twins on Sunday at Kansas City. Let's hope that elbow is okay.

So far, the Twins have been a lot of fun to watch. They are raw and young in spots -- but Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez are both going to be all-star or near all-star like performers by 2010.

Jason Kubel is going to get his chance -- Gardy is finally giving him legit at-bats every day and Kubel has to respond now or he is going to be coming off the bench for good by the middle of May.

--

Watching Kansas pull out an overtime win last night was fun, but the most enjoyable part of the night for us was watching Roy Williams wear a Jayhawks sticker on his shirt. Is that the biggest act of sports bigamy in the history of sport bigamists? We think so.

Our picks for the brackets, by the way, did not go very well. We had North Carolina winning it all against UCLA with Kansas and Texas also in the Final Four but not getting a shot at the championship. We had Memphis losing to Mississippi State in the 2nd round so um...our brackets didn't turn out well.

This Blackburn guy might be okay.

Scoring four runs in three games isn't a good sign, but the Twins might have found a decent option in the starting rotation. Nick Blackburn held the Angels to five hits through seven innings but got zero run support. He deserves to be up with the big club, something we didn't think could be possible back in February.

Now Justin Morneau needs to figure out how to get the ball out of the infield and we should be okay.

Gus who's back.

Gus Frerotte signed with the Vikings to back-up Tavaris Jackson. We think he will back-up Jackson. He could be the starter by the end of October. We have no opinion about Gus, which is probably the reaction most people are feeling today.

This should put a smile on your face.

There are a few reasons to be down today. It's Monday, that means back to work. It is cold outside and it is going to snow/rain/sleet/freezing mess again today. You might be feeling a little under the weather, you might have to work a night shift tonight or perhaps your infant son all of a sudden doesn't like naps and would rather you just walk him around the house all day long.

Whatever might be wrong today -- I have something to make you feel better. Yep, it's opening day. The Twins host the Angels tonight at the Metrodome and all is finally right with the world again.

It was -- and still is -- a long winter. But summer is almost here. Let's hope the Twins can hold the Angels to less than 5 runs tonight. And let's hope whoever throws out the first pitch at the dome doesn't hear the boo birds like George Bush did last night in D.C.

Twins 7
Angels 4

The Twins are making news.

Joe Nathan signed a contract extension to stay with the Twins through 2011. We are more than a little surprised that the Twins would lock-up an elite closer like Nathan when they might not win more than 70 games this year, but we love the idea that Joe is still going to be the guy to shut down games in the new stadium.

In other Twins news – Carlos Gomez will hit leadoff and start the season as your everyday centerfielder. We find this to be even more shocking than the Nathan extension. Gomez is raw and is going to have a very hard time getting on base consistently this early in his career. Denard Span was probably a better short term answer, but the Twins no doubt felt a need to show they got something in return for Johan Santana and putting Gomez out in center allows then to – sort of – justify the trade.

Soaking up a long weekend.

We didn’t get to spend Easter weekend with the entire crew up in P-ville, but we did have a chance to spend a three-day weekend hanging out, watching basketball, napping, and kicking tail in MLB 2008 The Show on the play station.

As you can see, the boy isn’t even four months old yet and he’s rocking the controller better than his dad.

Where does the time go?

We appreciate all of the "are you okay?" "are you alive?" and "when are you going to update your blog?" questions we have gotten over the last week.

We apologize for not updating the site at least every other day. We will work on getting better. Right now we are focused on sleeping, feeding the boy 12-14 times a day, and trying to work at the "A" job... all the while enjoying what will no doubt be a wonderful first weekend of March Madness and the beginning of the end of spring training.

Hopefully we will have some updates over the next few days. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to look around.

Here's your Opening Day starter.

Being named the starting pitcher on Opening Day is a big honor. Livan Hernandez will most likely get that honor when the Twins open the season at the Dome against the Angels on March 31.

Brad Radke started every opener for the Twins from 1999-2005 and proved you don't need to break 85 mph on the radar gun to pitch on Opening Day (good news for Livan.) And of course Johan Santana started the season in 2006 and 2007.

We get Livan this year instead of one of the kids in the rotation. We would much rather see Kevin Slowey, Scott Baker, or even Boof Bonser pitch on Opening Day, just to give us some feeling of hope for the future.

The good news is, Livan has been the opening day starter for four other teams during his ten year major league career. The bad news is, this isn't 1999.

We still don't know where the Twins are going to end up this year, but we are guessing they will be closer to last place than they will be to first place in the AL Central. Starting Livan on Opening Day isn't the worst news, but it would have been nice to see one of the kids get a shot instead of a washed-up veteran who just happens to be the only guy who has been there before.

Maybe the Vikings can call Stalin Colinet?

It is time for the Vikings to panic. They currently have two defensive ends on the roster and with Jevon Kearse re-signing with the Titans yesterday, their only "real" option of getting a decent free-agent has disappeared.

So...either the Vikings go into their time machine and pick up some of the failures from yesteryear or they look seriously at drafting another DE in the first round. It can't get any worse than what they have done in previous years.

There are a couple of trade options wafting around on the internets, but the Vikings aren't going to find a way to trade for Julius Peppers or Jason Taylor.

So...it's on to the draft in April. One can only hope they can find a gem like Talance Sawyer or Stalin Colinet when they do.