"Shirts v. Skins" (Mich-Ohio St/Vikings/BradfordvPrescott/MLB)

"Shirts v. Skins" Thanksgiving Day Special (Vikings-Lions/Redskins-Cowboys/Steelers-Colts)

NFL & Violence: A Double Standard

On yesterday's show, I talked about how the NFL seems to be targeted for its violence, while other sports- hockey, rugby, and boxing to name a few- have been somewhat ignored for theirs.

In football, offense has been given the green light in all aspects of football- at every level- and it's killing the sport.

No more physical cornerback play. No more decapitating the wide receivers coming across the middle. No more hitting (or touching) the quarterback. No more violence.

And for whatever reason, other sports are left alone. Hockey still has fighting. Let me repeat, hockey has in-game fights! That's preposterous, when it comes to this argument. Rugby continues to be brutal, and boxing is the best example of absolute violence- a sport I love- yet there's no talks of making it less violent.

Also, for the casual hockey fan, the fights are the same reason some watch NASCAR- for the crashes. I'm not asking to get rid of the fights [in hockey], or the scrums in rugby. I like the violence. And I think it's good for their sports, respectively. It's part of their DNA.

I'm just mad because it seems as though football has been asked to reduce the violence, while the other sports are ignored.

Obviously, concussions are a gigantic part of why the NFL has had to change its style of play. And let's be real clear and honest for a second. The only reason the NFL has changed is 100% because of litigation.

Lawsuits have that power and impact. Just ask McDonald's. They had to put specific labeling on their coffee, stating it's hot, because some idiot spilled on herself, and she sued- ending up with $3.5 million.

Seriously.

Now, grown men are looking for a payout through lawsuits, because of their own negligence. That is fact.

If the NFL had any sense, at all, they would tell the former players and their lawsuit to pound sand.

Football is a dangerous game. I started playing in 4th grade, and even though I didn't think of it then, it didn't take me long to figure out that football was violent.

But it was my choice to play, and I continued to do so through high school.

And I know, for sure, that I got a few concussions, yet I'm not blaming anybody because of it.

I love the game, and I loved playing the game. And I know deep down, the former NFLers who are suing the league, did too.

Unfortunately, I don't believe they realize what they are doing to the DNA of the game.

Because of them, football has had to change. And in one man's opinion, that's a shame.

Sorry, Dak.

Dak Prescott is having an MVP-type season

I don't always admit when I'm wrong. Seriously, I just think it's just better to be stubborn, sometimes. But I was wrong on Dak Prescott. So wrong- and I have no problems admitting that one.

Even though the Cowboys took him in the 3rd round, I still believe they didn't expect what he's become. I don't think anybody but Dak and his Mama expected this, and maybe they didn't even expect this.

And the tape from Mississippi State didn't predict this, either. If anything, I expected him to switch positions in the pros, because I didn't think he looked like an NFL quarterback. Tight End? Yeah. QB? No way.

Oops.

When he was tearing it up in the preseason, I told everybody who was anointing him the G.O.A.T. to just pump the brakes a bit. I agreed that what he was doing in the the preseason was impressive, but let's just wait and see what happens when the regular season comes; when defenses aren't playing so vanilla.

Well, here we are, 10 weeks into the NFL season (would life fucking slow down, please!), and Dak has led the Cowboys to a 8-1 record.

Granted, having a potential league MVP in rookie, Ezekiel Elliot, doesn't hurt, nor does having arguably the best offensive line in league history, but still, Dak looks like he belongs, and doesn't look anything like a rookie.

Dak's leadership and poise is off the charts. He's garnered the respect of everybody on the team, even Tony Romo's best friend and surefire Hall of Famer, Jason Witten.

No doubt, the Cowboys, their fans, ownership, and the organization as a whole, still love Tony Romo. He's been one of the NFL's best quarterbacks- when healthy.

But what Dak is doing right now is making even the staunchest Romo backer admit that this is Dak's team.

And yes, there's still a lot of football left to be played, so I still say let it all unfold before we build a statue for Dak outside of JerryWorld, but from the looks of it, Dak, Ezekiel, and that offensive line seem to be firmly entrenched in the playoff hunt- even the #1 seed- as they are now.

So yeah, sorry Dak. My bad.

"Shirts v. Skins" Sports Radio (Trump/College football upsets/Vikings)

Jim Brown gets it

"I think that I was disappointed initially," Brown explained. "But then I realized with this kind of action, the things that have been revealed on the negative side of life and Mr. Trump is now president, a tremendous responsibility is going to be on his shoulders."

I realize how upset most people are with Donald Trump being elected as President of the United States of America, but if there's one person who has been the face of political talk from day one, it's Jim Brown.

His outlook needs to be shared and realized. Give Trump the benefit of the doubt, until it needs debate. 

In the words of Aaron Rodgers, R.E.L.A.X.

Fucking Harbaugh

"Iowa's visiting football locker room received a humorous Michigan makeover Saturday before the teams square off in a prime-time game at Kinnick Stadium. Instead of the famed pink walls that have come to define the space, Michigan's equipment staff redecorated with a room full of maize and blue pictures, flags and phrases."

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18032540/michigan-wolverines-remodel-iowa-hawkeyes-visiting-locker-room?sf42220600=1

How the hell has nobody ever done this before? And why does Harbaugh seem to be ahead of everybody else? Year 2 at Michigan, and he's already beating everyone to the punch? If he keeps this up, he's rolling everybody- including Jolly ol' Nick down in Tuscaloosa. Write it down.

Bitches be crazy!

Jonnu Smith, one of the top tight ends in college football, will reportedly miss the rest of the season for Florida International after his girlfriend doused him with a pot of boiling water, according to an arrest affidavit cited byThe Miami Herald.

Wait. What?

• According to the arrest affidavit, Smith, an NFL draft prospect, suffered severe burns on his head, neck, back, a shoulder and an arm.

No, no, no. Back up. Boiling water?

• 
  

• Gaspar and Smith argued through the day on Oct. 31 about how much attention Smith was paying her and their relationship. While in Smith's dorm room and "feeling extremely emotional and stressed," Gaspar told police, she boiled a pot of water. Then she walked over to Smith and poured it on him.
• When Smith didn't react strongly enough for her, she started hitting him with her open hands, she told police.

This is true love, people. Loving somebody so much that you want to disfigure them? I can't think of a better way to say "I love you" more than that, right? He better hope she falls down a flight of stairs, or his life is over. 

America gets what it deserves- and everything will be ok

Even though I didn't vote, which definitely ignited the "You don't have a say then" crowd, I still was shocked by Donald Trump winning the Presidential Election last night.

I would've bet my life that his involvement in the election was a mere joke; a sideshow of a foregone conclusion that had Hilary Clinton winning by a wide margin.

And then last night unfolded, state by state for Trump. And when Florida was awarded to Trump, I knew it was over.

Being that I didn't have a horse in the race (I was voting for Bernie), it wasn't necessarily a big deal, as much as it was amazing that our society would elect a chauvinistic, racist.

Imagine how terrible of a job Clinton did of running her campaign? The Trump pins were set up to be easily knocked down, yet she threw a gutter ball. Her epic fail in this is really impressive.

But Clinton was no Saint, herself, and the U.S. people obviously took that into consideration. And forget the emails, Clinton's problem is that everybody knew, if elected, nothing would change, the status quo would remain, and that's not what America wanted, even though things are actually pretty good here.

I tell anybody who will listen that the U.S. has it so good, in fact, the majority still give a shit about the Kardashians. Once that changes, that's when you know people are actually starting to pay attention to real issues. Like it, or not, that's the reality.

Trump won because his campaign was a movement. People were fed up with the direction America was going, and they knew by electing Trump, a massive stone would be thrown into the calm lake, sending ripples throughout.

That's why I wanted Bernie. Bernie was a movement. A movement that was based on factual corruption that was taking place versus Trump's movement that was based off bluster, which obviously works with our society (see Jesse Ventura).

Bernie was squeezed out because he posed the biggest threat to both Clinton and Trump. Bernie was actually for the people, while the other two are solely, and obviously, for themselves. Fortunately for Bernie, he didn't get elected, because the last President to go against the machine was JFK, and we know how that story ends.

But even though Trump won, those of you who think the sky is going to fall, take solace in knowing the President is told what to do- a talking head for the people who actually run the world.

This isn't a conspiracy thought, but actual fact, so save the accusations.

America has a central bank, and we call that the Federal Reserve. The Fed prints money that is loaned to us. We pay income taxes to pay back that loan. I know this is shocking to some, and probably unbelievable to most, but the Fed is a private entity, put in place by those families who loan us the money. Only three countries in the world DO NOT have a central bank. Iraq, Syria, and North Korea.

The people who loan the U.S. that money are in the shadows. We are told Bill Gates is the World's Richest Man, but that is a hilarious fib. The families that loan countries money are the richest, and obviously the ones who have the last say.

So fret all you want about Trump being elected. Just give it time, and realize the things he campaigned on, just like Obama from '07, mean nothing when confronted against the money and power of the machine.

The machine always wins.

"Shirts v. Skins" (Cubs/Vikings/Bama-LSU/Trump/PacMan)

Bartman should tell the Cubs to fuck off

The "other guy", with his hand out, was that close to having his life ruined.

As a Vikings fan, I'm justified in blaming Gary Anderson for losing the '98 NFC Championship v. the Atlanta Falcons. His 38-yard miss kept the Falcons within reach, and they eventually won, in a slow-death, knife-churning-in-the-stomach loss that may go down as the worst loss in Vikings history.


And in the '09 NFC Championship, when Favre chose to throw across his body for an interception, instead of running for the first down that would've set up a game-winning field goal attempt v. the New Orleans Saints? That was 100% Favre's fault, and he should've been left on a New Orleans tarmac, a la, Lane Kiffen.

And last year, when Blair Walsh lined up- and missed- a game-clinching, 27-yard field goal in the NFC Wild-Card round against the Seahawks, he should've been tied to the field goal post [in the -10 degree weather], and left to freeze. That loss may be worse than '98, come to think of it, and without-a-doubt, was Walsh's fault.

So when Steve Bartman interfered with a fly ball on October 14th, 2003, at Wrigley Field, one that Cubs outfielder, Moises Alou, was attempting to catch in the NLDS v. the Florida Marlins, in a game that the Cubs went on to lose (and the series), the city of Chicago, and everybody in the media who could pile on the blame, did just that. And the life of Steve Bartman would be forever ruined, unjustly.

The Cubs were four outs away from a trip to the World Series, but because they blew it, everybody and their mother, put the blame squarely on Bartman because of his interference.

Heaven for bid, Cubs fans, you just admit the obvious. That your team blew it.

The notion that Bartman's interference led to the Cubs loss is pathetic, at best. Even worse, up until two nights ago, the Cubs fans actually blamed their long World Series drought on a billy goat!

Sorry, Cubs fans, your team just sucked. Period. For over 100 years.

Any one of us, put in Bartman's position, would have done the exact same thing. And if you say differently, you're a dick.

Being a Cubs fan for the last 108 years is the equivalent of being a Twins fan, minus the two World Series, of course. You had some decent teams, but for the most part, you were losers- the Lovable Losers. Your fans cared less if you won or lost, because they were getting hammered, partying in the stands with Harry Carey (which I've done).

Therefore, now that all the Cubs fans are sucking Bartman's dick, trying to get him to come out of hiding, I hope Bartman tells all of you to fuck off. You ruined a man's life over a baseball game, and never once thought to question if your motives were a bit misguided.

Wow.

Enjoy your World Series, Chicago.

Surprise, Surprise! Buh buh, Norv.

Pretty sure nobody saw this coming.

Norv Turner, the offensive guru who was hired by the Vikings to be the OC, surprised everybody by announcing his resignation this morning.

Even with the Vikings offense being borderline pathetic this year, and even with all the injuries that have plagued Minnesota, Turner's announcement caught even the hardiest football insiders a bit off-guard.

But during Head Coach Mike Zimmer's presser, he said something that was indeed interesting. Zimmer said that he hopes Turner and himself can "remain friends."

Huh?

Even in the most dire of situations, a statement like that makes Zimmer's claim of being "very, very surprised" [by Turner's resignation] somewhat suspect.

Remember this, Zimmer is a Bill Parcells guy, and with that said, I imagine it's Zimmer's way, or the highway- even with the impressive resume of Turner's.

Something tells me the ineptness of the Vikings offense, even with all the injuries, has got Zimmer giving some input. Turner, being an offensive guy, and not respecting Zimmer's advice (being that Zimmer's a defensive guy) may not have heeded any of the input, thus building some resentment between the two.

I could be totally wrong, and Turner, not seeing a good ending to the season, chose to cut ties, instead of riding out the inevitable.

But why would a possible Hall of Fame coach just quit on a team? Exactly. That's just something I don't believe.

Therefore, it gets back to Zimmer wanting change, and Turner not wanting Zimmer's advice.

Yet, after the dust settles, it's really not that big a loss. Granted, Turner is a really good coach, but the Vikings have Pat Shurmer waiting in the wings, and he's been Sam Bradford's coach on three different occasions, including this stint with the Vikings- two of which were a head coach, with the Rams and Eagles, respectively.

As a Vikings fan, I'm hoping this is the clichè'd "light a fire under the team" move. They need it.

But in reality, Shurmer now needs to figure out how to make the offensive line block better, not only for the league's worst run offense, but also in pass protection, so Sam Bradford doesn't end up in the hospital.

Good luck, Pat.

Vikings (should be) in panic mode

Last week, after getting housed by the Eagles, I said the Vikings either had a bad game (which everybody has- aside from the Patriots), or it was a sign of things to come. After last night, against the lowly Bears, unfortunately it's the latter.

The Vikings should be in full-blown panic mode.

For the second straight week, the offensive line was an embarrassment, and if I were Mike Zimmer, I would've had my foot up their fourth point of contact.

I understand the attrition on the O-line, but that kind of performance, especially against a bad team, is inexcusable, and hopefully they take a long look in the mirror, while grabbing their manhood like they got a pair, and realize this is a man's sport, and they need to start playing like it.

I will say this, the Dallas Cowboys are widely considered to have the best offensive line in football, and if they were to lose their starting two tackles, even they would obviously not be as dominant, so to think the Vikings should be even average on the line is optimistic at best.

But even more concerning than the offensive line is the defense.

That's two weeks in a row that the D hasn't been able to get any pressure on the QB- the M.O. of the Vikes defense. Throw in some dreadful tackling, and a suspect pass defense, and the Vikings defense has become above average when many were anointing them as the league's best.

A week after getting manhandled by a decimated Eagles offensive line- one that got worked a week before by the Redskins- the Vikings front seven once again had nothing against the 1-6 Bears.

Let me repeat, the 1-6 Bears.

All I can muster, is that football is a one-play-at-a-time sport, and you either win that play, or you don't. I realize the simplicity in that, but it really is that simple, and the Vikings defense, for the last two weeks, has gotten whooped on more plays than not.

And the talks of being a "historically great" defense are now shelved.

The '85 Bears. The '00 Ravens. The '02 Buccaneers. The '13 Seahawks. Even throw in last year's Broncos, who were statistically one of the best defenses ever. Those defenses are known as historically great.

Why?

Because not only were they stifling, but they carried hideous offenses. That's what made them historic, and that's how all-time great defenses are measured; Even when your offense isn't producing, do you still remain dominant?

The '00 Ravens didn't score an offensive touchdown for over 2 games, and were downright terrible (except for Jamal Lewis), yet still won the Super Bowl because Ray Lewis and Co. wouldn't let themselves be affected by Trent Dilfer's ineptness on offense. No matter how many 3 and outs the offense had, the Ravens D persevered. They were great, and the same can be said for the other defenses, as well.

The Vikings seem to be greatly affected by the offenses struggles.

Last night, the Vikings offense was pathetic, as it was the week before against a solid Eagles defense.

Both times, the Vikings defense seemed to be affected by this. I understand a certain synergy on a football team; the offense feeds off the defense and visa-versa, blah blah blah. But when you know you need to carry the other, letting yourself pout over the other's performance, and letting your play slack because of it, is a sign of weakness.

It would have been blasphemy to have considered the 2000 Ravens weak, but the Vikings, for the last two weeks, have been exactly that.

The Vikings season seems to be hanging by a thread, even at 5-2, and it's obvious that the offense will continue to struggle, unless the offensive line has an unexpected wake-up call.

So that leaves it up to the defense. Even if the offense doesn't score the rest of the season, the Vikes D needs to pull a '00 Ravens, and dominate in spite of the offense.

It's the Vikings only hope.