Favre Presents, Wins at ESPYS

Our very own Brett Favre was on hand at the ESPYS last night both as a presenter and an award winner, but don’t expect him to come rushing back to football right away.

Favre presented the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to the family of late Iowa high school football coach Ed Thomas. The popular coach was tragically killed by a former player last year, and the award presentation was definitely one of the most emotional parts of the show. You can watch the presentation on the video playlist here.

Of course, everyone asked Favre whether or not he’s coming back, and of course, he gave his typical vague answers. His ankle still doesn’t feel good, we’ll have to see, blah blah blah…we all know he’s coming back and we all know it won’t be until around the end of training camp. Let’s just move on.

The Gunslingin’ Grandpa took home the Best Play ESPY for his incredible last-second toss to Greg Lewis in the back of the endzone against the 49ers in Week 3 last year. Pretty easy pick if you ask me. Just for fun, let’s take a look at the awesomeness of that play one more time with Paul Allen’s radio call:

Yep, just as I suspected…still awesome. OK now I’m even more fired up for the 2010 season to start–how about next year Favre & Co. take home the Best Team ESPY like the Saints did this year?! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Brett Favre, ESPYS, greg lewis, minnesota vikings, New Orleans Saints, san francisco 49ers

Favre vs. LeBron: Tale of the Hate

Love 'em or hate 'em, you...wait, no, pretty much everyone outside of their new teams hates these guys now.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but a very famous athlete signed with a different team last night. Perhaps you heard something about it? Since you’re reading a sports blog, I’ll safely assume that you’ve been the recipient of an all-out audiovisual assault by every imaginable media outlet in the country about LeBron James bolting for the Miami Heat on national TV last night. I didn’t think it was possible, but LeBron and Cleveland topped Jake and Vienna from The Bachelor as the messiest, most disastrous nationally televised breakup of all time only three days after the fame whores reality TV stars had claimed the title. (Side note: My fiancée made me watch Jake and Vienna on Monday night. I’m not sure what was more uncomfortable: watching that or learning that Denny Green’s son was just charged with child pornography. Both of them made me want to take a “Crying Game”-style shower.)

Hmm…a legendary athlete stabbing his insanely loyal fan base in the back in an unnecessarily drawn-out and humiliating fashion…that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Well it should, because the last guy that did it is now our quarterback!

That got me to thinking: who pulled the bigger a-hole move by leaving his team? Was it LeBron James reducing the Cavaliers to a complete smoldering garbage fire? Or was it our very own Brett Favre when he joined Green Bay’s arch rival last summer? There’s only one way to find out–an old-fashioned “Tale of the Tape” breakdown! But in this case, we’ll just call it “Tale of the Hate”. Let’s break it down by eight different categories and find out once and for all who crapped on their former team more: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: aaron rodgers, Brett Favre, Cleveland Cavaliers, Daniel Gibson, green bay packers, LeBron James, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, minnesota vikings, Mo Williams

Childress Gets Surprise 4th of July Reunion with Son

So how was everyone’s 4th of July? Mine was the typical long summer holiday weekend. I ate various delicious grilled meats. I got lots of sun. I watched fireworks. I enjoyed some cocktails. (Don’t make me define how many “some” is.) All in all, it was a great weekend.

But Brad Childress’ weekend was much, much better than most of ours.

While the vast majority of us were busy celebrating our independence, Brad Childress joined fellow NFL coaches Marvin Lewis, Andy Reid, and John Fox in Afghanistan to thank the brave souls that help us protect that independence. While Childress was thanking some Marines for all their hard work, the Marines thanked the Vikings coach with a big surprise.

From Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback:

This is the second year that NFL coaches have visited the troops in Afghanistan (Andy Reid, Childress, John Fox and Marvin Lewis also spent two days in Germany visiting the wounded), and the Marines did a beautiful thing for Childress when he was greeting a line of troops just off the plane in Afghanistan. They put [son Lance Cpl.] Andrew Childress in the line, and dad simply discovered him while shaking hands and greeting the men and women in uniform. Their bearhug, according to one eyewitness, lasted 60 seconds, a rocking hug that left each man emotional.

Brad and Andrew later went to Brad’s quarters at the base and talked well into the night. Andrew joined the Marines in 2008 and has been stationed in Afghanistan since May.

“Andrew’s had this on his mind for a long, long time — to serve his country,” Brad Childress said. “It goes against every instinct a parent has, obviously, to see your child go into harm’s way. It’s tough. But I am so proud of him and the man he has become.”

Wow. Calling this a “feel-good story” is a pretty huge understatement. Kudos to everyone involved, especially to the NFL and the coaches that made the long trip during their ever-shrinking offseason and the Marines for pulling the appropriate strings to create the surprise reunion between father and son. I’ve never claimed to be Childress’ biggest fan as a coach, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that I respect the hell out of him as a man.

Remember this story next time you’re enjoying your second burger at the lake on Independence Day. Make sure to appreciate all the people that work so hard to keep our country safe. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Andy Reid, Brad Childress, John Fox, Marvin Lewis, minnesota vikings

You’re Never Gonna Believe This, But…

Are you sitting down? Because this is some pretty shocking news.

Brett Favre–you’re sure you’re sitting down, right?–is working out with high school kids in Mississippi.

“But wait,” you exclaim, “what could this possibly mean?! I thought he was still completely uncertain about returning in 2010! I’m so confused!”

And that ends the sarcastic part of today’s entry. In the least surprising development since Jon & Kate broke up, Brett Favre is back working out with the world’s luckiest high school football players for the second straight summer. Gee, I can’t wait til I go to hike school!

Mum’s still the word about his ankle, but let’s all just cut the crap and realize that the Gunslingin’ Grandpa is coming back for another year in purple. You know it, I know it, Packer fans know it, and those kids in Mississippi know it. ESPN knows it too, but that won’t stop them from beating us to death with “will he or won’t he?” stories for the next two months.

So just sit back and enjoy your 4th of July weekend knowing full well that Favre will be the Vikings quarterback to start the 2010 season, but it won’t be official until right around when they leave training camp in Mankato.

At least he’s keeping a routine, right?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Brett Favre, minnesota vikings

Edwards and Moats Round Out a Triplett of Signings

While the rest of the world has been focused on the World Cup, the Vikings have already had a busy week.

Ray Edwards has finally signed his restricted free agent tender, giving him just over $2.5 million for the 2010 season. Probably not what he was hoping for coming off a career year with 8.5 sacks, but it’s still better than the $1.1 million the team could have given him after Monday. Edwards was supposed to be an unrestricted free agent during the upcoming uncapped year, but he became restricted after the Collective Bargaining Agreement changed. Hopefully Ray will earn an even bigger payday with his play in 2010.

The Vikings also added to their already-crowded backfield today by signing former Houston Texans RB Ryan Moats. You may remember him as Steve Slaton’s backup, or the guy that every desperate owner in your fantasy league picked up after Moats’ 126 yard, 3-TD performance in 2009. (He finished the season with 390 yards and 4 TDs.) Moats has definitely proven that he’s a serviceable backup, but, um…don’t we already have a bunch of those? After drafting Toby Gerhart and Albert Young showing signs of promise in limited action last year, this move strikes me as a bit curious. But hey, here’s to hoping he earns a spot on the squad and can spell AP from time to time.

Finally, the Vikes signed their fifth round pick from April’s draft, former Gopher linebacker Nate Triplett. Look for him to help out on special teams and not much else in the upcoming season. Triplett is the second Vikings 2010 draft pick to sign with the team, following Ryan D’Imperio, the Rutgers fullback Minnesota took in the seventh round.

That’s all for today–check back later this week for more updates as they occur! Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Adrian Peterson, Albert Young, Houston Texans, minnesota vikings, Nate Triplett, ray edwards, Ryan D'Imperio, Ryan Moats, Steve Slaton, Toby Gerhart

Vikings United?

Hey, did you know the World Cup starts on Friday?! It’s in South Africa! They used to have bad laws but now they’re a good country thanks to Nelson Mandela, those political guys that formed a soccer league in prison, and of course Matt Damon’s rugby team! (Editor’s note: Statements may not be historically accurate.)

Of course you know about the World Cup, whether you like it or not! ESPN has been shoving Bono and the commercials with that guy from Blood Diamond down our throats for months now. I’m sure a lot of you are sick and tired of all the soccer talk getting in the way of your Vikings offseason news, but I have a confession to make.

I, Eric Thompson, proud Vikings Throne blogger and lifelong, die-hard NFL fan…have always loved soccer.

There, I said it.

I’ve been playing since I was five. I played soccer in high school instead of football–and I didn’t even try out to be the football team’s kicker! I played soccer all four years of college and even coached for a few years after that. I still play year-round in men’s leagues twice a week. I have to admit: I love a perfectly placed crossing pass from Landon Donovan to Jozy Altidore just as much as I love a perfectly placed fade route from Brett Favre to Sidney Rice. A U.S. goal in the World Cup gets me up and shouting just as loud as a Vikings touchdown in the NFC Championship.

After you’re done ridiculing me in the comments section, hopefully you’ll read on to see why our Beloved Purple footballers and the world’s premier “footballers” have a lot more in common than you may think. It’ll be fun, I promise!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 2010 FIFA World Cup, Adrian Peterson, Antoine Winfield, Brett Favre, EJ Henderson, Jared Allen, Jim Kleinsasser, minnesota vikings, Pat Williams, Sidney Rice, St. Louis Rams

RIP, Best Mullet Ever

It’s a sad, sad day in Viking land.

There is no more business in the front, party in the back. It’s business everywhere now. All business and no party makes Jared a dull boy.

The Kentucky waterfall has run dry.

The 10/90 ratio has been thrown horribly out of proportion.

The Mississippi Mudflap is just letting dirt through these days.

At most of all, his poor neck must be shivering.

Yes, the NFL’s most powerful and popular haircut is no more. As you can see from the picture above, Jared Allen has chopped off his glorious mullet. And get this–he did it FOR A GIRL! Allen explained to the official Vikings blog that he hacked away the source of all of his power his mullet for love. His fiancée somehow convinced him to get rid of it just because they were getting married.

I’m sorry, but that’s just a dumb reason. Just look at this video of Jared bragging about his awesome lifestyle:

Does that sound like a guy that would let a chick make decisions for him? No way! I can’t believe how whipped Jared is–I would never let a girl boss me around like that.

On an unrelated note, I apologize for being a week late on this story and for not posting for a month. I’ve been really busy taking orders from my fiancée getting all sorts of things ready for my wedding in August.

Oh wait, crap… Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Jared Allen, mullets, RIP

Favre Needs Ankle Surgery Before Returning in 2010

Notice how I worded the headline there? That should tell you how worried I am about this affecting his return.

ESPN’s Ed “I’m In Your Head!” Werder reported earlier today (please check out the YouTube link if you haven’t seen it before, it’s comedic gold) that Favre will need surgery on his left ankle since it isn’t healing properly. While this isn’t good news by any stretch of the imagination, the injury doesn’t sound very serious after Favre responded to the story on his site.

I really doubt that this surgery will be a big factor in Favre’s decision to come back in 2010. Maybe I’m only 90% sure he’ll come back now instead of 95%, but either way I’d be shocked if Ye Olde Gunslinger isn’t wearing purple on Sundays this fall.

I also couldn’t agree more with Tom Powers’ take in the Pioneer Press. Look, we know he’s coming back. Just not until mid to late August, like usual. So he’s still banged up from the beating he took in New Orleans in January–does this honestly surprise anyone? He’s old! We went through this last summer with his shoulder, and it’s pretty safe to say that turned out OK. Just let Brett have his built-in excuse to miss training camp, come back in August, and somehow still defy reason and be ready to start back in New Orleans on September 9.

But what do you think? Is this no big deal, or is Favre-apalooza over in Minnesota? Let me know in the comments section.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Brett Favre, minnesota vikings

Mullet Generator? There’s an App for That, Thanks to Jared Allen

This just in from the Jared Allen Is Awesome Department…

The Mulleted One released his very own iPhone app a couple weeks ago. It’s everything you’d expect in an iPhone app from one of the zaniest and most entertaining players in the NFL. Here are just a few of the features it offers:

• Hunting tips and pictures of Jared’s hunting adventures. Naturally.
• A history of American flags. Because nothing is more AMERICAN than cowboy hats, mullets, and Old Glory!
• Information about Jared’s restaurant in Arizona–apparently the Bleu Cheese & Bacon burger is “the BOMB!”
• Pictures of Jared’s “Mullet Militia”, which you can submit your own pictures to.
• Speaking of mullets, the crown jewel of the app: the Mullet Generator. Yes, it lets you add mullets to any picture you want. Awesome.

All of this wonderful stuff (and more) will cost you exactly $0.00. That’s right, it’s FREE. So if you’re a Vikings fan and you have an iPhone, it’s definitely worth checking out! You can find the app here at the iTunes store.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: iPhone, Jared Allen, minnesota vikings

Draft Recap Part 2: No QBs, but Two Big Additions

In this case, 7 is greater than 7.

When the Vikings took Chris Cook with the 34th pick (as discussed in Part 1 of the draft recap) it surprised quite a few Viking fans. Not because of who Cook was–the Vikings certainly need defensive backfield depth–but because of who the Vikings didn’t draft. Minnesota elected to pass on drafting a Possible Quarterback of the Future (PQBOTF) with their first pick. Of course, the most notable of those PQBOTF was Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen.

I’ll preface my thoughts here with a disclaimer: I cannot stand Jimmy Clausen. I have loathed him since the first fluff piece SportsCenter ran on him while he was still the #1 high school prospect. Why? Because he played for my least favorite college team. Because has one of the worst haircuts and ugliest mugs of all time. Because he looks way too much like the guy with small hands from the Burger King commercials. Because in my opinion, he just oozes pure douche from every pore of his body. So believe it or not, it’s a little hard for me to be unbiased about my favorite team drafting one of my least favorite players.

I realize that Clausen is a very skilled player. So did the draft scouts. Yet he still slipped all the way to Carolina in the second round and most indications are that it was due largely in part to his cocky attitude. If a guy slides about 30 spots in the draft mostly because teams thought he was sort of a d-bag, I’m fine with my team passing on him too. (Yes, I’m aware we got Randy Moss because of character issues, but even Moss with all of his troubles didn’t slide completely out of the first round.)

While I’m glad the Vikings passed on Clausen, I actually think Carolina is the best possible situation for him (besides losing all that first round money of course). They have a solid O-line, there isn’t as much pressure on him right away, and hopefully going that late in the draft will give Jimmy his first-ever slice of humble pie. But you better believe I’m still hoping for him to fail miserably!

But enough about who the Vikings didn’t get. The Purple picked up two BIG rookies with the 51st and 100th pick in the draft. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Adrian Peterson, brian robison, Carolina Panthers, Chester Taylor, Chris Cook, Draft, Everson Griffen, Houston Texans, Jared Allen, Jimmy Clausen, minnesota vikings, Randy Moss, ray edwards, Toby Gerhart