Fallout of the Brad Childress Era

It was about time the Vikings fire Brad Childress. I don't think he was much of a coach, dating back to about day 1 of his tenure with the Vikings and it's obvious he's lost all the confidence of his veterans. Let's hope interim coach Leslie Frazier (whose expectations are so high after everyone's wanted him to coach for about two years that I don't know how he'll live up to the hype) can get his players attention and rally the team. But here's two points I would like to make:

1: It's looking more and more that the Vikings will have a top-10 pick. They could be in prime position for a quarterback (Arkansas' Ryan Mallett?) to replace Brett Favre. Forget Tavaris Jackson and Joe Webb for that matter. The next franchise QB is playing in College right now.

2. With the Vikings squad that was built to win last year, a possible (probable?) lock-out next season and a lease at the Metrodome that ends after next year, this season could have some pretty significant damage done to the future of the franchise. Does owner Zygi Wilf continue to open his wallet for talent? Does he explore Los Angeles? A lot of Wilf's moves to spend money on high priced talent (Brett Favre, Randy Moss) was as much of a P.R. move to gain support for a stadium as it was to put a winning product on the field. This season and a lockout could cripple this franchise.

I don't feel L.A. is an option. With two different groups putting together proposals for building stadiums in Southern California it's hard for me to believe Wilf would just give up the team. Coupled with uncertain futures in San Diego and Jacksonville it's hard for me to believe the Vikings are on the go especially since their division rivals and geographic location are pristine.

In any case this season is a disaster, but the ship could be righted a bit with a victory this Sunday against a less than stellar Washington team.

My Boss Had Too Much Cold Medicine When Sending This Out...

1. I like how the title of the email is grammatically wrong
2. I like that he called my coworker Aaron, "Ron, Aaron, whatever..."
3. The random Caps lock on a couple words
4. The third sentence is a run-on and he doesn't really finish it
5. He haggles to try to get someone to work.

Probably the funniest email I've ever gotten. P.S. He's a really great guy and surely this will be blown up and put on the wall in the studio by someone else.

Triple H's First Poster

Judging by the hair, I guess he really did idolize Ric Flair.

The Self-Destruction of the Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings season has turned for the worse yet again with the ugly Randy Moss waiving. At 2-5 the consensus was the team had to go 2-2 in this past four-game stretch (@ NYJ, vs. DAL, @GB and @NE) unfortunately the team went 1-3 casting doubt. The homer in me wants to chide the NFL for giving the Vikings a massively front-loaded schedule and an early bye week, but karma was rearing her ugly head with Brett Favre skipped training camp, Sidney Rice finally decided to get hip surgery and Percy Harvin missed about all of preseason (rightly or not) because of migraines and a family death.

But being there in person at Foxboro on Sunday was interesting. They did out play the Patriots for most of the first three quarters, the Pats did get lucky on a couple plays and finally New England prevailed because of superior management. Tough loss for the Vikes all around and there was a hint of last years NFC Championship game in New Orleans to it.

I was going to write about the Moss stuff yesterday but wanted to wait because I knew stories would be surfacing today. It couldn’t have been solely due to his bizarre post-game interview on Sunday but coupled with him staying back in Boston and not flying home with the team Sunday night (Monday is NOT an optional day) and the Tinucci's catering story from last Friday, he deserved to be cut. He had to go. Besides, what kind of influence is he to Percy Harvin? You really have to be a Minnesota Wild-level Kool-Aid drinker to not support the waiving at this point.

All said Brad Childress needs to go at season’s end.

Stray Observations

• Jared Allen’s new wife needs to let him get back on the ‘roids.

• Where does this disappointment leave the Vikings Stadium drive? Getting Randy Moss was as much a public relations move for a stadium as it was a move to improve the teams record.

• Sad to see what Favre has done to his legacy. Never have been a fan and never will, but the loudest the stadium got on Sunday was him being helped off and subsequently carted off the field. Sad commentary on the fans but also just what has happened to the ‘ol gunslinger. Worst yet there's 10 weeks left in the season and it might get only worse. This is another reason the 18-game schedule is probably a terrible idea. It's going to be torture to see past-their-prime stars stars just trotting out there and getting killed.

• How lucky is Don Lucia? Tim Brewster steals attention away from his fellow Gopher coach, the Wolves are a perennial punch line, the Wild stink and now Chilly has a lot of heat on him. This pathetic hockey coach can just continue to fly under the radar. Unbelievable.