Maddux Sports Blog

It’s early in the first set of Sunday games , and a lot of thoughts are running through my mind already:

1. What is the point of this farce in London? The field isn’t ideal, the crowd sounds like they are at a funeral, the broadcast doesn’t look or sound quite right, and the Bucs are pretty much the worst ambassadors for the league possible. Josh Johnson has thrown two interceptions already in the first quarter, and the game is already over. Of course, it was all but over before the kickoff. It can’t be long now until we see Josh Freeman start to play for the Bucs – it’s not like they have anything to play for, and Freeman can’t be much worse than the alternative.

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A little football, then a little baseball today:

First, the football. That was a very interesting game last night. I wasn’t particularly excited about it – fatigue over the Favre hype. In the end, though, it ended up being interesting for a number of reasons. First, and most troubling for Green Bay, that is one terrible offensive line they have there. Jared Allen is a nice player, but not nearly that nice. He absolutely decimated Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, and gave them little chance of success. The Packers were a team I was very keen on coming into the season, but they stand little chance of doing anything meaningful until they find a way to offer even a little bit of protection. That was pathetic. On the other side, Minnesota’s offensive line performance was very mixed. On one hand, Favre had all of the time in the world to do whatever he wanted, and he made the most of it. On the other hand, though, Adrian Peterson was contained in a very surprising and uncharacteristic way. The final piece of interest out of this game is the question of just how good they Vikings are. They are 4-0 and will be hyped up significantly after this high profile win, but I still don’t feel like we have seen them really be tested. The first two wins against the Browns and the Lions prove nothing. The San Francisco game probably should have been a loss if it wasn’t for the fluky last second pass. The Packers weren’t a particularly real test either given that offensive line. Next up is the Rams, too, so this team will be 5-0 without a true test. This team is good, but we won’t know how good until we see them play the Ravens in week six. In my eyes this is a very tough team to assess right now.

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1. I still have long term concerns about how good the Favre experiment will look in December, but one thing seems certain now – this team is only undefeated because they signed him. Or at least that seems reasonable. It’s hard to imagine that Rosenfels or Jackson would have been able to lead that comeback in the same way, or could have thrown that pass to win as time expired. I don’t see this team doing any real damage in the playoffs. I don’t even now for sure what the Vikings really have to offer, and likely won’t know until they play Baltimore in week six.

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I was very, very disappointed to see the Vikings play last night. I’m so sick of Favre and his whole act that I was really hoping he’d continue to struggle. Hopefully that would lead him to going away faster. Unfortunately, he looked perfectly competent last night. In fact, he looked even a little better than than. He was comfortable and confident, and you could already tell that he was enjoying the concept of having an all-World running back for the first time. I don’t feel nearly as assured now of the ultimate failure of this experiment as I did a while ago, and that disappoints me.

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Haven’t yet figured out why the Vikings signed Brett Favre? I haven’t really, either, but here’s a big part of it – in the 24 hours following the signing they sold 3,000 season tickets and 10,000 individual game tickets. They have 7,000 season tickets left, and you can only go to the Green Bay game with a season ticket, so they will certainly sell even more. The extra ticket sales and jersey sales alone will pay for the contract, and now the team won’t have to struggle with blackouts like they have in recent years.

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I went to bed last night in a world that sort of made sense. At least it was one that was, for once, relatively free of all-consuming, ridiculous sports drama. But then I turned on my computer this morning only to discover that a plane with the Vikings logo on the tail had landed in Mississippi and that Brett Favre and his life were listed on the manifest for his return trip. That was soon followed by the news we have probably all heard by now – that Favre is in Minnesota, and he has a deal done for between $10 and $12 million pending a physical today. Head coach Brad Childress has confirmed that the team intends to sign the player. In short, the third retirement is over – almost before it started.

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I really, really don’t understand what the Vikings are thinking. This has been the case for the whole offseason, but it was reinforced now that I just read the latest story out of the endless Favre saga. A source has come out and said that Favre is conflicted about his choice, which he has said he will make by the end of this month. The source indicated that Favre would perhaps favor retirement, but he feels an obligation to the Vikings coaching staff and to the players who have been lobbying him to join them. I still think that Favre will decide to join the team. What I don’t understand is why they would want him.

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Here are some what I find to be surprising (sometimes pleasant, sometimes perplexing and sometimes funny) developments in the world of sports.

Stanley Cup Game 7

I honestly thought that the Penguins would be out by now, but they made is a real series. Can Hossa come through for Detroit? Can Crosby take the trophy for Pittsburgh? It has been a home series. Neither team has been able to steal one when visiting. In goal, Osgood had outperformed Fleury. In the playoffs, Osgood has a better save percentage and goals against average. But in the last game, Fleury gave up just one score, notching a .962 SV%, while Osgood gave uo two, earning a .935 SV%. It is gut-check time at the Joe Lewis Arena in Detroit. It should be a great one. There’s nothing like a game seven for the Stanley Cup.

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Ravens Vs. Miami

Run, Ravens, run: All of the Baltimore starting pass catchers are listed as “questionable.”  Wide receiver Clayton has a bad knee, tight end Todd Heap’s having back trouble and wideout Derrick Mason’s shoulder is injured. Will the three starters play? Most likely, yes. But their range, durability and output will probably be reduced. Rookie QB Joe Flacco will be handing the ball off a lot to running backs Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee. The best thing that the Ravens’ offense can do is play cleanly, allowing the team’s defense to play its game and control Miami.

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We’re going to try another new feature for the football season. Each Monday we are going to look back at some of the teams that the large majority of people weren’t backing that nonetheless managed to cover the spread. We’ll look back at their stats or their performance coming in to see what could have tipped us off to the eventual outcome. In other words, we’ll go back and make a case for betting on the eventual winners. This is my way of saying ‘I knew it all along’, even when I didn’t necessarily. This isn’t to suggest that the underdogs were always the right pick. It’s just that doing this can fulfill two important roles – it can potentially help us learn for next time, and it can be therapy to ease the pain of losses. Without further ado:

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