Olympics - some of the events

Ok when I think "Handball" I think of two or four people in a room with a glass back, everyone wearing fingerless gloves and taking turns whacking the little black or blue ball against the from wall ...

Well apparently "Handball" is what they call Water-Polo during a drought ... Below is a photo of what I'm talking about

NFL: week 1

1Minnesota Vikings lose fifth in a row to Packers, 24-19 - TwinCities.com:

"Vikings receiver Bobby Wade said the offense played a 'disgusting' first half, finishing with just 16 yards passing, as quarterback Tarvaris Jackson completed just two of seven passes. That number was even uglier because Peterson had 94 yards of rushing offense, including a 34-yarder."

Yeah, kept waiting for the team to show up ... of course it didn't help much that the refs seemed to always be in the way of Viking plays -- did you see the one where the ref had to hit the deck?! It was priceless - they came right his way.

There was another long throw in the 3rd quarter and the ref got right in the way of the running back who had to change his route to get around this asshole -- errors like that are supposed to be taken care of during the preseason, actually they are a bit more excusable during the preseason ... no ref should be in the middle of a play and being a 12th man!

I hope Childress is really kicking himself today -- it really looked like the team thought that the Packers were going to be an 'easy' win w/o Favre .... and it looked like GB counted on it. The saddest part of the whole night was the offenses inability, or perhaps it was just lack of trying, to ADJUST when they saw that GB was tougher than they thought.

I will give GB their props in having developed a very strong defense to pick up any issues their weaker offense could have caused to hold their opponents to their scores ... our defense did well also, they seemed to do a much better job at adjusting to the offense, just not quite fast enough.

But as usual ... players 12, 13, and 14 had their place in the Packers win as well (refs) ... they were cheating the Vikes out of complete passes, bad spots, and touch-downs. Although I give them credit for having the guts to take back the GB TD when they had an ineligible player down field ... but they really messed the game by not calling several pass interferences, a couple of illegal blocks(one helmet spike), and even missed a horse-collar on our quarterback.

I know a lot of gb fans think that its just Viking sour grapes, but its not. Keep count sometime ... the Vikings usually get called 1 1/2 times more likely to get called on pass int .... 2-3 times more likely to get called for 'false starts' or 'encroachment' .... and are more likely to get points taken away or possession turned over than gb will during any given game.

the fans have screamed for a NFL investigation on the Refs for years now -- and it has always been ignored -- on the impact that the refs try to have on the games.
Perhaps the players need to start adding their voices to it as well ... either that or maybe someday the refs are going to allow something to happen that is so blatant that there will be no denying it on any level.

Not as many mistakes as the Officials had

Minnesota Wild generate a lot of chances but make costly mistakes in a frustrating one-goal loss - TwinCities.com:

"Wild winger Pierre-Marc Bouchard said. 'We thought things were going our way, and we got the crowd back into it.'"

Bou has changed the way he spells his name on his jersey so it is "Boochard" ... so when you hear the fans go "BOOOOOO" during a game it isnt' that they are upset with something, its more that they are warning the other team that the Enforcer is on the ice and they better start to play nice.

My son was telling me that one of the Avalance was giving another of our players a tough time during the last period of the regular season game (Boo was no on the roster that night) and a reporter asked him if he was going to try to do the same thing to Bouchard. The answer was basically 'are you kidding???' he then commented on the fact that Boo is like 6'4" and 240 lbs or something .... a fan had a great sign at the game --- and it was rink side seating too! It said ' (name of Av. player) aren't to too old to be afraid of the Boogey Man???' I thought it was great --- both son and I were LOAsO.

I told my son that we should just stick Boo on our blue line crouched and ready to tackle the other players -- then just any little movement from Boo would break their concentration by just that little bit. He said no we can't do that ... besides, he observed, its better that the players think he is always breathing down their necks (hee hee -- I have to give him that ... the scariest thing is the unknown).

Anyways -- I understand that this should have been an easier game that it was. But the officials were letting a lot of infractions 'slide' by ... I saw at least three BLATANT trips that didn't get called (and yes one of those was by a Wild) and .... what the f is with the Avalance laying down on the ice to block a goal????

They weren't inadvertant falls caused by tripped up feet or skates slipping out from under a player .... everytime (okay, nearly everytime) a Wild player tried to line up a shot and it was pretty obvious that it would have gotten in one of the Avalance would 'fall' on the ice between the puck and the net. It was so apparent that it was predictable.

By the end of the third period it got to the point where both son and I were going -- look we're lining up for a shot, which player will go down???? and sure enough, BOOM, one of their players would fall. My son was so pissed ... he wanted to know why we just didn't have our players lay down on the ice in front of our goal to keep the puck out or prevent the other teams from getting a decent shot.

So what did the officials do? NOTHING. In fact the majority of the game I swear they did nothing. One of their players fell on the ice (it was an accident) but then he purposefully threw his leg out to trip our player who had the puck ... did he get called for tripping? no. One of their players purposefully puts his hockey stick between one of our players legs and uses it to try to trip him up (and make him a soprano), the player knew what he did was an infraction and looked to the official who simply skated away -- yes just skated away, didn't whistle anything and even the Avalance player seemed momentarily stunned that he didn't get called on it ... our player was incensed by it.

I know much of it has to do with the NHL hoping that by simply letting the fellows play hockey that they will trigger some fights and get more viewers. As much as the NHL might like to act like they dislike that side of the game -- it does sell tickets ... hockey is the last great blood sport in the US. Just watch how the crowd reacts when the thought of a fight enters their minds .... yeah the NHL wants the fights, they don't want the injuries, but they do want the fights.

But like I said, this should have been an easy game for us. Maybe we were too laid back. Maybe Backstrom was off his game (although he looked better than most of the games I've seen with him in the net). Whatever the reason, we should have been making more goals -- we had twice, or nearly twice, as many shots on goal ... I hope they get some decent ice time to practice those tough shots before the next game (Friday). But we will see.

Questionable Officiating

First let me state that I do not have a dog in this race, really. I am a graduate of Marshall-U (mpls) who won the MN Basketball Tourney in 1976 and my brother was one of the student support 'staff' (whatever it is you call the kids who are on the team, but not really 'on' the team) .... but I was kind of hopping to be able to tease hubby who is grad from Hen-Sib.



But I have to tell you ... the team this year is good. Got a little shaky just after half-time when they lost a 10 pt lead and it wobbled back & forth for the lead. But then they did that in yesterday's game too.



So I'm watching the second half of the game and I saw at least two calls by the officials that I just could not believe.



The first was a foul that was called on Hen-Sib .... even though the opponent charged one of H/S players and sent him sliding on the floor.

The second was a traveling call were one two of the opponent's players were double teaming and very physical with the H/S player and sent him rolling on the floor -- yes ROLLING ON THE FLOOR!! That was the traveling call. The player tried to explain that he was double fouled but the official said he didn't see it that way -- the other team got the ball and scored a 3 pointer.

There was another traveling call, but that one didn't have the clearist shot of the feet but it didn't look like he did ... but someone's head got in the way so I suppose he could have.



H/S won and are going to the final game against Minnetonka I think.
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My understanding is that H/S took second in the state.

Vikings: Personality Clash takes toll

Vikings release QB Holcomb:

"Vikings release QB Holcomb

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Quarterback Kelly Holcomb was released Wednesday by the Minnesota Vikings, clearing room on the roster for another veteran to push starter Tarvaris Jackson.

Holcomb was 0-3 as a starter last season while Jackson was hurt. In his 11th year in the NFL, Holcomb completed only 50.6 percent of his passes (42-for-83) for 515 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
After spot duty for Indianapolis, Cleveland and Buffalo, Holcomb was traded to Philadelphia last March and then dealt to Minnesota during the last week of training camp when the Vikings were concerned about their depth at the position.
Jackson showed clear improvement down the stretch, but his erratic performances were a big reason why Minnesota missed the playoffs at 8-8. Coach Brad Childress has maintained that Jackson is still the starter, but has also left open the possibility of competition for the job.
Holcomb's departure means the Vikings will surely pursue another option through free agency or a trade, when the market opens early Friday.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press"

Riiiiight....that's it Childress....it was Holcomb's fault the Vikings didn't make the playoffs. It wouldn't have anything to do with your piss poor coaching style and love for Jackson....you know the kid who is even less consistant than Holcomb.

Holcomb thru 83 passes and completed 50% of the time
Jackson thru 294 passes and only completed 58% of the time!
The question is, if Holcomb had thrown 294 passes what would his completion rate have been??
Holcomb played in only 3 games as the starter for his 2 touchdowns
Jackson played in 12 games and threw only 9 TDs....that's not good--even then his record was 8-4...that's only 66%
Holcomb threw a single (1) interception, Jackson threw 12!! C'mon, this isn't college FB here...this is the pros....that number should not be in the double digits!
Holcomb is good at a short game, Jackson is better at the long game.

Now why they would release Holcomb and keep Bollinger is beyond me...Bollinger was the worst last season!

Well I guess we will just have to see what August brings.

To bad we can't trade the coach---I'd rather have Tice back.

I thought they were all tested after they won?

Marion Jones stripped of Olympic medals :

"“My track coach Trevor Graham provided me with some nutritional supplements,”she said. “He supplied me this for the 1999 and 2000 seasons. In 2001, I noticed a change in how my body felt, how I was able to recover and my strength level. I felt generally weaker in my entire training routine.” Jones later added:
“Looking back in hindsight, red flags should have been raised in my head when he told me not to tell anyone about our workouts or supplementation program. At that time my rationale was, well it makes sense not to give out any information about what we do, why give my competitors any edge.” "

I can kind of see her point....there is a relationship there where you don't question your trainer....you do what your trainer says and trust that they are doing what is best.
Does this excuse her? No, of course not...because we are all responsible for our own actions in the end. Its just too bad that this had to happen to her (if her story is true).
So the question is....if the suppliment used at the time was not on the banned list...could they still take away the medals? And it has to bring into question all the amazing winners of the past, I mean what sorts of things could they be taking that just weren't on the list yet?

Also, if an athlete is taking natural substances and they read on the tests as a banned substance...will this then mean they are banned even though they got it thru a natural source? The same way that poppy seeds will give a false positive for cocaine...you didn't do it, but the test says you did.

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part3

This RH stash is from herrschners.com and share the color "Crayon" but notice the difference? The RH Sport is so much darker than the worsted RH Kids yarn that I'm not sure the hat/mitten/cowl/liner set I had planned for my daughter will work--of course we just got the list required supplies for next year and it specified "Waterproof" mittens which means the really expensive ones that she will lose after a week or so anyways and then we will have to buy more...I've been wondering if felting would make a garment more waterproof. I know I can't do that with the RH because its acrylic, but http://www.knitpicks.com/ has some really nice wool for sale at a decent price...

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part2

Oh these I really like...the RH Soft Yarn is for an afghan I have been coveting in a book I have for about 10 years but I just couldn't find a yarn I thought it would look nice in. Each of the fall colors will be crocheted into filet panels depicting different types of leaves and then joined to make a beautiful Equinox Afghan! The colors are: Dark Leaf, Paprika, Paprika, Toast, Tangerine) the Sweet Pea on top is for my oldest daughter to "play" with...cost? $2.97 at Herrschners (reg. 3.19, so not a huge savings but still...). The other yarn, RH Sport is in Camouflage color to go with the worsted RH I used to make my youngest son's hat, cowl, and gloves (on the needle now) with...I thought a matching set of boot liners would be nice, but now that I have it I think it might be too thin for what I had planned so I may make him some slipper-socks instead.