Williams Wall likely to avoid suspension again?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/21/2010 @ 5:00 pm)
Back in 1874, the NFL suspended Vikings’ defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams four games each for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. But with the help of a Minnesota state judge who apparently loves himself some Minnesota Vikings, the Williamseseseses appear likely to once again avoid their suspensions.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune shares new details of this never-ending story:
Judge Gary Larson recently ruled that the Williamses must serve their four-game suspensions after testing positive for a banned diuretic. But Larson granted the injunction Friday that will allow the Vikings to play during the appeals process.
This obviously is good news for the Vikings. Essentially, nothing has changed for the team because the Vikings will have their Pro Bowl defensive tackles while the legal process continues to play out.
The only question now is, how long will the appeals process take? Will it be resolved before the season or drag on for many more months?
Here’s the deal, their case would have to pass through both the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Minnesota Supreme Court before the two players served their suspensions. Judge Gary “the Viking” Larson knows that the process would probably take quite a while, so the chances of the Williams Wall playing this year are very high.
As I’ve written before, this is a tricky situation. If the U.S. Supreme Court overrules Larson’s decision, then it looks as if the NFL has more power than state courts. But if the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t overrule the decision, then maybe more players will look for loopholes when they fail drug tests.
When I do posts about this story, I feel like I’m writing an episode of “The Dukes of Hazzard.” All right, in this scene, we’ll have the Williams boys get away from Roger Goodell. Then in the next scene, we’ll have Goodell almost catch them, but then they get away again. We’ll do this over and over and over again until the end of the show. Cool?
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Favre-Childress spat: Big deal or blown out of proportion?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (12/23/2009 @ 9:27 am)
Here’s some shocking news: The media likes to blow things out of proportion sometimes. I’ll wait for you to pick your ass off the floor before I continue.
On Sunday night in Carolina, Brett Favre got mad at Brad Childress for wanting to take him out of the game in the third quarter when the Vikings still held a lead. Not 24 hours later, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that Childress “unleashed an expletive-laden outburst toward” Favre after the team’s loss to the Panthers. On Monday and through Tuesday, ESPN started reporting that the pair has argued several times throughout the season, including spats about Brett changing the plays in the huddle and regarding audibles.
But is this a situation where the media is blowing things out of proportion or is there a serious problem brewing in Minnesota?
Read the rest of this entry »
Vikings shopping Tarvaris Jackson
Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/03/2009 @ 10:30 am)
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Vikings are actively shopping quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.
Jackson has been the subject of trade rumors since Brett Favre arrived. However, it remains unclear which direction the Vikings will go if they are unable to trade Jackson.
Jackson, who started 20 games in his first three seasons with the team, admitted he feels a sense of uncertainty about his situation, but he said he is focused on preparing for Friday’s preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys.
This move makes sense with Favre and Sage Rosenfels on the roster, although there’s a likely chance that Brett will break down at some point and the Vikings will only be left with Rosenfels. Still, Jackson arguably has the most trade value based on his age and given that he’s a free agent at the end of the year, now would be a good time to move him.
Jared Allen has quote of the year
Posted by Anthony Stalter (08/28/2009 @ 8:31 am)
While fielding questions on Thursday about whether or not there is a schism (which means divide) between players in the Vikings’ locker room regarding who will start at quarterback this year, defensive end Jared Allen had this to say:
“I don’t know where this came from. Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts.”
That was the first thing I heard when I woke up this morning and I was freaking rolling. Thanks for getting my day started on the right foot, Jared.
When I first read the report that a player had used the term schism, I found it interesting…then I had to look the word up myself.
You know the game “telephone” right? That’s what happened here. Somebody in the media heard that some Viking players wanted Tarvaris Jackson to start, while others said they wanted Brett Favre under center. So they passed the story along, but somewhere along the line, somebody used the word “schism” and then the story got twisted into how a player had used the term.
But I’m with Allen – there’s no way a Vikings player used that word. There very well may be a divide in the locker room, but the word schism was never used to describe the situation.
Report: Favre has “little support” in Vikings locker room
Posted by Anthony Stalter (08/26/2009 @ 5:40 pm)
According to a report by ESPN.com, there appears to be schism in the Vikings locker room when it comes to whom the players want under center this year. Some favor Tarvaris Jackson, while others like Sage Rosenfels.
Either way, there appears to be little support for Brett Favre.
Sources with knowledge of the Vikings locker-room dynamics say some players believe Tarvaris Jackson gives the Vikings the best chance to win, while other players believe Sage Rosenfels gives the team the best chance to win — which is one of the new twists to this storyline. In the words of one NFL source, Favre has “little support” in the locker room as Minnesota prepares for its Monday night preseason game against the Houston Texans.
Vikings coach Brad Childress was even asked Wednesday about the speculation.
“I’ve seen the same reports you’ve seen,” Childress said. “Those are opinions. It’s hard to shoot holes in an opinion. It’s just that — an opinion. I certainly don’t see it.”
If this situation winds up blowing up in the Vikings’ faces, Childress will have nobody to blame but himself. In his desire to put Favre under center, he turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the rest of his team and their wants.
Granted, a head coach needs to do what he feels best for his team to win and not allow the players to run the organization. But in this particular situation, Childress will have to suffer the consequences if things don’t pan out, because he put Favre’s wants above all else.
It’s going to be an interesting season in Minnesota this year. Childress better hope this Favre situation works out in the end or else he’ll face massive criticism. But if Brett wins, then nobody is going to remember what went down in August.
