Today began with a late start. It's 1 p.m. already and I've barely turned the television on. Only sporting event to watch on a Monday afternoon, at least one that's a broadcast, is Manchester City versus West Bromwich and there's no surprise in this one. The favorite, Manchester City, holds a 3-0 lead in the 67th minute.
Just a few minutes before, Vincent Kompany of Man. City met a corner kick with the back of his head and directed it perfectly over the keeper from one side of the goal to the other, except it scored upon arrival to the other side, kind of like when you go to Mexico over spring break and you're in bed with a beautiful hooker 20 minutes after crossing the border.
The outcome to this one isn't a mystery and to be fair, I don't think it ever was one from the get go.
It was good to see the NFL season commence last night with the annual Hall of Fame game played in Canton, Ohio. This year's teams consisted of the Pittsburgh Steelers and my Minnesota Vikings. Even though not much is made from the preseason games, it gives coaches and fans a great opportunity to get a glimpse of young players and ones fighting to make the final roster. For that reason alone, there shouldn't be a shortage of competition when it comes to these games.
The Vikings ended up taking the game 14-3, off of a 34-yard touchdown pass from backup Mike Kafka to young, tight end MyCole Pruitt and a 1-yard touchdown run by half back Joe Banyard, after he was set up by a 62-yard punt return from rookie, wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
The Vikings were efficient through the air yesterday completing 19 out of 26 passes spanning three different quarterbacks. Second-year starter Teddy Bridgewater completed five out of six passes for 44 yards. Backups Mike Kafka and Taylor Heinicke each completed 7 out of 10 passes, Kafka for 66 yards and a score and Heinicke for 51 yards.
Whatever the specific yardage, the efficiency of passes completed for the first game of the year was impressive. This should serve as a testimony to offensive coordinator Norv Turner and his system. Turner is known as an offensive genius. With the various offensive weapons the Vikings have at their disposal this year it's going to take someone with no less than Turner's cerebral capabilities in handling an offense in the professional football league. Vikings' fans should be excited. I know I am.
Something not to be too excited about is the prior series the Dodgers played out at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, where they usually dominate the Pirates. This time, while their wasn't any domination of sort from either teams the Dodgers left Pittsburgh being swept. Offensively, the bats were awake, though they stranded a lot of runners of base. The issues came from the mound for the Dodgers. If it weren't the starters leaving the Dodgers with an almost insurmountable deficit to overcome, it was the bullpen creating the deficit that needed to be overcome.
After six innings and a 5-3 lead for the Dodgers to maintain in order to get the victory, Pittsburgh showed why they were called the Pirates, as they came in and stole any glimmer of hope the Dodgers had at redeeming the weekend series with a 9-run 7th inning. Dodgers fan's eyes were glued to the television, mouths open, with a gazing stare of disbelief as they mustered everything they had in them to utter the two words, "not again."
This is a world-series caliber team, that has a few kinks they need to get worked out. They've had enough time to develop consistency, but outside of starters Zack Grienke and Clayton Kershaw, they haven't seen it from their pitchers. They were hoping the additions of starters Matt Latos and Alex Wood would help solidify their rotation that has been hindered by a few injuries, but Latos' first start was horrific and Wood has been decent, at very best.
We have to hope for those two to pan out inevitably, if we want to make a push into the post season. Our bullpen on the other hand is a different story. The Dodgers made a trade involving three teams and 13 players, mostly acquiring players that were hopeful solutions to their bullpen issues. One of the players they copped, Jim Johnson, was the one who replaced Alex Wood in their most previous game versus the Pirates. You know, the one in which they gave up nine runs in the 7th. Well, guess who was the catalyst of that run scoring machine? In 2/3 of an inning pitched, Johnson gave up eight runs, walked one, actually struck one out(should he be redeemed? lol) and was on the count, deservedly so, for the loss. Let's hope for the best, a blunder in a blender of performances.
I'm not going to over analyze their pitching situation, just yet, because of how recent their acquisitions have been. But make no mistake, if the Dodgers don't end up winning the world series this year, or hell, even make the post season, you should know what direction to point the finger when it comes to blame.
Let's see what Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have to say in the 30 minutes allotted to them on Pardon the Interruption. Well, at least stuff that I care about. I don't want to say I don't care about Frank Gifford, rest in peace, but, just not my time. I do send my prayers to his family, as I do know how it is to lose family.
They are now saying that Michael Jordan says his Bulls could beat the showtime Lakers and that he could beat LeBron James one-on-one. Those questions are obsolete. Come on, you're asking an all-time competitor whose going to win between him and someone else, especially in their prime. Who do you think they're going to say is going to win? In my opinion, Jordan would definitely beat James one-on-one, but I don't think his Bulls are better than the showtime Lakers. They might have won more championships, but their era of competition was easier. Remember, it took Jordan a while to win not only because, but he did start in the showtime era.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention yesterday that after Seattle Sounders' forward Chad Barrett scored that goal for them in the opening minutes he pulled a hammy during the celebration. Sucks to say, but those are kind of funny to me.
Cam Newton got into a scuffle with one of his corner backs, Josh Norman in practice today. There was a 50-pound weight margin in the Newton's favor. But, the big deal is the fact that this is the quarterback, the leader of the team, the face of the franchise and the most important player on his team fighting against a player trying to make the squad. I think Norman's annual salary is $175,000, compared to Newton's $20 million. So you see where the problem is.
A lot of the fault has to be placed on the management, for not making a player like Norman understand that Newton is the one player he shouldn't be getting in a scuffle with. I can see why a player would want to take a shot at Newton, he seems to be a bit condescending on and off of the field, but Norman must remember what it means to be a man in today's society; doing things we don't want to do. Hah, the cast on Around the Horn is talking about how Cam has a smile during everything and even after every tragic event. They referred to a car accident he got into a while back, that looked pretty bad, according to them, and he came out of the car smiling. That's Cam. He's like the modern-day Undercover Brother.
Does a dugout fight bring a team closer together? That certainly depends on whose in your dugout and what they are fighting over. And, probably how your team is doing at the time of the fight and if the fight isn't because the team is doing shitty.
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