Last time we spoke, I mentioned Gophers’ fifth-year senior forward Dan Coleman’s verifiable on-court struggles and hypothetical off-court struggles. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here: I was trying to be a little funny—inasmuch as the existential anguish of all college seniors is a little bit funny in its outsized, melodramatic way—but I really wasn’t trying to make light of whatever the guy is going through. Actually, I was kind of trying to allude to the sad fact that we, as fans, are pretty good at marginalizing the outside (i.e. “real”) lives and inner worlds of the athletes we follow. In general, we pay attention only to the extent that those lives/worlds can be turned into consumable tidbits—“his father taught him the meaning of hard work”; “his brother helped him keep things in perspective”—and lose interest after that. Recall, please, that life is pretty hard and that pain is real—even if you can do things like shoot a basketball or blow out birthday candles perched ten feet above the ground. Think of yourself at age 22 and then maybe have a little sympathy.
I am happy to report that Coleman showed much more spark in the Gophers’ home win against Penn State and road loss to Purdue. He didn’t shoot well in either game—4-12 and 4-11 respectively—and he made some amazing mistakes against Penn State (like fouling a three point shooter late) that, Coach Tubby fumed “almost cost us the game,” but I’m honestly happy to see him work up the gumption to put shots up at all. What’s more, he pulled down seven rebounds against Penn State and thirteen (along with three blocked shots) against the Boilermakers. So, Coleman's mercurial temperament will remain something of a mystery. I'm just glad he doesn't look quite so sad and lonely.
After their disheartening loss at Wisconsin last Saturday, the Gophers’ veterans called a players-only meeting. There, they reportedly discussed playing with greater toughness, more poise and more confidence at the end of games. Well, the response was a 69-60 victory over Michigan on Thursday but it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the rather ephemeral things discussed at the meeting. They actually played a bit listlessly for much of the game; the teams exchanged leads for much of the game and the Gophers seemed reluctant to finish the lesser team at home. They won because Lawrence McKenzie went completely bonkers, scoring 26 points on 9-14 shooting and breaking the Wolverines’ backs with three after ridiculous three. Throughout the year, McKenzie has shown flashes of such swag but never for an entire game and never quite this brazenly. He made an amazing 7 of 11 from behind the arc, many of them off the dribble with a hand in his face; the very best was a desperate, closely guarded, turnaround fade with the shot clock expiring that made the score 61-54 with six minutes left.
Philadelphia will be joining Major League Soccer in 2010. An anouncement is slated for next week. This is great news for the Sons of Ben, the not-yet-existent team's supporters group that basically willed the franchise into existence. The Guardian's Steven Wells has a hilarious little piece on their jackassery.
This is a pretty cool SI article about Memphis's incredibly high-scoring Dribble-Drive Motion offense, as it's known, which is based on the radical notions that players should be more than just automatons and that basketball should be fun to play. The article is pretty good, for Sports Illustrated (not too much about what John Calipari's Mom taught him about commitment or whatever, more about basketball) and the discussion of the offense is really interesting if you like that kind of stuff. Calipari seems pretty slimy and Pitino-esque to me, but I'm intrigued by the notion of him voluntary relinquishing power to his players. This is the money quote:
In fact, Calipari says he now does far more coaching in practice than during games, when he used to bark out play calls nearly every trip down the court. "The biggest strength of this offense," Walberg says, "is I feel we're teaching kids how to play basketball instead of how to run plays."
Champions League action returns tomorrow This week's matches should be riveting: Arsenal v. Milan, Roma v. Real Madrid, Celtic v. Barcelona, Liverpool v. Inter. And those are just the games that can be seen on ESPN over the next two days. Gabriele Marcotti has a nice primer on the round of sixteen over at SI. Barcelona's lethal striker Samuel Eto'o might see some action after missing recent matches with a thigh injury. That means Frank Rijkaard could have his full complement of offensive weapons available for the first time since August. Real Madrid magician Robinho is likely out owing to a torn stomach muscle. Rafa Benitez might need another deep run in Europe to keep his job at Liverpool after Saturday's hilarious home defeat to lower division Barnsley in the FA Cup.
Likewise Arsenal will be looking to make amends for the team's humiliating 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United. I'd barely tucked into my hashbrowns at The Local on Saturday before Nani, Anderson, Rooney and company had run the visitors off the field. Sir Alex Ferguson's side will try to keep the good times rolling at Lyon on Wednesday. Here's the highlights from the Manchester pasting:
In case you missed it, the NBA held its annual Slam Dunk Contest this weekend, along with a bunch of other time-fillers. Our very own Gerald Green--last year's dunk champion--was a participant.
Now, because life is not fair, and also because the NBA has decided (with reason) to anoint Dwight Howard as one of its new superstars, Gerald did not win this year. But there was some real beauty, as well as some impressively channeled melancholy, in his performance.
Oh, and an all-business Rashad McCants was there, even if Charles Barkley didn't recognize him.
Richard Jefferson, the falsetto-voiced, goody-goody star of the New Jersey Nets, has been accused of choking a club-goer right here in Minneapolis. The alleged incident happened at Infinity, just down the block from Target Center, the night a couple weeks back when the T-Wolves came from behind to hand the Nets their ninth straight loss.
The weird thing about this is that Jefferson is not one of the league's bad boys. He even donated $3.5 million recently to build a new gym at Arizona U, his alma mater. Courtesy of TMZ, which also links the incident report.
Here are some things Tubby Smith said in the press conference following Tuesday's game against Illinois: "pathetic defensively"; "didn't show toughness"; "lacked aggressiveness". In case you were wondering, the Gophers did not win. I find that Tubby is usually a bit hard in his team's defensive effort. It's true that they often give up open jumpers but they often make up for it with their aggressive ball pressure, creating turnovers in the backcourt and generally disrupting their opponent's execution. But boy, they sure didn't do any of that stuff against Illinois who, with a 2-9 conference record, was sitting in a tie for ninth in the Big Ten.
Trouble started early when it became very clear that Illinois center Shaun Pruitt was much, much to quick for the Gophers' Spencer Tollackson, easily beating him with a succession of baseline pivot moves. Tubby adjusted by switching to a 2-3 zone but this was even less successful; the Illini busted the zone with good three-point shooting while also managing to find open looks inside, the supposed strong point of that defense. Now, the hallmark of the Gophers' defense thus far has been aggression (rather than, say, poise or presence of mind) but, in this game, they were even less disciplined than normal. The Gophers (particularly Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson) repeatedly over-committed to ballhandlers and then compounded the problem by rotating poorly to open players. To their credit, Illinois executed their offense extremely well, baffling the Gophers with crisp motion and screens. They also finished with authority, shooting a remarkable 59% from the floor (including 7-13 from three). But the U's help defense was a step slow all night, resulting in many open shots, fouls and three point plays. It is often said that bad defense stymies a team's own offense and this was true for the Gophers in one concrete way, in particular. Lawrence McKenzie, the team's best pure scorer, fouled out after playing only 17 minutes; three of those fouls were committed at the basket as he was covering for out-of-position teammates.
The Minnesota Thunder have signed Canadian forward Alen Marcina. The 28-year-old striker split time with three USL First Division clubs last season, scoring three goals. In 2006 he struck the back of the net 13 times (including three tallies against the Thunder) for the Puerto Rico Islanders, earning him second team All-League honors.
Marcina is the Thunder's second significant off-season signing. Last month the club announced that it had finalized a three-year deal with playmaker Luchi Gonzalez. The former MLS first-round pick spent last season with Miami FC, notching four goals and two assists.
The team's new ownership group, headed by Belgium-based developers Dean Johnson and Henk Habers, has promised to significantly increase Coach Amos Magee's player budget. The Thunder have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons.
Arctic Blast XIII
February 9-10, 2008
Lake Mille Lacs
“949… 459,” announced the pear shaped man sporting a Miller Lite “Field Crew” vest and standing atop the Buzzie’s at the Bay bar. Next to him stood a woman wearing a similar pink vest and holding a Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt. It was one of many such raffles during this 13th annual event held on Minnesota’s second largest lake. “Woooooo,” screamed the blatantly intoxicated man in the crowd with a vacant stare whose insulated bibs and jeans had accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of teaming up to bare his ass crack to the rest of the bar’s patrons. He hadn’t won. He probably didn’t even have a raffle ticket, or if he did it was probably wallowing in the massive puddle of spilt $3 Miller Lites pooling at his feet. This man was the exception though. The Viking’s Arctic Blast is about two things: one, fans young and old from out-state Minnesota getting a chance to get up-close to larger-than-life professional football players; and two, raising money for the Viking’s Children Fund while providing a shot in the arm for the local watering holes and businesses during the off-peak winter months.
Drink Miller and everyone wins!
According to the team’s website, the Vikings' Children Fund is the way players, coaches and executives address the many needs of children in the upper Midwest. The fund focuses on family services such as shelters for homeless families and education resources for troubled youth in the community. The fund also provides funding opportunities for researchers at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Pediatrics.
Of course many of us remember how five years ago the Arctic Blast was anything but charitable. During the 8th Annual Blast, two incidents reportedly occurred involving former and active players and female attendees of the event. Two players were accused of sexual assault: former back-up quarterback Todd Bouman, who was never charged, and former running back Ted Brown, who now faces first- and third-degree sexual assault charges. This was two years before the team further tarnished its name on another body of water during the Love Boat scandal.
Todd has very few fans on Mille Lacs
Charity or debauchery? Child welfare or felonies? The question I had before heading north was, “What kind of “Blast” will this year’s be?”
Photographer in tow, our day began at the now infamous Eddy’s Resort. About 150-250 people gathered in the banquet room to gear up in every conceivable shade of neon coat for the day of snowmobiling. As in every Minnesotan gathering, the weather is a favorite topic. It made sense given the forecast of plummeting temperatures and winds of 40 mph+. In the interest of full disclosure, we did not snowmobile. We were happy just to bar hop from each “Official Blast Point” to the next following the Vikings as they traversed clockwise this 60 mile-in-circumference beast of a frozen lake. A quick walk around the room made it pretty clear that the player participation record was safe. Given the scheduling conflict with the Pro-bowl (it is still unclear whether or not the planners just assumed no Vikings would actually make the Pro-bowl) it was safe to assume beforehand that the most popular Vikings would be half a world away, both literally and climatically, in Honolulu. The lineup of current and former players included backup quarterback, Wisconsin native Brooks Bollinger, rookie wide receiver Aundrae Allison, punter Chris Kluwe (more on him in a moment), Hall of Fame members Carl Eller and Paul Krause, and former linebacker Scott Studwell. Local resident Mike Warden was somewhat disappointed with this year’s turnout, but stressed that the weather probably had a lot to do with it.
Ronnie Holt could never be disappointed with any Vikings event
Vikings Fun Fact: a quick Wikipedia search reveals that not only is Chris Kluwe amongst the 10 highest paid punters in the league, but he’s also an avid World of Warcraft player and a member of its Flying Hellfish Guild maintaining a level 70 Rogue on the Kil’Jaeden server.
Whatever that means.
How does he fend off the swirlies in the locker-room?
After departing Eddy’s, the next stop was the Blue Goose Inn located in the small town of Garrison. The Blue Goose décor caters to local fisherman’s ultimate fantasies: a three and a half foot muskie graces the wall next to a fake eight foot marlin. It was only noon, but with Miller Lites only $3 today, few could afford not to tip one back. The Goose was the first Blast point raffling off signed version of everything from baseball hats to bicycles. Our seat by the window afforded us a view of Scott Studwell, now director of college scouting for the Vikes, conversing with some fellow snowmobilers before firing up a cigar in front of this somewhat confusing sign:
The only clear message is that you can eat many, many ribs for not a lot of money
One of the most amazing parts of this event were how many wide-eyed kids were in attendance and clutching a hat, t-shirt, or football ready for the signature of someone that they might not even recognize but are nevertheless in awe.
After the Goose we were off to Buzzie’s on the Bay, a spirited joint with a lively raffle. As the Vikes came in off the lake the fatigue was noticeable. The wind had really picked up and everything had become more difficult. I sat down with Carl Eller to ask him his thoughts of the event. “The event overall is great. It’s well staged, you get a chance to make all of these stops in different communities and everyone welcomes you. It’s really a nice deal.” The hall of famer was one of the most popular Vikings in attendance as evident by the long lines of autograph seekers at each blast point. He was admittedly not an avid snowmobiler, but this was not his first Blast. “Oh, it’s cold man, my fingers were froze. My thumb… it was supposed to have a heater but my thumb was like, frozen. I couldn’t move it off the throttle, maybe that’s why I was going so fast.”
I should have asked Carl if riding a snowmobile reminds him of his time riding a motorcycle in the Black 6.
Before leaving Buzzie’s Scott Studwell approached our table, which happened to be near his helmet and coat. This led to the following exchange:
Scott: What time does the sunset up here?
Us: Oh, about 5:30 or 6. Where do you live these days?
Scott: Eden Prairie.
Our day ended at the final “Official Blast Point,” the Bayview Bar. The sun had set, (although maybe not in Eden Prairie, we’re not sure) and the wind was unbearable resulting in near whiteout conditions on the lake. KFAN’s Dave Allen was heard making plans to drive a car back to the resort. Off in the corner of the bar, a couple of white PVC troughs were filled with water and a Miller Lite banner advertised minnow races, with proceeds benefiting the Children’s Fund. The young brunette working the races convinced Chris Kluwe and Carl Eller to try their hand at racing bait. In the end, Carl Eller was victorious beating the punter and two other participants. A local observer bought him a celebratory eggnog shot at the bar.
Who says Carl Eller and Chris Kluwe have nothing in common?
The 13th Annual Arctic Blast fortunately won’t be remembered for any inappropriateness but rather for the bitter cold that made the snowmobiling difficult. The kids who attended will remember those who signed their t-shirts, the bar owners will remember the added business and an untold number of needy children will remember the help made possible through this event.
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