Author: David Shama

It was not Favre’s fault the Vikings didn’t beat the Saints and go to the Super Bowl.  An almost unforgiveable sideline coaching snafu resulted in 12 players on the field and the Vikings lost the opportunity to set up a winning Ryan Longwell field goal.  Yup, Favre threw a careless interception after that but how many plays and how many games did the guy have to carry his offense and be perfect?

This season was flawed in so many ways.  Favre decided to play one more year but the season collapsed even before the Metrodome roof went down.  But give the guy credit for trying to make something special happen again for the Vikings by returning to the team and going about the task with a passion all of us could apply to our lives.

Favre loves to play football and his boyish enthusiasm can’t be lessened by gray hairs on his head and what seems like a million savage hits to his body.  Even this year Favre was ready to sprint half the length of the field to hug a teammate after a long pass completion.  And he was willing to throw that beat up old body at a tackler to block for Peterson, Percy Harvin or someone else.

Favre played behind a substandard pass blocking offensive line this season and except for Harvin his big play pass receiving options were limited.  Without injured prize wide receiver Sidney Rice, he might have mumbled more than once, “Can anyone here get open and then make a tough catch?”

Favre wasn’t the same player this season as in 2009 but he could have litigated for lack of support.  It wasn’t just the player personnel around him.  The coaching situation became a mess leading to a troubled locker room.

Favre put up with it all.  He took a physical beating and kept playing through injuries until the danger of a severe concussion finally sidelined him.  Favre didn’t want to go to the sidelines.  He never did but finally had to, ending his 297 consecutive starts streak.

Favre never wanted his career to end, but now it must.  In this town we’re fortunate he played long enough to take a curtain call here.

Thanks, Brett, for putting excitement back into watching Vikings football.

Former TV analyst and Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher was clear in his answer when asked by Sports Headliners what Minnesota must do today to defeat Michigan State in East Lansing.  “Defensively, they’ve got to stop Michigan State from getting any transition baskets, either from defensive steals or from fast breaks,” he said.

“In the half-court Michigan State struggles to score, but you let them get some transition baskets and then they can be really dangerous.  To do that (prevent transition scores), you gotta cut down on your turnovers and be pretty selective on your shot selections.

“A lot of fast break baskets come from missed threes. They (those three point attempts) rebound out and the other team scoops them up and takes the transition.  So I think if I look at Minnesota, they’ve got to stop the fast break, make Michigan State score in the half-court and just cut down on their turnovers.”

The nationally No. 14 ranked Gophers, 0-1 in the Big Ten and 11-2 overall, will go against a No. 24 rated Spartans team playing their first conference game after a difficult nonconference schedule that included losses to No.1 Duke, No. 5 Syracuse and No. 13 Texas.  The 8-4 Spartans have not only faced outstanding opponents but a busy schedule that has limited practice time.

“My little son asked me what I wanted for Christmas,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.  “I said practice.”

As of late the Spartans have been getting more of that.  While the Gophers opened their league schedule with a 68-60 loss at Wisconsin on Tuesday night, the Spartans haven’t played a game since December 22 when Texas beat them 67-55 in East Lansing.

“…Texas really kicked their behinders,” Dutcher said. “I think they will be fired up to play (today). They don’t lose often at home.  I would guess going into the game the spread will be…Michigan State by three or four.”

Dutcher believes the Gophers could win the game.  “State is not playing well,” he said.  “They’re having trouble scoring.”

Michigan State is Dutcher’s pick to finish second in the Big Ten.  “It’s hard to judge them because their schedule has been murder,” he said.

Ohio State is the most talented team and a “step ahead” of everyone else in the league in Dutcher’s opinion. The Gophers, after a home game next Tuesday with Indiana, must play at Ohio State on January 9.

The Gophers could avoid a lot of anxiety by finishing their first four conference games with at least a 2-2 record.  “They’re talented enough to beat anybody on any given night,” Dutcher said.  “They’ll be a tough out at Williams Arena.”

In Dutcher’s conference finish predictions, he groups Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota together as teams likely to be right behind Ohio State and Michigan State.  “I think you can just throw a blanket over them (Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota),” he said.

Wisconsin is next in predicted order. The Badgers are less talented than teams ahead of them including Minnesota, according to Dutcher.

Northwestern impressed during the nonconference schedule going 9-1 but is likely to finish just behind the Badgers.  Dutcher doesn’t think the Wildcats have the depth to compensate for injuries and foul trouble.  Penn State, Indiana, Michigan and Iowa look like bottom feeders in the conference standings.