Author: David Shama

Common theory before yesterday’s playoff game was that if the Vikings could avoid turnovers, a win was likely against Philadelphia.  Among those holding that thought was coach Brad Childress who said on the KFAN pre-game show that the most important aspect for his team was not “to turn the ball over.”

The Vikings made good on minimizing mistakes, with only one interception and also a bad snap from center recovered by the Eagles.  The interception, though, was turned into a 44-yard touchdown by the Eagles’ Asante Samuel in the second quarter.  That score was Philadelphia’s only touchdown in the first half but the Eagles had three field goals and led 16-14 at halftime.

The result of the game came down to this: the Vikings offense, as so often true in the past, wasn’t good enough to win a game.  Two touchdowns won’t advance many teams in the playoffs, not unless the defense creates scores, too, and yesterday the Vikings’ defense, among the best in football, didn’t generate points in the 26-14 loss.

The pre-game concern about turnovers, at least among fans and media, focused on quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.  Although he only had the one official interception, the Eagles were close to having others.  With some frequency, he threw inaccurately and after a first half when third down conversions were consistent, he and the offense became ineffective in the second half keeping Chris Kluwe busy with five punts.

For the game Jackson completed 15 of 35 passes for 164 yards and Childress told a post game KFAN audience that regarding the interception “you can’t excuse the seven that goes the other way.”  To some observers, Jackson looked unsettled late in the game when the Vikings were trying to come back from a 23-14 deficit.  Bothered by pressure in the past, the third year quarterback seemed off in his timing and perhaps locked in on a primary receiver.

For a third consecutive off-season the Vikings’ staff and others are left to ponder the quarterback situation and the effectiveness of the overall offense.  Jackson was a much better quarterback in the last three games of the regular season then he was in the first two.  While his development is clearly too slow for hypercritical Vikings’ fans, he might be progressing enough to be a decent bet for a good season in 2009. Plus, what are the franchise’s other quarterback options?

The Vikings have home work to do in the off-season.  The offense needs help on the right side of the line including where right tackle Ryan Cook seems to have “false start” DNA.  The acquisition of wide receiver Bernard Berrian added juice to a sub-par receiving group, but more explosiveness is welcome.  The Vikings seem likely to try to help themselves in the college draft with offensive linemen and receivers.

Yesterday, they substantiated what didn’t have to be proven. Fourteen points from your offense in a playoff game isn’t the stuff of Super Bowl contenders.

A parking ramp incident angered fans leaving the University of Minnesota’s Oak Street Parking Ramp following Wednesday afternoon’s Gopher-Michigan State basketball game at Williams Arena.  When customers entered the ramp for the 11 a.m. game there were no parking attendants to pay.  Instead, fans had to pay following the game, causing long delays in exiting the ramp.

About 2:15 p.m., more than one hour after the game, vehicles were bumper-to-bumper from the ground level pay booths to the fourth floor.  A frustrated customer cancelled a 3 p.m. dental appointment and instead headed for a nearby restaurant for a late lunch.

Good news. By 3:15 p.m. there was no backup of cars on the fourth level!  But there was parking ramp gridlock starting on level three.

Upon arriving at the pay booth I questioned the common sense of paying for the parking.  The University could have waived all those cars through the exits at no charge, thereby treating their basketball customers with the gratitude they deserve for putting up with the inconvenience.

Instead the parking attendant announced he was charging the usual event parking rate of $8.  Give the young man credit, though, for being courteous and willing to offer an explanation for the problem.

Let me give his answer a bit of dramatic pause before sharing it with you.  It was an explanation only a bureaucrat could love.  “The University can’t charge for event parking in the morning,” the attendant said.

So if events start in the morning, then no one will take parking money from customers entering the ramps, thereby causing long delays in the afternoon.  The possible rationale for this policy is that the University doesn’t want to confuse event parkers with hourly customers.

An empathetic athletic department spokesman, who emphasized his department has no control over parking at the University, told Sports Headliners on Saturday that the policy is specific to Monday through Friday parking, not weekends.  I guess that’s of some comfort to anyone who dares to park at the Oak Street Ramp next fall for morning football games at TCF Bank Stadium.  But all those customers last Wednesday who might have missed dental appointments, or picking up friends at the airport, or arriving home on time to relieve anxious baby sitters will long remember the frustration and inconvenience of December 31, 2008.

The Gophers, 1-1, play their first Big Ten road game on Thursday night in Iowa City against Iowa, 1-1.  The Hawkeyes lost in Columbus to Ohio State 68-65 last Wednesday and then beat Indiana in Iowa City on Saturday, 65-60.

Minnesota defeated Ohio State at home on Saturday, 68-59.  The Gophers lost 70-58 on Wednesday to a Michigan State team that’s likely to win the big Ten championship.

If Tubby Smith is going to build a championship program at Minnesota he will have to deliver a team that can compete with the Spartans in rebounding.  Annually one of the most physical and best rebounding teams in the nation, Michigan State out rebounded the Gophers by 22 in the game, with a 10 point edge in offensive rebounds.

Spartans’ coach Tom Izzo thinks Smith is “struggling” to find his best rotation of players.  He likes junior college transfer Paul Carter, a forward, and thinks his playing time could increase for the Gophers.

The Gophers couldn’t defeat No. 15 ranked Michigan State but did beat No. 9 Louisville on December 20.  Izzo said the Gophers could have beaten “any team” in the country that day.

The Gophers’ quick point guard, Al Nolen, was impressive against Michigan State and Ohio State.  Izzo said Nolen “is as good as anyone” in penetrating near the basket.

For what it’s worth, there’s early speculation the Gopher football team won’t equal last year’s 7-5 regular season record.  The most demanding nonconference schedule in years and adding Penn State and Michigan State to the Big Ten schedule while dropping Indiana and Michigan will be a challenge.  Wins in the first two games, at Syracuse and home in the TCF Bank Stadium opener against Air Force, could set an early tone.

The MLB Network debuted last Thursday with a reach of approximately 450 million cable and satellite TV homes, according to a news release from major league baseball.  This exceeds any previous cable TV launch by about 20 million.  The network offers original programming, highlights, classic games and coverage of baseball events.

Minneapolis Lakers’ fan Dick Jonckowski said a book about Jim Pollard will be available for purchase later this year.  Pollard’s wife, Arilee, will come to Minneapolis to help promote the book about Pollard, a hall of fame forward for the Lakers who helped Minneapolis win five pro basketball championships.

Patrick Reusse’s commitment to work seven days a week for KSTP Radio, including 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and his revised Star Tribune schedule going from three or four columns per week to two, only adds to speculation about the future of newspapers in this market.

Matt Leer, 18, the former Edina High School hockey player, was recently voted “most impressive rookie” by his teammates on the Northern Iowa Outlaws of the North American Hockey League, according to his dad, Robb Leer, the former KSTP TV reporter who now has a successful public relations agency in suburban Minneapolis.