Minnesota Vikings 2024 – 2025 Recap

Let’s consider two realities. 

The first is that sports aficionados exist  who worship – deeply revere - excellence. This excellence can best be measured over the grind, the ordeal and demands encountered in a full season of play.   They will forever fume that a baseball team that wins 100 games or more can be deprived of a World Series appearance.  They are equally disgusted that the team that wins the Presidents Cup in the NHL does not automatically qualify to play in the finals for the Stanley Cup; and on, and on, and on.  This incessant and never-ending effort to devalue the regular season is viewed as nothing more than a putrid money grab. 

Secondly, some of these aficionados learned years ago to never allow team marketing and the media (primarily designed to sell tickets) to influence their level of enthusiasm.  They learned to remain objective and evaluate the existence of excellence on performance only.  Which brings us to the Minnesota Vikings. 

There is a 76-year-old lifetime resident of the Twin Cities who meets this description.  Sometime after the Vikings golden era under Bud Grant he stopped caring if the Vikings won a game.  He watches more out of curiosity than interest to learn if there exists even a spark of excellence.  None has occurred for years until this season's December 29^th game against the Green Bay Packers at the “Darth Vader Memorial Mausoleum” in Downtown Minneapolis.   

The reason for the passion came from realizing that if the Vikes could beat the Packers they would qualify them to play for the best record and thus the top seed in the National Conference. They would once again be playing to establish a level of excellence.  After winning the Packer game, that resident of the Twin Cities knew it was time to revert to no longer caring about the outcome.  When all was said and done, only two teams in the NFL compiled a better regular season record than the Vikes.  That is too darn close to excellent to ignore and, for sure, the best any Vikings fan could have hoped for. 

So, C-O-N-G-R-A-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S !!! to the Minnesota Vikings on a superb season. 

So now you might inquire; what else is new with the Vikings? 

Answer:  Nothing – ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  

 

Lessons From Los Angeles

I have asked myself, long before the Los Angels fires, how we could end or, at least, curtail the misery of the seemingly unending natural disasters that are continuing to plaque the American people. 

This consideration is particularly apropos as we are currently living in an age of American “me first,” cold indifference toward one another.  There is no effort to end spree shootings and mass killings by limiting guns and their God-awful scrouge on our society.  No effort to end the suffering and needless deaths by creating a national health care system that every other industrialized nation has instituted.  No concern over the growing level of poverty and all the human and economic misery it perpetuates upon us.  

Now add to all this pain and suffering the reality that insurance companies, one of the greediest and richest enterprises in America, can no longer afford relief to those in real need.  In recent years they have concocted ways to refuse coverage to the victims of natural disasters and are refusing to provide coverage for natural disasters in future policies.  In many cases insurance companies are justified.  Los Angeles has needed an additional 62 fire stations to meet just average daily demand for years and no action was taken.  When firefighters tapped fire hydrants during the current fire travesties there was no water available. 

Best Report-PBS Video–“Was Not Unpredictable”-Causes and The Future

https://www.pbs.org/video/california-fires-tape-stephanie-dis-1736544154/ 

As history has taught us, the only real solution to situations like this has come from the federal government.  We have reached the point where national casualty insurance is the only effective means for victim relief.  Naturally, such coverage would impose restrictions on property located where the greatest risk for destruction exists.  Now the question arises as to how this could possibly be enacted.  America has tried for decades to enact national health care insurance with no success.  We are perfectly content to spend trillions of American dollars on wars raging all over the globe.  We see no problem in spending additional trillions on erecting athletic venues and enterprises, not to mention, billions more on oil subsidies. 

This is all so very sad.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  America has more than enough resources to do what must be done.  And the saddest commentary of all is that there is no relief in sight.

The Problem With “Old Glory”

 “First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.”

Every now and again a request, feeling like a demand, hits my radar to fervently support our flag.  Each time it does, I have the overwhelming compulsive to respond.  Such is the case today. 

Those of us who were once filled with pride and stood with hand over heart whenever and wherever “Old Glory” appeared can no longer do so today. 

Our flag once represented our incredible determination and sacrifice in establishing our own country; our own way of life.  The winning of two world wars from which we could not escape involvement.  An end to slavery and our public repudiation of racism and bigotry in the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which ended the Jim Crow doctrine of segregation.  The first Catholic elected President of the United States. The creation of the American Red Cross.   The creation of a polio vaccine from which no one was financially enriched.  The Marshall Plan and the Berlin Airlift. The blood spilled to create labor unions for financial farness and more humane treatment in the work place. The establishment of the most affluent middle class the world has ever known, and from that affluence, the most robust economy the world had ever seen.  The implementation of unemployment insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The populous uprising that ended the Vietnam War and demanded accountability for Watergate. The threat of nuclear war averted through diplomacy and negotiation – compromise.  The six voyages to the moon and back again; with twelve Americans walking on the moon and without losing a human life.  Believe it or not, there is more.

That America is now dead.  An America that was once governed with  compassion, integrity and comprise.  Gone from governing is “Love thy neighbor…” “Due unto others…”  “What you do unto the least of my brethren you due unto Me.”  “My brothers keeper.” 

Predominate is hatred through polarization and intransigency created by partisanship and tribalism.  Predominate is greed – avarice – and selfishness.   

Old glory now represents endless wars, spree shootings and mass killings that go unabated; a country whose laws no longer provide justice for numerous criminal acts (An unarmed man is shot seven times in the back without any reprisal); that callously ignores thousands of Americans suffering and dying needlessly due to a  primarily driven financial healthcare system that the rest of the industrialized world abandoned decades ago; a country that cares nothing for its homeless or children living in poverty; a country that spits on the statue of liberty - a country that separates children from their parents. There is more – so much more. 

Blind patriotism isn’t patriotism.  It is a demand for conformity.  That conformity can only be healthy and admirable when it represents the loftiest of human endeavors to improve the human condition. When it is less than healthy and admirable it can be destructive.   As President Kennedy stated; “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

America is the greatest country in the world??? 

Not anymore and here’s why.

“First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hvrCNkL9RM 

Is Buxton Baseballs Greek Tragedy?

In 2012 the Minnesota Twins drafted Byron Buxton. They paid him a $6 million signing bonus.  The most lucrative singing bonus paid in Twins history is $6.7 million.  That bonus was paid to Royce Lewis who, like Buxton, can’t seem to stay healthy for any length of time. 

Buxton, along with Miguel Sano, were immediately marketed as the anointed saviors that would take the Twins to the promise land.  Sano was signed in 2009 and paid a $3.15 million signing bonus.  This bonus, was the largest ever paid to a Latin American position player.  

Both Sano and Buxton came to the major leagues in 2015.  Sano was hired to hit homeruns.  He played for the Twins for seven complete seasons with a brief appearance in 2022.  After averaging only 86 games in the lineup per season, hitting only 162 homeruns (a little over 20 per season and never exceeding 35 in a single season), compiling a low .230 batting average and striking out to the tune of 130 times per season, the Twins stopped the bleeding by buying Sano’s remaining 2022 contract for $2.75 million. 

While the Twins finally gave up on the promise of Sano, they have never given up on the promise of Buxton, whose performance numbers are close to those of Sano’s.  Instead, the Twins signed Buxton to a seven-year $100 million contract in 2021 which included another signing bonus of $1 Million.  The agreement is not only lucrative but has eliminated any Twins remedy for the Buxton frustrating.  

Buxton’s average salary is $14,285,714.  His base salary this year is slightly over $15,000,000.  It contains a full NO TRADE clause through 2026.  In 2027 and 2028 the restriction is lessened to a five-team trade list.  It is estimated that the Twins have already paid him $55,314,417 with five-years remaining on his current agreement and three of those years containing the NO TRADE clause.

This is now the tenth season that Buxton has been in a Twins uniform.  The only season that held promise resembling all the marketing dollars the Twins have invested in Buxton was 2017.  He played in 140 Games which is the only season he has played in over 100 games. For the first, and again, only time in his career he had 500 plate appearances.  Buxton has tremendous speed which has been demonstrated in the way he covers the gaps in centerfield earning him a Gold Glove award in 2017.   He stole just 29 bases, the most in any season he has played. But strikeouts plagued him.  He whiffed 150 times. 

The only other point at which Buxton demonstrated excellence was in 2021, the year the Twins crafted his current contract.  While playing in a scant 61 games he hit .306 with 19 homeruns, 32 RBI, and scored 50 runs. 

The explanation as to why he has been less than stellar can be traced to his never-ending injuries.

Sprained Left Thumb             Shoulder Injury

Back Spasms                          Left Foot Sprain

Migraines                               Right Wrist Injury

Groin Strain                           Hamstring Pull

Strained Wrist                        Concussion Symptoms – Twice

Fractured Toe                         Hip Problems - Twice

Broken Hand                         Knee Problems – 4 Occurrences

               Two Arthroscopic medical procedures on his right knee.

After just 28 games this year Buxton is currently out of action, AGAIN, due to soreness in that right knee, once AGAIN.   

This has resulted in an overall discouraging performance that not even the marketing gurus can justify or fix. 

·        He has played in just 698 of 1,486 games.  A Miserable 46%

·        Has Struck out 763 times in 2,351 at bats. A 32% strike out average. 

Ø 20% is the average in the major leagues.

·        His lifetime batting average is only .239

·        And saddest of all, he has only stolen 86 Bases – Less than 10 a year 

This has been heartbreaking for the Twins, their fans and most especially for Mr. Buxton.  However, the final chapter has not been written.  A miracle or some quirk could bring us a happy ending.  All we can do is try to stay optimistic, while never under estimating the torment of the Minnesota athletic curse and bearing in mind that no one ever said life is fair.

Byron working his magic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JzH5wLsjS8

The Love and the Awful Longing for Baseball

There is a sense in which we all identify with baseball.  That is the best way to summarize my passion for the game.  So many more can say it so much better than I can.

“Baseball is so woven into the American past…it has a history in this country as long as the Republic itself.” George Will

“It is about time and timelessness….it is a haunted game, where each player is measured by the ghosts of those who have gone before.”            Ken  Burns

Ken Burns

“It is played everywhere. In parks and playgrounds and prison yards. In back alleys and farmer’s fields. By small children and by old men. By raw amateurs and millionaire professionals. It is a leisurely game that demands blinding speed. The only game where the defense has the ball. It follows the seasons, beginning each year with the fond expectancy of springtime and ending with the hard facts of autumn.”   Ken Burns        

During its long hibernation the longing for the game is immeasurable.

“The old game waits under the white. 

 Deeper beneath frozen grass;

 Down at the frost line – It Waits.

 To return when the birds return.

 It starts to wake in the south where its never quite stopped;

 Where winter is a dose of hibernation.

 The game waits gradually;

 Furthering a figure to itself as the day’s lengthen  late in February  - And grow warmer.

Old Muscles grow limber – young arms throw strong and wild

Clogged vein systems and veteran oaks and leftfielders both unstop themselves putting forth leaves and line drives in Florida’s March.

Migrating North with the Swallows;

 Baseball’s winter grasses first green 

enter Cleveland, Kansas City and Boston.”  

Donald Hall (1928-2018)

Speed And Grace

 “…It is about… speed and grace, failure and loss, imperishable hope, and coming home."  Ken Burns   

Most American men have played baseball and thus most American males are failed baseball players.  The game is steeped with failure.  The most successful teams in 2023 lost between 58 to 62 games.  Yandy Diaz the American League batting champ failed 67% of time at the

plate.  Luis Arraez the National League and reigning baseball batting champ failed in 64% of his at bats.  Much of our success in life comes from knowing how to deal with failure.  Every kid should play baseball if for no other reason than it introduces them to failure and indelibly itches in their minds how to deal with that imposter. 

There is VERY little bravado heard from those who play the game.  Players understand that there is a very fine line between success and failure.   What we find instead is humor that teaches us not to take ourselves too seriously.

“They broke it to me gently. The manager came up to me before a game and told me they didn't allow visitors in the clubhouse.”                       Bob Uecker

“Baseball is 90% mental the other half is physical.”       Yogi Berra

 “A man once told me to walk with the Lord. I told him I'd rather walk with the bases Loaded." Ken Singleton 

When Casey Stengel was fired by the Yankees because they said he was too old to manage, Stengel said; “I’ll never make the mistake of turning 70 again.” 

“I never took the game home with me. I always left it in some bar.” Bob Lemon

“Little League baseball is a very good

thing because it keeps the parents off the 

streets.”  Yogi Berra

Leo Durocher, manager of the Giants, 

said of Willie Mays: “If he could cook, I’d marry him.”

                                “HOW ABOUT THAT!!!!”      Mel Allen

                                                    C’est La Vie at the ballpark.                                                        

                             

Dynasties Are Needed

 Have always stated and always will, that a person who says he loves baseball can’t then say he hates the New York Yankees.  It’s an oxymoron, it is incongruousness.  No single team has done more for creating interest and excitement in the game than the Yankees. 

When the Twins opened shop in 1961 the Twin Cities became electric with excitement whenever the Yankees came to town.  Everybody wanted to go to the games, even those who would NEVER attend another game the rest of the season.  Those who were fortunate enough to have tickets when Camilo Pascual pitched would be treated to a curve ball that could, and did, on more than one occasion, shut out the greatest team on the plant.  More than 25 years later a baseball sage had season tickets to Minnesota Twins in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  He naturally could not attend all 81 games.  So, he offered the tickets to friends, relatives, and various associates.  The team most in demand was the Yankees, even though they were cellar dwellers. 

The real beauty of dynasties is the tremendous interest they can create in their sport.  Every fan wants to see firsthand their excellence on display and carries with them the overwhelming anticipation in the possibility that their team might beat the dynasty or, at the very least, challenge them to a competitive contest.  Dynasties filled the stands wherever they went.  No team of deceitful marketing gurus could ever, or will ever, be able to create that level of interest or elation. 

In 1971 Bill Musselman had brought with him a brand-new Gopher basketball team and along with it, his pledge to Minnesota fans that the Gophers would win a Big Ten Title – UNHEARD OF!!!  Indiana was one of the kings in college basketball.  On January 8, 1972, Williams Arena was filled to the rafters.  Musselman not only won the very first Big Ten game he coached, but beat the fifth ranked Indiana Hoosiers.  This swung the doors wide open for tremendous support for a team that couldn’t give tickets away before Musselman arrived.  Beating Indiana imparted serious credibility to Musselman’s contention that they would win a Big Ten Title, which they did in 1972. 

It was the same scenario for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins basketball team; for the Lakers and Celtics, the Green Bay Packers, and, of course, the golden era of Vikings football which were all awe inspiring.  Let’s not be misled; the New England Patriots were one of the best things that ever happened for the NFL. 

All this support doesn’t just highlight entertainment value.  It also clearly indicated that Americans cherished, highly respected and admired excellence for it is one of the cornerstones if not the entire foundation for American excellence that has so richly benefited the world.   

Looking at this year’s crop of division one college basketball teams is disillusioning.  Its landscape is littered with mediocrity from top to bottom.  Times have dramatically changed.  Many outstanding high school seniors no longer opt for playing the division one game.  The transfer portal has all but killed any hope of seeing the creation of marvelously exceptional teams.  The loss of dynasties is inestimable.  It doesn’t just hurt athletics but diminishes our thirst for excellence, acting as a real deterrent to American pride and achievement.

Minnesota Wild Future

 

The Wild will need rocket science knowledge, patience, creativity and a healthy dose of Good luck to reach an elite level. 

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Has anyone else been thinking about how the remainder of this Wild season would best play out and/or what would be in the Wild’s best interest??  Should the Wild be willing to abandon the rest of schedule with wholesale changes in players and focus on the future beyond this year???? Unless God drops everything else, there is very little chance the Wild will make the playoffs and if they do they will only be beaten (probably in the first round) once again.  

Here are the Wild options.  

For openers there are only four players that should be considered untouchable.  Kaprizof, Faber, Boldy and Rossi.  Many would include Ericksson Ek, Hartman and Zuccarello.  But if these players have “no trade” clauses in their contracts the Wild will have no real chance of acquiring a player or players that would have any serious, positive impact for the team????  Moving the support players alone will never provide much of an upgrade to the current roster unless the team gets lucky and finds some jewels in the rough.  So, the poorer the team record at the end of the season, the better the draft picks and thus the ability to use them in securing the kind of players they desperately need. 

Next big consideration is the money.  On this front, understanding all the intricacies requires a rocket science education.  To simplify; the Wild salary cap is badly hampered by the remaining obligations to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The buyout penalties for both this season and next season are almost $15 million.  That obligation expires in the summer of 2025.  What will remain is a manageable $1.7 million obligation until 2029. This not only shackles any efforts to secure an elite NHL player but also impedes increased salary demands (such as Dumba) from existing players.  

Faber may be the thorniest of the untouchables.  His current market value is $64 million - $8 million over 8 Years.  Even though the Wild have the financial ability to handle this increase, Faber could reject it.  He has one more year on his current contract and could wait to test the open market.  YES – it would be risky for Faber to do that but it would also be risky for the Wild not to sweeten the pot beyond his current value. 

The next option for the Wild is Russia or other foreign countries. To be sure, the Wild got lucky with Kirill Kaprizov.  While this option can pay big dividends it is also very risky and requires great patience. NHL teams have been wary of using premium draft capital on Russian prospects. The Russian player could be under contract to a Russian team and might not be readily available.  In addition, there is always the risk he will not leave mother Russia for the U.S. 

Michael Russo reported the following on the Wild and their current Russian prospect:

“…the Wild may sign Marat Khusnutdinov after his season ends Feb. 25, burn the first year of his entry-level contract and start him right away in the NHL. He has 16 points in 38 games for KHL Sochi (three points a game), can play wing and center and has a ton of pro experience already at 21, so it would make sense for the Wild to get a head start on seeing what they have in him heading into next season." SOOO, is  Khusnutdinov agreeable to showing up on March First??? 

In the final analysis, the Wild are at least two years if not four to five years away from any possibility of becoming an elite NHL team.  What is therefore crucial for us Wild Fans is to develop the mindset that we are watching one of the greatest sports ever conceived and that it is being played by the most talented athletes on the planet. That is where the true thrill of Wild hockey can be found.