Well it isn't like the Vikings organization is known as the example of the class of the league.  With all the publicity the "Sexboat Scandal" received in 2005, the organization was forced to rebuild. 

  In 2007 the Vikings don't have another boat scandal, they have another image problem.  The Vikings have lowered the bar again. 

  Last Sunday WR Troy Williamson missed the Vikings win over the Chargers that saw Adrian Peterson break the NFL record for rushing yards (296) in a game and surpass 1,000 yards after only eight games.  Williamson was in South Carolina attending his maternal Grandmother's funeral.

from Twincities.com:

After the death last week of his maternal grandmother, Williamson rejoined the Vikings on Wednesday and participated in practice. But he lamented that he could not spend more time with his family, particularly his brother Carlton, who is still in a coma after a car accident, even after the club withheld his paycheck.

"I don't care if (the Vikings) would have took my pay for the rest of the year, I was going home," Williamson said. "It wouldn't have mattered to me. No matter what (Brad Childress) would have said, if I had to stay up here or not, I would have been at my house (in South Carolina) for that week."

Williamson regretted that he could not spend more time with Carlton after his car accident two months ago. But when his grandmother Celestine, who helped raise him and taught him to cook and drive, died, Williamson said he had to go home.

"I feel like the thing with my brother, I let that slide," Williamson said. "This is something I couldn't put on the back burner. But when this came up, I had to get up out of here."

Williamson declined to comment, when asked if Childress was understanding.

"It's really been hard for me," Williamson said. "I was glad to go home and see my family. It was something that really helped me. I just got to push through the season." 


I guess they don't have Bereavement pay, they have a death tax.  How is it that an organization can do this to someone who has "play" in his job title.  When you play football or any other sport, keeping perspective on life is getting dimmer it seems.  Even our armed forces come back from a real war for something like this.  They don't get docked a weeks pay do they?
 

11/11/07 Change of heart by the Vikings.   Mike OHara of the Detroit News commented in his blog-

" The Minnesota Vikings are reacting to public pressure -- and public embarassment -- by giving back a game check to wide receiver Troy Williamson for missing a game to attend his grandmother's funeral. The Vikings probably were within their rights not to pay a player who did not participate in a game. But that doesn't make it right. As I once heard when I covered horse racing, somebody who'd gotten the shaft said: "That may be correct, but it ain't right." The Vikings need a director of common sense."

Celebrating life through sports?  sometimes in the midst of another Lions loss I tell myself that life could be worse.  I have a great family and live in the #1 sports city.  I still see so many fans living and dying on game-by-game results.  Never once looking at the bigger picture.  Well this was one of those "looking at the bigger picture" moments for me.

"It was halftime at the Lake Fenton-Mount Morris game, seemingly just another high school football contest during another homecoming week on another October Friday night in another American suburb.

But this time the fix was in.

Four Lake Fenton (Mich.) football players and a co-conspirator on the golf team arranged it. Seniors all, they'd used their cell phones to hatch and agree on the plan, and then met outside the school building the afternoon before the big homecoming game to nail it down.

Lose on purpose?

Jake Kirk, the ringleader and a Blue Devils' running back, saw the decision differently: "We knew we'd all be winners if we did it."

By game's end, they'd done it. The scoreboard at Lake Fenton Stadium claimed the Blue Devils lost to Mount Morris 37-20, their lone defeat of the season so far.

But scoreboards can lie.

Last Friday, Kirk and fellow seniors David Bittinger, Lucas Hasenfratz, Matthew Tanneyhill and Ethan Merivirta scored one of the biggest victories of their lives.

Candidates for the senior royal crown, they each gave up the chance to become Lake Fenton's homecoming king."


Lake Fenton is a sub school of near by Fenton.  The city is located 10 miles south of Flint in Michigan.

" They fixed it so Eli Florence won instead.

Eli is a 5-foot-7 former offensive lineman. He's only a sophomore. The doctors say there's nothing more they can do for him. He's at home, barely able to speak, getting regular blood transfusions. Eli Florence, 15, is dying of leukemia.

"I'm praying for a miracle now," said Trina Florence-King, his mother.

In these days filled, it seems, with it's-all-about-me athletes and iPod-wearing, text-messaging teenaged zombies, these Lake Fenton High athletes did something special for a special classmate.

"He's taught us never to give up," Kirk said. "And if you keep fighting, you can overcome the odds. We're happy he's still around because he wasn't supposed to be."

---

 

It's etched in her memory: Aug. 20, 2003, Hurley Medical Center, Flint, Mich., a short drive from Lake Fenton.

That's when Trina Florence-King learned her son was suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia.

That day, her wise little boy boldly consoled her.

"I've got something to tell you," she remembers him saying. "Me and God, we had a heart-to-heart. I told him I was available for whatever he needed."

And Thursday, Trina Florence-King told ESPN.com: "Since then, I've seen him working on other peoples' lives, working on people for four years. I'm not saying this because I'm his mother, but this is a special boy."

From one remission to two cutting-edge stem cell transplants to one stint of 13 straight months in the hospital, from Flint to Ann Arbor to Minneapolis and now back home, Eli Florence traveled and endured.

"Eli has become an icon for strength and perseverance and character for this entire community, and especially our student body," said Lake Fenton principal John ####ko.

But last month, the awful, final, numbing news came. Eli's mom reported it on a Web site set up by friends to monitor Eli's health.

"Tonight I come with a broken heart," she wrote. "Eli has been given just a few weeks to maybe one month to live here on this Earth with us. … This process of 'losing my son' is going to be very soon. When I look at him, even today, it just doesn't seem possible."

That was Sept. 16. Word spread around the school and the town of about 5,000.

The nicest kid in school, the one who's out of class so often, was fading.

Then, it came to Jake Kirk, as crisply and clearly as his two syllable name: Eli should be homecoming king. King Eli.

It felt so right.

---

 

On Oct. 4, on his way to school, Kirk got the plan under way. A neighbor had given him an orange ribbon -- orange is the color of leukemia awareness -- and it triggered Kirk's vision.

"It had been in the back of my mind," Kirk said Thursday via phone from the high school. "I've had people say, 'Wouldn't it be cool if Eli could get to be king?' I thought, 'Wouldn't it be cool if the five candidates gave it to Eli?'"

Kirk phoned Tanneyhill. Tanneyhill was with Hasenfratz. Before Kirk even got the entire concept out of his mouth, "They immediately said, 'Yes!'" Kirk said. Soon after, the other two senior candidates for homecoming king agreed.

By lunchtime, they'd planned their announcement for what was to be the king candidate-selection assembly.

Kirk took the microphone in front of the entire student body of 538 students and said there wouldn't be any vote this year for king.

"We, as the king's court, decide there is nobody in this school who deserves this more than Eli Florence,'' Kirk said. "This year's homecoming king is going to be Eli.''

The entire audience cheered and clapped in unison.

But Eli was too sick to be in school that day.

"The whole school knew, but Eli did not know," said Sticko.

That night, Trina Florence-King received a text message on her cell phone.

Eli would be crowned the next night at halftime of the football game.

She didn't tell her son.

---

 

There was a problem. Halftime was approaching and the king-to-be was at a local clinic receiving a necessary blood transfusion, getting energy, getting life. He was scheduled to escort his friend, Ashley Look, a member of the sophomore royal court, to midfield. He didn't have a clue he would be the center of attention.

Barely in the nick of time, Eli, in a wheelchair, and Ashley joined the other members of the court and their parents at midfield, surrounded by the Lake Fenton band, clad in blue and white.

The public-address announcer said: "Your 2007 king, as designated by the five candidates is … is Eli Florence."

The king was stunned.

 

 

 

"It's like he heard his name, but it was sort of surreal," his mother said.

"But I'm not a senior," Eli told others around him. "I'm not a senior."

The crowd of 2,000 people, including homecoming queen Brooke Hull, 17, stood. Many cried.

The four Blue Devils football players who ceded their kingship opportunity to Eli missed the moment. They were in the locker room trying to make adjustments for the second half to hold off Mount Morris.

---

 

Eli's mom brought the telephone to Eli in his bed Thursday morning.

He spoke softly of the five boys who honored him.

"It was definitely a sacrifice to take that step down to let someone else get it, to be homecoming king," he said. "The guys were really sincere. They honestly were OK with it."

Even ####ko, who sees a lot as a high school principal, was taken aback by the action of the Lake Fenton Five.

"There's not much that surprises me, but that did," he said. "We can't lump all kids into the same bucket. We see so much character development in so many kids in so many ways. This was just amazing."

Said Trina Florence-King: "I'm so proud of those boys. They wanted to honor him and make him feel special."

Saturday, Eli has another football date. Through a friend, he's been invited to visit the University of Michigan bench before the Wolverines' game against Purdue.

"It's going to be really cool," Eli said.

It's Michigan's homecoming game, the perfect place for the toughest little homecoming king of this, or any, football season."

ESPN.com correspondent Jay #### writes from St. Paul, Minn. He can be reached at jay@jayweiner.com. A Web site has been set up to chronicle Eli's battle. A benefit will be held Sunday to help Eli's family cover medical expenses.

 This is a local story from where I live that I thought needed to be shared.  I give special thanks to ESPN.com and Jay ####. 

It is hard to believe that the first quarter of the 2007 NFL season is over already, for most teams. However, how many NFL games are won or lost in the first quarter? The NFL is a fourth quarter league. Some teams look out of it and some pretenders look like contenders. There is a fine line between these teams though. Who is good and who is bad? It’s very simple to see isn't it? Not really, but there are a few signs to know if your team is a pretender or an actual contender.

First sign that a team is a contender is the record. After all it is the way teams get into the playoffs. No matter how bad you may think a team is, if they have a winning record they are one step closer to making the playoffs.

Another sign that a team is a contender is, how many times per game do they "shoot themselves in the foot". In other words how many penalties/yards and turnovers are they committing? Is their teams name the Browns?  The Bears and Patriots are the only two teams in 2006 that were in the top ten for both sides of the ball in penalty yards. Both ultimately lost to the Colts, a team that made teams pay all year for making such mistakes.

Who have they beaten so far? It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. When playoff times comes, they don’t rank the teams based on who you beat, the playoffs are determined by how many of all the who’s you have beaten.

Remember the old adage "Any given Sunday?" This is when pretenders get beat the most. They lose to teams they are supposed to beat. It is also the same when they win the games they are supposed to lose. You never know which team will show up.

Based on one quarter of the season here is a list of Contenders and Pretenders. It is hard to determine these teams after only 3-4 games but in order to cut down a forest you have to cut one tree at a time. Some teams don’t even know what to cut down a tree with at this point. Others are ready for the Outdoor Games on ESPN. The other factor involved is the schedule ahead.

 Contenders-

First the obvious, going into week five all four undefeated teams have a legitimate shot at glory. These teams include Dallas, Green Bay, Indianapolis, and New England. All four teams are 4-0. The Patriots already have a three game lead after only four weeks.

There are a few teams that are 3-1 that are contenders as well. The Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks are both in position to contend. Both teams have big road games this week. Seattle at Pittsburgh and Detroit at Washington. Detroit has never won a road game at Washington either. The Lions are 0-19 against the Redskins in Washington. The last time the Lions won a road game against the Skins was back in the 30's when they were the Boston Redskins. Even if both teams lose this week they are still contenders.

Seattle is the more balanced team of the two but has a much more difficult schedule. The Lions have one of the best offenses in the entire NFL and have just enough defense to make the playoffs.

Pretenders-

Tampa Bay fell to this category when they lost Cadillac Williams for the season and Tackle Luke Petitgout. They do look to be the best team in their division with the Saints playing like the Aints again. Jeff Garcia may still have enough mojo left in him to lead them to the playoffs but they seem to still be pretenders.

The Raiders are 2-2 which matches their 2006 season total for wins. But they still haven’t figured out the QB situation and the running game is still suspect if Lamont Jordan is hurt for a long period of time. However Dominic Rhodes who they signed to replace or compete with Lamont Jordan has just finished serving his four game suspension and returned to the team this week. Culpepper was named the AFC offensive player of the week last week for his performance against the Dolphins. Yes he scored five touchdowns overall but Culpepper completed just five of 12 passes for 75 yards. They also have to play the Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers twice. With all these teams combined to be the division of pretenders.

Other pretenders include Arizona and San Francisco. Both teams are 2-2. The Cards employ two QBs which means Leinart has not played well enough to take and hold the starting job and Kurt Warner has one more TD pass also. The 49ers have no offense and have not gelled the defense completely. With Alex Smith’s shoulder injury they may not have a chance to gel the offense again once he comes back, not that it was very good before he was hurt.

The San Diego Chargers became pretenders when they fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season and hired Norv Turner. Norv Turner as a head coach has not had a winning season since 1999. He also has a 41% winning percentage for his career with a record of 59-85-1. Schottenheimer had a 200-126-1 (61% winning percentage), had 11 double digit winning teams in 21 years of coaching, and had three straight 10 plus winning seasons with of all teams the Browns.

The Bears are pretenders this year. Defense wins championships when the offense isn’t horrible. Well there offense is horrible. No passing game, no running game, and no quarterback. All this equals a top ten draft pick. Maybe they should take a QB next year.

 

 

What will we call the years from 2000 to 2009?  We have an easy reference to decades past.  For example the 80's , 90's, or the 60's for those decades.  How are we going to reference the first decade of the new millenium?  Also if anyone uses the letter O in a number they are a MO-RON

Here are a few to choose from:

1. The Zeros
2. The Pre-Teens
3. The Bush Years
4.Posts 90's
5. the Oughts?

I have no idea what will catch on but if you know, let me know!

Michael Vick is a bad guy.  First it came out that he was using the name Ron Mexico to get medical attention at clinics for VD and was also used so he could pump more chix without them really knowing who he was.  Remember last year when he flipped the bird to those Falcon fans after the game?  That was classy!  Now if it is true, dog fighting?  It is now said that he was a big baller in the dog fighting scene back in 2000.  The informant said his dog beat Vick's dog in 2000, the year before Vick was chosen by the Falcons with the first overall pick in the NFL draft. But wait a minute!!  How could Vick be a big baller while he was still in school at VA Tech?  During this investigation they seized 66 dogs, 55 of them pit bulls, and equipment that could be associated with dog fighting.  Where was all the funding coming from?  How would you like this guy to be the face of your teams franchise?

MILWAUKEE - A thief found out the hard way that robbing a woman isn't the best way to capture her heart.  Two hosers robbed a U-Haul store.  But instead of fleeing, one man lingered and tried to strike up a conversation with the woman he had just robbed.  "He stuck around and was trying to get the female employee's number," U-Haul general manager Patrick Sobocinski said. "She said he was just saying, 'Hey baby, you're pretty fine."  "She said he was saying, "Can I get your number and go out sometime," Sobocinski said.


source of the last two stories is from the AP