the 4th star

If the Winnipeg Blue Bombers board of directors and potential owner David Asper wanted Joe Mack as their director of player personnel with former Bomber general manager Brendan Taman to assume the role of vice-president of football operations and Taman balks at the plan (eventually signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders), essentially leaving everyone in the Blue boardroom left scratching their heads, then what does that say about the confidence the decision-makers have in Joe Mack to do the job? Maybe I’m just looking for something to write tonight, but doesn’t the fact that the board wanted two people to do the job speak to some level of uncertainty Joe Mack brings?

Reports had Taman as the first choice. The board got greedy and tried to satisfy the portion of the group that wanted to bring Joe Mack back by concocting a plan for a two-headed monster model. When Taman balked, they went to Plan B (which from all accounts was drawn up on the fly) and suddenly decided that Joe Mack could do the job by himself. Magically, with no smoke and mirrors to speak of, Joe Mack didn’t need anyone to show him around.

If that was the case from the outset, if no partnership was apparently needed, why wouldn’t the board just go with one or the other? Joe Mack or Taman — who’s it going to be? By seeing the story leak out that the board wanted Taman, optics that suggest they felt Joe Mack couldn’t do the job by himself, and then settling on Joe Mack when no other option was left (minus Jim Barker, who probably wasn’t even considered in the first place), did the Blue Bombers board of directors — the suddenly visible and relevant board of directors — unintentionally undermine Joe Mack? Did they over-think this hire?

Big questions: If Taman was so crucial to their plan, if he was the most important piece to the management puzzle for the board and Asper, then why didn’t they get a sense of what his expectations for the job were? And with Lyle Bauer no longer holding that bizarre (and at times, questionable) control over the Bombers operations anymore, is the board making up for lost time?

Uh-oh. It appears Joe Mack’s biggest challenges won’t just be on the field.

Just talked to Syd Davy. Seems like a nice guy. Turns out his love affair with the Minnesota Vikings is a result of Bud Grant. We chatted about things like favourite players and what this season has been like — excitement-wise. In his 24 years of attending Vikings games, dressed up as Hagar or whatever it is he’s supposed to be, the dome has never been as loud as this year. He said 1998 and 1999 laid a pretty good beat-down on the ear drums, but this year takes the cake. Brett Favre changes the way we cheer at sporting events, people!

I hate the Vikings — expect for the sex boat. I like that. This season has been hard for everyone who doesn’t pretend to give a crap about the purple. Fairweather fans and band-wagoneers are a perfect complement for that screwed up organization. As I was talking to Davy, I realized his team was where I wanted my team, the New York Giants, to be. So to make myself feel better about things, I brought up the 2000 season, the last time the Vikings were in the NFC Championship game. He didn’t take the bait. Allow Wikipedia to bring you up to speed:

In 2000, the Vikings went 11–5. The Vikings were 11–2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper was hampered by injury. Nonetheless, the Vikings made the playoffs for the fifth straight year. After easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34–16, they travelled to New York to face the Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Though they were the road team, the Vikings were actually favored to win the game (since most considered their 12–2 record with Culpepper more indicative than their 0–3 record when he was out). But the Vikings were humiliated by the Giants 41–0, the worst loss in franchise history.

Just give me a second. I’m still re-playing that game in my mind. On to the picks!

New York at Indianapolis
Colts minus 8
Here’s how I see it going down: On Indy’s first possession, they march the ball right down the field and score a touchdown. Commentators marvel at the surgical precision of the Colts’ attack. The Jets get the ball and go three and out. It’s too loud. Indy shoves it right up their ass again. Fourteen nothing before Phil Simms says something stupid. New York takes the ball and slows things down. They get a first down on some hard running. They get another first down on a short pass. The clock is being used up. Things are starting to resemble the game plan again. Sanchez then drops back on a 3rd and 7, loses the ball as he tries to escape the pressure, and the Colts march it down for a field goal. Seventeen bagel as the first quarter closes. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Minnesota at New Orleans
Over 53 points
Speaking of NFC Championship games, the last time hero Favre appeared on the doorstep to the Super Bowl was in 2007. You remember that game, don’t you? That’s when the old gunslinger threw up a terrible ball into the waiting hands of Giants DB Corey Webster in overtime at Lambeau, sending New York to a Super Bowl championship. That was fun. I look forward to seeing something like that again on Sunday. Favre’s deal with the devil can’t last forever. You got to think Satan himself will be in the Big Easy to collect. That very thought, having Lucifer at the game, should get to the aging pain killer addict. He begs for an extension. Your ass ain’t talking your way out of this shit.

You read the Bible, Brett? There’s this passage I got memorized, sorta fits this occasion: Ezekiel 25:17. “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”

Pretty much been singing this since the Moose game the other night. Of course, the linesman dropped the puck before the song had a chance to find some lyrics. You’d think the players squaring off in the draw would recognize what’s going on, eh? I mean, get thrown out, complain about the other guy’s stick — do something! And what The Police post would be complete without mentioning the sheer awesomeness of the song below? We have seen this wicked video on this site before, but who among us is going to complain? Man, they had something. It was only for a second, but they were cool.