Here We Go...

If you were to ask most people their favorite time of the year, the answers would likely vary quite a bit. Some might say “the holidays”, presumably meaning any time from Halloween to Valentines Day. Others might say spring time. They enjoy the warmer weather and flowers and the birds and… (sorry I just threw up a little in my mouth). Still others would tell you they like the fall what with the leaves turning colors and football season beginning. But not here in the House that Toast Built. In our little corner of the world, there is no better time than right now—college basketball season. The preseason tournaments have just begun and there will be an NCAA hoops game on the main television in La Casa de Eagan every night of the week from now until late March.

That said, it’s a great time to release our college basketball preview. Dogg and I will be giving you the low down on the key players and teams that you need to know about for the 2007-08 hoops season. Note: we purposefully didn’t include Fuzz because we already made you read his garbage Duke propaganda last week and you, our loyal readers, shouldn’t have to see that trash again. You’ll also be getting the first official TKOT Fantastic 15 Power Rankings, which will be updated every other week. It’s a highly scientific process that we used to come up with the rankings—each guy picked his 15 and we averaged the three sets out for one overall ranking. So, without further ado…



North Carolina
This wouldn't be a very good preview if we didn’t start with the number one team in the land, the Tarheels of North Carolina. Their biggest asset by far is the fact that they have three star players, whereas most top programs have only one or two. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Tyler Hansbrough are all at or near the top of their positions (point guard, wing, and post, respectively). And that is precisely what makes them so tough. It’s one thing to have three stars, it’s another to have them at each of the key spots on the court. But it doesn’t end there because they have major x-factors in their uber-athletic wings Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green. You can also add Bobby Frasor off the bench as the guy who’s always in the right place, makes no mistakes, and buries 3’s if you leave him open. These kids aren’t spring chickens either. This is virtually the exact same team that went to the Elite 8 last year. In an era where more players are one-and-done than stay until they are seniors, experience is a huge plus. Oh, and they’re playing in a very down year for the ACC. That’s a lot of good on their side. That doesn’t mean they aren’t without their questions though. With the wide variety of options, what kind of style do the Heels go with? Do they slow it down and feed Hansbrough in an inside-out type of game, or fly up and down the court with Lawson, Ellington, Ginyard, and Green? Can they play consistent enough to make a long run in March? Do they have the shooting to punish teams that try to zone them? Only time will answer these questions, but it’s pretty safe to say they’ll be at or near the top all year. (Rankings: Dogg 4, Fuzz 2, Q 1)



Memphis
That brings us to the most athletic team in the country, the Memphis Tigers. Up and down their lineup, all you see are athletic freaks: Chris Douglas-Roberts, Joey Dorsey, Antonio Anderson, and Derrick Rose. That’s a lot of talent there, and with the frenetic, up-and-down style that John Calipari has these kids playing, there will be more than enough shots to keep everyone happy. Speaking of which, if you want to see a bunch of smiling faces, just take a look at any Tigers fan after they get a chance to see the super-frosh, Rose. It’s not too often that you get a 6’4” point guard that can both get his own shot and create for others. I hope they enjoy their one year in the sun with him. The best part about this team is the chip that they play with. Despite winning 30 games and being a 2-seed in the Tourney last year, they still have that Rodney Dangerfield mentality: they get no respect. The reason for this (perceived) disrespect? They play in Conference USA, easily the worst of the major conferences. The Classic Lake Conference of the late ‘90’s had twice as much talent as the current group in C-USA, hence the semi-inflated number of wins. But it won’t be the lack of formidable opponents that will be the downfall of this team. If anything can stop them, it’s a simple 2-3 zone. Other than Anderson (and maybe Rose), there aren’t any consistent shooters on this Memphis team. Lucky for them, not many teams can play a zone effectively enough to take advantage of this weakness and the Tigers will stroll into the Tourney as a 1 or 2 seed. (Rankings: Dogg 1, Fuzz 3, Q 2)



UCLA
In the Year of the Freshman, few have received as much press as the Bruins’ new kid, Kevin Love. He’s one of the most versatile big men to come around the game in some time. He’s big enough to be an absolute scoring and rebounding force inside, will alter shots (or at least a guard’s notion of entering the lane), makes the outlet pass like no other human in history (please note the sarcasm and if you don’t get it, watch one UCLA game on TV and you will tire of it quickly), and is a vocal and emotional leader on the court. That’s a HUGE addition to a team that went to the Final Four last year. While it is true that they lost their best player, Aaron Afflalo, to the NBA, they still are one of the deepest teams in the country. Darren Collison (once he returns from injury) and Josh Shipp give them two outstanding guards, and Love, Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboya, and Lorenzo Mata-Real give them the best frontcourt in the land. You will not out rebound this team and you will not out-coach Ben Howland. The guy is one of the better basketball minds currently coaching and always seems to make great in-game adjustments that keep his team rolling. The only thing that will derail yet another Final Four run would be injuries. Currently, Collison is out and Shipp has been plagued by the injury bug for his entire career out in LA. If those two stay healthy, this could be the best of them all. If not, they’ll just be in the top 15. (Rankings: Dogg 2, Fuzz 1, Q 3)



Kansas
It will be tough to gage this year’s Jayhawk team for the first part of the season. They will be without the services of one of their top guards in Sherron Collins. Plus, all-everything guard Brandon Rush is coming off of ACL surgery, so you never know how he’ll react. That will obviously hurt, but will by no means destroy Kansas. They still have Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson to handle the ball and Sasha Kaun and Darrell Arthur to bang down low. And if you’re looking for a breakout candidate, look no further than Arthur. He showed signs of being a very talented post player while waiting in Julius Wright’s shadow last year. Now all 6’9” of him has emerged and is ready to show the fans in Lawrence that there will be no drop off—at least in the regular season. That brings us to one of their weaknesses. This team always seems to struggle under the big lights of the Dance and ends up losing to teams like Bucknell. Part of that blame went to Roy Williams in year’s past. But now that he’s won a title in Chapel Hill, that burden falls on Bill Self. The bottom line is this: the Jayhawks will have a very successful regular season. They will run through a somewhat depleted Big 12 Conference. They’ll have a very high seed and a lot of expectations heading into March. And then they’ll lose at least a round or two earlier than everyone picked in their office pool brackets. (Rankings: Dogg 3, Fuzz 7, Q 4)



Tennessee
The team that no one knows about and is surprised to see near the top of the rankings is Tennessee. Of course we know all about them and can give you some insight to help you sound smart in front of your buddies. They have first team All-American and Player of the Year candidate Chris Lofton. But everyone who claims to follow college hoops should know that. The kid’s a stud, plain and simple. The reason they have top 5 potential, however, lies in the hands of the Smith Trio. Ramar Smith is a very talented guard who will split time at the point with Lofton and play the 2. Jajuan Smith is a freakishly athletic wing who knows how fill it. Tyler Smith, a transfer from Iowa, will bring some size to a small lineup, some emotion (he’s dedicating his season to his recently deceased father), and a badly needed inside presence. The maturation of those three will determine whether this team can take advantage of a down year in the SEC and roll into the Tourney as a top seed, or be one of those teams who “were also there”. The bet here is that they flourish because of a man by the name of Bruce Pearl. The highly entertaining and excitable coach of the Volunteers will make sure that a lack of height will not deter his team from making a run to San Antonio. (Rankings: Dogg 5, Fuzz 10, Q 10)



Georgetown
We couldn’t dislike a team more than the Hoyas this year. They are getting a ton of media love, presumably because of the return of their seven foot monster, Roy Hibbert. There are a couple of problems though. First is Roy’s supporting cast. He doesn’t have that playmaker that can keep the double and triple teams off of him (like he had in Jeff Green last year). His best options are the erratic Jesse Sapp at point, or tiny, score first guard Jonathan Wallace. Not the best of options. Second, Mr. Hibbert isn’t exactly the scoring machine that one would expect from a guy who’s 7’2”. He only averaged 13 points per game last year; awfully pedestrian for a man of his size. Georgetown is also a very thin team this year. One injury and everything could go awry for them. One reason that might not happen is that this squad is coached by John Thompson III. He’s a very classy and smart coach who should find ways for this team to take advantage of Hibbert’s height and Wallace’s scoring. (Rankings: Dogg 10, Fuzz 4, Q 8)



Indiana
We are very divided on this year’s Hoosier squad here at TKOT. Dogg absolutely loves the combination of DJ White and yet another stud freshman, Eric Gordon. I on the other hand, think they’ll struggle to play together when everyone is trying to get their own. Dogg will tell you that they have a very talented 6th man in AJ Ratliff and a lot of potential in juco transfer Jamarcus Ellis. I will remind you that it’s two more guys who are going to be looking for their stats. Can they get these ego’s to mesh? Who knows? What we do know is that the Big Ten is very top heavy this year with Indiana, Michigan State, and Ohio State, followed by a lot of average-at-best teams. This means that they should enter March with a pretty high seed. We can assume that they are going to score a lot, which will make them regulars on SportsCenter all season. Will all of this equal a deep Tourney run? Again, Dogg says yes, and I say no. (Rankings: Dogg 6, Fuzz 8, Q 5)



Washington State
DE-FENSE, clap clap, DE-FENSE clap clap. If Eric Gordon and Indiana are ESPN staples, Washington State is a highlight producer’s worst nightmare. They don’t have the big name star, they don’t have a lot of flash, and they aren’t going to score a ton of points. While the casual fan knows nothing about this team, Dogg and I will be wearing our Cougar paraphernalia to the bar this weekend. We couldn’t be higher on this team. Coach Tony Bennett has his squad playing lockdown D like you won’t see anywhere else in the country. Last year they led the nation in opponent’s ppg (as they have for the past 3 years). But it’s not all D in the upper northwest, thanks to Wash State’s talented guard duo of Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver. They play with a tenacious style on both end of the court and will surely lead this team into the national spotlight. There are two issues, though. The first is that the Pac 10 should be the deepest and best conference in the country this year (UCLA, Arizona, USC, and Oregon). Makes for a difficult road leading to the Tourney, but should also toughen and enlighten them for it as well. The second problem? That outside of Low and Weaver, the Cougars don’t really have another big time player that could step up if either of those two has a bad night. Regardless, they’ll be a very “loosey-goosey” type team this spring, so learn about them now before they destroy your bracket. (Rankings: Dogg 8, Fuzz 14, Q 9)



Louisville
I’ll let Dogg tell you about the Cardinals since he has such a strong opinion about them. “This is my least favorite team in the country by far. Their team is trash and so is their coach. Why does Rick Pitino get so much love? He hasn’t done anything in years and recruits sketchy, borderline players. What’s to like about Louisville? I’m supposed to think they’re good because they return a ton of guys? Those guys are still named [Edgar] Sosa, [Juan] Palacios, [David] Padgett, and [Derrick] Caracter, aren’t they? This is a streaky team at best who’ll have a couple of big wins as well as a couple of terrible losses. If you’re a betting man, never bet on this team. They rely almost entirely on jump shots and there’s no telling what night they’ll be hitting and what night they won’t. Louisville sucks.” Well then. (Rankings: Dogg NR, Fuzz 5, Q 7)



Marquette
Ok, so I’ll keep this fairly short. We here at TK on Toast are huge bandwagon Marquette fans. As you probably figured out from the DFTFC article, we have an “in” with the program and are therefore ridiculously biased. So the most fair, rational analysis I can give you is that this team is very deep, very talented at the guard position, and has some size and rebounding issues. That’s all I got for ya. Don’t worry, there will be a minimum of 15 Marquette related posts throughout the season, so if you want to know more about the Golden Eagles, stay tuned. (Rankings: Dogg 9, Fuzz 9, Q 6)



Michigan State
There isn’t a lot say about this Spartans team. They are somewhat of an enigma entering this season. There wasn’t much expected of them last year and they made it to the Dance as a 9 seed, bounced a far superior Marquette team, and then hung tough with UNC for a while. This year they return one of the toughest players in the nation in Drew Neitzel, who can absolutely shoot the lights out and has enough heart to carry this team to a wide variety of levels. They also have a phenomenal coach in Tom Izzo. But if you want one call from us for this season it’s this: 6’7” combo guard Raymar Morgan is going to have one of the biggest breakout seasons in recent memory. He is going to light up the Big Ten and will be on everyone’s short list for POY by the end of the year. (Rankings: Dogg 11, Fuzz 12, Q 13)



Duke
If you care even slightly about the Blue Devils, then click 'Back', scroll down, and rub one out to Fuzz’s A-Z lovefest that almost caused the end of this website. For everyone else, I leave you with everyone’s two favorite words: Fuck Duke. (Rankings: Dogg NR, Fuzz 6, Q NR)





Oregon
Sort-of sleeper watch alert. I guess you can’t really call a team currently ranked 11th in the country a sleeper. But this team has the talent and the potential to make a push for an Elite 8 type of run. They run a very talented 3 guard combo unmatched by anyone in the country. Tajuan Porter, Bryce Taylor, and Malik Hariston are three of the best guards in the country and will cause serious matchup problems for most of their opponents. They even balance that outside game with a very serviceable big man in Maarty Leunen. The loss of Aaron Brooks will undoubtedly hurt, but Ernie Kent will make sure that this team doesn’t skip a beat and makes a run through the NCAA Tournament. (Rankings: Dogg 7, Fuzz 11, Q 12)



Sleeper—Davidson
We’re not the first team to sing the praises of this Davidson team, nor will we be the last. We are very much aware that many fans know about them. We also don’t care. This is a team that will need to be reckoned with as this season plays out. Dell’s kid, Stephen Curry, is one of the best players in the country, bar none. He can create, move well without the ball, and most importantly, shoot the freaking lights out. In other words, he’s the man. They are also doing the smart thing in playing a very tough non-conference schedule (UNC, Duke, and NC State) to let their players see the level that they’ll need to play at come Tourney time. Be ready for them as a 6 or 7 seed after they walk through their conference schedule and Mr. Curry is one of the leading scorers in the nation. Don’t say you weren’t warned…



Hometown Love—Northern Iowa
The University of Minnesota South has to get a quick shout out from TKOT. They’ll be led this season by soon to be All-Missouri Valley Conference guard Travis Brown, who will take over as the team’s leading scorer during his junior season. They also have two other Minny kids, Kwadso Ahelegbe and Eric Coleman, which will give the Panthers an outside chance to shock the world and make it to the Dance. Be sure to check for them during ESPN’s “Bracket Buster Saturday” as well as live in action during the MVC tournament at the end of the year. They’re comin…

The Highly Scientific TKOT Fantastic 15 BCS-Style Poll Thing
*Note: These rankings are based on the average position of the teams from each of the three TKOT writer’s personal rankings. First place votes in parenthesis.

1. Memphis (1)
1. UCLA (1)
3. North Carolina (1)
4. Kansas
5. Indiana
6. Georgetown
7. Marquette
8. Tennessee
9. Louisville
10. Oregon
11. Washington State
12. Kansas State
12. Michigan State
14. Duke
15. Texas
Also Receiving Votes: Syracuse, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Arizona, Ohio State

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Friday Ramblings

We here at TKOT want to thank Aaron Gleeman for the shout-out on his blog. You guys really need to check his site out. We linked it to our site in the top right. He’s pretty much the official fan blog for the Minnesota Twins. He knows his stuff. Anyways, he gave us a shout-out today in his “Link-o-Rama.” Thanks again AG!

More updates and banter after the jump...

Also, Dogg & Q will be coming out with a college basketball preview sometime in the next 24-48 hours. It’s going to be long and fantastic. They are both Duke haters so I have a bad feeling my Dukies aren’t going to get any love. I'll let the polls at the end of the year do the talking. Either way, check back to our site every minute from now on in case it gets posted. I’m serious. You want to be the first to read it right? Then fucking refresh constantly.

In the meantime, check out our Friday Ramblings. A bunch of random topics to get you through this Friday. It’s nothing big. Just a short email string between the four of us. The original questions/comments were brought to us by a coyote we call... Schmick Schmarx.

Schmick Schmarx: How about Koy Detmer getting $90,000 for playing catch for 3 days?

Fuzz: They can pay Koy $90,000 like that but get their panties in a bunch if someone leaves for a funeral. Whatever.

Q: Good call on the funeral thing Fuzz. Did you guys know that we changed our minds on that Williamson thing? I read it in SI but never saw anything locally on it.

Dogg: Who cares.

Schmick Schmarx: What do you guys think about Rashad McCants? I still kind of feel like we're better off if he plays really well(like he has been) and then we are able to move him for a nice package.


Fuzz: I like McCants and I see no reason to move him. Why do you want to move him? He's a mid-teen draft pick that's panning out this year. I hate the notion this state has that we have to move everyone. Why can't we keep guys? I like him for the future of the Wolves.

Dogg: McCants is the deal when he tries and being it’s his third year, which is a contract year he’ll play well all year.

Q: I like McCants and I don't know why we would want to move him. 08-09 Puppies: Foye, McCants, Brewer, Beasley, Jefferson.

Fuzz: Q, I see you stole my starting five for next year from my KG piece. I’m fine with it. The more people on the Beasley bandwagon the better.

Schmick Schmarx: You guys watch "Sunny" last night? It was hilarious.

Fuzz: No idea what the hell Sunny is.

Dogg: “Sunny” “Sunny” “Sunny”, What the F is “Sunny”?

Q: He's talking about "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"--a show on FX. I've never seen it but hear it's awesome.

Schmick Schmarx: If both teams win out, I think we're all set up for a Oklahoma-Kansas Big 12 title game with the winner going to the national championship game. That would be an awesome game.


Q: If Kansas loses to Missouri tomorrow, does the winner of the Big 12 title game still go to the BCS title game?

Dogg: I hope Kansas is in the title game no matter what.

Fuzz: I don't care about college football. Who ever makes the championship game is not going to beat the USC/Texas we had a couple of years ago. I'm not a college football fan at all but that game was insane. I don't know if we'll see another college like that in the next 20 years.

Schmick Schmarx: Stop playing Antoine Walker. He is nothing more than a role player now and the Timbies should not care about wins. Give those minutes to Corey Brewer. The same goes for Marko Jaric. Give the minutes to Telfair and find out if he's a starting PG in the NBA.(HINT "He's not.")


Fuzz: The minutes Walker is getting bothers me a little bit but not too much. Personally, I think they are showcasing him. Hopefully someone bites and we get a trade offer. I also don't think losing every single game helps you either. I think we need a balance. The young guys need to play, which they are, but playing Walker if he's playing well to smell victory is not a bad thing in my mind. The main thing is that I think they are showcasing him...

Q: I like the showcasing idea, but fear that it's not true. I hate Shimmy.

Dogg: I agree about Walker. Cut him now. I like Telfair a lot. Give him some minutes. He’s like a rookie so lets see what we got with him


Schmick Schmarx: I don't think we need to move everyone. I've just never been super impressed with McCants game. He is a legitimate NBA player, though. In the future, I would like to see in our starting lineup:

Foye, Brewer, mystery player, Jefferson, mystery player

That’s why I don't like getting some of these wins using Walker and Jaric. If the players of the future win… great. Otherwise, I would like to pick very high next year in the draft. We did this years ago with Musselman when we were terrible. We won something like 8 out of our last 10 games, dropped in the draft, and ended up with Felton Spencer.( or Luc Longley. I forget which year.) That’s my only point on using Walker and Jaric.

Fuzz: Why not one of the mystery players be McCants? He’s a good player that can fill it and is role model to children. Seriously, where else can you find a guy that compares college basketball to being in prison?

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I miss him...kind of...

Look, it was the right move. I don’t think I could have gone through another mundane season with the T-wolves. I would have lost interest around mid-January and since last years roster consisted of about two potential guys I liked I would have been in serious hate mode. So the Big Ticket had to go. It would have felt like a merry-go-round again this year where we couldn’t get off the damn thing. We’ve been locked inside this merry-go-around for years now. The last three years has been the low point for this franchise, even worse then we first started. At least we could blame being a new franchise. Still…I miss KG. We’re less than 10 games into the season but every time I see highlights of KG fading away, swapping dead balls away from the hoop and screaming effenheimers at opponents, a part of me misses the guy.



If you’ve seen any Celtic games this year the Ticket looks extra happy. This is way overused with sports but KG has a much different attitude. He still plays as hard like he always has but he has that swagger back we saw in his MVP year. Why wouldn’t he though? He’s playing for a team that’s the talk of the town. He’s playing for the hot homecoming queen. Obviously he loves this. The T-Wolves have been fighting for the 8th spot in a stacked Western Conference while his Celtics have a legitimate shot at the #1 spot in the weaker Eastern conference. To date they’ve matched all this hype staying unbeaten with a win last night. Christ, ESPN.com has a story right now comparing them to the best team ever, the ’96 Bulls. The Bulls won 72 games that year! Also, instead of looking at clowns like Rick Davis and Marko Jaric everyday he’s playing with two other All-stars.



The point being is that I’m happy for the guy. He gets another shot to play with some real talent and make a run at the ‘ship. Marbury screwed him by leaving and the Spree/Cassell experiment got him close but didn’t work out. I miss the guy...pretty hard not too though. If you want to root for a genuine superstar that works his tail off night in and night out, KG is the model. When you thought of the Minnesota sports landscape he was the guy. Something us fans could hang our hat on. Now, I’m afraid if things go really well in Boston he might retire a Celtic. I don’t know if I could handle that.



In the end the trade had to happen. I knew this sick to my stomach sinking feeling was coming but it still hurts. I do understand the notion that the Wolves needed to bottom out first to start building up again. With KG’s salary and the inadequate way the franchise has been run, it was the only way. I will say watching these young guys are A LOT more entertaining. We are 1-5 but I’ve actually sat through a full T-wolves game without trying to stick a sharpie in my eyes. It’s been amusing. And it should only get better. One of the delights in the KG trade is getting back our #1 pick next year from Boston. A stupid move to get rid of it but at least we got the puppy back. With a draft class that is going to include Hibbert, Gordon, Rose, Mayo and Beasley, this is going to be another great year to have a lottery pick. I haven’t been so happy about being terrible in my life. My eyes are on the Beasley gentleman from Kansas State. Rated #1 in his draft class by Rivals.com and in his first college game he went 32 & 24. Not too shabby. He’s listed at 6’10/240. He’s a flipping beast and I want him on our team next year.



I miss you Mr. Garnett but I can root for hope in your absence. The hope went down the toilet with you here and it was depressing. However, a Foye, McCants, Brewer, Beasley and Jefferson starting five for next year is intriguing. So KG you go be the top story on ESPN and win your title(s). You deserve it. But in a few years us loyal T-wolves fans will (hopefully) get what we deserve too...

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Under Review: Week 10

Week 10 questions by your personal NFL experts...

I know we’ve taken shots at the Packers but it’s time to be real for a second. Is this team a Superbowl contender?


Dogg- I think they are definitely a Super Bowl contender. The thing is they play in a weak division and if they get home field advantage it will even be difficult for Dallas to go there and win when it's 30 below zero. I don't if any of you sports fans have heard before but Brett Favre is 198-1 at Lambeau Field when the temperature is -86 or below. It also helps that they found a running game with a guy named Ryan Grant. You know it's bad when the guy attended Notre Dame where every game is televised and I have still never heard of him but he's fresh and running hard. Their defense is also underrated. Charles Woodson is back to being Charles Woodson and Al Harris isn't scared to mix it up with anybody. They are a top 5 team in the NFL right now.

Fuzz- It kills me to say this but yes they are. 8-1 is no fluke. They give up the third least points in the league. Their defense is very underrated. They also have a relatively easy schedule down the stretch. Detroit twice and Dallas. Besides those three games it’s cupcake city. A 13-14 win season is not out of the question and I physically hurt. Like, I’m sick to my stomach. Packer fans are the worst. They are great game fans with the whole Lambeau experience but absolutely suck as a water cooler fan. They won’t shut-up about how good they are and how the Vikings have never won a Superbowl. It’s like diarrhea of the mouth with these people. This resurgence is simply horrible.

Q- No. I know I'm a little bit bitter after the undressing they gave the Vikes on Sunday, but I still just don't see them as a team that can be taken seriously deep into the playoffs. In the NFC, it's a bit of a different story because, outside of Dallas, no one is very good. But in a head to head matchup, I'd say any one of the following teams has a shot against them: Dallas (of course), the Giants, New Orleans, Seattle, and Detroit.

Back in week four, we did are early MVP votes. It’s been six weeks so we need to update. Has your vote changed? Dogg said Jeff Garcia, Q said Tony Romo and Fuzz said Brett Favre.

Dogg: OK I know that Jeff Garcia won't get a single vote in the MVP column but I'm being honest when I say he should. He is making something out of Joey Galloway again and all of the sudden Ike Hilliard is catching balls again. Earnest Graham is their RB and he shared time on his own college team. Their defense is back to where it once was and you know what he does the best...his job and that is not turn the ball over. It's a ball-controlled offense with the occasional up top pass to Galloway, which usually works. Imagine if the Ravens had a QB who didn't turn the ball over and completed 66% of his passes. Just ask Ray Lewis....My answer has changed though to the infamous Brett Favre. He leads the league in passing yards on an 8-1 team.

Q- I'm sticking with my guy (Romo). His team has the best record in the NFC, their only loss is to the soon to be undefeated Patriots, and his numbers are outstanding. What more could you ask for in an MVP? Add to that the fact that he seems to be very comfortable and quotable in the media, and you have your run away winner. If it's a close race for an award like this, media members will go with the guy that seems more likeable and gave them more quotes and useful writing material. Tony Romo is that guy and he will be your MVP.


Fuzz- I’m sticking with Brett Favre on the fact that I want my early MVP vote to pan out. Early season calls usually never pan out but Packer Wacker Favre has a legitimate shot. He’s playing out of his mind for a guy his age. The last 3-4 years he’s literally buried the Packers with his poor decisions and multiple chinstrap takeoffs. All of sudden he has his mojo back while playing smart at the same time and still gets away with the chinstrap takeoffs after every possession. He couldn’t do it all the last few years but now he’s found a balance. Oh yeah, also because he has so much fun playing the game of football. Did you guys know that?

Blog note: It should be noted that all three of us think Tom Brady will win the MVP. Not too surprising. These picks are who we think deserves it. It’s not that GQ doesn’t, but we feel these players deserve it more but we don’t vote.

Did you ever think you’d see the day Peyton Manning would throw six picks? And are the Colts not as good as we thought? Meaning, are they not the second best team anymore?


Q- I think the shock of the Patriots game lingered a little bit and caused the Colts to press a little bit. They wanted to show everyone that they were still dominant and send a message that the New England game was an aberration. Unfortunately, the Chargers didn't get the message, and after they returned the opening kick to the house, Indy was in trouble. I'm still of the belief that they are clearly the second best team. They flat out got beat by the Patriots, which is fine because everyone has this year. Then they had this San Diego game. Most teams have a game like this where they come out flat. As long as that game isn't in the playoffs, everything is fine. The Colts will still be playing at Gillette Stadium in the Real Super Bowl, aka, the AFC title game.

Fuzz- I thought I’d see the week Peyton Manning threw six picks the same week I saw James Thrash catch a ball. I thought Peyton would NEVER throw that many INT’s and I thought Thrash was stuck in a cage like Sawyer was in LOST because he stole checks from the NFL.

I was wrong on both accounts because it happened on the same f-ing day. The probability of this is astounding. I still think the Colts are the second best team. They’ve stumbled a bit but I’d still take them over Dallas, Green Bay and Pittsburgh. If kicker immortality Adam Vinatieri hits that late game FG we could be looking at a one loss Colts team. But he missed it and now people have doubts. I don’t. They’ll be in the AFC championship game at the minimum.

Do you guys make anything of the wins that Denver, Philadelphia and Arizona had?

Q- The Eagles had a nice little fourth quarter comeback. Any time you can put up a 20 spot in the final 15 minutes to pull out a victory, it will get the fans off your back. It also gives us one more week without the speculation about Andy Reid being fired/Donovan McNabb playing elsewhere.

The Broncos and Cardinals won? Really? Shows how much those games mattered to me. Though it does prove that the Lions are on VERY shaky ground for a playoff spot.

Fuzz- Denver and Philly’s wins don’t mean anything because they are average teams. I’m still drinking the Arizona Kool-Aid. A big red line above my lip hasn’t gone away yet all because of that offense. If Boldin can get back healthy they are going to win the NFC West.


Dogg: None of those teams have a chance to do anything in the playoffs and that's if any of them make the playoffs.

A really bad but even division is the NFC South. Records are 5-4(TB), 4-5(Car.), 4-5(NO) and 3-6(ATL). Carolina and Atlanta have been thrown to the waste side but are right in this race. Who wins this division and are all teams in your mind still in it? Or is one going to run away with it?

Fuzz- It’s tempting to pick the Saints because of their high-powered offense. Players like Bush, Brees & Colston can score plenty of points. However, they just lost to the Sisters of the Poor (Rams), which raises major questions about their defense. Therefore I’m picking those very boring Tampa Bay Bucs. I don’t like them at all but I have faith in Jeff Garcia leading them to the playoffs. If you’re married to a Playmate of the Year like Garcia is, things just work out for you. Bucs take the South.


Q- Despite and ugly setback yesterday, I think the Saints are going to win this division. They started off the season with a terrible 0-4 mark, but then rattled off 4 straight wins. Yes, they lost to the Rams, but come on, some one had to give them their first win. The still have more talent than the other three teams in the division and for that reason alone, I they'll win the South. After all, am I really supposed to trust or put any confidence in guys like Jeff Garcia, Vinny Testeverde/David Carr, and John Joseph Harrington to win a division title? I don't think so.

Dogg: Well, look at New Orleans and Tampa Bay's schedules for the rest of the season. Both are cupcake central and when I say cupcake central I mean it. It's going to come down to week 13 when Tampa Bay travels to New Orleans. This game is a coin flip for me at this time after New Orleans loses at home to St. Louis but I'll take the more consistent team in Tampa Bay and they squeak out the division. If both play football like they can it won't matter too much because both will be in the postseason anyways.

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Sorry

We here at TKOT forgot to give you are insights on the Vikings game vs. the Packers last weekend. Our bad. We've been busy with basketball trips and fantasy football. Anyways, our thoughts are after the jump.



Are we the Elephant? Or the Toilet? Take a wild guess...

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DFTFC

It came. It went. It was awesome. The first Marquette trip is in the books and I want to go back...right now! A couple times a year, six of us load up in the Denali (that’s right) and head east to Milwaukee, WI to watch Danny Fitzgerald & company. D-Fitz is the brother of my boy Kevin Fitzgerald, who starts for the currently 11th ranked Marquette Golden Eagles basketball team.

Side note: Dan Monson wanted nothing to do with D-Fitz. A great recruiter that Monson guy. He was right to pass on him because when we were going 8-21, scoring 45 points a game, a 6’9” local kid who has a knack for keeping possessions alive and can drain the three couldn’t have helped us. Great call.

This trip is the closest thing I get to being a jersey chaser. I realize I’m a dude and they’re dudes, but when you’re in the VIP players lounge after the game with big time division one athletes, you get a little caught up in the moment. Sorry.

After the jump, you’ll be reading a running diary of what transpired on our trip. I know this is a rip-off of ESPN’s Bill Simmons, but it’s still considered just a diary. Christ, little girls and sexually confused boys have been writing & stashing diaries underneath their mattresses for years. I’m not stealing.

Readers note: This is very long.

There is so much to love about the Marquette trip. One of the top reasons is the email string we have in the week prior between the six of us. We had 183 emails between us this week. No joke. Pretty much 183 reasons for our bosses to send us packing. Trust me, it’s worth it. Nothing like coming back from lunch with 12 new nonsense emails with the title: “Milwaukee to MN!”

Three goals for the trip were:
1) To crash “Trainfest.” A true sign you’re heading to Wisconsin with an event called “Trainfest.” Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson crash weddings with beautiful women. We crash train set model conventions. I don’t see a difference. Anyways, it’s the largest operating model railroad convention in the nation and it was in Milwaukee this same weekend. I can’t believe we got this lucky.
2) To see “Freeway” again. Freeway is an actual person. He’s a Milwaukee staple that’s a big sports fan. He hangs around the main sports bar in town (Major Goolsby’s) and yells stuff like: “Yooouuu bet” and “God Damnit” in the middle of the bar. He’s a piece of work.
3) To drink. A lot.

Fitz gave us the nickname DFTFC about two years ago. It stands for “Dan Fitzgerald Traveling Fan Club.” We even have shirts and think we’re really cool.

The fan club has expanded but the six of us are the originals. The originals are (using names we call each other): Fitz, Sneff, Hill, Q & Fuzz. You’ll see we’re missing a soldier. His name is Dogg. He couldn’t make this trip and it’s really a downer because Dogg brings a lot entertainment to the trip. He’s one of those guys who can’t stop running his mouth about everything. He’s full of non-stop bullshit. A lot of funny stories from this cat though. Hopefully, we can make up for his absence. In an effort for you folks not to feel slighted, Q will be breaking in with “game breaks.” Kind of like Fox’s NFL game breaks, Q will be coming at you with his “game breaks.” I’m sure I missed stuff, so he’s going to be adding some of his babble on what transpired.

*Game Break: The other reason I’ll be stopping in to comment occasionally? Because someone has to call out Fuzz on the stupid/ridiculous stuff he does this weekend. I will now begin channeling my inner Curt Menefee.

Saturday November 10th

6:09am: Game Day!!! I’m up and I’m happy as a teenager finding his first pube. Game time is more then 12 hours away and we have a five-hour drive ahead of us but I don’t give a shit. It’s game day!

*Game Break: You know you’re excited about something when you get up earlier than you do during the work week and are jacked about it. Personally, I got up at 5:40 am, got in a quick workout (sort of), showered, and ran an “errand”.

6:15am: I was thinking about this in the shower. If I’m this jacked about a team that I had no connection too until five years ago and who is playing the creampuff IUPUI tonight, what the hell am I going to be like once Tubby gets the Gophers rolling? I’m scared. Being “that guy” where I’m sleeping on a cold sidewalk because I don’t want to lose my spot in line for tomorrows “big game” tickets is not out of the question. It’s cool if you’re 20 and drunk doing this with your college cronies. Not so cool when you’re drunk doing it at 30 years old and alone. Well, maybe not alone because I know Q will come with me.

*Game Break: Obviously...

6:21am: Q, who is also my roommate decided to grab some Latte’s for us before we head off to Fitz’s house to take off to Milwaukee together. How cute? I can’t wait to hit up a “Curves” on the way out too. Not a good start to our man’s weekend. Most men this weekend are sitting in plywood deer stands hunting animal with a gun. We’re sipping Latte’s with brown sleeves so our hands don’t get burned. We’ll bounce back from this, I promise.

Side note: It was my idea to get a Latte. I threw Q under the bus but I need to be honest. I like them and I’m not apologizing for this.

6:58am: We arrive at Sneff’s house who has now been named “Huey” by me. I don’t know why I gave him this name, but since we were all waiting for him impatiently, it seemed fitting to call him Huey. I think the name will stick. Huey navigates Fitz to Hwy. 94 and says: “Alright you’re going to take this until you hit Milwaukee.” It’s 310 miles away. I don’t know where we’d be without Huey.

7:23am: Ooop, here we go. First line was just dropped. Fitz says: “Do they sell dirty videos at Blockbuster? Wouldn’t you feel dirty buying one at a store like that?” Q: “Yes! I felt dirty playing the nude photo hunt with Hill at the bar last night.” And if you’re wondering, Hill hasn’t arrived yet. He’s present in the car but he’s not quite here. I think he’s spoken three moans since we started.

7:48am: Just saw three beautiful cows on the side of the road. It’s the prettiest set of girls I’ve seen since we got in this state. Not a good sign.

8:30am: Thought I’d check in. Not much the last 45 minutes. It’s western Wisconsin, what should I expect? Hill’s finally here though. We have “Old School” playing right now. Yeah, a movie in a car. Learn about it. Anyways, Hill just woke up from his coma on this line: “Oh man, you got a fucking dart stuck in your neck!”


8:44am: You guys ever see the “Chronicles of Narnia?” I know it’s a kid movie but it’s pretty good. Well, I feel like the little kids going into that magic closet and coming out in a winter wonderland on the other side. When we left Minnesota it was in the low 50’s with green everywhere. Now? It’s 31 degrees with frost all over the trees. Nothing but white. If I see a fucking half horse half human thing prancing around, I’m out. We’re turning this bitch around.

9:14am: First gas station stop. Highlights include getting gas at $3.19 a gallon (awesome!), Q getting an 8oz can of Coors light for .59 cents, seeing a Packers suck engraving in the stall, surprisingly seeing the teller with a full set of teeth and finally watching Q pounding the 8oz Coors light in the parking lot and slamming the crushed can in the garbage like he’s spiking a football. Again, it’s 9:14am. Just thought I would remind you of that.

*Game Break: Ok, let me clarify something here. I saw these little 8 oz cans and thought they were funny looking. Jokingly, I asked Sneff if I should get one. I had no plan on actually doing so, but his excited reaction and the laugh I knew I’d get persuaded me to make the purchase. I did walk out to the car and slam it in front of Hill—now that’s funny. But there’s a more pressing issue at hand: why did they let me buy the beer? Isn’t there a rule that you can’t sell alcohol before 10 am? Do they not have that law in Wisconsin (which wouldn’t be surprising at all)? Or did they just not care because it was one mini-can?

9:15am: Huey has called me four times already. See Huey was the last person on earth to get a cell phone. I think he got one like two years ago. Well, he has this little elementary trick where he calls me repeatedly throughout the drive and thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world. It’s not. It’s gay. It’s something eight years old do. Fucking Huey.

Side note: Taking a timeout. Need to focus on the “Carlos Mencia” stand-up DVD rolling in our ride right now. He just called himself a “beaner.” That’s funny.

10:11am: I had to come back early for just one comment. We just saw the first “Cruisin’ Chubby’s” sign. “Cruisin’ Chubby’s” is one of the best gentleman’s clubs in the nation. I’m convinced of this. I’ve only been once for a buddy’s bachelor party and it was like a poor man’s playboy mansion. I’m dead serious. I usually feel creepy and filthy in a strip club, but I was asking for a membership pamphlet after this experience.

11:31am: Billboard for Trainfest: “Small trains, Big imaginations.” I can’t stand the anticipation anymore. Get me in that arena!

11:57am: Just passed the impressive outdoor Miller Park baseball stadium. Q chimes in: “2 ½ years bitches, 2 ½ years.”


*Game Break: For those who don’t get this, the Twins new stadium will be ready in roughly 2 ½ years. I could not possibly be more excited for it. Outdoor baseball? Sign me up. Anything so that I don’t have to sit in the Dome ever again (cough, Vikings, cough).

12:19pm: DFTFC has arrived at the hotel, checked in and we’re ready to start drinking. Some highlights of the check-in: 1) Did you know that Double Tree gives you warm chocolate cookies to everyone? Individually packaged fresh warm like your grandma made them cookies. I love this hotel already. 2) The Alpha Omega Epsilon Sorority Party is in our hotel...tonight! Tempting...but we have Trainfest to crash. I might be over thinking this, but I think the tail at Trainfest is going to trump the Sorority party. Any other weekend, we would have been all over this. 3) The bellhop was a gem. A little fella with a quick tongue named Jim. If you aren’t funny, you can’t be a bellhop. This HAS to be a pre-requisite. Jim (5’4) wanted to bet Fitz (6’8 ¾) on a little one-on-one basketball game. I don’t know how we got to this point but it was funny.

*Game Break: The bellhop came out to greet us and saw the Marquette Basketball logo on the side of the Denali (yeah, that’s how we roll). Then he saw Hill and me. We’re not the most imposing guys and look nothing like basketball players. So he told us that he could take us. We sort of agreed, but said he couldn’t beat Fitz, who was walking around the side of the car at the time. That’s when he decided that he could take Fitz. Then he whispered “Especially if there were a few hundred bucks on the line." I don’t think he was kidding.

12:31pm: And...we’re drinking. Whiskey water in a hotel coffee mug is my choice. Fitz with a whiskey concoction in a glass and Huey with Whiskey 7 in a Powerade bottle. Hill with a Miller Lite (weird) and Q...well he started drinking at 9:14 so who knows what he’s on at this point.

12:58pm: Hill decided to take a stand and say: “No shots for me tonight.” By the way, this stand never holds up. Never. He’s planting the seed now, but no way he doesn’t take one shot. An impossible feat in a situation like this.

1:09pm: It’s time for some drinking games and every year we forget to bring a deck of cards. It’s uncanny. Every GD year, not one of us idiots brings a deck causing us to buy an overpriced pack across the street. Not this year, Q brought them! Fist pounds around to Q. So, we’re playing P & A and realize all our cards are above a nine. Q brought fucking Pinochle cards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so disappointed in my life. You could see in his face he let us down. He looks like a kid bringing home a 1.25 GPA report card to his parents.

*Game Break: This was depressing. Like Fuzz said, we never remember cards, so when I thought of it ahead of time and brought them, I was extremely proud of myself. We tried to play a little High/Low/Red/Black, but I think that was just an attempt to make me feel better. It didn’t work. I blew it—big time.

1:44pm: Q just informed us that Billy Ray Cyrus is in town tonight. So Milwaukee’s entertainment this weekend is Billy Ray Cyrus and Trainfest. I don’t think I need to say anything else.


*Game Break: In the next segment, Fuzz will give you some highlights of our exploits at our usual pre-game watering hole. What he’s forgotten to tell you about is what happened on the way to the bar. We’re walking down the street and a car quickly pulls out of a back alley/parking lot and comes within inches of drilling Hill. Unfazed and determined to get a beer, Hill simply walks around behind the car and continues on his journey. The rest of us are in shock at how close we just were to tragedy (and a ruined weekend). The best part? That the girl driving (obviously) didn’t realize what she had almost done for about 15 seconds. Then a look of absolute horror came over her face and she covered her mouth. This of course caused raucous laughter among everyone in the group—everyone other than Hill that is.

1:45pm- 7:10pm: This was the time that we were at the famous sports bar called Major Goolsby’s. The plan was to go eat, grab a couple pitchers, come back to the hotel, take a nap and head to the game around 7:00. That was the plan. What ended up happening is that we all got really, really drunk and never came back to the hotel. Some highlights include:
A) The Wisconsin Badger football game was on and every time they scored the little bar girls would come around with a free shot for everyone. A great idea. Not until we took one. It was in a Nyquil medicine cup and it tasted just like cherry Nyquil. This of course didn’t stop us from taking one every time.
B) We convinced the staff at Major Goolsby’s to hang a signed DFTFC shirt in the bar with D-Fitz’s signature on the T-shirt. This makes Fitz very happy.
C) Huey is back to being called his original nickname Sneff. Huey didn’t stick proving that new nicknames just don’t work. The only ones that stick are the ones that are pre 18 years old.
D) Fitz came back from a bathroom session and told us a really odd guy was just staring directly at him when he was taking a wiz in the urinal next to him. It was so uncomfortable he had to say: “Can I help you?” Probably not the EXACT words you want to use when a creepy guy is looking at your wanger, but he said the guy got the point and looked away.
*Game Break: Lost in all the laughter and disbelief over what had just happened to Fitz, was the utter lack in description that he could provide of the perpetrator. If a guy was staring at you in the john, wouldn’t you have some sort of idea what he looked like and what he was wearing? Not Fitz. All he could provide us with was that the guy was wearing “a brown, braided belt and weird shoes.” Um, why were you staring at his belt sir? I’m still not entirely convinced that Fitz wasn’t the creepy guy and made up the rest of the story.
E) Freeway is not going to be seen. I asked the waitress flat out if Freeway is around and she told us she hasn’t seen him in a while. Goal #2 is squashed.
F) Sneff decided to wear his tux shoes from his wedding this weekend. They don’t look comfortable. What’s with tux shoes being the most uncomfortable footwear ever? Since most weddings involve a good 4-5 hours of solid dancing, you’d think you would get a better shoe with your tux purchase. Nope, you get shoes that make you cry after one hour.

G) Sneff to Q about not being as drunk as he is: “Drink more fuckstick.” Q’s response: ”Get a better tolerance d-bag.”
H) Fitz to Sneff: “We still have to get back to the hotel so I can get a shirt for Dan to shine. And by shine, I mean sign.” This was at 4:40pm my notes said. It should be said that Fitz is heating up. We’ve all had about eight beers, three Nyquil shots, and at least two “Mugarita’s” at this point. However, it’s hitting Fitz the hardest right now.
I) Fitz just committed us to Marquette trips for a lifetime. “There’s no reason we can’t do this until we are 85.”
J) Fitz: “My sinnter’s (he meant to say sisters) doesn’t need any Fuzz in them.”
K) It’s 6:25pm and as you can tell Fitz is T-kettled. Along with the quotes you just read, he’s already pulled the “I love you guys” routine, dropped the f-bomb a minimum of 114 times and has had to eat a burger basket for the second time just to soak some of this booze up. We all reference the “he’s on fire” NBA Jam feature. He just needs to keep shooting...
L) D-Fitz’s woman has arrived to the bar and is not wearing a DFTFC shirt. That’s not right. What’s more disappointing is that she lives in the area, had nothing to do today and yet Fitz couldn’t put in the invite for our all day drinkfest to her. She’s visually and understandably upset.
M) Q brings over five Jag Bombs. We don’t need this but we naturally take them anyway. For those keeping count, after Hill’s no shot stand he’s taken three Nyquil shots and one Jag bomb.
N) It’s 7:10pm and we are finally leaving the bar. That was a good session. I told you we’d bounce back. Walking out of this place feels incredibly similar to the Varsity Blues scene when Johnny Moxon and the boys were walking out of the strip club at 7am. We’ve been inside so long that fresh air almost seems hard to take. We are all moving very, very slow

7:22pm: Watching warm-ups. D-Fitz looks noticeably bigger. HGH needs to be put on the table as it should with every athlete these days. Looks like he grew his hair out a little too. It’s his senior year, he’s not fucking around.

*Game Break: It should be noted that we have player’s tickets for the game. This means that we are sitting in the 6th row at the Bradley Center for this tilt. If you have the means, I highly recommend watching games from seats this close. It’s really the only way to go.

9:36pm: Coach Crean just chugged his third Diet Pepsi. A little known fact is that he drinks more Diet Pepsi than any other coach in all of college basketball.

9:40pm: Final score: MU- 76. IUPUI- 68. First win out of 28. DFTFC made it’s appearance known.


This MU team is going to be good. They finished last season in the top 25 but I see them finishing closer to the top 10 this year. They have nine legitimate players and returned pretty much everyone from last year. They play in the MAUI tournament coming up which should bring some national attention to them if they do well, which I expect.

10:11pm: Someone in the DFTFC crew just sang the “this shit is BANANAS, B-A-N-A-N-A-S” song on our way to Water Street. I’m in the back of the bunch and can’t see who it actually is. But we are crossing over a river right now and this person should be thrown into it immediately for singing a Gwen Stefani song.

11:25pm: Q is putting in some serious work on our late night bartender. He already has the “fake laugh at every single comment she makes” routine down right now. This is impressive. She’s a strawberry blond number with a nice fucking butt so we’re all pulling for the guy at this point.

*Game Break: I was actually very proud of my effort. The problem was that I broke a cardinal rule: never hit on the bartender. They’re sober and deal with losers like me on a nightly basis. Good game, bad choice. It happens.

12:39am: I’m hammered. (This was in my notepad I carried around and I don’t remember writing it. This entry had to make the cut)

*Game Break: That’s partially my fault. I bought two (or three?) more shots for the group at the bar. Don’t even remember what they were either. I do know that Fuzz, Hill, and I were playing dice on the bar for well over an hour. Good times.

1:03am: Hill’s back playing nude photo hunt again. He loves this game and feels no remorse for playing this game in any sort of environment. Hill just looks at home in a corner of a bar, smoking Camel Lights and playing nude photo hunt by himself.

1:08am: Sneff is currently wearing a pumpkin colored silk scarf and I have no idea where he got it. I do now have an idea who started that fucking B-A-N-A-N-A-S jingle a few hours ago.

*Game Break: I have to be honest, it was me. We were all pretty drunk and it had been a long day (remember the wake up call came at 5:40 am) that included a 5 ½ hour stint at Goolsby’s. And I used the line from The Office (said by Kelly Kapoor): “This day is…” ok, I’ll stop now.

2:15am: Q after a valiant but unsuccessful effort at the bar: “If I’m not getting ass, I’m getting Donuts.” FYI: DFTFC loves late night Dunkin Donuts.


*Game Break: The previously mentioned effort was at a second bar. When I became frustrated with the lack of talent at Fitzgibbons, I convinced Fuzz to come with me for a shot at finding some new female friends just before bar close time across the street at Bar Louie. Fuzz was less than enthused to be there (as evidenced by his leaning on the wall, scowling, refusing to talk to anyone, especially me), but he came because that’s what a good wingman does. Again, I struck out, but at least I got another at bat.

Sunday November 11

9:OOam: Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep. F-off Fitz. After that night, Fitzy Fresh is making us get up right now and drive home. Why? Because he’s having his Internet and cable installed today. Seems like the right call. He’s had the house for five months but the Sunday after the Milwaukee trip where it’s one of the few times we let loose seems like a perfect day for installation. F-off Fitz. Someone give me the Tylenol...

9:33am: We all look like holy hell. It’s the only way to put this. I really hope Fitz enjoys his HGTV shows that he’s dying to watch.

*Game Break: True statement.

10:29am: Sneff: “Fitz, you going to get a DUI?” Floored everyone. What a night! It’s sleep time...

3:09pm: We’re 20 miles from home and everyone except Hill is up. We’re all reminiscing about the night and we just informed Fitz that he had another burger basket at Goolsby’s, his second one in a five-hour span. He has no idea. Now he’s really nervous on what else happened, since his Grandpa, parents and multiple other family members were at the bar at this time. Fitz gets the MVP this time. Shockingly we didn’t make it to Trainfest and we didn’t see Freeway. We did drink...a lot, but that goal was a lock. 1/3 is disappointing but man do I love this trip...

DFTFC! DFTFC! DFTFC!

Out,
Fuzz

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On our way to stardom

If you haven't heard, Dogg, Q and I write the Vikings blog for USA Today's "NFL Blog Squad." We were featured yesterday in a Q & A on their website. You can access that here. Or can you read it after the jump here at TKOT. Either way, we're comin, we're comin...

Names: Matt “Fuzz” Letnes. Adam “Q” Quale. Nate “Dogg” Williams.

Locations:

Fuzz- Eagan, MN. We’re all roommates. It’s gets a little crazy in our house from time to time. I think we have like 25 ongoing arguments that will never end between the three of us because we all think we’re right.

Q- Eagan is “The middle of Gopher Nation.”

Occupations:

Fuzz- Service representative for a small marketing company that specializes in Health Insurance.

Q- Junior High English Teacher

Dogg- Sales

Ages: 26 for Fuzz & Q. 25 for Dogg.

Favorite NFL blogs?

Fuzz- Ours obviously. Kidding…kind of. I’m a fan of the more popular sports blogs that aren’t just NFL blogs, but write about the NFL from time to time. Bill Simmons and Deadspin are my two favorites. Simmons does his weekly NFL picks on Fridays and Deadspin has a Monday feature that recaps all the games that is very entertaining. Not for the kiddies, but good stuff.

Q- Superbowl Homeboy. I’m not kidding.

Dogg- My favorite NFL blog is http://nflcheerleader.blogspot.com/ because....Well, take a look and you'll probably understand why I enjoy reviewing this website every so often.

Favorite NFL writer?

Q- Bill Simmons. It doesn't matter what league/sport you put; he's the best.

Dogg- Sports Illustrated's Peter King is my favorite NFL writer. I think his mix of then and now is great and most of his stuff is accurate. It's one thing to go out on a limb but it's another thing to go out on a limb and be correct most of the time, which Peter usually is.

Fuzz- Besides Sean Leahy, it’s Kevin Seifert from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. To be honest I don’t read a lot of national sites about the NFL. I like sticking to the local perspectives about my favorite home team. Seifert is the best in the area in my opinion.

If I weren't a (your job), I would like to be a ...

Dogg- If I weren't a salesman I would like to be a Hero.

Fuzz- Professional Golfer. If you were a kindergarten teacher, that would be my answer. In reality, working in sports, especially golf is a dream. Working tournaments for the PGA tour would be awesome. Not quite playing along side Tiger, but close enough.


Q- MLB bullpen catcher. I've always said that this is the single greatest job in the world. Think about it: you get front row seats to all 162 of your team's games, you get to wear the official uniform, you become friends with professional athletes (if you want to call relief pitchers "athletes"), and best of all, there's absolutely no pressure on you like a real professional athlete. Your entire job consists of getting into a catcher's crouch roughly 5-8 times a day and then eating sunflower seeds, drinking Gatorade, and chatting with the guys in the bullpen. You get plenty of fresh air, have more than enough time to work out, get to travel the country, and make a pretty good salary. What more could you want? Plus, since I was a catcher until the age of 15, and know a ton about baseball, I feel that I am fully qualified for this position. Like I said, the greatest job in the world.

Fuzz- Before we go on. What do bullpen catchers do during a bench-clearing brawl? I’ve always wanted to know this. Every time I see a fight breakout I look for the BP catcher and I can’t find him. Does he participate? Or since he’s really not part of the team, he can’t sprint out and throw haymakers? I need to get to the bottom of this.

Dogg- I think a bullpen catcher would get fired I believe if he left the bullpen area for a bench clearing brawl. Great question though because I guarantee some of those guys can lay the lumber.

What made you name your blog 'Superbowl Homeboy?'

Fuzz- The name originated from when Randy Moss was here. He had a quote when asked what he’s expects for the season, he responded with “Superbowl Homeboy!”


Q- Because "Straight Cash Homey" would be a ridiculous name for a blog. This was another quote beauty by Moss. Truthfully though, it came down to three factors in my mind. First, it's a phrase that was uttered by the most enigmatic Viking of all time: Randy Moss. If you're going to write about the Vikes, there has to be some reference to Randy. It's the law. Second, it still works in reference to the current team--sort of. At the beginning of the season, everyone can dream that their team is going to be awesome. Even if it doesn't come true, and it certainly hasn't for the Purple this year, it is completely acceptable to think so prior to the season. Third, it's a unifying phrase for the three of us. All of us say it constantly anytime the Vikings do something well, so it just makes sense.

Best current Vikings player?

Q- Is this a serious question?

Dogg- Best Vikings player right now? Did you watch or read anything on the Internet over the past 24 hours because his name is being thrown out there with Jim Brown. "AP", "AD", "Savior"....aka Adrian Peterson.


Fuzz- This question should really be “Best current Vikings player not named Adrian Peterson.” I can’t tell you how much AP means to sports fans in Minnesota right now. It’s going to be weird saying this, but this is his state already. He owns the entire sports scene here. That’s how desperate we are for a superstar to get behind. The Vikings are the most popular team in the area and he’s one of the best players in the NFL already. He’s eight games into his career and has the NFL rushing record! Is that not ridiculous? So the easy answer is “All Day” Adrian Peterson as the best Vikings player. Just to throw out a different guy, Kevin Williams is a machine. He’s our All-Pro defensive tackle that is a vital part of our top three rushing defense.

Brad Childress -- Stay or go after 2007 season?

Fuzz- My other two cohorts are going to say go, but I’m a Childress supporter. I think he needs to stay. We have beaten Chicago on the road and now a streaking San Diego team at home this year. He has his downfalls, but I don’t think we win these two types of games with the last regime. He’s in his second year only and has shown enough to me to stay.

Dogg- I heard Childress is looking to move back into the adult entertainment business. I think that better suits him than being an NFL head coach.

Q- That depends. Are you asking me or Zygi Wilf? I would have gotten rid of him at the end of last year. Zygi and Brad seem to be best friends, so there's a chance that he'll never leave. I know it's commonplace for fans to immediately blame the coach when things aren't going well. But he's so stubborn and stuck in his ways, that there's no reason to believe that he'll ever adjust and make this team any better. Peterson has been dominating basically all year, and yet Chilly refused to start him for a number of games. Then he wouldn't give him more than 15 carries a game. Then refused to play him in any type of 2-minute drill at the end of the half/game. Then he wouldn't play him on third down. Finally vs. the Chargers he gives the kid 30 carries and look what happens--a new NFL single game rushing record. And he's like that in so many other aspects of this team. He wants things done his way, even if it's a terrible way. So again, I say get him out of here, but I fully expect him to be our coach for the foreseeable future.

Fuzz- Told you.

Tarvaris Jackson -- Good experiment or bad?


Fuzz- Horrible. It’s like the high school coach going down to the seventh grade team and grabbing the quarterback to start for the Varsity. Hey kid, even though you look like a wet noodle and sound like a squeak toy, you’re starting for us Friday night! It’s the same type of scenario here, only it’s the NFL! Childress went into the season trusting a D1-AA project that no one has heard of before. This is where Childress is worth criticizing. This experiment is so dumb and needs to end immediately. We’re fine though, we have Brooks “no one knows who I am either” Bollinger starting now. We’re good.

Q- Terrible. I know if it worked out that everyone (including myself) would have gone on and on about what a great move it was. But it hasn't, and it won't. I've just never understood the thinking behind it at all. Here's a guy (channeling my inner Madden there) who played 1-AA ball, and couldn't even earn first-team all CONFERENCE. Forget about all-American or anything that would lead you to believe that he was a D1 caliber player who slipped through the cracks and dominated at the 1-AA level. This guy wasn't even the best quarterback in his conference. Yet we, and by we I mean Chilly and the boys, decided that not only was he worth drafting, but we moved up to take him ahead of guys who proved themselves at the highest college level. Then he gets anointed the future of the franchise despite being, statistically, the worst starting quarterback in the history of the NFL (according to his passer rating). Jeez, who could have possibly seen that coming?

Dogg- Tarvaris Jackson is awful and to go on top of all that, he's injury prone. He's got an absolute laser for an arm but why throw the ball like I would in a backyard football game? I don't get it but it looks like Minnesota should be looking for a new QB ASAP. Chester Taylor and a 5th round pick for Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn.

Name the Vikings starting QB in 2008:

Dogg- See my answer above.

Fuzz- The best question on the board because I don’t think our starting quarterback is on our team currently. The free agent QB class isn’t that strong this year, so they could go the draft route again. With names like Matt Ryan, John David Booty, Andre Woodson and Brian Brohm in next years draft class, I think one of these guys could be our starting QB next year. Personally, I would draft another QB next year. The Vikings won’t though. They won’t roll the dice on another QB with a high draft pick. A name I’ll throw out is Donovan McNabb. He has worn out his welcome in Philly, and he has the connection with Childress. With the clowns we have right now, I’ll take Mr. Chunky Soup… and his mom.

Q- Tarvaris Jackson. As much as I hate to say it, he will be. Childress won't give up on his boy after one injury-plagued season. Those guys hate admitting that they are wrong and will refuse to until it is painfully obvious (as if it wasn't already). As fans, we'd much rather draft a guy like Matt Ryan from Boston College.

Even trade for a guy like Derek Anderson from Cleveland. Unfortunately, neither of those will happen and we'll be stuck watching the T- Jack Experience for another year.

NFC championship game -- Anything more than a consolation game?

Q- I don't think it's even worthy of being called that. Is there any reason to have the NFC playoffs at all? I mean, other than to feel better about yourself for making the playoffs/championship game, there's absolutely no point in anyone other than the Colts and Patriots going to the post season. Why not just have a best of 5 series between those two? That's what everyone wants to see. No one in the NFC has even a sliver of hope at beating either of those two teams (just ask the best team in the NFC--Dallas). It all seems like a giant waste of time to me.


Dogg- Q, that was the dumbest response from a knowledgeable sports fan that I've ever seen.

Fuzz- That answer IS absurd Q. I’m with Dogg on this one. It’s week nine and you’re already anointing two out of the 32 teams the crown already. Wow. Look, I was watching the “game of the century,” Patriots vs. the Colts and the NFC has a shot my friend. These teams are good, but not unbeatable good. New England was rolling teams and making enemies but the Colts held them in check. Three or four weeks ago I would have picked any AFC team to win the Superbowl. Now? I don’t know. The Cowboys and Giants are very good teams. I think they both can hang with any AFC team. That’s it though. Yes Packer fans I’m not including your little cute club. It’s a nice story, but you’ll crumble.

Dogg- To answer the question, I've been preaching this for a few weeks now. The Super Bowl is one game, not a series of games. New England or Indy would beat every NFC team 19 out of 20 times but there is a slim chance in a one game series. Even Manning looked human yesterday when he turned the ball over 3 times so the NFC championship game is not a consolation game by any means....Grand Valley State went on the road this past weekend and beat Michigan State on their home court. Anything can happen.

Let's say you're a free-agent fan. What team (other than your own) are you signing on with?

Fuzz- Anytime the head coach has a moustache that is a dead ringer for Burt Reynolds’s stache, you have to go with that team. It’s the Titans and Jeff Fisher. I love what they’re doing there.

Dogg- Since Peyton Manning has been in this league, I've signed on with the Colts. DECAF! DECAF! DECAF!

Q- I'd be the A-Rod of NFL fans and sign with whatever team offers the most money. If I'm not going to be rooting for the Purple, then I have no vested interest in any other team in the league. So the team that will give me the most will win. I have a lot to offer as a fan. I'm extremely loyal, I'll write a blog about them in my free time, I'll sport the apparel in public places, I'll attend games, I'll call into radio talk shows to share my opinion, etc. Teams are going to want to have me on their side. So it becomes a question of my compensation. It doesn't have to be money, though that would be gladly accepted. Is the team going to give me good seats to be their fan? Are the seats on the 50 or in the end zone (I'll accept nothing less)? Do they provide me my choice of jersey? Am I guaranteed a picture in the yearly media guide? Do I get put in any kind of print or television advertisements? The team that can give me the best offer of those things and others will have themselves a super fan. Unless, of course, it's the Packers...

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