Saturday, September 19, 2020

Benster and D Pick Your Games: Will Vikings Rebound Edition

 Old dude, some say that Davante Adams is still getting wide open against the Viking secondary at the People's Stadium to this day.

He was not challenged. That much is certain.

Oh, and I also have been grinding an axe about something. That means that someone is going to get reamed. 

An axe is probably a poor choice for reaming, but whatever.

I'm feeling the HYYYYYYYYPPPEEE!, and it is time to watch me work.

Minnesota Vikings (+3.5) vs. Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings fanbase is already blaming Kirk Cousins for the loss last week, but it wasn't his fault. The defense was horrible, and they ran into a GOAT who is disrespected. But don't worry, it is somehow all Kirk Cousins's fault. The Colts are an interesting team. Philip Rivers is now the quarterback, and they have JT at running back. I think that the Vikings are going to be in trouble if they don't win this game. Quite honestly, I think Vikings fans are already getting in on the phone lines to KFAN to complain about the team. If the Purple loses, pray for Corey Cove and Ron Johnson at about 3:30 on Sunday. Colts 50, Vikings 14.

I am curious about how this one will go. The Colts are not as intimidating without their fans (all dome teams are like that), but they have talent on offense. If I am the Vikings, and I am glad I am not, I get Irv Smith involved. Vikings 23, Colts 21.

Detroit LOLions (+6) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers The Packers looked really good last week, and it honestly makes me excited about this year. Aaron looks like he is going on a revenge tour, other wideouts stepped up, and Adams was Adams. Even with Kenny Clark being out this week, I think that the team still has a chance to win. The LOLions outdid themselves last week with blowing a lead against Da Bearz and literally dropping an easy W. The LOLions have talent, and they aren't scared of the Packers. But these are the LOLions, and they will always choke when it matters. Packers 35, LOLions 10.

I agree. The Lions always find a way to lose. Could be a shootout. Packers 35, Lions 27.

Enjoy your football weekend, and now it is time for a Very Special Comment. So, the Big Ten is coming back and have announced a schedule and a plan. I'm not giving Kevin Warren and the Big Ten presidents any credit, however. Part of what being a leader is to understand who your customers and workers are. Kevin Warren may have had success with the Vikings, but so far has stained the proud legacy of the Big Ten by postponing the start of the season after releasing a schedule. The players wanted to play, and the coaches were in support of them. It hasn't been perfect in the SEC, ACC, and Big XII, but they have played games and have been managing any outbreaks. I expect Warren to resign, and please go back to the NFL. He knows nothing about the culture of the Big Ten, and clearly doesn't understand how passionate the fanbases of the league are. Jim Delaney did a couple of things I disagreed with, but his worst crime in my eyes was moving the basketball tournament away from Chicago and Indy in 2018 and getting the tournament off Selection Sunday for a year. Warren in less than a year cancelled a football season without informing ESPN and Fox after revising the schedule and costing both outlets valuable content for weeks. To make matters worse, those networks might not forgive him in the next round of media rights deals that will happen in the next couple of years. Warren makes Manfred and Goodell look like competent heads of leagues. Do you know how hard that is to do? Just leave already and go back to the Vikings. Then, we can replace him with Congressmen Anthony Gonzalez. The Congressman played football in the Big Ten, is a smart man, and more importantly understands the culture as a native of Ohio. 

However, we can't let the presidents off the hook for this either. It had to take a lawsuit to figure out who voted to cancel, and they then allowed sports to be cut at Iowa and Minnesota. Those athletes may not be revenue producing, but they agreed to represent their schools and are generally speaking very good in the classroom. Will they get their teams back with the money that Fox and ESPN will be paying? When noted Big Ten critics such as Clay Travis and Paul Finebaum are right for calling these "leaders" out and I agree with those two, it's a sad day. When you release a schedule, at least try to honor it. And for the love of God, don't be upset when the college kids try and get around the rules. They are college kids. It's like sometimes they forget they were those college kids back in the day. Plus, the virus is not prevalent that much on college campuses, and you guys freaked out after testing numbers came in. How can you be so surprised that people are going to be sick when you test them? It's like buying your kid McDonalds for weeks and being surprised that they've gained weight. I will not congratulate the Big Ten for doing what they should have done in the first place. Thank the lord that the football parents sued the league. I have defended the league in this space for over a decade, but I won't defend you guys on this one. 

Sorry about that, but it ticks me off when the oldest and greatest conference in the land looks this bad. Ben out. 

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