![]() Oops, he did it again! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Yes, I realize that some of you might have moved on to the madness that is Black Friday shopping, but I prefer the comfort of my home on a day such as this. Hopefully yesterday you were all able to soak in on the greatness that is turkey day: forced interactions with family, eating until exhaustion, and of course, the annual cheap shot from Ndamukong Suh. Today, I'm writing about the 5 things that I am thankful for in the sporting world. Sit back, heat up some leftovers, and dig in to my latest entry. ![]() Fear the flat-top? 1. THE RETURN OF COLLEGE HOOPS As a proud graduate from Marquette University and a diehard hoops fanatic, there are few events I enjoy more than college basketball. College basketball starts each season with a certain pageantry - usually a midnight madness tip-off - where you can go and watch glorified scrimmages and dunk contests between your favorite team. Though my Golden Eagles don't yet appear to be a top-25 team this season, there will still be plenty to look for. There is truly no shortage of sweet storylines. Last week, someone named Jack Taylor out of Grinnell College in Iowa scored 138 points on 52-108 shooting. Pretty wild stuff. If DIII level hoops aren't your thing, surely you've noticed Nerlens Noel, the freshman sensation at Kentucky with the eraser-top hairdo. Of course, college hoops aren't at their peak until March Madness, but there is a good deal of parity from top to bottom this year. In a couple weeks, conference games begin, and the season will have kicked into gear. Here's hoping for a competitive season across the board, it certainly seems as if there is no consensus title favorite so far this year. ![]() The great white hope himself. 2. A RETURN TO HEALTH FOR THE MN TIMBERWOLVES.. SORTA With All-Star forward Kevin Love returning to the line-up last week, some observers might think all is well at the Target Center. Well, not quite. Going into the season, the Wolves were without their two premier players in PG Ricky Rubio (torn ACL) and Kevin Love (broken hand). A setback for sure, but also a gut-check for a team playing with an absurdly depleted roster. The Wolves cruised out to a 5-2 record even with Chase Budinger, Brandon Roy, Nikola Pekovic, and J.J. Barea missing a few games during that stretch. On Wednesday, the Twitterverse exploded with the surprising news that K-Love would be returning to the starting lineup a couple weeks before anyone had expected. Although the Wolves dropped to 5-5 following their close loss to the Nuggets, things are looking up for my beleaguered squad. This is a much different team without Kevin Love, who for all intents and purposes is option 1a and 1b on offense. The Wolves are within shouting distance of a low playoff seed and soon will be returning another catalyst in Ricky Rubio. After Roy and Budinger make their returns, the team will (presumably) be playing at or near 100%. Minnesota will be a fun team to follow once again this year and for that, I am thankful. ![]() The man of Steele. Samantha Steele, that is. 3. A FIGHTING CHANCE FOR THE VIKINGS Chances are if you follow this blog, you've already read a few of my write-ups and predictions for the Minnesota Vikings. At 6-4, the Vikings are doing better than most would have thought. Adrian Peterson has amazed with his physical prowess coming off a devastating knee injury, and coach Leslie Frazier has provided the young roster with a calming influence. There are a few unknowns still remaining, however. The Vikings have yet to face the Bears or Packers this season and will play them a combined four times in the next six games. Scheduling gripes aside, the next six games will make or break the Vikings 2012 season. By my estimation, the Vikings will need to go 4-2 to make the playoffs. At this point in a crowded NFC wild card picture, 9-7 probably won't cut it. They can go 10-6 by splitting their games with Green Bay and Chicago, followed by two road victories in St. Louis and Houston. Certainly a tall order for a young team which is still trying to perform consistently week in, week out. That the Vikings are even in the discussion for the playoffs is a mild surprise given their terrible record of a year ago. I'll be cheering for these underdogs for the rest of the season and hopefully they reward my faith with a playoff berth of their own. Minnesota is playing with the "win and you're in" mentality, and for that, I'm thankful. ![]() Skates optional, booze mandatory. 4. RETURN OF WINTER SPORTS 5. FANTASY SPORTS GALORE Something that a few of you non-Minnesotan readers won't 'get' about me is that I actually enjoy going out into the freezing cold on occasion. Personally, my two favorite winter past-times are downhill skiing and playing boot hockey with friends. Being raised in the frozen tundra has actually taught me to enjoy some aspects of the snow and ice. Boot Hockey, for those unfamiliar, is basically pickup hockey played with boots instead of skates. Per tradition, checking is allowed and drinking is encouraged. Nothing like roughing it up a bit and enjoying one of Minnesota's cold weather diversions. With the NHL out of the picture for at least the next month, it looks like I'll have to do my best Zach Parise impersonation on the ice. Of course, those of you who know me also know that I thoroughly enjoy fantasy sports. As the fantasy football playoffs approach, epic amounts of lineup tweaks and trash talk from friends await. Winning a fantasy championship allows for tremendous bragging rights amongst my group of close friends. Winning the money prize that goes with it would be even sweeter. Like many others, I live out my fantasy (for lack of a better word) of being an NFL GM through these addictive fantasy leagues. With Drew Brees and Doug "Muscle Hamster" Martin on my side, I like my chances. Best of luck to those of you competing in the fantasy playoffs in other leagues. Thanks for reading my blog! Please make sure to check out the rest of my newly re-designed website. I've recently uploaded my résumé reel so feel free to view that as well - as always, your support and feedback is greatly appreciated! Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday and that none of you were trampled in a rush to save money on that 32 inch HDTV this morning. Stay posted for more blogs and other updates! Skol Vikings.
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Just in time for Thursday night football, I give to you my ̶(̶w̶e̶e̶k̶l̶y̶)̶ ̶(̶b̶i̶-̶w̶e̶e̶k̶l̶y̶)̶ (monthly?) picks for week 9 in the NFL. Hope you enjoy 8 minute YouTube videos full of sweet analysis and awesome surprises. Well, there you have it. This being my first video blog, help me out with suggestions on what you would like to see from these posts! Cliffnotes: CHARGERS, BRONCOS, RAVENS, PACKERS, BEARS, COLTS, REDSKINS, LIONS, TEXANS, BUCCANEERS, GIANTS, VIKINGS, FALCONS, EAGLES Speaking of awesome videos. GROOOOOOOONK |
AuthorHey, I'm Ted Sorensen and this is my sports & personal blog. Leave some comments and let me know what you think! Archives
June 2016
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