matt weighs in

Throughout this NBA season, I have not been as hard on LeBron James as most other people – my friends and those in the media included. From the moment he chose Miami over staying in Cleveland, I could see that he did it for one reason only: to win the NBA championship and put the first ring on his finger.

I think LeBron and Chris Bosh join Dwyane Wade as NBA champions. The Miami Heat will beat the Dallas Mavericks to win this year’s title.

LeBron could have made his announcement in another way. I think that if he would have chosen Cleveland in The Decision, it barely would have been a blip on the NBA radar this year, mostly because he would have had another floundering year with mediocre teammates.

The Cavaliers organization was successful over the past five years, despite front office ineptitude in bringing in premier players to play with LeBron. He chose the Heat, because the Cavs had another summer in 2010 where no free agents signed there. Bosh, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire, and others chose elsewhere. LeBron saw this and he moved on, too.

The Celtics and Lakers teams of the 1980s were stacked, and no one batted an eye. Shaq and Kobe won with the Lakers at the turn of the century, and people said, “Good for them and their hall of fame coach.” In 2008, the Celtics got their version of the Big 3 and won the NBA title.

But the Heat get LeBron and Bosh to join Wade, and it’s open season, complete with a great big target on their backs. People said they only did it to win a ring and that it wouldn’t mean as much as if they would have brought a title to their cities on their own, especially LeBron.

I’ve called people on this argument all year. NBA history has shown that players have not been judged by how they’ve won rings, only in how many they have. Everyone knows that Bill Russell has 11 rings, Michael Jordan has six, and that Kobe Bryant needs one more to catch MJ.

We don’t care how a team wins the ring, as long as they win the ring. Tim Duncan with the Spurs and Dirk Nowitzki with this Mavs team would be the only superstars in the last 20 years to win the title without another big superstar on the team.

The Heat, by beating the Mavs, would defy some pretty long odds and many skeptics, to win this year’s NBA title. LeBron and Bosh should get their first ring and Wade his second.

In a seven game series, the teams know each other too well and in this series, there are too many veterans for schemes to be the difference. One-on-one play will be the difference, especially late in the games.

LeBron and Wade are too good, will make all the difference, and the Heat will win the title this year.

And America, except for me and a few others, will collectively yell, “Noooo!” at the top of it’s lungs.

This reluctant Super Bowl XLV preview is brought to you by the colors black and yellow (Pittsburgh Steelers) and the failing franchise known as the Minnesota Vikings.

As a fan of the purple and gold, the last couple weeks of football have been ridiculous to watch. Bears vs. Packers in the NFC Championship? Come on, now. And the Green Bay Packers making the Super Bowl? Oh my…why, God, why?

I successfully predicted this Super Bowl matchup before the Conference Championship games, but I would have rather had the Bears meet the Steelers. I know the Steelers would have beaten the Bears for the championship. I am not so sure about them beating the Packers, though.

We have heard a lot about both teams’ defenses and both teams’ quarterbacks. Ben Roethlisberger just finds a way to win big games, even though he’s rarely mentioned on the same level as Brady, Manning, and Brees. And Aaron Rodgers, who is sometimes mentioned on the same level as those guys, would be the first QB taken by many if they were starting a brand new team today.

I don’t think this game will end up as high-scoring as their 2009 instant classic (37-36 Steelers on the last play of the game), but I think both teams get into the 20s. The Steelers are a very balanced team, where they can run and throw the ball down the field. It’s a great recipe for success in a game of this magnitude and might be enough to keep the Packers defense off-balance.

The Packers offense isn’t as balanced, even though their running game showed up a little bit in the playoffs. It’ll be hard-going against the Pitt front 7, however, so I think the Packers come out passing four out of every five downs. By spreading the Steelers talented defensive players out, Rodgers can try to find the one matchup to exploit on each play, which he is one of the best at doing.

Can Rodgers do it enough though, especially with an improved, but still somewhat unreliable, offensive line in front of him. The Bears hit Rodgers a lot after the opening drive of their game (he even got crushed on his TD run), and he was nowhere near as effective.

Pittsburgh is one of the hardest hitting teams in the league, so if they can get to Rodgers early – say, three times in the first quarter – I like Pitt’s chances. Rodgers will get happy feet, won’t progress through his reads as well as he can, and Green Bay won’t pick up huge chunks of yardage we all know they can get.

The Steelers move more methodically down the field, even though they have big play receivers in Mike Wallace, and even Hines Ward on his aging legs. And with Clay Matthews breathing down his neck, Big Ben won’t be able to sit back in the pocket and find his guys. But he’s one of the best QBs after the pocket has collapsed. He makes play after play moving his feet, since he is so big and hard to bring down. His receivers know to keep moving if they are initially covered, and if they find open space, Ben will find them.

Last year, I was convinced before the playoffs started that the winner of the NFC would win the Super Bowl, and the Saints did. This year, I was convinced the winner of the AFC would win the Super Bowl. I really dislike that Green Bay is playing so well the last five games, when they have had to win each one or have their season over.

Not this time. The Steelers win Super Bowl XLV mostly due to their talent on both sides of the ball, and because they have been there before. As I said, Big Ben finds ways to win the big games.

Also, I won’t stand for watching the team I root against the most hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. It’s petty, but I don’t care. Green Bay can not win this game. So they won’t. Go Vikings.

Steelers win 27-23.

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler got pummeled during and in the 24 hours after the NFC Championship game on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, because he didn’t finish the game due to injury. We all know how it played out: Cutler was horrible in the first half, showed bad body language, which isn’t new, played one series of the second half, then showed more bad body language on the sideline the rest of the game.

Even before the third quarter was over, Cutler was getting blasted on Twitter by fans and former and current players. The Bears rallied, but couldn’t complete the comeback after the final interception inside the Packers red zone, losing 14-21.

During the game, I didn’t call out Cutler for quitting on his team. I went after his body language, questioned his reputation for being a “tough” quarterback (regardless of the injury), and agreed with others who said that Cutler and Brett Favre showed an interesting contrast in playing with pain in a game to go to the Super Bowl. When one person wrote this, I hedged my agreement by saying, “Depends on [his] injury, but yes.”

I think that the people who found it so easy to blast him during the game didn’t think the whole scenario through and may have forgotten that he played in the second half after the injury occurred. Until reports surfaced on Monday that Cutler sprained his MCL, he had been labeled “Jay Quit-ler.”

It’s the NFL, an unbelievably important game, and Cutler was the best chance on offense for the Bears to come back, despite his performance. He gave it a go, but couldn’t. Why do those who ripped him think he would just give up so easy? It is because he hasn’t earned respect or the benefit of the doubt from his peers or the media, so it was easy for people to rush to judgement without any facts.

Since his knee was hurt in the first half, I have to believe that Cutler spent time with the Bears’ medical team in the locker room at halftime and probably did some tests to see how sturdy the knee was. My guess is that it didn’t respond how he and they hoped, but they decided to give it a try, since, you know, they were playing to go to the Super Bowl. The Bears went three-and-out to begin the second half, with Cutler attempting one pass on third down, and his day was done.

I am more troubled by how the Bears organization handled this than how Cutler handled himself. After the game, he, along with Head Coach Lovie Smith, talked about speaking with the medical staff and decided he shouldn’t continue to play. But their explanation stopped there. Bears players, including leader Brian Urlacher, were left to vehemently defend Cutler to the media.

No one bought it. And didn’t for 24 hours, which is a lifetime when there are 24/7 sports maniacs like ESPN, Yahoo, CBSsports, SI.com, etc. After a game of that significance, the Bears needed to come out with something more definitive to take the pressure off Cutler as soon as possible, if for no other reason than to keep us from hearing that people are also questioning his decision to go to dinner after the game with family and friends.

If the game on Sunday was a regular season game, I have my doubts that Cutler would have returned for that first series of the second half. I think the Bears’ medical team, trainers and coaches would have had him in the locker room for further tests (it was a knee injury, after all), and I think the only reason he stayed on the sideline was to support his teammates, which he did a poor job of doing, based on television camera views.

I think I would have acted differently, if I was in his place, but how do I know? He had to be dejected with what was going on in the game and his performance. It’s not like he could have bounced around slapping guys on the shoulder pads with the injured knee – that would have been even worse.

He probably should have shown he was more involved on the sidelines during the game. He didn’t, but people should get over it. I guarantee that PR people for athletes in every sport are using this as a lesson for their clients, telling them that they are always on. Even if they aren’t on the field or court of play, they are on, and people are watching. Which I think is one of the reasons so many who ripped Cutler have started to backpedal from their criticism.

As we found out, when people are watching, they are reacting and commenting for the world to read and see. It’s Twitter’s world, and, for better or worse, we’re all just watching our timeline’s in it.

By now, you may have read or heard of John Stone, the Chicago-area car salesman who was fired the Monday after the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears to advance to the 2011 Super Bowl. If not, you might be asking yourself if he was so mad at the Bears loss that he set a car on fire or punched a gloating Packers fan looking to buy a new ride to drive to Dallas for the game next week. No and no.

Turns out, John Stone is the Packers fan, and he didn’t set anything on fire in celebration or do much gloating at all. He did, however, have the audacity to wear a Packers tie to work on Monday, which was too much for his boss, Jerry Roberts, to take, so Roberts fired Mr. Stone. Yes, fired him for wearing an article of clothing to work.

As a Minnesota Vikings fan, in addition to cheering for my favorite team to do well, I take equal sports enjoyment in hoping the Packers team suffers defeat each week so their insufferable, almost-to-the-point-of-intolerable fan base doesn’t have anything to hang their hat on either. I cheered for the Packers to lose the last five weeks, so those cheeseheads would have had to join us in analyzing what went wrong this year and how could the team make it better next year.

I should have no sympathy for this guy, John Stone, who lost his job, because he is a Packers fan. Usually, they’ve earned whatever negativity goes their way. However, since he was reportedly fired for nothing that had to do with his job performance, I do have sympathy for him and don’t think it was right. Even Packers fans have earned the right to celebrate their team’s success this NFL season.

If you read the story in the link provided above, nothing the boss says indicates that Mr. Stone violated company policy in wearing the Packers tie – didn’t break a dress code, didn’t have a conflict-of-interest clause in his contract, since his former dealership did business with the Bears, and didn’t do any irreparable damage to the business. He wore an article of clothing that the boss didn’t like, and now he’s out of a job (sure, it’s an ugly tie, as any Packers tie is bound to be, but that’s neither here-nor-there and, as reported, not a fireable offense).

I have managed employees where I enforced the organizational dress code. I remember two instances of sending an employee home to change into the proper work attire and many other instances where I had to give employees the proper organization-issued shirt to wear. There was discipline involved – some, because it was a pattern of behavior that warranted further discussion – but the violation alone didn’t rise to the level of dismissal.

And for that, Jerry Roberts, you earn yourself a “Come on, man!”

As a Minnesota Vikings fan, the NFC Championship game puts the final nail in the coffin of the Vikings 2010 season. I have to watch…well, don’t have to, but probably will…the Green Bay Packers travel to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Bears for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

I dislike both teams, so seeing either have success is terrible, but knowing one and their fan base will be insanely happy at the end of the day is almost too much to bear. But bear it I will, but it will only be tolerable if the Bears come out victorious. See, I dislike the Packers many times more than the Bears, so watching them suffer defeat will provide just a little bit of consolation.

It is no consolation for what we endured this year watching the Vikings. A year after playing in this very game, and feeling very confident they would win in New Orleans, we are stuck watching our rivals, knowing how far away the Vikings were to getting back for another chance with basically the same team. But they couldn’t get out of their own way right from the beginning.

A list for you: Favre being Favre in the off-season (when I thought he was going to declare coming back by the 2010 NFL draft), Sidney Rice’s injury and poor decision-making on timing of the surgery, Cedric Griffin had another knee injury, Percy’s migraines and extended training camp absence after the death in his family, Head Coach Brad Childress fired, and Favre’s consecutive games played streak ends due to injury. And that’s before we even bring up their play on the field.

I argued all season with Childress haters that the play on the field, and, therefore, the Vikings players, was the reason the team finished so poorly. Missed throws by the QB, missed open holes by the RB (AP was awesome, but missed two TDs at the goal line in losses this year), dropped passes by WRs, dropped INTs by the defense, defensive line disappearance in September and October, and finally, too many times allowing the opponent to convert a first down on third and long.

The job of all coaches is to put their players in position to make plays, which, in turn, will usually lead to wins. The Vikings players were in more than enough positions to make plays, but failed. In 2009, they made those plays and ended with 12 wins and were within one play of the Super Bowl. In 2010, they just didn’t make the plays, which led to loss after loss, and eventually, at 3-7, the coach getting fired (had to be done only to rid the team of the public relations nightmare it had turned into).

Favre wasn’t the same as 2009, when he was awesome and exceeded everyone’s expectations. He missed open receivers, couldn’t move around, was out of shape, and looked…old. The Vikings defense could not get off the field and give the offense a short field to work with early in the season, especially in the two road losses to the Patriots and Jets. They needed a stop in the 4th quarter after the offense scored to make it close, but in both games, the opponent held the ball to end the game.

Those quarters were the season. The Vikings failed, so the season failed. Which is too bad, because Adrian Peterson would have been in the MVP conversation had the team been winning. His season is overlooked, but he was running lights out early on. The offensive line struggled, but AP, stung by the criticism of 2009, ran like a beast.

He fought for yards, and most importantly, hung onto the ball – only one fumble in 2010, which happened in week 15 versus the Bears. He did miss those open holes on the goal line, which was disappointing, but he, along with Percy when he was healthy, were two bright spots on an otherwise underwhelming and underperforming team.

Which brings us back to the 2010 NFC Championship Game between the Packers and Bears. The Packers, despite also underwhelming for most of the year, turned it around at the right time (although only winning 10-3 in the final week over the Bears is still embarrassing). Aaron Rodgers is playing at a very high level, and the defense is giving up very little. Why it took so long is probably due to injuries, but their season didn’t seem to be as good as it is finishing. Whatever…good for them.

The Bears, on the other hand, just wouldn’t go away when everyone expected them to at some point. I made more than one comment in September to Bears fans that they need to enjoy 1st place, while they can, as it wouldn’t last long. Well, I was wrong. Their old defense kept playing well, and the offense, for the most part really bad, did enough to win ugly games.

They’re just an ugly team, with a QB who doesn’t show any enjoyment for playing his sport, but like the Packers, the team’s finish is better than their season seemed to be (I do count their opening game versus the Lions as a loss, but since they were given that one after the Calvin Johnson ruling in the end zone, we should have known they were possibly going to have a winning season).

I guess I hope the Bears win the game and advance to the Super Bowl. I don’t want the Packers to even have a chance to win the Super Bowl. So the Bears must win.

However, I predict a Green Bay victory in Chicago (puking now). They won’t run it up like they did against the Falcons in the climate-controlled atmosphere of the Georgia Dome, but they’ll win by at least a touchdown. The weather will be brutal, and shouldn’t favor either team. I’m taking the Packers, because I can’t predict the Bears will win after not believing in them at all this year.

No matter who wins, however, they need to get destroyed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. I do not want to listen to Rex Ryan for two weeks and do not think the Jets are that good, either (like the Bears). Watching Roethlisberger for the Steelers in the Super Bowl after the off-season he had last spring and summer isn’t great either, but I like Mike Tomlin, and since I’m a homer, I want to see the former Vikings coach win his second Super Bowl.

Since I can’t root for purple and gold, I’ll settle for black and yellow. Pass me a Terrible Towel, please.

I don’t like watching the Vikings lose any game, so watching them lose to the Packers Sunday night, when the game was definitely winnable, was especially difficult. As in their previous three losses, they were one-to-two plays away from winning the game by 10 or more. Alas, they’re now 2-4, staring at a promising season slowly going south.

Fans will rip Brett Favre for the interceptions in the 2nd half, which weren’t pretty, but I see that he and Randy Moss still aren’t clicking through almost four weeks of being together. It looks like Moss isn’t quite clear, yet, on where he’s supposed to be, and the timing on their routes, when Favre looks to his side, is off.

Usually, with Moss, the team would want to take two or three shots down the field with him. The only one I remember, outside of the two on the last drive where they were just a couple jump balls that went out of bounds, was the pass interference at the end of the first half. Otherwise, no fades, no quick slants or any other quick hitters to try to get him into open space.

On the flip side, Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson have been electric the last couple weeks. They are a great duo and two weapons I am convinced the Vikings will utilize more in the coming weeks. They can get into open space and not many defenders will bring them down on first contact. These guys are the real deal, and the Vikings offense needs to continue to revolve around them to try to turn the Vikings season around.

It was good to see Favre get Visanthe Shiancoe more involved in the game, as well. He caught a couple big passes in the first half to keep drives alive. And no one will convince me that his catch in the end zone was not a touchdown. He had possession throughout the catch, and it doesn’t matter that the tip of the ball hit the ground in the “process” of the catch. He didn’t mishandle the football at all, and the refs missed one there, costing the Vikings four points.

The refs actually missed four end zone calls, correcting two with replay (Harvin on the sideline and in the back of the end zone), missing the Shiancoe catch after replay and giving the Packers tight end the touchdown early in the game when replay would have overturned it. Vikings coaches missed throwing the challenge flag on that, but the Packers were given seven points.

I loved hearing Coach Childress with fire in his voice after the game in the press conference and in the locker room talking with Greg Coleman on KFAN-AM 1130. He knew how important the game was, saw his players throw it away, not make one more play, and not getting any favors from the guys in stripes, which shouldn’t be expected on the road at Lambeau. But we at least expect them to get the easy calls correct, whether it’s right in front of them or upon review.

The two penalties when the Vikings had 1st and 10 at the Packers 15 with about a minute left in the 4th quarter were killer. They were moving the ball, and they had so many options – I was convinced Percy was getting his third touchdown of the game. Alas, Favre’s pass to him in the back of the end zone was just a few inches out, and I think he just missed Moss on 4th down. Part of me thinks Moss had alligator arms on it, and if he would have (could have??) extended more, he catches it. I will have to watch it again, but a little more effort might have made the difference.

A little more effort in a few areas would have made the difference, actually. The defense played pretty well after the first quarter, but they didn’t sack Aaron Rodgers once. He heard some footsteps, leading to some really bad throws that were not close to his receivers. It would have been nice to see one of the Vikings’ defensive backs run the other way with it. Jared Allen made the nice pick early, but disappeared again.

The Packers showed nothing that convinces me they will make a run as the season progresses and in the playoffs. As a Vikings fan, this gives me hope, even with the 2-4 record. They have three road losses (Saints, Jets & now Packers), and have made each of those Super Bowl-hopeful teams look pretty pedestrian. The NFC is down with no team wanting to take control.

And the Vikings don’t have the same magic they had last year. They win each of these three games last year, and I guess they win Sunday night if the Packers touchdown is overturned and Shiancoe gets his. That’s a ten-point swing, and when Favre is making one-to-two decisions each game that go the other way, it’s too much to overcome.

If they are 2-5 after next week’s game at New England, the season is about over. Sure, the Vikings could win seven of eight in the second half of the season versus the teams on the schedule, and they will need to in order to make the playoffs. I thought they’d win 10 or 11 and win the NFC North, but at this point, I’ll take 9-7, sneak into the playoffs, and go from there.

The team is talented, so they just need to win some of these close games, instead of being on the wrong end and needing one more play. Hopefully it starts on Halloween in New England.

The Yankees beat the Twins on Wednesday night in game one of their ALDS series. We have seen the result and way the game unfolded before. The last few years, when these teams meet in the playoffs, it’s similar to Bill Murray waking up in the movie Groundhog Day: new day, same events.

The Yankees lineup is stacked, so I guess they will get their runs somehow – probably 5-6 per game – unless Pavano and the other Twins starters throw one heck of a gem. The Twins aren’t getting blown out by the Yankees, so here is what they need to do to win, which is the opposite of what has happened the last couple years.

1. Score early and often and keep pouring it on – the Twins have scored first in many of their games with the Yankees. We have seen that this doesn’t matter. They need more.
2. Drive in men on base – the Twins were 0-7 in game one with runners in scoring position. Jim Thome and JJ Hardy had great opportunities to either give the Twins the lead in the late innings or tie it when they fell behind.
3. Bullpen hold strong – Joe Nathan gave it up last year. Jesse Crain couldn’t hold the Yankees in game one this year. These guys need to make one more pitch. Just do it.
4. Get the big hit – ARod & Texiera last year. Big Tex again in game one. The Yankees seem to get the big hit late in the game that the Twins can’t get. They have a lineup of homerun hitters, which is a great advantage when one swing of the bat can make the difference. The Twins need two or more homeruns combined from Cuddyer, Young, Kubel and Thome to win, and I hope that, finally, one can come in innings seven to nine.

Pretty simple, right? I don’t have any problems with how Ron Gardenhire managed in game one, as some have said. I liked Liriano pitching against Granderson, a sub-.200 hitter versus left-handed pitchers. Grandy-man just won that one. And Jesse Crain has been really good this year, so having him pitch against Texiera was probably the right move. Tex has more HRs as a lefty, but I would have rather had Crain in there than Fuentes, at this point.

With Morneau out, I wish the Twins had better bat options on the bench. They don’t, so the starting nine have to be on for nine innings, so this series can get evened up.

Pavano will pitch huge tonight. Let’s take this back to the concrete jungle and get after the rest of the mediocre Yankees pitching staff.

I am pretty excited, just like others, for the NBA Finals, which begin tonight. I watched the Celtics or the Lakers play in and win just about every Finals throughout the 1980s, before turning the keys to the championship parade over to a certain team from Chicago in the 1990s. Multiple Hall of Famers playing basketball, the game I like the most, at the highest level possible? Sign me up for a seven-game series, please.

My quick take is that the Celtics should win the NBA Championship over the Lakers in six or seven games. The Lakers are very good at home, so will win at least two games in Staple Center, but I think the Celtics steal either game one or two in LA, eventually clinching it at home in game six or somehow winning game seven on the road.

I know it isn’t a popular prediction, that the Celtics can win game seven on the road, with Kobe Bryant trying to cement his legacy as a top-10 player of all-time, but either Ray Allen or Paul Pierce will have just enough to get it done. Kevin Garnett will match up just fine with Lamar Odom or Pau Gasol in the post, and the Celtics need just enough solid defense from Perkins to make it difficult for the Lakers big men to get comfortable in the block.

I do think that the Lakers length can give the Celtics fits, especially when Rajon Rondo attempts to get to the basket or when they close out on Allen. However, Rondo has become a master at the floater in the lane or going up-and-under after getting the defender in the air. And Allen…well, you don’t become one of the top-five pure shooters in NBA history without knowing how to get your shot off. No matter the angle, he’s always squared up to shoot.

Game one will be a nice gauge to see if the Celtics old legs are fresh for a killer series. Rondo will have to be on top of his game to handle the multiple defenders Phil Jackson will throw at him throughout the game. I think Kobe gets his points, 26-32, but the Celtics defense should bother the other guys just enough to stay in it.

In the end, the Celtics certain Hall of Famers, Garnett and Allen, along with the probable HOFer Pierce, should raise their second NBA Championship banner in three years, defeating the Lakers certain HOFers, Kobe and Coach Jackson. And I will enjoy every trip down memory lane to those 1980’s series that ABC will throw at us over the next couple weeks.

I do love this game.

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One paragraph on the blown call by umpire Jim Joyce at the end of the Tigers-Indians game Wednesday night, denying Armando Galarraga the 21st perfect game in MLB history:
I absolutely hate that this happened. Hate it for Galarraga, for Joyce, for the Tigers team and fans, and for baseball. It was a great story, turned sour. However, I don’t think Joyce should be suspended. He made the mistake, he’s owned up to it, shows he’s tearing himself up for it, and Galarraga has handled it with a class we do not often see from professional players. I’ll add my vote to expanding instant replay and will try to have more on this soon.

Sports fans of Minnesota teams just finished one of the most exciting six-month stretches in recent memory. The two favorite teams in the state were relevant and played meaningful games late in their season. Between the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings, we were treated to some great action on and off the field by both teams. The Twins made a late-summer, early-fall run in the Central Division, the Vikings signed Brett Favre, the Twins played a first round playoff series against the New York Yankees, and the Vikings played like a Super Bowl contender for most of their season. Overall, there were great moments, and fans had every reason to be engaged and optimistic for their teams from mid-August 2009 to late-January 2010.

August 18, 2009, began with the Twins six games under .500, playing in Texas against the Rangers who were 17 games over .500. That night, Joe Mauer hit two homeruns in a 9-6 come-from-behind Twins win. Oh, and earlier in the day, the Vikings officially signed Brett Favre, turning them into an immediate Super Bowl contender and media obsession. August, September, and October put Minnesota in the middle of the sports world, as the MLB season came to a close and the NFL season started to heat up.

The Twins win against the Rangers was the beginning of a great stretch of baseball to end the season, where they won 31 of their last 45 games. They survived losing Justin Morneau and being three games out of first place with four games left to finish tied with the Detroit Tigers atop the Central Division. This set up a one-game playoff at Metrodome, which would close to professional baseball when the Twins season ended. Game 163, on a Tuesday night, achieved instant classic status, as it lasted 12 epic innings. The Twins won on a single by Alexi Casilla in the bottom of the 12th that scored Carlos Gomez, who slid head-first at home plate and leapt high into the air, expressing the joy 55,000 screaming fans shared.

The noise from the Twins-Tigers game was just a carryover for what had happened the previous night in the same building. Brett Favre led an undefeated Vikings team on Monday Night Football against his former team, the Green Bay Packers. Favre had joined the Vikings and immediately made them his team, leading them to two road victories against inferior teams and two hard-fought home victories, including the dramatic game-winning touchdown with :02 left against the San Francisco 49ers. Minnesota fans collectively settled in for the fall, believing in the team and Favre, all building up to his first appearance against the Packers.

The build-up was huge, but even more so since it was Monday Night Football on ESPN (as though they needed an extra reason to pump up Favre wearing purple). The Twin Cities were electric, since the football game was the first of two huge games in consecutive nights in Metrodome. As you know, Favre performed well, leading the Vikings to a 30-23 victory. In the two games against the Packers, he finished with seven touchdown passes, zero interceptions, and two victories, which proved to be huge in leading the Vikings to the NFC North Division title and earning the first round bye in the playoffs. There was a lot of optimism for a nice Super Bowl run for the Vikings, which was not matched when the Twins met the Yankees in the fall.

The Twins did not fare that well against the Yankees, getting swept out of the playoffs. At least they gave us some exciting moments. They scored first in the series opener, only to see the Yankees score the final seven runs, losing 2-7. Game 2 was the one that really hurt, as the Twins had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth inning. Joe Nathan, Minnesota’s great closer, gave up a leadoff single to Mark Texiera, before facing Alex Rodriguez. On cue, in new Yankee Stadium, Rodriguez tied the game with a two-run blast to right center. The Twins had a chance to take the lead in extra innings, but could not score with the based loaded and nobody out in the top of the 11th. The Yankees then won it in the bottom of the inning. Down two games to zero in the series, the Twins returned to Metrodome for one last game, but fell 1-4, ending their season much later than anyone thought on that day in mid-August when the beat the Rangers. They played great baseball down the stretch and now move to their new home at Target Field. MLB returns to the outdoors in Minneapolis. But not before the Vikings had the whole state buzzing.

The Vikings went 10-1 in their first 11 games before stumbling late in the season. They lost three of their final five games, all on the road. Their last lost was against the Bears in Chicago, when they still had homefield advantage in the playoffs on their radar. They got down 0-16 at halftime, but beginning with the second half of that game, the Vikings played perhaps their best stretch of football of the season. They scored 30 points in the second half, before falling in overtime, ending their bid at homefield.

The final week of the season, they rolled over a New York Giants team who had mailed in their season, since they had nothing for which to play. However, the Vikings still put 44 points on the board, giving them some confidence heading into the playoffs, where they had a first round bye. Fans were excited and looked at the long shot possibility of hosting the Packers in the game to go to the Super Bowl. We watched as the Packers lost a thriller in Arizone, and we moved on. The Vikings second round opponent was the Dallas Cowboys, whom many had jumped on as possible NFC favorites, since they had played pretty consistent football down the stretch.

The Vikings thoroughly outplayed the Cowboys in all phases of the game, winning 34-3, putting them in the NFC Championship game in New Orleans. We were very confident the Vikings could go to the Big Easy and win the game, and you could see purple on Bourbon Street for days in advance of the game.

The Vikings and Saints played a great game, another instant classic involving a Minnesota team. The Vikings could not close it out, losing in overtime after having a great chance to win the game with a field goal in regulation. They proved they were a really nice team, moving the ball against the Saints all game, stopping the Saints’ potent offense, and put themselves in position to advance to the Super Bowl. In the end, turnovers by Favre, Peterson, and the receivers were too much to overcome. After a great season, the Vikings ended their playoff run with a “Stomach Punch” loss – and the fans might still be feeling it.

The last six months have been very exciting for Minnesota sports. I put it on par with a stretch in 1991-1992, when the Twins won the World Series, Minneapolis hosted the Super Bowl and the Final Four, and the Minnesota North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup (they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins). I was only 13-14 years old at the time, but I remember it as an unbelievable time to live here. The Twins and Vikings provided memories for fans young and old with timely plays, clutch performances, exciting finishes, and playoff baseball and football. For those two days in early October 2009, Minneapolis was the center of the sporting world, and those of us cheering for Minnesota wins were rewarded with great performances.

The teams couldn’t “get the money” in the end, but no one will say it wasn’t worth the ride. With an impending contract extension for Joe Mauer, Francisco Liriano throwing darts in Winter League, and pitchers and catchers reporting for the Twins in a few weeks, we’re about to start all over again. Many Vikings’ fans are hoping Brett Favre will announce he will return for one more season, as the pieces are mostly still in place for another run to the Super Bowl next year.

As great as this time has been, we’re ready to look forward. I think there are good things to come in 2010 for Minnesota sports fans. The Twins and Vikings will be the teams that provide the excitement.

Bill Simmons, ESPN.com’s resident Boston sports fan turned prominent national sports writer and podcaster, wrote a “Levels of Losing” column back in 2002, in which he attempted to properly put into context, with examples, the level to which many fans experience pain when their favorite teams lose a big game. It was the second place I referenced Sunday night, 135 minutes after the Vikings lost to the Saints in the NFC Championship game. The Vikings were one play and a made field goal at the end of regulation away from going to their first Super Bowl in 33 years. But then it happened, the Vikings lost the coin toss in overtime, didn’t touch the ball again, and limped into the off-season with questions of what could have been and what might be for next year.

(For those wondering, those immediate 135 minutes after the game were spent with my friends on Twitter, while listening to Vikings Fan Line on KFAN-AM 1130, which was one big cathartic group hug as we began to accept that there was no Super Bowl for the Vikings in two weeks).

Simmons’ Level II loss for a fan base is the “Stomach Punch” game, which as you can imagine, takes your breath away and leaves you gasping for air, and an explanation, as to what just occurred. He explains it like this:

Definition: Now we’ve moved into rarefied territory, any roller-coaster game that ends with A) an opponent making a pivotal (sometimes improbable) play, or B) one of your guys failing in the clutch…usually ends with fans filing out after the game in stunned disbelief, if they can even move at all…always haunting, sometimes scarring…there are degrees to the Stomach Punch Game, depending on the situation…for instance…Cleveland’s Earnest Byner fumbling against Denver when he was about two yards and 0.2 seconds away from sending the Browns to the Super Bowl.

Yep. A stomach punch. Breathless. No words to explain. If Porter for the Saints would have ran the INT back for a touchdown, you would have combined the Stomach Punch game with Level III’s “The Guillotine” game and would have challenged his Level I game for losing, simply titled, “That Game.” At least it wasn’t That Game.

The Vikings seemed to have a really good game plan for the Saints, as most statistical categories show. They dominated in yards gained, first downs, time of possession, 3rd down conversion percentage, and plays ran. They forced the Saints to punt seven times. However, as you know, the Vikings lost the turnover battle, fumbling three times and, gulp, throwing two interceptions, while only falling on one Saints fumble.

Despite this, the Vikings were in a great position to win the game. They had the ball with just over a minute left in Saints territory and two timeouts. After two running plays gained no yards, the Vikings called timeout. We’ll skip over the 12 men on the field penalty, as that was just sophomoric, but I do want to talk about the play call.

If you watch the replay, you will see that the Vikings are in the exact same set after the penalty as they were when they were whistled for 12 men. The only difference is that the fullback, Tahi, is not on the field for 3rd and 15. The Vikings were going to pass and try to gain some more yards on this 3rd down play, there was just some confusion on what personnel package they were using. And I have no problem with calling the pass play on 3rd down. They rolled out to the right, had receivers at three different levels near the sideline, and the right decision should have been easy to make.

We’ll maybe never know why, but quarterback Brett Favre decided to throw it to the middle of the field to Sidney Rice, who was open for a second, but never should have been considered. We know he should have thrown it to Bernard Berrian on the sideline or ran a few yards, but he didn’t, and the interception happened. I can only think that Favre thought they needed more than a few yards to give Longwell a chance to win the game or he saw something pre-snap to make him think the middle of the field would be open with all the action moving to the right in front of him. He didn’t take into account that the Saints right corner, Porter, would be moving that way as well, putting him in perfect position to pick off the pass.

After making the right play all season, I still can not believe that Favre chose that moment to give so many people the satisfaction of saying, “I told you so.” I can not for the life of me believe he didn’t hit Berrian and give Longwell the chance to win it, which is what the Vikings were playing for after they got the first down at the Saints 33 and 1:06 remaining. If he throws it to Berrian, he catches it and goes out of bounds or is tackled between the 30 and 33 yard line, giving Longwell a very makeable 47-51 yard field goal attempt.

As much as that decision hurt the Vikings chances to win the hard-fought game, there were plenty of other missed opportunities that contributed to the game being tied and sent into overtime. I’m one to look at the body of a game as a whole and not think that one play is fully responsible for a win or loss. I try not to get caught up in the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality when so much is at stake. After the interception, the Vikings still had overtime to win the game.

Below are the other factors in the game that kept the Vikings from blowing the Saints out of their own building in the biggest game of the season:

* Fumbled in huge spots: Adrian Peterson missed a handoff from Favre toward the end of the 1st half, costing the Vikings at least three points, and Bernard Berrian fumbled inside the 15-yard line with under ten minutes left in the 4th quarter, also costing them at least three points. Percy Harvin fumbled inside his own 15-yard line early in the 4th quarter, setting up a very short field for the Saints, and they scored a touchdown. (Quick word about AP’s fumbles: the Vikings recovered two of the three fumbles. Vikings scored a TD after his second fumble and Favre was picked off in the drive after AP busted his @ss to get ten yards downfield and beat three Saints to the ball on this third fumble. Let it be known that the refs missed a high-low illegal hit on Favre on his interception and the Vikings should have had first down at the Saints 19 after).

* Failed to capitalize on Saints mistakes: see AP’s fumble above, which happened after Reggie Bush fumbled a punt, giving the Vikings great field position and the chance to take the lead into the half. But also, the Saints fumbled two other times and recovered themselves. Drew Brees fumbled a snap deep in his own territory in the 4th quarter. It isn’t easy to pick up by the defensive line, but we have seen it happen. And Brees also fumbled deep in his own territory when he was sacked by Ray Edwards with just under five minutes left. If the Vikings get that last fumble by Brees, they take the lead by three or seven, forcing the Saints to drive to tie or win the game. The Vikings had forced the Saints to go three-and-out twice in the fourth quarter, so it was not going to be easy for the Saints to get the points.

* Failed to hang on to an interception in overtime: Oh what might have been. Tyrell Johnson had a tipped pass in his fingertips for an interception on the Saints final drive. Tipped balls are never easy to catch for defensive backs, as they are concentrating on making the hit on the receiver, but it looks like the ball hits pretty softly in his hands, and that it was definitely a play he should have made. The Vikings just needed to get one stop in overtime, and they were going to drive the field to win the game. Before the dropped INT, the Vikings had the Saints at 3rd and 10, before giving up a nine yard catch that was upheld on replay. Saints just barely converted on 4th and 1, and easily could have had the spot overturned on replay. Yep, what might have been.

People like to say that one team might have deserved to win a game over another, and many are saying this about the Saints. The Saints forced five Vikings turnovers, including two inside their own 20 yard line and an interception to prevent the Vikings from attempting a field goal to win the game. Others are saying that the Vikings deserved to win the game, because they dominated most of the statistical categories, as I stated above, and because they went into a very hostile environment and went toe-to-toe with the home team. I don’t look at it like one team deserved the win over the other.

In this game, which was pretty evenly matched (mostly because of turnovers, but that’s part of the game), I would say that the Saints survived to win the game. The Vikings moved the ball at will on offense and easily would have scored in the high-30s if not for the turnovers. And the VIkings defense forced seven punts, forced three fumbles themselves, but just could not make one more big play that would have helped out the offense. The Vikings would have survived their turnovers and missed opportunities, if they had won that game.

Alas, we are left to pick up the pieces of another year of being thisclose to seeing the Vikings in a Super Bowl. It was one heck of an exciting game to watch, and as much as I was left wondering why I was left gasping for breath when it was over, I couldn’t deny that I had been entertained.

At the beginning of the year, and before the playoffs started, I was telling people that getting to the NFC Championship game would be a successful season for the Vikings, even though I predicted they should go to the Super Bowl. The chance to get to the big game was the reason the team brought Favre in as their quarterback, and he took them to that point.

To get that close, and have it end in a Stomach Punch game, will take a long time to get over for Vikings fans. But think of what the players must be feeling. They know that they were one play away from achieving a life-long dream. And whether that important play occurred in the first half, second half, final minute, or in overtime, the Vikings let it slip through their fingers.

Just keep taking deep breaths, and you’ll feel better soon.

[Update: Simmons wrote a ESPN.com column on January 29, 2010, and specifically addressed Level I, That Game. He says he was selfish and made a mistake to think that only Red Sox fans could suffer like that. He's revised Level I to say that "the equation should look like this: (Guillotine + Stomach Punch) x (already tortured history) x (significance of the game itself) x (catchy moniker) = Level 1." And then he goes on to list the top 15 franchises, with examples, currently eligible for a Level I defeat. Read it yourself and weep at where Vikings fans rank.]