matt weighs in

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.]

Many of you won’t agree with this (hi Laura) and will think I am crazy for saying it, but I really enjoy the extreme weather we get in Minnesota. Whether it is the hot, sticky, can’t-keep-your-forehead-dry heat and humidity of July and August or the how-are-we-going-to-keep-the-kids’-nose-from-freezing-off cold we experience December through March, I find dealing with the elements a fun part of living here.

I just do. Sure, I might walk out to the car at 6:45am tomorrow and find that it will not start, because the temperature dropped to -7 degrees overnight, but I can live with that. There’s something about the initial burst of cold air hitting me square in the nose, making my eyes water that I find refreshing, can shrug off with a deep breath, and continue to the car to warm up and scrape off the windows. Of course, I start coughing when the cold, cold deep breath hits my throat and lungs, but at least it helps to wake me up that early.

Perhaps I have resigned myself to the fact that I just have to deal with the cold car in the morning, since our one-car garage doesn’t currently have enough room in it to fit one car (and hasn’t for the past two winters). But even if I could fit the car in the garage, it would probably be Laura’s car anyway, so she can quickly get out of the house with the kids without having to spend four-to-five minutes removing the 1/16th inch of frost/ice that accumulated overnight. When the sun does come out, though, I like that I can look out the window and think that it isn’t really that bad outside, the sun is shining. How cold can it be when we have the sun shining down on us in Minnesota?

The answer, of course, is that it can be pretty dang cold when the calendar shows Thanksgiving and Christmas on the calendar.

One of my favorite reasons for liking the extreme cold so much, though, is bourbon. I don’t drink it much, but there is something about coming in from outside, realizing that my fingers and toes are not going to warm up on their own, opening the cupboard where the bottle of bourbon has been sitting since last winter, and pouring myself a small glass over ice.

Within minutes of taking a couple sips, my extremities begin to tingle with a little warmth, and I settle in for the night. For those wondering, my bourbon of choice at the moment is Buffalo Trace, out of Franklin County, KY.

I’m sure it is not the highest rated Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey on the market, but right now, it is the best (and only) I have in the house. It helps me forget that the thermometer says 0 degrees.

At least until tomorrow morning.

[Each week, usually on Monday, I'll weigh in on a topic that I feel is worth your time and might introduce you to something new. It might not always be something you have been interested in before, but hopefully what I write might convince you to take a closer look on your own.]

I was probably pretty late to the game, but I started reading Mashable in early 2009. Mashable is a blog that dubs itself a “Social Media Guide,” as you will see in their heading if you visit their web site, but they do so much more. They are one of the leading blogs on the web discussing social media, new web sites and services, and keeping readers updated on what is going on on the internet and other technologies at any given time.

I have been using Twitter and Facebook more and more over the last couple months, and whenever something doesn’t look right on either site, whether updates aren’t coming through properly or I get the dreaded “Fail Whale,” Mashable is usually my first stop to see if anything is wrong. Their writers, including founder Peter Cashmore, seem to have the ear e-mail of the top people around the web, and will let you know where things stand. They were right on top of the story earlier in November when T-Mobile’s cell phone service was out for a few hours.

One of my favorite features of the site is the “News Channel” listed right at the top of their pages. It is kind of like a pre-filled search box, in that it lists popular categories for people who might visit their site looking for information. There’s Twitter, Google, Facebook, YouTube iPhone, and more. Click on one, and it takes you to a page that displays all the stories posted on Mashable related to that topic. The Mashable team stays on top of them all, so you know you’re getting the latest information if you go searching for answers on how to use a particular service.

Other features I find useful are their “Top 5 Social Media Stories of the Week” links, their weekly guide to social media conferences or webinars, their “How To” guides for people who might just be starting out using different social media services, and since we are a Wordpress blog, I check out their List for Wordpress for information on what we might want to use on CatNamedPig. Also, since Mashable has done so well in their four years, they love to inform us of others in the online community who are doing innovative things. They do this through their weekly Spark of Genius series, where they introduce a software company who is doing things a little bit different and a little bit better than their competition. The cool thing is that the companies they spotlight are fairly new with little revenue up to that point of recognition, so Mashable gives them a big boost by mentioning them.

The last thing I will mention about Mashable that I am impressed by is their annual Open Web Awards, which just finished weeks of voting at midnight Sunday night. The awards allow internet users from around the world to vote online for their favorite innovations in web technology and, this year in particular, social media. At last count, the 50 categories we could vote in had over 408,000 nominations by over 76,000 individuals. Results should be out soon, so I’ll be waiting with baited breath to see if I won Twitter User of the Year or Best TwitPic.

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Mashable on Twitter
Mashable fan page on Facebook
Another resource to keep informed of the changing social media landscape is Sociable Blog.

I should mention that the weekly “Spark of Genius” series on Mashable is sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark, a program that gives startups access to Microsoft tools at no cost to help them build their business. I just think this is a really cool way for Microsoft to spend their billions of dollars.

Finally, just to be safe, since the (FTC) Federal Trade Commission recently passed new rules regarding disclosure of freebies or financial interests by bloggers, I should mention that I and Mashable have no relationship, and I received nothing for writing about them in this Weekly Weight. If, however, Mashable would like to have a relationship in the future, I have people they can talk to.

I am going to try to start doing a Daily Rave, which may or may not end up being daily. I think that some weeks it could end up being most days, but that in the end, I will write about something that either caught my attention more than others that day or something that I really enjoy, such as a good beer, cheese, video, movie, post somewhere else on the web, or whatever else I decide I want to rave about. You can rave or rant, your choice, but hopefully I can find some stuff in my world that may or may not interest you.

With that…your first Daily Rave:

On Tuesday, I watched two videos caught on security cameras involving humans falling onto the tracks in subways. I think they are making the rounds on the internet, but I just so happened to watch them within an hour of each other. Both ended up with positive outcomes (meaning non-death outcomes), but watch, and you can see that either one could have ended horribly.

First, a very drunk woman passes out stumbles onto the tracks in Boston. If you have time, search the web for another version that shows it from three different angles in full. It’s amazing.

Second, a baby stroller rolls onto the tracks a second before the train comes into view, after the parent lets go of the handle. The stroller is parallel with the tracks at first, and if you watch closely, the parent slightly turns it toward the tracks, lets go to turn away, and then the stroller continues turning and rolls in front of the train.

They ended up well. Again…no deaths. So don’t hate me for getting your heart racing. They are safe. And that’s my rave for today.

On Tuesday night, Laura and I attended the fourth Bloginar event put on by WCCO in downtown Minneapolis. It was our first one, so we weren’t exactly sure what to expect, except they promised free food, a chance to network with other bloggers and social media folks in the Twin Cities, and door prizes. Oh my, the door prizes, which Laura and I both came away from as winners. More below.

The Bloginar (name change in the future?) was led by John Daenzer, the Director of New Media for WCCO-TV and WCCO.com. He seemed comfortable in front of the group and did a fine job as MC for the evening. We were invited by Laura’s childhood friend, Crystal, so we sat with her, devouring take-out pizza and cookies from Davanni’s as we waited and caught up. The agenda for the evening was short, which is nice for us folks who don’t want to keep the babysitters out too late on a weeknight. There was a Q&A session with TinyURL founder Kevin Gilbertson, and then John introduced WCCO’s The Wire, their soon-to-be-unveiled online interactive news community.

The interview session with Kevin was ok, as John asked him expected questions, such as how did he come up with the idea, what are the plans for the future, and what avenues they’re pursuing to make money amd keep it viable. All good questions, in my opinion, but the answers left a little to be desired. Kevin responded woth short answers with not much elaboration. I gathered that he came up with TinyURL as a way to shorten URLs first in newsgroups back around 2000, so they weren’t broken up on two lines, that they would like to use analytics more to track how people are using the service to redirect traffic (RickRoll, anyone?), that he had a meeting in New York in February with the folks at bit.ly to most likely discuss a buyout, and that he may have plans for a new URL shortening service that would shorten TinyURL. And then he talked about his love of unicycling. I’m leaving out details, but only because it wasn’t the easiest Q&A to listen to, despite John’s and participants’ best attempts to get more out of Kevin. TinyUrl is a great service for any of you that have used it before, but I hope his business pitches to potential partners come across better than his Q&A. Interesting, but I hoped he would have opened up a little bit more.

Next was the introduction of The Wire. John led us through a quick Powerpoint showing the features of the new online interactive news community, showed a six-minute video they will use for potential advertisers, and finally a working demo.

The simplist way I can describe The Wire is that it combines a news service, comment section, and story updates all in one interactive timeline. It’s real-time, so as news or some other event is happening, people can keep up-to-date with the latest info. As a story becomes more popular in the community, it’s bubble grows bigger. People can move from story to story with a click of the mouse or by dragging the timeline side-to-side. You can zoom in-and-out, too, depending on how much of the day you wish to view in the timeline. You’ll b able to see the day before and the day after in normal view, but could also search for any three day period.

Maybe the coolest feature is that it won’t just be WCCO people posting updates, keeping others informed. Anyone will be able to post on a news story, as long as it keeps the story moving forward. And WCCO will track good ideas or tips, which could be used online elsewhere or on the air.

An example we discussed was the balloon boy fiasco from a couple weeks ago. Someone mentioned that after a while, it seemed that something was off about the story. Of course, later it came out that it was a hoax and that the family previously had been on Wife Swap and that they had been shopping a reality show idea for the family. If this story would have been live on The Wire, someone might have recognized the family from the show and posted video from their time on Wife Swap or a link to a story that they were shopping around the reality show. The Wire would, as John made clear, allow links to competing news media, if what was posted was relevant to the conversation.

There were some questions about how to keep misinformation out of the conversation. While they have some decisions to be made, he said that there would have to be some level of moderation, and that anything posted would be something they would stand by. He mentioned “talk with their lawyers” more than once, so I got the feeling that they are making an effort to not turn this into an open message board to which just anyone can post their feelings. There would be levels of contributors, most likely, so WCCO employees could probably post at any time, other users might be eventually be trusted to do the same, and that the general population would be the most moderated. I believe he said they’ve been moving Producers and Editors around in anticipation of the time needed to devote to the project once it goes live.

One of the first questions asked by a fellow attendee was about going mobile. It’s new, so there doesn’t seem to be anything in the works now. However, I would suggest they move on it quickly. I see The Wire being very useful on-the-go for people to stay informed, especially with local events and news. It seems people are so schizophrenic on the web, that I wonder how long people would stick to this one source when they have Facebook and Twitter to get back to. It will be great for getting a snapshot of what is going on at any given time, their goal will be for people to stay and contribute. For people at work, who usually don’t have great freedom to sit and surf the web from site to site, I think it could be a great one-stop news shop during the day. And for a nominal fee, companies, organizations, or venues will be able to advertise their events, which will appear in the timeline as well. I like that they have developed a couple different embeddable widgets for people to use, as well.

As mentioned, Laura and I both won door prizes. Laura won a very nice WCCO Television coffee mug. And I won what was probably considered the grand door prize, which is the opportunity to appear and be interviewed by Jason DeRusha on a future JasonCam on wcco.com. Jason does the very popular “Good Question” segments for WCCO news. We’ll have to figure out the time, and I’ll be sure to let you know when it is. I spoke briefly with Jason after the event and he seems easy to talk to, so it should be a fun conversation. Maybe I can get Siena and Elliot in front of his webcam to show off their dance moves if I freeze up.

These are my (not so brief) observations on the event. Overall, a good time. I was hoping to hear where others had come from to attend, but there were some very savvy social media folks in attendance who asked good questions to make John think about what final features to include in The Wire. I did find some attendees on Twitter who had wriiten about being there, too. I think we’ll go again (the Bloginars are held every 2-3 months). Maybe you’ll see one of us on the 6:00 news as another door prize winner

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* You can read Crystal’s adventures with food at Cafe Cyan and on WCCO’s Bite of MN food blog.
* Find out more about the Bloginar event by searching #bloginar on Twitter.
* And here’s another article about The Wire.

The Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre host the Packers on Monday night. As big as the game is – ESPN is expecting the biggest audience in Monday Night Football history – I can’t help, but wish this first meeting between the teams was taking place on Green Bay. Their fans would be even more hyped than what Viking fans have been.

The Twins have thankfully taken some of the the local sports talk away from the football game, but the anticipation has been felt since the dramatic end to the 49er game. Favre to Lewis with :02 left just added fuel to the fire for this game. We’ve heard over and over about the legend of Favre, which is overstated, as is the case with most sports stories. But I’m hoping he will add one more good game to his lengthy resume.

In his press conference last week, when asked about wanting revenge against his former team, I wish that Favre would have said, “When I played for the Packers, I wanted to beat the Vikings. I now play for the Vikings, so I want to beat the Packers. Will it mean something to me? Yeah, it will. But it will mean a lot to the other guys in this locker room, too, because we’d still be in first place.” He gave a cliched answer, as most guys would have, but maybe he’ll say more post game.

I’ll take the purple to win by 8-12 points tonight. Favre will play fine, but the Vikings won’t need him to, which could disappoint the national audience. Adrian Peterson should get back on track, and the Vikings defensive ends should harass Aaron Rodgers all game, as the Packers o-line is patched together this week.

Let’s hope the Vikings are still leading the division when they head to Lambeau in four weeks.

Skol Vikings!

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame held it’s 2009 induction ceremony last Friday, September 14th, honoring Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, C. Vivian Stringer, David Robinson, and Michael Jordan as the 2009 class. Even without Jordan, the great former Chicago Bull, this is one heck of a class, with Robinson probably the headliner. But Jordan was there, and from what I can gather by reading different websites and analysis of the ceremony, he possibly was the only one who gave a speech, and most people were not happy with it. Others thought it was fine.

You probably won’t find many fans these days who wouldn’t call Jordan basketball’s Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T). You’ll get some old timers who will throw out Wilt or Russell, but those guys were giants playing in a game of many slow, white men. Looking back on it, they should have dominated, and they did. Their competition didn’t include, as Jordan’s did, so many players who could match up, either with size or quickness or both, and push them on the court. Jordan’s competition included: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird (yes, an athlete), Clyde “the Glide” Drexler, Dominque Wilkins, James Worthy, Joe Dumars, Reggie Miller, Dennis Johnson, Mitch Richmond, and near the end of his career, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and Allen Iverson. These are all great players and competitors, who tried every time they played Jordan to slow him down, but failed.

The theme of Jordan’s Hall of Fame speech was competition, or rather, drawing your competitive fire from any source possible in order to achieve your goals. He told people to find things to continue adding “wood to that fire.”

The first thing people mention after calling Jordan the G.O.A.T is what a competitor he was, not only on the basketball court, but in his personal life. There are many stories, usually involving money and different games, where Jordan relentlessly pushes his opponent to keep playing until Jordan wins. He would practically force guys to stay up late into the night playing cards until he won most or all of his money back. He did the same thing on the golf course. Anything to keep him sharp and on top. And he didn’t know when to turn off his competitiveness, and probably doesn’t know even today.

In his speech, Jordan gave people a little more personal look into some of the moments in his basketball life that drove him to become great. These moments included talking about:
* Leroy Smith, whom he flew to the ceremony, the sophomore chosen over him for the varsity basketball team
* feeling slighted that Dean Smith didn’t include him on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was a freshman at North Carolina
* the supposed “freeze-out” in the all-star game by the other Eastern Conference starters
* how Pat Riley and his teams always played him the hardest, and
* what might have driven him back to the game in 1994 after his retirement to play baseball (it involves comments made by Bryon Russell, the player for Utah who couldn’t defend Jordan on his final shot of the 1998 NBA Finals).

There are other very candid moments Jordan talks about that you can view in the link I included above. And I have to admit, I enjoyed his speech. I thought that it was refreshing that a player stepped outside the box on speeches and delivered something that really let us into his core as a player and let us see, from him, why he yearned to be the best and not only beat his opponents, but attempt to humiliate them. Most of these speeches follow the same bullet points – talk about the upbringing that grounded them, thank their families, their early coaches, their mom, the people and players that helped them achieve greatness as a professional, and then they’ll finish with some words of wisdom to tell the kids to follow their dreams.

Michael Jordan did all this in his own way, and it was at times funny, at times emotional, but it was all heartfelt. He had tears in his eyes as he stepped on stage, talked kindly about Scottie Pippin (briefly), his family, Phil Jackson, and yes, some of it was cold-blooded, just like he was as a player. He probably could have laid off Jerry Krause, the former Bulls’ General Manager, a little bit, but it would have been superficial of him to disregard their player-management feud in that setting and sugarcoat their relationship over the years. It probably would have been better to not mention Krause at all. If they ever do end their disagreement, it will be face-to-face, not from a stage.

I am really surprised that so many national sports writers reacted negatively to Jordan’s speech. In a nutshell, they wished it followed the clichéd H.O.F speech bullet points. They think that because he was such a competitive player and person for so long, that this stage was his time to be more humble, put all that drove him in his career behind him, and take more time to thank those who helped him achieve all that he did.

Isn’t this what he did? He did thank those people, but did so by telling us his personal stories about how they pushed him throughout his career to get better and play at a level higher than the rest. He had note cards, but appeared to say most of it off the cuff, which might be the reason some have called it rambling and unfocused. I like that he was just up there telling stories, naming names, telling me why he competed like he did, as hard as he did.

The only time he read directly from his notes, and looked the most uncomfortable, was at the end of his speech, when he talked about what the game of basketball has meant to him and how, hopefully, his career has given people the “optimism and desire” to achieve their own goals. Some people are calling Michael Jordan’s speech petty, but I thought he was genuine, his words refreshing, and he gave us a final glimpse at the competitive player he was and the man he is. It is hard to argue with the results.

******

To finish this, I have to say that Michael Jordan is my favorite player of all-time, just like many of you. I don’t recall having any other player’s poster up in my room (maybe one Larry Bird one, but it was probably soon covered up by a Jordan poster). One year, I even remember having all Jordan notebooks and folders to take to school for my work.

Here are my two favorite Jordan dunks of his career, one from college, an unexpected windmill on a breakaway, and the other in which he posterizes Patrick Ewing of the Knicks after making an unbelievable move on the baseline to shake two defenders:

(at North Carolina vs. Maryland)

(as a Bull vs. the Knicks. Skip to 1:20, if you prefer)

I watched this video last week, after coming across the link through Digg_2000 on Twitter. Full length is 10 minutes, and stick with it if you can. The guys at MIT are working on some good stuff to make our world greener and less dependent on individual batteries and cords. WiTricity. Coming soon to your home, we hope.

The first question most people will ask is, “How much will it cost?” I think we should be asking how much more money for r & d will it take to get it ready for the market. Costs always come down, as we’ve seen with any new technology. My only hope is that people can take the long view with their wallet. We’ll save money, hopefully, on battery and electricity costs, while keeping hazardous stuff out of our landfills.

I’m sure we’re at least a decade or more until WiTricity is widely used, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could put one of the battery chargers in your basement or garage, set it to reach as far as the edges of your property, and all compatible devices charge when they are in range? Or what if cities could buy huge wireless charger grids to put in strategic locations and people paid to use them (or received a tax credit for going green?)

If you are more familiar with this technology, besides cost, what are other obstacles to cable-free electric power becoming a reality? How hard will it be to get television, cell phone, car, and other manufacturers on board to put the battery pack on their products? These, too, could go wireless, along with those mentioned in the last sentence: hair appliances, coffee maker, and home entertainment equipment.

And, since this is a family site, an added benefit is that if the charger could be placed under the carpet or inside a wall, we wouldn’t have to worry as much about kids sticking their fingers in the sockets. Saving lives and the earth. How can it fail?

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Video note: I originally watched it on the TED blog
More on witricity: here and here