SB Nation User Blog: Manimal

Ragnar Responds to Ochocinco!

Manimal — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:58:51 -0000

Awesome. Ragnar responds to Chad Ochocinco's numerous threats to his horn and motorcycle. From the NFC North Blog by Kevin Seifert:

Cincinnati receiver Chad Ochocinco said Wednesday he might steal the motorcycle of Minnesota’s game-day mascot, Ragnar, if he scores a touchdown in Sunday’s game at the Metrodome. Ragnar himself had a playful (I think) response when contacted by the Star Tribune’s Mark Craig.

"He might want to think twice about taking my bike," said Ragnar, whose real name is Joe Juranitch. "I poop things bigger than him."

If Ochocinco wants to steal a motorcycle, horn or anything else, he is in for a fight. Said Ragnar: "Let's see if he's man enough to come and get it."

I think I’m going to have to bone up on boxing terms. Or maybe just MMA.

"MMA?" Ragnar asked. "Tell him I dare him to spell that. And you can also tell him that after Sunday, he'll be changing his name again to Ocho Stinko."

Oh boy.

Now that is absolutely fantastic stuff. Leave it to Ragnar to respond to the every entertaining Chad Ochocinco. I hope they have a pregame moment together; I bet it'd be a Kodak moment.

Booty Released.

Manimal — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:26:20 -0000

John David Booty has been released from the Vikings' practice squad.

From Access Vikings:

The Vikings released quarterback John David Booty from their practice squad today and signed offensive tackle Clint Oldenburg. The move was announced on the Vikings website.

Oldenburg played college football at Colorado State and was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2007. He’s also played for the New York Jets and St. Louis Rams and most recently was on the Denver Broncos roster.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise given that the Vikings had gotten Booty through to their practice squad after releasing him in the final roster cuts. Booty was a fifth-round pick of the Vikings in 2008 out of Southern Cal and spent last season as the third quarterback.

However, the addition of Brett Favre in August gave the Vikings four quarterbacks and meant there was no room for Booty on the 53-man roster. Booty was not claimed off waivers after being cut and re-signed with the Vikings.

Vikings coach Brad Childress will address the media at 11:45 this morning so we should find out the Vikings' reasons for making the move at that time.

I guess that experiment was over before it started. Strange move. Hopefully we'll find out more soon. Say goodbye to any Tarvaris Jackson/Sage Rosenfels trade rumors. For now, anyway, the Vikings are down to three quarterbacks.

Vikings/Packers moved to 3:15 p.m. start

Manimal — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:23 -0000

When the Vikings visit the Packers in three weeks, the game will be played at 3:15, not the noon kickoff originally scheduled.

From Access Vikings:

The NFL officially announced that Brett Favre's first game as a Viking at Lambeau Field will start at 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 1 on Fox instead of at noon.

While discussions about this switch had been ongoing -- and while there is little doubt Fox will be thrilled to have Favre vs. the Packers in the later window -- the NFL had an official explanation for this move that has nothing to do with the Vikings. Instead, the league pointed to the fact it wanted to move the Eagles-Giants game in Philadelphia from a 3:15 p.m. start to noon because of a possible World Series conflict with the Phillies.

The Phillies will face the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and if they are victorious, they would play host to Game 4 of the World Series at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1. This seems like fine logic but there is little doubt that the fact Favre is playing for the Vikings and will be facing the Packers in a much-hyped game did have an impact on this matchup being shifted to a more attractive telecast window.

Maybe some of us won't have to go to a bar to see it now. Come on, Houston, show me them Vikings!

Lost in the Shuffle

Manimal — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:42:22 -0000

Wow. That's pretty much all that can be said. It has been and will continue to be discussed to death, but how bout old man Favre and Greg "Cut Bobby Wade For Me" Lewis? Pretty insane. However, there's one small facet of the game that would have made the last drive completely moot that I don't think should be looked over.

The Vikings screwed the pooch on their penultimate drive, with Favre throwing a pass behind Harvin (I think?) on fourth and five. Everyone thought, "Oh crap, there it goes. Typical Vikings. Lose it in the end." But wait, what's that little number next to the score? Time outs? The Vikings have three?

Seriously, when was the last time the Minnesota Vikings had all three timeouts left at the end of a game when they absolutely needed every single one of them. I can't remember. Chalk that up to great preparation, organization, and coaching.

Yes, coaching.

Chilly and Co. had everyone ready to go in the second half, at least from a playcalling and a "Let's get the play off quick" standpoint. No wasted time outs. All three were ready to go at the end of the game. If Minnesota only had two, it's game over. No questions. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Guys and gals, this type of things never happens to the Vikings. This is what the great teams do - get lucky and make huge plays when they need. I still can't believe this happened, and it was a complete all around effort, top to bottom, left to right.

I just don't want the fact that the Vikings had all three time outs left, under two minutes, when the team needed every single second left on the clock to make that final Favre to Lewis "give me an aneurysm" catch.

Wow. I still can't believe it happened.

The stars are aligning. This just does not happen to the Vikings.

Edit:

From Sports Illustrated's main page, because it's so awesome:

Interesting quote about Jay Cutler...

Manimal — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:11:55 -0000

I'm not bagging on the guy - in fact, I kinda liked that he did this. I just wonder how Bears' fans perceive it, as well as everyone else around here. Via the NFC North Blog:

During Jay Cutler's first week of practice as the Bears' new quarterback, a rookie wide receiver dared to shag a few of his passes with just one hand. And even though this rookie, third-round pick Juaquin Iglesias, had been lectured a few times by coaches about the importance of proper technique, he was slow to break his annoying little habit. So when it happened again one afternoon, Cutler followed his pass upfield, darted toward Iglesias and screamed into his face mask: "If you ever do that again I will never throw another f--ing pass to you. EVER!"

I suppose during your first week, it's best to establish your domain. To quote Office Space:

He said the trick is: kick someone's ass the first day, or become somebody's bitch. Then everything will be alright.

I guess Cutler went for the, "kick someone's ass" approach. Like I said, I kinda like it, though it does perpetuate the idea that he's kindof a dick. Okay, maybe a major dick. But I've never met the guy, and I'm obviously biased (though I still wouldn't mind him in purple).

Just thought I'd throw this out there. It's not about...well...you know who.

John Clayton likes the Vikings

Manimal — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:29:03 -0000

I know most people around these parts aren't big fans of ESPN, but I do like John "The Professor" Clayton. In his mailbag this week, he had some kind things to say about Minnesota, with a small caveat about the NFC East, and a little chatter regarding the NFC North.

In the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings were the best team I saw. You can't run on them, and they are difficult to pass against because of their pass rush. I'm not saying the Vikings are the favorites to win the NFC; I didn't get the pleasure of seeing the four NFC East teams in person.

Figure the NFC North to be a wild battle. The Vikings have the best starting lineup except for the quarterbacks. The Green Bay Packers are better than you might think, thanks to their move to the 3-4 defense. Aaron Rodgers performed like a Pro Bowler with his two touchdown drives against the Cleveland Browns in the preseason opener. And don't worry about Jay Cutler's so-so performance in his Chicago Bears debut. I'm more concerned about the Bears' leaky defense than Cutler and the Bears' passing offense.

Glad to hear some kind words from a guy who knows his football.

Good Gravy Marie, I can't wait for the season to start.

On another note, I get to see the Vikings play the Texans in a few weeks, so that's pretty exciting. Didn't get a chance to see any game last year 'cause of my move to Houston, but this year I can. Hey, preseason is better than nothing, and it's the vaunted third preseason game, so I'm stoked.

Source: ESPN, John Clayton

I Have Returned

Manimal — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:42:06 -0000

Fellow Norsemen and Norsewomen!

I have returned from a week vacation whereupon I got some time off work, got to go back to my home state of Iowa, and I got married. It was quite eventful. Of course, during that span, Favre said no, Tarvaris got hurt, and Percy signed. What did I miss among you all?

Of course, when I heard about Favre, my first thought was of Revenge4Favre; what happened with him? I'm pretty happy that this whole situation is behind us, but suffice to say Mr. Favre was a bit of a, ahem, "rooster" tease. Despite my happiness he didn't sign, it was still slighly off putting that he finally decided to not join Minnesota. Strange, but completely like Favre.

What's been up? What's been happening? I was so busy with wedding and family, I didn't have my normal internet time that I'm used to. Please, fill me in! I'd hate to have to read through the hundreds or thousands of comments to see how everyone is.

Thanks in advance for understanding!

Favre is gone, hopefully done with (no November first crap, please), and so I am a happy Manimal.

Boo ya.

By the way, the poll is a joke. I'm totally not that vain.

Poll

Did you miss the Manimal?

Of course! He's such a witty and handsome young devil, how could I not?

23 votes

Heck no! It was nice to have his sarcastic and belittle comments away from the longship! Boo Manimal! Boo!

13 votes

36 votes | Poll has closed

Winfield signed to extension

Manimal — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:50:17 -0000

Antoine Winfield has signed a contract extension. Judd is on the phone with Winfield as I type. He signed a five-year extension (they basically ripped up his final season).

Here’s the contract details from Judd: It’s a five-year contract worth $36 million, including $16.1 in guarantees and a few likely to be earned incentives that will push up the value the first few seasons. He is scheduled to make $6.1 million this season but with likely incentives he should make around $7.5 million.

“It actually happened at the perfect time,” Winfield said. “I was telling [agent] Ashanti Webb, ‘Let’s try and get something done before camp.’ I’m definitely glad to get it done and now will go in and play like I’ve been playing — 100 miles per hour and not have to worry.”

Hooray!

Source: Access Vikings

Asher Allen signs

Manimal — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:04:55 -0000

According to Access Vikings, via the team's official website, Asher Allen has signed a contract with the Vikings.

Vikings rookie cornerback Asher Allen has agreed to a contract, according to the team’s website.

Allen, a third-round pick out of Georgia, is expected to compete for the nickel back job and on special teams. Allen suffered a knee injury in offseason workouts but is expected to be ready for training camp. Terms of his deal were not immediately known.

That's good news. Next will be Loadholt, most likely. Then Harvin. I hope they get these done soon. That's one thing I envy the Bears about; they sign their picks FAST.

Source: Access Vikings

Winfield deal almost done?

Manimal — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:48:56 -0000

According to the guys at Access Vikings Antoine Winfield's agent, Ashanti Webb, is meeting with Vikings' staff to get the final details of a deal hammered out. They posted an article and then a quick update. Here is the update with a link to follow to the entire article:

NFL.com’s Steve Wyche reported that Winfield and Webb are expected to meet with Vikings officials this afternoon to complete a multiyear deal, according to a source. Wyche said there are still a few issues to iron out but nothing that is a deal-breaker.

If this is true, that's really, really good news. Everyone would be much happier with Winfield back manning the corner position. It's a nice bit of news not related to a certain subject.

Source: Access Vikings