The 2020 NFL Draft took place on April 23rd through April 25th, 2020. This was a sporting event that has been popular in the past, but this year's draft was in a spotlight on its own. As professional sporting events have been eliminated for over a month now, many sports fans got into the NFL Draft because it was something new, something that focused on a future of a professional sport, which meant that it was planning to come back with live action sooner or later. It gave us sports fans hope.
The 2020 NFL Draft was a big one for the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota Vikings fans were nervous going into this event because it had to be done right. The fact is that Vikings were cash strapped due to many high profile and expensive players on the team, and that limited their movement in the free agency market. The questions for the Minnesota Vikings going into the draft were questions like, what were they going to do with the extra drafts picks from the Stephon Diggs trade? Would the Vikings address helping the offensive line? This, in my opinion, was their top priority. How would the Vikings address their defensive needs? The cornerback position was extremely thin after losing Cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Xavier Rhodes. Xavier Rhodes was underperforming on his lucrative contract, and with the Vikings over the salary cap, they had to cut Xavier Rhodes.
So, the Minnesota Vikings focused on needs instead of selecting the best player available in this draft. I mean, they had to anyway. The Vikings acquired an additional first round draft pick when they traded Wide Receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills. The Vikings also acquired two other picks in this draft and a 2021 draft pick from the Diggs trade. The first round pick was number 22 overall, and the Vikings selected Wide Receiver Justin Jefferson from LSU. This was viewed as a quality pick for the Vikings as some mock draft boards had Justin Jefferson going higher than pick 22. The original first round draft pick the Vikings had was pick number 25 and they traded back to the 31st pick and they acquired an additional later draft pick. So, at the 31st pick, the Vikings drafted Cornerback Jeff Gladney from TCU. This again, was a pick of needs. The Vikings needed a plan to address their lack of cornerbacks, and they started to do that with this pick.
The Minnesota Vikings had one second round draft pick and that was pick number 58. At pick number 58, they drafted Offensive Tackle Ezra Cleveland. This pick also made Vikings fans happy for the most part as they drafted an offensive lineman. There were rumors in the week leading up to the NFL Draft that the Vikings were maybe going trade later round draft picks to acquire Offensive Lineman Trent Williams from the Washington Redskins. As the draft carried on, the Trent Williams deal was stalling and the Vikings could not wait any longer and they drafted Cleveland. It sounds like Cleveland could be NFL ready for this season, but the plan is to not have him start. Some critics are saying that he needs to get reps as a back up before being promoted to starter. I don't know how I feel about this as the Vikings need offensive line help now. In Round 3, the Vikings had two picks. They picked a player with the 89th pick by selecting Cornerback Cameron Dantzler from Mississippi State. Again, we talked about how the Vikings lost two veteran cornerbacks in the offseason, well actually three if you count losing Marcus Sherels as well. So again, this was the Vikings drafting a need, which is good. The Vikings traded their second third round pick for some later draft picks and some draft picks for the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Vikings had 11 picks in rounds four through seven. In the fourth round, they drafted Defensive End D.J. Wonnum of South Carolina with pick 117. They also drafted Defensive Tackle James Lynch of Baylor and Linebacker Troy Dye of Oregon with picks 130 and 132 in the fourth round. In the fifth round, the Vikings had two picks and they selected Cornerback Harrison Hand from Temple and Wide Receiver K.J. Osborn from Miami. A couple of interesting tidbits about these picks is that first, some critics believe that the Vikings got a good value at pick 169 by selecting Harrison Hand. Some experts believe that Harrison Hand is already NFL ready for this upcoming season. Another note on the Vikings selecting a Wide Receiver in the fifth round, they did this back in 2015 by selecting Stefon Diggs. I would say that fifth round wide receiver worked out pretty well. In the sixth round, the Vikings again looked at needs. They drafted Offensive Tackle Blake Brandel from Oregon State with pick number 203, Safety Josh Metellus from Michigan at pick number 205, and Defensive End Kenny Willekes from Michigan State at pick number 225. In the seventh and final round, the Vikings again had three draft picks and they selected Quarterback Nate Staley from Iowa at pick number 244, Safety Brian Cole II from Mississippi State at pick number 249, and Offensive Lineman Kyle Hinton from Division II School Washburn at pick number 253.
So, the draft was completed after seven rounds. After all the picks by all the NFL teams, many of the sportswriting experts picked the Minnesota Vikings as having the best draft of all 32 NFL teams. There were formulas put in place to determine these results. This doesn't necessarily mean a Super Bowl is coming to the Vikings. They still have to continue to improve. Several teams have dramatically upgraded this offseason. The Buffalo Bills are stacking up their team to make a run at a division title now that the New England Patriots have lost Quarterback Tom Brady to free agency and traded Tight End Rob Gronkowski. Both players went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Speaking of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, not only did they add Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, but they also drafted a pair of Minnesota Golden Gophers in Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and Wide Receiver Tyler Johnson.
Now that the 2020 NFL Draft is over, there was only one thing left to do before the focus turned onto the upcoming season and beginning workouts. That was the players that went undrafted. They are called undrafted free agents and the Minnesota Vikings signed 12 of them after the draft. They are Offensive Tackle Brady Aiello from Oregon, Tight End Jake Bargas from North Carolina, Wide Receiver Dan Chisena from Penn State, Cornerback Nevelle Clarke from Central Florida, Wide Receiver Quartney Davis from Texas A&M, Safety Myles Dorn from North Carolina, Linebacker Jordan Fehr from Appalachian State, Tight End Nakia Griffin-Stewart from Pittsburgh, Guard Tyler Higby from Michigan State, Center Jake Lacina from Augustana, Linebacker Blake Lynch from Baylor, and Defensive Tackle David Moa from Boise State. Many of these players will not end up on the team, or some of them may land on the practice squad. There are some undrafted free agents that do end up making teams and have a successful career in the NFL, just like Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Adam Thielen.
Like I said, this was real sports that was new and that drew the attention of many fans, just like the WNBA Draft did a couple of weeks ago. People are thirsty for sports, and if sports drafts are all we can have right now, then we will take it. I am glad the Minnesota Vikings picked smart in this draft. I am still concerned about their offensive line as that has been our weakness for the past three seasons. We have a lot of players on this team to win now, but winning teams have quality offensive lines. Other Vikings questions to still watch and be answered, as the season approaches, is if the team will keep and extend a contract for Safety Anthony Harris? Will the Vikings be able to bring back current free agent Everson Griffin? And how is Aaron Rodgers going to react with the neighboring Green Bay Packers drafting a quarterback in the first round of this draft? Time will tell.
I hope you enjoyed this draft report for the Minnesota Vikings. The team got better because of who they drafted.
Be Kind To Everyone
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Monday, April 20, 2020
Kyle Larson Keeps NASCAR in Sports Headlines
As we continue to starve for sports leagues to return, the way NASCAR is going, there may be no one to return the way the drivers are behaving. My last sports blog post was about NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and him losing a major sponsor because of getting mad during an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race and quitting the race after he was spun out by fellow NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer. This week's talker from the iRacing NASCAR Series is because of the choices made by NASCAR driver Kyle Larson.
Kyle Larson has been one of NASCAR's most popular drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Series for a handful of years and was continuing to improve as the years went on. Kyle Larson came on to NASCAR's main stage for a handful of races in the 2013 season and ended up being named the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year. This is Kyle Larson's eighth season in NASCAR's top series and has raced a total of 223 races. Out of those 223 races, Larson has won six races, has 101 top ten finishes, and has won the pole position for a race eight times. Kyle Larson was one of NASCAR's rising stars and was also set to be the top free agent after the 2020 season. That is, until the choice he made.
On Sunday, April 12th, Kyle Larson made the choice to drop the n-word during the simulated race that he was participating in. Apparently, Larson claimed he thought that he was only being heard by his team of fellow drivers, but everyone heard it. That is when the chips began to fall and fall fast. After the incident, three of Kyle Larson's major sponsors decided to end their sponsorship deals with his team. Those sponsors were Capital One Bank, McDonald's and Clover. Target was once a major sponsor of Chip Ganassi Racing and Kyle Larson, but ended that relationship as Target decided to reallocate sponsor dollars to the sport of soccer. One day after those three current major sponsors ended their relationship with Kyle Larson, so did Chip Ganassi Racing. Kyle Larson took to Twitter on Tuesday to apologize for his choices, and I am one that watched that apology. While Kyle Larson said the right things in his apology, to me, it felt very scripted. It had a feel of his agent saying that he needed to get out there and do some damage control. I also feel like the apology was made because he was caught for the choice he made instead of actually feeling like he was in the wrong. That is just my opinion, others may see it differently.
In the end, as time heals things, Kyle Larson may be fine and may end up back in the sport again. Usually in these cases, a team that is desperate enough, will roll the dice and take a chance. Unfortunately, an athlete recovering from a disaster will bring a team more press coverage than they would otherwise get and that is too bad. I do think that Kyle being a free agent now will cost him millions of dollars instead of doing the right thing and becoming a free agent at the end of the 2020 season. However, I don't feel bad for the guy. Before this choice was made, I liked what Kyle Larson was bringing to the race track. I felt like he was the real deal and he did continue to get better year after year. It was refreshing to see a guy like Kyle Larson start winning races instead of the typical four or five guys that were always in the winners circle. It was good for the sport and now that has changed to a scar for the sport. I am glad to see his sponsors and his team owner hold him accountable for his choices. I am a big believer in accountability. I think accountability is healthy. He has made one public apology for an inexcusable choice. The n-word is an inexcusable choice and something that shouldn't be tolerated period. Now he has said the right thing, once, after his choice, now it is time for him to show it through actions to have a chance to even consider the possibility of forgiveness not only from Kyle Larson racing fans, but also just racing and sports fans in general. I don't wish ill will on the guy, but I don't think he deserves a second chance in the future for his inexcusable choice.
Be Kind To Everyone.
Kyle Larson has been one of NASCAR's most popular drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Series for a handful of years and was continuing to improve as the years went on. Kyle Larson came on to NASCAR's main stage for a handful of races in the 2013 season and ended up being named the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year. This is Kyle Larson's eighth season in NASCAR's top series and has raced a total of 223 races. Out of those 223 races, Larson has won six races, has 101 top ten finishes, and has won the pole position for a race eight times. Kyle Larson was one of NASCAR's rising stars and was also set to be the top free agent after the 2020 season. That is, until the choice he made.
On Sunday, April 12th, Kyle Larson made the choice to drop the n-word during the simulated race that he was participating in. Apparently, Larson claimed he thought that he was only being heard by his team of fellow drivers, but everyone heard it. That is when the chips began to fall and fall fast. After the incident, three of Kyle Larson's major sponsors decided to end their sponsorship deals with his team. Those sponsors were Capital One Bank, McDonald's and Clover. Target was once a major sponsor of Chip Ganassi Racing and Kyle Larson, but ended that relationship as Target decided to reallocate sponsor dollars to the sport of soccer. One day after those three current major sponsors ended their relationship with Kyle Larson, so did Chip Ganassi Racing. Kyle Larson took to Twitter on Tuesday to apologize for his choices, and I am one that watched that apology. While Kyle Larson said the right things in his apology, to me, it felt very scripted. It had a feel of his agent saying that he needed to get out there and do some damage control. I also feel like the apology was made because he was caught for the choice he made instead of actually feeling like he was in the wrong. That is just my opinion, others may see it differently.
In the end, as time heals things, Kyle Larson may be fine and may end up back in the sport again. Usually in these cases, a team that is desperate enough, will roll the dice and take a chance. Unfortunately, an athlete recovering from a disaster will bring a team more press coverage than they would otherwise get and that is too bad. I do think that Kyle being a free agent now will cost him millions of dollars instead of doing the right thing and becoming a free agent at the end of the 2020 season. However, I don't feel bad for the guy. Before this choice was made, I liked what Kyle Larson was bringing to the race track. I felt like he was the real deal and he did continue to get better year after year. It was refreshing to see a guy like Kyle Larson start winning races instead of the typical four or five guys that were always in the winners circle. It was good for the sport and now that has changed to a scar for the sport. I am glad to see his sponsors and his team owner hold him accountable for his choices. I am a big believer in accountability. I think accountability is healthy. He has made one public apology for an inexcusable choice. The n-word is an inexcusable choice and something that shouldn't be tolerated period. Now he has said the right thing, once, after his choice, now it is time for him to show it through actions to have a chance to even consider the possibility of forgiveness not only from Kyle Larson racing fans, but also just racing and sports fans in general. I don't wish ill will on the guy, but I don't think he deserves a second chance in the future for his inexcusable choice.
Be Kind To Everyone.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Bubba Wallace Loses Even While NASCAR Season Is Suspended
NASCAR is a sport in the United States that is clearly more popular in some parts of the country than others. NASCAR hit a peak in popularity after Dale Earnhardt's unfortunate death after the 2001 Daytona 500. The stock car racing series continued to be popular due to the likes of drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Kevin Harvick. As those drivers are now heading into retirement, with the exception of Kevin Harvick, NASCAR is struggling to get fans in the stands and get new fans into the sport. The upper midwest is an area where NASCAR may be the toughest area to draw new fans as the closest Monster Energy NASCAR Series tracks are located in Chicago and Indianapolis. However, the fact of the matter still remains that NASCAR is still one of the major pro sports leagues in the country.
With COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, taking control of the world and cancelling all sports leagues currently, there was a way that NASCAR fans were still getting a taste of new competition. While the NASCAR season was postponed, they decided to have an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series that had actual NASCAR drivers in competition on NASCAR simulators. Last weekend's race, which was actually aired on a national television sports channel, took place at a virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. Bubba Wallace was involved in an on track incident with fellow racer Clint Bowyer. Bowyer pushed Wallace into the wall sending his car to the pits. Immediately after the incident, Bubba Wallace quit the race and told viewers to "have a good one" and this is why he "doesn't take this shit seriously".
Then the situation moved over to social media on Twitter. It is also where the situation got out of hand. Bubba Wallace posted on Twitter... "Bahaha I'm dying at my mentions right now... I ruined so many peoples day by quitting... a video game. Damn quarantine life is rough". He followed that quote up with three laughing with tears emojis. One of Bubba Wallace's major sponsors Blu-Emu replied to Bubba Wallace's tweet and said, "GTK (Good To Know) where you stand. Bye bye Bubba. We're interested in drivers, not quitters." Bubba Wallace apparently didn't take the response seriously because he posted again on Twitter showing his original post and added, "I mean #RAGEQUIT". Wallace again followed this quote up with two more laughing with tears emojis and again Blu-Emu replied. This time Blu-Emu replied with a gif of Donald Trump saying You're Fired. The joke was apparently over.
This was legit. Blu-Emu pulled their sponsorship from Bubba Wallace and his race team. I think it is an appropriate decision as Bubba Wallace was not being a good role model. What made this a big deal is that the simulator views were on national television, the driver view inside the car showed a Blu-Emu sponsor banner on the screen. Now, I am surprised that a sponsor pulled their support because of a video simulated race, because there have been many real NASCAR incidents that have had poor choices made by drivers, and their sponsorships may have been in danger, but not pulled. Those situations were also more severe than this incident with Bubba Wallace. However, it is the company's decision what to do their money, and really it was nice to see Blu-Emu have standards and stick to them.
I tried to do quick research on how much Blu Emu's sponsorship was worth and that information was not public. What I do know is that Blu-Emu was on the hood of Bubba Wallace's race car for several races, and that means the sponsorship was potentially worth millions of dollars. Blu-Emu was also a major sponsor for the spring Martinsville race. So, this spur of the moment decision by Bubba Wallace, a decision fueled by rage and anger and poor sportsmanship, could cost him a racing career when the NASCAR season resumes if his other sponsors aren't able to fill the gap financially, or if his other sponsors joins Blu-Emu with their decision. Time will tell. Be kind to everyone.
With COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, taking control of the world and cancelling all sports leagues currently, there was a way that NASCAR fans were still getting a taste of new competition. While the NASCAR season was postponed, they decided to have an eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series that had actual NASCAR drivers in competition on NASCAR simulators. Last weekend's race, which was actually aired on a national television sports channel, took place at a virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. Bubba Wallace was involved in an on track incident with fellow racer Clint Bowyer. Bowyer pushed Wallace into the wall sending his car to the pits. Immediately after the incident, Bubba Wallace quit the race and told viewers to "have a good one" and this is why he "doesn't take this shit seriously".
Then the situation moved over to social media on Twitter. It is also where the situation got out of hand. Bubba Wallace posted on Twitter... "Bahaha I'm dying at my mentions right now... I ruined so many peoples day by quitting... a video game. Damn quarantine life is rough". He followed that quote up with three laughing with tears emojis. One of Bubba Wallace's major sponsors Blu-Emu replied to Bubba Wallace's tweet and said, "GTK (Good To Know) where you stand. Bye bye Bubba. We're interested in drivers, not quitters." Bubba Wallace apparently didn't take the response seriously because he posted again on Twitter showing his original post and added, "I mean #RAGEQUIT". Wallace again followed this quote up with two more laughing with tears emojis and again Blu-Emu replied. This time Blu-Emu replied with a gif of Donald Trump saying You're Fired. The joke was apparently over.
This was legit. Blu-Emu pulled their sponsorship from Bubba Wallace and his race team. I think it is an appropriate decision as Bubba Wallace was not being a good role model. What made this a big deal is that the simulator views were on national television, the driver view inside the car showed a Blu-Emu sponsor banner on the screen. Now, I am surprised that a sponsor pulled their support because of a video simulated race, because there have been many real NASCAR incidents that have had poor choices made by drivers, and their sponsorships may have been in danger, but not pulled. Those situations were also more severe than this incident with Bubba Wallace. However, it is the company's decision what to do their money, and really it was nice to see Blu-Emu have standards and stick to them.
I tried to do quick research on how much Blu Emu's sponsorship was worth and that information was not public. What I do know is that Blu-Emu was on the hood of Bubba Wallace's race car for several races, and that means the sponsorship was potentially worth millions of dollars. Blu-Emu was also a major sponsor for the spring Martinsville race. So, this spur of the moment decision by Bubba Wallace, a decision fueled by rage and anger and poor sportsmanship, could cost him a racing career when the NASCAR season resumes if his other sponsors aren't able to fill the gap financially, or if his other sponsors joins Blu-Emu with their decision. Time will tell. Be kind to everyone.
Monday, April 6, 2020
Diggs Drama, Vikings End It With Trade
Ever since the 2019 NFL Season was in full swing, Stefon Diggs kept playing mind games with the front office of the Minnesota Vikings, his teammates, and most importantly the fans. Stefon Diggs accomplished this mind game playing by posting encrypted tweets on Twitter. Always hinting at something, and keeping the public guessing, he thought he had the upper hand in the situation, which is just foolish.
After Stefon Diggs was the 146th pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, he signed a four year contract for 2.5 million dollars along with a guaranteed signing bonus of $227,000. In that moment, he was probably feeling proud and grateful that he had made it. Just because Stefon Diggs made the big dance, didn't mean it was a guarantee that he was going to stay there. 81.1% of the players drafted in the fifth round makes their NFL team in year one. Fast forward four years later to year five in the league and only 16.2% of the players are still in the NFL. So for Stefon Diggs, he had the talent and he became a star. In fact, on July 31st, 2018, Stefon Diggs signed a five year contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings for 72 million dollars. That is a life altering amount of money. Just a year after signing that big contract, it seemed like that grateful feeling that Stefon Diggs once maybe showed, certainly was gone.
Stefon Diggs became extremely upset when the 2019 season was a slow start for him. Adam Thielen was exploding as a superstar in his own regard, and that resulted in less targets for Diggs in the passing department early in the season. Stefon Diggs ended up being a non injured player on the injury report in the first half of the 2019 season and also missed some mandatory practices. Stefon Diggs was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars and was also deactivated for one game due to his poor choice, and that is what it was. Anybody can sugarcoat anything, but Stefon Diggs was acting like a spoiled brat that was making a lot of money and someone who also was a member of a winning football team.
A few weeks ago, the Minnesota Vikings grew tired of the drama. After the fiasco of missing practices, yelling at his starting quarterback, and playing mind games on social media, the Vikings were given that final push to pull the plug on the situation and they traded Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills. Now, the situation with a player not being happy on their professional sports team is nothing new and something that most, if not all, teams in pro sports has experienced at one time or another. A lot of times when these types of situations occur, the team that the player is currently on usually has to cut their loses and just move on. What makes this situation with Stefon Diggs and the Minnesota Vikings different is that the Minnesota Vikings most definitely won with this trade.
On March 20, 2020, the Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs and a 2020 seventh round draft pick for four draft picks. The Vikings received a first round, a fifth round, and sixth round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and also a fourth round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now these players that the Vikings are receiving in the draft are not guaranteed NFL players, but to get potentially four players for a guy who was a fifth round draft pick just five years ago, is a win in my book. This trade also helped the Minnesota Vikings free up some room with their salary cap situation. The Minnesota Vikings were cash strapped by being so close to the cap, they were not able to be very active in this spring's free agency period. This trade helps that. The other thing to remember here is that Rick Spielman, the Minnesota Vikings General Manager, is pretty crafty and creative on draft day. Spielman could be collecting draft picks to maybe do some draft day trading to either move up or down in the NFL Draft to maximize the opportunities that NFL Draft can bring to a team. This trade, whether it gives the Vikings some more money or more players in the draft, should help them address the much needed attention that the offensive line needs bring to the table.
So Stefon Diggs is gone and is a Buffalo Bill. I wish no ill will on Stefon Diggs. He has the talent to be a megastar in the NFL. His stock rose greatly with walk-off Minneapolis Miracle catch against the New Orleans Saints as time expired in the 2017 NFL Playoffs. From a fan of the game, Stefon Diggs let his ego grow to an unmanageable level and needed a change of scenery. The Buffalo Bills by the way, have the craziest fans in the league in my opinion. They go out and buy out all of the six foot tables in town and go WWE in their tailgating and pregame, check it out on You Tube. Back to Diggs, it will be interesting to see how Stefon Diggs responds if the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen, either doesn't get Diggs the ball or keeps missing him when he targets him. Does the change of scenery mean that Diggs is going to reevaluate himself? I hope he does. He could be a Hall of Famer some day if he can figure it out. I just wish Stefon Diggs would take a few moments and realize that he is rich and he financially probably doesn't have to worry for the rest of his life because of playing a game for a living. The dream that most have and don't actually get to experience. For him, it came true. It would be refreshing if he would just admit that he let himself get out of control, and that he now has grounded himself and has refocused on being a great player and an even better role model. Right now, with COVID-19 costing millions of people their jobs and their livelihood, he is lucky to be in the position he is in.
After Stefon Diggs was the 146th pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, he signed a four year contract for 2.5 million dollars along with a guaranteed signing bonus of $227,000. In that moment, he was probably feeling proud and grateful that he had made it. Just because Stefon Diggs made the big dance, didn't mean it was a guarantee that he was going to stay there. 81.1% of the players drafted in the fifth round makes their NFL team in year one. Fast forward four years later to year five in the league and only 16.2% of the players are still in the NFL. So for Stefon Diggs, he had the talent and he became a star. In fact, on July 31st, 2018, Stefon Diggs signed a five year contract extension with the Minnesota Vikings for 72 million dollars. That is a life altering amount of money. Just a year after signing that big contract, it seemed like that grateful feeling that Stefon Diggs once maybe showed, certainly was gone.
Stefon Diggs became extremely upset when the 2019 season was a slow start for him. Adam Thielen was exploding as a superstar in his own regard, and that resulted in less targets for Diggs in the passing department early in the season. Stefon Diggs ended up being a non injured player on the injury report in the first half of the 2019 season and also missed some mandatory practices. Stefon Diggs was fined hundreds of thousands of dollars and was also deactivated for one game due to his poor choice, and that is what it was. Anybody can sugarcoat anything, but Stefon Diggs was acting like a spoiled brat that was making a lot of money and someone who also was a member of a winning football team.
A few weeks ago, the Minnesota Vikings grew tired of the drama. After the fiasco of missing practices, yelling at his starting quarterback, and playing mind games on social media, the Vikings were given that final push to pull the plug on the situation and they traded Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills. Now, the situation with a player not being happy on their professional sports team is nothing new and something that most, if not all, teams in pro sports has experienced at one time or another. A lot of times when these types of situations occur, the team that the player is currently on usually has to cut their loses and just move on. What makes this situation with Stefon Diggs and the Minnesota Vikings different is that the Minnesota Vikings most definitely won with this trade.
On March 20, 2020, the Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs and a 2020 seventh round draft pick for four draft picks. The Vikings received a first round, a fifth round, and sixth round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and also a fourth round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now these players that the Vikings are receiving in the draft are not guaranteed NFL players, but to get potentially four players for a guy who was a fifth round draft pick just five years ago, is a win in my book. This trade also helped the Minnesota Vikings free up some room with their salary cap situation. The Minnesota Vikings were cash strapped by being so close to the cap, they were not able to be very active in this spring's free agency period. This trade helps that. The other thing to remember here is that Rick Spielman, the Minnesota Vikings General Manager, is pretty crafty and creative on draft day. Spielman could be collecting draft picks to maybe do some draft day trading to either move up or down in the NFL Draft to maximize the opportunities that NFL Draft can bring to a team. This trade, whether it gives the Vikings some more money or more players in the draft, should help them address the much needed attention that the offensive line needs bring to the table.
So Stefon Diggs is gone and is a Buffalo Bill. I wish no ill will on Stefon Diggs. He has the talent to be a megastar in the NFL. His stock rose greatly with walk-off Minneapolis Miracle catch against the New Orleans Saints as time expired in the 2017 NFL Playoffs. From a fan of the game, Stefon Diggs let his ego grow to an unmanageable level and needed a change of scenery. The Buffalo Bills by the way, have the craziest fans in the league in my opinion. They go out and buy out all of the six foot tables in town and go WWE in their tailgating and pregame, check it out on You Tube. Back to Diggs, it will be interesting to see how Stefon Diggs responds if the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen, either doesn't get Diggs the ball or keeps missing him when he targets him. Does the change of scenery mean that Diggs is going to reevaluate himself? I hope he does. He could be a Hall of Famer some day if he can figure it out. I just wish Stefon Diggs would take a few moments and realize that he is rich and he financially probably doesn't have to worry for the rest of his life because of playing a game for a living. The dream that most have and don't actually get to experience. For him, it came true. It would be refreshing if he would just admit that he let himself get out of control, and that he now has grounded himself and has refocused on being a great player and an even better role model. Right now, with COVID-19 costing millions of people their jobs and their livelihood, he is lucky to be in the position he is in.
Saturday, April 4, 2020
Sports... Gone... Missed... Come Back Soon!
October 1st, 2016 is when I lasted posted a blog from my sports department of blogging, called Minnesota Sports Scene. In these times of COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, sports has been suddenly ripped away from all of our homes. The reason is a logical one, as people can't be near each other due to the aggressive nature of this virus. It is shutting down the world. It makes sense, but us sports fans were simply not mentally prepared for this to happen. Just over three weeks ago when the NBA season was suspended, which felt like three months ago, we didn't know what can of worms had just been opened. In fact, many felt like it was an overreaction or jumping too many steps at once. After the NBA had made that decision, the next 24 hours were even more dramatic, and the dominos began to fall quickly.
For me, sports was one of my escapes. I have had periods of a life that has had some dramatic moments, and I work a job that can be stressful and intense, and that is why I needed sports. I have always gone back and forth as to what my favorite sport is, but in the end, it has always been baseball. It's kind of funny that baseball and the Minnesota Twins are my favorite, because they may be the most dramatic sports team we have in Minnesota as they have been a rollercoaster ride over the past few decades.
So right now, without any sports happening, we have to depend on those sports memories. I remember when I was 10 years old, and in the fifth grade in 1987, when the Minnesota Twins won their first World Series and became World Champions. What a strange but fun feeling it was. Being in fifth grade, I had a bedtime probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:00 p.m. In my bedroom, I had a 13 inch black and white television set that you had to manually turn the knob to the one of 13 clicks for options of channels. The options for television coming off the old TV antenna was channel 2 (PBS), Channel 4 (WCCO), Channel 5 (KSTP), Channel 9 (KMSP - not FOX at the time), and Channel 11 (KARE). That was it. Thank god network television was the only option and thank god they carried the World Series on network television. Kids today will never have any idea what it was like. Due to the fact that it was the World Series, and on national television, the games started late, usually between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Of course the advertising was still just as important back then, and the games were usually a minimum of four hours instead of the traditional three hours or less. However, as a 10 year old kid, it was great! I was allowed to watch the games, and wow was I hooked! Staying up until midnight with every emotion throughout every inning hitting me, watching the likes of Kirby Puckett, Dan Gladden, Tom Brunansky, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Greg Gagne, Tim Laudner, and more. The 1987 World Series, of course, went seven games with the final game having the Minnesota Twins winning the World Series and becoming World Champions at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. I remember it like it was yesterday. As a side note, my mom had her name drawn at work for one ticket to Game 6, a game that she saw Kent Hrbek hit a Grand Slam. That homer blew the room off the Metrodome, and it just gave me chills writing about it right now. Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola was the Game Seven Winning Pitcher and also the Series MVP. Jeff Reardon closed out the seventh game with a save. I will never forget it. I also was lucky enough to experience the championship parade that took place in downtown Minneapolis. What a celebration! I will never forget the 1987 World Series and the pride I had in being a Minnesota Twins fan.
Over the past couple of decades, the Minnesota Twins have tugged at every heart of Twins fans. While they went on to win their second World Series just four years later in 1991, there have also been some really low points where it was a hard to be a Twins fan. However, a lesson that I learned when I was young is that you never give up on your team. As hard as it sometimes can be, and for as fun as it can make my summer, the Minnesota Twins will always be my team.
I am going to start posting on my Minnesota Sports Scene blog more often once again as I have more time on my hands with the current state of our society and our Stay In Place Executive Order in Minnesota. I need to talk sports, I love sports and I really don't want the baseball season to be canceled. Tonight, I watched WWE's newest installment of WrestleMania. I have always been a pro wrestling fan as well, and that has been another one of my escapes like I had mentioned earlier. I will get more into that in another blog post in the near future. For now... stay safe, stay healthy, and hopefully life will get back to normal sooner than later and we can once again support our favorite teams.
For me, sports was one of my escapes. I have had periods of a life that has had some dramatic moments, and I work a job that can be stressful and intense, and that is why I needed sports. I have always gone back and forth as to what my favorite sport is, but in the end, it has always been baseball. It's kind of funny that baseball and the Minnesota Twins are my favorite, because they may be the most dramatic sports team we have in Minnesota as they have been a rollercoaster ride over the past few decades.
So right now, without any sports happening, we have to depend on those sports memories. I remember when I was 10 years old, and in the fifth grade in 1987, when the Minnesota Twins won their first World Series and became World Champions. What a strange but fun feeling it was. Being in fifth grade, I had a bedtime probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:00 p.m. In my bedroom, I had a 13 inch black and white television set that you had to manually turn the knob to the one of 13 clicks for options of channels. The options for television coming off the old TV antenna was channel 2 (PBS), Channel 4 (WCCO), Channel 5 (KSTP), Channel 9 (KMSP - not FOX at the time), and Channel 11 (KARE). That was it. Thank god network television was the only option and thank god they carried the World Series on network television. Kids today will never have any idea what it was like. Due to the fact that it was the World Series, and on national television, the games started late, usually between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Of course the advertising was still just as important back then, and the games were usually a minimum of four hours instead of the traditional three hours or less. However, as a 10 year old kid, it was great! I was allowed to watch the games, and wow was I hooked! Staying up until midnight with every emotion throughout every inning hitting me, watching the likes of Kirby Puckett, Dan Gladden, Tom Brunansky, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti, Greg Gagne, Tim Laudner, and more. The 1987 World Series, of course, went seven games with the final game having the Minnesota Twins winning the World Series and becoming World Champions at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. I remember it like it was yesterday. As a side note, my mom had her name drawn at work for one ticket to Game 6, a game that she saw Kent Hrbek hit a Grand Slam. That homer blew the room off the Metrodome, and it just gave me chills writing about it right now. Frankie "Sweet Music" Viola was the Game Seven Winning Pitcher and also the Series MVP. Jeff Reardon closed out the seventh game with a save. I will never forget it. I also was lucky enough to experience the championship parade that took place in downtown Minneapolis. What a celebration! I will never forget the 1987 World Series and the pride I had in being a Minnesota Twins fan.
Over the past couple of decades, the Minnesota Twins have tugged at every heart of Twins fans. While they went on to win their second World Series just four years later in 1991, there have also been some really low points where it was a hard to be a Twins fan. However, a lesson that I learned when I was young is that you never give up on your team. As hard as it sometimes can be, and for as fun as it can make my summer, the Minnesota Twins will always be my team.
I am going to start posting on my Minnesota Sports Scene blog more often once again as I have more time on my hands with the current state of our society and our Stay In Place Executive Order in Minnesota. I need to talk sports, I love sports and I really don't want the baseball season to be canceled. Tonight, I watched WWE's newest installment of WrestleMania. I have always been a pro wrestling fan as well, and that has been another one of my escapes like I had mentioned earlier. I will get more into that in another blog post in the near future. For now... stay safe, stay healthy, and hopefully life will get back to normal sooner than later and we can once again support our favorite teams.
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