Friday, October 06, 2006

National Friday League

The Vikings are going for their ninth straight victory against the Lions. As you can see at pro-football-reference, the Vikes are 58-29-2 all-time against the Lions, with more victories against Detroit than any other franchise. How dominant are the Vikings against the Lions? Put it this way--Mike Tice never lost to them.

But Denny Green occasionally did, including his last game. In 2001, the 5-11 Vikings lost to the 1-15 Panthers and 2-14 Lions. This doesn't torment me as much as 2003, when the 9-7 Vikes lost to each of the teams with the worst records in the league: 4-12 Giants, Cardinals, Chargers, and Raiders. Yep, the Vikes missed winning the division by one game that season, and were 0-4 against the four worst teams in the league.

Anyway, the Vikings have yet to score 20 points in a game, and they've yet to give up 20 points in a game. The Lions have improved on offense the last two weeks but have also been awful on defense. Let us rely on the Metrodome to ensure a Viking victory over the Lions on Sunday or Monday. How nerve-wracking, to not know on Saturday whether or not you play on Sunday. Bleh.

Here are some interesting things from around the web today.

Deadspin points out that Clinton Portis is back to his thespian ways.

Fran Tarkenton really is the greatest quarterback ever.

Sid Hartman is deserving of mockery.

The Vikings have a wide geographical fanbase. Moving the game from Sunday to Monday would be a serious pain for a lot of far-traveling fans. Nobody will likely have it worse than this guy, though. Then again, if he's a season ticket holder flying from London to Minneapolis eight times a year, he's probably rich.

Whatever your opinion on Bill Simmons, his Friday NFL picks column remains a good read.

You also might want to check out Dr. Z's mailbag for this week.

On a different note, my existential experiment has been hard to maintain without home cable or internet (you're not going to see much Pac-10 football from MN without cable). Still, I'm excited for UCLA basketball this season.

Enjoy week five, everybody. Except Packer and Bear fans.

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