What are they waiting for?

When will Minnesota wise up and end the Tarvaris Jackson Era?

Upon absorbing the soap opera that was the Jay Cutler-Josh McDaniels situation for the last couple of weeks, I couldn't help but be disappointed in how it all unfolded in the end.

It had nothing to do with Cutler, McDaniels, the Denver Broncos or Cutler's new team - the Chicago Bears. When evaluating the logistics of the trade, I felt everybody involved won.

Cutler got his wish to move out of Denver and is now on a team that was a Pro Bowl quarterback (such as himself) away from maybe having the best team in the NFL a year ago. Denver gets a quarterback in Kyle Orton that is better suited for McDaniels' shotgun-style offense and the Bears' first round picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. Of course, we'll know who the true winner is once the season starts, but as of right now, I can't fault either team for their decisions.

There was a losing team in this trade, however. And that is where my disappointment stems from.

Who is this team, you ask? The Minnesota Vikings.

When Cutler voiced his displeasure with the Broncos and demanded a trade, I expected Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and general manager Rick Spielman to do nothing short of hopping on the first flight leaving Minneapolis to Denver and greeting Cutler at his doorstep with an elaborate fruit basket. Swinging a deal to bring Cutler to a division whose best quarterback in '08 was Jon Kitna would all but officially make the Vikings the favorite in the NFC North forever - as long as Cutler and Adrian Peterson could roll out of bed - right?

This is the Minnesota Vikings we're talking about here. The same Minnesota Vikings that managed to somehow go 10-6 and win the NFC North with a mid-season quarterback controvesy surrounding Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte. Yes, you read that correctly: Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte. I wasn't lying when I said Jon Kitna was the best quarterback in the division last year. The same Minnesota Vikings that were 5th in the NFL in rushing yards per game (146.1) despite being 25th in passing yards per game (184.8). The same Minnesota Vikings that finished the regular season ranked a solid 6th in total defense (292.4 yards per game).

From simply looking at those statistics and the personnel on the Vikings' roster, I've devised this statement: the Vikings are a quarterback away from becoming the next dynasty in American professional sports. They had the chance to make that opportunity a reality by potentially getting involved in the Jay Cutler Sweepstakes, but instead are content on dwelling in mediocrity with a mediocre quarterback in Jackson.

Career passer rating: 76.5. Career touchdowns: 20. Career interceptions: 18. Lost starting job mid-season to an almost-40 quarterback who was never any good: Check.

Compare those credentials to Cutler, who has been in the league for the same three years as Jackson but has a career passer rating of 87.1, 54 touchdowns, 37 interceptions and didn't lose his job mid-season to an almost-40 quarterback who was never any good. The choice was easy, and the Vikings didn't cash in. And before you bring up Cutler's career record of 17-20, ask yourself, "Does Jay Cutler play defense?" When you answer "No" and then realize the Broncos have surrendered a staggering 26.9 points per game in Cutler's 37 carer starts, my argument as to why I think he'd be a stud in Minnesota becomes that much more relevant.

This isn't solely based around Cutler. I'm more than willing to bring one Matt Cassel into the mix as well. Throwing to Randy Moss wouldn't be an option for Cassel in Minnesota, but neither would handing off to Sammie Morris or relying on an old, deteriorating defense. It's also worth mentioning Cassel went 10-5 in his first real football action since his senior year of high school in 1999. The guy has played for the best (Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick) and learned under the best (Tom Brady). In my mind, he's worth the $16 million Kansas City will be paying him in 2009 and would be worth even more in Minnesota.

The NFL is a league that lives by the motto "What have you done for me lately?" Job security among coaches and front office people is nearly non-existent. It's why the 2-14 Chiefs pulled the trigger on Cassel and took his $16 million contract. It's why Eric Mangini went from 'Man-genius' in 2006 to 'Can-gini' following the 2008 season. It's why Minnesota SHOULD have made a deal for Cutler. It's why Chicago DID make a deal for Cutler and gave up two first round picks and their starting quarterback in the process. Success in the NFL is judged by Super Bowls, and even if Cutler only puts it together for one year, leads the Bears to the Super Bowl and then bottoms out, THE TRADE STILL WORKED. It's one more Super Bowl than the Bears would have won with Orton running the offense and the same number that the enigmatic Mike Ditka won as a coach in Chicago.

I want to finish this by saying I'm not a Minnesota Vikings fan - never have been. But I am a fan of greatness. Florida State became my college football team at a young age because all they did was win (14 straight top-five finishes in the AP Poll, a record that will NEVER be matched). Tom Brady and Tiger Woods are my favorite athletes for that reason as well. It's sickening how close the Vikings are to reaching that level of greatness I'm so fond of, and the fact they are too stubborn to make that move irritates me.

If you're not going to do it for me, do it for Adrian Peterson, your franchise player. No active player in the NFL, in my opinion, deserves a Super Bowl more than that man. I know he just finished only his second NFL season, but read his feature article in the October 2008 issue of Muscle & Fitness and you'll understand where I'm coming from. Nobody works harder than Peterson, and not many have gone through the life struggles he did to get to where he is today. He deserves better than to be in the huddle, down 24-20, 80 yards from the end zone with 2:15 left on the clock having to count on Tarvaris Jackson to take him home.

It's not fair to Adrian, it's not fair to me and it's not fair to Viking fans. Make a move, Minnesota. Nobody on your team is getting any younger, and those who respect greatness are becoming impatient.

Saved face

His play in the NCAA Tournament has reversed my opinion: Ty Lawson is the best player in the ACC

The Big East may have dominated college basketball headlines all season, but another prestigious conference may be king of the hill at season’s end…again.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, for a nation-leading fifth time this decade, will have a member school playing in the national championship game Monday night when North Carolina battles Michigan State for college basketball’s ultimate prize.

After losing five of their seven tournament participants in the first two rounds, the ACC needed its crown jewel to deliver in a tournament field that was being overrun by the powerful Big East, who placed an NCAA record five schools in the “Sweet 16.”


Ask and you shall receive. The Tar Heels have massacred their tournament opponents by an average of 26 points — the “closest” game coming in a 72-60 regional final win over Oklahoma that UNC controlled from the opening tip.


Carolina saved their best performance for the Final Four, where they disposed of Big East power Villanova with relative ease — much to the delight of Tar Heel fans and ACC supporters alike.
The game was played inside Detroit’s Ford Field, but North Carolina ran more like a Ferrari in their 83-69 drubbing of the Wildcats.


In the driver’s seat was none other than point guard Ty Lawson, the ACC’s Player of the Year. Lawson put the pedal to the floor and kept it there all game long on his way to 22 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals, clearly outshining Nova’s heralded backcourt of Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding and Corey Fisher.


Lawson and the Tar Heels put the game on cruise control early when Wayne Ellington’s 3-pointer — one of seven the junior hit on the night — put UNC ahead 8-6 three minutes in and proved to give the Heels the lead for good.


The final stat sheet justified North Carolina’s performance. The Tar Heels kept the pace of the game up-tempo, scoring 80-plus points for a remarkable 30th time this season and shooting a sizzling 11-of-22 from 3-point range. UNC doubled up Villanova in assists (16-8) and blocks (6-3) while attempting 21 more free throws than the Wildcats (37-16). As if that weren’t enough, Villanova, who entered Saturday’s game shooting 45 percent from the field in the tournament, shot just 33 percent (26-of-79) against UNC’s sticky man-to-man defense.


That, my friends, is the sign of a team on a mission to add to an already rich tradition of excellence.


That tradition extends beyond North Carolina and into the ACC. A win over Michigan State would give the Tar Heels an impressive fifth national championship and effectively label the ACC as the best conference in college basketball for the decade.


It has already been mentioned that no conference has pitted more teams in the championship game this decade than the ACC, but let us examine the ACC’s outstanding run over these last 10 years more closely.


Since 2000, only three times (2003, 2006, 2007) was there a Final Four that did not feature an ACC school — the lowest number of any conference in the country. The ACC is also the only conference to have four different programs — North Carolina, Duke, Maryland and Georgia Tech — play for a national title this decade.


On top of that, the championships won by Duke in 2001, Maryland in 2002 and UNC in 2005 meant the ACC was the only conference in the last 10 years to have three different programs win national championships. No other conference has even won three titles this decade, let alone have three different programs win a championship in that time span.


The Big East lived up to its hype for the most part with its amount of quality teams and overall performance in this tournament. But when the dust clears, the ACC will reign supreme yet again if North Carolina can get past one last obstacle Monday night.

That obstacle should prove to be a big one, as the Tom Izzo-coached Spartans are in their fourth Final Four and second championship game of the decade.

The Big Ten, with Michigan State’s title game appearance, is tied with the ACC for most appearances in the championship game by one conference this decade. A win by the Spartans would give the Big Ten two championships in the last 10 years and potentially put them in the discussion as the best conference in college hoops for the decade.

A conference’s legacy lies in the hands of UNC. A win would be the storybook ending to a fantastic 10-year stretch for the ACC, while a loss will surely spark debate as to who the best conference this decade truly was.

Regardless of Monday’s outcome, however, there is no arguing that North Carolina — at the very least — saved the day for the ACC in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.