Credit Where Credit Is Due. And None Where It's Not.

So.....after that last political post, I debated whether to move on to either religion or sports for my next post. Sports won. Here are some sports topics on my mind today.

1. Gophers football at 7-1. Before this season, if someone would have told me that the Gopher football team would be 7-1 after 8 games, I would have advised that person to seek psychological help. As I have stated in the past, at the end of last season (1-11) Tim Brewster was officially in the running for Biggest Coaching Buffoon in Minnesota History. (Denny Green currently holds that title, by the way), mostly due to his personality and promises of a Rose Bowl.

I have to give credit where credit is due, however. Brewster has the Gophs at 7-1 with nice road victories over Illinois and Purdue. They haven't really beat a "great" Big Ten team, but they held their own against Ohio State. And, hey, they haven't lost games to teams they should beat. The upcoming schedule looks relatively easy too, except for the game at Madison. There is no Penn State or Michigan State.

The talent level looks higher, especially on defense. And with Adam Weber at QB and Erik Decker at WR, the future looks bright for this squad. Add to that the fact that the new outdoor stadium opens next year (and looks amazing), and they are starting to land some good recruits. Winning always breeds winning. This is a team that I always wanted to cheer for, but found it almost impossible. But, hey, I'll go see anyone play outdoor football in the fall. Now, it looks like they might field a competitive team in a legitimate college stadium.

Best of luck to the Gophers. I hope they do well.

2. Kevin and Pat Williams test positive for using a banned diuretic in water pills. Does this surprise you? If you are a Viking fan, you surely know to fear "down time" for our favorite team. The Vikings are the only team in the NFL that can screw up more during the bye week than when they actually play.

Kevin and Pat Williams (no relation except for stupidity) are two of the most important players on the defense. They now face the possibility of serving 4-game suspensions for using a banned substance that apparently "masks" the use of steroids. If they are out for 4-games, the Vikes are done. In fact, they are probably done anyway.

I think this latest fiasco cements the possibility that Brad Childress will not be the coach of the Minnesota Vikings in 2009. It also doesn't help their image to fans and politicians who have a stake in the upcoming legislative battle for a new stadium.

Way to go, boys. This is not Bud Grant's Vikings, I tell ya.

3. Timberwolves start new season with win. I only two things to say about this:

One - I can't believe that this is the Wolves 20th season. They started when I was a senior in college. That means I was a senior in college 20 years ago. Dear Lord.

Two - Mike Miller is a nice addition to the team. He has GOT to cut his hair, though. He just has to.

That's all.

Jeff

We Live In Strange Times.....

As an undecided voter, I am looking for something, anything to sway my opinion in the Presidential election. For instance, John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate swayed me in the way an iceberg once swayed The Titanic.

So today, I was planning to write a positive post about the Gopher football team (I'll do that later this week) until I came across this little ditty. Apparently Joe Biden, Barack Obama's VP running mate, was speaking at a Seattle fund-raiser last Sunday when he uttered these very words:

"Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. ... Remember I said it standing here, if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

"I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate. ... And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you ... to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right. ... Gird your loins. We're gonna win with your help, God willing, we're gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride.

"This guy has it. But he's gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh, my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?' We're gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I'm asking you now ... be prepared to stick with us. ... There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision.' Because if you think the decision is sound when they're made ... they're not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they're popular, they're probably not sound.

"I probably shouldn't have said all this, because it dawned on me that the press is here."

OK. We are all aware that Joe Biden in known to put his foot in his mouth and say some crazy stuff from time to time. But this particular statement brings up a few issues in my mind. They are:

A. Joe - what the hell are you talking about????? Where did this bombshell come from?? An international CRISIS within 6 months of the Obama presidency? Hey - that's something to look forward to! I am full of confidence, now! Geez, where do I cast my early vote for you guys??

B. How, exactly, does one "gird their loins?"

C. At the end of this rant, Biden realizes "the press is here." Yeah, Joe, they're really not around much these days, are they? Not much going on. Joe - the press is there when you are in the bathroom having a tinkle. Whatever you say is going to be recorded, especially if the words "international" and "crisis" are involved.

D. Lastly, what would happen if John McCain predicted an "international crisis" within the next six months? Well, he'd be accused of trying to scare people and running a "negative campaign," that's what.

These are truly strange times. I am more confused than ever, and that is truly saying something. And to top it off, the Minnesota Gophers football team is 7-1.

Are these the end days?

Jeff

The Wild Must Trade Gaborik.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

The (insert Minnesota sports franchise name here) has an all-star pro athlete with an expiring contract. The Minnesota team offers the all-star athlete a contract that is huge, but does not quite fall into the "immorally immense" range. The Minnesota team hopes the athlete will accept the somewhat smaller offer to stay in the Twin Cities, where we are all nice and the schools are good. The athlete, of course, rejects the offer because "the grass is always greener" and insists on a few additional million dollars. We all know $92 million is more than $90 million. These guys have families to feed, for God sakes.

The team is then forced to decide whether to retain the athlete during his final year under contract (Torii Hunter) and pray he will resign, or trade him for far less value than he is worth (Kevin Garnett, Johan Santana, Randy Moss). The other teams in the league obviously know the Minnesota franchise cannot retain him and does not have bargaining leverage. They must either trade the star athlete for reduced value or risk losing him outright to free agency for nothing in return.

The star athlete is then either traded to another team for a bucket of (baseballs, footballs, basketballs, pucks) or lost via free agency and goes on to win championships and MVP awards in another city.

Does this all sound familiar? Well, it's happening again. This time is is Marian Gaborik with the Minnesota Wild. Gaborik has always been a bit of an enigma. At times, he is the best player in the league, and at other times he disappears completely - both literally and figuratively. He is often injured (constant groin pulls) or simply doesn't produce. I like the way Jim Souhan presents the issue in his latest column in the Star Tribune:

"Gaborik is hurt again, proving himself fragile, damaging his leverage in negotiations and the Wild's leverage in trade talks. He scored as many goals as me in last year's playoffs. (Good one Jim!) He's asking for the kind of money paid to dominant all-around players, and he isn't one. How do you take his side?"

Amen. And then again, as Souhan states:

"The Wild is getting ready to get rid of another popular player, refusing to pay top dollar for one of the guys who helps fill the X every game night, dooming the franchise to endless rebuilding and an over-reliance on their coach to keep winning games 2-1. How do you take the team's side?"

Again, amen. As always, this is the Minnesota Conundrum. What to do with Superstars. In this case, however, the genie is already out of the bottle. The badmouthing has started. First, Wild G.M. Doug Risebrough admitted publicly on Sid Hartman's radio show that Gaborik hurt himself, not in the ice, but playing hacky sack. Now, Strib beat-writer Michael Russo is reporting that Gaborik's agent has accused the team of "character assassination" of Gaborik. Yep, it's started.

The Wild now have no choice. They have to trade Marian Gaborik. You can't keep a guy on a team after this type of crap starts happening in the media (see Brett Favre). Of course, the other teams in the NHL know this, and they are probably loading up buckets of pucks hoping to make an "even-up trade."

Now, having said that, I don't think the Wild can really be blamed for this mess. They will hamstring the franchise for years to come if they resign the injury-prone Gaborik for $8-10 million a year over a decade. Sydney Crosby he ain't. I am not convinced that Gaborik is the kind of guy you build a team around. In fact, I don't even think he's the best player on the team. That honor goes to Mikko Koivu.

So, here we are again. The Minnesota Conundrum.

What would you do?

Jeff

P.S. - there is no question that if the Wild trades Gaborik, he will become the "next Gretzky."

Vikes Score 41. And Lose.

If you would have told me this morning that the Vikings would score 41 points in their game against the Bears today in Chicago, I would have thought they would win by three touchdowns.

But no.

There are many, many ways the Minnesota Vikings find to lose football games. You see, they gave up 48 points to Kyle Orton and the high-powered (sarcasm) Bears. How? Well, today it happened to be a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a muffed punt that was recovered for a touchdown. Next game it will be something else.

I'm going to cut to the chase on this. I am usually not one to advocate the constant firing of head coaches. Good teams generally have coaching continuity. One huge reason the Minnesota Twins have had success is the fact that they have had two managers since 1987 - Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire.

But, it is time for Brad Childress to go.

Folks, the Minnesota Vikings are not prepared to compete on a week to week basis. This team simply cannot put together a "complete" football game in which the offense, defense and special teams plays in a consistent, disciplined manner. Not one game. And that comes down to coaching. They have the talent, and Zygi Wilf has certainly doled out the money to bring in free agents to fill positional gaps. It's coaching.

If the Vikings don't do something quickly, they risk losing even more of their usually loyal fan base and they certainly will not make any headway at the capital in their quest for a new stadium. Fans are downright angry right now. It reminds me of the last days of the North Stars. And we all know what happened there. This is not the franchise that I grew up watching back at The Met and even under Burnsie at the Dome. These guys are a bunch of losers.

The Vikings have to do something immediately. Childress must go. Replace him on a temporary basis with Leslie Frazier, and then go after a big-name coach (Bill Cowher) in the off-season.

The future of the franchise in Minnesota depends on it.

Jeff

Blast From the Past #3 - Minnesota North Stars

Back in The Day, I grew up absolutely loving hockey and the Minnesota North Stars. Their games were carried on KMSP channel 9, and Z-100 radio in Eau Claire so I could tune in when the game wasn't televised. I was also lucky enough to attend quite a few games at the beloved Met Center, which was located on hallowed ground in Bloomington, Minnesota. An Ikea stands on that ground now, which is depressing in itself.

Back then, I hated the Chicago Blackhawks more than any entity on planet Earth. I am reminded of this because Dennis (The Rat) Savard was fired as coach of the Blackhawks today only 4 games into the season. Savard, who smoked between shifts during games, was part of those hated Goonhawks teams along with Al Secord, Doug Wilson, etc. I HATED Chicago, but I have fond memories of that rivalry. The North Stars countered with Brian Bellows, Neal Broten, Dino Ciccarelli, Bobby Smith, etc. Contests between the North Stars and Blackhawks were personal, heated, and often filled with fisticuffs. Brawls, even. Those were the days.

As we all know, the North Stars moved to the hockey hotbed of Dallas, Texas in 1993 and took the team's name, colors, and history with them. It was a sad day, to say the least. Luckily, Minnesota got hockey back with The Wild, but I have to admit things are not quite the same. I love the Wild and the Xcel Energy Center, but they now play in a division with western teams instead of Chicago, Detroit and St. Louis. The natural rivalries are just not there. And, there has been an influx of European players that has changed the NHL and it's style of play. It's just not like The Good Old Days.

Anyway, I found some footage of a Stars-Hawks brawl at Met Center in the late 1980's that really brought back some memories. Take a look and let me know what you think. I'd like to hear some of your memories of the North Stars?

By the way, Secord still sucks.

Jeff

NBA Player Hurt On Moped. It Was Bound To Happen...

I have written before about the highs and lows of moped ownership. Now, it turns out that a player in the National Basketball Association has been (quote) "severely injured" while riding his moped. Folks, we all know this was bound to happen sooner or later. The unlucky player (this time!) is Monta Ellis of The Golden State Warriors. Here is more from the San Francisco Chronicle:

"Monta Ellis was riding a moped when he severely injured his left ankle last month in his native Jackson, Miss., sources close to the Warriors guard told The Chronicle on Wednesday. The 22-year-old tore a deltoid ligament in his ankle and sustained a high-ankle sprain in what one of the sources labeled a "low-speed" accident. Ellis underwent surgery Aug. 27 and is expected to be sidelined for at least another two months.

The cause of Ellis' injury was unclear, even to Golden State officials, immediately after he hurt himself in late August. He initially told vice president Chris Mullin the injury occurred during a pickup basketball game, before coming clean about the moped mishap.

The team has not decided how to punish Ellis for violating the terms of his new six-year, $66 million deal by participating in a banned activity and trying to cover it up.

Since riding a moped is prohibited under the uniform player contract, the Warriors could move to terminate Ellis' deal, though such a move seems highly unlikely."

First off, I am not surprised to find out that riding a moped is banned behavior for NBA players. Team officials tried to label this a "low speed accident," but let's not mince words - those bastards move fast. Sometimes upwards of 35 miles per hour. Well, downhill. Uphill, you're talking more like 21,22 MPH depending on if the wind is with you or against you.

Secondly, mopeds tip easily because they are on two wheels. Two wheels and sand do not mix. I have written about this. I used to wipe out all of the time back in The Day on my moped and scuff up the chrome, blinkers, etc. The first time I wiped out (Day 2 of moped ownership), I took it back to the dealer and explained to him how "it tipped over" while parked. He did not believe me. But, I digress. Back to Ellis. No doubt he encountered some sand while moving at "a low speed (nod, nod, wink, wink)". Nothing good comes of that combination.

Thirdly, I fully understand why Ellis lied and claimed he injured himself playing basketball. Look, mopeds are cool and everything but, take it from me, a person doesn't really want to admit getting injured on one. Especially "severely injured." The chicks never really dug that too much. It sounds better to say you were injured while perfecting a reverse dunk in a pickup basketball game. But, alas, there were probably witnesses to the moped accident. There always are. By the way, Ellis is 6'-3", 177 lbs. Can you imagine him on a moped? Wiping out? Kind of embarrassing.

So, we'll see if this leads to a moped crackdown in all sports. I imagine that quite a few hockey and football players like to tool around on those bad-boys. It will be interesting.

Peace,

Jeff

Thoughts On the Big 12-10 Win Over the Lions. And Some Other Stuff.

I have vowed not to criticize NFL officiating for the next week. I declare that they are my friends. Today, folks, the highly-qualified NFL officials basically handed the Vikings a 12-10 victory over the Lions after a phantom pass interference was called late in the game. The Lions 'wuz robbed (sorry about that dools). The penalty basically put the Vikes in field goal position with two minutes to play. Ryan Longwell nailed it and the contest was history.

I still, for the life of me, cannot get a grip on what "pass interference" is in the NFL. I have seen receivers get absolutely hammered or held with no call. On the flip side, I have seen receivers draw an interference call with nobody within 5 yards of them.

Somehow, the Vikings managed to pull this one out even though they exhibited a prehistoric offensive scheme, lost 2 fumbles, had a field-goal blocked and threw an interception. I have figured out, however, that it is better to wonder how the Vikes won a game rather than wonder how they lost a game. Miraculously, they are tied for first place in the heated NFC North at 3-3.

I know this - the Vikings had better figure out how to move the ball if they want to stay in contention (which means 8-8). Adrian Peterson is doing his job, and Gus Frerotte is competent enough at QB to keep the team close. Both are running for their lives, however, and taking some bone-crushing hits. All bets are off if either of them sustains a serious injury.

Switching gears - I am watching the Packers-Seahawks game while typing this. Charlie. Frye. Is. Terrible. (But better than that guy on the Lions).

Switching gears again - it's good to have hockey back. I attended the home opener against hated Boston last night with The Eldest Son in which the Wild won 4-3. What made this game extra special is that Manny Fernandez was in the net for Boston. In his days with the Wild, Manny was often sullen and withdrawn, and was not scared to throw his teammates under the bus. Probably the one true head case the Wild has had on their roster. Last night, he gave up some soft goals and was cascaded with chants of "Man-ny.......... Man-ny........Man-ny" and "Sieve-Sieve-Sieve." Just like high school hockey. I loved it. Yep, good to have hockey back.

That's all for now.

Jeff

My Humble Opinion on the Economic Crisis

"Well I believe there's someone watching over you
They're watching every single thing you say
And when you die
They'll set you down and take you through
You'll realize one day
That the grass is always greener on the other side
The neighbor's got a new car that you wanna drive
And when time is running out you wanna stay alive
We all live under the same sky
We all will live, we all will die
There is no wrong, there is no right
The circle only has one side"
Travis - "Side"

This is certainly one fine economic mess that we've gotten ourselves into. The stock market continues it's daily triple-digit decline. The federal government was essentially forced into a $700 billion dollar bailout of financial institutions to avoid "a depression." My 401K looks more like a 201K. Add to this, for various reasons, unemployment is up and gas and food prices are skyrocketing. The times that we, as a nation, are living in right now have been likened to "an economic 9-11" and "an economic Pearl Harbor." How did we get here, and how can this mess be cleaned up?

I am not going to pretend to know the complicated details on how this turmoil came about. I am going to step on my soapbox, however, and provide a simplistic, one-word answer to what I believe led to this economic crisis: Greed.

A good part of this nation does not know how to "live within it's means," got greedy, and had a huge hand in this crisis. There are many levels of greed that got us to where we are today. For starters, I have believed for many years that we have become a nation of people who define each other not by "the content of our character," but by our material possessions. On many levels, a person is deemed a "success" based on his or her profession, the size of their castle in the suburbs or the car they drive. Even if they happen to be the world's biggest jack-ass, a horrible parent or a back-stabbing co-worker.

It is no surprise then, that many people buy into this definition of "success," and will stop at nothing to achieve it. Countless individuals and families have over-borrowed on mortgages and auto-loans and became "house or car poor." They have maxed out multiple credit cards on material possessions in an effort to appear "successful." "Living within one's means" has become passe' and boring. One has to wonder if this spending pattern is cyclical and/or generational. There are parallels to the "Roaring 20's" leading to The Great Depression. Hard to say. The Marketers in this country certainly have done a wonderful job fostering these beliefs, buying behaviors and definition of "success." After all, who doesn't have a gift-wrapped Lexus waiting in the driveway for their spouse for Christmas?

Of course, for people to have the ability to over-borrow money and max-out credit cards, there must be a "willing lender." This is the next, and arguably most dangerous, level of greed in our society. There is no shortage of institutions that were MORE than willing to lend money or provide credit to just about anybody, regardless of income, credit history, or ability to pay the money back. Remember when it used to be somewhat difficult to obtain a loan for something like a car or house? Not anymore. Anybody with a birth certificate and a pulse qualified. These lending institutions, often led by CEO's who knew "they would get their payout" did not seem too concerned about how many of their clients would pay these loans back. That CEO issue needs a whole other post. Once again, these individuals are often viewed as "the pillars of society." Things are often not as they seem, however. Anway, back to the lending institutions. Everybody is happy, right? New car, castle in the suburbs, everybody gets paid........until now.

Because many people have over-borrowed and overspent, they are unable to pay back their loans and mortgages. This country is now experiencing an unprecedented number of loan defaults and foreclosures. Home values have fallen so much that many people owe more on their loans than what their home is now worth. Obviously, when these institutions do not receive their loan payments back on a mass scale, these institutions fail. Unless they are bailed out by the government, of course. I won't bore you with the trickle-down effect and ramifications on the country when these institutions fail, but it's bad.

The long and short of it is that we've bitten off more than we can chew. We're like addicts that have gone insane, and it is time to pay the piper. I realize that I am not blameless. Everyone likes "stuff," and wants to provide for their families. We've exceeded our limit, however, and it's hang-over time. Part of me is bummed about this, and part of me hopes that the nation can mellow out, take a step back, and realize that we should not define people by what they own and "have on display." And, we should not strive to have ourselves be defined in this manner. We should be defined by our character, and how we treat others.

I am not trying to sound like Karl Marx or "holier than thou." I just hope that we, as a society, can strive to "live within our means" and not mortgage the future in an effort to "appear successful." After all, what are people really trying to hide?

That is just my humble opinion. As always, let me know what you think.

Jeff

Short Takes

You may be wondering why I have been writing so many quick posts that don't require much thought lately. Here is why: my 7th grade and 3rd grade son's homework. They have a ton. Now, my wife has been helping the 7th grader (she is smarter than me) and I have been assisting the 3rd grader (more my level). I can see why a 7th-grader has so much homework, but a third-grader?! It's every frickin' night. I didn't have homework until 6th grade. Not anymore. We've got to compete with China and India, you know. Anyway, here is some quick stuff on my mind before we hit the books:

1. The Curse of the Billy Goat. Again. For the second straight year, the Cubs win their division and are then swept in the first round of the playoffs. It's because they are cursed. See, there are certain truths in the sports world, such as the Vikings will never win the Super Bowl and the Cubs will never win the World Series because of The Curse. It took me until the age 39 to realize this, but now that I have accepted this as simple fact I am much better off. The Cubs suffer from The Curse of the Billy Goat. Just as I believe in The Sasquatch (and who doesn't), I believe in The Curse. Hey - can you prove that I'm wrong?

2. Speaking of Cursed. I am going to agree with tony8489's assessment that the Vikings will continue to suck and Brad Childress will be fired soon. (By the way, as I write this, the Vikings are losing 10-7 to New Orleans). I am going to predict that they lose to the Saints, barely manage to beat the lowly Lions next week (sorry Dools) and then get destroyed at Chicago. (Editors note - Vikes win 30-27. All of this is already wrong). This would put them at 2-5 going into the bye week. I predict Chilly gets fired after the Chicago game and replaced on a temporary basis by Defensive Coordinator Leslie Davis. Zygi Wilf will do this to stop himself from killing Brad Childress and going to prison for life.

3. Target Center concert: Oasis and Ryan Adams. It has been announced that Ryan Adams and Oasis will tour together and play a double bill at Target Center on December 10th. A "name" for the tour has not been announced, but I am going to go with "The Ass Hole Tour." Seriously, this is the only concert in which security will be guarding the crowd from the bands.

4. Marian Gaborik playing hardball with contract. From today's Star Tribune:

Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough told the Star Tribune on Friday that he does not expect to sign Gaborik, who is one season from unrestricted free agency, to a contract extension by the start of the season.

"Not making any headway," said Risebrough, who last month said it would be prudent to sign Gaborik, the team's all-time leading scorer, to an extension by next Saturday's season opener. "I was trying to do something before the season. It's not happening. ... It's not going to happen by the start of the season."

Gaborik has been quoted as saying he would like to stay in Minnesota, but his nose might have grown a bit when uttering those words. It has been speculated that he would much rather play in the offensively wide-open Eastern Conference.

Apparently, Gaborik has been asking for a contract in the $9-million-a-year range, which is typically reserved for the Sydney Crosby/Alex Ovechkin superstar-type player. Personally, I'm not sure if Gaborik belongs in this class.

The Wild is (are?)in a bad spot here. There is no question that Gaborik is a star, and shows flashes of brilliance. He also has questionable leadership skills, is often injured and tends to disappear for long periods of time. Like the playoffs. The team has to make a decision to retain Gaborik for (probably) way more than he is actually worth, or risk losing him for absolutely nothing at the end of the year. They can trade him to another team, but unless he signs a contract with that new team, the Wild will not receive his value in return. They also risk losing fans if he is traded for less recognizable players. This, of course, rings a bell. Kevin Garnett, Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, Randy Moss and on and on and on and on. But this does not matter because.......

5. The Wild have a new mascot - "Nordy!" Yep, here "it" is:

What the hell is Nordy? Well, it's the same creature that is on the Wild jersey. What the hell is that? Nobody knows. While I am a fan of the Twins mascot, "TC Bear," and the Timberwolves mascot "Crunch" (the best part of most Wolves games), I am not sold on a hockey mascot. This strikes me as something that Nashville or Atlanta would create to attract fans that have not otherwise heard of hockey. But in Minnesota? Not needed.

Unless, of course, Marian Gaborik is not resigned.

That's all for now.

Jeff

Blast From the Past 2 - The Young Ones

I have made many references to The Young Ones on this blog. The Young Ones was a ground-breaking British comedy series with only 12 episodes that was filmed in the early 1980's. The episodes were then broadcast in the United States on MTV in the mid 1980's, back when MTV wasn't all beach-reality shows. The show revolved around four main characters that lived together in a college flat and absolutely hated each other. The were:

Rick - the people's poet and political activist. (My personal favorite)

Neil - the vegetarian hippie.

Vyvyan - the punk rocker.

Mike - the "suave ladies man" who really wasn't.

The Young Ones became a staple for me and my buddies at The University of Leinenkugels. For the show's Sunday night broadcasts we consistently had 20-30 people show up for viewing at 136 Chippewa, the house that should have been condemned.

Not only did the show become part of our weekly routine, it's dialouge became part of ours. "Piss off posty!" "Up yours matey!" "Fascist!" It was fantastic. Some of the lines are still quoted to this day in conversation and on this blog.

The show, part Monty Pyton, part Laurel and Hardy, really pushed the envelope for the 1980's. While each shows even had a "plot," there were always scenes added that made no sense. Minor characters came and went. There were bands on every show, including Motorhead, Madness, and The Damned.

The show was basically complete chaos and was a fantasitc way to end a weekend. Take a look at the clip that I added in which Rick asks the lads "why everyone hates him," and then tries to kill himself with laxitives.

Good stuff. Go buy the DVD's if you can find them!

Jeff