Another year in the books and I can firmly say 2012 was a good one. For that, I present some of my notable work from the past 12 months.
Traxler's Take
In February, we dissected the Jackrabbits' BracketBusters debut as ESPNU visited Brookings and, as it turns out, it will be the last visit related to that particular event.
After the new grandstand at Erv Huether Field was completed in April, we chronicled the history of the capacity of the new version of the park.We also looked at the potential for success of Brookings' new NAHL team in town, the Blizzard. A followup story is on the to-do list for 2013.
In May, I voiced my displeasure about the move of student seating at South Dakota State's Frost Arena. I still think they blew it but here's the original piece that drew some attention.
Over the summer, I interned with the Daily Republic in Mitchell. My stories are in the archive and can no longer be accessed but I recapped some of the action here. I went to a Sioux Falls Pheasants game and couldn't find the programs. I toured the great state of South Dakota in two separate blog posts.
In October, our friend Travis Kriens started guest posting and added good stuff on the FCS media poll. I set up the "second season" for SDSU's football team.
In November, I ripped Jim Delany and had my most popular post ever, on FCS first round playoff attendance, of all things.
To close, we had good fun in December with three Vikings centric posts to start and end the month.
The Collegian
SDSU shows mastery of D-I move to USD (January 13)
From St. Cloud to State stardom (February 1)
Gutting it out with Griff (February 29)
Surreal finish seals Summit title for Jacks (March 7)
SDSU men are a hot upset pick (March 14)
Upset chance comes short in tourney debut with Baylor (March 21)
Something to prove: Pitcher returns to the mound after two-year injury (April 18)
Arrival of Chick-fil-A still on schedule (August 29)
SA debates Chick-fil-A (September 5)
SA votes to endorse Chick-fil-A (September 19)
Hobo Day traditions stand test of time (October 24)
Examining the peer institutions of SDSU (October 24)
Jackrabbits take out Coyotes in rivalry return (November 17)
Jacks romp Panthers (November 28)
Repeat defeat: Jacks' season ends (December 5)
Other projects
In the highlight of my career so far, I had the opportunity to write about the Jackrabbits for the New York Times' website. A memorable occasion and I'm grateful for the chance. Here's the piece.
The NCAA Tournament also opened up a new venue for writing for me for a website called Stadium Journey. I've long been a fan of stadiums and arenas, so this was a natural fit. My 2012 work is located here.
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Lots of fun was had in 2012. Let's do it again in 2013.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Vikings and Fandom
I tried.
I tried to treat Sunday's Vikings game as just another Sunday.
My stomach, churning like a drum full of lottery balls, was telling me otherwise. Of course, my mind knew this was different. "Come on Marcus, you dummy. This is for the playoffs."
Admittedly, I try to play it down the middle and unbiased. I aspire to be an objective source for a career. That didn't end up happening Sunday. I like the Vikings and fanhood reigned as Minnesota punched a ticket to the NFL playoffs, defeating the awful, mouth-breathing Green Bay Packers and extinguishing the dreams of the Chicago Bears and the playoffs.
Sometimes I kid myself and put myself in the shoes of a Timberwolves fan or a Wild fan. I really do like the Gophers (for no logical reason) and the Twins are it for the bulk of summer.
None compare to the Vikings.
Adrian Peterson is doing amazing things and he's an MVP. Christian Ponder is good enough for me and for this team right now. He made the plays when it mattered and his critics can kick rocks. Blair Walsh cashes every kick.
That's not to say I'm not critical. The defensive backs (without Antoine Winfield, as it appears they will be) continue to suck and can't tackle. Bill Musgrave does a good job as offensive coordinator but he might as well be calling plays off a credit card. Phil Loadholt could be an idiot.
I tried not to say bad things on Twitter. Maybe I wouldn't even be on Twitter during the game, I thought. Nope. I fired off a "Green Bay Whiners" tweet in the first quarter and I was off and running. My phone was attached to my fingers for three-and-a-half hours. (BTW, I thought The Sports Lounge account was mocking me during the game. I liked it and hated it at the same time.)
I laughed. I yelled. I scowled. I cheered. I cringed. Football as we know it. Cheeseburger soup waited between bites and I followed a few superstitions Sunday afternoon. I said more bad things about Troy Aikman than Joe Buck. (Which is by the way, the way that works. Buck > Aikman.) I don't think I breathed regularly until the Walsh field goal squeaked by the upright with ":00" on the clock.
Before I get too far, that was a terrific game. It would have been regardless of result. The ebb and flow was with good and bad and I was writhing with it all the way. Even fans with purple-soaked perspectives knew Discount Double Check & Co. were going to rally from a 10-0 deficit and I'm willing to wager the paint thinner-drinking, Jermichael Finley worshiping Packa fans knew that final kick would deliver Wayne Larrivee's "Dagger."
That's a rivalry, folks.
In the end, I would have lived either way. I lived through the "Take A Knee in '98," "41-0," "Nate Poole," and "12 Men in the Huddle." In most occassions, it's not a matter of if they'll let you down but when, and more importantly, how the Vikings will turn the knife.
Truly, I would have been happy with any result Sunday. They had a six win turnaround from the year ago and their best draft in ages. There was progress from 2011 to 2012 and winning four in a row down the stretch builds confidence for 2013.
I know good things come to an end. After all, I'm a Vikings fan. But I'm enjoying every retching turn for now.
To the terrible Packa fans: Bring it.
I tried to treat Sunday's Vikings game as just another Sunday.
My stomach, churning like a drum full of lottery balls, was telling me otherwise. Of course, my mind knew this was different. "Come on Marcus, you dummy. This is for the playoffs."
Admittedly, I try to play it down the middle and unbiased. I aspire to be an objective source for a career. That didn't end up happening Sunday. I like the Vikings and fanhood reigned as Minnesota punched a ticket to the NFL playoffs, defeating the awful, mouth-breathing Green Bay Packers and extinguishing the dreams of the Chicago Bears and the playoffs.
Sometimes I kid myself and put myself in the shoes of a Timberwolves fan or a Wild fan. I really do like the Gophers (for no logical reason) and the Twins are it for the bulk of summer.
None compare to the Vikings.
Adrian Peterson is doing amazing things and he's an MVP. Christian Ponder is good enough for me and for this team right now. He made the plays when it mattered and his critics can kick rocks. Blair Walsh cashes every kick.
That's not to say I'm not critical. The defensive backs (without Antoine Winfield, as it appears they will be) continue to suck and can't tackle. Bill Musgrave does a good job as offensive coordinator but he might as well be calling plays off a credit card. Phil Loadholt could be an idiot.
I tried not to say bad things on Twitter. Maybe I wouldn't even be on Twitter during the game, I thought. Nope. I fired off a "Green Bay Whiners" tweet in the first quarter and I was off and running. My phone was attached to my fingers for three-and-a-half hours. (BTW, I thought The Sports Lounge account was mocking me during the game. I liked it and hated it at the same time.)
I laughed. I yelled. I scowled. I cheered. I cringed. Football as we know it. Cheeseburger soup waited between bites and I followed a few superstitions Sunday afternoon. I said more bad things about Troy Aikman than Joe Buck. (Which is by the way, the way that works. Buck > Aikman.) I don't think I breathed regularly until the Walsh field goal squeaked by the upright with ":00" on the clock.
Before I get too far, that was a terrific game. It would have been regardless of result. The ebb and flow was with good and bad and I was writhing with it all the way. Even fans with purple-soaked perspectives knew Discount Double Check & Co. were going to rally from a 10-0 deficit and I'm willing to wager the paint thinner-drinking, Jermichael Finley worshiping Packa fans knew that final kick would deliver Wayne Larrivee's "Dagger."
That's a rivalry, folks.
In the end, I would have lived either way. I lived through the "Take A Knee in '98," "41-0," "Nate Poole," and "12 Men in the Huddle." In most occassions, it's not a matter of if they'll let you down but when, and more importantly, how the Vikings will turn the knife.
Truly, I would have been happy with any result Sunday. They had a six win turnaround from the year ago and their best draft in ages. There was progress from 2011 to 2012 and winning four in a row down the stretch builds confidence for 2013.
I know good things come to an end. After all, I'm a Vikings fan. But I'm enjoying every retching turn for now.
To the terrible Packa fans: Bring it.
Monday, December 10, 2012
2013 MVFC Schedule Grid
The 2012 FCS Football season is not yet over, with the final four teams duking it out this weekend (NDSU and E. Washington meet in Frisco, BTW) but the 2013 schedule "Hot Stove" burning this afternoon with the release of the schedule for South Dakota and Youngstown State.
I've made a schedule grid for the last few years for the Missouri Valley and I'm started on this year's again. There's also a list of FBS games for the next few years out. Worth noting is Illinois State drawing MAC foe Ball State to Hancock Stadium in 2014. If I have that right, it's a straight home and home with the Cardinals.
Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzPC0WDePQsdb0NKcUpkU19CclU
If there's any issues, give me a heads up. I'll try to create a link on the side of the page so this is easy to find later on.
I've made a schedule grid for the last few years for the Missouri Valley and I'm started on this year's again. There's also a list of FBS games for the next few years out. Worth noting is Illinois State drawing MAC foe Ball State to Hancock Stadium in 2014. If I have that right, it's a straight home and home with the Cardinals.
Here's the link: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzPC0WDePQsdb0NKcUpkU19CclU
If there's any issues, give me a heads up. I'll try to create a link on the side of the page so this is easy to find later on.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Dunk Time
The "Buy Marcus a New Camera Fund" drive is over and I now own a new camera. I've played around with it and I've shot a few games but I captured a cool sequence Thursday night.
I'm thankful to Chad White for doing this to a poor Dakota State big man.
I'm thankful to Chad White for doing this to a poor Dakota State big man.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Kriens: We're at Spergon Wynn levels now
Publisher's Note: Earlier today, I wrote a piece on Minnesota
Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder. Friend of the blog Travis Kriens
has put together a counterargument for why Ponder should grab some bench
in favor of Joe Webb.
I have never seen a quarterback play as bad over an extended period of time as Christian Ponder has.
The bench mark for putrid quarterback play for me was Spergon Wynn, third-stringer for the 2001 Minnesota Vikings.
Forced
into service due to injuries to starter Daunte Culpepper and capable
backup Todd Bouman, Wynn was never supposed to play. He played the last
three games of the season, all losses. His best showing was a 24-for-39
performance for 218 yards and an interception in a 30 point home loss to
a Jacksonville team that finished 6-10. He followed that up by throwing
three picks to go with his 11-of-30 passing for 114 yards and a
touchdown at Green Bay. His final game came against the defending Super
Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens on the road in a Monday night game. Wynn
was 13-of-29 with 86 yards and an interception. He never played another snap in
the NFL.
I never thought anyone would challenge Wynn for the title of “worst quarterback I have seen,” but after seeing Ponder play the last few weeks, Wynn will have to step down from his throne.
Ponder is dial-up on a field full of players moving at 4G speed.
The examples of his futility are too numerous to list. For starters, let’s look at how well the second-year quarterback does with throws 10 or more yards down the field.
7-of-12 vs. Jacksonville (W)
5-of-8 at Indianapolis (L)
6-of-10 vs. San Francisco (W)
3-of-6 at Detroit (W)
5-of-12 vs. Tennessee (W)
4-of-12 at Washington (L)
1-of-3 vs. Arizona (W)
3-of-11 vs. Tampa Bay (L)
2-of-7 at Seattle (L)
5-of-7 vs. Detroit (W)
0-of-10 at Chicago (L)
2-of-13 at Green Bay (L)
First three games: 18-of-32 (56%)
Last two games: 2-of-23 (8%)
Last six games: 13-of-51 (25%)
There has been a dramatic shift in Ponder’s ability to complete passes down the field over the last two months and when you consider that the Vikings don’t use Percy Harvin as a down-the-field receiver, his absence to the lineup can’t be used as an excuse.
If you want to put some blame on the wide receiver core, that’s fine. When you long for the days of Bernard Berrian and Bobby Wade, you know something is wrong.
Add the best running back in the league into the mix and it becomes even more astonishing the quarterback play isn’t better.
No quarterback that has started every game for his team this season has thrown for fewer yards.
The Packers defense was missing Sam Shields, Charles Woodson and Clay Mathews on Sunday, yet Ponder threw for under 100 yards, excluding 27 garbage yards in the final 40 seconds. Ponder hasn’t done anything on the field recently to deserve to be starting at quarterback.
I don’t like to blame coaches as much as others. The players make the plays. The coaches call them. It’s up to the coaches to put the players in the best situation and it’s up to the players to execute the play given. Clock management and the use of timeouts are a coaching duty, as well as making the decision of which players to play. If a coach isn’t putting out the best players in order to win, which is the number one goal each week, then that coach isn’t doing his job very well.
Is Christian Ponder as bad as he has shown in the last two months? No. Is he as good as he showed in the first few games of the season? No. He lies somewhere in the middle, but he has had a lot more days like he did at Green Bay and Chicago than he has versus San Francisco and Jacksonville.
He has started 22 games, been knocked out of three of them and won seven of the games he has completed. He has only one win over a team that finished the season with a winning record.
Only seven players IN THE HISTORY OF THE NFL have gone through a season with more attempts (384) with fewer yards (2,305) than Ponder has right now. The only player to do it twice is Joey Harrington. That’s a pretty good career comparison so far.
Joe Webb is the backup. He has had relative success in the few opportunities that he has gotten; a win at a playoff-bound Philadelphia team on the road in 2010, falling just short of leading a 17-point comeback over playoff-bound Detroit on the road in 2011. Webb took over for an injured Ponder in the third quarter and ended his first drive with a 65-yard touchdown run.
For someone that is supposed as accurate as Ponder (59%), Webb isn’t far behind (57.9%). Ponder has completed 50% or fewer of his passes seven times, the same number of games he has won in his career. Webb has played significant time in five games, and has never completed fewer than 52% of his passes, including games of 62% and 65%, both on the road. Ponder has only completed over 62% of his passes on the road in four of 12 chances.
Despite being losers of five of seven, Minnesota are still only a game back of the final Wild Card spot.
The sample size for both is small, less so for Ponder. Remember, one of the duties of a head coach is to put the best possible players out on the field to win each week.
Starting Christian Ponder at quarterback any game the rest of the season doesn’t give the Vikings the best chance to win. I think Leslie Frazier knows this. It’s just that he isn’t doing anything about it.
--
Earlier today: Nothing to Ponder
(P.S.: Pretty sure this is the first time in blog history I've had two posts in one day. Cool beans.)
I have never seen a quarterback play as bad over an extended period of time as Christian Ponder has.
The bench mark for putrid quarterback play for me was Spergon Wynn, third-stringer for the 2001 Minnesota Vikings.
 |
| Spergon Wynn's career in one photo. |
I never thought anyone would challenge Wynn for the title of “worst quarterback I have seen,” but after seeing Ponder play the last few weeks, Wynn will have to step down from his throne.
Ponder is dial-up on a field full of players moving at 4G speed.
The examples of his futility are too numerous to list. For starters, let’s look at how well the second-year quarterback does with throws 10 or more yards down the field.
7-of-12 vs. Jacksonville (W)
5-of-8 at Indianapolis (L)
6-of-10 vs. San Francisco (W)
3-of-6 at Detroit (W)
5-of-12 vs. Tennessee (W)
4-of-12 at Washington (L)
1-of-3 vs. Arizona (W)
3-of-11 vs. Tampa Bay (L)
2-of-7 at Seattle (L)
5-of-7 vs. Detroit (W)
0-of-10 at Chicago (L)
2-of-13 at Green Bay (L)
First three games: 18-of-32 (56%)
Last two games: 2-of-23 (8%)
Last six games: 13-of-51 (25%)
There has been a dramatic shift in Ponder’s ability to complete passes down the field over the last two months and when you consider that the Vikings don’t use Percy Harvin as a down-the-field receiver, his absence to the lineup can’t be used as an excuse.
If you want to put some blame on the wide receiver core, that’s fine. When you long for the days of Bernard Berrian and Bobby Wade, you know something is wrong.
Add the best running back in the league into the mix and it becomes even more astonishing the quarterback play isn’t better.
No quarterback that has started every game for his team this season has thrown for fewer yards.
The Packers defense was missing Sam Shields, Charles Woodson and Clay Mathews on Sunday, yet Ponder threw for under 100 yards, excluding 27 garbage yards in the final 40 seconds. Ponder hasn’t done anything on the field recently to deserve to be starting at quarterback.
I don’t like to blame coaches as much as others. The players make the plays. The coaches call them. It’s up to the coaches to put the players in the best situation and it’s up to the players to execute the play given. Clock management and the use of timeouts are a coaching duty, as well as making the decision of which players to play. If a coach isn’t putting out the best players in order to win, which is the number one goal each week, then that coach isn’t doing his job very well.
 |
| Kriens and Traxler agree on one thing: No McLeod Bethel-Thompson |
Is Christian Ponder as bad as he has shown in the last two months? No. Is he as good as he showed in the first few games of the season? No. He lies somewhere in the middle, but he has had a lot more days like he did at Green Bay and Chicago than he has versus San Francisco and Jacksonville.
He has started 22 games, been knocked out of three of them and won seven of the games he has completed. He has only one win over a team that finished the season with a winning record.
Only seven players IN THE HISTORY OF THE NFL have gone through a season with more attempts (384) with fewer yards (2,305) than Ponder has right now. The only player to do it twice is Joey Harrington. That’s a pretty good career comparison so far.
Joe Webb is the backup. He has had relative success in the few opportunities that he has gotten; a win at a playoff-bound Philadelphia team on the road in 2010, falling just short of leading a 17-point comeback over playoff-bound Detroit on the road in 2011. Webb took over for an injured Ponder in the third quarter and ended his first drive with a 65-yard touchdown run.
For someone that is supposed as accurate as Ponder (59%), Webb isn’t far behind (57.9%). Ponder has completed 50% or fewer of his passes seven times, the same number of games he has won in his career. Webb has played significant time in five games, and has never completed fewer than 52% of his passes, including games of 62% and 65%, both on the road. Ponder has only completed over 62% of his passes on the road in four of 12 chances.
Despite being losers of five of seven, Minnesota are still only a game back of the final Wild Card spot.
The sample size for both is small, less so for Ponder. Remember, one of the duties of a head coach is to put the best possible players out on the field to win each week.
Starting Christian Ponder at quarterback any game the rest of the season doesn’t give the Vikings the best chance to win. I think Leslie Frazier knows this. It’s just that he isn’t doing anything about it.
--
Earlier today: Nothing to Ponder
(P.S.: Pretty sure this is the first time in blog history I've had two posts in one day. Cool beans.)