December 31, 2017
Dec 31 08:52 Minnesota sports stories of the year Dec 31 09:51 Minnesota story of the year Dec 31 10:29 Bret Stephens' misguided thinking
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Minnesota sports stories of the year
When the stories are written about Minnesota's sports stories of the year, the Minnesota Twins going from being the worst team in baseball to being a playoff team will certainly be mentioned. In 2016, the Twins finished with a major league worst 59 wins. When this year finished, the Twins had lost to the New York Yankees in a 1-game playoff. The difference between 2016 and 2017 was the coming-of-age of the Twins young stars. Early on, the difference-maker was Miguel Sano. Sano's homers, like Harmon's, stayed hit:
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The Twins developed an identity of being one of the best defensive teams in baseball. Joe Mauer played Gold Glove defense at first base but wasn't rewarded. Brian Dozier had an outstanding season defensively and won a Gold Glove for his defense at second base. It was Byron Buxton, though, who led the defense, becoming the first Twin to win the Major League Defensive Player of the Year, thanks to catches that left Twins fans speechless. This catch topped the list:
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This was special, too:
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Another great sports story is still getting written in US Bank Stadium. In 2016, the Vikings were decimated by injuries. They lost Teddy Bridgewater a week before the season. The offensive line went from a next-man-up mentality to a last-man-standing proposition. Despite that, the Vikings finished 8-8. This year, the Vikings lost their starting QB after an opening game victory. They lost Dalvin Cook during the 4th game of the season. After 4 games, the Vikings owned a 2-2 record. Then they ripped off an 8-game winning streak. This afternoon, they'll try to finish off a 13-3 regular season. Vikings fans are hoping to finish off cheering for the Vikings in the last game of the 2017 playoffs (in US Bank Stadium.)
The Vikings offense has been fun to watch but the Vikings' defense has dominated. Defensive end Everson Griffen dominated early. Harrison Smith, aka Harry the Hitman, flashed his skills from time to time. Xavier Rhodes, aka Rhodes Closed, was sterling throughout. We won't forget this diving, one-handed interception by Smith:
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We won't forget this game-finishing interception, either:
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The Vikings are the definition of a team. What other team's fans would give the back-up quarterback this type of ovation?
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The Vikings' story is still being written. Let's hope that their last game this season is part of next year's sports stories of the year.
Posted Sunday, December 31, 2017 8:52 AM
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Minnesota story of the year
Minnesota's story of the year isn't difficult to find. It's Al Franken's resignation from the Senate. Pervy Al, as Harold Hamilton likes to call him, finally showed that he's a total jerk. Thanks to Leeann Tweeden's bravery, Franken's career crashed as part of this year's #MeToo movement.
The initial reaction was typified by Amy Klobuchar and Chuck Schumer. They both said that Sen. Franken should subject himself to a toothless investigation from the Senate Ethics Committee. The rules of the Ethics Committee are toothless because they're written by the politicians they're meant to protect. They do just enough to whitewash the situation without actually holding the corrupt politician accountable for his/her actions. Those rules also make sure that politicians can't be punished for things they did before they were elected.
How convenient. Pervy Al groped Ms. Tweeden before getting elected:
What type of pervert does that to a woman? Better yet, what woman not named Hillary Clinton, lets her husband do something like that without divorcing him? The next stage of the Franken saga happened when other women stepped forward and spoke about Franken's disgusting behavior. One of them, Lindsay Menz, accused him of grabbing her buttocks at the Minnesota State Fair.
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Yet another stage in the Franken saga came when Democrats criticized Ms. Tweeden , essentially deploying the 'she asked for it' defense:
In response to the compromising photo of U.S. Sen. Al Franken, internet-aware readers can become a bit more informed about Franken's 'victim' by Googling her and clicking on 'images.'
At times, Democrats tried telling Americans that they were virtuous because they maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards perverts. Somewhere far outside the spotlight, Bill Clinton was heard laughing. Of course, Democrats called for Franken's resignation after the eighth woman stepped forward. (Nothing says zero tolerance like waiting until the eighth victim steps forward.) People understood what was happening. Franken was forced to resign .
Good riddance.
Posted Sunday, December 31, 2017 9:51 AM
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Bret Stephens' misguided thinking
Bret Stephens' misguided thinking is on full display in this column . The fatal flaw in his thinking comes when he said "This is the fatal mistake of conservatives who've decided the best way to deal with Trump's personality - the lying, narcissism, bullying, bigotry, crassness, name calling, ignorance, paranoia, incompetence and pettiness, is to pretend it doesn't matter. 'Character Doesn't Count' has become a de facto G.O.P. motto. 'Virtue Doesn't Matter' might be another."
That's badly misreading tons of Republicans' thinking. The 2016 election was, in terms of integrity, a choice between the lesser of 2 evils. It isn't that we didn't recognize Donald Trump's character flaws. It's that we noticed that Hillary Clinton's character imperfections were pretty disgusting, too.
To Mr. Stephens: when I'm left with a choice between a man with character flaws who appoints conservative judges, cuts taxes and regulations and stands up to the DC Swamp, vs. the woman who personifies the DC Swamp and the failed status quo, I'll vote for the flawed man who appoints conservative judges every time because 7 years from now, we can hopefully elect a man or woman of integrity but we can't get back those judicial appointments. When I think of Neil Gorsuch, I smile:
This shows why I don't agree with Mr. Stephens:
Trump is normalizing all this; he is, to borrow another Moynihan phrase, 'defining deviancy down.' A president who supposedly wants to put a wall between the U.S. and Latin America has imported a style of politics reminiscent of the cults of Juan Peron and Hugo Chavez.
Seriously? Stephens thinks that President Trump is the same as Hugo Chavez? That's frightening.
I've agreed with a number of President Trump's policies without hesitation. I won't say that I've always appreciated the things he's tweeted. Unlike Mr. Stephens, I'm perfectly capable of differentiating between policy and behavior.
Posted Sunday, December 31, 2017 10:29 AM
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