READER FEEDBACK RE MY ANALYSIS OF THIS YEAR’S TEAM
Besides a few, “Too long, I didn’t read it”s:
R. A. has a higher opinion of Acevedo than I do. R. A. also fears that it will be difficult for the Gophers to compete with richer teams in this NIL/Portal environment.
L. T. and T.R. had a lower opinion of Shaffmaster than I did, and look forward to the Stella Swenson Era.
HAVE TO GET THIS OFF MY CHEST
My apologies in advance for breaking my own rule of sticking to topics related to Gopher Volleyball, but I have to get this off my chest. (And yes, the Reader Feedback above, while true, is merely an excuse for this posting.)
Sportswriter Jim Souhan (a terrible writer in my opinion) has a long-standing grudge against Randy Moss (one, along with Alan Page, of the two greatest players in Viking history) and decided to use the recent trade of Dallas’ Luca Doncik for the Lakers’s Anthony Davis as yet another opportunity to slander Moss in this morning’s Strib. To be fair, Souhan’s opportunities to slander Moss might be limited due to reports that Moss has cancer and may be dying.
For those Readers who do not follow the Vikings, here is some backstory:
- Moss grew up in an all-Black, economically disadvantaged community, and played his college ball at Marshall, which didn’t offer the credit-earning classes in handling the media that marquee football programs have;
- Souhan has long exhibited a tendency to criticize Black athletes more harshly than White athletes; and
- The tension between the two began when Souhan was covering the Vikes and Moss apparently failed to show Souhan the respect Souhan felt he deserved.
In this morning’s story, Souhan notes that:
- Moss didn’t play hard when he didn’t feel like it. (Note: Moss, who was usually double-covered, would sometimes feign disinterest to decoy the opposition, and then burn them when they bought his ruse; and Moss once joked about this to Sid Hartman, who was so clueless that he printed the quote.)
- In a bad mood, Moss walked off the “field” during a loss to the Giants. (Note: Moss was an active participant in the second-to-last play of the game, a Viking touchdown. After the extra point, with 5 seconds left, and no timeouts, Moss approached the Vike’s Special Teams Coach and volunteered to participate in a desperate on-side-kick attempt. That Coach, reasoning that Moss had not practiced their planned on-side-kick, said no. Discouraged, Moss strayed down the sideline, beyond the prescribed bench area, toward the opposite end zone, from where he watched the final, failed on-side-kick, and then, with time expired, headed for the locker room. If he had been on the “field,” he would have been the 12th man, negating some miracle play. But he was on the sideline. Souhan certainly knows that this oft-repeated myth of Moss abandoning his team, is not true.)
- And that the Viking management (no names offered by Souhan) soon traded Moss, for nothing, i.e., the 7th overall pick in the draft, who was a bust (hardly Moss’s fault), because of his bad attitude (as reported incessantly by Souhan).
- This morning’s story fails to note that Souhan, at the time, cheered the trade, insisting that the Vikes would be a better team without Moss than with him. (The following year’s record did not support Souhan’s theory.)
ALMOST LAST CHANCE (I’m off VB anyway, but “Spring V-Ball is just around the corner.)
There have been lots of wonderful athletes in the almost 150 year history (beginning with a 1876 baseball game vs the St. Paul Saxons) of Gopher Sports, and it seems a bit silly to argue over who the G.O.A. T. is. But I would argue that Gable Steveson belongs on the short-list of candidates. Steveson’s accomplishments include:
- Olympic Gold Medalist
- 2-time NCAA Champion and 3-time Big Ten Champion (soon 3 & 4?)
- A 93-2 career record (.979), 56-0 in dual meets. and
- 2-time Hodge Trophy Winner (NCAA Wrestler of the Year)
Steveson has only 3 regular season meets left in his historic career, then presumably the Big Ten Meet and the NCAAs. If you’ve never seen Steveson wrestle, you should.