Vikes lose to Bears in OT, 36-30, Vikes 11-4.

With Favre's 300+ yard game, 2 TDS and a 106 QB rating, I'd normally be happy.

Talk about a physically draining game. For me. Down 16-0 at the half, the Vikes decided to play the 2nd half and scored 30 points and established momentum. A Favre fumble in the 1st half led to 3 points for the Bears. Longwell missed one extra point. No protection for Favre in the 1st half. Shit defense. And the straw that killed the camel was in OT - Adrian Peterson's fumble - after getting a first down - sealed the Vike's fate. Not sold on AP. Sorry but the mindset in the beginning of the season about how Favre would have it easy just handing the ball to Peterson was bullshit and I never bought into it.

Remember how Favre’s OT INT in the NFC Championship agin the Giants got all the blame for that loss? No one talks about the receivers not getting separation, no running game, poor O-line play or the Packer who should’ve just fallen on the Giant fumble instead of trying to pick it up in regular play. Everyone hinges on the INT.

I’ll do the same with AP’s fumble. Momentum was in our favor. AP had the first down. It’s not like this was in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd quarter. It was OT in a game where your team sucked the 1st half. When AP tries to do more, AP fumbles. He's not a smart runner. Yeah – Favre fumbled which led to 3 Bear points. Longwell missed the extra point. The defense sucked and special teams sucked and the O-line wasn’t protecting Favre in the 1st half. But in the end – like the Favre INT in the Giants game – I put this on AP and his history of fumbling the freakin’ ball.

What are the ramifications of the loss? The NFC Championship goes through New Orleans. If the Vikes beat the Giants at Minnesota next week and Dallas beats Philly at Dallas, the Vikes clinch a 2nd seed and a bye.

NEXT WEEK: Last game. New York Giants (8-7) @ Vikings (11-4).

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"Cry-baby of the day" - Gina D. in Chicago.

On today's MSN homepage, there's an article on, "The Thing That Drives Me Nuts About My Co-Worker". Readers were asked to submit examples of annoying co-workers' habits (does that apostrophe go outside the "s" or inside - i never know).

The very first email response was this:

"I have an employee who is a Packers fan; I am a Bears fan. Every once in a while, I receive an e-mail that varies from photos of Brett Favre or just plain text that says, 'PACK.' It drives me nuts and I have to pretend it doesn't bother me one bit." - Gini D., Chicago

Here's my note back to Gina:

"Waa, waa, waa. Shut up, Gina - you whiny little bitch. No one cares about your dilemma with your co-worker. I'm also a Packer/Favre fan and native Wisconsinite and the Bears suck whether Brett's playing or not or whether the Packers are playing well or not. THE BEARS ALWAYS SUCK. Packer fans hate the Bears and vice versa. Give it a rest. In LA, I have to listen to more people cheering for more teams than you'll ever have to deal with. Grow a 'nad. Just ignore the emails and get back to work. Write your complaining, hostile emails on your own time." -
Jeff I., Los Angeles

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See Cedric Benson drink. See Cedric Benson drive. See yaaa...Cedric Benson!

Here's Chicago Bears' Cedric Benson (RB) about five weeks ago after getting busted for driving a boat under the influence. He said he was innocent.

Here's Cedric Benson last weekend after being arrested in Austin, TX for drunken driving. I suppose you're innocent of this charge as well? Great mugshot. What's so funny, Cedric? Please, tell me - I'd like to know. Some good shit, huh? Ha. Haha. Hahaha.

Ha. Cedric Benson - fired by "da Bears" as of yesterday.

Someone forgot to tell CB that there are hundreds of thousands of men that would die to play in the National Football League.

Someone forgot to tell CB that he was the starting running back going into the 2008-09 NFL season.

Someone forgot to tell CB that he plays for one of the most hallowed football franchises (next to my Packers, of course) in the NFL.

Someone forgot to tell CB that along with the fame and fortune that comes from being a player in the NFL there come responsibilities on - and off the field. And his behavior reflects on his team and the NFL, not just himself (which he obviously doesn't care about).

Someone forgot to tell CB that he has 79 teammates that depend on him every week - as well as coaches, fans...perhaps a family, if he has one.

Or maybe someone did tell Cedric Benson all these things, but Cedric Benson was too busy to pay attention to all THAT 'cause he was out whoopin' it up and drinking and getting behind the wheel on multiple occasions. After all - he's a celebrity. He's infallible.

I could give a shit. He played for the Bears who are our arch-rivals to my team - the Packers. As a matter of fact, I caught up with Brett Favre this week and while he was praising Michael Strahan on his (Michael's) recent retirement, he had this to say about Cedric Benson:

Here, here. But more specifically, Brett - fuck Cedric Benson. You're a loser Cedric. You don't deserve even a glance from Brett Favre. You don't deserve to play in the NFL period. Please don't get behind the wheel drunk, you asshole. I don't want an innocent person to die. You, on the other hand, are pathetic and need help.

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Favre honored in Bear Country?????

A lawmaker wants his state to pass a resolution honoring Brett Favre for his achievements. Here's the kicker: The state is Illinois - the Bears state. Illinois's ranking Republican is the man sponsoring the resolution even though he says he is also a Bears fan.

The flowery, seven-page resolution (it refers to Favre as "the swashbuckling Southerner") will come to a vote sometime Before May 31st.

Now, I could say, 'Wow, that's surprising - coming from one of our biggest rivals. You see how well-respected Favre was?" I could also say, "Fuck the Bears. What an idiot state. If they had any self-respect they wouldn't lower themselves. After all, would we do that for a retired Bear, regardless of who it was?"

I'll take the high road - today. Thanks, Illinois. And thank you, Chicago Bears.

That sounded very strange. Thank God, I won't EVER have to say that again.

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Reality Check's a Good Thing / 12-3

The Packers got killed by the Bears yesterday, 35-7. Difficult game to watch - with family, no less. Embarrassing. But it's water under the bridge now. The Bears swept the Pack this season. Big deal. We're in the playoffs and perhaps the Pack didn't have their heart in the game. Take away the 21 points our traitor punter, Jon Ryan, gave Chicago (useless piece of shit - and this inept moron is from Sasketuwan and played in the Canadian football league!) and the first INT Favre threw early in the game (he had another one but the game was wayyyyy outta reach by then) and it's a 7-6 game -Packers' lead.

Glass HALF FULL, baby. It was one game. I think I'd much rather play the NFC Championship (if we get that far) in Dallas - in a 70 degree dome. What the hell else am I supposed to say? That way our passing game - our strength - will be at its best. It's obvious this Packer team is unsuited for cold weather games (though the 40 mile an hour winds at Soldier Field in Chicago - and not the cold - was really the bigger factor).

I say play our starters for a half then rest them. Nothing be gained by a win against Detroit. Though to see how the Pack handles the weather situation at Lambeau may be helpful during the playoffs. They have a bye and their first playoff game is at home.

Let's hope the wind gusts are nil. GO PACK!!

Next Week = Detroit Lions (7-8) at Green Bay Packers (12-3).

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Sucked in by the book, "The Devil in the White City" -

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and National Book Award Finalist.

"Erik Larson brings Chicago circa 1893 to vivid life by intertwining the true tale of two men - the brilliant architect of the World's Fair, Daniel H. Burnham, who strove to secure America's place in the world; and the cunning serial killer, Dr. H. H. Holmes, who used the fair to lure his victims to their death. Combining meticulous research with nail-biting storytelling, Erik Larson has crafted a narrative with all the wonder of newly discovered history and the thrills of the best fiction."

If you're a history buff, or fan of true crime stories or happen to be from the Midwest, then this is a must read.

I won't go into great detail about the story - you can look online if you'd like. But I was hard-pressed to put this book down. The Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, or Chicago World's Fair, followed the Paris Exposition by four years and there was no question the architects for the Chicago Fair were bent on making their's the best of all. This was no easy matter - after all, the famous Eiffel Tower was first unveiled to the public at the Paris event.

"Come, the curtains are pulled back a bit. Peek into the past and witness the dawning of a new age. Look for yourself what promises the Dreaming City held for America and the world, and learn perhaps a little more about who we Americans are."

Dubbed the White City for the white coat of staff, or stucco-like material on the outside that seemingly looked illuminated without light cast on it, here are a few factoids that helped to put the Chicago Fair on the map:

First moving pictures from Edison's Kinetoscope, first zipper, first all-electric kitchen, Aunt Jemima's pancakes, Juicy Fruit gum, Shredded Wheat, Cream of Wheat, the Ferris Wheel, the Midway (as in carnival midway), Cracker Jack, Dewey Decimal System inventor, Melvil Dewey's vertical file, the electric chair (this one was for show), Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, among other things. Novelty exhibits included: a suspension bridge made of Kirk's Soap, Statue of Liberty carved from salt, full-scale model of a knight on horseback made of prunes, a giant map of the U.S. made of pickles, and a locomotive made of spooled silk.

The Chicago World's fair lasted six months and nearly one half of the inhabitants of the United States attended, including such luminaries as Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley, kings and queens, Nikola Tesla, generals, famous indians, Thomas Edison, Susan B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Scott Joplin, Frederick Douglass, J.P. Morgan, Harry Houdini, Andrew Carnegie, Helen Keller, President Grover Cleveland, and Frederick Olmstead, architect of New York's Central Park and architect of landscaping for the fair. Walt Disney's father, Elias, helped build the White City - perhaps a precursor to the Magic Kingdom; Frank Lloyd Wright was inspired by the Japanese architecture on the Wooded Island; "Oz" creator L. Frank Baum visited the fair and said it was his inspiration for the city of Oz;

The book is well-written...period. There are great little one liners Larson uses to close out chapters, providing glimpses into what you can expect in subsequent pages. For example, Dr. Holmes asks "Emeline" to marry him and she accepts. He tells her his family lineage can be traced to English nobility. He lied.

'He promised her a honeymoon in Europe during which, of course, they would pay a visit to his father, the lord'.

On my last trip to Chicago, I had the opportunity to check out a bit of the 600+ acre (give or take) site of the former world's fair. There's only one building left standing - the Science and Industry Building, but it helped me put it all into perspective. It boggles my mine - and you'll understand this when you see the pictures of the fair - that this colossal event took place here 114 years ago. If the air could talk. I'm a history buff and was completely fascinated with this story. I finished the book within a few short weeks, though I'm sure I could've rattled it off in a few days had I wanted.

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When Autoerotic Asphyxiation goes awry. / 4-1

Autoerotic asphyxiation is the practice of intentionally reducing the amount of oxygen to the brain during sexual stimulation in order to heighten the received pleasure from orgasm. This act of depriving oneself or another of oxygen in order to achieve orgasm is classified officially in the United States as Hypoxyphilia, according to the American Psychiatric Association. This act can be done alone or with a partner, but autoerotic often means when a sex partner is exluded. Deaths often occur when the loss of consciousness caused by partial asphyxia leads to loss of control over the means of strangulation, resulting in continued asphyxia and death. Victims are often found to have rigged some sort of "rescue mechanism" which has not worked in the way they anticipated as they lost consciousness.

It can lead to an unexpected, quick death.

In a longabout way, this is what the Green Bay Packers did to themselves last night, losing to the Chicago Bears 27-20 at Lambeau Field. I won't get into the details of the game or I may choke on my own vomit. But one minute they're smiling - confident, and then ziiiiiiipppp! - it's over...and you lost. Quite unexpectedly.

The saving grace (if there is any here and I'm the type of guy who looks at the glass as being half-full) is that I had to shave my 4-0 beard off (it's hot in CA right now) and the Packers are still 4-1. The Redskins are coming in to Lambeau next week and we had better figure out a way to stop giving the ball up or we're in a heap of trouble.

Next Week: Washington Redskins (3-1) @ Green Bay Packers (4-1)

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