ON THE DL

Drew Magary Talks Favre & Vikes.

Plus: Nadal’s Hurt, The Senior Bowl Meat Market & A Big Monday Bust

Who better to have on the show after a Vikings loss (in the playoffs) than Drew Magary the most internet famous Vikings fan around.

First, we talk about the seemingly 700 places he’s writing these days before getting in-depth on the Vikings loss in the NFC title game. Obviously we talk about Favre’s year, his play in the game this weekend and if the interception at the end of regulation was as dumb a play as everyone is making it out to be.

Who his the most to blame for the loss? Brad Childress and his questionable playcalling and clock management late in the game when it was clear the Vikings were wasting too much time to try and kick a very long field goal to win it? Favre for throwing that pass and being all-together mediocre down the stretch? Or Adrian Peterson, et al, for the constant barrage of fumbles? How can Peterson be thought of as one of the greatest running backs in the league when he CONSTANTLY puts the ball on the ground in big spots?

And, as Drew points out, how is he fumbling when the media keeps talking about how strong his handshake is?

We talk about the hatred for Favre and if we really don’t like the guy because people like Joe Buck and Peter King can’t stop lauding him. And speaking of King, does he think people really care about Favre’s daughter and how heartbroken she is? Do media people get a little too close to the athletes they cover and lose sight of what the reader would want?

We also preview the Super Bowl, looking at who we think will win, and who America wants to win. My thanks to Drew for being a good sport and coming on after such a terrible loss.

Tennis:

Nick and I discuss Rafael Nadal’s injury and subsequent retirement from his match against Andy Murray. Nick takes this opportunity to laud Federer even more. We then talk about how the situation was handled (well, I believe) by Chris Fowler and Patrick McEnroe who had to give instant reaction to the injury. Said McEnroe:

“You hope that maybe he just tweaked it a little bit and he can get some rest and it will be okay in a couple of weeks. Obviously that's what we all hope. But right now I can only imagine, sort of the fear he has – the fear that all of us have in the tennis world – that this guy's not going to be able to play into his mid-late 20s. And he has to be thinking about that, and that must be an awful feeling for him.”

Football Talk:

The Senior Bowl is this weekend, and all the players are treated as giant hunks of meat. Is that fair? Is it hilarious? We say yes to both. Oh, and Tim Tebow can’t take a snap from under center, which is obviously the lead football story in America.

Housekeeping:

We talk about the Big Monday game that turned into Big Blowout. And we wish we watched the Cavs-Heat game with LeBron and DWade. Damn you NBA TV.

Thanks to Drew and thanks to you.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010