First they don’t want to play outside because the ground’s too hard. Now they don’t want to play inside because their dome can’t keep it up. People, including former players, are getting tired of the Vikings complain about their situation.

Vikings players expressed concerns about the University of Minnesota’s stadium playing surface through Twitter. They took pictures and hoped there aren’t any catastrophic injuries during their game against the Bears. Other players have commented to local and national media about the same concerns. Team management decided to get on the bandwagon and express concerns about playing in the Metrodome next year.

“This is Minnesota. It snows. We’re a hearty bunch. We deal with it. Some people would say, ‘Well, a couple of shingles come off the roof, you don’t build a new barn.’ Well, the roof collapsed (at the Metrodome). We have concerns about the safety of the facility going forward. We’ll deal with that after the game, as well as we’ll deal with the financial and economic impacts of what happened.”

Asked if he was intimating a scenario that would keep the Vikings from playing at the Metrodome in 2011, Bagley said, “No, I’m saying we have concerns about the safety and viability of that structure going forward. We’ll deal with that in the near future.”

A “hearty bunch” that plays in a heated dome. Green Bay, Chicago and New England have no problem playing in the elements. Real football fans don’t want to hear complaints about the cold and snow. They’re not the only ones. Former Vikings who played outdoors at Metropolitan Stadium don’t want to hear it either.

“You’ve got to learn to tough it up,” said former running back Chuck Foreman, who played for the Vikings from 1973-79. “That field will be perfect to play on. That’s the way the game has been played for years. These guys get spoiled. Go out there, embrace the weather, enjoy it. Just keep yourself warm. It’s all mental.”

…[Vikings coach Leslie] Frazier, who played through plenty of blustery outdoor games at Soldier Field as a Bear from 1981-86, said the field will be safe and that players shouldn’t be concerned.

“I think our players will embrace (outdoor tradition) as the game goes on,” Frazier said. “They’ll be into it.”

Back in the Bud Grant era, players weren’t allowed to wear gloves or hover around heating systems on the sideline.

All they got was a cape to go over their shoulders, and even those didn’t work, former Vikings wide receiver Ahmad Rashad said.

According to him, the Vikings of the late ’70s never became consumed with the cold.

“If you get caught up in how cold it is or the field’s too hard or you can’t get your cleats in the field, you’ve got no shot,” Rashad said. “It’s the same for both teams; you just have to go out there and execute.”

Facilities might be “perfect” for today’s athlete, Rashad said, but a frozen field can actually lessen the impact of violent hits.

“It’s hard to get hurt because it’s harder for people to get leverage on a hard surface,” he said. “It’s tougher on Astroturf when you can get all that torque. There’s no torque on a frozen field.”

In other words, man up and play ball. Maybe the grounds crew can pour lava on the field at random times to heat things up and keep things interesting. Lava or flaming cauldrons of oil. I’m not picky.

Last night the Heat beat the Bucks in Milwaukee by 10, 88-78.  Before the game, LeBron James was asked if he can relate to Brett Favre because he too is hated by the team, city and/or state where he once played. LeBron’s answer was…typical LeBron.

“Brett (had) great years here in Green Bay, and any time a great competitor like that leaves, no one wants to see that, but they’ve done a great job of regrouping with Aaron Rodgers and I believe that Cleveland will do the same,” James said.

Thats our Bron Bron!  He was asked if he could relate and he said “any time a great competitor like that leaves, no one wants to see that”.  Sure no town wants to see their best player leave town, but c’mon the two situations and how they both went down were a little different.

Brett Favre, for all the crap he gets for what he’s done lately, did actually win a championship in Green Bay, a city as far from his hometown as can be. Also, Favre left town after being there for the vast majority of his career, winning said championship, waffling on retirement then essentially getting pushed out the door because the GM wanted to play his young backup quarterback who was going to split town if he didn’t get the chance to start over the old man that he was (and is) CLEARLY better than at this point in both their careers.

LeBron, on the other hand, left his hometown (or real close to it at least) in the prime of his career, without winning a single championship, to go play with his friends.  Meanwhile, his former team was left with a shell of a non-competitive roster in place and is facing the lottery for the conceivable future since their entire team is made up of players meant to compliment a player whom is no longer there…LeBron.

Sure, Cleveland will get over it just as fast as Green Bay!  Its totally the same situation! You are basically the black Brett Favre!

Well, come to think of it, while the situations for their departures from their former teams were different, the players themselves are kinda similar.  Both of them have to be in the top ten list of most selfish players in their respective sports, both of them whine a ton on their playing fields, and both of them are probably some of the most narcissistic and non-self aware people on the planet.

He might just be Black Brett Favre.  When do the Wrangler commercials start airing?

The sky is falling, okay it isn’t.  But, I have been gone a while so I feel like being dramatic.   I have been waiting, looking forward to, and longing for this football season for a long time.  Let’s just say I had a rough summer.  Then, fall arrived, and with it came pre-season rankings, fantasy football drafts, and fresh starts for every football team- fantasy, NFL, and college alike. 

If you’re anything like me, you obsess about this new beginning.  Every coaching hire, every acquisition, every rank.  Then, your fantasy draft day arrives and with it not long after week one making you realize, as i did, that most of the ranking and the research meant nothing.  It was all names on paper, whatever the media and teams felt like sharing, and some knowledgeable guesswork. 

It’s always this way to a degree.  But, this year, unlike others in recent memory, predictions and educated guesses were all thrown out the window.  The 49ers were supposed to be the popular upside pick on the rise, right?  The Cowboys are supposed to make it to the Superbowl being held in their own stadium.  This had to be the year the talent on paper showed up on the field in week 1.  The Chiefs and the Bucs couldn’t be all that good, could they?  Tomlinson couldn’t have enough juice left in his legs to cast a shadow on Shonn Greene. 

But then the Cowboys lost 2 in a row, Green was showed up by the supposedly washed up LT, the Chiefs were 2-0, and then, to top it off, Peyton Hillis scored 32 fantasy points against the Ravens, who hadn’t given up a rushing TD in either 2 previous games this season, while riding my bench in week 3.  While I know I am not alone, when it fell on top of MY head, I really felt it.  This season there seems to be some awful football being played.  Or is it just me?  I am not saying there isn’t any quality football being played.  I am simply saying that I am shocked at the level, and amount, of mediocrity. 

Maybe this has something to do with the fact that injuries are reigning over the NFL, leaving those with Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Andre Johnson, Mike Turner, or pretty much anyone playing QB for the Eagles, to begin the drop/add waiver wire game, or the handcuff game, that all of us as fantasy managers, and more importantly those working in front offices, know so well. The high ankle sprains, toe injuries, groin issues, and NO, I am not referring to the Kansas City junk grabbing week 1 and 2 drama, have probably touched most of us at this point, pun intended. 

But injuries aren’t to blame everywhere and some things could have been predicted.  The Cowboys were just overrated.  Again.  I don’t care if they beat the Texans.  Marion Barber and Felix Jones should be tearing it up.  They should not wait until their coaches job is on the line, again, to win a game.  Peyton is dominating and it doesn’t matter who is on the field catching the ball when he’s the one throwing it.   He finds a way for his team to win.  The Chargers are, once again, having a slow start despite Rivers throwing for over 300 yards.   Arizona is bad. 

A psychic in the East Village could have “predicted” these things for a $5 palm reading.  But, other things, not so much.  Mike Martz and Jay Cutler seem to be in love.  Vick got the starting job a day after Andy Reid assured us Kolb was his man, which wasn’t long after he traded his franchise QB to a division rival making everyone really believe Kolb was his man.  The Rams, and their fans, have to be looking forward to the many wins they now have to know are coming this decade.  Ben Roethlisberger?  Who?   The Steelers don’t need a pro bowl QB with a super bowl ring to win games.  It seems any guy off the street can play QB for them.  Hey!  Hey, you!  Want to play quarterback for the Steelers?  Big Ben is no longer needed and the way Pittsburgh fans were feeling about Roethlisberger before they were winning without him might just lead to him losing his starting gig.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they start him immediately but, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t.  They are one of the only teams in football I would say this about, we all know what the Jets would do. 

After three weeks of football season I have been wondering what some of these teams were doing this off season?  For example, I know the NFL has become a run by committee league.  But, really, someone should have told the brilliant mind of Bill Belichick that even 3 brittle mediocre RBs would not lead to a running game other teams would fear.  Especially when your star wide receiver is getting older.  Still talented, no doubt, but older.  Minnesota really did put all their eggs in Farve’s basket.  How’s that working out for them?  Working out in the local high school stadium is not the same as training camp it seems.  I, for one, am shocked to learn this. 

Many teams seem to have ignored, or could not manage to aqcuire the talent needed to fill their holes.  The Saints, Patriots, Jaguars, Giants, Cowboys, and there are more teams I am omitting, have clear personnel problems, or lack of personnel causing problems, costing games, and possibly costing some teams their whole season. 

I can say from experience that it is awful to realize only 3 weeks into the season that the season already appears over for the team you root for.  Take solice in the fact that if One Tree Hill can manage to stay on the air for this long, there has to be some way those in this position can get passed the frustration and keep watching football on Sundays without throwing the new 55″ LED LCD television you purchased right before this season started out the window, right?  I mean, there’s still a fantasy team to manage and picks to make at least, right? 

There has to be something that can be learned from all this. So, in no particular order, here is what I learned, or learned before but forgot and then quickly remembered, in no particular order.

• Handcuffs are worth the bench space.  I don’t care that there are reports Ray Rice is walking without a limp and is reporting he feels fine.  The MRI results haven’t been announced yet.  He’s on my fantasy team and I already picked up McGahee.  If I owned Mike Turner, I would own Jason Snelling too.  There always has to be someone you can drop.  Like, for example, Eddie Royal.  Just like last season, he’s an unpredictable tease.  I am sure there’s an Eddie Royal or a Shonn Greene on your roster just waiting to be dropped.  Then again, the week you drop them is always the week they break out.  Don’t worry if it happens, they’ll be back to tease and break someone else’s heart the week after.
• The NFL is insane to be thinking about expanding to 18 games while also adding restrictions to off season work-outs.  The green, oh, I’m sorry, I meant the greed, is messing with their heads.  If Steven jackson, Andre Johnson, Mike Turner, Ray Rice, and the many concussions haven’t convinced them this is an awful idea, nothing will.  I blame the monkey commercials.  People really do want to see 2 more weeks of monkey commercials. 
• A great coach and/or a great defense can win games.  No prolific running, or passing, game is required. 
• An internal team turmoil that we can see is present, but will never really be fully reported, can kill a season.  Just watch the Giants yelling right behind Coughlin on the side lines.
• Unless you are Peyton Manning, one player cannot carry an entire team for an entire season.  Sorry Drew Brees.  Any comparisons to Peyton should just stop.  There were other greats, there are other greats, there will be other greats.  But, he isn’t just great. 

So, if you’ve already given up on your team for the season, there’s always fantasy, or an underdog team you can’t help but enjoy watching win.  And, if that isn’t enough for you, keep in mind that next year there might not be any football to watch (wow, it seems I turned 30 and started actually becoming my mother, perspective and all).