Good News, Bad News

As far as football went this past weekend, it was a case of good news/bad news, being a fan of Notre Dame and the Minnesota Vikings.

The Fighting Irish got wiped on the floor by the Stanford Cardinal, 37-14. (Why is Stanford called "The Cardinal" and not "The Cardinals?" Maybe a Stanford alum can fill me in on that.) Stanford showed why they are the 16th ranked team, and laid it into the Irish, especially in the second half. I only watched the first half, as my Saturday night softball game awaited me.

It was ND's third straight loss, and Boston College awaits them this Saturday night. But here's an interesting article from the South Bend Tribune that implies that there still is hope for the Irish season despite the slow start.

I didn't see any of the Vikings game against Detroit at home on Sunday. They won 24-10. It looks like they won in spite of Brett Favre. His numbers may look decent: 23-for-34 for 201 yards and a TD, but he threw two more interceptions. But it was the man whose the real leader of the offense, Adrian Peterson, who took charge and got the Vikes the W.

Peterson had his best day in over a year, rushing for 160 yards on 23 carries, including an 80-yard TD run in the second half. It was one of AP's two TDs on the day.

Beating Detroit was just about a gimme, as they have now lost 22 straight on the road, the third longest streak in NFL history, and thirteen straight at the Metrodome. Matthew Stafford, the Lions QB, was out. But with the Vikings being run by a QB who looks very much like an old man, absolutely nothing is a taken for granted.

The Vikings are now 1-2, and have the off week this week. They return to face the NY Jets at the New Meadowlands Stadium on October 11th. And the next six games after that are particularly brutal: Dallas, at Green Bay, at New England, Arizona, at Chicago, and Green Bay.