Out of the Blue

Shortly after Tom Brady’s desperation heave fell inches from the outstretched arms of Rob Gronkowski in the end zone to end Super Bowl XLVI Sunday, I took a stroll down memory lane, which happened to be pretty near oncoming traffic.

Eli Manning and the Giants had just done it to the Patriots – again. And I was in shock – again. Though it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as in 2008 when my guy Randy Moss played for New England, caught the potential winning TD late in the fourth and nearly keyed the Patriots to perfect 19-0 season, this was déjà vu all over again so to speak.

For the record, the worst NFL losses in my lifetime as a fan rank like this: 1. Anderson misses, Falcons stun Vikings, 1999 NFC Championship Game; 2. Favre throws it away, Saints get all the breaks, 2009 NFC Championship Game; 3. Perfection denied, Giants over Patriots I, 2007 Super Bowl XLII; 4. Giants 41, Vikings ‘Donut’, 2000 NFC Championship Game; 5. Darrin Nelson drops the ball, Redskins hold on, 1988 NFC Championship Game.

(Thankfully, I’m not old enough to remember any of the Vikings’ four Super Bowl losses, which would have messed me up more than I am already. Did you know that the Vikings in those four losses scored nary a single first-half point? But I digress. The lesson as always with the Vikings is “the wheels always come off”.)

This Super Bowl, Steve McNair and the Titans coming up short by a yard in the Super Bowl against the Rams, the Vikings losing a track meet at St. Louis in the playoffs, Herman Moore and the Lions losing to the Redskins in the championship game and every Vikings’ loss to the Packers (lumped together as one) are also in my top 10, and though this game doesn’t make my top 5, was made more painful by its similarities to 2008 and reminded me again of how much I’ve despised the Giants since they dismantled the Vikings 41-0 in 2000. Well, long before that actually. I can’t stand New York teams.

Wes Welker’s crucial dropped pass Sunday was equivalent to Asante Samuel’s dropped interception. Both would have all but iced the game. “The Helmet Catch” and Manningham’s “Sideline Snatch” spurred gamewinning drives for the Giants.

Both games ended with Brady taking a crucial sack on the final drive of the game and being forced to toss up a Hail Mary that came tantalizingly close to being caught.

Since when did the younger Manning become the most clutch quarterback in the game? What planet are we living on? The pass to Manningham was about as perfect as one could throw a pass and didn’t smack of luck like the pass that stuck to Tyree’s helmet. It was flat-out clutch and in the moment it settled into Manningham’s hands and his toes tickled the turf just inside the sideline I knew that the Giants were about to do it again.

Would a healthy Gronkowski, who had the best season by far by any tight end in history, made a difference in this game? Undoubtedly. Would signing Moss back before the season instead of trading for the useless Chad Ochocinco have made the Patriots pass offense essentially unstoppable? Probably.

But there are no comebacks, no replays, no second chances

here – no excuse that can make up for another New York title. The Giants were the better team in the game, made the clutch plays down the stretch and deserved to hoist the trophy afterwards.

Not that I’m bitter or anything. Let’s just move on to the BBQ… aka…

Brief Burning Questions

1. Did Kevin Love deserve a two-game suspension for stomping on Luis Scola’s chest?

Love had never been in trouble with the league, so I didn’t expect two games, for sure. One would have been plenty to send a message. From watching the replay, it was hard to even judge any ill intent on the play. It has been a chippy year with the compressed schedule, and it seems officials have let a lot of physical play go so far, so I don’t blame Love for being a bit frustrated. The Wolves survived without him the first game to beat a bad Kings team, but clearly missed the league’s fourth-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder

as the offense sputtered and they got beat on the boards in a loss to crucial loss to Memphis Wednesday. 2. Wolves: Playoff team or no?

As I wrote last week, they are right in the running to pick up the seventh or eighth spot in the West. I fully expect them to go on a four-to-five-game tear at some point soon. They’re all but healthy now and figuring out Coach Rick Adelman’s schemes, Nikola Pekovic looks like the answer at center, and they have a few trade pieces to pick up a solid shooting guard. Of course, there’s also Love and Ricky Rubio, who is in the top three in both assists and steals as a rookie. So I have high hopes to say the least.

3. Will the Vikings move … to Duluth?

This was floated by Duluth State Sen. Roger Reinert, who pointed out that the Green Bay Packers are about the same distance away from Milwaukee as Duluth is from the Twins Cities. I’d say there is about a one-in-amillion chance of this happening. (So you’re saying there’s a chance?) Not that I wouldn’t love it.

4. Will the Wild end their playoff drought?

If Mikko Koivu can put the team on his broad Finnish shoulders upon his return to the lineup, sure they will. But the loss to Nashville immediately following the All-Star Break in which they blew a 4-1 third period lead to lose in regulation 5-4 and the 3-1 slip-up this week against the by

far the worst team in the league, Columbus, were calamities. It’s going to be a dogfight amongst six or seven teams for the final two playoffs spots and there isn’t a lot of margin for error for the Wild who have free-fallen the last two months after their hot start to the season.

5. Can the Gophers make the NCAA Tournament field?

As unlikely as it seemed when Trevor Mbakwe went down with a season-ending knee injury and even as more improbably as it seemed when they started off their Big Ten schedule with a 0-4 start, Tubby Smith’s boys are on the cusp. A win Thursday night at home over No. 22 Wisconsin would get them to .500 in the conference and the rest of their schedule sets up favorably – five of their last seven games are at home. Finishing at or above .500 in the Big Ten with a win or two in the conference tournament would likely get them in.

That’s all the time and space I’ve got. I’d do more if I could figure out the fourth dimension.

Until next time…

Brian Miller is a longtime local sports writer. He is equally amenable to glowing accolades and scathing reviews at miller24bri@gmail.com.