Happy Thanksgiving Everybody
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of a well-crafted Patrick Reusse hatchet job. One of my favorite holiday traditions is reading his "Turkey of the Year" column every Thanksgiving in the Strib. Last night the column was posted online. I clicked on it and then quickly closed my browser - the Turkey column is best enjoyed in print with a cup of coffee. I decided to wait until today to enjoy it. This year's column is of course a gem, with cheap shots galore:
It was basically a lousy year for the Twins' slap hitters, including a guest Piranha, Joe (Big Slappy) Mauer.
---
Derek Boogaard. He runs a summer fight camp for hockey players, makes more threats toward opponents than the Russian mafia, and then whines that the referees look at him more closely than other players during his three 30-second shifts a night for the Wild.
---
Certainly, (Don Lucia) deserves another table setting today for having his choice of recruits and winding up with the lowest graduation rate in Division I hockey. A reminder: Early pro signees don't count against the graduation rate, unless they are not in good academic standing when they leave school.
---
Who was the eventual Turkey of the Year? You'll have to read it (and read it you should) to find out. A clue:
This man swept in from an NFL assistant's job and shot off his mouth as if he were the second coming of Bobby Bowden. He talked of reviving a proud football tradition and winning championships, and then in 2007 produced more losses than in any season in this great school's history.