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StribSports UPLOAD is where you’ll see what other people are saying about Minnesota sports. It could be a report from another city’s media following a game. It could be a blog or video from somewhere in Minnesota. It could be serious or funny, on point or off the wall. It could be something you tell us about. Send stuff to UPLOAD here. All correspondence to UPLOAD is on the record unless requested otherwise.
Posts about Brett Favre
Wisconsin fans react to Bielema's exit: 'This makes me happier than putting up 70'
Posted by: Brian Stensaas Updated: December 4, 2012 - 10:08 PM
As you might imagine, reaction in the Badger State to the report Bret Bielema took the head football job at Arkansas came fast and furious Tuesday afternoon. A quick read through message boards and comment streams associated with stories here, here and here run the gamut.
Good for Bret
Bo knows: Was BB perfect? Of course not. But he did still manage to lead Wisconsin to 3 straight Rose Bowls. This state has been too spoiled in recent years by Barry, Bo, and Bret and forgot where the athletic program used to be.
Good riddance, Bret
Toadmanjack: Don't let the door hit you in your goofy-looking living-off-of-Barry-Alvarez-a**.
We’re happy
Badger Bob: This makes me happier than putting up 70 last week.
We’re in trouble
GSOBadger: This is horrible news. We had a chance to get a good win in the RB, now probably gone. We were poised for a great season next year, now probably gone. We have a great recruiting class lined up, expect many to bail.
This is exactly what the program needs
RichardSRussell: You don't expect a guy with a Hawkeye tattoo to have the same level of loyalty to the cardinal and white as, say, Pat Richter. Still, I thought he'd have enough loyalty to his TEAM not to drop this kind of distraction on them just a few weeks before the Rose Bowl. Best of luck anyway, Bret. And remember who gave you your big break.
This program will never win another game
Tobin: Seriously, this is a big problem for Bucky. Any new coach coming in will want to hire his own coaches. Look at how Bucky struggled adapting to the new coaching this year. We were set up for a great year next year with the O-line more experienced and our super RBs and Stave able to play again. Are there any Urban Meyers out there?
After initial spouts of reactionary posts, many – like Tobin here - turned to speculation. A popular thought to replace Bielema is Paul Chryst. He’s the offensive coaching mind who left the Badgers last season for Pittsburgh and eventually hired away ex-Badgers QB Brooks Bollinger from his coaching post at Hill-Murray High School. The thought makes sense, although later in the evening Chryst issued a statement saying he's perfectly happy at Pitt.
Other suggestions that came up again and again: former Vikings offensive coordinator and Badgers QB Darrell Bevell and former coach and current Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez.
It should also be noted that a certain former NFL MVP currently spending time coaching high school football and mowing his lawn in Mississippi came up a few places.
Yes, there are some out there pining for Coach Brett Favre in Wisconsin. Another name seen more than once? Former Vikings coach Brad Childress, who ran a kick-(rear-end) offense at Wisconsin as offensive coordinator in the 1990s.
View from Detroit: 2 Suters don't equal 1 Lidstrom
Posted by: Howard Sinker Updated: July 10, 2012 - 9:21 AMA Michigan writer says that Red Wings fans shouldn't fret over the team not signing Zach Parise or Ryan Suter.
Pat Caputo, a reporter and columnist for the Oakland Press, reserves his harshest words for Suter: Not signing the defenseman "may turn out to be the best thing that could have happened to the Red Wings. Sure, they need a replacement for defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, perhaps the greatest player to ever take his position. Suter was the best available option. But he is not Nicklas Lidstrom.
"He has never been a second-team NHL all-star nor a Norris Trophy finalist for best defenseman in the NHL. His plus-minus ratio is minus-4 in 39 career playoff games, and he was a minus player in last spring’s playoffs, too. And the Red Wings offered $90 million for him?"
Lidstrom, one of hockey's all-time greats, retired last season at age 42. Caputo continues: "Even last season, even in his 40s, Lidstrom was considerably better player than Suter until he took a shot off his ankle which greatly hindered his play. Honestly, two Ryan Suter’s don’t equal one Nicklas Lidstrom.
Of Parise, Caputo writes: "Parise didn’t lead the Devils to the Stanley Cup finals. He had eight goals, 15 points and was minus-eight in 24 playoff games — hardly the stuff of Wayne Gretzky."
You can read Caputo's words as spin in the aftermath of a failed free-agent quest by Detroit. Or you can remember the hype surrounding the signings of Joe Mauer and Brett Favre (and even Tsuyoshi Nishioka) and have examples where thoughts of championships turned into illusions. Remember when Twins fans were excited about Nishioka ... and of one mind about the Mauer deal?
The reality is... who knows? What happens next -- good or not so good -- is the fun of what happens when an owner takes a stand on behalf of his team.
Here's the rest of Caputo's column. And you can follow him on Twitter here.
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