Follow us on TwitterJanuary 12, 2012
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NFL Divisional Round Playoff Picks
In last week's Wild Card round, I went four for four (yay me!). This week, oh man, I haven't got a clue. We've got some intriguing and exciting matchups. The NCAA could learn a lesson from the NFL. Just sayin'. Anyway, let's get it on.
New Orleans at San Francisco: The Saints are the hot, sexy team. The 49ers are kind of the slow, dumpy team. But you know what happens in the playoffs, right? Dumpy typically trumps sexy. My pick: San Francisco.
Denver at New England: I prayed to Tim Tebow for guidance, but he didn't answer me. I think he was too busy answering all of the prayers for snow around here. Thanks Tim! I desperately want another Tebow miracle this Saturday night, but as much as I believe, I really don't believe. I'm so disappointed in myself. The pick: New England.
Houston at Baltimore: Because this is the most boring game on paper, it'll probably be the best game on the field. Baltimore seems like the easy pick, but I don't like the way Ravens QB Joe Flacco was whining about being compared to good NFL QBs. I think that kind of whining is going to result in some J.J. Watt-style karma. Turnovers rule. The pick: Houston.
New York at Green Bay: This game terrifies me. I don't think the Packers defense can stop anyone, but I also don't think anyone can stop the Packers. I'm going to lose some hair and wear a path in the floor over this one. The pick: Green Bay.
What do you think? More » -
What’s wrong with Minnesota?
I've often wondered what's wrong with the Minnesota sports fan, but I think it's worth digging into a little bit more. To outsiders, I suspect that the upper Midwest looks like a homogeneous land of interchangeable white people. Of course, they couldn't be more wrong. Minnesota and Wisconsin, although neighbors, are almost complete cultural opposites.
Why is that? I suspect it has something to do with immigration patterns. I wanted to take a look at where modern day Minnesotans came from compared to the cultural heritage of Wisconsinites. I put together a couple of charts for a visual comparison:
At first glance, they're not that different. But on closer examination, what jumps out at you is just how much less Scandinavian and more Polish Wisconsin is. In fact, while Poles make up just over 5% of Minnesota's population, they're nearly 10% of Wisconsin. And, Polish pockets like Milwaukee and Central Wisconsin can be over 30% Polish. Could it be that somewhere between 5 and 9% is the Polish "tipping point" - the point where the mass of Poles is enough to greatly influence the rest of the culture towards polka, kielbasa, hard drinking and uncommon loyalty to sports teams?
Selfishly, I'd like to think so, but in reality I think that's only part of the story. Just like outsiders assume Upper Midwesterners are all alike, we assume that Scandinavians are all alike. Of course, Swedes, Danes & Norwegians disagree:
As a matter of fact, jokes featuring "the Swede, the Dane and the Norwegian" are ubiquitous among children in the three countries: the Swede is always depicted as a rich and arrogant child of the Enlightenment, the Dane as a slightly decadent hedonist, and the Norwegian as an uneducated, often stupid country bumpkin. These jokes illustrate how mutual stereotypes not only contribute to the definition of the other, but also function recursively in the definition of the self. The following example is in many ways typical:
A Swede, a Dane and a Norwegian are shipwrecked on the proverbial desert island. A genie appears out of thin air, informing them that they can each have a wish granted. The Swede immediately says, "I want to go home to my large and comfortable bungalow with the Volvo, video and slick IKEA furniture." So he vanishes. The Dane then says, "I want to go back to my cozy little flat in Copenhagen, to sit in my soft sofa, feet on the table, next to my sexy girlfriend and with a sixpack of lagers." Off he flies. The Norwegian, after giving the problem a bit of thought, then tells the genie, "Cor, I suddenly feel so terribly lonely here, so I guess I wish for my two friends to come back."
Reading that was definitely an "A ha!" moment for me. Maybe it's not that Minnesota was settled by more Scandinavians and fewer Poles, maybe it's more specific than that. Sure enough, a quick look does reveal that Minnesota is the most Swedish of all the States while the Dakotas and Wisconsin are more Norwegian and Wisconsin, in particular, has more Danes (as if you couldn't guess that).
It all makes sense, doesn't it? Minnesota was settled by people who had, for generations, looked down their Nordic noses at their "dumb" or hard-partying neighbors. These people may have crossed the Atlantic, but they didn't really change their ways. This is exactly the kind of attitude Minnesota has towards Wisconsin. One of the local free papers even has a running item about "weird Wisconsin" that usually has something to do with drunks and/or cows.
Much like the Poles in Wisconsin, Minnesota's Swedes had the critical mass to make the State their own, for better or worse.More » -
Brett Favre’s brother receives pardon from outgoing Mississippi governor Haley Barbour
The brother of former Green Bay Packers quarterback and Mississippi native Brett Favre has been pardoned by Haley Barbour, whose last day as governor was Tuesday. State records released Tuesday show Earnest Scott Favre had his record cleared in the 1996 death of his best friend, Mark Haverty.. . -
Anthony Mason Is Now Wisconsin’s Second-Worst Tax Offender
Over the summer, we learned that former NBA player Latrell Sprewell was officially Wisconsin's worst tax scofflaw, thanks to the state's public list of the top 100 delinquent taxpayers. Back then, Sprewell owed more than $3.5 million—but as of this week, he's no longer on the list. Anthony Mason, who last played with the Bucks in 2003, has advanced to the No. 2 spot in his former colleague's absence. (Not that this is a competition or anything.)More » -
In early matchup, New York and Wisconsin cheddars vie to see who’s the big cheese
The Green Bay Packers’ most rabid fans, known as cheeseheads, take it as an article of faith that their state makes the best cheddar. But is it really any match for the New York version? As the New York Giants prepare to face the Packers in the playoffs Sunday, The Daily News staged a showdown between the two states’ cheddars in a blind taste test in Times Square Tuesday. “New York’s better at everything,” declared Gina Guglielmo, 18, a college student from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. . -
Hedwig, Is That You? Snowy Owls Apparate Into the U.S.
The Harry Potter series may have met its fateful end in 2011 with the release of the epic story’s final film, but one of the chronicle’s most beautiful characters is in the spotlight once more after being recently spotted throughout the U.S. No, we’re not talking about any of the witches or wizards in J.K. Rowling’s extraordinary series. We’re talking about owls — in particular, majestic snowy owls like Hedwig, the courier bird that accompanied Harry to Hogwarts and beyond for several fictional years. According to the Associated Press, snowy owls are swooping into the States for a massive migration this winter. Researchers believe that the owls, which can have a wingspan of nearly 5 feet and reach 2 feet in height, had a strong breeding season this summer due to an increase in their main food source: Arctic lemmings. More » -
John Parr Updates St. Elmo’s Fire Theme Song For Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow probably doesn’t even remember the 1980s. But the man behind one of the decade’s most memorable songs has updated its lyrics in light of the Denver quarterback’s miraculous performances, which might just take the Bronocs all the way to the Super Bowl. The singer John Parr, earned a Grammy nomination in 1985 for the “Man in Motion” track, best known for for being the theme to Brat Pack movie St. Elmo’s Fire. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 two years before Tebow was born. Parr has now released a tweaked version, which contains lyrics such as, “You know I’m out there/Down on one knee/A prisoner/And I’m tryin’ to break free.” Fists are almost certainly about to be pumped once again.More » -
Meatless in the Midwest: A Tale of Survival
IN an ideal world, vegetarians would be built like camels. Not humpbacked, of course, but able to sustain themselves through long stretches by tapping stored energy reserves, like previously consumed soy products. But after the first three dinners in my new hometown, where I moved from New York to cover the Midwest for this newspaper, even this veteran vegetarian was flagging. This city, after all, is celebrated as a Mecca of meat. And any newcomer should expect to start with a tour of the most venerable purveyors of cows, pigs and chickens in what I’ve been told are their most delicious forms.More » -
Haiti quake put NW survivor on new path in life
When Haiti's earthquake hit, Rachel Prusynski was visiting her friend, Molly Hightower of Port Orchard, who was doing volunteer work with orphans and special-needs children. Hightower, 22, died, trapped by rubble. Prusynski, on a higher floor of the collapsed building, was rescued, a survivor of the epic disaster that slammed Haiti two years ago Thursday. "I remember being buried, then I remember not being buried," Prusynski recalls. "It's the in-between that was fuzzy."More » -
Mitt Romney’s Dilemma: Picking a Running Mate if He’s the GOP Nominee
The veepstakes is one of the great political parlor games, an exercise both fascinating and overrated. A bad pick can hurt a campaign, as John McCain learned last time, but only in the rarest of instances does a No. 2 help a presidential candidate win the White House. (Could Hillary Clinton be an exception? Former New York Times editor Bill Keller is sure promoting the idea. But that remains a fantasy, given the remote likelihood that Barack Obama would dump Joe Biden.)More » -
Interim UW Chancellor Ward defends silence in Chadima case
Sources have told the State Journal the investigation stems from an incident in Los Angeles when the UW football team prepared to play in the Rose Bowl.. . -
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