Live at 5 p.m. Wednesday: Our biggest, baddest sports villains
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With the No. 1 pick of greatest sports villains in Minnesota history I'll take ...Norm Green, who bought the North Stars in 1990 and enjoyed a heroic run as they went to the 1991 Stanley Cup finals.Then he moved the team to Dallas in 1993. There were arena factors, sure, but he ran the franchise into disrepair and sexually harassed female employees. Later versions of the saga would mention his wife, Kelly, forced the move. No word on how the valuable doggies in this picture felt.Patrick Reusse has been hit and miss (mostly hit) with his annual Turkeys, but thinks 1993’s is among his best: Norm changed his story every 10 minutes as he maneuvered his way out of Minnesota. Kelly went to their home in Palm Springs and sulked over the sexual-harassment accusations against her Alberta dandy. "We are nice people," Kelly said on the night the Stars' move to Dallas was announced. "You will like us." Kelly should have added: " . . . until my husband starts suing and threatening to move," events that already have occurred in Dallas." We're proud to say, Norm and Kelly, that after 16 years, the Turkey Awards have reached their zenith with you two.We aren’t allowed to use the work “sucks” in the paper or on the website or on Twitter or Facebook, but if we were, you could say “Norm Sucks” is still a familiar chant to anyone who remembers the Met Center’s multicolored seats. But since we can’t use that word … forget about that sentence. -
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You may not be able to script a better sports villain for the social media age than Aaron Rodgers. There’s an obvious cockiness on the field. His life off the field gets as much attention – did you hear he doesn’t talk to his brother? And the commercials, all the commercials. But what solidifies him as a top sports villain is an unstoppable dominance that, only until recently in the Mike Zimmer era, has started to become somewhat defendable. Rodgers’ Packers are responsible for two of the Vikings’ top 10 worst losses in franchise history, a 38-point loss in 2011 and a 32-point loss in 2014. Dramatic wins during the 2015 season finale and the Anthony Barr hit in the Vikings’ 2017 run to the NFC title game fill out an epic run that’s coming to an end. -
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I sense a theme here!Before he was one of us ... he was one of the greatest villains in Minnesota sports.Brett Lorenzo Favre.16 long years in Green Bay. He went 17-14 all-time against the Vikings, which isn't all that bad for the purple. But he was public enemy number one, even if the announcers thought he was just having fun out there.
Yes, two of the top three villains are Packers quarterbacks. As it should be. -
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My pick for greatest villain isn't a person but instead a monstrous entity spanning decades with no remorse for local fandom...the New York Yankees. Responsible for a 13 game postseason winning streak -- and they have owned the postseason with a 16-2 record overall -- and never ending regular season dominance, as well. Their success seems to mock the Twins at every turn, and it was just as heartbreaking last season when they took a 101 win team and turned them into a JV squad. I hate the Yankees. And I think every Twins fan feels the same way.
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My villain: Drew PearsonThe Dallas receiver pushed off on Vikings cornerback Nate Wright and caught the Hail Mary pass from Roger Staubach to give the Cowboys a 17-14 win in the 1975 NFC Divisional playoffs. That Vikings team won the NFC Central with a 12-2 record and probably would’ve made it to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys beat the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and the Vikings OWNED the Rams in the mid-70s, so we likely missed out on a Vikings-Steelers Super Bowl rematch.
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On a sunny October afternoon in 1967 (at least, Sid claims it was sunny) the Gophers football team rallied from a 15-0 deficit at Memorial Stadium to beat Michigan and bring the Little Brown Jug to Dinkytown for the sixth time in eight years. The celebration didn't last, and wouldn't again for quite some time. Wolverines responded in kind, winning the next nine matchups in the series. From 1971-76, the Gophers were shut out three times. In 1977 the Gophers won again, and Michigan then won eight in a row. The Gophers reclaimed the Jug in 1986, handing the No. 2 Wolverines their only regular-season loss of the season. Michigan didn’t forget, and won the next 16 in the series. None were more painful than the 2003 matchup on a Friday night at the Dome. Michigan bullied the Gophers for 31 fourth-quarter points to keep the Jug, adding to their now 75-25-3 all-time record vs. Minnesota. -
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So, fairly or unfairly, football kickers seem to take a lot of the blame for their mistakes. And in Vikings history you have one obvious option for a spot in villainy, but I'm going to go with the kicker who I think is more deserving of scorn: Blair Walsh, who forever sealed himself in the goat category (the bad kind, not the good GOAT kind) with his missed 27-yard field goal against Seattle in the playoffs. Missed field goals are going to happen, but to miss them from that distance in that situation ... well, you don't see too many people thinking back about Walsh and saying, "I wish we still had him," do you.
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I was debating between Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh but I went with Walsh ...1. Anderson had been perfect all year. Literally perfect. If he had missed one or two kicks during the season I think he would not be as goat-ish for the kick vs. the Falcons.2. Anderson's missed kick didn't cost the Vikings the game. It was one of many factors.3. Walsh's kick was 27 YARDS AND THEY NEEDED IT TO WIN OR ELSE THEY'D LOSE AND HE MISSED AND THEY LOST.
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Joe Christensen is busy doing capital J journalism, but he emailed his preferred picks ahead of time. Amazingly, all four of his villains are still on the board -- led by former chief Blackhawks agitator Al Secord.I wasn't in Minnesota for the Secord Sucks days, but I sure wish I was. Worthy pick from Joe, and it brings us to the final pick of the first round and Pete Steinert.
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I was just thinking, who is the greatest fictional character who was both a villain and also sort of the hero of the story? I would say Tony Soprano? Also maybe Daniel Planview for There Will Be Blood? Any other ideas? In sports of course the only answer is Novak Djokovic.
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Hennepin County vs.Dave ForbesDave Forbes was charged with aggravated assault in Minneapolis in 1975 after butt-ending Henry Boucha's eye socket in a game against the Minnesota North Stars, leaving Boucha with limited vision in the right eye. The trial received much publicity as it was highly unusual for an athlete to face criminal charges for assault during a game. The trial ended with a hung jury; the charges were not refiled. Forbes was suspended for 10 games by the NHL, and Forbes and the Bruins settled a civil case by paying Boucha in excess of one million dollars.Boucha, from Warroad, had joined the North Stars that season. Forbes' hit essentially ended his NHL career.Thank you, Wikipedia, for providing some of this information.
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