The usual mega-Monday edition...early!

The Minnesota Vikings will host the Chicago Bears on the Monday Nighter, and it'll be played at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium with the Metrodome unavailable after last week's deflation of its roof.  Vikes punter Chris Kluwe, who has to be eyeing a post-football career in the player's union given his repeated bitching about how the league doesn't take care of players, is again spouting off that the field will be unplayable, and as hard as concrete, given the lack of heating coils.  Playing Chicago -8 tonight in this one.


If the rumor mill is running accurately, it sounds like we'll be talking about Qatar a lot more in 2011. Talk is a Qatari group is going to purchase Manchester United in June for a mere $2.3 billion (Canadian/U.S.) from those purveyors of trailer trash, the Glazer family, who also own the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I don't know if Michael Vick is a better MVP choice than Tom Brady, and I'd say he's not even close given the time missed, but he sure wins for most exciting player. His Philadelphia Eagles were down 31-10 and in the final 7:28 and roared back to win 38-31 over the shell-shocked New York Giants. Tom Coughlin's dog is going to wish it was Vick's after that meltdown.  That of course brought on an epic Manning Face.

Despite winning 33-30 over the Washington Redskins in a wild game, the Dallas Cowboys can't be too thrilled that in 7 of their last night 9 games, they've allowed 30+ points.  Not exactly what was expected of that talented unit.  Skins QB Rex Grossman almost derailed the rumored reason behind starting him over Donovan McNabb: tanking to get a better draft pick.

The New Jersey Nets, soon heading to Brooklyn under a new name, have now compiled five first round draft picks in the next two years.  That's a hell of a team coming down the turnpike.

Not often I go with trivia here, but let's see if anybody can identify the guy at the right of the picture here.  And yes, that is St. Louis Cardinal Chris Carpenter in the pic as well.  Answer comes tomorrow.

The Price Is Right has seen its ratings drop precipitously since Bob Barker put away his ridiculously oversized microphone and Drew Carrey took over, so what better time for the NHL to get some representation on the show today at 11am?  After all, who knows poor ratings like the NHL?  Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Jeremy Roenick will be on, apparently to promote the Winter Classic during the showcase showdown.

The craziest fan brawls in sports, complete with video evidence.  Far too much North American content, unfortunately.  The rest of the world does fan brawls so much better.

Check out New England Patriots guard Dan Connelly, all 300 or so pounds of him, pick up a kickoff and rumble 71 yards down the field.  Awesome.  More awesome?  He didn't go to the lame oxygen mask after.
 

I'm going to confidently state that Houston Texan Brian Cushing, suspended earlier this year for PED usage, will follow the career arc of Shawne Merriman: explode on the scene, dominate, get busted and suspended, and come back and slowly fade away in a series of injuries.  Of course, Cushing did add "fight with teammate in the middle of a game" to that arc yesterday when he got into it with Antonio Smith.


This is Tom Ince, in England's FA Cup play for Notts County, absolutely embarrassing the AFC Bournemouth defence.