The Tiger Woods show

Welcome to the greatest spectacle on earth (or at least in American sports), boys and girls.

Yessirree, step right up and get your peanuts, corn dogs, and cotton candy. You thought circuses were a thing of the past? Not so. One is still very much alive and well.

That would be the Eldrick Tont Woods (sometimes known as Tiger) show.

Sound the trumpets, bring on the dancing girls, and all ye peons fall to your knees in awe. Yep, the almighty Tiger has made his triumphant return to golf. Again, for the umpteenth time.

Many have said this supposedly monumental occasion has been "long awaited".

There are others, including yours truly, that considered it "long dreaded".

Nevertheless, there was the, ahem, honorable Eldrick participating in a mini-golf tournament called the Hero Challenge. Indeed, hard as it is to believe, some actually still consider Woods some sort of hero. Crazy, I know.

And sure enough, when the first round was over, the fawning media went right back to their old tricks. An interview with Tiger. Then another one, while totally ignoring the players that had fared better on the course. My stomach was starting to get a bit queasy.

They screamed to the heavens that, OMG, Tiger was on the leader board at three under par. Nevermind that in a meager eighteen man field it's pretty hard NOT to be on the leader board, and he was in a modest eighth place.

Yet here's the thing. This particular field included eight of the top nine rated golfers in the world. You know, studs like Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Rickey Fowler, and Matt Kuchar.

So here's a question. How, pray tell, did Eldrick, who was ranked roughly #1200 in the world, belong in this tournament in the first place? 1200? Did anybody know the rankings even went down that far? They probably otherwise wouldn't, except the rankers had to find a way to keep Eldrick in the conversation.

Even if ET Woods finishes dead last -- and he might very well crash and burn like the Hindenburg over the next few days -- he'll still zoom up all the way to -- wait for it -- inside the top 1000. Well glory hallelujah and call the adoring masses to prayer to give thanks. Meanwhile, I'm reaching for the Pepto to try and quell the growing unease in my abdomen. Urp.

But that wasn't enough for the pseudo hero-worshipers (see TV folks) trying to resurrect their fallen idol.

Oh no, they had to show the public another huge dose of Eldrick "highlights", over and over and over. See Tiger drive. See Tiger putt. See Tiger strolling up the fairways. See everything Tiger, ad nauseum, and then in slo-mo a few more times.

And that did it. I had no choice but to run to the throne, get on my knees, and do a little worshiping of the porcelain receptacle myself. Barf.

Here's the last questions. What does it take for supposedly otherwise semi-intelligent people to finally understand this guy isn't any good any more?  And why do they keep trying to make him a hero, when he's obviously proven he's anything but in so many ways?

Woods has about as much chance of coming back to the tour and winning anything, much less being dominant, as I have of becoming Mr. Universe next year.

True, anything's theoretically possible, save perhaps a certain president acting his age, but let's just say the odds aren't exactly good for any of these things to happen.

The moral of the story?

Stick a long overdue fork in dear Eldrick. Good grief. If his ex Elin had succeeded in rightfully taking a divot out of his head with one of his own clubs when the poor lass discovered the breadth of her husband's infidelity, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. And his legendary back problems would be the least of his worries.

Like it or not, the dude's done, and has been -- heavy on the "HAS BEEN" -- for quite some time.

Much like Humpty Dumpty, there just ain't no putting that critter back together again.

One can only wonder how long it will take before the media allows him to mercifully -- for objective sports fans -- slide into the oblivion he has so long deserved.

More dumb things

Interesting TV ad. Call this Senator (pick one) to thank them for everything he/she has done for you during their time in office. Right.

But they don't list a phone number. How dumb is that?

UVerse is an amazing system offered by A.T.&T. Yours truly subscribes to it. Besides throwing in a free DVR, pretty handy, they've figured out a way to have thousands of TV channels, your phone(s), and computer(s) all come through the same little cable into your domicile. Did I mention amazing?

But here's the thing. They also say in the unlikely event such service is disrupted for any reason, punch up a certain number on your phone or go online to a specific site for assistance in restoring it.

Well gee, that's great, except for a couple minor details. If the service is out, your phone won't work, and your computer will be incapable of going online. Who's the genius that came up with this idiocy? Anybody home A.T. &T?

And buyer beware. Yep, you can get the first couple years at a cut-rate price. See bait. But when that offer runs out, it's hammer time in your wallet.

On to sports.

Michael Crabtree of the Oakland Raiders and Aqib Talib of the Denver Broncos evidently don't much care for each other. But as you've likely seen on replays, they went nuts during a recent game with their childish little feud. For this lunacy, they were originally suspended for two games, but that was subsequently reduced to one. These clowns should have been suspended for the rest of the season, obviously without pay, and made to take anger management classes. And a quick trip to the woodshed, with their head coaches brandishing "switches" to light their ignorant butts up wouldn't have been a bad idea either.

And how dumb do you have to be (hello Michael Crabtree) to try and throw punches at an opponent when he still has his helmet on?  If I was Talib, let the fool hit me in the face mask with his fist, rather than trying to duck and run. In fact, lean into it. Who do you think would get the worse of that encounter? Can you say broken fingers and/or hand? Stupidity at its finest, both ways.

So Eli Manning of the NY Giants has been benched, and many are in an uproar about it. Hey, this guy's been stinking it up for the last couple years, and has always been grossly over rated. It remains absolutely confounding how the Giants were able to knock off the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years ago. It was sort of like the "Miracle on Ice" team the USA had way back in the 1980 Olympics. They defeated the might Soviet Red Army team in the semi-finals.

Tell ya what. Let either of those games be played ten more times, and neither Eli and the Giants nor those American college kids would win a single one of them. They'd all be blow-outs. A couple of flukes if there ever was.

It's reminiscent of the late Mohammed Ali defeating George Foreman in the "rumble in the jungle" a few decades ago with the "rope-a-dope" tactic. You'll notice Ali never gave big George the opportunity of a rematch. The "grill" man wouldn't have fallen for the same ruse again, and Ali knew it, so he took the cowardly way out and didn't give the big man another chance. Even though Ali himself, after having first being defeated by Smokin' Joe Frazier quickly got a re-match. And after getting pummeled by Ken Norton Sr. in their first go-round got another chance as well. He lost that fight too, everywhere but on the (likely rigged judges) scorecards. Smart moves by Ali. Dumb for the boxing world to tolerate such obvious shenanigans. Either man up or get out.

Same thing with Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. First time around, Duran thumped Leonard thoroughly. In the rematch, Duran has been known ever since as the "no mas" guy that quit. So who knows? Maybe he had some serious stomach problems or internal bleeding going on. But Leonard walked off into the sunset, never offering a rubber match and was somehow anointed a hero. Duran has been equally shamed over all the years since. They fought twice and each one once. It's dumb to consider one so much better than the other, especially given Leonard's silver-spoon treatment throughout his career while Duran was clawing his way to stardom from the ghettos of Panama. And while the latter was likely the greatest lightweight of all time, he had to take a big leap into the next weight class up to face Leonard in the first place.

Interesting how the NFL is trying to buy it's way -- see major donations to "worthy" causes -- out of the players kneeling during the national anthem snafu. Sure, the league can easily afford to throw a few million at one entity or another. Chump change. What will be even more interesting is if the league stipulates that by doing so, every single player must stand. If even one takes a knee, the deal's off. No free money. What do you think the chances are of THAT happening -- either way? You just know there will be at least one idiot that has to take a "stance" and foul up the whole works.

Hey, this whole thing has been overblown since the start. If players don't want to stand -- who cares? It's not like it's taking money from or otherwise hurting anybody else -- except their precious "feelings". You'll notice said players haven't demanded others take a knee. So who is anybody else to tell them how to act when their First Amendment rights of "freedom of expression" clearly grant them the right to protest in such a manner? This has been top to bottom dumb since that former San Fran QB took a knee in the first place. Did I mention -- why would any sane person care? If you don't like it, by all means feel free to boycott the NFL. That is your right as well, but shut up. Don't those howling the loudest have anything better to concern themselves with? If not, three words. Get a life.

And just when you think it can't possibly get any dumber ---

Enter the tried and true folks at the Accuweather Service.

They have fearlessly predicted the northern parts of the USA will get colder as Christmas and the New Year approach.

Well dang, bet you'd have never thought of that.

Please.

College football championship

And so far, the Final Four will be -- nobody knows. Unlike most years, there are no "locks" to date. Yet there are a couple in waiting, a few more maybes, and the perennial "long shots" hoping to get in, but probably won't.

Also one familiar name that rightfully got bounced out the Top Four by getting thoroughly defeated last week, but sits in the catbird seat with a better than average chance of getting back in -- even though they won't be playing this weekend. Hint -- it has something to do with Nick Saban and Tuscaloosa.

But let's look at some of the match-ups.

Clemson/Miami for the ACC title. With a a win, Clemson's a lock for the Final Four, despite their earlier mysterious loss at unranked Syracuse. If Miami wins, Clemson's probably out and Alabama back in.

Oklahoma/TCU. The Sooners are a lock if they win the Big 12 showdown, but TCU won't get back in if they prevail. The latter scenario would also eliminate the Sooners and let the Crimson Tide back in.

USC/Stanford for the Pac 12 title. Two words. Who cares?

Memphis/UCF for the AAC crown. Somebody had to step up and challenge Central Florida, might as well be Memphis. While this will likely be a blow-out, the still undefeated Knights of UCF won't get anywhere near the Final Four, though all the other teams (except Wisconsin -- see below) have gone down at one time or another. In some cases twice. How can a 2-loss team be considered a more worthy candidate than one that is undefeated, regardless of what conferences they play in?

Alcorn State/Grambling State. Not sure what the "SWAC" acronym stands for -- perhaps "Sealed With A Curse?", but see the comment above regarding the Pac 12. Ditto.

C-USA features North Texas and FAU, whatever that is. I didn't know any part of Texas could be considered "north", nor even relevant in this year's playoffs. Just go away.

Akron/Toledo for MAC bragging rights? Sounds like an Ohio Bowl to me and the only "Mac" that occasionally whets my appetite is served up at those joints with the golden arches out front. Get this crap outta here.

The Big Ten --actually 14 these days -- features a very good game with undefeated Wisconsin taking on Ohio State. If the Badgers win, they're a lock for the Final Four. Forget strength of schedule. They play in a "power" conference and will be the only undefeated team still left -- sorry again UCF. But let's not forget that in a similar situation just last year, the Buckeyes put an unmerciful woodshed beat down on the Cheesers to the tune of 59-0. Could there be an almost NINE touchdown swing in this year's match-up? Probably not.

And if Ohio State wins, the Badgers drop out of contention, as so many seem to want them to. It also elevates that pesky Alabama back in. Do you see a recurring theme here?

The SEC championship will be decided by powerhouses Auburn and Georgia. As mentioned above, Auburn was the team to slay Alabama just last week, knocking them down to #5, on the cusp, but not in the magical Final Four.

If the Tigers prevail, they're a lock as well. But if the Dawgs come out on top, Auburn likely falls off the radar and -- you guessed it -- that pesky Crimson Tide finds itself with an invite to the party. Again, the same theme, that while Bama sits home and twiddles their thumbs, they have a better than average chance of moving back up. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical, much less fair. But Alabama is a big money team when it comes to TV, their sponsors, and the national hype they always generate. Much more so than a Wisconsin, Clemson, or Auburn.

And let's face it. The only reason there are so many bowls these days, though many of them feature teams somewhere between ho-hum and "THAT team made it to a bowl -- REALLY?" -- is all about the money. Strike up the marching bands and collect a few million bucks, ad nauseum.

This Saturday will be a college football extravaganza for sports junkies. (Guilty, Your Honor). A whole LOT of clicking with the remotes going on from coast to coast.

And when it's all said and done, the Final Four will be set in stone, or at least the best guess the almighty "committee" of geniuses can come up with. Regardless of how it all turns out, there are sure to be howls of protest from those that think they were unfairly excluded. And some of them will definitely have legitimate beefs.

I feel your pain, Central Florida. You're the contender that KOed all comers along the way but was never given a title shot.

And somehow, that's just not right.

The NFL and the Lions

There can be no doubt the NFL is very much alive, well, and remains the gorilla in the sports room. No other league, at least in America, even comes close regarding popularity. Careful observers on TV have seen a lot of empty seats at NASCAR races in recent times, but not so in NFL stadiums. Even perennial losing teams still pack them in at exorbitant prices.

While it is true that NFL stock has taken a minor dip of late due to the whole uproar about players refusing to stand for the national anthem, to think it does not remain a blue chip is pure folly.

The TV people are more than happy to keep throwing billions at the league for the right to televise their games, their subsequent ad rates remain astronomical, and player salaries continue to rise into the stratosphere of the absurd.

There was a time when all but a couple NFL games were played on Sundays. Then along came Monday Night Football back in the early 70s.. Howard, Dandy Don, and the Giffer were huge hits with the viewing public, as were the games. The only change MNF has seen in the interim has been ratings going up -- not down.

The "couple" mentioned above were the two games on Thanksgiving day. Detroit and Dallas had a monopoly on that.

Sensing another cha-ching opportunity, the league recently began offering Thursday night games every week. Football junkies loved it. Still do.

It's like the public can't get enough of the product.

Yet these very Thursday games and, to a lesser extent, the Monday night contests put teams at a disadvantage. Ask any NFL player, or coach, and they will tell you it's mighty hard to recover from the typical beatings they take on a Sunday to be ready to play another game 4 days later. EVERY day is important when it comes to recuperating from the bumps and bruises incurred during the last contest.

But there's a flip side. Any two teams meeting for a Thursday night clash are at the same disadvantage, unless one has to travel cross-country to get there, but that's another story.

While such teams have to suck it up and get through a short week, they also enjoy a distinct advantage the following week. As in, they get ten days off, while most other teams only get seven. Those extra three days are light years in recovery and preparation time for their next opponents.

This is where the Detroit Lions, as if they haven't already merrily waltzed along the primrose path this season, enjoying every possible break from injuries to star players on their opponents, to a patsy overall schedule, have bumbled into yet ANOTHER advantage.

As has been their long tradition, the Lions played on Thanksgiving day, where they were unceremoniously drubbed at home by the Minnesota Vikings. So they got ten days off before their next game.

Enter the Baltimore Ravens, very much in the playoff hunt. They are currently playing on MNF against the Houston Texans. Both enter the game having had an extra day's rest since their last go-round.

But the Ravens, the Lions' next opponent, will go into that game on one fewer day's rest than normal, while the Lions have had three EXTRA days. Six versus ten. A HUGE disadvantage/advantage, depending on which team one wants to look at.

That would seem to beg the question --- How can it be the "geniuses" that make out the NFL schedules could come up with such an inequity involving these two teams? This is not even remotely close to anything considered "fair". Of all the countless options they had when making the schedule they came up with THIS?

No, we won't hear the Ravens complain about it, because to do so would be considered "whining". Nor will we hear a peep from the Lions acknowledging yet another major advantage/break that has just fallen into their laps.

But it has, and the Lions and their fans once again take it for granted, oblivious to the charmed life they have stumbled through so far this season. The Vikings freshly down to their third-string quarterback when they first met? The Packers newly without Aaron Rodgers? Games against the likes of Arizona (not good), NY Giants (flat-out terrible), a couple with the Bears trying to break in a rookie QB, along with Cleveland (puhleeze), the still Marvin Lewis led Cincinnati team (how does he keep his job?), Tampa Bay (taking on water like the Titanic), and finishing up with the Pack, who is already out of playoff contention (if they have any brains they'll sit Aaron Rodgers until next year and allow him to completely recover)?

That's ten games against teams that either weren't any good to begin with, or were without key players when the Lions faced them.

Hey, the Motown puddy-tats have played a grand total of five games against decent teams. Carolina, Atlanta, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota after that third-string QB mentioned above (Case Keenum) had a few games under his belt to get comfortable. They have lost them all, four of them at home.

And guess what? They better hope the Ravens prevail against the Texans tonight. Because if they lose, the above-mentioned six versus ten disadvantage aside, methinks the Poe-birds will be fired up enough to lay a serious dose of "nevermore" on the woeful one-trick pony (Matthew Stafford) Lions when they dare to go into Baltimore next week.

For all of their oblivious Pollyanne-ish ways so far this season, as they've merrily strolled along, there can also be little doubt the hammer of Thor will eventually drop on their sorry, self-overrated heads.

Why?

Because it's the Lions.

And that's just what they've always done -- or not.

It's just another year piled on top of the colossal scrap heap of the past half century's worth of futility and foolishness.

No biggy.

The college football playoff shuffle

With Alabama taking it on the chin at Auburn, by a more than convincing margin, things have changed when it comes to who gets in and who gets left out of the four team playoff for a national championship.

Teams who should be out.

The aforementioned Bama. For two reasons. If you're the #1 team in the country, you're not supposed to lose to anybody anywhere, even a cross-state rival, especially by almost two touchdowns worth. Second, while the other big boys were slugging it out in power conference games, just last week Bama scheduled lowly Mercer -- MERCER -- to pad their stats. Have they no shame? And while an early season loss may be later forgiven (see Clemson @ Syracuse), one on the cusp of the playoffs is fatal. When the pressure was on, the Tide ebbed when it should have flowed. They gotta go.

Same with Miami. They were right there, undefeated, until they got pounded by an unranked Pittsburgh team. The 'Canes quickly became no more than stains on the playoff picture. Scoot.

Ohio State. Despite a really good Oklahoma team coming into the Buckeyes house and thrashing them early in the season, we might have got by that over time. But when OSU went into unranked Iowa a couple months later and got blistered 55-24, a colossal beat down, their playoff fate should have been sealed. As in, they don't deserve one.

Teams who should be in.

Clemson. The defending champs, not that that means anything -- it doesn't -- have rebounded nicely since the above mentioned stumble @ Syracuse. They just clobbered a pretty good #24 South Carolina team on the road to finish up the regular season. They might well be the best team in the country.

Oklahoma, probably. Yes, they were defeated at home by an otherwise not-so-good Iowa State team back in October, but also have quality wins on their resume. If they can prevail over a really good TCU team in their conference championship game -- no given -- they will have punched their ticket.

Auburn has to be right there. Yes, they have two Ls on their record. The first at then #3 Clemson in a close game, and a head-scratcher at LSU. But since, they've defeated then #1 Georgia and just now #1 Alabama. Minus the couple of patsies any major college program typically plays every year, it just might be the Tigers have had the toughest schedule of them all through the season. Now they'll get another crack at the Georgia Dawgs in the SEC conference championship game. Win it, and they're definitely in. Lose it, and they're out. Seems fair enough.

No team is more deserving than Wisconsin. Not counting Central Florida (see previous post), the Badgers are the only undefeated team to date. It's hardly a secret the powers that be probably don't want to see the Cheesers in the playoff picture. Small market, lesser TV ad bucks, etc., adds up to trying to figure out a way to deny them the chance. But undefeated in a "power" conference is undefeated. Period.

They'll get their shot at glory when they face Ohio State in the Big Ten conference championship game. The Buckeyes, for reasons listed above, should already be eliminated from playoff contention. And if the Badgers fall to such a team when it matters most, shame on them, and the pollsters will gleefully write them off. But even if it's close, and they lose, Wisconsin will still only have one L on their record, no more than any other contender. Still, they can more than validate their presence in the Final Four by dispatching the Buckeyes, who just might be without the services of their starting quarterback. I, for one, would love to see Wisconsin in the mix. I mean, c'mon. What else do they have to cheer for in that state? The Packers without Aaron Rodgers are floundering. They deserve a major break. The Milwaukee Bucks are no better than average in the NBA. The Brewers remain terrible in Major League baseball. No NHL presence. Last time I looked even Harley-Davidson stock wasn't doing so well. The boom years of wannabes standing in line and paying exorbitant prices for bikes are over. On Wisconsin indeed. Sis-boom-bah. Here would seem to be the pertinent question. How can it be that a 12-0 team (Wisconsin) still finds itself at #5 (on the outside looking in), while the four teams above it have all suffered a defeat?

Maybes with an outside shot.

If the Horned Frogs of TCU put a beat down on Oklahoma, might they be considered?

Is that pesky Notre Dame (see huge ad bucks) still lurking?

Georgia? Probably the most boring state not name Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, or Nebraska to drive through. They might sneak back in, even deserve it, if they can knock off Auburn.

Add it all up and what do you have? A massive ball of confusion where nothing has been sorted out until all the above play one more game. It's been pretty much that way all year with those obsessed with the polls -- not that they mattered for the last few months.

But the upcoming games are the ones that will count the most. Win and you're in. Lose and you should be out. Time to separate the proverbial men from the boys.

And isn't that the way it always should have been?

College football playoff bias

As of now, there are exactly three major college football teams in the country that are undefeated.

They are -- the undisputed #1 Alabama -- everybody knows that.

Wisconsin.

And Central Florida. Yep, the Knights, despite having to cancel and reschedule a couple games due to those pesky hurricanes a while back have nary a loss on their record.

But it appears the powers that be, see pollsters, have conspired against Wisconsin and UCF to keep them out of the championship playoffs.

Let's look at UCF first. True, they don't play in a "power" conference, so many hold their strength of schedule, or lack thereof, against them. To which I say -- horsepuckey.

Though they still can't seem to break into the Top Ten, undefeated is undefeated. Period. And who knows how good they might actually be unless they're given a chance to show it on bigger stages?

One need only look back to last year in the NCAA hoops tourney. Tiny little Gonzaga, student population roughly 7500, and a private school tucked away in the northwest -- no taxpayer money flowing in -- not only got into the hoops tourney, but went all the way to the Finals. There, they barely, BARELY succumbed to the behemoth North Carolina, student pop upwards of 30,000, and on the taxpayers' dime.

The Zags are in the little known West Coast Conference. Along with Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Santa Clara, and that bunch.

The Heels are in the mighty Atlantic Coast Conference. Does Duke ring a bell?

So don't tell me a football team like Central Florida can't play with the "big boys" unless and until they've been given a chance to.

Know why brutes like Alabama, Georgia, Miami, and other "power" schools across the country won't schedule schools like Central Florida? Because they're scared to death to play them. Even if the behemoths win the game, folks will say they should have. But if the underdog keeps it close, much less OMG pulls the upset -- it happens -- the big boys lose major face, let alone watching themselves tumble in the almighty polls. In effect, they have everything to lose and little to gain.

Given the hoops tourney starts off with a field of 66 teams, there was no keeping Gonzaga out.

But the football landscape in quite different. Currently, some mysterious committee, composed of representatives from the "power" (SURPRISE!!) conferences have to whittle the field down to the Final Four before the playoffs even begin. UCF has no shot, because the deck has long been stacked against them.

Consider the Wisconsin Badgers. They're most definitely from a "power" conference, the Big Ten (actually 14 -- evidently not schools a math major would likely be interested in). Yet despite being undefeated, they so far remain outside the Final Four. How can this be?

Hey, Miami was right there until they got smacked down by unranked Pittsburgh. The 'Canes should fall off the radar. Last year's champ Clemson got smoked at Syracuse earlier in the year, also an unranked team. The common perception is an early loss can be overcome, while one late in the season can be fatal to a school's chances.

This is balderdash as well. What difference does it make when a team loses a game it wasn't supposed to -- to a much "lesser" opponent? A loss is a loss. Period.

Georgia was once #1 in some polls. Then they got hammered by Auburn, over three touchdowns worth. See ya Dawgs.

Oklahoma had an early impressive win at Ohio State. But wait, they eventually got smoked at home by Iowa State. Cardinal Rule #1 for any championship wannabe. Thou shalt NOT come up on the short end in thy own house -- to ANYBODY -- let alone a team not even in the Top 25. The Sooners should have become Laters for that colossal miscue.

Of course the only way to make it fair would be to expand the playoff system to at least eight, and maybe even sixteen. What else do these guys have to do during the month of December? Study for finals? Please. Your average big-time football jock likely has the mental acumen (IQ) of a potted plant. Big, fast, strong, but dumber than a red twig dogwood. So let them play a couple extra games leading up to the bowls and playoffs. What could it hurt? Their GPA's? LOL

If Wisconsin runs the table and wins the Big 10-14 whatever conference championship game, remaining undefeated, even the anti-cheeser people will be hard pressed to keep them out of the Final Four.

And if mighty Bama just happens to fall at Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Tide are only a slight favorite over the Tigers, the whole apple cart will get turned upside down. Good luck sorting that out.

But I still think Central Florida is worthy of a shot.

Pity they won't get one.

And that's just wrong.

Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater

Idle thought --- why is it that Americans typically stampede and trample each other getting into stores to buy even more stuff on Black Friday, when just the day before, over a typical gluttonous Thanksgiving day feast, they gave thanks for what they already had?

The quarterback situation for the Minnesota Vikings has certainly taken some weird twists and turns in recent times.

A few years back, they thought Teddy Bridgewater was the answer to their long term problem. So they drafted him in the first round with the 32nd and last pick. Bridgewater had enjoyed much success while playing college ball at Lousville, including big bowl game wins over the likes of Florida and Miami, both of which he was named MVP of. A projected NFL star waiting to happen indeed. Plus, typical of rookie contracts, the Vikes had him under wraps for four years at less than $2 million a year. A bargain by any account. Currently, Bridgewater is still only the relatively young age of 25.

Conversely, the career path of one Case Keenum traveled a much different route. While he played at Houston in college, certainly a Division 1 program, but not with the footprint of a Louisville, Keenum set all-time NCAA records for most passing yards, touchdowns, and completions. Very impressive stuff. Yet he went completely undrafted by the NFL when his time came. Seven full rounds and his phone never rang.

Finally he got a shot with the Houston Texans, but it didn't work out well. Then off to the then St. Louis Rams, where he failed to impress either. Many thought Keenum was headed for the scrap heap of NFL wannabes. So good in college, but a bust in the NFL. It happens a lot at a variety of positions, but especially QB.

Then again, the high position in the draft, or lack thereof, doesn't necessarily equate to success or failure. That Brady guy in New England was a mere 6th round pick, almost an afterthought, and he seems to have worked out rather well over the years.

In late August of 2016, on the cusp of the regular season beginning, Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe non-contact knee injury. So the Vikings sacrificed a couple high future round picks and went out and got one Sam Bradford to step in as their QB. The problem was like it's always been. While immensely talented, one can seemingly measure how long Bradford will stay healthy with an hour glass before something breaks -- with plenty of sand left over. Sure enough, out he went again with yet another injury.

Along the line, Case Keenum had quietly became the Vikings third string quarterback. Backup to a backup. Pretty much a clipboard holder that never saw any reps in practice. And yes, he's 29, a few years Bridgewater's senior, but still in his "prime" years.

But with both Bridgewater and Bradford on the injured reserve list, Keenum found himself called into active duty as the starter. Surely this was destined to be a disaster, right? All the pundits said so. The Vikings were desperate and about to flounder.

But it didn't work out that way. Instead, Keenum has blossomed into quite the force under head coach Mike Zimmer's (and his staff's) tutelage. After the Thanksgiving day win in Detroit, the Vikings have reeled off seven Ws in a row and now sit comfortably atop the NFC Northern Division, by a whopping three games. True, the broken collar bone suffered by Green Bay stud QB Aaron Rodgers pretty much snuffed out the Cheeser chances this year, but sometimes that's just the way it goes in the NFL.

Thing is, the Vikings made a major mistake earlier (in May) this year. They had a (cheap) fifth year option on Bridgewater, but turned it down, even before Keenum emerged as a star, and when Bradford was still healthy, thinking Bridgewater might forever remain damaged goods. And he just might at that -- time will tell.

That in effect makes Bridgewater a free agent after this season is over. Had the Vikings spent a couple more million bucks to keep him around, even as a back-up to Keenum next year, they would have been far further ahead down the road.

Look at it this way. Even if Bridgewater was 100% fully healthy and good to go -- you can't bench a guy that's led your team to seven straight wins, regardless of how he became the starter in the first place. To do so would send a couple messages, both very bad. Keenum would think no matter what he did, it was never going to be good enough. Demoralizing stuff. And if Bridgewater were to return as the starter and promptly lose a couple games -- what do you think the rest of the players on the roster would think about it? And Bridgewater's confidence would take a serious hit as well. A lose-lose scenario. Boneheaded moves like that are a recipe for a head coach to "lose" his team in a hurry. Mike Zimmer is a very smart guy and knows better. If it's running just fine, don't try to fix it.

But there's the rub. If they still had Bridgewater under contract for a fifth year, even as a back-up, and also assuming he returns to full health by the time the 2018 campaign gets under way -- he should -- dear Teddy would have represented some serious trade bait.

Hey, he was pretty good as an NFL starter before the freak knee injury. No doubt there would be several other teams around the league interested in his services.

No, Teddy probably wouldn't have fetched a first round pick, but maybe a second and a lower one or two to compliment it in future drafts.

Instead, by writing him off while the dude's still only 25, and saving a couple million chump change bucks, the Vikings get nothing back in return.

The Minnesota Vikings reeling off seven wins in a row with once "bum" Case Keenum as quarterback is an unlikely scenario indeed. But like the aforementioned Tom Brady, you never know how these things might work out. Best not to give up on them too soon, like the Vikes did Bridgewater.

It might just come back to bite them in their keesters down the road. A couple extra draft picks in the future, regardless of the round, surely couldn't have hurt.

But for now, all hail Case Keenum. The dude is most definitely getting the job done -- and then some.

Yet guess who also becomes an unrestricted free agent after this season?

Yep, Case Keenum. He was signed for a measly couple million this year just like Teddy was being paid.

Methinks the way the one-time Houston record-setting hot shot, then undrafted by the NFL quarterback has lit it up in recent times for the Vikes, will be in line for a super-duper hefty raise come the off season. The team doesn't appear to have much choice. And somewhere his agent smiles.

At long last -- cha-ching.