Guess which team now how the best 1-2 punch at corner in the NFC? That’s right baby, your soon-to-be-Super-Bowl-Champion Minnesota Vikings. So, join me in a toast. Raise your glass of milk to Mr. Fred Smoot who's mug should be up on Minnesota billboards everywhere asking, Got Smoot?

Fred Smoot signed a six-year deal worth $30 million, including a $10 million bonus.

Last year, the Vikings gave a comparable contract to cornerback Antoine Winfield, with the weight of the up-front money coming in the form of a roster bonus, given the team's mammoth cap room.

This year, the Vikes were $31 million under the cap prior to signing Smoot. I’ll wait for the final figures, but it appears the Vikes will still have around $20 million left in which to play.

Since the Vikings will no longer be in the market for Pac-Man Jones or Antrell Rolle in the upcoming draft, we now know they will focus on the positions of receiver, defensive end, and/or linebacker with their two first-round picks. Let the guessing begin.

Now Your Downer

Now that I have you smiling from ear-to-ear it is time to turn that smile into a frown. Maybe even a look of, "What in the name of Francis Tarkenton is going on at Winter Park?"

I blame it on the Red Menace, you see. Since McCombs has been so friggin' cheap with the all mighty dollar the last several years the players and coaches have had to resort to other means to put food on the table.

First was Larry Ned. Shipped off the Arizona to play for the Denny Green and the Cardinals, Ned instead decides to steal a fellow passenger's laptop computer after passing through the airport security check. The Cardinals released Ned later in the day.

We all knew that head coach Mike Tice was vastly underpaid in comparison to other NFL coaches. But we didn't know how much until today.

Tice is being investigated by the NFL for allegedly heading up and profiting from a Super Bowl ticket-scalping operation within the Vikings organization, a violation of NFL rules that league sources say has been going on for years.

In mid-January, after the Vikings were eliminated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoffs, a team source said Tice organized the re-selling of Super Bowl tickets for players and club employees. (Each NFL player has the right to buy two Super Bowl tickets at face value, which this year was $500 and $600 depending on the location of the seat). Those who gave their tickets to Tice received $1,900, a mark-up of at least $1,300 per ticket, sources said. Last season, individuals brokering tickets through Tice received $1,100 per ticket, a former Vikings player said.

"Tice has been turning around tickets for years and years," said one player who was with the Vikings in 2003. "He's been selling them to the same guy. He commits to a certain amount every year."

Said another coach: "Mike's the wheeler dealer. But it's just stupidity doing it as a head coach. Maybe the NFL wants to send a wake-up call about scalping, and they're going to come down on Mike."

Did I say frown? Well, I am going to predict that ol' Pencil Ear has coached his last game for the Vikings. For me, the fact that Tice needs to stock up on soap-on-a-rope for his soon-to-be-served jail time will turn my frown upside down.

Let's begin the debate on who is best suited to coach the Vikings next.

Posted by maasx003 at March 8, 2005 09:25 PM | TrackBack