Vikings Trade One Ego for Two Balls!
The best thing I've ever seen this team do:
Agent: Vikings to Deal Moss to Raiders
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer (edited by ME)
MINNEAPOLIS - Randy Moss' electrifying talent was no longer enough for the Minnesota Vikings (news) to put up with his distracting antics. Dante DiTrapano, Moss' agent, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Vikings and the Oakland Raiders (news) had "come to an agreement on Randy playing for Oakland next year."
Neither the Vikings nor the Raiders would confirm the deal, which was first reported by The St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Trade rumors have surrounded the flamboyant Moss all offseason. He struggled with a hamstring injury, but still finished with 13 touchdown catches last season. He was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff win. He also drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a regular-season loss against Washington.
Team leaders Matt Birk and Daunte Culpepper confronted Moss after he walked off at Washington, and the organization's patience with the receiver seemed to dwindle in the past year or so.
"He's my good friend, but you almost get to thinking that maybe enough is enough," Culpepper said earlier this month at the Pro Bowl. "And maybe the Vikings organization has had enough."
Last year's transgressions were the latest in a long line of headline-grabbing negative behavior for Moss that included bumping a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abusing corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirting an official with a water bottle in 1999.
Comments
I'm torn on this one... (see my blog). But I totally see where you're coming from. ("I feel your pain!!!")
Posted by: Sarah | February 23, 2005 09:09 PM
It seems somehow fitting that Moss would go to Oakland.
Posted by: Sabrina | February 23, 2005 11:25 PM
Hmmmmmm... I'm torn. Maybe it's the good girl inside of me that has always like "bad boys." Maybe it's the part of me that likes the attention that MN gets for having one of the best receivers in the league on our team - be it good or bad press. Maybe it's nostalgia -- I wasn't ever a big Vikings fan until 7 years ago when Randy came along and it was just awesome to watch him play the game.
Then there is the side of me that knows it's probably better for the team... and the part of me that got tired of his antics last season. I am also excited to see just what Nate Burleson can do - I think he's going to be magnificent; especially if he's allowed more time with the ball, which he started to get last season with Moss' injuries and whatnot. We'll see how it goes!...
Posted by: Erin | February 24, 2005 12:15 PM
Randy Moss was one of the few "brands" the Vikings had that sold... How many millions of dollars will the team be losing because of lack of sales for Vikings products?? Guess which number sold 10 times more than anyone else... Thanks Red "Slumlord" McCombs for trying to sell a team worth about $250 million for $650 - and without Moss... I'm sure everyone will want to buy them now..
Posted by: Whirly | March 16, 2005 04:11 PM