Things That Make You Go "Huh?"

Over the last week or so, stories have popped up that have been, at the very least, mind-boggling. I'm not talking about the Washington Nationals handing out $147 million to Jayson Werth, which sets the new standard for overpaying a guy who is, at best, an above average hitter. I'm not even talking about ESPN trying to make a story out of Tashard Choice asking for Michael Vick's autograph after last night's Cowboys-Eagles clash because NOBODY tries to make something out of nothing more than the Worldwide Leader of Overreacting.

Here's what I am talking about:

*It's against my good nature, as a Packers fan, to defend the Minnesota Vikings, but I have to admit they are getting a raw deal by having their "home" game against the Giants tonight moved to Detroit, where the division rival Lions play. Think about it. If you're a Lions fans, you get free tickets to go to your home stadium and make things more hostile for a division rival that is supposed to enjoy a homefield advantage. Instead, the Vikings will face an already tough Giants team with a mixture of Giants and Lions fans throughout Ford Field. Imagine if this were the Patriots having to move from Gillette to, say, the Meadowlands to face the Saints or another upper echelon team. Lucky for Minnesota, their playoff chances are shot, so a win or a loss doesn't really affect them either way, but you have to wonder if this would be a bigger deal if the Vikings were still in contention and had to travel outside the friendly confines of the Twin Cities to play a "home" game on rival soil.

*Some are calling for the head of Jets' strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi for tripping the Dolphins' Nolan Carroll in yesterday's upset loss to Miami. What Alosi did was pretty bush-league, and pointless, because in the age where cameras are everywhere and things are constantly getting blown out of proportion, there was no way Alosi's trip was going unnoticed. Carroll's running and he mysteriously falls......you don't think replays were going to look into why that is, Sal? Now, I don't think Alosi should be terminated like some writers are suggesting. Alosi already apologized and he'll enjoy his nice little debt to the league office that he'll be made aware of soon in the mail. Still, two questions: Why the hell is the strength coach on the sidelines and what possible good was going to come from tripping an opposing player on a run back? It makes the Jets look classless and inferior, not to mention pisses off a team that's already motivated to pummel a rival. Sal, save your feet for wind sprints and leave taking down opposing ball carriers to the guys in uniform that get paid to do so.

*I didn't really understand The University of Miami's firing of Randy Shannon a month ago and, now that his replacement has been named in former Temple coach Al Golden, I'm really confused. Golden turned around a pathetic Temple football team into a program that's coming off an 8-4 season this year and has won 17 games in the last two years. Impressive, sure, but it's not like Temple was beating Florida State or Virginia Tech like Golden will have to do now as the leader of "The U". Temple's biggest win this season was beating BCS-bound UConn. You know who else beat UConn? Rutgers. They went 4-8. Look, Golden may very well be a good coach and he might make the Hurricanes into contenders again, but someone's going to have to explain to me how the school went from considering Jon Gruden for the job to settling on Golden. A guy who I would have liked to see get the job? Josh McDaniels. Sure, Golden has McDaniels beat in terms of experience coaching in the NCAA(or coaching, in general) but McDaniels deserves a second chance and I'm not sure he'll get it in the NFL anytime soon given the fact that teams looking for a coach will be dipping into the Gruden/Bill Cowher/Mike Holmgren/Tony Dungy pool. McDaniels is young, fiery and has a good offensive mind. He turned Kyle Orton into a Pro Bowl QB. Imagine what he could have done with Jacory Harris. Good luck, Mr. Golden, because you're going to find out you're not in Philadelphia anymore.....really soon.