Rod's Monday Take n Things

New Orleans gave the Vikings a huge Christmas present yesterday. Losing to Tampa Bay. Just what the Vikings needed. Hope to still get the top seed and home field throughout the playoffs. The Vikings will take care of their end of the deal beating Chicago and the New York football Giants. They have to hope that Carolina has an effort like they did last week agains the Vikings on Sunday to beat the Saints. That would give the Vikings that all important home field that they have to have to win in the playoffs. I was just thinking that in a few days, we begin a new decade. My, looking back some of the highlights of the last 10 years would have to be the Governors making the state AA basketball tournament championship game in 2001 and all of the things that went on, on and off the field that March. I would have to say my boys provided me with some decade of highlights. My oldest son Trevor and the 2003 State Legion baseball tournament hosted by Pierre and the elimination game against Rapid City Post 22 where Stan Evans and the umpiring crew refused to enforce the Legion baseball slide rule against Pat Moran of Post 22. Didn't want to tick off Coach Ploof apparently. Or the two home runs in the same game he hit the year earlier in Valley Springs thanks in part to a 40 mph wind blowing out, but he wasn't a home run hitter. And my other son Mike hitting some home runs that they still talk about. The one he hit over the Big D sign on the top of the scoreboard in the 05 state tournament in Rapid City which in broadcasting the game I came up with one of my better quotable qoutes, even if I do say so myself. "Will some one check to see if that ball came down or did it burn up in reentry". Or the homer he hit against Parkston in the first game of the 07 state legion tournament here in Pierre that was the game winner or his batting over .600 at the Dickinson tournament that year where he was named MVP. They told me he had it sewed up before the Sunday game but I couldn't tell anybody until after we were done in the tournament. And then there was the 06 basketball season with Tviedt and Willard and Fisher and the 2nd place finish and the 20 point comeback at Brandon Valley that fell short when Willard put a shot off the top of the backboard with a couple of seconds left that would have tied it. But he wasn't fouled, right! Sam always had trouble hitting the top of the backboard with his shots. Last year's region boys basketball win at Stevens where Pierre made up a 13 point deficit in the final minute and a half to win, make state tournament and then lose at the buzzer to O'Gorman in the opening round only to win the consolation championship in convincing fashion. The two Lady Gov losses in the AA basketball championships but the two buzzer beaters in the semi final round those two years by Polly Gill and Steph Paluch that put them in the championship game. In football, the three semi final visits in the playoffs in 2000, 04 and 05. The Govs were oh for three but getting there was the fun. Watching Qunicy Christie run past Brandon Valley in 04 and Sioux Falls Washington in 05 and the dissapointment of losing it in the final minutes in the semi's at Yankton. Listening to the call of Harry Decker's state wrestling championshp his senior year. And the list goes on like the 07 and 08 state volleyball tournaments for the Lady Govs. I know I omitted many things but I hope you get the point. With 2010 on the very near horizen, I won't forget the snow storm of last weekend, that's for sure, but let's just enjoy the moments our athletes give us in Pierre and Ft. Pierre and all over. In 10 years, we can sit down and talk about those memorable moments still to come. I probably won't be up at 4 a.m. on New Years Eve morning like I was 10 years ago checking out if the computers of the world all came to a grinding halt and Y2K was true. 4 a.m. our time is is midnight somewhere in the South Pacific where 2010 will first be celebrated. Happy New Years.