Bob Collins1) RANDY MOSS
He’s a petulant, if talented, player who has a habit of quitting on his team. And the Vikings fans want him. Rumors that the New England Patriots are about to trade him to Minnesota surfaced with an allegedly mistaken “tweet” last night from an ESPN reporter. Most of the Patriots and Vikings beat reporters don’t seem to have their own sources, so they’re citing whomever says anything about the trade. Today, that’s the Boston Herald, which says the trade will happen today, but doesn’t provide a significant piece of information — what the Patriots get out of the deal.
“There’s no trade,” a Patriots official told the Boston Globe, which in Patriotsspeak, means “there’s no trade… yet.” (Update 7:52 a.m. – The deal has been made. The Vikings give up a third-round draft choice.)
It’ll take about $10 million of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf’s money to make Randy Moss feel appreciated:
If the trade is made today, the next time the New England Patriots take the field will be against the Minnesota Vikings. By the way, if you want to watch the Patriots’ Nation’s meltdown in real time, watch the comments here.
Meanwhile, leave it to Moss to overshadow the start of the playoff series between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins.
The New York media has its game-face on:
More tough stuff from the thugs in New York. But, no doubt, the Minnesota headline writers can rise to the occasion to give the dastardly wretches a little of their own medicine.
Give ’em a dose of that Minnesota bravado, Pioneer Press!
Today, the excellent staff of The Hardball Times assesses the series. None of them picks the Twins.
Let the show begin!
2) COMBINING COUNTIES
An idea whose time had to come sooner or later. Merging counties. The Star Tribune reports Ramsey and Washington Counties are thinking about merging. With budget woes and all, it was only a matter of time before someone proposed combining some governments. There are 87 counties in Minnesota. Do we need 87 counties in this day and age? What do we call this merger? Ramington? Washingsey?
And now the unspeakable. Why not merge cities? Like St. Paul and Minneapolis?
Discuss.
3) EXTREME MAKEOVER FARGO EDITION
The Extreme Makeover Home Edition crew is working in Fargo. The TV show builds or rebuilds homes for deserving individuals with compelling stories. The Fargo Forum is providing a live webcam.
4) WHO OWNS CONGRESS?
S?
Mother Jones shows what it would look like if members of Congress were seated by the industry that put them there. Lawyers drugs and money in the Senate. Big Labor and Big Industry in the House.
5)MIRACLE OF THE DAY
A South Carolina woman says the image of Jesus appears on her MRI scan. She has cancer.
BONUS: HARD LESSONS
I stuck a post up last night around 9 p.m. about the day I spent watching the Minnesota Board of Pardons. Posting at 9 p.m. is like tossing your day’s work in the trash. So I’m adding it here too. Go read it. Then discuss what you’d do in some of these cases.
TODAY’S QUESTION
Recent sexual assaults at fraternity houses near the University of Minnesota have focused attention on alcohol and parties near campus. What can be done to make college communities safer for women?
WHAT WE’RE DOING
Midmorning (9-11 a.m.) – First hour: A recent Pew poll shows that consumers are hungry for news, spending about 70 minutes a day accessing it. Handheld gadgetry and social media has become their new means for getting news, so how will traditional media evolve to keep up with the 21st century consumer?
Second hour: Some of the nation’s biggest banks put a freeze on foreclosures this week after allegations of fraud called into question the legality of the foreclosure process. This wrench in the system may stall, if not halt, the restoration of the real estate market and the rest of the economy.
Midday (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) – First hour: A preview of the Twins-Yankees series with Howard Sinker of the Star Tribune.
Second hour: A new documentary from American RadioWorks “Testing Teachers.”
Talk of the Nation (1-3 p.m.) – First hour: NPR political editor Ken Rudin.
Second hour: Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic’s Quest
All Things Considered (3-6:30 p.m.) – Elderly waiver is a fast-growing component of the state budget. It’s the piece of the budget that pays for the care of lower-income, older people who wish to stay at home rather than go to a nursing home or some other care facility. MPR’s Dan Olson assesses where gubernatorial candidates Emmer, Dayton, and Horner stand on expanding the elderly waiver.
A local organization ships millions of textbooks to Africa every year to help fight “the book famine.” They celebrate their work with a writers conference at the end of the week and MPR’s Euan Kerr takes a look.
