It’s been another wild week in the world of sports, where no area of the country got hit harder than the Midwest – from inclement weather, to bad football, to buildings collapsing under the weight of a blizzard – and so on.  Sounds like a job for “Throwing Tomatoes“.

So as the stories continue to pile up, more sports frustration emerges.  Don’t sweat it, The Wife Hates Sports has them all covered – in lycopene, that is.

Throwing Tomatoes: December 12, 2010

The Metrodome Roof

…for doing its best home team impression – and collapsing.

It was the most unbelievable story of the weekend in sports, as the home of the Minnesota Vikings simply caved in under the weight of snow from a nasty blizzard that hit the area.

As a result, the Giants-Vikings contest was postponed until Monday evening, where it will be played in Detroit instead.

But this wasn’t the only collapse occurring in the Midwest…

–   The Green Bay Packers offense – losing Aaron Rodgers to a concussion – socred just 3 points against the Lions, and are teetering on a potential playoff absence.

–   The Bears laid an egg against the juggernaut Patriots, faltering 36-7 in snowy and blustery Chicago.

brett-favre-passing-minnesota-vikings

The Metrodome collapsed today, but Favre and the Vikings have been collapsing over the course of the season

–   Meanwhile, the Vikings have been slowly collapsing since the season began – and with this recent news – who knows what the future is in Minnesota.  Could this finally mean a new stadium, or what about a move to LA?  It all remains to be seen.

Brett Favre

…for continuing to find a new way into the headlines.

Brett Favre continues to be the bad penny in football.  The latest news is involving his number of injuries – and the fact that Favre’s consecutive game streak may finally come to an end Monday against the Giants.

A recent report stated that Favre (via text message) hinted that he likely would not play against New York, despite getting an extra day of rest.

But like Favre’s retirement, there’s no reason to believe that Brett won’t play until he’s actually seen on the sideline – so please, can someone finally take #4’s cell phone away for good?

Al Golden Haterade

… for being the drink of choice by football critics.

Multiple sources have reported that Al Golden – the coach of the Temple Owls for the last fivehaterade seasons – will be the new coach of the Miami Hurricanes.

This news is taking a hit from a number of critics – but why drink the Haterade?

Golden is a solid coach, and led a Temple team from a one-win season in 2005 to back-to-back bowl games over the last two seasons.  For those that state Golden played no one in 2010, keep in mind that the Owls did defeat a BCS bowl representative (UConn) by two touchdowns, and gave Penn State a run for its money well into the 4th quarter.

The 41-year old coach has ties to major programs such as Penn State, and could flourish as a part of a Miami program that should be able to reel in much better talent – so let’s cut the guy a break, ok?

Sal Alosi

…for bringing classless football to the Big Apple.

Here’s another low for the New York Jets – and it’s not referring to the team’s anemic offense of late.  During Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, Sal Alosi – a member of the staff on the sideline – was seen blatantly sticking his leg out to trip a Miami Dolphins player that was running down the field to make a play on special teams.

Brian Lewis of the New York Post confirmed the report on Twitter, and also mentioned that the Jets are looking into the incident.  In particular, Lewis said.

@NYPost_Lewis

Brian Lewis

Jets confirm Sal Alosi tripped Nolan Carroll: The team is reviewing the situation and looking into the appropriate next steps.”

Alosi later apologized to the Dolphins, as also mentioned by Lewis via Twitter.

Still, he should still be reprimanded for this classless act, perhaps by being fined.  There’s just no place for that in football, or in any sport for that matter.

NFL Kickers

…for mostly being off the mark in 2010.

If you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of kickers that have been atrocious this season – and we don’t mean as an “idiot Kicker” off the field – but just a group of players that are costing teams a lot of W’s.  Take the following trio:splatteredtomato

–   Graham Gano – Redskins – 22 for 32 (69%)

–   Nick Folk – Jets – 23 for 32 (72%)

–   David Buehler – Cowboys – 16 for 22 (73%)

There have also been injuries and cuts – and Jeff Reed is another example of a player cut from a contender – but later picked up by another team.

It’s just been an ugly year for the kicker – to the point that if I were a coach, I’d take the timeout not to freeze the guy, but to have more time to look away.

And finally…

…a quick-strike Throwing Tomatoes pelting of red to the following teams…

Carolina Panthers – That’s an NFL worst 1 win and 7 straight losses

Cincinnati Bengals – The Bungles (2-11) were once 2-1 and hopeful for a good year

Tennessee Titans – 6 straight losses puts this team at 5-8, raising many questions

Cleveland Cavaliers – Make that 8 straight losses for the Cavs (7-17)

Golden State Warriors – 6 straight defeats have pushed the Warriors well below .500

Washington Capitals – 6 straight losses and the Caps have a losing record on the road, too

New York Islanders – 5 consecutive losses and an NHL-low 15 points (in 27 GP)

 

This has been Throwing Tomatoes, where the red fruit never sails wide right.