The Skolney Blog

SEAHAWKS 26 VIKINGS 0 I started watching the Vikings in 1987. Lotta ups, lotta downs. But in those 39 seasons, it has never been worse than it is right now. This trainwreck of a season reached its latest low in Sunday's loss in Seattle, the first time the Vikings have been shutout since 2007.  Strychnine was concussed last week and not cleared to play in this game, so it was showtime for Golden Gopher legend Max Brosmer. Hey, maybe some of the good vibes from the Gophers retaining the axe this weekend would rub off on him.  Nah. I didn't expect Brosmer to be anything, not even better than JJ, but fittingly for this horrid season, he was worse. I mean, we got shutout, so he was obviously terrible. 4 picks, including one of the most comical pick sixes you can ever see.  Brosmer was awful, but at least the Vikings didn't waste the 10th pick in the draft on him, or hand him the franchise without a single moment of genuine competition for the job. I swear, this was the same da...

1985: I think Rocky 4 was actually the first Rocky movie I ever saw. And you know what? It still might be my favorite one. This one really breaks it all down to the basics. You got the early fight scene that sets off the main plot, you got the montages, and then you have the big fight at the end. There is actually very little in this movie, barely over 90 minutes, other than that. You got a little silliness early on in the film involving Paulie and a robot.  The foe in this entry is Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren, a Soviet specimen said to be the most powerful puncher ever seen. He wants to fight Rocky the champ, but former champ Apollo Creed enthusiastically steps in to fight an exhibition match with him. Then the match happens, and Drago obliterates Apollo and kills him. I think I first saw this movie when I was kind of little, and this freaked me out. I mean, it's still kind of a bracing scene. We're like maybe 5 minutes of screen time before Rocky has now ...

In theaters: PREDATOR: BADLANDS Predator was never a franchise I really cared that much about, but this IP has really had a revival now between the excellent Prey (from the same director) a few years ago, and now this entry that really delivers the big screen spectacle in a way few films this year have. Some perpetual internet whiners were mad that this was PG-13, although it really does go about as far as that rating will allow. Cleverly positions a Predator as the protagonist this time, with an actual character arc. Loved Elle Fanning as a synth (Alien crossover activated) who spends most of the movie with no legs.  BUGONIA The latest collabo between the very prolific Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone. This is a decent rebound from the completely up its own ass Kinds Of Kindness. Bugonia is also up its own ass, but at least it has a plot and a purpose, and a pair of excellent performances in Stone and Jesse Plemons, along with the ending of the year.  THE RUNNING MAN Did ...

PACKERS 23 VIKINGS 6 I had a most unusual reaction to watching the Vikings utterly humiliate themselves in Sunday's loss at Lambeau Field to the hated Packers. Normally, such a pathetic performance against a hated rival would fill be with anger, or sadness, or any number of negative emotions. Not this time. Watching this awful season's latest chapter made me feel nothing at all. I barely was even apathetic. The season ended last week from any sort of playoff perspective. The Vikings entered this game with already the most miniscule of playoff odds. Now, even using that word would be ludicrous. The lost season could only be redeemed with some growth by good old Strychnine McCarthy. Well, about that. The QB whose 2 career highlights are road division wins failed to win a 3rd. And he was horrible again. 12 of 19, for 87 yards and 2 picks.  But this disgrace of a performance is never the doing of just one person. No, these Vikings banded together on this day and humiliated themselv...

BEARS 19 VIKINGS 17 Despite it being just week 11, Sunday was a must win game for the Vikings if there was to remain any hope of playing relevant football into December. Sadly, in a season that continues to fly up the list of most frustrating seasons in Vikings history, the result did not go our way. And now we face two sad truths. 1. The 2025 Vikings season is effectively over, and 2. JJ McCarthy is a bust.  Facing a pretty terrible Bears defense, JJ McCarthy (new nickname "Strychnine" since watching him play QB makes me want to drink some) delivered one of the most hideous performances in the history of this franchise for 3+ quarters. Once again, he made terrible, wildly off-target throws. Once again, he threw dreadful interceptions. In this game, he even failed at many of the kinds of ultra basic throws that should have been mastered in college (if JJ threw the ball in college).  That the Vikings were in the game at all, let alone leading until the very last moment, is a t...

RAVENS 27 VIKINGS 19 Winning in Detroit last week showed that this Vikings team is capable of winning any game anywhere, and that despite a rocky opening 2 months, the season could still be something. That good feeling lasted exactly one week, as on Sunday back at the purple palace, the Vikings reverted right back to being the stupid, sloppy, poorly coached mess of a team that is now a full 2 games in last place in the NFC North.  This happened for all the same reasons. Atrocious playcalling. Bone headed penalties. Defensive breakdowns. They have placed this Vikings season on the brink again. As is so often the case, things started well before going downhill. The Vikings opening drive featured probably the best throw so far in JJ McCarthy's career, a deep shot to Jalen Nailor that after YAC was 62 yards. Aaron Jones had a walk-in TD run right after for a 7-0 lead.  The Vikings led 10-3 in the middle of the 2nd quarter, and with both efficient offense and a defense that was fly...

VIKINGS 27 LIONS 24 Sports fandom is built on hope. Hope your team wins a game. Hope your team has a good season. Hope for a championship. I entered week 9 with no hope for the Vikings. Their lousy play most of the season, culminating in that horrendous performance against the Chargers, and the way the entire master plan seemed to be crumbling around them, not only had me feeling hopeless about their chances at making something of the 2025 season, but even wondering if the next couple years were in jeopardy. And to make it that much worse, the next game up was in Detroit, against a Lions team that is among the NFL's best, and a team that had beaten the Vikings 6 of the last 8 times (the only 2 Vikings wins being last second escapes), 5 in a row, and hadn't lost at home to us since the last game.of the 2020 season. I expected a blowout. Instead, a season drained of hope got a giant injection of it, by virtue of the Vikings biggest upset win in 25 years. It started like I dreaded...