Bang the Drum Slowly

Koren Robinson checked himself into a rehab clinic. Good thing we got rid of bad apple Randy Moss, huh? The Vikings could be in big trouble if Robinson were not able to suit up this season. I'm excited about Chester Taylor's potential, but Robinson is their one definite threat to break a big play.

The Eddie Griffin story is much more interesting. In case you missed it, Griffin, who has had substance abuse issues in the past, crashed into a parked car in March while driving drunk, and masturbating while watching a porn DVD. That's right- drinking, driving, watching porn, and snapping one off, all at the same time! Oh yeah- this hasn't been proven yet. But a number of witnesses say Griffin was hammered, and the cops drove him home without performing a sobriety test.

The best part about this story is that Eddie Kline has been selling EG booze at Sharrett's Liquors! When he told me that, I thought about calling Kevin McHale and blowing the whistle.

Drinking and Minnesota sports have always gone hand-in-hand. From Keith Millard's "My arms are stronger than your guns," to Hrbek and G-Man staying up all night wrestling in hotel rooms, to Doug West polishing off a six pack in the locker room after every Wolves game, to Dino Cicarelli's fondness for gathering the mail in the nude (I assume drinking was involved in that one).

Here's a City Pages article from 2000 that details many of the Vikings players vs. Johnny Law confrontations over the years. And here's another article that talks about some of the scandals since then, including the Lake Minnetonka boat incident, and the "Artic Blast" sexual assault debacle from 2003, which might be the blackest mark in Vikes' history. Wow- some "tradition of excellence."