Column: Aaron Worm, Behind the Mic

Albert Lea and Austin will meet in the regular season football finale for the sixth year in a row Wednesday. The Tigers have won the last six games against the Packers winning the last five regular season meetings and also knocking off the Pack in the first round of sections in 2007. I would expect both teams to air it out this week. Before being shut out by Owatonna on Friday 44-0 Austin was the top passing team in the Big Nine averaging just less than 250 yards a game. The Tigers have found a lot of success throwing the ball as well scoring eight touchdowns in their last two games via the air. Whatever happens Wednesday, the Tigers will travel to either Byron or Waseca for the first round of the postseason, while the Packers will be on the road at one of the Rochester schools.

The simplest scenario for deciding who is going to win the Big Nine football title is if Owatonna beats Mayo at home, they win the conference outright. If Mayo beats the Huskies they would share the title, with the possibility of the conference crown being split three ways if Faribault wins at Winona. In that scenario, the Huskies, Spartans and Falcons would all finish with one conference loss.

Even though the Vikings were up 9-0 early against the Redskins, I had a bad feeling because they had to settle for three field goals, all 27 yards or less. The lack of a deep threat was apparent again on Sunday, with Jerome Simpson out again. I am not saying Simpson is going to turn this into a potent offense like New Orleans or Atlanta, but at least he presents that “threat.”  Last year I got a chance to interview Michael Jenkins at Vikings training camp, and he was one of the nicest professional athletes I have ever met. It was nice to see No. 84 involved in the offense with six catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. It’s tough to win on the road in the NFL, and for the purple over the years, winning outside seems to be a tough task as well. This is still a good team, and they should right the ship with two straight home games against the Cardinals and Buccaneers.

While parody seems to be the word to describe football, I have never used the word to describe baseball. I thought maybe, just maybe, the baseball world was going to be shaken up, with the possibility of Baltimore, Oakland, Cincinnati or Washington winning the World Series. The League Championship series were fantastic all going to five games, but the clock struck midnight on all the Cinderellas and we are left with four teams that have been here before in recent years, the Tigers, Yankees, Giants and Cardinals. I am not pulling for any of the teams who are left, but like many that don’t live in NYC, I don’t mind what’s happening to the Yankees in the ALCS. Robinson Cano, 2-32 in the postseason, and Alex Rodriguez struggling is okay with us Yankee bashers. I do feel bad for the loss of Derek Jeter for the rest of the postseason; the “captain” is the one Bronx Bomber I have always respected.  If Detroit goes on to beat New York, they will prove one of the oldest adages in baseball: “Good pitching will always stop good hitting.”

 

KATE Radio Sports Director Aaron Worm’s column appears each Monday in the Tribune. He can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekdays on The Breeze.