S.I. Lays Blame For Boat Fiasco

The sad Vikings boating saga has been parodied as "The Love Boat" and "Tice-tanic," but it's starting to sound more like the "Neverending Story" as Sports Illustrated has weighed in with a rebuke of the team and its management.

Sports Illustrated is probably the most-read sports publication in the country. While some stories may generate a lot of local interest, when it is covered by SI, it reaches a national audience of immense proportions -- from hard-core fans to those in a doctor's office waiting room.

In the story, available on newsstands today, entitled "Adrift on Lake Woebegone," SI writers quote current and former players as well as fans and state policiticians in compiling an overview of the story.

Coming out of the piece particularly bad is Tice, who is seen as a coach who predicted he would be fired before the playoff game with the Packers, gave some players the impression he was quitting on them in a speech earlier this month, allegedly challenged any player on the team to a fight if they "wanted a piece of him" and was involved in a ticket-scalping enterprise.

If anything, the story gives the impression the Vikings are a rudderless ship and are, as they put it, "Team Turmoil." Perhaps a winning streak will put an end to the discussion, but, as seen Wednesday at Winter Park when Tice walked away from an interview session because ESPN reporters kept asking about the party instead of the Packers, this story doesn't look to be going away any time soon.