There is too much coddling being done by the leaders of our major men's sports teams in Minnesota. The examples of this were egregious again in recent days, starting with Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell's reaction to events in his team's putrid 20-17 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday in the Zygidome.

Right guard Ed Ingram forced one of Kirk Cousins' three first-half turnovers by knocking the ball away from the quarterback. And what did we get from O'Connell on Monday?

"That was truly something you'd love to have back, call a different play so that's not a risk," he said.

Call a different play, the man said.

How about this? "Our players came out on Sunday and said, 'We don't trust you, coaches. We don't trust you. We don't trust that the team wants to run that play.' It's rooted in trust, that play. And you mess it up, and then you come to the sidelines with that look, 'Oh, now you want us to help.' "

Or how about when Lewis Cine, who was injured In 2022 and has not delivered on his first-round draft status, runs off the field Sunday for no earthly reason as the Bucs are about to try a field goal, and the Vikings must use a timeout that would've been valuable later.

O'Connell: "That's not something we can have. That's on me making sure we're prepared."

It's on you, not a first-round choice who was not paying attention?

Remember all the times that your boss, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, has told us about an organization that makes "intentional" decisions? This had to be the response to Cine's blunder, O'Connell: "It's a complete lack of focus and intentionality. That's not doing what you're told, what your job is."

Meantime, down the street from the Zygidome on Sunday, the Twins were at Target Field looking for a sweep against the New York Mets, among the greatest flops of the 2023 season.

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