Okay SBG fans, it�s time for Pepper! Playing Pepper! today are SBG and Moss! All right, Moss! In Pepper! there are ten topics and each player gets 50 words to discuss. Only has to be tangentially related to the topic! All right, Let�s Go!

Topic #1: Red McCombs
Moss: He�s the real-life Boss Hogg. Probably corrupt, definitely detestable. Moss (former UT-Austin student) once encountered Red, pre-Vikes. Red was on campus donating. Moss saw Red drive off in red Caddy, complete with real longhorns mounted on hood. (Truly!) Moss thinks the horn played Dixie.

(And Mike Tice is Roscoe.)

SBG: Would you buy a used NFL franchise from this man?

Topic #2: College Basketball
Moss: Moss and Mrs./Dr. Moss love it. They�ve enjoyed several "dates" at Rupp and other arenas. March Madness is the best. The quality is depressed due to defections and players having an eye to the NBA. Corruption flows downward. But most play with heart. Enjoy women�s, too, especially Whelan and McCarville.

SBG: In 1983, SBG watched Houston trounce Louisville in the National Semifinal and decided to play pickup basketball the next Monday night, missing an all-time great upset. SBG loved college ball. Then KG opened the flood gates. And Roy Marble played CBA ball in Fargo. Now, SBG doesn�t care about it.

Topic #3: Doug Mientkiewicz
Moss: Moss once thought Dougie was good for Twins. Great jingle. Wore out his welcome, though. Moss thinks Dougie needs bat with skinnier handle. Moss thinks MLB owns that baseball. Moss predicts Mistresses Mientkiewicz and Benson have publicized catfight before June. (Jody or Anna? Moss chooses Jody �loyal to her man.)
SBG: Baseball should move Expos to Brooklyn. Give Mets an intown NL rival. Divide up that TV market a little thinner. Maybe they should play in Manhattan. That would torque off old George. What could owners get for a Manhattan franchise? Plenty. SBG wouldn�t mess with D.C. (Bored with Doug.)

Topic #4: Public Financing for Stadiums
Moss: Moss doesn�t strongly favor. Pohlad has cash. Red has cash. State has no cash. But Moss is also moved by reports of restaurants near the Xcel going belly-up (and jobs disappearing) due to NHL lockout. Entertainment creates jobs. And Moss wants open-air baseball games in west metro! (Sorry Drew.)

SBG: The Minnesota legislature is too worried about things like allowing people to get gun permits easier to do important things for the future of the city and state. Usage taxes are not that difficult! People can choose not to participate! Don�t become East Dakota! (ND native here.)

Topic #5: Leno vs. Letterman
Moss: Neither could caddy for smooth-swinging Johnny Carson. Moss hasn�t regularly watched post-news programming since Carson. If Moss has to pick one, it�s Letterman. Love stupid tricks! Leno is dull and uninventive. (Moss was impressed by some of Leno�s memorial speech the other night.) But Moss hates Paul Schaeffer � total wonk.

SBG: SBG doesn�t care if 50 million more people watch Leno than Dave. He won�t do it.

Topic #6: Randy Moss for Ray Lewis?
Moss: Moss would not. Lewis alone makes a defense good; the Vikes sorely lack D. But Moss loves the passing game and the deep ball. Randy sells tickets. Randy keeps Moss watching. Plus, Moss now has a soft spot for Randy and his antics. It�s just a stupid game, after all!

SBG: Lewis would plug biggest hole in team. Two years older than Moss, had injuries. Hugely intense. Best linebacker in game. He�s one of few players to seriously consider straight up. But, no. Moss is still better. Improves all aspects of Vikings offense. Plus, he�s always entertaining. Just buy some defense!

Topic #7: ESPN.COM
Moss: Moss was down on espn.com until recently. Mostly because of marriage to obnoxious butterfly (i.e., MSN). Moss hates all things Microsoft. Butterfly and espn.com seem to have divorced, though. Content is more extensive than other web sources. Good stats. Ads still drive Moss crazy. Love Page 2, and Sports Guy!

SBG: SBG went to ESPN.COM one time and they had an ongoing exchange between Sports Guy and Chuck Klosterman. The Chuckster writes for Spin magazine and fancies himself as some sort of pop culture/sports expert. He�s probably the most famous person from SBG�s hometown. Which is sad.

P.S. Moss hopes Butch enjoys a full and speedy recovery.

SBG: This deal is only good for owners. Rather, it�s only good for bad owners. Teams are not penalized heavily for mistakes. Just cut guys and move on. Hard cap makes good teams give talent away. Veteran�s minimum salaries prevent old guys from landing jobs. You�re hurt? You�re fired!

Topic #9: Movies
Moss: Moss rarely goes to movies. Moss is critical of movies, and wants to watch only excellent ones. Oscars are laughable. Moss loves the classics. One all-time favorite is "Double Indemnity." Star is Fred MacMurray from My Three Sons. Film noir; last line is "I love you too!" Great.

SBG: A movie may seem good to you now, but watch it in twenty years and see what you think. If it still interests you when you and the movie are both twenty years older, now that�s a movie.

Topic #10: SBG, The Website
Moss: Moss longs for more content! Some days, no new material! What gives? Moss appreciates the diversity of topics. Good stuff. Though, SBG still needs to learn the difference between "less" and "fewer." Not high on the "Shout Outs" � too Stuart Scott. Booyeah! Moss loves the color most of all. Soothing.

SBG: SBG finds that it�s pretty hard to write good stuff fast. If an article can�t be written in an hour, it shouldn�t be written. SBG prefers personal content, and would be bored if it was just Twins, especially in the off season. SBG likes readers to comment!

There you have it! Thanks, Moss, great stuff! It sounds like you are bucking for a regular gig with that more content crack! SBG ends the week with a huge SHOUT OUT to you Moss. Boo YEAH! Stay tuned next week for another guest player on Pepper!

UPDATE: Huge SHOUT OUT to the 7th Angel for catching a pretty funny spelling mistake. It's fixed now, but it gave a whole new meaning to the term "usage taxes".