Chris Tomasson News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/chris-tomasson/ Minnesota sports, but different Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:30:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Chris Tomasson News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/chris-tomasson/ 32 32 GOAT Reporter, Chris Tomasson, is Leaving Vikings Beat https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/chris-tomasson-leaving-vikings-beat/ Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:30:37 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=42100 As Minnesota Vikings fans, we have experienced a lot of sad days following one of the most tortured franchises in all major sports. But it doesn’t get much lower than what happened on Thursday morning when one of the greatest Vikings reporters of all time, Chris Tomasson, announced he was leaving the Pioneer Press beat, effective immediately. Tomasson is taking his talents to Denver where he first cut his teeth in big city reporting back in 2002, where he will cover thee Broncos.

Chris Tomasson the bulldog

Chris Tomasson will be missed, not just by his readers and those who appreciate his bulldog style in an interview scrum, but by his fellow reporters. Nobody questioned who was going to ask the hardest question needing addressed during the last decade (2013-2023), when Chris was in the room.

He never hesitates and puts reporting above all else, even if his commitment level was being questioned by coaches, colleagues or fans. He will live tweet a funeral or spar head-to-head with Mike Zimmer.

There’s nothing — and I mean nothing — that comes between Chris Tomasson and reporting news. And that’s something that the players and coaches he covers absolutely notice. Oftentimes, you’d hear an immediate change in tune when Tomasson would ask questions, vs other reporters. Especially Zimmer.

But even when Zim or others would challenge him, Chris stood his ground and was ready to follow up or explain his question whenever needed. As someone with limited experience in a press conference environment, that can be a difficult thing to do. Especially when questions or challenges from your interviewee come at a surprise time, like in the video above when Mike flips out on him for no reason.

Broncos fans win, Vikings fans lose

I’m happy for Chris, if this is what he wanted. The Denver Post and Broncos fans are lucky to have him and they have no idea what is about to hit their team’s press conferences. But this goodbye is hard to swallow, for Vikings fans who appreciate his bulldog reporting style.

Without Tomasson in the room, how are we going to get iconic interview moments like the time Stefon Diggs — after Tomasson finally asked the ‘elephant in the room’ question about whether or not Diggs wanted to be traded — told the world “there’s truth to all rumors, Chris”.

Or how about that time Chris called Bashaud Breeland out on his PFF grades, to add context before a question. Oh, and there was that time Kirk Cousins questioned Tomasson’s fashion choices or the legitimacy of a recent pass interference call.

And we haven’t even gotten into his GOAT tweets, which continued right up until the moment Chris announced his impending departure. He will literally do anything and talk to anyone, in order to get a story. Then, he’d tweet about how it went, whether successful or not.

I don’t know Chris Tomasson personally, (only interactions are a couple interviews we did with him a few years back, when I co-hosted the “Bleeding Purple” podcast). Still, I will miss him. Neither Vikings press conferences nor Vikings twitter will ever be the same.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:30:41 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Bashaud Breeland Gets Defensive with Media; Fires PFF Question Back at Tomasson https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/bashaud-breeland-gets-defensive-with-media-fires-pff-question-back-at-tomasson/ Fri, 08 Oct 2021 19:23:23 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36515 Bashaud Breeland has had a rough start to his Minnesota Vikings career. It’s been written about extensively here, especially when we looked deeply into why he was still getting playing time over Cam Dantzler before the Browns game.

Well, Breeland started again against Cleveland but didn’t even make it out of the 1st quarter. He exited the game after giving up a 21-yard 3rd down completion ten minutes into the game, where he failed to pick up the correct assignment (see video below).

Bashaud got in front of Vikings reporters on Friday afternoon and his appearance didn’t even last four minutes. That’s all it took for fireworks to fly, though. Breeland was asked early-on about that last play of his game vs Cleveland and why he never returned after. Were the two related? What happened? He looked confused by the question and couldn’t seem to remember what play he was being asked about.

It was a great way to start an even better press conference that would only get better from here.

Breeland vs Tomasson

You can hear two reporters asking the questions that seem to be frustrating Bashaud Breeland. After taking the above question, he turns to Chris Tomasson (Pioneer Press), who is known for some of the heated exchanges he’s had with head coach, Mike Zimmer.

Tomasson asked Breeland about his PFF grade, which ranks 103 of 103 cornerbacks in the league, and if the former Chief is embarrassed by such things. Bashaud’s response couldn’t have been any better. First, he claimed not to be embarrassed by PFF’s ranking. Then, he turns the question on Tomasson and says Chris would probably be ranked 101st in his profession, if such rankings existed.

It was a legendary player/reporter exchange that I’m just glad I watched happen in real time.

What else?

Bashaud Breeland admitted to a poor start. He wasn’t up there trying to convince people that PFF’s rankings are wrong. Instead, Breeland pointed to a difficulty he’s had adjusting to a “new team and new scheme” but that he feels he’s getting better every week.

He challenged fans and media, saying “ya’ll just watch”, followed by “I can’t wait till Sunday”. We’ll see if a different Bashaud shows up on Sunday. Here’s his full interview.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Fri, 08 Oct 2021 14:23:27 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Kirk Cousins Mum on Everson Griffen’s Apology But Vocal About Chris Tomasson’s Fashion Choices https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/kirk-cousins-mum-on-everson-griffens-apology-but-vocal-about-chris-tomassons-fashion-choices/ Thu, 26 Aug 2021 02:12:34 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36020 There’s a lot happening in Kirk Cousins’ reality right now. The Minnesota Vikings quarterback is staring into the biggest season of his career and holds the job status of his head coach and half the roster hostage with his play.

Can Kirk rack up more wins and push his team into the playoffs? If so, he, Zimmer and most of his teammates will get raises for 2022. If not, the 2021 Vikings will be flipped like an overcooked pancake, straight into the off-season trash. Rebuild mode.

Off-the-field drama

Beyond the football field, however, the recent noise surrounding Kirk Cousins has been deafening. He’s been dubbed the face of the NFL’s anti-vaccine mandate movement and that’s made him the media’s punching bag. But just as the “vax or die” crowd was fading into the background, Kirk was dragged into more controversy.

It came yesterday when the Vikings signed former DE Everson Griffen after he worked out for the team last week.

Bringing in a declining DE who grew up in your defensive scheme wouldn’t be a big deal, except that Griffen tweeted, “Kirk Cousins is ass”, last season while with the Detroit Lions. Cousins didn’t flinch when asked about the signing earlier today. Just like everything else that’s been thrown his way, Kirk shrugged it off as nothing.

And to deflect the attention somewhere else, during Wednesday’s press conference, Kirk Cousins turned the end of his availability into a frank conversation about Pioneer Press reporter, Chris Tomasson’s clothing choices.

The conversation was priceless. This is Kirk at his best.

I don’t know what we will get from Kirk Cousins in 2021 but he seems like a different dude than who we’ve seen over the past four seasons.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Wed, 25 Aug 2021 21:21:34 +0000 Minnesota Vikings Zimmer and Tomasson Go At Each Other Again https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/zimmer-and-tomasson-go-at-each-other-again/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/zimmer-and-tomasson-go-at-each-other-again/#respond Fri, 30 Oct 2020 18:46:28 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=30902

Minnesota Vikings head coach, Mike Zimmer, hates one member of the main beat writers, who covers the Vikings for major news outlets around the Twin Cities. His name is Chris Tomasson and he writes for the Pioneer Press (TwinCities.com).

Mike and Chris have upped their sparring matches in 2020 and seemingly go at each other nearly every time Zimmer meets with media. Even beyond this season, if you think back to all of the great quotes of an irritated Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, you can almost always thank a Chris Tomasson question.

It’s become must-see TV and Friday was no different.

Chris Tomasson Bio (via TwinCities.com)

Chris joined the Pioneer Press in 2013 to cover the Vikings. He was a longtime NBA writer with the Akron Beacon Journal, Rocky Mountain News and AOL FanHouse. Before coming to Minnesota, he covered the Miami Heat and Dolphins for Fox Sports. Chris has won six awards in the past three Pro Football Writers of America contests. Chris is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he spent his college years watching the losingest team in the history of Division I-A football.

I’ve seen all sorts of reaction on Twitter regarding Chris Tomasson. Because Zim doesn’t like him, most Vikings fans don’t either. Zimmer isn’t the only one. There were some memorable back and forths between Tomasson and Stefon Diggs, when he was here.

That includes the press conference Vikings fans will never forget. “There’s truth to all rumors, Chris.”

But that’s what I appreciate about Chris Tomasson. He isn’t there to make friends. He doesn’t care what Mike Zimmer thinks of the way he asks questions. Do you think Chris Tomasson got to where he is by listening to coaches like Zimmer? No.

There’s too much buddy-buddy that happens between athletes and media these days, and it skewes narratives and misleads fanbases. We don’t have to worry about that with Mr. Tomasson.

Standing up for Tomasson, doesn’t mean I dislike Mike Zimmer.

I’ve always loved Mike’s honesty and inability to control his emotions. I know that life. I’ve just come to appreciate the rivalry that the two have. Like I said earlier, these interviews have become must-see TV! I wish I could watch a full interview between just those two. That would be something.

If I’m Mike right now, I’m worried everyday about my job security. I’m sure he’s walking around with an edge to him all day, every day. I swear that Zim has aged about 20 years since taking over in 2014. Being an NFL head coach is stressful… but that’s also why it pays the big bucks.

If Sunday is a blowout loss in Lambeau, I’m not sure Mike Zimmer will have to worry about Chris Tomasson anymore, anyway. Here is Zimmer’s full video press conference from this afternoon.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-vikings/zimmer-and-tomasson-go-at-each-other-again/feed/ 0 Fri, 30 Oct 2020 13:57:13 +0000 Minnesota Vikings