30 Mar 2026 4 min read

Weekend Observations: No Kings, Everyone Still Hates Duke, and RIP Joey Browner

Like seemingly everyone else in Minnesota, I was at Saturday's No Kings march in St. Paul. I'm guessing the people reading this already know the enormity of the turnout, but suffice it to say, I ain't ever been around that many people. I have a mental count of seven subscribers to this newsletter who were also there that I had zero chance of running into because of, you know, the enormity.

This newsletter's editor-in-chief and his business manager and fixer

This will not be a harangue about how much the current administration sucks (they do) and how much work we all still need to do to prevent even more damage from being done (a lot). This is mostly an appreciation of how SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE HATE THIS SHIT. Nobody likes this. It felt good to be around that many folks despite a south wind blowing at approximately 125 mph. Now where's my Soros check?

People who have boiled their brains on X, Facebook, and Fox News swear these are all paid protestors. Ironically, they all also seem to think that no one wants to work anymore. Look at all these dedicated employees working on a Saturday:

Chinga La Migra. We're gonna win.

Sports Section

*Thanks to the generosity of some former colleagues, Mandy and I had great seats for the worst Timberwolves game of the year after the march on Saturday.

Turns out having three of your best scorers out versus the best team in the Eastern Conference is bad? Anthony Edwards is allegedly back tonight for a must-win game against a bad Dallas Mavericks team.

*There are very few events that bring our fractured country together anymore. But there are some that remain. One of them: Watching a loaded Duke men's basketball team eat shit in the NCAA Tournament. Roll the film:

There were actual published pieces of journalism this weekend asking if hating Duke hoops has gone the way of the dinosaur. The reaction both online and at my local pub to the winning UConn shot tells me the old ways remain strong. Sending a roster of war criminals into the world that would make Harvard blush just makes you a natural villain across generations. I mean:

Eternal gratitude to Norm Charlatan for finding this.

Plus Richard Nixon and Ken Starr and Christian Laettner. Troubling!

*Your Minnesota Twins opened the season 1-2, demonstrating all the flaws (Bailey Ober, bad bullpen, haphazard lineup) that had most everyone skeptical entering the season. Bright spots: Joe Ryan, Royce Lewis.

*Joey Browner (1960-2026). If you're discussing the post-Purple People Eaters/pre-Randy Moss Minnesota Vikings, Joey Browner was the man. 4-time Pro Bowler, all-NFL safety of the 1980s, and John Madden wouldn't shut up about the fact that he was a black belt in karate and had the world's strongest hands.

Here he is ending Gerald Willhite's career:

That's why horsecollar tackles are illegal now.

Browner passed away this weekend at the age of 65. I ran into him once at a liquor store in Waite Park back in the 2000s. I think he was married to a woman in the Stearns County Metroplex? He had let himself go a little bit and was wearing purple Zubaz, but his hands? John Madden wasn't wrong.

Rest in peace.

Field Trip

In a couple weeks, I'll be driving to Fayetteville to volunteer for the Ragnar Trail Arkansas Team Races. Because she's not in her right mind, Mandy is participating in this as is my friend Bill.

I've never been to Arkansas, and most of what I know about it comes from the Netflix original series Ozark. Any recommendations for restaurants, breweries, places of interest, and stops along the way would be very welcome! Leave 'em in the comments or send to stevenjneuman@gmail.com. Much obliged.

See you tomorrow!