Ryan Longwell was in disbelief.
After spending 11 seasons with Brett Favre, nine in Green Bay and two in Minnesota, Longwell, a long-time NFL place-kicker, had seen his friend play through countless injuries that turned body parts black and blue, a bitter divorce from Green Bay and his father s death, yet always yearn for that next snap under center.
But Favre was broken. The 2010 season with the Minnesota Vikings was among the most exhausting of his professional career.
A shoulder injury ended his historic streak of 297 consecutive starts in Week 13. He faced an NFL investigation into allegations that he had sent inappropriate messages to a former Jets employee while playing in New York two years earlier.
Another familiar landmark in Minnesota is getting ready to go away.
Okay, the landmark which is actually the stadium the University of Minnesota s Golden Gophers football team has called home since 2009 isn t actually going away. But the familiar TCF Bank part might not be part of the stadium anymore here in Minnesota.
That s because TCF Bank which is short for Twin Cities Federal Bank itself is going away. According to this TwinCities.com story, TCF Bank is merging with Huntington Bancshares, which is based in Columbus, Ohio. The merger will form the 11th-largest bank in the U.S., the story noted, and it will also do away with the TCF Bank brand itself here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.