Mistral Raymond MNF

[pmcbri2]

Just saw skinny flying down the field on a punt and was first on the return man to help on a muffed return. Mike called him Mistral Robinson!

[BullFan98]

Miss this guy. We need a hard hitter like him again.

[PalmettoBull]

I went to high school with him and played him in basketball. You think he is skinny now? You should have seen him then. Always was an athlete though. Glad to see that he picked up the techniques to match...

[GaUSFBull]

Sure could have used him this year. You realize what an MVP he was on the defense because of how bad our secondary is this year.

[Brad]

Maybe some of you saw this, maybe not...came out about the same time:

Survival story: Vikings safety Mistral Raymond is no stranger to family tragedy

By Jeremy Fowler

jfowler@pioneerpress.com

Updated: 11/13/2011 12:25:24 AM CST

He places the cellphone on the dresser when he goes to bed now, and the terror is gone.

Mistral Raymond used to peer into the empty screen, afraid of what might be in his voicemail, reliving the tragic news it delivered. Meanwhile, he hoped God would calm his anxiety long enough to let him sleep.

Raymond is over this, thanks to time and faith, but he still rarely checks his voicemail, day or night.

"It's the only way I can stay strong," he said. "I'm better off not knowing.

"I have to be an angel for my family."

This is what drives him. As Raymond prepares to become a bigger part of the Vikings' plans, with the team taking a hard look at its rookie safety as early as Monday night at Green Bay, the sixth-round draft choice is relishing the opportunity, but not just for him.

Football is not his most important job.

With a story both disturbing and inspiring, Raymond, 24, is the unquestioned leader of a family still recovering from a house fire, gunfire and more.

"When you see how strong of a person he is to overcome what he did, he's a guy you root for," coach Leslie Frazier said. "He's an impressive young man with a sense of calm about him, a sense of perspective you don't often see in young football players."

Link

---

There was an interesting section about Granny petitioning Jim Leavitt to let Mistral back in. I didn't know that history.