Caps Make Big Trade for a Big Enforcer

On Monday the Capitals announced they had traded captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to Columbus in exchange for left wing Jason Chimera. Chimera is known to Caps' fans as the guy who injured Ovechkin earlier this season. The trade came as a complete surprise to most especially as the the Caps were currently the first place team in the NHL. Many wonder why risk team chemistry when they are playing so well together? Also, trading away your captain can leave your team with a major leadership void. Its affect can be seen on the last two games in which the Caps have lost both by a three goal margin. It's one thing for a guy to step up into a leadership role, it's quite another for a guy to be forced into one, and that is not always a recipe for success.

There were many reasons, however, that made this move not only smart, but necessary. Clark has been plagued by injuries the last three seasons, playing only 88 games. Though he has remained healthy this season, his playing time has diminished substantially. Milan Jurcina has struggled for a regular spot on the Caps' crowded blue line. One thing the Caps did not have, however, was a consistent enforcer. Both Clark and Matt Bradley aren't ones to shy away from a fight, but the Caps didn't have another player to really put the hurt on opponents other than Alexander Ovechkin. After receiving a 2 game suspension earlier this year and an upper body injury that kept him out of the lineup for two weeks, the Caps really needed another physical presence on the ice to take some of the physical pressure off Ovechkin. Chimera gives the Caps the enforcer they desperately needed, but without taking away from the lineup. Many can point to Jon Erskine as a legitimate enforcer, but he has the same problem as Donald Brashear: he's a terrible hockey player. Unlike Brashear, however, Erskine is a defenseman. Erskine's complete lack of talent really hurt the Caps in their own zone. Whenever he was caught out of position, which was frequently, he gave up a goal or a penalty. Chimera adds skill and speed to the lineup. If he knocks Erskine out of the regular rotation on the blue line, he may have made the team a lot better than anyone would have thought.

The Caps also added $2.2 million of cap space with the trade. Last season the Caps decided to make no moves at the trade deadline. The result: well, the Caps may not have hurt the team chemistry, but they watched Boston, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia get better. The Caps aren't going to make the same mistake this year. If Varlamov can stay healthy and consistent, the Caps are one solid defenseman away from seriously contending for the Cup. After sending Michael Nylander to the minors and making this trade, the Caps are gaining a lot of cap space. Watch for the Caps to make a move to bring in a big name defenseman and counter moves made by Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Buffalo, and whoever else tries to compete. The front office is looking at the future of this team.

Christmas Day Sports

On Christmas Day fans saw one NFL game and five NBA games including a huge matchup between the LA Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Basketball has had games on Christmas day for several years now, but not everyone is a fan. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was clearly not happy about his team playing on Dec. 25 sayng:

"I would rather not play on Christmas. This is a day to spend with your family. The league has been good to all of us in terms of what we get out of these TV games, so it would sound a little disingenuous to complain too much. But if I had my way, we'd take a five-day Christmas break....I think we get a little carried away with ourselves with sports thinking we're more important than everything else. But that's the way it is. 'There's nothing more important than the NBA on Christmas Day'....I won't watch one second of the other four games. I have no interest. That's not great advertisement for the league, but I actually feel sorry for people who have nothing to do on Christmas Day other than watch an NBA game."

And coach Van Gundy is absolutely right. The desire to play on Christmas day I believe stems from the Thanksgiving football tradition. Football isn't just something to watch that day, but has actually become a part of Thanksgiving to many people. While being away from your family must be hard for the players, coaches, and personnel who make such games possible, it is not a religious holiday. Christmas is religious and the last thing on my mind that day is 'who's playing?" While I understand the desire to try and tap into the huge popularity the NFL enjoys from Thanksgiving games, how low are both leagues willing to go? Neither league is struggling for money or ratings. What do they lose by giving teams the day off? I really don't think the fans will complain if they have to wait until December 26 to watch their team again.

I have to wonder who's going to these games? The stadiums are packed and my guess is that the ratings must be pretty high if the NBA is pushing five games, but I can't imagine asking my family to go to a basketball or football game on Christmas day. While it does seem like there are a lot of people with nothing better to do that day, I'm sure they could find something to tide them over for 24 hours. At some point you have to ask what's more important? Does the NBA have to give these people a game to go to or can they allow people like Van Gundy to spend Christmas with his wife and four children? People can live a day without basketball. There's an entire offseason and somehow we manage to avoid the apocalypse every year during that time.

The day after Christmas I heard an interview with Washington Capitals winger Matt Bradley. Earlier this month, his wife gave birth to their first child. In the NHL, there were no games on Dec. 24 or 25 and he was talking about how special it was to spend time with his son on his first Christmas. Those moments are ultimately more important than the ratings you get on Christmas Day.

Minority Rule in NFL Helps No One

The Washington Redskins have begun their search for their next head coach as numerous sources have reported that the team has already interviewed defensive coordinator Greg Blache, secondary coach Jerry Gray, and are in talks with Mike Shannahan. The Fritz Pollard Alliance, an organization formed to monitor the league's hiring of minorities, has launched an investigation regarding the Redskins' hiring process after both Blache and Gray have denied interviewing for the head coach position. The team is now locked in an awkward situation going forward, one they have been forced into by the ridiculous Rooney Rule.

The Rooney Rule mandates that at least one minority candidate be interviewed for head coach and top executive positions. The FPA's interest in the Redskins began when both Blache and Gray denied interviewing for the head coach position. Here is the position the team is in. The Redskins have decided that Jim Zorn will not return next season as head coach. They have not publicly stated this, but they have made it abundantly clear. Daniel Snyder is very interested in Mike Shannahan who will no doubt be one of if not the most sought after coaching candidates in the offseason. Because of this, the Redskins decided to jump the gun and go after him before the season even ends. According to NFL rules, a team cannot hire a new head coach before the season ends and, according to ESPN, the Redskins have decided to interview minority coaches in order to get it out of the way and continue their talks with Shannahan. While Blache and Gray may claim they have not been interviewed, they clearly have, but since they work for the current head coach, they feel they have to deny it.

The question raised by the situation in Washington is who benefits? How would it make you feel to interview for a position in which an organization has no interest in you? To me, this belittles those minority candidates more so than not interviewing them at all. The Redskins will seek Shannahan to coach and if he refuses they will go after Bill Cowher or John Fox (if available) and it has nothing to do with race. These candidates have simply established themselves as good head coaches. Gray has no head coaching experience, and because of the success Zorn has had, Snyder is more likely to sell the team before he tries that again. Blache will only be considered once the big name coaches are not available. That's when you interview him; if and only if you are seriously considering him as a candidate. Interviewing him now is a waste of time and he knows it. Not only that, you've put him in a terribly awkward situation in which he has to deny that he was ever interviewed since he still works for the current coach.

To say the Redskins were racially motivated to seek Shannahan is absurd. If Tony Dungy were to come forward and say he was interested in the Redskins' job, Snyder would be all over him. He would probably prefer Dungy even to Shannahan. The Rooney Rule has helped no one in this situation in Washington. There is the argument that by making teams interview minorities, an unexpected candidate can emerge as the best fit, but this ignores the simple realities of the NFL. When it comes to these positions, teams usually know everything there is to know about the candidates they consider. The job in Washington is Shannahan's for the taking and nothing short of Shannahan whipping his pants down during the interview and mooning Snyder can make him seriously consider anyone else. In the NFL the interviews are usually a formality and a way to gauge a candidates' interest in the position, not a serious step in considering a candidate.

With a candidate already in mind, the Redskins have held "show" interviews with Blache and Gray that they want to be very public so everyone knows they followed the rules. This has put the very people the Rooney rule is trying to help in a terrible position. The candidates both have to go through an interview process that they know is just for show for the job of the man they currently work for. Great job FPA.

Redskins are Routed by Division Rivals, 45-12

I don't want to dwell on this game because I'm simply too mad, but a lot of things went wrong last night and it shows us a lot about his Washington Redskins team.

1. Jason Campbell needs to go.

Everyone has been sympathetic to Campbell this season because he has no offensive line. True, but I refuse to believe that if you put Peyton Manning or Drew Brees on this Redskins team they would not be able to do any better. Last night I think he proved that. I can already hear the protests "Campbell was sacked five times, he couldn't do anything!" True, again Campbell was tossed around like a rag doll, but watch his interception to Terrell Thomas in the third quarter. Campbell rolled out, had no pressure on him, had two wide open receivers about 7 yards in front of him, and he threw it over both their heads into the waiting arms of Thomas who took it in for a touchdown. THAT WAS AN INEXCUSABLE PLAY! There was no reason for Campbell to miss that throw and it proves he can't make it as a starting quarterback, period. If you keep arguing that it's because of his offensive line, ok, let's take a look. The Redskins are 27th in the league in sacks allowed. Five teams have allowed more sacks than the Redskins. Two of those teams are Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Who is having the worst season between Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisburger, or Campbell? Both Green Bay and Pittsburgh are in the playoff hunt. Some of the blame must be put on Campbell's shoulders. GET HIM OUT OF DC!!! And why was he in the game so long? When Campbell was injured in the first half, Todd Collins came in and in one play threw for more yards than Campbell had. The Giants pulled Eli Manning but Campbell stayed in the entire game. While I may be biased against Campbell, Coach Zorn, who has stuck by him, needed to pull him out. After that first interception, any NFL coach would have pulled Campbell. That was a disgusting throw and the game was not in doubt; it was over. Unless Zorn was hoping the Giants would knock Campbell out for the season, there was no reason to keep him in the game.

2. Jim Zorn is not a head coach.

Watch the end of the first half. The Redskins line up for a field goal with 2 seconds left and then shifted the line to the left and Hunter Smith lined up as a quarterback. The Giants were caught completely off guard by the formation and Tom Coughlin called a time out. I applaud the decision to go for the fake. The Redskins were down 24-0 with 2 seconds left in the first half. You might as well go for it and give your team a chance. But then, after the timeout was called, the Redskins lined up for a field goal and again shifted the line to the left. Let's think about this. One reason why fake field goals work is the element of surprise. Teams are prepared to defend a field goal, but they aren't prepared to defend an actual play. They don't always work, but the fake field goal and punt the Redskins have successfully pulled off this season worked mostly because the other team wasn't prepared for it. What do you think the Giants talked about when they called the timeout? The coaches no doubt told the players "Hey, if they do that again, here's what you do..." The Giants set up for a defensive play and were ready in case the Redskins tried that formation again. You give yourself no advantage by running the exact same play again. They might as well have put the offense back in. Instead they ran the play, the Giants knew exactly how to defend it, and they picked the ball off. By the way, what was that play? "Throw the ball as high as you can to the left side of the field"? That's what Zorn drew up? Time for him to move on.

3. The defense isn't our saving grace any more.

So many times this season, fans have walked away saying, well at least our defense played ok. That doesn't really work anymore. The Giants scored TDs off their first two possessions and a field goal on their third. Even if our offense wasn't lead by a hopeless quarterback and a nonexistent offensive line, it's hard for professional teams to match three straight scores. In the end the Giants managed 382 offensive yards and that was only through 2 1/2 quarters since the Giants essentially gave up. This entire team needs to start over.

4. What did we expect?

When an entire organization starts looking ahead to the next season, the team responds as we saw last night. How can you expect Zorn to coach when candidates are being interviewed for his job? How can you expect players to play when the organization has already given up? People may be critical of Daniel Snyder and his quick trigger when it comes to firing coaches, but he might as well have fired Zorn earlier in the season. It's clear that he made up his mind pretty quickly about Zorn's future. Telling the media that Zorn will be the coach "hopefully into the future" while at the same time interviewing candidates helps no one. If Zorn is out, then fire him and send a message to your team that they still have something to play for this season. Why not? Could the season have been any worse if they had fired Zorn earlier? I didn't think after the Detroit game that it could get worse, but it did last night. If players want to give up on this season then they shouldn't even show up. It may not mean anything to them but it still means a lot to the fans who still go to the games to cheer on their team. My calendar still says 2009, so that's what I'm worried about. The goal of this season is not next season, it should now be to finish with a 6-10 record. We'll see if anyone in this organization can send a clear message to a team clearly going in different directions.

Wizards Get Desperate as They Seek Help From the Fans

ESPN Insider is running a contest for the Washington Wizards. Fans can submit an inbounds play for the team to use during an actual game. Contestants submit their play to ESPN by Wednesday December 23 and a panel of experts will then choose the best and give it to the Wizards.

No doubt many fans have felt frustration over the Wizards' lack luster performance this season. I can certainly understand the feeling of watching a team and knowing you can do better, that is partly the motivation for this blog, but this is simply appalling. Head coach Flip Saunders is being paid $18 million to design these plays. He has an entire coaching staff to design these plays. If he can't figure out a way for the team to get the ball inbounds, then he can't coach the team. Period. What does this say about the state of the Wizards? Can you imagine this happening with the Lakers or the Celtics? Absolutely not. This contest reeks of desperation.

There isn't much the Wizards stand to gain from this contest, other than actually managing to get the ball inbounds without turning it over, but it clearly shows that this team has no idea what they're doing.

The Wizards aren't going to find hidden coaching talent somewhere among their fan base through an in bound play. I don't see what they gain from this contest other than scrutiny from real teams. Best case scenario is that they receive a well drawn up play that works a few times. That's it. The Lakers manage to keep filling the stands without stupid contests. This doesn't give much hope to an already skeptical fan base. It seems as if Saunders is already throwing in the towel after only 25 games. If a fan can help the team get the ball in bounds, that is a sign of Saunders inability to coach more than anything else. A contest such as this is a sign shows to the rest of the NBA how bad the Wizards really are.

Vinny Cerrato Out, A Step in the Right Direction for the Redskins

Yesterday the Redskins' general manager Vinny Cerrato resigned and Bruce Allen was hired as his replacement. Cerrato has been general manager for Snyder ever since he bought the team, but now he has finally been forced out. Despite resigning, it was made clear that Cerrato was told to either resign or be fired. "This is obviously the right time for change," Snyder said yesterday.

Getting rid of Cerrato was definitely the right move. Cerrato has been criticized for many years as being nothing more than a "yes man" for Snyder. While Snyder seems committed to winning he definitely doesn't know how to build a team. Having a general manager with no spine doesn't help if you don't know what you're doing.


Bruce Allen also appears to be the right choice as a replacement. Allen was the general manager for Tampa Bay for five years, but was fired along with Jon Gruden in January. Despite Tampa's recent struggles the Buccaneers were a constant playoff contender. Allen clearly knows how to build and maintain a competitive team. He also knows a bit about the Redskins organization being the son of the great Redskins' coach George Allen. While the Redskins clearly need help building a team, Allen will first need to find a new coach. This is what makes Allen's hiring so encouraging.

The Redskins clearly struggled to find a replacement for Joe Gibbs. By hiring a coaching staff before a head coach, Snyder made it clear that he was going to ultimately run the team himself, alienating most available coaching candidates. As I have written numerous times before, there will be several well established NFL coaches available at the end of this season. If Snyder were to run the process the same way, the Redskins would again find themselves with an unproven commodity as their coach missing out on more deserving candidates such as Mike Shannahan, John Gruden, Bill Cowher, and possibly John Fox and Mike Holmgren. None of these coaches would come to DC if it meant being Snyder's puppet. The real fear for Redskins' fans was that Snyder would again hire his own coaching staff, retool the team, seek these candidates who would refuse to work for him, disregard their objections, and hire the only people who were left. A few weeks ago, Greg Blache publicly defended Snyder, possibly throwing his hat into the ring for possible consideration for the head coaching position. While Blache has done well as defensive coordinator, I'd rather have any of the other candidates I listed above instead of Blache. To hire Blache would most likely mean another two years of lack-luster performance at least and then there's no guarantee that there will be any good candidates available.

By bringing in a general manager who knows what he's doing and maintains a good relationship with numerous NFL coaches, the Redskins have taken a huge step forward. Let's hope Snyder continues to do what's right for the team.

Time for Mike Green to Become a Defenseman

Friday night, I went to the Washington Capitals game against Carolina and I was shocked to hear from the fans outright frustration and anger towards Mike Green. The 24 year old broke a record last season for longest consecutive point streak for a defenseman and amassed 31 total goals and 42 assists leading all defensemen. So far this season Green is third on the team with 32 points. Despite being immensely talented, Green was also the subject of much criticism last season during the playoffs with only 1 goal and 8 assists in 14 games. Green was clearly out of shape and his game suffered because of it.

Green focused on his conditioning in the offseason and came into the season in much better shape. Why all the criticism now? Because the one thing he doesn't seem to be improving on is his defensive play. On Friday, Carolina, the league's lowest scoring team, scored three goals. The first goal, Green took the puck from the defensive zone and skated deep into Carolina's zone. He made a bad pass that was intercepted and then he was sent sprawling with a huge hit. He got up slowly and Carolina managed an odd man rush to score. Later in the game, the Capitals had a 3-2 lead with a power play. Green skated around the point deeper into the zone and tried to pass over to the other side of the ice. The pass was intercepted by Tim Gleason who scored off of the breakaway. Green did manage to score the game winner in OT, but the game would not have gone into OT had he not allowed those two goals.

Green has a very offensive style of play. While this in its self is not a bad thing, it can be when Green leaves the team defensively shorthanded. The Capitals are the highest scoring team in the league by far, but they are only ranked 16 in goals allowed. Defense needs to be a higher priority for the Capitals as a whole. I'm not saying that Green needs to abandon his offensive ways. That would be stupid since that's what makes him such a great player. He has clearly, however, made a conscious effort to improve his offensive play and his conditioning. Now it is time to work on his defense. After all, he is a defenseman.

Already one can see a difference in his style of play. Last season he had 31 goals while this season he is on pace for about 15. His 32 total points, however, puts him on pace for 77 points, above even his 73 point mark last season. He may not be scoring as much, but he is contributing to the offense. This also shows that while he may still be caught out of position, he is not as aggressive as he has been. More importantly, it shows he can see plays developing. This makes him a potentially invaluable asset as a defensemen. The reason why a playmaker like Sergei Federov could play both offense and defense is because he knew how offensive plays develop. Green has this same ability.

The Capitals are the best offensive team in the league. What they need is consistent defensive play. With Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Niklas Backstrom, and the numerous other offensive playmakers the Capitals have, they will continue to put points on the board even if Green holds himself back. What would you feel safer with, Ovechkin alone up top or Jeff Schultz alone on defense? That's a no brainer.

Semin's Future in DC

Capitals' winger Alexander Semin is in the final year of his contract and negotiations between his agent and the team stalled a few weeks ago and have not continued. The Capitals have said that they hope to resume talks soon, but this situation has had many analysts speculate about Semin's future in DC.


Why would they ever let someone with Semin's talent leave? The biggest reason is money. As a young team, most of the Capitals' players had low, entry level contracts. As these young superstars have developed, they are now looking to be rewarded with higher contracts. Now the Capitals have to account for the $56.8 million NHL salary cap. With stars such as Alexander Ovechkin, Semyon Varlamov, Mike Green, and Niklas Backstrom, Semin may be the odd man out. The Capitals are going to do whatever it takes to ensure that those players are signed. Semin will no doubt be looking for a high contract and if there is no cap space, then he will get the boot.

Compared to their other stars, Semin is definitely lower on the totem pole. He is very injury prone, having played only 63 games in 2007-2008 and 62 games in 2008-2009. So far this season he has missed 9 of the team's 33 games. He also has the disadvantage of playing the same position, left wing, as Ovechkin. With the Capitals' weakness on defense and in goal, Green and Varlamov have become huge priorities to sign. Backstrom has also proven to be a tremendous talent not so much for his scoring, but his play making abilities. Of the five, Semin is the only one truly expendable.

What does this mean going forward? Well, that's up to Semin. The Capitals may have more leeway than they originally thought with Michael Nylander and his huge salary being sent to AHL Grand Rapids as announced today. The Capitals certainly don't want Semin to leave. In 14 playoff games last season, he had 14 points. If Ovechkin isn't producing, Semin is usually there to pickup the slack or at least take some of the defensive pressure off of the Great 8. The problem is he probably won't get as big a contract as he may want or deserve. If he wants to stay in DC then he has to be prepared for that. The Capitals have said they wish to start negotiations again and we will have to see. If talks break down again, look for him to be traded in March at the trade deadline. A player of Semin's capabilities will not be allowed to walk away with the Capitals getting nothing in return. While this is probably not the scenario anyone wants, it is, I believe, the most likely.

The Otherside of Instant Replay

Instant replay has become a major issue for several sports. Either you have it and it works great, or leagues are dragging their feet to the dismay of most fans. What most people think about when they think of instant replay are games like the now infamous France vs. Ireland game with Theirry Henry's blatant handball or the Yankees/Angels ALCS game with umpire Tim McClelland making two awful calls against the Angels. What people don't see, however, is the otherside of the argument. Many who argue against instant replay say that it will slow games down. These argument are largely ignored because its implementation in the NFL has been a huge success. Baseball which has been one of the most resistant has instituted replay for homerun calls and it doesn't seem to affect the flow at all. Hockey has had replay for years and no one complains. Friday night, however, I finally saw the argument.

On Friday, William and Mary took on Villanova in the football Division 1AA semi-final game. I caught the game midway through the third quarter. In that one and one half quarter, four plays were reviewed. I have to say, it really slowed the game down. I have always supported instant replay in pretty much all sports, but I also recognize that replay run amok can be a bad thing. The problem on Friday was the specific system used. There were no coach challenges, rather every play was subject to review. I recognize the importance of making sure the right call is made every play, but there has got to be a limit. You cannot replay every close play just to be sure. Of those four plays that were reviewed, only one was a close call that really warranted a review. In fact, that was the only play that was overturned. The other three seemed pretty clear cut and I felt replay was unnecessary. If replay were limited to coach challenges as we see most often used in football, I think only the one overturned play would have been challenged by the coaches.

What this shows us is why soccer and baseball have refused instant replay. Part of soccer's international appeal is the constant flow. To stop that for replays would really hurt the game. The length of baseball games is already becoming an issue for fans. Extending the game further would do more harm than good. While I have a new appreciation for these arguments, I still believe that, like Friday's game, a form of limited replay would not hurt. The NFL and the NHL have shown us that limited reviews help officials make correct calls on big plays without really stopping the game. Also, how long do you think a review of Henry's handball or McClelland's calls would have taken? How long did it take for you to see the wrong call was made? A referre could make the correct call in a matter of seconds. The fact is that you can add more officials to soccer games or put better umpires in important games, but they are human and will still make mistakes. Making a scapegoat out of Henry as FIFA is attempting to do is not the answer. Replay is. Unlimited replay will slow down a game, but limited replay will help officials make correct calls which is what's ultimately important.

Brian Kelly to Notre Dame, Irish Hope he Brings Luck With Him

Reports have confirmed that Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly will be the next coach of Notre Dame. Kelly leaves a 12-0 Cincinnati team that narrowly missed the National Title game and is poised to play Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Kelly will not be on the sidelines for that game, nor will many of his assistants as many will follow him to South Bend.

The coaching search was extremely well executed by Notre Dame, suggesting to me that they may finally have found a candidate that can lead them into the future. First, Kelly was hired only 10 days after Charlie Weis was fired. The Irish didn't waste any time with their unrealistic wish list, quickly ruling out Oklahoma coach, Bob Stoops, and Florida coach, Urban Meyer. While Notre Dame would have loved either one of these coaches, neither coach was going to leave their respective program. There was no point in alienating prospective candidates to pursue a situation that just wasn't going to happen. Second, Notre Dame recognized Kelly as the man for the job very quickly and did what was necessary to bring him in. Kelly refused to publicly acknowledge any interest in the job. Then on Wednesday of this week, reports came out saying there was mutual interest between the Irish and Connecticut coach, Randy Edsall. The next day Kelly accepted the job. While we don't know for sure how negotiations went between the two parties, it looks like the Irish may have played a little hardball to bring him in.

Why was Kelly so sought after? Well, the Irish may finally realized what it takes to be successful in South Bend. Lou Holtz has been reporting on ESPN that the coaches that make it in Notre Dame are the ones who come in already well established and successful as a college head coach. Charlie Weis came in as a great NFL offensive coordinator. Tyrone Willingham was the head coach of Stanford going 44-36-1, but was inconsistent to say the least winning the Pac 10 in 1999 while still losing to teams such as San Jose State. Bob Davie was Lou Holtz's defensive coordinator. The last successful coach for the Irish was Lou Holtz himself, and he had 17 seasons as a head coach coming into Notre Dame. Kelly comes to South Bend with 18 years of head coaching experience and an overall record of 171-57-2. The Irish may finally have found the coach they need instead of the coach that fits.

Portis Out for the Season, Future Unclear

The Washington Redskins announced this week that Clinton Portis will miss the remainder of the season due to a concussion. This has called into question what Portis' future will be in DC. Portis will turn 29 next season which is old for most starting running backs and is injury prone. He only has one touchdown in 2009 and it is also well known that Portis and head coach Jim Zorn have not gotten along since Zorn first came to DC. Perhaps it may be time to look for another running back to take over.

It may be a little early, however, for the Redskins to turn away Portis. First, the running backs behind him are not starting quality players. Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright are great back ups, but I'm not sure they're good enough to take over. Rookie Quinton Ganther may evetually develop into a good running back, but he's certainly not there yet. What's more, Portis' stats remain solid. He averages 4.0 yards per carry and has only one fumble in 124 attempts. Portis was one of the league's leading rushers in 2008 with 1487 yards. His single touchdown this season is more because of a weak offensive line rather than any drop off in Portis' play.

As for Zorn, he will most likely be gone at the end of the season. With the Redskins ready to start over in the offseason, is the running back position another thing they Redskins want to add to the laundry list of things they need to improve on? With no starting quality running back to turn to, the Redskins would have to persue another probably expensive running back to take over. Portis still has plenty left in the tank. Let's focus on a head coach, quarterback, offensive line, and secondary before we decide we aren't happy with our running back.

The BCS Messes Up Again

On Sunday night, the BCS made its bowl selections. Coming in, we already knew that three undefeated teams were not going to make the National Championship Game. Everyone expected the winner of the SEC championship would face Texas, even if they managed to win the Big 12 with a miraculous last second field goal. This left out Cincinnati (a BCS conference champion), TCU, and Boise State. Nobody likes this system and everyone argues for playoffs for these occasions since three teams did everything right and were still not given their shot. That, however, was not the big issue for me this year because I knew this was going to happen. I may not like it, but I was prepared for it. What bothered me a lot was the Fiesta Bowl selection.

The Fiesta Bowl, to be played on January 4, will be played by TCU and Boise State. Both teams have proven themselves this season and both deserve a BCS spot, but the fact that the two non-BCS teams have been pitted against one another is absurd. This completely defeats the purpose. The point of the BCS systems for teams like TCU is so that a non-BCS team that has proven itself throughout the season gets a chance to play against the best of the BCS teams. It's a chance for them to prove themselves to the rest of the country. By putting TCU and Boise against one another, the BCS has completely devalued the Fiesta Bowl.

In 2008, Utah, a non-BCS team, managed an undefeated season and received a spot in the Sugar Bowl. They met SEC runner up Alabama and crushed them 31-17. No one thought Utah could compete against one of the best teams in the country and they dominated from start to finish. The game gave legitimacy to Utah's entire season and most of all it gave them respect. What does a Fiesta Bowl win do for either TCU or Boise State? Both teams had a legitimate claim for a spot and now won't even get a chance to justify that claim.

Non-BCS teams don't get much respect over the course of a season. While they may go undefeated, many claim it is merely because of a weak conference schedule. That's what makes the bowls so important. It gives teams a chance to compete against the best BCS teams and prove that they are just as good. Both TCU and Boise State are great teams, but what can they claim at the end of the season? They have been cheated out of a chance to compete for a national title and now won't even get a chance to justify their season.

Redskins Lose Through Collective Effort

Despite dominating the undefeated New Orleans Saints, the Washington Redskins lost 33-30 in overtime. While the Redskins were certainly expected to lose, it was the way they lost that was so infuriating. With less than 2 minutes left to go in the game, the Redskins led 30-23 and had the ball on the Saints' 4 yard line. The Saints had no timeouts left. If you put any team in the NFL in this position, they win the game. Not the Redskins.

On fourth down, the Redskins lined up for a 23 yard field goal. A chip shot. Two yards closer is an extra point. Shaun Suisham, however, missed the kick. From the moment he kicked it, it was clearly wide. A 10 point lead at that point in the game would have forced New Orleans to score twice with less than 2 minutes and no timeouts. Instead, the Saints got the ball on the 20 yard line down only by one touchdown. I understand that sometimes kickers will miss kicks. Missing this kick, however, was unacceptable. Professional kickers who get paid millions should make those kicks whether they are winning by 7 or 70. Despite how much money Daniel Snyder likes to spend for players, the Redskins have not had a dependable kicker for several seasons. Suisham also cost the Redskins against Dallas with two missed field goals. A football team needs a kicker they can depend on to score from close yardage and in clutch situations. Suisham has shown he is not dependable in either situation.

Despite missing an easy field goal, the Redskins still held a 7 point lead with 1:52 left to go. It took the Saints only five plays and 33 seconds to score. After one play, Albert Haynesworth gave the Saints a time out as he went down with an injury. Even though Haynserworth played a good game, he seems to get injured at least once every week. Going down in such an important situation allows the Saints to regroup and get ready for the rest of the drive. If Haynesworth is injured, he's injured and there's nothing really he can do, but I'm getting pretty tired of watching him go down every game. He's getting paid too much money to sit out the majority of a game.

The biggest mistake that drive, however, cam from LaRon Landry. When it comes to stoping the run, Landry is very aggresive and seems to always be in the play. When it comes to the pass, however, he is constantly beat deep. His aggresiveness constantly gets him into trouble. What he doesn't seem to realize is that he is a safety, meaning he is the guy in charge of making sure the defense DOESN'T get beat deep. Robert Meachem managed to get behind Landry for a 53 yard touchdown that tied the game. Landry is a three year pro and should know his responsibility. It doesn't matter if he he can stop the run. If receivers can get behind him at will, he is useless to the team.

Even with the game tied, the Redskins still had a great opportunity to win the game. There was still 1:19 left on the clock and they had two timeouts. But, we can't forget the man playing quarterback, Jason Campbell aka Mr. Dependable. At the New Orleans 45 yard line, Campbell threw an interception right into the hands of Jonathan Vilma. People can show me all the stats they want on how Campbell played and I'll admit, to that point he had a good game. This interception, however, was terrible. There was little pressure on Campbell and Fred Davis was CLEARLY covered. An NFL quarterback should not have made that throw. I don't know what Campbell saw or how he could have missed Vilma standing right in front of Davis, but still the ball was thrown. I'm not going to blame Campbell for losing the game because for the most part he played well, but did anybody believe the Redskins were going to be able to drive for the win? Drew Brees is a great quarterback because he can lead foruth quarter come backs. So can Peyton Manning, so can Brett Favre. Jason Campbell? He tries to throw through the invisible Vilma. Further evidence that come the offseason, Campbell needs to go.

Was this all the Redskins had in store? Nope. In overtime Mike Sellers fumbled the ball on the Redskins 37 yard line, giving the Saints the ball at the edge of field goal range. All this capped off a game ending collapse for the Redskins. We also can't forget their earlier mistakes such as a miffed punt, and an interception by Kareem Moore who was stripped by Saints' receiver Robert Meachum who managed to return the fumble for a touchdown. Only the Redskins could lose a game in such spectacular fashion.

Is Ovechkin a Dirty Player?

The NHL announced on Tuesday that Alex Ovechkin would be suspended two games for his knee-on-knee hit during Monday's game against Carolina. In the first period Ovechkin tried to size up Hurricanes' defenseman Tim Gleason who saw him coming and skated to avoid the hit. Ovechkin then stuck out his leg and led with his knee sending both players sprawling onto the ice. Ovechkin seem to bear the brunt of the hit and had to be helped off the ice. He then received a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct ejection. Ovechkin has been listed as day to day so the suspension may not actually be a bad thing as it will keep Ovechkin from trying to rush back immediately from the injury. It appears his injury will not be serious and the Capitals have already proven this season that they can win without him so the bigger question this raises is what type of player Ovechkin really is.

Ovechkin's game misconduct was his second in three games. Ovechkin received one in the game against Buffalo the day before Thanksgiving for boarding. This has led some people to ask if Ovechkin is a dirty player. The answer, quite simply, is no. Ovechkin is fun to watch not only for his skill but for his physical style of play. He's such a dangerous player because not only can he deke you, but he can skate right through you. Compare him to one of his biggest rivals, Sidney Crosby. Pittsburgh fans will tell you Crosby is better, Washington fans will tell you Ovechkin is better. Most hockey fans, however, including those who cheer for Pittsburgh, will tell you Ovechkin is better. Why? Crosby won't play physical hockey. Ovechkin, on the other hand, plays the game the way it should be played. If Crosby gets hit, he looks like he's on the verge of tears and immediately complains to the referee. If Ovechkin gets hit, he hits right back. In a game as physical as hockey, it's nice to see a supers star who doesn't hide behind his enforcers.

The problem with Ovechkin's play is that he really walks the line between physical and reckless. Against Buffalo, Ovechkin was just a little late. You can't argue against the call, but it wasn't a dirty play, it was a reckless play. Watch the replay of the hit on Gleason. Ovechkin is clearly skating in for a body check and Gleason sees him coming. It is Ovechkin's competitiveness that doesn't allow Gleason to skate past him. You can't really argue that he was trying to hurt Gleason because in those types of hits, you can't tell who's going to get the worst of it. If you hit someone full speed with your shoulder, the other guy is the one who goes flying. If you hit with your knee, it really could go either way and that's why Ovechkin went down.

While many may see this suspension as a turning point for Ovechkin in which he realizes he needs to turn it down, I wouldn't count on it. Ovechkin himself has already come out and said "I'm not going to change anything" and for the most part, that's a good thing. What is probably the best game of Ovechkin's career is his performance against Montreal on January 31, 2008. In it Ovechkin broke his nose after a hit from Francis Bouillon, was hit in the lip with a puck, and refused to back down going on to score four goals including the overtime winner. Without his physical style of play, this performance never happens, nor does the amazing spin around goal last season which Ovechkin was only able to finish when he pushed pass defenseman Kyle Chipchura. You can also forget about the spectacular goal against Phoenix during his rookie season too (which if you haven't seen yet, where have you been? Look it up on youtube immediately). If there is any reason to pull back on the reins its because of injury worries. While the Caps have been successful this year without Ovechkin, he still remains the face of the franchise and the road to the Stanley Cup will not be possible without him. Two game misconducts in three games? That's a result of bad timing more than a reflection on Ovechkin. With the way Ovechkin dazzles us every time he steps on the ice, do we really want him to change who he is? If he does I think everyone is going to miss out on something special.

Weis, Groh, Bowden Among First Victims of the College Football Offseason

After many teams finished their seasons last weekend, all eyes turned to coaches on the hotseat to see who would be fired, who would step aside, and who would be given another chance. Among the first coaches to go were Charlie Weis, Al Groh, and Bobby Bowden.

Charlie Weis was fired yesterday by Notre Dame after another lackluster season finishing with a record of 6-6. When Weis was first hired, he held a firey news conference and gave the ironically prophetic statement "you're a 6-5 football team. And guess what? That's just not good enough. That's not good enough for you, and it's certainly not going to be good enough for me." Well in Weis five seasons he went 9-3 (with predecessor Tyrone Willingham's recruits) in 2005, 10-2 in 2006, 3-9 in 2007 giving Notre Dame its worst record in school history, 6-6 in 2008, and 6-6 in 2009. Basically he proved he could win with other people's recruits, but not with his own. Many expected this would be Weis' last season. The only reason Notre Dame would keep him at this point would have been the $18 million it took to buy him out. With a record of 15-21 over the last three seasons that just wasn't enough. The search now begins for the next Notre Dame coach.

After a 3-9 football season for UVA including losses to AA William and Mary, Southern Miss, Duke, and a sixth straight to rival Virginia Tech many were not surprised by the firing of long time head coach Al Groh. Groh was hired in 2001 succeeding George Welsh who retired as the winningest coach in ACC history. Al Groh had some success winning ACC coach of the year in 2002 and 2007. He came under scrutiny, however, in 2008 when UVA started the season 1-3 including a 31-3 loss to Duke. UVA rebounded slightly finished 5-7. After another bad season, UVA officials saw a team on the decline with little hope of competing with rival Virginia Tech for Virginia recruits and Al Groh was sent packing.

Many reports indicate that Bobby Bowden will announce his retirement either today or tomorrow. Out of the three, this is perhaps the coach that was treated the most unfairly. Bowden was hired in 1976 to coach a team that had won four games in the past four seasons. Bowden's only losing season was his first in '76. He won two National Titles in '93 and '99. Florida State began to look ahead and named Jimbo Fisher as Bowden's successor to take over the team whenever Bowden chose to leave. Apparently having the second most wins of any coach in history including 315 wins with Florida State wasn't enough for the Seminole faithful who began calling for his retirement. Chairman of the university board of trustees, Jim Smith, stated "I think the record will show that the Seminole Nation has been more than patient. We have been in decline not for a year or two or three but I think we're coming up on seven or eight. I think enough is enough." Well in the last eight seasons, Florida State has won three conference titles with an overall record of 65-38. Despite essentially building the program itself, Bowden became a victim of his own success when he couldn't compete with the soaring expectations. This led to the absolutely outrageous and absurd treatment of Bowden this season by the trustees. As they were unable to fire him, it seems they did everything in their power to force him out on his own. Quite an undeserved ending for such a great coach.

With the offseason just beginning and the bowl games to come, no doubt there will be many more stories to come.

Simeon Varlamov Establishes Himself as the Caps Starter

Over the past two seasons, goaltending has been a major concern for the Washington Capitals. The Capitals struggled in the playoffs last season, needing seven games to beat a New York Rangers team they were expected to dominate. Jose Theodore was pulled after his first start, yielding to young prospect Simeon Varlamov. After a dazzling playoff performance, Varlamov was pulled during game seven against the Pittsburgh Penguins after allowing five goals. While Varlamov was clearly the future of the program, he still had a long road ahead of him before he could take over the team. Now, after shaking off a rough start, he has really begun to establish himself as a starting goaltender.

Theodore began the season as the number one goalie, but he was expected to split time with Varlamov and other prospect Michal Neuvirth in order to help them develop. Whatever hopes the team had for Neuvirth heading into the season were sidelined when he suffered an early injury. To begin the season Theodore looked very solid and Varlamov struggled. It looked as if the Russian speaking Arturs Irbe as goalie coach and the offseason development of Varlamov had not yielded the results Caps' fans had been hoping for. Now 29 games into the season, Varlamov looks to be the number one man for the Caps with incredible play and very good stats.

The stats really show a marked difference between the two goalies. Theodore has 14 starts, 5 wins, a 3.24 GAA, and a save percentage of .893. Varlamov has 14 starts as well, but he has 10 wins, a 2.38 GAA, and a save percentage of .919. Even with his early season struggles, Varlamov still only has only one regulation loss this season. He doesn't lose. Watching him play, the most important thing he is doing is making glove saves. This has been a major issue for him as he has previously given up bad rebounds off of easy glove saves. He still lets in a few soft goals, but this is something he will continue to improve on as the season continues.

Theodore and Varlamov both have 14 starts at this point, but I look for Varlamov to begin getting a lot more starts. While he does allow soft goals, Theodore has a career of being inconsistent. At this point, playing time is more important for a developing Varlamov who continues to win then it is to develop an already veteran Theodore, especially with Theodore in the last year of his contract. Let's hope Varlamov is ready to take the reins completely as the playoffs begin.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Happy Thanksgiving! Since I'll be on vacation, I won't post for a while. A few notes:

The Capitals are poised for another great regular season. They will most likely win their division, but they are clearly not ready for the playoffs. If they continue to play the way they are now, they will not win the Cup of the conference.

The Redskins put up a good fight yesterday, but only allowing 7 points is meaningless if you only score 6. The writing is on the wall for Zorn and hopefully for Jason Campbell since he's terrible.

The Wizards don't look as good as I'm sure they were hoping. The time may have come to consider what kind of future Gilbert Arenas has in DC if he can't bring success.

Steven Strasburg's injured knee appears to be minor and he will not need surgery. With free agency beginning, let's hope the Nationals aren't just spectators.

Maryland and UVA football is a joke. Virginia Tech is poised for a berth in the Gator Bowl. While this isn't the success they had hoped for at the beginning of the season, the Gator Bowl is still very prestigious. Virginia Tech will also remain the dominant recruiters of the Virginia, North Carolina area with little competition.

Buffalo May Force Early End to Zorn's Season

Early this week, the Buffalo Bills fired head coach Dick Jauron. Buffalo has only managed a 3-6 record despite the offseason acquisition of Terrell Owens and has failed to make the playoffs so far this century. Buffalo waisted no time in their search for their next coach contacting Mike Shanahan and reportedly making plans to contact Bill Cowher and Mike Holmgren.

For most of the season, the spotlight has been on Washington's coach Jim Zorn who seemed the most likely to get fired. In order to put a stop to the rumors, vice president Vinny Cerrato gave Zorn a vote of confidence. Despite Cerrato's statement, it seems clear Zorn's career in Washington will be over come the offseason due to the team's poor record and the multitude of candidates available. The problem for owner Daniel Snyder is that Buffalo has now gotten a head start on finding a new coach. With the focus on the DC job, Snyder has essentially had his pick of candidates to consider pursuing. Buffalo, however, presents a rather attractive opportunity compared to working for Snyder. While the Buffalo market may be struggling, the team still has a storied history and a big-name coach would be able to name his terms. Whether coaches will have control of their team under Snyder remains to be seen.

The advantage Washington has over Buffalo is money. Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson has been stingy at times and is not one to write bottomless checks. Snyder, with his deep pockets and loyal fan base, needs only to ask coaches "how much?" The problem is that he can't do that with a head coach still in place. If Buffalo manages to work out a deal with someone before Snyder gets his chance, he will feel as if he missed an opportunity. With Buffalo already talking to coaches Snyder may look for ways to get rid of Zorn before the end of the season.

Snyder has been in this position before. In order to end rumors surrounding the job status of head coach Steve Spurrier, Snyder announced that he would not be fired at the end of the season. Spurrier then lost the remaining three games being outscored 85-31, including a 27-0 loss to Dallas and a 31-7 loss to Philadelphia. Despite how bad the team looked, Snyder could not publicly fire Spurrier. Spurrier, however, resigned. Cerrato has already given Zorn a vote of confidence, but Snyder may try to find a way to get rid of him. It is already suspected that taking away Zorn's play calling duties was an attempt to get rid of him and that Zorn in fact considered resigning. If Snyder feels nervous about Buffalo getting the jump on him, he may consider further action in order to get Zorn out faster.

With the coaches available, Snyder knows he has a chance to dramatically turn the team around. He desperately wants to see the Redskins win a Super Bowl and if he feels getting rid of Zorn before the season ends will help him get a new coach, he won't hesitate to make that happen.

Ireland Cheated Out of World Cup when Handed a Tie

Yesterday Ireland was denied a spot in the 2010 World Cup after a 1-1 tie with France. France won the first game 1-0. With a 1-0 lead after 90 minutes, Ireland forced an overtime for the series. With 17 minutes left, Thierry Henry batted the ball down with his hand and kicked it to William Gallas who headed the ball in, tying the game at 1-1 and pulling France ahead by an aggregate score of 2-1. With many controversial calls, one team can see a call one way, while the other will disagree. No one, however, is disputing this handball. Not even Henry who admitted it was a handball after the game. It seems that everyone knew this was a handball except for the people who mattered most, the referees.

One issue that has been debated by FIFA is the use of video replay in soccer. No doubt this issue will be brought up again after this blown call. The fact that someone could miss a call this obvious in a game this important is unacceptable. Replay never seems to be seriously considered until a major blown call calls the issue into question. The standard argument will be used of how it slows down the game, but in every sport in which it has been instituted, rules have been put in place in order to ensure quick and, most importantly, correct decisions are made.

This game has shown that on the field decisions are just not good enough. Calls this obvious and this important should be called right. The suggestion that the referee should have asked Henry if it was a handball is ridiculous. It is not the player's responsibility to make sure a game is called correctly. Nor is it fair to put a player in that position. Had Henry said it was a handball, it could be argued he betrayed not only his team, but his country. Had he denied it, the play still would have been incorrectly called.

At this point, Ireland has few options. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has lodged a formal complaint asking for a rematch. It is unlikely that this will be granted as this would set a disastrous precedent. This, however, is a problem FIFA cannot simply ignore. Martin Hansson, the Swedish referee who called the game has been blasted by his own countrymen. One newspaper wrote "There will be no World Cup for Ireland and I assume that Team Hansson has also forfeited its right to continue to take charge of major international matches. Anything else would be a further insult to the Irish nation." Ireland's outrage has also called into question the European playoff process. Eight teams qualified for a two-legged playoff to determine the last four European slots for the World Cup. Ireland captain Robbie Keane has criticized the late decision by FIFA to seed the eight teams, which ultimately favored the bigger, more popular national teams. FIFA was originally not planning on seeding the teams at all. Keane claims the decision to do so came when FIFA saw France, Portugal, and Germany could all potentially be forced into the playoff round which may have meant a playoff between two of these teams. Simply saying Ireland was the victim of a bad call will not be good enough to sweep these issues under the rug.

The ultimate solution will most likely be the institution of video replay in either the 2010 World Cup, or in future international matches. Hansson will most likely not be allowed to call any World Cup games and I doubt he'll be watching the games from any Irish pubs. I doubt FIFA will care about Keane's accusations. While it is unfair, you can't blame FIFA for wanting the best teams to make the World Cup. If anyone, however, watched the game yesterday and saw Ireland dominate the second place team from last World Cup, there could be no question that Ireland had earned their spot. If it weren't for Henry giving the French a hand, the Irish might have been celebrating a world cup berth in South Africa.

Ovechkin Expected Back in the Lineup

Alexander Ovehckin is expected to return to the Capitals lineup tonight against the New York Rangers. The Capitals have won four of the six games without Ovechkin staying near the top of the conference. The New York Rangers tend to play a physical style of play so it will be interesting to see how the two teams matchup against one another especially with enforcers Donald Brashear and Sean Avery. No doubt they will be gunning for Ovechkin all night long. Since Ovechkin never backs down from a hit, he may see less playing time then he is used to in order to prevent reaggravating his injury.

The Capitals have also recalled forward Joe Beagle and goalie Michal Neuvirth from AHL Hershey. What the Capitals have proven thus far is that even with shaky defense and goaltending, they will still most likely win their division and finish among the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Right now, they are six points ahead of second place southeastern foe, Tampa Bay, and tied for first in the conference with New Jersey and Pittsburgh. While it is important that they continue winning, they must also focus on tweaking the team in preparation of the playoffs. With Ovechkin back, the Caps can afford to experiment with younger players such as Beagle. Neuvirth was expected to split time with Simeon Varlamov and Jose Theodore at the beginning of the season, but was held back because of injury. With the added scoring boost Ovechkin brings, Bruce Boudreau will most likely give Neuvirth a few tries in goal.

Even though the regular season is only a quarter of the way through, it is never too early to think about the playoffs. The Capitals have shown they are still a very competitive regular season team, but success now does not always mean success in the post season. With the Capitals' sights set on a Stanley Cup, don't be surprised to see a lot of younger players called up especially with Michael Nylander most likely headed to the KHL in order to free up cap space. Look for numerous appearances by Hershey regulars Karl Alzner, Michal Neuvirth, Jay Beagle, Keith Aucoin, Alex Giroux, Mathieu Perrault, John Carlson, Sean Collins, Kyle Wilson, Boyd Kane, and Oskar Osala.

Stupid Play Call Helps Colts Beat the Patriots

The football world is ablaze this morning with questions regarding Bill Belichick's late play call against the Indianapolis Colts. New England held a 34-28 lead with 2:08 left to go. With the ball on his own 28, Bill Belichick decided to roll the dice and go for it on fourth and two. New England used their last timeout to discuss the play and then lined up. Tom Brady passed to Kevin Faulk who juggled the catch and didn't bring it under control until he had back tracked behind the first down marker. Since he had used his last timeout, Belichick could not challenge the call, Indianapolis' ball. Peyton Manning took advantage throwing a one-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne, giving the Colts a 35-34 win over the Patriots.

Of course it is easy to second guess Belichick's play call since his gamble did not pay off. Hindsight is 20-20. But regardless of this, this was a very stupid call and will be remembered as one of the biggest blunders in NFL history. Why did he make the call? With 2:08, the Colts would have had the 2-minute warning and all three timeouts to work with, an eternity in football. With Peyton Manning under center, the Colts would have had a good chance had the Patriots punted. Another reason is simple arrogance. While Bill Belichick may be one of the greatest football coaches of all time, he is nothing if not arrogant. No coach would make that call if he did not think he could make the first down, but it really goes beyond that for Belichick. He may not have even contemplated the possibility that his team wouldn't be able to make the first down.

While many will question Belichick only because his gamble failed, this play call was dumb even before Manning made him pay for it. Had the Patriots punted, the Colts would have gotten the ball with about 1:55 left, somewhere around their own 30 yard line. With three timeouts, the Colts would have had plenty of time. New England's defense, however, had done a good job against Manning to that point forcing two interceptions. There is no guarentee that the Colts would be able to drive 70 yards to take the lead. By giving the Colts a short field, you are also allowing them the option of running the ball which they took full advantage of. The Colts averaged 5.1 yards a carry last night. Containing the Colts would have been easier if they Patriots didn't have to account for Joseph Addai taking handoffs.

Most importantly, this play call reeks of desperation. What can Belichick say to his defense after this? "I didn't trust you to stop their offense from seventy yards out, but I know you can do it from thirty." At that point, the Patriots' confidence had to be shot and the Colts were playing with all the momentum. With football being such a mental game, it is no surprise that the Colts were able to punch the ball into the endzone with relative ease.

Belichick may claim this call was made out of respect for the abilities of Peyton Manning, but such an aggressive play call said more about his defense than it did about the Colts' offense. While punting the ball would have given the Colts the opportunity to win the game, they would have taken the field with 70 yards to go and some momentum. There was no guarantee they would be able to drive for a score. By going for it on the 26, Belichick made it that much easier for Manning to do what he does best. While Belichick will remain one of the best coaches ever seen in the NFL, this call last night was a joke showing the utter lack of respect he had for either his own or Indianapolis' defense. This call was a huge mistake and his team suffered a loss because of it.

A Logical Argument for the BCS?

Listening to ESPN radio the other day I actually heard a logical argument in favor of the BCS. Around this time of season with numerous teams facing snubbing from a National Title bid, criticism of the system runs high. Usually when criticism becomes very public, a BCS representative comes out with a very condescending reply saying how people don't really understand what they are talking about and that the system is fine. An objective listener, however, wrote into the show in order to defend the BCS system. He wrote that the BCS is the only real system that will work because the different levels of competition will not make a long playoff system fair. Basically, the BCS is the best system because it is the only system that gives teams like TCU and Boise State a chance of qualifying for the title. If TCU were to be put in a playoff system, they can't really be expected to, for example, beat USC, then Texas, then Florida, etc. A national title bid gives TCU a one game chance to win.

This is perhaps the best argument I've heard in favor of the BCS, but the unequal competition of teams would be wiped away with a playoff system. The secret is in recruiting. Teams like Texas will have more consistent success recruiting over teams like TCU because they are in a BCS conference. These teams are more prestigious, have more history, and get more media coverage. There are plenty of people who would rather go to TCU than Texas for various reasons, but Texas still dominates recruiting in football. Florida, Florida State, and Miami have more recruiting success than UCF of Florida International. Southern Cal, Cal Berkeley, and UCLA have more recruiting success than San Diego State. The list goes on and on. If college football changes to a playoff system in which all conference winners make the playoffs, the recruiting bump of BCS conferences disappears. Recruits can go to teams like Boise State and TCU and still be national contenders because they will earn playoff spots.

To argue that the level of competition is still unfair defeats the purpose of the divisional system. We have Division 2 and 3 teams because of this. We even have Division 1 AA teams (I refuse to call Division 1 teams by the new names like FBS because they're stupid). If you believe these teams would still not be able to compete against one another for a championship, then you either need to send them to lower divisions or force conferences to bring in the successful non BCS teams. For example, the PAC 10 could drop Washington State and bring in Boise State. The Big 12 could drop Baylor and pick up TCU. The point is that only BCS conferences are guaranteed recognition yet good teams like Boise State and TCU get screwed because they can't get into a conference that they could compete for.

The competition argument also fails to address the problem of multiple BCS teams that go undefeated. In 2004 USC, Oklahoma, and Auburn all went undefeated. You can't tell me Auburn didn't get a shot because they couldn't compete against USC or Oklahoma. This season we may see an undefeated Texas, Cincinnati, and either Florida or Alabama. All three teams will be undefeated BCS teams. The only way to determine who really deserves a title shot is a PLAYOFF SYSTEM!!!!!

What glory is there for teams like TCU to make the playoffs and get blown out against a team like Florida? Look at March Madness. To win one's conference and earn a playoff spot would still be a major accomplishment. It would also give teams the chance to compete which is what they really want. Don't forget, Utah was able to upset Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last season. These non BCS teams may be able to get farther into the playoffs then many may think. We'll never know until they get their shot.

Nationals to Hire Jim Riggleman as Manager

Reports say that Jim Riggleman will be hired as the Washington Nationals manager for the 2010 season. The team will be holding a press conference some time today in order to make the announcement. Riggleman took over for previous manager Manny Acta after he went 26-61 with a .299 winning percentage. Under Riggleman, the team's performance improved with a record of 33-42 and a winning percentage of .440.

Clearly a change was needed. While the Nationals may be rebuilding, Acta was not getting the most out of his players. The team became much more competitive very quickly under Riggleman. The sign of progress is encouraging and I hope Riggleman can continue to improve the team with spring training and a full season to work with. Yet I have to wonder if Riggleman was the best candidate out there. In situations such as these, many teams don't seem to look very hard. Rather than search for the best candidate teams now seem to look for the most obvious. Riggleman improved the team enough to ensure the Nationals finished with the worst record in the league. Prior to his time in DC, Riggleman managed the San Diego Padres from 1992-1994, the Chicago Cubs from 1995-1999, and the Seattle Mariners for part of the 2008 season. His overall record is 522-654 with a winning percentage of .444.

I'm not saying that I don't trust Riggleman to do the job or that he wasn't the best candidate to lead the Nationals forward. Yet his resume can really only be described as average. I hope that the Nationals see him as the man that can lead the team forward and not the easiest hire they could get away with.

Hey Terps and Cavs Fans, Time To Stop Making Ridiculous Claims About Your Team

Living in Northern Virginia, when it comes to college teams the news focuses on mainly on the Maryland Terrapins and the Virginia Cavaliers. There are plenty of Terps and Wahoos in the area and they like hearing about their teams. That is completely understandable. What I can't understand, however, are the unbelievable claims people will make for their teams. Many may think this is true for all area teams, but it really goes above and beyond when it comes to UM and UVA. Look at the Redskins. Nobody in town has trouble talking about how bad they are. Nobody claims that they are the best two loss team in the NFL because who cares? Everyone knows the Nationals are terrible. The Capitals get a lot of coverage, but three years ago when they were one of the worst teams in the league there were stories on whether they would even be able to remain in DC. Another somewhat local team, Virginia Tech, gets a lot of flack because the standards are set so high. A few weeks ago the Hokies were a national contender, then after losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina, the Hokies probably won't win the ACC. Terps and Cavs fans, however, seem incapable of logical thinking.

A few weeks ago the Washington Post wrote an article on how the hottest team in the ACC was from Virginia. Who would have thought that that team was from Charlottesville and not Blacksburg? That's right, the paper claimed that the 2-3 Cavaliers were the hottest team in the ACC after their win over Indiana. Not the Hokies who had a record of 5-1, were coming off a 48-14 win over Boston College and who had crushed the number 9 Miami Hurricanes. This claim is ridiculous on its face. Since then the "hottest team" has lost to powerhouse Duke. Watching a report on Comcast Sports Net on the preseason basketball polls, the anchor remarked that while Maryland was not ranked, we can all safely assume they are number 26. I thought it was a joke, but he was dead serious. It's this kind of thinking that makes everyone believe that regardless of how bad Maryland plays, they still deserve a spot in the big dance. I've got news for all you optimistic Terp fans, who you lose to is just as important as who you beat. This is a lesson that seems lost on the Maryland faithful year after year.

As a big sports follower, I get tired of seeing undless coverage on the mediocre twins of the metropolitan area. While people love to rip on the Redskins, the Hokies, the Nationals, the Caps, Georgetown, Navy, the Ravens, the Wizards, and everyone else, they still assume Maryland is sitting safely at number 26 and UVA is a hot team. Reality check for UVA: Virginia Tech owns the state of Virginia when it comes to football, period. They don't lose to teams like AA William and Mary. Reality check for Maryland: you are not a rival to Duke. You are a footnote to them. Playing Maryland is just another game for the Blue Devils. You do not compare in anyway to North Carolina. Why? Because your team's not that good. Sure you compete. Sure you won the National Title in 2002, but that was seven years ago not yesterday. Since 2002 Maryland has won the ACC tournament once and has made the NCAA tournament four times. In that same span Duke has won the ACC tournament four times and has made the NCAA tournament every year. Time to take off the rose-tinted glasses and wake up to reality. Maryland and UVA have pretty bad football teams and mediocre basketball teams.

Pack Your Bags and Print Out Your Resume Charlie Weis!

Heading into Saturday's game against Navy, Notre Dame's head coach Charlie Weis was already struggling. After several lack luster seasons with Notre Dame, Weis needed a signature game in order to end all the rumors regarding his job security. On Saturday, he got it. Notre Dame's 23-21 loss to Navy on Saturday may be the final nail in the coffin for the Irish's embattled coach.

Weis' tenure at Notre Dame began promisingly enough as the Irish qualified for a BCS bowl in both 2005 and 2006. They did not win either bowl game, however, losing to Ohio State in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl and LSU in the 2007 Sugar Bowl. They have not beaten USC in any of Weis' five seasons. In 2007, Notre Dame had its worst season in school history fnishing 3-9. The Irish were expected to rebound in 2008 with what was thought to be a very easy schedule, yet they finished with a 6-6 record. Despite being on the hot seat, Weis returned in 2009 with an even easier schedule to work with and has yet to impress.

After Saturday's loss the best Notre Dame can now finish is 9-3. While nine wins is a decent season, it still might not be enough to save Weis' job. There is also no guarantee that Weis will be able to finish with nine wins with a game at #12 Pitt next weekend, a home game against an emotional UConn team, and a season ending trip to Stanford. Most likely, Notre Dame will go 7-4 and then it depends on which Stanford team shows up since they have been one of the most inconsistent teams in the country this season. Basically, it's not unreasonable to believe Notre Dame could finish the season with a 7-5 record and if they do let me end the suspense right now by letting you know Weis will be gone faster than beer in South Bend on St. Patrick's Day.

The only conceivable scenario that will see Charlie Weis remain the coach of Notre Dame in 2010 will be a win over Pitt next week. Without it, all of Weis' signature games to this point will be losses. Weis' most famous game was the 2005 loss to USC with the Trojans scoring off the "Bush push" as time expired. In 2007, Navy beat Notre Dame for the fist time in 44 games. And now finally, in 2009, with his job on the line, Navy beat Notre Dame yet again 23-21. It doesn't matter whether Navy is a competitive team this year. The bottom line is that Navy is not somebody a program of Notre Dame's caliber and talent should be losing to. What has been so baffling with Notre Dame over the past decade is that they have been able to consistently recruit the best players in the nation and yet continue to underachieve. With yet another lack luster season, it's time for Charlie Weis to start packing his bags and printing his resume.

Caps Struggling For a New Identity

One period through Wednesday night's game in New Jersey, the Capitals seemed to be on the right track. They had frustrated the New Jersey Devils allowing only six shots on goal which came mostly from outside. They were easy saves for goalie Semyon Varlamov and the Capitals had a 1-0 lead. There wasn't much offense as the Capitals seemed to struggle with the idea that it's not one or the other, offensive or defensive, that they can play strong on both ends. This, however, was not a major concern because it is assumed by everyone that Ovechkin will bring offense back with him when he is able to suit up again. The goal for the next few games is to instill a defensive mindset in a team that had practically none. Through one period, the Caps seemed to have done just that. The final period of the game told a very different story.

The Caps still seemed to be in control at the end of the second period. They had allowed 11 shots, but the Caps defensive style of play was clearly frustrating the Devils who were constantly forced into offside calls and outside shots. The Devils did manage to tie the game, but it was off a fluke goal by Brian Rolston who's pass was blocked by defenseman Mike Green into the net. The only penalties the Caps had taken to that point was a slashing call to Alexander Semin and a fight by Chris Clark. The team then proceeded to implode in the third period. The stalwart defense was gone as the Caps allowed 15 shots. The discipline was certainly out the window as the Caps took four penalties, including two awful, unnecessary penalties by Semin. The Devils proceeded to score twice on the power play and Washington found themselves in a hole they could not climb out of, losing 3-2. Varlamov's good performance in net was wasted as he received the first regular season loss of his career.

Many may walk away from this game unconcerned. Ovechkin's out and we lost by one, who cares? There are several reasons why this game was a bad sign for the Caps. First, even without Ovechkin, I would argue this team is a playoff caliber team. This team is full of talent and there is no excuse to lose a game that they had control of for two periods. Second, the complete lack of discipline is very troubling. Key penalties have really been a problem for this Caps team and last night is a good example of how quickly these penalties can change a game. The Caps allowed the Devils to take control with these penalties. Semin's performance was especially bad. With Ovechkin gone, Semin needed to step up his game by picking up some offensive slack and not committing the dumb penalties that have plagued his career. His response, three penalties including one with less than four minutes to go in the game while the Caps were down by two. He simply skated past Travis Zajac in the neutral zone and tripped him for seemingly no reason. Bruce Boudreau was clearly upset as Semin was not on the ice at the end when the Caps pulled Varlamov in an effort to tie. It is performances like that that make NHL analysts speculate about trading Semin come the trade deadline. With the salary cap going to be a problem over the next few years, if Semin won't step up and contribute more than just dumb penalties, you could see him moved for a defensemen the Caps proved again they desperately need.

Discipline and defense. Without either of these things the Capitals will not win a Stanley Cup. What they showed last night is that with absolutely no offensive spark, they can still take control of a game against a good team as long as they stay out of the penalty box and play strong defense. Add Ovechkin to that mix and you have a very dangerous team. Add Ovechkin to what we saw in the third period, you have team that will still win their division, but probably not much else.

Updates Badly Needed in Baseball

If you have been watching the MLB playoffs this season, it is obvious that changes are needed in baseball. The first thing that jumps to everyone's mind is instant replay. How many bad calls have we seen so far this post season? Everytime that happens, the umpire comes out after the game and apologizes for the bad call. How does the umpire know he made a bad call? He watched it on instant replay. Many people worry that instant replay will make baseball drag, but there are obvious solutions to fix that including limiting challenges by managers, limiting time for reviews, etc. You've heard all the complaints and all the reasons for instant replay already. The issue I want to talk about is players getting hit by pitches. I have always hated this tactic in baseball and I think it needs to go.

Watching the pregame show for game 5 of the World Series, I watched as the analysts laughed about Alex Rodriguez getting hit three times in the Series. They went on to say that while the World Series was too important to risk retaliating, they expected that the Phillies would be "playing dodge ball" come spring training. Doesn't this bother anyone else? I know mothers out there and people who have always thought that sports are barbaric will agree, but doesn't this bother some of you sports fans too?

While aiming for a player is technically "against the rules" it is actually a strategy used by managers showing you just how much the rule actually means. Saying that pitchers don't aim for the head or that they throw slower pitches is not an excuse. Pitchers frequently miss the mark every game. They can throw outside the strike zone or even a wild pitch. If you were hit in the head by a pitch, would you take any solace in the fact that the pitcher was aiming for your back? How many baseball players have been injured by pitches when the pitcher wasn't aiming at him? Allowing pitchers to throw at other players allows for unnecessary injuries. I'm not saying you shouldn't be able to throw inside if a batter's crowding the plate, but just not at him.

Think about the worst, most shameful moments to happen in baseball. Bench clearing brawls always seem to start when pitchers go head hunting. Many of you will disagree with the need to crack down and beanballs citing years of baseball tradition or that many other sports allow for players to go after each other. Players headhunt in football and fights are even somewhat legal in hockey. How is hitting players with a soft pitch that bad? The major difference is that hockey and football are contact sports. A hockey player that is hit on the ice has the ability to hit the opponent right back. There is very little contact in baseball unless you're a catcher waiting at home plate. Batters are utterly defenseless against pitchers. Your choices are to duck or brace yourself. Even football and hockey have rules protecting defenseless players. You can't hit quarterbacks without the ball, punters, kickers, etc. Hockey players who check others from behind are subject to severe suspensions and fines. In baseball, you get a warning.

While baseball looks poised to update its rules soon, I hope that they will eventually see the inherent danger in allowing this to remain a part of the game. Everytime a player is hit by a pitch they run the risk of serious injury. This risk is high enough without a pitcher aiming for the batter. It needs to end before some one is seriously hurt by a pitcher that is just trying to make a point.

Important Time for Caps With Ovechkin Injured

The Washington Capitals have listed Alexander Ovechkin as week to week with an upper body injury. After a hit by Columbus' Jason Chimera, Ovechkin missed the last two periods of the game on Sunday night. While it appears the injury is not too serious, Ovechkin is likely sit out at least three games. An injury to your star player is never a good thing, but this is a pivotal time for the Capitals to change their game and become serious contenders.

The Capitals currently play an offensive heavy style of play. Everyone knows they can score and with playmakers like Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Brendan Morrison it's hard to stop. The Capitals, however, struggle defensively. Until they get consistent goaltending and stronger play from their defensemen, they will not be able to win the Stanley Cup.

The Capitals' defensive lineup has about average skill. Mike Green is the most talented, but he is often criticized around the league for his lack of motivation and conditioning. Green's biggest problem, however, is his mentality. He has always approached the game with an offense first, defense second mentality. Tom Poti is probably the best defensive talent on the team but at 32 years old, his game has taken a step back. John Erskine is just plain awful and takes stupid penalties, a major problem for this team. Jeff Schultz and Shaone Morrison are inconsistent. And worse yet, this team gets pretty much no help from their offense. The Capitals struggle to clear the puck out of their defensive zone because of poor back checking. Two defensemen can't do it alone.

While it is clearly the weakness of this team, the problem has seemed less pressing since the Capitals still have the second best record in the east. With Ovechkin out the Capitals have lost a major edge in their style of play. Now that the best scorer in the NHL is injured, the Capitals should focus on their defense. Sure, there is plenty of offensive talent in DC and they could continue playing their offensive scheme, but they will have missed a major opportunity to change the mindset of this team. Until the Capitals become defensively stable as well as offensively talented, they will never really compete for the Stanley Cup.

Will Sean Avery Please Just Leave the NHL?

Bruce Boudreau's biography "Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer" came out last week reflecting on the life and incredible chance of coaching the Washington Capitals. The buzz surrounding the book, however, was not on Boudreau's achievements or shocking revelations, but on a tiny blurb almost 200 pages in on Sean Avery. In the playoffs last season, the Capitals faced the New York Rangers. The series went the full seven games. Sean Avery was a constant thorn in the Capitals' side, more so for his ridiculous behavior than his skills. In one game, he decided to trash talk with young goalie Simeon Varlamov and got right up in his face before pushing him. Not only did I feel this warranted a suspension (you don't touch the goalie) but it reflected the baffling stupidity of Avery since Varlamov does not speak a word of English. Boudreau's book, however, revealed another encounter with Avery that was not previously known. During game seven, Avery skated to the Capitals' bench. "He told me I was the biggest, fattest bleeping pig he had ever seen.....He told me I was fatter than bleeping Ken Hitchcock. He told me I was going to die because I was such a fat bleep." I credit the Capitals for not clearing the bench and pounding Avery's face into the ice although I would have loved to see that. It speaks a lot to their character that their response was to win the game and send Avery's butt home. Yet, one cannot help but feel more must be done.

Avery's antics have been public before. In 2008 after a comment that several NHL players like his "sloppy seconds" he was suspended by the league for six games. Both the Dallas Stars organization and his team mates condemned the comments and his time in Dallas was over. In the previous season, the NHL passed what is known as the "Sean Avery" preventing players from blocking the goalie's vision. While screening is a common tactic in hockey, Avery was facing goalie Martin Brodeur and waving his hands and stick in his face. The rule was passed the very next day. After the series Brodeur refused to shake Avery's hand causing Avery to remark "I guess fatso forgot to shake my hand." The comments Boudreau writes on also sheds more light on other comments that Avery denies saying. In 2005, Black Canadian player Georges Laraque of the Edmonton Oilers claimed that Avery called him a monkey. In 2007, a fight broke out during the pregame warm up between Avery and Darcy Tucker of the Toronto Maple Leafs. A Toronto radio station alleged that the fight started because of a remark Avery made regarding player Jason Blake's Leukemia diagnosis. Avery vehemently denies saying either of these comments and even brought a libel suit against the Toronto radio station. While we may never know what exactly Avery said to Laraque or to Tucker, I have no doubt it was something extremely offensive and out of line.

Trash talking will always be a part of hockey and of most other sports. What Avery is doing, however, crosses the line. It is disgusting and there is no place for him in the league. Avery has been cast aside by every organization he has played for except the New York Rangers. While Avery does have some skill, he is frequently scratched by the team. He is simply not worth it. He shows no remorse for his outrageous comments and will continue making them. In the offseason, the Rangers added enforcer Donald Brashear to their lineup in what I hope to be an effort to eventually replace Avery. Let's hope that the story of Sean Avery will end with him realizing that a thug like him, who has no respect for his opponents, is not welcome in the great sport of hockey.

Not Time for Favre or Green Bay to Go Crazy

This weekend, Brett Favre will yet again play at Lambeau Field, but for the first time ever, it will not be for the Green Bay Packers. Instead he will be playing for the hated rival Minnesota Vikings. In the years since Favre's leaving Green bay, tensions between the fans and Favre have grown. Now with Favre coming to their home turf, it's important for both parties to realize this shouldn't be about revenge.

No one feels stronger about team loyalty than I do. Hell, I still cheer for the Redskins, but some Green Bay fans are going overboard. When the Packers went to Minnesota to face Favre, a bonfire was proposed in Green Bay so people could bring their Favre jerseys and burn them before the game. A fire marshall eventually ended this idea and only a single jersey was burned. People should count their blessings. They do realize Favre is going to the hall of fame don't they? Years from now they would have looked back and asked themselves what they were thinking. Yes, Brett Favre left your team and now plays for your rival, but one season (which will probably be all Favre has left in the tank), regardless of what he does with the Vikings, will not replace the 16 seasons, 2 NFC championships, and one Super Bowl championship he brought to your team. Rivalries are part of what makes sports fun, so its ok to boo and to make fun, and tape other names over your jerseys, but it doesn't mean you should burn all your soon-to-be-valuable jerseys in a bonfire.

Granted, Favre isn't free from blame in all of this. After refusing to mentor Aaron Rodgers, Favre then contemplated retirement every year leaving the future of the team in doubt. At some point, he forgot that the Packers needed to do what was best for the Packers, not what was best for him. They got impatient with him and eventually he was told to get lost. Green Bay could have handled this better, but essentially they were in the right. You can't go into every single offseason wondering who your quarterback will be, especially when they had a very competent back up to replace him. Did he go to Minnesota to stick it to the Packers? No. He couldn't last year because the Packers refused to trade him to any team that they would face that season, but Favre always was thinking of going to the Vikings who have a very similar offensive playbook. It made a lot of sense for him. But I don't think he realized what this would do to his legacy. Screwing the Packers and then playing for their rivals has not won him many friends amongst the Green Bay fan base. He may be surprised by just how loud the boos are when he steps onto the field.

Wizards Show It's Not a Rebuilding Year, Adjust Expectations Accordingly

The Washington Wizards opened the 2009-10 season on the road with a 102-91 win over the Dallas Mavericks. Arenas had 29 points and nine assists in his long awaited return to action. Not only were his stats good, he looked good. He felt so good he didn't even wear a brace and said afterwards that he felt fine. Starting with a road win against a Dallas team that is hoping to compete in the west is a great way to start the season. This means the expectations for this team are about to sky rocket.

With Gilbert Arenas in the line up, the Wizards have proven themselves to be competitive. The problem is, he's never in. After playing a grand total of 15 games in the last two season combined, the Wizards saw themselves plummet in the standings finishing with a 19-63 record tying a franchise record for worst season. For a team to finish so low last season, why would expectations be so high? Arenas' "healthy" knee is one reason. For a player being paid hundreds of millions of dollars who has not really played for two years, there is pressure for him to perform. If he so much as stubs his toe, people may be questioning whether he can lead this team in the future. No point in paying a player that much money if you can never rely on him to play.

Pressure will also be high because of offseason moves. The Wizards traded their number five pick to the Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. This is not the kind of move a rebuilding team makes. It is clear the Wizards were setting up for a competitive 2009-10 campaign by building a team around their star player who they assumed would be healthy this year. Because of this, they don't get a pass that rebuilding teams usually enjoy. Look at the LA Clippers. Nobody expects much from them this season, but things are different for the Wizards.

While the Wizards may have only won one game, it already justifies some of the growing expectations for the Arenas led Wizards heading into a brand new season.

Zorn the Coach of the Future?

On Friday, Redskins' Vice President Vinny Cerrato announced on ESPN980 radio that "Jim Zorn is the head coach of the Washington Redskins and will be for the rest of this season, and hopefully into the future." This caused quite a stir among analysts many of whom declared this to be a strong vote of confidence for the organization and said it answered all questions for now. While it almost certainly guarantees that Zorn will remain the coach for the rest of the season, this was in not any kind of endorsement for the coach. Don't be fooled, Snyder will still be looking for blood come season's end.

There can be no doubt that Jim Zorn will be looking for a new job in the off season. The Redskins finished only 8-8 last season and have fallen to 2-4 this season by losing to three of the worst teams in the league. While Carolina has won one more game, Detroit and Kansas City have yet to beat any other team. The Redskins only two wins have come against the winless Buccaneers and Rams. While the offensive line is atrocious, this team has enough talent to challenge for a wild card spot, making their record that much more discouraging. This type of performance would be unacceptable in any city, except maybe Detroit, and with Daniel Snyder calling the shots, you can be sure he's not going to forgive and forget.

The Redskins' organization has shown how much trust they have in Zorn with the announcement earlier in the week that Sherman Lewis would be calling the plays from now on. As Zorn was brought in originally as the offensive coordinator, taking away play calling shows that the organization no longer trusts in his abilities. There have also been some unconfirmed reports that Snyder would have made the announcement himself but that he was worried that if he took any questions he would not be able to hold his tongue. Doesn't sound like a vote of confidence to me.

So why keep Zorn for the rest of the season or make any announcement at all? Thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense to keep Zorn. Rarely is an interim coach able to salvage a team's season in the NFL. It's extremely difficult to instill a new system mid season or dramatically change the play calls. While it is unlikely that the Redskins will be able to do anything this season, it's not really in Snyder's character to throw in the towel. Then, there is always the possibility that the interim does ok. If the Redskins were to fire Zorn after the Philadelphia game and the interim coach manages to go 4-5 in the remaining games this season, there may be pressure to remove the interim tag, allow him to build his own system and have a chance to lead this team. With numerous head coaching candidates available in the off season, why put yourself in this position and most likely resign yourself to another two mediocre seasons? Also, there is not a player revolt in the locker room. For bad teams, there may be mounting tensions in the locker room between the players and coaching staff. This is not the case in DC. Many of the players, in fact, have come out in support of Zorn.

So while the Redskins may not trust Zorn, they gain nothing by firing him midseason. The "vote of confidence" was still necessary, however, to end the questions. Snyder does not want a 2-12 season, but it's hard for Zorn and the players to think about football when they face questions about the coach everyday. As far the "future" statement by Cerrato, he was being political. It wouldn't have been much of a statement had he said, "Zorn is the coach for the rest of the season, but then we'll have to see." Let Zorn play out the rest of the season and try to salvage the team, then start over next season. Don't be fooled by Cerrato because the Redskins will have a new head coach in 2010.

Hail to the Racially and Ethnically Diverse People?

Hail Victory!
Diplomats on the path to negotiation!
Compromise for Old DC!

Doesn't have the same ring to it as the Skins original fight song does it? Well it does to many people. It's no secret that the Redskins have once again been dragged into court over their name, but the controversy even goes to Chief Zee. You've probably seen him, he has become the unofficial mascot of the team, showing up in his red jacket and Indian headdress. While many love to see the guy cheer on his team, others find it terrible. The Washington Post published an article yesterday written by Courtland Milloy about Chief Zee. In it, Milloy claims that the Redskins need to retire Zee. He claims that "Having a black man hobbling around on national TV in an Indian costume trivializes both of America's original sins-- the enslavement of Africans and the genocide of indigenous peoples." In his desperate attempt to be politically correct, Milloy has one very important fact. Chief Zee is the unofficial mascot. Why is he unofficial? Because he does this on his own. He goes to games dressed like this to support his team and eventually the Redskins recognized him because he has become a symbol for all Redskin fans. Why does he continue to do this...hmmm...let me think.....BECAUSE HE WANTS TO! The article even quotes Chief Zee as he says "I'm leaning towards retirement, but I'm going to wait until the Redskins win another Super Bowl." Sound like a pitiful old man being unfairly marched around by an evil organization? Not to me. It sounds to me like a guy who wants to continue to support his team. How can you sit there and claim this is racist against African Americans when this poor guy is doing it BECAUSE HE WANTS TO? Yes, he's old. So what? Are old people not allowed to publicly support their team? Ok, old people are no longer allowed outside because some may interpret them as a sign of racial weakness. Give me a break.

The fact that Milloy has a paying job while I'm unemployed isn't all that bothers me, it's the whole debate over the "offensive" team names and mascots. Sometimes people are just looking for things to be offended about. The Redskins, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves, the Florida State Seminoles, the Fighting Illini, the William and Mary Tribe, all have names that people complain about. Do these names really trivialize Native Americans? No, they don't. And you can bring up all sorts of people who are offended and people who are upset, but I don't care. If you are offended, it's because you want to be and because you aren't looking at this the right way.

Look at Notre Dame. I have no reason to like them or follow them. I know very few people who have gone there and I've never been to South Bend. Why do I follow Notre Dame? Why do I cheer for them? Because I'm Irish. There are numerous legends for the origin of the nickname, but what we do know for certain is that Irish people in the early 1900s found the team to be a source of inspiration and rallied around them. The fanatical devotion to Notre Dame football started because people saw a win as a win for all Irish. Think that Notre Dame is a totally different matter? Look at the often criticized Cleveland Indian's mascot and then look at the little fighting Irishman. Either could be seen as offensive, but only one is because only one is a hot topic for people who love to be politically correct. One could choose to be offended by Notre Dame or one could use it as a source of inspiration. I'm a lot happier cheering the Irish on instead of being upset by them and trying to end their great tradition.

These teams do not trivialize Native Americans but bring awareness of them. Without them, I would have no idea what a Seminole is or know anything about the Illini. As for Chief Zee, maybe Milloy should be the one to tell him, to his face, that he is an embarrassment to his race and his team and that he no longer should be allowed to publicly cheer his team on. See what he says. But while Chief Zee is still on the field with the team, I'm still going to cheer for him.