News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed

Hampton Roads Just Says No to Skins/Chargers

Photo courtesy of

courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’

Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach should be a no-brainer Redskins market, right? I mean, who else would you cheer for? Well, this weekend they pulled the Redskins game off the air so that WVBT could show the Dallas/Philly game that has actual consequences for the playoff picture. That’s just how bad the Redskins are this year. The sports director at WVBT said the Skins were “unwatchable,” and that emails after he read the decision on the air on Tuesday night were running 30:1 in favor of the Cowboys/Eagles game.

Yowch. Sorry Skins.

The Daily Feed

Haynesworth After The Loss

Photo courtesy of
‘00207256’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

Yesterday, I quoted in my Sports Fix that, “When the fall’s all that’s left, it matters a great deal,” going into the Redskins game. The Giants didn’t just beat the Redskins last night, they heard the lamentations of their women. It was a seal-clubbing. Trick plays gone awry, no points in the first half, this was the team that started out the season, not the team that almost beat New Orleans. After the 45-12 loss, the Post caught Albert Haynesworth:

“It just feels like we’re all going in different directions,” Haynesworth said. “We need someone to lead us in the right direction.”

Oh sweet baby Jesus, where to begin.

Here’s a hint, Albert, if you can spot the problem (direction) and you only ask for a leader, you will never get one. In that situation, your job is to rally as many of your teammates as possible, and lead them in the right direction. You just signed the biggest NFL contract ever for a defense player. Perhaps it’s time to demonstrate some leadership, instead of throwing punches. Maybe, just maybe, then you can bitch about leadership.

Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Snow Edition

Photo courtesy of
‘Ovechkin about to score’
courtesy of ‘afagen’

Capitals
Record: 22-8-6
Last Two Weeks: 4-3
Place: First in the Southeast

The Caps hit a bit of a skid this week. Sure, it’s hard to say that 4-3 is a skid, but when you’re as dominant as the Caps have been this season, it’s tough to watch losses at all. Especially when they’re shutouts like the game against the Sabres last week. Sure, Ovechkin is lighting it up like crazy, with 23 goals and 41 points, and Nicholas Backstrom is proving to be the assist machine with 28.

Injuries continue to be a bit of a plague, as they’ve sidelined important parts of the Caps lines, and now include Semyon Varlamov with a groin-strain. Perhaps the team is just road-weary? Long road-trips have taken their toll on teams past, so that’s entirely possible

One important piece of info, though, for Virginia-based Caps fans, the drive for a Capitals Vanity Plate for your car continues, and they need your help. On Frozen Blog has the details and applications close on the 31st.

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News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed

Skins’ Cerrato Resigns

Photo courtesy of
‘FIRE VINNY!’
courtesy of ‘Tony DeFilippo’

I’m sure these two fans are very happy this morning as Vinnie Cerrato has resigned this morning according the ESPN 980. Cerrato was the Executive Vice President in charge of Football Operations and has been calling the plays for the Skins since they moved that responsibility from Jim Zorn several weeks ago shots in the front office for the team.

It’s not immediately clear who will replace Cerrato, but I’m hearing that there will be a press conference at Redskins Park this afternoon to discuss the situation. As soon as we know more, you will, too. Cerrato has been a controversial figure for the Skins this season, and his departure will likely be hailed by many as a long time coming, This season has been very disappointing for the Skins, and likely Vinny’s taking the blame for poor performance on the field. Good choice? That remains to be seen.

News, The Daily Feed, The District

Ride With Style: New DC Sports Vanity Plates Are In-The-Works

Photo courtesy of
‘Preamble (203/365) (048/365) [Explored]’
courtesy of ‘kimberlyfaye’

Want to drive with pride while donning your favorite team’s colors with a new vanity license plate? You could be soon thanks to council members Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) who announced their plan to create plates for the Redskins, Wizards, United, Capitals and Mystics on Tuesday.

All plates would still say “Taxation without representation”, but at least now you can add a unique touch to the front and rear of your daily ride.

Extra fees would include a one-time payment of $25 for the plate and a $20 biennial renewal.

The only question I have is: What about those Nationals? They need some love too!

Fun & Games, News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!

Snyder Apologizes for 2-5 Record, Fails to Realize He is Still a Jackass

Photo courtesy of
‘Post-game’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

Yesterday, Dan Snyder apologized for the Redskins abysmal record. He appeared at a press conference after a charity event and stated that the Skins have “let everyone down” this season and that the organization is sorry. Unfortunately, he failed to address his crackdown on “offensive” signs and his pathological need for adulation from fans and the media. My guess is that he figured what Washingtonians are really upset about is the Skins’ losing record, and not that he meddles in the team’s coaching or that his skin is so thin that he can’t handle seeing a “Fire Snyder” t-shirt in his stadium. Dan, if you want people to stop hating you, let the coaches coach and quit being a jackass. Mostly the latter. It’s really that simple.

Fun & Games, News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!

Redskins have a Case of the Mondays

Photo courtesy of
‘Colt Brennan and Marcus Mason’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

What a night for the hometown team. The Redskins lost to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 27-17 in an absolutely miserable performance.  You may be thinking “10 points isn’t that bad,” but, I’ll remind you that half of the Eagles team is injured and that they lost to the Oakland Raiders, last week.  It’s bad.  Where to start with this?  The offense, while making a few clutch plays (hence the 17 points), had 3 turn-overs, one of which resulted in a touchdown for the Eagles. The line allowed Campbell to be sacked 6 times, oh, and Chris Cooley broke his ankle.  Things are not looking good.  On the defensive side, no one seemed to be able to stop Desean Jackson, who scored two touchdowns, one on a huge run and the other on a huge reception.  All in all, the Skins looked par for the course for this season.  The front office’s decision to mute Jim Zorn obviously had no positive effect on the play calling and the Redskins show no sign of improvement.  Honestly, get used to losing.

The Daily Feed

Largent Says Zorn Nearly Quit

Photo courtesy of
‘Jim Zorn’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

According to Hall of Fame receiver Steve Largent, Redskins coach Jim Zorn just about quit his job when he was asked to give up his play-calling abilities. Largent told KJR in Seattle that Zorn did consider quitting and didn’t want to give up his responsibilities as coach. But apparently, in typical Dan Snyder fashion, the upper management pulled out Zorn’s contract and basically told Zorn he had to do whatever the owner tells him to do.

Sounds like Snyder tried to force Zorn to quit, rather than fire him, so that Snyder won’t be liable for Zorn’s contract.

Largent blasted Snyder even more over at NBC Sports: “I think it will be humbling and it will be embarrassing, but not for Jim,” Largent said to NBC Sports. “I think it’s humbling and embarrassing for the Redskins and the Redskins owner and Redskins management that made the decision. To think that you can bring a guy in from a retirement center, who is pulling out ping-pong balls in the Bingo games and say, ‘You are going to call the plays for the next game against the Philadelphia Eagles, a division opponent, on Monday Night Football,’ and think that that’s going to be successful, that’s a joke. That is really a joke.”

That whole boycott thing sounds better and better, doesn’t it?

The Daily Feed

Zorn’s Fate

Photo courtesy of
‘Jim Zorn’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

Let’s face it: the 09 Redskins are abysmal. The play calling is bad, the team is vapid, and theoretically good players aren’t living up to their potential. Last year’s mediocre performance and the mess that this season is shaping up to be are leading many to call for the head of coach Jim Zorn. Many NFL analysts saw yesterdays game as being the deciding factor in Zorn’s fate. If he could stop the Lions and pull his team to 2-1, he might be able to salvage his career and hold out for at least another year. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. The Lions managed to snap their 19 game skid and beat the Skins 19-14. So what happens to Zorn, now? According to ESPN, nothing for the moment. In order to maintain continuity and the integrity of the play-calling, Zorn will likely keeping his job for at least the rest of the season. What his eventual fate is has yet to be seen. Personally, I’m shocked that the Skin’s leadership has decided to retain him. I can’t imagine he’ll be around next year. What are your thoughts?

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!

The Redskins may End up in the Supreme Court

Photo courtesy of
‘00205691’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The harried Redskins may have something new to contend with, on top of sucking at football.  Several American Indian activists are attempting to take their long running dispute over the Redskins’ logo to the Supreme Court.  The activists claim that Washington’s trademark is racially offensive and should be changed.  This case has been batted around the lower courts for some time, and rulings have gone back and forth through the appeals process.  Whether or not the case will actually be heard has yet to be seen.  The Supreme Court hears very few cases, despite that thousands are submitted each year.  For the time being, it seems that the Redskins are safe.

Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Capitals Soar, Wizards on Floor

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Ovechkin Celebrates by clydeorama

Capitals
Record: 26-11-3
Last Two Weeks: 6-0
Place: First in the Southeast

The Caps roared through the holidays, racking up a six-game win streak and handily beating down the Rangers on Saturday in a defensive slugfest. The 2-1 victory saw the return of Alexander Semin as well as Semin’s first (slap)fight of his NHL career. With the injury bug now behind them, the Caps are in prime position to pull away from the ‘Canes (10 points behind) and cement their playoff position for April.

Ovechkin and company have the best 40-game start in franchise history, another feather in Coach Boudreau’s cap. However, Ovechkin was snubbed on Saturday when the NHL All-Star teams were announced; due to Montreal fan chicanery, Ovie finished sixth in the overall voting and won’t be on the starting lineup. Boudreau’s quote on ESPN: “It’s dumb. It’s not right the best player in the game is not a starter.”

All of us here at WLDC totally agree (even Ben!). Ovie should be joining Crosby and Malkin on the top line, not on-again-off-again Kovalev, oft-injured Koivu or flash-in-the-pan Tanguay. But alas, Habs fans are rabid and were out to fix the voting, hence Ovie receiving less than 500,000 votes (compared to the 1.2 million each Habs player received). We’ll see who the real All-Star is come January 25th.

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Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Redskins Slide, Caps Keep Division Lead, Wiz Make Changes

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Raven at the Tower of London by Stephen Bolen

Redskins
Record: 7-6
Last Two Weeks: 0-2
Place: Last in the NFC East

I went to college about 75 miles south of Cleveland. When I arrived in late 1996, the area was in a funk over their beloved and now-departed Browns. Say the name “Art Modell” aloud, and you risks an ass-whupping. I learned to hate the Ravens. Everyone would boo in the sports-bar in Newark when they’d break to show their highlights, flip off the TV, and then go back to cry silently in their beers. So, I tend to think of the Ravens much like I think about, say, certain political television personalities in bow-ties. It’s not very nice.

Sadly, they were the better football team yesterday, winning 24-10 in a game that wasn’t even that close. Ed Reed picked off a pair of Jason Campbell’s passes, and the Baltimore Defense kept Clinton Portis to just 32 yards. That’s a recipe for domination, right there, and the Redskins just couldn’t overcome it. Three games remain for the Skins, and they’ll need to win them all if they want a shot at the playoffs. They’re 9th in the NFC, a half game behind Philly. Two out of those three games should be easy triumphs: next weekend against the Bengals, and then in three weeks against my beloved, yet utterly hapless, 49ers. The real game here is in two weeks against Philadelphia, who disarmed the Giants this weekend. Tune it up, Redskins, you’ve got to come up big for your city these next three weeks. Continue reading

Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Redskins Win, Caps Look Good, Wiz Look Really Bad

FedEx Field
FedEx field by Gnomedude

Redskins
Record: 7-4
Past Two Weeks: 1-1
Place: Tied for Second in the NFC East with the Hated Dallas Cowboys.

Two ugly games in a row for the Redskins. This week, unlike last, the Skins came out on top. Clinton Portis continues to be a dominant force in the Redskins offense, with 143 yards on 29 carries, including some second-half sprints that rocketed the Skins to victory. Jason Campbell had an off-day, going 20 of 33 for 206 yards and a single TD. The defense, though, couldn’t stop the 2-9 Seahawks from putting up 228 offensive yards, most of that on the ground. They did, however, force a turnover with under a minute to go as the Seahawks were driving toward the end zone, putting the kibosh on the Seahawks’ last rally.

Up next? The 10-1 Giants. They’ll be here at FedEx on Sunday, and the Redskins will need an impressive showing to take down the top of the NFC East. Currently, we’re tied with the Hated Cowboys, and next week they play the Seahawks while we’re facing the Giants. Not exactly the matchup that we’re hoping for. So, if they want to keep their place, it’s win or die against the Giants. I’m not hopeful. Continue reading

Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Caps & Wiz, Redskins Bye

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Nice save on the Post by pimguy

Before there was West Wing, there was Sports Night. One of my favorite piece of comedic/dramatic television ever is the Pilot of that show is the Pilot, wherein we get to meet the cast. The first introduction of Jeremy, the stats guy and sports nut, is hysterical, and it sums up my general problem with today’s column. See, I’m a baseball/football kind of guy. The winter sports are hard for me. But, because I’m a trooper, let’s take a look at how the local teams fared this week.

The Caps
Record: 7-5
Past Two Weeks: 3-2
Place: 2nd in the Southeast.

The story of the season so far has to be Alexander Semin. While he’s fallen from the top of the points chart, he’s still got 21 points in just 12 games, and his +/- of +11 is first in the NHL. The Caps’ front line of Semin, Ovechkin & Federov sounds an awful like a Russian Mob Law firm, and their effects on the Caps’ opponents might be equivalent. They ended up +7 on Saturday, though Federov left in the 3rd period with an unknown injury.

I keep waiting for Ovechkin to show off the superstar quality that he shined to a high gloss last season, but it just doesn’t seem to be coming. He’s stuck with just 8 points, and only two goals. If the Caps want to be a 1st place team, and I think Ted Leonsis wants them to be, then Alex is going to need to find where he left his accuracy. 4% accuracy just isn’t going to cut it in the NHL. Caps play the Lightning at the Phone Booth tonight, then head out to Carolina for the Hurricanes on Wednesday. Let’s see if you can’t get a few points, eh, Alex?

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Sports Fix

Sports Fix: A Plethora

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Crew VS DC United by tuxxme

DC United

This Week: 0-2
Current Record: 11-15-4
Current Place: Out of the Playoffs

It’s a game of inches, sometimes, and yesterday’s final & decisive match against the Columbus Crew came down to the ruler. Unfortunately for us, the two near misses for United, with both shots hitting the goal posts, lead United to elimination. The last week’s been something of a rollercoaster for the club, as it was looking fairly grim a week ago that they’d even have the chance to make the playoffs under their own steam. However, it all lead up to yesterday’s showdown with the Crew. The loss moves United out of the playoff picture entirely, for the first time since 2002. DC’s winningest franchise is done for the season. It’s not all bad, though, as the return of Santino Quaranta is nothing short of amazing. He’s almost a shoo-in for the Comeback Player of the Year, after his multi-year bout with addiction.

The Redskins

This Week: Victory.
Current Record: 6-2
Current Place: 2nd in the NFC East

Another victory for the Skins this weekend in Detroit, but it was probably the ugliest I’ve seen. At halftime, they were down to the Lions. The Lions! The Hapless Lions! I’ve got a feeling it takes a special level of emotional resilience to be a Skins fan. At one point, things were getting pretty tense on the sidelines, as Jim Zorn let Clinton Portis have it with both barrels on the sideline as the star running back swooped a towel over his head and ignored the head coach.

It was Santana Moss who got things going for the Skins in the second half, with a pair of TDs. His 50-yard TD reception, burning the Detroit secondary like so many rioters burning houses, got things off on to a good start in the second half. His second TD, an 80 yarder, on a punt return, took the last of the fight from the Lions. Jason Campbell looked solid again, over 300 yards and just five incompletes against Detroit’s last in the universe Defense. They’ll face the Steelers in an election-week grudge-match that will likely have die-hard Skins and Steelers fans rooting for the other guys. The Redskins are one of the best sports/politics indicators. If the Redskins win the week before the election, the incumbent party keeps the White House. If they lose, it goes to the challenger. So, Skins fans, will you be putting your fanaticism before party, or vice versa?

Read on for Capitals, Wizards & Nationals News
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Sports Fix

Sports Fix: A Rough Weekend

RedskinsCheerleaders.jpg
Redskins Cheerleaders by culhane

The end of the Redskins game yesterday was abysmal. Check that. The whole game yesterday was abysmal, but the end defies description. The hapless 0-4 Rams came to Washington and ended up the 1-4 Rams. That’s right, the Redskins couldn’t even beat one of the worst teams in the NFL (sorry Chris) and embarrassed themselves at Fedex in front of 90,000. And they ousted me from my suicide pool, as well. So, I’ll be carrying a grudge.

The turnovers and special teams were big gaping holes in the effectiveness of the Redskins offense. 3 fumbles, abysmal punt and kick returns, and a secondary that gave up the big play with under two minutes to go. The big play in question was a 43-yard pass on 3rd and 13, and that setup the field-goal-as-time-ran-out cliché that was dominate in the NFL this week.

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Sports Fix

Sports Fix: Hail to the Victors!

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Crazed Fan by Leediehr

26-24. Sorry, Cowboys, no 4 & 0 for you. The Redskins looked quite good in Dallas today, with Jason Campbell starting to look like the Quarterback that the Redskins had hoped he’d become. Two TDs and 230 yards, all without a single pick. Clinton Portis came up big with 121 yards over 21 carries. It was the kind of victory that kept the TV on and the fans cheering right down to the last play. Fortunately, Shaun Suisham’s leg was up to the task, with four Field Goals and a pair of extra points.

Great day for Jim Zorn, and for the Skins as a whole, with the last Redskins Regular Season Game in Texas Stadium coming up a big victory for us. But that’s not all the sporting news…

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