Uncle Toms, Duke, Jalen Rose, and Grant Hill

The New York Times, today, released an Op-Ed wherein which current NBA player and former Duke star Grant Hill responds to the comments made by Jalen Rose on ESPN's "Fab Five" documentary. During which, Rose made the claim that Duke only recruited "uncle Tom's" and had no interest in the likes of he or other black players from urban, violent, impoverished neighborhoods. Rose went on to express the resentment, which at that time boiled close to a vitriolic level, toward Hill, and black athletes like Hill who were from less humble beginnings. Today, the Times published a piece where Hill feels the need to defend black success stories, in particular his own, and others from the Duke program. The piece can be found here. Grant Hill is either completely aloof or deliberately abstruse regarding Jalen Rose's comments. His Op-Ed was a rebuttal toward a comment that was never made or implied. On top of that, I find it extremely misfortunate that many on the blogosphere, Twitter, and the comment section of that very piece are lauding Hill for his writing ability, vernacular, and "class". It is without question that Hill deliberately wrote the piece in such a manner as to disparage Rose, selecting only from the lexicon of academia, while passive aggressively patronizing the members of the Fab Five.

Not once in the documentary, though, did Rose disparage Hill for actually being from a warm and supportive family, rather, he expressed a bitterness and a resentfulness toward it. He was spiteful and jealous. One could certainly see how a youth from an at-risk area such as Jalen Rose could harbor such feelings. For Hill to dismiss these thoughts shows a real ignorance on his behalf. Rose has nothing to apologize for, unfortunately, the word police, the thought police, and the race cowards will continue to applaud Grant Hill. But, at what end? Further dismissing the realities of millions of minority adolescence in low-income areas with broken families and dysfunctional homes? I certainly hope not, as this will only further the gap between "black elites" and "urban blacks" at a time when unity amongst all blacks is especially key.

Devastating Hits

With news that the NFL will now levy suspensions against players who distribute "devastating hits" or "head hunt", we are entering a dangerous territory for fans and players alike. The integrity of the game is really coming into question. I appreciate that the NFL is looking out for the players and trying to limit concussions, but the league is coming to a crossroad. If the league continues to over-protect the players, though, defenses are going to become helpless. As a Redskins fan, the team is developing a reputation of hurting players, with clean, but potentially "devastating" hits. If a key contributor, be it Landry, Fletcher, Alexander, or whoever is suspended for making a big hit, I will strongly consider protesting the league. The players these days are so big, so strong, and so fast that when we see these collisions in slow-motion, of course it's going to look like they're "head hunting", but from the perspective of the player, they are trying to make a play to help their team win. For the most part, players are trying to make clean, hard hits. Sure, I feel terrible for DeSean Jackson, he is a very small guy in comparison to the rest of the league, and he got absolutely blown up. But, listen, the players know the risks of the game. If you don't want to get hit, then don't put the pads on. Nobody is forcing these players to suit up on Sundays. There is no way to avoid bad injuries in the league, and if you force these defensive backs to let up, then wide receivers are going to float across the middle of the defense with no fear and shred everyone.

A Post about the Sports Junkies and The Redskins

Could this be more of an inside-post? Anyway, there are about 8 people on the planet who would find this compelling, and none of them probably read this blog. Nonetheless, I present to you: -- Why The Junks Are Clueless --

Lets face it, when you want a sophisticated, analytical, intelligent debate/conversation about sports the Junks aren't the best option. They surely don't know the in's and out's of sabermetrics in baseball, or the X's and O's of football. In basketball they rely solely on the sniff test and what Tim Legler says. They're just "Joe the Fan" and thats it, we all enjoy the show for the zings and the inside jokes, but when they talk sports all day their ignorance really shines through. They even market themselves that way, as Lurch says on the MASN spot "we drink beer and watch sports on TV (if we're not asleep by the end of the 2nd quarter)". Nonetheless, they do have the power of the microphone and they have really infuriated me this week with their analysis of the Skins victory along with the Moss/Welker debate.

Lurch, how many "if's, shoulda's, coulda's, woulda's, and but's" are you going to throw out about the Philly game? Sure, I get it, you were making your prediction based on the knowledge that Vick would play 4 quarters. Are you going to tell me that you don't take into consideration the fact that Vick is a running quarterback with a history of injury against one of the hardest hitting secondaries in the NFL? That's your own lack of insightful fore-thinking. Vick didn't get hurt falling off the team plane, the Redskins KNOCKED HIM OUT of the game. You keep saying "if Vick would have played, it would have been a different game". (Yet, when it is brought up that if Santana were in the Patriots offense, Lurch quickly says that he "hates when people use that 'what if' argument". So what is it? What-if's are allowed when they benefit your argument but not when they contradict it?). Also, use your brain Lurch, the Redskins shot out the gate with a TD, another TD, and then a drive that went to the 4yd line but ended in a FG due to penalties and Armstrong stumbling out of bounds. With that heavy lead and Kolb in at QB, the gameplan offensively completely changes. We intentionally went into a running box and tried to milk the game away. Boswell made a great point about McNabb being conservative throughout his career when he has a large lead. The strategy paid off. If Vick were in and the game were closer, maybe Philly would have won, but I can assure you that there wouldn't have been as many run-run-run-punt drives.

EB, you are making me sick this week. After one bad loss you completely turned on the team. Don't you dare jump on the bandwagon when we beat Green Bay and improve to 3-2. Don't you dare. When a team comes off a heartbreaking emotional overtime loss, on the road, in a DEAD stadium against a dead franchise, a letdown is almost inevitable. Its not excusable. But, it happened, and over the course of a 16 game season all good teams have bad losses. The Redskins aren't the Colts of last year, we aren't going to breeze through the season, but we have a good team and we're going to have good wins and bad losses. The season is going to come down to the divisional games and with a 2-0 start you have to feel good about your chances. We are a blocked FG away from 3-1. That's the reality of the situation. And, for those of you who say, you are a holding call away from 1-3, that is COMPLETELY different. That holding call was not a "flukey" play like a blocked FG. Had Orakpo not been held, Romo would have been sacked and the game would have ended. Either way it's a Redskin win. That's just the facts. We have wins over Philly and Dallas through week 4 and yet, you are only predicting 6 wins at best and add that we are underdogs every week? Please.

JP is actually being the most level-headed and reasonable of all when it comes to the Skins. And that is UNBELIEVABLE. But, I have figured out why... its a perfect balance. The guy has man-love for McNabb and loves to disagree with EB, so in one sense he wants Washington to succeed. On the other hand, he knows EB gains joy out of the Redskins winning and has a deep-rooted hater bias against the team, so in that sense, he won't go all-in on the team.

Cakes, why are you being such a girly-man? Go out on a limb for a change. I know you love to be non-confrontational and primarily care about zings, but it's obvious you don't agree with the Lurch and EB hate toward the team, so voice your opinions. Please, we Skins fans need someone besides Bret in our corner, who is great at making initial arguments, but awful when it comes to countering.

I would call in, but I know that I'd get cut off within seconds, hung up on and then called a moron. They would then ask me to respond to a point that I could easily respond to, but E.B. will say "he bailed". When, in reality, I would have been hung up on by his fat clumsy fingers. Anyway, I really am a huge fan of the show and haven't missed a segment since podcasting began at JFK. I remember when Bret would just select 4 of the 12 segments and post them. We've come a long way since then. I'm sure nobody is going to read this, but I'm willing to debate anything I've said, so comment away.

Ken Burns - 10th Inning

Can't wait for this. For those of you who haven't seen Ken Burns - Baseball, you are seriously cheating yourself. Anyway, they're doing a screening in D.C. a month from today, definitely gonna check it out. Details below...

If you loved Ken Burns' classic Baseball documentary, you'll probably want to pencil this event onto your calendar. On Thursday, September 23rd, Burns will join filmmaker Lynn Novick for a preview screening of his new film, the Tenth Inning, at Lisner Auditorium in Washington D.C. at 7 p.m.

This preview screening is a PBS and WETA event which will feature a discussion with Burns, Novick and ESPN writer Howard Bryant.

The Tenth Inning, a two-part, four-hour documentary, premiers on September 28 and 29th on PBS. It's the latest chapter in the Baseball series. The film will focus on the national pastime from the 1990s to the present day.

Burns kicked off a cross-country tour to promote the film at Nationals Park earlier this season.

Reservations are required in advance, but tickets are free. Call 703-998-2065 or go tohttp://www.weta.org/local/wetaevents/tenthinning/rsvp.

-http://www.masnsports.com/nationals_buzz/2010/08/special-screening-of-the-tenth-inning.html

Haynesworth Saga

A lot of people have got this whole Albert Haynesworth thing all wrong. Sally Jenkins article in the Post just now, though, is the worst. In fairness, I'll post a link to it at the bottom of this blog, but frankly, I could barely get through reading it, because it outraged me so much. Before, I say what I need to say, it's important to know that I don't necessarily think Albert is some sort of great guy or great competitor. In fact, I stood at the front of the line, calling him out for taking plays off and his embarrassing pride and competitive will, being carted off the field several times last year was really painful to watch as a Redskin fan. But, does that give Shannahan the right to throw Albert under the bus at every turn? Does it give him the right to make him the scapegoat for any future missteps or misfortunes this season? No. It doesn't. And, this isn't the first time Shanny has done this. The guy likes to play games and have pissing matches. He tried it with Brandon Marshall in Denver and he's trying it here now. He is just as childish and foolish as Haynesworth as been since day one. Now, should, Albert have showed up to the offseason conditioning program? Probably. Without a doubt there is a camaraderie that a lot of the great football locker rooms have and it would be nice if your best player showed up. But, he didn't need to show up to get in shape. Do you think that Ma'ake Kemoeatu could have passed that conditiong test? I know, for a fact, he could not have. So spare me the conditioning angle. Haynesworth is in his 9th year in the league, he knows what he has to do to be ready to play. He can dominate as his weight. The fact is Shannahan is couching himself. It couldn't be more obvious. If the Skins start out 2-6, then the media and Skins fans all over the region will target their venom towards Haynesworth, rather than Shannahan or his hand-picked quarterback Donnovan McNabb. A coach and a quarterback are the two most inviting targets when things go wrong, but if you scapegoat your high-priced defensive tackle from day one, maybe the town will take him to task over you. I just hope I'm not the only one seeing through the smoke screen.

Jenkins article can be read in its entirety here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202581.html

On The Record: My Super Bowl Winner

I hate to toot my own horn (I don't really hate to do that), but last year I was probably the only guy who - before the championship round games in each division were played - picked the Giants to topple the Patriots in the super bowl. Proof you say? This is why we have archives, click me. Not only that, but I am on a string of moneyline winners the likes you've never seen dating back to 1998 believe it or not... granted a lot of the earlier picks were pure luck, but there's something to be said for a decade long streak of winners. For whatever reason I just get vibes on upset games, like last years Giants win and even the Patriots over the Rams in '02. Anyway, onto tonight's game, I had planned on making this post about a week ago but I've been back and forth the entire time. My pure, unadulterated hope that the Arizona Cardinals stomp out the Pittsburgh Steelers and spiral that dreadful city into a bout of misery the likes of which they haven't faced since the steel industry came crashing down, seems to be clouding my judgment on this game. I tended to lean towards Pittsburgh based on the fact that I wanted to protect my streak and make the safe play, but that's just not the kind of guy I am. Here's what I see happening, Dick Le'Beau and his Steelers defense have been hearing all week how brilliant Kurt Warner is at picking up the blitz, instead of heeding the advice of analysts nationwide, their hubris will lead them to come full throttle at Warner. If they get to him - and they will get to him - they look like geniuses. But, their arrogance to stay in attack mode will let Warner make one quick pass underneath to Boldin who will look to distribute punishment to the Steelers secondary as much as they will look to distribute punishment on him (I like Boldin in that match up by the way), or one quick down field strike to the potent Larry Fitzgerald and this game could fundamentally change in a heart beat. If you put the Steelers down by 7 or 14 early, they will have a hard time devoting themselves to the run and the Cardinals will be able to drop back into coverage with their highly skilled, if not over-anxious, secondary will have ample opportunities to make a play on one of Roethlisberger's down field balls. I like the Cardinals in this one. Thats my pick, I'm sticking to it. Enjoy the game!

Williams, Terps Responds With a Win

Amidst all the turmoil in College Park, Maryland came away with a solid 73-68 in conference win over Miami. Greivis Vasquez (11 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) was one missed Adrian Bowie layup away from a triple double, but Landon Milbourne was really the key to the game making a bevy of huge buckets down the stretch. Top ten recruit, Lance Stephenson, shockingly enough was in the building even though there has been no evidence whatsoever of him having one iota of interest in being a Terp. Good game for him to be at. Now, the reason I posted this is because I wanted to take a glass half full look at the season. If you're an optimist you could reasonably argue, with some merit, that Maryland really only should have three losses this season, those being to Duke, Georgetown, and Gonzaga. That's a record of 18-3 (6-1 in ACC). The one out of conference loss at home was to Morgan State who overcame a 17 point deficit to win. Then, Maryland managed to blow a 14 point lead at Miami with under 8 minutes to go. Follow that up with an overtime loss at Florida State and another 14 point 2nd half blown lead to Boston College at home and you have a recipe for disaster. Honestly, Maryland, though undermanned clearly has the talent to build 2nd half double digit leads, so something is missing. These losses all seem somewhat flukey to me, and yes a loss is a loss, but the team isn't necessarily doomed for next season, considering everyone is returning with the exception of Dave Neal, who will be replaced by two 6-10 freshmen bigs. Sean Mosley looks incredibly promising as a freshman and will be a fourth point guard next year along with Vasquez, Hayes, and Bowie. Milbourne is steadily improving as well, hopefully Dino Gregory and Cliff Tucker can add some seasoning to their games and we'll see what happens. Maybe even Burney and Dupree... ok, now I'm getting out of control. You get the point, though.

Gary Williams Predicament

Here's the case for Gary Williams:

* 11 straight tournament appearances from 1994-2004.

* Back to back Final 4's.

* Maryland's lone national championship.

Here's the case against him:

*Horrible recruiter, see this post.

*This will be the fourth year out of five that we will miss the big dance (which should NEVER happen to a team that has won a national championship in the last decade)

You tell me... Is a guy coach for life, even when the NCAA game may have passed him by, when it comes to recruiting and being able to handle a "one and done" type of athlete. Comment and I'll spar wit you either way.

NBA All-Star Ballots Announced

I did my personal ballot on the blog the first day of January 09, and this week the actual ballot was released. Below is the official roster and emboldened are the players I voted for that made the roster.

Eastern Conference
Allen Iverson (Detroit Pistons)
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics)
Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)

Western Conference
Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers)
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Amare Stoudamire (Phoenix Stoudamire)
Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)

Pro Bowlers Announced (Four Redskins Make Team)

How did any Redskins make it, is the question... only one is a starter, FB Mike "Hands" Sellers. The others as reserves are Chris "Thimble in my pants, fumble in the first quarter" Cooley, Clinton "I'm a Donk" Portis, and Chris "I always make it, despite mediocrity" Samuels.

Other surprises to me are Peyton Manning as the starting AFC quarterback and the complete snubbing of Dolphins QB Chad Pennington. Despite the fact that Manning has the 10th best passer rating in football, while Pennington touts the 4th best.

Here are your complete rosters:
NFC:
Starters Listed First
Quarterback... Kurt Warner, Cardinals; Drew Brees, Saints; Eli Manning, Giants
Running Back... Adrian Peterson, Vikings; Michael Turner, Falcons; Clinton Portis, Redskins
Fullback... Mike Sellers, Redskins
Wide Receiver... Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals; Anquan Boldin, Cardinals; Steve Smith, Panthers; Roddy White, Falcons
Tight End... Jason Witten, Cowboys; Chris Cooley, Redskins
Tackle... Jordan Gross, Panthers; Walter Jones, Seahawks; Chris Samuels, Redskins
Guard... Steve Hutchinson, Vikings; Chris Snee, Giants; Leonard Davis, Cowboys
Center... Andre Gurode, Cowboys; Shaun O'Hara, Giants
Defensive End... Julius Peppers, Panthers; Justin Tuck, Giants; Jared Allen, Vikings
Defensive Tackle... Kevin Williams, Vikings; Jay Ratliff, Cowboys; Pat Williams, Vikings
Outside Linebacker: DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys; Lance Briggs, Bears; Derrick Brooks, Buccaneers
Inside Linebacker: Patrick Willis, 49ers; Jon Beason, Panthers
Cornerback: Charles Woodson, Packers; Antoine Winfield, Vikings; Asante Samuel, Eagles
Safety: Nick Collins, Packers; Adrian Wilson, Cardinals; Brian Dawkins, Eagles
Punter: Jeff Feagles, Giants
Kicker: John Carney, Giants
Returner: Clifton Smith, Buccaneers
Special Teamer: Sean Morey, Cardinals

AFC
Starters Listed First
Quarterback: Peyton Manning, Colts; Brett Favre, Jets; Jay Cutler, Broncos
Running Back: Thomas Jones, Jets; Chris Johnson, Titans; Ronnie Brown, Dolphins
Fullback: Le'Ron McClain, Ravens
Wide Receiver: Andre Johnson, Texans; Brandon Marshall, Broncos; Reggie Wayne, Colts; Wes Welker, Patriots
Tight End: Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs; Antonio Gates, Chargers
Tackle: Joe Thomas, Browns; Jason Peters, Bills; Michael Roos, Titans
Guard: Alan Faneca, Jets; Kris Dielman, Chargers; Brian Waters, Chiefs
Center: Kevin Mawae, Titans; Nick Mangold, Jets
Defensive End: Mario Williams, Texans; Dwight Freeney, Colts; Robert Mathis, Colts
Defensive Tackle: Albert Haynesworth, Titans; Kris Jenkins, Jets; Shaun Rogers, Browns
Outside Linebacker: James Harrison, Steelers; Joey Porter, Dolphins; Terrell Suggs, Ravens
Inside Linebacker: Ray Lewis, Ravens; James Farrior, Steelers
Cornerback: Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders; Cortland Finnegan, Titans; Darrelle Revis, Jets
Safety: Ed Reed, Ravens; Troy Polamalu, Steelers; Chris Hope, Titans
Punter: Shane Lechler, Raiders
Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski, Patriots
Returner: Leon Washington, Jets
Special Teamer: Brendon Ayanbadejo, Ravens

Redskins Drop Another Winnable Game; 6-4

Washington was winning that game last night with 5 minutes left and should have won the ballgame, were they able to put together any type of drive and finish it. Look I don't want to take anything away from the Cowboys, they played very well in certain areas (running the ball), and their pass rush was great. But, I feel like the pass rush is more a victim of the Redskins inability to protect for Jason. Run blocking we are strong. Pass blocking terrible. I feel like our defense did a phenomenal job throughout the game and the playcalling/offense really let the team down.

0-3 in primetime games.

Everyone in the city wants to write the Skins off, but I'm not so "what have you done for me lately", we're 6-4 and basically tied with Dallas, except that our conference record is 1 game better (although its too early to start looking at that). I'm not writing the team off, don't bury us, but we gave Dallas life now. Next week is critical for Washington, we need to win @ Seattle.

I'll have more on the game later. Peace.

Tonight is Colossal

The Redskins don't necessarily have to win tonight to mathematically be in good shape for the playoffs, but as far as the mentality of a football season goes, its a huge game. It's a gargantuan game. It's monumental really. Is Tony Romo going to be the spark plug Dallas needs to turn them around, or can Washington hit them with a hay maker tonight and prove that even with Romo, their team isn't good enough. Will the Washington home field advantage actually help the team tonight? Will Portis play? If, yes, and as of 6:20 PM it appears he'll be on the field, then what kind of role will he serve? Can Campbell rebound from a mediocre performance? What will Jim Zorn have for the Cowboys defense with 2 weeks to prepare. With the Eagles tying early today, in a game that seemed like an easy win, the Redskins have a golden opportunity to solidify themselves in the playoff mix. I pray to god they capitalize on it. Beat Dallas. Hail to the Redskins. Let's get it.

Rockets @ Blazers Incredible Ending Last Night

And who says the NBA regular season is boring?

Here (<-- Clickable) is the link for the HD version, if you want the full effect, if not here is the mediocre quality version:


Basically, the Blazers, Brandon Roy made an incredible game winner with 1.8 seconds, only to make a bone-headed foul on Yao Ming who was able to convert on an And-1 and put the Rockets up by 1 point with 0.8 seconds remaining. Brandon Roy rectifies his mistake by putting up a fade-away DEEP three pointer for the win. Just a magnificent finish to a game.

Remembering Sean Taylor

I cannot believe it's been 11 months now since Sean Taylor was murdered in his home, I don't think I was blogging when it went down, but it was one of the single most tragic things that's happened in sports. Looking forward to the Lions game as the boys try and go 6-2, I look back to what the duo of Taylor/Landry could have been, had the evens of last November 27th never taken place. R.I.P.

Fantasy Trade Alert

Today I solidified my starting lineup by swinging a trade to land Antonio Gates, one of the premiere fantasy tight ends of the last decade. In exchange I sent my backup quarterback, Kurt Warner, and waiver wire fodder Hank Baskett, to a team sorely needing quarterback help after his starter, Tom Brady, was lost for the season and his backup, Vince Young, is out for 3 weeks. That's what being a fantasy owner is all about, you find a team that needs help sorely at a given position and then pry away the player from them you most need. I also picked up Chad Pennington to back-up Ben Roethlisberger. After week one, I'm 1-0 heading into a matchup against a team that failed to reach 60 points last week (as opposed to my 97 - second highest in the league), needless to say I'm feeling confident about my season.