Relief! Redskins Clinch Playoff Spot


After cruising to an easy win against a disinterested Cowboys team, the Washington Redskins enter the NFC Playoffs as the hottest team in the conference. That makes it two playoff appearances in three seasons for the 'Skins - not bad for a team that was being offered as a sacrificial lamb to the emerging Vikings dynasty just eight days ago. (The media is really ridiculous when it comes to this sort of thing. Before last week, all anybody could talk about in relation to the two remaining NFL Wild Card spots were the Vikings and Browns. It seemed almost inconceivable to the people on ESPN that the Redskins could beat the Vikings and take control of their own destiny, or that Cleveland could lose to division-rival Cincinnati, thus putting Tennessee in the driver's seat. It wasn't until those things actually happened that the national press began to talk up the Redskins and Titans.)
And even though Romeo Crennel, Mike McCarthy and Bill Belichick will get the lion's share of the votes, Joe Gibbs is easily the NFL's Coach of the Year. Nobody else could have rallied their battered team into the playoffs on the heels of four straight wins following the funeral of an All-Pro teammate. I would love to hear from all the haters who wanted Gibbs canned after the timeout debacle against Buffalo. Idiots.
And I'm not in any mood to complain, but it's pretty ridiculous that the Redskins have to travel across the country to play the first playoff game on Saturday afternoon, while the Giants get eight days of rest for their Sunday tilt in Tampa.
Plenty more ramblings about the upcoming playoffs over the next few days. Hail to the Redskins.

The Ten Biggest Games in FedEx Field History


FedEx Field is the worst place I've ever watched a football game. This includes a half-empty Groves Stadium in Winston-Salem and the field at the high school I attended, Winston Churchill in Potomac, MD. But I still love the place. Call it a love/hate relationship.
FedEx has no history. It has no presence. It has no feel. (It's like a Tuesday in that regard.) Despite its name, FedEx doesn't deliver. The stadium gives the team little-to-no homefield advantage, even in a rare successful season. Even while full, FedEx isn't very loud but, most of the time, it's not even full. Swaths of empty seats litter the club level and upper-deck during meaningful games, the result of Dan Snyder's greed in increasing the capacity of the stadium by 24,000 since he purchased the team. The empty seats are partly a result of fan-apathy, massive traffic jams and an increasingly-boorish gameday experience.
Tickets for Redskins games at RFK used to be one of the most difficult tickets in sports. Now, it takes little more than one or two phone calls to score good seats for a reasonable price. Still, depite these problems, FedEx Field is home and it's not going anywhere for the time being. This Sunday, the Redskins play one of the biggest games ever at the stadium, when they take on the Cowboys with a playoff berth on the line.
Earlier this week, my cousin and I were discussing whether this was the biggest game in the history of the stadium. We got to thinking and determined that the playoff game in 2000 was probably more important, but that this game was close. How close though? Does a win-and-you're-in game against your biggest rivals top an actual playoff game or the first game ever played in the stadium?
In order to figure this out, I polled five of the most-knowledgeable Redskins fans I know. Based on a nominating list of 14, they were to rank the five biggest games at FedEx Field. I defined "biggest games" as the games that had the biggest stakes and best electricity at kickoff. This wasn't an "in retrospect" activity, but a "prior to" type deal. Four voters responded with their top five lists. The other, well, let's just say he has an aversion to instructions. Five points were awarded for a first-place vote, four points to second place and so on. Ten games received votes, the other four on my original list earn honorable mention honors.

Honorable Mention

November 23, 1997
Redskins (6-5) vs. Giants (7-4)
This game became famous for the Gus Frerotte head-butt incident in the endzone (and for ending in a tie), but few remember that it was a pretty important game for the NFC East lead. The teams met on a Sunday night in Raljon and played one of the uglier NFL games of the season, eventually trading missed FGs to end in the 7-7 tie. Amazingly, this game was played just one week after the Ravens and Eagles played to a tie of their own. Since those games, there has only been one tie in the league, meaning there twice as many ties in a seven-day stretch of 1997 then there have been since.

November 7, 1999
Redskins (5-2) vs. Bills (5-3)
I remember three things about this game:
1) It was the first "big game" for the Redskins in a few seasons.
2) It was moved to the 4:15 national telecast.
3) It was never close, as the Bills cruised.
On second thought, I was a freshman in college for this game, so maybe it's not the same game I'm thinking of. I seem to remember being at home for that big Bills game, mowing the lawn during the 1:00 games and listening to Redskins pre-game on my WalkMan. (Confirmed: I'm thinking of a game in '96 at Rich Stadium when the 'Skins were 7-1. That really was the first big game for Washington since Joe Gibbs left. And the Redskins were blown out 38-13. They rebounded to run their record to 8-3 later in the month, then lost four straight to slip-out of the playoff hunt, thus ruining RFK's final game later in December.)

December 2, 2001
Redskins (5-5) vs. Cowboys (2-8)
This is largely forgotten in recent Redskins memory (as is pretty much all of Marty Schottenheimer's one year here), but after starting the year 0-5, the Redskins won five straight to run their record to .500. Stephen Davis appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and everyone assumed Marty and the boys would continue their winning-streak over the lowly Cowboys. Instead, the 'Skins laid an egg and lagged to an 8-8 finish. This is the sort of game the Redskins often lose to the Cowboys, which makes me more nervous than most for Sunday.

September 28, 2003
Redskins (2-1) vs. Patriots (2-1)
In Steve Spurrier's second year, the Redskins started 2-1 and faced a "struggling" Patriots team two years removed from their surprise Super Bowl. It ended up being the last big win (only?) for Spurrier, as Washington lost 11 of their next 13. The Patriots, on the other hand, wouldn't lose again until Halloween... 2004.

The Top Ten Biggest Games in FedEx Field/Jack Kent Cooke Stadium History

#10) November 26, 2000 (1 point)
Redskins (7-4) vs. Eagles (8-4)
The most expensive team in NFL history was still in good position in the NFC East race on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. They welcomed a young Donovan McNabb into town, who was in the midst of leading the Eagles to the playoffs for the first time in his career. Donovan, as was his M.O. early in his career, tried to give the game away to Washington, but Eddie Murray missed a makable field goal with under two minutes left and the 'Skins lost. When they dropped their next game to the Giants, Norv Turner was fired. (It's always interesting to note that if the $120 million team had simply signed a competent kicker, they probably would have gone 12-4 and Norv Turner would never have been canned. At least for the time being. Also, the lone vote for this game was from me. We all have short-term memories for these types of things so it's easy to forget just how big this game was.)

#9) September 16, 2002 - Monday Night (1 point)
Redskins (1-0) vs. Eagles (0-1)
A write-in vote from my buddy Jaf. He wrote, "We were 1-0. We had Spurrier. And the Eagles were 0-1. And we had Spurrier."

#8) November 6, 2005 (3 points)
Redskins (4-3) vs. Eagles (5-3)
My cousin George and I bought tickets off eBay for this one, which means it had to have been big, as I almost never pay for Redskins tickets (thanks to the generosity of family, friends and friends' fathers). The 'Skins won, then dropped their next three before winning their final five.

#7) September 14, 1997 (4 points)
Redskins (1-1) vs. Cardinals (1-1)
Jack Kent Cooke didn't live long enough to see the stadium that bore his name open in an artificially-named city that bore his son's name (Raljon, MD). He missed the Redskins winning their inaugural game at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium thanks to one of the rarest sights ever seen in these parts: A Michael Westbrook touchdown catch.

#6) December 24, 2005 - (6 points)
Redskins (8-6) vs. Giants (10-4)
This was the second of the three straight victories against the NFC East (and five straight overall) that capped the 'Skins 2005 playoff run. Mark Brunell went down with an injury early in the second half, but Patrick Ramsey hit a double-covered Santana Moss on a deep out that went for a TD, en route to what would be an easy Redskins win. Rob writes, "Winter break, crowd was nuts, we had just killed Dallas. You could tell that team was special."

#5) December 30, 2007 (7 points)
Redskins (8-7) vs. Cowboys (13-2)
Horo mentions that this weekend's game would be bigger if the Cowboys had something to play for. That it's still the fifth biggest game in the 89 home games since 1997 says a lot about how good (or not) the Redskins have been in those 11 years.

#4) December 2, 2007 (10 points)
Redskins (5-6) vs. Bills (5-6)
The first game after Sean Taylor's murder. Both Jaf and The Commish voted this game #1, but it didn't appear on any other ballot. Both sides have a point. On one hand, this was the most anticipated event in FedEx Field's history. However, the game itself was secondary, as The Commish writes. The day was all about SeanTay. The game was a mere afterthought, even though it was a fairly big one.

#3) September 12, 2004 (10 points)
Redskins (0-0) vs. Buccaneers (0-0)
Joe Gibbs' first game back. The excitement was palpable and it only intensified when Clinton Portis took his first touch as a Redskin to the house for a touchdown.

#2) December 18, 2005 (11 points)
Redskins (7-6) vs. Cowboys (8-5)
Everyone just called this "The Cooley Game", as Chris Cooley rumbled for three TDs in a blowout win over the hated Cowboys. The backstory: Washington needed three straight wins against division opponents in order to make the playoffs. They had to begin the winning streak against a Dallas team that was fighting for a playoff spot of their own. I'll let the AP lede speak for itself:

A perfect day for the Washington Redskins would include a complete, start-to-finish, no-let-up humiliation of the Dallas Cowboys. Make it a game that puts the playoffs within serious reach, and you've got sheer nirvana.
From the raucous pregame chants of "We Want Dallas" to the seven sacks, four turnovers and four touchdown passes, the celebration never stopped in Sunday's 35-7 blowout, Washington's most one-sided victory in the 45-year history of the rivalry.

The 'Skins held a 14-0 lead at the two-minute warning, but scored two more TDs before halftime to go up 28-0 at the half. This was the most fun Redskins game I've ever attended at FedEx Field. (I've been to six of the games on this list, including #1. But there was just something about this one that made it a little more special.)

#1) January 8, 2000 - Wild Card Playoffs (23 points)
Redskins (NFC East Champions) vs. Lions (NFC Wild Card #3)
The only playoff game in FedEx Field history. Enough said.

The Top 40 Sports Figures of 2007

Jamie Mottram - co-writer of Mr. Irrelevant, former FanHouse king and current Yahoo! Sports czar - compiled a list of the Top 40 Sports Figures of 2007 by asking various heavyweight sports bloggers to vote on the ten sports figures they wrote about most this year. Will Leitch (Deadspin), Dan Steinberg (DC Sports Bog) and Dan Shanoff (um, Dan Shanoff) were among the 47 bloggers polled for the list. For some reason, I was also included.
The final product makes for a pretty good list, with members ranging from A. Rod to Colin Cowherd. My #1 choice was the consensus #1 also. That will probably make Michael Vick feel good over in Cell Block D.
Check out the main list at Yahoo! Sports; my ballot appears below. (Overall rank in parenthesis)

1) Michael Vick (1) - At least Inmate Mexico can take comfort in the fact that herpes is a proven deterrent in prison rapes.
2) Skip Prosser (NL) - When Prosser passed, heaven got an angel... and much more defensively inept.
3) Sean Taylor (13) - I've found it cathartic to place at least partial-blame for this tragedy on Adam Archuleta.
4) Gilbert Arenas (5) - Don't worry Gilbert, Jay-Z didn't come to my 25th birthday party either.
5) Oden (16) and Durant (11) - Just like Magic and Bird, minus the goofy mustaches and "Ebony and Ivory" jokes.
6) Peyton Manning (18) - In 2007 Peyton finally got the monkey off his back. He quickly replaced it with Kenny Chesney.
7) Bill Belichick (12) - Turning "cheaters never prosper" on its head; one classless victory at a time. (Note: Yahoo! used this one-liner for their main list. Interestingly, it's probably my least favorite joke here.)
8) Alex Rodriguez (2) - Jealous that Barry Bonds' mistress appeared nude in Playboy, A. Rod tried to get his own mistress into the pages of Playgirl. Unfortunately, A. Rod waited to do so until October and promptly stuck out.
9) Tiger Woods (NL) - I'd say his golf game is strong to quite-strong.
10) Bob Sanders (NL) - Bob Sanders doesn't play defense. Defense plays Bob Sanders.

Merry Christmas

A Christmas gift from YouTube and my buddy Scott; the last 1:22 of Wake Forest's furious comeback victory against Virginia Tech on Sunday night. I turned off this game right around the point the video begins. It was about 7:50 on Sunday night and I didn't want to carry any negative energy from Wake's loss into the Redskins game, which began soon-after. It wasn't until 8:15 yesterday morning, as I was wandering around Best Buy looking for Christmas gifts, that I learned of Wake's improbable comeback. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I was able to re-live it tonight, a true Christmas miracle!

One Win Away...

And Mike Sellers is one tough dude.

NFL Thoughts

* In the immediate aftermath of Sean Taylor's death, there was a lot of chatter about realizing what's really important in life and how wins and losses in football games are trivial matters. Seantay's murder didn't prove these things, it just reinforced them. Yet before Taylor was even in the ground, Redskins fans (and the national media) were up in arms over Joe Gibbs' timeout blunder against Buffalo. How quickly we forget.
A quick recap: The Bills had driven down the field in the final seconds against the Redskins and were lined up for a potentially game-winning 51-yard field goal with seconds left on the clock. After calling one of those "simultaneous-kick" timeouts to ice Buffalo kicker Rian Lindell, Joe Gibbs called another one, meriting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for calling back-to-back timeouts. That gave Lindell a shorter 36-yard attempt, which he nailed.
Gibbs was vilified. He was an old fogie who the game had passed by. He should be fired immediately after the season, if not before. Yada, yada, yada. Few local critics (and no national ones) seemed to care that:
1) Gibbs asked an official for clarification on the rule before calling the second timeout. This happens all the time, according to former NFL ref Mike Carey. Accounts differ as to what the response to Gibbs' query was, but we know for sure that when Gibbs went ahead and called the timeout...
2) ... that official Gibbs granted the timeout and was still signaling it as the other officials flagged it.
3) Lindell actually kicked the ball before the first timeout was called and drilled it through the uprights. It would have been good from 60. Lindell wasn't going to miss the next kick from 51. (Thus proving the long-held theory, never mess with a guy named Rian.) This seems to be the most ignored part of the whole charade.
4) Gibbs was in the midst of the most difficult week any professional football coach has had to deal with in recent memory.
None of this mattered to many people, some of whom had spent the previous 72 hours talking about how football "is just a game" and not important in the grand scheme of things. I guess that was all bullshit.
That's why I didn't write about the Redskins loss that week. How could I throw blame around to players for letting the Bills back in the game or to the coaches for calling that timeout when they were in the midst of burying a teammate? Don't get me wrong, I was upset by the loss and moped around for all of Sunday - hard to do when I spent about 30 minutes before the game hanging out on the field with some friends. But to call out Joe Gibbs, a Hall of Fame coach and class act who had his team ready to play just five days after the death of the Redskins' best player? It was ridiculous.
I bring this up now because I wonder where those haters are this week, after the 'Skins have pulled out two straight wins, including a road victory at the Meadowlands, a place which has always been a house of horror for Washington. I wonder if they still want Joe Gibbs fired when he has done the single greatest coaching job of his career in the wake of SeanTay's murder. I wonder if they notice that the Redskins just beat the 9-4 Giants on the road without their starting quarterback, tackle, guard, linebacker, cornerback and safety? I wonder if they realize that no other coach in the NFL could get out of their team what Joe Gibbs has gotten out of the Redskins these past two games.
I wonder, but know the answer. The people who were criticizing Gibbs don't realize these things because in order to do so you have to not be a complete and utter moron.
As always, Thomas Boswell says it a lot better than I can. Read it all.

* The Tony Romo/Brett Favre comparisons never did much for me. Romo isn't a hillbilly, isn't yet fond of the painkillers, doesn't enjoy mowing his lawn and, most importantly, has yet to win a playoff game. Plus, Favre never dated famous people. (And if he had, Favre certainly wouldn't have broad-regressed like Romo. He started with an all-timer in Carrie Underwood and then traded down to Sophia Bush (who?), cut her loose and is now slumming it with a beat-down Jessica Simpson? That's like trading in a Ferrari for a used BMW. Yeah, the Beamer was nice back in the day, but it's got a lot of mileage and has had way too much body work done. I used to like Simpson, but what the hell happened to her? She looked like Ricky Hatton after the Mayweather fight.)
This week, however, Romo turned the corner. For Tony Romo became Brett Favre the minute he started using his thumb as an excuse for his crappy quarterback play. That's the Favre Special. Brett patented that shit. Romo should have to pay him royalties.
The post-incompletion winces, the attention from doctors on the sideline (the last person to get that much medical treatment in Dallas was JFK) and the bail-out from the media... Romo has certainly read the Favre playbook, right down to the mid-week proclamation that the thumb is ready to go for next week's game.
It was great how Romo never looked at his thumb after a complete pass. He only did so after an interception or incompletion. I also loved how everybody kept calling that his worst game, seemingly forgetting his FIVE interception performance on that Monday night in Buffalo. And, as The Wolfman pointed out, if the doctors and trainers though Romo's thumb was really hurting that badly, why were the Cowboys throwing so much in the second half? If a player is too injured to play, he shouldn't play. If he's on the field, shut the hell up about injuries.

* I could still go either way about Roger Goodell, but he swayed me a little in the right direction with his suspension of Roy Williams for that ridiculous horse-collar tackle on Donovan McNabb this weekend. That's Williams fourth or fifth horse-collar of the season, remarkable for the player who is responsible for the rule in the first place. I hate McNabb and would be delighted if his season ends early again, but even I cringed when Williams brought him down. That was just awful. I'd like to think Williams will stop after the suspension, but it's hard to see because, really, the horse collar is the only thing he's good at.

* That Brian Westbrook play was pretty awesome, and not just because it advanced me to the Super Bowl of my fantasy league. Peter King, as he sometimes does, made a great point when he wrote that Westbrook will get a lot more mileage over the selfless play than he would have if he added a touchdown to his stats. Not that that factored into Westbrook's deed, I just thought it was awesome.
And it's cool that Jon Runyan thought of the idea, but giving him props for that is like me taking credit if I go tell a fireman to run into a burning building to save a baby. Well, it's not actually the same thing, but the gist is kinda on a similar level. Westbrook was the one who had to take the knee and sacrifice the touchdown, so he should get all the credit. It's one of those things that's a lot easier said than done. If Runyan had recovered a fumble and was running towards the endzone untouched, who knows if he would have taken the knee.

* The Bills/Browns game: Awesome. My only regret is that the bar I was at was playing the audio from the Pats/Jets game, thus depriving us the chance to hear Gus Johnson call a game in a blizzard.

* Pro-Football-Reference.com has launched a new redesign, and it's great. If you're looking for something to do to kill time at work, you could spend hours messing around on that site.

Mitchell Report Thoughts

The Mitchell Report is in and... Yawn. It's about what you'd expect, confirmation on things people already know and no groundbreaking news. Well, unless you count the Roger Clemens stuff, which I do not. Mitchell was really in a no-win spot here. Nothing he discovered was going to make anybody feel any better or worse about the steroid era. The damage was done. Everyone in baseball; from the commissioner to the players are culpable. Nothing has changed and nothing will change. Players will always try to cheat the system. And as long as the chemists stay ahead of the tests, athletes will succeed.

* One interesting thought: Let's say both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have played their last baseball games. Clemens is almost a shoo-in to hang it up after all this, as he was contemplating retirement after his average 2006. Bonds says he wants to play, but it's tough to know if anybody will take him. If things play out that way, then Clemens and Bonds would appear together on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time in 2013. That should make for some interesting discussion.

* It's nice that this is big national news (banner headlines on CNN, New York Times, Washington Post and Drudge), but don't be fooled. None of this is new news, other than details and an honorable source. Miguel Tejada getting outed as a steroid-user is like Britney Spears getting outed as a train-wreck. Just because it came from a well-respected former Senator doesn't change this.

* My favorite comments of the day have come about Roger Clemens. I've heard multiple people on TV and radio say something along the lines of, "I'm not surprised Clemens used, but I am surprised about the extent to which he did." Really? Doesn't one logically follow the other? What, you thought Clemens would try steroids once, just to see if Jose Canseco wasn't bullshitting him about how awesome they were? The one thing we all know about steroids is that they provide results. Gold medals, world records, homerun totals... People are using for a reason. They work. There wouldn't be a need for a Mitchell Report if steroids were ineffective. So to be shocked that Clemens would be waist-deep into steroids is naive. All of this is. With the exception of guys who weigh 160 pounds like David Eckstein and Greg Maddux, would there have been any names in the Mitchell Report that would have been surprising? Sure, I didn't expect Andy Pettitte to be on there, but I wasn't surprised in the least bit. Because steroids get results. Apparently Pettitte used HGH to recover from an injury. Can you blame him? He knows a bunch of other people were using, including his best friend in baseball, so why would Pettitte think he shouldn't also. Gotta keep up with the Joneses.

* Clemens was on track for the Hall of Fame before he started taking steroids. He won three Cy Youngs in Boston, made five All-Star teams and was the league MVP in 1986. But he was clearly a pitcher in decline when he left Beantown. Dan Duquette is still a hated man in Boston due, in large part, to this, but it's tough to argue with Duquette's decision at the time. Clemens struggled his last four years in Boston, posting average ERAs and missing starts due to injury. At 34, he was looking at the twilight of his career in 1997. But, lo and behold, Clemens was rejuvenated in Toronto. The media attributed it to his newfound workout regiments fueled by a desire to make Boston regret letting him go. In retrospect, it looks like that was just the 'roid rage talking.
* Brian Roberts probably got a rawer deal than most, with a second-handed accusation branding him a cheat. But, come on. In the first 1,500 at-bats of his career he had 12 homeruns. In 561 at-bats in 2005, Roberts had 18. Dude totally was on the juice.

* If Robert Goulet's agent, Vera, were here, she'd tell the Player's Union to "shut up". The non-denial denials from everyone in the report are great. "My client never tested positive for steroids." "There is no hard evidence that my client took steroids." You'll notice no, "my client did not take any steroids," or "we're going to sue for slander." Because in order to do those things you have to be, you know, innocent.

* Thanks to Mr. Irrelevant for alerting me to one of the greatest headlines I've ever seen. On the frontpage of CBS Sportsline it simply says "Mitch Slapped".

* For level-headed analysis of the Mitchell Report, ignore ESPN. The bufoonery on that network today has been startling, even for them. Check out Deadspin instead, where Will Leitch is doing his usual great job of breaking down the story.

Redskins and Vikings Flexing?

The NFL is required to set their Sunday night flex game for December 23 by tomorrow and will almost certainly move the original Tampa Bay/San Francisco game from the 8:15 timeslot. So which game will get the nod? Amazingly, it looks like the Redskins and Vikings tilt in Minnesota is the best option on the board. Most contenders are playing weak opponents in week 16 (Green Bay vs. Chicago or Cleveland vs. Cincinnati), are already playing a primetime game that week (Dallas and Pittsburgh) or have already (or will soon have) played the maximum number of primetime games (New England and Indianapolis). The only two reasonable options for NBC is 'Skins/Vikes or Giants/Bills. But New York being so close to the playoffs coupled with the debacle that occurred the last time NBC flexed a game to Buffalo, I think the possible playoff implications of Redskins/Vikings will be the most attractive game to the NFL and NBC.

Update (2:31 p.m.): The NFL has just announced that the potentially big (and more-than-likely not) Redskins/Vikings game on December 23 will be flexed to NBC's primetime slot. That means Washington will have two NBC games in a row (they play at New York this Sunday) and, as my cousin George pointed out, will be in three straight primetime games after last Thursday's tilt against the Bears. New England is the only other team to have done that this year, meaning the Redskins will be the only non-cheating team to play in three straight night games this season.

Like a Snowy Field of Dreams, Minus James Earl Jones

The new Nationals stadium under the lights made for quite a picturesque scene after Wednesday's snowfall:

Hail to the Redskins?

Their young quarterback is out for the season, they've lost four games where they had leads late in the 4th quarter, their Hall of Fame coach asks for clarifications on well-known rules and then gets the wrong answers from officials, their stadium provides absolutely zero homefield advantage and, oh yeah, their best player was murdered last week. Despite all this, by the time the Redskins play their next game in ten days, they will likely control their own playoff destiny. Such is life in today's NFL.

UPDATE: Guess Not


Despite numerous reports suggesting Jim Grobe was as good as gone to Arkansas, it appears the Wake Forest football coach will be staying in Winston-Salem. Just as they did last year, the Arkansas media incorrectly reported the hiring of a head coach for one of the Razorback teams. (Although, in fairness, every other major outlet reported Grobe was on his way to Fayetteville too. It's still one of the top stories on ESPN, SI and Sportsline.) In retrospect, Arkansas never really made sense for Jim Grobe. Of all the schools that have reportedly contacted him, Arkansas was the worst situation: Delusional fan-base, impossible conference, impatient board of trustees. I'm glad Grobe is staying; Wake Forest and the ACC are much better off.

I Guess It Was Only a Matter of Time

Brian Billick is Alright With Me

Rodney Harrison might not have any class, but at least he plays by the rules. Oh... Wait. And, I've gotta say, this is the first time I've ever liked Brian Billick.

SeanTay Tribute Video

The Washington Redskins did a wonderful job with their pre-game tribute to Sean Taylor yesterday. From the team band playing the melancholy spiritual "Going Home" to the touching tribute video, the Taylor tribute hit all the right notes. Unfortunately, the team seemed to forget about Taylor once the game started, which I guess was the only choice but still left me feeling weird. The show must go on, I understand, but did we really need the cheerleaders skanking out to Soulja Boy a mere five minutes after half the stadium was in tears during the video?
I'll write more about the game and today's funeral at some point this week. If you haven't seen the Taylor tribute video, you can view it below. If you have already seen it, I'm sure you're about to watch it again. It's goosebump material.

Sean Taylor Tribute Video at Redskins.com