Gone Podcastin'

Last night I was pleased to join Eugene Ahn on his excellent podcast, The People You Don't Know. Check out the 65-minute interview in which we touch on blogging vs. journalism, the Olympics, how Roger Goodell is ruining the NFL and, of course, House Party 2.

The People You Don't Know: Episode 10 -- Chris Chase

(Download the episode: link)

A Friend Returns, Caps Go To Second Round

Reinstated FOTB Becker writes in with a question:

I don't think anything important happened to Wake Forest today, so can we finally get another hockey post on the site?

First off, you're wrong. Someting important did happen at Wake Foret today; the men's tennis team took to the court in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Northwestern. So THERE.
But, you're right. It has been a while since we've written about hockey on The Player Hater's Ball. The last time such a topic was addressed was last April 1, when I responded to another Beckerian request for some hockey love on PHB. But since tonight saw the Washington Capitals advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since we were back at Churchill High School, it certainly does call for a post about hockey.
Tonight was an enjoyable one, what with me and two friends' listening party of Bob Dylan's new album, "Together Through Life" (a complete change of pace that will likely grow on us. And even though some of the writing (with co-writer Robert Hunter) is hackneyed, there are strong parts of the album, particularly the final four songs), a great weather day to play 18 holes at Falls Road Golf Course, watching the Caps win a game they should have lost and, to cap it all off, seeing our old buddy Horo on TV jabbering to his dad (who couldn't have seemed less interested) about who knows what, but probably ending whatever he was saying with "that's what she said."
It was a great result in Game 7 for Alexander Ovechkin and the Caps, even though they pretty much played like crap for 50 of the game's 60 minutes. Offesively, the team couldn't get anything done in the first two periods. They turned the puck over, couldn't make line change or control any sort of offense. They were lucky that the game was 1-1 headed into the third period with all the missed opportunities New York had. (And especially with the Caps first goal, which was complete fluke.)
In the third, the man I had mocked just minutes prior, Sergei Federov scored the game-winner (just as Al Koken had predicted) and a Washington sports team finally did something right for a change.
Anyway, now the Caps get the Pens (thanks to Carolina scoring two goals in the final 80 seconds to stun New Jersey) and it should provide ESPN, VS. and NBC with some good storylines about Ovechkin and Crosby and how Crosby is sort of a namby-pamby and Ovechkin is not.
Is that enough hockey for you, Becker? I may even write more once the Pens-Caps begins in a few days. In the mean time, I'll be checking out your site: dateourbuddy.com. It's really great. Not as great as Horo's costume at Lebowski Fest '07, but great like your costume at the similar Lebowski Fest.

Jacoby Ellsbury Steals Home

In case you missed it, here's Red Sox CF Jacoby Ellsbury stealing home last night against the Yankees:

Three things:
1) That's the first time I've ever seen a steal of home live.
2) Jon Miller's call is just about perfect.
3) Joe Morgan is officially the worst announcer who has ever lived. He sounds like Ellsbury scored on a routine sac fly. "That's something that should never happen with a left-handed hitter at the plate." Oh ... really now?! But it's OK if it happens with a rightie up at bat? The dude just stole home and that's the first comment he makes? A steal of home happens like once a year, if that. At least give a little change of inflection, Joe. He sounded as bored as Joe Buck always does.

Reminder: The Player Hater's Ball is on Twitter

As of this writing, I have 1,435,902 fewer followers on Twitter than Ashton Kutcher. Does this upset me? No, because The Eagles Greatest Hits has sold 24 million more copies than John Coltrane's "Newport 63", but that doesn't make it better. Plus, does Kutcher provide timely, somewhat-pithy Tweets like this:

Over/under on amount of times NBC cuts to John Tortorella today? I say 17. If the game was on FOX the number would be just south of 350.

Anyway, now that I've started using TweetDeck, I'm Twittering a lot more often when I'm in front of the computer, so if you're looking for even more Chase, please sign up and follow me. You can do so here: Follow chaztopher on Twitter.

Redskins Pick Maryland CB, Vomit-Inducer Kevin Barnes

With their third-round pick, the Redskins went with the local flavor, selecting cornerback Kevin Barnes from Maryland. At first, I was excited about the pick because he's a Maryland guy. But then I remembered that the 'Skins don't particularly need a cornerback. And that they basically made the same exact pick last year with Justin Tryon (who was terrible in his rookie season).
But then I was reminded of this by Steinberg on the DC Sports Bog:

Awesome. I'm back in the "excited" camp.

Wait, They Did Something Right?! 'Skins Take DE Brian Orakpo

Finally. After years of Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Fred Davis, LaRon Landry (at No. 6), Rocky McIntosh, Carlos Rogers (at No. 9), Taylor Jacobs, Patrick Ramsey, Cliff Russell and Rod Gardner, the Washington Redskins finally made a pick with which fans can be happy on draft day.
There were two main criteria I wanted the Redskins to focus on: 1) That their potential draftee played on either the offensive line or defensive line, and, 2) that said player was not, will not be, or has never been a wide receiver. Brian Orakpo meets both those rules. The 'Skins needed d-line help, and they got d-line help. It was a need that was ignored in the last draft but was addressed in free agency with the acquisition of Albert Haynesworth. Now, if Orakpo can show some talent, the Redskins might have a pass rush for the first time since the days of Charles Mann.
Will Orakpo be good in the NFL? I have no idea. I hope so, but who can ever tell at this point. That's not the issue today, though. All that matters right now is that with their first round pick, the Redskins made the right decision. And that's the first time we can honestly say that since 2004 and 2005, when they took Sean Taylor, Chris Cooley and Jason Campbell in the first few rounds.
It shows how much luck is involved in the draft. If the Broncos hadn't stupidly taken Knoshown Moreno and selected Orakpo instead, I'd probably be ranting here about the Redskins taking Jeremy Maclin or something. But Orakpo somehow fell and, to their credit, Danny and Vinny got their pick in so quick because they knew Orakpo was their man.
Today, I'm excited. Jaded by the whole process with the further alienation of Jason Campbell (as my buddy Rob pointed out), but still excited. And I'm greatly looking forward to having my enthusiasm turn to dismay by week 3.

Update: Thomas Boswell perfectly sums up the bittersweet day by detailing how any enthusiasm for Orakpo should be curbed by Snyder and Cerrato's handling of the JC situation. At some point, I think fans Redskins fans may stop giving those two the benefit of the doubt and may abandon the team. A lot of people (Roger Goodell, for one) take the NFL's popularity for granted and think it will always be the most popular sport in the land. Baseball thought that once too.

Two Deacs -- Curry and Smith -- go in draft's top 37

Aaron Curry, we all knew, would be a top-five pick in the NFL draft. It was just a matter of how high. After the Chiefs passed on him at No. 3, Curry fell to a delighted Seahawks team and rocked the Ecto Cooler green hat with his tin foil suit. AC and his team seem to have marketed him quite well, so if he has any success with Seattle in the next two or three years, don't be surprised to be seeing Aaron Curry in commercials and the such. I think Aaron Curry's people see bigger things for Aaron Curry than just football.
More excitingly for Wake football fans, CB Alphonso Smith was taken with the No. 37 pick by the Denver Broncos. Projected as a possible late-first-rounder, Smith dropped to the fifth pick of the second. He was my favorite player at Wake and it was he, not Curry, who your eyes were immediately drawn to when the Deacs were on defense.
Questions about his size caused Smith's slide. That always cracks me up. Yes, ideally he'd be 6'1 and not 5'9, but he was still awesome at 5'9 against big-time receivers like Darrius Heyward-Bey. The whole "size" thing bothers me (that's what she said). If a player can play, he can play. Look at Darren Sproles. He had size issues too. So did Allen Iverson. And so did Darrell Green and I'm pretty sure he's going to the Hall of Fame.
Great job by two Demon Deacons to get selected so highly. Credit coach Jim Grobe for recruiting and developing these men into top-teir NFL draft prospects. Consider that Aaron Curry wasn't even a four-star recruit going into Wake. He wasn't a three-star either. And, no, Aaron Curry didn't even get two-stars from Scout.com. He had one-star, just like a Nicolas Cage movie. And now he's the No. 4 pick in the draft.
Bravo.

On Aaron Curry

I don't know what's more surreal: that Wake Forest went to the Orange Bowl two years ago or that one of the players on that team, Aaron Curry, may become a top-five pick in today's NFL draft.
It's weird because when you watched Wake play, he didn't jump out at you. It's not like basketball where great players take over Watching Wake you'd have thought safety Alphonso Smith was the best player on the defense.
But don't listen to me, my buddy Scott knows much more about Wake football than I. I asked him how weird it was that Curry was going to be selected so high. Here's what he said (this was written a month ago, back when it was still believed that Curry could go No. 1):

It is crazy that people are projecting AC to go so high, but I'll buy it....I'm not expert at these projections and surely wouldn't have Jake Long #1 last year. Maybe its harder for me to rank a non-skill position player, and even then I'm all like "I think the Panthers need to draft Andre Woodson from UK, who surely would have sucked. I don't blame the Lions for taking WRs every year, because its easier to see how good they are.

I remember being pretty amazed when Calvin Pace was drafted in the first round in '03. I suppose AC is a really good player, but #1? Don't get me wrong, the dude is awesome and was all over the field last year, and no matter how many times I might have said "well he's a little better than The Hatian Sensation/Stan the Man/Stanley Arnoux," I guess looking back on it I was wrong and he was a lot better. Starting from the Ole Miss game this year the AV guy at Groves Stadium would play an Iron Man clip w/ AC morphing into Iron Man on the video screen a few times a game. No one else got superhero treatment, so maybe that guy was onto something.

A lot of the talk I've heard has been that he's a can't miss because he's very good at what he does, learns quickly, and you won't have to worry about him off the field. I suppose they might be able to pay him less than a QB, a la Mario Williams, but maybe I'm wrong. That might be a + for Detroit, but surely they aren't thinking about that.

Since I'm no draft guru, I suppose I'm not shocked if Curry goes #1. What is so damn crazy to me is that a Wake Forest player will go #1. I can't beleive that I read today that a WFU player had the top 40 time, high jump, and broad jump among all the LBs at the combine. Don't know how many folks showed up, but that's damn impressive. I'm glad Grobe found this guy and got him to go to Wake, a school that doesn't have a history of producing a ton of top talent. Not too shocking, as Curry wasn't highly touted coming out of high school (though I do believe he turned down the stinking Heels because they treated his stepbrother bad or something along those lines.---that might be totally wrong) I'm sure curry worked like crazy but you've got to think Grobe and Co. had a good bit to do with getting him where he is which is awesome. I hope other kids are watching and take note. Might Alphonso Smith go in the first round? That dude is awesome.

I think Curry was projected as a 4th rounder if he were to come out early last year. Bet he's glad he stayed, but how does he increase his value that much. From my standpoint he played about the same both years. Don't have any stats in front of me, but seems like he scored at least 3 TDs in '07 and surely had more turnovers than this year. I'm sure he's boosted his indidual drill stats...40 time, etc.

I suppose I hope he goes to the Browns. Anyone but the damn Chefs.

The Matthew Stafford Contract is Insane

As MJD wrote last night on Shutdown Corner, the contract the Lions threw at Matthew Stafford was absolutely mind-boggling. It's not insane because Stafford doesn't deserve so much money, it's insane because no rookie deserves half that much money. And it's even worse because, really, Detroit guaranteed $41.7 million to a guy that people like but don't love. This isn't Peyton Manning or Michael Vick or Matt Ryan even. In terms of hype and excitement he's more like Alex Smith or Tim Couch. People like him, but not for that money.
Not that I'm wishing Stafford of the Lions ill-will, but if this should fail (which looks more likely than it being successful), I hope this will be the catalyst to get a rookie salary cap in the NFL. When a guy who last took a snap in the Sugar Bowl is getting more money than the highest paid free agent of the year, there's a serious problem. It's getting to the point where having a top-ten pick isn't a benefit, but a burden. It's too much money to be shelling out to players who have never taken the field in the professional ranks.

Join me, MJD, Scott Pianowksi and Andy Behrens at Shutdown Corner for our NFL draft live blog at 3:45 p.m. ET. Until then, it's off to the golf course 0n this lovely Saturday morning

Snyder/Cerrato Screwing Up: Not as Much "If" as "When"

This is my first entry ever typed out completely on my BlackBerry, so bear with me.
But I'm sitting at a golf course grill waiting for my 3:50 tee time and one of ESPN's dozens of draft specials is on and I keep seeing the following information flash across the bottom line:

"Redskins QB Jason Campbell will request trade if team selects QB in first round"

As I wrote yesterday, the whole thing is ridiculous, so that line doesn't seem all that out of the ordinary. But think about it. Vinny and Danny have let this situation get so out of hand that their QB's agent is leaking information based on the supposition that they're going to completely mess this up.
Amazing.

The Biggest Reason a Trade For Matt Sanchez Would Be Ridiculous

Everything about the Redskins trying to trade up to get Mark Sanchez is preposterous. (That includes this actual quote from Vinny Cerrato:

"There's a possibility we'll do three things on Saturday: trade up, stay back or stay the same [at 13]."

God, he's an idiot.)
I don't pay attention to much pre-draft stuff because 95 percent of it is garbage and the other 5 percent is impossible to discern from the garbage. I enjoy the draft, but I hate the buildup to the draft (thanks, ESPN). But, from what I couldn't help but overhear today, the Redskins are trying to move up to No. 4 to get Sanchez (which will probably take trading next year's first rounder, despite the fact that Cerrato and Snyder have vowed they value draft picks), whereupon they will then try to unload Jason Campbell. Or, in layman's terms, they will make the deal that will virtually guarantee that they won't be able to get a fair trade for Campbell.
We're not going to discuss the merits of Sanchez vs. Campbell here. Sure, we could talk abou the high-bust rate of QBs taken in the top ten. Or we could chat about the fact that they're going to have to give Sanchez more money to sign than Campbell has made in salary in his career. It doesn't matter though. If Snyder wants Sanchez, he's going to get Sanchez, unless he doesn't have the ammo to do it. (That's our only hope at this point: that somebody with more picks to offer does so.) Plus, there will be a lengthy diatribe here at 4:47 on Saturday afternoon if that happens.
But back to the timetable of this whole thing. Sal Paolontonio just reported on SportsCenter that the 'Skins want to trade up to get Sanchez and then trade Campbell. But isn't one of the first lessons of negotiating that you try to begin your dealings with as much leverage as possible? If they draft Sanchez, they lose any and all leverage they'd have in a Campbell deal because they have to get rid of him. There's a reason things are cheaper at a "going out of business". It's because all things must go. It will be the same thing with Campbell and all other 31 teams will know that and adjust their offers accordingly.
For years I've convinced myself that Snyder would eventually get things right because he was a good businessman. He had to be, I said. He made all that money somehow. I just figured that his football accumen needed time to develop.
I don't think that anymore. All his recent business ventures has flopped, which suggests that his success was more of an anomaly than his failures.
At least they're going to re-sign Rocky McIntosh though. He's certainly earned it.
Morons.

Wake Forst to Face Purdue in ACC-Big Ten Challenge

The schedule-makers at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge don't anticipate much drop-off from Wake Forest next season. While a national championship rematch between North Carolina and Michigan State highlights the field for the 2009 Challenge, Wake Forest will travel to Purdue (as predicted here) for what is arguably the second biggest game on the slate.
Purdue figures to be the second-best team in the Big Ten next season (behind Michigan State), but organizers probably paired them with Wake so as not to have the two biggest games (UNC-Mich State, Purdue-Duke) become rematches of last season. Duke will head to Wisconsin in a game that is already making me yawn. (To be fair, any game involving Wisconsin makes me yawn.)
Maryland gets Indiana, which will either be an easy win or a catastrophic loss. That's a bad draw, because it can't do anything for Maryland's tournament resume except hurt it.
Wake and Purdue figure to tip it off at 7:00 on Tuesday, December 1 as the lead-in to UNC-MSU.

Why Greg Paulus Was Never Going to Play at Michigan

My old pal Zac couldn't believe I didn't post anything about the Greg Paulus-to-Michigan rumors. Frankly, neither can I, because I certainly ranted enough about it to various people.
The story is dead now, but that doesn't mean Paulus won't look to play QB elsewhere. However, I don't think he'll get a shot at any other big-time school for the same reason I didn't think he'd ever go to Michigan: Because there's no way Greg Paulus is going to transfer to a school unless he is guaranteed a starting quarterback position. And there's no way any big-time school is going to guarantee a starting spot to a guy who hasn't played quarterback in five years.
Paulus isn't going to want to transfer just so he can sit on the bench, so he's going to want an assurance that he - aaaah - is the number one ---- aaaahhh -- guyyy. But no college team is that crazy, particularly one like Michigan. I'm sure Rich Rodriguez would have been happy to give Paulus a flier (sort of like ex-Michigan QB Drew Henson got from some NFL teams) but nothing guaranteed.
I mean, if DUKE wasn't going to give Paulus a shot at QB, why would Michigan? (Doesn't Syracuse make sense? They suck, Paulus is from there. Why haven't we heard anything about them?)
The NFL makes the most sense, because it's a virtual no-lose situation for a team like the Packers. They give Paulus a few thousand to sign. If he's good, great. If he's not, he gets cut like 40 other guys at training camp.
Zac, a Michigan alum, was glad nothing came of the Paulus daliance, as he didn't know whether he could have rooted for him. Another friend who went to Michigan had already convinced himself it was going to work. I hope he's happy with himself now.

CP and Special Olympians Get Their Dance On

There are a number of reasons why Clinton Portis can still be the most beloved athlete in D.C. five months after publicly ripping his coach. This is one of those reasons:

Thanks to Mr. Irrelevant for the link.

Ryan Zimmerman Brings Nats' Losing Ways to Verizon Center

Good thing the Nationals game was rained out tonight or else Ryan Zimmerman's rink-side seats at Game 1 of the Caps-Rangers playoff series would have gone to waste. After Alexander Semin's power play goal tied the game at three, Comcast cameras caught the Nats' third baseman cheering behind his D.C.-sports brethren.

I feel bad for the dude who was going to sit in that seat before the game got rained out.
The Caps ended up losing, which probably was good for Zimmerman, as he probably wouldn't have known to react to such an event. He's now 0-8 at professional sporting events attended in April.
Thanks to Klinny for the pic.

Analyzing the Redskins 2009 Schedule

Just like last year, the schedule sets up pretty nicely for the Washington Redskins. The pre-bye games provide an opportunity to put up a nice mid-season record, only to have the team crush the hearts and souls of its fans by blowing it during the holidays once again.
Here's the 16-game slate:

Sept. 13 Redskins at New York Giants, 4:15
Sept. 20 St. Louis at Redskins, 1
Sept. 27 Redskins at Detroit, 1
Oct. 4 Tampa Bay at Redskins, 1
Oct. 11 Redskins at Carolina, 1
Oct. 18 KC at Redskins, 1
Oct. 26 (Monday) Philadelphia at Redskins, 8:30
Nov. 1 Bye
Nov. 8 Redskins at Atlanta, 1
Nov. 15 Denver at Redskins, 1
Nov. 22 Redskins at Dallas, 1
Nov. 29 Redskins at Philadelpia, 1
Dec. 6 New Orleans at Redskins, 1
Dec. 13 Redskins at Oakland, 4:05
Dec. 21 (Monday) NY Giants at Redskins, 8:30
Dec. 27 (Sunday) Dallas at Redskins, 8:20
Jan. 3 Redskins at San Diego, 4:15

After once again opening in New York, the 'Skins get two "easy" games against Detroit and St. Louis, before hosting Tampa Bay, a team with a new coach and new quarterback. Getting the Bucs early in the season is a plus.
Carolina (at Carolina -- I'm-a-comin Wolfman and Mrs. Wolfman!) and Philly sandwich the Chiefs prior to the bye week, which is nicely positioned at week 8 and comes after a home Monday nighter against the Eagles. That's one of three primetime games the Redskins will play, each of which are at home. That would be nice, if the Redskins didn't suck in both primetime games and at home.
After the bye, it's a jumble of 1:00 games which, besides the division contests, are pretty nondescript. Going to Atlanta after the bye, hosting Denver the week after -- it's not at all bad.
Washington does have to travel to California twice in four weeks in December, including a game against Oakland that already looks like a must-win. (Any game against Oakland is a must-win.) I'm already anticipating the week 17 game against San Diego being meaningless (much like the season finale last year in San Francisco) and that I'll be pissed at having to watch my 6-9 team play the Bolts while Philly and Dallas are fighting for a playoff spot at the same time.
One major concern is that five of the team's final ten games come against NFC East opponents, a backloaded slate that won't be easy to navigate.
But, on the whole, I like the schedule. Just like most years, there's no reason this team can't be 11-5 and there's no reason they can't be 5-11. We'll pray for the former, fear the latter and most likely end up with something in between.

* For my list of the worst five primetime games of the 2009 season, check out Shutdown Corner.

Wake's Aaron Curry To Bring Child With Leukemia to NFL Draft

From the Associated Press, via Yahoo! Sports:

When Aaron Curry realized he’d be one of nine players invited to the NFL draft, he knew he’d put on an expensive suit and surround himself with his family on one of the biggest days of his life

The Wake Forest linebacker wanted to do something unique, too.

Curry wound up at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., on Monday. In a prearranged meeting set up by his agent and hospital officials, Curry told wide-eyed, 12-year-old Bryson Merriweather he wanted a tour of the place.

The boy had spent the better part of two years there undergoing five rounds of chemotherapy for leukemia, which is now in remission.

“We were acting like he was just taking me on a regular tour around the hospital,” Curry said. “Toward the end we ended up outside tossing each other a football and I just started talking about the draft.

“He said he had seen it and I was telling him that I had been invited and if he would join me in this experience. So I said, ‘So come to New York with me and get drafted into the NFL.”’

Bravo, Aaron Curry. In terms of giving me Wake-pride, this is like the time Chris Paul hit Julius Hodge in the nuts, only the exact opposite.
Seriously though, this is tremendously awesome. How can a GM not want Aaron Curry on his team? Character doesn't make an NFL player great, but for a talent like Curry, it can only make him more attractive to those squads at the top of the draft. There's something to be said for being an intelligent, driven class-act like Curry. I really wish the Redskins were picking in the top five so they could pass on him for Michael Crabtree.
Well done. Somehow, I'm even more of an Aaron Curry fan than I was yesterday.

Aminu Will Return to Wake Forest

Dan Collins was right all along. Al-Farouq Aminu will stay at Wake Forest for his sophomore season, despite numerous reports from people who had no business issuing said reports that Aminu was "considering to be leaning" toward going pro. (With specificity like that, it's amazing draftexpress.com has been repeatedly proven wrong over the past week (Ed Davis also). Dudes, the reason PFT became so popular is because Mike Florio's scoops were almost always right. Trying to become PFT by throwing out garbage information and hoping it sticks totally undermines the site's credibility.)
By coming back, Aminu will have a chance to mature (basketball-wise), put on some weight and raise his draft stock even more. He, along with Greg Monroe, will likely be the early favorites to become the No. 1 pick of the 2010 NBA Draft.
This makes me more hopeful that Jeff Teague will return to Wake for his junior season. Before they beat Carolina in January, next year was always supposed to be the year that Wake peaked. The timetable was moved up when the Deacs ascended to No. 1 though. Johnson leaving is, of course, a huge blow, but if Teague returns and either Ty Walker or Tony Woods can make a Teague-ian leap from their freshman to sophomore season, there's no reason Wake couldn't contend for the ACC crown next year with Duke. Well, except for Dino. (Oooh, I went there for the first time. It doesn't feel good. Ignore that, I'm going to try to keep an open mind until Wake loses to Purdue in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.)

Ryan Howard Enjoys a Pre-Game Smoke

Before the Phillies-Nationals game today, MASN cameras caught Ryan Howard taking a quick drag off a cigarette that was passed to him by Jayson Werth.

I'm not sure whether that's a normal pre-game ritual or whether it was a tribute to Phillies' announcer Harry Kalas (who certainly had the voice of a smoker).
Right before the first pitch of the game, the cameras cut to the Phils' dugout as Werth was passing the lit cigarette to the 2006 MVP, who took it, cast a furtive glance around him, had a quick puff and then passed it back.
It should be noted, that smoking is banned inside Nationals Park and in all Washington D.C. places of business (except, maybe, the White House).
Either way, not a bad weekend for smokers. One day after a chain smoker wins The Masters, the best home run hitter in the league is seen taking a puff in the dugout. This guy would be proud.

Update: In a blow to anti-smoking crusaders everywhere, Ryan Howard has a home run and 3 RBI today. The Phils beats the Nationals 9-6, which may lead to GM Ruben Amaro Jr. installing a hookah in the team's clubhouse.

Update x2: Awesomely, the pre-game smoke was, indeed, a tribute to Harry Kalas. From Philly.com:

Victorino said the tribute, which was captured by television cameras, was a fitting one.

"I asked for it and a couple of other guys thought it would be cool to do," he said. "It was like, why not? So we called who we could -- I forget who had 'em, but we got 'em.

"I just thought, what did you always see him doing, other than broadcasting or being with his family? It's an HK thing, you know? It's so sad. Just sad."

Shazaam! Suisham Invited To White House Easter Egg Roll

From an Associated Press story about Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll:

Also on hand to read to students: soccer stars Julie Foudy, Devon McTavish and Ben Olsen; basketball players Renee Brown and Dawn Staley; and football players Derrick Dockery and Shaun Suisham.

What, Reed Doughty was busy? How many other Redskins/Terrapins/homeless people do you think the White House tried before they dialed Suisham's number? Or do you think they were trying to reach Chris Samuels but read the roster wrong and called Suisham instead?
The events are set to take place on the South Lawn. Expect Suisham's reading station to be set up wide left of that.

Tuesday Thoughts: Beckett's Nickname & Tournament Recap

I'm not sure this nickname will catch on in Boston:


Incidentally, giving away the MLB package for free during the season's first week is akin to a crack dealer giving away rocks to a first-time customer. I had no intention of ordering it this year, but I'm about two hours away from calling.

* We're only 10 innings into the Nats' season and Rob Dibble is already is unlistenable. I said he sounds like Metallica lead singer James Hetfield, my cousin said he reminds him of Kenny Powers. And the dark glasses he wears makes him look like Robert Evans.
Dibble refers to the Nationals as "we". Repeatedly. He did it about 15 times during his intro. The Marlins have been "they". At least tonight's broadcast is on in HD I guess.

* Picking North Carolina at the onset of the season was in no way prescient (as I wrote in November, if UNC didn't win the title it would have been an abject failure). But you'd think that after picking Kansas at the start of 2007 and then abandoning that pick once the tournament started, only to see the Jayhawks win, I would have learned my lesson this year. Nope. I picked Connecticut to win once the tournament started. Next year, I vow to stick with my preseason pick the whole year. So, let's go Drexel!

* I still can't believe people thought Michigan State was going to win that game last night. Was it a case of people being contrary just for the sake of being contrary (trust me, I know what that's like)? Did people really buy the fact that Michigan State playing a quasi-home game was going to matter? The only way the fans were going to do help the Spartans last night was if Magic Johnson hopped in the Delorean, retrieved his 1979 self and came back to play.
My prediction turned out pretty well: UNC gets out to an early lead, MSU gets beat down mentally because of the 35-point loss in December, the Heels win comfortably by double-digits and Wayne Ellington wins MVP. That was almost as good as my pick of West Virginia to come out of the Midwest region.

* It was the most boring NCAA tournament I can ever remember. Aside from the Villanova-Pittsburgh game (which I didn't see), there wasn't one game that anybody will be able to recall six months from now.

* Some guy I've never heard of claims it's all but certain that Al-Farouq Aminu and Jeff Teague are going pro. A guy I have heard of says that Aminu still insists he's staying and is already making dorm plans for next fall. (Ask for Efird. Request room 101. Make sure there's not a 911-happy tuba player living next door. Hide the punch in the janitor's closet at the bottom of the basement. Tell Dean Holmes we all say hello. And don't fall down the manhole in the tunnels.) I'll be going with Mr. Collins on this one.

* I hate the "will he be good in the pros" discussion. Why should I care? I've watched a total of 15 minutes of NBA action this year, if that. Why does it matter whether Tyler Hansbrough will be good in the NBA? All I care about is that he was good in college. I mean, when I'm flirting with a bridesmaid I don't wonder whether she's going to be a good mother, you know?
That being said, I'm completely not sold on Blake Griffin. He's undersized, he can't dribble and he can't shoot. His basketball IQ, however, seems to be off the charts, so I think he'll be more serviceable than bust, but not a franchise type guy.

NCAA Championship Prediction

Michigan State has made a cottage industry of proving everyone wrong during this NCAA tournament. In retrospect, it's pretty amazing. Tom Izzo's teams always do well in March, yet they're always overlooked. The east coast bias does exist.
Speaking of east coast bias, how's the Big East looking now? It was certainly the best conference this year, but not sending a team to the national championship should quiet those who were saying it was on the best ever years for a conference. Seven teams making the tournament isn't impressive when there are 16 teams to choose from. That year the ACC sent seven teams out of nine: that's impressive.
Anyway, I don't think Michigan State can roll with the Heels tonight. UNC has been a lot like an NBA team this year; they coasted through a few contests, had a few losses in games they shouldn't (Boston College, Maryland), but are peaking in the postseason.
All this "Michigan State as Detroit saviors" stuff is overplayed and the home-court advantage isn't as big a deal as it's been made out to be. MSU still would have beat UConn on Saturday even if that game had been played in Alaska.
Michigan State's defense won't be able to account for Lawson, Ellington, Hansbrough and Green. Somebody is going to go off (Ellington is my guess) and make it difficult for MSU to keep pace. UNC's defense has been a crutch for most of the season, but they've picked it up in the half-court over the past few weeks. The problem for MSU is that they would like to score in transition, but I don't know if Tom Izzo wants to play an up-and-down game. Few teams can hang with UNC when that happens (Wake Forest was the only team who did this year.)
I don't think it'll be close. UNC is the better team. They won by 35 in December and while some (MJD!) say that it doesn't matter, it does. Goran Suton isn't worth 35 points. And, if UNC gets up early, I don't think the Spartans will be able to come back mentally.
Michigan State is playing well, but they aren't in Carolina's league. The Heels win big.
Prediction: UNC 82 -- Michigan State 68

The Chief Will Stay: Aminu NOT Going to NBA?

From Dan Collins' My Take on Wake blog:

The last person I saw was actually Al-Farouq Aminu, the 6-9 freshman basketball player who was standing head and shoulders over the crowd, decked out in a bright red sweat suit and listening to a walk-man or some such device. I asked him if he was going to put his name in for the NBA draft, and he said no. I told him that’s what his coach, Dino Gaudio, had suspected. I also told him I’m glad I’ll get to cover him playing basketball at least one more season.

That's promising. The overwhelming belief among Wake fans was that Johnson was a goner (he was), Aminu would come back (this suggests he will), while Teague is on the fence. The first two of those appear to be true (although this may just be Aminu appeasing a crowd) and hopefully Teague will get some good advice and come back to improve his handle, decision making and ability to control a game next year in Winston.

Wake Forest's James Johnson Leaves for NBA

This isn't surprising in the least bit. Disappointing, yes. But not surprising. There were many rumors circulating that Johnson might not have even been able to go back to Wake if he had wanted to. His grades were apparently low enough to make him ineligible for next season.
Johnson had a great two years in Winston, but his legacy will always be clouded by the first-round loss to Cleveland State. He was the only Wake player who showed up that day, but it seemed like he only did so in order to audition for NBA scouts. (And, most of those points came after the game had been decided.)
Guys like Kyle Singler got more publicity, but Johnson went 2-1 against him and the Dukies and established himself as one of the dominant post players in the ACC. His athleticism was startling at times, but it also got the best of him, particularly when Johnson thought he was named Earvin and decided to dribble all over the court. Johnson was also lazy at times, particularly at the conclusion of the Duke game this year, something that was ignored because of the spectacular finish.
But, those are quibbles. Johnson was a surprise star for the Demon Deacons and his presence will be greatly missed next year, whether Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu follow him to the pros or not. He was a high-energy forward and had a chance to become one of the all-time Deacon greats had he stayed another season. Going pro probably wasn't the best decision he could have made (he could have jumped to the lottery if he dominated next year), but, like I said above, maybe he didn't have a choice.
JJ should be a solid NBA contributer and will likely be selected in between the 15th and 23rd picks in June's draft.

Why the situation in Denver was completely Jay Cutler's fault

Because of their past history, Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato didn't get the benefit of the doubt from Redskins fans in regards to the possibility of a Jay Cutler trade. The bumbling duo have been fleeced before and it seemed inevitable that it would happen again this time around. But, apparently the price was too rich and Cutler is in Chicago, while Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is getting ripped in some circles (including by my blogmate at Shutdown Corner, MJD) for getting rid of Cutler for Kyle Orton. (Forget that Orton has a better record than Cutler.)
And, if you glance at the situation, it looks like this whole thing was started by McDaniels. He didn't want Cutler, so Cutler balked (albeit in a punk-like fashion) and wanted to leave town. Makes sense that McDaniels would get a lion's share of the blame.
But now look at what happened in Washington. The Redskins did the same exact thing with Jason Campbell. And, had the price been right, making such a move might have been considered a trade-up for the 'Skins. (I'm glad they didn't, but bear with me.) So, the two situations are similar, but not exactly the same.
So why isn't Campbell demanding a trade today? Why aren't Snyder and Cerrato getting ripped more than usual? Because Jason Campbell isn't a little bitch like Jay Cutler. He understands it's a business, he has already manned-up and he will hopefully use this to motivate him this offseason. Had Campbell made a stink, then there would be massive blame levied against Snyder and Cerrato. Because JC didn't, they survive the news cycle and this won't be mentioned much again.
In Denver, that didn't happen. McDaniels may have been crazy to have shopped Cutler, but he eventually relented and seemed content to go into 2009 with him as his quarterback. Cutler was having none of it, whined, and forced his way out. Now it's McDaniels' fault, even though all would have been fine if Cutler had just shut his mouth and accepted it.

Jay Cutler to Bears

Alright, Jason Campbell. It's your time to shine.
There's been some worry that the Redskins put Campbell in the same exact situation Cutler was in (floating a young quarterback in trade talks). But there's two big differences: First, Jason Campbell isn't a whiny punk like the other JC. And, second: Jason Campbell is in a contract year. He can't afford to sulk about this, he has to go out and perform so the Redskins can overpay him next year.
The fact that Campbell is a lame duck quarterback is the most underplayed story of the off-season. If he plays well, then Washington will have to give him probably double of what it would have taken to re-sign him this year. If he doesn't play well, he'll be yanked by week six. It's a terrible situation.
And, even though the Bears gave up a lot, I think it was a good trade. They haven't had a good quarterback in over 20 years. Getting one is worth a lot more than the 50/50 shot that those two draft picks would pan out.

Because this is what they do, the Redskins are trying to land Jay Cutler

I received about three text messages today telling me that the Redskins had traded for Jay Cutler. They were, of course, April Fool's pranks. But now the joke's on us. The Washington Post reports that Washington is actively pursuing the disgruntled Broncos QB.

The Washington Redskins are actively pursuing a trade for disgruntled Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler tonight, according to NFL sources.

One source said the Redskins are trying to complete the deal as quickly as possible although at least two other teams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets, are also reportedly interested in acquiring Cutler. The two-year starter became available today when the Broncos announced they would trade him. Denver officials could not be reached for comment tonight.

If the 'Skins get that double-chinned, crybaby douchebag, I may have to reconsider my support of the team. (And they're likely going to. When's the last time the Redskins didn't get a player they wanted? Lance Briggs?) He's a whiner. He's a child. He looks like a goober. His defenders says he's a great quarterback with a shoddy defense, but I'm pretty sure Denver's defense didn't throw those 18 interceptions last year. And the gaudy numbers (4,200 yards, 24 TDs) he put up last year came, in large part, to an offensive line that only gave up 11 sacks. With the 'Skins front-five, Cutler would surpass that number by October.
Forget his quarterbacking skills though. He's almost certainly better than Jason Campbell and, frankly, with his tenuous contract situation, this might not be the worst football move. But quarterbacking is about more than on-the-field play. This would almost assuredly split the locker room, as JC is a popular guy.
More importantly, Cutler is a sulking whiner who pissed and moaned his way out of Denver because he was too immature to understand that sometimes NFL teams try to trade players. Sure, Josh McDaniels handled himself equally as unprofessionally (I'm sure he learned that from Bill Belichick), but Cutler is supposed to be a man. He's supposed to be a leader. And a man doesn't stomp his foot and refuse to play simply because there was a business decision made that he doesn't like.
If an NFL team didn't want Matthew Stafford to be its signal caller because he wouldn't open up to a shrink about his parent's divorce, wouldn't Cutler's child-like antics make him a pariah? Or are Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato so blinded by the presence (and possibility) of talent that they ignore every other external factor?
On second thought, I suppose the last eight years have given us the answer to that question.

Update: Ahh, the irony (pointed out in the Post's D1 story for tomorrow morning):

If the Redskins fail to acquire Cutler, they risk alienating Campbell, who has been the starter the past two seasons.

Then would Campbell get all upset and try to force a trade? Of course he wouldn't, because Jason Campbell is a man, not a boy, like Jay Cutler.