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Washington Redskins

The Risk of Not Taking Risks

Last week the Washington Redskins faced off against the NFC leading Cowboys. The Redskins lost. This was not a surprise. The Cowboys were clear favorites. Terrell Owens scored four touchdowns. The Redskins were missing Sean Taylor. This was a game the Redskins were supposed to lose. Something surprising happened last Sunday afternoon though. The Redskins should have won the game.

Despite troubles in the secondary and a career game from TO, the Redskins should have won. They were in position to do so and I am not referring to only the final couple drives where all the pressure was on Jason Campbell to deliver in the most difficult of situations. Admittedly, Campbell came up short at the end of the best game of his young career. However, it was Joe Gibbs and his staff who put Campbell in the position to fail.

Categories
Seattle Supersonics

Something Sinister in Seattle

     David Stern recently said if Seattle lost the Sonics they would not get a new team in the foreseeable future.  This is an attempt to increase the pressure on Seattle and the state of Washington to do whatever necessary to keep their team.  In the mind of David Stern whatever necessary means the building o a new state of the art arena using tax payer money.  The use of public funds for a new arena can be classified as nothing but a rip off.  It is the creation of massively expensive infrastructure for the super rich to use to become more super rich.  There are times when the surrounding neighborhood may become revitalized but there is no guarantee and before the bonds are paid off most stadiums are considered obsolete, hurting their investment value.  

Categories
NBA General

The Re-Demise of Michael Ray Richardson

Michael Ray Richardson was kicked out of the NBA for violating the substance abuse policy. He was a great player who had a great number of demons. A life dominated by addiction is always a tragedy but at some point everyone must face the consequences of their actions. Michael Ray Richardson did face those consequences. He lost a life that many can only dream of. Now he is back on the radar; this time, as shocking as it seems, as a coach. Not surprisingly, he’s in trouble again. Reading the headlines it would appear that he went John Rocker, tossing out a gay slur and providing some anti-Semitic commentary. In today’s world you don’t get away with saying things like that. Despite our pride in free speech there is nothing free about the speech of hate. Formal punishment of speech, even if it is hate, always rubs me the wrong way but I understand why leagues are so strict and sensitive on the topic. They are protecting a product that they are trying to make as inclusive as possible. I’m fine with a suspension for uttering a gay slur at a heckler. That kind of thing is unacceptable and should be addressed accordingly.

Categories
Boston Red Sox

Spring Training and the Future of Red Sox Pitching

I can still remember the day I stopped being a baseball fan.  It was the day Tony Tarasco’s career was snatched away by a boy named Jeffrey Maier.  It was the day that my beloved Orioles led the AL East wire to wire only to fall to the Yankees.  The Yankees became a dynasty of champions.  The Orioles became a dynasty of losers.  Baseball was never the same for me.  Innocence lost around the time I turned 11.  I’ll tune in for a couple playoff games if the teams are interesting or the game is close in the late innings but the love is lost.  I guess it wasn’t meant to be.

Somehow ten years later I find myself watching a Boston Red Sox spring training game.  Flipping channels I saw that Daisuke Matsuzaka was pitching.  Apparently hype does work.  The hundred million dollar myth from Japan had piqued my interest.