DMV: Antawn Returns With Guns Blazin’
By Jamie Mottram | November 19, 2009
On a night when Gil and Caron couldn’t score and DeShawn bobbleheads were given out (ed. note: Want!), last season’s team MVP returns with 31 and 10 as the Wiz beat the Cavs for the fifth straight time in D.C. [Wiz Insider]
A photo essay of LeBron’s bitching and moaning. [D.C. Sports Bog]
What people would say if other NBAers tried Gil’s Twitter challenge. [The Baseline]
I usually shy away from Hitler jokes, but, hey, it’s Dallas week. [@kennedy703]
A vintage Tom Landry dartboard from Dallas weeks past. [Redskins Blog]
Haynesworth faces Gurode for the first time since The Stomp. [Skins 360]
Bringing Shanahan to D.C. might mean Cerrato stays. [Hogs Haven]
Davey Johnson joins the Nats as a senior advisor to Mike Rizzo. [All Nats]
Nats bolster front office, choosing “eyes” over “numbers.” [Tom Boswell]
Strasburg impresses both mentally and physically in the AFL. [TWT]
Chico Harlan freed from Nats beat; Post looks for fresh meat. [FishbowlDC]
Kornheiser takes the high road before calling Wise a “Mr. Jones.” [Bog]
How Kornheiser picked on Ken Beatrice and got someone fired. [City Desk]
Talking to the owner of delicious Rocklands Barbeque. [We Love DC]
Topics: DMV, Antawn Jamison, Wizards | No Comments »
More Fun With D.C. Sports and Google, Starring ‘Ovechkin Is Party Now’
By Jamie Mottram | November 18, 2009
We showed you the not-so-nice things Google calls Dan Snyder, which prompted Joe Sports Fan to do the same thing with other stars of sport, which leads us here: fun with D.C. sports figures and Google suggestions.
Ovi has many fans that don’t speak English good. Also, many that party.
Update: Greg Wyshynski informs me that “Is Party Now” is the tagline for NHL 2K10, a game which Ovechkin is the coverboy for. Who knew.
Not enough searches for “Vinny Cerrato is Sergeant Antonelli?” Sarge!
Topics: Jim Zorn, Fire Vinny, Alexander Ovechkin, Agent Zero, Chris Cooley, Jason Campbell | 1 Comment »
DMV: Agent Zero Is the New Lil’ Penny
By Jamie Mottram | November 18, 2009
Correction: This Agent Zero character is the poor, unfunny man’s Lil’ Penny. Found on Gil’s new site, it also breaks Arenas’ media/marketing silence. I kind’ve enjoyed the silence. [Gilbert Arenas, Penny comparison via Mr. Lee]
Gil will also start tweeting if he gets 1 million followers. [Truth About It]
An interesting take on the death and rebirth of Agent Zero. [Bullets Forever]
Antawn returns against Cleveland tonight. He helps. [Bullets Forever]
Bid on Wiz-related auction items to help D.C. kids in need. [Neediest Kids]
Ovi scores and Caps win thanks to Laing, Bradley’s heroics. [Caps Insider]
Matt Bradley got bloody before scoring the game-winner. [D.C. Sports Bog]
In praise of Quintin Laing and his broken jawbone. [DC Landing Strip]
Maryland beats Fairfield by 29 in an ugly game to go 2-0. [Terrapins Insider]
Georgetown survives Temple on Greg Monroe’s game-winner. [Mike Wise]
A fine attempt at gauging the gas left in Portis’ tank. [TWT]
If there’s no gas left, Clinton would fall short of the Hall of Fame. [Daly OT]
Photos from Devin Thomas’ birthday party. [Hogs Haven]
Loved this play: Quinton Ganther ringing Brian Dawkins’ bell. [Skins Blog]
The Nats are in the market for John Lackey, won’t get him. [All Nats]
Topics: DMV, Agent Zero, Wizards | No Comments »
Fight Poll: Tony Kornheiser vs. Mike Wise
By Jamie Mottram | November 17, 2009
There are no words to describe how juicy the on-air beef between dueling WaPo columnists-turned-radio hosts has become. Actually, there are, and Dan Steinberg has them all, so go read that and vote in the poll to let ‘em know who’s the people’s champ. (Note: I’ve got Wise.)
Topics: Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wise, Washington Post, Media Bird Doggin' | 4 Comments »
DMV: ‘Redskins’ It Is, For a While Longer
By Jamie Mottram | November 17, 2009
The Supreme Court declined the two-decade-old case to review the “Redskins” nickname. Of course, “a new group of challengers has filed the same trademark cancellation suit in hopes that their slightly different circumstances can avoid the procedural bar that halted this case,” as they should. [WaPo]
ESPN extends Gruden contract, discourages Snyder from overpaying for him. [Redskins Insider]
Zorn says Portis is the starting RB again once he gets healthy. [WaPo]
Getting to know new Skins LT Levi Jones a little bit. [D.C. Sports Bog]
Kornheiser rips Wise, is as annoying in print as on-air. [D.C. Sports Bog]
After missing six games, Ovechkin is set to return tonight. [WaPo]
Theodore and Varly are developing into a goalie tandem. [Japers’ Rink]
Antawn Jamison set to play tomorrow for the first time this season. [WaPo]
Suggestions for fixing the Wizards’ crunch-time woes. [Bullets Forever]
The Terps are back in the AP Top 25, barely. [Testudo Times]
Five Guys named one of Advertising Age’s hottest brands. [We Love DC]
Go see Fleet Foxes’ drummer J. Tillman at 9:30 Club tomorrow. [DCist]
Topics: DMV, Infinite Sadness, Redskins | 1 Comment »
Betts Isn’t Better Than Portis, People
By Jamie Mottram | November 16, 2009
I tweeted the headline a few hours ago and got the following responses:
“Agree to disagree. And he’s good enough to where they never should have trade a HOF corner and a second round pick for Portis.” — @johnmtaylor
“for whatever reason - age, injuries, not practicing - CP looks like he’s lost a step. Betts simply looks fresher with more burst.” — @thebrowncoat
“Betts isn’t better than Portis, but the Broncos game showed the Ewing Theory in full force. Sometimes less is more.” –@HomerMcFanboy
“Portis needs to practice to play. That’s why Betts looked better” — @ericmates
“But I heard on Extremeskins from some McDonalds guy that Betts is the second coming of Barry Sanders” — @joerussbowman
Love that last one, as it seems to mock the popular sentiment of Skins fans today, specifically that Betts is, at this point, a better back than Portis. And while that may be true (Portis is injured after all), what’s certain is that the overall running game was better yesterday than it had been previously.
Sure, we saw Betts’ “burst,” and Rock Cartwright’s too, but math don’t lie:
Betts’ yards per carry in Games 1-8: 3.5
Betts’ yards per carry in Game 9: 4.4
Cartwright’s yards per carry in Games 1-8: 3.4
Cartwright’s yards per carry in Game 9: 4.6
Something was different. Maybe it was the play-calling or the revamped offensive line, the mood of the team or the game plan, but something was definitely different, and it was bigger than Betts replacing Portis.
And for the record, Portis averaged 4.0 yards per carry in Games 1-8. It wasn’t like he was pulling a Larry Johnson (2.7) or LaDainian Tomlinson (3.3). But he did have 342 carries last season (third-most in the NFL), and has averaged 293 for the past seven, so it’s only natural to lump them together.
This is what happens to the great ones after all, and Portis is one of the greats. That’s just a fact, Jack. So while rooting for Betts to get his, I hope it’s not over for Portis just yet. I don’t think it is.
Update: A rebuttal of sorts from Stet Sports Blog.
Topics: Ladell Betts, Clinton Portis, Redskins | 16 Comments »
Redskins-Broncos Winners & Losers
By Jamie Mottram | November 15, 2009
WINNERS
Hunter Smith — The fake FG/punt TD pass was an absolute jaw-dropper.
Danny Smith — He sucks as a special teams coach, but that play was magnificent. Still not sure how it worked, but it did. It really, really did.
Jim Zorn — The balls on Zorn calling that play … I love it. Also love that he went for it on 4th-and-1, though I didn’t love the play call (tried drawing them offsides before running wide right). Still, he managed the upset and broke the 20-point barrier to boot. For him, this is as good as 2009 gets.
Ladell Betts — Got stronger as the game got longer and finished with 114 yards against a good defense.
Quinton Ganther – No idea who this guy is but he had a nice blitz pickup that led to JC scrambling for a first, and on the next play he caught a screen for another first, which he finished off by ringing Brian Dawkins’ bell.
Fred Davis, Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly — They always get grouped together in defeat, so let’s do the same in victory. They combined for seven catches and 105 yards with serious YAC. More of this, please.
Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter – Three more sacks for these two, which makes 15 on the season (thank you, Mr. Haynesworth). Orakpo also knocked Kyle Orton out of the game, which was key.
Rock Cartwright — We’re all Hard Rock fans, so it’s good to see him get nine carries and even better to see him make something of them.
Todd Yoder — Now has two catches for five yards and two touchdowns.
Lorenzo Alexander — Forced a fumble after chasing a play. Also had a massive hit in kickoff coverage.
Rocky McIntosh — Absolutely laid the wood to Brandon Marshall.
Those tailgating in F lot — “Victory=wet t-shirt contest.”
LOSERS
Carlos Rogers – Was all over Marshall on that first TD. Just look at him, like a shadow. A shadow that’s three steps behind.
Shaun Suisham — Put not one but two kickoffs out-of-bounds. Awful.
Antwaan Randle El – Let a punt bounce and roll 30 yards before stopping inside the 10.
MEDIUM
DeAngelo Hall — A rollercoaster of a game for D-Hall: was nowhere close on Marshall’s second TD, rebounded by making a great play on another Marshall deep ball but then ran across the field yelling for the challenge flag because he thought he picked it off but really he didn’t, missed a tackle on Knowshon Moreno, made an easy pick in the end zone and had a nice return but needlessly pitched it to LaRon Landry (though it was fun seeing people try to tackle The Ron). So, yeah, rollercoaster game.
Jason Campbell – Won the game, didn’t turn it over and posted a 100.3 rating, but this was one of his poorer showings. Missed a lot of throws, most notably one to a wide-open Santana Moss down the sideline.
Offensive line — I can’t believe how well they blocked in the run game, but they still can’t pass block for shit.
Bryant Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf — These guys call about as medium a game as one could imagine, and said some silly stuff (i.e. “This is some stadium”), but they totally redeemed themselves by relaying the anecdote about their meeting with Haynesworth, when Fat Albert “walked in with the largest diamond necklace I’ve ever seen … 80 or 90 carats,” before joking that he could bid on the Hope Diamond. It’s funny because it’s true.
Bonus: If you like this sort of thing, Ryan O’Halloran has more. Steinz too.
Topics: Winners & Losers, TV Photography, Redskins | 11 Comments »
My Alternate Reality Skins-Broncos Game
By Jamie Mottram | November 15, 2009
I may just watch this for three hours today:
Topics: Redskins | 1 Comment »