Last place good? I don't think so Gilbert...

So earlier today, Gilbert Arenas, the oft-injured superstar of the Washington Wizards said that his Wiz being in last place was a good thing. The reeling Wizards are 1-8, their worst start in a decade, are struggling in every aspect of the game and can't seem to do much of anything right. I'm sorry Gilbert, but isn't winning the whole point. The great Vince Lombardi once said "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," but apparently, Gilbert has yet to get that message. He was quoted as saying, "but if this is one of those years where we don't make the playoffs or we finish in last place ... that's what happened to San Antonio and that's how they got Tim Duncan and look at them now ... and that's for the better." Yea, the Spurs got Tim Duncan, but Duncan is a once-in-a-generation talent, and it doesn't look like next years NBA draft has any Duncan-caliber, franchise players. Agent Zero better hope that the Wizards have turned things around by the time he return to the team January 1, because if Washington keep sputtering, this will be a very long season for the Wizards faithful. I have to believe that they will turn it around sooner rather than later, as they do have two all-stars on their roster in Caron Bulter and Antawn Jamison, but how long they can go without their $111 million man is the real question...one that only time can answer.

Joe Gibbs a Coward...Never!

In a recent Washington Times interview, former Redskin Lavar Arrington called Redskin legend Joe Gibbs a "coward" and implied that the only reason he came back to the Redskins was to make money for his NASCAR team. Now I have always been a Lavar fan, and I understand that he has had some unfortunate dealings with the team, especially with owner Dan Synder, but calling Joe Gibbs a coward is not only the furthest thing from the truth but despicable and disgusting. Gibbs is a legend and one of the the most respectable men to ever walk an NFL sideline. Putting Lavar's relationship with Synder aside, Lavar needs to look past his business dealings with the Redskins and apologize immediately to Coach Joe. Gibbs didn't retire for a second time because he was a "coward," he retired because he wanted to spend more time with his family, including his 3-year-old grandsonTaylor who is receiving treatments for leukemia, and because he had accomplished what he set out to do when he rejoined the 'Skins for a second stint. When Gibbs came back in January 2004, the Redskins were a mess, they downright sucked on the field and needed a makeover off the field as well. More importantly, the Redskins needed a PR overhaul after the whole Spurrier debacle, and what better way than bring back a Hall of Fame coach and the most respected man to ever grace the sidelines of the Burgundy and Gold. Gibbs' one goal when he came back was turn the franchise around, to get them back to their glory days. Now he didn't quite win a Super Bowl, but he took them to the playoffs twice in four years, which was much better than what they had accomplished in the previous 11 years since, when they only made the playoffs once. He turned the franchise around and gave new Coach Jim Zorn a playoff team with Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball and good,character guys in the locker room. Joe Gibbs gave the Redskins organization the much needed direction and discipline that it severely lacked, but more importantly, he gave them leadership. No other coach in the NFL could've successfully led the team through the Sean Taylor death and get them to the playoffs. Gibbs is a man of integrity, honesty, a hard worker, and a winner, something that I unfortunately can't say about Lavar. Lashing out at Gibbs was a petty and disrespectful cry for attention. Lavar, Joe Gibbs isn't the coward, you are!

Sean Taylor to Be Honored

The Washington Redskins announced today that the late Sean Taylor inducted into the franchise's Ring of Fame in a ceremony prior to the team's contest against the New York Giants on Nov. 30, 2008. Taylor will be the 43rd member of the Ring of Fame. It is a deserving honor for one of the true greats to ever put on a Redskins uniform. The two-time pro bowler was known for his viscous hits and ball-hawking abilities. As Micheal Wilbon of the Washington Post said a few years ago, "Taylor is a beast, an absolute monster of defensive might. When you see opposing receivers -- good receivers -- dropping balls in open spaces and can't figure out why, Taylor is why. He's everywhere, running like a cornerback and hitting like Butkus." The Redskins drafted Taylor with fifth pick of the 2004 NFL draft following an All-American career at the University of Miami. Big things were expected from him and boy did he deliver. In just three and a half seasons, he had 299 tackles, 12 interceptions, and forced 8 fumbles. Sports Illustrated also named him the hardest hitter in the NFL. Despite running into some early troubles, Taylor also became one of the most respected men in the Redskins locker room and a fan favorite. I am glad the Redskins are deciding to honor Sean for his accomplishments but I want Dan Synder and Co. to go one step further. The Redskins need to retire #21. He deserves it.

Pennington better than Farve...???

Is it possible that the Jets made a mistake in letting Chad Pennington go to Miami and trading for Brett Favre? To the casual fan, that question seems preposterous. But is it really? Obvious, Favre is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever walk this earth and Chad...well, Chad isn't. He's really been just a slightly above average quarterback his entire career. Yes, Brett Lorenzo Favre (yes that's his real name) has all sorts of records like most career touchdown passes (457), most career passing yards (63,266), most career pass completions (5,538), most consecutive starts(282, including playoffs), three consecutive MVPs, and a Super Bowl ring, just to name a few of his accomplishments. But the question is who is better THIS year. To really determine who's been the better quarterback so far this season, you have to look at this year's stats. The Jets are 4-3, the Dolphins are 3-4. Winner-Favre, slightly, but only because his team is better. Favre has a 89.5 QB rating, Chad a 100.5 QB rating. Winner- Chad. Farve has thrown for 1611 yards, Chad 1710. Winner-Chad, barely. Favre has 15 touchdowns, Chad 7. Winner- Favre. Favre has thrown 11 interceptions, Chad 3. Winner- Chad, by a landslide. Favre's completion percentage this season in 68.5, Chad's 69.3. Winner- Chad, by a little.

Favre in his last three games has had QB ratings of 73.9, 47.8, 76.0. What were Chad's in his last three games, you ask? 122.8, 92.0, 117.9. In fact if you take out Favre's career game against Arizona where he threw 6 tds, 1 pick, and his 123.7 QB rating, he has 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while his QB rating for the year is 83.6, good for 20th in the NFL. Forget who he is for a moment, because that right there folks, is what you call a below average quarterback. Chad, meanwhile, has four games with a quarterback rating of over 100, with only one under 82.

Now, Chad isn't the sexy choice to have as your team's quarterback, he doesn't have a Hall of Fame bust waiting for him in Canton, and he doesn't have that rocket arm that Favre does (in fact, I bet Brett can probably throw farther sitting down than Chad can standing up). But what Chad does do is manage the game quite well, he doesn't make mistakes, and he has given a team that won only one game all of last year, a bit of hope. Brett, on the other hand, seems to have gone back to his 2005 and 2006 form(when people began to think he should hang it up for good) where he just threw balls up for grabs and hoped his receivers would catch them . Now, I don't think he is finished, but stats don't lie, and the stats say Chad is better, this year.

Abolish the BCS

With the first BCS rankings coming out this week, I feel obligated to share some thoughts about this flawed system. Flat out, the BCS system sucks. Colleges refuse to get rid of it and the bowl system because of the tens of millions of dollars these colleges make off of their "student" athletes. These same college presidents that are in favor of the BCS are the same ones that say a playoff wouldn't work because it would interfere too much with the student part of student- athlete. However, we all know these to be lies. I guess 1-AA, Div. 2, and Div. 3 football players don't have to go to class, because a playoff system works quite well for them. If the NCAA and these schools were so worried about the student, they wouldn't allow Monday, Tues, Weds, Thurs night games. But they do. Why? One word:MONEY. Is anyone really surprised? I doubt it. These colleges make more money off these athletes than any other thing they do. I understand that these colleges need to make money of their sports teams, particularly off of football, in order to support their school's other sports. I understand this, so I have a solution to make everyone happy. Have a 16 team playoff. Those 16 teams will be the winners from the 6 major conferences as the automatic qualifiers and then the next best 10 teams taken from the AP poll. These 16 teams would form the playoff for the National Championship. The teams that don't make it into the playoff still will have a postseason as well. The lower tier bowls will take their pick from the teams not in the playoff and still have their bowl games and still make money for both the school and the bowl sponsors. What about the top tier bowls such as the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, etc. Well we would have them. In a 16 team playoff, that is 15 games. So take the top 15 bowl games, which would be all the ones after Jan1 and a few before Jan1. Think that won't make the bidding go sky high for these games? Imagine the bidding war companies such as FedEx, Tostitos, All-State, Citi, etc. would have to get these bowls. The semifinal games and the national championship and one of the quarterfinal games would be the original 4 BCS bowls (Sugar, Rose, Fiesta, Orange, there is no need for the BCS championship game) with each of the four rotating so every four years, each bowl will have had the National Title game. And back to the whole student athlete issue, there isn't an issue with March Madness when classes are is session. The majority of these schools competing year in and year out for the college football title game are on Winter Break anyways during the bowl season. A four week playoff would be from Dec7-Jan7 and not a single kid would miss class.Problem solved.

This past weekend was the 2nd Annual Nicholas Colleluori Classic. The tournament is in honor of former Hofstra lacrosse player Nick Collelouri, who passed away in November 2006 from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. 13 teams participated including top teams Maryland, Princeton, Loyola, Penn State, Hofstra, and many other teams. The tournament was a great success and a lot of great lacrosse action took place. Hofstra played 3 games on the day. In the first game against UPenn, Hofstra really took it to the Quakers as defense was the story of the day and the Pride won easily. Up next for Hofstra were the Greyhounds of Loyola. In a sloppy game in which the Pride looked sluggish and tired, Loyola really took it to the Pride and dominated from start to finish. Luckily for the Pride, they one more game to show what they were made of against Maryland. Hofstra came out firing on all cylinders and showed the Terps what they were made of. The Pride dominated play and came away with a big win. However, the story of the day was of course the Headstrong Foundation, started in honor of Nick Collelouri. The Pride wore green shorts, helmets, and sticks to honor Nick's memoryand represent the foundation, whose goal is promoting and raising money for blood cancer, specifically leukemia and lymphoma, reaseach. If you're interested in learning more and/or donating to this great cause, please visit Headstrong Foundation.Org.

TO needs to keep his mouth shut!

Yesterday was a great day for the faithful of Redskin's Nation. Going into hated Dallas and completely dominating from time of possession to rushing yards to just being tougher than every single Cowboy. The Redskins popped Dallas smack in their face and the Cowboys were too scared to answer back. Ever since the Seattle playoff game last two years ago for the Cowboys, you know the game where Tony Romo mishandled the snap on a potential game winning field goal, any time the going gets tough for the Cowboys, they crawl into a cave and quiver. We saw it last year when the Giants marched into Dallas for a second round game and manhandled the 'Boys; and we saw it again yesterday. Dallas doesn't like street brawls, which unfortuantely for them, they play in a division where every game is a street brawl. But I digress. Back to TO.

After yesterday's game, TO, in his press conference complained that Dallas wasn't giving him enough oppurtunities to make plays, that not enough balls were thrown his way. He obviously wasn't watching the same game the rest of the nation was. Out of 58 offensive plays, TO was involved in 19 of them (17 throws, 2 runs). That's over 1/3 of the total plays. Are you kidding me TO?! If anything, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett called way too many plays for TO. It looked like Dallas was trying to force the ball to TO.

What I noticed was Shawn Springs smacking TO in the face and TO giving up and either being lazy and not finishing routes or just flat dropping balls. Maybe that's the culture down in Dallas, giving up. Don't get me wrong, he is one hell of a player, but he is a cancer to any locker room and the sooner he learns to stop talking, the better he will be and the better off Dallas will be. So you know what TO, keep talking, and I can't wait to see the Cowboys crash and burn again in the playoffs.

First year head coach Jim Zorn seems to have righted the ship that is the Washington Redskins offense. After an abysmal performance in week one against the New York Giants and a less than stellar first half against the Saints in week two, Zorn has the offense clicking on all cylinders heading into an NFC East showdown with Dallas this upcoming weekend. Jason Campbell is coming into his own as he is only one of three quarterbacks to not throw an interception this season. Clinton Portis and Santana Moss are both in the top ten in the NFL is rushing and receiving yardage respectively. And most importantly, the Redskins have shown that big play ability that they lacked under the Joe Gibbs regime. Zorn has shown a knack for keeping the opposing defenses off guard with timely and unpredictable play calling and it seems the Redskins are finally beginning to grasp his West Coast schemes. While it is still early and with a couple monster games looming on the horizon against the Cowboys and Eagles, things are looking up for these ‘Skins.

Let me throw some stats at you. Jason Campbell is completing 65.6% of his passes for 647 yards, 4 tds, and ZERO interceptions for a 100.1 QB rating. But in the 4th quarter, in crunch time, Campbell is 23 for 32, for 331 yards,which for those at home without a calculator is 71.9% completion percentage, 2 tds, and a spectacular 125.9 QB rating. That right there, folks, is what you call clutch. It really seems like the young quarterback is starting to figure this league out. Lets hope Coach Zorn continues to trust Campbell and allow him to take his shots down field, because so far, it has worked out.

The Ryder Cup starts up tomorrow at Valhalla Country Club in Kentucky and the Europeans are the overwhelming favorites. No one is giving the Americans even the slightest chance to win. The Americans don't have the best player in the world, Tiger Woods, six of the Americans have never participated in the Ryder Cup, and this is considered the weakest American team ever put together. Despite all those reasons, I wouldn't write them off so quickly. Yes, the Europeans have tons and tons of experience, feature Padraig Harrington who just happens to have won the last two majors, and just feature a bunch of golfers that excel at this format. But the beauty of not having experience for the Americans, is that most of the golfers picked by U.S. captain Paul Azinger weren't part of the last three losing teams and thus are naive to the whole losing theme that seems to have followed the last few American teams. Second, this years Ryder Cup is on American soil, at a course designed for long drives and short wedge shots which is exactly what these Americans excel at. Will they miss Tiger, despite his less than stellar Ryder Cup record? Absolutely. It is crazy to say the Americans are better off without him. But with some up and coming stars like Anthony Kim, some savy veterans like Lefty, home course advantage, and an us-against-the world attitude, I believe that come Sunday, people will be surprised at the outcome.

Redskins Update

Washington Redskins rookie wide receiver Malcolm Kelly seems to be making strides towards a comeback from arthroscopic knee surgery early in training camp and could be available to play as early as this Sunday's game against the Saints. Kelly coming back would provide a big target for struggling QB Jason Campbell and would free up space for the Redskins other big playmakers such as Santana Moss and Chris Cooley.

As a side note, I am extremely happy that the Redskins will not have to face former Hofstra standout Marques Colston. If the Giants showed the Redskins faithful anything, its that big wide receivers can hurt the 'Skins secondary. So maybe this is just the break the Redskins need in order to get that first win.

T.O. is back at it with McNabb

T.O. can't seem to stay away from his controversial relationship with Donovan McNabb. He was quoted as saying "I will say that Donovan made me a better receiver in Philadelphia, but I think Donovan would have a hard time admitting I made him a better quarterback". So basically T.O. is saying he is responsible for Donovan's success and for elevating McNabbinto one of the game's elite. Is anyone else besides me tired of the whole T.O-McNabb saga and wants it to end. However, the media can't seem to get enough of it. Unfortunately for the rest of us, as long as both T.O. and McNabb still are playing, and are still in the same division, we will never see an end to the drama that seems to follow the two of them.