No Freedom of Speech in Washington

The signs have returned to FedEx Field.

In case you missed it, Redskins owner Dan Snyder banned signs from the stadium. Today, just 2.5 hours before game time--also known as "not enough time to create a sign for today's game"--he lifted the ban, saying that fans had a right to carry them as long as they weren't inappropriate and they didn't block the view of other fans.

Here's a thought: If Dan would work on improving the organization, he wouldn't have to worry about censoring his critics, er, fans.

Redskins v. Raiders

Which team has the worst ownership? Dan Snyder vs. Al Davis

Pros:

• He's not a cheapskate, however, he needs to spend his money wisely--not on over the hill veterans but on vets in their prime and up and coming players. In short, he needs to stop chasing "big" names.

Cons:

• Dan Snyder needs to hire a GM (and fire Vinny Cerrato).
• He needs to hire a coach not named Zorn
• There needs to be a philosophical change in the way things are done in Washington. Everyone needs to play for their jobs every off season. The Redskins need to stop babying some so-called stars. If you can't practice, you can't do OTAs, you can't show up for training camp, you can't be a Redskin.

Al Davis

Pros:

• Al Davis is another owner who has no problem opening a checkbook. But he needs to make wise financial moves. Drafting Jamarcus Russell so high was not one of those moves.

Cons:

• Unfortunately, Davis is starting to lose some of his edge, healthwise, and really should relinguish some of the day to day duties, and decision making, to someone else in his organization.
• The open letter to Lane Kiffin.

Counting Down the Days 'Til Football Season

Every summer around this time I begin to stew—and it has nothing to do with the heat in Maryland.

I start to become agitated (dare I say, a feeling of withdrawal) from of a lack of football. Sure, the NHL and NBA have just wrapped up exciting seasons. Hockey produced a seven-game Stanley Cup Finals between two of its premier teams, while Kobe and Phil celebrated another Lakers title. But all I can think about is football.

This year, however, I am trying desperately to focus on other things while awaiting the start of training camp. Here is how I’m spending my lazy days of summer.

June

• Thursday night, I ate my way through Camden Yards—as I usually do—starting with the cashews, crabcake sandwiches and ice cream, and ending with sausage and peppers and several Coronas with lime. Oh, did I mention that my husband and I sat behind home plate for the rubber match between the O’s and Mets? I root O’s; he roots Mets. I had taken him to Camden for his birthday, which wasn’t so happy after the Tweets came back late in the game to win. (The Mets are in second place in the NL East and the Tweets are in the AL East’s cellar, but who cares about the big picture?)
• In June, as I do year-around, I watch several hours of the NFL Network (This is the best idea since sliced breaded wheels and computers). On Saturday, they ran a list of the top defenses of all time. Good stuff.
• The U.S. Open, filled with rain, heartfelt stories of Phil Mickelson and his wife’s cancer battle and Tiger, have kept me plenty busy over the past few days. (I’m still missing football, but not as much.)
• Wimbledon starts this week. Federer has a lot riding on this tournament, but with no Nadal, it may lack some excitement on the men’s side. (Whatever happened to the American men, by the way?)
• For Christmas (December 13, to be exact), I’ve booked a trip to Oakland to watch my Redskins take on my husband’s Raiders. Did I mention that I purchased tickets in the Black Hole? I’ve been on the Internet making travel plans. (This really makes me miss football.)
• At some point this month, I will eat my way through Nationals Park—haven’t chosen a game yet—starting with Ben’s Chili Bowl.
• I’ll watch lots and lots more of NFL Network programming.
  

July

• My Redskins season tickets will arrive. I’ll spend a week looking at the tickets, reading the glossy inserts, and plotting which jersey I’ll where to which home game. Sean Taylor for the home opener, followed by my Art Monk Hall of Fame T-Shirt, and then my Clinton Portis jersey, and so on.
• Baseball’s All-Star Game and all of its festivities will fill in a handful of empty days.
• On July 30, Redskins training camp opens.

August

• More training camp, followed by more NFL Network.
• On August 8, the Redskins will hold Fan Appreciation Day where a bunch of us football-starved fans will show up a Redskins Park and cheer on an intra-squad scrimmage as if it was fourth-quarter, with the Redskins down by seven, against Dallas in December.
• Around this time, “Hard Knocks” featuring the Bengals will begin. I love this show.
• I will eat my way through another Orioles game—this time, focusing on Boog’s BBQ.
  

The Heidi Game, Revisited

Clearly, the bar where I had dinner Wednesday night has never heard of “Heidi” or the infamous Heidi Game or the Oakland Raiders or the New York Jets. Because if it had, I suspect it would have made a different decision in playoff programming.

The bar had two televisions, one with the Celtics-Magic game, a playoff game in which Boston dominated most of the way and went on to win by 18 points, tying the series at a game apiece. The second television had the Capitals-Penguins game. This game was an overtime thriller, won by the Penguins on a ricochet off a Capitals player.

At some point, inexplicably, both TVs were switched to Celtics-Magic basketball. When I asked the waitress about the channel change, she checked and found that two folks, one at either end of the bar, had requested the basketball game. Understandably, these were both playoff games and both worthy of television action. But here’s the problem. Both TVs clearly could be seen from all areas of the bar. The Celtics and Magic were playing a blowout game. The Caps and Penguins were in overtime. And, most importantly, this bar was located in Maryland—25 minutes from where the Caps play, or otherwise known as Caps Country!

So while the Caps were slugging it out with the Penguins in an overtime playoff game—and there are folks out there who would say that there is nothing more exciting than playoff overtime hockey, except for maybe Game 7 playoff overtime hockey—this Maryland bar was pledging its allegiance to Boston Celtics-Orlando Magic basketball. Just as four decades ago, as the Jets led with a little more than a minute to go, NBC’s brilliant programmers decided to turn away from the game to accommodate it’s evening schedule, which included an airing of the children’s classic, “Heidi.” The rest, as they say, is history—the Raiders scored 14 points within the closing minute, but some viewers were left watching pigtails instead of pigskin.

Makes you wonder if someone at NBC was behind the controls on Wednesday night?

Tweets in Fourth

I know it's April.
I know it's April.
I know it's April
But my Tweets--or as they are more commonly known, the Baltimore Orioles--are tied for fourth place in all of baseball.

I most likely won't be able to say this for long, so I'm saying it now. Today. Before the evening games.

So there.

What About Michelle?

I think it's great that President Obama has filled out the men's NCAA bracket. But where was Michelle's women's bracket? After all, didn't she play competitive basketball at one point. I'd be interested in seeing her picks.

UCann, But Should They?

Will UConn women's basketball team finish the season undefeated?

I really wish more women's teams will step up to the plate and make women's hoops more interesting. Tennessee is always in the mix. Maryland and Duke are also in the mix.

What about others?

I'm Sorry

A-Rod got it right. When he decided to apologize, he made the right move both personally and professionally. If you buy into the Court Of Public Opinion (COPO)--by the way, I don't--then A-Rod has played this perfectly.

Let's review:

Andy Pettitte. He apologized as soon as pitchers and catchers got to camp in 2008. By the time the rest of the team showed up, his ordeal was in the rearview mirror.

Jason Giambi. He was a tattletale and a cheat and somehow came out with a shine.

Barry Bonds. Legally, an alleged cheat. According to COPO, a definitive cheat. If found guilty, dragging out his denial will have added to COPO's inability to begin the process of forgiveness--if it ever forgives him.

Roger Clemens. See Barry Bonds.

Football Hangover: 30 Days Without Booze

Now that football season is over, it’s time to shed those pesky pounds we’ve been hiding under those tent-like Redskins jerseys and extra large Raiders T-shirts. Too many of us spent the past six months competing Buffalo wing for Buffalo wing and beer for beer with our husbands, boyfriends and significant others. Now it’s time to redeem ourselves and get back to our healthy habits. With this plan, you don’t have to worry about cutting back on your favorite foods— this weight loss method focuses instead on altering your drinking habits.

I recently read an article about women who had been trying to lose weight. Many were stunned to learn they had been consuming, in some cases, more than 2,000 calories per week in alcoholic beverages alone. Their intake usually included a couple of glasses of wine, a handful of beers or a few cocktails each night. They thought this was pretty harmless, but as many of you know, those calories can really add up over the course of a week. Furthermore, when you drink, your ability to sustain healthy eating habits becomes tougher.

The women in the article faced this challenge: Give up all alcoholic beverages for 30 days. Each subject lost weight, ranging from 5-15 pounds, having made only this one change. They didn’t alter their eating or exercise habits at all—in fact, many weren’t on any type of nutritional or activity program at all.

What if you were asked to go 30 days without alcohol? Is this a plan that could work for you? Try it and see.