Archive for March, 2010

May I Have Your Autograph Mr. Clark?

I spent a lot of time as a kid at the old Redskins Park. It was quite different back then, the old park had virtually no security and was small in comparison to the current RP in Ashburn. I was able to parlay my time at Redskins Park into many memorable moments and adventures. I filmed part of a practice and filmed a semi-interview with Dexter Manley. I tossed a nerf football around with Rickey Sanders and Mark Rypein. I also helped a coke delivery man deliver cokes into the locker room, where I proceeded to watch highlights of the 87’ Super Bowl with Reggie Branch and Ravin Caldwell. Great times for a 13 yr old kid.

I was also able to obtain many autographs, autographs from virtually every great player from the 80’s. Gary Clark was recently called out by Larry Johnson for not giving an autograph to LJ when LJ was a little kid. LJ turned that experience into a positive one and now signs every autograph he’s asked for, until the last fan is finished. If that is true, then I admire him for doing so. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine how any reasonable fan would expect an athlete to sign for everyone, every time. I also can’t imagine how fans can ask an athlete to sign an autograph while the athlete is eating dinner, or engaged in something else that requires the athletes attention. Regardless, I want to tell you about my Gary Clark experience.

I was visiting Redskins Park in January of 1988, the last day before the Redskins headed off to San Diego to completely destroy the Broncos 42-10. I arrived early that day and was the only person in the lobby when Gary Clark walked right by me at a brisk pace, headed upstairs to where the admin offices were located. I quickly asked Gary if he would sign an autograph for me, he informed me that he was in a hurry and could not sign for me. Even at 13 years old, I remember this being a WTF moment? I’m the only person in this lobby and he’s not going to take 30 seconds to sign for me? He spent more time explaining why he couldn’t sign than it actually would have taken to sign. I was bummed.

A few hours later Redskins Park was a madhouse. Hundreds of fans had congregated at the park to see the Super Bowl Champions off. The lobby was now shoulder to shoulder and I was now a small fish in a big pond. Players were sneaking out the side and back to avoid the rush of fans. I was now sitting on the stairs leading up to the 2nd floor admin offices. I had managed to get a few autographs before the larger adults had squeezed me out of my prime location by the locker room door and forced me over to the stairs. My autograph collecting opportunities had taken a serious hit at this point.

As I was sitting on the stairs watching all the mayhem, I heard a psst, psst noise coming from the 2nd floor above my head. As I turned and looked up I was amazed to see Gary Clark waving me up the stairs. I collected my things and bounded up the stairs to meet Gary and who else should be sitting up on the 2nd floor…Sam Huff and Sonny Jurgensen, who was enjoying a large cigar. Gary happily signed for me and even promised to catch a TD for me in the Super Bowl (he did.) As an added bonus I was able to also secure the autographs of 2 Hall of Famers.

Maybe Gary felt bad about the encounter we had earlier and decided to sign for me, maybe he really was busy and couldn’t sign for me at the earlier time. It really doesn’t matter, he came thru for me big time and I’ll never forget it. On a separate and totally unrelated note, I ran into Gary at Camelot in DC in the late 90’s. He was sitting alone at a table with a bible. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing, it’s just unusual to see a man in a strip joint with a bible.

I thank Gary for that moment and all of the Redskins that I met during my childhood that were always super cool and gave me memories to last a lifetime. It’s really hard to form an opinion of someone in a single moment in time. Just because an athlete doesn’t want to, or can’t sign for everyone doesn’t mean they’re bad people. Gary Clark was cool to me…now if you want an example of a D-bag (and this is based on several meetings,) this is your guy.

Cheers and Hail

Larry Johnson…Yes, No, Maybe?

I must say that when I wrote last week about the Redskins having a slow developing plan and how I couldn’t wait to see how it played out, I never imagined the scenario of the Skins signing another 30+ running back. I mean, I’m still surprised we didn’t get rid of the one we had! 30+ running backs are supposed to be over the hill, so why are we collecting them?

On paper, I don’t like this signing at all… but the games are not played on paper, they are played by little men inside our TV’s…thanks for that line Kenny Mayne. Something tells me in my gut that LJ may have something left in the tank and maybe that’s what the Skins game plan is, gut decisions. Hey, 40 GUT was a zone blocking play, right?

Anyway, the signing of LJ is curious. Again, I didn’t think a 30+ running back was an option, and if it is/was, I’m not sure LJ was the right choice. I’ve heard arguments made that although LJ is going to be 31, he still hasn’t had a ton of carries in his career. To that I would respond that he’s had 3 straight years of declining productivity and he hasn’t had a lot of carries because he’s gotten himself in a lot of trouble over the years. I’ve also heard the argument that LJ didn’t have a good offensive line with KC last season and when given the chance in Cincy he played well. To that I would respond that Jamaal Charles rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 6 yards per carry in the 8 games after LJ left. LJ averaged 2.9 ypc and had only 377 yards in 7 games with the same line.

Of the 5 30ish RB’s in the free agent market (Taylor, Parker, Tomlinson & Jones,) LJ has had the fewest yards per carry (3.8) and appeared in the fewest games over the past 3 seasons. In fact, LJ’s statistics pale in comparison to these guys…especially Thomas Jones. Thomas Jones has averaged nearly 1,400 yards and 10 TD’s over the last 3 seasons while showing no signs of slowing down. Why not Thomas Jones?

I’m not ready to call this signing a disaster, it may turn out well? LJ has tried to find common ground with Skins fans by announcing that he is a lifelong fan. Evidently he grew up rooting for the Redskins and hating the Cowboys. That’s cool, but in the process of describing his Skins loyalty, he ran the bus over one of the most beloved Skins of all-time. Tomorrow, I will post my Gary Clark autograph story.

Cheers and Hail

3/11-3/14 Redskins Bdays

Happy birthday Mark Moseley. Mark played 13 seasons for the Redskins from 1974-86. Mark was a 2 time Pro Bowler and in 1982 became the only kicker in the history of the NFL to be named MVP. Mark lead the NFL in 1983 with 161 pts and remains the Skins all-time leading scorer with 1,206 pts. The last of the straight on kickers and one of the last players with the single bar helmets…Mark should be in the NFL HOF. In retirement Mark became the director of franchising for the 5 Guys restaurant chain, I’m assuming that has rewarded him well. Happy 62nd Mr. Moseley.

Happy birthday Alvin Walton. Alvin played 6 seasons at safety for the Redskins from 1986-91. #40 appeared in 77 games with the Redskins, winning 2 Super Bowls. Alvin had 12 interceptions and countless tackles (no records) during his Redskins tenure…I remember him tackling Joe Morris about 100 times alone. In retirement Alvin played some more in the CFL and won a Grey Cup. He’s one of my favorites…happy 46th Mr. Walton.

Happy birthday Dan Wilkinson. “Big Daddy” played 5 seasons at D-tackle for the Redskins from 1998-2002. #95 appeared in 76 games collecting 23 sacks and 138 tackled during his tenure. His best season came in 99’ when he had 8 sacks and rambled 88 yards with an INT return for a TD. Dan retired after the 2006 season, his 12th in the NFL. Happy 37th Mr. Wilkinson.

Happy birthday Shawn Springs. Shawn played 5 seasons for the Redskins
from 2004-08. #24 appeared in 64 games at cornerback, intercepting 12
balls while returning 2 for TD’s. Shawn also had 7 sacks and 251 tackles
during his tenure. The Virginia native spent last season with the Patriots.
Happy 35th Mr. Springs.

Happy birthday Fred Stokes. Fred played 4 seasons at defensive end for the
Redskins from 1989-1992. Fred never missed a game during his Redskins
tenure, appearing in all 64 regular season contests. Fred had 20.5 sacks, 127
tackles (at least) and 9 fumble recoveries as a Redskin. #60 has a Super
Bowl ring from the 91’ season. In retirement Fred works as a motivational
speaker. Happy 46th Mr. Stokes.

3/9-14 Bullets/Wizards Bdays

Happy birthday Wes Unseld. Wes played 13 seasons for the Bullets from 1968-1981. Wes is in the HOF and was both ROY and MVP during his rookie season of 68’. #41 was a 5 time all-star who averaged 10.8 PPG and 14.0 RPG during his career. Besides being a tenacious rebounded who dominated players much taller than him, Wes was also an excellent passer and is the Bullets/Wizards all-time leader with 3,822 assists (double Gilbert.) In retirement Wes filled many roles for the Bullets/Wizards including coach and GM and spent 30+ years with the organization. Happy 64th Mr. Unseld.

Happy birthday Darrell Walker. Darrell played 4 seasons for the Bullets from 1987-90. Darrell was a point guard who wore #5. Darrell came to the Bullets (along with Mark Alarie,) from Denver in a trade for Michael Adams and Jay Vincent. Darrell appeared in 283 games as a Bullet, averaging 8.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 6.0 APG. His best season came in 89-90, when he nearly averaged a triple double 9.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG & 8.0 APG. In retirement Darrel worked in the Bullets front office and was briefly the head coach in 2000, going 15-23 during his brief tenure. Darrell is currently an assistant coach for the Pistons. Happy 49th Mr. Walker.

Happy birthday Kwame Brown. Kwame played 4 seasons as forward and center for the Wizards from 2001-2005. Kwame was the first high school player selected #1 overall, evidently because he played well in 1 on 1 games vs. Michael Jordan. Kwame proved to be a bust, as he averaged only 7.7 PPG and 5.5 RPG in his 253 games as a Wizard. His best season was 2003 when he averaged 10.9 & 7.4. The Wizards were able to salvage something from the KB experiment; they traded him in 2005 for Caron Butler. Kwame is still hanging on in the NBA, currently averaging 3.2 PPG for the Pistons. Happy 28th (yes he’s only 28) Mr. Brown.

Happy birthday Caron Butler. Caron was recently traded to the Mavericks, interrupting his 5th season with the Wizards. Caron had a great career with the Wizards, making 2 all-star teams while averaging 19.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG & 3.5 APG. The NBA recently banned Caron from chewing on his straws during games, something he’s done for years. It’s yet to affect his game, he’s averaging 17 pts and the Mavericks have won all 12 games he’s appeared in. Happy 30th Mr. Butler.

Cheers and Hail

Redskins: A Booty Call No More

Siskel & Ebert gave Booty Call 2 Thumbs up?

It was what every NFL agent and every NFL player anxiously awaited, the middle of the night phone call from Ashburn, VA asking…do you want to come over? The agent and player might put up a soft fight for a little bit, “I don’t know it’s late, you know I’m sorta seeing the Giants right now.” But, they would be won over by the private plane rides and the wining, dining and …the money!

But, all is quiet at Ashburn this year and Redskins fans don’t quite know what to think. We, as fans, have been trained to expect the big name free agents to come to Redskins Park to not only visit, but to sign lucrative contracts that we can both praise and bitch about. This is the way things work, right? Not this year. Redskins One sits quietly at Dulles Airport and the pilots have had some unexpected time off. Agents are checking the batteries of their cell phones to make sure they are working properly, the free-agent tracker has nothing to track and Morton’s business is way off compared to last year.

The booty calls have been reversed and now it’s the agents calling and begging if their clients can come over. It’s the Redskins saying “you can, but I’ll tell you right now nothings going to happen.” The Morton’s steaks have been replaced with an intern placing an order at Chick Fil A. The private jet has been replaced by train and bus tickets. Terl’s dropping Randle El off at Union Station, he can pick up Willie Parker at the same time.

Ok, I am embellishing the story a little bit. Of course the Redskins brass is still going to dine at Morton’s or The Palm. But, by not making major changes so far in free agency, it proves that things have indeed majorly changed. It’s a new day at Redskins Park…so far that has meant addition by subtraction. And so far, I’m happy with that. The only possible free agent I personally liked was Darren Sproles, who never made it to free agency (I think the Redskins may have made a move on him had he become available.) I can’t shed any tears over the cuts the Redskins made, although I appreciate the time the players spent in burgundy and gold (except for Randle El.)

The Redskins still have major holes to fill and I expect they have a master plan on how to do that. It’s obviously a slow developing plan and not an immediate results plan, which tells me that Dan Snyder is not calling these shots. Again, addition by subtraction. But, I did hear that Dan called Vinny the other night in the wee hours of the night, just for old time sake…”you wanna come over?”

Cheers and Hail

Editors Note: While writing this post I realized I am so old that when I was a college aged kid making booty calls there were no cell phones, internet, email, texting or Skype. I had to do the 1 ring and hang up phone call technique, hoping that some chick would hear it and call me back. The moral of the story? Women should rejoice that I never had such forms of mass communication in my heyday, I would have been a drunken pain in the ass.

Cal Ripken Jr…Skipper?

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Radio Cal Ripken expressed an interest in returning to the game as a major league manager. Ripken was quoted as saying, “I’m starting to think about it a little more now. When my boy goes off to college, if there’s a time to come back to the game, maybe that’s the time.”

I’ll be honest, I’ve never pictured my favorite athlete of all-time managing, despite the fact that he was born and bred to do it. I picture Cal as the G.M. or the owner of a MLB team, not an actual field coach…I see his brother Billy as a manager. And when we talk about Cal having any position with a MLB team, whether it be manager, G.M. or owner…it has to be with the Orioles…right? I can’t see Cal becoming the manager of the Marlins or the Nats.

This is a make or break year for Dave Trembley, regardless of Cal’s words. Anything less than .500 will probably lead to Trembley’s dismissal. Would Andy Macphail be confident enough to hire Cal to be the manager? Cal would certainly demand more power than any other manager…ever. And how much money would it take? A S-load. And every crab eating O’s fan out there is going to clamouring for Cal to be the next manager, any other choice and the B&O Warehouse will be receiving bomb threats.

For the record Cal’s son Ryan is only a sophomore in high school, so by Cal’s words we’re talking about 2 years from now. But, with Cal being on record as saying he would like to manage…let the countdown begin.

Cheers and Hail