Archive for April, 2012

Former Redskins Kicker Chip Lohmiller Is Suing The NFL For Concussions?!

I want to start this post by saying that I have a tremendous amount of respect for the former players of the NFL. I’ve gone on record many times stating that former players deserve better health and retirement benefits. There’s no doubt that the $100 million dollar payrolls and $100 million dollar contracts of today would’ve never existed if the road hadn’t been paved by former players who played for thousands of dollars while holding down second jobs.

With that being said, I look at the recent concussion lawsuits brought against the NFL and I have to question if some of the players listed as plaintiffs are only looking to make some easy money. Here’s a list of former Redskins reported to be plaintiffs in the lawsuit:

Michael Batiste
Keith Biggers
Jason Doering
Brad Fichtel
Terrell Hoage
Ethan Horton
Ernie Hanet
Bruce Kimball
Ronald Middleton
Ed Simmons
Walter Stanley
James Steffen

I pride myself in being pretty knowledgeable concerning my Redskins history, but I have no idea who some of these guys are. I’m ok with Hoage, Horton, Middleton, Simmons, Stanley and Steffen being included as each of those former players played in 80+ NFL games. Batiste, Doering and Kimball combined to start 8 NFL games. Fichtel (Fichtel/Einhorn, Fichtel/Einhorn..Fichtel is Eihhorn?!) played in 1 more NFL game than I have…which is to say he played in 1 game. Profootballreference.com has no record of Biggers or Hanet ever playing in a NFL game.

This lawsuit certainly lacks star power. Mark Rypein is the face of the lawsuit…or the crater face of the lawsuit. Rypein says he suffers from memory loss and other side effects of post-concussion syndrome and I have no reason to doubt his claims. I do have reason to doubt the claims of guys who never suited up in a NFL game and I have reason to doubt that a former kicker suffers from post-concussion symptoms.

That’s right, Chip Lohmiller has joined the lawsuit against the NFL. A kicker is suing the NFL in a concussion lawsuit!!! This should be immediate grounds for dismissing the case. I know Lohmiller was a big guy and he may have made an occasional special teams tackle…but are you kidding me with this?! He was more likely to suffer a concussion in some bizarre practice kicking session on an errant bounce into the practice net than suffering permanent disability from a NFL game.

It’s also been reported that “former” Redskins Tony Mandarich and Todd Marinovich are included in the lawsuit. To my knowledge neither player ever played for the Redskins. I guess reporters only assumed they were former Redskins because they’re two of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.

In closing I’d again like to state how much respect I have for former NFL players. And I apologize if any of the players I singled out sincerely suffer from permanent disabilities that they have as a result of playing the violent game of football. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you know. Neal Olkewicz had over 1500 tackles and suffered many concussions, where’s he at?

Cheers and Hail

When Phil And Gary Cut Down The Nets All That’s Good In DMV Sports Went With It

10 years ago yesterday Juan Dixon and Gary Williams cut down the nets in the Georgia Dome, celebrating the Maryland Terrapins first National Basketball Championship. 10 years ago today, my life as a fan of DMV sports teams started a 10 year run of futility that I thought I would never witness in my lifetime.

Before I dive into the depressing facts of my last 10 years as a fan of the Orioles, Redskins, Terps and Wizards…I want to acknowledge that very special 2001-2002 Terps team. Gary led a group of overachievers to a 32-4 overall record and a 15-1 ACC mark. The Terps took down basketball powerhouses Wisconsin, Kentucky, Uconn, Kansas and Indiana during the tourney on their way to the title. Guys like Lonny Baxter, Steve Blake, Byron Mouton, Drew Nicholas and Chris Wilcox all played key roles for the team. To this day…maybe forever, Juan Dixon remains my all-time favorite college basketball player.

Now, the aftermath. I root with a passion for the four teams I mentioned earlier. I’m a Caps fan as well, but not to the extent of the other 4 teams. Since April 1, 2002 not one of the four teams I root for have won a title. Not 1 of those teams have even played for a title. In the case of the Orioles, Redskins and Wizards, well, the last 10 years have down right sucked. Sure, there’s been a few minor bright spots, but all in all it’s been bad, real bad. Here’s a look at my decade of suck:

Baltimore Orioles - The Orioles are 227 games under .500 during the last 10 seasons. They’ve finished next to last or last in the AL East 9 out of those 10 years and have a 4 year streak of finishing last. The Orioles have gone thru 6 managers since 2002. The O’s have lost 930 games during the last 10 years!!!

Maryland Terrapins - The football team had a nice little run from 01-03’ winning 2 bowl games and finishing in the top 20 each year. Since 2004 things have not been so good. The Terps are 46-52 and have finished below .500 in four of the last eight seasons. The basketball team did win the ACC Tournament in 2004 but since then they’ve missed the NCAA tournament in 5 out of 8 seasons and have finished in the top 20 just 2 times. Overall, Maryland athletics is the team that has let me down the least over the last 10 years.

Washington Redskins - The Redskins have had just 2 winning seasons in the last 10 years. They both came under Joe Gibbs and the little runs they went on to make the playoffs those 2 seasons were enjoyable. Other than those 2 short runs and 1 playoff win, it’s pretty much been a nightmare. The Redskins are 65-95 over the last 10 seasons. The Redskins have had 4 Head Coaches during the last 10 years.

Washington Wizards - The Wizards had a run where they made the playoffs 4 seasons in a row but couldn’t get over the hump and their window for success closed very rapidly. The Wizards have had 4 seasons when they have won less than 31% of their games. The Wizards have had 5 Head Coaches during the last 10 seasons and are 110 games below .500, in the last 3 years alone!

To recap, my favorite teams have gone thru 19 head coaches/managers in the last 10 years. These teams have combined to have non-winning seasons 28 times during that span. I moved to Florida 8 years ago but I’ve continued to root for these teams. I’ve never once wavered in my loyalty. I think I’m due for a little payback…the last 10 years have been rough.

Cheers and Hail

Look It’s Billy Bob Thornton XIII

Sorry for the back to back BBT posts…but the similarities are uncanny.

Ryan Leaf

Butthead

Leaf’s been arrested twice in the last 4 days burglary, definite butt head move.

Cheers and Hail

Look, It’s Billy Bob Thornton XII

Mark Rypein

Mark Rypein is suing the NFL over memory problems he has related to concussions he suffered during his NFL playing career. Not to make light of his condition, but I hope he forgets soon after looking in the mirror that he looks like a flamboyantly gay classical musician.

Cheers and Hail