Sunday, July 30, 2006

Al Saunders - The Redskins' New Sheriff

The Redskins' New Sheriff Ok, here's my theory. Gibbs has been back for two years. Greg Williams has been his (kick ass) defensive coordinator for both years. At the end of last year, everyone thought Williams would leave to take a head coaching job, but guess what? He signed an extension on his contract for three more years. What do I think? Dan Snyder & Coach Gibbs convinced Williams to stay on for the remainder of Gibbs' tenure by promising him the Head Coach job when Gibbs left. Smart move, I think. Ok. Then, after the end of the season last year, we hear Al Saunders, offensive coordinator of the highest scoring offenses in the league for the past two years, has been hired to take over the offense for Gibbs. After reading this article, I'm guessing that the feeling in the league is that he's proven himself as a coordinator, but doesn't have the proven leadership ability to take the top spot. So what does he do? He takes a job as offensive coordinator under one of the greatest coaches and leaders in the history of the NFL. A coach who had done wonders with his team, but has floundered a bit on offense. A team that has a great defense, but has needs help delivering the ball into the end zone. So with the some of the best offensive and defensive coaches in the league, with some of the most creative free agent financing and acquisitions in the off season, it looks like the Skins will have the ability to go all the way this year. That's what we get out of it. What does Saunders get? He gets to watch the master in action. He gets to watch and learn from a cocah who has won three Super Bowls. He gets to learn how to be a head coach in the National Football League. And three years from now, when Gibbs has proven that he still has what it takes to win a Super Bowl and retires again, and Williams takes his place at the top spot in the franchise, Saunders will have his choice of teams to call his own.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

It's Back, Baby!

The Contender is back! Prime time, baby! WOO HOO!! Unfortunately for Chrissy, the two-hour premiere started at 10:00, so she didn't make it to the second fight. She's just not a night owl. First fight shocked me. From everything that everyone had seen to that point, I don't think anyone expected "K-9" Bundrage to beat Michael Clark. He just seemed too awkward and raw during sparring. Clark seemed to be the experienced one with the skills. Unfortunately for him, though, K-9 was too strong and he kept Clark away with the long jab. He used it effectively to keep Clark from getting close enough to hurt him. Kept him from putting together combinations. The second fight, Norberto Bravo (35 years old!) beat Rudy Cisneros by split decision. I was surprised it wasn't unanimous. Not shocked, but surprised. Both fighters scored pretty much non-stop for 5 rounds, but Bravo was just the more skilled fighter. Cisneros looked good, though. Nothing to be ashamed of. A few interesting changes from last season. No challenges on the first episode. Pretty much introduced the fighters, let them choose teams, and let them pick their first fighter without knowing what the other side would do. The team that won the first fight chose the second fight. The winning boxer also got to choose his place for the next fight. They had a big ol' board on the wall with a playoff-style bracket showing the matchups through the final round. The trick is that K-9 got to choose his spot in Round 2 (1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th fight), but no one knows yet who his opponent will be. Interesting. Can't wait for next week!

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Not That There's Anything Wrong With That...

Can I? Dare I say it? I love Clinton Portis! Not that I'm gay or anything (see title of this post). Aside from his obvious talent (1,516 rushing yards last year) and his great sense of humor (Southeast Jerome), I think the man is a great team player. Just read what he says about the upcoming season. Watch him play. He always knows where the ball is and is aware of what is happening in any given play. More importantly, he doesn't stop playing until after the play is over. How many times do you see people standing around doing nothing because they thought they heard a whistle, only to see someone run right past them with the ball? You never see Portis do that. He hustles until the bitter end... and then keeps going. He also has a bit of a reputation as a man-about-town, but come on, the guy's 24, single, good looking (see title again) and rich. BUT you don't hear about him getting arrested for pulling a gun on someone (you listening, Sean?). Is it obvious? I'm an admirer!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Spider-Man 3

Holy Crap!! Damn, this looks killer! Sandman - Looks good. I bet he will look even better once the f/x are finished. The black costume looks great. Not identical to the comics version, but works better for the big screen. My guess is that it will come back from the moon with Jameson's son. Peter will get rid of it in the same was as he does in the comics (sound waves from a bell tower) and it will attach to Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) much as it did in the comics. Possible setup for SM4? Looks like Harry gets on the glider, too, but my guess is that he does it as a favor to Mary Jane to try to stop Peter from hurting anyone, especially himself. The teaser kicks ass. I can't wait for May 2007!! Argh!