Redskins Training Camp

Well, it's almost upon us. Camp starts this Thursday, I believe. (Why it starts on a Thursday, I have no clue.) I've thought about going to Fan Appreciation Day, but I think I'll pass. a) Don't want to go solo. b) It's going to be hotter than Hades, not to mention humidity roughly equal to that of the Atlantic. c) The older I get, the more crowd averse I get.

As we get closer to the season, naturally, all the prognosticators have to put in their $0.02. Not too many people are giving us much of a chance. I think the collapse of the O-line in the 2nd half of the season is looming large in everyone's mind. I, on the other hand, think we'll do much better than last year. I certainly hope so. Of course, I am optimistic. I am a fan, no? In any case, it's not entirely without cause. Our defense, already ranked 4th last year, has added Albert Haynesworth. He should draw double, sometimes triple coverage in the middle, meaning someone else should come free to go after the QB. His presence also should effectively shut down (or at least limit) the middle lane for RBs. We also added Orakpo on the line and Daniels is back and healthy. In the secondary, we re-signed Hall and Rogers has had a full offseason of working on a healthy knee. No question our defense should be greatly improved over its already spectacular performance last season.

The greatest question marks appear on the offense. Here's why I think we'll do better this season. Campbell is in his 2nd year under Zorn. His handling of the off-season shenanigans of Snyder & Cerrato shows his maturity and determination to be the leader of this team. I think he will make great strides this season. Last year's rookie receivers are now healthy, know the system, have adjusted to NFL speed and have had an entire offseason to work with Campbell. I think they will step up and give defenses someone to cover other than Moss. Portis, as usual, is a machine (though I don't get the new look...). Another 1,000+ season. The O-line is the only area of concern. They've certainly gotten younger, with the release of Jansen & Kendall and the return of Dock. The question is, will they gel as a unit and stay healthy? If they do, I think there's no limit to what this offense can achieve. Apparently, Madden 10 agrees with me...

Two for Two!!

For the second night in a row, Larry Michael read one of my questions on Redskins Nation!! Last night, I asked if the Skins would consider putting Rock Cartwright in on punt returns. Tonight, in response to the recent press release regarding the changes in the parking and tailgating rulse, I asked what the shuttle situation would be this year. This time, they didn't use my last name, but they still said "Michael from Crofton." Those were my only two emails so far, so I guess I'm going to have to come up with some more questions.

I'm Famous!!

Most people who know me (and many who don't) know that I am a big Redskins fan (and season ticket holder!). There's a show I've been DVR-ing and watching on Comcast SportsNet called Redskins Nation. It's a nightly show, hosted by Larry Michael, who does the play-by-play on the Redskins radio broadcasts. Every show, they do a segment with fan questions. People can write in and ask questions, and Larry and the Official Redskins Blogger, Matt Terl, answer. Tonight, they led the segment with a question I sent in last week! They even said my full name and location, so there was no doubt it was me! Yaaayy!!

Double Lobster

I guess any weekend where you have two lobster meals can't be all bad. On Saturday, Chrissy's company had their annual summer gathering. This year, it was at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. They have a Fosters Clambake tent right by the water. I think I heard that the clambake goes on every weekend, but they rent out for groups on occasion, too. In any case, they had the company picnic there on Saturday.

They served clam chowder, steamers, lobster, grilled chicken for the non-shellfish peeps, corn & potatoes with blueberry cake for dessert. The weather in the morning was very cloudy and icky, and "they" were predicting possible intermittent showers through the day, and temps around 91. I think that scared some people away, as somewhere around 1/2 the people who had RSVP'd that they were coming didn't show. Fortunately for us, that meant that, as we left, there was lots o' lobster leftover, and they began giving it away! So we each took one home with us and warmed them up yesterday! Yummy!

Facebook v. Blog

I was updating some info on my blog, when I realized I hadn't updated in forever. I realize a lot of this is due to now being on Facebook. I hadn't realized quite how long it had been, though. I guess all I can say is that I'll try to do better... Right now, though, I need coffee.

Back from the Bluegrass!

Granted, it was only 5 days off (2 of which were the weekend, so we had them off anyway), but a vacation is a vacation... even if it's just a mini. Chrissy and I took a few days off work and went to Kentucky to see some horsies. We left early early Thursday morning from BWI and flew into Louisville. We picked up a car there, and headed to Churchill Downs, where they run the Kentucky Derby. We did the walking tour, and visited the Derby museum, where I ran into a woman who was doing research and taking photos for a book she is doing on things to do in Kentucky. She took my picture on a racehorse simulator, so I may appear in a photo collage in her book! Then we went to Woodford Reserve distillery. Woodford is the official bourbon of the Derby. Nice tour and nice tasting there. I won't go into full details on everything, or this post will be more like a novel.

Highlights - we visited the following stables: Vinery, Three Chimneys and Darley. We visited Old Friends, which is a retirement farm for former thoroughbred race horses. Spent quite a bit of time with Michael Blowen, who started and runs Old Friends. We went to Keeneland race course on Saturday. Went to the Kentucky Horse Park on Sunday, and took a horse park tour (including Winstar Farms). We had dinner at Malone's steakhouse (a Top 10 in the Country on a few different lists). I tried bison for the first time, at Ted's Montana Grill, not Malone's (pretty good - not as tender as beef, but similar flavor). One of the funniest things that happened was when we were at Vinery. We saw a horse there named Repent. I went to pet him, and he moved his head around. Didn't quite try to nip my fingers, but not far from it. Then, I went to scratch his chin. Well, that must have just been the magic spot for him, because the moment my fingers made contact, he about fell into a trance. He became perfectly still. After a bit, I stopped, and he began moving around again. Then I went for the chin again, and sure enough, he froze. Cracked me up! Check it out...


Anyway, overall it was a very good trip. Saw lots of horses, had lots of good food. Did a lot of running around, though. Now, we're trying to catch up on our sleep. Not doing a very good job, I might add. I think I need another vacation.

P.S. Congrats to Sharon & Steve! They finally made it home yesterday after a long, arduous process to adopt their new daughter from Russia. Welcome home, Victoria!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Today is the 15th birthday of our cat, Buddy! Actually, since Chrissy was his 3rd or 4th owner, we don't really know how old he is, but based on estimates from his vet records, and pictures of when he was little, we estimated. Also, I'm not sure how, but I seem to remember having some sort of indication that this was the time of year he was born, so we just picked this day... He's getting up there in years, and he's definitely slowed down a bit, but he's still doing pretty well. He's still seems happy. He's still interested in food. He eats, drinks, and uses the litter box. He still sleeps on my chest every night. Actually, he starts on my chest, then moves down to my legs, then (usually) will move on to the bed at some point, but not always. Occasionally, the alarm clock goes off and he's still on my legs. :-) He's so sweet...

Country Week

I'll keep this brief, since I'm home sick. It was country week on Idol, with mentor Randy Travis. Oddly, no one sang a Randy Travis song. Michael sang Garth Brooks. They're always saying they want to see what kind of artist someone will be, and Michael showed it. Good job. Allison sang Blame it on Your Heart. The song was a bit old for her, but at least none of the judges mentioned her age! Woo Hoo! Kris, Danny, Anoop and Megna all kicked ass! Lil was ok, but seemed a bit uncomfortable. Scott wasn't great, but he keeps going through, I think, because no one wants to vote against a blind guy. Alexis did pretty well, but the judges weren't crazy about her performance. Matt did well, but not as great as the judges thought. Adam was just weird. He sang some weird middle eastern arrangement of Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. I hated it, but then I'm biased. I can't stand him. We'll see what America thinks. I'm hoping he goes home, but I could see Allison or Lil going home instead.

What the Hell is Wrong with PETA?

Did you hear about this? PETA wants to make Clooney-flavored tofu, called CloFu. Seriously. Not a joke, people. They apparently got a hold of a gym towel that he had used to wipe down after exercising. Now, normally, what would be your first thought upon finding such a trophy? Sell it on eBay! I'm sure some fanatical Clooney stalker would pay $300 for a hermetically sealed baggie containing a moldy towel dripping with George Clooney's sweat. But no. Some genius at PETA decided a better use for the towel would be... to... take the sweat and make... tofu? Yeah. That makes sense. Aside from the fact that making anything edible from anyone's bodily fluids is enough to make the average person vomit, I don't see the connection. Clooney doing voiceovers for Budweiser? That, I get. He's a man's man. Men want to be him, women want to be with him. So an all-American beer is the kind of product people might associate with him. But tofu? Sweat-flavored tofu? Aye yi yi...

Group 3

I don't know if previous seasons were like this and I just don't remember, or if it's just an odd season. Lots of lackluster performances by very talented singers. Lots of bad song choices. Not a lot of clear cut favorites. Von was good, but still a bit shouty for my tastes. Taylor was ok, I think. Don't really remember, which isn't very good. Alex is nice, and a good singer, but it was a bad performance. Arianna was just a mess, and I think she knew it. Ju'Not was very good, but I don't know if it was good enough to go on. Wild card, maybe? Kristen took all the soul out of Gimme One Reason. In her intro clip, she introduced herself as a karaoke host, and it absolutely showed in her performance. Nathaniel can actually sing, but is very very annoying. Big time Drama Queen. Ick. Felicia, on the other hand, was fantastic. Great performance, great look, great vocals. She's my first pick to go through. Scott sang Bruce Hornsby, big surprise. I think he struggled. Lots of pitchy parts. He seems nice, but I think he gets by in the competition because of the blindness. Based on his performances in Hollywood, I wouldn't have sent him through to the finals. If he could see, I don't think he would be where he is now. Kendall was hot. That's about all I can say for her. Jorge was great. Best of the men's performances, I think. He's my #2 pick. Lil Rounds finished off the show with a bang. Smokin' hot, fantastic voice. She's my 3rd pick to go on. Easily the best of the night.