i am going combine these two..

I am going to combine these two because they are about the same city. or District. First the good. Mike Shanahan was hired by the Washington Redskins. As a Giant fan I am scared because Shanahan has rings and can coach. This division now has four top notch coaches and competition in the division will be heated. If you asked me who I would root for other than the Giants in this division I would say Washington. The Redskins have always had a proud tradition of putting out quality football teams and memorable players. I really dislike Dallas and I really abhor Philly. The Redskins are a real mess though. They spend soooo much money every year and don win a thing. The defense is good but the offense needs help at quarterback position. He has weapons to throw to and if Clinton Portis can stay healthy they have players to do damage. Portis played for Shanahan so he is familiar with his system. The owner Daniel Snyder has tried every thing to get the Redskins back on track. The Redskins played in a super bowl in the 70's, 80's and 90's and were one of the elite organizations of that 30 year period. They have had some bad luck with draft picks and coaches who could not get it done. The Redskins are going to need time and I wish them well.
The other news is something that I cannot truly believe. I watched in horror as Gilbert Arenas last night did his pre game introduction mocking shooting a gun. I am stunned that a man that might forfeit his 111 million dollar salary would be poking fun at something that isn't funny. The team changed its name from the bullets to the wizards because the owner was embarrassed because his district was known for being the murder capitol of the world. I cannot believe that in lieu of what happened with Plaxico Burress that any professional athlete would even touch a gun. I heard that some one said that 75% of NBA player have or carry a gun does not disturb me because basketball players still hang out with their boys from back in the day and love to go to clubs. The difference between Baseball players and Basketball players is usually the baseball player has a game in the early afternoon and cannot stay out all night and party. Don't get me wrong, I know several that do but a NBA player does not usually have to report to the arena until later in the day. (I digress)..The point is NBA players tend to hangout in environments that may require them to need protection. So I understand why they have guns. I even understand Gilbert bringing his gun to the arena to store it away from his kids. Nothing more sad than hearing about kids who find their parents gun and accidentally kill someone or themselves. But for Gilbert taunting people in his blogs or making fun of the situation, I don't think we would be caring so much about the topic. He really thought that by telling the police and D.A. that it was over and a load off of his mind? To do what he did last night and his teammates doing it to was sickening. He will never play in the league again. He will probably go to jail and forfeit his contract because so many people are speaking out against him. Even Reverend Sharpton spoke out against Arenas and in turn Gilbert went off on him!!!! The absolute sad part about this is that there is not a person who does not like Gilbert Arenas. He is so funny, agreeable, approachable, articulate. I can not believe that this is happening to him. When he hurt his knee i felt horribly for him and his family. This guy was what the NBA is all about. He earned the right to have that kind of salary. He played his way into a big contract with his performances on the court. He is ruined.....and today is his birthday...

take that.....

When I was a child, my favorite baseball player was Reggie Jackson. He walked the walk and more than often talked the talk. When the Yankees traded him the the California Angels in 1981, I was crushed. I couldn't believe that Mr. Steinbrenner had the stones to get rid of his only draw. They had Winfield and he just stunk it up in the world series, Guidry was coming back to earth. They had made so many runs with is team that it finally got old. They still had Nettles, Randolph, Pinella, Cerone, Tommy John. The team just did not have what it took i guess to make another run at a championship. At least that is what Steinbrenner thought. Then it happened. The Angels came to town for a three game series. I remember Guidry was pitching extremely well that night. Reggie hadn't really done anything in the game. Then in the eight inning, the score of the game I believe was 1-0 Yankees when Reggie came up to bat with a runner on first. It started to rain a little bit and Bob Lemon left Guidry in to face Reggie. I don't remember the count but, Gator made a mistake pitch and Reggie hit the ball so deep into the upper deck that i did not think the ball was going to land. The crowd all leaped to their feet and cheered loudly and started chanting George Must Go, George Must GO, GEORGE MUST GO!!!. The Angels won that 3-1. I never rooted for the Yankees again after that season. A week later the Yankees came out to the West Coast and Reggie hit homers in his first two at bats off of Guidry in game one of the series. I remember Warner Wolf poking fun at the Yankees for letting Reggie go. He actually that year hit 39 homers and drove in 101 runs. So i guess he wasn't done.
As i watched Brett Favre yesterday carve up the Packers for the second straight time i could only think of Reggie. I wonder Ted Thompson feels like today.. I am sure that there are other players that have gone up against their former teams and did well against them and defeated them, but none like what Reggie and Favre did. Favre was the Packers. He made them significant again after 25 years of obscurity. The Packers stunk in 70's, 80,s and finally came back to life in the early 90's. The way they treated him wasn't right although understandable. Sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for your organization and they felt that Aaron Rodgers was the answer. Aaron Rodgers is a great fantasy quarterback because he fills up a stat sheet like no other. His dilemma is that he needs to start winning games. If I was Favre I would have been more smug than he was in his interviews after the game. I just wish he would have said what every one else is thinking. If I was a packer fan today, I would be in mourning and hiding.. There is a tradition at Lambeau field where when the opposing teams bus arrives there is usually a line of fans that moon the bus. Today i would keep my pants up and would never pull them down again.
One of my favorite take that stories is that of "agent 0" Gilbert Arenas. When Gilbert was left off of the "Dream Team" he vowed that he would make the teams of the coaches that did not pick him pay for cutting him. He did. He scored like 64 points against Phoenix and Portland got torched for like 60. After the game the coach of the Blazers I think was Nate McMillan and he said that Duke better watch out because he 's coming for them next. I may not the details right but the point was that Gilbert wanted revenge and felt he got some against these teams. Revenge is sweet, but victory is better!!! I got to see Wayne Gretzky play the Kings as a Ranger and he scored a goal early in the game. (My First live Hockey game). The crowd went nuts for him and they treated him like he was still a Kings player.