The Washington Redskins have just put the finishing touches on their pre-season. What isn’t important is that the team went 2-2 this August. What is important is that they escaped the summer without having suffered any major injuries to key players. 

Jason Campbell has already returned from the bruised-knee he suffered two weeks ago. Marcus Washington isn’t expected to miss more than a game, if any at all, after leaving Washington’s second preseason-game with a dislocated elbow. Chris Samuels - who didn’t play in the preseason, should be ready to step back into the starting lineup when Washington opens its season. Read the rest »

BY THE END of this week, college students everywhere will have returned to their classrooms. (My second year at George Mason University will begin tomorrow.) It won’t be long before pools close and boats are winterized.

None of those occurrences is good. But they all help to signify the end of the summer and the commencement of another football season, which is better than good. Read the rest »

Here is the sound I gathered after Saturday’s loss to the Steelers. Overall, the locker room was pretty lively, which it should have been. Sure, the team lost, but the Redskins had the lead when the team’s starters were in the game. The first-team offense looked good and the starting defense looked better.

The fact that the Redskins lost couldn’t matter less. The loss that hurt was the an injury to Mike Espy, who will miss the entire season after tearing up his knee. Espy was supposed to have been the team’s fifth-receiver. Marcus Washington, a pro-bowl caliber linebacker, injured his elbow and will likely miss a few weeks. Starting quarterback Jason Campbell bruised his knee on a disgusting looking hit that looked like it could have resulted in much worse than a bruise. All-in-all though, Washington was pretty lucky on Saturday night, as Washington and Campbell should both be ready for the season-opener. Now, here’s some post-game sound… Read the rest »

The Washington Redskins have reached the midway point of their pre-season schedule. Through two games the team is 1-1. That couldn’t matter less. What does matter though is that the defense looks like it is going to play well this season, and that the passing-attack has shown flashes of brilliance.

Here are a few of my takes in the wake of Washington’s second pre-season game, a 12-10 loss at the hands of the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. Read the rest »

The Cincinnati Reds traded Jeff Conine to the New York Mets today. I get that. Conine is old and still a slightly-productive hitter. Sure, he no longer has the power that made him a cleanup-hitter for the Baltimore Orioles, but he’s still capable of putting together three nice at-bats a game, and of hitting for a respectable average. Read the rest »