Chat with Our Sports Expert

Thanks for the kind words. Many more to come, I hope. As for giving Edsall a chance, I feel that you can’t have it both ways. If Maryland truly wants to be considered a football power and not the kitschy little also-ran in the ACC that carries Florida State’s helmet around, there has to be a cutthroat approach regarding results. That means coaches have short leashes if they underperform. And I’d say taking a 9–4 team and turning it into a 2-8 team IS underperforming. Plus, Terps fans are a little spoiled by the fact that in Fridge’s first year they went 10–2 and made the Orange Bowl. To quote Aaron Sorkin (which I do often), “This is big boy camp.”

It’s not impossible, but I’d say if the next seven days expire without some major backtracking, then likely all hope is lost. I was honestly shocked by the developments of the last 72 hours. And I think both sides have been equally foolish. The players have been the most foolish by far—the difference between the 51/49 deal and the 50/50 deal and the 49/51 deal are miniscule compared to what they stand to lose if the entire season is scrapped. That’s a math equation that more players should be doing in their heads. On one level, I admire that they are thinking about the future of the NBAPA and player incomes for future generations, but pragmatically, if the average NBA career is 4-6 years, by sacrificing an entire season they would be kissing off a goodly percentage of their career earnings. Not sure I’d do that. Equally, I blame David Stern for painting the players into a corner. This whole notion of a “ticking clock” at the expiration of which the NBA’s offer would get worse is draconian bullying. Stern is treating the players like children and I believe that approach is what has in large measure caused the players’ recalcitrance. Then again, with an estimated three fourths of NBA teams losing money last year, maybe they WANT to miss the season.

As for Georgetown’s chances, I have spent quite a bit of time around the program lately for a piece you’ll see in Washingtonian in the new year and here’s what I’ve learned: Don’t use the “R” word around McDonnough’s gym. The “R” word is “Rebuilding” and Hoya people don’t like it—even though it may be an apt term to describe what they’re going through this year. They’ve been picked 10^th in the Big East. Hard to argue that when you lose stars like Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. Hollis Thompson and Henry Sims are the linchpins to a respectable season. They’ve been good in the first two games (Sims had a career-high 19 in the opener against Savannah State, which I attended), but they need to provide leadership to a roster that has five freshmen. They got off to a rough start with that brawl in China this summer, but I think that experience (not just the fight, but the trip in general) will create cohesion in this team that is searching for an identity. One thing I know: JT3 will get every ounce out of them.

I think so. And the biggest reason may be that unlike Edsall, Turgeon seems to be operating with the full backing of the previous administration. Turgeon’s hiring was blessed by outgoing Gary Williams and consequently the fans and alumni have gotten behind Turgeon. It hasn’t hurt that Turgeon has said all the right things and struck all the right notes in his comments. He seems to “Get” Maryland. Conversely, (as I stated in my column last week) the Edsall-for-Friedgen trade was not well executed. It was Kevin Anderson’s first big move at Maryland, and I suspect if he had it to do over again, he’d do some things differently—perhaps not do it at all. As for Turgeon’s prospects on the court, some tough losses—Jordan Williams should be in his junior season, instead he’ll be playing (or not playing) for the Nets. They also lose Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker, and Dino Gregory. They were 7-9 in the ACC last year. A lot of pressure on Mosley and Stoglin to fill voids. Team didn’t look overly impressive in first two games against Northwood (5-point margin) and UNCW (9-point margin). And as always, the ACC is a beeyotch.

Uyyy. Has to be offense. With Kerrigan and Orakpo (or “Kerrakpo” as my friend Brian Mitchell likes to refer to them) as the bread in your 3-4 sandwich and with Hall/Landry/Wilson in the D-backfield, that unit is not the problem. On offense, let’s list the issues: We need a quarterback, two receivers, a runningback (no disrespect to Roy Helu or the injured Tim Hightower), and most of an offensive line. Outside of tight end and left tackle you could argue the Redskins need everything on offense. Obviously they have to go after a young quarterback next year (though unless they can lose 11 games in the final eight weeks of the season, Andrew Luck will be long gone by the time they draft). My thing is, unless they make a major commitment to improving the line, whatever quarterback they draft will undergo exactly what happened to Jason Campbell—his development will be stunted because instead of reading defenses and going through his progressions, he’ll spend all his time running for his life—and that’s the kind of thing that will permanently damage a young quarterback.

I think the hot start may have lulled them into a minor state of complacency. Did you hear Mike Knuble’s rant last week about some of his teammates not being committed and not playing with full effort? It was pretty telling (he actually apologized the next day for being too blunt). These guys are supremely talented, and sometimes teams like that rely too much on talent alone and forget to work hard. That’s one of the reasons, in my opinion, that they’ve been underachievers in the post-season. Regular season hockey may be about talent and flashy goal scoring, byut playoff hockey is about grinding and defense and hard work. One of the bigger problems is they’re short on the blueline. Green out, Poti out, others out. They actually had Brooks Laich playing a full game on defense the other night. I know George McPhee is trolling around looking for defense right now, both in the NHL and in the minors.

This may be the year that we have a tough time. As mentioned in my previous answer, Georgetown is reloading (see, I didn’t say “rebuilding”). They’re picked to finish tenth in the conference minus Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. Maryland has a shot, but with a new coach, a number of key graduations, and Jordan Williams pulling the ripcord for the NBA, that might be a tough ask. Mason and GW are under new management. it might be time to expand your definition of “local teams” to include the Richmond area (less thatn 100 miles away)—remember what VCU and the Spiders did last year?

If you’re looking for someone to say something nice about Dan Snyder, you’ve come to the wrong Web chat. I think the guy is a megalomaniacal, duplicitous egomaniac who couldn’t find the good end of public opinion if he had Mother Theresa on one side of him and Oprah on the other. I think he has show a pattern over 11 years of capricious decision-making, shoddy leadership, and a sense of entitlement that makes him feel like he is not only better than you, but above the law (as evidenced by his frivolous lawsuit against the Washington City Paper,which was recently dismissed). Based on his results with Six Flags and Johnny Rockets, he doesn’t seem to be much of a businessman. Sure, he developed a fortune in the mid-’90s during the Internet bubble—so did a lot of guys who didn’t deserve it, but I worry that his willy-nilly knee-jerk management style could do long-term damage to this historic franchise—as if it already hasn’t. The good news is, he is now aware of his own reputation, and I think this will force him to stick with the Shanahans long enough that some of their (and Bruce Allen’s) positive institutional changes make actually take hold.

I wrote yesterday how disappointed I am that Maryland finds it necessary to cut these programs. Many, many schools are facing the same issues and many have cut sports. In some cases, alumni and parents have come to the eleventh hour rescue with donations to endow the sports, but in many cases they have been casualties of the faltering economy. Here’s why I think Maryland needs to keep most (if not all) of these programs: because they’re a bigtime school—and bigtime scools have swim teams and tennis teams. I know they’re not revenue generators, but a lot of things that are part of college campuses are not revenue generators. But they add to the overall allure and prestige of the institution. Over time when you eliminate these things, you slowly erode a school’s stature. I guarantee you Harvard will never cut the swim team (I know, Harvard has the biggest endowment on earth). I think the relation to Title IX is part of what these cuts are meant to accommodate. They need to keep a balance in male-female scholarship opportunities, and I’m sure these cuts will be done in such a way that maintains the necessary ratios keeping in mind that football isn’t going anywhere and won’t have women. Not sure how the Penn State issue plays into this at Maryland—unless the negativity surrounding their athletic program spreads to others, which I don’t expect. 

I’m torn on Shanny. I thought last year was a mess. I thought he bungled the Haynesworth fiasco—I thought he could have gotten something out of Big Al rather that humiliating and alienating him (although that was well deserved based on his behavior). But now that I see if even Belichick couldn’t get the Round Mound of Frown to produce, I guess no one could. I thought the switch to the 3-4 was a bad fit for the personnel he had last year, and it seemed to indicate to me that Shanahan was a guy who was not willing to adapt his system to the talent that occupied his roster. Stubborn. That’s not good. A year later (notwithstanding their record), I have softened my stance. He has purged the guys he didn’t want and who didn’t want to be here (addition by subtraction is big for this team), and now he’s assembling systems and people that show signs (at least on defense) of working. Kerrigan draft was brilliant. 3-4 is working. We’re getting QB pressure for the first time in a while. As mentioned above, the offense is a disaster, but the injuries have been insane this year and he has no QB. We need to be patient with that. Don’t forget how badly this team has been mismanaged over the past decade. Vinny Cerrato and Snyder ran the Redskins into the ground talentwise the same way MLB ran the Expos/Nats into the ground when the league was operating the team—only in this case the league WAS NOT operating the team, the owner and the GM were. It just so happens those two guys have no clue how to do that. It’s going to take Allen/Shanahan a number of years to dig out. I say hunker down. What’s the alternative?

I rode the elevator with Ted Leonsis last spring in Tampa down from the press box to the locker room after the sweep to the Lightning and based on the look on his face I thought sweeping change was about to come (meaning Boudreau was out). And that’s why Ted is a better owner than Dan Snyder—he didn’t do it. He knows he has a first class tactician and motivator in Boudreau, one his organization spent years cultivating in Hershey—and he’s not going to toss the guy out like yesterday’s paper. That said, if it happens again this year, it may be inevitable. Teams need new voices from time to time, and Bruce’s is one that can be both effective AND grating when you hear it day after day after day. You asked: What’s different? Joel Ward is different, Tomas Voukoun is different, Roman Hamerlik is different, Troy Brouwer is different. Can they change the culture of this franchise? Hard to say. I still believe the Caps only go as far as Ovi takes them and right now he is not the same playerd he was two years ago. He’s still good/great, but at the moment he’s not transcendent.

Hard to live in Maryland country and compliment Coach K, but I think we have to. Four national titles, 11 Final Fours, never a hint of scandal of impropriety—and all at a school that is an academic powerhouse. That’s not easy to do. The only other school that has achieved such athletic greatness on a consistent basis amid such super-elite academic excellence is Stanford. (Am I missing one? Remember, I said super-elite academics. Be honest, alumni.) And though many may be loathe to admit it, it all comes from Bobby Knight’s tree. That’s 1,800 wins between the two Coach Ks—one the protégé of the other.

I don’t play FF. I got roped into it a few years back, and I found that every time I tried to get away from my job, which is following sports, I wound up following sports. Not a good way to unwind. I gave it up, along with pork rinds and my third martini at lunch (but not my second).