Confused Anyone?

As the preseason in football comes to an end teams are ready for the real season to start. The Washington Redskins played their last preseason game last night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No starters played during the game, only second and third lines played (whoa, that sounds like a hockey term). One thing about the back-up players for the Skins that differs from so many of the other teams in the NFL is that most of the guys (unless they were just drafted) played last season because of all the starters that had injuries. So they have the experience to play in an NFL game and they're just making the coaching staff's jobs harder. All the teams need to have their final 53 man roster by Friday. They can sign some of the players to the practice squad after the final cut. The players in last night's game proved that the Skins finally do have more than one talented player.

Speaking of talented, Chris Cooley was released by the Skins on Wednesday. Cooley has been one of the bright spots on the roster for years, he was one of the players that kept fans watching and hoping that something would change. Fans kept watching to see him make the big plays, even if he had a bad year something inside still told you that it wasn't the end. I really didn't see what the Skins saw to cut him, if only that he was older side of the players on the team (the average age of a player on the Skins is 21). This season was shaping up to be one of his best. There's one thing I don't understand (besides this whole thing in general) is the fact that he announced it by himself, no Snyder or Shanahan in sight. He was the only one at the press conference. I don't know if that how he wanted to do it or not but the team could have sent someone form the coaching staff out there with him. Give him the respected he deserves, he has stay with your lousy team for eight seasons after all. I don't think this is the end of Cooley in the NFL, he most definitely could be picked up by another team who sees that he still has something left. So Cooley, you will be one of the greats of the Redskins in my mind and in many others. Wherever you go in the NFL people will be pulling for you (unless it's with the Cowboys, then all bets are off). Instead of HTTR (Hail to the Redskins) I say HTCC, Hail to Chris Cooley. Oh, the Skins did win 30-3.

Some in the baseball world were convinced that once the Nationals started to slide that they wouldn't stop till they hit rock bottom. Well, they didn't slide that far and they didn't even come close to hitting rock bottom. They lost five game straight before winning yesterday against the Marlins 8-4. Harper added another first to his growing list with two homers in the same game. I can understand how people could start to panic. This is the best season the team has had in years and after all those bright spots in seasons past but to be let down later on can wear on a person. This season was different, it wasn't just a bright spot it was a mega-watt light bulb shining in their faces. So when it came loose even for a little bit you begin to panic thinking that the bulb was fading when it just need to be fixed. As soon as it was fixed the light was back, nothing had happened to it, it was still as bright as ever. So if you're a Nats fan who was concerned that things were about to start coming apart at the seams, take a chill pill, Johnson knows what he's doing.

One last thing. I don't know, I don't think anyone knows but Lance Armstrong and his doctor if he used drugs. It doesn't matter if he did or didn't, what matters to me is that an agency thought that they had the right to take away all his titles. (I mean it's still really wrong to use drugs to get better at a sport but that's not the point of this post.) The USADA shouldn't have that kind of power. They should give their opinion to the Tour de France and other races and let those organizations make the choice to take away the titles from an athlete or not. Let the race officials choose, not some guys in lab coats and business suits. I'll leave it at that.

The NFL regular season starts on Wednesday Sept. 9th Cowboys vs. Giants at 8:30.

My Top Olympic Stories

First off I want to congratulate all the athletes who competed in the Olympic Games. Whether they won or not, they got to share in one of the most amazing athletic events on Earth.

Story #1: The Greatest Olympian Ever

Michael Phelps over the course of 4 Olympics has won 18 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, for a total of 22 medals (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012. He raced in Sydney but did not medal). In Beijing, Phelps won 8 gold medals, the most anyone has won during a single Games. Over the course of his career, he set 39 world records and holds seven currently. Sadly, this was the last contest of his career. Phelps won't be competing in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 games. Now some people don't like Phelps, which I can understand. He did make some majorly bad choices in his life and most of the problems he ran into where if his own making. Yet he over came them, all of them. He came back and still won, he proved to me that he IS the greatest Olympian ever; and honestly that's all that matters. Feel free to tell me your opinion but mine is still out there. Agree or disagree with me you still have to admit that he has had some amazing races.

Story #2: Pushing the Envelope

"Having a disability doesn't have to be a disadvantage." 

                                                                                  - Oscar Pistorius

Oscar proved that having his legs amputated at a young age won't stop him from running at the highest level. To even compete in the Olympic trials his prosthetics were tested to death, making sure that there was no way that they gave him an advantage. But in the Games themselves, he didn't medal. In his solo race he made it into the semifinals but didn't make it into the finals. The winner of that semi traded name tags with Oscar as a show of respect for what he did. In the 4x400m relay race the South Africa team was initially knocked out when another relay runner ran into the South African runner (who did something to his elbow, it was never clear to me what exactly the injury was). The South Africa team filed for an investigation and it was proven that the other runner was across the line in South Africa's lane, so they were put in the final as an additional team. The South Africa team just didn't have enough to help give Oscar a chance at a medal. He ran the anchor leg of the race but the three runners before him struggled. Once the baton got into his hand he ran like the wind going from 8th to 5th by the end.

Sure he didn't win a medal in these Games but he tried, did his best, and loved every minute of it. So way to go Oscar, you showed everyone that just because you have a disability it doesn't change anything.

The Olympics at Warp-Speed

The Olympics are winding down, and I have to say these Games have been one of the best Summer Games. The contestants are faster, stronger, and just better overall than they were at the Beijing Games four years ago. Take for example the men's 800m race last night. The guy who came in last would have won gold at Beijing, that's how much faster they are this year. Now it could just be me but a lot of records are being broken during these Games. The winner of the 800m broke his own world record that he set qualifying for the Olympics. The U.S. team has the most medals (last time I checked) with 94 total, China's next with 81. Great Britain, the host team, struggled during the beginning of these Games hardly ever coming close to the podium, but it all changed quickly about halfway into the first week. The heavy hitters of the GB team came out and started getting medals for their country.

The show of sportsmanship in these Games have been outstanding. In one of the men's hurdles races (I forget the distance but it doesn't really matter all that much) the Chinese hurdler ran into one of the hurdles. He hopped in pain on one foot to the finish line where two other hurdlers (from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago if I'm remembering right) helped him to where the medical  staff waited. I have not seen one sore loser, there have been some very disappointed losers but they accept the fact that they lost and they move on for the most part.

Tonight, track and field has been exciting. The U.S. women's 4x100 relay won gold after trying for so many years and in the process set a new world record. The U.S. team in the men's 4x400 grabbed the silver when the Bahamas runner just passed the U.S. runner in the last 100m. Oscar Pistorius ran the anchor leg for South Africa, but unfortunately he never really had a chance. The three runners before him just weren't as fast as everyone else in the race, but I consider him one of the best runners in the Olympics. If only because he pushed what was considered the norm out the window.

In home town sports:

Football is back. The preseason started last night and the Redskins, Steelers, and the Patriots all won, 7-6, 23-21, 7-6 respectively.

Alexander Semin signed a one year deal worth $7million with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Capitals will be better without a brooding player who isn't willing to adapt his playing style. We already have to deal with one moody Russian. That is all I have to say about him.

The Nationals swept their four game series with the Astros as the should have. If you didn't know, the Astros are the worst team in baseball.

I'll have some of my top Olympics stories up later.
(Lighting does strike twice)