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THE SIDELINE D
uring my first trip to Redskins training camp this summer, I wandered behind the fence, stopping randomly to ask people for a final record prediction. I talked to fans white and black, old and young, male and female, moderately normal and extremely deranged. The Redskins, you might remember, had four wins last season. The Vegas over-under for their 2010 win total is 7.5. I talked with 36 people, on the record, using their actual names. The most popular answer was 10-6. The average response came out to 9.9 wins. Only one person saw Washington finishing worse than 8-8; he predicted 7-9.
D.C. SPORTS BOG Dan Steinberg
“Is he really a Redskins fan?”
asked guard Artis Hicks, when I showed him my results. Now, this was admittedly a self-selected audience: people who wished to stand on a shadowless grassy knoll on a lovely summer Sunday watching
Quick Fix 6From the blogs at
washingtonpost.com/sports
SOCCER INSIDER Q&A with U.S. defender and D.C. native Oguchi Onyewu The Insider caught up with
Onyewu at Verizon Center, in the Washington Wizards’ NBA training room, of all places, where he demonstrated a workout routine that helped him rehab in time for the World Cup after rupturing a knee tendon last fall: Q: What was it like for you when [U.S. Coach Bob Bradley] told you, heading into the third match at the World Cup, you wouldn’t start? A: He didn’t tell me.
Everyone finds out at the same time. He posted it. That’s how I found out.
Q: After starting the first two games, what was your reaction? A: Any player not in the
starting 11 is going to be disappointed. I guess ‘disappointed’ would be the best word. It’s a team sport; it’s not tennis. There are other
players involved. If it’s for the better of the team, then it’s for the better of the team.
Q: Did you ever ask him why you had been dropped? A: We have never spoken about that. If he wants to, I am readily available. I am not one of those players that is going to dwell on it. It is what it is. I am a professional, I am a man. I don’t need to have a pacifier in my mouth.
Q: After being left off the
starting list in the group finale, you must have assumed you would not start the round-of-16 match? A: I don’t know how to answer that. I was just happy to be at the World Cup after the knee injury. The
accomplishment of starting in the first two games was [great]. After that, it didn’t work out as well as the beginning for whatever reason. I was happy just to be part of the whole experience.
— Steven Goff ANDY LYONS/GETTY IMAGES QUOTABLE
“Being part of the Washington Post is almost as exciting as it was when I joined the Washington Redskins.”
LaVar Arrington, the second overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft, in a news release announcing that he will provide commentary for The Post beginning this month.
Peyton Manning, who holds all of the Colts’ major career passing records, signed his current deal, worth $98 million, in 2004. Manning in line for a big deal
Colts owner determined to make quarterback NFL’s highest-paid player
Associated Press Jim Irsay won’t let Peyton Manning walk TELEVISION AND RADIO
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 1 p.m. 7 p.m.
Chicago White Sox at Detroit » WGN
Los Angeles Angels at Baltimore » MASN, WWXT (92.7 FM), WWXX (94.3 FM), WTEM (980 AM)
9:30 p.m. Washington at Arizona » MASN2, WXTR (730 AM), WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM)
WNBA 7:30 p.m. Washington at Atlanta » ESPN2
only from Comcast. CYCLING
Armstrong’s attorney: USADA offering deals Lance Armstrong’s attorneys
say the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is offering cyclists a “sweetheart deal” if they testify or provide evidence that the seven-time Tour de France winner cheated by doping.
If those riders have been caught doping, the deal from USADA could result in a reduced ban from competition and other incentives, attorney Tim Herman told the Associated Press on Monday.
HIGH SCHOOLS McNamara All-Met guard Tay-
lor Brown has committed to the Georgetown women’s basketball team, bypassing offers from Georgia, Virginia Tech, Minneso- ta and several other schools. Brown, a 5-foot-7 guard, aver-
aged 17.1 points and four assists as a junior last year and scored in
away from the Indianapolis Colts next season — no matter the cost. The Colts owner reiterated Monday that he intends to make Manning the NFL’s highest-paid player even if it takes the prohibitive franchise tag to keep the only four-time MVP in league history in blue and white. “The bottom line is we’ll get something done and when it happens just depends,” Irsay said during the Colts’ first training camp practice. “I said he’d be the highest-paid player and he may already be if we go with the tag. I’d love to see him be here and break all those records as a Colt.” Irsay has never been shy about paying top dollar for his best players. Manning signed his current deal, worth $98 million, in 2004. Seven other Colts have deals worth $27 million or more. None of those contracts is as expensive as Manning’s next, and likely last, big NFL payday. The 34-year-old quarterback already owns a record number of MVP awards, one Super Bowl ring and one Super Bowl MVP. He is one of four players to throw for more
DIGEST
double figures in every game but two for the Mustangs, who went 14-4 in Washington Catholic Ath- letic Conference games. —Preston Williams
GOLF Ben Curtis and Boo Weekley
are going to the PGA Champi- onship at Whistling Straits de- spite falling from the top 100 in the world ranking. The PGA of America changed its criteria last year to require that members of the most recent Ryder Cup team stay within the top 100. Officials offered special invitations to Curtis, Weekley and others to fill its 156-man field. . . . The Deutsche Bank Champi- onship is in the final year of its ti- tle sponsorship agreement, and so far the Labor Day weekend tournament has been unable to
SOCCER Kenny Huang, a Chinese busi- nessman with a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers has of- fered to buy Liverpool’s $374 mil- lion debt from a British bank in an attempt to end Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.’s control of the English Premier League club. . . . Sudan’s soccer federation has been given two weeks to hold new elections or face suspension from the sport. FIFA set an Aug. 15 deadline for fresh polls “without any influ- ence of third parties.” . . . FIFA gave Iraq soccer officials an extra year in office to prepare
secure a new deal that would guarantee its place on the PGA Tour schedule for 2011. . . . Justin Thomas set a course record with a 7-under-par 65 and leads the 35th Junior PGA Cham- pionship by one stroke midway through the first round in Fort Wayne, Ind.
for elections, after a sectarian dispute meant the federation missed a deadline to vote for new leaders. . . . Ivory Coast has given up hope
of keeping Sven-Goran Eriksson as coach, and the president of the country’s governing body says a replacement will be announced by next week. . . . Don Garber signed a four-year
contract as Major League Soccer commissioner running through 2013.
YOUTH BASEBALL Managers at this month’s Little
League World Series will be able to challenge certain calls under a revised instant replay system. The two-year-old system also will be expanded to include more plays, including force outs, tags on base paths, missed bases and hit batters.
MISC. Unrestricted free agent de-
fenseman Shaone Morrisonn signed a two-year deal with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, the team announced. The stay-at-home defenseman earned $1.975 million in Wash- ington last year and appeared in 68 games. . . . The Atlanta Thrashers traded
center Todd White to the New York Rangers for forwards Pat- rick Rissmiller and Donald Brashear. ... The Chicago Blackhawks agreed to a one-year deal with Marty Turco, settling on a vet- eran goaltender to replace Stan- ley Cup hero Antti Niemi. Oklahoma State junior defen- sive end Jamie Blatnick was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon after a fight with a former OSU offensive lineman at a Stillwater bar. . . . Commissioner Jim Delany said
expects the Big Ten to hold a championship game next season, when Nebraska joins and brings
the league to 12 teams. . . . Basketball’s governing body said the vuvuzelas that provided the earsplitting buzz at World Cup soccer games will be banned from its world championships in Turkey. The organizers said vuvuzelas used indoors could damage hear- ing and make it difficult to com- municate on court. . . . Returning from a four-year doping ban, Justin Gatlin will be running in the 100 meters Tues- day at a small track meet in Esto- nia and in two years expects to compete in the Olympics. . . . NASCAR team owner Jack
Roush’s condition has been up- graded to fair as he recovers from last week’s plane crash in Wis- consin. . . . Formula One driver Michael
Schumacher apologized to for- mer teammate Rubens Barri- chello for the way he drove dur- ing the Hungarian Grand Prix. — From news services
than 50,000 yards, is third all-time in career touchdown passes with 366 and holds all of the Colts’ top career passing records. Irsay’s hopes hit a potential pothole when
No. 1 draft pick Sam Bradford signed a six-year, $78 million contract with St. Louis that includes a record $50 million in guaranteed money. Manning received a then-record $34.5 million signing bonus in 2004 after winning his second MVP Award. JAGUARS: Former California defensive tackle Tyson Alualu, the 10th overall pick in April’s draft, ended a five-day holdout by agreeing to a five-year contract worth $28 million. The deal, which came a day after the Jaguars prematurely announced it, includes $17.5 million guaranteed. BILLS: Rookie left tackle Ed Wang (Stone Bridge) has an undisclosed injury that could require surgery and force him to miss the rest of training camp. Selected in the fifth round out of Virginia Tech, Wang is the first player with direct Chinese ancestry drafted. LIONS: Former Lions cornerback James Hunter died Monday from an apparent heart attack at age 56, the team said. Detroit drafted Hunter with the 10th pick
overall in 1976. Hunter led the Lions in interceptions in three of his seven seasons with the team and had 27 in his career, which ended because of a neck injury in 1982. DOLPHINS: An orthopedic surgeon wants a judge to toss out an $11 million damage award and order a new trial in a
lawsuit over a career-ending 1999 toe injury suffered by former wide receiver O.J. McDuffie. Attorneys for John Uribe argued that there were fundamental errors in the May trial surrounding use of a medical manual as evidence. Both sides also argued over estimates that McDuffie lost millions in potential earnings. 49ERS: Left guard David Baas suffered a mild concussion in the first full-pads practice in Santa Clara, Calif. Coach Mike Singletary said the initial
report from the medical staff was that Baas had a slight concussion, but the offensive lineman was to undergo further examination Monday afternoon. He likely will miss at least several days of workouts. PATRIOTS: As Derrick Burgess remains AWOL, the team is starting to adjust to life without one of its starting outside linebackers. Coach Bill Belichick said he doesn’t know where things stand with Burgess, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal in the offseason but reportedly has been considering retirement. SUPER BOWL: NFL officials and the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee have a contingency plan if a work stoppage postpones the 2012 Super Bowl. Committee president and CEO Allison
Melangton told the Associated Press that the league wants the city’s Super Bowl venues and hotel room blocks left open for the weekend of Feb. 5, the scheduled Super Bowl date, and the following weekend.
KLMNO
WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS First Things First: Join columnist Tracee Hamilton weekday mornings at 9:30 to discuss the hottest topics from the world of sports.
Optimism abounds in Ashburn
large men in shorts crash into each other at great distance. Fans, in other words. “I’ll tell you what it says: come to Redskins training camp on August first any year and ask how many wins, and you’ll get the exact same result,” Chris Cooley said. I’m sure Cooley is right. And
yet many of these fans seemed genuinely convinced that the only question was whether the Redskins would sneak into the playoffs at 9-7 or 10-6, not whether last year’s disaster might be repeated.
“I just think they’re gonna do it this year,” said Chris Stull, who predicted 12-4. “They’ve finally
got a quarterback, they’ve finally got a serious coach.” “McNabb and Shanahan, that’s
what it’s about,” said Marcus Talley, who went with 9-7. “Ten wins, at least,” said Tom
McElroy. “It’s a different, proven regime. I just think it’s gonna be a much better team this year, and we could have easily been a 10-6 team last year.” Sure, some of my other respondents sort of gulped and said 8-8, maybe 9-7. But remember, the Redskins have reached 10 wins just twice in Daniel Snyder’s 11 years, and yet 10-6 is the most popular result? This has to say something about the human condition, no? We’re
beaten across the brow, humiliated repeatedly, made to suffer and agonize, beset by tragedy and loss and hardship. Then we go to sleep. And then it’s a new day, and the Chocolate Cheerios are still crunchy, and somehow we decide yet again that everything will be all right. “You have to have that mindset
—this is the team that’s gonna do it this year,” Hicks said. “I’m sure people would have thought the Saints were crazy when they came to camp last year and fans were saying we’re gonna win it this year.” Would the results look
differently if I took an anonymous poll of the Redskins’
locker room? Would more than one out of 36 men forecast a losing record?
“On this team?” Cooley
repeated my question. “No one thinks we’re gonna win six games. I wouldn’t be here. If I honestly thought we were gonna win six games, I would go up and tell Dan [Snyder] I’ve had a good career, take it easy.” And so, let the playoff drive
begin. “Every year I think we’re going
to be 10-6, 12-4,” Gus Strange admitted. “You know you’re a real fan if you stick around through the bad years. And honestly, last year we weren’t that far away . . .”
steinbergd@washpost.com
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010
WASHINGTON POST LIVE WITH IVAN CARTER 5 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet Live guests from Redskins training camp join The Post’s Jason Reid and Barry Svrluga.
Hot Topic NFL notebook
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