D2
EZ SU
THE SIDELINE B
y now, you’ve no doubt watchedDonovan McNabb’s postgame
Philadelphia locker roomspeech eight or nine or 700 times. And you’ve no doubtwondered about the bizarre ending. “Everybodymakesmistakes in
their lifetime, and theymade one last year, so thank you!”McNabb concludes to roars fromhis teammates, although, technically speaking, his trade didn’t happen last year. Then he gets ready to sit down.
Except before he can do so, several voices yell out, “Absolutely!” andMcNabb answers in kind, as others laugh. So, anyone care to explain? “That’sDonovan’sword,”
VonnieHolliday toldme. “It’s like Quick Fix Excerpt from
washingtonpost.com/cavaliers-journal
BackupQBhas yet toemergeforCavs VirginiaCoachMikeLondon
saidThursday that fifth-year seniorMarcVerica remains the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback. He also saidthatwhile redshirt freshmanRossMethenywouldbe “thenext guy inthe game right now” ifVericawere to be injured orneedto be replaced,Metheny andtrue freshmanMichaelRocco continue to compete for the role as the team’sNo. 2 quarterback. “Our initialneeds [this season]
were to go inandfindtheNo. 2 quarterback, andthatwas the competitionbetweenRoss Metheny andMichaelRocco, and that’s stillwherewe arewith that,”Londonsaidina
POLLQUESTION
Should the Wizards change their name back to Bullets? Yes
Not ever
82% Not now, considering what happened with the team last season
11% 7% Based on 6,318 votes as of 7:29 p.m. Thursday. TELEVISIONANDRADIO
MLB PLAYOFFS 6 p.m.
9:30 p.m.
HOCKEY Noon
3 p.m. Cincinnati at Philadelphia » TBS,WTNT (570 AM)
Atlanta at San Francisco » TBS, WWXT (92.7 FM),WWXX (94.3 FM),WTEM (980 AM)
Minnesota vs. Carolina » Versus Columbus vs. San Jose » Versus
7:30 p.m. Washington at Atlanta » Comcast SportsNet, WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7:30 p.m.
9 p.m.
GOLF 1 p.m.
3 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Connecticut at Rutgers » ESPN Oklahoma State at Louisiana Lafayette » ESPN2
Champions Tour, Senior Players Championship » Golf Channel PGA Tour, McGladrey Classic » Golf Channel LPGA Tour, Navistar Classic » Golf Channel
HORSE RACING 4:30 p.m.
AUTO RACING 6:30 p.m.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge » ESPN2 NASCAR Sprint Cup, Pepsi Max 400 qualifying » ESPN2 TIM SHAFFER/REUTERS Phillies pitcher RoyHalladay was forced to overhaul his mechanics after a near-disastrous season as a Toronto Blue Jay in 2000. Metamorphosis of a pitcher Q. In2001, theBlue Jays optionedRoy
Halladay toClassAafterhepostedanERA above 10.00in2000.Whatdidhework on to become thepitcher thathe is today? A.Among other things,hewent froma
straight overhanddelivery to amore crouchedstance onthe rubber anda three- quarter armdelivery slot.That increased themovement onallhispitches.Andif anybody inmy lifetime exemplifies the value ofmovement, commandandmultiple pitches, it isHalladay,whodidn’t touch95 mph Wednesdaynight, butwas completely overpowering. His low-to-mid90s fastball is
complementedby aninsane variety of late- movingpitches.Hehas all four kinds of fastballs: 1) the four-seamer that seems to rise; 2) the two-seamsinker thatmoves downandinto right-handedhitters (or serves as a ‘swing-back’ fastball onthe outside corner); 3) thehardcutter that bends away fromright-handedhitters; 4) the split-finger fastball thatdrops. He also, ina sense,has the fifthkindof
only from Comcast. COLLEGEFOOTBALL
Va. Tech’s Williams out for Saturday’s game Virginia Tech running back
Ryan Williams will not play in Saturday’s game against Central Michigan, according to the injury report released by the Hokies on Thursday. Williams originally hurt his
right hamstring during the first half of a 49-27 victory over East Carolina on Sept. 18. He hasn’t played since, although he did par- ticipate in practice the past two weeks. “I could tell it’s still kind of bothering him a little bit,” run- ning back Darren Evans said Tuesday when asked how Wil- liams had looked in practice. Evans rushed for 160 yards and
had a career-long 54-yard touch- down run with Williams out of the lineup last week. —Mark Giannotto
Nebraska quarterback Taylor
Martinez rushed for 242 yards andfour touchdowns,andtheNo. 7 Cornhuskers ended a 99-year rivalry with host Kansas State in
fastball: the straight change-up,whichyou throwwithfull armspeedbut simply deadenwithadifferent grip(like the circle
change-up).He alsohas a curve that’s 15 mphslower thanhis fastball, andI suspect he’dsayhehas a slider, too. Q.HowdidHalladay lose 10 games
during the regular season? A.Goodquestion.Especiallywiththe
Phillies behindhim. The actual reason?Hehad11 startswhen
thePhillies scoredtwo runs or less forhim and, eventhoughhisERAwas 1.72 inthose games,he stillwent 4-6. Q.Howcoolwas that? I knowit’s about
the teams, but I’dlove tohave aWorld SerieswithRoyHalladay andCliffLee. A.CCSabathia certainly lookedmortal
lastnight.Youlook fordominantpitchers that cantake a teamto theWorldSeries. Halladay andLee fit the bill. I stilldoubt the Rangershave enough. Q. Inlooking at JaysonWerth’s situation
(some situation), Iwaswondering if there are anyplayers inthemodernerawho passedonthe bigmoney or agreedto a club-friendly salary structure inorder to remainwiththe teamthey areplaying for? Is there any teamloyalty, ordo youjust followtheBenjamins? A. I coveredtheOrioles from’76 to ’83, a
teamthat epitomizedthat trend.The team wasdominatedbyplayers representedby agentRonShapiro: (Mike)Flanagan, (Scott)McGregor andmany others.They got together andworkedwiththeOrioles, dividingupthe limtedbudget among themseves andinevery case taking less thanthey couldhave gottenby becoming a free agent, so they couldstay together,play together andbeat thedamnYankees. Wonderful thing towatchupclose. Q.GilbertArenasnowsays theWizards
are JohnWall’s team.Do teams full of professionals alwayshave to “belong” to oneplayer?Didn’t basketballusedto be a teamsport? A.Love it.But it’s always beenthatway in
theNBA.TheCelticswereBillRussell’s team, then(Larry)Bird’s, then(Kevin) Garnett’s.Maybe they justdidn’t say it as muchyears ago.Whenyouhavemultiple stars andyoudon’t knowwhose teamit is, youhaveproblems.Youusuallyneedthree stars intheNBAto contendfor a title, as well as 4-5playerswho complement them. But theyhave to agree aboutwhodoeswhat andwhentheydo it.
boswellt@washpost.com
teleconference. “Those two guys practice, andalthoughMichael didn’t get a chance toplay inthe Florida State game,he andRoss are still battling for the backup positon.Rossdidanice job inthe game. Sometimeswehave the benefit ofwatching the tape and having a tape andwe grade the players ontechnique andthings like that.There are still some things thatRosshas to cleanup fromthat standpoint.” Throughfour games this
season,Vericahas completed57.3 percent ofhispasses for 908 yards, six touchdowns andthree interceptions.He ranksNo. 4 in theAtlanticCoastConference in passing yardsper game (227) and No. 6 inefficiency rating (129.9). —SteveYanda
D.C. SPORTS BOG Dan Steinberg
his fillerword. Evenwhen he’s in the locker room, laughing, having a good time, if you say something, he’ll be like, ‘Absolooootely.’ ” “He ends everythingwith
absolutely,” ArtisHicks agreed. “I guess to himthat’s like saying, ‘Yeah.’ You could ask him, ‘Hey man, youwant to get something to eat?’ ‘Absolooootely.’ ”
KLMNO 6
3 “HeyDonovan, you ready to
practice, you ready to play?” ChrisWilson offered, as another example. “ ‘Absolooootely.’ That’s just hisword.” “You’ll be like, ‘Oh, is this a big
game today?’ ”Anthony Armstrong continued. “He’s like, ‘Oh, absolooootely, absolutely.’ When you say absolutely, you knowyou’re talking aboutD5.” “DonovanMcNabb has a lot of
mannerisms that people kind of catch on to,” Phillip Buchanan concluded. And so,mystery solved.
DonovanMcNabb likes to say absolutely. Except, hold up for oneminute. “A lot of mannerisms” sounds tome like more than just this oneword. What else did teammates notice
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010
WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS Football Insider 2010: Download a free iPhone app for Redskins news. Search for “Football Insider” or “Redskins” in the iTunes store.
Did McNabb enjoy that victory? Absolooootely!
about their newquarterback? “He’s got amean tuck-in
game,”Wilson said. “He tucks in all his shirts, T-shirts. Even at practice today, he’s gonna have his jersey tucked in. I think he tucked in his sweatshirt one day. It’s ridiculous.” “Even in those daisy dukes
shorts, those short shorts, he has his shirt tucked in,” Buchanan said. “He’smore of a preppy school guy fromSyracuse. I guess they had towalk around campus with their shirts tucked in.” “OhmyGod, that’s probably
themost annoying thing out of all of them,”Hicks added. “We’ll be justwalking around in the weight room, everybody’s got cut-off shirts on, or just in the steamroomafter practice, and
he comes inwith his shirt tucked in. I don’t care if it’s like a workout shirt talked into his girdle. I guess he just has a thing about tucking his shirt in.He probably sleepswith his shirt tucked into his pajamas.” “I thought itwas a Philly
thing, but I guess hismomand dadmade himdo itwhen hewas young,” CaseyRabach said. “Me being the fashionista trend-setter here, I can’t really pick on anyone forwardrobe deficiencies.”
Watching the Nats After all the fun I hadwith
MASN’s 9,000-household audience forNats broadcasts two years ago, ‘tis only fair to note the network’s strong 2010 showing. The teamwound up doubling its
year-to-year ratings in theD.C. market from2009 to 2010, earning a 1.4 household rating for broadcasts onMASNand MASN2. In 2009, theNats’ TV audiencewas up 67 percent over the tragically low2008 numbers. The 1.4 rating equals about
33,000 households in theD.C. market.Nats games also attracted about 5,000 households in the Baltimoremarket, and about 57,000 total households across the seven-stateMASN footprint, an increase of about 80 percent over 2009. For a teamthat’s lost 196
games over the past two years to have so steadily grown its television audience is, I believe, a win. Absolutely.
steinbergd@washpost.com
WASHINGTONPOST LIVEWITH IVAN CARTER 5 P.M. ON COMCAST SPORTSNET MikeWise will be in studio along with CSN football analysts Brian Mitchell and Antonio Freeman.
Chat Rewind Thomas Boswell Excerpts from
www.washingtonpost.com/discussions
DIGEST
Kvitova at the China Open in Beijing. “This is a real big step for me,”Wozniacki said. Wozniacki is the 20th player to
the same lopsided fashion it be- gan, thrashing the slower, out- manned Wildcats, 48-13. Martinez, a redshirt freshman,
has rushed for 737 yards in his first five games for the Huskers (5-0). Against the Wildcats (4-1) he also threw a 79-yard touch- down pass to Kyler Reed for a 38-6 lead in the third quarter.His rushing total broke Jammal Lord’sNebraska record foraquar- terback and his four rushing touchdowns tied the team quar- terback mark.He was replaced by Cody Green with almost 10 min- utes left in the game.
TENNIS Caroline Wozniacki will re-
place American star Serena Wil- liams as No. 1 in the world when the new rankings are released Monday. Wozniacki, 20, will become the
first player from Denmark, male or female, to hold the top ranking after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Petra
top the rankings since they began in 1975 and the third in the last two years to do so without having won a Grand Slam title. Meantime, Williams is return-
ing totheWTATouratnextweek’s Generali Ladies Linz after being sidelined since July by a cut on her right foot.
GOLF Matt Kuchar couldn’t stifle a
yawn when he walked out of the scoring trailer. Zach Johnson couldn’t remember which side of the Atlantic Ocean he was on, except for the warm sunshine at Sea Island, Ga. Two days after they returned
from a long, wet week at the Ryder Cup, the opening round of the newMcGladrey Classic was a blur. That wasn’t the case for John
Rollins. Motivated by a pep talk from
his wife and a meltdown that knockedhimoutoftheFedExCup
playoffs, Rollins kept bogeys off his card and opened with a 7-un- der 63 for his best round of the year and a one-shot lead over David Toms and Troy Merritt. Rollins birdied four straight
holes late in his round. KucharandJohnsonordinarily
wouldn’t play the week after the Ryder Cup, except that they live in Sea Island. . . . LPGA Championship winner
Cristie Kerr shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Mor- gan Pressel, Anna Nordqvist and Dorothy Delasin in the Navistar LPGA Classic in Prattville, Ala. Kerr birdied three of the last
four holes in her bogey-free round.
COLLEGEBASKETBALL North Carolina has dismissed
fifth-year seniorWillGraves from the team. Graves was the team’s third-leading scorer at about 10 points per game. . . . Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn
was suspended from classes by the university amid allegations that the star player hit his girl- friend during a domestic dispute,
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AGENCE-FRANCE PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
CarolineWozniacki is set to become the first Dane, male or female, to be rankedNo. 1 in tennis when the rankings come outMonday.
his attorney said. Attorney Vikram Deivanayag-
amtoldTheAssociatedPress that he and his client would explore options for trying to get an expe- dited hearing with university offi- cials.
SOCCER Edson Buddle scored his MLS-
leading 16th goal, converting a corner kick fromDavidBeckham, and the Los Angeles Galaxy de- feated the host Philadelphia Union, 1-0. In the 27th minute, Beckham
lofted a perfect corner kick and Buddle headed the ball past goal- keeper BradKnighton. —From news services
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