The Dark Side...

So a bit off topic, but I thought I'd just poke fun at myself for a bit.

I was recently looking for paid jobs on campus, and I just randomly picked ones that looked like they would fit my class and activity schedules. One of the jobs was intramural officiating, and it specifically said that it would have flexible hours...

So I let the guy know that I was interested, and I have training next week to be a sports official.

One of the sports I would be officiating is basketball. I wanted to let everyone know that I will not be accepting offers to give your college or university the win. You can forget about that. And if anything, I would manipulate the calls to give MY school an advantage HAHA! Just joking.

I promise I will be as fair as possible, but it's interesting, seeing as I'm one who bashes officials and referees quite often and willingly. It would be fun to be on the other side of that. While I understand their job and how it's not easy, I want to do a sort of "inside job" and REALLY get the job of being an official.

I also have the option of being an ice hockey, flag football and indoor soccer official if I wish after basketball season finishes. I'm excited, and I hope I get the chance to learn something as a referee.

Lane Kiffin - the Con Man

Really quickly, I want to know how Lane Kiffin keeps getting top jobs (became coach at USC)! What is this! I heard somebody say it, and I couldn't have said it better: He's a con artist! I agree whole-heartedly! And I don't see any good coming out of Kiffin after the shenanigans he supposedly was a part of at Tennessee.

So then how is it that Carroll leaves USC, and then heads to the NFL to the nearest stop away from USC, and then Kiffin leaves Tennessee? I'm waiting to see who leaves their scandal-filled school to enter into Tennessee. IT'S SHENANIGANS! And nobody is held accountable because these scandals don't get found out until the players are about 2-3 years out of school. It's ridiculous.

I don't like USC, but I have to feel bad for them now (not too bad though).

Mike Wise - "it's hockey"

I have to talk about this being a DC-Native and a die hard hockey fan. In response as to why he believes the Washington Capitals don't receive props for being the lone good team in DC, DC sports "expert" , Mike Wise claims it's because "it's hockey".

And this was the attitude I have been so sick of for so many years. The fact this area gives all the attention to the worst-of-the-worst teams here and ignoring when the Caps do well is a disgrace! The reason is because it is hockey, so why should we care? Hockey is boring and barbaric and whatever other reason.

To cover DC sports, you can't just ignore a MAJOR TEAM just because you don't like it. The team finally have won a playoff round, and this year, once again, the Capitals have an excellent chance again to bring the Cup to DC for the first time as champions. And the option for ALL of sports media in DC, not just Mike Wise, is to ignore that success and to rather spend time on other things...

...Like focusing on why Gilbert Arenas had gun in the locker room even though he's such a nice guy he is, as there's nothing else to talk about regarding the Wizards since they're no good, and the fact that the Redskins are no good either.

I understand that the Redskins will always be #1 in this town, and that's fine. I understand, this is not a hockey-town. That's okay. That isn't my problem. My issue is when I'm being force-fed the Redskins through radio shows, local sports television, and the Washington Post. Of course, I take my liberties and shut it all off and don't listen.

When for the past 3 years I'm still excited to see a huge Caps win on the front page, and satisfied when then a feature story on one of the players is done, I sort of see that as a problem. Ongoing drama gets old. Can we surprise the readers with something new?

Of course I'm running on how I feel about the issue, it's my blog, I can do just that. So I will say that Mike Wise's comment was entirely rude. From reading someone else's post on this issue, I also found out what he thought of hockey fans in general. Anybody who apparently called him out his statement about the Caps not deserving attention was getting defensive because that's just how hockey fans are. Whatever man. Un-Wise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally...

Fsinally, Haiti has been a poor country suffering for years. Recently though, the country was hit by a 7.0 earthquake. Thoughts and prayers go out to those in Haiti, and all my friends and readers with family in Haiti. I wish all the best.

Saints No Longer Undefeated...

Yes, I know I'm a little late on the post... Been sleeping hard in the midst of the snowstorm of the weekend.

But the Dallas Cowboys did what every other team couldn't do for the past 13 weeks of the New Orleans Saints' season. The Cowboys pulled off a dominating performance against the Saints to win 24-17. Not only did this win end the Saints' run, but it also put themselves in control of their own destiny to make their own run for the playoffs.

Cowboys DE Demarcus Ware not only played in the game after suffering from a sprained neck and being carried out on a stretcher out of last week's game against the Giants. Nope. He had 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, giving the Cowboys the defensive attack that they needed against the potent New Orleans offense.

QB Tony Romo didn't disappoint either. He has had ZERO interceptions in the past 3 games, and he threw for 22 completions. Despite December historically being the worst month for the Cowboys, Tony Romo has been playing the best football out of his entire career - that came through in this Saints game.

Of course, WR Miles Austin did his thing, with 7 receptions for 139 yards. I have to say, I definitely enjoy watching him play......

However, the Cowboys could not win without some type of drama. With Dallas up 24-3, the Saints went marching in (had to do it) with 14 unanswered points, cutting the Dallas lead to 24-17.

It doesn't end there - after all, that's not enough drama for a Cowboys game. The Cowboys decided to play conservative football, and instead of pushing for another touchdown on 4th down, they let Nick Folk kick for a field goal; a 24-yard field goal that would seal the deal for a Dallas win over the then-undefeated Saints...

NO GOOD!

As a Cowboys fan, I almost DIED at the sight of an NFL-kicker, who made the PRO-BOWL one time, miss a crucial FG at such short yardage. The worst part of the missed FG kick?

I called it.

Afterward, I was doing my trademark rocking-chair motion with hands folded, pleading to the screen that the Cowboys hold on because the playoffs depend upon it. Not to worry though, the Cowboys defense stepped up when it was needed most.

Demarcus Ware up and sacked Saints' QB Drew Brees with less than 20 seconds left in the game, forcing the ball out of Brees' hands. However, a fumble was not called, on account of the ball coming out from the force of the hit. I thought, "Bull," but I would be vindicated. An almost identical play by Demarcus Ware forced a definite fumble, which was recovered by the Cowboys to seal the win.

Dallas follows through with a knee on the final play of the game, winning 24-17.

Thankfully, Nick Folk is no longer a Dallas Cowboy. Instead, the NFL leader in missed field goals (with 10) has been replaced by... SHAUN SUISHAM! Ironically, the Cowboys play Suisham's former team, the Washington Redskins, who lost today in a humiliating loss to the NY Giants, 45-12.

As a Cowboys fan, I hope not to see Suisham miss crucial FG's from short yardage like he did in the last Cowboys/Redskins game. Should be fun to watch, nonetheless.

Which leads me to the next point...

The New Orleans Saints were bound to lose. Something about them just did not feel right for them to be go undefeated. Their vulnerabilities were exposed in the wild 33-30 win over the Redskins in Week 13, and the following week against the Atlanta Falcons where they also barely won 26-23. If the Cowboys went into the Super Dome on top of their game, the Saints would have to play a quality team after those previous losses.

It also didn't help New Orleans that they did not have a strong defense: The Saints were 25th in Pass defense and 18th in defending the run, and that's just the short story, aside from allowing 30 points from an offensively struggling Redskins team. With the Cowboys going in with receivers like Miles Austin, a strong running game, and Tony Romo playing better than he ever has before, it set New Orleans up for failure. All Dallas had to do was to bring out all of this in one game, along with their defense to stop the offense. And they did just that.

It's nothing personal; I kind of wanted to see the Saints go undefeated with the possibility of 2 undefeated teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the Saints. But when I saw that the Cowboys had a chance against the Saints (many doubted that chance) as long as the conditions were right, I thought about the opportunity for Dallas to redeem themselves in December to make the playoffs (and finally win a game there too).

From here on out though, I wish the Saints luck. They'll be fine since the Vikings don't look so well either, losing 2 out of the last 3 games, including this week's loss to the Carolina Panthers, 26-7. So the Saints can breathe.

Finally...

I'll be in Florida fortunately and unfortunately during the Cowboys and Redskins game (leaving Friday), although I will be watching. I'm excited for sure; for the trip and the game.

I'd like to give a shoutout to the Washington Caps as well, being #1 in the entire NHL. A good 2-1 Western road trip showed fans the Caps might finally be a legitimate team finally. I mean, for the first time in a LONG time, I heard the words, "The Caps are the more experienced team, and it shows" in the 6-1 win against the Northwest Division leading Colorado Avalanche. It's a good time to be a Caps fan indeed.

What makes a REAL fan?

So today I joined my friend and colleague Jake Russell from thehogs.net to watch the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys match up at the bar. We began the day meeting up in McDonald's, me in my Cowboys jersey and Jake featuring his famed Sean Taylor Redskins jersey.

Needless to say, we caused quite a ruckus on the way to the bar with passing cars honking their allegiances and people stopping telling Jake that, "She's in the wrong colors." Granted, when you're a Skins fan hooking arms with a Cowboys fan, people will feel the need to correct you. My response: "Oh... Well, 'DC' stands for 'Dallas Cowboys'... Seeing as we own this city.

Once we reached the bar, Jake keeps calling out all the Cowboys fans not wearing jerseys, claiming they're "not real fans", including one in the bar I was sitting next to. He claimed to have been a Cowboys fan since the '70s. He just wasn't wearing a Cowboys jersey or shouting and screaming the whole game.

I then remembered this commercial that asks, "What's a real fan?" and then went on to suggest if it was the clothes they wear, or if it was how loud they shout it. The commercial concludes with the statement that "it's what's on the inside that matters..."

So I had to really think, what DOES make a real fan?

I mean we all know that I'm the Washington Capitals fan who has a thousand things to show the world that I'm a Caps fan. I've got jerseys, shirts, posters, rally towels, blankets, autographs, pictures with players, autographs, and the notorious Washington Capitals tattoo on my back.

At the Washington Nationals game in September with Jake

Thus, the question arises: "does that make me a real down-ass fan"?

I personally would say that having "things" from your team alone doesn't signify TRUE fanship. Because of course, one could just hide all those things or give them away once the team goes down the drain. So there must be more than things.

It's not just how loud they shout it either, because that can go away when the team goes down the pooper as well. Continuing with the Washington Capitals, the team built a really nice fanbase over past couple of seasons. They won the Southeast Division in consecutive years, and changed their jerseys in the 2007 season. Those things and a couple of other factors led the fanbase to grow in the DC area and now even outside the DMV area.

Now, imagine if the Caps played poorly (heck, even if they continued the season the way they play now) for the rest of the season... People, regardless whether they have paraphernalia, will shout a little bit less every portion of the season where their team does worse.

So I guess there must be more than saying you're a fan and wearing things that say that. It must be what's inside then. So what is inside that should count?

I may have A LOT of Capitals gear at home and in my room at AU, the car, my computer, etc. But think about it: I have accumulated all of those things over a number of years. For example, I have para from the 30th season in the franchise's history. That was about 5 years ago. I acquired my first jersey in the 1999-2000 season and then went up from there. Therefore, time following a team is factored into being a fan.

I also believe that knowledge about the team that you are following is important. While one may know every player on the team now, and know all the stats from the past 2 or 3 seasons, you have the lack of time following the team.

I think a bigger fan would know the past events of their team, featuring information like the founding date of their franchise, playoff appearances, championship history (if applicable - in my case it's just appearances lol), real rivals and the history behind the rivalries, division history, former players (at least the major ones), major stat leaders, and maybe miscellaneous facts here and there.

A real fan would also know the game that they are a supposed fan of; meaning that they would know the rules, know the current state of the team, and be able to participate in group discussions regarding their favorite team (if the situation calls for it - I mean I was silent for a minute during today's drudgery match).

Now granted, this is all a mon avi - in my opinion - but I hardly find reason to disagree with this criteria for knowing a real fan from a bandwagoner or a fake fan.

So at the bar I would say that the guy who Jake decided to question his Dallas fanship fits this criteria of fanship, even though he was not wearing Dallas Cowboy colors or a jersey. Hence, Jake just looks like a hater :P

~~~~~~

Just to conclude the story, nobody was hurt watching this game. However, the atrocious 7-6 win over the Redskins by the Cowboys was certianly emotionally painful on both ends. Even though my team won, I became upset that the Cowboys only seemed to play with real emotion in the last 5 minutes.

Along with the fact that Dallas played an awful game, especially offensively and the defense gave up too many passing yards, everybody was irriated at the 500000000 minute hiatus between Jason Campbell's "out of bounds toss" and the missed field goal by Redskins' kicker Shaun Suisham*. I mean, I was happy that after all those shenanigans going over the play over and over again, the Skins missed a kick from 39 yards; but I was also mad that it took SO LONG, only to see a missed FG.

It was a rough game to watch, but oh well: a win's a win, and I can be upset right now that Dallas played poorly for 55 minutes, but I can only hope that my concerns will be quelled by Thurday so I don't spoil my Thanksgiving dinner.

Side note

I just have to state that today was cardiac-Sunday for a lot of fans in the early games - including Lions and Browns fans. As I saw someone tweet today, this was the battle for the "Loserweight title" LOL! But for real, it seemed really entertaining, and congrats to the Lions for the shootout win: 38-37.

I'm also going to congratulate Real Salt Lake for winning the MLS Cup tonight against the LA Landon Donovan-David Beckham Galaxy.

And yes, I know. I blogged today, even though I'm extremely busy, and I probably should be working on something else. But I had to keep the masses entertained! Hope you all enjoyed, and if you have any comments regarding what constitutes someone as a real fan, feel free to comment below and put your input.

Oh well, after this loooong post, I must say a tout a leur until I finish this project, or if something pops in my mind for an easy post. Stay fresh!

*** Somtimes I type too fast and make mistakes lol.

The Red Sox have clinched the AL Wild Card!

So I have been mad all weekend because my Twitter and Facebook were spammed with mass statuses regarding the Yankees and this past weekend in their series against the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees spent their time clinching the AL East Division, a playoff berth and obtaining their 100th win for this season. You would think they won the World Series already with the ruckus about their weekend.

At the same time, I had figured that the Red Sox would also make the playoffs - it would only be a little matter of time before it happened, and I could celebrate, too.

The Red Sox got lucky tonight, clinching the AL Wild Card spot with the Texas Rangers' 5-2 loss to the LA Angels despite losing their own game to the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7. The loss today counted as Boston's 5th straight.

This situation now sets the Red Sox in a playoff series with the LA Angels, again. In 6 years, the two teams have met 4 times, and this meeting would mark the 3rd consecutive year the Angels and Red Sox square off. Seeing that Boston has dominated the playoff series between the two teams, this looks like an easy write-off for the Sox.

Well...

Right now, the Red Sox are struggling mightily, especially for the calibur of their team. With the 5 straight losses, and 5 more games left this year, one can hope that the Sox get everything together. In 9 games against the Angels this year Boston has also ended up 4-5.

However, Boston hasn't always been particularly telling in the regular season of how well they play teams in the playoffs though. Also in favor of the Sox, key players like Josh Beckett, who have been out with injuries lately, will be returning soon.

So while this series will NOT be an easy sweep in my eyes, I have pretty good faith that the Red Sox can create a positive result by the end. Alas, note that I'm neither confirming nor denying a particular playoff result. I will say though that 2004 occurred on a Wild Card year. I'm just saying...

Ojo del Twins???

On a more exciting note, I am closely following the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins series, which should define who is going to play the Yankees in the first round of the playoffs.

I'm pulling for the Twins, because I'm a Joe Mauer fan, and I'll face it; the Twins have put in so much work to get this division, especially without Justin Morneau in the lineup, that it would really suck for them not to make it.

My main issue though is that I won't be mad at whoever wins the division, because that team just better beat the Yankees, and we'll all be in good standing!

NFL Week 3 Personal Highlights

Before I finish (it's late here on the East side of the States!), I would like to give a high and mighty shout out to the Dallas Cowboys for winning our first game in the new house. I thank Carolina Panthers' QB Jake Delhomme for the late interception and the total revival of the Dallas defense in the 4th quarter.

However, I'm not a fan of the play calling at the 1-yard line in that drive where Dallas only got a field goal; TWO passes at the 1-yard line? Really?!?! Really could have avoided the field goal situation - because you also could have gone for it on that 4th down! But what do I know - I'm not an NFL coach.

But Wade Phillips made up for it by calling for the 2-point conversion on the extra point oppoortunity after the interception-for-the-touchdown, calling a nice run play. Thanks buddy.

And one more shout out to the Detroit Lions. This one is for you. I haven't been able to blog for a few days due to time constraints, but I'm putting this one out here for the Lions. Your 19-game losing streak has been snapped.

They must thank the Washington Redskins for failing to have any sort of offense in the game. Their defense didn't even do the usually decent job either in this game. So Detriot can rest in peace knowing that they have won, while the Redskins must live with the loss. I'm sure they've "put it in the past" by now (cliche statement - you know they're still mad).



*Finally, please put my cousin in your prayers and your thoughts. He was shot on Monday. He is alive and in the hospital, but the family wants a full recovery. Thank you.

NFL Week 1

Of course I'm happy that the Cowboys won, and the Redskins lost, but tell me why I'm still blown at the Bill and Patriots game? LOL!

The complete weekend/weekday opening football is over. I can say with confidence that this has been an entertaining first week for the NFL.

Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21

To begin, the first game I watched was the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (because the Cowboys won, they deserve the "boys" back in the name versus the typical Cow[boy]s). Dallas ended up winning 34-21, but they could have won by more. I was displeased with the Cowboys first half performance. The offense did absolutely nothing, and was not helped by a missed pass interference that should have been called on Ronde Barber.

Dallas' defense wasn't doing much better in the first half as well, with Cadillac Williams on the Bucs giving them hell.

The second half was much better for the Cowboys though. Tony Romo turned out to have a pretty nice day with 344 yards passing and all of his passes for touchdowns went deep - over 40 yards... Imagine the winning score for Dallas, had they a better first half and didn't give up 14 points in the 4th quarter...

For the Bucs though, Williams was real nice out there, and Byron Leftwich had a pretty good showing as well, especially for being Byron Leftwich.

Giants 23, Redskins 17

Just about the Washington Redskins game, the New York Giants won 23-17, but the game was not as close as the score suggested.

By the 2nd quarter, the Giants ended up with a 17-0 lead, with the latest touchdown coming from a fumble recovery by the Giants.

The Redskins had a slightly better showing in the second half, but could not create any sort of rhythm on offense against the Giants' defense.

Point in case: after a 35-yard run by Clinton Portis on the Redskins, the Skins could only follow up with 50 more rushing yards the whole game.

Of course, the reaction suggests that Jason Campbell still can't get the Skins over the hump, but aside from the fact that a small (REALLY small) part of me actually hopes he succeeds in a way, I think he did all right with what he was faced with.

The Skins are not the team to beat in the NFC East in my eyes. They were facing a team that could very well take the division. After this, the Skins go on to play a stretch of games where they play teams that have failed at being any kind of good the past few seasons. The Giants will move on the the Cowboys.

Patriots 25, Bills 24

Most people are going to say the New England/Boston Patriots won this game in dramatic fashion 25-24, but I'm going to go out on a limb, and say the Buffalo Bills lost this one in ultimate screw-up fashion.

I'll admit, I missed the first part of the game because of the Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer's tennis match where Federer lost in 5 sets was on where I was eating dinner. Granted, it was the US Open final, and the underdog ended up winning in a long match, but I still feel as though NFL football should have been on the TV.

Nonetheless, technology proved to be a savior, and I got first half stats before being able to return to my place of living to watch the second half. The Bills were leading 14-10 at halftime, and when I finally got back to my room, they were up 17-10.

Terrell Owens only had one catch at this point as well. Which led me to believe that the Bills could really win this game since they were able to utilize their other parts of the offense. It really looked good there.

It looked even better when Buffalo got the 24-13 lead and it was about 2 minutes to go in the game.

Until they gave up another touchdown and fumbled the ball deep in their territory after the kickoff, giving the Pats excellent field position to get the last and final touchdown... all of a sudden, it was 25-24 Patriots.

It wasn't quite over as the Bills began their final drive with about 50 seconds to go. That is ample time to create a situation to at least get into decent field goal position.

However, poor time management and multiple sacks proved costly for Buffalo.

Therefore, the Patriots did not win the game (also provided that Tom Brady wasn't as great as he normally is), but the Bills CHOKED. Somebody please perform the Heimlech Manuever - the Bills keep chocking. This is now the 12th straight time the Patriots defeated the Bills.

Tsk tsk... And I was really pulling for Buffalo...

Chargers 24, Raiders 20

This game was another situation where there was an underdog team winning, had the lead way late into the game, and then lost it even later to lose. The Oakland Raiders also choked to lose 24-20 to the San Diego Chargers.

Despite the score at the end of the first half, the Raiders seemed to dominate on defense early on, creating multiple turnovers and only allowing the Chargers 77 rushing yards. New addition Richard Seymour ended up with 2 sacks and 6 tackles, showing that he was ready to play and improve the Oakland defense.

Oakland lost the lead in the 4th quarter, but regained it, scoring a late touchdown with about 2:40 to go in the game. All they had to do was to continue their showing on defense that they had in the beginning of the 1st quarter.

Yet, the Raiders failed when it mattered, giving the Chargers 14 points in the 4th quarter and allowing Phillip Rivers to complete 6 out of 7 passes on the game-winning 84-yard drive.

The winning drive for San Diego left only 18 seconds on the clock, with which Oakland had to work. JaMarcus Russell threw a desperation pass, only to have it intercepted.

Oakland not only choked like Buffalo, but they ALSO have been defeated by their opponent 12 times in a row. The hell is THAT about?!

Side(line) Notes - haha!

Some other notes about the weekend/weekday...

Donovan McNabb got injured, which, to be honest, is no surprise to me. He is one of the more fragile quarterbacks; as good as he is and as much as I would pick McNabb over a lot of quarterbacks.

In response, the Philadelphia Eagles quickly sign Jeff Garcia and try to make roster space for him. Garcia knows the offense, having been in Philadelphia before and his last time with the Eagles, he led them to the playoffs. So it would be a good move to have him around.

Just to note though, there's another guy who, by Week 3, could play a little bit, and his name is Mike Vick. However, the choice to sign Garcia clearly states that the Eagles are not ready to have Vick play - I don't blame them after his unsatisfying performaces in the preseason, and the fact that he does need re-adjustment time to the NFL.

But if Vick could play for the Eagles, and actually be successful with them, that would be a pretty nice comeback story for the ages. I believe that regardless of other people's opinions about that...

...Props to the Green Bay Packers though for the comeback win. I couldn't write about it (Come on now! I already did four games and I'm only human!), but that was a REALLY fun game to watch. As for the Bears; step your game up. In fact, all these teams playing and choking - step your game up!..

... And of course, congrats to Juan Martin del Potro on his first US Open win, and on defeating the guy who won the last 5 US Opens... I think his name is something like Roger Federer. You might have heard of him. It is an amazing accomplishment for del Potro - just too bad it competed with Monday Night Football on my end.

... Finally, Mark Sanchez played pretty well Sunday. The End (watch ESPN for the rest of that, they'll be all up on the Sanchez coverage, trust me).


*RIP Patrick Swayze... To Wong Foo (Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar) - most underrated movie ever - sooo funny.

NEW POST! Tired of Being Red Lined by Microsoft Word?

Ever just wished that Microsoft Word would just accept some words and move on?

Well, I've been having a particular issue with Word for quite some time now with this one word. Maybe I'm the one making the mistake: I'm probably spelling the word wrong, I'm adding an "s" to it when there doesn't need to be one,or it's probably not even a real word. Nonetheless, the word has been giving me a headache, and it just was reaffirmed today, September 9th, 2009...

Offsides.

I'm writing a game report on yesterday's women's soccer match between the American University Eagles and the Richmond Spiders for my Sportswriting class. I'm stating how the Eagles won 1-0 to improve to 3-1 on the season - a significant improvement from last seasons team and giving the facts from the game. Then I try to describe how the Spiders were called for "offsides multiple times..."

...And then came the red line.

Really, Word? Really!!? Is that how you feel? After all these years and you still pull that nonsense? I remember being really young; probably around 11 or something, and using Microsoft Word back then to write about hockey games. The Caps would need to fix constant whistles for being "offisides," and then I get the red line! I'd try it again every year, and I just added it into the dictionary because I got so sick of the foolishness that Word would try to pull on my work.

So here's the question: Am I doing something wrong? Is "offsides" supposed to be "offside" or "off-sides?" I really don't know. And it's a shame to admit as someone who has written about sports their whole lives, has been a die-hard hockey fan for so long, and has career plans to be a sports journalist/personality. But I really need to know whether A.) "Offsides" is just going to be an unaccepted word by Microsoft Word or not, and if B.) Am I just blatantly spelling "offsides" wrong?

And of course, I must express anger at Microsoft Word for even causing me to question my writing and my spelling skills.

Word, get it together.

...On a side note, I have not had a laptop for about 2 weeks, so I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I know, I know, I'm slacking on my game here, and I know everyone can think of ways I could have kept it up, but time constraints to affect people, and it's not easy to post when you have no personal computer after a long day of classes, work, and then the occasional American Eagles sports broadcast on Eagle Vision TV (http://aueagles.tv/)... actually, on that link you can archive it and see my broadcasts! I do studio analysis every game and it's quite fun. Oh, but if you don't want to pay to see the Eagles (or watch me broadcast), you can ask me to put a link of my copy of the game and I will be glad to let the world see my work!

And I have to say, I feel for those Redskins fans being sued by the Skins for wanting to pull out of their contracts. As much as I hate the Redskins football team, it sucks for regular everyday people to be sued by a large corporation or organization. The picture on the front of the Washington Post by the way was great photo journalism I have to say.

I'll try to be more regular again, but hope you enjoyed and welcome back! Take part in the new poll too!