Blog

Memorial Day Weekend

2012-05-28T22:59:04Z

This Memorial Day weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the beginning of my last summer with NVPools. For the longest time, that’s what Memorial Day weekend was all about, it’s when the pool opened. I spent so many summers at McLean Swim & Tennis and by summer, I mean THE WHOLE SUMMER. I can remember going to the pool on the first day it was open, getting there before it even opened, sitting on the white brick wall outside the main entrance and wondering who the lifeguards were going to be. My summer revolved around the pool. I think I went pretty much every day. A big milestone was the summer when I was 8 because that’s how old you had to be to go by yourself. I remember learning how to do a flip on the low dive and then the high dive. I worked up the courage to learn a one and a half and eventually a double. I think I pulled off a double twice, but I know I missed more often than that. I remember swimming the length of the pool underwater and the countless number of games of Cross Pool (that’s sharks & minnows for the younger crowd). I learned how to kayak at MSTA when the Zimmers brought theirs a few times. Sure 25 meters wasn’t that far to paddle, but learning how to turn and more importantly, how to roll a kayak, was limitless fun. I can’t even begin to count the number of friendships I developed through the pool. Some were just for a summer or two, but others have lasted a lifetime.

The summer of 1984 really changed things for me. Watching the Olympics got me interested in swimming again. Seeing Steve Lundquist win the 100 meter breaststroke was magical. I couldn’t wait for the following summer so I could rejoin the swim team and try to be like him. The major event of that summer was when I decided to become a lifeguard. As a small kid, I always wanted to be like the guy lifeguards and date the girl guards. My older sister had been a lifeguard and I knew she had fun doing it, so I signed up for a class. The manager, Stu Roberts, was the instructor. I had no idea how much taking his class would affect the next 20+ years of my life. Stu hired me for the remainder of the summer after I passed his class and I couldn’t have been more excited or proud. To sit up in the lifeguard stand, twirl my whistle and enforce the rules was huge.

Lifeguarding taught me a sense of responsibility that I didn’t have previously. I used to joke that used to guard the life of a Secretary of Defense. When I worked at McLean Racquet & Health Club, one of the members that came in every morning to swim a mile was Frank Carlucci. He was one of Reagan’s Secretaries of Defense and I remember thinking there was no way I was going to let anything happen to him.

As the years went on, I worked part time at a couple of different pools, but once I went away to college, I realized I needed a job every summer. What better than being a lifeguard? My certifications had expired, but I was able to get recertified and for the summer of 1995, I worked as a Supervisor for NOVA Pools. It got me all excited about being around pools again and I learned more that summer about running a pool than I had previously. My lifeguarding bug was back. I heard from a coworker that I could go work for a rival pool company as a manager and make the same I made as a supervisor. Sounded good to me. My best friend Mike and I went all the way out to Chantilly (at the time, it seemed really far) to the offices of NVPools and told them we wanted a job. We met with one of the owners and he basically hired us on the spot. For the next four summers I was a manager for NVPools. As soon as I was done with my last exam at school every year, I raced home and let NV know I was ready for work. There was always a sense of excitement over the three weeks between when I got home and when the pools opened. There was getting supplies to the pools, cleaning bath houses, making sure the pools stayed clean, meeting new staff, company meetings and staff meetings. It was stressful, but there was a sense of fun to it and I always felt productive. Plus, I knew there would be hundreds of kids who were going to be just as excited as I was when I was their age for the opening of the pool.

After four summers of working in the field, NV offered me a full time, year round position. Who would have thought that that one decision 15 years ago to become a lifeguard would turn into what I did for a living? I was now hiring and teaching those 15 year olds the same way that Stu had done with me. Leading up to Memorial Day weekend was always stressful, but I like to think we always had fun. My favorite part, outside of the actual opening of the pools Memorial Day weekend, was teaching lifeguarding classes. I took it so seriously (some would say too seriously, but I blame Stu and Matt Behl) because I wanted my students to take it as serious as I did.

Obviously when I left NV, Memorial Day weekend changed for me. For as long as I could remember it was about opening the pools, seeing people I might not have seen since Labor Day and knowing that for the next 100 or so days, my life would be consumed, one way or another, by the pool. Here I am now, five years later, wearing an NVPools shirt, missing all of that. That’s not to say that I’m not happy about where I am now (I am happy), but when something that defined who you were for many years is taken away form you, I think it’s natural to miss it.

Don't You Like It?

2012-05-23T00:29:09Z

Recently I’ve been reminded of a certain type of conversation that used to take place when I was much younger. It was the type of conversation you had as a kid with your parents where you were part of the conversation, but not really. For me (and my siblings) it usually happened at dinner time. I would be eating eating dinner by myself at the kitchen table, my dad would be sitting on his stool, watching Uncle Walter on the news and mom would be down the hall in my parents bedroom. I would be enjoying a big plate of spaghetti when dad would chime in. The conversation would go something like this:

Dad: Where’s your bread?

Me: (my mouth full of food) Huh?

Dad: Why aren’t you having bread?

Me: I don’t know.

Dad: Don’t you like bread?

Me: (looking puzzled) What?

Dad: (yelling to mom) Honey! Why isn’t Robbie having any bread?

Mom: (yelling back) I don’t know.

Me: (somewhat confused) I like bread.

Dad: (to mom) Doesn’t he like bread?

Mom: I don’t know.

Me: (somewhat more forcefully) I like bread.

Dad: (to mom) How does he not like bread?

Mom: What do you mean he doesn’t like bread?

Me: (desperately) I like bread.

Dad: (to mom) He doesn’t have any bread with his dinner.

Me: I like bread, I just don’t want any.

Dad: (to no one in particular) I don’t understand why he doesn’t like bread.

Me: (as I continue eating) I like bread.

There were some variations, but that was basically about it. What made me start thinking about this was recently a client bought the office some lunch. He had some bbq delivered to the office and people started getting their eat on. One guy asked if I was going to have some. I wasn’t hungry and I wanted to give everyone else a chance to get some so I said no. His response was, “Don’t you like bbq?” I started laughing. I gave him a brief version of the conversations I used to have and he quickly understood.

This has happened a few other times recently. Why is it that when someone offers you something to eat or drink and you decline, they tend to ask, “Don’t you like...?” When did declining something mean that you don’t like it?

Not The Guy From Police Academy

2012-05-16T22:55:25Z

The Washington Redskins made a move last Sunday that, while it's taken me a few days to touch on, is a very good move. They resigned Tim Hightower. (I would have written about it sooner, but I was still a little bummed about the Caps) When the Redskins traded for Hightower last year, I was excited about it (see, I can be excited about some things the Redskins do). I didn't feel they had to give up much (Vonnie Holiday and a 6th round pick) for a guy coming off a season where he rushed for 5 touchdowns and over 700 yards. I thought he'd be an upgrade over Clinton Portis. Unfortunately he tore his ACL during the first half of the season and was placed on Injured Reserve.

Hightower became an unrestricted free agent after last season and I hoped he would be resigned by the Redskins. I know they have Royster and Helu, but I think Hightower is the better option. He signed a one year deal which is completely understandable for a guy coming off a knee injury. I'm really curious to see what he can do if he can stay healthy for the season. His rushing yards went up every year in Arizona although his rushing TDs dropped from a high of 10 in his rookie season to 5 before joining the Skins. He also averaged 40 receptions a year for the Cardinals. I feel that he is the kind of running back that can stay in for any down and that helps keep the defense guessing. Here's to a healthy 2012 season for Tim Hightower.

The Hockey Playoff Beard

2012-05-15T00:08:41Z

Last Saturday the Washington Capitals were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the New York Rangers. The Caps lost Game 7, 2-1, ending their run. This year, for the first time, I decided to grow a playoff beard. I've seen players and friends do it in the past, but I always thought it wasn't something for me. There are no official rules to a playoff beard, but there are some basics. You can last shave on the last day of the season or the day before the playoffs begin. After a loss, you are allowed to trim. Some say you are not allowed to wash it, but others say go for it. You can either not shave anything or you can go without the neck beard, but once you decide on what you're doing, you must follow that until your team is eliminated from the playoffs. I decided to go with no neck beard and I would only trim around my mouth after a loss.

I have grown goatees in the past, but always kept it trimmed. This was going to be something brand new for me. I shaved on April 8th, the day after the last day of the season and a few days before the playoffs would start for the Caps. I didn't think to take a picture until 8 days into no shaving which was the day of Game 3 of the series with Boston.

The next picture came on April 20th, between Games 4 and 5. At this point I started to look like House.

The next two pictures were on April 23rd and 25th. The 25th was Game 7 of the Boston series. At this point I was definitely starting to feel out of my element in regards to having facial hair, but being the slightly superstious person I can be when it comes to sports, there was no way I was shaving as the Caps won the series.

I took one the day after the Boston series on April 26th and then one the day of Game 2 against the New York Rangers, April 30th. I was now 3 weeks into it and people were starting to ask questions. There were a few compliments and even more comparisons to House.

Things got a little crazy at work and I forgot to take a picture until May 8th. That was the day after the Game 5 loss in overtime. I got another on May 10th after the Caps tied the series at 3-3, sending it to another Game 7.

The last picturewas taken on May 12th after the Caps lost to the Rangers 2-1 in Game 7.

After 34 days and 14 games, it was time for the playoff beard to go. Obviously I wish the Caps had won and moved onto the conference finals. That would have given me at least 10 more days and put me on track to start looking like Wild Bill Wichrowski from Deadliest Catch. Guess we'll have to wait until next season.

Yeah, It's Crap

2012-05-09T19:03:29Z

My latest Bag of Crap

Ride Of Your Life

2012-05-08T19:16:29Z

The Washington Capitals lost Game 5 last night to the New York Rangers in overtime 3-2. The loss puts the Caps on the verge of elimination in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Caps were leading late in the third period when Joel Ward was called for a double-minor high sticking penalty with 22 seconds left in regulation. The Rangers on the power play with 6.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime. The back half of Ward’s penalty carried over into overtime and the Rangers took full advantage scoring 1:35 into the extra period for the win.

This loss hurt, but the series is not over. I made the predictable and safe prediction that the Caps would win this series in six games. Obviously that’s not going to happen. The Caps are still in the position of having to win back to back games in order to win the series. Unfortunately they are also now in the position that if they lose one more game, they are out of the playoffs. Compared to Caps teams of the past, this team seems to be different. They made the playoffs while having some of their most talented players out for extended periods of time. I don’t think past teams would have done that. I also don’t think past teams would have taken the defending Stanley Cup Champions to seven games. Forget winning Game 7 on the road, they wouldn’t have even gotten there, but they did do it. Past teams would have crumbled after losing a triple overtime game at home against the Rangers, but they didn’t. Every time the Caps have lost in overtime this year in the playoffs, they have rebounded with a win. Bradon Holtby has not lost two consecutive games in these playoffs. That would lead me to believe the Caps will win Game 6 at home. In past seasons, I would not have said that.

There were many people who were quick to blame Ward for the loss. His penalty was called the worst in franchise history. That’s a bold statement and maybe it was the worst, but to blame Ward for the loss is plain wrong. That might have happened in previous seasons, but not this one. This team is playing as a team. They are winning as a team and losing as a team. What you hear from players is personal accountability from players. You also see it on the ice. I don’t want to say that this team is one of destiny, but they do seem to be playing with a sense of purpose. A sense of purpose with an occasional lack of focus. If they can remain focused and play with the sense of urgency that they did in Game 7 against Boston, there is no reason they can’t play for the Cup. They’ve been underdogs the entire playoffs and would be against either Phoenix or Los Angeles if they are fortunate enough to make the Cup Finals. They need to use that to their advantage.

I, like most fans, was in a state of shock after last night’s loss. I hadn’t felt like that after a loss in a long, long time. I felt sick. I even got a bit emotional. I’m sure some of you know what I’m talking about. To the others, if I had to explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand. I saw some people tweet asking if last night’s loss was worse than the triple overtime loss in Game 3. Yes it was. 100%. Hopefully that means a win in Game 6 will feel that much better. This season has been a roller-coaster of a ride. The playoffs especially. I love roller-coasters and I’m not ready to get off this ride. Besides, I’m not ready to shave this thing off yet.

Same But Different

2012-05-07T05:43:30Z

At the beginning of the NHL season, there were several "experts" who picked the Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. I hoped this would be the case. It would feature my favorite team, the Caps, against the team closest to where I live, the Kings. I have always said that hockey is the best sport to see live and that the Stanley Cup playoffs are the most intense of all sports. I've joked that I wanted the Caps to face the Kings so I could go to a Stanley Cup Final game.

The regular season did not go as well as either team had hoped. The both barely made the playoffs as the Caps finished as the Eastern Conference's 7th seed and the Kings finished as the 8th seed of the Western Conference. I figured as long as they were both in the playoffs, there was a chance that they could meet in the Finals. In order for that to happen, they would both have to get hot and win some games on the road. When you're the lower seed in a playoff series you have to win back to back games at some point to move forward while the higher seed could just win every other game to advance.

The Kings would never have the home ice advantage throughout the playoffs and would have to start against Vancouver, the #1 seed and President's Trophy winner. All they did was take the first two games on the road before winning the series 4-1. Their reward was the #2 seed St Louis. Earlier today, the Kings completed the sweep of the Blues and advanced to the Conference Finals. No #8 seed has ever beaten the #1 and #2 seeds in the same playoffs. At this rate they are 4 wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

The only way the Caps would have home ice advantage would be for them to face the #8 seed in the Conference Finals, but first they had to worry about going against the #2 seed and defending Stanley Cup Champion, Boston Bruins. The Caps were able to win back to back games and took the series 4-3. Their reward? The #1 seed, New York Rangers. The two teams are locked in a battle right now with the series tied 2-2. Game 5 is Monday night in New York and Game 6 is Wednesday in Washington. If there is a Game 7, it will be Saturday in New York. If the Caps can win two of the next three games, they will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself or make assumptions, but if the Cap and Kings make it to the Finals, they will have have done the same thing by both beating the #1 and #2 seeds in their respective conferences,but they will have taken two slightly different routes to get there. Time will tell.

Happy Birthday To My Twitter

2012-05-02T17:54:11Z

I signed up for Twitter on April 30, 2008 after being sent some sort of invite or something from a girl I used to work with. I liked her, so I joined up. I had no idea what it was or what it was for, but it seemed cool. I tweeted two times that day. One was via the web and the other was using IM. It was a Wednesday and they both came in the 7:00 hour. I think my first tweet was probably something like "hello?" followed by "I'm trapped at work, get me out of here". I tweeted once the next day, using IM and didn't tweet again until July 25th. Think about that for a second. I didn't tweet for 55 days. Now, it seems like I can't go 55 minutes without tweeting. Here are some other Twitter firsts for me:

First reply: December 30, 2008. It was to either @iJustine or @joeyoungblood

First Twitpic: Sometime during December 2008

First RT: February 18th, 2009. It was a tweet from either @iJustine, @Spicypants or @Rorofusion

From my first day through the end of 2008 (basically 8 months), I tweeted a total of 44 times. It was at the end of December 2008 that I really began to embrace Twitter. I still didn't really know what it was or how to use it, but it was something I was slowly getting the hang of it. All the numbers I'm using are current as of first thing this morning, but here is how much my Twitter has grown in 4 years. I currently follow 543 and am followed by 944 accounts. I say accounts instead of people because I'm sure there's some spam in there somewhere. I have tweeted 44,156 times. I remember thinking it was cool when I hit 1000 total tweets and got 100 followers. Now they're just numbers.

Twitter is my favorite social media platform by leaps and bounds. It provides me with breaking news and allows me to interact with local news media. One of the first things I do every morning when I wake up is check Twitter to see what I might have missed form the night before. I remember when Twitter first started becoming mainstream, people said they didn't like it because they didn't care about where people were having lunch and the such. What they failed to realize is that, with Twitter, you only follow those you want. Once they realized that, many more people started joining up. Of course a lot of these same people spent a bunch of time on Facebook where they read about where people went to lunch.

Twitter has introduced me to many different people both literally and figuratively. Twitter introduced me to @spicypants. She was one of the first people I interacted with on a regular basis on Twitter and we have since had a chance to meet and become good friends. Through Spicy, I've met many other people, first through Twitter and then, for some, in person. She is the person I have retweeted the most and replied to more than anyone, but one person. That person is @blackbeltncrazy, who I've yet to meet, but good things come to those who wait.

Almost 53% of my tweets have been replies to people. That shows the interaction value of Twitter. The replies cover every subject from sports to politics. It's even a way to vent, be an ear for someone or exchange ideas. It's a way to ask for prayers or to receive them. I have gotten so much interaction on Twitter from having like interests. My 5 most used hashtags are: redeye, caps, redskins, earthquake and buckeyenation. Those 5 topics have led to following good people and let others know that I'm someone they might want to follow.

Here are some other interesting (or not) facts about my first 4 years on Twitter:

Single month I tweeted the most: December 2011 (2302 tweets)

Single day I tweeted the most: December 8, 2011 (187 tweets for Virginia Tech shooting)

Total number of tweets: 44,156

Hour of the day with most tweets: 9:00 PM (3181)

Hour with fewest tweets: 5:00 AM (41)

Top 5 words used: RT, good, that's, time, know

I've had 2777 twooshes

I've averaged 912 tweets/months and 35 tweets/day. This numbers jump to 1927/month and 63/day over the last 8 months

Day of the week I've tweeted most: Saturday (6587) Tuesday is second (6405)

Top 3 people I've retweeted: @spicypants, @brooksbayne, @gigigraciette

Twitter is not for everyone, but for me it's been fun, informative and educational. If it's not for you, that's okay, but I think you're missing out. You can be on Twitter and not tweet. Just follow for information or to find people with the same interests.

Whatever you might think of Twitter, just remember that #Itweetbecauseyoucare

The Old 10 Is Not The New 10

2012-05-02T01:06:33Z

On Tuesday the Redskins released Jabar Gaffney. I know he was only with the team for one season, but I'm trying to figure out how this move makes any sense. The Redskins traded Jeremy Jarmon for him prior to the 2011 and all he did was have a career year while leading the Redskins in Receptions, Yards Receiving, Touchdown (rushing or receiving) and was second on the team in Yards Per Catch (min 10 receptions). That's surely a guy you don't want on your team. Here's a 10 year veteran whose catch totals had gone up for 4 straight years. Right, that's the guy you want to get rid of.

The Skins recently signed Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan, I can only imagine, to add depth to their receiving corps. Last season, Gaffney had basically the same numbers as Garcon and Morgan's numbers from last season don't even compare. Yes, Garcon and Morgan are much younger than Gaffney, but it's not like Gaffney is on a downward slide. A lot of people are saying that another reason the Redskins don't need Gaffney is the emergence of Leonard Hankerson. I'm not saying Hankerson isn't worth anything, but he's coming off a rookie season where he caught 13 passes in 4 games before ending the season on injured reserve. Once again, you're letting you're best receiver from the previous season go and replacing him with a second year WR who has only played 4 games, a WR who has averaged 33 receptions a year and another receiver who has identical stats. Got it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some super fan of Jabar Gaffney, but to me, this seems like a backwards move to me. This was not a salary cap move as Gaffney was only scheduled to make $2.65 million this year (a fair wage for your #1 WR) and was willing to renegotiate his contract to help the team. Compare that to Garcon who has a base salary of $2.1 million and cap hit this season of $4.8 million and Morgan whose numbers are $1.8 million base and $4.55 cap hit. Clearly this move was not about money. One could say it's about getting younger but Santana Moss is a little older, but he does have better overall stats.

I would think that with two rookie quaterbacks on the team, you would want some real experience at the receiver position, but I guess there can only be one #10.

Just Say No To The Kool-Aid

2012-04-29T03:45:02Z

The NFL finished up their annual draft today and as everyone expected, the Washington Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick of the draft. I like this pick. I've stated before, I didn't like the trade the Redskins made to be in position to make the pick, but I do like the pick. Here's a list of the players the Redskins drafted this year:

1st Round Robert Griffin III QB Baylor

3rd Round Josh LeRibeus OG SMU

4th Round Kirk Cousins QB Michigan State

4th Round Keenan Robinson ILB Texas

5th Round Adam Gettis OG Iowa

6th Round Alfred Morris RB Florida Atlantic

6th Round Tom Compton OT South Dakota

7th Round Richard Crawford CB SMU

7th Round Jordan Berstine SS Iowa

I am certainly not, nor have I ever claimed to be a football insider, so I will not try and tell you the strengths and weaknesses of the players the Redskins drafted, but I can look at postions they drafted and how I think that helps the team. They drafted 2 QBs, including the Heisman Trophy winner. That is good. They needed a QB and I hope that either one of the ones they drafted will be an upgrade over Rex Grossman (the Redskins released John Beck today). They drafted 3 offensive lineman. This is good. They needed some help on the OL and you can never have too much depth. A single running back was drafted and I can already hear the masses claim that he will be the next great find at RB by Mike Shanahan. In a rare, forward thinking move, the Redskins got an inside linebacker. Could be a possible replacement for London Fletcher in a year or two. Lastly, they drafted 2 defensive backs. This is a good move. The Redskins let both of their starters from last year leave and the one big name they brought in in the off-season was recently arrested for DUI. Position-wise, I'd say the Redskins did okay with the players they drafted and I would give them an overall grade of B-. Of course you really can't grade a draft for a few years because you need to see who makes the team and how much they contribute.

The pick that confuses me is picking Cousins in the 4th round. The Redskins, going into today, had Rex Grossman, John Beck and Jonathan Crompton on the roster with everyone knowing that they were going to pick RGIII. Either Grossman or RGIII will start the season with the other being the backup. That leaves Cousins on the sidelines holding a clipboard. Is that how you use a 4th round draft pick? Even if Grossman is let go by the team and RGIII is named the starter, I would hope they would bring in a veteran backup in case he gets hurt and not go into the season with two rookie quarterbacks. Wouldn't that 4th round pick have been better spent on a higher ranked OL or DB, maybe even DL? I made reference to the Redskins 1994 draft on someone's Facebook page after they criticized two analysts who said drafting Cousins was a mistake. The reference I made was something I saw in this article about how in 94 the Redskins drafted Heath Shuler with the 3rd overall pick of the draft and then ended up picking Gus Frerotte in the 7th. Shuler was the quarterback of the future for the Redskins (sound familiar?), but was eventually benched in his third season with the team as Frerotte ended up making the Pro Bowl. The difference is that Frerotte was the last pick the Redskins made in that draft. The person who criticized the analysts as being "ridiculous", replied to my comment, but for some reason, deleted it. Why did they delete it? I don't know, but here it is.

Apparently I have hate for the Redskins' organization. This is not the first time someone has called me a hater of the Redskins. I have to tell you, it's getting old. I make no apologies for not drinking the Kool-Aid anymore. I find it funny that basically every criticism about the team over the last two years has been spot on. How has the signing of Mike Shanahan as Head Coach worked out? I remember how excited everyone was. I hated it then and I hate it now. Yes, I know he's only been coach for two years, but in those two years, he has posted an outstanding record of 11-21. Everyone said Jim Zorn wasn't right for the position of Head Coach, but at least he won 12 games in two years. In fact, over the last 50 years, only one coach has had a worse first two years as Head Coach of the Washington Redskins and that was Norv Turner who went 9-23. For the record, I was against Turner being the coach and to this day refer to him as one of the worst head coaches in NFL history. The Shanahans brought in the quarterbacks they said were the right guys to lead the team. What happened? One is gone (Beck), one has been terrible and is probably out the door (Grossman) and the third is Donavan McNabb. That was another stellar move by the organization. That was another move that had everyone really excited and that I called the worst trade in Redskins history.

For a number of years, I have had a phone call or two with a friend who I would consider a big Redskins fan. We would talk before the draft about what the team should do and then we would talk after the draft about how well it went and our predictions for the next season. Our conversations were always the same. We wanted the team to trade down, we were never really happy about the picks and then we would agree that there was enough talent, and with a few breaks, the team could maybe go 9-7, 10-6 if they were real lucky, and maybe sneak into the playoffs. I stopped doing that a few years ago and started predicting the team would go 6-10. My friend asked why I felt that way. I told him that every year, we would predict 9-7, only to be disappointed in the end. I didn't want to be a fan with blinders on anymore. The team really didn't have the talent to make the playoffs.They didn't draft well and the decisions they have made in regards to head coach have been questionable at best.

Does this mean I hate the team? No it doesn't. I have said for many, many years that I thought Dan Snyder is one of the, if not the worst owner in all of professional sports. I'm not knocking his business sense, but I am knocking his football sense or should I say, his lack of football sense. I have said repeatedly that the Redskins will never win a Super Bowl with Dan Snyder as owner. They will also not win a playoff game with Mike Shanahan as Head Coach (I'd actually be surprised if they even made the playoffs).

I love that the fans and community are excited about RGIII being drafted. The fans deserve to be excited about something and while I am excited myself, I am also somewhat guarded. Between 1998 and 2009, there were 33 quarterbacks taken in the first round of the draft. In looking at the first 3 years of their careers, they won, on average 14.6 games for their teams. Three of the 33 have won a total of 6 Super Bowls and at least 5 lasted less than 5 seasons in the NFL. I hope RGIII does well, but do I think he is all that was missing from the Redskins and by simply drafting him, they will become perennial contenders? No, but that has nothing to do with him. We as fans, and for that matter the team, don't know how RGIII will perform on the pro level. I think a lot of people are looking at the season Cam Newton had last year and thinking that RGIII will have that same type of season. But what if he's more like Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert or Christian Ponder, who won a combined 6 games last year.

My point is that I would use guarded optimism. The Redskins drafted 9 players this year. They've never played in the NFL and we don't know what they can do. They have a head coach who only won because he had one of the greatest players in NFL history as his quarterback and one of the best OL Coaches ever on his staff. He has done nothing outside of that in either the coaching or player personnel areas. Yes, the Redskins have been turning over their roster, getting rid of players that aren't performing anymore, but the younger players they're bringing in, need time to develop.

I return to being called a hater. If I'm a hater for criticizing the team when they play poorly, make bad player personnel or coaching decisions, then I'm a hater, but what about the people who call me a hater? Do they do that because they drank too much Kool-Aid or because I am right?