The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

I think most people would agree that it's often times difficult to admit when we're wrong, but it happens to all of us, and the best way to learn from our mistakes is to admit them and attempt to make the necessary changes so we don't make those same mistakes in the future. Some people definitely have more trouble admitting those very mistakes than others, however, and one such group in recent days has been sportswriters.  Following his interview with WJLA, Washington Redskins starting quarterback Robert Griffin III saw these headlines across most sports websites:  - "Robert Griffin III thinks he's the best quarterback in the league" - "RG III feels he's the best quarterback in the NFL" Did the Redskins quarterback technically say those very words in succession? Yes. However, when included with the rest of the surrounding context, was that ultimately the message and point of his comment, and did readers garner an accurate picture o...

In a poll released last week by ORC International for the Change The Mascot campaign and goodness Mfg., there were some interesting, ironically humorous results with regard to the public's perception on the Washington Redskins nickname. When asked whether they'd ever call a Native American a "redskin" to their face, 82% of respondents said no. Even so, just 39% found the name offensive and 25% said the name should be changed. So, how does that logic work? Over 4 in 5 people find the term offensive enough that they'd never refer to a Native American as such, yet less than 2 in 5 claim to find it offensive, and just 1 in 4 think the name should be changed. I can just imagine such an individual engaging in the following conversation with an actual Native American: Native American: "Do you think the Washington Redskins should change their nickname?" Joe Schmo: "No" Native American: "Do you find the term 'redskin' to be at a...

The sports media cracks me up sometimes (not literally, thank goodness). Often times it seems that many members of the sports media are about as fickle as politicians during election season when it comes to how coaches and players interact with them. When players and coaches read directly from the book, entitled, "Sports Cliches 101," media personalities seem to yawn and not talk about these seemingly over-rehearsed comments. Then when some sports personalities, like San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich gets rather blunt with his responses, many in the media will almost say in unison, "It's nice to finally talk to someone who just tells it like it is." However, there are still other tell-it-like-it-is comments which seem to receive a great deal of backlash, where these same media talking heads simultaneously utter, "Whoa! He did not just say that! Can you believe that?" The latest such case revolves around Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Grif...

ESPN columnist Rick Reilly recently wrote an article where he defended the Washington "Redskins" name. His main line of defense was his father-in-law, a former member of the Blackfeet Tribe, supposedly wasn't offended by the name and felt it was even a little silly to be discussing such a matter when we have far bigger problems to worry about in this country. Well, a few days after this column was released, Reilly's father-in-law came forward on the matter, saying that the columnist had misquoted him, that the term is indeed racist, and should be changed. In light of this turn of events, I have a feeling the family's next gathering may be an awkward one, especially if it's on Thanksgiving... Reilly may soon release a book entitled, How to Win Over Your Future Father-In-Law , which will include the following words of advice: - "If you forget your father-in-law's name multiple times, chances are he'll think you have Alzheimer's, start to...

After Chip Kelly's successful debut, where his Philadelphia Eagles defeated last year's NFC East Champion Washington Redskins in this nation's capital on Monday Night Football by the final score of 33-27, I was surprised to hear many ESPN talking heads like Michael Wilbon and Bill Plaschke compare the Eagles coach to Steve Spurrier, who coached the Redskins in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Their reasoning centered around the hype surrounding both coaches coming out of college, their exciting style of football, the success both had early in their first seasons, and how when teams adjusted, they either did or will likely fail at this level. The two (and others) even mentioned that the second half of the Monday night game depicted just this point. Since the Eagles led 26-7 at halftime and 33-7 early in the third quarter, only to allow 20 consecutive points to win by the final of 33-27, this obviously showcased that Chip Kelly's offense won't succeed long-term and that lik...

I read the following headline at ESPN.com and had to chuckle - "RG III does jumping jacks for fans." Yes, exciting, isn't it? The article continued the excitement by starting with this - "Robert Griffin III did a few jumping jacks, jogged in place and bounced up and down on the stage." Granted, the Washington Redskins quarterback is coming off a serious knee injury, but still, must we write a headline that he did some jumping jacks? If the trend continues, expect to see the following headlines over the next four months leading up to the season: - "RG III does five push-ups" - "RG III plays Wii bowling" - "RG III walks to the bathroom in the middle of the night" - "RG III bends his legs" - "RG III does stuff" http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9220646/robert-griffin-iii-does-jumping-jacks-washington-redskins-fans

Philly did everything they could to play the role of spoiler last week against in-division rival Washington, before falling to the 'Skins by the final score of 27-20. This dropped the Eagles to 1-10 in their last 11 games and 4-11 overall. Throughout the contest, all three phases of the Eagles' game appeared pretty average. Their defense, while continuing to play better than they had been mid-season, still allowed Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III to have a very efficient day - posting a quarterback rating of 102.4. Albert Morris also ran the ball fairly efficiently for the Redskins, running for 91 yards on 22 carries (4.1 average), and a touchdown. The Eagles' special teams were average to slightly below average. Their coverage units have been poor throughout the course of the season, but have shown some signs of improvement in recent weeks. That progression seemed to come to a halt in this game.  Offensively, Nick Foles, while breaking his hand, played fai...

The Philadelphia Eagles continued their lovely string of defeats, falling 31-6 to in-division rival Washington today - their sixth consecutive loss, dropping them to 3-7 on the season. Today marked the first game started by Eagles' rookie quarterback Nick Foles. It's just about impossible to fairly grade an NFL quarterback based on one start, so I won't be too critical of the guy. However, Foles did anything but dazzle with his play, completing just 21 of 46 pass attempts (45.7%) for 204 yards (4.4 per attempt), and 2 interceptions for a quarterback rating of 40.5. He also ran the ball once for no gain and was sacked four times for a loss of 27 yards. He completed passes to six different receivers. However, he only completed seven of his passes to actual wide receivers and only two of those went to either DeSean Jackson or Jeremy Maclin. Being down for most of the game, Philly had to ditch the running game fairly early. It had been fairly ineffective up to that point anyw...

ESPN commentator (I will never refer to him as an analyst), Skip Bayless, was at it again on Monday - meaning, he was making yet another outrageous comment that even made deaf, blind mimes say, "What the hell?" Bayless, the same guy who bashes LeBron James more than Snoop Dogg smokes grass and praises Tim Tebow more than Tebow praises Jesus, made the following comment with regard to Washington Redskins' rookie quarterback, Robert Griffin III, on Monday's First Take : "I'm going to throw it out there. You also have the black-white dynamic and the majority of Redskins fans are white. And it's just human nature, if you're white to root for the white guy. It just happens in sports. Just like the black community will root for the black quarterback. I'm for the black guy. I'm just saying, I don't like the dynamic for RG3. It could stunt his growth in the NFL." First off, Skip's following claim I find to be rather humorous on a cer...