A year ago, Tony Romo joined Justin Timberlake and Matt Lauer in a round of celebrity golf at Torrey Pines the week before the U.S. Open. He fired an 84, which, to hear him tell it, was disappointing.
In general, a 2-handicap isn't all that jazzed about a 14-over round, but I'm guessing Romo doesn't regularly play on courses that feature 4-inch rough, 20-yard-wide fairways, and greens rolling 14 on the stimpmeter. But, hey, the guy sets high standards for himself.
Last month, between organized team activities at his day job, Romo tried and failed to qualify for the Byron Nelson Championship. And next week he will play with Tiger Woods in the AT&T National pro-am.
Fred Smoot is probably best known for his role in the Vikings sex boat scandal, but that incident shouldn't obscure the fact that he's eminently quotable. (Twitter was invented for Smoot. Why he isn't on it is one of life's great mysteries.) If you can get past the Mississippi accent, he's got the Andy Griffith homespun wisdom thing down pat. Well, if Andy Griffith was hyped up on SMACK Energy Bars.
There is no way I can stat up this game -- it was a stinker. Neither offense could really get anything going, both defenses were all over the field and there were enough bad plays to fill Daniel Snyder's mansion.
Still, it was a gripping game that went down to the final play of the game. It also came down to the final inches of the field.
Down 10-3, the Eagles made a last second drive to tie the game. With :12 left on the clock, Donovan McNabb completed a pass to Reggie Brown on the two, maybe three, inch line. The Redskins LaRon Landry and Fred Smoot stopped him there and with Philly out of timeouts, the clock ran out. Yes, that is the play pictured above.
This is a huge blow to the Eagles playoff chances. Coming into the game, Philly actually held its own destiny. With a win over the Redskins and next week against the Cowboys, the Eagles would have been in the playoffs. Now Philly needs to win and hope Tampa Bay loses to Oakland and Chicago loses tomorrow against Green Bay or in Houston next week. While possible, it's hard to pin your hopes on Oakland winning in Tampa against Jon Gruden.
A month ago today Barack Obama became the first African-American to win a presidential election. And this week, another glass ceiling has been broken: the NFL has its first female player. At least according to Matt Hasselbeck, who on Tuesday took part in the NFL's "Play 60" program, which encourages young folks to get at least 60 minutes of exercise each day.
The Seahawks quarterback showed up at Issaquah (WA) Middle School to spread the good word, and to also answer a few questions. This one was easily the best of the bunch.
The common thought is that Redskins running back Clinton Portis is unlikely to play against the Cowboys tomorrow night. He has yet to practice this week with a sprained MCL and the team has been trying to get Ladell Betts ready to take his place.
Still, head coach Jim Zorn thinks Portis may actually play. He is still listed as questionable and is considered a game-time decision. Zorn even had him kind of practicing.
Portis was on the Redskins Park practice fields on Friday, but he did not participate in the session.
"Clinton got some mental reps just in case he has a chance to go," Zorn said.
Even if Portis is available to play against the Cowboys, he would be used in a "limited fashion," Zorn added.
Mental reps, huh? Portis' backup, Betts, was limited in practice yesterday as he is recovering from his own knee injury. That could mean former league MVP Shaun Alexander, who has carried the ball ten times for 23 yards this season, could see a lot of work.
In case you've just come out of a coma (congratulations!), or are new to our planet (welcome!), there's a pretty big NFL tackle football game this Sunday night. The Redskins will host the Cowboys, and it's fair to say that both teams aren't very fond of each other. Unofficial Redskins spokesman Fred Smoot confirms as much via the indispensable Sports Bog (see the video above, around the 1:33 mark).
"We (the Redskins players) hate Dallas," Smoot told the Bog's Dan Steinberg." ... I got family members that love Dallas so I don't even talk to them during the week. ... I got uncles that have been Cowboys fans since I was like real young and they not gonna sell out just because they nephew plays for the Redskins, they gonna keep cheering for what they do."
Yesterday I called it the world's lamest cat fight, but apparently I was wrong because there's more. Earlier in the week, Joey Porter wondered why Matt Jones still hadn't been suspended after an arrest for cocaine possession a few months back, Jones then questioned why Porter was "even thinking about" him before wagering a guess: "maybe he likes other men and sits up and thinks about stuff."
"Matt, I'm sorry to bring it up," Porter said to a group of reporters here at the Dolphins facility. "I wasn't trying to use you like that.
In a Wednesday conference call with Seattle Seahawks reporters in advance of Sunday's game in Dolphin Stadium, the NFL's sack leader brought up Jones' felony arrest for cocaine possession in discussing the unfairness of Porter's recent $20,000 fine for criticizing officials.
And because it was the Seahawks, Porter then spent the next 15 minutes ripping Jerramy Stevens for being soft. Actually, it sounds like Joey had a breakthrough in therapy, and Jones is the beneficiary. It's sorta like "My Name Is Earl" but with just one redneck.
Used to be the case that during the NFL season bloggers spent their weekdays recapping the games that just wrapped and previewing those on tap. It was a simpler time.
Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg has a thoughtful post on the whole thing, and even talked to the commissioner about Clark's fine. Roger Goodell, who's more slick politician than high-powered executive, was predictably vague in his response:
One of the ancillary story lines to come out of Pittsburgh's convincing win over Washington on Monday night wasn't the suddenly impotent Jim Zorn offense, or the sight of Carlos Rogers dropping another interception. It was the fact that FedEx Field had been taken over by Steelers fans. So much so, in fact, that the Redskins offense used a silent count for part of the game. That's unheard of.
Today, the Washington Post's Michael Wilbon expects more of the same on Nov. 16, when the Cowboys come to town. But he also explains why it happened in the first place, which says more about the owner than the fan base, I think. (When in doubt, blame Dan Snyder. It's just easier.)
I applaud Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan for his frankness. In a league full of automatons when it comes to interacting with the media, it's a refreshing change.
But it doesn't alter the fact that Oakland is an embarrassment, which was on full display during Monday night's 41-14 beatdown courtesy of Al Davis' nemesis, Mike Shanahan. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised; I mean, Warren Sapp told us the Raiders were going to suck and that DeAngelo Hall was the "flashiest, burnt-up corner in the history of the game," which is saying something with Fred Smoot still collecting a paycheck.
A year ago, Tony Romo joined Justin Timberlake and Matt Lauer in a round of celebrity golf at Torrey Pines the week before the U.S. Open. He fired an 84, which, to hear him tell it, was disappointing. 
The common thought is that Redskins running back 
Yesterday I called it the 
Used to be the case that during the NFL season bloggers spent their weekdays recapping the games that just wrapped and previewing those on tap. It was a simpler time. 
