T.O. will not run a route against the Redskins next year

So, last year was supposed be the year the Washington Redskins would field the best safety duo in NFL history with Sean Taylor and Adam Archuleta.

Unfortunately, it turned out Archuleta decided to impersonate Tony Lilly in his brief stay in the nations's capital. (Anyone who watched Super Bowl XXII totally gets that joke, but in case you didn't, watch this and keep an eye out for No. 22 in orange. It was much worse than that, I just can't find a better video.)

Determined to boast the best safety combination ever, the Skins drafted LSU safety LaRon Landry with the No. 6 pick in Saturday's NFL Draft. In all fairness, it was the correct pick to make. Most Skins fans - myself included - would have liked to trade down for more picks, but with Miami not interested in Brady Quinn, there was no good deal on the table. So they added the best defensive player in the draft to a secondary that struggled mightily last year. Good move.

By the way, thank you to the Dolphins for their selection of Ted Ginn with the ninth pick. I needed a laugh. Really, a wide receiver with no receiver skills? Really? You just drafted a kick returner over a potential franchise quarterback. Dolphins fans are not happy.

I can't wait to play Dallas next season, everyone knows T.O. is scared to death of Taylor, which he should be since the dude is a freak. I wish YouTube had video of T.O. pulling up against Taylor repeatedly last year, but he was a complete non-factor. There's no chance he will go over the middle now. He probably won't even play. I wish I could bet on "Terrell Owens will come down with planter fasciatus the week before the Cowboys play the Redskins."

The interesting thing to watch will be how Taylor and Landry work with "10-yard Cushion" Fred Smoot and "Double Move" Carlos Rogers. It might be the first time in history a safety gets help over the top from a cornerback.

Enjoy the vids.

Tyler Hansbrough is quite a "hit" with the ladies

Enjoy this story of a UNC graduate's recent weekend in Chapel Hill with his girlfriend. Usually, it would be an exciting moment to come across an elite college athlete on the streets, but this was an exception. It does, however, shed some light on how Tyler Hansbrough earned the nickname "Psycho T."

As many of you know, I'm an '06 graduate of UNC. My girlfriend is also an '06 grad, and we were in Chapel Hill this weekend for a wedding at the Carolina Inn. We had a great time, earlier we had seen Deon Thompson walking down the street, my girlfriend, who doesn't know Deon, yells 'Hey Deon' at him, and he smiles and waves.

After the wedding, we went out in Chapel Hill, and at around 1:20, my gf, and one of her best friends see Hansbrough surrounded by like 4 girls walking down the sidewalk on Franklin st. My gf's friend, who is pretty outgoing, asks him for a picture. Hansbrough initially walks past, pretending not to hear her. She then walks up behind him, and taps him on the back, thinking he may not have heard her, and he turns around, yells "What the hell do you want?", and cocks his fist back. The girl is absolutely stunned, and can't even say anything as Hansbrough walks away like a big jackass. Wes Miller, who was walking about 20 feet behind him with a group of his friends saw what happened, and actually stopped and asked her what was wrong, and took a picture with them (who really wants that, but it made my gf's friend feel better).

Seriously, who cocks their fist back at a girl. If you're a big star or whatever, you should expect for people to ask for your autograph on the street, and not act like a giant spazzed out assclown, and NEVER threaten to hit one. I was off talking with a couple friends, and I all I saw was him yelling, and walking off. After hearing the story, it really lose pretty much all respect for the guy.

You can read the full post here.

Hey, at least Deon Thompson and Wes Miller aren't pricks. Way to go guys

I find this behavior from Hansbrough interesting from a psychological level. What would make him so edgy that he would threaten to punch a girl? Some preliminary theories include:

• He's still on edge after the Gerald Henderson incident.
• His girlfriend is one of those insanely jealous types who gets pissy any time he talks to another girl on campus, so he has to overcompensate by acting like a complete ass to every female on campus to prove he's not trying to bed every girl with a pulse.

I think both have some merit.

By the way, this reminds me: was there a more enjoyable moment this basketball season than when Hansbrough tried to act like he actually wanted to fight Henderson after the elbow?

I really don't think so. Yeah, Tyler, you're the man. Way to let the 5-foot-11 walk-on restrain you. You really wanted to show him. And you had a broken nose anyway, jackass. What were you going to do?

To wrap this up, the moral of the story is never meet your heroes. I have always subscribed to this theory. As a sports fan, you always hear negative personal stories about your favorite athletes and it just kills you. I like to think of them as pefect in my mind. What if I met Darrell Green on a bad day and he shrugged me off? That would destroy me. The same goes with Art Monk, Cal Ripken Jr., Juan Dixon, etc. I honestly have no desire to ever meet the guys.

Second moral of the story: Do NOT tap Tyler Hansbrough on the back. Ever.

Rest in peace, Ceph

I'm not going to broach the Virginia Tech tragedy in this blog. Obviously, it is a terrible moment in this country's history, but I don't really know what I can say to add to it in any meaningful way.

However, here is a good blog post, which pretty much summarizes my feeling on the matter as an up-and-coming journalist.

Yesterday was a sad day for Maryland basketball fans, such as myself, as former Terp Laron Cephas suddenly passed at the age of 29.

With a career average of 1.2 points per game, Cephas wasn't a star on the court. His tenure at Maryland coincided with one of the greatest stretches in school history. The Terps went 99-38, including the program's first Final Four appearance in his career.

As a forward, Cephas just wasn't going to get playing time ahead of teammates Terence Morris, Tahj Holden and Chris Wilcox.

Despite being fairly highly thought of as a high school player in Wilmington, Del., Cephas never complained about his lack of playing time, instead making his teammates better by giving everything he had in practice and leading by example.

In school, Cephas was a positive influence on the College Park campus with his work in the SGA and after school he continued to be an upstanding citizen with his work in the Boys & Girls Club of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County.

That's not to say he didn't contribute on the court also.

When any Maryland fan thinks about Laron Cephas, they remember him playing quality minutes as a freshman against No. 1 North Carolina. Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison North Carolina. Undefeated, 17-0, North Carolina.

With our bigs in foul trouble, Cephas had to come in and guard Jamison. And he played with everything he had, held Jamison in check and the Terps stunned the Tar Heels in overtime.

I will never forget reading the "Washington Post" recap of the game the next morning and Gary Williams specifically pointing out Cephas' play as a key ingredient in the victory.

Man that was a great night as a Terp fan. We slayed the giant with three freshmen - Cephas, Morris and Mike Mardesich (pictured above carrying Cephas on his back) - guarding Jamison.

As a Maryland fan, like any sports fan, you remember the stars. I've seen some great players at Maryland: Joe Smith, Keith Booth, Steve Francis, Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, Steve Blake, etc., but it's the guys like Cephas that make college basketball the greatest game there is.

I leave you with a quote from Holden, who shared his thoughts about Cephas on a Maryland message board:

It's hard to just give one story, but he was probably the best person and teammate. This is one of those things where you hear it and wonder why stuff like this happens to good people. He always was in a good mood and made sure everybody was too. Smiling everyday, on the court doing drills in Cole, in the summer, sans AC. Smiling in the smallest weight room ever created in Cole, in the summer, sans AC. When I think of Ceph I can't help but smile and laugh because that is the kind of guy he was and that is the kind of guy he made the people around him. We weren't the closest of teammates meaning that I didn't call him every month or anything, but Ceph was like family. No matter how long it has been sicnce you talked to him, it feels like you just talked to him yesterday.

Jay Gibbons, you have some splainin to do

Obviously, the majority of the steroids in Major League Baseball discussion will be focused on guys like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens. However, watching the Orioles early on this season has opened my eyes to Baltimore outfielder Jay Gibbons.

Gibbons' .282 batting average is hardly intriguing, but his ever-shrinking body is stunning.

That hulking beast to the left is Gibbons circa 2004, a year removed from a 100-RBI season.

Gibbons' freakishly large chest and arms earned him the nickname "The Beast" from several Yankees fans at one point.

To the right is Jay Gibbons a couple of days ago.

That picture is actually flattering to Gibbons, considering he was wearing extra layers due to the cold weather. And yes, that's Aubrey Huff dwarfing Jay in the photo. Aubrey Huff!

The whole thing is a little suspicious when you consider Gibbons latched onto the O's in 2001 as a Rule 5 draftee after a couple years in Toronto's minor-league system, never reaching Triple-A ball.

Two years later, he hit 28 home runs at the major league level.

For about a three-year stretch, Gibbons was the only big bat in Baltimore's lineup - and, no, Tony Batista does not count.

Now he is a bottom-of-the-order hitter with little power. He went front a modern-day Orioles version of Boog Powell, minus the awesome barbecue, to Mark Belanger, minus the great defense and, well, any other tangible baseball skill.

It's possible the guy was a dedicated weight lifter who all of a sudden decided to cut down on his fat intake, run 10 miles a day and eat his veggies. Sure, it's possible. But I don't buy it.

Check out photos from Gibbons' playing career and compare and contrast as the years go along.

At least Brady Anderson is off the hook.

Do hockey players ever retire?

Admittedly, I haven't watched hockey regularly since about 1992 - I guess there were only so many times I could tolerate Mario Lemieux and the Penguins torturing my Capitals in the playoffs by coming back from 3-1 deficits - but I started flipping through channels for anything to watch other than the Wizards and I saw Chris Chelios on the ice during a Red Wings-Flames playoff game with a stat saying it was his 22nd postseason appearance in the NHL, a league record.

This guy was an established star when I was watching hockey in the late '80s. If you would have asked me what Chris Chelios was doing right now, before I saw him on TV, I would have been more likely to say he was hooked up to a dialysis machine than playing in the NHL Playoffs.

I also had a co-worker inform me that Mark Recchi is still in the league, as well. MARK RECCHI?!

Is Ron Francis still playing, too?

As a Caps supporter, I want to know where Rod Langway is. He didn't even wear a helmet, it seems they could use a guy like that. How about Dale Hunter? He would keep everyone in line. Can you imagine Alexander Ovechkin teamed with Mike Gartner?

How do hockey players do it?

Caron Butler update

In case my previous post needed any more validation, this is what happened in the last 15 minutes:

• Wizards go to halftime down 22 at home to a superior Bulls team - oh and the Wizards are now playing without Antonio Daniels, too. This is our new point guard.
• ABC's halftime segment has Gilbert Arenas name his top-five clutch shooters of all time and, of course, Arenas puts himself fifth on the list.
• ABC sideline reporter Lisa Salters interviews Caron Butler on the bench while the Bulls continue to pour it on and Butler goes on at length how he is there to support his teammates and wants to get back as soon as possible. The whole time Butler looks like someone told him his dog just died.
• 71-46 Bulls now.

That's all you need to know about the respective leadership qualities of those two right now.

In Arenas' defense, he is one of the best clutch shooters in the game today, but fifth all-time? Let's not go there yet my friend.

But here are some of Gilbert's best moments, just to make me feel a little lit better:

Gilbert, at least pretend to care

Let me preface this by saying Gilbert Arenas is the best thing to happen to D.C.-area sports since Joe Gibbs' first tour of duty with the Redskins.

However, since his recent season-ending injury, Arenas has been nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Washington's other all-star, Caron Butler, - who is also out for the season - can be seen on the bench every game pouring his heart out for the team, barking out instructions and encouraging his teammates during every timeout. You get the feeling he could go out and get 20 and 10 with a cast on if Eddie Jordan would let him.

I didn't pay too much attention to Gil's noticeable absence from the bench at first. For all I knew he was out rehabbing somewhere with a special doctor. No big deal.

Then I saw this post on the D.C. Sports Bog.

It referenced Gilbert's blog, in which Arenas gave fans an update of what he's been doing lately:

Meanwhile, I have my video games. It’s like my XBOX: I’ve been playing it so much that it broke I think.

And then you know you have to be bored when you watch all three X-Men on consecutive days back-to-back-to-back.

Oh man, what a life.

I try to watch TV, I watched Life like seven times already.

Hmm what else? Oh yeah, I’m getting ready to start watching Batman this week; the complete set.

Then there was this gem about his teammates:

Unfortunately, I’ve been catching glimpses of my team.

I try to watch the good parts … so I won’t watch the last four or five minutes. I’ll watch the good part of the game.

Yes, the Wizards are struggling right now. But they are competing against superior teams without 50 percent of their scoring and two all-stars. It's going to be tough to win. But the team is going to the playoffs and they are going to try their hardest to win, though it probably won't happen. But it couldn't hurt you to at least show up and show you're still a part of the team. If you don't show your face for the playoffs, officially consider the Wizards Caron Butler's team.

I hate being a Wizards fan.

Say what you will about West Virginia football...

...but those guys sure win with class.

I know I'm late with this, but I just couldn't resist piling on.

In case you didn't know, two of West Virginia football's finest ex-student athletes, Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones and Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, both had the hammer dropped on them by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell earlier this week for off-field transgressions.

Major ups to Goodell for cracking down on this nonsense. This was a league that in recent years saw Ricky Williams forced out of the league for smoking a little reefer and Ray Lewis somehow become the face of the league after associating with a group of people that was responsible for the death of a night club patron.

Sure, Lewis was acquitted of all charges, but he was still in a bad situation and deserved some kind of punishment. Fortunately, Lewis seemed to learn his lesson and clean up his act.

And remember St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Leonard Little only receiving an eight-game suspension for driving drunk and KILLING SOMEONE? Apparently hitting a bong, eating Doritos and watching "Half Baked" on cable was much more serious than killing people under Paul Tagliabue's watch.

Back to West Virginia now.

Apparently, head coach Rich Rodriguez isn't afraid to mix felonies with victories as a couple members of this recruiting class appear poised to step right in and fill Jones' and Henry's shoes admirably, if that's the right term.

Mountaineer linebacker signee Pat Lazear should fit right in. Let's take a look at some of his accomplishments:

Lazear had worried briefly that his high school football career had ended May 18, when police came to Whitman, an academically acclaimed school that draws its students from upscale neighborhoods in Bethesda. They arrested Lazear for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery -- charges that each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The charges stemmed from an incident March 30 when, police said, Lazear met three friends -- Justin Schweiger, Tommy Ashley and Robert Warren -- with plans to rob the Smoothie King in downtown Bethesda where classmate Alex Krouskas worked.

According to charging documents, Lazear provided a gun -- his attorney claims it was a replica not capable of firing -- and dropped Warren off at the smoothie shop. Warren allegedly showed the gun and left the store with $463. According to testimony and police statements, the Whitman classmates then switched into a different car, divided the money and met Krouskas at a pizzeria later that night. Lazear refuses to talk specifically about the charges until his trial.

Hey, if the guy can tackle, why let an alleged armed robbery get in the way?

Then there is the infamous Noel Devine.

While the kid hasn't attempted to rob a smoothie shop at gunpoint, his background makes it hard to believe college will be a smooth transition for the kid.

The one positive to come of this will be the unofficial contest to see which West Virginia program will bend more rules, recruit more questionable athletes and graduate less players: football or basketball?

With Bob Huggins now on board in Morgantown, Rodriguez has his work cut out for him.

Paging Matthew McConaughey

According to Sports Review Magazine, and as reported today on Deadspin, the mind behind possibly the two greatest shows of all time, "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David, will be aiding the New York Jets in this year's NFL Draft.

As a die-hard Washington Redskins fan, I think this is a great idea.

Given their proud history and prime location in the nation's capital, the Skins have their fair share of high-profile celebrity fans: Bernard Shaw, Wanda Sykes, Craig Biggio and Lewis Black just to name a select few. But Matthew McConaughey has to be No. 1 on this list.

SI: How does a kid from Texas become a Washington Redskins fan?
McConaughey: I'll tell you how. I grew up in Texas. Born in Uvalde and raised in Longview, which is two hours east of Dallas. So when you are six years old why do you start liking a team? Well, when your favorite food is hamburger and they have a linebacker, No. 55, named Chris Hanberger. And then you find yourself up late watching Westerns and rooting for the Indians instead of the Cowboys. So you become a Redskin fan. Then you have people like John Riggins who becomes your favorite running back. Everybody in town loved Tony Dorsett, so you have to stand up for Riggins. I was at the last game at RFK, the first game at Fed Ex and the first game at Jack Kent Cooke.

Would McConaughey really be a downgrade from Vinny Cerrato in the front office? I sincerely doubt it. This is the same guy who thought the best way to turn the Redskins into Super Bowl contenders was to round up a bunch of rejects from the 49ers.

With his chiseled physique and stunning good looks, McConaughey would bring instant credibility to the front office. And the man loves his football, especially his Texas Longhorns and Redskins.

Given some of the Skins' draft picks since the good ole days in the early '90s, I don't really see the risk in this move. I think the Jets might really be onto something. I trust the guy who created George Costanza to be able to spot football talent, as well.

And McConaughey is way younger and has much more street cred. And it's not like he's churning out Oscar-winners lately.

Allow myself...to introduce...myself

As you can probably imagine, I am one of many unfortunate souls in this world that will be forever tormented by Jeffrey Maier's stealing of Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS from the Baltimore Orioles. As much as I try, I will never be able to forget that night.

The O's had that game. Armando Benitez got Derek Jeter to fly out in the eighth inning with a one-run lead. Randy Myers was going to close the door in the ninth and the Birds were going to be up 1-0 in the series.

Baltimore won Game 2 the next day and would have been headed back to Camden Yards up 2-0 with Mike Mussina on the mound. The Orioles so would have won that series and destroyed the perenially-choking Braves in the Fall Classic.

With all that said, don't confuse this blog for an Orioles blog or an exclusively-Jeffrey Maier-soul-condemnation blog.

It is primarily a sports blog, which will focus on my favorite teams (Terps, Redskins, Orioles, Wizards) the majority of the time.