In case you missed it: BeerInTheBathroomsGate™!
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All day yesterday, Dan Snyder‘s radio station, WTEM-AM, was pushing an event called “ESPN-980 Night of Quarterbacks: Three Quarterbacks. Three Generations.” That’s a dinner produced by Snyder’s sportstalker that is, at least for now, scheduled for Nov. 3 at Union Jack’s in Ballston. The featured guests, according to the radio and web advertisements, are Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theismann, and Jason Campbell.
Quite a haters triangle there, eh?
(AFTER THE JUMP: How many people showed up at FedEx yesterday? The waiting list guy’s now estimating Redskins crowds? Vinny Cerrato looks like Balloon Boy’s dad? Even Barno bails on the Redskins? Jim Zorn mines for a silver lining?A lot more about Led Zeppelin at the Capital Centre?)
Let’s review: When Theismann came to the Redskins in 1974, he cockily announced he would win the starting quarterback job here and “put the old men on the bench.” The “old men” Theismann referenced were Jurgensen and Head Coach George Allen‘s pet, Billy Kilmer. Theismann’s attitude turned rivals—-Jurgensen and Kilmer—-into best buddies, united in hating the kid.
Jurgensen, for his part, has apparently not gotten over his disdain: Last season, during Redskins radio broadcasts, Jurgensen repeatedly referred to ol’ No. 7 as “Theese-man.” Lore has it that when he was in college at Notre Dame, Theismann changed the pronunciation of his name from “theese-man” to “thyze-man” for one big reason: It rhymed with “Heisman,” as in Heisman Trophy. (Almost worked: Theismann finished behind Stanford’s Jim Plunkett in the 1970 Heisman voting. Lore also has it that Theismann blamed his loss of the big prize on voters’ sympathy for Plunkett, whose parents were blind.)
Then we have Campbell. Jurgensen has made it clear during game broadcasts this season that he wants Campbell on the bench. And out of the booth, Jurgensen declared last week that the Redskins would be 4-0 if Campbell were sitting and backup Todd Collins was allowed to play. Well, Jurgensen got his wish yesterday, with Campbell benched for Collins as the second half of the Kansas City Chiefs debacle started. Campbell’s reaction? He stopped talking to the press, and left the locker room without making any statements about what transpired.
So, heading into can now be billed as the Night of the Former Quarterbacks, the questions are: Will Jurgensen call him “Theese-man”? Will Theismann call No. 9 a geezer? Will Campbell pull the no-talkee act when he hits the podium?
Tickets are $106.50. “Space is limited!” Sure it is.
(I once paid $9.50 to hear Led Zeppelin*. I won’t be paying $106.50 to hear this.)
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Skins fans who’ve only known the disasters at FedExField always say they wonder what it was like going to a game at RFK Stadium. Yesterday’s game had one thing in common with the good ol’ days: The crowd looked to be about 55,000.
The announced attendance was 79,572. Please.
This from the folks with the 200,000 people on the waiting list.
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Watch this video, as Balloon Boy spills the beans on his family, and tell me Balloon Daddy doesn’t look like Vinny Cerrato. I dare you!
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Highlight of yesterday’s locker-room interview between Snyder’s main broadcaster, Larry Michael, and head coach Jim Zorn:
Michael: How down is this football team?
Zorn: The silver lining is we’re playing pretty good defense…
Geez. Just walk away, JZ.
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The end of the Washington Redskins season came at 4:05 p.m. EST. That’s when BARNO1, the last man standing in the Skins corner on local blogs, posted the following message on the Great Dan Steinberg‘s D.C. Sports Bog:
I want to apologize to everyone on the WaPo blogs for my insanely optimistic predictions for the 2009 Redskins. I could not have been any more wrong. I will be taking some time off from the blogs except to continue to apologize and occasionally respond to comments that are addressed to me.I still love the Redskins with all my heart, but needless to say I’m not okay right now.Take care.
For weeks, Barno1 has been the lone holdout against the Skins and/or Snyder bashing that has taken over the Sports Bog. Him giving up on the team is like Pete Rose giving up on parimutuel wagering.
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* I just found out a bootleg exists of the Led Zeppelin show I attended, on May 28, 1977. I was a little dirtball heavily under the influence of gin and orange Kool Aid—-the Falls Church Margarita—-so I don’t remember much other than the dance Robert Plant and Jimmy Page did across the stage during the opening number, “The Song Remains the Same,” the lasers and Jimmy Page’s bow, which make me chuckle now but left me all goosebumpy back then, during the intro to “Whole Lotta Love,” and Robert Plant announcing that John Bonham‘s drum solo during “Moby Dick” was 35 minutes long. That last one can’t be true. Must have been the Falls Church Margarita talkin’. But I want to test my memory, so I’m gonna buy the bootleg, using some of the money I’ll save from not paying $106.50 to hear Jason Campbell at SportsTalk 980 Night of Quarterbacks.
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