Go Caps! (Just went up 3-2!).

Edit 04/18/08: The Caps ended up losing 4-3 in double OT. But it doesn’t make this any less cute.

The long wait until the beginning of the next football season starts now. My father-in-law is thrilled by a Giants win, and is convinced that Simon was the bringer of luck. Because I’m nice, I made an exception for the Super Bowl. But if he thinks that Giant-shirt-wearing during the 2008 season is going to become a habit, think again. I was even nice enough to take a couple of (admittedly really cute) pictures.

Of course the REAL news in the football world has nothing to do with the Super Bowl, the Patriots (aka “Choking Dogs”), or the World Champion New York Giants (you have no idea how difficult that was to type). The real news involves the 2008 class of Hall of Fame inductees. This class will include two Redskins: Darryl Green and Art Monk. Redskins fans are happy that Darryl is in, but we are THRILLED for Art Monk. Monk had been passed over several times, and we were all getting a little nervous that his classy and quiet demeanor actually hurt his chances of getting into the Hall. But never fear, enough Washington area sports writers made his case loudly enough, that the rest of the Hall of Fame voters finally came around.

Monk was my favorite player when I followed the Redskins as a kid. He was always good for a 15 yard out when you needed 14 yards for a first down. And if you were inside the 20 and you didn’t throw a fade to Monk in the back of the end zone, you were a fool. He was the possession receiver the Redskins have so desperately been missing for the past 10-15 years. The guy was a premiere receiver in an age where the NFL was not the pass-first circus that it is now. He was also a class act. There was no taunting in the end zone. No pulling out of cell phones (Joe Horn), donning of pretend Hall of Fame jackets (Chad Johnson), autographing of balls (Terrell Owens), or pretend pulling down of pants (Randy Moss). Monk was a good sport throughout his career and let his play on the field do the talking. There was no better football player to have for a role model than Art Monk. I’m glad that he’s being rewarded for it. Congrats, Art.

6/12/06 2:30PM Update: Well THAT was ugly. Oy. Sluggish, sloppy, and generally uninspired play by the Americans. Hopefully they’ll step it up next Saturday against the Italians. The Czech Republic had some beautiful finishes on plays that were set up by American lapses. They’re not out of it yet, though. Bring on Italy!

They say that the national pastime in the United States is baseball. Everywhere else in the world, it’s football. The original football is not the Americanized gladitorial combat that passes for football in the USA (which is admittedly really fun in a totally different way). No, what we’re talking about here is a game of finesse, strategy, speed, and power. We call it soccer.

And the rest of the world is absolutely bonkers over it. Let’s use a dubious (and completely unscientific) measuring stick. Crazy fans. Soccer’s psychotic fans far outstrip anything American sports fans can offer. Observe:

• Basketball gives us crazy college students rioting after a big win. Soccer fans routinely die in stampedes at matches worldwide.
• West Virginia University football fans have been rumored to throw batteries and liquor bottles at opposing players. Team USA was targeted with bags of urine and animal blood (ew).
• Detroit Pistons fans storm the court causing a riot with Indiana Pacers players? The ultimate psycho soccer fan (no, that’s not a compliment) sees your riot and raises you a murder. A Columbian player was killed by a fan for scoring an own goal in the 1994 World Cup.

Okay, that took a somewhat more grotesque turn than I had intended. The point I’m trying to make is this: international soccer fans really, REALLY love their sport. And, for the most part, Americans don’t. We’re just not big soccer fans. Yet. Which makes it all the more galling to the rest of the world that the USA is closing the gap.

The United States squad is talented, deep, and well-coached. Wow, listen to me spout off as if I know something. As a casual soccer fan, here’s what I know. The talking heads are all saying that this is the best USA soccer team in a long time. They say that the USA is SLOWLY gaining ground on the rest of the world and could POSSIBLY put together a decent run in this World Cup. As somebody who wants to be excited about the World Cup and the USA’s chances, I translate that to “deep, talented, and well coached”. So sue me.

The USA is in the “Group of Death” with the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana. So getting past the first round won’t be easy. But the more I read about it, the more I get excited and hope that they put together a decent run. Regardless, the next few weeks should be fun for soccer fans worldwide, both hardcore and casual. Tune in and watch a game or two!

This past Saturday Tim and I went to the Nats/O’s game thanks to the generosity of a co-worker who didn’t need his tickets. Needless to say I was torn. I grew up rooting for the Orioles, but I’m thrilled to have the Nats in town. I found myself, at various points in the game when one team would do something good, I’d cheer. Then a little bit later, the other team would do something good. And I’d cheer again. I also noticed that I wasn’t the only person in the crowd doing this.

I took the camera with me. The following series of shots was taken from waaaaaaay up in the 500 section (yellow seats) of RFK stadium. Good zoom!

We’re going to another game this Saturday, courtesy of another generous coworker. They’re playing the Dodgers, so there will be no rooting conflicts this time. It will be Simon’s first baseball game, so I guess that officially makes him a born fan of the WASHINGTON NATIONALS. Hear that everybody? A WASHINGTON NATIONALS FAN!

I understand that my mother-in-law is now reading this blog on a semi-regular basis (Hi, Mom!). I love my in-laws dearly, and I’m super excited to be spending Christmas with them. That being said, there is a problem.

My in-laws have a thing for New York sports. Which is fine. I understand taking pride in your hometown. They have a special passion for the New York Yankees (who seem to be assembling yet another all-star team with no pitching). I’m even a good sport and continue to attend our annual Campbell/Murnane trip to an Orioles/Yankees game at Camden yards, even though we’re up to something like 12 straight losses for the home team when I’m there with Kate’s family. I kid you not!

The problem with this year’s trip to New York lies with Simon. Simon has more Yankees paraphenalia in his little room than he knows what to do with. I understand this desire to try and sway Simon to the Dark Side, and I certainly don’t begrudge them their grandparently doting, from which we have benefited greatly. And, for the most part, I try to be pretty good-humored about it. He’s got his Orioles and Nationals outfits as well, and he’ll know who I root for when he gets old enough, but I try not to get super hung-up on baseball.

But football is a different matter. Football is SACRED. My father-in-law is a Giants fan. A BIG giants fan. I, on the other hand, am a Redskins fan. A BIG Redskins fan. And I will certainly raise any child of mine to be a Redskins fan. It is, believe it or not, important to me. Last year, Kate had the good fortune to get Skins/Giants tickets from a coworker, and he and I went and saw the Redskins take the Giants out behind the woodshed for a 31-7 shellacking. In their first meeting this season, the Giants returned the favor with a 36-0 rout in NY. They meet for the second time this year in DC at 1PM on Christmas Eve. The game has playoff implications for both teams.

Simon looks dashing in both his Redskins and his Giants outfits. So I’ve been instructed that if I bring the Redskins outfit with me, I’d BETTER DARN WELL bring the Giants outfit too. Okay, maybe those exact words weren’t used, but that’s the sentiment. Of course, the middle-ground would be to place him in a Christmas outfit that day and avoid the whole issue. The problem is, he’s growing so fast we think he’s already outgrown his Christmas outfits! Slow it down there, buddy!

So I’d like to know what you, the Internet, think about this little dilemma. Do I, as a parent, have the right to indoctrinate and brainwash my child into whatever sports fandom I choose? Should I be making a stop by Babies R’ Us tonight in a desperate attempt to find a Christmas sleeper in which Simon can spend Christmas Eve? Is this the silliest and most pointless dilemma you’ve ever heard of, and you think I should just GET A GRIP? Any thoughts are welcome, although if you write anything favorable regarding the Giants be prepared for me to dismiss you out of hand, no matter how convincing your argument may be.

My dad had 4 tickets to the first quarterfinal session of the Legg Mason Tennis tournament in Washington DC. Naturally, I couldn’t resist free admission to a sporting event, so I took Friday off and joined him at the facility right next to Rock Creek Park to take in some tennis.

I’ve never seen a real tennis match live before, and DAMN. They hit the ball hard! The first match was between two folks I’d never heard of before, but they were really entertaining. The second match of the day featured Andy Roddick and some fellow named Karlovic. Karlovic was 6-10, and sent absolute bullets over the net on his first serves. Roddick prevailed in the end, though, to the delight of the crowd.

We really enjoyed ourselves, despite the heat, and given the opportunity, I would definitely go back for more tennis fun.

For those of you who haven’t heard, Rafael Palmeiro is due to serve a 10 game suspension after testing positive for steroids. Unfortunately, I really don’t have a lot to say on this.

Palmeiro’s response today said that he has “never intentionally” used steroids. There are any number of reporters and pundits that are writing much more eloquently than can as they lambast Palmeiro. And rightfully so. Let him have it.

As a life-long Orioles fan, I am deeply disappointed in Palmeiro, who I always thought was a terrific role model for kids. Unfortunately this development puts his whole (and until this point impressive) career into question. He has shown himself to be one of two things. He is either a very convincing liar, or colossally stupid. Neither is something you want your kids to become. Well done, Raffy. Well done.

Update: I have heard some speculation that Palmeiro’s medication for type I diabetes may have caused him to test positive – a fact that he doesn’t want to reveal. If this is the case, I wish he would come out and say this, as it would make me take back everything I just wrote. Which is something I desperately would like to do.

Post this picture:

Oh, and point out that the O’s took two of three from them in this past weekend’s series. Go O’s! (and Nats!)