Allen's stranglehold on Redskins tightens with Lafemina's departure
You want to know how hard Brian Lafemina’s job was as the Washington Redskins president of business operations, chief operating officer and franchise savior? This is how hard it was. Lafemina and his newly imported business and marketing team, brought in by owner Dan Snyder to stop the bleeding at the box office and change the toxic narrative that had come to define the Redskins, had an idea for a marketing campaign — seemingly a simple campaign with a catchy phase. “We Hail.
Legendary female footballer still blazing trails for women
You might not have noticed something very different and unique before the kickoff at Redskins home games this season. After all, you were probably among the thousands making your way to your seats, focused in part on the players on the field warming up in their uniforms and in part on the guy behind you who almost spilled his beer down your back. It would have been easy to miss the woman on the field taking notes about how those players looked as they represented the NFL. But
Redskins' 'do the right thing' era was doomed from the start
I wrote the following in my Nov. 30 Washington Times column: “The Lafemina-Redskins goodwill era came to an end Tuesday afternoon with the news that the organization he was brought in, along with a team of other suits, to save had yet again committed a self-destructive crime by picking up Reuben Foster, the former first-round pick who had been cut by the San Francisco 49ers after spending Saturday night in jail in Tampa, Florida, following his third arrest in 12 months. “It’s
NFL dreams fuel D.C.'s latest arena football adventure
Sean Brackett was the third-string quarterback for the WashingtonValor, and believe me, there is no more third string than being the third-string quarterback for the WashingtonValor in the Arena Football League. Still, for Brackett, it was better than last year. At least he didn’t need a translator in practice. Brackett, 25, a former quarterback at Columbia University, was the backup quarterback last season for the Qingdao Clipper in the Chinese Arena Football League — a leag
Tim Tebow should pay attention to just how hard it is to reach major leagues
Brian Goodwin played his first professional baseball game in Hagerstown, Maryland, in 2012 at the age of 21. Since then, he’s played professional baseball in places like Scottsdale, Arizona; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Syracuse, New York, and Margarita Island in Venezuela, over the last five years. He stepped up to the plate 2,243 times in 603 games. Before that, Goodwin played college baseball at University of North Carolina and Miami-Dade Community College for two years. Befo
Joe Don Looney's place in history
The presence of Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer together at a Washington Nationals game last week caused quite a commotion — Washington sports royalty side by side, in, appropriately, the President’s Club seats. Two presidents at a Nationals game wouldn’t have gotten as much attention — especially two shown with cigars in their mouths. The one-time quarterback rivals here in Washington may be the most valued and treasured relationship in Washington sports history. Even thoug
Junior Seau’s likely Hall of Fame selection could be troublesome for NFL
Who will speak for Junior Seau when he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in August? Will his wife Gina represent the late linebacker, who died in May 2013 at the age of 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound? Will she say this? "When he would come home from games, he would go straight to the room, lower the blinds, the blackout blinds, and just say, 'Quiet, my head is, is burning.'" That's what she told 60 Minutes Sports several weeks ago. Or maybe
Pitchman to pariah: Last year, NFL used Ray Rice jersey in women’s apparel ad
Nearly one year ago to the day that the Baltimore Ravens — exposed and embarrassed — cut Ray Rice following the video TMZ released of the Ravens running back knocking out his then-fiancee in an elevator at an Atlantic City casino in February, the NFL embarked on a promotional campaign selling apparel to women. The jersey they used in the ad? A Ray Rice jersey. The spokesman they used to promote the value of women to the NFL? Ravens coach John Harbaugh. How did the ad spot end
No way picking up Robert Griffin III’s option was a no-brainer
I can't figure out if team president Bruce Allen is the good cop, coach Jay Gruden is the bad cop, or they are just all Keystone Cops at Redskins Park. Here's what Allen told reporters recently about the decision to pick up often-injured Robert Griffin III's fifth-year option on his contract. "We think Robert is a starting quarterback. We've seen him win. We've seen him win big games. We know his talent. It really was a no-brainer. I think if you asked us six months before, i
In midst of Super Bowl spectacle, the wreckage of human lives
Imagine if at the Phillip Morris annual stockholders meeting, they paraded around cancer victims who told their stories of facing death? Or at the Tobacco Expo in Las Vegas, oxygen tank manufacturers touting their latest wares, showing you the newest technology to help you breathe? Welcome to Super Bowl week, which has become a parade of former players with their tales of destruction, depression and dysfunction resulting from the very game the entire event exists to celebrate
