Round 2

About a month ago, the Washington Redskins pasted the Dallas Cowgirls 50-0 in Dallas. On Sunday night at FedEx Field, the margin should be even greater for the Redskins as Dallas sucks even more as the year goes on.
Since I already did a CityView on Dallas last matchup, and Dallas sucks, I'm gonna do one you've never seen-Washington. After all, I should reward the city that's going to win this game.

Washington, District of Columbia







Population: 599,657
Nicknames: DC, The District
Area: 68.3 sq mi (177.0 km2)
Mayor: Adrian Fenty
Time Zone: Eastern
Demographics: 55.6% Black or African American, 36.3% White, 3.1% Asian, and 0.2% American Indian. Individuals from some other race made up 4.8% of the District's population while individuals from two or more races made up 1.6%. In addition, Hispanics made up 8.3% of the District's population across all races. There were also an estimated 74,000 foreign immigrants living in Washington, D.C. in 2007.[72] Major sources of immigration include individuals from El Salvador, Vietnam, and Ethiopia.
Famous Washingtonians: Pete Sampras, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stein, Roger Mason Jr., Elgin Baylor, Katherine Heigl, Spike Jonze
Movies Set in DC: The Sentinel, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Minority Report, Shooter (parts), The Lost Symbol (to be released in 2012)

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Cowgirls at Redskins
Sunday, 8:20 pm
FedEx Field
TV: NBC (Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth)
Line: Who cares, Dallas sucks
Projected Uniforms: Redskins-Burgundy helmets/pants, white jerseys. Cowgirls-Man-thongs a la Borat, color doesn't matter.
Breakdown: Dallas is looking for a playoff spot, we're not gonna let them get it. It's as simple as that, really. I don't need to talk about the game. Refer to my last preview of Redskins-Cowgirls, November 19th, I believe.
Prediction: Redskins 98, Cowgirls 0

Is It Over Yet?

No, I don't just mean tonight's Monday Night debacle in which we trail the New York Giants 38-12 after the third quarter (I will not recap this game, you know who's gonna win), I mean the entire Redskins season. It's just depressing. We're already guaranteed a losing season, its just a matter of what the record will be. After tonight, we're 4-10. We play the Dallas Cowgirls on Sunday-easy win. After the new year comes, we travel out west to San Diego to face the Chargers in an absolutely meaningless game. We're out of the playoff race, and the Chargers have the #2 seed almost locked up and can't mathematically get to the top seed in the AFC. Then, it will be over.
Still, the season goes on. And I'm tired of it. Dan Snyder needs to sell the team. I hate that guy. Jim Zorn hasn't worked out. He'll be gone. Jason Campbell is running out of chances. We need a quarterback. Badly. And not Tim Tebow. He won't do a thing in the NFL.
Watching the Redskins used to be fun. What the hell happened? It's really a disservice to fans like me for the team to be this bad. To have an owner this autocratic. To have a quarterback who can't think. To have this bad of an offensive line. We're turning into the Cleveland Browns, for god's sake.
However, I am less than a month away from being back in heaven. UVa football sucked it up this year, UVa basketball is doing the same (they got a 68-37 win tonight, but that was against New Jersey Tech. And we're only 5-4 this year), and the Redskins have been just awful. So what is it that should (key word-should) return NadkarniSportsNation to somewhat-good graces? Tennis. The Australian Open begins the night of January 17th here in the US, and my first New Year's resolution is to be a lot more patient with NSEEFTPC. I really can't afford to have high expectations with the way the rest of my favorite sports teams have done. Right now, it looks like Jelena Jankovic, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, Daniela Hantuchova, Elena Vesnina, and Kateryna Bondarenko will be seeded while Alona Bondarenko and, lastly, Romanian tennis star and my future wife Sorana Cirstea will not. Interesting-the two most attractive Angels are the worst ones tennis-wise. Hell, even just the presence of the Angels makes it better. I just want to see them out on the court. Still, if just one of the eight makes the second round, I'll be happy. I told you I was lowering my standards. No more quick expulsions from the Cabaret (it's not like anyone was on thin ice anyway), no more killing myself after Jankovic blows ten match points and loses (and no more tounge-in-cheek accusations of her being a stoner), and no more whining after Cirstea falls in the first round.
My second resolution is to pay more attention to men's tennis. I actually enjoy men's tennis more than women's (well, the TENNIS part). Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Robin Soderling will get a lot more coverage on here. Put it this way-if I were a woman (or if I were interested in men, which I am not), those four would be my Cabaret. Federer has a shot at winning the tournament-how sweet would that be? Add Cirstea on the women's side, and it will be a perfect start to 2010. Yeah, right, that's gonna happen.

America's Team

If you remember my Redskins-Raiders preview, you'll know that I referred to the Raiders as "America's Second Team". You'll also remember that I referred to the Green Bay Packers as today's "America's Team". It's true. What do Americans like? Football. What do most bandwagon fans like? Winning. When you think NFL, success, playoffs, football, whatever, you see the Green Bay Packers. You don't see the Dallas Cowgirls, who somehow still have the moniker even though they can't win when it counts. Here's a list of teams who deserve the name more that the Cowf***s, and the reasons why. The first two will be obvious.

1. Green Bay Packers. I remember going to Super Bowl parties when I was younger, and the ones I remember (just a couple of them, I suppose) featured the Packers. They were hosted by a family of Packer fans in Virginia. Everywhere you go, you see Packer fans. In every stadium, you see Cheeseheads. Yeah, the Cowgirls travel well and have fans all over the place, I suppose, but the Packers actually know how to win in the playoffs. Why the holy hell should "America's Team" not have won a playoff game in 13 years?

2. Oakland Raiders. Raider Nation-need I say more? How awesome are those guys who go to games dressed like total thugs? And they go to support a team full of total thugs! Plus, America as a country is a thug-going into foreign countries, stealing their oil, raping their women. Lastly, Greg Papa's "Touchdown, RRRRRRAID-ERRRRSSSS!" is the best touchdown call in the NFL. Hell, I might just become a Raiders fan.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers. They've won two Super Bowls in the past four seasons. And naturally, Americans without an allegiance would flock to this team. Like I said, America's Team should be one that has playoff success. And, bandwagoners do become Steeler fans. Terrible Towels take over every visiting stadium-we Redskins fans know that firsthand. But, the main reason I don't regard them as America's Team is because of owner Dan Rooney saying, "We're Pittsburgh's team. We feel strongly about that."

4. New England Patriots. "I am a patriot, and I love my country." I like that song by Jackson Browne. America, Patriots, it goes hand in hand. They're located in Boston (well, kind of), the heart of the American Revolution. Texas wasn't even a US state until 1845. If Andrew Jackson had his way, that hell-hole would still be part of Mexico. You want success? How about three Super Bowls this decade? However, they're kind of cheaters, with Bill Belichick being the head of them and all. With a nice, honest president in Barack Obama, America isn't exactly like that.

5. New Orleans Saints. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans, the whole country's attention turned to the Saints. When they returned to the city in 2006, they made the playoffs and they've pretty much been the darlings of the NFL ever since.

6. Washington Redskins. We're in the nation's capital. DC. If Romania had a professional football league, don't you think "Romania's Team" would be located in Bucharest? I do. But I feel that the Redskins should be Washington's team-well, DC, Maryland (screw the Ravens), and Virginia's team.

7. Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants. Why a bunch of teams in one spot, you ask? These are all of the teams that I haven't mentioned yet that have won the Super Bowl (you already know about the Packers, Steelers, and Patriots) since the Cowgirls last won a playoff game. Americans love to jump on the bandwagons of teams who win, right?

But of course, I know I'm fighting a losing battle. Because the face of America is a fat, drunk, unsanitary, incest-loving redneck. And that's what you'll find when you go to Texas, which is where the Cowgirls are located. So, it seems only fair that the Cowf***s are "America's Team". But they're not a good team. And they never will be.

Redskins Look to Play Spoiler

In their first game under new GM Bruce Allen, the Washington Redskins face a team with a shot at the playoffs, the 7-6 New York Giants. And nothing would be better than to spoil their chances on national TV.

Because I've already detailed New York City, I shall move to my plan B-a tribute to a favorite restaurant there. Now, you know that New York has all kinds of ethnic restaurants (I've been to a Ukrainian joint in Manhattan, for example, and also an Indian place out on Long Island), but I'm going to stick with good old American cuisine for this one. Not only is the food at this place excellent, but the experience I associate it with is as well.



Kane's Deli is more than a deli. They've got sandwiches, but also burgers, omelets, pies, and just about anything else we pig Yankees love to eat. It's you're typical neighborhood place where you can go just about anytime (no, really. It's open 24 hours). The neighborhood it's in, though, is Flushing, which, as you know, is where the US Open is held. And a ritual in recent years for me is to wake up early, get tickets, and then walk five minutes over to Kane's and grab a bite before heading into the National Tennis Center to not only watch tennis, but also to spy on Roger Federer, nearly have heart attacks when I see my favorite female players i.e. Sorana Cirstea, seek out other Cabaret members for autographs (ahem, Alona Bondarenko), sling mud at Serena Williams (figuratively, of course, though I wouldn't mind chucking a large handful of the substance at that "woman"), argue with ushers over squatting in empty seats, and eat more world class food at the Food Village. I'm the chicken tender man, so I get that at Kane's before the tennis, along with some fries and a Pepsi, no matter how early it is in the morning. Try the spicy tenders if you're ever there. Lastly, the menu at Kane's has faces of famous people who've eaten there, such as Will Smith, Billy Joel, Mike Piazza, Federer himself, and many others.

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Giants at Redskins
Monday, 8:30 pm
FedEx Field
TV: ESPN (Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski)
Line: Giants by 3
Projected Uniforms: Redskins-Burgundy helmets/jerseys, white pants. Giants-Blue helmets, white jerseys, gray pants
Breakdown: Even though the Redskins have lost three of their past four games, they've been a different team since they knocked off Denver a month and two days ago. Something's just clicked. Washington has held fourth-quarter leads in each of their last five games (including Denver) but has won just two of those contests, also getting a victory last week in Oakland. A big difference in the Redskins' game-offense. They actually have one! Last week's 34-13 win over the Raiders coupled with the Dec. 6th overtime loss to New Orleans 33-30 marked the first time Washington scored 30 or more points in consecutive games since 2006 when the Redskins posted a 31-15 win over Houston and knocking off Jacksonville in overtime 36-30. Backup tight end Fred Davis has beenn an animal the past two weeks, catching three touchdowns, and Quniton Ganther scored twice last week (both from a yard out) on the ground, exceeding Clinton Portis' total all season. Ganther, at least for the moment, appears to be the future of the Redskins ground game. Jason Campbell has done pretty well the past few weeks, and he'll be facing a Giant defense that gave up 45 points to the Eagles last week.
The Giants, meanwhile, started 5-0 and were perceived as a Super Bowl contender before losing six of their last eight games to stand at 7-6. To them, this game is huge. Lose to the Redskins, and they're out of the divisional race and likely out of the playoff picture. Win, however, and they have a realistic chance. A lot of people projected Eli Manning to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league this season, but older brother Peyton, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Brett Favre, and even Donovan McNabb have outshined the younger Manning. He does have several good targets to throw to in Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, and rookie Hakeem Nicks, with the last one having issues with dropped passes. Tight end Kevin Boss also has stepped up. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have shouldered the rushing load, and neither player has been spectacular this season. They might have a difficult time running, especially with starting right tackle Kareem McKenzie's status up in the air after suffering an injury last week. Looks like the Giants aren't all they're cracked up to be. That's New York sports for you.
This game will also feature a battle of Scottish kickers. The Redskins signed Graham Gano last week, and he went 2-2 last week in Oakland. New York's Lawrence Tynes possesses one of the strongest legs in the NFL.
Prediction: Call it the Haggis Bowl. Tynes kicks a field goal with two minutes left to give the Giants the lead, but the Redskins drive down the field and Gano gets the last laugh he sends the Redskins to victory 24-23 and likely sends Eli and Company to the golf course in January.

Redskins Dominant For First Time

Coming into this game in Oakland against the Raiders, it was a little difficult to tell who the better team was. The Washington Redskins had just outplayed the New Orleans Saints for 59 minutes last week, while the Raiders had gone on the road and knocked off the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers (who aren't that great this year). Well, after a game that took about twice as long as it should have, I think we know who the better team is between these two.
The Redskins, who could have easily folded for the season after blowing a late 10-point lead versus New Orleans, ran away from the Raiders behind the play of a pair of unlikely heroes. After Oakland took a 3-0 lead, Fred Davis caught the first of his two touchdown passes just before the first quarter ended. He caught another just before halftime to send the Redskins in with a 17-10 lead, and after a third-quarter field goal from Raiders all-world kicker Sebastian Janikowski, it was all Redskins.
The Redskins held Oakland on their next possession, and then steamrolled the ball down the field, with the drive culminating in Quinton Ganther's first career touchdown, a 1-yard plunge. After an interception of backup quarterback JaMarcus Russell (this is the second straight Redskins win where they've injured the opposing starter-Bruce Gradkowski suffered a knee injury and Russell had to come in) by LaRon Landry, Ganther went over again. Just for good measure, new kicker Graham Gano nailed a 41-yard field goal for the final margin. Gano was two for two on field goals. Take notes, Shaun Suisham.
Ganther was Washington's leading rusher with 50 yards on 14 carries. Davis had the touchdowns, but Santana Moss was technically the team's top receiver in their first road win this season. Santana Claus (Hey, it's less than two weeks till Christmas) had four catches for 58 yards. The Redskins as a team only had 295 yards, 195 of them coming through the air via Jason Campbell, who completed 16 of 28 passes with the pair of touchdown to Davis. Brian Orakpo had four sacks for the Redskins (half of Washington's total for the game), boosting his season total to 11. I will seriously have to kill someone if he doesn't get the NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year. I also now officially have a man-crush on the rookie from Texas, who leads all first-years in sacks.
The Raiders won the time of possession battle 32:07 to 27:53 and ran 66 plays to Washington's 58, but it didn't matter today. Another great stat-there were 21 total penalties, 14 of the by Oakland for 118 yards. They had more penalty yards than rushing yards! That, my friends, is Raider football.
The Redskins next host a divisional opponent, the New York Giants, in the second of two Monday Nighters at FedEx Field. Wouldn't it be great to knock those guys out of the playoff race?

-Adding to the great day, my YMCA basketball team won 40-30. I don't know any stats other than my pair of free throws, three steals, and handful of rebounds, but we're 2-0. Red squad!

-The Dallas Cowgirls lost yet another December game, 20-17 to the San Diego Chargers. Tisk tisk. Same old Cowgirls. We get them in two weeks, and there will be blood. Lots of it.

-Finally, the University of Virginia men's soccer team won 3-2 on penalty kicks over the University of Akron to win the NCAA title. Akron's Blair Gavin missed his PK that would have tied it 3-all and kept the shootout going. We have now won more national titles THIS YEAR in soccer than Virginia Tech has won in any sport. Tech sucks. UVa rocks. Enough said.

Another Shameless Plug

Back on Halloween when I was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh, I thought it was pretty much over. No more school, nothing else to worry about. We, it turns out I have a major decision to make by May 1st-much more important than which of the Bondarenko sisters I think is more attractive.
Today, I was accepted to North Carolina State University. That was my second choice behind Pitt, and, much like Kateryna Bondarenko did during the US Open, it has crept onto my radar for serious consideration. For one, the weather is (way) better in Raleigh than in Pittsburgh, and NC State is less expensive that Pitt, albeit before financial aid is factored in.
But Pittsburgh is a better school academically that NCSU (not that it matters to me), and although the Wolfpack knocked off the Panthers 38-31 in football this season, Pitt has better sports. Plus, the Steel City is a way better sports town than Raleigh will ever be-three major professional sports teams (Steelers, Pirates, Penguins) to one (Hurricanes). Pitt, however, only has a women's tennis team (not that that's a bad thing-maybe there are some Eastern Europeans girls there) due to Title IX, while NCSU has a men's and women's team (the men's team I will be going to watch when they come to Charlottesville this spring). Men's tennis is more fun to watch competition-wise, while women's tennis, well, you know why I watch it. Anyway, one of my tipping points will be this-who's sports do better by the time I have to decide? That, people is the million-dollar question.

Redskins Face America's Second Team

The Green Bay Packers are the real "America's Team", not the Dallas Cowf***s. I've decided that right now. There are more Packer fans across the country than any other team. A close second is the Oakland Raiders. I know several Raider fans with no ties to Oakland, but they don't like the Raiders for the same reason people like the Packers. Observe this George Carlin quote:

"In football, I root for the Oakland Raiders because they hire castoffs, outlaws, malcontents, and f***ups, they have lots of penalties, fights, and paybacks, and because Al Davis told the rest of the pig NFL owners to go get f***ed... Someday, the Raiders will be strong again, and they will dip the ball in s**t and shove it down the throats of the wholesome, white, heartland teams that pray together and don't deliver late hits"

That's why the Raiders are the second America's Team. That's also why I respect them. Screw class. Anyway, I hope that just for entertainment purposes, they're extra-classless on Sunday when I watch my Redskins take them on.

Oakland, California





Population: 404,155
Nicknames: Oaktown, O-Town, Oaksterdam
Area: 202.4 km2 (78.2 sq mi)
Time Zone: Pacific (3 hours behind Charlottesville)
Mayor: Ron Dellums
Demographics: 36.9 percent White, 29.8 percent African American, 0.6 percent Native American, 15.6 percent Asian American, 0.5 percent Pacific Islander, 12.9 percent from other races, and 3.7 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.2 percent of the population.
Notable Oaklanders: Michael Franti, Brad Gilbert, Don Budge, Gary Payton, MC Hammer, Rickey Henderson, Fred Korematsu, One of the guys who voiced Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street.

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Redskins at Raiders
Sunday, 4:05 pm
Oakland Coliseum
TV: FOX (Dick Stockton, Charles Davis)
Line: Redskins by 1
Projected Uniforms: Redskins- Brugundy helmets, white jerseys, burgundy pants. Raiders-Silver helmets, black jerseys, silver pants
Breakdown: I bet when the Redskins saw Oakland on the schedule, they thought, "automatic win." Not so. The Raiders are coming off a road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and actually have a better record than the Redskins this year (though Washington should have won its previous three games). Quarterback Bruce Gradkowski stepped in for the awful JaMarcus Russell and has led Oakland to half of their wins. In fact, Gradkowski threw for as many touchdowns (2) in a November 22 win over the Cincinnati Bengals (his first start) as Russell had thrown for all season long. He has good young receivers like Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey catching passes for him, as well as Zach Miller, one of the more underrated tight ends in the league. Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden are solid but unspectacular running backs. The defense isn't great, but this is the Raiders. They're ruthless.
The Redskins offense played too well against the Saints. Well, Jason Campbell did anyway. The guy threw for a career-high 367 yards and three touchdowns and the Redskins still didn't win. Devin Thomas had a coming out party of sorts with a pair of touchdown catches, and Fred Davis caught one of his own, continuing his strong play in the place of Chris Cooley. It's like Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El don't even play anymore. Washington will need production through the air, as they will start their fourth running back this season, Quinton Ganther. The secondary needs to be wary of Gradkowski, as they were burned by New Orleans last week. A good idea would be to get to Bruce, and with Brian Orakpo, Albert Haynesworth, London Fletcher, and Andre Carter, the Redskins have the guys to do it.
Prediction: Hmmmm. The Raiders. They're supposed to suck, yet they beat the defending champs on the road. Ah, they got lucky. Redskins, 21-20