2 Minutes on Landon Donovan aka Landinho

MoneyDown:
Landon Donovan is an extremely frustrating player to root for. You can just sense his natural talent is just on the verge of bubbling over, and there are what sports fans and commentators like to call “moments of brilliance”, but ultimately, he just does not have the confidence to get over the hump. I see now why we call him a pussy. Like Kobe or MJ, he struggles between the “get your teammates involved” method and “take over a game when you have to” method. Unlike MJ or Kobe, he never figured out how to find the middle ground between the two. He always seems to pass the ball off when he should go for it himself, you can practically see a thought bubble over his head with the words “I gotta be a team player, cause it’s not cool to be a ball hog.”

DoNoUhOh:
Seeing that photo of Landinho breaking Ashley Cole's ankle and jeopardizing Cole's World Cup changed everything. All of a sudden Landon wasn't a huge gaping pussy, afraid of Europe and the rigor of top competition. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll extend his stay. I think he'll return to the comfort of MLS and the fair weather of SoCal. And then I'll hate him again. But until then he is making me proud. See even I, full of irrational and random hatred for so many worthy athletes, am at least temporarily converted by Landinho the great American hope other than Charlie Davies and Tim Howard who remain infinitely more badass than Landon Donovan ever will be.

HighTimeForCrime:
You ever not like someone just cuz of how they look? Well that's me with Landon Donovan.

2 Minutes on Antawn Jamison

Long-time Wizard Antawn Jamison was recently sent to Cleveland in a Trade.

NobleSavage:
I will never forgive Gil for this, seriously. Because of him the Wiz lost Brenda and Caron, two great guys (Brenda because he actually tore dreads free from Etan's oh-so-smug scalp and Caron because he's awesome and the inspiration for this very blog) and now we've sent Jamison to the Cavs, our only true locker room leader. Not only that but we just gifted LeBron a championship...kill me.


MoneyDown:
OK, it's a bit late but NOW I'm really getting the whole "end of an era" feel with this latest Wizards trade. I definitely identified Jamison with the Wiz more than any other player. Gil was way too streaky. Speaking of Gil, I don't like him. I cannot stand behind him in this instance at all. He just plain screwed up and he's an idiot. There have been far too many "Just when I thought DC Sports could not get any worse..." moments in the past year. It's terrific how fickle we sports fans are, a beloved player and city's favorite son going to a rival suddenly renders him a despicable person that we should all loathe.


HighTimeForCrime:
What is there to say? He was the heart of our team, the only guy in pro sports I've ever heard of teams saying "yea, we should trade him for less than he's worth because we want to see him win a championship." Well that's the kind of guy Antawn was...and that's also the kind of shitty situation he was in. That being said, I hope Lebron suffers a career-ending injury because I don't want the Queen to win a championship.

DoNoUhOh:
Our glue guy. Gone. I'm happy for Jamison to be honest. I'm glad he got out. I'm glad he still has time to win. He deserves it. Always classy, always impressively good, never given enough credit for being such a unique player. But he's going to the Cavs. Why the Cavs?! Of all the teams he has to go somewhere where I can't root for him. It hurts. That hurts. I'm going to miss these Wizards, zany and underachieving but always interesting and exciting. Yeah they were depressing this year, and last year, but I bonded with them. They were my Wizards. And now I don't even know who James Singleton is. I'm not sure how to feel right now.

The Seven Player Trade Between the Wizards and the Mavericks

On February 13 the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks completed the first trade of the trade deadline season. The Mavs got Brendan Todd Haywood, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson. The Wizards got Drew Gooden, Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and James Singleton. These two teams are in very different places with the Mavs trying to push themselves over the top to compete in the West and the Wiz trying to start a painful rebuilding process.

2 minutes on the 7-player Wizards-Mavericks deal by HighTimeForCrime

That's it. The end of an era. Ironically, my first post in over a year comes the day after this blog's namesake is traded from the team. I wish him well. He wasted 3 years of his prime on a team that could never take it to the next level. If we were looking for salary cap space, we've got it. We're thinking about the future now, but it just hurts because we have officially moved on. Trying time to be a bullets fan, but it's always about the journey anyway.

2 Minutes on the wizards trade by Money Down:

I was not even aware of this trade and looking it up, it seems very convoluted and it is difficult for me to make a sound judgement on it. If it is based towards rebuilding then it's good. The Wizards seem kinda fucked. Although I don't understand trading Caron, he is our best player, if it's not Jamison. I'm going to have to see what the others say. Haywood never really lived up to his potential, he started to but I'm not sure if he sustained that, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Did we shop Gilbert? Can you trade a player that is currently suspended? I'm sure someone would want him (nice, shootin' Tex).

2 minutes by DoNoUhOh:

The end of an era. A glorious era by the dissappointing standards of the Washingtong Wizards in my lifetime. Our star is suspended indefinitely for breaking gun laws and simultaneously killing our ability to rebuild. Our rock, and the namesake of this blog, is now in another uniform. I'm happy for him. I think he will do well on the Mavs and I'm glad he has a chance to win. I think this will push his game to a new level. I'm happy for my boy Brendan Todd as well. I actually think he is the key to the trade. He can guard big men and randomly score. And he can rebound and block. He's an asset. A, dare I say, underrated asset. Thank you Etan Thomas and your pulled out dreadlocks for making Brendan Todd a man, a man who will end up crushing the Lakers come playoff time.

2 Minutes is Back! Vince Carter.

2 Minutes Is Back!! Topic for 2/14/10, Happy Valentine's Day Everyone:

Vince Carter just dropped 48 I saw in a game. What do we make of him? Like him? Will he actually be a factor when it counts down the road? Or will he disappear like he always does?


-Money Down: VC is the quintessentially bad athlete of this era (tho Wilt Chamberlain wasn't much differnet way back in the day) it's all about me me me and then he craps out when it really counts. I think some athletes can be like that AND still win and also be good teammates. It's tough to do all of that, but Vince Carter doesn't seem like a great teammate. That being said, he might be one of these (like Randy Moss) who will actually be a tremendous asset once he's on a great team, so I can see him helping out the magic in the playoffs. Really, I strongly dislike the Celtics and the Cavs even more, so if it comes down to those top three in the East, I pull for VC and the Magic all the way.

Two minutes on Vince Carter from DoNoUhOh:

Vince Carter is a bitch and always has been. His recent outburst for Orlando is just another example of the reason why the concept of Vinsanity is insanity. It is merely a microcosm of everything there is to hate about Vince Carter. Talented, excited, athletactular? Absolutely. But he disappears frequently, at will, just as he has for the beginning of the season. This is the man who signed a max contract with Toronto after running Tracy McGrady out of town and then proceeded to quit on the team and the city. It is one thing to not have the killer instinct to be the franchise. I'm cool with that. But if you sign a max contract you god damn better go down swinging. It is reprehensible to simply quit on your teammates and your city, especially when the city is so fucking cold.

Redskins Week 1: Quick Thoughts

Given that it was yet another loss to the Giants (who really seem to have our number in the past few years), I actually come out of Week 1 somewhat optimistic. Sure, the first offensive touchdown didn't come until there were about 3 minutes left in the game, but a lot of the offense looked good. Let's see...

Jason Campbell: I thought he looked good, especially considering being under constant pressure. Still missing the big play, but it's hard to come by when there's a real limit on how long JC can hang out in the pocket.

O-Line: Dealt fairly well with the Giants pass rush I thought, which is maybe the best in football. Seems to be improved from last year, and I think the danger of a massive break-down in the 2nd half of the season is less than last year because the line is considerably younger, which would optimistically mean that they improve as the season wears on.

Portis: I was actually expecting almost nothing from Portis, but he looks like the same old Portis. CP seems to hold up with physical punishment better than any RB in the league, almost anyone else would be worthless by now.

Moss: Pretty bad game, looked frustrated from the outset. Really one of the only BAD aspects of the season's debut, but we know he's $$$ so I expect him to rebound.

D Line: Maybe not as sick as we all thought, but they were up against one of the best O-Lines in the league. Pretty damn good against the run, but left much to be desired in the pass-rush. Haynesworth looked strong, I was expecting a hell of a lot more disruption from Orakpo though, I think I heard his name uttered just once all game.

Linebackers: Solid.

Secondary: Gave up a lot of middle-range completions, but I owe that up to a great game by Eli Manning. And boy was that a nifty INT and return by Hall, exactly what we want him to do. And Chris Horton looks like the real deal. Overall, pretty good.


All in all, I think the Giants just looked like a very good team, from the top down, the type of team that is more than the sum of their parts. Perhaps a sense of urgency would've helped the Redskins win, but I think the game was decided by a few mistakes, no reason to panic yet. One thing we didn't see however was much of a contribution from Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas. That will have to change.

Bringing back the original Tough juice Format...

Ok maybe this blog should be more than a forum for me to bash Jason Campbell. So, let's go back to the pick a topic and give your 2 cents on it for 2 minutes formula.

I'll get it started i guess with last night's kickoff game between the steelers and Titans, ready GO!

Ok, i happen to believe that Big Ben is the best QB in the game right now. Maybe best is the wrong woord, but i worry about Tom Brady getting injured and peyton is more dedication than sheer talent. He buys time better than anymone obviously, and i don't think Big Ben gets enough credit for his accuracy, which is in my mind the best in the leaugue (again, after Brady).

And Kerry Collins can still do it apparently. I doubted him but if they can put up that fight against the Steelers, they can have similar success to last year. unfortunately, he's old, and sometimes old qbs run into trouble in the playoffs, a la last year, I wouldn't expect different this year, when he is yet another nfl season older.

What to Make of Jason Campbell

As if there was some notion by anyone that circumstances had changed, let us confirm for all that Redskins QB Jason Campbell is still very much on the hot seat. One of the most intriguing stories of the NFL preseason was how JC would respond to his own team attempting to trade him not once, but twice, the second time for a rookie QB who had never played an NFL down. If that doesn’t light a fire under a player, then nothing will. Unfortunately, if you’re a Redskins fan, his response in his first two preseason games has not been encouraging: 4 of 13 on passing attempts in five series for 43 yards. Not exactly catastrophic, but catastrophe was never Jason Campbell’s problem. His play has always resulted in more three and outs than interceptions, more of Coach Jim Zorn reluctantly sending out the punting unit, rather than slamming his clipboard to the ground over a costly turnover. He probably won’t do anything to lose the game for you, but he won’t conjure up any heroics to win the game either. It may be unfair to judge JC on five series in the preseason, several of them without his best offensive weapons. But thus far, the Redskins have seen essentially the same results that led them to attempt to trade him in the first place, albeit against the two most feared defenses in the NFL in the Ravens and Steelers (but hey, that’s what you’re up against in this league).
I’m not trying to turn up the heat, but the first pass attempt of the preaseason for Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez (the aforementioned rookie who Redskins owner Dan Snyder apparently preferred to Campbell enough to attempt to trade for him) resulted in a 48-yard completion, outdoing Jason Campbell’s entire preseason performance in one play. Along with the lack of offensive starters (namely Clinton Portis and Santana Moss), Jason Campbell’s ragtag offensive line is a popular scapegoat for his pedestrian numbers. The lack of a deep and dependable receiver corps is also a legitimate disadvantage JC is facing. But unfortunately for him, Snyder isn’t going to wait around for an ideal situation to develop around the QB position; he wants results now. Typical Dan Snyder impatience: it is perhaps unreasonable, but then again, is it reasonable to believe from what we have seen that Campbell would flourish behind a strong O-line? Maybe it is, but it is a moot point because that scenario is unlikely to unfold during Campbell’s tenure as Redskins QB, he will have to play the cards he has been dealt.
No starting QB in the NFL needs a morale boost like Campbell. Fortunately, he has two more practice games before the real season starts, before every game that falls into the “Loss” column brings him closer to losing his starting job. Maybe the best thing that has happened for Campbell in the preseason has been the lackluster play of most of his backups, leaving the question of who could replace him for a full season with no clear answer. Campbell will not lose the starting job before week 1 of the NFL season, he should enjoy that wiggle-room while he can and play loose against the Patriots on Friday, take some chances downfield, regardless of his deathly fear of interceptions (it’s the preseason JC, take a chance!). A lack of offensive starters, a poor offensive line, another top tier NFL defense to battle against, will we be quoting one or all of these excuses for another forgettable outing by Campbell? Or will we be exhaling as Campbell goes out there and gets it done, regardless of who he is playing with, or against. It isn’t do-or-die time yet, but it’s fast approaching.