This year, there was no one-sided beatdown from start to finish, nor was there a handful of obvious miscues and mistakes that directly contributed to the result. But Washington fans, nevertheless, could not have found much joy in this Sunday’s listless effort against the New York Giants. In the days leading up to the game, the news was filled with sharp words from former-Redskin-turned-Giant LaVar Arrington, who seemed bent on making the contest into a…

Over the weekend, the Washington Wizards fell victim to that old saying “be careful what you wish for.” After barely holding off most of the Central Division for the fifth seed and a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers (whom the Wizards beat 3 out of 4 times during the regular season), they had a front row seat for the playoff coronation of King James. The 21-year-old LeBron James, already an MVP candidate in his third…

>> Oh those clever Redskins. First they use the NFL labor talks as an opportunity to buy out disgruntled linebacker LaVar Arrington and then while the area media whips itself into a frenzy over the move, the club quietly announces that, much like the Wizards, ticket prices will be going up, up, up next season. Surprising no one, the ‘Skins attributed the increases to putting the team more in line with other teams in…

The Washington Redskins treated their fans to a fantastic Christmas Eve by continuing their remarkable reversal of fortune with a well-fought win over the NFC East leading New York Giants, 35-20. The game’s completion ended what had been a remarkable week for Washington that began with a beatdown of the hated Cowboys and continued as every team that needed to lose to put the Redskins into playoff position did so en masse. It was…

The fact that the scene at the Edward Jones Dome went down against a soundtrack of frequent deadly silence tells you everything you need to know about where the Washington Redskins and the St. Louis Rams have found themselves this season. With big divisional contests taking place across the country, the Skins and Rams and their play-for-pride sideshow felt like it was taking place in an alternate universe. Probably the most interesting thing in…

It’s so nice to get to talk about someone else’s TO problem for a change. If you’ve only recently been rescued from a near-fatal spelunking accident, here’s the story: two years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were weary of playing bridesmaid to the NFC Champion. To get over that hump, they solicited the services of a preening, narcissistic headline generator named Terrell Owens. With Owens on board, the Eagles went to a Superbowl, and ever…

For three quarters on Sunday, the Redskins rode a solid gameplan, gritty defense and a scintillating performance from Mark Brunell, taking a lead on the visiting Seattle Seahawks. In the end, however, it took some late-game heroics and a few lucky breaks to secure the win and remain undefeated as the team pulled out a 20-17 overtime win. What’s to be done when your team has a peerless defensive side but an offense that’s…

Coming into this weekend’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Redskins have a little to buzz about. Their dramatic, come-from-behind victory in Dallas went a long way in sating fans’ appetites for victories. Santana Moss has put up a pair of fantastic games at wideout. The defense: as good as it gets. And even though the NFC East hasn’t presented a team that’s likely to bring home a championship this year, the division seems poised…

Saturday football? If it weren’t for the fact that some playoff teams are in the day-early mix, like Pittsburgh, Carolina and Atlanta, I’d have to wonder if the NFL had decided to banish the Redskins and their even lowlier counterparts from San Francisco from Sunday. But we assure you, this was the scheduled time and place from the beginning. This also marks another meeting between teams whose cities boast an –ist blog. In this case,…

When Joe Gibbs became the head coach of the Washington Redskins, way back in the early days of the First Coming, things did not begin well for the young Don Coryell acolyte. That first season, the Redskins sputtered and flamed out during their first five games, losing all of them and descending into the cellar of the NFC East. However, over the rest of the season, Gibbs righted the ship and won eight of eleven,…