* This has been a lousy season so far for the Washington Redskins, and their careless 27-7 loss to the underachieving Bucs underscored that reality. Also there’s that team name. That and Chief Wahoo, the Cleveland Indians’ cartoony mascot, have to go.
So, maybe they were looking for a diversion from inept play and awful public relations.
What else explains why you bring in a high-profile, motivational speaker before the Bucs game–and it’s former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill? Yeah, THAT SEAL. The one who says he fired the fatal shot at Osama Bin Laden. The one who had formally vowed never to go public. The one who joined an organization that epitomized team and minimized individual recognition. The one who now looks like the consummate mercenary.
And we thought the Bucs had been looking desperate and unhinged.
*As we know, Bucs’ receiver Mike Evans had a monster game against Washington. But afterward, the journalistic focus wasn’t solely on his 200-yard, 2-TD game, but on his evolving post-TD celebrations. Said Evans: “I don’t know what to do when I get in (the end zone).”
To address that, he has begun patterning himself after former NFL great Randy Moss and checking old video highlights to see how he celebrated. He’s incorporating as he goes.
Apparently, a viable answer to the question of what Evans should do after a TD is not: “Nominally pump your fist, toss the ball to the ref and head back to the huddle to congratulate the quarterback for his accurate pass and the line for protecting him long enough to throw it. And maybe a shout-out to the coach who called the play. In short, show some class. It’s not all about you.”
A boorish, grandstanding culture obviously doesn’t rank up there with concussions, assaultive societal behaviors and prescription drug abuse, but it is part of what’s wrong with the NFL. Even if you don’t use a football as a “prop.”
* If there’s one American Athletic Conference game that actually gets USF fans pumped, it would be I-4 opponent UCF. The Knights are the Bulls’ only true rival. The kind of rivalry that can actually energize a campus.
It’s also the one game you don’t want to have to play at noon on the day after Thanksgiving. But that’s when USF, still entertaining hopes of bowl eligibility, hosts UCF at the Ray-Jay. The reason: TV calls the shots. USF wanted prime time, ESPN2 dictated noon.
* Ironic that Will Muschamp’s post-firing press conference showcased a “no hard feelings,” personable side, a personality trait not typically on display in front of the media. There was even a sense of humor in response to the inevitable “Would-you-do-things-differently?” question. Indeed, he would, he acknowledged. Otherwise, “I’d get fired again.”
Muschamp also leaves with a serious consolation prize: a $6 million buy-out. That’s enough to offset the bummer of a firing.
* Not that it was a shock, but it had to be uber satisfying for Lightning management to have NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in town for a recent first-hand look at the Bolts’ operation. Bettman, obviously impressed, publicly declared that “the vital signs here are great.” Bettman was referring to the facility, the crowd, the winning ways and the owner’s community involvement.
But he was also talking about the enthusiasm he had heard directly from sponsors, suite holders and season-ticket holders. That’s a lot of vital signs.
* Breaking news: Washington Redskins drop “Washington” from their name because it’s embarrassing.