I Was Awesome!

This is a commercial from a local grocery store here in Florida; I think it captures the essence of what makes youth sports great. As a father of a soon to be 5-year-old who hasn’t shown a lot of athletic ability to this point, I can relate to the father portrayed in the commercial. It’s called “First Game,” hope you enjoy it.



Cheers and Hail

9/9 Happy Bday Joe Theismann & Ron Mcdole

Happy birthday Joe Theismann. Joe played all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Redskins from 1974-1985. The best way I can describe the way Joe played QB is that he was a cross between Doug Flutie and Brett Favre. He could hurt you with arm and his legs (but not his foot, i.e. 1 yrd punt.) He was a fiery leader who played all-out and with as much heart as anyone who ever played the game. He was TOUGH, he was old school...the last of the single bar facemask QB's! We’re all well aware of the horrific injury that cut short his career and forced him to walk away early from the game that he loved (please watch the Sports Machine YouTube at the bottom of the post about his drive to get back on the field after the injury.)

After a record breaking All-American career at Notre Dame (he was elected to the College HOF in 2003) Joe opted to play in the CFL rather than play for the Miami Dolphins or Minnesota Twins (he was drafted in baseball as well!) He joined the Redskins in 74’ because his thinking was the Skins had ageing QB’s (both Kilmer and Jurgensen were 10+ years older) and he'd have the opportunity to become a full time starter soon. That opportunity did not come until 1978, in the meantime Joe volunteered to return punts…how’s that for a team player?

Once Joe became the starter he held onto it for the rest of his career…8 years and 113 consecutive games. He became a 2 time Pro Bowler, NFC Offensive POY and the 1983 NFL MVP. Despite being retired for nearly 25 years, Joe still holds many all-time passing records for the Redskins including yards, completions and wins. We all know where Joe has been in retirement, talking a lot on your local and national football broadcasts…how can he not be on Twitter? He’s my favorite QB (I wish I could fill RFK for a serenade of Happy Bday for him ...make up for the Dallas game) and it’s a landmark birthday, Happy 60th Mr. Theismann!



Happy birthday Ron Mcdole. Ron played 8 seasons for the Redskins from 1971-78. “The Dancing Bear” holds the NFL record for interceptions by a defensive lineman with 12! George Allen traded 2 draft picks to the Bills to bring Ron to DC and become both a defensive anchor and member of the “Over the Hill Gang.” Ron was selected to be one of the 70 Greatest Redskins. For his career he appeared in 240 games over 18 seasons! Ron is retired and lives in Front Royal, this is a great article about him. Happy 70th Mr. Mcdole!

2 things about the Theismann video.
1. It's a little slow to download but completely worth it.
2. Is it me, or does the young Joe T. remind you of a young Joe Pesci, circa Easy Money? His NJ accent was more prevelant back in the day.



Cheers and Hail

9/1 Happy Bday Clinton Portis

Happy birthday Clinton Portis. How can you not love Clinton Portis? Have you watched the way the guy plays the game? He put on 20 lbs to run between the tackles for Gibbs. He blows up any and all blitzing defenders…linebackers and d-linemen included. He plays hurt. Clinton is the key to the Redskins offense, as noted by the Skins 21-4 record when he rushes for 100+ yards. He was obtained from the Broncos on March 4, 2004 (my 30th birthday.) The first time he touched the ball in a Redskins uniform he took it 64 yards to the house. It was Gibbs first game back in DC and I jumped up and down and just knew we were going to the Super Bowl. 5 years later…Clinton is entering the age where the naysayers claim that a running back’s best days are behind them. I’m not buying it with C.P. Last year he rushed for 1,487 yards and had 5 straight games of 120+ rushing yards. Entering the 2009 season, he’s about 800 yards away from breaking 10,000 for his career and 1,300 from becoming the Redskins all-time leading rusher. Clinton has 7,331 total yards and 45 TD’s in his 5 seasons with the Redskins (really 4.5 due to injury in 2006.) The bottom line is Clinton is a few more productive years away from being a Hall of Famer and the Redskins greatest running back ever. Happy 28th (a young 28) Mr. Portis.


You can't stop the little man...you can only hope to contain him!


Cheers and Hail

Happy Bday Boog Powell & Brian Mitchell

Happy birthday Boog Powell. Boog played 16 seasons with the Orioles from 1961-1974. While playing for the O’s he accumulated 1,574 hits, 303 HR’s and 1,063 RBI’s. He ranks in the top 7 all-time in nearly every Orioles offensive category. He was a 4 time All-Star, 2 time World Series champion and the 1970 AL MVP. A hulking 6’4” and 240 (plus) lbs, Boog was a big lovable teddy bear. As great a player as Boog was, he may be a better cook. He’s written several cookbooks and you can’t go to Camden Yards without chowing down on some of his world famous BBQ. Boog was also one of the key players in the “less filling, taste great,” commercials from the 80’s. Happy 68th Mr. Powell.



Happy birthday Brian Mitchell. Brian is one of the greatest kick returners in the history of the NFL and one of the 70 greatest Redskins. He played 10 years in DC from 1990-1999. His 23,330 total yards ranks 2nd all time (behind Jerry Rice) in the history of the NFL. Brian holds 13 NFL records including most career punt return yards (4,999), kickoff return yards (14,014), and special teams TD’s (13.) He led the NFL in total yards 4 times…the only other player to do that was Jim Brown. Brian missed only 1 game in his entire 14 year career! The first time Brian touched the ball as a member of the Redskins he took it to the house and in his last game as a Skin (99 Playoffs vs. Tampa) he took it 100 yards to the house again. He was a great player who should get serious consideration for the Hall of Fame. You can now see and hear him on the radio in the DC area…Happy 41st Mr. Mitchell.

Cheers and Hail

August 3: Happy Birthdays

Happy birthday Don Breaux. Don coached in the NFL for 27 seasons, 17 of those in DC. He has 3 Super Bowl rings from his 2 separate tenures with Washington, Gibbs I and Gibbs II. During Gibbs I he was running backs coach, helping 4 different RB’s reach 1,000+ yards in a season (Riggins, Rogers, Byner and Brooks.) In Gibbs II he was the pseudo offensive coordinator, though Gibbs and Al Saunders called the plays. Don retired from the Skins right before the season last year, citing a heart condition. Don also played 2 seasons in the NFL as a QB with the Broncos and Chargers. Happy 69th Mr. Breaux.



Happy birthday Doug Overton. Doug spent the first 3 seasons of his 11 year career with the Washington Bullets, from 1992-95. His best season came in 94-95’, when he played in all 82 games, averaging 7 points and 3 assist per game. Overall, Doug played in 188 games with the Bullets averaging 6.1PTS. He was traded (along with Don Maclean) for Robert Pack in 1995. In retirement, Doug got into coaching and is now an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets. Happy 40th Mr. Overton.

Happy birthday N.D. Kalu. N.D. played defensive end for 3 seasons with the Redskins from 1998-200. N.D. appeared in 40 games and registered 7.5 sacks and 35 tackles. I was a fan of N.D’s because he wore #72, and reminded me a little of Dexter…well very little actually. N.D. played last season in Houston and has played 11 total seasons in the NFL; he’s currently a free agent. Check out the YouTube below of the Skins 2000 defense. Happy 34th Mr. Kalu.



Cheers and Hail

July 28: Happy Birthdays

On a daily basis, Fatpickled recognizes the birthdays of the men who have played, and currently play for, my favorite teams. The Redskins, Orioles, Wizards, and Terps.

Happy birthday Doug Collins. Doug was handpicked by Michael Jordan to coach the Wizards in 2000. With the arrival of Collins and Jordan’s decision to return to the court, big things were expected. 2 short years and a pair of 37-45 seasons later, both were gone.
No glory, no titles, not even any playoff appearances. Overall Doug coached 8 seasons in the NBA, including Jordan’s Bulls from 1986-89. Collin’s teams were great in the regular season, underachievers in the post season. The Bulls considered bringing back Collins this year to coach again but he removed his name as a candidate late in the process. As a player, Doug was chosen #1 overall in the 1973 draft y the 76ers. He was a 4 time All Star and averaged 17.9 pts per game over his 8 year career, but he sucks at H-O-R-S-E (watch below.) Doug currently analyzes games for TNT and NBC, and does a good job at it. Happy 58th Mr. Collins.

photo courtesy of oriolescards

Happy birthday Bob Milacki. Bob pitched 5 seasons for the Orioles from 1988-92. Bob had an incredible September call up in 1988. In 3 games he went 2-0 with a 0.72ERA including a complete game shutout. He followed that up with a stellar rookie campaign in 1989. In 89’ Bob went 14-12 with a 3.74ERA. His career never reached the same level from that point on and he retired after the 96’ season. Bob finished his career with 39 wins, 37 with the Orioles. In retirement Bob got into coaching and is currently the pitching coach for the Lakewood Blueclaws, a single A affiliate of the Phillies. Happy 45th Mr. Milacki!



Cheers and Hail

July 23: Happy Birthday Darvin Ham

On a daily basis, Fatpickled recognizes the birthdays of the men who have played, and currently play for, my favorite teams. The Redskins, Orioles, Wizards, and Terps.



Happy birthday Darvin Ham. Darvin played 1 season with the Washington Bullets in the 1997-98 season. He didn’t do much on the court, averaging just 2.0 pts and 1.8 rebounds per game. Darvin played 8 seasons in the NBA and won a championship with Detroit. He’s also played overseas and is still plugging away in the NBA’s D League. The real reason for this post is an excuse to post the highlight of his tremendous dunk in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. While playing for Texas Tech (a surprise sweet 16 team that year) Darvin shattered the backboard with a tremendous dunk that landed him on the cover of SI. Happy 36th Mr. Ham!

Cheers and Hail

Gridiron Gala: Party Like It's 1991!

"Some men are born with greatness, some men achieve greatness, and some men have greatness thrust upon them. A combination of the 3 makes you immortal."

I'm not sure who said that quote first, but I use to hear it on the Greaseman show back in the day...spoken by the one and only Don King. Ha Ha. But speaking about back in the day, and speaking of greatness, a special event is coming to RFK featuring the dynasty that was the 80's-90's Washington Redskins.

It's called the Gridiron Gala, and judging from what I've seen about this event, I'd give half my c&%k to be there. First of all it starts with a tailgate party outside of legendary RFK stadium. That's cool enough, because you haven't tailgated at RFK in a long time unless your a soccer fan...or the last time you did there was no cornhole!

Later, the party moves inside RFK, where the honoring of those great Skins players fully begins. Break bread and rub elbows with Gibbs, Clark, Theismann, and Rypien to name a few. It's a fantasy camp of your all-time favorite Skins for the cost of an NFL game ticket...in 1983!

There's also a Madden Gaming Challenge in which you could win the chance to play Chris Cooley in Madden 10. I personally would beat Chris using the Redskins and only using pass plays to Chris Cooley, and talk shit the whole time. Talk shit like "hey Chris, how's Madden Chris Cooley's ass taste?" But...that's just me. Maybe you'll beat him using only Clinton Portis's running plays.

Here's a preview of the Gala, and you can also get updates moving forward on Facebook and Twitter.

Cheers and Hail

"I'm Good Twice A Year For That"

I've watched this video about a half dozen times today, and I've laughed harder with each viewing. A couple of things I've taken away from the video.

#1 George Brett tells a good story.

#2 number 2, number 2 at the Bellagio.

#3 George should never attempt this.

Hat tip to the Burly Sports Show for tweeting this on Twitter, and to Deadspin for posting another funny Brett clip.

Cheers and Hail

Classic YouTubes: Orioles, Redskins, Caps

This is an awesome story about Wild Bill Hagy from 30 years ago. It's a little long, but it's almost like watching Any Which Way But Loose. The old cars, the old beer cans...great stuff.




Hard to believe its going on 19 seasons since the Skins last Superbowl. Here is a quick look back at the 91 team that was one of the best ever.




Here is a short clip from one of my favorite movies ever, Slapshot. What makes this interesting? The player wearing #7 for the opposing team, who scores twice in the clip, is Bruce Boudreau, head coach of the Washington Capitals.