Gus Johnson's Whisper's Washington Nationals fan blog

Am I satisfied with the investigation...I said no, no, no.

Try to make me believe its over...I say no, no, no.

Sen A Spector from PA is not cool with how the NFL handled this whole thing.  Know what?  Neither am I.  I'm just not ready to go federal on this piece.  The real issue here is that pro sports leagues, despite the big words and demonstrative speaches, have dwindling accountability.  They are the only 'game' in town and that's how they behave.  I think this is the larger issue here.  Forget Spygate (actually don't.  I couldn't believe how easy the despicable Pats got off. And it's not just the video stuff; they thumb their noses at league rules and no one says squat).

Continue reading "Senator Spector On Spygate...um look at Seattle!"

The Lady Volunteers won the national women's basketball championship on Tuesday.  I thought this story was from...always.  Don't they always win?  Women's basketball stinks.  And no, this isn't some sexist rant about the shortcomings of the women's game (everyone is SO below the rim, coaches have sexual relations with their players and so on).  The women's game hasn't caught up to the men's game.  The difference is, there are more good men's players than there are women's.

I don't mean that Michael Beasley could beat any girl 1 on 1.  I mean that the top talent is vastly superior to the next level down in the women's game.  This isn't as true with the men's game anymore.  Despite all the problems with AAU, more kids are getting a chance to play more basketball.  You see more of these 'Mid-Majors' every year getting respect in the rankings and having success at the highest levels of basketball.  From George Mason, to Davidson, to Drake, to all the other little upstart schools that can compete with the blue bloods, there is simply more talent in the men's game.

Continue reading "Tennessee Stud"

The Washington Post has their Washington Nationals preview today.  It's a good look.  One should check it out were one to be interested in such a thing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/mlb/longterm/2008/front.html 

Anyone who really thinks they know what's going to happen with this team is crazy.  Everyone thought they would be so epically bad last year that the stadium might implode.  They weren't.  No one thought they would compete for the division in their first season until fading down the stretch.

The point here is that there are just too many variables with this team this year.  The new yard, the young players, players returning from absences, too many characters (Elijah Dukes anyone?).  Here are some of the questions that will need to be answered:

Continue reading "Los Natos"

Here is what I mean for likes and dislikes:

 Teams that I like, I thought were either underrated, were going to fly under the radar on the way to big things, or had a chance to go really far.

Teams that I dislike, I thought were overrated, vulnerable, or under no circumstances, would they go far.

Here's the update:

Like List: 

Winsconsin: Still playing, still nasty.

Vanderbilt: Thanks for showing up guys.  F the SEC.

Xavier: Still nasty.

Notre Dame: Really?  Washington State is that tough?  You average over 80 a game and you put up 41?  Thanks for that fellas.

Michigan State: If this team had a website, it would be physicalteam.edu.

Not a bad list.  Thanks again to the parlay of Vandy and ND.  You bunch of nerds.

Continue reading "Sweet 16 Madness Update: Likes/Dislikes"

It's that time again.  Fill out your brackets.  Go back and forth over a 2nd round matchup.  Convince yourself of absurd things because it's that time of year.  65 man enter, 1 man leave.  Welcome to Thunderdome.  Welcome to March Madness.

Here's why I stopped filling out brackets for money.  I know too much.  That's not bragging.  It's to my detriment.  I watch more college basketball than anyone who doesn't watch college basketball for a job.  I'll take a job if you're offering.  I overthink it.  I see a team play and I make my own judgements.  I read all the experts and change my judgements.  I read how every team can win the thing and next thing you know, I have one bracket with four #1 seeds and another bracket with 2 #4s, a #7, and a #2.  It's like a go fish hand.

Continue reading "Madness"

Every year, the NFL shuffles the deck and teams get new cards. In this eternal poker game, we all know that each team will again ask for new cards after the season ends. This, my friends, is a metaphor. 4.5 years of college in all your mouthpieces.

Now, some simile action. NFL free agent signings as movies. NFC today, AFC...later.

Giddyup,

Arizona Cardinals: Travis Laboy, Jerame Truman.
Movie: Drillbit Taylor. These signings are sure to snap the Cardinals out of that pesky funk that has only lasted...since I was alive. Paging Neil Lomax...Now I like Owen Wilson, he made Bottle Rocket. I will just say that this doesn't look the flick you need to get involved in coming off a depression/self check out period.

Atlanta Falcons: Erik Coleman, Simon Fraser, Ben Hartsock, Von Hutchins, Rashad Moore, Kindal Moorehead, Chris Redman, Michael Turner

Continue reading "NFL Free Agency Cinema"

And the dance continues.  I'm retired...I'm not. I'm planning on it while an entire organization is held hostage.  So Brett Favre is retiring.  This is apparantly, judging by the coverage on ESPN and Sports Illustrated, is the story of the year so far.  I don't get it.  Whatever it takes to have people unconditionally love you, Favre has it.  I just don't think it's deserved.

His consecutive start streak is the most impressive thing about him  It speaks to his longevity and his playing at a high level all the time.  To me, that's where the compliments should end.

I know a lot of people won't agree with this.  Doesn't matter to me.  I am the minority opinion.  It's about discourse people.  Here's why I don't love Brett Favre:

Continue reading "What About Brett...Fav...ruh?"

Today, the AL West.  People always say things like: 'The Wild West', 'East Coast Bias', and 'Texas never ever has pitching ever'.  Well, here's what I say.  The west is a 2 horse race.  The other two horses are looking at each other in a staring contest.  The winner gets the right to finish 20 games out.  The loser...well glue comes from somewhere.

From Worst to First:

4) Oakland

3) Texas

2) Seattle

1) LAAAAAA

Oaktown: In the words of Al Pacino from that lawyer movie he did with Neo from Bill and Teds Bogus Journey: 'Nice run Kev, had to end sometime'.  Except that Kev is Billy Beane.

Continue reading "Baseball Division Preview II"

The NFL Free Agency signing period begins at midnight tonight.  This is always one of the weirdest things in the sports calendar.  Football is such a unique game.  Sometimes a great player for one team won't be a great player anywhere else.  A 3-4 end could be a special teams player on a 4-3 team.  A big 1100 yard receiver could collect dust on a team that runs the west coast offense.

The point is, pro football, more than any other sport is about schemes, coaching, and adjustments.  This is why every play is not only taped, but photographed, and subsequently scrutinized like it's the Zapruda film.

Every off season, teams (and by enlarge, their fans) talk themselves into thinking that getting a certain guy will put them over the top.  Take the 49ers for example.  Last year, they gave Nate Clements, by all accounts a great corner, an enormous deal and declared their pass defense woes 'solved'.  They finished with a worse pass defense ranking this past year.  Is Clements bad?  Was he only good because his former team generated pressure?  Did he have a simplified responsibility; always maintaining inside leverage with safety help deap on the outside?  Did teams not throw his way because the other CB was really bad?  These are the kinds of things that make the NFL so interesting.  It's always hard to get a consensus on a guy.

Continue reading "NFL Free Agency...Sure We Overpaid But He Fits Our Scheme That Will Be Different In A Year..."

Here's the summary of a movie: Will Ferrell plays an athlete with an over-the-top amount of macho bravado.  He improvs scenes and the out-takes are really funny.  What movie is it?

It could be Talladega Nights, That Figure Skating Thing, or his latest homage to unathletic athletes: Semi-Pro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS3KnVyS_bs&feature=related

Listen, I like Will Ferrell.  What I don't like is that his people are railroading him into doing the same thing over and over.  The people that see these movies in the theatre are the same guys that are conviced that Larry The Cable Guy is a genius.  He's not for the record.  He made up a character to make fun of the types of people that now come to see his shows in droves.  Will Ferrell isn't mocking absurdly macho characters.  What he is doing is created a niche for himself to play the same character in different settings.  This new brand of junioric (word I just made up.  It's not sophomoric...it's a step up but were still on campus) humor should have stopped with Anchorman.

Continue reading "Semi-Meh"