Craig Heist, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – As we head toward this Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help but think of some of the biggest sports turkeys we’ve dealt with this year.
The first thing that comes to mind is Maryland head football coach Randy Edsall, who has managed to take Ralph Friedgen’s team and help it earn a stellar 2-9 record, as they head into their final game against N.C. State this weekend.
The two-headed quarterback monster that was Danny O’Brien and C.J. Brown has worked out pretty well, hasn’t it?
After every loss, (which is now seven straight, six by double-digits) we have continually heard Edsall say, “I will have to go back and look at the tape,” to find out what went wrong and how to correct it.
Is it me, or if you look at that much tape, you would think Edsall might have found some kind of solution for the missed tackles, dropped passes, penalties or any plethora of things that have gone wrong this year?
This is what Terps fans get because the new brass couldn’t get Mike Leach to come to College Park?
If that was the case, Fridge could have stayed another year or two.
Let’s not forget they spent $2 million to buy Friedgen out the last year of his contract after going 9-4 last year, with a 51-20 win over East Carolina in the Military Bowl.
Recently, the university announced they are cutting eight sports from its athletic department. I hope the money spent on new uniforms and helmets was worth it. Uniforms don’t exactly help football teams win.
The Redskins
Take your pick on this one: Dan Snyder or Mike Shanahan. Either one equals another losing season.
The NBA
NBA owners locked the players out on July 1, and the labor disagreements have forced games to be canceled through Dec. 15.
They will probably stay locked out despite reports that talks between the two sides have “quietly” resumed. They are hoping to end the lockout in time to have basketball by Christmas.
The discussions began Tuesday and are expected to last through the Thanksgiving weekend. The two sides’ talks are now centered on settling their lawsuits. The players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league in Minnesota and the league filed a suit in New York.
The union disbanded and as a result cannot negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. That can only be done once the union is reformed.
Don’t hold your breath that something can get done.
Orioles
It has now been 14 straight losing seasons and while I really want this mess to turn around, it’s hard to get excited until you see progress on the field.
Even with Dan Duquette at the helm now, can he really be any better than Andy MacPhail?
Some Caps Fans
The ones that want to see Bruce Boudreau fired. A guy who wins 67 percent of his games and is the fastest coach to 200 wins needs to stick around.
Last season, all we heard about was the lack of discipline on this team.
He benched Alex Ovechkin during the final minute of a tied game against the Anaheim Ducks, a game the Caps eventually won in overtime. That led GM George McPhee to say, “That’s coaching.” And it was.
He scratched Alexander Semin Monday for drawing penalties in seven straight games. He did the same to Joel Ward for over-sleeping and missing a team meeting. He has preached accountability and he is coming through on that promise.
I think Caps fans should be thankful for having Gabby behind the bench.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All rights reserved.)