Sports

[Caaareful Shopper]

  I actually like the Washington Commanders.  It sort of fits the area (whether that's good or bad): 

Washington Nationals

Washington Capitols

Washington Commanders

People will get used to it in time.  After all, naming is about branding, and how much money can be made branding the name.  You cannot really brand the Washington Football Team -- that is just lame in the long run (although I liked it as an interim name).  

The new name to me is in the same vein as the Tennessee Titans, or the New England Patriots.  It'll sound "normal" soon enough.  

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Five starting defensive players and multiple backups all as free agents is kind of an issue for Dan Quinn. Nearly half of the 53 man roster are free agents. That's not ideal. There's no cap space, limited free agent options, limited draft picks, and opposing offenses have a full offseason to dissect Quinn's defense to find the holes. They'll have issues.

[grandma r]

Not a fan of the new name.  It could have stayed Washington Football Team.  Honestly,  I didn't find the original name offensive.  I think some people just like stirring up trouble.

Kansas City is still the Chiefs, the stadium is Arrowhead, and they still use the tomahawk chop.  That's part of the team's history.

Btw, I thought it was wonderful to hear the fans singing our National Anthem when the audio went out!

[Greeneyedlady21]

Bill Belichick could have very easily sent the text to the wrong Brian. I just did it myself actually, was reading a text from someone and meant to send a text to someone else. Ended up sending it to the person whose text I was reading. It's an easy mistake to make. Especially if people have the same first name, obviously.

Unfortunately for BB that has him in the middle of a firestorm now.

[Greeneyedlady21]

Commanders reminds me of Handmaid's Tale, awful connotation related to that show.

[Caaareful Shopper]

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@grandma r wrote:

Not a fan of the new name.  It could have stayed Washington Football Team.  Honestly,  I didn't find the original name offensive.  I think some people just like stirring up trouble.

Kansas City is still the Chiefs, the stadium is Arrowhead, and they still use the tomahawk chop.  That's part of the team's history.

Btw, I thought it was wonderful to hear the fans singing our National Anthem when the audio went out!

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@grandma r  Opinions about the specific new name aside. 

Just  because something is a part of history does not make it right.  If that were true there would be a whole lot of wrong still being used and said today.

Native American groups have said this particular name (the Commanders' old name) was a specific derogatory and incendiary term.  It was highly offensive to them, that's what matters.  No one cared to listen, but that changed. 

The other change has been in MLB, with the newly named Cleveland Guardians, beginning this season.  

[gardenman]

Not to beat a dead horse here, but polls done on the former WFT/Commanders name showed that only 9% of Native Americans polled found it offensive, 90% had no issue with it at all, and some found it to be a positive reflection on them. The most commonly used word to describe the name among Native Americas was "proud."  It's not like everyone hated the name. Not even the majority. Most were proud of the name and didn't want it changed. If you did a poll today on the name "Commanders" you would likely find it offended more than 9% of the respondents and few would say they were proud of the name. What's done is done though. 

[Caaareful Shopper]

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@gardenman wrote:

Not to beat a dead horse here, but polls done on the former WFT/Commanders name showed that only 9% of Native Americans polled found it offensive, 90% had no issue with it at all, and some found it to be a positive reflection on them. The most commonly used word to describe the name among Native Americas was "proud."  It's not like everyone hated the name. Not even the majority. Most were proud of the name and didn't want it changed. If you did a poll today on the name "Commanders" you would likely find it offended more than 9% of the respondents and few would say they were proud of the name. What's done is done though. 

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@gardenman  I am not at all surprised that it may depend on the specific polls or time, or region.  I read just the opposite.  In fact reading yesterday, different Native American groups were very pleased with the new name change to Commanders.   In fact, in  the Washington DC area, where I've lived for 25 years, the previous name was deemed "wildly offensive." 

[gardenman]

The Vikings appear to have settled on a new head coach and it's not Jim Harbaugh. It's Kevin O'Connell the host of "This Old House." Oh, wait. That's Kevin O'Connor. Kevin O'Connell is the Offensive Coordinator of the Rams. Dang! Kevin O'Connor would have been much more interesting. Oh, well.

After flying in Jim Harbaugh, the Vikings management thought long and hard about all of the important things like, "How much will this guy cost us?" and opted for Kevin O'Connell. They're using the "Maybe he'll surprise us and be good, but he costs a lot less anyway" method for picking a head coach. Sadly, for O'Connell, he won't be allowed to bring Cooper Kupp with him to the Vikings. That would help him a lot. The Vikings don't have the best roster, but not the worst either. Justin Jefferson is a good WR and Dalvin Cook is a good RB. Maybe Kellen Mond could become a good QB for them. Maybe. In the meantime, they have to figure out what to do with Kirk Cousins. (I think they should trade him to the Commanders, but that's just me. I'm sure the Commander fanbase would love to see him back in DC or wherever the Commanders play.) 

And speaking of the Commanders, alert observers have noted that on their official badge, with the years they've been champions under a former name, they left no space for a future championship. Foretelling that they don't anticipate ever being champions again? Leaving a bit of space for future championships would have been a smarter move. It's kind of like building a trophy case that's just big enough for all the trophies you have now with no anticipation of ever winning another one. "Nope! We're done! We'll never win anything else, so why waste the space?" Maybe not the ideal message to send to the team or fanbase. 

Word is that Tom Brady will sign a one-day contract with the Patriots in the near future and officially retire as a Patriot and thank the Patriot fanbase. It might have been smarter to thank them a bit earlier, but whatever.

Senior Bowl practices are taking place, and as is always the case, the reporters are convinced there are about fifty first-round picks in the group. The Senior Bowl is the place where if you make one good play you can shoot way up the draft boards. If you screw up badly, you can fall a ton. Forget all of that stuff you did in college. Who cares about that? What matters is what you do in a series of controlled practices in front of scouts.

You've got guys like QB Kenny Pickett who are refusing to let this hand be measured until the Combine as he's doing hand stretching exercises. Because everyone knows what counts in a QB is his hand size. Reportedly, a QB in an earlier draft was able to expand his hand 5/8" between the end of his college season and the Combine making him a higher draft pick. Pickett's following his example. Somewhere out there a parent is calling plastic surgeons to see if any offer hand extension surgery to help his or her son to have a better shot at being a QB. 

This is the week where the two Super Bowl teams do all of their prep work as next week is largely "Circus Week" for them as they head to LA for the game and the media nonsense.

In Eagles' news, Jalen Hurts is having ankle surgery to repair the high ankle sprain he had earlier in the season. This is a pretty simple procedure, and he should bounce back quickly and in full health afterward. He'll be in a walking boot for a bit, but then back to normal pretty quickly (4-6 weeks typically.)

There's still no word on Jason Kelce's future. My suspicion is that he wants to play a few more years (one anyway) and that he put the $30-$40 million poison pill clause in his contract last year to force the Eagles to cut him so he can sign with KC and reunite with Andy Reid and his brother Travis. Maybe he'll come back to the Eagles. Maybe he'll retire. My suspicion is that clause is there to force the hand of the Eagles to cut him so he can sign with KC. He's an Andy Reid draft pick and he's wanted to play with his brother. The pieces fit. We'll have to see how it all plays out. It's not the worst idea for him. KC is a Super Bowl contender and he'd be an upgrade for them at center. It almost makes too much sense.

[teganslaw]

The Pro Bowl skills challenge is tonight 7:00 EST on ESPN. I like watching this and also like the Pro Bowl. I get to see the best players highlight their talents.

I thought that Jim Harbaugh was sure to get the HC job. Maybe he was too expensive or wasn't a good fit for the team. 

The Colts DB/safeties coach Alan Williams left for  a coaching job in Chicago. What's with the interest in Chicago? Eberflus goes and they all follow him. He seems to have been recruiting others.