Lame

I've just finished watching the Doctor Who Christmas Special (The Next Doctor).

I don't want to give away spoilers, but as per many of Russell T Davies efforts, all style and no substance. Some good ideas (and always great production values) let down by below average writing.

Not quite the worst of his "fan fiction", but certainly containing a few of the hallmarks.

As the old saying goes, you can't polish a turd.

Playoffs

Unfortunately my Redskins (after a very exciting and inspiring 6-2 start) were eliminated from playoff contention last week, and today finished the season with a mediocre 8-8 record. A 2-6 collapse down the stretch? They just could not maintain the physical tone that their impressive running game set in the first 8 games -- and their receivers were way too inconsistent. I'd expect the Skins will go very hard in the offseason on getting some younger athletic linemen on offense.

What I am pleased to see is that the Dallas Cowboys had an even more disappointing collapse to miss the playoffs, having started the season as favoured to make a Superbowl appearance by many media outlets. And I think many teams in the AFC must be breathing a sigh of relief with the Pats somehow managing to miss the playoffs with an 11-5 record!

With regards to the Pats, this will generate some controversy and suggestions for a seeded playoff system, considering undeserving teams like the 8-8 Chargers and 9-7 Cardinals getting a home ground wildcard berths for winning their mediocre divisions. I love tradition, but I think a seeded system would be fairer and make more sense.

As for next weekends Wildcard Round, I'm expecting the visiting teams to dominate:
- Atlanta at Arizona (4.30pm Saturday)
- Indianapolis at San Diego (8pm Saturday)
- Baltimore at Miami (1pm Sunday)
- Philly at Minnesota (4.30pm Sunday)

Now that the Skins are eliminated, it will be nice to just enjoy football as a fan without too many vested interests.

(Except for rooting against Philly! But I think I will have to wait until the Divisional round for them to be eliminated. At least they took care of the Cowboys today...)

Slingin' Sammy

A truly amazing athlete died this week -- Slingin' Sammy Baugh. Sammy was the Quarterback of the Redskins from 1937 to 1952, and turned the forward pass into the centerpiece of NFL that it is today.

When I heard that he passed, I cracked open some Jamesons and started reminiscing through my history books.

My favourite columnist from the Washington Post, Thomas Boswell, wrote:

In 1936, the season before Baugh arrived, the average NFL team scored 11.9 points a game and completed 5.6 passes. The NFL completion percentage: 36.5. The entire sport threw only 67 scoring passes to 216 interceptions. A team passed out of third-down necessity or for trickery.

Then came Baugh.

Into this thudding world, where someone named Arnie Herber held such passing records as there were, the 6-foot-2 Texan, who could throw from all angles and drolly asked "which eye" he should hit his receivers in, was a revelation.

As a rookie, starting only five games, he broke the NFL completion record with 81. By 1940, he was accomplishing the inconceivable, completing 62.7 percent of his passes.

And what is really amazing is that he was posting these numbers a modern QB would be proud of with a ball shaped like a Rugby ball rather than the modern streamlined pigskin we know today. But the guy was also a legend on Special Teams as a Punter (technically, they didn't have Special Teams back then) and on Defense as a DB.

More Boswell:

The range of Baugh's skill is almost incomprehensible now. His career punting average was more than 45 yards, but from 1940 through 1942 it was almost 50 yards (49.5). Yes, they liked to quick kick then. But 50 yards is still 50 yards.

In 1940, he intercepted 11 passes in just 10 games. How good is that? No NFL player has intercepted 11 passes since 1981 and the last man to have more than an interception per game was Night Train Lane in 1952.

Sammy won championships for the Skins in 1937 and 1942, but one of the biggest surprises came about 10 years ago when a journalist interviewing Sammy at his ranch (in Rotan, Texas) discussed the infamous 1940 championship where the Skins went down to the Bears 73-0. Sammy went on to tell the story that the Skins purposely took a dive to send a message to owner George Preston Marshall regarding his meddling. Needless to say, this was a controversial revelation!

I loved what John Madden said on Sunday Night Football this week -- that Sammy actually loved the modern game, and admired how skillful the modern players had become. How refreshing compared to the stereotypical old school Hall-of-Famer who never gives the modern sport it's due.

There will never, ever be another Sammy Baugh.

Leavez

This is the end of my first official day of leave -- I'm off until January 5th. I had my office Christmas Party on Friday, and after the cigars, booze and general lack of sleep, I needed most of the weekend to recover from it. While dozing in and out of sleep on the couch, I caught up on episodes of 30 Rock, season 2 of Californication, and re-runs of Arrested Development.

(Three of my favourite American comedies right there... As an aside, Californication keeps impressing me with it's writing, but I wonder if the quality can be sustained for a third season with the upcoming changes in plot.)

Christmas just creeps up on you. I can't believe it's on Thursday. I have a number of bits and pieces around the house I need to get done before V gets back from her trip to NZ. Today was a write-off due to my debilitating sports addiction (NFL), but I did get some washing and shopping done. The good news is, after the last three days, I think I've got "lying on the couch watching TV" out of my system for a little while.

As they say where Bernard lives, "Happy Holidays!"