Junk Drawer

Time for my semi-annual post, sorry for the grab-bag nature.

Terps: Fire Friedgen. Maryland is one of the four worst teams in the ACC with Virginia, Duke, and BC. I don't argue that Friedgen is a good coach, but his record makes me think that he's a terrible recruiter. In the NFL, the talent is about the same with every team so coaching matters more. In college football, you can out-talent people. There is no reason that MD can't become a consistently good regional football team that occasionally has a chance to make some noise nationally. With the facilities that MD has (I would argue that they are above-average regionally, roughly average nationally) and the talent that comes from this area, there is no reason that this isn't achievable.

So who's the replacement? I stole this idea from Bill Simmons, but I think that Herm Edwards or someone like him would be a good college coach. He's black, thin, (appealing in a kid's living room) and sounds good when you don't know any better. Perfect for 17 and 18 year-olds. And by the time you get tired of his antics, you graduate/run out of eligibility. He'll probably never win a national championship due to his inability to actually coach, but he'll win 9-10 games a year and have the team in good bowl games. Who wouldn't take that right now?

The issue that I see is this guaranteed replacement that MD signed in James Franklin. It probably takes too much to buy out whatever is left on Friedgen's deal, buy out whatever guarantee that Franklin has, and get someone like Edwards. Add that to the hole that the athletic department is in with the Tyser Tower expansion, and it looks like another couple of years of aspiring to mediocrity.

Redskins: Is there anyone who doesn't expect them to lose to Detroit? If they do, does Danny make Zorn walk back from Detroit? I've never seen a win that feels so much like a loss. The attitude of the town is just amazing--it's exactly like we lost. There is a TON of pressure on the Redskins right now. If they don't come out and score a TD in the first possession or two, that game could get ugly.

I've also heard some Redskins fans rooting for Detroit. The logic goes that when they lose to Detroit, then Zorn will be fired and we'll looking at Cowher or Shanahan, either of whom will demand authority over player personnel. And with that comes the removal of Vinny Cerrato, who many feel is more responsible for this mess than Zorn. As masochistic as it seems, I can't say that I entirely disagree with that theory...

Phone: I'm just biding my time until I can get an iPhone. I have a BlackBerry now and it's fine for the basics like email and calendar, but it just lacks any ability to really utilize the Internet for anything. If the iPhone was offered on Verizon, I would switch immediately. I just hate AT&T. Any iPhone users out there want to disagree? I think that I'm going to switch when my contract is up in March, but would really like to hear that it's not as bad as everyone says it is....

Newspapers: Here's a question that I asked RRD the other day: when does the Washington Post stop printing a hard copy paper? 3 years? 5 years? And which big national paper falls first? The Chicago Tribune? (Already bankrupt, right?) LA Times?

My parents have always subscribed to the paper and I have as well. But I think that I am one of the very few people my age who actually would pay for a newspaper (I think that Layup still gets the WSJ). But recently, I look at the Post and it has a decent front page and just a shell of a newspaper in every other section. The sports page is a joke. Business has always been a disaster, Metro and Style are in rapid decline, and the classifieds are pointless due to things like Craigslist, etc.

Twitter: I'm continuing my one-man crusade against Facebook, but I'm now on Twitter. I talked to Jay about it the other night and I'm clearly not using Twitter the way that I should, but it's still an interesting way to get news and information. It seems to be a way to subscribe to the writers or other sources of content that you want without having to sift through the whole paper or site. A push content aggregator.

Unlike everyone else on Twitter, I'll ask you not to follow me. You're just going to be disappointed (although not as disappointed as following Sweet). I really have nothing to say, I use it to follow what other people are saying and to see what the flavor of the day is at the local ice cream place--you know, the important stuff.

Vegas: Nice to get the first Vegas concall out of the way the other day. Looks like we're staying at the Mirage this year. Talked to Layup about it a little bit and agree with him--we need something new each year to keep it fresh and interesting. Two years ago, it was the cabana. Last year, it was Ultimate Texas Hold'Em. What is is this year? Eric dancing in the O at Revolutions?

Craps: Speaking of Vegas, I went to Foxwoods the other day for a quick gambling trip. Spent 90% of my time playing craps, which has led me to all kinds of strategy questions (most of which have Layup up in arms). However, the biggest thing that I've noticed is that there are a LOT of people playing the don't. Is that due to the economy? Wiz and Reaver weren't anywhere to be seen, so I don't think that that's the answer. Not sure what the deal is there, but it was noticeable enough that 2-3 people mentioned it to me independently.