The Dogs have a full bowl in this edition, with NFL coaching firings and hirings, a great Wild Card Weekend, and a new feature, “The Three-Pointer,” as we discuss some local happenings. Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC, your go-to team for those projects outside the home: windows, roofing, gutters, doors, even attic insulation. Visit them at https://energywindowsllc.com
Greetings From The Booth!
Well, tonight is the big night for Washington Commanders fans, of which I am one. It’ll be another bleary-eyed Monday (and hopefully not a “Moan-Day”) as the burgundy and gold take on Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Unlike Washington’s rare and sporadic playoff appearances of the past 23 seasons, tonight’s game feels more like a beginning than an end, no matter the result. The 2024 season appears to be just the start of what could be a bright future for the franchise.
The Commanders appear to have their franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who is on track to be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie Of The Year. In addition to some young talent, Washington has a number of experienced veterans in place that have not only performed well on the field, but are also de facto coaches who are showing the youngsters how to be professionals and how to practice their craft.
The front office and coaching moves that have been made by new owner Josh Harris and his staff have already paid dividends in his first real year of ownership (we don’t count last year, as Harris was busy cleaning up the mess left by Dan Snyder). There are finally “adults in the room” in Ashburn, as evidenced by a 12-5 season, and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2020. Whether or not the Commanders win their first postseason game since 2005, the window to an eventual Super Bowl appears to be opening, not closing.
Because of the Commanders’ newfound success, another major sports story in the DC area has been largely in the background. Don’t look now, but the Washington Capitals are in the Stanley Cup discussion in this 2004-5 campaign. As of this writing, the Caps are atop the NHL’s Metro Division, 5 points clear of New Jersey with 2 games in hand.
For the Capitals, this was supposed to have been a season of following Alex Ovechkin’s quest to become the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring leader, a mark held by the great Wayne Gretzky. That record is now well within reach, and it was projected that “The Great 8” would break it either this season or early next.
Instead, the Caps have become a dominant team. Last season, Washington snuck into the playoffs with a negative goal differential, and were promptly ushered out of the postseason in the first round, prompting many experts to predict a down year in ’04-’05. Instead, like their football cousins, the Capitals have made some great front-office moves, and the team is poised for a solid second-half playoff run, President’s Cup, and possibly their second “Lord Stanley’s Trophy.”
Familiar names like Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson, and Lars Eller are sprinkled with relative newcomers like Dylan Strome, Pierre Luc Dubois (how’s that for a great hockey name?), Aliaksei Protas, and Logan Thompson. In addition, the pipeline appears to be full of bright prospects. The Ovechkin goal-scoring record would certainly be a nice cherry on top of a Washington Capitals Stanley Cup sundae.
Even in the dead of a DC winter, open windows feel pretty good.
Until the next visit from The Booth (where the windows are also open)…GO CAPS, HTTC!
RW
The Dogs break down this weekend’s NFL Wild Card games, including Commanders-Bucs, as the playoffs begin.
Greetings from The Booth!
Let the NFL “Second Season” begin! The road to Super Bowl 58 starts this weekend with the Wild Card round and six, count ’em, six games are on tap, including a Monday Night playoff contest. Wives, good luck getting the other halves to get up out of the La-Z-Boys to finally take down the Christmas decorations!
I’m not going to break down each game for you (the Sports Dogs do a fine job of that in this week’s podcast, so be sure to check it out on this website). But I do want to know if Taylor Swift is going to show up in Kansas City in minus 18 degree wind chill to cheer her beloved Chiefs to victory. Instead, being the movie geek that I am, let’s re-visit an updated list of a few of my favorite pro football flicks. Since the first Wild Card game doesn’t begin until 4pm on Saturday, I’m going to start the day with a double or triple feature to help ramp up to the action. So, here are three you might want to check out.
Draft Day (2014): For those of us whose team did not make the playoffs (like my woeful Commanders) and are anticipating a big splash in the upcoming draft, this movie will get you excited. Draft Day does a great job of showing you what happens in an NFL “War Room” and the wheeling and dealing of an NFL General Manager. “Mr. Sports Movie” Kevin Costner is Cleveland GM Sonny Weaver, whose moves on draft day vindicate him from fans, his head coach, and owner, who all want him fired. A fantastic supporting cast help make this one of my new favorites.
Any Given Sunday (1999):Â Oliver Stone’s “expose” about pro football. An all-star cast is headed up by Al Pacino, who is Tony D’Amato, the head coach of the fictional Miami Sharks, who are down to their third-string quarterback, “Steamin'” Willie Beamon, played by Jamie Foxx. Beamon doesn’t know the playbook, and doesn’t care, because his freewheeling style of play has the Sharks in playoff contention and has made him an overnight sensation. The movie was panned by some critics, but is worth a watch, if only for the D’Amato “inches” speech near the end.
North Dallas Forty (1979):Â Based on the novel of the same name written by former Dallas Cowboy Pete Gent, NDF is a story about the dehumanization and computerization of pro football, loosely based on the Cowboys. Characters in the movie are often compared to Don Meredith, Tom Landry, and Gent himself. Nick Nolte and Mac Davis portray receiver Phil Elliot and quarterback Seth Maxwell, who live a football existence of injury, booze, pills, and women, and somehow get themselves ready for Sunday afternoon. The book is better, but the movie isn’t horrible.
Some other favorites are the original Longest Yard, Jerry Maguire, and Invicible. Get the popcorn ready, and start your Wild Card Weekend with a few football flicks, and enjoy the games. The Christmas tree can stay up another week.
RW
With the CFP Championship in the books, the NFL “second season” takes center stage with Wild Card Weekend! Six games are on tap, and the Dogs break down every game…as we make our way through January and on to the Big Game!
