Taking Heart From History

By George Solomon
Sunday, October 28, 2007

Was it 35 years ago when a heavily favored, Super Bowl-bound Redskins team went to Foxborough, Mass., to play a New England team so disrespected that a headline writer for The Post described the Patriots this way: "Pats are Patsies"?

"Why would you guys do that?" angry Redskins coach George Allen asked. "You'll wake up these guys, make them angry."

If Allen and some of his players were dismissed as worrywarts, the Patriots proved them prophetic. New England won, 24-23, handing the Redskins one of only three regular season losses in 1972.

This afternoon in Foxborough the roles are reversed. The 4-2 Redskins are 16 1/2 -point underdogs to the 7-0 Patriots -- a team Las Vegas Sports Consultants odds director Tony Sinisi calls "the team of the year in the NFL. A rarity in the NFL, where parity rules. A team operating in a different world from everyone else. A team that not only wins the game, but covers the spread."

To which Redskins Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen blurted: "Tell me this isn't Appalachian State-Michigan? If you're a player, you love this challenge. There's nothing better in sports than everyone telling you 'you can't do this.' What more do you want than everyone saying 'no way' to you. 'You can't win.'

"That's why they play the game," said Jurgensen, who often carried the underdog role for the Redskins in the 1960s. "So many things can happen. We won some games like this. It feels great when you score the upset."

Can the Redskins win today?

"Yes," Jurgensen said "The defense will play well. The offense has to sustain drives and score touchdowns when they get in the red zone."

But can Tom Brady and the Patriots lose? "Yes," replied Tom Matte, a running back for the Baltimore Colts -- a 16-7 loser to the 17-point underdog New York Jets in Super Bowl III in 1969 -- one of the truly great upsets in NFL history.

"It could happen," said Matte, a commentator in Baltimore for ESPN Radio and MASN. "The Patriots are a machine, but this is the NFL. And you don't take a Joe Gibbs-coached team lightly. We didn't take the Jets lightly; Don Shula [Baltimore's coach] prepared us. But we were outplayed and outcoached. Goofy stuff happened. Balls bounced the wrong way for us. I had the best game of my life, but it didn't matter. I was decimated."

Still think about the game? "[Expletive] right I do. I always think about that game."

Kickoff today at 4:15. Who knows?

Watching Arenas, Wizards

There isn't a Wizards fan in town not worried about Gilbert Arenas, who in his sixth NBA season (2006-07) was spectacular, averaging 28.4 points in 74 games before undergoing surgery last April to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee.

Arenas's injury, as well as fellow all-star Caron Butler's broken right hand, rendered the Wizards ineffectual in their third consecutive playoff appearance, a sweep at the hands of the Cleveland LeBrons.

If you read Gilbert's blog, Steinberg's Bog and all Gilbert's quotes -- in this country, abroad and in Gilbertsphere -- all is well with Agent Zero. Still, the news that Arenas had his knee drained of excess fluid last week and his inconsistent shooting during the preseason are generating concern among Wiz fans.

"Gilbert's speed and quickness are there," Coach Eddie Jordan said in a telephone interview Thursday. "But he's still trying to gain his rhythm." So Jordan -- tabbed by Sports Illustrated as No. 1 on the coaching "Hot Seat" in its NBA preview-- has a difficult task of persuading Arenas to move into the season with some caution and patience while trying to win games.

"Our veterans, the top seven guys, are good," Jordan said. "And our bench is well-rounded."

With Etan Thomas out, Brendan Haywood has more responsibility at center, backed by Andray ("I'm very lucky Tony K is on TV these days") Blatche. Antawn Jamison and Butler are treats to watch, DeShawn Stevenson is relaxed with a new contract and Antonio Daniels is solid off the bench. Oleksiy (henceforth known in this space as Perch) Pecherov and Darius Songaila are valuable as representatives of the European Union and rookies Nick Young and Dominic McGuire bear watching. So does Roger Mason Jr., who for the 200th time you've been reminded attended Good Counsel High and Virginia. GW product Mike Hall always seems to be getting cut, but continues to return. Sort of like Feinstein.

"The league wants more scoring, the GMs want more defense and the coaches just want W's," Jordan said. I don't know what that means, except to report the Wizards open for real Wednesday night in Indiana.

Extra Points

NFL owners voted unanimously on Wednesday to commit $10 million to provide medical assistance for joint replacements, cardiovascular screenings and assisted living care for retired players. That money -- and the $7 million committed in May by teams, the players' union, Pro Football Hall of Fame and the league's alumni -- is a step toward satisfying many concerns of retired players. Still at issue is who determines whether a player is eligible for disability payments.

College football and basketball coaches who seldom find time for theatre should be required by their bosses to attend the play "Redshirts" at Round House Theatre in Silver Spring (through Nov. 11). The compelling drama by Dana Yeaton deals with athletes, academic integrity and race at a fictional Southern university obsessed with athletic success. It wouldn't hurt, either, if these time-challenged coaches took their players with them. But who has time for theatre, when there's a game to play?

And what's with big-time college basketball teams getting kids barely beyond Bar Mitzvah age to commit to a scholarship, as North Carolina did recently with O'Connell sophomore guard Kendall Marshall. "There's not a college coach in America that doesn't say 'This is getting so sped up.' But everybody is doing it," O'Connell Coach Joe Wootten told The Post.

But doesn't "everybody" have a boss -- supposedly a university president or athletic director -- who could say "this is ridiculous. Stop it"?

I'm not a regular at the annual "Fight Night" (who needs to buy a larger tuxedo every year from Sy and Marcy Syms?), but the 18th annual live fight card and charity gala honoring boxing greats, Nov. 8 at the Washington Hilton and Towers, is a worthy evening. Former middleweight champ Jake LaMotta will be inducted into the event's Hall of Fame. LaMotta was so real.

Have a comment or question? Reach me at talkback@washpost.com