With Collins, Redskins Have Plenty in Reserve

Watching From Afar

Watching the Redskins at the Palm Beach Ale House with a roomful of Washington expats:

"I sold my tickets to the Dallas game five weeks ago. Who knew?" -- Mehdi Nematolshi, Severna Park

"Todd Collins: priceless." -- Danny Bailin, Rockville

"Keep Collins." -- Debby Neale, Bethesda

"I miss Joe." -- woman wearing Theismann's No. 7 jersey

American Celebration

Has it been almost eight years since Jeff Jones became the men's basketball coach at American University?

The onetime Virginia player and later its basketball coach has guided the Eagles to a winning record in five of the last six seasons. But in the same town as Maryland, Georgetown, George Washington and George Mason ("Don't forget the Redskins," he added), getting attention for AU beyond traffic snarls at Ward Circle is tough.

Or until late Dec. 22, when AU upset Maryland, 67-59, at Comcast Center. It was AU's first win over Maryland after 14 losses spanning 80 years.

"We've tried to carve out a niche here," Jones told me. "The program is in better shape now; we've turned things around in our league, although we still haven't won the league to get to the [NCAA] tournament."

Jones once was considered one of the hot young coaches in the country when he took the Cavaliers to five NCAA tournaments in seven seasons. At 47, he isn't so young anymore but understands the realities of his business.

"In any job, it's most important to be in a place where you can be successful and feel wanted," he said. "It's not always about the paycheck; it's more about being valued."

Bowl Watching

Not good for the locals: Frank Beamer's Hokies, Ralph Friedgen's Terrapins and Al Groh's Cavaliers all gave disappointing bowl performances. Our Hokies fell behind by 17 to Kansas before their late rally fell short (not much fire from Our Guys on that last drive). The Terps did little after the first period losing to Orgeon State; the Cavs blew their game to Texas Tech in the final three minutes. At least Navy showed a pulse losing to Utah.