Portis takes angle on continuity; Ochocinco tries on new brand of football gear

Being the circling vultures that we are, some D.C. sports media members made a big commotion when Clinton Portis said Dan Snyder was on the verge of losing his fan base earlier this season. So, with "the verge" on the verge of irrelevance, it's only fair to highlight Portis's defense of ownership on Tuesday's John Thompson Show. Making his weekly appearance on ESPN 980, Portis included an unprompted word in Snyder's favor, saying "It's not him."

(Before I resume my duty as the official stenographer of endlessly depressing radio interviews about the Redskins, let's pause for some happier news concerning Chad Ochocinco.

The Bengals wide receiver -- who has more touchdowns this season than the entire Redskins' wide receiving corps [Whoops! Depressing again!] -- has never been shy about his love of soccer. So when the D.C. United marketing folks were sending out invites for their friendly with Real Madrid at FedEx Field, Ochocinco was on the list. Somewhat unexpectedly, Ochocinco actually replied to the invite through his people, thanking United for the gesture but noting that he had to be in training camp just then.

Since he had the courtesy to respond, United took the courtesy to send him a personalized Ochocinco kit. Which he then took the courtesy to photograph and send out to his 280,000 Twitter followers, at which point I wrote about this episode, at which point Ochocinco Tweeted back, "sign me up for a try out with the team please," which probably won't happen in time for Saturday's regular season finale.

Still, PR win, D.C. United. Now does MLS have any rules about Ricky Bobby-themed goal celebrations?)

So anyhow, when Thompson expressed concerns about the Redskins' lack of internal continuity, Portis instead focused on an equally culpable party.

"I think it's just gonna come down to not worrying about the media," he said. " . . . Every time you look at headlines, every time you see a story, it's 'The Redskins [stink], the Redskins can't do it, the Redskins down again.' We're 2-4, we've still got a lot of football left. Philly was 2-4 last year and went to the NFC championship game. Philly did that as a team. I'm sure their fans was killing them, the papers was killing them, but somehow some way, you've got to keep searching and keep trying to find a way until you find it.

"And I think the pressure on Mr. Snyder. He [wants] to win so bad, and everybody's [saying] 'Oh, get him out of here, he need to sell the team, he's what's [wrong].' It's not him. I think he brings in everybody that he could possibly bring in that he think gonna help this team."

So, just to repeat: It's not him; it's me. Thompson followed up by asking whether the media was influencing decisions, and Portis returned to his theme.

"We can't worry about the media," he said. "I never even listen to my own radio show." (That's okay, I never even read my own blog! I just click it 70 or 80 times a day to inflate the traffic!)

"I don't pick up the papers," Portis continued. "I don't watch TV to hear, 'The Redskins failed; get everybody out of there,' because I don't want to take the bad, so there's no need to hear the good. It's gonna always be, 'Oh, something need to be changed.' We don't need to change all the time."

(Just to be clear: When asked about continuity, Portis said the problem is the media, and when asked about the media, Portis said they need continuity. Soon, Redskins players will be shouting out Yahtzee! at the Bingo hall.)