Welcome to another edition of The Chat House, where Post columnist Michael Wilbon was online Monday, Dec. 8 at 1:15 p.m. ET to take your questions about the Redskins' loss to the Ravens, the BCS matchups, the pleasures of dental surgery and his recent columns.

The transcript follows.

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washingtonpost.com: Michael will begin answering questions around 1:40 p.m. ET.

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Trenton, N.J.: I'm one of the few that refuse to jump off of the Skins wagon. That being said, do you share my optimism in believing that the Skins can still make it to the playoffs?

Michael Wilbon: Hi everybody...Sorry I'm arriving so late. But I had dental work done this morning and I'm just now getting in...At least I think I'm coherent. That nitrus (sp) stuff is amazing. There should just be a pump in your bedroom, especially your kids' bedrooms, so you can just say, 'That's enough, it's night-night time.' And that would be it. Boom. Asleep! How wonderful. Anyway, let's start with the Skins. And no, I don't share any viewpoint that they'll make the playoff. They can run the table and get to 10 wins, which they won't do by the way, and still not make it. No. I don't see the Redskins winning in San Francisco, so the best I see is 9-7. They're just not a playoff-caliber football team. They're not as good as any of the four teams in the NFC South, though I'll give them the Saints because they won that one head-to-head...Not as good as the Giants, Cowboys and probably not the Eagles at this point of the season. They beat the Cardinals, but can't catch them because Az. wins its division...Sorry.

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Cleveland: What is your opinion of Ron Santo being bypassed for the Hall Of Fame again today?

Michael Wilbon: It makes me angry. He was the best third baseman of his generation in the NL. It was Brooks Robinson in the AL, Ron Santo in the NL. I don't get it. And I never will. I'm biased, but I've covered enough MLB over enough years to have some perspective on this, and I think it's wrong and stubborn.

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New Orleans: Two questions: Who wins BCS Championship, Florida or Oklahoma? And, will Michael Jordan break 100 on Bethpage Black before the U.S. Open?

Michael Wilbon: Is there some story about MJ playing Bethpage Black before the Open? Will he break 100 if it is set up for Open play? No. He'd be the first to say that, though. Story: I played Medinah in Chicago the day after a PGA tournament. Played with a member who insisted we play from the back tees (7,460 yards) and do so because it would be a chance to play it like the pros did that weekend. Whew. I played the round of my life...the absolute best golf I've ever played (I'm a 13, who has twice broken 80)...hit 11 of 14 fairways...Hit the ball dead straight every time I swung the club...Shot an even 100. Felt like I was in the process of shooting 75...Shot an even 100. The member told me I had played great. GREAT! That's how hard that was and Medinah isn't as hard as Bethpage Black. Now, MJ is a WHOLE LOT better than I am. A lot. If he spends the next few months doing nothing but working toward that round he can shoot 90 there...but he won't have time to do that...I can't see it. I wouldn't break 110 there...No chance.

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Bethesda, Md.: Hey Michael, thanks as always for the chats! I appreciate not only your writing, but also your parenting tidbits (being a new dad myself since August).

Which team do you think will begin to look competitive the soonest, the Wizards or Redskins? Also, Have you caught any Caps games this season? Nice to have one area team doing well! Thanks Michael!

Michael Wilbon: Thanks much...Well, the Capitals are already a playoff team and hopefully a contender this season. And the Redskins are at least over .500. They're light years ahead of the Wizards, who have somehow gone from competitive to just lacking in so many areas. The Wizards could be the worst team in the Eastern Conference, which was unthinkable on the eve of the season. I certainly think they can rebound, and I hope so because my dear friend Ed Tapscott is working his behind off trying to get them going in the right directino again...but it's hard to see right now without the team making a big trade...

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Washington, D.C.: Michelle Wie graduates from Q school! Yippee!

Still can't figure out how she's worth $20 million in endorsements though.

Michael Wilbon: Well, that was based on promise and appeal. She had (has) both in abundance. I can see that. I'm very, very happy she qualified and I hope she plays a steady diet of LPGA events and not a single men's event. That's what got her off track...that circus stuff, playing men's events. It's the dumbest thing ever. Let's hope she rebounds. There's a tremendous golfer in there, and she's only, what, 19? 18? I hope the best for her.

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Washington, D.C.: What do you make of the Clinton Portis "benching" by Zorn? I have a strange feeling that Zorn is slowly losing his team.

Also, did Zorn not watch the hit that Boldin took in a completely meaningless play at the end of the Cardinals/Jets game? What was he thinking having Campbell throw and not take a knee with 26 seconds left last night?

Michael Wilbon: If he indeed benched Portis it seems stupid to me. For what? For running more tough yards than any back in the NFL this season? Portis is a man. The hits he's taken! He has zero easy yards, which points to just what he said about the OL before the season. He's the team's MVP, no question. What has Zorn got against Portis? What's his beef? What did Portis not do? This particular story line seems pretty stupid to me, though I want to find out more about this today before I write a column about the Redskins that appear's in Tuesday's editions of The Post.

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Waynesboro, Pa.: How come no one in the Washington media ever questions the way the Skins are managed? Someone needs to take Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato to task over this mess of a team. They never get any better year after year. And don't say "they're close to being good" because they aren't. Not by a long shot. This is a team where they draft a punter who lasted all of about six weeks and a tight end who still doesn't understand the playbook.

Michael Wilbon: What are you talking about? What planet are you on? There have been stories and columns that have done nothing but that for Snyder's entire tenure. Are you Rip Van Winkle?

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20165: What do your confidential sources say about Blake Griffin?

Michael Wilbon: They're all waiting to see him play against the toughest competition...There are questions about his real size (like Michael Beasley, nobody believes BG is 6-foot-10)...There's plenty of time to judge, but most scouts I've talked to so far (and current NBA players) think the the Curry kid at Davidson is a better pro prospect than Griffin or Tyler Hansbrough...Shooting is the one skill that should transfer very smoothly from one level to the next, even though Curry is only 6-1...

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Rick Mirer: Remember me? I was a great rookie QB (just like Matty Ryan), but then I faded into obvlivion after my rookie year once teams figured me out. Will the same happen to Matt Ryan?

Michael Wilbon: I don't remember Mirer ever being "great" with the Seahawks...He was promising...probably overrated because he went to Notre Dame...But I don't think he was as good as Matt Ryan...I'll have to go to the record book on Mirer and see what his deal was. I know that Seattle was very hopeful he could continue what Dave Krieg had done...He was, quite stupidly, hyped as "The next Joe Montana." Okay, just looked it up...He set league rookie records for attempts, completions and yards...Okay, so he was better than I thought. But still, "great" seems to be a stretch. He had 12 TDs and 17 interceptions that rookie season. So judgement was clearly an issue...We're talking 1993, which wasn't old-style vertical football, but not yet dink-and-dunk football either.

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Texas: Any comments on the potential bankruptcy filing by the Tribune corporation -- as a Chicagoan, newspaperman, Cubs fan?

Michael Wilbon: Stunning. That's all I can say about the reports, which I haven't read in detail yet. Stunning. I grew up delivering the Tribune when I was a kid. All I wanted to do, until 22 years old, was work for The Trib. Even when I began working for The Post, I dreamed for 5 years of returning home to work for The Trib. I doubt most people outside Chicago know that WGN, owned by The Trib, stands for World's Greatest Newspaper. Well, what now? I'm just stunned, even though I knew the paper was in trouble. It becoming official is the earth shaker.

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Washington, DC: I loved this story about Artie Donovan that George Solomon told in his column yesterday. Getting too wrapped up in sporting events, whether by an athlete or a fan, is clearly nothing new:

"Donovan, 83 and also in the Hall of Fame, remembered his first visit to Griffith Stadium in 1950. 'The Redskins beat the hell out of us (38-28) and this guy in a cowboy hat comes into our locker room after the game and says, 'Good game, boys.' I told him to get the hell out of here. One of my guys says to me, 'Artie, take it easy, that was Sammy Baugh.' "

washingtonpost.com: Local Rivals Scrap for Backyard Supremacy (Post, Dec. 7)

Michael Wilbon: ALL stories involving or told by Artie Donovan should be read. And I would suggest that everybody go back and read George's Sunday column...Great stuff.

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Pittsburgh: There are three BCS games in which the spread is double digits. If the college presidents are not going to commit to a playoff system, can we at least devise a system that provides the best (most competitive) match-ups?

Michael Wilbon: They could care less...though you make, clearly, a good suggestion.

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Washington, D.C.: I believe that Jason Campbell is a poor fit for the Redskins current offensive "system". His mechanics and physical strengths don't lend themselves to this rapid fire short pass offense. Either Zorn should adjust to him or pull him in favor of Brennan or Collins. Am I an idiot for even thinking this?

Michael Wilbon: Ah, yes.

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Atlanta: For all the BCS controversy that brewed this year, the championship game is just about as good as it could get. No one can argue those teams aren't deserving (except a Texas fan). And the whole slate of BCS games looks to be the most entertaining in years -- except VT vs. Cincinnati. All in all, this bowl season looks pretty great. Most looking forward to (other than BCS games) UGA vs. Mich. St, GT vs. LSU, WVU vs. NC, and Missouri vs. Northwestern -- if nothing else this season should stoke the "my conference is better than yours" debates all the way through the summer. Hope NW knocks off the mighty Big 12!

Michael Wilbon: That's NU, by the way...never NW which is what TV always does, despite MY WARNINGS! You make a good case, except Texas deserves more than Oklahoma to be in the most important of those games...Is that something that should just be glossed over?

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Duluth, Minn.: Did you get a chance to see Manny Pacquiao beat up on Oscar Delahoya last Saturday night?? Oscar was never in the fight, not even for a second..

Michael Wilbon: Yes, sir. And I'm glad you brought that up because I watched every second of that fight and was amazed at the way it unfolded...Manny put on a clinic. It was the sweet science applied at the highest level...It wasn't a great fight, obviously. It was, though, a great performance. And we saw the end of Oscar as a viable fighter. That's not to say he won't get in the ring again. But he's done as a contender for anything legit. He had a wonderful career for 16 years. I first saw him fight in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and followed his every move for awhile. He's been fabulous for boxing but it's over for him now. Luckily, he's made and kept a good percentage of the more than $150 million he's made in his career. Pacquiao, however, is one helluva fighter. I don't think he's going to be the big box-office draw he would have been 20 years ago because boxing, as a sport, is on life support. That saddens me greatly because I'm a boxing nut...But it's over for big-time prize-fighting in America. The mixed martial arts stuff has killed it...Well, boxing killed itself first with its greed...But for one night, what a performance.

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Annapolis, Md.: Did you happen to watch the Army/Navy game on Saturday? What a display by Navy! How about some love for the Mids for setting a record with 13 straight wins over the other service academies!

Michael Wilbon: I did not watch Army-Navy...I spent all my time watching Alabama-Florida, which was a pretty darned good game. But big ups to the Midshipmen, who have had another very successful season.

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Manassas, Va.: So Maryland's heading to Boise to play a no-name Nevada team. What can all 12 fans who make the trip expect when they get there?

Michael Wilbon: Friendly people, wonderful hospitality, beautiful skies, a blue field...I love Boise. Been there three times and loved every trip.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Mike, My question is about college boosters. They wield awesome power at some schools. You've grumbled about them on many occasions. So why are they seemingly never named in the press? An example: Auburn just lost a good football coach who had the support of the AD and president, but he resigned because he believed he didn't have the support of an important booster. And that booster went unnamed in every story I saw. If these guys are that powerful, they should be named as commonly as the AD, no? I mean that's news. Do the schools or the boosters encourage the anonymity for some reason? If they are this powerful, I'm surprised they aren't called out by the reporters.

Michael Wilbon: Great question/point you make. I don't cover college sports as a beat anymore, but I KNOW you're right about the power they wield. They should be named. You're right. I think sometimes they are, esecially in college towns where the program is like a pro team in terms of newsworthiness...They should be named. They're big businessmen who dramatically affect the team. They absolutely should be named, though that would give some of them too much pleasure...

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DC: You mentioned, "old-style vertical football" and I've been wanting to ask an expert about this. When we were kids, in the '70s and '80s, didn't QB's throw the ball higher? When they threw a bomb, it was way up there, right? Not just guys like Bradshaw, but even like Warren Moon or Dan Fouts had a lot of air beneath their throws.

Maybe it's the camera angles, but the passes look like they fly lower and faster. What do you think?

Michael Wilbon: No, you're right. The passing game we see now was nothing like what you and I grew up with...And I'm not talking the 1980s...I'm talking 1960s and 1970s. Passes went down the field. And bombs had such an arc on them...They were dramatic and looked like home runs. It's an element that's almost disappeared from the game.

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Tampa Bay: Any chance you can get Barry Melrose on PTI? I hope he'd rip the Lightning for firing him.

Michael Wilbon: You bet we will. I love Melrose. And while I hate that he was fired this way, I look forward to our Sunday lunches in the ESPN cafeteria in Bristol during NBA/NHL seasons...You'd be hard-pressed to have more engaging and enjoyable company than Melrose, who is simply one of the best analysts in sports, anywhere and anytime.

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New Orleans: If you could vote, who would be your choicefor the Heisman award?

Michael Wilbon: Sam Bradford? Colt McCoy led his team in passing and rushing...Tebow deserves a serious look. I might vote for McCoy...but it's as tough a call as there is.

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Washington, DC: That was cool when Jim Zorn put a backup center at left tackle without any help (against Terrell Suggs!). Is Zorn trying to kill Jason Campbell?

Michael Wilbon: I'm so glad you mentioned that. Zorn didn't have many options at that point...but it underscores the fact that the Redskins don't have the line play on either side of the ball they need to be a real contender. The offensive line isn't nearly good enough. It needs, we know now, to be overhauled. Any opinion other than that is ill-informed and must be driven by some silly agenda. The Redskins have lost to every power team they've played. It's an indictment of their line play, on both sides, and on the team's recent drafts...I'm going to do some more research this afternoon on this topic and write about it in tomorrow's column...Okay, gotta run and prepare for PTI...See you all next Monday after the Redskins presumably will have won a game in Cincy...Have a great week everybody...

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