dave_feldman's Blog

Greetings Sports Fans:

    It did not take long for a quiet off-season to turn into a busy first day of training camp. The move came out of necessity after Phillip Daniels hurt his knee in the very first drill of the very first practice. He is out for the season. That weakened a pass rush that was pretty weak to begin with.

     Cue Jason Taylor. A disgruntled Dolphin who did not care to swim with the Tuna. The Tuna is Bill Parcells, the new Vice President in Miami. Parcells didn't care for Taylor's off season activity of dancing rather than practicing with his teammates. Taylor didn't care for the way Parcells and his coaches treated him like a third round draft pick instead of a six time pro-bowler who is the NFL's active career sack leader.

   Taylor may only play for two more years, the length of his contract. To get him, the  skins gave up a second round pick next year and a sixth round pick in 2010. I think it was totally worth it. You never know what future picks will turn into. We know what Taylor can do. He had 11 sacks last season, he has 117 for his career.  When the skins play the Giants in the season opener and Taylor lines up on the left side and Carter on the right that will be an imposing tandem.

Kudos to Vinny Cerrato for acting so quickly. I think the move has tremendous upside with very little downside.

See you soon

Feldy

Greetings Sports Fans

     Wondering what I was supposed to watch on TV for my sporting weekend. No NBA playoffs, The Memorial, with no Tiger and no big name on the leader board. The Nats got hammered by Arizona, the best option was Nascar on Fox. A good wreck, a good winner, and good action. I had some guy come up to me the other day and say what do you cover now. The answer is the Nats and the mystics. This is not exactly are high season. We do have Tiger woods coming to town in  a month and then skins training camp in July and then a trip to Canton in August with two of the most popular Redskins ever to play.

Speaking of popularity. Thanks to everyone who has voted for me on the Washington Post Sports Personality Poll. If you dont know about this. go to http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/ and scroll down to the bottom. Blog Master Dan Steinberg is running a contest on Sports guys and gals in the area and seeing if poeple approve or dont. So far Im running at about 73 percent approval, slightly ahead of John Riggens but behind Steve Czaban. Now in fairness, Czabe did tell me he has recruited his entire army so that he finishes higher than Andy Pollin. So far it's working.

Hope you had a great weekend.

Feldy

Greetings Sports Fans

  A fifth person has been charged in the slaying of Sean Taylor . My first reaction is one of sadness. The person charged, is a kid. 16 year old Timothy Brown, charged with first-degree murder. My question is this. How many stupid kids threw their lives away with this terrible deciscion? Nothing is going to bring Taylor back. But the story is getting worse as we find out another life will be ruined. These kids are going to spend the rest of their lives in jail. And they should. They took someone's life. In his prime. Taylor was only 24 years old.

    The details are still coming in as to what Brown's role was in Taylor's murder. Reports out of Miami say he, like the other four suspects, was on the scene at Taylor's house.  A trial has already been set for the other four suspects for August 25th. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty... This has become a red button issues on sportstalk radio. Im not a huge fan of the death penalty, and I dont have a problem with these kids getting life without parole. To live the rest of their lives, which could be another 60-70 years, behind bars, is a pretty stiff sentence. I understand those who want the death penalty since Taylor's life was taken. But I believe this wasn't a premeditated act.  I believe it was heinous , tragic, and ultimately stupid.

I hope no more supsects are discovered. This tragedy has wasted enough young lives, and it keeps preventing closure for the Taylor and Redskins family. They've been through enough.

Feldy

GREETINGS SPORTS FANS.

I'VE RECEIVED SOME QUESTIONS FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THE MOM'S BASKETBALL LEAGUE STORY WHICH AIRED SUNDAY NIGHT IN THE TEN PM NEWS.

I WILL GET A PHONE NUMBER OF THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONER ROB ZMUDA AND PUT IT ON THE WEB TOMORROW.

THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST

FELDY

Hey Sports Fans

   Feldy here reporting from Cleveland. I bet most of you thought the series was going to end last night here. Not so fast my friends. Talk about a HUGE win in a hostile enviorment. Eddie Jordan told me afterwards he thought the opening jump ball was thrown in Clevelands favor and things got testy right after that.

First of all, Darius Songaila did not mean to hit LeBron James in the face. He meant to throw his arm In 23's direction but I do no believe he tried to hit him in the face.

Caron Butler may have shuffled on his game winning shot but no way you call traveling on that  play. (see lebron a couple years back in dc)

Also, LeBron did not get fouled on his last shot. Good No Call.

As for Gil's pre-game announcement that he was shutting it down for the season. It's the right call although it probably should have come a little earlier. The team is clearly better without a 1/2 injured Agent Zero.

Here's the only sketchy part. Once again Eddie Jordan was kept in the dark in regards  to Gil. He did not find out about Gil's deciscion until he heard it from the media. If indeed that's the way it went down, Eddie deserves better.

As I was waiting to talk with him after the game he approached me and said "i bet you were already going to ask me to play golf weren't you." While the thought may have crossed my mind, I couldn't be happier they are stil alive .

only 8 teams out of 174 have come back from a 3-1 deficit.

here's hoping the wiz are number nine.

See you at Verizon Center on Friday Night

Feldy

Greetings Sports Fans

     Thoughts and observations from Game 4 between the Wizards and the Cavs.

DONT SHOOT MONGO, YOU'LL ONLY MAKE HIM ANGRY. That is a quote from the movie Blazing Saddles and it applies to LeBron James. Why tick him off? He just gets better.

Look, I like DeShawn Stevenson. I think he's a nice player who recently has found his shot. But cut out the talking smack with LeBron. He is either the best player in the NBA or the second best player (Kobe) and he is only 23. The smack doesn't seem to bother him but rather motivates him. When 20 thousand people at Verizon Center chanted "OVERATED.."  LeBron just laughed. I agree with playing him tough and physical. I agree to not shaking in his presence. But the talking is beyound the pale.

Especially since it looks like the Cavs will eliminate the Wizards for the third straight postseason.

I hope the wizards come back and become one of the few teams that  bounce back from a 3-1 deficit. If they do, it will be more with their actions then their words

See you next time

Feldy

GREETINGS SPORTS FANS

  HAD A WONDERFUL TIME LAST NIGHT AT THE NATS GAME. HOW ABOUT RYAN ZIMMERMAN. TALK ABOUT A FLARE FOR THE DRAMATIC.  A WALK OFF HOMERUN IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH ON OPENING DAY IN THE GRAND OPENING OF A BRAND NEW STADIUM.

GOOD FOR RYAN. A GOOD GUY WHO IS AN UNBELIEVABLE PLAYER.

BUT IM NOT HERE TO TALK  ABOUT RYAN. I WOULD LIKE TALK ABOUT MANNY ACTA.

IN THE TWO YEARS I HAVE BEEN COVERING MANNY I HAVE NEVER HEARD HIM HAVE A VERBAL BLUNDER. A BAD MISPEAK. A PODIUM MISHAP.

HERE'S THE DEAL. ENGLISH IS HIS SECOND LANGUAGE. DURING HIS JOB HE REGULARLY BOUNCES BACK BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SPANISH AND HE DOES SO FLAWLESSLY.  THINK ABOUT THAT. EACH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE HAS IT'S OWN SLANG, IT'S OWN SUBTLE DIFFERENCES.  HE HAS GREAT PEOPLE SKILLS AND IS A VERY GOOD MANAGER.

  IM A MANNY MAN AND I HOPE THE SKIPPER, HIS CLUB, AND HIS BRAND NEW STADIUM HAVE A GREAT YEAR.

Greetings Sports Fans

Just got back from the Caps 3-2 win over the Flams and once again  #8 was amazing.  I got to sit down with him on Tuesday and he is about as nice a superstar as I have ever met. His English is very solid now and he told me that he does not eat McDonalds three times a day like he did when he first came into town. He admitted to me it's good to be Ovie.

Bruce Boudreau is a good sport. He let me skate with him on Tuesday and he taught me a couple of things, I am a terrible skater but he was a good sport and very funny. He totally praised Glen Hanlon and said that sometimes a team just needs a new voice to make a change. Maybe that's why the team was 8 games under 500 when he took over and now 3 games over 500. I hope he stays with the Caps for a long time.

For you Boudreau fans, we will have another feature on coach Saturday night on Sports Xtra.  Like most coaches, he has his quirks. Find out what they are on Saturday night

See you next time sports fans

Feldy

Greetings Sports Fans from beautiful Viera, Florida.

Had a nice chat with outfielder Elijah Dukes yesterday. He's a pretty interesting guy. First of all, he's built like Bo Jackson. All muscle with a grip that could break your hand without a problem. I was told not to discuss his past issues (arrests for assault and battery)  but he brought them up to make the point that he is making the most of his second chances.

He is not scheduled to start in the outfield right now because of Kearns, Milledge, and Pena. He said he is ok with that as long as the team is winning. He said if he was riding the pine and the team was losing, he would have an issue. He was also involved in a very scary moment yesterday when a Tim Redding fast ball got away and nailed Dukes on the biceps. He shrugged it off and said it was like a insect bite. Gimme a break. This guy is tough.

We also did a story last night on Beth Jarrett. She is believed to be the only female trainer in Professional Baseball. Very nice young woman who the players seem to respect and like at the same time. You can check out her story on this very website.

Going to visit with Ryan Zimmerman today. He is the franchise and we found some fans today that had their dog Sunny wearing his jersey. It seems Zim is Sunny's favorite player.

It is overcast today. A very comfortable 70 degrees. Sorry about that DC.

Speak with you soon

Feldy

GREETINGS SPORTS FANS FROM BEAUTIFUL, SUNNY, VIERA, FLORIDA. THE NATIONALS UNDERWENT THEIR FIRST FULL SQUAD WORKOUT YESTERDAY AND YOURS TRULY HAD THE HONOR OF SITTING IN THE HEAT AND WATCHING IT.

HERE ARE A COUPLE OF OBSERVATIONS. THE NATIONALS EXPECT TO WIN MORE GAMES THEN THEY LOSE THIS YEAR. IN THE PAST, THEY WERE CUT SOME SLACK BECAUSE THEY WERE NEW AND HAD SUCH A LOW PAYROLL. THIS YEAR, WITH THE ADDITIONS OF ELIJAH DUKES AND LASTINGS MILLAGE, EXPECTATIONS ARE VERY HIGH. MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF DUKES IS THAT HE IS A NICE GUY AND APPEARS TO HAVE PUT HIS PROBLEMS IN THE PAST.  THE FRONT OFFICE IS VERY HIGH ON THIS GUY BUT ALSO REALISTIC. THEY HAVE HIRED A FORMER COP TO FOLLOW HIM AROUND AND GUIDE HIM AROUND MAKING BAD DECISIONS. (I COULD USE ONE OF THOSE)

ALSO SPOKE WITH CATCHER PAUL LODUCA THIS MORNING. I WAS TOLD BY THE NATS PR PEOPLE NOT TO ASK HIM ABOUT THE MITCHELL REPORT. I FIGURED I WOULD HAVE TO ASK HIM ANYWAY BUT HE POLITELY TOLD ME NOT TO  BEFORE THE CAMERAS STARTED ROLLING. I RESPECTED HIS WISHES AND DID NOT.  HE TOLD ME HE IS NOT NERVOUS ABOUT REPLACING THE POPULAR BRIAN SCHNEIDER SINCE HE HAS REPLACED THE POPULAR MIKE PIAZZA ABOUT 100 TIMES.

AIRING A PIECE ABOUT THE NATS FEMALE TRAINER TODAY. THE ONLY FEMALE TRAINER IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL.  BE SURE TO CHECK IT OUT ON THE FOX FIVE NEWS AT 5PM.

HAVE A GREAT DAY SPORTS FANS AND I WILL CHECK IN WITH YOU LATER

FELDY

GREETINGS SPORTS FANS.

  IS IT JUST ME OR DO YOU BELIEVE THAT JIM ZORN BEING SWORN IN ON A WEEKEND WAS NO COINCIDENCE. IF THAT HAD BEEN COWHER, OR FASSEL, OR SPURRIER OR SCHOTTENHEIMER, THE NEWS WOULD HAVE BROKE DURING MID WEEK.

I BELIEVE THE REDSKINS BRASS WANTED TO MINIMIZE THE EXPOSURE OF THE HIRE, NOT MAXIMIZE IT. 

HAVING SAID THAT, ONLY TIME WILL TELL HOW ZORN WILL DO. THE AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF A DAN SNYDER HIRED  COACH IS 18 MONTHS. (THAT'S INCLUDING GIBBS' STAY OF FOUR YEARS) I WOULD BE SHOCKED IF ZORN STAYS FOR 5 YEARS.  HIS  DETAIL WITH THE QB POSITION WILL BE A BIG  HELP TO JASON CAMPBELL BUT IM NOT SURE IT WILL BE A QUICK FIX. I THINK JOE GIBBS RESIGNING THE WAY  HE DID  REALLY THROUGH THE ORGANIZATION FOR A LOOP.

HOPEFULLY ZORN WILL NAME A NEW O. COORDINATOR SOON AND WE CAN CONCENTRATE ON THE TERPS, HOYAS, AND POSSIBLY MASON PLAYING WELL  INTO MARCH

ADIOS

FELDY

GREETING SPORTS FANS.....

THE WAIT CONTINUES....DAY 30 OF COACH WATCH.....

PANDA WATCH!!!! IVE BEEN ON SOME SERIOUS STORIES BUT I'VE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING LIKE THIS..(ANCHORMAN)

HERE IS THE LATEST....

STEVE SPAGNUOLO TOLD DAN SNYDER THIS MORNING THAT HE WAS NOT INTERESTED IN BECOMING THE SKINS NEXT HEAD COACH.....THIS AFTER 16 HOURS OF INTERVIEWING WHICH INCLUDED A SLEEPOVER AT THE OWNER'S HOUSE.(BRIAN MITCHELL SAID THIS MORNING ON 980 THAT HE THINKS THE CANDIDATES DO NOT LIKE STAYING AT SNDYER'S HOUSE. THAT THEY DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE THERE)

SPAGNUOLO WILL GET A BIG RAISE AND WILL ADD THE TITLE ASSISTANT HEAD COACH TO HIS GIANTS RESUME. HE DESERVES IT. HIS DEFENSE HELD THE NFL'S HIGHEST SCORING OFFENSE TO JUST 14 POINTS AND SACKED TOMY BRADY FIVE TIMES. HERE'S THE ONE CATCH. HE WAS NOT, I REPEAT, NOT OFFERED THE JOB. NOT SURE IF HE EVER WOULD HAVE BEEN. BOTH SIDES SEEM TO FEEL HE WAS A COUPLE YEARS AWAY.

SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US? JIM FASSEL, THE PEOPLE'S NON CHOICE. REDSKIN FANS REACTED VERY NEGATIVELY WHEN HIS NAME JOINED THE FRAY.

RON MEEKS, A COLTS ASSISTANT WHO IS THE ONLY MINORITY CANDIDATE WE KNOW OF.

AND STEVE MARIUCCI....A WINNER IN SF, A LOSER IN DETROIT , NUETRAL ON THE NFL NETWORK.

WE HERE AT FOX FIVE BELIEVE THAT THE DECISION WILL NOT GO DOWN THIS WEEK AS SNYDER HAD HOPED.....

EARLY NEXT WEEK THE POPULAR DATE, JIM FASSEL THE POPULAR GUY.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME SPORTS FANS

FELDY

GREETINGS AGAIN FROM PHOENIX SPORTS FANS.....

ENJOYED MY CHAT YESTERDAY WITH PLAXICO BURRESS. HE TOLD ME THAT HE DIDNT THINK HIS GUARANTEE WAS ANY BIG DEAL. HE SAID THAT IF A PLAYER DOESNT THINK HIS TEAM IS GOING TO WIN, THAT PLAYER HAS MAJOR ISSUES.

HE WAS ALSO VERY LATE TO THE GIANTS MEDIA AVAIL AND MANY THOUGHT HE MIGHT NOT SHOW AND GET FINED.

I HAD A CHANCE TO GO INSIDE THE SPACESHIP KNOWN AS UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX STADIUM YESTERDAY. THAT THING IS HUGE. THE FIELD IS OVER 3 FEET OFF THE GROUND ON A REMOVABLE TRAY. VERY COOL. IT HOLDS 63 GRAND NORMALLY, 73 FOR SUNDAYS BIG GAME....

IT WAS DESIGNED AFTER A BARRELL CACTUS. AND IT DOES SORT OF LOOK LIKE ONE.  ALSO THE PANELS ON THE OUTSIDE ALLOW THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN TO COME IN AND LIGHT UP THE BUILDING.

NOT BAD DIGGS FOR A COOL 355 MILLION. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE DANNY S. BUILD ONE OF THOSE IN DC AT THE RFK SITE.

COME TO THINK OF IT, MAYBE HE SHOULD HIRE A COACH FIRST.

MABE THE MARIUCCI.

STILL LOOKING FOR FASSEL.

TALK WITH YOU SOON

FELDY

GREETINGS SPORTS FANS FROM ARIZONA

    DAY ONE AT THE SUPERBOWL STARTED OFF WITH A BANG. I RAN INTO RAPPER BIZ MARKIE AT THE AIRPORT. HE LIVES IN MD, BUT IS ORIGINALLY FROM NEW YORK.  BUT HE TOLD ME HE'S ROOTING FOR THE PATRIOTS BECAUSE RANDY MOSS IS HIS MAIN MAN.

  WE ALSO WENT TO THE FOX COMPOUND TODAY AND SAW HOWIE, JIMMY, TERRY, CURT, AND FRANK CALIENDO. LATER ON IN THE WEEK WE WILL HAVE A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT HOW THEY PUT THE SUPERBOWL PREGAME SHOW TOGETHER.

STILL NO WORD ON WHO THE REDSKINS WILL HIRE AS HEAD COACH. Indianapolis assistant Ron Meeks was scheduled to interview with the Redskins for a second time Tuesday after a first meeting went 10 hours.

COULD DAN SNYDER PLEASE GET THIS THING DONE.

WE ARE GOING TO TRY AND GET A DAN AND DARRELL GREEN SIGHTING TOMORROW. IT WONT BE EASY. THIS CITY IS VERY SPREAD OUT AND GLENDALE MIGHT AS WELL BE IN ANNAPOLIS.

BY THE WAY, IT IS COLD OUT HERE WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN.

LOW 40'S. HOPE SUE PUTS THAT IN HER FIVE DAY.

TALK WITH YOU TOMORROW.

FELDY

Greetings from Seattle Sports Fans

    Feldy here in the rainy, dreary, Pacific Northwest. I had a great day yesterday and decided to see all the sights. My photog Steve Williams and I went to the famous Pike's Public Market and threw some Fish. I caught a flying Salmon on the first try but I must admit the guy gave me a perfect toss. After playing around with the fisherman for a while we took off for the original Starbucks. There are over 15 thousand world wide but this one in Seattle, was the very first. Opened in 1971. They would not let us shoot the camera inside so we spoke with people going in and out. The general consensus was that this Starbucks has better coffee than the 14,999 other places. After Coffee we went to the Space Needle. Built for the Worlds's Fair, it is 605 feet tall. We couldn't take the cameras up there either. (People need to loosten up)

After all that, we went back to the Fox TV station to put some stuff together. I noticed that something was smelling fishy. (I mean, really fishy.) I opened my backpack to find a cutoff fishhead in a plastic bag) One of the fisherman had put it in there earlier in the day without me knowing.  I like a good prank and this one was pretty good. Since he had it wrapped in plastic there was no real damage done. I saved the fish head for Sue Palka's purse.

  I'll talk with you again tomorrow.

Some final perspective on the game

See ya sports fans

Feldy