Does anyone know CPR?

MLB

Though the marathon regular
season is finally coming to a close
on Sunday, for some teams that’s
not nearly soon enough. The Boston
Red Sox, desperate not to author a
sequel to their 1978 collapse, are just
several strides from finishing first
in the American League East race
for the first time since 1995. Boston
had held the best record in baseball
through most of the season and even
enjoyed a 14-game lead over New
York in July.

A couple weeks ago, I even bestowed
the Red Sox with the “most in
need of a time machine” superlative,
taking into account their welldocumented
history of being on the
precipice of glory, only to be pushed
off almost every time (and usually by
the Yankees). They urgently needed to
fast-forward to Game 1 of the ALDS
at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox have been aided by a
Yankees misstep this week, but don’t
count on that to be the key to the
World Series. Beantown is lacking
confidence in its team, which has
been losing ground faster than the
rainforest. But, the Sox have maneuvered
to a position where they’ve
traditionally been most comfortable:
as the doubted underdog. Take a
look at how they’ve handled being a
frontrunner through the years. How
many World Series titles have they
parlayed those expectations into?
(It rhymes with fun.) They always
strike hardest after being cast aside,
most notably winning the final four
games of the ALCS over the Yankees
en route to the World Series.

Squandering double-digit division
leads is something fans are growing
tired of, but instead of looking at it
as losing momentum, see it as an
opportunity to rally and relight a
dimmed flame entering a postseason
in which every team begins 11 wins
from being crowned World Series
champions. So maybe the wild card
wouldn’t be so bad for the Red Sox.
Let the Yankees win the division and
have the weight of 26 World Series
titles rest on their shoulders. Maybe
Boston hasn’t been choking; it has
merely been clearing its throat.

NFL

The Washington Redskins are
rising in the ranks. They’ve been
building for the past decade and a half
and the results are becoming glaringly
obvious. Sadly, I’m not talking about
on the field. I’m talking about in the
stands for a team whose followers
have gained a reputation as one of the
most tormented fan bases in sports.
They’ll never challenge “cursed” teams
in baseball like the Cubs or Red Sox,
but they could go toe-to-toe with any
other fans in America when it comes
to telling stories of heartbreak and
embarrassment.

The latest episode transpired last
Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field.
Holding a 17-3 halftime advantage
over the New York Giants, the Redskins
allowed 21 straight second-half
points. Overtime was appearing to be
a likelihood as the Redskins marched
64 yards and primed themselves for
a last-minute touchdown facing firstand-
goal, one yard from pay dirt. In
classic Redskins fashion, they couldn’t
move the ball that final yard with four
chances and lost to the previously
winless team with the last-place passdefense
coming into the game.

Who allowed this to happen?
Joe Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl
champion head coach and Hall of
Famer, offensive coordinator/guru
Al Saunders, who held the same
position in Kansas City when the
Chiefs’ offense was ranked No. 1 in
the NFL, and Joe Bugel, who teamed
with Gibbs during the ‘80s glory years
with “the hogs” and is back as the
offensive line coach. All three played
a major role in the inability for the
Redskins to convert on Sunday and
force overtime. Granted, there were
variables as always. The offensive line
is patched together and is not a dream
team by any means.

But excuses in sports are invalid,
and that’s all the Redskins have been
able to present their fans ever since
Gibbs originally retired in 1992. The
‘Skins have made the playoffs just
twice in the following 14 seasons.

Winning is all Dan Snyder has
preached since purchasing the team
for an unprecedented $800 million
in 1999. He obviously has a lot of
money and is not afraid to spend it
to try to buy success. He’s brought in
free agent after free agent in lieu of
building chemistry and maintaining
consistency. Many of those free agents
were Pro Bowlers and were acquired
by disrespecting the draft and trading
picks. Of the Pro Bowlers signed by
the Redskins during Snyder’s tenure,
not one has made it to Hawaii as a
Redskin. Snyder has been reluctant to
bring in a general manager. He’s also
reached his hands into other ventures
such as buying Six Flags and dick clark
productions. Meanwhile, Gibbs still
owns and runs his NASCAR venture,
Joe Gibbs Racing. The annually disappointing
Redskins have been losing
attention from the men in charge
when they need it the most.

It’s not that Washington is anywhere
near a level of futility with
Arizona, Cleveland or some of those
like teams, but its recent disappointments
have been of a different nature.
Take another Washington sports
franchise, the Wizards. They have
been so bad, going back well into
their days as the Bullets, that fans
have had virtually zero expectations of
ever winning. With low expectations,
it’s tough for fans to feel heartbreak;
only the same pity for the team that
makes the fans want to put paper bags
over their heads.

The Redskins are a different story.
Many living fans have actually seen the
team’s banner years, unlike the Red
Sox. Everyone is led to believe that this
is the year that everything is finally
going to come together. Then, ticket
and parking prices are raised and
Snyder pushes more merchandise on
his fans and blares more ads over the
public address system during breaks
in games. Every season becomes more
of a tease with a different reason to
have hope. Sunday’s gaffe was just
another bullet point to add to the
list of shortcomings and frustrations
for the team. But what does it matter
to Snyder? The Redskins are still the
most profitable sports franchise in
North America