LSM

Yes, let's try this blogging thing again.

• Donovan McNabb to the Redskins. The buzz around Philadelphia trading McNabb had been heating up over the last few weeks (to make room for untested Kevin Kolb and seemingly after the Eagles' unsuccessful attempts to move Michael Vick earlier this year), but it's caught everyone by surprise that he went in-division to Washington. Angst has been equal between WN's Redskins and Eagles friends, although Skins' fans seem to be more upset. Why? WN thinks mainly it's that they're worried that this is the return of the bad Dan Snyder - trading or signing high-price free agents, ditching valuable draft picks, winning the off-season Super Bowl only to be mediocre. Plus, the consensus seems to be that Washington isn't all that close and that a QB doesn't solve all of their problems. That said, WN would at least wait to see what they get for Jason Campbell (as good as gone, but probably bringing back a mid or late-round pick) before evaluating the deal. And if they either trade back in the draft or bring in an offensive tackle, Washington (as much as it pains me to say it) might not be that bad.
• As for the Eagles: Kevin Kolb better be looking pretty sharp by the time Washington rolls into Philly this season (destined for a Sunday or Monday night game now - rumors are Monday October 25). WN supposes that there is a legit argument that (1) McNabb was never quite "good enough" to win the biggest games and (2) Kolb is a better fit for Philly's offensive system and (3) this gives them a lot of value for McNabb now before losing him or Kolb in the offseason. All fair points, and given how many other players Philly has released to traded this year, Kolb probably does make sense. But you know that you're going to get 2 very tough games against Washington this year, and there's no guarantee that Kolb is as good as McNabb (short run or long run). It would also worry me that the original plan seemed to be shopping Vick and that the deal for McNabb only came once it became apparent that there was very little interest in Vick. We shall see.
• Duke-Butler. This has been one of the worst NCAA basketball tournaments in memory. The first round and second round were great, but since then it's been a lot of ugly, uninspiring games. Butler-Michigan State might have been the worst Final Four games ever. The shooting has been so bad (not just in this game) that WN wonders if something is actually wrong with the rims. There has been exactly one great game since the end of the first weekend (Kansas State-Xavier, which wasn't on until really late on a Thursday anyways) and a series of forgettable or simply unwatchable games since. The top 3 teams (Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse) failed to make the Final Four. 3 of the 4 regional finals games were awful (and even Kentucky's miserable shooting night against West Virginia didn't make for a great game). It almost makes one long for a basketball BCS. Not really.
• As for tonight's game: Duke wins comfortably. Butler plays a very slow pace that Duke can play at, too. Butler will pick up too many fouls (there might be some eye-rolling calls tonight) and have to go their bench early in both halves, opening room for Duke to build up a lead against Butler (WN's guess: Butler's Matt Howard picks up 4 or 5 fouls and plays less than 15 minutes - assuming he plays at all). Butler isn't shooting well enough to hang around. Duke wins handily (say, 71-60), playing maybe 1 or 2 decent teams, the perfect ending to the worst NCAA tournament of all-time ... before they expand to 96 teams. Ugh.
• Opening day for baseball. The Orioles open on the road ... in Tampa Bay ... on Tuesday. Blah. More on the Orioles later this week.