As you've no doubt caught by now, Europe is in the throes of the European soccer championships. As it happens, this year England failed to qualify, and ze Germans can't resist rubbing it in like crazy, like pretending to be astonished when noticing no English team taking the field, etc. etc. etc.As you all know, Germany will be nailed to the floor by Spain on Sunday.

I had an Italian mother. She didn't view what I was doing as really a profession. She viewed it as recreation. I said, 'Gee Mom, I'm going to be the head coach of the New York Giants.' And she said to me, 'When are you going to get a real job like your brother the banker?'

Hat tip to Tsunayoshi.

I've only seen one of these so far (the "Sensitivity Training" vid) and lost it so badly I can't quite get myself to watch another one. So I'm linking to it to remind myself to watch it later, when I've calmed down a bit...

Punt.
Punt.
Punt.
Punt.
Punt.
Punt.
Downs.
Half.

Then a third quarter that went the same way.

Then 14 points in 2 1/2 minutes. And an INT. And a recovered kick. It was like Sean Taylor really was suddenly intervening in the game.

And then Todd Collins, who has been nearly flawless in his rebirth as the Redskins starter QB, makes a mistake beyond all mistakes -- lobbing that pass where Moss had given up -- and it turns into an INT returned for a TD.

And then another INT returned for a TD in the closing minutes. Unbelievable. Hard to imagine Collins doing that.

The Seahawks proved they were the better team through three quarters -- their defensive line and linebacker corps just crushed the Redskins O-line -- while Collins played well, in spite of the pressure. Which made those two major mistakes that much more jarring. And the end of the rally that much more crushing.

Sigh. Better luck next year. But an exciting game nonetheless.

Redskins 22, Giants 10.

Though if the Giants had caught half the passes they dropped, they'd probably have creamed the 'Skins. Yeesh. Manning damned near set a record for incomplete passes, and half of them were dropped balls.

And the wind kept doing the 'Skins favors, weirdly enough. Only once do I recall a case where the wind really cost the Redskins a play (when a Collins pass that would have been a TD wobbled a bit too short), but other than that it kept blowing in FGs and blowing Giants passes awry (and one Giant FG). And in one case blowing what would have been a lousy 30-yard punt and turning it into a 60-yarder ending at the Giants 4.

Not to mention a couple bad spots where I thought the Giants had the first, but then the spot was miraculously inches short. If the game had been in DC, I'd have been suspicious.

If you're wondering why I only now am posting about the game, the original broadcast was at 2 am last night...so I chickened out and watched the repeat at 9 pm. And they're showing the 'Skins-Vikings game next week...at 1 am. Sigh. At least there was the occasional baseball game earlier in the day, when the kids were still up, but letting them stay up until midnight is a bit much (even if the Confessor was excited by the prospect of watching tonight).

Meanwhile I noticed they announced the game times for various places around the world, and it never occurred to me before, but the evening NFL games in the US are of course midday in Oz. Therefore I am moving in with Arb.

Cowboys 28, Redskins 23. It is to weep.

First off, I gotta wonder what the hell the Cowboys have for a center. Sweet Lord, three blown snaps in one half?! The Cowboys are insanely lucky none were recovered by the Redskins (though of course one turned into an INT).

That missed FG in the first half really hurt the 'Skins, especially to come up with nothing after that great drive. Sigh.

Jason Campbell is turning into a really solid QB. I have high expectations of him in the next few seasons, and think he may make those three draft picks he cost be worth it. Yes, he's been fumbling a lot -- but I think that boils down to the amount of pressure he's been under with that weak offensive line, along with his relative youth. Both can be corrected, and learning to deal with pressure is just the seasoning he needs.

But still, his inexperience shows, like the intentional grounding call he had, but especially like that blunder that effectively killed the game for the 'Skins by throwing a sloppy pass under pressure right into the gut of a Dallas defender. He had some room to run and could have gained a good four or five yards if he'd have just run with it, rather than throwing the ball into heavy traffic like that. Even so, he led what looked like a magnificent rally, marching down the field and giving the Dallas secondary fits. If he keeps this up, he's gonna be a hell of a quarterback.

Given the odds going in, the 'Skins were damned lucky to be in the game at all at the half, though, let alone be ahead 10-7. Unfortunately, the Cowboys are known for going berzerko-crazy in the second half, while the Redskins are known for wilting. And indeed, that's more or less what happened, though surprisingly it was the Redskins D that failed, not the offense. Even then, their secondary is what killed them, not their defensive line -- the latter managed to bottle up the run pretty well, while the former got burned repeatedly by Owens. Bleah.

But the Redskins D looked surprisingly good overall, considering how banged up it is. And amazingly enough, the Redskins' offensive line didn't do too badly, all things considered. Maybe things are finally looking up again for the team -- but it's a shame they couldn't come up with a win after that effort.

A real heartbreaker of a game overall. Were it not for that late INT thrown by Campbell deep in Cowboys territory, the Redskins probably would have won it. The look of utter disappointment and frustration on Joe Gibbs' face after the INT just said it all: Somehow the Redskins have immense potential, but keep coming up short.

I direct your attention to the NASN TV schedule for this Saturday at 6 pm.

Hot diggity damn.

The Confessor was weirdly prescient, getting himself dressed earlier after coming home from shopping with BoE...putting on his Ohio State sweatsuit that his Buckeye grandma gave him some months back, but until now he always refused to put it on. But today he proceeded to go to the closet, pick it out and get dressed.

Maybe he heard me talking to Grandma about the game during our recent video chat, and took it to heart more than I realized...

Anyway, I now also direct your attention to the schedule the next day, 10 pm (or 22:00 as they put it).

Hot diggity-double-damn.

Hail to the Redskins, hail victory, braves on the warpath, fight for old DC!

Like I mentioned in suldrew's blog, I watched the 'Skins-Iggles game just now on tape delay (NASN often repeats games). So it was my first (almost) live 'Skins game on TV in a mere, oh, 14 years.

I had wanted to watch it live last night (or more accurately in the wee hours of the morning), but it would have started at 2:30 am and my MIL is staying with us a few days, sleeping in the living room -- so no dice on that.

The 'Skins looked decent, though they definitely need to get their offensive line improved if they want Portis to be productive. Campbell looked pretty solid, especially considering he's so young. Lots of potential there, I think. And their secondary and pass rush looked pretty good. Even so, they made a lot of stupid mistakes (that series of penalties at the end of the first half was just embarrassing) and considering the amount of money Snyder shits out on the team, they oughta be freakin' cruising to victory rather than worrying about blowing a 10+ point lead.

Dayamn have I missed football.

Sorry, arb, mah 'Skins hadda beat them Iggles. At least they didn't rough the kicker. ;-)