Looks Like Someone Has a Sixpack of the Mondays

1. Buzzer Beater Sixpack (on the West Coast).

2. I hope everyone had a great Easter. This team has had some interesting things happen with its quarterback position over the Easter holiday in recent memory. The trade for Donovan McNabb was the most recent bombshell to drop on the day ol' JC walked out of the tomb (no...not Jason Campbell). This time, the news that Robert Griffin III will resume running was delivered to us by our football savior's father (I am doing my best to tap dance around any real blasphemy). This step is an undeniable part of his road back to the game, and was always going to happen, but hearing it and knowing we are there is quite an awesome thing. It is a big deal that he is going to resume running. A huge deal. Every step forward involved in getting our starting quarterback 100% ready to start in Week One is a big one. I emphasize the word forward because rehabilitation often involves steps backward. They are likely baked into the overall timeline, but news of a setback is bad news regardless of whether or not it was expected. As far as I'm concerned, please feel free to relish this otherwise non-eventful piece of news.

3. It is one thing to have two great players to watch in their prime. It is an entirely different thing when those two players are motivated by more than just being great players. Bryce Harper and RG3 are motivated to be the best. A lot of athletes have said that. A lot of athletes were just supplying a bit of lip service to ESPN or the local media. Harper and Griffin not only physically have what it takes to credibly pursue elite greatness, they have the mental capacity to ascend to the upper echelon of greatness. They have that combination of intelligence and assuredness that allows for a tunnel vision when it comes to establishing and pursuing goals. And we get to watch them chase those goals.

4. We once talked about Washington baseball as an opportunist in a down Redskins period. From here on through January, we are going to have a good, young team on the field and the diamond for us in Washington. Could this be the next grand step in the resurrection of Washington, DC as a true sports town? The presence of a championship contender in baseball and a defending division champion in football satisfies the minimum requirement. The presence of transcendent, other-worldly talent on multiple teams puts us on the map. We might have the Lebron James of football and the Wayne Gretzky of baseball...at ages 20 and 23, respectively. If Ovechkin and the Caps can make a run, we could be in for a record amount of big games in this town in one year. And we have not even mentioned the name Stephen Strasburg yet, which is crazy.

5. A lot of people are going to look at the salary cap penalty and the moves we have been forced to make as a result and suggest that we are not good enough on paper to keep a straight face while predicting improvement on our 2012 finish. I got news for those people--we weren't that great on paper last spring, either. Our offensive line, which isn't going to inspire many minstrels to sing songs of praise, looks similar to the one we had a year ago, except it is coming off a very impressive season. Sure we would love to upgrade at least one spot along the line, but at the end of the day, we can't deny the success they had in 2012. Our quarterback, though injured and healing, will have no rookie rust. Our running back position looks pretty solid, and we have receivers who seem to be on the same page with our trigger man and the scheme. Defensively...well, we came out of the gate last year on pace to be the worst defense EVER. We will likely add a player or two that can start for us out of the draft--that alone boosts the profile of a very sketchy unit. I know I tend to serve up a pretty steady pitcher of Kool-Aid around here, but I really do like our team right now versus what we had a year ago. God help me...I really do.

6. There is a blue-light special on veterans this year...and maybe for some time to come. Luckily for us, we are on a blue-light budget. We're like Clark Griswald at the ghetto casino, playing games of war for a buck. Our haul of signings isn't going to blow up many skirts, but when you think of what we have to spend, it could be worse. We are a "love the one you're with" kind of fanbase after all.