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1. It's time to shake the cobwebs loose. Summer vacation is over...life vacation begins in a matter of days/weeks.
2. Speaking of a life vacation, a certain Sage Rosenfels hung up the cleats for good. A fourth round pick in the 2001 draft, Sage came to the Redskins at a time when the circus was firmly entrenched at Ashburn. He only spent one season on the roster, but I have always found one particular anecdote from his career to be particularly amusing. In 2005, Sage entered the game for the Miami Dolphins with the team trailing 23-3. Miami won the game 24-23, behind 272 yards passing and two touchdowns from Rosenfels. The quarterback he replaced? Gus Frerotte.
3. And yes, Kevin...I did think Sage had a chance to wrestle the starting quarterback job to the ground. We're talking about the Tony Banks, Kent Graham, Jeff George era. Sage was a fourth round pick that was a two-year starter at Iowa State. He had a pretty solid senior campaign and arrived with the kind of maturity you would expect of a guy who figured out how to make a career in the league. I challenge you to prove that we would have been worse off with Sage Rosenfels as our quarterback a few of those lean years. (I read that Sage announced his retirement on Facebook. So much for the tear-filled press conference...and what about the one-day contract so he could retire as a Redskin? Ha.)
4. I feel the need to make a catfish comment. Most of you have learned to take what you read on the internet with a grain of salt. I see that philosophy applied even to the things you read here from people you have been reading for years. That is not only fair, but appropriate. After all, we have seen time and time again how people misrepresent sources, anecdotes, relationships, etc. I can tell you all that we here at Hogs Haven have been approached multiple times by people claiming to have salacious information and even pictures of current players in compromising situations. So far, we have managed to sidestep a couple of major landmines. We narrowly avoided becoming entangled in a disastrous catfish scheme when we were presented with some rather ridiculous evidence of shenanigans. We could not verify any of it, and the source refused to put their name on any of it, so we avoided all of it. Even since 2009, which is when Kevin and I took over here at Hogs Haven, things have gotten crazy with regard to the predatory nature of these "catfish"...and now we have legitimate world-class star power on our roster, so the target on us is bigger than ever. I encourage all of you to continue to be cautious about what you believe. I have seen some rather convincing stuff in recent days and weeks that I would bet is untrue. It sucks out loud that this is where we are, but the fact of the matter is that convincing evidence can be created on PhotoShop. I find this very upsetting, and I hope that everyone withholds judgement on certain stories. You will know exactly the ones I refer to as they are the kind that shoot straight to the top of the headlines in this town.
5. We have put together two episodes of The Fun Bunch podcast and I am eager to get some reader feedback. Feel free to comment here, email me directly at thetenyardfight@gmail.com, or use the ol' Twitter (@ItsRainingKen) to give us any critiques or accolades. We'll keep honing.
6. Maybe I'm just feeling good about things because Robert Griffin III is on track to play in the season opener. Maybe I am liking our chances in the division based on the current state of each of our divisional rivals (the Giants receivers still scare me). Maybe I drank too much coffee. Still...I am ready to declare this the YEAR OF HOGS HAVEN. Let's get it on.