By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Sixteen weeks into the season, we still don't know how good the Washington Redskins are. It's one of the reasons there's such salivating over Sunday night's potential elimination game against the Dallas Cowboys. When the hostilities are over, we'll have a better feel for where the Redskins fit in the football universe, whether they're ready to contend or need more time in the oven.
I once won a fantasy championship game with Peyton Manning as my quarterback. In 1998. That's right, I won a league title by starting a rookie with 25 interceptions at the time. Worse, my regular quarterback was the best in the game and in his prime. Why did I sit Brett Favre? A mixture of youth, arrogance and stupidity.
As late-summer darkness blanketed Washington one night last month, the quarterback came to life. The familiar braids and right arm that hasn't unleashed a regular-season NFL pass towered 74 feet over Pennsylvania Avenue.
Over the past 11 months, 2,397 former players have have sued the NFL over concussions, according to a review by The Washington Times of the 90 lawsuits filed through June 14. The plaintiffs, including 19 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, combined to play 168,020 NFL games.
Art Monk, the Hall of Fame wide receiver who played 14 seasons for the Washington Redskins, sued the NFL and helmet manufacturer Riddell, Inc. over "short term memory loss, headaches and speech difficulties" from multiple concussions sustained during his career.
Mark Rypien is a Super Bowl MVP and champion, a former quarterback for the Washington Redskins and other teams who reached football's pinnacle and now wonders at what cost.
Three weeks ago, Mark Rypien admitted something was wrong.
Former Washington Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien has sued the NFL over "repeated traumatic injuries to his head" sustained during his 11-season career.
Has it really been 20 years since the Washington Redskins last played in the Super Bowl (and won, if memory serves)? Seems like 120. Seems like they must have worn leather helmets and operated out of the single wing, maybe even traveled to the game in Pullman cars. Are you sure Chip Lohmiller didn't dropkick?
It's not just that the Washington Redskins lost Sunday. It's the way they lost. In times of crisis - and that time is definitely at hand for the Redskins - the coaching staff has to check its egos at the door and try to win games however it can.
We knew this day was coming, didn't we, Washington Redskins fans? Sooner or later, Mike Shanahan was going to get sick and tired of Rex Grossman being Rex Grossman — just as, last December, he got sick and tired of Donovan McNabb being Donovan McNabb.
The unthinkable suddenly seems possible in Indianapolis _ opening the season without Peyton Manning.
Former NHL player Wade Belak hanged himself, according to a person familiar with the case. Belak, an enforcer who had played with five NHL teams before retiring in March, was found dead Wednesday in Toronto. He was 35.
Winnipeg Jets center Rick Rypien was found dead in his home Monday, nine months after he took a leave of absence to deal with an undisclosed personal matter.
Josh Wilson knows what its like to work at FedEx Field; he started out when he was 13 years old. Now a projected starting cornerback for the Washington Redskins, Wilson's work day Sunday afternoons will be a bit of an upgrade over his former job.
"I just think wins and losses. That's what you're judged by," ex-Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien said.
RG3 meeting — and exceeding — expectations through first 9 games →
'What the heck is going on inside my mouth?'" Rypien said. "It's not natural."
Many ex-Redskins among those suing NFL over effects of brain injuries →
