Hey, NAFTA, I'm Coming Afta Ya!- September 28, 2006 It has taken me three regular season games, but I have finally found what I have been sorely missing -- something to take aim at. (Other than Theismann's supply of bronzer.)http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... In New Orleans, a Resounding Victory for the Human Spirit- September 27, 2006 I've been in many arenas when the game means a lot. I've been at hockey playoff games where it seems like the noise is louder than in any other arena. I've been at basketball games in college arenas, like Cole Field House when Duke comes in, and it sounds like U2 and Green Day are playing inside your head. I've been in outdoor football stadiums, like RFK, that shook with the noise. I can remember the 1987 World Series in Minnesota, where the noise level inside the Metrodome made it feel like...http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... Standing at the Crossroads Of Reality, Fun and Games- September 25, 2006 I arrived in New Orleans on Thursday and have been staying on the edge of the French Quarter, where it's still possible to stroll about and imagine that nothing catastrophic happened here a year ago in August. Then, three reporters and editors from the Times-Picayune took me out for about three hours Friday afternoon, showing me all the neighborhoods that were flooded from the broken levees and the storm surge that followed Hurricane Katrina.http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... No Man Is an Island, Unless I'm Playing One- September 21, 2006 The "Monday Night Football" game between Pittsburgh and Jacksonville was quite tense and taut and the rating was spectacular, but the one disappointment I had afterward was that we never got to show the greatest athletic achievement of my life -- technically, perhaps the only one, but I digress. As Mike Tirico has become fond of saying, "It's all about you, Tony." (Finally, he gets it!) The day before the game, Tirico, Joe Theismann and I went to the TPC Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra to take...http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... After a Visit to Jacksonville, I Feel Like (Whitney) Houston- September 20, 2006 Last week, I mentioned police escorts and how nice they are. But they can't compare to having your own uniformed, heat-packin' officially licensed police officer to protect your person.http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... Had I Known, I Would Have Taken a Cab- September 14, 2006 Have I told you about the police escort yet While I'm pretty happy overall with this new "Monday Night Football" gig, in retrospect I probably should have read my contract more closely. Right after I checked the paragraphs where my demands for the Kobe beef, the pure water from an Antarctic glacier (bottled by monks, who had taken a vow of silence) and my own personal Fijian masseuse were met, I just glanced over the codicil about "police escorts." I figured that's the second-greatest escort...http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... There Is Such a Thing As a Stupid Question- September 13, 2006 I'm not stupid -- I knew there would be perks aplenty when I took this "Monday Night Football" gig. (Did you see me in my new, free Kansas City Chiefs red, official, crested "PTI" blazer I looked like Hank Stram, before the toupee.) But I didn't expect to be rubbing elbows, hobnobbing and shooting the breeze with real, live, actual actor-celebrity people. Monday night, it was Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise -- well, truthfully, it was only Jamie Foxx. I wanted to talk to Cruise, but his agent...http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... No More Dress Rehearsals, No More Make Believe- September 11, 2006 Having gotten my reps down in four preseason games, I thought I was cruisin'. The regular season was just going to be an extension of what I've already done. And then one of the many helpful people who now surround me tell me that preseason doesn't really count, that this is my big night. (Maybe he's confusing me with Al Saunders and Gregg Williams, huh) What I've been doing so far is New Haven. This time, it's Broadway! Gaaaaaccckkk!http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... Blindsided by Bad Karma- September 6, 2006 One of the things you learn in the post-O.J. world is that it's a mistake to say you really know an athlete and it's a mistake to ascribe to an athlete all sorts of wonderful character traits because, really, sportswriters only see these guys for limited amounts of time and in very controlled circumstances. But one of the young athletes I've come to like is Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers' quarterback. He's been a guest a number of times on "PTI," where he's been very open, chatty and...http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... Forget Jordan, Tiger Is the One in Rarified Air- September 5, 2006 I know this is called Monday Night Diary. And I know this is supposed to be about the football season and my adventures in it, but yesterday was the one Monday until January that I don't have a game and it allowed me to pay attention to the sports I used to pay attention to. If I didn't talk about Tiger Woods today, I'd be an utter moron.http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/~r/wp-dyn/rss/linkset/2005/03/24/LI2005032402662_xml/~3/23... |