TC: Ghosts Don't Exist on WashPost Live

TC: Offseason Update

When the season ended and guys departed Redskins park for the off season some had crazy plans like this.

"Do you know how me and Chris are gonna improve our football skills? We're gonna go wrestle bears in the wild," Yoder said. "We both think it's gonna help our blocking technique."

Though this idea stands out in the crowd of goals like: spend time with family, come back in better shape, read a book, Yoder told me yesterday that he actually accomplished this feat along with a few others.

"I accomplished two of the three things I set out to do when the season ended. I wrestled a bear in the Canadian wilderness and did some base jumping of a cliff in Costa Rica."

Whether or not that is true, I will let you determine. What is a fact however is that the season is just around the corner. Players are back at Redskins Park for the team's second session of OTA's. For some it is a chance to break up the monotonous lifting and running schedule they have kept and get back on the field. Santana Moss told me that "OTA's are OTA's. Mini camp is more intense where these are a more of the learning opportunity, trying to get better at the little things." When I asked him what he would like to accomplish between now and training camp he sighed and said, "I just wanna get in all the rest I can cause once its all said and done and I'm back up here then its strictly business."

Strictly business is a great answer because many of the news outlets that claim to be experts are picking the Redskins to be a middle of the pack team. This is something that I find very interesting considering they didn't lose any significant players and they have a full season under their belts with Zorn. So it will be great to see them prove some of the donks wrong when they come out firing this season.

For now however, the players that are in Ashburn will do what they need to do, work on the little things. Because after today they are only four OTA's away from training camp. Something that, for this city, couldn't come any quicker. Because the only thing to cheer for between now and then is the Nats winning their 43rd game.

Tell Me Something Wednesday: Rock the Red

Minutes before going to the Caps game yesterday, I was sitting in Donald Brashear's downtown apartment talking about how crazy this season has been and what has got the team to this point. Though he wasn't going to suit up, Brash seemed just as nervous/anxious/excited as anyone I've ever seen. Just before we headed outside Brash said, "Wait til tonight, it's gonna be crazy." Then we were off.

As we walked down H Street, chills ran down my spine. The only thing I can compare the atmosphere to was that of a Nebraska football game. It was a sea of red running through the streets. The pep band, C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS chants, dudes on stilts, and best of all, showing love to #87 who, as we all know, was suspended for the game.

After parting ways with the Enforcer, Kirsten and I met up with Mr. Devine and his family and friends. Their group was filled with some familiar faces, yet plenty of new ones which seems to be the case for us every game. One of those familiar faces however, was Jason Campbell.  The QB was just as excited as anyone to be there, including the group of folks in the red rain ponchos behind the Rangers bench.


As far as the game goes, all I have to say is I am gay for Varly. The guy is ridiculous. He owned the first 40 minutes of the game giving the team the chance to finally come to life in the 3rd. And did they ever when this happened



At that point everyone including the team loses their mind. I mean LOSES it. From the high-fiving, to the feet stomping, to the screams it certainly made for a magical moment. From then on it was all about hanging on to the lead. As time ticked down the Red Sea rumbled. CAPS WIN GAME SEVEN.

Tell Me Something Wednesday: Devin Thomas

Devin Thomas was drafted in the second-round in the 2008 NFL Draft and celebrated by hitting up a strip club with his family. Good stuff right? So with the draft coming up I thought it would be fun to get to know the Redskins wide out a little better. Among other things, Devin and I talked about his new website, top choices for weight room music (Lil Wayne), and his uncanny ability to "lose" his shirt in the middle of a work out. But most importantly, we talked about how he's spending time with his teammates and trying to become a better football player.

On a team that is dying for a number two receiver to step up, Thomas could very likely be the guy. Devin looks around the locker room, maybe for JC, turns back and says "the most important thing you need to do is have that QB/WR relationship. I really feel like this is something that only time spent together can create." Knowing that, Devin is trying to do everything he can to step up and fill that spot. Making his home in Ashburn this offseason Thomas decided to has participated in the team's voluntary workout program. Though he is through being a rookie on the field, that isn't the case in the weight room. Working so hard at times he can't keep down his breakfast. After some pushing he opened up to tell his side of the story.

"You know they got us in here doing some good stuff. One of the things we do is some circuits. That day, as a matter of fact it was the same workout we did today, and uh, shoot, it (the circuit) was like four rounds and when I got to that fourth round...I felt that Gatorade comin' and I had to go ahead and throw it up."

Just as he finished telling me about losing his lunch Shawn Suisham asked, "Is it also true that you lost your shirt in that round?"

"Ya I came out without the shirt the third round. Got too hot man. I always take my shirt off...you know I'm hurtin' when I take my shirt off." 

Suisham chuckles and quietly chimes in, "The guy must be hurtin' a lot."

Once that awkward exchange cleared the air we continued talking about his role on this team. The conversation moves back to the quarterback and Devin assuringly points out his admiration for QB Jason Campbell. "He goes through so much adversity and so much criticism and he keeps a smile on his face and he keeps thinking positively. I really admire the way he handles himself." Thomas also talked about having a great relationship with wide receivers coach Stan Hixon, and the importance of having respect for someone you work with on a day to day basis. Maybe this was learned in Devin's first job at Wendy's or possibly when he worked as a bouncer in college. Did Thomas ever lose his shirt in a fight?

"Naw. Actually since I knew a bunch of people from college nobody would fight. I'd just kinda talk it out and calm things down."

That must have struck a chord because just then Devin hopped up and threw on a Redskins issued sweatshirt and said "don't you wanna hear about my new website?" He proceeded to tell me that he is doing it to give fans an insight into his life. "So people can understand who I am. You know, get the inside scoop." He mainly plans on using his site to give back to the fans by reaching out to those that touch him with their story. (Like this one) Devin also has facebook and twitter. 

Besides starting the site, working out with the team, and losing his shirt, Devin has been laying low, spending much of his off season with his dog Dutch, "I gotta keep him outta the rain, he hates it. Dutch is a rottweiler named after Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie Predator. The last couple months Devin has been a shining example of a productive second year player is doing to make the most of his off season opportunity. So when you see number 11 hit the field this year you can expect a man who has put in the time and is ready to help his team win.

Fatpickle: Sheriff Cooley Winners And IMDB Challenge

Thanks to everyone who participated in the "Sheriff Cooley" contest, it was an awesome response and there were a lot of great ideas. One of the coolest things about blogging is the interaction and thoughts that are spurred from each post. For instance, we have learned that taking a picture of your private parts results in about a million hits and late night talk show monologues. Talking derogatory about a rival hockey player results in the steel city breaking bad on you personally, and some of the worst photoshopping I've ever seen. (Some dude actually looked up gay porn for the one picture, how'd he even know where to find it?)

That being said, the "sheriff" posts didn't cause that kind of riot. It did however cause some serious movement on the IMDB Starmeters for those involved. The Starmeter ranks every actor listed on IMDB, based upon the searches for them on the site. Here is the effect that you guys had on the participants of the post in the week that the post came out.

Alex Karras moved from # 7,597(I was surprised he was that high) to #3,203

Chris Cooley moved from #246,368 to #165,712 (surging past Flo, the waitress from Dumb and Dumber)

Tanner Cooley moved from #1,015,929 to #358,918 (surging past Art Monk, who could forget his role in Jerry Maguire, "nice game Rod")

I think we are better than this, so I'm challenging you to go to work on IMDB, searching Alex, Chris, and Tanner and moving them up the Hollywood ladder. Here are the goals I've set for us to reach in the next week (help us baby Jesus, help us Tom Cruise, help us Maxim.com!)

Alex #1899 - 1 spot above Eugene Levy

Chris #29,967 - 1 spot above Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake

Tanner # 69,569 - 1 spot above legendary Sportscaster George Michael (who could forget him in Silence of the Lambs, I sure haven't and I remind him whenever I see him.)

Here are the winners from the contest. You can claim your prize by venturing over to my site http://www.fatpickled.com/, bookmark it to your favorites, then email me.

1st place - And winner of a signed 8x10 of Fatpickle is...Randow who came up with the combination of Pat (from It's Pat) and Gridiron.


2nd place - And winner of a signed 8x10 of Vladimir is...Xstatic4beer who not only has an awesome handle, but also gave us Uncle Buck and Big Wig.

3rd place - And the winner of a signed 8x10 of the man currently over 150,000 spots behind Paula Deen on the Starmeter(in his defense she can do things with a green bean that is heaven) is...Tony Corsini who brought us Spicoli and The Helmet Knocker.

Congrats to all, there was some really good ones and it was a difficult choice.

I'll be back sometime next week to reveal how we did in the IMDB challenge, and to talk about Redskins fans just like you and I (well kind of.)

Cheers and Hail

TC: Haynesworth Exclusive

Whatever issues anyone may have about Albert Haynesworth not being a character guy need to be put to rest. I had the chance to meet the guy today after his press and he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. In the press conference he discussed the issues of his past and I felt he did a great job of putting them to rest stating, "I'm starting a new chapter in my life after my incident and I'm looking forward to adding to it."

I know that we can talk all we want about the potential that this guy has but one thing is for sure, Haynesworth is enormous. Standing 6'6" and 320 lbs and when I shook his hand (no lie) his fingers and thumb touched with ease. Anyway, today was a fun experience for me (even though I posted a picture of Shaun Rogers earlier) and I hope you enjoy this little clip. 



If anyone would rather read the press conference check out the Redskins Blog.

TC: Goin' Green

The Washington Capitals are pretty good. They currently sit at number 2 in the Eastern Conference with 34 wins. Why are they so good? Well there are plenty of reasons but one of those reasons is Mike Green. He has scored 19 goals in 41 games, that tops his previous best of 18 goals which last year he managed in double the games. He is also one game shy of matching the NHL record for most consecutive games with a goal by a defenseman. So ya, he's playing some pretty damn good hockey right now.

All of that is cool in the big scheme of things, but he also scored an empty netter on Saturday night from nearly a mile a way. It was the first shorthanded goal of his NHL career and it happened five feet from where I sat. I was once told that a picture says a thousand words, video tells the rest. So when I saw my picture in Sunday's post and again on the Sports Bog I thought, "Why am I not celebrating!" So I went to the video.




You see, the photo captured a single split second in time that can be looked at an analyzed forever. In reality, that instant was over in 3 seconds and I looked away for one instant and missed the party. So good thing my camera was rolling...


To top the evening off, besides watching some great hockey, I finally accomplished my goal. Leaving the arena with a hockey stick. I have been trying to steal one of Ovechkin's but why steal one when the game's all star lets you have it? So thanks Mike Green, for giving me one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given. Also thanks to Eric Shuster for making it happen.


ROCK THE RED!

TC: Washington Post's Coverage of the Caps

It has been well documented that the Cooley's love the Caps and as of late that's all we have to do. Since Chris is in Hawaii and my wife was working I had to go solo to the game on Saturday and I got to witness one of the greatest things ever. At the end of the third period the Caps had a 4-2 lead and also had two players in penalty. But do they give up a score? Hell no! They stuff last year's Stanley Cup champs and end up winning a huge home game in front of a sold out crowd. Amazing. 

Shortly after the game I snuck (literally) into the locker room to make a second unsuccessful attempt to steal Ovechkin's stick. While there I ran into Mike Wise from the Washington post and apparently there is a rumor going around that the Post "gives the Caps too much coverage." With no preface to the question, Wise asked me if I thought that was true. He did the same with others at the game on Saturday and got a similar response. 



After giving some thought and research to the question, I have a new answer. HELL NO the Post doesn't give the Washington Capitals too much coverage. The only media outlet that does give ample coverage is Comcast. And that is only because they air the games. With that said, I am proud to have been on the Caps bandwagon since the start of the season. I will continue to ride it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. I hope to see you on board. 

LETS GO CAPS

TC: 24 Hours at Sundance Part 2

11:00 am - After getting picked up from the Sandy Cohan mishap we made our way to lunch. On the way I officially became scared for my life. D-Watts ran 2 red lights and didn't seem to care much for our general safety. More on Watt's driving later...

12:30 pm - With a full stomach and a racing mind (always feel like that after meeting with Chris and Jake) D-Watts and I headed to Park City in one car and Chris and Jake in another. On the way Watts decided that my iPhone navigation wasn't trustworthy and we made about 4 wrong turns and ran another red light before arriving in Park City.

12:45 pm - Lost in the center of PC I rang Jake to ask directions.

"Where are you?" He kept asking.
"I don't know? I think we're...Swede Street. We're on Swede Street."
"Where is that?"
"I don't know where the fuck..."
"I see you. You made it."

1:45 pm - When we first got to the LRG suite I didn't know what to expect. We were greeted by about 20 different dudes with different titles and different stuff to give. There was Wii, Skull Candy, G-Shock, LRG, Stella Artois. We met some interesting people including Soupy Jones who was competing in an online reality show with Ashton Kutcher.

But when all was said and done (after about a half hour of gladhanding, photos, videos...) the four of us found ourselves sitting in the middle of the room just talking with each other. If it wasn't for Kevin D from LRG I'm not sure what we would have done.

3:00 pm - Everything that we saw at Sundance took place on Main Street. There were paparazzi, fans, and stars. I think Kevin noticed we were getting bored and so he took us out to see the show. Even on the streets of Utah Chris couldn't hide. We ran into this kid that Chris and Jake went to high school with and this is what I caught from their conversation,

Guy: DUDE! Chris! What's up man?
CC: Uh...hey.
Guy: It's me (name)! We went to high school together.

I can tell by the look on Chris's face that he has no clue who this interesting fellow is but entertains the kid's thought that he does.

CC: Oh ya. What's up man? How've you been?
Guy: So good buddy.

At this point he whips out a spiral notebook.

Guy: I got so many autographs! Dude, look, Andy McDonald, Tom Arnold... (remembers who Chris is) ... Will you sign it!?
CC: Sure man.

As Chris is signing the kid proceeds to ask Chris for his cell phone number, home address, a picture, his birth certificate, you name it and this kid wanted it. Chris finally got off the hook by asking "Guy" if he remembered Jake, from high school as well. As Guy and Jake were chatting we slipped into the Def Jam suite.

5:00 pm - Considering the fact that we booked our tickets for this trip on Thursday and we left for Utah on Saturday, we didn't have time to book a hotel. Luckily for us, Kevin Curtis has a home in the mountains and generously allowed us to borrow it for the night. So after going non-stop for the last 15 hours we decided it might be a good idea to take our stuff over there and chill out for a while. Over the mountains and through the woods to Curtis's house we went....no exaggeration. The dude lives IN the mountains.

6:00 pm - After meeting the crew at Kevin's and chilling out for an hour we started to get hungry. Usually when Chris comes to Utah he only eats at places that aren't available on the east coast. So even though it was about an hour away we had to go to Rodizio Grill. I'm not kidding you when I tell you that this place is a 10. You order the Full Rodizio then sit back and enjoy the ride. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

9:54 pm - We have now been up for 20 straight hours and are driving through a dark canyon with quite possibly the worst driver I've never been in a car when Death was the #1 thought in my mind (Sorry Watts, you know its true). We jerked and sped our way though the night continuously reminding our driver, "We are not hurrying to get anywhere." If you have ever seen Ghost Dad, I felt like that.

10:15 pm - Upon escaping death we parked (another disaster that I won't get into) and headed over to Harry O's. Earlier in the day we debated whether or not to go to this thing and were assured that it was "the event" to be at. We were also assured that the LRG crew could get us on the VIP list and into the show. When we got to the door there was a line of about 500 people. Luckily (or so we thought) our guys were at the front of the line so we jumped the rail and made our way up there. As soon as we got to the front we heard, "Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are? Get back to the end of the line!" At this point Kevin (not even close to getting in) told us to stay and he would take care of it.

Kevin: This is Chris Cooley. He plays for the Redskins.
Guard: I don't care who he is. He has to wait in line!

Kevin somehow knew the owner and got him on the phone, all the while we ignored the douche bag security guard pretending like he's actually going to do something to us if we don't move. After about 20 minutes of harassment, the manager comes out, finds Chris and starts escorting him in. On the way he asks,

"How many you got?" Chris points at me and D-Watts and says, "I got 2." "Plus 10!" Kevin shouts from the bottom of the stairs. (laughs) "Plus 10." and we were in.

12:15 pm - So did we have fun at TI....

• I ran into an old friend working security in the VIP and for about 10 minutes 8 of us took over a $5,000 dollar standing space until getting kicked out. 
  
• Chris got his workout in doing quite a few one hand dumbbell presses on the dance floor.
  
• Show Me the Money (Cuba Gooding Jr.) was on stage dancing with Tom Arnold and Bob and Layne proceed to yell, "What you know about Radio! is up on stage. SHOW ME THE MONEY!" all night long. 
• White Scarf guy was also up on stage giving shout out after shout out to all his homies (he was a dorky white guy in a suit and scarf).
• By the time we got home Chris and I had been awake for 23 straight hours. 

...I guess we had an okay time.  But, I was a tired man and was ready for bed after dinner. So I don't know if I am the best judge of the fun level. 

12:45 am - Back at Kevin's and ready for sleep.  Unfortunately for us, Bob, Layne, Nate, Josh, and Jake had already staked their claim in Kevin's house. So Chris, Watts and I got stuck in the movie room. Just so happened that the only room with the AC on and set at 60 was this room(who doesn't crank on the AC mid January). Needless to say, it was a long night.
9:00 am - After an amazing breakfast at another Utah favorite (Village Inn) we were off to the airport. "Just think, in 6 hours, we'll be home." 

TC: 24 Hours at Sundance Part 1

3:55 am - (alarm) I made a quick trip to the head before calling Chris to make sure he's on time. He confirms that he's on the way and I proceed to meander around a house that's still asleep. I had prepared my things the night before but I still needed to go through that mental checklist before I could feel comfort leaving my home.

4:10 am - I kissed my wife and pups goodbye and I was off into the cold. When last nights sleep has yet to leave your eyes and you open the front door to 2 degree weather, it feels like you're stepping out into an Alaskan winter. Not like today's winters, but like the winters a million years ago when mammoths still roamed the arctic.

4:15 am - Chris was waiting out front and greeted me with a warm good morning grumble as I loaded my bag into his Mercedes. "How tired are you?" was my response. His answer, the gas pedal....we were off.
4:45 am - The attendants at the ticket counter seemed about as awake as we were and didn't mention that the self check in was open til after we'd waited in line for 10 minutes. Chris slid his card through the machine and was asked (by a machine) if he would like an upgrade to first class for $70 per ticket. "Fuck ya I want an upgrade!"

5:35 am - As we are getting ready to board the plane, I greatfully mentioned to Chris "I'm glad when we get on we won't have to go all the way back to 29F." Immediately after that, an announcement is made over the intercom, "We would like to ask all passengers seated in zone 1 to now board."

"That's us."

Since we had a layover in Denver, there are were two separate boarding passes. One for IAD to DEN and the other for DEN to SLC. The entire time I was in the airport I was only carrying one of these two tickets. I showed it to at least 3 security guards, one of which actually made check marks in three different places. I assumed that he was "checking" to make sure it was legit. But when we got to the ticket guy I handed him mine, which he tried to scan, looked at it, and then said, "This ticket is for Denver to Salt Lake. Do you have another one?" "As a matter of fact I do." I sarcastically told the flamboyant man taking tickets. But much to my surprise, upon pulling my ticket out of my bag my seat number had changed from 1C to 29F. So here I am, jacked to sit first class for the first time in my life and now, like a boy who got hand woven sweater for Christmas, I moped to the back of the plane and sat in my seat for the 4 hour flight. "Fuck United!" I thought to myself.

9:35 am - Four hours of Eucher poker, 10 coffee's, and a Crystal Light energy drink later, we landed in Denver. Boy did I have to spill some urine...

10:40 am - $208 dollars richer thanks to Eucher poker we I made my way off my first first class flight ever. Was it awesome...eh, I did like the extra leg room and the unlimited bags of airplane pretzels, besides that, nothing too special. I made a quick phone call letting D-Watts know we had arrived and we headed toward the door. As we were walking out the door we saw our first star. "Hey! It's Sandy Cohan!" I shouted to Chris about Peter Gallagher. Unfortunately for me, Peter heard and didn't seem to happy to be called Sandy. Needless to say, I don't have a picture of me posing with him.

This is how we got to Sundance. The rest includes getting lost in a city with a grid for a road system, some SWAG party's, a special trip to SLC for a favorite meal, and finally, the debacle that happened when we tried to get into the T.I. concert. Check back tomorrow for the rest...

TC: I Heart Ed Werder

In another post season sans Redskins there is nothing that brings me more joy than turmoil in the Dallas Cowboy organization. And who better to bring it to us than Ed Werder? You know, same guy that was called a liar by many of the Cowboys (including T.O.) after reporting on the whole Witten/T.O. debacle earlier this year. Most recently, Ed brings us this:

"I think we all know that chemistry is the problem with this team more than the schemes or anything else. Are we going to continue to allow talent to outweigh everything else in the decisions we make with players and putting the roster together? We're like the Redskins used to be when they signed every player they wanted. There's more to it than talent. It has to be more about the team."

Maybe since the Cowboys let HBO in on all of their business earlier this year they also let in Ed Werder during the season? Because there have been no formal talks between T.O. and the Cowboys. So either Ed was inside the Ranch or just wants to make this guy mad again. Maybe both? Either way, I love it. 

Monday Morning Tight End

Really this is the Monday morning chat room. Tanner joined me for our take on the weekends games. Also check back later today for exclusive Cooleyzone interviews including Brent Celek and others.

Chris: We (The Redskins) are 3-0 against the two teams in the NFC championship. It's tough not making the playoffs, but I'd rather shove my head up my ass than watch one of the two teams we beat celebrate a Super Bowl birth. Seriously, when Philly clinched it kinda felt like someone kicked me in the balls. I'm happy for some of my friends on both those teams, but I'm jealous as hell.

Tanner: After watching the Skins play this season there is one thing I learned, they played on the same level as the opposition against all but 3 teams. Those three teams played yesterday and 2 are still standing. Both the Steelers and Ravens beat the Redskins ass this year and I can't see them losing to either of the NFC teams come Super Bowl Sunday.

Chris: Although I can't stand to see purple in the championship, and after the terrible towel debacle in FedEx field I've grown a new hatred for yellow and black, but I think they are the two most deserving team right now. Both AFC defenses are unbelievable and should make for a crazy game in the AFC. Everyone knows defense wins championships and this may be the first playoff game ever to end in defensive scores only. Maybe they should just put Ed Reed and Troy Polimalu on the field and battle it out gladiator style, that's what it's gonna boil down to anyways.

Tanner: That would be interesting...the whole gladiator thing but if that were the case the game would be over in 1 or 2 seconds after Ed Reed ran up the side of Polimalu and stabbed him in the neck. He is the Achilles of his team for sure. But since they will actually be playing the game I we will get to see Ed, T-Sizzle, and the rest of the Ravens D dominate the Big Ben and the Steelers. I just hope that these teams don't beat each other up too much and give the lesser NFC teams a real shot at the title.

Chris: It will be a rough weekend for both quarterbacks. Too bad Pittsburgh's soft turf will be frozen when Ben's head hits it all day. And I'm not sure how right your gonna be about lesser NFC teams, if you remember earlier this year Philly put a beat down on Pittsburgh. This season there has been two Eagles teams, it just depends who shows up.

Tanner: Eagles....yawn. I just can't wait until the Cardinals win and Donavon McNabb says that the Eagles were still the better team in his post game presser. Then hopefully writes about how he should be in the Super Bowl. Plus if and when the Cardinals win, they will have to travel to Tampa for the Super Bowl. Everyone in the country knows that when a west coast team travels east for a game, their chance for victory goes way down.

Chris: Your way too far ahead of yourself. Philly also kicked the Cardinals ass earlier this season. I do think the game will be outstanding, but Philly wins. I can't disagree that the Cardinals have played great football, but if your Carolina and Boldin doesn't play, how do you explain leaving Larry so open all day. The guy may be the best offensive player in football right now. When I watch him go get the ball in the air I feel like I'm back at Utah State and he is a god of NFL.

Tanner: Whatever, either way we're gonna stick with Yoder's bird theory all around. Go birds! And Fitz is a god of NFL right now.

Chris: Go birds in the NFC, but the steel curtain will drop in the AFC. I'm going with James Harrison's self proclaimed best defense in the league to take down Baltimore.

Anyone Ready to Greenlight

If you don't already know, Chris and I are helping produce an independent film called "Ghosts Don't Exist" After having had several cool events with the guys from 19th and Wilson and we are finally having what should be the last one this Sunday. We are hosting a private investor presentation at the Shadow Room in Washington DC that many are already talking about. From the Style section of the Washington Post:

Picture this: At the Oscars a couple years from now, as they announce Best Picture ... that could be you walking to the stage, along with fellow executive producer, Chris Cooley.

Okay, maybe a long shot. But the gregarious Redskins tight end will spend his off-season getting his feet wet in the indie-film biz, and he's looking for help.

Cooley has signed on to produce a new locally filmed paranormal thriller, "Ghosts Don't Exist" -- and the first job of a producer is to raise the money. This weekend, he'll host a private reception at Shadow Room nightclub to court potential investors.

At 11pm we will open the Shadow Room and we want to invite you to DC's Official "Ghosts Don't Exist AfterParty" promoted by the highly esteemed and respected promotion company, The Standard and David and Ray Ent. We look forward to seeing you on the Sunday, the 11th at The Shadowroom. 

TC: P90X Update Week 1

After getting such a good response to the first post, I am excited to do a weekly update. Since beginning P90X 10 days ago I have come to realize it is way more than I expected. I am just as or more sore than I was after 2-a-day football practices. So here is my breakdown of the last week and a half of workouts.

• Chest and Back/AB RIPPER X - If I have ever felt weak before, this topped it. I needed a workout like this more than ever.
  
• Plyometrics (from HELL) - Chuck Norris couldn't do this like the guys on the video. If we had done this shit in college, I guarantee at least one lineman death from heart attack.
  
• Shoulders and Arms/AB RIPPER X - I officially hate ab ripper x in every way possible. My hips were so sore after the first day and this only doubled it.
  
• Yoga/Rest - Rest my ass, I did more rest than Yoga and I was still sweating.
  
• Legs/Back - LUNGE LUNGE LUNGE. This was absolute lunging hell. My ass and quads are sore and I have to do it again in 3 days.
  
• KENPO - Talk about awkward. It was a good thing no one was around to see me clumsily kicking and punching air. I would have seriously been embarrassed.
  
• STRETCH - I needed every minute of this. At one point in my life I was flexible but not this day. Who would think that stretching can make you sweat?
  
• Chest and Back/AB RIPPER X - This was all about getting better than last time. It is the same thing but you are supposed to track your progress. I still couldn't keep up with guys on video but I tried to beat my own wimpy numbers from last time.
  
• Nothing. This was yesterday I really didn't workout at all. I guess I walked a lot (Christmas shopping). I wanted to use some of my new Kenpo moves on the people at the mall but resisted. I'm too sore to even pick a fight with a 6 year old.

After the last post there were quite a few people who had questions that I didn't have answers to. Maybe some of this will help. If you were someone that is contemplating doing this, I very highly recommend it.

Each workout is an hour and only takes longer if you pause it. As far as the equipment needed, when you go to buy this thing online, they try and sell you tons of extra stuff. Realistically you don't need a ton of stuff. I bought 2 extra things, a door frame pull up bar from Dick's for 30 dollars and 2 dumbbells on eBay for 6 dollars. The DVDs comes with bands so if you didn't want to get dumbbells, you could probably swing it with just the bands.

After a week of no soda, no beer, and no sweets (plus the workouts) I have lost about three pounds. I really am not trying to lose weight as much as I am trying to burn body fat but I don't care to shed some Thanksgiving dinner. I know that I am doing good work because if I were more sore I couldn't walk and if I were less sore I wouldn't be satisfied.

TC: The Smart Car

The Smart Car from Tanner Cooley on Vimeo.

TC: P90X

When your job is blogging and the only other thing you do besides that is study for the MCAT, it is hard to find time and to be motivated to get in a good workout. So I decided I would buy P90X and update my experience here to stay motivated. Apparently there are tons of people doing what I am doing so I am very interested to see what kind of results I am going to get.  I would love to hear from anyone who has done P90X or that wants to check it out now and use these posts as a forum to share your results as well. I am excited for tomorrow as it will be my first day. I hope it doesn't kill me. 

TC: College Football GOW

15 games have already been played this week yet there are so many more worth watching. If there is a word that can describe my feelings about college football it would be "Playoffs." I mean I don't care if the four one loss teams look better than Utah on paper, Utah just crushed BYU. Giving them two wins against top 15 teams this year. Now I know they will probably get a BCS bid, but what about Boise State? They're winning by an average of 27 PPG and if I remember correctly, they beat Oklahoma in their last BCS game. They have only lost 10 games since 2002 (one more loss than USC over that period). That alone proves they are a legit program. Put them in a MF BCS game!


Okay, on to this weeks games. The first one should be Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State, but how many Big 12 south match ups can we take in one year? This brings me to the Florida/Florida State game. I can't figure out how Florida is ranked #4 (biggest wins were over LSU (5 losses) and Georgia (2 losses)).  I guess that's what playing in the SEC does for a program. Either way, this should be a great game and if Florida can pull off a win on the road they will be ONE BIG WIN away from the National Title game.

Due to my location I've heard so much about the Virginia/Va Tech game. It may be a huge game to the alumni and the locals, but these two teams have 10 combined losses and coaches that are more concerned about impressing this weekends recruits than anything else. This brings us to Auburn at Alabama. These games always seem like the ones that bite a team in the ass. A rivalry game in which one team has everything on the line and the other, only pride. Pride can be enough at times but I've been to Bryant-Denny Stadium and that "Sweet Home Alabama, ROLL TIDE ROLL" crowd is going to be tough to overcome for the Tigers.
Some other good games worth noting are Georgia/Georgia Tech, Maryland/Boston College, and Oregon/Oregon State. I wish I could say that the USC/Notre Dame game was going to be a good one, but USC might win by 50 points, sorry Brady Quinn.

More Old Videos

These just keep popping up.

Just for Fun

If you are bored you can waste a good 6 minutes watching these guys "Ram it all night"



I just learned that apparently making locker room raps was the thing to do in the 80's. To waste more of your life, check out the others.

SEAHAWKS
RAIDERS Gotta love Howie Long in this one.
EAGLES
49ers
DOLPHINS
BEARS

TC: College Football GOW

First, VOTE FOR KEVIN BITTENBENDER for Samsung's favorite fan video. This guy is a true hero and deserves this more than anyone. 

When you get deep into November the college season definitely heats up. Great rivalries are played with more than a win or loss on the line. They mean conference titles, bowl games, and for a lucky 2, a shot at the Title. This year is no different and the BCS is as crazy as it has ever been. There are three non-BCS schools still undefeated bringing the total of unbeatens to 5. That total could easily be reduced to 2 today as three of the unbeaten teams face off against tough conference rivals.

Boise State has dominated the WAC conference over the last decade but today they head to Reno Nevada. The last time these two played, it ended in a 69-67 BSU victory. If they can pull off a win they will not only be outright conference champs but they will be one win away (and one Utah loss) from a BCS bowl game.

10 of the last 11 games between Utah and BYU have been won by a touchdown or less. But today there is more than the Mountain West title at stake between these two in state rivals. Utah holds their fate as well as that of Boise state in their hands when it comes to a BCS bowl bid. A win today gives Utah 2 wins against ranked teams plus a win at the Big House making them the front runner for non-BCS schools in a BCS game. Now I don't even want to get into how awful the BCS is but I don't see Utah winning. BYU won two years ago at Utah on a last second touchdown and a win tonight will give Boise a leg up on Ball State in the undefeated category. Plus the WAC needs that BCS money. As a Utah State alum, I am glad these Utah schools are doing so well but I have to say, GO COUGARS. 


The biggest game today and one of the biggest of the year is that between Texas Tech and Oklahoma. Texas Tech has proved to the world that they know how to win in big games with wins in the last three weeks over #23 Kansas, #1 Texas, and #9 Oklahoma State. Can they do it again tonight?

"I'm thinking about OU, that's what I'm thinking about," Crabtree said, dismissing the bigger BCS picture. "We take it one game at a time. It's been working so far and I think I'm going to stay with that scheme."

I will make no predictions about this game that I cannot wait to watch. I would love to see Tech win for plenty of reasons but, OU is good...really good.