C and C Road Trip to Wyoming

I just got off the phone with Chris and he wanted me to give a little update/teaser from his trip across the country. If you haven't heard, Chris and Christy are driving to Wyoming to spend some time with family and enjoy some time off. But instead of flying, they decided to take a road trip. After packing up the truck and small Uhaul (including 2 yorkies), they were off . 

The journey out west began immediately after football camp on Sunday. The first night was rather uneventful as they drove into the night making it as far as Indiana. The excitement began when they hit a 3 hour delay due to morning traffic near Chicago. This major setback on a 30 hour trip forced Chris and Christy call it an early day. Somewhere in Wisconsin the two found a nice casino hotel to rest for the night . This is where the tease comes in. After only a few short hours there, they managed to get themselves thrown out of the hotel. This isn't even the best part, as they were driving to the next location circumstances required that they call a towing company after only 10 miles on the road to come pick them up. 

There is no need to worry however, they are safe. You can read all about it tomorrow because Chris has promised to give a full update including video of the trip when they arrive in Wyoming. Trust me, it will be worth the read.

Cooley Fans Around The World: Part III

You'll have to excuse me, its been a while since I last checked in. Things have gotten a little crazy here in Austria---our coach left town, we beat the best team in Europe, and I took my first snaps at middle linebacker. But that is all besides the point, as I mentioned previously there is a phenomenon here in Europe of Redskins fans. You see them literally everywhere, and when I am bold enough to snap a picture you, the fans, reap the benefits. So here you have it, the third installment of Cooley Fans Around The World (sub-section Portis Fans Around The World).

Meet Nikolaus--- from Villach, Austria. A 'Skins fan through and through. Notice how even at a young age (12) he has learned to position himself adjacent to cheerleaders--well done young man, well done.

Chris Cooley Football Camp

Gridiron Legends Gaming Challenge

For more details follow @GridironGala on Twitter. Or you can search Gridiron Legends Gaming Challenge on Facebook to RSVP.

Who Would Win

Bowling OTA's

Today the team was surprised with an exciting trip to the bowling alley. Although most of us were expecting some kind of field trip from clues left around the locker room and in playbooks, no one could actually confirm that we would spend the day off the field rolling balls. I know it doesn't sound like much, but to get a day where we can all hang together as a team and not have to be playing football is really cool.After the trip was announced, we were informed that 25 captains had been selected and we would be having a draft. Obviously, the captains selected were the guys that have been around the longest. The draft was a lottery style with all the names drawn out of a hat. Some crazy shenanigans must have been involved, because I was the last team to pick. The one bonus was that we did it like picking a fantasy football teams, so the order went 1-25 and then 25 back through 1. There were also a couple other rules to spread the teams out. An offensive player couldn't draft another offensive player in the first round, and the same for D. Only coaches and staff were to be available in the second round and then in the third round you could draft whoever you wanted.

I took Hunter Smith with my first pick, specialists were not exempt with the offence rule and I figured any punter must be a good bowler. I turned around with my second pick and took Z-man who was the first coach to be selected. Z is good at anything he does so I figured it to be a safe bet. For my third pick, after waiting for 50 other selections,  I had to take the last name on the board, Jaison Williams. I was hoping for Mr. Irrelevant to be a big time sleeper.We then bussed as a team over to the Sterling Ameri-Bowl and practice quickly ensued. I felt like we had a pretty good team early on. Hunter and Z hit a couple good rolls, but Jaison had a crazy hopping, no fingers in the ball technique. So we were skeptical about his potential. As soon as things began, the schedule was to bowl two games and keep team score - we were team Cooleywins! Z threw that in for me.

I actually bowled better than I have the last couple times. In two games I rolled a 165 and a 147. Solid! Z's high game was 134 and Hunter hit 144. Although Jaison had his crazy technique, he did hit one strike in the second game. After that, he collapsed to his knees in celebration for a solid 20 seconds, which was hilarious.

I'm sure Cooleywins will not win any awards, we weren't good or bad enough to be memorable, but it was sure a great OTA!

Just to finish up. These were some of the notables from the day.

• Todd Collins rolled a 205 and when asked how he did so well he said "I just aimed at the middle arrow."
  
• Randle El actually brought his own shoes, ball, and towel - I beat him in both games.
  
• Smoot rolled a 212, and I'm sure that he kept his excitement to a minimum.
  
• The entire team was given white Redskins bowling shirts.
  
• To end the day I rolled three strikes in a row from behind the chairs, a solid 20 feet behind the line. Redskin blogger documented this on video.
  
• Anyone over 300 pounds is terrible.
  
• More than 20 guys rolled games less than 100.
  
• Only 3 guys rolled over 200.
  
• Over 100 members of the organization went to the bowling alley.
  

The 3 Amigos

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.

TC: The Perfect Summer Night

On Sunday night the Cooley family decided to celebrate the spring/summer weather we've been having with a nice little cookout and campfire. First chef Chris who cooked up an amazing meal. Marinated chicken, corn on the cob. To go along with it, Christy made her special fruit salad which was probably the best fruit ever.  To make: add any mix of berries you like, bananas, and top it all off with honey. Truly a taste explosion in your mouth.

After the meal we went down to the beach where I picture many good times will be had. We built a nice little fire (not with the wood that Chris chopped down) and cooked s'mores and a new little desert called the banana boat. This little desert was a true delight described by my wife as "better than you can even imagine in your mind." And for the most part it was true. Except for the burns acquired by trying to get it out of the fire.
Little if anything can beat sitting out under the stars enjoying good company around a warm fire. No one could be happier than the four of us that summer if finally here.