Redskins Rehash-- "Choosing not to run"...

My favorite scene in Footloose* is the famed "Tractor-Chicken" scene where Kevin Bacon's character takes on the town bully "Chuck Cranston"... to the tune of "Holding out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler. Bacon being the new kid in town has to prove himself-- and is ready to stare down the bad guy up to a point. Somewhere between the first and second verse Bacon realizes his shoelace is tangled with the gas pedal. Bacon can't brake... or jump off the tractor that's racing towards a head-on collision-- and having gone thus far he has no choice but to push forward.

The bully bails out... diving into the river as the tractor falls off the side of the road- and Bacon's on the road to winning the heart of Lori Singer, teaching Christopher Penn how to dance and getting music back into the lives of a community.

One week into Redskins training camp, coach Mike Shanahan's playing a game of tractor chicken with Albert Haynesworth. By having the defensive tackle take the "conditioning test", the new kid in town is letting everybody know who's in charge. Haynesworth had his way with the Skins last year, much like Chuck did with Ariel before Ren McCormick came to town. Friday, Haynesworth continued his transformation into a latter-day Calvin Coolidge... once again "choosing not to run".

How many practices will he miss? Will he miss any preseason games? What is the point of no return? And how come Bonnie Tyler couldn't build on the momentum of "Holding out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart"?

Hold the Line-- OT Jamal Brown missed practice Wednesday and was limited in Thursday's workout... and while his status doesn't get as much attention as the 100 million dollar man, Brown did not play a regular season down last year and with Mike Williams done for 2010 the leaky OL is in danger of returning front and center.

Colt, we hardly knew ye-- so much for Redskins Nation's romanticism of #5 turned #15... Colt Brennan was released earlier this week after being a preseason darling during the past two training camps. John Beck comes over in a trade from Baltimore-- making Brennan's presence unnecessary.

Hall Pass-- It's a shame it took this long for a member of the most celebrated offensive lines to finally enter Canton... but Russ Grimm takes his rightful place in Pro Football's Hall of Fame this weekend. Joe Jacoby also deserves to enter the Hall in the near future-- and I've gone on the record early and often about Ray Guy's conspicuous absence.

Elsewhere this first week of August--
Nats note-- at the trading deadline the Nationals dealt closer Matt Capps to Minnesota for catching prospect Wilson Ramos... fantastic pickup. Ramos hopefully after learning under Pudge Rodriguez will become the defensive foundation for this team. Glad they kept Adam Dunn-- his presence in the lineup is huge for Zimmerman and Willingham. Problem is, this team needs a little glove-- they continue to lead the league in errors.

College Football Corner-- Maryland media day is next Tuesday... this should be an interesting season as the Terps try to get off the mat following a 2-10 season where everything went wrong. There's a new era in Charlottesville and the same old championship expectations in Blacksburg.

Proof there is hell on earth-- Earlier this week, Michaela Salahi got into a fight with Whoopi Goldberg. Evidently there's a new show on Bravo called "Real Housewives of Washington DC" ... and the cast appeared on "The View". And the State Dinner gate crasher got into a shouting match with the Oscar-winner. I feel for everyone in the studio audience who was there against their will-- and anyone who happened to be watching the show (especially those who didn't have control of the TV remote).

*My esteemed friends disagree on the best scene in Footloose... they're divided between the "Angry Dance" scene where Bacon unwinds by running recklessly through an empty warehouse and the "Let's hear it for the Boy" segment where Christopher Penn learns to snap... spin and dance for Sarah Jessica Parker (let the record show that nobody on Sex & the City learned to dance for Carrie Bradshaw-- I'm just sayin').