Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Bugel delivers the sound bites

Several years back, one reporter turned off his microphone during an interview with Joe Bugel. He stood and listened to the rest of the interview only to hear Bugel drop a line about pink panties. He forever rued the moment he turned his recorder off. He never made the mistake again, knowing it could be another pink panty moment.
There’s a reason. Bugel has his pat lines, but he loves working a crowd and delivers winning lines. He had a crowd yesterday. And then it was just Bugel being Bugel.

Here’s Bugel on:

Stephon Heyer » “He passed the eye test. Last year he’d never take his shirt off. He didn’t have a real pretty body. I went down there two weeks ago and he had his shirt off and he was on a treadmill. He thinks he’s Tarzan. He walks with a little swagger now.”

Smaller roster limits » “You need at least 10 guys available. It’s not like the old days where you had about 25. We had our own rules. People said we cheated. Well, everyone had back injuries. We had a great doctor in Baltimore and he was like, ‘He has a back injury.’ OK. Before you guys were allowed on the field we’d open up the door — they would be practicing — and we’re like, ‘Hey, the press is coming, back in the locker room!’ We had a ball, man. Those were fun days. We never ran out of linemen. We used to have 150 players [in camp]. We had scout teams for scout teams. Now there are rules.”
But, uh, coach, there were rules then, too.
“There were? Well, Mr. [Jack Kent] Cooke would say, ‘How much would that cost us?’ Ah, about $5,000. And he’d say, ‘Break the rules, I’ll take care of it.’ That was fun.”

His future » “I’ll work until I’m 100 as long as [his group of linemen] stay around. My kids push me, too. They got that TiVo. They watch every game. They’re like, ‘Hey, dad keep working.’ They like the shopping malls, know what I mean? ... I’m having a good time. I always am. I love it here.”


New team comes with new number

The number 99 is associated with Jason Taylor. In Miami. It won’t be in Washington — and that’s fine with Taylor. He debated making an offer to fellow end Andre Carter to wear the number here. But, after thinking about it and talking to his wife, Taylor opted for a new number to pair with a new team: 55.
“[I] decided to let 99 stay in Miami and start a new chapter up here,” he said.
One team source said Taylor probably would have made a big push for the number had it been worn by a backup. And Taylor is intent on fitting in to his new surroundings. He did not want to come across as any sort of prima donna. Besides, he wore 55 in the Senior Bowl 11 years ago and was named MVP. He wore 33 at the University of Akron.
“I like double digits,” he said. “88 is a receiver; 77 is ugly and 66 is a lineman so 55 works. We’re all superstitious so I figure this might bring good luck.”
He now wears the same number as his best friend, linebacker Zack Thomas — who happens to play in Dallas. Taylor called it a coincidence.
Taylor felt odd wearing 55 Tuesday morning.
“I had it pushed up in the front so I didn’t have to look at it,” he said. “This is all so different to me.”


Adu jumps to France

Maryland native and former D.C. United standout Freddy Adu will not play with Portugal’s Benefica next season, but on loan with Monaco in the French league. The 19-year old midfielder and member of the U.S. Olympic team started only two matches with Benefica, but appeared in 21 games and scored five goals despite suffering through three different coaches. The instability in team leadership made it difficult for him to develop a role on a successful team in a country where American players are viewed as inferior.
“Freddy is maturing in a very good way right now,” U.S. Olympic soccer and former D.C. United coach Peter Nowak said. “I think he did most of the work himself, and he started to see things during camps and progressed with his mentality and overall game.”


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

This is unusual: good publicity for Terrell Owens. But Owens played a role in helping ESPN.com writer Sam Alipour after he was hit by a car following a party after the ESPYs. Owens was the first on the scene, helped Alipour get to his feet and away from danger and stayed until the ambulance arrived. If nothing else, Owens has forever altered the opinion of himself for at least one writer.


BY THE NUMBERS

10 » Place out of 12 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference Maryland (147 votes) was picked to finish, ahead of just N.C. State (112) and Duke (85).

1991 » Last year a school besides Florida State was favored to win the ACC. Clemson was picked to win the conference this season.


ON THE RECORD

“I get a kick out of, ‘Will this work on this level? I’m like, ‘Are we playing the NFC East?’ Last I looked, the last six years at Navy we were playing Division I teams.”

— Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson on running the spread option offense.