The Kevin Sheehan Show - Trubisky?

Episode Date: November 3, 2021

Kevin opened with the news that Aaron Rodgers is out this Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19 as an unvaccinated player. Kevin then got to the report yesterday that the Washington Football Team had conversations with the Bills about acquiring Mitch Trubisky before yesterday's trade deadline. Some other WFT and NFL talk on the show too. Former Terps' basketball player Kevin McLinton joined the show. Kevin is a native Washingtonian and the guys talked WFT, Wizards, Terps, and more. Kevin finished up with his weekly look-back on the 1991 Washington Redskins and their game 30 years ago today against the Houston Oilers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Chean Show. Here's Kevin. Boy, as we start the podcast today, breaking news this morning, Aaron Rogers is out for the Packers on Sunday against the Chiefs. He tested positive for COVID-19.

He has not been vaccinated. And therefore, it is 10 days of being away from the team. The earliest he can come back is the day, for the Packers play next weekend against the Seahawks. They had the huge matchup against the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday. Aaron Rogers is asymptomatic, but he has tested positive for COVID. Remember, the Packers had this breakout after playing Washington at Lambo a week ago Sunday. We know that Devante Adams missed the game against the Cardinals,

and Devante Adams, who was vaccinated, had a chance to put back-to-back negative tests together in a 48-hour period, even though it was a short turnaround between the Sunday and Thursday night game in play. Now, he didn't do that. So he was out from that game. They had other players out. Remember, Lazard was out, and Joe Barry, the defensive coordinator, was out. Well, Aaron Rogers is unvaccinated.

He had made a comment during the summer saying that he was immunized, never said specifically that he had been vaccinated. But if you were wondering, it's now very. clear and Ian Rappaport and Mike Garofalo from the NFL network followed up on Tom Pellasarro's initial report that Aaron was out with the news that as an unvaccinated

player, the COVID-19 protocol for the league is he's out for 10 days. It doesn't matter what kind of tests. He's got to stay away from the team for 10 days minimum and then he's got to test negative before he can come back and play in their week 10 matchup

against Seattle. Big news there. That is, look, Devante Adams missing the game last Thursday night was probably the biggest COVID miss of the year. You know, obviously before the season started, there was a lot of discussion about will this be an issue, you know, with players who aren't vaccinated and having to sit out 10 days. You know, personally, I know I suggested this back in August with Tommy. It didn't go over real well with Tommy, but whatever. I just with the vaccination, you know, being available, I think every single player should get vaccinated. I think everybody should get vaccinated.

I'm a believer in your choice, your body, your choice. But really, as it relates to this particular business, I don't know why they're testing. Most people that go into work every day aren't being tested. And if they're vaccinated or unvaccinated, not every workplace is requiring you to be vaccinated, and they're not testing. This league, I think, would be better off if they weren't testing. But they ended up with a very significantly high vaccination rate, you know, well ahead of the general population.

And I'm sure that part of them was about, you know, sort of being at the forefront and being in a leadership position as it relates to their business and vaccination rates. And to test and to essentially penalize more severely players who were not vaccinated, it was the incentive for many to get vaccinated. So I understand it from that perspective as well. But Aaron Rogers is out. And again, he has been, by the way, part of the report was that he had been following all of the unvaccinated COVID-19 protocols to begin with, which meant, you know, on road trips, he had to stay away from the team.

There are lots of different rules for unvaccinated players that keep them away in some cases from the team in a lot of situations. But the big game this weekend will not have Aaron Rogers in it. Last Thursday night, it didn't have Devante Adams in it. It didn't have Lazard in it. But it did have Aaron Rogers in it. And it turned out to be a hell of a game that they ended up winning. I don't see them winning with Jordan Love. Do you on Sunday at Arrowhead, even though the Chiefs have been far from impressive this year?

Big break for the Chiefs, you know, a team that's four and four and on the ropes a little bit in the AFC, a team that even though they won on Monday night, didn't look very good. doing it. And you would think now they've got an opportunity and they have a brutal schedule that Kansas City does. As a four and four football team, they've got the Packers on Sunday, which now is easier. They have the Raiders, Cowboys, Broncos, Raiders, Chargers, Steelers, Bengals after that. I mean, it is murderers row for Kansas City. But it just got easier getting to face Jordan Love and the Packers. The Packers are going to find out about what they have in Jordan Love, and so will everybody else.

The show today, sponsored by Window Nation, call them at 86690 Nation or go to Windonation.com. The deal that they've got going on ends at the end of this month. It's buy-to, get too free with no limit, no money down, no payments, and no interest for two full years. With natural gas prices being where they are, your energy bills are going to be significantly higher this winter than they were last. If you've got old drafty windows, it's time to make a change, and you don't have to pay for them for two years. I promise you Wind Donation is a company that you want to work with. You mention my name. They'll give you a free estimate.

They will take good care of you. You can shop the offer. They're not going to push you. They'll give you a free estimate and they'll say, you know, let us know when you make a decision. You're not going to find anybody better to work with, and you're not going to find a better deal right now. 86690 Nation or Windonation.com. Kevin McClinton's going to be on this show with us today. Kevin McClinton was part of Gary Williams' first teams at Maryland, the probation years.

You know, the 89 season through the 92-93 season. The probation years where Walt Williams stayed in College Park and forever probably will be remembered as the single biggest reason that Gary Williams, at least Gary will point to that as the reason Gary was able to turn it around as quickly as he did coming off of probation. You know, Maryland in their first year off of probation had a rough season. The second year off of probation, they were in the Sweet 16. And that started a run, obviously, that included two final fours and a national championship. Kevin McClinton played on those teams.

Kevin McClinton's father, Harold McClinton, was the starting middle linebacker for the George Allen 1970s Redskins. teams. God, I remember his father so well. Number 53, he was a hell of a player, and he died tragically in 1980. He was helping somebody on the side of a road fix a flat tire, and he was struck and killed in a very sad accident. And Kevin and Darren McClinton, and I know Darren, his brother very well, have been great guys in the community. They were great athletes. Kevin played college basketball at Maryland. Darren played college basketball at James Madison for Lefty Drusel.

And Kevin's going to join us. And he's going to join us because he's a huge skins fan. So we're going to talk about the team. He's a huge Wizards fan, huge Terps fan. And he's got a really cool new facility, training facility business, excuse me, that he will tell us about as well. I want to start with the trade deadline yesterday. There was nothing done by Washington.

It wasn't a lot done, period, around the league. But there were interesting reports as it related to the Washington football team. We told you about the report that I think Ben Standick had that Washington was making landing Collins available before the trade deadline. Well, nothing happened there. I have no idea if Washington tried to do anything at the trade deadline. If they got any offers for any of their players, I don't know. Maybe we'll find out today or tomorrow.

But, you know, I doubt you'll hear much about what they were trying to do, what they were close to do, doing. But there was one report that indicated that they were looking at a quarterback. Chris Trapposo from CBS Sports.com reported yesterday prior to the trade deadline that Washington and Buffalo were having conversations about a trade that would send Mitch Tribesky to Washington. nothing came of it before the trade deadline, but that report was out there from a credible reporter at CBSSports.com. Chris Trapposo has been kind of a draft guy, but has also been a guy that has been a solid reporter, at least according to the people that I talked to about Trapposo.

I'm not going to act like I really knew a lot. I know the name. It's a familiar name, but I talked to a couple people and said, no, that's a legitimate reporting source. And remember, back, in January and February, there were some rumors. I heard something about Washington's interest in Mitch Trubisky. I had heard that Scott Turner was one of maybe a couple of people in the organization that had interest in Mitch Trubisky. And Washington could have signed Mitch Trubisky for a song.

He signed a $2.5 million deal with like $500,000 guaranteed, you know, to be Josh Allen's backup in Buffalo. You know, he's a guy that they could have gotten because I'm sure he would have liked the opportunity to start versus being a backup. So there may have been interest, you know, when the offseason began. And according to Trapaso, there was some interest prior to the trade deadline. So what does that tell us? Well, you know, going back to some of the conversation we had yesterday, let's just stick with the things that are most important. You know, Ben Standing, my good friend, tweeted something out earlier this morning that I'm going to read to you because it really sums it up so well, and I think it was so

well said by Ben. He said the following. He said, good backup quarterbacks like Taylor Heineke lose steam after more exposure. That's with a full complement of pieces around them. Washington's missing tons of starters right now. Of course they're having red zone issues. Remember the QBs this defense beat up on last year? Those guys wouldn't have even crossed midfield. Ben writes, this isn't said in defense of Heineke. I've never viewed him as a possible starter, unlike others. Kyle Allen should start at some point, in my opinion. I'm saying this to note that the conversation about the team right now is too small. You know, we're focusing on the offense, not scoring. There are much bigger issues. And Ben writes, this is what happens with elections.

Candidates or parties without a real vision get folks focused elsewhere to distract from what's really important. Here we're doing it ourselves. Long-term quarterback plan, coach's vision, how to see hope with these owners. Everything else is noise. It's so true. It's similar to what Tommy and I were talking about yesterday. When I said, you know, we can focus in on, you know, the, you know, are they getting and targeting Terry McLaren enough, you know, know, what are their red zone issues about? Why isn't the defense getting more pressure? Why aren't they getting off the field on third downs?

But really, the big picture issues, the things that aren't noise are, A, they've got the worst owner in professional sports, and more likely than not, things aren't going to change as long as he and his wife are running the team. Number two, they don't have a quarterback in a sport that requires that you have one, or you really can't win consistently. And then number three, and I threw this out in with Tommy yesterday, they may not have the right management team or head coaching staff, a head coach or coaching staff.

That's a possibility too. But the only way to ultimately mask the ownership situation is with a truly elite franchise quarterback. That has to be the focus. Ron Rivera talked about it. Remember, we read the quote from yesterday from the Monday Zoom press conference with the beat. He recognizes that this is, you know, a real dilemma and a real challenge and a real priority. Until they find that, all this other stuff is, as Ben said, it's noise.

It's not going to stop us from talking about on Mondays, you know, why. they went for the fourth and three instead of kicking the field goal. It's not going to stop us on Fridays for talking about some keys to the, to beating the team they're playing. But, you know, if the goal is eventually a Super Bowl and the Snyders are going to be the owners, they've got to get the quarterback. So did they try to get the quarterback yesterday? Well, they tried to get a quarterback if you believe Trapassos' report. Mitch Trabisky is not the answer. Mitch Trubisky is not the answer. Mitch Trubisky may be an upgrade over what they have right now, you know, in terms of who they're playing in Taylor Heineke and who they have

as a possibility of playing Kyle Allen. But Mitch Trubisky's not the answer. I'll never forget the playoff game last year against New Orleans that Chicago was in and they had a huge fourth and two, fourth and one, and he ran out of bounds short of the sticks when he had an opportunity to turn it upfield and get the first. first down. And I remember saying in that moment, I would never, ever after watching that play want Mitch Trubisky as my quarterback. He better be really hurt or sick or something.

I don't want Mitch Trubisky. There was a time where I thought Mitch Trubisky was a starter in the league, not a good one, but a starter. And he was in Chicago. They had a really good regular season. You know, in what, his second year, I guess it was. And they lost in a playoff game at Soldier Field against the Eagles when their kicker missed a pretty. makeable field goal. You know, they had an opportunity to advance to the divisional round with Mitch Trubisky as the starter. By the way, Mitch Trubisky ended up being taken second overall in that 2017 draft by the Bears after the bear swapped spots with the 49ers. The 49ers had that second pick in the 2017 NFL draft. And that second overall choice that the 49ers held

was the choice that Kyle Shanahan and company out in San Francisco were willing to part with to get Kirk Cousins and Washington wouldn't do the deal because they didn't want to deal with the Shanahan's. Oh my God. I mean, I still, you know, the incompetence and the arrogance and the stubbornness associated with some of what went on and continues to go on is maddening. Think about that opportunity

they had. Now, I don't know who they would have drafted. I don't think they would have taken Trubisky, but at the very least, if they weren't going to take a quarterback there, which they should have, you know, Mahomes and Watson ended up going 10 and 11 or 10 and 12 or 10 and 13 in that draft, whatever it was. But, and remember, Kansas City traded up to get Mahomes. I don't know that they would taken a Trubisky, but they could have, you know, traded a spot back and picked up picks from the bears. I mean, the bears in that particular moment swap spots and then had to part with two third rounders and a fourth rounder to move from three to two, when the 49ers, more likely than not, weren't going to take Mitchell Tribusky anyway. So anyway, just a

reminder about what could have been with that pick. And also a reminder that, you know, Sean Vey and Kirk Cousins could be the head coach and the quarterback here in Washington, or Kyle Shanahan and Kirk Cousins. Some of you couldn't care less about that and wouldn't want it. Yeah, look at what we've had. You would have had competitive teams and maybe playoff teams the last few years. Anyway, so Mitch Trubisky isn't the answer, but Mitch Trubisky is somebody they were interested in.

They probably could have gotten Mitch Trubisky for, I don't know, a fourth-rounder or a conditional fourth-slash-fifth. I mean, he's a backup quarterback. By the way, I'd be interested to know why Buffalo would be interested in trading Mitch Trubisky for like a conditional mid-rounder when they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. And you've got to have a backup just in the event that Josh Allen gets hurt. And you need somebody in Trubisky, I'm sure is a fine, able backup. And maybe a low-end, you know, 25 to 32 offensive team doesn't have a quarterback starter in this league. although he didn't get that opportunity in the offseason. But it just leads to this thought. The big takeaway for me is they're trying.

I'm not saying that's a big try. And I'm not saying that they haven't tried hard enough. But I think it's another indication, just like the Matt Stafford trade attempt with Detroit, that they recognize they need a starting quarterback. You can listen to whatever you want to listen to and you can think whatever you want to think. Their actions were to try to trade for Matt Stafford. That is an admission of A, we don't have a starting quarterback or we don't have a good enough starting quarterback.

And there's this opportunity out there for a top 10 guy that could totally turn around the fortunes of our franchise immediately. And I think if Matt Stafford were the quarterback here, I think Washington would be four and for worst case, maybe five and three. I don't think we would think about the defense the way we think now. I think the defense would have been put in some better positions with maybe opportunities to go after a quarterback with a lead and maybe even a two score lead. I still think the defense would have underperformed based on what our expectations were. But I think just the context of everything of having a quarterback like Stafford and what the offense could have been. Look, they're moving the football with Taylor Heineke and a bunch of.

of backups, as Ben pointed out. But this is the off-season. You know, this is the off-season where they're going to have to take some big swings. They're going to have to obviously think about the draft as a vehicle to draft, you know, a quarterback. Hopefully they will love somebody or like somebody enough to take that person, either where they pick, which, you know, right now looks like, you know, an easy top 10 kind of a pick, or if they've got to trade up and be aggressive trade up to take a Kenny Pickett, you know, to take a Malik Willis, to take a Matt Corral, whoever it is by the time we get there, and things will change on the quarterback front for sure between now and, you know, the end of April 2022. But that's their opportunity.

The trade and the free agency route, well, the free agency route or the trade route is going to be the Mitch Trubiskees of the world. You know, that's what you're going to get because no one else is going to want to come here. No one else. You're not getting Russell Wilson, you're not getting Aaron Rogers, you're not getting Derek Carr. Okay, could you get Matt Ryan potentially? I guess, but I'm sure Matt Ryan might have some say. The Deshawn Watson thing is really a complicated discussion. For me, if you tell me that he's not going to be arrested, he's not going to jail,

the commissioner's not going to suspend him for two years, only one or maybe half a year, I'm all in, all in. Now, I don't want, you know, an evaluation of him to, you know, produce a report from a psychologist that says, this guy's got an addiction to, you know, to happy-ending massage parlors, because then the same thing will happen with him here. But if he's learned his lesson, if he is undergoing psychiatric treatment, if he's undergoing some sort of therapy, if he's eligible within a reasonable amount of time. I don't even care if it's a year. You tell me you can get Deshawn Watson, you go do it.

Now, Deshawn Watson has no trade clause so he can dictate where he goes to. But bottom line is really the rest of the year we're going to watch these games. We'll see what happens. We'll see if they're competitive. We'll see if he loses the team or if he keeps him in there and keeps him fighting. you know, and, you know, hopefully there's the development of players and you see, you know, more of, you know, what we've seen so far in McClorn and John Allen, and there's a big improvement from Cheshung and Montez Sweat. But really, it's about looking forward to what are they going to do at quarterback. If the Tribisky story is true, it's another action item that says they aren't, you know, moving forward with what they have.

those of you who have been living in the Taylor Heineke is going to be the guy. He's the answer. No, he's not. He's not the answer. Kyle Allen's not the answer. You know, the battle between Taylor Heineke and Kyle Allen is really about who they're going to keep next year as a backup, more likely than not. And I'm fine with Taylor Heineke as the backup next year. But I need a couple of swings. And I think we'll get them. I'd be very surprised. Now, somebody, um, called into the radio show this morning. Or maybe it was a tweet that I read. I forget now. But the net of it was this, that Ron Rivera is a defensive head coach, and quarterback isn't the priority for him that you think it should be. And then another friend of mine texted me and said, you know, that call was interesting because think about Rivera's background. He played for the Bears of the 80s. They had Jim McMahon as their quarterback. They won with defense. and, you know, Cam Newton was a really good quarterback. He was there at number one in his first year in Carolina as the head coach.

But, you know, I'm sure there were games where the quarterbacking was just okay and they still won. Like, does Ron actually believe that you can still build a Super Bowl contender without greatness at quarterback? I think he does. I think everybody does now. I think everybody realizes if you're really talking about trying to achieve a run, a period of, you know, seven to 10 years where you are in the mix, you are, you know, above 500 every year, you're going to the playoffs virtually every year. And every third or fourth year, you've got a chance to win it all. If you're going to put yourself into that position, you've got to have the course. quarterback. As I've said many times, you can have a good season in the NFL. It's designed the league is

for even the worst of franchises to have an occasional good season. A good season does not make you a good franchise. What makes you a good franchise is an organization that is set up culturally and from a football operation standpoint, to have sustained success over a period of time. Washington's had the occasional okay season that's actually resulted in a playoff game. Pretty much always a playoff loss, but a playoff game. But they've never been a good franchise. And they may never be. We may be in this mode of just hoping that one out of every four years,

Everything aligns, and they get what the league is designed to produce, which is, you know, nine wins and a wild card berth. But the way to get beyond that is to find the answer at quarterback. And I think they're trying. I think they're going to try. I think they did try. Maybe they didn't try hard enough. Maybe when Matt Stafford, you know, when they lost Stafford to the Rams, which Mike Silver

wrote was a stunning development because they thought they were very much. much in there. That was the thought in that silver story in early September on the team's website that they were, you know, blown away by what the Rams did. And remember you had, you know, Sean McVeigh and Cabo and that's where Matt Stafford was. And then the Rams, the lines, excuse me, had, you know, the new GM who had been in L.A. who had been partially responsible for drafting golf. It was just a better offer. Now, you can say, well, they missed out on that one, but why not swing big for Derek Carr? Why not swing big for Sam Darnold or Teddy Bridgewater? Or why did they end up with Ryan Fitzpatrick? Well, I think they did look into a lot of those

things. And they thought Fitzpatrick was the best possibility for them now. And they didn't think that Dalton or Taylor or Bridgewater or Marriota or Darnold were their quarterbacks of the future. And Derek Carr wasn't accessible or, you know, or we know, we know, know that pretty much Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson and Deshawn Watson really weren't accessible and weren't available. Watson may have been, but not to this team. So it's going to be, you know, a period of time here where, you know, if you're really still into this team and you're curious about what they're going to do, watch a lot of college football here over the final month and then through the bowl season. You know, watch some of these guys because this is going to be the way to go get,

you know, someone that might give you a chance because they have to come here if they're drafted here. Anyway, Tribisky to me is just another sign that indicates they recognize they have to find a quarterback. Now, if Tribisky was really the guy that they think was the quarterback of the future, I think they're wrong. But I do think somebody in that organization believes that Tribisky was, you know, is a guy that they could perform well with. I do think that there's somebody in the organization that feels that way. By the way, I put out a Twitter poll today. The Twitter poll at Kevin Shan, D.C.,

what would your reaction have been if Washington had pulled off a trade deadline deal for Mitch Trubisky yesterday? And I said, let's just say that it would have required a fourth rounder. And I gave three potential answers. Loved it, understood it. hated it. Understood it is 45.5%. Hated it is 44.6%. Loved it just 10%. So most people would not have been happy had they traded for Mitch Trubisky, even if it had just been a fourth round pick. I actually would have understood it. And I wouldn't have thought that they had traded for the quarterback of their future, but I would have understood that they're going to start taking some swings and

find out, you know, with a player that would have had, by the way, nine games left to play this year and to start for this team. And, you know, during a buy week, you know, could have gotten up to speed and potentially started against the Buccaneers. And for a fourth rounder, absolutely. That's why for with Tua, and by the way, if you've watched two of the last couple of weeks, I think he's actually improved. Stephen Ross, the owner of the Dolphins, stepped in and said no to the Deshawn Watson deal. So whatever their due diligence was, it wasn't. worth the risk of whatever Houston was asking. And I think they've looked at Tua here recently and said he's getting better, which he has

played better. But if Tua had actually been available for like a second or, you know, a third and a fourth, absolutely. You've got to start bringing in guys and finding out, you know, and finding out what they are and what they might be for you. And you obviously have to do that in the draft. All right. Chase Rulieu, by the way, on injured reserve. Fractured fibula with maybe some cartilage damage, too, I think I read this morning. Joey Sly, somebody sent this to me this morning, that Joey Sly to kicker was released by the 49ers.

He kicked in Carolina for Ron Rivera. He's got a huge leg. I would imagine that we're going to start hearing reports of kickers being brought into Ashburn. There's no way they can trot Chris Blewett out there against the Buccaneers, right? No way. I don't see that happening. The college football rankings that were released last night, Cincinnati ends up being number six in those rankings behind Ohio State. Behind Oregon. It went Georgia 1, Bama 2, Michigan State 3, Oregon, 4, Ohio State 5, Cincinnati 6. You know, I'm surprised. I actually thought in this first run that they would give Cincinnati more respect for that win over Notre Dame and that they would have been in the top four, like at number four, maybe worst case number five. It is really a big blow to Cincinnati and to Cincinnati fans because if Cincinnati runs the table, more likely than not, they're not going to be in the playoff.

They would have to root for Georgia to run the table, which would include a win over Bama that would hang too long. losses on Bama. They've got a route for chaos in the Big Ten. You know, Michigan State, you know, after beating Michigan, loses to Purdue this weekend. And then Michigan beats Ohio State. And then Wisconsin upsets whoever's in the Big Ten championship game. So they got to kind of root for chaos there. They got a route for Oregon to lose a game. And as the guys on the ESPN broadcast pointed out last night, Cincinnati, you know, has to pay attention to what's in front of them, but they also have to pay attention to what's behind them. Because maybe the biggest surprise of the first college football rankings is that Oklahoma

as a 9-0 team came in at number eight behind Michigan, who was 7 and 1. And only one spot ahead of Wake Forest, who's 8-0. Oklahoma, if you've been following college football, man, they've had some weird games. They had a shootout with Tulane in the opener. They could have lost that game. Very easily could have lost to West Virginia at home in a 16 to 13 game. Could have lost to Nebraska. Could have lost to Kansas State.

They were down big to Texas. They were down 10-0 to one of the worst teams in college football, if not the worst team in a Power 5 conference, Kansas. And by the way, that game was 28, 23 when they missed on a fourth and one, except for Caleb Williams stole the ball. from the running back and ended up moving the chains. And so Oklahoma really is not in the eye test for the committee passing. Now, they'll have chances they play Baylor, they play Iowa State,

they play Oklahoma State to finish up the year. And then there will be a Big 12 championship game. So everything lies ahead of them, but they're behind Cincinnati, so they could clearly move well in front of them with the schedule they have. And then even teams with one loss like Oklahoma State and Baylor with what they have in front of them, they could move up. The only team that's not going to move up in front of them is Notre Dame if Cincinnati runs a table, which by the way, let me just point out, I'm not so sure they will. They play SMU and then they'll probably play Houston in their conference championship game. I think there's a chance that they lose a game before we get there anyway.

An exciting year in college football so far, unpredictable. I mean, George is really good, but they're not great on offense. Bama lost to Texas A&M in a weird game, but God, they look good. They certainly passed the eye test. So does Ohio State. I don't think Michigan State passes the eye test, but I think they're well-coached and they're explosive offensively. I think Michigan really looked good Saturday, and if they had held on and won that game,

Michigan would have been where Michigan State is at number three, maybe even number two. in the poll. But it's an exciting year in college football. A lot of big games upcoming over the last five, six weeks of this season. The World Series last night, wow. How about the home run by Solaire in the third inning? It's over. The Braves win it.

Seven nothing, taking the series four games to two. They got a great pitching performance from Max Fried last night. six innings, four hits, no earned runs, best start of the postseason or of the World Series for either team in the game. And Soler's home run, the three-run Jack and the third, traveled 446 feet. He hit it out of the park. And then Freddie Freeman, good for him. He's been with the organization since 2007.

To see him not only double in a run in the fifth, but to Homer in the seventh, it was exciting to see that guy win. I don't personally feel like, you know, I didn't want Atlanta to win the World Series because they're in our division. I don't feel like the Nats have a rivalry. Like, there's nothing with Philly or Atlanta or the Mets that really makes me root, you know, hard against them. So I didn't have those kinds of feelings. Maybe some of you did. I was rooting for Dusty and he didn't get it done again. They didn't have a chance. that game last night. All right. Up next, Kevin McClinton will be our guest. We'll talk Washington football. We'll talk wizards who play tonight, by the way, against Toronto. We'll talk Terpshoops.

We'll talk about his father. And then, after Kevin, we will, as we've been doing on Wednesdays, go back 30 years ago and talk about what the 1991 Washington football team was doing this week, 30 years ago right after these words from a few of our sponsors. All right, just a reminder, if you haven't subscribed to the podcast, subscribe, it doesn't cost you a thing. I do know that many of you who are listening, listen, but haven't subscribed. Just know it doesn't cost you anything, and it really does help us if you don't mind, rate us and review us wherever you can, especially on Apple podcasts. So I'm welcoming on to the podcast, someone that I know much more about.

him than I think he knows about me. But I got to know his brother in recent years pretty well. And I've gotten to know Kevin a little bit. But Kevin McClinton was a four-year standout at the University of Maryland on Gary Williams' first teams back in the late 80s and early 90s. Unfortunately for him, the probation years, the Walt Williams years, Kevin was the starting point guard on those teams for four years. And Kevin's father, of course, for those of you, my age or older, was Harold McClinton, the middle linebacker of the George Allen Washington Redskins back in the 1970s. And very tragically and sadly, lost his life in a traffic incident when he was helping somebody on the side of a highway and was struck and killed when he was just 33 years old. And Kevin joins us now. And I, I want to

want to talk to you about a number of things, including our Washington Wizards that you follow very closely, our Washington football team, which you follow very closely, and also we'll talk some Terps as well. But tell us what you're doing with your training facility over in Springfield. Well, I'm over at All-Sport Training Center. It's a youth training facility. It's in Springfield. And really what we do is we provide a resource for kids ages 8 to 18. that are interested in, you know, just staying fit, staying healthy, you know, and that might be interested in improving their skills, whether or not it's basketball, baseball, football, soccer, you name it.

What we do is we put a program together with our high-performance trainers geared towards strength conditioning as well as speed and agility. You know, so, you know, it's just something for kids to be able to do if they're looking to, you know, just improve their skills, if they're looking to crack the starting lineup, up, if they're looking to take their game to another level, we put a program for them based on that. So especially coming off COVID, you know, a lot of kids last year weren't really active, you know, so for us to be able to provide a resource and an opportunity for kids to be

able to get back into it and to improve their skills, you know, that's a big part of what we do. So, you know, I'm excited about it. You know, it's a 12,000 square foot facility. we have some 5,000 square feet of open space. We have three batting cages for baseball. We have a weight room, and then we have half a basketball court. So there's a lot of things that we can do, but for the most part, it's really providing kids an opportunity to work on their skills and to stay fit and healthy.

So what kind of trainer are you? Do you take after your basketball coach, Gary Williams, are you demanding? Or are you much more laid back? I think a little bit of both. you know, the main thing is to try to get the kids to really believe in themselves and to work and to focus on what they're doing, but then also to be able to have the patience to allow them to gradually, you know, come out of their comfort zone.

And I think that's important for them to be able to see improvements and to see results. So I'm probably a little bit of both, probably not quite at coaches' intensity, but, you know, I think I do okay. Tell everybody, Kev, how people find out about it. You can go over right on, you can go to all sport training center.com. That's our website. And you can take a look at it. It just gives you a brief rundown of our program.

Right now, what we're doing is we have unlimited training sessions. So you can come in, our training program is any time between four and eight, four o'clock to eight o'clock Monday through Friday. And then on Saturdays from nine to one, you can come in for an hour. and you get your speed and agility and you do your strength conditioning so you can come in and just take part. I mean, it's only $99 a month for unlimited training session. So we're running that promotion until the middle of November. So it's a good opportunity for kids to come in at a good price and get some top-notch training.

But you can just go to all-sport training center.com and sign up. Or, you know, if you're interested, you can always reach me at K-Mack-211 at Gmail. And I'll give you more information about it. All right. You can also call them at 703-942-8-7-86. 7-0394-2-8-7-86. You know, as I'm looking through your website right now, I don't think there's a market for this, so don't think that I'm nuts. But, you know, off of this pandemic, a lot of people, you know, a lot of fathers like me, who have always stayed fairly fit. I've never been in great shape, but even as, you know, an adult for, you know, 25, 30 years, basketball was always my passion, so I would play two to three days a week.

And as you know, for staying in shape in terms of a cardio workout, there's nothing like basketball. I mean, for people who have played sports, competitive sports, it's so much more fun and fulfilling to be out there playing basketball or if you're a tennis player. or a racquetball player than it is to be on a Peloton bike. You know, there's just, there's nothing that replaces the competitive part of it. And by the way, the part part of it that's fun. And I think off of this pandemic, I can tell you that personally, I am not, I'm in the worst, like I'm not in great shape and probably as poor a shape as I've been.

And I gained weight during this pandemic, not like a significant amount. But, you know, I've always like thought. God, you know, I'd love to get back. I have a Peloton bike, and a lot of people out there do various things. But I wonder if there's a market, probably not a big one, for adults to work and train, you know, when it comes to, like, basketball training. Like, if you can't find a pickup game anymore, because you're in the midst of a pandemic and a lot of people, and a lot of those games went away, my, I had a weekly game for, you know, 12 years where it was, you know, at least week. if not twice a week with the same group of like 15 to 20 guys, you know, 12 would show up, an hour and a half run, and then, you know, we'd go out and drink beer and eat pizza

afterwards and solve all the world's problems. But a lot of those opportunities aren't the same anymore. It would be, you know, I remember when your brother and Kevin's brother, Darren McClinton, who played at James Madison for Lefty-Drusel and had a long international professional career, you know like when he would have his gym open wherever he was if if one of my sons was there it was just fun to watch the workouts and then just to shoot around on the side to get a little bit of a workout in so do you ever think about or have you catered to adults well it's funny you say that because what I'm in the process of doing it right now in our facility is putting together

at three on three leagues now the court we have at our facility is half court but it's more than sufficient to be able to put together a three-on-three league. And I think now what we're seeing is basketball, especially with the success of, you know, ice cubes three-on-three league. I think what we've seen is a lot of people are gravitating to that. You know, it's an Olympic sport, for God's sake. So, you know, it's, I love three-on-three basketball simply because it really, it shows how the game is supposed to be played.

You know what I mean? And there's a lot of moving. There's a lot of screening. you know, so it's, to me, I think it's more conducive to, you know, guys my age and, you know, being able to play and get a good workout in. So I'm putting that together as we speak right now. But there is a market for that. There is a market for, you know, adults like myself and yourself to be able to come and get a workout in. And I think people are a little hesitant right now coming off this pandemic, so they don't really want to be around a lot of people, I guess, so to speak.

you know, as it used to be where, you know, you just go or just play. You just play pickup, and, you know, I got next and, you know, you keep going. But I think we're gradually starting to get back into it. Health Clubs are starting to pick back up in regards to their members and clients and things of that nature. So hopefully it'll continue to offend to the point where we were able to get back into being able to play pickup like we used to. But, yeah, we're putting together programs for adults as we speak. Yeah, I mean, think about it. Like, you know, pick up basketball.

sweating, the contact, the, you know, all the shit that's coming out of people's noses and mouths and the antibodies that you probably built up in doing that, you know, over time. But you said something that is so true. Like, so, you know, as I got a little bit older, I much preferred, well, I've always preferred like three on three because it's real basketball, right? You know, you don't have to be in the, you don't have to be the guy that's the best athlete or in the best shape, but you've got to be able to play basketball where it shows up. And so in recent years, like we had a pickup game on a high school court, and we also had a pickup game on an elementary school court.

And I can guarantee you the one I much preferred was the elementary school court. You know, because that high school court that is legitimately 90 feet, you know, you'd have guys in the game that are in phenomenal shape, may not be great basketball players, but we're in phenomenal shape that would get results. that you wouldn't necessarily see him get on a condensed floor. But anyway, enough about me and enough about you and your business. I wish you the best of luck, and I think people should absolutely take advantage of it.

Let's talk about some of our teams. First of all, where are you right now? I mean, you grew up in the area. Your father played for the team. You grew up in Silver Spring. You went to Springbrook. You were always, you know, a Redskins fan. Where are you right now in terms of your passion level for the team?

Boy, I tell you, I never thought it would get to this point, Kev, because I've been behind them for years ever since I can remember. And, you know, when people talk bad about them or, you know, there was always talk about them being, you know, just dysfunctional. I always took up for them and I always said, yeah, but, you know, this is what's going. I always try to look at the brighter picture or, you know, the silver lining.

But right now, I just don't know. I don't know what's going on. You know, I just see a lot of things that other organizations don't have to deal with. You know, we can't just sit and watch a game on Sunday and just be content with watching our team. There's always something coming out on Monday or during the week that has us talking about something else other than football. And when it gets to that point, then you start to wonder. You know, and it's gotten to that point where you're just like, you know what, I'm

done, you know, and I haven't gotten to that point yet. I don't know if I ever will, but, you know, there are definitely other options that I have on Sundays that I may prefer other than just watching and just being frustrated because you just find yourself being frustrated to the point like, why is this happening to our team? Like, we had an organization that was the, you know, it was the epitome with the top of the line back in the 80s and the early 90s, when, you know, we're right up there with the 49ers and some of those teams. you know, to have such a great coach that we had in Joe Gibbs and what he did for our city, and just to see it just go downhill in the matter of 30, I mean, like, it's been a long time

where you have generations that don't even know or remember the great Redskinned teams. And when you have that and you're just going, you're just listening to the national pundits, talking about how bad the organization is, it just makes you feel really, really frustrated. And I think that's where I am. I'm just frustrated. because I think we can be better. I just think we have to do things better. I think it starts with our front office.

And I think it ends with the players. The players have to be better. The coaches have to be better. And that's not, I mean, we don't ask for much. We just hope for more. And I think that's really where I am right now. We don't ask for much. We just hope for more.

That's well said. And I think even those that, I mean, you know, asking for much almost seems like a fruitless exercise. And I think, you know, for a lot of people even hoping for more, you know, they've gone down the path of that so many times and been not just disappointed with the results, embarrassed by the results and embarrassed by the behavior and everything else. I think that's part of it. You know, you remember and I remember an organization that not only won, but was, you know, a first class outfit in every way in the way, you know, their executives were and the way their players handled themselves. I mean, we can nitpick some of the people and some of the players along the way, but they were always thought to be one of the smartest and classiest organizations. And I think, you know, the problem with this particular era of Dan Snyder is they're like the opposite of a lovable loser.

Like I think if it were just the losing, you know, they would have lost a lot of fans or people would have been less interested. But, you know, the Cubs lost forever and they were lovable losers. This is the opposite of a lovable loser. It's a hateable loser in many ways because of all the stuff like you said. Like, you're waiting on Monday and Tuesday. What's going to drop this week? And by the way, embarrassing was the way it used to be. Now it's just like I think people are just numb to it.

And that's the worst thing. I had a conversation with Jason Wright, the team president, I don't know, a couple of months ago. And, you know, he said there's a lot of anger. And I said, no, I said it's apathy. It's worse. I said anger is an emotion. You know, if people are still angry, that's good. You still have a chance of turning them around.

There are too many people that are indifferent. You know, they're apathetic. And that's when you've lost them and it takes a hell of a lot to turn them around. Now, I think the Sean Taylor thing reflected, you know, if anything got people pissed off that haven't really cared recently, it was the handling of the Sean Taylor thing. But, yeah. Yeah. So where are you on the quarterback situation?

I was hoping they would make a trade. I heard that there were some rumors about Ms. Trubisky. I was hoping they might do something there, especially going into a buy week. But, I mean, I understand where they are. You know, I don't think they really want to put a lot of investing. They don't want to invest a lot in the quarterback position, especially with some big contracts coming up and trying to make some decisions about what they want to do along that defensive line

and things of that nature. So, you know, I think as long as Heineke is, You know, I like Heineke. I think he's a gamer. He makes plays that we haven't had at that position in a long time. I think a lot of his mistakes and a lot of his turnovers come with trying to do a lot, trying to make up for, you know, maybe some of the position. Like right now we've got a lot of injuries, especially on offense.

I think he's trying to make up for some things. He's trying to kind of make big plays and trying to win the game on his own. And, you know, I admire that because he has moxie and he's trying. But, you know, I don't have a problem at me. If Taylor Hineke is our biggest problem, then, you know, we're okay. I think we have a lot of other problems that we need to really worry about. But I like Hineke. Now, we are quarterback for the future, probably not.

But I think he gives us an opportunity every time, you know, every Sunday to win games. It's just a matter of the pieces around them doing their job and supporting him, which is where I think right now we're lacking. So we'll see, but I'm a Heineke fan. I like him. I think he's got a lot of moxie and a lot of courage. And I think he's doing well for it. What happened to the defense this year?

I think a lot of reading their own press clippings. I think, you know, we crown them the 85 bears before they had a chance to step in the, you know, step in the training camp. And I think when you have that kind of pressure and you're dealing with people asking how good you can be and, you know, you have a tendency sometimes to take things for granted. I think the main thing is, you know, we moved some things around, which I didn't understand. Like, you know, Cam Curl was a tremendous strong safety last year, and we moved him to free. And we bring Landon in, not to say, you know, again, you know, Landon's taking a share of criticism,

but I think that when we put Landon in there, that, you know, we can some, weakens some positions, you know. And, you know, I think that was one of the things I think are our scheme. I like our scheme. I think I like what Jack Del Rio is doing. I just think that, you know, we need to continue to progress in it. I like to see us get more pressure. I like to see us blitz a little bit more, you know, especially with our corner struggling like they are.

William Jackson are going from being a great man corner to all of a sudden. We're asking him to play zone. You know, I don't know if that's the mission. That's what we're paying him to do. You know, so from a defensive standpoint, from a schematic standpoint, I think we have to find a way to to help him get comfortable and do what he does. And that's all coaching. I mean, you have to be able to put your guys in a position to succeed.

And if you're paying a guy $13, $14 million a year, and he's been a man corner, and then all of a sudden you ask him to play zone and learn different techniques, I don't know if that's the best way to go. So I think we're asking guys to do some things they're probably not used to doing or not comfortable doing, and it's showing up.

But I think they're getting better the last couple of games. I think we've seen improvement, but unfortunately, we're two and six. and, you know, now we've got to figure out of this hole when you got Tampa Bay coming in town in a couple weeks, so that's going to be tough. Can you kick field goals? I've been working. I played soccer when I was younger, so, you know, I'm 50 years old.

I don't know how much length I have in this leg, but, you know, I think I can knock down a 35, 40 yard or if needed. So did you, I don't know the answer to this. Did you and your brother play football at Springbrook or just basketball? I played football. You did play football. I played, Darren never played. I played football.

I played my senior year, and that was the only year I played. And I actually did pretty well. I got recruited to play in Maryland by Coach Duffner. When he was at Holy Cross, he came in to, he came to my house, and he asked me to, you know, he wanted me to play a Holy Cross. And then he got to Maryland, and he asked me to play while I was at Maryland playing basketball, I used to come in and ask me all the time if I wanted to play football. And that just wasn't anything I was going to do.

But, you know, I had a pretty good senior year. What position did you play? I played wide receiver and defensive back. We won the state championship that year being Churchill. And I actually won MVP of the state championship. So, you know, if I had it to do over again, Kev, I might have played football. But, you know, I only played one year. And, you know, I was content with that.

So, yeah, I was going on. Gary wouldn't have let you play football, would he have? Oh, absolutely not. Yeah. There's no way. You were, how much older than Sean Springs were you? I'm a couple years older than Sean. Okay.

I'm a couple years older than one. Yeah, most of you, many of you who are listening know that Sean also played at Springbrook. One of the real, you know, me is a Moco guy and having grown up in Montgomery County and having gone to high school in Montgomery County, Springbrook really is. one of the iconic, you know, Montgomery County High Schools always was, you know, the Blue Devils and the sports programs there, you know, in the 70s, in the 80s and the 90s, we're always, we're always great, and I'm sure they've had great teams since. So, all right, so let's switch subjects.

Are you a believer? It's only seven games. How much of a believer, I guess, is the question, are you in the Wizards? I love what they're doing. I, you know, West Sunsdale Jr. is coming. and I think he's doing a tremendous job. I love the players that they picked up. I'm a big Spencer Denwoodie fan.

Always happened. Me too. I think he's just, I mean, he's smart, he's tough. He plays both ends. You know, I like the leadership he brings. I'm a big mantra as Harold fan. I've always been a mantra. I just like the, he brings an attitude to this team

that I think we haven't had in a long time. He brings a toughness that I think every good team has. And he knows how to play. I mean, you can't be a sixth man of the year and not know how to play basketball. I mean, he's a good player. He doesn't complain. You know, he does his job. You know, he, you know, whatever his role is, he does that.

He just brings toughness. I think it takes a lot of pressure off the players that they've gotten, even Kuzum. I think Kuzman is averaging the double-double. You know, it takes a lot of pressure off Bradley. You know, Bradley doesn't have to go out and score 30 points a game. He can score, I think he's going to average in 24 a game right now, where he can just go play basketball, and he doesn't have to play as many minutes. He's got guys that, you know, that can help them out.

They're deep. You know, I love KCP, what he brings. You know, he comes from the Lakers, so he brings that championship mentality. You know, Kuzma as well, like I've mentioned, you know, I think he just had to get away, you know, he had to get away from LeBron and the Lakers and kind of just be him, be who he is. And I think Coach Unseld is allowing them to do that, but they've got it really, talented team. You know, the main thing with the Wizards have always been their defense. Can they play defense? Because they can score. It's just a matter of whether or not they can play defense.

But if they can play consistent defense with the way they score the ball, I think they have a chance to definitely be, you know, to be a legitimate force in the Eastern Conference. You know, I think that the NBA is one of those sports. I think hockey is probably one of them as well, where the regular season and the postseason are just completely different. And sometimes I think you really don't have as a fan a true handle on a team and sometimes on players until you see them play, you know, in games that truly matter. Like, you got to win this game. It's not one of 82. It's the best of seven and it's a two, two, you know, game five. And I think a lot gets revealed in that kind of context. I think college sports are different. You know, every single

college football game is super important. Same with the NFL, college basketball with many fewer games. you get a better sense of players and teams in the regular season. You don't necessarily have to see it, you know, in a one-and-done NCAA tournament. In fact, it's probably the opposite, right? Because sometimes you see really good players and good teams, and they have one-off night and they're out, you know, in the tournament. My biggest concern about the Wizards, even watching them through seven games, and I hope it changes, I still see way too much standing around on offense

and relying on, you know, ISO or two-man ball. And I'm not suggesting that every team in the league that succeeds is running a five-man offense, because they don't. But I still see too much of that reliance on spread the floor and let's let's let Brad or Dinwiddie, you know, now, you know, create. And I just don't know if that holds up in a best of seven against a really good team. Yeah, I 100% agree with you. I think the main thing is the NBA. That's how the NBA is. That's how, you know, if you watch every team play, they play like that.

Well, they'll spread the court and, you know, they'll get a high ball screen. And, you know, point guard will try to get downhill, you know, drive, draw, kick, that type of thing. You only have so many Golden State, you know, the Golden State's one team that just, they move the ball, they pass the ball tremendously. I think they heat too. I think Miami did, you know, a couple years ago. I think the spurs have always done it. I think you can still do it. And I think in many cases, teams that do it well and do it a lot actually overachieve sometimes, you know, based on their talent.

But, you know, this is like the conversation that a lot of old guys have now. It's like you're spreading the floor and somebody's going to go one-on-one and somebody's going to shoot a three. I have no problem with the amount of three-point shooting. I just like, I like when teams offensively, Kevin, make you work. defensively. Because I think if you make teams work defensively, then it'll pay off for you on your defensive end because they won't be as fresh. And I think that's one of the reasons Golden State, you know, was always a very highly ranked defensive team, you know, during some of those years. You had to work so hard on the defensive end to guard them that you didn't have much, you know,

much left when you got the ball back. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You're absolutely right. It's frustrating watching sometimes because, you know, we're under the, you know, the way we were brought up. You know, you move the ball, you move the ball, you get the best shot. You know, you pass the ball inside, you kick it back out. You know, they don't do that anymore. So it's all about skill set now where guys are just trying to take their man one-on-one, trying to create the best opportunity for themselves. And then sometimes when they don't, they bail themselves out by passing the ball.

And then you've got a guy who's got three seconds up from the shot clock who's shooting a contested jumper. You know what I mean? So that's really kind of how the game is. is unfortunately, but, you know, I mean, it's, it's entertaining because you get a chance to see a lot of guys in their skill set and, you know, how they play. But, you know, I think for, you know, guys like myself and yourself, I think we prefer the passing, the passing game, moving, cutting those type of things. It just doesn't happen, especially moving off the ball, you know, it just doesn't happen. All right. Let's talk some college hoops because Maryland's season actually

opens up in six nights at home against Quinnipeak. at home. And I know you follow this, and this is really probably, you know, the thing that right now in my life probably I've got the most passion for other than my family is Maryland basketball. It sucks that Aaron Wiggins didn't come back because I think you would have had a top five team this year in a legitimate final four contender. Mark went out and got all these transfers. what do you make of the team and how they're going to do this year in the Big Ten and beyond? I think they'll be okay. I think they've got a really deep team.

I love the fast russle transfer. I mean, I think with the point guard situation last year, you know, we were struggling a little bit there. You know, Eric Ayala did a great job. He did the best he could at the point guard position. But he needs to be playing off the ball. You know, and I think, you know, you bring a guy in like Fats Russell who was really, really very productive at Rhode Island. And now you bring him in, and then you have, you know, you have guys like Ayala and Dante Scott and that came hard. And then you get Wahat from Georgetown.

Now, all of a sudden, you have a, you know, you have a legitimate team. You have a deep team. You have a big team. You know, Dante Scott doesn't have to play inside as much. Now it can kind of be your pick and pop four man. He can shoot the ball extremely well. He brings a toughness, but he can play more along with his position is. And they're deep.

I like Smith. Last year he did a really good job of coming off the bench. I thought he did a really rebounding, bringing some toughness. They are going to miss Morsell, unfortunately. I love Morsel. I thought he was a really, really tough kid, played really good defense with defensive player the year. So I thought he did a good job. They're going to miss that.

and obviously they're going to miss Wiggins. But the Big Ten is loaded this year. I mean, they've got five teams that are going to be in the top 25. Michigan's really good. Illinois is really good, Purdue, good, Ohio State. You know, those are teams that are in the top 25 along with us. So, and then you've got Indiana and Michigan State knocking on the door. So it's going to be tough.

It's going to be one of those grinded out years. You're 54, 52 games and things like that. So if we can get this game. That was funny because, you know, that's been sort of. of the complaint is, you know, you played for a coach that wanted to, you know, wanted to get to 80, 85, 90. And Mark is more of a, you know, micromanager of possession by possession. And by the way, the league is that way in many ways. I mean, Michigan State doesn't play that way. But the league is a, is a grinded out league, which actually, I think in many ways fits Mark's coaching style,

even more so than the ACC did. But that's another, you know, big picture of conversation. On Morsell, I'm with you on Morsell. And I think, my sense of it is, is that while there's disappointment that he's gone, there isn't fear that he's gone. Like they, you know, he was limited offensively. We understand that. My thing is he was your toughness. He was your leader. He was the defensive Big Ten player of the year.

it's an old league because players got that extra year. I mean, I think I was basically got, you know, two or three guys coming back for year six. I think the average age of the Wisconsin team is going to be like 27 years old this year. I mean, that's an exaggeration. But, you know, I'm really going to, look, I think Wiggins made a mistake personally. I mean, he's on a roster, you know, in Oklahoma City. But I think he actually could have really raised his profile and been a first round

pick next year. He got a two-way deal and good for him. I'm glad he did. It would have been really sad had he not gotten drafted and gotten that opportunity. But man, am I going to miss more so? They had a toughness with him, Kevin, over the last couple of years that I think they're going to miss. Maybe there's another player that we don't know about that steps up and provides that. I've heard different things about a couple of the guys, but yeah, I think they're going to miss more sell. I think I believe, and it sounds like you believe, they're going to miss more sell than maybe they believe. Oh, absolutely. I think, I mean, you just have to have a kid like Morsell on your team. You know, I mean, he doesn't have for a lot of touches. You don't have

to give him the ball as much. He's going to go get his points on either off, you know, offensively. You know, he's going to run the floor offensively. So you don't really need to get him involved offensively. But defensively, I mean, he was a problem. He's strong. You know, He's quick, he's athletic, and those are the guys that you don't like to go up against when you're facing someone like him. So they're definitely going to miss that. I think if they had had him back, you know, Wiggins was, you know, that's a piece that I think could have gotten him to the top five. But more sell, I think if he comes back, I think they're top ten, you know, and, you know, especially with this team, I think he definitely would have made a mark, you know, defensively, and then, you know, as well as in transition.

but they're going to miss them a lot. I think people don't realize how much they're going to miss them. But like I said, they've got a good team. You know, I think this is a big year for coach. I think, you know, he's got the talent. It's just a matter of now and just making sure that, you know, we can get to march and be ascending and, you know, looking to compete for a conference championship

and then hopefully for a national championship. So, you know, we'll see how that works out. But I like their team. I think they've got a chance to be really good. what was it like playing on gary's first teams at maryland with Walt williams staying and Walt williams having some of those prolific scoring seasons in the acc and yet you know there was nothing you guys could do about it when you got to the end of the season what was it what were those years like as a player it was tough but i wouldn't trade it for anything in the world because

it taught us character um you know when my sophomore my sophomore my sophomore year, we weren't even on TV. Right. We weren't on live TV. You know, our games came on at midnight. You know, we couldn't play in the ACC tournament. We couldn't play in the NCAA tournament. And, you know, you started to question, you know,

did I make the right decision? But, you know, when you're around, you know, your teammates and a coach like Gary Williams, he always made you find the silver lining and try to find out, you know, this is why we're playing. We're here. We have nothing to do with that stuff. We just go play basketball.

and, you know, his toughness and his energy and his attitude really reflected our team. You know, we weren't overly talented because we lost a lot of scholarships and things of that nature. But, you know, when Walt stayed, you know, it made it okay for people to like Maryland basketball. It made it okay for people to come to Maryland. And I think his presence and his impact was far removed from our teams, it was just kids that were from the area that wanted to come and be a part of Maryland because of Walt Williams. And playing with him was, it was just amazing.

Like I always said, I had the best seat in the country watching him play every single night, especially when he went on that streak when he had seven straight, 30-point games. Nobody's done that. I mean, that's just incredible. And everybody knew he was getting the ball, and they still couldn't stop him. But it was just a great time. We had some really good players, and we were just in the ACC at that time was just a beast. It was just amazing, the teams that were, we were competing against every night.

I think my freshman through my senior year, there was an ACC team in the national championship every year. Duke three times and then Carolina. So that just goes to show you how powerful the ACC was back in those days. Well, you know, it's one of, as an alum and as a fan, it's one of the regrets about the Duke Maryland rivalry that really developed over the years is that Duke's great. team with Leitner and Hurley and Hill and Thomas Hill and Brian Davis and all those guys, parks, all those guys. You guys played them, but you weren't, you know, you weren't eligible for the postseason. The year that you talked about not being on TV, correct me if I'm wrong, you guys didn't even get to participate in the ACC tournament that year. But you got to play,

you know, debatably some of the greatest college basketball teams in the history of the sport, those Leitner, you know, Hill Hurley teams. And there's one game in particular that I remember, and I remember you had a great game. And I was, before I got you on the phone, I was looking to try to see if I could find the box score of this game. And I can't find it anywhere. But the game that you guys played, and I think it was, it was on television. So it was the year after the no ACC, no television year. I don't know if it was your senior year or junior year, but the game that you guys played at Cameron Indoor, when Duke was number one in the course. country and you had a great game and you guys almost pulled off a massive upset and you were you guys

were a good team that year you you had beaten some people you know you had tested some people but do you remember you remember the game i'm talking about absolutely it um yeah it was we i don't know what we were i think we were 25 26 point underdogs and we went down there and we always played Duke tough and you know nobody gave it the chance to win but we lost by two and Walt fouled out I think with four minutes left in the game

and we were down 10 and we lost 91 89 and you know I did I had probably the best game of my career at 25 points 11 assists something like that and we almost had them and we had a chance we had the ball you know we had the ball

with the chance to win and we turned it over at the end so and they ended up winning national championship that year. So, you know, we got, and then we lost to them in the ACC tournament by six. Yeah, it was a close game in that game too. Yeah. Yeah, that was your best game. That was an over, was it overtime or double overtime or it was overtime?

No. No, no, no. We lost some of the regulation. Okay. 9189. 91-89. Yeah, I knew it was high scoring. That, yeah, those teams, man.

And then, you know, you, you were. around for, you know, the first recruiting class, the first off-probation, you know, recruiting class that included, you know, Johnny Rhodes and Dwayne Simpkins and X-Rehip and the other kid. God, why am I blank? Mario Lucas. Well, Mario Lucas. But there was another, there was another local kid. Mario was from Memphis, right?

Yeah, he was in Memphis. There was another local kid that ended up not playing, but was a big recruit. Anyway, I'm forgetting, but you were part of sort of the beginning of the transition, too, and it wasn't a good year their freshman years, but it was the year after you graduated. It was the year after you graduated that they went to the Sweet 16, right? Yeah, that was the year where Keith Booth and Joe Smith came in. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so, yeah, it was a transition.

You know, we had lost Walt my senior year, and, you know, I think it was, to be honest with you, Kevin, I think it was one of those things where, you know, we had a highly touted recruiting class come in, and we just didn't gel well. You know, the returning players and the freshman coming in, not to say we weren't really good friends. We were really good friends, and they were great, great players. It's just on the court, we just didn't gel well,

and that took us told us. We didn't have a good year that year. But then, you know, after we left and, you know, they became sophomores, You have Keith and you have Joe, and, you know, those guys were able to put it together and made a really good run. And, you know, it beat Georgetown that year. So, yeah, I mean, you know, Gary's done a great – Gary did a great job. I mean, what he had to go through, I know he didn't realize how significant those sanctions were.

You know, you're talking to him about it. I'm sure he'll tell you that he didn't expect that. But he got that program through the toughest times and, you know, eventually, you know, cap it off with the national championship. So, I mean, I don't think there's too many coaches that could have done what Gary Williams did. I mean, he's just a tremendous job that he did and that legacy that he left for us. Yeah, you know, Gary can get choked up when he talks about, you know, you guys and some of those players. But I'm telling you, when he talks about those years, the admiration that he had for you and Walt and Evers and all those guys that went through

with him those, you know, those years. And yet you guys were competitive, you know, you didn't suck. That, you know, the big recruiting class year was probably the worst of your four years there, record-wise. But, you know, I've had enough conversations with him over the years. I know a couple of the buttons that get him very emotional in talking about those teams always does it. You know, you've heard him say it many times. Like, you know, without Walt Williams staying and without, you guys playing the way you did and keeping your team competitive. It wouldn't have allowed him to recruit and it wouldn't have allowed him to turn it around. And, you know, that's, I mean, it's one of those things that I think always moves him when he talks about it.

Last thing, and I wanted to ask you about this, because I am old enough and so are you to remember your father as a player. So what do you remember about your father? Harold McQuinton, who was the starting middle linebacker for the George Allen Redskins in the 70s. What do you remember about those days? Because you had to be really young. Yeah, I was nine when my father passed. And, you know, I have vivid memories of some things. I remember RFK Stadium going to a couple games.

I remember some of his teammates that were really good friends of my father. Brigg Owens is my godfather, and to this day we speak, you know, quite a lot. You know, but it's, I just remember people being so appreciative of my dad and speaking so lovingly about him. And, you know, I've watched some of his tapes. You know, it's funny I say VHS tapes. But, you know, I've watched some of his games and, you know, but a lot of the things that I've remember are what, you know, just the type of person he was. You know, he would give the shirt off his back for anyone. He was a community guy. You know, he was, you know, he was always speaking at

banquets and, you know, the night he got hit, he was actually down at, you know, at a jail talking to inmates. And, you know, and then, you know, unfortunately coming back home, helped stopped off to help someone who was, you know, who was disabled on the side of the road and then got hit, you know, by a drunk driver. So, you know, that story and, you know, people still to this day come up to me and tell me how much they really appreciated my dad and what he meant to the community and, you know,

outside of just the football. He was a good football player. He played 10 years. He came from a small black college, Southern University. And so for him to be able to play 10 years, he was drafted by Vince Lombardi. So if he had a position like middle linebacker just showed how tough he was and how hard he played, but he kind of symbolized what those teams were back in the day. So that's what I remember.

And just people being so considerate and so, you know, just really appreciating who he was as a football player, but more importantly as a human being and as a man. You know, I'm reading, as you're talking, I'm listening to you, but I also pulled up your father's Wikipedia page, and he died on Halloween night, 1980, when he was struck by that drunk driver on Interstate 295. It's just amazing how much time, how time flies. And I'm curious as a father, like, was he, did you guys feel the pressure to play sports? He want you to play football. You said you didn't play until your senior year. You were an athlete.

You're a great basketball player. What were some of those, you know, influences he had on your sports, et cetera? Well, there was pressure because, you know, you're Harold McClend's son. Right. And, you know, and I know Darren felt it too where, you know, you feel like you have to, you have to perform. You have to do well if, you know, people are talking, you know, that's Harold McClinton's son. you know, you get to Springbrook and they know who you are and those type of things. So there's a little bit of pressure where you feel like you have to produce and you have to be,

you know, you have to be the best or what have you. But, you know, I had a really, really strong mom. And, you know, she always told us, you know, you can't be your dad. You just go out there and you guys do the best you can with what you have. And that's what we kind of took out of that. It's just, you know, focused on who we were, focusing on being Kevin McClinton and Darren McClinton as opposed to Harold McClinton's son. You know, we just felt like we had to fulfill what we could do as opposed to trying to live

up to what, you know, what our father did. But, you know, it was, you know, it took us a while to get through that. But once we were able to do that and kind of, you know, kind of carve our own way, I think we did pretty good. And, you know, so, you know, those were good times. Those were, those times also helped us in regards to who we are. are today, the men we are, and, you know, raising our families and things like that. It's just little small things we took from our dad to be able to, you know, transition into, you know, being,

you know, being fathers and carrying on his tradition. You know, you said that you said that you, you've got some tapes or VHS tapes of some of his games. I remember one, I remember several plays, or I remember your father, you know, as a kid watching the games, but there's one play I specifically remember and I'm wondering if this is a play that you have seen or if it even exists. But your father had an interception return. I think it was against the Packers at Lambo. And I don't know what year that would have been. It would have been sometime in the mid to late 70s.

But I just remember, you know, George Allen's teams were defensive teams. They played low scoring games. You know, your father was this was the starting middle linebacker, which meant, you know, he was the coach on the field. But I remember, maybe he had another one, but I do remember he had at least one pick six. I do remember that. The game that I remember the most,

and I'm sure you remember it, it was 1978, and they were playing the Cowboys on Monday night, and they won nine to five. Do you remember that game? I do, yeah. Mark Mosey kicked three field goals, and he had, I think, 12 tackles,

and he stopped. there was a goal line stand where he stopped Dorset twice. And Howard Cosell and, you know, I mean, they were just, they were just talking about how well he played. And, you know, Don Meredith was a big, you know, he was a cowboy. Right. And so, but he was in the stands and he was, you know, he was getting upset.

Why did he keep running to McClinton? Why did he keep running at McClinton? That's awesome. I remember that game vividly. I think he had like 12 or 13 tackles and they ended up winning that game 9-5. You know, so that was the game I remember the most out of all his games. But I do remember that. that Packers and reception for sure.

You know, the 9-to-5 game has a memorable play in it, which Joe Thysman made. Do you remember, do you know what I'm talking about? Is that when he ran out of bounds? Yeah, on the last... I ran through the end zone on the language for the safety. Exactly. On the last play of the game, they're up 9 to 3,

and to run out the clock, Thysman took the snap, ran backwards, and then put the ball up in the air and ran around the end zone. and basically taunted the Cowboys and then ran out of the end zone. And that was the fuel. I mean, the rivalry was crazy then. That was the fuel because later on that year on Thanksgiving Day, the Cowboys absolutely destroyed us. Destroyed us.

And they had talked about what Thaisman had done, you know, and that they were going to pay. And it was a blowout. And that game, that Monday night game that you're talking about, it was part of like, I think, a 6 and 0 or 7 and 0 start to that season. And then they didn't make the playoffs. They didn't make the playoffs. Yeah.

They didn't make the playoffs. Yeah. Well, you know, I'm sure everybody in your life, they're very proud of you and your brother and your family and your father obviously would have been as well. And, you know, I know you've heard this your whole life. But for people like us, you know, my memories and I think a lot of people in my age are, my memories are incredibly fond of your father and watching him play. Anyway, I enjoyed this. It's so good to catch up.

And let me just, you know, mention again, all-sportrainingcenter.com, Kevin McClinton, this is, you know, something he's involved in and phenomenal for kids. So go to all-sportrainingcenter.com. Call them at 703-942-8786. And are you, oh, by the way, Are you and your brother still doing the podcast or not? No, we stopped after the pandemic when the pandemic kept. It's funny because we were talking about the other day as far as getting another podcast.

So I think we're going to probably do another podcast and just talk about a lot of the stuff that's going on in sports. You know what I mean? We could talk about this Washington football team, the Wizards and Terps and all that stuff. So stay tuned. We'll probably put something together here in the near future. All right. This was a pleasure for me. It's really good to catch up.

Tell your brother, hello, please. We'll do. Thanks a lot, Kevin. Appreciate you. Kevin and his brother, Darren, great guys and have done a lot with young people in the community. It was good to catch up and have a conversation with Kevin, and I wish him the best with his business for sure. Anyway, up next, our trip down memory lane continues 30 years ago today. Washington was 8-0, and they were about to face 7-1 Houston.

We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. This trip down memory lane back to the 1991 season today is presented by my friends at MyBooky. Go to MyBooky.com or MyBooky.ag and use my promo code, Kevin D.C., and they will double your first deposit. They're giving away free money, guys. Even if you already have a place where you're wagering right now, take advantage of this offer. You deposit 500 bucks. They'll put 500 additional. dollars into your account to wager with. Deposit a thousand, you're going to end up with $2,000 to

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first deposit doubled, being able to get 250% bonuses on referrals. This is a great opportunity if you're into this. Go to MyBooky at mybooky.ag or MyBooky.com and use my promo code, Kevin, D.C. All right, we've been doing this every Wednesday, going back 30 years ago this week and 30 years ago today, November 3rd, 1991, Washington was an 8-0 football team welcoming in to RFK for a one o'clock kick, the seven and one Houston Oilers. Now, some context for this game was that Washington was coming off the week before, that very hyped, emotional win, comeback win over the Giants to snap that six-game losing skid against the Giants and really solidify that they were going to be the division

champs and the Giants were not. You know, the Giants were the defending champions, even though Ray Handley was coaching them for the first time. and Parcells and moved on. But that was still a big Walt for Washington to knock down. They hadn't beaten the Giants in three years, and they came from behind and beat him 17 to 13.

We did something on that game with Rip last week on Friday. If you missed Mark Rip, and he was on with us Friday, and we talked about that game specifically. And a week ago, Wednesday, I did something on that game as well. It was one of the most hyped regular season games of that era in the NFL. Washington Giants' premier rivalry in the league. It was a bigger rivalry in that moment than Washington. Dallas was.

Jimmy really hadn't gotten it going yet. Jimmy would get it going in 91. They were a playoff team that year. But Washington was the juggernaut. And the Giants had been the year before beating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game and then winning in Tampa against the bills when Scott Norwood missed that field goal. Anyway, after that big win, they came home. and it was a letdown spot for them.

But the problem is they were playing a 7-1 Houston Oilers team. You know, a 7-1 Houston Oilers team that had Jack Pardee coaching it. Jack Pardee who coached Washington's team after George Allen left. I mean, the games that Kevin and I were talking about, that specific game that he remembers the 9-5 Monday night game at RFK where his dad led them. and tackles, that was Jack Pardee's first year in Washington. And they didn't make the playoffs that year.

And then 1979 was, you know, one of the more devastating losses in franchise history when they lost to the Cowboys on the final game of the year. And they went from being the number one seed with home field advantage in the NFC playoffs throughout and a potential Super Bowl run to no playoffs at all. And really, when you look back on it, as devastating a defeat as that was, and it's probably for me as a DC sports fan, one of the most devastated games I've ever felt, you know, as a young person to see them go down and see the season end so abruptly when they had a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter. It changed the fortune of the franchise because if they win that

game and they have some playoff success, Jack Pardee doesn't get fired the next year. First of all, Riggins comes back and plays the next year. Remember, Riggins was so devastated by the loss He took 1980 off. And Jack Pardee and that team went six and ten. He got fired, and Bobby Bethard hired Joe Gibbs. And that launched the most successful run in franchise history. If Pardee, who was the coach of the Oilers 30 years ago today in RFK Stadium, if he had coached Washington to a division title in 79,

if they hold on to that lead and maybe they win a playoff game or two, or maybe they go to the Super Bowl and face the Steelers. The Steelers faced the Rams that year. The Vince Farragamo led Rams in that Super Bowl. It was the fourth of the four 1970s Super Bowls for Pittsburgh. He was played in January of 1980, but it was the 1979 season. But if party, you know, hangs on and they hang on and win that game, we probably never get Joe Gibbs.

Anyway, Pardee and the Oilers were rolling. They were 7 and 1 when they came in and faced Washington in that 91 season. But Washington was in letdown mode. And Richard Justice, who wrote for the Washington Post and covered those Washington teams, wrote the following about that game the day after. He wrote, The Washington Redskins knew this kind of game awaited them at some point. A day of stumbles and bumbles and.

injuries, a day when they seemed emotionally drained and finally overcome by the odds of a 16-game season. A week after defeating the New York Giants, they ran up a laundry list of mistakes, including four turnovers and eight penalties and were pushed to the edge before defeating the Houston Oilers in overtime, 16 to 13 before 55,096 at RFK Stadium. So it was an ugly day. game. It was a game that was defensive in nature. The kicker for the Houston Oilers was a gentleman by the name of Ian Howfield. He was not a good kicker for Houston that particular year. In fact, in 1991, which was his one season in the NFL, coming into the Washington game, which would be, by the way, the final game of his NFL career. He had to be, he had to be, he had. He had to be, he,

missed three field goals in their last three games, and it missed three extra points as well, and that's back when it was a 20-yard extra point. So Ian Halfield, the kicker for the Oilers that year, who again only played in one season, and his final game of his NFL career was 30 years ago at RFK, he had a chance at the end of regulation in a 1313 game to win it. for the Oilers. This is what it sounded like with Marv Albert and Paul McGuire on the call. Four seconds remaining in regulation. Just when Washington tied at 13. Perhaps the Houston Euler career of Ian Helfield on the line from 33 yards away. And it is, he just hooks this ball. Watch this. He pulls it all the way out. And he pulls it all the way out.

He's not missing by a little. He missed it by a lot. He missed it badly. And RFK, you could hear it, man. Can't you just raucous as the game went to overtime? In overtime, Warren Moon threw an interception that Daryl Green caught and picked Warren Moon off. These were the Warren Moon, Lorenzo White, Ernest Givens, Houston Oilers teams. They were explosive.

They were good teams. They were scoring a lot of points that year. They would go on to have an 11-5 season, win a playoff game in the wild card round, and then lose to Elway in a comeback at mile high later on that year. But it was Lorenzo White and Alan Pinkett and Haywood Jeffries and Ernest Givens. Well, Warren Moon threw a pick in overtime. Washington had field position, and they set it up for their kicker, Chip Lomiller, to win.

here's what that sounded like. This has been a great football game. It really has been. Everything that you want to happen and a ball game happens if you want defense and love it. This was it. And the Redskins seeking to make it 9 and 0. There they come.

Looking for 10 straight here at RFK from 41 yards away. And there they were. 9 and 0 on the year. And now people were really. starting to talk about, you know, a potential perfect season. They had survived a letdown game, an opportunity for Houston, who was a really good team, to come in and beat them. They had them really where they wanted them. Washington became just the 12th NFL team since World War II at that time to go 9-0 to start the season, and they were drained. Gibbs said after the game, quote,

these two teams are awfully close. I'm drained after last week, and now this, we overcame a lot of adversity out there, losing our two tackles and all. It was a wild day, closed quote. Other quotes from that game, Jack Pardee, the head coach, who was back in RFK for the first time coaching

since he had been fired, said, quote, we're very disappointed. I'm real proud of this team. We had a great performance. We showed poison maturity. We had chances. We just didn't end up on top. I thought our kicking game had been superior all day,

but it's unfortunate that the game often comes down to kicking, which it did. Mark Rippin after the game had this to say. The quote from RIP was, quote, it's a win, but not a real pretty one. I'm not tickled to death about it. You could feel we weren't in sync for a lot of the day. We got out of here with a win,

and you go home feeling a lot better than it. if you had lost it, closed quote. Well, they weren't in sync that day, but they were 9-0, and the next week, Atlanta came to town for a regular season matchup. It would be the first of two matchups with the Falcons that year, and Washington not only got in sync the next week, they had a record offensive day. That will be next week's look back on the 1991 season

when we get to it next Wednesday. All right, that's it for the day, I guess. Back tomorrow with Tommy.