Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We’re baaaaaaaaack!!!! Because of the holidays, we Playing the Field Girls (and contributing writer Malk G) took a little break. But now we’re back, and recharged like the Energizer bunny! And as for the holidays, overall they were very good to us in the arena of sports. Here’s a looksee into why:

We’re in the Playoffs!
No really, we’re serious. The Redskins started the season 3-0, then slid to a dismal 5-6, then rallied to end the season 10-6, 5-1 in the NFC East, and a Wild Card playoff spot that put us in the postseason for the first time in 6 years. Amid the wins were a thrashing of Cowboys, redemption from the shut-out loss to the Giants, and another hard-fought win against the Eagles. We’re elated, but not quite sure what to do now. The last time we were good, we rushed to the Best Buy after a high school AP exam to score the latest Backstreet Boys CD!

In a re-match of sorts, we face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that beat us earlier this season in a last-minute, heartbreaking fashion. We still question Mike Alstott’s two-point conversion that gave Tampa Bay the one-point victory. The Bucs are also the team that put us out of the playoffs way back in ’99. This is our chance for redeem ourselves from both losses. We’ll be cheering our hearts out this weekend, with Andrea’s lucky Redskins cap on!

Wizards Cast a Spell over the Los Angeles Lakers
We, along with Malk G, made a sojourn of sorts to the MCI Center for this matchup. A few weeks back, Fenella witnessed the Lakers hold off the Wizz at the Staples Center, one of four Wizards fans in a sea of purple and yellow. This time around…we were still surrounded by an uncommon amount of purple and yellow at the MCI Center. Except this time, the Wizz held off the Lakers to beat them, 94-91. Hoooray!

Highlights from the game:
-a FREE G Wizz Build-a-Bear (and he DOES have a Gilbert nose!)
-G Wizz’s fly dance moves
- Piña Coladas (which made Fenella fall asleep during half-time)
-Very over-priced, but yummy concessions
-Washington fans booing Kwame “Manchild” Brown every time he touched the ball. And people say Washington fans are TAME!
-Oh, and did we mention we WON?!!!

Pics from the game, comments provided by the very awesome Malk G. Ladies -- love him!

With the game out of reach, Fenella -- in all her clandestineglory -- wipes a giant green booger on the right shoulder of a Lakersfan. As the ball crosses mid court, Ruffin begins to position himselffor a rebound. An intoxicated Andrea passes along pina colada from her teet toanxious, infantile stuffed G-Wizzes.
We're Cuter than You.

Back-to-Back Wins for Texas; Not Everything’s Coming Up Roses for USC
So. Does anybody else think that USC was paid off to lose the Rose Bowl? Because that wasn’t the team we saw beat the crap out of every other team for the last 3 years. Reggie Bush was nowhere to be found, unless he was wearing the number 21 jersey. Way to go, LenDale, for showing up to the game and PLAYING. Matt Leinart looked hungover for most of the game. Perhaps he took one of those RU21 pills at halftime to recover, because he looked significantly better in the second half. He shoulda shared it with his teammates. In fact, the whole team looked like they were recovering from a hangover from celebrating a little bit too early.

Give props to the Longhorns, though. Those boys came to play, and smartly held off the alcohol until AFTER the game. Texas did nothing but expose what WEAK tacklers USC’s defense has. Seriously, you’re gonna let an Asian guy named Ryan Ting rush Vince Young and try to TACKLE him? That’ll work out. (Don’t get us wrong, we love our Asians! Ryan’s twin brother Brandon also plays for SC. Did you not hear us? They’re TWINS!!). Southern Cal let Vince just stroll into the endzone in the final seconds. He walked in there like it was nothing. USC’s secondary was never good in the first place, but geeze, they just sat back and watched the receivers catch virtually every pass that Young, who had all the time in the world from NO PASS RUSH, threw. Granted, there were some calls that didn’t go USC’s way (Vince Young’s lateral when he was down for a touchdown, a fumble that wasn’t called a fumble), but in the end, the Trojans didn’t handle it like they should’ve, and thus, drove Fenella into depression and the drink.

At the Rose Bowl, defense DEFINITELY wins championships. So a begrudging Congrats to UT.

In the other BCS Bowl Games, West Virginia held off a late comeback from Georgia to win the Sugar Bowl; Notre Dame went down fighting against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and Grandpa Joe Paterno can retire, nay, can pass away peacefully, after a long, long, long, long triple overtime win over FSU in the Orange Bowl. Note to FSU & Penn State coaches next season: teach your field goal kickers HOW TO KICK A FIELD GOAL.

Overall, it was an exciting season of college football, right down ‘til the (very painful) end. Now it’s on to college BBall. Farewell BCS…’til next season!