I was among the thousands of people last weekend who let out a collective gasp when Ladanian Tomlinson was taken out of the game against the Oakland Raiders and left early to go to the locker room before halftime.  Visions of my season going abruptly downhill were swimming through my head. 

No, I'm not one of the Charger faithful still hoping for a shot at the playoffs.  I'm one of the thousands out there who have built my fantasy team around the massive number of points Tomlinson puts up every week (And by the way, any time an announcer mentions LT, I still have to remind myself they are not talking about Lawrence Taylor.  Can we please find another nickname for Tomlinson?  There can only be one LT and he is an insane maniac).  I'm sure, like me, thousands of other people were envisioning their teams self-imploding in a Tomlinson-less world.  The guy averages about 25 points a week for me.  I mean, in week three, he single-handedly outscored my opponent!  He's the main reason I lead my league in points and am in cruise control headed into the league playoffs this week (much to the chagrin of my husband and his eight buddies who begrudgingly let me in their league this year).  And god knows I need him since my quarterbacks are disappearing faster than illicit substances at Michael Irvin's house. 

I was not surprised to read yesterday that the Raiders were taking a few extra knuckle jabs in Tomlinson's ribs.  They are the Raiders after all.  But please NFLers, realize you are not just messing with San Diego's season when you intentionally try to sideline Tomlinson.  You are messing with thousands of angry fantasy players' seasons.  I think I speak for all of the them when I say, PLEASE DON"T HURT HIM! 

Every extraordinary young athlete in every major professional sport at some point in his rookie season gets subjected to the "Jordan" test - could he some day, possibly, just maybe develop into the greatest player to ever grace his sport?  The test usually involves evaluating the athlete's scoring capabilities and overall athletic ability, specifically the ability to make moves on the playing field that defy the laws of space, time and gravity, as well as his manhood, I mean courage to attempt those ridiculously over the top plays. 

At this point in the NHL season, Caps phenom Alexander Ovechkin definitely qualifies for the Jordan test.  Scoring ability? Check. His 17 goals thus far this season more than qualify.  Playmaking ability?  Check?  His 13 assists demonstrate that he also knows how to distribute the puck.  Ability to make 15,000 people say "Holy Sh#@!  Did you just see that?!?!?!?"  Check.  The guy makes the highlight reel every night.  Unfortunately, he's the only Cap who does.

But the number one thing that puts Ovechkin clearly on the Jordan watch list - the guy cannot keep his tongue in his mouth.  On every scoring opportunity, every hit, that thing is hanging out there.  Apparently it's not just limited to hockey.  He even bowls with his tongue hanging out, as evidenced at Monday night's Caps charity bowling tournament.  Not since MJ have I seen an athlete with such an inability to keep his mouth closed.  Is the tongue the secret to greatness?  Think about it.

The Nationals arrived in D.C. last year with all of the hoopla befitting a conquering hero returning from war.  The city and its baseball-starved fans practically threw Major League Baseball a ticker-tape parade, promised to build a shiny new riverfront stadium and promptly bought the trailer serving as a temporary team store out of merchandise.

But before MLB officials could start counting their cash, the D.C. City Council had to get involved.  Soon after MLB announced the team's relocation deal, the Council was trying to backpedal on its promises.  Choruses of "Why put the stadium there?" and "What's wrong with the old RFK site?" were reaching a frenzy.  Demonstrating amazing patience and fortitude, Mayor Anthony Williams stuck to his guns, the Council agreed to the plan originally proposed - to requisition a large tract of land in an old industrial corner of Southwest - and all seemed right last Christmas.  D.C. fans celebrated the by buying more caps and t-shirts and flags and MLB set a timeline for naming a new owner.

Fast forward to this Christmas and I've got a wicked case of d