Redskins Owner Gives Rare Interview To WSJ

Shirley S. Wang, of the Wall Street Journal had a very rare interview with Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins. Snyder BASHES the Washington Post. The Redskins have been publicly at war with the Washington Post over the last few years...and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. Media is very competitive and both the Redskins and the Post are in it together. While the fight is entertaining to watch, it is annoying at the same time. The fans are the ones that get screwed in this situation. Oh....and vacationing with Jerry Jones? What?

Here are some of the excerpts:

WSJ: In June you bought a radio station, WTEM, which is a very popular local sports station. There's some concern among fans that it might become a propaganda tool for the Redskins. What do you say to that?

Mr. Snyder: It's actually just the Washington Post. We have a problem in this marketplace with our local newspaper. There's a monopoly. I have no problems saying that. They have been losing circulation by the droves, losing advertising by the pound load and they are desperate to create controversy. They had a Washington Post radio business at the time -- it's since gone out of business -- that was a competitor. We did write them a letter saying obviously you're a competitor, so don't use your newspaper to affect the business. Other than them, you won't find any of that type of talk.

WSJ: Are you saying there's a not a reason for concern?

Mr. Snyder: No, I think we're careful to ensure that content remains content. Eighty percent of the local talent -- on-air talent -- I don't even know, never even met. So they're doing their thing. They can say whatever they want. If we're winning, they're going to say good things and if we're losing, they're going to say bad things. That's life.

WSJ: How would you characterize your style of ownership?

Mr. Snyder: I'm a passionate owner who wants to win on the field and off the field. I also think [the fans have] seen me grow as an owner. When I bought the club, I was 34 years old. I was much more naive and probably immature than I am today. Since then I've had cancer, my wife's had cancer, I've lost my father. I think I'm probably a lot more patient than I was when I first got here.

WSJ: Some people have described that as more micromanaging.

Mr. Snyder: I'm not in any of the coaching meetings. I never have been. I don't watch film with the coaches. I let the scouts scout and the coaches coach. What I try to do is help get the deals on the business side done. After the scouts and coaches come up with the grades, for example, on free agency, I'm the one that's eager to go sign the player and negotiate the contracts with their agents. When it comes to, 'OK, this is the player we really would like to have,' then I'm going to help with the help of the salary-cap people to make that work.

WSJ: Are you still in touch with Coach Gibbs?

Mr. Snyder: I talk to him probably every three or four days. We're good friends. He's very respectful of Jim Zorn being the [new] head coach.

WSJ: Gibbs's tenure wasn't the same is it was the first time around when he led the team to the Super Bowl. What do you make of that? Did his time pass?

Mr. Snyder: No, I think if you look in the last three years we made the playoffs twice. We got close. We should have beaten Seattle two of those years and I think we would have had a lot of fun playing Dallas. But I think we just didn't finish. We got close but didn't finish. It's a shame that Joe felt that at 67 he needed to retire again. He just felt that he couldn't give it everything, the commitment.

WSJ: Are there owners you admire?

Mr. Snyder: I admire Pat Bowlen [of the Denver Broncos]. He has a tremendous desire to win. And in the offseason, I get along great with Jerry Jones [of the Dallas Cowboys]. We have a lot of fun times together with our wives. We vacation together. But during the season, we are definitely enemies.

Full WSJ article link here

Joe Bugel's Daughter Passed Away

According to the Washington Post and Redskins Blog - Washington Redskins assistant coach Joe Bugel's daughter, Holly, has passed away from osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer. She has fought this since December 2007.

The Washington Times did a story on the Bugel family back in January.

Another good story from Mike Wise was written in July. It gave you a glimpse into the Bugel family and the strength Holly and the family have. Just about everyone (including me) has been affected by cancer somehow. Just earlier today Gene Upshaw passed away suddenly from cancer. It really is a devastating disease that affects so many people.

Thoughts and prayers with the Bugel and Upshaw family.

UPDATE: The videos on Redskins.com show some pretty sad football players.

From Washington Post, Joe Gibbs on Holly Bugel:
"Obviously, our heart goes out to coach Bugel, Brenda and the Bugel family," Gibbs said in a phone interview between meetings at Joe Gibbs Racing in Huntersville, N.C. "I left voicemails for Joe and Brenda and I talked to Brenda personally. I told her I was praying for her and praying for their family. Everybody is so close.

At this time of the year, coach Bugel is probably spending more time with the football team than he does with his own family, and so it's like family, you have two families.

"What happens is, when you have a loss and somebody grieves, it has a big effect on everybody. It is a grieving process. But the thing that you have there is that you get real comfort from all that are around you who care about you."

Jim Zorn:
"Win or lose it'll be somber after that football game, but also they will take pride in doing a good job without Joe there, and if he does happen to come back, they'll work hard for him as well. It's just very, very difficult, but I think his wife and Holly his daughter, bless her heart, I think they both realize this is his passion, and they've figured this out. ... It was surprising that he would come out and be on the football field, but the way he explained it was this was where he needed to be in order to lose himself a little bit in the familiar surroundings. I think that was one of the things that he touched on when he came out here. These were very family surroundings to him and this is where he felt most comfortable."

"We try to do what it is that he'd want us to do, which is prepare and play. I don't think there's anything you can say to anybody to make the loss of a child any easier. They've known she's been sick for some time, but my guess is that you can think you're prepared mentally for something like this to happen, and then find out you're totally not. My heart breaks for him, It's got to be the most unnatural thing in the world to bury your child. You just wish him peace of mind and that he gets together with his family and that their hearts heal quickly, because there's really nothing else you can do."

Casey Rabach:
"Whether it Sean's murder last year, or Vernon Fox losing a dear friend early in camp and now Coach Buges losing a daughter, this is not just a football team, this is a family. When one's person heart is hurting is affect everybody on this team, especially with us offensive linemen having such a close relationship with Buges."