chriscooley - Yardbarker Blogs

More Pottery

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:42:00 -0500

I thought I was spending a lot of time making pots before I broke my ankle. Now, it is consuming me. All for a good cause though. Remember that we are hosting the art show on November 13. Get your tickets if you haven't already HERE

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcwashington.com/video.

FP: How To Fill The Time Part 2

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:22:00 -0500

I think the operation went quite well Mr. Cooley

I’d like to wish Chris a smooth and fast recovery over the next few weeks. Judging from the video, he's got a lot of free time on his hands so I compiled a list of things he can do to keep himself busy. I personally will be busy getting a massage, eating sushi at Nobu and playing 3 card poker at the Atlantis in the Bahamas. Oh well, that’s not as fun as some of the things on this list. We’d love to hear your ideas for how to keep Chris busy over the next 4 weeks…leave your suggestions in the comments section (and we are well aware that concentrating on football and getting healthy are a couple of things to do, but this is supposed to be fun…so have fun.)

10) Become the Redskins “extra, extra set of eyes.”

9) Dye the carpet to match the blinds.

8) Play “You're it, quitsies!” with Tanner for hours on end.

7) Catch up on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

6) Develop a drinking problem.

5) Replay 87 Super Bowl (Skins 42 Broncos 10) over & over on Madden. Maybe the
Broncos will win one.

4) Re-create classic Beavis & Butthead scenes with fellow couch potato Colt Brennan.

3) Sing Air Supply and Supertramp songs karaoke style with Yodes (good luck getting Goodbye Stranger out of your heads for the rest of the day...haha.)

2) Remind Nurse Christy after daily sponge bath that the doctor said beer and whiskey are the best medicine for a broken ankle.

1) Blog!

Thanks to Porkboy for his input on the list.

Cheers and Hail

How to Fill the Time

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:50:00 -0500

And I really want to say thanks to Z for coming. It was fun to have him there and great to know that he cares.

TC: Surgery Day

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:48:00 -0500

Surgery day started today at 4:00 am. The long rainy drive to Mercy Medical center in Baltimore was a somber one. Prior to EITM, we were forced to surf the channels while listening to the sound of rain hitting the windshield. The trip seemed endless.

Once we finally arrived at the hospital, Chris was immediately whisked away in a wheelchair so he could strip out of his street clothes and into a hospital gown. While Christy and I waited, we ran into a familiar face in the lobby. Coach Zorn, dressed in a sports jacket and sneakers, kindly greeted us and asked how Chris was feeling going into all of this. We told him he was nervous for his first surgery and chatted for a few minutes until we got the okay to go into his room. As soon as we did, Dr. Myerson grabbed Z to get him into his scrubs and ready to watch.

As the two left the room, the nurse came to prep Chris for the trip under. Sans one snag in preparation, which was between the nurse's lab coat and Chris's broken foot, the prep was flawless. As the IV began dripping, Z and Dr. Myerson came back into the room and the doc explained to all of us what would happen while Chris was under.

The explanation was that Chris would need 5 tiny punctures in the ankle to place the three hollow screws through his fractured tibia. Two on the outside of the foot to anchor the clamp that would compress the fracture and the other three on the inside for the screws. Then he said the entire thing would last anywhere between 30-60 minutes and that was that. As we watched them wheel Chris through the mechanical double doors I had full confidence that he was in great hands.

Before heading to the cafeteria for some breakfast, Christy gave the nurse her cell phone number so they could call us when he was all done. Waiting for things like this is always the worst. You never know when you will hit the threshold between nervous worry, and complete boredom. Fortunately as soon as we were about to hit the point, the phone rang.

We hurried back downstairs and met up with the doctor, and Zorn. Chris was still trying to wake up. Dr. Myerson gave us the good news that the surgery went exactly as planned and that Chris would be just fine. He showed us the x-ray and again explained what he had done.After that the the nurse took us back to see him while they were trying to wake him up. And this is what we saw...The best part of being around someone waking up from surgery is that you get to hear the greatest unfiltered thoughts of said person. I can't say everything that was said, but I can say the best thing. Chris told the snag nurse that he would never forgive her for what she did, she asked what she could do to make up for it.

"I wanna hold you down and twist your ankle!"

I will never know if it is good or bad to have absolutely no barriers between what is thought and what is said but it did made for an amazing 20 minutes. After which, Chris became more alert and Christy helped him get dressed.

Two of us left the hospital exactly as we came with a slightly goofier Chris. As soon as we got to the car he couldn't wait to tell someone. So he did. And if you want, you can listen to that conversation HERE it is a classic.

TC: Injury Report

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:41:00 -0500

After a very long night and day for Chris that was filled with pain, doctor visits, and x-rays, the medical staff has decided the best option for Chris to have a speedy recovery is to place a few pins in his fractured ankle. This was information that I learned after receiving a call from Chris as he was leaving the doctor. Figuring that there were few other people that were privy to this information, I told Chris he should tweet the news. Before we hung up the phone, I was already getting texts from the local media asking me about the news coming from twitter. I thought, "Wow, that was quick." Oddly enough however, it wasn't Chris that put out the news, it was Adam Schefter! Bringing me to my main question: How do you get scooped on your own injury report?

All kidding aside, Chris is ready to get this thing taken care of. In his six years in the NFL he has never missed a game and has only missed two practices due to injury. A pretty impressive resume if you ask me. Injuries are ****** in general and this one, though it is minor, is no exception.

I will try and update the blog tomorrow informing you all of Chris's progress. Thanks to those who have already sent warm wishes and those who will do so in the future. It means the world to Chris to know he has the fan's support.

E:60

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:34:00 -0500

Interviewing the Caps

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:50:00 -0500

SportsBog: Green and Backstrom Interview Skins

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:18:00 -0500

Following the video one of our favorite sports writers, Dan Steinberg, was kind enough to share his write up with us. Thanks Dan.

"Wins are wins, man," Shaun Suisham told Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom after he had helped punt and kick the Redskins to that 16-13 home victory. "It's exciting. Different from you guys, we only play once a week, we only play 16 games. So every win is crucial. So it sure isn't pretty, but man, it's a win."

Green and Backstrom were in the Redskins' locker room as media members for Chris Cooley's blog, so they continued to ask questions of Suisham, a Canadian and hockey fan.

"What was your technique tonight with the kicks?" Green asked. "I mean, you were on tonight."

"With the punting?" Suisham replied. "You know, Hunter [Smith] just couldn't go. When you get out there and play someone else's position--like if you had to play goalie or something--it gives you a lot more respect for what they do, when you have to go out on the field and do it."

(Could Green play goalie? "No," he said, "no no no. To play another position? Night and day.")

(As for Alex Ovechkin, I didn't see or talk to him, but apparently he was kicking field goals before the game. Read more on The Skins Blog.)

The hockey-playing duo eventually moved on to different players; I asked Green what the key question of the afternoon should be.
"if I could ask one question?" he repeated. "What are you guys doing tonight, and can I come? That's basically it."

They moved on to Clinton Portis, which was a pretty big get.

"I just wanted to ask you, how did it feel after this win?" Backstrom asked.

"It felt great, especially seeing the team overcome all the turnovers," Portis said. "You know, we continued to fight. I think we fought as a team."

"How about the future?" Backstrom continued. "How do you feel about the future?"

"I think we feel good man," Portis said. "We've got to take it one game at a time. You know, the biggest thing that happened today was for Jason to see that despite what he do, everybody got his back. We continued to fight with him and he can go out and lead this team. Instead of being down if something go wrong...I think he seen today, four turnovers, nobody gave up on him, everybody believe in him, and I think we came together as a team."

(And when will Portis Rock the Red in person? "Next home game," he said. "When's y'all next home game?"

"Thursday," Green said.

"I'll be there," Portis promised.)

Eventually, though, the mics turned back on Green and Backstrom, and they were forced to answer questions. Like, here was Backstrom, on his choice of a Sean Taylor jersey.

"Actually, I got Ovie's," Backstrom said. "I was sleeping over at Ovie's house [Saturday] night, so I just got his jersey. I usually wear Santana Moss. He's a catcher, right?"

And here was Green, when asked his feelings about American football.

"You know what, before I came here, we have the CFL, but I came to a game like this, it's night and day," he said. "So this is my team now."

"It's so small in Sweden," Backstrom said. "First time I went was last year. I just loved it. I was a Redskins fan, like, right away. It's unbelievable, to be here, 90,000 people. And to see the Redskins win, I mean, it's great. It's something you look forward to....I love Redskins, I'm a Redskins fan. So it's good for the team and good for the city, I think, that we cheer for each other."

At least six fans I met were wearing Caps gear and no Redskins stuff as a sign of protest, and tens of thousands booed the team at some point on Sunday. Not Green, though.

"I'm an athlete, so I know what it's like to be booed when things don't go well," he said. "You know, it's not one guy's fault, they're booing the team. But they pulled through, that's all that matters."

Chris on ESPN First Take

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:05:00 -0500

This morning Chris joined Jay Crawford on ESPN's First Take. Props to them for promoting our fan photo contest. The poll, which has nearly 50,000 votes, ends Saturday. We said we would do the 2nd part of this contest last week, but wanted to wait for the first half to finish up. So those of you who sent photos in, look for the finalists this weekend. Thanks!

Putting on a Game Face to Tackle Cancer

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:12:00 -0500

by Roxanne Roberts from The Reliable Source

Photos by Ned Dishman
Tanya Snyder always kept a low profile: The wife of Redskins owner Dan Snyder hasn't had much of a public persona, hardly ever got in front of a microphone.

But that was before she got breast cancer. Tanya Snyder, 47, just agreed to become an NFL national spokeswoman, talking up the cause to football fans. "I have to speak out about this through the NFL and reach as many people as possible," she said Tuesday at a luncheon for cancer patients at Redskins Park. "It's a great opportunity."

The elegant blonde received the diagnosis last year, five years after her mother battled the disease and two months after her own annual mammogram came back normal. Snyder said she found an undetected lump ("I just knew something was wrong") and persisted until doctors found Stage 1 cancer. After multiple surgeries, Snyder said she's "as healthy as I've ever been." Her message: "Pay attention to yourself. Put yourself on the calendar. This is something that's treatable."

Snyder spent the day with 20 local women fighting breast cancer who were invited for pampering -- lunch with players and wives, and gifts of wigs, makeup and jeans. "Today is about you," said guard Derrick Dockery, who hosted the event on the team's day off with wife Emma and tight end Chris Cooley and his wife, Christy.

Dockery's mom, Sheila, is a breast cancer survivor, his mother-in-law died from the disease, and Cooley's mom, Nancy, received her diagnosis last year. When her hair began falling out from chemo treatments, she asked Cooley to buzz the rest. "It was really emotional," he told us. "It made it more real than it already was." After a double mastectomy, she's in remission and doing well, he said.

To raise awareness, Tanya Snyder has asked players to wear something pink for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay. (Cooley will sport pink shoes and gloves.) The ladies at the luncheon were surprised with tickets and pink-and-burgundy jerseys. They'll appear on FedEx Field as the players emerge for introductions before the crowd.

"If you want to draw red-zone plays and leave them on the board..." Cooley joked to his guests. "Have a blast."

TC: Post Game Press

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:50:00 -0500

Zorn's press conference

Chris's press conference

Picks of the Week 3

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:46:00 -0500

Sorry we missed out on the picks last week. We had a large crowd in town for the game and really we just slackers. Anyway, we are still looking for someone to pick 100 percent so we can send out some mini helmets. We will take any and all picks for this week as long as they are in by half time of the Redskins game. (cooleyfans@gmail.com)

Also, we have a very special guest in our pick em challenge. Ryan Zimmerman joins us for the fun. Hopefully we can get him on board as a regular.

Good luck and thanks for sending your picks!

And don't forget to tune into NFL RedZone on DISH Network this Sunday to see us play the Lions. You'll get all the action from the game in HD.

The Redskins Rap

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:16:00 -0500

Photo Contest Finalists Part 1

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:39:00 -0500

Like we said in the initial blog about the photo contest. In order to win the game worn jersey, you had to have purchased items from our online stores. We are going to allow the fans to vote on the 15 finalists we have selected. This was a very tough process and want to thank everyone who submitted a photo. Please vote for your favorite at the bottom of this post. The contestants are numbered from top to bottom from 1 - 15. Good luck! Part 2 of the contest will be posted over the weekend.

#1
This guy actually bought a shirt and it wouldn't make it in time so he sent us his receipt and this photo. Since he's from Canada we cut him some slack.

#2
Anyone wearing the shirt on the job (and a dangerous job at that) was definitely considered.

#3
In Iraq with a Life Coach shirt, a Riggens jersey, and Redskins logo painter on the helicopter. Deserved finalist for sure

#4
This one made it for multiple reasons. 1. She is adorable 2. She has both a hoodie and a hat. Double score.

#5
Location was one of the requirement along with creativity. These two are on the 103 floor of the Sears Tower.

#6
Gotta love the creativity here. Wearing the shirt is a must when placing the Dallas helmet where it belongs.

#7
Made the contest for multiple reasons as well. 1. Location. Which I believe was the Kenny Chesney concert. 2. She sent in photos in a different life coach hoodie which means she owns 3 Cooley originals.

#8
A couple holding a shoe...They are super creative or not at all. Either way, they look great in the gear.

#9
Another submission from someone serving this fine country. Not only is he wearing the Life Coach shirt, he is hundreds of feet above ground in a helicopter.

#10
Redskins fans in Dallas that Hate Dallas. I love this family and they deserve to be finalists.

#11
This guy is currently at the U.S. Naval Academy and "snuck" out one night to take this picture on the statue of his mascot, Bill "The Goat" while the M.P.'s weren't looking. Risky because he has now exposed his crime.

#12
Cooley fan in CC47 gear at a different stadium with a sign. Meets all the requirements of the contest. Location and creativity.

#13
If they win the prize will go to the girl in the middle considering she's the only one in Cooley gear. Either way, this is very creative and they are at the Jimmy Buffet concert.

#14
Direct quote from him "Throughout the day I must have been stopped atleast 500 times. I posed for pictures with random people, slapped high fives, and had people yell that they too hate Dallas. I had fans of other teams approach me to tell me they hated Dallas too. Best part was all the free beer that I got walking around from tailgate to tailgate in the lots!!" Finalist for sure.

#15
Last but not least, the family of Cooley fans. They have anything and everything Cooley. Shirts, jerseys, bobble heads, and playing cards. They have more stuff than they can wear so they have to hold it up. Get work.

After reading the stories and seeing the pics, please make your choice wisely. Here's what the winners will get.
1st Game Worn Cooley Jersey
2nd Game Worn Cooley Cleats
3rd Game Worn Cooley Gloves
4th Autographed 16x20 photo
5th Autographed 8x10 photo

poll by twiigs.com

1000 Questions

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:03:00 -0500

Alright, I've spent the last two days listening to never ending gripe about how terrible the Washington Redskins are. Our coaching is dreadful. Zorn is on the hot seat. Our play calling is outright awful. Anyone can call better red zone plays. Our team is a bunch of overpaid bums. Getting booed by a bunch of "dim-wits." And I don't even need to mention the way fans despise our ownership. IT'S ALL ********.

First of all we lost to an outstanding Giants team in New York. Bummer, yes, but not the end of the world. Secondly, we actually won the Rams game. A win for us is like a Van Gogh, it doesn't matter if it's pretty, it's having it. Now, of course it's obvious that we didn't score tons of points, but by no means were we terrible. We put together five different drives of over 10 plays. It doesn't matter who your playing, that's hard as hell to do in the NFL. We work our asses off and we can play!

With that little rant over I would like to add that we're fine as a team. I listened to DeAngelo Hall say we were gonna turn this thing around (assuming he means the team and keeping in mind were 1-1). Well, there is nothing to turn around - we just need to get a little bit better.

To lighten things up a little bit I figured it would be a great time to open the blog to 20 questions. Just ask them in the comments and I will pick what I think are the most interesting. As everyone knows I'm not gonna dodge anything so ask whatever you want, the more creative the better. Here are a couple successful examples.

- note - paragraph contains outside references and sarcasm. - thanks.

-One of the 20 questions was a celebrity offense. I looked no further than Clinton Portis to field this question. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

QB - Uncle Rico
FB - Mr. T. (Actually looks like our current fullback)
RB - Kung Fu Joe (Clinton choose him to fill his shoes)
TE - The Joker
WR - Forest Gump
WR - Sam Rockwell (Actually his character in The Green Mile)
T - Dewey CoxG - Shrek
C - Rambo
G - The Terminator
T - Hightower (From Police Academy and did play in the NFL)

-For a million dollars would you be willing to not have sex for a year (this is with or without a partner)? (If no, how about 10 million)?

I would have to turn down a million for the no sex thing (Christy would be pissed). Offer me ten million and Fred Davis might have a new job.

- Does it irritate players when a fan refers to his favorite team as "we"
"We" are the fan's team. That's why we are here playing football. I think it's great to have loyal fans that feel like we are their team. The only time guys get tired of the "we" thing is when fans tell us what we should and shouldn't be doing on the field. There is a reason that fans are fans. My job is to play tight end and yours is to cheer loud. To be the best "we" all gotta play our roles.
-7. Who would win in a tag team match between Chris and Christy and Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson?

The tag team match would start off with Christy and Jessica in the ring. Someone would come out of the stands with a cooler of beer and a couple of stools for Tony and I. We would proceed to sit ringside and high-five while clothes were furiously ripped off. In my world the match would end in Jes tapping out to a vicious choke hold, and I wouldn't be surprised if Christy dropped an elbow on her before she poured beer all over herself to celebrate.

And finally, don't forget to set your DVR for Sunday's game. With Dish, you can even set your DVR timer remotely. I use my iPhone. If you don't have Dish, you can sign up here.