Player News: Taylor, Jansen, Portis, and Snyder

Redskin safety Sean Taylor has been named to the active Pro-Bowl roster. Taylor was announced as an alternate selection last December. He is filling in for Brian Dawkins who is sitting out because of back and hip injuries.

The Redskins have extended tackle Jon Jansen's contract through 2011. The move means that Jansen could potentially play his entire career with the team. Renegotiating veteran contracts is a technique the Skins use to manage the salary cap. The Redskins would like to keep the offensive line in tact. That means re-signing free agent Derrick Dockery to a new contract. This move helps. Jansen was one of several players mentioned in a Washington Post article who would be asked to restructure their contracts. Mark Brunell and Renaldo Wynn are two others. James Thrash has already agreed to a restructure.

All teams must be in compliance with the salary cap by March 2.

Running Redskins points out that managing the cap is different than managing the roster. Sooner or later, the Redskins will pay a price for over-reliance on trades and free-agents as the fastpath to championships. Some would say we paid the first installment in 2006.

Jamie "Mr. Irrelevant" Mottram at Sports Blog Nation scored an interview with Clinton Portis who was participating in Madden Bowl XIII. There is no new Redskins news, but those with a man crush for #26 might appreciate hearing a replay. Check it out here.

Portis was interviewed just before the Super Bowl. He expected fellow "U" alumni Devin Hester and Reggie Wayne to do well. He mentioned that he never plays as The Washington Redskins on Madden, but appreciates when an opponent, playing as the Skins, shows skills with the virtual Portis.

Blogging used to be a hobby for individuals to rant about their favorite topic. It's evolved to something more. There are plenty of ranters and ravers still, but the best web-loggers rival media journalists. Scan the bloggosphere on a particular sport or topic and you get group intelligence on that topic. It's serious stuff when a blogger who goes by "mr. irrelevant" covers the Super Bowl with interviews of football's top stars. "55 million blogs . . . some of them have to be good." -- Matt on technorati.com

Barry Svluga's article at The Washington Post detailed the phenomena of baseball blogging. He points out that Washington Nationals team president Stan Kasten follows the growing number of blogs covering the team. uh-oh! That's a revelation; players and team officials read posts about themselves. I'm taking this opportunity to say how much I respect and admire Daniel Snyder, no matter what I said in the past, or might say in the future.

"The Dan Snyder You Don't Know" is a lengthy, revealing profile of the man, found on washingtonian.com

Photo credit: Flag, littlerottenrobin, flickr.com

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