Keep supporting Zach Lederer, UMD hoops manager fighting cancer. [Bog]

Caps suffer bad home loss, give up two goals in final three minutes. [WaPo]

A not too pretty break down of Dale Hunter versus Bruce Boudreau. [RMNB]

Rich Tandler: Skins QB choice comes down to RG3 or Peyton. [CSNW]

Wiz face Lebron tonight, and tough home crowds. [Wash. Exam.]

Lacking a “Big Three” Wiz not sure on core, or if they have one. [Bog]

5-Star WR/DB Stefon Diggs to pick school today, could be Terps. [RI]

Hokie hoops continues to suck, lose by 16 to Miami. [Wash. Times]

Attendance drops for ACC basketball, fourth-year in a row. [WaPo]

Mason needs to play tougher, not allow lesser teams to stay in games. [WT]

Loyola recruits DC/Bmore hard and wins. Big game tonight vs Iona. [WE]

Politician who needs to shut it: PA Senator Bob Casey. [SBNDC]

The hype machine is out full-force on the Peyton Manning to the Redskins rumors. Any major news outlet you look at is reporting on the possibility, and the Shanahans remain mum on the topic. There are plenty of questions on Peyton’s health and what it will take to sign him, but the bigger question for Skins fans is if Peyton is the right fit. Some folks say they should, others say no way. We opened the Peyton issue up to our team of “semi-rational homers” for analysis and want your take in the comments.

Andy Peden: I guess it’s 20 years of shit that has me believing that this would only go badly. If healthy we could get Peyton for three or four years without giving up any draft picks. We could also use the No. 6 pick for a playmaker on offense. And hopefully spend an early-round pick this year or next on the QB of the future. But this is the Redskins so I’m guessing if we were to sign him he would immediately tear his ACL.

Jack Kogod: Signing Peyton Manning would be a step backwards. Even if he is healthy (hard to believe) bringing him in would go against everything they’ve done to rebuild the roster over the past two years. The team still needs a lot of pieces. Most important among them is a young quarterback.

(Ed. note: Jack also talked about this in his Washingtonian piece.)

Matt Terl: I’ve been having the whole Eeyore-ish “no matter what they do it’s doomed to failure” feeling with each rumor that’s come out. But the thing is, at some point they’re going to have to do SOMETHING with that QB situation, because you simply can’t trot out Rex or Beck again. My main criteria for that “something” are that it not involve giving up too many draft picks and that it not cripple the salary cap. So: IF Peyton is available as a free agent, and IF he really is willing to construct a low-guarantee, incentive-laden deal … oh, and if his freakin’ NECK can still function at an NFL level … well, it seems like a fairly low-risk/high-reward proposition.

On the other hand, they’ll probably give up a 1, a 2 and a 4 for him and sign him to a 10-year extension while just taking him at his word that his neck is A-okay, and then I will have an aneurysm and die.

Jamie Mottram: I hate to agree with Joe Theismann on something, but here we are. Seems like the best-case scenario with Peyton is a Joe Montana-in-Kansas City-type result, meaning maybe the Redskins could contend for a couple of years before starting over again.

I’d much rather see them play the long game, either by going all in with Flynn, signing an Orton-type and drafting a non-Luck or -RG3 QB, or *gulp* actually trading up for Luck or RG3 (probably in that order). That’s the only way I see the Skins embarking on any sort of extended run of success.

Chris Mottram: In the grand scheme, it seems pretty clear that signing Peyton Manning is not the answer for the Redskins. I think we all pretty well agree on that. But let’s look at the positive possibilities here instead of going full doomsday.

Assuming he is healthy (which will be a prerequisite to any team signing him), Peyton Manning is a significant upgrade at QB, a position the Skins need upgraded more than any other on the field. That goes without saying, but he’s also better right now than any other QB that Washington could draft or sign. If we’re interested in seeing the Skins compete next season and not spend another year in a pit of depression, then signing Manning to an incentive-laden deal could be a very good thing.

We also don’t necessarily have to set back the rebuilding process to do so. There are still draft scenarios which help Washington’s future, the most likely of which would involve filling a need at No. 6 (WR or O-line, preferably) and then drafting a Ryan Tannehill-type in the second round. Learning under Peyton for a couple seasons instead of throwing RG3 into the starting role right away doesn’t sound like an awful scenario.

Obviously, this is a lot of what-ifs. But it looks like the Skins will be getting Peyton, so we all better start convincing ourselves it’s not the end of the world.

Jack Kogod: BOOOO!

Matt Terl: I sure hope they can find a way to incorporate the concept of “convincing ourselves it’s not the end of the world” — or maybe just “grim resignation” — into this year’s marketing campaign. Not quite as obvious as “R YOU IN” but I think it could be a real winner.

Chris Mottram: I’m fairly certain that about 80 percent of the Skins fan base would think signing Peyton is the best thing ever. Wouldn’t take much marketing effort to get them excited.

JP Finlay: Sixty-five percent of Peyton is better than 200 percent of RexBeck. Moving up to get RG3 would cost too much with too many other holes to plug. There is one thing that everyone complaining about the signing seems to be forgetting here: This is Peyton Manning.

I never wanted Donovan when we traded for him. His best years were clearly past him, way past him. Peyton performed at an incredibly high level before his injury. If he is healthy, and it’s a big if, one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play could start for the Redskins.

But we can’t give up draft picks. If somehow we give away picks to get Peyton before we know he can play, I am off the bandwagon. But in the end, if it only costs us Danny Dollars, SIGN PEYTON MANNING!

Todd Davis: See the Kansas City Chiefs section of Wikipedia’s Joe Montana page for my thoughts. Quick return likely to generate excitement but will set the franchise back another decade if they don’t take their chance on a young franchise QB now. Definitely gonna happen. I’ll hate it, then convince myself how great it could be, then enjoy the ride, rationalize that a playoff appearance is nothing to discount, and feel like same swarthy, disgusting way I do waking up from a night in Vegas when it’s over and I haven’t really been rewarded with a prize worth the price I paid in herpes.

1. Georgetown (18-5, 8-4) — Huge loss at Cuse last night. The Hoyas are working on seeding at this point. They have a reasonable chance to end up with a highly desired top-four seed, especially with a top-20 RPI.
2. Virginia (19-4, 6-3) — No shame losing to a FSU team that is officially rolling. Their RPI and SOS aren’t as good as their record, so its really hard at this point to guess their seed.
3. George Mason (20-6, 12-2) — Had a slip-up this week before beating ODU. It doesn’t matter much since it still appears they have to win the CAA to get in. Should win both their games this week.
4. VCU (21-5, 12-2) — As I have said before, the CAA is going to be a battle to see who gets the bid. Not ready to move them up, but check back after Valentine’s Day when they have played both ODU and Mason.
5. Maryland (14-9, 4-5) — Finally got a road win. They’re current not in the bubble talk but have games with UNC, Duke and UVA (twice) left so they have the opportunity to get into the conversation.
6. Old Dominion (16-10, 10-3) — Let’s just say their game Saturday against VCU is going to tell us a lot.
7. Loyola (18-5, 11-2) — Friday night against Iona. If you are in the area, you should try to go.
8. Virginia Tech (13-10, 2-6) — Showing signs of life.
9. Norfolk State (17-8, 9-2) — So much for running the table. They have been a little shaky, but they’re still in position to be the top seed in the MEAC.
10. American (15-8, 6-2) — They’re rising because others are falling
11. Richmond (13-12, 4-6) — No more ups and downs. Mainly just downs.

Caps reclaim first place in Southeast with 4-0 whuppin’ of Panthers. [JR]

Brooks Laich played hurt, got some love from Ted after the game. [CSNW]

Terps get first win on the road despite blowing big lead late. [Balt. Sun]

Great story about Terps Mens Hoops Manager Zach Lederer. [Patch]

#12 G-Town heads to #2 ‘Cuse tonight. [Washington Post]

Nick Young, ranked 52nd in 3-PT shooting, wants in 3-PT contest. [SBNDC]

1. The Phillies have had 120-plus years to build their shitty little fanbase.

2. The Phillies have been a winning team for the past nine seasons. As a general rule, winning teams have more support than losing teams.

3. Bad Phillies teams actually drew less fans than bad Nats teams.

To that last point, the Nats have existed in Washington for seven seasons and have yet to field a winning team. They’ve averaged 26,000 fans/game. The last time the Phillies went seven years without a winner was 1994-2000, and they averaged 24,000.

Meaning, I wish we had a reason to invade Philly in the ’90s, if we were that obnoxious and it was actually a city worth visiting.

This may be the most JaVale McGee play of all time. Visit SBN to see it in GIF form, or click the video above (via BDL) to play it in full. The ad is worth it see the failed alley-oop at the end. [SB Nation D.C., Ball Don't Lie]

The Wiz won, by the way, in OT over Toronto at home. [Bullets Forever]

DeAndre Jordan may have stared down JaVale’s mom. [Grantland]

This guy actually ordered an Andray “Baltche” Wiz jersey. Respect. [Bog]

Caps play Florida tonight for first place in the Southeast. [WaPo]

Bruce Allen says the Skins want London Fletcher back. [Redskins Blog]

Just a picture of Devin Thomas with the Lombardi Trophy. [Homer McFanboy]

Nats sign Mark Teahen to a minor league deal, so you know. [Nats Journal]

Maryland assistant starts a Tebowing-type thing that’s actually cool. [Patch]

Ryan Pearson has a “Fear the Beard” sweatshirt. [George Mason Basketball]

Some JMU bros made the best ad of Super Bowl XLVI. [JMU Sports Blog]

The Junkies’ producer is leaving to run his family’s business. [Bog]

If you see this car on the road, and it was reportedly seen earlier today near the Bay Bridge, please honk and extend your middle finger. Thanks.

There’s a lot going on with this card: 1) The hairline. 2) The uniform. 3) The warmup jacket getting ripped off. 4) The ballboy bro’s Warriors hat. 5) The subtle, Kokopelli-looking “Electric Court” logo, whatever that is. I love it all.

I was 6 years old the last time the Redskins lost the Super Bowl, so I don’t really remember what that feels like. I was 14 the last time they won one, though, and that memory is pretty vivid. I even wore my Zubaz Redskins hat to school the next day. It was the greatest.

So while I don’t harbor much empathy for Patriots fans, I certainly do envy Giants fans. Congratulations to those filthy animals. May this be the last time they ever know that feeling. Now, onto the post …

Difficult though it is be to believe, the Redskins have played in five Super Bowls, winning three. Here they are, as captured by Sports Illustrated covers, ranked from the worst (Super Bowl XVIII, above) to the best.

(All images taken with love from SI’s covers archive, which is a great place to waste some time on the Internet.)

Super Bowl VII

Super Bowl XXVI

Super Bowl XVII

Super Bowl XXII