Redskins

Not only has Robert Griffin III pumped life back into the Washington Redskins, but the rookie quarterback is arguably the most exciting player in the NFL. His Redskins jersey and cleats were sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week, as he has already broken Cam Newton's record for most yards rushing by a first-year quarterback. As for the read-option offense he's running in Washington? Enjoy it while it lasts. Three quarterbacks who have busts in Canton, each of whom has been duly impressed by Griffin this season, say that read-option offense - as effective as it has been - isn't sustainable over the long haul.

Robert Griffin III isn't the only rookie sensation on the Washington Redskins' roster. Running back Alfred Morris rushed for a career-high 124 yards during the team's 17-16 victory over the New York Giants on Monday night to become only the second player in franchise history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in his first NFL season. Morris' total of 1,106 rushing yards this season is now the best in team history for a rookie player, replacing Reggie Brooks' 1,063 from 1993. The sixth-round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic is also the first Redskins player to rush for 1,000 yards since Clinton Portis in 2008.

Former New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies star Lenny Dykstra was sentenced to 6½ months in prison in Los Angeles on Monday for hiding memorabilia from his playing days that were supposed to be part of his bankruptcy filing. Dykstra, already serving a three-year sentence for auto theft, also has to complete 500 hours of community service and pay $200,000 in restitution for his conviction on bankruptcy fraud. Dykstra, 49, apologized for his actions and promised to turn his life around.

Robert Griffin III has had his share of magical moments throughout his NFL career -- all 12 games of it. Even when RG3 makes a mistake it can still turn into something positive for the Washington Redskins. Take a play from the first quarter of the Redskins' 17-16 win over the New York Giants on Monday night. The quarterback picked up 12 yards on a running play deep in Giants territory but had the ball stripped by Stevie Johnson on the way down. Normally that would be disastrous, a scoring opportunity down the drain.

N.Y. Giants (7-4) at Washington Redskins (5-6) Time: 5:30 p.m. TV: ESPN Story line: This is a rematch of one of the season's best games, the Giants' 27-23 home victory Oct. 21 when Eli Manning completed a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz with 1:13 remaining, seconds after Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III threw a 30-yard TD pass to Santana Moss. The Redskins rushed for 248 yards that day, and now seek to tighten the NFC East race. Griffin threw eight touchdown passes in a five-day span against Philadelphia and Dallas.

The presidential election isn't until Tuesday, but the "Redskins rule" has already determined the winner: Mitt Romney. Why? Because the Carolina Panthers beat the Washington Redskins on Sunday, of course. Duh. It only makes sense that the outcome of an NFL game involving the team based in the nation's capital (or, these days, in nearby Landover, Md.) would determine who would be living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Actually, it doesn't make any sense at all. But somehow or another, it almost always seems to work out that if the Redskins win the last home game they play before a presidential election, the incumbent party gets the victory that Tuesday -- and vice versa.

Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall says the New York Giants didn't really earn their 27-23 victory Sunday. Instead, Hall told reporters on Wednesday, the Redskins gave it to their NFC East rivals by blowing the coverage on what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown pass by quarterback Eli Manning with just more than a minute remaining in the game. "He made the play to beat us, but I don't feel like he made that play. I feel we gave him that play," Hall said of Manning's 77-yard strike to Victor Cruz.

Tight end Chris Cooley re-signed with the Washington Redskins on Monday to fill the void left from Fred Davis' season-ending Achilles injury suffered Sunday in a loss to the New York Giants. Cooley was released by the Redskins on Aug. 28. Davis was the team's leading receiver with 24 catches for 325 yards. "I had a lot of things I wanted to do this year, and I was doing it," Davis said. "It's very discouraging. " Cooley, 30, has spent his entire eight-season career with the Redskins.

Washington loves its Pigskins. Pigskins? Yes, a Washington newspaper has dropped the use of Redskins in referring to the town's pro football team. After surveying readers, the Washington City Paper came up with Pigskins over names such as the Washington Monuments, Washington Half-Smokes and Washington Washingtons. The name of the team, which actually plays in Maryland, has long been the subject of debate. But the weekly D.C. paper polled its readers after the Kansas City Star public editor recently defended his publication's long-standing policy of referring to the Redskins in stories as "the Washington team.

  Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who suffered a concussion on Sunday, still has to complete the league's mandated return-to-play protocol before he's cleared for practice, but his teammates and Coach Mike Shanahan were optimistic he will be able to play in this week's game against the Minnesota Vikings. “We should find out in the next few days exactly what happens,” Shanahan said. “Right now it looks good. I'm not really sure if it stays that way. The professionals will monitor his situation and let us know if he's able to play or not. We surely have nothing to do with it.” Griffin was injured while scrambling near the sidelines during the 24-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on a hard hit by linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.