STRIKE ONE

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder has made plenty of mistakes in life. He hired Jim Zorn as a head coach, you'll remember, and that's just the tip of the poor-decision iceberg.

Earlier this week Snyder spoke to a summit of Washington, D.C.-area sports team owners, and admitted that he hasn't always been the best owner, but he believes he's grown better at the job over time. One of the biggest skills he's learned, according to accounts of the summit on ESPN and in the Washington Post, is the ability to trust the right people. Snyder did, however, readily acknowledged he's made poor personnel decisions in the past.

When asked by the Washington Post to describe his biggest personnel bungle, Snyder played coy.

"You know. I don't need to answer this. You all know," Snyder reportedly replied.

Naturally, area media outlets took this response to mean much-maligned defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who the Redskins and Snyder signed to a $100 million contract just two years ago.

However, it should be noted Snyder could have also been talking about Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb, (the aforementioned) Jim Zorn, Adam Archuleta, Deion Sanders, Jeff George, Jason Taylor or Bruce Smith ... to name but a few.

STRIKE TWO

You may remember last week's Cup Check column, where I highlighted some of the biggest (and dumbest) sports stories of 2010. Amazingly, I somehow left out the Cam Newton ordeal, which is an oversight and mistake the likes of which haven't been seen since the Trailblazers drafted Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. For that, I apologize.

However, I had plenty of the stories right - like singling out the LeBron James TV special and his spurning of Cleveland and the Cavaliers as one of the stupidest things we were forced to stomach last year. In last week's  column I wrote, "Has there ever been a more senseless, self-promoting act in the history of sports? Probably not. Should karma ruin the rest of King James' career? Absolutely."

Well, not to toot the Cup Check horn, but it seems King James may be a regular Cup Check reader, taking to Twitter after the Heats embarrassing, 50-point loss to the Lakers on Tuesday to voice his side of the story,

"Crazy. Karma is a bitch. Gets you every time. It's not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!"

Although, in fairness to God, we do believe he/she stopped watching the LeBron TV special about the time host Jim Gray began spooning with the NBA All-Star.

STRIKE THREE

Let's hand it to New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie for calling it like it is this week.

In preparation for this weekend's playoff showdown between the Jets and Patriots, Cromartie was asked about America's Next Top Model Quarterback Tom Brady, who, despite his stunning good looks, has earned a reputation among opposing players as something of a gloat-happy d-bag. Brady has made a habit this season of pointing at the opposing team's bench after big plays and generally practicing sportsmanship unbecoming of a man with such supple skin.

"We see that a lot. He does it a lot," Cromartie reportedly told the New York Daily News about Brady and his showboating. "That's the kind of guy he is. We really don't give a damn, to tell you the truth."

Cromartie was later asked to specify just exactly what "kind of guy" Brady is.

His reply?

An "asshole."

So true. Playing for the Jets, assholes (and foot fetishes) are likely something Cromartie knows a lot about.

Sadly, one of these teams has to win this weekend.

DUMB JOCK OF THE WEEK

This week's Dumb Jock award actually goes to a now-infamous pair of Kansas City Chiefs fans who commiserated their team's shellacking last weekend at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens by (literally) she-waxing on the hood of a Nissan Murano outside Arrowhead Stadium after the game. Pictures and videos of the sordid event (thanks, technology!) quickly made their way around the Internet, and it wasn't long before the whole world saw the couple in action - the man sporting a Tamba Hali jersey and camouflage overalls, the women just (basically) looking like a drunk Chiefs fan getting plowed on the hood of a Murano.

While, in the old days, this would have been the end of the story, thanks to the Internet the embarrassed couple was able to reach out to deadspin.com to clarify the situation. Apparently, the couple is happily married, and they were so drunk they don't remember a thing after halftime.

Their words, not ours.

LOCAL BLACKOUT

Over the course of a single Sunday, the Seahawks went from a national embarrassment to, well, a national embarrassment that won a miraculous and highly exciting playoff game last weekend at Qwest field. Here's hoping Jay Cutler of the Bears throws more interceptions than he has chins this week and the Seahawks joyride continues. ...