ESPN Bruce Feldman Blog

It seemed like just another ho-hum media interview session, in which reporters float from table to table, trying to fill their notebooks. I had been doing the rounds at the ACC kickoff event in Hot Springs, Va., and waited to get a couple of questions in to Kamerion Wimbley (nice guy, real soft-spoken). The FSU defensive end was on one half of the table, and 'Noles running back Leon Washington was at the other, the much more crowded half. I was ready to move to another team's table when someone asked Washington a question about Chris Rix.

Washington paused. His eyes lit up. You could tell from the expression on his face that he not only has pretty good comedic timing, he also knows how to work the media. Washington fielded the question by going off on his "some people have 'it' and some people don't," riff/routine. Sure enough, almost everything he talked about was entertaining and sharp. Such as:

• How FSU's opener against Miami might be a grudge match but the Seminoles' game after that, against I-AA The Citadel also now has some special meaning. Washington said a Citadel player, via Facebook, sent him an e-mail saying "We're gonna kick your [expletive]." Washington was trying (I think) to be diplomatic Sunday when discussing the exchange. "Well, they probably shoot rifles better than us, but I think they'd better tighten up." He says he doesn't recall the player's name, but believes he was a defensive guy.

"I mean I respect those guys for what they do for the country, but for him to come out and say what he was saying, I do think that was pretty disrespectful."

• What was going through his head when the 'Noles were struggling against Duke (which Washington points out does have a pretty good basketball team) last year. "I was thinking, 'If we lose to Duke' -- now I'm not trying to disrespect Duke -- 'but I might not come back outside the locker room.'"

• How blue-chip frosh running back Antone Smith is the future of Florida State football. "I heard he ran a 4.36 the other day, and he's so strong … He's kinda like me. We have the same build, but he's a lot faster than me, I'll tell you that. Hopefully, I can lead the way for him. He's a pretty good back and a great kid."

• How Miami neutralized the FSU offense last year by deploying cornerback Antrel Rolle as a blitzer, wrecking plays before they ever got untracked. (This was particularly entertaining because of Washington's decision to map out plays and formations by shifting nervous reporters' cassette recorders.)

"Honestly we had nobody blocking him, and he was right on the line," Washington explained, "and we didn't make adjustments to that. Hopefully this year we have a lot more adjustments."

• His advice to fellow FSU standouts such as linebacker A.J. Nicholson, who got into trouble this offseason. "Don't put yourselves in positions where you're going to get in trouble. Don't go out. Come to my house. Hang with me, play video games -- I really don't go out. I'm at the house, man, I'm cookin'. Bring a few of your female friends over. Just have fun, and you can't get in trouble out in the streets. And I'm a good cook. You've gotta taste my barbecue chicken. Awesome! Awesome."

• His philosophy about having fun at media day: "I don't mind. It's great thing for me and Kamerion to come represent Florida State. We've had a tough offseason. Let's show people what we're about. And I'm all for it. I just let it be.

"Thing about some guys is they get all uptight and want to give 'the right answer' all the time. Hey, man, be you. Have fun. Say something funny. Say what you really mean. Be honest. That's the way I look at it."

Some other random points that at least were interesting to me:

• Virginia Tech defensive end Darryl Tapp has been jokingly called "Lance," as in Lance Armstrong, for his penchant for pedaling the hills of the Blacksburg, Va., area on his bike while loaded up with ankle weights.

• Boston College wide receiver/cornerback Will Blackmon says he expects to be a defensive back at the next level. "That's my first love."

• Miami defensive end Thomas Carroll, on his choice to wear his 2001 UM national championship ring that he got during his redshirt freshman season: "I earned it. I had to go against Bryant McKinnie and Joaquin Gonzalez every day at practice for that whole year. But I want one for myself, my own Rose Bowl ring, and that's one of the reasons why I've been wearing it since the end of the Peach Bowl. That's how I came in and that's how I want to go out and that's the same feeling that all the guys [defensive tackle Orien Harris, cornerback Kelly Jennings, linebackers Roger McIntosh and Leon Williams, tight end Buck Ortega, fullback Quad Hill and offensive linemen Tony Tella and Rashad Butler] who came in with me have. Closure."

Standoff With My Movers (Day 26) Contest

Congrats to Michelle Bowers from West Palm Beach, Fla., who was the first to get the correct answer to Thursday's lingering question by coming up with "It took the Tar Heels seven less days to give up 100 points last season than it's taken for your movers to deliver your stuff."

For her genius, she will receive ESPN NHL 2K5 for Xbox (hopefully she or someone she knows owns an Xbox). As our generous NHL editor Mark Giles points out, it is "for the season that never was."

Also coming her way is an ESPN travel organizer, an ESPN The Magazine business-card holder and a copy of "Wide Open: Days and Nights on the NASCAR Tour," written by ESPN The Mag's pro wrestling maven, Shaun Assael.

(As for the contest, if you don't know the rules or how this game is played or why the game is being played, scroll down a bit to learn how you can win free ESPN stuff.)

Today's Line: OKLAHOMA +2 moving company