The greater D.C. area just about threw one giant, never-ending block party last December when the Redskins finally fired former general manager Vinny Cerrato.
Turns out it isn't just DMV residents who loathed Cerrato's patented Old Player-Inflated Contract method with the 'Skins: even Hollywood screenwriters aren't done taking jabs at him.
In a manner that a majority of 18-49-year-olds enjoyed, the CBS courtroom drama "The Defenders" seemed to take a few swings at Cerrato in script, including the line, "Vinnie Cerrato, you're under arrest for arson." (Redskins fans may have automatically replaced "for arson" with "for burning down a franchise.")
Dan Steinberg wasn't watching (much respect!), but a Twitter tip led to a blog story:
Technically the episode seems to star a character named "Vinnie Cerrato," not Vinny, who was set up for some sort of arson case (that unwittingly became murder) due to his financial obligations to a friend and a threat against his wife. This leads to an early interview with detectives, seen above, complete with lines like this:
"Do you fish a lot, Mr. Cerrato?....How's business these days?"
But in the end, the Cerrato character turns out to be noble, and he breaks down in tears as he accepts a two-year plea arranged by his lawyer, Jim Belushi.
"If I had been man enough to say no..." Cerrato says through tears, as Belushi consoles him.
I'm sure there's some sort of deeper message about the Redskins here, but I'm not exactly sure what it is.
The deeper message seems pretty obvious to us: what the real Vinny Cerrato did to the Redskins could be called a crime. Oh, and that Jim Belushi is desperate for money.
The irony is, were Cerrato still in charge, the 56-year-old Belushi could probably sign for plenty of it as a defensive tackle.
