The Washington Redskins ended their practice a few minutes earlier than planned yesterday because a thunderstorm appeared to be rolling into the area. Thunderstorms are fickle, I guess, because this one hadn’t arrived a full two hours after practice and in fact, the sun was shining brightly.

But that got me to thinking about thunder and the various places you see the word. There’s the book, “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred Taylor. There’s “What the Thunder Said”, which is the title of one part of T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land.“ There’s Thor, the Norse god of thunder. A Google search also tells me that Thor was a Marvel comic book character. He was not a character in The Waste Land, nor was he mentioned in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, another poem by T.S. Eliot. Thunder isn’t mentioned in “Prufrock”, either. But there is a part where Prufrock says, “I shall white flannel trousers and walk upon the beach.“ That’s not something he should do if there’s thunder and lightening in the area. And I really don’t think flannel trousers are beach wear, unless it’s winter time.

There’s “Days of Thunder”, the NASCAR movie starring Tom Cruise, his now ex-wife Nicole Kidman and Robert Duval (I have to say here that every movie I’ve seen with Robert Duval has been a good movie. And when I say, “seen with Robert Duval”, I don’t mean he and I go to the movies together. I mean movies in which he has appeared). And “Days of Thunder” raises this question for me: Which is the better NASCAR movie, “Days of Thunder” or “Talladega Nights”? I think I’m going to go with the latter, even if “thunder” isn’t in the title, but that’s just me.

Unfortunately, this also reminds me of a cheer from my days on the basketball team at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School: Thunder, thunderation, we’re the Wilson delegation. When we fight with determination, we create a great sensation.“ Perhaps if I’d paid more attention to the offense we were running instead of the cheers, my basketball career would have been a bit brighter. But, maybe not.

Anyway, the thunderstorm did not appear at Redskin Park, and I was kind of glad about that. I know we always can use some rain, but rain is no fun when you’re watching practice or when you have to walk to your car in the back of the parking lot. But again, that’s just me.

Speaking of the way to use the word “thunder”, I was a bit thunderstruck—not bad, eh?—that H.B. Blades was able to practice yesterday. Blades had surgery on his knee on July 29. It was arthroscopic surgery and that’s not supposed to be serious. But as the saying goes, no surgery is serious unless it’s on you.

I’ve had my knee scoped, and I can guarantee you, I wasn’t running around 16 days later. I think young Mr. Blades deserves a tip of the ol’ blogosphere for that kind of toughness.

That’s the interesting thing about pro football. Blades pushed to get back on the field because he’s a backup and he no doubt has seen other linebackers having some good moments in his absence. He should make the team. He’s a small guy, but he has a great feel for the game. He produces. He played last year as a rookie when the Redskins had injury problems at linebacker, and he did well.

But he also knows that he’s not guaranteed anything. Now, if Marcus Washington had his knee “scoped” 16 days ago, and was begging and pleading to return to practice, which he would be doing because he loves to play, he would be held out until everyone was certain he was close to 100 percent, especially in the preseason. That’s the NFL.

The Redskins play the Jets Saturday night, and there will be a lot of talk about Brett Favre. But that gets old. It’s a preseason game. It doesn’t mean anything to Brett Favre. If you’re a Redskins fan, watch these players: OT Devin Clark, LB Rian Wallace, C Justin Geisinger, LB Alfred Fincher. These are guys who have come into training camp and given themselves a chance to make the team. Don’t be thunderstruck if any of them do make the final roster.