Breaking Up The Old Gang
Filed under: NBA, basketball, following the locals, sports
I realize that it had to happen. Had to go down this way.
I realize that Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood had to go. There was no way to keep playing out the charade of the Wizards being a viable playoff contender. Yet it doesn’t make it any easier to take. But the organization had to get what they could for them while their value was high. In what was becoming yet another lost season, the Wizards had to lick their wounds and come back to fight another day, even if that day is further in the distance than anyone thought.
I realize that only a cock-eyed optimist could see what was left of the Wizards after Gilbert Arenas’s departure and think that a playoff team was in residence. Even with Gilbert it was a stretch to believe it, given the way the team was playing. But as a fan, I had hoped for better. I hoped someone, somewhere would teach them how to defend. How to distribute the ball and get good, makeable shots. But it wasn’t to be.
And in a season that has seen the so-called “star” of the team suspended for what amounts to about 70% of the season for of all things, bringing his arsenal of weaponry into the locker room at Verizon Center-in what is not only a violation of Washington D.C. law, but the NBA’s own collective bargaining agreement-something drastic was going to happen. You knew it would, it was just a question of when.
The dominoes began to fall on Saturday of All-Star weekend, when general manager Ernie Grunfeld dealt Butler, Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to Dallas for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden and a couple of other bodies, but no draft picks. Gooden never even set foot on the court for the Wizards, having been traded four days later to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a three-team deal that sent Antawn Jamison to Cleveland to play with LeBron James. I can’t say how happy Butler and Jamison may be; both stated on several occasions that they wanted to win in Washington, but given the current state of the franchise they have to be happy that they have left basketball purgatory and now have a chance to play for a championship, something both of them have wanted to do. Haywood leaving doesn’t leave me feeling hot or cold; yes he was becoming a competent center, but I’ve never liked him all that much. Stevenson was never as good as he thought he was, in my opinion-so no real loss there. Grunfeld’s trade deadline dealing has freed up cap room for the Wizards to hopefully sign some decent free agents to begin the rebuilding process-if he is even around to do the rebuilding. No matter who the architect is that will attempt to rebuild this franchise yet again-who do they think they can bring in that would even want to play for the Wizards?
If you want to get an idea of what jazzes fans of the Wizards, the fact that there is talk of changing the team name back to the Bullets actually got people excited. They could be called Lez Boulet, it wouldn’t make them play any better. It’s the players IN the jerseys, not the name on the front that will make the team better. As for me, more losing is in store, for certain, but will I care? How much longer will I wait until the Wizards/Bullets/whatchamacallits finally climb back to respectability? If you know me, you know how I roll. I’ll stick with them no matter what. But this kind of rebuilding is hard to take. Especially since the brain trust would’ve had you believe that with Gilbert, Caron and Antawn the team was a few pieces away from contending for a championship. After Eddie Jordan took the fall last season despite not even having Arenas around because Grunfeld thought the team should have won more games-is Flip Saunders looking to get out or will he be pushed because the team should be better? No one could believe this team is better now than it was before Saturday-unless they are a cock-eyed optimist. Maybe if/when Ted Leonsis is given control of the Wizards a rebuilding we can believe in may take place. Or it just might be like I always say-the franchise is cursed.
Random Sports Thoughts 7
Filed under: MLB, NBA, NFL, baseball, basketball, college basketball, football, sports
Around and about in the world of sports:
- Congratulations to the seven members of the newest class of the NFL Hall of Fame: Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, John Randle, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm, Dick LeBeau and Floyd Little. Rice and Smith were no-brainers of course, and the other candidates deserved their nods as well. There is a backlog of great players that are eligible for the Hall; it will take some time to get all of them in. I would just like to put in a few words for Grimm. Given the fact that the Hogs were one of the best offensive lines of the last 25-30 years, it’s actually about time one of them got some recognition by the Hall.
- There was talk last week of the NCAA opting out of their contract with CBS and possibly expanding the NCAA basketball tournament from it’s current 65 team format to 96 teams. Okay, let me get this straight. No action is necessary for a college football playoff, but the greatest college event ever needs to break up the current format to let more teams in? I don’t think so…this thing reeks of a money grab. Not to mention, that if they really want to fix the tournament they should get rid of the play-in game, or at the least let the last two at-large teams play in that game. Don’t put a small school automatic qualifier in the game-they deserve the opportunity to have the full tournament experience much more than some BCS school mediocrity. Not to mention, if the tournament did include 96 teams, most if not all of those spots would be to BCS schools with unimpressive resumes.
- The days are growing short leading into spring training for another baseball season, and I wonder what exactly will the Orioles look like this year. I’ll have more to say about them as the season gets closer, but it has been a pretty quiet offseason for Baltimore’s baseball birds. For some fans, it has been too quiet. I’ll reserve judgement until things get going, but once again, I am hoping for progress. I’m not expecting a worst-to-first season, but at least be competitive past the All-Star break, and if possible, make an approach to .500.
- Gilbert Arenas was suspended for the remainder of this season, and has probably seen his last days as a member of the Washington Wizards. Has there been a more stunning fall from grace? Arenas was once the prince of the city; his blog was popular and his skills on the court made fans sit up and take notice. His absence serves as just a symbol of the Wizards’ season; where they were counting on him to finally be healthy enough to play, he ends up missing another large chunk of a third consecutive season. I don’t see how the Wizards can keep this core of players together, with Arenas surely gone it may be time for Ernie Grunfeld (or someone else) to blow this team up and build it back from the ground up. It will definitely be interesting to see how the Wizards proceed from here.
Light The Fuse…
Filed under: NBA, basketball, following the locals, sports
…and blow it up! Right now!
Given that we recently had a scare with a person who attempted to blow up a flight headed for Detroit on Christmas Day, that may be an unfortunate choice of words. But those are the words I thought of when thinking about the Washington Wizards, who now have been relieved of the services of one Gilbert Arenas, effective immediately, for an indefinite period of time. With the loss of Arenas, possibly for the remainder of this season though not specifically stated as such, any hopes the Wizards had of improving on last season’s debacle have imploded with his horrible sense of judgement. Given that the team wasn’t exactly setting the league on fire at the moment perhaps this is the impetus Ernie Grunfeld needs to tear down this version of the team, keeping only the real salvageable parts (if there are any) and start all over. Of course, that is if Grunfeld is even around to do the rebuilding. While I haven’t heard anything suggesting he may not be long for the general manager’s chair, with Ted Leonsis about to take over primary ownership of the team, anything is possible.
Back to Arenas’ suspension-I know that he has described himself as a “goofball,” but really-did he think this was something you could make jokes about? One day after being interviewed by law enforcement officials about bringing a gun or guns-never mind if it/they were loaded or not-in the locker room, he’s running around pointing fingers like they were guns at your teammates? Did you really find this funny, Gilbert? In a city where the murder rate was so bad, heck isn’t exactly great now, that the gun laws are some of the strictest in the nation (and of which you are probably in violation)? Where crime was so bad that the venerable Abe Pollin changed the team name from Bullets to Wizards because of the mere association of bullets to gun crime? I know how we all seemed to love Gilbert in his “Hibachi” days, scoring points in bunches, launching game-winning shots and turning his back on them before they fell through the net, blogging and generally being his off-kilter self. But guns are nothing to joke about-if nothing else Arenas appears to have been flouting the law and his own league’s collective bargaining agreement rules, which forbid firearms in team NBA arenas. Now there is talk that the team may try to void Arenas’ contract-a contract that was paying him over $16 million this season.
As for the team which must now soldier on without the one player they had been counting on returning to his pre-injury form…it doesn’t look like they are going anywhere anyway…so cut ties and start over. I know people have tried to convince me otherwise, but the franchise is living under some kind of curse. Perhaps the “Curse of Lez Boulez” is real…real enough anyway. Playoff appearances have been few and far between for the franchise, which hasn’t won an NBA title in over 30 years. Every few years there are glimmers of hope, only to see them dim. Who can forget the Chris Webber/Juwan Howard years? The playoff appearances that always seemed to hit a dead end against Cleveland’s Cavaliers? Fans were looking forward to better things this season, with Gilbert completely healthy for the first time in three seasons, the additions of Mike Miller and Randy Foye and a new coach in Flip Saunders. Despite all that, and Tuesday night’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Wizards remain one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference, having won just eleven of thirty-four games so far this season. I don’t see things getting any better, but I have been wrong before. Even with Gilbert, the team played very little defense; and you’re not going to win many games in any league if you don’t do that.
Personally, I would love to see Gilbert back on an NBA court…but he has some serious growing up to do. He just turned 28, so he still has some time. But if he misses another season, how much harder will it be for him to return as good as he was, not to mention to get in the good graces of fans after this display of immaturity and foolishness? I know athletes are no better than regular folks; they are human after all. But at some point, most of us stop waving guns around because we get past playing cowboys and indians and war games (except on video screens). If and when he does return, what are the chances it is in a Wizards uniform? And if he’s in a Wizards uniform after missing the remainder of this season, who will he be playing with?
Am I too gloomy…are the Wizards about to turn things around? Will Gilbert return this season? Tell me what you think in the comments.
A Wish List For My Teams
Filed under: MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, baseball, basketball, college basketball, college football, following the locals, sports
Since it is Christmas Eve, I thought I’d take the time to write out a few wishes that I have for my favorite teams Most of these can’t be completed for Christmas, but are more long-term wishes that I will hopefully see come to fruition over the coming months.
For the Baltimore Orioles:
- A plan that makes the O’s competitive in 2010. I think I’ve given up hope on making the playoffs next season, but something other than a last place finish would be great.
- An effort to pry Adrian Gonzalez out of San Diego. If you’re looking for a power-hitting corner infielder, he fits the bill.
- Failing at #2, please find the following: some players with pop in their bats to play first and third base, a healthy complete season out of Adam Jones, and at least one frontline starter. Regarding the frontline starting pitcher, he may already be in the fold, but finding one, anywhere would be terrific.
- Hope. All we want is some hope that things will get better (a very common wish).
For the Baltimore Ravens:
- Playoffs! Of course, it may not be a long run when or if you get there, but still, I’d like to see you there-preferably while the hated Steelers stay home!
- Ozzie Newsome, please, please please find some playmakers…on both sides of the ball. While you’re at it, find some depth on the defense, the old stalwarts aren’t getting any younger. If Demetrius Williams is the playmaking wide receiver we all wanted around draft time, his grade is an incomplete. Dominique Foxworth has only recently been the cornerback we thought we were getting.
- Not much else, so there really isn’t a third wish.
For the Washington Wizards:
- It may be time to admit that this plan of Ernie Grunfeld’s isn’t working. To be fair, Flip Saunders needs at least one season to see what he can do with the parts he’s got, and it would be nice if those parts could stay healthy. Grunfeld fired Eddie Jordan because he didn’t win enough games at the start of last season, even though he didn’t have Gilbert Arenas healthy. Now Arenas is healthy and still the Wizards aren’t winning.
- Can someone on the Wizards brain trust teach these players how to play defense? The song still remains the same, this club doesn’t play defense worth a damn. Unfortunately, I don’t think any changes are going to be made to increase the importance of defense, so the Wizards are going to have to rely on outscoring foes yet again.
- Ted Leonsis, you are poised to take control of the Wizards. Please follow the hallowed footsteps of Abe Pollin and yet build upon the great foundation he laid. While Mr. Pollin was only able to witness one NBA title for his franchise, here’s hoping you can do what is needed to really build the team up for contention in the seasons to come.
- See Wish #4 for the Baltimore Orioles.
For the Maryland Terrapins (football and basketball):
- Ralph Friedgen, the ball is in your court. There has to be improvement in the football program immediately. 2-10 seasons are not going to cut it. Somehow, someway, you and your staff (those of whom are still around) have to find the players that will bring Maryland football back, if not to Orange Bowl or BCS levels, then at least to respectability. Goodness knows, Terp fans would like a diversion in the fall other than waiting for…
- Gary Williams and the basketball squad. Thank you for showing the fan base that indeed, you can coach. If you can take a team that had as minimal talent and no real inside presence to the second round of the NCAA tournament, imagine what you can do with this year’s team. I would advise you not to get close to the NCAA tournament bubble or suffer any losses “supposedly” beneath your level, though, or the squawking about whether or not you’ve lost it will begin anew.
- For both of you: recruit, recruit, recruit! You don’t necessarily have to get the best one and done players, but you do have to get some players in order to compete with the powerhouses. Maybe even a few victories against them wouldn’t hurt (that’s for the football team).
- See Wish #4 for the Orioles and Wizards.
Do you agree with the wishes? Do you have some you would like to add? Put them in the comments. Hope everyone out there has a very Merry Christmas!
Local Hoops Notes
Filed under: NBA, NCAA, basketball, college basketball, sports
A few words about the upcoming hoops season (college and pro):
The 2009-2010 college hoop season began this past Friday-did anyone really notice? Like college football, there is opening day, but it’s scattered as teams play all over the weekend, not to mention a few exhibitions aimed at getting the team into a rhythm to start the season. ESPN, of course has a made-for-the-network gimmick in place that it debuted last season. Opening day for college hoops, ESPN style begins at midnight on Tuesday with a game featuring Cal State Fullerton taking on UCLA. From there, games will be played live for 24 hours straight. Now of course, I won’t be able to catch them all, but if you want a schedule of the games to be played throughout the day, look here.
As for the local angle, yours truly will be looking toward the flagship hoops school, the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland’s season began on Friday, with an easy 89-51 win over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. The Terps return four starters from a team that was heavily criticized, yet rebounded well enough to make a trip to the NCAA tournament and beat California before falling to Memphis in round 2. Leading this year’s team are seniors Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, with Landon Milbourne and Sean Mosley expected to be key contributors. One of last year’s team’s major deficiencies was a lack of size up front; this year that has been addressed with the addition of freshmen Jordan Williams and James Padgett. Both played well in their first games at the college level, though the competition will get tougher once the team gets into ACC play. For me, it will be interesting to see what Vasquez and Hayes do in their senior seasons. Vasquez has many talents, but can be erratic; it was great to see him look to set his teammates up when his shots were not falling. Hayes scored a quiet 10 points in the opener, but hit three three-pointers. At the end of last season, it was great to see Hayes look for his offense; he practically carried the Terps in the ACC tournament run that got them into the big dance.
The Washington Wizards have begun the 2009-2010 season as well with some of the same issues as last season: injuries and losses. Before the season began, Antawn Jamison was injured, he has yet to play. While the Wizards won over Dallas on opening night, they have gone 1-6 since and have seen new acquisitions Mike Miller and Randy Foye injured as well. Gilbert Arenas though, is back and is healthy (except for a calf injury which threatened to scratch him from a game last week). Arenas, in a interesting change, has decided to let his play do the talking this season, going so far as getting himself and the team fined in preseason for not being available to the media. With a new coach in Flip Saunders, the return of Brendan Haywood from injury and also a new addition in Fabricio Oberto, it looks to be taking some time to get the team on the same page. The Wizards are expected to make a run to the playoffs after only winning 19 games the previous season.
It looks to be another exciting season, both college and pro…can’t wait to get my fill of games of both, and to see some questions answered. Can the Lakers repeat? Will the Celtics bounce back? Who looks to be the team to beat in the NCAA’s? Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina? What teams look to surprise in both the NBA and NCAA? Time will tell.
Wizards At Home
Filed under: NBA, basketball, following the locals, sports
For sixteen of the NBA’s thirty franchises, the chase for the NBA Finals, or the real NBA season, began yesterday. For the Washington Wizards, the real NBA season finds them licking their wounds after tying the club record for worst won-loss record in a season. Michael Lee has a post mortem on the team and the season at the Wizards Insider blog at the Washington Post. With a new head coach coming in, and hopefully players returning from injuries that cost them most of this season, the Wizards should be appreciably better next year than they were a year ago. Many fans hope that, with the Wizards holding the second highest chance of landing the top pick in the draft this summer, that Blake Griffin comes to play for the team. I’m not so sure that Griffin is the cure-all to the Wizards woes. First of all, they are, to be kind, less than decent on defense. That is not news, they have always been less than stellar on defense; certainly their defense is not as good as their offense when healthy. If Flip Saunders is indeed the next head coach of this team, defensive improvement will have to come from the assistant coaches. Saunders is regarded as a offensive mastermind, which sounds good for the likes of Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas, but doesn’t sound so good for anyone required to lock down the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, etc. The return of Brendan Haywood from injury at least sounds like there will be some kind of interior presence for the team which will improve the defense somewhat, but that alone won’t turn the Wizards into a lockdown defensive squad.
This past season’s woes seemed to bring out a new persona in Arenas, who is at least saying the right things about next season. This article, again by Lee of the Washington Post, finds Arenas talking about getting serious for next season, sticking together as a team and trying to erase the bad taste this past season has left behind. It all sounds good, but it’s all empty talk if not followed up by hard work and action over the summer and into training camp.
Tough Juice Saves The Wizards
Filed under: NBA, basketball, following the locals, sports
The fans of the Washington Wizards owe a big debt of thanks to Caron Butler. Butler’s game-winning shot with just under 4 seconds to play extends the Wizards’ season for at least one more game. Of course, the Wizards had to survive the final ticks of the clock watching LeBron James taking the final shot. Luckily for the Wizards, the shot did not fall.
Butler and James almost matched each other point for point in this one, a tight game from start to finish. The Wizards needed every point Butler could give them, with Gilbert Arenas out for the remainder of the series and Antawn Jamison having an off-night. Antonio Daniels and Roger Mason, Jr. also stepped up with key plays throughout the game. And while the Wizards and Cavs had yet another minor dustup early in the game, for the most part both teams played hard-nosed, playoff intensity basketball. Admittedly, it was refreshing to see after all the mess that has been going on-on and off the court. Even DeShawn Stevenson played a decent game; however he was also right in the thick of the action after James received a hard foul from Darius Songaila, getting into it with Anderson Varejao and getting T’d up. Thankfully he calmed down. As an aside, I don’t know that walking around Cleveland is a good thing, particularly in a Michael Vick jersey.
The series continues Friday night in DC; I hope that things are quiet between now and then. No one on either side needs to say anything. All the Wizards did tonight was prove they can win a game in Cleveland, and have given themselves an excellent chance to extend the series to a seventh game. Nothing more, nothing less.
An Open Letter To The Washington Wizards
Filed under: NBA, basketball, blogs, celebrities, following the locals, sports
Dear Wizards,
While I appreciate the efforts you have made throughout the last few seasons in getting to the playoffs, it is time for a series win. This season appeared to be your best chance; you were facing your nemesis, the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third straight season. Even though the Cavs finished ahead of you in the standings, no one other than the Cavalier faithful was ready to anoint them to defend their Eastern Conference Championship from a year ago. In fact, the signs were there that even with the greatness of LeBron James, the team had been inconsistent since their big trade with the Chicago Bulls. With the improved (for you, at least) defensive effort and increased efficiency at moving the ball around and getting good shots, now was the time to take the next step.
And then the trash-talking began.
Now, I am on record as believing that no one should talk trash, just play the game. But I understand in basketball culture, from the playground to the NBA, that trash talk has existed for years. Even when I used to play, I tried to do some myself. But I found that trash talk can be nothing but empty boasts if you can’t back it up, or your team doesn’t win the game. In looking at the current roster, I don’t see many (if any) players who can claim more than one playoff series win. Therefore, I don’t see anyone who should open their mouths to trash talk anyone. (Yes, Messrs. Stevenson, Haywood and Arenas, I’m looking at you). Considering that the Wizards have been eliminated from the postseason title chase in the previous two years by the same Cavaliers, I don’t think it wise to have to trash talk the opposition this go ’round, unless deep down you really didn’t think you were good enough to beat them. Yet there you are, calling the Cavs’ star “overrated,” and a “crybaby,” and stating that you wanted to play Cleveland in the opening round of the playoffs. Well, perhaps you should have been careful of what you asked for.
And with this so-called feud between Stevenson and James blown way out of proportion, with the likes of Jay-Z and Soulja Boy drawn into the orbit, things have completely gotten out of hand. It obviously has distracted DeShawn Stevenson to the point where his play has been ineffective, except for one good game in the lone Wizards win. Oh, and by the way, Mr. Stevenson, you think you can keep LeBron in front of you a few times instead of watching him go by on his way to the basket? Just keep quiet and play ball. And Mr. Haywood, who has spent the better part of his time in the NBA underachieving until finally showing some promise this season, who are you to make any comments? I admit, I’m surprised that you are even here after how last season ended. Prior to this season, the thing you were best known for was fighting with Etan Thomas. Just keep quiet and play ball. And Mr. Arenas, while I admire your candor on your blog, perhaps it’s time to rein it in just a bit so that you can focus on your game and sharing the ball with your teammates. Let’s just say while it was nice to see you try to do your modern-day Willis Reed impersonation the other day, Game 4 was not one of your better outings. Just keep quiet and play ball.
Now that this series is all but over, all I can do as a Wizards fan is look back at another opportunity squandered to make some noise in this years NBA playoffs. Congratulations on another good season and another playoff appearance. Maybe next year, you as a team will realize that this time of year is about execution and performance, not empty boasting and cheap talk.
Sincerely,
Mind Pinball (a Wizards fan)
Following The Locals: Not A Whole Lot Of Fun
Filed under: baseball, college basketball, college football, following the locals, football, hockey, sports
For the purposes of this post, I’ll include the Washington, DC area teams.
- Baseball: The Baltimore Orioles. No news is not necessarily good news. The overhaul so far has only been on the coaching staff. Trades, free-agent signings, and outright releases have yet to be made. Andy MacPhail has his work cut out for him, trying to reverse a decade of losing/fourth-place finishes. The Washington Nationals seem to have a plan in place…stay tuned.
- Football: The Baltimore Ravens. Playoffs look far off. Overhaul possible in off-season, starting with head coach and several “name” players. A disappointment, based on how last season went. Poor offense, defense decimated by injuries, bland play-calling among factors to torpedo the season. The Washington Redskins look average one week, world beaters the next. Playoffs? In the weak NFC, anything can happen.
- Basketball: The Washington Wizards. A season that looked to have much promise has gotten off to a slow start, with a 1-5 record (the one win coming on Sunday). Gilbert Arenas, the team’s star player, is also off to a slow start and may not be 100% after knee surgery. Still having trouble playing defense, and now the offense has been less than great. Let’s see where they are after 20 games.
- Hockey: The Washington Capitals. Not a hockey fan. Can’t make any comments, other than they are currently the worst team in their conference.
- College Football: The Maryland Terrapins and Navy Midshipmen. Terrapins a .500 team needing one win in its next two games to become bowl eligible. Some great wins (Rutgers, Boston College) with some head-scratching losses (Virginia, Wake Forest, North Carolina). Injuries a major factor. The Midshipmen have already accepted a bowl bid and have ended their long losing streak against Notre Dame. A victory over Army and in their bowl game will make this season a success, even if it isn’t as good as some of the previous ones.
- College Hoops:Too early to tell. Both Maryland and Georgetown survived early scares to record victories.
Not a whole lot to get excited about as yet.
Twitter: @mindpinball
- @steelergurl then u better win then LOL
- @steelergurl there ya'll go...bettin' on stuff.
- @MDSteelerGal Hey...thanks for my Y&R update! Don't know whether it's good or bad that you can go away for awhile and catch up in minutes.
- @ay52 FW is a nice guy or so I am told, but I won't miss the laundry in the secondary whenver he's around.
- @BigDubz damn, you living right. Fish one night, steak the next...
- Sizing Up The Terrapins’ Chances: First of all: GO TERPS! (and having got that out of the way)-here is my opinion ... http://bit.ly/b5SZWa
- Some Thoughts About The Bracket: Well, all the talking of strength of schedule, Top 25 wins, Top 50 wins, RPI, roa... http://bit.ly/dr2xJU
- @DemetriusHall from one of those u smashed, sorry for your luck. I thought u would run the table.
- @ms_sugakane same here. But it just feels even worse today for some reason LOL
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