At his grand opening press conference as Wizards owner, Ted Leonsis said he was “shocked” that so many fans were contacting him about a name change for Washington’s NBA franchise, especially with all he has to accomplish after officially becoming majority owner, i.e., turning a loser into a winner.
One can only assume that the shock has now worn off and that the realized issue might be serious enough to not be appeased by a simple changing of team colors that seems to pique Leonsis’ interest the most.
The Wizards as an NBA team nickname in D.C. has never been truly embraced by fans. Some of that surely has to do with winning, or lack thereof, but much of it is because the moniker is in no way a reflection of the Washington area and a city that stands as the capital of the free world.
That such an issue is near and dear to the hearts of many should never have come as a surprise.
Two weeks ago Wizards majority owner Abe Pollin passed away prior to a Wizards game against the returning Eddie Jordan (on the anniversary of his firing no less) and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Verizon Center. Tonight, Pollin will be memorialized at the arena he helped build in the Chinatown area of Washington, DC where he championed a resurgence.
Covering that Wizards-Sixers game was a whirlwind with no concern for how time flies. I knew being around for the return of Eddie Jordan to D.C. would be tough enough. The passing of Abe Pollin changed everything. It was going to be a hard night at the Verizon Center, hard to focus on the reason why everyone from Abe Pollin to kind gentlemen checking bags at the press entrance was around, the game of basketball.
Being at the game became a privilege, an honor to experience an impromptu celebration of a man’s life through the sadness of his death. The man who owned the team I love. The man who was responsible for revitalizing part of the city I love. It was a sad day for all who have been involved with the franchise, but I couldn’t feel luckier to be apart of it in the way that I was.
To see the fresh look of shock on Caron Butler’s face as if a close relative just died. To see Antawn Jamison having a moment where it wasn’t known if a tear was going to flow down his cheek or not (he held on). To see Phil Chenier up close talking about Mr. Pollin with a smile on his face. To see the faces of the emotionally stricken employees of the Washington Sports & Entertainment empire. And to be there as Wes Unseld said the words which moved me the most, two feet away and almost encapsulated by the media scrum, sweat beading on his brow from the camera lights, but looking as comfortable in his gray adidas jump suit as a grandpa telling stories to whomever would listen while sipping ice tea on a broken-in porch on a hot summer day.
“I just lost a real, real good friend … and I think it’s more than any of you will understand or I could even explain,” said Unseld. Like Big Wes foretold, I wasn’t able to fully comprehend. But because of his words, I still did.
Mr. Pollin was a good owner. Not particularly adept at guiding a franchise toward winning (at least in my lifetime), but a good owner. He was a loyal man, a trait which countless will stand in line to attest. Perhaps, at times, that loyalty got in the way of winning. But that wasn’t the path Abe wanted to take. It didn’t mean he wanted to win any less than the next fan for life. This team, this city was damn lucky to have Abe Pollin on their side. So cheers to the captain of the vessel, here’s to hoping your successor steers the ship at least as good as you did, and to the best of your championship aspirations. (Ted Leonsis, is that you stepping forward?)
Post-game reactions to Mr. Pollin’s passing from Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood and Wes Unseld.
As you’ve probably heard by now, Abe Pollin, Chairman of Washington Sports & Entertainment, passed away today at the age of 85.
It’s truly a sad day for the Wizards franchise, fans, and the entire Washington metropolitan area … something which I cannot really express in this hastily put together post.
Pollin, just shy of his 86th birthday (December 3rd, which also is ‘Abe Pollin Day’ in Washington, D.C.) is survived by his wife, and co-owner of WSE, Irene. He was involved in ownership of the team for over 45 years.
Are you inundated with Michael Jordan posts/readings/articles yet? Sorry. If you’ve found yourself here, you’re at the point of no return. But dude is the G.O.A.T., and unfortunately, we won’t have another chance to reflect upon his career this much until his death.
Being a Wizards blogger, I’m obliged to write about Jordan’s time in Washington … sort of. You see, when MJ was playing for the Wizards, I was finishing my last four semesters of college. During those years away from DC, I lost touch with the team I’d grown to love unconditionally. And since the MJ experiment occurred way back at the beginning of the millennium, I didn’t have the advantage of blogs, streaming online video, NBA league pass, and the what-not to adequately keep tabs.
Thus, I’m apathetic toward memories of Jordan in Wizards blue. At the time, I thought his front office presence, and his subsequent comeback to the hardwood, could be nothing but good for a perpetually floundering franchise.
Did I care about, much less notice, the negative aspects Jordan brought to the table? Nope.
First and foremost, he wants to win now, not later … the guy doesn’t have much ‘later’ left.
Second, the Wizards are relatively financially stable, ranked 15th in the NBA by Forbes in franchise value, 14th in revenue and 10th in operating income. The rankings could be better considering that D.C. is the 8th largest media market in the U.S. (in 2006). Then again, being in such a large media market helps bring in revenue from other sources.
Finally, there is hope in the Nation’s Capital that if you build it, they will come. If Ernie Grunfeld constructs a contender, then the fair-weather transients around the DMV area will show up amongst the bars, restaurants, and museums of Chinatown to see a winner in the Phone Booth.
Just look at those hot spots son! Bask in their warmth…but not too long, you might get a tan.
Not only did D-Song go off with an 8-9 FG, 19 point performance against the T-Wolves, but those stats are from his last TEN games.
Before the All-Star break, Darius “Dirty” Songaila played in 52 games, starting 10, and dropped 6.1 ppg on 50% shooting. In the 11 games since the break, all starts, he is draining 65.9% of his shots and scoring 11.5 points per.
A piece I wrote about Abe Pollin on NBCWashington.com has not exactly been well received. Oh well…. I still stand by my assertion that it’s time for team ownership to change hands. Nothing against Mr. Pollin, as I think he’s done some very great things for the franchise and for the city. However, every view of him need not be looked at through rose-colored glass. Speaking of….I’ve yet to read Washington Post (Mike Wise) and Washington Times (Tim Lemke) pieces on Polllin, but I’m about to.
We now know the scapegoat threshold on an NBA season in the District of Columbia: 10 losses against a solo win. As head coach of the Washington Wizards, Eddie Jordan is no more. If the WizzNutzz only had the foresight to include this among their Screaming Headlines…..
Someone had to take the fall. The Wizards crack medical staff? Well, they can’t exactly control the environment in which they work, but by most accounts, they are no medical staff of the Phoenix Suns.
The most glaring problem for the Wizards during Jordan’s tenure was bottom-of-the-barrel defense. Despite these facts surrounding the team’s stars: Gilbert Arenas, a bad defender; Caron Butler, a bad defender; Antawn Jamison, a bad defender; Antonio Daniels, a bad defender……when the pattern of defensive inefficiency creeps into its sixth consecutive year, the ultimate responsibility falls on the shoulders of the head coach.
All the tinkering and gimmicks in the world…..match-ups zones, doubling the ball off screens, the scheming of Randy Ayers (and to a lesser extent, Flip Saunders, who made a cameo in training camp as an instructor of zone defense)…….could not circumvent the fact that it’s easier to get rid of a coach than make roster adjustments.
Unfortunately, many Washingtonians are rejoicing with election night enthusiasm at their cubicles today. Can’t exactly blame them for doing so, it’s just unfortunate that it had to arrive at this point. I have been a staunch supporter of Eddie Jordan through and through, but was even beginning to wonder myself if Jordan getting Sam Cooke’d was the right move to make.
A lot of people are drooling over JaVale McGee today (myself included….and justifiably so). The poll on the Wiz-Jazz game blog at Bullets Forever even indicates that McGee should be last night’s player of the game. I will politely disagree. Yes, the Wizards would not have won with game without the young Choppa, but my game MVP is none other than Antawn Jamison.
The Gentleman Jamison spoke words about the attitude in the locker room and backed them up. Statistically, it wasn’t one of his better games….AJ’s stat line actually teeters on mundane (for his standard). But he made his presence felt…..Jamison was all over the court, getting his hands on loose balls, hitting a huge trey, and overall, TCOB.
The Most Important Stat: Sure, the Wizards out-rebounded, out-stole, and out-blocked the Jazz, but getting to the free-throw line was crucial. I noticed that for about 95% of the night, the Wizards refused to settle and were persistent in getting into the paint….which led to the Wiz shooting 40 free-throws. But the key part, unlike in the Milwaukee game, was that Washington took advantage of getting to the line and made their free-throws, sinking 32 to shoot 80%.
A game to build upon? We can only wait and see. (oh yea, this also happened)
Who Said What From Around The World Wide Web: Read more »
There have been questions about Jordan’s status from year to year…..whether it be general disapproval from fans, the fact that he wasn’t an ‘Ernie Grunfeld’ selection, or that Jordan’s hand-picked assistants were only renewed on a year-to-year basis.
I’ve been a staunch supporter of Jordan. Sure there are issues, as I outlined in his evaluation. But I factor in his DC resume, and an appreciation that for the last four years, I haven’t had to cross my fingers when ping-pong balls start mixing in late May.
But in terms of the timing, I was perplexed as Prada at Bullets Forever….why now? Perhaps my curiosity was more the result of surprise at the unexpectedness of the re-up. But after further pondering, it was a good move by GM Ernie Grunfeld and Owner Abe Pollin.
With the state of Gilbert Arenas’ knee, the team had to shift focus towards a more pragmatic approach. Sure, fans are ready for the team to advance past the 2nd round of the playoffs….statim. But now, a one-year plan for the desired playoff advancement is more realistically a two-year plan. Would the Wizards have exercised the option on Jordan had Arenas not gone under the knife for a third time? I’m not so sure.
With the late July legal win for the Washington football franchise, it’s safe to say that the Redskins will be the nickname of the team for the foreseen future of countless generations. Essentially, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that a 16-year old Native American lawsuitattempting to invalidate a trademark on the Redskins name was not filed within a timely manner of when the trademark was issued in 1967, and to do so now would cause the franchise too great of an economic hardship. The court did not comment on the racially offensive nature of the legal battle and the case now heads back to the U.S. Court of Appeals.
What is a Redskin? The reasoning behind the meaning seems to split into three areas of thought: the skin color of Native Americans, the warpaint Native Americans used before battle, or the bloody scalp remnant resulting from a Native American crossing the path of a bounty hunter.
Most accounts can agree that team owner George Preston Marshall changed the franchise name from the Boston Braves to the Boston Redskins in 1933 to recognize then coach, William “Lone Star” Dietz. Dietz, who claimed half-German, half-Sioux background, embraced what he perceived to be a Native American heritage.
