No. 1 on this week’s list of stupid NBA basketball stuff: this guy. 

[original image via Evan Vucci, AP]

Second of all, nobody cares. [Wild guess: You, bro, are also a NY Jets fan.]

Third of all, the Heat won a championship recently. You might have heard about it through the Internets if you’ve been a fan of the team for long enough. So, why don’t you go suck on that for a spell. Should provide plenty of nourishment.

Fourth of all, even though your sign does not specifically outline such, you did not pay all that money for tickets to “see Lebron play.” Nope, you paid to see the Wizards of Washington play the Heat of Miami. Susan O’Malley is no longer around, so I’m pretty sure that LeBron wasn’t featured on the ticket that got you into the arena.

Read more »

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 79, Washington Wizards vs Miami Heat; contributors: Rashad Mobley and Kyle Weidie from the Verizon Center, and Conor Dirks from the Dirty South.]

Martell Webster, writing checks. What you lookin’ at, Bradley? [via @wiz_spurtin]

Read more »

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 32, Washington Wizards at Miami Heat; contributor: Kyle Weidie from his standing desk (Why, yes, this is quite late ... thank you for understanding).]

Smug LeBron. Read more »

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 21, your Washington Wizards vs. the Heat in Miami; contributors: John Converse Townsend and Kyle Weidie from the other side of the boob tube.]

A coach trying to avoid an amber alert with his players… Read more »

Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 20th game of the season against the Heat in Miami is TAI’s Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It). Usually there is a guest to these bits, but this Kyle character didn’t reach out to anyone in time. And otherwise, it’s hard to get people to care about/to be interested in/to spend their time on a franchise as bad as the Wizards. So here I am.

Wizards Starters (3-17):

Jordan Crawford, Bradley Beal, Martell Webster, Chris Singleton, Emeka Okafor

Heat Starters (14-6):

Read more »

“We are going to shock the world.”

This was the answer Washington season ticket holder and Goodman League head honcho, Miles Rawls, said just moments before tip-off between the Wizards and Heat on Tuesday evening. I had asked the iconic D.C. hoops personality for his prediction of the matchup, one where the Wizards were 10.5-point underdogs and plus-475 payout on the money line.

Rawls was not the only one with confidence that the NBA’s current cellar dwellers could defeat the defending champs at the Verizon Center. Coach Randy Wittman delivered an inspirational message to his team before the game, and he discussed  it afterwards.

“They only people that really think you have a chance tonight is us here right in this room,” Wittman remembered telling his team in the locker room.

He then spoke directly to the media attending his press conference: “You guys don’t. The outside didn’t. I said we need to have a statement game, we haven’t had a statement game … what better of an opportunity to come play in front of the fans that we knew were going to be here and to beat this team. And they took it to heart.”

Read more »

[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 15, Washington Wizards vs Miami Heat; contributors: John Converse Townsend and Adam McGinnis from the Verizon Center, and Kyle Weidie from behind the T.V.]

Pre-Game Steez. [photo via Adam McGinnis] Read more »

More RGIII? Definitely more RGIII.

Third of all, if you didn’t know, Robert Griffin, III was at the Wizards-Heat game on Tuesday night.

Second of all, he and LeBron hugged. The above video comes courtesy of TAI’s John Converse Townsend, and it is LeBron talking about RGIII, not hugging him.

And first of all…

“Of course I seen him.” {giggles… chuckles… ‘this guy’} —LeBron

Read more »

[RGIII looks sad hugging LeBron James; Sam Cassell's head was there.]

Yep, he totally was. I know because I watched it on the T.V., and there he was, definitely in attendance. He just about sat in Randy Wittman’s lap thanks to courtside seats. Seats that Ted Leonsis sits in sometimes. But this time, RGIII was there. You’ve certainly heard about it via the Internets, via the Twitter, perhaps even via the Google.

Maybe RGIII saw a Wittman face (i.e., #WittmanFace). Maybe RGIII saw John Wall’s red pants. He definitely saw the Wizards beat the Heat, 105-101. That RGIII, what a guy.

RGIII also witnessed the below GIFery: a sweet block by Kevin Seraphin on LeBron James after some fancy dribbling. Did you know that RGIII was at the Wizards-Heat game?

Read more »

Spotlight: Ray Allen

Jesus Shuttlesworth shared some of his secrets to success before the Heat took on the Wiz in Washington. Find that, plus a John Wall update, below.

Bonus Points

On adjusting to life as a member of the Heat:

“I’m learning the guys and not trying to force my ways on how I’ve done things on them. It’s been pretty good, it’s been a pretty easy transition. This start of the season, I’m still trying to figure out different ways that you can be better—for me, how I can help—but it’s always a work in progress, especially if you want to be good.”

On where the 16-year veteran wants to get better: Read more »