Ernie Grunfeld recently, somewhat, let the cat out of the bag regarding an impending team color scheme change — which was really inevitable anyway, it’s just that hearing a formality from the team president of basketball operations before it comes from the blogging owner of transparency, Ted Leonsis, perks up some ears.

Leonsis made himself available to the media toward the end of Monday’s Midnight Madness, even though I imagine he was pretty exhausted from his travels. He had meetings regarding the NHL, American Express and the NBA in New York City during the day on Monday, and said, “I didn’t think I’d get back here in time. I was really tired, but I walked in and all these kids were screaming and hollering, and now I have a lot of energy.”

I figured I’d ask him about the color change (to red, white and blue), to see if he was ready to make some sort of announcement … that’s not an “as you know” as the end of the press conference.

[As an aside, I think I'm ready to claim "As you know..." as Ernie Grunfeld's go-to equivalent of Antawn Jamison's "And things of that nature ..." and Mike Miller's "It is what it is."

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Back in early August, when it was revealed that the New Jersey Nets had filed paperwork to change their team name, I got curious, did the Wizards do the same thing?

Evidently so, as team president Ernie Grunfeld let it slip this afternoon that the team would be switching their colors to red, white and blue for the 2011-12 season.

When I asked in August, team spokespeople were relatively mum … aside from a “Ted likes red” {wink, wink}. A league spokesperson wouldn’t comment either, other than indicating that, “if a franchise wanted to change its team name or colors, paperwork must be filed 24 months prior to the start of the season when the team wants to make the change.”

Basically, it became understood that the Wizards would eventually change their team colors to incorporate red, but an announcement would be made on their own terms, i.e., with the marketing pizazz that Ted Leonsis has became known for (See: Midnight Madness, PA Announcer Tryouts). Read more »

[Author's Note:  The editor of this site, Mr. Kyle Weidie, cannot stand Tony Kornheiser.  He thinks Tony is old, out of touch and unnecessarily negative about all things Washington Wizards--especially Gilbert Arenas.  He acknowledges Tony was a great sports writer at one time, but Kyle thinks those days are long gone.  I am a huge Tony Kornheiser fan, and I enjoy his articles, his books, PTI and his radio program, so for me to even get this article on Truth About It, is a coup of epic proportions.  Keep that in mind as you read please. -Rashad]

Washington Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis made an appearance on Tony Kornheiser’s radio show yesterday on ESPN 980 in Washington D.C., and his main focus was to discuss the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge.  That event, which will take place on October 23rd, will feature several events (20 mile cycling, a 5k Walk, and a 3K walk just to name a few) that will start and end at the Washington Monument on the National Mall.  This event is designed to assist those individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and Best Buddies International (a charity that Leonsis is actively involved with), and the Special Olympics (founded by the late Eunice Kennedy Shriver) have partnered to make this event possible.

After Leonsis spent several minutes discussing this worthy event, Tony asked him to address some issues related to the Washington Capitals and the Wizards.  The Capitals-related issue involved Leonsis and his beef with the writer of this article.  But since we are a Wizards blog, we’ll spend more time delving into the basketball portion of Tony’s queries.

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So I was called out by Ted Leonsis this past weekend. I know, not good to be called out by a billionaire … oops, millionaire. But in reality, it was more of a challenge (or question) from Mr. Leonsis, i.e., it wasn’t anything like his emotional “Unemotional Response” or calling me “Simply Uninformed,” as he’s done with others. Different by far, let me explain.

While relaying a good deed performed by Josh Howard (his past record of note has many bad deeds), I poked fun at his outfit, and loosely related something that Brendan Haywood (supposedly) said about Howard. It was joking. It was fun. And that’s what this “blog” thing is all about: writing, analysis, pictures, graphic design, stats, reporting, break-downs, video, opinions, links, and I’ll reiterate, fun.

But, considering Howard’s past bad news and how it’s nice to hear good news associated with him (and because they say the good things are never written about), was it fair for me to poke fun at his outfit (which honestly isn’t that bad, more silly)?

Well, I’m not answering that question. Too bad. Easy way out on my part? Maybe. But my poking fun at Howard’s outfit isn’t the point. Neither is the fact that Leonsis comes to the defense of his players, as their employer. I don’t necessarily see it as Leonsis being “too sensitive,” as I’ve heard others amongst my web social network imply. An employer goes to bat for his or her employees. That’s the way it should be, in most cases. It makes the employees feel appreciated. It creates unity from top down. More than understandable, in my book. (Although, I did giggle when my girlfriend called Mr. Leonsis their “Papa Bear” in a joking manner.)

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A D.C. pic, some Michael Jordan commentary, and links …

[Cavalier Liquor - 14th St. & Parkwood Pl. NW - Washington, D.C. - K. Weidie]

Not All For Nothing, Perhaps.

Michael Jordan, as owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, is trying to do things the right way, this time … so it seems. There’s a must-read on TrueHoop right now called, “Michael Jordan’s Bobcat Comeback.” This induced several thoughts: Read more »

A D.C. pic and links …

I came across this big banner hanging on a building at the northeast corner of 13th and L Streets NW, about nine blocks or so from the Verizon Center. It features “Monumental Action” and the Verizon Center website URL followed by Alex Ovechkin, Andray Blatche, Crystal Langhorne, Beyoncé Knowles (I believe), and who appears to be Chris Wright of the Georgetown Hoyas. The logo of the Ted Leonsis-led group, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, is featured in the lower right-hand corner. I’m not sure what other monumental banners are around the city (or DMV area), or how long this has been up (the Monumental logo was released on July 16), but I am curious to see if Blatche will allow himself to be the Wizards representative of Monumental Sports in the future.

Preparation “H”

Michael Lee reports that it’s unlikely the Wizards will sign 2010 second round draft pick (56th overall) Hamady N’diaye, rather likely opting to let him develop in Europe.
[Wizards Insider]

I had a feeling something like this was coming, as N’diaye remained unsigned, and it was previously reported that an Italian team had interest in him. The Wizards will still hold N’diaye’s rights for the future, but now, since it looks like Kevin Seraphin will need a fair bit of time to develop (and he isn’t going to the D-League — link below), it makes sense for Hamady to get more experience overseas.

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Remember last year? I do. I blogged about it and all. In fact, I’ve been blogging about this Wizards team solid since October 2007. And what have I learned most? Curb your enthusiasm. Now, I’m not here to sell you a glass half-empty today that I purchased half-full yesterday. I do, as just about anyone involved with the Wizards, from within the organization to outside, from media to fans, have hope for a better future (thanks to, namely, John Wall and Ted Leonsis).

It’s just that being entrenched in D.C. sports and getting hype for what may lie ahead no longer go hand-and-hand, at least for me. I’m not sure if this feeling has existed within me the whole time, it’s just now I’m older, wiser. Or if the whole Gilbert Arenas gun ordeal last year (as the topping on other D.C. sports futility), which at one point had me contemplating ending this whole blog … briefly, has created a faintly apathetic feeling toward hope (or a hatred of false hope).

My point: Donovan McNabb comes to town and I shrugged my shoulders (and thanks to Mr. Irrelevant, I’ve also been cautioning people that we’ll likely see Rex Grossman start for a couple games). The Wizards land the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft (okay, that was bat-sh*t surprising), and take Mr. John Wall … more shoulder shrugging (sort of).

Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than thankful that I’ll get to cover Wall, but right now, he’s just a fresh-faced kid who happens to wear the jersey of the NBA team I’m close to.

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[UPDATE: An update on this topic has been posted here.]

[UPDATE #2: Arenas has chosen a number.]

{image via DC Sports Bog}

You gotta love the interaction between Ted Leonsis and “bloggers” … specifically, Dan Steinberg and his DC Sports Bog.

On June 14th, Leonsis, the open and candid one, blogged about his first impressions of emails from Wizards fans and included a listed synopsis of the concerns brought to him.

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[Editor's note: Check out the debut of new TAI author, John Townsend. Read more about that John at the bottom of this post, but first, check out his piece about another John. -Kyle]

America always seems to need an enemy, whether they’re found in politics (terrorists!) or in sports (referee Dan Crawford for Mavericks fans).  Sure, there are times when our criticism of these villains is justified (British Petroleum), but just as often it is not (Steve Bartman).

The most celebrated, captivating products and people are the most polarizing as well.  We should expect this, especially considering the amount of time, money, and hopes being invested.  This all brings me to John Wall – savior or setback? The question was never will the Wizards select John Wall, but instead what will happen when they do.

photo courtesy of thomasbeisner's Flickr

The debate over whether or not John Wall is the answer in Washington, DC is groundless.  John Wall is one part of the solution to a greater basketball challenge.

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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.

The next day, the issue was evidently so hot-button that Leonsis had to clarify his comments regarding the matter in two venues, on his blog, Ted’s Take, and in a meeting with editors and reporters from the Washington Post.

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.

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