D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty seemingly spent his Thanksgiving holiday in South Beach as he’s seen here attending a Washington Wizards game in Miami on Friday, November 27, 2009.

And what would Black Friday be without some free advertising for the local DMV economy by Mayor Fenty, a walking billboard for Baltimore-based Under Armour and Fleet Feet, the Columbia Heights Adams Morgan running store owned by his parents.

I certainly hope Mayor Blackberry enjoyed his time down South, although I do understand it was unseasonably cool. I also hope the Mayor was passionately rooting for his hometown Wizards. Although the fact that he appears to be wearing Miami Heat red doesn’t help his cause.

I got a text message from a good friend during Tuesday’s Wizards-Sixers game: “#4 is playing his a** off” — The message really came with the asterisks, he doesn’t like to cuss.

The text made me take pause. I clearly noticed Antawn Jamison’s hustle swag, but it took the words for me to fully digest the amount of playing emotion coming from the team leader. The game meant something to Jamison, and his passion dwarfed that of his teammates by far.

The dedication of The Gentleman Jamison helped overcome the fact that his team almost gave the game away, which fueled by the carelessness of Gilbert Arenas.

With 5:30 left in the game, after a Sam Dalembert bucket, Arenas tried to make a casual pass up the court to Earl Boykins … with Jrue Holiday RIGHT in the passing lane. Holiday got the easy steal, brought the ball up the court and hit a three in Arenas’ face. Five quick Philly points, 98-92 Wizards.

One minute later, Gilbert tried to drive the lane in heavy traffic. Holiday stripped him of the ball; a clean play contrary to Steve Buckhantz’s proclamation that Arenas got “clobbered.” Guess who was allowed to get a rebound tip bucket on the Sixers’ fast break … Jrue Holiday. 98-94 Wizards.

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I actually rewatched last Friday’s loss against the Thunder on Saturday morning … and then was left with the “treat” of the game against the Spurs that night. Lucky me. And no, I didn’t rewatch the Spurs game on Sunday. I’m not self-loathing.

But as this player-induced, media-fueled soap opera surrounding the Wizards continues — [And Dan Steinberg is right, the players should stop ripping each other in the media. However, the media (of which I am apart, I suppose ... since I was called a "reporter" in a Tweet by an actual reporter) is good at taking windowed instances and magnifying them into potentially meaning much more. Than again, these players have been around the media plenty of times, they know what they're doing.] — it’s not necessarily about egos, or free-agents, or hidden agendas.

It’s about a group of players taking the personal responsibility to do the little things, and then that coming together under the coaching of Flip Saunders and the leadership of the three captains: Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison (Brendan Haywood should really be counted as a leader as well). Yes, I know … seems like these things should have been handled in training camp and the preseason.

If this team wants to get out of the current funk, it starts with the little things. I was able to capture several screen shots from the Wizards not doing the little things against the Thunder, probably could have taken more against the Spurs, but I didn’t. So without further adieu, here’s a sample of those which I was able to break down. Read more »

I’m afraid I’m dating myself with the Oregon Trail reference. It happens.

San Antonio: 59 Rebounds - Washington: 44 Rebounds

Wizards: 12 ast, 9 turnovers – Spurs: 32 ast, 8 turnovers

WAS: 33.3 FG% – SA: 46.5 FG%

From my perspective, the killer against OKC was missed free-throws (19-27, 70.4%) and turnovers (20 for 25 Thunder points) … in addition to uninspired defense of course, namely by the prominent triumvirate that’s supposed to be leading the team.

But enough of that. I’ll have some screen shot breakdowns of the OKC game later, but tonight, the Wizards have to concentrate on the Spurs. Fabricio Oberto will make a homecoming, but his fellow Argentine, Manu Ginobili won’t be available (groin). Tony Parker is also day-to-day (missed Thursday’s game with an ankle).

The Wizards will take all the help they can get, especially as it’s been almost 10 years since they last won a regular season game in San Antonio. During that last win in the Alamodome, Mitch Richmond led all scorers with 31 points. Overall, the Wiz have lost seven in a row to the Spurs, last beating them at home in November ’05 thanks to 43 points from Gilbert Arenas on 15-20 FGs.

No room for moral victories tonight, this team needs a win. Read more »

{The Quick Run Down}

• In steps Earl Boykins, out goes Paul Davis … height history has been made in Washington, DC.
• Brendan Haywood has curiously been left off the All-Star game ballot.
• Fans in Minnesota are still discovering the wonders of Oleksiy Pecherov.
• Mr. Irrelevant brings you the ultimate DC sports Twitter list.
• And finally, congrats to Mike Prada of Bullets Forever for his very cool profile in Washingtonian Magazine.

{Back To Miami}

There was a minor Twitter flurry just before the Wizards game in Miami on Tuesday night. In a flash, reports of Gilbert Arenas’ demise (at least for that evening) spread throughout the web; hyped by yours truly. A sore left calf was the case that they gave him. Bury it with the ghosts of injury past and present, I thought … currently Mike James’ finger, Javaris Crittenton’s foot, the left shoulder of Mike Miller, and the right shoulder of Antawn Jamison … and as we would later find out, Randy Foye’s ankle.

Thoughts of distraught that I won’t repeat conjured in my mind as I rode the late bus home … to make a drink (or two) and watch a DVR delay of the Wizards-Heat game in hopes of catching up by the end. But knowing that without Arenas and the aforementioned others, the Wizards wouldn’t stand a chance.

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Seven third quarter Gilbert Arenas turnovers led to eight Dwyane Wade points on five total shots … evidently Arenas said wasn’t getting calls from the refs, or something like that.

Arenas also said:

“I’m always upset when I have turnovers. I’d rather just shoot the ball and get the attempts than get the turnovers.”

Arenas’ 12 total turnovers for the game broke a franchise record that has stood for over 20 years (regular season or playoffs, on either participating team).

Bob Dandridge committed 11 turnovers against the Golden State Warriors (Arenas’ first team) on February 7, 1978 … which also happens to be Juwan Howard’s birthday.

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It’s baffling how for the second game in a row the Wizards came out flat and lacking energy. You’d think that with the sour taste of a 19-win season still fresh, this team would play like they have something to prove. Guess not. Against the Pacers, the poor effort continued for the duration of the game as the Wizards fell 102-86.

So what is the reason? Is it still a matter of everyone getting used to their roles and flow in a new offensive system? Is it still a “process”?

The effort part is clearly on the players, evident by the strewn candy dishes and honeydew melon that resulted from Antawn Jamison’s post game tirade.

Flip Saunders seemed to be as confused about how to maneuver his team as anyone (which immediately conjured up images of Charlie in “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” in my mind — just see seconds 15-18 in the clip below).

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As Tuesday night got later and later, I found myself less and less wanting to write a blog about the Wizards-Cavs game. It’s not that I was particularly distraught about the loss … I just preferred to put it behind me, have a short memory as they say in sports.

Dwyane Wade and the Heat are in D.C. tonight for a game that I will be covering/reporting from … and I’d rather focus my energy on hoping the Wiz take care of business at home.

Plus, I predicted a Cavs win because of what I thought would be a Cleveland home court advantage (ahem … whistles). And well, that pretty much held true. In the first half, the Wizards’ four big men were whistled for a total of 12 fouls — Haywood (3), Blatche (3), McGee (4), and Oberto (2).

Most of the fouls were just, some not so much … and ultimately this threw the Wizards out of sync on both ends of the court.

On defense, bigs were worried about picking up fouls. And a Shaq versus JaVale McGee matchup, simply in appearance much less game flow, was like choosing between a simple salad and a bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys … when you’re six beers into a six hour empty stomach. Which one do you think will prevail?

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