The Truth About A Wizards-Cavs Playoff Preview

Matt from Hardwood Paroxysm recently posed some questions to a round-table of Wizards and Cavs bloggers. Here are my initial responses, stay tuned for the rest.

1. How is this time around going to be different from the other times you've met the Cavs in the playoffs? Last year was obviously a joke with the injuries, but the year before that was a pretty entertaining series. How confident do you feel right now going into this matchup?
Yea, I'm not counting last year. For the Wizards, injuries and lack of depth sealed their fate. So, I'll compare this year to what happened in 05-06 when the Cavs took out the Wizards 4-2 in a thrilling series:

In the 05-06 playoffs, the Wizards struggled to field even a seven man rotation. Arenas, Butler (before he really came into his own) Jamison, Haywood, and Jared Jeffries were the series starters. We all loved the defense of Jeffries (at times), but that dude was soft like goo and couldn't finish a layup to save his life.....not to mention that he wasn't opening a damn thing inside with any sort of outside presence. Insert DeShawn Stevenson, the Lock Smith. Not only has DeShawn been a warrior, playing through a multitude of injuries this year, but he's played great defense against some of the toughest match-ups in the league. Did I mention that Stevenson has drained 157 threes this year...only about 30 more than DeShawn made in his previous seven NBA seasons combined.

Bench please. In 06, it basically consisted of Antonio Daniels and several square pegs trying to fit into round holes: (total series minutes played in parens) -- Billy Thomas (13:55), Etan Thomas (18:20), Michael Ruffin (69:36:), and Donell Taylor (3:12). You're putting yourself behind the 8-Ball when Michael Ruffin is your key 7th man. And yes, I do realize that the bench time shortens during the playoffs, but that should not detract from the need to have kick-ass relief.

This year, you have Roger Mason Jr. aka Mase-ON, aka The Potomac Rainmaker, aka Dr. Trey, coming off the pine to confidently make buckets son. You also got your Darius Songaila, the Lithuanian Brawler, hitting jumpers, driving to the hoop, getting boards, and helping the offense tick. If up and coming Andray Blatche can stay out of foul trouble, he can contribute with energy, rebounds, blocks and passing. Oh yea, that Gilbert Arenas fella....Eddie Jordan has said that he'll continue to bring Arenas off the bench during the playoffs -- we'll see if that lasts. I'm all for severely limiting the minutes of Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Oleksiy Pecherov in the post-season.

After typing all that, it's safe to say that I'm much more confident. I give the Wizards a 65% chance of taking the series.

2. What do you think the strategy should be for the Wizards concerning the Cavs' frontcourt size?
I'll be damned if I'm going to be concerned about Benny Wallace and Andy Varejao on offense...but I'm really worried about those two hitting the offensive boards. I think Brendan Haywood's maturity has really developed since last year and that he is ready to give it his all. Darius Songaila has gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Dwight Howard, so I think he's up to task. The aforementioned Andray Blatche needs to keep his butt out of foul trouble. I think he and Joe Smith are important wild cards for both teams. The outside shooting of Ilgauskas would seemingly cause issues for the Wiz in opening up the lane for LeBron (but it's not like anyone else on Cleveland can penetrate), and Brendan Haywood has traditionally matched up well against Zydrunas. Cleveland should be worrying about who is going to guard Antawn Jamison.

3. Who do you think has the advantage in the backcourt?
Backcourt Advantage? Well, if you're putting LeBron in the backcourt, you gotta include Tuff Juice on the side for the Wizards. So, it's Gilbert Arenas, DeShawn Stevenson, Antonio Daniels, Roger Mason Jr., Caron Butler, and just maybe Nick Young vs. LBJ, Boobie Gibson, a guy named Sasha [injured for series], Delonte West, and Damon "Pretty Boy" Jones. With King James throwing off the balance, it seems pretty close, but I consider chumps like Damon Jones a minus for the Cavs. I'll put his face at the top of my blog until next season begins if he beats the Wiz in a game this year like he did in game 6 of 2006.

Playoff Linkage:
(most of these were covered on the Bullets Forever Game 1 thread, but here's what's interesting about them)

Are Gilbert's Mind Games Working? On Friday, James acknowledged that he was truly caught off guard by Arenas writing on his blog that the Cavaliers were the team Washington wanted to play. [Washington Post]

Look Who's Talking....again: "I’m an assassin. I get buckets. I haven’t played in a long time, but my shot is still there. When I come off the bench, there’s going to be some trouble." - Gilbert Arenas [WashingtonWizardsBlog]

Rebounding from Israel: For all the talk about LeBron James, the biggest concern I have coming into this series is the rebounding. I know LeBron will get his points, but they will only lead to a victory if the Wizards fall asleep on the glass. [Pradamaster, Bullets Forever]

Get Your Cotton Candy Ready: A ring-tone rapper just may be in the house. [The Plain Dealer]

Waiting For Cavalier Shooting: ....if none of these shooters can step up and hit some shots for the Cavaliers, it will minimize the Wizard’s biggest liability and it will make life awfully dificult on the Cavaliers. [Waiting For Next Year]

Don't Sleep on Brendan Todd Haywood. During that series [2007], center Brendan Haywood became something of a villain in Cleveland after engaging in a shoving match and exchanging trash talk with then-Cavalier Drew Gooden in Game 2. "I don't think they're going to worry too much about me," Haywood cracked. "I think that right now, their focus is going to be on somebody else." [Washington Post]

Gunfight Anyone? Like Doc Holiday said in Tombstone, the Wizards aren't looking for revenge...they want a "reckoning." [Welcome to the Now]

Slam is NOT Nas......One Love? Nope. But I think all that any of us need to know about these Wizards is that we (fans, media, that blogger guy with the hat who’s not Gilbert) have spent a lot more time this season talking about the guy who barely played, and what he “blogged” about, and how we all sort of got tired of him, and also about how DeShawn Stevenson is a loon, than we have about what these guys do when they’re wearing their matching tank tops and running around with on the court. Which tells me they’re not a serious contender for much of anything this year……which sort of makes them like the Cavs, only less compelling in an actual basketball sense, because you can’t really see these Wizards contending ever, at least not as presently constructed. [Ryan Jones, Slam]

Oochie Coochie La-La-La: Hilarious [WizzNutzz]

Join Antawn Jamison's Book Club: "All Buts Stink! How to Live Your Best Life and Eliminate Excuses." [Washington Post]

Deuce of Muresan [Deuce of Davenport]

An "Iffy" Prediction: If LeBron gets past his back woes, Cavs in seven. If he doesn't, Wizards in six. [Deadspin]

A Better Future: Zards in 5 [The Hype Guy]

"X" Factor: Mase-ON [Wizards Insider]

The Guy Who Blogs For Gilbert is a Sixers Fan? Drag. [Gilbertology]

I even think Mike Jones is sippin' on that sizzurp: So, in so many words, the Wizards say, Bring on the Cavaliers. [Washington Times]

Blogger Trash Talk.
The expert analysis bullshit of Le Cavs has led them to pick Cleveland in 3.

The Cavs will win this series. It will be close after each game - 110-109, 99-97, 103-99 - but it will not really be close, because the Wizards don't have a chance. Cavs in 3!

Too bad first round series are now 7 games instead of 5.....it's been like that since '03 chief. Of course, the error is later corrected....with another mistake:

Now, as for the Cavs, I do stand by Cavs in 5, and I'm not worried. Sure, we have our work cut out for us with the scoring of Jamison, Butler and Arenas, but we've seen before that those 3 don't mesh so well.

The only thing that don't mesh so well is those tank-tops you probably wear.

I'm following the crowd with the Truth:
Wizards In Six.

Working Out The Wizards Web

flickr/wizardsdotcom

Here's the ranks:

1) You must know that Bullets Forever has gone through a pretty kick-ass revamp. Stop waiting and go join the community. By the way, that's where the Game 82 blog vs. the Orlando Magic will be tonight.

2) Wow, it's been a whole five years since Michael Jordan played his last game as a Wizard. The crew at We Rite Goode has an excellent run-down.

3) Gilbert Arenas may still be spurning the media, but we now know that a "break" from blogging means about 4 days. Highlights of the latest include:

• Gil thanking the young Wiz kids for their level-headedness.
• Arena's attempts of 'reverse-psychology' with NBA Exec. VP of B-ball Ops., Stu Jackson
• Gilbert is taking a chill on being a hype-man for the Cleveland series, conceding the talking to our friend the Lock Smith.
• Of course, Gil calls out Tom Knott by name again.
• But I'm not sure if Arenas is calling out George Bush....or giving street cred to an oil-war gangsta.

4) There's been millions, if not billions, of teams in the history of civilization. Evidently, Charles Barkley has done his homework and has called the Wizards the dumbest of them all.

5) Looks like DeShawn Stevenson will start against Orlando tonight, keeping the streak in tact at 250. Gilbert and Caron might get a little run too....just to keep warm.

6) Since DeShawn left the Verizon after the Indy game without talking to reporters, Mike Jones thinks Stevenson will be yapping after the Orlando game tonight.

7) The DC Pro Sports Report has a great run-down of the feud and Cavs-Wiz playoffs 3.0 from both sides for the coin.

1. LeBron? Check.
2. Stevenson? Check.
3. Soulja Boy? A Maybe.
4. Jay-Z? Don't stop to holla.
5. Usher? Who gives a shit.
6. Destiny's Child? Been there, done that.
7. It seems only natural that Cam'ron get in on this process since he had Jay-Z's wifey, Beyonce, singing about "slangin' some crack."
   

8) Wherever you are, watch out for the elbow of Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

9) The Top 10 Ways to Foul LeBron James.

10) On a related note, here are the Top 10 Signs that LeBron James and the Cavs are getting some calls.

11) The video of the clap to Jamison's jimmy in the Pacers game. Take a gander at Jamison's eyes when he tries to get up....I'm not sure he knows where he is.

12) After all, It's All Fun and Games.

It's Hovi Baby! A Lazy Sunday Evening

So, after an afternoon of listening to U.G.K, I was sitting around the apartment on Sunday evening, not knowing what to do with myself. Women's Final Four? Meh. I'll have it on, but I can't guarantee my undivided attention. Granted, I wasn't bored. I despise the word 'bored' - can bloggers really ever say that they're bored? In any case, a text message from my boy Rob came into my phone around 7:30 pm, "Hey, you wanna go to Jay-Z?"

Uhh....okay? Wasn't aware that Jay-Z was in DC....so the potential for a trick was present. Well a trick it was not. The next thing I knew, I found myself at the sold-out Verizon Center in Chinatown DC with front row club level seats -- witnessing Mary J. Blige and my first Jay-Z concert. Mary J. put on an absolute show. Jay-Z....he was pretty damn good. I could be picky with song selection and quantity, but I won't. [My Top 10 Jay-Z Tracks]

Thanks to Rob for looking out and thanks to his boy John for giving up the tickets.

Jay Z & Memphis Bleek's brief appearance.

And now, for those Washingtonians who may or may not read this blog, here are some DC-related links:

>> Spring is upon the Baltimore sports scene. Can you smell it? [Stet Sports Blog]

>> The DC high school sports scene gets gipped once again because DC is not a state. Gee, thanks Rivals.com. [Shakedownsports.com]

>> The Roots & Toots are coming to April 20th DC Earth Day! I can't wait.

>> The Link is for Billy B: The Good Stuff Eatery is coming to Capitol Hill.

>> DC Mayor Adrian Fenty gives his family-owned store free advertising with taxpayer money. [DCist] Oh well....I suppose he could have worn a shirt promoting DC tourism. I just looooove those tourists.

>> The owner of the playoff bound Washington Capitals has some ideas on how to reinvent the newspaper business. [Ted's Take]

>> The Aristocrats are coming to Columbia Heights! [The Onion]

>> Tired of seeing those Washington Post, "Post Points" commercials? Me too. [The Goodspeed Update]

>> DeShawn Stevenson is the Fresh Prince of DC [Mr. Irrelevant]

>> Union Station Loves/Hates Photographers [DCist]

>> Oh Danny Snyder, you are the living end - you hire a common-law wife/pit-bull beater then use your media spinning ways to keep it on the DL. [Washington Times]

>> This one is for all the Moes out there (or Mo'). [on 205th]

>> West Coast girls have jumped the shark?.....Is the East Coast, including DC, where it's at? [Heartthrobs and Villains]

I leave you with this YouTube of the DC Jay-Z concert, a medley.
(please excuse the poor audio quality)

A Tiger With No Charity Stripes (and some links to boot)

One sad tiger.
flickr/zeandroid

Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks for persevering to win the NCAA championship last night. Today, everyone has been concentrating on the missed Memphis Tiger free-throws, and well, they should. No, the game wasn't exactly lost or won on a single play.....they rarely are. But it seems like we are conditioned to pick out the most egregious mistake and focus on it like it's our one and only. But aside from this season, Memphis has had a tumultuous relationship with the free-throw line in the past.

Let me take you back to March 12, 2005. Memphis, with a record of 16-14 entering the Conference USA tournament, won three straight games (against Saint Louis, Charlotte and USF) to set up a championship match against 28-4 Louisville. Before the CUSA tournament began, Memphis had no chance of making the Big Dance and was probably going to come up short of the NIT as well.

The championship game against Louisville was hard-fought and down to the wire. Of course, free-throw shooting was crucial for both teams. With 6.7 seconds left, Louisville's Brad Gianiny knocked down only 1 of 2 FTs, giving the Cardinals a 2-point lead, 75-73. Memphis had plenty of time to push the ball the length of the court for a basket, and they did.....to the horror of Louisville Coach Rick Pitino, Memphis' Darius Washington Jr. was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer at the buzzer. How could Pitino's star player, Francisco Garcia, do such a thing?

Zeros on the clock, down two, three free-throws: Make two, you go to purgatory. Make three, you lead your team to the glory of the NCAA tournament. Miss two, and your team starts packing for the NIT. Was there more pressure on Washington's FTs than on the FTs in last night's game? I would say so. Yes, I'll concur, there is much more on the line in a national championship game than a conference championship game -- that's an obvious distinction. However, last night's outcome did not solely rest on FTs. Mario Chalmers hit a helluva shot and the Jayhawks fought tooth and nail back into the game. Against Louisville in '05, the weight of his entire team, his coaches, his family, the Memphis Tiger fan nation, rested on the shoulders of Darius Washington, Jr.

A freshman all alone on the free-throw line. The first one easily went through the net, leading to dances of rejoice from Washington's teammates. The second one would clang off the front of the rim and fall to side. Uh oh. The third....would miss in the same exact manner as the second. In defeat, the freshman Washington collapsed to the floor. "Somebody's gotta help that kid up." Calipari was the first one to do so, as he was the first one to nobly take the blame last night. Unfortunately, John can't be on the court shooting for his players.

In the land of the just....in my opinion, Washington traveled before he even attempted the 3-pointer. You can judge for yourself with this YouTube clip. If only a free-throw lesson was learned for John Calipari and his Memphis Tigers two years ago......In reality, it's American basketball as a whole which would benefit from such a lesson.

By the way....One Shining Moment: it's a classic highlight package from CBS, but the song by David Barrett is starting to wear thin on me. In fact, I never really liked it in the first place. Last night, my experiment was to put the TV on mute and play Common's 'Be (the intro)' leading into 'Go' -- and it actually worked (notwithstanding proper timing of clips to beats). NCAA blasphemy? Who cares. One Shining Moment is more cheesy and out-of-date than it is entertaining. Of course, if CBS attempted to 'hip-hop' the tournament culminating montage, they'd probably choose something even more cotton-candy like Justin Timberland and 50 Cent.


Now for some links of the sports world....some of these are recent, some are months old, but they are all truthfully recommended:

>> Have you ever read HoopsHype? I hope you don't call yourself a fan of basketball if you haven't. Well, read this Wall Street Journal story about a website, HoopsHype.com, run by three stripped-shirt wearing dudes from Spain, Spaniards, (one doesn't like basketball, one created the site from a basement 125 miles north of Madrid, and one is just there). HoopsHype.com has become required reading for NBA executives and NBA agents alike.

>> Buge Hoobs put together some info on how NBA owners became NBA owners for the East and the West. The most interesting facts:

• The sister of Miami Heat owner, Micky Arison (Carnival cruise ships), is the richest person in Israel.
• The owner of the Golden State Warriors, Chris Cohan, is in a lot of trouble with the IRS.
  
• Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos is the king of the skeevy Multi-Level- Marketing world.
  
• Jerry Reinsdorf, Chicago Bulls owner, made a lot of money off an IRS tax loophole which was later closed.
• The owner of the Houston Rockets, a guy named Leslie, last name Alexander, hates meat.
  
• The divorce of Bobcats owner, Bob Johnson (BET), made his former wife the second richest woman in America next to Oprah.
  

>> If we are starting an All-Shyster-Team, I'm not sure who I'd draft first, William Wesley [via True Hoop] or the Pump Brothers. Essentially, both contingents are powerful people in the world of basketball. What exactly they do? No one really knows....except that they know major players and can "get things done" -- enough to raise my suspicion. My best guesstimate: White Collar Hustlers.

Pump Brothers Resume:

• Involved with AAU ball since age of 16 (and we all know how much a money hustle AAU ball can be).
  
• Ran teams that got paid in upwards of 25K to play colleges in exhibition games -- essentially, additional paid recruiting for college coaches (In 2004, the NCAA banned non-collegiate teams from playing in exhibitions).
• Association with Jim Harrick.
  
• A steady source of income through "involvement" with big-game tickets.

William Wesley Resume:

• Has the NCAA asking schools about him.
  
• A ringing endorsement from Michael Irvin: "What Paris Hilton has done in Hollywood, Wes has done in the sports world."
• For some reason, Wesley was in Memphis' post game handshake line against Tennessee this year.
• Got his first break from Rick Mahorn.

Read the articles and you be the judge. Maybe the Pump Brothers and William Wesley are simply Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen all rolled into one (a case study for Malcolm Gladwell). Not sure who I'd pick first in the shyster draft, but William Wesley is the guy whom I would most want in my corner. And hey, David Stern kinda has Worldwide Wes' back. [True Hoop]

>> Who is Kobe dissing more: Puff Daddy P. Diddy Diddy....or Ronnie Artest?
Kings collar victory over Lakers [Sam Amick, sacbee.com]

"Kobe popped his collar in Sacramento, and the Kings' fans weren't too happy, so the best thing was to have a chance to pop it back," said Artest.

"He's got to get his own material," Bryant said. "Don't be (rapper) Puff Daddy and sample every song. You've got to create your own music sometimes."

>> I've always been curious to see this happen with those "professional" trampoline jumpers at basketball games. I've also been curious as to how the NBA gets away with letting fans try.....they never know to jump off two feet, at least in the experiences I've witnessed at Washington Wizards games.

>> Along those lines, The 22 Worst Dunks Ever [on 205th]

>> When walking through the ticket scalpers around the Verizon Center, I often feel as if I were walking through Hamsterdam (you gotta watch HBO's The Wire to know what that means). This sad story about a Milwaukee ticket scalper who keeps bobble-heads in his garage is nothing like that. Then again, maybe he's the white Bubs of the ticket scalping world.

>> A kinder, gentler Peter Vescey?....he speaks out on Dennis Johnson not making it to the Basketball Hall of Fame....again. Yet, Vescey doesn't take the time to rip into Dick Vitale. What gives? [NY Post]

>> Calling foul on those who said the NBA would increase crime [NewsOK.com]
Clearly a case of the vocal ignorant being the unsilent minority. Oklahoma City has more than shown the ability to support an NBA franchise; I just hope it's not the Hornets or Sonics.

>> Bobby Knight on increasing the NBA age minimum, sort of...
"This is college basketball, and to keep it college basketball somehow the NCAA has got to do away with one-year players," Knight said after mention of the USC-Kansas State game. "All you have to do is pass six hours the first semester and you can play right through the NCAA tournament. That's not what college basketball should be, and the NCAA should be just ripped apart for allowing that to happen." [LA Times]

>> Good to know that MJ is still on his game. [NY Post] Speaking of....do you need some Michael Jordan jeans? [The Big Lead]

>> Old man gets hit by bat (and it's not in the crotch) [MachoChip]

>> Allen Iverson can dribble a pig-skin [YouTube]

>> Is Dirk Nowitzki's wink to a kid in this commercial telling him to smoke weed, but just not bad weed? [Epic Carnival]

>> Simon on Sports presents great athletic BJs. How curious are you to click on the link?

>> Here's to staying classy up at Penn State [Epic Carnival]

The Great American Link Farm

Yes, this is my/our country.

I hear they're calling the midnight flight from LA to Dallas the Peter North Red Eye.

The Big List: Female Teachers with Students: "Most comprehensive account on Internet of women predators on campus" [WorldNetDaily] -Unfortunately, many of these women are atrocious.

Eliot Spitzer on Easter Sunday.

Call girls are sooooooo high tech: "I insist that they give me their full names and their place of work so that I can contact them there before we meet. I also check their identification when we meet. I also use verification companies, which assist escorts in verification of clients." [Freakonomics - New York Times]

And then there is Ashley Alexandra Dupré AKA "Kristen" AKA Eliot Spitzer's call girl. I'm sure you've all seen the photos from her MySpace page. My source came from CO-ED Magazine. The photo of her dollar-billin' on a yacht in the Washington Channel in DC somewhere in Europe was classic.....could be a paper-back cover of a John Grisham novel. In fact, here is what it might look like (completely classy with a symbolic recap of the events):

photoshopped by truthaboutit.net

Then there's this headline: "Ex-Florida prison boss: Drunken orgies tainted system" [CNN.com]

Back in the day: Lori Loughlin [on 205th]

Stakes high in card games between NBA's players [Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com] Professional athletes and gambling....A tale of 30K losses in one plane ride and rivalries between Charles Oakley and Tyrone Hill.

Yep, fraternities are pseudo gay. They drop 9 boys off at a hotel with a keg and 9 bottles of liquor and tell them to get to know each other. [Epic Carnival]

A Boy Named Sue, and a Theory of Names [J. Marion Tierney, New York Times]

If you like Poker, this might not be a bad read.

Washington Wizards React Quotes & Other Tid-Bits

Headed down to the Verizon Center in Chinatown last Saturday night to see my Washington Wizards look uninterested in a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. It wasn't the end of the world, but I was disappointed nonetheless.

Attending the game in person, I had my ears listening for react quotes (Wire reference alert):

"The only bad thing about St. Patrick's Day is that one year I took river-dance lessons....." The quote by a mid-twenties girl, who surprisingly spent more time paying attention to the game than talking, then blurred into something about being drunk and dancing in bars. My head was buried into my hands upon hearing 'river' and 'dance' in the same sentence. I should've tried to set her up with my friend Chris.

"Awww he shook him...ohhh he shook him." Middle-aged white man in his middle-aged white man voice in reference to Raymond Felton toying with Antonio Daniels.

"That brotha is in the zone." This was repeated about nine times in 30 seconds as some guy expressed his expert analysis of Jason Richardson's 34 point game.

"It'd be a lot funner if we could cheer for the other team." River dance girl as the Bobcats took a 38-23 lead.

"Well, I'm not sending my kids to Duke." A foreign girl from Argentina after receiving an explanation as to why they show the Duke logo at the Verizon Center, and thus eliciting boos from the home crowd.

"C'mon, let's play like were losing." A pessimistic guy as Antawn Jamison hit a deuce to cut the Bobcat lead to 5, 89-84, with 1:40 left. All the Wizards would do from there is extend the game, causing the minute forty to take about 15 minutes of real time, as they lost 100-97.

And that's how it went....the already sparse and unenergetic crowd headed to the exits in droves.

Into the night....

"Science club, you heard of that place?" Bearded Blond Guy #1 to a friend standing in line. He then turns to the side hand whisper, "The line (at 18th Street Lounge) is long and I don't do the cold."

Bearded Blue Track Jacket Guy #2, "I only wait in line for roller coasters." The two beards then frolic off into the night.

Moving on....

Slam had some good coverage of the Wizards win in Toronto. My favorite parts:

Antonio Daniels does not like Deion Sanders and Nick Young is a school-girl.

Antonio Daniels cares about baseball. Intensely. When Nick Young reveals that his favorite player of all time is Deion Sanders, which for whatever reason greatly upsets Daniels, the veteran guard hurls a water bottle at him and it misses the rook’s head by mere inches. Startled, Young runs out of the room giggling.

Why did I include this quote?

Maceo Baston, despite the high probability that he will not see the floor tonight, is nonetheless taping his own feet. Baston explains that he doesn't have access to any of the modern medical technology that pro athletes make use of on a daily basis, to which Calderon replies, "Why, do you play in Eastern Europe or something?"

Because I'm currently reading, "Can I Keep My Jersey?" by Paul Shirley. A quote from page 68 as Paul is considering signing with a professional team in Spain:

The team's situation was an odd one. Their American player, Maceo Baston, had left Spain under the pretense that his father was sick. I was shocked at what I was hearing - Maceo Baston is not spelled Macy O'Baston. All this time I'd thought he was an Irishman. My whole worldview was shaken.

First of all, it looks like Maceo Baston skipped out on the whole being a pro basketball player in Western Europe thing.....so yea, I can't imagine him lasting in Eastern Europe. Seems like Baston just likes to bitch and moan. Or, Maceo is just mad that his name is affiliated with a song by Jane's Addiction. Lastly, I think my worldview was shaken after discovering that Paul Shirley actually thought an Irish-American basketball player existed. I think there's a better chance of seeing a Somalian body-builder.

In other news:

• Michael Lee says that Andray Blatche is building his career with blocks. I'd rather blocks from Andray be a side-dish.....or a dessert.....or even a digestif.
  
  
• I wish Wizards Nation was more easy like Jake the Snake on a Sunday (or Monday) morning.
  
  
• Dan Steinberg reports on Gilbert Arenas going Bone Crusher on us.
  
  
• Nutty Wizz
  
  
• The DC Sports Bog also dubs John Feinstein as a "Short White Homeless-Looking White Dude."
  
  
• The History of the Mutombo Finger Wag. [via True Hoop]
  
  
• How do you want Nick Johnson of the Washington Nationals to do his hair? I mean, how do you want him to get his hair did?
  
  

Wizards-Bucks...TONIGHT!

Whatchoo Talking About Willis? Links Arnold, Links.

Maybe you've seen some of these links before, maybe you haven't...but I liked 'em.

>> I never really liked Chris Berman. Some wonder why. I now present, via The Big Lead, a sizeable Deeewshhhh.

>> My friend Chris has a t-shirt that says 'No More Drug War' -- Hence, an enlightening post from True Hoop.

>> I would love to have Ocho Cinco in DC. Would that let Lil' Danny Snyder off the hook for all this coaching B.S.? Hell no. UPDATE: Mr. Irrelevant has a great pic of Ocho Cinco with some Redskins jerseys.

>> What would you do if your dad sold your Michael Jordan rookie card for drugs? Would you decide to make it to the NBA? Rafer Alston did. True Hoop links to this New York Times article from 1994 by Tom Friend about current Houston Rocket, Rafer Alston aka Skip to My Lou.

Friend's article makes me wonder, 'how on earth did a guy with the history of Rafer make it?' And while the piece very insightful, it contains a lot of sensationalistic crap, like:

"Carrying a knapsack used to be against his religion, but Rafer Alston just finished a psychology test that the instructor did not mark up with red ink." and "A rubber basketball was his penny from heaven, and he bounced it repetitiously." Religion? Pennies from heaven? Really? A little much if you ask me.

Regardless, after reading, I have a new found respect for Alston. But be warned, don't ever let Skip to My Lou hustle you in a dice game.

>> Is it ironic that the Washington Redskins were the last NFL team to be segregated? Not necessarily because of the team name, rather, because Washington, DC is known as Chocolate City. AskMen.com gives us 5 interesting NFL facts that you probably don't know. The desegregation of the Skins as a result of JFK was #1. You know what else I learned via the AskMen link? Those Cowboys, those damn Dallas Cowboys have replaced the Redskins as the world's most valuable sports franchise. Uhhhh.....take that Danny Snyder?

>> The world is getting flatter as the NBA is moving into India. I can't wait until they replace that stupid NBA piano commercial with one displaying awesome dancing NBA player Bollywood action. Similar to this.

>> So if you were a photographer at a Penn State-Ohio State basketball game, would you actually pay attention to crappy Big 10...err...11 basketball? Ooooor....would you pay attention to Erin Andrews? Rush the Court directed us to the answer: photos by Jim Davidson of Erin clenching a cheek in the huddle.

>> File this under: Only in New Jersey aka 'The Armpit of America'
The wife of a New Jersey police chief, who used to be a prosecutor for various locales and head of the PTA for an elementary school, was caught giving booze, pot, and BJs to boys who could barely drive. Wow. I'm not even sure what to say here. [found via The Big Lead]

>> I don't care what anyone says, I'm still going to try this. Oh yea, last time I checked, New Jersey was above the Mason Dixon Line. Oh, you're too good for a McDonald's pizza? How about a cheeseburger in a can then?

>> I recently discovered Woot. Pretty cool site.

>> And a couple links for the sake of not liking Dook:

• That's It, Mike Patrick Must Be Stopped [Mr. Irrelevant]
• Duke & Flopping [DC Sports Bog]

Afternoon Wizards: Brendan Haywood & The B-List All-Stars

The national media is starting, more and more, to recognize the Washington Wizards. In his latest NBA Power Rankings, CBS Sportsline's Tony Meija has DC's team all the way up to #8 -- the highest I've seen among the many "power" rankings out there. Tony touches on the big question that's been on my mind:

"Washington has a new identity. Arenas will have to buy in when he returns and he's smart and hungry enough to know that."

Gilbert has made me a believer in him so far...but my inner skeptic can't help but wonder, can he play defense himself? That's always been the knock on Gil and we've yet to see any type of commitment from him on the defensive end. Can't see why it shouldn't happen, especially considering how this team should not have to lean on Arenas as much for scoring when he returns to action.

>>>

Yesterday, Slam Magazine came out with the B-List NBA All-Stars. Funny, how this list can be just as controversial as the real NBA All-Star team. Good to see our boy DeShawn Stevenson AKA The Lock Smith made the team. In the comments section, I made an argument for the selection of Brendan Haywood over David Lee. I think I've got an air-tight case:

I’d like to give a shot-out to my mans ‘n’ them, Brendan Todd Haywood. David Lee? PU-lease. Let’s compare some per game numbers:

David Lee 26 minutes 9.4 points 7.8 rebounds 0.9 assists 1.2 turnovers 0.6 steals 0.3 blocks 78.8 FT% 57.8 FG%

Brendan Haywood 27 minutes 10.3 points 7.7 rebounds 0.7 assists 1.5 turnovers 0.5 steals 1.7 blocks 73.0 FT% 52.9 FG%

Save for blocks….very comparable numbers. So, you’re going to choose the guy who plays for the crappy New York Knicks over the big man ballin’ and patrolling the paint with tight D on a good Wizards team?

Rhetorical.

>>>

In his live NBA blog from Monday, Kelly Dwyer calls out Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier for toting Caron Butler for MVP.

1:29: Wizards broadcasters Phil Chenier and Steve Buckhantz are trumpeting Caron Butler for the MVP award, and they should really just stop.

As a crutch, the duo is comparing Caron's 2007-08 numbers with 2007 MVP Dirk Nowitzki's numbers from last season, forgetting of course that the Mavs essentially rested Dirk for the last month of the season, and that at his prime he was averaging about five points more per game, three rebounds more per game, as many as assists per game as Butler is right now, while playing fewer minutes.

I hate denigrating Butler like this, Tough Juice has been awesome all season, but he's not an MVP. He's not the best player in the league. And there's nothing wrong with that. Why we have to make this sort of jump from good to great to MVP is beyond me ... can't a player just be great?

Look, I've gotten on Steve and Phil before for their consistent peddling of Gilbert Arena as an all-star starter when he's injured and undeserving. But now, it's time to come to their defense. Obviously, I was watching the game and I didn't come under the impression that they were seriously lobbying for Caron to be MVP at all. Simply put, the graphic showed a side-by-side comparison of Caron's numbers this year versus Dirk's numbers from last year. This, in my opinion, was intended to show how great Caron's numbers have been this year and to further establish the fact that he has "arrived." Yes, perhaps they used this comparison as further evidence towards a "Caron 4 All-Star" campaign...and by now, that should be a give-in. But I think that Steve and Phil are too smart to be seriously serious about this one.

>>>

Oleksiy Pecherov's new nickname, The White Hole. Not only has he surprised Nick Young, but I think that he's surprised all of us. The basic scouting report said that OP had the ability to shoot the rock from greater distances, but no one knew he could be almost deadly. Makes me wonder why we didn't hear more about Pech knocking down shots in practice.

>>>

Some people are outraged that Nick Young was not invited to participate in the dunk contest at the NBA All-Star game in New Orleans. I am neither surprised, nor outraged. First of all, Nick can sky and I'm more than confident that he could hold his own with these other cats. However, his body of work is minuscule. Yea, he's had a couple of game dunks, but the others have more on their resume. Keep working City, maybe next year. My question would be, why only 4 invitees?

>>>

What a surprise....someone else does not like the Wizards alternate gold uniforms. Guess I'm the only one who has no problem with them. My actual issue stems from changing the team name from the Bullets to the Wizards in the first place. Still, Wizards is better than the Dragons, Express, Stallions or Sea Dogs....or is it?

>>>

Michael Lee of the Washington Post has weighed in on who he thinks should be the NBA All-Star starters for the Western Conference. He makes some good arguments....but big props go to Mike for giving Chris Paul some recognition.

>>>

Up next....Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers game blog.

Antawn Jamison for Eddy Curry or Zach Randolph? No Thank You.

So... Chad Ford thinks he can fix the New York Knicks?

Step 1: Buy out Stephon Marbury.

Ford makes a good point. Sure, the Knicks could try to trade Marbury this summer to a team looking for cap room, but Ford doesn't think that New York will get anything worth their while. Then again, have you heard of the Phoenix Suns? They gave the Seattle Sonics Kurt Thomas and two first round picks, in '08 and '10, in exchange for a conditional future 2nd round pick and a gain in cap space.

With frugality on the minds of many most all GMs these days [take that mainstream media....bloggers can cross out words and look cool, you can't]....anyway, you'd think the Knicks would be able to get someone to bite on Starbury. Of course, Marbury's recipient would surely cut him loose before he could set foot on a plane. No need to pack baggage Steph, all of yours is carry-on. Exactly, Kurt Thomas has been a great locker room presence in Seattle, not to mention averaging almost 10 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. And I've really got nothing against Marbury. The whole cheap shoe thing is kind of cool. But he's never been a winner. Why would any franchise want him? More importantly, for Stephon, how can he resurrect his career at this juncture? And why did Phoenix give up Thomas in the first place? They could sure use him now.

Step 2: Trade Zach Randolph or Eddy Curry.

Chadwick throws out several theories. I can't blame him, it's his job to do so. One involves Curry to the Hawks for Pachulia and Lue...intriguing. Another with Eddy going to the Magic for some randoms. But the suggestion which made me pause was Eddy Curry and Malik Rose to the Washington Wizards for Antawn Jamison. I can't even begin to say what's wrong with this suggestion. Jamison provides two main things over Curry: rebounds and intangibles. And "intangibles" covers a lot....everything from AJ's crafty shot repertoire to his leadership. Besides, Eddy Curry is not built for the Eddie Jordan offense and I don't see him meshing with Gilbert Arenas, assuming Gil stays around.

Ok, if not Curry, then the Knicks should try to trade Zach Randolph. To the Lakers for Kwame Tiny Hands and Farmer, Ariza or Crittenton? Phil has coached head cases before...see Dennis Rodman, oh, and....Kwame Brown. But I really don't think the Lakers are giving up Jordan Farmer. He's looking more and more like a keeper. Ultimately, Zach Randolph on the Lakers hinders the development of Andrew Bynum.

Eyebrow raiser #2: If the Wizards won't "bite" on Curry, then perhaps Randolph? Ok, first of all, the Ernie Grunfeld I know doesn't "bite" on bait.....especially nothing that Isiah Thomas is dangling. America is the land of second chances, but not when your exchanging a locker room presence such as Jamison with a locker room presence such as Randolph. No thanks.

Chad Ford goes on to spit more theories on what the Knicks should do.....but the point is, take the Wizards name out your mouth buddy. Jamison should retire a Wizard, at a reasonable cost of course. But there is no reason to think that Abe, Ernie and Antawn shouldn't make that happen.

On to some other recent Wizards scuttlebutt....

>> Hey, the Atlanta Hawks recently did a pretty cool thing. They invited bloggers to attend a game, gave them the "press" treatment, and then let them do their thing. Here is one of the results from The Atlanta Sports Fan where we learn that Brendan Todd Haywood is a master of veteran trickery....via Al Horford:

We spoke with Horford a little longer, learning that Brendan Haywood is a pretty sneaky player (”He’ll hit you in the back real hard, and then be like ‘Oh, sorry man. I didn’t mean to.’ Whatever.”)

>> The question on the minds of every single Washington Wizards fan? Are the Bullets better without Gilbert Arenas? Like the DC Pro Sports Report, I would tend to say no. But isn't that ultimately up to Gilbert? The real question should be: Will Gilbert Arenas' game change when he returns? ....or, more importantly, how will Superstar Agent Zero make this Wizards team better?

>> Speaking of Gilbert....in his latest blog entry, he ranks Caron B