I wouldn't root for [blank] if they were playing the Axis of Evil

When I was younger, my dad would say, "I wouldn't root for so-and-so if they were playing against the Chinese communists." 'So-and-so' being a hated sports team.

Over the years, I've filled-in the blank with the likes of the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, New York Knicks, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Lakers, Duke Blue Devils, Notre Dame Irish, Ole Miss Rebels, and of course, the Dallas Cowboys.

Well, in this modern day, China and their communists have become a tad more amicable to the American sports fan......human rights issues such as Tibet and the opinion of Ira Newble notwithstanding. And since Beijing is hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic games, my dad's sarcastic statement no longer carries the same weight. China just isn't the enemy it used to be.

So where do we turn? Towards the Axis of Evil, naturally. Originally made up of Iran, Iraq and North Korea.....I'm pretty sure it's safe to drop Iraq from the list (as Saddam, Uday and Qusay are no more -- talk about evil, Uday owned THREE copies of Air Bud), and North Korea has claims of denuclearization. So, that leaves us to wash the Iranians with a bucket of haterade.

In his latest move of defiance, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sending the Iranian National Basketball team (which miraculously qualified for the '08 'Lympics by winning the FIBA Asia games last year) to the U.S. of A. to infiltrate the Rocky Mountain Revue and fight a couple jihads against the summer league teams of the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz.

Now if this was last generation's Utah Jazz, you might find many utter the statement, "I wouldn't root for the Jazz if they were playing the Iranian Freedom Haters." At least most that I knew had a severe distaste for Messrs Karl Malone and John Stockton. Personally, as great as Jordan was, I thought it was time that the Bulls be taken down....a ring for each finger on one hand was enough. Basketball blasphemy? Whatever.

In the end, one shouldn't expect much fan fare over an Iranian team playing summer squad NBA hopefuls, such as Charles Rhodes, Gerald Green, and Kosta Koufos. However, if Jaber Rouzbahani and his comrades show up to the games wearing bulky trench coats, there may be cause for concern.

In the meantime, I'll limit my hope to some American bows connecting with Iranian chops, and perhaps some trash talking along the lines of, "You bitches better take it easy with all that uranium enrichment else I'll sanction that ass....again." Now if the Iranian basketball team was set to match up against the Dookies at Cameron Indoor, then my nationalistic rooting interests would be seriously compromised.

Photo of former US Embassy in Tehran from flickr.

Wizards React Quotes: Hollywood Divorce and Jazzy Remorse

I got home from the Washington Nationals opener just in time to catch the last 8 minutes (incl. OT) of the Wizards-Lakers game. I know, I know.....I gotta get a DVR - all the kids are doing it. Nonetheless, what I saw of the Nick Young show was highly entertaining. I was probably more into that game [meaning yelling loud enough to make my neighbors wonder] than I have been for any other this year. I could be labeled as a Laker-hater, but at least the Wizards covered the 9.

The Wizards-Jazz game? Read the live game blog if you dare. [Wizards Game #74 @ Utah Jazz] Surfing around the blogosphere, the obliteration seemed to be expected, especially with the absence of Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels due to injury (not to mention Gilbert and Etan). Yea, well maybe I expected it too. But it would've been nice to see the Wizards take some pride and get scrappy. Oh well. At least the Wiz are at.....home sweet home?


The Reach Quotes from Cali to Utah.......

Dig of the Week
"This is where Abe Pollin's insistence on not paying the luxury tax combined with the injury issues have really hurt this team........From my seat, this team has needed a quick, defensive-minded point guard type coming off that bench all season and simply hasn't had one. [Ivan Carter]
-- Of course, criticism of Abe Pollin has been around the block and then some....including making several stops on my street.

Who Does # Two Work For?
"Well the trip didn’t end on the best of notes, but the team still went out west and held their own and cameback home still holding down the 5 spot in the east. [WashingtonWizardsBlog.com]
-- Way to tow the company line guys. In the least, let's go ahead and add a 'barely' in front of 'held'......unless the the goal of the Wizards was to play from behind in every game.

Los Angeles Lakers

" It had the makings of a Disney movie. With his Washington Wizards trailing his hometown Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant — the player he grew up idolizing — rookie Nick Young got the call and had the game of his life. [Washington Times]

"Ugh. Washington finishes the quarter [1st] on a Brendan Haywood dribble drive. Without getting too deep into the particulars, that shouldn't happen. [LA Times Lakers Blog]

"Stevenson goes down and is banged up, a guy that never flops. And the Staples crowd boos. Nice. Go back to your copies of Vogue, people. [Hardwood Paroxysm]

"Question, how is that the Wizards drastically improve their shooting after they hire a fantastic shooting coach, yet other teams in the NBA don't seem to be catching on? I mean, why was Hopla even available? If he's as good as his results seem to indicate, I imagine this guy would have been snagged by the Spurs or something. [My Swog is Phenomenal]

"Both squads were scorching from downtown, the Lakers hitting 14-27 (52%) and the Wiz knocking down 17-30 (57%). Overall, the home team was 50% from the field and the visitors 47%. Thus, tonight marked the first time where two teams sported a better three-point percentage (with a minimum of 27 attempts per side) than straight up field goal percentage since the addition of the arc itself. [LA Times Lakers Blog Recap]

"Nick Young was really flowing last night and it was fun watching him react to the performance....Even Lakers fans were rooting him on, especially the folks sitting court side. [Wizards Insider]

Jazz Game

"A playoff team cannot get beaten like that. I know the Jazz are very good at what they do and the Wizards defense (especially at the end of a road trip) is not good at defending the 3 or quick guards, but this kind of loss should have embarrassed the team. I hope it embarrassed the team. [Les Bullez]

"Simply put, the Jazz are really, really good. I bet their lockers are made of rich mahogany. [My Swog is Phenomenal]

"I honestly felt like we should have called off the dogs a little...nah. This was too much fun. The most interesting thing that came from the Wizards was DeShawn Stevenson's beard. We need more beards in this world. [My Utah Jazz]

"I'd personally like to apologize for anything (anything!) that we might have said or did in the recent weeks and months that might have offended the Utah Jazz, the state of Utah, the USS Utah, Jazzy Jeff, jazz hands, or even Kenny G. [Jake on Bullets Forever]

"OK, so nobody could have predicted a blowout of such gigantic proportions -- not with Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer sidelined with injuries and the Jazz starting C.J. Miles and Ronnie Price in their place. [Jazz Notes: Salt Lake Tribune]

"It's not fun to lose, but it's always fun watching a Jerry Sloan team execute," Wizards Coach Eddie Jordan said. [Washington Post]

"It's not fun to lose, but yet it's a pleasure watching a Jerry Sloan team execute," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. [Washington Times]

* Hmm....I wonder who is misquoting Eddie Jordan.

"Coach Eddie Jordan said the team will go through an extensive shootaround tomorrow morning to prepare for the Bucks. [Wizards Insider]


Next up: The Milwaukee Bucks and Yi Jianlian. That's right, I said Yi Jianlian. Yi Jianlian is coming to DC......to play in Chinatown. How is he not tomorrow night's 'one to watch?' What you don't know is that Yi Jianlian is an American Bad Boy. Yi Jianlian is bad just like this guy. They should be friends.

GAME PREVIEW: Washington Wizards vs. Utah Jazz

Needless to say, without Caron Butler tonight, the cards are stacked high against the Wizards. Utah is a damn good team with some very diverse pieces. And you gotta have the utmost respect for Jerry Sloan. Just two years ago, people were calling him washed up. During trying times, he remained stoic, did not complain one bit, and took his lumps like a man. Twenty years as a head coach in the game will put some rings around your trunk. Good for him.

From Wizards Insider: Butler did some light shooting this morning, but is still questionable. I bet that he plays considering that both he and Jamison are All-Stars, motivation son. AD and his tweaked ankle also should start.

Jeezy....we can only hope that no more damage is done tonight, the trainer has been asking for a raise. I like the depth and bench of this Wizards team, just not when they are depended upon to produce wins. Because as Wages of Wins informs us, Nick Young is one of the 10 worst players in the NBA. Now, we all know this young guy has the potential to be special...just some rookie blues, maybe he can start using these slights like Gil.

Also, from 82games.com, it's not surprising that Stevenson, Jamison and Butler are the Wizards 'Big Three' this year. Not to shabby that they're the 9th best 'Tres Grande' in the NBA. Number 8 on the list is tonight's opponent, the Jazzy Trio of AK-47, D-Will and the Booz.

Oh yea...the huge news around the blogosphere, the world, the net, the coffee pot, the afternoon snack den, your mom's book club this afternoon is that Kwame 'Tiny Hands' Brown got traded to the Memphis Grizzlies with Pau Gasol going to La-La Land as the principles of the deal. I've always felt that Gasol was kin to Mr. Softy...but that's only when he has to play the role of the head honcho. Now that he can sit back and be the second, maybe even the third potato....(hell, when Bynum comes back, probably 4th in line)....uh yea, the Lakers are going to be scary.

It ain't gonna be easy for the Wiz tonight, but who said any of them were going to be?......especially since after grinding with this she-devil, AK-47 bit off the head of a kitten.



Oh yea, some news from my end. We all know that Bullets Forever provides the most comprehensive coverage of the Washington Wizards from a blogger's perspective. (side note: At times, mainstream media's distaste for "bloggers" seems to give that very word a negative connotation. Let's call a spade a spade. Bloggers are fans, the electricity that makes the professional sports machine run.) Well, in an effort boost the coverage of the Wizards from a fan's perspective, I've joined up with Bullets Forever on the collabo tip. Starting tonight, every other one of my live game blogs will be posted on Bullets Forever. Everything else in the game remains the same. For the alternate live gamers on BF, I'll probably post a game preview here. So, if you wanna discuss tonight's game against the Jazz, you can find me there.

Wizards Nation is gettin' grown.