On April 22nd, I held a Wizards trivia contest to win one of two copies of Stumbling On Wins: Two Economists Expose the Pitfalls on the Road to Victory in Professional Sports by Dave Berri and Martin Schmidt, or some Wizards swag … which, as you can see from the pictures above is a pair of fuzzy Wizards/Zephyrs dice. Fancy, huh?

First, congrats goes to Thomas Pruitt and Wade Smith, the only two respondents to answer all nine trivia questions right. They both win a copy of the book. Also congrats to Marc Salmon, his email address was randomly selected from the entire pool of entries. Marc gets the lucky dice.

Now let’s go over the questions, answers and a bit of team history. In case you didn’t take part in the poll, I’m posting the answers at the bottom so you can take a guess at the questions if you feel so inclined.

#1 Which coach led the Washington Bullets in their ’97 1st round playoff matchup against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls?

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To dunk, Juwan Howard had to make his body as straight as possible
and daintily place his off hand to his side.

More Cardboard Bullets are below, but first, please read the story of Juwan.

Last Sunday marked the 13th anniversary of Juwan Howard’s first ever NBA playoff game. Yes, that Juwan Howard and the appearance was with those Washington Bullets, who were bounced from the 1997 playoffs in three games by the cigar smoking Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls

Hard to believe Howard is still playing in the current NBA Playoffs. And despite 1,116 career regular season NBA games, he’s only appeared in 28 total playoff games and is set to appear in number 29 with the Portland Trailblazers tomorrow night.

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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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So Michael Jordan made it to the Hall of Fame. Should we be surprised that he didn’t mention Abe Pollin and the Wizards amongst his list of competition fuel? Oh, that’s right, he hasn’t had much success at the management level, so no grounds to prove anyone wrong there. Although, I will admit that pawning off Juwan Howard and his silly contract on Mark Cuban was cigar-smoking smooth. Unfortunately the WaPost’s Michael Lee wasn’t afforded a chance to ask Jordan about the Wiz … it would have been nice to see his reaction to the question in the least.

I still stand behind what I wrote regarding Jordan’s induction speech. However, in discussing it with a co-worker, I’ll admit that he could have been more charming, while still recounting his motivational factors. But Jordan’s message was a conveyance of his personality, and since he’s not some basketball demigod to me, I could care less how he came across … opting to stick with my preference of honestly at face value instead.

[If it feels like I'm posting about Jordan too much lately, then good, we are on the same page. But like I've said before, we really won't have a chance to cover him this much again (until he passes). So, might as well get it out of the way now. And don't worry, there will be plenty on the Wizards of the future coming soon.]

Below is the best of what was said regarding Jordan’s tenure with the Wizards… Read more »

The friendly bloggers (and their fans) at the Cleveland sports-based Waiting For Next Year have taken upon the task of creating a Mark Price-themed t-shirt (h/t Sporting News).

Price, the current Atlanta Hawks shooting coach, may still be right for Cleveland Cavaliers fans, but that’s far from the case for Wizards/Bullets fans.

A reminder of how the Cavs fleeced former Bullets GM, John Nash (from this May ’08 post):

You remember David Wesley….former NBAer, longtime Hornet, one time speed racer (what, too soon?).

I was flipping around on whatever day it was….with basketball, they all run into each other…and evidently Baylor was playing against someone in some tournament…..probably NIT (is the CBI even on television? is it black-listed from MSMer and the blogworld alike?)…..and there was David Wesley: student manager.

Wesley needed 33 credits to graduate, so working on that physical education degree while watching basketball…..good for him.

Wesley never played for the Wizards, but is connected to several people who have:

• Wesley played with Nervous Pervis Ellison on the Celtics from 94-97.
• With Mugsy Bogues on the Charlotte Hornets in 97-98.
• With Doug Overton and Otis Thorpe on the 00-01 Charlotte Hornets.
• With Courtney Alexander and Robert Pack on the 02-03 New Orleans Hornets.
• With Lonny Baxter on the 04-05 NOLA Hornets (and later Houston Rockets)
• With Juwan Howard, Mike James, Tyron Lue and Rod Strickland on the 04-05 Rockets.
• And with Larry Hughes on the 06-07 Cavs.

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Opposing teams are starting to catch on to Kiss Cam hi-jinks. Some like Juwan Howard of the Bobcats give a casual wave. Some like Al Harrington and Nate Robinson of the Knicks ham it up.

Perhaps it’s because he’s always famously getting railed on by Stephen A. Smith, or perhaps it’s just because he’s foreign, but when it comes to the Kiss Cam, Rasho Nesterovic’s teammates (and a trainer) duck and cover, leaving him high and dry.

Can’t tell who’s ducking next to Rasho, but Travis Diener literally went running into the stands.

Poor Rasho….left all alone, looking like a cross between Jaws from the James Bond movies (and Happy Gilmore) and a creeper who is looking to diddle kids in a park.

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It never fails. Right after the ending timeout buzzer sounds, the Verizon Center ‘Kiss Cam’ operator pans to a couple players on the opposing bench and giggles spread throughout the arena like a pandemic. I imagine that said cameraman is also crossing his fingers that he’s not by chance capturing the next John Amaechi in an uncomfortable situation.

But last Saturday against the Charlotte Bobcats, Juwan Howard served as not only a victim of boo-birds throughout the night, but also of Kiss Cam hijinx. No one is quite sure why Wizards fans hold a grudge against a man who simply took the money which was offered to him. Perhaps Howard was simply serving as an outlet for the frustrations of a lost season; either that or people just don’t like cats who get paid and then suck Nonetheless, as you will see in the photos and web hits below, Howard seemed to be a good sport about the whole ordeal.

The Wizards? Well, they haven’t been very sporting at all lately, have they?
Wizards-Bobcats Web Hits:

Attended the game on Saturday (obviously), and one of the few highlights can be found courtesy of Mac G’s World…..JaVale’s Jam.

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I was doing some cleaning around the apartment yesterday, working on a project for Father’s Day (Happy Father’s Day to my dad all the real dads out there) and came across a clipping from the Washington Times that my pops gave me just over three years ago.

“What A Long, Strange Trip It’s Been,” was Tom Knott’s proclamation of purged bad karma for DC’s pro-basketball franchise just before game one against the Chicago Bulls in the ’05 NBA playoffs. It made me think, so much of that trip was spent bonding with my dad. We probably made the trek out to Landover, MD, and then downtown to Chinatown years later, at least 175 times together, witnessing years of futility and a lone playoff game pre-2005. To pass time with my father, to follow a hometown team together, it was all worth it.

I couldn’t help but get a chuckle out of Knott’s column. The long, strange trip continues and some would argue that Wizards fans still have not been exonerated of bad karma. Is this article to remind us how appreciative we should be for a four year playoff run, or have our expectations justifiably risen to the point where wanting more supersedes being spoiled by morsels of success?

The circus acts of yore are all featured: “Nervous” Pervis Ellison, Manute Bol, Boo-nard King (is that the best picture they had?), Mel Turpin, Rex Chapman (one of my all time favorites), Rod Strickland, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jerry Stackhouse, and finally Old Man Jordan.

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