Posts tagged ‘washington nationals’

Some recent Washington Wizards videos that you might have missed ….

Number ten on the Wizards’ top plays of the 2009-10 season is of particular interest … because one could argue it was the play of the year (or perhaps the play of the last five years), but it also could have been one of the worst bad luck plays imaginable. And it’s nothing more than a Cedric Jackson game-winning three-pointer that gave the Wizards a 98-97 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the last game of the season. So what significance is that?

It’s of John Wall-level significance.

Let me explain by quoting something I wrote on the night of May 18th when the Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery:

Irene Pollin spoke before the fourth quarter of the last game of the season. The Wizards, down by six and looking everything like a 25-win team heading into the final 12, came back to beat the Indiana Pacers by one point. Flip Saunders played his most inexperienced, least talented squad down the stretch. But little-used Cedric Jackson bucked and scored the last five points of the game.

That win, much to the chagrin of tanking proponents at the time, tied the Wizards with the 26-56 Golden State Warriors and not the 25-57 Sacramento Kings. Who knows what would have happened if the Wizards had a tie-breaker with the Kings. Just know that the Wizards lost their tie-breaker with the Warriors and jumped both Golden State and Sac-Town on their way to No. 1.

Read more »

Hi there. Welcome to this Washington Wizards blog. Now let’s talk baseball.

I went to Stephen Strasburg’s major league debut last night. And oh man, what a night it was. Jamie Mottram hit the nail on the head with his observations on Mr. Irrelevant.

I’ll add that Strasburg’s focus must be intense. The kid is not wired like anyone else on this earth.

ZERO walks and 14 strikeouts? Sure, the kid had a couple bad pitches, in particular the 2-run dinger given up to Delwyn Young with two outs in the top of the 4th. But don’t forget the broken bat double-play he got Pittsburgh’s 4-hole batter, Garrett Jones, to hit into with men on first and second right before Young’s homer. And definitely don’t forget that after giving up those two runs in the fourth, Strasburg struck out eight of the next nine batters he faced to close out his night — all went down swinging except for one, and the guy who didn’t strike out, Jason Jaramillo, had a measly ground out to first.

The best part of the evening was obviously seeing the game live. But the second best was much later when I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. Something clicked inside as thoughts on Strasburg’s debut ran through my head, making me realize how amazing it was to see that 21-year old pitch; “special” doesn’t even begin to describe. Strasburg is going to revolutionize the pitching position. Chicks will no longer did the long ball that much, they’ll want to get with those Ks.

John Wall, the ball is now in your court … although, it will be highly unfair to expect you to dazzle as much as Strasburg in your debut. You’ll pretty much have to drop 40 points, 15 assists, 5 amazing dunks and win the game with a big shot in the waning minutes. I know, it’s a lot … and it still likely won’t be enough. Sorry kiddo. Read more »

Last night, Washington National and San Francisco native, Nyjer Morgan, attended the Wizards game to put on for his Golden State Warriors.

Known in gentlemanly circles as “Tony Plush,” the center fielder showed up at the Verizon Center dressed in a warrior outfit and sat adjacent to a similarly dressed bro, who some have speculated to be the exact physical appearance opposite of Mr. Plush. Both rooted for the enemy.

The presence of Morgan was first noted on the Nationals blog, The Nationals Enquirer, which has a screen-grab of Plush throwing up a numero uno. Site photographer Adam Douglas was also able to get a couple shots of the baseball player.

Read more »

Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog has a quick Q&A with Diamond District-bred San Francisco Giants shortstop Manny Burriss. It’s a must read if you put on for the DMV. Here are a couple of the better excerpts (h/t @macg_og):

I should know the answer to this, but did you grow up rooting for all D.C. teams?

All of them. All of them. The only one I didn’t really do was the Bullets when I was growing up, because that’s when everybody loved the Bulls. But yeah, I loved all of them. And once they turned into the Wizards and moved back into the city, that was my team. I love D.C. When the Nationals came here, that was my team, for real, until I got drafted.

Is it weird though, to be representing another city and still root for D.C. sports teams?

No, not at all, not at all, because I’m so about D.C. Last year, the Wizards did horrible, and I was there cheering it up, screaming in our clubhouse whenever a Wizards game would be on TV, because that’s my city, I don’t want to root for anybody else. Except for baseball.

Read more »

Some links as I waste my Sunday away, preparing for a couple game sevens, wearing my smelly, dirty homemade Ron Artest shirt, hoping for a Rockets win, or two close games in the least.

This past week, the Washington Post hosted a roundtable of Wizards bloggers. Each blog weighed in on what the team should do at a given draft position. Pretty cool when you think about it … MSM and Bloggers hanging out and stuff.

Pick #1: Keith McMillian, Washington Post
Pick #2: Truth About It.net (this place)
Pick #3: Wizards Extreme
Pick #4: Bullets Forever
Pick #5: WizzNutzz

Misunderstanding Media
Detroit Pistons blog, Full Court Press (on mlive.com), cited four paragraphs from the Bullets Forever contribution on Wizards Insider. Problem being, author Dave Dial failed to accurately represent that it was a blogger roundtable. He quoted three paragraphs written by the Pradamaster of Bullets Forever and one from Michael Lee of the WaPost without distinguishing the two authors. Dial also led with, “The Washington Post’s ‘Wizards Insider’ gives more credence to the fact that if the Wizards do not land in the top two picks they will look to trade the pick,” which is inaccurate. Yes, it is well known that Ernie Grunfeld sees the pick as an “asset”, i.e., trade-bait. However, the roundtable was speculation, and not necessarily an official team report as Dial’s use of the word “credence” seems to implicate.

We all make mistakes, and this really isn’t that big of a deal. But still, Dial clearly cut some kind of corner by not taking the time to fully understand the nature of the Wizards Insider piece.

Read more »