Bedside Tissues

By the title of this article I could go a number of ways with this blog. Fortunately for 99% of you, I'll keep it clean...ish.  I watched the Wizards last night, and once again went to bed in a bad mood. It's been a common theme over the years to end the day on a bad note. But I never thought it'd get to this point.

The Skins are throwing out dreams of Peyton Manning being our next QB.
The Caps are struggling not only to find an identity, but to just make the playoffs.
The Nationals are about to introduce the "Most Hated Athlete in DC" as one of their franchise cornerstones.
The Orioles...just suck.
And the Wizards look like they're staying the course...which in this case leads right back to the starting line.

I feel like I complain more than the average DMV fan...and I'm OK with that. What I'm not OK with is having to refill my bedside tissue box on a weekly basis, & falling asleep to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'".

Until next time fans...FIGHT ON!

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You're Welcome, Flip!

I'm not going to sit here and take all the credit for the Wizards win last night...actually, yes I am. I wrote "Starting Insanity" almost a week ago basically begging for Flip Saunders to input Chris Singleton & Trevor Booker into the starting five.

After losing 2 more games Flip finally came to his senses. My guess is that he & Ernie Grunfeld sat down and read my article together. No need to thank me boys, just don't F*ck it up by putting Rashard Lewis or Andray Blatche back into the lineup tonight vs. Chicago...or EVER! Those 2 bring a scoring punch off the bench, albeit, it was only one game. But Hell, if it's not broke..don't fix it.

Book & Singleton bring that much needed energy right off the bat, and they can basically guard every single player on the court. Loving these young bucks so far! And how about Jan Vesely bringing down the house last night?! Not to mention he led the team with 5 steals. Jimmy Wall facilitated the sh!t out of the offense last night, and our team defense was straight up vicious. I'm still expecting some bumps along the road, but I'd rather it be with this group than with the 22 million $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Rashard Lewis, & Andray Blatche in the starting lineup...yes, that's a dollar sign for each million Lewis is making this year.

Playing the Bulls & playing for the 2nd straight night isn't going to help this (1-8) squad. But look for this starting group to set the tone again, and hopefully we can make a few shots to keep this thing close.

Fight on Wizards!

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What the Flip is Going On?

The NBA was locked out for what seemed like minutes? Or days? Months? I'm not really sure because I didn't think about it all that much. I honestly didn't think we would have a season this year. But, alas we will have a season, and the Wizards' start on December 26th. Training camp began a couple weeks ago and I followed along. Michael Lee reported what seemed to be every minute of camp. Players told him there was a huge buzz at camp. Their in house scrimmages were off the charts. I couldn't believe the hype that was building around this team. This hype built an anticipation for their opening preseason game against Philly. Fans expected an improved John Wall, a dedicated Andrey Blatche, and a focused JaVale McGee. Well, sometime expectations can be a set up for disappointment. The Wizards do not look poised to make a splash this season. If anything, it seems like they are taking a step back. Jordan Crawford has looked abysmal, taking quick jump shots before any kind of offense has time to function. The silver lining? This team has a ton of potential. McGee has a frame like Kevin Garnett and can jump out of the building. John Wall just might be the fastest player in the NBA, and we resigned Nick Young for the year. And guess what? Those damn jerseys look SEXY. I love the old school look. So at least I have something good to look at. I'll just put a sticky note over the scoreboard on my TV this season.

Anyway, I'm a little off track, but here's the point of this article. I'm wondering if Flip has the ability to motivate these guys. Can he get these guys going? This is a team FULL of young talent. They are in a critical moment for their development as players. They need a coach that pushes them and drives them to reach their full potential. Right now, it's sloppy. Let's just hope it's the short training camp that has them in a bit of a funk. If not, Flip Saunders will have some 'splaining to do. And I think it's beginning to look like we could have 2 new head coaches in the Verizon Center by the end of this season. I'm rooting for you Flip, but I want to see these young studs develop.

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Great Wall to Superman? I'm Down!

With all of these "super teams" in the NBA now, and the proposed Chris Paul to LA deal...it got me thinking. I know the Paul deal was shutdown, but another big name that's been floating around as of late is Dwight Howard. He's been linked in trades to LA, NY, & NJ. With a 95% chance that he won't be coming back to Orlando, the Magic are absolutely entertaining offers before the season starts.
The Wizards have a solid core of young players surrounded around their franchise cornerstone in John "Jimmy" Wall. But how about this...trade some of our young talent for the best big man in the game (and only 26..birthday was yesterday). The dude is a freak of nature, but you may ask yourself why would he ever want to come to DC?? One reason...John Wall. There are only a handful of point guards in this league as dynamic as Wall, and we're lucky enough to have him.
Players like Dwight Howard aren't dangled out there for a trade very often. So Ernie Grunfeld, PLEASE consider your options here. Giving up some of our young talent for the best center in the game is well worth the trade off for me! This trade would immediately make us contenders. Rebuild over...

Here is my proposal:

Wizards Trade:
-Nick Young (sign & trade)
-JaVale Mcgee
-Jan Vesely
-Two 1st round draft picks

Magic Trade:
-Dwight Howard (agreement to sign extension with Wiz)
-Hedo Turkoglu

New Starting Line-up:

PG John Wall
SG Jordan Crawford
SF Hedo Turkoglu
PF Andray Blatche
C Dwight Howard

Bench:
PF Trevor Booker
PG Shelvin Mack
SF Chris Singleton
C Kevin Seraphin

You now amnesty Rashard Lewis' over $21million/yr contract, and go get reliable veteran free agents such as:

-J.J. Barea
-Roger Mason
-Kurt Thomas
-Josh Howard (reduced contract!)

Am I crazy? What do you all think??

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Quit Flippin' Out

I watched Flip Saunders' press conference the other day, and I was getting pretty pissed off at some of the things he was saying. I don't mind when he calls players out for playing like sh!t, but when you start telling the media that your team needs to grow up because of certain "youtube videos" they've posted...then I've got a problem with that.

How can you not laugh at this?!

These Wizards/Bullets players aren't being influenced anymore by a guy who went from being a Hero to a Zero faster than Chris Webber smoking a fat blunt on the way to practice. Actually, I guess the guy always was a zero. JaVale McGee & Nick Young are having harmless fun, and what Flip unfortunately didn't mention is that they're also spending a lot of time in their communities trying to help out, and doing things the right way.

As long as these two aren't bringing guns to work, sh!tting in Dray's shoes, or act like these two idiots, then I'll let their play on the court decide their maturity level.

Nick and JaVale are becoming the veterans of the team, and they need to show our younger guys what it's like to be a professional "at work". If their outside life is affecting their play, then Flip, you may speak up. Until then, chill out and if you must call them out, then why not do it for this kind of stuff:

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End the Lockout!!!

Two nights ago at the Juliet Supper Club on West 21st Street in Manhattan, there was a shooting that killed one man, and injured another. Pro athletes at the club that night included Kemba Walker, Russell Westbrook, Victor Cruz, Chris Canty, Chris Duhon, Carlos Boozer, & Antrel Rolle among others when the shooting broke out. Usually this wouldn't be a headline in local sports news..but here's the issue...John Wall was there. For an area that is still trying to cope with the passing of the late great Sean Taylor, I can't even begin to think of what we'd be feeling if something were to happen to Wall.

I understand that this type of event can happen at any place and any time, but I would rather it not involve Jimmy Wall! He's the best thing the Wizards have going right now, and he's a hell of a kid. If this damn lockout would end we'd be able to get back to watching him shine, and not escaping situations like this.

Besides, doing "The John Wall" dance without basketball is just getting me weird looks around town.

FIGHT ON DMV!

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John Wall's New Kicks

There may be an NBA lockout but there is still a new John Wall shoe this year. Introducing the Reebok Zig Encore. Don't let Gilbert Arenas, or his poop anywhere near these! Scoop 'em up on Eastbay.com for $114.99.

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Pump the Brakes Mr. Crawford

There is a very fine line between confidence and delusion.

Remember this Wizard?

Jordan Crawford I should thank you for this fantastic opportunity. If Washington D.C. sports was a normal sports town, I would never get to have much fun with this blog. Enter Jordan Crawford. For those of you who haven't heard of him, he was a rookie last year out of Xavier. He made his way to Washington via trade last year and wasn't expected to do much. Injuries and another awful Wizards season gave Crawford the chance to start alongside John Wall and average around 18 points as a starter here.

Now that you're all caught up, here's his most famous quote, along with my comments in red:

Jordan Crawford-Jordan?

“I don’t tell nobody (I think you're about to), but I feel like I can be better than Michael Jordan (At this point I choked on my unusually large spoonful of Corn Pops). When I’m done playing, I don’t want people to say, Michael Jordan is the best player (Now that's just rude). I want that to be me (Now you just sound like Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). That’s how I am. That’s how I was built.” Crawford said.

Oh my goodness that was fun. Now, this is America and what do we do here? We pass blame. This can't possibly be Jordan Crawford's fault that he's delusional can it? Of course not. He has been conditioned by an increasingly egotistical, selfish, Jersey Shore world! Lucky for you guys, I know just who to blame. DRUM ROLL PLEASE. . . . .



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About the "Author?"

BEN. Short, simple, dare I say. . . perfect.

Here's a quick bio of one of the men behind the curtain for this blog. I've stared at this screen for a few minutes filtering out important information from the unimportant, or vice versa, and then it hit me like Brian Orakpo hit Cam Newton's spine. Most of my background doesn't matter. If I took the time to create a blog dedicated to professional sports in the DMV, that sums it up fairly well I would think. Most people who read this blog can probably relate at least on an extremely superficial level to me. We've all felt the sting of what seemed like 72 botched snaps and missed field goals in 1999. We all feel as though we are stuck in some kind of "sports owner purgatory" while stuck with Dan Snyder and Peter Angelos running the show. But hey, in the end it's all good because at least there is a show, right?


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Pregame Bullsheet

What Up Sports World,

My name is Rick, an avid sports fan of our beloved DMV (actually just the D&M, but I won't discriminate). I grew up playing every sport you can think of...doesn't matter if I was actually good at them or not, so shut up! I'm born and raised in MD and have loved our Skins, Caps, Bullets, Terps, DC United, & Orioles since forever. And no, I am not a Nationals fan. Just because a new team rolls into town doesn't mean you jump ship! If that were the case, I would've been a Ravens fan a long time ago...but F*ck that noise. If you are one of these unfortunate Natty or Purple Nurple fans have no fear..I'll still give you all a shout out from time to time.

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Chad Dukes Hang Up on You Too?

 
Motivation. If you take an action, an idea, a sentence, a product, anything at all, and break it down, what's inside? Some kind of motivation. This blog is no different. Although there are many different reasons for the creation of this blog, number one on the list is frustration. No, I was not hung up on by Chad Dukes, but there are countless who have. I'm sick and tired of listening to Chad Dukes put down callers, hang up on callers and basically act like one big douche just because he is sitting next to LaVar Arrington every day. When the show first started, listeners were able to call in, say what they wanted in an open forum and be heard without prejudice, judgment or interruption. Unfortunately for every DMV Sports fan, this is no longer the case. Every day on my drive to and from work my options for local sports radio are AM radio, or The Junkies in the morning and LaVar and Dukes on 106.7 the FAN in the evening. This blog is our putting an end to it. If you are SICK and TIRED of being treated like you don't know anything because you either aren't in radio, or haven't played professionally, join us in this quest. Join us in the revolution. Because every once in awhile, revolution is a good thing.

Right now there is only one option for sports radio in the DMV. Our goal is to double that. Check in daily for conversations, critiques, and about ANYTHING DMV sports. Shoot me an email if you have questions or something you want us to cover. DMV sports fans, we are here for you!

FIGHT ON DMV!

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