Our last great hope

ESPN said that Strasburges injury devastates not only Washington but the entire baseball world.

Does it really?

Now don't get me wrong. It is a total shame that this happened to him, the nationals and yes even the sport, and I wish him all the best for a successful surgery and complete recovery.

But is it really devastation?

A crabgrass infestation in all major league ballparks would be devastating. Trust me, once weeds take over, the grass never comes back.

From all accounts, the recovery, though long, is nearly 90% successful. And some say he has a chance to come back with an even stronger / more durable arm.

So, what would devastation in the sports world really be?

No Strasburg.

No 2011 NFL, or Fantasy, Season.

No Hockey.

No Basketball.

OMG! Ted, you better watch out! You, and your two teams are the last, best, greatest hope for saving the world of sports!

If they fail, then THAT would truely be devastating!

Forget about 2012 being the end of the world. If we loose sports, we loose all hope.

Come on Ted, if anybody can pull us through this tough time, you can.

But, until then, I have a few more practice mock drafts and over analyzing of draft boards to do before our Borderless League Fantasy Football Draft and Party on Sunday.

And perhaps this is the greatest thing about sports. There is always something to look forward to. Something to get excited about.

Queue the music...

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Donovan McNabb

You know, just the fact that we have Donovan McNabb here giving interviews is better than it was last year.

Sorry Jason, you're a great guy and all but you give one boring interview.

On tonights News 4 at 11, he had an interview where he talked about winning, careers and attitude.

Basically he wants to win games as a team.

As a QB he wants to win the Super Bowl.

Winning the Super Bowl helps legitimize ones career. It's the yard stick greatness is measured by.

He even referenced great QB's such as Dan Marino who is arguably one of the greatest QB's of all time but never won the big one.

Does that take away from his reputation? Our perception of his greatness?

Yes, just look at Jim Kelly and the Bills of the early 90's. Their Superbowl record.

0 - 4!

Four appearances. No wins. None, nada, zippo, zilch.

So, here is one of the funny parts . . .

Interviewer: Would you trade your career for Trent Dilfers?
Donovan: Ha! LOL ! NO WAY !

I went out looking for the video on News 4 site but could not find it. It will probably show up there in the next day or two.

But meanwhile, there is this one on Donovan, a possible lockout next year and him playing for the Wizards!

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Ted Leonsis is a Wizard

I must say, Ted Leonsis certainly knows how to keep himself busy.
Last week I received, actually all registered Caps fans received, this email.
























Then today in his blog he published this post which talks about conference calls with literally hundreds of Fans and season ticket holders as well as the thousands of emails he has received since becoming owner of the Wizards.

He has published a brief synopsis of a “to do list” from all these “interactions with fans”.

· Play more organ music at the games.
· Reset the lighting.
· Retrain the staff to be more sensitive to game dynamics.
· Delete “Defense” chants.
· Play less loud music during the games — want to hear the sneakers on the floor.
· Redo game presentations to be more family oriented.
· Make cheerleading squad more family oriented.
· Change colors for team uniforms.
· Consider name change of team.
· Paint the stairs.
· Announcers to be more professional and less “cheerleaders.”
· Improve security outside of building.
· Many more season ticket holder benefits.
· Consistency in pricing — don’t discount tickets next to me.
· Colder beer and more choices for beer.
· Kosher food.
· Vegetarian fare on menu.
· More vendors come into stands to service customers.
· Refill the ketchup.
· Refill the mustard.
· Clean the bathrooms more in game.
· Windex the mirrors.
· Make sure toilet paper is refilled during games.
· Make sure paper towels are refilled during games.
· More Wizards history evident in building.Want to see more alumni at games.
· Want more web analytics made available — don’t be afraid to publish stats.
· Want more access to players.
· Market more in Baltimore.
· Market more in Virginia.
· More youth basketball tie-in.
· Continue Pollin legacy for charitable efforts.
· Open the second floor to all fans.
· Paint and freshen up the building.
· Clean the windows.
· Stop the scalping.
· Help customers resell tickets they can’t use via online services.
· Create cross team sales packages — all three teams.
· Create GM online blog.
· Create coaches online blog.
· Find a way to open some practice sessions.
· Create more and better merchandising options.
· Consistency in team structure and rebuild.
· Commit to draft and develop young players.
· Work on infrastructure for health and well being of players.
· Re-embrace Gilbert Arenas.
· Don’t trade your first round picks.
· Add more first round picks.
· Owners must sit in stands.
· Owner must sit in seats on top level to meet fans.
· Owner must meet and greet fans.
· Owner must read and respond to emails.
· Fresher hot dog buns.
· Manage crowd control at vending stations in an improved format.
· Communicate the rebuild plan — stick to it.
· New clothing for in-game employees.
· Do deals with local merchants to help fans save money.
· Embrace the blogosphere.
· Sign free agents.
· Make the playoffs.
· Win a championship.

The list goes on and on and on.

I must say, it is refreshing to have a local owner and leader so open and communicative with his teams fan base.

Though he will have to be a true Wizard if fans expect him to pull all these to do lists off.

Ted was quoted recently in the Washington post that he is “a firm believer in the wisdom of crowds . . . the trick is picking the right crowd.”

Scrolling through this list of “suggestions”, it's funny to see that obviously one cannot please all the people all the time and that some suggestions not only contradict each other but would be logistically difficult to pull off well.

Kudos to Ted.

Now get busy cleaning those bathrooms and filling those Ketchup bottles... ;-)
Though not necessarily in that order...

Seriously;

I, and I’m sure many thousands of others, wish him well, good luck and look forward to him working his magic and giving Washington another winning and successful franchise.

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OK, This is Funny

I came accross this while searching for "stuff" on kentucky sports. Kind of a tie in to the Wizards getting the 1st pick in the draft and possibly getting John Wall this year.

Perhaps you've seen it. Perhaps not.


Kentucky Violated NCAA Rules While Recruiting Basketball-Playing Dog

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We are #1

First, Ted earned the right to purchase the Wizards and rebuild another franchise.

Now he and the organization have the 1st pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

For at least tonight, we are #1!

Congratulations Ted.








Leonsis said:

"We have a lot of work to do with the franchise...The players, the culture, the expectations, the discipline around the team, but I do think it is a breath of fresh air and does revive the franchise and gives us a shot to be an exciting team with a lot of expectations. I know how hard it is to rebuild a team. I am going to be patient but I have a strong belief that our management team and ownership team is very focused. We are going to work hard and listen to everybody. I promise we will build a team that everyone can be proud of."

The Wizards were also represented by Irene Pollin, who wore the 1978 Bullets championship ring of her late husband, longtime owner Abe Pollin. When the Wizards pulled off the surprising win, Irene Pollin's jaw dropped and appeared to mouth 'Oh my God!!' with wide eyes.

"My husband wanted another (championship) so badly," she said. "He really did. So maybe this will be the beginning of another one."

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A good Sports Day for Washington

Shanahan agrees to coach Redskins:

And... Snyder was not on the stage. In fact, he was in the audience at Redskin Park. Bruce Allen handled all the ceremonies and introductions. A first for Danny.

Capitals name Alex Ovechkin team captain:

NBA Suspends Gilbert Arenas Indefinitely After Gun Incident:

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Agent Zero Man...

Abe Pollin is probably rolling over in his grave right about now...
Are we going to start calling them the Bullets again...

And here is my obligatory joke like "it's OK we all know he can't shoot"

Of course I do not know the facts...

They range from

Bragging "oh yeah, well mine is bigger than yours"

to Conscientious "I just wanted to get them out of the house away from the baby"

(Ummm excuse me, the kid is like 1 month old - unless if you have the guns laying around in the crib (the babies, not yours) I don't see the sudden problem) Oh and what about gun safes and I guess it was OK when you had the other much older kids around.

But I digress... sort of


Point is, this is serious stupid stuff and should not be tolerated by the Bullets Wizards, NBA, or fans.

If any of the gun stuff is remotely true...

Send him up to spend some time with Plax. I'm sure they will get along just fine.

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RIP Abe

Today, Abe Pollin will be buried.

I think it is safe to say that no other person has had more of an impact in the Washington DC sports, entertainment, real estate and philanthropic landscape than Abe.

He will truly be missed and never forgotten.

Ted Leonsis tribute

Abe Pollin was the bravest man I ever met. A man of courage and compassion, with high levels of personal empathy and integrity.

He showed passion and commitment to our city when no one else would. He consistently showed his love to the fan base and to his extended family -- his employees. And you could take his handshake to the bank.

He was a man of conviction and principles, of strong views and great accomplishment. He was the only world championship holder among the major team ownership groups around town today.

He was the last "don"; the last of the family-man moguls, the last authentic nice guy in business.

Most of all Abe was a family man -- and a man of spirit -- who knew his higher calling and the value of public service. His selflessness and caring are evident around Washington today.

I will treasure our times together and the wonderful advice he always offered to me. I will never forget the sage advice Abe gave me in regard to leading a team as a public trust, nor his memorable counsel of "Ted, don't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows -- as this too shall pass." He was a mentor, a friend and a pioneer in so many ways.

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Lets go to the Video Tape!

OK, so there was a bunch of stuff happening in and around the area and this is my attempt to capture it for all to see.

All three stories/videos involve people getting involved with the community, sharing in the love of a sport, and most importantly just getting out there and having fun!

First, If you ever wanted a chance of fame and think you can belt one out of the park, you can always try out at Nationals Stadium.




Secondly, we have the never ending battle between the press and local politicians. This past Monday, they both had a chance to take it to the court and settle it once and for all at Verizon Center.
Fortunately nobody got hurt.
I had a bit of trouble embedding this video so here is the Link!


And last but not least. Everyone knows about the Harlem Globetrotters, but out here in rural Virginia we have the equally fortunate opportunity to witness the Harlem Wizards who came and entertained everyone at the local high school. They played against many of the regional high school players. I don't have a video of their performance but it did have much of what is here on their site.

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Trash Talk'n with the Pres...

Here is a great series of articles that is pure Washington and Sports.

Talk a little trash...
By J.E. Skeets















Unless you've been living under a rock (and it's okay to admit if you have, I'm told rent is cheap), you probably heard that President Barack Obama sat courtside at D.C.'s Verizon Center Friday night, watching his hometown Chicago Bulls take on the Washington Wizards.

The First Fan drank beer, read the game program and left early (with four minutes left) during a blowout. "All common American activity," as Tom Ziller put it, "except most of us don't sit courtside, nor are we important enough that the NBA will hold up a tip-off until we get to our seats." (Speak for yourself, Z!)

But Obama's night of "Joe Plumber Americana" didn't stop there. He also exchanged a few playful words with a diehard Wizards fan sitting a few rows back. Yes, that's right, the 44th President of the United States joined in a little trash talk. Awesome.

The vocal instigator: Miles Rawls (above, standing, "heckling"), the commissioner of the Barry Farms' Goodman League — a big-time summer circuit in Southeast D.C., which has starred Gilbert Arenas and Kevin Durant, among others.

Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog, in a fun must-read, talked with Rawes about trading barbs with the President.

Here's a snippet from the interview:
[Rawls] said his chatter, like always, was unscripted, "right off the top of my head. I just had to see how he was gonna take it," Rawls said. "Once I knew he was a big trash talker, too, about them Bulls, that means the gloves came off." [...]

"I wasn't heckling the President and I don't heckle the players. I talk about their weaknesses. We was having a good time. He was talking trash and I was talking trash. I couldn't believe he was that laidback and real. I loved it."

And while they talked through much of the game, Rawls — who had never met a President — said no lines were crossed. "I wasn't disrespectful," he said. "I know my limits."

So, for example, he told the President that if he was rooting for the visitors, he was "gonna have to keep it to a low roar, because we're cheering for the Wizards over here." Obama, in turn, repeatedly needled Rawls about the Wizards' habit of letting leads evaporate, especially when the Bulls made a run.














"We was just going back and forth," Rawls said. "Once Chicago started coming back, he told me, 'Now I think you need to sit down.' When Tyrus Thomas dunked on somebody, he turned around, was talking smack. Then JaVale McGee had that alley-oop, and he gave me the high five. We was just supporting each others' team, having a good time."

Click here for the full interview.

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