Archive for the ‘NBA’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Lakers-Mavericks: I have no faith that the refs will call it fair

May 6, 2011

Because of the NBA’s poor history, in which the refs favor teams with stars, I’m doubtful that the refs will call the rest of the series between the L.A. Lakers and Dallas Mavericks fairly.  The Lakers have two tainted championships — in 2002 when the Sacramento Kings were the better team in the Western Conference Finals, and in 2000 when the Portland Trail Blazers were better.  In each case, but especially against the Kings, the refs gave the games to the Lakers.

This year, the NBA would probably prefer to see the Lakers play the Heat in the finals if they can’t face the Celtics.  So look for the refs to give the benefit of the doubt to the Lakers tonight and in the rest of the games against the Mavs.  I hope I’m wrong, but I have no confidence that the refs will call it fair if it comes down to a close game at the end.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in NBA | Leave a Comment »

Reggie Miller – try to give Len Elmore some respect

March 27, 2011

Reggie Miller is usually pretty good as a color commentator on the NBA, but Len Elmore is a much better college analyst.  So when Miller constantly argued with Elmore and stepped on his toes during the NCAA tournament’s Butler-Florida telecast, it didn’t sound too good. Keep Johnson and Elmore together – Elmore is probably the best color guy in the country.  He’s good with Mike Patrick too. Elmore is better than Clark Kellogg and Bill Raftery, better than Dick Vitale too. Elmore is as good of an analyst as Jay Bilas but Bilas can be overbearing and little annoying as a know it all.

Having the NBA guys in the studio was a little awkward.  Kenny Smith was ok but Charles Barkley didn’t do his homework. Greg Anthony was very good because he’s been doing college for a few years now. Steve Smith is very average.

Miller is pretty good on the NBA but he made himself look bad next to the classy Elmore.

I used to think Gus Johnson was cheesy like Kevin Harlan but Gus’ enthusiasm is real and he actually sounds very good now.

Brought to you by http://www.mikeneedsakidney.com.

Tags:, , ,
Posted in College Basketball, NBA | Leave a Comment »

Washington Wizards’ 0-24 road start is an indictment of Ted Leonsis, Flip Saunders, John Wall

February 1, 2011

It’s almost time for the Super Bowl, and the Washington Wizards are still winless on the road.  The Wizards lost their 24th straight road game, Monday, 102-92 in Dallas.

There is no shame in losing to the Mavericks (32-15) in Dallas.  But the Wizards should not be 0-24 away from Chinatown.

How can the Wizards be so much better at home (13-10) than on the road?  The disparity in records doesn’t make sense because the Verizon Center crowd isn’t known for being particularly enthusiastic, and Washington ranks just 20th in the NBA in attendance.

It’s harder for NBA teams to win on the road than teams in other sports because basketball players need fresh legs and play more minutes than other athletes, but long road trips don’t explain the Wizards going winless on the road.  The Wizards have a young, athletic lineup so endurance shouldn’t be a problem.

Are the Wizards partying too much on the road?  Do they have a careless attitude?  Is it immaturity? Coaching?  Low expectations?  All of the above?

To read the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Examiner.com, NBA, Washington Wizards | Leave a Comment »

John Wall and Nick Young lead Washington Bullets over Utah Jazz 108-101

January 18, 2011

I’m going to start referring to the Washington Wizards as the Bullets on my blog, because the name never should have been changed.  I’ll continue to refer to the team as the Wizards on Examiner.com and Guysnation.com, but here on my blog they will be the Bullets.

John Wall had 19 points and a career high 15 assists, and Nick Young scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the Bullets to a 108-101 victory over the Utah Jazz Monday at Verizon Center.

The Bullets led almost the entire second half as their athleticism was enough to get by the discipline and defense of Utah. Washington raised its home record to 12-8 in front of an announced crowd of 14,925.  The Bullets are winless in 19 games on the road.

The Bullets pulled away from the Jazz in the third quarter during a 21-8 run.  Wall, the number one pick in the NBA draft last summer, threw an alley oop pass to Javale McGee who threw down a windmill dunk with his right hand.  McGee’s free throw gave Washington a 62-55 lead.

For the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Examiner.com, NBA | Leave a Comment »

2010 DC sports year in review: great regular season for Caps, not much else to cheer about

January 7, 2011

Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 in his major league debut in 2010. Photo by Mike Frandsen.

2010 was another typical year for D.C. area sports teams. That is to say, there wasn’t a whole lot to cheer about, other than a great regular season by the Capitals and some above-average seasons by local college teams.

2011 may end up being brighter for the Redskins, Capitals, Nationals, Wizards, D.C. United, Maryland and Georgetown, but first Examiner.com takes a look back at the year in D.C. sports that was 2010.

Redskins

It was a disappointing debut for coach Mike Shanahan, whose Redskins finished 6-10, losing seven of their last nine games.  Shanahan traded a second and a fourth-round pick to Philadelphia for Donovan McNabb, who had his worst season since his rookie year.

Capitals

The Caps won the President’s Trophy for the most points in the NHL during the regular season, but then crashed and burned in the playoffs, losing to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens in seven games.

Nationals

The Nats finished with a losing record (69-93) for the fifth time in their six-season existence.  Rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg did not disappoint, striking out 14 in his major league debut en route to a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 2.91 with 92 strikeouts in 68 innings.

To read the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Baseball, College Basketball, College Football, Examiner.com, NBA, NFL, NHL, Washington Wizards | Leave a Comment »

John Wall, Yi Jianlian lead Wizards to 98-91 win over Rockets, Yao Ming leaves with injury

November 11, 2010

Yi Jianlian of the Washington Wizards. Photo by Mike Frandsen

Chinese basketball stars Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian faced off Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., but it was rookie John Wall who stole the show with a triple-double as the Wizards (2-4) defeated the Houston Rockets 98-91.

The 7-6 Yao, who helped make basketball the most popular sport in China, had to leave the game after six minutes because of a strained tendon in his left foot.  Meanwhile, his protégé, the 7-foot Yi, had his best game in a Wizards uniform, scoring 13 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and blocking four shots in front of 16,665 on Asian American night at Verizon Center in a game that more than 400,000 people in China were expected to watch early in the morning.

Wall and Yi hooked up for one of the plays of the game in the third quarter, when Wall passed to Yi for one of his 13 assists. Yi drove past Luis Scola of the Rockets (1-6) on the baseline and threw down a dunk to give Washington a 68-63 lead late in the third quarter.

Yi grabs one of his seven rebounds against Houston Wednesday. Photo by Mike Frandsen.

Wall, the number one pick in the 2010 NBA draft, also had 19 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and only one turnover.

Wall became the sixth player in the history of the NBA to have a triple-double in the first six games of his career. One of those players was Magic Johnson, who was in attendance, sitting to the left of the Wizards’ bench next to owner Ted Leonsis.

For the rest of the article on Examiner.com, click here.

 

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Examiner.com, NBA, Washington Wizards | Leave a Comment »

Washington Wizards to change colors back to red, white, and blue for 2011-2012 season

September 23, 2010

 

Kevin Grevey goes up for a shot in the Washington Bullets' old red, white and blue uniforms, circa 1980.

 

Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld announced that the Wizards will change their colors back to red, white and blue for the 2011-2012 season, a move that has been rumored for months.

This comes as great news for longtime Washington Bullets fans, who never liked the change of the name to Wizards or the change of the colors to blue and bronze.

Unfortunately, the Wizards will probably never go back to the name Bullets, but at least owner Ted Leonsis will change the colors back to red, white, and blue, fitting for a team in the nation’s capital.  The Wizards, Caps, and Nats will all wear patriotic colors.

(The Redskins can’t change from burgundy and gold – they have such a great tradition with those colors, but wasn’t it great to see the Skins wearing gold pants?  The team is paying homage to its great past.)

Here’s hoping that the Wizards’ new unis won’t be 99% red like the Caps’ and Nats’ uniforms.  Keep some blue.  Also, add back the stars on the shorts.  The photo to the left shows former Bullet Kevin Grevey in the Bullets’ old road uniforms.  The photo below shows a retro Wes Unseld home uniform.  Both were among the best in the history of the NBA.

It’s a great move by Leonsis, but it’s also a no-brainer.  Now maybe Leonsis will improve the Wizards’ website and add more history about the old Bullets.  It’s a shame that that 1978 championship team has been virtually forgotten.

(It doesn’t help that the deans of DC sports media, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, both arrived in D.C. a couple of years after the Bullets’ title, so they always pretend it never happened.  They’ll talk a ton about the Knicks and the Bulls of the 1970s, though.)

 

This retro Wes Unseld jersey has become one of the NBA's biggest sellers. Photo by Mike Frandsen.

 

In emails over the last several months, Leonsis has vowed to improve the franchise’s recognition of its great history, but quite frankly, Leonsis hasn’t kept his word.

I complained multiple times that it was impossible — not hard, but impossible — to get an Elvin Hayes Bullets jersey from the Wizards or anywhere on the internet.  (Ok, you can get one from southeast Asia on ebay, but it doesn’t look right).  Keep in mind that the Big E was the 23rd-best player in the history of the NBA according to Slam Magazine, ahead of players such as Bob Cousy, David Robinson, Willis Reed, Kevin Garnett, Wes Unseld, Walt Frazier, and Patrick Ewing.

Leonsis assured me that someone would get back to me — no one ever did.  I left messages with Wizards’ personnel and no one called back, and no one really knew what I was talking about.

Being a great owner takes more than designing a good website and not being Daniel Snyder.  It takes keeping your word.

Also see the following Examiner articles and blog posts:

Leonsis won’t change name of Wizards to Bullets but may change colors back to red, white and blue

Part 1: Former Washington Bullet Kevin Grevey on the ’78 NBA title season, Kentucky, and the Wizards

Part 2: Former Washington Bullet Kevin Grevey on the ’78 NBA title season, Kentucky, and the Wizards

32 years ago: Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, and Washington Bullets win NBA championship

Should the Washington Wizards change their name back to the Bullets?

Former Washington Bullet Mitch Kupchak: 8 NBA championship rings

Mitch Kupchak and the 1978 Washington Bullets: NBA Champions


Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in Examiner.com, NBA, Washington Wizards | Leave a Comment »

LeBron James’ terrible decision IS a cowardly betrayal

July 9, 2010

Yesterday, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said this to Cleveland fans about LeBron James leaving for Miami:

“You simply don’t deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.  You have given so much and deserve so much more.”

I agree with Gilbert.  James showed no loyalty, and he put way too much pressure on the Heat with their three superstars. It was a terrible decision by James. The Cavs won an average of 64 games the past two seasons so they would’ve had as good of a chance of winning championships as any other team.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in NBA | Leave a Comment »

Wilbon: Stop campaigning for LeBron to go to Chicago – nobody cares that you’re from Chicago

July 7, 2010

Tomorrow night at 9 on ESPN Michael Wilbon will be part of LeBron James’ hour-long special on where James will play.  It’s a conflict of interest because Wilbon has campaigned for LeBron to go to Chicago or New York. Wilbon says LeBron doesn’t have a good chance to win titles in Cleveland, but that’s not true at all.  He has just as good a chance there as anywhere else. The Cavs have won an average of 63 games the past two seasons and even if they have the same team as last year, they’d be the second best team in the east, with Orlando barely edging them out.  LeBron’s best chance to win is in Cleveland and they’ll surely add another good free agent or two. They won’t have Shaq anymore – that will immediately make them better.

Another thing about Wilbon is he’s constantly talking about Chicago, where he lived more than 30 years ago. Who cares? The answer is nobody, outside of those in Chicago. Wilbon is a good writer, but I’d rather see the Post hire someone who isn’t constantly talking about where he lived as a kid. At least Mike Wise doesn’t constantly talk about Hawaii or New York where he worked previously.  It’s bad enough we have to listen to Kornheiser constantly crowing about New York.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in NBA | Leave a Comment »

Funeral held for former Washington Bullet Manute Bol, 7’7″ giant devoted life to help war-torn Sudan

July 1, 2010

The funeral for former Washington Bullets 7’7″ center Manute Bol was held Tuesday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Bol played 10 seasons in the NBA and became a prolific shot blocker, but was best known for his humanitarian work in his native war-torn Sudan.

Bol died at the age of 47 of kidney failure and complications from the skin condition Stevens-Johnson syndrome at University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville June 19. Bol had made trips to Sudan in recent years and was given medication that may have resulted in side effects that caused Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Approximately 150 people attended Bol’s funeral, where former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), friends, and relatives spoke. Former teammates including Chris Mullin attended the funeral, as did former Bullets General Manager Bob Ferry, who drafted Bol in the second round in 1985, and former NBA players Buck Williams and Rory Sparrow.

Bol was a great humanitarian and will be sorely missed. To see the rest of my article on Examiner.com, click here.  All photos below by Mike Frandsen.

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in Examiner.com, NBA, Politics, Washington DC, Washington Wizards | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »