Strasburg strikes out 14, walks none in major league debut as Washington Nationals beat Pirates, 5-2

June 9, 2010

Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 in his major league debut for the Washington Nationals. (Photo by Mike Frandsen)

Stephen Strasburg lived up to the amazing hype surrounding his major league debut Tuesday night, as he struck out 14 batters in seven innings to lead the Nationals over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-2.

Strasburg thrilled the standing room only crowd of 40,315 at Nationals Park with a fastball that clocked in at 100 miles per hour, a wicked curve, and a changeup that baffled Pirates hitters. Strasburg gave up only two earned runs and, incredibly, did not walk any batters, striking out the side in the second, sixth, and seventh innings before departing.

Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals biggest star until Strasburg’s debut, hit a solo home run in the first inning, his 12th, and went 3-4 on the night.

Strasburg, the number one pick in the 2009 draft, surrendered a 2-run homer to Delwyn Young in the fourth inning, but other than that was almost flawless, showing confidence and no apparent jitters.

Nats fans celebrate Strasburg's big night. (Photo by Mike Frandsen)

Most of the excitement, after Strasburg got through the first inning, came in the sixth and seventh innings.

Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham hit back-to-back home runs for Washington in the sixth inning off Jeff Karstens (1-2), giving the Nats a 4-2 lead. Dunn’s 2-run homer was his 11th, and Willingham’s solo shot was his 11th too.

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

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

June 8, 2010

It happened 32 years ago today.  Before the Redskins won their first Super Bowl, and before Maryland and Georgetown won national championships in college basketball, the Washington Bullets gave D.C. its first championship in 36 years when they won the NBA title in 1978.

Before the blue and bronze of the Washington Wizards, there was the red, white, and blue of the Washington Bullets. Local musician Nils Lofgren wrote a hit song, “Bullets Fever,” that was played day and night during the spring of 1978 on Washington radio stations. The name Bullets was synonymous with winning, as they made the playoffs 18 times in 20 seasons.

The Bullets were a successful team in the 1970s, with winning records in nine of 10 seasons. They won more than 50 games four times, including 60 wins in 1974-75. They made it to the NBA finals four times.

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

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Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN) holds annual sports festival for D.C. area kids with disabilities

June 8, 2010

Kids Enjoy Exercise Now held its 9th annual sports festival Sunday at Hadley Park in Potomac, Maryland. The sports festival is an annual celebration in which KEEN families participate in sports and games with their children and siblings, along with volunteer coaches.

KEEN is a national, non-profit volunteer organization that gives children and young adults with disabilities a chance play sports and recreational activities in a non-competitive, welcoming atmosphere. KEEN athletes include children with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and autism.

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

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Family Coat of Arms

June 4, 2010

I decided to make a family coat of arms for me and my future family.  The words mean virtue, diligence, honor, and faithfulness.  I was inspired to do it after I was stabbed in the back last fall.  I’ll never forget that and will always use the events to motivate me.  It reminds me how I should live my life, even though I was already living it that way.  Consider it like a rededication.

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Congress: CDC misled public about Washington, D.C. lead in water crisis, lead was toxic for some

June 3, 2010

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recklessly misled the public about the safety of lead levels in the water in Washington, D.C. between 2001 and 2004, according to a disturbing and damning congressional report released last month.

The Report, “A Public Health Tragedy: How Flawed CDC Data and Faulty Assumptions Endangered Children’s Health,” was conducted by the House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight of the Committee on Science and Technology.

The congressional investigation found that a 2004 CDC report that was rushed to calm the fears of the public after the D.C. lead scare used flawed data to come to the inaccurate conclusion that lead levels in the water were safe. The discredited report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), has since been widely quoted by media and government agencies across the nation to tell the public that drinking water containing high levels of lead is not a health hazard.

Environmental health problems often affect poor, minority residents disproportionately. In D.C., lead levels were worst in the city’s poorest neighborhoods, in Southeast and Northeast. See a Washington Post map of lead test results from 2003 to 2004.

More examples of how environmental problems affect disadvantaged people, and how fetuses, infants, and young children are affected most by toxicants is seen in CNN’s series “Toxic America” June 2 and 3 as Sanjay Gupta reports on environmental health hazards.

To see the rest of my article on examiner.com, click here.

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Will LeBron James stay in Cleveland, or go to NY, NJ, Chicago, Miami, or…Washington?

May 31, 2010

People are starting to talk a little about the possibility of LeBron James playing for the Wizards in addition to the usual suspects of Cleveland, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Miami.  I personally think he’ll stay in Cleveland, and I almost want him to because I believe in loyalty.  But as a lifelong Bullets/Wizards fan, it would be great to see LeBron play here in D.C.

With overall number one picks Alex Ovechkin, Stephen Strasburg, and John Wall, not to mention Donovan McNabb, do we even have enough room for LeBron?  Of course we do.

An astute observer said in one of the comments to my article on examiner.com that if LeBron signed with the Wizards, and Gilbert stays, they would be the most athletic team in the league, with Wall, Gilbert, LeBron, Blatche, and McGee.

Here’s the article on examiner.com:  Could LeBron James decide to play for the Washington Wizards?

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Books can help children with autism learn empathy and understand emotions

May 31, 2010

Children with autism are often very poor at identifying, understanding, and regulating emotions. They are usually especially deficient in empathizing, or understanding that other people have emotions. Emotion coaching is an area that doesn’t get enough attention.

The levels here are listed as beginner, intermediate, and advanced for simplicity. For kids who can’t read you can still read the books to them and break them down into simple terms. These books are great for neurotypical kids as well, of course.

These books on emotions are different than ones on social stories or social skills. There are many excellent books on learning to share, having good manners, and being safe and careful. Those are all necessary and great but books on emotions take it a step further.

To see the rest of my article on examiner.com, click here.

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Ryan Zimmerman hits 100th and 101st career home runs but Nationals fall to Padres, 3-2 in 11 innings

May 30, 2010

Ryan Zimmerman hit his 100th and 101st career home runs but the Padres beat the Nationals, 3-2 in 11 innings as the Nats fell below .500.

Pinch hitter Nick Hundley’s two-out, 11th inning single off Matt Capps to left field drove in Lance Zawadzki for the winning run in San Diego. Zawadzki had reached base on an infield single off Sean Burnett (0-3) that Adam Kennedy threw into the dugout, allowing Zawadzki to advance to second base.

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

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Could LeBron James decide to play for the Washington Wizards?

May 30, 2010

Ten days ago, this reporter blogged that LeBron James should play for the Washington Wizards.

Is it so crazy to think James could end up in Washington? New York, New Jersey, Miami and Chicago have been the teams most often mentioned, but so far not many people have talked about James coming to D.C., except a few wacky writers.

For LeBron to come to Washington, the Wizards would most likely have to trade Gilbert Arenas. The Wizards are expected to attempt to trade Arenas anyway now that they have the chance to draft Kentucky point guard John Wall with the first overall pick. LeBron would like to play with Wall according to recent reports.

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

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Redskins reaching out to old players, finally

May 28, 2010

The Redskins’ golden era of four Super Bowls in 10 seasons was the greatest decade for any Washington area sports franchise. However, owner Dan Snyder has not done a good job of reaching out to former players to make them feel welcome at Redskins Park. Until now.  On June 17, the Redskins will host a long overdue alumni event.

Here are a couple of links from my Redskins blog from the 2008 Hall of Fame ceremony when Art Monk and Darrell Green were inducted.  You can see several photos of former Redskins, including Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders, Jim Lachey, Rick “Doc” Walker, and Don Warren.

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