One more time

For what it's worth, I do not think Gilbert Arenas should go to jail for a momentary lapse into knuckleheadedness.  Arenas is not a thug, just someone who made a terrible decision.  Today's accusations of a cover up, while unsavory, do not change my opinion.

If anything, Arenas has shown a consistent pattern of being foolish and immature, but not violent or bad.  A jail sentence is not merited.

I also think it's worth ready today "DC Sports Bog" about Arenas' support for area teams and families.   

His donations and immaturity are the yin-yang that define Arenas, not thuggery or conspiracies.

One last Arenas post (but with a Krugman shout-out this time)

I think Gilbert Arenas was incredibly stupid, way to glib about guns and DC gun laws, and probably should have his contract terminated.  But should he go to jail? No.


It's interesting that one of the many backdrops to this story has been hearings held by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (chaired by Greek-American Phil Angelidis) regarding bank bail-outs, the mess on Wall Street, and the culture that led to the recent financial meltdowns.  For a more articulate take on Wednesday's hearing, check out Paul Krugman's recent op-ed.


If we're looking to send anyone to jail it should be from Wall Street.  To my knowledge not a single Wall Street banker, etc. has been held responsible for losing trillions of dollars of wealth, wealth from average Americans' pension funds, retirement and savings.  All these losses could have been prevented with more oversight, more responsibility, and more accountability.


If we're looking to send someone scofflaw to jail I say look on Wall Street, not in the Wizards' locker room.*


* Though Javaris Crittendon looks jail-eligible for actually waving a loaded gun in the locker room.  I also believe he once interned at Goldman Sachs, so he'd be a two-fer.

Last Arenas Post?

Another great piece in The Post this morning, this time by Dean Smith biographer Sally Jenkins, about Gilbert Arenas.  She points out, among other things, how Gilbert failed to step up and is even disconnected from his own limbs; Arenas' tattoo of 'Black Rushmore' features two black leaders killed by guns: Martin Luther King and Malcolm X (the other leaders depicted are Nelson Mandela and Obama).  


I don't think Arenas is a thug or bad, just incredibly incredibly stupid.  And like many athletes/celebrities/etc. stupefyingly out of touch with the real world. But Jenkins goes farther to posit that not only is he cut off from the real world, for instance ignorant of things like DC's (appropriately) strict gun laws and insensitive to the  gun violence rampant here, Arenas is out of touch with himself.


Either way, like David Stern said he is unworthy of playing in the NBA.  


I also commend the Wizards of fining four of their younger players - Nick Young, Andray Blatche, JaVale McGee and Randy Foye (who should have known better, the other three seem pretty immature compared to him) - for clowning around with Arenas when he pretended to shoot them during intros in Philadelphia the other night.  Young players - and young people - need to get the message about guns, especially in DC.


The suspension could lead to Washington and the NBA voiding Arenas' contract, so he may have played his last game as a member of the Wizards, probably for this year at least.  


The Wizards starting turning the page last night, removing all Arenas-related merchandise from the Phone Booth and taking down the banner with his name and the caption "Character, Commitment, Connection."


Lucky for the Wizards, they have one player who does epitomize those values, the under appreciated Antawn Jamison.  The Star Heel addressed the crowd prior to last night's game and vowed to 'make this one of the most respected organizations in the league.'  He then backed it up by leading the Wizards to a stirring, 
come-from-behind win over the Orlando Magic, and finished with 28 and 11.  


NBA-favorite player Brendan Haywood also stepped up, playing Dwight Howard to a draw with 18 points (6 for 6 from the line AND the field) and 15 points and a block.


Jamison is Carolina class all the way, and the kind of stand-up brother who could actually lead the Wizards out of the wilderness.  As they did two years ago, when Arenas was out for the season but Haywood was healthy, one can easily see the Wizards come together and make a run to the playoffs.  Their staring five is now Foye, Mike Miller, Caron Butler, Jamison and Haywood, with Earl Boykins, Blatche, Young and Fabricio Oberto coming off the bench.  That's not a bad line up, perhaps one not good enough to scare Cleveland or Boston but certainly one good enough to finish in the top 8 of the weak Eastern Conference (how weak? The Charlotte Bobcats are currently the 7th seed). 


So with Jamison leading the way the Zards could - could - end up turning a horrible and embarrassing season into something positive. 

Arenas, and ESPN looks back at the top players and coaches of the 2000s

I don't have much to add to the completely embarrassing news about Gilbert Arenas.  Tracee Hamilton sums it up pretty well in today's Post.


Talk about the "Curse of Les Boulez" - times two in this case.


One, how embarrassing for a team that used to be the Bullets, a name the late Abe Pollin changed over disgust with gun violence especially in DC but also over the assassination of Yitzak Rabin, to have guns waved in their locker room.  Guns apparently drawn in the locker room by two professional athletes.  Pretty pathetic.


Two, the lame Wizards are now stuck, really stuck, with Arenas.  There is no way they can trade Arenas in an attempt to jump start a team off to a 10-20 so they are on the hook for the remainder of his $110 million contract.  That contract was the original reason he was tough to trade, but who would want a guy who brings - and may wave them around - guns to the locker room.  


Finally, this instance obviously raises serious concerns about Arenas the person.  His professionalism, dedication, and maturity are all in question.  I guess I need to give him and Javaris Crittendon the benefit of the doubt; maybe guns weren't drawn. But either way, Arenas is damaged goods - and I'm not talking about his repaired left knee - and the Wizards are stuck with a player who is NOT the professional and leader they thought they had when Pollin signed him to that mega contract three years ago.


To paraphrase Chief Justice Earl Warren, after reading about man's defeats you can read about man's triumphs at the link below on the best of college basketball in the last decade: Looking back at the top players and coaches of the decade.

Wizards Continue to Slide

Evan and I witnesses another terrible loss by our hometown Wizards tonight, to the suddenly respectable Oklahoma City Thunder, final score 98-110.  Losing to the Thunder is not as shameful as it used to be.  The terrible nature of this loss is that for 3 quarters the Zards led or controlled the game.

But with 52 seconds left in the third quarter, and with Washington nurturing a 76-73 lead, Brendan Haywood left the game for a breather.  With B-Hay resting the Thunder went on a 22-14 run, relentlessly attacking the rim in Haywood's absence. One drive was by Fayetteville native Eric Maynor, who had a nice game off the bench.

When Haywood returned the Wizards made it close again, but the versatile Thunder started hitting from outside, Arenas turned it over a few times, and the game was over.

I think it is safe to say the 10-20 Wizards officially stink (nonetheless, I still like going to the PhoneBooth, and love the Wizards Holiday Pack that I got for Christmas; 2 tickets to 3 games - OKC, New Orleans, and Sean May's Sacramento Kings - plus an XXL Arenas jersey).

It is probably time to admit that the Arenas-Jamison-Butler magic can not be recreated and that Arenas, who was fantastic for 3 quarters tonight, is still not the player he used to be before his multiple knee surgeries.  Perhaps he'll round into form after a few more games, or that he is still not in basketball shape.  

Gil's $110 million contract makes him untradeable but don't be surprised if Butler is packaged for Tracy McGrady or Kevin Martin.  McGrady to Washington is unlikely, though, since that would mean two, oft-injured, former all-star, highly-paid guys - who need to ball in their hands a lot - on one team.

Random Notes

• You can text messages to the scoreboard at the Verizon Center, and tonight my 'It's Gilbert's World, We Just Live In It' message was posted.  My 'Oklahoma's Senators Are Crazy' message did not. 
• I was really impressed by Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, and the Thunder in general.  In two years if their core stays together - those two, plus point guard Russell Westbrook - this team could really make some noise.  
• Ditto the Wizards foes the night before, the Memphis Grizzlies, who feature maturing talents like Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, and OJ Mayo.  If the NBA had an U-25 league those two teams would battle it out for the championship.  
• It's hard to believe what Durant can do at 6'10 (though his legs are as skinny at 5'7' Earl Boykins').  Durant had no trouble generating a good shot, has a great midrange game and can take it to the rack despite his skinny frame.  He doesn't appear that interested in rebounding, but his offensive game is unmatched for a player of his size and age (only 21 years old).
• I was almost more impressed by Jeff Green, and his versatility.  He hit two three-pointers mixed in with some very acrobatic drives and rebounds.  I remember him as almost a lunch-pail kind of forward at Georgetown but he looked like a developing All-Star tonight in his return to the Verizon Center.

Cure for Car Care Bowl Fever

What a bad loss for the Heels yesterday, or as Joey Pillow texted me "that was embarrassingly awful." 


There are three things to talk about when looking back at yesterday's game: embarrassingly awful mistakes; a failure to close out games; and finally questions about when is Carolina football going to finally turn the corner?


Embarrassingly awful mistakes: quarterback TJ Yates' interception at the goal line in the second quarter; Greg Little's stupid punt after a great and super-athletic touchdown catch; Barth's out-of-bounds squib kick at the end of the first half; 12 penalties; worst of all, the offsides that allowed Pitt to kick a 33-yard field goal instead of a 47 yarder.  


That is a long list of mistakes to overcome.


Closing out games: it seems that time after time, the Heels have a lead but can't finish.  Perhaps the Heels assume their excellent defense will always rise to the occasion, and maybe we need more depth on that side of the ball to keep guys fresh for four quarters.  Or the offense needs to stay on the field longer.  For whatever reason, the defense hasn't been able to close out games against Georgia Tech, at home vs. Florida State, at NC State, and the last 2 Meineke Car Care Bowls.


Finally, when will Carolina football turn the corner? Butch Davis has tantalizingly teed up expectations by regularly beating Miami, beating Notre Dame last year, defeating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg this season.  However, the Heels can't beat NC State or Virginia.  Those wins, and Davis' recruiting prowess, have made casual football fans like me -  I can't believe I've spent so much time blogging about Carolina football - really care again.  


To finally turn the corner the Heels will need to cut down on the mistakes, especially the mental ones like Yates bad interceptions and penalties, and get over the hump by defeating teams like Virginia and particularly NC State.  Heels fans will have high expectations for next year's team, a team that will feature a more experienced offensive line, a four-year starter at quarterback, and an experienced defense that hopefully will learn to close out games.


On the other hand, maybe Carolina football has turned the corner. The Heels have gone to back-to-back bowl games, and the fact that Carolina football matters and that fans have realistic and ambitious expectations is a testament to where Butch Davis has taken the program.  Let's hope for continued progress and at least 9 wins - including a win over NC State - next year.


A Few Random Notes

• If the game had been on Dec. 26th, Evan and I would have seriously considered going. Having to travel so close to Christmas was a deal-breaker for us, and I guess for many North Carolinians as only 50,000 showed up yesterday.
• Terrible basketball games to watch on Christmas.  I like the NBA-Christmas hoops tradition, but this year's games were terrible.  I've never liked the Celtics - even though Sheed plays for them now - and liked them even less after watching Boston spend 48 minutes swarming and hacking Dwight Howard.  Ditto for the Lakers-Cavaliers game, another inelegant wrestling match of a game.  Let the players play; I wish referees would call more fouls against physical defenses.  There are too many low-scoring scrums in the post-Pat Riley NBA.
• The Wizards, in particular Gilbert Arenas, looked terrible yesterday.  I thought he was fully recovered from his knee problems and having not played basketball for two seasons, but he's not. The Wiz committed 18 turnovers in losing to Wayne Ellington's Minnesota Timberwolves.  
• Tyler Hansbrough had a double-double last night, 19 and 11, in the Pacers' loss to Marvin Williams' Atlanta Hawks.  Hansbrough played a season-high 31+ minutes and was 7 for 20 from the field.  He's having a good season now that he appears to be fully back in basketball shape but his shooting percentage continues to be in the 30s (37 percent for the season).  One reason is Psycho T continues to have a lot of his shots blocked; against the Hawks last night 6 of his shots were blocked (4 by Al Horford). Once he figures that out . . .

Terrible loss for Wizards, but good game for Hansbrough

Brutal loss tonight for our home town Wizards.  


It was like a Greek tragedy: the guy with the triple double, Gilbert Arenas, missed two free throws - for the second game in a row - that could have won the game.   Missed free throws and turnovers really hurt Washington.


And this team still stinks on defense.   The Wizards only have one real defender, Brendan Haywood.  He had 5 blocks and is the only guy who rotates.  Jamison and Blatche and Butler need to keep their men from driving to the rack with regularity.


It was fun to watch Hansbrough.  He finished with 19 points in 25 minutes, and played the entire fourth quarter.  Down the stretch it was like a Carolina game as Hansbrough scored 11 points in the final stanza, and 7 of the Pacers' last 11 points in the final 3 minutes.  


And they were running plays for him, too, plays that resulted in 2 lay-ups and one dunk.  Finally, in the last 3 minutes there were two classic Psycho T plays were he simply wanted the ball - once on an offensive rebound, and once on a lose ball - more than the other 9 guys on the floor.


This game was Hansbrough's third straight with double-figures.  He's coming on.  

Watched Way Too Many Games On TV Today

Thanks to TiVO, two games played in Europe, a late afternoon start, and other factors I ended up watching 4 sporting events today - in their entirety - in between regular Saturday/parenting gigs (getting a hair cut, raking the front yard with Evan, going to dry cleaner and hardware store, buying a birthday present at Politics and Prose, and driving Ariadne to two events).  


In the end, two were worth watching and two weren't.  In order, I watched:

• The U.S. men's soccer team lose a snoozer of a friendly against Slovakia, 0-1.  I know, Bratislava in November is a tough place to play (tell me something I don't know).  The U.S., playing without Landon Donovan (busy with the MLS playoffs) and injured players Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onweyu, looked listless and unorganized as coach Bob Bradley mixed in some new players.  It was a boring loss and a pretty bad game to watch.  But it was only a friendly, though it does give all my Slovakia friends the right to talk smack at work on Monday.
• That firecracker was followed by Greece's 0-0 tie with Ukraine - in Athens - in a very important 2010 World Cup qualifying playoff game (shown live at 1 pm via Setanta Sports).  Ellas looked tight and tentative while the Ukraine was content to - successfully - play for the tie.  The Hellenic squad succumbed to their serious and stern Byzantine Greek side instead of being ruled by their active and happy-go-funky Classical Greek side.  And I think we all agree, in sports, it's better to play happy-go-funky than stern, and it showed today in a lackluster tie.   So in order to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Greece needs to win in Ukraine on Wednesday, or tie and win on away goals (for instance, a 1-1 tie means Greece advances since they would have scored more away goals that Ukraine).
• Things picked up at 4:30 when I started watching Carolina host Miami.  The Heels led 20-7 at half time thanks to a 77-yard interception return by Kendric Burney.  However, in the third quarter Miami came back and every Heel on the planet - even Bratislava! - felt another FSU-style collapse was eminent.  As it has all season, once again the defense bailed Carolina out as Burney picked off another pass that was eventually returned for a touchdown by Melvin Williams; Burney fumbled on the run back but Williams caught it in mid-air and ran 44 yards for the score.    The defense was the story, but give some credit to the offense too.   When Carolina needed one more drive to ice the game the offense drove 60 yards on 11 plays while eating up more than 5 minutes to ice the game.  It's Carolina's 5th straight win over a ranked team - third overall - and continues the post-FSU loss renaissance.  And the Heels are now bowl eligible.
• Finally, wrapped up the night with the Wizards losing to John Kuester's Detroit Pistons.  Behind newly signed Earl Boykins the Wizards roared back from an 8-point halftime deficit to lead for most of the second half.  But down the stretch Ben Gordon and Will Bynum (who played against each other in the 2004 National Championship game - vote in the poll please!) got hot and Gilbert Arenas of all people had two big turnovers.   The Wizards have now lost 6 in a row, and it appears that Arenas' timing and touch are not back after missing most of the last two seasons.  The Zards also need Star Heel Antawn Jamison back in the line up.

That's enough now.  I'm tired from all the time spent on the couch. 

Another scattershot blog post

A variety of bloggable topics are available this weekend. Here goes:


World Series


I was initially surprised to see the Yankees comeback from an early 0-3 deficit.  But I shouldn't have.  Cole Hamels has been shaky this postseason, and unlike some of the Phillies these Yankees are professional hitters.   They swing at strikes, and fielded a relentless line up that even featured pitcher Andy Petite driving in a run.


[Interesting take on these Yankees today in the Times.]


The Phillies' approach last night was not as professional.  Case in point is Shane Victorino.  Batting in the third inning with the bases loaded and one out, Victorino came up after Jimmy Rollins walked - WALKED - to drive in a run and give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.  Most ball players know to take the first pitch if the previous hitter walked.  But Victorino was a bonehead twice, swinging at two balls waaaaayyyyy outside the strike zone to quickly put himself in the hole 0-2.


He eventually drove in a run - on a defensive swing - on a sacrifice fly but instead of breaking the game open with a hit, driving Petite off the mound in the process, Victorino's sacrifice ended the chance for a big, game -changing inning.

• Good column by Tom Boswell today that semi-explains why umpiring in baseball has declined so badly in recent years.  Bad umpiring/refereeing seems endemic to all sports these days but in baseball the umpiring stinks worse than in other sports.  From calling a terrible strike zone, to allowing hitters and pitchers go on a walkabout after every pitch, to missing fairly obvious calls this postseason - fair and foul balls, two runners on the same base, plays at first - baseball has a fairly serious issue to deal with. Boswell makes a good case that instant replay deserves a chance to solve some these problems.

Carolina football


Huge win for the Heels on Thursday night against Virginia Tech. There are almost too many story lines to talk about: a road win versus a ranked opponent, bouncing back from a terrible home loss the previous Thursday that also was a nationally televised game, coming back late in the game after falling behind due to a terrible turnover/interception by Yates.


The win was inspiring; the Heels could have mailed in the rest of their season and done what some so-called scribes had done and turned to basketball.  But instead they played with pride and determination and were rewarded with a meaningful and season-saving win.


The Heels will need to sustain that effort and focus if they truly want to save the season.  Carolina has four tough game left, versus Miami, at Boston College, and rivalry games versus NC State and Duke.  The Duke game is homecoming next week - Evan, Johnny, Alex and I will be there - and the Blue Devils is no pushover.  The Dukies are 5-3 after defeating Virginia in Charlottesville yesterday.  Beating the 'Hoos may not be that big a deal, then again the Heels lost to them in Chapel Hill.


Either way, I'm looking forward to spending a day and a half in Chapel Hill for homecoming (something I never thought I would ever want to attend).  This will actually be the fourth Duke-Carolina game in five years for Johnny, Evan and myself.


Wizards


Got to catch part of the Wizards win last night over the Nets. Arenas continues to look fantastic, and Andray Blatche off the bench almost matched Agent Zero's 32 points.  Brendan Haywood finished with 10 and 7 (a reverse of his opening-night numbers).


I may be the only guy I know who is paying attention; only 3 people voted in my favorite Wizards poll (and I think those 3 were me, Evan and Ariadne).


Heels in NBA


Of all the Heels in the NBA rookie Ty Lawson is probably off to the best start.  Lawson was the best player on the floor for Denver as they rallied to defeat Portland on opening night.  Lawson finished with 17 points in that game in 26 minutes.  He scored 7 in 17 minutes last night in another Nuggets win.


Here's a look at what the others Heels are doing so far:


Wayne Ellington: Ellington is playing, getting 23 min/game, while averaging 6 pts on 32% shooting; has yet to hit a three-pointer in two games.
Sean May: May is starting for 0-3 Sacramento but still playing 'out of shape' minutes, around 19 a game and averaging only 6 points a game.  I hope May gets healthy and gets his career on track.  He should be a good pro.
Brendan Haywood Off to a pretty good start - averaging 12 and 9 - though his timing on offense appears off as he returns from a wrist injury that kept him out of 79 games last year. Physically looks great, trim and agile.
Jawad Williams Has only played 2 minutes of mop-up time in one game, but hey he's in the NBA!
Rasheed Wallace Happily coming off the bench and playing a lot at crunch time, Ra is averaging 9 points a game. Twenty of his twenty-six shots have been three-pointers.
Raymond Felton Continues to struggle with his shot for the 1-2 Bobcats. Averaging 14 points (39% shooting) and 5 assists in 28 minutes a game. I still can't figure out why Ray has not become Chris Paul.
Marvin Williams Is third option on a young and dynamic Hawks team.   Averaging 12 points though 2 games.
Vince Carter The Magic are 2-0 with Carter, but Vince only played 15 minutes in their second game due to a sprained ankle (and did not play today versus the Raptors).  Carter is averaging 15.5 points a game on 55% shooting in two games.


Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Brandan Wright and Antawn Jamison have yet to play this season due to injuries, and both Jerry Stackhouse and Rashad McCants have yet to sign with a team.  For a while rumors circulated that McCants would join Aris Thessaloniki (in my dad's hometown) in a Carolina-Hellenic Blue blog-driven move.


Completely Random

• What ever happened to Jurassic 5?  'Day at the Races' came on my iPod the other day, a song that hinted at their promise.  Maybe I missed something, but what happened to the group who rapped 'you're out of your league like Jordan was with baseball' and featured the 'verbal Herman Munster' as one of their members?
• Lots of comments on our Halloween 2009 iPod mix for our party last night. Most often asked question "Are we listening to ABC?"  With Halloween as the obvious theme the mix featured "Poison Arrow" - due to the word poison - "Back from the Dead" by Spinal Tap, the "Buttercup" theme from the Power Puff Girls soundtrack, and more cliched songs like "Thriller," "Dead Man's Party" and "Everyday is Halloween." 
• Sorry for some of the font problems with this page.  The software was upgraded and I have yet to find my comfort zone.

Some excitement in the sports world

Can't tell if I'm more excited about the pending World Series or the start of the new season for our hometown Washington Wizards.


WORLD SERIES


As a baseball fan, I'm very excited and intrigued by the Yankees-Phillies match up.  Traditionally, I root for the National League in the Series, and even though that means supporting a team I genuinely dislike in the Phillies having the Yankees represent the AL makes it a no-brainer.


A quick analysis of the Series - and especially the pitching - reveals two juicy pieces of info.


One, the Phillies have better starting pitching; I like having Pedro Martinez pitch game two and having Cliff Lee and Pedro start 4 or 5 games in a seven-game series.  I also have no faith in the Yankees' A.J. Burnett.


Two, that advantage is negated by left-hander CC Sabathia, who could start three times if the World Series goes seven games.


The Phils are very vulnerable to lefties, so starting pitching could be a wash when comparing the two teams.


The bullpen  match up is interesting too, but with the quality of starting pitching one wonders if anyone other than Mariano Rivera will come in for New York.  The middle relievers for the Yankees have looked unsteady in the post season while the Phillies' relievers - even Brad Lidge - have looked good.


Even though I want the Phillies to defeat the Yankees if CC Sabathia outpitches Cliff Lee - and controls Ryan Howard and company - in games 1 and 4 New York will likely win their 27th championship.  But I expect Pedro and Cole Hamels to outpitch Burnett and Andy Petite - so if Sabathia faulters the Phillies could become the first repeat National Champion since the Big Red Machine in the middle-70s.


Wizards Start 1-0


I got really excited watching the Wizards defeat Dallas last night.  Gilbert Arenas looked fantastic, with no-ill effects from his two knee surgeries.  He drove and dished, drove and finished, hit long range and mid range jumpers, and looked once again like one of the NBA's elite level talents.


But this entire squad is talented.  Randy Foye had a great game, hitting jump shots and taking it to the rack, and finished in double figures.  He and Mike Miller, who had 8 rebounds, are a significant infusion of talent for the Wizards; hard to believe Washington gave up stiffs like Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila in exchange for those two.  Third newcomer Fabricio Oberto had a great fourth quarter and helped the Wizards put the game away with two big offensive boards, a nice put-back, and some nifty give-and-goes with Arenas.


And I haven't even mentioned Andray Blatche, who hit a variety of shots - everything from dunks to 17-18 footers - and looked confident and focused on his way to 16 points off the bench.


Finally, my man Brendan Haywood finished with 7 (on only 3 of 10 shooting) and 10 boards.  Offensively, he carried the Zards for a stretch in the first half when Arenas was primarily dishing. Defensively, he was key on rotations and on the boards.  New coach Flip Sanders rewarded that effort by giving B-Hay 38 minutes.


It was only one game, but this team looks like it should be one of the elite teams, along with Boston, Cleveland and Orlando, in the Eastern Conference.  Go Wizards!

hUpdate

While waiting for today's game versus Oklahoma - a game I think the Heels will win thanks to Ellington and Lawson - a few more hoops stories caught my attention.

• How cruel or ironic or whatever for the Wizards to lose last night - in Gilbert Arenas' return from knee surgery - courtesy of a blocked shot by none other than Kwame Brown?  Kornheiser semi-famously coined the term 'Curse of Le Bulez," and there may be something to it.  Last night, the twin curses of the DC franchise - a wasted number one pick and a talent wasted by multiple knee surgeries - met in one game changing play.  Funny how sports - or I guess life in general - sets up those kinds of situations.
• Villanova won one of the ugliest games I've seen in a while.  Both teams played incredibly hard but not necessarily well. But that's Big East basketball, and that's enough to dominate this tournament.
• Interesting and I think ultimately prophetic quote: "He won't come out and admit it; of course he's going to say it's about the team winning, and ultimately it is," close friend and teammate Bobby Frasor said. "But it's the same type of deal when we played Notre Dame ... and he faced Luke Harangody. He wants to prove to everyone that he is better. He wants to out-perform [Griffin], get the win and just do everything he can to show how good he is."   Sounds right to me.

Arenas and Guzman

A couple of DC-centric sports stories to blog about.

One is the Wizards signing Gilbert Arenas to a six year contract for $111 million, roughly $15 million less than the maximum the team could have offered.  The Wizards also resigned Antawn Jamison, so the good news is the core of a team that is talented enough to make it to the Eastern Conference finals is coming back next year.

Arenas, who negotiated his own contract without an agent, agreed to less money so the team could sign Jamison and have more money to spend on a free agent, perhaps a power forward like Elton Brand. He was famously quoted as saying 'there's nothing I can do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million,' an interesting quote when it's coming from an athlete.   Countless fans say the same thing about every free agent signing, especially for stars who leave a team after years of service for a few more million a year (i.e. Johnny Damon).

The other good news is that Arenas is an elite player and personality, someone who creates buzz for the Wizards and unlike Chris Webber (who I really liked) has been able to sustain that buzz for a few years.  Arenas made the Wizards a big time team, both in DC - a great hoops town with deep and real hoops roots - and in the NBA by being talented but more importantly winning games and leading his team into the playoffs.  And with Butler and Jamison, along with an improved Haywood, this is a very good team and one that is generally fun to watch.

Of course, there is another shoe; 'this is a good team' . . . when healthy.  And Arenas has not been healthy for two years now.  Washington is taking a huge risk on a player whose knees have given out on him in consecutive seasons.  Even if he is healthy, as Michael Wilbon pointed out in today's Post, for that kind of money a team expects a championship.   

Who knows, stranger things have happened in sport, but I doubt this Wizards team can win a championship.   But with Jamison turning 31, and Butler and Arenas each having injury problems, the pressure is on this team to win now (or at least soon).  And that's the rub here; the Wizards had no choice but to sign Arenas: he's their best player, the face of the franchise, and a marquee talent.  

But when you look at his history of injuries, and the likelihood of this current team winning a championship, the signing of Arenas to a $111 million contract seems like a mistake (even if the team saved $15 million).   

Christian Guzman is an all-star

Not sure if this is a sign of the apocalypse or not, but you have to hand it to Christian Guzman for making the All-star team.  Granted, there was no one else on the team remotely resembling a star player; Guzman is the only starter hitting over .300, and though John Lannan has an All-star team worthy E.RA his lack of run support has left him with a losing record.  But Guzman is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak, has a respectable .340 on base percentage, and has batted .328 for the last month, so he kind of earned it.

Folks probably remember that four years ago Guzzy had one of the worst seasons at the plate in the modern era. He was hitting below .200 for 5 months before a late surge raised his average to .219 for the year.  He lost a year due to injury, but hit .328 last year in 50 games before getting hurt again.  You have to hand it to him for coming back from two injuries and a dreadful 2005 to become an All-star.

This season has prompted Jim Bowden, the Nationals' hopeless GM, to offer Guzman a two-year contract extension.  There is no way the Nats should resign Guzman; he's 30 years old and doubtful to get better.  And .340 is not that respectable for an on-base percentage.  But bottom line, this guy is not going to get better.  Save the money and sign a legit power hitter this off season.

He's been good, but you also need to be lucky, and Guzman would not be an All-star if he wasn't lucky enough to play for such a bad team.  Things are likely to get even worse for the Nats with Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge hurt, and Jesus Flores in a dreadful slump.  But at least those guys - along with Ryan Zimmerman, Lannan, Chad Cordero, and other young pitchers - are all under 25.  Ideally, those five or six players will lead the Nationals to the playoffs within the next 3 or 4 years.    

Hopefully, Stan Kasten will fire Bowden, and hire a GM who knows how to put together a legit major league roster, not one full of Expos-era rejects.  This team has money to spend. More importantly, the Nationals play in a weak division.  One or two smart free agent signings ideally of power hitters, coupled with the continued development of their starting pitching - which has actually been pretty good - and the young talent this team has could land them in the playoffs.  

Hey, if Christian Guzman can make the All-star team anything is possible.

Quick Wimbledon Note

I watched the end of the Nadal-Federer final today, and it was pretty good stuff.  A five-set match is usually pretty epic, and this one was.  To play that hard for that long is impressive.

Tennis players are underrated athletes.  It is hard to do what they do, and when you look at Nadal and Federer in particular, those guys look like line backers or A-Rod.   Big time athletes.

Finally, a great fortnight for Spain: a Wimbleton champ and the Euro 2008 championship.  I would type a lame Spanish phrase here, but will fight the temptation.