One more thing

Last week I blogged that LeBron James would be the difference in the NBA Finals.  But I forgot about Dwyane Wade, who made huge plays down the stretch to practically win game one by his damself.  

I could have blogged about Wade then, or for that matter with the use of a Y in Dwyane I could have included him in my post about LaYnce Nix and JaYson Werth.  The Ys are taking over.

At least the Y did in the fourth quarter against the Mavs.  And that was the difference.  James and Dirk Nowitzki had in effect played to a stand off.  But Wade was much better than any of Nowitzki's supporting teammates.  

That superiority was most vividly on display when Wade blocked Shawn Marion's shot late.  It was the play of the game and sent the Heat off towards their game 1 win.  

Ironically, to that point Marion had played a pretty good game.  But the Jasons - Kidd but especially Terry - did not do their part to support Nowitzki (Carolina's Brendan Haywood actually had some nice runs, with 3 points, 7 boards and 3 blocks).  

There is no way Nowitzki can defeat James-Wade-Chris Bosh on his own.  He needs help, and when Marion tried to provide it Wade was there to counter, and thus went game 1.

NBA Finals

Though there will be no Lakers, Celtics or Spurs on the court the NBA Finals should be pretty compelling basketball.

The star players on both teams, namely Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James, have been scintillating of late, both doing what star players are supposed to do: make plays when their teams need them.

Like most people in these united States I did not like the way James left and embarrassed his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.  But the guy has been pretty impressive in the playoffs.  It's hard to know where to begin in talking about a player as talented - and big - as James.  His size and agility allow him to make impressive basketball plays all over the floor. 

Against the Bulls he blocked shots late, hit big threes, made passes to win game 5 down the stretch - after struggling with his shot for three and a half quarters.  He's physically impressive just standing there, but James' determination and will and mental toughness was more impressive - especially down the stretch.  

As you can tell, I was impressed.

Contrast James' play with Derrick Rose, who was panicky in the last 5 minutes instead of confident and fouled Dwayne Wade as he made a three-point shot late.  I expect his performance in this series - where he lacked confidence in his teammates and could not take over a game by himself  - to help his development.

Coincidentally, the same thing happened to Michael Jordan.  He only started to win championships when he figured out the balancing act between taking over a game and trusting his teammates.  Easy to forget that the Bulls won a couple of championships thanks to big shots by John Paxson and Steve Kerr, guys Jordan found open - and trusted to take and make big shots.

Rose seems like the kind of guy who WILL figure it out - and become a real monster when he does.  But he hasn't yet, and that was evident late in every Bulls loss to the Heat. 

Of course, up till now neither James nor Nowitzki has figured it out either, at least neither have won a championship.  But both guys are playing at an extraordinarily high level.  It will be fun to see if both can keep it up and carry their team to a championship, and thus earn a place in the pantheon of truly elite basketball players.

FYI, in my opinion the list of truly elite basketball players - guys who have won championships and are still dominant is: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and perhaps Dwayne Wade.

[Interesting to see how aging this list is.  If Nowitzki, James, or Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, win a championship the torch will have been passed.  Shaq should also be on that list, but he's practically retired.]

Therein lies the key to this series: Wade. The Mavs resemble the Bulls in that they have a dominant player with a nice ensemble that plays tough D.  However, if Jason Kidd (who could join the elite list if the Mavs win the title?), Jason Terry, and others on the deep Dallas roster step up they could win the franchise's first championship. 

But will any of those guys play as well as Wade?  Probably not, so though I want to see Brendan Haywood get a ring, it's hard to pick a one-superstar team beating a team with two.  Nowitzki may get enough help from Kidd, Tyson Chandler and others, but with Wade helping James it's hard to see the Heat failing to win their NBA championship. 

But James is the bottom line.  He is playing at such a high level, both mentally and physically, it's folly to pick against him.   

A few more hoops notes, then it's time to leave the coffee shop for work:

• The playoffs have certainly exposed Duke grad Carlos Boozer as a titanic fraud.  He was at his Dookish 'best' last night both in terms of his foul on James and his complete disappearance in a game his team really needed.  I used to think he had a nice game but he seems to have peaked a few years ago and no longer seems worthy of 35 minutes a game.
• One other Duke note: the NCAA announced a rule change that would no longer allow a player to draw a charge by standing under the basket.  As it is now in the NBA, the NCAA will draw a circle under the basket where a defensive player can not stand to draw a charging foul.  That 'strategy' has long been a staple of Duke's philosophy: 'just stand here like a statue and wait for the ball handler to show up'  (in my opinion an un-American 'reward' for inaction).  So if you're wondering, that sound you just heard was Mike Krzyzewski's heart breaking. 
• One more side note about a Mavs-Heat final.  What would be more insufferable? The Heat winning a championship after staging that goofy and childish dance party/press conference to introduce James and Chris Bosh last summer, or the goofy and childish antics of Mark Cuban if the Mavericks win?  Discuss!

NBA Playoffs

Hard to get that excited about the NBA playoffs.  The Wizards demise caused me to stop paying attention to the league months ago. And unlike the NCAAs, with a one-and-done format guaranteed to produce upsets, the NBA playoffs are the opposite. Hard to hide flaws in a seven-game series, and harder to find upsets.


As usual, the east playoffs look unappealing as we wait for the inevitable match up of Vince Carter's Orlando Magic and Antawn Jamison's Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals. The other six teams in the east playoffs each have serious problems: Boston is too old, Atlanta very weak at the point and a few years away in terms of maturity; Milwaukee could have made some noise if Bogut was healthy but he's not and they won't; Charlotte is a less-talented version of the Hawks but with even less playoff experience and a big whole in the paint; Miami has one great player and no one else.  


The one intriguing team outside of Orlando and Cleveland is Chicago.  When healthy they feature some great young talent.  Injuries caused them to settle for the 8th spot opposite Cleveland so their trip to the playoffs will be short, this year.


The conference final will go seven, but it's hard to pick against LaBron James - especially with help from Antawn Jamison - so expect Cleveland to make the NBA Finals.


The west will be a slightly different story with at least 2 teams, Brendan Haywood's Dallas Mavericks and George Karl's Denver Nuggets, and perhaps everyone's sleeper team the Phoenix Suns, capable of giving the Lakers an honest run for their money.   


Like the east, don't expect any early upsets.  But unlike the east, the west WILL feature some compelling first round match ups such as the Spurs-Mavs and Nuggets-Jazz, and an entertaining one in the Lakers versus Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder.  


The conference semi-finals will be even more entertaining featuring a final four of the Lakers vs the Nuggets and the Mavericks taking on the Suns.  Every one of those games will be worth watching.  


I like Chauncey Billups taking down the erratic Lakers and go with Haywood and Caron Butler over the Suns.  Like all lefties I want to root for Steve Nash but the Mavs are too deep; that team features Nowitzki, Kidd, Marion, and Butler. 


I'm sticking with the Mavs to win the conference final, too, so it will be a Tar Heels AND Wizards reunion as the Cavs meet the Mavs in the Finals.


Break Up The Nats 


These are the glory days for our hometown Nationals.  At 7-6 it like 2005 again!  Except for Jason Marquis the Nats have actually gotten good starting pitching lately, especially from Livan Hernandez but also from John Lannan and tonight from Craig Stammen.  Only 83 more wins this season and it's on to the playoffs! 

February Hates CHB

Good thing it's the shortest month of the year, because February has been really cruel to all things Carolina and Hellenic.  It goes on today, with the Post taking a break from it's front page coverage of Greece's economic problems long enough to run an article chronicling the decline of blue-blood basketball programs like Carolina, Arizona, UCLA and Connecticut. 


Good riddance to February; I'm tired of talking about the problems with the two stales of my non-family, non-enviro life - hoops  and Hellenism (and it's not just Carolina; our hometown Wizards also had a horrible month).  


Hoops and Hellenism is a pretty good name for a blog, but I probably could not stand the competition for the Greek/basketball blogosphering public.


Finally, March will not be much better.  Just found out the Greek Prime Minister, Berkeley-born, American-bred George Papandreou, will be in D.C. for meetings with President Obama and others on March 9th, and of course a central part of the initial March Madness coverage will be reminders of the collapse of the defending national champs.


More hoops and Hellenism:

• When the Wizards traded Brendan Haywood then Antawn Jamison I decided to give up on our hometown team.  But the new look Zards, led by of all people Andray Blatche, are 3-3 including a win over Ty Lawson's Denver Nuggets.  Evan is no longer interested, but I'm thinking about giving this team another shot - and tickets on StubHub are pretty cheap.  Besides, they are only 8 1/2 games out of the eighth play off spot!
• NBA favorite player Haywood is thriving in Dallas. The Mavs are 6-0 in games he has started, and his numbers - though similar to the ones he put up in DC - are nonetheless impressive. In the six games he's started B-Hay is averaging 12 points, 11.5 boards and more than 3 blocks. His defense could make a team known around the league as soft a force in the playoffs.  Pretty ironic stuff for a guy once derided by know-nothing Wizards fans as 'Brenda' Haywood.   
• Seeing Haywood or more likely Antawn Jamison win an NBA championship this year with their new teams would take some - only some - of the sting out of this bad college hoops season.
• But my main rooting interest for the rest of this year will be the Charlotte Bobcats, led by second-favorite NBA player Raymond Felton. It looks imminent that Michael Jordan will purchase the Bobcats from do-thing black Republican Robert Johnson so they better make a run now before he screws up that franchise. The Cats are in 9th place in the east, in a tight race with Jerry Stackhouse's Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot.
• Speaking of MJ, I received Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, as a what-I-believe-to-be-sincere Valentine's Day present from Alison. I've been listening to it, especially disc one, a lot. That guy is really like Elvis, with a brilliant career that eventually choked in it's own vomit.  Disc one has three all-time great American songs by the Jackson 5: I Want You Back, ABC, I"ll Be There. The intro to I Want You Back, with the piano riff that quickly blends into a scratchy guitar part, is the ultimate Motown fanfare.  The rest of that disc includes Dancing Machine, Off The Wall, Shake Your Body, and Don't Stop Til You Get Enough. But like the rest of the four-disc set, each one is a mix of brilliance - those songs, plus Billie Jean, Bad - and absolute dreck - Ben, She's Out of My Life, and his song to his chimp Bubbles.  But it's worth wading through the dreck to listen to Wanna Be Starting Something.
• In college I had a great mixed tape that had an excellent segue from Wanna Be Starting Something to Flashlight by Parliament, FYI.
• My admission of affection for Michael Jackson may be as shocking to some (though I grew up with The Jackson 5) as last year's blog about American Idol.  But this week I was reminded once again of one of the main reasons I watch AI (besides Simon Cowell):  an excuse to engage and talk to our kids about something they like, something especially important now that Ariadne is a full-fledged teen. On Wednesday night Evan went to bed early, so it was just me and my daughter watching TV. We sat there talking, discussing each performance, having a real conversation, goofing off during commercials, etc.  And when I came home from my Greek Language MeetUp on Thursday night she gave me an update on who had been eliminated on her way to bed.  Ariadne and I fight a lot more now than we ever have, but those casual conversations and happy moments - in this case spurred by American Idol - are pretty cool.

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. 

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.

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!

Bad News for Wizards

Terrible news this morning regarding NBA All-sTar Heel Antawn Jamison. His shoulder injury is not expected to heal as quickly as originally expected, and 'Twan will likely miss a few games to star the season.

Though I hadn't blogged about them yet, I am looking forward to the start of the Wizards' season with Arenas, Jamison, favorite-NBA-player Brendan Haywood and Butler expected back on the floor. But this team seems incredibly snake bitten.

BTW - don't forget to vote for your favorite Wizards player, too.

Hard to remember that "just" three seasons ago, prior to Arenas' first injury, the 'Zards had the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Of course, I'm also excited about watching the '09 Heels play on the next level, especially Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough. I hope to StubHub - have had great luck using StubHub to Wizards games - tickets when Cleveland and Indiana come to town. And I imagine I will be the only fan in the building (besides Evan) primarily there to watch the Cavaliers second most famous due, Danny Green and Jawad Williams.

Good Week

It was a very good week for the Manuels, the Heels and the Greens.

Eighteen Manuels - the whole brood - got together in Fayetteville this weekend for Thanksgiving. Our parents, the four siblings, our spouses and the eight grandkids got together to give thanks. We even emulated the Kennedy's and played our own Thanksgiving Day football game. David and Kate Kushner and Ariadne and me, squared off against Johnny Manuel/Nicholas Stamatos, Paul Kushner, Evan Manuel and Michael Stamatos. Despite our advanced age and advancing waistline David and I held our own against that younger team.

I'll post some photos of the weekend soon, though I did not take as many as Cleo did.

Carolina Football

The football theme continued on Saturday afternoon when David's brother, Keith Kushner, a former place kicker at Duke, gave us four tickets to the Duke-Carolina game at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Heels looked pretty good, and were especially great on third down, in winning 28-20 and defeating Duke for the 17th time in their last 18 meetings (the one Duke win was Evan's first college football game, BTW).

T.J. Yates looked good for most of the game (though he had a hard time consistently finding Hakeem Nicks most of the game) as did Shaun Draughn (until he got tired late in the game). Despite two more turnovers the Heels moved the ball most of the afternoon on their way to 28 points.

Duke also did not have trouble moving the ball, at least until they got inside the 20. Carolina's defensive philosophy, as I understand it, is to give up the short stuff but to then close quickly on the receiver. Duke took advantage of that most of the game but once the field got shorter, inside the 20, and Carolina had less ground to patrol Duke had trouble making plays and getting into the end zone. And Duke's quarterback, in contrast to Yates, was generally terrible on third down and near the end zone.

Carolina finishes 8 and 4, and will play in a bowl game for the first time in years. Coach Butch Davis seems to be a great recruiter and motivator, but I'm not crazy about his defensive philosophy and his late game management. But despite those complaints, he clearly has Carolina pointed in the general direction of the good-ol'-days of the Mack Brown era of the early 1990s.

A few more quick observations from the Duke game:

• Wallace Wade is a quaint old-timey stadium, in a horse shoe, but the Duke football operation seems rinky-dink to me. Terrible concessions, the bathrooms were portable trailers, and the area around the stadium is cluttered with suburban architecture, not the signature Duke gothic style (I've always kind of liked Duke's gothic look, even if it is a knock-off of Princeton).
• The crowd of 35,000 was probably 55 percent Carolina fans. There were enough Tar Heels in the stands for the call and response "Tar" "Heels" chant.
• We sat in front of one of the most obnoxious Dukies I've ever had the pleasure to be a around. Lots of put downs of state schools with the stereotypical triumphant elitism thrown in. We also sat behind a guy wearing a 'Wade Wacko' hat - as opposed to 'Cameron Crazies.' Though some were obnoxious, you have to hand it to loyal Duke football fans. Their team has stunk for years, but there is a fan base there.
• Finally, I don't know why Duke fans feel so smug and elitist - Hansbrough has eaten Duke's lunch in Cameron for three straight years, their women's soccer team comes close but we still dominate them in that sport, and the football team has lost to the Blue Devils once in a generation. Third-rate athletics, second-rate education, first-rate tuition. Oh, and Richard Nixon went there too. Give it up Dukies (but thanks to Duke grad Keith Kushner for the great seats).

Heels In Hawaii

The Heels looked fantastic in winning the Maui Invitational last week. They rolled over Chaminade without Hansbrough but with a very active Danny Green, easily dispatched a semi-legit team in Oregon behind Hansbrough, and dismantled a very good 8th ranked Notre Dame in the final by 15 points.

Hansbrough and Lawson in particular excelled against the Irish. Hansbrough displayed a few new moves: he hit a little twisting fade-away baseline jumper, blocked two shots, and took two threes as part of the offense, hitting one. That was in addition to his regular relentless on the boards and his trips to the free throw line.

And Lawson was simply faster and more aggressive than anyone on the Notre Dame squad. He was dominant and confident.

That's what impressed me the most about the team's play - the whole team looked dominant and confident. Everyone who played looked great. Deon Thompson was aggressive on the glass and confident with his stroke; Danny Green made shots from all over the floor and above and under the rim; Bobby Frasor was off against Oregon but was in the flow and confident against Notre Dame; Will Graves is getting more minutes as a result of Ginyard's injury and looks to have improved his game so he's not just a jump shooter; freshman Ed Davis already looks comfortable running Roy's system and is long and strong on the boards; ditto Larry Drew II, who looks way too poised to be a freshman. Both Davis and Drew II are sons of NBA players and have already displayed a high basketball IQ this young season.

The only Heel not feeling it, in my opinion, is Wayne Ellington. He hasn't found his groove yet but I'm quibbling. The Heels looked fantastic last week in Hawaii. Bring on the ACC!

Panathinaikos On A Roll

Finally, it was a great week for the Greens.

In the UEFA Champions League, Panathinaikos won a huge road game at InterMilan. Inter dominated Pana in their first game in Athens a month ago, but the Greens got great play from their goalie in winning 1-0 on Tuesday. It was Pana's second impressive road win in a row, coming on the heels of a 3-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen earlier in the month.

Panathinaikos got off to a terrible start in the Champions league, but the two road wins have them in second place in their group, behind InterMilan. They can clinch a place in the next round of the Champions league if they win their next game at home versus Cypriot squad Anorthosis (who tied InterMilan at home last month).

And last weekend the basketball team defeated arch-rival Olympiacos, led by former Hawk Josh Childress, 86-69. The Greens were led by my man Dimitris Diamantidis and former Maryland Terrapin Drew Nicholas. Panathinaikos is loaded this year, with Diamantidis, Nicholas (who was a star in Turkey before moving up to the Greek League), former Houston Rockets guard Vasilis Spanoulis, former Grizzlies bench warmers Antonis Fotsis and American Mike Batiste, and another former Terp, Euroleague and NBA vet Sarunas Jasikevicus.

Wizards Wisps

So the Manuels, Tar Heels and Panathinaikos had a great week. The hometown Wizards did not.

As you know by now, the Wizards fired head coach Eddie Jordan after a 1 and 10 start. Under new coach Ed Tapscott they've already doubled their win total, and stand at 2 and 12.

Tapscott seems like a good guy; I've liked his studio work in analyzing the Wizards. But he hasn't coached a team since leading American University in the 1990s. So we'll see, but this team will not be very good until Arenas returns or they somehow find a real point guard (not Stephon Marbury, BTW). As Eddie Jordan pointed out before getting canned, Washington is starting it's fourth string point guard in Dee Brown.

As readers of CHB Blog know, I've had issues with Eddie Jordan. It took him years to give Haywood the minutes he deserved. Last year B-Hay finally played 30 minutes a game, had a career year, and the Wizards' defense improved enough to make the playoffs despite Arenas missing most of the season.

One issue he never fixed was perimeter defense, something the Wizards have had problems with for years. But as one unnamed NBA scout once said, if your best player doesn't play defense no one else will.

But despite those problems and issues, firing Eddie Jordan was a bad move and unfair. Jordan led the 'Zards to the playoffs four years in a row, even last year without Arenas. Despite his only passing interest in emphasizing defense, anyone who got the Wizards into the playoffs last year must know something about coaching.

Without Haywood and Arenas, or a serviceable point guard, this team is simply not that competitive. Maybe they should have been 4-7 instead of 1-11, but that is not Eddie Jordan's fault.

Dream Game for the Heels

Carolina looked great - like a big-time team - today in taking down Boston College 45-21.  Carolina trailed early 0-10, but roared back behind Hakeem Nicks.  The Heels scored 24 points in the second quarter to take the lead, then held Boston College to seven second half points for the nice win.

Carolina is now 6-2; the six wins make the Heels bowl eligible for the first time in years.

Once again, Carolina's opportunistic defense was huge.  The Heels picked off three passes, one for a touchdown and one that was returned to BC's one yard line, that led directly to 14 points.  The other interception was followed by a 44-yard touchdown pass.

As good as the defense was, the undeniable star of the game was wide receiver Hakeem Nicks.  Nicks picked up the slack for the injured Brandan Tate by scoring four times today, including once on an end around, to lead the Heels. Quarterback Cam Sexton had another nice game and consistently found Nicks and Brooks Foster; the two finished with 15 receptions.

A great win any way you look at it, but even more impressive coming off a terrible loss to Virginia last week. Coach Butch Davis had a much better game this week, as evidenced by his decision to try to score when Carolina got the ball at the end of the first half with a little less than a minute left. Instead of running out the clock, as Davis decided to do at the end of regulation in Charlottesville last week, Carolina drove 55 yards in 31 seconds. The drive was capped by Sexton's 25-yard touchdown to Nicks, who caught a slant, reversed direction, picked up a few blocks before he sprinted into the end zone.  

Carolina now has a bye week coming up.  Starting quarterback T.J. Yates may be ready to play after the bye, so it will be interesting to see what Davis decides to do if he has two competent quarterbacks available in two weeks. The way Sexton has played he may have 'Wally Pipped' Yates.

World Series

Interesting to read and hear all the hand-wringing coming out of Philly.  Folks seem to have already forgotten that the Phillies won the first game.  I guess that says more about the nervousness fans have about 45-year old Jamie Moyer than anything else.  

As a 46-year old, I must say I am am a bit annoyed at the showing off of contemporaries like Moyer and 47-year old Barack Obama.  Get a blog read by almost a dozen people, then talk to me!

Quick Hoops Update

First Haywood goes down, now word out of Dallas that the Mavericks have cut my main man Reyshawn Terry. Rey-Rey had a nice summer league for the Mavericks - he averaged 11 and  7 rebounds - and led the Mavs with 13 points in their last preseason game. But I guess new head coach Rick Carlisle, who was famously victimized by Michael Jordan in one of the greatest games I've ever attended, is holding an anti-Carolina grudge.

No word on whether Reyshawn will return to Greece for the season. CHB readers hopefully remember that Terry spent last season in my dad's home town of Thessaloniki playing for ARIS TT Bank, where he averaged 9 points in 20 minutes in 19 Euroleague games.

Bad Week for Panathinaikos

Holding a 2-1 lead with seven minutes left in their UEFA Champions League game in Athens, Panathinaikos gave up late goal and had to settle for a tie against Werner Bremen on Wednesday.  The game was the third and last of the first round of their group stage.  More importantly, Panathinaikos could have really used the 3 points.

Even playing two of their three games at home, Pana only has one point after tying Werner and losing at home to InterMilan and losing on the road to Anorthosis of Cyprus. Inter has seven points, Anorthosis has four, Bremen has three (on three ties), with Pana bringing up the rear with one.  

Olympiacos made it out of their group and into the sweat 16 of the Champions League last season, but it appears unlikely that the Greens will repeat that accomplishment this year.

Where to begin . . .?

Lots of blog-worthy material out there this weekend: Red Sox-Rays, Carolina at Virginia, Carolina basketball and the NBA season right around the corner.

ALCS [In honor of the (devil) Rays original color scheme the heading is in purple]

Before discussing tonight's game six, hard not to revisit game 5.  There is nothing I can add to that epic game other than to quote Jack Buck: "I don't believe what I just saw."  

Two interesting things to note.  One, those last three innings played out the way the rest of this series was supposed to play out: the Red Sox would have too much fire power and experience, and would simply wait out the young Rays until their knees and will turned to jelly.   That happened in games one and five, but famously did not happen in the first two games in Fenway (and the three games the Rays won).

I think the Rays will win tonight and go on to the World Series.  They like the Trop and they have Shields facing an off - or injured - Beckett. Look for Shields, Upton and Boston-native Pena to lead the Rays to victory.

I'll blog about this another time, but I think Obama and the Rays are linked (even though the Rays eliminated Obama's White Sox): both are huge underdogs but in the end could win the ultimate prize.  

Two, the other story for me on Thursday was Fenway and the Red Sox fans.  Red Sox Nation was in full effect that night.  Down by seven late not a single fan left early, and helped will the BoSox to victory.  I was impressed.

Finally, the notion of the Rays as a team o' destiny is catching on.   Not only has Carolina and Hellenic Blue bestowed that title but in today's Post Tom Boswell does too.

Carolina Football

It's not Notre Dame, but I'm a little worried about Carolina's game today in Charlottesville.  Virginia has won two in a row.  And this being college football, having a ranked opponent come in gives college athletes lots of extra motivation "to prove everyone who doubts our winning streak wrong ... make a statement . .. blah blah blah . . . cliche cliche cliche."

That said, Carolina has already won twice this year outside the state of North Carolina (coincidentally in my parents' 'home state' of New Jersey, and my former home state of Florida) and has quite a bit of momentum of their own.

I think Carolina's defense will continue to be opportunistic today against the Cavaliers, pick off a few passes, and lead the Heels to another road win.

Carolina Basketball

I actually don't have much to blog about here, other than I like blogging the words Carolina basketball.  That and a good article today in the N&O about the sky-high expectations for this year's squad.  I like Roy's quote and his Deanish attitude, too.  In general, I just like Roy.

Brendan Haywood

As some of you know, Evan and I are by far the biggest Brendan Haywood fans outside of Greensboro, North Carolina and the Haywood family.  With Etan Thomas hurt all of last year, Eddie Jordan finally gave Haywood the minutes he deserved, and B-Hay responded with a career year: 11 points, 7 boards, 2 blocks.  But more importantly, he guarded the rim and made the Zards look like a decent defensive team (they still were terrible guarding the three).  

But this season is already off to a terrible start for Haywood and the Wizards.  Brendan is out four to six months after surgery on his wrist.  And Gilbert Arenas is out until at least January, so once again the Wizards will be short handed for most of the season.

Arena was out most of last season, but Washington survived thanks to the performance of talented and professional players like fellow Heel Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, and Haywood.  Haywood's absence will hurt more than most think, and losing him and Arenas will be too much for this team to overcome.  I know Etan Thomas is a good lefty (I saw him on the Hill once, shadowing Obama for a day) but on the court he is a poseur. He likes to swing his elbows - and dreds - around a lot and look menacing but Etan, instead of posing how about passing the ball up court and starting a fast break?  That's one reason rebounds are important! He's also undersized at the 5 and does not guard the rim the way Haywood does.  

Look for the Wizards, despite heroic efforts from Jamison, Butler and fellow pros like Antonio Daniels, to limp along until B-Hay and Agent Zero return.