Remember When Wizards

Wizards playoff game in 2008

I was lucky enough to have a wealthy (and generous) family friend around when Micheal Jordan decided he wanted to end his second retirement and play for the Wizards. I'd make my way to the MCI Center, sit among well known DC media makers and politcos, courtside, and watch the greatest basketball player of all time perform for the almost-good-enough Wiz. That was just amazing. I was as close as Jay-Z at the Garden: I could trip a referee. Jordan was aging, but magical. The Wizards sold out every game back then.

We never won a championship with Jordan -- he was summarily dismissed from all front office and playing duties just two years after coming to DC. Wiz never made it to the playoffs during his time with the team. Eventually though, the Arenas-Jamison-Hughes-Butler crew took the Wiz back to the post-season in the mid-2000s but they couldn't get past established powers (Heat, Cavs). They provided the city some good times and optimism though. And they were entertaining and one could believe that our team had, at the least, a chance to win.

Not so much right now. This Washington Post article pretty much sums it up for me: I support the team and can probably be convinced to go to a few games for the night-on-the-town value, but in the end, I'm mostly looking forward to better days. Here's to the Wizards not packing it in, giving it all they have and getting up off of the mat after this season, ready to go in 2012-13. Have a great weekend!

First You See Him. Now You Don't: Gilbert Gone

In a bit of not so transparent PR maneuvering, the Washington Wizards have decided not to feature one of its star players in a banner on the Verizon Center. Gilbert Arenas, he of the recent gun play allegations, has been indefinitely suspended from playing in the NBA. He's forfeiting a salary of $147,000 per game during the suspension.

Yeah, one hundred forty seven thousand dollars per game. There are 82 games in the NBA season. Wow. Big mistake (allegedly). Anyway, the Wizards are apparently done with him and recently removed a banner with Arenas' likeness and the words "character, commitment, connection" from the 6th Street NW facade of the Verizon Center. It was replaced with a banner that features three other players. In the new banner they aren't even playing basketball, they're "giving back to the community." Image is everything. And by everything I mean money.

Banner photos; before, during and after the fiasco.

Keeping Tabs: Sriracha Sauce and the Curse O' Les Boulez

Adams Morgan Public Art: Three rather uninspiring works of art are finalist for permanent installation at the corner of 18th and Columbia Rds NW. DC Commission on Arts and Humanities is set to choose one of the three entries by next month (PDF of the proposals). The winning proposal will be installed this upcoming winter. The location is the new large sidewalk bulb-out created by recent streetscaping in front of BB&T bank and Adams Mill. If we must choose one, I'd prefer the second proposal, "Sunflowers." Its the only one by a DC artist. This, the most bearable of the three, consists of 18 foot tall stainless steel sunflowers with stained glass colored accompanying butterflies. Yes, 18 feet tall and 14 feet wide. This thing is huge. But much better than other other two entries. And local.

No 2009 Screen of the Green: I was waiting for this story to be retracted, but it looks final. HBO, the former sponsors of the yearly free movie fest on the Mall has called it quits. They couldn't find a suitable cosponsor. For nine years, we've been able to saunter down to the National Mall on a few warm afternoons during the lazy DC summer and watch some great films on a huge screen set up among the Smithsonian and other government buildings. One of the best free cultural downtown events along with Jazz in the Garden at National Gallery of Art. Hopefully that tradition sticks around a little longer.

Les Boulez: In what columnist Micheal Wilbon might call the Curse O' Les Boulez, the Washington Wizards got pretty much what they deserved last night at the NBA Draft Lottery. This was not the draft ceremony itself, but an actual lottery to determine the order of the June 25 draft. The Wizards (Les Boulez is a reference to a previous team name; the Bullets) were at statistical odds for the second draft slot. They even had a 17.8% chance to nab the first pick. Alas the lottery placed them in the 5th slot. We won't be getting wunderkind Blake Griffin. I'm going to go ahead and suggest choosing Eric Maynor of my alma mater, VCU. Not considered a top 10 pick, but I like the guy. Los Angeles Clippers took the number one spot and will likely choose Griffin, considered the best college player available in the draft.

Sriracha Sauce: Gets it's due. By way of the New York Times.

To Be or Not to Be: Ups and Downs of a DC Sports Fan

Snark can be a terrible thing. It makes scoffing at a bumbling, bad news bears of a baseball team easy. It makes laughing off a fool of a football team owner seem natural. And it makes one skeptical of an $111 million dollar bench warming star of a basketball player. But in the end, a true fan supports her/his team. Fly or fail. So, I will be supporting both the Nationals and the Capitals this year, as I do every year. One is at the top of the game. (For those of you living under a rock, that's the Capitals) The other is, well, in a bad place.

But I support the team all the same. Today the Nationals are playing the first game of the season in Nationals Park. They have yet to win a game, the last team in the MLB with that dubious distinction. But look, the bad years make the good years to come worth it. Ask the Capitals fans and ownership. They are on Cloud 9 now after some shaky years. Hopefully the Nationals are on that path. The current plan doesn't appear to be reaping any benefits that are analogous with the word "win." But neither did the Phillies' plan for much of the 90s and 2000s, and they are World Champions now.

So, win/loose/draw I will support the Nationals. And the Wizards, and the Capitals. Just like a good home team fan should. 6-0 or 0-6. See you at the Nats' game. The home opener begins at 3:05pm today. Sad to say, tickets are still available of this writing. (re: NFL; I'm a closet Miami Dolphins fan)

While we're at it, some more sports news from the District.

College Hockey. College Hockey?

What a treat the Frozen Four was. The amazing drama of the championship game, the surprising visit by the upstart Beavers, thousands of visitors to downtown and a great face put on by the city in general. DC has now logged it's first NCAA championship contest and hopefully there will be more to come. Now, if we can work on hosting a World Series or Stanley Cup Final...

World Cup!

This could be more than a decade away, but I'm bobbing up and down in my seat just thinking about it: DC may host a World Cup soccer match. We're talking way off; in 2018 or 2022. And that's if the U.S. is even selected by FIFA to host the games. The potential sites are, of course, Fed Ex Field and RFK Stadium, if its even around at that point. If the U.S. hosts the Cup in either of those years, count on the DC region getting a game somewhere. The best attended World Cup ever was hosted in the U.S. in 1994.

DC's "Arena" Football Team
Who knew? We have an "arena" football team. The DC Armor play at the DC Armory, naturally. The team is part of the American Indoor Football Association. The AIFA was formed in 2006 and is modeled after the Arena Football League and other indoor football leagues. The AFL is taking a year off to restructure, but the AFL2 season is in progress. It looks as if the AIFA is just a step below AFL2 in league structure, marketing and promotion.

The AIFA is made up of 10 teams, broken up into two divisions. DC Armor play in a division with the Baltimore Mariners (guess where they play their games) and three Pennsylvania teams; Harrisburg, Erie and Reading. The Armor played their first home game last week and have another tonight starting at 7:00 pm. Here's to minor league sports!

DC Sports City: Now Including.....Tennis?

Penn Quarter has been buzzing this year, in large part due to sports. The Capitals and Wizards have extended their stay at the Verizon Center by qualifying for the playoffs. Nationals Park has made the already hectic transfers at the Gallery Place Metro station that much more crazy. DC United has chipped in a few nights as well turning our little District into a hot spot for sports fans of all stripes.

Now, add another team to the mix. The Kastles. The Washington Kastles are part of the World Team Tennis league. We'll have Serena Williams on our team! The league feature world tennis stars spread out over 11 teams. Incidentally, there is a team called the Capitals, but they're from Sacramento. World Team Tennis has been around since the 1970s, but has flown under the radar for casual sports fans. I mean, have you heard of it? I hadn't.

The Washington Kastles "stadium" will be near Penn Quarter! It's being erected on the Old Convention Center site at 11th and H Sts NW. Check the rendering above. The stadium will seat just over 2,000. Obviously it has to be temporary because that land is scheduled to be developed over the next 10-15 years with more office space, residential units and public open space. The tournament style matches will all occur in July, with seven matches in DC. As of right now, only season tickets and ticket plans are for sale. Among others, we'll be visited by the New York team (with John McEnroe) and St Louis (Anna Kournikova). I'll definitely try to make a match or two if the single match tix are affordable. I imagine a match will cost about $30.00.

On to more urgent matters... GO WIZARDS! Good luck in Game Six! I'm taking the 42 bus to the game and will be cheering you guys on!