Sports
By: Craig Stouffer
Anxious to see if I'm the only AP voter to keep Kentucky on top again this week. 1. Kentucky (22-1) 2. Syracuse (23-1) 3. Kansas (22-1) 4. West Virginia (19-3) 5. Purdue (19-3) 6. Georgetown (17-5) 7. Kansas State (19-4) 8. Villanova (20-2) 9. Duke (19-4) 10. Wisconsin (18-5) 11. Ohio State (18-6) 12. New Mexico (21-3) 13. Michigan State (19-5) 14. Tennessee (18-4) 15. Texas (19-4) 16. Georgia Tech (17-6) 17. Wake Forest (16-5) 18. Charlotte (18-5) 19. UNLV (19-4) 20. UTEP (17-5) 21. Maryland (16-6) 22. Cornell (20-3) 23. Temple (19-5) 24. BYU (22-3) 25. Richmond (18-6) Others in considertaion, in no particular order: Ole Miss, Northern Iowa, Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Texas A&M, Baylor, Missouri, Xavier, Vanderbilt, Siena, Dayton, Florida State, Illinois,...By: Craig Stouffer
Tunneling out from under two feet of snow, a few thoughts on the Hoyas overwhelming Villanova at Verizon Center yesterday: Turns out, the South Florida loss was indeed the aberration. I said after the Bulls game that Georgetown took their foot off the gas and put it into reverse, and they bounced back yesterday with the effort, passion and concentration that were missing at midweek and have become a huge part of the momentum that they've built with seven games remaining in the regular season. But who wouldn't get up for Villanova -- facing a team ranked No. 2 in the country should be plenty of motivation, whether there are 11 or 11,000 in attendance -- and not every one of Georgetown's remaining games will inspire that kind of emotion. The Hoyas need to find a middle ground where they...By: Craig Stouffer
From the department of Probably Should've Seen That Coming, tonight's game between the Wizards and the Hawks has been postponed since neither team could fly in late last night from Orlando and Atlanta, respectively. The last time an NBA game was postponed because of weather was Suns at Nuggets on Dec. 20, 2006. The Wizards are stuck in Orlando -- not bad, unless you like the snow -- and will head straight to Charlotte for their game on Tuesday. Add Pick & Roll to your RSS: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/blogs/pick-and-roll/index.rss Follow me on Twitter...By: Craig Stouffer
Wizards at Magic Where » Amway Arena, Orlando When » Friday, 7 p.m. TV » Comcast SportsNet + 14 Days to go » With the Wizards (16-32) again spiraling downward on the back of consecutive losses thanks to another abysmal fourth quarter Wednesday at New York, the one date Washington now has circled on the calendar is Feb. 18, the NBA’s trade deadline. Antawn Jamison said last week that he did not expect to get moved, but Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood increasingly have surfaced in trade reports. Tuff Juice back in action » Butler missed the Knicks game as a precaution with a left knee injury but is expected to play Friday against the Magic (33-16). It was another blow for the former All-Star, who has struggled all season to fit in offensively under...By: Craig Stouffer
It's hard to say what was more brutal, the way that Georgetown collapsed against South Florida, or the way the Hoyas said so little about it afterward it was almost as if they were trying to pretend it didn't happen. "I don't want anything that comes out of here to make it seem like all the credit in the world doesn't go to USF. They came in here, they executed. They came in here. They stayed focused. They went through a first half where Jones, they kind of kept him the bag and they stuck with their stuff, and eventually he got loose and so everything about that game, you have to give credit to them and what they did as opposed to what we did or didn’t do." That's how Georgetown head coach John Thompson III answered my question about what changed after Chris Wright's layup had...By: Craig Stouffer
If you didn't think last night's game was over when Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer to give Boston its first lead in more than two quarters early in the fourth, that's fine. But the real sign that the Wizards were well and truly done was when Earl Boykins drove in the lane and got his shot swatted by Tony Allen like any other 5-foot-5 player should who isn't Boykins. The reason his career has lasted so long is precisely because he's been able to avoid making himself look silly with that kind of play so when it does happen, fatigue indeed has set in and alarm bells should be going off. "For Earl, we probably played him too many minutes, but we probably didn't have a choice," said Wizards head coach Flip Saunders. So, with nearly 48 hours rest for Washington versus half that much for Boston,...By: Craig Stouffer
The best blurb from the pregame notes ahead of tonight's clash between slumping Celtics - yeah, right - and the nearly-surging Wizards - yeah, right - is this: "Washington's starting lineup of Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood is now 3-2 (.600). That lineup is Washington's most successful of its 17 lineups this season." Good times. During Flip Saunders' pregame chat, he was asked about today's Washington Post op-ed by Gilbert Arenas: "I think he understands the seriousness of what he did, and with his situation now, he wants to try and let people know, kids especially, that he had done something wrong and try to take something that was really negative and somehow try to have a positive impact... I think he says what his heart feels, and I think...By: Craig Stouffer
Believe it or not, I actually wrote about Mike Miller taking more shots last week. The problem was, it was filed as a hedge maneuver on Wednesday before the final judgement from NBA commissioner David Stern was handed down in New York. Miller may not have had it last night in New Jersey, but man did he have it tonight, with a season-high 25 points, shots (15), season-high 8 assists and 9 rebounds in Washington's win over New York in front of an announced crowd of 16,233. After relinquishing what had been an 18-point lead early in the second quarter with a pair of New York 3-pointers that tied the score, 50-50, and then, 52-52, almost immediately after the halftime break, the Wizards (16-30) went on a 30-17 tear to end the 3rd quarter, during which Miller hit five of his seven...By: Craig Stouffer
The most interesting thing about the Wizards today was that Tracy McGrady was at Verizon Center for the Georgetown game. Now, was his visit solely related to the Darfur schools initiative launched jointly by students and alumni of Georgetown and Duke? Hard to tell. As for the currently rostered Wizards, Flip Saunders threatened to lean on his bench tonight if his starters stink again, as they did last night in New Jersey. The reserves accounted for 43 points. We'll see if they can do that again. The weather could also play a role. The Wizards have offered ticket exchanges for tonight's game due to the inclement weather. From their release earlier this afternoon: Patrons can take their unused tickets for the Wizards vs. New York game (1/30/10) to Verizon Center Box Office beginning on...By: Craig Stouffer
My game story, filed at the buzzer, is here, and here are a few quotes and thoughts: I didn't cover Georgetown four years ago -- although i know that I was a couple of blocks away at Jaleo while that famous upset went down in 2006 -- but I couldn't help but think of where the Hoyas are now vs. where they were then. I asked Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski about the contrast from four years ago, when Hoyas fans stormed the court, and he couldn't remember a thing. Of course he couldn't. In any case, Krzyzewski did say that this afternoon Georgetown played with more emotion than his guys, also a nice way of avoiding both compliments and insults. But my take-away comment from him was this: "We’re not a powerhouse, and I don’t think Georgetown’s a powerhouse. But...By: Craig Stouffer
By: Craig Stouffer
By: Craig Stouffer
The release: Washington, DC— January 27, 2010 — Ken Wainstein, attorney for Gilbert Arenas, stated today: “Mr. Arenas respects Commissioner Stern’s decision to issue a suspension for the remainder of the season. Mr. Arenas recognizes that his actions were a serious violation of the law and league rules and were detrimental to the NBA and its reputation. He accepts full responsibility for what he did, and takes no issue with the length of the suspension or the process that led to the Commissioner’s decision. It is Mr. Arenas’ hope that this punishment will serve an important purpose, as a strong reminder of the responsibility that he and all NBA players have to set the right example with their conduct on and off the court. As such, Mr. Arenas has...By: Craig Stouffer
The release from NBA: NEW YORK -- National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement today: "The NBA has conducted a thorough investigation of events relating to this matter. "It is not disputed that, following an argument on the team's flight home from a game in Phoenix, both Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton brought guns to the Verizon Center locker room and -- with other players and team personnel present or nearby -- displayed them to one another in a continuation of their dispute. The players engaged in this conduct despite a specific rule set forth in the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the Players Association prohibiting players from possessing a weapon at an NBA facility, and reminders of this prohibition given annually...By: Craig Stouffer
According to multiple reports, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas has been suspended by the NBA for the remainder of the season for the Dec. 21 locker room dispute with teammate Javaris Crittenton in involving guns. The official announcement of suspensions for both players is expected this afternoon....By: Craig Stouffer
Dionne Warwick was at Verizon Center last night, prompting plenty of reporters to wonder if she knew something everybody else didn't, except that we did know the Los Angeles Lakers would beat a Wizards team that would play with heart and effort but ultimately come up short. It might have been the most predictable game of the season, even the part where Caron Butler fouled Kobe Bryant, his former teammate, to prevent a morale-sucking slam dunk. "I’m not going to let him dunk," said Butler. "If he got a clean lane, and I knew he did because I heard the crowd all ready in anticipation for the dunk. He’s a superstart He’s a super duper star. He’s one of the best players ever to play the game, top five. When a guy like that come into the arena, you know people are...By: Craig Stouffer
The sellout at Verizon Center tonight will indeed be a sellout. Kobe Bryant has a fat bandage on his right index finger, forcing him to balance the ball in his hand differently when he shoots. But according to Wizards head coach Flip Saunders: "If you’re a shooter, you can have a broken arm and you’re going to get shots up." As for his own guys, Antawn Jamison (sprained foot) is going to play. Earl Boykins (sprained heel) was a last-minute decision, too, but is not on the inactive list. Saunders had the team skip shootaround this morning in favor of sleep: "I think we needed a rest. We went through some things yesterday. We had guys that were banged up yesterday. We haven’t really had a day off where guys could sleep in. I think it was more important for guys to get...By: Craig Stouffer
In classic worrisome fashion, Georgetown punched hard first, but when the Hoyas got punched back by Syracuse, they hit the mat and never got up in last night's gruesome loss. A few thoughts: It's like the Hoyas tried to get past page one of the offensive game plan, and quite possibly didn't need to. Who would've ever imagined that a team hitting it's first five shots, including four 3-pointers, would be a bad omen? Georgetown dissected the Syracuse zone perfectly on its first few possessions, with patient ball movement and good looks from outside. But it was as if the Hoyas couldn't believe how much success they were having, and they started trying to thread passes into places they couldn't reach due to the lengthy and disciplined defenders they faces,. That led to doubt, which led to...By: Craig Stouffer
The Los Angeles Lakers just got done with shootaround at Verizon Center ahead of their game tonight against the Wizards. Point guard Derek Fisher, the top player representative for the National Basketball Players Association, answered a couple questions, first as a Laker, then as a union man. What's your take on the Wizards, given how much they're up and down? "It sounds a lot like us lately so I’m not one to judge. It sounds like a lot of the teams in the league that have key players that are younger players or teams that have a lot of turnover or guys in and out of lineup due to injuries or other unfortunate situations. You’re going to see that type of inconsistency. The thing for us to realize is that because we’re the Lakers, because we’re defending...By: Craig Stouffer
Antawn Jamison may not be available tonight due to a foot injury, according to a source close to the player. Am headed over to Verizon Center shortly, and we'll find out more tonight. Add Pick & Roll to your RSS: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/blogs/pick-and-roll/index.rss Follow me on Twitter...By: Craig Stouffer
You mean, play basketball? What did we learn at Wizards practice yesterday before the Javaris Crittenton plea took over the day? Good thing you asked. Mike Miller On facing the Lakers: "We’re going to have to play better than we have the last couple of games. It’ll be a fun challenge, that’s for sure. You gotta clog up the middle they got big guys down there. You gotta make them work inside and obviously, you have to slow down Kobe [Bryant], which is a lot easier said than done. They got a lot of weapons. Ron [Artest] can score as well. They got a lot of weapons out there. Youjust got to buckle down and hold them to one shot as much as you can." On his playing time and health: "I think we’re upping it a little bit, and I feel comfortable so we’ll see if...By: Craig Stouffer
Maybe it's because as a teenager, I lived for two years in Guantanamo Bay. Maybe it's because a good frield mine is related to Bradley Whitford, who played the same role on stage in A Few Good Men as Tom Cruise did in the movie. But the way this whole thing is unfolding leads me to a line from the famous flick, when Cruise finds a new high note with his voice: "It doesn't matter what I believe, it only matters what I can prove. So please don't tell me what I know and don't know. I know the law." Yeah, there are definitely contradictions, summed up nicely here by Dan Steinberg. Here was the story I filed yesterday afternoon. Yesterday's statement from the Wizards: "The charges filed today against Javaris Crittenton and his subsequent plea represent another disappointing development...By: Craig Stouffer
Straight from the office of attorney Peter White: "There has been a great deal of misinformation published about this event and about Javaris Crittenton. Mr. Crittenton brought a lawfully owned, unloaded handgun into Washington, DC only because he legitimately feared for his life. The government's proffer of facts to be filed today acknowledges that his handgun was not loaded and that he never threatened anyone with it. The gun was legally purchased, but bringing it into the District, even for self defense, violated the city’s strict gun control laws. Mr. Crittenton, who was 21 years old at the time of this incident, has never before been arrested or charged with any crime, and with today’s misdemeanor plea to possession of an unregistered firearm, accepts responsibility...By: Craig Stouffer
Not everyone likes this AP ballot. That I already know. Apologies that I haven't been getting this post out the last couple of weeks, too. Bring the love (by the way, here's my Georgetown/Syracuse preview): 1. Kentucky 2. Villanova 3. Syracuse 4. Kansas 5. Texas 6. Michigan State 7. West Virginia 8. Georgetown 9. Duke 10. Purdue 11. Temple 12. BYU 13. Tennessee 14. Kansas State 15. Wisconsin 16. Texas A&M 17. New Mexico 18. Ole Miss 19. Connecticut 20. Ohio State 21. Georgia Tech 22. Xavier 23. Old Dominion 24. Wake Forest 25. Northern Iowa Others in consideration, in no particular order: Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Maryland, UAB, Missouri, Baylor, Siena, Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Charlotte, Mississippi State, Clemson....By: Craig Stouffer
It's like it was predicted before the Clippers loss earlier today, the latest setback for the Wizards. Props to Comcast's Chris Miller, who asked a seemingly innocuous question about Flip Saunders' strategy regarding timeouts and when he calls them, and I recapped it here. Then it happened in the first quarter... and the second quarter... and the third quarter... and the fourth quarter. "Again we have to call a timeout with 8:35 left in the first quarter. I mean, that’s getting ridiculous," said Saunders after the game. Pathetic is more like it. The Wizards can talk all they want about stilll being in some kind of contention for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern conference. But it's a mirage that with each game Washington plays is revealing itself to be nothing but more...By: Craig Stouffer
Brendan Haywood said yesterday that not trusting each other has a trickle down effect on defense overall. So does losing, and right now there is some snippiness-creep going on at Verizon Center. Yesterday after practice, we grabbed Caron Butler, who's been bolting out of the locker room after games like a guy trying to beat the HOV restrictions on 395 at 3:30 on a weekday afternoon. His take on Friday's loss? "Bad night at the office. You’ve had bad days at work, right? That’s all it was... It happens. You have bad nights, and that’s exactly what it was. I don’t look no farther into it. It was a bad night." A short time ago during Flip Saunders' pregame chat, my attempt at trying to find something positive out of Miami game pretty much blew up in my...By: Craig Stouffer
Four thoughts about this game, and I am out. This loss felt like the ones before the Gilbert Arenas gun saga, the ones where the Wizards simply didn't show up. It's not like it hasn't happened before. Tonight was Washington's fifth loss of the year by at least 20 points. And you knew it would be the outcome before the game even started. "We knew how they were going to come in and play," said Randy Foye. "Coach explained it to us. He stressed it to us yesterday in practice. He stressed it again in pregame when we went through their stuff. We just didn’t bring it tonight. Their effort was much higher. They beat us to every loose ball, made big shots when they needed them. We got it to ten, but it wasn’t enough." "Games that we lose like this, we come out and settle for...By: Craig Stouffer
Earlier today, Wizards head coach Flip Saunders pointed out that the last time his team got an opponent coming off a massive blowout loss, it was Toronto, which ended up outlasting Washington in overtime the night after a 31-point defeat in Atlanta. The Heat lost by 39 to Charlotte on Wednesday. So there you have it. In addition, the Wizards also need the win to get a season split with their Southeast Division foe. The Heat wilted in the teams' last meeting in Miami, where Dwyane Wade was held to 18 points while Nick Young scored a season-high 22. What are the chances that happens again? Anyway, among the topics covered by Flip prior to the game: No. 1 Does Antawn Jamison deserve to be an All-Star? Yes, we covered that, but Saunders was asked how seriously he takes his vote: "I...By: Craig Stouffer
After brazving the throngs of Catholic priests at Verizon Center who were preparing for a huge mass and then march to the Supreme Court on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade - not in support of that ruling, obviously - a few of us talked briefly to Antawn Jamison and Flip Saunders. Before I get to what they both said about whether or not Jamison deserves to be an All-Star, a story from Wednesday night's game that demonstrated how Jamison was affected by his subpar performance (7 points on 2 for 10 shooting, 3 rebounds) against the Mavericks. In the locker room afterward, Mike Miller had brought his two sons in, and as they were grabbing drinks from the refrigerator, Miller said to his older son, "Say, good game, Antawn." Miller's son did exactly that. Jamison's response? "Thanks, but...To view this site, you need to have Flash Player 8.0 or later installed. Click here to get the latest Flash player.
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