I feel sorry for Abe Pollin.
The best owner in Washington pro sports has been royally disappointed. Despite spending $110 million for a superstar, supporting his front office instead of playing general manager and treating fans well in an arena he paid for himself to revitalize the Chinatown district, Pollin is getting zero for his return.
Agent Zero may miss the entire season. The roster was down to eight healthy players the other night. The losses come faster than my mutual fund.
The Washington Wizards make the Nationals look like contenders.
The Wizards won’t have anyone in the NBA All-Star Game tonight, just two years after coach Eddie Jordan along with Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas participated. Now Jordan is collecting unemployment and Arenas has been largely hurt since that event.
There is nothing good coming from playing all these young players, aside Nick Young showing some scoring touch, because this crew won’t play regularly whenever the regulars return healthy.
The Wiz are 11-42 at the break. What’s the over/under for wins — 16? Finishing 20-62 would be a miracle. Guess Jordan wasn’t the problem after all.
Seriously, 20-62 is the upside? That’s like saying a $790 billion stimulus plan isn’t that much money. It could have been worse.
Nobody is going to Verizon Center nowadays, at least for basketball. Wiz attendance has tanked, which has a ripple effect on the neighboring restaurants already battered by the recession. The biggest reason the Wiz re-signed Arenas was to keep the team energized, which has a major spillover around Washington. People spend money downtown on game nights.
The city gave the arena a $50 million makeover to repay Pollin’s impact on the town. He could have gone conservative — much like the Lerners seem to be doing with the Nats despite their free stadium. Pollin could have not re-signed Arenas, but it would have diminished the team and the town. Too bad Arenas’ knee has been a no-show.
Pollin deserves better. So do Wiz fans. The only hope is Arenas returns healthy next year along with Brendan Heyward and experience gained by backups this season makes them bigger contributors.
Sure, and Wall Street leaders will be less greedy whenever the economy improves.
Next year will be better. Of course, everyone said that last year. Maybe a new coach and a draft lottery pick will help.
Better days is all Pollin can ask. He certainly deserves it.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
