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01Jul

a good time was had by all

In blog, football, hockey by b murf / July 1, 2009 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Wednesday was a fun day for local sports fans. Not only was the biggest name in professional sports, Tiger Woods, in town to host his tournament, but a handful of local sports celebrities were also on hand.

Quarterback Jason Campbell and wide out Antwaan Randle El of the Washington Redskins, and coach Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals teamed up with former Masters winner Mike Weir during the Earl Woods Memorial Pro Am at Congressional Country Club and we were fortunate enough to walk 18 holes with them.

Sure, Woods opted to play with Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, one of the better golfers in the NFL, but when it came to having fun, no team could compete with Team Weir on this day. To share a glimpse of the shenanigans, we present to you our interview with Boudreau, which was conducted as the guys began the back nine of their round.

Both of the Redskins players openly admit that you’re carrying this team for the D.C. guys. How would you rate your game?

(Laughs) “It’s mediocre at best right now,” Boudreau said.

“Hey man, you gotta say more than that,” Redskins wide out Antwaan Randle El interjected. “That means we’re doing terrible …”

“Well then, I’m playing AWESOME,” Boudreau said, still cracking up. “I don’t know what to say after that.

“No, we’re having a lot of fun,” he said. “We’re having a lot of fun and really enjoying watching Mike Weir play. I think none of us are used to playing in front of more than the three guys you’re out with, so it makes it a little more difficult.”

Now Shaun Suisham, the Redskins Canadian kicker, says he’s sticking with you and Weir because you’re a safer bet than siding with his teammates – Campbell and Randle El. What do you say to that?

“Way to jump ship, Shaun,” Boudreau said.

Suddenly we were interrupted again – this time by the one professional golfer in the bunch.

“What’s this, a TV timeout, Bruce,” asked Weir with a smile. “You’ve got Pierre McGuire over there talking to you between the benches during the game.”

(Laughs) “He’s no Christine Simpson, I know that,” Boudreau fired back, gladly kicking us in the process.

“No, this is the first time in my lifetime I’ve ever been able to do something like this,” he said. “And quite frankly, to do it with one of your heroes is pretty cool.”

We know you can coach hockey, but we don’t know much about you on the golf course. Tell us a little bit about your game.

“I can … I don’t lose balls,” Boudreau said, immediately showing he’s better than Campbell and/or Randle El. “You know, I hit it straight and struggle – just like every other duffer – around the green. If we could just play tee to green I’d be pretty good. But I’ve got to play the ones around the greens as well.”

And what’s it like playing alongside Weir, who you’ve said you’re a huge fan of?

“Phenomenal,” he said. “An experience I’ll never forget.”

01Jul

the view from congressional

In blog, football, hockey by b murf / July 1, 2009 / 2 Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

You might have heard that Tiger Woods and friends invaded the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., today for the Earl Woods Memorial Pro Am. The biggest names in golf, as well as quarterback Jason Campbell and receiver Antwaan Randle El of the Washington Redskins, Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Tony Romo of those damned Dallas Cowboys were all on hand for the festivities … and we’ll get to them later.

For now, enjoy this shot of Jessica Simpson, who sang the national anthem at the opening ceremony – which explains why the soldiers in the background are all standing at attention.

29Jun

a history lesson

In basketball, blog, hockey by b murf / June 29, 2009 / No Comments

(courtesy photo)

Call us crazy, but we’ve always strived to uphold the motto – work smarter, not harder.

If we’re going to continue to talk in clichés, then we could also throw in that we don’t go out hoping to recreate the wheel or some other equally trite phrase that essentially means use history as your guide or you’re doomed to repeat it.

Basically what we’re saying is, if you’re the Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld and you’re sitting at your desk wondering what the best way to build a winning team … well maybe you should look at other successful business models and copy that formula.

The most baffling part of this is that all Grunfeld really needs to do is walk down the hall of the Verizon Center and pay a visit to Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee and he’d be on the right path.

We bring up Grunfeld and McPhee because last week gave locals a unique chance to compare and contrast two different men going about building their teams two completely different ways.

On the one hand you have “Big Ern,” who has openly admitted he’s in “win-now mode.” He feels he’s got a veteran team with a small chance to win a title and should add the last few pieces in hopes of bringing owner Abe Pollin a second NBA championship.

Grunfeld sees his current roster, led by Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas, in a “glass half full” kind of light. In four of the six years he’s been calling the shots here in D.C. these guys have been good enough to get the Wizards into the playoffs, which is no small feat for a franchise long considered a league doormat (see: the Wes Unseld Era).

Once your team is regularly able to qualify for the postseason, we guess it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re just a piece or two away from the league’s elite. There’s no sense in bringing in young and inexperienced players that your coaches will have to spend extra time and effort whipping into shape just so they can ride the bench, right? In the immortal words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast, sweetheart.”

On the other side of the spectrum you have “GMGM,” who is now reaping the rewards after having made one of the toughest choices a general manager can make. You see, a few years back he was in the same situation as Grunfeld’s Wizards are now. His veteran (i.e. – aging and injury prone) Capitals were good enough to make the playoffs every year, but not do any real damage once they got there.

But instead of sitting back with his feet kicked up on the desk, McPhee decided to blow up his roster and rebuild. He knew the Caps were never truly going to be a threat to win a championship unless he built the franchise the right way. He knew there would be ugly nights during the grueling rebuilding process, but at the end of the day he knew it would be worth it.

We bring this up because we couldn’t help but chuckle last week as the fifth pick in the NBA draft, the one the Wiz traded away two days prior, was used to select future superstar point guard Ricky Rubio. At just 18, this kid has already earned a reputation as a once-in-a-generation talent – a kid with amazing passing abilities and even better court awareness.

Grunfeld has said since the draft that the only player he would have been mad about missing out on had they fallen to the fifth pick after he traded the pick away was Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin. Of course he did. Because what good would it do for him to openly question himself two days after trading the pick to Minnesota?

But the truth is, Rubio is the kind of kid who makes everyone around him better. Sure, there’d be an adjustment as the rest of the Wizards got used to having a legitimate point guard running the offense (as opposed to Arenas’ shoot-first, pass-second mentality), but that’s not a bad thing.

If you want to run and gun, then why wouldn’t you want Rubio, who is more than capable of setting up the rest of the roster for easy baskets with his highlight-worthy passing game? The Phoenix Suns became “must-see TV” once Steve Nash became their point guard. When’s the last time the Wizards were in that category?

This current construction of the Wizards is not championship material. Even with a healthy Brendan Haywood and the additions of Mike Miller and Randy Foye, this team is still not a lock to be an elite squad in the improving Eastern Conference. Not when Cleveland, Orlando, Boston and others continue to find ways to retool their rosters.

And if you’re not willing to blow it up and start over like the Caps (or even the Portland Trail Blazers or Oklahoma City Thunder), then you could have at least added a player like Rubio that would, from day one, greatly improve your rotation.

Instead we’re left with a Wiz team that will have to overachieve to win 50 games next season. And while that’s unlikely, here’s what we’ll more than likely see – this same team, that’s won just one playoff series since Grunfeld came to town, will end up finishing right around .500 and getting eliminated in the first round. Again.

D.C. sports fans can get mad about it or they can do something about it. Show your support to the Capitals. It’s the least you can do to say thanks to the one team around town with a legitimate chance to bring home a title in the near future. Meanwhile, stay away from this Wizards team. You already know how it’s going to end. History has shown you. Hopefully, unlike Grunfeld, you’re smart enough to take notice.

24Jun

wiz don’t just stand there, bust a move

In basketball, blog by b murf / June 24, 2009 / 1 Comment

(courtesy photo)

If you learn nothing else about Washington Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld, know this – if he has the fifth pick in the draft, he’s going to trade it.

Five seasons ago the Wiz shipped the fifth pick in the draft, which ended up being point guard Devin Harris, to the Dallas Mavericks along with guard Jerry Stackhouse and forward Christian Laettner for forward Antawn Jamison. Since then, Jamison has been the captain of the Wizards and a great locker room guy for a young and sometimes immature squad. Paired with Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas, Jamison has guided a normally irrelevant Wizards team to the postseason four out of his five seasons in town. And on a personal note, he’s averaged at least 19 points a game and 7.6 rebounds per season since he came to D.C. All of this shows why Washington refused to move Jamison last year at the trading deadline.

Well, here’s hoping that Big Ern walks away from this one smiling too.

Reports last night indicated that Grunfeld did it again, trading the fifth pick to the Minnesota TimberWolves along with forward Oleksiy Pecherov, forward Darius Songaila and the expiring contract of center Etan Thomas for guard Randy Foye and forward Mike Miller.

Folks who cover the team for a living say the Wiz were contemplating seven players had they kept the fifth pick in what is universally considered the weakest draft in recent NBA history: Davidson point guard Stephen Curry, Southern California swingman DeMar DeRozan, Memphis point guard Tyreke Evans, Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn, Arizona State shooting guard James Harden, Arizona forward Jordan Hill and Lottomatica Roma point guard Brandon Jennings.

Those same beat writers say that the team was convinced none of those players would be good enough to start immediately, which is why Grunfeld (who is in “win now” mode) was so willing to move this pick.

Let’s take a look at what the Wizards were able to move – you’ve gotten rid of Thomas (who was due to make $7.35 million this year), who was once a serviceable player, but has been largely inactive over the last two seasons due to health reasons. And nothing against Pecherov ($1.6 million) or Songaila ($4.5 million), but let’s be honest – neither has even been mistaken for an integral part of Washington’s championship aspirations. Most folks in town couldn’t even tell you what number they wore.

Coming to town we have an excellent outside shooter in Miller, who will earn $9.75 in the final year of his current contract and an young guard capable of scoring in bunches in Foye, who will take home $3.6 million. Quick math shows the difference in what the Wizards traded away in salary for this season versus what they got back is nominal (roughly $100,000), but the fifth pick in the draft is due to receive $2.7 million and that would have pushed the team into luxury tax territory for being over the salary cap.

Besides the monetary aspect of this deal, there’s the fact that the Wiz just acquired two talented players.

Miller can flat out shoot. On a team of streaky jump shooters, he is finally someone the Wiz can count on to consistently knock down big three pointers when the game is in the balance. He’s a 40 percent three-point shooter, has won rookie of the year (2000-01) and the sixth man of the year (2005-06) honors over the span of his nine-year career. And best of all, he’ll contribute more next season than the Thomas/Pecherov/Songaila combo would have … by himself.

And that’s before we even factor in Foye, the 25-year-old who was one of the only reasons to tune into T’Wolves games last season. For those not familiar, he’s a former Big East player of the year, NCAA all-American, and NBA all-rookie first teamer. He’s 6-4, and is strong and athletic. Oh, and he scored more than 16 points per game last year.

Without looking at the roster and just factoring in who is leaving town and who is coming in, this is a great deal. The bigger issue is the overabundance of guards on the roster and a complete lack of big men other than Brendan Haywood and JaVale McGee. You can try to argue that Andray Blatche should be on that list, but let’s be real – he’s bringing nothing but disappointment to the table.

Conversely, here’s the breakdown of players currently on the roster who can line up at guard: Arenas, Javaris Crittendon, Foye, Miller, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young and the expiring contract of Mike James. That’s seven names for two positions. Clearly Grunfeld has more work to be done, which would address our other chief question – why now?

Why would the Wiz pull the trigger on a deal two days before the draft when there’s a chance Minnesota or another team could sweeten the pot once we get closer to the draft? The best reason we can figure would be that this is step one and the sooner Ernie finalizes this deal, the sooner he can move forward.

While we would have loved to see Curry come to Washington, we can’t argue Grunfeld’s track record. Since he came to town he’s turned a doormat into a team that, when healthy, is competitive and entertaining.

His biggest mistake during his time here as a general manager was matching the contract offer the Milwaukee Bucks threw at Thomas, but he’s now righted that wrong. We’re not comfortable giving $111 million to Arenas, who we often refer to as a one-legged, me-first point guard, but again, Grunfeld has earned the right to take that gamble.

It’ll be interesting to see where the team goes from here, and if nothing else, the Wizards continue to evolve into a highly-entertaining squad that can trade buckets with the best of them.

22Jun

nats feast on AL east

In baseball, blog by b murf / June 22, 2009 / 1 Comment

(photo by Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Don’t look now, but the Washington Nationals are officially hot.

After winning exactly two out of their first 21 series, the Nats have now won their last two – taking two of three games from the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Coming off the heels of a four-game losing streak (three straight to Tampa Bay and the series opener versus the Yankees) the Nats somehow righted the ship against the AL East, the best division in baseball, and won four straight (before yesterday’s 9-4 loss). For a team still on pace to lose 114 games this season, that’s impressive.

Here’s a quick recap showing just how solid Washington’s starting rotation has been over the last week:

Last Tuesday in the series opener against the Yankees, pitcher Shairon Martis gave up just one earned run over six innings. Sure, the Nats eventually lost the game 5-3, but Martis lasted long enough to throw 106 pitches in an attempt to keep the always shaky bullpen out of the equation.

Starting pitcher John Lannan was great the following night, allowing two runs and four hits in 8 1/3 innings, as the Nats snapped their four-game losing streak and “stole” a victory from the mighty Yankees 3-2.

After a five-and-a-half-hour rain delay Thursday, starting pitcher Craig Stammen earned the first win of his young career, shutting out New York over 6 1/3 innings in a 3-0 win and giving the New York newspaper plenty to write about.

Friday’s game was another epic battle, with starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann giving up one earned run over 5 2/3 innings as the Nats took game one from Toronto 2-1 in 11 innings. Zimmermann might have gotten a no decision, but it wasn’t because of anything he did.

Saturday’s match-up featured more of the same, as the Nats and Blue Jays needed extra innings once again to decide a winner. Ross Detwiler, in just his seventh career start, gave up two runs over seven innings in a 5-3 win that finally ended with a Willie Harris walk-off home run in the 12th inning.

That’s six earned runs allowed by five starting pitchers over the span of 33 2/3 innings (good enough for a sparkling 1.60 earned run average). For a rotation full of youth and inexperience, those are numbers that bring tears of joy in an otherwise dismal season. Sure, things went south yesterday as Martis got roughed up in the first inning and the Nationals lost 9-4, but we’re here to accentuate the positives.

There’s little reason to believe the Nats can sustain this momentum against the defending champion Boston Red Sox, but hey – folks didn’t give Washington much of a chance against the Yankees this time last week and we saw how that turned out.

Chances are the Red Sox will continue to win games while the home team reverts back to mediocrity, but maybe the Nats catch another giant off guard. Crazier things have happened, right?

19Jun

vegas baby, vegas

In blog, hockey by b murf / June 19, 2009 / No Comments

(photo by Getty Images)

Alex Ovechkin is easily the NHL’s most exciting star, and at this rate, he’ll soon be the league’s most decorated as well.

At just 23, here’s all the hardware the Washington Capitals wing has earned since he came into the league back in 2005-06:

The Calder Trophy (rookie of the year), two Hart Memorial Trophies (league MVP), two Lester B. Pearson Awards (most outstanding, as voted by peers), two Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies (goal scoring leader) and an Art Ross Trophy (points leader). Ovechkin was also voted as a First Team All-Star for the fourth consecutive season.

Last season Ovechkin became the first player ever to win the Hart, Pearson, Richard and Art Ross Trophies in the same season. And while he was more than happy to add another Hart, Pearson and Richard Trophy to his resume last night, Ovechkin made it clear he’s still hungry for more.

“I want to be in the same situation as Pittsburgh was,” he said. “Personal stats is good, personal awards is good. I just want to win one award – and that’s the Stanley Cup.”

19Jun

nats stun yanks

In baseball, blog by b murf / June 19, 2009 / No Comments

(photo by Frank Franklin II)

Back in the day, you’d hear someone say something outlandish like, “I don’t care if the Redskins lose every other game, just as long as they beat those damned Dallas Cowboys” and you’d wonder if that person actually meant it.

Would this individual really be okay with a 2-14 season as long as Washington’s two victories came at the expense of their biggest rival? Or were they simply saying that if that year’s ‘Skins only won twice, please let both wins be against Dallas?

Whatever the case, we couldn’t help but think of this demented rationalization after the Washington Nationals managed to win two out of three games against the mighty Yankees in New York this week. Last night’s 3-0 win at Yankee Stadium improved the Nats’ record to 18-46 and gave them back-to-back wins for the first time since early May.

To recap, we have one of the league’s elite franchises, those Damned Yankees, with their $200-million payroll lining up against a Washington team so bad that they’re nine and a half games behind Arizona … for 29th place.

Coming into the series the Nationals were just 6-23 on the road this season, and yet, were the better team for much of the three-game series.

In game one, the Yankees needed a late-inning rally to a steal victory from the Nats. Down 3-2 heading into the seventh inning, New York scored two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to get CC Sabathia his sixth win of the season.

Wednesday night, the Nats were led by New York native John Lannan, who pitched into the ninth inning (preventing the Nationals’ shaky bullpen the opportunity to blow the game). Lannan gave up solo homers to Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon, but was otherwise stellar in his first outing back home in New York. How improbable was this win? Prior to this game, New York had been 23-0 when holding their opponent to three runs or less this season.

Last night was more of the same – Washington got off to an early start (well, after that whole five-hour rain delay) and thanks to a strong outing by a Nationals starting pitcher (this time it was rookie Craig Stammen, who picked up his first career win) the Yankees are now left to face the brutal New York media after their most embarrassing series of the season.

Since the Nationals entered the series with a .262 winning percentage, they are officially the worst team to beat the Yankees in a series in which the Yankees were at home. Ever.

The previous worst was back the St. Louis Browns, who were 38-99, way back in 1939.

Conversely, the Nationals won just their third series of the year and leave New York finally celebrating their first shutout of the 2009 season. Good times.