Category Archives: Sports Fix

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Surprise Wizards Victory Over Lakers Leaves Kobe Speechless

Tonight was a weird night for the Washington Wizards. With a little over 7 minutes left to play in the third quarter the Lakers held a 21-point lead over the Wiz. That was the only normal (or at least expected) thing about tonight.

Then things got interesting. By the end of the third quarter the Washington closed to within two points. At the start of the fourth quarter the a three-pointer from Roger Mason Jr. put Washington ahead and after a thrilling end the Wizards shocked the Lakers with a 106-101 victory.

But it wasn’t just the result that was strange and unexpected.

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capitals hockey, Sports Fix
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Ovie Scores in OT as Caps Come Back to Defeat Islanders 3-2


Photo courtesy of clydeorama
Ovechkin Fist Pump
courtesy of clydeorama

Alex Ovechkin played a terrible game last night. His passes weren’t connecting, he was often out of position, and he turned over the puck repeatedly. He shot wide to the left. He shot wide to the right. But when the game – and perhaps the season – was on the line in overtime, Ovie scored a spectacular goal to win the game and vault Washington back into a playoff spot.

Troy Brouwer set up the overtime heroics by scoring twice in the last four minutes of regulation to lead the come-from-behind victory. New York netminder Evgeni Nabokov was a brick wall through 56 minutes of the game, turning away the first 30 shots he faced. But Brouwer took an aggressive approach, taking his body to the net and scoring both goals from within a few feet of the goal line. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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JaVale McGee With Brand New Lowlight In Loss To Kings

Photo courtesy of erin m
Wizards
courtesy of erin m

It was all going kinda well.

After the Wizards’ loss to Miami back on the 10th, the team went on a long road trip and managed to win a couple of games against Detroit and Portland. Then they lost three straight to the LA Clippers, Utah Jazz, and Phoenix Suns.

Back in the Verizon Center for one last game before the All-Star break the Wizards took on the Sacramento Kings in what would of been a bounce back game and a way to end the first half of the season on a positive note.

Instead the team couldn’t hold on after leading 68-60 in the first half and let another game slip away as the Kings roared back in the third quarter and ended the night with a 115-107 win. In the loss the Wizards set new standards in futility thanks to another boneheaded play from JaVale McGee.

With 10:12 left in the 3rd quarter, Kings’ guard Francisco Garcia put up a teardrop floater towards the basket that gracefully made its way to the hoop- until McGee used his scientifically measured body to swat the ball into the eighth row of the Verizon Center, a clear goaltending violation.

Here’s the video:

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Features
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On Ted Leonsis, Wizards Bloggers, and Why I Haven’t Written About The Team Recently

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Ted Leonsis
courtesy of Keith Allison

It’s weird when my friends and co-workers walk up to me eager to talk about basketball and the Washington Wizards, because two years ago I didn’t really pay much attention to the team.

Now my interest in basketball has risen faster than Jeremy Lin’s jersey sales.

In a city where the Hockey, Football, and Baseball teams reign supreme, the Washington Professional Basketball Team has been an afterthought among the locals. Now in their fourth straight year of sub .400 play, the only memorable item that pops in most minds is the never ending argument that the team should change their name back to the Bullets. When WeLoveDC’s fearless leader gave me the assignment to provide coverage of the team for WLDC, I took it on as an opportunity to learn about the game and a team that doesn’t get as much attention in the D.C. Sports Scene. The beat was also another hat to wear among many. Besides holding down a 9-5 to pay the bills, I also cover theatre for the site as well.

Blogging isn’t as glamorous  you would think. Unless it is a full-time gig, it is often a job of passion.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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LeBron and Wade Go Lob City in Victory Over Wizards

LeBron didn’t put up superstar numbers last night, but showed Washington, DC why he’s one of the NBA’s best.

Late in the second quarter Chris Bosh rebounded a missed shot from Nick Young and passed it to James. Racing down the court James passed it to Dwayne Wade who lobbed it up to James for an amazing slam dunk. It’s the kind of play the demonstrates the synergy that can happen when Miami’s Big Three are running on all cylinders.

“I think we’re probably 90 percent on the alley-oops this year,” James said after the game explaining that he’s not too concerned about showing a little pizzazz during the game. Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra commented after the game that he’d like to see the duo not get too fancy.

“We want to be efficient, and that’s the most important thing.”

However it didn’t take all three to be on top of their game as the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards 106-94. James only put up 18 points in what looked like a game he coasted through. Instead the production was left to Bosh (24 pts) and Wade who scored 26 points for the night- 18 of them coming in the first half where Wade put on an amazing second quarter show.

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capitals hockey, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Caps Fall to Jets in Shootout, 3-2

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Capital’s coach Dale Hunter
courtesy of photopete

Like many sports, hockey is a game of momentum and lucky bounces. As Caps’ coach Dale Hunter likes to say, “That’s hockey.” The Winnipeg Jets got a few lucky breaks last night to beat the Caps 3-2 before a sellout crowd at Verizon Center.

Ii was a wild ending. Four power play goals in the span of eight minutes late in the third period left the two teams tied at the end of regulation. After an inconclusive overtime, the Jets won the game in the shootout.

The Caps came out aggressively in the first period, peppering Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec with 12 shots on goal to the Jets 4. The Caps had another 13 shots that either missed the net or were blocked. Even though both teams play a “trap” style of defense, it was wide open hockey with fast rushes in both directions. It seemed like the clock had been turned back to the run-and-gun Caps of the best of the Boudreau years. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to me it was a lovely sight. Continue reading →

capitals hockey, Sports Fix
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Caps Blank Panthers, 4-0

Photo courtesy of clydeorama
Tomas Vokoun Makes a Pad Save
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps scored early and often and rode a hot goaltender to a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers last night at Verizon Center. With the win, the Caps vaulted past the Panthers into first place in the Southeast Division and a spot in the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin scored twice and Tomas Vokoun stopped 42 shots for his fourth shutout of the season.

The fans were barely in their seats when the Caps lit the red light for an early lead. Jason Chimera dug the puck out of the corner and fed a pass to Matthieu Perreault who slid the puck under Panthers’ goalie Scott Clemmensen just 13 seconds into the game. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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The One Game That Represents The Wizards 2011-2012 Season

It was a bad weekend for Washington sports. However while some are bummed over the Caps loss to the Bruins yesterday, at least they are hovering above .500 with a 27-21 record. It would take a miracle for the Washington Wizards to achieve such a feat.

This past weekend the Wizards lost to the Clippers in a 87-107 blowout. At 4-20, you would think that the funk of defeat couldn’t penetrate any deeper. This game however struck me as a moment where everything that happened just felt apropos. Much like how the entire season can be viewed while listening to the Benny Hill theme song.

The game started on a high note. Blake Griffin put up a dunk to which Nick Young rebutted with a dunk of his own. DeAndre Jordan then caught a rebound for a dunk and John Wall took the ball to the other end and throw up a lob for JaVale McGee to slam home.

Perhaps the game would at least be entertaining if not competitive? It turned out the game would be neither. The rest of the night just went down hill from there.

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Sports Fix
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Nats Sign Edwin Jackson to Bolster Ever Evolving Rotation

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Edwin Jackson
courtesy of Keith Allison

The question most often asked when people talk about Edwin Jackson is why has he been on so many teams. The Nats will be Jackson’s eighth team in his nine year career, and the reason is simple. Jackson has never cost much and always had top of the rotation stuff with back of the rotation results. Every new team that gets him believes they can be the ones that can finally unlock all that potential and the team getting rid of him was just tired of waiting.

The interesting thing about the one year $10 million contract that Jackson signed with the Nationals is that it is in line more with Jackson’s results than his potential, and Jackson was more than willing to take a one year deal in order to have a career year and cash in next off-season. The late Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson once said, “Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I’ll win a pennant every year.”

With Edwin Jackson the Nats get one highly motivated pitcher that can’t wait to prove his value to the world. The Nats rotation has a lot of ifs but those ifs have evolved a lot in the last few years. No longer are the Nats hoping for the health of John Patterson or Shawn Hill or that a surprise can be found among a bunch of minor league free agents. The Nats have a legitimate major league rotation, and perhaps something even better.

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Derrick Rose Takes Out His Anger On The Wizards

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Derrick Rose
courtesy of Keith Allison

Reigning MVP Derrick Rose was in a mood.

Sunday night he blamed himself for a loss against the Miami Heat that left him angry, emotional, and determined to make it up in the next game he’d play.

Unfortunately for the Washington Wizards they were that next game. Rose looked like a madman on the court in a 35 point performance as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Wizards 98-88.

The Wizards tried everything they could to stop Rose and the Bulls but it was to no avail. The loss left Wizards coach Randy Wittman a little testy, transferring his frustration to the press after the game. When asked about the team’s Pick and Roll strategy against Rose he answered to the reporter asking the question , “Did you of that question all day? If you have a new strategy, call my office tomorrow. We tried four different things. The way he played tonight, I don’t know if there’s anything we would have thrown out there that could have of. So did he dice it up? Yea, is that what you want me to say?”

I hope Wittman doesn’t read the column I wrote about him.

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Sports Fix, The Features
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Randy Wittman: The Coach Washington Deserves, But Not The One It Needs

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Randy Wittman
courtesy of Keith Allison

“Why’s Randy coaching, Dad?”

“Because we had to fire Flip.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Flip Saunders may have not done anything wrong, but he certainly didn’t do anything right. In one way Flip will be the fall guy for another failed Wizards season, but in another way Flip was never the answer at coach, leaving with a 51-130 coaching record in Washington.

Time after time I’ve seen that sleepy-eyed look at press conferences. Time after time I’ve heard him expound on how players are holding on to the ball too much or how they throw the game plan out the window after they fall behind. Perhaps the problems were easier said than done.

You can say Flip took on a job he didn’t sign up for. He was suppose to help squeeze one more season from the old guard of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison. He wasn’t originally brought in to coach a team full of first and second year players.

In reality Flip never had control of the locker room. It got out of hand to the point Gilbert was offering firearms to his teammates. Flip was then left with a class of kids who tuned him out.

Regardless of the reason, Flip is out and Randy Wittman is in- but will that be a difference?

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Sports Fix
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Nationals add Lidge to Strengthen Already Deep Bullpen

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Brad Lidge
courtesy of afagen

The Nationals missed out on Prince Fielder when the Tigers swooped in at the last minute to offer a 9 year $214 million dollar contract. That doesn’t mean the off-season is over and it certainly doesn’t mean Mike Rizzo is done trying to improve the Nats. Since the Nats failed to strengthen a weakness they have concentrated this off-season on strengthening their strength. The Nationals pitching staff last season allowed 3.99 runs a game which was seventh best in the NL, and had the sixth best ERA in the league at 3.58.

Breaking that down further the Nationals starters had an ERA of 3.80 and the relievers an ERA of 3.20. The National League average is an ERA of 3.94 for starters and 3.59 for relievers. As a whole the Nationals starters were 0.14 runs per nine innings better than league average and the relievers 0.39 runs per nine innings better. The entire Nationals pitching staff was above average in 2011, but the bullpen was the strength of the Nationals pitching staff.

The addition of Lidge is important as it adds depth to what already appeared to be a deep bullpen. If Lidge can remain healthy he adds yet another weapon to a Nationals bullpen that was already full of lethal pitchers. In trying to understand what this means for the depth of the Nationals bullpen it is fun to look at the best case and the worst case scenarios.

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Sports Fix
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Sports Fix Special: A Day for Wicked Pixels

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one way FAIL
courtesy of philliefan99

Boy, what a morning.

First up was Alex Ovechkin, who today opted out of the All-Star Game, citing a lack of passion brought on by a 3-game suspension for an off-his-feet hit on the Penguins Zbynek Michalek during Sunday’s game. I can understand his frustration with the league for a 3-game suspension when Michalek was cleared of a similar hit in the exact same game. It can be hard to be a professional hockey player. That is also why he’s paid $9.5M on average per season. As Don Draper says, “That’s what the money is for!” I suppose that he’ll instead be chilling in his new house in McLean, valued at $4.2M.

In acting the petulant teenager, Ovechkin hurts the fans and the league, when he’s really just angry that his team can’t seem to feed him the puck up close to the net. Look, Ovi, I know you’re having a rough go of it right now, but the answer here is to buckle down and do more not do less, especially in the face of criticism. There’s a lot of concern out there for the team’s work ethic, and that there’s no combined leadership on the ice. By opting out and saying that you’re just not feeling it, well, I have to wonder – have you felt it at all this season? I know you’re hitting like crazy, and your game against Pittsburgh this week saw you with 3 points, but I’m not seeing the leader that I was hoping for.

The Capitals, in standing by their star, are at least giving him an “honorable” out, and given the lack of discipline for Michalek, that seems to be at least justified in part. In doing so, aren’t the Capitals doing more to hurt the hockey capital’s enthusiasm for the sport as a whole? I had thought that this was an organization dedicated toward hockey as a whole, but this latest set of actions seem to belie that isn’t the case always.

And now on to the firing of Flip Saunders, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  The Wizards have started the year at a lovely 2-15, including a 20-point loss in Philly last night, a game in which they trailed by 30 at the half, which is something I was pretty sure was only possible when a JV team plays the varsity at DeMatha. Sadly, it’s not likely that the elevation of assistant Randy Wittman to the head coach, even temporarily, is going to change the slide of the Wizards – not that they can slide much further down the charts.

I can’t remember a more terrible day for Monumental Sports in the new era, and though it feels like piling on, the state of DC sports is fairly deplorable, given the Redskins’ back to back 6-10 seasons, the Wizards seemingly-perpetual last place position, and the Capitals struggles amid an abundance of talented players. How terrible is it that a .500 season from the Nationals seems to be the brightest spot in the DC Sports world right now?

So yes, Uncle Ted, this is a day for wicked pixels, but it’s hard to dodge these as just being the words of some pajama-clad bloggers when it’s the whole of the sports media with their head in their hands wondering what could possibly be going on.

Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Paul Pierce Carries The Celtics To A Win Over Wizards

Photo courtesy of RMTip21
BOS-ORL103
courtesy of RMTip21

Celtics star Point Guard Rajon Rondo was ruled out of today’s game against the Wizards with a sprained right wrist. In the second quarter Ray Allen left the game with a jammed left ankle. Slumping and battered, the Celtics looked like a prime target for the Wizards, who have been improving their play game-by-game this week.

However Paul Pierce took the team on his shoulders with a season-high 34 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds as the Celtics continue to own the Wizards this season with a 94-100 loss.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Nuggets Outrun Wizards, Boos Keep Raining On Blatche

The Wizards had a little swagger in their step as they took the court Friday night. Coming off a big win over the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder, the ‘zards went up against the Denver Nuggets and pummeled them in the first quarter. Washington scored a season-high 37 points and were in the game down to the end.

However the Wizards could not solve Denver’s Al Harrington, who led the Nuggets with 29 points. His dunk with 7.9 seconds left in the game sealed the Wizards’ fate in a 104-108 loss.

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Entertainment, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Wall Puts Up Career High 38 Points, McGee Showboats In Loss To Rockets

In between the 3rd and 4th quarter of today’s Washington Wizards match against the Houston Rockets, Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like An Eagle” filled the Verizon Center. I thought it was fitting since it is the first track on the Space Jam soundtrack and coach Flip Saunders recently commented that the team, “looked like ‘Space Jam’ where everyone lost all their talents and couldn’t do anything there for a while.”

Listening to those lyrics it was very clear that for the Wizards time was indeed slipping as the Wizards lost the game 106-114.

John Wall reached a career high 38 points including 18 in the final quarter but the Wizards couldn’t catch back up after keeping it competitive in the first half. Wall looked aggressive, attacked the hoop, and landed a spectacular dunk in the third quarter.

Wall wasn’t the only Wizards slamming the boards today, JaVale McGee had several highlight worthy finishes including a second half dunk that caught Flip’s eye- not for good reason however.

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Sports Fix
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Nats Extend Freshly Acquired Gio

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison
Mike Rizzo – Washington Nationals General Manager
courtesy of Keith Allison

Time moves much slower in the off-season. It hasn’t even been a month since the Nats traded Brad Peacock, Derek Norris, Tom Milone, and  AJ Cole for Gio Gonzalez and not Gonzalez has a fresh five year extension worth $42 million that includes two option years that could push the value to $65 million.

Since the trade went down Gio Gonzalez has expressed his happiness and desire to win with his new team. This is a deal that give Gonzalez long term security and the Nats a team friendly deal if Gonzalez pitches to expectations. If Gonzalez improves on his walk rate like many young strikeout lefties have in the past then his average value of $8.4 million a year will look like a bargain.

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capitals hockey, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed
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Caps Outlast Lightning, Win 4-3

Photo courtesy of clydeorama
Brouwer Skates Over Blue Line
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps rode two early power play goals and a hat trick by Troy Brouwer to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Verizon Center. Tampa Bay stormed back in the third period to draw within a goal twice. With the goalie on the bench for an extra forward, the Lightening pressed to the very end, scoring with 10 second remaining in the game, and nearly tieing the game as the final buzzer sounded. Continue reading →

Sports Fix
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Khan/Peterson Ongoing Controversy and Drama

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US Supreme Court
courtesy of katieharbath

Lamont Peterson winning the WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles in DC was big news when it happened, but not the ongoing controversy threatens to overshadow what was a great fight. Yesterday there was a press release from the Peterson camp responding to the accusations of Amir Khan that the fight should be overturned and was not a fair fight. The way Khan tells it it should have been clear to anyone in attendance that he not only won the fight but that he dominated. That was not the fight I saw.

The fight I saw could have gone either way and was extremely closely contested. Both fighters fought a great fight and it is a shame that this controversy has drug on. If Khan had filed the protest and kept his mouth shut then he could still come out of this looking good, but at this point he is starting to look like a sore loser who might not want to get back in the ring with Peterson. If Khan feels he is such a superior fighter to Peterson he will work to smooth things over and get a rematch as soon as possible and prove his ability in the ring.

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capitals hockey, Sports Fix
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Caps Edge Penguins, 1-0

Photo courtesy of clydeorama
Vokoun Moving in Crease
courtesy of clydeorama

A breakaway goal and solid goaltending was enough to beat the conference rival Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-0, last night at Verizon Center. Jason Chimera scored on a first period breakaway for the winning goal and Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves to earn the shutout. The game had consequences in the race for the playoffs for both teams as the Caps passed the Penguins in the standings to move into 8th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins dominated the early going in puck possession and offensive zone time. The Caps came out looking flat, chasing pucks, passing into each others’ skates and shooting from long range. Only Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer were able to take the puck and body to the net. A couple of rocking checks by Alex Ovechkin and Brouwer seemed to wake Washington out of their west coast fog and generate some energy from their Eco Watch health products.

The Caps got on the score sheet 15 minutes into the game when Joel Ward knocked the puck away from Evgeni Malkin to spring Jeff Halpern for a 3-on-1 break. Halpern saucered a perfect pass to a streaking Chimera who beat Marc-Andre Fleury high on the blocker side. Continue reading →