Monthly Archive for June, 2007
We are all witnesses to the Nick Young era. Hope its a good one. Last night, with the 16th overall pick in the draft, the Wizards selected Nick Young, junior shooting guard out of USC. I was some what surprised Mr. Young was there for the taking as the Hornets were rumored to be keen on him but hey, who am I to complain?
Young’s selection gives the Wizards a certain amount of flexibility. Both DeShawn and Jarvis (all three play the same position) are free agents and, speaking only for me, I hope to the sweet Jesus we let Arvis (get it? no “J”) find another home. DeShawn I’ll be honest, I’d like to have him back but not for a ridiculous amount of money. I’d like Young to come off the bench while Stevenson starts but if some teams comes in with a crazy offer to DeShawn and the Wizards (hopefully) don’t match then it will be nice to have Young there to plug in.
I was some what surprised that in the second round we took this Dominic McGuire kid who I’ve never heard of when Ivan was telling me yesterday we were going to take D.J. Strawberry but oh well. Strawberry actually landed in a nice little situation with the Suns where Raja Bell can tutor him on the fine arts of being a defensive stopper in the NBA.
Here’s what Steinz uncovered over at the Sports Bog:
* He’s dating Carol Rodriguez, Puerto Rico’s 2006 Women’s Athlete of the Year and one of the top collegiate sprinters in the country, who also happens to be a model.
* He’s been known to sport a mohawk now and then, and actually claimed credit tonight for making the mohawk fashionable. He’s also had his initials and the Jordan Brand logo shaved into his head at various times, and he said he might bring back the mohawk next fall “just to fit in with the Wizards,” which is the right way to approach this team.
* He also has been known to wear skateboard gear featuring images of skeletons, and in fact said he used to skateboard when growing up in the San Fernando Valley.
* He has a reputation for being quite the dunker, and told me that he has “immense hops” and “flying ability.” “I should be in the dunk contest, maybe this year,” he said, “doing some Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins.”
* He was the only player in the Green Room with a two-toned outfit; dark slacks and a white coat. “I come from L.A. this is how we do it in L.A.,” he told me. “I’m more of mainstream Hollywood.”
Interesting. Also, I did like this quote quite a lot, from Daniel Forer (the producer of the movie about Nick) via Steinberg:
“Oh, you have no idea,” Forer said. “Washington has no idea what they have now got in Nick Young. No one knows. He is one of the most wonderful, joyous people you will ever meet in your life. And he will make everyone forget about their problems and just enjoy watching him and the Wizards. It is a gift.
“It’s hard to believe,” he admitted as I stared at him. “I was there in Los Angeles when Magic started, the first year he arrived, and Los Angeles had no idea what they were getting. Washington has no idea what they’re getting in Nick Young. He is a blessing, a gift. Now I’m not saying on the court, I don’t know how he’ll perform, but off the court he’s just a special human being.”
Now Mr. Forer in the previous paragraph kind of compared young Nick to Muhammad Ali and Brett Favre, as well as Magic, so I guess lets take Mr. Forer’s thoughts with a grain of salt but even still, nice to hear. I must say I’m quite happy with the pick. I’m looking forward to the Nick Young era indeed.
Other reactions around the tubes:
Michael Wilbon seems to approve
SI.com’s Chris Mannix says we are winners.
DC Sports Report gives an A-
Finally, after days and days of anticipation, the NBA Draft is upon us. It kind of sucks that the Wizards aren’t really involved in any of the exciting rumors; we aren’t in the lottery and we aren’t trading for Kobe or KG or Amare (at least, not that I’ve heard). So really, for the most part, Wizards fans are just looking in from the outside at #16. Having said that, here’s who we are rumored to be considering, at least according to this Washington Post graphic:
PG Javaris Crittenton, G-Tech
SF Thaddeus Young, G-Tech
SG Derrick Byers, Vandy
SG Nick Young, USC
SF Julian Wright, Kansas
If you ask me, both Youngs and Wright will probably be gone by the time we draft but I’d be thrilled if one of them fell to us. I like Derrick Byers alot, the fact that he is regarded as a good defender is a plus, playing in the stacked SEC (and playing well) doesnt hurt either.
Ivan Carter posted some thoughts on the Wizards Insider and apparently Byers is well liked by the Wizards. Also if D.J. Strawberry is there in the second round we’re taking him. I like that idea alot, I think Strawberry, at the very least defensively, has a future in the NBA.
Anyway there you have it. I’d like to see Byers and Strawberry drafted. Who knows, maybe we’ll even trade away Haywood for a pick or something? Either way it should be an exciting night, even if the Wizards aren’t really involved. Sadly I wont be able to watch live as I will be attending a concert but I’m taping everything and hoping to avoid tv/radio/internet until I can watch it tomorrow morning. Thats most likely not going to work out but I’m giving it a shot.
The Kobe video where he trashes Andrew Bynum can be seen here. Totally not worth the hype.
Kelly Dwyer listsErnie Grunfield as the 11th best GM in the NBA. I might go a little higher then that, actually, based purely off of Caron Butler for Kwame Brown. Greatest.Trade.Evah!
ESPN.com’s Jim Caple today has come out with that staple of the summer slow sports news day: the 101 Sporting Events you should see before you blah blah blah. The 101 he picks are fairly typical of such lists, though the later ones skew towards the obscure (you get the sense he picked the number “101″ because it sounds/looks nice and then struggled to, you know, actually come up with 101 different events.).
Anyway, here are the things on the list I can myself check off:
#4 The World Series. Went to Game 3 (I believe) last year in Detroit.
#5 NCAA subregional. Went in 2006.
#12 Rose Bowl. Saw Texas vs. Michigan
#17 Michigan vs. Ohio State. Went last year at Ohio State.
#20 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Saw the Capitals lose Game 4 to complete the sweep at the hands of the Red Wings in the Finals.
#22 Cubs game in the bleachers of Wrigley. Went a couple years ago.
#29 U.S. Open Tennis. Went last summer.
#34 MLB Opening Day. Been to a couple different Orioles ones.
#42 MLB All-Star Game. Went when the game was at Camden Yards.
#90 Little League Game. Played in too many of these to count.
So there you have it. Thats my list. Not too shabby.
Just got this gchatted to me from my buddy The Cooler. Not good news, hope he’s alright:
LaVar Arrington, a former member of the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, has been seriously hurt in a motorcycle crash Monday afternoon.
Prince George’s County Fire tells WTOP that Arrington is in serious condition after the crash near Route 50 and the Capital Beltway.
Channel 9 reports Arrington was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center.
Arrington was drafted by the Redskins out of Penn State in 2000. He was cut by the New York Giants this year after suffering a season-ending foot injury.
This is not a surprise: Sam Perlozzo has been fired. I’m not the biggest Perlozzo fan but I’m not sure exactly what he could have done differently, its not like he was working with the Red Sox’s roster here. Our high-priced bullpen has been awful, our hitters can’t hit generally and can’t hit for power specifically. Will Joe Girardi (rumored to be Sam’s successor) change things? Maybe a little but he won’t change this flawed roster. Hiring Andy MacPhail as COO is interesting but I’m not sure how that changes our already confusing front office structure. Ah life as an Oriole fan. Always a pleasure.
Here’s a depressing anecdote from Ken Rosenthal’s latest (via MLB Trade Rumors):
For sheer intrigue, it’s a shame that high-school infielder Mike Moustakas went to the Royals with the No. 2 pick of the first-year player draft.
If Moustakas had been available at No. 5, the Orioles would have faced a trying decision. Their scouts weren’t particularly high on Moustakas, but their owner, Peter Angelos surely would have wanted him to receive strong consideration.
Angelos, the son of Greek immigrants, helped develop the first baseball team to represent Greece in the Olympics in 2004. Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis, the team’s first-round pick in ‘03, was a member of that team. Moustakas also is of Greek descent.
If the Orioles had passed on Moustakas, the Nationals would have taken him at No. 6. Angelos might have fired his entire front office if Moutsakas had become a star for the Orioles’ geographic rivals, but the Royals prevented the possibility from even occurring.
Fantastic. The mere possibility that our drafting strategy centers around what national team a prospect played for is enough to make me cry. Any chance we could get a new owner, like, soon?