A blog and community website for the Washington Wizards and their fans.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Weekend Links
It's been a busy weekend for me, so it's probably a good time to dump some links on you guys.
The DC Sports Bog has a video of Wizards players showing off the new road unis. We know Gilbert Arenas is not a fan of the new unis, and it appears other members of the blogosphere aren't so high on them either. I think it's really funny how so many Wizards fans are looking to embrace their past in their uniforms. It's not like Washington basketball has a tradition of excellence. Still, I think the uniforms are a little excessive.
The Basketball Jones dropped their Southeast Division preview podcast earlier in the week, with Dan Steinberg as the Wizards' guest of honor. His prediction is 47 wins. On Wednesday, you'll see if I'm above or below that number.
The Hype reminisces about Dennis Rodman. I have to admit that this entry and this Youtube clip reminded me that there will never be anyone, not even Ron Artest, that is as crazy as Dennis Rodman.
Finally, I found this video of the team having fun in the airport terminal. The video may center around Jared Jeffries, but the unintentional (and intentional) comedy is pure gold.
Via the DC Sports Bog, the Wizards are all set to unveil all new gold alternate road jerseys. Here's what they'll look like.
I'm not sure what to think of these, so I'm throwing it out to you guys. By the way, I love the gold "Go All In" slogan in the bottom left corner. Clearly, going all-in requires gold lettering...
What do you think about the new jerseys? Good? Bad? Is gold going to work with this team?
Another day, another meaningless preseason loss for the Wizards, as they fell to the Chicago Bulls 87-86 on Tuesday. The Wiz were leading 86-81 with a minute and a half left until the Bulls put the clamps down defensively and eventually took the lead on an Andre Barrett jumper with 17 seconds left. Roger Mason missed the chance to give the Wizards the win, and the team dropped to 0-2 on the season.
This game was much less interesting and important for the Wizards, as they rested Caron Butler and played Gilbert Arenas and Antwan Jamison 14 and 15 minutes respectively. The Wizards team that was on the floor for the late-game collapse was mostly composed of deep reserves and guys that may not even make the team.
So what can we learn from this game?
-Jarvis Hayes continued his strong preseason with a solid 11 points in only 18 mintes. Ivan Carter obviously believes this is a big story, as he devoted much of his beat article today to Hayes.
-The story essentially was the same for the Bulls game as it was for the Raptors. When the first unit was in the game, the Wizards were a much better team. Once it got down to the reserves, it was a bit of a different story.
Donnell Taylor played a lot of minutes and scored 12 points, but Eddie Jordan was not too happy with his decision-making. This may become a slight problem, because I think Jordan was expecting Taylor to step in and be able to log some minutes this year as Arenas' backup. The Wizards kind of lack that pure point guard, and while Arenas, Antonio Daniels, and Taylor all have point-guard ability, none of them really are distributors. This makes you wonder whether taking Marcus Williams over Oleksey Pecherov may have been the right decision.
Andray Blatche showed more flashes of ability, but still was extremely inconsistent. He grabbed 5 rebounds on the defensive end, but shot only 2 for 9 from the field and somehow found a way to foul out. This isn't summer league, Andray. You don't get unlimited fouls. Ultimately, Blatche probably will take a while to become a real contributor this season. The Wizards should continue to bring him along slowly and hope he can make some noise late in the season.
The reserves as a whole shot 34 percent from the field against Chicago, which is not such a great sign. Mike Hall and Roger Mason struggled all game, shooting a combined 3 for 14. This is not a major concern, but one of the two will likely make the team, making their performances slightly troubling.
-Antonio Daniels hurt his ankle in practice and is listed as day-to-day. This doesn't sound too serious, but then again, Darius Songalia was also day-to-day early in camp and he's still out with the back injury. Daniels seemed to be playing really well in training camp this year, so let's hope this doesn't set him back anymore.
-The Washington Times is reporting that Peter John Ramos is "not in our plans," according to Ernie Grunfeld. This is pretty sad, actually, because PJM was the brunt of a lot of blogosphere jokes. As far as his playing ability, I trust Ernie Grunfeld, but how in the world can a 7 foot 3 guy on a team starving for physical play not make it? I guess Ramos has absolutely no basketball ability. The article also reports that James Lang is getting a real look for the third center's job, and judging from his playing time yesterday, that makes plenty of sense. Lang is smaller than Ramos, standing only 6'10,'' but he fits in better with the Wizards' scheme.
-Dan Steinberg has even more Gilbert Arenas stuff up today, with a post featuring 10 of the funniest Gilbert Arenas moments of all time. More stuff can be found at this article he linked in the entry. While I think we may be hyping up Arenas' quirkiness a little too early in the season, I loved hearing most of these stories. However, this is by far the best line.
I'm now willing to argue that our humble little market has either the best, most famous or weirdest young star in virtually every pro team sport: from Ovie (best) to Adu (most famous) to Gil and Portis (weirdest). Bloggers go to sleep happy at night with a foursome like that. Thanks, Stealth. Seriously, thanks. And thanks, Esquire.
Truer words have never been spoken. Thank you Dan for putting all our thoughts into words.
-In case you haven't noticed already, Dan and I were both linked on Deadspin today in this post.
-YaySports' Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Blog Preview is up now. Go over to see the Cavaliers fan drink the Queen James coolaid. I like Cleveland this year, but 58 wins? That's pretty bold, if you ask me. Still, I agree that Cleveland could easily be the best team in the league...until they get the Wiz in Round 2 and fall for real this time.
-While the Wizards-Bulls tilt last night may have been a close game, it was not nearly as competitive and nasty as this old clip from a couple years ago. Enjoy this brawl from the 2005 preseason.
What are your thoughts on the Bulls preseason result? By the way, in case you were wondering, the guy in the picture up at the top is not me.
In case you haven't heard, the Wizards have changed their marketing slogan for the 2006/07 season. In the past two years, the slogan was "One Team, One Goal," but since the Wizards have had sustained success in the past couple years, management obviously felt they needed to beef up the slogan. Here's what they came up with:
"Go All-In"
Alright, so in order to show that they are a real contender, the Wizards decided to change their slogan to an obscure poker reference. Many people read last year about how Gilbert Arenas plays online poker at halftime of games. A funny story, for sure, especially for those who had not been previously exposed to Arenas' quirkiness.
But let's get real here. The Wizards are actually changing their 2-year slogan because of one funny story that only Wizards aficianitos and NBA-obsessed bloggers really heard about? I love Gilbert Arenas as much as the next Wizards fan, and probably more than most, but this is kind of ridiculous. Not only would the target audience of the Wizards marketing brass not completely understand the reference, but how can you apply poker to basketball?
This "Go All In" sloga of the Wizards is kind of confusing. It's a poker reference, I guess, so maybe it's a nod to Agent Zero's purported half-time activities, but I'm not sure if this is the right year to go all in. There are several scenarios that would make you go all in in poker, right?
1) You have the best made hand, someone else is on a draw, and you want to end things. 2) You're bluffing. 3) You're short-stacked and desperate. 4) You actually do have the best hand and want to get paid.
I don't see any of these scenarios applying to the Wizards, circa 2006. They don't have the best team, they have no reason to bluff or be desperate, and it's not like they're ahead in this hand, metaphorically or otherwise, although I have no idea what that means. Anyhow, as our poker-related interview with Gilbert Arenas from last spring shows, a better slogan for the Wizards might be "I take all my crap into the flop." Now that would sell tickets.
Let's take a closer look at the possibilities.
1) You have the best made hand, someone else is on a draw, and you want to end things.
As Dan correctly points out, the Wizards do not have the best team. That distinction belongs to a handful of possible teams, but the Wizards probably aren't one of them. More importantly, though, why should the Wizards want to end things? Are the Wizards really saying that this is our last chance before the draw hits and the team becomes bad again? Come on, we've had like 4 good teams in 25 years. Don't do that to us.
2) You're bluffing
Great message guys. Let's pretend our team is good and exciting when it really isn't. Way to go, Wizards brass!
3) You're short-stacked and desperate
The Wizards have improved in expected wins in the last two years, so I hope management doesn't think they're desperate for anything. Maybe for a championship, but simply saying "Go All-In" doesn't convey that to the fans. I mean, come on, when we hear "all-in," we only think about guys like Chris Moneymaker.
4)You actually do have the best hand and want to get paid.
No question, the Wizards want to get paid. But "One Team, One Goal" does that too. Hell, Steinberg's suggestion of "I take all my crap into the flop" works even better. Why not just make that the slogan?
Okay, so what's the real reason for the slogan? Why would the Wizards adopt such a gawd-awful slogan this season?
With the online poker ban, Gilbert Arenas won't even be able to play online poker at halftime ever again. That's definetly is not going to sit well with Agent Zero. How will he ever be able to stay focused? At least now, with the slogan change, he can talk poker all he wants in the commercials and stay focused the entire season.
This is probably the conversation Arenas and Abe Pollin had recently.
Gilbert Arenas: Yo, yo, Abeman, we's got problems! Abe Pollin: What troubles the great Black President? GA: Abeman, I can't play online poker no more. Those Senate people made it illegal. How can Gilbert focus on Gilbert's basketball playing now? Will I have to move the altitude tent to the locker room? Don't make me do it, man! AP: Relax, relax, I have a solution. GA: I hope it's good! AP: You know that wierd slogan we had last year, the one that was like "One team, one goal." GA: Ya. AP: Why not change it to "Go all-in." That way, you can always be playing poker. GA: Hey, I like it! Poker keeps Gilbert Arenas going, so why not let Gilbert Arenas talk about poker in commercials! This is going to be awesome! Wait...I don't get it. AP: What? GA: Go all-in with the Washington Wizards this season? What does that even mean? AP: I dunno, but it doesn't have to mean anything. It's perfect. GA: Yeah, you're right. Abeman, you're a genius. You wanna play some cards? AP: I bet I go all-in first! GA: No way man, I'm so beating you to it!
By that logic, the switch makes sense. If Gilbert Arenas needs to play poker to stay focused, why not make it the team slogan. That way, the Wizards will have a Gilbert Arenas that is always focused on being the "East Coast Assasin." Clearly, that had to be the motivation. Otherwise, the Wizards would be making yet another strange decision.
I've been a Bullets/Wizards fan for practically my entire life. This site is not affiliated with the Washington Wizards in any way, it's simply a community outlet for me to share commentary on basketball's coolest team.
