John Wall's Excitement Rating

Sorry for the blogging break, but I had a semi-sudden death in the family and have been away from computers for a week. Back to business.....

I posted on this a little over a month ago, but the website Thuuz evaluates the amount of excitement an unbiased fan would get from a game. I provided a little consulting for them and they have now come up with individual player ratings for excitement. This is awesome news, because it will allow for a lot of individual player evaluation using Thuuz's metrics.

Also, we can shove it back in Charles Barkley's face that the Wizards are indeed worth watching because we've got John Wall.

Here is the report from Thuuz. Here is the take from Thuuz, "In summary, John Wall crushes it. He's the top rookie and the #7 player overall, even higher than Blake Griffin. We know this rating system works because 'jumpshooter' Ray Allen and 'Mr. Fundamental' Tim Duncan, are two of the lowest ranked All Stars."

Top Twenty Most Exciting Players of the 2010 – 2011 NBA Season (through the All-Star Break)
Player	Excitement per Game	Excitement Rank	Impact per Game	Impact Rank
Williams, Deron	90.9	1	44.7	8
Nash, Steve	85.7	2	40.8	14
Love, Kevin	78.8	3	48.1	2
Rose, Derrick	78.5	4	45	5
James, LeBron	77.8	5	50.1	1
Westbrook, Russell	75.8	6	44.5	9
Wall, John	72.5	7	36.4	29
Paul, Chris	71.6	8	44.8	7
Ellis, Monta	69.8	9	40.8	13
Durant, Kevin	68.9	10	46	4
Felton, Raymond	68.8	11	39.8	19
Griffin, Blake	68.7	12	43.3	12
Calderon, Jose	67.8	13	31.3	64
Wade, Dwyane	66.4	14	43.7	10
Curry, Stephen	64.8	15	36.6	28
Stoudemire, Amar'e	64.7	16	44.8	6
Rondo, Rajon	63.6	17	40	16
Randolph, Zach	62.7	18	39.9	17
Bryant, Kobe	62.4	19	39.7	20
Gordon, Eric	62.2	20	38	24
Additional NBA All-Star Starters not in the Top Twenty
Anthony, Carmelo	61.7	22	39.8	18
Howard, Dwight	59	26	46.5	3
Ming, Yao	21.7	225	21.5	143
Additional NBA All-Star Reserves not in the Top Twenty
Horford, Al	57.5	27	38.9	22
Nowitzki, Dirk	57.1	29	38.1	23
Johnson, Joe	56.6	31	34	45
Gasol, Pau	56.4	33	43.7	11
Ginobili, Manu	49.8	51	36.2	31
Pierce, Paul	49.3	56	34.6	38
Bosh, Chris	45.2	69	33.8	47

As I noted before, a problem with the system is that players from bad teams generate more excitement, but a good way to account for that effect is to compare impact to excitement. Impact measures basic stats such as points, assists, rebounds, etc, so by comparing both, one can see who is generating the most excitement per play, sort of. Jimmy is only 29th in impact, but 7th in excitement. Jose Calderon and Steve Nash also fare well when comparing both numbers.

Fine, Blake Griffin should be #1, but the system has a hard time measuring 1 dunk against another. You must also realize that while waiting for Griffin's highlight reel dunks, watching the rest of his game is not as exciting.

Whatever, just let us Wizards win something this year other than the draft lottery. 

(Image courtesy of probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com)

The John Wall Is On the Billboard Charts

I already posted this on Bullets Forever, but this news is just too awesome.......

So Blake Griffin has completely overshadowed John Wall, and even Landry Fields has more Rookie of the Month awards. Little do most of us realize that our man John Wall has spent the past 7 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. Don't worry, Wall is not going to pull a Ron Artest and ask for a month off to promote the album (or only sell 343 copies), because he is not the artist, but rather the subject of Troop 41's Do the John Wall.

The group is from Wall's hometown of Raleigh, NC, and judging by their Twitter account and MySpace page, they generally only perform around the Carolinas.

The song has reached as high as #76 on the chart, and currently sits at #92. Here is a sampling of the lyrics:

"Everybody clear out, hand me the rock Time winding down 3 seconds on the shot clock Break the defense homeboy I can't be stopped All about my money so you know I'm hitting bank shots I'm trying to tell them, boy you can't guard this Beast on the court homeboy I play the hardest."

Kind words are welcome, although I don't I agree with, "Jump shot deadly, you know that we kill on them." Something to aspire to maybe for Jimmy Wall.

And finally, the video:

Say what you want, but the song is growing on me.

.....to ball like Wall, well you gotta do the dance....

A Knee for A Knee

For those of you who haven't heard, Wizards traded for more (less?) than a bad contract and an over-the-hill player in in Rashard Lewis. Nagging tendinitis is not the worst thing in the world, but Rashard's contract is looking heavier than ever.

The good news is that Rashard sitting might actually be a good thing to let the young Wizards play and improve our draft position. The even better news? Gilbert Arenas' knee is ruined.

The man formerly known as Agent Zero already had the worst contract in the NBA, and we knew he lacked the explosion of his pre-surgery days, but the confirmation that the knee is giving him trouble, even in limited minutes, is sad. Stan Van Gundy wants him to rehab the knee, but seriously, the guy played about half a season's worth of games over the past 3 years - he has had plenty of time to rehab. It appears that Hibachi/Zero Hero/Agent Zero is no more.


When the Lewis-Arenas trade was made, my feeling was that we had to get rid of Gil and his contract any way possible, so it was a good move. My only hesitation was that I thought Gil would get a little healthier, play a little better, and improve his value. The news of the condition of his knee reveals that the Wizards actually sold high.

This is a sad revelation for all of us who enjoyed Zero Hero in his glory days. Perhaps it is only fitting that the aftermath of Gilbert Arenas in DC is bittersweet. 

(Image courtesy of blogs.orlandosentinel.com)

Better Than Watching The Caps and Wizards at Home - SB Nation Viewing Party

All you SB Nation (Bullets Forever and Japers Rink) readers may already know about this, but SB Nation is hosting a Wizards and Capitals viewing party at Mad Hatter near Dupont Circle on Tuesday. This is a great chance to watch both our teams with fellow fans, meet fellow bloggers, and tell me in person that I everything I write is idiotic. If that isn't enough, there are drink and food specials.

The Wizards will be playing the New Orleans Hornets on the road that night, and the Caps have Montreal at home. We'd love for you all to come out, get some discounted drinks and talk shop with your fellow Wizards and Caps fans.

Here are the details:

• What: Wizards/Capitals viewing party, sponsored by SB Nation D.C.
• Where: The Mad Hatter (1321 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC 20036)
• When: February 1, 7 p.m.  (The Wizards play at 8)
• Price: Free
• RSVP HERE
• Specials: From 7-8 p.m.: $3 Rail, $3 Bud/Bud Light/Alice Amber Draft (the house ale), $4.50 house wins, buy one appetizer get one free. From 8-closing: Half off all draft beers.

I look forward to seeing many of you all there!

Is Nick Young A Long Term Building Block for the Wizards?

The Washington Wizards are trying to win a championship. No, not this year, but maybe three years down the road. To that end, the only thing that matters this season is evaluating the current talent on hand and putting the pieces together for this dreamy future championship run.

My personal opinion is that this current roster has 3 guys  possibly worth keeping for the long-term: John Wall, JaVale McGee, and Nick Young. I can now hear you singing, "one of these things is not like the other, not like the other one...." Young Sushi is more than a DCLS favorite though, and his improvement this year has been more than enough to convince me that he is a keeper.

This post was triggered by an article from Kevin Broom the WaPo's Box Seats that calls Sushi "Fool's Gold." I was going to write a long rebuttal with tons of incredible research and witticisms, but Rook from Bullets Forever beat me to the punch.

The basic argument revolves around the following:

1. Whether his style of play could fit on a good team
2. Does he contribute anything outside of scoring, such as rebounds and assists and does he need to?
3. Defense
4. Whether Nick will still improve

1. Rook nails this on the head: Nick's current game is very similar to that of Rip Hamilton and Reggie Miller. He is scoring efficiently enough right now, and if Rip and Reggie could play on great teams as catch and shoot players, then so can Nick. As a matter of fact, Sushi's numbers since becoming a starter compare favorably to those of Rip's career, and do not look out of place next to Miller's.

2. With that in mind, Nick is clearly not a great rebounder or playmaker, but those facets of his game are improving. However, he is currently a slightly below average rebounder, but not an atrocious one, and recent evidence indicates that he may improve enough to be at least an average rebounder. He may never be elite, but he is at least acceptable. Although Nick is a historically bad passer, playmaking is a similar story to rebounding. He will never even be an 'average' passer, but his assist rate has risen recently to over 2 per game, which is not far behind the 3 apg of Reggie Miller and 3.5 apg of Rip Hamilton.

I actually think Nick's catch and shoot style is a good fit for him, because it removes playmaking responsibilities from him.

3. Nick's defense is great and while gaining some recognition, is still underrated. Everyone needs to stop being colored by his facial expression and demeanor and watch him play 1-on-1....he is excellent. Sure, his team defense is not amazing, but his defensive impact for every season of his career has been measured as excellent by metrics. To continue the comparison to Rip and Reggie, this one is no contest....Nick is the far superior defender to either of those guys.

4. Nick will definitely still improve. Rook astutely makes the point that Nick has only had a decent coach for about 2 years, and now has only gotten consistent minutes for about 20 games. I will go even further and say that Nick remolded his game from a slashing to catch and shoot, and is really only in his 2nd season of playing this new way. The jump from last season has been incredible, and it hard to see him not getting better when he is still young, and has only 20 starts under his belt. The only counterargument I can see is that he is taking bad shots but making them at what appears to be an unsustainable level. Even though he has kept this pace up for 20 or so games, Nick may revert back to making fewer of these tough shots. On the other hand, Nick may also learn to pick and choose his spots better, and take more efficient shots.....

The bottom line is then whether Nick is worth keeping, and I say yes. I think we have a rich man's Rip Hamilton on our hands, and although Rip won a title on an oddly constructed team, it is pretty clear that a player approximating Rip is a keeper and building block. Coming into this season I thought an improvement in Nick's ability to catch and shoot, coupled with his already great defense, would make him an excellent 6th man. It is safe to say that Nick has now surpassed those expectations and shown he can indeed be a starter on a very good team.

(Image courtesy of truthaboutit.net)

Let Me Show You How Exciting John Wall Is

While you were waiting for the posting to pick back up, I was busy doing some work with the website Thuuz (pronounced like I am en-THOOZ-iastic about Nick Young's 'Thriller' hair) on excitement statistics - you're damn right I just used excitement and statistics in the same sentence.

The site has developed an algorithm to measure the excitement of a sporting event. The main idea they have now is to let you know if a game you have DVR'ed is worth watching (without telling you the score), and when the best time is to start watching. The algorithm takes into account factors such as the game's pace, novelty, and how close the score is. The output is supposed to be the excitement an unbiased individual would get from the game.

They approached me back in November, after I wrote about the Wizards-Pistons game in Detroit for Bullets Forever. The game registered a perfect 100 score in the Thuuz system and it turns out that these guys can do a lot with the algorithm and statistics. I got them to do a breakdown of each player's contribution to the game's excitement. They have done their best work with basketball, but measure the excitement of other sports as well.

For the table below, the only heading needing explanation is 'Impact.' This is a measure of the number of plays a player makes that contribute directly to the game's outcome - I believe this is something close to points, assists, rebounds, etc. The reasoning behind this measure is that the excitement rating would not highly rate a player on a good team, because a team that increases their lead is boring, not exciting, so a measure is needed for these types of players. I hope that makes sense. Without further adieu, the numbers for the Wiz-Pistons game:

		Washington vs. Detroit			11/21/2010
Player	Play Time	Impact	Excitement	Impact/Minute	Excitement/Minute
Arenas	42.80	43	35.32	1.00	0.83
Hinrich	39.40	25	-2.95	0.63	-0.07
Thornton	31.32	17	-3.94	0.54	-0.13
Blatche	43.88	37	-19.97	0.84	-0.46
McGee	42.27	39	-42.98	0.92	-1.02
Armstrong	10.63	4	-14.10	0.38	-1.33
Young	30.68	20	5.92	0.65	0.19
Booker	9.15	4	0.99	0.44	0.11
Martin	14.67	9	-9.43	0.61	-0.64

Not surprisingly, Gil was the Wizards most impactful and exciting player. The interesting thing about this game though, is that John Wall did not play. So what happens when you add JWow to the mix? Fortunately, the Wiz played another game just 2 days later that also was a 100 on the excitement scale, this time with the Future. Here are the numbers:

		Philadelphia vs. Washington			11/23/2010
Player	Play Time	Impact	Excitement	Impact/Minute	Excitement/Minute
Arenas	41.98	21	114.67	0.50	2.73
Hinrich	34.85	21	58.08	0.60	1.67
Thornton	8.17	0	6.28	0.00	0.77
Blatche	42.70	37	62.35	0.87	1.46
McGee	45.85	61	22.88	1.33	0.50
Armstrong	5.45	1	-8.99	0.18	-1.65
Wall	35.93	33	135.84	0.92	3.78
Martin	6.40	1	12.74	0.16	1.99
Young	31.75	27	74.61	0.85	2.35
Booker	11.87	9	7.30	0.76	0.62

Granted, it was a huuuge game for JWow, but look at his excitement rating! This is only 1 game, but the bottom line is that Wall was the most exciting player from any team in either game. This also gives a nice little comparison of how the team looks in terms of impact with Wall on and off the court.  I obviously sat on this data way too long, and any comparison with Gil Arenas is now moot with him off the team. If you are wondering why the Wizards have more total excitement in the 76ers game, it is because the rest of the excitement is accounted for by the opposition, so the Wizards drove the excitement in game #2.

Thuuz is starting to do a lot more with all of their data, so I just wanted to give you a taste of what they do as I begin to post their data more regularly. I have discussed with them what types of stats and metrics would be most interesting and useful, so let me know any and all ideas. The next step is for Thuuz to get larger sample sizes for individual players so we can truly track who is exciting over the course of a season........that way we'll have proof when John Wall becomes the league's most exciting player.

Start Your Office Pools: When Will the Wizards Get Their First Road Win?

Oh and fifteen 

0-15

Zero for 15

29 games into the season, the Wizards are 7-22, holding worst record in the East, and 2nd-worst in the entire league ahead of only the 5-23 Kings (one of those 5 Kings wins was over the Wiz too). That is bad, but 0-15 on the road is a turd sandwich. For those of you curious, according to wikipedia, the worst road record ever also belongs to this franchise: the '53-'54 Baltimore Bullets went 0-20 on the road. What is it about changing that name back?

Eh, isn't 0-20 coming up soon?

This season has long been chalked up (down?) to rebuilding, so I say we should enjoy the futility while we can......with a pool! Pools are good for babies, March Madness, swimming, they never fail. The Wiz 'only' have 27 road games left, so get started!

Call me crazy, but I think the Wiz may actually win a road game soon, and I don't mean by the end of the season. We get the 76ers on January 5th, and have 2 of our 7 wins against them already, and then follow that game with a trip to Charlotte on the 8th, and then 8-24 Minnesota on the 13th. After that, our next good shot is February 13th against the Cavs, but that's the 2nd night of a back-to-back, so scratch that one. If we don't win one of the Philly, Charlotte, or T'Wolves games, then this could get very hairy very quickly.

Will we be favored in any of those games? Hell no! If anyone gets a pool going though, put me down for Philly.

(Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org)

The Wizards' Black Santa

Chanukah may have come a few hours early when word leaked that the Wizards and Magic are still discussing a trade involving Gilbert Arenas, aka the (2nd) worst contract in the league.

The Magic are tied for the best record in the East at 13-4 and appear to be a title contender as currently constructed, without making.......wait, I'll stop. Orlando feels the need to add another playmaker and apparently are leaving no stone unturned if they are considering a guy coming off of 2 knee surgeries and with 4 years and over $80 million left on his contract. Gil put on nice show against the Magic last week in what could have been his audition.

 Black Santa (aka Orlando Magic GM Otis Smith)

Let's be clear, the Wizards are in last place in the Eastern Conference, starting a rebuilding process, and need to get rid of Agent Zero Six Shooter Gilbert Arenas. Gil is not part of the future, is not a great mentor and/or leader for the youngsters, and his massive contract is a huge handicap. The problem is finding someone to take this albatross off of our hands. Almost any trade that involves Gil leaving DC would be a good one, as there is no contract (other than Joe Johnson's) that I wouldn't take back for his. 'Locker room cancer' Vince Carter and his contract with 1 year remaining for Gil? - Where do I sign up!?!

The rumored deal involves Gil and Andray Blatche from the Wiz, and some combination of Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, and Daniel Orton from the Magic. VC and Lewis cannot be in the trade together, as the Wiz have almost no way of matching both of their bloated salaries. The Wiz could take one of those 2 in any deal involving Arenas. Both have similar salaries, with the main difference being that VC has 1 year left on his deal, and Lewis has 3.

VC for Gil is a no-brainer. VC could be the worst possible player to put on a young team, and I would consider just sending VC home for the season to keep him away from the youngsters and then creating a pool of coins in the summer with the 3 years of savings from Gil's contract.

Lewis for Gil is a closer match, but again, something the Wizards have to do as it cuts 1 year off of Gil's contract. I do hesitate here though, as Gil is the superior player and Lewis is aging quickly so may be impossible to move before his contract is up in 3 years, whereas Gil actually could play well enough that we could get rid of him in under 3 seasons.

Then there is the twist with the Magic wanting Andray Blatche. 7 Day Dray hasn't had a great season, not taking the step forward we'd hoped for, and saying his defense has been disinterested would be kind. That said, he is still only 24 and has a very reasonable contract that runs for 5 more years. He does not look like a long term answer for the Wizards, but he still has trade value. Not only that, but his value is about as low as it can be right now.

Orton would be a nice young guy to add in the deal (I also would like Ryan Anderson), but Blatche is more valuable. If the deal is Gil and Blatche for Lewis and Orton, then we are basically giving up Blatche for 1 less year of Gil's contract, and I think that is a steep price. VC and Orton for Gil and Blatche is a much tougher call, with the bottom line being whether the Wiz are willing to give up Blatche to cut 3 years off of Gil's contract.

I think the Wizards have to make the VC deal, as there may not be many other chances to get rid of Gil's contract. But I hope the Wiz can find a way to do this without including Andray. From the perspective of the Magic, the extra years on Gil's deal may not matter much, as their roster is relatively set for the next few years. They also have little use for Blatche. Grunfeld will need to do some smooth talking to make this happen, or Black Santa will have to feel particularly giving.

While I wait for Black Santa to make my holiday season, I will do the rest of my shopping in Allen Iverson's eBay shop. 

(Image courtesy of www.cbc.ca, salary info courtesy of ESPN's NBA Trade Machine)

John Wall Wishes he Had What Lester Hudson Has

6 games, 1 almost triple-double, and one kind of almost quadruple-double. I think it's safe to say John Wall is adapting to the NBA pretty well.

For those of you who aren't watching Wall, he is must-see TV. The Gamechanger couldn't be more appropriate. He has had his downs, but he has also been the dominant player in 2 of his 6 games, which not-coincidentally are also the only 2 wins the Wizards have so far.

But tonight was special. Wall was everywhere, just a constant pest on defense while controlling everything on offense. His final line: 19 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 6 steals, and 1 turnover. Yes, that is a triple-double, and 4 steals away from a quadruple-double. Trust me, those 4 steals seemed very obtainable the way Wall was playing, but even so, I thought he'd have to be as close as almost anyone has ever come to a quadruple-double.

I did some research and there have been 4 quadruple-doubles in NBA history, and one as recently as 1994. I am surprised there have been that many and even more surprised that 8 guys have come within 1 assist, rebound, or steal of the feat. Larry Bird is one of those 8, and in that performance sat out the 4th quarter!, wow. Hakeem Olajuwon is 1 assist away from having performed the feat twice. Good lord. So maybe John Wall's night wasn't that special.

I did a little more digging and there has only been 1 quadruple-double ever recorded in Men's Div. 1 NCAA basketball. No, not Pistol Pete, Shaq, Oscar Robinson, etc......Lester freaking Hudson. Yes, the same Lester Hudson who occupies the end of the lowly Wizards bench.Of all people...

Lester Preparing for His Role in the NBA

So much for Wall's night being historic other than being the 3rd youngest player to record a triple-double, and 6th fastest player to do it in terms of games played. More importantly though, Wall was electric and clearly looked capable of being the superstar the Wiz need. There will be more triple-doubles and wins to come, and at the rate Wall dishes assists and collects steals, a quadruple-double at some point isn't such a crazy possibility.

(Wall image courtesy of washingtonpost.com, Hudson image courtesy of celticsblog.com)

The New John Wall Dance

I've seen this video of John Wall spontaneously dancing at the NBA rookie photo shoot on a couple other other blogs, but not with the importance of the episode truly appreciated:

I've watched the video several times in the most creepy way possible, and I think John Wall might just have a new dance. That thing he does with the hand behind the head, a la Deion Sanders, with the other hand waving in front of his face, a la Deshawn Stevenson, just might be the new John Wall Dance.

He already has his own shoe, shot, and dance, but just when it seemed John Wall had it all, he done did it again with those fresh moves. My friend's girlfriend also said he's a good dancer, so he's that going for himself too.....

John Wall: Will You Marry Me?

I'll try not to get too carried away, but John Wall is off and running after carrying the Wizards to a 4-0 record in summer league (he sat for the 5th game that we lost) and being named the Most Outstanding Player in the Vegas Summer League Tournament. Wall got it done statistically, with his 23.5 ppg and 7.8 apg leading the league, in the W column with a perfect record, and most importantly in the leadership and maturity category. While a lot of you might be excited that he won an ESPY for best male collegiate athlete (despite not even being the best in his own sport......sorry, Evan Turner was better), you may not know that Wall skipped the ESPYs to practice. In Wall's words,

"Basically I don't want to miss practice or anything like that, feel like I'm bigger than anybody," Wall said Wednesday afternoon. "The ESPYs were a great chance, I would love to be there, but there's more time down the future to get there. Right now I'm a rookie, so I need to be with my teammates, trying to get better every chance that I can. If I would have left, then they maybe would have looked where I was or I asked where I was. It wouldn't have been the right place and the right situation. So I told the ESPN people thanks for the nominations, and thank God, but I had this and this is more important. This is my job. That comes secondary to what I'm trying to do."

Wall clearly knows his role as a leader and his #1 priority is becoming the most valuable player he can be. I am not sure man-crush goes far enough to describe how I feel about this. Marry my sister? Marry me? I mean seriously, it's summer league practice! What 19-year old passes up parties, beautiful women, and fun for a morning summer league practice?!? The last face of Reebok clearly would have made the ESPYs.

Seriously! Not a game, we talkin' about practice. Maybe you can blame the scheduling, but Wall's maturity was echoed throughout the games; he just isn't wired the same way as other guys. As Bullets Forever noticed, in the 2nd game of the summer league, Wall scolded Javale McGee after a nice fadeaway jump hook because the Veil of Cashmere didn't throw down a dunk on Wall's initial lob, and later gave Young Sushi no love for hitting dumb 3-pointer. You would think that 3 years in the league would give McGee and Young Sushi a huge maturity edge over the 19-year old, but Wall is the one who 'gets it'. He is already the best player in the Vegas Summer League, but knows he has a lot to learn, recognizing that he expects more from himself. Not only does he continue to emphasize a need to improve and learn in every interview, but he is showing a high basketball IQ, and strong leadership qualities.

I know, he had a lot of turnovers, a 4-19 game, and Marco Bellinelli torched summer league, but Wall is going to be great. I never had concerns about his upside, but seeing and hearing how he is wired is something special. Kobe and MJ have a competitive drive and view towards basketball that is different from other players and that is why they are both so great. I am not sure that Wall has the competitive at all costs mentality of those two, but he clearly is wired in a way that makes him more likely to reach his potential than almost any other player in the NBA. I knew we had something special on our hands when we won the lottery, but didn't realize how special.

(Image courtesy of 3.bp.blogspot.com)

ESPN Knows DC is The Most Depressing Sports City

I already posted on this subject on Bullets Forever, but ESPN released their Ultimate Team Standings for 2010 a few days ago and the results are about as nice as today's 106-degree weather for DC. For those who haven't heard of these 'Standings' before, ESPN ranks every pro franchise across the four major American sports yearly, 1-122, by using using a nationwide survey to determine aspects of a franchise such as 'affordability', 'fan relations' and 'winning titles'.

I didn't notice this article posted online before receiving my ESPN The Magazine, and like any DC sports fan, had the following reactions when I saw the Standings mentioned on the cover:

• I know my teams suck, and don't need rankings to tell me they suck
• Because my teams suck, I have no desire to skip to the rankings

To top it off, once I got to the rankings, I automatically scanned downward to work from the bottom-up to find the DMV teams. You know your teams suck when you start from the bottom and it didn't take long to find our boys......the Nationals, Orioles, Redskins, and Wizards come in at #s 94, 102, 105, and 120......out of 122 teams! Fortunately, the Caps are #11, and as we all already know, the 1 shining light in the DMV these days.

On the surface, nothing really surprised me except that the Wizards are below the Redskins. But reflecting on having 4 of our 5 teams be in the bottom 28 made me realize how jaded I have become. Seriously, I know we have Strasburg, and used to have Matt Wieters and Fat Albert Haynesworth (nope, still pissing me off, nevermind), but all of these teams are depressingly bad and have no championship in site. I already figured we are the worst sports city at this point when you consider the number of awful teams, and this ranking only furthers the notion.

What about Cleveland or Atlanta you say? Ha! The only city on the list to rival DC is actually NYC. The Knicks, Mets, Rangers, Giants, and Yankees, and Jets finished at 119, 107, 104, , 66, 62, and 50. I realize that the Caps pull our average ranking above that of any NYC combo, but our bottom 4 is worse, and the only reason NYC teams are so low is because of 'affordability'. Sure, I prefer that my team is affordable, but winning trumps everything and the Giants and Yankees have recent titles, and the Rangers won one about the same time as the last major DMV sports team. Making things worse is that the 'shining light of DC', the Caps, gave the DMV a collective kick in the balls by losing in the 1st round of the playoffs.

Maybe Shanahan turns things around in Ashburn, maybe Leonsis can do for the Wizards what he did for the Caps, maybe Pitching Jesus can carry the Nats, and maybe the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays will cease to exist for the sake of the Orioles. For now though, there can't even be much of a debate that we are the most depressed sports city in the country.

(Images courtesy of deadspin.com and ryanberding.com)

Welcome To DC, John Wall (The Superfan Video)

There's a video that's been making its way 'round the interwebz since Thursday, welcoming Wizards No. 1 overall pick John Wall to D.C.

That video can be found on NBA.com and, needless to say, is interesting, professionally done, and features several famous DC personalities.

That's great and all, but I'm a sucker for unintentional comedy. And on the unintentional comedy scale, these three super fans' home video might just take the cake.

Welcome to DC, John Wall.

Wizards Draft Hangover

I have been getting asked about my take on the NBA draft a lot today, and a lot of people seem to think I was trying to give myself some time digest the flurry of activity from last night before posting..........not true. I was busy celebrating a great day for the Wizards by having I lost count how many John Wall Shots. Usually when a man drinks something blue and is not at the beach, questions are asked; but if wanting to spend the rest of my life around John Wall is wrong, then I don't want to be right. For those of you particularly interested, the bar I was at had to use blueberry vodka, sour mix, sprite, and maybe something else to make the shots blue. They tasted like Kool-Aid.

Round 1 of I lost count how many

My general takes on draft prospects are on Bullets Forever, with the disclosure that I watched fewer college basketball prospects this year than I can remember, so don't have the usual cutting insights (phenomenal work from last year if I do say so, other than calling it the WDE).

As far as the Wizards, I have been hearing almost nothing but complaining, but we can't forget that what really matters in the big picture is that we got Wall. As Chad Ford pointed out in his chat with Sports Guy earlier this week, each draft has 5 stars and 5 starters, and everyone else is either out of the league or just a rotation player. I know there are plenty examples of late picks turning into gold, but generally speaking, the draft is about getting a star. Wall's development is infinitely more important to this franchise than those of all the other guys we drafted our could have drafted combined. And in conclusion, we got Wall!

That Wizards hat does look good on him...

At first, I hated the Kirk Hinrich trade, but now do not see it as a problem. To be clear, we acquired Hinrich, who will be paid $9 million this year and $8 million next year, the 17th pick, and $3 million cash money for a future 2nd-rounder. All these media people are throwing around that the Wizards paid $17 million for the 17th pick and Oklahoma City paid only $2 million, but this is not exactly the case. Firstly, OKC traded the 32nd pick for the 18th, in addition to taking on Daequan Cook. Although this draft looks short on star power, it is definitely a deep one, and with the NBA finances likely tightening, the 2nd pick of the 2nd round is an extremely valuable asset. The future 2nd rounder that the Wizards gave up is significantly less valuable. Then there is the fact that $17 MILLION sounds insane, but the Wizards have plenty of cap space this season that they do not need, so the $9 million this year should not even be considered by anyone other than Ted Leonsis, as he is the one paying that money out his own pocket. The issue is all about 2 years from now, when we will be paying Hinrich again and will want as much cap flexibility as possible. The question really is whether Hinrich's contract will prevent us from making any move we want in the summer of 2011. Yes, there is a salary cap, but we can exceed it by paying a luxury tax and Leonsis is clearly okay with taking financial hits to help the team. Even if there is a situation where Hinrich's deal pushes us into luxury tax territory, then you must consider the $3 million cash we received. That money with interest, can account for us going about $2 million over the cap. That may have been confusing, but for all intents and purposes, Hinrich is only really being paid $6 million in 2011, which is not considerably more than some random Joe Blow. This is not to mention the fact that Hinrich will be 'Hinrich's expiring contract in the summer of 2011. Just ask yourself, will Hinrich's contract be what is preventing us from making a move? The answer is clearly no, although I envy Leonsis for being filthy rich enough to pay that kind of contract.

Hinrich as a player I actually think could be a nice fit next to John Wall in the '2 guard offense'. The only part of this I don't like is that I would rather have a young guy with some upside as our 3rd guard. Hinrich will cut into Young Sushi's minutes, and may force to Wizards to not re-sign Shaun Livingston. I think the success of the deal may hinge on whether Livingston leaves and if so, how he performs. Overall though I think the deal is neither good or bad, but just okay.

The Kevin Seraphin pick at #17 is fine by me as well. I have honestly not seen him play 1 second of basketball, but have heard that he's raw and possibly comparable to Serge Ibaka. My concern is that Seraphin sounds like he moved up draft boards because of Ibaka's success, which is one of those irrational ideas that leads to bad draft decisions. Ibaka's development has little or no relation to that of Seraphin. That said, Mike Prada of Bullets Forever heard from sources that Seraphin is the 'real deal' and could be here as early as next season. I don't particularly mind him spending another year in Europe, as the Wizards have a large amount of minutes accounted for thanks to Gil, Wall, Andray Blatche, and Javale McGee. With 4 picks, I have no problem with one of them staying overseas for a year. That said, the Wizards need to know what they have, and we won't know until Seraphin starts playing in the NBA. Again though, I am perfectly fine with this pick and will trust the pros.

The Trevor Booker selection and trade are where I start to wonder what the hell Ernie Grunfeld and co. were doing. I have a small problem with the selection, and a major one with the trade. I have seen him play and he was the entire Clemson team last year, seriously, but lacks great athleticism and thus has little upside. He was productive though, and has a good shot as a rotation guy. I would have preferred Damion James, who is by most accounts the better prospect, and fills a need at SF. Jordan Crawford and Daniel Orton were also still on the board and considered better prospects. I think the Wizards are in a position where we can draft best talent available that is not a PG, but I am not gaga over any of these guys. Maybe Booker proves us wrong, which is why I don't have a huge issue, although I personally would have taken James or Crawford.

The trade is the baffling part. From everything us outsiders know, Booker would have been available at #30 or even #35; Chad Ford's final mock draft had him going #44! We could have kept our 2 picks and still gotten Booker and a better prospect than Hamady Ndiaye. Even if the Wizards knew something we don't, and Booker went before #30, then we could have had our choice of 2 of the following: Lance Stephenson, Tiny Gallon, Terrico White, Darrington Hobson, Jarvis Varnado, Devin Ebanks, Solomon Alabi, or Stanley Robinson (and Hassan Whiteside was available at #30). Even if Booker and Ndiaye turns out to be great, this deal may not be a good one.

As far as Ndiaye is concerned, I do not know much about him, even though I watch a ton of Big East basketball as a Georgetown fan. He was Chad Ford's #79 ranked prospect, but I don't see a lot of other guys who excite me other than Stanley Robinson.

This draft also caps what has been a rough year for Ernie: the awful draft pick trade of 2010 when we could have taken Rubio or Stephen Curry, trading away Jamison and Butler for little in return, and now apparently botching the #30 and #35 picks of the draft. Overall though, Grunfeld will look good because we lucked into John freaking Wall, and that's the way we should all come away from tonight. Sure, Leonsis' wallet is taking a hit, and we could have guys with a better potential to make our rotation and have trade value, but we got the Great Wall and that is why I had one glorious hangover today - one that might even inspire me to buy some blue vodka.

(John Wall image courtesy of foxnews.com)

Wizards Biggest Win Since 1978

The Wizards won the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery. They had a 10% chance (5th best odds). That means that something unexpected and good happened to DC sports, instead of predictable and bad. I am speechless. Thus the short sentences and lack of exclamation points. John Wall, welcome to DC.

Do You Remember April 18, 2006?

You probably don't, and I don't blame you.

So I was sitting in the bar with my buddy from Boston last night watching the Celtics wrap up Game 1 with the Cavs, and this comes out of his mouth in my direction:

"Celts waan, B's waan, Sax waan. Great frickin' day fa Baaaaston spaarts."

Translation:

"The Celtics and Bruins are doin' work in the postseason, the best is yet to come for the Red Sox, and you can go screw yourself."

I was so jealous. The Caps and Wizards are currently working on their short games and, while the Nats have been a pleasant surprise thus far and appear to be on the right track, they aren't exactly championship material.

So I got to thinking: when was the last time the Nats, Wizards, and Caps all won on the same day? Scheduling presents obvious obstacles - barring playoff runs by both hockey and basketball teams, the three would only have a few weeks at the beginning of the baseball season to simultaneously emerge victorious. I did a little research and found the answer.

I guess the title of this post is what you'd call a spoiler, but you got it: April 18, 2006. The winningest day in DC professional sports in the last five years.

Wizards: Gilbert Arenas scored 43 points and added 5 assists and 4 steals as the Wizards beat the Bucks, 116-103, inching closer to clinching that "coveted" 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. Why is coveted in quotes? Because the 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers were waiting, and we all know how that went. Still, it's funny to read the AP recap's theory at the time: "Fifth is important because no one wants to face one of the top three seeds when Cleveland, returning to the playoffs after an eight-year absence, is an available opponent at No. 4."

Nationals: Ryan Church (OMG, flashback) went 2 for 5 with a HR and 4 RBI, Ryan Zimmerman went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, and Tony Armas, Jr. (OMG, flashback) pitched 6 solid innings as the Nats beat the Phillies, 10-3. The Nats pulled to 5-9 on the season with the victory and would end the year 71-91.

Capitals: The final game of the season for the Caps was a doozy, beating the playoff bound Tampa Bay Lightning - the defending Stanley Cup Champs, no less - by a score of 4-1. Alex Ovechkin wrapped up his Rookie of the Year campaign with his 54th assist of the season, putting him at 106 points. Also picking up points on the night? A few of these should elicit a chuckle or two: Jeff Halpern, Brian Willsie, Ben Clymer, Nolan Yonkman, Brooks Laich, Steve Eminger, Dainus Zubrus, and Matt Bradley.

***

So there you have it. Not quite the greatest day in DC sports history. Nope, not even close. But perhaps the most complete in quite some time.

And finally, to answer the question on all your minds, April 18, 1025, was also the day that Bolesław I Chrobry was crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.

Now What?

The slow slog of summer has begun approximately 1.5 months too soon. If you're an insane person like me, you had carved out much of your free time for the next six weeks to allow for fretting by day and watching Caps games by night. I actually planned a bachelor party around the potential dates of the Stanley Cup Parade. So I'm feeling pretty empty right now.

Bill Simmons tweeted before Game 7: "If the Caps blow Game 7, DC vaults past Seattle for Most Depressed Sports City honors." I'd say the crown fits. Wouldn't you?

So, what do we have to look forward to until Redskins training camp begins the miserable cycle of DC sports seasons anew? Here's the quick rundown:

Washington Capitals
June 25-26 draft. Perhaps an exciting trade in the works? I'm thinking sign-and-trade Fleischmann for a bale of hay.

July 1: Free agency begins. Probably gone: Shaone Morrissonn, Brendan Morrison, Joe Corvo, Scott Walker. Possibly gone: Eric Belanger. Hopefully re-signed: Boyd Gordon, Eric Fehr, Jeff Schultz. Hopefully newly signed: Free agent stay-at-home and make-yourself-at-home-in-DC Russian defenseman Anton Volchenkov no later than 12:01 AM July 1.

Other potential intrigue: The kids (including American Hero John Carlson, future blueline fixture Karl Alzner, future next-Dale-Hunter Stefan Della Rovere, future 2nd line center Mattieu Perrault and potential future goalie Braden Holtby) go for a second straight Calder Cup championship with Hershey.


Washington Redskins
Endless RI posts falsely boosting our hopes and dreams for the Shanahan era. They've already started: "Redskins Receivers Should Have Great Success In Shanahan's Scheme." Anyone who buys into posts like this, I have a sex-switching unicorn I'd like to sell you.

Other potential intrigue: The Haynesworth saga: Will he stay or will he go?


Washington Nationals
They're currently above .500. They have good chemistry or something. They also have a pretty big NEGATIVE RED run differential, a sure sign they're in for a fall. Most exciting thing to look forward to: Strasburg's late July call-up. It's only a matter of time before Bodog posts a prop-bet on the over/under date for that inevitable happening. When it does, I'm putting all of my current liquid assets (approximately $312.43 plus a coupon for a free coffee) on the under.

Other potential intrigue: Bumbling ownership group and team President Stan Kasten - what new travesty of mismanagement can they think of next?


Baltimore Orioles
Most recently, they swept the sorry Boston Red Sox. 7-19 and climbing! Wieters is pretty good but not quite savior-esque...yet. Roberts is injured (he's getting old, totally predictable), Jones and Markakis are barely hitting and our best player (Ty Wigginton) is a free-agent cast-off whose hot streak will inevitably end. The AL East crown is theirs to lose.

I'm watching closely the progress of the O's future ace, lefty Brian Matusz. Dude is awesome (3-1 K/BB ratio, 1.34 whip, I think that's good). Rookie of the Year type stuff. I have a man-crush. You should too.

Other potential intrigue: When will the rest of the Cavalry arrive? Chris Tillman just pitched a no-hitter down in AAA. Rad.


Washington Wizards
Ironically, the team I'm least interested in owing to their perpetual sorry state and the waste of time that is rooting for a non-Lebron/Kobe/Howard/Wade/Durant/Duncan NBA team, will provide us with the most interesting moment this summer: the NBA DRAFT LOTTERY!! Where hopes and dreams of NBA teams are either made or shattered for the next decade. Consensus #1 pick John Wall is a franchise-changer in the mold of Dwyane Wade, but with a sweeter high school highlight video and more easily rappable name for Wale to throw into a verse. The Wiz have a 10.3% chance of getting the #1 overall pick.

Barring this miracle, apparently the Wizards have more free agent money than originally thought. That's a nice Plan B in case hinging our entire hopes and dreams on a 1 in 10 chance falls through. I bet they sign LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant and Joba Chamberlain.

Other potential intrigue: New owner Ted Leonsis changing the uniforms and/or team name back to the red, white and blue? Man do I hope so...probably too soon. Leonsis is too savvy to trample all over a DC icon like Abe Pollin before it's time. But 93% of fans want it and Leonsis is a man of the people so it's happening sooner or later.

***

It's going to be a long summer. In the meantime, enjoy The Human Centipede.

The Best DC Sports Nicknames

With Trent "Silverback" Williams joining the Skins and generating a lot of buzz about his nickname, I thought it was high time to rank the top nicknames amongst all DC sports figures. This list is completely arbitrary, but I think the key factors of a good nickname are:

-Likeability
-Humor
-Widespread usage
-Originality

Please note that I do not think deservedness of the nickname should be taken into account, and that each nickname is considered on its own, so one player could have more than one nickname on the list.

10) Smokin' (Al Koken): I say sportscasters count, and this is a classic. My favorite thing about it is that he now just says 'Smokin' Al', without the part that rhymes. That's when you know you've made it....

9) Silverback (Trent Williams): Solid, likeable, and will likely be widespread very soon. A black man choosing a nickname related to a gorilla though could lead to some awkward situations, so I can't put this one any higher. That and he hasn't played an NFL snap yet.

8) Young Sushi (Nick Young): Not widespread, but original and funny. You also don't know me very well if you didn't think I would promote the nickname we first publicized.

7) Jizz (Alexander Semin): Umm, hysterical? For an extensive list of Caps nicknames, visit Japers Rink.

6) Agent Zero/Six Shooter (Gilbert Arenas): Agent Zero is one of the most widespread real nicknames (not fake ones like KG or D-Wade) and is original. However, he has changed to #6 for this season so the nickname may fade from prominence. I think Six Shooter has a lot of potential though.

5) The Predator (Chris Horton): Badass, but undeserved, although maybe he can 're-earn' the nickname when he inevitably plays his trade in the CFL.

4) Mr. Nasty (Jeff Schultz): Great, but not entirely original (remember the Nasty Boys with the Cincinnati Reds?).

3) Game Over (Mike Green): This one is undeserved, but is original and badass. Although this will continue to make me angry until next April.

2) Captain Chaos (Chris Cooley): I actually met Cooley after a game and asked about the nickname and he said he hates it, which is probably why it lost some of its popularity.

1) The Russian Machine (Alexander Ovechkin): Perfect, just perfect.

Honorable Mention:

• Baseball Jesus (Matt Wieters): Not widespread and Jesus would probably slug over .400.
• The Professor (Matt Bradley): Cool, but not quite as good as those of some of his teammates.
• Wookie/Chewy (Stephon Heyer): Courtesy of his Redskin teammates.
• Real American Hero (John Carlson): This one is great, but too long and not widespread.
• Pudge (Ivan Rodriguez): A classic nickname, but Pudge does not feel like a true DC athlete given that he will likely only be here 1 year.
• Hibachi (Gilbert Arenas): This would have made the list a year ago.......
  
• Mean Lars (Nicklas Backstrom): Solid nickname, but not as cool or exciting as others.
• Magnum Z.I. (Ryan Zimmerman): Interesting, but not widely used. "Pete Franchise" is another one of his, but he needs something better.
  
• Coach Kevlar (Mike Shanahan): Coach nicknames aren't exciting.
• The Undertaker (George McPhee): GM nicknames are even less exciting.
• Double-Move (Carlos Rogers): I kid, I kid.

The list suffers from the recent losses of Tuff Juice (Caron Butler) and Cybertawn (Antawn Jamison), but is still pretty awesome. The Skins have a lot of untapped potential, but the Caps are picking up the slack. Let me know your thoughts, is anyone missing from the list?

(Image courtesy of brokenmystic.files.wordpress.com)