D.C. Sports Bog: December 10, 2006 - December 16, 2006
The Microfiber Ball Will Be Preserved!
In video games! Lemme explain. When co-worker David Betancourt decided to write about the Gil-Zeros making an appearance in NBA Live, he also mentioned that the new ball was prominently featured in this year's game. Problem is, the new ball is going the way of Gheorghe Muresan: you'll always remember...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 15, 2006; 3:27 PM ET |
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NBA
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Question: Should the National Anthem "Oh!" be Retired?
Wednesday's Wizards game actually provided a great jumping off point for this long-simmering debate. James Earl Jones was on hand to recite the National Anthem. When he got to "Oh say does that" etc., a few people sort of softly ventured the traditional "Oh!," but not too many. I guess...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 15, 2006; 11:23 AM ET |
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Wizards
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Daniel Snyder: Here's How You Buy a Championship (Plus, More Agent Zero t-shirts!)
Or, here's how you buy a championship ring, anyhow. Longtime Bog reader Todd noticed that for a minimum bid of $12,499.99, plus $79.99 for shipping, you can get involved in an eBay auction for a 1978 Bullets championship ring. The seller says the ring belonged to Bruce Benjamin, a young...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 15, 2006; 10:43 AM ET |
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Wizards
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What You Need to Know
A Wizznut, unmasked!!!!! (Story on "Agent Zero" origins written by Dave McKenna, a neighbor and hero of mine.) And help them choose a name for Gil's new child. And the Wiz web site is using banner "Agent Zero" headline right now. The Wiz haven't beaten Miami since April of 2003,...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 15, 2006; 9:33 AM ET |
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What You Need to Know
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What You Need to Know
On assignment for the Food section, but will be back with at least one more item later on....
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Dan Steinberg
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December 14, 2006; 10:34 AM ET |
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Gilbert Doesn't Want to Switch Balls
Poor David Stern. Switching back to the leather basketball was supposed to make everybody happy. Gilbert Arenas? Not necessarily happy. "It's so funny because I touch the old ball and I'm like 'Man, what is this?' Gil said last night. "You know, it's so funny, we all complained about the...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 14, 2006; 10:17 AM ET |
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Wizards
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"I Was Blessed:" The Goat Story
"I was blessed," Caps Superfan Goat told me Monday night. "Some people were born rich. Some people were born good looking. Me, I was born loud." This has TV movie written all over it, right? So Goat is actually William Stilwell. He does graphic design for a gaming company in...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 14, 2006; 8:28 AM ET |
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Caps
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Euro-Style Supporters at Caps Game
(Note the PC title.....no longer calling them Barra Brava, now calling them Euro-Style Supporters. And seriously, someone get that StikSav guy from the Caps message board to e-mail me. He's gotten in my head. I've been asking my boss about becoming a copy editor again.) Anyhow, this video is based...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 13, 2006; 4:04 PM ET |
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Caps
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D.C. United
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Local Top 11 Hoops Poll, additional pithy comments
The crush of pithy comments about our Local Top 11 came to me on what was sort of a bad day, and I ignored them for 48 hours. But, as I noted last time, I'm never one to turn down a free post, so here goes. Next week I'll do...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 13, 2006; 3:54 PM ET |
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College Basketball
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Wiz Video Game Scoops
Co-worker David Betancourt made a video game discovery that led to a guest blog invitation. The results follow. David earns nothing more than the glory of being a Bog co-author. I earn an hour to sit around drinking iced tea. David writes: While playing a game of NBA Live on...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 13, 2006; 2:22 PM ET |
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Wizards
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Wizards Wear Santa Hats
Since my photo production process takes too long (entirely my fault), I didn't have these Wiz photos when I posted my very very long entry on the Wiz Party Bus last night. So I'll make up for that now. Caron Butler seized control of this camera and went on a...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 13, 2006; 12:29 PM ET |
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Wizards
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Caps Urinal Cakes and Caps Fan Celebrities
So after the Caps lost to the Pens in that shootout Monday night, I caught up with a group of local sports celebrities in the Verizon concourse. The group included Caps superfan Goat, Goat's sister Elenora, La Barra Brava's Duffman (the leader of the Caps' yet-to-be-named-but-still-very-much-alive European-style supporters group), fellow...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 13, 2006; 12:03 PM ET |
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Caps
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What You Need to Know
Joe Gibbs was not in a car crash, hyperventilation notwithstanding. At least one player says he's burned out from offseason workouts; a columnist calls the D.C. media "milquetoast" and the Skins "the Paris Hilton of hype," whatever that means; the milquetoast media points out that Gregg Williams's defense never makes...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 13, 2006; 9:24 AM ET |
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The Rest of the Party Bus Story
So, first of all, when I mentioned that Kisha Bailey at Prize Patrol Stop No. 1 wasn't willing to say the Wiz had saved Christmas, I didn't mean that as a shot at the Wiz. They weren't claiming they were saving Christmas. They were just showing up around town today...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 7:02 PM ET |
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Wizards
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Good Bye, Water Warrior, Good Bye
Nick Rimando was in the Giant buying wrapping paper when he got the call from his agent, who said he'd been traded to Real Salt Lake. Not that it was any great shock. He'd asked for a trade, after all. There were all sorts of rumors. He thought Kansas City...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 4:23 PM ET |
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D.C. United
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Wizards Party Bus Rolls On
Well, this is possibly the fastest moving story I've ever covered in my life. Gotta be quick here. A little while ago, the Wizardsmobile rolls up to its first Prize Patrol stop, somewhere near Bolling Air Force base, bearing Christmas gifts. One of those clowns-pouring-out-of-the-car sequences ensues, with Caron Butler,...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 2:16 PM ET |
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Wizards
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Wizards Stakeout
There's about a 30 percent chance that I arrived at the first house too late and missed the Wizards Prize Patrol. The neighborhood is quiet, except for a large crew sucking leaves into giant tubes. D.C. leaf-sucking vehicles keep appearing from every direction, and I keep mistaking them for the...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 1:13 PM ET |
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Wizards
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Further Poetry
HaikuMan has disappeared, but no mind; he's inspired something special. I can virtually guarantee that if Internet clicks were based on the annual number of Freddy-Adu-has-been-traded sonnets, this would be the most popular blog in the world. Etan would be proud. Etan has nothing on Bryan76 or ouij. (Emilie Sommer...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 12:01 PM ET |
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Poetry
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The Wizards Prize Patrol Hits D.C.
Overly cynical print and blog journalists tend to stick pro sports' teams charity operations at the bottom of their end-of-story notes, but not me, not when "The Wizardmobile" is involved. After practice this morning, Caron Butler, Jarvis Hayes, Brendan Haywood, Antawn Jamison, Michael Ruffin and Etan Thomas are scheduled to...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 11:23 AM ET |
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Wizards
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Local Polling in a Basketball Wasteland
After the George-related madness of last season, I figured now was the perfect time to tap into Mid-Atlantic college basketball fervor with a local basketball poll. In the final Coaches' Poll last season, you'll recall, George Mason, Georgetown and GW were all ranked in the top 20. There were 17...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 10:49 AM ET |
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College Basketball
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What You Need to Know
The Skins could set a record for fewest turnovers in a 16-game season, Gibbs repeatedly says he expects Big Al and Double G to be back and promises "nonstop" work in the offseason, Jason Campbell faces many ticket requests, Betts's decision to stay put was about security for both sides...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 12, 2006; 9:29 AM ET |
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Wizards Discuss Ovie and Crosby, Endorse Ginger Ale
(If you want to come see Crosby and Ovechkin tonight, there are about 3,000 seats still available. Remarkable.) So the Wizards conduct their post-practice interviews in a little hallway outside their locker room. The Caps often use that same hallway to exit the arena. They often walk past Wizards while...
By
Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 5:02 PM ET |
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Caps
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Vegas Ranks Local Hoops Teams
Now that I'm best friends with Las Vegas Sports Consultants, they've agreed to supply us with monthly power rankings for the 27 Narrowly Defined Mid-Atlantic DI hoops teams (those located in MD/VA/DC). Background: LVSC provides opening lines to the majority of the sports books in Las Vegas. I published the...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 3:31 PM ET |
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College Basketball
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Local Top 11 Hoops Poll Results, Short Version
To any newcomers, this poll is the work of amateur voters and professional journalists, who are pooling their collective wisdom to pass judgment on the 27 Division I men's college basketball teams in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. Some factual updates: 1) We had 66 voters this week, seven more...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 3:02 PM ET |
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College Basketball
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Poetry Slam Entries: Where Is HaikuMan?
A few early sonnet entries from people who clearly have a lot of time on their hands. Or who really want cheap giveaway t-shirts. Please, continue to send em along. I'll find extra cheap t-shirts from somewhere or other. Also, please admit that the second quatrain of this one, by...
By
Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 1:28 PM ET |
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Poetry
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Barra Brava Come Downtown
Friday night, as incessantly promoted here, D.C. United fans came en masse to a Caps game. They stood and screamed and sang. Virtually non-stop. I left horribly depressed. Why? Fans didn't seem to appreciate the Barra. Because they were, you know, cheering. At a sporting event. Go figure. "They're screaming...
By
Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 12:08 PM ET |
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Caps
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Really? Another Steve Czaban Entry?
Since Unsilent is so happy about seeing Chick Hernandez, or at least someone claiming to be Chick, over at NFL FanHouse, I figured I should post something I should have posted last week. See, Jack was worried that Czabe might have been offed last night, like so: Perhaps Czar Danny,...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 11:37 AM ET |
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Redskins
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What You Need to Know
Previously Local No. 1 Maryland has a chance to steal an ACC win on the road, but it doesn't happen, as BC "swatmeister" Sean Williams dominates inside. No. 6 Virginia Tech whacks App. State, which didn't score for nearly 15 minutes. Loyola gets a nice win at Manhattan, and JMU...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 9:15 AM ET |
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Bog Poetry Slam
Just in case you've missed this..... Haiku Man, a legendary poster from the LaCa blog, shows up last week talking his usual junk: Know Skins' season done When I read 'bout pucks, soccer Must expand sports mind. I think this is just great, and I'll do anything in my power...
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Dan Steinberg
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December 11, 2006; 8:07 AM ET |
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Redskins
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