I linked to the story earlier, but now there's video of the incident thanks to WL. During a World Team Tennis match, McEnroe got upset with a shot by Washington’s Leander Paes. The shot hit his teammate, Robert Kendrick, and the group got together for a small tet-a-tet. Well four points later, Paes sent a serve right at Kendrick, and that sent everyone off. Well as "off" as you can get during a meaningless Tennis match....

The extra dude that showed up in the blue shirt is actually New York's Coach, Chuck Adams, and he has since been suspended. It doesn't take much in Tennis apparently. Also, if someone sent a 100mph serve at me when I wasn't returning it, I think I would do a lot more than just chat with the guy. That's just me though.

You Can't Be Serious, Man (With Leather)

With the O's on an off-night last evening, I decided to watch the Nationals-Astros game. After watching the Nats squander about five runs, and blow a three run lead in the sixth, I decided to turn it off. Luckily, I had that option, but Nationals announcer Rob Dibble didn't, and he made sure the viewing audience knew that.

Dibble spoke with Ray Knight on the post game show after the loss, and not only called the team tough to watch, but even accused players of "mailing it in". Via DC Sports Bog....

"Well, I've seen it all year," Dibble said. "You have a team that came off a 102-loss season....Guys just aren't getting to balls, they're not trying, they're not diving, and more importantly, guys aren't calling them out....

"Listen, our guys aren't doing as well as the other team," he continued. "They need to be playing a lot harder than they are. What I'm saying is, it's not so much mailing it in physically, but mentally, some of these guys, they're happy after a ball game when they get their butts whipped, they're happy and smiling like it's funny when they're getting beat in day in and day out and embarrassed on that field. I know Manny Acta and I know these coaches are busting their butts to get the most out of these guys, but the players, they don't expect that out of each other in that locker room. That's what I'm saying.

"Somebody needs to point a finger in there and say, 'Enough's enough. You guys are on my team, you've got to go out there and back me up.' John Lannan deserved better out of his bullpen, he deserves better defensively, and he definitely damn well deserves better offensively after what he's done the last six outings on a bad ballclub....So for me to watch a guy like John Lannan, who I think has a huge heart, and he goes out there, he never mails it in, I think there's a lot of guys who should apologize to him."

Obviously I'm not able to agree, because I've been to one Nats game all year (against the O's), but as Ray Knight pointed out later in the talk....when you have 90 errors at the All-Star break AND a .298 winning percentage....something has to change. It's refreshing to hear an announcer tell the truth on-air, but if I were Rob Dibble, I'd watch my back. People who are bash their employer like that usually don't last too long.

You can also watch the video here, if you'd like.

Rob Dibble on the Nats: "It's Pathetic" (DC Sports Bog)

You'd think that ESPN has had enough interviews with President Obama at this point, but apparently that's not the case. This time they're sending their resident Basketball "expert" Dick Vitale to chat with Barack about the Sport within the DC area, and Vitale will also be bestowing a nickname upon the leader of the Free World. That nickname?

The "Commander-in-Swish". Seriously....

College basketball ambassador Dick Vitale is aware President Barack Obama is a basketball fan, having said, “We’re getting rid of the bowling alley and replacing it with a basketball court in the White House." During tomorrow’s (Thursday, Feb. 25) 6 p.m. SportsCenter, Vitale tries to sell Obama, whom he calls, “Commander-in-Swish,” on the college game in the Washington, D.C., area. The piece will also run on Saturday’s 10 a.m. SportsCenter prior to College GameDay.

“So many conferences in and around the District, I don't know where too get started,” Vitale says. “ACC, Big East, CAA, A-10, Patriot League, America East, the MEAC, oh my, there are over a dozen college teams within a short ride from the White House.”

Ugh. I'll always respect Vitale for what he's done for the game, but this couldn't be more annoying. I know you probably want to skip it, but I'll probably be grabbing it for the site either tomorrow night or early Friday. Hopefully it will be interesting, or at least goofy enough to make fun of.

Update: ESPN just informed me that it's not actually an interview, and Obama won't be featured in the piece. It's just a spot on DC Basketball, which isn't nearly annoying as first thought.

Reggie Miller talked with CBS Sports recently, about Kobe Bryant being cheered in Madison Square Garden during his 61 point performance, and the former "Knick Killer" was less than impressed with Knick fans.

So, yes, Miller was watching Kobe Bryant's 61-point game against the Knicks Monday night. And yes, he was impressed. But he was also appalled that Knicks fans who used to torment him were chanting "MVP!" for Kobe. So appalled that he was texting his old nemesis throughout the game.

"I was texting Spike as the game was going on, saying how disappointed I was in the fans chanting "MVP!" for Kobe," Miller said Tuesday, speaking on a TNT pre-All-Star conference call. "I was like, 'How the mighty have fallen.'" Because I remember in times past, I never got cheered. I'm sure Jordan never got cheered. And now they are chanting "MVP!" for Kobe? And all (Lee) kept doing was texting back and going, 'Look, times have changed. The climate has changed.'

"I wish I would've gotten the red carpet treatment when I went to the Garden," Miller said. "That would've been nice."

There is no doubt that I feel bad for Knicks fans, but cheering for the enemy like that at home, is something that has always bothered me. Given that I'm a fan of all things DC Sports, I know this problem well. The only problem is that the cure for said problem is winning and just like most DC Sports teams not named the Capitals, that's not going to change any time soon. Unfortunately the same is true for one of the NBA's most storied franchises in the Knicks.

Reggie Miller: Shame on Knicks fans (CBS Sports)
Back in My Day, Knick Fans Didn’t Cheer for the Enemy (SLAM)

(P.S.- Yes, I know the phrase "jump the shark" has "jumped the shark". You will not be the first clever commenter to ever leave that on the site, so please give it a rest.)

This is all rumor of course, but I found this item funny and intriguing enough to post today. According to DCRTV and Mediabistro, Tony Kornheiser's car was stolen from a DC garage last week and there are claims of a stalker being the culprit as well as a heightened security detail for King Tony....

DCRTV: "Tony Kornheiser's (right) car was stolen from the ESPN garage in DC last week causing 'mad drama,' to quote one source. He dropped his keys in the garage, someone took the car, and now he's demanded extra security because he claims it's a stalker." More soon.....

Mediabistro's FishbowlDC: "We hear that Tony Kornheiser's car was stolen from the ESPN garage in DC, last week causing "mad drama," to quote one source. He dropped his keys in the garage, someone took the car and now he's demanded extra security because he claims its a stalker."

All of this is still a rumor at the moment, and while stalkers can be very scary, but come on. If you drop your car keys in a garage when someone's watching, you really only have yourself to blame. DC garages aren't the safest place in the world and there are some seedy characters hanging around. More on this when information becomes available.

Real Clear Sports passes along the info that the midday talk radio show on DC's WJFK, Big O and Dukes, scored an amazing interview with the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas today. The guard was his usual awesome self, and talked about video games, the Wizards, criticism and the possibility of a reality show. Wait what?!?!

"Ya know, it's funny. I got a -- you ever seen the show, 'Rob and Big?' The producers want to do a reality show on me -- the first NBA player to do a reality show. But then I thought about it -- I was like, my life is really not that exciting.

"Ya know, so, I'm thinking about it, because, ya know, I have players like Nick [Young], who's goofy, so we can do paintball shooting and see who can get hurt on the grotto jumping into the pool..."

This seriously needs to happen yesterday. I know Gil likes to think he's a normal dude, but he really isn't. I mean someone who builds a pool with a mountain, two grottoes and a freaking basement, just isn't the same as me and you. I'm begging for whichever network is on this to make this reality show a reality.

Coming Soon: A Gilbert Arenas Reality Show? (Real Clear Sports)
The Big O And Dukes Show (WJFK)

(P.S.- For those of you out-of-towners, you definitely need to check out that radio show. In the past month or so, Big O and Dukes have interviewed Robert Duvall, Method Man and The Rza AND spent about an hour bashing Mike Greenberg. While those clips were amazing I suggest starting with Drab's Most Embarrassing Moment. It's both the funniest and most depressing story I've ever heard. It's worth a listen and all the clips are up on ITunes.)

Darrell Green is by far my favorite Football player to ever play the game, but yesterday was all about Art Monk. I think this four minute standing ovation shows exactly how every Football fan feels about his entrance into the Hall....

Congrats Art....it's about damn time.

As much as I bash Tony Kornheiser for his MNF nonsense, this is actually a sad day for us DC folks. I, like many others, grew up reading Tony in the Post covering everything from Sports to his family and extremely enjoyed it. DC Sports Bog has the details of the announcement on his radio show....

"All I ever wanted to be was a newspaper writer," he said, which is likely not something that anyone under the age of 30 will ever say again. "This other stuff is great, but I don't care about it," he continued. "In my mind that's what it says on the headstone, it says 'newspaper guy.'"

But he also said he signed the papers to take the Post's buyout last night, after working here for, I believe, 29 years. He said he still might contract with The Post to do his Talking Points videos and his Page 2 excerpts, and he said some people in the leadership asked him to stay but didn't really insist, and even though he'll keep doing PTI and the radio show and MNF, he said he feared he'd never have the moral high ground again.

There are more quotes at DCSB, but I think that snippet summed it up best. It's crazy in the Newspaper World with all of these "Champions of Industry" taking buyouts, and you never want to see someone lose the one thing they love the most, but let's be honest here.....Kornheiser barely wrote for the paper anymore. This is definitely a tough day for him, but everyone saw it coming for quite some time.

The Washington Post's Sports Section in the 90s was unbeatable, and it's sad to see it disintegrate author by author. Some are still there but it just isn't the same.

Kornheiser Takes Buyout (DC Sports Bog)
The Post Is Looking To Buy Out Kornheiser (Awful Announcing)

I know I was trying to move past all the Matt Leinart photo talk but there's one more opinion you need to hear. Redskins TE Chris Cooley talks with the Blog Show about that and other sexy topics....

These Leinart pics are almost a month old, so I'm not quite sure why ESPN is all over them the past 24 hours, but hopefully this is the end all of the controversy. Also, I'm hopeful that Cooley will get to release those photos of his wife Christy he hinted at.

Blog Show No. 48: The Cooley Interview (Mister Irrelevant)

Hilarious find by reader EJ this evening. I'm not sure what this is doing there, but apparently the Nationals take on Indiana Jones on May 22nd (click for larger)...


I know the new Indy movie comes out that day, and my first thought was that it was a promotion, but it's not a link to anything. It's just a random picture of Indiana Jones. Is Harrison Ford throwing out the first pitch or something? If so, I'm so going to that game.

I never know whether to use the exclamation point or not. That title either reads like it should or that I'm really really excited that Cooley is blogging for Yahoo(!). I mean I'm excited because I think the guy is hilarious, but I'm not going to freak out about it.

Anywho (to stop my rambling), the Redskins TE is officially a Yahoo blogger and his first post is a pretty good on on his draft day experience. Here's a snippet....

Two months earlier I got my first cell phone. Yeah, 2004 and Chris Cooley finally has a cell phone. The problem wasn't that I had a phone, the problem was the service. I couldn't keep more than one bar in the corner of the phone, and I was starting to believe that I must have been missing calls. I had spent the last four hours glued to the screen, but had to drag myself outside to at least see if I got a message from someone. By the time my foot hovered over the bottom stair of the front porch the house erupted. The cheering couldn't be mistaken, but I had still never received a phone call.

Eighty-first pick to the Washington Redskins and I could have never felt more relieved. I remember thinking why hasn't the team called me? It was a perfect thought as my little brother turned to me and said, "Oh yeah, some guy is on hold for ya, he's only been on hold for a couple minutes." I took the phone and Joe Gibbs says, "I hope you want to be a Redskin, we had to trade up for you." Joe Gibbs! A Hall of Fame coach wanted to trade up for me.

This has to be one of the weaker classes in the history of the draft, but reading stories like this gets me hyped to spend a Saturday drinking beers and projecting who's going where. I'll be here all day on Day One hitting the highs and lows, so I hope you can join me.

The Cooley Zone: My draft day story has a happy ending (Yahoo Sports: Shutdown Corner)

I haven't watched Hockey close in years and I knew as soon as the Pens threw the last game of the season (so they could play the Sens in the First Round), that the Capitals were likely not making it out of the first round. See the Capitals and Flyers had epic battles in the 80s before moving their rivalry to Pittsburgh.

Philadelphia fans are already f'ing nuts to begin with, but now Washington Post columnist Mike Wise is giving them, and Flyers players, ammo to use against them. Not only will every Philly fan mericilessly boo Alex Ovechkin tonight they will also have this Wise column printed out and handed to them beforehand. Via The 700 Level....

By now you've probably already seen Mike Wise's column from yesterday's Washington Post. Several of our fine readers sent it our way yesterday, and we heard 610 and 950 attack its merits with due fervor. But the Flyers have apparently taken it up a notch...

Rhea Hughes reported on today's WIP Morning Show that along with various orange accoutrement, the Flyers will be handing each fan who walks through the door tonight a copy of Wise's column, along with a thank you for being the most intimidating fans in hockey. Well played, Flyers!

Just genius. See the problem with Wise's column isn't that he's wrong in his assessment of both teams, but the fact that people in DC just don't remember what Playoff Hockey is all about. I watched both loses in the Series and the Flyers are just destroying the Capitals in every facet of the game.

Pretty sure they didn't need anymore motivation, and I'm sure Caps fans are thankful Mike! Just a great idea for the Flyers to print out the article.

Flyers Get Wise to Whiny Washington Post Column (The 700 Level)

While the Cavs were busy cheating to beat the 76ers last night the Wizards were trying putting together one last gasp for the fourth spot in the East. Now nut shots in the NBA are pretty common, but getting "field goaled" while trying for a layup is something else. Just wait for the replay....

"Ooooooooh!"

Now that is just not right. I can't believe he even finished the game after that one and I love the Buck and Phil empathy.

(From Odenized via RCS)

There are very few things that make me happy in this world, and if you break it out I'm sure 9 out of 10 of them involve Sports. If you haven't caught on by this point I always capitalize the word Sports on this site. Do you know why? Sports has given me more joy in my life than any other thing. Sure the Love of your family is a great thing, but tell me the last time you jumped out of your seat and lost all control because your drunk Uncle talked to you at Thanksgiving. It hasn't happened.

Before you jump down my throat.....yes I've graduated College, yes I've had sex, and no I've never had a kid (thought we'd get that out of the way early). The greatest moment I've ever felt in my life was being in attendance during the Wizards defeat of the Bulls during the 2nd Round of the NBA Playoffs and Gilbert Arenas throwing the ball into the crowd as the (then) MCI Center went ballistic (see above). I'm sure a lot of things will top that in the future (Baby Awful?), but that moment combined with my fandome just blew me away. Sure I was at the George Mason-UConn game, but I had no vested interest in that game.

Fast forward to Wednesday night. I don't know how else to say this but I was privy to courtside seats (thanks Maj!) at the most important game of the Wizards season. When I was walking up to the Verizon Center I saw the most perfect and beautiful sign I've ever seen. It was on the giant wall of the V-Center and it featured the quote, "I'll Be Back," with a giant zero painted over the words. At about three minutes into the first quarter I'd learn that sign wasn't just a marketing ploy.

For some reason the crowd started to stir. Wait no....is Gil in uniform??? No g'damn way. Not happening. Against the Bucks?!? (Ed note: I've got goosebumps at this point). It's a timeout so everyone is just waiting and watching......

Fuck me......he's coming in!!! I'm sure that my child being born will blow this out of the water, but Gil walking on the court to the crowd at home was f'ing awesome. I can't even describe the feeling because my favorite player ever proceeded to just destroy the Bucks in the coming minutes. He hit every shot. He got a ball down low, faked, and hit a reverse layup. It's been a long time since I've felt "joy" in my life but this was joy......

Sure the craptastic Bucks won the game on a buzzer beater, and sure Gilbert might have looked a bit slow at times, but I could care less. I was courtside for the best comeback involving DC Sports since.....well ever.

(I greatly appreciate the times you let me drop the "National Veil" and you let me become a complete DC homer. Also many thanks to The Maj who is the f'ing man)

Obviously I'm based in the DC Area, so I apologize for the number of Wizards clips you've been getting lately, but this one is worth it. I was at the Wiz-Hornets game Sunday and when the Kiss Cam was making it around the arena it stopped on Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier. Buck then took off his headset and planted one on Phil's head.

It was hilarious at the time and I wish I had the video, but I think this one is better. Phil returned the favor last night, and I think the "Awkward" tag is appropriate for this one....

That's just creepy. Ugly rumors commence!

(P.S.- I don't know why YouTube isn't putting a photo up, but the video appears to still work.)

Now this is a fight I'd love to see....Michael Wilbon versus Washington Post Blogger/Columnist Dan Steinberg. This video basically just rehashes the bickering between Washington Area personalities over the past few days, but it's kind of funny and a bit awkward. From about 40 seconds in until 4 minutes in, Kornheiser and Wilbon talk about blogs and how Wilbon plans on beating Steinberg's ass (2:30)....

"Cheeseboy, if I'm coming after you, I will just come and beat ya ass down....I'm gonna go South Side on you, Cheeseboy. I'm gonna come and beat you down."- MW

Too funny. I'd probably take Wilbon (sorry Steinz) but it could be a heck of a fight. Us tall and lanky guys are always the ones you have to worry about. Actually let's gather up all the DC Area Sports Bloggers, Tony and Mikey can have D.A., Arch Campbell and Stat Boy....and we can go at this West Side Story style (rhythmically snaps fingers). Oh or better yet.....



Wilbon Threatens to Beat Me Down (DC Sports Bog)

If you live in or near Washington DC and you're not using this phrase to ridicule everyone (i.e.- "That girl just denied your advances.....DAGGER!") then you are just not living.

Oh and yes this is a Homer post, but I so needed that game last night after the way the Wizards and Terps have been playing as of late. I love you Steve Buckhantz.....don't ever change!

And I used to like you BradyFan83....

Ugh.

Update: This makes me even more sad....

Redskins Hire Jim Zorn as Head Coach (SI.com)

The second best receiver of his era is finally in the Hall of Fame along with my favorite player ever. After so many years and arguments it's almost better that one of the Redskins best offensive weapons is going in with one it's best defensive ones.

Huzzah! (If you need me I'll be napping with both my #28 and #81 jerseys on)

Michael Wilbon has penned his first column since suffering a mild heart attack earlier in the week and he seems to be in pretty good spirits. Here's the story from him....

I landed in Phoenix late Sunday night, drove to my home-away-from-D.C.-home in Scottsdale, looked at some e-mail, and went to bed at 1:30. At 3:15 a heavy pain in my left arm and on the left side of my chest woke me. I thought it was indigestion, and started drinking water, but the pain persisted. Took some Advil. The pain got worse. Tried to go back to bed, but it became unbearable.

But two things left me speechless and of a mind to reevaluate a lot of stuff. The phone rang while I was in my hospital bed Monday night and the voice on the other end said: “This is Jeff George. I was calling to tell you I’m thinking of you and praying for you.” Yep, Jeff George. No. 3 in your program. For years and years, especially during his brief time in D.C., I was pointedly critical of George. I’m sure some of it was over the top and unnecessary. Yet he was big enough to put that aside and call with get-well wishes. He told me about his father having a heart attack when he was about my age, 49, about lifestyle changes and how families respond with support.

It's tough when reality and life and death come into Sports because most people use it for an escape. Hell why do you think I watch so many games? I'm just glad Wilbon is okay, so I can go back to being critical of him and maybe one day he can call me. Unlikely, but I'd like to think it's possible.

A Life-Changing Turn of Events (Washington Post)