My Weekly Sports Journey for the week ending March 29, 2008

Kobe better just shut up

The scene is the Lakers locker room on Wednesday night after a sorry looking performance against the Charlotte Bobcats in which the pattern of the last week continued: get down early playing virtually no aggressive defense and claw back in a frenzy hoping to maintain the right energy to win. They are now 1-2 in games like that but last night’s comeback was made even more difficult without Kobe who got thrown out with a bit more than 3 minutes to play. You never count the Lakers out if Kobe goes into overdrive in the 4th quarter, focuses like no one but Tiger Woods, takes over the game by finding those that actually can make outside shots and then drives to the basket to absorb hard fouls just to get 2 points that he couldn’t get any other way. That wasn’t gonna happen last night. He had a scowl from the beginning of the game and started barking, as the Lakers radio TV broadcaster Stu Lantz, likes to say, early in the game at the officials. His beef? The refs aren’t giving him the love he wants and thinks he deserves as the superstar he is. Why aren’t there Kobe rules the way Jordan had his? Well, Jordan understood that if you bite the hands that feed you the doggie treats don’t keep coming. Kobe has a sense of entitlement that used to plague Shaq when he was here in LA. If you took a close camera shot of O’Neal and opponents under the basket you’d see multiple fouls every time he jumped up for an offensive rebound or a put-back bucket. Did he get those calls? Usually not since the typical decision of the league refs was to allow him to absorb contact that wasn’t too obvious or hurtful…in their opinion. He got the benefit of that on the other end however since when he was aggressively making his move to clear a path for himself to put the ball up he would swing those elbows around and more than one NBA guy lost teeth or had lumps under his eyes.

Lately Kobe isn’t getting the benefit of the doubt and it is starting to show. He gets elbowed in the face by Baron Davis that opens a gash under his eye but no foul is called, which is the Shaq rule on the receiving end, but he’s getting called for ticky tack reach ins or taps on the arm as he goes up to defend. After a while the build up from that has gotten to him. He had almost reached this boiling point a few weeks ago when he had 3 fewer technicals and Phil took him aside to tell him that it was unseemly. While Phil appreciated the unfairness of the situation he believed that Kobe’s bellyaching on each ticky tack called on him as well as the “barking” when he is obviously fouled on his end of the court was getting the officials sick of it all. Unfair yes, but a fact of life as well. As a team leader and a top candidate for MVP you’ve got to man up and realize there is a bigger goal at stake here: home court for the playoffs and a championship once your 2 star centers get back. You can’t be a baby and get treated like a man. Hey, I like that for a tee shirt that they sell on the streets outside Staples. Acceptance of the situation is needed here and for some reason Kobe is losing it without taking into account the consequences of being 1 more technical away from being suspended for a game. That game could come next week against Dallas or New Orleans and with Pau expected back, how would that play if the team lost with the Western Conference race as tight as my skinny jeans. He knows the rules, the risks and the consequences; who will step up and rip him a new hole where the sun don’t shine? Anyone?

Want more? Read my Daily Dose of Duffy column at www.incidentalcontact.com and listen to me on the Sports Journey radio show on Wednesday and Friday.

© 2008 Incidental Contact, LLC

It’s Never Too Early to Get Suspended…Ever.

Even though spring practice for college football is still three weeks away, it makes no difference.  You would think that student-athletes would be gearing up for what is to come by hitting the weight room, making the grade and enjoying the last of that thing they call life while spring break comes and goes…but no.  Arrests and suspensions are the name of the game while coaches prepare for the upcoming 2008 season.  The list will get longer as the weeks go on, but since there isn’t any football being played on the field lets drink to those who’ve been getting their fill of trouble off the field as well by being suspended or arrested in the past few months. Cheers.

Clemson – Starting middle linebacker Cortney Vincent is suspended for all of spring practice for violating an unspecified team policy. The State reported that this violation has no connection to his December DUI arrest where the junior was charged with first-offense driving under the influence. Coach Tommy Bowden said there is a possibility that Vincent could be kicked off the team and will re-evaluate the situation once spring practice is over.

Nebraska – Junior offensive lineman Andy Christensen was arrested early Saturday and accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a bar. Coach Bo Pelini suspended Christensen from the team after he was accused of first-degree sexual assault, resisting arrest and failure to comply.  Christensen started the first three games at left guard before a season-ending knee injury.

Indiana – Junior quarterback Kellen Lewis was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.  Coach Bill Lynch said Lewis needs time away from the program and they look forward to his return at some point in the future.  Team spokesman Jeff Keag would not give details about what rules Lewis violated.  Last year Lewis broke single-season records for attempts (442), completions (265), yards passing, TD passes, total touchdowns (37), total yards (3,709) and completion percentage (60.0)

Iowa – Both receiver James Cleveland and backup quarterback Arvell Nelson have been dismissed from the team.  Cleveland, a sophomore was Iowa’s second leading receiver last season and was arrested in February after campus police found 21 units of the prescription pain killer oxycodone and 24 doses of the muscle relaxant carisoprodol.  He was charged with a tax stamp violation, a Class D felony and two counts of unlawful possession of prescription drugs.  His preliminary hearing is set for March 14^th.  Nelson, also a sophomore was arrested on the same night on marijuana possession charges.

Oklahoma – According to the Journal-Constitution Josh Jarboe, an Oklahoma recruit who was No. 13 on the ESPN list of the top 150 players last season and No. 3 wide receiver overall has been accused of receiving stolen property and having a weapon on school property.  In addition to the felony charges Jarboe could be expelled from school.

Rutgers – Sophomore defensive tackle Justin Francis was suspended last Friday after being arrested a day earlier.  No details of the arrest have been made, but Coach Greg Schiano has confirmed the report of the arrest.  He said he would wait for the legal process to run its course before commenting.  Francis played in seven games last season and made seven tackles.

South Carolina – Defensive back Carlos Thomas was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules, although Coach Steve Spurrier’s report did not elaborate on what rules the senior broke.  Thomas started seven games at cornerback last year and made 20 career starts over the past three seasons.  Running back Mike Davis also has been suspended for one game for missing too many classes.

My Weekly Sports Journey for the week ending March 14, 2008

Are they real games or exhibitions?

When I dared to call the MLB All Star game an exhibition after Bud Selig ended the thing in a tie because it was past everyone’s bed time I was yelled at and told I didn’t know what I was talking about. Well, now I’m gonna say the same thing about all spring training games. On top of being exhibitions they are ways for managers to try out all their farm team payroll to see who is ripe for the picking when the first guy on the roster goes down to injury or goes into a slump. How do I know? The Yankees taught me. Within less than a week, Joe Girardi said that no one should have barreled into his minor league catcher in a spring training game that resulted in a broken wrist for the kid.  He further enforced my belief when he treated a filthy rich Hollywood star to the equivalent of a Make A Wish Foundation trip by inserting Billy Crystal into his starting lineup as a DH; just to show Billy some love and help him celebrate his 60^th birthday. THAT’S WHY Girardi can’t have it both ways by ordering some minor league pitcher to retaliate for the catcher’s broken wrist by throwing at someone. And the spikes-up slide by Shelly Duncan was stupid as well. So Joe…do the games mean anything or don’t they? 

John Daly finally got some tough love 

Butch Harmon, golf instructor to the stars finally said out loud what many have said privately and more often than not wouldn’t even dare to whisper about: John Daly is in trouble of killing himself by being an unrepentant drunk. Harmon who gave all props to his raw talents and his personable charm ended the short relationship with Daly after he realized that John would rather get drunk than learn to sharpen his golf game. At least that’s what he said. To further buttress that opinion, the previous week at a PGA event that yet another sponsor gave him permission to attend (he hasn’t qualified based on his performance in a couple of years) he sat out the rain delay in the Hooters tent, emerged with Jon Gruden as his caddy, told his caddy to take the afternoon off and laughed his way to a 77. The next day he shot 80 and he missed another cut. Sponsors aren’t doing him a favor or themselves for that matter by thinking that he’ll play through the weekend and draw crowds. I know that events at which Tiger doesn’t play need all the help they can get but if Daly plays as he has been plus isn’t there for the weekend, the sponsors don’t get what they want and some poor schnook on the Tour who deserves an opportunity just got hosed. Daly will only hit bottom when he runs out of money to keep living the way he has for some time now. Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA should be ashamed of himself for refusing to insinuate himself into this and get an intervention going with Daly’s many pals on the Tour, sponsors and whoever is left in his family. Otherwise Finchem better be writing a eulogy for the guy because this can only end one way if it isn’t stopped.

Want more? Read my Daily Dose of Duffy column at www.incidentalcontact.com and listen to me on the Sports Journey radio show on Wednesday and Friday. 

©  2008 Incidental Contact, LLC

The Wizards buck Milwaukee

Despite squandering a 15 point half-time lead, the Washington Wizards held on last night to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-97.  

Coach Eddie Jordan pleased overall with his team’s efforts was disappointed in their inability to defend the rim during the second half. 

“I wasn’t happy with the way our bigs protected the rim,” explained Jordan. The Bucks opened the third quarter by embarking on a 19-6 run, shooting 70.6 percent for the quarter and outscoring the Wizards 33-22. But the Wizards fourth quarter defense held the Bucks to 36.6 shooting. 

“We just played harder,” Jordan said. “We got some more steals. We got some more deflections.” 

The Wizards executed the aggression expected by Jordan. Jorda, in his pre-game conference, stated that he expected his team to be “rejuvenated,” “be on attack mode” and to “play with a lot of energy.” 

The Wizards shot 55.3 percent from the field and scored 42 points (a season high) in the paint during the first half, and dished out 16 assist. They finished the game with 66 points in the paint.   

Antawn Jamison led the Wizards scoring 23 points, but it was a collective offensive output by the Wizards. Brendan Haywood and Andray Blatche each scored 15 and Darius Songaila and Antonio Daniels each scored 11 points. Nick Young, who excited the 14,755 Verizon Center crowd in the second quarter with a thunderous slam dunk over the seven foot Andrew Bogut, scored a career high 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting.

 

Six-foot-six-inch Nick Young (1) dunks over the Milwaukee Bucks seven-foot Andrew Bogut to score two of his career high 22 points. Photo credit Ned Dishman NBAE/Getty Images.

Becoming more productive as the season wears on Jordan said Young, the rookie from the University of Southern California, “is getting use to the NBA game.” With a smile Jordan added that Young is probably, “Tired of me screaming at him and giving him the quick hook.”   

Jamison exited the game in the final minutes and headed to the lockerroom because of lower back stiffness. He is expected to play Thursday against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers; game time is 7 P.M.   

Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, serves as Senior NBA Analyst for Sports Journey Radio. You can listen to his analyst Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 4:40 P.M. and 4:54 P.M. on ESPN 1240 in Delmarva, Maryland and Saturday’s on The US Sports Radio Network.    

Caron, one step away

The only debate that might be more hotly contested than who should become the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party is whether Caron Butler should return to action to help his team or should he shut it down for the remainder of the season.  

While it remains unclear whether Sens. Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be the elected/chosen nominee, it is absolutely clear that Butler will return to action this season; sooner rather than later.  

Despite missing the last 19 games due to a left hip flexor Butler took one additional step to his eventual return. Last night before the Washington Wizards contest against the Milwaukee Bucks, Butler participated in pre-game shooting drills. Although he has participated and performed well in practice, partaking in a pre-game workout was a first since being out with the injury. Incidentally Butler suffered his injury against the Bucks in Milwaukee on January 27th after notching a career high 40 points. 

For approximately 20 minutes Butler (the Racine Wisconsin native) and Wes Unseld Jr., the Wizards’ assistant coach, ran through a series of shooting drills. Butler began by taking a series of three foot jumpers and continued to move out to beyond the arc. Most of his shots were smooth and vintage Butler, but there were a few flat shots, proving there’s still a little rust to work off.  

It’s a safe bet to believe that not only will Butler return this season, but he will do so tomorrow against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he will be in the starting lineup.  

Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, serves as Senior NBA Analyst for Sports Journey Radio. You can listen to his analyst Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 4:40 P.M. and 4:54 P.M. on ESPN 1240 in Delmarva, Maryland and Saturday’s on The US Sports Radio Network.     

Kobe is the best, Paul is most valuable

Hands down, it is Paul

Make no mistake Kobe Bryant was, is and will probably be the best player in the NBA for a few years to come. However, Bryant was not nor is he the League’s Most Valuable Player. Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets is. 

Bryant will win the award, but here’s why he should not.  

Did we forget just eight months ago Bryant threw Andrew Bynum, his teammate, under the bus; this, after a season of lobbying for Bynum’s relocation to Secaucus to suit up for the Nets [New Jersey]. And when Bynum’s zip code didn’t change Bryant demanded that the Los Angeles Lakers change his.  

Now I’m not rehashing old wounds, but boy how winning causes folks to come down with severe cases of Alzheimer’s. 

Bryant is elated that he didn’t need to hire a moving company and the world, maybe except for me and the state of Louisiana, believes he is the League’s MVP.  

Yes, the Lakers now are arguably the best team in the West. And yes, it’s Bryant’s MVP play that plays a large role in the Lakers’ number one seating. Bryant isn’t the most valuable player, but a more valuable player. His assists are up; his shots are down and most importantly he is a better teammate. But the Lakers didn’t become the one of the best teams in the League solely on Bryant’s play.  

The Lakers became the best in the West on Feb. 1 when they acquired a Mercedes (Pau Gasol) in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies for the price of a lemon (Kwame Brown) – oh, the Grizzlies did receive an excellent warranty (Javaris Crittendon) in the trade.  

George Karl, coach of the Denver Nuggets, call the trade a “gift,” adding that “Christmas came early,” for the Lakers.  

At the time of the trade the Lakers were 28-16 and fifth in the conference. They split the last 10 games leading up to the trade. Since the trade they have taken over the top position in the Western Conference and have won 13 out of their last 15 games. They’ve won 14 out of 17 games since acquiring Gasol.  

Prior to the trade the Lakers played winning basketball because Bynum – you remember that guy Bryant didn’t want – was ballin’. When Bynum injured his knee on Jan. 13, he led the League in field goal percentage, was 11th in rebound and 13th in block shots. The Lakers lost five of their first eight games playing without Bynum.  

Jordan Farmar has performed well off the bench. This season he has not had to spend time in the D-League. Ronny Turiaf’s energy and presences in the paint is a huge plus for the Lakers and Sasha Vujacic (19th in League in 3-Point shooting) is probably the most consistent reserve; scoring in double figures in the last 15 games. Then there’s the return of Derek Fisher, a phenomenal leader on the court and in the locker-room, whose presence has played an instrumental role in the development of Bryant’s leadership and the Lakers’ winning ways.   

While everyone attempts to bestow the MVP Trophy on Bryant or LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), it’s Paul’s valuable play that has the Hornets standing in the Lakers’ shadow (a game and half behind the Lakers).  

Paul has supplanted the Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash as the best point guard in the League, and statistically his play is right in step with Bryant’s. He’s averaging 21.3 points and 11 assist per game (second in League) and contributes 43.3 percent of the Hornets’ offense. Bryant, averaging 28.1 points (second in League) and 5.3 assist, supplies 38.7 percent of the Lakers offensive output.  

Paul shoots better from the field, earns more steals (League leader), commits fewer turnovers and grabs about two fewer rebounds than Bryant. Paul is tied with Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs in sixth place with 38 double-doubles; 13 more than James and 25 more than Bryant.  

Under Paul’s MVP play the Hornets have earned their best start (42-20) in franchise history and surpassed their win total from last season. New Orleans possesses the best road record in the Western Conference and has earned more victories against Western Conference rivals than any other Western Conference team. They have swept the season series against the Suns and split a pair of games with the Lakers.  

Paul is on pace to become the first player in 15 years to average at least 20 points and 10 assist per game. And if he finishes the season averaging three steals per game along with his per game point and assist total, he will be the first player in the history of the League to complete a season averaging 20 points, 10 assist and three steals.  

In Paul’s first All-Star game last month, he scored 16 points and dished out 14 assist in a reserve role. Paul is the fourth player in All-Star history, joining Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas and Oscar Robertson, to score 14 plus points and assist in the game. Most analysts have made the MVP award a two horse race with James and Bryant, but the most valuable horse is Chris Paul.   

Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, serves as Senior NBA Analyst for Sports Journey Radio. You can listen to his analyst Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 4:40 P.M. and 4:54 P.M. on ESPN 1240 in Delmarva, Maryland and Saturday’s on The US Sports Radio Network.        

Bobcats outrun the Wizards

Despite holding the Charlotte Bobcats without a basket during the final 7:25 of last night’s game, the Washington Wizards were unable to overcome a 14 point first quarter deficit and were defeated 100-97.  

Entering Saturday night’s game the Wizards had an opportunity to return to a .500 record for the first time since February 8 when they were 24-24; instead fell to 30-32 and squandered an opportunity to gain a game on division leading Orlando Magic, who also lost to the Golden State Warriors in their Saturday night contest. 

Distraught and struggling to find words, much like his team struggled to seek out a victory, Coach Eddie Jordan said, “We had a poor start to the quarter [first quarter]. We can’t give up 30 something points; we sort of didn’t recover from that.” 

Led by Jason Richardson 16 first quarter points, the Bobcats shot 70 percent from the field and converted on 77.8 percent beyond the arc. Richardson, who finished with a game-high 34 points, made six of seven first quarter field goals including four of five beyond the arc. 

Jason Richardson (23) of the Charlotte Bobcats lit up the Washington Wizards for 34 points on 65 percent shooting. Photo credit Ned Dishman NBAE/Getty Images.

“They kinda got it going a little bit and Richardson, I think, had 22 first half points and that was big for them,” said Nick Young, the Wizards rookie guard who scored 11 points before fouling out.  

The Bobcats (24-39) built a 19 point second quarter lead, but the Wizards reduced the lead to as few as four points shooting 66.7 percent from the arc. They limited the Bobcats to just 36.4 shooting before enter the half trailing by seven.  

In the game’s final three minutes, Antonio Daniels converted a running dunk to cut the Bobcats’ lead to 10. Less than a minute later DeShawn Stevenson sank a desperation three – which brought the Verizon Center sellout crowd to its feet – to reduce the lead to seven and Antawn Jamsion followed with a 20 foot jumper to shrink the lead to 89-84. 

During that seven minute stretch the Wizards made a few big shots, but it was their defense, that failed them in the opening stanza, that kept the contest close. The Bobcats missed on all eight shot attempts. But two of those shots – two 3s’ – by Matt Carroll (after Jamison’s shot cut the lead to five) resulted in offensive rebounds for the Bobcats.   “They were a little bit quicker,” said Jordan adding, “We came back, but when you come back you lose a lot of energy.”  

Jamison, who recorded his 35th double-double scoring 30 points and grabbing rebounds 10 [both team highs] said, “this is a game that meant a lot to us and to come up short it really stings right now.” Stevenson added 11 points and six assist; Daniels contributed 14 points.

Despite not scoring a bucket in the final 7:25 minutes the Bobcats (entered the game winning their last four games) converted 15 of 19 free throw attempts. The Wizards were able to reduce their deficit to just one, but could not make enough shots. 

“It’s just been a heck-of a couple days for us,” said Jordan about his team who lost by 30 points to the Magic earlier in the week and arrived home around 2 a.m. (Saturday) after defeating the Toronto Raptors in Toronto. “We just need to regroup; come back and see if we can get some legs under us for this week.”  

The Wizards are 11-12 – excluding games against the Miami Heat – when playing Eastern Conference teams with sub .500 records. They play the 23-40 Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday at the Verizon Center; game time is 7 p.m.  

Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, serves as Senior NBA Analyst for Sports Journey Radio. You can listen to his analyst Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 4:40 P.M. and 4:54 P.M. on ESPN 1240 in Delmarva, Maryland and Saturday’s on The US Sports Radio Network.       

The Wizards and Raptors face off

Round 4 for Wiz and Raptors

It’s been suggested that when falling off your bike it’s best to remount immediately. I’m not sure if the Washington Wizards fell off their bike in their 30 point Wednesday night loss to the Orlando Magic or the Magic knocked the Wizards off their bike. Whatever the case, the Wizards will mount up tonight against the Toronto Raptors in an attempt to erase that distasteful defeat.  

Tonight’s contest against their Eastern Conference rivals marks the fourth and final meeting this season. The Wizards defeated the Raptors 101-97 on December 1 and 108-104 in overtime on January 29; both games were played at the Verizon Center. The Raptors avenged their overtime loss to the Wizards on the following evening with a 39 point victory – 122-83 in Toronto.  

The Wizards (29-31) hold the sixth position in the playoff hunt while the Raptors (33-27), who hold a four game lead over the Wizards, occupy the fifth playoff position. With a victory tonight the Wizards win the season series and guarantee themselves home court advantage if they conclude the season in a tie with the Raptors.  

Tonight’s game will be played at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and can be seen on Comcast Sports Network at 7 P.M.  

Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	L 10	STREAK
Boston1	47	12	0.800	0.0	30-9	11-1	28-4	20-8	7-3	W 6
Detroit2	44	17	0.726	4.0	29-9	8-4	23-5	22-12	6-4	W 1
Orlando3	40	23	0.635	9.5	27-11	8-2	18-11	22-12	8-2	W 3
Cleveland4	35	27	0.565	14.0	19-15	5-4	19-10	16-17	6-4	L 1
Toronto5	33	27	0.541	15.5	22-17	8-5	18-13	15-15	5-5	W 1
Washington6	29	31	0.492	18.5	19-18	7-3	17-13	13-18	6-4	L 1
Philadelphia7	28	33	0.468	20.0	16-19	4-8	17-14	12-19	7-3	W 2
New Jersey8	26	35	0.419	23.0	19-18	2-8	15-17	11-19	3-7	L 3

Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, serves as Senior NBA Analyst for Sports Journey Radio. You can listen to his analyst Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 4:40 P.M. and 4:54 P.M. on ESPN 1240 in Delmarva, Maryland and Saturday’s on The US Sports Radio Network.    

My Weekly Sports Journey for the week ending March 7, 2008

Favre hangs it up

You know how I know this is for good? Deanna Favre, his wife, when asked by a local reporter from Green Bay if the couple would continue their charitable contributions to the community and their work among various organizations said in a strong voice: hell no. Well she didn’t exactly use those words but she might as well have. She said that “We (and I emphasize the We…) have decided that we are going to do nothing for a year.” So no matter what Favre might want to do in a month or 3, if Deanna says no, it’s not. Her standing is based on her being the person that got him off the substances that he abused by telling him that she had about had enough of his BS. She also is the person that within a year or two of that developedbreast cancer in her 30’s, is currently in remission or cancer-free but you never know do you? So how do you look at a woman like that and tell her to go to hell? You don’t. Case closed.  

Kobe vs. LeBron 

It was a sight to behold the other night at Madison Square Garden with LeBron putting up 50 with 10 boards and 8 dimes. But Kobe had put on his little show a couple of nights earlier with 52/11/4 against THE MAVS. Just a shade of a difference in quality of opponents don’t you think? But wait, isn’t LeBron’s scoring average better than Kobe’s this year…by almost 2 points a game? Yeah, that’s right but Kobe’s defense has been stepped up even more with his steals average almost doubled while his free throw percentage stays at around 80+% as it always has; his assists are up and he’s playing with a broken finger and torn ligaments. All right, enough of the sob sister stuff but someone has to tell LeBron that to be an MVP you have to do it on both sides of the ball which Kobe has done consistently throughout his career, being named to the NBA’s defensive first team multiple times. LeBron’s three pointers, except for that magical night at the Garden are poor and his free throw shooting must improve for them to win tight games down the stretch. Until that happens, Kobe is the chosen one this year.

How’s that Shaq trade going? 

The Suns are 3-5 with Shaq in the lineup and were 3-2 without him even after Shawn Marion was shipped to Miami. Without them figuring out how to shoot around him and drive to basket without him clogging the lane they are toast. Steve Kerr will be wearing the goat’s ears for this one and frankly he will deserve it. And hey, can’t imagine how happy the Big Cactus is now that he’s in the middle of a divorce and playing like crap on a very visible national stage. Oops……karma baby, karma.

Want more? Read my Daily Dose of Duffy column at www.incidentalcontact.com and listen to me on the Sports Journey radio show on Wednesday and Friday. 

©  2008 Incidental Contact, LLC

Wizards suffer a 30 point loss

Dwight Howard (12) of the Orlando Magic dunks on Andray Blatche of the Washington Wizards. Photo credit AP/Martinez Monsivais

A disappointing loss 

With about five minutes remaining in the third quarter of last night’s game against the Orlando Magic, Richard Hanks prepared for his exit. When asked if he was leaving, Hanks, a District resident, said, “I can’t continue watching this debauchery.”  

Down by 22 points when Hanks decided he could watch no more, the Washington Wizards eventually lost 122-92 in front of 17,745 Verizon Center crowd.  

With an opportunity to move up one game in the Southeast Division against the division leading Magic (40-23), the Wizards (29-31) played lethargic and without purpose.  

Coach Eddie Jordan, who took an unusual long time before arriving for his post-game press conference, described the 30 point beating as “very disappointing.”  

The Wizards competed well in the second and third quarters, but it was the first and fourth quarters that ultimately doomed them. The Magic jumped out to a 14 point first quarter lead on 56.1 percent shooting. The first six field goals converted by the Magic were either layups or dunks.  

“They pretty much had their way,” Jordan said about the Magic early physical dominance. “We backed off. We’re at home; we’re playing the best team in the division-one of the best teams in the League against one of the best big men in the League and I really thought that we would compete at a higher level.”  

“We had some mental breakdowns and didn’t play well tonight,” said Jordan. The Magic, who shot 60 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, played with a greater intensity and purpose. The Magic outscored the Wizards 56 to 40 in points in the paint, 12 to 6 in second chance points and 17 to 2 in fast-break points. 

“We’re sitting home thinking we’re going to get some rest [the Magic was on the back end of back-to-back games] and we just didn’t bring the energy – so it was just very disappointing.” 

Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 19 points and six rebounds and DeShawn Stevenson added 17 points and five rebounds.  

Dwight Howard led the Magic scoring 20 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Rashard Lewis, Maurice Evans and District native Keith Bogans each added 17 points.  

Reggie Williams, an award-winning editor and journalist, serves as Senior NBA Analyst for Sports Journey Radio. You can listen to his analyst Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 4:40 P.M. and 4:54 P.M. on ESPN 1240 in Delmarva, Maryland and Saturday’s on The US Sports Radio Network.