2006-07 Wiz Family Event Summary

This season, the Wiz held the Family Event before the regular season. There are players on the current roster that may not be on the final roster, but it is good to see that they get some recognition. The planning for this year's event was so much better than last year. The agenda was clear and easy to follow. Even though there appears to be more participants, people didn't have to fight through the crowd to "have fun".

Agenda:

6-6:30 pm - Family events at the floor. Mostly, this is for families with kids. The kids seemed to enjoy face painting, shooting hoops, and taking pictures.

6:30-7 pm - Dave Johnson emceed the event. The team's roster (coaches included) was announced. The starters showcased Adidas' new alternate Wizards jersey and shorts. Gold and black dominate the colors and in my opinion, they look good. Very different than the standard white/blue colors the Wiz wore since the name change in 1997. One strange event that happened was Antonio Daniels came out with his wife and daughter, greeted the crowd, and then ran back behind the curtain and never came out again. He (and Songaila) wasn't on the stage along with the other players and coaches. AD is a classy guy, so I hoped he stayed to sign autographs for the fans.

7-7:45 pm - Autograph session was why the fans went to this event. Fortunately, I was able to get autographs from players that I've not met "up close" before. Jarvis Hayes, DeShawn Stevenson, and Roger Mason Jr. signed my autograph book. Some lucky fans got Arenas' signature, but I think the hardest one to get is Jamison. Maybe next year (if he wants to come back to the team). Several players, such as Caron, Brendan, and Etan walked around the stadium and kids just draped them for autographs.

Fall 2006 Verizon Center Observations

When I attended the Wiz preseason game against the Raps last week, I noticed something different around F(un) Street. I usually go to the back and side doors to enter the arena; however, I was told that I have to go through the front because the upper levels were blocked off for the game.

As I walked back around to the front, I saw the Haagen-dazs parlor, the Clyde's restaurant, Chipotle, and McDonald's. But, around the corner where the metro escalators lie, I saw something different - the windows were no longer covered by Washington Sports art. The windows are now clear with people working inside. I didn't know what it was until I looked up and realized that a new sport club has opened in the Verizon Center. You can see people work out as you walk by the very busy 7th and F streets. To me, this is very cool because it epitomizes the downtown setting of a big city.

Sensing changes were happening, I walked into the stadium. Still the same ole' team store to my left and the ticket windows to my right. As I continued walking along the first level concourse, I noticed newer restaurants inside the Verizon Center. As the season rolls on, I will have an opportunity to try them. More variety means good things for the fans. I got addicted to Maui Wowi last year. I'm sure I'll be getting more smoothies this season.

Winning brings back opportunities that you don't see when the team was down. As DC continues toward a third consecutive playoff push, I hope more businesses will take a chance inside the Verizon Center. The rewards are there and it'll benefit everyone involved.

NBATV's Real Training Camp: Washington Wizards

Has anyone seen the 2 hour program NBATV put together this year for the Washington Wizards? It is much more in-depth than the 30 minute program they did last year. If you haven't seen it yet, I would suggest you stop reading this post as it contains spoilers.

*Spoiler Alert

Rick Kamla (NBATV) and Glen Consor (ComCast SportsNet) host the impressive 2 hour look into the Washington Wizards training camp that was again conducted on VCU campus at the Siegel Center. For those of you that don't know Rick Kamla, he's the superfan of NBATV. He hosts his own Fantasy NBA show on NBATV and he acts like Mark Cuban from time to time. Also, he talks about chauvinistic subjects that is just laugh-out-loud funny. Overall, he's like one of your sports buddies. BTW, Rick is a T-Wolves fan cuz he's from Minnesota. Glen, on the other hand, is very professional and much more serious. I've never seen Glen blink on TV. He's always focused and only criticizes the team when necessary.

The first thing the cameras show is Coach Jordan running a defensive play. Coach makes the players run the drill over and over again until he's satisfied. Interestingly, Coach screamed "good job" at Arenas and Jamison several times. I didn't know that these all-star players needed encouragement from Coach. Maybe it was a sign to the younger players that even veteran guys needed work on fundamentals, especially defense. Nonetheless, Arenas appeared to be slightly slower than he was last year. Maybe he gained more weight (from eating too much McDonald's)? Maybe he didn't care to play full-speed during practice? Newbie Stevenson looked solid. I was very down at DeShawn when he was drafted out of high school by the Utah Jazz and I was not a supporter of him when he got involved with underaged females. Somehow, these things made him grow up a bit and he's a solid starter now. Caron is always energized. Caron was clapping at his teammates when they did something positive. You gotta love team chemistry. Jamison looked like he's already in mid-season form (Team USA play helped), but I hope he can reserve more energy for the long, regular season. The battle for center, to me, isn't really one that Coach made it sound to the media. Even with all the stuff between Haywood and Coach, I feel that Brendan will be starter. Etan's solid, but his over-aggressiveness will hurt him when he picks up fouls he shouldn't.

The bench guys, AD, Jarvis, Donell, and Ruffin, look fine. Fingers are crossed that these guys stay healthy for the season. Nowhere do we see Darius Songaila. He's not even on the sidelines stretching. Several GMs noted that the Songaila signing was excellent for the Wizards, especially at the price. Darius was very energetic when I saw him play on Team Lithuania this past summer; however, impatient fans may not give this guy a chance. History tells us that we should look into last season, where fans were mixed with AD's performance for the first 50 games of the season. Afterwards, AD just exploded and became the leader he is. I feel that Darius will do the same thing for the Wizards. He is a tough banger and the Wiz definitely needs someone like him. Darius' inside-outside game is good and he'll be a tough cover.

The tv program just centers around Coach running drills. You see assistant coach Tom Young showing players where they're supposed to go. You also see assistant coach Mike O'Koren monitoring the drills. Coach tries to keep the players from getting bored - always switching from drills to games and back to drills. One thing that caught my attention is Coach "stuffs" his plays in his pants. You see this a lot from NFL coaches where their laminated play lists are stuffed in the front or in the back of their pants. Coach Jordan does this too and I have to wonder if this is uncomfortable.

The program contained a quick Q&A session with GM Ernie Grunfeld and you can sense that expectations are high. Many have said that it's not easy to run the "Princeton Offense", but with players that can pass the ball well, the motion offense will work. Offense doesn't worry me with the Wizards.

Overall, this 2-hour program is very entertaining. Coach didn't scream as much as he did in last year's program. I remember during last year's show, Coach yelled at Donell and Awvee Storey so many times that I was sure both would not make the team (to my surprise, they both made the team last season; however, Awvee moved back to NJ this season and Donell is fighting for a spot with the Wiz).

It's time to "Go All In" because it's back to "One Team; One Goal". I'm ready with my Arenas and Butler jerseys - are you?

Arenas Getting the Attention He Craves

Fox Sports.Net proclaimed that Gil is one of the top 10 players in the world. ESPN the Mag told us again the story of a talent that no one cared and eventually excelled to the top. SI had a profile of Gil about his uniqueness that is now termed "Gilbertology". Even Esquire magazine says Arenas is pathological (in a good way). With a new signature shoe and commercials galore (both local and national), this is what Arenas wanted. This is what Arenas demanded. This is what Arenas earned - respect.

The media loves telling Gilbert's story again and again because it epitomizes the American Dream. A young man, without a mother figure, overcame barriers in his life by working hard and earning success. A man, not 25 years old yet, is the face of a sports franchise that needed repair after years of futility. A man, that some doesn't acknowledge him so, is really a kid inside with immature behaviors. But most important of all, Arenas is a man that does things his way. He is a leader and he'll continue to amaze and dazzle.

The best thing about Gilbert Arenas is his understanding that being the cream of the crop doesn't last. Eventually, he'll be replaced by someone more talented and more eccentric. Gilbert knows that his time is now and that's why he looks for an edge with everything he does. If Gilbert falters, the world will place him back in obscurity. If Gilbert continues to shine, his name will be talked in circles among the best players in NBA history.

Sports legacy is like passing on your genes in the form of an offspring. The "DNA" needs to be retained in future generations for people to remember. Gilbert doesn't want you to forget who he is 20 years from now. With highlights from #0 on a nightly basis, fans will surely not forget.