The Most Pivotal Week in D.C. Sports History

Three Franchises Make Decisions That Could Change Their Future Forever

I've made no bones about it and I've made no attempts to hide it - I'm biased when it comes to D.C. sports. Sometimes I go to sleep wondering if I'll ever see a championship team in D.C. (and no D.C. United does not count). Last night was one of those nights. The Wizards had just announced that Ernie Grunfeld was coming back as GM and the reaction from not only me, but the majority of the fan base was...let's just say unfavorable.

Guess who's back..

But this got me thinking...Is this the most pivotal week in D.C. sports history (well as long as I have been living)?
Recent events and pending future events prove me right.

The Wizards

As mentioned before, the Wizards are bringing back Ernie Grunfeld to become the GM of the Wizards. From the Wizards' point of view, there are two main justifications for this: 

back again...

1. Grunfeld has shipped out bad contracts for expiring ones and has placed the team in a good position to sign free agents.
2. He's sticking to owner Ted Leonsis' plan and since Leonsis is the boss, Grunfeld gets another shot.

But I ask, do you really want the guy who drafted Oleksiy Pecherov, Nick Young, and Javale McGee to make the selection in a draft that would add another prime piece for the team's future? Do you really want the guy who signed Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Andray Blatche to ridiculous extensions when it was clear the team was not going past the second round of the playoffs? Do you want the guy who traded Caron Butler, the most financially reasonable of the big three, along with starters Brendan Haywood, and Deshawn Stevenson for cents on the dollar making even bigger decisions regarding the team's personnel? Do you want the guy who traded the #5 overall pick in a LOADED NBA Draft for Mike Miller and Randy Foye (that pick ended up being Ricky Rubio btw) having to do anything with your franchise? The answer is no.

Grunfeld's back..

Sure, Grunfeld wasn't all bad. He did bring four consecutive playoff seasons to a team that had not seen sustained playoff success since the late 1970's and early 1980's. He has also cleaned up the mess that he created: trading Jamison to Cleveland for the big expiring contract of Zydraunas Ilgauskas, trading Gilbert Arenas to the Magic for the slightly less harder to swallow contract in Rashard Lewis, trading Kirk Hinrich to the Hawks for Jordan Crawford and another first round draft pick and acquiring multiple first round draft picks and drafting Kevin Seraphin, Jan Vesely, and others. He also got rid of laughing stocks Javale McGee and Nick Young for Nene Hilario. Let's also not forget, Grunfeld did take John Wall with the first overall pick - at least, he didn't screw that up.

The logic is simple. If you invited me over to your house for dinner and fed me a very nice vegetarian meal (yes, make your jokes later) and then I proceeded to relieve my colon on your kitchen floor, then cleaned it up, would you invite me back? That's exactly what the Wizards are doing.

During a week when two other franchises have the ability to make strides in the right direction, the Wizards have completely screwed up and have zapped the energy out of whatever fan base they have left. The fan base is tired, TIRED of the losing. Attendance at games are embarrassing. Wizard fans have to be worried about John Wall skipping town when his contract is up. I'm pretty sure playing with offensive stalwarts like Jordan Crawford and Chris Singleton does not excited John Wall. The John Wall watch is on and not for good reason.

kill me now..

When I emailed Ted Leonsis' and asked why Grunfeld was brought back, his answer was very succinct: "Because he has executed what I asked--ahead of schedule. And on budget. ted" Unbelievable. Apparently a $6.7 million dollar house in Nantucket is on budget as well. In addition, I don't know what schedule he is talking about. Maybe, the Wizards will contend when my head is laid to the ground for good?

The Capitals

The other half of Ted Leonsis' sports' ownership, the Washington Capitals have a Game 7 in which they take on the Boston Bruins in Boston. The series has been tough, with all games being one goal games, and three overtime games. If the Capitals win, it could do a lot more for the team than just advancing to the second round. 

Semin - playoff hero or inconsistent player?

The psychology of the team could be changed. For the last several seasons, the Capitals have been the warriors of the regular season and the damsels of the playoffs combining early exits with uninspired performances. Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Green, and Nicklas Backstrom - the big four around who this team has been built - have a chance to rewrite history. A win could vault them into contending for the Cup this year. With the insane goaltending of Braden Holtby, there is a very good chance the Caps could stonewall the Bruins, but if the Caps lose, there could be major changes coming for the team if Leonsis wants them. 

Is Mike Green worth bringing back?

Leonsis has been an owner in both basketball (as you saw above) and in hockey who has been reluctant to make changes. An early round exit could force his hand  and cause him to can GM George McPhee. GMGM hasn't been as bad as his Wizards' counterpart as he has actually tried to make the team better, but it might be time for a culture change. The teams' top guns HAVE to come to play tomorrow and a blowout of the Bruins would be monumental for this team's psyche and confidence. Also, can someone please tell me how Dennis Wideman keeps getting playing time in this damn series?

The Redskins

This is it. Everything Redskins fans have been waiting for all comes down to Thursday night when the Redskins will draft Robert Griffin III. It's time to win and it's time to win now. There is absolutely no incentive to lose as the Rams have all the Skins' first round picks for the next two years.

It's make or break for Shanahan.

For all the slack Daniel Snyder gets as owner of the Redskins, it seems like he has finally turned the corner and handed over all football decisions to Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan. This is Shanahan's make or break here. If the Redskins don't win 8 or more games, his job is on the line and for good reason. It's time to improve and it's time to put Griffin in the best position to succeed. If Shanahan is as good as he says he is, his offensive genius will come through and the Redskins' offense should be above average in 2012. With a defense that seems like it will be a very good one, the Redskins could contend in the NFC East. It's time D.C. and this is the week that decides it all. 

The savior has arrived.

The Phillip Thomas Interview - Discusses Redskins, Luck vs. RGIII, and Possible Baseball Career

When newerascouting.com's Scott Porter called me right before our interview with Phillip Thomas, he said "Phillip will talk about anything." Being the skeptic that I am, I laughed at that and just chalked that up to Scott's excitement over Thomas' playing skills. I was wrong...very very wrong.

Phillip Thomas literally talked about anything and everything with us - from his draft preparation back home in Miami, his immense desire to play for the Redskins, his Major League baseball prospects, his year-long suspension during his junior season at Syracuse, and even who he thought was better between Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. At the end of the interview, I felt like I knew Thomas a lot more than just a player, but more importantly as a quality individual.

Here is the link to the interview: The Phillip Thomas Interview
(Apologize for the choppyness..I suck)

Phillip Thomas (1) in a game against Cincinatti

Why the Browns need to and will pick Justin Blackmon with the #4 overall pick

I recently read an article on Bleacher Report about how the Browns need to draft Trent Richardson (Why the Browns need to pick Trent Richardson) by my good friend Gordie Gold. As much as I like Gordie (I tutored the damn kid in Chemistry) and his mom's Tollhouse cookies, I have to disagree. A lot.

Justin Blackmon needs to be the pick for the Browns. If he's not, Cleveland might burn down...again and for the first time since Lebron's departure.

The Browns had the 29th overall offense in the NFL in the 2011-2012 season, the 24th ranked passing attack, and the 28th ranked rushing attack. So why Blackmon?

Justin Blackmon is by consensus, the #1 WR in this draft.

The fact is Colt McCoy, like it or not, is not a franchise quarterback. But are the Browns really going to use the 6th overall pick on Ryan Tannehill, a former wide receiver who started playing quarterback late in his career at Texas A&M? No. Not with their offense having such gaping holes like Montario Hardesty as their starting running back and Mohammed Massaquoi, Greg Little, and Josh Cribbs as their top three wide receivers.

Those names don't strike fear into anyone, but by all accounts, adding Blackmon will. I am not that big of a fan of Blackmon, but he adds a dimension to the Browns' offense that they have never seen: an explosive wide receiver who can catch. Cribbs is an explosive player when he has the ball in his hands, but holding on to the ball has always been a problem for him. Blackmon gives McCoy or whoever else is under center in 2012 a sure-fire option, both on intermediate and long routes.

The Browns already lost out on the RGIII sweepstakes to the Redskins and Mike Holmgren explained it away to his season ticket holders by blaming that on the friendly relationship between Jeff Fisher and Mike Shanahan. The Browns need someone not only to sell tickets, but also to help them win. Sure, Richardson does that, but is a RB really worth a Top 5 pick in today's NFL unless his name is Adrian Peterson? No.

Lamar Miller looked awfully impressive at the NFL Combine.

More teams have gone toward a running-back-by-committee approach, in an attempt to lessen the wear and tear on their horses. As Gold mentions, the Brown have another first round pick - #22 overall and you know who will be available there? Lamar Miller, the running back from Miami, who has blazing speed and will also help McCoy with dump-offs and screen passes. If the NFL playoffs showed us anything last year, it's that you need a good quarterback and good weapons around him to succeed. Very few teams in the playoffs had a dominant #1 running back, but nearly all of them had great receiving options. It's not worth it to pick Richardson at #4 and to take a gamble on "lesser" wide receivers like Stephen Hill from Georgia Tech or Michael Floyd from Notre Dame.

Besides, there is a decent enough possibility that Richardson falls into the mid-to-late-teens. He's not a surefire prospect and there have been rumblings about him slipping. It's not entirely unlikely to think of the Browns trading up from #22 and #37 to grab Richardson. But at #4? Not a chance.

In addition, I will go on record right now to state my Top 5 picks for the NFL Draft. This will not change and I fully expect this to happen:

1. Colts: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford - Don't buy Irsay's smokescreen. He loves the media and no way in hell he takes Griffin.
2. Redskins: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor - Done deal. Griffin turned down the Colts and seems to be in love with the idea of playing in Shanahan system.
3. Vikings: Matt Kalil, OT, USC - The best OT since Joe Thomas is not going past Minnesota. Ponder needs protection and lots of it.
4. Browns: Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State - See above.
5. Buccaneers: Morris Claiborne, CB, LSU - Don't pay attention to his recent Wonderlic score. In a study conducted by Towson University, defensive backs who got lower Wonderlic scores actually perform better than their higher scoring counterparts.

Tell me if that Wonderlic score is really going to affect this..

Kentucky is great, but can they beat the Wizards?

Kentucky is a great team - best team in a really long time in college basketball. But can they beat the Wizards or any other NBA team? No.

Anthony Davis' brow is a beast

And this is why. Here are the stats of the last collegiate season for each member of the Wizards:

Trevor Booker, Clemson - 15.2 ppg 8.4 rpg 2.5 apg
Brian Cook, Illinois - 20.0 ppg 7.6 rpg 2.0 apg
Jordan Crawford, Xavier - 20.5 ppg 4.7 rpg 2.9 apg
Maurice Evans, Texas - 15.6 ppg 5.3 rpg 1.6 apg
Shelvin Mack, Butler - 16.0 ppg 4.5 rpg 3.4 apg
Roger Mason Jr, Virginia. - 18.6 ppg 3.2 rpg 4.1 apg
John Wall, Kentucky- 16.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 6.5 apg
Chris Singleton, Florida State - 13.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg ,1.2 apg

And this is not counting Nene Hilario, Kevin Seraphin, Jan Vesely, Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche (yes I know)

That being said, let's all hope Kentucky wins by more than 6.5 points and Calipari gets his first championship. #TeamCalipari #BBN