Suns Shine, Wizards Whipped

Well, I found myself all alone in the basement with the Wizards once the Suns went up 41-23 in the first quarter last night. Not even the dog wanted to watch as the rest of the family abandoned me for Randy, Paula and Simon. Just me and several baskets of clean laundry to fold - an activity that can be quite therapeutic when you are watching your favorite team get the Charlie Watts treatment.

Actually, that's not quite fair. The Doc did wander down at one point, around halftime. Coincidentally, at that moment, some guy named Sundance was wowing the Idol judges. And then we switched back to the game and watched the Suns dance all over the Wiz.

Yup, Phoenix really showed Washington what an aberration the Wizards' win in Arizona was. They made six three-pointers in the first quarter and stretched the lead as high as 29 in the second. The Wizards, meanwhile, got off to a slow start, especially Gilbert Arenas, who missed six of his first seven shots. He then made his next four, including two treys, but at the half, the Suns led 76-51 and the only suspense was whether they could score 150.

Caron Butler led a third quarter effort with two powerful dunks bracketing a three point play that got the home crowd riled up and the Wizards within 15, but two quick Phoenix baskets by Shawn Marion quashed any hope of a comeback. In the fourth, it was Antonio Daniels who sparked the Wiz to cut the margin to 13, but again the Suns calmly executed their passing offense to perfection. In some games, teams make a big comeback, only to run out of time at the end. This was not one of those games. You got the impression that Phoenix would have turned back every Washington rally for the rest of the week.

Steve Nash's two MVP awards have correctly bestowed the credit where it is due. Amare Stoudamire was in foul trouble, personal and technical, that limited his minutes, and while Marion and Leandro Barbosa are marvelous basketball players, Nash puts this team way, way over the top. He is never hurried, never panicked, the ball goes exactly where he wants it to go, and he rarely chooses to put it in the wrong hands. He doesn't scare you as a defender, but he puts pressure on your offense to score because you know he is coming to get his two or three at the other end after your team is finished. A British soccer coach I know once described his own diminutive star player as a "wee magic man," and it was this thought that kept coming back to me as Nash and the ball would disappear into a crowd of players and the ball would reappear in the hands of a wide open Sun for an easy bucket.

So,the Wizards reign as Eastern Conference leaders ended quietly. They have the chance to seize it right back with home-and-home against Detroit and a trip to Boston coming up. For no good reason at all, I like their chances.

Weekend Warmup

GW
Okay, let's start with the Colonials today. GW's solid, not spectacular, 63-58 win at Richmond the other night sets up a pretty good matchup tomorrow when the Charlotte 49ers return to the site of their magnificent meltdown last March. Charlotte forward Leemire Goldwire, whose complete loss of composure pulled the nails out of the coffin in which his team had all but buried GW, will certainly get a warm greeting from the Smith Center crowd. The Colonials are now 12-4 with only one quality win - against Virginia Tech - but no bad losses. Charlotte, to toss out the first cliche of the day, is better than its 8-8 record. The 49ers' schedule is sprinkled with names from big conferences and few real dogs, but they are only 2-2 in the decidedly mediocre Atlantic 10. Like GW, Charlotte relies on a veteran backcourt - Goldwire and big guard/small forward De'Angelo Alexander - that is proficient from short and long range, and a wiry 6-9 forward, senior E.J. Drayton. If the Colonials can neutralize the 49ers' emotional advantage, this should be a win for the home team and a statement that they belong closer to the top than the middle of the league, and Big Stein thinks they could jump to Number One. By the way, Cheyenne Moore's numbers through ten games (11.4 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg, .400 3PFG%) show me a player who is slowly coming along and fitting in, although eyewitness reports cite a major need for improvement on defense. I still see his progress as the key to this season's success.

Wiz
Much more on the line for the Wizards tonight as they try to hold onto first place in the Southeast Division against the second place Orlando Magic. The Knicks finally forced Washington to find someone other than Gilbert Arenas to hit a game winner the other night, and the Wiz made it look easy with a couple drives, kicks and dishes that found Caron Butler wide open for a dunk. Still, they'll need big presence from Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas to keep Dwight Howard from going wild in the paint tonight. With Cleveland at Denver later, the Wizards could wake up tied for first in the Eastern Conference tomorrow. Smells like a tasty doubleheader to me.

NFL
The good news is I didn't have to spend the week searching online for a vendor to sell me strings of purple lights to hang on the house. The bad news is I have to choose between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Let's see, Brady was a guest at the State of the Union, he has supermodels waiting for him outside the locker room, but every third commercial during an NFL broadcast features Manning. But the commercials are funny, and as much as I respect what Bill Belichick has done, I am tired of the notion that he could trot out Tom Brady and the New England Pee-Wee All-Stars and still win the Super Bowl. And it's easy to root for Tony Dungy, but he has to understand that while a Pat Buchanan level of conservatism on offense worked against the Ravens, he needs to move to the middle to win this weekend.

Nice little flip-flop by Boomer Esiason this week. Two years ago, he made studiomate Dan Marino cringe when he said that Manning could be destined for "Marinoville" after the Pats drummed the Colts out of the playoffs, 20-3. Scroll down to the bottom of this Ray Frager article in today's Baltimore Sun to see where he says, "(Manning) doesn't need to go to the Super Bowl to validate his career."

Might be time for my younger son's Michael Vick jersey to disappear mysteriously from his closet.

Oh, and in the other game, I'm going with the rest of America outside the Chicagoland area and cheering for the Saints. Sorry, Jay.

American Idol
If you don't like reading what I write about this show, just think about how bad I feel writing it.

Movies
Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, "Volver," it all adds up to my finally getting a Netflix membership.

Hi Def Entertainment
From yesterday's Sun, Kevin Cowherd with a fun trick to play on your technology-obsessed, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses friends.

Tuesday Treacle

Gil's Gone Wild!
Gilbert Arenas finally brought his hit parade home yesterday with a 51-point outburst at the Verizon Center, including a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 114-111 win over the Utah Jazz. It was Arenas' third 50+ game this season but his first on the Wizards' homecourt and it ties the arena scoring record set by Michael Jordan in 2001. I am starting to get the feeling that iyou'd feel cheated if you bought a ticket to see Arenas play and he scored less than 40. And I can't believe that the Verizon Center is not sold out every game .

Tomlinson's Tantrum

So LaDainian Tomlinson says that the Patriots showed no class when they imitated Shawne Merriman's sack dance on the Chargers' midfield logo at the end of Sunday's playoff game? Really? Would he have preferred that they come up with their own original choreography? Was that really a story on SportsCenter or did I accidently switch over to "Bring it On" on the USA Network? I just can't believe that a professional football player, who just had one of the best seasons in the history of the game, cares about the dancing that much. I guess we'll be seeing Tomlinson, Merriman and Emmett Smith in "Stomp the Yard, Part 2." I wish somebody would sit these guys down with Chuck Bednarik or Art Donovan to learn what's important to a real football player, although I guess Rosie Grier might have a different opinion.

Global Boring

Did you watch the Golden Globe Awards last night? Yeah, me neither. Okay, I tuned in for about five minutes, and here's what I learned: the star of Ugly Betty, which won for Best TV Comedy, is not really ugly. I know, I know, shocking. I've never seen the show, but I can't believe any show on TV is funnier than "The Office." The brief clip they showed last night where Steve Carell affirms his racial sensitivity by comparing his respect for Jesus Christ and Apollo Creed was ten times funnier than the clip of Ugly Betty walking into a plate-glass wall. Stupid politically correct voters.

Also, Annette Benning is aging much better than Warren Beatty. I guess this shouldn't come as a surprise considering that she is more than ten years younger than he. This was the segment that caused me to begin the channel surf. I mean, I am sure that Tom Hanks meant well in his tribute to Beatty, and he is just so gosh-darn earnest, but this was his worst performance since Bonfire of the Vanities, with none of the quirky charm of Joe Versus the Volcano.

Neuheisel New Hire
Baltimore Ravens' coach Brian Billick announced that he has promoted quarterbacks coach Rick Neuheisel to offensive coordinator. I have no idea how this will affect the team, but here is what I know about Neuheisel: he was a success at Colorado, where kept his players happy with inner-tubing trips and his guitar-playing antics, but he left for the big bucks at the University of Washington and left a mild stench of NCAA violations at Boulder. He was also successful at Washington, but was fired after he won a big-money ($5,000) NCAA basketball pool. He then sued UW and the NCAA for wrongful termination and won $4.5 million. Reports stated that Neuheisel shed a few tears on the stand during his testimony. Now, I think it's alright to cry (see Rosie Grier link above) during a multimillion dollar trial, but only if you're the guy who has to pay.

Hoopsy Daisy!

GW
The Colonials cut a 17-point second half deficit to one, but were never able to take the lead in a 91-84 loss at UMass last night. This wasn't one I expected them to win, and they showed strong resolve in making several runs at the Minutemen down the stretch. The hosts's interior tandem of Stephane Lasme (23 points, 13 rebounds, 11 blocks) and Rashaun Freeman (21, 7) dominated, but it was the unexpected outside prowess of Etienne Brower that opened up the paint for the big guys. Brower, who missed the first seven games of the season with an ankle injury, knocked down two treys in the first six minutes last night. On the plus side, Carl Elliott (19 points, 6 rebounds) and Maureece Rice (30, 7) made lots of clutch shots to keep it close, and GW got good minutes from Cheyenne Moore and Damian Hollis. As I have been saying for a while, check back with me at the end of the month for a more in-depth evaluation of this team.

Terps
As I have also been saying for a while, after ripping through the bottom quartile of the RPI recently, Maryland stumbled badly at home last night against Miami. Unlike Iona, Miami has actually won a game this season. Unlike Mount Saint Mary's, Miami decided to play defense against Mike Jones. And unlike Siena, Miami has players who are just as big, quick and skilled as Maryland's. Still, this is not the end of the world for the Terps. In fact, Gary Williams will use this loss to great effect in motivating his team, especially his young guards. But no amount of coaching is going to add bulk to Ekene Ibekwe and James Gist or quickness to Will Bowers. Could be ugly when Tyler Hansbrough gets ahold of these guys. Fortunately, the Terps match up much better with Clemson, who comes to town this weekend. Look for Maryland to catch the Tigers looking ahead to UNC and pull the upset to beat Duke out of the ACC cellar.

Wizards
Some stat maven is going to have to look up the last time Washington won when Gibert Arenas scored only 21 points, but balanced scoring effort put the Wiz over the Bulls 113-103 at Verizon Center last night. Caron Butler continued his hot streak with a team-high 26 points and Antonio Daniels had his highest scoring total of the year with 15 off the bench. In a game that pitted one of the league's highest scoring offense against one of its stingiest defenses, the Wiz won out, bouncing back nicely from Sunday's loss to the Raptors. Over at Hoops Addict, Ryan thinks that Marty Burns ranked Washington too high at #3 (I disagree) and loves that Slam Online posted Carmelo Anthony's iPod playlist (I am befuddled).

Tomorrow
If you're lucky, I'll have a full recap of tonight's George Mason vs. Towson game. How could you want anything more than an up-close look at two teams battling it out for for sixth place in a midmajor college basketball conference?

Go Gilbert, it's your birthday!

Not sure if today is actually Gilbert Arenas' real birthday, but there is a party for him in DC tonight that is becoming the event of the season, to borrow a phrase from Kansas. I used to believe that I played my best basketball of the year on my birthday, even when it was just a pickup game. Gilbert had pretty special night with the gamewinner on Wednesday; maybe that was his birthday. Head on over to Big Stein's for all the news and links, but be careful, you could be there a while.

Denver 117, Washington 108

(To the tune of, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Go ahead, sing it with a friend.)

‘Melo can’t play – Another big break for our side
Nor JR and Nene – Wizards should whip Denver’s hide
The Nuggets’ lineup is thin – This looks like an easy win
That would be nice – In just one week, to beat them twice
I don’t think we should worry – the Wiz should win, scoring a flurry
Caron and Gil will be running the floor - Listen to the crowd roar
But Earl Boykins is playing with fury – Rebounding like Moses Scurry
Maybe this could be a chore – Washington’s shooting is poor

Tonight the Wiz stink - Baby, it's bad out there
Everything’s out of sync - No points to be had out there
I wish I knew how – Boykins is playing like Yao
It’s hard to tell – When just last night, they played so well
Every time they try to go, go, go, sir – The Wiz can’t seem to get any closer
The lead looks three miles wide – They’re just playing for pride
It’s just not their day – Now I have no doubt

The shots just won’t go - Baby, they’re cold from outside
No rhythm, no flow - Can’t seem to get off the schneid
Marcus Camby has been – Fiercer than Rin Tin Tin
Another miss by Antawn – And a foul on DeShawn
More out of tune than Sid Vicious – Tonight the Wiz sleep with the fishes
On D, no one’s minding the store – When Joe Smith cuts backdoor
Taking shots against Eddie’s wishes - Can’t get a break from the officials
Well maybe just one quarter more – If only they could tie the score

They rally like they’re at home – Cut the lead to a pair
My mouth is starting to foam – On my knees in a prayer
But the Birdman crash lands – Tonight he won’t take a bow
I can’t believe what I see – Why do the Wiz do this to me?
I guess there’s always tomorrow – Clips and Suns might only bring sorrow
At least they really tried – Could have rolled over and died
And next time they play – I’ll be on the couch
Cuz, baby, it's cold outside

Zero to 60 in 53 minutes

Truth be told, Gilbert Arenas only played 49 minutes in Washington's 147-141 overtime win against the Lakers last night, and while his 60-point outburst was historic and dramatic, it was not surprising. Arenas and the Wizards forced the tempo all night (and into the morning), and his points came from everywhere; he had 15 from three-point range and made 21 free throws. In the five minute OT, he scored 16 points, more than some teams have had in an entire quarter this season. And unlike Kobe Bryant's 81-point game last year, Gilbert took less than half of his team's shots and added eight assists and eight rebounds (Kobe had two and six).

I won't try to summarize the game; Big Stein has all the links you could want over at the Bog. But I do have a few random thoughts:

On the East Coast, you had to stay up late to watch this one, but it was worth it. Right up there with the Caps four-overtime loss to the Islanders in the 1987 playoffs, except that the Caps lost, of course.

Caron Butler decisively settled the question of who got the best in the Butler for Kwame Brown trade last season.

When Odom is healthy, the Lakers are just a better point guard away from contending for a title. Bynum is becoming a Western Conference Dwight Howard, Walton is the best three-point shooter in the League, Radmanovic and Vujacic can also shoot it, and when you forget that Kwame was the number one pick, he looks like a good body to have coming off the bench. They have a better record than any team in the East, but are looking at a five seed in the West today.

The Comcast announcing team of Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier do a good job, but they are unabashed homers (New Years Resolution: use the word abashed without the "un" in a sentence). Last night, one of them, I can't remember which, said, "Kobe Bryant really has Arenas-like range on his jumper," and the other agreed. I love Gilbert's game, but I think most people would have reversed the roles in that comparison.

Agent Zero is a really cool nickname, the best in the NBA. It's cool because it has nothing to do with his initials or truncating his name, like T-Mac, KG, 'Melo, or D-Wade. It's cool because it's intrinsic to his personality and captures his well-chronicled eccentricity. It's cool because it came from a blogger, and wasn't focus-grouped into existence by a marketing executive. If you think about it, "The Answer" is a clever sobriquet coined by Reebok for Allen Iverson. But that's the problem; you have think about it. Agent Zero makes you smile right away, and then laugh when you think about it. It's cool because Gilbert likes it; I think he enjoys calling himself Agent Zero and laughs when others do the same. Back to Iverson for comparison: I just don't picture him screaming out, "I am the Answer!" after a big shot. It's cool because Gilbert didn't give himself the tag, like Kobe with the ridiculous "Mamba" or Shaq with his millions of monikers. Finally, it's cool because last year, when Gilbert was asked by a Miami police officer if he had any "street names," Gilbert jokingly replied, "Zero Hero."

I can honestly say that I am not nearly as enthused about the black and gold uniforms that the Wizards wore last night. I don't mind the gold jerseys as much as some folks do, but the black shorts are not working for me no matter how many games they win. Basketball uniforms are meant to have the same color shorts and shirts. The two-color combo looks like something Marathon Oil would have worn in the 1990s as they barnstormed around the country playing in college exhibitions. Or a Greek professional team named after its sponsor. Make the shorts tighter and you've got yourself a women's volleyball uni. Give me a gold-and-gold or a black-and-black, but right now the Wizards look like the equipment manager packed the wrong crates.

The Wiz have won eight of their last 10 and are one game over .500, something I hadn't hoped for until the end of the month. It's fair to argue that they beat Miami without Shaq and Wade, Philly without Iverson, and the Lakers without Odom, but they did beat Dallas with Dirk and Denver with Carmelo, and they have now won three in a row on the road. By the way, it looks like 'Melo will be a noshow in tonight's rematch after the "Fight Night in the Garden" over the weekend. I have nothing to say about the brawl, but if anyone has a good "Stop Snitching" joke to pass on, I am all ears.

GW bounces back

Speaking of obsessions, the Colonials cruised to a 72-51 win over UMBC at Smith Center last night. Maureece Rice had 22 points and 10 rebounds as GW jumped the Retrievers from the outset, but the most important news was that the long-awaited Cheyenne Moore finally played more than just a minute. He had 10 points in 10 minutes, including two threes and a swooping reverse layup that left the crowd giddy. Regis Koundjia left the game after getting a hard shot to the jaw, but hopefuly will be ready when GW plays Air Force in two weeks.

The Colonials' record now stands at 7-2, a respectable if unremarkable tally as the nonconference schedule winds down. Air Force might be the best team they play all year, so a record of 9-3 entering league play would be fine. The upper level of the A-10 hold UMass, Xavier and St. Louis as expected, but also a surprising Dayton team. The middle and bottom of the conference has been pretty bad, so this looks like a two-bid year for the league at best. Right now, there's no reason to think the Colonials can't be one of those teams.

California Screaming

Saturday night, the Doc and I had some seasonal social events to attend, so I watched the first half of GW-USC before we had to leave, but my older son said he would tape the rest of the game for me.

As I predicted, Southern Cal started slowly, but GW didn't light it up either. The Trojans struggled mightily in the first half, suffering a 10-minute scoring drought, turning the ball over 11 times, and managing only 18 field goal attempts. At the break GW led, 29-16, mainly as a result of eight offensive rebounds. Carl Elliott had outscored his Trojan counterpart Lodrick Stewart 9-2, and USC point guard Daniel Hackett had three personal fouls and Stewart and Dwight Lewis had two each.

By the time we reached our first stop of the night, GW had opened up a 20-point lead with under 18 minutes to play. "Not bad," I thought. This would be a great road win for a team that is very much a work in progress.

After exchanging holiday greetings with some neighbors and new acquaintances, we bid our hosts farewell and climbed into the car to move on to the next soiree. I turned on the radio and heard the announcer say, "The Trojans are really feeling it now! They lead 56-52 and GW calls timeout."

What? How does that happen? But of course it happens all the time. GW was down 18 to UNC Wilmington and 17 to Xavier last season and won both games. And some GW fans still can't talk about the Colonials blowing an 18-point lead against Iowa in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. But, coming in early December instead of early March, this one shouldn't hurt as much.

First, you have to give credit to USC and their coach, Tim Floyd. The Trojans didn't take the lead with a six or eight minute burst, they ground away like a PGA Tour veteran trying to make the cut. For nearly 14 minutes they chipped at the lead and crashed the boards until they went ahead 53-52 on two Taj Gibson free throws. Stewart made up for his lousy first half with 19 points in the second, including three treys. Gibson set up camp in the lane and collected 12 rebounds. And over the last 1:30, USC made 18 of 20 free throws to protect and extend the lead.

Also, the Trojans did a great job short circuiting GW's halfcourt offense by denying the first pass to the wing, a tactic Duke used to great effect in the NCAA Tournament last year and something GW should expect to see a lot more often. The Colonials are going to have to work on their back screens and back door cuts to exploit the defensive overplay.

Not that GW escapes without some blame for this one. It's easy to focus on Elliott, who was 1-8 in the second half and finished with eight turnovers. A 90% free throw shooter this season, he missed the front end of a one-and-one just before USC took the lead for good. But the whole team suffered from miscues throughout the second half. Rob Diggs interefered with a Traivs King layin that was about to fall through the hoop, Regis Koundjia mistimed a fastbreak layup, Maureece Rice missed three free throws (including another one-and-one front end), and Elliott, Rice and King all missed open shots under the four-minute mark.

Surprisingly, Cheyenne Moore appeared only in the last minute when GW had to foul. Noel Wilmore did not play at all and Damien Hollis was only on the court for a minute or two. After such a great first half defensive effort, I think it's fair to say that GW ran out of gas against a deeper and very athletic USC team. Karl Hobbs may not want the aggravation that comes with giving lesser players more minutes, but he might need a few minutes from those guys just to keep Elliott and Rice fresh.

Before the season, I figured this would be a tough game, but it's hard to stomach when you have such a great opportunity. The Colonials face UMBC tonight, and I'll be impressed if they come out stong and focused. If not, they could find themselves in a real struggle.

Polling for Dollars

Despite the title of this post, I'm not getting paid for my opinions regarding the DC/MD/VA Division I hoops hierarchy. In that spirit, Virginia moves to my Number 1 spot without playing a game this week. I had the Cavs a very close second behind Maryland last week, and the Terps loss at BC - after beating Fordham - makes them a very close second behind UVa. Stepping down a bit, teams 3-7 are bunched pretty closely. GW blew a big lead against USC (more on that later), but they don't have a bad loss and they have the best win - over Va. Tech. Yes, ODU winning at Georgetown is nice, but they just lost at Tech. Georgetown slips ahead of ODU, but just barely; the Hoyas still don't have an impressive win. VCU has to get credit for three road wins, but a bad early loss at Toledo hurts. Liberty jumps in with the best winning percentage of all 27 eligible teams. Navy drops a spot after losing at home to Penn, and Towson knocks AU out because the Eagles lost to Yale.

Check Big Stein's Bog to see how my picks compare:

1. Virginia
Cavaliers take 13 days off. Dave Leitao’s hairline suspiciously lower on his forehead when he returns from “recruiting trip.”
2. Maryland
Beat Fordham and lost to BC. Gary Williams withdraws petition for exemption for Terps to join new basketball superconference, The Big Jesuit.
3. GW
Colonials’ loss at Southern Cal eliminates them from BCS consideration.
4. Virginia Tech
Coleman Collins is the Hokies’ best basketball player with two last names since Dell Curry.
5. Georgetown
Beat Oral Roberts who beat Kansas who beat USC who beat GW, which is the alma mater of Alec Baldwin, who was in “She’s Having a Baby” with Kevin Bacon. Yes!
6. Old Dominion
Branding firm recommended changing name to New and Improved Dominion, but University’s legal counsel advised against, citing truth in advertising statutes.
7. VCU
Wins at Albany and Richmond boost their RPI in the all-important “wins at state capitals” category. Better be careful against perennial powers Montpelier and Carson City.
8. Liberty
Larry Blair is the Flames leading scorer, Moe Barry has yet to play a minute this season, but Curly and Shemp were both suspended for a “disciplinary reasons.”
9. Navy
Invokes the oft-used “Penn and Princeton” exemption clause to avoid automatic expulsion from the Top 10 for losing to an Ivy League Team. American University lobbies unsuccessfully to add Yale to the list.
10. Towson
With Temple and Georgetown on the schedule this week, it could be a while before we see Pat’s Cats crack the Top 10 again.

Fa fa fa Friday, fa fa fa Friday

Run run run, run run run run away
Psycho Killer
Qu'est Que C'est?

Today's post title and subtitle come courtesy of the Talking Heads, of course. Don't read anything into it, I just liked the way it sounded with Friday.

So what's on tap for the weekend? Two great choices tonight. You've got the Rudolph/ Frosty doubleheader beginning at 8:00 on CBS, or Wizards-Sixers on ESPN - or Comcast SportsNet for you locals who like the homer announcing. If you're looking for something Xmassy from the new millenium, there's "The Polar Express" on ABC Family. We'll be on the cartoons from our couch, but the commercials required to stretch Rudolph to an hour should leave plenty of time to see if Gilbert and Co. can win their third in a row. And if neither of the above holiday video offerings are putting you in the spirit, then head on over to Big Stein's Bog and check out what YouTube is - or should be - all about.

For tomorrow, we've got the Colonials at Southern Cal; the Trojans are 5-2 coming off a loss at #13 Kansas. The game's marquee matchup pits USC's leading scorer Lodrick Stewart against GW's Carl Elliott. At 6-4, 210, Stewart shoots the three frequently and efficiently (17-39) and has the size to get to the basket. Freshman center Taj Gibson averages nearly 10 rebounds and has 12 blocks this season, but he has also fouled out of three games already. USC also has trouble hanging onto the ball (19.4 TOs/gm) and their lead assist man Daniel Hackett has an assist/turnover ratio lower than 1/1. Coming off an intense battle against the Jayhawks, look for USC to start slowly against GW, recover, and then become another victim of GW coach Karl Hobbs' halftime adjustments. Colonials 82, Trojans 75.

We will also be getting a Christmas tree tomorrow. At least, that's the plan. This particular holiday tradition has generations of family history, giving it a very high bloggability factor. Tune in Monday to see if tomorrow's expedition makes the annals.

Sunday, we've got the Ravens at Kansas City. Baltimore's toughest remaining game comes after a ten-day layoff following the loss at Cincinnati. If the defense scores a touchdown, the Ravens win by at least two TD's. If not, it probably comes down to a field goal. The Chiefs are playing for a wildcard spot, but they won't advance their cause this weekend. The Ravens have shut down top AFC backs LaDanian Tomlinson and Willie Parker, and it will be no different for KC's Larry Johnson.

That's it for me today. As my mother would say when her dog won't stop barking at a guest, "Peace!"

Thursday Threshings

Here's a couple quick hits for all you late in the day blog readers (bleaders?).

First, naturally, the Wizards torched the Knicks 113-102 and tied a team record for three-pointers (14) in the process. Most of the damage was done by Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, who had 38 and 33 points, respectively. It was a remarkable contrast to the last time the Wiz played the Knicks and missed all 14 of their three-point attempts, another record. Perhaps Gilbert was motivated by the unveiling of his new signature shoe from Adidas, the Gil Zero. For more (much, much more) on that event, check out Big Stein's Bog (Link 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Yep, that's right six links. Big Stein really rocked the keyboard yesterday. One fact that you will not find in all that material about the new Gil Zero shoe is that I will never own a pair, at least not until they come way down from the $90 retail price.

Have you seen the Lexus commercial where the car parallel parks itself? Would you like to know if this really works? Or if the fine print actually says "Professional Driver, closed course?" The Baltimore Sun assigned its trusty, crusty columnist Kevin Cowherd to the the task, and he penned an amusing review. In finding the link for the commercial I learned that BMW has a car with the same techniology, just no cool commercial. You can also find amateurs' tests on YouTube. And there are lots of other reviews and articles about the Lexus, but I am going with my boy KC.

Not that anyone asked, but, my blogging soundtrack today is a pair of CD's: The White Stripes' "Get Behind Me Satan" and "Dreamin' My Dreams" by Patty Loveless. It's a bit of a change from the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy compilations that have been bouncing out of the speakers in my car (quite an education for the kids on those discs), but I am enjoying both.

The Loveless CD is exactly what I expected, an easy listen with charming versions of singles that are not what you would call standards but are generally better known as rendered by other artists. The best cut of these is the duet with Dwight Yoakam on "Never Ending Song of Love," which was written by Delaney Bramlett and originally recorded in 1971 by Bramlett and his wife Bonnie. I've been a fan of both Yoakam and Loveless for 20 years and only today did I learn that they were born less than three months apart in the town of Pikeville, Kentucky, population 6,295 (FitzFact! Well actually Wikipedia, but I'd say it meets the qualifications). That's either a remarkable coincidence or a tribute to the Pikeville School District's musical curriculum for including such unique course offererings as Plaintive, Haunting Ballads 101 and Advanced Infectious Chorus Hollerin'.

The title track is of course a cover of the late, great Waylon Jennings hit, and Loveless also does good work with Steve Earle's "My Old Friend the Blues" and Delbert McClinton's "Same Kind of Crazy." And any singer (or producer) wise enough to include Emmylou Harris on background vocals has earned my vote, or at least enough of my time to give a listen.

"Satan" was my second shot at the White Stripes, after being thoroughly unimpressed with Jack White's production of Loretta Lynn on the critically acclaimed "Van Lear Rose." I like this album much better although there are a few clunkers. The piano riffs, muffled drums and fuzzy guitar licks throughout are engaging. Top song has to go to "My Doorbell," where Jack White's amusingly randy vocal recalls Janis Joplin. The song is more suggestive than explicit (and certainly less so than the Chuck D and Ad-Rock lyrics I had been hearing), but I don't think they would have been allowed to sing it on the Ed Sullivan show. The White Stripes have received a great deal of hype outside of their music, but I don't care if they are brother and sister (they're not), married (they were), or never perform wearing clothes that are not black, white or red. This album sounds like a keeper to me.

Wednesday Whatever

No hot topic to blog on today, but I guess I am not alone. ESPN.com's lead story asks the burning question, "Did Ali invent rap?"

GW won 79-56 over a subpar UMES team last night. Another strong second half by the Colonials put this one away with solid games from Rice (20 pts, 4-6 3FG), Elliott (13 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 steals), and an excellent performance from Rob Diggs (16pts, 7 rebounds, 7 blocks). Most noteworthy for the future was the first appearance of Cheyenne Moore in a GW uniform. Moore, who transferred from Clemson, had been out with a stress fracture and only played two minutes, but he is expected to be a major contributor this season. Also a nice 14 minutes from freshman Damian Hollis who was 4-4 from the field. The 7-1 Colonials get a better test on the road this Saturday at USC.

The Wizards walloped the hottest team in the NBA Monday night, but I was busy coaching my own cagers and didn't see a minute of the action. Big Stein has some all-access Gilbert material in the Bog today, but I'm more interested to see how the Wiz go at the Knicks tonight. They still haven't won on the road and got embarrassed in their last trip to the Garden, so the pieces would seem to be in place, but you just can't tell with this team yet. I'd love to see them get to .500 by the end of the month and then take a closer look.

The Ravens have had plenty of time to recover from last week's loss at Cincinnati. It wasn't a disaster, and the rest of the games this weekend showed how wide open the league is. New England looked shaky in their win, Indianapolis got dumped, and San Diego escaped from a bad Buffalo team. I know Dallas, Seattle and New Orleans are gathering momentum, but the NFC still stands for Nobody Freaking Cares when it comes to this year's Super Bowl race. Indy probably has a lock on home field for the playoffs, but Baltimore shouldn't have to go on the road until then.

Finally, on a nonsports note, I was walking the dog this morning, and as we turned up the hill for home, I noticed an object about the size of a football lying in the road. As we got closer, Sweet Pea did her usual curious, but easily-spooked, investigation (she was once startled by a bag of leaves). The item turned out to be a piece of meat, some sort of large, gristly roast, lying a few feet from the curb. It was quite red, not rotted at all, so I don' t think it had been there very long, and I guess it was too early for discovery by the turkey vultures that often take care of this sort of thing. There was not a shred of packaging nearby; I have no idea how it got there, and really can't come up with a plausible scenario. All I keep thinking is that if my life were a Tarantino or Coen brothers movie, I would have picked up the meat and set in motion a profanely hilarious and astonishingly violent sequence of events involving a multinational cast of grotesquely idiosyncratic characters. But my life, even with its daily moments of drama and comedy, is not a movie, so I kept the dog away from it, and headed home.