The storied NBA franchise is well en route to the draft lottery, again. That would give Los Angeles back-to-back lottery picks for the first time since 1993 and 1994. The Lakers are also a threat to break their record for fewest victories in the post-merger era, set last season when they had a measly 27 wins.
There’s even more joy for fans with particular animus against Kobe Bryant. Shooting a career-low percentage from the field (.393 through Tuesday), he’s struggling to carry his talent-challenged team. He leads the league in points per game and shots per game, which is nothing new.
But at his advanced age, on a sorry team, with a $48 million contract that’s viewed as a financial albatross, he makes for an easy target. Even though he’s essentially the same player he’s been for 19 years, critics have assailed his personality (too competitive), his shooting (too much) and his leadership (too self-centered).
Here’s something else they can point to and rejoice: Bryant just became the NBA’s all-time leader in missed field goals. He added 16 to his ledger Tuesday in a 107-102 loss to Memphis, giving him 13,418 for his career.
The headline – “Kobe sets mark for misses” – caused his detractors to smile. But that only proves they’re surface-dwellers, either too shallow to look deeper or too dense to understand layers. That’s the only way to chide Bryant for being the greatest shooting guard not named Michael Jordan.
Yes, the “Black Mamba” can turn into the “Black Hole,” the place teammates pass the ball and never see it again. Bryant took 37 shots in a loss to Phoenix last week while the Lakers’ other starters took 35 shots combined.
On the flip side, Los Angeles wouldn’t have come close without Bryant’s 39 points.
Just seven games in, the Wizards already have survived one of the toughest stretches on their schedule. They’re coming off four games in five nights and have played three sets of back-to-backs.
No matter who you face under those circumstances, coming away with a 5-2 record is nothing to take lightly.
Now the Wizards can concentrate on their deficiencies – an inability to put away teams and a habit of being out-rebounded – from the comforts of home. Beginning with Detroit on Wednesday, Washington will play nine of its next 11 games at Verizon Center.
While the Wizards continue their effort to create a strong home-court advantage, coach Randy Wittman will continue to tinker with his rotation, looking for the right three to four players to deliver consistent production off the bench.
The rotation remains a work in progress aside from Otto Porter Jr.’s entrenchment, but it has taken a different shape over the last couple of game. Reserve forward Drew Gooden III and wing Glen Rice Jr. have been supplanted by Kris Humphries and Rasual Butler, respectively.
With four bigs backing up center Marcin Gortat and power forward Nene, Wittman has more options than he has minutes to dole out. In addition to Humphries, who emerged to average nine points and seven rebounds over the weekend, Kevin Seraphim also asserted himself during that span. In Saturday’s win against Indianapolis, he was 6-for-8 from the floor for 13 points and six rebounds.
“He was a beast,” Wittman told reporters afterward. “He took the play to them, let the play dictate what he need to do. That’s what he needs to do. He can’t pre-determine and make up his mind what he wants to do beforehand.”
The surge from Humphries and Seraphim leaves Gooden and DeJuan Blair on the bench, at least for now. Blair hasn’t played in three of the six games he’s been eligible, while Gooden’s minutes have dwindled steadily. The first big off the bench when the season opened, Gooden’s time has shrunk from 22 minutes to 16 to 11 to zero over the last four games.
The NFL’s three-headed monster of Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy never went away, but they faded into the background for several weeks as our attention turned to touchdowns rather than beatdowns.
Now they have resurfaced, bringing the NFL’s problematic abuse cases back to the forefront, each with different shelf life.
Hardy, the Carolina Panthers defensive end whom a judge found guilty of assault in July, won’t have his jury trial until “early 2015,” according to Tuesday’s press release from the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office. When the Panthers put Hardy on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list in September, GM Dave Gettleman said Hardy would not play again until his legal issues are resolved.
That could keep the issue brewing until training camp.
Rice, the former Baltimore Ravens halfback who was suspended indefinitely in September after a video showed him knocking out his wife, has begun his appeal. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is getting a taste of life from the other side of the table, an uncomfortable seat that players have grown accustomed to. It’s Goodell’s turn to be grilled, which could bring more heat on the league for initially giving Rice a two-game suspension.
He’s likely done in the NFL, but Rice’s appeal could have a lingering effect.
Which brings us to Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings halfback who – like Hardy – was placed on paid leave in September. At the time, Peterson faced a felony assault charge for whipping his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch. But Peterson avoided jail time Tuesday by accepted a plea agreement on a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault.
While Rice and Hardy continue to go through the process, Peterson is done, simply waiting for reinstatement after missing half the season. Critics argue that he hasn’t been punished sufficiently.
On the contrary, this is an instance where eight is enough.
Tuesday is Election Day and Washington’s football team has pletny of candidates on the ballot, collectively and individually, especially after Sunday’s game at Minnesota.
The 29-26 defeat made the team a shoo-in for “Most Disappointing Loss Following a Huge Upset on Monday Night Football.”
So much for visions of a 5-5 record with victories against Minnesota and Tampa Bay bookending the upcoming bye week. That was a perfectly reasonable scenario after Washington shocked the Dallas Cowboys at Jerry World.
Yes, the season was likely to resume its downhill direction for the final six games, in which opponents will be favored in every contest except perhaps one (St. Louis). But reaching .500 at least would have allowed folks to consider playoff possibilities before the inevitable descent.
Instead of steaming into the off week with momentum from three straight wins, Washington limps in with a 3-6 record. This marks the third consecutive season the team has fallen to that mark, which makes it a runaway winner for “Most Unlikely 2012 Playoff Appearance Sandwiched by Terrible Records.”
The previous two campaigns ended in opposite extremes and neither version of a seven-game streak is likely this year.
But there’s no question how we’d bet if we knew another run was certain.
Now that Robert Griffin III has resumed his role as starting quarterback, the remaining games will help determine the outcome in several key races, none of which involve the NFC East.
Griffin gets my vote for “Most Controversial Quarterback Without Even Trying.” Like cameras and commercials, conflict seems to be a constant with him.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md – The Mighty Men of Valor national conference, held just outside of Washington, D.C., at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden, drew more than 2,500 men last year. The event returns to FBCG on Nov. 7-8 for the 2014 national conference, entitled “The Sleeper Must Awaken.” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is among the featured speakers.
“The MVM conferences provided me with an opportunity to learn from men who lived through battles and had scars to prove it,” says Steve Gangaram of Canada. “These men went through issues that I was going through and they laid out the battle plan on how to become a champion! The MVM Conference is for men who are in need of relevant advice, who need gas in the tank and who are desperate for God to do a new thing in their lives.”
Other announced speakers for this year’s lineup include Pastor Keith Battle of Zion Church in Landover, Md.; Pastor Jeffrey A. Johnson Sr. of Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis, Ind.; Pastor Paul E. Sheppard of Destiny Christian Fellowship in Fremont, Calif.; and Tony Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council.
Last year’s theme was “Battle-Tested” and the conference was headlined by current and future NFL Hall of Famers, Michael Irvin and Ray Lewis, respectively, as well as ESPN/ABC broadcaster Chris Broussard. Along with several other powerful speakers who led the breakout sessions, each man (and one woman) delivered a strong message from the Lord.
First Baptist Church of Glenarden (Md.) member Clarissa Corey-Bey recently was voted the 2014 Bishop McNamara High School Woman of the Year. Clarissa displayed a spirit of excellence at the famed BMHS, in Forestville, Md., graduating with a 3.94 G.P.A., serving as president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society and playing bass in the Maryland All-State Orchestra.
She also wrote for the school newspaper, was a Youth Leader and participated in several after-school clubs. Outside of BMHS, Clarissa spoke to local children on behalf of the National Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking. Part of her service with the coalition involved working with undercover police officers to help them catch distributors who sell alcohol to minors.
“I had no idea I was going to win (Woman of the Year),” she says. “There are so many great people in my class doing all these great things and really deserving of the award. I was very surprised.
Clarissa was raised in FBCG and remembers sitting in the Ministry Center parking lot, preparing for the dash to get into the sanctuary opposed to the overflow rooms. She was a member of the Sunbeam Choir, Star Ministry and dabbled in the Aviation Ministry before becoming a faithful volunteer at the SHABACH! Empowerment Center.
“I’ve gone there ever since my freshman year and I love it,” she says. “I still go there all the time, filling orders for clients, organizing shelves and helping Miss Gwen (Pope) with anything she might need. They just do good work there.”
No one has to tell Reverend Jonathan Z. Queen about the challenges facing girls. He has first-hand knowledge – as the father of four daughters ages 18-24 – and knowledge gained through his experience as a long-time youth counselor.
“I know there’s a lot of self-esteem and father pain issues, thing like that,” says Queen, who was named FBCG’s youth pastor in April and has been involved in the teen/tween portion of the church’s 2014 women’s conference, “HE Loves Me.” “I try to address it by setting an example so they see an alternative to something that might be missing.
“And I’m very big on doing ministry alongside my wife (Lenia Queen), so they see what healthy marriages and healthy relationships looks like. They get me as their youth pastor, but at any given time if they see me with my daughters, my wife or in the community, they also see me as a husband and father.”
Rev. Queen formerly served as youth pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in York, Pa., under the leadership of Dr. Jasmin Sculark. But he had a vision of doing ministry on a larger scale, with more young people and more resources. Not just in term of finances, but through support and collaboration with other ministries.
God answered Rev. Queen’s prayer by placing him at First Baptist. The opportunity to work with MERGE, a joint youth ministry of FBCG and Zion Church, plays a huge role in his excitement. Hundreds of youth flock to FBCG on Friday nights for uptempo services tailored just for them. Shiloh held a similar event quarterly, bringing around 350 youth together on a weekend night.
“We called it ‘HYPE night’ – Having Youth Praise Everyday – where they did ministry and they would sing and dance,” Rev. Queen says. “It was just a beautiful thing. But we couldn’t do it every month because of limited resources at the time.”
“Ultimately, the vision for MERGE is to be that youth church, that alternative,” he says. “I want it to be the place where they say, ‘This is where we go to express ourselves, worship God and not be judged.’ I’m encouraged that they’re going to get the gospel and hear a powerful word from God that’s relevant to their world.”
Rev. Queen was also involved in planning for the women’s conference “Love Tour,” which visited middle and high schools this month. He says the conference, “HE Loves Me,” is a was a truly powerful concept that he wants girls to feel and let sink into their spirits.
“God loves them in a way that can remove any pain and eliminate any fear and anxiety,” he says. “My role is simply to provide any type of discipleship and shepherd them so they realize everything they need and desire can be found in God. They don’t have to do any of the foolishness of this world to get attention when God will give them all the attention they need.”
You know how certain things can make you laugh over and over, without fail, almost each time you see it, hear it or think about it?
Like a particular comedy routine or a bit on your favorite sitcom?
Or that time when your frat brother walked in the bathroom – thinking perhaps you were dead because he (allegedly) had been calling your name and banging on the door – and you awoke and stared at him incredulously, with a look that said “What the hell are you doing in here while I’m on the throne?”
Well, two moments this NFL season have brought me the joy of laughter time and again, captured and repeated in GIFs that never grow old or unfunny, no matter how often I see them. They’re not actual plays, but two players’ reaction to a play and the aftermath of those reactions.
Not to make light of an athlete’s injury or misfortune, but tearing your ACL while celebrating a sack is fairly hilarious. Especially when it happens to one player five weeks after it happened to another, both times with eerily similar dance moves that conclude with the players wincing and going down as if shot.
Look it up if you don’t believe me. Reddit.com has a cool side-by-side comparison and you can find plenty of other clips. They show Chicago Bears defensive tackle Lamarr Houston and Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch sustaining season-ending knee injuries in the most ridiculous manner imaginable.
The only thing more absurd is Houston doing his sack dance Sunday while the Bears trailed New England by 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Houston must have missed all the replays of Tulloch dropping like a wounded animal on Sept. 21 after sacking Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. Prior to that, Tulloch had not missed a game in nine seasons, playing in 131 consecutive contests and making 75 consecutive starts.
If he learned a lesson he didn’t share it at a charity event days later, saying he had no regrets. “Hell, no,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “I’d do it again, brother. You do it every time. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen. Just a matter of time.”
But how long until he wises up and realizes he should avoid the Michael Jackson moves?
As the NBA season tips off Tuesday, the Washington Wizards find themselves in an uncommon position: They’re expected to be pretty good, a playoff team at the very least and potentially an Eastern Conference finalist.
Eighty-two regular-season games and two rounds of playoffs must be negotiated in order to reach that point, which would be their deepest postseason trip since 1978-79. But the ability to mention it with a straight face shows the franchise’s strides since making John Wall the No. 1 overall pick in 2010.
Two, distinct contingents have transformed the Wizards from laughable losers to formidable foes. First you have the oldheads, whose ranks were bolstered by the acquisition of veteran Paul Pierce, who turned 37 this month. Along with fellow 30-somethings Andre Miller (38), Drew Gooden (33), Nene (32) and Marcin Gortat (30), Pierce gives Washington a wealth of invaluable experience, especially come playoff time.
However, those geezers can’t go far without significant contributions from the young guns.
Everyone in the NBA talks about Wall (24) and his running mate Bradley Beal (21), who form one of the league’s best backcourts.
But a portion of Washington’s success could hinge on the development of another fresh-faced duo, Otto Porter Jr. (21) and Glen Rice Jr. (23).
If their play in the regular season is anything like their play in the NBA summer league, Porter and Rice will give Washington incredible depth and flexibility. Rice was MVP, averaging a league-high 25 points per game and nearly eight rebounds, while Porter was a first-team selection, averaging 19 points per game and nearly six rebounds.
Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III surely looked forward to Wednesday’s practice with great anticipation. The last time he practiced and was expected to play in the next game was nearly six weeks ago.
Now, he has progressed to the possibility of playing. Not that he needs extra motivation – or has room for any – but the next game just happens to be Dallas on Monday Night Football.
The national stage, the famed rivalry, the return to Texas where he starred at Baylor University … it paints an incredibly tempting scenario in RG3’s mind, envisioning the perfect setting to return from the dislocated left ankle he suffered in Week 2.
History shows that he recovers from injury faster than expected.
It also shows that he hurries back faster than what’s good for him.
Here’s hoping Griffin heard Kevin Durant on Tuesday when the Oklahoma Thunder star addressed the media for the first time since being diagnosed with a “Jones fracture” in his right foot and undergoing surgery last week.
Durant loves hooping as much as anyone. He rarely forgoes opportunities to play in summer leagues, charity events and the like, which made his withdrawal from the U.S. national team so stunning last summer (notwithstanding Paul George’s gruesome broken leg).
Players with Durant’s injury, which usually occurs 3/4 of an inch from the base of the pinkie toe, typically recover in six to eight weeks. The notion that a gym rat like Durant would try to beat that timetable was squashed in his news conference.
“I’m not going to rush it at all,” Durant said. “That’s one thing I’m not going to do. I’m sure I’ll feel better in two or three weeks. But I definitely don’t want to rush it and wind up hurting it even more.”
That’s from a guy who previously experienced nothing more serious than a sprained ankle.
RG3 has suffered three major injuries in the last six years.
Follow
By DERON SNYDER
