Nationals Hire Davey Johnson

On Thursday, Nationals manager, Jim Riggleman decided to resign as the manager of the Nats.  Since then, GM Mike Rizzo found his new man in Davey Johnson.  Johnson led the Mets to a World Series title in 1986 and led the Orioles to two ALCS' in 1996 and 1997. Johnson has also managed the Reds and lastly the Dodgers in 200 while also managing Team USA in the 2009 world baseball classic.  Johnson signed to manage the Nats for the rest of the season and if he is not retained, as the manager, for the 2012 season he will work else were in the organization. Before I get into Johnson, I'll  get into how badly the Nats handled the Riggleman situation. 

At the start of the season, Jim Riggleman knew that his contract was up and if he did not led the Nats to a decent season. Riggleman wanted to get this contract situation solved during the season.  I'm not sure if this is whatt Riggleman wanted at the start of the season, but with the way this team has been  playing it only seemed right that GM, Mike Rizzo, and Riggleman have contract talks. That  never happened, and while the Nats were in the middle of there best month, since moving to DC, Riggleman said enough and decided to step down, due to the lack of communication between Riggleman and the organization.  A lot of people say oh Riggleman quit on the team.  I tend to think differently.  I think Riggleman was in the right because the organization never asked to discuss his contract with him, despite the Nats being in third place and above .500.  This team, on paper, should not be in third place in a tough NL east division.  This team's success should go to Riggleman's credit as this team lost there future star, this year, due to tommy john surgery.  I find it disturbing that owner Ted Learner and GM Mike Rizzo would rather spend $126 million on a player, in Jayson Werth, than spend money on a manager that has this team playing above its potential.  Let's see here, signing a player that is past his prime to an outrageous contract while letting actual talent leave sounds a lot like another organization in this city.  For now I don't like the way Ted Learner handles this team, but the next few years will tell if Learner will be like Dan Snyder or Ted Leonsis. 

Despite letting go of a manager that was doing one hell of a job with this team, Rizzo made a good hire in getting Davey Johnson.  Being an O's fan, since DC had no team, all I have is good memories of Davey Johnson and if Peter Angleos wasn't such an idiot and fired Johnson, the O's could've possibly won another World Series.  Anyways Johnson brings tons of knowledge to the table and that is a great thing since the Nats are a young team with a lot of raw talent.  Johnson  is a winner as he has taken every team he has managed to the playoffs, except the Dodgers.  Johnson is 68 and because of his age, Rizzo had the contract say that Johnson will be manager for the rest of this year and if he is not brought back as manager, next year, he will still be a part of the Nats organization and will help in the search of his successor.  Johnson will manage his first game on Monday, as the Nats head west to take on the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim.  If the Nats do continue to win the rest of the season, Rizzo will look like a genius for letting Riggleman go, if the Nats finish around 20 games or worse under .500 then DC will be questioning Rizzo as the GM.

Washington Capitals Draft Preview

On Friday night, the Washington Capitals will begin drafting and hopefully make the right moves that will bring the franchise's first Stanley Cup and DC's first championship in twenty years.  This year the Caps will have the 26th pick, in the first round, and will have picks in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.  The Caps traded there second and third round picks.  Since the lockout the Caps have drafted well all across the board as all of the Caps stars were drafted and the Caps still seem to have plenty of talent in Hershey and in the amateur leagues.  I'll just take a look at where the Caps could possibly go with the 26th pick.

The Caps have seemed to have filled there needs of defenseman  and centers in the past.  John Carlon and Karl Alzner looked to be a pairing to be reckoned with for years to come at the blue line, while young guns, Marcus Johansson and Matthew Perrault seem to be in  line for the second line centers and or wingers of the future.  In a tough NHL season you can  never have to much depth so look for the Caps to add depth at the wings and blue line this draft.  After watching this past playoffs, its obvious that they need to start getting players that don't have a "I'll do it my way" attitude and players that have a toughness about them and won't quit when the going gets tough.  Here's a few of ideas of what players the Caps may go with.

Tomas Jurco, 6'2, 193, RW: Slovakia, St. John's Sea Dogs (QMJHL).
 Jurco, is mainly known for his youtube skills, but has some great on ice stickhandling skills as well also.  Jurco has a wicked wrist shot and can also have a deadly slapshot when he needs to. scouts say he can be an all around player.  The Caps can use a player like this as Mike Knuble won't be around for long, so Jurco an be his replacement. Problem is Jurco could be gone before the Caps draft.

Alexander Khokhlachev,  5'10,  172, C:  Russia, Windsor Spitfires (OHL).
Kholkhlachev, always plays with high energy and doesn't take nights off.  Seem to be solid in shooing and passing, scouts would like to seem him bulk up a little more and his lack of size is why Khokhlachev will be available in the late first round.  Even though the Caps have plenty of young talent, at the center spot,  the Caps can use a  guy that has a high motor and high energy  and could possibly convert  him to a  winger.

Phillip Danault, 6'0, 170, LW:  Canada, Victoriaville Tigers (QMJHL).
Danault has shown he's a leader, as he was named captain of Victoriaville as a 17 year old.  Leaders are what the Caps need  right now and  Danault can fit the role perfectly.  Danault  does everything, from scoring to grinding it out and his coaches say that he will do everything  for his team.  A player like that is what exactly the Caps need, but it's not a guarntee  that Danault  will be there as Montreal has the 17th pick and has been  eying  him.

Scott Mayfield, 6'4, 200, D: USA, Younstown  (USHL).
Mayfield, is considered  to be one of  the best skating defenseman in this year's draft.  Mayfield can  also play offense, and is a great two way defenseman.  If  the  Caps feel  they can turn him into strictly  a defensive defenseman then the Caps should jump on this right away, since  the Caps want to play a defensive system. Drafting Mayfield could be risky  as he wants to play a little college hockey at, the University of Denver, before going pro.

It's also a possibility that the Caps will  trade players to get a higher first round draft pick.  As I  have stated before, the Caps must trade players to get a new culture around the locker room f they want to finally win  a cup. GM, George McPhee seems  to do well with  the draft  no matter where the Caps pick so hopefully, those will be the right moves again this year. 

Washington Wizards Draft Preview

Tomorrow night, the Wizards will be looking to improve on there 23-59 mark,  last year, by drafting some top talent from the college ranks. The Wiz have the 6th, 18th and 34th picks in this year's draft, with two of those picks coming in the first round.  Problem is that this year's draft class is lacking in talent outside of the top 3 picks.  Besides last year's draft, the Wiz seem to always get screwed over by a bad talent draft when they have good picks set up.  Regardless, it is what it is and Ernie Grunfeld will have to make do with what there is.  My top  needs, for the Wizards, are a big man and a defensive player.  Let's start off with the sixth round pick.

In any other draft the sixth pick would be great, but this  year has less talent.  The rumor mill is that the Minnesota  Timberwolves are shopping around there second pick in the draft.  The Wiz have Javale McGee that they could possibly trade to Minnesota, but the the T'wolves already have a big man in Kevin Love.  If the T'wolves just want to trade picks with someone the Wiz should jump on this right away as they can get forward, Derrick Williams, from Arizona.  Williams averaged 19.5 ppg and 8.3 rpg (rebound per game).  The Wiz are in need of a four guy and Williams will fit this role perfectly and get Andre Blatche out of the starting lineup.  Williams was able to defeat the Duke Blue Devils in  the elite eight this past season.  If the Wiz stay with the sixth pick, then they should go with Kawhi Leonard from San  Diego State.  Leonard averaged 15.2 ppg and 10.7 rpg.  Leonard can also play the three and or four position.  Derrick Williams has more size and raw talent than Leonard, but Leonard is a very good pick at the six spot.

With the 18th pick, the Wiz can go in  a bunch of directions.  They can go with a European player or stick to a college prospect.  It's always tough to judge Euro players as not a lot of film is seen  on  these guys and the Euro game is completely different from the college and NBA game, so guys from across the pond can  be risk, but once again  not a lot of  talent in this  draft so why not go  Euro.  Players  I see the Wiz  taking here  include, center,  Donatas Motiejunas  from Lithuania,  Marcus Morris from Kansas, and maybe sticking with the hometown  boy  Jordan Williams from the University of  Maryland.   Picking Williams at the 18th spot mabye a little high, but hey why not with the lack of star talent in this draft class.  If the Wiz want to, they can most likely  wait till the second round to draft Williams.  Another possible  hometown pick could be Chris Wright from Georgetown.   My guess is that they can see Wright complimenting John Wall by placing Wright at the two spot.

The Wiz maybe set back a few seasons by this year's draft and it will not be Ernie Grunfeld's fault.  It's just bad luck that the Wiz have so many picks in  a week draft class.  I feel that the Wiz are headed in the right direction, but more patience will be required.

Why Baltimore and Washington Will Never Be Rivals

 On Tuesday night, I was at the Nationals vs Cardinals game, and in the program they were promoted the Battle of the Beltways series this weekend.  The headline to the promotion was "Always Rivals" I had to chuckle at that headline as the Nat's and O's are not even close to rivals besides the proximity of the two clubs and will most likely never be hated rivals.  If Baltimore and Washington have some type of rivalry, it's between the Ravens and Redskins, but I will discuss that later in this post.  I'm going to start with the overall aspect of a Baltimore Washington "rivalry" and then get into the so called rivalries of the Nats vs O's and Ravens vs Redskins.

For as long as I can remember, I have never understood the aspect of Baltimore and Washington as rivals.  To me Baltimore and Washington are one big area, if you want crabs you go to Baltimore, if you want some chili you go to Washington.  If you want to see scientific attractions, you go to Baltimore and if you want to brush up on your American history, you go to DC.  In counties, such as Anne Arundle and Howard, the two cities tend to blend together since Anne Arundle and Howard are basically equal distance to Baltimore and Washington.  Then there is the theme of both cities cheering for the same teams.  Last I checked Baltimore doesn't have NBA and NHL teams, so they go to the next closest teams which are the Wizards and Capitals.  The theory that Baltimore fans cheer for DC's winter sports teams is proven truth since the Caps will be playing a preseason game at First Mariner Arena this fall.  Another common trend between Baltimore and Washington is the hatred of Shittsburgh I mean Pittsburgh teams.  The one obvious team is the Penguins, and while there is no rivalry between the Skins and Steelers,  I can't stand that team just as much as Ravens fans can't stand them and I'm not the only Skins fan that thinks that.  So it really doesn't make sense for Baltimore and DC fans to hate on each other when they can just hate on one city as one big happy family. 

Nationals vs Orioles: The one big reason why this rivalry won't work, and the reason why it shouldn't be called a rivalry is because, the only baseball team in the area for multiple years was the Orioles.  So me and other fans, that cheered for Washington teams, gravitated to the next closest baseball team in the Orioles.  Cal Ripken Jr is may favorite athlete so why would I cheer against a team that had my favorite athlete? Yes I do cheer for the Nationals also as I'm sure many fans from the DC area do, but when you have seen the Orioles play in multiple ALCS games in the 90's its hard to turn against them just like that.  By baseball standards, the teams don't play enough either to become rivals.  The Nats and O's play only six games a year against each other, compare that to the 18 games that the O's play against the Yankees and Red Sox and the 18 games that the Nats play against the Phillies and Mets.  I'm not saying that they should get rid of this series between the teams, in fact, I enjoy watching my two favorite teams play against each other and its also cheaper as you have to only pay $10 to see both of your teams at once.  That's a damn good deal to me.   It's always fun to head to Camden or Nats park with a Nats cap and an O's t-shirt on or vice versa.  Keep the series but it shouldn't be dubbed as "hated rivals" just keep it as Battle of the Beltways.

Ravens vs Redskins: Ok, now to what some people call "one of the best rivalries" this area has to offer.  My definition of a rivalry is: two teams that play every year in what normally is a close contested game where the players have little to no respect for there opponent.  Ravens Redskins falls short in a lot of these categories.  The two teams play a regular season game once every four years, how can that be a rivalry?  Preseason does not count in anyway possible as it's mostly the backups playing.  The Ravens lead the all time series 3-1 and have outscored the Skins 64-47.  Yes this stat can be negated since the Skins have been losers for the past 12 years and a lot of teams have winning records against the Skins.   Now to the last part, when has Ray Lewis or London Fletcher talked legitimate trash against the Skins or Ravens? Never that's the answer, Lavar Arrington and Ray Lewis are actually good friends.  The main points are that the teams need to play more and that the actual players of the teams need to have some true hate of each other to become true rivals.  Another point, is that the majority of my Redskins friends cheer for the Ravens just as long as they aren't playing the Skins.  Same goes for me also I'll cheer for the Ravens, just as long as burgundy and gold isn't opposite of them.  I didn't even know Ravens Skins was considered a "rivalry" until I started going to school in Anne Arundle County.  My elementary school years were spent on the mean streets of PG County and when the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2001 the school, in PG County, the whole school was cheering for the Ravens as if the Skins were playing in the Super Bowl. So I never thought anything of Ravens Redskins, as a rivalry, until I started high school and I noticed that most Ravens fans hate the Redskins and some Skins fans hate the Ravens and I still haven't gotten over why Ravens fans hate the Skins, the majority of answers I get from Ravens fans are "I just do" and "I don't know man."  Until I hear something better than those two reasons I will not consider this game a rivalry.  The Skins have to much history with the Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants to have a fourth rival and Ravens Steelers, to me, is the best rivalry in the NFL right now.

To me there are no rivalries between Bmore and DC teams.  The cities have to many same allegiances to be rivals.  But if you have a legit reason of why Nats O's and Ravens Redskins should be considered rivals let me know.  Phrases such as "they just are" will not be taken, show me a video of the actual teams showing legit hatred for each other and then I will reconsider.

Regin of Idiocy Ends

Last Friday night, Christmas came six months early for me, and some of Mountaineer nation.  Bill Stewart was forced to step down as the head coach of the WVU football team.   A couple of weeks ago it was found out that this past December, Stewart, called multiple media outlets and reporters to try and find "dirt" on newly hired offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen.  That did not sit well with athletic director, Oliver Luck, and Luck saw an opportunity to get his guy in, as the head coach, a year early.  And so on Friday night WVU had a press conference announcing Holgorsen as the new head coach of the football team and I was singing the hallelujah chorus all night long.

Gone is idiot play calling and lack of practice of fundamentals, in is smart play calling and and stricter practices.  While some people think it may of been the players fault for Bill Stew's teams not playing up to potential I always thought it was the coaching and during spring ball I found out I was right, in at least one players opinion.  During and interview with, LB, Naje Goode, Goode was asked if there's any difference between the new and old assistant coaches.  Goode replied "Yes, last year the coaches would let us do what we wanted to, while this year the coaches are more stricter."  That's all I needed to hear.  That quote, to me, explains the ECU, UConn, Syracuse, LSU, NC State and USF losses over the past three years.

While some fans of other teams always tell me I would love to see my team have three straight 9 win seasons. those fans do not know what talent this team has and how week the Big East is in football.  The obviously did not watch the ECU, UConn, Syracuse, LSU, NC State, USF and Marshall games over the past few years.  Stewart is a great guy, but he can not coach a division I football team and that was obvious the past three years.  Stewart's teams under achieved and WVU should be four time defending Big East champions, with the talent on this team and with how week the Big East is, but they did not achieve that goal because of Bill Stewart.  Stewart's team have looked unprepared on multiple occasions from Liberty, to Coastal Carolina to NC State to the Marshall game this year all of those games the team looked unprepared.  WVU has clearly taken a step back under Stewart, from the Rich Rod days, and hopefully Holgorsen will return WVU to a top 10 team and possibly beyond.

With Holgorsen in as coach new none of the stated above should happen now.  While Holgorsen, during spring ball, didn't seem like a rah rah fire 'em up guy, he has the respect of the players and the players will listen to him.  Holgorsen's offense was ranked third in the country last year and Oklahoma State was technically tied for the Big 12 south title.  The goal for WVU is now clear this year, win the Big East and get back to a BCS bowl no excuses with Holgorsen in as the head man now. 

  

Why is the Weather so Fair?

I know everyone sees it, multiple Cowboys and Eagles jerseys at Fed Ex Field.  Steelers jerseys at Ravens games, Penguins jerseys at Caps games, Yankees and Red Sox fans at Camden Yards and a sea of red at Nats park, but its a sea of Phillies red.   Unlike other areas of the country, this area seems to have the same amount of fans, from rival teams, as fans of the local teams.  Honestly it pisses the hell out of me that in such a populous area that there are so many fans that aren't in the home teams colors.   This area has the potential to be one of the great sports towns in the country, but because of all the rival fans it isn't.  Look at how loud Verizon Center is for a Caps game, how loud M&T is during Ravens games, the atmosphere at Nats park during Stephen Strasburg's first start last year.  All of these have great atmospheres, but it still hasn't stopped people from becoming fans of the hated rivals.  I've come up with a list of why there are so many rival fans in the area:

Historic Teams: I hate to say it, but its the truth.  The Steelers, Cowgirls and Yankees are all successful franchises and usually win consistently.  When a team has a wins consistently, usually fairweather fans appear for the teams.  I have seen and heard people admit that they are fairweather fans.  For example, at the Super Bowl party I was at, there was a hipster in a Steelers jersey.  For those of you that don't know, hipsters hate everything about sports and basically  hate everything that is normal in the world.  Anyways this hipster is in his Steelers jersey and is acting like he's always been a fan of the team, this guy doesn't even know the difference between a tackle and a left tackle.  So in conclusion, living in a heavy populated area there is bound to be plenty of fairweather fans, and unfortunately, most of the area's teams are rivals with teams that have a history winning which means more fans or fairweather fans.

This Area is a Melting Pot: While it's cool to say we in or around that most powerful city in the free world, that is not good for sports wise.  Since so many people come to this area for work, that means multiple fan bases are coming to this area and ignore the hometown teams since they are fans of the teams of where they came from.  This area is also close and easy to get to for rival teams, besides Dallas and Boston, rival cities are pretty close with Shittsburhg I mean Pittsburgh being the farthest drive with four hours.  Philly is only 2 hours away and depending on traffic, New York is about 3 to 5 hours away.  So combine a melting pot of people living in this area and rivals being not to far away you are going to see multiple enemy colors at local sporting events.

Lack of Winning: Besides the Capitals and Ravens, the teams in this area haven't been winning to much in the past years.  Because of the lack of winning people, that are faint of heart, decide to go to other teams that are not in this area.  I've always thought that you cheer for your home teams no matter what, it's where you live you should support the teams of where you live.  Again, going back to the melting pot theory,  I do understand if a persons parents are avid fans of a team and the child decides to adopt his or her parent's teams that make sense.  But if your not a fan teams in this area because they suck, well I think that is also grounds for being called a fairweather fan.

How to Fix the Problem: To me the problem is simple, go to the games and support the areas teams.  It pisses me off when Nats fans complain about Phillies fans being at Nats park or when O's fans complain about Yankees and Red Sox fans coming to Camden Yards.  If you don't want those fans invading the parks then go to the games.  Yes I understand its tough economic times, but it's obviously not for the Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox fans.  Another way to fix it is have the local sports apparel shops stop selling rival teams apparel.  Walk into a Sports Authority and you will see Redskins and Cowboys gear next to each other.  No where else in the country does this happen, I don't see any Caps or Ravens apparel in sports shops in Morgantown, its just Shittsburhg apparel.   Also raise your kids to be fans of the local teams, don't let them become a fan of the Patriots or Lakers just because they win with that team on the xbox.  Teach the kids that you support the teams of where you live and that's the only way it is done.  If we start taking these measures, maybe we can eliminate annoying rival fans from coming to our games and I also won't have to be taken out of the stadium in handcuffs for beating up an annoying Philly and or Shittsburgh fan.