Opening Day With My Dad!

As the brand new Washington Nationals took the field at RFK Stadium on April 14th, I knew I was sitting in on history.

For me, it started as soon as it was confirmed that DC was finally getting a baseball team. I immediately signed up for email updates on the team's progress. Now don't get me wrong, I am still a big time Cleveland Indians fan, but hey, I gotta' represent DC baby!! My next step was to look into the possibility of season tickets( they have to be cheaper than Wizards season tix and I am on a budget!) After this I started thinking....Opening Day!!

Now, I figured I can get season tickets later(no sweat!). The game plan was put into motion in late January. I knew it was going to be me and my Dad, in the house for the first baseball game in DC in 34 years. This is where I had to make a huge decision......Nosebleed seats or mix it up with the big dogs in the lower level! This dilemma was however short lived. I knew that with this being a historic game, I saw no point in us being in the upper deck of the stadium. For the Lowery Men, it was the creme de la creme! Plus, in the Diamond Section.........Free Food and Drink!!

I checked the classifieds and some internet ticket brokers, and was quickly floored by the astronomical prices for Opening Day tickets! Now I could cop a pair of the nosebleed tix for about $100 and call it a day! NOT!!! This was history, baby! It was a once in a lifetime thing where I had to go out and grab the brass ring! I told myself I was only going to look at the 200 section and lower. No cut cards here! I got right on eBay and the hunt was on!! As I sifted through the auctions, I found that there were plenty of tickets to choose from. The first auction I bid on, I was outbid and the tickets in section 106 went for $525. Wow!! Is this what it is going to be like?? The second auction went pretty much the same, except those tickets went for $650 in section 104. I started to rethink this,and tell myself we could live with having to sit in the upper deck. As long as we were there in the house ...right???

I held my ground and decided to ride this thing out! I did manage to get some great seats to the 1st unofficial home game. There was an exhibition game being held on the 3rd of April, and I figured that might be kind of cool for us to go to this game and just get a feel for all the new happenings at RFK. But my focus was on the BIG GAME!! After going to the exhibition game, I was even more pumped up about Opening Day. The buzz around the city was hot. Everybody, who was somebody, was going to be there, and like Jesse said, " I am ...Somebody". I was cutting it close! On April 11th I saw an auction with some great seats. They were in section 206 and in the first row. They were 1 row up from the 100 section seats, and they were in great foul ball territory. These were THE SEATS I HAD TO HAVE! I put in my bid,and decided to up the ante. Going against all principles of mine, I put in a high bid, hoping that would throw off a few would be auction wranglers! It worked...I won the auction in two days!! I paid immediately and met the guy the next day to pick up my tickets. BIG GAME HERE WE COME!!!

I wanted to get there early for the game. It was a 7:05 first pitch and the President was throwing it out! Getting my Dad to agree with my "get there early plan", was another issue. My Dad is so cool!! His logic was to leave around 5 or so!! I was successful in convincing him otherwise and we left around 4 and got there, parked, went through security, and made it to our seats around 5. No such look for a lot of poor saps who were thinking like my Dad. Thousands of folks had to wait more than an hour to go through the metal detectors and missed all of the opening ceremonies. Fools!!! It pays to be early(insert sinister , wicked laugh here)!!

Needless to say, me and my Dad had a blast!! We ate popcorn and peanuts, and danced in our seats. Only thing, Dad brought the camcorder, but forgot to put film in it!! Didn't matter ! Just being at that game with my Old Man, was a Kodak moment in itself! I wish my brother could have been there, but I had enough fun for him too...Waddup Scotty!!! This goes to show you that history making moments are not always just being somewhere at a special place or a special time. It's being able to look back on an event and saying...Man, I was there...with my DAD!!! Nuff Said!!
Out!!!!!

Who put the Whammy on the Bullets/Wizards??

The Big "E" leads the Bullets in 1978...

I want to know ...Who pissed off some Witch Doctor or some Voodoo High Priestess??? Maybe it was something we here in DC said to somebody, somewhere who has these kind of wicked connections to someone in the field of Sorcery!!Someone, done Put Roots on us!!! This is the only way I can explain the ongoing streak of bad-luck that the Washington Wizards/ Bullets have been experiencing the last 8 years.The Wizards have not made the playoffs since 1997 and last won a playoff game in 1988.......yes 1988!!! The last playoff series that they won,they beat the Nets in the opening round of 1982....DAMN!!!

Back in the day, when The Fat Lady Sang in 1978, disco was the music of choice for most folks in America. Here in DC,it was the sweet operatic sound of a championship for the Washington Bullets. Man, those were the days! My folks had season tickets to the old Capital Center, good seats too in the 100's! The atmosphere in that Arena was electric! On days that my Mom didn't go to the game, my Pops would take either me or my brother. I got to see my favorite players , Bobby Dandridge, Elvin Hayes, and Kevin Grevey , in person! I was in basketball heaven. The song still rings in my ear..."Bullet Fever..it happens to me every year!!" Sadly, here is where almost all good memories of my squad end!
The playoff futility, to me, started with the endless run of horrible draft picks. Mel "Dinner Bell Mel" Turpin in 1984, Kenny Green in 1985, John " Hot Plate " Williams in 1986...need I say more!! We did however, have some superstars make some pit stops at the Capital Center/MCI Center...Moses Malone('86), Bernard King('87), Ralph Sampson('91),Juwan Howard and Chris Webber('94), Rasheed Wallace('95) , Ben Wallace('96)and of course Michael Jordan('01). All of these players eventually moved on, and the Bullets/Wizards were left to wallow in the basement of the Eastern Conference for years to come!

This 2004-2005 season seemed like we were primed for a breakthrough! With GM Ernie Grunfeld making moves in the front office and Coach Eddie Jordan running the show on the bench, the Wizards had all the makings of a playoff-bound team.Unfortuanetly, Steve Blake , Kwame Brown , and Etan Thomas all started off the year on the injured list. They went 11-4 in the month of January, but Larry Hughes went down before the All Star break with a fractured thumb. Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison both made the All Star Team. Then the (stuff) hit the fan! Juan Dixon sprained his ankle, Jarvis Hayes fractured his right patella,Anthony Peeler got a sore right knee ,Peter Ramos started marinating on the bench with plantar fasciitis(yeah, right),Antawn Jamison got tendinitis in his right knee, and now Brendan Haywood fractured the tip of his thumb! Somebody is Hatin' on us something terrible!!

The season is not quite over , so I won't hit the panic button just yet! Right now, the Wizards are sitting pretty in the 4th spot in the East. With 15 games left in the regular season, 8 of them at home, this is a chance for the Wizards to finish up strong. My first hope for this year was for the team to just make the playoffs. Now, after looking at some of the teams we could face in the post season, I'm thinking second round here we come baby!!. Things are really looking on the up and up......untill we have to see Miami.....again I say DAMN!!!

...out!!

Brothers and Sisters...TIME OUT!!!

The other day, as I was making my deliveries on my route in SW Washington DC , a brother stopped me. He asked me, "Was FedEx hiring ?" Now I'm saying to myself, "Here is a seemingly good brother, trying to get himself a job and make an honest living". So I proceeded to tell him that I believed we were hiring new people, and it would be in his best interest to go ahead and put in his application early, heightening his chances of landing a job. The next words out of his mouth, really made me want to ask myself.....WHY???
He told me, "I needs at least a week to drink that cranberry juice and clean that WEED out of my sytem!" Now, mind you, he was asking me this while holding a beer in a brown paper bag, and pushing his son around in a stroller!!! He and I have made small talk before, always about either how well the Wizards were doing or how bad the 'Skins were looking. Each time we held our informal session of The Sports Reporters, his sidekick, Bud Weiser, was always there to chime in on the day's topics. Now I'm not one to condemn any man for getting his occasional " buzz on",( I have been know to tip back a few brewskis here and there myself), but there is a time and place for everything.
We all remember the Evan's family on Good Times, having to step over Ned the Whino lying in the gutter, while they made their way up to their apartment. One episode, Michael brought Ned home,to Florida's dismay, making a vow to "Help the brother out"! Unfortuanetly, it was the same day that the judging commitee was coming over to vote on the appearance of their apartment for a Home Magazine prize! With both James and JJ's help, Michael was able to get ole' Ned cleaned up beyond recognition. Why can't things be this easy in "The Hood"? When are we going to learn that you can't just go through life thinking that "drinking that cranberry juice" is going to solve your problems and help you get over.
It seems to me that some of us(black folk) are always looking for the easy way out. I am so tired of seeing able bodied young folk, hanging out on the corner in the middle of the day, not working. This enevitably leads to nothing positive for these young folks. Maybe it's just me, maybe I expect too much from our youth. How selfish of me for wanting these young folk to take the initiative to go and get a REAL JOB!! Oh Yeah, I'm the bad guy for wanting folks to get ahead in life and go about it the right way, setting an example for their kids. Go ahead, shoot me for just being the messenger. Yes, I'm sick of brothers and sisters just plain not getting it done!!
It's ok black folk, if you happen to occasionally come across the infamous "hook up". Just use it to better both your life and the lives of your family members. We already have a tough enough time as it is. What's the point in making it tougher than it has to be! It's gut check time black people, this ain't for the faint of heart!!! Get out the mirrors y'all,let's look hard and long. Are you really happy with what you see?? Remember how Ned cleaned up pretty well, and in the end, his old lady was just too happy to take him back home!! You can tidy up your life also, turn it around and get back in the damn game. Stop making black folks look so bad!! Do the Damn thing!!
Out...

This Is the New Sportsdaze!

Welcome to SportsDaze.!! This is the spot where you can chill and hear some good ole' fashioned scuttlebutt about the world of SPORTS! Some folks take the sporting world way too serious! We here at SportsDaze certainly do not! Unless you are a top sports writer( ie. Mike Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser, Mike Wise, Scoop Jackson), who gets paid to live the sports life, just sit your ass down, grab a brew and remote, and surf through all 500 ESPN channels. Just like my man, and fellow "at home sports writer" Chris Graves, I shall let you all know where I stand in both the mortal World and my SportsDaze World:

• The Nationals are finally in DC where we deserve a team
• Steroids did save Baseball!!
• Gilbert Arenas is a straight BEAST!! (unguardable)
• My Dad LeRoy is my Hero( with that funny left handed jump shot)
• I will always be grateful to my brother Scott for being there for me when I needed to punish someone (anyone) on the Basketball court!!
• My Mom (Love you) , I will always be your favorite!!
• The Redskins will finally get it together and bring the Lombardi Trophy to DC again
• I can eat General Tso's chicken everyday for the rest of my life!!!!!
• Michael Jackson needs 5 minutes in a closed room with Vanessa Del Rio
• I love to call the 800# box on cereal and complain and get a free box of cereal!!( so shoot me already)
• Frank Sinatra is the greatest singer ever!!HANDS DOWN
• I am crazy about my nieces Taya & Nyla and nephew Johnny Cakes!!
• I love my job at FedEx and myWorkgroup #8..WE ROCK DUDES!!!
• Top movies are Shaft (1971 version), The Blues Brothers & Casablanca
• I love Go Go music (Trouble Funk, Rare Essence and Backyard)
• The whip: 2001 Crown Vic Police Interceptor (wedgewood blue)
• Never go out in the sun without the Oakleys on my face! - When it's bitter cold outside, always sportin The North Face!!
• I have 4 pieces of art hangin on the walls...2 are about dudes shootin hoops on the playground
• MGD is the brew for me...
• Shows I tivo on the regular...King of Queens, All My Children (don't hate), Wizards Games, PBA Bowling, Chapelle Show, CSI Miami....What!!!
• Ice Cream of choice..Cold Stone Creamery..coming soon for our family store!!
• Still want to know who the hell created the 5 day work week????
• Top Magazines- Slam, ESPN the Mag, Consumer Reports, SI(Swimsuit Edition), Any Victoria's Secret Catalogue!
• The celly..Nextel i860
• The Office Chair..The Aeron Chair by Herman Miller
• Watching Sportscenter at 1130...religiously

Let's get started on this Sports Journey together Y'all!!!