Griffin's Rehab Brings Back Memories of Arenas

Griffin's Rehabs from Knee Surgery.

Robert Griffin's documentary "Will to Win" recently aired on ESPN.  Griffin showcases his road to recovery from not one but two knee surgeries.  Some interesting tidbits from the documentary shows the Redskins trainer using an IPad to record movement and Griffin drives a Nissan as well Griffin's extreme motivation to get back to form.


Griffin's drive to come back reminds me of one Gilbert Arenas who also was said to be making incredible progress after he suffered his knee surgery.  Arenas was coined a gym rat and that offseason's goal was to make over 100,000 shots.

Right now I'm in the middle of making 100,000 shots over 73 days. It's a little mini-series I do. Right now I'm shooting 69.7 percent from the three-point line and I'm shooting 79.3 percent, I think, from the college three. 

Arenas Sprinting with a Parachute doing several springs

Arenas also talked the talked saying that he was well on his way back to 100% and also showcased his training program in 2007.



 Currently Arenas is out of the NBA and playing basketball in China.   Bottomline, Griffin will have to show his results in order to really show that he's recovered and also must improve his decision making to avoid hits.

Grantland overrates the Washington Wizards not so great Team Name

Zach Lowe of Grantland sports recently came out with an interesting read about ranking NBA team names. I was surprised to see that the Wizards ranked as high as 19 on the list. Here is his rationale:

19. Washington WizardsWizards slips ahead of Magic for one basic reason: Wizards do magic. Without wizards, magic is just a concept waiting for someone to learn and execute it. The Wizards name has some agency. 

It's not an unthreatening nickname, either, despite the soft associations critics might draw — the flowing robes, thin stature, and meager physical strength. Wizards are dangerous, and they can strike from anywhere, at any time. If any Washington player actually knew the Imperius curse, their opponents would never score a basket. 

However, you lose major points when the most-trafficked blog covering your teamchooses its URL based entirely around the concept of switching back to the old name — Bullets, a moniker with roots deep into the franchise's Baltimore days. The original Bullets were named for a local foundry and promoted the slogan "Faster than a speeding bullet." New owners revived the name when the league's Chicago-based franchise relocated to Baltimore after the 1963 season. 

Abe Pollin, the team's late owner, famously switched to Wizards in 1997 in order to avoid any association with the gun violence that plagued the D.C. area in the late 1980s and early 1990s.⁷ It was a shaky choice for a franchise with so many patriotic and political choices at its fingertips — Nationals, Monuments, Senators, or even Generals. The latter would have carried some intellectual property costs and created confusion with the Globetrotters' hopeless victim (he's spinning the ball on his finger! Just take it!), but it would have been cool for Washington to co-opt that name and turn it into a winner. 

Actually, considering the last 20 years in Wizards history, maybe the Generals thing would have turned out badly. "With the no. 1 pick in the draft, the Washington Generals select … Kwame Brown! How's it feel to take your place in the Generals tradition, Kwame? Kwame? Are you OK?"

The Wizards should probably be in the bottom 4 and perhaps the worst considering that the Washington basketball team already had a solid nickname with the Bullets.  Still not sure how the Bullets team name encourages violence.

The biggest reason why the Wizards is such a horrible team name is that it replaced a respectable team name

 Team owner Ted Leonsis responded.

AND "GRANTLAND" IS BETTER?

Posted on August 20, 2013

 "The Sports Guy?"

Read this one. The pot calling kettle black. Just saying.

Leonsis unfortunately failed to realize that Bill Simmons but Zach Lowe wrote the article.  Apparently Lowe has been getting a lot criticism (rightly so) that the Wizards is a horrible team name.  

@TedLeonsis I'm not "The Sports Guy," FYI. And Wizards at No. 19 is pretty good -- even according to your fans!
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) August 20, 2013

Ted Leonsis response can be summed up as saying that the Wizards is not a good team name but "Grantland" is a worse name for a sports website.  This is not exactly a strong case for keeping the name the Wizards which I somehow doubt Leonsis will take the lead in changing.

Webster Goes Crazy on Instagram- Plays one on one with Brant Colella

The Washington Wizards recently inked Martell Webster to a 4 year deal worth $22 million.  Upon receiving the deal, Webster said that he was never going to trim his beard- stating that he wants to fell like a "true wizard".

Webster, the "True Wizard"


Webster posted a "I Can Play Basketball Anywhere" Series on Instagram starring ‏@MartellWebster and @brantcolella.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4 


Part 5 


Part 6 


Final episode, who wins?

Kobe Out with an Achilles Injury

Kobe's Depressing Press Conference


Kobe's 3 AM Rant on FaceBook (via NBA.COM)






This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that??I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career thatwas. Maybe this is how my bookends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not! It’s 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I’m wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what’s the purpose of social media if I won’t bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever.One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.“If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.I know it’s a long post but I’m Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru.Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.Mamba Out

Random Thoughts
- Kobe's injury may have been a freak occurrence but could also be the result of a lot of minutes.

Kobe's last 7 games: 48 mins, then 47, 43, 47, 41, 48, 45 (on way to 48)... tears his achilles. But it was a "fluke" injury. Ohhh-kay.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 13, 2013

- Charles Barkely on "Inside the NBA" compared Kobe to RG3, the day before Kobe actually got injured. He said that the coach has to know when to take out the because he is a warrior. Although to be fair to D'Antoni, no one was suspected to clothesline Kobe in a NBA game. Maybe Barkely can help Kobe stay in shape during rehab who is now a spokesman for Weight Watchers.

Just watched @kobebryant press conference & I could feel the pain in his voice & know the feeling of pain in his heart
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) April 13, 2013

- Other notable nba players that had Achilles injuries include Elton Brand and Chauncey Billups, neither which have returned to form.  Dominique Wilkin injured his Achilles in the 1990s and returned back to be second in scoring to Michael Jordan.

Redskins Win but the Eagles Kind of Stink

Yes the Washington Redskins won a game completing big plays with 4 TD passes by Robert Griffin.  The Redskins got on top by converting with a few play action passes (Young and Robinson scores), a few deep balls (Robinson and Moss scores), and a few broken tackles (Moss and Paulson scores).  But was this propensity to score touchdowns may be because the Eagles defense may be horrible.  Moss, a 5'10 receiver, out jumped two Eagles defensive backs who were both taller than Moss.  The touchdown had shades of Brunell to Moss in 2006 against the Cowboys (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1uEyZKJ0o8)

On paper, the Redskins victory was impressive.  However, the Eagles look like complete trash.  In my fantasy football leagues I have been going forward of starting defenses, even pathetic ones like the Saints against the Eagles because their offensive line protecting the quarterback has been horrible.  Plus they are good for a few boneheaded turnovers.  Even the dependable LeSean McCoy got into the act with a fumble of his own to make up for the absence of Michael Vick who is out with a concussion. Foles looked pretty awful spelling Vick at quarterback.  When Foles got blitzed by the corner of DeAngelo Hall, Foles kind of got what he deserved for not looking towards DeSean Jackson at all who in my mind is their biggest weapon on the outside especially since DeAgelo Hall hasn't shown the propensity to cover any one that well (see Danny Amendola, Steve Smith, Victor Cruz, and some other guys that I'm probably forgetting.)

Redskins fans are not encouraged by a 4-6 record especially since they have lost winnable games througout the season.  Still a win is a win, and it is better to face the Cowboys this Thursday on Thanksgiving at 4-6 as opposed to 3-7.  

Is John Wall a Max Player?

At this point of time, John Wall has been assumed to be a player worthy of a max deal when his contract will expire in 2014. However, this may not be the best course of action for the Wizards going forward. Of course, Wall could progress into a much better player in two years but the Wizards could consider signing Wall to a more reasonable deal less than the max. Or the Wizards could move Wall for other pieces including high draft picks. Right now, the Wizards can afford to wait and see if Wall will live up to his potential since he still has a few years remaining on his rookie contract.

John Wall has proven himself to be a player with incredible athleticism and an ability to run the team as an effective point guard. However as it stands right now, Wall still has limitations in his game which include the lack of a consistent perimeter jumper both from 3 point range and the mid range. His decision making could also stand to improve.

It is too early to jump to conclusion that John Wall will not address his weaknesses given it is only his second year in the league. However, as it stands right now, Wall appears to be a great #2 option but not necessarily even an average #1 option.

Perhaps Wall can augment his value with the Wizards' new acquisition of Nene. The Wizards should improve its pick and roll offense. Wall should also make less boneheaded plays as players like McGee and Young have left. Still, one has to question if Wall is worth max especially with the new structure of the collective bargaining agreement.

McNabb a Viking

McNabb's Tenure in Washington Ends

It looks like McNabb is heading to Minnesota at least according to a tweet by one of the QBs of the Minnesota Vikings

cponder7: Excited to have McNabb join. Will learn a lot from a Pro Bowler. But that doesn't mean I'm not still fighting to start week 1!

Original Tweet: http://twitter.com/cponder7/statuses/96200633518014464

This is the classic case of the Redskins acquiring assets at a high price as they traded a 2nd round pick for him at around this time last year. While McNabb did an adequate job considering the Redskins offensive line was terrible, his play was not stellar and his attention to detail was seen to be lacking by Mike Shanahan.

Let's hope that the Redskins have learned not to trade hig draft picks when they are rebuilding for the future as the offseason progresses.

In the meantime, the Redskins will enter the season with Rex Grossman and Jon Beck. The latter was turned away by Redskins security at Redskins Park since they did not know he played QB for the Redskins.