DJ Strawberry = Sean Singletary

Huge trade in the NBA today, with the Suns sending former Maryland guard D.J. Strawberry to Houston for former UVA standout Sean Singletary.

On TheSabre, one Hoo laments:

"Damn, SS is getting passed around like one of my old girlfriends."

Meanwhile, a Singletary fan weighed in on the deal over at TerrapinSportsReport:

"As much as you guys may hate this trade, you know that SS couldn't have ended up with a better team in terms of matching play style. Run up and down, little reckless at times, harass the ball. Dont hate, appreciate."

To which a Maryland fan responded:

"we dont care about singletary on this board we care about DJ and this trade puts him in jeopardy of not making the team or 12th man again."

And:

"who cares, go away"

That last comment about sums it up. As much as I loved watching DJ Strawberry do his thing in College Park, I'd be surprised if he or Singletary sticks in the NBA.

Cubs Broadcasters Are Morons

With the Nationals in Chicago for a three-game series with the Cubs, I took advantage of the opportunity to watch the opener on WGN. I like MASN's Carpenter-Sutton pairing just fine, but I can always use some fresh perspective while watching the worst team in baseball. Much to my dismay, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly didn't provide it.

As a graphic showing each category in which the Cubs ranked first and the Nationals ranked last was displayed, Kasper explained how the Cubs players still considered Washington a pesky team that they can't take lightly. The Nationals, after all, have nothing to lose at this point -- except more baseball games. Blah, blah, blah. Hackneyed? Sure, but I understand the sentiment. WGN conveniently left out the one category that the Nats rank first in: "Number of Light-Hitting Middle Infielders."

I didn't really start to wonder if Kasper was sleeping with Stan Kasten until Emilio "Why Walk When You Can Run" Bonifacio and Christian Guzman both grounded out weakly to second base to start the game. After Guzman was called out on a bang-bang play at first base, Kasper said something to the effect of, "You can really see how dangerous the top of this Nationals lineup could be. With the speed at the top of the order, they could wreak some havoc on the basepaths and score some runs if they could get on base." Um, yeah, and the heart of the order -- Zimmerman, Milledge, and Belliard -- could strike fear in eyes of opposing pitchers if they could, you know, hit a lot of home runs.

Bonifacio has four walks and 29 strikeouts this season, with most of his at-bats coming in the leadoff spot. Guzman has 18 walks and 45 strikeouts. Neither of them belongs anywhere near the top of the order.

Perhaps by Sunday, when the Cubs complete their third consecutive shutout of the Nats, Kasper and Brenly will realize that there is nothing potentially dangerous about Washington's current lineup, except to those who have to watch it suck.

Nuts About the Nats

This guy is a huge Emilio Bonifacio fan.



The new-look Nats remained perfect in August after pummeling the Rockies 9-4 behind Bonifacio's three hits. The win moved Washington to within 19.5 games of Milwaukee for the NL wild card spot with an absolutely crucial four-game series against the Brew Crew looming next weekend. Go nuts, Nats fans. This could qualify as the high point of the season.

Show 'em what they've, uh, won...

Forget Refgate. The NBA didn't conspire to have Boston win its 17th NBA title any more than Sasha Vujacic conspired to do his best impression of a greasy sieve wearing a hairnet on defense. The Lakers simply embarrassed themselves Tuesday night and saved the impartial viewing public the agony of the buildup to what was sure to be an anticlimactic Game 7.

Los Angeles lost more than its dignity, however. The City of Angels will also bid adieu to its Arena Football League team, the Avengers, according to the terms of a bet between Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. Had Villaraigosa won the bet, an obvious joke that pales in comparison to the best wagers of all-time, Menino would have arranged to have the New England Patriots shipped to L.A. Clearly, each city's respective payoffs were as lopsided as the matchup that decided the wager's outcome.

For any Bostonians who care, your new AFL team is somehow still alive for the playoffs despite a craptastic 5-10 record. Here are the scenarios by which the Avengers can clinch a playoff berth:

1) Win + Colorado loss
2) Win + Grand Rapids loss
3) Win + Utah loss
4) Utah loss + Grand Rapids win + Colorado win
5) Paul Pierce at QB + KG at WR + Ray Allen at RB
6) The scandalous AFL referees make it so

Farewell, Trent

With the report that Trent Johnson will become LSU's next head coach on the heels of the Lopez twins' announcement that they will enter the NBA draft, the question becomes, will Stanford win 10 games next season? I'm betting yes, if only because 8 non-conference wins should be easy to come by and there are no plans to contract Oregon State from the Pac-10.

As for who will replace Johnson, well, your guess is as good as mine. But if we're speculating...


Mike Montgomery

Pros: The man won 547 games on the Farm and was responsible for turning Stanford into a perennial contender before leaving for a predictably unsuccessful stint as head coach of the NBA's Golden State Warriors.

Cons: He was introduced as Ben Braun's replacement at rival Cal last week. No biggie.




Jim Harbaugh

Pros: Stanford 24, USC 23. This guy is a miracle worker.

Cons: The extent of his basketball coaching knowledge is conversations with his brother-in-law, new Indiana head coach Tom Crean.



Nick Robinson

Pros: He drained the most memorable shot in Stanford basketball history.

Cons: He has virtually no coaching experience.



Todd Bozeman

Pros: It would complete a hilarious swap with Cal, where Bozeman coached from 1993-96 and led the Golden Bears to three NCAA tournament appearances.

Cons: The reason Bozeman left Cal -- and only recently resumed his coaching career at Morgan State -- is that the NCAA learned he paid a recruit $30,000 over two years.

If You Don't Get It, You Don't Get I

What's wrong with this picture? Well, besides the fact that the outfield seats are virtually empty for the second game ever at Nationals Park.



Still not sure? Here's a closer view.


Forget fixing the radar gun. Someone tell me how it is that the paper that wins a record six Pulitzers can't even get its full name in lights.

Should I assume that this is the Nationals' half-hearted attempt at making its stadium eco-friendly, saving the valuable energy that would otherwise be required to light up one more letter?

Is Dmitri Young manually powering the scoreboard by pedaling furiously on an exercise bike hooked up to a generator in the home clubhouse during the game?

Or is the 'n' purposely unlit, perhaps alerting fans that they are watching a 'night' game, in a nod to the creativity on display at Camden Yards. There, either the 'H' or the 'E' in the sign that reads "THE SUN" atop the scoreboard flashes to clear up any confusion as to whether a play will be scored a hit or an error.

Seriously, by June, this could read, "he Wang pot." But will any fans be there to see it?

C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!

Bring on the Flyers.