ABCDE SPORTS friday, july 16, 2010
PRO BASKETBALL A name of his own Wizards draft pick Trevor Booker’s chiseled physique and toughness have earned him a nickname to rival John Wall’s. D5
Seeking forward progress
Nationals’ mission is to reach ‘next level’ in the second half
by Adam Kilgore CALLING FOR BACKUP: Rookie Stephen Strasburg tops the rotation, but who will strengthen it?
When they came together in the spring, the Washington Na- tionals often heard a phrase that reminded them of the team’s task in relation to the state of the fran- chise. The maxim, Manager Jim Riggleman said, was “keeping the needle moving forward.” The Nationals’ 39-50 record at the all-star break left them with a tinge of disappointment follow- ing a promising start that had them a game out of first in mid- May. The Nationals could have played better; they believe they should have.
Despite the letdown of again
finding themselves in last place, the Nationals no longer must ward off ridicule, charges of in- competence or the league’s worst record. The team is improved. Their mission, as the second half of the season opens Friday with Stephen Strasburg on the mound against the Florida Mar- lins, remains the same: “Create momentum and get this team to the next level,” General Manager Mike Rizzo said. Playoff contention, from 101
⁄2
games out of the wild-card spot, remains a distant hope. Still, in the aim of forging respectability, every victory will matter. The Na- tionals are not chasing the pen- nant this season, but they hope this second half could catapult them into doing so, possibly as soon as next year. “If we play well in the second
half, creep back up in the stand- ings a little bit, maybe not be there in the end as far as winning first place, but be there as far as making an impact,” third base- man Ryan Zimmerman said. “Free agents look at that. They want to go to teams that are going to compete. It’s hard to get free agents when you lose 100 games every year. It’s important for us as far as building some momentum, some confidence that we can play with anyone. It could be a big steppingstone for us.
“I think this year is the first year where we can kind of see
PHOTOS BY JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST nationals continued on D4 WORK IN PROGRESS: Can shortstop Ian Desmond smooth out his act soon enough for the team? A
n NBA owner I hadn’t spoken to in a few years called the other day. Before
we talked about the reason for our conversation, he asked, “What’d you think of the LeBron-a-thon?” “A bit much,” I said. “Yeah, maybe just a bit,” Peter
Holt said through a laugh. “I don’t know what went wrong there, but they must have had some bad blood when you hear
Fighting for more than free agent affection MIKE WISE
this past year. Like any owner/fan, he has a paternal side too. But free agency and South Beach weren’t trying to whisk his baby away from the San Antonio Spurs. Holt’s daughter was leaving for
Vietnam, for the first time. Her father went back — for the
everything.” In a way, Holt also had to deal with a 25-year-old leaving home
first time in 43 years. “Unbelievably emotional,” Holt
said. She saw where her daddy wise continued on D5 BLOGS, MULTIMEDIA AND CHATS
washingtonpost.com/sports
First Things First Today, 9:30 a.m. Tracee Hamilton takes your questions about the Nationals. Nationals live chat Tonight, 7 Chat with Dave Sheinin while you watch Stephen Strasburg’s latest start. The LeagueWill Terrell Owens have an impact in the NFL this season? Join the debate.
SOCCER
Heartbreak for United Hosting its first MLS match in more than a month, D.C. yields a goal in the 89th minute and suffers a damaging 1-0 loss to Seattle. D3
McIlroy matches mark of a major
He starts with a 63 in benign conditions, as Daly, Woods lurk
by Barry Svrluga STAYING OR GOING?Will Josh Willingham, left, and Adam Dunn still be here at season’s end?
st. andrews, scotland — The strangest thing happened overnight here, sometime be- fore light fell across the Old Courseon Thursday morning. A rain in which Noah himself might have felt comfortable turned to drizzle, then to mist, then disappeared altogether, taking the morning off. A wind that howled in off the North Sea somehow tired, blowing itself into oblivion, resting in the hours before noon. What re- mained, when the British Open began, would have seemed un- fathomable just 12 hours be- fore: calm. “It felt awkward, because there was absolutely no wind whatsoever,” Tiger Woods said. “And you never play a links golf course with no wind.” This from a guy whose tee time was 9:09 a.m., when the flags fell limp. At that hour, an accomplished player could shoot 5-under-par 67, as Woods did, and carry a tinge of dis- appointment because, as he said, “the course could have been had.” At that hour, a player as tal- ented as Rory McIlroy — the 21- year-old from Northern Ireland defined by his hair and his flair —could threaten the record for low score in a major champi- onship and end up tying it with a simple-as-can-be 9-under 63, a round that was perhaps equal- ly due to St. Andrews’s utter vul- nerability as it was to McIlroy’s superior play. “You’re never going to get St.
open continued on D6 D S
TIM HALES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, 21, has played strong rounds at St. Andrews, but this was his first in an Open there.
139th British Open First round
LEADER BOARD Rory McIlroy
Louis Oosthuizen John Daly
Andrew Coltart Steven Tiley
Bradley Dredge Peter Hanson Marcel Siem Nick Watney Lucas Glover Sean O’Hair Tiger Woods
63 -9 65 -7 66 -6 66 -6 66 -6 66 -6 66 -6 67 -5 67 -5 67 -5 67 -5 67 -5
Fredrik Andersson Hed 67 -5 Alejandro Canizares Y.E. Yang
Lee Westwood
SECOND ROUND Time, TV: 4 a.m., ESPN.
MORE ONLINE Check out our hole-by-hole
guide to St. Andrews. Follow @barrysvrluga on Twitter for constant updates.
67 -5 67 -5 67 -5
SALLY JENKINS Daly fashions
fought and almost died. She saw him weep over his friends who didn’t make it back. She saw him sit down across from the same people who tried to kill him all those years ago, before he was the heir to the Caterpillar heavy-machinery manufacturing fortune and instead was just an irresponsible kid who, after drunkenly leading a police chase
ou get the feeling that what’s in John Daly’s head looks like his pants: a lot of swirls, a lot of clashing hues. But it’s just possible that the most extreme thing about Daly these days is his clothing. His huge gut is gone, and he claims to be sober. Excess means settling for paisley. He was startlingly visible on
Y
the fairways of St. Andrews in Thursday’s opening round of the British Open, in his robin’s egg blue cap, salmon pink shirt, violet vest, and those slacks that looked like cheap motel curtains. But there was no drunk-tank behavior, no teeing off on a beer can. There
a round to remember st. andrews, scotland
was just a telltale plume of cigarette smoke — a lingering vice — and a series of solid, charismatic cracks off the tee, the sounds of strength meeting ease. His seven-birdie opening round of 66 was one of his most aggressive, yet rational, performances in a major championship since he won the 1995 British Open here. The guy who used to be known as “Wild Thing” apparently is in need of a new nickname. What should we call him now? “I don’t know,” he said. “Mild Thing?” It’s risky to say anything
jenkins continued on D6
Some momentSarriveat100mph.
–AT–
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