D2
EZ SU THE SIDELINE
Quick Fix 6Excerpts from the blogs at
washingtonpost.com/sports
SOCCERINSIDER PossibleU.S.-SouthAfrica friendly facesobstacles
TheU.S. SoccerFederationhas
beenapproachedabouthaving thenational teamplay South Africa inNovember inCapeTown ina charitymatchbenefiting the NelsonMandelaFoundation, the Insiderhas learned. Several issues,however, stand
intheway of theproposedNov. 17 friendly.One contact saidthe chances of ithappening are “50-50, at best.”USSFofficials declinedto comment. Althoughthematchwouldfall
onaFIFAinternational fixture date,European-basedplayers wouldhave to travel long distances inthemiddle of the league schedule for a singlemid- week event, thenreport back to their clubs right away.The friendly also falls betweenthe MLS conference finals and championship, limitingplayer availability.Andcandidates from MLS clubs already eliminated frompostseasonwon’t be intop formafterupto threeweeks of inactivity andfatigue at the endof a long campaign. The SouthAfricanfederation
has beentrying for some time to arrange a friendly forBafana Bafana at the oceanside stadium thathostedeightWorldCup matches this summer, including theGermany-Argentina quarterfinal andNetherlands- Uruguay semifinal.The facility is nowhome toAjaxCapeTown, fromSouthAfrica’sPremier SoccerLeague. TheUnitedStateshasplayed
11 times inSouthAfrica thepast three years: theNelsonMandela Challenge vs.BafanaBafana in Johannesburg (2007), five ConfederationsCupmatches (2009), aWorldCuptune-up againstAustralia andfourCup appearances (2010).
—StevenGoff TERRAPINSINSIDER
Friedgenexpects toplay at least twoquarterbacks Here iswhat to look for in
Saturday’s showdownwith MorganState atByrdStadium: Quarterback JamarrRobinson
willplay for theTerps.Backup DannyO’Brienis expectedtoplay some, aswell.Third-stringerC.J. Browncouldplay, too. Here iswhatCoachRalph
Friedgensaidabouthis quarterbacks onWednesday’s ACCteleconference: “I thinkwe’ll play both. Iwouldn’t be surprised ifwewindupplayingC.J.Brown.” —EricPrisbell
CAVALIERSJOURNAL
InjuredsafetyMcLeod now‘unlikely’ toplay OnTuesday,CoachMike
Londonwas askedabout the healthof junior strong safety RodneyMcLeod,whose injured left kneepreventedhimfrom playing intheCavaliers’ season- openingwinSaturday over Richmond. Aswaspreviously reportedon
the Journal, among othermedia outlets,Londonsaiditwas “likely” thatMcLeodwouldbe available toplay thisweekendat No. 16USC.The transcript that Virginia releases following each ofLondon’sweeklynews conferences also quotedthe coachas saying itwas “likely” McLeodwouldbe available to play against theTrojans. Apparently,Londoneither
misspoke or therewas some misunderstanding by all involved.Londonwas asked Wednesdayduring theACC coaches’ teleconference to clarify his statement onMcLeod. “I said‘unlikely,’ ”Londonsaid
inreference tohisTuesday response.
—SteveYanda
KLMNO 6
3
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS Ask Boswell: Columnist Thomas Boswell answers your questions online at 11 a.m.
WASHINGTONPOST LIVEWITH IVAN CARTER 5 P.M. ON COMCAST SPORTSNET DocWalker and Brandon Lang join The Post’s GeneWang.
Hot Topic Wizards Insider Excerpts from
voices.washingtonpost.com/wizardsinsider
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST Top pick JohnWall, with ball, will face a cavalcade of elite point guards that will test his mettle during an arduous stretch inMarch. Wizards’ March madness
Brutal Western Conference trip, home date with Heat highlight grueling month
BY MICHAEL LEE QUOTABLE
“I don’t do Twitter, MyFace, or any of that stuff.”
Patriots Coach Bill Belichick, when asked whether he was aware of Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco’s attempts to trash-talk using social media.
Wizards Insider Michael Lee has been breaking down Washington’s 2010-11 schedule. This is the fifth of six parts:
The Wizards openMarch with five of TELEVISIONANDRADIO
NFL 8:30 p.m.
Minnesota at NewOrleans » WRC (Channel 4),WBAL (Channel 11), WWXT (92.7 FM),WWXX (94.3 FM),WTEM (980 AM)
WORLD BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 11 a.m.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
SOCCER 11 p.m.
GOLF 3 p.m.
TENNIS 11 a.m.
11 a.m. 8 p.m.
Russia vs. United States » ESPN
Central Michigan at Temple » ESPNU Auburn at Mississippi State » ESPN
MLS, Real Salt Lake at Seattle » ESPN2 PGA Tour,BMWChampionship » Golf Channel U.S. Open » ESPN2
U.S. Open » Tennis Channel U.S. Open » ESPN2
their first six games at home, then end the month with five of six on the road, including their longest trip of the season —a five-gameWest Coast trip. Eight of their games are against lottery teams from last season, but JohnWall will likely feel as if he’s taking a month-long course at point guard school as he will face Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Baron Davis (twice), RussellWestbrook, AndreMiller, Chauncey Billups, DevinHarris and Stephen Curry (twice).
Games to watch March 2 & 27, Golden State: Curry
thought he was headed toWashington in the 2009 NBA draft— until the Wizards dealt the fifth overall pick toMinnesota to acquire some veteran help. Curry, the rookie of the year runner-up, scored 27 points in both games against the Wizards last season. Golden State was extremely active in the offseason, as Joe Jacob took over as owner and they acquired David Lee from theNewYork Knicks. With Don Nelson still around andMonta Ellis sharing the back court with Curry, the Warriors should continue to be one of the highest scoring teams in the league and help Wizards players produce season-high performances. Gilbert Arenas had a triple- double against his former team last season and JaValeMcGee had a career-high 25
only from Comcast. DIGEST COLLEGES
GW will open vs. BU in NIT Season Tip-Off TheGeorgeWashington men’s
basketball team opens its season Nov. 16 against BostonUniversity in Villanova, Pa., as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off. The Colonials, who went 16-15
last year and return four starters from a team that lost in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational, host UNC Wilming- ton onNov. 29 in the first game at the newly renovated Smith Cen- ter.
GWalso travels to GeorgeMa-
sononDec. 1, playsNavyonDec. 5 in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center and visitsHoward on Jan. 2. GW opens Atlantic 10 play on Jan. 5 at home against La Salle. The Atlantic 10 tournament is March 8-13, starting at campus sites and ending at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City,N.J. . . . The Maryland women open
their season Nov. 13 at Comcast Center against Monmouth. The Terrapins follow that with a game at Georgetown on Nov. 16 and
into any detail on what he knows about the status of his 2005Heis- man Trophy. “At this point, it’s kind of out of
open ACC play Jan. 6 at Duke. Maryland will host first- and sec- ond-round play of theNCAAtour- nament onMarch 20 and 22. . . . The Virginia women, who also
will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament on March 20 and 22, begin their season Nov. 12 at Hofstra. The Cavaliers will travel to Tennessee and Ohio State as part of their nonconference slate. . . . The Virginia Tech women
open their seasonNov. 12 athome against Presbyterian. . . . Rumeal Robinson, who led
Michigan to the NCAA men’s bas- ketball championship in 1989, has been found guilty on 11 feder- al financial fraud charges. A jury in DesMoines returned
its verdict against Robinson on Wednesday, finding him guilty of bank bribery, wire fraud, conspir- acy to commit bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. Robinson faces up to 30 years
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Tony Taylor is one of four returning starters atGeorgeWashington. He led last year’s Colonials in assists and three-point percentage.
in prison and a $1 million fine on each count. After playing for Michigan, Robinson spent six seasons in theNBA. . . . HeismanTrophy-winningrun-
ning back Mark Ingram is unlike- ly to play for No. 1 Alabama against No. 18 Penn State on Sat- urday. Ingram had left knee sur- gery last week, and Crimson Tide
Coach Nick Saban said, “He might be ready by the game, but he won’t be able to practice enough.” . . . StarGeorgia wide receiver A.J.
Green has been suspended for four games for selling a jersey to someone the NCAA says qualifies as an agent. . . . Reggie Bush declined to go
my hands,” Bush said after prac- tice with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Bush said he could not “confirm or deny” whether he has met with anyone from the Heis- man Trophy Trust and deferred comment to the trust when asked about a Yahoo Sports report that said he could be stripped of the award by the end of the month. . . .
The NCAA has reprimanded
and censured Princeton for a ma- jor violation in itswomen’s tennis program. The Division I commit- tee on infractions says the case centered on a Princeton alumnus who paid $33,000 in impermissi- ble educational expenses for a student-athlete to attend the school.
BASKETBALL Serbia knocked defending champion Spain out of the FIBA WorldChampionshipwhenMilos Teodosic made a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left for a 92-89
quarterfinal win in Istanbul. In another quarterfinal, Ersan
Ilyasova scored 19 points to help hostTurkey knock Slovenia out of the tournament, 95-68. Turkey and Serbia will meet in
the semifinals. Turkey will finish in the top four for the first time at an Olympics or world champion- ship. . . . The NBA’s Golden State War-
riors signed free agent swingman Rodney Carney to a contract.
MISC. Pittsburgh Penguins center
Sidney Crosby homered intoPNC Park’s right field seats while tak- ing batting practice with eight of his NHL teammates. Crosby, who played youth baseball in Canada until he was 13, was the only one of the group to reach the seats. . . . Homestead-Miami Speedway
is off the 2011 Indy Racing League schedule. A person with knowl- edge of the IRL’s 2011 plan told the Associated Press that Home- stead is not among the venues selected to host a race next year. —From news services and staff reports
points and 15 rebounds. March 12 & 23, L.A. Clippers:Wall is
looking forward to a reunion with Eric Bledsoe, his back-court mate at Kentucky. But since Bledsoe might get limited action behind Baron Davis and former Wizard Randy Foye, the key matchup will be the duel between the past twoNo. 1 overall picks inWall and 2009 top choice Blake Griffin. These two late-season games could possibly influence voters’ decisions on rookie of the year. Griffin missed all of last season with a knee injury, but he has recovered and is expected to provide an interior presence for the Clippers. Foye had an up-and-down season in D.C. and never seemed to find a comfortable role under Coach Flip Saunders. March 14, Oklahoma City: Kevin
Durant, the league’s newly minted superstar, and former Georgetown star Jeff Green will make their lone visit to Verizon Center. Durant torched the Wizards last season inWashington, prompting Saunders to go on a rant about his team’s porous defense that set the stage for a roster implosion. It is the front end of gruesome back-to-back set forWall, who will have to faceWestbrook then chase around Rose the next night in Chicago. March 22, at Portland: Brandon Roy
shuffled his feet a bit before making his game-winning shot with 0.9 of a second remaining in a 76-74 win the last time the Wizards were in Portland. But it doesn’t matter since traveling wasn’t called. The Wizards will look to get some payback, while Arenas gets a long-delayed opportunity to make good on his post- TeamUSA snub promise to scorch Trail Blazers CoachNateMcMillan for 50 points. Because of injury and bad decision-making, Arenas has not played in Portland in more than three years. March 28, at Utah: Andray Blatche’s promising finish to last season was
credited largely to the lack of viable options on a decimated roster. But what if it wasn’t a fluke? And if his production was legit, would you take Blatche over Al Jefferson right now? This could be an interesting matchup of two of the last power forwards to enter the NBA directly out of high school. But Jefferson hasn’t made it to the
playoffs since his rookie season in Boston. Wall will finish the month at Point Guard Uagainst Deron Williams, who has the combination of speed, strength, floor leadership and shooting that rank him among the best, if not the best, in the league.
March 30, Miami: The schedule maker
didn’t do the Wizards any favors, forcing them to face theHeat just two days after leaving Salt Lake City and a grueling trip. The Wizards will get their last look at the Super Friends, as DwyaneWade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh visit Verizon Center. It could also possibly be the final time that JuwanHoward, who will be 38 at the time, faces the franchise that awarded him $105 million in 1996 after the NBA voided the contract he signed withMiami.Hard as it may seem,Howard is the last Bullets/Wizards draft pick to represent the organization in an all-star game. Wizards on TV: The Wizards and
Comcast SportsNetMid-Atlantic announced onWednesday the 83-game television schedule for the 2010-11 season. The schedule includes 80 regular season games and three preseason games— all available in high definition— beginning Oct. 5, when the Wizards open the exhibition season in Dallas. Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier will return for their 14th season together, and Chris Miller will return as sideline reporter. The regular season opener in Orlando
on Oct. 28 and the Thanksgiving game in Atlanta will be seen exclusively on TNT.
leem@washpost.com
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