The Washington Wizards have two preseason games with Philadelphia on December 16th, and again on December 20th before beginning the regular season at home against New Jersey on December 26th.
The regular NBA season begins Christmas Day, 2011.
Keep your TVs tuned to NBA TV to see Wizards games. They are not scheduled to be picked up by any of the regular NBA networks (i.e. TNT, and the like) this season.
Related A note from the Commish
Dear Fans, On behalf of the entire NBA family, I want to thank you for your patience and support over the past several months. The new collective bargaining agreement is designed to provide more competitive balance for our league, reward strong performances by our players, and strengthen our game by improving its economics. We believe this agreement will benefit our teams, players, and most importantly, fans by making the NBA stronger.
In the days and weeks ahead, all of us hope you will enjoy the run-up to the start of the season: free agency, training camp, and preseason games. Each NBA team will be hosting special events for fans, so be sure to check your favorite team's website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed for details. This season we look forward to bringing you more of everything you love about NBA basketball: incredible competition, tremendous excitement, and unending hard work and dedication by the world's best athletes.
Thank you for being an NBA fan. I hope you enjoy the season, which promises to be a most exciting one.
Sincerely,
David J. Stern NBA Commissioner --
More
We have an interesting article forthcoming with insight from a former NBA player, and others involved in professional sports, who share their thoughts on the NBA lockout, and more!
The Redskins served up some holiday cheer today at Macy’s on G Street in downtown Washington, DC, handing out over 300 coats and warm gloves to area students.
In addition to receiving coats and gloves, the students also received goody bags filled with a toy and a Redskin activity book.
Ten year-old Elijah called the event “good”. When asked what was in his bag, he replied, “I don’t know yet. I’m going to save it.”
Is that a wait ‘til I you get home save it, we asked. Or a wait until Christmas, save it?
“Wait until we get home save it” he replied.
Elijah was one of several students from Burrville Elementary School in NE, DC chosen. His classmate Alexis, also ten years-old, joined in on the fun.
While the students took delight in seeing how tall or big the players are in real life, Alexis commented that she wanted to see how the player’s styles were.
“It was nice of the guys to style us with coats, however I wanted to see what their style was like, too”, she said of the players, many who were dressed in their Redskin jerseys and sweat pants.
Alexis said she was also impressed with how organized the event was.
As was Burrville principal, Tui Roper.
“It was better than I expected”, said Roper on the event. “I thought the players were just going to come in say “Hi”, and take pictures with the students. But they stayed, helped the kids get fitted for coats and talked to them”, she said.
We caught up with the Redskins' Josh Wilson as he was fitting a coat on one of the students.
"It’s good to see the kids getting coats", he said.
Redskin TE Logan Paulsen, with his hair combed back into a short ponytail opting to wear shorts instead, looked more like a Russian hockey or soccer player than an American football player today. “I get that a lot”, he commented. Paulsen said of the event, “It’s great. The kids are getting coats and gloves, so it’s great.”
Sean Locklear, Donte Stallworth, and Brandon Banks also helped the students get fitted for coats.
The Macy’s store event, Covered for the Holidays, is just one of several ‘Season of Sharing’ holiday events planned by the Washington Redskins and the Redskins’ Charitable Foundation.
This Sunday the Redskins will pair up with the Marine Corp for the annual Touchdown for Tots national toy drive benefiting the Toys for Tots Foundation. Later in the month the Redskin locker room will be transformed into Santa’s toy shop for area kids to receive a holiday toy.
In addition, the wife if Dan Snyder, Tanya Snyder and Women of Washington (WOW) breast cancer survivors will host youth for a day of shopping at the Redskins Hall of Fame store. Each youth in attendance will receive a $150 gift card to purchased reduced Redskin items at the store.
For more info on these and other events visit www.washingtonredskins.com.
-- Related
TE Fred Davis was also scheduled to join his teammates today for the coat drive. Due to his current circumstance he did not participate.
Per a statement by "an NFL official":
Fred Davis and Trent Williams of the Washington Redskins have been suspended without pay for the team’s next four games for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
Their suspensions begin immediately. They will be eligible to return to the Redskins’ active roster on Monday, January 2 following the team’s January 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
What we noticed Both Williams and Davis' names have been taken off the Redskins roster. See here.
Odd that on the day with an event with children, the kids learn at the same time that you can be a good athlete and help out in the community, yet have the things you love taken away from you by the wrong choices you make.
British boxer Amir Khan arrived in DC with trainer Freddie Roach for a series of Fight Week events leading up to this Saturday's Capital Showdown, a title fight featuring Khan vs Lamont Peterson, and Seth 'Mayhem' Mitchell vs Timur Ibragimov.
Today, the team posed for pictures in front of the White House and the US Capitol.
Amir Khan poses with trainer Freddie Roach in front of the White House and the US Capitol.
The week of events continues tomorrow with a Lamont Peterson, Amir Khan, Seth Mitchell, Timur Ibragimov and Anthony Peterson workout for media and youth. An official welcome will occur with DC Mayor Vincent Gray later in the week, culminating with a presser and official weigh-in.
The weigh-in to be held Friday at the Carnegie Library , 801 K St. NW at Mt. Vernon Square is open to the public, at 2:00 pm. Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya and legendary current Light Heavyweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins are scheduled to attend.
The "Capital Showdown: Khan vs. Peterson," is a 12-round Unified Super Lightweight World Title Fight for Khan's WBA World Super Championship and IBF World Championship taking place on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, DeWalt Tools, AT&T and MicroTech.
Also featured will be a 10-round heavyweight battle between Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell and Timur Ibragimov. The fights will be telecast in the United States on HBO World Championship Boxing at 9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT and on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
TICKETS The Walter E. Washington Convention Center Box Office will be open Thursday through Saturday for ticket purchases and will call pick-up. Additionally, tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling (800) 745-3000.
Woods hit a tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Challenge.
Tiger's earnings over the three day event? $1,200,000.
Not bad.
Putting his past behind him, and feeling pretty good about the win (and the winnings), Woods on his Twitter page, tweeted, "Who's Up For Some LL Cool J?", with a link to L's 'Mama Said Knock You Out' video.
Lyrics to the song are:
Don't call it a comeback I been here for years Rockin' my peers Puttin' suckers in fear Makin' the tears rain down like a monsoon Listen to the bass go boom Explosion, overpowerin' Over the competition, I'm towerin'
Zach Johnson, the former Master champion who gave Woods a run for his money, called his loss "Disappointing", but said he was pleased with the way he handled himself.
Tiger has won the Chevron World Challenge five times, improving his ranking to #21 in the world.
Spelled either way, the anticipated Obama Basketball Classic is no more.
At least not in December, not on December 12th, since the return of the NBA on Christmas Day.
I wonder which event the players were looking forward to participating in more? (Regular NBA season. President Obama).
Regardless, Vince Carter, Barron Davis and Chris Paul explain the cancellation (or rather, postponement). Read below.
Dear Basketball Fans --
The good news is that basketball is coming back this month.
Unfortunately, that means the Obama Classic is being postponed.
Don't worry: Any tickets you've purchased will still be honored at the rescheduled event. It's on the calendar for Summer 2012.
And we can tell you it's going to be a game you won't want to miss. We've personally talked to more than a dozen players and legends who are eager to get out there and have some fun in support of President Obama.
We're sorry to delay the event, but it's safe to say this game will be worth waiting for. It's going to be a great time.
If you have any questions, please contact the campaign by e-mail or call 312-698-3670.
We'll see you out there. Until then, thanks for your support.
Amir Khan and trainer Freddie Roach speak to the media.
Events for the December 10, 2011 match ups between DC boxer Lamont Peterson and Britain's Pakistani fighter, Amir Khan, along with DC area's own Seth 'Mayhem' Mitchell vs Timur Ibragimov have been taking place all over the city these last few months in anticipation of this being one of the most watched televised and talked about boxing events Washington, DC has seen probably since Mike Tyson lost his last fight to Kevin McBride in 2005 at Verizon Center. (Feel free to advise otherwise).
Amir Khan (left) and Lamont Peterson set to do battle December 10 in Capital Showdown event. Photo CD Brown.
From the boxers making appearances at this year's Fight For Children Fight Night gala, to holding a media workout session in a DC area gym, to delivering Thanksgiving dinners in the community, to attending the upcoming Michigan State football game this weekend, the media blitz is on for this affair.
Lamont Peterson, #1 Rated IBF boxer, has a record of 29 and 1 with 15 knockouts.
Amir Khan is the current Unified Super Lightweight World Champion and currently holds the WBA Super World Championship and IBF Championship.
One night in December, 2011 will determine the fates of both boxers.
This week a conference call with Amir Khan and his trainer Freddie Roach took place where a few interesting comments were made by all parties.
Here are a few excerpts.
Khan Trainer, Freddie Roach
Amir's had a great training camp [in LA] and been looking forward to this fight with Peterson. We know that Peterson is a very, very strong opponent and know Amir is 100 percent ready, and I can't wait to get this going.
On Khan emulating Peterson's style We're just well prepared for whatever he brings. I've had boxers and bangers both. I mean we're here. If he wants to bang with us, we're ready for that. If he wants to try to box with us, we're ready for that. We're studying tapes of him, and we see where he likes to be and so forth. We're not going to put ourselves in those positions. Amir is just going to be too fast for him in my book.
On Khan's mental approach Well, you know Amir, he's travelled and we've been everywhere in training camps and fights and so forth. So Amir adapts well to wherever it is. We're in for Lamont Peterson; D.C. is going to be a great place. I've fought in D.C. myself once before and had a good fight with Darryl Tyson, and I look forward to visiting D.C. again and being victorious.
Boxer, Amir Khan
On gaining support from the Pakistani community in our area. It's just the way I am. I'm not afraid to fight away from home. We could have chosen to fight in England, Manchester, or even fight in Los Angeles or Vegas again away from Lamont's hometown and his home state. But we thought, "We'll take the fight to him and we'll face someone who's in the top five in the world, he's in the top ten and he's ranked number one in the IBF. So we'll fight him and once we beat him then there are no excuses."
Also it's going to build my fan base. I've always wanted to fight in the capital and I've always wanted to fight in different states to build my status in way of a professional. I want people to know who Amir Khan is and they want to see me-it's different watching on T.V. than watching live performances. And I want to give everyone the chance to see me fight live, and this is the best way of doing it, is to travel and fight away from where you feel comfortable fighting.
I mean, that's one thing about me. All my life I've been fighting away from home. I train away from home and I've kind of got used to it. I win fans over and that's what I love doing. I mean the best fight in the world I've done-you look at Manny Pacquaio, he lives in the Philippines but he chooses to come to America and train and also fight away from and fight in different states. I want to do the same thing that he is doing.
On coming to Peterson's town to fight him instead of the other way around.
It's just the way I am. I'm not afraid to fight away from home. We could have chosen to fight in England, Manchester, or even fight in Los Angeles or Vegas again away from Lamont's hometown and his home state. But we thought, "We'll take the fight to him and we'll face someone who's in the top five in the world, he's in the top ten and he's ranked number one in the IBF. So we'll fight him and once we beat him then there are no excuses."
Also it's going to build my fan base. I've always wanted to fight in the capital and I've always wanted to fight in different states to build my status in way of a professional. I want people to know who Amir Khan is and they want to see me-it's different watching on T.V. than watching live performances. And I want to give everyone the chance to see me fight live, and this is the best way of doing it, is to travel and fight away from where you feel comfortable fighting.
I mean, that's one thing about me. All my life I've been fighting away from home. I train away from home and I've kind of got used to it. I win fans over and that's what I love doing. I mean the best fight in the world I've done-you look at Manny Pacquaio, he lives in the Philippines but he chooses to come to America and train and also fight away from and fight in different states. I want to do the same thing that he is doing.
On getting a decision if the fight goes the full ten rounds We've trained for that long distance. If we see him hurt, we're going to go for the finish. If it does go the distance, I'm sure we're going to win the fight so convincingly that we're going to be way ahead. There's only going to be one winner in the fight, which is going to be me.
On his run in with Timothy Bradley last May I saw him after his win and he was walking towards me. I mean, he wouldn't look at me. He knew I was there and I said something to him, something like you ought to grow some balls and get in a fight against me and he just didn't look at me again. ... But I just wanted to make him realize and make him know that I'm not scared, and I'm the one who wants to fight. And he needs to man up and take the fight.
On concerns about Peterson's fight style We are aware of everything he does. We know exactly how he likes to fight and stuff. He can start worrying about; I think he said something like Amir can't take a shot. He's been down so many times off small punches; guys who don't really punch hard. I think with my power and speed, I don't think he can cope with that. But we're not worrying about him. We know exactly what to do. We've been training very hard for this fight and I always feel like a challenger. My job is to go into the fight and just win this fight and that's what I've been doing. I don't care what he brings to the table; we'll have answers for everything.
On if Peterson has enough power to hurt him I think if he can attack an opponent with the right shot, right on the button, in the right place, then you're going to put them down. That's boxing for you. But we're a lot smarter on my defenses; a lot better than it was before and to those he can bring what he wants to the table. We'll be ready for everything he has.
On fighting more than once or twice a year First of all, when you fight in your hometown it's going to give you a bolt anyway. It's going to make you go out there try harder. Secondly, I think it's good for me to stay busy; I mean this is my third fight this year. I've been in the gym a lot. I've been fighting. I've been active, so that's going to help me. I'm also younger, so I can kind of cope with fighting three times a year.
But Lamont, I think, one fight a year is a little bit less. But it's one of them things. Last year, I only fought twice a year. So it will be Lamont's second fight this year. At the end of the day, we know he's going to be prepared for it because he knows I'm up to the fight for him. He's not going to take any chances. He's going to go into this fight and that's what's motivating me because I know I'm fighting him in his hometown is only going to make him fight harder and train harder.
It's motivating me and making me train harder in the gym because I know that he's going to want to win this fight in front of his home crowd. I think this is the time where we've got a big, big super fight in front of us, so I can't afford to lose and get beat and to keep on winning-not only winning, but looking good in the fight as well and doing things right. For me this is a big fight. It's going to take me from being a good fighter to being a superstar. So hopefully, Lamont Peterson will make me one of the best fighters in the world.
On his plans to move up a weight class, drug testing, and possibly fighting Floyd Mayweather May 5 One thing about me, I get drug tested with the British Board testers randomly. They can come to my house anytime. They can pop into the gym anytime. When they last come, they were at the gym twice unexpectedly. So, we have to give them a test.
If that fight did come off, I'm happy to give them a test because I'm a clean fighter. That's one thing about me because I went to Olympic Games; I've kind of experienced it myself. But I'm sure if that fight happened, we need a little bit more time to think about it instead of rushing into something so big.
First of all, we've got Lamont Peterson to look ahead of and get Lamont Peterson out of the way, then we know exactly where I am and then I can sit down with my team and Freddie and every one and see where we go from there. But one thing about me I think the world of boxing knows is I never shy away from any fight. I've taken on whoever they put in front of me and I've never refused a fight. That's one thing about me. They put Floyd Mayweather in front of me; I'll be more than ready for Floyd Mayweather. But first of all, we've got Lamont Peterson to take care of.
On if he would fight again in DC if the December 10th fight is a success Sure, definitely. I like to keep the fans happy and I'm sure once we fight there, the fans will want us back there again. There's not been a big, big fight in D.C. for such a long time, so it'll be good to bring boxing back to D.C.
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The co-main event will feature another DC fighter, Seth 'Mayhem' Mitchell in a . a showdown against Timur Ibragimov, who is described as a very dangerous, hard, strong puncher in the heavyweight division.
These exciting and very anticipated match ups are presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Khan Promotions, set to take place Saturday, December 10th, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC.
It will be televised live in the United States on HBO's World Championship Boxing starting at 9:45 p.m. Eastern and 6:45 p.m. Pacific time and on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
Related Monday, December 5th, will be the official kickoff Capital Showdown Week with events planned around the city.
Fernando Guerrero, 25, out of Salisbury, Maryland has been added to the undercard of the December 10th match ups. Other area boxers include Terron Grant, Thomas Williams, Jr., and Dusty Harrison.
While Lamont Peterson is the headliner for the Capital Showdown, we can't forget his brother Anthony Peterson, also scheduled to fight on the card.
Here's what we call 45 Seconds With Anthony Peterson.
Anthony will face Daniel "The Prophet" Attah (26-8-1, nine KO's), also a DC figure head, in a 10-round lightweight contest. Attah is a former NABO Super Featherweight champion who hails from Nigeria.
Attah History: Fought Acelino Freitas for the WBA and WBO Super Featherweight titles in 2002 in a 12-round unanimous decision in Phoenix, AZ, ending in a loss. Attah is coming off a sixth-round stoppage loss to Roman Martinez for the WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight title on October 1 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
In other area fight news Jimmy Lange Boxing returns with three world title fights scheduled for Feb. 11, 2012, headlined by Jimmy Lange's WBU title defense. Ashburn's Tori Nelson is set to defend her WIBA belt with a third world title contest to be announced soon. Great beltway bout between Chantilly's Zain Shan and Maryland's Tony Jeter plus undefeated Todd Wilson of Fairfax goes for his 12th win.
Tickets go on sale December 7 at Ticketmaster outlets including the Patriot Center box office.
When we asked Ted Leonsis, owner of just about all the sports teams in Washington, DC if his future plans included purchasing another sports team, he replied "No."
While it may not be another sports team in his future, his latest venture includes joining his former AOL buddy, Steve Case, to help businesses make money.
Read on about Ted's Revolution Growth Fund. (Note to Ted: We're your first client).
--
Dear Friends and Partners,
We are pleased to announce the completion of our fundraising for the Revolution Growth fund. We closed on $450 million of capital commitments, more than our target amount, and ahead of our expected schedule. The three of us will lead the Revolution Growth fund and collectively are the largest investors in the fund. We are pleased to be joined by 24 terrific institutional limited partners.
Our focus now turns to the excitement of investing in and building a select number of innovative, high-growth companies. Our strategy will be one of concentration, and we anticipate making ten to twelve investments over the next five years. We will spend considerable time with each company, rolling up our sleeves to partner with great entrepreneurs to build iconic platform companies. As you might expect, we are particularly interested in consumer-centric companies that use new approaches to disrupt large industries. We will seek out entrepreneurs and companies that aim to build lasting, market-leading companies that can be game-changing. We expect to announce our first investment early next year.
The three of us have worked together for more than 15 years. We genuinely like and trust each other, and our skills complement each other. All three of us will be active with each company in which we invest. Indeed, in some ways, the Revolution Growth fund is a “throwback” to the early days of venture capital. We are not just investors, but former CEOs and business builders who have the expertise and passion to be actively involved with the companies we back. By making only a few investments each year, we will have the time to really help the entrepreneurs with whom we partner.
We will look to invest in what we call the “speed-up” stage — when a company is past the venture stage, but not yet to the growth stage. In these companies, there is proof of concept and some early revenues, but not yet mainstream adoption or market leadership. We love helping companies scale and are willing to spend the time necessary to help them achieve their full potential. We will concentrate our capital and time in a select number of opportunities, so we can be highly selective. We expect that our typical investment will be $25 - 50 million, which will generally enable us to be the largest and most influential investor.
While our visibility and reach is national, we will generally focus on investments in the Eastern United States. We believe there are great entrepreneurs building great companies all over the country, so we will focus our attention outside of Silicon Valley. We are all very excited about the potential of backing promising entrepreneurs and helping them build special companies.
Revolution Growth fund will be the primary investment focus for each of us. Ted will, of course, continue to be active with his sports teams, and Steve will continue to spend time on public policy issues related to entrepreneurship and will also continue to make earlier-stage venture investments, but for all of us, Revolution Growth fund will be the main event for our business building activities.
We are grateful for the friendship and partnership you have shown us over the years, and we hope we will have the opportunity to work with you in this new endeavor. You can learn more about Revolution Growth fund and our efforts at www.revolution.com/growth. Needless to say, if you run into companies that you think can change the world, let us know!
Steve Case Ted Leonsis Donn Davis
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Side bar: It is noteworthy to mention that Groupon, partly owned by Leonsis, went public last month. He also owns the popular Living Social brand.
As a suggestion, if we're not your first choice as a client, then we'd like to see the Revolution Growth Fund invest in the African American companies who didn't quite find favor in Silicon Valley, as seen on CNN's Black in America 4, with Soledad O'Brien.
It's been a little over three months since the NBA lockout began, and earlier this week the clouds gave way to sun when it was found out that fans would indeed have a 2011-2012 NBA season. Starting on Christmas Day.
In a press conference with the media today, Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld spoke about the start of the NBA season for his team.
"We're excited about having basketball back and getting started", he said.
The Wizards will start training camp on December 9th before hosting the Philadelphia 76ers on December 16th in preseason action. It will be first of two such meetings between the two teams, with the second meeting in Philadelphia on December 20th, with little practice time in between.
"And when you have a young group like we have, you want as much [practice] time as possible", Grunfeld said. "But we have to make due with the amount of time we currently have."
Previously the team would have played an opponent four times during a season, but with the shortened 66 game season, teams may only see an opponent two or three times.
Trips for the Wizards to play their West Coast opponents will also be reduced on the year.
Grunfeld also addressed the team's needs saying the team could use some veteran leadership.
"We started rebuilding last year with four 1st Round [draft] picks, adding more young players ... needed now are veterans to show leadership in the locker room."
But don't expect the organization to spend a lot of money in free agency to bring in big named talent.
"If you look at the Free Agent list, there's not a great free agent market out there and you don't want to tie up a lot of money now, explained Grundfeld. "You want to wait."
Speculation that Wizards' guard Nick Young may be traded prompted the question of whether there are any offers on the table for 17 point-per-game guard.
"There is an offer", Grunfeld said, but chose not to delve into specifics and did not specifically say if Young would be making Chicago his new home, as many have speculated.
