Wizards lose to Houston 96-88.

The Wizards have lost four straight and now are 4-7 since trading away Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison.  Although the Wizards made this somewhat of a game late, you can call this the third contest the Wizards struggled to be competitive in since the trades…The Rockets had 24 second-chance points to the Wizards’ eight.  The Rockets had 16 offensive rebounds to the Wizards’ 10.  The Wizards’ lack of talent means they need to out-hustle teams to win games.  Second chance points and offensive rebounds are hustle stats…Andray Blatche had 18 points on 9-of-22 shooting, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.  He did not attempt a free throw, a sign he settled for jump shots too often as opposed to taking the ball inside.  Blatche had five turnovers and according to head coach Flip Saunders, “He’s become a high turnover player.”  Blatche has committed at least four turnovers in five of his last seven games…Nick Young had 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting off the bench.  He had gone eight consecutive games scoring no more than seven points…James Singleton had 12 points, four rebounds, an assist, three blocks and two steals off the bench…Al Thornton had 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block…Starters Randy Foye, Mike Miller and JaVale McGee combined for 13 points on 6-for-20 shooting.  Miller did have eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks, but he also had four turnovers…Shaun Livingston, just signed to a second 10-day contract, had five assists and two turnovers off the bench.  He made a great behind-the-back pass to Thornton for a dunk late in the fourth quarter.


The Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg throws two scoreless innings in his spring training debut.

Strasburg looked very good, but of course how much that means is tough to say…He seemed guilty of overthrowing early in the first inning before recording three consecutive groundball outs, two after falling behind 2-0…Strasburg recorded two strikeouts sandwiched around another groundball out and two consecutive singles in the second inning.  He threw some impressive breaking balls, including one for a called strike three on a full count to end his outing.

Capitals lose to Dallas 4-3 in a shootout on Monday night.

The loss snapped the Caps’ franchise-record 13-game winning streak at home…The Caps blew a 2-0 third-period lead…The Caps lost despite outshooting the Stars 52-26.  Marty Turco was spectacular with 49 saves…Semyon Varlamov stopped 23 of 26 shots, but his three goals allowed came in a 6:20 span in the third period.  The first two goals came on the power play and were the result at least in part of the Stars creating traffic in front of Varlamov.  The Cap committed just two penalties but failed to kill either of them.  The third goal seemed Varlamov’s fault, as it came on a James Neal wrist shot that leaked through…Alex Ovechkin snapped a six-game goal-less streak with two tallies.  His first goal was a wicked drag snap shot on the power play in the second period.  His second goal was a beauty that came with 3:16 left in the third period.  He completely faked out defenseman Stephane Robidas (STEH-fahn ROH-bih-dah) with a move to the inside…Nicklas Backstrom had two assists…Tom Poti scored in the first period.  Head coach Bruce Boudreau: "It was nice to see him shoot the puck...he doesn't shoot enough."


Redskins announce the re-signing of center Casey Rabach.

Rabach has started all but one game for the Skins since the start of the 2005 season…He’s 32 and while far from dominant, he’s reliable and steady and you can’t change every starter on the offensive line for 2010.

Wizards lose at Boston 86-83 on Sunday night.

The Wizards blew a 13-point fourth-quarter lead over the final 6:10…Andray Blatche had 23 points and nine rebounds but did not score over the final 6:10.  He seemed affected by trash-talking from Kevin Garnett, whom Blatche helped hold without a field goal in a game for the first time since January 1996…Head coach Flip Saunders was very critical of Blatche’s talking to Garnett (“You don’t take a guy…that’s been Defensive Player of the Year three times…and all of a sudden get that guy juiced up to play against you.  You got no chance.”) and his team (“We choked.”)…Al Thornton bounced back from two poor games with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals…JaVale McGee had 13 points (9-for-10 on free throws) and five blocks (19 blocks in his last five games) but just one rebound…The Celtics’ defense over the final 6:10 was impressive.  Boston is one of the NBA’s best defensive teams, and it showed…Ray Allen made two huge threes in the final 1:33. 


Capitals beat the Rangers 2-0 on Saturday night.

The Caps extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 13 games…Jose Theodore (30 saves for his 29th career shutout) continued to establish himself as the team’s top goaltender.  He’s 12-0-2 in his last 14 games…The Caps’ defensive effort was much better than in the 5-4 win over Tampa Bay.  They blocked 18 shots and held Marion Gaborik to three shots…Eric Fehr’s first-period goal came with just two seconds left on a 5-on-3 power play.  He has at least one point in three consecutive games and has scored the first goal in back-to-back games…Eric Belanger’s second-period goal was the result of great passes from Alexander Semin (who sent the puck from the neutral zone across the ice into the Rangers' zone) and Brooks Laich (who faked a shot and dished to Belanger).  Belanger got by two Rangers and went five hole on Alex Auld…Alex Ovechkin did not score a goal for a sixth consecutive game.  But he is doing other things: 31 shots on goal, four assists, plus-two rating and 12 hits. 


Redskins announce the signing of free-agent guard Artis Hicks on Saturday night.

Hicks is experienced and versatile…The 31-year-old has played in 94 career games with 58 starts in an eight-year career with Minnesota (2006-2009) and Philadelphia (2002-05)…Hicks is listed as a guard but also has played tackle.  Logic would suggest he’s a candidate to start at right guard with the release of Randy Thomas, but until the Skins are done signing players we can’t really know.  


No. 19 Georgetown routs Cincinnati 74-47 on Saturday afternoon.

Austin Freeman, off being diagnosed with diabetes, had 24 points in 30 minutes.  He went 4-for-7 on threes and had three assists, two rebounds and two steals…Greg Monroe had 19 points, 15 rebounds and two assists…Chris Wright had 16 points, four assists, two steals and one turnover…Jason Clark had 11 points, five rebounds, a steal and four turnovers…Freeman, Monroe, Wright and Clark combined for 70 of the Hoyas’ 74 points…The Hoyas led by just three at halftime but outscored the Bearcats in the second half 45-21…The Hoyas outrebounded the Bearcats 40-28…The Hoyas clinched a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament.  They will play on Wednesday at noon on 570 WTNT against the winner of South Florida-DePaul.


No. 22 Maryland wins at Virginia 74-68 on Saturday afternoon.

If someone asked you for one game that epitomizes Greivis Vasquez, this would be it.  He was great in the first half (10 points, three assists, four steals and a block).  Vasquez went scoreless until the 6:06 mark of the second half, when he hit the first of three threes in a span of 2:30.  He then missed a bad three and committed two turnovers and a foul over the course of three straight Terps possessions.  But Vasquez was responsible for four of the Terps’ eight made free throws in the final 38.6 seconds and finished with 23 points on 7-for-18 shooting (5-for-11 on threes), five assists, three turnovers, four steals and a block…Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett really hurt his team when he was called for a technical foul for throwing his jacket after a foul on Jerome Meyinsse (the call was correct).  The Terps’ one-point lead became a five-point advantage with 38.6 seconds left…The Terps outrebounded the Cavaliers 35-21…Adrian Bowie had another great game off the bench: Eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and three rebounds in 12 minutes…The Terps won despite a relatively modest game from Jordan Williams, who had seven points, five rebounds, an assist a block and a steal…Eric Hayes had 11 points, five assists, three rebounds, a steal and four turnovers…Sean Mosely had 10 points, going 8-for-8 on free throws.  He also had two rebounds and two assists…Landon Milbourne had five points on 1-of-7 shooting.  He’s scored eight points or less in six consecutive games.  Milbourne did have seven rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal…The Cavaliers deserve credit for making this a close game despite playing without Sylven Landesberg, who was suspended for the rest of the season for failure to live up to his academic obligations.  Landesberg may jump to the NBA, so his career as a Cavalier may be over.


Virginia Tech wins at Georgia Tech 88-82 on Saturday afternoon.

The Hokies won despite playing without Dorenzo Hudson (right foot injury)…The Hokies’ 17-point second-half lead was down to three with 36.6 seconds left, but they went 5-for-6 on free throws for the rest of the game…Malcolm Delaney had 32 points, nine assists, two rebounds, a steal and five turnovers…Jeff Allen had 17 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block…Terrell Bell had 14 points, 13 rebounds and two assists…This was a very physical game (48 fouls) and free throws made a difference: The Hokies went 29-for-36; the Yellow Jackets went 18-for-26…The Hokies shot 51% from the field.  The Yellow Jackets shot 38%...The Hokies clinched a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament.

Redskins sign restricted free agent linebacker Lorenzo Alexander to a contract extension and re-sign defensive end Phillip Daniels and offensive lineman Mike Williams.

The Redskins referred to Alexander as a “linebacker,” so it looks like that’s where he’ll be playing with the incorporation of 3-4 fronts.  Alexander has been the Skins’ Mr. Everything: He’s played on the defensive line, offensive line and special teams during his three seasons…Daniels now is 37 but is a weightlifting machine.  He’s considered a solid veteran presence…He played in all 16 games in 2009 despite dealing with a torn right biceps.  This after missing all of the 2008 season with a torn ACL in his left knee…The reclamation project that is Williams apparently will continue.  He was the fourth overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft but did not play a game from 2006-08.  Williams seemed to play better at right guard than he did at right tackle last season…The Skins are close to finalizing the re-signing of center Casey Rabach.


Wizards lose to Milwaukee 102-74.

This was a rout in the first half and easily the Wizards’ worst game since the All-Star break.  They fell to 4-5 since trading away Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Antawn Jamison…Head coach Flip Saunders: “We just didn’t compete”…The Bucks had 27 assists to the Wizards’ 10…The Bucks had 20 fastbreak points to the Wizards’ one…The Wiz shot 38% from the field and went 0-for-5 on threes…Andray Blatche is starting to come back down to earth as teams scheme against him.  He had 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and a block…JaVale McGee had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, but struggled at times defensively with Andrew Bogut (19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and five blocks)…Al Thornton (six points, three rebounds, a block and two turnovers in a little more than 27 minutes) had his second straight poor game and is struggling physically with his increased playing time…The Wizards need more offensively from Mike Miller.  He had six points in a little more than 29 minutes and has scored more than nine points just once in his last eight games.

The Redskins release 10 players, including running backs Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright, quarterback Todd Collins, defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin, receiver Antwaan Randle El, cornerback Fred Smoot and guard Randy Thomas.

Let the rebuilding begin...The Skins shed nearly $17 million in 2010 salaries...Seven of the 10 players are at least 30 years old....The consistent theme with these cuts: Good guys, mediocre players, sizable salaries.


The Capitals beat Tampa Bay 5-4.

The Caps extended their franchise-record home winning streak to 12 games...Scott Walker had two third-period goals in his Caps debut.  His reputation for timely tallies was affirmed in his first game...Mike Knuble also had two goals and now has 18 goals in his last 22 games...Mike Green had two assists...Nicklas Backstrom perhaps stole the show in the second period.  He blocked three consecutive Lightning shots on the power play, two with his body after breaking his stick…The Caps outshot the Lightning 34-29...The Caps' last three goals were gritty, playoff-type tallies teams need to succeed in the postseason...Semyon Varlamov stopped 25 of 29 shots.  He looked ordinary but still improved to 13-2-2...As for the two other debuting Caps: Center Eric Belanger won just five of his 12 faceoffs; Defenseman Joe Corvo had three blocked shots.

No. 22 Maryland beats No. 4 Duke 79-72.

The Terrapins have won six straight.  Their last loss was the 21-point defeat at the Blue Devils on February 13…The win was the Terps’ first in seven games against the Blue Devils…Greivis Vasquez had 20 points on 6-for-13 shooting, five assists, four rebounds and five turnovers.  He made an incredibly difficult runner with 37 seconds left and Jon Scheyer guarding him to give the Terps a four-point lead…Vasquez outplayed Scheyer (19 points on 7-for-21 shooting, five rebounds, two steals, four turnovers) although not by much.  The battle for ACC Player of the Year remains close…Jordan Williams’ growth continued.  He had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.  Williams had two big rebounds and made two free throws in the final minute…Eric Hayes had 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and five rebounds.  He hit a gorgeous reverse layup with 15:04 left in the first half.  As repeatedly pointed out by ESPN’s Jay Bilas, Hayes is one of the best cutters in the country…Adrian Bowie was terrific off the bench.  He had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, four rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes…Sean Mosley had nine points on 3-of-6 shooting in the first half but just two points on 0-for-4 shooting in the second half…Landon Milbourne (five points) scored less than 10 for the sixth time in seven games…Rebounding was a major key for the Terps going into the game.  The Terps outrebounded the Blue Devils 18-8 during the first 14 minutes but were outrebounded 27-18 over the rest of the game.  Brian Zoubek, a force on February 13 (16 points and 17 rebounds), had four points and 13 rebounds while dealing with an injured finger suffered late in the first half…The storming of the court and near-riot conditions on and around campus after the game were ridiculous.  So too were the “F—k you Scheyer!” chants.  I’m a graduate of Maryland but am the first to admit Terps fans aren’t the brightest.


Virginia Tech defeats N.C. State 71-59.

The Hokies snapped a three-game losing streak to remain right around the bubble for the NCAA Tournament…Malcolm Delaney (21 points), Dorenzo Hudson (21 points and four assists) and Jeff Allen (18 points, nine rebounds and two blocks) all had nice games.  They accounted for 60 of the Hokies’ 71 points...Hudson deserves a ton of credit for playing despite a foot injury…Lewis Witcher got the start due to it being senior night and did an impressive job defending Tracy Smith (12 points on 4-for-11 shooting, four rebounds and four turnovers).


Virginia loses at Boston College 68-55.

The Cavaliers have lost eight straight…The Cavs shot 46% from the field for the game, but 36% in a first half in which they were outscored 37-23…Sylven Landesberg had 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting, three assists and three turnovers…Sammy Zeglinski was held scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting…Mike Scott broke out of his two-game scoreless slump with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists and three turnovers off the bench…Jerome Meyinsse had 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting and five rebounds.


Capitals make four trades before the 3 p.m. deadline.

The Caps acquired 32-year-old center Eric Belanger (good on faceoffs and the penalty kill), 32-year-old defenseman Joe Corvo (hard shot, good on the power play), 26-year-old defenseman Milan Jurcina (back with the Caps after being traded to Columbus in the Jason Chimera deal, is out with a sports hernia and may not be ready until the playoffs) and 36-year-old forward Scott Walker (gritty veteran known for timely goals and hits)…The Caps surrendered 32-year-old defenseman Brian Pothier, 22-year-old prospect Oskar Osala and four draft picks. 


Capitals win at Buffalo 3-1.

A nice game for the Caps in their return from the Olympic break…Jose Theodore played well, stopping 23 of 24 shots.  The Sabres’ lone goal was the result of turnover that seemingly was rooted in confusion between Mike Green and Brooks Laich.  That seemed one of the few defensive breakdowns for the Caps in the game…Green’s goal (15th of the season) in the third period was another example of him doing a great job of joining the rush at just the right time.  He benefited from a nice centering pass by Tomas Fleischman…The Caps also got goals from Chimera (a shot by Jeff Schultz (two assists) was redirected by Eric Fehr and then Chimera) and Boyd Gordon (an empty-netter he tallied by bouncing the puck off the boards in the Caps’ zone all the way into the Sabres’ net)…The Caps outshot the Sabres 40-24…Head coach Bruce Boudreau called it the Caps’ “best game in 10 games.”


Wizards lose at Milwaukee 100-87.

The story of this game was a third quarter in which the Wizards committed 12 of their 22 turnovers and were outscored 21-12…Al Thornton had two points on 1-for-4 shooting, one rebound and one assist in nearly 23 minutes…Andray Blatche had 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and five turnovers…Earl Boykins, a major factor in the fourth quarter of two wins over the Bucks this season, had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, two assists and four turnovers…Randy Foye had 18 points, five assists, four rebounds, one steal and two turnovers…JaVale McGee had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks…James Singleton had six points, eight rebounds and four blocks off the bench…The Wizards fell to 4-4 since trading away Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Antwan Jamison.  This was the first game the team was completely out of in the second half.