Jim Turner 

Turnersportsdesk.com 

July 7, 2010

World News: 

World Cup run ends for USA – The United States played their guts out even with some bad calls but in the end Ghana proved too much. My personal observation was that Ghana had their best athletes who grew up playing/loving soccer and it showed. I believe the US will fare better in the World Cup when the US cares enough about soccer to send our best athletes that grew loving soccer more than anything else. The fact is our best athletes play other sports. That said, the US team showed the type of grit and heart needed to win but in the end they were beaten by superior athletic teams.

Serena Dominates – Anyone care to argue her dominance? She did not drop a set…the end. On another note I wonder why neither of the Williams sisters were playing on on center court when Her Majesty, The Queen visited? Were they afraid of another Venus wardrobe malfunction like in the French Open? 

The Tour De’ Ouch – This year’s Tour De’ France race is starting out more like a demolition derby. The race organizers decided to inject some drama by putting the third stage of the race on cobblestone streets. To say it worked would be an understatement. The only things missing from the race now are vampires, people being voted off and a rude British judge.

National News:

Courting Lebron – So the Nets, Knicks, Cavaliers, Bulls, Heat and Clippers made overtures to NBA Superstar Lebron James. Here is the problem I have with all of this. He hasn’t won jack and if he comes to your team you will have to pay him so much that you cannot pay anyone else of note to make and keep a winner. Don’t get me wrong, I respect LeBron's  talent but teams win championships not self proclaimed/promoted kings. The Celtics and the Lakers have the lion's share of NBA championships between them and I don't remember any royalty on their rosters....just sayin.

Wade and Bosh to team up in Miami – ESPN reports that Dwayne Wade is stayin and Chris Bosh is coming to town. Perhaps LeBron will join them or maybe he goes to Chicago if they can land Carlos Boozer. This is starting to sound like football fans trying to figure out all the playoff scenarios in December.

Local news:

The Nationals in decline after Stras-mas – It couldn’t last forever right? The Nationals experienced a massive surge in media attention, fan attention and play when Stephen Strasburg came up from the minors. Unfortunately after a few awesome starts the team reverted back to the type of play that kept them near the bottom of the standings. Now that it is 100+ degrees and the team is not playing well fans are starting to take the air condition over driving through DC traffic to sit at a super hot baseball park for a struggling team. I will also take this moment to say I told you so because a retractable dome in DC was the best answer to our insanely hot-humid summers.

Redskins interested in Vincent Jackson – 6’5, 230 pounds and he makes plays. Yep, I’m interested too but at what cost? If it means giving the Chargers Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas and a pick I’m ok with that. I would even throw in Albert Haynesworth and a ham sandwich. If it means two number one or number two picks then I’m definitely not interested. UPDATE: The Chargers are now saying they are not going to move him despite his threats to sit out until week #10. That could be posturing for a trade though. 

The Caps stay put at start of free agency – Ok, the Caps had 120+ points and they are clearly a good hockey team. That said, they have issues and many in Caps Nation are losing patience with George McPhee. The most notable needs for the Caps are a 2^nd line center and a top four defensive defenseman. The Caps farm system is loaded with quality players like Mathieu Perreault as well as European players like Marcus Johansson that the Caps scouts are very excited about. The Caps are loaded with top four level, seasoned, defensive minded defensemen which is going to be an issue until McPhee addresses it. The bottom line is 120+ points earns you the right to stay the course while integrating in-house talent but if the Caps get bounced again for the same reasons then McPhee has run out of rope.

Lessons learned with Caps will shape Leonsis strategy with the Wizards – Ted Leonsis had a Dan Snyder like start with the Caps and immediately experienced a meltdown. Unlike Snyder, Leonsis realized the errors of his ways early, confessed his sins to fans and laid out his plan to bring the Caps a Stanley Cup. Leonsis stuck to his plan, cleaned house and now the Caps are perennial cup contenders. I can’t think of a better guy to go in and clean up the mess that is the Wizards. I do think he may need a different GM to help him accomplish his goals. The current GM, Ernie Grunfeld created this mess and his draft picks (other than John Wall) were questionable.