Sports Archives

Much has been said of Redskin free agent acquisition Adam Archuleta, mostly about how he was a big waste of money and can't really play pass defense. I'm sure he gets his fair share of abuse from the fans. But at the end of the day, I doubt it worries him. He's dating Jennifer Walcott. Yes, that Jennifer Walcott. From Playboy. Links slightly NSFW. [via the always excellent DC Sports Bog]

On the way to the game yesterday I told Matt I thought United would need to score two goals in order to beat the Revolution and advance to the MLS Cup final. So when the Revolution scored in the fourth minute, I wasn't worried. I figured the goal would focus United and make them play strong for the rest of the game, as opposed to them focusing and playing well for certain stretches of the game. And that's basically what happened, they just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net.

No one in the post game press conference seemed to upset at the result. Yes United lost, but they played a great game and lost to a team that has played very well for the last 6 or so weeks.

I, for one, am sad the season is over. I get such a thrill at shooting these games and I'm going to miss it. But at least now I don't have to look for airfare to Dallas. Covering United has been one of the best things to happen to me this year. I was able to cover one of the best (if not THE BEST) local sports teams up close and personal as well as having the opportunity to really improve my photography skills once every week or so. I can't wait for next season.

Peep the match photogallery for more photos.

I was in such a hurry to get to the Wiz / Celts game on Saturday that I forgot my camera, which is a shame because we had great seats on the 200 level. The game kinda sucked, the winless C's lost, obvs., but I had a great time yelling at Doc Rivers and Brenda Haywood. Gilbert Arenas is bananas. Before the game I put his over/under for points at 35 and took the over. He ended up with 44. PP played well and Wally lit up the third quarter and finished with 31. Gerald Green even made an appearance. Small steps.

It wasn't pretty, but United pulled out a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls yesterday and advanced on aggregate. Matt has the words for DCist. Clint Dempsey and the New England Revolution come to town on Sunday for the right to advance to the MLS Cup finals. So my two weeks of death just added another event.

I had a pretty hectic weekend. On Saturday I saw five bands in three different venues. The best band I saw? Pela. So much awesome. More on that later.

Tonight is The Decemberists at the 9:30 Club. You can listen along on NPR around 9:30 or so. Photos and such tomorrow.

Slightly related: I'm still loving this Shins CD.

I got home from a hectic night of concert and venue hopping at about 12:30 (or was it 1:30 because of the time change?) and flipped on ESPNews to unwind a bit before hitting the hay. Red Auerbach was on the screen explaining his coaching philosophy and I knew exactly what that meant. Red died yesterday at the age of 89 after a heart attack. Just a few days before the Celtics season opener, which had planned to attend. It would have been his 58th opening day with the club. Respect.

Red Auerbach, the man that created Celtic Pride and the Celtics organization as we know it, was the greatest coach and front office executive the game has ever seen. His accomplishments are legendary. 16 championships, nine as a coach, another seven as general manager. He drafted Chuck Cooper, the NBA's first African American, named Bill Russell as the NBA's first African American coach and was the first coach to ever start five African Americans. In 1956 he traded two of his best players to the St. Louis Hawks for the second pick the NBA draft. The first pick belonged to Rochester Royals, so Red talked Celtics owner Walter Brown into booking The Ice Capades, which Brown also owned, in Rochester for a week long stint in exchange for allowing the Celtics to grab Russell. The rest is history.

Aurebach created the "sixth man." He drafted Lary Bird as a junior in 1978, a year before he would suit up for the Celtics. In 1981 he traded the first and 13th picks in the NBA draft to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Robert Parish and the third pick in the draft, which turned into Kevin McHale. To this day, that trade is considered the most lopsided in NBA history. Later, he traded Gerald Henderson for a first round pick that would eventually become the late Len Bias.

Here's my favorite passage from today's Boston Globe:

In 1984, Auerbach was invited to coach an old-timer's team in the 1984 All-Star Game and was ejected for arguing with the officials. In his early years as the commissioner of the NBA, David Stern would joke to friends that he felt his real first name was Stupid because of all the conversations he had with Auerbach.

Red Auerbach, dead today at 89. I never met the man, but he brought me great joy throughout my life. Of all the sports teams I root for, the Celtics are my first true love. Rest in peace.

More coverage:
Boston Globe
NY Times
Washington Post
Red Auerbach on Wikipedia

United travel to the Meadowlands in New Jersey today to face the New York Red Bulls as the MLS Playoffs (finally) get started. ESPN.com gives us 11 things to watch in the MLS Playoffs and also previews the East and West.

The game is at 2 p.m. and I'm probably heading to Trusty's to catch the game with the Screaming Eagles.