The Chicago Bulls visited President Obama at the White House yesterday, and now word is that Obama might show up at the Verizon Center tonight for their game against the Wizards. The rumors are no doubt the greatest thing that will happen to Wizards tickets sales this season; the last place team has had trouble even filling the arena to half-full for the last couple months. Click here to purchase tickets to tonight's game, which starts at 7 p.m. This would be the first Wizards game Obama will have attended since taking office. more ›

Months after a fire gutted the interior of Eastern Market's South Hall and almost destroyed the District landmark, vendors will be back in business tomorrow in a temporary structure built across the street. The structure, which looks like a big white tent, cost $1.5 million and will be used while $25 million in repairs are completed on the South Hall, a process that could take up to two years. We're happy to see things slowly... more ›

Move over, Jason Kreis. In the forty-eighth minute of the twentieth game in the twelfth season of Major League Soccer, D.C. United's Jaime Moreno became the league's all-time leading scorer with a deftly taken penalty kick. Moreno's 109th career goal put the cap on a solid 3-1 victory over Red Bull New York. On an uncharacteristically brisk August evening at RFK Stadium, United surprised the Red Bulls and never looked back. The 18,748 in... more ›

Good morning, Washington. If for some reason you still haven't caught the D.C. United fever, there's yet another reason for you to get behind our city's best professional sports team: last night, Jaime Moreno broke the Major League Soccer scoring record with 109 career goals. As always, our United team of Matt and Kyle will have a full post on the game later on, but here's the United's coverage while you wait (in case... more ›

D.C. United's wide open style of play came back to bite them on Saturday when they gave up three goals in the second half. In doing so they snatched a draw from the jaws of victory, earning themselves a 3-3 tie on an otherwise lovely night at RFK. After scoring early in the first half and adding another goal just before the halftime whistle, United looked fully in control after another score by Luciano... more ›

D.C. United dispatched the New York Red Bulls yesterday, 4-2. In previous years, this would not be any more than standard procedure for the boys in black, who had compiled a 24-15-5 record against their Atlantic Cup rivals. This year, however, the result was something more than a routine win: it was a statement. The New York team that came into RFK yesterday was not the same Red Bull/MetroStar squad they had faced in... more ›

Yeah, it was that bad. To make matters worse, the game was broadcast nationally on ABC and the entire country probably decided there's no reason to watch the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs. Quite a few people in the D.C. area probably feel the same way. Who they will play has yet to be determined, but if they lose their final two games, there's a good chance they'll fall into the eight spot and face the Detroit Pistons. more ›

What was once an entertaining season for the Washington Wizards has quickly gone down the proverbial drain so fast most people are afraid to ask "What's next?" In the last 12 days, the team has lost Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas for the season, lost the third seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, lost the Southeast Division crown to the Miami Heat and also lost six in a row, with four of those... more ›

Last week the Wizards signed former GW forward Mike Hall to a 10-day contract, making him the second Colonial from last year's team to make it to the NBA. The first was Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who scored the first points by a GW player in the NBA since Yinka "the Stinka" Dare in 1998. Neither look to play much this season, but it got us thinking - where are all the other players from local colleges?... more ›

With all the attention Gilbert Arenas has garnered over the last month of the NBA season, it's easy to forget about his very capable teammates. Luckily for the Wiz, they were ready to pick up the slack last night when Gilbert had an "off" game. A look at the stat sheet might tell you the Bulls defense held Agent Zero to just 16 shots, but it wouldn't show Gilbert's determination to get his teammates... more ›

Can it get any better for Gilbert Arenas right now? The Wiz may have lost at Toronto yesterday, but if you've been paying attention, that was almost inevitable after the week Gilbert (and the team) just had. It started early last week when Arenas was named Player of the Month for December. It continued on Wednesday when Agent Hibachi scored the game winner as the buzzer sounded against budding rival Milwaukee. On Friday he... more ›

D.C. United entered last night's match against Red Bull New York with a grim resolve. In contrast to the pregame festivities in the RFK parking lot and the excitement of the 21,455 in attendance, United's starting 11 didn't crack a hint of a smile during the starting lineup announcements. They knew that for all intents and purposes, last week's favorable result was meaningless; the scars from last year's embarrassing playoff defeat attested to the... more ›

We've mentioned our respect and admiration for Dan Steinberg and his wonderful D.C. Sports Bog in this space before. Dan's a fantastic, knowledgeable writer with a flair for great, off-beat stories that surround the events he's covering and quite frankly, if you're not reading his blog, you're missing out. That said, our respect for him has grown even more this week after his seemingly wacky idea to get as many area Caps fans out... more ›

Fresh off of their victory Wednesday night over the New York Red Bulls, MLS leading DC United hope to continue their winning ways Saturday night when they host the LA Galaxy. While the Galaxy's 7-11-5 record may not sound too enticing there are plenty of subplots in Saturday's game that bear watching. Recently departed Santino Quaranta, traded from DC to LA for a future draft pick, will be making his return to RFK. He's... more ›

Former Maryalnd Terp and Silver Spring native Lonny Baxter was arrested by Secret Service agents early this morning after witnesses reported hearing shots fired from a sport-utility vehicle near the White House. Baxter's SUV was stopped near the intersection of 17th and I streets NW where officers found a handgun and spent casings inside his vehicle. Baxter, along with fellow passenger Irvin Martin, was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, having unregistered... more ›

Local corporate darlings XM Satellite Radio announced yesterday that their first quarter revenues were up over 100 percent compared to last year, but the company's stock fell over 5 percent on Thursday, as the company revealed it was under investigation by the FTC based on, according to the Washington Business Journal, "its marketing and telemarketing activities, billing practices and customer complaints." Any XM subscribers in the DCist audience? Have you been getting harrassed recently? more ›

It seems like ages ago, but it was just last weekend that George Mason did NoVa proud with a trip to the Final Four. Maryland's women's team made it to the semifinals also, and the finals, and walked away with the championship. There were eventful beginnings for area professional teams. United kicked off their season by clawing their way to a draw with the New York Red Bulls, while the Nationals fell to the... more ›

Quite the sports weekend for the greater DC area. Something for everyone as they say. We'll start out at RFK with the DC United and NY Red Bulls match, for no other reason except that I was there with the pictures to prove it. Despite considering myself to be quite the soccer fan, I'm ashamed to say that this was my first ever United game. And when the Red Bulls scored twice in the first... more ›

The big sports story of this weekend for area sports fans is going to be the inspiring play of the George Mason men's basketball team as they compete for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Still, we hope that you will spare a thought for your DC United, who open their 2006 season Sunday at RFK Stadium against the New York Red Bulls. Ugh. Yes, DC, the MLS team you love to hate just got... more ›

We all know what happened in the last round of the playoffs when the Washington Wizards recovered from a distastrous pair of opening games before righting the ship and vanquishing the Chicago Bulls, but DCist is going to go out on a limb and say the outlook isn't quite so rosey this time around. After all, we don't expect Dwayne Wade to pull a Ben Gordon and disappear for games at a time. In fact,... more ›

Gilbert "Ice Cold" Arenas. more ›

Any NBA die-hard will tell you the NBA playoffs are all about matchups. When teams are facing each other up to seven times over a three week period, they become very familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses. And when teams as evenly matched as the Bulls and Wizards square off, it's usually the play of the bench that decides the outcome. To wit: Game 1: Ben Gordon scores 12 of his 30 points in... more ›

>> It took them three tries, but the Mighty Wiz finally earned their first playoff win in 17 long years on Sunday with a 117-99 win against the visiting Chicago Bulls. For those counting at home, Gilbert Arenas was all of 6 years old at the time of the then-Bullets last playoff win. The Big Three were The Big Three + One on Saturday, as reserve Etan Thomas shot 8 for 9 from the... more ›

General thinking in the NBA Playoffs is that a series really doesn't start until a team wins on the road. Well, after losing their second game in a row in Chicago to the Bulls (and continuing their recent less than stellar playoff history), the Wizards better hope this series "doesn't start" until they return to Chicago next week. Home games on Saturday and Monday might be the last hurrah for this team if they... more ›

>> The Washington Wizards played strong for three quarters yesterday but were outscored 26-12 in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bulls pulled away late for a 103-94 victory. The Bulls were led by rookie Ben Gordon's 30 points (12 in the fourth quarter) and fellow rook Andres Nocioni (25 points and 18 boards), coupled with their trademark tough team defense and opportunistic offensive rebounding. The Wizards "Big Three" didn't fare as well. Gilbert... more ›

>> Wins on Friday against the free falling Cleveland Cavaliers and on Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats coupled with an Indiana Pacers loss at Miami have moved the Wizards into 5th place in the Eastern Conference playoff race with just two games to go. The Wizards overall record now stands at 45-35 and the team has won four in a row since their five game losing streak. With the Pacers two games back with only... more ›

Simply put, today is a good day to be a sports fan in Washington. Not only do we have the Nats home opener (more on that later) but last night the Wizards clinched their first playoff appearance since 1997 with a 93-82 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls. At long last the franchise has erased the failures of players like Mitch Richmond, Jerry Stackhouse and Michael Jordan, each of whom failed to lead the... more ›

The Washington Wizards ended their longest losing streak of the season last night beating the Milwauke Bucks 119-112 at the MCI Center. The Wiz were powered by Antawn Jamison's 32 points and a season high 13 assists from Gilbert Arenas, who scored only 8 points on 2 of 9 shooting. Perhaps this was a wake up call for Arenas. Washington is just 1-4 in games when he scores over 40 points. Last night he focused... more ›

DCist was in the house last night when the Washington Wizards faced off against the Boston Celtics at the MCI Center as both teams fought for playoff positioning and home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Boston's Antoine Walker sat out with a knee injury, but All Star Antawn Jamison returned to action after an 11 game absence for the Wizards. Unfortunately, as well as Jamison played in his return, it... more ›

>> Despite their propensity to fight through injuries this year, the absence of All Star Antawn Jamison was evident last night as the Washington Wizards fell in Denver to the red hot Nuggets 127-98. Gilbert Arenas led the Wiz with 25, but the team shot just 39% from the field. Coach Eddie Jordan might want to look at the team's defense too. The Nuggets shot over 55% and it's never a good thing when... more ›