When the best sports news to come out of the weekend is that the Nationals managed to not get swept, the thing to do is move on as quickly as possible. We’ll try and make as painless as possible for you.
Redskins Grab Safety in First Round
With the sixth overall pick in Saturday’s NFL draft (and only pick in the first four rounds), the Redskins selected LaRon Landry, a hard-hitting safety from LSU. What’s that you say? That the Redskins already have a hard-hitting safety? That their flaccid defensive line was the most glaringly obvious draft-day need? That the organization is plagued by an institutional lack of direction? We hear you, Les Carpenter, and we’re as flummoxed as you are.
Cavs Push Wizards to the Brink
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers took another one from the Wizards on Saturday, 98-92. Down 3-0 in the first-round series, the Wizards look pretty much cooked. Though Antawn Jamison again put forth a courageous effort, without Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler the Wiz have been out-classed by LeBron & Co. After falling behind 61-44, Washington used a 21-4 run in the third quarter to knot the score at 66, but 6-for-20 shooting down the stretch doomed their chances to take game three. Tonight’s fixture at the Verizon Center could be the last chance fans get to see Jamison, et al. until this fall.
United Get Worked Over by the Crew
D.C. United, no doubt in a magnanimous mood, kindly handed the Colombus Crew their first win Saturday night, 1-0. Former United D/M Ezra Hendrickson notched the lone goal when he collected a poor clearance off his own shot and drove the ball home. The game featured a couple of significant lineup changes for United, as Facundo Erpen was benched in favor of Devon McTavish and Fred finally got a start on the wing. United will try and get off the schneid this Thursday, when they return home to face Taylor Twellman and the New England Revolution.
Nationals Not Swept
Friday night, the last-place Nationals savored particularly sweet victory over the NL East-leading Mets. Matt Chico threw a solid game, but the hero has to be Austin Kearns, whose three-run homer in the first ended the Nats’ 22 game scoreless streak in the opening frame. The streak was an NL record. Here’s to hoping that it’ll be the last time “futility” and “streak” are mentioned in the same sentence for the Nationals this season. Unfortunately, Kearns’ three-run jack would equal the Nats’ scoring output for the remaining 31 29 innings of the series (Saturday’s contest went 14 12), and the Mets returned to Shea with the three-game series in hand.
