We just returned from our last long west coast trip. We left last Monday but it seems like it was a month ago. The flight to Portland was long to say the least. We had to stop and refuel in Minnesota. Once we arrived in Portland it was a very short trip to our hotel which was at the airport. There was not much around the airport to do or places to eat. Upon arrival a few of us headed over to the NIKE employee store. I picked up a couple of things for my wife and daughter. Then I came back to my room and watched the Portland-Seattle game. We play Portland tomorrow night and then fly up to Seattle for a game against the Sonics on Wed.

  Portland beat us. we were a little jet lagged and it showed. Just a step too slow. Off to Seattle. It will be sad to see the Sonics leave town. Seattle is a great city with great fans. I hope that somehow they stay, but it does not look like that is going to happen. We got a win. The guys were much better tonight. Spent the night in Seattle. After the game I went to dinner with John Dunn the AD at Highline Community College. I haven’t seen him in quite some time, so it was good to catch up with him. Left for Sacramento the following morning which was Thursday.

    Arrived in Sacramento safe and sound. It was a beautiful day, so I decided to go out and take advantage of it. Got my haircut and walked around. Went to dinner at Mason’s a fine restaurant with the coaches. We won another on the road with a win in Sacramento. Now it is off to LA. We are staying at the Ritz in Marina del Ray it is a trip to the Staples Center. Coach Jordan had a surprise for everyone on Saturday. Instead of going to practice he had the bus take everyone to Venice beach. Once it was announced everyone cheered and applauded. It was nice to get out and get some fresh air. There are some sights at Venice beach. Nuts, fruits and flakes what a place. It brought back memories of my time of living in California.

    Tha Lakers got us in OT. They are really going to be something if they get back Gasol and Bynum and they are healthy. Before our game there was a D league game. Nobody was there. I did get to see some of the game and I got to say hello to Will Blaylock who I worked out awhile ago when he was at Iowa State. Off to Utah after the game. It was snowing upon arrival. Not much to say about our stay in Utah as they kicked our butts. The last game on the last day of our road trip. I think everyone was wanting to get home. We touched down in Dulles around 4:45 am.

    We survived the west coast swing with a 2 and 3 record. After the trip we are in 5th place in the East. Hopefully we can close out the season and get healthy for the playoffs. Take care and God Bless.

  We arrived in Portland yesterday after flying all day. It is a very long flight and then we had to stop to refuel as well. After arriving at the Sheraton Airport Hotel and checking in, a few of us went over to the NIKE employee store. I bought a couple of things for my wife and daughter. Got back to the hotel and watched the second half of Portland and Seattle. Seattle pulled out the win. Ordered some room service as there are no restaurants around the airport. Watched a bunch of Seattle as they are my scout.

  Up early today to the sounds of jets landing and taking off. Started my day off as I do everyday with my readings of the Daily Bread and the Upper Room and of course the Bible. The Bible contains so much knowledge, wisdom and insight about everything. The lessons that it talks about years ago are still useful today. I am amazed by the book each and every day. I am blown away by it and how it relates to me and my family. I have read it five times now going on six and there is so much that I learn from it each time. Praise the Lord.

   Had our breakfast meeting and then went to shootaround at the Rose Garden. It is a nice day for Portland, OR as it is not raining and the sun has actually peeked through some clouds. Came  back to the hotel and I continued to work on the Seattle report. Headed over early to the gym with Phil Chenier, Steve Buckhantz and Eric Waters. Put Gilbert through some drills. After Gil went through movement drills he wanted to shoot some long jumpers. He made 47 out of a 100 from at least 10 feet beyond the NBA three point line. Truly amazing and he is shooting a normal jumpshot without his form breaking down. The Portland guys were all amazed too.

   We could have used some of those shots tonight as Portland beat us up. They took it to us from the opening tip until the final buzzer. They had more energy than us and they shot the ball really well. They made shots from inside and outside of the arc. We just couldn’t get going. Portland is going to be tough as they have a very good nucleus to work with in Aldridge, Roy and Oden. I also got to see my friend Billy Bayno before tip off. After the game I caught up with Price Johnson’s kids James and Dane.  Price is a very good friend of mine since I first met him at the Final Four in Seattle the year UCLA won with  Toby Bailey and the O’Bannon brothers.It is always a pleasure to see friends while traveling.

   Flew into Seattle, checked into the Fairmont and started writing the blog for this week. I will be up early starting with my devotionals and then put the finishing touches on the scouting report. Meet with the coaches and then get ready for the game.

   I will keep you posted as this trip is quite long. We also have Sacramento on Friday, Lakers on Saturday and Utah on Monday.

  Take care and God Bless. Please pray for our soldiers and their families and loved ones.

 I promised my guys Chase, Wolf (real name), Ted, Garrett, Adam (shooting champ) and the gals Amy and Beth that I would write something about them. They all do a super job and make things easier for all of us coaches and players.  Often they get no recognition, but without them the game could not go on. They come in early and they are the last to leave. They help out with game preparation doing such things as getting uniforms ready, water, towels,etc… and then they help with getting tickets from the players to will call. They do a million things. Then on top of that they have the thankless job of rebounding and chasing down balls when the players get there for their pregame workouts. During the game they are working as well doing everything from mopping up the floor to handing out towels and water. After the game they are still working picking up after the guys and getting the laundry going. They are MVP’s in my book. Thank you all.

   This past week Adam beat me in shooting from the free throw line, college three and NBA three point line. He had to win from all three spots to get into the blog. Well it took him all season to finally get in. He beat me fair and square. He won all three spots. I had to shoot left handed as did he. The only problem is that Adam is a natural southpaw. Now I have to really get back into the gym and work on my game.

   The ball boys are keeping me sharp as I try to get some shots up before the players come out. Before the LA Clipper game I hit 50 NBA three’s from straight on and then 41 in a row from the right corner. I was trying to beat my personal best of 78. Hopefully I will break it by the end of the season.

    Congratulations to Antawn for being the Eastern Conference Player of the Week. He has been huge for us all year. I am so happy for him. He comes to play everyday and never complains about anything. Antawn is a true pro and a wonderful human being.

   It is great having Caron back. Since he has returned though he has suffered another injury. He has something wrong with his left hand. Speaking of injured left hands Antonio has one as well. We have had more injuries, but the guys give it all that they have. Now we need to get everyone healthy for the playoff push. Even Ted our ball boy has been out of commission with a bad ankle. It is always good to see him when he comes to the games.

   Happy Easter to everyone.

   It is hard to belive but it is that time of the year, MARCH MADNESS. What a great time for the basketball fan, all the games and tournaments. Then after all of that there will be the selections . After the selections are finalized and the 65 teams are announced, the arguments begin. Who should be in the tournament and who should not be in the tournament. There are always good arguments on both sides. All of this before the tourney begins. San Antonio is a great city to host the event. The weather is super and the Riverwalk will be full of life. The coaches can get outside after being in the gym all season. I will miss my annual trip to the Final Four. I also miss all of the coaches and friends that Ihave made over the years.

     The Wizards have had a tough stretch since I have last written. Orlando came into our building and gave us a good beating. They played with more energy than us. Dwight Howard is becoming more and more like Superman all of the time. He just keeps on getting better and better each year. It is scary. The rest of the league will need Kryptonite to stop him. Then we  went north of the border and beat Toronto in OT. It was a huge win for us. It is always nice to go up to Toronto and see everyone in the organization. They all treated me like family. On this trip I got to see Doreen, she is the secretary and was so helpful to me last season. Thank you Doreen for everything. It is good to see TJ back playing after his injury. I wish him and his family the best. TJ is a great kid who is also very funny, but more importantly he is a generous and thoughtful person. After the OT win we headed to the airport and had to go through customs before boarding the plane and then we had to de-ice as it was snowing hard. I arrived home at my place a little before 3:oo am. After getting back from Toronto we played Charlotte at home. Charlotte came out on fire and scored 35 in the first quarter. That is too many points to give up in any quarter and we never could recover. The guys put up a heck of  a fight but we fell short. Back to backs are tough on us because our roster is so thin. The starters are playing alot of minutes and the rookies are getting their share too. A day off will do everyone a world of good.

    The word is that Caron will return to practice this week. Having him back will be great, now we can rest Wes. Wes has been logging heavy minutes in practice. Another body in practice is going to help out everyone and adding Caron back in the mix will make practices more competitive. We need him for our last twenty games. No word on Gil’s return or Etan’s. It is hard to belive that there are only 20 more games left in this season. The older you get the faster time goes by.

    Milwaukee comes into town for tomorrow’s game and my good friend Jim Todd (a.k.a. JT). I have known him for years and he is a great guy. I miss him as we have shared alot of good times in the past with this great game of basketball. We have had alot of laughs both on and off the court. JT is back in Milwaukee for his third stint. That says something about him.

    My daughter has gone up to Maine with our nanny Jessica until Friday. McKenna is spending time with her grandparents. My wife and I miss her so much. On Friday McKenna and Jessica will come home along with McKenna’s grandmother and aunt Kathy. It is awfully quite around here without McKenna.

    Thanks for reading and keep rooting for the Wizards. Until the next blog.

 Coach Hopla

  We have won our last four out of five. It started with a home win against Charlotte. Then we headed on the road to play New Orleans. We got a great game from DeShawn who hit for 33 points including the game winner with no time remaining. A great win versus a tough team.

   Next up for us was Houston. It was our fourth game in five nights  in four different cities. Houston is the hottest team in the league right now, having won 13 games in a row. The day before we play them they announce that Yao will be out for the season with a stree fracture. It seems like everyone is getting hit with the injury bug. Houston pummeled us, we did not have any energy nor could we get anything going on offensive. Dikembe looked like he was twenty years old again. The only positive thing that happened in Houston was that I got to see my good friend Dennis Skeadas. It is always great to see friends while being on the road, too bad you only get to see them for a short time.

    We left for Chicago the following morning. Had the day off. Thursday we practiced at Tim Grover’s place (ATTACK ATHLETICS) it is a state of the art basketball facility. All of the players and coaches loved it there. I got to see my man Mike Procopio who has been working with Tim for a few years now. Mike used to work my College Camps and I miss working with him. Friday we played Chicago and were down 18 at the half. Coach Jordan gave some half time talk and we came away with a victory. Opened up the third quarter with a 22 to 1 run. The guys never gave up when it would’ve been easy to quit and pack it in.

    We returned to DC late Friday night. Had Saturday off which was much deserved and needed. All of the guys are tired and banged up. The rest will do us a world of good. It will be great to see Carole and McKenna after being gone since last Sunday. I really cherish the time that I get to spend with them.

    We have a 6:00pm game on Sunday versus New Orleans again. Everyone is saying that they will be looking for revenge and it will be payback time. Coach Hubbard says that we will beat them again. It turns out that HUB is a prophet as we beat the Hornets again. They were 39-19 coming into the game. We closed the game out with a 19-0 run. Very impressive.

    Our defense has been getting better, but the past couple of games it has been fantastic. Randy Ayers has done an incredible job thorughout the year getting the guys to play defense. If we continue to defend and share the ball we will be alright. Hopefully Caron and Gilbert will be back to close out the regular season and then the Wizards can do some damage in the playoffs.

     Let’s take time to be thankful for all that we have and to count our blessings each and every day.

  First game back after All Star Game we were flat with no energy and suffered a loss to the New York Knicks. It is in games like this that you wonder what would have happened if Caron was healthy or if we had Gil back or Etan. Any of them or any combination of the three. What the heck how about all three. 

  Injuries are part of the game and the coaches have done a great job of dealing with them. The guys that have been healthy and have suited up come to play every night. They work hard in practice and pull for each other. They are a team in every way. The guys root for one another and get along both on and off the court.

   Next up for us was Cleveland and they just made a blockbuster trade. They were in the Finals last year and just traded away Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Shannon Brown, Donyell Marshall, Ira Newble and Cedric Simmons. In return they picked up Ben Wallace, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak. They won’t be playing against us as they have to have physicals. Cleveland beat us anyway. This was a game that ESPN had on. They were thinking that it would be a great game and it would’ve been if everyone was healthy and the trade was complete. Instead they got two teams with depleted rosters. At least the game was close.

    This was another game that we could’ve won. There have been quite a few of them this year. We just don’t have enough weapons right now to close games out. 

  The guys bounced back with a home victory over Charlotte. They played without Gerald Wallace. Gerald suffered a concussion against Sacramento when Mikki Moore hit him with an elbow. He was down for quite a long time and had to be taken away on a stretcher. Both teams were coming off of back to backs. We played Cleveland and Charlotte lost a tough one in overtime versus Sacramento. It was a total team effort. Everyone played well for us and the bench was huge too. This is the type of effort and energy that we need every night from every player. We have no margin of error, if we are to win games.

    Had a huge win against New Orleans tonight. DeShawn Stevenson was sensational. He comes to play every single night and he has been injured all year. Most players wouldn’t even try to play. D Steve had a career high 33. His dagger at the end of regulation was the difference. I have so much respect for him as does the rest of the staff and the team. I am so happy for him and the rest of the players and coaches. We have been on the short end of these games the past month, so it was a well deserved victory on the road. Got to see Morris Peterson before the game. He is a classy guy and we had a great time in Toronto last season. He seems to be doing well in New Orleans.

    Now we have to get ready for Houston. They are the hottest team in the league, having won their last twelve in a row. The coaching staff watched them play Chicago Sunday night. It was great watching the game as they are two teams that we will play against this week. We close out our road trip in Chicago on Friday.

    Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the blog. Take care and God Bless. 

After a victory in L.A. over the Clippers we headed home for the break on the red eye. Nick got to stay in L.A. and spend time with his family and friends. Some of the other guys headed to warmer climates. CB and Antawn to New Orleans for the All-Star Game. As for myself, I arrived home and headed to the dentist for an appointment that I had made while being on the road. I cracked a tooth in San Francisco while having breakfast. Went to the dentist had an x-ray and it was determined that I must have a root canal. What a way to spend the day. Everything went well. So far, so good.

My wife Carole cooked an excellent Valentine’s Day dinner. Chicken, potatoes and corn. For dessert she made a caramel bread pudding that was out of this world. It was nice to spend the evening together and to be at home. McKenna loved her Valentine’s card and stuffed animal. Of course she likes the candy too.

Hung out with the family on Friday and then went to dinner with Carole at Cafe Milano. Had some pasta that was very good.

Saturday headed up to Baltimore to see my brother and aunt Jean. It is always a pleasure to see them and spend time with them. I only wish that my mom was still here so she could see McKenna. I always tell McKenna about her grandmother Joan, so she will always know where her middle name comes from. Went to the airport to pick up our nanny’s sister Chelsea. She is on winter break.

Sunday our intentions were good, off to church. We got a late start and then a little lost. So we headed back up to Baltimore for lunch with my aunt and brother. It was a nice and relaxing break for me. Everyone needs it. Hopefully everyone will return healthy and ready to make a post All-Star run.

Monday took McKenna to see Nemo at the Verizon Center in her words it was “very, very sad.” Practice at 6 pm.