Spring Flings

By Gary Tischler.

Spring Training Days

Well, people say spring is coming..
You know what that means.
Yeah. Baseball.
Let’s see what the Orioles are doing, and debate if the Red Sox can repeat, and count up the money George Steinbrenner has spent, and let’s see if the Mets are going to be really good with Pedro Martinez, and how many times will Barry Bonds get booed and dissed by the local press.
Too bad we have to go to Baltimore to watch baseball.
What’s that?
We don’t?
Check it out man.
Punch in Washington Nationals on the Internet.
Damned if a real team doesn’t come up.
And here’s a weird headline: "National Use Late Double to Down Tigers."
And who is this Ian Desmond everybody’s talking about? A 19-year-old rookie who’s making a big impression in the Grapefruit Circuit, that’s who. One of our very own.
And look what else the site says: 28 days, 19 hours and 29 minutes to opening day.
That would be 3:05 with the Philadelphia Phillies at RFK Stadium.
Take that, Adrian Fenty.
A Washington team is actually in Florida, in spring training.
We have liftoff. We have a baseball team.
Is it a good baseball team?
Well, they’re the remnants of the Montreal Expos, the worst of the National League last year. But on the other hand, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson is managing them. How bad can it get?
The Nationals. With them will come at some point or another – the Mets, the Phillies, Bonds and the awesome Cardinals, and the Dodgers, the Pirates, Greg Maddux and Cubbies, the whole gang from the National League playing the Nationals.
Spring is here.
It really is.
That ain’t snow out there. That’s confetti left over from Boston.

Bursting Into Bloom

Sometimes imitated but never duplicated, the spectacular extravaganza that each year signals the arrival of spring in Washington–the Washington Home & Garden Show–returns March 17-20 to the new Washington Convention Center, offering exquisite gardens forced into bloom and hundreds of displays and vendors with never-before-seen products from around the world.
A total of 24 full-sized landscaped gardens, over 700 exhibitors from 40 states and abroad, more than a million blooms of all shapes and sizes plus countless prducts and services. The two dozen gardens, created by award winning landscapers, are the most elaborate and spectacular to be seen at any show in the entire metropolitan area.
In keeping with its standing as the country’s largest flower and garden show, this year’s event offers an unparalled presentation of the hottest new products on the market. A virtual shoppers’ paradise awaits showgoers, featuring today’s hottest garden treasures on sale at special show prices. Garden art, orchids and conservatories are among the extraordinary offerings. Everything from kids’ playsets to outdoor fireplaces and architectural antiques to the very latest gardens and gizmos will part of the remarkable retail marketplace.
If you’re more focused on the inside of your home, this event will satisfy either your need to fix things–or your dream to have someone else handle that household project. Designers, architects, craftsmen, remodelers and builders will be on hand to offer expert advice. Learn about new and unique uses for marble, granite, tile or custom woodwork. Hear about the hottest trends for creating a gourmet kitchen, custom library, refinished bathrooms or newly designed game/media rooms. From 19th century antiques to the newest technology, this show offers something for everyone.
The show runs from Thursday, March 17, through Sunday, March 20. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Sunday. Adult tickets are $10, kids ages 6-12 are $5 and 5 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult. For the first time, advance tickets can be charged through Ticketmaster, 202-397-SEAT, or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.

Why Duke Will Win

"I think it just sends a message to every team that they’re always playing for second place." Former Duke guard Chris Duhon boldy made this boast last March as the team prepared to defend its record five-year reign atop the country’s most formidable basketball conference. Maybe this overconfidence doomed the Blue Devils, as they were upset by Maryland in the tournament finale. As the 11 teams of the Atlantic Coast Conference make their way into Washington for their tournament, Duke will be a #3 seed, and an underdog. Still, the Blue Devils will swagger into the MCI Center on Friday like a pack of collar-up frat boys arriving late to a geology course, nicknamed "Rocks for Jocks." And it is exactly this arrogance, paired with stingy defense and JJ Redick’s leadership, that will propel Duke to a tournament victory.
How sure am I of Duke’s impending triumph? Well, I wouldn’t bet the kids’ college tuition money (which at Duke just broke $40K per). But I would return that wooden salad bowl your wife bought for $79.95 at Dean & Deluca and put a confident $80 on Duke to win it all. And even if I’m wrong, as poker aficionado Jimmy the Greek wisely stated, "The next best thing to gambling and winning is gambling and losing."
Defense wins championships." Duke enters the tournament with the #1 scoring defense in the conference. They also finished the regular season ranked #1 in blocks, #1 in opponent 3-point shooting, #1 in opponent assists, #2 in opponent field goal percentage, and #2 in turnovers created. Why is defense so important in a tournament? Any team can win one big game if all of their shooters are on target, but at some point during a 3-4 game span, the shots will inevitably stop falling. Great defense can keep a team in the game, however, until the shooters regain their touch. So while Duke may not be the offensive juggernaut it has been in years past, they will never be out of a game in the final minutes.
But simply keeping the game close during the final minutes isn’t sufficient. A championship team needs a championship leader to take the ball and score in those frantic, heart-halting moments. It requires a leader who not only wants the ball in his hands at the end, but needs it. A leader who not only embraces the pressure, but greedily consumes it. Junior sharp shooter J.J. Redick, he of Laettner-esque national hatred and Ovaltine-smooth outside game, encompasses all of the qualities that this leader should possess. And fittingly, just like the team he guides, everyone who doesn’t love him hates his guts. Not in a euphemistic way, but literally despising his gait, his smile, his mundanely perfect free throw shooting. Shakespeare wrote, "In time, we hate that which we often fear." I believe the Duke Blue Devils would agree. And in the MCI Center the hatred will be a tangible, humid fog of boos and insults. Duke players can smell and taste that hatred, and they feed off of it, J.J. most of all. He will see Maryland fans in the crowd wearing T-shirts that read “J.J. Sucks,” and he will use their fear as confirmation of his ego.
Granted, Redick and Duke had their egos severely bruised during Sunday’s meltdown in Chapel Hill, but the mark of a great shooter and a successful team can be a short memory. By Friday, Duke’s confidence/arrogance will be intact. Defense and leadership can take you far into any tournament, but what separates contenders from champions is confidence. It seems that no matter how much of the team’s talent graduates or leaves early for the NBA, Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s boys enter the tournament each year knowing they will walk away with the trophy. And why not? The Blue Devils have won five of the past six ACC tournaments and won 17 of their last 18 tournament games, 12 of those by double figures. They have beaten arch rival and this year’s #1 seed North Carolina in 13 of the past 16 meetings. Has this tournament dominance subconsciously whipped the psyches of the other teams in the league? Is the tournament shadowed by a cloud of inevitability? Last year Maryland took an underdog, nothing-to-lose strategy to the championship game, where they upset Duke in overtime. But this seems to be an exception to the rule that the Duke Blue Devils, well, rule this tournament. Until another team besides inconsistent Maryland shakes off the awestruck little-brother syndrome, the Blue Devils will continue to launch arrogantly distant three point shots, always expect the close calls to go their way, and cut down more ACC tournament nets. But for the Duke haters out there, don’t stress too much: your team could always finish second. And the Cameron Crazies might even send you one of their complimentary consolation T-shirts. It reads in big blue letters:
DUKE––We’re not conceited. We’re just better than you."
Sounds about right.