Capital Gains

"Severity of the itch is proportional to the reach."

For years, fans in our nation's capital have had that itch to see a championship among their respective winter teams -- the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.

Sure, we saw the Caps reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998, but before anyone even noticed, they were quickly disposed of by the Detroit Red Wings.

As for the Wizards, they had a taste of the playoffs in 1997, but were eliminated in the same sweeping fashion by the Chicago Bulls (ironically led by hmmm, we'll get to him in a minute).

So, we were stuck with having to watch the Redskins become the laughingstock of the National Football League ($800 million just doesn't go the way it used to huh Danny boy?).

Now all of a sudden, the city who's main contribution to the world of sports involved men wearing Sunday dresses and pig noses, can now lay claim to harboring basketball and hockey's two biggest stars. (Notice I won't even get into the debate about bringing baseball back to D.C...yet).

Today, in Wilmington, North Carolina, Michael Jordan (yes that one, not the former Penn guard who wore the same 23), began his first official practice as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Saying that he had an itch that just had to be scratched, he finally made it official on Thursday, September 27 with a simple fax. This was a saga that was dragging on for the longest time, so when he finally told the world of his intentions, there was this blase attitude among Washingtonians as if we're so used to this success (would they rather have Never, Nervous, Pervis Ellison come back instead?).

I remember the vibe that occurred the day Chris Webber and Juwan Howard came in 1994. We thought we would spring championships eternal. It ended up like the old saying "fish and visitors stink after three days." By the time they were let go, people couldn't wait to get them out of here fast enough.

Let's get back to the Jordan issue. Sure I heard some skepticism, like he's too old or the fact people still think the Wizards will remain in the Eastern cellar.

Here's where I have to disagree. First of all, if you looked at the team from Jordan's days in Chicago, it wasn't exactly stocked full of All-Stars. We are talking about journeymen guys like Bill Wennington, Steve Kerr, and Scottie Pippen (people may not agree, but tell me one thing Pippen has accomplished since Jordan left, other than pull a classic choke job against the Lakers in the 2000 playoffs).

The Wizards, believe it or not, actually have talent on this roster. Jordan's presence and leadership alone will bring the best out of guys like Christian Laettner (don't laugh), Jahidi White, and Richard "Rip" Hamilton, who has the words second banana written all over him (ala Pippen). Don't forget, they also drafted Kwame Brown, who looks like he will be an All-Star in the years to come.

So the biggest question remains how well will they compete this season? Playoffs? Definitely. A 50-win season may be a stretch, but one can't just focus on this season; it will be the long-term benefits of other players wanting to come here and have Washington become a legitimate power in the NBA.

The best part is that we don't have to sit around and have the ping-pong balls become the Wizards only shining moment each season. That is Jordan's master plan, which always has a way of working out in the end. Hopefully Jim Rome will finally stop calling them the Bullets.

Saturday night: October 6. That will be the day Capitals owner Ted Leonsis will unveil his new weapon on the National Hockey League, No. 68 Jarmoir Jagr.

Arguably the best player in the NHL, Jagr is the offensive piece that this team has never had before. After losing out on free agents like Jeremy Roenick and Alexi Yashin, Leonsis didn't settle for a grade-B player like Pierre Turgeon.

Instead he pulled off the steal of the offseason in obtaining Jagr for three prospects and now has Washington in position to become the dominant team in the NHL.

Keep in mind this team has been a perennial playoff participant (even though by either bad luck or alignment of the stars they always end up with Pittsburgh and get bounced in quick fashion), and has the tools in place to make a championship run this year.

Olaf Kolzig, a former Vezina winner, is one of the league's top goalies. Jeff Halpern is a rising star who will continue to get better and Peter Bondra who can still light up the lamp on occasion.

The amazing thing is that the Caps still have center Adam Oates in the fold, despite his requests to be traded after last year's debacle in the playoffs.

This is where Jagr, much like Jordan, comes into play.

The knock on him was that he was lackadaisical to his approach on defense, and that he didn't want to share top billing with teammate Mario Lemieux. Capitals head coach Ron Wilson has praised Jagr for his efforts to become a team player, even for his contributions on defense during practices. His ability to score every night will give the Caps that offensive lift they've been searching for a long time to accommodate their defense.

The Southeast Division is a given, and quite possibly the Eastern Conference if they can find some way to avoid Pittsburgh. It can't be a coincidence, but can you imagine the possibilities of Jagr and Lemieux going mano-y-mano in the spring?

So, what type of impact have these two superstars had on our nation's capital?

Well, first of all the happiest man has to be Deadskins coach Marty Schottenheimer, who has been roasted by the local media for his team's incompetent play and the chants of "Marty must go" echoing throughout the sports pages on a daily basis. This helps him duck under the radar, at least until every kickoff on Sundays (how this team got a Monday night game is still beyond me).

As for the fans, the phones have been ringing off the hook, and the lines of the MCI Center are wrapping around the block to get tickets. I think the last time anyone wanted a ticket to a Wizards game was when Gladys Knight would be singing courtside for the New Year's game.

The funniest part of all this is all the Jordan fanboys who now want to wear Wizard gear. Memo to those bandwagon fanboys: Washington's colors are blue and gold, so leave your red and black stuff at home so you'll blend in ok?

To be honest, I'll take that over hearing "Hail to the Redskins" any day. At least we now have a reason to look towards winter other than missing days from school and work. I'll be attending some Capitals and Wizards games over the upcoming season so I'll be sure to give you some more insight as to how the teams are playing.

Looks like that itch has finally been scratched here in D.C. Now only if we can get Major League Baseball to come here we'll be set. Are you listening, Mr. Selig?