Haywood Glad To See Etan Go

Wow I swear I didn't copy this!

In Brendan Haywood's latest blog post, he said it is a sad day. A sad day because Songaila is leaving. Thomas and Opech were not mentioned...

"On a sad note, we’re sad to see Darius Songalia leave our team. He’s a true professional and did way more than he was asked to for our team, especially last year with all of our injuries. He’s a good friend of mine and I’ll miss him as well as the Washington staff and fans - we wish him luck!"

Haywood may really sad enough to write all this about Songaila, but was he giving Etan one more small jab before he leaves at the same time?

It was no secret that Brendan Haywood & Etan Thomas were not great friends. These are just 2 of the times that Haywood & Thomas fought it out. There was at least one other incident as well as I'm sure several mini-incidents in practice.

November 7th, 2006: Washington Post

"Thomas felt that Miller's comments were a slight toward him, he approached Haywood and threw the first punch once the argument escalated, a source said. According to the source, Haywood responded to the punch by body-slamming Thomas to the ground, tearing out at least two of Thomas's dreadlocks in the process."

February 10th, 2007: Washington Post

"The two were jostling for position near the basket at one end of the court, the source said, when one of Haywood's elbows connected with Thomas. Play then went to the other end where Thomas, who believed the elbow was intentional, shouted at Haywood and threw a punch. Haywood responded with punches of his own and the two continued to trade blows until coaches and teammates broke them up."

With Etan gone, Haywood is now not just the best guy for the job, he is now the only guy for the job. He won't be worrying about losing minutes to JaVale McGee, unless somehow JaVale improved 100% and started shaving.

Etan vs Brendan

Here is a story from the Sports Hernia Blog about the great relationship between Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood. It says:

Haywood ambushed Thomas, who was at the hospital to undergo open-heart surgery, inside the OR moments before the anesthesiologist was to put Thomas under.

Click on the link th read the whole sorted tale. If you haven't figured it out, (its not real...shhh)

Check out Sports Hernia for other great stories. It's the Onion of blogs.

• Sports Hernia: Haywood Attacks Thomas

You Got The Wrong Guy

Etan Thomas is going to undergo heart surgery. It is not supposed to be life threatening and it is unknown whether or not it will end his season or career.

I really think that Etan should get a second opinion. I think they mixed up the files between him and Brendan Haywood. It must be Brendan with the weak heart right...

• Washington Post: Etan Heart Surgery

756

The number 756 is very special to me. I would say it is one of the most important numbers in the history of sports. There is always alot of talk about whether it could be achieved and if it is valid, but sure enough it was accomplished. People can say this number is tainted all they want, but I know in my heart that it is deserved. And it was all done in the magical 2006-07 season for the Washington Wizards by 4 very special players.

756: The combined number of points that Brendan Haywood, Roger Mason, Calvin Booth, & James Lang scored last regular season.

Breaking the so called "unbreakable record" of 755 set by Tim Leglar, Lawrence Moton, Chris Whitney, Darvin Ham, & Harvey Grant in 1997-98.

I watched every night on Comcast, hoping that these guys could go out there and do it. The pressure was on and the players started to feel it. Turnover after turnover I started to get worried that it would never happen. Others would just ignore this record, saying that it meant nothing in this day and age. But I kept hope in my heart.

One day I woke up and James Lang was no longer on the roster. I started to cry. How could they get to this number without James Lang. Without his 1 point per game, this record would take forever to break (or one more game). I questioned my faith.

Sure enough though, the guys pressed on. They didn't let the loss of a 10 day contract superstar faze them whatsoever. Mason drained 3's, Booth drained some 15 footers, Haywood missed several dunks (to keep them under 757). And finally, April 18th, 2007, when Brendan Haywood slammed home the record breaking basket against the Indiana Pacers, I erupted in tears of joy.

756. The greatest number in sports history.

(you don't want to know how much time I spent adding up stats)