Monthly Archives: November 2010

The Death Of A Friend

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I lost a good friend this weekend.

I don’t want to go into details.

But a very close friend of mine died — way too early — in his mid 40′s.

He and I were very close — and we have been friends for more than 25 years.

We actually met on his honeymoon; our children grew up together; we vacationed as families together. We went through a lot together.

I talked to him over the years like a brother. I considered him one of my best friends. He always made me laugh!

His passing has really shaken me up.  My family is just stunned. I am so sad.

Life is very short.

We should all embrace living; we should all try to be happy. Every moment counts.

Keep things in perspective.

Miami Here We Come

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A tough few games and a tough few days for us as fans and owners of the Washington Wizards.

We didn’t play very well in Atlanta; but I thought we played great at home against Orlando.

That was yet another game I thought  we should have won– in fact, there have been 3 games– against Cleveland; Detroit and Orlando that I thought we should have won. Continue reading →

Happy Thanksgiving

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I have a lot to be grateful for and I never forget to say thank you.

My family is reunited and is safe and sound this long weekend. My health is good. I feel strong and I feel fortunate.

We get to spend some quality time together now this long weekend. Nothing makes me happier than being with my family.

My businesses are doing quite well. SnagFilms is booming and growing well and we will soon have some big and positive news to share with you all. Thank you.

Some of the companies I am involved with such as Groupon are also having great news and great spurts of growth. So grateful.

I am so proud to be involved at the board level with American Express. I love working with these folks and we have found such a great home for Revolution Money. Fantastic.

Rosetta Stone and NutriSystem are also doing well as is Clearspring Technologies. Thanks again.

The Wizards are playing better and better and I am happy with our business model and growth. Hooray.

The Verizon Center is looking great and I am so pleased that fans are happy with the improvements we have made at this iconic building. Way to go.

A Fighting Chance, our new film, did great on ESPN and is now available in DVD form on Amazon.com. I am happy to have gotten to know Kyle Maynard.

The Capitals – despite playing poorly in a few games of late – are in first place in the NHL and we sell out every game. Best of times – worst of times.

I have decided to chill just a bit this long weekend. I received some emails the last two days from Caps fans that are quite chilling using terminology around death; cancer; terminations; fire this guy; trade that player, etc. It is just a bit much and over the top. Rather than react, I am just going to unplug a bit and enjoy my family and share my perspective on happiness and family connectivity.

I would suggest you all generate your reasons for being grateful and enjoy the weekend with family and friends. Be positive – be happy – show gratitude. Try a day without snark. Embrace happiness. Thank you.

5 and 2 at Home Now

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For those of you who came to Verizon Center last night, you were treated to a really exciting and fun game. Thanks to you and your energy and vocal chords, we are becoming a hard team to play against at home. You are becoming a 6th man on our team. Thank you.This was a game where we were down by 17 points; rallied back; went back down by 12 points; tied it in regulation; and then won in overtime.

Young players are developing right before our eyes as promised. McGee had a monster game – very impressive and a sign of things to come. Wall is back from injury and scored 25 points in the second half. Young is hitting clutch shots and is a big-time shooter. Booker is making important hustle-oriented plays that tip the game in our behalf. Blatche is hitting big shots and getting rebounds when it matters.

Gilbert played well and had key rebounds, assists and hit big shots. Hinrich did, too. And on and on.

That was a fun win. We are now 5-2 at home. Our coach did a great job of getting everyone involved last night and the team is playing for each other and for the fans. A good vibe is in the house!

We have lost some close games. We are a bit better than our record says we are right now which is 5 and 8. We are playing competitive basketball now and an exciting system which is emphasizing athleticism; running up and down the court; and playing smart, intense basketball. The team has a lot of talent. It needs to continue to focus on fundamentals and on rebounding and getting to the free throw line and we will be a much improved team. All while forging a new team identity.

We don’t have a single road win yet this season. That will come next. I hope. :-) It is all part of the process.

We now play a very tough schedule – Atlanta, Orlando and Miami. Wish us well.

And Happy Thanksgiving Wizards fans. We have much to be grateful for at home!

When I Go to Chicago

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This is where I go to attend Groupon board of directors meetings and MediaBank board of directors meetings. Check out the photos.

It is an interesting building and it is a happy company with a start-up and healthy culture that is growing fast with lots and lots of young talented people that are a pleasure and a joy to work with. A true set of success stories. I am so very proud of these folks.

Much Ado About Nothing

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I was at the game last night.

I witnessed first hand all of this activity mentioned in the article.

I also saw Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin after the game in the locker room. They behaved in the right manner and were respectful to the process of losing a game on the road by the score of 5 to 0. They and all of their teammates were unhappy and quite somber.

They did have a quick chat with a player from the Devils in the outside hallway and at some point someone made a comment which elicited a guffaw from a player. It was too hard to figure out who made the comment and who laughed out loud.

The biggest issue was the location of this meeting which was too close to the media interview also in the hallway. There was no disrespect intended in any of the discussions and meeting, I am quite sure of that. It is a shame that this is being made into something that it wasn’t meant to be because honestly these meetings happen literally after every game outside the Capitals locker room in the little hallway that leads to the visiting locker room at Verizon Center – win or lose.

Let us nip this one in the bud.

Many of our players didn’t play well last night. We can take issue with team performance.

This impromptu meeting should have been held somewhere else but it was not a sign of disrespect in any manner and I was not offended. I didn’t like the way we played but I saw the players acting in the right way in the locker room after the game.