Tag Archives: Washington Mystics

Thanks for the positive vibes and the “tweaks”

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I very much appreciate the nice emails of support I have been receiving about the Washington Mystics. And the notes of critiques. It shows you care.

This season has not gone as planned. No doubt about it. We thought we would have a good mix of vets and youth and we have truly missed two of our bedrock players who have missed the entire season to date with injuries.

These two players ate a lot of minutes and would have helped to settle us down as games were close and we needed vet leadership. It was not to be. See this article within.

Be that as it may – we are playing hard. We are letting young players mature and get their time and we are positioning ourselves well for our future.

We have committed much more resources to make the Mystics a success. We have made great progress on the business model front. Our attendance is strong; our marque partnership with Inova Health Systems has been a blessing. Now we just need to return to our winning ways on the court. Thank you.

Injury Bug Hits Again

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We just have to fight through it. So many injuries. This time our leading scorer is out- Crystal Langhorne.

No Crystal. Still no Alana Beard and of course Monique Currie is out for the season.

We are so shorthanded. But we can’t use that as an excuse. We have to fight on and find ways to win games.

Onward Mystics! A tough home loss on Sunday night sad to say. Read about it here.

The Stars Come Out…in Rockville

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On Sunday night my wife and I entertained Fox News’ Chris Wallace and his wife at Stella’s, a fine new dining establishment in Rockville, Maryland. Ironically, while we were eating, Chris’s show was being played in the bar as a rerun on Sunday night. The owner of Stella’s was so happy to see Chris in his establishment.

What did Chris and I talk about? The Stanley Cup Finals; the NBA Finals; the overall business climate; and the upcoming NBA draft.

Last night, Ernie Grunfeld and I took John Wall to dinner in Rockville at Cava in the same neighborhood. What did we talk about? The Stanley Cup Finals; the NBA Finals; the overall business climate; and the upcoming NBA draft.

It was John’s first visit to an authentic Greek restaurant. John is working out here in DC. He is attending some of the workouts by potential draftees. He is watching the Mystics practice. He is watching film.

We talked a lot about basketball trivia. John is a real – and I mean a real – student of the game and its history. I am very impressed by his level of respect for the game. He loves it. He understands the importance of not just hard work but of paying homage to the past stars of the game. And the past great teams as well.

John is a very nice young man and he is very committed to our rebuild. He looks like he has already grown an inch this off season. He is working on his strength and his jump shot and is watching hours and hours of film. He enjoys it all too. He loves the game.

He is uber smart; very polite; very intense; and focused. I enjoyed the dinner very much and it was fun to see diners at Cava do double takes as John walked in and out the establishment. He was very nice to sign autographs and pose for photos as well with some of our neighbors. John was wearing some new Wizards merchandise too. He loves the new designs and color schemes.

John attended this morning’s work out, too.

A strip mall in Rockville – where the stars come out to shine. :-)

More Interest in Women’s Sports

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It is up to us to help drive awareness of women’s sports. As you all know, I am an advocate for the WNBA and the Washington Mystics. I attended the home opener this past Saturday night with my family and had a wonderful time. We believe in women’s sports.

Our sports partnership, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, has two owners as full partners who are women-Sheila Johnson and Michelle Freeman. Sheila is a Vice Chairman of the entire enterprise too.

See this article about press coverage of the game and local teams in general. The Washington Post is also committed to more coverage and equality.

Here is what I do find NOT acceptable. If I hear a radio station sportscaster again say, “I didn’t even know the WNBA season had started”; when we buy advertising on that station; or we do promotions on that station for the team then we will simply take our business elsewhere. Pretty simply, we will spend our money where we get respect and a shared commitment to grow the game.

There is no reason to demean women’s sports in any fashion. We should be celebrating the game and the players!

Growing interest is the right thing to do; and it is the good business move too; double bottom line. Thank you for caring.

Goes Without Saying

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There is enough bad news out there.

Bad news sells.

Bad news generates comments on blogs. Bad news generates water cooler talk.

Bad news is good for the media business.

I am very appreciative of good news and small little acts of kindness.

This one was brought to my attention by a very loving family. It lauded a charity and their work and how the Mystics were involved and then how John Wall made a special guest appearance. It created lifelong positive memories.

Thank you. I am very happy this “good news” was shared.

Read this one if you want to put a smile on your face. Thank you.

Mystics Magazine Show on Comcast SportsNet

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The first of eight Mystics Magazine shows will air on Comcast SportsNet Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Checkout a preview here. The show provides tremendous access to our players and coaching staff and provides a fantastic behind-the-scenes look at our team. One of the many fun and interesting components of the show is Monique Currie, who will be moderating and chronicling the entire season. For a complete list of show dates and times and a wealth of Mystics content, visit the Mystics website.