The DC jinx

Unless yours truly missed something, which would be a first (LOL), the Washington Wizards play at the Verizon Center in DC. So while watching an earlier game between them and the Boston Celtics, what was up with the big "CIC" painted on the floor at center court? What could it possibly stand for?

Hmm. Choke In Clutch? That would seem to be appropriate given their recent history. Uh oh, what's that? They knocked off the Celts to even the series at 2-2? Never fear, they'll fold, because they always do.

Could it have stood for Commander In Chief? That Donald guy? Well, his primary residence these days IS in the neighborhood. So why not put his mug on the floor in all it's orange splendor instead of silly initials?

Perhaps that "I" was a lower case "ell" instead. ClC. Hmm. Continually lose Composure? Could have been. And, oh yeah, these guys are going down. They're not going to beat the Beaners two out of three, especially ceding home court advantage.

And now a word from our sponsors.

A recent commercial spot claims it takes 15 years to become a Heineken brew-master. Could be, though that seems like an awful long apprenticeship when the same formula has been pretty much set in stone for quite some time. How difficult can it be to mix in the same ingredients in the same proportions time after time?

While that might take 15 years to get the hang of, it appears being a TV spokesman for this company only takes maybe 15 minutes of training. Have you seen the dork doing the commercials? That skinny little runt could make Urkel look like Rambo by comparison. This dude would be better served advertising sissy drinks (Pink Squirrels would be perfect) -- but not beer. ANYTHING but beer. C'mon. Whatzamattuh with these people?

Back to DC. It's not just the Wizards. The Capitals of the NHL have a long history of choking as well come playoff time. Once again this year, they won the President's Cup for putting up the most points in the regular season. And it's entirely possible, even highly probable, the Caps will be getting kicked to the curb (again) by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lead the series 3-2, when it returns to Pitt for game 6.

Same for the Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball. They have talent galore. Sluggers, premier pitchers, defense, speed, the works. And they currently have, by far, the best record in the major leagues. But you just know what's going to happen in October. The usual swoon.

Which is also pretty much the same thing Congress typically does when faced with a tough problem. They'll hedge, dodge, flip-flop, and otherwise evade the issue at hand as long as possible. Anything but making a hard decision and sticking to it. In the end, little is ever accomplished.

Huh. It must be something in the air in DC.

Hope it ain't catchy......