Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
December 7, 2001, Washington Post

Heads or Tails?

I give up. I just can't figure out any of the Washington sports teams. Nothing is going as expected this year.

Take the Redskins. They have been up and down more times than a yo-yo. First, the Skins lost five in a row to start the season. Then, when their chance for making the playoffs seemed to be over, the Redskins became the hottest team in the NFL, ripping off five straight wins, including upsets over the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles.

The Redskins were rolling. They were even on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. So last Sunday, I was 100 percent certain that they would dust off the Dallas Cowboys and become serious contenders for the playoffs. Wrong again. The Cowboys beat the Redskins, 20-14.

Does this mean that the Skins can't make the playoffs? Don't ask me, I can't figure them out.

Okay, now let's talk about the Washington Wizards. Their big news, of course, is the return of Michael Jordan. With the best player in the history of basketball, the Wizards figured to be one of the most improved teams in the National Basketball Association. Some preseason polls even predicted that Jordan would lead the Wizards to the playoffs.

Wrong so far. The Wizards have won only five games and are still stuck near the bottom of the NBA. Jordan has helped, but it would help a lot more if young players such as Richard Hamilton, Courtney Alexander and first-round draft pick Kwame Brown turn into solid pro players. Will they? I don't know, I can't figure out the Wizards either.

Then there's the Washington Capitals. Owner Ted Leonis added Jaromir Jagr to last year's rock-solid, division champions. Jagr is on any hockey fan's short list of the best players in the world. So you had to figure that the Caps were set to join the top teams in the National Hockey League.

Wrong again. The Caps got off to a slow start and are struggling to get their record back to .500. Jagr or no Jagr, more than half the teams in the NHL have better records than the Washington Capitals.

So I give up. I give up trying to figure out these teams, that is. But one thing I won't give up is watching these teams. Because one of the great things about sports is that the teams and the games are so unpredictable. Oh sure, all the sportswriters and so-called experts will say that they "know" who is going to win the game or what team is a lock to go to the playoffs. But they don't really know.

Remember that before the college football season, all the experts predicted that the University of Maryland football team would finish way back in the pack in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But the Maryland players didn't listen to the experts. They played the games and won 10 of them while only losing one. Now the Terps are heading to the Orange Bowl.

Go figure.

Fred Bowen is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company