Just in case you all missed this, click the jump.

(via Truth About It's John C. Townsend, by way of SB Nation D.C.).

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Every Wednesday on the NBA Today podcast, former Bullet Tim Legler shares a story from his NBA career. This week, he talked about a bizarre incident involving his Converse "React Juice" shoes.

The React Juice shoes were a short lived shoe design from the mid-90's that featured a bubble under the heel of the shoe that contained the juice. You can check out some pictures here. The reason the design was so short-lived is because the bubble would crack and let the React Juice leak all over the basketball court. As you would expect, this led to some problems.

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A lot of random things happen in the hours leading up to a Wizards game.  One of the most amusing of those things is when Sam Cassell inevitably shoots around as if he is still a player.  This always happens after he warms up whoever needs to be warmed up for the game.  The whole thing keeps players loose and eases their nerves prior to game time.

Often times, Cassell does this with a short, spirited game of one-on-one with someone.  Andray Blatche is sometimes involved, but before the game against the Knicks, it was Hamady Ndiaye who took his turn trying to stop Cassell.  Did he succeed?  Lets go to the video.

I guess you could say that Cassell won the battle, but Ndiaye won the war.  Until next time, at least.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time JaVale McGee and John Wall have made contact with one another. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful relationship, full of alley-oops and awkward high-fives.

If the last week and a half has taught me anything, it's that you can never get too excited about having the top pick in the draft. This post still gets me giddy. I think I may have watched every John Wall highlight reel on YouTube. Yesterday, I got a check in the mail and I was as excited about the check having a Kentucky Wildcats logo on it as I was about the money (true story).

Needless to say, it's a good time to be a Wizards fan, and one of the best ways to express joy is through music. After the jump, you can check out a playlist of Wall-centered music to help you keep that excitement level up between now and June 24.

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Ted Leonsis is one step closer to owning the Wizards and the Verizon Center.  

Washington Post's Breaking News Blog reports that Leonsis has signed an agreement to buy the remaining 56% of the Wizards and the Verizon Center.  All Ted has to do now is get everything lined up with his lenders and get approval from the other NBA owners and the team is his.  Just think, we're now only one step away from turning a long-known formality into reality.

As long as everything holds to form, Leonsis should be in firm control of the team in time for the 2010 off-season, which would obviously be the best thing for Leonsis, the Pollin family, and everyone else involved in this transaction.

Some people invest their money.  With the capital they've earned, these people can give funding and support to those who can make a difference.  

Other people invest their time.  They might not have the bank accounts that people in the first group have, so they help deserving causes with their efforts, their output, and their presence.

Rarely do you find people who can do both, especially at the level that Abe Pollin did throughout his life.  In an era where so many owners demand the city pony up money for new arenas, Abe went against the grain twice and paid for new arenas out of his own pocket.  Abe Pollin knew how to make money, but more importantly he knew how to give money.  

Odds are if you've spent any amount of time in or near the District of Columbia, you've been impacted by Abe Pollin in some way or another.  Whether you were one of the lucky students who received a scholarship from Abe, your business prospered from the rebirth of Chinatown that he spawned, or the joy you received from being a Wizards fan, Abe Pollin had a positive impact on your life.  

Below is just a small sampling of reflections on the passing of Abe Pollin.  Feel free to add your own reflections in the comments.

Thank You Abe Pollin For Caring About Us - 3rd Stone From the Sun

Though he often lamented the escalating salaries of players over the years, he knew how much impact they had on society. He was the man who demanded, and brought in, the rule of player conduct on the current labor agreement of the league. "You may or may not want to be role models, but you are role models. If you don't want to be role models, you should get out of this business and go do something else." He was a role model himself. He saved a historic synagogue from being turned into a dance club a few blocks from his offices, even though it cost millions of dollars to refurbish. He gave every school in the city working computers so children could use them. He established a program called "Abe's Table", where his team would go door to door and give food to the needy. Today the program was out giving food when he passed away.

Abe Pollin built Verizon Center, mentored Magic Johnson - Michael Wilbon, Washington Post

Not surprisingly, Pollin was praised widely in the wake of the news that he had died, at 85, and deservedly so, especially when the conversation turned to his civic and charitable contributions. In the interest of full disclosure, it should be mentioned in this space that Pollin and I clashed on a couple of issues, some of it the everyday stuff that happens when a columnist is critical of a local owner. But some of it was a little more confrontational, like a pointed disagreement over the firing of Michael Jordan and, years earlier, the building of the new downtown arena. Pollin actually took out a huge ad in The Washington Post the day after I wrote a column saying that the basketball franchise would only remain viable if he got out of Capital Centre and moved downtown. Pollin paid thousands of dollars for ads in The Post and The Washington Times, ripping me and calling Capital Centre "state-of-the-art," which by then it certainly was not. Anyway, it wasn't more than 18 months later when somebody from Pollin's office called me to come and cover the groundbreaking for a new arena downtown. I came ... and brought with me a copy of the ad in The Post. When handed a yellow hard hat, I handed Pollin the ad and asked him to sign it, which he did with a smile, after grabbing me around the neck and kissing me on the cheek. All was forgotten. I was easy. After I suffered a heart attack nearly two years ago, there was a warm phone call and a floral arrangement at the door from Abe and Irene Pollin.

When it comes to Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin, think big picture - J.A. Adande - ESPN

As with any life, Pollin's shouldn't be reduced to a single image. It should be a collage -- in his case, one that would include not just that Google Street View of D.C.'s Chinatown district but everything from underprivileged kids receiving college diplomas to a red basketball jersey hanging in a former sports editor's house. And while a certain other Washington-based franchise has defiantly refused to change its offensive nickname, Pollin was the one who -- completely unprompted -- changed the name of his team from Bullets to Wizards to avoid any violent connotations. Pollin wasn't as flamboyant or successful as former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, nor did he generate the animosity of current Skins owner Dan Snyder. However, as a fellow former Washington resident texted me Tuesday, Pollin was one of the few nongovernmental types who defined life in D.C. Before selling the NHL Capitals and before the arrival of baseball's Nationals, Pollin oversaw two-thirds of Washington's pro sports teams. And, fittingly for a man who made his fortune in the construction business, he made his biggest impact with buildings; first the Capital Centre just outside the Beltway, then the Verizon (née MCI) Center in the District.

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This past week, we've seen two people mismanage the media and pay the price for their actions.  Gilbert Arenas was fined $25,000 for not speaking to the media and Falcon Heene (a.k.a. Balloon Boy) and the rest of the family could be facing jail time and a $500,000 fine for their air balloon stunt on Thursday.  Both are in a bit of hot water right now, who's going to make it out with less PR damage?  It's time to take a look at the tale of the tape.