outside order, apparently became comfortable with and never objected to the repo 105 transactions. and while lehman could never find a u.s. law firm to provide an opinion that treating the repo 105 transactions as a sale for accounting purposes legal, the british law firm, link ladders, provided an opinion letter under british law that they were sales and not merely financing agreements. and so lehman ran the transactions through its london subsidiary and used several foreign bank counterparties. mr. president, the s.e.c. and justice department should pursue a thorough investigation, both civil and criminal, to identify every last person who had knowledge that lehman was misleading the public about its troubled balance sheet. and that means everyone, from the lehman executive, to its board of directors, to its accounting firm, erns and young moreover, if the foreign bank

counterparties who purchased the now-famous repoes 105, were accomplice knit the scheme, they should be held accountable as well. mr. president, it is high time that we return the rule of law to wall street, which has been seriously eroded by the deregulatory mind-set which captured our regulatory agencies over the past 30 years. a process which i described at length on my speech on the floor last thursday. we became enamored by the view that self-regulation was adequate, that rational self-interest would motivate counterparties to undertake stronger and better forms of due diligence than any regulator could exprf that market fundamental -- perform and that market fundamentalism would lead to the best outcomes for most people. transparency and vigorous oversights from outside accountants were supposed to keep our financial system credible and sound. the lure of deregulation, instead, led to the biggest financial crisis since 1929. and now we're learning, not

surprisingly, that fraud and lawlessness were key ingredients in the collapse as well. since the fall of 2008, congress, the federal reserve, and the american taxpayer have had to step into the breech, at a direct cost -- only the direct cost -- of more than $1.5 trillion. because so many experts have said we had to save the system. but exactly what did we save? first, a system of overwhelming and concentrated financial power that has become dangerous. it caused the crisis of 2008 and 2009 and threatens to cause another major crisis if we do not enact fundamental reforms. only six u.s. banks control assets equal to 63% of the nation's gross domestic product. six u.s. banks control assets equal to 63% of the nation's gross domestic product.

while oversight is splintered among various regulators who are often overmatched in assessing the weaknesses of these firm. second, a system in which the rule of law has been broken again, big banks get away with what has been extraordinarily bad behavior, would not be tolerated in the rest of society, such as the blatant mitch use by lehman. mr. president, what lesson must we take from the examiner's report on lehman and from other misleading examples of conduct on wall street. i see three. first, we must undo the damage done by decades of deregulation. that damage includes financial institutions that are too big to manage and too big to regulate. as former fdic chairman bill isakson called them, a wild west attitude on wall street and colossal failures by accountants and lawyers who misunderstand and disregard their role as gatekeepers. the rule of law depends in part on manageablely sized

institutions, participants interesting in managing the law and gatekeepers more than a paycheck to they're clients. second, we must concentrate law enforcement and regulatory forces on restoring the rule of law on wall street. we must treat financial crimes with the same gravity as other crimes because the price of inaction and a failure to deter future misconduct is enormous. third, we must help regulators and other gatekeepers not only by demanding transparency but also by providing clear enforceable rules of the law -- rules of the road wherever possible. that includes studying conduct that may not be illegal now but that we should nonetheless consider banning or curtailing because it provides too ready a cover for real financial wrongdoing. the bottom line is that we need financial regulatory reform that's tough, far-reaching, and untainted by discredited claims about the efficacy of self-regulation. when senators leahy, grassley

and i introduced the fraud enforcement and recovery act, fera, last year, our central objective was restoring the rule of law on wall street. we wanted to make certain that the department of justice and other law enforcement authorities had the resources they need to investigate and prosecute precisely the sort of fraudulent behavior allegedly engaged in by lehman brothers that we just learned about recently. we all understood that to restore the public faith in our financial markets and the rule of law, we must identify, prosecute, and send to prison the participants in those markets who broke the law. their fraudulent conduct has severely damaged our economy, caused devastating and sustained harm to countless hard-working americans, and contributed to the widespread view that wall street does not play by the same rules as main street. fera, signed into law in may, ensures that additional tools and resources will be provided to those charged with the

enforcement of our nation's laws against financial fraud. since its passage, progress has been made, including the president's creation of an interagency financial fraud enforcement task force. but much more needs to be done. many have said we should not seek to punish anyone. as all of wall street information a delirium of profit making and almost no one foresaw the subprime crisis caused by the dramatic decline in housing values. but this is not about ret bas -- retribution, this is about addressing the continuum of behavior that took place, some of it fraudulent and illegal. and in the process, addressing what wall street and the legal and regulatory system underlying behavior have become. as part of that effort, we must ensure that the legal system tackles financial crimes with the same gravity as other crimes. when crimes happened in the past, as in the case of enron, when aided and abetted by among others, merrill lynch and others, not prevented by

supposed gatekeepers at arthur andersen, there were criminal convictions. if individuals and entities broke the law in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis, such as lehman brothers, which allegedly deceived everyone including the new york fed and the s.e.c., there should be civil and criminal cases to hold them accountable. if we uncover bad behavior that was nevertheless lawful but that we cannot prove to be unlawful, as may be exemple tied by the reason -- exemplified by the recent report of actions by goldman accident is -- goldman sachs with respect to greece, we remembered punish them so that certain behavior cannot go unpunished again. this will not be easy. as the "wall street journal" said last week, give wall street a rule and it will find a loophole. this confirms what i heard december 9 of last year when i convened an oversight hearing on fera in the judiciary committee. s that hearing made clear, unraveling sophisticated financial fraud is an enormously

complicated and resource intensive undertaking because the nature of both the conduct and the perpetrators. rob kazomi, head of the s.e.c.'s enforcement division, put is this way during the hearin hearing -- quote -- "white-collar crimes are distinguished from other crimes for the primary reason is that often people are plotting their defense at the same time they are committing their crime. they are smart people who understand they're crossing the line and so they are papering the record or having veiled or coded conversations that make it difficult to establish wrongdoing." in other words, wall street criminals not only possess enormous resources but also are sophisticated enough to cover their tracks as they go along, often with the help, perhaps unwittingly, of their lawyers and accountants. assistant attorney general lana brewer, kazami and assistant f.b.i. director kevin perkins

all emphasized at the hearing the difficulty of prowfg these cases -- proving these cases from the historical record alone. the strongest cases come from the help of insiders, those who have firsthand knowledge of not only the conduct but also the motive and intent. that's why i've applauded the efforts of the s.e.c. and the d.o.j. to use both carrots and sticks to encourage those with knowledge to come forward. at the conclusion of the hearing in december, i was confident that our law enforcement agencies are intensely focused on bringing to justice those wrongdoers who brought our economy to the brink of collapse. going forward, we need to make sure that those agencies have the resources and the tools they need to complete their job. but we are fooling ourselves if we believe that our law enforcement efforts, no matter how vigorous and well-funded, are enough by themselves to prevent the types of destructive behavior perpetrated by today's too big, too powerful financial institutions on wall street. mr. president, i'm concerned that the revelation abouts

lehman brothers are just -- revelations about lehman brothers are just the tip of the iceberg. we have no reason to believe that the conduct detailed last week is somehow isolated or unique. indeed, this sort of behavior is hardly novel. enron engaged in similar deceit with some of its assets. and while we don't have the benefit of examiner's report for the other firms with a business model like lehman's, law enforcement authorities should be well and away in conducting investigations as whether other use similar accounting gimmicks to hide dangerous risk from investors and the public. at the same time, there are reports that raise questions about whether goldman sachs and other firms may have failed to disclose material information about swaps with greece that allowed the country to effectiveleffectively mask the t of its debt just as it was joining the european monetary union, the e.m.u. we simply do not know whether fraud was involved. but these actions have kicked

off a continent-wide controversy with ramifications for u.s. investors as well. in greece, the main transactions in question were called cross-currency swaps that exchanged cash flows denominated in one currency for cash flows denominated in another. in greece's case, these swaps were priced off-market, meaning that they didn't use prevailing market exchange rates. instead, these highly unorthodox transactions provided greece with a large upfront payment and an apparent reduction in debt which they then paid off through a period -- through periodic interest payments and finally a large balloon payment at the contract's maturity. in other words, goldman tax allegedly provided greece with a loan by another name. the story, however, does not end there. following these transactions, goldman sachs and other investment banks underwrote billions of euros in bonds for greece.

the question being raised include whether some of these bond offering documents disclose the true nature of these swaps to investors and, if not, whether the failure to do so is material. these bonds were issued under greek law and there's nothing necessarily illegal about not disclosing this information to bond investors in europe. however, at least some of these bonds were likely sold to american investors so they may, therefore, still be subject to the applicable securities law. while qualified institutional investors, q.i.b.'s in the u.s. are able to purchase bonds like the ones issued by greece and other securities not registered with the s.e.c. under the securities act of 1933, the sale of these bonds would still be governed by other requirements of the law. specifically, they presumably would be subject to the prohibition against sales of securities to u.s. investors while deliberately withholding

material adverse information. the point may not be so much what happened in greece but yet again the broader point that financial transactions must be transparent to the invested public and verified as such by outside auditors. a.i.g. failed in a large part due to its credit default swap exposure but no one knew until it was too late how much risk a.i.g. had taken upon itself. why do some on wall street resist transparency so? lehman could well share the answer. everyone will be listening. the less investors know, the better off for the firms which find themselves in the downward spiral. at least until the final reckoning. who's to blame for the state of affairs where major law firms conclude that hiding the truth is okay? well, there's plenty of blame to go around.

as i've said previously, both congress and the regulators came to believe that self-interest was regulation enough. in the now immortal words of alan greenspan -- quote -- "those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself especially, are in a state of shock, disbelief." the time has come to get over the shock and get on with the work. what about the professionals, accountants and lawyers who are supposed to assure that their clients obey the law? indeed, they often claim that simply being -- by giving good advice to their clients, they're responsible for far more compliance with the law than our government investigators. that claim rings hollow, however, when these professionals now seem too often focused on helping their clients get around the law. expert like professor peter henning of wayne state university law school, looking at the report on the repo 105

transactions, are stunned that the accountant, ernst and young never seemed to be troubled in the least about it. of course, the fact that lehman executive was blowing a whistle on the practice in may 2008 did not change anything. attorney cause some discomfort in the ranks. while saying he was confident he could clear up the whistle-blowers' concerns, the lead partner with lehman and ernst and young wrote that the letter and off-balance accounting issues were adding stress to everyone. as professor heng notes one of the effects of sarbanes-oxley act was to empower the at ants to ensure that the transactions were counted properly. indeed it was my predecessor, then senator biden, who was the lead author of the provision requiring that the c.e.o. and c.f.o. attest to the accuracy of financial documents an statements. under the penalty of criminal sanction if they knowingly or willfully certified willfully

false statements. i don't believe this is a failure of sarbanes-ox lymph a law is not a failure because some people violate it. i'm deeply disturbed that the apparent failure of some accounting professors to change their ways and undertake the profession's role as the first line of defense against accounting fraud. in a few years time since the enron related death of the accounting firm enron anderson, one might hope that technically correct is no longer a standard if the cumulative effect is misleading. apparently that standard as a singular defense is creeping back into the profession. the accountants and lawyers are not the only gatekeepers. it was hiding them from regulators thereby allowing it to delay rating downgrades that could increase its capital requirements. the reapo requirements to leverage from 17.3 to 15.4 for

the first-quarter of 2008, according to the examiners report, it was bad enough that the s.e.c. focused on a misguided leverage when lehman's gross leverage ratio is much higher and indicative of it. the s.e.c.'s failure to uncover to forge the accounting provides a clear association of the lack of rigor of supervision of lehman and other investment banks. the s.e.c. in years past allowed the investment banks to increase their leverage ratios by permitting them to determine their own risk level. when that approach was taken, it should have been coupled with absolute transparency on the level of risk. what the lehman example shows is that increased leverage without the accountants and regulators an credit rating agencies insisting on transparency is yet another recipe for disaster.

mr. president, last week's revelations about lehman brothers reinforce what i've been saying for some time, the volley of radical deregulations have given us financial institutions too big to fail, too big to manage and too big to regulate. if we have any hope of returning the rule of law to wall street, we need regulatory reform that addresses this central reality. as i said more than a year ago, and i quote -- "at the end of the day this is a test of whether we're have one justice system in this country or two. if we don't treat a wall street firm that defrauded investors of millions of dollars the same way we treat someone who sold -- stole $500 from a cash register, how can we expect our citizens to have faith in the rule of law? for our economy to work for all americans, investors must have confidence in the honest and open functioning of our

financial markets. our markets can only flourish when americans again trust that they are fair, transparent and accountable to the law." end quote. the american people deserve no less. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president. before i speak to the top take brought me to the floor tonight, i want to acknowledge the president's remarks on the situation with lehman brothers and others on -- on wall street. i know that the senator's on a mission and nothing would make him happier, nor me happier, if the story of lehman brothers is

a stories that told for the last time much less written. -- written for the last time. and i listened with great interest to the narrative that's now unfolding with that interest is also a sense of horror and outrage and anger that the senator carries. a crime is a crime as pointed out whether it's $500 from a cash register or literally the billions of dollars -- in fact, the trillions of dollars of net worth we've seen lost from the americans -- american families. so i want to commend the presiding officer for his leadership and i think you put it well when you pointed out if you're too big to exist -- excuse me, if you're too big to exist too bad. never again should this happen. so i wanted to acknowledge the presiding officer. let me turn to a topic that brought me to the floor tonight.

i want to speak about a bill that's born from the four thinking ideas of our constituents. a bill that will help spur our nation's new energy economy and create jobs. to that end, i will introduce the solar united neighborhoods act or sun act. last year i began traveling across colorado as part after workforce tour to listen to coloradans and hear their innovative policy ideas to create jobs. these ongoing efforts not only make me proud to be a coloradan, but help he identify ways that the federal government can help or in some cases get out of the way in supporting economic development and investing in colorado. the s.u.n. act comes from directly visiting with coloradans and one of the several job creation proposals after i hosted an energy job summit in colorado. we brought together leading clean energy stakeholders from the world of business and public interest and government. many of our top elected

officials were there including energy secretary steven chu, senator michael bennet and congressman perle. and they were there to urge job growth in the clean energy economy. further legislation was developed from the creative ideas that flowed from the clean energy summit. the s.u.n. act will get government out of the way of developing solar energy and spur job growth in every community in the united states. americans currently qualify for a 30% tax credit for the cost of installing solar spans in their hoasms -- panels in their homes. it is a great way to convert sunlight to electricity and over time they save american families money on their utility bills. mr. president, a few years ago i installed panels on my own home to take advantage of the sun which is very strong in the

great state of colorado. but i've come to understand that this option isn't available for all american families who want to receive their electricity from solar power. why? well, there can be difficulties attaching solar panels to your home. which is why more and more neighborhoods an towns are creating so-called community solar projects. in those prompts instead of attaching the panels on every roof on the block, an increasing number of families have decided to place the same solar panels together in one open and unobstructed sunny area near their homes. by grouping these solar panels, you can reduce the cost by 30% compared to installing a panel or set of panels on every roof in the neighborhood. and moreover community solar projects streamline maintenance and optimize energy production by avoiding trees, buildings and other obstructions. whether used by neighbors at the end of a street or rural energy

cooperatives, creating these solar projects is a great way to lower the cost, if you will, of making electricity through the marvelous technology of the units. mr. president, there's a problem. our tax code gets in the way. why? well, we've seen the federal tax code discourage neighborhood solar projects because it requires the panels to be on your property. to put it simply, federal law is telling americans they need to have their solar panels affixed to their roofs instead of being able to partner with their neighbors on a community solar project. so this discourages innovation and slows the growth of solar power as an alternative energy source. so back to the reason why i'm introducing the s.u.n. act. it makes a small change in the tax code so it would no longer be constrained in the innovative solar energy opportunity. by eliminating the requirement that the solar panel be on one's

individual property, it frees working together on projects. it is simple, turn key -- it really is a turn key solution and makes it easier to adopt to use clean, renewable energy. as many americans realize, weaning ourselves off of is imperative no matter what you think of global warming. back in 2004 colorado took a big step forward into the clean energy project when we supported an r.e.s. it wasn't an easy transition. there were a lot of skeptics who feared setting goal for clean energy would result in job losses. i co-chaired the campaign in the state of colorado with the republican speaker of our state house who is a close friend.

she and i toured state during election season in a bipartisan effort. it was a surprise to a lot of people who thought republicans and democrats fought, but we had a wonderful time campaigning together. colorado initiated other efforts as well. we created over 20,000 jobs. we have the fourth highest concentration in renewable energy an energy research jobs in our country. estimates are that the solar energy requirement in the r.e.s., it allows for wind, biomass and other kinds of renewable energy, that the solar energy requirement created over 1,500 jobs. so what does this tell us, mr. president? it tells us what we already know well, that american capitalism can take the seed of an idea and create positive economic change. so wherever possible our federal government should encourage, not hinder entrepreneurial jobs an entrepreneurs. other important issues are at

play here as well. as we find our way out of the current recession, we are witness to the emergence of powerful economic competitors abroad and we have an increasing dangerous alliance on foreign fossil fuels. so with these factors in mind for our own economic and national security, americans must become the world leader in adopting clean energy and creating homegrown jobs. the story must be told that clean energy is one of the greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century. fortunately that's a promise that we can meet as the global demand for clean energy is growing by $1 trillion a year. let me say that again, mr. president. $1 trillion every year. what excites me about this bill, like many measures currently being debated here in our chamber, is that it will create jobs for americans in every neighborhood where these community solar projects are developed. this bill reduces many the

barriers that currently prevent americans from adopting solar energy, opens up new markets and creates a simple structure to allow americans to utilize clean energy for their home. there's nothing more thrilling than make electricity, which i do in my own home, and when you need to use it at your home, you use it there, if you don't need it, you send it back on to the grid for neighbors and other americans to use. i urge both parties to support this legislation. i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. proom quorum call:

end of the tunnel. as fans can once again see clear blue skies and the return of america's favorite past time. major league baseball. >> i want to show my daughters and my family that these are our roots. this is how i started. >> two time cy young winner santana takes us on a special journey back to his hometown in venezuela. then it's a dream of a lifetime. the chance to feel like a al r leaguer. net yo chicago

white sox fantasy camp. fars hello everyone welcome to this edition of net impact. the boys of summer are officially back. are you ready for the new season? for most major league baseball players the work for the new san has been going on for months already. take for instance santana who spent his season -- kirk from comcast sportsnet new york got a chance to travel with yohan. >> thanks. i learned one thing santana has a heart of gold to match his

golden arm. let me introduce you to his remote hometown. during the journey you'll get a newfound respect for this two time cy young winner. the mountains in venezuela picturesque and tropical. nestled in these mountains is a baseball haven. this is the quaint warm and humble r bl hometown of santana. this is where he grew up thousands of miles away from the big city life of the big apple. yohan returns home to give back to his community. for four years running he hosts a children festival which he calls the cy young big bash.

they call it the -- it take place each year just before christmas. children lined up around the block waiting for yohan to hand out 20 # 10,000 toys. >> so the kids were giving you this presentation? -- >> they presented it to me. >> what happened to you? i saw you tear up a little bit. >> i'm a human being. >> reporter: your wife by the way tells me you hardly ever cry # cry. to what happened? >> let me tell you this, i'm focused on the things i do. it was a great surprise. >> >> reporter: i'm going to translate. hey, you guys are making me cry. that's not fair. >> i try to bring smiles to them. and i trade their smiles for my tears. >> without you sponsoring these

teams maybe the fields are no longer here. >> the league right now there is a lot of kids. we only have one ballpark. we're trying to build another ballpark to show everybody that they have a place to play. and they can be like me or even better. you know, but we need top give them the equipment to have the spirit. i'm going to provide the equipment and everything they need to make sure they will a future and something to dream of. that's the same way it was. and i didn't have this. now i'm in a position i can help and give back, and i don't hesitate to help. that's the way i am. that's the way i was born and raised. these are my roots. this is write came from. that's where i was born. it's always good to be back home. i never forget where i'm coming

from and know the things i have to go through to be where i am right now or be who i am right now. and this is take part of who i am and families here and always try to spend time with my friends when i come here. this is something you cannot get anywhere in the world. >> reporter: the good times continued with a tour of johan's home and the school where he met his wife. >> this is the school i used to come to when i was a little kid. we used to play kick ball when i was a little kid. i used to play over there on the court. that's where i play a lot of basketball. we played basketball, indoor soccer and play -- whatever. you name it i played it. this is first grade. this is where i pretty much saw everything. looks pretty much the same. i used to wear glasses. i still wear contacts. but i used to wear glasses. i used to sit in the front i wasn't able to see when they put things on the board.

i grew upright here. >> right here? >> uh-huh. you see all the people coming down here. great. so here we are inside my parent's house. a place where i grew up. and then my first paycheck went to this house to rebuild the house and then you know to make it comfortable for them. so i spent a couple years here. this is my mom, right here. mama. i want to show you guys our memorabilia room for the first couple years in the big league they have been collecting and we have put all together. so follow me and i show you guys. christmas. you can't forget christmas. so as we walk around we got

stuff from the twins, we have stuff from the team i played here in venezuela and winter ball. they have bobble heads. posters. all this stuff i gave it to them. for them to keep it here. that's where we -- that's where everything started and they collect them all. this is it. i want to thank you guys for spending this time bus here in venezuela. i hope you like it. and i'll see you in new york. >> reporter: in venezuelan like in america, baseball is a national past time. and johan's next goal is to get political support to build a second baseball field. as johan told me he will not stop until the job is done. i'm kirk. back to you. >> thanks kirk.

chicago cubs pitcher ryan defer store spent his weekend in chicago. he invited david caplan to one of the workouts. as you'll see this is a case study in the agnat my of a work use. >> reporter: not a time many professional athletes are up and about. brian is ready to get to work. he gets together with trainer micates in north brook. is occasionally joined by fellow pitchers jeff and tom. >> the three of us working out. it's fun to push each other like that. it's a friendly competition. >> to build team spirit. >> yes. >> reporter: dempsters teammates are workingout. it's up to me to keep up. >> stand up tall. push your butt down. >> reporter: the majority of it is your legs for a pitcher

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all right now get this. it's a chance of a lifetime. a chance to wear your favorite baseball team uniform with mayor name on the back of it and you get to play baseball with former major league players. comcast sports net chicago's chuck joins me now with more on the white sox fantasy camp. chuck. >> thanks. i'm here in arizona for white sox spring training. just a few weeks ago i was in white sox fantasy camp. they were memories that will last a lifetime. take a look. >> from the franchise that has brought you household names as burrly, and beckham. we bring youest pa know s a bunch of ordinary joes living out a dream. playing in the white sox fantasy camp. >> no matter how old you are, you can stay young athearted by coming to this camp. >> these guys are acting like

kids and they are not kids. >> reporter: they all might differ in age and ability but what these campers do feel is a love of baseball and former white sox great like the campers that come back years after years. >> i've done this for 16 years. >> it's fun to see these guys having fun. it's their fantasy. i love seeing other guys with pulled muscles instead of me having them like you. >> favorite white sox player of all time. >> reporter: but as i was about to find out, i am no chet. >> we're going to talk at the end of the week how you played and how you faired in an honest way. but let us know on friday. >> i got to look out for myself? >> yes. i get to watch. >> what teem are you playing for? >> reporter: i'm on top of the

team. >> what everybody saw with the baseball player best days were way back in little league. >> what kind of job you do? >> reporter: i'm a sports caster. >> don't lose it. >> reporter: once upon a time i was known to be a very good shortstop with a terrible arm. nice to see that absolutely nothing has changed. [ laughter ] this is why i'm a spirits caster. my team was a rag tag group of misfits. rick suffered a black eye. bernie he missed a lot of everything. bernie is lacking in the fielding department. but he wasn't the only one. that is my 17th error of fantasy baseball camp. i do the lead the league in

something. errors. a nickname. carlos you don't know who i am. >> i do. >> reporter: you do? >> you're g dog. >> reporter: i'm g dog. i got a nickname. >> i just gave it to you. >> our team's battle cry wasn't go, fight, win. instead it was this. he didn't. >> it's just a fun experience. and you'd like to win. nobody likes to lose. >> reporter: but after three days no one lost more than we did and my hitting was getting worse and worse. [ laughter ] >> right here right here. >> that a boy. >> what were you thinking? >> reporter: i don't know what i was thinking. my slump had reached epic performance. and it continued until the last day. and last game. and i was facing the cy young of the camp. >> we have a scouting report an

fast ball, curve ball, slider change, knuckler, split, fork ball, and that's about all he has. >> reporter: he's never faced gar. after making two straight outs i was down to my final at bat where i finally broke through. take that. take that. i'm going home. >> slide. slide. >> yeah. [cheering]

he can maintain it. >> that's a nice warm up. so now i'm at ardon hills for my second workout. i usually come and do arms. >> curls. john smock knocks them out at intervals of 20-30 seconds. or reps. let me push you down. slow. one more time. up. you got it. >> all the power is hidden. >> about lute -- absolutely. >> i'm going to swing the bat in the pool a little bit. i'm going to work on strength and bat. the water resistance makes it stuff to get the bat through

the zone. so when you get out of the pool. the bat feels lighter. i feel i can get through the zone bet we are more power. at the end of the day after working out i come out to the cages and do some hitting. one reason i like to hit off the tee is just to get work on my bat pass. working my hands like inside the ball and trying to stay back. we like to throw to each other. we try to get each other out. this is a typical day for me during the out season. i get my working out in. after this i'm done for the day. i'm getting trade for tomorrow and do the same thing all over. >> you can count on comcast sportsnet.com and our team of insiders to bring you all the of the major leg baseball you

need. check out comcastsportsnet.com. it's debate bl who puts on a better show. the nationals or the slide show. we'll unmask the mascots when we return. @úúúúúúúúúú

now this. of course we all know that

sometimes our favorite baseball team -- favorite baseball team struggles but perhaps no fans knows that better than the nationals. there's always one competition they dos at the national's park. the racing president. they get heartbreaking defeats and lovable teddy roosevelt. the team held a snowy tryout for their favorite mascots. comcast was right there for all the action. >> john. >> why are you going to be a racing president? >> first of all i'm a girl. >> i did this in colleague for a minor league team. >> i need three volunteers. who's up first? >> i'm waiting for this my whole life >> how old are you? >> i'm 27. >> that's a long time to wait to be a racing president

>> it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. incredibly intense experience. living the dream. putting on the giant head of thomas jefferson. i think goes hand and hand with the racing president. i'm liking for stamina, strength, and ultimately having a good time and having fun with it. >> so once you got half way through the out field you were winding around and went to the knees. were you trying to stay up. talk me through that? >> the snow got so deep. it made me topple over. i has that moment of weakness as we all do. >> i saw you cutting some rug out there. was there any particular style you were follow something >> i'm an old hip hop guy.

break dancing in the day. >> reporter: what does it smell like inside that head? >> there's a good deal of dry sweat smell. if you ever get stuffed into a locker i think that's what the atmosphere is like. >> reporter: what if the guy had it on before had bad breath would that linger? >> bad breath. no. bo. definitely. >> the racing president. that's a hoot. that's going to do it for this edition of net impact. for all of us here we'll see you again next month. why vel dg t f elety f for powyour o styourgs, ur wn, fod wu'rey,

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the first of the four-game road trip for washington began on a sour note with the jazz playing in perfect harmony. the nuggets were in houston last night and saw their six- game win streak come to an end. three weeks ago in dc, the wizards dust dismantled the

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comcast sportsnet coverage brought to you by geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. visit us on geico.com. sony pictures the bounty hunters in theaters march 19th. and by papa john's. order your pizza john line now at papajohns.com. what a sparkling day and glorious next denver as -- in denver as the road trip continues. political saunders saunders will start shawn live -- shaun livingston. we will start with phil chenier. >> reporter: thank you. shaun didn't shoot the ball particularly well yesterday but he made good decisions. i asked him what he looks for as a point guard and a floor

leader. >> it's reads. as the point guard on any team, you want your point guard to make the decisions. that's being a point guard in the league, deciding whether someone has a mismatch or you have a mismatch. that's something i have grown and gotten better with. this wizards' coaching staff is helping me out with that as well. >> reporter: tonight he will face another top point guard, chonny bill lips. chauncey billups. can he impose his size advantage and the wizards get the performance they had in the last two meetings? coming up steve will have the opening lineup and the tipoff here on comcast sportsnet. ice !

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his team last night in salt lake city played the utah jazz to a 25-25 tie after one quarter, and then the rest of the game was downhill and then the nuggets or rather the jazz won easily. the nuggets had a six-game win streak, but it was snapped last night in houston. chauncey billups, johan, carmelo, and nene starting for denver. as you know, george karl is undergoing cancer treatment accident, but he is here. adrian dantley is the substitute coach. currently 4-1 in filling in. you can see george karl is on the bench. he's just been told not to scream and yell and do all the things a head coach would do,

but he undergoes treatment for prostate cancer greeting the wizards' coaching. >> phil: of course randy whittman, and flip saunders and the rest of the coaching staff showing their support. >> steve: our toyota ones to watch tonight, carmelo anthony who had his 7th game of 40 or more points. 45 in the lost to houston. and al thornton who the last time they played was terrific. >> down the stretch, that was really the story. you had thornton who had the team high, 21. in the 4th quarter, 7 points, carmelo had no points, a big part of the story. washington went on to outscore them 29-15. >> steve: we know what the wizards did the last time they played. what are the keys tonight, phil? >> phil: it's the end of the

five nights and six days. tomorrow night is the sixth night. they can rest then. they have to put all the energy into this game and keep the team off the line. denver number one in the league to get to the free-throw line. they either have to get there a lot or keep them off the line. the nuggets have only had three losses when leading into the 3 3rd quarter. they have to play out the full 48 minutes. carmelo anthony with the 3rd highest average off the wizards. if you remember, steve, the last time they met, also carmelo off a 40-point game. he the game winner in cleveland the night before. >> we talked about josh howard, instrumental in the game, and as irony would have it, josh howard today had surgery on his left knee in new york and is expectedded to take anywhere

from six months to eight months to recooperate. he finally did have the surgery after tearing his acl on february 22nd. >> phil: i'm sure you're wondering why it took so long. they have to wait for the swelling to go down. papa john's opening tip. >> steve: both teams coming off the road game last night. for the nuggets they fell to houston. very tough game. in fact carmelo anthony had a chance to win it at the buzzer with a long 3, but came up short. it was a hard fought game for these guys. >> phil: the whole western conference is just going to be tough. they are right now tied in the third spot with dallas, still after 67 games, they have the most wins they have had ever in franchise history, 45. >> steve: the foul called on

johan petro. mcgee misses the free-throw. wizards coming in 14th in the nba in free-throw shooting. mcgee on the season, 62% shooter. gets one of two. last night he was three of eight from the field, 8 rebounds in 24 minutes of play in salt lake city as the wizards lost to the jazz 112- 89. their 8th straight loss. a season high. last year they had the eight- game losing streak, obviously their longest of the season. but you have to go all the way back to 2001 the last time they lost nine consecutive games. shaun livingston in his tenth game with the wizards. getting the start for the second straight night. laying it up and in. >> phil: good hesitation. was thinking of getting the jumper but in the last moment

saw the hoping, kept the dribble alive, and made it to the rim. >> the wizards up. steve buckhantz and phil chenier. for the comcast sportsnet crew, great to have you with us as washington plays for the fourth time in five nights. >> phil: anticipation there from sal al. >> steve: and it's the nuggets going the other way, 45-22. they finally get their first jumper, it's mel low. mel low off a tremendous game last night of 45 points. he made three-three point -- 3 3-pointers. blatche on the jump hook, good. talk about a guy scoring, andre blatche has the highest increase in scoring of any player since before the all

star break to after the all star break. he's been outstand melo against thornton. an offensive foul on carmelo denver is a little bruised and battered playing without key players tonight. thai lawson, kenyon martin, and the birdman won't play because of his ankle. >> phil: the second time we have missed the birdman. remember he missed the game back in washington. kenyon martin is getting treat. on his knee. >> steve: the rookie from maryland. blatche's shot is no good. hurting his shoulder against the lakers last february. his 79th straight game. nene scores inside. kenyon martin has missed seven straight games now with tendinitis in the knee.

we mentioned kenyon was his left ankle last night in houston. reverse layup too strong on the nice pass. chauncey billups at the other end to score. he's 17th in the league in scoring and 13 in the assists, averaging almost 6 a game. if there was any question when the trade happened, it's certainly been answer at this point. >> phil: he just came from detroit, and some of the fans and the people there were telling how unpopular the trade was. >> jeff: -- >> steve: they would give anything to have chauncey billups at this point, but that's long gone. flip saunders knows all about chauncey billups and how good he is. affalo up on miller. the wizards have it wizards up 9-6. washington mercifully will have two days off tomorrow and

thursday and then portland friday night, and the lakers sunday night at the staples center. blatche, nice move. couldn't quite get the shot off the glass. >> phil: two good attempts, that one and then the d as well. >> steve: phillips fouled by livingston. nice move at the end of the dribble. and he will shoo >> phil: shaun livingston doing a great job of running the show here and using his height advantage to go over the defense and had to hang in the air for blatche to get open, and finally found him underneath. >> steve: you talked about that in your philosophy 45, fill -- flip saunders has gone to livingston who is a true point guard to get the consistency. >> phil: he has the mentality. he said i have a feel for when i have a mismatch and i have to

take advantage of it or one of my teammates has the mismatch and i make sure they get the ball. that's what he does so well. he doesn't have the huge assist numbers like darren williams, but he knows thousand get the ball at the right place at the right time. >> steve: he knows how to play the game. plain and simple. look at billups doing it in detroit, and then what he has done here. a big difference in this game. blatche store scoring -- blatche scoring from the reverse angle. >> phil: get back guys. >> steve: that's their problem. defense. they are 22nd in the league. last night they didn't get back against houston. just running you out of the gym. >> phil: they have the small lineup anyway, running the floor, causing the problems too. >> steve: the wizards have yet to play in houston. playing the other night at the

verizon center. al thornton with the jumper. 13-8. last night the wizards played the jazz to a 25-25 tie in the 1st quarter, but after that, it was all utah. pass baseline, jumper, no good. mike miller is there. >> phil: you have the two-man squad going to work, boozer and williams. >> steve: miller looking inside for blatche. he's cowled on the -- he's fouled on the move to the basket by affalo. >> steve: blatche with the wide stance not allowing afflalo to get back in front.

>> steve: blatche in the month of march averaging almost 22 rebounds. the jumper way off. air ball saved in, but a 24- second violation. that's fortunate for washington because denver is unable to get out on the fast break. they will have the ball. wizards turning it

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we're back here in denver, washington mid-way through the 1 1st quarter, up by 8. the last lead this team had, the second game bam after the all star game. thornton shot the ball extremely well. team high, 32 mints to go with the team high, 2 -- 32 minutes to go with the team high of 32 points. he's perfect from the field in fact having half of the team's 18 points. got the breakaway here by the nice block from javale mcgee. >> steve: he was aggressive as well with 9 free-throws in the

game and making 7 of them. >> phil: once again it's important to note, down the stretch in the 4th quarter where carmelo is so well known for taking over the game and winning, he was held score lest. both did a good job of denying carmelo's attempt. >> steve: the wizards continue with their original starting five. including shaun livingston tonight. nuggets coming on the road trip where they won three of four. they are pretty happy about the way things went last night in houston, but that was anybody's game. here's billups. they try the pick and roll, but a kicking violation is called. last night it was aaron brooks for houston who hit the jumper with just under 3 seconds to play to win it, basically as carmelo had a chance in the last seconds, but his 3-point

shot was short. he had 45 points, 10 rebounds. billups had 17 points, just 4 assists last night as carmelo scores inside. >> phil: that will happen with him. i think you mentioned he's right around the 10th spot in assists per game. he will have not have the big assists, but he gets the offense into a good throw no, gets the people in the right play, carmelo getting the ball down low for top players in terms of scoring inside and outside. he can step out and knock down the 3s or power inside like you just saw. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 inadequatesies last night, and they allowed 681st half points in the game. >> phil: a lot of that could be 24 from the absence from kenyon martin. i think he's the strongest defensive player certainly down low. when you have that kind of a

player missing, don't expect more defense. >> steve: they led by 11 with 10 minutes to play, but they couldn't hang on. it was the first time this season they failed to win a game when scoring 110 or more points. >> phil: i think they have a record of 28-0 up to that point. >> steve: right. >> phil: and coming out there, knocking shaun livingston down. good position, plus he got good help. i guess -- well i want to say it was thornton. thornton or blatche came to help, but it was livingson that sealed off the foul. >> steve: the second personal foul against chauncey billups. he's forced to come out of the game. that's huge. >> phil: they have anthony carter in there now. the last seven or eight games, he's been playing exceptionally well off the bench. >> steve: it may be the shoes. >> phil: you think so? >> steve: maybe. >> phil: you may be right. >> steve: looking for blatche.

swinging late, livingston taking the jumper, and he misses. nene with the rebound. here's carter. underneath for allen's jumper, and it's good. malik allen in his 9th year. >> phil: the starters can't let the subs come in and jack up the intensity and get their team going. >> steve: here's thornton, nowhere to go. double team on him for blatche. 6 to shoot. blatche gets the 1-on-1 move and gets by. blocked by allen. nene, carter, carmelo. singleton will come in for washington. here's mike miller for the long 3, and he rimmed it, but it's off the foot, on the floor, and

a jump ball will be called between al thornton and malik allen. so the wizards with a chance to get that one back, but first a timeout with 2:44 to play in the 1st quarter.

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take on their rivals like the bulls and the hawks. visit washingtonwizards.com or call and get your tickets now. the wizards have a 5-point lead and have led by as many as # here tonight. the nuggets coming off the loss to houston last night. 125-123 as we look at toyota league leaders in this month denver had the highest field goal shooting percentage of any team in the league. last night they shot just under 50% but dropped the game to houston. the assists in 8 games, 20 or more assists as we noted in the loss to washington on february 19th. they could manage just 12 assists in that game. >> steve: another interesting stat in there, notes on games they win, averaging both 24 assists, but in the losses, averaging 16 or 17 assists.

that's a big part of their offense in the way they run, of course like you said, they have to start stopping some people especially when you look to the playoffs. >> phil: the wizards had a possession, missed the shot, but the ball came loose off someone's heel, and they have another opportunity to get it back. thornton and malik allen jumping it up. >> steve: thornton didn't even know it went into the air. dick caught him by surprise. >> phil: fortunately hustling back to get in front of carter. he had no one in front of carter. >> steve: this guy can get hot, but he misses. j.r. smith with another opportunity. smith and singleton are in for washington now. the open jumper, good for two. his field goal in his first minute of play. 22-15, washington.

the wizards have not swept the nuggets since the 2001-2002 season. and on the pass, nene is fouled. >> phil: nene is heavier than singleton, but i will not say he's stronger. battling in the same area, but lost his footing, and went down. >> steve: how about this, phil, alonzo gee who has been impressive since signing the 10- day contract was and good against utah is in the game. >> phil: he has been impressive more and more. the more minutes he gets, the better the game. >> steve: you saw alonzo's numbers, he was a rookie from the d-league and he was signed to a 10-day contract. he's terrific. a lot of athletic ability.

foye short. gets the rebound. here's miller, and they reset. miller for the open 3. missed it. i would like to see him get an open look at a 3. the second best in the nba in that category. here's carter off the screen, drives around foye, and up and in. 34-year-old anthony carler in his 4th year here after minnesota and san antonio and then miami. was not drafted out of hawaii. blatche against nene. for miller, he will think about it. and the pass is picked off. >> phil: this was picked all the way. >> steve: miller nice pass, nene stopping from behind. he will go to the line for 2.

randy foye charged with his first personal. just to set the record

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aniston. in theater march 18th -- 19th. the morgan franklin pivotal play, franklin what a quarter, phil. >> phil: 9 points but more importantly the defense forcing carmelo to change his shot, and then carmelo getting the shot blocked by javale mcgee. 41% shooting in the 1st quarter, good job defensively by the wizards. >> steve: we start the 2nd quarter in denver. steve buckhantz and phil chenier with the comcast sportsnet crew. alonzo gee remains in the game with miller, singleton, mcgee, and blatche. singleton from 16 feet, a little strong. j.r. smith has missed a couple of

long jumpers. here's gee. driving on carmelo. spins with nowhere to go. now he shoots and scores. what a move by alonzo gee who earlier in the season against sioux falls, he played in the develop mental league, -- developmental league. he had a double double. >> phil: that's what it is with them coming in, you don't know what to expect from them. the foul called by dick. >> phil: watch this move from alonzo. coming back over to the baseline. he elevates. again i think he caught carmelo by surprise. didn't know what to expect from him. we have seen him elevate like that and knows he can go up. who did they call the foul on? >> steve: they called it on singleton, number two on him. a little bit of a late whistle. >> phil: j.r. who had great jumping ability,

i don't think he had the chance to get the dunk in, and he missed and threw it to the front of the rim. >> steve: washington area chevy dealer stats from the 1st quarter, where the wizards shot 55%. >> phil: how about this, plus 4 rebounds and points in the paint. >> steve: here's j.r. smith who made the first. 71% shooter from the 3-point line. his 4th year from denver. the hornets took him out of high school in 2004. played his first years there and then traded to chicago for tyson chandler and then a week later dealt here for howard eisley and a couple of draft picks. blatche double teamed. out to miller. underneath. bad pass. that's the second turnover from mike miller. out to the other way. slapped away from behind, the wizards get it back.

up ahead to alonzo gee, and he is called for traveling. gee crossed the path and took too many steps. >> phil: good call. no question about it. i tell you what, that was a high risk pass by miller. j.r. smith nearly got a piece of it, and he could have put the ball down, and then he would have been able to get to the rim. just a little too far. one too many steps. >> steve: flip saunders has seen mike miller go 0 for 2, so he comes out of the game with a few too many turnovers. we will take a rest. thornton back in with blatche, singleton, bioboy, and -- boy, and gee. thornton gets tangled up with j.r. smith, and they call a foul on al thornton. that is a loose ball foul, a

turnover, washington, and denver will get it back with a chance to cut further into the lead with 9:54 to play in the 1st half. ifd buerengin a c. u coly ne o. ich uld ve?sy, h, mour - uhy mo ur mlite oh. mbli how s thf?

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of the year with the nuggets. i will take a wild guess and say george karl. >> no no no. all star as an aba player? >> steve: you right away certainly said it was incorrect. you just basically waved it off like it was a loose ball foul. >> phil: i'm sorry. >> steve: it's all right. >> phil: no, no, no, i was thinking to myself, you know. >> steve: give the man a chance, would you? >> phil: you're right. there's a good chance you may be right. >> steve: i may be wrong. it was a wild guess. he brought his team into washington after the game against cleveland, and then i remember speaking to him before the game, and i said is there any trepidation when you come in againstthat just basically traded half their squad away and has a lot of w players and aren't sure what is happening? he said there always is but when you have a veteran team

you hope they are mature enough to understand that. what happened? they got beat by ten. >> phil: that's right. we talked about the fact you have a floor leader in chauncey billups, and another guy experienced, carmelo anthony. you think down the stretch, a 9- point lead into the 4th, they would come away, but not able to do it. >> steve: nick young in the game now for washington. smith driving and scores. pretty move by j.r. smith. >> phil: he can be a very explosive player. >> steve: washington's 8-point lead is now down to two. thornton. getting contact and fires it up. they called the offensive foul on al thornton. my goodness! >> phil: well. >> steve: 99 out

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last night in houston, it was nip and tuck the entire way for the nuggets and rockets. carmelo with a chance to either tie or win it at the 3, but his shot as you can see, no good, and the six-game winning streak for the nuggets is snapped. watch the feet of carmelo anthony here, phil. see if he doesn't shuffle both of them. >> phil: yeah, he does. >> steve: absolutely. >> phil: you have to be really watching for that to pick that up. it's very subtle. with the action going on, not that it shouldn't have been called, but i can understand

how he missed it. he was fouled at the line. the chance to cut the wizards' lead to 1. he does. 12 points for carmelo anthony on 5 of 10 shooting. he has 3 rebounds and 1 assist. 2:48 to play 1st half, with the wizards with the 6-point lead a second ago, now down to 1. blatche, spins, lost it, and got fouled going up. he will shoot two. it's on j.r. smith. andre blatche at the line where he's 0 for 2 tonight. the wizards collectively one of six from the free-throw line. >> phil: remember what we said, one of the keys they have to make sure they don't allow the differential in terms of points from the free-throw line to get too large. denver already 8 of 10. >> steve: the wizards beating

this team, 107-97 on february 19 february 19th in dc. that snapped the five-game losing streak to the nuggets. here in denver the wizards have not won since december 31, 2005. three straight games. washington trying to avoid the longest losing streak since the 2001-2000 or rather 2000-2001 season. blatche's second is a miss. january 4th to january 19th they lost nine straight games in 2001. they finished 19-63 that year. melo with the big slam inside. the game is tied at 38. >> phil: the confusion on that defensive stance from the get go. >> steve: carmelo scored the last seven points for denver.

erasing washington's 6-point lead. blatche, inside, and he will go to the line. what a play from andre blatche. >> phil: i like the fact that most of the stuff he has been doing tonight has been going towards the basket. even if it's the flip shot, here hangs in the air and gets the contact from graham, and then he gets it off the glass. >> steve: 13 points for andre. he's 6 of 10 from the field. 2 of 6 from the free-throw line. he also has five rebounds tonight, and the wizards lead by 3. steve buckhantz and phil chenier. our game produce bid rich wolf. o'. david duval and our comcast sportsnet crew with you. back with you on friday against portland. michael smith called for defensive 3-seconds against washington. that will give billups, the

deadly free-throw shooter, but he did miss his last, and the nuggets will get the ball back with just under 2 minutes to play in the half. coming to denver at the beginning of last season for allen iverson after seven years years in detroit. >> phil: seven successful years in detroit. >> joe: mvp of the -- >> steve: mvp of the finals in 2004. chauncey driving around mcgee who is just lurking behind and waiting to block the shot. he shoots and misses. alonzo gee getting extended playing time tonight. blatche behind the back pass, and the wizards are very fortunate to get it back. >> phil: nothing but trouble over there. >> steve: yep, a third defender called sidelined. he's standing right there not giving you any place to go.

luckily melo bounced it on the sideline. 11 to shoot. mcgee, laying it up and in. javale mcgee with the long wingspan. the wizards by 4. they put the rookie on melo in this quarter, phil. >> phil: yeah, i mean obviously you have got the agility ability. they are going to call that a charge. he has the agility ability, but also the solid strength. no one will stop him by himself, but once again i situation, you want to see what he will do against the tough competition. >> steve: i like what i have

catches, boy it looks like he caught blatche with an elbow in the mouth. >> steve: they did call it an offensive foul, and graham coming out. afflalo back in the wizards with a chance to build on the four-point lead leading by as many as eight in the 1st half. livingston, inside, blatche, jumper, wouldn't go. tip, no good. gee keeps it alive. livingston will reset. >> phil: good job. value the possession under a mint. >> steve: shaun livingston underneath for mcgee. he tried to slam it in, lost the ball out of bounds, and it's denver basketball. oh. he needed a layup, but he tried to slam it in. >> phil: he should have tossed it in off the glass. just fine. he was trying to dunk and got caught on the rim. he was in a very awkward position.

the basket, ending up underneath the rim. 8 seconds difference from the game and shot clock. carmelo kicks it out, and 24- second violation. how about the wizards' defense? it forces the 11th denver turnover of the half, and flip saunders will take a time. very impressive performance from the washington team so far tonight. >> phil: yeah, right now holding their opponents to 39 points, under 47% shooting. like you said 11 turnovers. fortunately washington only got 4 point office of it. i think what happens, carmelo is holding the ball too long. they are taking an awful lot of time off the clock. finally he kicks it out. chauncey with the extra pass, but the shot clock already wound down. >> steve: 9 seconds remain in the half. washington will have possession

>> phil: washington has an advantage of points in the paint by four. you have seen blatche, mcgee, and i think one other player missed in the short shot inside. like you said, on the road here in denver, you have to take advantage and make the most of every possession, every opportunity. >> steve: the one thing the wizards have not done well tonight, shoot their free- throws. they could have had an even larger lead. here's livingston. blatche on the turn around jumper. got it. down court, tipped away by blatche, and that's the end of a very productive 1st half of basketball for the wizards. >> phil: yeah, i liked what i saw there. 6-point lead. good job defensively holding your opponent to under 60 points. >> steve: the wizards shooting

49% from the field led by blatche with 16, thornton with 9 and despite going 3 of 9 from the free-throw line, the wizards lead carmelo anthony and the denver nuggets here at the half by 6. carmelo had 14 points in the first half of basketball, but after 1, it's washington 45, denver 39. halftime activities will commence from the pepsi center, and we will look at the playoff race when we come back. mrs. mñmñmñmñmñmñmñmñmñmñmñmñmññ

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halftime here in denver and the wizards have held the team that is second in the nba in scoring to 39 points at half. and washington leads 45-39. are you a little bit surprised. >> phil: a little bit but we have another half. you have to keep it low key. >> steve: as flip saunders said. you have to play 48 minutes not

12 or 24. steve buckhantz with phil chenier. leading by 6 and they led by as many as 8. the playoff situation. denver obviously is headed to their 7th consecutive playoff appearance in the nba. but starting in the east, you can see the battle for that 8 8th and final spot. >> phil: yeah especially the last two teams, toronto and chicago. they were in like the fourth, fifth position, and now they are out of the picture, at least chicago is. toronto lost five straight. the team with the hot hands, milwaukee. they won the last six games and are moving on up. >> steve: there's no chance they will move into the 4th spot it doesn't look like. >> phil: does look like. >> steve: here's the west. >> phil: eight teams all above .500. houston and memphis in the bottom fighting and clawing their way in. it's interesting where denver is. the loss last night has them tied for dallas for the second

spot there, and utah is trying to make a move to get up took into consideration and oklahoma, they have won five straight. so the west is going to be, i tell you what, the last 15 or 16 games will be a heck of an exciting game. >> steve: the feeling in houston, last night was a critical game. all games are for them now if they will attempt the push for the 8th spot. >> phil: yeah, and now the playoffs start even earlier. every possession, every quarter, every game is very important. they have to make the most of it. for denver, they have to get their act together. i'm sure george karl, the ad, inside telling them they can't lose twice to the same team. >> steve: big injuries tonight without martin, lawson, and the birdman unable to play tonight. the wizards taking advantage of their fifth game in six nights. washington never trailed in the 1st half, and they lead it by 6. xxxxx

halftime continues in denver. the wizards are looking for a season sweep. one-half of basketball to play, and they lead the nuggets, 45- 39. steve buckhantz and phil chenier. great to have you with us. washington off a tough loss last night. they played good in the 1st quarter but downhill from there. much more consistent half of basketball tonight. >> phil: we can say they have played two quarters so far. >> steve: that's right. >> phil: defensively they held the team known for scoring points. averaging 106 a game. held them to 40 points in the first half. they work well together. they have gotten good production. you are also seeing the effect of the absence of kenyon martin and chris anderson too. >> steve: i think the wizards' defense has been commendable. as you said you will never stop carmelo anthony. they forced 11 turnovers from

the team. i think confused on the time. >> phil: the good thing about it, it seemed like you had denver in the position to make the runs, but washington going out with the opportunities. nice spot from mcgee. here's the drive from singleton or livingston, excuse me, and then andre blatche who has been pretty much on fire. 7 of 12. he had 16 points. how about alonzo off the bench. he had 14 minutes. that shows you flip saunders is feeling more and more comfortable with his presence on the floor. >> steve: he got two steals as well. the defensive steal on carmelo. the wizards outrebounded 21-17, and really unfortunately if it wasn't for free-throws, they would have a larger lead. washington shot 33% from the free-throw line, making just three of nine, and you see denver shooting. >> phil: the good thing, they didn't allow denver to get to the line a lot more than they

already did. 11 times. keep in mind they average 31 attempts per game. look at that. 0 for 5 from the 3-point range. this team depends on the 3s. if washington keeps that up, it will help their cause. the point in the paint, going in washington's favor. >> steve: the wizards led by 6 after one. the 2nd quarter was even. washington by 6 at the half. 45-39. the wizards never trailed in the 1st half. 3rd quarter coming up from denver. 7at cay? ve gcrimg ta-.

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attacking the glass. the outside jump. the rest has been going to the basket and throwing contact. last time 16 points, thornton had all point in the 1st quarter, got in foul trouble and had to sit down. >> steve: shaun livingston getting the second consecutive start tonight. went 2 of 5 from the field, and along with 4 points had 5 assists. >> phil: and no turnovers, i'm sure that pleases flip saunders. >> steve: morgan franklin pivotal play for shaun livingston. it's a

is what flip has been trying to tell it him all yearlong. you have to go to the rim more. you are going to geouled and get to the free-throw line and put other people in the foul trouble. >> steve: and then when you get there, you have to make them. andre blatche's numbers as a starter, over 9 rebounds and 3

assists. 3 games this year with 30 points, 10 rebounds. he made only one of two. wizards killing themselves from the line. 6 of 13. billups is fouled. it's on shaun livingston. second foul on livingston, and free-throws coming for the fourth best free-throw shooter in the league, one of the best of all times. chauncey billups, last year shooting 92% from the free- throw line. mentioning that shaunsy -- chauncey was the mvp in 2004 in the nba finals. the first guard since michael jordan in 1994 to win the award. and only one other players was

named finals mvp before he was an all star, that was joe dumars. both free-throws good. >> phil: chauncey looking for his third three. he has 36 into this game, but that team is still looking for their first 3. >> steve: the wizards by 3. 9 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter. shot clock now. blatche to miller to livingston. misses the layup. here it comes! [ cheers ] instead of going up by 5, the game is tied at 50. 37 straight games with a clear high from billups.

mcgee off balance. >> phil: he has got to learn to develop a little more use of the left hand. >> steve: taken away. down with blatche and thornton the other way. he's bit by afflalo, and blatche is shaken up. he's testing his right knee it appears. he complieded with bill -- collided with billups after livingston got the loose ball. >> phil: on the other side, he's okay. the play forced the missed shot. >> steve: right at the beginning of the replay is where blatche collided with billups. barely making it back to the free-throw scene. al thornton gets his first points since he went 4 of 4 in the 1st half. he has 10 points in the game.

foul bid livingston -- fouled by livingston. just under 8 minutes to play in the 3rd ter. at's the third personal on shaun livingston. >> phil: on livingston for the second night going against the point guard that can be so effective out there on the floor. williams is fast fast and powerful. chauncey is going to lull you to sleep like he did on the last play. at the last minute, livingston had the knee stuck out there. >> steve: shaun is two of six from the field. he's out of the game and randy foye is back in.

denver has the first lead of the game. 18 points for carmelo anthony. 8 of 16 shooting. had not led previous to that shot, and the nuggets now are up by 1. holding foul called by michael smith. it's going to be on denver. i believe it's on aaron afflalo. that's three on afflalo. his third year from ucla. the nuggets on the 7-1 miniu storage run. playing without the birdman. he hurt his left ankle in houston. kenyon martin missing his seventh straight game with tendinitis in his knee and ty

lauzon is missing his ninth straight game with his shoulder. they are unbelievable from the free-throw line. >> phil: 7 of 16. >> joe: game tied -- >> steve: game tied at 52. afflalo off of 3. ninth best free-throw shooter in the nba. aaron afflalo. the nuggets leading by 3. nice move, slams it down. nice baseline move. >> phil: that sure was.

even quicker dunk. >> steve: looked like he was getting ready to say something. he put his fingers to his head to say get down the court, and you picked up a technical last night. >> phil: they were down by 30 at that point. >> steve: carmelo on the drive and fake, and as you said, he's not going to be stopped. 20 points for anthony. 45 last night. flip saunders wants the timeout. the fans here can sense that carmelo is taking over a little bit, and trying to turn the tide on a wizards' team that has already won the first feeding between these two by 10. andre blatche with the pretty move. he has 21 points to lead all scorers.

well the score is now 56- 54. when we left you before the special, it was 57-54. that's because they have just take an point away from denver after reviewing the chauncey billups 3-point jumper, and after reviewing it, dick said his foot is on the line. >> phil: he did say phil, right foot on the line right there. and they had to look at it a couple of times. that means chauncey billups, his streak is still at

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nuggets have take an 6- point lead on washington. their largest of the game. in fact they had not led in the entire game until the 3rd quarter where the wizards are shooting just 21%. josh howard came to the wizards from dallas on february 13th. and on the 22nd in this game against chicago on that play, her to his left ac -- tore his left acl. that was it for josh howard, just four games in washington. today still waiting for the swelling to go down underwent successful knee surgery performed in new york city. expecting to take 6 to 8 months to recover. >> phil: have to get the knee all back. keep in mind he went through another surgery over this past summer on his left ankle. >> steve: and his wrist. >> phil: yeah and his wrist. you're right. and that's a tough thing to go through. that rehab work, you're in a

gym, and first of all, you're rehabbing whatever the body part is trying to get it back together, doing that a lot of times by yourself, getting treatment, therapy, and then when you tart working -- start working, a lot of times you're working by yourself in the gym to get yourself ready. it's a lonely period of time. >> steve: he was instrumental in the last time these two met. >> phil: that was his second start. 8 of 11. 20 points, and played with a lot of energy. it was so exciting. these guys were just coming together, yet they played so cohesively. >> jody: nuggets by 7. -- >> steve: the nuggets by 7. this is their largest lead. boy driving, tough shot. taken down by single tonight. they -- singleton. they can reset with a new 24. they are just not getting good

looks. you can see the shot he was forced to take. and there you go. nick young trying to split the defenders, and robinson calls the foul on joey graham. washington will get two shots out of it.

this rookie has been outstanding. >> phil: he really has. head's up play. they have to look at it. it was that close. er, likeop t e itcker f caus cont. itt the ay t khe cwn. ♪