flip saunders out, randy whitman in. i'll have a live report coming up in a few moments. >>> well, i don't have a jacket on. temperatures mild. here are the numbers that go in the books. 54 at national today. 43 was the low. the low was higher than the average high. record high is 73. record low 3 above. we'll come back and talk about some cooler air moving in tonight. talk about the northern lights and when the next time you're going to need your umbrella. >> and the major route through northern virginia shut down for hours this afternoon. the latest on that gas main leak along gleeb road. that's next on 9news now. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ >>> back now with a commuter alert for drivers in arlington, virginia. right now the northbound lanes of gleeb road are bac

randy whitman's done this before, replacing casey and with the t wolves head coach.ght, his team is taking on the bobcats. walker high off of the glass. here come the wizards. young had a team high and game high 20 and wizards up at the break and second half, wall leaves with match. the -- with blatch and the first victory in a week. randy whitman is doing his best to change the culture. >> and that is like any bad habit you have. if you're a smoker, you're not going to drop the smoking that day. that is all it s. we have fallen into playing away that is not conducive for us to win. when i see them pulling out of a cigarette, i have to take it. >> they're bad for you. last night, the terps gave the blue devils all they could handle. the lay-up and time expires in the first half and second half, they got cranked up. the difference, three and 12, and duke wins, 74-61. the terps with a 12-7 overall and 2-3 in the acc. prior to the game, an emotional dedication to longtime coach gary williams who riled the crowd up with the signature. and then the moment that was a long

randy whitman's debut kind of worked out well for everybody.rter wizards up by eight working the ball around to nick young. he hits that. 13 of his game high 20 came in the first half. third quarter how about some defense from a couple guys? getting up high for that block and just out races everybody to the end, other end. he had 12 points in the game. wizards up by 19. some defense. balche, the wizards win easily. 92-75. randy whitman gets that win and his debut at least for a night things look a lot different. >> we played hard from the start. still made mistakes. then we had to clean up. but, you know, we came out playing hard. >> there was no difference. the same thing we've been. we just came out with a lot more effort and shared the ball. we played good team ball, offense and defense. things got going for us. >> we didn't invent a new offense. you know, we tried to get pace into the game and play quicker and get ball movement from one side to the other. i was pleased. it's like any bad habit. if you're a smoker you can't drop the cigarett

why isn't randy whitman too happy about the new gig? plus, maryland, duke, and the return of that fist pump. gary williams. all that and more coming up next. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ >>> now, 9sports with kristen berset. the best sports in town. >> a new, if not temporary era of the washington wizards begins tonight. randy whitman will lead the first game since he became the interim head coach. flip saunders was fired after a dismal 20 point loss to the 76ers dropped them to 2-15 for the season. he was an assistant and the two are close friends. this promotion is a tough one for him to digest. >> i'm not real happy about this. but i am here today because i believe these guys are better than what they are. >> play hard and dot right things. made the right decision to move on. >>

randy whitman making his debut. a combined five wins between these two teams.dell walker off the gloss. 20a game high. wizards up by 20 at the break. second half, john wall leads the break. led 17, wizards dominate the bobcats 92-75 for their first victory in a week and randy whitman is a winner in his coaching debut. >> i'm so happy for those guys. you know, see smiles on their face and to feel good, you know. i said all the critiquing will be done tomorrow. we'll clean things up on the practice floor before we head out to houston. but go out and enjoy this. >> the rockets on friday. don't go anywhere. when we come back, the nats biggest offseason splash is welcomed to town. stay with us. ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' a sunny day ♪ ♪ sunny day ♪ i'm feelin', feelin' the taste i crave ♪ ♪ subway ♪ i'm makin' it, makin' it how i like ♪ ♪ it's meant to be ♪ i'm feelin' subway ♪ i'm feelin' subway today [ male announcer ] hey, capital area! are you feelin' subway®? then heat up your day with the big hot pastrami melt! it's fresh toasted and piled-high with pastrami, then

plus randy whitman debuts as wizards head coach. how would the team respond?ind out coming up next. >>> now 9 sports with kristen berset. >> it's been in the work for sometime, but tonight the hardwood at the comcast center officially became gary william's court. honoring all that he did for the program in his 22 years as head coach, gary answered the pregame ceremony with the iconic fist pump. and it could be the last one we see at comcast center. and although he's retired, his signature will always be enshrined on the court. the university also asked fans to give their best to williams fist pump when the terps reached 22 points. mark turgin's game tonight, the first maryland-duke game. a great drive. puts the terps up 8. maryland in the game until late in the second half and duke comes alive with the jumper. the dunk. maryland can't recover. unfortunately they couldn't get the win for gary. maryland falls 74-61. wizards in turn coach randy whitman says all the players will begin a new era with a clean slate. tonight we got the first look as they played their

all of this under the new head coach randy whitman, who is undefeated after one game game and i digress the wizards are hoping for is point guard don wall. last year's overall pick was expected to make a huge jump in year 2 and that is -- down from last year, the turnovers are up and randy whitman knows that wall is the guy in this team who can take the wizards to the next level. >> and this is too good of a talented kid. we have to utilize everything out of the talent like that and i think which he gets involved defensively, he's even better in the open court offensively. >> there is no question, though, when he's engaged, he's a very, very good player. >> yes, he is. >>> tomorrow, the hoyas hit the road in big east play and when they travel to pittsburgh, this is a house of horrors. this year, looks like a winnable rowdy and that is because the hoyas -- roadie and that is because the hoyas are good. the hoyas had a whole week off after beating rutgers last saturday. georgetown remains nineth in the country at 16-3 overall and the panthers dismal in conference play, 1-7 and 1-3 at home

wizards in turn coach randy whitman says all the players will begin a new era with a clean slate.onight we got the first look as they played their first game without flip. last place wizards taking on the charlotte bobcats who have the second worst record in the league. washington came out with some fire john wall gets the block, takes it down court himself, gets the layup, wizards go up 60-41 and then walls to andray blatche who had two more with some authority there. believe it or not, blatche led the team with a double-double tonight. 17 points, 10 rebounds. wizards hand whitman his first victory 92-75 over the bobcats. >> i'm so happy for those guys in there. see smiles on their face. and to feel good. i said all of the critiquing and stuff will be done tomorrow. we'll clean things up on the practice floor, go out and enjoy this tonight. >> west virginia taking on saint johns at the garden. mountaineers down 19 trying to stay in it. kevin jones with a layup. he gets 26 tonight for him. but red hartman too much. they fall to saint johns 78-52. the nationals introduced their new

. >> randy whitman won the other night, maybe he'd won two in a row? no. washington.l have a problem. the wizards were in houston tonight looking for their first road win of the season. it didn't happen. here's part of the problem, the wizards committed a season-high 24 turnovers helping the rockets launch an all-out attack. the wizard's road record drops to 0-8. first quarter, wizards down one. john playing good defense, gets the steal. gives it to wall and we go straight to the bucket for the dunk. next, wizard's possession, andre to wall. how about another big dunk. wall scored 11 of his team-high 17 point ins the first half. wizards trail by three at break. looking good, right? not in the third. rockets start to pull away. chase buddinger knocks down the three-pointer. he had a giem high 21 points off the bench. later in the quarter, gore goren dragich for three. he buries i. that capped a 21-7 rockets run. fourth quarter, jordan tries to make a pass, but dragich says not in my house. the rockets scored 41 points off the wizards 24 turnovers. houston crushes washi

. >>> randy whitman is perfect as the wizards head coach going for two straight tomorrow in houston, baby steps. yesterday he made his debut against the bobcats, a combined five wins between the two teams. early 1st half kendall walker high off the glass but the wizards come right back, john wall to nick young, young with a game high of 20. 2nd half john wall leads another break to andray blatche who had 17. wizards dominate 92-75 for their first victory in a week. randy whitman doing his best to change the culture at verizon center. >> it's like any bad habit we've had. if you're a smoker, you ain't going to drop those cigarettes first day, all right? i've got to help them kick some of these bad habits that we're into. that's all it. is we've fallen into playing in a way that is not conducive for us to win. so when i see them pull out a cigarette, i got to take it out of their mouth. >> just say no to cigarettes. >>> college hoops, the big upset in the women's game, virginia tech knocking off no. 8 maryland, 75-69. the men's game tony bennett and first ranked virginia host boston cr

back >>> january 23, 2007, the minnesota timberwolves fired head coach dwayne casey and named randy whitmannterim coach and fast forward five years almost to the day, january 24, 2012, same situation. whit man was named interim coach of the wizards. it's a predicament he thought he would never have to do again but he felt this team had more talent than their win shows, all he ask is they play with some heart and they responded by winning the first game against charlotte which is just the third of the season. >> this is just the next step right now. i don't think they're surprised how i've come in and asked and what i'm asking. >> okay, college ball, 19th ranked virginia hosting boston college showing good teamwork here and to mike scott, nice there, guys. he finds scott again and he had 18 on the night and the cavs beat the eagles, 66-49. >> at lehigh tonight, not a goodnight for navy. mcknight to mccollum, look at that. lehigh wins by 11 and navy with just three wins this season, they are 0 and 6 in the patriot league. >> the last time the redskins raised the lombardi trophy as world champ

they need a good voice. >> we talked about randy whitman. i am a fan. why would i believe this guy is going to make any difference when flip saunders couldn't? >> we didn't believe it either. he has me believing a little bit because of the things he said. basically, he's a disciple. he's going to be harder on the players. more discipline. the guys will have to earn their minutes. >> whatever he does, he has to bring a different voice to the table. there's one more voice to the table. we're going to talk about that more at 5:50. dave, always a pleasure to drop by and talk to you. we have much more on this coming up at 5:50. back to you in the studio. >> all right. see you dave and dave. the strongest solar storm in more than six years was expected to hit the earth's magnetic field today. it could affect airplane routes and satellites and top, what's all this about? is this impacting your forecasting today? >> not yet. the strongest flair we've seen since september of '05. this is it. this is a massive flair. now all the time, these flairs are going off.

nba tonight wizards interim head coach randy whitman will try to lead washington to back-to-back winss on the road tonight in houston. and in whitman's first game as head coach the wizards crushed the bob cats 92-75 improving their record of 3-15. wizards gave up their fewest points of the season. tonight another big challenge against the rockets. the wizards will be looking for their first road win of the season. as for randy whitman he is in his third year with the team and is hoping the relationships he has built with the players will help turn things around in washington sooner than later. >> this is a terrible situation to be in but being in it at least i have a relationship with the guys. you know, not walking in here and they don't know me and i don't know them and we're all trying to learn each other. i think they knew me as an assistant, who i was, and this is just the next step right now. i don't think they're surprised how i've come in and asked, what i'm asking of them. i don't think that's a surprise to them. so hopefully that can be a bonus and help them as we move forwa

randy whitman celebrates their first road win. he is 2-1 as the head coach. how about the terps hosting virginia tech. you can see the sneakers there, for a very good cause, for coaches against cancer. ashton panke running the late. terps up at that point. and watch this move, between the legs, pull it back and drain it for three. he had a game high. they beat virginia tech. maryland ending a three-game skid. >>> j. t. iii, on the road. the lane and the foul. the lead is down to 5. can the hoyas complete the comeback? >>. no the freshman gets at it a little late. georgetown was late all day in this one. pittsburgh is now 12-0 lifetime in that building against top 10 opponents the reason i was going crazy, the ufc on fox for the second time after. and what a night it was. three fights here being seen. mr. wonderful davis against sugar rashard evan. this was all sugar all the time, did the majority of the damage all the time. watch this. he gets him down on the ground and that's what they call a crucifix. evans takes out mr. wonderful who was at penn state, wit

we've got randy whitman as the coach but a bunch. bad players. what happens scene of the accident. >> i think you got to get rid of the guy who assembled this team is ernie grunfeld. he has been the gm of three teams. he has put together this awful team. i don't want him in charge of trying to form plate a good squad. >> something had to be done on the coaching front. you can't keep trotting out a team that is 2-15 and showing your fan base that you are not willing to make some sort of move to shake things up. >> it is a small step but it is a step that had to be made and what will happen the rest of the year, randy whit map will suffer through a nine or 10-win season. he will probably be gone next year and they'll have to regroup. >> i don't think randy whitman is the answer. his career head coaching record in the nba, 100 wins, 207 losses. >> very good player. and below average coach. >> he represents the old regime. that is the problem. any time you have anybody on the staff. he was part of that 50-150 record that flip had accomplished here in

assistant randy whitman will serve as the team's head coach for the remainder of the season. wizards hold the worst record in the nba at 2-15. they take on the charlotte bobcats tonight at the verizon center. >> just waking up and adam, feels pretty good outside. >> yesterday was amazing, adam. how about a repeat? >> it was beautiful with sunshine. we also had relative warmth. we were about 10 degrees above average with highs in the mid 50's. today it is going to be where we should be temperature-wise. notice on our satellite and radar composite we have clouds off to our southwest and even some showers over texas, oklahoma and arkansas. that organized action is moving our way. we can expect some rain, a little bit tonight, tomorrow and into the first part of friday. a pleasant day. 39 now in college park. 38 in gainesville. 34 in laplata. average high 44. tonight a few showers. maybe even brief little bout of sleet. no accumulation, however. just areas of light rain throughout the day tomorrow. once it is all over with by friday afternoon, i think we could see a half inch to

>> reporter: some of the published reports right now talking about randy whitman, one of the assistant coaches. he has head coaching experience. and also took over for flip when he was ejected earlier in the season up in boston. so at least randy has nba coaching experience on the bench. and would likely with the guy if they go on-staff from an interim perspective at this point. >> pete, with the record that sanders had, why today is he being fired? do you know? what was the final straw? >> reporter: well, if you watch the team and again, a team 2-15 on the season, if they are showing steps of progress, then i think a general manager and owner as we have seen, he has been extremely patient, both with the capitals at one point and now with the wizards already. but with the team not showing any signs of progress, despite having six first round picks over the last two seasons as part of their core, at this point, they feel the best way to at least try to get something going differently from a philosophy standpoint is to get rid of flip first. and after a good performance, in fact played b

all right, welsh the wizards have a winning record under new interim coach randy whitman.was a little disclaimer. they're now 2-1 since the coaching change. never mind the two wins are against the charlotte bobcat, the worst team in the league. at this point, a win is a win, and tonight, the wiz will take it. john wall's mom. something tells me mom isn't rooting for charlotte, though. wiz up five, her son forces the turnover. a big-time flush from wall. wiz led by ten at the half. it's no secret the bobcats are pretty bad. not a lot going their way this we're. this is is this is sagan diop. this is not good. not even close. in case you're wondering, h he didn't make the second free throw either. probably lost a bit of confidence after that first one. mcgee gets a long hook shot to go. it's their first road win since april 3 of 2010. all right, to college hoops, there's no question the big east conference is a beast. the number ten hoyas surpassed expectations this year. but lately, georgetown is holding off teams like rutgers by just two points. today they ran into a strug

check out randy whitman, looks like they just won a title.ds shot more than 50% this season. pokies men basketball is finding itself in unfamiliar territory. they began acc play with four straight losses this season, drawing comparisons to their 0-6 h run. hokies trying to turn things around in college park, the terps hosting. the sec behind the back pass, the jam, a 24-11 terps. later in the first sean moseley passes. down low he slams at home. the terps lead at the half. in the second, the team's leading scorer, steps back, drains the 3. tim brant called the game. maryland hangs on to win, 73-69. uva with the lead, after missing that shot, looking from outside, and he drains the 3 cutting the lead. at 8 seconds to go, brown has said, cannot find anyone. throws it up at the buzzer, no dice. uva wins, 61-60. pittsburgh hosting georgetown. baseline sticks the jumper, 50-44 pittsburgh. less than four minutes to go, patterson penetrates, the dish the light out. they went 72-60. pittsburgh is 11-0 at home. towson posting unc-wilmington. the tiger

randy whitman to the rescue.a cure for one night, but that was a home game against a bad team. now washington hits the road against the so-so team. if the wizards play like they did in whitman's debut, they might have a chance against houston. during tuesday's press conference, the words increased the accountability we are throwing around a lot and that's fine by the new coach. >> there's two ways to play. you can play very hard with heart and determination and screw up and that's okay. but if you screw up without effort, heart, and determination, then i can't play. >> all right, is tiger woods ready to pli play at a competitive level once again? he reinjured his left leg, skipped the u.s. open. miss the cut at the pga championship and rallied in december to win his first tournament in two years. today looking to pick up on that. he's in abudabi. i've been there. very nice, very warm. he brought the short stick. 28 puts versus 34 in round one. he was paired with roy mcllroy. he was tied with woods today despite t

in randy whitman's first game as head coach, he is 1-0. they beat the charlotte bob cats.he wizards snap a three-game losing streak. they won. >> still good to start with a win. >> they won a game. >>> you remember these days, the good old days, president skins fans. today marks an anniversary, 20 years since the burgundy and gold played in a super bowl. it was can be xxvi. the redskins won 37-24. it is the last championship for any of the major four sports franchises in d.c. and since then,

the beginning of the randy whitman era.ds started with a 2-15 record. we'll see if the new head coach will turn things around. whitman's been in the situation before and took over the timberwolvess in 2007. yesterday, whitman said a good man walked out of the door when flip saunders left and he would have followed the boss if he didn't think the situation could get any better. today, his first full day of head coach, he offered this. >> i don't like being here today i'm not happy about this. i am here because i believe the guys are better than what they are. i really do believe that they are. >> i have to get them to believe that. >> and he's going to demand a lot of us as a coach. we all have to have each other's back, and you know, it was good to hear. >> baseball news. >>> the nationals introduced gonzalez to the local media at the park this afternoon. the news conference came over a month after they acquireed the left-hander from the athletics in exchange for pitching prospects brad peacock, tommy malone and ajcole and

the assistant, randy whitman, will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. the wizards have the league's worst record. they're just 2-15 this year. they do have a decent chance at nabbing that third victory tonight, though. they take on the 3-15 charlotte bobcats at verizon center. no guarantees. >> no. >>> washington capitals captain alex ovechkin will not be in ottawa for the nhl all-star game. he decided to remove himself from the game because he's in the middle of a three-game suspension for a hit against the penguins on sunday. he says he doesn't feel he deserves to be there because of the suspension. ovechkin sat out his first game last night. >>> and ove watched from a box as the caps regained first place at the verizon center. the team beat the boston bruins 5-3. matth matthau perrault got the first career hat trick. the first win for the caps before the all-star break. >>> 4:55. coming up, new concerns about microwave popcorn. why something in the popular snack could put your kids at risk for getting sick. >>> plus, under the microskoeft. the latest

flip saunders fired after two-plus seasons in washington and replaced by assistant coach randy whitmanders really didn't have a chance to succeed. the gilbert arenas disaster took this play from playoff contender to lottery regular. this season the wizards 2-15. it's the worst record in the nba. saunders couldn't get any sfars to respond. john wall, nick young and andre all having down years, and as a unit the wizards lack intensity on a nightly basis. the final straw, last night. they were down by 30 in philly at halftime. gr grunfeld felt like he had to make a move. >> i don't know if the players were responding the way we thought they should have been for the first quarter of the season, and we felt like a different voice was needed to do some things a little different and maybe to play a different style than we have been playing. >> a good man walked out the door today. it's always hard. i didn't come to washington to be the head coach. i came here to help him. if i didn't think that this team had any positive ahead of it, i would have walked, too. we can compete at a higher level

. >> randy whitman took his washington wizards on the road for the first time as the new head coach and this has not been a good place to be. the wizards were winless before tonight's game in houston remaining the only winless road team in the nba. it looked good early. first round pick yon vesley came up with the steal here and watch john wall, team high 17. wizards roar ahead in the 2nd quarter. javale mcgee can do one thing very well, dunk, 7 feet wingspan there. in the 2nd half they should not have played because they did not play well at all. here comes jordan hill unimpeded for the slam, a 23-0 houston run and they blast the wizards 103-76. >>> college hoops tomorrow, hoyas travel to pittsburgh in big east play. g town has been solid thus far on the roads winning three of four conference games. the hoyas had a week off since beating rutgers last saturday. georgetown is ranked ninth in the country, 16-3 and the panthers have been dismal, 1-7 overall, 1-3 at home, but john thompson iii says pittsburgh is still dangerous. >> in this league you'd be a fool if you look at records. you

the wizards fired flip saunders today replacing him with assistant coach randy whitman on an interim hired in 2008 to take a play-off team to the next level. it never happened. the infamous gun incident involving gilbert arenas and crittenton led to the dismantling of the team. rebuilding is something he was not prepared for. the young players file today -- failed to be competitive. the result, an overall record of 51 and 130. after the loss to the sixers, the wizards president ernie grumfeld gave his recommendations. >> i made the recommendations, it was my decision. i felt like we needed a different voice and a different direction. i had hired flip and i, i just, i know the situation pretty well and he said that if that is your recommendation and i wilould like to have a laugh and a hoop, but there comes a time where it's work and play. and right now, those two are in, you know, coming together too often and we're playing, you know, around too much without the focus of doing what we're supposed to do and how to do it. >> the capitals host the bruins tonight and the final game befor

assistant coach randy whitman will take over for the rest of the season. >> i made the recommendationas my decision. i felt like we needed a different voice and going a different direction. i had hired flip and i know the situation pretty well and he said if that is your recommendation, then i'll go with it. >> is this a happy day? no. by any regard, you know, a good man walked out the door today. >> i don't think we totally understand how you have to play as a young player to be competitive night in and night out. that is what i'm going to try to do. >>> all right to college basketball. tonight, maryland will host duke at the comcast center. the game will be played for the first time on gary williams court. a dedication ceremony is sche

assistant coach randy whitman will serve it is a new head coach for the remainder of the season.izards hold the worst record in the nba at 2-15. they take on the charlotte bobcats tonight at the verizon center. >> we'll see if it makes a difference. >> we're hoping things turn around. a look at traffic and weather every 10 minutes. adam caskey is standing by. it was hard for anyone to complain about the weather yesterday. it was fantastic. >> unless you're a snow lover. all we have to do is head west of the mountains and we can find our snow. last night we beat the bruins. 39 in washington. 27 in manassas. frederick right at the freezing point. most areas we're a few degrees below freezing. cooler than the mid 50's we had yesterday. we'll be in the mid 40's today. about 10 degrees cooler. this is what we should be this time of year. standard temperatures for late january, at least for the afternoon hours. tomorrow, we'll have some areas of rain. light rain throughout the day. i think it will linger into the first part of friday as well. once it is over with by friday afternoon, w

the team fired the head coach yesterday, replacing him with the assistant coach randy whitman. he will get his first start tonight and home against charlotte. alex ovechkin says he will skip the nhl all-star game. the decision comes a day after the league suspended him three games for a big hit. he says that his heart is not in it and he does not deserve to play while his being punished. sounds like a kid. you're right, i should get punished. what you think about this? >> we really pulled it off against the defending champion's last night. scoring five goals. we have a hard time getting even 30 shots against the other team. we got five goals. mathieu perreault, we saw him up close. we got to meet him in person after practice. >> he is very talented. >> thought i told my son teddy that mathieu perreault keeps his oatmeal. and my son says i eat my oatmeal, too. morning temperatures running a little above average again for this time of year. 41 in annapolis. a little cooler in oakland, maryland 28, along with petersburg. 27 in culpeper. that is an exception. clear skies to start t

assistant randy whitman takes over the team. college basketball and college park. coach k. and the blue devils are coming to town tomorrow night. duke comes to maryland in a bad mood. a last-second shot ended duke's home winning streak on saturday. the terps were hope to have the home court tomorrow night. >>> we have the advantage of being at home, having that fan support. and our fans definitely show up for every game. and especially for a duke game. we're going to come out with the fire power to try to, you know, take the first blow because we are both coming out for a tough loss. >> reporter: maryland is actually coming off two straight tough losses. both on the road. the last was this past saturday at temple. tomorrow night is the ceremony to name the court at comcast center after gary williams. and finally, college football news, from annapolis. the naval academy makes it official today, the mids will play football in the big east conference beginning in 2015. navy will be a big east member for football only. joining them in that jump is san diego state and boise stat

randy whitman taking over, flip saunders has been fired. the question will things change?ds 2-15, the worst record in the nba. a bit of good news, take october second worst team in the nba, the charlotte bobcat that game at verizon center, randy builtman's first game you met with players before a shoot around this morning and said we are going to over expectations, wasn't guys to be accountable. whitman does have head coaching experience, going 100-207 in cleveland and minnesota. he said changes will be made and they will have to play hard no matter who they are. >> a decision to move forward, been here two and a half years. tough to see him go, wished he would play hard, do the right things, stay here. we got to make the right decision to move on the. >> always sad to see somebody lose their job and we all feel bad about it because the way we played is why he is not here. this is a result-driven league and we weren't performing under coach flip and now randy's here and it is a new slate and we are excited for the new challenge to turn the season around. >> all right. that

. >> coming up in sports, right now, a tough night for the washington wizards and coach randy whitmaney were hooking for back-to- back wins for the first time since last april but instead the chicago bulls did them in, 98-88. derek rose scored a season high 35 points. john wall led the wizards with 20. more bad news for the wizards. andray blatche will miss three to five weeks with a strained calf. >>> yesterday, we showed you and impressive slam dunk by electric onjames and this morning, we bring you another impressive throwdown. >> this one comes from blake give inof the los angeles clippers. take a look and a listen. >> really letting him play. ate physical game. oh, me, oh my. a monster jam by blake griffin. >> you could hear that one too. >> griffin finished with 22 points. the clips are beat the thunder 112-100. >> i used to do that back in the day. what's the big deal? >> i think you still could. i want to see it happen. >>> we're checking your morning commute and weather. fox 5 morning news will be right back. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet, cleaning better, doesn't

randy whitman coached his first game for the wiz.took over tuesday after flip saunders was fired. nick young had 20 points for the wizards. d.c. tops charlotte 92-75. wizards visit the rockets tomorrow. >> good for them. >>> it is 6:24. ahead, governor bob mcdonnell hits the campaign trail for mitt romney. learn which family member will be joining him. >> making school lunches healthier for children nationwide. hear from the first lady on her visit to a school in alexandria. >> right now, monika has a quick check on traffic. >> here is a live look at k street and 21st street. no problems to report here. but 22nd street is blocked between f and g with a large sinkhole. more on area roadways and an accident in brandywine coming up in my next report. you're watching 9news now. stay with us. we're back at 6:29. a live look at the u.s. capitol. a little cloudy out right now. >> thank you for starting your day with us. good morning, i'm andrea roane. >> happy thursday, i'm mike hydeck. meteorologist howard bernstein live on the weather ter

randy whitman takes over but after four coaching changes in four years, how secure should ernie grunfeld be? >> we have to get consistency throughout the line-up. and everybody is responsible for this including the players. we all felt like maybe it was time for a different voice and to maybe try to do some different things to try to take advantage of the talent and the talent of the players on the team. >> alex ovechkin says he will not be skating in the all-star game. he's suspended for three games for this hit on sunday. wasn't penalized in the game. in his absence, the team has been talking about others stepping up to wit, this was matthew perrault. >> speed and energy. these guys are going -- trying to give them the puck. >> he got it back. he scored in a variety of ways! a hat trick, first career for the young man. caps getting the win over the bruins, 5-3 last night. that's going to do it for your morning sports. i'm dave owens, have a great day, everybody! >>> delegates in virginia work to repeal a law which requires all girls be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus. >

assistant randy whitman will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. the wizards have the league's worst record, just 2-15 this year. they have a decent chance at nabbing the third victory tonight. they take on 39-15 charlotte bobcats at verizon center. >>> 5:27 the time. coming up, presenting his vision for the nation. the things president obama is pushing for this year to try to get the economy going. >>> plus, helping stop crime. ♪ pierre! your fashion is so "right now," but your banking is so last season! earn more with high yield free checking at capital one bank. instead of some unfashionable rate, your checking could be earning five times the national average. and free atms anywhere. five times the interest? that's hot. oooooo! let's catwalk! you want more interest? open an account at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet? does this make my tuches look big? >>> where we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot and everyone does their fair share. >> making his case, president obama lays out his vision for boosting the economy in

. >> the wizards will play their first game under new coach randy whitman.he team fired flip saunders tuesday. this season, the wiz were a pitiful 2-15 in three years. 51-130. saunders had a year left on his contract but team president ernie grunfeld said it was time for a change. now, fans are asking if grunfeld will be the next to go. whitman will lead the wizards for the rest of the season. >>> on the ice last night, the caps hosted the bruins, tied at 3 in the third period. matthew perrault scored the go- ahead goal. his third of the game. his first career hat trick. d.c. tops boston 5-3. the caps move back into first place in the southeast division. they're off until next week for the all-star game. >>> let's start with a clean slate and some hope. we're less than four weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training. and today, we'll get to meet the nationals newest pitcher. the team will introduce gonzalez at a press conference this afternoon at nationals park. the all-star left-hander was traded here from oakland. he signed a deal

assistant coach randy whitman will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season. the wizards have the league's worst record, two wins against 15 losses this year. some crazy optimists say they have a chance of nabbing a third win tonight. they take on the 3-15 charlotte bobcats at verizon center. >> wonder who they might be, joe. >>> the biggest solar storm in years is hitting the earth. nasa released these image of the sun. the radioactive particles haven't caused any serious problems on earth. but just in case, delta airlines re-routed at least six flights to the north pole. the airline made the change to avoid potential communication problems and exposing pilots and passengers to excessive radiation. the charged particles could also cause power surges and interfere with radio, tv, and telephone signals. >> that's pretty weird, but my question is -- since when did delta have six flights to the north pole? who is going to see the north pole in the dead of winter? >> maybe you weren't happy with santa's presents, now is the time that you go and complain. >> the re

and the wizards, believe it, trying to go 3-1 under new head coach randy whitman as news 4 at >>> anut battle in the republican presidential contest is under way in florida. mitt romney has taken an aggressive stance and is pounding newt gingrich with a barrage of attack ads ahead of tomorrow's primary. the latest poll suggests that romney remains in the lead but gingrich is closing the gap. >>> a no camping law is now being enforced at the occupy camps in mcpherson square and freedom plaza. under the law the tents can stay as a symbol of the movement but protesters cannot live or sleep in them any longer. if they do they can be arrested. protesters draped a big blue tarp over the statue in mcpherson square in defiance but so far no major confrontations. >>> authorities investigating the murder of an alexandria community activist say he was shot to death. the body of 53-year-old lenny harris was found last week, dumped in a well in a remote area of prince george's county. he'd been missing for four months. an anonymous tip led police to the body. here's doug with the forecast. >>> we

assistant randy whitman will serve as interi am head coach for the rest of the season. wizards have the league's worst record. they are just 2-15 this year. they have a decent chance of nabbing that third victory tonight, though. they take on the 3-15 charlotte bobcats at the verizon center this evening. >>> let's check in again with tom kierein. any update on the weather? >> we were going to have quite a bit of shine another couple of hours now. as promised here is the most high-definition, high-resolution image ever released of full planet earth. just released this morning by nasa. this is the full earth, this is a true color, high-definition image. the best hd image ever released of the full earth ever taken by a brand-new weather satellite logged. mp3 satellite got this image. and this is just spectacular. tremendous detail. true color image. in other words if you were writing on this satellite looking down on earth this is what it really looks like. just an amazing image there. well, let's take a look at what's going on around our region now. we do have some sunshi

. >> the 3 and 15, 1 and 8 on the road, lost 5 straight if wizards lose tonight, fire randy whitman. >> we can lay claim. >>> let me ask you this, this was -- you can kind of see this coming the team is 2 and 15 they don't seem to progress the young players are not getting better, so is this a good move? can whitman, the new guy, an assistant, can he do anything with this team? >> it is a stop gap. if you look at randy's track record, he is a long time nba guy, played end annona his coaching record is abysmal. >> he is a loser. >>> he is look at his -- look at his career record as a head coach he is 107 games below 500. >> right. >> he is representative of the same regime nothing is going to change it is smart they play charlotte they have a chance to get a win but it will be a quick bump right back into the toilet. >> by the way they will probably lose to charlotte, campbell walker will probably go nuts for them. >> possible. >> let's turn our attention to the cats they won last night that is good but i want to talk about alex ovechkin he decided to sit out the all-star game doesn't

okay, then, randy whitman takes over and it's his third lead job, he coached in minnesota and cleveland, his overall record 100 and 207. >> the united states never it, for the past 100 years never it hasn't played in anyones conference. they've been an independent and that changes starting in 2-15. part of the big east conference. >> this weeks high school game of the week poll. some great basketball games. the stags one of our headliners and then you got in the girls side undefeated oakton and go to d.c..highschoolsports.net. >> finally, alex had a lot of time on his hands and his teammate matthew are going for the gusto, so what do they do? how about a little russian tie in the face, he comes down from the press booth and says okay, you had a great game. how about russian pie? >> russian pie. >> it's good [ bird chirping ] [ snoring ] [ clears throat ] hop to, gang. it's showtime. uh, do you know this guy? i'm not gonna cry, am i? only if you don't believe in the power of friendship. really? you guys are good. [ male announcer ] your favorite movies right when you want them. watch unl