Washington Wizards

SL: Lou Williams out with broken jaw; Shaq pays for girl's funeral

Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your leftover turkey.

Kate Fagan, Philadelphia Inquirer: "76ers point guard Lou Williams underwent surgery Thursday morning to wire together his upper and lower jaws. Williams will miss eight weeks. Early in the first quarter of Tuesday night's loss to the Washington Wizards, Williams suffered the injury in a collision with Washington forward Antawn Jamison. [...] 'I was spitting out blood every timeout, but I thought it was my tooth so I didn't think it was as serious as it was,' said Williams, who was averaging 17.4 points and 5.1 assists per game. 'I just continued to play, and there wasn't a lot of pain involved because I was playing on adrenaline obviously. But I knew something was wrong, just not to this magnitude.' After a sleepless, painful night in Boston, an X-ray taken of Williams' jaw initially revealed that fracture. 'What I wanted was something to numb the pain, something to help with the pain and continue to fight through,' Williams said of approaching the trainers on Wednesday morning. 'But you go through the protocol, the X-rays and this and that. And it came back, and there was a big line in my jaw, and that set the alarms off right there.'"

AP: "Shaquille O'Neal paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl after being moved by national news coverage of the case of Shaniya Davis, who police say was kidnapped and killed.  The Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the stories he saw and got in touch with the family to see what he could do to help, a spokeswoman for O'Neal said Thursday. More than 2,000 people attended the girl's funeral Sunday. Her body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road. Her mother, Antionette Davis, who had reported the child missing six days earlier, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in the case. 'I was sitting at home watching it on the news and the story brought a tear to my eye,' O'Neal told The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper."

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• Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:35 am EST
• Ball Don't Lie
• By J.E. Skeets
• 6 Comments

Rest in peace, Abe

Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin died today, the team announced. He was 85.

It's a true loss for Washington, D.C. and the NBA family.

Rest in peace, Abe.

• Tue Nov 24, 2009 5:00 pm EST
• Ball Don't Lie
• By J.E. Skeets
• 25 Comments

Briefing: Down Goes Public Enemy No. 3

Links and reaction from Washington's 94-84 win over Miami.

• Sat Nov 28, 2009 EST
• Bullets Forever
• By JakeTheSnake

Abe Pollin reminded us that sports fandom is about more than winning

The manner in which Abe Pollin both lived his life and ran his sports franchise should remind us that we have reasons for being sports fans that go beyond the possibility of rooting for a winner.

• Wed Nov 25, 2009 EST
• Bullets Forever
• By Mike Prada

Thank You, Abe Pollin

The death of Wizards owner Abe Pollin prompted an outpouring of remembrances from many whose lives were touched by him.

• Wed Nov 25, 2009 EST
• Bullets Forever
• By JakeTheSnake

Briefing: Wizards Hold on to Beat the Sixers

Links and reactions from the Wizards 108-107 win over Philadelphia.

• Wed Nov 25, 2009 EST
• Bullets Forever
• By JakeTheSnake

The Dagger Report, Episode 4: What's ailing Gilbert Arenas edition

In this week's edition of the Washington Wizards podcast, Mike and Kyle talk with Bullets Forever's Jake Whitacre about Gilbert Arenas' struggles. We also talk with a 76ers blogger about the Wizards' Tuesday opponent.

• Tue Nov 24, 2009 EST
• Bullets Forever
• By Mike Prada