John’s Blog - Coast To Coast

If you’re a big Country music and Carrie Underwood fan like me, then yesterday was a pretty big day. Carrie’s brand new single, “So Small” hit the airwaves here locally at 3 PM PST on GO Country 105 (KKGO FM). After much anticipation - it’s almost been two years since Carrie’s “Some Hearts” album came out - it was great to finally hear some new Carrie on the radio… KKGO decided they were going to play it at the top of every hour during the late afternoon show, and given that a lot of my friends’ stations weren’t being so proactive in playing it, I decided to share the streaming link of KKGO to others all throughout the country! I had friends in Texas, Alabama and Massachusetts listening to my station just to hear Carrie’s new song!!! I guess you could call it an online listening party! After producing four consecutive number one singles off of “Some Hearts,” her new album definitely has a tough act to follow. So far, so good though. In it’s first several hours, “So Small” amassed 145 spins - garnering enough of an audience to land at #56 on the Country chart. Look for this to move swiftly up the charts!

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The big sports story today just has to be the pedning trade of Mark Teixeira from the Texas Rangers to the Atlanta Braves. The Braves sent catcher Jarrod Saltalamachhia and three prospects for the slugger… I guess the big question is where will “Big Teix” hit in the already potent Braves lineup??? With a .397 on-base percentage, perhaps they will hit him third between Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones. This would bump Andruw Jones down to the 5-slot, Brian McCann down to 6th, and team RBI leader Jeff Francoeur into the 7-slot in the batting order. Yes, it sounds crazy to be hitting “Frenchy” that far down in the order, but I guess it’s going to be a testament as to just how potent the Braves new lineup is.

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Lastly, I just wanted to pay tribute to the late Bill Walsh. The Hall of Fame coach of the San Francisco 49ers died yesterday at age 75 from leukemia. Often referred to as “the genius,” Walsh revolutionized the game of football in the 1980’s with his innovative West Coast Offense, winning three Super Bowls. Not only did his 49er teams win, they won convincingly. And they were FUN to watch…. watching the 49ers during his reign truly was like watching a well-oiled machine. Walsh was not only good at designing an offense, he was good at finding talent. He drafted a quarterback named Joe Montana out of Notre Dame in 1979 and a relatively unknown receiver named Jerry Rice from Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft. As most of you know, Montana became arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, while Rice went on to shatter basically every NFL receiving record in the books. In addition to being a great coach, Walsh was a very caring and compassionate person. He was a man of class and dignity. To many of his players, he was like a second father. It’s hard to put into words what he did and the influence he had on not just football, but American culture. The city of San Francisco was TOTALLY revitalized just because of him and the image he projected for his team. Ultimately, that image would transcend the city by the Bay. People that don’t even know a thing about football, have heard the name Bill Walsh. There are fewer people in sports that were more revered, or more admired than he was. The world has lost a great human being. May he rest in peace.

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For the LPGA’s most marketable player, six long years of heartache and near misses finally ended as Natalie Gulbis broke through to get her first tour victory in the Evian Masters yesterday in France. Undoubtedly the most popular player on tour amongst both the fans and her peers, Natalie nearly won a year ago before falling to Mi Hyun Kim in the third hole of a playoff. Over the years, Natalie has been very unfairly compared to a certain tennis player - one who failed to have any major success on her tour. Many fail to realize that this victory for Natalie was just a matter of time in coming. She earned over a million dollars in 2005 and finished sixth on the money list while scoring 12 top 10 finishes, coming in third twice. Last year, she didn’t do quite as well, but still managed to finish 16th on the money list including the aforementioned playoff loss and a third place finish to go along with five other top 10’s. Due mostly to some back issues, Natalie was off to a slow start in 2007, only placing in the top 10 once. Little did we know that her breakthrough win would finally come yesterday.

In winning her first tournament, Natalie played steadier than the rest of the field. While perhaps as many as ten players, including Lorena Ochoa and Annika Soranstam, had chances to win the tournament, none of them could make the putts when it counted. Natalie began the day at two under par, four strokes off the lead of Juli Inkster. Inkster quickly faltered, bogeying the second and fourth holes. A few groups ahead of her, Natalie shot a three-under-par 33 on the front nine to seize the lead at five under par. Natalie had several opportunities to stretch her lead on the back nine, but the putts would not fall and she in fact bogeyed the 14th hole to fall to four under par. Ochoa spent much of the back nine tied with Natalie for the lead, before a costly bogey on the 18th hole would leave her one stroke back. Soranstam, Natalie’s playing partner on the day, would need an eagle on the 18th to tie for the lead, but she would have to settle for par and a tie for sixth. Inkster would also have her chances, but three bogeys to go with a birdie from 14 through 17 left her at three under par.

As she took the tee at 15, Jeong Jang stood at one under par, three back of Natalie, Ochoa and Inkster, and only probably hoping to get a top 10 finish. Jang birdied 15 and 16 though to get close. She than made another birdie on 18 to get to four under par and into a playoff with Natalie. The first playoff hole was the par-5 18th hole. Jang won the honor and hit a clean drive into the center of the fairway, as did Natalie. Jang’s approach shot to the green went over, while Natalie hit a perfect shot, landing about 25 feet from the pin. Jang pitched to about fifteen feet to set up a long birdie effort.

Natalie then hit her eagle putt to within a foot for a tap-in birdie. Jang knew that she would need to hole her putt to have a chance. Her putt quickly veered off to the left and Natalie finally would have her moment in the sun. She made the putt (see picture at left) and raised her hands triumphantly in the air to celebrate her first win. Tears of joy came from her, she then hugged her caddie, her Mom and her longtime friend and recent major winner Cristie Kerr.

This is not just a huge victory for Natalie, but a huge victory for women’s golf in general. Although Soranstam and Ochoa may be the tour’s two best players, Natalie is undoubtedly the most popular and marketable due to her stunning looks. Many in the sports world hadn’t taken Natalie seriously until now, citing the fact that she had never won. Few know that there is probably no one in the game that works harder at her game than Natalie. Her coach Butch Harmon (who also coaches Phil Mickelson) has actually had to tell her to not put in so much time with her game, but to just enjoy life a little more… With her much-awaited first win, you can bet that Natalie’s definitely going to be enjoying life on the LPGA tour more than ever now. Congratulations, Natalie on a much-deserved first victory!

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Last night, I went to see arguably the best vocalist in all of music at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Martina McBride. Many of my friends had told me that I would go away simply in awe of how such powerful vocals could come out of someone so small in stature. Believe me, after last night, there is little doubt that they knew exactly what they were talking about.

Before I tell you all about Martina, I have to talk a little about the venue it was held in - it was an absolute nightmare actually trying to get inside! Those of you that live in Southern California as I do know all about our infamous traffic. It only took about 40 minutes to get from my Aunt’s home 45 miles away in Mira Loma to within 1/2 mile of the venue in Costa Mesa via the freeways. From that point though, it took us TWO HOURS to get inside! Can you say mass transit??? Oh how I was longing to be back in D.C. and riding the Metro or busses… By the time we arrived, not only had we missed the entire set by opening act Little Big Town, but we had also missed Martina’s opening song “Anyway” off her brand new Waking Up Laughing CD. As my Aunt, Mom and I stepped out of our car, I instantly recognized the chorus to her hit “Wild Angels” playing. Quickly, we all got inside to hear the rest of Martina’s set…

During the show, we got to hear all of Martina’s big hits including “Happy Girl” and her latest hit “How I Feel.” She then went into a set of songs from her Timeless CD, paying homage to her Country heritage. The three songs off that set were her hit cover of Lynn Anderson’s “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden,” along with covers of Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and Kris Kristofferson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

In addition to appreciating her Country heritage, Martina made reference several times to how a day never goes by that she’s not thankful for what she has. Growing up, she only wanted to do one thing for a living - SING! We’re all pretty thankful for that! Martina continued to deliver her powerful, emotion-filled vocals as she sang “Blessed,” “Concrete Angel,” and “Love’s The Only House.” The girls in the audience particularly got into her huge hit “This One’s For The Girls,” and the crowd was left standing on it’s feed, raucously applauding and wanting more as she closed the her hour and a half set with “Independence Day.”

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But she wasn’t done!!! The crowd roared for an encore and got their wish as she came back from her five minute respite and she broke into an encore cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believen’” It takes quite a vocalist to cover a Steve Perry song, and let me tell you, she more than did an amazing job - she did an AWESOME job!!! Martina then closed things out with a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” Once again, the crowd REALLY got into and we were left just thirsting for more of this incredible singer!!

To some of you, 755 is just another number. But to those of us that are fans of America’s pasttime, it’s the most celebrated number in the sport. Hammerin’ Hank Aaron clubbed 755 home runs over his career with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves and the Milwaukee Brewers. For nearly 40 years, the home run record stood at 714. The great George Herman “Babe” Ruth clubbed most of that number as a member of the famous New York Yankee teams of the 1920’s and early 1930’s… Many thought the Babe’s record would never be broken.

The same can probably be said about Henry Aaron’s 755 home run mark. For a very long time, no one seriously approached it. In the late 1990’s though, players used new dietary supplements (some of which are very controversial) and put up home run totals that had been previously unseen. Roger Maris famously hit 61 home runs in 1961 to break the Babe’s 34-year-old record of 60. No one had come close to approaching 60 homers (and few had even hit 50) until that famous 1998 season when both Mark McGwire (70) and Sammy Sosa (66) would shatter Maris’ mark. McGwire would hit 65 homers the next year, but lingering knee injuries would force his retirement just two years later. Sosa would hit 63 homers in 1999, 50 in 2000, and 64 in 2001. Those 64 homers that Sosa hit in 2001 would not even lead the league though - that honor went to the San Francisco Giants’ Barry Bonds who shattered McGwire’s mark, clubbing 73 homers.

With his 73 home run season, it became obvious that he remained healthy, Bonds would someday approach Aaron’s record. While Sosa is now just past 600 homers in spite of all of those 50+ seasons (he took last year off from the game), Bonds is now on the cusp of history. Last night he clubbed his 20th home run of the year in the Giants 12-10 victory over the Florida Marlins last night. For Bonds it was the 754th home run of his career. None of us really know for sure if Bonds (or McGwire or Sosa) put up their record breaking numbers legitimately. Someday, the truth will come out. Regardless, we’re now on the brink of a historic moment. Love him/hate him, however you feel about him, Bonds’ historic home run chase is “must see TV” if you’re a baseball fan like me. ESPN will be televising tonight’s Giants/Marlins game at 9PM ET/6PM PT. I actually have a prior engagement so I won’t be able to watch tonight. I’m going to see Martina McBride along with Little Big Town in concert, but I’ll have my cellphone on me so I can check on ESPN’s bottom line for updates…

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After his slow start this year, many people (myself included) were questioning the selection of Manny Ramirez to represent the Boston Red Sox in this year’s All-Star Game. A .284 batting average and 11 home runs to go along with 45 RBI’s? A pace of just 20 homers and 85 RBI’s??? This was hardly Manny “just being Manny.” People were speculating that perhaps THE MANNY at 35 years of age was on the downside of his career and that he didn’t have a lot of productive time left. This is a player who for nine conseuctive years has smashed at least 33 home runs and driven in 102 or more - doing all of this while missing 32 games one season and more than 40 games twice! For him to have such un-Manny-like numbers more than halfway through the season was very disconcerting for most of us.

Apparently, the recent All-Star break was just what the doctor ordered to rejuvenate Mr. Ramirez. Yesterday in Cleveland, he clubbed two homers, including a 484-foot shot to left center field in the Red Sox’ 14-9 victory over the Indians. With that huge day, all he has done in the 15 games since the break is hit .415 (22-for-53) with 6 homers, 19 RBI’s and a ridiculous .500 on base percentage to go with an .811 slugging average. With a .303 batting average, 17 homers and 64 RBI’s on the season, Manny is suddenly close to being on pace for yet another year of 30+ homers, and 100+ RBI’s… if you own him in a few fantasy leagues as I do, it indeed is very nice to see Manny Just Being Manny again!

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As I’m sure a lot of you know, there are a lot of milestones close to coming down - Alex Rodriguez needs one more homer for 500 in his career, and a certain San Francisco Giant player needs two more homers to tie the all-time record of Hank Aaron’s… Definitely some exciting stuff to look forward to. Not to mention the great Pedro Martinez currently has 2,998 strikeouts, so when the future Hall of Famer comes back next month, he’s all but assured of cracking the 3,000 barrier. Speaking of the Hall of Fame, on Sunday the great Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn will be inducted. Two class acts - and players who spent their entire career with only one team. In this day and age of free agency, that indeed is something to be very porud of.

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Lots of games to cover yesterday… In Philadelphia, the Washington Nationals overcame an early 5-2 deficit to score two runs in the 7th and three more in the 8th inning on a Jesus Flores three-run homer to take a 7-5 lead over the Phillies. Ryan Howard clubbed his 29th homer for the home team, but it wasn’t enough as “the Chief,” Chad Cordero came in to record his 20th save for the Nationals in spite of giving up a run in the bottom of the 9th. The Nats are again playing good ball, winning 8 of 14 games since they held Miss DC Day at RFK Stadium the day before the All-Star break. Like I said before, all they needed was a little inspiration to start playing better!

Speaking of Miss DC connections, Jeff Francoeur hit a monstrous two run homer off rookie sensation Tim Lincecum in the fourth inning to give the Atlanta Braves a 2-0 lead over the Giants at 3-Com Park in San Francisco yesterday afternoon. Just to clarify for those of you that don’t know, the soon-to-be-married Francoeur went to Parkview High School in Atlanta, Georgia - the same school as 2006 Miss DC Kate Michael went to. FYI, Francoeur was engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Catie McCoy this past summer. Unfortunately for the Braves, starting pitcher Buddy Carlyle could not keep the Giants in check, surrendering three runs in the fifth inning and one more in the sixth before being pulled with two outs in that frame. Ex-Dodger and UCLA graduate Dave Roberts led the Giants attack with three hits and two RBI’s as they took a 4-2 victory over the Braves.

The Dodgers headed off to Colorado yesterday for the first of a four game series against the Rockies. The red-hot Jeff Kent got a day off, but that hardly slowed down the Blue Crew as they would quickly jump to a 5-0 lead off of Rockie starter Rodrigo Lopez, thanks in large part to a 2-run single by Nomar Garciaparra in the fourth inning and a two-run homer by shortstop Rafael Furcal in the fifth. Brad Penny kept the Rockies silent until the sixth when Todd Helton would hit a sacrifice fly, and Brad Hawpe hit a two-run single. Jonathan Broxton would give up a run-scoring single to Hawpe in the bottom of the 8th inning to make it a 5-4 game, but Takeshi Saito would come in and close things out in the 9th for his 26th save of the year. For Penny, it was his league leading 13th victory of the year. The Dodgers now have a 1 1/2 game lead in the National League West over the suddenly resurgent Arizona Diamondbacks who won 7-4 last night thanks to a dramatic three-run walkoff homer by Eric Byrnes with two outs in the ninth off of Florida Marlins’ reliever Armando Benitez. With the win, the Diamondbacks swept their four game series with the Marlins.

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The calendar may say that Jeff Kent is 39 years young, but he certainly is not playing like it… he just keeps on going and going! There is little doubt that Kent will be elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility - it may come as soon as five years from now if he retires at the end of this season. Just a little more than a month ago, some people were beginning to write Kent off and saying his career may be finished. In an injury plagued 2006 season, Kent only hit 14 homers - the first time in 10 seasons he had failed to hit at least 22. This year, after an 0-for-4 against the Angels at Dodger Stadium on June 17th his batting average stood at .254 with only nine homers and 33 RBI’s. Only twice ever had Kent’s average been that low at the end of a season - his rookie year of 1992 for the Mets (when he hit .239) and in 1997 with the San Francisco Giants where he only hit .250, but he clouted 29 homers and drove in 121 runs.

Ever since the cross-town Angels left town though, Kent has absolutely been on fire. Over his past 29 games, he is hitting .400 (42-for-105) with six homers, 22 RBI’s and 20 runs scored. His batting average now stands at .295, and his 15 homers and 55 RBI’s on the season have him on pace for his typical 25 homer, 90 RBI or so campaign. It appears that Mr. Kent still has something left in the tank after all! And with young stars Matt Kemp and James Loney coming along well, not to mention a suddenly resurgent Nomar Garciaparra, it appears Kent is going to continue to see his opportunities… Needless to say, if you have Kent on several fantasy teams as I still do, you’re probably counting your blessings that you stuck with him through his slow start!

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As the major league baseball trading deadline draws near, I thought it might be a good time to try to unearth a few more “diamonds” for your fantasy teams…

1. Mike Cameron (OF-SD) 69% owned in CBS Sportsline leagues - For a player who has hit 20 or more homers five times and stolen 20 or more bases eight times in his first 10 full major league seasons, Mike Cameron is certainly a guy who should be getting a little more respect in fantasy circles. Just how many consistent 20/20 guys are there out there? Not many!!! Cameron got off to a slow start this year, with his batting average being as low as .200 as late as May 13th. A very streaky hitter, Cameron got his average all the way up to .266 by the end of June, but he has only hit .194 this month so far to bring his average back down to .253. He has homered twice in the past eight games. With Cameron, you know the hot streak is always right around the corner. The key is to get him as it’s starting. I think now just might be that time!

2. Matt Garza (SP-MIN) 65% owned - With the way Matt Garza just absolutely tore through the minor leagues last year (a 14-4 record and a 1.995 ERA combined at 3 levels), there was little doubt he would do just fine once he was brought up to the majors. Last year, he struggled with a 5.76 ERA in 50 innings with the big club. So far this year, he’s been nothing short of magical. In his first four games with the Twins his year, he’s only allowed three earned runs in his first 20 1/3 innings for a sparkling 1.33 ERA. As with any young pitcher, expect some bumps along the way, but he is looking like just another arm that the amazing Twins pitching staff is going to be able to rely on for a very long time.

3. Ryan Freel (OF/3B-CIN) 45% owned - With steals such a precious commodity in fantasy leagues, it’s quite surprising that a guy who has racked up 110 steals over the past three years is still so available today. A remarkably consistent hitter, batting .277, .271 and .271 over the past three years, Freel missed a month due to injury, but since his July return, it’s been the same old Freel as he’s stolen seven bases in his past 15 games. His batting average only stands at .246 at the moment, and you what they say about the law of averages… I’d expect to see his batting average climb closer to the .270 mark from here on out, and if you can use 15 or so steals the rest of the way, you might have your guy!

4. Matt Kemp (OF-LA Dodgers) 35% owned - You probably remember this guy real well from how he burst onto the scene last year for the Dodgers - 7 homers in his first 15 games to go along with a .378 (17-for-45) batting average. Pitchers soon figured the young rookie out though, giving him a steady diet of breaking balls as he only hit .202 (22-for-109) without a homer the rest of the way. The Dodgers worked extensively in the off-season with Kemp in helping him hit the off-speed stuff and so far so good… They are having a very hard time keeping him out of the lineup. In 119 at bats so far this year, he’s hitting .361 with 6 homers, 23 RBI’s, 23 runs and 3 steals. Kemp is playing almost every day now… If you project his numbers out over a full season, you get some very gaudy looking figures - 30 homers, 115 RBI’s, 115 runs and 15 steals. It appears that he is handling the breaking ball just fine these days and I believe he’s ready to become a fixture in the Dodgers outfield for many years to come.

5. Pedro Martinez (SP-NYM) 28% owned - As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of Pedro Martinez… I mean he used to pitch for my Dodgers before they traded him to the Montreal Expos for whom again? One of the worst trades in major league history… Pedro has been responsible for much of my success in the fantasy game this past decade… and all reports indicate that he still has a little left in the tank. His rehab is coming along well, and he’s scheduled to make his return to the Mets sometime towards the mid-late part of August. If you have a free bench or DL slot, now is the time to get him. Pedro is a fearless competitor who claims to feel better health-wise than he has in several years. He just might be the guy who in September who will be the difference between your team winning or losing.

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I’m not one to usually write about the negative aspects of sports, but after what has happened this past week in the NBA and the NFL, I feel compelled to at least say something. Today, I’ll discuss the NBA and the gambling allegations against one of the league’s officials. At some later point, I may discuss the NFL and the Michael Vick situation, but quite honestly that particular issue really sickens me to the point where I have a hard time writing about it.

For those of you that don’t know, the NBA’s scandal involves referee Tim Donaghy betting on and changing the outcome of an unknown number of professional basketball games. Donaghy has been an official in the league for 13 years, and apparently has been under investigation by commissioner David Stern before for gambling allegations. Now he is under investigation by the FBI, and they are now just basically waiting for Donaghy to turn himself in. Apparently, they have quite a lot of evidence to support the allegations.

As someone that has been a fan of the NBA ever since I was very young thanks to the many great Los Angeles Lakers championship teams, I have personally suspected something like this going on for quite some time. Over the past several years, I’ve noticed a steady decline in the quality of officiating - in particular I’ve seen A LOT more inconsistency in foul calls. There was a time a few years ago when I used to post a lot on the ESPN fantasy sports boards. I often made reference on those boards to the fact that I thought NBA games were now being rigged. Most of the other posters thought I was crazy to say something like this, but there were a few that did share my sentiments. Now the other shoe has FINALLY dropped…

As I’ve become more jaded with the NBA, the past few years I began doing something I never used to do before - I started turning games off before they were over due SOLELY to my frustration with the officiating!!! I’d be willing to bet (no pun intended) that more than one of the games I’ve turned off the past few years has involved some coveniently blown calls by Donaghy.

Don’t get me wrong, there can still be some excitement and fun in watching an NBA game - every once in a while, I’ll see something really special like Kobe Bryant going off for 81 points in the 2005-2006 season, or the Washington Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas dropping 60 on the Lakers in a game last year… The NBA was, for quite a long time, my favorite sport to watch on television. Now with me, it probably ranks a distant seventh behind major league baseball, pro football, golf, college football, college basketball & auto racing.

Commissioner Stern had a press conference yesterday about the allegations and in not so many words is treating this as an “isolated incident.” Given what I’ve seen the past several years, I highly doubt (unfortunately) that this is the case. Was it just me, or did it seem like he was hiding something during that hour long press conference??? Personally, I think Stern is a lot of the problem. Full scale brawls have broken out in games in each of the past two seasons - something which rarely used to happen… As commissioner, his suspensions and fines over the past few years have become more and more inconsistent. The number of fights and incidents in games has been on an upward swing for many years now. It also seems like that the more personal dislike or disdain Stern has for a player, the worse the fine/suspension is for that particular player. If he likes a player, then the player may get off with just a fine for the EXACT same offense! It is well known in league circles that he doesn’t care for the aforementioned Bryant and several other players, yet Steve Nash and others can seemingly do no wrong in his eyes. Stern, first and foremost, needs to stop playing favorites!!! As for the gambling allegations, Stern should have dealt with this properly when it first surfaced. Way back in 2005, there were gambling allegations surrounding Donaghy and though they were investigated, no evidence of gambling was found. A deeper, more thorough investigation at the time may have nipped this in the bud.

To me, there really is only ONE solution at this point, and that is to get a new NBA Commissioner. The NBA needs someone who will be fair and impartial and also someone who is truly looking out for the best interests of the league. Stern may have been good for the league at one point, but I think it’s time that someone new is brought on board to give the NBA a much needed fresh start.

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My top 20 favorite songs…

1. First Time - Lifehouse (1 week @ #1)
2. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5 (1 week @ #1)
3. I Told You So - Keith Urban
4. Home - Daughtry (3 weeks @ #1)
5. How I Feel - Martina McBride
6. I Wonder - Kellie Pickler
7. Teardrops On My Guitar - Taylor Swift
8. Take Me There - Rascal Flatts
9. (You Want To) Make A Memory - Bon Jovi
10. I Need You - Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
11. A Different World - Bucky Covington
12. Lost In This Moment - Big & Rich (1 week @ #1)
13. I Got More - Cole Deggs & The Lonesome
14. 4 In The Morning - Gwen Stefani
15. Johnny Cash - Jason Aldean
16. Undeniable - Mat Kearney
17. Hey There Delilah - Plain White T’s
18. Big Girls Don’t Cry - Fergie
19. Never Wanted Nothing More - Kenny Chesney
20. Online - Brad Paisley

I had the great priviledge of attending the 2007 Miss District of Columbia and Miss Teen D.C. pageant this past Saturday at the Bell Multiculural Auditorium. A total of 14 outstanding young women competed for the Miss D.C. title and another four were up for the Miss Teen D.C. crown. Marshawn Evans, 2001 Miss D.C., hosted the event.

Elizabeth Payne, Miss D.C.’s Outstanding Teen 2006 opened with the singing of our National Anthem. The show started with a dance routine led by my friend, 2006 Miss D.C., Kate Michael and all 18 of this year’s competitors. It was a very fun and lively routine. The contestants and the judges were then introduced. This was followed by the swimsuit competition. Then came the moment I personally enjoyed the most as Kate then came onstage to perform her jazz dance routine to the song “Fever.” - the same routine she had used last year to win the 2006 Miss D.C. title and in the 2007 Miss America pageant. The crowd gave Kate a rousing ovation after her two minute performance!

Following that, Kate interviewed each of the eighteen contestants… The questions had been pre-selected and written by the panel of judges. Then Teri Galvez, Exectutive Director of the Miss D.C. Scholarship Organization, came up to give acknowledgements. Kate was on stage with her, when in a very touching moment, Teri presented Kate with a beautiful framed portrait of herself. Teri then had Kate’s parents come on stage and pose with Kate and her portait.

Next came the talent competition, and let me tell you, there was A LOT of talent in this group of girls!!! Every one of the 18 girls gave their all - there were several outstanding vocal performances, a modern dance, a jazz dance, a violinist, a flutist and even a comedic routine amongst the Miss D.C. contestants, while the four Miss Teen D.C. contestants were split between dramatic readings and ballet performances. Every one of the contestants got a much deserved ovation from the audience.

A short fifteen minute or so intermission took place during the talent competition, giving all of us in the audience a chance to mingle and talk with each other. I spent the first part of the intermission with Kate’s boyfriend, Bill Dean, and then later had the great pleasure of meeting Kate’s parents. Since I’m an avid golf and baseball fan, Kate’s father and I soon got to talking about both of those topics… in particular, the British Open that was going on this weekend…

After the intermission, the talent competition finished. Then came another touching moment as a bunch of very young future hopeful Miss D.C.’s came on stage. Kate presented each one of them with a flower and then they made their way back to their seats.

Elizabeth then came on stage to display her amazing voice one final time before giving up her Miss Teen D.C. crown… This was followed by the final competition of the night, the evening wear. The girls all looked simply RADIANT in their outfits!

Following that, Kate then came on stage one last time to reflect on her year as Miss D.C. Kate wore an absolutely STUNNING white dress as the picture to the left will attest! Kate smiled and waved at the crowd, looking beautiful as always!

Finally, the moment everyone was waiting for had almost arrived - the crowning of the two Miss D.C.’s… as per usual though, Marshawn had to stall for time and tell some jokes while the votes were being tabulated. Marshawn then had all of the boyfriends of the competitors and reigning Miss D.C.’s come on stage. She taught them some basics on proper footwook and how to turn. Everyone had a lot of fun watching the guys attempt what the girls make look so easy!!!

With that, the votes were tabulated. Kate and Elizabeth rejoined Marshawn on stage for some closing words and then the moment was here - all 18 of the girls came on stage for the judges final decisions.The 2007 Miss Teen D.C. was announced first, and the winner was LaTonya Abrams! I actually met LaTonya, also known as “L.A.,” at the Miss D.C. Day at the Nationals two weeks earlier, and she struck me as someone who just might take home the title. She was also extremely nice! Congrats, LaTonya!

Then the big moment came - the crowning of the 2007 Miss District of Columbia… and the winner was Shayna Rudd!!!
Shayna did an outstanding job in every area of the competition and was VERY deserving of the title. Shayna will have some very big shoes to fill in replacing Kate, but judging by what I saw there and what everyone else was saying after the competition I think she will do a great job representing the District in the coming year! For more on the pageant, please go to the official website of Miss District of Columbia at MissDC.org

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Following the pageant, I got to spend some more time with Bill and also Kate’s parents. We took a couple of pictures and then I was invited to the Play Lounge by Bill and Kate to celebrate with some of Kate’s other friends. At the club, I had the great pleasure of also meeting a couple of Kate’s closest friends - Pamela Sorenson and “big sister” Victoria Michael. We all had a great time there, celebrating Kate and her year as Miss D.C…

On this, my fourth trip to the nation’s capital I finally made a visit to the Smithsonian. I had been a little hesitant to visit previously, because I knew that once I went inside one of their many museums that I would have a hard time leaving. Well, that’s precisely what happened to me on Saturday afternoon. I first visited the main building, where I saw many different exhibits. There were precious gemstones, famous documents, and a wide variety of other things to see - literally something for everyone! I soon stumbled into an area I had always wanted to see - the exhibit of famous and rare U.S. Coins. Being a coin collector since the age of five, and being fascinated by their history, I was thoroughly intrigued with being able to see some of the world’s most valuable and rare coins. The famous 1913 Liberty Nickel (of which only five were made) and the 1804 Silver Dollar were both on display… my jaw simply dropped at the mere sight of these coins!
Later, I visited the Natural History museum and saw an amazing variety of animals that had inhabited our great planet both present and past…

From what everyone tells me, you could spend an entire month in the Smithsonian, and still not get close to seeing everything. I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg, and honestly I can’t wait to go back and see more!!!