By Mike Wise
Etan Thomas, being a good Wizards employee, has suspended his poetry readings during the playoffs. "I can't have a conflict," he said. "I'll wait till after the season."
That's very magnanimous of the man who disemboweled the Chicago Bulls yesterday at MCI Center, where Washington won its first game against Chicago in a week. The Wizards needed this game almost as much as Thomas needed that basketball.
Sixteen points in six first-half minutes.
Thomas is an extremely buffed 6 feet 9, 260 pounds. When he scowls, he has the appearance of a man who could paralyze you with one finger and kill you with two. But at heart, Thomas is a fluffy bunny. Once he puts on his designer, prescription glasses and stops constricting his locks with a headband, he has that whole Renaissance-guy thing going.
"Etan is a really laid-back guy but he can get mean on the court," teammate Jared Jeffries said. "He's night and day."
Jeffries said Thomas doesn't have a nickname as many of the Wizards do. "If we came up with one for him, he would think we were messing with him and he might kill us," he said.
The fluffy bunny characterization? Not so much.
Wild Times
The crowd was kind of excited yesterday. Like, berserk.
With 8 minutes 47 seconds left in the fourth period, they went retro. Way back, all the way back to The Wave. This was the first time anyone remembered The Wave performed at a pro basketball game in the Washington area since 1988 -- the last time Washington won a playoff game. This was even before Journey had officially broken up.
'Celebrity' Watch
The Pearl was there. The Iceman. Even the Human Highlight Film. All in all, this was one of the great afternoons ever for MCI Famous-People Watching. Not since Jon Secada and Brandi made appearances earlier this season has the building housed such a star-studded cast. This was important because for the first time in several years the biggest celebrities in the arena were not Tim Russert, James Carville, sportswriters with TV gigs or any other jackals from the media.
No, Earl Monroe, George Gervin, Dominique Wilkins, Robert Parish, Harry Feinman and, our personal favorite, Big Wes Unseld were in the house. The players were introduced at different times during the game. Former Bullets Monroe and Unseld got the biggest applause. But who knew The Chief, 'Nique and Gervin were such big Wizard fans?
Wait. Hold up. An NBA official just informed us that the league pays the legends to show up to these things, thereby making Russert, Carville and other media jackals the biggest, non -paid celebrities to show.
Oh, Harry Feinman, the other legend? He didn't play, but he has been a Wizards season ticket holder so long that he remembers when the Bullets played a home season at Maryland while the Capital Centre was being built. Harry was there yesterday, down in front, cheering on the franchise at 80 years old.
Ramos Update
Peter John Ramos, the 7-3, 287-pound rookie from Puerto Rico, had another banner day. He lifted a few weights, came out and worked on his shot a little before the game and returned to the locker room, coming out in a resplendent olive, designer wool suit. "Today, it was a good day," said Ramos, who is not on the active playoff roster but hopes to be next year. "I'm going home to Puerto Rico, work on my game and start killin' guys. You watch." You've got to love a guy who doesn't play having that kind of confidence.
