Outing Wie Won't Win Any Awards for Journalism

How can you not love Frank Beamer, who has been the head coach at Virginia Tech for 18 years? He has a 184-100 record, but more important, appears weekly on John Thompson's radio show on WTEM. Thompson admits he doesn't know much about football, and Beamer doesn't get Thompson's act. But when Beamer starts throwing around cliches, as he did after the game Thursday night, it's fun. Such as: "Marcus can beat you running and passing; we're not a turnover team; the other side played hard; we're happy but concerned."

Here's my cliche: The guy can coach. He also recruits local kids.

Maryland's Ralph Friedgen said it best about competing against his close friend: "I don't like playing against Frank."

Who does?

Renaissance Man

Wizards 6-foot-9 forward Etan Thomas's speech to a large crowd at the Sept. 24 Operation Ceasefire rally on the Mall brings to mind a time more than 30 years ago when athletes regularly spoke out on social issues. Whether you agree with Thomas's anti-war views, or his belief that the Bush administration is dismissive of the poor, it's refreshing to see a pro athlete's concerns go beyond the NBA dress code.

"It was a big honor for me to speak before so many people on the Mall," said Thomas, 27, who has written a book of poems ("More Than an Athlete") and is active in the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and other causes. "I try to proceed with caution in what I say, but there's a lot going on in the country that I have an opinion about. And I would like to take the Bill O'Reillys of the world to the other side of the tracks, to show them the problems of the poor."

Thomas, who graduated from Syracuse, said he gets reaction from the left and right, but doesn't feel any pressure from the NBA or Wizards over what he says. Playing for a team in Washington "is a perfect fit, with so much going on, so much happening.'' And of the new dress code, he says simply, "they want us to look professional and I have no problem with that."

Give Young Freddy a Break

It seems D.C. United was a bit harsh in suspending Freddy Adu on Friday over comments he made last week saying he was unhappy about his playing time and would consider playing elsewhere next year. If teams suspended all players who whined about playing time, there wouldn't be enough players to field teams. Besides, Adu is only 16 and maybe deserves some slack from his bosses. Meanwhile, another star seeking more playing time, LaVar Arrington, may get some today against the 49ers. All this while the Caps' Alex Ovechkin is making the most of his playing time, with six goals in his first nine games, the best start for an NHL rookie. He deserves at least the same attention as Freddy and LaVar.

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