Hi, Mike. Bye, Mike. (Photo: Associated Press)

I was caught up in NHL Trade Deadlineapalooza yesterday, and by the time I got a spare moment to write a post on this, everybody had beat me to it. But in case you missed the news, Mike Bibby, having played all of two games for the Washington Wizards after being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in the Kirk Hinrich trade, agreed to a buyout from the Wizards Monday afternoon, reportedly conceding all (or nearly all) of the $6.2 million he was due next season. Reports are that Bibby, freed from the shackles of D.C., will head to South Beach to join the Miami Traveling Circus starring the Heatles.

Bibby's totals from his two games for the Wizards: 29 minutes, 1-for-9 FGs, 2 total points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds. As you can see, Bibby clearly left his mark on D.C.

Bibby's short tenure had me wondering how many other players had shone so briefly on Washington's NBA stage. A quick check of Basketball-Reference.com told me that Bibby's buyout makes him the 21st member of what I call the Two-Timers Club -- players who have played two games or fewer for the Bullets/Wizards franchise.

A full list of the standing membership is after the jump.

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Former Cap Dale Hunter: Wideman (Photo: Associated Press)

The needs of the Washington Capitals heading into this year's NHL trade deadline were obvious for all to see. The Capitals needed a second-line center. They needed more help on the back end as Mike Green and Tom Poti continue to struggle with injuries. And a little more forward depth certainly couldn't hurt, either.

So Capitals General Manager George McPhee went out and solved all three of those issues in turn. First, he picked up Marco Sturm on waivers from the Los Angeles Kings Saturday. Then, with hours to go before the trading deadline, McPhee dealt a third-round pick in this summer's NHL draft and prospect Jake Hauswirth to Florida for defenseman Dennis Wideman. Finally, as the clock ticked past 3:00 p.m. in the east, McPhee plugged the Caps' most obvious hole, dealing center David Steckel and Washington's 2nd-round pick in the 2012 NHL to New Jersey for veteran center Jason Arnott. 

For those of you keeping score, that's three veterans brought in for one roster player, one ECHL prospect, and two draft picks.

"I thought we did really well in that regard," McPhee told reporters Monday evening at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston. "We did not give away a first-round pick, we did not give away any of our 'A' prospects. We took a player [Steckel] out of our roster that we loved. He's done really well for us here, he's become a solid NHL player, but we felt we had some depth [at fourth-line center] with Boyd Gordon and Jay Beagle, and if we were going to upgrade the club at another position, this was the asking price. You do it reluctantly, but it's a decision you have to make in this position sometimes. You know you have to do it to help yourself."

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Arnott scored 13 goals in 62 games for New Jersey this season. (Photo: Associated Press)

The Capitals got their second-line center at the last possible moment. In a trade that was not confirmed until after the 3 p.m. Monday trade deadline, the Capitals acquired Jason Arnott from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for center David Steckel and a 2nd round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Arnott, who won a Stanley Cup in 2000 with the Devils, waived a no-trade clause in his contract to complete the deal. He is in the final season of a five-year, $22.5 million deal. Steckel was in the first year of a newly-signed three-year contract extension worth a total of $3.3 million.

Arnott, 36, scored 13 goals and recorded 24 points in 62 games this season for New Jersey. This was his second go-around for the Devils, after he spent the previous four NHL seasons with the Nashville Predators, and four years before that with the Dallas Stars. Arnott was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers with the 7th overall pick in the 1993 NHL Draft.

Capitals General Manager George McPhee is speaking to the media at 5:00 p.m., so I'll have more on both Capitals deals after he speaks.

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Portis rushed for 6,824 yards in seven seasons with the Redskins. (Photo: Associated Press)

Update 2:30 p.m. The Redskins confirmed in a statement this afternoon that Portis has been released by the team.

"Clinton provided excitement from the very first time he touched the ball as a Redskin and we were lucky to witness every ounce of energy, effort, and passion he has given ever since," Redskins owner Dan Snyder said in a statement. "We have been through a lot, both on and off the field, and we would like to wish him and his family the very best. He will always be a Redskin and go down as one of the franchise's all-time greats."

"I would like to thank the organization," Portis said in the statement. "Dan [Snyder] and [coach] Mike Shanaha were honest, straight-up people with me. i always appreciated the opportunity from Dan to play here. Being a Redskin was a special part of my life. Coming and being in that organization, I turned from a kid having fun to a man carrying responsibilities. I tried to put the world on my shoulders for coach [Joe] Gibbs and the Redskins fans."

Shanahan was quoted in the team's statement as saying, "I've known Clinton Portis since he entered the National Football League and will alwys respect the competitive drive, intensity, and passion that he brought to the organization every day."

Original Story Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis said this morning in a radio appearance that he expects to be released by the team sometime today. In his regular appearance on the Mike Wise Show, Portis told Wise and co-host Holden Kushner "I should be released today."

The news does not come as a surprise after reports emerged over the weekend from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that the Redskins were likely to release Portis rather than pay him the $8.3 million he was due for the 2011 season.

Portis was drafted by current Redskins coach Mike Shanahan with the 51st overall pick of the 2002 NFL Draft while the latter was the coach of the Denver Broncos. Portis rushed for over 1,500 yards in each of his first two seasons with Denver before he was acquired by the Redskins prior to the 2004 season, in a trade that sent cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round pick in the 2004 draft to Denver. The Broncos later used the draft pick to select running back Tatum Bell. 

In total, Portis rushed for 6,824 yards in his seven years with the Redskins, though he never topped the 1,500-mark in his time with the team (coming closest in 2008, when he rushed for 1,487 yards). Portis gained 8,164 all-purpose yards and scored 49 all-purpose touchdowns (46 of them on the ground). However, durability had also become an issue for the Miami alum, as he was only able to play a total of 13 games over the last two seasons. Portis missed the final 11 games of the 2010 season with a torn groin muscle

Unless he comes back to the team at a greatly reduced salary, Portis will end his Redskins career 648 yards short of breaking the franchise's all-time rushing record, currently held by John Riggins, who played for the franchise between 1976 and 1985.

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With hours to go before the NHL trade deadline, the Capitals acquired another puck-moving, offensively-oriented defenseman, acquiring Dennis Wideman from the Florida Panthers in exchange for minor league center Jake Hauswirth and a third-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. 

Wideman, 27, is in the midst of his seventh season in the NHL. He has previously spent time with the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, and Florida Panthers. He was traded from Boston to Florida during this past offseason, along with the Bruins' first-round pick in the 2010 Draft and third-round pick in the 2011 Draft, in exchange for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell.

Wideman had played 61 games for Florida this year, scoring nine goals and recording 33 total points. After the current season, Wideman has one year remaining on the 4-year, $15.75 million contract extension he signed while a member of the Bruins following the 2007-08 season. That extension will count against the salary cap to the tune of $3.93 million per year.

Hauswirth, 23, recorded 10 goals and 14 total points in 37 games with the South Carolina Stingrays of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) this season.

In concrete terms, the deal means that the Capitals, as of this moment, do not have either a second or third-round pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft. The Capitals traded their second-round pick at the 2010 trade deadline, along with Brian Pothier and Oskar Osala in exchange for defenseman Joe Corvo.

Video of Wideman's reaction to the trade can be found here at the Miami Herald.

I will have more on the Caps' various trade deadline moves (or non-moves) throughout the afternoon and evening, including word from Capitals General Manager George McPhee. So stick right here and on Twitter (@SChamberlainTBD).

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Just 13 days remain until Selection Sunday, so no time for idle chat. Let's get right to it.

1. George Mason (25-5, 16-2 CAA). RealTimeRPI Rank: 21st

Not much left to say about the Patriots at this point. Just look at the numbers: 15 straight wins, 14-0 at the Patriot Center, No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament later this week in Richmond. Just a brilliant regular season from Jim Larranaga's team. But now comes the hard part.

Likely Tournament Seed: I still have them as a No. 8, though if Mason wins a couple of games in the CAA Tournament, they could go as high as No. 7. If they win the whole thing, they could even go as high as No. 6.

This week: CAA Tournament quarterfinal, noon Saturday. CAA Tournament semifinal (if necessary), noon Sunday. CAA Tournament final (if necessary), 7:00 p.m. Monday (ESPN)

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John Lannan and the Nats will have a new radio home this season. (Photo: Associated Press)

The Washington Nationals have officially announced this morning that WJFK-FM (106.7 The Fan) will serve as the team's new flagship radio station beginning this coming season.

“With 106.7 The Fan’s great roster of talent and focus on local sports programming, it seemed only natural to add Nationals game broadcasts to the station’s lineup,” Nationals COO Andrew Feffer said in a statement. “In addition to offering our fans more Nationals programming than ever before, this partnership will help extend our promotional reach through various local radio stations across the D.C. region.”

The Nationals make the move to 106.7 from their previous flagship, WFED-AM (Federal News Radio 1500), which will continue to simulcast Nationals games that do not conflict with the its Washington Capitals broadcasts throughout the 2011 season. WFED-AM will also serve as the primary broadcaster for weekday afternoon games, though afternoon games on holidays will be picked up by WJFK.

Though a full broadcast schedule has not yet been released, WJFK will broadcast select spring-training and most regular season games as part of its agreement with the Nationals. The station will also air daily reports from spring training, and an hour-long Nationals program twice a week during the season. In addition, live pre- and postgame shows will be broadcast from an open-air set in the left-field plaza area at Nationals Park.

The play-by-play team of Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler, who have called Nats games together since 2006, will remain intact. WJFK, which is owned by CBS Radio and switched to an all-sports format in 2009, is also the flagship station for the Washington Wizards and carries Virginia Tech football and basketball as well. Nationals games that conflict with Wizards games will be broadcast on WJFK's sister station, AM 1580.

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The Washington Wizards suffered their fifth straight loss in a row as they fell to the Dallas Mavericks 105-99 Saturday night at the Verizon Center.

The Wizards had rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game 97-97 on a Jordan Crawford jump shot with 1:36 remaining. But Tyson Chandler outjumped JaVale McGee to tip in a missed Jason Terry jump shot with 1:17 remaining to give Dallas the lead for good, 99-97. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry knocked down three free throws apiece to salt the game away.  

After Washington took a 40-38 lead on a Rashard Lewis three-pointer with six minutes left in the first half, the Mavs went on a 21-9 run to take a 59-49 lead into halftime. Eight of Dallas' 21 points during the spurt came on dunks by Shawn Marion and Chandler off passes from Jason Kidd, who recorded 11 assists in the first half (14 assists in total).

Washington scored the first nine points of the third quarter to cut their deficit to 59-58. However, six straight points by Chandler pushed the margin back up to 64-58 with 7:40 to go in the period, and Dallas eventually pushed the margin to 76-65 with 3:12 left in the third. The Wizards whittled the margin back to four (80-76) early in the fourth quarter and had a chance to get closer. But Trevor Booker missed two foul shots and Nowitzki knocked down a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to make the score 83-76 with 9:54 remaining.

Terry led the Mavericks with 25 points, and was joined in double figures by Chandler (23 points), Nowitzki (21 points), and Shawn Marion (13 points). John Wall led the Wizards with 24 points, but only recorded five assists. Nick Young (14 points) and Rashard Lewis (13 points) also hit double figures in scoring.

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John Thompson III should know that Georgetown's chances of postseason success don't just depend on the health of Chris Wright. (Photo: Associated Press)

At the very end of his postgame press conference, John Thompson III stepped to the microphone, obviously intending to say something that he'd forgotten in the initial give-and-take with the media.

 "Chris [Wright] gets hurt three days ago [against Cincinnati]," Thompson said. "You get two days to get ready for this game ... It's a loss, there's no doubt about that ... I'm not trying to look for something good, but we responded. It's not like we packed it in, and took a 'woe is me' attitude. We fought, we scrapped and we got back in it. We came out on the losing end, but we're going to figure this out."

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Capitals center Mathieu Perreault was reassigned to Hershey in one of the team's many roster moves Saturday. (Photo: Associated Press)

With Monday's NHL trade deadline fast approaching, the Capitals made a number of smaller roster moves ahead of tonight's game against the New York Islanders (7:00 p.m., CSN). Without further ado:

-The Capitals claimed left wing Marco Sturm off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings. The 32-year-old Sturm has scored four goals and recorded nine points for the Kings in 17 games this season. Sturm missed 63 games during the 2008-09 NHL season after undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus and ACL in his left knee. Sturm also tore the ligaments in his right knee during the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers and had to undergo surgery to recover from that. He was traded from Boston to Los Angeles on December 11. Sturm is due $3.5 million in this, the final year of his four-year contract. He will not be available to play this evening.

-The Capitals have also placed left wing D.J. King on waivers. King played in 14 games for the Capitals this season, recording just one assist and 25 penalty minutes.

-The Capitals have assigned center Mathieu Perreault to Hershey of the American Hockey League and called up center Jay Beagle to replace him. Beagle will be available for tonight's game. Perreault skated 15 shifts and logged 13:20 of ice time in Friday night's loss to the Rangers, and didn't make much of an impact on the stat sheet, recording just one missed shot and one giveaway. He also lost four of the eight face-offs he took.

-Michal Neuvirth, who gave up all six New York Ranger goals in Friday night's loss, will start tonight's game as well. Semyon Varlamov had been announced as the starter, but according to Kate Carrera of the Washington Post, Varlamov left today's morning skate at the Nassau Coliseum with an undisclosed injury and is listed as day-to-day. Minor league goaltender Todd Ford has been called up from Hershey to back up Neuvirth after he signed an NHL contract with the Capitals on Friday.

The Capitals' current active roster is after the jump. Note that defeseman Mike Green is not officially listed as a roster player, as he has returned to his hometown of Calgary today following the death of his grandmother. King is still on the active roster, as he has not yet been claimed by another team.

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Scoop Jardine scored 17 points and Rick Jackson added 12 as the Syracuse Orange spoiled the final home game for Georgetown seniors Austin Freeman and Julian Vaughn, as they defeated the Hoyas 58-51 in front of a passionate crowd that included Georgetown alumnus and former President Bill Clinton.  

After trailing by eight points, 54-46, with three minutes to play, Georgetown staged a furious rally to cut their deficit to 54-51 and had the ball with a chance to tie the game. But Jason Clark's three-point attempt from the corner came up well short with 25 seconds left, and four free throws from Brandon Triche provided the final margin.

Syracuse appeared to be firmly in control of the game after a right-handed slam dunk by Jackson made the score 37-25 to the Orange with 17:28 to go in the second half. But Georgetown --playing without senior Chris Wright, who is recovering from a broken bone in his left hand -- scored 20 of the next 26 points to take a 45-43 lead on a layup by Nate Lubick with 9:55 to go. However, Syracuse and Jardine responded brilliantly as the junior from Philadelphia hit a jumper to tie the game at 45-45, knocked down another jumper to make the score 49-46 to Syracuse, and then rattled home a three-pointer to make the score 52-46 with 4:55 remaining.

After Georgetown's Jason Clark scored the first two points of the game, Syracuse responded with a three-pointer by Scoop Jardine and never trailed again in the first half. However, Georgetown was able to keep the deficit manageable through the efforts of Freeman and Henry Sims, who scored seven and six points respectively in the first half.

However, the Hoyas began to come apart at the seams in the final three minutes of the half. After a gorgeous up-and-under finish with the left hand by Freeman (16 points) cut Syracuse's lead to 24-21, the Orange went on a 9-2 run to enter the locker room at halftime with a 33-23 lead. In particular, the Hoyas seemed to have to answer for James Southerland, who scored seven of the nine Syracuse points during their spurt, and actually led all scorers at halftime with nine points.

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You thought that the Washington Capitals had kicked the habit. Admit it, you had convinced yourself that the unexpected and down right bizarre dip in form that saw the Caps drop 5-0 decisions at Atlanta and New Jersey three days apart in November and endure a 7-0 whitewashing at the hands of the New York Rangers December 12 had gone, hopefully for good. And if it was going to resurface, surely it wasn't going to be in their first home game in 13 days, coming off a 3-2 cross-country road trip that bested the expectations of most fans and media, and with defenseman Mike Green returning to the lineup? Surely not with the memories of two straight no-shows at home against San Jose and Los Angeles to drive them on?

Yes, surely.

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Derek Stepan (in white) tries to get past Scott Hannan in Friday night's 6-0 New York win. (Photo: Associated Press)

The Capitals showed plenty of rust in their first game since Monday night's win at Pittsburgh as they were made to look distinctly second-best by the New York Rangers. Two goals in each of the first two periods were more than enough for the Broadway Blueshirts as they defeated the Capitals 6-0 at the Verizon Center Friday night in front of an often-restless and occasionally angry sellout crowd.

In Washington's first home game since a 4-1 loss to Los Angeles February 12, the tone was set for the night early in the first period when defenseman Mike Green, also playing his first game since February 12, was forced to leave the ice after taking a blow to the head from Derek Stepan's shoulder. Seconds later, with Green still groggy, Stepan passed to Steve Eminger, who slapped a deflected shot from the high slot past Michal Neuvirth to make it 1-0 to New York 5:56 into the first. That would turn out to be the only goal the Rangers needed, with Henrik Lundqvist in fine form and stopping all 35 Washington shots he faced.

According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the NHL will review Stepan's hit on Green to determine if the Rangers center can be suspended under the NHL's new rule outlawing lateral or blindside hits to the head. Stepan's hit did seem to fall under that definition.

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Update 4:00 p.m. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that the team will not discipline Blatche, apparently accepting his claim that he was not responsible for the tweets in question.

Original Story: It's hard to say whether (supposedly) challenging a fan to a fight via Twitter constitutes a low point or simply the low point. But either way, Wizards power forward Andray Blatche seemed to have reached that mark yesterday evening when he apparently asked this fine gent to step outside after Saturday night's home game against Dallas.

The statuses were quickly deleted from Blatche's verified account, though they were captured for posterity by Sarah Schorno over at her very fine corner of the Internet. About half-an-hour ago, Blatche, who is with the team ahead of tonight's road game against Miami (7:30 p.m., CSN) posted this status, which says: "If anyone really thinks that was me responding yesterday is [sic] crazy I just heard of this this morning."

It remains to be seen whether the team will address the mini-controversy but frankly, the whole situation (along with last year's Mike Wise fiasco that got him suspended from the Post for a month) moves me to think that there should be at least three Golden Rules of Twitter, and they are these:

1. When you put your name on a Twitter account and even (as in Blatche's case), get the little blue-and-white check mark of verification put by your name, people will assume that whatever you tweet comes from your fingers and your brain.

2. Don't erase Tweets, even the particularly incongruous ones. If you feel that you absolutely have to, explain why.

3. The block button is your friend when it comes to people who write stuff like this (warning: naughty words and imagery)

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We're quite sure that Jim Larranaga is a very happy man today. (Photo: Associated Press)

George Mason University clinched the team's 4th-ever CAA regular season championship last night with a 67-61 win over Northeastern at the Patriot Center in Fairfax. Just to keep you updated on all the remarkable streaks that the Patriots kept alive last night, the win was the Patriots' 14th straight win dating back to January 12. It also ensured that Mason would finish the regular season with a 14-0 record at the Patriot Center and be the number one seed in next weekend's CAA Tournament in Richmond.

Barring an extraordinary collapse, the Patriots are basically a lock for the NCAA Tournament at this point. They have at least two more games to play (a Saturday night road game against Georgia State, and a CAA Tournament quarterfinal on March 5), and even if they do lose both of those last two games, they are guaranteed a spot in the NIT, since that tournament's selection process guarantees that all conference champions who somehow fail to earn NCAA berths must be chosen for the tournament.

But something tells me that those are three letters that Jim Larranaga and co. don't want to hear right now.

Wright has surgery for broken hand

Also, while Georgetown University doesn't want to publicly commit to a timetable for the return of senior guard Chris Wright, who suffered a broken bone in his hand during Wednesday night's 58-46 loss to Cincinnati, a source told the AP's Joseph White that the Hoyas expect Wright to return for the start of the NCAA Tournament (which Georgetown will surely make) after having surgery to repair the third metacarpal in his left (non-shooting) hand.

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-Howard University and Atlanta's Morehouse College will play each other at RFK Stadium September 10 in what's being branded the Nation's Football Classic.

-D.C. United, RFK Stadium's primary tenant, is not thrilled about the possible effect a football game 11 days before a home MLS match might have on the turf.

-The relatively sparse student turnout at Maryland's 78-62 win over Florida State Wednesday night drew the ire of ESPN personality (and Maryland alum) Scott Van Pelt. Meanwhile, a critical article in The Diamondback, Maryland's student newspaper, drew the ire of Maryland coach Gary Williams.

-Washington City Paper publisher Amy Austin announced in a letter on the paper's website that donations to the publications legal defense fund have totaled more than $28,000 as it continues to fight a defamation lawsuit brought by Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

-Newly acquired Wizards point guard Mike Bibby wants a buyout of his contract, but the Wizards are unlikely to oblige.

-And, barring a setback, both Mike Green (head) and Nicklas Backstrom (thumb) are likely to play against the New York Rangers tomorrow night at Verizon Center (7:00 p.m., CSN+)

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Chris Wright nurses his broken hand during last night's Georgetown loss to Cincinnati. (Photo: Associated Press)

Let's get the tough part over with quickly. Yesterday morning, I was called into our headquarters here in Rosslyn and told that I was one of the dozen or so people who were being laid off from TBD. That means, among other things, that sometime in the next 4-6 weeks, this blog will cease to be the regularly updating source for D.C. sports news and features that I like to think it has been for the past six months. In fact, that's just about the only thing involving my work right now that is certain, though I am pursuing various leads and will keep you informed.

So, let's run down all the news you missed yesterday:

-The Wizards traded Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to Atlanta for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans, and a first round-pick in this summer's NBA Draft. On the floor, the Wizards lost 117-94 to Philadelphia in a game that featured JaVale McGee getting in arguments with assistant coaches and John Wall calling out his teammates, not for the first time this season.

Oh, and the Wizards apparently couldn't spell Andray Blatche's last name correctly on his uniform, either.

-The Capitals signed forward Matt Hendricks to a two-year contract extension worth $1.6 million. Hendricks, whose one-year, two-way contract would have expired after this season, will also earn a $50,000 salary bonus next season.

-Maryland kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a 78-62 win over Florida State at College Park last night, which takes them to 18-10 ahead of Sunday's game at North Carolina. Georgetown, on the other hand, suffered two bad losses last night, falling 58-46 to Cincinnati, and losing guard Chris Wright with a broken hand.

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John Wall reacts to a foul call by referee Mike Callahan in Tuesday night's loss. (Photo: Associated Press)

Wizards television analyst and former player Phil Chenier was walking through the press lounge after Tuesday night's 113-96 loss by the Washington Wizards to the Indiana Pacers when he said, to no one in particular, "That was not a good showing tonight." When one considers that Chenier has covered every single Wizards game this season, including the team's entire streak of 25 straight road losses to start this year, it should say something about how particularly putrid Tuesday night's performance was.

Seventy-five minutes before tip-off, Flip Saunders was downright bouncy as he declared himself " ready to go" to start the 28-game post-All-Star Break stretch of the season. Four hours later, red-faced and hoarse-voiced, Saunders trudged into the interview room after his team's 40th loss of this season in just its 55th game of the season.

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After an encouraging start, the Washington Wizards fell apart in the second quarter as they were outscored 33-19 in the second 12 minutes en route to a 113-96 loss to the Indiana Pacers Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.

The Wizards (15-40) had started the first game of their post-All Star Break schedule very well, taking a 30-25 lead after the first quarter on the strength of 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor by Andray Blatche. But Blatche went cold in the second quarter, shooting just 1-for-5 from the floor, and his teammates followed suit. The Wizards managed just 19 points on 8-for-21 shooting from the floor in the 2nd quarter, while the Pacers scored 33 points and outrebounded the Wizards 21-10 in the period as Indiana took a 58-49 lead into the break.

As has been the pattern most of the season, things got even worse for the Wizards in the third quarter as Indiana outscored Washington 32-19 to lead 90-68 after 36 minutes. The Pacers were helped by a 13-1 run that swelled their lead from 60-51 to 73-52 over the course of 3:40 early in the third and essentially put the game out of reach. The fourth quarter was an exercise in salting the game away, as Indiana led by as many as 26 (94-68) and Washington couldn't get closer than 15 points.

The Pacers (25-30) were led by Danny Granger, who led all scorers with 21 points. Tyler Hansbrough (17 points), Roy Hibbert (16 points), Darren Collison (11 points), and Paul George (11 points) all finished the night in double figures as well. The Wizards were led by Blatche, who finished with 21 points, as well as Nick Young (16 points), John Wall (15 points and 10 assists for his 19th double-double of the season) and Josh Howard (14 points).

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Atogwe (21) defends a pass against the Colts in 2009. (Photo: Associated Press)

Free agent safety Oshiomogho Atogwe visited Redskins Park today to meet with Redskins coaches and front-office personnel, but left the Ashburn facility without signing a deal, according to a report by the Washington Post.

Atogwe, who is looking for a new team after being released by the St. Louis Rams Friday, tweeted about his visit: "Redskins are a great organization. Enjoyed my time there today[.]" A move to Washington would reunite Atogwe with current Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, who served as the head coach of St. Louis between 2006 and 2008.

Atogwe, who was drafted by St. Louis in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft, was released by the Rams as an alternative to being paid an $8 million roster bonus. Because no team currently holds his rights, Atogwe is free to sign with any team between now and the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) at midnight on March 4. After that time, however, no veteran players can sign new contracts until a new CBA is agreed to. Atogwe told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this weekend that he is willing to wait until after the CBA until the league's labor dispute is settled before comitting to a particular team.

"I would say I'm just going to take this time to let God speak to me and go from there," Atogwe told the Post-Dispatch. "I am going to wait till the market opens and then go from there."

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