With the exception of the Nationals, who may never reach the playoffs, all of D.C.’s professional sports teams reached the postseason and bowed out at the first opportunity.

As you probably know, the Wizards lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third straight year, and the Capitals lost a heartbreaker to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 at the Verizon Center.

Last year, the Redskins defeated Dallas in the last game of the season to earn themselves a wildcard spot but couldn’t handle the Seattle Seahawks, falling 35-14 in Qwest Field.

Then there’s D.C. United. Much like the Hoyas, the Black and Red pulled off an amazing feat of winning back-to-back Supporters Shields, but the regular season winners couldn’t take their success to the playoffs, falling to the Chicago Fire in their opening series.

Like United, Georgetown’s crowning accomplishment - winning the Big East Regular Season - though impressive, was overshadowed by their two losses in the following weeks.

I guess I don’t know what my point is in writing this article. It’s actually kind of depressing. D.C. natives can only hope that the 2008-2009 campaigns will be better.

This past Saturday, four weeks after Georgetown claimed the Big East Regular Season title, the Washington Wizards defeated the Miami Heat in Miami, clinching an NBA playoff berth.

Then, the next day, the Washington Capitals defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 at a sold-out Verizon Center, clinching their first trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2003 in their last game of the season. It’s the first time since 1988 that the Caps and “Wizards” have made their respective postseasons in the same year. Of course, back then the Capitals had their old logo, the Wizards were still the Bullets, and both teams were still playing in the Caps Centre in Landover, MD.

Both teams have some of the best players in the world, and any Hoya fan living in the DC area should try their best to go out and support Georgetown’s Verizon Center roommates as they face the postseason. Gilbert Arenas is returning from injury for the Wizards, and Agent 0 always gives forth maximum effort to ensure victory for Washington. And on the ice, Alex Ovechkin has just picked up the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for being the leading scorer and point-getter in the NHL. The soon-to-be MVP and the rest of Bruce Boudreau’s boys are an exciting bunch to see, and the atmosphere in downtown DC should be terrific.

We know Georgetown fans wish their team was still competing tonight, but once the College Basketball season is over tomorrow, be sure to check out the other local teams, who are trying to bring more trophies back to Georgetown’s home court.

Everybody remember about the theory of relativity? Here’s the theory in a nutshell: time is relative. For example: watching a five minute highlight package of Georgetown’s Big East Tournament Championship run from last year will seem like it lasted about 30 seconds, whereas those same five minutes spent listening to Jim Boeheim talk about the importance of Gerry McNamara will seem like 30 minutes.

Now then, the season starts in four weeks. Four weeks isn’t that long if you’re told that’s how long your dog has to live, but if you’re anxiously awaiting the Hoyas’ first game it seems like the day will never arrive. Here’s some advice that an old coach told me once…just take it one week at a time. The following are some options to keep yourself occupied over the next three Saturdays until the big day, especially if you live around the District.
 
 
Tomorrow, October 20:
D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew
Soccer doesn’t really register with a lot of hoops fans, especially without David Beckham, but the interesting note about this game is that there is a pre-game exhibition match paying tribute to the career of Marco Etcheverry. He’s one of the All-time great sports figures in Washington, as he brought three championships to the nation’s capital in the first four years of the league.

Next Saturday, October 27:
World Series Game Three
The World Series doesn’t start until next Wednesday, so this will be the first weekend of the fall classic. Game Threes are always important, and nothing helps ring in the new year of college hoops like the completion of the baseball season. No matter how many games it takes to decide the World Series winner, this will be the last baseball weekend until April.

The Following Saturday, November 3:
Washington Wizards vs. Orlando Magic
The NBA is the next best thing to college basketball. Some of the NBA’s newest stars will finally be taking the court, and the Wizards will be happy to warm up the floor at Verizon Center for when the Hoyas get going only one week later.
 
 
I hope this helps to keep you distracted until the Hoyas begin, if not…keep coming back to Hoya Hoops!