4:20 AM CST…Dave Johnson up and getting ready for tonight’s Bulls game…..BLOGCAST starts at 8PM Eastern and you can listen online  as we Blog while we do radio…and we will have another random winner in our Spalding Never Flat Pack contest….The Wizards are 2-2 in their last 4 games and with a win tonight would be 3-2 with two of the victories  coming on the road. We are keeping our fingers crossed on Caron Butler. It is encouraging that he is resting and feeling better and will be looked at against next week. For now Antawn Jamison’s philosophy:“Not to make excuses but it has been kind of difficult. We still have been playing tough and we have been in a majority of our games.”

“We have always been a team with pretty good character. No matter what the situation is we find a way to get it done. As long as I am on the court, we are going to have guys out there who want to play the game of basketball and want to win.”

This will be a big challenge tonight against a Bulls teams that is poised to make a late season run. They are only two and half games out of the final playoff spot. Head coach Eddie Jordan on the Bulls….” They are a very aggressive, active young group. They also have added key veterans like Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden. So it seems like everyone except for Joakim Noah has been to the playoffs and Noah won two NCAA championships and is a winner. Their  guards coming off the bench, Larry Hughes and  Ben Gordon, are very agrresive There is a lot of random play because  there are new people in the lineup. They are a hard group to defend and rebound against”…Hope you can join us for the BLOGCAST.

7:15 PM EST…We have a winner. Congrats to Reuben Moghadam on Washington DC…..He is our winner tonight in the Spalding Never Flat contest…It might be Reuben the blogger….anyway he wins a basketball, football, soccer ball and volleyball…..it is simple just send your name and address to wizardspromotions@washsports.com

7:18PM…Dave Johnson checking in…could be a change in the starting lineup tonight…Darius Songaila might start over Andray Blatche…..DeShawn Stevenson had wisdom teeth pulled but is a go…Roger Mason has a sore hamstring but will play

7:34 PM..starters are in…..Songaila is in for Blatche…daniels, stevenson, haywood, and jamison…Larry Hughes starts…with hinrich, deng, thomas, and noah

5:40 EST…..Dave Johnson checking in from Chicago…..Good pratice today. Yes it is disappointing that Caron Butler is not joining us on this trip, but we know he has a partial tear of the labrum on his left hip and we should know more next week. The key is  that Butler is resting and he has been feeling better. Just cross your fingers that we get a hopeful sign next week….Eddie Jordan said today at practice…..”You know Caron is very special to us. I am not going to talk about the injury and the timing and all of that.But as a player and as human being, he means a lot to us. We just have to go forward with the guys we have.” And Jordan added….”Last I looked we are 2-2 our last four. We split two road games. We would  like to be ready for tomorrow night’s game. I think if we play well we have a chance to win.If we win  we would be 3-2 over a five game stretch with two wins on the road.”..It was a non contact practice and Gilbert Arenas particpated in the whole work out….There is no timetable on his return but it is just great to see him in practice gear and running the show……

Hey everyone tough news on Caron although it could be much worse. Here is the official release from the team.

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that further tests revealed that Wizards forward Caron Butler has a small labral tear of the left hip joint. Butler, who has missed a total of 14 games this season, including Washington’s last 10 contests, will be re-evaluated next week.

Hey everyone, tough one for the Wiz last night. Four games in five nights will give you problems, facing a team on a 12 game-win streak is never a good way to end it, not having Caron and Gil doesn’t help, and Houston usually slows down our offense, so a lot of factors go into the tough outing. Anyway, its a new day and a couple quick things for you diehards.

1. The game on Friday vs. Chicago has been moved from ESPN to CW50! I saw a lot of posts on that yesterday, so everyone knows that game again will not be on ESPN (sorry for all the non-locals.)
2. Nick and Dominic Vlog. I saw this also posted yesterday and we are hoping to shoot one next week, as soon as I hear more I will let you know. Obviously it’s not possible for us to do it when the team is on the road as our video guys do not travel with the team.
3. Gil’s new blog is up.
4. The new Dominic McGuire mailbag is up.
5. DeShawn Stevenson will be answering questions for next week’s mailbag so send your questions to WizardsPromotions@washsports.com..
6. Also the Wizards dancer of the week is up and if you have two minutes to kill I suggest checking out the photo galleries.

If there is any other questions please let me know and post them below. As always we will try to bring you the most exclusive information possible.

9:23 AM….Dave Johnson checking in…tired but happy. We have had more losses than wins lately but this team’s approach for the most part has stayed the same…and last night the Wizards were rewarded….As a Wizards fan I thnk it is easy to be proud of this team and how it plays short-handed….Last Friday in Cleveland the Wizards essentialy took a punch in the stomach as they could not find a way to get rid a short-handed Cavaliers team…but the heads didn’t go down..instead they responded with a win over the Bobcats…and last night….The Wizards had a 2-0 lead and then chased the Hornets all night…they kept chasing…DeSahwn Stevenson scored 16 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter….Brendan Haywood said before this trip the Wizards would have to play harder..he backed up his words…from key shots to key rebounds..to helping Tyson Chandler foul out of the game….and Antawn Jamison was not in an offensive rythym but had 6 steals…it was a good night..it reminded of being on the road in Boston…but this time the Wizards had to do it without Caron Butler…..but life in the NBA..nice win…now get back to work..play the Rockets here tonight….BLOGCAST starts at 8:30 EST…hope you can jump on as we blog while we talk on the radio….

4:16 PM..Dave Johnson checking in ……Resting up for the game in my hotel room and I was stunned when a news flash came on TV….Yao Ming is out for the season. It is a stress fracture in his left foot. It is from wear and tear. Yao played in the Rockets last game against Chicago. So the Rockets were surprised. He had only missed one game all year and that was for the flu. The Rockets were 20-14 bin 34 games without Yao last season. It is certanly a blow to the Rockets and we know what it is like to lose a key player. Wizards still have to play well….Rockets are a very talented team..check back in from the arena.

4:39PM.. Hey everyone this is SportzWiz with just a quick note on tonight’s game. Tonight’s game will be televised on CSN and not CSN+ due to the Caps playing on national TV.

7:41PM…Dave Johnson checking in from Toyota Center……this town is trying to come to grips with the news that Yao Ming is out for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot ….it has not been determined if he will have surgery… and it could impact his Olympic chances…..but again could…it is too early to tell….just talked to Eddie Jordan..he said the absence of Yao could speed things up for the Rockets….again radio broadcast starts at 8:30  and you can listen live

8:10PM….starters are in…Rockets will go with Dikembe Mutombo instead of Yao…alston, mcgrady, scola, battier….Wizards….daniels, stevenson, haywood, jamison, blatche

9:05 PM….we have a winner of the Spalding Never Flat Pack…it is Ed Delmoro of Great Mills , Maryland..it includes a basketball, football, volleyball, and soccer ball….just send your name and address to wizardspromotions@washsports.com