5:17 AM….Dave Johnson checking in from Florida….it is time to get into playoff blogging form…I have no idea what that means… just thought I would say it..anyway in some ways it is hard to believe it is the regular season finale…we have been blogging with the radio broadcasts since the very first pre-season game…actually we have been blogging since the very first practice…..I wanto to thank everyone who has participated and I have enjoyed watching the BLOG grow….again the whole idea is to take our loyal fans where ever we are…Glenn and I are blogging courtside during the game…can’t get much loser that that… and in the pre-season we were BLOGGING from inside practices as they were happening…..looking forward to tonight…see who plays and how much…. and then it is bring on Cleveland….I think  DeShawn Stevenson will start despite the sore back but likely will not play a lot–just my hunch—-would not be surprised to see Caron Butler and Glbert Arenas get a little time……BLOGCAST starts at 7…hope you can join us.

SportzWiz checking in. First off let me say that Dave and Glenn have done a fantastic job this season blogging throughout the games. Their insite is phenomenal and it’s amazing that they are able to both annoucne and blog at the same time, they truly do an unbelievable job. 2nd, I hate to hi-jack this thread but I just wanted to let everyone know that the Wizards are going to have a new interactive locker room coming soon and they just threw up the preview here. You can also enter to win a free Gil, Caron or Antawn jersey by entering the sweepstakes on the right.

Finally we are going to do our best to give you all the inside scoop with the playoffs, and there will be a centralized home on washingtonwizards.com for all the information which should be coming up either tomorrow or Friday. And well one more thing the NBA will announce the playoff schedule tonight at about 2am. As soon as we get it we will put it up.

6:20 PM…Dave Johnson checking in courtside…Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Gilbert Arenas will not play..starters Daniels, Stevenson, Haywood, Songaila, and McGuire

6:30Pm Spalding Never Flat Winner….congrats to George Sellmon of Bowie…..he wins the Spalding Never Flat Pack that inlcudes a basketball, football, soccer and volleyball…

5:33 AM…Dave Johnson checking in….It’s Cleveland again in the playoffs…but of significance it is at least the fifth seed…..We have talked about how hard this team has played through adversity and how several players continue to play through  pain…. so it is nice to see  that the Wizards did not slip…..it’s been so tight these last few weeks…. and this team came through with some big wins….It was exciting to see Gilbert Arenas take over Saturday’s game with the Sixers… that had to feel so good for him.. and  the Wizards really needed him to do that with Caron Butler out with a bruised right knee… and also with the pace the Sixers played at……Butler said yesterday he had an MRI on his knee that was negative..so that is good….still not sure if he will play tonight….we’ll update as we here it…… but again getting back to the determination of this team…I think of DeShawn Stevenson—he has a bruised tail bone but yet there he was on Saturday taking a charge at a critical point of the game…… the way the Wizards battle and the way they can now play with Arenas back  gives us all a lot to be excited about…….BLOGCAST starts at 7

12:43pm Sportzwiz checking in. Quick injury update. Caron is going to be a game-time decision tonight, however I wouldn’t be shocked to see him sit tonight because the team definitely wants him back at 100% for playoffs. Also, you could see other players sit for precautionary reasons either tonight or Wednesday now that the Wizards are locked in at least the five spot. One of those players could be Gilbert Arenas, we will let you know more around game time but that is the latest.

6:42 PM..Dave Johnson checking in.….starters are in…..Caron Butler is going to rest his bruised right knee…Darius Songaila will start in his place…Songaila is 8-3 as a sarter…….Gilbert Arenas might not play just as a precaution…he feels okay…..so starters daniels, stevenson, haywood, jamison and songaila….Pacers will have murray, dunleavy, kareem rush danny granger and troy murphy…jeff foster is out and jermaine o’neal will come off the bench

6:46 PM….Spalding Never Flat Pack winner for tonight is Mac Hilaire Jr. of Elkridge,  Maryland…the Spalding Never Flat Pack…includes a basketball, soccer ball, volleyball, and football…….

8:35 AM……Dave Johnson checking in…..Simply put we will have to play much better…..I thought we were in the game in the second quarter when we made it a three point gamne at 45-42 but we missed a couple of possessions after that….and the third quarter–well I don’t want to think about it….Caron Butler clearly was not moving as well in the second  half after he banged his right knee–same knee he banged in practice on Tuesday—one of his put back attempts was stuffed by the rim because he did not get his usual lift…cross your fingers that he feels better…DeShawn Stevenson also bruised his tailbone but it is  hard to see him sitting out after what he has already played through…..this is the night.. the Sixers are in town.. they are athletic and they will push the ball… need to be ready…..it is the second of a back-to-back but I would expect Gilbert Arenas to play…BLOGCAST starts at 7.

6:41PM…Dave Johnson checking in….no Caron Butler tonight….bruised right knee and is listed as day-to-day…Darius Songaila will start in his place…Wizards are 7-3 with Songaila as a starter….

6:51PM…starters are in….daniels,stevenson, songaila, jamison, and haywood….Sixers will go with miller, green, iguodala, young, and dalembert

6:54 PM…Spalding  Never Flat Pack Winner…tonight’s winner is Girum Tessema from Arlington Virginia…Girum wins the Spalding Never Flat Pack which includes a basketball, football, volleyball and soccer ball…..winners are from random picks of e-mails..send your name and address to wizardspromotions@washsports.com

5:20 AM…Dave Johnson checking in from Detroit….BLOGCAST start at 8 tonight as the Wizards look to win the season series from the Pistons. The last meeting was an impressive one for the Wizards as they stopped the Pistons 95-83 in that game played on Easter Sunday. Look for Gilbert Arenas to continue to come off the bench as head coach Eddie Jordan plans to use him between 20 and 24 minutes. Not sure what the plan is for this weekend. Gil did not play in Chicago last week when it was the second of a back-to-back. Again the Wizards have Philadelphia at home Saturday…..So many things to be happy about right now…But can not say enough about the play of Brendan Haywood all season but especially the last two games…had a career high 25 points against Chicago and then helped limit Kevin Garnett against the Celtics. I also think Darius Songaila has really become a guy who is bailing us out on offense….often when it seems an offensive possession is going nowhere he will make a cut to the basket and the Wizards get the points……again BLOGCAST starts at 8… and we will have a random winner of the Spalding Never Flat Pack….hope you can join us.

7:03 PM….Dave and Glenn checking in from Detroit…….Gilbert Arenas is going to come off the bench tonight…his status for Saturday’s game will be determined before the game….Richard Hamilton who has missed eight of nine games with a sore left hip is going to play tonight,,,,,

7:20 PM…starters are in….Hamilton is goign to give it a go…..so it is hamilon and billups along with wallace, mcdyess and prince….wizards   daniels, stevenson, haywood, jamison, and butler

7:44 PM…..Spalding Never Flat Pack winner tonight is Alex Lagos of Arlington, Virginia….Alex wins the Spalding Never Flat Pack which includes a basketball,football, volleyball and soccer ball……just send your name and address to wizardspromotions@washsports.com

5:40 AM… Dave Johnson checking in…..Boston Celtics are in town tonight…they played last night and needed overtime to beat the Bukcs 107-104…..Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett all played. The Celtics have the top spot secured and there has been a lot of talk about how much the Celtics will use their “big three” down the stretch. Wizards can’t worry about that. In fact several players said yesterday they are not going to get into who is or isn’t playing for the Celtics. It would be sweet to win the season series against Boston which the Wizards would do with a win tonight. Antawn Jamison is set to retrun from a shoudler sprain and Gilbert Arenas is ready for another game….but yesterday Caron Butler and Darius Songaila banged knees….cross your fingers that they can go tonight…..BLOGCAST starts at 7

12:30pm…Sportzwiz here, sounds like we got good news on Caron and Darius. Caron’s going to get to the arena 3 hours early and prepare to play. If things change we will let you know but it sounds very promising on both accounts.

6:37 PM..Dave and Glenn checking in courtside…..no Sam Cassell off the bench…Celtics will go with Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Perkins…..Caron Butler and Darius Songaila will go tonight….so the  Wizards will have  Daniels, Stevenson, Butler, Jamison, Haywood.