Washington Wizards

Wizards games are announced by Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier.
. All Wizards regular season games can be seen on Comcast SportsNet which is available in the Washington, DC area and other local areas. ** Owner. Injured Reserve. * Manager. Bench
. After Bell's hiring, Schaefer was moved back to the bench coach position.

Starters
. Schaefer would end up having a 5-12 record in 17 games managed. Following this game, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat (#1 seed in the 2005 playoffs), ending a stellar season. The Royals then named bench coach Bob Schaefer interim manager up until May 31, 2005, the day the Royals announced that Buddy Bell would manage for the Royals. In Game 6, the Wizards won their first playoff series in 23 years defeating the Chicago Bulls 94-91 and became only the ninth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 0-2. After a disappointing start for the second straight season, Tony Peña resigned May 10, 2005 as manager after a 8-25 record. In a Game 5 victory against Chicago they took their first lead in a playoff series since 1986. In 2005, the Royals continued their youth movement, with six of their starting position players, three of their five starting pitchers, and their setup man and closer all under age 30 and one of the smallest payrolls in the major leagues.

In Game 3 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls, the Wizards won their first playoff game since 1988. Picked by many to win their division in 2004 after faring surprisingly well in the free agent market, the Royals got off to a disappointing start and by late June were in rebuilding mode, releasing veteran reliever Curt Leskanic before financial incentives kicked in and trading veteran reliever Jason Grimsley and superstar center fielder Carlos Beltrán for prospects, all within a week of each other. The 2004-2005 season marked the first time the franchise had ever made the playoffs as the Wizards; the last time the team had made the postseason was in 1996-1997, when it was still known as the Bullets. In 2003, manager Tony Peña, in his first full season with the club, guided the Royals to their first winning record since the strike-shortened 1994 season. The MCI Center is also home to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. Escalating salaries made it difficult for the Royals to keep their young stars, and the small-market club usually chose to trade players such as Kevin Appier, Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye, for whatever they could get rather than lose them to free agency. Also that year the Wizards moved to the MCI Center located at 601 F Street in Northwest Washington, DC. The 1993 death of Ewing Kauffman left the franchise without permanent ownership until Wal-Mart executive David Glass purchased the team for $96 million in 2000.

The names Seadogs, Express, and Monuments were also considered but rejected. Most of the team's highlights centered around the end of Brett's career, such as his third and final batting title in 1990, which made him the first player to win batting titles in three different decades, and Brett's 3,000th hit. They had changed it because the name Bullets carried a violent overtone. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Royals developed young stars such as Bo Jackson and Kevin Seitzer and made some free-agent acquisitions but always fell short of their early success. On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially unveiled their new name and logo. Howser's #10 soon became the first number that the Royals ever retired. During the transition, the Bullets also played home games at Cole Field House, the home of the University of Maryland Terrapins, while waiting for the completion of their new arena in Landover, the Capital Centre (later known as the USAir/US Airways Arena.) Through the mid-1990s, the Bullets still played a few games per season in Baltimore. But sadly on June 17, 1987, Dick Howser passed away after a year long battle with brain cancer.

In 1973, the team moved to Landover, Maryland and became the Capital Bullets, and they changed their name to the Washington Bullets the next season. The Royals wound up finishing only two games behind the eventual World Champion Minnesota Twins in the Western Division. And the season after that, they moved to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets, no relation to the 1940s Bullets franchise. The Royals won 83 out of 162 games (a seven win improvement from 1986). The next season, they changed their name to the Zephyrs. 1987 proved to be a rather bittersweet season for the Royals. The team now known as the Wizards started as the Chicago Packers in the 1961-62 season. Louis Cardinals in the so-called I-70 Series in seven games.

The Washington Wizards are a National Basketball Association team based in Washington, D.C.. Relying again on Brett's bat and the young pitching of Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza and Danny Jackson, the Royals won their fifth division championship in 1984 (although they were swept by the eventual World Champion Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series) and went all the way to the World Series again in 1985 under manager Dick Howser, beating the cross-state St. C - #34 Peter Ramos (Puerto Rico). The youth movement paid off more quickly than expected. SF - #24 Jarvis Hayes (Georgia). In response to the scandal, owner Ewing Kauffman founded the Ewing Marion Kauffman foundation to give back to the community, allowed Martin to depart via free agency and traded Aikens, retaining only Wilson's services. SF - #10 Damone Brown (Syracuse). The four were charged in October 1983, pleaded guilty, spent three months in prison (becoming the first active players in sports history to serve a prison sentence) and were suspended by commissioner Bowie Kuhn for the entire 1984 season. The four appealed and were permitted to return on May 15.

F/C - #36 Etan Thomas (Syracuse). Leadoff hitter and center fielder Willie Wilson, power-hitting first baseman Willie Aikens, power-hitting outfielder Jerry Martin, and starting pitcher Vida Blue, who had been released on August 5, were charged with attempting to purchase cocaine. PF - #51 Michael Ruffin (Tulsa). In 1983, the Royals were headed for a second-place finish behind the Chicago White Sox when they were rocked by a drug scandal. G/F - #7 Laron Profit (Maryland). That same year, Brett flirted with a .400 batting average and won his second batting title. SG - #8 Anthony Peeler (Missouri). The Royals (led by manager Jim Frey) made their first World Series appearance in 1980, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

G - #3 Juan Dixon (Maryland). The Royals quickly became successful, winning three straight division championships from 1976 to 1978 under manager Whitey Herzog. F/C - #5 Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy, Brunswick, Georgia). The stadium, which featured deep outfield walls and artificial turf, gave future stars such as George Brett and Frank White their first break as many of Kansas City's veteran players had difficulty playing on turf. PG - #2 Steve Blake (Maryland). In 1973, the Royals moved from Kansas City Municipal Stadium to brand-new Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium). SG - #20 Larry Hughes (Saint Louis). In 1971, the Royals had their first winning season, with manager Bob Lemon guiding them to a second-place finish.

PG - #0 Gilbert Arenas (Arizona). Early Royals stars included 1969 Rookie of the Year Lou Piniella, Amos Otis, Paul Splittorff, Cookie Rojas and Hal McRae. C - #33 Brendan Haywood (North Carolina). The Kansas City Royals were purchased as an expansion franchise by pharmaceutical magnate Ewing Kauffman in 1968 and played their first season the following year. SF - #1 Jared Jeffries (Indiana). They are in the Central Division of the American League. PF - #4 Antawn Jamison (North Carolina). The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri.

41 - Wes Unseld. Arizona Royals
Idaho Falls Chukars. 25 - Gus Johnson. High Desert Mavericks
Burlington Bees. 11 - Elvin Hayes. Wichita Wranglers. Don Nelson. Omaha Royals.

Chris Webber. American League
. Rasheed Wallace. Pitching saves Jeff Montgomery and Dan Quisenberry, 45 (1993 and 1983). Ben Wallace. Pitching ERA: Roger Nelson, 2.08 (1972). Rod Strickland. Pitching strikeouts: Dennis Leonard, 244 (1977).

Brent Price. Pitching wins: Bret Saberhagen, 23 (1989). Robert Pack. Strikeouts: Bo Jackson, 172 (1989). Gheorghe Muresan. Walks: John Mayberry, 122 (1973). Bernard King. Hitting streak: George Brett, 30 games (1980).

Michael Jordan. Stolen bases: Willie Wilson, 83 (1979). Gus Johnson. Extra-Base Hits: Hal McRae, 86 (1977). Juwan Howard. Triples: Willie Wilson, 21 (1985). Bob Dandridge. Doubles: Hal McRae, 54 (1977).

Phil Chenier. Singles: Willie Wilson, 184 (1980). Manute Bol. Hits: Willie Wilson, 230 (1980). Michael Adams. Runs: Johnny Damon, 136 (2000). Wes Unseld. Runs batted in: Mike Sweeney, 144 (2000).

Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. Home runs: Steve Balboni, 36 (1985). Elvin Hayes. Batting average: George Brett, .390 (1980). Walt Bellamy. 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball). 20 Frank White.

10 Dick Howser.   5 George Brett. 61 Rubén Rodríguez (bullpen catcher). 17 Luis Silverio (third base).

55 Guy Hansen (pitching). 18 Joe Jones (first base). 49 Brian Poldberg (bullpen). 26 Andre David (hitting).

44 Bob Schaefer (bench/infield instructor). Coaches