Craig's List Strikes Again

So when I'm not working, living the dream, or trying to put up a post on the blog, I'm all about building my real estate empire. We can discuss the details of my empire at a later date. Right now, I'm currently trying to lease an apartment I co-own on the ever popular Craig's List. Although Craig's List has brought many viable tenants, it has also brought a few question marks. I have seen the attempted deposit scam and every once in a while a Prince from Nigeria will try to hit me up for some cash, but the following email really takes the cake. This might be a joke, this might be a scam I haven't figured out the angle yet, or maybe "Howard" really does like to be this obvious about his dealings. I will let you decide....

Greetings, I am very interested in taking a look at your xxxx Street property at $x,xxx. I do a lot of my business in that neighborhood so I think it'd be a really great spot for me. I'm just curious if the property has a basement, and if so what is the window situation like? I work with a lot of materials that need proper ventilation so a few windows down there would be satisfactory. Also, if there is a basement, can you tell me if the concrete is reinforced? I mean, I haven't had any trouble in the last couple of years. They say I'm the best at what I do, but you never know, accidents do happen.

I'm also curious if there are any playgrounds or elementary schools around the area. I'm not on any kind of predator list if that' what you're thinking. I mean come on, that stuff's just gross. I'm not like that. However, those kids do make for some great customers. Maybe not now but a little freebie today is a loyal customer tomorrow. Anyway the place sounds great and I look forward to giving it a proper look-see.

Let me know when I can come by!

-Howard

Whatever the case may be, this email was hilarious. I got this yesterday and I'm still laughing. No light chuckle. I'm talking the full on THE Sean Sullivan laugh.

Alignment of the Stars

So maybe I overreacted a couple weeks ago. Actually no, f*ck that. The Capitals absolutely blew it, but why dwell on the past?? We have may more important things to talk about when it comes to DC sports. Since that historic collapse by the Capitals, it has been nothing but sunshine for the city of DC. Let's review -

-With a 10% chance of winning the NBA Lottery, the Wizards come up aces and get the number 1 pick. Hello John Wall.

-The sale of the Washington Wizards is finalized. Ted Leonsis, the majority owner of the Washington Capitals, is now the majority owner of the Wizards as well. This is a big deal. Trust me. For the last decade, he has been the best owner in this city and it's not even close. Yes, the Caps choked, but he has made the Caps the best ticket in town with a great and I mean GREAT fan experience and putting the pieces in place to have an extremely competitive team year in and year out. With Leonsis leading the way and the number one pick, I expect big things for the Wizards in the coming years as well.

-No luck needed for the Washington Nationals. They just flat out sucked last year with the worst record in baseball. Their consolation prize is the number one pick in the amateur draft for the second year in a row. This is rather impressive considering no team has ever had the number one pick two years in a row in the history of Major League Baseball. With the first pick, the Nationals drafted 17-year old wunderkind Bryce Harper. If you buy the media over-hype, then this kid is baseball's version of LeBron James. I think that might be a little extreme, but that said the future is looking bright for the Nationals, especially when you consider....

-The much anticipated Major League debut of the 2009 #1 pick of the Nationals, Stephen Strasburg. At 7:05pm tonight, Strasburg took the mound for the first time in Nationals Park. With the weight of insanely high expectations, a franchise in need of a savior, and a city ready to embrace its next star, Strasburg's performance was nothing short of spectacular - 7 innings pitched, two earned runs, 14 strikeouts (yes, 14 strikeouts!) and no walks. In today's world of hype and over-hype, he delivered the goods, at least for one night.

-Then there are the Redskins. I still not sold on anything they are doing, but I must be sold on something though because I just put down a deposit for season tickets for next season. Yes, just when I ready to possibly walk away from the team I love the most in this city, I just happen to FINALLY get off the wait list for season tickets. I have probably been waiting for the better part of a decade to get off the season ticket waiting list, so let's just hope this also means good things to come for the franchise as well.

Of course, right now, this all means very little. It's just start, a glimmer of hope really. More than anything, the arrival of new ownership and bright young stars means new beginnings for sports in this city. I know I'm excited. Hopefully, we'll look back at the summer of 2010 is when it all changed for DC sports....