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Happy Holidays To You And The Washington Bullets

Success On The Road

While many of us may be travelling this holiday season (I'm staying local), the Bullets wrapped up their traditional pre-Christmas west coast road trip with a 4-2 record, their most successful roadtrip in 9 years. That just begins to mark the emergence of this team.

Yeah, you can point out that these teams have a combined 59-89 (.399) record going into the Christmas break. The scary thing is that 3 of those teams (Portland, Sacramento, and Golden State) would make the Western Conference playoffs if the season ended today. Oh boy!

It was not too long ago that the team was struggling and people, including Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser, were wondering what was wrong with this team. In particular: can two power forwards, like Juwan and Chris, co-exist on the same team? Tony was a doubter at the time, but I continue to have faith.

There were more to the problems than just . Now, less than two weeks later, we get an article about how Chris is raising all aspects of his game. Well, except for his free throw shooting. (Bend the knees, Chris.) (Make up your minds about which direction the Bullets are going, Washington Post.) He's playing at an All-Star caliber level, and let's hope he can continue his growth.

Juwan continues to get more comfortable (and presumably healthy) from game to game. But what I really think has helped spark this team is the play of Rod Strickland. He's much more comfortable guiding this team now. He's aggressive to the hole, he's regained his medium-range jumper, and he's playing like the All-Star caliber player the Bullets thought they were getting. With his play, the Bullets have risen.

That doesn't mean this lineup is without its problems. Big Gheorghe continues to struggle to find a rhythm in the middle. I think it's in part because Chris and Juwan insist on posting up a lot. Gheorghe is still a big help in the paint.

Then there is the missing Calbert Cheaney. Right now, he's on the shelf with a hip pointer injury. But he may have a hard time getting minutes back if the Bullets continue to play the way that they are. (Although whether I'd prefer Harvey Grant or Cheaney in the starting lineup is a moot point; I'd prefer Jaren Jackson, but that isn't going to happen.)

So, the Bullets stand at the Christmas brink with a 13-13 record. That's a good record, although I was hoping for maybe being 2 games over .500 at this point. But the Bullets must continue to improve if they hope to make the playoffs. The Bullets will have to win at least 30 (and probably closer to 35) more games to make the playoffs this year, at the current rate their Eastern Conference opponents are playing.

An Early Gift On Public Domain Copyrights

A while back, I wrote a plea for help to defeat an overly stringent interpretation of copyright laws that could snuff out a lot of public domain information-sharing on the Internet. Eventually, the written media caught on and started writing about the issues.

In the end, the Clinton Administration (in the United States) backed down from that position and less stringent guidelines were approved by the international standards body that don't differ much from current practice. For further information on the change in the U.S. position and the end results of the meeting, see:

• U.S. won't back copyright pact
• 160 Countries Set Treaties On Internet Copyrights

This still begs the question, what does this mean to us? Whether you publish a web page or distribute stuff to friends via e-mail, there are certain guidelines you should follow to minimize your risk to prosecution. (Yes, even e-mails, especially those of the humorous kind, are subject.) c|net put together a good series on copyrights that is a good introduction. In particular, take the quiz and look at the answers for some quick and easy explanations.

Lastly, take a look at Trademark Infringement, Copyright and Censorship on Web Sites, which tracks all kinds of problems with copyrights on the Internet. There are many documented cases of corporations trying to shut down fan sites, too, so beware. There are many pitfalls on this road, but the rewards are great if precautions are taken. I look forward to presenting more presents to you in this vein.

Seasons Greetings

As we head into the new year, here's best wishes for you readers and all you do in the new year. I look forward to providing more information to you as the new year continues. Remember to be kind and generous to your fellow man (even if they like a non-Bullets team).

wtf 24 December 1996

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