Photograph courtesy of Flickr user Keith Allison.

A number of media outlets are reporting that the Wizards have fired coach Flip Saunders. This is probably not much of a surprise to anyone, because the Washington basketball team has had a dreadful, near-dysfunctional season so far—a record 2–15. Earlier, management had said Saunders’s job was secure. CBS Sports may have nailed it, though: “Disappointing losses to the struggling Boston Celtics in a winnable game at home followed by a thrashing by the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night may have changed ownership’s mind.”

WTOP has confirmed Saunders’s firing.

“I’ve never liked sports,” said Serena Williams in Brisbane recently. Photograph by Flickr user James Boyes.

Serena Williams doesn’t like her job. Well, take a number. The line forms over there.

The former number-one player in the world made her frank declaration two weeks ago at the season-opening tournament in Brisbane. “I don’t love tennis today, but I’m here,” she said. “I’ve never liked sports and could never understand how I became an athlete.”

Her statement smacks of resentment—resentment toward a sport that has simultaneously consumed her life and provided her untold riches and comfort. She has a gift, but according to this recent proclamation, it’s a gift that has been foisted upon her without her consent. Hard to imagine Yo-Yo Ma resents the cello, but Williams resents tennis.

While the Redskins often dominate the local sports discussion, Washington remains a basketball city at its core. The city’s relationship with Captain Blatche and the Wizards may be a bit tepid these days, but you can always count on local high school basketball games to fill up the gym.

The Washington area boasts three high schools in the USA Today Super 25, led by the undefeated Gonzaga Eagles. The traditional power out of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference are on the rise in local and national rankings after a week that featured two huge wins. Last Monday they outlasted Baltimore power Patterson High in front of a packed gym at DC’s Coolidge High School, despite playing without future North Carolina Tar Heel Nate Britt. They doubled the feat over the weekend with an even bigger win, this time over DeMatha Catholic. More than 3,000 fans filled American University’s Bender Arena to witness the city’s best rivalry in person.

These games offer the kind of atmosphere that is sometimes lacking at Verizon Center. Fortunately there are still plenty of notable games left in the season. Here’s a look at some of the match-ups you may want to check out in the coming weeks.

Barton Seaver roasting the wild striped bass. Photograph by Kevin Allen.

When is a Sunday Supper more like a Saturday night dinner party? When it’s hosted by Sarah and Bob Nixon, who seem to know no bounds in making sure their guests have a festive evening—regardless of whether it’s a “school night.” The culinary feast at their Georgetown home was one of the 20 intimate dinners organized to benefit DC Central Kitchen and Martha’s Table, with tickets going for $550 per person.

The celebrity chefs were Barton Seaver, Teddy Diggs, and radio host Kojo Nnamdi, though Nnamdi happily pointed out that his role was to watch the Giants-49ers NFC title game on the kitchen TV and give updates to Barton and Teddy while they cooked. He performed his job well.

Photograph by Flickr user tiffa130.

The HGTV reality show All-American Handyman, going into its third season, will for the first time hold an open casting call, and Washington is one of six cities where casting agents plan to do auditions. Women should not be put off by the title—female contestants are wanted, too. Imagine Project Runway for the Home Depot crowd: Cast members compete with one another and face elimination; the goal is to be the last handyman standing, hammer in hand.

Gail West, Philip and Nina Pillsbury, Togo West, and Yoriko Fujisaki, wife of the Japanese ambassador. Photograph by James R. Brantley.

It’s been 25 years since Arthur M. Sackler gave the Freer Gallery more than 1,000 objects from of his collection of Asian art and artifacts. That’s how the Sackler Gallery was created, a union with the Freer that is known officially as the Smithsonian Museums of Asian Art. Thursday night, a Georgetown party celebrated the beginning of the Sackler anniversary year and his widow’s new gift of $5 million.

The hosts were Michael and Susan Pillsbury, themselves devoted collectors of Asian art. Susan says she started collecting during a previous marriage, and brought her passion for the region with her when she married Michael five years ago. Their home is itself a virtual gallery of remarkable pieces. Asked to point to her favorite, Susan aimed her eye toward a sculpture near the front of the living room. It is from the Song Dynasty. And what so fascinates her about these pieces? “That’s easy,” she said. “Seven thousand years of history.”

Update(2/7/2012): Now it can be confirmed: Donald Trump will get his name on Pennsylvania Avenue, after all. It won’t be at the White House, but at the Old Post Office building, which is almost equidistant from the Capitol and the executive mansion. Today the Government Services Administration chose the Trump organization’s bid to transform the historic building into a mixed-use facility with a Trump luxury hotel, restaurants, and more.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, was the family member who handled the negotiations and worked with architect Arthur Cotton Moore. Here’s the story we reported recently:

A year after Donald Trump tried to move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, it appears he might end up on the street, after all.

Arthur Cotton Moore is the Washington architect who did the last redesign of the Old Post Office Building in the 1980s. The General Services Administration is currently taking proposals for a new redevelopment of the late-19th-century building that looms over Pennsylvania Avenue. Overheard at lunch was Moore saying he’s been hired by the Trump Organization to handle its design and bid, and that a decision from GSA is expected in the next few weeks.

So we had to know: Does this mean that if the Trump Organization wins the bidding, Donald Trump’s name (which he likes to slap on everything) will be on the building? Moore smiled and nodded. “Yes, but it will be small.” He said the Trump proposal calls for ground-level retail and a luxury Trump International hotel.

Moore also said that for this project he’s been working with Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald and Ivana, who he referred to as “beautiful, delightful and capable.”

We called Ivanka Trump’s office, but have not heard back. A GSA spokesman would say only that a decision is expected “in early 2012.”