The sheer poetry of hockey

"Hockey Haiku" by John Poch and Chad Davidson is full of great ones. Yeah, there are some not so great ones as well, but who can argue with the only haiku dedicated to the Caps?

Lowercase won't do.
THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS
ARE MONUMENTAL.

Then there's this one:

O Donald Brashear,
Flying face first into glass:
Love yourself, your face.

These two made me think of Buggie, because I feel they're something she would write (at least the second one, anyway):

What kind of mascot
is a freaking maple leaf?
Scratchy, doomed to fall.

I'm a Maple Leaf!
Fear my blue fall, my scratchy
edge! I could blind you.

This one is sort of ominous:

I don't know if it's
a pleasing idea to have
the Ducks win the Cup.

Why? I don't know. Fred would be happy, since he would be up $110. But I don't know what the authors have against the Ducks.

Sadly, this one isn't true right now (except for the logo part):

Bottom of the league,
the Thrashers thrash in the muck.
Their logo is weak.

And finally, I leave you with this one for now:

Aging Rangers brat-
Concussion-laden Canuck-
Lindros out again.

Happy New Year!

Where's the plunger?

I enjoyed these anecdotes about the Edmonton Oilers and their relationship with Gerald Ford in today's Edmonton Journal:

[Gerald] Ford loved golf and played in several PGA Pro-Ams, but he had a propensity for sending the odd ball rocketing into unwitting crowds. He joked about his wayward shots, but he wasn't alone. In 1984, Wayne Gretzky had the same problem. He inadvertently plunked a fan during the Canadian Open Pro-Am. "It could be a race to see who hits the first spectator," kidded Gretzky, who admitted he was nervous playing with Ford, even more so than when he teed-off with hockey legend Gordie Howe.

Interesting that Gretzky would be nervous about golfing with Gordie. It's just funny to think about Gretzky being nervous at all; he always seems so self-assured.

Another time, Oilers winger Dave Hunter excused himself to go the washroom and was mortified when the toilet overflowed. "I looked around and said, 'geez, they must have a plunger somewhere,' but they didn't. There was water everywhere. The guys were hanging around outside the bathroom, and who started coming down the hall? Mrs. Ford,'' said Hunter. "I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed."

How completely and utterly mortifying in any situation- and how much worse is it when it's in a president's house. I bet the guys were cracking up.

The always nutty Esa Tikkanen got it in his head to try and play a practical joke on the president one night at Wally's Turtle. He wanted to sneak under a table and slap some ketchup on Ford's shoe, a fairly common activity for Tikkanen, who was a master of deception. He'd done it to coach Ted Green one day, which had everybody chuckling, but trying to elude the secret service would have been a chore. Also not very smart. "The players had to talk him out of doing it to a president," said [Craig] MacTavish.

Surely Tikkanen could come up with a better prank than that one? You wouldn't want to do anything too mean-spirited to the former president, but come on- ketchup on a shoe? That's lame. Those nutty hockey players!

I leave you with a haiku by John Poch and Chad Davidson from their book "Hockey Haiku":

See Craig MacTavish
See Craig MacTavish's hair:
helmetless, feathered.

New Year, New Look- part II

Just like last year (or earlier this year, to be precise), I decided to give my blog a makeover. Of course, in the process, that meant I lost all of my links, so I had to recreate them all from memory. I know I forgot to re-add some, so hopefully I'll remember them soon. Don't be offended if I forgot yours; my memory ain't what it used to be (or never was?). It doesn't help that I'm sick AGAIN; I think my white blood cells went on vacation for the holiday or something.

How about the article in today's Wash Post about the Redskins' futility?

A loss would put the Redskins at 5-11, matching their lowest win total in any season since 1994, and would be the worst season of Coach Joe Gibbs's career (he won six games in 2004, his first year back with Washington)...With a loss Saturday, the Redskins would finish 1-5 against the NFC East for the second time in three years; the team has not finished that low in such a short period since placing last in 1993-94.

Overall, the defense ranks 30th in yards allowed per game, 32nd in yards allowed per pass, 22nd in rushing defense, 29th in passing defense, 32nd in interceptions per pass play and 32nd in sacks per pass play. It is tied for 24th in points allowed and has a scoring differential of minus-63, also 24th in the league. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown 29 touchdown passes against Washington and just six interceptions -- the worst ratio in the NFL -- and have a 99.4 passer rating, a mark that also puts the Redskins last in the league.

Last, last, last. Ouch. Honestly, I hate to see a losing team in D.C., since it seems to happen all too often, even if it is the Redskins. I wish D.C. would see a winner for once- couldn't we win a championship in some sport this decade?** It sure would be nice, instead of having everyone else write this city off. It's obnoxious.

That being said, HAHAHAHAHAHA. That's not gloating- I'm laughing at Dan Snyder and his bunch of overpaid hacks (more the coaches than the players) who thought they could fool the rest of the country into thinking they had a good team. Yeah, on paper, maybe they did; but they didn't count on the importance of teamwork and morale, among other things. Lack of effort and consistency were other problems. The team had the potential to be good, but they never truly came together. Hey, at least they're better than Detroit.

**OK, so in my Dayquil-addled haze, I forgot about DC United's MLS Cup in 2004. Thanks to Dave Lifton for setting me straight.

Toronto Triumph

Well, the Toronto game obviously went well. We took Habs Fan's suggestion and had our pre-game meal at The Bottom Line (much better than this Bottom Line). It bills itself as Toronto's classiest sports bar, which seems like an odd thing to want to be, but whatever. We walked in and there was actually a Caps fan (Ovechkin jersey) in there, with three Toronto fans, despite Fred's firm belief that we would be the only Caps fans at the game. We sat next to a couple of surprisingly friendly Leafs fans, who were good-naturedly miffed at having to sit next to two fans from the opposing team. I couldn't say that about everyone around us, including a couple of guys behind me who screamed the entire game and commented on the conversation I was having with the Leafs fan sitting next to me. At one point I asked why the mascot was a polar bear called Carlton, momentarily forgetting that we had been to see Maple Leaf Gardens earlier that day on Carlton Street. One of the jerky Leafs fans behind me sniffed, "She doesn't even know why the bear is called Carlton." Sorry I don't know the history of every mascot in the NHL, jerkwad. I'd like to see that guy come down to the Phone Booth and try to understand all of our "traditions," like the Horn Guy and Goat. But I digress.

Before the game was the presentation to the ref for working his 1,000th game. GMGM was on hand to present a silver stick.Hanlon always looks so surly, or serious, or something. Not complaining as long as it works!
This was awesome. How about "Canada's Biggest Caps Fan?" Fred would disagree with that, saying that he's Canada's biggest Caps fan, but hey- the guy gets credit for showing up in a retro jersey.
What a fight!The Leafs not only sold pink jerseys, but baby blue and periwinkle ones as well. BARFOLA.Sweet, sweet victory. It was well worth the trip.These girls were very obliging; they had already taken off all their antlers, noses, and hats, and put them back on for the pic. Yeah, I know it's all Leafs stuff but I had to admire their holiday spirit.
The funniest part of the whole evening was that we didn't get taunted until AFTER the game. Some guy yelled at us, "You're not real Caps fans. I bet you can't even name three players besides Ovechkin." Fred and I promptly named Clymer, Sutherby, Eminger, Clark, and Brashear, not like this guy would have known if they were actually on the team or not. And we were approached by a couple of Leafs fans on the concourse, but their ribbing was all in fun. We actually met a Caps fan (who was not wearing any gear; he was with his Leafs fan friends) who lives in Arlington, not far from us, but he was home in Toronto for the holidays. Now that's something! I didn't get to ask him why he was a Caps fan over Toronto.

Another interesting thing was that the Leafs fans were completely unaware that they are getting a new logo next season, despite there being articles in the Toronto papers. They thought we were making it up! I got a kick out of it, because it just seemed like something that would spur a lot of discussion. But I guess they have bigger things to worry about right now...

The best Christmas present ever

This year is even better than the year I got Lite Brite and Golden Dream Barbie! Can't resist a little celebration:

Fly Eagles Fly, On the Road to Victory.
Fight Eagles Fight, Score a Touchdown 1-2-3.
Hit 'Em Low
Hit 'Em High
And We'll Watch Our Eagles Fly.
Fly Eagles Fly, On the Road to Victory!

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!


(Caps-Toronto recap to come soon, I promise)

Quick hits

Don't have time now for a full recap, so here's some video that I took last night at the game. Cheers!

Rake the Leafs!

The day has dawned gray and...surprisingly warm in Toronto. It's Hockey Night in Canada! Tonight's game should be an interesting one, what with the Caps and their lack of defensemen (or should that be defencemen, today only) and their loss last night, and the Leafs, the loss of Peca (waaah), and their loss last night. Of course there was no shortage of TVs showing THAT game, so we were able to watch Bondra's 500th goal over some beer and poutine. There was even a guy in the Chicago crowd holding up a red retro Capitals Bondra jersey- very cool. I was pleased to see that the Chicago fans, even though they have no ties to him beyond this season, were appropriately appreciative.

I was glad to see this in Tarik's recap of the game. After all, they showed a clip of a Caps fan wearing a mirrored visor on CBC Sports here (it's news, or something):

Hundreds of fans wore sunglasses in protest of Brodeur, who reportedly complained to the league's competition committee about mirrored visors, such as the one Ovechkin wore to much fanfare as a rookie. Brodeur's issue was that the flashy visor, which has since been banned, gave Ovechkin an advantage because it obscured his eyes. The fans also taunted Brodeur with chants of "fear the visor" during warmups.

Great job guys!

Here we go again

Mario's down to using tired, lame cliches, just in time for Hackneyed Phrase Week. Somehow this doesn't come as a surprise to me:

"It is time to take control of our own destiny," Hall of Famer Lemieux said in a statement issued by his team Thursday.

Can we PLEASE come up with a new stupid phrase that makes no sense? This one is all worn out. Sort of like Mario.

I plan on catching the Caps game from a bar tomorrow in Toronto (Fred would prefer Gretzky's, but I'd like something less touristy). I want to see how the mirrored sunglasses experiment turns out; wish I could be there in person for it. Love the idea!

Like many others I know, I cannot get enough of this video. The song is just so damn catchy. And who knew Justin Timberlake was funny?

One last thing: Das Boot, whoever you are, you rock. Thanks for the tip!

Toronto or bust

Another night, another loss. It shouldn't have been that way. So frustrating to watch a midget run all over the Caps (apparently Mites on Ice played last night after all), but what are you gonna do. I'd like to thank Barney and Marriott for the hospitality; suite tickets are nice though I don't enjoy seeing the Caps play like garbage for two periods before turning it on in the third (too little too late). Sigh. I'm not going all the way to Toronto to see the Caps play if they're going to play like THAT. OK, I'm going to Toronto to watch them play regardless but they'd better play well. I don't want to be embarrassed in front of the Leafs fans.

Which brings me to the second part of the equation. I'm typically not a jersey-wearing girl, but I have to wear one to the game on Saturday night. (If you're going all the way to Toronto and going into their house to support your team, you're wearing a jersey.) Guess what my sole option for a women's jersey is? You got it! A pink "fashion jersey." No female-cut jerseys anymore. Apparently the NHL doesn't think that women want to wear the team's colors. So much for marketing to women and including them in the sport. Anyway, I was forced to buy a men's medium, which is essentially a dress; but hey, I can fit the 26 layers of clothes underneath that I'll need for the Toronto weather, so it's not all bad.

So if you're watching the game on Saturday and they do a crowd shot, look for two black Caps jerseys (unless Fred gets a red retro one before then) in section 320, center ice. I *think* I'm fully prepared for what the Leafs fans can dish out. At least they're not Pittsburgh or Buffalo fans, right?

p.s. Apparently there was a Red Wings scout at the game (he was having a drink at Clyde's afterwards), and I ran into Christine Brennan there as well; it was nice to see her again. Smokin' Al Koken was also there, but that's his hangout after leaving the Phone Booth.

We are Matthew (and McG)

I finally got the transcript of the "We Are Marshall" conference call from Warner Bros....so I can post the results. (Don't want to misrepresent anything!) It was a very smart move on PR's part, essentially guaranteeing free publicity and generating more word-of-mouth referrals by providing conference calls to invited bloggers. I'm sure more studios will start doing it.

We were told that we would get to ask anywhere from 2-5 questions...but that turned out to be one question for me, and four questions total. I was fourth in line in the queue; asked my question, and the guys started answering; first, the director, McG; then, Matthew Fox, and finally, Matthew McConaughey; and then, the call had to be canceled because of technical difficulties. A disappointment, to be sure, but only a slight one since I was able to get a question in. (I would have been PISSED if I didn't get any questions in at all.) I would have liked to have asked Fox and McConaughey about the whole Eagles/Redskins rivalry, since they're avid fans of their teams, but oh well. I was still thrilled to have the opportunity to participate/listen on the call and hear their voices. Here's the question I did get to ask:

Marshall had several dozen film proposals over the years. Why do you think they chose this one?

McG's answer: It’s no secret that the town was a little hesitant about the telling of this story. And we always went in with our palms and our hearts open and really led by example with Matthew Fox and Matthew McConaughey always conducting themselves as gentlemen. When we went in there and we told our crew, hey look, this story belongs to these - the citizens of Huntington, West Virginia. We want to tell it honestly. We want to be true. And I’ve always likened the shape to kind of the Scarlet Letter where at first they were a little standoffish then they came to tolerate us a little bit. And by the time we were getting close to being finish up, they were our biggest supporters. And they were leaving us relics and hand-written letters and trying to give us letterman jackets from the time. And they were incredibly supportive. And I think that happens because we were so honest. We said we want to take Hollywood out of this picture. We want to tell the story very, very cleanly. And ultimately getting their support was the biggest endorsement.

Matthew Fox's response: Yes, I mean by the time I got to shooting on my first day, I felt nothing but a massive amount of support from the community. And as I imagined myself in that community and having that story be such a fabric of that community, I felt like - I could certainly understand their suspicion of a big Hollywood outfit coming in and making - and trying to take their story and turn it into a film. But I think that the way McG and everybody at Warner’s approached that community, by the time I got to the set, I felt nothing but a lot of support, people coming up to you and telling you how they’re connected to it and basically just giving you, you know, everything you can to take this story that’s such - so meaningful to us and turn it into a great film.

The garrulous Matthew McConaughey: I know when I showed up, I definitely sensed some trepidation, some people going what are you doing coming into town to put a mirror on this magic time of our life that everyone in this town is connected to either by blood, lore or friendship? I had two different people say the exact same thing. And I said well how do you feel about that? And they said spooky. I feel spooky and weird. Those are very simple words, but that’s pretty close to understanding how they felt. I know McGinty is a guy who holds no behind the door so to speak. So he came in, the production came in, embraced the town, invited them to set. He would see what we were shooting that day, how we were shooting it. Very quickly they saw that we had no hidden agenda, that we had no secrets, that we weren’t coming there to exaggerate what happened to them and we weren’t coming there to placate it either and to tell it justifiably and keep it true. And it was a great story to be told and I think that’s what we ended up with. So I felt the town production (become) somewhat teammates, I felt us all sort of become teammates two, about 2-1/2 weeks into shooting felt like there was a real symbiosis of us working with them and then working with us, understand the story we wanted to tell. And it was a real privilege. It was never that weight - W-E-I-G-H-T of responsibility. It was more of a privilege because our hearts and minds were in the right place and I think they saw that.

So there you have it- straight from the stars' mouths. Sorry, no questions about naked bongo-playing; it wasn't in the movie, after all.

I got your destiny right here

It's that time of year again- time for hackneyed phrases like "winning out" or "running the table." Add a new one to the lexicon: "control their own destiny"
And this is only a small sample!

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Although both the Giants and Eagles currently control their own destinies towards making the playoffs, a loss here could prove fatal to either team down the road.

Allentown (PA) Morning Call: The Eagles are not only still alive in the hunt for the NFC East title, they actually control their own destiny because they can win the title with a sweep of their remaining three games: at the New York Giants; at Dallas; and home vs. Atlanta.

Newsday: The key phrase, as far as the Giants' playoff hopes go, is this: controlling one's destiny. The Giants still control their fate, even after a four-game losing streak in which they lost in four different ways and seemed to be falling apart.

VikingUpdate.com: While the Vikings might be kicking themselves for not coming away with a November win against the Packers, 49ers or Dolphins, they still realistically control their own destiny.

The players are even buying into this garbage:

DallasCowboys.com: Parcells said he'd rather play NFC contenders late in the season instead of hoping for help from other teams. "Because that way, if you knock everybody off, you control your own destiny," linebacker Kevin Burnett said.

SDBoltReport.com: "Now we have three divisional games at home," quarterback Philip Rivers said. "We control our own destiny. That's all we can ask for is to let it be in our hands."

What exactly is destiny? Let us consult the old standby, Merriam-Webster's:

Main Entry: des·ti·ny
Pronunciation: 'des-t&-nE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -nies
Etymology: Middle English destinee, from Anglo-French, from feminine of destiné, past participle of destiner
1 : something to which a person or thing is destined : FORTUNE destiny>
2 : a predetermined course of events often held to be an irresistible power or agency
synonym see FATE

"A predetermined course of events"- that says it all. It's this simple: if it's destiny, you can't change it. You can control your own density, perhaps, but not destiny. I appreciate that players are trying to get the message across that they want to work hard and win, but this phrase makes me want to scream because of its complete and utter wrongness. I know it's easy to turn to cute little phrases, but wouldn't it be nice if these guys had a brain cell or two to come up with something on their own? I guess that's their destiny.

Can't he keep his mouth shut for ONCE?

What a shame:

"End of the [NHL] year, absolutely [I'll retire]," Roenick told the East Valley Tribune on Wednesday. "The way it seems to be going right now, I don't think anybody would want to give me another chance to tell you the truth."

Doofus, can you blame them? You act like an asshole 24/7, and don't even produce. And let's not forget the brouhaha that you started about the Olympics last year. So when one of the NHL's legends is pissed at you, yeah, it's time to go:

"I treat players like men and they should act like men," Gretzky told reporters Wednesday. "J.R., all and all, has been pretty positive. But the reality is, last night he made a mistake. I'm not disappointed with him because J.R. is a very emotional young man, a,nd he's a good person, but what he did last night wasn't right," Gretzky told the Tribune.

What did he do? Have a hissy fit like a little girl because he didn't get his way. His coach was looking out for him and his health, and he pouts. I dearly wish people knew when to shut up, especially this guy.

Sorry, the holiday season, with all its hustle and bustle and lack of parking spaces, is making me less tolerant of jerks, especially guys who should be thanking their lucky stars that they're able to play games and get paid for it instead of bitching and moaning constantly. End of rant.

No way, Jose

I haven't said anything lately about the Nationals because there really hasn't been anything to say. Even today, with the news about Vidro going to the Mariners, there isn't much to gab about. No one's surprised; they've been trying to offload him for ages. Is it a good deal for the Nats? Eh. They're getting two prospects:

..the Nationals are due to receive Chris Snelling, a 25-year-old outfielder who has a history of injuries, and Emiliano Fruto, a 22-year-old right-handed reliever, for Vidro.

Sweet! Just what the Nationals need: more guys who are gonna get hurt. Jim Bowden is the KING.

I knew it was only a matter of time before my Vidro jersey would become irrelevant. That's all right, at least I didn't get like Brian Lawrence or Melvin Dorta (even though he was really nice) or something.

I plan on writing about Saturday's conference call with Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, and McG, but I hope to get a transcript of it first so that I don't get anything wrong; my notes are a little jumbled. It's actually a funny story (to me, anyway), and I did get a question in; sadly, it wasn't the one about the Eagles/Redskins game.

Blatant Plug of the Day

Get thee to a Caps game in December for 15% off. There are many excellent games coming up (Cryers, Devils, Rags, etc.), so if you haven't been yet, there is no reason not to go, especially at a discount. For all the whining that fans in the Western Conference do about not being able to see Ovie (and it's a legitimate complaint), people here don't take advantage of that opportunity enough. So go already!

The Goose is loose

First of all, thanks to Beau Dire for mentioning me on the USA Today Sports Scope blog. Like I said, I'll miss Nick Rimando. Period. End of sentence. (Nothing against Freddy, he's all right; but Rimando had more personality, more joie de vivre. And Rimando didn't openly complain about his lack of play.)

Now I've met Tom Bridge and he's a great guy...but this comment on Metroblogging DC made me cringe a little:

All six fans of the DC United are likely crying in their beers tonight as Freddy Adu's been traded to Salt Lake...

It's not the "six fans" thing, it's the reference to "the DC United." WFY, where are you to set him straight? You've been to a game, I'm sure you know that they're not called "the DC United?"

Let's not forget the Redskins. After all, Philip Daniels gives the reason for their non-success:

"It ain't the success that's the problem," Daniels said. "It's how you handle it, and I don't think we handled it very well."

I'm sure he's wishing they had some success to handle at the moment, but what are you gonna do. More from the article:

The Redskins have many problems, but the one that might have affected them most this season is smugness.

Ya think?

Finally, in hockey news, JW over at AllThingsHockey had some interesting stuff to report:

Spotted in some urinals at the Capitals-Penguins game: Little pictures of Sidney Crosby. They read: "I'm thirsty."

Pittsburgh is supplying laptops at Mellon Arena to let fans vote for next month's All-Star Game. Twelve laptops to be precise. And even the Pens' cheerleaders have been spotted voting. Which may explain why Crosby, Malkin and Fleury are posting such gangbuster numbers in the balloting. Wanting to know what Capitals' owner Ted Leonsis (aka Mister AOL) thought of this, I e-mailed him. His reaction? "Wow -- interesting; thank you." Could the Caps do something soon to counter the Pens' laptops? Alexander Ovechkin, despite his amazing rookie season last year, continues to lag other players in the voting. Will the Caps' stand for this? Will Caps' fans continue to sit on their hands? Will Uncle Ted challenge Pittsburgh in cyberspace? A senior Caps' executive hinted in a recent e-mail that "hopefully" the Caps would have something in place soon.

OK, first of all, since when do the Pens have cheerleaders? And can you even imagine what they must look like?JW alerted me to the laptop loosey-goosey a couple of days ago, so I did a little checking into it myself. I asked my friend in the Caps front office about it, and he said that they had a laptop at one of the sales tables at one of the previous games, and there should be 2-4 more set up at tables around the arena for the next few games. Haven't been able to get to a game yet to check it out for myself, so I don't know if that's the case or not- but it should be by now. Vote early and vote often (for Olie and Ovie, of course)!

Adu is a-gone

Redskins fans, while your team sucks and is assured of last place in the NFC East, you can at least rejoice in the Cowboys' embarrassment on national TV last night. Here's what the 'Girls fans had to say about the collapse:

I think you need to create a Cowboys Support Group after this one. I need a hug.

Not one member of the Cowboys(coaches, players, trainers, equipment managers, ballboys) should get paid 1 cent for this game. To come out and play this way in a nationally televised game with huge playoff implications is ridiculous. 100% embarrassing.

PLAYOFFS????? I love how everyone takes everything for granted. Typical fans! Apparently, the team thinks along the same lines as some of its fans. Don't believe the hype!

Not only are we getting whooped but even from the start of the game there is more saints fans there . The fans there are a joke

For once, I'd like to hear from Parcells that he was outcoached and that he completely failed to prepare his team, instead of blaming players, media, and on and on. Cowboys were embarrassed because they were outcoached. Simple.

hopefully this will humble the team a bit. where was our D today? along with other problems and now this whipping this is probably my worst weekend ever.

The sad thing is that Cowboy fans will eventually be screaming for ROMOs head. I think its time for Parcells to go though and for the Cowboys to find a young coach with some energy. Parcells has been found out. His time has passed....

One thing that everyone can take away from this ass-whoopin' is that the talk is generally the same everywhere. The quarterback sucks. The coach sucks. Don't talk about the playoffs. There's a lot of fans of the opposing team at the game. I need a hug. It's pretty interesting to see that no matter how good or bad the team is, the talk is the same.

Freddy Adu is not, in fact, going to England- he's going to Real Salt Lake!

D.C. United today announced the club has traded midfielder Freddy Adu and the rights to goalkeeper Nick Rimando to Real Salt Lake. In return, United receive a major allocation, the rights to goalkeeper Jay Nolly and future considerations, including a share of any future replacement allocation money attributed to Adu, should he be transferred. Adu joins Salt Lake after three full seasons in D.C., while Rimando departs after five.

Sigh. I'm sad to see Rimando go, especially after the recent Water Wars as documented on the Bog. It was also reassuring to think that DC United had a very capable backup, although it's probably not very fair to him- he's a starter and could be doing more elsewhere. As for Freddy, eh. He wasn't doing much here lately and looked terrible in the playoffs. He would likely benefit from a fresh start elsewhere. I hope DC United is getting enough out of the deal; I'll defer to the soccerheads on that one.

Caps and Pens are battling it out right now. The Laich-Ruutu fight was one of the funniest things I've seen in a while- Laich pulling Ruutu's jersey over his head and punching him repeatedly. That's awesome.

Heidi is a Stars fan

For reasons that will soon become clear, I'm looking AGAIN for a Caps women's jersey that isn't pink, and not finding one (big surprise). I'm checking out eBay and I come across this gem. In case you don't know what it is (because I wasn't exactly sure myself), here's the description:

This is a brand new proculture womens peasent jersey! These sold for 79.99 and tag is still on it!
No pre print auto’s here everything is 100% hand signed authentic. Every autographed item was obtained in person by Meier Collectibles personal. You will receive a COA certificate of authenticity from Meier Collectibles.
Oh, thank God. I was so worried that it was a fake peasant jersey!

Seriously, can you imagine paying $80 for this piece of crap? I don't know what's worse, buying it or wearing it. *shudder*

I get older, they stay the same age

Caps Nut has a recap of the Barra Brava experiment from last night's Caps game. Sure, it probably irritated some of the suburbanites, but screw 'em. I unfortunately wasn't there, but Fred was, and he talked to Duffman after the game about it. Barra Brava will be back for the January 6 game vs. Atlanta, and I plan to go. Love the idea of having a full-game cheering section, if all the kinks can get worked out.

I'm doing a conference call later this afternoon with Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, and McG the director of "We Are Marshall"- so I should have some interesting stuff to report. No, I'm not asking MM about naked bongo-playing. Actually, I'm curious about McConaughey being a Redskins fan and Fox being an Eagles fan- wonder if there was any good-natured NFC East taunting there?

Hey man, is that Freedom Rock?

Great win by the Caps last night. Of course, they weren't supposed to win (according to the Ottawa faithful), so today there's a lot of crying and hand-wringing:

"I'm not supposed to comment, but (during) the first goal, Ovechkin was offsides, and we watched it. His foot was well over the line, and his other foot was in the air," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "The third goal, with an icing call ... that's what we were yelling about, and they call it a clean play."

Oh, who CARES? Murray's showing every bit of his 64 years there; what a cranky old man. Even without two goals, the Sens still would have lost...what a bunch of whiners. Is that their secret to "success"- moaning like the Canadian Diving Team captain about every little thing? The Caps could have complained about Schaefer's white flag incident, but they didn't because they're men.

The always-fabulous Neate Sager wrote a great post about Ottawa's reaction to the Sens loss at the hands of the Caps. As he says, "Those hot streaks never last. Neither do slumps." The Caps' sucky 6-game losing streak didn't last, obviously, but neither will the win streak. Let's just enjoy it while it lasts and delight in the fact that the Caps have beaten some great teams lately (and found their offense). I am extremely upset that I'm missing tomorrow's game, because I desperately want to see Barra Brava in the stands. Oh well, hopefully they'll be back another time.

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is why Barry Bonds had to go down to Florida in person if all he had to do to get signed with a team, presumably the Giants (since they're the only idiots who would want him at this point), was "snap his fingers and make a decision tomorrow if he wanted to." Well, why hasn't he done it yet? Isn't that something he could do from the privacy of his own home? Oh, let's not forget that aging hitter Frank Thomas made an appearance at the winter meetings last year to look for a job...and was offered one with the A's. We all know how that turned out. Somehow, I don't think things would be as fortuitous with Bonds. I'd have a smidge more respect for the guy if he would just admit that he was down there begging for a job. "Yeah, I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing, that's why I'm here." Is that so hard? Everyone knows he's washed up; sure, he could squeeze out 22 more home runs but that's about it. And he wants $18 million for that? Is he crazy?
Kudos to Bridget for alerting me to Giant Magazine's 50 Greatest Commercials of the '80s. Yes, you can relive the ads for Freedom Rock, Legos (Zack the Legomaniac), Popples, Bonkers, and My Buddy. Hey, there's even a He-Man Big Wheel ad! (All right, it's "Masters of the Universe Mighty Cycle." Same diff.) Jesus, there's even a commercial for "Small Wonder." What a freaky-ass show that was. I think my sister had a crush on the kid in that syndicated piece of crap.

Capital vs. Capital

Caps are at home tonight against Ottawa. Let's hope tonight's game is like the last one they played against them, where the Caps actually came back from a deficit and won the game.

Oh NO!!!

Captain Daniel Alfredsson limped off the ice with a right knee injury in the third period of Tuesday night’s 4-2 win over the New York Islanders, taking something away from the victory and the 64th birthday celebration for Ottawa coach Bryan Murray.

Gosh, I hope it didn't ruin Bryan Murray's birthday!

Actually, the funniest line from that article by Ken Warren was this one:

The Islanders are sporting a Journeyman R Us lineup, with a roster full of players who have bounced around here, there and everywhere.

Yeah, it's snotty and patronizing. But really, couldn't you say that about a lot of teams? Not sure where the condescension is coming from. Does it really matter? That type of lineup helps many teams; it's not like the Islanders are a bunch of slouches. After all, they're #1 in the Atlantic division (which I realize isn't saying much) and tied in points with Ottawa.

Warren continues his superior attitude in this article:

If the National Hockey League had come down harder on Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin on Monday, the Ottawa Senators wouldn't have to worry about him tonight.

Waaaah. Oh no, the Sens might actually have to play some hockey!

As Ray Emery says,

"He's probably one of the top five guys (in the NHL) for me. When he's on the ice, you want to know. When he's on the ice, you kind of cheat towards him, because more often than not, whoever else has the puck is looking to get it to him."

So I guess the secret is to give the puck to anyone but Ovechkin if Emery is in net, since that's what he's expecting.

Any other night, I don't mind the Senators; in fact, I usually root for them because of Fred. But tonight? All bets are off!

Kick it!

First of all, it was nice to meet Eddie C. at the Caps game on Saturday night (bonus points for recognizing me). I had a great time during and after the game taunting all the obnoxious Sabres fans. (I borrowed a line from my friend Jane at the end of the game, when some Sabres fans were leaving early: "Where are you going? The game isn't over yet!" It was great. They hated me.)

I'm not going to go into a whole lot about the Ovechkin hit right now, but I am writing about it for the Sports Journey blog, including some info from today's media conference call with Ovechkin and Crosby.

Watched some NFL yesterday and it was a kicker's day. I had to laugh when I watched Gramatica attempt the first field goal for the Cowboys- and miss. Yeah, he made the game winner (which is all that matters, I suppose) but how funny was that? You know Parcells was having a coronary. Similarly, I thought it was funny that Suisham missed one in the Redskins game- not that it would have made a difference. The 'Skins got off to that big start (and it was actually a really good start, with that huge pass by Campbell to Moss) and then blew it to Ron Mexico and his band of merry men. Then there were the winning FGs for Cleveland, Seattle, and Tennessee- especially Tennessee. A 60-yarder?!? Damn. Good thing Suisham, Gramatica, or Feely weren't taking the kick.

Get out the salt...

...the Buffaslugs are in town. (Check out Japers' Rink for a great graphic.)

Fred Bowen of KidsPost must have been reading my mind, because this column appeared yesterday:

The Washington Wizards unveiled their new alternate uniforms recently: a shiny gold top and black trunks, with lots of black stars on the sides and shoulders. The new uniforms are, in a word, ugly -- possibly the worst in the league. They look like circus costumes.

The team's new fashion statement got me thinking about sports uniforms. Some uniforms are cool. Some are not so cool. Let's look at the good, the bad and the ugly of sports uniforms.

The Chicago Bears have the best uniform in the National Football League when they wear their dark helmets with the red "C," dark shirts and white pants. That's when the Bears look like the "Monsters of the Midway." When the Bears wear their orange jerseys, they look like the Chicago Pumpkins.

The Seattle Seahawks have the ugliest NFL uniforms, especially when they wear a single color. By the way, what is that color? Green? Blue? Gray? Or greenish-blueish gray? I can't find the Seahawks' color anywhere in my box of 64 crayons.

Lots of NFL teams have great helmets. I love the look of the helmets worn by the Colts, Falcons, Broncos and Texans. But the Miami Dolphins' helmet is dopey. A dolphin leaping out of the water wearing a helmet doesn't make the team look tough at all.

In college football, the Penn State uniforms are perfect: blue and white with nothing fancy. The University of Oregon's uniforms are a fashion nightmare. The Ducks wear green and yellow with some kind of crisscross pattern on the shoulders and knees.

Hockey uniforms are either terrific or terrible. I love the fiery red "C" on the Calgary Flames' jersey. The Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild have cool jerseys, too. But I'm not crazy about jerseys with cartoon characters on the front such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks and Phoenix Coyotes wear.

Got some great comments on the last post. I can't believe I forgot about the Cryers' long pants. And I think we can all agree that cartoon characters are a bad thing on jerseys; Phil's comment about the Hawks jersey brings it all home. Take a look. Netsrak also brings up a number of valid entries, like the Ducks' 1990s third jersey (truly horrible) and the Fishsticks jersey.

Sadly, we never got to make fun of this one, as it was ix-nayed by Mike Keenan:


As for the Oregon football team- what are they thinking with the tread pattern on the shoulders and knees? "Walk all over me?"

What about the blue Thrashers jersey?

Always a popular topic of conversation, the ugliest uniform subject came up again today on FoxSports.com. Here's AskMen's top 10, which of course includes the ubiquitous Vancouver Canucks "V" jersey and the ever-so-fabulous mustard-yellow Nashville sweater:

10. Newcastle United FC (home)
Jersey lifespan: 1894-present

9. Golden State Warriors (home/away)
Jersey lifespan: 1962-1971

8. Miami Dolphins (alternate)
Jersey lifespan: 2003-present

7. Denver Nuggets (road)
Jersey lifespan: 1976-1998

6. Tampa Bay Lightning (alternate)
Jersey lifespan: 1996-1999

5. Chicago White Sox (home)
Jersey lifespan: 1976

4. Nashville Predators (alternate)
Jersey lifespan: 2001-present

3. San Diego Padres (alternate)
Jersey lifespan: 2003-2004

2. Vancouver Canucks (home/away)
Jersey lifespan: 1978-1985

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (alternate)
Jersey lifespan: 1976-96

That Tampa Bay uniform, even with the cheesy logo, certainly does not deserve a #1 spot. I wouldn't even put it in the top 10. And where's a mention of the 1974-1975 Washington Capitals ? If they're going to mention the White Sox and their shorts, the Caps and their white pants should be in there too. Still, it's an interesting list, and brings up some new contenders (even if I don't necessarily agree with them).

I'm loopy on Nyquil and Sucrets

...and they taste awful. Don't mind me or these random thoughts.

- Thanks, Ted, for the mention yesterday! And congrats on getting "Nanking" into Sundance. Don't forget to invite us to the DC premiere!



- Did anyone else notice an unusual ad around the Verizon Center rink last Friday, an ad that usually isn't there? It was in front of the Caps' bench. Here's a hint...

- This blurb, from the Bog, made me laugh out loud:
Official Nats beat writer Barry Svrluga was at the game on Sunday. He saw two guys with the ever-creative D and picket fence props. D took his prop with him, but Fence left his prop behind. So now Barry has a big white fence, and he's parading around the office yelling "Fence, Fence, Fence." So now The Post is sort of like the Wizards; we have quirky, charming characters, but we pretty obviously have no D.

You could also make the D comment about the Caps, unfortunately.

And that, my friends, is reason #1,209,378 why I love Barry Svrluga. Screw Gene Weingarten and Jorge Arangure Jr.; Barry is where it's at!

- Someone from The American sent me a link to this article, which looks at the success of the Patriots and the failure of the Redskins from the economic point of view. Observe:

[Bill] Belichick keeps winning because so many others in the league behave so strangely...Coaches and general managers place too high a value on the top few picks, and too low a value on picks a bit further down. The Washington Redskins are perhaps the leading exemplar of this tendency toward irrationality...An especially silly trade gave the Jets three Redskins’ picks: in the second and sixth rounds this year and in the second round next year.

To compound this error, the Redskins filled their roster with mediocre, high-priced veterans, dropping $35 million on safety Adam Archuleta, $32.5 million on defensive lineman Andre Carter, $31 million on wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, and $25 million on wide receiver Brandon Lloyd—none of whom has ever been in the Pro Bowl.

Even economics geeks can see that the 'Skins are in trouble, and they have fancy charts and graphs to prove it (not that they're needed, really; it's pretty obvious). When these guys are calling the trade with the Jets "especially silly," you know it's bad for the Redskins.

- This is one of the most asinine things I've read lately, in the sense that it's ridiculous what hoops La Canfora had to jump through for a stupid small thing. Dan Snyder really needs to get a life if he cares what's written on a freakin' blog. And who are the idiots who are defending him ("oh, people are just jealous that he's so rich and successful")? That's the second time in the past week or so that I've heard that. I couldn't care less about Snyder's wealth or success. He's an assclown who made his money at the expense of others, and continues to do so (and don't get me started on the whole tree chopping thing). If he was a decent, kind person, that would be one thing; but he's shown himself to be an arrogant jerk. Grr.

Go Vick yourself!

Oh, Michael Vick, my heart bleeds for you:

Michael Vick's frustrations with fading playoff hopes and unexpected insults from home fans caused him to flash an obscene hand gesture on Sunday.

Excuses, excuses. The Cardinals are nowhere near the playoffs, but I don't see Matt Leinart flipping off the crowd. Even the Steelers, who are all but out of the playoff hunt now; I could never imagine Big Ben sticking it to the fans (if he knew which end was up).


Vick said that as he walked off the Georgia Dome field he heard an especially disturbing insult from a male fan.

Waaah. Shouldn't a professional athlete be used to this kind of behavior by now, especially a Pro Bowl quarterback who's been playing for 6 years? I'd expect that type of boorishness from Marcus Vick, not Michael.

GREAT discussion today on washingtonpost.com about the Ovechkin story. Here's an interesting question, and even more intriguing answer:

Washington, D.C.: While Ovechkin is arguably the biggest star today in the NHL, the Caps' average home attendance has consistently hovered near the bottom of the league ever since Alex began playing for Washington. While I am under the impression that he likes DC, do you think he might prefer to play in a City that actually appreciates hockey?

April Witt: I had that same question when I started working on this story. I have no way of knowing whether they are just being politic, but the entire Ovechkin family went out of their way to tell me repeatedly how thrilled they are that Alex is playing for the Caps. Alex's father told me that it's hard to say who is luckier in the deal -- Alex or the Caps. According to the dad, because Alex has been such a standout star on a team without a lot of stars he's gotten more exposure than he would have on a stronger team.

Slava Malamud: Alex and his family seem to genuinely enjoy being in Washington. His dad initially had some apprehension about DC because he thought that a capital of the United States must surely be a big city with lots of distractions. He actually would've preferred Alex to play in as unassuming circumstances as possible.
So, as you can see, the size of the market is not a big deal for them.
But Alex is so focused on hockey and hockey alone, he tends to defer other decisions to people who surround him. While currently he has absolutely no plans for switching teams, I could see him being persuaded to leave if the situation changes and whoever that represents him thinks he'd be a lot more marketable elsewhere.
But this is not something Caps fans should worry about just now.

Good point about being a standout on a team without stars. I know Ovie won't be here forever, but I hate to think about a Caps team without him.

Saw this on A Total Waste of Makeup and had to check it out for myself:

As I was looking around at other sites/blogs for my other blog, I came across the word cloud t-shirt generator. You plug in a website and then get a word cloud (conveniently ready to be put on a t-shirt) that randomly captures the essence of said website.



How cool is this? Check it out and make your own!

Odds & Ends

Great article in the Washington Post magazine today about Alex "Sex Bomb" Ovechkin. Some very interesting family history stuff, including an anecdote about how he couldn't skate backwards like the other boys when he was 8. Hard to imagine that now, but it helped fuel his desire to do better.

Hope the Caps can break out of this losing streak soon. At least they took Yashin down with them last night.

Finally, I figured out who's to blame for the Eagles' problems: the Fantoo Girls! Look what Carol wrote a mere 4 days before McNabb went McOut:

(Are you as surprised as I am that we are relatively unscathed at this point? That is SuWEET!)

Just kidding. When I was discussing this with Fred, he mentioned that Dave Fay made a similar assessment of the Caps- and then a few of them were injured in the next game. Why not write about the other team and how great and uninjured they are? Maybe then they'll suck (of course, it never seems to work that way either). Just never, ever say anything about your team's injuries or how well they're doing, because it automatically jinxes them.

I think that's what happened to the Redskins this year: before preseason even started, everyone was talking about how great the team looked on paper and how a Super Bowl run was in the cards. And where are they now? Sitting in the basement of the NFC East, with the same record as the Houston Texans. You just never know, but sometimes it's impossible to live up to lofty expectations- "expectations" being the key word there (especially when you're putting your faith in a bunch of overpaid free agents). Overconfidence often leads to disappointment.

They put on the foil

Last night, for the first time, I was in the press box for the Caps game (Eric from OffWing also has a recap, since he was sitting next to me). It was a great experience and I'd encourage bloggers (ahem, J.P.) to check it out for a very different perspective on the game.

I had trouble trying to watch it without expressing much emotion (like when the Caps would make a bad pass, which seemed to be often during the 2nd and 3rd periods, I'd mutter something under my breath or curse), but gave up by the end. As Eric says, we were just laughing our asses off. How could you not?

Anyway, I took about 4 pages of notes during the whole game, which of course isn't easy to do when you're trying to watch the game. I can type and watch at the same time, but then the document suffers. (Who's Oovechdkn?) And I'm a stickler for perfect spelling. So occasionally I'd miss something, like Metro's fluky (and shouldn't have been a) goal.

My notes included comments such as:
- Clark is back (out on the PK) and appears to be up to his usual standard of play, though he's sporting a huge cage now
- Comcast shows their Ones to Watch: Chris Clark (natch), and Andy Sutton from Atlanta
- Caps have practice on Thanksgiving, unless they do well tonight
- Vigier is getting a little pushy with Brashear, but Brash isn't taking the bait
- As usual, Ovechkin leads the Caps in shots with 106 (Semin is a distant second with 51)
- Another bench minor for too many men on the ice, this one on Atlanta
- Special guest for the Mites on Ice: the Thanksgiving Turkey (in a really lame costume)
- Why do the NHL arenas play "Life is a Highway" during every game now? I hate that song
- Hedberg hecklers are back in force after the Klepis goal, but are quickly quieted after an extremely ugly Hnidy scores. (What's up with the dagger goatee?) Atlanta now has 1 goal on 14 shots
- Kids are about to mob the Thanksgiving Turkey for Papa John's pizza (so not worth it, kids)
- Boyd Gordon likes baseball and the movie "Gladiator;" his nickname is a very original "Gordo"
- "The Hockey Song" makes my ears bleed. I don't care if fans love it, it's awful
- Another idiot in the crowd wearing a Jagr jersey. Why do people still wear them in public, or at all?
- Sutton and Clymer go at it. Then Vishnevski and Brashear start up- Brash is really whaling on him, there's blood, and Bradley and De Vries are mixing it up
- Hedberg and Kolzig have words, and Erskine and Hossa are fighting a bit
- Play starts again, Sutherby punches Larsen twice before Larsen takes the bait
- Now it's Heward and Mellanby; the Thrashers captain started that one
- Neither team will have any players left on the bench at this rate (Caps have 12 left, Thrashers have 10)

Sure, there's room for improvement in the final product, but there it is. Next time I'll work on putting something better together (you know, something that one could actually follow instead of this stream of consciousness stuff).

One of the guys in the press box commented that he hadn't seen anything like that in a long time. The closest I ever saw to it was a 2001 Caps-Rangers game that had 128 penalty minutes in the 3rd period, but that was nothing compared to last night's game.

Oh, and is anyone surprised that the Caps got screwed? Not me, because they (unfortunately) always get the short end of the stick. At least they were able to beat some Thrash butt with it.

Washington Capitals forward Donald Brashear has been suspended for three games. Brashear, teammate Brian Sutherby and Atlanta forward Scott Mellanby were each automatically suspended for one game and coaches Glen Hanlon of the Capitals and Bob Hartley of the Thrashers were fined US$30,000 and US$10,000, respectively, the league announced Thursday...Brashear was suspended for an additional two games under a rule that allows the commissioner the discretion of tacking on additional games.

I love you Gary Bettman!!!
(It's Opposite Day.)

I got rhythm

The Caps play Atlanta tomorrow. Hopefully the outcome will be much better than the past couple of games, because Atlanta isn't doing so well these days either. Check out the Ice Man's blog:

One goalie looks like he believes everything we said about him and has been waiting around for his Hall of Fame induction. The other goalie draws an unsportsmanlike penalty for showing up the ref.

Dude, seriously. Lehtonen needs to rethink his status, especially since Hedberg is getting his second straight start tomorrow night. In fact, Bob Hartley said that Lehtonen lost his rhythm. I guess he won't be out at the clubs any time soon.

More complaints from the Ice Man:

In fact, let’s look at the penalties in the first period: Holik for tripping just 1:45 in. After failing to score on a 5-on-3 PP, Rucchin — our veteran import — makes contact with the goalie one second after the second penalty expires. Then the goalie taunts the ref and Montreal scores on the ensuing PP. About 30 seconds later, our best offensive threat gets into a stick-swinging contest and goes off on coincidental minors. Not a minute later, our OTHER best offensive threat and one of our top defensemen BOTH get whistled for high-sticking and hooking, respectively.
That could be one of the most undisciplined periods of hockey this franchise has ever seen. And we’ve had teams with Marc Savard, Frank Kaberle and Steve Staios.

The Caps can easily take advantage of this situation, as long as they keep their cool. One of the best games vs. Atlanta I ever saw was last season when they tormented Kozlov during the whole game. Late in the third, he finally snapped and came out swinging- which amounted basically to where you've got your hand on the dude's forehead while he's trying (and failing) to hit you. It led to a chain reaction of fights on the part of the Thrashers (because they were losing at the time) and the Caps won in the shootout. (Remember when the Caps used to win in the shootout)? Anyway, it was great- very smart strategy.

Thanks to my dad for alerting me to this article, which appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday:

[Mark Adickes] might be best remembered as an offensive lineman who played for Baylor University before going on to the pros, capped by a Super Bowl victory with the Washington Redskins. But Adickes now has joined the ranks of surgeons who kept him playing through career-threatening injuries and seven operations. Adickes spent the final three seasons of his career as one of the Hogs, the Redskins' offensive squad, known for practical jokes off the field as well as for their success on it.

Adickes said it helped that he hadn't been a superstar. "Offensive linemen are totally anonymous," he said. "You work very hard for no recognition, and medical school and residency are like that. You are the lowest of the low on the totem pole."

Funny to think that someone in medical school, or a football player, would be "the lowest of the low," but then again, I suppose every profession has a pecking order. The best part of the article described how he let the kids hold his Super Bowl ring:

"He tells us to believe in the ring," reported Hayden Manias, 10, a fifth-grader at the Kinkaid School. "I think it means to go out and do your best."

Isn't that cute? I'd love to try on a Super Bowl ring myself. Lucky kids.

Sure beats the Dan Snyder suite experience

Friday's game vs. Carolina was the big night in Ted's suite. Fred and I arrived and promptly met Christine Brennan of USA Today and Debbie Patrick, Dick's wife. (We met Dick later; he had pre-game duties, I'm sure.) Various partners of Lincoln Holdings LLC came in, like Raul Fernandez and Jack Davies. Jack was very pleasant to talk to, and Fred and I chatted for a bit with him about how he got into hockey in the first place- via his son's own play.

GMGM entered the suite for a bit to watch the game, and Ted introduced us, prefacing the introductions with, "Hey, did you know the fans call you GMGM?" I asked McPhee about the nickname and he shrugged it off. Fred told him how much everyone appreciated him standing up for the Caps in the infamous Chicago locker room incident. He looked a little embarrassed, naturally, but who doesn't admire a GM who stands up for his team?

Ted was so friendly and easygoing, but would you expect anything else? He made a point of introducing us to the others in the suite and played the role of host very well. Ted shared a lot of fascinating insights about the team and also about his outside projects, like his film starring Woody Harrelson. I asked Ted about his timeline for completing The List, since he already has about 75 things done. He said the deadline is death- at his funeral, the completed list will be passed out to everyone and they can read it and say, "I did #52, 61, and 77 with him." It's nice that while it's Ted's personal project, he includes others to do some of the items with him. I think that's typical of Ted: he likes to have a good time, but wants to ensure that others enjoy themselves as well. And we certainly did!

Ted invited Tatiana Ovechkin, who was accompanied by Boris Lelchitski of the Sports International Group, up to the suite. While they were primarily engaged in talking to Christine Brennan, I managed to squeeze in a question to Mrs. Ovechkin: "So, are you going to be Alex's agent?" Boris translated the query to Mrs. O, and she replied, "No, just the mother." Take that for what it's worth, but I thought it was an interesting statement.

Speaking of Christine, she was fantastic. We chatted for a long time about various topics: her new book, her USA Today column, the Olympics, etc. As one would expect, she was a very witty, entertaining conversationalist.

The food was plentiful, and delicious; there was a carving station, roasted veggies, chicken tenders, salad, plus the usual popcorn and pretzels. And don't get me started on the dessert cart! Cheesecakes, chocolate fudge cakes, bags of Gummi bears and jelly beans, cookies, caramel apples...it looked heavenly. Fred had a slice of Snickers cheeescake that he said was out of this world. Well, he didn't exactly say it, just looked it. The ladies will know what I mean.

My one regret is that I forgot to do one big cheesy fan thing: get a picture with Ted. I really enjoyed meeting him and hope to run into him again soon.

Coming soon!

I have fun stories about watching Friday night's Caps game in Ted's suite, which I will post tomorrow. For example, Ted (who is a great host) made sure that Christine Brennan (who is fabulous) and I met Tatiana Ovechkin, and I pointedly asked her if she was, in fact, Alex's agent. The answer may surprise you! But we just got back from the Eagles game, and I will fall asleep over the keyboard if I try to type it up now. In the meantime, here are a couple of pics from today's game:

Bye Donovan. :-(

Puttin' on the foil!

Look out, D.C.: the 'Canes and their dads are coming to town!

This weekend marks the second annual Carolina Hurricanes Dad's Weekend, and more than a dozen fathers are joining us for our journey to Washington. Among dads who participated in last season's trip and are returning for a second adventure with their sons are Ken Adams, Henry Staal, Floyd Whitney, Wayne Commodore, Dennis Cole, Jerry Hedican and Ken Ward.

Among the fathers participating in their first Hurricanes dad's trip, whether it is because they couldn't make it last season or because their sons are new Canes, are Bob Brind'Amour, Ron Grahame, Dave Ladd, Grant LaRose, George Letowski, Bill Stillman, Curt Tanabe and Robert Walker.

I'm curious to see if Wayne Commodore has the same wacked-out hair that his son does. I think this is a cool tradition; if I was a player, I'd love to have my dad with me on the road for a game (not as an agent, though).

(On a side note, I watched a little of the Flyers-Ducks game last night and couldn't believe the 5-1 score in the first period; the final was 7-4 Flyers, even though they were outshot 41-16. What happened to the Ducks? They're playing the lousiest team in the NHL and they get trounced at home, when they only have one other loss in regulation? Wow.)

So the Caps are at home to Carolina tomorrow night, and have something to prove. Remember that nasty knee hit that a certain assclown laid on our beloved Ovechkin in the home opener? Well, this is the first time since that game that Carolina's been back to D.C., and the Caps fans would like to see some blood, especially since the good guys were shut out in Raleigh last week. Let's see some blood, boys!

And as Fred mentioned, we're sitting in Ted's box at the game tomorrow night. I'm thrilled beyond belief that Ted extended the invitation- yet nervous as hell. At least I won't have to worry about Bettman being there, like last night; after a few beers, who knows what would have been said? ;-)

Weird stuff

People will do anything. I guess this is one way to raise money:

With fans scrambling to obtain tickets to Saturday's Michigan-Ohio State football game, a couple is auctioning off their seats to raise money to adopt a boy from Guatemala...They have put the two tickets up for sale on eBay, hoping the payout helps defray the $12,500 cost to begin processing their adoption paperwork. They set the minimum bid at $1,000, with an option to purchase the tickets directly for $1,500. No bids had been made as of early Tuesday.

Most people would say that's really wonderful that the couple is adopting a boy from Guatemala. It is, no doubt about that. But if you can't afford $30,000 for adoption and have to resort to selling hot game tickets on eBay, should you really be thinking about adoption at this time? Nothing wrong with selling the tickets and getting good money for them (better than the $20,000 request I heard for a pair), but calling the papers to publicize your story so you can get your tickets sold seems cheesy to me. What if they're lying, like that woman who claimed she was having sextuplets and accepted all those free gifts? (I still don't know how she thought she was going to get away with that one.) I hate to be cynical, but that's the state of things these days because of losers like that.

"It's just one day, one game, compared to changing this little boy's life with us," Kristie Sigler said.

Oh, barf. I wonder how the AP reporter didn't laugh in her face after she spouted off that feel-good crap.

As noted by the Houston Chronicle's Ken Hoffman:

After Texans quarterback David Carr was injured Sunday, CBS announcer Rich Gannon said: "That's Superman right there- hopefully he hasn't run out of his nine lives."
Huh?

No kidding. When did Superman become a cat? And when did David Carr become a cat or Superman, for that matter?

Caps complain about win

What Caps fan wouldn't want to hear this?

The Washington Capitals were not pleased with their performance last night, saying almost to a man they could and should have played better. And that was in a 4-1 victory.

Sure, there's room for improvement- there always is. Once again, they harkened back to last season with the shots on goal; Washington's 27 to Florida's 45. But they won the game! Who can argue with the results?

It was their second win this season over Florida, a team the Caps beat once in eight tries last season.

Now that's pretty damn good. Granted, Florida's suffering right now; Auld's a decent goalie but he's no Luongo. And they could probably use jerkwad Bertuzzi in their lineup (something I'm not terribly upset about). But the Caps are doing a lot better right now than they did last season, a fact that is not lost on Dave Fay:

It was the eighth win of the season for Washington (8-5-4) and gives the team 20 points after 17 games, a sign of improvement considering the Caps didn't get to 20 points last season until the 26th game.

Points-wise, they're doing better than 17 teams in the league. 17! And yet the team fails to get much respect from the media (well, specifically the Canadian media. But since the Canadian diving team captain isn't on the team, I guess there won't be a whole lotta love given).

Anyway, I for one am quite pleased with the progress the Caps have made so far this season, and I fervently (fervently, I say) hope it continues. There's some tough games coming up, but I think they stand a good chance...against Buffalo. Come on, they can do it!