Sunday Smorgasbord 3-4

• Add to the list of things I don't need to see, Pat Summitt in a cheerleader's outfit. Thanks guys. I really, really needed that one...
• Interesting how on the NHL trading deadline, the Penguin Scum were as active as a team that thinks they have the chance to win it all. What makes it more odd were the choices that they made. First they got Gary Roberts from Pittsburgh. I'm guessing in case Mark Recchi and Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby have another falling out. They then get Georges Laraque to be Cindy's bodyguard. Ok, that makes some sense, I guess... But the oddest move was the acquisition of Joe Kwiatkowski in a separate deal from Florida. The Penguin Scum could certainly use some veteran help on the blueline but Kiwi was the best that they could do? That makes me laugh, hard.
• I forgot to mention last week D.C. United's CONCACAF's Champion's League game at RFK on Thursday night. Which they won 3-2 BTW to move on and play the real Chivas. However, I was checking out the good folks over at The DCenters when I noticed that the Washington Freedom plans to return in a new Women's pro soccer league. The stated goal for the new league is to play in stadiums built for soccer which in D.C., may never happen (who knows???). However considering the failure of the WUSA, that may still be too large of a venue. It was downright depressing watching the Freedom play in front of 8,000 fans (which was the largest average crowd the WUSA had) in a 56,000 seat RFK Stadium. Putting the same number of fans in a 20-30,000 seat stadium is only slightly better, but still depressing and embarrassing. A women's soccer league would be better served piggybacking on the MLS so that men-women doubleheaders could be scheduled because it worked rather well here for three years in Washington. However, I don't think the MLS is financially strong enough to carry a women's league along.
• It wouldn't surprise me in the least but it would be a shame if the comical Golisano letter had anything to do with Cam Janssen's three game suspension for a vicious and very late hit. Of course we'll never know for sure and can only speculate. And of course our usual suspects are more upset over the fact that not a single Maple Leaf attempted to do anything to Janssen in response to the hit on Tomas Kaberle than the late hit itself or the suspension. First of all, nobody on the Leafs is going to be nominated for the Lady Byng anytime soon and the fact that they did not "respond in kind" probably had more to do with the fact that the hit was so late that nobody saw it which is why Janssen wasn't penalized on the play. Never mind that Darcy Tucker (who was scratched that night) came down the Devils walkway to yell at Janssen on the bench and forget that Janssen never skated another shift in the game. How these Ultimate Fighting on Ice fans can continue to tell us that they are hockey fans with a straight face is beyond me. All these clowns care about is fighting and that's it.
• Well it looks like nobody can seriously crown the Redskins "Champions of the Off-Season" this year. So far they've lost out on two free agents that they had targeted (one of their own in Derrick Dockery and Leonard Davis) and couldn't get a trade done with Detroit to get Dre Bly (who ended up going to Denver). It looks as if the only "splashy" signings will be London Fletcher and the return of Fred Smoot. That shouldn't change the opening odds of the Redskins at the Orleans Casino of 50 to 1 to win Super Bowl XLII very much. Though the real question is, are the Redskins finally going to spend their $$$$$ wisely or have things gotten so crazy that not even Dan Snyder wants to spend his $$$$$?
• A wild weekend in College Basketball sees UVA choke away the whole ACC Regular Season Title away to share it with North Carolina who managed to salvage a #1 seed in the All Carolina Conference Tournament despite losing two of their last three games. The Terps ended up in a tie for third place but are seeded fifth because of their 0-2 record against Boston College and Virginia Tech who are fourth and third respectively. The interesting thing about the tournament draw, the Terps will not face a team that they beat in the regular season until Saturday's Semi-finals where, if Maryland gets that far, they would face either Clemson, F$U, or North Carolina.
• And this week, the Caps travel to Toronto for a Tuesday night game against the pushover Maple Leafs at 7:30 pm. After meeting what season ticket holders bother to show up at the Phone Booth on Wednesday night, they host the Carolina Hurricanes for the final time this season and then head to Long Island to face the Islanders one last time this season on Saturday night. Both of those game are at 7 pm. The fifth seeded Terp Men start their ACC Tournament run on Thursday afternoon at 2 pm in Tampa when they face the 12th seeded Miami Hurricanes. The winner of that game will face fourth seeded Boston College on Friday at 2 pm. The Nats continue Spring Training in Florida this week with games against the Braves, Astros, B.O.'s, and Mets.
• As always folks, please send all comments, criticisms, questions, suggestions, corrections, and drunken vacation e-mails to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.