Monday, March 31, 2008

Open Memo To Stan Kasten

In spite of my numerous complaints to various staffers this weekend, not a single person was willing to do something about the Five Guys stand behind my section. If I'm lucky I'll only weigh about 500 pounds at the end of the season. And if that sudden obesity does not kill me, my doctor certainly will.

On a serious note though, the stadium policy of not providing lids and straws for sodas is pure bunk. As somebody who was there the night Boozer's Mom was hit in Cole Field House, I understand and support the policy regarding bottle caps. But the policy regarding lids is totally and completely unnecessary.

As for the facility itself, maybe I'm spoiled or maybe I'm hard to impress but there wasn't that "WOW" factor for me that many were talking about. Yeah, RFK is old and can't take the rigors of an 81 game baseball season anymore but there isn't anything at the new place that is very impressive outside of the scoreboard.

Though I had to laugh at the line for Ben's Chili Bowl. Not because the food isn't worth it, but because the line was snaked around the corner and the stands right next to Ben's had no line at all and the employees at those stands looked absolutely bored out of their minds. I took pity on them and bought my dinner at one of those forlorn stands. (I'm not stupid enough to arrive right before the game and expect to get through Secret Service Security quickly. I got there 5 minutes before 3 pm).

Oh, and the Navy Yard Metro Station is totally inadequate. The ironclad proof of that is the fact that they closed the station briefly in order to keep the station from dangerously overflowing. I laughed doubly hard at the signs pointing us to the Waterfront station which had nothing but jam packed trains pulling into it with nobody getting off.

And the "game experience" was indistinguishable from RFK. Same old songs being played, same old promotions being run, same old gags being pulled. (BTW, Teddy should have been running around an empty RFK. Yeah, everybody would have seen it coming but it still would have been HIGH-LARIOUS.)

Finally a special note for the jerk who stood up in front of me right as Odalis Perez threw the first pitch of the game last night. I understand that you too wanted a picture of the occasion but the LEAST you could have done was apologize instead of just looking at me like I was the idiot you bleepin' moron.

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Sunday, March 30, 2008

Caps @ Panthers 3-29-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Miami Herald: eliminated, wants to stay. Panthers.com.

Final Thoughts:

If you haven't already read it somewhere else, (or figured it out on your own) the Caps MUST WIN on Tuesday night if they want to win the Southeast Division. That's because the Caps MUST pass the Canes to win the Southeast Division and therefore will need at least TWO MORE LOSSES from Carolina to accomplish that but one of those losses MUST come from playing the Caps. The Caps CAN afford to win on Tuesday night in overtime or in the gimmick. If the Caps win IN OVERTIME OR THE GIMMICK on Tuesday night, then Carolina MUST lose another game IN REGULATION for the Caps to have a chance to pass them. If the Caps win in REGULATION on Tuesday night, they'll need another loss OF ANY KIND by Carolina in order to have a chance to pass them. Of course, none of this matters if the Caps end up losing in regulation on Tuesday night. Should that happen, Carolina will win the Southeast Division title. If the Caps lose in overtime or in a gimmick, they'll need Carolina to lose BOTH their last two games IN REGULATION and the Caps MUST win in their last two games to win the Southeast Division which isn't very likely making Tuesday's game a MUST WIN. Did you get all of that??? Good, there will be a quiz on Tuesday... The 8th seed is a little more complicated.

79 down, 3 to go.

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Saturday, March 29, 2008

Caps @ Panthers 3-29-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (39-39; 86 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 9th Eastern Conference, 17th Overall) @ Florida Panthers (36-42; 81 points; 3rd Southeast Division, 11th Eastern Conference, 21st Overall):
Caps Game #79, Road Game #41, NHL Game #1,174

BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Florida TV: Fox Sportsnet Florida. Radio: WAXY 790-AM. NHL Center Ice: Fox Sportsnet Florida feed.

Tonight the Caps wrap up their road schedule for the 2007-2008 season when they play the Florida Panthers for the seventh time this season. The Panthers, who are playing their final game at home this season, continue to be a thorn in the side of the Caps as they lead the season series, 4-2 after winning the last game 4-2 on February 15th. The Panthers were making a late run at a playoff berth and possible Division title but have run out of gas recently. They've lost three of their last four games including two in a row and are now on the brink of elimination. In their last game on Thursday night the Panthers lost at home to the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Miami Herald: disappointment, doubt.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

The games today could bring a lot of clarity to the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Boston hosts Ottawa in a matinee game, the Carolina Hurricanes are in Tampa facing the Ning, and of course, the Caps are in Florida. Should the Senators gain a single point, Canes win in any fashion, and the Caps lose in regulation tonight; the Canes will clinch a playoff spot and the Southeast Division Title and the Devils, and Senators will both clinch playoff spots. As a matter of fact, losing in regulation tonight no matter what the other results are could very well all but eliminate the Caps tonight. However, should the Caps pull off any kind of win tonight, the Panthers will be officially eliminated from the playoffs and furthermore, the Caps will lock up at least second place in the Southeast Division. This is Florida's home finale and you have to expect that they want to go out on a high note. The pressure is now off of them as there is essentially no way they can sneak into the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference so they are very dangerous. The Panthers of course have been a tough game for the Caps in recent years so we'll have to hope that the Panthers are content to just get through their final four games. The Caps will have to come out tonight looking to put the Panthers away early and need to play with the desperation that was lacking for most of the game Thursday night. While a playoff berth is all but gone, the Caps can still be proud of finishing second in their division and posting 40 wins in spite of the bad start that they got off to.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Panthers 1
Winner by Semin

(41-36 on the season)

Editorial Note For the Dozens of Readers of This Blog:

Despite the fact that tonight is a big game and the season really could end tonight, I have places to go, people to see, and things to do so I won't be watching tonight's game. There won't be a Post-Mortem again later tonight and if history is any indicator, the Caps will win handily tonight and A.O. will do something spectacular. (Or does that only work with home games...)

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Friday, March 28, 2008

Caps @ Ning 3-27-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

St. Petersburg Times: scary moment, no hard feelings. Tampa Tribune: lost season, offseason plans. Ning.com.

Final Thoughts:
  • There was no Post-Mortem last night because my pooter refused to cooperate so we'll get to some general points here.
  • It didn't seem to me that the Caps were playing with a whole lot of desperation last night. The Caps certainly weren't flat but seemed content to just match the Ning's level of play. Twice in the third period, the Caps were beaten to icing touch ups in their own end. That's a sure sign that a team isn't playing hard enough.
  • Another sure sign is the two one goal leads that the Caps blew last night. The Caps held the lead for a total of 3:31 last night. It would be one thing if the Caps were playing somebody making the playoffs or another team in the chase with them, but that wasn't the case last night.
  • Our John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game Award goes to Shaone Morrrissonnn for his inexplicable pass in front of his own net during a Penalty Kill in the first period. Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet bailed him out and UA's save was the catalyst for Brooks "and Dunn" Laich's shorthanded goal. But the play itself was stupid and unnecessary.
  • 78 down, 4 to go.

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Caps @ Ning 3-27-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (38-39; 84 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 9th Eastern Conference, 18th Overall) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (30-46; 68 points; 5th Southeast Division, 15th Eastern Conference, 29th Overall):
Caps Game #78, Road Game #40, NHL Game #1,158

St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL. 7:38 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Tampa TV: Sunshine Network Alternate. Radio: WDAE 620-AM. NHL Center Ice: Sunshine Network Alternate feed.

Tonight the Caps look to climb back to a real .500 record when they play the Ning for the seventh time this season. The Caps have won the last three games in the season series to take a 4-2 lead. Left for dead after the trading deadline, the Ning have remained worthy opponents by continuing to play hard. The results however have not come around as the Ning have just 5 wins in the 14 games since the deadline. Four of those wins have come in the last seven games including Tuesday night's 3-1 win at home over the Florida Panthers that ended a three game losing streak.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

St. Petersburg Times: MVP case, offseason job, tonight's game. Tampa Tribune.

What Do I Expect Tonight:

It probably isn't the best idea in the world for the Caps to be heading into consecutive games in Florida with their playoff hopes dimming by the day. But that's exactly what will happen tonight and Saturday as the Caps have to find a way to keep the sun and sand out of their legs and come away with all four available points. The Caps pulled off a split the last time they played two consecutive games in the state which is better than last year when they found themselves getting swept all three times. The Caps of course have to win to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Ning have nothing to play for other than lottery position. On paper this should be an relatively easy win but we also thought that about last Friday's game and we needed a four goal third period to pull out that win. A big key for the Caps tonight is to get the first goal as the Ning have allowed the first goal in three of their last four losses.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 4
Ning 2
Winner by Kozlov

(40-36 on the season)

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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Caps @ Hurricanes 3-25-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Raleigh News & Observer: lead cut, doing fine, turning point. Canes.com.

Final Thoughts:

Here's the bottom line on making the playoffs; Carolina or Boston will have to lose at least three games in regulation in their final five games and six games respectively AND the Caps will have to run the table; or Philadelphia will have to lose two of their five remaining games in regulation AND the Caps will have to run the table. Even if we were all 100% confident that the Caps could end the season on a seven game winning streak, how confident are you that the Canes, Bruins, and Flyers are going to go into the mini slump they'd have to go into in order for us to sneak on by? Throw in the Bettman Point and the math gets even harder but the bottom line is, the Caps are going to run out of time.

77 down, 5 to go.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Caps @ Hurricanes 3-25-2008 Post-Mortem

A gimmick win that feels like a loss... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:
  • Well, as we talked about this morning, the third time was a charm as the Caps thoroughly out played the Canes for large portions of the game. The Caps outshot the Canes in every period, by a count of 6-0 in overtime, and 44-27 for the game.
  • A.O. continued to show why he should win the Hart and Pearson Trophies tonight with his 61st goal of the season. A.O. increased his lead in the Art Ross Race over Evgeni Malkin-Lindros to 5 point (107-102) who was held off the scoresheet for the second consecutive game. However, A.O. was first star of the game tonight because he simply dominated when he was on the ice. A.O. fired 11 shots on goal and had only 1 blocked and 5 miss the net and very easily could have had another four goal night.
  • The Buffaslugs gacked in the third period tonight as did the Panthers so the Caps have a three point lead on both teams. If anything else, it is much needed breathing room.

THE BAD:

  • We know this sounds like a broken record, but we're not so much upset over the calls made on the Caps by Referees Mike Hasenfratz and Dan O'Rourke tonight (with the obvious exception of the Roughing minor A.O. took in the second period. That call was softer than Charmin) as we're livid over the calls they didn't make on Carolina. I believe the Power Play in OT was the only one where Carolina did not commit another blatant penalty that was allowed to go uncalled. I know there's an "unwritten rule" that referees are to give teams already killing a penalty a little more slack but that was not giving a shorthanded team some slack. That was allowing a shorthanded team to gain an unfair advantage.
  • The Flyers earned an OT win and the Bruins trounced the Leafs so the Caps made no progress in chasing the 8th seed and with the Bettman Point going to Carolina tonight, the Caps only cut the Canes lead to 4 points despite "winning" the game.

THE UGLY:

  • The John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Move of the Game goes to Head Coach Bruce Boudreau for his curious decision not to put Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green on the ice for the start of the Caps Power Play in OT. We don't disagree going with Four Forwards nor we have issues with the Four Forwards he chose. What we don't understand is why he left a guy with two Power Play OT goals already this season on the bench after he called a timeout.
  • The video evidence to overturn a call made on the ice MUST be conclusive. The angles shown by Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic were not conclusive and it is now incumbent upon the NHL to release the footage that they used to determine that Eric Cole's game tying goal was properly scored. And even if the goal was properly scored, we would like to know why Cole was not assessed a two minute minor penalty that would have had the goal washed out because of goaltender interference. Cole was going to make contact with Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet in UA's crease before Shaone Morrrissonnn made contact with Cole. Not only did video replay make a bad call (provided they don't release the footage that they used to clearly see the puck over the goal line) but it was compounded further by another blow call by the refs tonight.
  • The game was decided by a gimmick.

With the way the Caps played tonight, they deserved a better fate. Playoff hopes are dimming every day as the Caps are simply running out of time to make up the ground that they need to. The Caps are pulling away from the teams in 10th, 11th, and 12th place which is a positive but whether or not they end up in 9th or 12th, the result will be the same. No playoffs for the Caps this year. So the road trip now continues on but you have to wonder what the motivation is going to be as the reality of missing the playoffs becomes clearer and clearer.

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!!!

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Caps @ Hurricanes 3-25-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (37-39; 82 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 9th Eastern Conference, 18th Overall) @ Carolina Hurricanes (41-35; 87 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 12th Overall):
Caps Game #77, Road Game #39, NHL Game #1,143

RBC Center, Raleigh, NC 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Carolina TV: Fox SportsNet South. Radio: WCNC 99.9-FM. NHL Center Ice: Fox SportsNet South feed.

Tonight the Caps start the second leg of their six game road trip when they head down to Raleigh to face the Hurricanes for the seventh time this season. Carolina has won the last three matchups in a row and four of the previous six contests so far this season. The Canes are continuing to roll despite a continuing rash of injuries that everybody expected would end their season. The Canes have won three in a row and eight of their last ten games including their most recent game, a 2-1 gimmick victory over the Florida Panthers last Thursday.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Raleigh News & Observer: big game, Eye on the Canes.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

February 8th, "biggest game of the year" with Carolina in the Phone Booth. The Canes smothered the Caps who never got going and the Caps lost 2-1. February 23rd, "biggest game of the year" with four busloads of Caps fans with dueling tailgates in the parking lots in Raleigh. The Caps got off to a better start but Carolina converted rebound after rebound after rebound the Canes skated the Caps out of Raleigh 6-3 losers. And now here we are, March 25th, "biggest game of the year" not only for the Caps, but for the Canes as well. Great Caps Nut, way to break out the jinx... Well, what about "once, twice, three times a charm?" And the third time better be a charm or else the Caps season could very well come to an end tonight should the Caps lose in regulation and the Bruins and Flyers beat the Maple Leafs and Rangers respectively. The magic number for Carolina right now is 7 and a win in regulation for the Canes will knock that down to 3 with 5 games to go and all but eliminate the Caps from winning the Division title. Should the Caps fall in overtime or the gimmick, it will drop to 4 with five games to go which isn't all that better considering the Canes have two games with the Ning and one with the Thrashers left on their schedule. While some think that the comeback on Good Friday was a turning point for the Caps season; we also have to wonder if it was too little too late. The Canes have been showing their maturity lately in handling their injuries and continuing to win while the Caps haven't quite gotten that level of maturity yet. This should be a good game with both teams playing a playoff type game. But the Caps haven't been able to win playoff type games against playoff bound opponents so far season so it could be a long and disappointing night for us.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Canes 5
Winner by Conboy

(40-35 on the season)

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Monday, March 24, 2008

Another Notch in Our Belt

I wouldn't want to belong to a group that would have me as a member. - Groucho Marx

It was some 13 and half years ago now that our friend Akai Ryu introduced our to the really old school dial up WWIV Bulletin Boards. We remember him telling us one day that most newbies log on, sign up, look around, don't say or do very much, and quickly drop off. But not us... We came online like a bulldozer. It wasn't long before some of the owners of those BBS banned us and we manage to continue to get ourselves banned from various message boards even to this day.

You could say we never learn but what is there really for us learn? Anybody who knows us knows that we are not ones to follow along and be a part of the group think. There are those who claim to "tell the truth to power" and there are people like us who actually do it, regardless of the consequences. If we think you're being stupid, we're not afraid to tell you. We're like the guy who points out that the Emperor has no clothes. (We happen to think that this is our most endearing quality...)

Yet recently we pulled off something we didn't think could happen. We've been banned from reading a blog. Yep, you read that right. We haven't been banned from commenting on a blog; we've been banned from even accessing On Frozen Blog. This is sad and pathetic on many different levels. And despite the fact that we're devoting an entire post to this, this isn't even the banning we're the most proud of. That honor goes to Ballpark Guys where we got ourselves banned for repeatedly and mercilessly bashing the owner of the site when he stated that "aborting a fetus that will have a life-long genetic defect is the Christian thing to do." That kind of an abomination deserved the outrage and scorn we heaped upon it and we would not hesitate to do it again if given the chance.

So what exactly did we do to OFB that got us into hot water? Well, we simply held them to the standards they set for everybody else. We were repeatedly lectured by them in e-mail and in public about our refusal to allow comments on this blog. They continued to do this even after we pointed out that they had repeatedly "moderated" the comments we left on their blog. It would be one thing if they were "paying us back" for our policy but they have openly admitted to "moderating" the comments of other posters on their blog. We fail to see the difference between our policy and what they're doing here. We've made no bones about the comment policy here and why it exists. Furthermore the comment policy here ensures that we won't make haughty statements like the On Frozen Hypocrites have about "allowing dissenting opinions to appear on their blog." Sure, you can dissent from their Swiss Cheese logic, but if you point it out to the point that they're embarrassed and would have to possibly reconsider or retract their idiotic statements; they delete it. In other words, if you find yourself in a debate with them, don't try to win it, they won't let you. We know, they've done it to us multiple times.

But we'll be fair to the On Frozen Idiots, we're not the only ones they've attacked in their time online. They've spent a considerable amount of time lecturing professional journalists on how they should conduct themselves. They've been especially critical of the (Com)Post and it's staff. They've questioned why the (Com)Post doesn't devote more coverage to College Hockey in spite of the fact that the nearest Division 1 program is over 150 miles away. They've lectured columnists on their "professionalism" and even bashed the irreverent sports blogger for being an irreverent sports blogger. It takes a lot for us to ride to the defense of the Washington (Com)Post but each and every single one of their criticisms in those cases were patently unfair. They also attempted to bail out Ted Leonsis in his fight with Steve Czaban last summer with a laughably bad counter-factual that failed to contain any facts, just their opinion of what Sports Journalists should be doing.

Finally, the people that they were criticizing in these instances are not in a position to defend themselves. After all, they are professionals and professionals conduct themselves in a certain manner, irregardless of what other people might think. Bloggers still have a bad reputation (gee... we wonder why...) and it is pretty common tactic to ignore somebody you consider your clear inferior. The Georgetown Whats? have been doing this for decades with Maryland Basketball and that is the case here of professional journalists versus bloggers. As a matter of fact, some of the professional journalists the On Frozen Idiots have criticized in the past have thanked us in private for publicly sticking for them. A blogger really has to cross a line in order to get a professional journalist to publicly lash out at them and once the professional journalist does that, they are scorned by their contemporaries. (Think our old friend Larry Brooks wouldn't like a chance to respond to us???)

Now we understand that people sometimes get all riled up when they are told they are wrong or being stupid; it's only human nature. But mature individuals are able to take criticism and grow from it. They can admit when they've been wrong on the facts and/or have acted in an inappropriate way. However, not only do the On Frozen Hypocrites not do anything like that, they take it to another level.

In what they clearly considered (at the time at least) their crowning achievement, "breaking the news of A.O.'s contract extension in North America," the On Frozen Idiots exposed themselves for the frauds that they are and even went beyond that. First of all, through our vast network of spies and informants, we have learned that the On Frozen Idiots were NOT the only ones in the Caps Press Box to get the tip on the A.O. extension the night before it was signed sealed, and delivered. While that's immaterial to some of the larger points, it does paint a disturbing picture of people so wrapped up in themselves, they can't see what else is going on around them.

The On Frozen Idiots openly admit that they did almost nothing to chase down the story themselves and followed all the directions of the person who actually did chase the story down and gave it to them on a silver platter. While they properly gave credit to their source, they admitted to wondering just how they should handle the situation as things started getting hotter and hotter under their collars. They admitted to contacting a professional journalist seeking his advice on what to do. They were advised to talk to the Caps and after talking to the Caps, were asked by a high ranking team official to keep the story under wraps. They ignored this and in effect, ignored the very advice that they had sought out in order to fulfill the wishes of their source without questioning his motives. Yet, the On Frozen Idiots were all too willing to pat themselves on the back for their adherence to "professional journalistic ethics" without realizing what they had actually done and were actually bragging about doing.

(Just a quick note here, we would provide links from their site to back all of this up. But, as we stated, we've been banned and we don't care to install an IP Mask or sift our way through Google Cache to get around the banning. Quite frankly, it just isn't worth it. Providing links to this stuff is not going to convince those of you who think we're idiots and the On Frozen Morons the greatest things that they're the ones with the problem and not us.)

To make the matters even worse, the On Frozen Idiots wouldn't have even been in the position to "break the news of A.O.'s extension in North America" if it had not been for the amazing generosity of Caps owner Ted Leonsis. Ted has not only allowed them into the Press Box at the Phone Booth for every single home game, he's also defended to the hilt this decision to let them in. But in the case of the On Frozen Ingrates, he didn't stop there. Last Spring he gave them an all-expense paid trip to the IIHF World Championships in Moscow. It was on this trip that they met their source for the A.O. story and if it wasn't for Ted's generosity (at the very least allowing them into a place no other NHL Club did at the time), they would have never been in that position in the first place.

Now, I don't speak for Ted and I would never dare to, but if I were him, I'd be pretty ticked at how these guys repaid me for my generosity.

Woah, woah, woah there Caps Nut. "He who lives in glass houses should not throw stones." What about your post leaking the new jersey (that got you a link on Wonkette BTW) before it was officially unveiled???

Good question Chester, here's the difference:
  1. We have never at any point in time have ever considered ourselves anything but a blogger. We have never bragged about our "professional journalism ethics." As a matter of fact we came out against the idea of bloggers in the press box right away. We also note that we predicted that bloggers would use their new found powers in ways that real professional journalists would not in that post. (Real professional journalists are more interested in having all the facts right when they go to publish, not being the first. Well, the first with all the facts confirmed if you want to be nitpicky...) Now in the interest of full disclosure, we have signed up for the Caps Press releases but that usually gives us the interesting news about about 5-10 minutes after it appears on TSN.ca, so it saves us from having to press F5 all day. We also use the Google News Alerts to tell us when the phrase "Washington Capitals" appears in a news article published by a source Google deems worthy to make our lives easier. But again, we've made no bones about the fact that we're bloggers first, second, third, and last. The On Frozen Hypocrites routinely hide behind their "blogger" identity when they violate the "professional journalism ethics" that do exist (along with the ones that they've created) yet try to claim the trappings and privileges of real professional journalists in the meantime. (In other words, they insist on be treated like bloggers when it suits their purposes and treated like professional journalists when it suits their purposes.)
  2. At no point in time last summer did we contact anybody with the Caps to confirm or deny the information we had gotten before (or after) posting it. Furthermore, after the post went up and the information began to spread around the Internet, we were not contacted by the Capitals about the information that we had posted and asked to remove or edit it. Would we have removed the post if the Caps had asked us? We really can't say because we don't know. It probably would have depended upon our mood at the time and they way that they asked.
  3. It turned out that while we had some doubts, we had the facts right the first time. We we're scrambling around at the last second because the details had changed. The On Frozen Morons reported incorrect numbers and had to make a correction, something professional journalists are embarrassed to ever to have to do.
So where does all this leave us? Well, first and foremost, it still leaves us banned from reading their blog live without an IP Mask which is odd to say the least. A large part of the rationale for allowing people like the On Frozen Hypocrites into NHL Press Boxes is to expand the audience for the NHL. Yet, here they are preventing people from reading what they're producing and knowing the nature of the folks in the Caps fan base; we can't be the only ones banned from reading that blog. Is what the On Frozen Idiots doing wrong? Nope. As we've said about this blog and our comment policy "our blog, our rules" and the exact same thing applies to them.

Before you think I'm lecturing them on how they should conduct themselves and their blog, I suggest you reread this post. Only once have I suggested that they conducted themselves in an improper manner and even then that was more along the lines of being a bunch of ingrates. They can create their own rules for their blog and apply them however unevenly they wish. We're pointing it out for everybody to see ("the Emperor has no clothes"). That's the beauty of this whole thing. Both of us can conduct ourselves however we please and there's nothing the other side can do to stop it.

So what's next? Well, as I said, we're not going to bother with Google Cache or IP Masks. So the On Frozen Morons will continue on in their ignorant bliss (which brings us back to another point, if anybody thinks we're overly insulting, please know that most of the time we self-censor and either tone it down or don't bother posting anything at all. However, that is not the case in this post. We also should mention that you can say "the Emperor has no clothes" or more specifically, "yes honey, that does make you look fat" without being entirely insulting.) without us to point, laugh, and try to get them to at least uphold the standards that they expect of everybody else. Ted will continue to boost them over just about everybody else out there and might even send them on another vacation at his expense. We'll also be the "bigger person" here (we're mocking their general haughtiness BTW) and retain a link to them as long as they remain active (though they could shut it down tomorrow and we'd never know, we've been banned). They've chosen not to be a friend which is why they've been reclassified along with others who aren't currently linking to us. (We've also deleted links to other blogs that have been inactive for the past six months. If they come back on a regular basis, we will be glad to restore them as we continue the long overdue renovations around here).

Finally, they'll get the last word on this if they so choose as we've said, we're banned and can't read them and don't care for IP Masks or Google Cache searches. Though should they choose to offer a rebuttal, we request that all five of our loyal readers simply refuse to comment on that post. It would probably get deleted anyway so why waste your time...

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Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Sunday Smorgasbord 3-23

  • We start off this week with Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* and MLBPA Head Union Thug Donald Fehr upset over the lack of offers for Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* to play somewhere in the Major Leagues this season. Do these bozos really need it laid out for them? So what Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* declares himself in shape and wants to play another season? Where in the CBA does it state that a player who declares himself in shape and wants to play the upcoming season MUST be offered a contract by a Major League Baseball Club? Good grief, I didn't know that MLBPA membership had an absolute right to a contract every season. Though what is conveniently left out of that article (in favor of fawning coverage, no the media doesn't have its own agenda) is that Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* is currently under a Federal Indictment for Perjury and Obstruction of Justice. And while that indictment is in jeopardy right now; let's not forget the fact that Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* is generally reviled in the Court of Public Opinion. Sure there are still a few people who like to hide their heads in the sand and pretend that Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* has never been publicly busted for using steroids or believe his claim that he was duped; but there is only one market where Big Head BALCO Barry Bonds* does not get greeted with a loud chorus of boos and jeers and that is San Francisco. The Giants put up with the overgrown selfish brat for 15 years and have had enough of him no matter how many tickets he sold. Fehr would be wise to help Selig clean up the game instead of continuing to throw up roadblock after roadblock. (And these guys wonder why Congress keeps dragging them up to Capitol Hill...)
  • Caps General Manager George McPhee openly complained this past week about the Phone Booth's hosting of the NCAA Tournament followed by the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus forcing the Caps onto the road for two weeks. While we agree with McPhee that a major tenant of the building deserves better treatment and more respect when it comes to scheduling, we couldn't help but notice that the NCAA is using quite a few NHL arenas for their Basketball tournament this year. In addition to the Caps, the Thug Ducks, Avalanche, Hurricanes, and Ning have all been forced into road trips by the NCAA this weekend. Next year, only the Flyers and Bruins will have late season road trips to contend with because of March Madness. However, the Caps will face the same problem that the Avalanche are facing this year should they make the playoffs because of the Frozen Four. The Frozen Four is in Denver this year and comes to D.C. next April, right after the NHL Playoffs begin. While the Caps had no role in the booking of the Basketball tournament into the Phone Booth, they did provide support to landing the Frozen Four for the Phone Booth.
  • The U.S. Under 23 team fulfilled its mission of qualifying for this Summer's Olympic Games when they beat Canada 3-0 on Thursday night, but fell short of winning the qualifying tournament earlier today. I am curious to the format that declares a formal winner of a tournament where the real prize is not the tournament championship. The other interesting thing about the U.S. Under 23 team is the peaceful coexistence so far of Prodigal Son Freddy Adu and Head Coach Peter Nowak. The two famously clashed during their time with D.C. United and seemed to get along during this tournament. Could Freddy have matured in Europe? As speaking of D.C. United, they smoked an over matched Jamaican Club on Tuesday night to advance to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup Semi-Finals. It was D.C.'s second game of the season but their first at home. D.C.'s retooled lineup clearly clicked but the MLS Season is long and they have the SuperLiga and U.S. Open Cup to contend with too. Let's hope they have the gas to make it through everything this year.
  • Well, the Maryland Men's Basketball season came to a merciful end on Thursday night with a 88-72 loss to Syracuse in the Second Round of the No Interest Tournament that was broadcast on ESPNU (Available only in sports bars around the country, though Thursday night, I'm sure they were all showing the NCAA Tournament). A special "Stay Classy" goes out to Orange Freshman Donte Green who took the occasion of the big win at home to bash Maryland Head Coach Gary Williams for not offering him a scholarship. What the native of Bhawlmuher can't understand is that both he and the team he wanted to play for met in a Not Important Tournament game. Had this been the Final Four, maybe his criticism of Gary would have carried more weight. But clearly Greene's amazing talents couldn't keep the Orange out of the No Interest Tournament this year, so why should we believe he would have done any different for Maryland?
  • I figure the Gary Williams Watch will come to a conclusion one way or another about a week after the Maryland Women's Basketball Team's season ends. It isn't Debbie Yow's style to upstage a team that is currently in the spotlight like the Maryland Women currently are. She waited a week after Gary won his National Championship in 2002 to announce the hiring of Brenda Frese despite having a signed contract in hand before the men won the title. The women posted an unimpressive 80-66 win over Coppin State in the first round earlier today. We were surprised like everybody else to see them as a #1 seed and they didn't do anything today to show that they deserved the lofty honor. They'll have to crank it up if they want to beat Nebraska on Tuesday night.
  • We're leaving Barrack Obama alone in this week's "Diversify or Die" Segment simply because he was having enough trouble spinning his Pastor's statements before he threw the woman who raised him under the bus this past week. Instead we'll note our complete, total, and utter lack of surprise and shock about the newest revelation of Former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer's "special friend" and the company she "worked for" before she met the Former Governor. I mean, how could such a fine, talented, and upstanding young woman like that do those kinds of things??? And who knew that her previous employer did illegal things like that???
  • This week, the Caps will more than likely learn their playoff fate when they face Carolina on Tuesday night at 7 pm, the Ning on Thursday night at 7:30 pm, and Florida on Saturday night at 7 pm. All three games are on the road and are the final road games for this season. The Terp women as mentioned with face Nebraska on Tuesday night in the Cable Box for Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament. D.C. United opens up their MLS Schedule on Saturday night in Kansas City at 8 pm. The Nats end Spring Training this week with games against the Tigers, Cardinals, Braves, B.O.'s. The Nats open up the 2008 Major League Baseball Stadium and their new stadium officially next Sunday night at 8 against the Atlanta Braves on ESPN. President Bush is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the packed house (and is likely to be booed mercilessly.) This also brings us to a special programming note. We will be attending that game next Sunday and will not be posting a Sunday Smorgasbord next week. The Smorgasbord will return on April 6th.
  • As always folks, please send all comment, criticisms, questions, corrections, suggestions, and Easter Eggs to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Caps @ Thrashers 3-21-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.,

The Other Side:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: nothing to play for, season done, contract discussions. Thrashers.com.

Final Thoughts:
  • I turned the game on when there was 15 minutes left in the third period, so I saw the most interesting/inspiring/important part of the game. While I was disappointed to be greeted with a 3-1 deficit, I can't say I was all that surprised.
  • And considering the way the Thrashers played in D.C. last week, I wasn't surprised to see the Caps pull off the comeback. The good news of course is that we were able to pull it off. The bad news is that we needed to do it against a team like Atlanta. We won't be as lucky in our last six games.
  • As for the playoffs, first of all, forget about Boston. The Bruins have two games in hand on us and would have to lose both of them in regulation in order for them to work to our advantage. They would then have to lose another game in order for us to pass them. It looks very much like we're going to come up just short.
  • I know Nicklas Backstrom is primarily a passer, but he has a good shot that he needs to use more often. I'm not asking him to give up passing in order to become a "shoot first, to Hades with questions" type of player. If he for instance passes 9 of every 10 opportunities right now, I'd like to see him lower that to passing 8.5 of every 10 opportunities. I think he'd create more chances for himself and his linemates that way.
  • Oh yeah, that A.O. guy... What else is there really to say? I know I've said "I'm glad he's on our side" already. On a side note, I recall some clown claiming to be on the inside of the Caps organization four years ago swearing up and down the street that the Caps management was trying to concoct a way to draft defenseman Cam Barker #1 instead of A.O. or Evgeni Malkin-Lindros. According to this bozo, the Caps were unwilling to draft A.O. because they knew he would cost them too much $$$$$ to keep him beyond his arbitration years and would have to trade him. They didn't want the PR hit down the road. As for Malkin-Lindros, they were scared off by his concussion history. They also felt that a defenseman would be better to use as a cornerstone. Now I never believed this for a second, but if on the off chance it were true, aren't you glad the Caps couldn't come up with a way to spin drafting Cam Barker over A.O.?
  • 76 down, 6 to go.

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Friday, March 21, 2008

Caps @ Thrashers 3-21-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (36-39; 80 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 10th Eastern Conference, Tied for 18th Overall) vs. Atlanta Thrashers (31-45; 4th Southeast Division, 14th Eastern Conference, 28th Overall):
Caps Game #76, Road Game #36, NHL Game #1,121

Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA. 7:38 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Atlanta TV: SportSouth. Radio: WCNN 680-AM. NHL Center Ice: SportSouth feed.

Tonight the Caps make their last visit this season to Atlanta to play the Thrashers for the eighth and final time this season. The Caps are looking to forge a split in the season series between the two teams as Atlanta has won four of the seven previous contests. The Caps won the last matchup last week at the Phone Booth with a clinical 4-1 victory over the Thrashers. Atlanta continues to dissolve in the closing days of the regular season as last Friday's loss started another four game losing streak that continued with Wednesday's 5-3 loss at home to the Carolina Hurricanes.


What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: big men welcome, out for what's left of the season.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

Any kind of loss for the Thrashers or any point gained by the Flyers in their game against the Rangers tonight will officially eliminate the Thrashers from the playoffs this season. Furthermore, should the Caps win this game in any fashion, it will mean that the Caps cannot finish any worse than 3rd in the Southeast Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference. So while the Caps odds of making the playoffs increase everyday, there are some achievements that the Caps can fall back on as they have finished last in the Southeast Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference for the last three seasons. As for the task at hand tonight, Atlanta has been playing a little better in the past week but are still coming up with the same results. This won't be a game where the Caps can just show up and skate off with the two points. The Caps are going to have to earn them tonight as Illya Kovalchuk is putting on a late charge not only to catch A.O. for the Rocket Richard Trophy but to earn more wins for Atlanta who are now in danger of falling into last place in the Eastern Conference. This also ends a hectic week of 4 games in six days in four different cities for the Caps and ends the first half of their current six game road trip. Bruce Boudreau's decision to issue a "mental health day" yesterday was very wise and probably already planned in hopes of having the team sharp for tonight's game.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 5
Thrashers 2
Winner Laich.

(39-35 on the season)

Editorial Note For the Dozens of Readers of This Blog:

In case some of you heathens haven't noticed, today is Good Friday. While the Church service I plan on attending will be over well before the start of tonight's game, I will for the fourth year in a row watch more appropriate programming afterwards. I don't know how much of tonight's game I'll see, but either way I won't be in the right frame of mind to compose a Post-Mortem later tonight.

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Caps @ Blackhawks 3-19-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Chicago Sun-Times: appropriate result, ambassador embracing. Chicago Tribune: honor and shutout, latest honoree. Blackhawks.com.

Final Thoughts:

75 down, 7 to go.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Caps @ Blackhawks 3-19-2008 Post-Mortem

The game is still going on as I type this, but for all intents and purposes the game is over.

There's no sense sorting things out tonight because as Craig Laughlin said in the second intermission; this is the type of game where you just burn the tape and forget about it. I had a feeling that this was coming and the only doubt I did have was the last time Chicago trotted out old-timers for honoring, the Blackhawks were the ones who got steamrolled.

But that wasn't the case tonight as Murphy's Law was in its full ugly effect. The Ning had a 4-1 lead on the Buffaslugs and tanked in the third to lose 7-4. Carolina took care of Atlanta so the Caps do not lay a temporary claim to the 8th spot in East, they fall to 10th in the Eastern Conference, and are now 5 points behind Carolina.

We all knew going into this trip that the Caps would have to be just about perfect if they wanted to return home with a chance of making the playoffs. Well, with tonight's loss, any margin of error they did have is now gone. The good news is that they now get Atlanta on Friday night and the Thrashers should be easy pickings for them if they are able to play their game. The bad news is that looks be about the easiest game left on the schedule as the Caps will have two games each with Carolina, Tampa, and Florida to close out the season. Those games are all going to be dogfights. Should the Caps pull out a playoff spot, they will have definitely earned it.

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Caps @ Predators 3-18-2008 Wrap Up/ Caps @ Blackhawks 3-19-2008 Preview

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Tennessean: no points, disappointed crowd, no offense, star power. Predators.com.

Final Thoughts:

I'm clearly in the minority here, but the more I think about it, the more I think the Caps played a pretty good road game in the second and third periods last night. They snuffed out most of the Predators' chances and other than a Charmin soft goal allowed by Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet, they wouldn't have needed A.O.'s bank shot for a two goal margin of victory. Sure they could have played a better road game, but they got the result they needed and that is the important thing. Finally, if the playoffs started today, the Central Division, along with the Southeast Division would be sending just one of its five members to the playoffs. Now the Southeast is very much maligned because of this fact but does Detroit's 100 points really mitigate the deficiencies of the Central Division or is because the powers that be don't want to beat up on "traditional hockey markets" like St. Louis and Chicago where they're all too happy to beat up on the Tampa and Carolina markets despite those markets having more recent Stanley Cups than anybody in the Central Division?

74 down, 8 to go.


Washington Capitals (36-38; 80 points; 2nd Southeast Division, 9th Eastern Conference, 17th Overall) @ Chicago Blackhawks (34-39; 72 points; 4th Central Division, 13th Western Conference, 25th Overall):
Caps Game #75, Road Game #35, NHL Game #1,107

United Center, Chicago, IL. 8:38 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Chicago TV: Comcast Sporstnet Chicago. Radio: WSCR 670-AM. NHL Center Ice: Comcast Sportsnet Chicago feed.

Tonight the Caps continue their playoff push when they visit the Windy City for the first time since February 15th, 2004 to play the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks lost their owner a week before the season started and this is usually sends a franchise into turmoil. However, the Blackhawks had already reached rock bottom under the guidance of William Wirtz and his passing has actually allowed the team to begin to prosper again. Nine points out of a playoff spot with nine games to go; Chicago will once again miss the playoffs this season but they, like the Caps, have already amassed more wins and points than they did last season. Recently the Blackhawks have struggled with just one win in their last six games. In their last game this past Sunday, the Blackhawks lost at home to the Calgary Flames 4-2.

What The Natives Are Saying:

Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago Tribune: young guns, old-timer, the matchup.

What Do I Expect Tonight:

The Caps are playing their third game in four nights in their third different city. The Caps are also playing a team that is pretty much out of the race. While it is still mathematically possible for the Blackhawks to make the playoffs, the fact that they have to jump over 5 other teams in nine games makes it rather impossible. The Blackhawks are also trotting out one of their long retired greats tonight for a special honor so you know the players and the fans are going to be extra pumped up for the game. So if there was a game on this road trip where you could expect the Caps to come out a little flat, tonight's game would be it. After all, last night's win gave the Caps a four game winning streak which matches the longest of the Bruce Boudreau era. Does that make it impossible for the Caps to win tonight's game? No, and we've seen how A.O. reacts to playing in a new building as, ever the showman, he always seeks to put on a good show for the locals seeing him for the first time. Nicklas Backstrom also has some incentive to "win" the matchup with fellow Calder Candidates Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on the other side of the ice. But will it be enough to carry the Caps to victory tonight? I wouldn't be too surprised if it didn't. Finally, the current Chicago slide (one win in their last six games) started when the Blackhawks started when they trotted out Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita for honors on March 7th. So in short, I don't have a really good feeling either way as to how tonight's game is going to play out. I thought last night's game would be a low scoring and grinding defensive battle but it wasn't.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 3
Blackhawks 2
Winner by Semin

(39-34 on the season)

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Caps @ Predators 3-18-2008 Post-Mortem

Who says you have to play 60 minutes to win games this time of year??? Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:
  • A.O. with a goal and two assists tonight runs his season point total to 102 points with 58 goals. He now has a 5 point lead on Evengi Malkin-Lindros who was held without a point tonight in Madison Square Garden. A.O. is also now tied with Dmitiri Kristich for 18th on the Caps All-Time Scoring list at an even 300 points. Up next at 17 is Steve Konowalchuk who racked up 342 points in 419 games with the Caps. (I think A.O. will wait until next season to catch him...) A.O. is also now two goals away from matching Denis Maruk's single season record of 60 and needs 6 more to catch Kelly Miller for 10th on the Caps All-Time Goal Scoring list.
  • Now that the A.O. accolades are out of the way, that was the exact start to a crucial six game road trip that the Caps needed. A 3-0 lead 15 minutes in and a starting goaltender chased to the bench. The most important thing was the return of the desire and desperation that showed up in the first period. We're going to need that for every game for the rest of the season.
  • We've tracked this season the amazing number of shots that the Caps have blocked yet tonight, only 6 Caps shots were blocked. The Caps turned the tables by blocking 15 Nashville shots. Oh and the guy we talked about in the first point? He was tied with Milan Jurcina and Mike "BEAM ME UP" Green for the team lead with 3 blocked shots.

THE BAD:

  • Alexander Semin somehow was the only Cap to register a -1 tonight.
  • The Caps took way too many penalties in the first and second period tonight. The fact that they were able to end the first period with a 3-0 lead despite spending 4:02 on the Penalty Kill shows just how dominate the Caps were in the first period. But the penalties caught up to them in the second period as Nashville used their Power Play to get on the board and to take over the momentum. Luckily for us, Nashville has been struggling on the Power Play all season long and the other penalties we took didn't hurt us.
  • After scoring 3 goals on the first 8 shots, the Caps only took 12 on rental goalie Chris Mason. It isn't as if the Caps are going to face Nashville again in 5 days; keep attacking and if you score 10 goals again, you score 10 goals again who cares?

THE UGLY:

  • We will concede that Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet played another good game. We will almost admit our surprise when we saw that UA only faced 26 shots on goal. It certainly seemed like he faced more than that though that may have been an offshoot of the 15 blocks the Caps skaters registered and the 22 misfires on the part of Nashville. But a good overall performance does not make UA's nonchalance on Jason Arnott's third period goal that cut the lead to 3-2 ineligible for the John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game Award. We're giving it to UA tonight over Dan Ellis for his turnover to Brooks "and Dunn" Laich that lead to Matt "Omar" Bradley's goal (which turned into the game winner) because Ellis looked off all night and was victimized by a bad bounce where UA only looked off on that play and should have made that save.
  • It was especially painful having to listen to Al Koken do the Play-by-Play tonight for Joe Beninati who was working the Atlanta-Philadelphia game for Versus. Koken just isn't suited to the Play-by-Play role and I stopped counting his stupid mistakes after he said something about Bruce Boudreau being in goal for the Caps. For a guy who's job is to follow the Caps, he was confused all night as to who was who. I thought part of the reason for changing the uniforms was to make it easier to identify the players? Additionally, his effusive praise of A.O. was rather nauseating. Leave that kind of garbage to the Penguin Scum announcers who are all too willing to tell us how everything (and I mean everything, including getting injured) Canadian Diving Team Captain, Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby and Malkin-Lindros does on the ice is the perfect embodiment of an MVP.
  • Bill McCreary and Kelly Sutherland didn't bother putting the Caps on the Power Play after a Too Many Men on the Ice call in the first period. They did call one penalty on the Predators after the first period but that was offset into a coincidental minors with a call on Eric Fehr. We rarely get upset around here about calls made against us and usually highlight the calls missed on the other team. So with that in mind we mention that in the third period there was a pretty blatant hook applied to Tomas Fleischmann that broke up a Caps breakout that was let go and then in the last minutes of the game you had to be blind not to see Omar's stick get slashed out of his hands.

Give both teams credit tonight; they very easily could have signed a non-aggression pact and skated through three periods to get one point before turning things on in overtime for a second point. Instead the Caps showed no willingness at the start to play like that and played like they wanted the two points all to themselves in the first period. While their play did tail off after the first, I didn't think it was as much as the Caps going to sleep as it was Nashville finally showing up to play. Nashville clearly had the momentum for the last two periods and just ten days ago, we were losing games exactly like this because we couldn't run out the clock fast enough. We may not have developed the perfect "killer instinct" to put games like these easily away but we at least bared down and got the win in regulation to keep our playoff dreams alive.

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!!!

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Will They Add His "Style" to the Menu?

Dan Steinberg gets the credit for telling us that A.O. will be endorsing the Hair Cuttery next season.

Make up your own jokes at home folks.

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Caps @ Predators 3-18-2008 Preview

Washington Capitals (35-38; 78 points; 3rd Southeast Division, 11th Eastern Conference, 20th Overall) @ Nashville Predators (36-37; 80 points; 2nd Central Division, 9th Western Conference, 16th Overall):
Caps Game #74, Road Game #36, NHL Game #1,100

Sommet Center, 8:08 pm. Nashville, TN. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM. Nashville TV: Fox SportsNet South Alternate. Radio: WGFX 104.5-FM. NHL Center Ice: Fox SportsNet South Alternate feed.

Tonight the Caps start a crucial 6 game road trip against a team starting a crucial four game homestand. The Caps and the Predators are both on the outside looking in and have long odds of making the playoffs. The Predators have had two wins in their last six games including their most recent game, a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night in Detroit which snapped a three game losing streak.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Tennessean: MVP candidate, hot goalie, take the $$$$$ and run, Game Preview.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

This is an important game for both teams as the Caps and Preds are trying to make up ground in the waning days of the season to get into the playoffs. The Caps are two points out of 8th in the East and the Preds are four points out in the West. However, the Caps have to get past three other teams while the Preds just need to move up one spot. The Caps have four games left against teams currently ahead of them in the standings while Nashville essentially has none as Detroit has already locked up the Central Division Title and only needs 13 more points to clinch the Western Conference and the President's Trophy. Yet the teams that the Predators are chasing are about to start playing each and unless a rash of three point games breaks out, the Predators could sneak in like the Caps are trying to do. But none of these scenarios are worth anything if the Caps and the Predators don't win the games they are playing in. The Predators have lost their last four games on home ice (one of them coming in a gimmick) and the key for them is playing well on defense because in their past four wins they've allowed only one goal. The #3 Penalty Killing unit helps that out but the Caps have gotten excellent goaltending from Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet since acquiring him from Montreal. UA's 1.68 goals against and .940 save percentage will be needed tonight it what should be a defensively tight and low scoring game.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Preds 1
Winner by Semin

(38-34 on the season)

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Let's Not Get Ahead of Ourselves Here

Come on, it's ok. You can admit it. You felt a mixture of Schadenfreude and hope when you saw that Darrien Hatcher and R.J. Umberger will miss the remainder of the regular season due to injuries. You thought "Our playoff push just got a little easier and the path to the 8th seed a little clearer."

Am I the only one who remembers the CW that "Carolina is toast" after Rod Brind'Amour was lost to a torn ACL on February 15th? They've only gone 10-4 since then.

As a matter of fact, the folks in Pittsburgh are kicking around the idea of trading Canadian Diving Team Captain, Secondary Assist Cindy Crosby. Why? The Penguin Scum play better without her.

So before you start making plans for the second and third weeks of April (and check the Verizon Center schedule to see if Dishonest Abe has scheduled any useless High School Basketball All-Star games to gum things up) just remember, the Flyers defense actually becomes more mobile with the loss of Hatcher and actually improves in some cases.

I'm not saying the Flyers are going to run the table here, but the odds are very good that they'll hold onto the 8th spot. And if the Flyers don't we still have to find a way to get past the Buffaslugs and the Panthers to win the 8th seed. We have two games against Florida including our season finale on home ice. But we're done with the Buffaslugs for this season and will need help from other teams to pull it off.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Caps vs. Bruins 3-16-2008 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

The Other Side:

Boston Globe: missed chances, saving grace. Boston Herald: right direction, Murray milestone. Bruins.com.

Final Thoughts:

73 down, 9 to go.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

Sunday Smorgasbord 3-16

  • This week we kick things off with the Worldwide Leader in Schlock aiding and abetting an outlaw NCAA program in the commission of recruiting violations. Now how this is classified as "secondary" when school officials knowingly arranged for an extra benefit for a recruit is beyond me as is how the Worldwide Leader Schlock didn't know that they were assisting a school committing a violation. Of course, the Worldwide Leader in Schlock coverage of NCAA violations tend to pale in comparison to the criminal proceedings of various professional athletes. Maybe we've just found out the reason why. It's well known that the Men's Basketball Coach, Jim Calhoun, is a crook and now the scandals surrounding Geno Auriemma are starting to surface. Finally it says a lot that Pat Summit's fingerprints have been exposed in this matter. It is a common tactic for her to complain about recruiting violations when she ends up losing players to other schools. She pulled the same stunt on Brenda Frese two years ago now to no avail. For this to break through on Auriemma and Summit to be fingered as the one calling him out makes you wonder just how ugly this whole episode really is.
  • In case you hadn't heard, this week was the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Soccer Qualifying Tournament, and the big news is the all too predictable Cuban defections that occurred. I guess life isn't too happy in the Post-Castro Cabal. What could they possibly be running from with their great education and health care systems that many of our friends on the Left greatly admire and aspire for the rest of us? Remember folks, athletes typically get treated better than everybody else in these Communist Countries so why did they run? Better yet, why did they wait until after playing the U.S. before running? Luckily for the U.S., they still won the group and now move on to face Haiti in the semifinals where a win will give them a berth in the 2008 Olympic Games.
  • As expected, the Maryland Men went out in the first round of the ACC Tournament to lockup their third NIT appearance in the last four years. Adding further insult to injury, Maryland is a 5 seed in the Not Important Tournament and travels to Minnesota on Tuesday night. The Gary Williams watch is in Day 3 right now as various Maryland Boosters seek to continue to revise history. My personal favorite is the claim that the team/program has "failed to meet expectation for the past five seasons." This includes the 2003 team that was a shot away from returning to the Elite 8 and the 2004 team that won the ACC Tournament. First I'm curious as to what the expectations of the program are. It isn't as if the Cable Box had to be designed with extra rafters to hold all the NCAA and ACC Championship Banners brought over there in the first place. Gary has the exact same amount of ACC Tournament Titles as Lefty Driesell and one more National Title. You'd think instead of wins and losses and outrageous expectations that people would be pointing to the fact that Gary isn't making the NCAA Tournament and isn't graduating many of his players either. But never the less the odds are very good that Debbie Yow will bow to the pressure and Gary will be dismissed by the end of the month.
  • I see things really have changed in Ashburn, Virginia. How long as the NFL's Free Agent period been open and this past week we finally saw the first visitor to Redskins Park and he escaped without signing a contract? What is going on here?
  • The Nats are asking their fans to choose the music at their new stadium. I'm surprised that they found a way to include the Air Force Theme song but can't find a place for the rest of the Armed Services? Also in what should be a surprise to no one, President Bush will throw out the first pitch in the new stadium in two weeks. The stadium is scheduled to open at 3:30 pm for an 8 pm game which is roughly what they did three years ago when the Nats placed their first game in RFK and President Bush threw out the first pitch there. Finally, the Nats are holding a lottery to determine who will get a chance to buy the 500 recently released tickets for opening night. The tickets were held back for potential season ticket buyers.
  • And in this week's "Diversify or Die" segment, we lament the final act of the great person that was Keith Olbermann. We've know for quite awhile that the former SportsCenter Anchor had gone off the deep end but this week's ten minute diatribe puts any potential "rehabilitation" beyond reach. What's makes this comical beyond all belief is the seriousness of Olbermann's rant. When he and Dan Patrick hosted SportsCenter on ESPN back in the glory days of the network, his sarcasm and sense of humor made the show work and it is because every other anchor at ESPN tries so hard to match what he did that ESPN has degenerated into the World Wide Leader Scholock. But in addition to the seriousness of Oblermann's rant is the fact that he spends almost ten minutes providing the total embodiment of white Liberal guilt while attempting to deny that such as thing even exists. As for the "controversy" he's ranting about, of course Ferraro is right. What she said wasn't incorrect, it was politically incorrect and she just happened to run afoul of the Forces of Tolerance who are going all out to protect Obama from having to answer for his Pastor of the past 20+ years. The same man who Obama not only had marry him and his wife, baptize his children, inspired the title of his book, and donated some $20K+ to (when of course they weren't burdened with their Ivy League student loans) but also believes as Gospel truth that the U.S. Government created the HIV virus for the express purpose of exterminating the black population. I hope this isn't the change you've been waiting for.
  • This week, the Caps vacate the Phone Booth so the NCAA can come on in and head to Nashville on Tuesday at 8 pm before heading up to Chicago on Wednesday at 8:30 pm. Friday night they're in Atlanta for a 7 pm faceoff. The Maryland Men are in Minnesota on Tuesday night at 9:30 pm on ESPN. The women will learn who they are playing at the Cable Box in the NCAA Tournament tomorrow night. The Nats will play the Mets, the Tigers (Tuesday on ESPN at 1 pm), the Astros, the Braves, and the Marlins in Spring Training games.
  • As always folks, please send all comments, criticisms, questions, suggestions, corrections, and waky playoff scenarios to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.

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Caps vs. Bruins 3-16-2008 Post-Mortem

Well, this is Holy Week... Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:
  • I had a feeling that the Caps would climb back into the playoff picture and with nine games to go we're two points away from the Flyers for 8th in the Eastern Conference and as of right now it looks as if we would have the tiebreaker on them because we have the same number of wins (Philly has two more overtime/gimmick losses) and one more than the Buffaslugs who are one point ahead of us.

THE BAD:

  • Well, first Carolina and Florida both won, so we're still tied with the Panthers (and in third place on the tiebreaker) and did not gain any ground on the Canes. Furthermore, Evgeni Malkin-Lindros had four points today and now trails A.O. (who had an eight game point streak snapped) by two points.
  • Good thing Cristobal "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE" Huet has a save percentage in the Top Ten and a good record against the Bruins. He faced 40 shots in the run of play today and certainly earned his paycheck. For a Bruins team that has been struggling to score, that is not only giving up too many shots but playing with fire.
  • You could be forgiven for thinking that today's game was officiated by Chris Rooney and Rob Martell but it was actually fouled up by Greg Kimmerly and Marc Joanette. Two missed calls lead to Boston scoring a goal and my personal favorite was the diving penalty assessed to A.O. in the third period. A.O. does not have a reputation of being a diver and I wonder just what Kimmerly was thinking when he made that call.

THE UGLY:

  • Last game I praised Alexander Semin for his improved play since Sergei (#3) Fedorov arrived. Well, I spoke too soon. Semin had another one of his games today and earns today's John "Coach's Pet" Erskine Bowles Bonehead Play of the Game Award for his marvelous stickhandling through the entire Bruins defense putting goaltender Alex Auld into a split and then instead of scoring the go-ahead goal, he unselfishly dished it off to the side of the net for Mr. Donald Brashear to flub.
  • Though in fairness to Semin (who scored in the gimmick I see) he wasn't the only player to have a worthless game today. Viktor Kozlov had a wretched game today too. His worst performance since being promoted to the first line. Thankfully Captain Chris Clark is due back this week and can return to that spot.
  • The game was decided by a gimmick.

Ok, you can look at today's game as taking advantage of an opportunity presented to them when the Flyers lost big time to the Penguin Scum. Furthermore, the Caps have been playing "playoff like games" for a month and a half now so a performance where the desire and hunger does not show can not only be excused but expected in some ways. However, the Caps picked a bad time to do it. They finished off an important homestand a 3-1 but needed a gimmick to come away with the last two points. The Caps now head out on their last and longest road trip this week and won't be back home until April 1st. The Caps have made things interesting again but are going to need more help and much better efforts if they want to still be realistically in the picture when they come home.

It has been... A TWO POINT DAY!!!

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