Sunday Smorgasbord 4-19

• We start off this week by entering a plea to kill these stupid Proud To Be A Caps Fan Signs. We've hated these signs from day one and really wish they would go away. Why? Well, first of all it gives up that being the Caps fan is something to be ashamed of for some reason because it exhibits a certain defiance. Certainly some of our rivals will be quick to agree that being a Caps fans is something to be ashamed of and signs like this do nothing to dispel that notion. If you're proud of being a fan of a certain team or thing, you don't or shouldn't need to carry some stupid sign broadcasting that fact. Furthermore, it won't earn you any more respect from your rivals. So please, for the children, get rid of these stupid things and quit promoting them.
• Adding to the misery that was the D.C. Sports Scene this weekend were the Natinals going 3 for 3 in blown ninth inning leads against the Florida Marlins though at least today, didn't wait until extra innings to lose the game. Everybody knew that pitching would be a problem for this team but did anybody image that the bullpen would be this big of a disaster? Even more troubling are the runners left on base by a team that seems to be able to score runs. With three relief pitchers being shown the door and three more coming up, Manny Acta is starting to feel the heat as his 73-89 record in his first season is looking more and more like an aberration. One wonders just how much longer he is going to last in the Nats dugout. The good news is that the Nats won't play Florida again until June 29th. But, again, will Acta still be the manager?
• Even better news for the Nationals is the contract extension for Ryan Zimmerman. At full health and with some help in the lineup, Zimmerman is off to a good start this season. This extension is very important to get completed because Zimmerman is supposed to be the face of the franchise and the cornerstone of the team as it works its way out of the mess left behind by Major League Baseball's stewardship of the franchise. Had the Nats been unable to get an extension done in a timely manner, they risked having to return to square one and would have cemented the Lerners' reputation for being cheap.
• Never ones to let a sleeping dog lie, now word comes out that the Redskins are looking to move up in the NFL Draft next Saturday to grab USC Quarterback Mark Sanchez. The rumor mill churns that Jason Campbell is part of the package the Redskins are shopping to get up high enough to draft Sanchez. Our position remains the same, it doesn't really matter who the Redskins put at quarterback, they aren't going to be very successful behind that sorry excuse for an offensive line. Furthermore, what does this mean for Colt Brennan? One would have thought that Dan Snyder would be leading the Cult of Colt Bandwagon but no, Snyder seems to be intent on finding somebody else for Jim Zorn's West Coast Offense system. Though the saddest part of all of this is that the stability that Joe Gibbs had brought to the franchise seems to be gone after just one year. We aren't too surprised but very disappointed.
• Remember those Easterns Motors Ovechkin Outtakes that has had everybody laughing at A.O.? Well, Capitals Kremlin has the finished product and we have to say, the outtakes were much, much better. But as Dan Steinberg of the (Com)Post has noted, we're sure that Easterns doesn't really care because they gotten all kinds of mileage (and will continue to) for free out of the outtakes.
• We saw the end of the Penguin Scum-Flyers Game 2 on Friday night and were amazed by Philly, just being Philly. We know and are glad that the Flyers won Game 3 today because it is going to extend that series but the Flyers aren't out of the woods yet. Boston taking a 2-0 lead on Montreal isn't surprising to us either though we're a little surprised that Montreal is trying to out muscle the Bruins. It won't work because that isn't Montreal's game. We happen to agree with those who believe that Chicago should have been called for goaltender interference on the Game Wining Goal in overtime in Game 1 against Calgary. We also think there was something goaltender interference in overtime of Game 2 of the Carolina-New Jersey series. Nice to see that the NHL is continuing to crack down on these activities.
• Finally this week, the Caps have at least two games and both will be in New York as the Series shifts up there for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday night. If the Caps can win one of them, the series will return to Washington for Game 5 on Friday night. All three games will be on Versus. Should the Caps pull off two wins this week, Game 6 will be back in New York next Sunday on NBC. Stan Kasten invites his old fanbase from Atlanta to come up and enjoy Nationals Park for a three game series the Braves are having against the Natinals starting tomorrow night. The Nats won't lose on Thursday as they have that day to travel all the way to New York to face the Mets for a three game weekend series in the Mets new stadium.
• As always folks, please send all comments, criticisms, corrections, questions, suggestions, and Gummi Bear recipes to "capsnut" over at gmail dot com.