Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (04/24/2010 @ 2:07 pm)
Washington Capitals’ forward Eric Belanger took a high stick straight to the kisser on Friday night during his team’s 6-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens. It’s a motivational moment where we can all realize that we needn’t dress up and put gel in our hair when hitting the town during a hot weekend night. Instead, we should roll up our sleeves and attempt to beat the living daylights out of someone twice our size — that behemoth at the bar making nice with the girl you’ve had your eyes on since you stepped through the door. It’s your time time shine: You pound your Jameson like it’s the sweet water that it is, dropping a creased dollar into the acorn glass for the tip, and then sidling up next to your oblivious opponent who’s now whispering weightless compliments into your lady’s ear. You throw a haymaker, but it’s caught, not by your opponent, but by some invisible grip from the ether. You turn around — it’s the bouncer. Your plan is imploding, and you hope to be simply shown the door. But in an instant of improbable misfortune, the bouncer shows extra remorse for the brute, and allows him one free punch. You close your eyes, and somehow conjure a hint of bravery, whether from the slug of Jameson or legitimate adrenaline, you don’t know. The punch comes, and it’s with a force so miserable and heart-breaking you wouldn’t mind giving up the ghost right then and there. On the wavy and sweat-soaked floor, you turn to your side. A tooth — a molar you think — is lying at your feet. You’ve been cold-clocked, humiliated, but it was worth it. You tried. A qualified victory you’ll call it…
But in all seriousness, this is like icky gross! You’re telling me that once you lose a tooth as an adult it doesn’t grow back? Nooo! You’d have to get a fixed bridge or a dental implant or something? Forget that. I’ll never play hockey.
We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Washington Capitals…
Team Play: ISSUE – Reloading… There is a not so quiet excitement building in Washington for the start of the new season. Optimism is evident at player, coach and management level, and in the fans who will attend the 41+ sold out games this season. Any frustrations at their Conference Semi-Finals departure last season are now replaced by thoughts of chalking it up to completing another step toward the ultimate goal of raising The Stanley Cup. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a hungry and capable squad.
The early Fox Sports depth chart for the Capitals indicates a No. 1 line of Ovechkin- Backstrom- Semin from left to right, and Laich- Morrison- Knuble on No. 2. We think it will actually be Ovechkin- Backstrom- Knuble No. 1 and Laich- Morrison- Semin as No. 2. The No. 1 pairing scored 7 G’s and 7 A’s in the pre-season, and No. 2 combined to chip in 3 G’s and 8 A’s. Fourteen and eleven points? In pre-season? We know – suspect matchups against a lot of guys trying to make it into the NHL. But any way you slice these two pairings, it serves as an indicator that they will put up some good numbers for this club. Of interest to Caps fans is the No. 3 and 4 lines. As of 28 September, Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux were amongst the cuts, leaving Chris Bourque and Quintin Laing up with the squad for opening night. And there’s also the Nylander Factor – as in not factored into any pre-season games + statements of deep desire to play + a $4.875M cap hit might just = a depth roster slot, especially due to injuries.
The top two pairings listed on defense are Green-Jurcina and Poti-Pothier. Based on last season’s play, the top blue line pair projects at approximately 103 points playing a full 82-game schedule. That’s with the big IF Mike Green produces 70+ points again this season. This is better than several forward trios on 3rd and 4th lines. You can forget the dearth of scoring in the pre-season for the first pair (a lone A for Green) as they saw limited game time. Line No. 2 was good for 1 G and 4 A’s in September and should be able to be counted upon for about a point every other game. For those waiting with baited breath, Karl Alzner was again a victim of late training camp cuts on 28 September, but look for an injury call up if required.
Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.
A central Florida man who was charged Tuesday with several counts of possession of illegal steroids and firearms is claiming that he has sold performance-enhancing drugs to Washington Nationals and Capitals players.
Richard Thomas boasted about selling steroids to professional baseball, hockey and football players, saying, “You name the sport, and I’ve sold steroids to athletes who play it,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities said Thomas didn’t name specific players, and they have no evidence he sold to members of those teams.
Investigators who searched Thomas’ house in Lakeland on Tuesday recovered thousands of anabolic steroid pills, injectable liquids and syringes with an estimated wholesale value of $100,000, said Carrie Eleazer, a spokeswoman with the sheriff’s office. They also found several weapons, including loaded semiautomatic handguns.
Capitals players passed three rounds of drug tests during each of the past two seasons, and neither the team nor officials from the National Hockey League had reason to believe Thomas’s claims, the league and the team said in a joint release Wednesday.
A spokesman for Major League Baseball, which also randomly tests for steroids, said the organization is looking into the matter. A message seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned by the Nationals.
Thomas told detectives he imported steroids from all around the world, including Iran, Pakistan, Slovakia, Russia, China, Turkey, Spain, Mexico and Germany. The sheriff’s office said both Thomas and his wife were semiprofessional body builders, and that he claimed to be the largest steroids dealer in central Florida.
“He was very boastful,” Eleazer said.
Well this certainly sounds like a fine, upstanding and trustworthy individual. There’s no way he could have made all of this up just to get his name in the paper and possibly be a part of the massive drug scandal that continues to affect professional sports now could he?
Maybe he did sell to Nats and Caps players, but as the article notes, there’s no evidence at this point that proves that he did and until there is, he’s just a poser looking for his name in the headlines. Well he won’t fool me………..crap, I’m writing about him aren’t I?
The Penguins are heading back to the Stanley Cup Finals after beating the Hurricanes 4-1 on Tuesday night and sweeping the best of seven Eastern Conference Finals series. The Pens will now await the winner of the Blackhawks-Red Wings series, which Detroit currently leads 3-1.
After battling the Capitals for seven games in the semifinals, some pundits believed that the Penguins might be worn down for their series against the Canes. But Pittsburgh put those doubts to rest when it took the first two games on its home ice and then crushed the Canes 6-2 in Carolina in Game 3. Game 4 Tuesday night turned out to just be a formality as Carolina struggled offensively.
Now the Pens will wait to see if the Red Wings can finish off the Blackhawks tonight at Joe Lewis Arena. If Chicago plays as bad tonight as it did in Game 4 on Sunday, then the Stanley Cup Finals could kickoff this weekend.
Making matters worse for the Blackhawks, the Wings could get both Nicklas Lindstrom and Pavel Datsyuk back from injury tonight. Detroit coach Mike Babock won’t make a decision on their playing status until each get the opportunity to skate in pregame, but chances are both players will be on the ice tonight.
If the Wings do finish off the Hawks, they would set up a rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, in which they beat the Penguins in six games. Some hockey fans wanted to see a new matchup, but it’s hard to beat the drama that comes from watching Sidney Crosby try to take on the juggernaut that continues to be the Detroit Red Wings.
Posted by Christopher Glotfelty (05/13/2009 @ 5:31 pm)
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins are currently playing to the best of their abilities in a matchup hockey buffs have dreamed about. Problem is, not many people are aware of it and if they are, they’ll have trouble finding the games as they are on the Versus network.
It’s a once-in-a-decade duel — the kind of rare treat that somehow exceeds the hype. So tonight, tune into channel 603, and catch the last game of an instant classic.
That’s right: channel 603, square in television’s Yukon Territory. Since the hockey playoffs are on Versus, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, viewers in many markets will have to search the hinterland of channel listings in order to watch the games. Versus is channel 603 on DirectTV, and its placement isn’t pretty on cable, either. On Time Warner Cable’s Los Angeles system, it’s channel 267; in New York, Cablevision puts Versus on channel 146; and in Dallas, Versus gets prime position on channel 254. Of the nation’s 115 million television households, some 40 million do not even get Versus.
The series is drawing a smaller audience than last year’s College Baseball World Series, on ESPN, when it averaged 1.4 million viewers. On May 8, only 647,000 viewers tuned into Game 4 of Penguins-Capitals, making it the 81st highest-rated program on cable that night. The Crosby-Ovechkin dream duel clocked in behind both a Batman episode on the Cartoon Network (1.5 million viewers), and a “Reba” rerun on Lifetime (930,000). The Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets NBA playoff game on ESPN, with nearly 6 million viewers, came in first. The May 9 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, a regular season affair, drew 7.5 times more viewers than Game 5 — an overtime thriller — shown the same night on Versus.
I remember when I was completely out of the hockey loop last year. I knew that the playoffs were on and but I didn’t have much interest in watching. Then one day I literally got lost in the hundreds of channels that we received and somehow landed on this station called Versus. Turns out, the Sharks vs. Stars series was on and I stuck around. I had never heard of the network. Even in all the sports reading I did and in watching other sports, I never saw an advertisement for Versus.
I know what channel the network is on now, of course. It’s just a shame really since these playoffs have actually been fairly exciting. I’m not sure how much of a financial success the NHL was this year but I’m sure it didn’t do horrible. Regardless, here’s hoping Versus puts more money into their public relations department as Crosby and Ovechkin are reasons enough to watch.
The plot thickens in the ever changing world of the NBA playoffs, and several scenarios could play out this weekend. Will KG play or not? Celtic management has repeatedly stated that Kevin Garnett will not see action in this playoff season. Okay, then why hasn’t he had surgery to repair the knee and begin rehab for next season? Please Kobe, don’t let Ron Artest crawl inside your head because he will do damage. Just play your game and get ready for the inevitable showdown with King James in the Finals.
All times ET…
NBA Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic (ESPN)
Fri, 9:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets (ESPN)
Sat, 5 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Dallas Mavericks (ESPN)
Sat, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Atlanta Hawks (ABC)
Sun, 3:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Houston Rockets (ABC)
Sun, 8 PM: Boston Celtics @ Orlando Magic (TNT)
NHL Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Washington Capitals @ Pittsburgh Penguins (Versus)
Sat, 7 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Washington Capitals (Versus)
Sun, 7:30 PM: Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins (Versus)
MLB
Sat, 3:40 PM: Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (Fox)
Sun., 12:30 PM: Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (ESPN)
-THE LOVE OF SPORTS compiles the 10 most annoying sportscaster lines of all-time.
- SPORTSbyBROOKS.COM has the video of three Penguin fans pummeling a Capitals fan in Washington D.C. It was the only thing Pittsburgh has pummeled in Washington over the past week.
- Former NBA great Dave Bing was elected as Detroit’s mayor through the end of the year. Can Bing start cleaning up the mess in Detroit? Well, considering a slinky could have done a better job than Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit can only go up from here.
- YARDBARKER lists the best 60 college football games of the 2009 season.
- The RAYS INDEX fires a few shots at Tampa closer Troy Percival after he lobbed some profanities in the direction of a fan who intervened with a foul ball that third baseman Evan Longoria was attempting to catch. Apparently the fan in question was with his 6-year old son when Percival dropped at least one obscenity in his direction.
The NHL is banking a lot on the appeal of the series that started yesterday with a 3-2 win for the Washington Capitals over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The reason, of course, is the presence on the ice of the league’s two current marquee players: Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.
- Brian Anders over at THE LOVE OF SPORTS has an opinion a bit less excited than I think the NHL hoped to elicit:
Look at the major sports. With the exception of the NBA, which has an infinitesimal roster, dream matchups involve teams typically in big markets. The NBA thrives on LeBron v. Kobe, because with only five on the floor and seven on the bench, the superstars will go mano-a-mano for the majority of the game.
With 1:30 to 2:00 shifts and four forward lines, star hockey players go toe-to-toe a lot less often in the course of an NHL game. In fact, over the course of a seven-game series, the stars will actually face off less than the stars do in just one NBA game.
Well, I’d say that mathematically speaking, it’s true that face-to-face play time is greater in the NBA than a lot of other sports. But that’s certainly not true for individual sports like tennis or boxing, is it? There’s no way we can compare them to the NHL or NBA, they aren’t even team sports. It’s the nature of the beast that team sports don’t have common individual match-ups.
And that statement right there is also why I’m not entirely comfortable with the comparison Mr. Anders makes. I can’t say it’s wrong, but I won’t say it’s right either. Sure, I gotta admit that some of my favorite basketball games have been duels between opposing players, Jordan vs. Magic or even Jordan/Pippen on Malone/Stockton (guess where my loyalties lie yet?) come to mind quite readily, but even those match-ups were won based on the performances of players in general, not entirely on their crushing of each other.
The NFL’s most popular players, to draw on a new example, are by and large the quarterbacks. So it’s basically impossible for them to ever truly play facemask to facemask. We judge them on their individual stats and their ability to help their team win. Works pretty well for the NFL.
I don’t see that hockey should be particularly different. As a team sport, its raison d’etre is pitting one team against another. I’m excited to see how this series continues because I won’t to know who’s going to help their team out more. Furthermore, the sport does allow for frequent individual acts of brilliance. Just because Ovechkin and Crosby might not both be on the ice at once all the time does nothing to detract from the incredible plays they are capable of making whenever they play.
They both scored a goal in Game 1. Let’s hope that tally only increases over the course of the series. It’s a shame I can’t watch the game without some serious cable TV, but that’s another post by itself…
The NBA and NHL playoffs are heating up, as the Boston Celtics/Chicago Bulls series could go down as maybe the best first round series ever. The Detroit Red Wings will again battle the Anaheim Ducks, who have defeated them in consecutive playoff series. They defeated the Red Wings in the 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals, it marked the first time since 1952 that a defending Stanley Cup champion was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.
All times ET…
NBA Playoffs
Fri, 8 PM: Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat (ESPN)
Sat, 8 PM: Chicago Bulls @ Boston Celtics (TNT)
Sun, 1 PM: Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks* if necessary (ABC)
Sun, 3:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)
NHL Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ Detroit Red Wings (Versus)
Sat, 1PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Washington Capitals (NBC)
Sat, 9 PM: Chicago Blackhawks @ Vancouver Canucks (Versus)
Sun, 2 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)
Sun, 7:30 PM: Carolina Hurricanes @ Boston Bruins (Versus)
MLB
Sat, 3:40 PM: New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies (Fox)
Sun., 1:30 PM: Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Chicago White Sox @ Texas Rangers (ESPN)
Boxing
Sat, 9 PM: Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao for the world junior welterweight title from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena (HBO PPV)
Horse Racing
Sat, 4 PM: Kentucky Derby from Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.(NBC)
Well, they have been on the clock since the first week of preseason. The unofficial kickoff to the upcoming football season is here, as the 2009 NFL Draft will be the highlight event of the weekend. Your mock draft is due prior to the start of the draft. So be sure to cram in every player’s 40 yard time and wonderlic score during an all-night study session tonight. And if you want to play a good drinking game on Saturday, take a sip when Mel Kiper says “that was a value pick” or “he was the best player available.” I guarantee you will pass out halfway through the first round.
NBA Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
Fri, 8 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN2)
Fri, 9:30 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (ESPN)
Sat, 1 PM: Denver Nuggets @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)
Sat, 4 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks (TNT)
Sat, 6:30 PM: Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat (TNT)
Sat, 9 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Utah Jazz (ESPN)
Sun, 1 PM: Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls (ABC)
Sun, 3:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ABC)
Sun, 6:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (TNT)
Sun, 9 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (TNT)
NHL Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals (Versus)
Sat, 1 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers (NBC)
Sat, 10 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks (Versus)
Sun, 2 PM: Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers*if necessary (NBC)
Sun, TBD: New Jersey Devils @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)
MLB
Sat, 4:10PM: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (Fox)
Sun., 12 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (ESPN)
