Through my friend Dmitry Chesnokov, we've received news that Alex Ovechkin has started to blog -- in Russian.
It's interesting that he's chosen to use Live Journal. Of all the blogging engines out there, LJ has the best foothold in Russia, so I guess it only made sense.
In the meantime, everybody fire up Google Translator!
Ah, when we start to speculate about who is going to be playing where, life gets a whole lot more exciting doesn't it?
That's what I started to think yesterday as I read about some mildly surprising developments -- talk that NHL rookie Nicklas Backstrom might see most of his ice time next season on the wing, and that career minor leaguer Dave Steckel might be ready to take charge as the right wing on the team's checking line with Matt Pettinger and Boyd Gordon.
With this in mind, let's re-shuffle the deck up front:
Ovechkin-Nylander-Clark
Semin-Kozlov-Backstrom
Pettinger-Gordon-Steckel
Brashear-Laich-Sutherby
Those are four lines packing seven natural centers. It's always nice to know that you have options. All of a sudden, the team has some serious depth.
Also notice that I've yet to mention a number of names who at one time or another have been ticketed to play big minutes over the course of their careers. My guess is that they wouldn't be happy that their names aren't on this admittedly preliminary list.
I'd expect those players will probably come into camp with a fire lit under their butts. And that's always a good thing.
How solid a hockey executive was David Poile over the length of his tenure with the Washington Capitals? For those of you who either weren't here or are too young to remember, check out Mike Vogel's piece from Thursday about the circumstances around his hiring.
The one memory I can't help but shake from Poile's time in town was an on-air interview he did at WTEM-980 (yes they did talk hockey back, I can even remember getting on the air in the middle of the day to talk to James Brown about the Hunter-Turgeon incident) with Kevin Kiley and Rich Gilgallon, better known by their radio moniker, "Kiley and the Coach".
The interview, which must have been from 1991 or 1992, was pretty rough on Poile, as the two hosts took turns torturing him over the team's lack of playoff success. In particular, Gilgallon kept looping back to just one issue: Why was it that Poile couldn't obtain that one 50-goal scorer that could put the team over the top?
Ironic, given how things eventually turned out in Washington, don't you think?
In any case, Poile has earned some measure of redemption after his dismissal as Caps GM following the 1996-97 season. First off, just as Poile predecessor Roger Crozier bequeathed a solid organization to Poile, he did the same for his successor, George McPhee.
Arriving in Nashville, Poile has faced much the same situation he faced under Abe Pollin in Washington -- being forced to compete with a limited budget. Yet, he's somehow managed to mold the Predators into a solid club, albeit one that has yet to experience any postseason success.
One wonders if that will be Poile's epitaph. I hope not, as he's a class act that deserves better.
J.P. has more or less the most incisive take on Atlanta's signing of ex-Caps D Joel Kwiatkowski.
But as I was reading about "Kiwi" catching on with yet another team -- his fifth in six seasons -- all I could think was how many other AHL defensemen who are on the bubble would kill to be in his skates.
Last night I did a quick capsule review of the ESPN miniseries, The Bronx Is Burning. Now Baseball Crank, who read the book that inspired the series, but didn't watch the television program, has his own review of the book.
A lesson in Russian hockey journalism over at FanHouse.
Liverpool FC vs. Everton FC is a rivalry that divides the City of Liverpool and sometimes even families. It is more intense than any Yankees / Redsox or Redskins / Cowboys game. However sometimes the passion of fans is directed in the right direction. Rhys Jones Story.
"The theme from Z Cars
From Caps PR:
The Washington Capitals and Bonneville International Corporation have reached a two-year agreement that will put broadcasts of all 82 Capitals games on Bonneville stations. The new Talk Radio 3WT, on 1500 AM, 107.7 FM and 820 AM, will be the flagship station for the broadcasts, carrying Capitals games plus pre- and postgame shows on some of the region
FanHouse just keeps rolling along. Most recently:
We got the season previews kicked off, where we'll be looking at all 30 teams in the next 30 days before the season opener between the Ducks and the Kings in London during the last week in September. It all starts in alphabetical order, with my look at the defending Stanley Cup Champion Ducks up first.
And speaking of the Ducks, James Mirtle caught wind of Anaheim's George Parros hauling the Cup to his uncle's pig roast in Pennsylvania.
Finally, Jes took a look at the new Canucks jersey -- which, depending on how you look at it, has something for everyone to like and hate.
Mirtle looks at The NHL's European Bargain Bin ...
Jes Golbez helps Anaheim reclamation project Chris Kunitz count his money ... and
It's the return of Greg Wyshynski, as he looks at the goaltending situation in Toronto and the incredible success at the game being experienced in Anaheim and Pittsburgh.
J.P. tries to read in between the lines of a Caps marketing survey.
I just finished up watching the final episode of the ESPN miniseries, The Bronx Is Burning, and I have to admit that there was plenty that I liked over the past eight episodes -- and that's saying something coming from a New York Mets fan who came of age in the shadow of a Yankees team that would go to four World Series and win two over six seasons.
John Turturro was simply incredible as Billy Martin, getting into the volatile manager's skin and teaching us all something about that man's chaotic and lonely existence. Oliver Platt did about the best he could as Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner, while Daniel Sunjata, better known for his work as a New York City fireman on FX's Rescue Me, did manage to capture something of the soul of Reggie Jackson, even if he could never manage to mimic his powerful swing.
But as the game footage from the ABC Sports archives started to dominate the action over the last three episodes, the miniseries lost quite a bit of punch. Keeping the audience in suspense when everyone knows how the story will end is something that prevents a lot of sports films from being made, and it was a shame to see TBIB fall victim to that over the last three weeks.
In the end, I couldn't help but feel that there were more stories to be told, especially after catching the "Backstory" segment at the end of every episode. Sure, Jackson, Martin and Steinbrenner dominated the news in and around the 1977 Yankees, but something tells me there was more to hear from folks like Yogi Berra, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Lou Pinella, Bucky Dent and many others.
In fact, had I been producing the series, I might have gone back to the drawing board and simply tried to make an HBO-style documentary that told the story of the Yankees from the Steinbrenner purchase all the way through to their loss in the 1981 World Series to the Dodgers.
Start with George bagging his white whale and end it all with Jackson walking out the door at the end of five star-crossed seasons. Taken together, that's a coherent era in Yankees history that deserves to have its story told and told well. I'll be waiting for it.
From Caps PR:
The Washington Capitals 2007 Rookie Camp and Training Camp at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va., will feature practices and scrimmages that are open to the public and free of charge, as well as special events including giveaways and specific days dedicated to heroes in the community and the Capitals
With Greg Wyshynski still out of town on his honeymoon, I've taken over as our official in-house gossip columnist. That meant I had the singular joy of writing about the Modano-Ford wedding, as well as the Cuthbert-Avery breakup.
You know, just the sort of stories that drove me into sports blogging in the first place. Somewhere, I'm sure there's a job as a copy editor with People in my future.
Then again, I did have my own take on the Buffalo-Pittsburgh game on New Year's Day. Please check it out.
AOL's take on sports blogging turns one year old today.
Kudos to Jamie Mottram for figuring out a way to help all of us get paid for what we do. And since I just re-upped for another year, I'm guessing the higher-ups at AOL must be happy with the results.
And congrats to all my fellow FanHouse bloggers too.
Ted Leonsis just bought a Slingbox for his son to use at school, and he's pretty juiced about it:
He will now be able to watch all Caps and Wizards games on Comcast as he matriculates at UPenn. This is an amazing device and service. It is cheap, efficient and delivers a high "wow" factor.
As many of you might recall, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has a Slingbox all his own, one that allows him to watch games from all across the league on his Motorola Q.
Meanwhile, Leonsis is also doing his best to put fannies in the seats at Verizon. Which reminds me, it's time for me to become a customer again. Is there anybody out there who's up for splitting a partial game plan this season?
HT: Chuqui.
John Isner, who only a few weeks ago burst onto the international tennis scene by fighting his way to the finals of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic before losing to Andy Roddick, may be on his way to causing some more trouble at the U.S. Open.
Last night in his opening round match, Isner dispatched a guy with two hockey names -- Jarkko Niemenen -- in four sets on his way to a 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory.
The difference for Isner? Well, it was that monster serve that Washingtonians got to know so well at the Legg Mason. Here's what Niemenen told Liz Clarke of the Washington Post:
"This is the best serve I have seen on the court," Nieminen said. "When it was tight -- when I had break points -- he always made the first serve, every single time. It was very difficult to read his serve. And even if you have such a good serve, it's mentally demanding to win matches against top players."
Still don't know enough about Isner? No worries, as there's still time to hop on the bandwagon. For a refresher, here's an interview I did with him right after his Legg Mason quarterfinal win over Tommy Haas:
For more Isner video, click here.
My old friend, Michael McCann, has just snagged a new gig with SI.com writing a regular column on Sports and the Law. In his debut, he looks at what's next for Michael Vick now that he's entered his guilty plea.
Details here.
Once again, just more evidence of just how crowded training camp is going to be this year. There are too many bodies and too few spaces available with the big club, and more than a few folks who believe they belong in the NHL will find themselves in Hershey on opening night.
And that my friends, is a good thing.
Thanks to Dan Steinberg for digging up a shot of Caps #1 draft pick Karl Alzner at practice wearing a funky fur cap.
Word is coming from both The Buffalo News and The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the Penguins and Sabres will open up 2008 with a regular-season game that will be played outdoors in Ralph Wilson Stadium, home to the Buffalo Bills.
Outdoor hockey is relatively new to the NHL, with its only other outdoor matchup held in 2003 between the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens. It was held at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium, and was attended by over 57 thousand people. College hockey, on the other hand, has been drawing huge crowds with outdoor hockey for quite some time. Michigan and Michigan State opened the 2001-2002 season with an outdoor game at Michigan State's Spartan Stadium, drawing 74,554 people, the most ever to see a hockey game. And on February 11, 2006, Wisconsin beat Ohio State 4-2 in front of almost 41,000 people at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
It seems like a good move for the NHL to put on another outdoor game, this time utilizing their main attraction, Sidney Crosby. And as college hockey is played in front of generally crazed college students willing to stand the cold for their team, the NHL has chosen two teams with arguably the strongest fans bases, at least out of American teams, who also are no strangers to cold-weather sporting events. (Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills home games anyone?) Couple that with a national broadcast on NBC, and it looks like the NHL can't lose. Unless of course America feels like watching college football bowl games instead.
Photo by Kate McGovern.
A first inning solo home run welcomed Off Wing photographer Kate McGovern and myself (Steve Tornone) to Double-A baseball. This afternoon marks our first trip to Prince George's Stadium and the Baltimore Oriole's affiliate Bowie Baysox. The game was the second of a doubleheader caused by a rainout last night, and as a result was shortened to seven innings.
Taking on the Erie SeaWolves of the Detroit Tiger's organization, the Baysox seemed to get off to a rocky start, surrendering a 315-foot home run down the right field line to Michael Hernandez. The Sox answered in the bottom of the inning with a 3-run blast by third baseman Oscar Salazar. Salazar's shot moved him past Erie first baseman Jeffrey Larish for first in the Eastern League in RBIs, but his offense wouldn't be enough to carry the team.
Kody Kirkland evened the game up for the SeaWolves with a two-run shot to deep center in the top of the second. Will Rhymes and Matthew Joyce then led off the SeaWolves third with consecutive singles to set up a run scoring single by Wilkin Ramirez. A wild pitch scored Joyce from third, and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs. But the Baysox picked off Ramirez at second and a double play followed to end the inning.
Unfortunately good defense couldn't help poor pitching and Erie blew the game open with another three runs in the fourth. Two of the three came off a hooking grounder up the right field line by Will Rhymes. In all, Baysox starter Freddie Deza went 4 innings and gave up 8 runs. The loss dropped his record to 6 and 8.
Photo by Kate McGovern.
A few sharp defensive plays kept the SeaWolves starter Eddie Bonine in the game even after a bare-handed try at a sharp ground ball in the fifth seemed to hurt his command.
In the top of the sixth, Michael Hernandez hit his second homer of the game, this one a grand slam off of Baysox reliever David Haehnel to push the SeaWolves up 12 to 3.
Photo by Kate McGovern.
Nolan Reimold hit a solo homer in the sixth for Bowie, but at that point it was just for the fans.
The Baysox sent out closer Bob McCrory to get in some work after a week without a save situation. A walk and a hit batsman put men on first and second but McCrory worked out of trouble to close out a scoreless seventh.
Danny Zell came to close out the seventh for Erie. The lefty's sidearm delivery was a sharp contrast to the hard-throwing Bonine, who improved to 14 and 5 with the win. Zell surrendered a single up the middle but closed out the game with a grounder to third.
Photos by Kate McGovern.
More after the jump.
(more...)Thanks to Uni Watch for listing the home team in a recent history of sports fashion mistakes that didn't stick around long:
1974: The expansion Washington Capitals make their NHL debut wearing white breezers on the road (details here). In addition to looking totally candy-ass, the snow-white shorts also show every single stick and puck mark. After a storm of ridicule, the not-so-pearly whites were replaced by blue shorts.
Too funny.
He doesn't want to be on your top friends list either. Then again, neither does Mirtle.
Stop by FanHouse to see what I'm talking about.
While doing some reading about the impending dismissal of Stephen A. Smith as a columnist with the Philadelphia Inquirer, I came across a post from Phillyist from a week ago that couldn't help but strike a chord with me:
[T]he Inquirer should fire this imbecile for the same reason ESPN cluelessly employs him. Time to stop cynically pandering to the demographics. Smith
For Teemu Selanne as he decides his NHL future:
Via Boing Boing.
Yesterday over at Tarik's place, one of the comments mentioned somebody wanting a shot of Olie Kolzig's mask with the new color scheme.
As it turned out, I had some errands to run in Arlington this morning and I dropped by Kettler.
Photo by Eric McErlain
Photo by Eric McErlain
Photo by Eric McErlain
Moreno Scores His 109th Goal to Make Him the All-time Leading Scorer in the MLS
Photo by Ellen Blanchard
Also be sure to check out more pictures from tonight's game on our flickr page and also our Photoshelter account
(more...)
