The Caps scored early and often and rode a hot goaltender to a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers last night at Verizon Center. With the win, the Caps vaulted past the Panthers into first place in the Southeast Division and a spot in the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin scored twice and Tomas Vokoun stopped 42 shots for his fourth shutout of the season.

The fans were barely in their seats when the Caps lit the red light for an early lead. Jason Chimera dug the puck out of the corner and fed a pass to Matthieu Perreault who slid the puck under Panthers’ goalie Scott Clemmensen just 13 seconds into the game.

The Caps thoroughly dominated the early going with aggressive play in the offensive zone. There were several miscues in the D-zone, but netminder Tomas Vokoun was a brick wall when they needed him. Four minutes into the game, Panthers’ ace Stephen Weiss took a one-timer in the low slot; Vokoun stoned him.

Ovechkin Carrying the Puck Over Blue Line
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps capitalized on a power play opportunity nine minutes into the game. Dennis Wideman carried the puck into the offensive zone, froze Panthers defenseman Mike Weaver with a deke, then slipped a pass to Alex Ovechkin sliding down the left board. Ovechkin skated in unobstructed and beat Clemmensen between the pads to make it 2-0. “It was a pretty play by Wides,” said Ovie. “I saw Brouwer on the other side, but took the shot and I got kind of lucky.”

Late in the first period the Panthers pressed hard to try to get back in the game. Mikael Samuelsson slipped through the Caps defensive pair only to be stopped cold by Vokoun again. The Panthers outshot the Capitals 32-14 over the course of the second and third periods. But Vokoun stood tall to blank Florida for the second time this season. “We made some mistakes and gave up a few breakaways,” said coach Dale Hunter. “Tomas came up huge for us in this game.”

Jason Chimera had 8 of Washington’s 24 shots
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps started the second period short-handed. Even with a 2-goal lead, they played aggressively and caught the Panthers’ defense sleepwalking through a line change. Matt Hendricks dropped a pass to John Carlson who found Chimera crashing the net. Chimera scooped in his own rebound for a shorty to make it 3-0. The rout was on.

In the middle of the second period, Ovechkin reminded the rest of the league why he can never be left alone in the offensive zone. Moving left to right above the circles, he beat Clemmensen with an seemingly effortless wrist shot to the upper left corner of the net to make it 4-0. The Panther defensemen will be studying the film on that one for a couple of days.

The Caps have the toughest remaining schedule in the division based on the current average winning percentage of remaining opponents. The Panthers, by contrast, have the easiest remaining schedule in the division. The two teams will face each other two more times this season, including the Caps final regular season home game on April 5.

The Caps face the Winnepeg Jets at home tomorrow in another must-win divisional game. Check out the rest of the Caps schedule here, or look here for tickets to upcoming games.

It was a bad weekend for Washington sports. However while some are bummed over the Caps loss to the Bruins yesterday, at least they are hovering above .500 with a 27-21 record. It would take a miracle for the Washington Wizards to achieve such a feat.

This past weekend the Wizards lost to the Clippers in a 87-107 blowout. At 4-20, you would think that the funk of defeat couldn’t penetrate any deeper. This game however struck me as a moment where everything that happened just felt apropos. Much like how the entire season can be viewed while listening to the Benny Hill theme song.

The game started on a high note. Blake Griffin put up a dunk to which Nick Young rebutted with a dunk of his own. DeAndre Jordan then caught a rebound for a dunk and John Wall took the ball to the other end and throw up a lob for JaVale McGee to slam home.

Perhaps the game would at least be entertaining if not competitive? It turned out the game would be neither. The rest of the night just went down hill from there.

By halftime the Clippers led 34-58, the boos were coming in not for Andray Blatche (still out with a calf injury) but for the poor play of the Washington Professional Basketball Team. Any time Chris Paul and Griffin raced down the court on a fast break, you could hear the “oh no’s” in the crowd. It was an odd mixture of excitement for another Lob City highlight dunk and a realization of futility that the Wizards would never really be in this game.

Little things off the court started to feel right in line with the play on the court. A Wizards fan who played the shuffle game on the jumbo-tron failed to pick the shell that had G-Wiz was hiding under. During a time-out there was a trike race sponsored by the Washington Post that failed to end on-time, causing a hasty retreat from the court as the players walked on.

When play resumed things weren’t looking good for the Wizards, who only added to the long list of video lowlights. Like this one:

Capital City isn’t Lob City.

With 8:00 left in the game the Clippers had the follower players out on the court:

• Ryan Gomes
• Randy Foye
• Trey Thompkins
• Brian Cook
• Travis Leslie

Blake Griffin was already in sweats sitting back and relaxing after putting up 21 points and a billion gazillion dunks. Late in the forth quarter the crowd cameras were put up on the screen to find the “Fan of the Game”.

At that moment the crowd was already getting up and heading for the exits with about five minutes left to play.

After the game a tired and perhaps shell-shocked Randy Wittman sat down and just stared at the box score of the game, trying to make sense of it all.

“We got dominated again in every category,” Coach Wittman managed to say after a moment of silence reading the box score and admitted that he didn’t know how to fix what just happened.

“I don’t know I’m still searching too.”

Tonight the Wizards play the Raptors in a game that should be less David and Goliath than Saturday, however the two played each other this past Friday and Toronto blew them out 89-106.

The question most often asked when people talk about Edwin Jackson is why has he been on so many teams. The Nats will be Jackson’s eighth team in his nine year career, and the reason is simple. Jackson has never cost much and always had top of the rotation stuff with back of the rotation results. Every new team that gets him believes they can be the ones that can finally unlock all that potential and the team getting rid of him was just tired of waiting.

The interesting thing about the one year $10 million contract that Jackson signed with the Nationals is that it is in line more with Jackson’s results than his potential, and Jackson was more than willing to take a one year deal in order to have a career year and cash in next off-season. The late Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson once said, “Just give me 25 guys on the last year of their contracts; I’ll win a pennant every year.”

With Edwin Jackson the Nats get one highly motivated pitcher that can’t wait to prove his value to the world. The Nats rotation has a lot of ifs but those ifs have evolved a lot in the last few years. No longer are the Nats hoping for the health of John Patterson or Shawn Hill or that a surprise can be found among a bunch of minor league free agents. The Nats have a legitimate major league rotation, and perhaps something even better.

In 2011 eleven Nats starters combined for 928 2/3 IP and 10.7 WAR. The projected starting five of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez, Jackson, and Wang project to pitch 889 innings with 16.4 WAR. That does leave a few innings to be picked up by Gorzelanny, Detwiler, Stammen, Maya, or Lannan if he isn’t traded, but the WAR value improvement even with just those five is almost six wins better than 2011. This would give the Nats a mid-80’s win total and put them in arms reach of a wild card if they can find any offense.

The Nats have yet to add that ever elusive center fielder, but there are a few simple ways in which the Nats offense could be better in 2012 than it was in 2011. The first and most important is for the Nats to get at least 140 games out of Ryan Zimmerman. In 2009 and 2010 Zimmerman was an over 7.0 WAR player and won the silver slugger for third basemen both seasons. In 2011 Zimmerman played 101 games and was worth 2.5 WAR if Zimmerman can return to being Zimmerman then that alone gives the Nats an increase of four to five wins.

Then there is the big free agent signing of December of 2010, Jayson Werth. Werth had a bad year in 2011, but improved in the second half under Davey Johnson. Johnson put Werth back in his customary five spot in the line-up and made an effort to work with Jayson on his swing. There were rumors out there that Riggleman had lost the clubhouse before he quit and one of the main players behind that was Jayson Werth. If Werth can improve even by one win it would help the Nats greatly.

The last major thing to go wrong for the Nats in 2011 was the Spring Training injury to the shoulder of Adam LaRoche. LaRoche has never been a great player but he has never been a bad one either. He is essentially a league average first baseman. He will hit 25 homers and get on base at a steady clip, but he isn’t going to blow anyone away with his power or on base skills. His biggest attribute is his defense at first base. Think of LaRoche in this way as to how he will improve the 2012 Nats; he is a better hitter than Nix and a better fielder than Morse, and all of that is worth roughly one win in the standings.

If even one of those three things happen in 2012 then the Nats offense will improve. If more than one of them happen then the Nats could surprise a lot of people. The addition of Edwin Jackson on his own doesn’t make the Nats contenders, but it adds to what they have already done this off-season. One of the biggest issues the Nats had with starting pitching in 2011 was innings pitched by starters. Too often the bullpen was being asked to get 10 to 12 outs. Edwin Jackson for his career has averaged 195 innings pitched a season and 5.99 innings pitched a start. Add this to the 200 innings that Gio Gonzalez is projected to give the Nats and it is easy to see the value Jackson brings to the Nationals rotation.

Reigning MVP Derrick Rose was in a mood.

Sunday night he blamed himself for a loss against the Miami Heat that left him angry, emotional, and determined to make it up in the next game he’d play.

Unfortunately for the Washington Wizards they were that next game. Rose looked like a madman on the court in a 35 point performance as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Wizards 98-88.

The Wizards tried everything they could to stop Rose and the Bulls but it was to no avail. The loss left Wizards coach Randy Wittman a little testy, transferring his frustration to the press after the game. When asked about the team’s Pick and Roll strategy against Rose he answered to the reporter asking the question , “Did you of that question all day? If you have a new strategy, call my office tomorrow. We tried four different things. The way he played tonight, I don’t know if there’s anything we would have thrown out there that could have of. So did he dice it up? Yea, is that what you want me to say?”

I hope Wittman doesn’t read the column I wrote about him.

Rose’s play on the floor opened up opportunities for the rest of the Bulls. Kyle Korver went 5-12 outside the arc and ended the night with 17 points. Carlos Boozer (18 pts) and Joakim Noah (14 pts) also filled up the stat sheet. The Wizards ran up and down the floor in an attempt to stop Chicago, who led the game all four quarters. Iced knees were spotted in the Wizards locker room after the game.

“They’re one exhausted bunch of guys right now- that left it on the floor,” Wittman said.

The young Wizards squad tried everything they could to stop Rose but were left staring at a talent that is among the NBA’s best.

“Some of the shots he hit- they were unbelievable,” Trevor Booker said after the game, ”I watch him on TV but in person, it’s different. It’s way different. To see some of the things he did- it’s crazy.”

John Wall led the Wizards with 20 points and Nick Young racked up 17, but in the end they were left stung by Rose’s thorn.

“When you are making floaters over seven foot and tough shots like that- nothing you can do but credit a great talent like that,” Wall said.

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“Why’s Randy coaching, Dad?”

“Because we had to fire Flip.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong.”

Flip Saunders may have not done anything wrong, but he certainly didn’t do anything right. In one way Flip will be the fall guy for another failed Wizards season, but in another way Flip was never the answer at coach, leaving with a 51-130 coaching record in Washington.

Time after time I’ve seen that sleepy-eyed look at press conferences. Time after time I’ve heard him expound on how players are holding on to the ball too much or how they throw the game plan out the window after they fall behind. Perhaps the problems were easier said than done for him.

You can say Flip took on a job he didn’t sign up for. He was suppose to help squeeze one more season from the old guard of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison. He wasn’t originally brought in to coach a team full of first and second year players.

In reality Flip never had control of the locker room. It got out of hand to the point Gilbert was offering firearms to his teammates. Flip was them left with a class of kids who tuned him out.

Regardless of the reason, Flip is out and Randy Wittman is in- but will that be a difference?

The former guard who was first drafted by the Washington Bullets and played with the likes of Doc Rivers and Spud Webb doesn’t have the most impressive coaching record. In fact if there’s anything we are sure about it’s that Wittman doesn’t really want to be a head coach again.

“I didn’t come here to Washington to be the coach. I came here to help [Flip],” Wittman said in his first press conference as coach. A familiar line because it was the same one I heard when I covered a game last season where Wittman was filling in while Saunders was attending to a family matter.

However this time around he added, “I would’ve walked with him if I didn’t believe that this team can be better than what we are.”

Well that’s reassuring- I think.

In the press conference he certainly said the right things: finding a style that fits our players, making them take more accountability, playing a more up-tempo game.

He also started the Wittman-era with a win at home over the Charlotte Bobcats- and an analogy that the team was a pack of chain-smokers. Nothing like crazy coach-speak to get the team buzzing in the media.

He followed up his win with an absolute beating to the Houston Rockets and a visit to Charlotte to end the weekend with the team’s first road win.

Thank goodness that there’s a team worse than the Wizards, who knows what we’d be saying if Wittman started his reign 0-3.

In his first three games the team has averaged 98.3 possessions per game compared to 95.2 in the 17 before that. It’s a bit early but it looks like the Wizards are on their way to playing more up-tempo ball.

Wittman has also shaken up the starting line-up, giving rookie Jan Vesely a start against Houston at the expense of Andray Blatche. Thanks to a calf injury, Wittman may have an excuse to keep Blatche on the bench.

Despite the 2-1 start to the Wittman era, you have to take the success with a grain a salt when the two wins were over a team that looks more lost than the Wizards. The Bobcats are second to last in the league in offensive efficiency.

Only the Wizards are worse.

The real test will be how Wittman can play the team against the Chicago Bulls tonight at the Verizon Center. I’m not very positive about the outcome.

There are two things that need to happen if the Wizards are to successfully rebuild.

The first is to get rid of the knuckleheads on the team- and no, it wasn’t fixed when Arenas was traded to Orlando.

Andray Blatche has gone from a head case to a player who can’t get the crowd’s boos out of his head.

JaVale McGee only cares about blocks, dunks, and whatever else gets him highlights on SportsCenter. It’s funny that he works so hard to get attention but doesn’t like it when he does. He sulked after the media got on top of him over his off the backboard dunk and according to Twitter he wishes to avoid a “media friendzy.”

I don’t care what his mom says, McGee is a talented player- but lacks the attitude to be a true winner.

The old guard of locker room cancers maybe gone but more steps need to be taken before we experience a relapse. That’s why so many people are calling for the team to be blown up- again.

The second thing the team needs to do is find a coach that can lead. A coach that can teach, grow, and inspire a young crop of talent.

Randy Wittman is not that coach.

He’s a silent guardian of what will remain of the Flip Saunders era before that house is cleaned as well, a watchful protector of yet another NBA lottery pick. A dark knight that has held the title of Head Coach before, but doesn’t want it again.

Randy Wittman is not the coach we need. He’s simply a stop-gap, the coach DC deserves.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Nationals missed out on Prince Fielder when the Tigers swooped in at the last minute to offer a 9 year $214 million dollar contract. That doesn’t mean the off-season is over and it certainly doesn’t mean Mike Rizzo is done trying to improve the Nats. Since the Nats failed to strengthen a weakness they have concentrated this off-season on strengthening their strength. The Nationals pitching staff last season allowed 3.99 runs a game which was seventh best in the NL, and had the sixth best ERA in the league at 3.58.

Breaking that down further the Nationals starters had an ERA of 3.80 and the relievers an ERA of 3.20. The National League average is an ERA of 3.94 for starters and 3.59 for relievers. As a whole the Nationals starters were 0.14 runs per nine innings better than league average and the relievers 0.39 runs per nine innings better. The entire Nationals pitching staff was above average in 2011, but the bullpen was the strength of the Nationals pitching staff.

The addition of Lidge is important as it adds depth to what already appeared to be a deep bullpen. If Lidge can remain healthy he adds yet another weapon to a Nationals bullpen that was already full of lethal pitchers. In trying to understand what this means for the depth of the Nationals bullpen it is fun to look at the best case and the worst case scenarios.

If everything works out perfectly then Storen and Clippard won’t miss a beat from last season, Henry Rodriguez will memorize the location of the strike zone, Brad Lidge will stay healthy and pitch like good Brad Lidge, and Sean Burnett will return to 2010 form. The worst case scenario is Storen and Clippard regress badly, Henry Rodriguez decides that every pitch should hit the bull, Brad Lidge can’t get healthy, and the real Sean Burnett was 2011 Burnett.

As with anything the truth is going to manifest itself somewhere in the middle. Not everything is going to go right and not everything is going to go wrong, but just looking at the two scenarios the best case seems closer to reality. In order for the best case to play out all that has to happen is for guys to be themselves. This best case scenario is a lot different than when Mike Rizzo took over in 2009 and the best case was that maybe the Nats find a closer out of the ragtag bunch Bowden assembled.

From the instant Mike Rizzo took over he has done a good job of improving the Nats bullpen. What was once the biggest weakness of the team is now one of its greatest strengths. Combining the improved bullpen with the health of Stephen Strasburg and Chein-Ming Wang and the addition of Gio Gonzalez the Nationals pitching staff might be one of the best in the game in 2012.

The improvement to the starting pitching when combined with the addition of Lidge should help the Nats bullpen to cut down on their league leading 28 blown saves. One of the issues the Nats faced in 2011 was starters not going deep enough into the game. With a top three of Strasburg, Zimmermann, and Gonzalez that should not be as much of a problem.

What will still be an issue is that the Nationals bullpen may very well still be protecting small leads. It is easier to blow a lead of only one or two runs than it is a lead that is greater. The Nats offense as currently constructed should be better than 2011 if LaRoche and Zimmerman can stay healthy and Werth and Desmond can build off their strong second halves, but that isn’t enough to make the Nats offense anything better than mediocre.

The Nats still have work to do to get the team ready for Opening Day and while this is already the best roster the Nats will put out on the field since they have been in DC it might not be enough to contend. 2012 should be a very fun year for Nats fans but true contention may not arrive until a certain big left handed bat arrives in and is fully acclimated to the major leagues.

Boy, what a morning.

First up was Alex Ovechkin, who today opted out of the All-Star Game, citing a lack of passion brought on by a 3-game suspension for an off-his-feet hit on the Penguins Zbynek Michalek during Sunday’s game. I can understand his frustration with the league for a 3-game suspension when Michalek was cleared of a similar hit in the exact same game. It can be hard to be a professional hockey player. That is also why he’s paid $9.5M on average per season. As Don Draper says, “That’s what the money is for!” I suppose that he’ll instead be chilling in his new house in McLean, valued at $4.2M.

In acting the petulant teenager, Ovechkin hurts the fans and the league, when he’s really just angry that his team can’t seem to feed him the puck up close to the net. Look, Ovi, I know you’re having a rough go of it right now, but the answer here is to buckle down and do more not do less, especially in the face of criticism. There’s a lot of concern out there for the team’s work ethic, and that there’s no combined leadership on the ice. By opting out and saying that you’re just not feeling it, well, I have to wonder – have you felt it at all this season? I know you’re hitting like crazy, and your game against Pittsburgh this week saw you with 3 points, but I’m not seeing the leader that I was hoping for.

The Capitals, in standing by their star, are at least giving him an “honorable” out, and given the lack of discipline for Michalek, that seems to be at least justified in part. In doing so, aren’t the Capitals doing more to hurt the hockey capital’s enthusiasm for the sport as a whole? I had thought that this was an organization dedicated toward hockey as a whole, but this latest set of actions seem to belie that isn’t the case always.

And now on to the firing of Flip Saunders, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  The Wizards have started the year at a lovely 2-15, including a 20-point loss in Philly last night, a game in which they trailed by 30 at the half, which is something I was pretty sure was only possible when a JV team plays the varsity at DeMatha. Sadly, it’s not likely that the elevation of assistant Randy Wittman to the head coach, even temporarily, is going to change the slide of the Wizards – not that they can slide much further down the charts.

I can’t remember a more terrible day for Monumental Sports in the new era, and though it feels like piling on, the state of DC sports is fairly deplorable, given the Redskins’ back to back 6-10 seasons, the Wizards seemingly-perpetual last place position, and the Capitals struggles amid an abundance of talented players. How terrible is it that a .500 season from the Nationals seems to be the brightest spot in the DC Sports world right now?

So yes, Uncle Ted, this is a day for wicked pixels, but it’s hard to dodge these as just being the words of some pajama-clad bloggers when it’s the whole of the sports media with their head in their hands wondering what could possibly be going on.

Celtics star Point Guard Rajon Rondo was ruled out of today’s game against the Wizards with a sprained right wrist. In the second quarter Ray Allen left the game with a jammed left ankle. Slumping and battered, the Celtics looked like a prime target for the Wizards, who have been improving their play game-by-game this week.

However Paul Pierce took the team on his shoulders with a season-high 34 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds as the Celtics continue to own the Wizards this season with a 94-100 loss.

Without Rondo, the Celtics were forced to start second-year Avery Bradley at point, and proved to be a liability going 1-6 in the field with six turnovers.

“We kept it as simple as a game plan as we could keep it- the thing is that we ran the same stuff and it gave him a chance to operate offensively,” Coach Rivers said after the game. Bradley was easily owned by Wall, McGee, and anybody else he was matched-up with.

It was quite the opposite on the Celtics side of the ball. The Wizards threw everybody at Pierce but the kitchen sink. Nothing could stop #34 from putting up 34.

John Wall led the Wizards with 27 points and Nick Young scored 19. Andray Blatche had a bounce back game after a 0-7 performance Friday night. He went 4-10 with 8 points and received much less boos from the crowd (mostly Celtics fans). When asked about Blatche, Doc Rivers remarked that the only way to get the boos to stop is to keep playing.

“Fans want to see winning basketball even if you aren’t winning.”

The Wizards are starting to get competitive enough to stay in games, now Washington just needs to find the way to close them out. Even their opponents are noticing the difference.

“They are so much better, they are so much better- you can just see it,” Rivers said. Pierce backed his coaches’ comments as well.

“I think they are playing a lot better, even though the wins don’t really show I think they are playing the right way.”

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The Wizards had a little swagger in their step as they took the court Friday night. Coming off a big win over the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder, the ‘zards went up against the Denver Nuggets and pummeled them in the first quarter. Washington scored a season-high 37 points and were in the game down to the end.

However the Wizards could not solve Denver’s Al Harrington, who led the Nuggets with 29 points. His dunk with 7.9 seconds left in the game sealed the Wizards’ fate in a 104-108 loss.

“Tonight was a tough night- not making shots and not really controlling the game like I did the other night,” Wizards Point Guard John Wall said after the game. According to ESPN’s John Hollinger, Denver averages 98.6 possessions per game- the most in the league. Washington is tied for sixth in the league with 96.

What that means is that Washington plays fast but Denver plays just a little bit faster.

“The pace that [Denver] played at- that’s how they always play, you know we don’t always play at that pace. I think some of our guys got winded,” Coach Flip Saunders said in the post-game press conference.

There is a little bit of hope to walk away with tonight’s loss. Now at 2-13, the most we can ask of the Washington Professional Basketball Team is to play competitive- and they did for the most part.

John Wall put up another great game and was only one rebound away from a triple-double (13 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds). Nick Young started the game hot racking up 17 points in the first quarter. He ended the night with a team-high 25. Even Jordan Crawford looked respectable going 6-14 in the field with 18 points.

“Tonight we put ourselves in a position to win, so now we’re competing at a good level- now what we gotta do is we gotta put ourselves in a position to close out games,” said Saunders.

However one player that did not do well was Andray Blatche. The boos kept coming as he went 0-7 with two points.

“It’s tough playing through that situation but we’re here as a team and in the locker room we’re cheering him on, telling to keep taking those shots,” Wall said when asked about the boos. Flip noted that while the fans maybe frustrated with his play, booing isn’t the answer.

“Booing is not going to help somebody play better- I know that. I don’t think all of a sudden [Blatche] is going to get 20 points and 15 rebounds because we’re booing him- if that was the case everyone would do it.”

On the Denver side of the ball Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari both scored 21 points in an offense that ultimate out ran the Wizards.

The Wizards take on the Celtics this Sunday. While it is disappointing to follow a big win with a loss, the team is now in a mindset to win according to Crawford.

“We feel like we can win any time- that’s what we got out of the last two, even though we lost this one.”

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In between the 3rd and 4th quarter of today’s Washington Wizards match against the Houston Rockets, Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like An Eagle” filled the Verizon Center. I thought it was fitting since it is the first track on the Space Jam soundtrack and coach Flip Saunders recently commented that the team, “looked like ‘Space Jam’ where everyone lost all their talents and couldn’t do anything there for a while.”

Listening to those lyrics it was very clear that for the Wizards time was indeed slipping as the Wizards lost the game 106-114.

John Wall reached a career high 38 points including 18 in the final quarter but the Wizards couldn’t catch back up after keeping it competitive in the first half. Wall looked aggressive, attacked the hoop, and landed a spectacular dunk in the third quarter.

Wall wasn’t the only Wizards slamming the boards today, JaVale McGee had several highlight worthy finishes including a second half dunk that caught Flip’s eye- not for good reason however.

With 9:32 left in the third quarter McGee took a fast break across the court and shot the ball into the backboard, catching the rebound for the dunk.

UPDATE – Video of the dunk:

The self alley-oop occurred when the Wizards were behind 58-64 and Coach Saunders wasn’t too happy with the showboating.

“I told [McGee] that’s unacceptable,” Saunders said after the game, “maybe I’m too old school but save that for the All Star Game- not during a game.” Saunders went on to say that he thought there were some players on the team that look for highlights rather than substance. He offered Jan Vesely as a player that played with substance. Saunders also recognized Andray Blatche’s (back from a shoulder injury) performance, commenting that it was some of the hardest playing he’s seen from him in a couple of years. Blatche went 4-8 with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

McGee on the other hand thought there was nothing wrong with his dunk.

“Apparently if you get a fast break and you throw it off the backboard in the third quarter and you’re 1-11 you’re not supposed to do stuff like that,” McGee said in the locker room post-game, “I feel I was just trying to get the team hyped and trying to make a good play.”

Just another case of JaVale being JaVale. All the highlight dunks and blocks mean nothing if the end result if a loss.

Four players on the Rockets reached double-digit points. Houston was led by Kevin Martin (25 pts)- Samuel Dalembert (20), Luis Scola (18), and Kyle Lowry (16) were also in the double for points.

After a strong effort game against the Knicks and a win against the Raptors last Tuesday, the team is still searching for some consistent performance from all of their players in a game- not just one or two players. This week the Wizards will take on Oklahoma City, Denver, and Boston- all teams that Washington will need all hands on deck in order to keep pace.

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Time moves much slower in the off-season. It hasn’t even been a month since the Nats traded Brad Peacock, Derek Norris, Tom Milone, and  AJ Cole for Gio Gonzalez and not Gonzalez has a fresh five year extension worth $42 million that includes two option years that could push the value to $65 million.

Since the trade went down Gio Gonzalez has expressed his happiness and desire to win with his new team. This is a deal that give Gonzalez long term security and the Nats a team friendly deal if Gonzalez pitches to expectations. If Gonzalez improves on his walk rate like many young strikeout lefties have in the past then his average value of $8.4 million a year will look like a bargain.

CJ Wilson in his first year of starting walked an AL leading 93 while striking out 170. Last season Wilson lowered his walk total by 19 to 74 and his ERA dipped from 3.35 in 2010 to 2.94 in 2011. In 2009 Clayton Kershaw walked 91 then lowered that to 81 the following season and finally got it all the way down to 54 in his Cy Young winning 2011 campaign. If Gio Gonzalez can make the same type of improvement then his new contract will make Mike Rizzo and the Nats look very smart.

The news of Gio Gonzalez’s extension comes as a surprise as many Nats fans have been watching and waiting for the Prince Fielder rumor mill to churn out something substantial. Scott Boras has engaged in this type of staring contest with teams before. He did it with Matt Holliday and the Cardinals in 2009/2010, Adrian Beltre and the Rangers in 2010/2011, and Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers in 2008/2009. The Manny Ramirez contract wasn’t signed until March 4th. While it is expected that a resolution to the Fielder drama will come sooner Boras has a history of waiting teams out.

People joke about the clandestine operations of Mike Rizzo and the Nats but there wasn’t even a whisper of a Gonzalez extension until the Nats sent out the press release. The average value of $8.4 million a year already looks like a value if Gonzalez can continue to be who he has been the previous two seasons. There are concerns about him moving out of a pitcher friendly park in Oakland to a neutral park in DC, but that could be offset by no longer having to face a DH.

For the past two seasons Gonzalez has pitched to a 3.2 and 3.5 WAR level respectively and is projected to be worth 3.2 WAR in 2012. That places his current estimated value at around $15 million a year. By signing this contract now Gonzalez gets long term security in case of injury, which is all too common for pitchers, and the Nats have potential to not just get a bargain but an outright steal.

The Gonzalex extension comes at a time when the entire baseball world is waiting on Fielder and it gives Nats fans a little something to talk about while everyone awaits to next Nats’ move which could come as soon as later this week. There are thoughts that Fielder’s destination hinges on whether or not the Rangers can secure the services of Yu Darvish and that decision must be made by Wednesday the 18th at 5:00 PM EST. Stay tuned for this could either be a busy or disappointing week for the Nats.

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The Caps rode two early power play goals and a hat trick by Troy Brouwer to a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning last night at Verizon Center. Tampa Bay stormed back in the third period to draw within a goal twice. With the goalie on the bench for an extra forward, the Lightening pressed to the very end, scoring with 10 second remaining in the game, and nearly tieing the game as the final buzzer sounded.

Semin Tries to Score
courtesy of clydeorama

Troy Brouwer scored the first hat trick of his NHL career with a goal in each period. His empty net goal with one minute remaining appeared to seal the win and brought a shower of hats onto the ice. But the lightning took advantage of the time it took to clear the hats off the ice to re-group for one last charge. A shot from the point pin-balled through a crowd in front of the net and trickled over the goal line behind Tomas Vokoun to make it 4-3.

It wasn’t always so close. The Lightning were whistled for three penalties in the first five minutes of the game. The Caps made them pay dearly, converting twice on the man advantage. First Alex Ovechkin beat Tampa Bay goal Dwayne Roloson with a wrist shot from the top of the slot, then Brouwer poked one between Roloson’s pads to take a 2-0 lead.

When Brouwer potted his second goal of the night five minutes into the second period, it looked like the Caps were going to make an easy night of it. Tomas Vokoun has not allowed more than two goals in his last five starts at Verizon Center, and Tampa Bay looked tired from playing the night before.

But the Lightning heated up and pressed the issue. The Caps sat back and would only connect for 12 shots on goal after the first period. Martin St. Louis pick-pocketed Mike Knuble near the Caps’ net and found Tom Pyatt alone in front for an easy goal with three minutes remaining in the second period to make it 3-1.

Vokoun Pushes Puck Aside
courtesy of clydeorama

Vokoun made some key saves in the third to preserve the margin but Tampa Bay had momentum. The power play pendulum was swinging their way. Steven Stamkos scored a PPG from 20 feet with four minutes remaining in the game to make it 3-2.

Bu Brouwer had the hot hands and hit the empty net from center ice to complete the hat trick. “I’m pretty excited, said Brouwer after the game. “I was close once before. It’s a special feat, but at the same time I’m excited about the win tonight.”

Any win counts for two points in the standings. A win over a division rival keeps you ahead in the standings. The Caps are stringing together a series of (home) wins to climb their way up the Eastern Conference standings for a good post season spot.

Additional Notes:

• Bizarre officiating. The game was marked by 13 penalties including delay of game and too-many-men on the ice. It was as if the refs were looking for infractions. But when Steven Stamkos jumped Brouwer from behind after a hard hit on a Lightning teammate, Stamkos was not called for instigation. He and Brouwer were given offsetting roughing calls and the Bolts went on a power play.
• Tomas Vokoun went behind the cage to retrieve a loose puck, but the puck took a bounce and went right to an open Bolt in front of the net. He whiffed the shot and Vokoun was able to dart back to the crease. Never a dull moment when he leaves the blue paint.
• It’s a game of inches. It was a beautiful thing to see Jason Chimera come from behind and overtake two Lightning defenders in a foot race for the puck. Chimera won the race, negated an icing call, and kept Tampa Bay bottled up in their own zone.

The Caps next face the Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow and the New York Islanders on Tuesday. Check out the schedule here, or look here for tickets to upcoming games.

Lamont Peterson winning the WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles in DC was big news when it happened, but not the ongoing controversy threatens to overshadow what was a great fight. Yesterday there was a press release from the Peterson camp responding to the accusations of Amir Khan that the fight should be overturned and was not a fair fight. The way Khan tells it it should have been clear to anyone in attendance that he not only won the fight but that he dominated. That was not the fight I saw.

The fight I saw could have gone either way and was extremely closely contested. Both fighters fought a great fight and it is a shame that this controversy has drug on. If Khan had filed the protest and kept his mouth shut then he could still come out of this looking good, but at this point he is starting to look like a sore loser who might not want to get back in the ring with Peterson. If Khan feels he is such a superior fighter to Peterson he will work to smooth things over and get a rematch as soon as possible and prove his ability in the ring.

As a fan of the sport this type of controversy and insistence to have the decision of a sporting event play out in a courtroom is frustrating. The Khan/Peterson fight was one of the best the sport has seen in a long time. Boxing needs less controversy and more fighters willing to challenge the controversy in the ring and not the courtroom. Below is the press release from Lamont Peterson’s trainer Barry Hunter in its entirety.

Statement of Barry Hunter

Unfortunately, we are in this process of dealing with these unfounded protests. It would

be an understatement to characterize Lamont as being disappointed in the

unprofessional manner in which Khan is attempting to discredit his performance in the

ring and victory. We were raised to conduct ourselves where Champions display

professionalism, both in victory and defeat. Lamont previously tasted defeat and handled

it the way it should be handled – - he worked harder on areas that needed improvement

to maximize his performance in the ring. Now, he is World Champion.

Khan blames everyone and everything but his performance and lack of ability to make

adjustments in the ring for his loss. He claims that the Ring Announcer privately stated

he won, then that the referee’s discretionary actions should be overruled, then a mystery

man in a black hat with no association to the Peterson Camp somehow affected the

outcome of the bout, and also that the judges did not score the Bout correctly.  Each

claim is boldly false, but because Golden Boy and Khan have the financial resources to

file protests and lawyers to create questionable accusations we are forced to address

these issues. .We will not let these foul tactics take away from Lamont’s hard work,

dedication and monumental victory. Furthermore, since Khan continues to focus on a

man at ringside I want to be very clear– Mustafa Ameen is in no way, nor has he ever

been affiliated or associated with anyone within Team Peterson. That includes myself,

Lamont and Anthony Peterson.

If the media reports are true, the WBA President personally believes there should be a

direct rematch of the fight. This was oddly stated before an official review had taken

place, as well as an official response or decision from the WBA review committee had

been presented regarding the various protests and our formal submission. That makes

me wonder what procedures were actually followed before the WBA President made

these public statements? The Rules should be followed by everyone.

Khan complains that the referee’s decisions should be overturned even though he

continued to push Lamont throughout the fight. We believe the knockdown against

Lamont was questionable but the rules give the referee that discretion on that call and

we respect it.

When Zab Judah filed protests for Khan’s repeated low blows in their July 2011 bout

Golden Boy and Khan argued that a referee’s decisions should be honored. Now,

Golden Boy and Khan are flip flopping on the referee’s decision when it’s not favorable

towards them not the actions of a true champion.

Immediately following our bout Golden Boy and Khan requested a meeting among us

with the sanctioning organizations and the Boxing Commission. When we left the

meeting Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins and I agreed with the commission that the

scorecards were correct and Lamont won the fight. Real Champions don’t continue to

come up with various excuses and false accusations in hopes that something will stick to

cover up for a loss.

The bottom line is that after we decided not to accept Golden Boy’s offer for a rematch

only days after the fight and said that Lamont wanted to enjoy the Holidays with his

family and have time to make the best decision for his career and the future of his family;

they started filing protest letters and trying to spin the media as some form of retaliation.

If the media reports are true, then the actions of a few will put every close decision in

boxing in jeopardy of being overturned. We will not let that happen.  We will continue to

fight for what is just and proper.

Barry Hunter

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A breakaway goal and solid goaltending was enough to beat the conference rival Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-0, last night at Verizon Center. Jason Chimera scored on a first period breakaway for the winning goal and Tomas Vokoun made 30 saves to earn the shutout. The game had consequences in the race for the playoffs for both teams as the Caps passed the Penguins in the standings to move into 8th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins dominated the early going in puck possession and offensive zone time. The Caps came out looking flat, chasing pucks, passing into each others’ skates and shooting from long range. Only Brooks Laich and Troy Brouwer were able to take the puck and body to the net. A couple of rocking checks by Alex Ovechkin and Brouwer seemed to wake Washington out of their west coast fog and generate some energy.

The Caps got on the score sheet 15 minutes into the game when Joel Ward knocked the puck away from Evgeni Malkin to spring Jeff Halpern for a 3-on-1 break. Halpern saucered a perfect pass to a streaking Chimera who beat Marc-Andre Fleury high on the blocker side.

Vokoun, Alzner, and Kunitz
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps were not able to maintain momentum into the second period. The first line of Ovechkin, Johansson and Semin showed flashes of brilliance but seemed woefully out of sync. Semin and Ovechkin threw each other offsides on three occasions through the first two periods. Johansson, playing for the injured Nick Backstrom, looked like he needed his skates sharpened as he slid and fell repeatedly.

The third period was a completely different game. The intensity ratcheted up with bodies flying and the boards rattling. Matt Hendricks brought the crowd to its feet on two consecutive shifts, first by hitting the post and then leading a spirited sequence pinning the Penguins deep in their zone. The top line began to click, and Hunter was able to cycle all four lines as the Caps dominated play. “I thought the shifts there in the third period gave us a lot of energy,” said Hunter after the game. “We came out, cycled, wore their D down. That fourth line did a great job tonight.”

Brouwer in Front of Fleury
courtesy of clydeorama

The Caps couldn’t get the puck past Fleury, though, for an insurance goal. When the Caps failed to convert on a late power play, Pittsburgh began to take more chances to tie the game. The Caps took the foot off the gas to play more defensively. The momentum shifted to the visiting team. Vokoun made a series of clutch saves on shots by James Neal and Malkin down the stretch to seal the deal.

Additional Notes:

• Mike green and Nick Backstrom remain out of the line up due to injuries. No timetable has been set for their return.
• Crazy things happen when Tomas Vokoun stick-handles the puck. On the second period power play, Vokoun raced to the top of the left circle to keep the puck away from an encroaching Penguin. Vokoun won the foot race but knocked the puck off the side boards to a trailing Penguin who took a shot at the open net. Luckily, Vokoun was in position to make an open ice save to avert a catastrophe.
• The last time the Caps played the Penguins on December 1 was Dale Hunter’s second game behind the bench. The Caps were struggling to adapt to the new style and lost 2-1. Jason Chimera scored the only goal in that game, too. Maybe he will take over the mantle of “Penguin killer” from Mike Knuble.
• 22-year-old Czech defenseman Tomas Kundratek played his first NHL game last night paired with veteran countryman Roman Hamrlik. “He kept it simple,” said Hunter. “He moved the puck and didn’t make any mistakes.” Kundratek played on the junior national team and is good friends with fellow Czech Michal Neuvirth. He played a solid game last night to help another Czech, Tomas Vokoun, earn the shutout. Welcome aboard! (Or rather, vítejte na palubě!)

This game was the first in a four game home stand. Each of the four opponents will have played a game the day before coming to Washington, so the Caps have a golden opportunity to rack up some standings points this month. The Caps play Tampa Bay on Friday night, followed by Carolina on Sunday and the New York Islanders next Tuesday. Check out the schedule here, or look here for tickets to upcoming games.

With the acquisition of center Tyson Chandler, the New York Knicks hoped to enter the season with their own “Big Three”: Chandler, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony. Like many other recent “dream teams” in sports, the Knicks have started off slow winning only two of their first six. Tonight the story was different as Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler combined for 72 points in a 99-96 win over the Washington Wizards.

Unlike the Wizards’ previous game- where the team was doomed after starting the game 0-12 in the field, the Wiz played competitive all four quarters. The Wizards outscored the Knicks 32-18 in the opening quarter but cooled off towards halftime. The Knicks regained the lead early the third quarter but Washington kept it close. Nick Young missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that could of sent the game into overtime.

“They played hard- one thing they didn’t do was hang their head,” Coach Flip Saunders said after the game. Before the game he described it as a “must play hard” situation- and it looks like the Wizards did that at least.

Before practice on Thursday Maurice Evans called a players-only meeting where the players talked about their franchise-worst 0-6 start, aired out some grievances, and talked about being more accountable.

It looks like it worked- in my eyes the team played with hustle and energy we haven’t seen yet this year.

“I believe the talk we had, the sit down we had, got everything out in the air,” Young said in the locker room. Young led Washington with 24 points, many of them coming from John Wall who flashed his moves in the transition game. After starting the game with back-to-back fast-breaks that did not result in points, Wall found the connection with Young and the two combined for 22 points in that first quarter.

“First quarter me and Nick had it going,” Wall said after the game.

Also looking good on the floor was rookie Chris Singleton, known for his defense the Florida State alum showed some offense with a pair of dunks in the first half. He ended the night with 12 points.

Despite the valiant effort, Washington couldn’t solve Carmelo Anthony, who racked up 37 points. He carried the Knicks through early parts of the game where Amar’e Stoudemire struggled to find his shot (only landed two of his first seven attempts) and late in the game helped seal a victory with a three-pointer 15.9 seconds left in the game that put New York in the lead for good.

“That’s a prime example of getting beat by a pro player,” Saunders said.

The next two games are against Minnesota and Toronto, two very winnable games if the Wizards come back to the floor with the same kind of hustle they brought out today.

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On the coldest night of the winter so far, Mike Green returned to the ice at Verizon Center warm Caps fans’ heart, as the Caps defeated the Flames, 3-1. Though he was not his usual sterling self throughout the game, with a little over 15 minutes of playing time, Green was back in action in the Red on Tuesday night in front of a a packed house happy to see him.

The Capitals struck early, with a power play goal in just the second minute of the night off a beautiful one-timer by Ovechkin, fed by Marcus Johansson, on a well-executed 2-on-1 after some strong neutral zone play.  The neutral zone would be the focus of the first period, with the Caps transforming gradually into the Dale Hunter-lead team that fights hard in the neutral zone to maintain control of the game through the middle part of the ice. For the most part they’d succeed in pushing for possession battles outside of their own end.  Ovechkin said post game, “Everybody’s buying into everything and working very hard. That’s the most important thing. No one is taking it easy.”

The single mistake the Flames made in the first would cost them, and they’d make it again in the second, and put the red hot Caps onto the power play again. Within just seconds, Troy Brouwer would push the Caps further ahead on a beautiful rebound from a slot shot by Nicky Backstrom. Nicky would collect his third assist of the night (he’s just sorta so-so at this hockey thing) eight minutes later on a behind the net sweep to Dennis Wideman, on a gorgeous play where Marcus Johansson took out Scott Hannan to sweep the defense out of position. The Capitals’ Power Play is finally hitting on all cylinders, collecting a pair of goals tonight, and notching four goals in three games.

Tomas Vokoun would stack up 17 saves, some impressive, some fairly pedestrian, and got lucky at least once thanks to our good friend, the post. His defense did him a number of favors by pushing the Flames back into the neutral zone on numerous occasions to keep the pressure off.  ”He’s a veteran goalie, he knows how to prepare when there’s not shots early. He came up with some big saves for us,” said Hunter after the game, praising the goalie who had a rough early part to the year.

Nicklas Backstrom was unavailable for media comment as he was being examined by team physicians after an elbow to the head from René Bourque of the Flames. Coach Dale Hunter said in the post game press conference that he wasn’t sure if Backstrom was taken to the Quiet Room for examination during the game. Hunter said that Backstrom’s status would be updated tomorrow after the skate.

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If you have been referring to Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett as Boston’s “Big Three”- you need to think again.

Rajon Rondo is out to prove this season that it’s actually Boston’s “Big Four”. The Wizards were the latest victim to the Boston Point Guard that started the season with back-to-back double-double performances and unleashed terror on the court last night with a triple-double performance (18 points, 11 rebounds, 14 assists) in a Celtics win over the Wizards 94-86.

Before the game John Wall acknowledged that Rondo would be one challenge among many in a packed Boston line-up, “he [makes] jump shots and when that happens he’s tough to guard, because he has great players and teammates like Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, and Kevin Garnett that can make shots…”

And Rondo’s teammates certainly made shots last night. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 24 points and Ray Allen contributed with 13 points of his own.

Another change in Rondo this season is his leadership on the court. Boston Coach Doc Rivers told the press, “he’s far more assertive, he’s comfortable taking jump shots…when [The Wizards] cut it to eight and he pulls up for a jump shot that wouldn’t of happened last year and that was great to see.”

On the Wizards side of the ball, Wall had a strong showing with 19 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Nick Young struggled in the first half but energized the team in the third quarter, ending the night with 18 points.

But in the end the Wizards and Celtics are two teams whose stories couldn’t be further apart. Boston is a World Championship team with aging but talented players. Washington has young athletic talent who is looking to build a core to win with.

Take JaVale McGee for example, he flashed his athleticism with five blocked shots and continues to give the Celtics fits (16 points, 14 rebounds). When asked before the game what the Celtics could do to stop McGee Doc Rivers joked,  ”I don’t know- I’m hoping New Years Eve?”

But all the highlight worthy dunks and blocks don’t mean a thing if you can’t play with maturity and teamwork. While Flip Saunders benches his starting line-up for holding on to the ball too much- Doc Rivers praises how much his starting line-up is moving the ball,  ”it’s tough to defend when everybody is unselfish.”

Unselfish was a word I heard a lot last night in describing KG, it is also a word I believe isn’t in Jordan Crawford’s or Nick Young’s dictionary.

The Wizards will travel to Boston today for a rematch against the Celtics at the Garden, but Boston has already shown that trying to split this two-day series will be a challenge.

“Well the key is to win the game,” Rivers told me before last night’s game, “and if we can come out and set a tone that would be terrific- but then we have to keep the tone on.”

I have a feeling the Celtics will have no problem keeping the pace.

Other notes:

• Ronny Turiaf left the game with a hand injury in the second half and is doubtful to play in tonight’s game
• Rookie Jan Vesely is still suffering from a hip injury, he received a pain injection a couple of days ago and will be checked out after a few days
• Rashard Lewis’ play last night really stood out to me (8 points, 4 rebounds) I’m starting to like his hustle and play around the basket
• Hamady Ndiaye takes another trip to the NBA D-league to get some more playing time in. Coach Saunders explained before the game, “for him to be able to go there and get four solid days practice and then play some games I think is beneficial for him.”

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At the end of the first half the Redskins had the chance to get on the board after being handed a gift of a possession after a Brian Orakpo sack led to a fumble recovery by Perry Riley deep in Eagles territory. The Redskins couldn’t help but be the Redskins though. The first issue came on a incomplete pass to Santana Moss were he was in the belief that the defender deserved to be called for pass interference. Unable to keep his emotions in check he ripped off his helmet to better scream at the officials. It resulted in a fifteen yard penalty and a loss of down.

The Redskins still had time, but not much and were out of timeouts. Rex Grossman either needed to throw the ball into the end zone or out of bounds. He did neither and completed a short pass over the middle. The kicking unit had to scramble onto the field to attempt a last second field goal. They never made it and the half ended in the most Redskins fashion that it could.

The entire season has been one of disappointment, but would it have felt that way without the 3-1 start. The Redskins weren’t predicted to be good at anything. They were thought to be a 2-14 team that would be in the running for Andrew Luck. They have been better than that, but not by much. It is hard to call any of the Redskins wins flukes and they had a few loses that could have been wins. The Redskins were not an unlucky team during the season, but if luck had been on their side in those games they could have finished 8-8.

Better luck and a better record doesn’t change the number of holes they have to fill, and it might have made it slightly harder. As it stands the Redskins appear to have the sixth overall pick in the draft, and with the biggest need being quarterback they should be able to get one.

Against the Eagles all the Redskins strengths and weaknesses were once more on display. When a quarterback gets protection against the pass rush of the Redskins the secondary is not hard to pick apart. The Redskins need a shutdown corner back that can take a team’s top receiver out of the game. 

The Redskins defense is a lot better than it was in 2010, and needing a shutdown corner is improvement over where the Redskins ended last season. The Redskins front seven is good and most will be returning. the contract of London Fletcher is up in the air, but few people believe he will end up anywhere but back with the Redskins.

The Redskins biggest off-season need besides quarterback is a big wide receiver who can catch passes in traffic. Not enough was seen of Hankerson to know if he could be that guy. It is still an area of weakness though and it is one the Redskins should look to solve by trading for or signing a known quantity. The Redskins have been trying to draft a wide receiver for what feels like forever and it might just be time to give in and pay for one.

Most of the other Redskins needs can be filled through the draft and with the sudden emergence of Evan Royster, who once again rushed for over 100 yards, and Roy Helu the Redskins backfield situation is no longer the mystery it was to begin the season. The Eagles exposed all the weaknesses of the Redskins, but they also let them display their few strengths. This final game of the season should drive home the point of what the Redskins needs are in the off-season. It is now a wait and see to find out how and if those holes are filled.

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2011 was not a banner year for sports in the District of Columbia, I’m afraid to say. While the Nationals worked hard to move up the NL East ladder, they still had a losing record. The Capitals once again flamed out in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Wizards finished with a .280 winning percentage as the team struggled to gel. Once a bright star in DC’s sports constellation, D.C. United finished out of the post-season again. And of course there was the Redskins’ struggles this year, even as they parted ways with McNabb and Haynesworth.

It wasn’t all bad news, though, and we’ve gathered up some of the top moments in DC Sports for 2011 for you after the cut.

DSCN0882
courtesy of bhrome

Capitals beat Penguins in Winter Classic

The Winter Classic has become the second jewel in Hockey’s crown, with teams fighting to have their own berth in the outdoor event that moves from NHL city to NHL city on New Year’s Day. The Penguins were picked as host for 2011, and hosted the Capitals on New Year’s Day at Heinz Field. The series was heavily anticipated by fans from both cities, as well as the subject of a phenomenal HBO sports series, the Road to the Winter Classic, which drew critical acclaim.

Our Ben Rome was at the event, and has a full recap from the game, and a two-part feature on what it was like to be in Pittsburgh for the big day. Despite some lousy (read: warm) weather, and some occasional rain, the Caps triumphed on the day, with a pair of goals from Eric Fehr, and 32 saves from Semyon Varlamov. Both would depart the team after the end of the 2010-2011 season, Varlamov in a trade to Colorado, and Fehr leaving to free agency to the Winnipeg Jets.

The rest of 2011 would be a disappointment for the Caps, but on this shining day, there was much reason for optimism for Caps fans in DC, as it looked as they had mastered their rivals ahead of the playoffs.

walking away with a win
courtesy of philliefan99

Nationals Finish at 80-81

This was a season that went far better than expected for the Nationals, who ended 2010 with a 69-93, and without their number 1 draft pick who was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Many wrote the season off for the Nationals, expecting another 70-73 win season and a spot in the cellar of the NL East. With weak starting pitching, and many offensive question marks, it looked as if the Nationals were set for another season in trouble. In early June, the Nats found themselves 8 games under .500 and headed into a very unfriendly San Diego ballpark.  The Nationals started a 8-game winning streak, and added 4 more after a single loss to Baltimore at home, to move back to .500 near the midpoint in the season.

Then the unthinkable happened. Shortly after a dramatic 9th inning victory over Season to move above the .500 mark, manager Jim Riggleman quit the team, citing a conflict with the team’s general manager over his contract. In the 24 hours that would follow, Riggleman went on the Charlie Sheen Memorial Media Tour to tear as many new ones as he could. Bench Coach John McLaren would take the team for three days, ahead of Davey Johnson’s arrival on the 27th of June as the new field manager.

The team would struggle through July, but rally in the late months, especially after the return of Strasburg to the bump. They would finish at 80-81, having had a game against the Dodgers rained out that wasn’t necessary enough for the standings to merit a trip between the two teams. I like to think they’d have finished at .500.

Albert Haynesworth
courtesy of Keith Allison

Redskins Dump Haynesworth

This is one of those blurbs that you’d hope you’d never have to write, let alone be ecstatic about. Albert Haynesworth, he of the extensive contract, the poor fitness test results, and the sexual harassment lawsuit, was traded to the Patriots for a single 5th round draft pick in 2013’s draft. Haynesworth had long been a thorn in the side of the team, but carried too high a contract to make him valuable trade bait. Fortunately, the Patriots were willing to take a chance, but sadly it wouldn’t work out for them, as they’d just drop him in November.

DC said good riddance to bad rubbish this year, at long last.

Boxing 23
courtesy of ivan | sciupac

Title Belt for Peterson

How can you not love the hometown hero story? Lamont Peterson, once a homeless youth on the streets of DC, fought Amir Khan for the WBA and IBF Light Welterweight titles in early December, only to emerge the victor in a controversial split decision at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.  DC hadn’t hosted a championship fight in close to two decades, and picked up their first big sports championship in a decade. While the split decision has proved to be fairly contentious, with Amir Khan suggesting that he was robbed and demanding a rematch in early 2012, the victory for Peterson is a career moment, as he improves to 30-1-1. Look for a rematch in early 2012.

Photo by Paul Frederiksen for DCUnited.com

United Trades for De Rosario

You’d have to look pretty hard for a better move in DC sports this year than the pickup of Dwayne De Rosario by D.C. United in a trade that sent midfielder Dax McCarty to the Red Bulls. “De Ro”  put up 13 tallies and 7 assists for United in his time with the Red & Black this season, winning both the Golden Boot and MVP honors. McCarty put just 4 assists on his card this year, and though he improved, the straight up trade was nothing short of a triumph for United.  Any trade that has the opposing team’s GM saying the equivalent of “Of course we didn’t make a mistake!” means they made a terrible, terrible mistake.

We look forward to seeing De Ro back in 2012 and beyond in the Black and Red as Olsen’s Army keeps marching on.

If you have made it to this point in the Redskins season then it might feel like you deserve a prize. It is unfortunate that there is no prize given out to Redskins fans that make it all the way to the end of the season. Perhaps they have bragging rights, but that is like bragging about eating all of Aunt Briana’s rotten green bean salad at Christmas dinner.

The fans aren’t the only people to make it to the end of the season. The Redskins players have as well, or at least some of them. There are quite a few Redskins that won’t be playing in this game; Cooley and Landry and others are hurt, Fred Davis and Trent Williams would have played but then they got high, and Ryan Torian has been cut. The Redskins that are playing will be ready to play and have more to prove than an Eagles team that was picked to run away with the NFC and couldn’t even manage to make the playoffs.

The Redskins are playing for next year. This season was about finding football players and for the most part the Redskins have done that. They look like a team with a good base that is a few star players away from being a good football team. The entire front seven has been impressive on the pass rush sacking opposing quarterbacks 39 times which is in the top ten in the NFL. They need some work on stopping the run as opposing teams have averaged 120.6 yards a game against them, but they have the personnel to be able to improve on that. Remember this is a team that ranked next to last in defense in 2010.

The last time the Redskins played the Eagles the defense wasn’t the problem. They did struggle at times to stop Vick, but Vick would have spent more time on the sidelines and had a longer field if it wasn’t for Rex Grossman’s four interceptions. Rex Grossman is another player that might think he needs to prove himself this weekend, and while it is true that Grossman is a known quantity he still isn’t a very good one. After this game the Redskins will know where they are picking in the draft and have some idea if a quarterback will be available to them or not.

The Eagles have been effective at stopping the pass and have allowed the 8th fewest yards per game in the NFL averaging 210.0 yards allowed a game. The Redskins strength in the last few weeks has been their running game and it hasn’t mattered if it was Roy Helu or Evan Royster who has carried the ball. The last time the Redskins played the Eagles the Eagles were struggling to stop the run, and now that has changed. The Eagles now rank in the top half of the league allowing 111.4 yards a game.

In order to beat the Eagles the Redskins defense is going to have to play better than they did against the Vikings. LeSean McCoy might not be Adrain Peterson but he is still very good and has averaged 4.8 yards an attempt, and can also catch the ball out of the backfield and has averaged 21.0 yards a game receiving. Combining the running prowess of McCoy with the unpredictability of Vick makes the Eagles offense a dangerous one.

The reason that the dream died in Philly is because of mistakes, and with a season full of disappointment for the Eagles it is questionable on how prepared they are for this game. When the Giants won against the Jets last weekend the death of the Eagles playoff chances was official. Their season ended last week. The Redskins have more to prove in this game. The Redskins are playing for next year and some Redskins are playing for their jobs. This is a winnable game for the Redskins and if the Eagles aren’t ready to play it becomes even more winnable. Of course the Eagles could be angry and just want someone to beat up on. If that is the case then the Redskins are in for another long day.

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