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Caps top Flyers 2-1 in shootout!
By Spence | January 6, 2009
The rivalry game was all that it was said to be. Hard hitting. Intense play. Purposely aimed hits. Outstanding saves. Incredible shots. It was a world of difference than the debacle in Philadelphia, where the Capitals were embarrassed 7-1.
This one ended in regulation with a 1-1 tie. Ended in overtime with a 1-1 tie. Victor Kozlov and Jose Theodore provided the glitz in the shootout to lift the Capitals to an NHL long 7th consecutive win.
Caps started out the scoring on a sensational pass by Alexander Semin, from behind the net, to Nicklas Backstrom who made an easy dump in the net past Flyer goalie Marty Biron. Backstrom was simply in place, Biron struggled to get back from the pass and was too late. It was Backstrom’s 12 goal of the year, coming on a power play in the first period.
That was it for scoring until the third period, only 23 seconds in, Brayden Coburn powered a long slap shot past Jose Theodore to tie the game at 1-1. That would stay the score through an overtime that in which Philadelphia out shot Washington 6-1.
In the shootout, Victor Kozlov nailed the first one thorough to put the Capitals up 1-0 in the shootout. From there, it was all Theodore, who stuffed Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter to preserve the win for Washington.
Multi-Point Scorers:
None
DCPSR Player of the Game:
Jose Theodore. Theodore stopped 33 of 34 shots on goal, including three neat stuffs in the shootout to win his 6trh consecutive start. Of the 6 wins, 5 of them Theo has allowed 2 or less goals, 3 of the 55 he has allowed only 1 goal. If Caps fans were waiting for the real Theo to arrive, well, welcome him, he is here.
Next Up:
Friday, January 9th at the Verizon Center against Columbus Blue Jackets
Topics: Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, Jose Theodore, Nicklas Backstrom, Photo | No Comments »
Game preview: Wizards @ Magic
By Spence | January 6, 2009
The Wizards play the Orlando Magic in Florida tonight, which is probably bad news. Washington has won 3 of their last 5 games, but they already have two losses to the Magic this season, by a combined 40 points. Deshawn Stevenson is day-to-day with back pain, but the Magic will play without Mikael Pietrus, who is out indefinitely with a fractured wrist. The Magic are led by C Dwight Howard, who leads the league averaging 13.5 rebounds per game and also scores over 20 points per game. Forwards Rashard Lewis andHedo Turkoglu average another 36 points between them, giving Orlando one of the best front courts in the NBA. In addition, PG Jameer Nelson continues to improve and is averaging over 16 points and 5 assists per game.
The Wizards play the Orlando Magic in Florida tonight, which is probably bad news. Washington has won 3 of their last 5 games, but they already have two losses to the Magic this season, by a combined 40 points. Deshawn Stevenson is day-to-day with back pain, but the Magic will play without Mikael Pietrus, who is out indefinitely with a fractured wrist. The Magic are led by C Dwight Howard, who leads the league averaging 13.5 rebounds per game and also scores over 20 points per game. Forwards Rashard Lewis andHedo Turkoglu average another 36 points between them, giving Orlando one of the best front courts in the NBA. In addition, PG Jameer Nelson continues to improve and is averaging over 16 points and 5 assists per game.
Can the Wizards do Magic? We’ll find out.
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Topics: Bullets, Game Preview, Wizards | 1 Comment »
Speeding Bullets: ‘Crab dribble’ edition
By Spence | January 6, 2009
Coming off a surprising 80-77 victory over LeBron Almighty James and the Cleveland Traveliers, the Wizards pondered James’ “crab dribble” that James claims makes him immune to traveling calls. With mere seconds left in the game and the Wizards up by 2 points, James drove to the basket and collided with QF Dominic McGuire. James traveled on the play, as he often does, so that wasn’t surprising. What was shocking was that an official actually had the nerve to call The Almighty for traveling. James protested then and after the game that what he’d done, what he calls a ‘crab dribble,’ is not traveling even though anyone who looks at the tape can see that he traveled.
James was upset after the game, insisting the call went the wrong way and instructing the league to adjust their traveling rules to accomodate his traveling “crab dribble.” You may be asking at this point: What the hell is a “crab dribble” and does such a thing actually exist outside the mind of LeBron James?
Does Caron Butler know what a “crab dribble” is?
“Yeah, a crab dribble is when you travel,” Butler said with a grin yesterday.
What about Antawn Jamison, who was calling desperately for a traveling call to be made just milliseconds ![LeBron reacts to enforcement of NBA rules [The Sports Bog]](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/IMG_2220.JPG "LeBron reacts to enforcement of NBA rules [The Sports Bog]")
before the whistle was blown? Does he know what a “crab dribble” is?
“I don’t know, but I know what traveling is,” Jamison said. “He said he’s seen the play a couple of times and didn’t think he traveled, but we all know what traveling is. They got tape to prove the history of that signature move that he has, but it was a travel, hands down. When he beats us on end-of-game situations or finds a way to get it done, we give him credit, but it didn’t happen [Sunday] and the right call was called.”
This comment from Butler, I think, sums it up best.
“It’s a travel,” Butler said. “It was the exact same move two years ago in the playoffs.”
…
“I definitely knew he traveled, but I didn’t think they were gonna call it,” Caron said. “You know, two years ago, looking in hindsight, it was the same thing that happened in the playoffs. And we get that call, who knows what would have happened with everybody healthy. But that was one of them situations in which a great player made a move, good officiation, and they called the call. And I was just like, ‘Aw, man. There is a God. There is a God.’ “
I understand Lebron’s outrage about the traveling call. Yes, he did travel. But he’s been traveling like that for years, since his rookie year in the NBA, at the very least. And he almost always gets away with it. Now, all of the sudden, some random ref thinks he has the right to hold Lebron James to the same rules that govern other NBA players on the court? It must have been quite a shock to Lebron and the Cavaliers. It also makes Lebron’s post-game insistence that the NBA must adjust its rules to allow him to travel understandable. It certainly won’t help Lebron’s game or Cleveland’s championship hopes if the NBA decides to reverse course and begin enforcing the rules on King James. I’m shocked one ref did so. I’ll be even more shocked if the rest of the NBA continues to do the right thing.
My favorite quote in this whole affair goes to the ref who made the call, Bill Spooner.
“Three steps to the basket. Basic travel call.”
Short, to the point, accurate. I’d have someone else start your car for the next few weeks, Bill.
Before we let this go, permit me to point out that even Cavaliers Coach Mike James, who would literally take a bullet for his meal ticket star player, admitted that LeBron traveled on the play.
Mister Irrelevant gives us a photo of the hilarious suit [deemed "stuntastic" by Brendan Haywood] that Deshawn Stevenson wore to the Cavaliers game.
![Looking smooth, Deshawn [Mister Irrelevant]](http://misterirrelevant.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/deshawn-bowtie.jpg "Looking smooth, Deshawn [Mister Irrelevant]")
Will the 7-25 Wizards get a jolt of life later this season if Gilbert Arenas finally returns to action. He played a 2-on-2 game with some teammates yesterday, prompting a flurry of speculation about how close Arenas is to working out with the team, practicing and, eventually, playing in a real NBA game. The team and Arenas all say they plan to take it slow, which sounds right to me. In the meantime, Jamison accurately sums up what the Wizards are missing with Arenas in street clothes.
“The last couple of years you get accustomed to [Arenas] taking over in the last three or four minutes, him creating easy opportunities for myself and Caron [Butler],” forward Antawn Jamison said. “You get used to having that safety blanket and we don’t have that. It’s just been an adjustment. Now we have Mike [James], who is new, so that’s another adjustment. But Gilbert’s a special player and you get used to having Agent Zero or Hibachi or whatever you want to call him. He makes the game that much easier. Down the stretch, that’s the reason he is the kind of player he is. So we’re doing a little soul searching.”
While Gil’s teammates want him back as soon as he is healthy, Post columnist Mike Wise has other ideas about how Washington should get out of the cellar and take a shot at an NBA championship: Wait ’til next year.
The truth, the one Abe Pollin and friends can’t ever let on to their season ticket holders: Concede that this is a lost season. Now. Make every important decision today based on next year.
That means don’t take a chance on bringing back Gilbert Arenas or Brendan Haywood early from injury, if at all. Don’t clear either player to participate in full scrimmages until Arenas’s knee and Haywood’s wrist are completely rehabilitated. Even then, limit their minutes considerably.
Keep giving the youngsters big minutes. Let Nick Young, Dominic McGuire and Andray Blatche make every dumb, knucklehead mistake on the court until they either learn a better way or play themselves out of the league.
And if they haven’t already, start putting every amount of scouting effort into the five top players to be chosen in the June draft — envision how a Blake Griffin, James Harden, Hasheem Thabeet, Jordan Hill or Brandon Jennings might fit into the rotation a year from now, who duplicates a need already met by another player and who can bring something unique to the lineup.
It’s simply too late for anything else.
Injured Wizards center Brendan Haywood agrees:
“If I’m playing GM, I’m not gambling on Gil,” said Brendan Haywood on Sunday when asked to play Ernie Grunfeld for a few minutes. “I wouldn’t even want him practicing until he was pain-free for three weeks. Then I wouldn’t play him any back-to-back games. Unless we were in the playoff hunt, it wouldn’t make any sense for his long-term health.
“That’s your $111 million investment. You don’t want to be penny-wise and dollar-foolish right now. It’s too much of a risk. If you’re the GM, you’ve basically tied your legacy to Gilbert Arenas. If it works out, you’re going to be a genius. If not, you might have to find something else to do.”
Haywood’s other reasoning for caution had to do with the future. “You bring me and Gil back healthy, put us on a starting five with Caron, Antawn, DeShawn or Nick,” Haywood began, “and add whoever comes out of the draft, Griffin or Harden or one of those guys. And you throw in some of the young guys who you don’t have concerns about anymore because they were battle-tested this year, that’s a solid, nine-, 10-man rotation that can beat a lot of teams in this league.
“I think that’s how you got to look at it from a bigger picture.”
Arenas has said similar things himself, so both injured players believe the team should focus on getting last year’s starters healthy for 2009-10 and developing for the future. I agree — at least to a certain degree. Haywood’s season is over and nobody should think more about it. As far as Arenas, I agree that the team should be patient and not put him on the court until he’s absolutely ready.
However…
The Wizards cannot build for the future until they know more about Gilbert Arenas. When he plays again, will he be like the old Gilbert, a superstar who can hand anyone 40 points and take over a game in the last 5 minutes? Or will he be a greatly reduced Gilbert, incapable of taking over games and dominating the scoreboard? The answer to that question will go a long way to determining how the Wizards manage their rebuilding project. If Gilbert is still a star next Summer, the Wizards can go one way in the draft. If Gilbert is an above-average, but hugely-overpaid guard next Summer, the Wizards will need to adjust their plan.
In other words, the team cannot plan for the future until it knows what Gilbert will be in that future. The team does need to get Gilbert on the court this season. He doesn’t need to come back soon, but we do need to get a look at him for the last 15-20 games of the season. He doesn’t have to go 40 minutes a game in those contests, but we do need to see him average over 20 minutes. And we need to see if he’s still got that blazing first step that allowed him to get past any defender. We need to see if he’s got the same elevation that allowed him to shoot over anyone. We need to see if he’s Gilbert the Great or Gilbert the Gimpy. We can’t figure out the future until we know.
Topics: Bullets, Deshawn Stevenson, Gilbert Arenas, Injuries, Lebron James, Speeding Bullets, Wizards | No Comments »
Daily Caps Report, Caps and Flyers Intensify
By PennSkinsFan | January 6, 2009
The Washington Capitals have one rival they dislike the most, one rival they feel vengeance against, that rivals the Capitals face tonight — the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only did Philadelphia embarrass the Caps earlier this season, beating them 7-1, despite being outplayed, but the Flyers were responsible for ousting the Caps from the playoffs last season.
Forget the media manufactured rivalry between Pittsburgh and Washington. Forget the growing division rivalry between Carolina and Washington. It’s Philadelphia and Washington, period. That face off is tonight, 7PM, in the Sea of Red. Two teams, two young teams, two teams that simply hate each other, two cities that despise each other, two teams that will clash near the top for years to come. That’s what a rivalry is about. That is what the Flyers and Capitals have become.
No one was more honest about this rivalry than Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau.
“Where it falls is a) we don’t like them. But b) the importance is of continuously getting ahead of them,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “It’s either 52 [points for Philadelphia] — a three-point lead — or a seven-point lead. We want to be the first-place team [in the Eastern Conference]. So if we want that to happen we have to probably go through the Flyers.”
Another excellent article form the Washington Post on this growing, intense rivalry between Philly and DC. Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Alex Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Capitals, Nicklas Backstrom | No Comments »
Smoke Signals: ‘Fred Smoot is good at something!’ edition
By Spence | January 6, 2009
The Contra-Costa Times has a feature on local NorCal boy Ryan Boschetti, the on-again-off-again defensive tackle for the Washington Redskins. Boschetti was cut this year and then re-signed — again — by the Redskins. Boschetti continues to make his home in northern California, which he says has a lot more to offer than northern Virginia.
Shawn Springs‘ days at Redskins Park seemed over in the 2008 offseason, but Springs returned and had another good year, though one often marred by injury. Washington’s defensive coaches were impressed by the way Springs played when healthy and he now seems a good bet to return for at least one more year. Expect Springs to move back and forth between cornerback and free safety in 2009.
The winner of Chris Cooley’s fantasy football league: Fred Smoot. I think I see your new career, Fred. Like soon.
Topics: Offseason, Redskins, Smoke Signals | No Comments »
NFL and NBA Mock Draft Databases Updates!
By PennSkinsFan | January 5, 2009
With the off-season on most NFL teams already, the Original NFL Mock Draft Database is hard at work. Of course, we have been since October. We want to first take the opportunity to thank our Premium Members for the content they will be providing DCPSR. We also want to thank all of our Mock Drafts, the traffic has been astounding and we will continue to provide you the best, most updated mock database possible. We were formerly associated with a Redskins fan site, but have since left because of differences in approach to amount of updates, content, design, and contributions. That is precisely why we brought the Database to DCPSR, so it’s integrity would stay in tact.
The NFL Database itself will be updated at LEAST TWICE PER DAY, most days, time permitting! This is the original Mock Draft Database, the one that most others have modeled themselves after. It is 8 years old, and Tom and I, the original creators, bring it to you hard and fast!
We have a total of 102 NFL mock drafts listed for the 2009 NFL draft. Of those 102, 25 have been updated in 2009. Here is the breakdown in positions for the 1st overall pick:
QB: 20
OT: 5
Obviously a consensus on position slotted for the Detroit Lions. Now what about specific player?
1. QB Sam Bradford (OKL): 11 Mock Drafts project Bradford to Detroit
2. QB Matt Stafford (GA): 8 Mock Drafts project Stafford to Detroit
3. OT Andre Smith (ALA): 5 Mock Drafts project Smith to Detroit
4. QB Mark Sanchez (USC): 1 Mock Draft project Sanchez to Detroit
One thing is clear from our Mock Drafts. If Offensive Tackle is the position the Lions choose, the mock drafts think OT Andre Smith will go before OT Eugene Monroe and OT Michael Oher. Other than that, the early favorite at 1st overall is Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford. Possible post-Heisman bounce? Likely.
As for many of our readers, Washington Redskins fans, the best we can tell you is there is absolutely NO consensus out there, not on position or player chosen. Here is the breakdown by position that Mock Drafts believe the Redskins will target.
Linebacker: 7 Mocks
Defensive End: 5 Mocks
Offensive Tackle: 5 Mocks
Defensive Tackle: 4 Mocks
Offensive Guard: 2 Mocks
Corner Back: 1 Mock
Not a consensus at all. Just like last year though, the popularity of the Redskins pick seems to center around either Line. Why? It’s obviously the biggest need, obvious to ONLY those outside Redskins Park.
The NBA Mock Draft Database has been updated as well. It now lists 30 mock drafts for 2009 and since the draft is still pretty far away, but the traffic on the database is stronger than we anticipated, we will continue to update the Database on a weekly basis. At this point, the consensus number one projected pick is overwhelmingly is Blake Griffin.
Topics: Mock Draft Database, NBA Draft, NBA Mock Draft Database, NFL Draft, NFL Mock Draft Database | 1 Comment »
Washington Capitals Stars of the Week
By PennSkinsFan | January 5, 2009
We wills tart off with our new Weekly Stars. The Washington Capitals last week extended their winning streak to 6 straight wins and are winners of 11 of their last 12 games. During last week, the Capitals went 5-0, including improving to second best in the NHL at home, with a stunning 17-1-1 record at the Verizon Center. Obviously, the Capitals have turned the Sea of Red into a nightmare for opposing visitors.
So here we go, the first in a tradition now. Here are your Capitals Three Stars of the Week, plus Your Difference Maker of the Week.
THREE STARS OF THE WEEK (Last week of December into first week of January)
1. ALEXANDER OVECHKIN: Ovechkin tallied 4 goals and 2 assists in the 5 wins last week
2. MIKE GREEN: 2 goals and 4 assists last week, including a game winner. Green took the team lead back in power play goals, now with 8 total. Sorry Ovie, Greenie doesn’t wanna seem to give that stats up.
3. NICKLAS BACKSTROM: Backstrom tallied 1 goal and 5 helpers during the five game stretch. But, Backstrom is also becoming more aggressive along the boards and helping the Caps in new ways.
Honorable Mention: How about the play of David Steckel and Boyd Gordon lately. Steckel had a goal and 2 assists while Gordo has 2 goals and 1 assist. Man, was that not a sweet between the legs pas Gordo made to Matt Bradley against Tampa Bay. These two guys were critical to the Caps success last week , each in their own way, and deserve the shout out.
DIFFERENCE MAKER of THE WEEK: G Jose Theodore.
Theodore recorded three wins last week and established himself as the main starter for the Capitals, we believe, finally wrestling the job to himself. This is something Theo should have down from game one after he inked a two year deal to be the top guy in the pipes. But, Theo has been largely inconsistent. That seems to have ended. Theo has put together a nasty 5 game win streak and 4 of the 5 games, Theo has allowed 2 or less goals in each of the games. He walked out of the week with three impressive wins, growing confidence, and growing confidence from the Sea of Red. Overall, Theo made a helluva difference in Net this week and deserves DCPSR recognition for it!
Tune in next Monday for this coming week’s Stars of the Week and Difference Maker of the Week.
Topics: Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, Jose Theodore, Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom | No Comments »
Caps Win 6th Straight, Beat Rangers 2-1
By PennSkinsFan | January 3, 2009
Lately, it doesn’t matter if Jose Theodore, Brent Johnson, or rookie prospect Simeon Varlamov is in goal, the Capitals just keep winning. Tonight, it was all Jose Theodore, stopping 21 of 22 shots and picking up his 5th consecutive win to lead the Capitals to their 6th consecutive win. Theodore made some terrific saves late to preserve the win.
Mike Green started off the scoring on a classic Mike Green sneek in on the power play to tie it up at 1-1. Green was assisted by a sweet Alexander Semin cross goalie pass to Green. It was Semin’s first game back after missing 6 games due to a back injury sustained from a cross check. Semin would later get into a fight with Marc Stall in which Semin’s jersey was ripped off, drawing a 10 misconduct penalty, effectively ending Semin’s game. I though Semin looked pretty darn good in his first return, getting several wicked shots on goal and zipping a sweet pass to Green to score on the power play.
Alexander Ovechkin would notch the game winner, taking a pass from David Steckel, faking a shot on Steve Eminger, then brushing a shot passed Ranger’s goalie Steven Valiquette with just 31 seconds left in the second period to give the Capitals the 2-1 lead, the game winning goal. It was Ovie’s 27th goal of the season, moving him into a tie for the NHL lead in goals scored.
Reader Email: John, the brother of fellow DCPSR Owner Spence, avid Caps fan, has become a regular, awesome email co0ntributor to DCPSR. When asked who is Three Stars of the game were, here is John’s response:
Ovie, Theo, and I’m not sure, although my darkhorse candidate is Semin for raining down a series of furious slaps on that Ranger who was too cheap to buy Semin’s jersey. God, what a pass to Green to set up the first goal. We’ve ben deprived of a great ice artist for way too long. Why did Semin get a game misconduct? Was the icing called with 5 seconds left legitimate? I will try to pick better next week. When in doubt, I usually use plus minus, but I am out of the office. Hell of a week for the Caps, 4-0–and Boston lost today.
Multi-Point Scorers:
None.
DCPSR Player of the Game:
Jose Theodore
Next Up:
Tuesday, January 6th at the Verizon Center against Philadelphia Flyers
Notables:
* The Capitals have now won 6 in a row and have won 11 of their last 12 games
* Kudos to a job well done by Eric Fehr tonight. Fehr played one of his best, most physical games in sometime and had some excellent opportunities to score, including a pretty awesome center shot that Valiquette snagged.
* Alexander Semin was DQ for the rest of the game after losing his jersey in the third period during an altercation with Marc Stall. Since I am not real familiar with the jersey tie rule, I really can not comment on the DQ decision.
* Alexander Ovechkin extends him home scoring streak to 8 games with his end of the second period goal.
* You have to hate missed calls. The refs missed an off sides call on the very play the Ranger scored their only goal. They also missed the punch and hold by Scott Gomez of Michael Nylander.
* Jose Theodore extend his win streak to 5 games. It is also Theo’s 4th consecutive game allowing under 2 goals and second game in the last four games allowing just one goal.
Topics: Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Capitals, Jose Theodore, Mike Green | No Comments »
Quick Pic
By PennSkinsFan | January 2, 2009
Took this at the Caps 7-4 win over the Lightning last night. Congrats again to Caps great Mike Gartner on his #11 being retired.
Topics: Capitals | No Comments »
From DC Pro Sports Report
By Spence | December 31, 2008
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »