Guest Post #5

After what might be the sweetest victory of the season, the Pats have a somewhat smooth ride to the playoffs for the rest of the season. Besides a bump in the road in the Houston Texans, New England is looking at fairly easy opponents for the rest of the season. The 4-6 Dolphins have been struggling on the road this season with a record of 2-4, and have lost the last 3 in a row. Coming off the back of the brutal beat-down against the Jets, the Pats should have little trouble putting the Dolphins down next week. The tougher opponents lie in the 7-2 49'ers and the 10-1 Houston Texans. The story of the season, it seems, has been the Texans dynamic defense. Their execution in the safety and on the defensive line has been great. However, their defense was lacking yesterday against Detroit, as they escaped with a narrow victory of 34-31 over the Lions, which could be due to the poor touchdown call on a fumble recovery by the Texans. The 49'ers offense has also been very productive this season, and without Gronkowski the Pats should be well matched against them. Still, their schedule is promising to give them a mostly trouble-free journey to January.
 -Written by Aidan K.

Guest Post #3

The tried of the series of guest posts:

EVERYONE NEEDS A VACATION
Wow, what a bye week can make! A team left for dead, no hope, no options, is now back in the hunt! Or so "they" say... After a week of vacation, to regroup, refocus, to rethink, it seems these Redskins have done just that. Or... Did they just finally run into someone worse than they are?? Bye weeks are useful to recover from injuries, rest a tired body, and take a mental break. Watching the game versus Philadelphia today, it seems that RGIII managed to do all of those things. He was as usual, amazing. Great stats don't do him justice. He is beyond his years in many ways, ability and mental toughness at the top of that list. And today, as we hope he will for years to come, he lead this team like a pro. He is so fun to watch, actually having a good time playing a game. Imagine that happening here in DC!
The defense also came to play today against a rookie that doesn't have those qualities, and it showed in turnovers and incompletions. The banged up line, and horrible coverage corners, looked so much better with Merriwether in the game. A good safety can change everything. The biggest scare though came when Fletcher went out, they need him to play more than anything. So much relief when he came back later and did as he always does, made more tackles then guys 15 years his junior.
I think this work in progress is still just that, in progress. Days there will steps forward, like today. And other Sunday afternoons will definitely be a step back. We all have to take it for what it is, a good team back from a great vacation, looking rested and playing a team they could beat. Let's hope that vacation hangover lasts a while and they can continue this in a short 4 days in Dallas on Turkey Day. That would be vacation dollars well spent! Hail to the Redskins!*
 -Written by my Aunt Mindi

 *Written on the 18th of November*

Guest Post #4

Number 4 in the series:

Hiya! I have come to make my trend-setting return on this awesome blog! Now let’s get down to business. I would like to start off with what an amazing job the Packers did against Arizona in week nine. They had many amazing plays and a lot of players missing due to injuries. The crazy thing about the team I love is they are at their best when some of their key players are injured (i.e. Jennings, Perry, among others). Hopefully with the Packers are coming off a bye week, it gives the injured players extra time to rest and heal.
The Pack had a rough time in the beginning of the season against the 49ers, but they got over it... after several games. Over the weeks we have seen the offense improve greatly (whereas at the start of the season the best way to describe it is a mess) and terrific strategies. The defense has taken a blow with Nick Perry and Bryan Bulaga out for the season. With T.J. Lang switching positions to right tackle (instead of left guard) and Dietrich-Smith taking up left guard, who knows how that’s gonna turn out.
For the remainder of the season, I expect to see more trick plays and some good back-ups. This season I don’t think they’ll make it all the way but, hey, you never know.*
 -Written by The Amazing Packers Fan

*Written in the 13th of November*

Guest Blog Posts #1 and #2

Again this year I asked some of my avid football fans to write up their opinion on their favorite team's season and how they think the rest of it will go. Here's the first two:

Hiya dere',
     The Ravens are first in their division. In their division is Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. They are 8 and 2! YEA! I haven't really been watching as much as I'd like to but I know the important stuff. Like, how they've beaten someone that starts with S and ends with teelers. My favorite is still Rae Rice who is out from a triceps tear. I believe they will go far into the playoffs and hopefully farther than last year. Last year it all came down to the stinken' punt in the fourth quarter of the game before the Superbowl. So, maybe this year they will get into the Superbowl.
                         ~AN AWESOME RAVENS FAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

My beloved Steelers started the season as though they were, in fact, the “Over the Hill Gang!” And injuries added to their woes. Then things began to change. The third string running back – Dwyer – rushed for over 100 yards in two consecutive games; then he got injured. In the game with the Giants (who were not on their game) the Steelers looked like the team of old – the DEFENSE woke up and played well. And Redman returned to running back and had over 100 yards rushing.

The Steelers future is in their hands since they play the Ravens twice in the remaining games. If the Giants game was the turning point the Steelers are peaking at the right time. If it was once and done, turn out the lights and close the door – quietly! I expect to see the Steelers in the big game in January!*

 -Written by my grandfather

*Please note that this was written on the 6th of November.*

I will have more guest posts up in the following days.

Did anyone misplace some strips?

The Steelers brought back their Jersey from 1934 and they looked amazing. Now I might be the only person out there who actual liked them but they were very cool. How often do you see strips on football jerseys? The Steelers played the Redskins this past Sunday. To put it kindly, the Skins were stepped over and left in the dust. Nothing seemed to go right for them from the start, Griffin was fine but the receivers couldn't catch a thing. Their gloves must have been greased or something before the game. Oh, while I'm on the topic, the Skins have brought back Chris Cooley. I am mildly peeved at the Skins for letting him go and than bring him back part way into the season. If the only reason they cut him was to reduce his pay is just plain ridiculous. Yet again this is sports, people not politics. If you want mess with politics go somewhere else and stop messing with the sports world. Yes I'm glad Cooley's back but I almost wish he was on a better team. The Skins, after a good start to the season but have started to slip into the old ways of the team. The defence needs work and the offence definitely needs help to keep the rookie QB safe. Possibly if they can pull their act together they can have a decent season for once this year. DeAngelo Hall was ejected from Sunday's game and is facing a possible fine and/or suspension. It took Big Ben as well as several Redskin players to get him to head to towards the bench. He still "tried to explain" his side to the refs before being ejected. He just didn't know when to cool it. Here's a Pic of the Steeler's uniforms in case you didn't see them.

The Patriots played the St. Louis Rams in London, England. The English must have a soft spot for the Pats since their are banners from all over London (This is slightly biased since I just see things from the Pats on my feed and nothing from the Rams. There could be just as many Rams signs as Pats). I did not see this game but from the highlights it was very event that the Rams were out matched. Rob Gronkowski may have taking the end zone dance a bit to far during the game although it did make for great entertainment for us. I always like to watch the London game and it's great that we're sharing our sport but, this is one thing that I don't think will catch on besides more fans. I don't think that there's enough people out there who would be willing to play. I diffidently do not want this to become an Olympic sport like commissioner Goodell wants. It just wouldn't be fair to the other countries since we've had a several years experience in how the sport is played and actual playing it. The only other country to my knowledge that plays American football is Canada and they play it on a shorter flied that's also wider.  I just don't think it would be a good sport to add to the Olympics. I love football and all but just not in the Olympics.

Now I don't talk about college football that often but in this case I felt I needed to. The UMD Terps' have lost four of their four quarterbacks. No that's not a type-o. All four of the QB they recruited to play are now out with season ending injuries. Junior C.J. Brown who was supposed to be the starter this year tore his ACL  during an preseason drill. Freshman Perry Hills tore his ACL trying to make a tackle in the N.C State game on Oct. 20. Sophomore Devin Burns took over for Hills after he was injured until he broke his foot later in the game. Finally Freshman Caleb Rowe tore his ACL in the Boston College game Oct. 27. So the Terps have no option but to turn to two former quarterbacks. Freshmen: Shawn Petty, who was recruited as a linebacker; and Brian McMahon who plays tight end. They both played quarterback in high school and were good at it. Just not enough to get recruited as one. Petty will start Saturday against Georgia Tech for his first college QB debut and McMahon will be his back-up. They don't have a third string quarterback. I don't know if it's just dumb luck or a curse but most teams have a lot of injuries just not all to quarterbacks. Or at least this many in one season. Hopefully they won't need a third string, because they might be hard pressed to find one. They're probably lucky that they had two players who played quarterback in high school. Otherwise they may have been walking around the locker room with a clip board asking if anyone had played quarterback when they were younger. Maybe this will be the end of bad luck for the Terps or at least as far as quarterbacks go.

Adam LaRoche received a Gold Glove and is now a free agent. I hope he decides to come back to the Nationals or finds another good team to play on were his skills will be used to the fullest of their potential.

The Reason I Hate Over-Time Games

First I want to thank the Washington Nationals for an amazing season. You guys should hold your heads high, you proved the "experts" (insert finger quotes) wrong. The best part? You had a awesome time doing it and had some of the best players on any team in the league. So thank you for showing me that D.C. sports have a chance at winning a major title.

NHL News. There is none. At all. Besides that they can't come to an agreement so they've had to cancel games through November. Ovie and four other Washington Capital players are playing or seeing family overseas. So unless they put their egos in a box and lock them up before too long we won't have a 2012/2013 season.

NFL News. The New England Patriots played the New York Jets last week. Any NY vs. NE game , in any sport, is going to matter a lot to fans on either side of the game but when it's the Jets and Pats, it really matters. Maybe it's 'cause the Jets have a Yankee-esque air about them, the kind that turns everyone away like a bad smell. So when I turned on the game, the Jets were up by a field goal. Tom Brady had to march the Pats all the way down the field with enough time to score at the least a field goal. Brady did what he does best under pressure, does what needs to be done. The Pats get down the field just barely, the last two plays of the drive were played in the last 10 seconds of the game. The stress was horrible. It was like the whole world would end if the field goal missed. Thank goodness it didn't. The game went into overtime and the Pats had the ball first. These new overtime rules are pointless and confusing. It should be the first one to score wins not who ever has the most points at the end wins UNLESS one team scores a touchdown or a safety. What? Who came up with that? In this case it didn't matter, the Pats scored a field goal and let the defence go to work. They did their job and kept the Jets out of the end zone, not even close to it. Pats win 29-26.

The Redskins are failing, with all the hype about this season it's really flopping. They lost to the Giants, 27-23. The Skins were the only team to beat the Giants twice last season.

The Steelers haven't been great but haven't been bad, yet they're not mediocre. All their games have (except for two games) been close, won or lost by a touchdown or less. They won today, it came down to the end but they pulled a win out of it, 24-17.

Update

A quick update on the post I did last night. The owners and refs have come to an agreement. The 'real' refs are expected to officiate tonight's game (Ravens vs. Browns). Both sides had to give but really the owners gave a bit more. They had to, to get the refs back. Tonight I want to see improvements in the calls and cleaner plays. Maybe now the coaches won't need to blow their heads off, although some may still but that's just how they are.

Here's a video about the replacement refs that I found last night after I wrote the blog post. It's hilarious.

This is getting out of hand

In the world of baseball, the Nationals have been steadily marching towards the playoffs all season. The team has home-run junkies playing in every game and the pitchers are starting to come into their own. Combine great sluggers and great pitchers you get what the Nats have become. A quick note on Harper, I've read many articles recently about Harper's temper and the concern that it could be a bad thing. The thing is that he only gets angry at himself, around anyone else he's chill even if they're blowing up at him. A little anger at yourself for messing up is a good thing, it makes you better. If he keeps the anger to himself and refrains from hitting bats against his head he'll be good. Who knows maybe his fire will ignite the rest of the team.

I'll sum up the score from the past 3 weeks of football real quick.
Patriots: 1-2-0. Pats 34 Titans 13, Cardinals 20 Pats 18, Ravens 31 Pats 30.
Steelers: 1-2-0. Broncos 31 Steelers 19, Steelers 27 Jets 10, Raiders 34 Steelers 31.
Redskins: 1-2-0. Skins 40 Saints 32, Rams 31 Skins 28, Bengals 38 Skins 31.

The NFL needs to get their act together. Why? Well, if you hadn't noticed, the games are falling apart at the seams. Players fighting with each other and the temporary refs can't make timely calls which is leading to more problems. The players are pushing the limits of the rules since the temporary refs don't know them that well. The refs are making the wrong calls left and right. Everyone knows it too, the players, coaches, owners, fans, even non-football people know. Players are being hurt; look at the Steelers/Raiders game on Sunday. Darrius Heyward-Bey (Raiders WR) was hit hard in the end zone. It was clear to me that it was a defenseless receiver hit but there was no call on the play. Or the Broncos/Texans game, where part of Matt Schaub's ear lobe was ripped off. The sport is just going to get worst if something's not done. Coaches are blowing up - Kyle Shananhan got an unsportsmanlike conduct call  in the Bengals game and was fined $25,000 by the NFL, Bill Belichick shoved a ref after a clearly bad call in the Ravens game just to name a few. To sum up, players are getting hurt, hot-head coaches are ready to blow, fans are tired and concerned. The NFL and the 'real' refs are back in talks trying to work out a deal. Hopefully they'll have worked it out so the refs can be in for this weekend's games. My fingers are crossed.

A quick note on hockey. The NHL is currently stuck in a lock-out. Some of the players are now playing with European teams. I'm mildly concerned about that since not all the teams over there have short term contracts or outs for NHL players if and when they resolve it so they can come back to the NHL. Another thing, not all the teams offer to cover the NHL players if they get hurt (which isn't a problem with all their money) but if they do get hurt it could be serous. Not all players have gone over seas, some have stayed here and are buying ice time at the practice arena to train with teammates. Hopefully they won't have to cancel the season.

Confused Anyone?

As the preseason in football comes to an end teams are ready for the real season to start. The Washington Redskins played their last preseason game last night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. No starters played during the game, only second and third lines played (whoa, that sounds like a hockey term). One thing about the back-up players for the Skins that differs from so many of the other teams in the NFL is that most of the guys (unless they were just drafted) played last season because of all the starters that had injuries. So they have the experience to play in an NFL game and they're just making the coaching staff's jobs harder. All the teams need to have their final 53 man roster by Friday. They can sign some of the players to the practice squad after the final cut. The players in last night's game proved that the Skins finally do have more than one talented player.

Speaking of talented, Chris Cooley was released by the Skins on Wednesday. Cooley has been one of the bright spots on the roster for years, he was one of the players that kept fans watching and hoping that something would change. Fans kept watching to see him make the big plays, even if he had a bad year something inside still told you that it wasn't the end. I really didn't see what the Skins saw to cut him, if only that he was older side of the players on the team (the average age of a player on the Skins is 21). This season was shaping up to be one of his best. There's one thing I don't understand (besides this whole thing in general) is the fact that he announced it by himself, no Snyder or Shanahan in sight. He was the only one at the press conference. I don't know if that how he wanted to do it or not but the team could have sent someone form the coaching staff out there with him. Give him the respected he deserves, he has stay with your lousy team for eight seasons after all. I don't think this is the end of Cooley in the NFL, he most definitely could be picked up by another team who sees that he still has something left. So Cooley, you will be one of the greats of the Redskins in my mind and in many others. Wherever you go in the NFL people will be pulling for you (unless it's with the Cowboys, then all bets are off). Instead of HTTR (Hail to the Redskins) I say HTCC, Hail to Chris Cooley. Oh, the Skins did win 30-3.

Some in the baseball world were convinced that once the Nationals started to slide that they wouldn't stop till they hit rock bottom. Well, they didn't slide that far and they didn't even come close to hitting rock bottom. They lost five game straight before winning yesterday against the Marlins 8-4. Harper added another first to his growing list with two homers in the same game. I can understand how people could start to panic. This is the best season the team has had in years and after all those bright spots in seasons past but to be let down later on can wear on a person. This season was different, it wasn't just a bright spot it was a mega-watt light bulb shining in their faces. So when it came loose even for a little bit you begin to panic thinking that the bulb was fading when it just need to be fixed. As soon as it was fixed the light was back, nothing had happened to it, it was still as bright as ever. So if you're a Nats fan who was concerned that things were about to start coming apart at the seams, take a chill pill, Johnson knows what he's doing.

One last thing. I don't know, I don't think anyone knows but Lance Armstrong and his doctor if he used drugs. It doesn't matter if he did or didn't, what matters to me is that an agency thought that they had the right to take away all his titles. (I mean it's still really wrong to use drugs to get better at a sport but that's not the point of this post.) The USADA shouldn't have that kind of power. They should give their opinion to the Tour de France and other races and let those organizations make the choice to take away the titles from an athlete or not. Let the race officials choose, not some guys in lab coats and business suits. I'll leave it at that.

The NFL regular season starts on Wednesday Sept. 9th Cowboys vs. Giants at 8:30.

My Top Olympic Stories

First off I want to congratulate all the athletes who competed in the Olympic Games. Whether they won or not, they got to share in one of the most amazing athletic events on Earth.

Story #1: The Greatest Olympian Ever

Michael Phelps over the course of 4 Olympics has won 18 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, for a total of 22 medals (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012. He raced in Sydney but did not medal). In Beijing, Phelps won 8 gold medals, the most anyone has won during a single Games. Over the course of his career, he set 39 world records and holds seven currently. Sadly, this was the last contest of his career. Phelps won't be competing in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 games. Now some people don't like Phelps, which I can understand. He did make some majorly bad choices in his life and most of the problems he ran into where if his own making. Yet he over came them, all of them. He came back and still won, he proved to me that he IS the greatest Olympian ever; and honestly that's all that matters. Feel free to tell me your opinion but mine is still out there. Agree or disagree with me you still have to admit that he has had some amazing races.

Story #2: Pushing the Envelope

"Having a disability doesn't have to be a disadvantage." 

                                                                                  - Oscar Pistorius

Oscar proved that having his legs amputated at a young age won't stop him from running at the highest level. To even compete in the Olympic trials his prosthetics were tested to death, making sure that there was no way that they gave him an advantage. But in the Games themselves, he didn't medal. In his solo race he made it into the semifinals but didn't make it into the finals. The winner of that semi traded name tags with Oscar as a show of respect for what he did. In the 4x400m relay race the South Africa team was initially knocked out when another relay runner ran into the South African runner (who did something to his elbow, it was never clear to me what exactly the injury was). The South Africa team filed for an investigation and it was proven that the other runner was across the line in South Africa's lane, so they were put in the final as an additional team. The South Africa team just didn't have enough to help give Oscar a chance at a medal. He ran the anchor leg of the race but the three runners before him struggled. Once the baton got into his hand he ran like the wind going from 8th to 5th by the end.

Sure he didn't win a medal in these Games but he tried, did his best, and loved every minute of it. So way to go Oscar, you showed everyone that just because you have a disability it doesn't change anything.

The Olympics at Warp-Speed

The Olympics are winding down, and I have to say these Games have been one of the best Summer Games. The contestants are faster, stronger, and just better overall than they were at the Beijing Games four years ago. Take for example the men's 800m race last night. The guy who came in last would have won gold at Beijing, that's how much faster they are this year. Now it could just be me but a lot of records are being broken during these Games. The winner of the 800m broke his own world record that he set qualifying for the Olympics. The U.S. team has the most medals (last time I checked) with 94 total, China's next with 81. Great Britain, the host team, struggled during the beginning of these Games hardly ever coming close to the podium, but it all changed quickly about halfway into the first week. The heavy hitters of the GB team came out and started getting medals for their country.

The show of sportsmanship in these Games have been outstanding. In one of the men's hurdles races (I forget the distance but it doesn't really matter all that much) the Chinese hurdler ran into one of the hurdles. He hopped in pain on one foot to the finish line where two other hurdlers (from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago if I'm remembering right) helped him to where the medical  staff waited. I have not seen one sore loser, there have been some very disappointed losers but they accept the fact that they lost and they move on for the most part.

Tonight, track and field has been exciting. The U.S. women's 4x100 relay won gold after trying for so many years and in the process set a new world record. The U.S. team in the men's 4x400 grabbed the silver when the Bahamas runner just passed the U.S. runner in the last 100m. Oscar Pistorius ran the anchor leg for South Africa, but unfortunately he never really had a chance. The three runners before him just weren't as fast as everyone else in the race, but I consider him one of the best runners in the Olympics. If only because he pushed what was considered the norm out the window.

In home town sports:

Football is back. The preseason started last night and the Redskins, Steelers, and the Patriots all won, 7-6, 23-21, 7-6 respectively.

Alexander Semin signed a one year deal worth $7million with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Capitals will be better without a brooding player who isn't willing to adapt his playing style. We already have to deal with one moody Russian. That is all I have to say about him.

The Nationals swept their four game series with the Astros as the should have. If you didn't know, the Astros are the worst team in baseball.

I'll have some of my top Olympics stories up later.
(Lighting does strike twice)

No matter what it's cheating

Now that hockey is over and football hasn't started yet I can focus all my attention on baseball. Starting with the Nationals, who lost to the Yankees (I know that was a few series ago but I got locked out of my blog to write about it). I have a deep set hate-rid for the Yankees. It's not the kind of hate-rid that you have for a rival team, but the kind you reserve for arrogant teams who think they rule all of baseball because of how much money they have. The Yankees are like the Jets of baseball. Unfortunately, no matter how much I hate them, it pains me to say that they are a good team, but it's true. When the Yankees rolled into town to play the National everyone paid attention. The Nats had just swept their last two series and most Nats players and fans were hoping to do the same to the Yanks. That's not quite what happened. They lost all three games to the Yanks, it stung to say the least. But everyone has to move on to the next thing, in this case it was the Tampa Bay Rays. The three games with the Rays were interesting to say the least. Losing the first game may have in the past put a downer on the team but in the next game the Nats came back lead by Stephen Strasburg. After the game their were rumors floating about that the Rays reliever Joel Peralta had used pine tar in his glove in Tuesday's game against the Nats. Both Davey Johnson (Nats Manager) and Joe Madden (Rays Manager) jumped into action; Johnson by ordering an inspection of Peralta's glove and Madden by defending his player. Peralta also got involved in the word battle by basically saying, "Lots of people use stuff to help them in this game." It's cheating! It doesn't matter if other people do it or not it's still cheating. You may be wondering how Johnson found out about the pine tar. Some of the Nats players were suspicious of how Peralta was playing and told Johnson like they should have. This shows that their are still some people in the world of baseball who care about the sport. They are trying to make it better. If you think that they are ratting out players so they can personally gain or win more games then you may need your head checked. Yes, I won't deny that some may do that but more likely than not they are trying to better the sport they love. The Nats went on to win their next two games against the Rays but continued to bonce back and forth between wins and losses with the Orioles, Rockies, and now the Braves. They won the first match up with the Braves but lost today 7-5 in the sweltering heat of Atlanta. Strasburg had to leave the game early due to a heat related issue. The two teams match up again tomorrow at 1:35.

So I lied about hockey being over. With the NHL draft and all the free agents and traded players bouncing about it hard to keep everyone straight.

-The Capitals have a new head coach: Adam Oates. He has 19 playing seasons in the NHL and has been an assistant coach for two teams. During his playing career, he played for a time in Washington and was part of the only Capitals team to make the Cup Championships. Maybe he could lead the team to another Championship.

-On a side note, one of the keys to another Championship is Ovie. The Great 8. Not the hoe-hum 8 we've seem these past few seasons but the Great 8 that we had during his first few years. I think that he still has it in him but he just lost his way. He needs someone who he can respect and someone who can respect Ovie in return. Someone who's been there before. Someone like Oates.

-They traded prospect Cody Eakin and the 54th overall pick in the draft to the Dallas Stars for center Mike Ribeiro. Ribeiro is the strong center the Caps have been looking for and now have, but Eakin was good so that may be a little bit of a loss in the future.

- Dennis Wideman traded to the Calgary Flames (bummer, I liked him).

I think that's all besides the ever looming threat that Semin may leave. Hopefully with Oates now as the head coach he may reconsider leaving.

To golf. The AT&T National, Tiger Woods pet project, is going on this week. On one of the days the reporter asked some kids who they liked best in the tournament. The answer: Tiger Woods. The kid went on to say something about how great he thought Tiger is and that he looked up to him. Why in the world, no wait the world isn't big enough, why in the universe would you look up to him? He made huge mistakes and doesn't seem to care about it anymore. He should have spent more time with his family and less time out flaunting about with his money. Really, I see no reason to look up to him.

27 days until the Olympics.

The Amazing Nationals

I have to say that I am enjoying D.C. baseball right now. The Nats are second in the National League and in first in the eastern division. I can't remember a time when they were this good, than again my knowledge is relatively limited. Everyone in every game is shining. Bryce Harper has been awesome, to me he has come into his own. Hopefully he won't sputter out like some stars have. This past weekend the Nats swept the Red Sox at Fenway, but the Sox haven't been that good this season.

Moving on to hockey. The L.A. Kings for the first time got to hoist the Stanley Cup last night. They're the first 8th seed team to clinch the western conference and go on to win. Once the Capitals were put out of the running by the Rangers, I wanted the Kings to win. Mostly because they were the major underdog team. They barely made it into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth. But in the post-season it was a different story. They were winning games left and right. By the time they reached the finals against the New Jersey Devils, the Kings had become a powerhouse. In the finals they won the first three before the Devils pushed back winning games 4 and 5. After the Devils won game 5 at home the Kings had the home ice and fans on their side. Although in these playoffs home ice hasn't been an advantage like in past years. You could tell by how hard they played that the Kings really wanted the Cup and they wanted it that night. They didn't want to wait until Wednesday to get it. Well, they got what they had worked so hard for all season. Everyone on the team took a turn to skate with the Cup and relish in the glory of the win. Jonathan Quick, the King's goalie, won MVP. He deserved it, he was run into so many times, every game somebody was in his net. He only allowed 7 goals in the final six games. I may have to consider them next season as a favorite.

In football:
-The Patriots let Chad Ochocinco go, but he already has a new job with the Miami Dolphins
-The preseason is just around the corner, and I can't wait to see all the new Redskins players in action.

The US Open is coming up this week where Rory McIlroy will defend the title he won last year, but some think that Tiger Woods will come into his own again. Please, Tiger is never going to be as good as he once was. He may get a little better but never that good. There are just to many players younger and better than he is (although not all the good ones are young, some are older than Tiger).

Ok I think I've covered everything important that's happened in the sports world.

Hunter leaves and look who's winning

Guess what boat the Washington Capitals are in again? They don't have a head coach, again, for the second time, this season. Dale Hunter decided to focus on his family and he wanted to go back to coaching his minor league team back in Ontario. OK, I can understand why he wants to go back, but really? At least he waited to make the announcement until after the Caps were out of the running for the Stanley Cup. I still understand that family is more important than any job out there. Over all Hunter did do a good job with the Caps but his work style really showed through in the playoffs. Even if at times I had a half a mind to give him a talking to about several things (keeping strong players off the ice is the main thing that frustrated me) he was good for the team.

However, one player apparently didn't like how they were playing. According to what I can find, Alexander Semin didn't like how Hunter focused on the defense and basically ignored the offense. I can see were Semin is coming from, he's one of the players who spent a lot of time on the bench during games. He'll be an unrestricted  free agent and from the sounds of it won't be returning to the team. Ugh, why must some many of the good players have big egos? Suck it up and play, even if it's not how you would like it. It's not about you, it's about the team as a whole group. I'm sure that there were a few players who had problems about how things were run, I don't think that there's a team out there where every one's happy. There are just to many egos and people to make everyone happy all the time. To be honest, I think that the team needs Semin and if he leaves the team just won't be the same.What do you think?

On to baseball. Has anyone besides me noticed that the Nationals aren't just having a little fluke, that they (hold on to you hats and socks if you're wearing them) are actually good this season. A shock, I know but you should have seen it coming. They have a strong roster of young players including one Bryce Harper, who has shown that he quite likes to make history in the baseball world. For example: He's the first teenager to hit home runs in back-to-back games since the 1990s, and he stole home plate. Not impressed? You should be. Another star player, Stephen Strasburg, has a bad game the other day. Here's the link to an article that sums it up pretty well.

Please tell me what you think of Hunter leaving and the possibility of Semin leaving.

A Win within a Defeat

It was a painful game to watch Saturday, with New York scoring first in the opening seconds of the game. But I do need to back up a few games.

In Game 3, it could have been called a endurance match. The Capitals and the Rangers played almost two whole games by the time the Rangers broke the dead lock. The players had to be giving their all in every period but thought three extra periods they must have been ready to drop. How they managed to play as hard as they did, even in the end, I don't know but it must have been a relief for everyone (players, coaches, management, staff, etc.) on both teams to just go home and sleep. Unfortunately, when the game closed the wrong team won. Final score 2-1 Rangers.

Games 4 and 5 could have been the same game played twice but with a different victor. Both ended 3-2, the Caps won game 4, the Rangers won the game 5.

Game 6, the pivotal match to decide if the Rangers would take the series in Washington or would the Caps force a final game in New York. The Caps came through and gave the Rangers some tough love. Final Score 2-1.

Back to Saturday's game. It was hard yes, painful yes, and caused many a Caps fan to try and find a silver lining in the hard loss that put the Capitals out of the running for the Stanly Cup this year. If anything these playoffs have shown us about the Caps is that for once they seem to work almost better in the postseason than in the regular season. Yes, it might have been hard at first for some of the players to change halfway thought the season to the new style of coaching brought by Dale Hunter. But it all seemed to come together just in time. The team worked in sync with each other to unseat the reigning champs and worked hard to put the Rangers out of the playoffs. Even if they didn't succeed with the Rangers they did prove to everyone (even if some won't admit it) that they still have a chance and still have what it takes. They may view it as a loss or failure but I don't think it was a complete loss. Being transformed into the gritty, grind-it-out-no-matter-how-long-it-takes type of team they were in the playoffs was no easy task. If they had beaten the Rangers and moved on to the 3rd round I'm confident that they could have beaten the Devils.

On a final note, for any skeptics out there still, why don't you try and do what those guys just did with a rookie (in the playoffs) goalie and a 'rookie' coach who they had to adjust to midway into the season and totally change how they play. Pretty good and I don't doubt it.

Dear Dale Hunter

First off, all Capitals fans reading this please take a moment to do a little party dance. Did it? Good. Moving on to the game. If you didn't know, the Capitals won game 2, 3-2, in New York, with foul curses raining down on. Speaking of foul language the Rangers fans need to have their mouths washed out with soap or something. All throughout the game they chanted Ovie *****(rhymes with pucks). Even under the wrath of the fans he manged to score the game winning goal. One thing that's still bugging me is the fact that Dale Hunter has kept one of his most power players off the ice for most of the post-season. Maybe if he lets Ovie on the ice more we could win these series more easily. For once it seems that the team as a whole is working together as one unit - supporting Holtby and getting on the board first. Not bad for a game 2, but we still have a long fight ahead if we want to go further.

P.S
Hunter, if you're reading this then I highly suggest that you put Ovie on the ice more.

Dethroning the Champs

First off I do apologize to any and all Bruins fans out there but I was pulling for the Capitals. I was desperately hoping that it wouldn't go to a game 7 but of course it did. Playing in Boston is hard enough but with it being game 7 and the Bruins being the reigning champs, it just added that much more pressure. The game got out to a slow start with both teams acting tentative, holding back, not wanting to make a mistake. Everyone knew that just one slip up could mean the difference between winning the game and losing. The Caps were first to score, in the first period, with a goal from Matt Hendricks. But not to be out done the Bruins scored a goal of their own from Tyler Seguin late in the second and into overtime we go. At this point a fan of either team would have to be hiding somewhere away from the TV or radio because it just wouldn't have been possible to watch without having a major mental break down due to the stress. Well, that was my case at least. Less than three minutes into overtime the Cap's Joel Ward put the puck past Tim Thomas on a deflected shot from Mike Knuble. To all the fans in TD Garden it was hard to take. The number two seed and reigning champs lost to the number seven seed. It was cool to see that even though he was on the losing team, Thomas still had a good attitude. Just before leaving the ice he skated over to where a few kids sat in the front row and gave them a smile. It's cool to see that even in one of the tougher sports the players are still down to earth.

Post Season Hockey and just about everything else

I wish I could see into the future or something like that so I wouldn't always forget about writing on this blog but I do and it means that there is a lot to cover.

In hockey there are clean games and well... some not so clean games. Take for example the Caps-Bruins match up. For the most part it's been pretty clean, even if in Monday's game it didn't look like it. Just compare it to the Flyers-Penguins series that's going on. It's a blood bath of a match up. I don't know how anyone can appreciate those two teams when they're acting like kids out on the ice fighting over everything. The Caps have been pushed around by the Bruins and they've pushed back but it's been more of a civil discussion than a drunken bar brawl which is all I can think of the describe the battle in Pennsylvania. One more quick thing before I move on to last night's game. I have quite enjoyed reading the paper recently because of all the fun adjectives that the writers have been using to describe Zdeno Chara, the Bruins 6-foot-9 defenseman. Words like banshee and behemoth have been tossed around. He can be both of those and more than an opposing force at times. The Caps may have entered in this series as the underdog, but being the underdog against the Stanly Cup Champs has to put some fire under the Capitals. It could be just what they needed to actually get farther than the first or second round. But first they have to win game 7 in Boston. Let's do a quick recap of a games so far
GAME 1, Holtby holds his own in his first game in the postseason of his NHL career against the reigning champs only allowing one goal the whole game. Final Score: 1-0 Bruins
GAME 2, the Caps put up a fight not wanting to be put a into a rut by the Bruins. With a goals by both Brouwer and Backstrom the Caps tie the series. Final Score: 2-1 Caps
GAME 3, back on home ice most would think that the Caps would have the upper hand. But they didn't. Final Score 4-3 Bruins
GAME 4, still on home ice the Caps needed the win or they would have a hard doing so back in Boston, but they did get the win. Final Score: 2-1 Caps
GAME 5, this game was very different from the rest, mostly because the Caps got out to a two goal lead and held on to it for a few minutes but the Bruins came and tied it up right before the end of the second. Final Score: 4-3 Capitals. Finally the Caps had a 3-2 lead on the series.
GAME 6, well the the lead in the series was short lived. The Bruins won in D.C. to even things up. Final Score: 4-3 Bruins.
GAME 7 is going to be a get down and get 'er down type of game for both teams.

Also going on in the NHL. The Flyers win their series with the Penguins, the Blues win in their series with the Sharks, and the Predators win over the Red Wings.

In Football news, I am still brooding with frustration at both the Jets and the Broncos for the trade of Tim Tebow. It seems like the Jets just did that for publicity but that's my view with the info that I have  access to. For the Broncos, well... (devious grin crosses my face) they're basically screwed. Why? Payton Manning is why. The Broncos made a huge mistake on a guy who maybe has a year left in him. On top of that he (again this is just from what I was able to learn) isn't really that good at training a guy to replace him.

Again this year the NFL is having three games played on Thanksgiving. Detroit vs. Huston, Dallas vs. Washington, and New York Jets vs. New England. I'm going to have to eat early. The New Orleans Saints haven't been very saintly recently. With the bounty hunting scandal and now finding out that the GM may have been able to listen in on the other team. Really? Doesn't anyone play clean anymore? This is just getting out of hand.

In the golf world Bubba Watson won the Masters, and is in a very funny video called Golf Boys.

OK that's just about all that's happened that I care about.

Ketchup

I am really sorry that I left you all hang for like a month but snowboard season kinda took over. Oops. So lets us catch-up. Or if you like it Ketchup (it's good on fries.)

You would think that I would have learned by now that hardly anything I hope to happen in the world of sports happens. To start off, things became less clouded around Payton Manning and where he was thinking of heading to for next season. It came down to the Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, and the Tennessee Titans. You want to take a guess at who he choose? The Broncos, for a five year deal that's worth $92 million. Mind boggling for a guy who still has a gigantic question mark floating above his head with neon lights, and for a guy who maybe has three years left. Oh but this story gets better, I thought (and a lot of people I talked to agreed) that it would be smart of the Broncos to keep Tim Tebow but apparently they didn't like that idea so much. Now what on earth are they going to do when the neon sign flips over and say: Sorry! I Can't Play Anymore! Where's My Money? When that day comes I will not be surprised. Tebow on the other had I think got a really bad deal. He was traded to..... none other than the New York Jets (of all the teams in the NFL!). The foul mouthed, dirty, vile Jets. Franky the attention that Tebow got in Denver was doodly-squat to what he is now going to suffer in New York, yes I said suffer. It's a NEW YORK TEAM; of course he's going to suffer. Unless you're a fan of New York sports teams; otherwise they are generally despised by most other teams and their fans. I found this article about Tebow and it has to be one of the longest articles I've read. Ever.

New York sure to test Tebow, on and off the field - MyVerizon.com

In other football news that has been floating around for a while, there has been a bounty hunting scandal in the NFL involving the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins. The common factor: Gregg Williams. Essentially how it worked was that players got money bonuses for hard hits that put opponents out of the game. Commissioner Roger Goodell gave out one year suspensions to two New Orleans coaches, the general manager, and a former coach for running the program. But the Redskins got off with no penalties for now, even though Williams worked for the Skins under Joe Gibbs from 2004-07 running the program. Several players have come forward saying that they were paid extra money for hard hits that put the opponent out of the game. I think even though the NFL and Goodell have 'closed' the 'case' because there isn't enough evidence, they should still look into it. I love the Skins but really, this isn't right. Players did get really hurt and it's just against ethics, paying someone to hurt someone else is what it boils down to. The suspensions should deter any other plans like this from popping up again but it might not. Some coaches will do what ever it takes to win. I'm not saying that Sean Payton (head coach of the Saints, one of the suspended) was doing that but other coaches might have done that for the wrong reasons. I still have a lot of respect for the guy but this was wrong and I agree with the penalty they gave him. Back to the Redskins, they should get a penalty of some sort, a fine or something, anything. But they shouldn't have gotten away with it then and they shouldn't be like "Oh, that happened in the past." It was the past of YOUR TEAM. Fine Synder, he has enough money to cover it.

Ok I'm done ranting for now. Next week (and it will be next week not next month) I'll have a post on what the Capitals have been up to.

Super Bowl 2012

Guess what, New York's heads just got bigger. The New York Giants won Super Bowl XLVI Sunday night. As much as it pains me to say this the game wasn't half bad. Yes, the Pats lost again and yes, there were mistakes but even so the game was good. To start it was very hard not to think about the fact that the Pats released Tiquan Underwood (a wide receiver) on the eve before the biggest game in football. Who knows, maybe he would have helped get the win. At least Underwood doesn't seem to be holding it against the team, wishing the coaching staff and teammates good luck. They sure needed it after the Giants scored a late touchdown, but I'm ahead of myself. Oh, well I could tell you now. Late (and I mean really late) in the fourth quarter Eli Manning passed the ball to Ahmad Bradshaw who tried hard to stomp on the brakes and sit down on the one yard line but fell into the end-zone. I do have to say that it was very funny watching him try to stop but failing; even if that did mean that it was the game winning touchdown. All night the Pats players (except for a few times) seemed to have replaced their gloves to help grip the ball with butter sheets to help drop the ball. I understand that Welker has made that catch a million times and that it should have been easy but he didn't and I'm sure he heard it from his teammates and his coaches so he doesn't need to hear it from the media. Or Tom Brady's wife for that matter, who had some choice words for a Giants fan. Most of which shouldn't be repeated. Maybe if the Brady had thrown to someone else instead of Hernandez we might have tied it or even won it. But history does repeat itself and unfortunately it happened again. To the same team, in the same way. There's always next year, I hope.

I'm with Ovie

Sunday when the Capitals played the Penguins, Alex Ovechkin  landed a hard hit on Zbynek Michalek. The league though it was a dirty hit and gave Ovie a three game suspension, way to much for two reasons: 1. Michalek didn't get hurt and 2. he saw the hit coming and ducked. One game makes total sense but three, its not needed. Yes, it was a hard hit but it's part of what makes hockey so great. As you would think, Ovie wasn't very happy with the call. He was set to go to the NHL All-Star game but has now taken himself off the roster, saying, "I'm suspended." That move has made most everyone in the reporting world blow up saying he's acting childish and needs to grow-up. WHAT?! I think it's a very grown up decision to make; if you have been suspended then you shouldn't play, be that with your team or at the All-Star game. It would be nice to see Ovie at the All-Star game but I still think it was the right decision. If it turns the reporting world against him then fine. But there's bound to be a few people (like me) who still have an idea about staying true to your morals. Ovie could grow-up in some ways but not in handling suspensions.

Ovie isn't the only hockey player making the news. Bruins goalie Tim Thomas didn't go with the team when they went to the White House to celebrate winning the Stanley Cup. Another decision that I agree with. If Thomas doesn't think that he can behave or respect where his is, then he shouldn't go. Just another player standing up for what he believes in.

Don't Worry

Some of you might be thinking that I fell of the face of the earth but I didn't so there's no need to worry about me. You may need to worry if you're a Capitals fan. They seem to be stuck on a roller costar with great wins and than dropping to low losses. I got to go to one of their games last week when they played the New York Islanders and unfortunately it didn't turn out how I would have liked. The Islanders got out in front and stayed there, they dominated the Caps all through the game. At one point the Caps began to look like they were hurting themselves drawing penalties that they should have now better than to do. Final Score: 3-0 Islanders. In the very next game (the first of a three game road trip) the Caps won over the Canadians by the same score they lost by to the Islanders. Two days later they lost again 3-0 to Carolina while on their road trip. By now you must be wondering if this could get anymore pain full... it can. Yesterday the Capitals played the loathsome Penguins. That game was an example of how this January has gone for them. The Pens and Caps went into overtime and yup you guessed it the Caps lost. To you it could get worst. As I write this the Caps sit in 8th in the East but that could change by tomorrow morning.

Everyone reading this needs to understand that I am a diehard Patriots fan. When I found out thatt my Pats where going to the Superbowl again my first though was I want a rematch. You have to remember the 2008 Superbowl when the Pats and Giants played. That Pats would have had a prefect season if the Giants hadn't won at the end of the game. Why I want a rematch for to reasons. 1. I want revenge and 2. I want the Pats to show once and for all that they are on a different level than the Giants. Than again I'm bias.

Wild Card Games Turn Wild

I really didn't want to write this blog but I must since I am a Steelers fan. Well, as most of you know the Steelers lost to the Denver Broncos, 29-23. It was an agonizing game to watch. The Steelers scored first with two field goals but Denver came back and by halftime were up 20-6. The old reliable Steelers fought back to take the lead but only managed to tie the game, 23-23 late in the fourth quarter. Into overtime we go. I really hate play-off games that go into overtime but when they include one of my teams then it's torture. The torture didn't last long. The Broncos won the coin toss and on the first play the game was over. In two plays, Tebow and the rest of the Broncos pulled out a miracle, getting a touchdown pass to finish off the Steelers. Final Score: 29-23. There's always next year. I have a soft spot for the Broncos, but I do want the Patriots win on Saturday.

The Saints are moving on as well. They played Saturday (I still think football on Saturday is weird) against the Detroit Lions and won. But unlike some would have thought, it wasn't a one-sided game. The Saints did win 45-28.

Hockey can be a very lopsided sport, for example the Bruins game on Thursday. Let me start with the final score: 9-0 Bruins. Yes, you read that right, for a Bruins fan like me it's a great score. But if you see it from the point of view of a Flames fan than it's not such a good game. In fact it's a really bad game. Seven different people scored on the Flames goalie. You just have to feel bad for him.

The NHL realignment has been postponed because the players union didn't agree with how it was going to be set-up.

Let the Postseason Begin!

Sunday's games were the last of the NFL regular season. Unfortunately, the Skins didn't end it on a good foot, losing 34-10 to the Eagles. They did play well if you consider that they were playing without a tight-end (Chris Cooley's been on injured reserve and Fred Davis was suspended for the rest of the season for using recreational drugs); Roy Helu was recovering from a injury and I'm most likely forgetting a lot of other injured players but back to the game. The point of me telling you about all that was my attempted at covering the fact that the Skins lost badly....34-10 to a team and a QB I loath whole heartedly. The win wouldn't have matter all that much except for bragging rights. There was no feasible way that they were going to make it into the playoffs, even if Grossman didn't throw 3 interceptions per game (that's an estimate, it's probably more). One bright spot for them was the D-fence. Yes, they did allow the Eagles to score 34 points but they did look good.

The Steelers had a late start in their game with the Browns but managed to win. I was beat after staying up on New Year's and was in bed while the game was going on. Big Ben did start the game and helped them win 13-9. They are in the playoffs, I don't think it would be the same if they weren't in it... just a thought.

The Pats won over the Bills and now have a nice bye week to rest and plan how they're going to crush their opponents. To their game, this was one of those games that made me glad that I wasn't watching it (I happen to know more about this game than the Steelers because I was watching the Skins game and they kept cutting in to show highlights of the Pats game). The Bills jumped out to an early lead with 21 unanswered points in the first and most of the second quarters. But to all those who doubt the comeback power of the Pats, well you may be thinking, "there's little chance that they can come back from that," well you would be wrong. They did come back with 49 points. Now it was the Bills turn to be stunned. Final Score: 49-21 Patriots.

By the way, the Jets are out of the playoffs.

To Hockey, the Capitals won again! Mike Green was back in the line-up for the first time in 20 games. Things are looking up for the Capitals.

Holiday sports in Fastforward

Seeing as how my holiday week was crazy I'll cover Christmas Eve's football games and the two Capital's games.

The Skins lost to the Vikings 33-26. The Steelers won over the Rams 27-0. Last but not least, the Patriots won 24-27 over the Dolphins.

On to hockey. The Capitals have a winning streak that includes a win away from the Verizon Center (finally). Right now the Caps are sitting in 9th in the East; they need to be in at least 8th to make it into the playoffs. So it's a good thing that they have a few more weeks to move up the list. Ovie, Semin, and Backstrom are warming up at just the right time.

I did warn you that this was going to be a fast blog. I'll have a post up about today's games later.