One for the Ages

Washington, D.C. has long been known as the political center of the world. A place where public servants meet to discuss policy within the limestone structures and carouse around to the many grandiose restaurants that require a sense of power to sit in.

Tonight, this town will go from a political epicenter to a red wearing, hockey-crazed town. Not since 1980s has this town seen a fever quite like this when the talk of the town was for a small time taken away from the Capitol Hill and focused in on an athletic team. Back to the days where Riggins, Monk, Theisman, Manley, and Green were the love of the town in the Redskins' glorious era, a new regime has taken over. A period where economic times are troubling and jobs scarce, a group of men have taken away the pain and given hope to an area devout of a championship in nearly 20 years.

Led by Alex Ovechkin, reigning NHL MVP, the Capitals have been embraced by a town that was once thought be only a football town. At a time where only a few years ago this team fell behind the DC United in the area sports heirarchy. When only a few years ago it looked so bad for a team whose own arena was clad with the colors of the Red Wings, Penguins, or Flyers. Not anymore. This team here is the hottest ticket in town. A team where you see all the young talent and can only say its a matter of time until a Stanley Cup is brought home.

Tonight's game 7 is an anticipated match between hockey's three best players in Ovechkin, Crosby, and Malkin. The whole hockey world will watch on the edge of their seats as the finale to one of the greatest hockey series is finishing up. A game where the hope of a city rests on the shoulders of those donning the red sweaters, for it has been too long without a winner. The final game in a series so epic that it will be looked at as the beginning of a new era in the sport. A chance for one team to pull itself closer to the final goal. A chance to redeem two decades of sports mediocrity in a city that demands the best from its political counterpart. A chance to keep the magic alive.

A hat-trick without hats?

After tonight's game between the Capitals and Penguins, one in which the NHL's two stars recorded hat-tricks, one of them was upset about the amount of hats being tossed on the ice after the other recorded a game deciding goal. To no ones surprise, Sidney Crosby had yet another thing to whine about with Alex Ovechkin. This has seem to become a normal occurrence in the saga between the two, one in which the NHL will certainly prosper from, and may soon begin to taint the image of one of the budding stars.
This is what Crosby had to say;

"People kept throwing hats, I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop"

Really? I mean c'mon Crosby are you really going to complain about a tradition of hats being thrown on the ice after the home team's star gets a hat-trick?

This has been typical from Sid as we've seen him also complain about Ovechkin jumping into the wall after he scores and how he plays hard and hits the other teams star. Much like Don Cherry, Crosby has taken an approach to the game that is very business-like and no-nonsense that seems to be very rigid. For a sport that needs as many fans as it can muster, Sid is not to appreciative about boisterous play and excitement that Ovechkin brings to the ice. Were it not for Ovechkin and his antics hockey may still be on a downward spiral towards mediocrity.

As we've seen in the first two games, the two superstars have seemed to not only dominate the media attention but the stats on the ice as well. Each have scored 4 goals and seem to give their team an edge any time they are on the ice. This series will continue to warrant all the attention it gets but this added bonus of the shots that Crosby seems to take at Ovechkin and vice-versa will also be interesting to continue to watch.

As for me, "LET'S GO CAPS!!!"

Dream Matchup

The Game 7 win by the Washington Capitlas volted them in to the Second Round of Stanley Cup Playoffs. This was followed up by a late, improbable win by the Carolina Hurricanes in which they scored 2 goals in the final 80 seconds to come from behind to win. What this leads to is a "Dream Matchup" of arguably the two best players in hockey, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.



The series matchup between the Penguins and Caps will be the start of one of the most riveting stories in hockey this year and maybe in sports. What makes this series even more interesting is the fact that Crosby and Ovechkin has publicly voiced their dislike for eachother throughout this year.

Remember when Ovechkin and Malkin were having their little spat earlier in the year, (aparently Ovechkin punched Malkin's agent in a nightclub in Russia), and Ovechkin was going for a big hit on Malkin during one of the early matchups. Well, Crosby didn't like how Ovechkin played so physical with the other stars on the ice. He also doesn't like Ovechkin's antics when he scores goals either.

This will be the most anticipated series of these playoffs and the team that wins here could possibly win it all. I think the smaller games within the games could prove to be more interesting and as Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said, "Welcome to the circus."

Loosen your Sphincter NHL

As you might have seen on ESPN, Alex Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season last night, which put him in special company as being one of only four players to have three 50-goal seasons in their first four as a pro. The scoring spree Ovechkin has been on this year has him in position to become the first back-to-back Hart Trophy (MVP) winner since Dominick Hasek did it back in 1996. Pretty impressive for a guy who is only 23.

But the real story was the celebration that followed his 50th tally of the season. After Ovechkin scored, he stopped just pased the goal and placed his stick on the ice. He then proceeded to place his hands overtop the stick pretending as if it was on fire and/or warm. FANTASTIC!!! I love watching celebrations and seeing players be excited after they've scored. In hockey you never see this and for a change you get to see a player who isn't straight-faced and stiff when he scores.

Other players, teams, and color-commentators feel differently about this. Recently we heard Don Cherry, CBC analyst, criticize Ovechkin for his celebrations like jumping into the boards or raising his hands like a soccer player. Even the "face" of the league Sidney Crosby criticized Ovechkin for his celebrations as being too excessive and stupid. After lastnight more criticizm came from not only the opposing coach Rick Tocchet, "he came down a notch in my book," but the Capitals coach as well Bruce Boudreau, "I personally don't like it that much."

Now I can understand the feelings from the coaches because they are older and hockey was different back when they played. But for players to come out and say something as well, I kinda find it interesting. I mean if you look at the NHL right now, you see that after the lockout there were rule chages made to promote scoring and get rid of ties because for the longest time goalies dominated the game and really pushed away the casual fan. Fans come to watch hockey to see goals be scored, fights breakout, and beautiful skating. When you watch a game that has a low score you can appreciate the great goaltending but don't tell me you wouldn't rather see a high scoring affair.

Anyways, while the NHL hasn't done anything yet, Ovechkin seems to be becoming the NHL version of Chad Johnson or T.O. Seemingly outcast by his peers and other team officials, but embraced by his fans and teammates. For a post-lockout NHL this is something they need. They need someone to bring flare to the game, show emotion, and evoke the temper of other players. Right now Ovechkin is doing that. And have you seen the Verizon Center on any given night? Have you seen opposing arenas when the Caps come into town? Have you seen a jump in ratings and fans since this guy has become the real "face" of the NHL?

Looks like the league may need to either turn a blind eye or have a chat with these unhappy coaches and players and tell them that without Ovechkin, this league could be just as gone as the XFL.