Yes, I am on vacation and will be back for Friday and Saturday’s events; tanned and rested I might add. I spent time over the vacation working with George McPhee and Don Fishman on numerous issues related to the team. Email and cell phones are wonderful things. One can be connected everywhere these days.

I went to my first hockey game with my dad when I was 6 years old - Rangers vs. Bruins – at the old Madison Square Garden. I listened to games on my radio with an ear plug in bed as I did homework when I was a kid. I remember that very fondly.

We moved to Boston from NYC when I was 13 years old and I became a Bruins fan and lived through the Bobby Orr Stanley Cup era. I became a Caps fan when I came to Georgetown University in 1975. I went to my first Caps game in 1976 - Caps vs. Canadiens – and paid $5 for a ticket and bus fare to the arena to boot. I became a full season ticket holder in 1992. Go Caps!