Monthly Archives: February 2009

Going Green Again

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Mike is on a tear and the Caps increased their lead in the SE division over Florida to 14 points.

I was so happy with the way the fans all stood and cheered loudly for the last 5 minutes of the game as we tried to kill a 5 on 3 power play.

In the locker room afterwards, Alex Ovechkin noted to me that the “crowd was sick”. He then gave me a hug as he is so happy when the fans are rocking.

I was concerned about the conditions of the ice last night as it was unseasonably warm and there was a Georgetown basketball game that went into OT in the afternoon. The building staff has to really hustle to get the ice in game ready condition when this happens.

I asked our coaches about it after the game and they weren’t as displeased as I would have thought although I just read Tom Poti’s comments and am very concerned.

We are truly working these matters. We are very detailed about what we need to do as to temperature, timing, humidity and the like.

One of the things we will have to consider doing is not having any activities on the ice between intermissions. That extra 2 to 3 minutes may help us treat the ice. We are looking into this as a development now as well.

We are on it as is the building. We are looking at issues such as the building scheduling basketball games on our afternoons too although Georgetown has a schedule and is a tenant in the building and pays rent. And while the building tries to schedule their games before Wizards games, coordinating NHL, NBA and NCAA is an art not a science.

We are doing our best. We are making progress but we want to have great ice NOT acceptable ice and I hear Tom Poti loud and clear.

If Not Us, Who?

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If not now, when?

Truer words were never spoken.

Get ready for a tough, big time game tonight. Florida is unsung but very talented and hungry. They have us in their sights.

There is still a lot of hockey to play in the regular season.

Tonight will be loud and alive and electric at Verizon Center. It is cold outside. It is time to drop the puck and play some hockey. Let’s put the last game behind us and focus on the here and now. No more talk about potential. As someone great once said, ”The future is now.” 

Much Ado About Nothing

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There is no feud between the Caps and the Nationals. We are close friends. We work together. We care about each other’s success. I am a Nationals season ticket holder. Mark Lerner is a minority partner in the Capitals as well. We are close family friends.

We want each other to be successful at the gate and in the standings.

The Caps re-branded and re-launched our new jerseys. Our home uniforms are red now not white. We used to have white jerseys and hence “White Outs” for years and years when we played big games and in the playoffs. When we went to red uniforms, it all changed to ”Red Outs”. And most of the fan adoption was virally and organically activated. End of story.

The town is big enough to have multiple teams wear red or burgundy and gold or grey and blue or teal and whatever color is best suited for that team.

Thom: Ever notice that both the Washington Times and the Washington Post are black and white and red less and less all over? :-)

Economy is Taking Its Toll

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It is getting personal.

This week alone, I have sat though several meetings whereby one of the young startups I have invested in will soon shut its doors.

The ad market is tough; the VC community isn’t investing; and banks won’t make receivable loans. Investors are skeptical and tired.

Cash is king but there is no cash to be had.

And a SPAC that I was involved with couldn’t get its deal approved. The investors all wanted/needed their cash back. We lose our angel investment.

It is tough out there. Protect your cash. Save money. Be smart.

On investments, I am now in the mode of doubling down on winners; doing my pro-rata investment on deals that can get financed; or walking away from the bleeding corpse. It is that bad out there. No new investments will be approved or sought out for a long, long time.