Monthly Archives: February 2010

Yeah Sure

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No extra pressure? I am here in Canada. There are flags draped everywhere with the slogan “Go Canada, Go!” All anyone talks about is hockey; Canadian gold medals; and how this is the tournament when Canada brings home the gold medal back to where it belongs. Tickets to the game are the hottest ducats in town.

There is a ton of pressure and expectation and media coverage and buzz. If Canada doesn’t win the gold, this community will turn morose. They have the best team on paper. This is their game. It is being played in their country. They expect gold as does everyone who lives here. You can feel it in the air.

No extra pressure - nice one. :-)

Rain Rain Go Away

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Yuck. It is foggy, rainy and kind of warm here in Vancouver.

The Opening Ceremonies were fantastic but getting to the venue and standing in line while you are screened to get through security in a rainstorm isn’t glamorous and fun. It is El Nino here. Weird weather. It doesn’t feel like an Olympics at all. It feels like summer in San Francisco to be frank.

The Opening Ceremonies really gave everyone a buzz. We sat in the first twelve rows near the center part of the stadium. We had great seats. I wore my white poncho as given out by the organizers. I used my flashlight and spinning lights as directed. I was into the experience. The three hours blew by and the production values – live – were equally fantastic as they were on television. Kudos to the creative staff. While over the top, the production really worked and all 60,000 folks enjoyed every moment.

It was great to see Peter Bondra walking amongst the Slovakian team.

Peter Forsberg too looked fit leading Sweden’s team.

It is too bad NHL players couldn’t participate in the Opening Ceremonies but that would have taken away yet another weekend from our schedule.

The people in Vancouver are all welcoming. The city is really clean. The crowds are manageable and happy. Everyone is just having angst over the weather.

We are off today to Whistler where it may snow or there may be freezing rain. We intend to inhale this entire experience to see what it feels like to surrender to the Olympics movement.

Last Game Before the Break

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And it couldn’t come soon enough.

This season has been a grind. We have played so many road games - back to back games - and so many four games in six night sets. All to make room on the schedule for the Olympics. Six of our players will leave for Vancouver on Sunday while the rest of the organization flies home and then gets some quality time with family to rest up, heal up and then all get back together to practice.

One of the biggest issues a staff faces during a schedule like this one is the inability to schedule practices to work on systems or to fix emerging problems. There simply isn’t the time. Most off days are used to rest up or recover from travel.

We all look forward to the break and then the sense of normalcy we shall see after the break. We will have 20 games left and then on to the playoffs.

I am hopeful our Olympians have great tournaments, enjoy themselves and give it their all. I pray for their health as well.

It will be good to get the gang back together and we will see you all back at home in about three weeks. Go Caps!

I Remember You Steven Lowell

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I remember being in NYC on a business trip and the Caps were playing on the road. I was scheduled to have a business dinner and at the last minute but it was canceled. I ran to the ESPN Sportszone to watch the game but it was Monday night footballand the place was packed. No TV’s were tuned to our game. There was no place to sit.

I met a young man and told him of my plight. He was very nice to me and he set me up. I got to watch the game in a private area and I had a nice dinner as well.

As a thank you I sent this hockey fan a note with a small token of my appreciation.

Check out this blog post for the rest of the story…

Free Nelson Mandela

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Here is a great documentary film about the life and times of Nelson Mandela.

Watch this film this weekend. It is relevant as we celebrate the anniversary of his freedom.

He is a historic figure. Watch the film and learn about his struggle to set a nation free and to find peace and liberty for himself. On Snagfilms.com.

Head Spinning

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Another night and another crazy game. Back to back crazy games. So many goals. So much drama. So much talent on display. Alex Semin is an unbelievable talent, isn’t he? Nice hat trick. When you score 5 goals you should win the game and we didn’t, so shame on us. 3 games, 3 hat tricks very odd.

Varly–Welcome Back. Tough first game back, shake the rust and distractions off. You haven’t played since December 7th. Ease back into the rotation. We need you and Jose Theodore to be rested and ready for the last 20 games of the season and then for the playoffs.

The injury bug has bitten again. We have lost several key players from the line up. Poti, Morrisonn, Chimera, Laing but the two and half week Olympic break should provide some time to heal.

The on ice officials, they are human. They make mistakes. But tell me again why the icing at the end of the game wasn’t called? I didn’t understand that one rules of hockey 101. But that didn’t lose us the game.

We looked like a tired team last night. A team that is coming off a series of tough games with a lot of energy expended. We gave it our all. We didn’t deserve to win one more game before the break then some rest for everyone but for our 6 Olympians.

Our expectations are high. We don’t like games like last night. We will get back on track. I have faith in coach and his staff. A little practice, a little film review and a little time off. We will be back in the groove soon.

Thanks for watching the game and thanks to the Caps fans that showed up in Ottawa.