Soldiers Pay. The other side of a military voice.
I am a staunch supporter of our troops as you know.
This is a film that explores an underreported perspective from some soldiers.
It is by a great and respected director.
It will activate debate.
It is good to see all sides of a point of view.
Watch this film. Discuss. Thank you.
An intense hockey experience. That is all I can say about last night’s big game at Verizon Center.
Did you miss it? Click here for details.And who was running the country last night as this game was played?
A great time was had by all.
“An inside presence and that is what Bogut is” so sayeth Brandon Jennings.
Hmmm.
Andrew Bogut. Drafted first overall in the NBA draft in 2005 by the Bucks.
Brandon Jennings. A young charismatic guard drafted 10th in the first round by the Bucks in 2009. We could have drafted Jennings had we kept our draft pick that same year.
So the two players that make the Bucks admirable and a part of their core were drafted by the team.
Why do you think we are amassing draft picks; acquiring young prospects; and creating cap flexibility?
Help me to help you.
We are playing without our #1 center.We are playing without our #1 D man.
And without a D man that regularly logs 20 plus minutes.
We are playing without a starting young goaltender.
As an aside, is there any NHL team as loaded as we are with gifted and talented and productive young goaltenders? I am so impressed with these three young players. Kudos to our staff for drafting and developing them so well.
We played so many rookies last night. To start the game we had a rookie goaltender, two rookie D men and a rookie center. Think about that.
It was great to see an injured player get back into the lineup and be productive right away last night – welcome back Eric Fehr!
We now have 86 points.
We are much closer to first place in the East (2 points) than we are to ninth place in the East (14 points.) But I am still nervous.
We have 14 games left to play.
Should we be able to muster a 500 record from here on out we would finish the year with 100 points. That would make 3 years in a row that this team had 100 standings points. That is a great goal to shoot for!
But we should remain nervous. And humble. And continue to work hard. Amazing that there are only 14 games left to play. Go Caps!
Nick will be missed. He is a warrior and an iron man. He has never missed a full game before because of injury.
In a world where fans throw out the term “soft” all the time, Nick Backstrom is truly an “iron man”; dependable; competitive; and tough to play against – a player that leads by example.
He will be missed. Now our #1 center and our #1 D man are out of the lineup now. Tom Poti and Varly, too. What a rash of injuries. I am hopeful we can welcome back into the lineup Eric Fehr. We need some new “jump.” Go Caps! See you all tonight. The train is on time back from NYC.
We are proud to help support the 3rd Annual Congressional Hockey Challenge charity hockey game Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m. at Verizon Center. The first such congressional game was held at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, but the event has now moved downtown to the arena. Mike Knuble will drop the ceremonial first puck and there is a suggested $10 donation at the door. All proceeds to go Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club and Arena.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine and NHL alumni Kevin Weekes and Willie O’Ree, who broke the league’s color barrier, are all scheduled to be there. Pat has done a tremendous job for the NHL and the sport. He’s a true ambassador of the game. (I just wish he would have missed the net that unforgettable 1987 Easter Sunday.) But he was a great player and a true gentleman and I look forward to seeing him and hopefully many of you tomorrow night. Click here for more info.
Up at 4:15 am.
Worked and cleared out my overnight email. Wrote a few blog posts. Left my house at 5:30 am.
Took the 7:00 am train to NYC. Met lots of fellow Georgetown folks on their way to MSG and the Big East Tournament.
Working at American Express headquarters and giving a speech this morning.
Maybe catch a few moments of Georgetown game on my way home.
Taking the 2:00 pm train back to DC; conduct a SnagFilms meeting with a partner when I return; and then we all go to the Caps game tonight.
This will be a long day with almost 6 hours on a train getting back and forth to NYC.
Last night’s game wasn’t fun for anyone. I agree. That was messy basketball. It was tough to watch but all a part of a necessary process. Being bad is the price you pay for becoming good in professional sports. Those words are tough to say but it is a truthful statement.
We are not talented or deep enough to lose our highest paid players such as Rashard Lewis and Andray Blatche as well as Josh Howard to injury and be truly competitive. We do need vets on the floor in conjunction with our young players to adhere to the coach’s system. Those three injured players represent more than half our team payroll.
At one point last night our coach played 5 rookies at the same time. I was happy to see that. Our young players need minutes and we need to be able to gauge their strengths and weaknesses on the go forward.
Games such as last night come with the territory of a rebuild. I apologize but I have been transparent in how this season would unfold.
As an observation, does any one remember Alex Ovechkin’s first two years in the NHL? Can you name more than 5 players on the team his rookie year post the trade deadline? What kind of record did we have those two years?
It may have been even worse for the Washington Capitals. And our fans.
But it got better, didn’t it? We drafted well. We made some astute trades. We signed some free agents. Our young players played together and gelled. They developed on schedule and over the last 4 seasons we have had one of the best or the best regular season win/loss record in the NHL. We still have work to do and we still have upside with the Capitals.