A timely film to watch.
Painful and daunting but worth your time and attention.
Thermal effects. Radiation. Fallout.
Really smart people here discussing the unspeakable. Watch it today on SnagFilms.com.
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Good Signs
A back to back game last night in Chicago was played by the Washington Wizards vs. the very talented Chicago Bulls.
We were missing more than half of our payroll and a lot of talent with Nick Young, Cartier Martin, Josh Howard, Andray Blatche and Rashard Lewis all on the bench sitting out with injuries.
So the young kids were thrown into the pool. See this story.
It was a fun game to watch.
We saw Jordan Crawford play hard and score a lot of points – 27 to be exact. He can get his shot off and he is fearless going to the rim. He is a rookie. John Wall, Nick Young and Jordan Crawford – that is a very young back court with promise and upside. We will have to add a vet to the mix in the future but I feel pretty good about our back court on the go forward.
JaVale McGee was awesome last night. He recorded a triple double. He was a beast on the boards and he blocked everything in sight. I am proud of the way he played last night and am hopeful that as he develops he internalizes that he can be a game changer by playing strong D and using his athleticism to run the court and to protect the basket.
I was also proud of Yi. He, too, is young at just 24 years old and he is having to raise the level of his play as he steps into a more demanding role.
We lost the game though. We simply don’t have enough talent and scoring options on the floor with 5 players out with injury and having to play so many rookies. That being said I was happy with the game last night. The team was having fun; learning on the court; and showing its upside for our future. Thank you.
Caps Television Ratings Boom
Thank you. If you can’t attend a game in person it is great that you are tuning in. And our road games tonight and tomorrow I expect will be off the chart and I also predict strong ratings when we play Philadelphia next week. Thank you Comcast SportsNet for being such a great partner. Please click here.
Thank you so much for your time and your interest.
We are well into renewal periods for the Caps and we just passed the 82% mark. I would expect us to be at more than 95% again this season when the deadline hits. I will provide more info on renewals as we get closer to the deadline. I am requesting that people please take the deadline seriously as we have a strong backlog of interest from people that wish to buy new season tickets. Thanks again. Go Caps!
Suck It Up
Jason Arnott is not in Montreal. He is in DC recovering from an injury.
It is possible that he could miss a week or two.
Nicklas Backstrom is still injured. As is Mike Green and Tom Poti. And Semyon Varlamov.
Tough break for us.
Tough back to back games against Montreal and Detroit, tonight and tomorrow.
Time for other players to step up as we recover from this grind of a season and this rash of injuries.
A goaltender; an All-Star #1 D man; a D man that plays 20+ minutes per game; a #1 center; and a #2 center are all out. What is next? Locusts?
A Good Chart
Chart of the day.
Why the newspaper industry collapsed.
Classifieds.
Google.
eBay.
Craig’s List.
Free websites are better than paid for newspapers. And on and on. Click here. This is quite telling.
It has always been surprising to me. Newspapers have a collection of really talented and really smart folks who tell everyone how to run their business yet – see chart – why didn’t the collective talents see this coming and strive for reinvention and a rebuild of their own? Yikes.
Violent Earth Indeed
So topical.
So sobering.
We all pray for our friends in Japan. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Flooding. Meltdowns.
Here is the film that puts it all in scientific perspective. Watch on SnagFilms.com. Real time drama.
Tonality – A Growth Stock
Read this article please.
This is the kind of tonality and outcome that is possible as a part of a rebuild. Take solace Wizards’ fans that this is what can happen if we execute the plan as outlined. We need some luck; some support; some good fortune; and some patience.
But read it. It is the home stretch of the season. The Capitals have won 10 of the last 11 games. We hit 40 wins for the 4th consecutive season. We have never done that before as a franchise. I believe we have one of the best records in the NHL in that 4 year span for the regular season.
Youth is being served. Marcus Johansson, a rookie center and a #1 draft pick is forced to play the #1 center position because of injury to Nicklas Backstrom who we also drafted in the first round. Marcus is playing fantastic hockey and he made the great pass – in overtime – for us to win the game. One of the bloggers stated he should never play in the NHL this season and should be down in Hershey. No one knows nothing.
We played a rookie goaltender. He got the win and we made some history. We are the only team to have three goaltenders win at least 7 games in a season that are 22 years of age or younger. We are best positioned in NHL with a great group of young and talented goaltenders. Of course some members of the media demanded we make trades for an experienced goaltender.
We played two rookie D men all game, too. The young players form our core. That move was dissected and critiqued, too.
And our newly acquired vets via trade or free agency or waiver wire pick up – Scott Hannan, Mike Knuble, Jason Arnott, Dennis Wideman and Marco Sturm – all contributed greatly. We were able to attract them to the team. They all wanted to play here. Some waived no trade agreements and are so happy to play in front of a sea of red and our 97th consecutive sellout! No one predicted or felt we could sell out every game nor attract vets to play here in DC 5 years ago. Or that we could make these moves under a salary cap system. Wrong again.
And of course we were able to keep our great players – Alex Ovechkin, the two-time league MVP; Mike Green, a first team All Star; Nicklas Backstrom; and Alex Semin – here under contract. We drafted all of these players. That was another bit of angst from the experts. Great players will flee DC when their contracts end. Nope. Wrong again.
We have been smart about the salary cap.
We have gotten younger and better as time has gone on. We have upside.
We all now have forgotten the tough times associated with the initial rebuild. We are positive in our outlook. We are looking forward. We have hope.
My point is this – the Capitals do provide a measure of solace and belief and confidence that we can execute on a rebuild plan. Each league and sport is different. Each circumstance is personalized as to execution but I am confident that if we execute well, we can make the Wizards successful; and a team that you can be proud of; and one that is hyper competitive in the new world order of the NBA. Thank you for listening and for your ongoing support.
Yep – That is the Plan
As I noted, I think after the next draft we will have acquired enough young assets for the Washington Wizards. Basically we will have added 6 first round picks to the lineup in 1.5 years. We needed an infusion of talent and hunger and the 6 picks are a lot to digest quickly.
We also will have financial flexibility to keep our key players and with young assets and new potential rules in the NBA a-coming, we hope to be able to make some astute trades and eventually free agent signings. I want an efficient rebuild and as noted here, there is a price to pay in a rebuild but the outcomes are worth it. I see the rebuild taking three full seasons. I know that is a lot to ask but we have to be honest with everyone. We will load up on young players. We will await the new rules (if any) in the NBA. We will add free agents. We will make trades. We will play the youngsters to gain experience and then I think we will have a very good team for a long, long time. That is the plan.
The Oklahoma City model looks a lot like the Washington Capitals model to me. Please read this article and we will see you all tonight at the game.
World’s Most Powerful Man at Caps Game
We played the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday so it was only appropriate that the most powerful man in the world would finally come to a game with us.
We are so grateful and it was so wonderful to welcome…DJ Pauly D!!!!
Who needs POTUS when you can have DJ Pauly D come to the box; pose for pictures with everyone; and go up on the big screen and “Beat that beat up.”
He is a very polite young man, very studious and courteous. I liked him very much. He and Alex Ovechkin have become friends. John Carlson and Eric Fehr know him as well.
He brought us luck. He is welcomed back anytime.
Beat that beat up. Click here for the official site of DJ Pauly D.
A Nice Win – Thank You
We have won 8 in a row now. We have 90 points and we are 1 point out of first place in the East and 18 points ahead of the 9th place team in the East.
That was a sweet win in front of a national TV audience and before a packed house. Yesterday was the biggest gate day we have ever experienced for the Washington Capitals with the most tickets sold for a regular season game and the most dollars generated. Thank you so much. I know several of our fans sold their tickets on reseller sites and made a huge profit as well. I wish you had come to the game. You missed a great experience.
Our young players played outstanding hockey again and our vets – Jason Arnott and Mike Knuble – delivered for us. And I was happy to see Boyd Gordon’s short-handed goal. That was very helpful in getting us back into the game. Brooks Laich’s goal was huge, too. It was a true team effort and win.
We catch our breath for one day then go on the road for 6 tough games against the likes of the Canadiens, Red Wings, Flyers, Devils and Senators.