I liked reading this one. You will too. Thank you.
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Congrats to US Women’s Hockey
You rock; you win. You are the champions. Click here to see the news.
NHL Playoffs
Just about every series is close.
There are no favorites.
There are overtime games galore.
We will look back at our series against the New York Rangers and see a 4-1 in games scorecard but we will know that our series had 2 OT games and every game was close with no margin of error. Luck played a big role in what we did and that every team that qualifies for the playoffs is a team capable of winning a series.
There are multiple Game 7s to be played.
A President’s Cup winner is in a Game 7 again this season after going up 3-0 in the series.
Great teams are in Game 7 dog fights.
Been there done that. It is a nerve-wracking time indeed.
The NHL playoffs are so intense; so much fun; and so close — too close to call.
Sit back and enjoy this great competition.
We await news on which team we will play in round 2. Whoever it is, there will be no favorites. It will be a great challenge. I expect a fun and intense and highly competitive series.
Till then – watch and tune in. This is great hockey that is being played. The NHL playoffs are “must see TV” indeed. Go Caps!
We Live in a Real Time
Nonstop, fast action world.
Of colors; of music; of speed.
I have always believed that hockey was a sport that captured the zeitgeist of young people and as such would be a growth sport and young people would love coming to games and playing the game. It is like a video game come to life. It is global and so much fun to participate. Basketball is like this as well. Lots of points scored with super athletes; up close and personal; programmed for speed and athleticism; and you can’t take your eyes off the play.
Here is a Wall Street Journal article on demography, sports and youth. Enjoy.
DC United and Groupon
Go see a match. Enjoy it and save.
DC United games are fun and action filled events.
Groupon delivers them to you at a great price with ease and one click efficiency.Check it out here.
Water
Our most important asset. What makes our planet and our bodies function properly.
It is everywhere.
Here is a great series of films about our planet and water. Blue Planet — clean water — watch and learn. On SnagFilms.com.
Rest We Can
Getting some time off is good.
Let the body and the mind settle down for our players.
Every team this time of year is dinged up.
We are still missing Mike Knuble; Dennis Wideman, and Tom Poti from the line up– and Mike Green–who was playing great– can use a few days off as well.
And I think our fans can rest their vocal chords for a few days as well. Drink green tea with honey!
We will know soon enough who we play in the next round; we will know soon enough our schedule.
We know we will open up at home.
Yesterday– the team played with maturity and focus.
The big names were all over the score card; but no one is focused on stats; no one cares about individual work; it is about team and our fans.
Our young players– our core group– and our vets all played as “one”.
We move on to the next round; we get to celebrate a holiday with some time off; we get a clean email box for a few days; although the one person who complained to me about NOT living up to expectations because the games were too close and we didn’t sweep– I ask to take a chill pill please:-).
Thanks for being such wonderful and supportive fans; thanks for sticking with us. Go Caps. Onward.
Loud You Were
And fun. And nice.
And all I can say is thank you. Everyone notices.
Your signs were funny.
Your voice was heard.
Your volume was over the top.
It really helps.
We are building a hockey capital, indeed.
All because of YOU!
Go Caps.
Thank You
Winning fans one person–one individual at a time.
This warms my heart, click here.
My Exit Interviews
They weren’t funny or sarcastic, or hyper critical like some writers like to have fun. I met with several of our players at season end; to do my due diligence and to spend time communicating with our players.
They were supportive. And had a give and take quality.
We are in it together– we are building something meaningful together. We all learn a lot from these sessions. And from the stat books and film that are shared. Listening well is as important as talking and communicating to others.
John Wall and I spoke; at length; about his aspirations for the team; his off season plans; his connection to the fan base; what we want and need to do together to craft the team that is as good as its fan base.
If you were there– you would have left the session with a smile on your face.
You would have taken comfort in that this young man is a wonderful and talented player but also a very strong individual; with laser like focus on his learning to date ; on what it takes to be successful in the NBA; on the importance of family and respect and hard work. And how important this summer will be to his individual development and chemistry. John will spend the summer working out with some team mates and some great coaches to take his game and his shot to the next level.
While he knew about his stats– in his rookie season which were quite impressive– John also stated that stats don’t matter-it is wins and loses that he cares about; making his teammates better– building a culture of mental and physical toughness and improving together til we qualify for the playoffs. And then take it from there.
We have promised John and all of our young players that we will do whatever it takes to be a very good team; to be a team that is a ” have”; not a ” have not”; we know how to do it; we are confident our partnership has the resources; the commitment and the patience and the desire to do the right things the right way.
We are in good hands with John Wall; he is a cornerstone of the rebuild; a point guard with great talent; a wonderfully mature and nice young man; polite– very coachable; with inner goodness; very court and people aware;with a fantastic charisma.
Exit interviews– you can learn a lot if you listen. You can be connected if you share. Being on the same page is the first step to building a culture about winning and improving. This summer is critical to our young players to take the next step– I am confident we have players that want to improve and will do the hard work to get us to the next step in our development. Have faith.