Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

For the record...

...Nic made the Ned Braden joke last night, well before Dave Fay had it published in this morning's Washington TIMES.

And when the announcer mispronounced Maurice Richard's name, her jaw didn't drop. She almost dropped, then she sputtered, then she turned pink, then purple, then blurple, then finally shouted out something along the lines of What kind of idiot hockey announcer doesn't know how to pronounce Maurice Richard's name?

Redskins Report

They lost. Didn't even put up much of a fight. Even though this cartoon is two years old, it's still relevent. Especially today!

Passing Fancy

UPDATE: Per ESPN.com, Brunell will be benched for the next game! Jason Campbell will get his first NFL start on Sunday against the Buccaneers.

Good bye, Kono

I've not been keeping up on my hockey news. It was just today that I learned that Steve Konowalchuk has had to retire because of a heart condition.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Mostly I'm sorry to hear that he has the heart condition in the first place, of course. But I'm also sorry because I sort of harbored this fantasy of going to Vancouver in 2010 and seeing Kono skate for Team USA in the Olympics.

I was thrilled in 2002 when Kono was named captain of the U.S. team. I liked him because I was a Caps fan, but also because he's the kind of player I love: mucker and grinder. And a class guy, too...I would never expect to hear about him, say, tearing up a hotel room.

Plus, to add to the storybook story, in 2002 the games were in his hometown of Salt Lake City.

The reason you don't remember the storybook story is that Kono injured his shoulder that season and missed the Olympics.

Last year he made the Olympic team again, but got knocked out in the first half of the season with torn ligaments in his wrist.

And now he's out for good with long QT syndrome. The Rocky Mountain News put it well:

Few in the NHL played with as much heart as Steve Konowalchuk, making the reason he is giving up the game at age 33 so painfully ironic.

Victor's Ride

Victor here, reporting on his ride. I did it, too. Kinda.

Unlike Nic, I planned to ride the full century, and I can report I crossed the finish line with no assist whatsoever. But I didn't ride 100 miles.

Also unlike Nic, I can say I trained a bit more, but to be honest, not too much more. My longest ride was a slow 45-miler I did with Nic. I also did a 40-mile ride with some friends at about a 15mph pace, plus one other 25-miler with the same people (but at a slower pace, because of the hills). Thinking about the way I felt after those rides, I felt I could maintain a 13-15 mph pace on the century and finish it under my own power. I still think that.

But I didn't count on the weather being such a factor. I don't think I can add anything else about the weather that Nic hasn't already said, other than it sucked donkey dicks.

I rode with Nic and her friend for the first 8.8 miles, to the place when the metric and full centuries split. A hug & a kiss and we went our separate ways. It wasn't too much past that where I turned left into a 20+ mph headwind. I watched my rate drop from 14mph to about half that, for about five miles. At the first pit stop, I ate and drank and realized I wasn't having fun. Obviously, a bad sign, but still, I jumped on my bike and took off for the second pit stop, twenty miles away.

On my way to the second pit stop, the wind wasn't much better, and my pace stayed at 7-11 mph. I passed by some riders talking to a policeman and I was slow enough to hear the cop explain the wind was like this all the way to Assateague Island, where the third pit stop (2nd SAG stop) was.

(NOTE: I found a comment, from Cycling Forums member rpc180, about the winds on the Verrazano Bridge to Assateague on the Cycling Forums: The Assteauge (sic) bridge - is windy, people were tilted almost 15 degrees to compenstate. I'm not real fond of bridges; I don't think I would have crossed it for fear of being blown off.)

I thought about the advice I gave to Nic and her friend when we split up. Don't be afraid to SAG in, I told them, if you don't think you can make it. I didn't think I'd be taking it, but I had to admit to myself there was no way I'd be able to finish a full century in this wind. In fact, I called up Nic and told her so.

The second stop was a mini-stop--just water/gatorade, jiffy johns, and a car with a FIRST AID magnet on it. I asked the SU Athletic Trainer serving as a medic if there was a SAG bus from this stop; she explained there wasn't but there was one at the fourth pit (and third SAG stop). She watched my eyes get big, and she quickly added it was only about four miles away--just take that road over there straight until you reach the stop. If you take a look at the map (here, on page two), you can see the Victor end-around. Just draw a line along Shockley Rd. from the WATER & TOILET STOP to the 3RD SAG STOP.

At the SAG stop, I ate some pie (a very pleasant surprise. I thought the pie was at Assateague Island) and told the goose in the pond if my gf had been there, she'd have taken a dozen pictures of him by now. I also looked at the map, and saw I was only sixteen miles from the finish.

Hmmmm, thought I to myself, thought I. I rested a bit. I drank some Gatorade, and I ate a banana. After about twenty minutes I started feeling better, and my heart-rate monitor confirmed it (my pulse was below 100 bpm). I called up Nic and told her I might continue, after I rested awhile.

The SAG van left and returned. About an hour after pulling into that pit stop, fully expecting to return in a SAG van, I had some more food and drink & I hopped back onto my bike. My pace increased to about 15 mph (mostly--the winds still wreaked havoc on my average) with my heart-rate monitor staying, for the most part, between 150 and 155 bpm (160 bpm is the point where I'm really straining and I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack). A little over an hour after pulling out of pit stop 3, I crossed the finish line.

If you go by the map, you can see I did 59.5 miles by the cue sheet. Add in the 3 to 4 miles during my end-around and I did at least 62.5 miles--an honest Metric Century.

Someone may ask me, fairly, if I feel I cheated. I can answer, fairly, that I didn't. This wasn't a race; I gained nothing from my shortcut other than the pride in finishing my longest ride in quite awhile, in weather I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, under my own power. More importantly, I finished healthy, safely, and uninjured. In the vernacular...I finished in one piece.

Which, all along, was my true goal.

Yellow and Red

Jersey and blood, that is. If you saw the end of today's stage of the Tour you were witness to a horrific sight: The yellow jersey Thor Hushovd lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from an injury to his right arm. The gf couldn't look.

Speculation is he was hit by a green foam finger (at 5:36) and was cut. What could be seen was, as he sprinted in, he suddenly looked to his right, possibly at his arm, and (you had to be watching really carefully for this) that as the camera followed the stage winner (Jimmy Caspar) the right arm of the yellow jersey was in frame briefly and he was already bleeding. Also, from the overhead view, you could see Hushoved was right up against the barriers and also that spectators were leaning over the barriers. Finally, it is also certain Hushovd was struck by a foam finger as he was sprinting for the line.

As I said, most speculation is the foam finger caused the injury. Me...I'm not so certain.

First of all, let's get the silly conspiracy theories out of the way: Yes, someone could have had a knife or razor blade and intentionally attacked a rider (either the yellow jersey or someone else and he just missed). Fortunately, that should be pretty easy to disprove: A weapon should leave a very clean cut and the medical examination should shed some light on the nature of the injury. I doubt very seriously that's what happened but it is certainly within the realm of possibility.

Speculation currently centers on the green foam finger, probably because replays showed Hushoved almost certainly struck one in the sprint. I, personally, find that hard to believe as I don't see how thick, soft foam could cut human flesh, even at 40+ km/hour (~25 miles/hour). Yeah, that too is within the realm of possibility but it seems, to me, even less likely than an intentional attack with a sharp object.

Overhead replays showed Hushovd was right up against the barriers as he began his sprint. If I'm not mistaken, the barriers are metal and are also covered with advertising banners. Something has to be holding those banners in place, and I'm more inclined to think it was one of those.

Working the AIDS Rides many, many years ago, metal barriers had vinyl banners on them. The banners were held in place with heavy plastic zip ties, and, quite frankly, the ties were not trimmed flush. Up to an inch of heavy, rather sharp, plastic was sticking out where they held the banners to the barriers.

I'm more inclined to think it was something like that that cut Hushovd's arm. The plastic on some zip ties is certainly tough enough and if it's cut short but sticking out, I think it could easily cut someone moving by at greater than 20 mph. The only way to determine this is to carefully examine all of the banners on that side of the finishing straight carefully...but, sadly, it's been about an hour since the stage finished and I strongly suspect the barriers and banners are already being taken down for a future stage.

Here's hoping Hushovd makes the start tomorrow.

UPDATE: According to Velo News, the green hand was not made of foam, it was plastic, and stiff plastic is certainly more likely to cause a gash than foam. As a result, Tour officials have banned those signs in the final two kilometers of a stage.

On another note, American George Hincapie of Discovery, has taken the yellow jersey, becoming only the fourth American to ever wear yellow in the Tour de France.

Ok, a little more (or, Doping quotes of the day)

Racing starts late today (the Prologue is a short time trial), so I do have time for more doping talk after all...

Actually, this is an interesting interview that puts some perspective on what I talked about last night: the presumption of innocence or guilt that seems to be in play with the suspensions.

Cyclingnews.com interview with UCI president Pat McQuaid

Some salient quotes from McQuaid:

It is worth remembering that no other sport does what we do. In every other sport in a disciplinary matter they wait until the sportsperson is found guilty before sanctioning. But we - in compliance with the UCI Pro Tour Code of Ethics - can suspend a cyclist once they are implicated in an affair, as in this case. He will stay suspended until the due process is finished

I cannot deny that it will have an effect on the sport, but I have to look at the positive side. It has to be a message to all the other riders in there that no matter how clever you think you are, you will eventually get caught out.

Can you imagine a player's union of a major sport here agreeing to a code like that?

But again I have to state that everything we are dealing with at the moment is allegations. Everybody is innocent at the moment, until we go through a process which proves them guilty. That has got to be stated, clearly. These riders that are being sent from the Tour de France today are being sent home on the presumption of innocence. Because their name is implicated in this report, they have been suspended. But they have not been fired, they will continue to get paid. It is a suspension for now.

One downside to the less-than-zero tolerence that occurs to me is (cue conspiracy theory music) it makes it too easy to frame somebody long enough to knock them out of a particular race, and let's be real...the Pro Tour is really one major major race, two other big races, and a bunch of races that don't have anywhere near the return for sponsors and host cities. Suspended riders may be cleared in time for the Tour de Pologne, but that's not going to make up for missing France.

But at the end of the day, I'm a good ISTJ: if you sign something, you can't turn around later and complain that you're being held to what you signed. Here is the Code of Conduct for UCI Pro Teams to which everyone has been referring:

The UCI ProTeams undertake to:
...
IX. Without prejudice to the right to terminate the contract for serious misconduct, not to enter any licence-holder for events who is subject to judicial proceedings or investigation for facts relating to sporting activity, or any act constituting a breach of the UCI antidoping regulations, or any other intentional criminal act.

1. as from the opening of the investigation or proceedings:

· if the facts are admitted by the party in question, or
· if information from an official source available to the UCI ProTeam shows that the facts in question cannot be seriously contested;

2. in other cases, as from the date of referral by the investigating body or, where no such procedure applies, the date of the summons to the accused to appear before the trial judge for sentencing.

Last pre-Tour post

Maybe our new guest blogger will fill in the details of the late TdF news...I decided to quit checking Velonews every twenty minutes and instead went down to RFK so I could see a wholesome sport unsullied by drug...oh, never mind.

Ok, the latest is that the Astaná-Würth team won't ride, because by the time the riders who were implicated in the doping were pulled, the team was two riders short of the minimum six needed to start the race.

Astaná-Würth is a team that was actually hastily formed from Liberty Seguros when that sponsor pulled out following the arrest of the team director when this whole Spanish doping thing began in May. (This specific case, I mean, not doping itself.) The Astaná part of Astaná-Würth is a bunch of Kazakhs with money who agreed to take over sponsorship for team leader Alexander Vinokourov. (Vino is pretty popular in Kazakhstan.)

And speaking of Vinokourov, he wasn't one of the riders on the list. (It crossed my mind that if he'd stayed another year at T-Mobile, he'd be the team leader there now...but Vino staying at T-Mobile would have been alternative-universe territory. Everybody knew he was splitting during last year's Tour.) So in other words, Vino is really screwed.

One of the things that makes this story so intriguing for some of us, I think, is the complete lack of the presumption of innocence that we take for granted here in the U.S. In discussing this with my mom earlier today, she reminded me that French law goes the other way, and I have no idea how other European countries work. And of course, the UCI isn't a governmental body anyway. But this spur-of-the-moment punative action isn't something I remember in any other sports I follow.

Oh, and following other sports didn't do much to cheer me up, either: the Nats lost to the Devil Rays 11-1.

Anyway, the Tour starts tomorrow...presumably. (I well remember stage 17 of 1998...) I'm looking forward to a time trial, anybody else with me?

It's a whole new Tour--in more ways than one

Victor here, and I'd like to thank my sweetie for letting me blog here now that my own blog has died from neglect. Since she called me at work this morning with the news that two Tour de France favorites have been suspended, I've been reading and doing some research.

First of all, it is possible 2006 winner of the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France favorite, and suspended rider Ivan Basso may have his Giro title stripped from his palmarès. There is precedent for it: In February of this year, the winner of the 2005 Vuelta a España and former US Postal Service rider Roberto Heras was stripped of his title when he failed a doping test after the second-to-last stage of that race. Second-place finisher Denis Menchov of Rabobank was declared the winner.

If these allegations against Basso hold up and he is stripped of his title, that should mean the second-place finisher, José Enriqué Gutierrez of Phonak, will be declared the winner....maybe. It turns out he, too, is implicated in this very same scandal.

Further, VeloNews is reporting:

After a series of crisis meetings Friday between the recently-installed Tour director Christian Prudhomme and the AIGCP, the body which represents the managers of all the teams taking part, Prudhomme was unequivocal in the race organizers' position.

"We're happy about T-Mobile's decision to suspend Sevilla and Ullrich," said Prudhomme, who is directing his first race in place of the retired Jean-Marie Leblanc. "Last night we received official documents from the Guardia Civil (Spanish police) via the Spanish cycling federation.

"We then had a meeting with the AIGCP. During that meeting it was decided that the race's ethical code will be applied to the letter and that none of the riders suspended will be allowed to be replaced. "The sporting directors of each team will now contact the riders concerned."

Fortunately for American Floyd Landis, it seems J.E.Gutierrez was not selected for Phonak's TDF team. (NOTE: These are provisional rosters; last-minute substitutions for pre-race crashes or other emergencies have been allowed in past Tours. Riders marked on this roster with an asterisk are "substitutes;" I confess I'm not sure how the Tour directors are defining "substitute" in this context.). With a full team, Floyd Landis and Phonak may now be considered among the favorites to win this years Tour de France.

This is very much a developing story. I suspect Nic and I will be reporting more throughout the day.

At least she took the day off and isn't risking her job.

I must be a champion masochist

Season after season. Sport after sport. Team after team.

Terps are Going Nowhere

Surprise Ending: Caps Fall in N.Y.

Chargers Thwart Redskins, 23-17

Offensively-Challenged Caps Fall to Sabres

Why am I a sports fan?

Ok, I'm starting to warm up

You can't expect a good picture from a crappy cell phone, but this is Alex Ovechkin taking the first Caps' shot of the OT.

It was a nice win, but the thing that is warming me up is that I'm seeing actual improvement...hockey worth watching.

There's hope for the winter yet.

Looking at a long short season

Brendan Witt started with the Caps as a holdout, drafted in the first round in 1993 but sitting out his first season because he thought he was worth more than the team was offering. That didn't endear him to me, and when he did start playing, I was ambivalent...he took a few too many dumb penalties for my taste, but at least he was a defensive defenseman.

He's grown on me, and I've nothing against him now. But I gotta say...if he's the best defenseman on the team...well, I guess you end up seeing 7-2 games.

I keep telling myself: It's a rebuilding year.

We suck by design, and it's not like I've never seen a bad season before. I don't know why I'm so discouraged.

I'm going to the game tonight. Right now the big excitement is that there's a new Five Guys on H Street, so I won't be eating overpriced Aramark crap for dinner.

Time Trial

16:50 - Rasmussen Stops To Fix Wheel...! Rasmussen - who is the only rider to have crashed on the course - has now been forced to stop to repair his bike. He’s stopped three times now. There are Colnagos lying in his wake as he tried to get his gear rolling again!

And since I copied that update, Rasmussen stopped and changed bikes again. I feel terrible for that guy...I admit I wanted Ullrich to pass him (and realistically, barring bad luck like Rasmussen is having, there's no reason to think Ullrich wouldn't beat him...Ullrich is still a very strong time trialist)...but you never want to see a guy beaten like that.

Holy shit, Rasmussen just crashed again. At this point, I'm now hoping he's not injured or ill or anything. He's had such a good race until today...

See, there's still drama to be had in this race.

Happy to help

To the Google searcher who arrived here looking for "Vinokourov+color+T-Mobile"...

I'm guessing you are wondering why T-Mobile rider Alexander Vinokourov isn't wearing the same pink magenta uniform as the rest of the team. Why does he get to look so much tougher in pale aquamarine and yellow?

(I shouldn't kid about that. Vino would look tough in anything. You could put him in a Paola Pezzo outfit and he'd still look like he could kick ass.)

The answer is that Vinokourov is the current national cycling champion of Kazakhstan, and national champions wear their national jersey for the season. (Unless he also wins the world championship...the rainbow jersey trumps a national jersey.)

Other national champions in this year's Tour include Gerrit Glomser (Austria--although he abandoned in stage 10), Robbie McEwen (Australia), Jaan Kirsipuu (Estonia--abandoned in stage 9), Pierrick Fedrigo (France), Leon van Bon (Netherlands--abandoned in stage 8), and Juan Manuel Garate (Spain). The current world champion, Oscar Freire of Rabobank, isn't in France (he had surgey in June).

Just to keep things colorful, road race championships and time trial championships aren't interchangable, jersey-wise...that's why Michael Rogers wore the ranbow jersey (well, it was more like a skinsuit) in the stage 1 time trial, but in the other stages he's in a regular Quickstep jersey.

Past winners can commemorate their accomplishments with stripes on their team jersey collar or cuffs...if you get a close look at Freddie Rodriguez, for example, there's a red, white, and blue stars and strips design around the hem of his sleeve. His Lotto teammate Axel Merckx has the Belgian black, gold and red strips on his, and Stuart O'Grady wears green and gold from his Australian championship. (This is what I do during the middle of flat stages...watch for Didi the devil, and play spot-the-stripes.)

Not making it

In many ways, the Tour de France is a war of attrition. It's not just the weak who don't make it through the entire 21 days...among the fallen already are David Zabriskie and Jens Voigt, wearers of the yellow jersey. Zabriskie abandoned, suffering from injuries in his crashes; Voigt, riding with a fever, finished stage 11 outside of the time zone and was thus eliminated. Tom Boonen was in the green jersey of the top sprinter, but a knee injury kept him from starting yesterday. Manuel Beltran, one of Lance Armstrong's mountain men, hit his head in a crash and was advised by the race doctor to proceed to the hospital.

Even Phil Liggett sounds like he ought to be home sipping tea, poor man.

I've heard Lance referred to as Superman. I think that applies to anyone who can finish the Tour.

The longest ride I've ever done was about 83 miles. That was in 1997, a miserable muggy day in North Carolina. (Eight years later, I still regret that I didn't push through to the century, though I think the friend with whom I was riding would have cut my brake cables if I'd tried to get back on the bike at the rest stop where I quit.) And maybe I've been in more pain that I was that day, but I'm not sure when. I think that is why I am in such awe of the pros: I know how it felt to ride a fraction of what they do, so I assume their suffering increases by the same factors as the mileage and the grades, but they keep going.

To the Bastille!

When I was in college, the professor I had for European History had written a book about the French Revolution, so he put a fair amount on emphasis on it. It confused the heck out of me, frankly, and after the final I gave up on trying to make sense of it. The one thing that always struck me was the renaming of the months and making the 10-day weeks, because that was just so...nuts.

Anyway, today is Bastille Day, Fête Nationale. Apparently it is a big deal to win the stage on Fête Nationale in you are a Frenchman, and today's winner, David Moncoutie, is.

From VeloNews, a list of French bastille Day winners since World War II:

2004 Richard Virenque (St. Flour)
2001 Laurent Jalabert (Colmar)
1997 Laurent Brochard (Val Louron)
1995 Laurent Jalabert (Mende)
1989 Vincent Barteau (Marseille)
1980 Mariano Martinez (Morzine)
1975 Bernard Thévenet (Serre Chevalier)
1971 Barnard Labourdette (Gourrette)
1970 Bernard Thévenet (La Mongie)
1969 Raymond Delisle (Luchon)
1968 Roger Pingeon (Albi)
1964 Jacques Anquetil (Paris)
1961 Jacques Anquetil (Perigueux)
1957 Jean Bourlés (Ax-les-Thermes)
1953 Jean Robic (Luchon)
1949 Emile Idée (Nîmes)

Speaking of Laurent Brochard (1997's Bastille Day winner), I think he is the oldest guy (age 37) on the Tour this year. You know me, I love old guys (which I used to define as "older than I am," but I'm afraid I'll be needing to tweek that definition real soon). But did you happen to catch him Tuesday, in the lead group most of the day? Gotta love the way his mullet blows out from beneath his helmet. Allez, Laurent!

That was an aside...we old people get distracted. What I was going to say was, I know in some circles bashing France is de rigueur, but I think it is cool that a French rider won today. It is their race, after all, it is only fitting they get a reason to cheer extra loud today.

This is why I'm at work in July, not in France talking to a TV camera

Here's what I expected in today's stage (in a tiny, Discovery/T-Mobile-centric nutshell...I didn't have CSC/Phonak/etc. predictions):

A return of the yellow jersey to Armstrong; biggie time loss by Ullrich; good time and strong ride by Vinokourov; and an announcement later by Ulle that, hurting from his two recent crashes, he was going to ride in support of Vino.

Well, I never said I was a prognosticator. In fact, I've admitted that I suck at that.

Still, I am surprised that Vino got dropped where he did (more than 10 km from the finish, I think). I can't wait to get home and see the replay.

Victor doesn't get my ambivalence about Armstrong winning again. I think what I would like to see is more suspense...not suspense about whether he'll be taken down by some act of God or a deranged spectator [like the one who came out of crowd to punch Eddy Merckx in the kidney in the 1975 Tour], but the kind of suspense that comes from more equal competition.

It's not that I want him to lose. He deserves to win...nobody prepares the way he does. I mean, he's got NASA-like engineers who work on how to best affix his race number to his jersey so it doesn't cause drag. (Hell, NASA should be so meticulous.)

It's just that, you know, it'd be cool to see something old-fashioned and spontaneous.

And I admit this thought wasn't mine, I didn't consider it 'til I read Lance Armstrong's War...but it sure would be interesting to see how he'd react to a loss.

One-mississippi, two-mississippi

I've tried to explain to my non-cycling-fan friends what two seconds means in racing. This morning, for example, someone said to me "Lance isn't doing so well this year, huh?"

Huh? He's down by two seconds! To a guy who isn't a contender!

Now, I knew Dave Zabriskie wasn't going to be in yellow much longer. Discovery is dominant in the team time trial, and going into today I expected them to win, though not without a fight from CSC. I was pretty impressed when I checked out the standings mid-morning and saw this:

16:26 - CSC With The Best Time

At the 25km mark, the CSC team has set a time that’s six seconds faster than Liberty Seguros. If they can maintain this pace, Dave Zabriskie will hold onto the yellow jersey after stage four.

Then there was this:

17:08 - 2km To Go For CSC

There are less than 2,000m to go for Dave Zabriskie and his CSC colleagues. They have set the fastest time at every check today.

Then in the two seconds it took me to refresh the display:

17:09 - Zabriskie Crashes!

Dave Zabriskie has touched the wheels of one of this team-mates. The yellow jersey is back on his bike but he has lost contact with his team-mates!

How long does it take to go down, two seconds, maybe?

The rest of CSC kept going, of course...the time for the team is taken from the fifth man in, so they still had a shot at beating Discovery [as an aside, I just typed Postal] even leaving Zabriskie in a bloody heap. As it happened, they came in two seconds behind Discovery [I just did it again...P...o...perhaps I need an auto-correct macro for this]. I'm thinking that two seconds may possibly have been swallowed up by the team's reaction to the crash. Speculation, of course, but count it out loud...two seconds is nothing. Except for Dave Zabriskie and CSC today, when two seconds were everything.

Cycling Photo Wire on ESPN

Graham Watson's Tour de France

Stage 1

Way to go, Dave Zabriskie, winner of Stage 1 and wearer of a certain yellow jersey.

I love seeing the kids win in the Tour, like Zabriskie, or Thomas Voeckler last year. When they are up on the podium smiling, they just radiate joy. (Check out photo 7 from the BBC.)

I'm guessing there's not much joy on the T-Mobile bus, though. Oy. I'm not rooting specifically for anybody this year (I have a feeling that my support is sort of like the kiss of death), but I have a soft spot for Jan Ullrich. I'm thinking that having Armstrong breeze past him like he did in the TT today may have been more painful than going headfirst through the back window of the team car yesterday. I'll be interested to see how it plays out in T-Mobile with Ullrich and Alexander Vinokourov (who was third in the TT, 53 seconds back to Jan's 1:08)...I still can't see how one team can race for two riders, and I'm not convinced that team management is behind Ullrich.

Context (more of my ranting about the Jeremy Roenick rant)

Jeremy Roenick says his rant was taken out of context, and after reading more complete transcipts, that seems to be the case.

But there is still just one thing I want to hear from the NHL, from the owners, from the union, and from the players.

(Make that two things. The first is "We have reached an agreement," because that isn't a done deal yet.)

Other than that, though, all I want to hear is "We are sorry we let this happen."

Both sides are responsible, and everyone involved on both sides needs to be doing their best to win people back, not cussing them out.

All they took away from me was entertainment...it was like being grounded for the season. But they hurt people: the waitresses who lost tips, the guys who sell popcorn at the arenas, the team office staff who go laid off. Look at them, then try crying poor about the lousy deal the players are going to end up with...that's the context I'd like to see Roenick consider.

You guys saw my hockey collection...I'm not exactly the casual fan. If the NHL and NHLPA can alienate me like this, I do wonder how many people will take them back with open arms.

Yeah, this takes the sting out of the lockout

A friend of mine suggested I check out this little item over at Fox Sports:

"If people are going to sit and chastise pro athletes for being cocky, they need to look at one thing and that's the deal we're going to be signing in about three weeks,'' [Jeremy ] Roenick said. "Pro athletes are not cocky. Pro athletes care about the game. Everybody out there who calls us spoiled because we play a game, they can kiss my a--.

"I will say personally, to everybody who calls us spoiled, you guys are just jealous. We're trying to get this thing back on the ice and make it better for the fans. If you don't realize that, then don't come. We don't want you in the rink, we don't want you in the stadium, we don't want you to watch hockey.''

90 degrees so I'm thinking about hockey

Washington will be hosting the Frozen Four in 2009. I don't have a local news item to which I can link, though, because college hockey is barely a suggestion of a blip on the local news radar. Well, no, I must be fair: I heard this on the local news radio.

And when I heard it, I thought: Excellent...but huh? None of the schools around here play Division I hockey.

Unless Navy expects that they will be by 2009.

From (of all places) the San Jose Sharks news:

But the most interesting bid may be that of Washington, D.C., only because the U.S. Naval Academy is the host school. Navy has had an on-campus rink for many years, and the Sharks actually practiced there last season. But Navy doesn’t field a Division I varsity team, so what could this bid be all about?

Well, it makes the MCI Center’s bid much stronger, there’s no doubt. But in a roundabout way, it may explain the recent decision of the Air Force Academy to drop out of the CHA in favor of Atlantic Hockey, a move which will raise their travel budget.

Air Force has scholarship and academic guidelines that are more similar to Atlantic Hockey,so that is one reason for the move. A second is that the U.S. Military Academy, also known as Army, plays its hockey games in Atlantic Hockey, so a natural rival would begin.

But my imagination is racing with the idea of Navy upgrading its club program to a varsity, and playing in Atlantic Hockey with Army and Air Force. That would really be exciting,and would be a great selling point for the conference. A successful NCAA bid would certainly be a jump starting point for such a project, if they chose to do so.

From this article on the Caps web page, Sounds like Navy's coach Rick Randazzo (a West Point grad) has the same idea:

“When I came in six years ago, Division I really wasn’t even in the picture,” says Randazzo. “Now it’s six years later. It has been a dream of mine to have an Army-Navy game. I think that would be great. I always felt cheated not to have an Army-Navy hockey game. Going to West Point, our biggest competitor was RMC, Royal Military College in Canada. It just wasn’t the same as an Army-Navy game where everybody is cheering you on and fans are coming out of everywhere. We never have that. I know if we had that hockey game it would be unbelievable because hockey is the fastest warrior sport we have. If we were able to do an Army-Navy game, it would be on. It would be great. That would make it worth it whether we were varsity or not. All the other sports here – 23 varsity sports and all the club sports – they play Army except for us. With the new rink, I think it’s going to happen and then we’ll just have to see if there is a good fit for Navy to move in.”

Pretty cool, as it were.

Why I love the Nats

I don't think it is merely the novelty of having major league baseball that's keeping me loving the Washington Nationals. I have a short attention span: if it were just novelty, I'd have bought my caps and my t-shirts and my batting practice jersey to make sure they got my money, but I would have stopping tuning into the games back in May. And it's not just because they are winning; how they are playing is more important to me than that.

I'm not very knowledgeable about baseball, so of course the following observations may be technically wrong, but they work for me. Here's why my new home team has captured my heart: they're plumbers.

Plumbers, muckers, and grinders. A lunchpail team.

Can you use these terms in baseball? There are no corners, no boards, but there is an attitude. They don't give up. The Nationals came from behind in 22 of their 32 wins. It is a team without a superstar, so everybody works. And they look so damn happy when they score or make that last out, it's like watching kids play.

It's so fun to watch (or hear. I love radio for baseball.), it's brought out the kid in me.

I get misty-eyed even now

Silver anniversary for 'Miracle on Ice'

There are a few more stories linked there. My favorite quote is from Cammi Granato:

My brothers and I would act them out -- Herb Brooks talking to Mike Eruzione. We would reenact the last 4 seconds of the game and pile on each other just like they did. ...

"Honestly, I felt it and thought about 1980 when we were celebrating after winning the gold medal in '98. It was a strange feeling. I had watched and reenacted that so often, and now I was there."

This makes me miss it even more

The Washington Capitals were a dreadful team in the early seventies, but I was just a little kid just learning to love sports, so I didn't comprehend how bad they were.

I've never given it a lot of thought, but it must have been hell for the players.

For lack of other content, the Caps web page has been posting trips down memory lane this year. This piece on Tommy Williams shows some of the frustration the players felt, but also some of the humor. Talking about his final game:

I wanted to go out in one great blaze of glory. For the last few weeks I’ve been dreaming about that. I wanted to go out like Ted Williams did in Boston. Remember that last game he had? Old Teddy hit a home run that last time up at Fenway Park. A real blaze of glory.

The Bomber didn’t get his blaze. What I ended up with was a 14-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Thank heavens for the safety.

They're talking about talking!

I heard it on the way home:

NHL, NHLPA to resume bargaining talks next Thursday in Toronto

Why am I still up?

So feeling woolly might not be about stress. Now I have a headache and a sore throat and a stuffy nose. I oughta be in bed, but Maryland is playing Virginia Tech, if you can call it playing...

It's 41-3 at the half.

Four turnovers.

Fridge said a naughty word on his way into the locker room.

That may be while I'm still watching...I want to see if the boys come out fired up. The tv guys have declared the game over, but hey, remember Frank Reich?

Unlike the rest of the ACC teams, I actually like Tech. Several of my friends went there (more than stayed home to embrace in-state tuition, in fact) and I saw lots of games at Lane Stadium. Frank Beamer was just starting out, and the Hokies were no better than we were.

It was a little easier to like them then, I will say.

I'm bummed about Maryland's season, of course. I got used to bowl games, and this season...well, it's more like I saw when I was in school.

And without the Capitals, with Maryland looking like there's not gonna be a game over New Year's, and with the 'Skins not seeming like they want to play in January either, I'll have plenty of free time to catch up on the sleep I am losing tonight.

I said Hockey, so here is Hockey

I miss hockey. I heard yesterday that the NHL All-Star game's been cancelled, not that I expected otherwise...but it's starting to sink in. And while I'm having no trouble filling the free time...we have lots of animals to keep happy, and actually, I still have many projects that I can't seem to get around to finishing...I'm restless. I oughta be downtown at least one night a week. I need to start surfing the sports channels to see if anyone is picking up the minor league stuff.

I'm still following the Pirates, true, but it isn't the same long distance. I think I'm going to try to get up to Hershey or down to Norfolk for a game before too long... I'm suffering from ice withdrawl.

Maryland upsets FSU!

Maryland (yes, my Maryland) just beat (as in, won) Florida State. In football.

Really.

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!

Hockey ass whooped

Yeah, that's the Lowell Lock Monster logo over there on the left...they beat the Pirates last night. Ah, well. Congrats on the win, Kin.

I see that Tom Rowe is coaching Lowell...I saw him play in Washington, both stints with the Caps...he had a little more hair then. Nice guy...I think I have one of his broken sticks in in the rafters of my parents' basement. (I have a large broken hockey stick collection, but you know, those things aren't easy to carry around and display. I once dreamt of opening a sports bar just so I'd have a place to put all the sticks, pucks, and jerseys. I'm not really looking forward to my actual job today; maybe I should revisit that dream...)

That eternal question

Portland won last night. I just glanced at the box scores...ok, it is real now. I miss hockey.

I didn't go to the Maryland game, which was homecoming. I watched it on tv...cold, rainy, the Terps couldn't catch a break with the calls, not that that's an excuse for the way they played. It looked like a game from when I was there, actually...homecoming, indeed.

Seems like every fall I end up asking...I'm a sports fan why?

Game...on

Because we are in full pack & move mode at the office this week, the dress code is waived and I'm wearing jeans and a sweatshirt. A Caps sweatshirt, because 90% of my casual wear has a Capitals logo on it somewhere. After I got dressed this morning I realized...hey, today should be the first game.

Damn lockout.

I do admit, there's been something a bit liberating about accepting invitations without saying "Hold on, I'll see if we have a game that night." I won't be using hockey as an excuse to skip the gym several nights a week. But I have a feeling in another week or two I'll be really missing it.

Ted's Whoopass Jamboree is on, though...that's why there's a little Portland Pirate there in the corner. What the heck...if we'd had an NHL season, I'd pretty much be watching the Pirates anyway.

UPDATE to add...I just realized that's the "junior" Pirates logo. Oops. I'll fix that tonight...

UPDATE 2...logo fixed. Wouldn't ya know, I picked an AHL team that doesn't have audio webcasts of the games. Gonna be tricky to really follow them, I'm afraid, and Portland is a little far for a road trip. (The most expensive tickets are $19, though. Wow. It is a different world.)

I was right about one thing: the Pirates roster has some familiar names.

Fantasy and reality

In terms of football reality...if God had intended for people to be watching football at 12:30 am, he wouldn't have allowed for alarm clocks that go off at 5. I did fall into a sort of half-sleep (maybe more of a 75% sleep) Monday night. I had some hazy dream about pass interferences, and in the dream Al Michaels and John Madden were in my basement, I think having swapped places with Victor.

Anyway, while not thrilled with a 1-2 start, I'm still not demoralized. Even with all the mistakes in the two losses, the games have been within reach, not blowouts. There are still many weeks of football, thankfully to take place during my waking hours.

In the next round of fantasy football, Ted's Rockets play Victor's Rats of Chaos. Of course, I am an official Hot Jets cheerleader (Yay Team!), but I do live with Victor, so maybe I'll just lay a little low this week. Although as conflicts of interest go, I have nothing on another Hot Jet, Annika, who actually fields her own Blogger Bowl team.

Speaking of fantasy sports, my "NHL update" e-mail the other day included a link to a SimLeague hockey game. Interestingly, you can use former players. The couple times I played fantasy hockey my downfall was that I packed my team with sentimental favorites who were past their primes. Of course, with the option of using anybody from the history of the NHL, my sentimental self would probablyend up with the 1985 Capitals...would Bengt Gustafsson end up with a broken leg in a fantasy league?

It is also finally looking like baseball in DC is no longer fantasy. I don't have the same animosity toward Bawl'mer that I used to, but I'm still glad to see this. One question hanging is what they will call the team...the Rangers apparently still own the Senators name, and I heard local political commentator Mark Plotkin point out that Senators isn't a good name anyway, since Washington has no senators. I think that's a good point...I wonder if anyone would go with the Washington Non-voting Delegates?

Say it ain't so

Damn, damn, damn.

Olympic cycling champion Tyler Hamilton was suspended Wednesday by his pro team, which threatened to fire him if he can't prove he's innocent of blood doping.

Of course I want to be up in arms that Phonak ought to have a little more faith and actually stand up for him...the doping isn't proven unless the results of another sample also come back positive...but that cynicism creeps in.

I have actually reached a point where I'm not going to be shocked if any cyclist comes up guilty. Saddened, yes. Disappointed, yes. Pissed off...oh yes.

I'm waiting for the second set of test results. Hoping, but waiting.

Maybe fantasy football is the way to go

It wasn't all doom & gloom on the gridiron this weekend. Ok, the Terps turned the ball over five times in the OT loss to West Virginia, and the 'Skins managed seven turnovers in the loss to the Giants.

Hey, the amazing thing is, neither game was a blowout. Ugly, ugly, but not blowouts.

But I do cheer for one victorious team, virtual though it may: The Rockets won this week's Blogger Bowl game!

(I'm not sure if Victor is actually irked that I'm a Hot Jet cheerleader...but apparently he's trying to recruit my rats to cheer for him, if that tells you anything.)

Positive thinking

Ted is gearing up for another season of Hockey Whoopass Jamboree. I'll be in for the Caps (of course)...provided we actually play this year. I haven't gotten my hopes up.

Today's CBA news:

OTTAWA - Bill Daly, NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, today released the following statement:

"We resumed negotiations in an effort to achieve a new collective bargaining agreement today in Ottawa. As we are scheduled to meet for two days, we and the Union have agreed to comment only after the meeting has concluded tomorrow."

le Tour finis

"Finis" is French for "finish," right?

Congratulations, Lance.

I said I wasn't going to be upset if he did win number 6, and actually, as it happened, I did become pretty excited. I was watching history being made...on tv, but still, I was watching it live.

Congratulations, too, to the rest of Postal, and to the overall team winner T-Mobile. Congratulations to the other guys on the podium, Andréas Klöden and Ivan Basso (and what a cute kid!), and Robbie McEwen (his kid's cute, too, but Ewen McEwen?), Richard Virenque, and Vladimir Karpets. And to Thomas Voeckler for all his days in yellow...his grin at the end of those stages showed pure joy, and I bet it'll be awhile before he has to buy a drink for himself. And another guy who deserves kudoes is Jimmy Casper, the lantern rouge, as they call the guy who finishes last. Yeah, he finished last, almost four hours behind Armstrong, but he still rode 3,390 kilometers, every mountain, every wet corner.

A lot of people thought the Tour was dull. I'm not one of those people. My only disappointments were on behalf of some of the riders, Tyler Hamilton in particular, and Jan Ullrich, but I enjoyed the sneaking onto the Tour site in the morning to get the results, and watching the replays every evening. I didn't even mind Al Trautwig. I'm bummed it's over already, really.

Well, I guess it's time for me to start paying attention to Important Things. What else is going on in the world...?

Really. Ugh. On the other hand, maybe I'll just lay low until the Olympics start.

Back to the race

I have found a few other cycling (or at least Lance) fans at the office. Late every morning the phones start ringing: My connection timed out! Are you on the Tour site or OLN? E-mail me the updates!

We "watched" the L'Alpe d'Huez time trial yesterday, but it was nothing like seeing the tv feed. When I did finally catch the rebroadcast last night I was actually a bit glad I hadn't seen it live, because the drunk morons on the road would have been giving me a heart attack. I was glad to see that Jean-Marie Leblanc saw the same problems:

"I was scared, too, and I felt relieved when we reached the section with barriers," Leblanc told Reuters. "Until this morning, everybody thought this time trial was a good idea, and now we realized it was not so. There were lots of aggressive fans surrounding the riders, and I even saw two idiots spit at Lance Armstrong."

(from Velonews)

I guess every sport has its asshole fans.

Anyway, since the group of cycling fans here at work includes the VP of my division, I had no problem turning on the audio feed for the end of today's stage, which sounded like another thriller, with Armstrong sprinting out to beat winner-apparent Andreas Klöden in the final meters. I can't wait to see this one.

I wonder if we can get the really big bosses turned on to cycling. Next summer: OLN on the projection screen in the company conference room.

The race goes on

Good thing I'm not a prgnosticator...well, actually, I never said I expected Tyler Hamilton or Jan Ullrich to beat Lance Armstrong, just that I kinda hoped one of them would.

Instead, Hamilton had to abandon on Saturday because of a back injury. I heard this news just as I flipped on the tv Saturday morning and was shocked...after the pain he endured last year?...but he explained in his diary that this year's injury was completely different, he just couldn't move the pedals. I now have my fingers crossed that he heals in time for the Olympics.

And Ullrich...on Sunday, he said (or rather, the English translation of his diary said...I know enough German to see that it isn't always a literal translation) that Lance is simply unbeatable this year, and on Monday he sounded pretty resigned:

Maybe the yellow jersey is out of reach now, but there are still two more places on the podium to be decided. What's to stop me getting on the podium? Nothing - I'll take a day-to-day approach to things and try, as much as possible, to get up there. Let's see where this approach brings me.

I haven't been reading the German news (it takes me too long to translate, and I'm barely keeping up with the English-why does the Tour come during my busy month?) so I don't know how bad Jan is getting hammered for his lack of fitness and preparation there. I've seen him slammed by Bernard Hinault and pretty much dismissed by Johan Bruyneel. And...I guess if you want to beat someone with such meticulous training methods as Armstrong, you gotta be willing to apply that same level of training.

I caught the last 10 km of today's stage on a rebroadcast when I got home (I love OLN) and Ullrich didn't look bad. But he didn't look as cool as Armstrong, sitting there in the big chain ring...

Maybe Ivan Basso can hold on. And I certainly don't mean this as any kind of hope...I'm finding myself sliding back into the Lance camp, actually...but things happen. Fortune favors the prepared, but less-good riders can have good days, great riders can have bad days, and, well, there's a reason they actually go out and do the race instead of just figuring out who the winner will be on paper, right?

The Someone-Other-Than-Lance Chronicles

I flipped on the tv during breakfast this morning hoping to catch the start of the Tour stage. I was a little early, so I watched what was on: more of OLN's Lance Armstrong coverage.

Y'know...I'm beginning to think that one of the reasons I'm not so fired up about another Armstrong victory is that I see just too much of him on tv. Yes, his is a compelling story; yes, lots of people who are tuning in to OLN right now are doing so just to see Lance. But there are other compelling stories in the cycling world, and even if the network wants to be jingoistic and just cover Americans, there are a few more of them, too.

Instead of showing Lance film another Subaru commercial, how about talking to Bobby Julich about being back in the Tour with CSC? Or Christian Vande Velde supporting Roberto Heras? Levi Leipheimer as the top Rabobank rider? Surely that is more interesting that seeing Sheryl Crow reading a newspaper.

For perspective, maybe they could talk to Greg Lemond about how being an American in the peloton has changed since his Tour days.

The race coverage itself is great (I learn something every day that I watch Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen), but if OLN is going to preempt the fishing shows for extended bike coverage, they could give people some credit and focus a little more on cycling and a little less on the cult of personality.

My other July preoccupation

Besides my work projects, I spend a good chunk of July being occupied by the Tour de France.

I'm going to commit heresy:

I'm not rooting for Lance Armstrong.

I would prefer to see someone else in yellow this year, someone like Jan Ullrich or Tyler Hamilton.

I like Ullrich. I feel for the guy...he's gone through some crap. Not like Armstrong's fight with cancer, and some of Ullrich's strugles have been of his own making, but I still think that growing up in the bizarre world of the East German sports machine has to leave a few scars. He got off to a rocky start again this season, but he did just pull out a win in the Tour of Switzerland. Ullrich just seems really human to me, and I can't help but pull for him.

Of course, Ullrich did win in 1997. I'm also kind of a share-the-wealth type, so I'd be thrilled for Hamilton if he won. After all, he managed to finish fourth last year with his broken collarbone...that kind of determination deserves reward.

And I'm not sure I'd like to see Armstrong elevated above guys like Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault, and a sixth Tour de France win would do that, in a way. Of course you get the argument in all sports...you can't compare the modern athletes and their super-technical equipment and methods to the greats of yesterday (even if yesterday was, as in cycling, just a few years ago)...but Merckx and Hinault didn't just win the Tours de France, they won the other classic races as well. Everything Armstrong does is to prepare for France, and while le Tour is obviously the most brutal race, earlier champions dominated whole seasons.

Before I get flamed into next month, of course I respect Armstrong. No one can make light of his accomplishments as a cyclist, and even more than that I admire how he's turned his victories into hope for cancer patients. (I ordered my yellow wristbands.) I won't be upset if he wins...I just won't be upset if anyone else does.

Except Mario Cipollini. I usually have a soft spot for old guys, but he's just so freaking obnoxious...and his habit of bailing as soon as they get to the mountains pisses me off. So I'm not really concerned about him, I just don't like him and couldn't stop the rant.

Anyway, I'm not a particularly astute student of pro cycling nor an historian of the sport, just a casual fan with my own opinions. Feel free to disagree, especially you Lance and Lion King fans. And enjoy the next few weeks. This should be good.

Hell of the North

Magnus Backstedt won the Paris-Roubaix bicycle race today. I missed all but the last ten minutes of the tv coverage, so by the time I turned in on they were already in the velodrome. It wasn't rainy today, though, so it wasn't quite the crazy, dramatic mud bog that it can be sometimes.

Paris-Roubaix is a single-day race known for a good part of the course being run over cobblestone streets. Those of you with road bikes know how well those skinny tires transmit every bump and rut; can you imagine cobblestones? And when it rains, those cobbles are viciously slick, not to mention muddy.

There are pictures, like this one from 2001, where riders are barely recognizable. Postal's George Hincapie, by the way, had a good shot at winning that race but for a flat tire. That's one of the things that makes cycling so exciting to watch, you can never be sure of an outcome 'til the end.

In non-racing cycling news, the Cofidis team is in the middle of a big doping scandal. I'm not much of a Cofidis fan (mostly because of the way they dropped Armstrong in the middle of his cancer treatment), but I'll be really sorry if these allegations are true, especially if David Millar is really involved. Mostly because I get my cycling news from English-language sites, the English/Australian/American riders are the ones I know most about, so they sort of become my favorites by default.

Actually, I think Millar is a Scot, but you get my drift. Anyway, I like him, and I'll be disappointed if he ends up busted.

It is giving me something to think about besides hockey, though.

Playoff time

Eric over at Off-Wing Opinion is looking for Stanley Cup predictions. Me, I don't make 'em...I suck at predicting. I have no real hockey sense, I just have sentimental favorites.

So here's my biased, unscientific, abjectly sentimental look at the first round.

The East:
Tampa Bay - NY Islanders...Bad memories of both teams there. Sigh. Let's just keep going.

Boston - Montreal...Even though I've never even been to Quebec, I'd never be sorry to see the Habs win the Cup. From fading hands the torch is passed...regardless of who is actually wearing the sweater. And I'm not a huge fan of Boston fans, but I still wish Sergei Gonchar the best. So it doesn't matter.

Philadelphia - New Jersey...Speaking of not being a fan of the fans, whew, the Flyers. (I was a huge Bobby Clarke fan as a child, but I think I was just being contrary.) On the other hand, I don't like dynasties, either (Canadiens excepted, of course). Share the wealth.

Toronto - Ottawa...This is a tough one. Except for his knack for taking bad penalties, I like Ken Klee, and I love Calle Johansson. I'd definitely be happy to see his name on a Cup. Not that I wouldn't be just as happy for Bondra, and I actually do have family in Ottawa (and Kanata, even.) Frankly, I think I'm rooting for the winner of this series to go all the way.

In the West:
Detroit - Nashville... Easy. Nashville. Hey, I can believe in miracles.

San Jose - St. Louis...Interestingly, my connection to these two teams are vicariously through blog friends Ted and Heather, respectively. If Al MacInnis were still playing I'd have to pull for the Blues; but as it is I can go either way. (Maybe I oughta see if Ted or Heather is interested in paying me off to root for the other team, seeing as how my support is so often the Kiss of Death.)

Vancouver - Calgary...These games will be on past my bedtime. I think I'm going to have to go with Calgary, and it has nothing to do with the current rosters (well, maybe Chris Simon a little.) Nope, it's because a guy named Dale brought some light into my hockey-starved world when I was living in the Deep South. That was back before the NHL migration began, of course. One night I was sitting in a bar where I spent lots and lots of money so they would pull in hockey games for me on their satellite, and this guy came over and said "Hey, have you seen a score for the Calgary game?" When I heard him say Cal-GARY I said "Buddy, pull up a chair." Dale joined me in watching hockey from then on, and soon other hockey fans came out of the closet to join us. We even had a tv devoted to hockey the night of the Auburn - Alabama football game, that's how powerful our little band was...Wow, I'm getting misty. Anyway, I presume Dale is still a CalGARY fan, so in his hono(u)r, I'll be one, too.

Colorado - Dallas...The Avalance. David Aebischer is a feel-good story, and Victor is a huge Steve Konowalchuk fan. And I have some friends in Denver...no, wait, they might be in Boulder. Wherever, they certainly aren't in Dallas. I will say I like the fact that the Stars have some old guys, and I have to look hard to find players older than I am anymore.

Yep, at this point I'm rooting for series that come down to seven games...tight defense...brillant breakaways...no injuries. Enjoy.

Not with a bang, but a whimper*

Last home game today...finally.

Before the game I stopped at the bike store. I was wearing an old logo Caps shirt, but that wasn't something I was thinking about...I have a very large collection of Caps clothes, and I wasn't wearing it because of the game. My shirt choice came to haunt me, though, when I walked into the shop and the clerk greeted me with "What's red, white and blue and plays golf?"

I looked at him blankly.

"The Washington Capitals!" he said, cracking himself up.

Oh. Yeah. That gem. "Actually, the punchline is "plays golf in April," I said, in a voice that I hope dripped acid.

Yet another clerk tried engaging me in a conversation about a local sportcaster's criticisms of the team. Because the sportscaster in question has spent 30 years not understanding hockey and covering the Caps only to highlight negativity, I disengaged from that conversation as quickly as possible.

I'm in a bike store, for the love of Mike. Let's discuss whether Jan Ulrich can beat Armstrong this year.

Anyway...Caps lost to the almost-as-sad Rangers in OT. To add insult to injury...we took my 5-year-old niece, and her main goal for the game was to meet Slapshot, the mascot. Most nights Slapshot is running around the concourse and the seats and you have trouble escaping him; today he was nowhere to be found.

The Caps did start 32-year-old minor leauger Mel Angelstad in his first NHL game. I saw his stats and said "goon," but then found this article on the AHL web page and reassessed.

Might not be the feel-good story of the year, but for this year it will have to do.

*In the years when we used to see playoff hopes abruptly dashed by the Islanders or the Penguins, a friend of mine, Caps fan and English major, put an outgoing message on his answering maching: "T.S Eliot was obviously a Capitals fan; otherwise why would he have written "April is the cruelest month"?

Caps game notes

The guy sitting next to me at the game tonight said "Hey, we're still paying part of Jagr's salary...shouldn't he play for us for a period?"

Although he did tie it up in the third (Jagr, not the guy sitting next to me...in case that antecedent wasn't clear enough for that pronoun), the Caps pulled out the OT win. The very small crowd was, quite honestly, not that excited.

I had to get a copy of the press notes to figure out who half the players were. There was one guy skating, number 64, and I couldn't read the name on his jersey. He wasn't on the roster I had. In the first he got called for a penalty and I said "Well, at least we'll hear who he is."

Nope. They never announced it. Wow. I guess even the PA announcer didn't know this guy...and he was close enough to lean into the penalty box and say "Who are you?"

(Turns out it was Roman Tvrdon, who was called up from Portland today. But this is weird, not being able to tell the players even with a scorecard...)

And another one gone

Michael Nylander to Boston for a 2006 draft pick and future considerations.

I hope the next few draft classes are full of good players.

(I admit it...every trade that isn't Kolzig, I get a bit more hopeful.)

It's not personal

Victor's got pictures from the game last night. Me, I didn't go. I'm finding reasons lately not to...Saturday is my nephew's birthday, so I gave up my ticket to that game. Monday, Peter Bondra's new team, I'm working. I've got a new rat acquisition coming up, and I'm not bothering to account for games in making those arrangements.

It isn't that I don't care...I still care. And I've been a Capitals fan for 30 years; I've seen favorite players come and go, and as they say, the name on the front of the sweater is the important one, not the name on the back.

During the Carolina game last week they showed Dan Snyder on the Telescreen. Not surprisingly, there were boos from the stands. "Maybe Dan's here to teach Ted how to be a hated owner instead of a beloved one," I said. Victor pointed out to me that they haven't shown Ted on the Telescreen in a long time.

I don't hate Leonsis. I understand why he's dumping the salaries. I understand the rebuilding idea, and it might not be a bad one...during the lockout next year, most of our players will actually be playing, since they'll be in the minors.

But going to the games right now is painful in a way that I've never been pained. It's not the hockey. I've seen some bad hockey, I've seen unlucky hockey, and I've seen good hockey that just wasn't quite good enough. I guess it's the overall gloomy atmosphere...and I guess I'm contributing to that by not showing up and cheering.

I am checking the news every 15 minutes to see of any trades have gone down. Looks like Gonchar will go today. As I said before, Kolzig's is the trade that I'm dreading. The more I think about it, the more I'm realizing that the "It's just business, not personal" aspect to the whole thing is really bothering me. Seems like with Kolzig's family situation it would be better for them if he stays in DC. And from what I've read, he actually wants to stay. This isn't a guy saying "I want a chance to win a Cup" or "I don't want to be part of the rebuilding."

I'm sure I'll be back, once the soap opera is over and the focus is back on the game. Until then...well, it's not personal.

Saying goodbye

I case you were wondering, my funk this week hasn't been about the Capitals trading Peter Bondra, it's been about work. But the Bondra trade is one of the many things I haven't been able to gather the energy to discuss...

I'm still not going to, really. There's nothing to say that hasn't been said. And as much as I liked Bondra, appreciated his on-ice ability and what he did for the community off the ice, the looming trade that's gonna hurt me most will be Olie Kolzig.

In my desk...used to be on a bulletin board, but you know how things get shuffled when you move offices...is a 1995 hockey card with a picture of Olie in his red road jersey holding a hot dog with "Olaf" written in mustard. The way I heard the story, he and the photographer were just goofing around when the picture was shot.

Back when we were at the Capital Centre, where I sat behind the players' bench, I used to see Kolzig goof around quite a bit. During warm-ups he'd stand behind the tv announcer (I think it was Dave Johnson then, but maybe Al Koken) and make rabbit ears. He was obviously a guy with a good sense of humor and fun, and I think that's important...for everyone, really, but how can you play a game for a living and not have fun? That just wouldn't be right.

Kolzig didn't start much then...remember Jim Carey?...but his first NHL shutout (against Phoenix) was on my birthday. (Technically the night before, but growing up the game closest to my birthday was my birthday game.) I was already a big Kolzig fan by then, because of his personality.

(I was talking to my sister about it this morning...since the team moved downtown, and we relocated the seats to the nosebleeds, we don't have a sense of the players' personalities anymore. Back then we could see who gave pucks to kids during warmups, who threw temper tantrums, who seemed to have fun. I'm pretty much resigned that when Gonchar and Kolzig go, that's the end of the Capitals as I knew them.)

I was thrilled to see Kolzig's game improve over the seasons, and my heart has gone out to his family as they've dealt with their son's autism. I don't presume to actually know the man, but I, who have had very few "favorite" players in 30 years, consider him that.

The last trade that really hurt me was Ryan Walter, and that worked out well in the end. I only hope everything with the CBA and lockout and rebuilding work out well, but I'm expecting to be hurting sometime in the next two weeks.

Not dead after all...

The Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) is going to make another go of it for the 2005 season. They've launched a ticket campaign, Keep the WUSA Dream Alive, for fans to pledge support.

When the league suspended operations last fall I felt guilty for not being supportive this year...I'm glad I have a chance to make up for it.

If all goes well, I'll be using my ticket vouchers to take my niece to see the Freedom. And come to think of it, I'll take my nephews, too.

I do still love hockey

When I turned on the NHL All-Star game I was wondering when the next one will be. As much as I have been trying to avoid the business news of the NHL--the huge rift between the league and the player's union that will likely cause a lockout next season--it is crossing my radar. For me, I think it is putting more of a damper on the year than the Cap's play.

The actual game was fun to watch, though. For awhile the All-Star games were like watching basketball...just going from one end to the other scoring. Last couple of years, though, the players have managed some defense even without the checking, and I think it shows hockey in a wonderful light. When I watch it I think, how can anybody not like this sport?

Watching Miracle put me in a good hockey mood, then the All-Star game improved it. Of course, the NHL had me years ago...I don't need inane Jim Belushi (or worse, Shania Twain) commercials to explain the game. They get my ticket revenue even on nights when we have an ice storm or I'm home sick. I am wearing some officially-licensed merchandise right now. I'm doing my part.

I'm going to try to block the CBA from my mind again. I'm going to try to ignore the trade deadline and the fact that half the team are on the auction block. I'm going to watch for guys playing like they love what they are doing.

If I can't find it at the MCI Center, maybe I can find it watching mites play at 4 am at the local rink.

Super Bowl

I missed out on the Super Bowl pool this year...the grid got filled up before the mail guy got down to my office. I'm truly bummed, because now, really, I have very little interest in the game, since I don't care at all about either team.

I suppose I could still create the experience. At the end of every quarter I could say "Damn, not my numbers," and tear a five dollar bill up in little pieces.

I'm not being unfaithful

By the way: Yes, hockey and the Capitals are my major sports love, my deepest and most enduring sports love, and my recent euphoria about the Redskins (and the Terps, for that matter) is not infidelity.

In 1975, when I finally got the Redskins jacket, you couldn't buy Capitals gear. I know; I tried. When Herman's World of Sports didn't sell jerseys, I sent my $70 (saved from allowances and washing cars and skipping the ice cream man) to CCM. They sent back a check and a note that Capitals jerseys were unavailable. I spent the money on a bike. (This was the reason Victor gave me the jersey this year.)

But lack of Capitals clothes aside...I was also a Redskins fan before the Caps were a twinkle in Abe Pollin's eye, and I can prove it:

Last giddy Joe Gibbs entry, I promise

(Until the season actually starts, I mean.)

I am thrilled (no kidding? is it obvious?) about Joe Gibbs returning to coach the 'Skins. There are a few reasons...his talent, of course. The hope of returning to the glory days. And I'm glad to have someone back with the organization that really commands respect.

Thinking back to those glory days...I do that alot, don't I? If I had kids, they would hate me: "Here goes Mom with one of her 'in my day' stories...she had to walk to school in two feet of snow, the Redskins won Super Bowls, the Capitals had a defense..."

Once upon a time...

...this really was a solidly Redskins town. Even people who didn't give a darn about football got swept up in it, especially for epics like the Cowboys games. That rivalry was so intense American Express used it in a national commercial (with Tom Landry doing the "Do you know me?")

When I was a kid, kids were Redskins fans. (And those were the George Allen days.) I can remember going to Sears, where I begged for (and finally got) a Redskins jacket with a (synthetic material that looked like) burgundy wool body and (synthetic material that looked like) gold leather sleeves and a Charley Taylor jersey. I don't remember Dolphins or Cowboys stuff for sale at Sears, nor do I remember very many kids wearing the colors of other teams. (Okay, there was a boy who moved here from New York in 3rd grade who wore a Buffalo Bills jacket, and a few from Pittsburgh families who inherited the Steeler genes.) Now I rarely see kids wearing Redskins jackets. I see more Ravens stuff...and Oakland, and Dallas.

It might just be that things are marketed differently now. The team jacket is less of a sign of allegiance than it is a fashion statement, and individual players are marketed more than teams. And as that trend rose, the fortunes of the Redskins fell.

In my office, I am the only Redskins fan, or at least the only one who admits it openly. The other football fans teased me all year while they wore their Cowboys and their Patriots and their Ravens shirts without suffering comments. (Not that I would talk trash back, but even if I'd been so inclined, what could I have said?) Some people here were a little bemused, amused, or confused by the media frenzy about Gibbs and I figured out why...they didn't live here when this was a solidly Redskins town. They don't remember the Smurfs and the Fun Bunch and the Hogs (so they really don't get the Hogettes!). Joe Gibbs is a retired coach out of context. What's the big deal?

I'm heartened by the enthusiasm with which Gibbs is being welcomed back. I've not been alone. The Redskins fans are still here. Not only is Gibbs' return a big deal, I'm finding people who understand why!

That's a glorious day right there.

Happy dance

I've been hard at work at work today and have missed the minute-by-minute updates. When I heard it on the radio this morning I was afraid it was too good to be true, but here's the headline at the Post:

Gibbs to Return to Washington

Ted scoffs, but my fellow 'Skins fans, Rob and Victor are believers.

An open letter to Ralph Friedgen

Dear Coach,

Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

Thank you,
Nic

Aside to Debbie Yow: Next time the kids from the University call to hit me up for a donation, tell them to remind me that Coach wants a raise. I'll probably cough up more money.

I know...it's a bit silly to get this excited over college sports. But I went to Maryland during the dark days after Lenny Bias, so I'm a little giddy seeing what Gary Williams and Ralph Friedgen have done with the men's basketball and football programs.

Joe Krivak coached football when I was there. (You either said "Who?" or cringed.) We did get to the Independence Bowl my senior year...with that steller 6-5 record...where we tied Louisiana Tech. The game was televised on a UHF channel. It was the high point.

My dad likes to remind me that I wasn't there during the worst of it. His first year of grad school the Terps were 0-9, and the only thing that prevented them from being 0-10 was that one of the teams on the schedule dropped their football program that season.

So it could always be worse. But it isn't worse now, it is better...even better, I think, than the Bobby Ross football I watched as a kid. And I am giddy with delight, and I thank Ralph Friedgen.

What page are we on again?

Spurrier Resigns

Spurrier Denies Team's Report He Has Resigned

UPDATE: Spurrier Now Confirms He's Leaving Redskins

No kidding?

The Zen of Steve Spurrier

I heard this clip from yesterday's Redskins press conference on the radio...it sounds so much better with Spurrier's aw-shucks accent:

"Whatever your record is, it is. I've always said that. No matter if your whole team got hurt or what, you are whatever your record is for that year. That's what we have to accept and move on."

The play's a thriller.

When I was a kid, the year before the Caps started playing, my mom introduced me to hockey on television. NBC broadcast the games, and what impressed young me was the cartoon Peter Puck.

When the Caps were still new and hockey quite the anomaly in this part of the world, I found a copy of a Peter Puck book called Love that Hockey Game in the remainder bin at K-Mart. It was essentially the cartoons in book form, explaining the basic rules of the game. I memorized that book. (The only other hockey book of my childhood was Tough Guys of Pro Hockey by Frank Orr. I treasure that because of the chapter on Bugsy Watson, who played for the Caps at the time.)

Anyway...every time I see a penalty shot, and we had one last night in the Caps' win over the Bruins (Dainius Zubrus scored), I think of Peter Puck. I think of the big blocky cartoon goalie and "Peter's" description "[t]his one-on-one is considered the most exciting play in hockey."

In fact...lemme just show you.

I said it last night when I stood up to watch Zuby take the shot, the same way I've said it for probably every penalty shot I have ever seen...the play's a thriller.

So long

Capitals Fire Coach Bruce Cassidy.

Or, as the press release from the team puts it, Capitals Name Glen Hanlon Head Coach.

I'm wondering if the final straw was Cassidy's tirade after last week's disgraceful loss to New Jersey. (Nine shots. The Caps managed only nine shots the whole freakin' game. In case you were wondering why I've not been blogging about hockey, for once I've been following the advice of my mom [and Thumper's]: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.)

Cassidy reportedly "brought up his players' families, saying that he did not care if the players had pregnant wives or sick children on their minds and that such issues were no excuse for the way they were playing."

Now, that's a pretty low blow. On the other hand, I had a boss once tell me to pull my head out of my ass and give the company the eight hours a day for which they were paying me. She put it a lot nicer than that, and I respected her, and I responded.

Cassidy had already lost control, already lost their respect, and so the players weren't going to respond with "Gee, you're right, coach, maybe we aren't giving 100%."

I've also know a few mercurial, tyrannical people in the workplace. They aren't a pleasure to work with, but in some circumstances (some being the key word) they can get results. (Mike Keenan?) One thing about those leaders, though...they don't come back the next day and apologize for hurting your feelings.

Maybe Cassidy can drop back a few leagues and get a better handle on what kind of coach he is.

That said...we're still not exactly a Stanley Cup contender. But I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks to see what kind of changes Hanlon makes.

Coolest game on Earth

This would have been worth sitting outside in a sub-zero wind chill.

Montreal won the Heritage Classic (that sounds so much better than "old-timers' game") and Edmonton won the game that counted, but I think the coolest thing would've been seeing the players shoveling the snow off the ice, just like they did as kids getting ready for a pond hockey game.

The business side of things have really been clouding my enjoyment this year. (Well, that and the Caps' power play. Or their play in general.) But seeing guys play for the joy of it, seeing guys I saw play when I was a kid and didn't realize it was a business, that can part the clouds for awhile.

The game wasn't on tv here in the US, so I'm being a bit hypothetical. I'm assuming that when I do catch the rebroadcast of ESPN Classic I will still feel this way...

Well that wasn't so bad

Now I'm wondering if I oughta delete the whiny "Oh, I don't feel like going to the hockey game" post. They played well tonight. Olie had some really good saves (and got lucky...but I've noticed that luck and good play seem to go together somehow), Robert Lang had a hat trick, and in the first period they killed off a six minutes (ok, 5:59) penalty. (No, there's no six-minute penalty. With 1 second left in Gonchar's two minute minor, Kwiatkowski picked up four minutes for a high stick. I'm so giddy I'm not making sense...)

Anyway, good game. It's kinda crazy, this all-or-nothing play...three of the four wins have been lopsided: 6-1, 5-1, 7-1. I hope we saved a few goals for Friday.

Gettin' up for the game!

Now I'm being sarcastic.

Today's Post had an article about how much Capital's owner Ted Leonsis has lost since buying the team (approaching $100 million) and the chances of a lockout next year.

On the Cap's offical web page, Ted himself discussed the abysmal start and the economics of the situation.

Bleak. Maybe it's today's weather (bleak), but I'm not sure if I've ever felt so flat about going to a game and the team in general. I've pretty much been ignoring the CBA issues, but even without that cloud, I'm having a hard time caring.

Maybe it's because I don't "know" the players now. At the Cap Centre our seats were behind the bench and I got an idea of what personalities the guys had, which certainly added a dimension of enjoyment to the game. From where I sit now all I can see are numbers on jerseys. Maybe it's because the team is just a collection of numbered jerseys, not players, since half the team is trade fodder.

And I still maintain that keeping Cassidy is a mistake. When an entire group of players fail to "buy in" to a system, perhaps it's the system, not the players. And I don't think inexperience and youth is a good excuse either...Herb Brooks pulled a young and inexperienced group of players together and made a successful team of them.

Okay, so the team can't afford to hire a new coach. Give the job to Hanlon. He was actually talking to players on the bench, at least. (To be fair, Victor told me that Cassidy did talk to the players Monday night. My observation last week was probably a fluke.)

I dunno. I'm down in the dumps and rambling. I tell ya, though, when they lose a diehard freak like me, it's a bad time.

Rant

Watching the Caps is just painful. My rant last night: if the entire team is playing this poorly, this consistantly, it's the coaching.

I'm not generally very quick to jump on a "dump whoever" bandwagon, but I'm publicly on it now...time to get rid of Bruce Cassidy. He's over his head in the NHL, which I've figured since last season, but last night I noticed that he's not even talking to the players on the bench. During the time-out at the end of the third, for example...

One problem I've been mulling over for weeks...what NHL coaches are available? I had a brainstorm early this morning...coaching experience in the minors, NHL hall-of-famer, local hero, strong defensive sense. Draft Rod Langway!

Turns out he is already working, dammit. He's coaching the (6-0) Richmond RiverDogs in the UHL.

Richmond. Hey, that's only about two hours away. I wonder if they have season tickets available...

P.S. The Panthers fired Mike Keenan this morning. Personally I don't like the guy, but he can coach...

Something for the hockey fans

Most of my blogging is usually just my own wandering thoughts, but every once in a while as I follow the links around the Internet I pass over something so good I am compelled to share:

Via the Hockey Pundits, Mike Ulmer's column in today's Toronto Sun.

I was just talking about John Kordic the other night...

Another long trip down memory lane

One game does not a season make…but last night was a nice way to start.

(Yes, that’s it. No whooping, no gloating. I don’t get super-emotional, which some people take as a sign that I am not a true fan. It isn’t that, it’s just that I have learned to pace myself. I’ll be more animated in, say, the second round of the playoffs.)

I got a wee bit emotional last night when the 30th season pre-game ceremony honored four past Caps: Yvon Labre (I wrote about him last week…the picture-with-my-hero thing), Rod Langway, Dale Hunter, and Calle Johansson. They brought them out to center ice one at a time, while the names of all the players over the years scrolled across the telescreen. Yvon represented the 1970’s, Rod the 80’s, and Dale the 90’s. I was speculating that current captain Steve Konowalchuk would be skating out to join them, but seeing Calle was a nice surprise. I notice no one is wearing his number 6 this year, so I hope that means his jersey will be retired with the other three. (I’d like to see Mike Gartner’s 11 retired too, for that matter.)

When I saw Timo Blomqvist’s name flash by on the screen, I said “If they didn’t bring him in tonight, I’m going home.” I was just being a smart aleck, but I truly was a big Timo Blomqvist fan.

(Cue the wavy flashback effect.)

Thinking about it, I realize that those mid-80’s Bryan Murray years were my favorite. Some of that is probably situational…I was in school, no responsibilities, so I could make hockey my number one priority. I went to every home game. They were my good old days.

I loved the team we had then, and the gritty, defensive hockey they played. It wasn’t high-scoring and it wasn’t always pretty, at least not a Guy Lafleur-speeding-gracefully-down-the-ice kind of pretty, or a Wayne Gretzky-setting-up-an-impossible-play kinda pretty. It was mucking-and-grinding pretty. They called those guys “plumbers.” I still have a t-shirt from one of those years with the slogan “Hard work gets it done.”

Rod Langway and Mike Gartner are in the Hall of Fame; if you’re a hockey fan you know Scott Stevens. Last night I was boring Victor to death on the Metro ride home with a recitation of the other players I remember so fondly (besides Timo Blomqvist): Doug Jarvis (the Iron Man). Dave Christian (of the USA hockey Christians). Bengt Gustaffson. Gaetan Duchesne (I remember playing Edmonton and watching him stick to the Great One like glue.) Dave Shand. Bob Gould. Alan Haworth. Pat Riggin. Al Jensen.

These are all really happy memories until I think about the playoffs. Last time I saw Dave Shand he was behind the bench in a coat and tie, and he turned his back to the ice in the final second of the loss to the Islanders that ended the playoffs and his time in the NHL.

Back then I used to get very emotional.

(Every once in a while Victor catches me mis-remembering something. I’ll have a playoff series in the wrong season, or think two players were on a line together when in reality they weren’t even on the team at the same time. So I guess I’m saying, take my reminiscing with a grain of salt. I did leave a few brain cells behind in the Showcase Pub & Eatery, and in the intervening years I have had other priorities replace hockey at the top. Then there’s that false memory syndrome so common in those who have suffered great emotional trauma.)

So (back to the present) a 6-1 win is a good thing, and it was a good game. There's a fine group of players in Capitals uniforms, and maybe one day I will impress (or bore) the kids with stories of Peter Bondra and Olie Kolzig. And I think it's situational...I'm an adult now, I need to worry about work and a list of other responsibilities. So as good as it may get, these just aren't my good old days.

Game on

I always get a little excited by a new hockey season.

This season is the 30th for the Washington Capitals. I still remember the first one. My family had season tickets, great seats behind the bench. I didn't get to see my first live game until November, a 4-4 tie against the North Stars.

The first Caps game I saw was not a loss. I think that is significant, because that first season was 8-67-5...a lot of losses...but I always expected them to win. Bear in mind I was a little kid. The finer points of the game, like actual talent, were still lost on me. They were my team, I loved them, if they lost I was crushed.

My favorite player was defenseman Yvon Labre. I liked Denis Dupere, too, and Ron Low and Ace Bailey. But Yvon Labre was my favorite favorite. When I played street hockey...always pretending the Caps were about to win the Stanley Cup...I scored the winning goal on a pass from Yvon.

They had a promotion the second season where kids could get their pictures taken with a player, and the whole way to the Capital Centre I talked about how I hoped I could get my picture with Yvon. I had my Yvon Labre hockey card with me to get autographed, just in case! I was all dressed up in red, white, and blue, with my Capitals stocking cap. When warmups were over a few players were lined up on folding chairs, and ushers dropped the kids on players laps like an assembly line of department store Santas. If I got Yvon it would be dumb luck...

Or a dad who could count. I didn't find this out until later (much later. Twenty years later) but my dad dropped us back in line as needed so that when I got to the front the empty player was Yvon.

On the ice, though, the team crushed me on a regular basis. Finally I got used to losing, and in a perverse way I think I started to take some pride in staying loyal to a team whose fans are always labelled with the modifier "long-suffering." Now I can trade the battle stories. The 1987 Easter game? Of course I was there. Pittsburgh? Don't talk to me about Pittsburgh. In 1982 I remember the last game of the season, the Caps had failed to make the playoffs by that much, the final standings decided by another game the same day, and captain Ryan Walter actually cried, telling the fans who stayed that next year would be the year.

Next year is always the year.

Next year starts next week.

Out of their league

The WUSA (Women's United Soccer Association) announced today that they are suspending operations.

I heard the news on my way home and felt a little guilty, because I never made it to any Freedom games this year.

Now the price of my seat and a hot dog wasn't going to stand between the league and insolvency, I know. But as I mentioned in a previous entry, I feel very strongly about pro women's sports.

I was musing over some of the differences between the men's and women's games I attend. The difference really isn't the actual game...the women don't play the exact same game the men do, but it doesn't make it less competative or less exciting.

One of the big differences I do see is that the women's games are for families, and the men's games are for businesses. I've seen this going to the Washington Capitals and Mystics games, the two teams I see most often in person.

My parents have had season tickets to the Caps since the first season, 1974. We had great seats, right behind the players' bench, and most of the other seats in the section were also individual season ticket holders. As the ticket prices rose, though, the seatholders changed...fewer friends and families, more "corporate" seats.

We knew the seats right behind ours were owned by a company, because most of the time the people using the seats mentioned it at some point during their constant non-hockey conversation: "Awesome seats, dude. How'd you get 'em?"
"My roommate's sister's boss got them from a contractor. Do you know anything about hockey?"
"No, but I played rugby once in high school. That gives me enough experience to loudly comment on the play between beers and planning Friday's happy hour."
"If you mispronounce number 7's name it sounds funny. I'll repeat that a few million times."

Ooops, sorry. I obviously have another sports axe to grind there.

Anyway, when the Caps moved downtown to the MCI Center, even my empty-nest parents could no longer afford the "good" seats and we moved up to the nosebleeds. Even up there we hear a lot to suggest that the people in the seats received the tickets via work, either as a reward from their employer or as a gift from someone with whom they were doing business.

A couple of times I have had the luxury of seeing a game from a Luxury Suite at MCI. How? A friend of mine lives next door to a woman who handles the tickets for a Big Company. When Big Company isn't entertaining clients or rewarding employees, she can do whatever she wants with the tickets. She's not a hockey fan, but my friend is, so when she remembers and he can go he gives me a call.

Now I do sometimes buy products from Big Company, but not because I've gotten to sit in their luxury suite. I don't know how the IRS handles such business expenses (not as loosely as they used to, I don't think), but I still wonder how Big Company is justifying the cost.

Another thing...many nights, particularly on, say, a Wednesday when we are playing, say, Edmonton, I can look down from my nosebleed seat and see that Big Company's box is absolutely dark and empty. But that's okay for the arena, the team, and the NHL, 'cuz that box was already paid for.

In contrast, at the Mystics games most of the luxury boxes seem dark. And instead of K Street suits, most of the fans are families. Lots of kids. Lots of couples.

The most expensive seat for the Mystics? $75 for front row floor. The next highest is $35. The Caps "VIP" front row seat is $230. For both the cheapest ticket is $10, but for the Mystics the $10 seats are a third of the arena, for the Caps the $10 seats are two rows of twelve sections.

Maybe I'm just hanging out with the wrong crowd, but the ticket prices of the men's sports (and hockey is cheap, an also-ran sport here in Washington) place most of the tickets out of the range of regular families and into the hands of Big Companies. Women's sports aren't very attractive to Big Companies, making them affordable for families.

The problem is, a sports league itself is a Big Company, and apparently it takes more than the average family's $10 tickets to keep a company like the WUSA playing in the big leagues...