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-Mike Milbury imagining what Sidney Crosby would say after the first period of this afternoon's game.
We all know that Mike Milbury has done and said some stupid things throughout his career. Today during the first intermission of NBC's broadcast, Milbury decided to make this blowhard-esque statement against the captain of the Washington Capitals. By the end of the game, he didn't look like a smart guy for his comments. He looked even worse when he got into it with Caps' Outsider leaving the press box...but I digress.
Things looked bleak early. Much like the last several games, the Caps came out slow, looked a little sleepy, and found themselves behind early. Sidney Crosby shook off his sleepless night with two early goals, and then Pens gained control quickly. After Alex Ovechkin cut the deficit in half on a breakaway (where he was CLEARLY cherry-picking, right Pens' fans?), EricMarc Jordan Staal took over and gave the Pens a 4-1 lead. Without Eric Fehr's late second period goal, the thought of a comeback would have been daunting in the third period. Then Ovechkin really took over and guided the Caps to a tie by completing the team's first hat trick of the season. From there Mike Knuble finished things off from his office in overtime.
I don't have to get you ready for Caps/Pens. It's a big game, even if it is the regular season. Since most of the details are fuzzy due to the weather, we'll prep you for the game by showing you a little insight on the competition. Enjoy some Pens Photoshops!
If I were to tell you the Hokies would shoot 15.4% in the first half (the worst percentage for a half in school history) and only make two three-pointers, you would probably wonder how much Tech lost by. I would then tell you that the Hokies made more points at the free-throw line (38) than they did from the field (32) on their way to an impressive 70-59 win over the Clemson Tigers before a raucous Cassell Coliseum crowd.
Tech (18-4, 5-3 ACC) didn't make a shot for the first 8:21 of the game, and found themselves trailing 9-1 before a Jeff Allen jumper gave the Hokies their first made field goal. Thankfully, Clemson (16-7, 4-5 ACC) wasn't exactly great on offense either. The Tigers shot 35% in the first half on 9-of-26 shooting, and couldn't really pull away from Tech. Their 35% shooting looked great compared to the Hokies' 4-of-26 (15.4%) shooting. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they committed 16 fouls, which led to 25 free throw attempts by the Hokies, in the first half.
Two years ago, Redskins Nation felt vindicated when long-time Hall of Fame snub Art Monk was finally given his ticket to Canton. With Art's inclusion that year, along with teammate Darrell Green, the Redskins had four members from their Super Bowl dynasty represented in the Hall (Gibbs and Riggins went in years before). I was there when those two were inducted, and it was an extremely emotional day for the guys, their families, and their fans. However, as great as it was to witness such a historic Redskin event, it certainly felt like something was missing. While those guys played a huge part in the Super Bowl success, the Redskins would not have won a single championship without their prized offensive line.
The Opponent: Clemson picked up a much needed victory this past Sunday over Maryland 62-53. Prior to that, the Tigers had lost three straight, capped off by an upset loss at Boston College. Still though, Clemson ranks 32nd in the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), which would give the Hokies their first top 50 win if they were to win.
The Tigers recent swoon has been partially attributed to the loss of point guard Demontez Stitt (6-2, 175 lbs.). Stitt has missed the last two games due to a foot injury, and he is listed as questionable for Saturday's game. Stitt's 11 points per game ranks second on the team, and his replacement Andre Young (5-9, 170 lbs.) averages a rather reasonable eight points per game.
Amidst one of the biggest snowstorms in D.C. history this winter, the Caps managed to pull out another firewagon-type game and extend their winning streak to a whopping thirteen games. It was more in the mold of recent games, where nothing seemed sure and the Caps didn't necessarily bring their A game, but a few outstanding efforts lifted them for the evening.
Michael Neuvirth was outstanding, and if it wasn't for Alex Semin ripping off some Luis Mendoza stopping skill (from D2), he would have managed a 44-save effort with only one goal against. Alas, he'll have to settle for first star honors and another big win. Here are a few more thoughts on the baker's dozen:
Editor's Note: Before Kevin gets into all this, I have to say that beating UNC makes me extremely happy. As a Virginia Tech Alumnus, and a long-time Kansas fan, seeing Roy Williams is pretty much the greatest thing ever. Shout out to Malcolm Delaney, who is my freaking hero.
Forget the fact that UNC is 13-9 and 2-5 in the ACC. It's still the University of North Carolina and any win over the Tar Heels is a big win for the Hokies. Thursday's 74-70 win marked the first win over UNC in six tries and it moved the Hokies to 4-3 in the ACC. With Clemson coming to town tomorrow, the win provides a chance to move to two games over .500 in the ACC with a win Saturday.
The Hokies (17-4, 4-3) got out to a great start in front of a raucous Cassell Coliseum crowd. Tech got off to a 12-point lead on three separate occasions in the first half, but UNC used a 14-2 run to tie the game at 24-24. The Hokies increased their lead back to four before the Heels ended the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 35-33 lead at halftime.
The previous post compared how much cash Redskins' and Capitals' season ticket holders paid for each home win since the fall of 2007. The only problem with those numbers is that they included an extremely small sample size from the current season, and therefore didn't cover how fans were suffering in the moment. Now that the Redskins have completed their season, and the Caps are through about two-thirds of theirs, I thought we could take another look at the current numbers. It's only fair considering that they sport the NHL's best home record. Let's revisit our previous study first.
Teams supposedly play worse as the near the end of a winning streak, and the Caps are probably no exception to that rule. While they've been playing unbelievable hockey for the past four weeks, they haven't always been perfect. The defense was full of holes, there was a parade to the penalty box, and a little goalpost luck, but through all of that, the Capitals extended their winning streak to twelve games. Enjoy it while it lasts.
The best two players on the ice were easily Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Ovechkin assisted on the team's second goal, scored the third and fourth, and picked up his 500th career point in the process. Backstrom, on the verge of a possible 7-10 year contract extension chipped in with four PRIMARY assists and a nice goal of his own. There's a lot to critique about this one, so let's do it:
2/10 @ N.C. State 2/13 VIRGINIA 2/16 WAKE FOREST 2/21 @ Duke 2/24 @ Boston College 2/27 MARYLAND 3/3 N.C. STATE 3/6 @ Georgia Tech
(4-12, 4th in NFC East)
9/13 @ New York (L 17-23) 9/20 ST. LOUIS (W 9-7) 9/27 @ Detroit (L 14-19)
10/4 TAMPA BAY (W 16-13)
10/11 @ Carolina (L 17-20)
10/18 KANSAS CITY (L 6-14)
10/26 PHILADELPHIA (L 17-27)
11/8 @ Atlanta (L 17-31)
11/15 DENVER (W 27-17)
11/22 @ Dallas (L 6-7)
11/29 @ Philadelphia (L 24-27) 12/6 NEW ORLEANS (L 30-33 OT)
12/13 @ Oakland (W 31-13)
12/21 NEW YORK (L 12-45) 12/27 DALLAS (L 0-17)
1/3 @ San Diego (L 20-23)
(40-12-6, 86 Points, 1st in Southeast Division)
1/27 ANAHEIM (W 5-1) 1/29 FLORIDA (W 4-1) 1/31 TAMPA BAY (W 3-2) 2/2 @ Boston (W 4-1) 2/4 @ NY Rangers (W 6-5) 2/5 ATLANTA (W 5-2) 2/7 PITTSBURGH 2/10 @ Montreal 2/11 @ Ottawa 2/13 @ St. Louis
(17-32, 5th in Southeast Division)
2/3 @ New York (L 85-107) 2/5 @ Orlando (W 92-91) 2/6 ATLANTA 2/9 @ Charlotte 2/17 MINNESOTA 2/19 DENVER 2/20 @ Toronto 2/22 CHICAGO 2/24 MEMPHIS 2/26 NEW YORK
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 