Fight For Old DC - A DC Sports Fanblog
Lol Hokies: Week Nine

This week's Lol Hokies come from the "defensive struggle" (read: offensive ineptitude) that was the ECU game. Enjoy, and feel free to contribute your own in the comments. You can make them at I Can Has Cheezburger.

Top of the 11th: Caps Win 5-4 (SO)

Following a whirlwind of a first period, which started with four goals in the first seven minutes, the Caps survived to beat the Isles 5-4 in the shootout. These overtime/shootout games with the Islanders are really getting old.

Overall it seemed like the Caps controlled play for a vast majority of the game, even though the Islanders were scrappy and worked extremely hard. Outside of the first seven minutes and the last four, the Caps looked like the dominant team. More importantly, they looked like a very skilled team without the services of Alex Ovechkin for the fourth straight game. While Jose Theodore faltered, Semyon Varlamov came in and saved the day. Varly finished the night by saving 10 of 11 in the shootout, and continuing to win over Capitals Nation. Here are my thoughts on the rest of the game:

• Was anyone shocked when Alex Semin rifled the first shot of the game past Roloson, then had a ridiculous turnover that directly led to a breakaway and an Islanders goal? Crickets...
• In fairness, I'll get off Semin's back for the evening. He seemed to have a little more giddy-up from the start, and he created, and almost capitalized several times. Also threw in one in the shootout for the Ovi Hat Trick. He easily could have had more than his two goals, but we'll all take that for tonight. Good job Sasha.
• Tomas Fleischmann could probably use the force to get the puck into the right now he's so in tune with the puck. His aggressiveness paid off on his second period power play tally, and he continued his torrid pace to start the season. His -2? Not so much with the good.
• Captain Clark...another night, another point, and a game winner in round 11 of the shootout. Maybe I should be critical a little more often.
• Jose Theodore with a .400 save percentage with three goals on the first five shots. Maybe I'm starting to think that Varly was right. The D tightened up around him, and although he made some outstanding saves, the Caps seemed to have some extra pep once he came off the bench.
• Can we just stop giving Nick Backstrom defensive zone draws? One of his clean losses resulted in an immediate Islanders goal. He did win 63% on the night though...
  
• The penalty killing unit had a lot of tenacity when they had to take care of Brendan Morrison's hooking infraction at the beginning of the third. They were able to change lines cleanly and quickly, and Backstrom got a great chance as Morrison came out of the box.
• I am already running out of adjectives describing Mathieu Perreault, but the guy showed off some handles tonight. His 3rd period dangle on the Isles D that led to a great scoring chance stood out. He did a great job of pirouetting around defenders and maintaining possessions that wore out the visiting team.
• Two assists and two takeaways...welcome back Greenlife52!
• Outside of the dot (where he was 65% successful) Dave Steckel continued to struggle a bit, with only one shot on goal and an untimely third period penalty. It was even worse considering that the Islanders won their first draw of the man advantage and almost capitalized immediately. Stecks still only has two points on the season.
• Richard Park, I hate you little Korean man. Way to actually show the boarding call Comcast (also good job of showing the second goal). Late penalties, to steal the phrase from Joe B, were a "bug-a-boo." Whatever that means...

Ryan Zimmerman Wins His First Gold Glove

Ryan Zimmerman was awarded his first gold glove this afternoon, which is something that shouldn't be taken lightly by the Washington Nationals organization or the city of Washington D.C. Despite the Nationals' terrible on-field product over the past two seasons, Zimmerman has been a beacon of hope on the Anacostia Waterfront.

Not only has Zimmerman hit the ball well (.292 BA, 33 HR, 106 RBI, .364 OBP), he's shown defensive consistency on a roster that has been plagued by shoddy defense over the last few years. He beat out a bigger name in David Wright, and to be recognized in something of a baseball wasteland is no small feat. Z-man had 459 total chances this season, with 117 putouts, 325 assists and only 17 errors. His fielding percentage of .962 was on-par with his career average (.963), and seemed to find himself on baseball tonight as regular contributor to "Web Gems." Zimmerman has been able to be relevant in a town where baseball has fallen to the wayside, and he has to provide a little hope to the fans that have been loyal over the last several seasons. The question now is when the reinforcements will arrive for Ryan. Until then, congrats buddy...you earned it!

Wizards Wednesday: Vomit-Inducing Losing Streak

What can you say about the past week for the Wizards? They've been blown out by one of the NBA's worst teams in the Indiana Pacers, chewed out by their injured leader Antawn Jamison, and seem downright lost out on the court. Needless to say it was a pretty rough week for the boys in blue. Let's jump a little further into the misery that is 2-6 (a.k.a. Redskin Land).

The Good

There isn't a whole lot to like when your team goes 0-4 in a given week, but there were a few bright spots. Brendan Haywood spent the week averaging a double-double, with 12 points and around 12 rebounds a game. He had a career high 19 boards against Indiana, and has been cleaning the offensive glass with at least four rebounds on that end per game (and eight twice). Needless to say, the losing streak can't be blamed on #33.

The Bad

Injuries jump out first and foremost. We started the week without Mike Miller and Antawn Jamison, and ended it with Arenas nursing a bad calf and Randy Foye being carried off the court with a bad ankle. As the body count rises, the Wizards season looks more and more bleak. Other notable ugly aspects of this week were shooting percentage from the line (78.6, 57.7, 42.9, 66.6 respectively), turnovers (Arenas broke a team record with 12 last night against Miami), and inconsistency (I'm staring at you Andray Blatche).

The Surprises

It's pretty unbelievable that a team that failed to win 20 games a season ago would take a team lightly. You might think that they'd be on a mission to prove their doubters wrong, no matter how "lowly" the opponent. However, the Wizards' effort against Indiana was absolutely pathetic, and their normally quiet team leader let them hear it in the form of a profanity-laced tirade in the locker room. Did that seem to fire them up? The managed to go and lose the next two games by a combined 26 points. Not exactly inspired basketball. If the attitudes aren't corrected, Flip Saunders is going to lose this team quickly, and that might mean another lottery pick.

What Does It Mean?

You cannot use injuries as an excuse in professional sports (or on any level for that matter). No matter who is in your lineup, you must do everything you can to win. The Wizards just aren't doing that right now. We've grown accustomed to slow starts over the last few years with this group, but there's a strong possibility that it could fall into the pattern of last season's complete collapse in comparison to the previous years where the Wiz bounced back and made the playoffs. Someone must step up and be a leader on the court while Antawn is out. Until then, they'll continue to look like a team lost in its own little world of big egos.

Nike Owns VT: Evaluating the "Pro Combat" Line

In my lifetime, I don’t know that I remember quite this much negativity swirling around Redskins Park at any given time. The Revolution has gained steam over the last week with drama over shirt/sign bans, mailed-in fan cards, organized protests, and John Riggins comments on HBO. As much as this all makes me want to crawl in a hole and wait out the rest of the season, we’ve got nine games left.

Sit On It Potsy: Caps Beat Cats 4-1

In the wake of Alex Ovechkin's injury, the Caps found themselves looking for answers. People began questioning their heart and work ethic (myself included in some of those cases), and some even said that they aren't even a GOOD team without #8 suiting up night-in and night-out. We don't want to heap TOO much praise on the Caps for last night's 4-1 victory against Florida, but it's sure as heck a step in the right direction. As much as playing without Ovi can be painful to watch at times, it's a great opportunity for the rest of the team to find it within themselves to work their way to a victory, and they did that on the road last night.