Uh Oh, Roger!

From SI, "A tearful Mindy McCready confirmed to the New York Daily News that she carried on a longterm affair with Yankee star pitcher Roger Clemens.

“I cannot refute anything in the story,” the country singer says of reports that she met Clemens in 1990 when she was 15 years old and singing in a karaoke contest at a Florida bar."

It's amazing how quickly Roger went from being arguably the greatest pitcher in MLB history to a liar, cheater (in more ways than one), and a guy whose illustrious career has been completely tarnished.

Kiper's Grades.

Kiper gave the Skins a B+ and the Bears a B.

Again, grades are subjective and only good for entertainment value. You never know how good a draft is until the draft picks have a chance to play out.

ESPN's Fans Draft Grades

Just a point of interest, out of more than 8,500 voters, the Skins received a draft grade of "A" by the majority of voters (40+%). The other 60% was dispersed among the other grades.

Out of more 9,700 voters, the Bears received a draft grade of "C" by the majority of voters (27%).

I know this doesn't mean a whole lot but just thought it was interesting.

As a Skin fan, I'm comfortable with our picks. I like that we traded down a couple of times for more picks. I like the WR additions. I am a little disappointed with not taking a D lineman. Still, I like the depth we picked up at O line and CB. We seemed to have gotten some quality guys. Hopefully they pan out.

Redskins Draft.

Skins did a good job in my mind. At first, I was a little surprised they traded down with their first pick but after a couple of minutes of thought, it was a good move. They were able to get more picks and they were able to get the guys they would have ended up getting with that 21st pick anyway. They will also save money having not to pay first round type salaries.

Obviously, WR was a need and we certainly addressed that with Kelly and Thomas. We end up getting two larger WRs which is what we were looking for. Given that we will be running some 3 and 4 WR sets, it makes sense to stack up on the WRs. We ended up getting two of the best in the draft. We also picked up the TE Fred Davis from USC. The guy was the Mackey Award winner last year as the nation's top TE. He's a big guy with good hands. Again, we will be running some double TE sets so it seems like a good fit. Still, I will admit that I was a little disappointed we didn't get a D lineman. I know the defense was ranked 8th last year but we need more production from the left DE spot. Daniels is just too old and he should just quit football and pursue his world strongest man dream. Maybe the thinking is that Chris Wilson can take more snaps at DE. He certainly has the speed but he is undersized and isn't as good against the run. Apparently he is working hard in the offseason so maybe he will improve. Also, I had heard at one point the Skins considering moving Daniels into the interior. At this point of his career, it may not be a bad move. He is a big strong guy that might be better suited in the middle now that he has lost some speed.

Well, I expect the second day of the draft to be spent on the defensive side of the ball and some O line depth.

Give our draft grade from the first day a B-. Like the guys we took but I lower the grade because I thought we should have gotten at least one defensive guy.

Bears Draft.

I won't comment too much since I don't follow the Bears that closely. Also, outside some of the bigger name players in college and/or the guys you hear a lot of hype on pre draft, I don't know too many of the college kids and their skills.

Still, the Bears did right by drafting O line number one. Wasn't a big surprise in the position they selected. By many of the mock drafts I saw, it seemed like they would go with Jeff Otah since he seems better suited for the Bears offense. There was also the kid from UVA who was projected higher but the Bears went with Chris Williams from Vandy. Apparently he is a better pass blocker than run blocker but Robs mentioned that it is harder to teach pass blocking than run blocking because of the footwork needed in pass blocking. He is probably right. My take, it doesn't matter which one of those guys they took. They all rank high and again, the Bears drafted the right position.

Little surprised with their second pick. They went running back with that guy Forte. Never heard of him but he seems solid. It should give Benson some competition so we'll see how he deals with that. Robs seemed to think that Benson is decent so I didn't think he would like the pick but in talking to him yesterday, he was happy with it. I just thought the Bears had more pressing needs than RB. Thought they would need a WR or O line/D line. My take, not a bad pick. Again, their running game was terrible last year and they need to do something to spark it. We'll see how this pans out for them.

Is Danny Boy running the Vikings?

Strange but the Vikings are looking more and more like the Redskins of the past. First, they sign Bernard Berrian to ridiculously overpriced money and now they shuffle off a bunch of draft picks for Jared Allen and agreed to one of the largest contracts for a defensive player -- six years for almost $74 million with more than $31 million guaranteed.

I guess they are going for broke. I still don't believe in Tavaris so I don't think too much of them.

Bears won't budge on Urlacher negotiations

It's the right thing to do. Urlacher was treated fairly and compensated handsomely and now he should live up to his contract. Urlacher should not be treated as more special because he is Urlacher. The issue here is if the Bears cave in to Urlacher, they would be opening up a huge can of worms in negotiations with other players. That would end up just becoming a huge problem. Bottom line, Urlacher will show up to camp and he will be in a Bears uniform and he will play. All that he has done is turned the fans against him. Good job, Bri! Kudos to the Bears!!!

Caps Fall

Tough game. Anytime you lose in sudden death OT, the finality of it is pretty stunning. It's super exciting if you win but pretty heartbreaking if you lose. It was an exciting game but it just didn't go our way. Each team had their chances and I really felt like the Caps were going to come out on top but it wasn't meant to be.

Still, it was a tremendous year. To even get to the playoffs was an accomplishment. Also, I think they exceeded their expectations and also there is no question this year can serve as a great learning experience for next year. The playoff experience will better prepare them for next year.

The good news is that we have a very young and talented team that should be great for years to come. The sad part is that Kolzig probably played his last game as a Cap. Apparently he removed his nameplate from his locker after last night's game and didn't want to speak to the media. That action though speaks volumes on his thoughts. The interesting thing will be what we do with Huet. He is an UFA and there will be no doubt he will be sought after coming off of his stellar play the last couple of months. He is a little older so I don't know how much we want to invest in the guy. We have to keep in mind that we still have a quality goaltender in Brent Johnson.

I don't expect much to change with this team during the offseason and now we have a coach the players respect. We have players that believe. We have the league MVP. We have players that understand what it takes and will mature. We have an owner committed to winning. These are all great things and another great thing is Boudreau sets the bar high. His goal is not to just win the division or make the playoffs but rather to win the the Stanley Cup and he believes we can. I think he has passed that down to the players and even the fans. With this year's experience and the growth of the players and some minor additions, I certainly believe that we are good enough to win it.

CAPS FORCE GAME 7!!!

Unbelievable game last night. The Caps fell down 0-2 to the Flyers in Philly but stormed back with 4 unanswered goals to win 4-2 and force a Game 7 tonight back in D.C. They don't call them the cardiac kids for nothing.

It was good to see them not lose their composure and stay the course and fight back. Their first goal was a gem. The outlet pass to Laich and then the pinball like passing b/t Laich, Semin, and Backstrom leading to Backstrom's goal was amazing. The second goal was just as good in that the for the last 7-8 minutes of the second period, the Caps were thoroughly outplaying/out hustling the Flyers. They just turned it on. Backstrom's goal seemed to light a fire under them and it also seemed to put the Flyers back on their heels. It was pretty tremendous the onslaught they put on and it was good to see it payoff with a Semin goal.

Then how fitting was it for OV to get the game winner? After all the chatter about him not scoring, he deflects the incoming pass and then makes a break down center ice and receives the perfect pass from Kozlov that put him in on a breakaway. The exciting thing was the crowd went dead silent as he skated in and you knew something big was going to happen. He beat Biron top shelf and it was awesome how he yelled right in the crowd's face as if to say IN YOUR FACE!!!

The final goal was exciting in that Laich passed to a wide open Ovechkin who one timed a laser past Biron. That thing had to be going like 120 mph. I like the Beninati/Locker broadcast team and Beninati nailed the call. When OV shot, Beninati just yelled "BOOM!!!" Pretty exciting.

The best part is the Caps set up a deciding Game 7 back here at Verizon. You knew the Flyers didn't want to have to come back here. The thing is that we haven't won anything yet and you can bet it will be an intense game. I like our chances not only because we are back in D.C. but the Caps in general don't seem to be pressing the way they did in the first couple of games of these playoffs. They seem more relaxed and know what to expect and ready to play their game. We'll see what happens but I have to say that this is a young and exciting team and I'm looking forward to Game 7.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

NO to OCHO STINKO!!!!

Apparently the Skins offered its first-round pick, No. 21 overall, and a conditional third-rounder in 2009 that could escalate to a first rounder if Johnson and the Redskins hit certain performance levels. What are we thinking?!!!!

I have actually been pretty happy with the moves (or lack thereof) the 'Skins have done this offseason. We would be giving up a lot for an aging head case. Plus, we would probably have to renegotiate his contract and give him an increase in salary. I am sure Ocho Stinko would get frustrated with the new coach/new system/new and young QB and by mid season would create a big stink if things weren't going his way.

I say keep the pick(s) and get a DE and a WR later in the draft.

The good news is that the Bengals said no to the offer and they appear to have a bitter battle of wills on their hands. Doesn't seem like the Bengals are going to be bossed around by Stinko and Stinko seems intent on making life miserable for the Bengalas. With all the turmoil and arrests and now this in Cincy, I'm sure the fans have gotten tired with the drama and lack of success and they probably shouldn't expect too much this year and this is probably Lewis' last year at the helm.

He's a good coach but it's probably time for change.

Urlacher Story Interesting!

Good piece in the Tribune by David Haugh. Basically, it mentions the impact that the Urlacher contract stalemate can have on the team. Here are a couple of snipets from the article:

"People who doubt Brian Urlacher's influence in the locker room are ignoring the teammates wo are following his lead by seeking new contracts. They also overllok the wedge being driven between players and management by Urlacher's impasse evident at a recent workout when a Bears veteran loudly pleaded with coach Lovie Smith for the team just to pay the linebacker, according to a teammate."

"Tommie Harris. Devin Hester. Robbie Gould. Who's the next Bear to mimic Urlacher's off-season activity? How many years does equipment manager Tony Medlin have left on his deal?"

"...Hester, with two years left on his four-year rookie contract, has missed portions of the voluntary workouts and made it known through NFL Network confidant Deion Sanders he is unhappy with his compensation."

I don't think I need to write any more. The point is that there Urlacher's teammates are clearly paying attention to his contract situation and depending on what the Bears do could impact what happens to some of these other players (i.e., Harris, Gould, Hester). The fallout could be interesting.

What's also of interest is how quickly the Bears fans have turned on Urlacher. If you look at the Tribune's what the fans are saying, the majority are not siding with Urlacher. Interesting how one of the most popular players in Bears history has suddenly turned the fans against him. Will be interesting how this thing shakes down.

Caps Stave Off Elimination!

With their backs against the wall and down 3 games to 1, the Caps were in a must win situation yesterday in Game 5. They were back at home and they held on for a 3-2 victory to force a Game 6. I missed the game so I can't really comment on it other than I am glad that they are still in it.

The interesting thing is that I saw the highlights and some of the player interviews after the game and they seem pretty relaxed. They seemed excited about the victory and I like what Brooks Laich had to say. Basically, he mentioned that the pressure is now on the Flyers. Game 6 is going to be back in Philly and if the Flyers don't pull it off there then it will force a series deciding Game 7 back in D.C. I don't think the Flyers will want to come back here.

Craig Laughlin has been calling the Caps the cardiac kids all the way down this stretch and they seem to be keeping with that name. Hopefully they can keep this thing rolling. The good thing is the Caps have shown a whole lot more life in these last two games and maybe they are finally getting accustomed to life in the playoffs. The other good thing is that Ovechkin hasn't done much yet and is due for a break out performance. I know there is a long way to go and I also know that only like 10% of teams in history have come back from a 3 to 1 game deficit. However, the Flyers won 3 in a row and the Caps finished the regular season on an amazing streak so there is no reason to believe that this can't happen.

Looking forward to Game 6!

LET'S GO CAPS!!!!

BARACKY!!!!!!

This has a little bit of something for RobsObs AND Matar Aloo. Interesting, inspirational, action packed, controversial, exciting...ladies and ladies, I give you BARACKY!!!!

Caps Blow It!!!

The Caps had an opportunity to erase the stinkbomb they lit over the weekend by coming out last night and playing hard. They ended up lighting another stinkbomb.

As expected, it was a raucous crowd and it would have been nice to take a lead and try and get the crowd out of the game. That didn't happen. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead but we came back quickly to tie it up. That was good. However, shortly after that, the Flyers scored on a one timer and then about a minute later, Jurcina was holding the puck behind our net waiting to start a run and then he ended up passing it right to a Flyer who had a clear and open look at the goal and ended up scoring to take a 2 goal advantage going into the first intermission. That was a killer.

We did cut into the lead by making it a 4-3 game with about 5 minutes left but then we gave up a penalty shot. They scored making it 5-3 and then added an empty netter for a final score of 6-3.

What's most disappointing is that we don't seem to be playing the same type of hockey that we did the last several weeks of the regular season. I don't know how much that is of us just not playing well or of the Flyers just shutting us down. It's probably a little of both. Still, the Flyers just look like the better team. They are aggressive and attacking. They have effectively shut down Ovechkin. Ovechkin looks extremely frustrated out there. They are crashing into Huet and when they are not crashing into him, they are setting up good screens making it very difficult for him to stop shots. We just look like we are being outhustled and outplayed. There are stretches where they seem to just be playing keep away from us. We aren't even able to get shots off. In game 2, there were 6-7 minute stretches where we didn't even get a shot off. Last night, again we were beaten in the shot department. The Caps look extremely frustrated out there and we are taking a ton of penalties. It's hard to come back when you are down and you have to constantly play a man down.

Unless we stop the stupid frustration penalties and start playing more smart and more aggressive, this is going to be a pretty short series.

Thursday's game is essentially a must win for the Caps. To go down 3-1 would be very difficult to recover from. However, if we can pull out that victory, the series would shift back to Verizon and we would be in pretty good shape.

Bottom line, we have to be more aggressive, we have to eliminate the silly penalties, and we have to attack their goalie. By that, I mean set up screens, hit him, and take shots.

We'll see what happens on Thursday.

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

Caps vs. Flyers - Round 3

The series is knotted up 1 apiece and it tonight it shifts to Philly. The first game was really exciting. As expected, the crowd was pumped up and the players fed off the crowd. The defense was suspect and the Caps gave up some suspect goals but being down 4-2 going into the third period, they fought back and scored 3 goals capped by Ovechkin's game winner that sent the team and crowd into a frenzy.

Game 2 was a different story. Neither the team nor crowd seemed as excited as game 1. Also, many of the Caps stayed out on their shifts much longer. I think that was a big mistake in that they broke the flow of their line changes as well as obviously tiring themselves out. I expect that will change tonight. We certainly had our opportunities but Biron was fantastic. He made a few point blank saves and just stonewalled the Caps. As we all know, strong goalie play is key in advancing in the NHL playoffs.

The Caps had won like 11 of their last 12 games before that game 2. I think a loss may actually help them. Hopefully it will get them to refocus and humble them. I expect a high energy game as it will be the first playoff game this year in Philly. I think it will be a raucous and hostile crowd so it will be important to score first and take them out of the game.

We'll see how it goes but looking forward to round 3 tonight.

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

Review - There Will be Blood

More like There Will be SHAT!

Is it me? I just don't seem to be getting some of these movies lately. It probably is me to some degree as my mind is deteriorating. Still, don't know what the big deal about this movie was. It was okay. Just didn't really see the point about the story. Maybe I wanted more from it. I will say that the acting was very good. However, I just thought there was an overall lack of story or maybe it was just that this story wasn't all for me. Either way, I was waiting for it to pick up some. Ending was pretty strange too.

Give it 2 stars and that is mostly for the acting.

Is Urlacher being TOO greedy?

From the Chicago Sun Times:

The original $57 million didn't seem to bother anyone. It was a little high for Brian Urlacher, but he had the potential to be a big star. And he got there, too. Urlacher wants more. ''I'm just happy that we were able to come to an agreement on both sides. And it's fair for both sides.'' That's what he said five years ago when he signed his current deal, which was for nine years and included a $13 million signing bonus. At the time, it was one of the richest contracts for a defensive player in NFL history. Now, it's not. But he negotiated away that salary inflation in favor of security. That was the choice he made. The Bears have been fair to him. And here's some more reality: Urlacher is about to turn 30 and has four years left on his contract. He's coming off neck surgery and has a chronic back problem. And he wasn't good most of last year.

My answer would be "Yes."

IT'S PLAYOFF TIME - GO CAPS!!!!

It's been a few years but the Caps are back in the playoffs and you can bet it will be a crazy crowd tonight. I think it's going to be electric and the Caps are going to continue their inspired and confident play. LET'S GO CAPS!!!!

CAPS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!

Who'd a thought after a 6-14 start? They were considered one of the worst teams in hockey but a new coach, some new energy, some key FA acquisitions, and a little bit of luck they have found themselves as the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The clinching game against Florida on Saturday night was electric. The crowd was crazy and there was a sea of red. The Caps haven't been able to attract this kind of crowd at Verizon in years. Interesting because I walked into a sports store over the weekend and Ovechkin's jersey is on sale right at the front of the store and a lot of people were showing interest. Frankly, I wouldn't mind getting one myself. If you watch the team, you can't help but enjoy the way that they play. They are playing with a lot of inspiration and confidence.

That said, they have bought themselves an opening round matchup against Philadelphia (another much improved team from last year). The Caps have the home advantage and I feel confident they will continue their stellar play. I don't think they are satisfied with just getting to the playoffs. I think they are ready for more. Again, this team seems focused and yet relaxed. They are playing with as much confidence as anyone and I think they will make some noise in the playoffs.

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

Urlacher Not Happy!

From the Tribune, "For the second year in a row, the Bears will be without a Pro Bowl linebacker for the start of their voluntary off-season program, in part because of an unresolved contract situation. Brian Urlacher told the Tribune on Sunday he plans to skip the first day of workouts, slated to begin Monday, and left open the strong possibility that he will bypass the Bears' entire voluntary off-season program, which includes organized team activities (OTAs)."

Looks like Urlacher will be sitting out for a while. We'll see how much the Bears are willing to pony up for their franchise player. Interesting because there is no question that Urlacher is on his way down. He has sacrificed his body and given all he can for the Bears and been one of the greatest at his position but now with the neck surgery and arthritic back and his age, I am sure we have seen the best of him. I'm sure he wants to land that one more pay day before he ages anymore. He is still under contract and the Bears don't seem to really renegotiate but this is Urlacher. We'll see how this unfolds.

Live Free or Die Hard

It was what it was supposed to be. It was action and the silly one liners and such. I was entertained and that is all that matters so I will give it 2.5 stars.

Some of the issues that I had with it are:

1. McClane is like 55 years old so it seems a little silly him doing what he is doing.

2. Why is McClane doing this all by himself? Why doesn't he call for some help?

3. The F-15 trying to shoot at McClane in the end...does he have complete disregard for civilians?

4. Can the Government be totally decimated that quickly/easily? If so, we have serious issues.

Despite the issues, it lived up to the formula that has made John McClane (and Bruce Willis) who he is. We all want that classic, "YIPPPEEEEECAAAAYYYAAAAAYYYYY, MOFO!!!" It delivered and for Die Hard fans, I think the character and story stayed true. Again, it was silly but entertaining so it was AOK in my book.

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

Caps had a HUGE win on Tuesday against Carolina. Still, with the win and tying up the Hurricanes for the division lead, they find themselves on the outside looking in to the playoffs. Carolina holds the tie breaker. The way it stands is there are two games left. The Caps have 90 points. They sit 2 points behind division leader Carolina who won last night. They sit 1 point behind Philly for the 8th spot and 2 points behind Boston for the 7th seed.

Basically, the Caps need to win their final two and still hope for help. It's essentially playoff hockey now. They play TB tonight who is coming off of a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Carolina last night. They may be tired having played last night and having to travel and they aren't playing for anything since they are out of the playoff picture. Still, they may want to play the spoiler and if they have any pride, they will want to redeem themselves from last night's drubbing. Bottom line, the Caps have to play knowing the season is in the balance. It will be interesting.