Tuiasosopo is confused

The man who claims to have been behind the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax told talk show host Phil McGraw that he was in love with the Notre Dame linebacker.

"Here we have a young man that fell deeply, romantically in love," McGraw said on the "Today" show Wednesday, about Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.

McGraw said he asked Tuiasosopo to define the nature of the relationship.  "I asked him straight up, 'Was this a romantic relationship with you?' And he says 'Yes.'

"I said, 'Are you then therefore gay?' And he said, 'When you put it that way, yes.' And then he caught himself and said, 'I'm confused.'"

That is the understatement of the year.  This dude is definitely confused.

Danny Smith leaves to go to Pittsburgh

While Smith was a fixture on the Redskin sidelines for years, it's not that big of a deal.  I liked Smith and he was very recognizable with the big wad of gum in his mouth but our special teams the last couple of years were less than stellar with several blocked FGs and a couple of blocked punts this year. 

Smith is heading back home to Pittsburgh and I'm sure we'll pick up someone decent enough to run the special teams squad. 

Caps get their first win!

Caps managed to hold on Sunday 3-2 to get their first win against the Sabres.  Good win.  Also, nice to see Ovi get his first goal off of a one timer on a PP.  Give Robs some credit as he expected to see Ovi back at his more comfortable LW spot which was the case.  I will say that Ovi looked a lot better in that game.  He played with what appeared a lot more passion and enthusiasm.  He looked to be skating much harder and played more like what Caps fans are accustomed to.  Frankly, I thought the whole team looked much better. 

Seemed like Sunday's win was a carry over from their play on Friday night in NJ against the Devils.  Although suffering a 3-2 loss in OT, I thought they did look much better in that game.  I also like getting Hamrlik out of there.  Probably a good idea to take Poti out as well.  While I like Poti, the guy is old and been out of hockey for two years.  Not a huge fan of Schultz but I do like Erskine.  Seems like Erskine brings a toughness and grittiness that the Caps need.  Good for him in getting a goal on Sunday even though it was a fluky one at that. 

I also like the shifting of lines.  Thought MoJo was disappointing last year and he has been an even bigger disappointment this season.  I like Ovi skating with Crabb and Beagle.  Beagle and Crabb seem more like hard working gritty guys that can help get the puck to Ovi. 

Couple of other notes:

1. Neuvy has played well and is deserving of the top spot right now over Holtby.  I think Neuvy has been waiting for this opportunity and it's nice to see him step up to the challenge.  He seems to be playing with a bit of a chip on his shoulder and really wants that #1 spot.  He's been in the league a few years now and has always had to play second fiddle.  He now seems primed to be the #1.  Hopefully this is the case.

2. Backstrom needs to shoot.  The guy is always looking to pass but he has a tremendous shot.  He needs to use it more.  He will overpass before shooting.  He did take a shot on Sunday when I expected him to pass and he hit the post.  The guy has to use that shot more.

Caps play tonight and hopefully can continue their stronger play.  It's only been a couple of games where they have played well so can't get overly excited.  A bad game tonight and we'll be back to square one.  Hopefully the team is starting to gel and understand the system better and can pull out another win.

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!

Caps are sucking!

I have watched the better part of all three games this season and my conclusion at this point is that the Caps stink.  Yeah, I get there is a new coach and a new system and sure there will be some time to adjust to it but this is hockey and it's not like reinventing the game. 

I am seeing dumb penalties and just a general lack of effort out there.  The top line guys seem out of sorts.  I don't see much movement on the PP.  The PK sucks.  These guys are sinking fast and it shows.  Four Canadien goals in the second period did them in.  Neuvy played pretty well but just not enough help from his teammates.  Guys not clearing out the crease.  Too often there are guys in front of our goalie with no defender in sight.  On the opposite end we get some shots but very few are quality shots.  We aren't testing the other teams goalies.  No traffic in front. 

The boo birds were out loud and often last night and deservedly so.  This team desperately needs to get it together and show some life.  I'm not even talking about a win but just some aggressive play.  For the first time in some time, I am watching these guys and thinking we don't have a chance.  Just lackluster boring play.  They are at it again tonight in NJ and they need to get something going soon.  Hopefully we see some inspired play tonight. 

Manti was talking to a man

Just a weird story.  Manti spent hours talking to his "girlfriend."  Turns out his "girlfriend" is a man.  The voice was that of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo -- the dude behind the hoax.  This is just weird, dude.  This guy Tuiasosopo has got some real problems.  Not only to come up with this idea but to pretend to be a girl and carry on a romantic relationship with a guy over the phone for hours -- there is something wrong with this guy.  It goes beyond a prank.  If it were a prank, at some point seems like you would crack up laughing on the phone or something or just not be able to carry it on as long as he did.  However, to be able to sound like a woman and act like a woman for hour(s) long conversations that went on for months, this guy has some real issues.  Not sure what motivated him and what he thought he was doing but would be interesting to hear from him.  I'm sure he'll get his time on Dateline or some show like that. 

Caps struggling

After two games, it's pretty clear the Caps are struggling.  Not a huge surprise given that they have a new coach in Adam Oates and a new system.  With no training camp and preseason games, they are having to learn the system on the fly. 

Without truly understanding the "x's" and "o's" of hockey, it seems like an interesting system.  It is supposed to be somewhat of a hybrid of Boudreau's high flying offensive system and Hunter's stingy defensive system.  What is apparent is that defenders are having to make rushes on the offensive end and offensive guys (particularly the centers) are having to get back and play defense.  I noticed a number of times in yesterday's Winninpeg game defensive guys rushing into the offensive zone and offensive guys, especially Backstrom, way back in the defensive zone.  It's clear the guys are still learning where to be as it looked like there were times yesterday that guys weren't in rhythm and it just wasn't fluid. 

Additionally, Ovi has made the switch to right wing and I'm not sure how comfortable he is there.  I know he wants to still have chances from the left side as it appeared later in the game he crept over to the left side.  Still, he is too predictable on the left side but I know he likes to bring it down the win and then cut towards the center and release a shot which he can't do now from the right side.  Still, Oates wants to have guys that are right handed play the right side and left handed guys play the left side. 

I'm sure learning the system will take a little time; however, with a shortened season hopefully they can learn it sooner rather than later as there isn't much time to get behind in the standings and try to play catch up. 

A couple of other notes:

1. The PK SUCKS!  The Caps are 6 of 12 in PK.  50%!!!!  That is ridiculous.  What's worse is that it just looks bad.  That needs to get shored up.

2. MoJo sucks.  With the loss of Semin, a lot is riding on MoJo and he has been less than spectacular.   He has been playing on the top line but he is struggling to just skate and move the puck.  His poor play resulted in him getting replaced on the top line last night and he hardly played in the third period.  He has to get better.

3. Goal keeping has to be better.  Holtby has been okay but certainly not great.  It will be interesting to see if Hunter's defensive system masked Holtby's inadequacies.  In the new system, there certainly will be more pressure on the goalies and hopefully Holtby is for real and not a Jim Carey.

4. The stars have to shine.  Ovi, Backstrom, and Green have been the stars of this team for the last few years.  They need to step up now.  They are veterans and have to lead. 

5. Don't panic and stay the course.  With losses guys will start to second guess themselves and press but they need to stay the course and fight through it.  If they can get up to speed, they will be fine but again they have to right the ship quickly if they intend on making the playoffs this year.

Next game is Thursday night at home.  It's not a must win but it is important that they play better.  In both games this season, they were outworked and outplayed.  That needs to stop.  A win will certainly boost their confidence and can get things moving in the right direction.

UNLEASH THE FURY!!!

Manti Te'o's "girlfriend" hoax - WTH?!!!

Notre Dame says a story about Manti Te'o's girlfriend dying, which he said inspired him to play better as he helped the Fighting Irish get to the Discover BCS National Championship, turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the linebacker.


The university issued a news release Wednesday after Deadspin.com reported it could find no record of Lennay Kekua existing.  Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a news conference Wednesday night that coaches were informed by Te'o and his parents on Dec. 26 that Te'o had been the victim of what appeared to be a hoax. Someone using a fictitious name "apparently ingratiated herself" with Te'o, the school said, then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had died of leukemia.

This is one crazy story and I think it is just in its infancy.  Will be interesting to find out how/why this happened.  This is one elaborate joke and either Te'o is a huge victim and this whole thing is a sad joke on him and he is foolish to have gotten caught up in it OR Te'o was in on this and he's just an idiot with poor character for trying to play this up. 

Notre Dame stands by Te'o and believes he is innoncent.  Still, interesting Te'o said he had this girlfriend and I'm assuming he had this relationship for some time yet he never met the girl.  Weird.