How do you define success?

By Scott Antoszewski

The NHL playoffs start in about a week. Last night the Colorado Avalanche completed the Western Conference bracket by dousing the Calgary Flames. There is only one spot left in the East and it appears that the New York Rangers just aren’t interested enough to get it done.

The beginning of the playoffs had me thinking about what the different playoff teams would consider a successful season. The Avalanche have a rookie head coach and are in year one of the rebuilding process, so the fact that they led their division several times this year and have made the playoffs is huge success for them. The Phoenix Coyotes are in the same type of situation. They were picked to miss the playoffs altogether, so the fact that they darn near won their division was a success in and of itself.

The other side of the coin has team like the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals. Success for the Caps and Sharks is measured much differently. The Sharks recent playoff failures have their whole fan base in a wait and see mode as the playoffs start. The popular thinking is that anything short of a Conference Final or Stanley Cup final may mark the end of the GM, the coach and many of the players. The Caps on the other hand are working against an ever shrinking window. There will be serious salary cap issues for Washington to deal with in the not too distant future. Nicklas Backstrom is a restricted free agent after this year, Alexander Semin has one year left on his deal, and players like Schultz, Morrison, Poti, and Fehr will be due big raises, not to mention the questions in goal. The time to win is now for the Caps. Anything short of a Conference or Stanley Cup final would leave fans of Ovechkin’s army very disappointed as well. Presidents Trophy teams do not have a stellar track record of converting that into playoff success. I doubt people will be jumping off the Caps bandwagon, but an early playoff exit will make for a long summer in our Nation’s Capital.

It will be interesting to see how these teams handle the success they’ve had or the huge expectations of their fan bases in the coming weeks. Buckle up folks, the playoffs should be a wild ride.

FINAL: NCAA Championship...anybody care?

By Dan Rodgers

Wow, is this last minute or what?

(1) Duke has finally made it back to the NCAA Championship, their first appearance since winning the whole thing in 2001. They face off against (5) Butler. What's that...you think I just had a typo? Nope, Butler has actually won 25 games in a row and now face Duke for the whole dang thing... now this is what I call March Madness.

Duke is favored by 6.5 points...

Personally, I think Butler is either going to pull the biggest upset in championship history since eight-seeded Villanova beat powerhouse Georgetown. Yes, back in the day with Patrick Chewing... er, I mean Ewing.

Butler is either going to cover the spread and beat Duke out right, or get clobbered like Michigan State did last year. I would love to see Butler win, but the realist in me says I don't see how Duke can lose. Look for Nolan Smith to have another big game. Don't expect Butler to stick with the Blue Devils if Matt Howard doesn't play...unless Gordon Hayward goes off from three...

Duke 73 Butler 58

Duke 61 Butler 59 FINAL

Duke wins another championship :( and they are the first team to score over 60 points on Butler during the tournament...Butler...PLEASE prove me wrong!

Rodgers That

An open letter to Donovan McNabb

Dear Mr. McNabb,

I’m sorry. On behalf of all Eagles fans everywhere, I’m so, so sorry. I know you’ve been booed since your selection as the number 2 pick in 1999 to play for the city of brotherly love. That you were never surrounded with enough talent to play to your ultimate potential, and that when you finally were given those weapons it was your first Superbowl appearance. And I know that it’s awful to finally have so many new weapons in Brent Celek, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, and Jeremy Maclin. That being traded to play from Andy Reid, who doesn’t know that a run game exists, to Mike Shanahan, the man who basically invented the greatest running scheme known to modern NFL, must feel like heaven for your not-even-close to weary 33 year old frame. So how do you feel, Mr. McNabb? You’re being put in the middle of another offense that will ask too much of you, with Santana Moss and Chris Cooley to serve as your new Robin and Batgirl. Your net worth to the franchise that you brought to the NFC Championship Game 5 times and one Superbowl? A second round draft pick. Sure, you could be worth another pick next year. But ultimately you were just told, as the face of the franchise, that your worth is a backup middle linebacker. Ouch man. On a better note, you muscled your way to being in the same division. I hope you make the Eagles front office remember that you were the best player in Eagles history for a reason.

Best of luck, you’ll be missed,

-Dr. Jekyll.

Sunday Night...BASEBALL!

By Dan Rodgers

Oh my how time flies...it's finally April and that means....the start of the MLB season!

Tonight, my New York Yankees re-enter the biggest rivalry in sports and take the field in Boston against the Red Sox.

This game is one of over a dozen that these two rivals will play this year. Last year the Yanks lost the first eight in a row against the Sox before winning nine of the last 10. The Bombers have shown that they have developed chemistry and the additions of Curtis Granderson, Javier Vasquez, Nick Johnson will add plenty of depth and experience to the powerful Yankee lineup. Vasquez and Johnson will both be entering their second stint with the Yanks and Granderson brings a good bat and a great glove in the outfield.

Boston made major renovations to both their lineup and rotation. The Sox added Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron to the starting lineup. They also picked up Jeremy Hermida and Bill Hall to provide some depth off the bench.

The rotation, however, is the most impressive in the big leagues. Yes, even more so than the Yankees and the Phillies. The rotation headlines with Josh Beckett of course, but there is no drop off to the number two in Jon Lester. Not to mention the fact that John Lackey is the number three. All three of those pitchers have the potential to be 20-game winners. Oh, by the way, Dice-K is the fourth and he has already won 19 games in a season. Youngster Clay Buchholz and veteran Tim Wakefield round out the staff.

This game should be exciting as Sabathia battles Beckett in a game I think the Yankees will take. The Bombers developed a ton of chemistry last year during their World Series run. That was something they had been lacking in previous years. It is also the reason the Yanks win tonight and take the division. The Sox made a lot of changes this off-season and it will take time to develop the chemistry the Yankees now have.

Enjoy the game...and the season.

Rodgers That

Final Four Preview

By Dan Rodgers

Game One:

(5)Butler vs. (5) Michigan State

This game is probably the lesser of the two...in terms of people being interested. However, this is a very intriguing match-up in my mind. Butler is probably the hottest team in the tournament having won 24 games in a row. Michigan State lost their best player in Kalin Lucas, but seem to just squeak by their opponents. They have only won one of their games by more than one possession: one took place on a game winning shot and won involved the other team missing a chance to tie the game.

Even though the spread right now is Butler by a point, but I think if they won it would be an upset. I think they will win, even though I have great respect for Tom Izzo and the Spartans. This will defnitely be another close game. It could go either way, but I just don't see how Butler can lose being on such a hot streak. Look for Matt Howard to have another huge game.

Butler 73 Mich St 69

Game Two:

(2) West Virginia vs. (1) Duke

Well, I personally am amazed because I thought Duke was clearly the worst one seed in the tournament. They are clearly playing well though. However, I think besides Butler, West Virginia may be the next hottest team having won the Big East tournament to earn their two seed. Losing their starting point guard didn't seem to phase them during their convincing win over the Kentucky Wildcats. If West Virginia is going to get their shot at whoever wins the early game, Devin Ebanks will have to have a great game.

Duke's last loss was exactly one month ago to ACC rival Maryland. That loss only seems to have motivated them because they haven't lost since. Brian Zoubek has been playing out of his mind and Nolan Smith is hoping match his late father and win the NCAA championship. I think Smith will have to have a career game in order to get past the defensive minded Mountaineers. Duke is favored by three points and I like WVU to at least push that spread if not pull the upset.

WVU 71 Duke 65

Rodgers That

Greatest Caps moments

By Scott Antoszewski

­Several NHL teams have released DVD sets in the last few weeks that are a compilation of that team’s 10 best games of all time. The Washington Capitals are my team (as you most likely know) so I am particularly interested in the Caps version of this. I got my first look at the list and was pleasantly surprised about how many of the listed moments I have witnessed in person. The list is below and I will detail each of the games that I was lucky enough to attend:

10. Ovechkin’s hat trick in game two against Pittsburgh last May, one matched by Sidney Crosby in a losing effort. I was NOT there for this one, but was going nuts in my basement and texting my friends who were there.

9. Game seven versus the Rangers last April. I shared this moment at home with my wife. She loves hockey almost as much as I do.

8. Game one versus the Flyers in 2008. I was at this game. I’ve never been in a louder building in my life. The Caps erased a 3-1 second period deficit to win 5-3. I remember getting light headed from jumping up in the air when the Caps scored the go ahead goal. My throat was sore for a full day afterward. It wasn’t my first playoff game, but it was the first playoff game that I saw the Caps win. This game was also the last time I high-fived a random stranger.

7. Caps winning the Southeast and qualifying for the postseason in the last game of the season against Florida, April 5, 2008. I still watch the last 30 seconds of this game on Youtube every now and then. I decided exactly one day before this game that I wanted to go. I called a sales guy I used to know that worked with the Caps, and because he knew that I had bought seats for less meaningful games, he sold me four $55 seats for $35 each. People were paying two and three times face for this game and I got discount seats. The last minute and a half of the game was one of the coolest environments I have ever experienced. I smile every time I think of that night, including right now. The memorabilia collector in me wonders who ended up with the Ovechkin game used stick he chucked into the stands at the end.

6. Ovechkin scores four goals against the Canadians while enduring a broken nose, Jan. 31, 2008. I took my boss and my wife to this game. I was playing broom-ball on the ice after the game, so I didn’t get to see Ovechkin’s fourth goal. My wife and I ran into some friends at the game and she left my boss and me to sit four rows from the ice. Ovechkin’s hat trick was the first NHL hat trick I had ever been in the stands for. My hat didn’t make it to the ice from the 400 level.

5. Bruce Boudreau’s first game behind the Caps’ bench, Nov. 23, 2007. This game was in Philadelphia, and I wasn’t there. I was however at Glen Hanlon’s last game as coach two days before. I was not part of the crowd chanting “fire Hanlon”. The change was needed, but I couldn’t bring myself to join the chant. Nicklas Backstrom got Bruce Boudreau a win in his first game with an overtime goal.

4. Ovechkin’s first Caps’ game, against Columbus, Oct. 5, 2005. I was at this game. I remember going in wondering if this “Big O” guy could live up to all the hype. I’m glad we don’t call him the “Big O” anymore. I think I have the ticket stub for this game around somewhere. They were big and fancy because it was opening night.

3. Joe Juneau catapults the Caps to their first-ever Stanley Cup finals, June 4, 1998. This was before I got into hockey, but I do remember watching this game on TV. I started following the Caps regularly about a year later.

2. Game one of the 1996 Eastern Conference quarterfinals when the Caps overcame a 4-1 deficit to beat Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and the Pens 6-4. This was before my time, but any victory against the Pens makes me smile.

1. Dale Hunter vanquishes the Flyers in overtime of game seven in 1988! This game may have been one of the first games I ever watched. The memory that stands out to me was thinking “Wow, they are celebrating like they won the game” after Hunter’s goal. I didn’t know that overtime in the NHL was sudden death. I asked my father several times in subsequent years to take me to a game, but we never went. I was honored to take my Dad to HIS first game sometime during the early 2000’s.

The set seems to be a little heavy on the recent history, mainly due to the Pollin family’s unwillingness or inability to produce video of some of the early years of the organization. I know there is a set out for the Blackhawks and several other teams. I feel very lucky to have seen as many Caps games as I have. I’ve been a hockey fan for about ten years and feel very fortunate to get to see a player the caliber of Ovechkin in my city. I hope you enjoyed this; it was great fun to write.

Fantasy Baseball

By Dan Rodgers

So, I know it's bad that I haven't written in a while. Just a heads up, this is going to be me venting about the fantasy baseball league I am about to take part in.

The league is through Yahoo, which is just about normal and how I did it when I was younger. The reason I prefer other sports, fantasy football, instead of baseball is because most sites require you to change your lineup everyday. That can get very irritating and annoying, but it has to be done if you want to win.

The league I am in also has a waiver wire. Personally, I think that there might be nothing stupider in sports than waivers. But, I didn't make the league so it's not up to me.

Okay, down to the draft: The last time I participated in fantasy baseball I drafted Jose Reyes number won overall and I won the championship. Clearly, he is not going to be drafted in the same spot. Most people are looking at Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Hanley Ramierez and Chase Utley. Those four players are pretty much the top four in every draft. Let's just do a review of each player and then I would appreciate your opinion on players to take, sleepers, etc.

Pujols: Pending injury ~.330 avg 30+ homers 100+ RBI ~100 runs how could it get any better?

A-Rod: ~.300 avg 30+ homers 100+ RBI ~100 runs...like Big Albert minus the avg?

Hanley: ~.325 avg 20+ homers ~85 RBI <100 runs 25-50 stolen bases...great all around player

Utley: ~.300 avg 25+ homers ~100 RBI <100 runs...another good all around player?

Let me know what you think, and any other players you might recommend taking...I'll come back with an update that will include my team on Sunday night...

Rodgers That