NHL Playoffs prove why sports are great

By Dan Rodgers

This post is going to simply and clearly explain why this year's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs prove why sports are great.

The eight-seeded Montreal (Habs) Canadiens beat Sidney Crosby and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games. The Habs absolutely owned game seven, winning 5-2 on the road. The team from up north now looks to take on either the (7) Philadelphia Flyers or the (6) Boston Bruins.

This series is another great story because the Bruins were up three games to none and now the Flyers have won three in a row. Coming back from three down in a series is an almost unprecedented feat in the sports realm. (I would know, my Yanks blew it to the Sox in '04)

No one should care about the other conference right now. The Sharks beat the Red Wings four games to one, and the Blackhawks overtook the Canucks in six games.

The reason the West doesn't matter is because it's one vs. two in the conference finals. In the East, it's eight vs. six/seven.

That's awesome and it's awesome that the Flyers came back in the series. This is when random people pay attention. I'm not a Flyers/Bruins fan by any means, in fact, I strongly dislike both those sports cities to say the least. However, I will definitely at least be semi-watching the game because of how awesome the story is. Maybe it's just the journalist in me, who knows.

All I know is that I'm rooting hard for the Habs to go all the way, preferably against the Blackhawks. I think if Montreal plays the way they've been playing, they have a legitimate shot to win the Cup.

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.

"Geargate" resolved

By Scott Antoszewski

It only took two days after hockey Canada and Reebok posted a $10,000 reward for Sidney Crosby’s missing glove and stick to be “found”. The official release stated that the equipment was misplaced, one glove was supposedly in Patrice Bergeron’s bag and they weren’t saying where the stick ended up. It just seems fishy to me. I don’t think we will ever know if the “no questions asked” reward was paid.

I did learn that a fan in the front row had one of Crosby’s gloves, as it flew over the glass during the celebration. The fan returned the glove shortly after the game. Look for that gear in the Hockey Hall of Fame in the near future.

"Geargate"

By Scott Antoszewski

I know, I probably could have come up with a better headline, but as Americans we need a good “gate” controversy every now and then.

Sidney Crosby’s stick and one of his gloves from the gold medal game in Vancouver have been missing for almost a week and a half. Hockey Canada and Reebok want the stick and glove back badly enough to post a $10,000 reward for their return and a no questions asked policy.

I found myself wondering… would that be enough money for me to return them if I had them? I dabble in the sports memorabilia market enough to know that anything that has Crosby’s name on it has value. Add to that the fact that it is game used memorabilia and the value increases dramatically. The issue I have with taking the glove and stick from the gold medal game is how you prove to a perspective buyer that this is authentic?

Companies like Steiner Sports and Upper Deck take extensive measures to make sure that the items they sell as “game used” or “authentic” really are. Does someone really think that a collector will part with thousands of dollars for what someone might claim to be the “gold medal game used glove and stick” by Sidney Crosby without proof?

My answer to the question I posed earlier is yes (see paragraph two sentence one). I would turn in the equipment, take the $10,000 and run like hell. I would feel obligated to spend at least part of the money on something autographed by Alex Ovechkin. The Caps fan in me would feel some kind of justice had been done there.

This Week's Down and Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

This is going to be a new once a week segment that will involve anyone in any "sport" that is performing extremely well or horribly. You might recognize it from the segment I had during the NFL season.

Week 1:

The Down

Gilbert Arenas (WAS) - N/A

Arenas' gun show has put him out of commission recently so even though it has nothing to do with the past week, he stupidity will live on for the entire season. He needs to leave a few things: 1) He was a highly touted ball player and kids looked up to him 2) He is always in the spot light and needs to control himself 3) He should know better than to do something like that thinking he won't get caught or is above the law. Moron...

The Dirty

Jarome Iginla (CAN) - 5 Goals 2 Assists

Iginla had a monster first game of the Olympics and didn't cool off there. He had the game winning assist in the gold medal game against the U.S. He had a sensational tournament and played well in every game. He easily gets my vote this week and congrats to Canada for winning the gold...unfortunately...good shot Crosby...

On a side note: The U.S. did not "win" the silver medal, they lost the gold and were given the silver as a consolation. That is just clarification for people saying earlier today that we won the silver...

Rodgers That