Rocking the Red and Unleashing the Fury

Alright... I said I'd talk about "other sports" in my last blog. And, since my favorite team, The Washington Capitals are in the midst of a 10-game winning streak, I thought it's a good time to bring them up.

First off, I just want to say that I'm not like most of the Caps fans here in the District that just jumped in the bandwagon in the past year or so. I have been following the Caps ever since their last Stanley Cup run when they fell short to the Red Wings in '98, and people didn't know who "Olie the Goalie" was. In fact, I can even tell you who scored the winning OT goal against Buffalo who brought us to the Cup Finals that year (for those of you who don't know, look it up... but his name is the capital of Alaska). I can tell you the captains since that run, and I even got some Caps paraphernalia with the old crappy logo. Although, I do admit that they were tough to watch during the re-building years (sort of like how the MLB's Nationals are now, who I also am fans of). Like I said, I'm pretty much the ultimate "DC" homer in sports (with the exception of DC United, since I can't get into soccer).

But moving right along, ever since that Cup run, they've blown up the team, rebuilt, and got to where they are today... as of now, at the top of the Eastern conference. They just won their 10th in a row against Tampa today, and I honestly could see this streak going for probably a few more games. Next, they play a Boston team, that's on a bad of a slump as any team can get (with the exception of the Oliers, whose losing streak is longer than our winning streak). And they are just playing mind-blowing hockey!

Here are just a few stats...

• They are currently leading the NHL at 214 goals... the closest team to them has 187 (San Jose)
• They scored 65 more goals than they have allowed, also leading the NHL. Closest team to them is at +53 (also San Jose)
• They have a 23 point lead in the division (in basketball terms, they have about a 11.5 game lead over their closest divisional opponent).
• 4 of their players have over 50 points, 9 over 25.
• They are averaging 3.82 goals per game (almost 4 goals per game).

And, the best part is... they are doing all of this with their star Alex Ovechkin scoring less, and their #1 goaltender Varlamov on the shelf. Everybody is contributing. Jose Theodore has filled in well during this run and has not looked like "Jose Three-or-more". And the kid Neuvirth is solid between the pipes as well. In this streak, with the exception of 3 games (Detroit, the comeback SO vs Florida, and the recent one against Tampa), they have won their games handily. Most of which by at least 3 goals.

I'm not gonna go out there and start predicting '10 Stanley Cup champs at this time of the season. They still have a very long way to go to get there. But, I will say (and have been saying for a long time) that the sports fans here in DC really has a team they can be excited about and proud of. It's just a shame that only a few people are just discovering this now. Let's just hope, that come June, we'll still be "Rocking the Red".

But on a somewhat related note, I did buy Caps owner Ted Leonsis' new book from Amazon "The Business of Happiness". As I've said in a previous blog, he's definitely one guy in my short list that I strive to be one day because of all that he's accomplished, while at the same time, staying grounded, genuine, and even accessible. I for one am very interested to know his "secret sauce". Even if I accomplish just a small fraction of what that man has accomplished, I would've probably lived a good life.

Til next entry...

D4P... PD!!!

John