Traffic cones were used to denote divots in the ice during Friday's practices. (Photo: TBD Staff)

PITTSBURGH-In addition to announcing the postponement of the 2011 Winter Classic, the NHL also released a series of contingency plans Friday afternoon should the weather or other forces conspire to prevent the normal completion of the contest at Heinz Field this weekend.

I've listed those contingency plans and other notable new features of the game after the jump: 

Continue Reading

Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau (right) tries to mend a patch of ice damaged by the sun during Friday's unseasonably warm practice at Heinz Field. (Photo: TBD Staff)

PITTSBURGH-The NHL has officially announced that the 2011 Winter Classic has been rescheduled from its original starting time of 1:00 p.m. Saturday due to anticipated bad weather. The game will now be scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. Saturday night. As originally planned, the game will be televised live nationwide on NBC.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly made the official announcement of the postponement a few moments before 5:00 p.m. Friday. "We obviously have been monitoring the weather reports all week long," Daly told the NHL Network. "They've been very, very consistent ... that we're going to have a front of rain that comes through starting kind of mid-morning, maybe early morning, and through the afternoon. But we're expecting ... the front to leave by early evening. So we're moving the start time of the Bridgestone Winter Classic to 8:00 p.m. local time."

Saturday's forecast called for steady rain throughout the daylight hours, with temperatures reaching an unseasonably warm high of 49 degrees. While the ice rink at Heinz Field can withstand temperatures reaching into the mid-50s, any rain shower more intense than a drizzle would have made the ice unplayable.  

The current forecast calls for the rain to end early in the evening, which has given the NHL hope that it could play the game on Saturday night.

In accordance with the new start time, the gates of Heinz Field will open at 5:30 p.m., with parking lots opening at 2:30 p.m.

Continue Reading

The Redskins will strive to prevent a repeat of this, from Week 13. (Photo: Associated Press)

Come on, folks, almost there. Just put one foot in front of the other and you'll make it. There's just one more game remaining in the 2010-11 regular season for the Washington Redskins, and thus, this will be the last edition of Know Thy Foe until next August. I hope you've enjoyed reading these weekly breakdowns of the opposition as much as I've enjoyed putting them together.

So, now that the valediction's been said, let's get to it.

Continue Reading

Former Penguins (in blue) and Caps (in red) do battle under the morning sun today at Heinz Field (Photo: TBD Staff)

PITTSBURGH-The weekend's festivities for the fourth annual NHL Winter Classic got off to a roaring start at Heinz Field this morning, as a team of former Capitals and Penguins played to a 5-5 tie.

Ron Francis (Penguins 1990-98) scored to put Pittsburgh up 5-4 with 5:26 remaining as he redirected a point shot from Larry Murphy (Capitals 1983-89, Penguins 1990-95) with the Penguins alums on a power play. But Peter Bondra (Capitals 1990-2004) found some space in front of the net with 43 seconds remaining and scored to ensure the game ended in a tie.

The game consisted of two twenty-minute periods and was played in front of an enthusiastic crowd of close to 10,000 at Heinz Field in a warm-up act one day before the main event, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

Much of the anticipation before the game was for the chance to see former Penguins and Capitals greats Mario Lemieux (Penguins, 1984-97, 2000-06) and Bondra meet on the ice for one final time. However, as is often the case, it was the lesser lights who provided the scoring. 

Paul Mulvey (Capitals 1978-81) was the star man for the Capitals alums, as he scored two goals, his second giving the Capitals alums a 4-3 lead with 14:53 left. But Jay Caufield (Penguins 1988-93) tied the game at 4-4 with a blast from the point with 9:11 remaining to set up the heroics of Francis and Bondra.

The first 20-minute period ended with the score tied 3-3. The first-period goals were scored by Rob Brown (Penguins 1987-91, 1997-2000), Rod Buskas (Penguins 1982-90), and Craig Simpson (Penguins 1985-88) for the Penguins alums, while current Comcast SportsNet analyst Alan May (Capitals 1989-94), Mulvey, and Mark Lofthouse (Capitals 1977-81) all tallied goals for the Caps alumni.

Continue Reading

Some poor sod tries to explain to Mike Rizzo why Felix Hernandez deserved the American League Cy Young award this season. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The year 2010 will be over in a few hours, and what a year it's been for D.C. sports fans. We've had some good times, some rotten times, and done a whole lot of talking about them.

But as always, a new year brings the promise of change and renewal, and there aren't many cities whose sports figures could use some New Year's resolutions more than Washington D.C.'s. Luckily, I have some to spare, and my own resolutions for various members of D.C.'s sporting elite are after the jump.

Continue Reading

The view from the Heinz Field press box. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Capitals held a full outdoor practice at the Chevy Chase Country Club. After a normal practice this morning, attended by an estimated 1,500 fans at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, the team was scheduled to depart this afternoon to Pittsburgh ahead of Saturday's much-anticipated game against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (1 p.m., NBC).

In a few hours, I too will be on the road to Pittsburgh for this spectacular event, and I will be bringing you coverage of all the buildup, action, and reaction from Friday and Saturday right here on the Chamberlain blog at TBD.com.

Tomorrow's events kick off bright and early at 9:30 a.m. with the Winter Classic Alumni Game, which will feature legendary formers Penguin Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Bryan Trottier, and Ron Francis and include former Capitals Petr Bondra, Yvon Labre,  current Capitals assistant coach Dean Evason, and current Comcast SportsNet analysts Alan May and Craig Laughlin.

The alumni game will be followed by practices for the two teams. The Penguins will skate first, at 11:30, followed by the Capitals at 2:00 p.m. Fans can also watch the two practices live on the NHL Network.

On the day itself, NHL Network will be on the air with its pregame show live from Heinz Field at 11:00 a.m. before NBC takes over game coverage at 1:00 p.m. Following the game, at 4:00 p.m., swing back over to the NHL Network for postgame coverage.

In addition, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter (@SChamberlainTBD), as I'll be using that platform to provide up to the minute coverage of all the events leading up to the big moment, as well as keeping an eye on the weather should things turn dicey.

Have a Happy New Year from all of us at TBD, and remember, for the best coverage of the Winter Classic and the Capitals, lock it in: TBD.com.

Continue Reading

Friedgen gives the Maryland fans a final wave as he leaves the field at RFK Wednesday night. (Photo: Associated Press)

Ralph Friedgen left a postgame press conference for the last time as Maryland's football coach just as two of his best players, wide receiver Torrey Smith and quarterback Danny O'Brien, were entering the interview room in the bowels of RFK Stadium to give their postgame comments after Maryland had rolled over East Carolina 51-20 in the third annual Military Bowl.

Smith and Friedgen picked their way through the gauntlet of reporters and when their paths finally crossed, Smith -- who had just announced via (what else?) Twitter that he would forgo his final year of eligibility to enter next April's NFL Draft, embraced his coach in a big bear hug.

"I love you," the player told the coach.

Continue Reading

Santana Moss: One man's pick for Redskins Player of the Year (Photo: Jay Westcott)

Just before the Christmas holiday, I received, via e-mail, a ballot from The Quarterback Club asking me to vote for the Redskins Player of the Year. I was offered the choice between five players: Chris Cooley, London Fletcher, DeAngelo Hall, Santana Moss, and Brian Orakpo.

This is (or was, since I've just handed in my ballot), the first time I've been asked to vote for any kind of honor or award, and naturally, it's a responsibility I take very seriously. Like any good voter, you want to make an informed choice, one that's easily defensible, even if your choice doesn't come out on top.

So, with that in mind, follow me below the jump as I examine my own process of elimination in determining my choice for the Redskins player of the year. I will list my choices in reverse order.

Continue Reading

The Caps congratulate Varlamov after Tuesday night's win. (Photo: Associated Press)

Thankfully for the Washington Capitals and their fans, Tuesday night's 3-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens -- the final game of a month that has been, to put it mildly, up-and-down -- offered neither drama nor controversy; nothing, in short, that would appeal to the microscopic lens of HBO's cameras. 

The task was the usual one: show up, play well, win. Simple in form, complex in function, but Tuesday night, the Capitals executed their part flawlessly.

Continue Reading

Backstrom, Green, Fehr, and Chimera celebrate Green's goal Tuesday night (Photo: Associated Press)

Perhaps not surprisingly, the first game between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens since Game 7 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals was a low-scoring, closely-contested affair. But in the end, first-period goals from Jay Beagle and Mike Green turned out to be all the offense Washington needed, as they defeated Montreal 3-0 before another sellout crowd at the Verizon Center.

The businesslike performance would have been just what Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau wanted to see from his team in their final game before plunging into the circus-like atmosphere of the New Year's Day Winter Classic against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Heinz Field.

After each team had failed to capitalize on two early power play opportunities, the Capitals took the lead through a piece of individual brilliance from Beagle. After linemates Matt Hendricks and Eric Fehr had cycled the puck behind Montreal's net, Beagle darted out in front of Carey Price and lifted a beautiful, blind backhand over the Montreal goalie's shoulder to give Washington a 1-0 lead at 16:20 of the first.

Three minutes and two seconds later, the Caps struck again. This time the play began with Nicklas Backstrom carrying the puck in on the right side of the Montreal zone and flipping a backhanded centering pass that took a slight deflection onto the stick of the streaking Green, who hit a one-time shot from the edge of the face-off circle that gave Price absolutely no chance.

The rest of the game was characterized by solid defense on the part of the Capitals, and self-destruction on the part of Montreal, who committed eight penalties in the game. Semyon Varlamov also did his part, stopping 25 Canadiens shots, and Alex Ovechkin added an empty-net goal with 31.4 seconds remaining to provide the final margin.

Continue Reading

Under normal circumstances, Kevin Barnes wouldn't have seen any significant time in Sunday afternoon's game. Nevertheless, the second-year cornerback, pressed into starting at safety due to an injury to Reed Doughty, showed admirable timing and quickness in intercepting David Garrard's overtime pass to set the Redskins up in perfect position for Graham Gano's eventual game-winning field goal. It's my turning point of the game.

Continue Reading

Good morning from Manchester, NH, where I am ensconced in the living room of my family home, basking in the post-Christmas glow, and ready for a full afternoon of NFL football.

My colleague Mike Jones is in Jacksonville this afternoon, and he's got full coverage of this afternoon's matchup between the Redskins and Jacksonville Jaguars over at the TBD Skins blog. This afternoon's encounter rounds off a week in which the Donovan McNabb saga got even messier and a series of injuries decimated the Redskins defensive lineup. Mike also has the usual gameday features up at the TBD Skins blog, including his matchups to watch and five things to watch. I also suggest you follow Mike on Twitter for all the latest on this afternoon's game.

Elsewhere on the site, I advise you check out Dan Daly's piece on the Redskins ongoing quest for a quarterback. And if you want a thorough breakdown of the Jacksonville Jaguars, check out my latest installment of "Know Thy Foe". If  I may make one modification to my preview, it is that Maurice Jones-Drew will officially miss this afternoon's game.

During and after the game, stick with Mike on the TBD Skins blog for his running recap and postgame thoughts and check in at the Chamberlain blog for my "Turning Point" feature. And, of course, you can always contribute your thoughts during the game on our live chat.

Have a happy Boxing Day, and enjoy the game, folks. And remember, for the best Redskins coverage, lock it in: TBD.com 

Continue Reading

If you let this guy beat you ... (Photo: Associated Press)

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, the drama at Redskins Park continues to swirl apace and the string continues to be played out. However, unlike last week, this Sunday's tilt actually means something to one of the teams involved (Hint: it's not the guys in burgundy and gold).

So, let's get to Know thy Foe.

Continue Reading

Michal Neuvirth after giving up Pascal Dupuis' decisive shootout goal. (Photo: Jay Westcott)

If you were a neutral hockey fan, or a traditional hockey fan, there's a very good chance that the ending of Thursday night's wonderful game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals left a bad taste in your mouth. The fact that a game as fast-paced and breathtaking as that had to be settled by an energy-sapping, seven-round shootout seemed unjust, a discordant coda on the end of a wonderful symphony of hockey. Far better, some would argue, to have the game just end after five minutes of overtime with the score tied 2-2 and each team taking a point from the proceedings. You've heard of games no one should have lost? Well, this was a game no one should have won.

This was not the way the NHL thought when they instituted the shootout rule prior to the 2005-06 season, believing ties to be a turn-off to the casual fan. It wasn't what the Washington Capitals were thinking Thursday night, either. This was, after all, Pittsburgh they were playing, and as Karl Alzner pointed out, "We don't want a tie against those guys."

Continue Reading

Thursday night's game was physical right from the drop of the puck. (Photo: Jay Westcott)

Pascal Dupis broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh round of a shootout as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a thrilling contest in front of a raucous crowd at the Verizon Center.

The Penguins appeared to have won the game on Chris Kunitz's rebound goal 17 seconds into the third period. The goal was made when Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby drove to the front of Michal Neuvith's net, and when the Capitals rookie goalie couldn't hold Crosby's initial stuff attempt, Kunitz was on hand to deposit the rebound into the net.

However, with the Capitals killing a Mathieu Perreault hooking penalty, the Penguins were too slack with their puck handling, and Brooks Laich passed the puck ahead to Mike Knuble, who beat Marc-Andre Fleury with a backhander at 14:31 of the third period to tie the game at 2-2.

It was none other than Crosby himself, the nemesis of Caps fans and players alike, who opened the scoring at 3:21 of the first, as he deflected a shot-cum-pass from Kris Letang past Neuvirth from a spot almost directly located on the goal line. As the night wore on and power-play chance after power-play chance came and went for the Capitals, it became more and more apparent that Crosby's goal would hold up and that the Caps would go down to another frustrating defeat. In fact, the Penguins might have put the game out of reach in the second, but for the stellar play of Neuvirth, who stopped Evgeni Malkin on a penalty shot early in the second after the Penguin had been hooked to the ice by Mike Green on a breakaway. Minutes later, Neuvirth stood his ground again to deny Crosby a second goal.

But finally, with another two-man advantage opportunity about to expire, Washington's five-man ring closed around Fleury's net, and it fell to Green to atone for his earlier error with a wrist shot from between the face-off circles that tied the game at 1-1 at 13:43 of the second.

Continue Reading

Friedgen at yesterday's press conference. (Photo: Associated Press)

Technically speaking, we won't know how Ralph Friedgen really feels about the events of earlier this week until after his team faces East Carolina in the Military Bowl December 29 at RFK Stadium. But that didn't mean the 63-year-old coach wasn't dropping hints during his media availability yesterday afternoon following a welcome reception for the Maryland team at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Washington.

"I'm not going to discuss anything about my job status until after the bowl game," Friedgen said. "It's very important that our kids, families, fans and alumni focus on the Military Bowl."

Continue Reading

Update 1:30 p.m. The Nats have made Burnett's extension official.

Original Story: The Nationals could announce as soon as today that left-handed reliever Sean Burnett has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the club worth $3.95 million. The deal also includes a so-called "mutual option" for the 2013 season, with the Nationals agreeing to pay Burnett a $250,000 buyout if they do not exercise their option on Burnett, believed to be worth $3.5 million. Burnett can also opt out of the deal if the Nationals do exercise the option, in which case the buyout would be waived.

2010 was the 28-year-old Burnett's first year with the Nationals, and he peformed very well. Despite being tagged with a 1-7 record, Burnett also recorded a 2.14 ERA (second-lowest on the Nationals staff behind Joel Peralta), pitching 63 innings in 73 appearances. Burnett also recorded a WHIP of 1.143, third-lowest on the staff (behind only Peralta and Stephen Strasburg) , and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.10 (again, only trailing Strasburg and Peralta).

Continue Reading

Kurt Thomas and the Bulls frustrated Al Thornton and the Wizards Wednesday night. (Photo: Associated Press)

The sun officially set Wednesday night on whatever giddy optimism was spawned by the 33-point blowout of Charlotte Monday night, the swap of Gilbert Arenas for Rashard Lewis, and the two most recent, most brilliant performances of Nick Young. The Wizards rode the momentum of their convincing win over the Bobcats for one whole quarter against the Bulls. After that, the natural order of the universe restored itself, and the Wizards went down to yet another close home loss against yet another very good Eastern Conference team. 

Doesn't sound familiar enough yet? Try this: most of the wounds that killed the Wizards chances of victory were self-inflicted. Yes, the Wizards officially went full circle in the course of 96 hours. 

Continue Reading

The combination of Derrick Rose (25 points) and Carlos Boozer (30 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) was too much for the Washington Wizards to handle Wednesday night at the Verizon Center, as the Chicago Bulls used a big third-quarter run to pull ahead of the Washington Wizards and held on to win, 87-80.

After looking the slightly better side in the first half and taking a 50-46 lead into the intermission, the Wizards led 58-50 after two Al Thornton free throws with 9:15 left in the third quarter. The Wizards didn't score a point for the next 4:27 as the Bulls went on a 13-0 run to take a 63-58 lead. The Wizards recovered enough to take a momentary 67-66 lead, but the Bulls quickly reassumed control of the proceedings and took a 73-70 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, any chance the Wizards might have had disappeared in a maelstrom of bad shooting, poor rebounding and indiscipline, as both Andray Blatche and head coach Flip Saunders picked up technical fouls in the period. The Bulls didn't perform much better than the Wizards, only scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter, but they were enough as the Wizards shot just 4-for-15 in the final period and committed five turnovers.

 Through sheer defensive effort, the Wizards got as close as 83-80 but new acquisition Rashard Lewis, who scored eight points and missed all five three-pointers he took in his first game as a Wizard, missed a potential game-tying three with 1:30 left in the game and Boozer's one-handed bank shot with 35.2 seconds left sealed the Chicago win.

Continue Reading

If you follow my TBD colleague Mike Jones on Twitter (and you really should), then you would know that yesterday afternoon, the Redskins quarterback taped this week's edition of the "Donovan McNabb Show," and it aired last night on TBD TV at its usual time of 8:30 (it'll also re-air Saturday night at 6:30, if you're all worn out from your Christmas celebrations). McNabb, along with host David Aldridge, discussed his topsy-turvy week, in which he was benched by Mike Shanahan ahead of last Sunday's game against Dallas.

The videos themselves are after the jump, but I just wanted to point you in the director of two other items. First, here's David's take on the issue from last Saturday. Second, here's a letter sent to prospective season ticket holders inviting them to buy, buy, buy for 2011 and, as the letter says, "join Head Coach Mike Shanahan and Quarterback Donovan McNabb." Is it false advertising if only one of those guys are there next year?

Anyway, here's the first segment, with the next three coming after the jump:

Continue Reading