You may have noticed that Eric Fehr’s pretty much all over the scoresheet these days. For the past two years I’ve been in the position of having to preach patience with our 2003 first-round pick, particularly in the Verizon Center press box. The refrain I’ve heard most often the past couple of seasons with Fehr is what a misfire McPhee made in passing over Ryan Getzlaf. Well duh. But that’s hockey. That Kris Chucko pick by Calgary at no. 24 in ‘04, five slots ahead of Mike Green, doesn’t look so swell either. That’s hockey. Hits and misses on the draft board; as an organization you try and have more hits than whiffs.
Of course, those who harp on Getzlaf conveniently overlook the difficulty the Caps would have in paying for him. I presume the Monday morning draft quaterbacks still would want Ovechkin, Green, Semin, Alzner, and Backstrom on the roster. How would you pay for Getzlaf as well? Do you make a Cup run with Daren Machesney in net?
The reality is that in the salary cap NHL a Cup contending team such as the Caps needs the skill set they presently have but they must also possess what I call scoresheet bargains — Brooks Laich last year, Thomas Fleischmann this. From the looks of things, Eric Fehr probably next season.
But about Fehr’s game. He has one. You do not pot consecutive 50-plus-goal campaigns in the Western Hockey League without one. It’s not exactly firewagon hockey out there. So congratulate the Ducks on the Getzlaf pick and get behind our guy. Bruce Boudreau believed in Tomas Fleischmann when few others around the NHL did, and he believes in Eric Fehr. That’s good enough for me. And incidentally, Fehr doesn’t look much like Brian Sutherby to me these days.
* * *
Why is it that in the third periods of tight hockey games, when the Caps take a penalty, you can always count on Shaone Morrisonn to add to the short-handed woes and make sure that a 5-on-3 kill is thrown in for good measure? Seemingly every time. It’s as if he’s genetically coded to take penalties at the worst time.
* * *
Apparently I’ve made a few enemies on the campus of Georgetown University this week. I’m really losing sleep over that. They’re a very bright student body there, but interestingly, not a single one of them challenged my claim that Alexander Ovechkin is more important to our city than any of the Hoya basketball players — present or future. Nor did anyone challenge my contention that building a basketball facility on campus to host the team would be in the best interests of the student body.
It would also be in the best interests of recruiting for that program. Whether you’re talking college football or basketball, elite recruits are best served by one-stop visits to a campus — take in the co-ed sights (ok, maybe you wouldn’t do that at GU) and the athletic facility ones in cohesive fashion. You think football coaches at the University of Minnesota thought their program benefited from their having to schlep recruits over to the Metrodome the past few decades? (And what do you do when a truck and tractor pull is taking place there while a coveted recruit is in town?) This fall, Gopherville will christen an extremely state of the art football stadium on campus. Anyone wanna wager on recruiting results over the next 10 years for Gopher football compared to the last 10?
One of my favorite features of hosting a blog is reading the thoughtful and illuminating sentiments from an expert reader when a topic includes matters technical, and with this week’s discussions of Verizon Center’s ice, we had an engineer named Ben share with us his experience. To reader Ben, I want to extend my personal thanks for taking the time to enlighten me and our readers:
“I have been a building engineer for twenty two years and though I
haven’t run an arena with an ice rink in it, I have run a mall with one
and numerous other buildings with large void spaces (areas like
auditoriums, large atriums, lecture halls, etc.) I have also run large
ice building plants which use very similar equipment.
“One poster here hit on something important, the covering of the ice
during basketball games. When the ice is covered, it is indeed
insulated. However, when that covering is removed the ice is exposed to
the ambient air conditions. There have been several mentions that the
conditions on Saturday the 7th were 62*F and 38%rH, but you can safely
bet that was not the case at the conclusion of the Georgetown game when
the floor was taken up! A higher temp (and since warm air holds more
moisture than cold air) and higher humidity will degrade the ice
surface very quickly causing pitting, micro fissures and expansion of
entrained air. This makes it necessary to remove and rebuild a thicker
layer of new ice on top of the existing sheet, which has a very short
time to cure and may striate and release easier when stressed by skate
edges.
“The long term fix for Verizon center will probably involve a redesigned
cooling system and specialized dehumidification equipment, but some
measure of short term relief could probably be realized by installing
“down blast” dampers on the existing cooling equipment. That would
allow all of the arena cooling capacity to be directed at the floor
level temporarally to quickly cool the lowest area with 50*F air and
there by displace the warmer/more humid air that was desired for the
basketball game and minimize exposure damage to the ice.”
42 Comments
Yes, you’ve made a few enemies for your thoughtless declaration that GU should be booted from Verizon and get its own place on campus. For one thing, you called for eviction of GU hoops saying that the team should get an on-campus arena without giving any consideration to whether or not such a thing is possible. And when commenters pointed out the near-impossibility of it, you ignored them.
Moreover, you asserted without any evidence that somehow Ovechkin was more important to DC than GU basketball. Well I’ll be happy to say it: GU basketball is more important to the city than Ovechkin or the Caps, except perhaps for attracting Canadian tourists. Ever notice that GU has won a national championship? Or that John Thompson has his own radio show, is regularly on television, and is something of a coaching legend? Or that the Hoyas are on real (by which I mean US and actually watched) national TV more tha the Caps? And do you think more people could identify Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, or Alex Ovechkin?
I have no problem with hockey or with the Caps and I see no rational reason why someone would call for the Hoyas to be booted for what could easily be resolved with slightly better scheduling. But if you are going to be so non-thinking as to call for the Hoyas’ ouster, then yeah, you are going to make some enemies at Georgetown University…you hoser!
Surely sir, you cannot tell me that Georgetown basketball matters more than a pro sports team? What a great joke.
Quote “And do you think more people could identify Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, or Alex Ovechkin?”
I think it would be Alex Ovechkin or Allen Iverson, it just depends on what sport a person is more familiar with. At least around Washington it would probably be Alex Ovechkin, especially right now with the caps being a playoff team, and the Hoyas, who are looking like they will probably be missing march madness or be leaving in the first round.
I can — and did — tell you exactly that. But let me pose a question for you to illustrate my point: Would you say the Mystics (or maybe DC United) — pro sports team — matter more than the Hoyas? If so, you are deluded. If not, then your “pro is automatically > college” assumption must not be correct. Looking further, examine the television ratings of Stanley Cup Finals and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments. I think you’ll find the evidence is clear: college basketball matters more than pro hockey.
Does this necessarily mean that the Hoyas “matter more” than the Caps? No, but you would be hard pressed to marshall clear evidence either way. At the very least, though, what I present here show clearly how foolish it is to assert that the little ol’ Hoyas should be booted because they inconvenience the mighty Caps.
“And do you think more people could identify Patrick Ewing, Allen Iverson, or Alex Ovechkin?”
Are we asking people in a sports bar or those visiting the “early man” exhibit at the Smithsonian?
If Ovechkin matters so much in this, why don’t you ask him if he wants the Hoyas out? Rumor has it that he’s quite the Georgetown fan, so I think he’d want the Hoyas to stay at Verizon.
Would we like an on-campus arena at Georgetown? Of course. Would we like another big arena in DC so we wouldn’t be hostage to the VC’s ridiculous financial terms? You bet.
Perhaps the solution is turning down the ambient temperature during Hoya games, so the ambient temperature will be lower when the basketball floor is removed. During a big Georgetown game it can get really hot in there (I remember it was like a sauna during the end of the Memphis game). I doubt you’d get too many complaints from Hoya fans if it were a bit cooler.
The same solution would work for the Wizards, but not enough people show up at those games to bring the temperature up!
“It just depends on what sport a person is more familiar with…”
Of course you missed the whole point — more people would know Iverson because more people care about basketball!
How delusional are you hockey fans, anyway? As much as I actually like hockey, you are insane if you think the NHL or the Caps are somehow of greater importance than college hoops or the Hoyas, especially so much more important that GU should be kicked out of Verizon because of a handful of days on which both teams use the place.
Is Ovechkin more important than any GU player present or future?
Probably. It has less to do with Ovechkin than about GU basketball — or more precisely, college basketball.
College basketball is a coach’s game (why a coach at a major program ever considers for two nanoseconds an NBA deal, let alone accept it, boggles my mind). Players are a revolving door. They stay a year, two, maybe even (occasionally) graduate, but I could stop 10 people on the streets of DC, and I’d bet a shiny nickel not one of them could name five Hoyas (Terps, Patriots) who have played in the last ten years.
But everyone knows that JTIII is the coach at GU, that Gary Williams is sweating through his suit coat at U-MD, etc.
Is Ovechkin more important than that? Nope, not be a long shot.
mmm…love that racism. Caps Fever, catch it!
This blog entry misses what is probably the most important point – there are only two dates this season where Georgetown has played an early game followed by the Caps playing later on that same day. TWO TIMES. That’s it. Don’t you think you’re making an issue out of nothing.
Also, no one is disputing that Georgetown fans/players/coaches/etc. would rather have a suitable on-campus arena. We’ve been clamoring for one for years. The point is it ain’t happening (at least in the next 20 years) for financial, zoning and space reasons.
I thought he was talking about Ovechkin.
A couple points:
1. The assumption that GU can just build an on-campus facility is way off base. Not only does the school not have the money for such a thing, it also lacks the space and the political clout to get it done. Currently, the school wants to build a practice facility for the team to replace the ancient McDonough Arena, a project far smaller than an arena appropriate for games, and they can’t even get that done. No one disputes that an on-campus arena is in the students’ best interests, but that argument misses the point. It can’t and won’t happen.
2. If GU had the money for an on-campus arena, guess who would pay for it. You guessed it – Ted Leonsis. Perhaps the biggest financial supporter of GU basketball. If it was in the Caps interest, and it was possible, he would do it. I think that says plenty about its feasibility.
3. Arguments about the relative popularity of the two sports is ridiculous. I love hockey and the Caps, but it’s a niche sport. A few people are very passionate about it, but it just doesn’t have mass appeal.
4. Blaming GU for poor ice conditions is just downright stupid. Count the number of times that GU has played a home game on the same day that the Caps have this year. Twice. That’s it. January 3 and February 7. Go find your bogeyman somewhere else.
“Apparently I’ve made a few enemies on the campus of Georgetown University this week.”
Just couldn’t resist poking that stick in the hornet’s nest, could you P&B? :0)
I do agree with your point about recruiting and one-stop shopping. Considering that GU’s entire athletic dept is pretty much centered around it’s basketball program, I find it astounding that they can’t manage to fund and build their own damn arena. Name me another major basketball power that does NOT have their own arena on campus. For crisssakes…PSU (which is HARDLY a bastion of NCAA basketball by anyone’s imagination) managed to build a brand new, state-of-the-art facility for their team a few years back after years of playing in that 1930’s era dump call Rec Hall.
And irt all the references to Ewing, Iverson, JT Jr and the one NCAA National Championship..ancient-F*&in-history. In case you haven’t noticed…GU basketball ain’t a winning program this year.
The WBA is a joke and should not qualify as a pro sport, you are just using an extreme example.
The fact is, to the Verizon center, Hockey is much more important.
And if you had Alex O and Allen I in civilian clothes Alex Ovechkin would be recognized more.
Ovechkin is 10000% more important that the entire Georgetown Hoya organization to the Verizon center and Washington Sports.
What are the TV ratings for Georgetown games? Have they increased by 30%? How much are they being put on national TV? Not often.
You can talk forever about how ‘crazy’ it is that the Hoyas can’t build their own arena, but the fact remains that, in the near future, the Hoyas will not be able to build their own arena.
You can complain as much as you want about how the Hoyas ruin the Caps ice, but the fact remains that there are only two overlapping games.
Facts are inconvenient, I know.
You also do realize that there is another solution to this problem, painfully obvious from the engineer’s response above – let the Caps play first on days when the games overlap.
GU is jammed into the middle of a major metro area, surrounded by two things: a distinct lack of open land, and an awful lot of wealthy people that have a well-known disdain for both change, and the other residents of DC.
PSU is smack in the middle of PA, surrounded by two things: a LOT of open land, and an awful lot of people whose livelihoods depend on the University.
PSU and GU are not comparable situations.
Georgetown plays on national television for over half its regular season games this year. Two games were played on CBS. And that doesn’t include the post-season tournaments which all get higher ratings then the Stanley Cup. The Caps play on national tv what- two times a year? Out of how many games? Don’t tell me NHL tv counts. Seen them on ESPN lately?
Seriously, I think the proprietor of this blog and a fair number of commenters have taken a few too many pucks to the head.
“Seriously, I think the proprietor of this blog and a fair number of commenters have taken a few too many pucks to the head.”
And Georgetown fans are a rather sensitive bunch.
It’s ok, Georgetown fans, people like you.
Haha, this is what happens when you put together two groups of fans with inferiority complexes (and I say that as a legitimate fan of both teams).
So please provide a credible citation that shows where GU was forbidden to build an arena on the campus.
I will patiently await that credible citation…considering that the Georgetown Administration made a deliberate choice not to plan for an on-campus arena when they had the opportunity back in the 80’s.
….And you’re still a losing club in your conference.
Actually it’s not…the campus is surrounded and encapsulated by the town of State College. When they built the new facility, they tore down old dorm structures to make the room. So that doesn’t quite hold the water you think.
For references to the state of GU’s endowment (quick search, I could dig further if you want, stories about Georgetown’s unfortunate financial situation stretch back till at least the early 00’s):
http://www.thehoya.com/node/17226
For reference to the difficulty of building anything university related:
http://www.thehoya.com/node/3849
In regards to potential opportunities in the 80s, I would agree with you that I wish the university had taken them, but that doesn’t change the current situation.
I’d also like an explanation of why my above proposal to have, during the very rare overlapping weekend games, the Caps play at noon and the Hoyas at 7 would not fix the ice problem.
**admin edit** We have had to remove YET ANOTHER comment that is a gross and blatant disregard for the comment policy.
Based on a few of these comments, the Georgetown Debating team must be masters at forfeiting matches for their salty language and crass comments.
Uncle Ted would not be proud.
I have a hard time buying off on your second link. From the article it appears that the University attempted to do a bit of bait and switch on the purpose of a new building and as a result, public uproar. To use a minor extract quote: “‚ÄúThe community based its opposition on the university not honoring its commitments.‚Äù
Georgetown’s financial situation is of it’s own doing. Yeah..it doesn’t change the current situation..but the point is..the situation was, both public relations-wise and with the finances, self-inflicted. Any sympathy to GU and the administration on this point is misplaced, IMHO.
To be honest..while Hoya’s fans may be mad about P&B’s assertion…there are some valid points in there:
- A major basketball program benefits from having it’s arena on-campus and immediately accessible to students.
- The cost for a ticket goes down substantially for an on-campus arena vice a place like the Verizon center.
- The university doesn’t have to share ticket profits with a 3rd party ala Verizon and Abe.
- And you don’t have to deal with complaints about spoiling the Local NHL team’s ice either. :0)
OFB Comment Policy
http://www.onfrozenblog.com/comment-policy.html
I agree; taking off my debate cap, I would love for an on-campus arena. I just wanted to explain why the blog poster’s wishes can not be granted without leaving the Hoyas homeless, which is something that, as a Georgetown fan, is an unpleasant proposition. I think I am just frustrated with the bloggers’ vilifying of Georgetown as being able to magically snap their fingers and make an on-campus arena happen. We aren’t out to screw you over, we just want to get by ourselves, so we would rather that you don’t advocate screwing us over for two games a year. That is why I have very obviously, in all my posts, avoided any arguments as to who ‘deserves’ the arena.
Baseline Journal has posted on our message board as well (he got himself banned about two years ago for similar antics as I imagine he just posted here, if I recall correctly). Let’s just say he does not represent the general Georgetown community, and we would rather not be associated with him.
I have been in that relatively new PSU arena, and it’s beautiful. Given the history of that program, I agree that it’s a spectacular embarrassment that PSU can outperform GU on hoops facilities. For that matter, so can Catholic U.
Just today I read that Notre Dame — another campus seriously clogged by academic, residential, and athletic facilties, and perilously short on parking space — is set to announce financing and construction for a badly needed hockey arena on campus. Two new sheets of ice and $50 million in the investment. There’s been a holdup for years in South Bend over where to find the space needed. The school apparently has come up with an intriguing and I think fantastic idea: they’re building at an extreme corner of campus, an area that will be near some hotels. While the rink will be state of the art, it will be a distinct hardship for students to walk to it, particularly during Midwest winter nights. But the locale will afford the school an ability to anchor its new facility with the larger South Bend community, allowing the local high school hockey team to skate on the second sheet, pursue offseason camps, etc. So the school is asking a bit of its student body in terms of support but still carrying off the build on campus.
All big-name schools face difficult challenges with capital-intensive new-build projects, whether its a ballpark or a biology lab. Most take years to resolve. My admiration is with those who labor year after year to get it done, getting their hands dirty, moving earth, and getting it done.
1. The Caps should totally play before the Hoyas on days when there is overlap. This is a superb idea.
2. Alternate proposal: the Hoyas and Colonials should go in together (a la Lakers and Clippers) and build a 9,000 seat arena on the hole where GW hospital used to be, and it should be called the George Center (which George? GU and GW fans can debate…you could even make marketing gags out of it). The Hoyas can play major-draw games at the Phone Booth, kinda like the Wildcats do in Philly, and play the rest of their games at the George.
Coast2Coast,
I like your creative thinking. In point of fact, there is a fair bit of available space across D.C. For instance, in summers, we host team tennis in a vast NW parking space. And ultimately, what is to be done with DC Armory? (Metro runs there, too . . . well, when it runs.)
I think what’s really gotten Hoya fans angry is the arrogance of immediately concluding that because the Caps had a bit of bad ice GU should be evicted. That was compounded by a lot of immediate and ignorant talk about why we ought to just snap our fingers and build an on-campus arena. Frankly, why Caps fans would want to pick a fight with Hoya fans is beyond me, but I suppose fighting is why most of you like hockey, anyway.
Holy moly! Just wandered into the blog after a few days out and saw there were 30 comments – I was expecting building engineering discussions, but no. (As a side note, this reminds me of the Murky Coffee / WaPo/ Blogosphere set to last year.)
In my short time here the problem is that the VC ice sheet, system, Olympias, etc. are poor at best. Money needs to be invested by Polian and Leonsis to remedy the situation for the most successful (current) pro team in D.C. We can debate all day long about which team or university program is more impressive than the other (in order, since you asked, I’d say: Caps, Skins, G’town, Wizards, Nats), but G’town playing at the VC isn’t what’s causing the Caps to play on the worst ice in the NHL. Don’t the Wizards and Caps occassionally overlap on the schedule? Where’s the vile for them?
I’d love to see a new, loud, packed facility on G’town – that would make the game atmosphere great.
I think Caps fans (me) should be a little less likely to posit that AO would be recognized on the streets of D.C. I also think Hoya fans should also realize that aside from Patrick Ewing or John Thompson – the only way someone would know a Hoya from me would be height.
Not totally sold on Caps going first…on the overlap. Professional athletes thrive on stability/predictability of schedule. Changing around start times affects that, althought I must admit…the Caps did do well in their last couple early afternoon game times.
I like your alternative on the “George”! I agree, very creative.
Now I’ll speak as a Caps fan. I sure as hell hope that they have enough testicular fortitude to handle playing earlier in the day. If that throws them off, they will be in trouble in the playoffs when they experience actual adversity.
I’m recalling the unfortunate incident of a Pens vs Caps game last year that got moved up to 1230 to allow NBC their game of the day television rights.
Don’t know if you made that game..but it wasn’t pleasant. Especially with 3 Pens fans sitting behind me.
So in case you think I’m exagerating about schedule and start times…here’s what Alex Ovechkin had to say:
http://stats.washingtonpost.com/nhl/recap.asp?lg=NHL&g=2009020123
Frankly, why Caps Hoya fans would want to pick a fight get their panties in a wad Hoyaover a post in a Caps fans blogsite is beyond me
There fixed that for you.
Retry as tags don’t work.
Frankly, why Hoya fans would want to get their panties in a wad over a post in a Caps fans blogsite is beyond me
“The George”- now that’s a great solution!
It appears that all of you were either too young or not in DC when GU did attempt to build an arena on campus. And that garbage about “bait and switch” was a standard tactic of the Georgetown civic association to explain away their lack of support. In fact, in response to GU’s plans to expand, they started getting at least one building on every street corner registered as a historical site so that future permits would require tighter controls and buying up land would be impossible.
GU’s first mistake was giving away land in the 70’s to Georgetown Visitation, which would have been ideal for an arena in the 80’s. The second was achieving success at a time that the Georgetown Civic Association was feeling energized after shooting town plans to build a Metro station. Third, GU is unfortunately not only hemmed in by the Georgetown glitterati but is also situated next to land protected by both DC and the Feds.
On the issue of VC – Caps fans (of which I am one, a season ticket holder and GU alumn) should be grateful that GU, even with its problems this year, is a tenant. They drew terrific crowds during the most recent Caps’ lean years, helping to pay the note on VC, and thus keeping season and overall ticket costs down. It will also be easier for Uncle Ted to do what he wants with VC when he buys it since the note will be paid down.
This is not to let Washington Sports and Entertainment off the hook. But it would be a better discussion if we focused on the issue and not anyone’s right to use the phone booth vs another’s.
Create pure drinking water with our Atmospheric Water Generators
http://tinyurl.com/dn8eqo
Post a Comment