23 May, 2012

Category Archives: Morning cup-a-joe

Pride, Regret, and Questions

14 May, 2012

If we are of mixed emotions about the end of this hockey season — proud and uplifted by a Capitals team of unlikely cohesion and stunning sacrifice, but also exasperated by the frustration of banishment earlier than forecast, again — that’s as it should be. This Capitals team engineered a vibrant unity of our region [...]

Also filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Braden Holtby, Dale Hunter, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Front Office, George McPhee, Hockey hearts, Joel Ward, New York Rangers, NHL playoffs, Washington the cursed hockey town | Comments (26)

An Evolution, and Event, To Savor

11 May, 2012

Of the NHL’s 30 member clubs merely five remain alive in the quest for Stanley, and one of them is ours. That’s a remarkable and wonderful thing, relative to the Capitals’ standing of just two months ago, but better still is the manner in which they’ve arrived at this competitive precipice: all the red-sweatered-wearers are [...]

Also filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Dale Hunter, Mike Green, New York Rangers, NHL playoffs, Nicklas Backstrom, Washington the hockey town | Comments (9)

Striving Still for Serial Killer Status

9 May, 2012

This morning I am thinking a great deal about the New Jersey Devils, a great deal about the Detroit Red Wings, and a great deal about Matt Bradley. Winners win, and losers lose, and they do so in our sport for very specific, very traceable reasons. And every once in a while a lone figure [...]

Also filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Brooks Laich, Dale Hunter, Dave Steckel, George McPhee, Matt Bradley, New Jersey Devils, NHL playoffs, The curse of Washington hockey | Comments (5)

A Stick Foul into Immortal Infamy

8 May, 2012

Humans’ impulse for empathy is a great and powerful instinct, but there are times when it is banally misapplied. Sports are, in the biggest picture context, virtually meaningless pursuits, but we do invest billions in their architecture, to say nothing of our emotional investment, and as such accountability in high stakes showdowns is inevitable and [...]

Also filed in Ed Frankovic, Hockey blogging, Joel Ward, Media, New media, New York Rangers, NHL playoffs, Print, The curse of Washington hockey, Washington Capitals, Washington the cursed hockey town | Comments (35)

All in Our Army Are Now Sufficiently Scarred

4 May, 2012

This morning’s message is directed at all the newbies — those who’ve donned red just in the past 5-7 years of post lockout puck. Assuming you kept Jimmy Kimmel hours Wednesday night into Thursday morning and, at the onset of Blueshirt euphoria piled high by the nearside plexiglass, felt your forehead collapse into your palms [...]

Also filed in Eric McErlain, New York Rangers, NHL playoffs, Washington the cursed hockey town | Comments (5)

A Rare Elation To Savor

26 April, 2012

This morning, we know no Curse. How often have we been able to say that? To what extent does victory like last night’s serve as lasting balm over the scabs and scars from so many springs, that have marred and maimed our pysche so long? It was a game 7 stunner in an American sports mecca, and against the [...]

Also filed in Boston Bruins, Braden Holtby, John Walton, Mike Vogel, NHL playoffs, Washington Capitals | Comments (14)

Here’s Hoping

22 April, 2012

Mostly, I hope the Legend who selflessly and at no small personal sacrifice answered George McPhee’s plea back in autumn leaves the Chinatown rink this evening savoring unique triumph, as the bench leader of the crest for which he too often, as Capitals captain, endured springtime disappointment. The Washington Capitals have never vanquished a defending [...]

Also filed in Boston Bruins, Braden Holtby, Dale Hunter, John Walton, NHL playoffs, Ted Leonsis, Washington Capitals, Washington the hockey town, Washington the would-be sports town | Comments (5)

Bleeding Through Roster Band-Aids

17 April, 2012

A season fraught with promise and peril delivered both in game 3 Monday night, but in the end, Washington’s roster, still not yet assembled for durable playoff prosperity, succumbed to one proven to be. Most worrisome in this moment: the mental meltdown of the Capitals’ premiere pivot. This is postseason number five for Nicklas Backstrom, [...]

Also filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Dale Hunter, Dmitri Orlov, George McPhee, Jeff Schultz, Jim Johnson, Joel Ward, NHL playoffs, Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals | Comments (6)

Hatred and Violence Are at the Heart of Our Sport, and Sunday All the World Saw It

16 April, 2012

In their bloodlust, Arabs and Jews have nothing on the Flyers and Penguins. (Isn’t it grand!) Really, in a relative sense, what transpired on the ice in Philadelphia yesterday made the Middle East seem one big, happy, if diverse, family. Yesterday’s matinee jihad in the City of Brotherly Love was all consuming — it enveloped [...]

Also filed in HBO's 24/7, Hockey fights, NHL playoffs, Old Time Hockey, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby | Comments (22)

Up North, Reconvened in a Perfect Circle of Puck Cheer

13 April, 2012

Part springtime sinus relief, part faith statement celebration: I am weekending in New England, where vestiges of winter are still to be found, supporting the Bears, the Caps, and the region’s craft beer culture, in the irreplaceable company of my puckhead pals Mike and Marleen. We were last united rather recently, over an elongated Presidents’ [...]

Also filed in American Hockey League, Boston Bruins, Hershey Bears, Mike and Marleen, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, playoff hockey, Portland Pirates, Washington Capitals | Comments (3)

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