Schmuck on Ice (Part 4)
Now that I'm over the psychological trauma from that nasty fall at the Washington Capitals Media Fantasy Camp last month, I made my way to the Verizon Center tonight to see the Caps and Nashville Predators. I would have come back sooner, but I wanted to make sure my neck had loosened up enough to safely change lanes on New York Avenue.
I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to watch professional hockey in person. The game is lightning fast and the surface is actually supposed to be slippery, unlike Citizens Bank Park last night.
The only downside -- and it's a big one -- is that Caps superstar Alexander Ovechkin was not in the building. He had to fly home to Russia to be with his grandfather, who is hospitalized with a serious illness. Hopefully, everything turns out well. Caps officials say Alex is very close to his grandfather and there was no doubt where he should be right now. Can't argue with that.
The Caps seem to be up to the challenge of playing without him. Viktor Kozlov (that's him warming up for tonight's game at right) scored the game's first goal off an assist from Mike Green, and David Steckel answered a Predators score with a short-handed goal on a breakaway with 15:38 expired in the first period.
I know. I know. Hockey doesn't seem to be particularly big in Baltimore, but you wouldn't have known it from the deafening "O!" that went up from the crowd during the National Anthem.
Hope I didn't deceive anyone with the headline and the Koslov photo, but I was pretty sure no one would think that was me. The easiest way to tell the difference is that he's upright. If you want to look back at the previous "Schmuck on Ice" segments -- which include two embarrassing videos of me trying to play hockey -- just go down to the search tool and type in "Capitals" and all of them will pop right up. If you just want to see the incriminating official Caps video, click here.
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Comments
Hey Pete...I read on ESPN"s Rumor Central that the Yankees are not interested in trading for Prince Fielder because that would block Jeter from moving over to first base in a few years. Wouldn't signing Tex to a long deal do the same? I mean, there's no reason to put a Gold Glover first baseman at DH and move Jeter over to a position he's never played, right? I think if they were worried about keeping Jeter happy and on the field, wouldn't they rather get Fielder and feel justified in moving him to DH since he isn't the greatest gloveman?
If it is true, does that make the Tex signing less important for the Yankees, which would, consequently, mean the race is down to just the Red Sox and O's? Heard Buster Olney say last week that it would be between those 3 teams, so the O's are probably going to be in it.
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Pete's reply: The talk is that it's the Angels, O's and maybe Red Sox, but you know the Yankees will be used as a potential bidder to drive up the price.
Posted by: Chuck Diesel now in Orlando | October 28, 2008 7:02 PM
If Texeira ends up in Baltimore I'll eat my hat. In private. You'll have to take my word for it.
Posted by: j. roberts | October 28, 2008 9:47 PM
I miss hockey in person. Used to go to a lot of Clipper games; great action, crowds into it. Every time the team started up ice it was a "rush." Whenever our rivals, the Hershey Bears, came in we had a brawl with a little hockey on the side. Have a vivid memory of a playoff game against Rochester with a screaming crowd to the rafters. The Rangers sent players down for rehab practice and I was able to see two Hall of Famers close up; Gump Worsley and Jacques Plante. Gump looked like a "gump", built sorta like Kelly Gregg, but was a "wall." Plante looked like his nickname "snake" and I believe was the goalie who led to regular use of a mask. Hard to believe that into the sixties goalies wore no protection on their face and players wore no helmets.
Posted by: Paul B Towson | October 29, 2008 8:32 AM