Every Rose Has its Thorn

As the NBA playoffs start to heat up, there are a couple of thing's I'm starting to learn. With three series having gone three games already, here's what I can tell looking ahead to the next round:

1. Chicago is going to be downright NASTY in the future if they stick with this roster, but are going to come up short this year.

The Bulls have already done what few believed they could (this guy included), snagging one game from a heavily favored Boston team on the road and putting up 100 + points on one of the best defenses in the league-twice! If it weren't for the late game heroics of Ray Allen in game two, we could have been looking at a 2-0 Chicago lead heading into yesterday. Chicago has all the pieces necessary for a championship run. They possess a presence in the paint with the young tandem of Joakim Noah (Them Gator boys is hot right now!) and Tyrus Thomas (Them Gator SEC boys is hot right now!) along with the veteran leadership of former beast center Brad Miller. They have the do-it-all phenom of a point guard in Derrick Rose who is already playing like a future Hall-of-Famer. They have a strong bench made up of a lot of young guys who will play impact roles down the stretch, and of course the have the wild-card that is Ben Gordon. This is a guy who is capable of completely taking the game over one minute (42 points including 14 in the 4th quarter in game 2) and then ruining it for everyone the next by being selfish with the ball. All the pieces are just about settled in place and the Eastern Conference may have a changing of the guard much sooner than anticipated (Or at least a good Chicago-Cleveland rivalry to look forward to).

Unfortunately for Chicago, that change isn't going to happen this season. It is clear that Chicago lacks the playoff experience needed to go deep. If they can't handle managing a game in the early rounds, what do they plan on doing when the competition only gets tougher as the rounds progress? Everyone on this team is so young (including coach Vinny Del Negro) that it looks like they are in awe just to be included in the playoffs. This couldn't have been more obvious than it was in last night's game. Chicago had all the momentum heading back home for game three and came up well short of anything even resembling a fight. The Celtics routed the Bulls 107-86 last night in what was clearly the least exciting game in the series thus far. In fact, the only thing exciting about it was to see this young Celtics team come into a hostile territory and play their game exactly the way they wanted to play it. Rajon Rondo was able to absolutely stifle reigning Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose, who, coming of a 36 point performance in game one, came up short, recording 9 points and 2 assists with 7 turnovers. As a team, the Bulls committed 22 turnovers for the game. Fortunately for the Bulls, this years' playoff experience that they are gaining wont go unnoticed. Look for Chicago to make some noise next season.

What separates the Celtics from Chicago in what has become the most exciting first round series this year is that they have been in these types of situations before. Not only did they push every series in last year’s playoffs to 7 games (except for the NBA Finals), they have had a huge target on their back all season. When you are the defending champion, every team that you play is going to bring their “A” game and Boston was able to persevere, even without Kevin Garnet for two months, clinching the second best record in the East. You can tell that this team is playing with composure throughout the entire game, everyone is on the same page (including the wild-card Stephon Star-bury, who looks extremely comfortable in his back-up role) and they are yet to let any game get out of hand. Rajon Rondo has really come into his own (averaging 22.7 points, 9.7 assists and 10.7 in the series) and Big Baby Davis has made incredible strides as this season has progressed. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are playing like they did last season and this team may be headed for their second Eastern Conference Finals in as many years. The ratio of young-to-old is ideal as this Celtics team is putting together a little insurance for the future after the “big three” part ways.

2. The Utah Jazz can hang with the "Big Boys," even if the do end up losing the series to LA

In what many experts believed was going to be a first round sweep, The Utah Jazz were able to cling on in the waning seconds of game three and steal a victory back in Salt Lake City. I told you all. I knew Utah had the potential to make some noise in this series, especially after how they were able to hang with the Lakers in last year’s conference semifinals. It’s no secret that the Jazz have a history of playing worse than Bruce Pearl's fashion sense at the Staples center, losing 11 straight in LA, so it was no surprise to see them go down 0-2 early. But now this series is primed to go to six games, with the Jazz energized and ready to get another win before heading back to Staples (Satuday 9:00 EST).

The 88-86 victory was due much in part to the performance of Utah's two big stars- Derron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Doing his best Dwight Howard impression, Boozer finished with 23 points and a Utah postseason record 22 rebounds, helping the Jazz out-rebound LA 55-40. Williams, in a relatively quite night, finished with 13 points and 9 assists, but hit the shots when the Jazz needed them most. With 2.2 seconds left and overtime looming, Williams pulled up from about six feet and hit the eventual game winner. Kobe had a chance to win the game, but missed the ensuring 3-point shot as time expired. The other factor contributing to the Jazz's first win of the series, was their collaborative team effort on defense. LA was held to a miserable 37% shooting, connecting on 32 of 87 shots. Meanwhile, the Jazz shot 44% from the field and had five players score in double figures.

Now, I don't think the Jazz will move on past this series for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the Lakers are just too good. They made it to the NBA finals a year ago with essentially the same team, except Andrew Bynum was out. With Bynum finally healthy, there is really nothing stopping the Lakers from getting there again. Also, the Jazz cannot beat the Lakers on the road. The chances of them stealing one in LA is about as likely as the New York Jets actually drafting wisely this Saturday. This may have been an off shooting night for the Lakers, but rest assured they will be back in business and shooting exceptionally well through the rest of this series. I am sticking to my original prediction here: Lakers in Six. I just don't see Utah with the firepower to push it any farther that that, but it is clear that they are a very good team who, anchored behind Derron Williams, are clearly poised for a deep run in the next couple of years.

3. The Spurs are missing Manu Ginobli more and more every game and much more than anyone thought.

I think everyone knew that Ginobli's absence was going to have an adverse affect on the way the Spurs played in the playoffs but I don't think anyone thought it was going to be THIS bad. Yes, he was an impact player for them last season and up until his injury he contributed heavily to the team's success. Regardless, he still played a 6th man type roll and did most of his damage coming of the bench. So something isn't adding up here. During last night's game (if you could call it that...)San Antonio scored a measly 67 points on Thursday, good for a franchise worst. They shot 31% from the field and a horrid 2-17 from beyond the arc. Tony Parker was completely shut down, coming off of a 38 point performance in game two, Parker only managed to score 12 points on 5-14 shooting. Meanwhile Tim Duncan scored a career-playoff low 4 points in the loss. No, that isn't a typo, the man scored 4 freaking points! Mr. 20-10 lifetime could only manage two baskets, how does that happen?!!

Now, a lot of the credit has to go to Dallas' stingy defense, which is playing as well as anybody right now. They managed to shut down everyone on San Antonio, they were controlling the game so handedly in fact, that Greg Papa-Dop decided to bench his starters in the 3rd, giving up all hope of a comeback. This was definitely a statement game for Dallas. They were the butt of a lot of jokes this season, I didn't even think they were going to get into the playoffs, but they did and now they are asserting themselves as the team to beat in this series. Timmy, Tony and the rest need to get it together and go out with a strong performance in game four. Otherwise, their goose could be cooked.

Shifting gears like I usually do, the Orioles (8-8) got their fourth series win in five tries, only failing to capitalize on in a four game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox. Adam Eaton (1-2) finally looked like the guy we are paying over $7 million for, striking out 9 and pitching a 4-hit shutout into the 6th inning en route to his first win as an Oriole. He pitched 7 1/3 innings (the longest of any Orioles starter this season) and helped Baltimore even its record yet again with a 6-2 victory at Camden. So if Eaton can keep this up, and Bergesen doesn't fade away, AND Rich Hill comes back healthy and stays healthy, then it looks like we finally have a 5-man starting rotation worth talking about. Although the odds of this happening are about as likely as Don "Woogie" Woogonowski getting Mary to fall for him at the end of There's Something About Mary, its still nice to see the O's with a shot at competitiveness as the season presses on. They open a four game series with the Rangers tonight, who they took two of three from earlier in the season as Koji Uehera takes the mound for the Birds. Look for Nick Markakis to extend his hit streak to 11 straight games as he takes to the plate tonight.

Finally, the Caps are facing elimination tonight when they bring the series back to Washington for game five of the First Round matchup against the New York Rangers. This is a must win game for the Caps (as are the rest of the games in this series) and they need to find a way to generate some offense and get the puck past stud goalie Hendrik Lundqvist. Alex Ovechkin really needs to step his game up, really the whole offense needs to step their game up, because the defense has been playing as well as they have all season. Hopefully I'll have something positive to write about tomorrow.

Everyone be sure to watch the NFL draft tomorrow to see where my boy Percy ends up. Also the Yankees battle the Red Sox for the first time this season. I don't care if you love them or hate them, this is a great rivalry so in the name of baseball please check it out!

*Some statistics courtesy of espn.com

Until next time...

Up, Up, and A-Wade...

Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarter-finals between Miami and Atlanta was a complete 180 from Game 1. The Heat never trailed, dominating the Hawks on the road in style cruising to a 108-93 victory. Dwayne Wade was back in MVP form, leading the team with 33 points on 6-of-10 from 3-point range (career high), 11-of-20 overall including 13 straight points to close the first half. He also racked up five rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots and a steal. This is what fantasy all-stars are made of and Wade was clearly the difference maker in this game. Now the momentum has shifted and the Heat have a chance to put a nail in the coffin as the series heads to Miami for games 3 and 4.

But it wasn't only D Wade that was responsible for this convincing win. 5 players scored in double figures, with Daequan Cook contributing with 20 points, adding 6 3-pointers of his own. The team hit a team playoff record 15 3-pointers overall. Jermaine O'neal added 19 points and in my opinion was the biggest difference maker in this game, taking alot of pressure off of Dwayne. Also, rookie Michael Beasley had 12 points and Billy Donovan's own Udonis Haslem added 10. If the Heat continue this trend, we can all look forward to seeing Dwayne go against Lebron in the conference semis.

On a more depressing note, the Washigton Capitals lost yet again despite the great play in goal by rookie Simeon Varlamov. Since getting the nod over grizzled veteran Jose Theodore, Varlamov has stopped 75 of 78 shots on goal.In what looked like a repeat of game 2, the Caps could not get into a rhythm offensively and came away with only a single goal despite outshooting the Rangers 39-21. Varlamov recorded a meager 19 saves, but could not be blamed for the two goals that slipped by him. The first goal, scored with 6 minutes left in the opening period by Paul Mora off of a face-off. The goal flew in glove-side hitting the top of the net, almost the cross-bar. The second goal, was even more impressve. Virtually horizontal to the goal, Chris Drury snuck one in on Varlamov stick-side in the opening minutes of the second period and put the Rangers up for good. Varlamov made a great save intially, but failed to grab the rebound and the rest is history.

I don't think enough can be said about the flat, lifeless play of the offense last night. How can you not score more than once on 39 shots? I mean, come. on. Most of the shots were half-arsed attempts from just in front of the blue line or from the side of the goal that had no chance of going in to begin with. The only bright spot in this otherwise dismal game was Alex Ovechkin's goal in the 3rd period breaking his streak of three straight scoreless games, a rare feat for a regualr season scoring champion. Unfortunately, it just wasnt enough and now that Caps' backs are against the wall as the need to win three in a row, including one back at MSG in order to move on.

Just when I thought the O's were back on track, they lay a huge egg (27 Courics last I checked). allowing 8 runs and only scoring 2 as they dropped below .500 for the second time this season. Our "ace" Jeremy Guthrie (2-1) allowed 5 runs in 6 innings, Dennis Sarfate added 3 more in 1 1/3 and the Orioles (7-8) could not generate any offense against opposing pitcher John Danks. The Orioles have allowed more runs than any other team so far in the season, and unless their pitching gets their act together, we are destined for more of the same and another disappointing season. There is still hope as alot of young guys could be called up from the minors, and the offense is usually among the most dominant in the Majors, so hang in their O's fans....it could be worse. The Orioles wrap up the series with Chicago tonight (7:05 EST) and open up another 3-game home series with the Texas Rangers tomorrow.

Other Notes:
The Magic bounced back with a win against Philly to tie the series at a game apiece. The series heads to Philadelphia for the next two as the Sixers look to pull a first round upset. New Orleans finds themselves in an 0-2 hole heading back home for the next two games in what are now must-win situations. The Nationals (or should I say "Natinals") blew a chance at the sweep, losing to Atlanta in a real barnburner 1-0 last night. 3 more NBA playoff games are getting under way toinght as the Bulls look to establish a 1 game lead in Chicago. Utah is looking to avoid going down 3-0 against the Lakers and the Mavericks have a chance to go up by a game themselves against San Antonio.

*some statistics courtesy of espn.com

That's all I got for today. Make sure to watch the NFL draft this weekend. Until next time...

NFL: Please Have Mercy for Percy

In case you haven't heard, Percy Harvin, perhaps the most versatile player in all of college football, along with North Carolina WR Brandon Tate, recently tested positive for Marijuana usage during the NFL combine. What really gets me is that experts are now saying that this slip up is going to have a big affect on his draft status. Once projected to go as high as 12th, "Oh Mercy" Percy's stock has fallen faster than Ohio State's chances of ever getting back into a National Title game with 1-Loss. Now, being projected as a late 1st-early 2nd round pick, Harvin may go down as the biggest "steal" in this weekends NFL draft. How ludicrous is that that players can test positive for steroids and get nothing but a slap on the wrist, but the minute someone fails a drug test for weed they become public enemy #1. It's an outrage and I can't stand how the media is blowing this up like its Barry Bonds in 2007. First of all, marijuana is NOT a performance enhancing drug, if anything it could (but probably doesn't) hinder a player's performance.

Look, this isn't the first time Percy has "puffed the magic dragon" and look how he was able to dominate in his 3 years at the University of Florida. Harvin tallied 133 receptions for 1,929 yards and 13 touchdowns and 194 carries for 1,852 yards and 19 scores. averaging 9.5 yards per carry and 11.6 yards per touch. Not to mention this kid went all three years without any off the field issues and never faced a single game suspension. But no, all this is somehow overlooked because of one slip up. I'll admit, he should've though this through and it was definitely stupid for him to do it, being fully aware of the potential consequences, but please, if anyone deserves a break its this kid. I hope he flourishes wherever he ends up, I am quite sure that he will.

On the topic of this weekend's draft, I am very interested to see what happens, especially at the top. Do the Lions go with Stafford? Personally, I would take Sanchez based on the way he performed at the combine and for individual team workouts. I feel like there has been virtually no hype around Stafford, and after seeing him play at Georgia for 3 years, I never once thought, "you know what? this kid is going to be the overall first pick in his draft class." The kid's got talent, don't get me wrong, but if Detroit's draft history is any indication of where he'll end up, I wouldn't too expect much. Does Aaron Curry end up in KC, and will KC be this year's Miami Dolphins? It sure looks that way, with a new coach and new QB at the helm, this will be an interesting season for the Chiefs.

There are a lot of questions facing the Jets as the get set to draft the 17th pick in this year's draft. For a while, it looked like they were set on Percy, having released WR Laverneus Coles this off season. This leaves the Jets with Jericho Cochery as their #1 receiver and little else (Dustin Keller had a breakout rookie year as TE, but other than that, pickin's are slim). They need another receiver but now I don't know what they are thinking. Another pressing issue for them is Quarterback. With the departure of Brett "I-throw-more-interceptions-than-touchdowns" Favre this off season, the "heated" battle for starting qb is now between Kellen Clemens, Bret Ratlif and Eric Ainge (3 guys you've probably never heard of). I have little faith in any of these guys, but is it worth wasting a draft pick, especially if Sanchez and Stafford both go in the top 10? No. I say that you go for the best player available at 17th. If it isn't an area that you need, you can always trade to get what you want.

In other news, the O's got right back on track last night after dropping 5 games in a row (4 to Boston) and look like they may have filled in one of the holes in the starting rotation. With some last minute scratches, the Orlioles (7-7) dipped into the farm system calling up two new players, Adam Jones was scratched the day of the game, clearing room on the roster for Lou Montanez, a young up and coming outfielder who had hit relatively well in his brief stint with the Orioles in 2008. Also, making his Major League debut after being brought up from AAA Norfolk, rookie and 2008 Minor League pitcher of the year Brad Bergesen got the start and led Baltimore to a 10-3 victory over the White Sox in Camden last night. Amongst the 14,000 strong who endured a 1 hour and 38 minute rain delay on Koji Uehera T-shirt tnigh, Bergesen struck out 5 and allowed 3 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. The offense finally got back into a rhythm after falling flat on their faces against Boston. Aubrey Huff homered twice, Nick Markakis batted 1.000 going 4-4, and the Orioles used a barrage of runs to shut down Jose Contreras and the White Sox.

If Bergesen's performance is any indication of the way the Orioles are drafting and developing their pitching, then maybe there is hope after all. I know what you're thinking; Dave Trembley doesn't actually have a game plan, theres no way he does!- Think again. There are a multitude of pitchers down in Norfolk who are just waiting to get the call up to the majors. A slew of guys who are looking forward to this moment more than the guys from American Pie were looking forward to prom night. With the right attitude and the right work ethic, we may see a bright future for the O's on the mound. On that note, make sure to watch game 2 of the series tonight as Jeremy Guthrie looks for win #3 on the season.

In other news, The Washington Wizards are set to formally introduce new head coach Flip Saunders in a press conference tomorrow. Flip looks to build a strong relationship around the team's multi-million dollar centerpiece- Gilbert Arenas. Assuring reporters that he and Gilbert will get along famously, Saunders looks to rebuild a team in desperate need of direction. With a healthy core together for the first time since 2006, an experienced bench, and a top draft pick, Saunders may have hit the jackpot in signing with Washington. Now all he has to do is teach them to play defense. Saunders has a coaching style that relies heavily on the play of his point guard, so forming a strong relationship with Agent Zero is of utmost importance. It will be interesting how the two strong personalities work off of each other next season.

NBA playoffs are in full swing now and a trio of teams look to avoid going down 2-0 in their respective series. New Orleans and Miami both got trounced in their first games but they were both playing on the road, so a loss here was expected. Never mind the score, these two teams need to focus on stealing a road win and swinging homecourt advantage their way as they head home for games 3 and 4 of their series. Orlando was straight upset in their game one, allowing Philadelphia to climb back from a 19-point 2nd half deficit to win by 2 points. Anchored by the strong play(and last second gamer winner) of Andre Iguadola, the Sixers outplayed the Magic down the stretch, despite a dominant performance from Dwight Howard (31 pts, 16 rebs on 11-13 shooting). I think the Magic are still in the drivers seat here, but game two is virtually a must win for the dark horse candidate out of the east.

Portland faced a similar situation last night, but were able to pull out the victory after dominant performances by Brandon Roy (42 pts) and Lamarcus Aldridge (27 pts, 11 rebs). Portland was able to effectively shut down Yao Ming by playing both Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla at the same time. This allowed Portland to establish dominance in the paint early and keep Yao from scoring easy baskets down low. I think that Portland can run away with the series now. This last game gave them the confidence the needed to advance. Huston did put up a fight however, with Aaron Brooks nailing two 3-pointers late in the game to keep it interesting, but it wasn't enough in the end. Game 3 between these teams is in Huston on Friday (9:30 EST)

Finally, everyone make sure to watch the Capitals tonight as Alex Ovechkin looks to break his playoff scoring drought and Washington looks to tie the series with the Rangers at 2 games apiece. Behind rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov (Sim-yon Var-La-Moff), who recorded his first career playoff shutout on Monday, Washington can swing the momentum in their favor heading back to Washington on Friday. The Washington Nationals are also looking to complete their first sweep of the season as the face the Atlanta Braves tonight (7:05 EST).

*some statistics courtesy of espn.com

So stay tuned for more O's and Caps recaps tomorrow. Until next time....

That Game was Capital!

Holy Cow! When did the future Stanley Cup champions finally decide to show up and play? It took them longer than Gilbert's knee did to recover, but they finally did, and my God did they look good. Everything finally seemed to click for a Caps team that came into this series looking flat, apathetic and destined for a first round exit. But now, sparked behind the incredible play of Russian rookie goalie Simeon "Voila" Varlamov, the youngest goalie to ever record a shutout at Madison Square Garden, the Capitals are back to form and seeking a birth in the Stanley Cup finals. Varlamov may be still be young enough to go to senior prom, but this 20 year old goalie played like a veteran last night. Recording 32 saves in as many shots and pitching the first playoff shutout for the Caps since Olav Kolzig did it in 2003, Varlamov made believers once again out of disenchanted Washingtonians. This kid was literally a brick wall, straight Wayne Gretzky Hockey '96 style for N64. He contorted his body on ways I didn't think possible, at one point literally stretching finger to toe across the length of the net to prevent a brief onslaught of goals during the middle of the 3rd period.

I think its safe to say that the future in goal is looking bright. After years of relying on Veteran goalies who were past their prime (Kolzig, Huet, Theodore), the Caps finally have a guy that is up and coming, oozing with talent, and who can be molded like playdough (or cookie dough...any kind of dough) as the team sees fit. Varlamov is capable of being the cornerstone Washington so desperately needed as their campaign to become an NHL dynasty lives on. With 5 star players under the age of 24, this team is certainly one that's looking for long term glory.

But it wasn't just Simeon Voila-mov that contributed to what was a huge statement game for Washington. It looked like everyone finally dropped the "shoot first" mentality and actually played like a team. Niklas Backstrom recorded a hat trick of assists, including a ridiculous backhanded pass right to Alex Semin for a score, Ovechkin added 2 of his own and Semin was one near miss away from a hat trick in goals. Ovechkin contributed heavily on both the offensive and defensive ends, connecting with a magnificent poke check to stop a breakaway in the 2nd period. Even role players got in on the action, with Tom Poti and Brooks Laich each scoring their first goals of the post-season and Brian Pothier recording an assist. It was a complete 180 from what we saw in the first two games of this series, with the Capitals "capitalizing" off of Rangers mistakes and missed chances, playing aggressive at the net, and keeping plays alive on the Ranger's end.

It also didn't help that the Rangers spent more time in the penalty box than these guys, with Sean Avery making 3 trips himself. You also can't count out the importance of the return of the original goon, Donald Brashear. Returning to action after missing the end of the regular season and the first two games of this series, Brashear provided the intimidation that was missing in the first two games. He didn't miss a beat either, attempting to start a fight minutes after entering the game for the first time. It looks like all the pieces are finally falling into place for this Capitals team and they are destined to be a bright spot in an otherwise bleak Washington sports scene for years to come.


I also wanted to take some time to talk a little about the Gator's spring game that took place this past Saturday. It was a coming out party for back-up quarterback John Brantley who looked like a young Tebow-in-training. Brantley finished with 265 yds passing and 5 total TDs (2 rushing, 3 passing) in the Orange and Blue game, as it looks like the quarterback position is safe in Gainesville for at least another 2 years. On the other hand, he was playing against a second-string defense the whole game, but there's no denying his ability to make good decisions in the pocket. What we can expect from the upcoming season is to see more of John Brantley. We can also expect to see Tebow taking more snaps from under center as the senior quarterback looks to improve his draft status for next year.

Another "big" (if you can call it that) question mark the team has heading into next season is whether or not there were any receivers who were capable of filling in for the NFL bound Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. It looks like that wont be a problem either with red-shirt freshman Frankie Hammond Jr. (an astonishing 4 catches 131 yards and 2 tds), Deonte Thompson (four catches for 44 yards), Carl Moore (two catches for 49 yards) and T.J. Lawrence (five catches for 59 yards) all contributing more or less evenly in getting the ball spread out. Thats not even including returning receiver David Nelson who had breakout games in the SEC and National Championship games. If everything pans out like its supposed to, I would book your ticket to Pasadena right now because frankly I'd be shocked if the Gators done make it.

Other Notes:
The Nationals locked up 3rd baseman Ryan Zimmerman for the next 5 years, offering the young star a $45 million deal. The Nationals (2-11) look to continue their 1-game winning streak (longest of the season) as they take on the Braves in game 2 of a 3 game series tonight (7:05 EST) The Orioles got swept in Boston, losing the final game of the 4 game series 12-1 behind the shaky pitching of Rhadamiz Liz. They start their next series with the White Sox tonight (7:05 EST). Also the KG-less Celtics held off an amped-up Chicago team thanks to a Ray Allen trey in the waning seconds 115-112 last night. Ben Gordon had a breakout game scoring 42 pts, including 14 in the 4th quarter.

*Some statistics courtesy of espn.com

Stay tuned this week for more NBA and NHL playoff coverage, O's recap, and an NFL draft preview. Until next time...

Say it Ain't sO's!!...you Can't Spell "It's Crap" Without CAPS

The NHL Playoffs are now in full force, too bad the same can't be said for a Caps team that's playing worse than Stan Marsh's pee wee squad. After losing in what was another heart-breaker, Washington now finds themselves in an 0-2 hole heading into Madison Square Garden on Monday. This is the second year in a row that the Caps have made the playoffs as a top 3 seed and lost both opening home games. Last year, they managed to battle back against the Flyers and push the series to 7 games before losing in overtime. We can only hope to reach a similar result this time around. In what was a surprising move by coach Bruce Boudreau, Washington pulled goalie Jose Theodore after giving up 4 goals in game one, in favor of the rookie Simeon Varlamov. At first glance, this looks like a terrible coaching decision, but I actually think it was a good move in the long run. It's much easier to bring back and rely once again on Jose for game 3 had Simeon laid an egg than to bring out a rookie in an 0-2 series with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders. Varlamov actually played well too, making 23 saves off of 24 shots. The only goal of the game was scored 7:44 into the first period by Rangers RW Ryan Callahan. Hednrik Lundqvist continued to defy all odds and play like the NHLs best goalie, recording 35 saves in his 3rd career playoff shutout. This was only the 4th shutout of the season for the Capitals.

So ok, the Cap's defense played exceptionally well and I was glad to see Pothier back out on the ice. If you told me before the game that the Rangers were only going to score one goal I'd have bet all the space cash in the universe on the Caps so seal the W at home. Alas our offense decided to call in sick, failing to connect on a total of 35 shots. We just looked flat out there. Ovechkin was trying to make too much happen, forcing goals when he should have passed. There were countless instances where one of our guys would not be paying attention to the puck, standing in front of the net accidentally blocking teammate's attempts at shots. It looked like everyone was on a different page and they were just unable to pull it together. Monday's game (7pm EST) is either going to a breath of fresh air or a nail in the coffin for a Capitals team that is the only good thing going in DC right now. If they lose on Monday, you will see so many disenchanted Washingtonians you'll think that you're here when you want to be here. The fate of the city depends on these guys.

It was also a terrible weekend for the O's (6-6) who dropped all 3 games against Boston so far. On a positive note, all 3 games were very close and the Orioles had a chance to win in all of them (twice they had the game winning run at the plate in the 9th inning and failed to capitalize. Game One started off incredibly promising with Nick Markakis hitting a 2nd inning grand slam to help the O's climb out to an early 7-2 lead, but the Red Sox came firing back in the bottom of the inning with 4 runs of their own, and continued to chip away en route to a 10-8 victory. Guthrie (2-0) finished with 8 ER in 5 innings but surprisingly did not suffer the loss. Danys Baez got the L after allowing the go ahead run to score off a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 6th innings and Boston never looked back.

Game 2 started out in quite the opposite fashion, with Boston jumping out to a 6-0 lead before the end of the 4th innings. The Orioles responded with a 4 run inning of their own in the 5th, but were unable to score again, despite shutting out the Red Sox the rest of the way. Beckett was a full count machine in the 5th inning getting 4 batters into full counts, walking 2 including walking in the Oriole's first run of the game. After that Aubrey Huff added a bases clearing double that brought the game to a 6-4 score.

Game 3 was more of a pitchers duel which ended in a 2-1 victory for the Sox. Koji Uehera looked impressive in his 3rd start, only allowing 2 runs and recording 5 strikeouts in 7 innings. It wasn't enough to stop John Lester who pitched an impressive 7 inning shutout recording 9 Ks of his own. Again, the O's bullpen looked pretty solid, but the starters struggled, allowing 16 Earned Runs in 3 games. They definitely have the offense to win games this year, but they are going to have to do something about their pitching. Rich Hill cant get here soon enough! Hopefully the O's can salvage a game from the series as they wrap up in Boston tomorrow (11:05 EST).


Finally, The Florida Gators men's basketball team suffered another crushing blow as sophomore F Alex Tyus announced that he is transferring schools. Tyus was never happy at Florida because he was forced into a center role when he was meant to play the small forward position. Tyus was Florida's second most productive player behind Nick Calathes (delcared for the NBA draft) averaging 12.5 pts and 6.2 rebounds last season. This leaves Donovan's Gators with a bunch of holes heading into the off-season and it makes me wonder what goes on in the locker room. Since I've been at Florida, I have seen around 10 players transfer under Bill Donovan: Jai Lucas, Jonothan Mitchell, Brandon Powell, David Huertas, Allan Cheaney, Mohammed Abukar and Alex Tyus. I don't know what kind of stick Billy D has up his ass, but I dont like it one bit. He could go down as a two-hit wonder, scoring back to back championships in 05-06 and 06-07 with perhaps the greatest college basketball team to ever come together. But that group of guys was an anomaly, a perfect storm the likes of which we will probably never see again. So Billy has reverted back to his mediocre style of play, recruiting less-than-stellar white guys who are small and rely too heavily on perimeter shooting. This style of basketball does NOT win championships. I don't know whats going to happen to this team in the future, but they need to get a better attitude and start playing selfless basketball. The only bright spot for next year is the addition of incoming freshman guard Kenny Boyton (#3 SG recruit according to ESPN.com) as well as Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin who is looking to take over the F/C role once filled by Tyus.

*Some statistics courtesy of espn.com

Baseball and Caps all week. Until next time...