The good, the bad and the should bes

How great was that comeback last night? Not the Red Sox, although that was one of the most entertaining baseball games since ZimZams walkoff in the opener, but it may have been better than that one; I am a little biased. Fortunately that comeback started after the hockey game. The Caps scoring four unanswered was great to beat the Pens in the Igloo, because the division rivalries still don't seem quite as important after the league restructuring as beating those teams from PA. Theodore seemed shaky early but settled down, but we will see how he works out over the season. Johnson is always there to take over. Pitt is becoming like the Cowgirls though. You cannot get an unbiased official crew in any game that you play there. I understand protecting your stars, namely Crosby and Malkin, but the bias towards the Pens is getting ridiculous. The boarding call against Semin was without a doubt a five minute major under the new rules, not a two minute "sorry Caps you are in Pitt" that was called. The Igloo is the only place in North America where the puck can hit the back of the net and it isn't called a goal until a few minutes later. Video replay showed what the refs get paid good money to see, and then the Pens were losing so they put the time back on the clock.

The turning point in the game was Matt Bradley's fight. He got beat. Badly. But it fired the Caps up and hopefully is a metaphor for the whole year; you can knock us down, pour our blood down our faces and onto the ice but you can't beat us when we want it. And hopefully our boys want it every game. You saw what happened in Chicago last year when we took the night off with our one loss during the streak to the playoffs. The Caps are good, but not enough to take games off. They took the first 30 minutes of last night off, but showed how good they can be the last 30 minutes against a team they might contend with for the East in what would be the NHL's wet dream.

The worst thing that happened last night was Crosby's actions at the end of the game. He took a cheap shot at Ovechkin after the final horn had blown for the Caps victory. The Great 8 tried to square up with him and the Princess retreated behind the goons that are hired to protect him. Crosby forayed into the actual NHL when he sparred with Andrew Ferrence, who is all of '5 "10, and was soudly beaten by him. He was scared of physical confrontation before this, and has been ever since. Crosby didn't get his way against Alexander the Great again and threw another temper tantrum, much like five year olds do. Then, as a grown man, he was afraid to face the consequences. The NHL needs to get off this guy's bandwagon and treat him like just another player, because he isn't even a man. Peca, another guy of questionable character, just got suspended for five games for assaulting a ref. He is supposed to be a star. Suspend Croby for trying to injure OV after the game was over because he was beaten. Then suspend him again for not being man enough to face up to the Great 8, who is the cornerstone of the league and is the guy who should be protected but does not even need it. Crosby as the face of the league takes away the tough guy image the NHL has. The Great 8 makes plays, the princess whines for them.

The Skins did not make very many plays last Sunday. They came back and I thought they were going to win, epsecially after their O-lineman got the personal foul, but it was not to be. I think it is a good thing. The Giants and the Cowgirls (who are in disarray) lost so we only lost ground to the Eagles. But we are up on them. Losing to the Rams is hopefully a wakeup call that once again, a pro team in any sport can't take a day off. If we lose either of the next two weeks then maybe we start to panick a little bit. Its fun being a Skins fan right now because you can believe in them. I thought we had it won, and did not doubt it. Granted, I was wrong, but it is different from the Gibbs era where maybe we would take a 10-0 lead in the first half and then try to run out the clock for three quarters. I love Gibbs like any other Skins fan but Zorny (who I'm still horny for) seems to go for the jugular. It did not work last game where the defense seemed to fall apart inexplicably on the last drive, but if they are as good as they have shown the last few weeks this loss could be a positive. "Any given team, any given Sunday" is one of the most over-used cliches in sports. Hopefully the Skins do not take any more teams for granted, and take it to heart in a year they could potentially be great.

Getting Jake Peavy would be great as well. It just so happens he is on the trading block. He is an ace on the Padres who were in the playoffs just a few years ago. The Nats need to sign two guys who can draw people to the park. This is one of the guys. You can make a big free agent signing with CC, but Pevey is just as good. He is 27, so he fits into the whole young theme that the Nattos are going for. When the Nats start to contend he will still be under 30 (I pray God please!) The Lerners are selling the team on the notion that the prospects on the farm system are good, so trade a couple of prospects to get Jake Pevy. At least there will be 1 out of 5 games at home that you can go see a star wearing a W on his cap but not an 11 on his jersey. I think the Skins and especially the Caps might start taking away ticket sales from the Nats when we can go see the Great 8 and assortment of players Gibbs organized for Zorn. Bowden; sign baby sign!