Best Books For Every Age

The Washington Post recently put together a really cool feature where they highlighted the best books to read at every age, from 1 to 100. I thought it would be fun to share the list and see how many of these books I have read (in bold). I also included a few of my own thoughts here and there. Please leave your number and any thoughts about the books and list in the comments section below.

Age 1
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle

Age 2
“Llama Llama Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney

Age 3
“Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak

Age 4
“Charlie Parker Played Be Bop” by Chris Raschka

Age 5
“The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein

Age 6
“Ramona the Pest” by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers

Age 7
“The Complete Calvin and Hobbes” by Bill Watterson

Age 8
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

Age 9
“Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” by Judy Blume

Age 10
“Smile” by Raina Telgemeier


Age 11
“Ghost” by Jason Reynolds
Sean's note: I saw this movie with Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Not sure it it's appropriate for an 11 year old though.

Age 12
“Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor

Age 13
“I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai

Age 14
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky
Aaron Brame's favorite book!

Age 15
“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas

Age 16
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë

Age 17
“Once Upon a River” by Bonnie Jo Campbell

Age 18
“A Gate at the Stairs” by Lorrie Moore

Age 19
“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

Age 20
“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Díaz


Age 21
“The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway

Age 22
“Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville

Age 23
“The Autobiography of Malcolm X” by Malcolm X and Alex Haley

Age 24
“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand

Age 25
“I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith

Age 26
“Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Age 27
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey

Age 28
“Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde

Age 29
“In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan

Age 30
“The Joy of Sex” by Alex Comfort


Age 31
“Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child
Does seeing Julie and Julia count?

Age 32
“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
Partial credit since I've read "Of Mice & Men.

Age 33
“Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story” by Paul Monette

Age 34
“Beloved” by Toni Morrison

Age 35
“How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Age 36
“Life Among the Savages” by Shirley Jackson

Age 37
“The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan

Age 38
“The Sportswriter” by Richard Ford

Age 39
“What Alice Forgot” by Liane Moriarty

Age 40
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” by Jean-Dominique Bauby


Age 41
“Rabbit, Run” by John Updike

Age 42
“The Woman Upstairs” by Claire Messud

Age 43
“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston

Age 44
“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt

Age 45
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” by Maria Semple

Age 46
“Salvage the Bones” by Jesmyn Ward

Age 47
“Stretching” by Bob Anderson

Age 48
“Bossypants” by Tina Fey
It's nice to see another book that I've read on the list again! Unfortunately, this may be the last one.

Age 49
“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau

Age 50
“Fifty Shades of Grey” by EL James

I just felt like adding a picture at the half-way mark.

Age 51
“Who Do You Think You Are?” by Alice Munro

Age 52
“Men Without Women” by Haruki Murakami

Age 53
“A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman
Not to be confused with "A Man Called Ovi" about the Washington Capitals player.

Age 54
“The Denial of Death” by Ernest Becker

Age 55
“Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout

Age 56
“When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chödrön

Age 57
“Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro

Age 58
“The Plague of Doves” by Louise Erdrich

Age 59
“Dynamic Aging” by Katy Bowman

Age 60
“The Five Years Before You Retire” by Emily Guy Birken
Seems like I should probably read this when I'm 70.


Age 61
“Fear of Dying” by Erica Jong

Age 62
“Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” by Helen Simonson

Age 63
“Our Souls at Night” by Kent Haruf

Age 64
“Old in Art School” by Nell Painter
With this last name, you sort of have to write a book about art.

Age 65
“65 Things to Do When You Retire” edited by Mark Evan Chimsky
Again, I'll need the book of 75 Things to Do When You Retire.

Age 66
The “Outlander” series by Diana Gabaldon

Age 67
“Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes
I think I've read this, but I'm not 100% sure.

Age 68
“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion

Age 69
“I Remember Nothing” by Nora Ephron

Age 70
“Master Class: Living Longer, Stronger, and Happier” by Peter Spiers


Age 71
“Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie
He was fantastic in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Age 72
“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez

Age 73
“The Years of Lyndon Johnson” four volumes, by Robert Caro

Age 74
“Paris in the Present Tense” by Mark Helprin

Age 75
“The History of Love” by Nicole Krauss
The working title was You Can't Hurry Love.

Age 76
“Women Rowing North” by Mary Pipher

Age 77
“Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson

Age 78
“Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White

Age 79
“The Coming of Age” by Simone de Beauvoir

Age 80
“Coming Into Eighty: Poems” by May Sarton


Age 81
“Devotions” by Mary Oliver

Age 82
“The Summer of a Dormouse” by John Mortimer

Age 83
All the thrillers and mysteries
I think The Post mailed this one in. All the thrillers and mysteries? Here's the description from the story:

If you haven’t yet acquainted yourself with Easy Rawlins, Mrs. Pollifax, Maisie Dobbs, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and Commissario Guido Brunetti, invite them over. They’re great company.

Age 84
“The Last Unknowns” Deep, Elegant, Profound Unanswered Questions About the Universe, the Mind, the Future of Civilization, and the Meaning of Life edited by John Brockman

Age 85
“Ravelstein” by Saul Bellow

Age 86
“Old Filth” by Jane Gardam

Age 87
“King Lear” by William Shakespeare

Age 88
“Nearing Ninety: And Other Comedies of Late Life” by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Laura Gibson

Age 89
“A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing 90” by Donald Hall

Age 90
“Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God” by Joe Coomer



Age 91
“Selected Poems: 1988-2013” by Seamus Heaney

Age 92
“Nothing to be Frightened Of” by Julian Barnes

Age 93
“Sapiens” by Yuval Harari

Age 94
“This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism” by Ashton Applewhite

Age 95
The Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante

Age 96
“Somewhere Towards the End” by Diana Athill

Age 97
“My Own Two Feet” by Beverly Cleary

Age 98
“Life Is So Good” by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman

Age 99
“Little Boy” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Age 100
“Sailor and Fiddler: Reflections of a 100-Year-Old Author” by Herman Wouk


I'm pretty good in the books before you reach the age of 10. After that...not so much. Overall, my total number is 11.5 since I can't remember whether or not I read Don Quixote.

Just for fun, take a look at the top 100 list of books Entertainment Weekly put out a few years ago and see how this list compares.

2019 Loudoun United Roster

As the (still pending) official blogger of Loudoun United, Loudoun County's first professional soccer team, I’ve been remiss in not sharing the roster for the team’s inaugural season. Therefore, I’m proud to present your 2019 Loudoun United, um, Uniteders! (Yes, I know the team is simply called Loudoun United. I just thought it might be fun imagining the introduction of these players like they do before basketball games.)

The team's first ever signings were goalie Calle Brown and midfielder Omar Milton Campos. Brown is a Loudoun County native from Leesburg who played at UVA and on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. (More on the Riverhounds momentarily.) Brown also has some MLS experience being with the Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders organizations. If you’re going for a 50/50 ball against Brown, you’re going to lose. He is basically a linebacker at 6'4" and 235 pounds. Along with defenders Peabo Doue from Takoma Park, MD who attended West Virginia University (born December 28, 1991) and Harri Hawkins from Cambridge, England (not Massachusetts) who attended Hofstra University (February 28, 1993) and forward Kyle Murphy (December 11, 1992) from Red Hook, NY and Clemson, Brown (July 1, 1992) is one of the old guys, I mean veterans on the team.

The team's other goalkeeper is Colin Miller from Belair, Maryland. I'll let The Fresh Prince take this one.



Want to feel old? Midfielder Omar Milton Campos from El Salvador was born on August 28, 2000 and is only 18 years old! Fellow midfielders Jack Jean Baptiste (December 20, 1999), Sandor Bustamante (September 30, 1999) and Ariel Fantoni (January 25, 1999) are only 19, 19, and 20. However, these guys are ancient compared to 16 year-old Griffin Yow, who is technically a member of DC United after recently signing with the team but plays for Loudoun United. Yow also has the distinction of scoring the first goal in Loudoun United history.



I'm sure that Yow will tell his kids that his first goal was a rocket into the top right corner from 30 yards out!

Being from Pittsburgh, I'm always going to be partial to anyone with ties to Western Pennsylvania. Midfielder Andrew Lubahn from Erie played for the Riverhounds last season. I wonder if he has the October 1st game against the Riverhounds (also known as the Sean's Ramblings Derby) circled on his calendar.

Fun fact: Jon Batiste is a musician who also works as the bandleader and musical director of CBS' The Colbert Show. Jack Jean Baptiste is a midfielder for Loudoun United from Honduras.

Midfielder Connor Presley from Austin, Texas, born on July 4, 1998, was the inspiration behind the Tom Cruise movie, Born on the Fourth of July. You know. Because of his birthday. (Checks internet to learn that the movie was made in 1989. This entire blog post is just showing that I'm old.)

Midfielder Noah Pilato, who is from Oak Hill, VA and attended Penn State, received the first yellow card in Loudoun United history. Congrats Noah!

Collin Verfurth is another local product from Ashburn and Virginia Tech. Well, Virginia Tech isn't local, but Ashburn is. Anyway, Collin is 6'4" but weighs only 185 pounds. He might have the height, but he's no match for Calle Brown!

While forward Shinya Kadono was DC United's 3rd round pick in the 2019 MLS draft, I'm more amazed by his college stats. At the University of California, Kadono scored 20 goals with only had 3 assists in 66 games during his college career. He could be the Alex Ovechkin of Loudoun United!



Finally, forward Orlando Sinclair hails from San Jose, Costa Rica meaning that Central America is well represented on Loudoun United. (Except for Belize. And Guatemala. And Panama. Okay, this just turned into a geography quiz on naming all of the Central American countries.)

Through the first three games of the season, Loudoun United is holding its own. After losing the first game against Nashville, the team tied Memphis and Tampa Bay.

For more information on the roster and team, check out the Loudoun United website. I'm really looking forward to seeing the team play live. Go Uniteders!

(Photos by Loudoun United and Late Show with Stephen Colbert.)

The Ultimate 2018 World Cup Preview

Welcome to the greatest World Cup preview you will read anywhere...as long as you're not looking for a breakdown of each individual team. Or any other analysis. Instead, this post contains random information about players and teams. For example, do you want to know what team has the most players with tattoos? I mean, I don't have the answer, but I'd like to know. Watch the 2018 World Cup over the next month, and together, we'll find out. In the meantime, enjoy all the random information you didn't know you wanted to know.

With the United States failing to qualify for the World Cup, many Americans are looking for teams to support. The answer is probably Iceland because they are the smallest country to ever reach the World Cup with a population of about 335,000 (or slightly more than Corpus Christi, Texas and Lexington, Kentucky) and are coached by a dentist. I highly recommend reading this Sports Illustrated article about Iceland and their coach/practicing dentist Heimir Hallgrímsson.

There are other options too. Costa Rica features Rodney Wallace, who grew up in Rockville, Maryland, attended the University of Maryland, and plays for New York FC. Costa Rica and Panama both have 6 players on their rosters that play in the MLS. Then there's Gotoku Sakai who was born in the tiny Japanese village of (double-checks Wikipedia) New York City, so if you want a team with an American-born player, Japan is your pick.

Maybe you want to root for the biggest stars of the sport. Well, this World Cup certainly has star power. Lionel Messi for Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal, and Bono for Morocco. You thought Bono was touring with The Edge and company didn't you? Bono can do it all!

Let's take a closer look at some individual players.

- The oldest player in this year's World Cup is Egyptian goalie, Essam El Hadary born on ‎January‎ ‎15‎, ‎1973.

- The youngest player is Australian forward Daniel Arzani born on January 4, 1999. France's Mbappe born on December 20, 1998 and Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi born on November 4, 1998 are close behind.

- The tallest player is 6' 7" Lovre Kalinic of Croatia. Little known fact: Lovre changed his first name from Louvre so that he wouldn't be confused with the world's largest art museum in Paris.

- The shortest player is 5' 5" Yahia Al Shehri of Saudi Arabia.

- Unofficially, the lightest players are Fabian Delph of England and the aforementioned Yahia Al Shehri at 132 pounds.

- Unofficially, the heaviest player is Harry Maguire, Delph's English teammate, at 220 pounds.

- While Saudi Arabia features 9 players from Al-Hilal FC and 7 players from Al-Ahli Saudi FC, Germany has 7 players from Bayern Munich, and Spain's roster includes 6 players from Real Madrid, there is only one country with its entire roster playing in its domestic league: England.

- Speaking of England, I enjoyed mixing the worlds of sports and music together thanks to the marriage of David Beckham and Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls. It's too bad none of the current players are married to or dating members of Little Mix or One Direction or something.

- Fortunately, Spain is here to fill the void with Gerard Pique and his partner Shakira. Unfortunately, their house got robbed recently.

- The winner for the club team with the most World Cup players in Manchester City with 16. Real Madrid is next with 15. Here are the other top teams:

Man City - 16
Real Madrid - 15
Barcelona - 14
Paris Saint-Germain - 12
Chelsea - 12
Tottenham -12
Manchester United - 11
Juventus - 11
Bayern Munich - 11
Minnesota United - 1 (Francisco Calvo of Costa Rica)

- I added Minnesota United here since the team only started playing in 2017. When I interviewed CEO Chris Wright last summer, he was still President of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx.

- Morocco has a very interesting team composition. The 23-man roster includes a total of only 6 players born in Morocco along with 8 in France, 5 born in the Netherlands, 2 in Spain, 1 in Belgium, and 1 from the soccer hotbed of, um, Montreal, Canada. And that Canadian is Bono. Again, Bono is everywhere!

- Peru is a country of 31.7 million people. Lima, the country's capital and largest city, has about 9 million people. However, of the 23 players on the Peru roster, an amazing 18 were born in Lima. That seems quite disproportionate. Meanwhile, it appears that the city with the second most World Cup players born there is Reykjavík, Iceland with 13.

- Speaking (well writing) about Iceland, everyone on its World Cup roster has a last name ending in N...except for Frederik Schram. How did that guy make the team?

- Everyone on Serbia has a last name ending in "ic" except Aleksandar Kolarov and Antonio Rukavina. New Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jon Bostic fits in perfectly here.

- We interrupt this fascinating look at the World Cup rosters with the all food team.

* Nacho Monreal of Spain
* Ruben Dias of Portugal
* Kahraba (possibly inspired by Carrabba's Italina Grill) of Egypt
* Aziz Bouhaddouz of Morocco. You're probably wondering why I'm including Bouhaddouz. This last name isn't that close to baklava or baba ganoush. Bouhaddouz is here since he plays for the Hamburg, Germany team FC St. Pauli. Hey, you need something to drink down your nachos, Reuben, and Italian food!

Back to your regularly scheduled blog post already in progress.

- Saudi Arabia has three midfielders with the last name Hawsawi: Motaz, Osama, and Omari. That won't be confusing.

- Portugal has three players with the last name of Silva: Andre, Bernardo, and Adrien.

- South Korea has five players named Kim and three named Lee.

- If your name is Jonathan Matías Urretaviscaya da Luz, you have to have a nickname. Good move by this Uruguay player to go by Urreta.

- Urreta's teammate Gastón Silva had a prominent role in Beauty & the Beast.

- The nickname of Denmark's Mathias Jørgensen is Zanka. Apparently, Zanka's nickname is from the movie Cool Runnings, where one of the main characters is named Sanka. You didn't expect a reference to Cool Runnings here, did you?

- Croatia has 5 players born in Yugoslavia. That just looks odd to read since Yugoslavia broke up in the early 90s.

- Belgium features brothers Thorgan & Eden Hazard. Since Belgium has a monarchy, it's possible that if Belgium wins the World Cup, they could become the Dukes of Hazard.

- When not writing the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, the apparently resurrected Sebastian Larsson is on the Swedish national team.

- Willian plays for Brazil while also being part of The Black Eyed Peas and appearing as a hologram during the 2008 CNN election coverage.

- Panama gets the prize for the most multi-sport athletes. Eric Davis is a defender for Panama and was all All-Star outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds. Jose Calderon is fresh off his NBA Finals loss with the Cleveland Cavaliers and future Hall-of-Famer Alex Rodriguez is taking a break from his work as a baseball analyst to play in Russia.

- Tunisia's Saber Khalifa may or may not be related famous Pittsburghers: rapper Wiz Khalifa and Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Sammy Khalifa.

- Despite being in a fairly weak group, the host Russian team isn't expected to go very far in the tournament. Therefore, don't be surprised to Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin as two late additions to the roster since they've both won Stanley Cups in the last three years. Success breeds success or winning begets winning, right?

Enjoy the games!


If you liked this blog post, please follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page for more witty (or not so witty) thoughts.


Photos by Getty Images, The Paris Pass, Shakira's Twitter account, and RussianMachineNeverBreaks

Congrats Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals are going to win the Stanley Cup. It might happen in game five in Las Vegas on Thursday or back in DC on Monday, but it's going to happen. Teams with a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final are 32-1 with the only one being in 1942. Even with their history of losing 3-1 series leads in earlier playoff rounds, the Caps are going to win their first Stanley Cup. I've resigned myself to this and am actually okay with this. I've lived in Northern Virginia since 2001. Professional sports teams here have had limited postseason success, and this is the first time in the nearly 17 years I've been here where the city is truly excited about one of its teams. Take a look at this picture from outside Capital One Arena for game 4.

How can you get upset at this? There are thousands of people who don't have tickets to the game who just want to be part of the excitement. Many people who have never been hockey fans are totally into the Caps now. I guarantee that youth hockey participation is going to increase over the next few years as a result of this playoff run. I'm actually happy for my friends that are Caps fans who have witnessed so, so, so many failures. (Fortunately, my friends that are Caps fans are pretty rationale people, and aren't the ones saying "F the Pens.") As a Penguins fan, I haven't liked Alex Ovechkin because of his personal (not team) success against Pittsburgh. However, he really is a special player as the best goal-scorer over the last 15 years, and it's been fun seeing him out there blocking shots and playing defense during this Stanley Cup run. You can tell that he really wants to win. Matt Niskanen was great in Pittsburgh, and he capitalized on that with a fantastic contract in DC. If you're a Pens fan and don't want to see Brooks Orpik lift the Cup again, I don't know what's wrong with you. He played the 7th most games in Pens history. Plus he did this:

So congrats to the Caps and to their fans (well, at least the rationale ones) on winning the Cup. I also hope that Tom Wilson isn't able to participate in the victory parade since he's in a Vegas jail for trying to break a slot machine.

(In case you're wondering, yes, my opinion has changed some in the last month. Except on Tom Wilson.)

Photo by Monumental Sports Network.

Alexander Ovechkin For President

Alexander Ovechkin is a very good hockey player. The 2004 #1 overall draft pick has over 500 goals and has led the league in goals scored the past 4 seasons. This season, Ovechkin's Washington Capitals had the league's best record and now lead the Philadelphia Flyers 3 games to 0 in the playoffs. Naturally, Ovechkin is popular in the DC area and really, really, really popular with this driver.

Please excuse the terrible picture. The license plate reads OV4PRZ with the Caps logo.

While the current slate of Presidential candidates may be underwhelming to many, I'm a little concerned about this driver supporting Ovechkin. First, Ovechkin was born on Sep 17, 1985 meaning that he's not 35 as required. In addition, Ovie was born in Moscow and is still a Russian citizen. While being born outside the US doesn't seem to be an issue for Ted Cruz, the fact that Ovie is not a US citizen may be problematic.

Despite these two minor Constitutional obstacles, I question Ovechkin's electability. Is his solution to improve the economy simply to buy lottery tickets? What kind of foreign policy experience does he have other than hanging out with Putin? (Actually, he has more international experience than many recent candidates. I recommend that he talks this up on the campaign trail.)

Assuming he runs as a Democrat, he will easily win the Washington DC vote. Even if he runs as a Republican, he could do the unthinkable and win DC. I think he'll also do well in Maryland and Virginia, but he faces major hurdles outside of the DC area. He's not going to do well in Pennsylvania though his candidacy could do something special. Ovie can bring Penguins and Flyers fans together in the common bond...of disliking him. Everyone together now!



After thinking about this even more, perhaps the driver isn't referring to Ovechkin moving into the White House. Maybe the driver really wanted Ovie and the Caps to win The Presidents' Trophy for the team with the most points during the NHL regular season. Mission accomplished!

Sean's US-Portugal Recap

While it is likely that you already read detailed analysis about Sunday's US-Portugal game and the scenarios for the US to advance to the knockout round, you haven't read my thoughts about the game and World Cup (unless you're reading this multiple times). Like my recaps of Steelers games, and, well, just about everything else on Sean's Ramblings, enjoy items and thoughts that you won't see anywhere but here.

- Like every other World Cup match, the festivities began with the starting players entering the field holding hands with Brazilian children. While this is probably a huge honor for the kids who can tell their children that they were on the field during the 2014 World Cup, I wonder if all the kids are truly happy. For example, if you learned that you were going to go on the field for the Brazil-Cameroon game only to discover that you're walking out with a Cameroon player rather than Neymar or another Brazilian player, you might not be that excited.

- I didn't realize that Cristiano Ronaldo and Tim Howard were roommates when they played together for Manchester United. Now that is a reality show I would have watched. Did they have a Felix-Oscar relationship? Did they argue about leaving dirty dishes in the sink? Did they split the bills evenly? I need to know more about this!

- Now that there has been a water break in a World Cup match, I can't wait to use this as a ref as an example when Under-14 coaches complain about having one.

- It was nice of Wonder Woman, Superman & Batman to attend the World Cup match. However, while Wonder Woman and Superman dressed for the hot, humid climate, Batman must have been really uncomfortable.

- There were several times in the match where the announcers stated that, essentially, Ronaldo doesn't play defense. He's basically Alex Ovechkin except that he has won titles. Of course, it helps when you have teammates like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scoles. Edwin van der Sar, Ryan Giggs, Kaka, Mesut Ozil, & Iker Casillas rather than Martin Erat, Jeff Schultz and Jay Beagle.

- Yes, another Ronaldo thought. Announcer Ian Darke mentioned that Ronaldo was greeted at the hotel by a topless model, a guy in a Donald Duck costume and hundreds of other spectators. Why isn't ABC/ESPN showing this?

- Like Troy Polamalu's hair or Brett Keisel's beard, Portugal's Raul Meireles looked to get major attention due to his beard, mohawk and tattoos. He could easily be a bad guy on Sons of Anarchy. Unfortunately, it doesn't help your reputation as a scary, tough guy when you lay on the ground for approximately 15 minutes after Kyle Beckerman slide tackle. (It really wasn't that bad but some people disagree.)

- Meanwhile Clint Dempsey gets beat up nearly every match and always gets up. He is basically Chumbawamba without the whiskey drink, vodka drink, lager drink and cider drink. Oh, Dempsey also scored a goal off his tummy.

- West Virginia University's Geoff Cameron had a terrible clearance that led directly to Portugal's first goal. Kevin Pittsnogle or Amos Zereoue could have a better job on that ball. (I miss making Kevin Pittsnogle references.)

- Does will.i.am get mad at Portugal's William because of his name?

- Chris Wondolowski is half Native American. Based on all the discussion here in DC last week, I'm surprised no one asked for Wondo's thoughts on the Washington football team name after the game.

- Finally, while the Ronaldo to Varelo goal was impressive (though disheartening), these are the best goals from this weekend.

Notes From Pitt-Georgetown

On Tuesday night, I attended probably my final Pitt-Georgetown game at the Verizon Center. Although Pitt may face Maryland in College Park next year when the teams overlap in the ACC for one season, unless George Washington, George Mason or American join the ACC, I may not see Pitt basketball in the DC area for many years. Therefore, let’s focus on the positive: Pitt-73 Georgetown-45

You can read all about the game on The Washington Post, ESPN, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pitt Blather, Cardiac Hill, Casual Hoya and probably dozens of other places. Instead, I’m going to focus on some of the off the court stuff.

- A 9:00 game on a Tuesday night is a terrible time for a college basketball game, especially when the game takes place at an off-campus facility. I think I’ve attended five Pitt-Georgetown games at the Verizon Center, and this game had the smallest attendance by far.

- Speaking of the Verizon Center, what are the logistics for Georgetown students and staff getting from campus to the arena? It seems like there would always be traffic and it takes a significant effort to attend most games. How long does it take to get back to campus if you want to leave early? (For example, the student section cleared out with about 5-6 minutes left in the game.)

- Alexander Ovechkin was in attendance apparently waiting until the game was over so he could skate at the Verizon Center ice again. Unfortunately, Maria Kirilenko was not there. (There are much more provocative photos of Kirilenko on the internet, but this is a family-friendly blog - at least today - so enjoy this picture of the tennis star.)

- Washington Wizards rookie Bradley Beal was also in attendance. He is younger than just about every player on Pitt and Georgetown.

- At halftime, a female student hit a three-pointer to win free Lasik surgery. That may have been the loudest noise from the Georgetown crowd all night. After making the shot, the excited announcer screamed that "there was no doubt about it." I hope he had to pay royalties to Lanny Frattare.

- Living Social had an amazing deal where upper-deck tickets were only $12. Unfortunately, I'm now receiving three e-mails a day from Living Social.

- Being in the arena, I had no idea what happened at the end of the first half. I saw Tray Woodall lying on his back on the court and another Pitt player clearly fouled in what appeared to be just before the buzzer. Both teams went to the locker rooms while the refs looked at the video monitors for several minutes. I didn’t find out what happened until the day after the game.

- With about 5 minutes left in the first half, I noticed that Talib Zanna had no points. He scored 8 points over the next 4+ minutes. I need to notice stuff like this more often.

- Dante Taylor provided a huge spark (at least in my mind and based on this picture used on every website) for Pitt with an impressive dunk and then a bucket and a made foul shot fairly early in the game. I really feel like Taylor is going to play an important role in some Pitt victories at some point this season.

Always nice to celebrate a Pitt win in DC with plenty of Pitt fans! Go Pitt!

Friday Videos

Between writing my State of the Ramblings and sharing thoughts about a stolen tire, a $10 haircut, and Jackee Harry, it's been a busy past week or two here at Sean's Ramblings. Therefore, let's end this week with some music.

Although I'm not a fan of the video, Jessie J writes (or at least performs) a catchy song called Domino.



I just can't pass up posting Alex Ovechkin rapping in Russian. I have no idea what anyone says, but the guy who is not Ovie definitely includes a line about Ali, Tiger, Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson and Bruce Lee, all well-known Russian athlets.



Puck Daddy has much more on this as well as a translation of Ovie's verse.

Bruce Boudreau Is a Jedi? (Express Fail)

Matt Swenson wrote an editorial/article in Friday's Express comparing the Washington Capitals with Star Wars. Yes, really. I felt the need to share the article and some thoughts with you.

If Obi-Wan Kenobi had let himself go, and ditched the beard, he might have looked a bit like Bruce Boudreau.

Matt, you know Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character played by the late Sir Alec Guinness, right? Besides, even if Alec Guinness gained 50 pounds, shaved his beard and somehow, um, didn’t die 10+ years ago, he looks nothing like Bruce Boudreau.




Thus far, the two teachers have about the same track record. Each was handed a star full of some sort of force, but neither star has reached the level of success expected of him.

Obi-Wan was “handed” Luke Skywalker who only destroyed the Death Star and later defeated the Galactic Empire. I’m not sure what other level of success you want. Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin won two Hart Memorial Trophies as the NHL MVP and also appeared in this Eastern Motors commercial.



For those who’ve been hiding in the Millennium Falcon’s cargo bay for the past 35 years or so...

You’ve been hiding in the Millennium Falcon for 35 years, yet you somehow managed to find the free Washington weekday newspaper available almost only at Metro stations or busy DC intersections.

...Anakin Skywalker was the most talented of the Jedi.

Oh, so we’re going with Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, not Alec Guinness. McGregor also looks nothing like Boudreau.

It was up to Kenobi to help his pupil master the art of the Force. Except for an unlucky few, we all know how that turned out.

I have no idea what this means.

Boudreau has a similarly gifted protégé in Alex Ovechkin. The Great 8 has won plenty of individual accolades, including two MVPs, but hasn’t hoisted the Stanley Cup. And if he doesn’t some may start comparing to Ovechkin, and his hefty contract, to Darth Vader.

Darth Vader killed nearly ever Jedi at the end of the sixth/third Star Wars including children. He was probably responsible for killing hundreds if not thousands of people. Meanwhile, there have been a lot of stories around DC the past few years that Ovechkin parties too much and has gained some weight. Perfect comparison.

It’s early, but this year’s sequel appears closer in quality to “The Empire Strikes Back” than “Attack of the Clones.”

Not only does Matt Swenson write for Express, but he’s also a world-class movie critic.

While Ovechkin hadn’t found his scoring touch yet, the Caps are off to a franchise-best start.

The reason for the Caps' success isn't due to Ovechkin scoring goals, but by using the force from the bench to help goalie Tomas Vokoun make saves.

At least part of the credit belongs to Boudreau, who’s taken a more Yoda-esque taskmaster approach to Kenobi’s pupil-friendly style.

Boudreau spent all off-season watching the Star Wars movies to learn the leadership styles of Yoda. No wonder he talks differently in press conferences this season.

It seems like that’s just what the Caps needed. And, come to think of it, if Yoda weren’t green and were a few hundred years younger, he, too, might resemble Boudreau.

Apparently, Boudreau looks like every Star Wars character including Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca.


I know that it's hard to read, but here's proof that this is a real article and not something I made up.



I also need to acknowledge that this is a rip-off of Big Daddy Drew on Kissing Suzy Kolber.


Please click here for more Express Fail.

2011 Winter Classic Predictions

I am a Pittsburgh Penguins fan born and raised in Pittsburgh. I have also now lived in the Washington DC area for almost a decade, so I follow the Capitals rather closely. Therefore, I thought I would contact bloggers who are fans of the Pens and the Caps to get their takes on the Winter Classic, scheduled for 1:00 PM Eastern time on New Year's Day.

Your participants:

Ben of Capitals Outsider
Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Empty Netters
Sean Leahy of Yahoo! Sports - Puck Daddy
Rob of Storming the Crease
Brandon of This is Getting Old
Ngewo of Ngewo's World
Pat of Igloo Dreams
Cory of Three Rivers Burgh Blog
Sean of Sean's Ramblings

What a solid group! Anyway, I asked these folks the following five questions about the Winter Classic. Check out their responses.

1. Please predict Alexander Ovechkin's stats for the Winter Classic (ex. goals, hits, penalty minutes).

Ben -1 goal, 1 assist
Seth - 1 assist. The ice will be too slushy for skill player to do much. Expect some dirty goals.
Leahy - No goals, three hits, 0 PIMs

Rob - Ovechkin will register a hat trick, have 5 hits and 4 penalty minutes on Saturday. Or he could just skate around, hit people, and maybe register an assist. The Caps hope for the former, the Pens the latter. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Brandon - Ovechkin is always a threat every time he steps on the ice, but he has never faced a scenario quite like this before and will need change things up if he wants to be a factor in the game. Last Wednesday the Pens defense seemed to have figured out how to limit his scoring chances AND there is the potential for weather and ice conditions that will limit his mobility so his stat line will probably look something like this: 0 G, 1 A, 5 SOG, +/- 0, 4 Hits, 2 PIMS, TOI: 22:30

Ngewo - 1 goal, 3 hits, 2:00

Pat - One hit, where he tries to kill Malkin (again), but misses (again) and flies through the glass above the boards instead, knocking himself out of the game.

Corey - Oh man. Michalek is going to be like white on rice (if we are talking about white rice and not brown or Cajun rice) so it is going to be hard for OV to get a ton of opportunities. He will get his scoring chances and probably put one into the nets. You think the "refs you suck" chant was bad at the Steelers/Oakland game wait till you hear the boo birds for that goal announcement. He will probably take a run at Geno and get two minutes but it won't be a Penguins power play because Matt Cooke will probably breathe to negate any Penguins power play. I also predict that OV might step foot in his own defensive zone for the first time this season. I know this is a ballsy prediction, but someone has to go out on a limb and say it. No even going there on his double tramp stamp, can't imagine how his dad feels about that.

Sean - 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes. Ovie gets all the pregame hype, but Backstrom will be the best player on the ice for the Caps.



2. Will Penguins' center Jordan Staal play and if so, how will he do?

Ben - Yes and he will suck.
Seth – No.
Leahy - No he will not.

Rob - If Staal can brainwash the Pens’ doctors, he’ll be back. If not, then he will begrudgingly watch from somewhere inside Heinz Field. If he plays, it’ll be mostly ceremonial.

Brandon - Wow, tough question. Jordan claims to be pain free and I'm sure he wants to get back out there as soon as possible but I just don't think this is the right game to do it. Even if he is cleared to play, his fitness and stickhandling will still take quite some time to reach where they were before his injury so I'm going to have to guess that he will be making his return sometime during the following week. But to answer the 2nd part of the question: If he does play, he will surely have a limited role. He probably won't be put on the penalty kill until everyone is 100% sure he is good to go. Finding a line for him is also difficult. I assume he will eventually center the 2nd line with Geno, but until his game is ready for that he will probably take most of his shifts with line 4. Can't see him being a major factor in the classic from there. That being said, I'd certainly love to have him back ASAP.

Ngewo - Yes, and he will get a SHG.

Pat - I have no inside information on this whatsoever, but my gut says no - the Pens are generally conservative and have a long term perspective. This is just another regular season game, after all.

Corey - Can't see him playing. As big as this game is to the fans and the NHL it is only one of 82 and it is the first day of January. No reason to rush him and play. He will be back later in January (hopefully) and be back to his dominating self shutting down power plays.

Sean - No but his brother will play in the Winter Classic next year.



3. How many times will Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau swear during the game?

Ben – All of it
Seth – A lot.
Leahy - I've set the over/under about 47, win or lose for the Caps.

Rob - The better question is “how many times will a microphone pick up Bruce Boudreau swearing during the game?” Seriously, he’ll probably be on his best behavior because of the national prominence of the event.

Brandon - Bruce certainly does like to use his favorite word quite often. He swears quite a bit when his team is doing well, and even more when they are not so I'm going to have to predict a number somewhere around 38.

Ngewo - 42 (36 of them will be F-Bombs)
Pat - On NBC? None. On HBO? 87 times.

Corey - Oh man. If there is a whole hour dedicated to the Winter Classic on 24/7 then I would put the number at like 78. It is not that even Boudreau makes sense when he swears. Like if you put out a book that taught you the proper way to drop the f-bomb you would see nothing from 24/7 on there. He is awkward saying things and you can tell he does it just for the camera. Maybe he is in with Vegas to try and win some money so he can buy some more Primanti's sandwiches when he is in town. He could also be shaving "points". Lord knows he isn't shaving any pounds.

Sean - Pretending to be on a Hadeed Carpeting commercial, Boudreau will be good.



4. Any predictions and/or funny comments for Friday's Capitals-Penguins alumni game?

Ben - Alan May will get into a fight.
Seth - Since Brian Bellows isn't playing for Washington, no.
Leahy - Don Beaupre is going to get lit up like a Christmas tree ... like old times.

Rob - Like everything from the past era of the Caps-Pens series, this one heavily tilts towards Pittsburgh. The roster imbalance is a joke, which either speaks volumes about the inequality of the two franchises’ alumni base or, more probably, the willingness of the Caps’ alumni to put themselves through the experience of playing in bad weather when they’re out of shape. Let’s hope the NHL doesn’t find a way to use this as a tiebreaker for the real players.

Brandon - I almost feel bad for Bondra. The lone man going up against HOFers like Mario and Coffey as well as guys like Roberts and Guerin who could still probably play today if they wanted. I'm interested to see how much intensity will be brought. Obviously, there won't be fighting or slew foots but I wonder if maybe Mario will try to split the D for ol times sake or Gary Roberts might give someone a nice smack into the boards.
-Pens Alums win by at least 5 or 6.

Ngewo - I got nothing for the alumni game, but I can guarantee that every time a Penguin gets a big hit during the Winter Classic at least 10 people will tweet (ugh, did I just use the word tweet?) that Goodell just fined James Harrison...

Pat - Nah - I'd love to watch it, but the last I heard, it wasn't going to be shown until January 5th or something like that...

Corey - This is going to be an absolute s**t show. It is going to be great to watch 66 be on the ice again and probably dominate anyone the Caps put on the ice but outside of him and some of the more recent guys that have played hockey in the last five years it is going to be pretty funny to watch. Just imagine your dad, or yourself, going out and trying to play a legit football game with his old buddies, or your alumni game if you were a college athlete. Exactly. Ton of fun for people to watch but don't expect a whole lot of great play.

Sean - Rick Tocchet will win a nice bit of cash on this game.

5. Who will win the Winter Classic (please include the final score and the player who will score the game-winning goal)?

Ben - The Caps, 4-3, Ovie will score the winner.
Seth - Penguins 2-1. Matt Cooke.
Leahy - Pens take it 4-2 with Chris Kunitz potting the third and decisive goal.
Rob - Caps 3, Penguins 1. GWG by Mathieu Perreault.
Brandon - Slushy ice and wind will probably = a low scoring game. Pens 3, Caps 1
-Backstrom scores for WSH
-Sid scores the 1st, Talbot gets the GWG, and someone gets an empty netter.

Ngewo - Penguins! 3-2, Malkin

Pat - Penguins 4, Capitals 3 with Mark Letestu getting the game winner.

Corey - The Penguins win that game like 4-2. Someone like Mike Rupp will score the game winning goal. Bing will have a few points, probably a primary and secondary assist each. Bruce Boudreau will probably consume 2.5 dozen of full wings in between the first and second period and then 4 dozen "wing dings" between the second and third period and wash it down with Diet Coke in order to "watch his girlish figure". I think the Penguins are just the better overall team right now and that will propel them to victory. I Caps are talented but I can just see Mike Green looking like a pylon and letting Mike Rupp sneak behind him after a 50 foot shot gets stopped by whatever jobber the Caps decide to strap goalie pads on. Either that or Backstrom will shoot it into his own net. It will be a good game regardless as both teams will probably be on the top of their games, as we have heard neither team cares for each other even though everyone from the Washington fan base to the management has an inferiority complex for the Penguins. So is life.

Sean - Pens 4-2. I'll go with Pascal Dupuis (the Iceman!) with the game-winning goal.




Thanks again to all of these great bloggers for participating. Please make sure that you visit their blogs. In addition, please feel free to share your own predictions in the comments section below. Enjoy the hopefully rain-free game!

Mario Lemieux Invades Capitals Territory

“Invade” may not be the right word here, but the Mario Lemieux Foundation is building Austin’s Playroom for the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. You’re reading that correctly. The Mario Lemieux Foundation, not the Alexander Ovechkin Foundation, Olaf Kolzig Foundation, or the Rod Langway Foundation, is funding this project, which will support the Wounded Warrior program and provide services to warriors and their families. This new 2,000 square foot playroom will accommodate children from six weeks up to 12 years of age and feature amenities such as a computer kiosk, reading bench and imaginative play area.



I love the fact that the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and someone that lives in Pittsburgh after spending his entire childhood in Canada is contributing to a great cause in the Washington DC area. I just can’t see one of the legendary Washington athletes contributing to something in Pittsburgh. Seriously, is there anything in Pittsburgh with the name Sonny Jurgensen, John Riggins, or Wes Unseld associated with it?

There’s much more about the Walter Reed project in this Post-Gazette article and about the Mario Lemieux Foundation on its website. The Mario Lemieux Foundation does some great work, so I encourage you to support them.

Capitals Lose

I’m generally a positive person, and I hope that my posts reflect this. Sure, I may complain about the Metro or the Pittsburgh Pirates on occasion, but I tend not to write discourteous posts about sports teams and their fan bases. However, to paraphrase the great E.U. in their classic 1988 hit, this post got a big ol’ butt (oh yeah). As a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, I’m happy that the Washington Capitals lost to the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night. This is schadenfreude at its best.



I don’t know why it is, but I generally dislike Capitals fans. Perhaps it’s the fact that I attended several Caps games a year earlier this decade, and except for games against the Penguins where Pittsburgh fans took up half the building, there were a lot of empty seats. Maybe it’s because the majority of DC sports fans and media only started talking about and following the Caps 2+ years ago. No, I think it’s the way Caps fans think the Caps are the best team ever (though they won’t admit that today) and like to disparage the Penguins at every opportunity.

I’ll give you an example. I know someone who was born in Western Pennsylvania and is a huge Steelers fan. She is also one of the most rationale and intelligent people I know. However, she is also a Capitals fan and openly mocks Penguins captain Sidney Crosby by referring to him as Cindy.

In full disclosure, as a hockey fan, I would have loved to see a Capitals-Penguins Eastern Conference final this season. Each game would have been the lead on SportsCenter and the most talked about story in sports. The Crosby-Alex Ovechkin match-up is always awesome to watch. However, as a Pens fan, I’m happy that the Pens now have home-ice advantage for the next two rounds (not that this helped Washington much).

If any Caps fans are reading this, I’m sure that if the situation was reversed and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the President’s Trophy for best team in the NHL and then lost in the first round to a team that finished 33 points behind you in the standings, you would feel the same way. I guess the difference is that even if Montreal defeats Pittsburgh in the next round, Pens fans can always look at the Stanley Cup and see the names Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin & Mike Zigomanis on it from the 2008-2009 championship.

Super Bowl Sunday Thoughts

I was snowed in yesterday so I had lots of time to watch television. Here are my thoughts on the Super Bowl and more:

- Enough of the Danica Patrick commercials! Does anyone really ever go up to her and ask if she’s the Go Daddy girl? Even if someone actually does this, no one rips their shirt open wearing a Go Daddy tank top in front of Patrick. If this really happens on a regular basis, Danica Patrick should have her own TV channel.

- The Super Bowl commercials were not very memorable. However, Doritos and Budweiser had some decent ads and seeing Betty White run a crossing pattern better than Limas Sweed* was fun.

- Congratulations to Dick LeBeau on his election to the football Hall of Fame! Well deserved even if it was 30 years late.

- Jerry Rice received the biggest ovation during the pre-game ceremony introducing the new Hall of Fame class. I guess people recognized him from Dancing With the Stars.

- While I still like the Puppy Bowl, it just wasn’t the same without Harry Kalas.

- As a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, I’m never going to like the Washington Capitals. However, this has nothing to do with the team itself. While I think Alexander Ovechkin takes cheap shots on occasion, he is amazing to watch on the ice. It’s easy to recognize that he is one of the best players in the world. My issue comes down to Capitals fans. There is no respect at all among Caps fans for Sidney Crosby. Caps fans must have noticed all of his goals during last season’s playoff series where he went straight to the net and took abuse and hits from the Caps defenders to score. Crosby had another two goals against the Caps yesterday. Keep bringing those pacifiers while showing your admiration towards Alexander Semin, Caps fans.



- Only two days until the 2nd Annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament!


* I feel bad making fun of Limas Sweed. I really hope he has a breakout season next year. Of course, breakout would be 10 catches.

New Home Found

Our search for a new home may be over. The only problem is that the commute from Earleville, Maryland would be rough. Oh, there may be one other problem.



The 38,000 square foot, 9 bedroom/9 bathroom/3 half-bathroom mansion is just slightly out of our price range. The list price: $34,500,000!

This home is "a classical masterpiece by famed architect David Easton a two time winner of the coveted Arthur Ross award celebrating excellence in the classical tradition."

So what is better: David Easton winning the Arthur Ross award twice or Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin winning the Art Ross Trophy once?

Vegas Vacation - Part II

Now that I wrote about my gambling experience in Vegas, I thought I would share notes from the rest of my vacation.

- I spotted Alexander Ovechkin lying out at the Bally's pool with an attractive female companion. At least, the guy looked like Ovechkin. Naturally, this prompted a discussion among our group. A female member of our group didn't think it was him because she thought Ovie would be in better shape and that his guest would have bigger breasts. My opinion was that it couldn't have been Ovechkin since he would probably rent a cabana or be at Mandalay Bay or the Bellagio as opposed to Bally's. Unfortunately, we did not see whether or not he is missing any teeth, so this remains a mystery.

- Pushing the automatic revolving door at the casino entrances does not make the door move faster.

- When I was in Utah a few years ago, I wrote about a newscaster named Big Budah. Is there a rule that every Mountain West city must have a newscaster with an odd name? As Messiah correctly predicted, I discovered KTNV's Rikki Cheese in Las Vegas. Yes, this is a real person, and I have proof. She was arrested earlier this year and here is her picture:



- At a restaurant I do not want to name (since she or someone who works there may read this*), we had Angel from Greensburg as our waitress. Her breasts are likely not from Greensburg.

- The Planet Hollywood sports book had both the Penguins and Red Wings at 5-1 to win the 2010 Stanley Cup. At the Caesar’s sports book, Detroit was 4-1 while the Penguins were 6-1. I also remember seeing the Steelers as 6-1 to win the Super Bowl. The Pirates were not 6-1 to win the World Series (although that was before the team acquired Milledge & Hanrahan!).

- The local ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates all show the national news at 5:30pm. That seems odd to me since they are either at 6:30 or 7:00 in Washington.

- I’m debating whether or not to share stories about the timeshare presentation. If I do, it deserves a separate post.

- We ate breakfast on Thursday morning at Harrah's buffet. They played a nice selection of 70s music followed by several Michael Jackson songs. During Billie Jean, a kitchen staff member danced near us, so naturally, we smiled and he started talking to us. We learned that loves Billie Jean since he recently discovered that a child that he supported for numerous years was not his son. He was happy about the fact that the kid was not his son and that now he is getting money back. He even showed us three paystubs in his hand. As everyone knows, Michael Jackson died several hours later.

- The highlight of my craps experience came courtesy of two guys at the table, Wayne and Jerry. Wayne was probably in his late 20s/early 30s, slightly intoxicated, and extremely social running around the table introducing himself to everyone. For some reason, he thought my name was Paul and continued to refer to me as Paul even though I corrected him several times. Wayne also revealed to everyone that he had a 2-inch penis, so I referred to him as Hal Gill (#2) for the rest of the evening. The casino staff was mortified. Meanwhile, Jerry was in his 50s or 60s, constantly smoked, had an impressive mustache and did not put up with Wayne’s shenanigans. He was there to drink, smoke and play craps. Naturally, Wayne wanted to become Jerry’s best friend. Oh, have I mentioned that Wayne thought Jerry’s name was Gary? At one point, Wayne had a big roll and went around the table to high-five everyone. Jerry/Gary ran away before Wayne could get to him. The entire Wayne/Jerry/Gary experience was highly entertaining. With Jon & Kate on the way out, Bravo should air Wayne & Jerry. It could be a ratings bonanza!


* It could happen!

Unleash the Fleury

Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made a huge save on an Alexander Ovechkin breakaway just three minutes into Wednesday night's game seven. Arguably, that could have been the play of the game. Of course, most folks will talk and write about Crosby’s two goals and the fact that the Penguins scored twice in eight seconds culminating with Craig Adams’ first ever playoff goal. However, if Ovechkin scores there, the whole complexion of the game is different.



Since I live in the DC area and have had to listen to constant Capitals coverage and taunts by several co-workers after game six, I do want to point out that the Capitals had only 12 shots and 6 scoring chances in the first two periods. Way to show up for a game seven!

Meanwhile, the Capitals talk around the area over the next few days will likely focus on what happened to Mike Green. Although Green had four assists in this series, he was not the same amazing player as he was during the regular season where he led all defensemen in goals and points. He has to be hurt, right? His poor performance in this series can't be attributed just to a new hockey stick.

The Capitals as a whole got very little offensive production from its defensemen. Tom Poti had 2 goals, 5 assists, and 13 shots in the first round against the Rangers, but no goals, 1 assist and 5 shots versus Pittsburgh. The other defensemen combined for 1 goal (Jurcina) and 3 assists (1 each for Sloan, Pothier and Shaone Morrisonn - who should be offended by the spelling of his name). That's a grand total of 1 goal and 8 assists from the Caps D (and I'm not including the overtime goals that deflected off the sticks of Morrisonn and Poti into their own net).

Meanwhile, the Penguins got 6 goals (Letang - 3; Eaton - 2; Gonchar - 1) and 15 assists (Gonchar - 4; Letang & Orpik - 3; Scuderi - 2; Boucher, Eaton & Goligoski -1) from its D. That's a huge difference. Actually, that’s a difference of 5 goals and 7 assists. Seth – you have to include this stat in Empty Netters!

Anyway, that's about as detailed analysis you'll get from me. For more coverage of game seven, make sure you visit The Pensblog, the Post-Gazette (including the Empty Netters blog) and the Washington Post (including the DC Sports Bog).

Finally, I’d like to thank the Penguins for granting my birthday wish!


(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Penguins v Capitals: Battle of the Car Commercials

While the Penguins defeated the Capitals on Sunday courtesy of a Sidney Crosby shoot-out goal, there also appears to be a battle between the two teams off the ice. Dan Steinberg's Sports Bog featured this video of Alexander Ovechkin singing the Eastern Motors song:



I'll take Max Talbot for the block.



If nothing else, this should at least make you smile on a Tuesday.

Capitals Ticket Increase

Since I moved to the Washington DC area several years ago, I have attended the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins games whenever possible. There are thousands of other Pittsburgh transplants living in the area, so I have even arranged to buy group tickets through the Capitals for these games. For Capitals fans out there who aren’t happy about this arrangement of having Penguins fans buy tickets (that of course help pay the salaries of Mike Green, Alex Ovechkin and Cristobel Huet, I mean, Jose Theodore), you’ll be glad to know that there are generally a couple of token Caps fans as part of our group.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I contacted my Caps’ ticket representative about purchasing tickets for the Penguins-Capitals games for the 2008-2009 season. Unlike the past few years, where we would receive discounted tickets for purchasing in bulk, this is not the case anymore. Apparently, the Penguins games as well as several other games during the season (I believe the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers games, but I have not confirmed this) are now considered premium games. Therefore, not only are there no discounts for buying group tickets for the Penguins games, there is an additional cost of $15 per ticket. Furthermore, to purchase group tickets for the Penguins games, you would also have to buy group tickets for another non-premium game. So where last year tickets cost about $20 for a Pens-Caps game, you would now need to spend $65 for two games. While I would still consider paying the $65 for two games since I really enjoy watching Ovechkin play, I doubt that I can find enough people in my group who would be willing to spend this much when they really want to see Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins.

I would say that I’m upset about this ticket increase, but I understand that Ted Leonsis needs to make some money. It’s not just Leonsis as this is part of sports today. I saw the Cincinnati Bengals do this a few years ago when they finally got tired of seeing tens of thousands of Steelers fans in their home stadium. In addition, the Student Rush program for Penguins games in Pittsburgh has been cut back dramatically. Until the end of last season, the only Capitals games I have seen sell out since I moved here are the Penguins games, primarily because of the influx of Pittsburgh fans buying tickets. Now that the Capitals are good for the first time in years, they feel like they can force fans to spend money on games that won’t draw as well (ex. Florida Panthers). They may be right too. Any hockey fan in Washington wants to see the Capitals and Penguins in person, so they will sell out regardless of the price. I guess that I’m just a little disappointed seeing that I have purchased tickets for the Capitals for the past few years, and now that they finally made the playoffs, the prices are going up.

Update: Puck Daddy, the best hockey blog out there, has more about the ticket increase.

Pittsburgh Heroes Invade Chantilly, Virginia

The sports memorabilia industry is a big business. Want to know how big? I have no idea, but I’m sure someone out there knows. Let’s just say that it’s more than $1 million (feel free to use your best Dr. Evil voice here).

This weekend, March 14-16, the Collectors’ Showcase of America invades the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Some of the “guests” scheduled to appear include Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Rocky Bleier, Ralph Kiner, Terry Hanratty, Donnie Shell, Andy Russell, Antwaan Randle El (he’ll always be a Steeler to me), Dave Parker, Mark May and Hines Ward. I did mention that this show takes place in the Washington DC area and not Western Pennsylvania, didn’t I?

Although tickets to the event are only $5, the big money to be made by the “guests” and spent by the attendees comes from autographs. Do you want Hines Ward to sign a jersey? That will be $139. How about an Alexander Ovechkin puck? $100. An autograph by Garo Yepremian? $30. (Are there really people who are willing to spend $30 on a Garo Yepremian autograph?) Although Joe Theismann may or may not sign your fantasy football league trophy named in his honor, Joe Greene will not sign any Coca-Cola memorabilia. In addition, there is no word on whether Terry Bradshaw will sign a movie poster of the terrible film Failure to Launch.

More information about the show is available on the Collectors’ Showcase of America website. In addition, it looks like there will be approximately 100 dealers at this event. I wonder if any of them would be interested in buying an autographed Sammy Khalifa picture.

Mascot Chronicles

The Washington Capitals are seeking a Mascot Handler whose duties include ensuring that the mascot stays on schedule during games and events, assisting the mascot with interaction with the fans, and being the mascot's "eyes and ears." The individual must be outgoing, friendly and comfortable interacting with groups of fans. You may think that I am making light of the job, but the mascot handler is an extremely important position. I say this as a former mascot.

As a high school junior, I auditioned to be the school’s mascot. The audition consisted of me unsuccessfully attempting a summersault and cartwheel while dressed in full mascot attire. During the cartwheel, the mascot’s head fell off and while everyone laughed uncontrollably (including myself), the coach berated me because apparently the head was fairly expensive. Fortunately, I did not get the job.

Fast-forward about ten years, a friend of mine recruited me to be CHIP at a Northern Virginia festival that I have mentioned numerous times on this blog. You see, mascots, including CHIP, are not allowed to talk. In addition, it is difficult to see out of the giant mascot head. Therefore, you need a good handler to explain what CHIP is (CHIP is not a robot or an alien; CHIP is the festival mascot), make sure kids aren’t scared of CHIP and to be there for moral support (“Take a step up CHIP or you’ll trip on the curb.”). It was amazing how many kids loved CHIP, but conversely, CHIP made several kids cry. The handler must be able to steer the mascot near the kids who want to say hello but also away from the kids who are screaming. It’s a tough job. Of course, if you’re the mascot/mascot handler at the Capitals game, you don’t have to worry about drunk fans who want you to get out of the way! The Caps fans want you to block their view of Alexander Ovechkin on a breakaway. So to the potential Capitals’ mascot handler out there, good luck and be the best you can be!



P.S. In case you were wondering, CHIP has been retired. I wish that I had a picture of CHIP, but all that I have is a sketch in a TIF file, which Blogger does not allow me to add as a picture. If you know how to do add a TIF, please let me know, because you haven't seen CHIP until you've seen CHIP.

P.P.S. (or is it P.S.S.) A sketch of CHIP has been posted here.