Archive for March, 2007

Check Yourself

March 30, 2007

Over the course of an 82-game season, we media types will end up spending quite a bit of time together. Games, practices; home, road; press box, press lounge; and even the occasional watering hole. As you can imagine, a fair amount of “stuff” (use your imagination here, and insert the word of your choice) is [...]

Get Up, Jake

March 27, 2007

Get Up, Jake, it’s late in the mornin’
The rain is pourin’ and we got work to do.
Get Up, Jake, there’s no need a-lyin’,
You tell me that you’re dyin’, but I know it’s not true.
That’s a little snippet from an underrated little song by one of the best Bands ever. And today, Jakub Klepis gets up [...]

Jerky Boy

March 25, 2007

For me, Sundays always start with a look at The Boston Globe to see if I’m fortunate enough to have a Kevin Paul Dupont piece to read. Dupont wrote today, and that’s always a good thing. Not only is he the pre-eminent North American hockey writer as far as I’m concerned, but he loves the [...]

Compare and Contrast

March 19, 2007

Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres
- 6-foot-0, 187 pounds, according to ‘06-07 Buffalo media guide
- Drafted second round, 55th overall in 2001
- Better than a point per game in last two years of junior career in QMJHL
- Disappointing first year pro in AHL
- 30-goal scorer in second season in AHL, dominant in playoffs
- 30-goal scorer in third [...]

Playoff Fever

March 15, 2007

While there is no playoff stretch drive for Washington this March, both of the Capitals’ two minor league affiliates are involved in exciting runs as they head into the final weeks of the regular season.
Up in Hershey, the Bears are preparing to defend their 2006 Calder Cup championship, the ninth title in the franchise’s glorious [...]

A Birthday Wish

March 13, 2007

Happy birthday to Caps goaltender Brent Johnson, who turns 30 today. That makes him a virtual greybeard on this team, although you might not find anyone who is younger at heart. Johnny cut his NHL teeth in St. Louis, where he played behind the likes of Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis for most of his [...]

Stingrays Keep Checkers in Check

March 9, 2007

CHARLOTTE, NC — With the days and games remaining swiftly peeling off the calendar, the South Carolina Stingrays headed into an important weekend with a Thursday night road game against the Checkers in Charlotte. The first of three games in three nights (the Rays return home to host the Reading Royals on Friday and Saturday), [...]

D-Day for Stingrays

March 8, 2007

The ECHL trading deadline came and went today without the Stingrays making a swap. But it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying. Head coach Jason Fitzsimmons and assistant coach Jared Bednar were hard at work on the phones early in the morning, and they stayed glued to the lines right up until the 3 p.m. [...]

The Night the Lights Went Out in South Carolina

March 7, 2007

CHARLESTON, SC — When I was a kid, a song by Vicki Lawrence (which I hated, by the way) cracked the Top 40. It was called, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” I was an AM radio junkie in those days, the salad days for Top 40 on the AM dial. Songs like [...]

Stingrays Feeling the Sting of Injuries

March 6, 2007

It’s 67 degrees and sunny here today in Charleston, SC. It’s high noon, and I just got back from spending a few hours at the rink with the South Carolina Stingrays. The boys went out for their morning skate at 10, but I arrived at 8:15 and spent some quality time with Stingrays head coach [...]