Ovechkin's chat with Russian fans:Posted by tj at
Alex OvetjkinWhat do you think about the video, which appeared on the Internet? On that video our hockey players are smoking! What is your attitude towards the paparazzi?I don't like when we they film you from the bushes or behind the light poles. And then they post it on the Internet and poke the finger, "These are the bad guys." Yes, the Russian national team players are public people. But each of us is also a person like anybody else, just like you. Everyone has his own head on his shoulders. And he knows what to do and how to spend free time. If you want, you can smoke and drink. This is a personal matter. When you start making bad plays in hockey, it is becoming your problem. You are a professional, and you are responsible for your body...
2009-10 Rink Wrap: Tomas FleischmannPosted by J.P. at
Japers' RinkKey Stats: For the fourth consecutive season, Fleischmann improved upon his regular season goal and point totals and per-game rates, but has just three goals and two assists in 22 career NHL playoff games.
Interesting Stat: Fleischmann scored eight goals in the ten games Alex Ovechkin missed this season and just 15 in the other 65 games he played, including the playoffs.
The Good: Fleischmann missed the first 11 games of the season while recovering from a blood clot in his leg, but came on strong in his return, totaling 17 goals and 14 assists in his first 46 games (that's a 30-goal/73-point season pace), including points in nine-straight games (second-longest streak on the team for the season) beginning with his second game back...
Practice analysis - all to play for in MonacoPosted at
Formula1.comThe teams spent Thursday in Monaco carrying out their usual evaluation of the prime and option Bridgestone tyres (medium and super soft here), and handling on low and high fuel loads, while acclimatising themselves to the new higher kerbs and road surfacing of the Monte Carlo track. The general feeling is that the option tyre degrades quicker than the prime - and that things will be extremely tight in qualifying, both in terms of traffic and times. We take a team-by-team look at progress...
May 13, 2010Tom Poti on eye injury: 'I was an idiot for not wearing' a visorBy Lindsay Applebaum at
Capitals InsiderLess than three weeks after suffering a gruesome eye injury during Game 6 of the Capitals' short-lived playoff run, veteran defenseman Tom Poti says he's on the road to a full recovery.
Poti, who temporarily lost sight in his right eye after a wayward puck caused significant damage to the delicate surrounding bones, said doctors expect he'll be able to play next season without a problem. But he's still got a ways to go until then...
2009-10 Rink Wrap: Eric FehrPosted by David M. Getz at
Japers' RinkKey Stat: Six, the number of games Fehr missed because of injuries suffered in the 09-10 campaign.
Interesting Stat: 12:07, Fehr's average time on ice, 11th among Capitals forwards.
The Good: 2009-10 was a breakout year for Fehr, as the former first round draft pick broke the 20 goals plateau, set career highs in goals, assists, and points, and enjoyed the healthiest season of his NHL career. But how good was Eric Fehr's 2009-10 season? Consider the following: by scoring 1.50 goals per sixty minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, Fehr scored more often than every NHL forward other than Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Sidney Crosby, and Scottie Upshall...
Ovechkin scores again as Russia stays perfectBy Lindsay Applebaum at
Capitals Insider
(Martin Meissner/AP)
Alex Ovechkin scored his third goal at worlds Thursday in Cologne, Germany, leading Russia to a 3-1 victory over Belarus. The Russians won all three of their preliminary-round games and move on to the qualification round...
Thursday practice - selected team and driver quotesPosted at
Formula1.comTwo-time Monaco winner Fernando Alonso is no stranger to success in Monte Carlo, and on Thursday he took the top honours in both practice sessions. Alonso, his rivals, and senior team personnel reflect on their early progress in the Principality...
Great White Singer Gets Weird On The RadioBy mdome at
Classic RockGreat White frontman Jack Russell has just done an interview with a Philadelphia radio station – and it gets very odd.
He’s on 94 WYSP to promote the band’s upcoming show in the city on Friday, May 14. Things go along reasonably well for about 10 minutes. And then as DJ Spike gets ready to wrap everything up...
60 years on - the start of the F1 world championshipPosted at
Formula1.comThis week marks the 60th anniversary of the very first round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which was held at Silverstone on May 13, 1950. The British Grand Prix, which also had the title of 'Grand Prix d'Europe' bestowed upon it that year, was the first event in a seven-race season, which also featured rounds in Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy, plus the Indianapolis 500...
Mixed feelings on Monaco traffic issuesPosted at
Formula1.comThe majority of drivers are resigned to the fact that getting a clear lap round Monaco, especially during the first qualifying session on Saturday, is going to be like trying to thread a needle at 150 mph now that any talk of splitting Q1 have been set aside because the teams could not agree the best way to accomplish that.
At least six of them - those driving for the three new teams - could be lapping up to six seconds a lap slower, and will thus spend as much time looking in their mirrors for faster cars as they will looking out for the bumps and barriers that lie in wait on a quick lap...
Law and Order: NHL UnitBy The Peerless at
The Peerless PrognosticatorIn the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories...
I Can't Even Feel the Pain No More...By Kameron at
I May Have Been Born Yesterday
But I Stayed Up All NightIn one of his routines, comedian Denis Miller ranted about how difficult it is to find coffee-flavored-coffee since the rise of Starbucks, and what a hassle it is to locate beer-flavored-beer since so many bars now specialize in fruity microbrews.
And Leary had an idea:
"I'm gonna open my own bar, okay? It's going to be the most retro bar in the history of New York. We're going to serve coffee, donuts, cigarettes, beer and whiskey and that's it!...
Radnor makes Rally GB returnPosted at
WRC.comThe organisers of Wales Rally GB have confirmed that this year's route will include a mix of the old and the new, with a brand new Super Special in host city Cardiff and the return of a classic forest stage last used 11 years ago.
Wales Rally GB, which will run from 11th - 14th November, is the final round of the 2010 season and will be based for the second successive year in the Welsh capital Cardiff...
Cult Heroes No.14: Atomic RoosterBy mdome at
Classic Rock
...The answer is Atomic Rooster. And if that seems an odd way to start this retrospective, there’s a reason. The reality is that, to most people, Atomic Rooster are a mere footnote in rock history, known solely for being the aforementioned answer to the following question: which band did drummer Carl Palmer quit to join ELP?
Yet, the Rooster deserve much more respect; their sound and style was as pioneering as those of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, both of whom were contemporaries of this severely underrated band...
Skid Row Announce New DrummerBy mdome at
Classic RockSkid Row have a new tub-thumper.
Dave Gara has left for undisclosed reasons, to be replaced by Rob Hammersmith, who’s previously played with Gunfire 76 and Rockets To Ruin...
Scorpions Record Whole TourBy mdome at
Classic RockScorpions are to record every show on their ongoing farewell world tour.
The German legends have teamed up with Simfy Live – and you can find out how this all works
right here...
All systems go for Solberg and Mills in PortugalPosted at
WRC.comPetter Solberg’s co-driver Phil Mills insists it’s a case of “all systems go” for Vodafone Rally de Portugal later this month despite the pair’s dramatic late exit from Rally New Zealand.
Solberg and Mills, the 2003 world rally champions, were heading for a podium finish on the Auckland-based event only to crash out on the very last stage of the world championship qualifier...
The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Wingers: Brooks LaichBy The Peerless at
The Peerless Prognosticator...OK, “hero” is a bit much for a 25-goal scorer, but if that day comes when the Caps do win a Stanley Cup, we’re going to bet that Brooks Laich will be right up there among the reasons they do so. On a team with young guns such as Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green, Laich held his own statistically. He finished fifth on the club in goals, fifth in assists, fifth in points, tied for fifth in power play goals, tied for fifth in takeaways, second in power play goals, second among forwards in blocked shots...
May 12, 2010Legendary Drummer Carmine Appice To Join Michael Schenker Group's 30th Anniversary US TourPosted by Nightwatcher at
Nightwatcher's House Of Rock
The complete line-ups for the Michael Schenker Group's 30th Anniversary World Tour - which will continue in Europe and North America - have been revealed below:...
Q&A with Ferrari’s Fernando AlonsoPosted at
Formula1.comFernando Alonso has won the Monaco Grand Prix twice - and had a moment of shock in qualifying 2006 when he found a certain Michael Schumacher blocking his path. But that is all water under the bridge and the two time world champion is simply looking forward to closing the gap to the Red Bulls this weekend - or at least being ready to capitalise should his biggest opponents be struck by misfortune, something that has served him well thus far this season...
FIA Wednesday press conference - MonacoPosted at
Formula1.comDrivers: Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Jenson Button (McLaren), Timo Glock (Virgin), Robert Kubica (Renault), Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
Q: A question to you all. Just look back at last weekend and look ahead to this weekend. What do you think of this circuit? What are your chances? Sebastien, perhaps we can start with you.Sebastien Buemi: Barcelona was a new start to the season with all the new updates. I think we didn’t do too bad considering we are a small team, so I am expecting to have a good car here in Monaco...
Monaco Preview - can Hamilton get back in the hunt?Posted at
Formula1.comWith four different winners in the first five Grands Prix of 2010, and none of them him, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton comes to Monaco determined to get a victory under his belt to push back into the world championship fight. And McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh is adamant that the team will be aiming as high as possible even though Red Bull have to start as favourite on the highest downforce circuit of them all...
2009-10 Rink Wrap: John ErskinePosted by David M. Getz at
Japers' RinkKey Stat: Zero, the number of games John Erskine played in the 2010 postseason.
Interesting Stat: 1.71, Erskine's GAON/60, good for second best among Caps' defensemen in 2009-10.
The Good: If it was a gritty, nasty, unpleasant job, odds are Erskine was pretty good at it. His 2.18 hits per game were more than any Capitals defenseman other than Shaone Morrisonn (who played roughly 9.5% more minutes), his 1.6 blocked shots per game were third on the team (to Tom Poti and Jeff Schultz...
Gulp.By Ted Leonsis at
Ted's TakeFacebook’s gone rogue. So says
this article.
When will an open alternative emerge?
Privacy is a consumer’s right...
Colm Feore's Mysterious 'Thor' Role
Required 'Five Hours' of MakeupBy Blair Marnell at MTV's
Splash PageLast September, Colm Feore was cast in director Kenneth Branagh's highly anticipated adaptation of "Thor". And while principal photography appears to be winding down, Feore's role within the film is still shrouded in secrecy.
"Marvel hasn't allowed me to say anything", related Feore during an interview with The Montreal Gazette. "I can tell you makeup took me five hours every day...
Ogier tipped for the topPosted at
WRC.com
Citroen Junior Team driver Sebastien Ogier - who came tantalisingly close to claiming his debut World Rally Championship victory in New Zealand - has been tipped for a manufacturer seat next year by Sven Smeets: the team manager of Citroen’s factory team.
With Ogier consistently outperforming Citroen’s official number two this year, Dani Sordo, the Frenchman has been linked to a move up to the works squad. But Smeets, formerly co-driver to Freddy Loix, ruled out the possibility of Ogier switching over this year...
Stryper Confirm Covers Album DetailsPosted by mdome at
Classic RockStryper are to release a covers album in the autumn – and it’s got the cunning title of
The Covering.
The Christian rockers will include the following classics:...
Barcelona to Monaco - a race against the clockPosted at
Formula1.comWhen the 2010 race calendar was published last year, the news that the Spanish and Monaco Grands Prix were to be held on consecutive weekends caught the attention of every team manager up and down the pit lane. Back-to-back races are always a challenge, but add Monaco into the mix and the whole business becomes even more complicated...
A Shoe Is Dropping in Winnipeg, and It’s Being Heard
in WashingtonBy pucksandbooks at
On Frozen BlogTwo storylines this offseason loom of greatest interest to me: in what manner will general manager George McPhee reshape his playoff-failing roster, and will there be an initial domino to fall in franchise relocation space. The answers to that first storyline are weeks, at least, away. However, the past week had brought significant developments related to the latter plot.
The latest on the dire straits in the Desert arrived from CBC yesterday:
“The NHL schedule makers have created an itinerary for the 2010-11 season that includes a team based out of Winnipeg.”...
Semin and Fedorov: Reunited and it Feels so Good!Posted by tuvanhillbilly at
Japers' Rink...No sooner had I published the Semin interview below when I notice a tweet from our good buddy Dmitry Chesnokov which alerts me to this interview between Pavel Lysenkov and Alexander Semin which just came out in today's issue of Sovetsky Sport...
May 11, 2010Alexander Semin Looking for Revenge in GermanyPosted by tuvanhillbilly at
Japers' RinkContinuing the coverage of "our" Russians participating at the World Cup in Cologne, Germany, I present to you a translation of an interview with Alexander Semin by Dinara Kafiskina, which appeared today on the Sportsdaily.ru website...
Thin Lizzy Announces New Lineup, UK Tour To FollowBy Nightwatcher at
Nightwatcher's House Of Rock
...24 years have passed, the world has changed, but the amazing body of work that is Thin Lizzy still retains all of its vibrancy and influence. A new lineup has formed to take Lizzy’s music to a whole new generation of music fans. Led by alumni Scott Gorham, Brian Downey and Darren Wharton (all of whom played in Thin Lizzy with Phil Lynott) the stellar lineup is completed by Def Leppard's Viv Campbell (guitar), bassist Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake, Ted Nugent) and The Almighty's’s Ricky Warwick on vocals and guitar...
Ovechkin, Semin score as Russia rollsBy Tarik El-Bashir at
Capitals Insider...Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin each scored to lead Russia to a dominant 4-1 win over Kazakhstan. Russia is now 2-0 as it defends the country's back-to-back world titles...
2009-10 Rink Wrap: Joe CorvoPosted by Stephen Pepper at
Japers' RinkKey Stat: Joe Corvo logged only the fifth-most ATOI and ATOI at 5-on-5 amongst Caps' defensemen in the first round series vs. Montreal.
Interesting Stat: He played more than 26 minutes per night in half of the first 26 games to start the season for Carolina before suffering a terrifying injury on November 30, 2009: a slice into his calf by Karl Alzner's skate that required more than 100 stitches.
The Good: Corvo rebounded after suffering that injury enough to parlay his performance into a role with the league's top regular season team. With the Capitals, he showed flashes of the type of offensive skill and smart decision making on the attack that could have served the Caps well during a deep playoff run...
More Playoff Musings and A Few Caps Musings As Well....By Usually Frustrated Caps Fan at
Mark's Musings...Some's Cap's musings. Last week Homer McFan Boy posed five questions, he believes the Caps must answer this off season/coming season. Here's my answers and thoughts to those five questions.
1) Does Alex Ovechkin need to change? After the Canadiens series, Canadiens defenseman Josh Gorges was quoted as saying Ovechkin has become predictable: "When he's coming in off wing, he'll try to step to the middle and shoot through you, you can bait him into that." Well to a guy who sits in Section 103 for so many home games, that's really not news. Other than agreeing with Homer that Hal Gill's comments in the same interview prove, Gill isn't the fastest guy on his feet in an interview, there's not much...
May 10, 2010Meet the artist: Rachel CohenPosted by tj at
Alex OvetjkinFrom www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com, May 10, 2010:
Rachel Cohen is a 19-year old student at the University of Hartford. Lamenting that she is the seemingly only Caps fan on campus, Rachel has focused her efforts as an illustration major into beautifully stylized and somewhat demented graphics of the team’s young guns...
Semyon Varlamov:"When You See a Raging Sea of Red,
Your Adrenaline Goes Off the Charts"Posted by tuvanhillbilly at
Japers' RinkWhile most of the team is resting and recuperating,
Alex Ovechkin,
Alexander Semin and
Semyon Varlamov have all flown to Cologne, Germany to play for the Glory of the Motherland (aka Team Russia) in the 2010 IIHF World Championship. Semyon Varlamov's participation got off to an inauspicious start when his gear bag with all of his equipment was lost by the airline and he wasn't able to start training immediately. He was soon kitted out in some new gear, however, and
Sovetsky Sport's Pavel Lysenkov was able to talk with him yesterday following a morning practice. At the beginning of the article, Pavel noted that head coach Vyacheslav Bykov had told him that Varly would be starting in the Russia-Belarus game...
Twisted Sister Will Never Tour AgainBy Allyson B. Crawford at
NoisecreepIf you think you'll catch Twisted Sister live the next time they roll through your town, think again. So says guitarist Jay Jay French. "It will never ever happen. I would just assume things would maybe happen, but we will never tour [again]. I look at the mathematics of it every year, the mathematics makes no sense. None. Every year people ask me, every year I revisit the math. Every year it completely makes no sense to tour. It's just an incredibly money-losing proposition. I don't like losing money."...
World UpdateBy Mike Vogel at
Dump 'N ChaseCaps left wing Alex Ovechkin tallied the game-winning goal for Team Russia in the team’s first game of preliminary action at the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany. The Russians earned a 3-1 win over Slovakia on Sunday...
'Iron Man 2' Review Roundup: Your 140-Character
Reader Reactions!By Rick Marshall at MTV's
Splash PageNow that the opening weekend for "Iron Man 2" is in the rearview mirror, we've heard from countless critics, comic creators and journalists about the blockbuster follow-up to 2008's "Iron Man" — but what about fans?
This morning, I asked subscribers to the Splash Page Twitter feed to give me their 140-character reviews of "Iron Man 2", and the response was, well... pretty amazing...
R.I.P. Frank Frazetta: Iconic Artist And VisionaryBy Rick Marshall at MTV's
Splash Page
As I reported earlier today on Twitter, veteran artist Frank Frazetta has died at age 82.
The creator responsible for some of the most iconic images from the worlds of swords-and-sorcery and science-fiction, Frazetta died due to a stroke suffered earlier today...
Queen Exits EMI as Investors Vote on Cash for LabelBy Kristen Schweizer at
Bloomberg's
Businessweek.comQueen, the British rock band that penned “Bohemian Rhapsody,” is said to be leaving EMI Music after almost four decades, as the label’s investors vote on providing more cash to prevent creditors from seizing control.
Queen will switch to Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group next year, when the band’s contract with Guy Hands’s EMI Group Plc expires, two people familiar with the matter said today. Universal Music will handle the band’s recorded music contract outside North America, while publishing rights will remain with EMI, one of the people said, declining to be named because the talks are not public. Hollywood Records, a unit of Walt Disney Co., holds Queen’s U.S. recorded music contract...
2009-10 Rink Wrap: Jason ChimeraPosted by David M. Getz at
Japers' RinkKey Stat: 30-6-7, Washington's record in the regular season games once Chimera pulled on the Caps' sweater for the first time.
Interesting Stat: Chimera had 17 points in 39 games for both the Blue Jackets and the Capitals this season.
The Good: Chimera brings an attitude and skill set that no one else on the Capitals does. That in and of itself has value; the fact that his combination of speed and physicality and gritty style of play are perfectly suited to the playoffs is even better. On the physical side of things...
Monaco preview quotes - Bridgestone, Lotus, Virgin & morePosted at
Formula1.comOf all the races on the Formula One calendar, Monaco can surely claim the most historic and glamorous reputation. Here the drivers and senior team personnel explain what makes the Monte Carlo event so special and reveal how they think they may fare over the coming weekend...
Give Me A Hundred : The Who's Magic Bus For SaleBy Nightwatcher at
Nightwatcher's House Of RockIn 2007 Volkswagen celebrated their 60th anniversary by staging a huge event in Hanover, Germany. The celebrations included a concert by The Who, who performed their 1967 hit 'Magic Bus'. Though not originally about a VW, the classic track has become an anthem for VW bus owners and links between The Who and the Volkswagen bus go back as far as 1965...
May 9, 2010Ovechkin talks to media (video) after the win over SlovakiaBy tj at
Alex OvetjkinOvechkin scored GWG, got the first star of the game and was presented by the tournament organizers with Swiss watch.
"We didn't start the game well," commented Alexander the Great. "we must score on PP. But God was on our side. In the end, we scored an empty netter and erased all the doubts"...
Ovechkin scores in Russia's win at worldsBy Tarik El-Bashir at
Capitals InsiderAlex Ovechkin scored the game winner to help two-time defending champion Russia beat Slovakia, 3-1, in Russia's opener at the world championships in Germany...
The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Wingers: Alexander SeminBy The Peerless at
The Peerless Prognosticator
...There is perhaps no more mysterious player in the NHL than Alexander Semin. A genius with the puck – shooting it or passing it – he is also perhaps the most confounding of Caps. 2009-2010 was Semin’s best year statistically, and it would have seemed to be the springboard to even bigger things, as the ten-game segments suggest...
Ogier backed to claim first WRC winPosted at
WRC.comSebastien Ogier’s team manager Benoit Nogier believes it is only a matter of time before his star driver wins his first world championship rally.
Ogier came within three corners of taking his maiden victory in the WRC on Rally New Zealand but a spin and stall dropped him back to second place behind Jari-Matti Latvala, albeit a scant 2.4 seconds adrift of the factory Ford driver...
The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Wingers: Alex OvechkinBy The Peerless at
The Peerless Prognosticator...It is hard to think that a player who registered his fourth 50-goal season, his fourth 100-point season, finished a plus-45 (2nd in the league), finished with seven game-winning goals (tied for 4th), had 13 power play goals (tied for sixth), had 14 multi-goal games, and was 30-4-7 as captain of the club could be said to have an unsatisfying year, but there it is...
May 8, 2010The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Centers: Boyd GordonBy The Peerless at
The Peerless Prognosticator...A traditional spiritual song and hockey might not seem to go together, but Boyd Gordon’s back didn’t seem to get along much with hockey this season, either. Gordon missed 41 games in three different stints due to back injuries. It was very unfortunate for Gordon, for not only did he never really get much traction in cementing a place in the lineup, the statistics he did put up put him on a pace for one of, if not his best offensive season...
The 2009-2010 season, by the "tens" -- Centers: David SteckelBy The Peerless at
The Peerless Prognosticator...When first we saw David Steckel this season we thought that perhaps this was it; this would be the season when he added some offense to his abilities as a defender, penalty killer, and faceoff specialist. When last we saw him, we didn’t. Steckel did not dress for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Montreal Canadiens. In fact, he dressed for only one of the last five games, a victim of numbers and perhaps...
'Doctor Who' Review: Episode 5.04, 'The Time Of Angels'By Rick Marshall at MTV's
Splash PageEpisode Title: "The Time Of Angels"
Written By: Steven Moffat
Story: The Doctor is summoned by River Song, the woman with a mysterious, possibly romantic connection to The Doctor, who was last seen in 2008's "Silence in the Library" adventure. After helping The Doctor regain control of his TARDIS, the trio of River, The Doctor and Amy Pond meet up with a group of soldiers on a barren planet...
