Junior's Reading And Viewing List: December 22 - 31, 2010

Last Update - February 20, 2011 at 6:36 PM EST

Junior's 'Reading And Viewing List' for December 22 through December 31, 2010 includes title links with snippets from items that hit the internet as December 2010 came to an end.

This list includes most of the usual topics: hockey (Washington Capitals), music and racing (Formula One).


December 31, 2010

Glenn Hughes Announces Tour
Posted by mdome at Classic Rock

...The bassist/vocalist, who’s just done two shows here with Black Country Communion, will play the following 11 shows in May:...

Bondra Goal Lifts Caps’ Alumni to 5-5 Tie
By Mike Vogel at Dump 'N Chase

Early this morning, the Caps and Pens alumni squared off in a spirited game of 40 minutes in length – two 20-minute halves. Fittingly, the contest concluded in a 5-5 tie after a few lead changes...


December 30, 2010

OFB TV: Inside the Winter Classic Alumni Game with Alan May
By pucksandbooks - Posted by The OFB Team at On Frozen Blog

Comcast Sportsnet’s Capitals analyst Alan May made his first appearance on OFB TV Wednesday while taking in the Capitals’ outdoor practice in Chevy Chase, Md. We wanted to try and go on the inside a bit of that other game in Pittsburgh New Years weekend — the showdown between alumni for the Caps and Pens. That game, which will be played at 9:30 a.m. New Years Eve, sold out about an hour after tickets went on sale...

Top quotes from HBO '24/7' episode three: Capitals vs. Penguins
By Lindsay Applebaum at Capitals Insider

...1) Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, finally getting in some f-bombs while arguing for a hooking call on John Carlson: "You gonna [bleepin'] call that? [Bleep] off! [Bleep] you! [Bleepin'] [bleep]. [Bleep]. [Bleepin'] [bleep]. Right in the [bleepin'] face? That's a [bleepin'] joke."...


December 29, 2010

Cheap Trick To Ring In New Year With 'Austin City Limits' Performance
Posted by Nightwatcher at Nightwatcher's House Of Rock

For its first episode of the New Year, the award-winning PBS television series Austin City Limits welcomes famed American rockers Cheap Trick to the Studio 6A stage for a new, hour-long episode. The performance, recorded March 18, 2010 marks the iconic band’s first appearance on the show, and it premieres on PBS stations nationwide on January 1, 2011...

Watch the full episode. See more Austin City Limits.

December 28, 2010

Clean and Green
By Joe Beninati - Capitals Play-by-Play
Posted at CSN - Washington, DC

For a couple of weeks now we have been hearing about how the Caps are trying to assemble the type of style and strategy that will serve them best by the time the playoffs roll around in April. A game like tonight gives us a glimpse of what it should look like...

Another 'Doctor Who' Season 6 Teaser Hits The 'Net
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page

...In the new BBC America teaser, The Doctor (Smith) and Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) have a great little back-and-forth about where they're headed in the new "Doctor Who" season against the backdrop of Monument Valley, Utah, where some of the season's episodes were shot...

Joe Walsh: New Solo Album
By mdome at Classic Rock

...As yet untitled, this will be the man’s first since Songs For A Dying Planet in 1992. Half of the new album has been produced by Walsh himself, with the rest being done with Jeff Lynne. This should be released in the spring...


December 27, 2010

Uriah Heep Begins Recording New Studio Album
Posted by Nightwatcher at Nightwatcher's House Of Rock

According to Blabbermouth.net, legendary progressive heavy rock veterans Uriah Heep have entered Liscombe Park Studios in Buckinghamshire, England to begin recording their next album of all-new material for a 2011 release...

'Doctor Who' Season 6 Trailer Arrives Online
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page

...The teaser trailer for the next season of "Doctor Who" has arrived online (courtesy of YouTube), and from the looks of things, Season 6 (or Season 32, depending on how you look at it) has The Doctor traveling to some new destinations in time and space with a few familiar faces popping up along the way. (River Song and The Ood, anyone?)...

Two dads
Posted at God Hates Protesters

This entry was posted in protest and tagged dads, jesus, two. Bookmark the permalink.

Black Country Communion interview
Posted at Home Of Metal

Glenn Hughes, known throughout the world as both Deep Purple and Black Sabbath vocalist, or more simply as the ‘Voice of Rock’ has recently returned with his lauded new band known as Black Country Communion. With a name like that, it was of no surprise Home of Metal’s collective ears pricked up and sought out the man himself for a chat...


December 26, 2010

Recap: Caps 3, Hurricanes 2
By Becca H at Japers' Rink

After a tremendously hyped game against Pittsburgh and two days off for the holiday, the fact that the Caps came out a bit sluggish early on is to be somewhat expected. That they shook off the Christmas fog and got down to playing the kind of hockey we like to see out of them was a little less so - although one would hope it would become more normal with each passing game...

'Doctor Who' Review: 'A Christmas Carol'
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page

...As any Whovian worth his TARDIS replica knows, it's always a fascinating adventure when The Doctor is tasked with saving Christmas. This time around, The Eleventh Doctor plays fast and loose with time travel in an attempt to make mean miser Kazran Sardick (Michael Gambon) a nicer guy — and make him amenable to freeing Amy and Rory's space cruiser from its impending, uncontrollable, and explosive date with the planet below...


December 25, 2010

Corner Gas - "Merry Gasmas" Part 1 (Season 3 / Episode 13)
Originally televised December 12, 2005 - Posted here for Christmas



Watch entire episode, in 3 parts, here.

December 24, 2010

Wow - That Was A Game Worth Watching ...
Penguins 3 - Capitals 2 (SO)
By Usually Frustrated Caps Fan at Mark's Musings

Well last night the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins came to DC to take on the rejuvenated Washington Capitals for their first of four regular season games this NHL Season. The game was well anticipated by fans of both teams, as just next week these two teams will meet outdoors in the NHL's Winter Classic, at Heinz Field, in Pittsburgh on New Year's Day...


December 23, 2010

Recap: Penguins 3, Caps 2 (SO)
By Becca H at Japers' Rink

It's always a bit of a letdown when a game like this has to be decided by a gimmick. When an evenly played, highly competitive match between two heated rivals is forced to end with what is essentially a skills competition...yeah, it's a little anticlimactic...

'Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol' Review
(The Spoiler-Free Early Edition!)
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page

..."Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol" officially premieres Saturday night, December 25 — but thanks to the good people at BBC America, your friendly neighborhood Splash Page editor was able to get an early look at the next big "Doctor Who" event. And let me put it this way, fellow Whovians: you will not be disappointed...

'The Avengers' To Shoot In 'Land Of Enchantment' New Mexico
By Rick Marshall at MTV's Splash Page

...In an official press release issued this week, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced plans to host production of Joss Whedon's "Avengers," with shooting scheduled to begin in April 2011...


December 22, 2010

Petrov confirmed at Renault until 2012
Posted at Formula1.com

Renault have announced they will retain Vitaly Petrov for the next two seasons. It means the Russian driver will again partner Robert Kubica in 2011...

Recap: Caps 5, Devils 1
By J.P. at Japers' Rink

With Eric Fehr definitely out of the lineup and Alexander Semin a "gametime decision" for the Caps on Tuesday night, to say nothing of the recent scoring struggles of the players who were going to pull on the red sweaters, one had to wonder from whence - or even if - the goal-scoring would come. The answer? The Caps would get all they needed... from Hershey...

Chris Clark And Alex Ovechkin Interviews

A few interesting videos of Washington Capitals forwards Chris Clark and Alex Ovechkin have been released over the past couple days. Japers' Rink posted a wild Russian video of Ovechkin from 2006 that is kind of an assault on the senses (quick moving for non Russians) in a mostly good way. JP refers to it as "Ovechkin Insanity". Alex even gives out his cell phone number! Well, sort of. Over at CapsTV, you can enjoy a very recent video (8-14-08 SnapShots-Ovechkin and Bondra) of former high scoring Capital forward Peter Bondra sitting down with Ovie for Capitol File magazine. Included in this one are what Alex has been up to, future expectations and desires and also superstitions. An August 13th Washington Post Live session with Comcast SportsNet anchor / reporter Jill Sorenson and Captain Chris Clark was very enlightening and fun as well. See the video of that interview below.

NHL's Ovechkin Day Video

Photo by Stephen J. Boitano / AP

The NHL has finally made an 'Alex Ovechkin Day' video available via their web site. June 13, 2008 was a great day for the superstar forward of the Washington Capitals and his fans. Like all the Washington, DC area reporters and several Cap's bloggers, the NHL observed the days events, as Alex and his 2007-2008 season accomplishments were celebrated.

The video shows the awards display at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, VA, including fan reaction. Also featured are the short and humorous speeches by Alex Ovechkin while receiving the 'key to the city' from DC mayor Adrian M. Fenty and at a VIP party also held that day. Among those gathered were former Capitals Rod Languay and Peter Bondra. Bondra, VP and GM George McPhee and team majority owner Ted Leonsis briefly talk about Alex in the 5 min. 35 sec. video. Although it took close to two weeks to be released, it's a fine production.

Lightning Vs Capitals 04/03/2008 Review

Lightning 1 - Capitals 4

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The Washington Capitals earned their sixth consecutive win and moved into eighth place in the NHL's Eastern Conference, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning at home in front of yet another sellout crowd. It's the first time the Capitals have managed six straight since January 8-19, 2000. Goalie Cristobal Huet has now won eight straight starts. Alex Ovechkin had another multi goal game. The first one was the game winner, which is something Alex has done 11 times this season.

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The Lightning got their only goal just 39 seconds into the first period. Huet was having trouble controlling a rebound within traffic, when Filip Kuba popped the puck into the net. About 90 seconds later, Washington thought they had tied the score. No penalty was called, but Brooks Laich's goal was denied because of "incidental contact". Apparently, when heavyweight (yeah, right!) forward Tomas Fleischmann pushed Lightning defender Matt Smaby (went down real easy) in front of the net, he hit goalie Karri Ramo as a result. Ramo certainly didn't suffer any injury, as he made several incredibly quick saves throughout the night. Our guy, Huet was very sharp as well. Ramo was far busier in the first though, as Washington outshot Tampa Bay 20-5. At 12:01, Alex Ovechkin scored his 64th goal of the season. He took a Viktor Kozlov rebound and banked it off a defender into the net. With that, he surpassed "Lucky" Luc Robitaille for the NHL record on goals scored in a season by a left wing.

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About five minutes into the second period, it looked like Tampa Bay might even up the score. Huet left a juicy rebound in front of Martin StLouis, but Mike Green quickly cleared the puck before Marty could do any harm. Both goalies guarded their goals very well in the second. They didn't see a huge number of shots, but they had to make a couple difficult saves. About a minute before the end of the period, Ovechkin blocked a hard shot with his right knee. He went to the dressing room before the horn, but returned at the start of the third period.

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Washington outshot Tampa Bay again in the third. But, Huet still had to come up with some good saves, including a big one on Vinny Lecavalier 50 seconds into the period that left Vinny shaking his head. Lecavalier was injured later on, after a collision with Caps' Matt Cooke that sent him into Michel Ouellet before he went down, landing on his left wrist. I was glad to hear the applause from the crowd for Vinny as he went off the ice, holding his wrist. He did not return, and it looked like his injury might be fairly serious. Retaliation was swift, coming in the form of a crosscheck from Jussi Jokinen at 7:26. This stupid move would not be the last in the game from the Lightning. Alex Ovechkin fought back in a much better manner 24 seconds later. Taking a cross ice pass from Green just inside the blue line, Ovie sent a long range shot past Ramo's blocker side for number 65 and the game winning power play goal. It was his 22nd power play goal of the season, tying the team record held by former Capital Peter Bondra. The familiar M-V-P chant once again came from the crowd.

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About a minute later, celebrations were temporarily put on hold. The Cap's ended up having to kill off a four minute double minor, thanks to a high stick by John Erskine that left blood streaming from Kuba's nose. Washington had very little trouble burning up the Lightning PP, sending several clearings almost the full length of the ice. Sure, the referees didn't exactly call the game perfectly. But, at 14:00 Smaby was sent to the box for holding. He was upset about the crappy way the season was coming to an end for his lousy team. If he needed to be comforted so badly, he could've at least picked one of his own teammates for the hug. For his unfortunate choice, the result was Boyd Gordon sending a Matt Bradley rebound into the back of the net. With Ramo pulled for the extra Lightning skater a couple minutes later, it was time for Tom Poti to send in an empty netter from deep in the Washington end of the ice. With 22.9 seconds left in the game, Tampa Bay went a little crazy. They had too many "men" on the ice completely intentionally. They tried to pick fights all over the ice. It's been suggested that they might be rewarded for their efforts with fines tomorrow, but I doubt it. Junior Lessard did get the fight he thought he wanted from Bradley. Of course, that turned out to be a big mistake. Brads made a complete fool of the witless wonder, with about 16 seconds left on the clock. Brilliant!

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Right after the game, Comcast SportsNet's Lisa Hillary did a short interview with Alex Ovechkin rinkside. He thanked the fans for all their support. The fans thanked Alex and the Cap's right back with some more loud cheers. Having the NHL's fifth best powerplay didn't help the Lightning in this game. Unfortunately, the Ottawa Senators didn't help Washington tonight either, as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 8-2. Don't give up hope Cap's fans. The season's not over yet. Washington's last game is Saturday, against the Florida Panthers. If they win, they still have a couple chances to make the playoffs. What are the chances that both the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers will win both of their last two games? Have a little faith!

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All Photos - Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP

Canadiens Vs Capitals 01/31/2008 Review

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Canadiens 4 - Capitals 5 OT

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Alexander Ovechkin overpowered the Montreal Canadiens, and led the Washington Capitals to an amazing overtime win. The Canadiens and their goalie Cristobal Huet won't be able to stop thinking about Alex for a few days. Ovechkin scored 4 goals and 1 assist in the last of the season series against the Habs. He now leads the league in both goals (43) and points (70). He indured a puck to the face, broken nose and a busted lip, and they still couldn't stop him. He's was like the Terminator.

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The game started off with Ovechkin getting accidentally hit in the face by the stick of Alexei Kovalev. He checked his sore jaw and made sure he hadn't lost any more teeth, while on the bench awaiting his next shift. Ovie was obviously fine, as he made a big open ice hit on Steve Begin a little while later. The two teams exchanged a couple minor penalties, including..............Yep, you guessed it........a hooking call on Alexander Semin. Alex Ovechkin and Milan Jurcina exchanged a couple rink wide passes, before Ovie one timed his 40th goal of the season, putting the Cap's on the scoreboard first. Olie Kolzig was looking good and quick in net during the first period, making a few really nice saves.

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About 4 1/2 minutes into the second period, Viktor Kozlov tipped in a pass from Ovechkin. Washington had a 2-0 lead. It was a very physical game. Plenty of hits, and some pushing and shoving throughout. Nobody hitting any better than Ovechkin. However, toward the middle of the game, Francis Bouillon bloodied Alex's nose on a rather hard hit of his own. But, no worries. At 11:54, Ovechkin sent a short side wrister to the back of the net. His second goal of the game, brought the Cap's to their biggest lead of the game. But, just under a minute later, Sergei Kostitsyn finally put the Canadiens on the board, tipping in an oddly deflected pass. Washington's defenceman Mike Green was called for tripping late in the period. With Green still in the penalty box, Andrei Kostitsyn got the Power Play goal, bringing Montreal within one.

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The rough stuff continued in the third, with Ovie putting another big hit on Josh Gorges early on. Then, Alex sent a shot between a defender's legs and over the shoulder of Huet for his 4th career Hat Trick at 12:30. Already leading the league in goals, this one put him on top in points as well. But, about a minute later Guillaume Latendresse put the Canadiens back within one again, scoring his 13th of the season. Netminder Olie Kolzig did his best to keep the lead, as he made a few more excellent saves. However, with less than 33 seconds left and Kolzig (and pretty much everybody else) thinking he had the puck under his body, no whistle! Apparently, the ref on the scene had better eyes than any other ref in history. We all had to see the slow motion overhead taped replay before we could pick it out. But, this guy noticed the puck wasn't quite covered up and let Latendresse poke the puck through and into the net for his second of the game. Tied at 4-4, we would need overtime. .

The crowd sure got their money's worth. At 3:34 in OT, Alexander Ovechkin tipped in a rebound for the game winner. That's four goals and an assist in the game for Alex. It was the second time in his career that he scored four goals in one game, the first time coming earlier this season. It was also his second five point game of this season as well. The only other Cap to ever get 40 or more goals in three consecutive seasons was the great Peter Bondra. I'm pretty sure that Ovechkin will prove to be the greatest Washington Capital of all. There was some good work in this game by Kolzig, Milan Jurcina, Mike Green and others. But as usual, Ovie steals the show.

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All Photos - AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta