Sports Dogs: Commanders unis, Goodbye Ovi, and FRLL Opening Day

The Dogs are back together and weigh in on:

  • the unveiling of the Commanders’ new uniforms
  • the (possible) end of an era for The Great Eight
  • the Duke’s memorable day at the Opening Ceremonies of Front Royal Little League

Click HERE to listen on The River 95.3 online, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iTunes.

Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC. For everything outside the home, visit Dave at http://energywindowsllc.com or call 540-671-9243.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

Sports Dogs: Commanders unis, Goodbye Ovi, and FRLL Opening Day

The Dogs are back together and weigh in on:

  • the unveiling of the Commanders’ new uniforms
  • the (possible) end of an era for The Great Eight
  • the Duke’s memorable day at the Opening Ceremonies of Front Royal Little League

Click HERE to listen on The River 95.3 online, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iTunes.

Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC. For everything outside the home, visit Dave at http://energywindowsllc.com or call 540-671-9243.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here. 

Sports Dogs Podcast: Unis, Ovi, and Front Royal Little League

The Dogs are back together and weigh in on the unveiling of the Commanders’ new uniforms, the (possible) end of an era for The Great Eight, and the Duke’s memorable day at the Opening Ceremonies of Front Royal Little League. Brought to you by Energy Windows LLC. For everything outside the home, visit Dave at http://energywindowsllc.com or call 540-671-9243.

The Sports Dogs Podcast: HS Basketball, Commanders & Caps

The Sports Dogs are barkin’! In this episode, we cover the area high school basketball teams who are headed for state semifinal action. Plus a quick Caps (and Ovechkin) update, and a new toy for Cliff Kingsbury and the Commander’s offense!

The Perfect Sports Day

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Greetings from The Booth!

It doesn’t happen often, but on Saturday the stars aligned and I had the perfect sports day. That doesn’t happen very often because I am a fan of the WVU Mountaineers, who have crushed my hopes and dreams time and time again. I am also a fan of the Washington Football Franchise, a laughing stock for over 20 years now. I also root for the Washington Capitals, who, with the exception of their 2018 Stanley Cup, always seem to be one and done in the playoffs. Saturday, I hit the trifecta.

My perfect sports day began around 5, when West Virginia Men’s Basketball took the floor of the WVU Coliseum against #2 Iowa State on Jerry West Day, as the packed house celebrated the life of the most famous sports icon in the history of the Mountain State. Surely, “Zeke From Cabin Creek” would be looking down on the boys as they tried to take down their 4th nationally ranked team of the season. And that’s exactly what happened, as Darian DeVries’ gritty Mountaineers stunned the Cyclones. WVU boasts one of the top players in the country in Javon Small, and he took over the game down the stretch, as the Mounties improved to 13-4. When the clock hit zero, and fans rushed the floor to sing Country Roads, I knew it was going to be a good day.

At about 7, the Capitals hit the ice to take on their archrival Pittsburgh Penguins. The Caps have been a pleasant surprise in a season that was supposed to be all about Alex Ovechkin’s all-time goals record. Instead, the Capitals have the NHL’s best record, and seem poised for a Stanley Cup run. In contrast, the Pens are going in the other direction, and the game was no contest, as Washington easily won 4-1.

Finally, the cherry on the sports sundae was the stunning 45-31 victory by the Washington Commanders over the number-one seed Detroit Lions in the NFC Divisional round. Playing in a hostile environment against arguably the best team in the NFL did not faze the Commanders, as the legend of Jayden Daniels added another chapter. The moment was not too big for the rookie QB, who kept the high-scoring Lions at bay time after time with clutch plays. Despite giving up over 500 yards, the burgundy and gold defense forced five Detroit turnovers as Washington shocked the football world, and is now just one win from playing in the Super Bowl. The game may not have ended until almost midnight, but the clock has not yet struck twelve for the Commanders, who kept their magical season alive for at least one more week.

So, thank you Mountaineers, Capitals, and Commanders for a great sports day this past Saturday! My only regret is that I didn’t buy a lottery ticket.

Until the next visit from The Booth…”LET’S GO!” “ALL CAPS,” and “HTTC!”

RW

 

 

Windows of Opportunity

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Greetings From The Booth!

Well, tonight is the big night for Washington Commanders fans, of which I am one. It’ll be another bleary-eyed Monday (and hopefully not a “Moan-Day”) as the burgundy and gold take on Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Unlike Washington’s rare and sporadic playoff appearances of the past 23 seasons, tonight’s game feels more like a beginning than an end, no matter the result. The 2024 season appears to be just the start of what could be a bright future for the franchise.

The Commanders appear to have their franchise quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who is on track to be the NFL’s Offensive Rookie Of The Year. In addition to some young talent, Washington has a number of experienced veterans in place that have not only performed well on the field, but are also de facto coaches who are showing the youngsters how to be professionals and how to practice their craft.

The front office and coaching moves that have been made by new owner Josh Harris and his staff have already paid dividends in his first real year of ownership (we don’t count last year, as Harris was busy cleaning up the mess left by Dan Snyder). There are finally “adults in the room” in Ashburn, as evidenced by a 12-5 season, and the team’s first playoff appearance since 2020.  Whether or not the Commanders win their first postseason game since 2005, the window to an eventual Super Bowl appears to be opening, not closing.

Because of the Commanders’ newfound success, another major sports story in the DC area has been largely in the background. Don’t look now, but the Washington Capitals are in the Stanley Cup discussion in this 2004-5 campaign. As of this writing, the Caps are atop the NHL’s Metro Division, 5 points clear of New Jersey with 2 games in hand.

For the Capitals, this was supposed to have been a season of following Alex Ovechkin’s quest to become the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring leader, a mark held by the great Wayne Gretzky. That record is now well within reach, and it was projected that “The Great 8” would break it either this season or early next.

Instead, the Caps have become a dominant team. Last season, Washington snuck into the playoffs with a negative goal differential, and were promptly ushered out of the postseason in the first round, prompting many experts to predict a down year in ’04-’05. Instead, like their football cousins, the Capitals have made some great front-office moves, and the team is poised for a solid second-half playoff run, President’s Cup, and possibly their second “Lord Stanley’s Trophy.”

Familiar names like Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, John Carlson, and Lars Eller are sprinkled with relative newcomers like Dylan Strome, Pierre Luc Dubois (how’s that for a great hockey name?), Aliaksei Protas, and Logan Thompson. In addition, the pipeline appears to be full of bright prospects. The Ovechkin goal-scoring record would certainly be a nice cherry on top of a Washington Capitals Stanley Cup sundae.

Even in the dead of a DC winter, open windows feel pretty good.

Until the next visit from The Booth (where the windows are also open)…GO CAPS, HTTC!

RW

House Money

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Greetings from the Booth!

After a year’s absence from the postseason, The Washington Capitals are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs starting today (4-21) as they take on the New York Rangers in a best-of-seven opening-round series.  By virtue of winning their last 3 games, the Caps snagged the final NHL Eastern Wild Card spot, while the Rangers are the league’s President’s Cup Champion and the number-one seed overall. On paper, this seems like a one-sided matchup. But, hockey isn’t played on paper (it’s played on ice, thus, the skates), and in this week’s VFB, I’ll make my case as to why the Capitals have a chance to advance past the first round and upset the mighty Rangers.

The Capitals are Playoff-Ready.  The Caps have been in “playoff” mode for a while now, while the Rangers have cruised to their lofty top-seed. Since “selling off” at the trade deadline and going into rebuild mode, the Capitals caught fire. Their young players meshed with remaining veterans like Tom Wilson, TJ Oshie, and Alex Ovechkin, and despite a near-fatal losing skid near the end of the season, found a way to stay in the Wild-Card race and get into the playoffs. Every game down the stretch has been a de facto playoff game for the Caps, while New York now must turn that switch back on starting today. The Capitals, under new coach Spencer Carbery, are playing tight, physical, playoff-style hockey, and that could serve them well against New York.

Goaltending. You can ride a hot goaltender a long way in the playoffs. Case in point, the Caps’ 2018 Stanley Cup postseason, in which Braden Holtby posted a 16-7 record, a .922 save percentage, and recorded 2 consecutive shutouts in the Eastern Conference Finals. Not to mention his stop of an open-net shot against Vegas in the Finals, now known as “The Save.” This year, the Caps will rely on Charlie Lindgren, who didn’t even begin the season as the starter. Lindgren has been nothing short of sensational down the stretch. In the Capitals’ 2 season-ending must-wins against Boston and Philadelphia, Lindgren stood tall, allowing just one goal in the Caps 2-0 and 2-1 wins.

The Great Eight. The Capitals have Alex Ovechkin, arguably the best hockey player of all-time (we can have that discussion another time), and this gives the Caps a chance against anyone.  Barring any unforseen circumstances, in a little over a season, Ovechkin will become the NHL’s all-time goal scorer. After a slow start this season, “The Great Eight” has played more like his old self down the stretch. When he’s not scoring, the Capitals’ Captain has been doing the little things, like blocking shots, and the younger players are feeding off his “leadership by example.” He may not be the Ovechkin of old, but as that saying goes, “great players are not great all the time, but great when they have to be.” This may be one of the last chances Ovechkin has at a Stanley Cup, and that makes him dangerous.

I rest my case, your honor. On paper the Capitals have no chance against the Rangers, but these are the NHL Playoffs, where a hot goaltender, a superstar on your side, and a break here and there could make for an interesting series. The Caps are playing with house money. Time to “Rock The Red!”

Until the next visit from The Booth…ALL CAPS!

RW

 

 

 

 

Sports Dogs talk Caps with John Walton

In a special hockey edition of The Sports Dogs, Ryan caught up on the Caps with John Walton, the radio voice of the Washington Capitals. You can catch the Caps all season long with John on 1450 WFTR and across the Capitals Radio Network.

Commanders & Caps: Closing The Chapter

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Greetings from The Booth!

My sports broadcasting & Sports Dogs Podcast partner Ryan (The Duke) Rutherford texted me this afternoon to say “The Witch Is Dead.” He was referring to what looks like the imminent sale of The Washington Football Commanderskins to the Josh Harris-led group (which includes basketball great Magic Johnson) for a record $6.05 billion.  I simply texted back that I’ll believe it when I see the puddle of water and Dan Snyder saying “I’m melting!” It certainly looks like the finish line is near for a 23-year dumpster fire of an organization that has provided DC football fans few moments of joy.

I could rehash all the failed football moves, the revolving door of head coaches, the toxic work environment, the investigations, lawsuits, and the scrap heap of starting quarterbacks, but we have beaten that horse to death. As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. As I’ve written before, the new owners, in my humble opinion, must do three things:

Change the name of the team (again). Immediately. The name Commanders has no connection to a proud franchise that has 3 Lombardi trophies in the case. The recent name change was a half-baked effort that alienated many former players (John Riggins comes to mind) and has reduced a storied past to a faint whisper.

Build a new stadium. Whatever it takes, get this done. Fed-Ex Field is a dump and provides one of the worst game day experiences in the NFL. And build it anywhere but Landover, Md.

Finally, find a way to fill this new venue with your own fans. For too long, Fed-Ex has been filled with mostly opposing fans , and that is an embarrassment. It wouldn’t take a marketing genius to figure out how to do this. A winning football team would go along way to getting the home fans back in the seats.

It looks like a new chapter is about to begin for the Burgundy and Gold. It’s time to load up the clown car and get the circus out of town.

Changing gears, the Washington Capitals now look like the Nationals on skates. For the first time since 2014, the Caps are making tee times after this week’s regular season finale. There will be no Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, as it looks like a full scale rebuild is in order. As the team faded down the stretch, it sold off many of it’s core players who were part of the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship. It seems like only yesterday that the team was hoisting the Cup for thousands of fans on The Mall.

Like the Nats, the window has closed for the Capitals. You’ll be asked to be patient while you search your program for someone you recognize. Unlike the Nats, the Caps still have a superstar on their roster (Stephen Strasburg doesn’t count). Alex Ovechkin, who is zeroing in on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record, will certainly keep the fans coming to Cap-One Arena, but without a supporting cast, wins will be hard to come by.

As bleak as it may look right now, hold on to this: at least the Capitals won’t be knocked out in the first round this season.

Until the next visit from The Booth…GO SKINS! GO CAPS!

RW