Why see the Potomac Nationals?

   Woodbridge, Virginia is many things; mainly home to many many Washington, DC government workers, retired heroes of our nations military, MY home town, and home of the largest tourist attraction in the state of Virginia. What is that attraction you ask? No it's not a historic battlefield, or a home of a major historic figure. It's a Mall....Potomac Mills to be exact, but Woodbridge has much more to offer than over priced jeans and Cinnabons. (Even though lets be honest everyone it's hard to beat a doughy Cinnabon). If you take a drive on Prince William Parkway, down by the government center, and go right past the building where Prince William County residents pay their water bill you will stumble upon a beautiful stadium called Pfitzner. Pfitzner Stadium is the loving home to the Potomac Nationals. Since their inaugural season in 1979 they have belonged to several different teams and have given the MLB some great players in the process such as; Jorge Posada, Brad Ausmus, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Pettitte, Coco Crisp, and a guy you may have heard of Albert Pujols. Like a lot of this nation I grew up playing baseball. The sport is such a fundamental learning experience for a young person. It's difficult not to be romantic about sports, especially baseball. There's something about minor league that just connects with youth and families. It hasnt been completely bastardized by the corporate advertisers and media's scrutiny of every pitch.
   Growing up with Pfitzner stadium just a few minutes away it was always a quick get away for my dad and I, or as I grew older a great way to score a kiss from a girl under fireworks. I'm not the only one out there with these longing feelings for the old place. From the moment you park in the gravelly makeshift lot, its as if you had stepped back in time. A time when things that don't matter today mattered and the worries of today seem centuries away. Kids are getting their faces painted patriotic colors, the smell of hot dogs and burgers wrapped up in tin foil is in the air, every fan is supporting players they've never heard of. It's impossible not to instantly fall in love with the spectacle.
   The best part is about to begin, the game is in the bottom of the 3rd and fans have just all finally settled in, fathers are sipping their 2nd cold beer, mothers are gossiping and chatting with eachother, kids munching on peanuts and hot dogs hoping the t-shirt cannon targets them at some point until that great moment happens. Seeing Minor League Baseball has its advantages, no matter your seats you're always close enough to see everything happening and all of a sudden you hear a crack, a beautiful unbelievable crack and that little white ball becomes smaller and smaller as it flies over the center-left fence. Everyone forgets about the extras at that moment and starts to revel in one of Americas oldest and most beloved traditions baseball.
   The P-Nats are currently in third place in their division, the season is young. For tickets and information please visit: http://www.milb.com/tickets/tickets.jsp?sid=t436 . Go see them before the seasons over, it is an experience not to miss.

Caps 2013 Playoff Preview

PLAYOFFS!

So like most of you I'm typically somber and cautious when this time of year hits the calender. I mean...the Caps are choke artists in the playoffs....right? That's what I've always feared I would one day think. This year's champions may have the * next to their title as the "shortened season" but I don't care! I want that cup. As I know all of you do, but years of playoff berths(....and deaths) have taught me to truly analyze the chances going into each series. After all that, I deliver to you the 6 reasons to be optimistic about the post season. 

1.) More Experienced Defense

Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Mike Green, Jeff Schultz all these guys are under 30 (Alzner and Carlson under 25) and they all have multiple years of playoff experience. Also the leadership in the defense is very interesting you have Alternate Captain Mike Green who has relaxed on scoring to take a much bigger role in the defense both on ice and off. You also have Karl Alzner who has taken a commanding control of the defense which is great news for the future of this organization. The defense know how to play Playoff hockey and is very focused and much more cooperative than they were just a few months ago. 

2.) Highly Effective Execution In Passing

Growing up I played basketball and hockey as a little kid. It was always "pass it to the kid who scores". It was right before the days of mass participation trophies. It's honestly not a bad philosophy. The passing has gone from abysmal to good to great this season, and has set up the top scorers for success. Great placement had great results. 

3.) The Ribiero Revival

Mike Ribiero has been around the league, when the Caps picked him up it was kind of like a beaten dog finding a loving owner. A team that focuses on finesse skating and high profile scoring. That's what Ribiero delivers. He may not be a tough guy (never was) but he knows how to skate through the horde and get a goal. That is exactly what was needed in Washington. 

Oh if Mike's reading this: 

Mike Ribeiro a été autour de la ligue, quand les Caps l'ont ramassé, il était un peu comme un chien battu trouver un maître affectueux. Une équipe qui se concentre sur le patinage finesse et la notation de haut niveau. C'est ce que Ribeiro offre. Il ne peut pas être un dur à cuire (n'a jamais été), mais il sait patiner à travers la horde et obtenir un objectif. C'est exactement ce qu'il fallait à Washington.

5.) Confidence in (and confident) Goal tending

Yes Holtby and Neuvirth are young guys and we consider GREAT goaltenders to get better with age (guys like Roy and even Brodeur) the dynamic duo of Holt and Neuvy have proved they can win games and create  saves. Being a goaltender in the NHL is one of, if not the, hardest position in all of organized sports. So yes one of the boys may let the drawing goal in and the shooters have to finish in a shootout later in the night, but that's going to happen. The goal tending is good going into the playoffs and that's always a good sign for any team. 

6.) Alexander Ovechkin

He's currently the best player in the world, but the best player in the world should be holding the cup right? That's logic. We can never overlook the drive of a great player. After many seasons of reaching the gates of the promised land and the oldest and wisest of all professional sports silverware He's been let down far too many times, sometimes by a coach, a teammate, and worse of all sometimes by himself. Don't look for it to happen too many more times. Or even once at all. 

Top 10 Washington DC Sports Icons

When it comes to deciding who "the greatest of all time" are, everyone will have their preferences. Regardless of your opinion the debates over these lists never truly cease, however here is a list of the most iconic athletes to wear WASHINGTON DC on their jerseys.

Frank Robinson

 NUMBER 10: FRANK ROBINSON:
He's the man who brought baseball back to DC. When the Expos made the trip down to DC to become the Nationals, the excitement was at best moderate, I was 15 and was just a baseball fan, I felt nothing for a team because my town didn't have one. I remember my dad freaking out though saying "HE'S BACK HE'S BACK!" He was talking about Robinson. He brought butts to sit in the seats at RFK Stadium. And even though the team didn't start to see moderate to super success until recently with Davey Johnson at the helm he still helped pack up a fledgling baseball team and give them new life in the nations capital, and made us all baseball fans again.

Rod Langway

NUMBER 9: ROD LANGWAY

Rod Langway was the Capital of the 80's. The "Secretary of Defense" always demanded the best out of him and his teammates, which is what made him a natural captain and leader. While with Washington he won 2 Norris Trophies and made 3 All Star teams. Also....GREAT MUSTACHE!

NUMBER 8: SONNY JURGENSON

No one could ever really stop Sonny, he played until he was 40 years old and even at that time was just as much as a gunslinger as at the peak of his career. Not to mention he was one of those guys that when he peaked he kind of just plateaued there as apposed to getting old and bowing out gracefully, he pushed himself to continue coming back and proving critics wrong. (Sound familiar Brett Favre fans?) The guy left everything on the field every night he played and is one of the greatest QB of all time. 

Wes Unseld

NUMBER 7: WES UNSELD

A DC basketball player makes the list? YES! Of course. Wes Unseld Career Stats: 14.0 Rebounds PER GAME, 10.8 Points PER GAME, 3.9 Assists PER GAME. The guy made the Bullets relevant. When teams came to town they would worry about Unseld flipping the script and having potentially the best game of his life, because that was always a possibility with him. 1988 he was inducted and became a Hall of Famer. 

Alex Ovechkin

NUMBER 6: ALEXANDER OVECHKIN

Does he belong on this list already? Yes! When Alex Ovechkin laced up as a Cap, DC had finally laid claim to say "We have the BEST player in the world". At one time the BEST IN THE WORLD, at many times the best in the NHL. Next year he and the Caps pack up and move to a new division, a division where his friend and rival Sidney Crosby plays, and we will finally see on a more even playing field who will capture that title once and for all. It's no coincidence that when you see a Caps jersey out in the world it always has an 8 on the back. 

Doug Williams

NUMBER 5: DOUG WILLIAMS

Doug Williams, in front of Sonny Jurgenson? It's not about whose the best. It's about the heroes of Washington DC. Doug Williams lead the 'Skins to a Super Bowl win, in the process he also became the first Black QB to start (and win) a Superbowl. Groundbreaking, in the 80's Washington DC's population was 70% black. to offer up a man that wins the Superbowl and is on the national stage it was an iconic moment for DC and it good people....Dougie Fresh man.

Freddy Adu

NUMBER 4: FREDDY ADU

The year is 2004, the DC United draft Freddy Adu. In that year he became the youngest player to appear in an MLS game in addition to winning the MLS Cup in his rookie year. He single handedly made soccer cool to our city, and by the way before that we had already won 3 championships, but it took this electrifying young man to make us watch. 

Art Monk

NUMBER 3: ART MONK

If not for Jerry Rice (who is highly regarded as the greatest WR of all time to which i agree) Art Monk would have been the Receiver of the Decade. First guy to reach 900 receptions, scored 68 touchdowns in his career, and 12,721 yards. He wore the burgundy and gold correctly. He was our 81. It was unbelievable how with any QB he worked with he had an almost instant chemistry. An incredible teammate, and incredible talent. Art Monk the greatest Washington Wide Receiver of all time. 

John Riggins

NUMBER 2: JOHN RIGGINS:

All I'm going to say to defend this is, go to google...type in "John Riggins The Run". Also if you see former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor ask her about his dancing skills.

Joe Gibbs

NUMBER 1: JOE GIBBS

It's a no brainer. The Washington Redskins have three Superbowl wins, they all belong to Joe Gibbs. When you think Joe Gibbs it's hard not to think of names like Vince Lombardi (who also coached the 'Skins), Bill Walsh, Tom Landry, Don Shula. The reason is because those guys were the best, so was Joe Gibbs. You have this smart guy from California who loves sports, mostly Football and Racing and lands a job with the Redskins as head coach, wildly successful, also wildly popular. The guy was a football magician. Left became one of the best owners in NASCAR. Joe Gibbs even came out of retirement to help an ailing 'Skins team and then took reigns as president of the organization. Great Man, Great Redskin. 

-D.D.

FIRSTIES!!!

This is my inaugural and instead of crazy with a emotional opening, I'm going to jump right into this, but I'll do it the right way. Cover the THREE HUGE STORIES all at once facing the athletes of our nations capital.

Washington Redskins:

'Skins new addition Reed (TE) 

As the janitorial staff sweeps up the last of the confetti and girls fresh out of their sophomore year of college begin charging credit cards they don't even have yet just because their "boo" has made it into the NFL to be a career second stringer, the analysis continues. How have the 'Skins done so far? Better yet how have they done compared to the rest of the NFC east. The entire league knew that the Redskins draft was 2012, not 2013. The attitude going into this is all about filling some spots and gaining some projects. That being said, as it is very unlikely that anyone the 'Skins pick up in this draft will be a starter this year, or any season soon, it is a great chance to find some hidden talent. The first pick of the Redskins draft was a one David Amerson; the best possible pick the 'Skins could of made at that time. He's an ACC defensive back; fast, strong kid with the hands of a receiver. He broke his schools INT record with 18 for his career, and lead his team last year at 5. With the game becoming more and more crucial on forced turnovers this guy has the potential to one day become an interception expert. Their next pick? Well I'm going to preface it by saying I'm very excited about it and as a fan you should be too. Jordan Reed, while at Florida he was a favorite of Jeff Driskel, Driskel's philosophy was throw a lot of passes, throw them short. His deadpan accuracy found Reed A LOT. He pulled down 45 REC last year, for 559 YDS and found the red zone 3 times. Hes a big physical player who knows how to grab a ball. Look for him to be a favorite when Kirk Cousins graces the field.
So who should they focus on next? I think the best pick would be a prototypical OL, someone with the right size, and good reaction to the position. Look for Oday Aboushi from Virginia, Nick Becton from Virginia Tech, or I also really like David Quesenberry from San Jose State.


Washington Nationals:
The Nationals kicked off their series with the Reds in good fashion. Jordan Zimmerman looked really good (as usual) only allowing one hit and ultimately shutting the Red's out. The problem this season has so far been when they've been hitting, they can't pitch. When they've been pitching...they can't hit. Tonight was the same, but when the defense plays that well your offense can lack. There's no real true answer to why the lineup cant wreck it; Harper, Span, LaRoche, Zimmerman (R), Werth...the lineup is full of batting potential and history. But there really is nothing to worry about, the season is young and the Nat's shouldn't have a problem turning things around.

Washington Capitals:
The sigh of relief is deserved, if you told me at the beginning of the season the Capitals would possibly the worse team in the NHL only to end up being the final Southeast Division Champs in the history of the NHL I woulda said "COMMMEEEE ONNN!" but it happened. Alex Ovechkin is pound for pound the best player in the NHL at this moment leading the league in scoring at 32 for the short cut season. I'm going to hold off on commenting but will say its a welcomed send off. We should all be excited about this years playoffs and even more excited about the territory change next season, I'm most excited about the chance to meet with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh more often, yes they're tough competitors but they bring the best out in the Caps. The Caps will always succeed when counted out. So D.C. as I'm walking through town I wanna see long beards and girly fit jerseys for this playoff berth.



Take it easy guys, see you later.


-D.D.