Olympic Hockey Preliminary Round Wrap Up

The preliminary round of Olympic ice hockey is over and so far the United States has not lost a game. Both the men and women are 3-0. The women have outscored their opponents by an amazing margin of 30 goals, allowing only one goal against. The women easily cruised through Finland, Russia, and China. Clearly, the United States and Canada are the top 2 teams in women's Olympic hockey, with Canada going undefeated and outscoring opponents 41-2. Just earlier today, they beat Sweden 9-1 to reach the gold medal game.

In the men's hockey, the United States and Sweden remain the only undefeated teams. The United States top highlight was beating Canada last night in a thrilling upset victory. I give Ryan Miller the star of the game for this one. He posted 42 saves in a game where Canada outshot the U.S. 45-22. Brian Rafalski also made huge contributions with 2 goals and an assist. The ending of this game was one of the most exciting I have watched since last year's Stanley Cup playoffs. This win gives the United States the top seed going into the playoff round and knocks Canada out of the first round bye. This is a huge let down for the 1-1-1-0 Canada team (1 is for overtime win) who many thought would be the top team in the Olympics.

As a Washington Capitals fan, I have to mention the play of Alex Ovechkin in the Olympics. He is showing his electrifying play on the world stage now. He has 2 goals, 2 assists, and a +2 in the 3 games. Ovechkin's biggest and most talked about play of the Olympics was his hit on Jaromir Jagr during the Russia vs Czech Republic game. Ovechkin made a crushing hit on Jagr that let to a Russia goal. If you have not seen it, check it out on You Tube immediately. Overall, Russia is 2-0-0-1. Russia alost to Slovakia in a shootout, so they take the 3rd spot after the U.S. and Sweden. Both the top dogs, Canada and Russia, went down once, but do not count them out for the Gold Medal just yet. Both teams are stacked and can easily make the medal run.

I am very proud of how well the U.S. men's and women's teams have performed. It is great to see my country doing well, not only in hockey, but in the entire Olympics. The USA currently has the most medals of any country. I am excited to watch the U.S. hockey teams continue in the quest for the gold medal. The women's final is Thursday, Feb 25 at 6:30. The men's final is Sunday at 3:15. Hopefully one of them can pull it off. If I cannot see the U.S. men's team in the finals, I would love to see Russia vs Canada. As I said, these are two teams with many great players. And how great would it be to watch the Great 8 and Sid the Kid add more fire to their rivalry by playing in the Olympics? Both stars could help lead their countries to the Gold Medal game. First Caps vs Penguins, then Russia vs Canada. It does not get much better than that.

Maryland Terrapins Pull Off Win At Buzzer

Yesterday, the Maryland Terrapins improved to 9-3 in the ACC by beating Georgia Tech with a last second shot by Cliff Tucker. With 3 seconds left in the game, Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech gets an offensive rebound and scores the bucket, giving Georgia Tech a 74-73 lead. The Terps pass the ball inbounds to Greivis Vasquez, who banks in a long 3 pointer, giving the Terps the victory with no time left. Or so everyone thought. Maryland coach Gary Williams had called a timeout so the basket did not count.

After the timeout, Maryland gets the ball at half court. Vasquez inbounds the ball to Cliff Tucker who becomes the unlikely hero when he sinks a 3 pointer with no time left giving Maryland the 76-74 victory. Maryland remains unbeaten at home vs ACC teams and 9-3 overall. This win helps their bid towards the NCAA tournament. What an ending!

You can see the replay here:
a href = http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=300510120

Starcraft 2 Finally Within Sight

The original Starcraft video game came out in 1998. If you have not heard of it, talk to any gamer and I am sure they have. After 11+ years of waiting for a sequel to the great strategy game, it is finally drawing near. Blizzard has finally announced that Starcraft 2: Wing of Liberty will be out in Fall 2010. 12 years later, gamers will finally be able to play the sequel to one of the best strategy games of all time. And us Starcraft fans are ecstatic.

I myself started playing in 2000. A few of my friends had mentioned what a great game it was so I decided to check it out. Well I loved the game and I played many hours with my friends in high school and college. I remember talking to my friends at school about games we played the night before. Once I got to college, we set up LAN connections to play with other people in my dorm. Starcraft became a hit among most of my friends. We played all the time for about a year. From about 2000-2007, Starcraft would never die. If there were a few months where I did not play, one of my friends brought up the idea again and we would play for a while again. Starcraft is still my favorite strategy game to this day, and I am not sure there is any other video game I have played more. I just hope that my high expectations for the sequel can be met.

To see more about the game coming out, check out the following links:
http://www.vgrevolution.com/2010/02/starcraft-2-wings-of-liberty-enters-closed-beta/

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/reviews/2010/02/a-night-with-starcraft-2-things-to-do-in-the-beta.ars/

A list of Starcraft 2 gameplay videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/hdstarcraft?blend=1&ob=4

The ORIGINAL Boondock Saints is Back

Back in high school, I heard a few great things about a movie called The Boondock Saints. I had never heard about it being in theaters, or knew anything about the movie. Then, in September 2002, I was able to get my hands on a copy of the unrated version of this movie. I read the summary briefly and it seemed interesting enough. I loved the next 2 hours of my life. I had never seen a movie like this before. It was so unique, so entertaining, and of course, so violent. To this day, The Boondock Saints is still one of my favorite movies. I have had a big "Saints" poster on my wall for the last couple years. Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flannery, and Norman Reedus play excellent roles in this cult classic.

After I watched it, I remember wishing I had seen it in theaters. Near the end of 2009, they made a sequel. I was super excited, but also skeptical. This movie was decent, but it was not the same as the brilliant original film. My friends and I thought "if only the original Boondock Saints was in theaters."

Well soon we, along with all the other fans of the cult classic, will get our wish. It was brought to my attention today by a co-worker that the original movie will be released for one day only in theaters. Yes, The Boondock Saints will be in some theaters nationwide for one night only. This night is March 11 at 7:30. And I cannot wait!

Check out the link for more details and ticket information:
The Boondock Saints 10th Anniversary

A Man's Ideal Valentine's Day Date

As the Hallmark holiday of the year approaches this Sunday, guys around the country scramble for how they can impress their wife, girlfriend, or just some girl who they want to get with. Guys search through their minds and the Internet, while girls hope the guy can remember to do ANYTHING decent. Yes, this weekend is Valentine's Day. I'm not sure why this has become so popular a day, but I know a lot of girls love it. Shouldn't your significant other be showing his love for you all the time? Though I admit, it is true that sometimes we need a reminder.

So the man weighs his options and decides on what he wants to do to impress the girl. But what would he do if it were up to him? What is REALLY the ideal Valentine's Day date for a man? Check out the link below...personally I would skip everything on the list until 10:45:
Ideal Valentine's Date From A Guy's Perspective

P.S. I did NOT find this link myself on The Frisky. It was given to me by MY Valentine's Day date. Therefore, you cannot remove my man card.

10 Super Bowl Observations

Yes, I am a couple days late giving my Super Bowl comments. Forgive me, as I have been busy dealing with work and the 2010 blizzard. By now, everyone knows that Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints managed to beat Peyton Manning and the Colts, 31-17. But alas here they are, my 10 Super Bowl observations:

1. Tracy Porter (Saints cornerback) is my top defensive player for the playoffs. He not only intercepted Peyton Manning for a pick-6 to seal the victory in the Super Bowl, but he was also the same player who intercepted Brett Favre in the NFC Championship game to send it to overtime. And we all know how that played out.

2. As a Skins fan, I have to give props to Greg Williams' defense. Williams found a way to hold the Colts potent offense to 17 points, and only 7 in the final 3 quarters. Not to mention the 7 points Porter added on. Don't point out to me the fact that the Colts had 423 total yards, 110 more than the Saints. The Saints' defense stopped the Colts when it mattered.

3. If Pierre Garcon catches that ball across the middle of the field in the second quarter, does this game take a different turn?

4. Is anyone else surprised that the Super Bowl record for number of completions was passed in the THIRD QUARTER? Manning and Brees combined for 63 total.

5. Onto another Pierre, the PT Cruiser continues to impress me. While Pierre Thomas' numbers are never gaudy in the passing offense, he manages to make big plays every game and escape would-be tacklers. Maybe I am a bit biased because he was on 2 of my fantasy teams.

6. 23 year-old kicker Garrett Hartley continues to impress for the Saints. He broke a Super Bowl record by making 3 40+ yard field goals.

7. Drew Brees capped off a phenomenal year by leading his team to a Super Bowl win and tying the Super Bowl record with 32 completions. I have been impressed with Brees since his time in San Diego, and I am glad he was able to finally win the big one.

8. Despite only having 1 Super Bowl win, Peyton Manning is still one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He is consistently excellent every year, makes simply amazing passes, and basically runs the offense himself. I do not think it is fair that some people say since he does not have the rings, he is not one of the greatest. Enjoy watching him these last few years of his career.

9. I heard that only 11 Colts fans were present in Indianapolis to welcome the Colts back from their monster season that just fell short. Isn't that awful??

10. Congratulations to the Super Bowl Champion Saints and the entire city of New Orleans. I am happy to see the team win the championship.

Ovechkin Leads Caps' Rally for 14th Straight Win

Well I managed to escape from my snowed-in apartment just in time to catch the Caps play the Penguins. Thankfully, I was able to leave the lack of power, heat, a cell phone, and civilization in time to catch the NHL game of the week. I drove a few miles and walked a few blocks to find a TV for this game. And boy what a game it was!

For us Caps fans, it did not start out well. Sidney "Crybaby" Crosby scored two quick goals in the first period to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Alex Ovechkin struck for his first goal on a breakway to turn the deficit back to one. But the lead was eventually increased to 4-1 by Jordan Staal with 6:53 left in the second period. It was not looking good for the Capitals, especially because at this point Mike Knuble, Ovechkin, and Nicklas Backstrom were all out of the game with penalties. Questionable penalties had been called during the game and a specific non-call when Ovechkin was laid into the boards by Pittsburgh winger Craig Adams. This is when the Capitals never-say-die offensive type of hockey kicked in.

Riding their 13 game winning streak, Ovechkin and the Caps were not ready to lose yet. Eric Fehr scored a goal on his own rebound near the end of the second period to cut the deficit to only 4-2. Then the Great 8, Alex Ovechkin, struck twice in the 3rd period to tie up the game 4-4. Ovechkin finished with the hat trick and added and assist. I swear, I have never seen a player quite like him. He missed several games this year and still currently leads the league in top categories. Well he did it once again to tie this game. To help finish the job, Ovechkin got an assist in overtime on Mike Knuble's game winning goal. Ovechkin's shot went through traffic to hit the post, the Knuble poked the puck through Marc-Andre Fleury's pads to end the game in a Caps win. What an exciting game to lead off Super Bowl Sunday! And that makes it 14 consecutive wins in a row for the Capitals. Now they are chasing the best streak ever of 17 wins by who else but the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Capitals Win 11th in a Row to Set Franchise Record

Last night, the Washington Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1, giving them their 11th consecutive victory and a franchise record. The Capitals were down 1-0 after the first, but Mike Knuble scored early in the second period to tie the game 1-1. Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, and Alex Ovechkin helped finish the job with one goal each in the third. The win also gave the Capitals an NHL-best 82 points, while the San Jose Sharks lost and now have 81 points.

This is a great time for Caps fans. If you read my post from before, you know how thrilled I am that the Capitals pulled it off. The Capitals are playing better than ever now, and if they can keep it up they will definitely be the favored to go to the Stanley Cup finals from the Eastern Conference. They have a 10 point lead on the second place team, New Jersey. After two disappointing postseasons, is this finally the year of the Capitals? Only time will tell.

Capitals Play for Franchise Record Tuesday in Boston

I was born, raised, and still live in the Washington D.C. area and I love the Washington Capitals. My parents are both Capitals fans. I have been a hockey fan from the time I was 5 and playing with hockey figures inside a cardboard box in my room. I knew all the Caps players and a majority of the rest of the players around the NHL by the time I was 9. I had collected hockey cards and loved the sport. I knew more about the sport at 9 years old then I do now. Except for a few years surrounding the hockey strike, I have been a huge fan of the Capitals ever since. It is for these reasons that I am super excited that the Capitals could break the franchise record.

The Capitals beat the Lightning 3-2 at the Verizon Center on Sunday to tie the franchise record of 10 straight wins. Our MVP Alex Ovechkin scored the game winning goal in the third period to lead the Capitals to victory and give them a chance to win 11 straight for the first time ever. Boston is not the powerhouse they were last season at #1. In fact, they are #11 in the Eastern Conference right now and have lost 5 in a row. I still do not think they should be taken lightly. They have some good players and quality goalies, but hopefully the Capitals can pull off the win in Boston.

The Capitals have a high-powered offense (on pace for 319 goals this season!), the best goals for versus goals against in the NHL, and are playing better than ever right now. Since Coach Bruce Boudreau has decided to keep his lines the same, the Capitals have won 10 straight and 13 of their last 14 games. Backstrom, Semin, and Knuble are an amazing first line followed by Semin, Laich, and Fleischmann. The two following lines provide a great supporting cast and the defense has been playing better lately. If the Caps can keep it going, they will break the franchise record in their best season for years.