Caps/Pens 24/7 HBO Series - Ep. 4

First and foremost, I'm quite sorry for taking a couple day to get this out.  This week has been absolutely amazing, but I've been doing so much that I don't think I really gave too much attention to this show on Wednesday night.  I needed some time in order to fully put my thoughts together.

Episode 4 is the final installment of the Caps/Pens 24/7 HBO Series.  It's only been one month of this, but it's been an amazing month for hockey.  I would almost say "a perfect month for hockey", however I'm really starting to hate the usage of the word "perfect" so I won't say that.

After setting up people and teams in the first 2 episodes, I've been pleasantly surprised that the last 2 episodes have been devoted to the Capitals/Penguins games.  The final installment of the series was, and certainly should have been, almost entirely Winter Classic.  Ok, maybe not entirely ... maybe it was just 30 minutes but who's counting really?  After a bit about how Crosby's point streak ends, and he shaves that awful teenager's mustache, and how creepy Matt Cooke's kid looks in a suit that looks exactly like his dad's, HBO moves right into Winter Classic stuff.  I have to say right here, now, and in type ... Marc Andre Fleury is definitely my favorite Penguins player (with Brent Johnson a close second after our New Years Eve experience).   The guy is hilarious and came just short of saying "now, go away or I shall taunt you a second time" during the Winter Classic practice shootout.  It was really good to see how the NHL executives were sitting around with the weatherman to see what the best time for the game to be played was.  I think some people would argue that 8pm wasn't great, since it rained in the 3rd period, but I thought the game was awesome under the lights the whole night.

Then it was game time.  Shots going back and forth between locker rooms, and one of the greatest scenes I've seen in reality TV ... Bruce Boudreau taping up that shitbum Mark Madden's article on the white board.  The game footage was awesome.  I love that HBO had the referees mic-ed up too.  It's good to hear that referees aren't cardboard cutouts with a string you pull in order to recite random rules and consequences.  There are certainly times I wish I could say some of that to college soccer coaches/players.  The game moves on, goals are scored, Crosby runs into Dave Steckel, and Ovechkin is heard screaming "We're going to win it" (or something close to that because all I hear is Adrian yelling at Rocky right now).  Ovechkin's joy in winning this one hockey game was extremely prevalent at the end.  Then HBO does what it does best ... a montage of sounds, pictures, and quotes that make you love being a hockey fan or makes you really want to become a hockey fan if you weren't one.  All in all, this was a fantastic month of hockey.

I leave this show with some thoughts and questions:

• Who did you learn the most about throughout the series?  Is what you learned good or bad?
• Would you watch the series on HBO next season, even if it's not a team that you specifically follow?
• Did it seem like Matt Cooke even got under the skin of the referees?  I think that's when your "agitator role" has gone too far.

To answer my own questions:

• I learned that Sidney Crosby is one hell of a competitor, a good leader, has an awful lot of superstitions, and does seem to complain as much as people speculated.  I feel like I've learned some good things that makes me appreciate what Crosby does more than I did before ... as long as he's not playing the Capitals that night.  Ditto for Dan Bylsma.  That man is just wired to be a hockey coach.
• I would definitely watch this series every year.  I think the fact that it was during the season makes for some great banter within the locker rooms.  I feel like this year's 24/7 was only the beginning of what's to come in the future.
• Matt Cooke creeps me out.  He's the type of player that would really have to get knocked around in order to draw a penalty call.  Referees don't like hearing from players all the time, and honestly the more you whine and complain the less a referee sees.  It's just the way it goes ... only one sense can be used at a time, I guess.

PS:  I love those white Winter Classic jerseys under the lights ... I almost cried when I realized the series was over.

Winter Classic Weekend 2011

Winter Classic 2011, Caps win 3-1

Well ... I almost wonder if there's a better way, to bring in a new year, than the weekend I just had in Pittsburgh.

Our journey starts on New Year's Eve.  A quick 4.5 hour drive to Pittsburgh with Kim and Melissa is a great time ... there was no texting done, just twittering.  We've gotten to the hotel and it's time for the festivities to begin.  First order of business ... head to Heinz Field to pick up my media credential, as the Asst. Director of Hockey Operations for the FaceOff Hockey Show.  At this point of the trip, a huge thanks needs to head out to ScottyWazz ... who not only hooked me up with getting all the credential request forms filled out, but also took the time to correct my picture.  Making me a happy kid to see my actual face on one of these things ... it's been years.  With that taken care of and my media gift picked up, it was time to take in the Little Caps game going on outside of Heinz Field.  This was the moment all hell would break loose, for this was when the decision to move the Winter Classic to 8pm on New Year's Day came out ... subsequently followed by a mass text that just read "Hotel Bar at 7pm ... we have plenty of time to sober up tomorrow."  The NHL has just given us a window to have an amazing New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve in Pittsburgh was great ... there were Caps fans everywhere, but that's most likely attributed to the fact that we're the out-of-towners.  Dinner was scheduled for 9pm at Nakama Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar.  We hit up Mario's for a quick drink or two, started a huge USA chant when the World Junior team scored, and rolled to dinner.  While waiting for our table, Brent Johnson came into the restaurant.  Johnny is an absolutely amazing person.  He took the time to come over to our table, say hi, talk for a bit, and allowed the Caps fans to show our appreciation for him.  Even though he's a Penguins player now, we still love Johnny for everything he did in a Caps uniform, and we even offered to take Fleury out so he could play in the Winter Classic.  He wouldn't take us up on that offer though lol.  Dinner was great ... a bit of sushi, shrimp, and steak for me along with a "Let's Go Caps" chant every time the cook would slap the spatula on the grill three times.  After dinner we headed to Fin McCool's to prepare for the ball dropping.  In an evil twist of fate, I would bring in 2011 smelling like smoke ... since apparently it's still cool to smoke in bars in Pittsburgh.  My lack of ability to breathe would not stop me from participating in another "Let's Go Caps" chant with a minute remaining in 2010.  It wasn't smart for the DJ to turn down the music ... not with Ilan there.  Caps fans ringing in the new year, chanting in a south side Pittsburgh bar ... it can't get better than this.

The fog, and the plot, thicken

New Year's Day was dreary when we got up ... all except for seeing Marc, sans shirt but wearing aviators and a set a Capitals Winter Classic Mardi Gras beads.  Talk of tailgating starts as soon as people awake from the night before.  Mimosas and New York style bagels are the way to start off the day, and after a bit of a nap a full fledged Capitals tailgate will occur in the parking lots of Heinz Field.  Even though we were surrounded by Penguins fans, the pregame festivities went off without a hitch.

I left the group and headed for the press box to take up residence for the game.  The box was huge and the view of the field was amazing.  There was a buzz of anticipation in the air and the night time Winter Classic was just as fantastic as everyone could have imagined.  The lights of Heinz Field lit up the night sky and there was a white hockey rink in the middle of the field.  The coolest part of the press box (aside from getting fed and filled up on Pepsi) was listening to the NHL stat spotter throughout the game.  Every shot was recorded with a "shot, #__", every save, blocked shot, and even faceoff wins.  Sitting in there and "talking" with listeners via twitter was cool, but I needed to get out ... needed some fresh air.  I packed up between the 2nd and 3rd and made my way outside ... to brave the elements and take in the experience.  The 3rd period was a bit rainy but I don't think that alone killed off anyone's enthusiasm for the game ... no, the killing was left up to Eric Fehr.  Two goals on the night from Eric Fehr and a stellar goaltending effort out of Semyon Varlamov staked the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 Winter Classic victory.  The Caps are now 1-0 in outdoor games that I've attended in my lifetime.



I took some things away from the weekend:
1.  I truly have a great group of friends.
2.  Pittsburgh is a smaller city than I expected, but the people were amazing.  Most every Penguins fan I met was really nice and actually were thankful that Capitals fans came up to make the game an amazing experience for everyone involved.
3.  It only takes a select few people to be assholes though, and I love the "at least we have a Cup" retort.  I'm sorry Pens fans ... be sad that your team lost the Winter Classic and move on.  Congrats on winning Cups, however New Years Day 2011 wasn't your day.  It was a day for Caps fans all over the world.
4.  Caps fans came to Pittsburgh in numbers and were beating dat beat up all over town.

Thank you to all that were involved in this past weekend.  It was an amazing way to open up 2011, and I can only hope the year gets better from here.  There's a lot for the rest of the year to live up to, but it's even been a bit better since getting home.  I can't wait for Wednesday to come ... the final installment of Caps/Pens 24/7 should be a great culmination to this month of hockey celebration.

Caps/Pens 24/7 HBO Series - Ep. 3

Wow.  Just wow.

Episode 3 is exactly what I wanted out of this HBO show.  I kindof lost track of time while watching everything going on, but I'd have to estimate that 30 minutes of the show was devoted to just the Capitals/Penguins game on December 23.  Absolutely amazing to see how one game, played by 2 great teams, can be covered when there are 16 cameras and an all-access pass into places that people just don't see/hear.

I'll get this out of the way now ... hearing Crosby bitch and cuss at the referees was amazing (which is nothing more than Mike Green does in the first episode), but not for the reason you think.  If you've read this enough, you know I'm a Caps fan ... always have been and always will be.  The reason I find the whining so amazing is because you always hear about "Crosby's compete level" ... "Crosby's passion" ... "Crosby's (insert any noun that shows how someone always wants to win)" but we haven't seen it at all in the first two episodes.  We finally got to see that.  We finally got to see Crosby fighting hard, wanting penalties, and getting pissy when the referee shakes him off.  As a hockey fan, it's amazing ... as a Caps fan, it's funny to see what everyone in the league has been talking about for years.  Oh, and on a side note ... that "trip" on Ovechkin was a makeup call for Crosby bitching that he got high sticked going to the goal.

I was hoping to see another Mike Knuble type rah rah rant from the Capitals, but it just didn't come.  This team was confident ... no matter what the Pens players/coaches/families were saying about Neuvy.  It was great to see Ovechkin go off on the referees after that "tripping" call.  Nobody talks about how competitive Ovi is, but it comes out in that one scene ... although if you've been watching at all, it's not the first time in this series it's happened.  I was saddened by the lack of fist pumping though.

This whole show was just great.  HBO got away from the closet confessionals because I was either not paying attention or only saw 2 interviews.  I loved how HBO allowed the Caps/Pens game to be the game.  There were long stretches of show time where the narrator was just not there.  HBO allowed the game to speak for itself ... the players/coaches within the game ... the announcers of the game ... and sometimes even the fans.  That was really the only part I had a problem with.  The fan interaction with the HBO cameras looked forced or even put on.  The "We Want Pittsburgh/Crosby Sucks" chant, although spontaneous during the Devils game seemed like it was started for HBO ... either that or they brought people back to the arena to reenact it.  The "OT Video Review Guy" actually scared me.  And then, like HBO knew something wasn't right, they cut directly into interaction between the on ice refereeing crew and Toronto.  Something else that as a hockey fan is amazing to see.

This show had the normal, family time aspect that shows before had.  Which is great to see professional hockey players as normal people like you and me (just with a bunch more money obviously), but what really made the show was that one game.  50 minutes into the show I realized it was almost over, and then thought "didn't both of these teams play again that week".  HBO stuffed both the Caps and the Pens games into about 4 minutes of show time, showing both games at the same time.  Then added the "money shot".  An amazing shot, coming through one of the section entrances at Heinz Field, with the Winter Classic rink being built right there in front of you.  A fitting end to a fantastic show and an amazing intro for this weekend's game.

Episode 3 of this 4 part series was masterful.  HBO glossed over some of the other games played within the week, but that's understandable.  Both Andrew Gordon and Ben Lovejoy got some great praise for scoring their first NHL goals, and that welt on the side of Lovejoy's face looked awful once he got off the plane.  I hope next week's show is almost all Winter Classic, and then HBO puts out a DVD box set that shows a lot more footage that just didn't make it into the shows.  I'll be first in line the day that hits the shelves.

Caps/Pens 24/7 HBO Series - Ep. 2

Ok ... so I watched this last night, after the Faceoff Hockey Show: Christmas Edition.  I'm hoping I took in all that I saw at 11pm, but will certainly update this later (once I watch it for the second time).

The first thing I took from this episode ... George McPhee is the [expletive deleted] man.  He's amazingly cool, calm, and collected as he's taking the losing streak in stride.  That's not to say he's not feeling the pressures of it, it's just that he's not showing it to us and especially not showing it to the players/coaching staff of the Capitals.  I think I like Matt Hendricks more than I did before.  He's been great for this team, and filled a role that needed to be filled.  It was good seeing the behind the scenes stuff again ... as this show really should be all about.  It was good to see the Capitals happy, for the first time since this show started shooting, and better to watch Karl Alzner and John Carlson try to dance (to the Unofficial Victory Anthem of the Capitals.  Absolutely amazing.  The Penguins pieces of this week seemed to be toned down a bit.  Maybe the 2 game losing streak changed the mood, or maybe it was the way the show was cut.  It's good to see Malkin playing well, and not injured, it's interesting to see the trials of Jordan Staal, and it was cool to see Mario put down the chicken fingers and get back on the ice.  I've never been a huge Lemeuix fan, but you can't deny the fact that he has amazing hands and could finish.  He still looks like he skates just as fast as he used to also.  Matt Cooke is a(n) [expletive deleted] (insert whatever expletive you want to really), but the jokes he played on Biznasty were kindof funny.  I wonder how long it took him to get those pieces of bubble gum from the gloves lol.  The best Penguins part of the two shows so far has been the player evaluation meetings after games.  How Tony Granato doesn't have a head coaching job somewhere is beyond me.  There's a wealth of riches when it come to that Penguins coaching staff.

24/7 has been great for any casual sports fan and the hardcore hockey fan alike.  The amazing thing about the show, is that I fully expect it to get better in the last 2 episodes.  Tonight's Caps/Pens game will be awesome, with about 16 HBO cameras descending on the Verizon Center.  This will certainly be the most coverage that one hockey game has ever gotten.  I almost wish they could do a whole hour show just on tonight's game.  Maybe that'll be in a DVD form in the future.  Then you'll have a bit more filler for next week before the crescendo into the Winter Classic.  2 Caps/Pens games within 10 days is perfect for HBO, viewers of the 24/7 series, and hockey fans alike.

I know I'm excited for the next 10 days of my life.

UPDATE: How did I completely forgot about Arturs Irbe? Man it's good to see that guy, and hopefully he brings some stability to the Caps goaltending. It's great having a goalie coach that played in the NHL for so long, and can communicate quite well with the Capitals young goaltending tandem.

Caps/Pens 24/7 HBO Series - Ep. 1

So ... first of all, I know what you're thinking.  2 posts in the same week, man this guy must be bored.  On some levels that is certainly correct, but this is the calm before the storm.  Come January, all hell breaks loose at work ... so get 'em while you can.

On to the real reason I'm back ... back again.  The Capitals/Penguins 24/7 HBO Series kicked off on Wednesday, however I got around to watching it last night.  I have to say, it's damn good and not just the parts that are about the Capitals.  The Penguins players showed to have personalities ... at least the ones on the episode 1.  Max Talbot showed to have a pretty hilarious personality.  I still find him full of himself, and episode 1 didn't do anything to change that perception, but hey he's having fun being who he is.  Pascal Dupruis has a big family that he leaves for Pens away games, and he has a huge TV in his living room too.  It was also interesting to see how some players were a bit shy when a camera was put into a place that it's not normally in their lives.  One of the funnier parts of the first episode was when MA Fleury and others put an entire hotel room's worth of furniture into the hallway, for the rookies to clean up and put back into their room.  All in all, as a Capitals fan (and someone that's predestined to hate the Penguins), the Penguins came off in a decent light after episode 1.  The Capitals side to everything was quite interesting to me, or probably was to anyone who's grown up with sports being a big piece of their life.  Yes, this is a job for these players ... Yes, they are playing a sport and getting paid a ton of money for it ... But in no way does that change the passion they have for hockey.  Like I said earlier in the week, the Caps have had a rough go of things lately.  I believe they're evolving into a better team, but that's a post for another day.  When the coach gets so incensed with the way the team plays that a full 30 second timeout is devoted to dropping F-bombs ... that shows passion.  I might have to head back to the iTunes and listen to the "uses for the work f*ck".  About halfway through the show, I think Bruce Boudreau had "Bingo" on his card.  I'm certain of one thing though, the fact that the Caps are in a losing streak and the Pens are in a winning streak certainly showed the contrasts between the two emotion sets.  I'd like to see some Caps winning and Pens losing, just to see how the Pens handle adversity for a bit.

It wasn't all good though.  The interview sections of the show really creep me out.  I feel like they could have done away with the Big Brother type of closet confessional.  The camera is way too close to the player's faces, and I'm not sure what's going on with the lighting from below.  Although, I'm sure the ladies loved seeing Brooks Laich, up close and personal.

In the end, this is exactly what hockey needs.  The games ... being shot from multiple angles, and with players mic-ed up (which catches some of Ovechkin's brilliance when he tells the referee that John Michael Liles might just have sensitive skin after Alex Semin cuts him with a cross check).  The players ... shown having personalities and being people, with lives and families.  The management ... having to make decisions on who to bring up, who to sit, how to deal with injuries and sickness.  All in all, this is truly an all access look into hockey, and it's more than most fans will ever see.  However, being around sports for most of my life ... it's exactly what I was hoping to see.

Trouble and Something New

So ... as I write this, the Washington Capitals are stuck deeply in a 6 game losing streak.  I'm not going to sugar coat this thing, I like how the sky is falling.  I like how bloggers, "fans", and even the team are confused and mad that this is happening (I don't like how people are making it sounds like the trade for a shut down defenseman is somehow contributing to this slide).  Maybe this will drop some of the bandwagon fans that don't realize the Capitals organization hasn't been all about winning ... as they have been in recent years.  Not that there is anything wrong with bandwagon fans, but when I start hating fans for the hockey team that I love ... it's gone too far.  But I digress.  I don't see this losing streak as a bad thing at all.  The Caps went on a 15 game winning streak last season, and it didn't translate into playoff success, so maybe this will work the same way ... just in an opposite direction.  I'm perfectly fine with the Caps having a 10 game losing streak, having to fight to win the SouthEast Division, the Eastern Conference, or the President's Trophy, and going into the playoffs a far stronger team than they are right now.  It certainly seemed to work for the Penguins of 2 years ago, and the Flyers of last season.

Now, as for something new ... I'm playing ice hockey this weekend.  I fully plan on making a fool of myself in front of a bunch of friends and some people that I barely know.  It's going to be awesome.  Sadly though, I haven't been able to get out much to skate.  I strapped on the roller blades and skated for a bit on Saturday.  Good news ... I can still skate.  Bad news ... I'm in awful shape (or not in "hockey" shape).  Man this weekend is going to be tough, but it'll be awesome at the same time.  I hope some people can make it out because I'm not sure how many more times this will happen.

Back to my Life

Well soccer season is over.  I've made it through another fall season.  This season I didn't referee as many games as I have in the past, however most all of them were college level games and far more intense.  Thankfully I'm in a place now where I have nothing to do and a good mental defrag can finally occur.  It's time to get my life back in order now.

Once Thanksgiving is over, it's time to actually see friends.  Hang out at Capitals games or at the bar.  Catch up on what I've missed over the past couple months.  Start reading the Bourne Trilogy and rewatch the movies one by one.  Get out and complete my holiday shopping, although completing the thought of what I'd like to get for important people in my life is probably a good first step.  It's also time to look into my house hunting ventures ... hopefully I'll have a new place to call my own in the near future.

So, the transition begins however not without a bit of time to sit and relax.