Crunch Time for the Caps

Photo by John Arundel If Caps fans make enough noise, stranger things have happened.

ALEXANDRIA, VA. -- Game 7 will be a decisive one for the Washington Capitals when they take on the Montreal Canadiens at the Verizon Center Wednesday night. A loss by the Caps could result in a full autopsy.
 
This article is being written mid-day April 26, therefore as of this chronological juncture the Capitals have not disposed of the Montreal Canadiens just yet.

Currently, the Caps lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals series 3 games to 2.

The Caps visited Montreal April 26 in game six of the series (7 pm).

With a win in the province of Quebec, Washington would advance to the Eastern Conference semi-final round.

Photo by John Arundel Game 7 will be a decisive one for the Washington Capitals

Should the Canadiens win on their home ice and tie the contest at three games apiece, the series will return to Washington for the deciding game in the series on April 28.

In recapping the five games played thus far, Washington won games two, three and four by the respective scores of: 6-5 (OT), 5-1 and 6-3.

On the other hand, Montreal won games one and five by the respective scores of 3-2 (OT) and 2-1.

In looking at the history of hockey, Paul Joseph writes in his book entitled HOCKEY (published in 1996) the following on page 5 - "HOW HOCKEY BEGAN - The game of hockey has been around for many years. Some historians believe hockey was first played in Northern Europe hundreds of years ago. It is said that a young boy and some friends were ice skating on a pond. The young boy picked up a long branch and used it to help him balance. He saw a rock and started pushing it with the branch.

The other children with him began doing the same. Soon they set up goals and began playing what we know today as "hockey."

Whether or not hockey came to Canada from Europe is not known. But the first official hockey game, with written rules, was played in 1875 at McGill University in Montreal. These "McGill rules," as they were called, are the basis for hockey rules used today.

The game of hockey is very popular in the United States, Canada and Northern Europe. It is becoming more popular every year. Because of its fast pace, hockey is a lot of fun. Once players know the basics, they can play the game and see why it is so popular."

Regarding Major League Baseball, the Washington Nationals won six of 10 games in their most recent homestand and currently are just a game and a half out of being tied for first place in the National League East standings with a record of 10-9.

On Sunday April 25th, the Nats disposed of the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0, behind a very strong pitching performance by left-hander Scott Olsen.

Photo by John Arundel Caps owner Ted Leonsis.

The 26-year old struck out eight in seven innings and scattered six hits overall.

Relief pitchers Tyler Clippard and Matt Capps recorded three outs apiece in the eighth and ninth innings respectively.

The Nats scored their lone run of the contest in the bottom of the first inning when first baseman Adam Dunn hit into a fielder's choice which scored leadoff batter/center fielder Nyjer Morgan from third base.

The current National League East standings are as follows: first-place Philadelphia boasts an 11-7 overall record, followed by: Florida (10-8), Washington (10-9), New York Mets (9-9) and Atlanta (8-9).

The Nats near-term schedule is as follows: April 26, 27 and 28 - at Chicago Cubs; April 30, May 1 and 2 - at Florida Marlins; May 4, 5 and 6 - home vs. Atlanta Braves and May 7, 8 and 9 - home vs. Florida Marlins.

In the book entitled "BASEBALL - Start Right and Play Well" by Bill Gutman (published 1990) - it states on pages 5-6 the following: "A BRIEF HISTORY" - No one can really say when man first used a bat or a club to hit an object through the air. Nor can anyone say for sure when this type of activity became a contest, or a game. But many feel that the forerunner of modern-day baseball might have been an English game called "stoolball," which was played several hundred years ago.

What is known is that a game similar to baseball was played in America during the nineteenth century. It slowly grew and began to look more and more like the sport we know today. A man named Alexander Cartwright wrote the first list of rules for baseball in 1845, and by 1869 there was a professional baseball team. It was called the Cincinnati Red Stockings, and in their first year the Red Stockings won 65 games and tied one.

Two years later, the first professional league was formed. It was called the National Association. The name was changed to the National League in 1876. The American League began in 1901. The two leagues made up major league baseball as we know it today.

The first World Series was played between the two leagues in 1903, the Boston Red Sox beating the Pittsburgh Pirates five games to three. The Series, played every fall, would become one of America's greatest sporting events.

There were many great players in the early years of baseball. Honus Wagner of Pittsburgh and Ty Cobb of Detroit were two of the best. Wagner was a shortstop, Cobb an outfielder. Two of the greatest pitchers of the day were Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants and Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators."

In summing up, even though Walter Johnson passed on many years ago - perhaps the 2010 Washington Nationals can achieve one of their finest seasons ever in calendar year 2010.

In the Nationals first five seasons in D.C., their overall records were as follows: '05 (81-81), '06 (71-91), '07 (73-89), '08 (59-102)* and '09 (59-103).

(The '08 season was 161 games total due to the final game of the season being rained out; whereas the other four seasons were 162 games).

The first three seasons were played at spacious RFK stadium and the most recent two seasons were played at somewhat cozy Nationals Park.