On Friday, I skipped out of work early to go see Alex Ovechkin receive the key to the city.
It was great fun, despite the gazillion degree heat. I was certainly rockin’ the red in my face because it was so damn hot. Here are some of the things that I remember from the ceremony:

1. The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars sent out a contingent of Russian speakers with a giant flag to cheer Alex on, and yell “Good job!” in Russian. This would have worked better if there were not so many people in the crowd that their attempts to put up the flag were met with jeers, because the people behind them (including me) could not see the stage. Also, one of them was wearing one of those horrible counterfeit $5 red Caps hats that feature the old eagle logo on a bright red baseball hat. It looks really ugly.
2. Former Mayor Marion Barry was the first Council member on the steps, but I can’t begrudge him that because the Ballou High School Marching Band was on the scene, and doing an amazing job.
3. When Ballou wasn’t playing, cheers would rise up from the assembled crowd (about 200 people). Most of them were “MVP” but since Goat was in attendance, there was an attempt at a “Let’s Go Caps!” call and response.
4. Alex was funny and gracious and didn’t seem to be sweating at all. I don’t know how he managed to pull that off. Maybe because he sweats so much on the ice that a little bit of DC weather doesn’t faze him at all?

More photos available here:

aka: alexander ovechkin goes to the prom with some arm candy.
seriously, alex. i love your eurotrash ways, but did you pick up this outfit at After Hours while you were getting a trim at the hair cuttery? i expected something a LOT worse (re: awesome) but this is just mall-level meh.

as an aside, however, OMG ALEX OVECHKIN WON THE HART! MVP! MVP!
and he made an awesome speech!
okay, caps gloating over.

and what about bruce boudreau?

fairy tale of the season. i feel like bruce is our cinderella, coming up form the minors and those awful maroon shirts to coach of the year in a nice looking suit. yay!

no thoughtful analysis after the jump. just more snarking on the awards and the outfits. because while this isn’t the oscars, it’s pretty much the only sports event like it:


when i saw pavel datsyuk at the awards tonight , i just wanted to put him in a black turtleneck and make him sing french love songs. he looks like he belongs in a 1968 parisian variety show with serge gainsbourg. anyone else? anyone?

wow. who would have thought that zetterberg, who was approaching abominable snowman status at the end of the stanley cup finals, would clean up so nice?

and…actually, that’s it. not as many good paparazzi shots as i thought available on the wires. WHERE IS ONE OF BACKSTROM’S SWEDISH HAIRCUT? *sigh*

at any rate, it feels like the season is finally over, and i’m starting to miss hockey. riding my bike to the verizon to watch the awards just reminded me about how much i loved to ditch work and ride my bike to the games to watch people punch each other and feel better about all the people i wanted to punch. only a few weeks till prospect camp!

and the season is FINALLY over. FINALLY!
i hvae been ready for this to be over since the caps went out.
indeed, i skipped the next round of playoffs, and then only reemerged to root against the penguins.
and i am very happy with the outcome of this season.
but now i can concentrate once again on a brand new, shiny, 2008-2009 season, full of possibility and hope and lots and lots of delightful games.

so here’s been my stanley cup experience to date:
1. i miss game one because i’m at a bachelorette party in new orleans, wilting in the heat while people all around me sip hurricanes. detroit wins, in a shutout. i am happy.
2. i miss game two because i’m on a plane back from new orleans. detroit wins in another shutout. i am very happy.
3. i catch game 3 at a local sports bar with a friend who is a penguins fan. both detroit goals happen when i am in line for the restroom. detroit loses narrowly. i am not happy, except when alex ovechkin is interviewed during the second intermission.

so i think i might have to miss the rest of this series. if i watch, the penguins win. if i’m not watching, detroit scores. sigh. and i enjoy the hockey so much!

can NOTHING stop the penguins????
this is ridiculous!
i thought the flyers were a bunch of goons, ready to check anything and everything in their path, but instead we get a 3-0 series to date?
if sid the kid gets his hands on a stanley cup before alex, i’m going to be really really mad.

i had the feeling it was coming, but i wish we’d gotten a chance to say a proper goodbye to olie.

i mourned.
oh, boy, did i mourn.
i was in pennsylvania, in the heart of flyers country, for most of the final games in the series.
and i fell into a deep funk.
but now that the second round is over
and it is washington capitals day (and isn’t sean morrisonn a great sport?)
and we are looking at an eastern conference matchup of pittsburgh vs. philly,
i am BACK.

i’ll be damned if sid the kid gets to put his mitts on a stanley cup before alex.
so for the next few weeks, i’m going to put the sad first round behind me and cheer like hell for the flyers.

i have been traveling (in the philadelphia area, no less) in between hockey games, and haven’t had a chance to post anything about the games i’ve watched.
but let me just say that this wouldn’t hurt so bad if danny briere weren’t coming alive.
BRIERE?
BRIERE?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

okay. rant over. here’s hoping thursday’s game goes well.

i’m not making them. i’m too darn nervous for the caps to even analyze the matchups. and i’m a little sad that my two favorite teams have to play each other in the first round. plus, there are plenty of bona fide hockey blogs where you can find that sort of thing.

if this is not played over the PA system at some point during the playoffs, I am going to be sorely disappointed:
let’s go caps!