Sports
Sports Round-Up: The Week of 10-25-2009
The Washington Wizards opened their season with a win after a 102 to 91 victory in Dallas.
Gilbert Arenas had 29 points and solid defense by Washington sealed the win. The Wizards play again tonight in Atlanta. Tip-off is at 7:30 pm.
In Hockey, the Washington Capitals are on a six game winning streak. The Caps earned a 3 to 2 road victory Saturday against the New York Islanders.
On Tuesday they hosted the Philadelphia Flyers in the Verizon Center and won, 4 to 2. Last night, Washington traveled to Atlanta and beat the Thrashers 4 to 3.
Wsahington’s Alexander Ovechkin currently leads the league in goals with 13 and points with 22. The Capitals are now ranked second in the Eastern Conference, just behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Caps play again tonight at home against the New York Islanders. The puck drops at 7:00 pm.
In Football, the Washington Redskins suffered a 17 to 27 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Jason Campbell completed 29 of 43 passes for 284 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. The Redskins defense shut out the Eagles in the second half, but it wasn’t enough for Washington to make a comeback.
The team’s season record is currently 2 and 5, which puts them in last place for the NFC East. To the relief of many fans, the Redskins have their bye week this weekend. Their next game will be on November 8 at Atlanta.
Sports Round-Up: The Week of 10-18-2009
In Basketball, the Washington Wizards are playing their final preseason game tonight at Chicago. The Wizards enter their eighth and final preseason game with a respectable 4 and 3 record.
Last season, Washington won just 19 games in the regular season and had 63 losses. They had the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
In Hockey, the Washington Capitals are on a three game winning streak. The Caps beat the Nashville Predators in a 3 to 2 shoot-out victory.
Alexander Ovechkin scored all of Washington’s goals. The “Great 8” had 2 goals in regulation and one in the shootout to earn his first hat trick and win the game.
Last night, the Capitals traveled to Atlanta where they beat the Thrashers 5 to 4. The second period began with the game tied at 2 all, until Jeff Shultz, Matt Bradley, and Chris Clark all scored within two minutes of each of other. Caps goalie Simeon Varlamov was able to hold Atlanta to only two more scores to get his fourth win of the season.
Finally, in Football, the Washington Redskins lost to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday. The final score was 6 to 14.
The Redskins’ only scores came from a pair of field goals in the third period. Quarterback Jason Campbell was replaced by back-up Todd Collins for the second half of the game.
Head Coach Jim Zorn was recently forced to give up his play calling duties to Sherman duties. In a bit of breaking news, Redskins’ executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato announced today that Zorn will remain head coach for the remainder of the season.
Sports Round-Up: The Week of 9-18-09
In baseball, the Washington Nationals beat the Marlins last Friday in Florida, 5-3. The Marlins won Saturday’s game 3-11, but the Nats bounced back on Sunday to win the final game of the series 7-2.
The Nats had Monday off before traveling to Philadelphia for another three game series. The Phillies shut out Washington on Tuesday, winning 5-0.
The Nats managed one run in Wednesday’s 1-6 loss. The road trip ended with a 2-4 loss. The National’s season record is now 50 and 96. With only 12 games left in the season, the team could finish with the worst record in franchise history.
In tennis, 20-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina beat Roger Federer to become the men’s single champion at the US Open.
Coming into the match, Federer had won 40 consecutive matches and was on the verge of a sixth consecutive US Open title. .
Kim Clijsters from Belgium defeated Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark to take the women’s tittle. Clijsters was playing in her third tournament after more than two years in retirement.
The U.S. Open has set an attendance record with 721,059 spectators.
In Women’s Basketball, the Washington Mystics lost the first game of the Conference Semi-finals last night against Indiana. The final score was 88 to 79. Game two will be tomorrow night. Tip off is at 7 pm.
In Hockey, the Washington Capitals secured an overtime victory in their first pre-season game at Buffalo last night. Final score was 4 to 3.
Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier scored the game winning goal just 49 seconds into the over time while Washington had a two-man power play advantage. The Caps play again tomorrow night in Chicago to face the Blackhawks. The puck drops at 8:30 pm.
Finally, in Football, the Washington Redskins lost their season opener against the New York Giants, 17 to 23. Jason Campbell had a respectable showing, completing 19 of 26 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown.
The Redskins play their first game this season at home this Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. Kick-off is at 1 pm.
Despite their game-time struggles, Washington’s football franchise might be up for an even bigger battle off the field. Suzan Harjo, a 64-year-old American Indian writer, along with six other prominent American Indians and their legal are petitioning the Supreme Court this week to rule on whether the team name “Redskins” is too offensive to merit trademark.
Harjo first filed a legal challenge to the team name 17 years ago. In 1970, over 3,000 mascots nationwide referenced Native Americans. Today, that figure is below 1,000. Should Harjo and her team succeed, millions of dollars in Redskins’ merchandise, paraphernalia, and naming right will be at stake.
-Joe Lewis
Sports Round-Up: The Week of 9-11-09
In Baseball, the Washington Nationals avoided being swept in their three game series against the Phillies with an 8 to 7 victory in Philadelphia last night. The win brings the National’s season record to 48 and 92, which places them in dead last for all of Major League Baseball.
The Nats will be in Florida for the next three days to face the Marlins. Tonight’s game begins at 7:10 pm.
In Hockey, the Washington Capitals’ rookie prospects are taking their first trip for some live game action.
Bruce Boudreau will be leading an abridged roster of a dozen forwards, six defenseman, and two goalies to Philadelphia tomorrow to scrimmage against the Flyers’ rookie team. The game will be streamed live on-line at WashingtonCaps.com
Members of the 2009 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburg Penguins were invited to the White House yesterday.
The team received a guided tour of the building before going to a press conference in the East Room hosted by President Barack Obama. The Penguins presented Obama with a black No. 44 Penguins jersey with the captain’s “C” stitched on it. Obama held the Stanley Cup as he posed with the team for pictures.
In Football, the Washington Redskins open their season on Sunday in the Meadowlands to face the New York Giants.
The Redskins finished the preseason with an underwhelming 1 and 3 record. The Giants have won seven of the last 10 meetings against Washington. With the Giants moving to a new facility next season, Sunday will be the last time the Redskins ever play at the original Giants Stadium. Kick off is at 4:15 pm.
-Joe Lewis
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