Fan Fest to Kickoff Training Camp

The Caps announced today that training camp will open up Friday, September 14th with a Fan Fest celebration. According to Caps PR department, "Fan Fest will feature autograph sessions with players, a town hall-style meeting with chairman and majority owner Ted Leonsis and a live broadcast by DC101's Elliot in the Morning Show. For each of the first three days of camp fans can play interactive hockey games and four of hockey's most prestigious trophies - the Calder, King Clancy, Norris and Vezina - will be on display.

Fan Fest also marks the first opportunity for fans to purchase the Capitals' new jerseys. The jerseys available at Fan Fest will be Rbk Premier Replicas without names or numbers; fans will have the opportunity to order personalization that day."

The team also announced it's practice schedule for training camp, which unlike the football team in town, are all open to the public free of charge.

2007 Washington Capitals Rookie Camp and Training Camp Schedule
Date Time Event

Sat., Sept. 8 Rookie Camp Opens
10:30 a.m. Rookie Camp practice (Capitals Rink)
Sun., Sept. 9 10:30 a.m. Rookie Camp practice (Capitals Rink)
Mon., Sept. 10 10:30 a.m. Rookie Camp practice (Capitals Rink)
Tues., Sept. 11 10:30 a.m. Rookie Camp practice (Capitals Rink)
Wed., Sept. 12 12:30 p.m. Rookie game vs. Philadelphia, Vorhees, N.J.
Thurs., Sept. 13 9 a.m. Off-ice testing and media availability (closed to the public)
Fri., Sept. 14 Training Camp Opens; single-game tickets available
10:30 a.m. Groups A and B practice (both rinks)
11:30 a.m. Group C practice/Groups A and B scrimmage (both rinks)
Sat., Sept. 15 10:30 a.m. Groups B and C practice (both rinks)
11:30 a.m. Group A practice/Groups B and C scrimmage (both rinks)
Sun., Sept. 16 9:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
3 p.m. at Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.
Mon., Sept. 17 10:30 a.m. Group A practice (Capitals Rink)
11:30 a.m. Group B practice (Public Rink)
Tues., Sept. 18 10:30 a.m. Groups A and B practice (both rinks)
Wed., Sept. 19 10:30 a.m. Groups A and B practice (both rinks)
11:30 a.m. Scrimmage (Capitals Rink)
Thurs., Sept. 20 Red Thursday
10:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
7 p.m. at Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
Fri., Sept. 21 Heroes Day
11:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
Sat., Sept. 22 10:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
7:30 p.m. at Tampa Bay, Tampa, Fla.
Sun., Sept. 23 Off
Mon., Sept. 24 10:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
Tues., Sept. 25 10:30 a.m. Morning skate (Capitals Rink)
11:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
7 p.m. vs. Carolina, Verizon Center
Wed., Sept. 26 10:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
7 p.m. at Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa.
Thurs., Sept. 27 Red Thursday
11:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
Fri., Sept. 28 10:30 a.m. Morning skate (Capitals Rink)
7 p.m. vs. Philadelphia, Verizon Center
Sat., Sept. 29 Kid's Day
11:30 a.m. Practice (Capitals Rink)
Sun., Sept. 30 10:30 a.m. Morning skate (Capitals Rink)
5 p.m. vs. Ottawa, Verizon Center
Mon., Oct. 1 TBD Caps Care Classic Golf Tournament, Springfield, Va.
All practices and morning skates at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va.

Quick Roster Notes

The Caps yesterday signed defenseman John Erskine to a new two-year contract.

• I don't know exactly what took so long to get this done, but he will provide more competition for the top six blue-line positions in training camp.
• Morrisonn, Poti, Pothier, Jurcina, Boumedienne, Schultz, Green, Eminger, Lepisto..... the list goes on and on. It's going to be an intense battle to get a sweater this fall.

The Hershey Bears signed defenseman Tyler Sloan to a contract for the upcoming '07-'08 season.

• With McNeill, Arsene, Collins, Dovgan, Hunt, and Pokulok along with several other veterans signed to AHL contracts, the Bears blue-line is looking just as crowded as Washington's. It's great to see so much depth on the defensive end heading into the season.

Redskins/Ravens Saturday Night

Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann will call the game for Comcast SportsNet. Hopefully we'll be treated to another zinger such as this video from last week's game.

Hershey Re-Signs Robitaille

The Bears have brought back agitator Louis Robitaille, a left winger who's a fan favorite in chocolatetown. Here's the link from Hershey's homepage.

Update: Robitaille and his girlfriend Lauren Young are expecting their first child in February. Congradulations Louis!

Patrik Stefan Heads to Europe

The former 1st overall pick of the 1999 entry draft has signed on to play with SC Bern in Switzerland. It's disappointing all-around, not only has he never lived up to his potential, but we'll never be able to see an encore of this performance. (Thanks to Spector for the reminder of this "great" play.)

Michael Vick Pleads Guilty

Not a big surprise really. Did he have any other choice??? With all the evidence and witnesses that the fed's are claiming to have against him, it's a no brainer on Vick's part.

The big question is, why would the fed's choose to go this route? They've made claims to the fact that they believe Michael Vick was the kingpin in this dogfighting operation and the one who financed it. So if this is true, why even negotiate a plea agreement?

If this case had gone to trial, Vick could have been sentenced to up to five years in prison. But that doesn't even begin tell the whole story. More charges would have been brought against him, including gambling and tax evasion that could have brought a sentence of over 20 years easy. Plus, the state of Virginia could have brought charges against him as well that could have seen a sentence of up to five years for every dog that he participated in killing.

The rumor has it that as part of the plea agreement Vick will have to serve anywhere from 12 to 36 months in the slammer. Plus, he most likely will not have to worry about any further charges in this incident from the fed's or the state.

Let's face it Vick got off easy. So what message does this send??? Is this another case of a celebrity getting a break that an average Joe wouldn't??? Or is this a fair sentence for such a barbaric and inhumane crime?

Either way, I still believe in my earlier prediction that Vick has already played his last game in the NFL. Whenever he eventually gets out of jail, he would still have to serve his suspension that the NFL will hand down, which could be anything from one year to a lifetime ban. Plus, there is going to be serious financial repercussion from the Atlanta Falcons as they will seek to recover a large portion of the $37 million in bonuses he received as part of his last contract signed in 2004.

Lack of Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I blame Madden '08 and my work schedule, which will see me spend over 12 hours today covering the Redskins pre-season game vs the Steelers. With all that I still haven't decided about the show tomorrow, might have to skip another one this week. I'll have an update on that Sunday morning.

Update: No show this week. I promise to pick up the show full-time again next week.

Stingrays Announce Pre-Season Games

From StingraysHockey.com:

For the first time, the Stingrays will play two home exhibition games at the Carolina Ice Palace in preparation for their regular season opener October 20 against the Columbia Inferno. The dates, opponents and times for the contests are: Friday, October 12 versus the Charlotte Checkers at 7:05 p.m., and Sunday, October 14 against the Augusta Lynx at 4 p.m.

Caps Draft Pick to Attend St. Cloud State

Goaltender Dan Dunn, the towering 6'5" sixth-round pick from the '07 draft, will be moving on from the Wellington Dukes to attend St. Cloud State this fall. From The Intelligencer.

He's definitely somebody worth keeping an eye on down the road.

What Not to Do When Reporting the News

As a broadcasting student, I especially found this interesting. I wonder if this anchor is still employed.

The Capital Fanatic.com Show: August 12th

A short version of the show today as we are still in the hibernating part of the NHL calendar. I talked about a couple of news worry stories regarding the Caps extending their affiliation with the Stingrays, the announcement of a rookie camp scrimmage against Philadelphia, and the news of increased season ticket sales. I also mentioned some news around the NHL as Tampa was sold, the Blue Jackets continue to sign the Caps castaways, and Michael Wilbon who once again attacked the state of the NHL in comparison to the MLS. The show finished up with some Washington Redskins talk about their struggles in last night's pre-season debut.

The show can be heard through the media player on the homepage top right sidebar, through blogtalkradio.com linked below, and through iTunes.

MVP of the Redskins 1st Pre-Season Game....

Punter Derrick Frost. 'Nuff said.

Michael Wilbon's At It Again

During tonight's DC United game with David Beckham in town, Michael Wilbon was a guest in the broadcast both. In their discussion of the current state of soccer in America he once again reiterated that it has already "blown by the NHL" as the 4th sport behind the NFL, MLB, and NBA.Hey, I love soccer too, but it's nowhere near the NHL yet in revenue or popularity.

Wilbon, stop spewing your biased propaganda.

I've already proven you wrong here.

South Carolina Stingrays Add Two

A tough guy in Nate Kiser and a solid defenseman in Marc Busenburg. Read the whole story here.

We've Officially Bottomed Out

There is absolutely nothing going on in the hockey world right now. And as a result, there is not much to talk about.

• If you're looking for a great analysis of the Capitals defensive corps, check out On Frozen Blog's article here.

• If you live in the Hershey area, the Bears are looking for national anthem singers for the upcoming season. Check out the details here.

Hang in there, we're less than six weeks away from the start of training camp.

No Show This Week

I'm on vacation so there will not be a new episode of The Capital Fanatic.com Show this week. Check back next Sunday at noon for another live edition of the show. And thanks for all the emails I've received so far, I appreciate the support.

In the meantime: The Hershey Bears have signed Chris McAllister to a contract. The towering 6'7" 255 pound defenseman should help offset the loss of Kip Brennan and Derek Engelland. Click here for the report from Tim Leone and the Patriot News.

Ducks Pass on Penner Offer

Dustin Penner became a member of the Edmonton Oilers today as the Anaheim Ducks declined to match Kevin Lowe's 5 year $21.25 million offer for the up and coming power forward. The Ducks now receive the Oilers 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks in next years draft, which is projected to be a deep one. It's a steep price to play for a player that only has one full season under his belt and averaged only 13:59/game of ice time.

After playing the role of a support player with the Ducks, there's no doubt that Penner will be counted on to immediately to step in and be one of the Oilers big guns on a team desperate for help up front.

Update: Penner was quoted on Espn.com, saying "The pressure that I receive from the media and fans won't be near the pressure of what I put on myself," he said in a conference call. "I know myself I didn't peak this last year as a player in Anaheim. I don't know what my potential is, but I think in the next five years I'll find out."

Sounds like he believes he's up to the task. He better be or he and Kevin Lowe will be eaten alive by the media and the Oilers' fans.

Hershey Bears News

From their homepage:

BEARS ANNOUNCE RETURN OF RIGHT WING SCOTT BARNEY
07/31/2007 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 31, 2007

BEARS BRING BACK RIGHT WING SCOTT BARNEY FOR UPCOMING 2007-08 SEASON

PROLIFIC SCORER BACK IN HERSHEY LINEUP THIS SEASON AFTER 19 POINTS IN 19 POSTSEASON GAMES IN 2007 CALDER CUP PLAYOFFS

HERSHEY – The HERSHEY BEARS announced today that right wing Scott Barney has been signed to a contract for the upcoming 2007-08 season. The announcement was made today by BEARS President/GM Doug Yingst.

Acquired in early March from the Grand Rapids Griffins, Barney scored six goals in 11 games after coming to Chocolatetown. He was one of HERSHEY’S most prolific scorers in the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs, scoring 10 goals and assisting on nine others in 19 playoff games. A proven goal scorer, Barney scored 32 goals in just 53 games in 2005-06 with Chicago (AHL), and 20 goals in 44 games for Manchester (AHL) in 2003-04.


Last week the Bears also agreed to terms with Quintin Lang:

QUINTIN LAING RETURNS FOR 2007-08

HARD-NOSED WINGER BACK FOR SECOND SEASON IN CHOCOLATETOWN

HERSHEY – The HERSHEY BEARS announced today in conjunction with the American Hockey League the club has signed left wing Quintin Laing for the 2007-08 season.

Laing, who played the previous five seasons for Norfolk (AHL) prior to joining HERSHEY in 2006-07, scored a career high 15 goals last season and accumulated 43 points. The winner of the 2006-07 BEARS Unsung hero award, Laing added seven points in 19 games during the 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs.