Top-5 Most Popular DC Athletes Right Now

I know, I know, this post has already been run by Steinz over at the WaPo (a voting in which I participated), but SB Nation DC also had a list today, so I thought it would only be fair to jump on the bandwagon and chime-in.

The term 'popular' is left vague so there is room for interpretation, but here is how I define it - as a combination of recognize-ability (name recognition), and being well liked; I believe that a notorious person can still be popular. My initial list for Steinz a few weeks ago was this:

1. Ovechkin
2. McNabb
3. Orakpo
4. Backstrom
5. Zimmerman

My logic:

• Ovie is widely known and loved and has to be #1. That said, the overwhelming popularity of the Redskins in this town pushes football players to greater heights. I realize McNabb has not played a game, but he is more widely recognized than Ovechkin; as Chad Dukes and Lavar Arrington said on WFAN a month or so ago, if you put McNabb and Ovie in a mall, McNabb would be the one who more easily creates a mini-riot. As much as I hate him and that the Skins acquired him, he is a close #2.
• I skipped Portis and Gil because I thought they were not generally well liked.
• I should have replaced Rak with Cooley, but thought Cooley's injury removed him from the spotlight too much.
• Strasburg had not played a game and was not as widely recognized as he is right now.
  
• Backstrom was fresh off of a season where the Caps elevated themselves to the #2 team in the DMV, so was very newsworthy.
  

Ah, how quickly things change......my list for today would look like this:

1. Ovie
2. McNabb
3. Cooley
4. Portis
5. Strasburg
6. Backstrom
   

• I ranked 6 because at this moment, Strasburg is #5, but his hype will likely die down after about 2 months, and I expect him to drop a few slots. The only way he stays that high is if he puts up All-Star/Cy Young candidate numbers immediately. When
  
• Rak was a mistake the first time, I should have put Cooley in that spot; Rak is just not as widely known as the man formerly known as Captain Chaos.
• Portis is not completely well-liked, but my Dad, who is not a sports fan, knows him, which puts him in select company.
• Ryan Zimmerman is having a terrific season but struggling for All-Star votes, so it is hard to put him anywhere near my top-5 anymore. He just isn't widely recognized, and won't be until the Nats contend, or he does something outlandish like gets a tattoo on his face.

My only major differentiation from the Steinz and SBNDC lists are the omission of Gilbert Arenas, but come on, isn't he closer to the least popular athlete in DC? I can see John Wall, London Fletcher, and Mike Green pushing for honors, but I think that list of 6 is head and shoulders above the rest right now.

(Image courtesy of misterirrelevant.com)

Poll Results: Crosby vs. Backstrom

About 76% of you believe Nicklas Backstrom will overtake Sidney Crosby in the points race - the race for third, that is, behind Henrik Sedin and Alex Ovechkin.

I might have been inclined to agree when the poll was posted over a week ago. However, it's looking less and less likely that our brilliant Swede will beat out you-know-who. Crosby is now sitting at 94 points with 6 games remaining, all of which will be vital to the Pens playoff seeding. Backstrom, at 91 points, is mired in somewhat of a slump and playing in games that aren't necessarily meaningless (see: President's Trophy), but at the same time aren't crucial.

If I was a betting man my money would be on Crosby, but what the hell do I know anyway?

Six games. Three points. Can Nicky do it?

Nicklas Backstrom's Shift in Five Frames

Nicklas Backstrom's second shift of overtime began when he hopped the boards with 2:40 remaining in yesterday's Ovechkin-less 4-3 comeback victory over Chicago. His shift begins innocently enough, as he sends a feed by Mike Green wide of Antti Niemi from the slot.

The puck comes back down ice before it's turned over in the Washington zone by Chicago's Troy Brouwer; Backstrom recovers the loose puck and skates toward center, when he slows and waits for his line-mates to complete a shift change. Brouwer reads Backstrom's intent beautifully, intercepts his attempted pass and breaks in on José Theodore.

Here's where one of the season's best shifts becomes special.

Now 40 seconds into his shift, Backstrom turns tail and back-checks ferociously, intercepting Brouwer just as he reaches the front of the net.

In one swift motion, Backstrom lifts Brouwer's stick and clears the puck from danger by banging it toward the vacant corner. Even though Tom Poti is closer to the loose puck, Backstrom accelerates in front of Poti and collects the carom off the dasher.

Backstrom builds up a head of steam through the neutral zone. After that near-fatal turnover and 45 seconds into his shift, Backstrom might have been tempted to dump the puck for a line change. But he knows Brouwer and Dustin Byfuglien are trapped in his wake while Chicago's D are in the middle of a change. With plenty of room through center and Poti and Mike Knuble on his flanks, he decides to push it.

Poti and Knuble drive toward the net on the 3-on-2 while Backstrom dangles the puck in front of Brent Seabrook, inducing him to sprawl for an attempted shot block. Seabrook's Canadian Olympic teammate Duncan Keith is preoccupied by the onrushing Poti and Knuble, while the backchecking Byfuglien is too slow to do anything but watch. Backstrom toe-drags around a kneeling Seabrook and has a lane to the net the size of West Madison Street. Keith realizes this an instant too late.

Backstrom slips the puck between the legs of Niemi just before he's cleaned out by Byfuglien. It might never have happened had Brouwer not intercepted Backstrom's pass in the neutral zone.

Shifts like these mean everything to the Capitals, who showed a national television audience they have another superstar whose name isn't Alex.

It also means two things in particular to Backstrom: more Selke talk and more dollar signs.

[Thanks to YouTube user OvechkinW for uploading the video]

Do You Realize How Good Nicklas Backstrom Is?

After Ovechkin received his game-misconduct early in the 1st period today, the NBC announcers left the Caps for dead. They kept harping on how this is Ovi's team, and they lacked spark without him, and the outlook seemed hopeless, and yada yada yada. All of it was true. One salient fact was overlooked, however: Nicklas Backstrom was on the ice.

There are a handful players in hockey who you can tell immediately what kind of game they're going to have; but only a few where you can tell that kind of game is going to involve total domination. Backstrom is one of those elite few, and he had that jump in his step today. The announcers didn't seem to realize this.

Even through the sluggish first two periods, he was the most noticeable player on the ice. He skated hard every shift, challenged the vaunted 'Hawks defensive corps one-on-one and had the puck on a string all game long. When it mattered most he grinded out an ugly rebound goal to cut the deficit to 1. Then in OT, he stifled a 'Hawks scoring chance on the doorstep and turned it up ice before absolutely OWNING two Canadian Olympians (Seabrook and Keith) with a curl-and-drag for the game-winner. Oh and he added an assist for good measure.

Backstrom is one of only two NHL players in the top 5 in points, assists and +/-. He is quietly one of the best defensive forwards in the league. He won a completely unwinnable game almost single-handedly. When Eric Belanger skated off the ice after the game, he told Pierre McGuire: "we never did that in Minnesota." That's because you never had a guy like Nicklas Backstrom on your team. Ovechkin for good reason overshadows him, but world, you are on notice: Nicklas Backstrom is an unstoppable hockey machine too.

Caps Vancouver Scorecard: How'd They Do?

Sidney Crosby scores the gold medal-winner while Alex Ovechkin gets torch duty at the closing ceremony. That's about all you need to know about how the Olympics ended if you're a Caps fan. But let's not let one sour ending obscure the fact that this was an incredible tournament for fans of hockey, both new and veteran; there's no better advocate for the game than the game itself when it's played in such a fashion.

But what about the players the Caps sent to Vancouver? Five players represented three countries, and all are returning to Washington without medals of any kind; raise your hand if you picked Sami Lepisto to medal over Ovechkin and I'll give you a loonie.

Take a bow, Lars. [NHL]

Now that the games are behind us, let's review the Olympic exploits of the Washington contingent and rate them, figure-skating style, based on expectations:

Semyon Varlamov, Russia - 10.0

The young Russian didn't play a single minute at the Olympics, and that's just as the Caps wanted it. He was there to learn while not getting re-injured, and watching games from the press box next to Vlad Tretiak isn't a bad way to do that. Incidentally, the Caps first player back from Vancouver made 30 saves for Hershey last night, so it appears that he's finding his game. Let's hope all that knowledge turns into wins in D.C. come April.

Nicklas Backstrom, Sweden - 9.1

Many observers expected the Olympics to be Backstrom's Bäckström's turn in the spotlight, and the young Swede did not disappoint, leading his team in scoring (1G, 5A) while averaging around 19 minutes in six games, without taking a single penalty. More impressively, it appears the young Swede has firmly planted himself as Sweden's top pivot, skating more minutes than Henrik Sedin and Henrik Zetterberg. For a national team that prides itself in skill down the middle as the Swedes do, that's worth celebrating (and rewarding with a long-term deal).

Tomas Fleischmann, Czech Republic - 6.2

Not a bad showing for Flash, who posted three points (1G, 2A) in five games while skating second- and third-line minutes for a plucky Czech squad that was ultimately bounced by Ovechkin's shoulderRussia. He played mostly at center, but it will be interesting to see if he stays there when the Caps take the ice on Wednesday in Buffalo.

Alex Ovechkin, Russia - 4.5

Perhaps the most hyped player in the tournament, from gap-toothed grin to flame-adorned skates, Ovechkin registered two goals, two assists, one symbolic hit for the ages and one unproductive shootout, while averaging more than 18 minutes in four games for a dysfunctional, miserably-coached Russian squad, of which he was the face. That's the good news. The bad news: Ovechkin's off-ice behavior, primarily an embarrassing camera-shoving incident, has damaged his off-ice image worse than his team's on-ice performance against Canada. For a fan base that takes anything negative written about Ovechkin as a personal affront, that matters in this equation, if not on the ice. Oh, and now it's Crosby 2, Ovechkin 0. Your move, Alex.

Alexander Semin, Russia - 3.1

A disappointing tournament for Ovechkin's linemate, but what were you really expecting? Yes, he showed nice chemistry with Ovechkin on occasion, and yes, his pass to Evgeni Malkin for the goal of the olympics was a thing of beauty, but twice the number of PIMs (4) as points (2) is simply unacceptable...and yet, not entirely unexpected either. Sigh. But on the plus side: Semin can throw his weight around when it matters least!

Caps Burning Questions Revisited: Mike Gartner Edition

Maybe it's early to be reviewing pre-season expectations, but so what? We're now 11 games into the season; why did we wait for the 11th game to write this post? Because we love Mike Gartner, that's why. Move along.

[Getty Images, via Capitals Insider]

10) Can Mike Green put his disastrous playoffs behind him and duplicate the regular season success he had last year?

Green has shown flashes of that Norris Trophy form early this season, and his performance on Long Island last weekend is plenty of reason to be optimistic. He sits at 11 points (2G, 9A) with a +6 rating; through 11 games in 2008-09 he had 8 points (4G, 4A) with a +1 rating. One reason why his goals are down is because he has put 12 fewer shots on goal this season compared to last. But I digress: more points, better plus minus? We'll take it.

9) Will Michael Nylander's contract prove ruinous?

Well, at least the Caps haven't lost any other players to waivers since L'affaire Bourque (C-Bo, by the way, has yet to register a point in three games with Pittsburgh). But Nylander's still on the team's books, and despite his current conditioning stint with Grand Rapids of the AHL, No. 92 still needs to convince some KHL honcho that he's worth their investment. Until that happens, think of Nylander like a buddy of yours from college who moves to town without a job. You offer him your couch and he just sits there, taking up roughly 10 percent of your living space. On the rare occasion he does leave the apartment, he leaves all his crap behind, meaning you still don't have room for that fancy new IKEA media center you've needed for months. Until the guy finds a job, you and your crappy TV stand are stuck with each other.

8) Will the penalty kill take a leap forward?

So the Caps haven't found a way to stop the Philadelphia Flyers power play yet, but as far as the rest of the league is concerned, the penalty killers have been better, currently operating at an 81.5 percent success rate. They finished 2008-09 at 80.6. That's without resident penalty killer Boyd Gordon for the past five games, to boot.

7) Will Bruce Boudreau actually find line combos that work and stick with them?

The 8-19-28 line is clearly something special, but when they have an off night, there isn't enough secondary scoring on most nights to overcome their lack of production. When they're having an "on" night, watch out. In short, Boudreau hasn't changed from last season, not that we're complaining.

6) Can Alex Semin stay healthy for a full 82-game season?

No, not at all.

5) Will a healthy Chris Clark actually be a good Chris Clark?

The Captain looked every bit the Chris Clark of Old through the first five games of the year, but has been less and less noticeable ever since, despite registering his first goal of the season last Thursday in Atlanta. Boudreau's been giving No. 17 about 10 minutes of ice per game thus far, and has even thrown him out on the second power play unit (where he has registered an assist) with some regularity. Yes, he has been the victim of almost-constant line shuffling, which is what happens when you skate on the third and fourth lines, but his minus-4 rating simply has to improve if Clark wants more ice time.

4) If Alex Ovechkin gets hurt and misses time...what then?

Not going there...

3) How will the Capitals make up for the veteran leadership that Sergei Fedorov provided?

"Leadership," in the Fedorovian sense of the word, hasn't been an issue through 11 games. What the Capitals do miss most about No. 91 is his ability to win key power play draws. Too often, the Capitals waste 15-20 seconds of power play time because Nicklas Backstrom (40.5 percent) or Brooks Laich (50.7 percent) can't win the draw. Fedorov's 56.2 percent success rate from last season would be the best on the team among regular draw-takers not named Steckel or Gordon.

2) Will Alex Ovechkin evolve into a more complete player?

Honestly, it's way too early to tell, and when the guy's leading the league in goals and is second overall in points, does it really matter? For the record, Ovechkin has eight assists through 11 games, compared to five last year and seven the year before. Don't change a thing, Ovie.

1) Can Bruce Boudreau motivate his players to play hard every night?

Sure, the Capitals are just four points behind league-leading Pittsburgh atop the standings, but of the 11 games this season, how many 60-minute efforts have we seen? We'll define "60 Minute Effort" as a game in which the Capitals were tied or ahead entering the third period, and did not allow more than a single goal en route to recording a regulation victory (shootout wins don't count). 3 out of 11: at Boston, vs. San Jose and vs. Philadelphia.

As Red Rover wrote, the Capitals are winning on talent more than effort right now. That's fine in October and, honestly, as long as the team stays healthy, it should carry them to another Southeast Division title. But as we learned last spring, talent alone will not win you the Stanley Cup.

Bonus: Are there other burning questions that need to be answered through 11 games?

There are, but the biggest one was answered (for now) Tuesday night: Jose Theodore.

Washington Beats Philly, Dallas...IN THE SAME DAY

Tricked ya! The Redskins don't win games anymore. This post's title refers to professionally operated franchises in DC, namely the Capitals and Wizards, who beat the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Mavericks, respectively, on Tuesday. Two wins for DC in the same day? The last time that happened, fat guys were stealing lunch money from Dan Snyder, instead of the other way around.

The Caps played a solid game for nearly 60 minutes, which has happened only 4 times by my count in 11 games so far. Ovechkin's late empty-netter sealed the 4-2 win, and Backstrom led the way with 1 G, 3A. The Caps are now 7-2-2, off to their best start in 14 years, and haven't even played their best hockey yet. Winning games with overwhelming talent...imagine that.

Good signs included: Semin back and healthy, whipping a filthy wrister over Emery's shoulder for the GWG. Team defense locking it down in the final minutes. Theodore playing outstanding, with 39 saves on the evening. Ovechkin destroying Mike Richards along the boards in the second period.

Meanwhile, out Texas way, the Wiz looked damn good for 48 minutes in handling the Mavericks 102-91. Flip Saunders relied heavily on an 8-man rotation featuring a lot of Gilbert (29 Points, 9 assists), who appears to be a man on a mission. The thought of a determined and focused Agent Zero has me absolutely giddy.

Other good signs included: not-sluggish offense. Good ball movement. Steady and solid contributions from newcomers Mike Miller, Randy Foye, and Fabricio Oberto. Blatche looking dominant (20 points, 7 rebs, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers). The head coach calling the plays.

It's early, and rationality is not my strongest suit, but the way these two teams are looking, and being led by their respective stars, we just might have a veeeerrry interesting spring on our hands. Please, dear sporting gods, let this not be a tease.

[Images via ESPN.com]