Ted's Take - The blogging site of Ted Leonsis

Meet the Press

2008-04-20T13:32:00-05:00

Check out Tim Russert on Meet the Press. Go Caps!

I Wonder if the Flyers Will Show This Article on Their Scoreboad on Monday Night?

2008-04-20T11:19:00-05:00

Maybe the Flyers would like to hand this article out to their fans like they wanted to hand out Mike Wise's column last week? :-)

"The pressure really does shift to the Flyers."

"They don't want to see Washington again."

Thanks Phil.

Isn't this a fun series? I love NHL playoff hockey.

Growth is Good

2008-04-20T10:44:00-05:00

Thank you for all of your support. As I noted many years ago, our fans will fall in love with this team and we will be prepared for success. Our business is strong and growing. Our team has lots of upside for the future and we are in the playoffs RIGHT NOW. Times are good here in Washington. Go Caps!

But Not on NBC

2008-04-20T10:26:00-05:00

I hear that NBC again called Verizon Center a house divided. :-)

I think I know why and we will fix it for future games.

We allow fans to congregate early in front of the glass by both benches before the game starts. Hence, whatever fans are in the arena can come down to mingle around the benches. So at yesterday's game, the 200 or so Flyer fans were all in front of the glass near their bench. There were perhaps 500 Caps fans doing the same thing at the same time. Twenty minutes before the game starts, the crowds are then dispersed. But these fans are all mingling in front of the NBC announcers. Hence, a bit of a safety issue and the "house divided" comment.

This is creating some havoc, too, for our fans that have tickets in the same area and need to go wading into the crowd with fans who sit upstairs or elsewhere. So starting next game and in all future playoff games, we will stop this practice and NOT allow fans - before the puck drops - to go to the glass and bench area without the tickets that allow them to go to the correct seat.

This will benefit our fans; improve safety and convenience; and help NBC "get a real picture" of the stands and Caps fan headcount. Go Caps!

W.C. Fields

2008-04-20T10:05:00-05:00

I have been waiting to use this line for a long, long time. :-)

Check out my diary entry from yesterday regarding the game.

So Very Grateful - Bless You All

2008-04-20T09:39:00-05:00

Thanks Caps fans. You were absolutely awesome in the arena on Saturday. You were loud and proud!

It was a sea of red. I shook a couple of Flyer fans' hands as they exited the building and one of them said to me - sheepishly - "I will see you on Tuesday night." I said, "Exactly right!" :-)

Of course, we have to take care of business on Monday night in Philly first. Practice is at Kettler tomorrow at 11:00am. Come out and support the guys. Go Caps and thanks for believing!

Capital City Bullies

2008-04-20T09:12:00-05:00

Cool headline on ESPN.

Kicking It at Tribeca Film Festival

2008-04-19T11:14:00-05:00

Here is the information on tickets for Kicking It at the Tribeca Film Festival. I hope you can come on out and support the film and the cause.

Bad Times at the New York Times

2008-04-19T10:37:00-05:00

How can it improve? That is the question?

Imagine if they hadn't outbid a few of us in acquiring About.com? Why hasn't the Times re-purposed all of that old media cash flow into bigger new media properties and buy next generation growth? They have so many smart people that write about new media. They always offered so much advice to people editorially, why can't they fix their own house? Why can't they identify great young Web 2 .0 companies to acquire and help them grow?

What are they waiting for? It is time to act and do something. :-)

While We are All About the Future...

2008-04-19T10:17:00-05:00

...All that matters is today. This is what we wanted: Optimism about our future but expectations that we can win TODAY!

Play Like There is No Tomorrow

2008-04-19T09:44:00-05:00

Because if we lose, there is no tomorrow. The team is focused and believes it can win and they believe in each other. This will be another fun, entertaining and intense game. Wish us luck. Go Caps and don't forget to Rock the Red!

Good Luck to the Wizards

2008-04-19T09:27:00-05:00

Good luck to the Wizards who play at the exact same time as the Capitals do today. What were the schedulers thinking? I am hopeful that the team can win one at Cleveland and get the series off on the right foot.

Whoops

2008-04-18T18:24:00-05:00

How many times have I said, "Never believe the so-called experts"? :-) Whoops...there was much to do about nothing over this report.

Also, it is interesting to note that Google now gets more of its revenue from outside the US than from the US. This is a truly global business now. As I noted a long time ago, he who gets to one billion uniques first will win and there is only 18 percent of the universe on the internet in the US.

Two in the Box

2008-04-18T14:20:00-05:00

Nice. Thank you.

Perspective

2008-04-18T13:39:00-05:00

Google's one day increase today would make its gain bigger than Yahoo's total market cap or AOL's implied value times two. Wow - what a rocket ship ride up in the worst economic times imaginable.

Saturday - Saturday - Saturday

2008-04-18T13:09:00-05:00

I hope to see a sea of red; hear a loud and impassioned crowd; and witness a group of fans that still believe and will support our team. We need you. You are our 7th man.

I promise you, with a win on Saturday, it is a new series. Come on out and cheer your lungs out. Let's do to the Flyers what they tried to do to us. Let us be loud and intimidating but have a bit more class that our northern neighbors.

See you at the game.

"Them's the Breaks"

2008-04-18T11:41:00-05:00

We just need to overcome all the noise and focus on the signal. Win on Saturday and take it to them in Philly on Monday. Make it a series.

My bet, the refs that called our game last night won't be working in the second round. The noise in Philly affected them more than it affected us. It is what it is but who cares. We just need to move forward.

Washington Post Article at Philly Game

2008-04-18T10:12:00-05:00

In an ultimate twist of irony, Mike Wise's column from yesterday was published and put up on the big board in Philly to PUMP up their crowd. That has to be a first: a hometown paper's column being used as fodder to ignite the passion of the other side.

Tough Emotional Loss

2008-04-18T09:44:00-05:00

As is noted within, "It is not over."

Our team is bigger and tougher than the Flyers. They know it now and we know it now.

We now know how to play playoff hockey, NHL style. We have figured out what the refs will call and not call except for the random bad call like the final penalty called on Kozlov driving to the net.

Yesterday's game was a great one all except for the final outcome. We saw two determined teams. We saw 85 plus shots on goal. We saw some young and inexperienced players step up and grow up.

Onward to Saturday. We can't look back, only forward to a home game and to get back into the series.

More From USA Today

2008-04-17T18:11:00-05:00

Check it out. Wish us luck.

Good for AOL and Good for You

2008-04-17T14:53:00-05:00

I am proud that AOL still "gets it" and respects a consumer's choice for privacy, safety and security. Check out this article.

Raul Fernandez and the Pope

2008-04-17T13:34:00-05:00

I was watching the Pope's Mass from Nationals Stadium this morning. At the end of the service, the Pope invited up to the alter the "lucky 50", a small group of local faithful to be served the holy wine and bread of the service by the Pope himself.

Amongst the "lucky 50" were Raul and Jean Marie Fernandez. They are close friends and co-owners of the Caps within our Lincoln Holdings Partnership.

As you can see, we are pulling out all of the stops for tonight's game. And I also noted that the Pope and the Cardinals were all celebrating mass with a "red out" as well.

Let Them Eat Cake!

2008-04-17T12:35:00-05:00

Now here is the successful resolution to a massive protest. Mmmmmdonuts. :-)

Is That Really Winning?

2008-04-17T11:50:00-05:00

So I just played someone on AIM Fight and I won. In my network was more than 500,000 people and on Facebook, I am now closing in on 2,100 " friends". My address book was so full I blew up the AOL capability for me to add someone to my address book. I actually have to delete someone to make room for a new entry.

If this is winning, why do I sometimes feel like such a loser for being so "connected"? :-)

Funny

2008-04-17T11:28:00-05:00

Check it out.

Shout-Out to All Facebook

2008-04-17T11:07:00-05:00

Commenting on my comments. :-)

I Feel Like He Feels

2008-04-17T10:41:00-05:00

Good for Japers. Here is some math to support the feelings of belief. :-)

Good to See Jason Covering the Caps Again

2008-04-17T10:19:00-05:00

Jason gets hockey and knows the league well. He is highly opinionated and works hard to get stories. He also works hard and we are happy to see him writing and blogging about the team. The more the merrier is my motto.

Thank You Tony and Mike

2008-04-17T09:52:00-05:00

Caps talk/Alex talk on PTI. All the way in but great to see and thank you.

Calm Before the Storm

2008-04-17T09:33:00-05:00

I am on my way to Philly, leaving my wife and daughter behind. I will meet up with my son and some of my partners and take in the game.

One game - one win. That is what we need. Our game hinges on lots of shots; a good power play; keeping the puck in their end; and staying out of the box. We need to stay disciplined and catch a lucky break here and there and we will be fine.

If we can win tonight, it is a three game series where we have home ice advantage.

Tonight is the biggest game of the year played in the most hostile of environments. We should embrace the challenge and have fun with it. This is why we played so hard and hung together so tightly during the season.

Tonight is the first game in a long time that I am truly missing Nylander, Clark and Pothier - our most veteran players - but it is also terrific to see our young players getting so many minutes in the playoffs to gain experience. This is what it is all about, NHL playoff hockey.