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SPORTS
wednesday, april 7, 2010
WINTER ALL-MET
Cracking the code
Area’s top high school athletes uncover the keys to success, Section J and AllMetSports.com
Ovechkin, Capitals sweep past Penguins
by Tarik El-Bashir
pittsburgh — Alex Ovechkin’s bid to claim his third straight Maurice “Rock- et” Richard Trophy remains alive and well. The two-time MVP scored two goals — the second into an empty net — and the Washington Capitals held on for a 6-3 victory over Pittsburgh Penguins that gave them a season sweep over their bit- ter rivals for the first time in franchise history.
Ovechkin’s goals were his 47th and
48th and moved him into a tie with Pen- guins captain Sidney Crosby and put him one ahead of 20-year-old Tampa Bay Lightning phenom Steven Stamkos. Crosby and Stamkos also scored Tuesday. Penguins defenseman Jordan Leo-
pold’s second goal of the night, scored 49 seconds into the third period, cut the Capitals’ lead to 4-3 before a capacity crowd at Mellon Arena.
But Ovechkin restored the visitors’
two-goal cushion four seconds into a high-sticking penalty on Pittsburgh vet- eran Bill Guerin less than two minutes later. Nicklas Backstrom (three assists) won a faceoff off a linesman’s skate and passed back to Ovechkin, and the Wash- ington winger beat Brent Johnson.
capitals continued on D4
BLOGS, MULTIMEDIA AND CHATS washingtonpost.com/sports
First Things First Today, 9:30 a.m. Tracee Hamilton starts the day off with a Q&A on the day’s hot topic. Redskins Insider Follow the team’s attempts to trade Jason Campbell and Albert Haynesworth. The Masters The course, tee times, Tiger Woods and all things Augusta. washingtonpost.com/masters
BASEBALL
Closer trouble in O’s opener
The Orioles signed Mike Gonzalez to finish games like this one, but the Tampa Bay Rays steal the season opener, 4-3, in the ninth inning. D6
Moving heft to trading block
HAYNESWORTH ON THE MARKET
Redskins have talked with multiple teams
by Jason Reid
Not long after paying defensive tackle
Albert Haynesworth’s bonus with one of the largest checks in NFL history, the Redskins are actively attempting to trade the Pro Bowler before this month’s draft, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday.
Coach Mike Shanahan has instructed
General Manager Bruce Allen to identify potential destinations for Haynesworth, whom the Redskins paid a $21 million bonus April 1, and the Redskins have talked with multiple teams about the eight-year veteran. Through team spokesman Zack Bol- no, the Redskins de- clined to comment. The Detroit Lions,
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Donovan McNabb said all the right things at his introductory news conference at Redskins Park on Tuesday.
GENE J. PUSKAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tomas Fleischmann celebrates his second-period goal with Washington teammate Jeff Schultz.
It’s another perfect end for Huskies
Connecticut rallies to beat
Stanford, 53-47, for title and 78th win in a row
by Gene Wang
san antonio — The University of
Connecticut completed an unprecedent- ed two-season run in women’s college basketball with a 53-47 victory over Stanford in the NCAA title game on Tuesday night at the Alamadome. Now all that’s left to decide is where this incarnation of the Huskies belongs among the preeminent teams in the his- tory of college athletics. Top-ranked Connecticut (39-0) ex- tended its NCAA-record winning streak to 78 games and became the first to go undefeated in back-to-back seasons. It’s the seventh title for the Huskies and the fourth time they have gone unbeaten on the way to a national championship. They also accomplished the feat in 1995 (35-0), when the Huskies won their first title, and in 2002 (39-0). Connecti- cut had one loss in its two other national championship seasons. Accustomed to winning games com-
fortably, the Huskies had to rally after scoring 12 points in the first half, the fewest in a half in program history, and trailing by eight. It also was the fewest points by any team in any half in a Final Four game. Junior forward Maya Moore was the
catalyst. Shaking off a 2-for-8 shooting performance in the first half, the 2009
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There’s plenty to like about the new Redskins quarterback
T
he Washington Redskins have made Donovan McNabb feel young again. This is not a feeling
normally associated with the quarterback of the Washington Redskins. You might feel bruised or battered or numb. But young? McNabb on Tuesday told a packed auditorium at Redskins Park that he felt like he was 22 again. And he seemed to mean it. “It kind of feels like being drafted
again,” he said. “You’ve been selected by a team and you’re going through all the motions of learning the new plays, being here with the guys working out, so it feels like I’m about 22 again.” Then he laughed and added, “The
TRACEE HAMILTON
body may not respond that way.” Oh damn, someone told him about
the offensive line. Well, too late. McNabb is the Redskins’ starting quarterback for 2010. He said exactly the right things Tuesday: He felt he was treated fairly in Philadelphia by the fans and the media. He would like to have finished
his career as an Eagle. He is a Redskin now. Time to move on. McNabb has a lot of charm and a
good sense of humor, which will come in handy. Asked at what point he knew he wasn’t coming back to the Eagles, McNabb said, “Easter.” And then he waited for a room full of slow journalists to figure out that he meant Sunday, the day the trade was announced. He said he wanted to meet President Obama at some point, but he wouldn’t just go up and ring the doorbell. Asked about his first meeting the previous evening with Coach Mike Shanahan, he said, “He paid for
hamilton continued on D8
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans — whom Haynes- worth left to join the Redskins before the 2009 season for $41 million in guaran- teed money — are among the teams that could be interested in acquiring the two- time all-pro selection. Haynesworth prospered in Tennessee under the tute- lage of Titans defensive line coach Jim Washburn. Though it is possible Haynesworth could remain with the team if a suitable deal can’t be ironed out, the Redskins would prefer to move him before their first voluntary three-day minicamp that runs from April 16-18, said the people fa- miliar with the team’s plans. Haynes- worth’s potential presence during the minicamp, at which media members are permitted to attempt to conduct inter- views with all players, could present an uncomfortable situation for the Red- skins.
Haynesworth
Shanahan’s desire to excise Haynes-
worth from the roster stems from Haynesworth’s reluctance to play nose
haynesworth continued on D7
More Coverage
While quarterback Donovan McNabb gets his fresh start, former starter Jason Campbell plans to avoid team functions and prospects Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford are in town. D8
“When a star passer feels he has been abandoned by his old team, as [Donovan] McNabb surely does, they almost all get revenge with multiple superior seasons in their new towns.”
Thomas Boswell on McNabb, D8
S
Nationals Park becomes home to divided loyalties
Franchise fills stadium by selling to opposing fans, upsetting some locals
by Adam Kilgore
Before the Philadelphia Phillies clob- bered the Nationals, 11-1, Monday, their fans scored an even more resounding blow. A significant portion of the 42,190 in attendance for opening day rooted for the away team, creating an adverse at- mosphere for Nationals players and making some Nationals fans feel like visitors in their home park. A Phillies fan named Brian Michael said it “felt like a home game.” Washing-
ton Nationals Manager Jim Riggleman called it “a statement of where we’ve got to get to.” And NationalsEnquirer.com, a prominent Nationals fan blog, called the day “one of the low points in the brief history of the Washington Nationals.” The phenomenon of a visiting team’s
fans infiltrating the opposing stadium is not unique to the Nationals, particularly in the cozy Northeast corridor. Camden Yards in Baltimore has earned the nick- name “Fenway South” from years of Bos- ton Red Sox fans packing the park for Orioles games. But the raiding of Na- tionals Park on opening day stung Dis- trict fans. “I don’t think any of us care about los-
ing 11-1,” said Daniel Furth, a Nationals
nationals continued on D7
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
"These problems dissipate as teams improve,” Nationals President Stan Kasten said, “as home teams’ followers get more numerous and more enthusiastic.”
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