ABCDE
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SPORTS
monday, april 19, 2010
BASEBALL
7 runs, 0 outs
A day after Liván Hernández pitches a shutout, Jason Marquis becomes the first Nationals starter to not retire any batters in an 11-7 loss to the Brewers. D5
O’s win: Baltimore snaps losing streak. D5
BLOGS, MULTIMEDIA AND CHATS washingtonpost.com/sports
The Chat HouseToday, 1:30 p.m. Michael Wilbon discusses the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs. Nationals Insider Get all the latest updates as the Nationals continue their homestand. AllMetSports.comCheck out our interactive rankings as spring season heats up. Soccer Insider Steven Goff offers the latest insights on struggling D.C. United.
PRO FOOTBALL
Fullbacks in demand?
U-Va.’s Rashawn Jackson hopes he’s not part of a dying breed. D8
HIGH SCHOOLS
Immediate impact
Good Counsel softballer Tori Finucane stands out as a freshman. D3
[Game 3 at Montreal: Tonight, 7]
STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
Two for the show: Capitals may use both goaltenders
Boudreau wants to keep Canadiens guessing in advance of Game 3
by Barry Svrluga
MIKE SHANAHAN: Redskins Brian Orakpo called the new rules under Shanahan, above, “a breath of fresh air.”
DONOVAN McNABB: Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, left, works with new quarterback McNabb.
Late in Sunday morning’s practice session at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Se- myon Varlamov — the player who was in net at the conclusion of the Wash- ington Capitals’ stomach-flipping overtime victory over Montreal on Sat- urday night — stood in goal at one end of the ice, taking shot after shot from a pair of assistant coaches. José Theo- dore, the man who began that same game in net before he was yanked after all of two shots, watched closely from between the faceoff circles. When it was Theodore’s turn, he skated toward the goal, bumped goalie gloves with Varlamov, and settled in for the same drill. To hear Coach Bruce Boudreau tell it, if the Capitals are to spend any sig- nificant amount of time in these NHL playoffs, such swapping between those goaltenders could be commonplace. When the Capitals broke up their brief workout and headed to a film session, Boudreau had not yet announced who would start the pivotal Game 3 on Monday night in Montreal. He wanted to discuss the matter with his coaches. He wanted to watch film of Saturday night’s 6-5 victory with his team. And,
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
REVAMPED RUNNING GAME: New Redskins running backs Willie Parker, left, and Larry Johnson, center, join veteran Clinton Portis on the final day of minicamp. Of new Coach Mike Shanahan, Portis said, “You just believe in whatever he say.”
arrive at Redskins Park
the third day of the first minicamp of the Mike Shanahan era. I don’t remember the last time the gate arm was down, or the last time I saw someone manning the guard house. It’s a small thing, and it may have nothing to do with Shanahan, or Bruce Allen or anything else. But the gate was down during the Joe Gibbs era. It was a small thing among a lot of small but noticeable things Sunday that seemed to signal change at Redskins Park. Before I could even frame the question for Fred Davis — his all-important hands tucked into his waistband to protect them from the brisk breeze — he was answering. “Oh man, things are dramatically
T
he security gate arm was down. That was the first change I noticed as I arrived at Redskins Park for
TRACEE HAMILTON
changed,” he said. “Just the rules. Everybody’s got to follow the same rules. Nobody’s better than anyone else. I kind of think that’s good, definitely with the team, with the state we were in last year, we needed something like this. It’ll help us be together as a team more, win as a team, and not anyone be outside of it. That’s how I think you win.” Two years ago, Davis — who’d just been taken in the second round of the
2008 draft – very famously overslept for Day 3 of a May minicamp. He hasn’t been late since, nor is he likely to be. Shanahan has already made quite an impression. “I’m getting to know Shanahan, yeah, a
lot,” Davis said, laughing. “Make sure you’re on time for everything, make sure everything’s done the right way, you’ll be fine.” This is why, in Shanahan’s dictionary, the entry for “voluntary” reads “see mandatory.” This is why Shanahan would have liked to have seen the entire roster —even unhappy campers such as Albert Haynesworth, Jason Campbell and Rocky McIntosh — spend three days in Ashburn. The sooner everyone’s
hamilton continued on D7
As Mike Shanahan’s first minicamp wraps up, players praise the learning experience. D8
By Rick Maese
Front and center at the draft board
It’s Kiper’s week, and fans and foes alike will all be paying attention
NFL draft
Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t do bathroom
breaks. Perhaps that doesn’t seem like an in- credible feat, but it helps to realize that ESPN will broadcast a total of 15 hours of live NFL draft coverage this week, and Kiper will be under the stage lights the entire time. In 16 years as his producer, Jay Rothman has never seen Kiper sneak away for even a quick break. Instead, he’ll sit in the ready position
at one end of the set, never needing to re- fer to any notes as the 255 names are called out. The entire time, his foot will
When: Thursday (Round 1), Friday (Rds. 2, 3), and Saturday (Rds. 4-7). Where: Radio City Music Hall, New York. TV: ESPN, NFL Network.
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Kiper video: ESPN analyst questions the Redskins’ past tactics.
washingtonpost.com/redskins
be shaking uncontrollably. “It goes a mile a minute, and it won’t
stop,” Rothman says. “I swear to you. As long as we’re on the air, it shakes. He’s high-wired. A human adrenaline rush. He totally is.” Kiper, 49, usually doesn’t notice. In
Ch-ch-changes
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Capitals at Montreal
Series tied, 1-1
TV: Comcast SportsNet.
in all likelihood — with a taut series tied at a game apiece — he wanted to keep the Canadiens guessing. “I think we said before the series
started that if we were going to go any- where in this, we’d probably have to use both goalies,” Boudreau said. “Again, I’m still going to use both goal- ies. Whether Varly plays Monday or Theo plays Monday, I think they’re both going to play again. That’s why we’ve got to keep them sharp.” There are arguments for and against both players. Theodore is a veteran whose strength, Boudreau believes, is putting poor performances behind him and moving on. Varlamov, who turns 22 later this month, replaced Theodore in Game 2 of last year’s first- round series against the New York Rangers, and he was a major reason why the Capitals advanced in seven games.
Boudreau’s dilemma, though, feels a
bit different this year. When he named Theodore the starter for the Montreal series last week, he spoke emphatically about his confidence in the 33-year-old former league MVP, confidence borne from the fact Theodore went 20-0-3 with a 2.58 goals against average and .922 save percentage since Jan. 13.
capitals continued on D6
Go with Theodore in Game 3? Here’s one good reason.
ruce Boudreau has several good reasons to start Semyon Varlamov in goal for Game 3
Monday night in Montreal. For one, yanking José Theodore for the kid worked a year ago in Game 2 of the first round against the Rangers, who could hardly solve the Russian wunderkind and eventually lost the series in seven games. Since Montreal’s own Theodore will understandably be emotionally charged to go up against his former Canadiens in Game 3, why even take the chance of letting a Bell Centre crowd rattle him any further? He’s probably already shaken up from being pulled in the first period of Game 2 after letting in the only two shots he faced. And why not give Varly — who,
before battling injury and inconsistency this season, excelled in net last postseason — the confidence needed to battle deep into May and June? Every reason the Capitals’ coach has
for keeping Theodore on the bench has well-founded logic behind it. But this isn’t about logic. It’s about
MIKE WISE
gut and feel, two intuitive qualities that have served Boudreau well throughout his coaching career. It’s also about fairness. It’s about giving José Theodore the second chance in the postseason he never got a year ago, the chance Boudreau now realizes he should have gotten in Game 7 of the second round against Pittsburgh after the Penguins unleashed a four-goal onslaught on a clearly stunned Varlamov — and there went the series. It would be one thing if Theodore had struggled mightily prior to the postseason like a year ago. But he has often been impenetrable in goal since January. His strong playoff debut last
wise continued on D6
washingtonpost.com/capitals
CAPITALS POSTGAME CHAT
Staff writer Gene Wang will host a chat immediately after the game Monday night.
church back in Maryland, his daughter, Lauren, holds his leg still. At Radio City Music Hall, though, it just shakes until the draft ends. At times, he can make the network’s entire elevated set wobble. Joe Theismann, a former draft sidekick, once wondered aloud whether New York City experiences earthquakes. It does. Once a year when Kiper makes the trek from his home outside of Balti- more and gives meaning and texture to the long list of barely-old-enough-to- drink insta-millionaires who are charged with changing a franchise’s fortunes. Kiper calls it all “serious business.”
kiper continued on D9
DON’T MISS A THING ONLINE
Get all the latest news, notes and postgame analysis from beat writer Tarik El-Bashir at washingtonpost.com/capitals and follow the blog at Capitals Insider at
washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider.
SCENES FROM VERIZON CENTER
Check out a photo gallery with Post photographers’ shots of action on the ice and around Verizon Center from Games 1 and 2.
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
Capitals goalie José Theodore, right, is pulled for Semyon Varlamov early in Game 2, but it doesn’t mean he should sit for good. Theodore’s regular season play earns him a shot.
STAY UPDATED ON GAME DAY
Log on from your mobile phone for the latest from the Capitals-Canadiens series at
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