D2
EZ SU
THE SIDELINE I
t’snot thathardtodo something thatno one inthe history of theworldhas even
done before.Rightnow, for example, I’ll become the first personinworldhistory to ask whetherRodLangway should moreproperly be comparedto Gruyere or toComte (they are types of cheese, by theway). But todo something that’s
actually cool, thatno one inthe history of theworldhas ever done?That’smore of a challenge. AndI’mguessing thatBrett Leonhardt is the firstmaninthe history of theworldto bothsuit upas anNHLplayer andwork the turntables before anNHLgame. “Howmany guysdo youknow,
Bloggy, thathaveplayedinthe NHLandnowDJ intheNHL?”
Quick Fix
Excerpts from
voices.washingtonpost.com RECRUITINGINSIDER
All-MetEkpone will runforAggies
OliviaEkpone, a senior at
Northwest anda two-timeAll- Met runner of the year,made a verbal commitment toTexas A&MonTuesday.One of themost sought-after sprinting recruits in the country, shehadwhittledher list of topschools to three— Louisiana State,Florida State and TexasA&M—before finally picking theAggies.TexasA&M haswonthe last twomen’s and women’sNCAAoutdoornational championships. “The coaches are so sweet,”
Ekpone said. “Alot of otherplaces were trying to sellme ontheir school. [TexasA&M] cares about helpingme reachmy goals.” —CarlLittle
SOCCERINSIDER
Freedomretains strikerWambach
TheWashingtonFreedom
exercisedthe optiononstar strikerAbbyWambach’s contract. Shehad13 goals andeight assists this season. Therehadbeenspeculation
that the expansionclub in westernNewYorkwouldtry to acquireWambach,who is from Rochester,N.Y.However, a Freedomofficial saidthe team hasnot beenapproached. Washingtonalso re-signed
defenderBecky Sauerbrunn,who was included, alongwith Wambach,
ontheU.S.national teamroster forWorldCup qualifying.
—SteveGoff
D.C. SPORTS BOG Dan Steinberg
BrooksLaichaskedme thisweek. “He’s aweapon.” Indeed, Stretch—as
Leonhardt is knowninBallston— hasput together one of themore interesting resumes you’ll find. Hiredas aWeb siteproducer, the former collegiate goalie famously suitedupfor a game two years ago,whichmadehiman enduring fanfavorite, andhe still
KLMNO 6
3
occasionally fills inbetweenthe pipes asneeded. But editing video andblocking
pucks aren’this onlymarketable skills.Whenhewas inthe 8th grade,Leonhardtwent to ahip- hopshowfeaturingBizMarkie, theBeastieBoys,TribeCalled Quest andother luminaries.The DJ’s gothis attention. “I sawhowthe crowdreacted
to a goodhiphopDJ, andIwas addicted,”he toldme,whenI interviewedhimfor like the 17th time inthepast year. Hismomhadalways
encouragedhimtopursuemusic sohewouldn’t be seenas just a jock, andafter a childhoodof playing bass anddrums,his instrument of choice became the turntable.Whichishowhe came
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010
WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS Jaime Moreno, who plays his last match with D.C. United this weekend at RFK Stadium, will host a live video Q&A at 12:15 p.m.
WASHINGTONPOST LIVEWITH IVAN CARTER 5 P.M. ON COMCAST SPORTSNET Rick Maese will be in studio along with CSN Redskins analyst DocWalker and CSN Capitals analyst Alan May.
‘Stretch’ puts the Capitals in the mood with some pregame tunes
to be theDJUfor theCaps’party cruiseupthePotomac this summer. Now, this cruise involved
ImportantPeople likeDick Patrick andGeorgeMcPhee, so Leonhardtdidn’tdo a straight hip-hopset, insteadincluding some oldies, soul andclassic rock. Hewas suchahit thatDirector of GameEntertainmentMike Wurmansuggestedheprovide the team’swarm-up accompanimentduring thehome opener, andonamorepermanent basis after thatproveda success. “We love it,” saidMikeGreen,
who believes theCapsmighthave the bestwarmupmusic inthe NHL. “Imean, I think it’s important forus to get excitedfor the game andpumpedup, and
warmups iswhere youget ready. Themusic’s greatnow. Itusedto be terrible, just oldrock songs, kindof slow, that couldn’t really get yougoing.” “I think all guys love it,howit
works,”AlexOvechkintoldme. “Andit’s goodstuff before the game;we just listento goodsongs andget into the game right away.” “I’ve beenskating around
singing to this stuff,”KarlAlzner added. “I think it’sprettyunique tohave somebody actually there, live, spinning.Prettyneat.” Leonhardt’smixes are
expansive, sprawling things:his setlists (whicharepostedonline) range fromNeilYoung to Jay-Z, fromFooFighters toLil’Wayne, fromPearl JamandNirvana to Wu-TangClanandtheChemical
Brothers.Onenight,he relied heavily onCanadianbands, earningpost-gameprops from severalplayers.Anothernight,he mixedinsomeBodyroxhouse music takenfromOvechkin’s iPod. Someplayershave already givensuggestions, andothers are lying inwait. “Wewouldlove tohave a
countrymusicwarmup, a fewof us,”Alzner confessed. “Thatwillnothappen,”
Leonhardt responded. “I’ll say this, ifAlznerhas a gamewhere he getsmultiple goals, thenI’ll play anall-countrynight, youcan print that.” Inthemeantime,Leonhardt
will continueperforminghis thirdmajor job for theCaps.
steinbergd@washpost.com
Hot Topic Cavaliers Journal Excerpt from
voices.washingtonpost.com/cavaliers-journal
QUOTABLE
“Guys are gonna get hurt. This is football. This ain’t no cupcake league.”
Redskins defensive lineman Phillip Daniels reacts to the NFL’s crackdown on dangerous and illegal hits.
TRACY A. WOODWARD/THE WASHINGTON POST Seniors Ras-I Dowling, above, andMarcVerica led a team meeting Sunday hoping to alter the path of Virginia’s dismal campaign. Cavs see season slipping away TELEVISIONANDRADIO
HOCKEY 7 p.m.
Washington at Boston » Comcast SportsNet, WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM)
MLB PLAYOFFS 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at San Francisco » WTTG (Channel 5), WBFF (Channel 45), WWXT (92.7 FM),WWXX (94.3 FM),WTEM (980 AM)
PRESEASON NBA 8 p.m.
SOCCER 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Atlanta » TNT MLS, NewEngland at NewYork » ESPN2
COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7:30 p.m.
9 p.m.
GOLF 5 p.m.
Arkansas Pine Bluff at Alcorn State » ESPNU UCLA at Oregon » ESPN
PGA Tour, Shriners Hospitals for Children Open » Golf Channel only from Comcast. HOCKEY
NHL suspends Rypien for grabbing a fan Vancouver Canucks forward
Rick Rypien was suspended in- definitely Wednesday pending a hearing for grabbing a fan while heading to the locker room in a game againstMinnesota. Rypien was on the way to the
visiting lockerroominMinnesota on Tuesday night after being as- sessed a double minor for rough- ing and 10-minute misconduct in the second period.He reached up and shoved a Wild fan who was applauding at the railing.Rypien, a cousin of former Washington Redskins quarterback MarkRypi- en, was pulled away by teammate Manny Malhotra, and the fan was removed from the area. Rypien and Minnesota’s Brad
Staubitz, who fought in the open- ing period, were about to square off with 13 minutes 38 seconds left in the second period before being separated by the linesmen in front of the Wild bench.Rypien punched Staubitz while he was being restrained.
seeks to refocus 2-4 Cavaliers BY STEVE YANDA
Fifth-year senior quarterbackMarc
Verica and senior cornerback Ras-I Dowling — two of the Virginia football team’s captains — led a players-only meeting Sunday in an attempt to get the 2-4 squad refocused, according to multiple sources close to the team. The meeting lasted nearly 30minutes, sources said, and centered on several issues some of the players believe contributed to the Cavaliers’ recent unsightly performances. On Saturday, Virginia lost its third
straight Atlantic Coast Conference game by a double-digitmargin. The Cavaliers fell to North Carolina, 44-10, on their homecoming weekend and gave up 339 passing yards in the process. That defeat came one week after allowing 477 rushing
DIGEST
SOCCER Inter Milan and Barcelona
each won in the Champions League to take control of their first-round groups, while Raul Gonzalez equaled a 33-year-old scoring record. American Maurice Edu (Mary-
land) managed to score a goal for both sides as Rangers kept up its unbeaten start in Champions League play with a 1-1 draw against visiting Valencia. Edu is the first American to score a goal in the Champions League group stage sinceDaMarcusBeasley for Rangers againstLyonin the 2007- 08 competition. “The first goal I didn’t have
time to celebrate because I took a knock on the head and was laid on the ground for a while,” Edu said. “The own goal, I saw it late, and the next thing I know it hit me and it was in.” Defending champion Inter,
playing at home, survived a sec- ond-half comeback to beat 10-
man Tottenham, 4-3, and take sole possession of first place in Group A, while Lionel Messi scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season to give Barcelona a 2-0 win at home against FC Copenha- gen. Manchester United put the fu-
ror surroundingWayne Rooney’s future to one side to beat visiting Bursaspor, 1-0. Rooney wants to leaveManchesterUnited because of concerns that the club will not invest enough in the squad to compete for future trophies. . . . Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder
Eddie Lewis plans to retire at the end of the season. Lewis said that he’ll call it quits after the Galaxy’s MLSplayoff run ends.Their regu- lar season finale is Sunday against FC Dallas. Then the Gal- axy will try to win its first MLS Cup since 2005.
COLLEGEFOOTBALL North Carolina cornerback
Charles Brown won’t play this season amid the ongoing NCAA investigation into the football program, while cornerbackKend- ric Burney will miss this week-
end’s game atNo. 25Miami. . . . . Connecticut quarterback Cody
Endres has been suspended for the remainder of the season for an unspecified violation of uni- versity policies. . . . North Texas fired Coach Todd
Dodge, declaring its decision to put a high school coach in charge of a Division I program a failure after 31/2
dismal years.
GOLF Ernie Els ran off three straight
birdies on the back nine and turned a three-shot deficit into a one-shot victory over David Toms in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Southampton, Bermuda. Els, an alternate who was fill-
ing in for Phil Mickelson, closed with a 2-under-par 69 and earned $600,000. It was his second win in the 36-hole event for the year’s four major champions.
MISC. Aliya Mustafina led Russia’s
gymnasts to the team title at the world championships in Rotter- dam ahead of the United States andOlympicchampionChina. . . .
Players-only meeting on day after 34-point loss to UNC
yards in a 33-21 loss at Georgia Tech. Virginia opened ACC play with a 34-14 home loss to Florida State on Oct. 2, during which the Cavaliers surrendered 256 rushing yards. Virginia has averaged eight penalties and 66.7 penalty yards per game in its past three contests. Sources said Verica and Dowling
expressed in themeeting Sunday that the teamstill has a shot at bowl eligibility — the Cavaliers would need to win five of their remaining six games to qualify — and that such a goal can be reached if the entire squad commits to getting back to preparing in the samemanner that it did leading up to the Sept. 11 game at Southern California. Virginia lost that game, 17-14, but played so well against the heavily favored Trojans that the Cavaliers felt they had let a win slip away. Since then, Virginia’s performance on
the field has revealed flaws — somemuch more significant than others — on nearly every unit. Sources said that in recent weeks, some
players would joke around and not pay attention during filmsessions. And when
it came time for practice, those players would not always fully understand their assignments. The same often remained true during games, which led to players being out of position in situations where the Cavaliers could ill afford for themto be so. In the ACC, Virginia ranks 10th in
penalty yardage per game, 10th in total yards allowed, tied for 10th in sacks and sacks allowed, 11th in points per game, 11thin turnovermargin and dead last in red zone efficiency. There are a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball, but the central theme of Sunday’smeeting, sources said, was thatmany of the team’s myriad deficiencies are correctable if players are willing to re-commit to the level of preparation and focus they had displayed six weeks ago. Whether or not themeeting had any
meaningful impact will not be measurable until Saturday. The Cavaliers host EasternMichigan (1-6), and as Coach Mike London notedMonday, “we need to win a game.”
yandas@washpost.com
SCOTT HEPPELL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Maurice Edu, center, scores a goal for Rangers pastValencia keeper Cesar Sanchez during a Champions League game in Scotland.
Former USA Track and Field
chief executive Doug Logan has filed a wrongful termination law- suit against the governing body, seeking payment after being fired last month following a 26-month tenure. Details of the lawsuit were not immediately available, but Chairman Stephanie Hight- ower released a statement saying
USATrack and Field would vigor- ously defend itself against the lawsuit. . . . Kasey Kahne was released
from Richard Petty Motorsports, clearing the way for him to join Red Bull Racing for the final five races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
—From news services
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78