JPW

I hate the Caps, but fully admit that Ovechkin is in the top 10-20 goal scorers of all time.

If you watch one thing...

Does Ovi backcheck this year without suffering a decrease in point production?

Tough to catch on TV sometimes, but...

When the other team takes control of the puck closer to the Caps goal than Ovechkin is how hard does he try to get back to the puck?

Boudreau convinced Ovi to backcheck, but he also put in place a system that killed his offense.

All right - a second thing. Learn the numbers of the top 2 forward lines (the guys that get the most ice time). When you are watching a game and see someone who you have no idea who they are - how does the flow of the game look? Are they holding their own? Getting dominated? Beating the crap out of a team that is less talented or just cruising?

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Alex Ovechkin (DonRocks)

Don, All the rules that you need to learn about hockey can be learned here.

Anyone else sickened by ESPN's coverage, by it's unbridled adolatry of Serena Williams, by any refusal to even hint at the disparity in her body image against the sleek Eastern European tennis ladies, by anything other than shameless worship?

I'm sorry, but I find this comment at best offensive, and at worst racist. I debated all day whether to bother responding, but in the end it pissed me off too much. Don can cast his aspersions at her steroid use, but Serena has always been a muscular thick person. At least his comments aren't designed to say that there is an ideal look for women athletes that matter beyond results.They are ATHLETES. The biggest/baddest one wins. No matter if it's the NFL and 330 pound linemen or marathoners. What does her look have to do with anything? And the Eastern Euros are "sleek"? Did you look at Azarenka tonight?

And Jesus, Serena has a chance to win the Grand Slam. How many other people have done that? (And yes, I know the answer). There is a good reason to blow her image up.

Now that I'm done with that. I don't watch a lot of tennis, nor play it particularly well, but Federer just put on a master class. You don't need to know tennis well to recognize that.

PS - For those interested in following harvest, Kelly has been posting some great photos on Instagram.

Tonight it'll be to my Great Uncle Jim

The last of his generation.

Do Webers ever go on sale?

Only very occasionally when they are closing out models.

In my opinion, athleticism is "fitness+" ... it's fitness plus size, hand-eye coordination, leaping ability, and quickness - four things that you can work on and improve, but are mainly genetic.

But in the end, it's going to come down to how you define "athlete."

Whenever this discussion comes up, I always put in the plug for hockey players.

However, I'd also like to remind people of who gets the title "world's greatest athlete" - the Olympic Decathalon gold medalist.

PS - For my tastes, female pole vaulters have the best bodies.

Why do we know, or think, that Todd English has something to do with this restaurant?

Because the food is stacked 5 inches high?

So one day my brother is changing flights in an airport. Stopping by the airport bar he sees Dan who really looks like he doesn't want to be bothered. My brother walks up to Dan and says "Jon W, Central Catholic class of 1982. Nice to meet you."

Upon meeting a fellow Viking, Dan's demeanor changes. "Good to meet you. Sit down and have beer." They chat for a while when two women walk up and ask Dan if they can take a picture with him. He says, "Sure, but you have to have my good friend Jon in it, too."

So somewhere out there. Some woman has a prized photo of herself and Dan Marino

and my brother.

One thing that most people don't realize is how much ground elite runners at all lengths (but especially the sprinters) cover with each stride.

One memory from my career as a HS cross country runner - one summer we were at camp at Edinboro (PA) Univ. On the track they had taped out footfalls for what was then the 800 meter world record. Af far as I could stride at full speed, my strides were almost 2 feet shorter than the ones on the track. The only way I could match the marked footfalls was basically leaping from mark to mark. I think that I made 4 or 5 before quitting.

"Garfield's Salt of the Earth To Close its Doors in August" by Melissa McCart on post-gazette.com

That's too bad. Had a very enjoyable meal there a few years ago.

Max's is a real PGH institution. Haven't thought about that place in a long time.

Great news. (If it actually goes through)

My only question is how much tax will MoCo put on these "special" orders?

Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

For the record, I've seen exactly one show at the Fillmore and that was only because Mrs. JPW's hair stylist is the lead singer of one of the warm up acts.

The kids going to see a punk, metal, or hiphop show aren't really the people that are going to eat at an old-school neighborhood Italian joint.

The bands that would bring people likely to eat at daMarco and Classics are not very commonly booked.*

Also, Classics is far enough down the street that the crowds aren't much of a hassle for their clientele.

*However, I'm extremely stoked about seeing Social Distortion in August

I love how Gomez seemed apologetic about breaking up a no-no with a lame hit.

Word on the street is that he was getting sick of dealing with the FIllmore crowds on the sidewalk. Being literally next door meant that anyone who wanted to eat at daMarco had to fight their way through the crowds just to get to the door.

To Sepp Blatter! Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on your way out!

I tried to help, but couldn't see the wine list on their website. Not knowing anything, I'd say to get a Beaujolais or a Cote du Rhone in the $40s if you can, the older the better (these wines are built to improve after several years of aging, and you'll be fortunate to find one as old as 2010, for example).

Yea, it took me a couple of minutes to find it (click "menus", then at the very bottom of the page it has links to wine and dessert menus).

A quick glance has me saying "What Don said".

There are a couple of decent Crozes Hermitage that are not priced too badly that will be somewhat flexible to pair with.

Good question: It wasn't the 3rd-base coach that told him, that's for sure.

As clueless as the 3rd baseman was, the 2nd baseman was lights-out in-the-moment. How did he think do such a thing?

I'd say it was the screams from the Pirate coaches and other players in the 3rd base dugout.

Walker's decision was amazing. You can tell that he was headed towards second to double up the runner who had been there when he changed his mind because he still had a chance to double up the runner who had been at third.

http://behnkes.com/website/

A hot goalie can save a team that's playing poor D. The best D can't save a goalie having a bad night.

Lift is something I've never completely understood, but it's "in contrast to" drag. I think lift is why, when you hold your arm out a moving car window, you can make your hand "soar" towards the wind by turning your palm down to the ground.

I always understood it as the result of differential air pressures, but then again, I am not an engineer.

I did however stay in a Holiday Inn a few months ago.

Quote from the article:

"Separately, the appeal document also says that the impact on Kurniawan's victims has been exaggerated. 'The prices paid for the bottles of counterfeit wine greatly exaggerated the real financial impact on the purchasers,' the document says.

'That is not to say that Rudy's conduct in any way should be lauded or excused,' it adds."

My head hurts.

A constant theme of Rudy's defense has been the "Robin Hood" excuse. "It's not really a crime because I was only ripping off extremely wealthy people."

This product is only available through food-service distributors; not at retail. The ingredients look okay, until you get to the final two, at which point they become questionable.

Citric acid is needed for safe canning (https://www.foodsafety.wisc.edu/assets/preservation/UWEX_addacidtomatoes.pdf )

What's wrong with granulated garlic? I want the flavor of garlic throughout my red sauce for pizza, not chunks of fresh garlic.