No offense to the ESPN selection committee who put together these rather fascinating rankings, but explain how George "Freaking" Mason is ranked #100, behind Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth and Drexel???

Go to the NCAA basketball page on ESPN.com and check out the rankings, because in a few days, they will have 1-300 on the NCAA Division-1 list of prestigious programs.

Yes, I realize they have their numbers in a certain way to get the rankings, but how many other CAA squads have gone deep into the NCAA Tournament other than George Mason? The Richmond Spiders, who are now in the A-10 conference advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1988 after defeating the defending champion Indiana Hoosiers and Georgia Tech before falling to top-seeded Temple. In 1991, they shocked #2 Syracuse, as one of the few 15-seeds to survive.

VCU's record is not bad for a mid-major (5-8), but they have never survived the opening weekend of March Madness. They did beat Duke in the 2007 tournament, however. Drexel has never made it to the Big Dance while a member in the CAA, but they have four appearances with only one victory. Again, they did not survive the first weekend.

Old Dominion has nine NCAA appearances with a record of 2-9, and they never surpassed the second round either. Unless they were referring to the Lady Monarchs, then how does a team with two tourney wins rank T-76 in the country?

If you want to look at all-time CAA Championships:

GMU: 3 regular season titles, 4 CAA titles
ODU: 4 regular season titles, 4 CAA titles
VCU: 4 regular season titles, 3 CAA titles
DU: 0 regular season titles, 0 CAA titles

Mason went to the Final Four after defeating three-powerhouse programs. We shocked the world, yet ESPN still thinks these three programs have had more success. It baffles me and other Masonites, but it is what it is. The only thing that matters now is the upcoming 2009 season. The past does not matter. What's done is done, but history has the power to repeat itself.

Only time will tell.

I guess Bill Parcells had enough of Jason Taylor, which may be a huge reason Taylor is now in the burgundy and gold in Washington. If you missed it, the Redskins have acquired long-time Miami Dolphin DE Jason Taylor. In return, the Fins receive a 2009 second-round and a 2010 sixth-round draft choice.

After months of agonizing trade discussion, head coach Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints have signed TE Jeremy Shockey, from the New York Giants. The G-Men will receive a second-round and fifth-round draft pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.

If you ask me, it was win-win situations with these two trades.
First off, Parcells no longer has to deal with Taylor's Hollywood life and the so-called "lack of communication." It no longer exists, because the six-time Pro Bowler is now a Redskin. The Fins have an opportunity to pick a high quality player in next year's draft to boot.
The G-Men finally can get rid of all the controversy that is Jeremy Shockey. New York got what they wanted, and Shock is in a new town to stir up trouble for a franchise. Soon, all of New Orleans will either hate Shockey or will hate Sean Payton. The Giants now have two extra picks next draft, and they have a good young TE in Kevin Boss.

It's early into camp, but players are on the move. Just wait until Brett Favre decides to stay in Lambeau and make Aaron Rodgers a pine warmer or create an absolute circus in another city for another team.

Only time will tell, but when it happens, you can read it here or on any other sports wire.

Remember the U.S. Open last month? Remember a man by the name of Tiger Woods? When Padraig Harrington tapped in on the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale Sunday afternoon, it capped off an amazing victory with the world's best in attendance. That is of course except for the world's number one golfer.

Had Harrington not won the 137th Open Championship, there might have been an asterisk next to the Champions' name. But luckily, it was Harrington's second-consecutive Open Championship.

It was not just that he had won two straight Opens, but how he won at Birkdale. After bogeys at 7, 8, and 9, Harrington was at 7-over-par. His back nine score speaks for itself, as he was able to not just win, but run away from the Greg "The Shark" Norman (3rd place) and Englishman Ian Poulter (runner-up). After his incredible second shot on he par-5 17th hole, he made his eagle to pretty much wrap it all up, much to the excitement of the English fans.

On a side note, Greg Norman's 54-hole lead was impressive, but as many will say, "I told you so." It was only a matter of time before he would collapse, but he was still in it, and at one point held a lead over Harrington in the final round. Ian Poulter said when he is playing at his potential, it will be just him and Tiger. Well, it's one thing to talk the talk, but he must know he has to walk the walk, especially if he plans on challenging Tiger for #1.
The fact is no one will be #1 but Tiger, at least as long as he has a pulse and heartbeat. He is purely the greatest athlete to ever step into the ring of battle. He has taken on the world and his stats outdo the field by a longshot. In his illustrious PGA career, Tiger has made 222 cuts of his 236 events, winning 65 tour events. This year, he has only played in six events, with four victories, one runner-up and never finished outside the top-10.
Now the question becomes, who takes over while Tiger is sidelined for the remainder of the season? Sergio? Furyk? Els? Mick? Or how about PGA rookie Anthony Kim? There is no replacing the greatest golfer to step in the teebox, but there must be someone to control the leaderboard until his triumphant return in the 2009 season.

Two days ago, the Los Angeles Lakers took a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Thank you Kobe Bryant is what everyone in L.A. is saying after that tremendous game.

Down 64-45 with under 6 minutes left in the 3rd, Kobe took it upon himself to bring back the Lakers to within 7 points by the end of the 3rd quarter. L.A. reeled off a 14-0 run to ignite the crowd, thanks in big part to the Kobester. Kobe scored 25 of his team-high 27 points in the second half, 13 of which came in the 3rd stanza.

When Kobe plays better, his teammates play much better. They dominated the glass, shot lights out, and played stout defense as the Lakers ended the last 17+ minutes with a 44-20 run to take a 89-85 home win.

This win may be what this team needs to control the series and possibly bring back the NBA Title to Los Angeles. Game 2 between the Lakers and Spurs takes place tonight at the Staples Center. Tip-off was at 9 p.m. and will be televised on TNT.

After tonight's loss in Cleveland, the top-seeded Boston Celtics will have to win game 7 in Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. At least we can say it is at home for the Celts. They are 7-0 at home this playoffs, but they are yet to win on the road going 0-6 away from home.

If the Celtics do survive Lebron and the Cleveland Cavaliers in game 7, they will face the Detroit Pistons, and you can bet that Detroit will not lose at the Palace and the Pistons are likely to win a game or two on the road.

If you can't win on the road in the playoffs you cannot win a title. I guess Boston will have to wait one more year, because it will be Detroit going to the finals to face either L.A. or New Orleans. It should be two great series in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Here was the situation....the Washington Capitals were down 3 games to 1 to the Philadelphia Flyers entering last Saturday's game....after a 3-2 victory at Verizon, the team went to the almost-impossible Wachovia Center last night and defied the odds with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory to force the all important game 7 tonight in Chinatown.

Down 2-0 in the second period, Nicklas Backstrom scored on a 3-on-2 to slice the lead in half. With just under two minutes remaining in the same period, Alexander Semin hit the back of the net after Marty Biron could not grasp the puck in his glove and the game was knotted at 2 apiece.

Heading to the third, Alex Ovechkin showed why he is the best in the world, as he received a pass from Viktor Kozlov and had noone to beat but Biron.

He used his speed, quickness and great puck handling to net the puck and give the Caps their first lead of the game. Later, Sergei Fedorov and Brooks Laich found Ovie once more and he hit the one-timer for a 4-2 advantage.

Cristobal Huet played arguably the best game of the series as he made incredible stops, including quite a few down the stretch to clinch a game 7 with the Flyers.

Tonight, Verizon and the Capitals host Philly for the final time this season as game 7 will be played at 7 p.m. and if you can't make it out to the game, Rock the Red in front of your televisions.

The game will be on Comcast Sportsnet with Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin, the best hockey team in the biz, calling the action. Sports Nite: Pregame Edition will begin at 6 p.m. on the network.

LETS GO CAPITALS!!!

After a heart-breaking defeat in double overtime on Thursday night, the Washington Capitals returned home to the nation's capital and held off those feisty Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in front of a jam-packed Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon.

Down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and facing elimination, the Capitals played their best game of the series in order to keep their season and aspirations of a Cup intact.



"We had to win," Capitals forward Donald Brashear said. "If you play a game like that and you can't come out with energy, you're not going to win anything in your life."

Though the Flyers failed to close out the series, goalkeeper Martin Biron is not at all worried that they will be able to close out the series.

"That's why you work hard to get a lead," Biron said. "You work hard to build that 3-1 lead. Now, we're still ahead and we're going to our building, and I still feel that's a very good position to be in."

The Capitals wasted little time as rookie Nicklas Backstrom scored a 5-on-3 power play goal (2) at the 7:31 mark in the first period. In that period, they outshot the Flyers 12-4, outhit them 22-9 and controlled the puck on the Philly side for the majority of the period. The Caps led 1-0 at the first intermission.

"I thought the first period was our best period of the series," Capitals defenseman Tom Poti said. "We were desperate and down to our last game. We're going to keep it up."

Less than 90 ticks into the second, Sergei Federov scored his first playoff goal with Washington with a backhanded wrister to put the Capitals up 2-0 and ignite the Rockin' Red crowd into a frenzy.

"Like a fine wine, isn't he?" Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau said of Federov. "He slowed it down and he's good on the bench. He's the one yelling at the guys to calm down. He's been through the wars. He's got all our experience in the playoffs."

After a Vaclav Prospal power-play goal to cut Washington's lead in half, the Caps took a 2-1 advantage into the second intermission. Washington had controlled the first two periods, but the Flyers came to win the series and the pressure on Capitals goalkeeper Cristobal Huet and defense rose to a new level in the third.

At 14:33 in the third, Alexander Semin registered an all important power play goal that would put the Caps up 3-1 and end up being the game winner to keep the series alive.

"Evidently, it was pretty important because one thing about the Flyers is they don't quit," Boudreau said.

They did not give in being down by two goals, because less than a minute later Derian Hatcher scored to cut the lead to 3-2. With less than a minute to go, Philly pulled Biron and had an empty net in attempts to knot the game at three.

The Flyers had their chances but Washington was able to clear the puck as the final seconds ran off and as the horn sounded, the Caps knew they had lived to play another day and the ride is not over yet.

"Right now, we don't want to stop," Huet said. "It's a win. After the Thursday night loss, we regroup right away. We don't feel any satisfaction tonight, that's one and we're going to get focused for Monday.

On Monday night, at 7 p.m., the Caps and Flyers will play game 6 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, with Washington's season again at risk. With a win in the City of Brotherly love, it would force a game 7 back in D.C. That game would take place on Tuesday at Verizon Center.

"Right now, players know how to play in the playoffs," Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said. "We know this will be hard, but we can do it. We don't care what the media says about us. We know we're a great team. We just have to win the game."

LET'S GO CAPITALS!!!

After a heart-breaking defeat in double overtime on Thursday night, the Washington Capitals returned home to the nation's capital and held off those feisty Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in front of a jam-packed Verizon Center on Saturday afternoon.

Down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and facing elimination, the Capitals played their best game of the series in order to keep their season and aspirations of a Cup intact.



"We had to win," Capitals forward Donald Brashear said. "If you play a game like that and you can't come out with energy, you're not going to win anything in your life."

Though the Flyers failed to close out the series, goalkeeper Martin Biron is not at all worried that they will be able to close out the series.

"That's why you work hard to get a lead," Biron said. "You work hard to build that 3-1 lead. Now, we're still ahead and we're going to our building, and I still feel that's a very good position to be in."

The Capitals wasted little time as rookie Nicklas Backstrom scored a 5-on-3 power play goal (2) at the 7:31 mark in the first period. In that period, they outshot the Flyers 12-4, outhit them 22-9 and controlled the puck on the Philly side for the majority of the period. The Caps led 1-0 at the first intermission.

"I thought the first period was our best period of the series," Capitals defenseman Tom Poti said. "We were desperate and down to our last game. We're going to keep it up."

Less than 90 ticks into the second, Sergei Federov scored his first playoff goal with Washington with a backhanded wrister to put the Capitals up 2-0 and ignite the Rockin' Red crowd into a frenzy.

"Like a fine wine, isn't he?" Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau said of Federov. "He slowed it down and he's good on the bench. He's the one yelling at the guys to calm down. He's been through the wars. He's got all our experience in the playoffs."

After a Vaclav Prospal power-play goal to cut Washington's lead in half, the Caps took a 2-1 advantage into the second intermission. Washington had controlled the first two periods, but the Flyers came to win the series and the pressure on Capitals goalkeeper Cristobal Huet and defense rose to a new level in the third.

At 14:33 in the third, Alexander Semin registered an all important power play goal that would put the Caps up 3-1 and end up being the game winner to keep the series alive.

"Evidently, it was pretty important because one thing about the Flyers is they don't quit," Boudreau said.

They did not give in being down by two goals, because less than a minute later Derian Hatcher scored to cut the lead to 3-2. With less than a minute to go, Philly pulled Biron and had an empty net in attempts to knot the game at three.

The Flyers had their chances but Washington was able to clear the puck as the final seconds ran off and as the horn sounded, the Caps knew they had lived to play another day and the ride is not over yet.

"Right now, we don't want to stop," Huet said. "It's a win. After the Thursday night loss, we regroup right away. We don't feel any satisfaction tonight, that's one and we're going to get focused for Monday.

On Monday night, at 7 p.m., the Caps and Flyers will play game 6 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, with Washington's season again at risk. With a win in the City of Brotherly love, it would force a game 7 back in D.C. That game would take place on Tuesday at Verizon Center.

"Right now, players know how to play in the playoffs," Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said. "We know this will be hard, but we can do it. We don't care what the media says about us. We know we're a great team. We just have to win the game."

LET'S GO CAPITALS!!!

At the time of Bruce Boudreau's hiring, the Washington Capitals were in the cellar of the Eastern conference and their record stood at 6-14-1. Since then, the Caps have gone 37-17-7 under the former Hershey Bears coach.

Last night, the Caps completed the improbable run to the postseason with a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers to clinch the Southeast Division, their first division title in 7 years. The biggest win in most of these players' careers capped off their seventh-consecutive victory and their 11th win in 12 games.

In the 30-team era of the National Hockey League, Washington is the first team to climb from 15th place in the conference and still make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

For the Capitals it was not Alex Ovechkin who led the team in scoring. In fact, Ovie, who has the league leading 65 goals and 112 points, did not even register a point.

With goals by Tomas Fleischmann, Sergei Federov and Alexander Semin, Washington was able to complete their historic comeback in all of NHL history.

Federov, the 38-year old veteran who was a trade deadline pickup, scored the go ahead goal in the 2nd period and Boudreau was pleased with him. "He was unbelievable," Boudreau said of Fedorov. "He looked like he was 28. That goal he scored was just as a rocket. He looked as rejuvenated as anyone could be."

Cristobal Huet, who was another trade deadline addition, made 25 saves last night and earned his ninth straight victory in goal. "It's just an amazing run we have," said Huet. "It's just fun to be a part of this group right now. We're so happy to accomplish this."

The regular season will finish up today and with the Capitals clinching the division, they earn the 3-seed in the Eastern conference playoffs. Their opponent will either be the Ottawa Senators or the Philadelphia Flyers.

Ottawa currently leads Philadelphia by one game in the standings, but if the Flyers defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philly would pass Boston and Ottawa for 6th place.

Tickets went on sale as soon as the game ended last night and currently, tickets are available on a limited bases is upper level corner seats still available. Expect for the Red Out to continue as the Capitals attempt to return to the Stanley Cup Finals.

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

There are 60 minutes left to go in this long season, and if anyone would have said on Nov. 22 when Bruce Boudreau was hired that he would have the Capitals one game from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, you would have laughed, hysterically.

But guess what Caps fans.......it is most certainly true. The Washington Capitals will host the Florida Panthers for a chance to play for the Cup at 7 p.m. at Verizon Center.

The game is sold out because everyone wants a taste of the post-season.....and that's what Alex Ovechkin and company have their sights set on.

Ovechkin's NHL leading 65 goals has the league mesmerized at their 10 wins in 11 games, and he could help place the Capitals into the playoffs for the first time in five years. Since Boudreau's hiring, the Caps are 36-17-7 and the team who was once in the cellar of the NHL standings and the laughing stock, are a team no one wants to play at all.

The Panthers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes last night in Raleigh 4-3 to put the final playoff spot in the hands of the Capitals. The Hurricanes need Washington to lose in regulation, while the Caps just need to make it to overtime and they get the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Tonight, whether you are inside Verizon or at a sports bar or in the confines of your home, wear RED and let's watch our team move on to for a chance to hold the Stanley Cup. This team has everything inside of them to do so, but they need you all to be their 7th man!

LET'S GO CAPS!!!

Mason Nation awaited the news as to whether Jim Larranaga, former player at Providence College, would bolt for his alma mater or stay with the program that made him famous after he took Mason to the 2006 Final Four.

Well the verdict is in.....Larranaga has agreed on a contract extension through the 2014-15 season and he is staying in Fairfax. PC had offered him the head coaching job to replace Tim Welsh, who was fired last month. His base salary would have reached nearly one-million dollars per year.

"I've said before that I hope to retire here at George Mason and this contract extension allows me to do just that,'' Larranaga said.

The news made students happy to know their beloved coach would remain as the Patriots head coach.

Adrian Solomon, a junior Systems Engineering major, was very excited when the news broke of the contract extension because it was because of Larranaga's leadership that Solomon still attends Mason.

"He has not only inspired me to become a better fan, but also do better in school," Solomon said. "He gave me confidence and hope and is the reason I am still here at Mason. I would have been surprised if he had left [for Providence] because he's changed this whole school."

Sean Gagnon, a junior Environmental Science major and member of the Patriot Platoon, was not surprised that Coach L was staying at Mason.

"I figured he wasn't going to leave," Gagnon said. "He loves Mason too much, and I'll continue to eat Larranaga burgers long into the future."

Next season, when the Patriots take the court in hopes of claiming another CAA Title, fans can be rest assured that Coach L will be our head coach. More importantly, the contract extension may have locked in Larranaga until his retirement from coaching basketball.

“Jim [Larranaga] is a terrific ambassador for George Mason University,” said Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics Tom O'Connor. “I'm proud to say that he will continue to be our coach for the next seven years.”

BE LOUD AND GO MASON!!!

In front of a capacity crowd at Verizon Center, the Washington Capitals came closer to a playoff birth after dismantling the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 Tuesday night.

And of course it wouldn't be a complete victory without Alex Ovechkin igniting the crowd. With the Caps up 3-1 in the 3rd period, Ovie scored his 63rd goal at the 16:24 mark to seal the win. The goal sent the fans into a frenzy with the chant "M-V-P!" that engulfed the entire arena.

"All we can do is win our games, and that’s all we’ve been worrying about since the loss in Chicago," Matt Cooke said. "The only thing we can do is control how we play, and get as many two-point nights as we can."

Cooke got Washington into their groove as he scored his 10th goal on the season to put the Caps up 1-0 with 5:00 left in the first period.

With this big win, the Caps and 'Canes are tied atop the Southeast Division, but one problem, Carolina owns the tiebreaker because they have one more win than Washington. It is as simple as this: Washington cannot lose another game, or else the Hurricanes will more than likely clinch.

If Carolina does clinch, Washington can still get a 7 or 8-seed. The Caps are one point behind the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, two teams that Washington holds the tiebreaker over if it is necessary after all games have been played. They sit two points back of the Ottawa Senators, whom they also own the tiebreaker over.

They need to hope for home wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow night and a big victory in Saturday's finale against against the Panthers from South Florida.

"We still haven’t accomplished anything yet and we know that," Green said. "These next two games are the biggest games of our careers, and hopefully come Saturday we’ll be where we want to be."

NHL East Conference Standings (points)
6. Ottawa Senators 92
7. Boston Bruins 91
8. Philadelphia Flyers 91
9. Washington Capitals 90

LET'S GO CAPS!!!