Beasts of the east

via @Redskins

You like that?!

What started as a comment Kirk Cousins yelled out loud at reporters has become the words the define the Redskins season.  After going 3-13 two years ago and 4-12 the next year, the Washington Redskins are your 2015 NFC East division champions.  Washington clinched it last night in Philadelphia over the Eagles by the final score of 38-24.

After the Eagles took a 7-0 lead to start the game the Skins answered when quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a 22 yard touchdown strike to tight end Jordan Reed.  Reed continued his hot streak where in the last two weeks heading into the last night's game, he led all NFL tight ends with 16 receptions, 204 yards, and three touchdowns.  The Redskins missed the extra point.  Washington took the lead over a minute left in the first quarter on another touchdown by Reed.  Cousins completed a short pass to him in the middle for a 13-6 lead.  The teams traded field goals in the second quarter and the first half ended with the score, 16-10 Redskins.  Kirk Cousins made a mental mistake when he drove the team down inside the 10 with five seconds left.  While he should have spiked the ball to stop the clock and kick the field goal, he took a knee instead.  Was it costly?

Not at all.  In the second half the Redskins kept rolling.  7:03 left in the third, Cousins found Chris Thompson in the end zone to put the Skins up 23-10.  The Eagles closed the gap to 23-17 on a Demarco Murray touchdown run.  On the next Philadelphia possession, the Redskins defense came up big.  Quarterback Sam Bradford fumbled the ball and DeAngelo Hall picked it up and took it in for a touchdown.  The play was almost reminiscent of Sean Taylor, who did that 10 years ago against the same team in the same stadium.

via @Redskins

In the fourth quarter, Cousins found Pierre Garcon and Washington converted a two-point conversion when Cousins found Jamison Crowder.  It sealed the 38-24 victory and the division.  The Redskins players were celebrating on the field and in the locker room.  The best celebration came when Kirk Cousins and Redskins team president Bruce Allen embraced and were shouting, "you like that?"

via @Redskins

There were even a ton of Redskins fans waiting in Ashburn, Virginia at Redskins Park greeting the team when they arrived home around 3 a.m.  The win locks in a home game for the Redskins in the first round of the playoffs.  Before that happens the Skins have one more game left at Dallas against the Cowboys.  Kickoff is at 1:00 this Sunday.

via @Redskins

via @Redskins

via @Redskins

Redskins win big over Buffalo

via @CSNRedskins

Kirk Cousins and the Redskins hosted the Buffalo Bills at Fed Ex Field on Sunday looking for a win to get them closer to the NFC East title.  They got close with a big win over the Bills 35-25 as well as some help from the Jets beating the Cowboys last night and the Panthers beating the Giants today.  The Eagles will play the Cardinals tonight.

The Skins got on the board when Cousins found Jordan Reed for a three-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game.  In the second quarter, Kirk ran it in 13 yards to put Washington up 14-0.  Then with 8:47 left in the half, the Redskins went up 21-0 with Reed's second touchdown of the day.

via @Redskins

During halftime, the Redskins honored Monte Coleman as they inducted him into the ring of fame.  Legendary coach Joe Gibbs was there for the ceremony.

via @CSNRedskins

After the Bills kicked a field goal to start the second half, Cousins launched a bomb and Desean Jackson caught it and took it to the house for a 77 yard touchdown.  Trailing 28-3, the Bills got two touchdowns to cut the defect to 11 points but the Redskins got an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter.  With 11:16 left, Cousins threw a five yard touchdown strike to Pierre Garcon to go up 35-17.  The Redskins would prevail 35-25 and improve their record to .500 at 7-7.

Thanks to the Jets and Panthers taking care of the Cowboys and Giants respectively, the Redskins move to sole possession of first place.  The Eagles play tonight against the Cardinals but regardless of the outcome of that game, the Skins do hold the tiebreaker.  The Redskins and Eagles will play Saturday night at Philadelphia at 8:25 p.m. as part of Thursday Night Football: Saturday Edition on NFL Network.

via @CSNRedskins

You like that? Redskins move to first place

via @Redskins

The Washington Redskins are now in the driver's seat entering the final month of the season thanks to a big win over the New York Giants.  The Skins beat the G-Men 20-14 in front of a crowd of 77,367.  The crowd was very mixed at Fed Ex Field with plenty of Giants blue in addition to burgundy and gold.

In the beginning of the game, New York moved the ball well on their opening drive.  That is until Eli Manning threw the first of three interceptions.  His first came on a pass intended for Shane Vereen.  The ball bounced off the running back and right into the hands of linebacker Perry Riley Jr.  On the next Giants drive, a Manning pass towards Dwayne Harris was knocked in the air by cornerback Will Blackmon, caught by Harris, who was then rocked by a hit by Kyshoen Jarrett.  Harris lost the ball and it went right into the hands of Blackmon, who was credited with the interception.  Nobody was able to score in the first quarter.

The Skins were the first on the board with a 41 yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.  On their next drive Kirk Cousins fired a deep ball to Desean Jackson 63 yards for the touchdown.  That put the Redskins up 10-0.  The Redskins would move the ball down the field later in the half.  Cousins found Jamison Crowder on an in route that was ruled for a touchdown originally, but was called back on the booth review when they discovered Crowder's knee was down at the half yard line for a fourth down.  Rather than kicking the field goal, head coach Jay Gruden sent Cousins out to go for it.  With 1:50 left in the half, Cousins ran it in with a QB sneak for a one yard touchdown.  The officials had to review the play but the play was upheld and confirmed so the touchdown stood.  Washington would head to the locker room up 17-0.

A field goal in the early fourth quarter put the Redskins up 20-0.  Big Blue would put together a rally.  At 10:19, the Giants went for it on 4th and 16 with a no huddle and Manning threw a deep ball to Reuben Randle 40 yards to put the Giants on the board.  After the defense forced the Redskins to put the Giants took over, down 20-7 with 7:20 left in the game.  Nine plays and 77 yards later, Manning found his favorite target Odell Beckham Jr. as he made another signature catch that probably could only be made by him.  Beckham dove in the end zone and caught Eli's pass for the 21-yard touchdown.  The Giants cut the Redskins lead 20-14 with 4:57 left.  The many Giants fans who made the trek started to make noise and Washington was put on the ropes.

via @nflnetwork

The Redskins got the ball back and were forced to a 3rd and 4, but Cousins found tight end Jordan Reed for 20 yards to move the chains to the Washington 48.  A few plays later, Alfred Morris picked up another first down on a seven-yard carry.  The Redskins faced another big third down situation, this time with 10 yards out.  They couldn't move the ball and weren't in field goal range so they were forced to punt.  Morris got stuffed for a one-yard loss and Gruden decided to punt as he tried to pin the Giants in their own territory with 19 seconds left.  A holding call against the Redskins added 10 yards to the return which set up New York with a first and 10 from their own 16. They weren't able to string anything on their drive and on the last play of the game, a desperation play got thrown out of bounds sealing the victory, and first place, for the Redskins.

The Redskins improve their record to 5-6 which surpassed their win total from a year ago.  They also improve to 5-1 at home, losing the first game but winning the next five.  Their five straight home victories is Washington's first since they won their first six home games in Weeks 1-11 in their most recent Super Bowl title season back in 1991.  The Giants will gear up for a home game against the Jets in the battle of New York this Sunday at 1:00.  The Redskins will await the Cowboys as their hated rivals make the trip up to FedEx for Monday Night Football.

via @Redskins

Caps win fifth straight, take first place

Via @NHL

After a dominating win over the Lightning on home ice 4-2, the Capitals headed to the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Saturday night to take on the Maple Leafs in the second of back-to-back games.  The Caps would prevail 4-2. 

Both teams were fighting for the first goal at the start of the game.  After a commotion in front of the net, the Leafs couldn’t get anything past Braden Holtby and the Capitals took transition of the puck and went down the ice.  Jason Chimera raced down the left side ice with the puck and put his wrist shot past goaltender Jonathan Bernier to give Washington the 1-0 lead.  Chimera’s seventh goal of the season came at 3:42 into the game.  Toronto would tie the game at 6:13 into the first, just a few minutes after the Chimera goal.  The goal came on a Peter Holland snap shot assisted by Dion Pheneuf.  The Caps weren’t able to get a rebound on the shot by Pheneuf and Holland made them pay.  The teams headed to the locker room after the first period with the score tied at one.  The Maple Leafs outshot the Capitals in the first frame 16-4.

            At 4:06 in the second period the Caps took the lead 2-1 on a goal by Tom Wilson, his first of the season.  There was a turnover by Morgan Reilly as he coughed up the puck over by the net on their end on the right side and Wilson was there to scoop up the loose puck and put it past Bernier.  Wilson used a spin move as he shot the puck and fell to the ground.  Matt Niskanen and Wilson’s roommate, Michael Latta were credited with assists.  Wilson’s first goal of the season was a special one as he scored in his hometown.  A few minutes later at 6:17, Toronto was on the power play and nine seconds later the game was tied.   John Carlson was sent to the box for the Caps with an interference call.  On a shot by Dion Phaneuf, Leo Komarov tipped the puck in and the game was tied at two.  At 10:06, Nazem Kadri got sent to the sin bin for high sticking as the Capitals headed to the power play.  A shot by Alex Ovechkin from the right side deflect off of Marcus Johansson into the net for the 3-2 lead.  The goal came at 11:08.  Johansson then drew an interference call from Phaneuf to go back on the power play and Justin Williams cashed in with a slapshot goal and the Caps went up 4-2. Chimera got the assist and now has six power play points on the season, a career high.  Chimera had the puck down on the right side of the net and passed it to Williams, who was right beside him, as he fired and scored.   

            At 10:08 into the third, Ovechkin was called for crosschecking against Tyler Bozak.  The Leafs couldn’t capitalize on the power play as Holtby made some big saves and some shots went off the pipe.  That was their best chance to get back in the game but Holtby and the Caps held on for the 4-2 victory. 

            The Leafs outshot the Caps 33-23 and Holtby made 29 saves in the win.  After playing five games in seven days, the Capitals will have some time off before they take on the Canadians in Montreal on Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.  Due to the Rangers dropping three in a row the Caps are now in first place in the Metropolitan Divison. 

Offense wakes up as Caps beat Jets

The Washington Capitals entertained the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night from Verizon Center.  The Caps are coming off of a 1-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers from Monday night.  It was the fourth game of a season-long five game home-stand.  The Capitals would get their third straight win with a final score of 5-3.

Washington got off to a great start in the game after not being able to score the other night until the third period.  After a shot by John Carlson from the right side of the net bounced off the wall coming off a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams rebounded the puck into the net from the corner.  Williams, with that goal, is now two points shy of 600 for his career.  The goal came 1:12 into the game.  A wrist shot by Tyler Myers tied the game about five minutes later.  The Jets would take the lead 2-1 with a goal by Andrew Ladd.  Alex Ovechkin would tie the game at two with just 1:14 to go until the first intermission.  After a strong pass by John Carlson from the middle got caught in Ovechkin's skates, he used great awareness to get the puck on his stick and shot it right inside the net.  It looked like Ovi used his left leg to get the puck on the stick.  It was Alex Ovechkin's 11th goal of the season.

In the second period, the Capitals took the lead back at 10:03.  After Dmitry Orlov got the puck to Nate Schmidt from the right side, Schmidt got the puck into the middle where Nicklas Backstrom tapped the puck past Winnipeg net minder Michael Hutchinson for the 3-2 lead.  The Jets tied it on the power play as former Capital, Mathieu Perreualt got a snapshot past Braden Holtby at 13:53.  The Capitals responded at 16:22 as Orlov continued his hot streak.  Off a pass from Kuznetsov from the top of the box, Orlov buried a slapshot in the net for his third straight goal in as many nights.  Saturday night, he was like a magician with the puck as nobody could find the puck when it was actually with Orlov the entire time.  By then it was too late.  On Monday night, he was the lone player who scored as it came late in the third period.

The Capitals were looking for an insurance goal in this back and fourth game as it headed into the third period.  They got it late in third with 6:14 to go as Kuznetsov scored on a backhand.  The Capitals would win 5-3.  On "Black Friday" the Caps will return to the ice to take on the Lightning at 5:00 in the final game of a five game home-stand from Verizon Center.

via @WashCaps 

World Series Recap Games 1-4

The 2015 World Series between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals is well underway.  The Royals lead the series 3 games to 1 and before Game 5 tonight let's take a look back at the previous four games.

Game 1:

The World Series began at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.  It was an interesting game as it ended as the longest game one in World Series history.  The Royals scored first on the very first pitch of their at bat as Alcides Escobar hit an inside-the-park home run as Yoenis Cespedes misplayed the ball.  In the fourth the Mets tied it on an RBI single by Travis d'Arnaud that scored Daniel Murphy.  In the top of the fifth, Curtis Granderson hit a home run into right field.  In the sixth the Mets made it 3-1 as Michael Conforto hit a sac fly to score Cespedes.  In the bottom of the sixth the Royals tied it.  In the top of the eighth the Mets took the lead as Wilmer Flores reached first base on a fielding error.  The error resulted in Juan Lagares scoring.  With a 4-3 lead, Jeurys Familia came on to try to close out the game but he blew it.  With one out Alex Gordon hit a home run to tie the game and force extra innings.  In the 14th Eric Hosmer's sac fly scored Escobar and the Royals took a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2:

The Mets got off to a good start with an RBI single by Lucas Duda to score Daniel Murphy but the Royals exploded for seven runs en route to a 7-1 win over the Mets.  Royals starting pitcher Johnny Cueto out dueled Jacob deGrom, pitching a complete game.

Game 3:

The series shifted to New York for the first World Series game in Citi Field history.  The crowd was fired up as Billy Joel sang the national anthem and Mike Piazza threw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard sent a message early, throwing at Alcides Escobar's head.  The Royals took 1-0 lead but the Mets answered quickly in the bottom frame.  With Curtis Granderson on base, David Wright hit a homer to left-center to put the fans into a frenzy.  The Royals scored two in the top of the second to go up 3-2.  In the bottom of the third, Syndergaard got a big base hit and Curtis Granderson homered to put the Mets back up 4-3 and they never looked back.  In the sixth, with Juan Lagares and Wimer Flores on base, Juan Uribe singled to right field to score Lagares.  Wright followed with a base hit to deep centerfield to score Flores and Uribe.  Yoenis Cespedes finished up the scoring when he hit a sac fly to score Granderson.  Syndergaard or "Thor", what the fans call him, pitched a gem going six innings and striking out six.  The Mets took Game 3 with a final score of 9-3.

Game 4:

On Halloween night, the Royals robbed the Mets and now put them on the ropes after Game 4.  The Mets showed a lot of promise early on.  In the bottom of the third, Michael Conforto homered to right field.  The Mets went up 2-0 on a sac fly by Curtis Granderson that scored Wilmer Flores and the Mets were up 2-0.  In the bottom of the fifth, Conforto hit his second home run of the game to right-center. 3-1 Mets.  In the sixth the Royals got within one and in the eighth the Royals took advantage of a terrible Mets bullpen, scoring three runs to go up 5-3 which was the eventual final score.  The culprits in the pen were Tyler Clippard and Jeurys Familia.  Clippard took the loss while Familia blew the save.  

Tonight it is do or die for the Mets in Game 5.  For the Royals they are now one win away and could potentially clinch it tonight unless the Mets have anything to say about that.  The pitching match-up tonight is Edison Volquez for KC and Matt Harvey for NY.  Will the Royals win the World Series tonight after failing to last year or will the Mets win in front of their home crowd and keep the series going.  Tune in to FOX at 8:00 to find out. 

World Series Preview

This year’s World Series features two teams that are looking to win it all for the first time since the 1980’s.  Representing the National League is the New York Mets, who haven’t won a World Series since 1986.  Over on the American League side, the Kansas City Royals return to the Fall Classic for the second straight year after losing last year to the San Francisco Giants in seven games.  The Royals are looking to win the World Series for the first time in 30 years, 1985. 

Daniel Murphy has been the hottest hitter on the Mets all postseason; in 38 at-bats he hit .421 with seven homers, 11 RBI’s and a 1.462 OPS.  He homered in every single game of the National League Championship Series in which the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in four games.  He actually has homered for six straight games heading into Game 1 on Tuesday night.  Besides Murphy, the Mets lineup features other solid bats such as Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, and Travis d’Arnaud.  The offense for the Royals has been the best of any team in the postseason, collectively hitting .271 with a .777 OPSl the lineup is led by Alcides Escobar, Ben Zobrist, Lorenzo Cain, Kendrys Morales, Mike Moustakas, and Alex Gordon. 

The Mets feature arguably the best starting pitching staff of the postseason.  Their rotation is now set.  Matt Harvey will pitch Game 1 followed by Jacob deGrom for Game 2, Noah Syndergaard for Game 3, and Steven Matz for Game 4.  As a staff, they have a postseason ERA of 2.65 and a ratio of 69 strikeouts to 18 walks across 54.1 innings in nine games.  The projected starting rotation for the Royals, not yet confirmed, features Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Yordano Ventura, and Chris Young.  The Royals starters need to have better outings to keep up with the Mets.  Through 11 postseason games, the Royas have managed just a 5.56 ERA in 55 innings. 

Both of these teams have been the best teams in baseball all season long so it is fitting that both of these guys are matching up in the World Series.  This will be a very tight series.  I predict the Mets to win in seven games. 

Mets Sweep Cubs, Advance To World Series

After many years of following the Mets from the days of Mike Piazza I can finally say they are going to the World Series.  When the Mets won game three you can hear it from two sides, some saying the Mets will finish the Cubs while others believed the Cubs could rally.  The Mets wasted no time in the beginning of the game.  With Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes on, Lucas Duda hit a three run homer to centerfield.  The very next batter, Travis d'Arnaud hit a homer to right-center and the Mets were up 4-0 after the first inning.

Duda also came up big in the following inning.  With David Wright and Daniel Murphy on, Duda doubled into centerfield to score them. 6-0 Mets.  The Cubs were able to get a run in the fourth but for the most part had a hard time against starting pitcher Steven Matz and starter-turned reliever Bartolo Colon.  Matz went 4.2 innings striking out four.  Colon would get the win.

Back in 1945, tavern owner Billy Sianis brought his pet goat to a World Series game at Wrigley Field.  Because the goat smelled, they both got kicked out.  After they got kicked out, Sianis said the Cubs would win no more, in other words never make it back to the World Series.  They haven't been back since.  The weird part about all of this is that the goat's name was Murphy and the player who was the best this entire series has been Daniel Murphy.  Murphy's law came into effect in the eighth inning.  With Wright on, Murphy homered to dead centerfield to quiet the crowd.  It was his seventh straight game with a homer.  The Mets would win 8-3 and advance to their first World Series since 2000.  Murphy would win series MVP.  They will face the Royals after Kansas City won Friday night.  The series will start on Tuesday at 8 from Kauffman Stadium.  Matt Harvey will pitch for the Mets.

Mets On The Brink Of World Series

After the Mets won the first two games in New York the series shifted to Chicago before a fired up crowd at Wrigley Field.  The pitching matchup featured Jacob deGrom for the Mets while the Cubs countered with Kyle Hendricks.  The Mets wasted no time getting on the board.  David Wright got on base and Yoenis Cespedes drove him in with a base hit to left field to score Wright to go up 1-0.

The Cubs tied it in the bottom of the first when Kyle Schwarber homered to left-center and set the fans into a frenzy.  Daniel Murphy, who has been playing out of his mind, got a lot of boos from the crowd. As he stepped in the batter's box in the third inning, you guessed it, he homered to centerfield.  In the fourth the Cubs tied it back up on a Jorge Soler home run.  

In the sixth, a big momentum shift happened for the Mets.  After a ground rule double that saved the Cubs a run, Chicago had the momentum but not for long.  With Cespedes on third, Michael Conforto was at the plate.  Conforto struck out swinging but the ball went past the catcher, Cespedes scored and Conforto made it to first, 3-2 Mets.  

The Mets added two more runs in the seventh.  With Wright and Murphy on, Cespedes hit an RBI single and advanced to second.  Lucas Duda grounded out but Murphy scored and that was all the Mets needed.  5-2 was the final score and the Mets are now one win away from the World Series.  deGrom pitched seven innings with seven strikeouts earning himself the win while Jeurys Familia got the save.  Tonight's pitching matchup will feature Steven Matz for the Mets while the Cubs counter with Jason Hammel.  

Mets Take First Two Games Of NLCS

For the first time since 2003 the Chicago Cubs were in the NLCS.  For the Mets, it was their first time since 2006.  Games one and two were Saturday and Sunday night from Citi Field.  Here is a recap of both games:

Game 1:

In game one, Matt Harvey pitched a gem and Daniel Murphy continued to put up big numbers in the postseason.  Murphy, after his clutch homer in game five of the NLDS that gave the Mets the win, picked up right where he left off with a home run to right field right off the Pepsi Porch to give the Mets the 1-0 lead.  After the Cubs tied it in the top of the fifth, the Mets answered with an RBI single by Curtis Granderson to give the Mets the lead 2-1.  In the bottom of the sixth, Travis d'Arnaud homered to centerfield.  The ball was so deep it hit the "home run apple."  In the bottom of the seventh Granderson got an RBI sac fly to put the Mets up 4-1.  The final score would be 4-2.  Matt Harvey pitched a gem going 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts.  Jeurys Familia got the four out save to close the game and give the Mets the 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: 

In Game 2 of the NLCS, the Mets were looking to go up 2-0 before heading to Chicago.  David Wright has struggled much of the Postseason but he helped the Mets get off to a good start.  With Curtis Granderson on base, Wright got a base hit in deep centerfield to score Granderson and give the Mets a 1-0 lead.  Then Daniel Murphy continued his hot Postseason with a two-run home run into right field.  It was his fifth homer of the Postseason which ties a Mets record.  He is tied with Mike Piazza. 

In the second inning, Chris Coghlan of the Cubs tried to get his team back in the game.  He almost did so with a home run but Granderson made a great catch to take it away from him.  

Noah Syndergaard pitched a gem as he went 5.2 innings with nine strikeouts for the win.  Jeurys Familia got the save and the Mets took Game 2 with a final score of 4-1 and lead the series 2-0.  The series shifts to Wrigley Field tonight for Game 3.  Jacob deGrom will take the ball for the Mets while Kyle Hendricks will pitch for the Cubs.  FIrst pitch is at 8:00 and the game can be seen on TBS.

Murphy's Big Night Lifts Mets To NLCS

After failing to close out the series at home, the Mets and the Dodgers were tied at two games setting up the "win or go home" Game 5.  It was a pitchers duel from Dodger Stadium as Zack Greinke pitched for LA while Jacob deGrom took the ball for the Mets.

Daniel Murphy, who would eventually have a breakout game, got it all started for the Mets at the start of the game.  He hit a double to left field to score Curtis Granderson.  Murphy wound up taking third on a fielding error.  The Dodgers responded with two runs in the bottom frame to take the 2-1 lead.  In the top of the fourth, Murphy was at it again.  With Murphy at first, a walk was issued.  Since there was a big shift, nobody was covering third so that allowed Murphy to advance to third.  That set up a Travis d'Arnaud sacrifice fly to right field to score Murphy and tie the game.

deGrom went six innings and struck out 7 eventually earning the win.  Noah Syndergaard, another starter, did some bullpen work striking out two.  In the top of the sixth, Murphy continued his impressive plate performance launching a home run into the right field seats to give the Mets the lead for good 3-2.  Jeurys Familia worked a six out save and struck out the final two batters to seal the win!

The Mets celebrated on the field at Dodger Stadium and popped bottles of champagne in the clubhouse.   Now they move on to the NLCS with game one set for tonight at Citi Field vs. the Chicago Cubs.  It's going to be one heck of a series