The trainer of Orb said he had experienced a variety of emotions during the week, and those mixed feelings remained as the race drew near.

“I’m thrilled and excited to be in this position,” he said. “I am also a bit nervous.”

As well he should be. With Orb, McGaughey became a Kentucky Derby winner for the first time. With his first career victory in the Preakness, the 62-year-old would keep alive his bid to win the Triple Crown — a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since Affirmed in 1978.

Asked whether he’s allowed himself to think about the enormity of his situation, McGaughey said, “I try not to, but I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I told you I hadn’t. I’ve been reminded about it quite a bit. I’d like to get by today and get back to Belmont and give it a whirl.”

Regardless of how Orb fared Saturday, McGaughey would always have the memory of keeping his horse in Stall 40, reserved annually for the Kentucky Derby winner.

“It’s a thrill to have the Derby winner and to be able to come into that stall,” McGaughey said. “It’s got a lot of significance. The last time I was here was in 1989. I had the favorite (Easy Goer) but there was another horse in that stall. I wanted to be in that stall.”

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(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Washington selected Amerson, a corner back out of N.C. State, with the 51st pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane has a habit of attracting attention.

Maybe you recall the former No. 1 overall pick hitting the Internet last season, when photos show him partying in Madison, Wis. Or the 2009 arrest in his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., after an altercation with a cab driver.

All that seems so long ago for Kane, who on Thursday was named one of the finalists for the Lady Byng trophy given to the NHL player who exhibits the best sportsmanship and “gentlemanly conduct” along with top skills on the ice.

That shouldn’t be a surprise given Kane’s dazzling talent. He stepped right into the Blackhawks lineup and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year. He scored 30 goals and 88 points in the 2009-10 regular season, then added 10 goals and 18 assists in the playoffs as the Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup championship in 49 years.

Then came this lockout-shortened season and the 24-year-old Kane has had the most effective season of his six-year career, according to coach Joel Quenneville, whose team holds a leads 1-0 in its Western Conference seminal series against Detroit. Game 2 will be played in Chicago on Saturday.

“I thought Kaner really progressed in his game this year,” Quenneville said. “Offensively he had the puck more than he ever did. I thought he had more speed, more pace to his game. He seemed to be more aware positionally and technically. He definitely improved his play in his own end. It thought his overall game was to a new level this year.

Kane led Chicago this season with 55 points, on 23 goals and 32 assists. More than his passing and playmaking — including a handful of jaw-dropping 360-degree pirouettes — have improved.

“I though each and every year Kaner has gotten better as a player in all aspect of his game,” Quenneville said. “He’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten better and he’s growing up as well.”

Kane, who has never taken a fighting major in the NHL, has been smarter, too. His penalty minute total has dropped from 52 as a rookie to just eight last season.

“I thought maybe I’d have a chance at this one (award) and I think it kind of speaks volumes for where my game has gone since my rookie season,” Kane said. “I remember I used to take a lot of penalties that were kind of unnecessary. I kind have got that out of my game a little bit. I’m definitely happy about it. It’s an honor.”

Kane has yet to score in six playoff games this season. But he has been visible on the ice, with six assists and a plus-4 rating.

“I just play my game and if the pass is there I’ll try to make the pass,” he said. “If it’s a shot, then I’ll shoot. That’s the thing with our team. If one or two guys aren’t scoring, then other guys are stepping up. That’s the way it’s been all year. Whoever it might be, that’s why we’ve been so successful.”

The Blackhawks anticipate a stiffer challenge from the Red Wings in Game 2. After Chicago defeated Detroit 4-1 on Wednesday night, coach Mike Babcock said his team was tired, coming off a seven-game upset of Anaheim in the opening round.

“I expect them to be better for sure,” Quenneville said. “Those Western trips back-and-forth add up.”

Babcock, who gave his team a day off Thursday, predicted the Red Wings will be re-energized on Saturday

“We have no reason not to be very good in the next game,” he said. “We got to get back at her and playing at a high tempo because obviously they were playing at a level (in Game 1) that we weren’t playing at.”

Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall added: “We know we’re better than this.”

Kane will be ready. As for the Lady Byng award, seven Blackhawks have won it but none since Stan Mikita in 1968.

“It’s an award that definitely a great honor,” he said. “I think it’s got a little different view now from players. Like it says in the (description), it’s skill and sportsmanship put together.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Marchand scored the game-winner for Boston 15:40 into overtime on Thursday night, giving Boston a 3-2 OT win and a 1-0 series lead over the Rangers.

For Marchand, it was all about turning the page from a goal-less series and focusing on the new task at hand.

“It’s a whole new series and we’re happy to play the Rangers,” Marchand said after the game. “They’re a very good team and a very good battle. It’s nice to finally get one there and get the monkey off the back, and hopefully they keep coming.”

Hurley: B’s Capitalize On OT Power-Play, Ride Momentum To Win

The Rangers had the upper hand during regulation, but the Bruins dominated in overtime — putting 16 shots on net. The Rangers managed just five shots, but the B’s were still worried that even though they were dictating the action, one of those silly playoff goals could do them in.

“That’s usually how it goes in the playoffs. One team does very well in overtime and then the other team gets a lucky one. We hit so many posts and had so many very good opportunities. They were bound to get one,” said Marchand. “We’re happy that we’re able to capitalize in these overtime games. They’re very tough games to be in, but we’re happy with the win tonight.”

Kalman: Chara Once Again Bruins’ Blue-Line Workhorse

Hopefully this is the start of something good for the slumping Marchand, who led Boston with 18 goals in the regular season but hadn’t scored in his last 11 games. Marchand became a hero for Boston during their Stanley Cup run in 2011, scoring 11 goals to set a new Bruins record, and he received a message from his then-linemate Mark Recchi prior to Thursday night with a few words of encouragement.

“He just texted me and told me to play my game and not to worry about anything else,” said Marchand. “The goals and stuff will come. It’s nice to hear from him. He’s obviously a guy that I went through a lot when I played with him, and it was good to hear from him again.”

Maybe Recchi should shoot Marchand a text before every game. And on that note, maybe Marchand should get morning skates off as well.

There was a scare early Thursday when Marchand appeared to leave the ice in pain during the Bruins’ morning skate. But head coach Claude Julien quickly dismissed it as anything serious, and now he’s wondering if he should let Marchand leave practice early from now on.

“I think that’s what he needed to do, get off the ice early so he could score that winning goal. Whatever works is good for us,” Julien joked after the win. “I thought Brad, personally, I thought that was one of his better games so far in the playoffs. He skated well, made some great plays, he took pucks to the net and that’s the Brad Marchand that we know. It was nice to see him really bring his A-game to the table.”

“Claude knows I hate morning skates,” said Marchand. “He used to yell at me when we won the Cup there because I wouldn’t even take a stride. I just wanted to get off early.”

Marchand wasn’t the only player on the Bruins second line to struggle during the series against the Leafs, which prompted Julien to swap out Tyler Seguin with Jaromir Jagr. No one was sure how the Marchand-Jagr-Patrice Bergeron line would pan out, but the Bruins head coach said over the last two games, the line has shown a lot of promise.

“We put them together; we weren’t quite sure how it would turn out, but the first game, which was Game Seven, as the game went on, they got a little bit better, but I thought tonight, again, they took another step in the right direction,” said Julien. “They did a great job of cycling the puck down low in the offensive zone, and hanging on to it. That was a good line for us, and we’re going to need that because we don’t want to just rely on the [David] Krejci line to produce, but we want a little bit more out of our other lines.”

After barely making a whisper last series, the Bruins’ second line is starting to make some noise. And it should come as no surprise that Marchand is the one to get that noise started.

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With three minutes left, the San Jose Sharks appeared to be cruising toward a well-deserved win over Los Angeles. After two penalties and two dynamic power-play goals, the Kings were halfway to the Western Conference finals.

And even the Kings weren’t quite sure how they got there.

Brown tied it with 1:43 left and Trevor Lewis scored the tiebreaking power-play goal 22 seconds later, propelling the defending Stanley Cup champions to a 4-3 victory Thursday night and a 2-0 series lead.

“It’s huge, I guess,” Brown said. “Two minutes left, down one, it’s about capitalizing. The power play is about scoring big goals, and we found a way to do that. We’re happy with the result, but we have to play better. We can’t let it get to that situation every night.”

Brown scored during a 5-on-3 advantage and Lewis provided the winner on a loose puck with 1:21 left, sending Staples Center into shocked celebration. The Kings won their 12th straight home game since March and their sixth straight postseason game, but only after getting outplayed for long stretches and needing late-game magic to thrive.

“It’s a roller coaster, but when you go through the experience of everything we did last year, you keep your emotions in check,” Brown said. “Even when that happens, you know there’s a lot of work still to do.”

Game 3 is Saturday night at the Shark Tank.

Jeff Carter scored on the Kings’ first shot and added an assist on Brown’s goal. Drew Doughty scored an early power-play goal for Los Angeles, which didn’t really get rolling until the third period — and with two late goals, the Kings landed one of the most amazing victories in their relatively thin playoff history.

“We found a way,” Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said. “You know what? The power play was on. We’ve been talking about it. We’ve been getting good looks and good opportunities and not finishing, and we got it from different guys.”

Jonathan Quick made 28 saves for the Kings, tying Kelly Hrudey’s franchise record with his 26th career playoff victory. Antti Niemi stopped 27 shots for the Sharks, but was powerless to stop the Kings’ power play.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored his first career playoff goal with 11:04 to play for the Sharks, who were doomed by their late penalties after rallying from an early two-goal deficit. Coach Todd McLellan left his team alone in the dressing room afterward.

“I liked our game,” McLellan said. “We’ll meet (Friday) at the rink, and I’ll tell our team that. The thing I like about our team, maybe in the past, this would have bothered our team more, but with the group of guys we have, I think we can recover from this.”

Patrick Marleau and Brad Stuart scored second-period goals for the Sharks, who largely dominated the first two periods with another barrage of superior speed and skill. None of it mattered when the Kings charged ahead.

“We’ve got to put it behind us,” said Stuart, who had a goal and an assist. “There’s two ways for us to respond. We can either fold up and say, ‘Oh, at least we tried,’ or we can say, ‘You know what? We can win.’

“I think 5-on-5, we were the better team. We keep doing those kinds of things, we’ll get our wins. That’s what we have to do. We have to respond in that way. We’re being tested, and it’s about how we’re going to respond. The key for us is to come out and do a lot of the same things we were doing tonight.”

After Vlasic’s score on a rebound of Stuart’s shot off the end boards, the Sharks seemed to be cruising to a win — until Stuart was whistled for tripping with 2:41 to play. Just 22 seconds later, Vlasic joined him in the box when he shot the puck over the glass, although Vlasic claimed the puck had deflected off Carter.

The Kings scored 36 seconds later, with Brown pounding home his second goal of the postseason. Lewis got the winner shortly after the ensuing faceoff, finding a loose puck on the back side of a scrum in front of Niemi after a shot by rookie Tyler Toffoli.

Lewis hadn’t scored in the postseason, but the depth forward scored two goals in the Kings’ Cup-clinching win over New Jersey last June.

“Power play got it done in the end when we needed it most,” Lewis said. “We’ve got some work to do to clean things up, but it’s a big win for us.”

The Kings played without veteran center Jarret Stoll, who didn’t return to Game 1 after a hit from San Jose’s Raffi Torres late in the second period. Torres was suspended for the rest of the series Thursday by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for his illegal check to the head after a hearing in New York.

Brad Richardson contributed a key power-play assist while filling in for Stoll.

Los Angeles has won six straight home playoff games dating to last season’s Stanley Cup clincher, but none was more surprising than this victory. The Sharks appeared to be sure Quick couldn’t steal another win after the Kings took the opener despite getting outshot 35-20.

Quick’s streak of more than 125 minutes of shutout hockey ended in the second period with two quick San Jose goals. Vlasic then gave San Jose its first lead with a rebound goal on Stuart’s shot off the end boards midway through the period, capping a lengthy scramble near Quick’s net. Vlasic didn’t score a goal in his first 73 career playoff games.

The Kings were forced to make several changes in the absence of Stoll, the third-line center and faceoff specialist who excels on special teams. Stoll was replaced by Richardson, who played 13 postseason games during the Kings’ championship run last summer.

The Sharks replaced Torres by juggling their lineup, promoting Joe Pavelski to the second line and using several new combinations. Tim Kennedy was in uniform for just his second game of the postseason for San Jose, which also played without injured forward Marty Havlat.

NOTES: Sharks F Adam Burish sat out his second straight game after playing in all four games against Vancouver. He was replaced again by Bracken Kearns. Havlat hasn’t played since the playoff opener in Vancouver while nursing a lower-body injury. … Richardson hadn’t played since the Kings’ playoff opener against St. Louis on April 30. He appeared in just 16 regular-season games. … Quick hadn’t allowed a goal since early in the second period of the Kings’ series-clinching win over St. Louis six days earlier.

The NHL announced the suspension a few hours before the Kings hosted the Sharks in Game 2. Stoll wasn’t expected to play for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Stoll didn’t return to Game 1 after Torres hit him late in the second period of the Kings’ 2-0 victory. Torres got only a minor penalty for charging on the hit, and coach Todd McLellan and captain Joe Thornton echoed Torres’ belief that the hit was completely legal.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety sharply disagreed while handing down a fourth suspension for Torres, considered a repeat offender in dangerous hits under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Torres flew to New York for an in-person hearing Thursday.

While playing for Phoenix last season, Torres received a 21-game suspension — initially 25 games — for a high hit on Chicago star Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs. Torres was suspended for two games in January 2012 for charging Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser, and he sat out four games in April 2011 for a hit to the head of Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle while playing for Vancouver.

Stoll was bent forward while trying to play a bouncing puck when Torres approached him from the side for a violent hit. Stoll’s head snapped back violently before he fell forward onto the ice.

In an explanatory video released by Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s senior vice president of player safety, he said Stoll’s head was “the principal point of contact” in the hit, creating grounds for suspension. Although Torres initially made contact with Stoll’s right shoulder, Shanahan ruled that the shoulder hit was only a glancing blow, as evidenced by the direction both players traveled after the contact.

Torres claimed he had changed his ways during a largely incident-free season with Phoenix and San Jose, his sixth team in six seasons. He has been a dependable depth forward this season for the Sharks and Coyotes, scoring 18 points with just 17 penalty minutes in 39 games.

The Kings lose much more in the absence of Stoll, their veteran third-line center. Stoll is a faceoff specialist and a top penalty-killer with a strong two-way game.

Brad Richardson, who played 13 playoff games during the Kings’ championship run last year, is expected to take Stoll’s spot in the lineup.

Los Angeles hasn’t disclosed the nature of Stoll’s injury or a timetable for his recovery.

Torres, Thornton and McLellan all claimed the hit was completely legal, while Kings coach Darryl Sutter called it “careless.” Torres and Stoll are friends after three seasons as teammates in Edmonton from 2005-08.

“We were kind of shocked to hear he has to fly to New York for the hearing, because we didn’t see anything wrong on the play,” Thornton said Wednesday. “It’s unfortunate that Raffi has to go through this again.”

McLellan prepared for Torres’ likely absence by moving Joe Pavelski onto the Sharks’ second line on the left wing with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. Scott Gomez moved into Pavelski’s spot on the third line, and Tim Kennedy is likely to suit up on the fourth line.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

“Game 6 needs to be our new Game 7,” winger Eric Fehr declared.

But unlike last May when coach Dale Hunter surprised Washington with his resignation after less than six months on the job, it figures to be a pretty quiet next few weeks for the Caps. The lockout even pushed the NHL draft back to June 28 so any wheeling and dealing that general manager George McPhee will do likely won’t happen before then.

However, that’s not to say that the Caps – whom I believe should have beaten the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals and could have beaten the Boston Bruins in the Eastern semis – have no question marks.

The biggest is what to do about Mike Ribeiro? Washington got the sweet-passing center for a song – borderline forward Cody Eakin and a second-round pick – from Dallas last June and Ribeiro delivered 36 assists (fifth in the league), an NHL-most 21 to help establish the game’s best power play.

However, Ribeiro made $5 million this season and, at 33, is looking for a long-term deal that could be very tough for the Caps to accommodate under their tight salary cap, especially after top defensive defenseman Karl Alzner ($1.285 million this year) and top-line left wing Marcus Johansson ($900,000) are signed to restricted free agent deals. McPhee would also surely like to re-sign feisty fourth line forward Matt Hendricks ($825,000), a popular player with a knack for shootout goals.

As the Caps said their goodbyes two days after the Game 7 loss to the Rangers, Ribeiro, while saying he wants to stay put, added, “I don’t think I should have [a contract for] less than four or five years. It’s going to be the best decision for my family. That’s what I’m looking for.”

McPhee said that Ribeiro “played his guts out,” but let’s assume that No. 9 is skating elsewhere next year. Brooks Laich, a Caps mainstay the previous seven seasons, is the obvious choice to replace Ribeiro on the second line with Troy Brouwer and March acquisition Martin Erat. Laich, who’ll be 30 next month, was limited to just nine games in 2013 because of a sports hernia and a groin injury.

Adam Oates, who did well in his first year as a head coach, will also need to find a place for 19-year-old right wing Tom Wilson, its top selection in the 2012 draft, who made his NHL debut in Game 5 against the Rangers because Erat dislocated an elbow in Game 4.

And although the Caps’ power play clicked at a ridiculous 26.8 percent efficiency during the season, the Rangers showed how to shut it down: focus on Ovechkin and leave the pass-first duo of Ribeiro and Nicklas Backstrom alone. Washington needs someone else on the first power play with a shoot-first mentality like ex-Caps sniper Alexander Semin but with more of a two-way game. Maybe it’s Brouwer. Maybe it’s third line center Mathieu Perreault. Maybe it’s Laich. Maybe it’s a prospect.

Just don’t count on a draft day deal. McPhee’s deals for Ribeiro and Brouwer (in 2011) were his only June trades since 2006. And the GM hasn’t signed a true free agent scorer in his prime forever. Washington’s offseason pickups over the last decade include Keith Aucoin, Donald Brashear, Joey Crabb, Jeff Halpern, Mike Knuble (turning 37), Viktor Kozlov, Brendan Morrison (turning 34), Michael Nylander (turning 35), Joel Ward and Wojtek Wolski, none of whom made goalies quake as they approached the blue line with the puck.

On Washington’s blue line, John Erskine had a career year but reverted to his lumbering form as the Rangers’ series continued. He probably belongs on the third pairing, not the second with John Carlson. Dmitry Orlov, who missed most of the season with a groin injury, should get the first shot as Erskine’s replacement. Nate Schmidt, who, like Orlov, turns 22 this summer, and Cam Schilling, who’ll be 25 in October, should be given long look-sees in training camp since Jack Hillen and Steve Oleksy might have been one-year wonders.

The Caps are set in goal with Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth although Phillip Grubauer is sure to push them come September, two months before he turns 22.

So although the Caps are the only one of the five teams to make the playoffs five years running and not even reach a conference final (San Jose), let alone win a Stanley Cup (Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit), don’t expect many changes.

McPhee was very happy with the job that Oates did in his debut behind the bench after having virtually no training camp because of the lockout. Washington closed with a rush, going 18-4-1 to win the Southeast Division and grab the third seed in the East and then led New York 2-0 and 3-2 before succumbing to its Collapsitals character (thanks to reader Phil Cefaratti for that description).

“I thought it was a really good season,” McPhee said. “We improved in a lot of ways. … I’d go to war with these guys.”

Of the Caps under contract, only Laich and wingers Jason Chimera (34), Erat (32) and Ward (32) will be 30 when the season starts.

“The window hasn’t closed,” Laich maintained. “There’s very bright days ahead.”

Owner Ted Leonsis is a patient man. Figure Oates gets a full training camp and season to show what he can truly do. But if Washington doesn’t go further in 2014 or even misses the playoffs after the move to a much tougher division (Columbus, New Jersey, the Islanders, the Rangers, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh plus holdover Carolina), then McPhee and much of his roster could be on the way out of town.

David Elfin began writing about sports when he was a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He is Washington’s representative on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and the author of seven books, most recently, “Washington Redskins: The Complete Illustrated History.” A pre-game regular on 106.7-The Fan the last three Redskins seasons, he has been its columnist since March 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidElfin

A number of items have been added to the prohibited items list after the Maryland Jockey Club consulted with law enforcement and public safety officials following the Boston Marathon bombings.

The lists vary slightly for party goers in the infield and their counterparts watching from the grandstands.

How I’d Bet $100 At The Preakness

The following items are prohibited at the infield:

Duffle Bags
Laser lights or pointers
Cameras with detachable lenses
Cameras with lenses more than 6”
Coolers (unless cooler is see-through and a maximum of 28” x 15” x 17”)
Back packs
Alcoholic beverages
Beverages of any kind
Camcorders
Tripods
Cameras over 35mm
Tents
Balloons or balls
Fireworks
Mace or pepper spray
Grills
Umbrellas
Weapons
Wagons
Non-folding or folding metal furniture
Ladders, scaffolding or other raised devices

The following items are prohibited inside the building:

Duffle Bags
Laser lights or pointers
Cameras with detachable lenses
Cameras with lenses more than 6”
Coolers (unless cooler is see-through and a maximum of 18” x 18”)
Back packs
Alcoholic beverages
Glass of any kind
Camcorders
Tripods
Thermoses
Tents
Balloons or balls
Fireworks
Mace or pepper spray
Grills
Umbrellas
Weapons
Wagons
Non-folding or folding metal furniture
Ladders, scaffolding or other raised devices

Ramos was batting .250 with two home runs and six RBIs in 14 games.

Solano was with the Nationals when Ramos was on the DL earlier this year. Solano batted .167 in 12 games with Syracuse.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Harper hit a monster shot estimated at 431 feet to straightaway center field on the first pitch he saw from San Diego Padres pitcher Tyson Ross with two outs in the seventh. Harper’s solo homer nearly reached the base of the batter’s eye.

It was the team-best 11th blast of the season for the 20-year-old slugger.

The violent collision in Los Angeles left Harper with 11 stitches in his chin and a sore body. He says he feels “a little bit better” but that whole left side of his body is still sore.

Adam LaRoche also homered in the Nats 6-2 win over the Padres.

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(TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Pitching in front of about 50 family members and friends, Strasburg lasted a career-high eight innings against his hometown Padres to snap a seven-start winless streak, and Bryce Harper and Adam LaRoche homered to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-2 victory against San Diego on Thursday night.

“It’s easy pitching in front of a lot of loved ones,” Strasburg said. “It’s just another place to me, to be honest. It’s my hometown. I’m an Aztec. But I look forward to pitching anyplace in the big leagues. It’s kind of a dream come true.”

Strasburg’s 54th big league start was his first professional appearance at Petco Park. The big right-hander went to high school in suburban Santee and pitched for Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn at San Diego State before the Nationals took him with the first overall pick in the 2009 amateur draft. He pitched twice at Petco Park for SDSU.

“I heard a lot of ‘Welcome home’ and a lot of ‘Go Aztecs’ out there. It’s great. I’m just glad they remembered me.”

He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits while striking out four and walking three. He got the final out of the eighth on his 117th pitch.

Strasburg had never thrown a pitch in the eighth inning of a big league start until he faced Everth Cabrera on Thursday night.

Strasburg said he had been looking forward to “just getting deep in the ballgame, getting used to that, getting into the routine of how you’re body’s going to feel the next day and learning how to recover and getting ready to doing it again.”

STRASBURG VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

Strasburg (2-5) had gone seven innings 10 times, including three this year.

He said he was happy manager Davey Johnson let him go back out for the eighth.

“I’m just glad he wasn’t waiting for me at the top step after the seventh,” Strasburg said. “I went out there in the eighth and I got the first out and it was like, ‘All right, so this is what it feels like. I trust Davey’s judgment and obviously he saw that my stuff was still there. He had the trust in me to go out there and get it done.”

Strasburg was supposed to pitch at Petco Park last year but a rainout pushed that start back.

“I thought he pitched a heck of a ballgame,” Johnson said. “It was the first time he’s ever gone eight innings. It was a good homecoming for him. I liked it. I didn’t think he was as sharp as he usually is, but it was a good ballgame. It was nice to see some offense coming up to give him some run support.”

Strasburg earned his first victory since beating Miami on opening day.

In Strasburg’s only other appearance against the Padres, he lasted just four innings in a 6-1 loss at Washington on May 15, 2012.

Strasburg held the Padres scoreless through four innings and allowed only one run in the fifth despite loading the bases with one out.

“He kept the ball down for the most part,” San Diego’s Yonder Alonso said. “We had the bases loaded there and we couldn’t get it done.”

Harper, back in the lineup three nights after running full-on into the scoreboard in right field at Dodger Stadium, hit a monster shot estimated at 431 feet to straightaway center field on the first pitch he saw from Tyson Ross with two outs in the seventh. Harper’s homer nearly reached the base of the batter’s eye. It was his 11th.

Harper’s violent collision with the wall at Dodger Stadium left the 20-year-old slugger with 11 stitches in his chin and a sore body. Harper said he felt a little better but his whole left side was still sore. He played left field and batted third.

LaRoche hit a two-run homer into the sandy play area beyond the fence in right-center off Edinson Volquez (3-4) with one out in the fourth for a 2-0 lead. It was his fifth.

The Nationals added three runs off Volquez in the fifth, on a two-run single by Ryan Zimmerman and an RBI single by Steve Lombardozzi.

Volquez allowed five runs and five hits in five innings, struck out seven and walked four.

San Diego’s Jedd Gyorko led off the fifth with a double that caromed off the base of the stands in left and Alexi Amarista walked. With one out, pinch-hitter Kyle Blanks hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, whose throw to second sailed over Steve Lombardozzi for an error that loaded the bases. Everth Cabrera’s groundout brought in a run before Strasburg struck out Will Venable.

“He worked his way out of that jam,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “We tried to get a little closer. He made a couple of pitches to minimize the damage and that got him through the middle part of the game.”

Chris Denorfia hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

NOTES: Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, known as “Johnny Football,” threw out the ceremonial first pitch. He put a football twist on it by dropping back, scrambling and tossing it to Mark Kotsay, who caught it behind his back. Manziel also took two rounds of batting practice, with mixed results. The bat went flying out of his hands on his first swing, but he later hit a ball off the right-field wall at Petco Park. Manziel took BP while wearing loafers. … Manziel is in town to work with quarterbacks coach George Whitfield Jr. “He came out here last year as a third-stringer and now he comes out here as a Heisman Trophy winner,” Whitfield said. … Manziel and Padres RHP Burch Smith have known each other since they were kids growing up in Tyler, Texas. Manziel said Smith once pulled a prank on him by locking him a batting cage. … Johnson, who also went to Texas A&M, chatted up Manziel during batting practice. … Manziel threw out the ceremonial first pitch before a game between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels. … Padres LF Carlos Quentin missed the game to be with his wife, Jeane, who gave birth to their first son, Clark.

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(TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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Freewheeling? No.

Artistic? No.

High scoring? Definitely not.

Compelling and can’t miss? Without a doubt.

There’s something magical about the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers facing off in a playoff series. A four-decade absence in playoff competition will do that.

Forget the nostalgia. These are two teams that will mirror each other in approach and intensity every night.

LISTEN: BRUINS’ CAMPBELL ON 98.5 THE SPORTS HUB

The television broadcasts will be compelling. However, the in-person thumping that will take place at the two gardens — TD and Madison Square — will be thunderous.

It seems likely that the team that survives will be huge underdogs against the Pittsburgh Penguins (assuming they dispose of the pesky Ottawa Senators) in the Eastern Conference finals. However, that survivor will be battle-tested and somewhat vicious once the current series is over.

LUNDQVIST, SHOT-BLOCKING RANGERS READY TO DROP THE PUCK IN BOSTON

The Rangers have the advantage at the start of the series. The Bruins’ defense is awfully depleted, and it’s not likely that defensemen Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden will play in the opener.

Zdeno Chara is usually the Boston defenseman who gets the most attention, but Seidenberg is clearly the second best of the group. He is a big thumper himself and can carry the puck out of trouble. Ference is a smart and underrated player who can step up into the attack.

Rangers fans certainly know Redden. John Tortorella banished him when he didn’t fit the coach’s eye, and he was a trade-deadline pickup for the Bruins. Redden has been well worth the sixth-round draft pick that he cost them.

HARTNETT: BLUESHIRTS IN 6

The Bruins will use youngsters Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug in their place if the veteran trio can’t play. Hamilton is a future star, but he is mistake-prone at this point. So are the other two, but that didn’t stop Bartkowski from playing a strong Game 7 against Toronto.

The Rangers are going to have to attack the Bruins with their strong forechecking game. That’s the way both teams play on a regular basis, but with three young defensemen in the lineup, it will almost certainly pay huge dividends for the Rangers.

There’s bound to be some nervousness, and mistakes are likely. The Rangers must be like piranhas after the first hint of blood in the water.

Henrik Lundqvist will get tested at some point in the series, but if there’s one game in which the Rangers should leave him to his own devices and go into a full-fledged attack mode, it’s this one.

The Bruins are going to be using young defensemen who will likely make mistakes. Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask may be left hung out to dry on several occasions if the Rangers attack with ferocity.

CBS BOSTON’S BRUINS-RANGERS PREVIEW

If the Rangers give up a breakaway or two, it’s no big deal. They have Lundqvist in the net.

Do you think he’s going to give up more than one goal? Not the way he’s been playing.

The Rangers have an opportunity in Game 1 to set the tone of the series. The Bruins are still in the clouds after their seventh-game miracle comeback vs. Toronto.

They will eventually focus, but it won’t be in the first game.

It is the Rangers’ game for the taking.

His hit on Los Angeles center Jarret Stoll might have erased much of that work and put both players’ postseason futures in doubt.

Stoll is likely to miss Game 2 of the Kings’ second-round playoff series against the Sharks on Thursday night. The valuable two-way forward didn’t return to the series opener after a hard hit from Torres late in the second period of Los Angeles’ 2-0 victory.

Kings coach Darryl Sutter implied Wednesday that Stoll could be out for a significant length of time. Torres also might be sidelined for a stretch after he travels to New York for a disciplinary hearing Thursday with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, which suspended him until the hearing is completed.

“I thought it was careless,” Sutter said of Torres’ hit, which occurred near the sideboards after the puck rolled away from Stoll.

A lengthy suspension wouldn’t make Sutter feel any better about Torres’ play, either: “Our player is quite a bit more important than theirs.”

During the defending Stanley Cup champions’ 2-0 victory over the Sharks, Stoll was bent forward when Torres approached him from the side for a shoulder-to-shoulder hit. Stoll’s head also snapped back violently before he fell forward onto the ice. Torres was called for a minor penalty for charging, and Stoll didn’t return to the game.

Most of the Kings declined to weigh in on the hit’s legality after Wednesday’s light practice, claiming they hadn’t seen replays. Stoll attended the Kings’ team meeting before practice, but wasn’t on the ice.

The Sharks had much stronger opinions about the play: Torres, captain Joe Thornton and coach Todd McLellan all said the hit was perfectly legal, and shouldn’t even have resulted in San Jose’s only penalty in Game 1.

“We questioned the call of a charging penalty,” Thornton said. “So we were kind of shocked to hear he has to fly to New York for the hearing, because we didn’t see anything wrong on the play. … It’s unfortunate that Raffi has to go through this again.”

Further complicating matters, Stoll and Torres are friends after three seasons as teammates with the Edmonton Oilers from 2005-08.

The Kings would lose plenty without Stoll, a stalwart on their championship team last summer. Stoll is their third-line center and a top penalty-killer and faceoff specialist, playing a valuable two-way game while also logging time on the power play.

Although he doesn’t score many points, getting just one assist in seven playoff games this spring, Stoll scored the series-winning goal in last season’s upset of top-seeded Vancouver in the first round on the way to the title. He also has a history of apparent concussions earlier in his career.

“He’s a big loss, one of our most valuable guys,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “Everybody else will have to step up if we want to keep going forward.”

Torres’ absence isn’t likely to affect the Sharks’ offensive efforts against goalie Jonathan Quick, who shut them out on 35 shots in the series opener. But Stoll’s absence on defense changes the mix for Los Angeles, which must entrust additional ice time to role players without one of its leaders.

Brad Richardson, who played 13 games during the Kings’ championship playoff run, is likely to replace Stoll in the lineup for Game 2. Richardson hasn’t played in this postseason since Game 1 of the Kings’ first-round series with St. Louis.

“It’s huge, because he’s one of our clutch players,” Richardson said of Stoll. “He’s the first guy on the penalty kill, and he’s a power-play guy.”

Even if it is deemed legal, the hit ignites another round of trouble for Torres, the journeyman forward whose ugly reputation has surfaced again.

While playing for Phoenix last season, Torres received a 21-game suspension — initially 25 games — for a high hit on Chicago star Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs. That play cemented Torres’ identity as a cheap shot artist and dangerous player in many NHL minds.

But the former No. 5 overall draft pick insists he has cleaned up his game during a season of largely trouble-free play with San Jose, his sixth team in six seasons.

“If he is going to miss some games, we’re going to miss him,” said Sharks forward Logan Couture, who thought the hit was clean from his on-ice viewpoint. “But it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up the physical play and try to take over his role. We’re going to support Raffi, and whatever happens, happens.”

Kings forward Dustin Penner thought Torres’ hit was objectionable mostly because it was unnecessary. He sees little comparison to the hit by Ottawa’s Eric Gryba on Montreal center Lars Eller in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, resulting in a two-game suspension for a blow that left Eller with a concussion and a broken nose. Eller didn’t return to the series as the Senators advanced.

“I think that hit (in Ottawa) was fine,” Penner said. “I know some people don’t, but it’s a split-second decision. You guys can slow it down to .001 milliseconds, but he’s got to make that hit, and this one (by Torres), he probably didn’t need to make that hit. That’s where I see the difference.”

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Chicago dominated the final two periods in its first game in the Western Conference semifinals since it won the Stanley Cup in 2010. Marian Hossa scored the opening goal, and Patrick Sharp had an empty-netter and two assists to give him nine points in the playoffs.

Jimmy Howard finished with 38 stops in a terrific performance, but Detroit still lost to rival Chicago for the eighth straight time dating to last season.

The series resumes on Saturday afternoon at the United Center.

The 75th all-time playoff game between the Blackhawks and Red Wings was tied at 1 after two periods, and Howard made a great stop on a breakaway by Dave Bolland 4½ minutes into the third.

Chicago kept working and went in front to stay on a heady play by Oduya. He drifted in from the point and sent Sharp’s pass past Howard on the glove side with 12 minutes left. Kruger then jumped on a loose puck and sent a backhander into the upper right corner to make it 3-1.

That was more than enough for Crawford, who caught a break when Damien Brunner’s rebound attempt went off the crossbar and straight down before it was swept away with about three minutes left.

The opener of the 16th playoff series between the Original Six teams was the first game for Chicago since it eliminated Minnesota last Thursday. Detroit closed out Anaheim with a 3-2 win in Game 7 on Sunday night, taking the final two games of the series against the second-seeded Ducks.

Despite the long break, there was no sign of rust for the Blackhawks. And the Red Wings skated right with Chicago despite all that travel in the first round and the thrilling conclusion to the series against Anaheim.

This one was fast and frenetic from the start. Two similar teams more than familiar with the other’s style, energized by their first playoff meeting since Detroit beat Chicago in five games in the 2009 Western Conference final.

The Blackhawks struck first, taking advantage of the first power-play opportunity of the game. With Gustav Nyquist in the box for hooking, Sharp forced a turnover along the boards and Jonathan Toews sent the puck to Hossa, who one-timed it past Howard at 9:03.

Detroit needed less than two minutes to respond, tying it when Brunner poked in a rebound for his third career playoff goal. The rookie center also contributed three assists in the first round against the Ducks.

The Blackhawks killed off two power plays created by penalties on Andrew Shaw. They killed off another one when Nick Leddy was sent off for delay of game in the second period, making them a perfect 20 for 20 on the penalty kill in the postseason and sinking Detroit to 1 for 18 on power plays against Chicago, including the regular season.

After Leddy’s penalty, the Blackhawks controlled most of the action for a while. They had a 17-5 advantage in shots in the period. They just couldn’t solve Howard, who made a great glove stop on a wide-open Hossa with 6:39 remaining. Detroit also killed off two Chicago power plays to keep it tied headed to the third.

NOTES: It was the 800th game between the teams. … Detroit F Justin Abdelkader was shaken up after he collided with Blackhawks D Michal Rozsival in the first period. He was helped to the bench after a few moments down on the ice, but eventually returned to the game. … Blackhawks F Viktor Stalberg was a healthy scratch. Coach Joel Quenneville said it was a “coach’s decision” and Stalberg could get back on the ice at any point. He said he talked to Stalberg about the decision to bench him for the opener. … Toews and Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings joined Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins as finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward. Datsyuk, a three-time winner, tied with Toews for the league lead in takeaways with 56. … Chicago has won eight of the previous 15 playoff series against Detroit.

___

Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Game 1 between the Bruins and Rangers will be tonight at the TD Garden, and the Bruins will have to put the events of Monday night behind them if they hope to avoid falling into an early hole in this series.

The Rangers come in riding some pretty good momentum themselves after staving off elimination with a 1-0 Game 6 win at home and then rolling to a 5-0 win in Game 7 in Washington.

The best goalie in the world, Henrik Lundqvist, is riding a two-game shutout streak, stopping the last 62 shots he’s seen. That includes six shots off the stick of Alex Ovechkin, who led the league with 32 goals this season, so the degree of difficulty has certainly been high.

With Lundqvist being his usual self (1.65 GAA, .932 save percentage) and Tuukka Rask playing pretty well himself (2.49 GAA, .923), it should be safe to expect close games to be the norm throughout the series.

Really, that’s nothing new for the Bruins and Rangers. This is how their last 15 meetings have gone:

2013
Jan. 19: Bruins 3, Rangers 1
Jan. 23: Rangers 4, Bruins 3 (OT)
Feb. 12: Rangers 4, Bruins 3 (SO)

2011-12
Jan. 21: Rangers 3, Bruins 2 (OT)
Feb. 14: Rangers 3, Bruins 0
March 4: Rangers 4, Bruins 3
April 1: Bruins 2, Rangers 1

2010-11
Oct. 23: Rangers 3, Bruins 2
Nov. 17, Bruins 3, Rangers 2
March 26: Rangers 1, Bruins 0
April 4: Rangers 5, Bruins 3

2009-10
Nov. 10: Rangers 1, Bruins 0
Jan. 4: Rangers 3, Bruins 2
Jan. 9: Rangers 3, Bruins 1
March 21: Bruins 2, Rangers 1

The condensed version of that:

• The Rangers are 11-4-0 in those games, while the Bruins are 4-8-3.
• The Rangers have scored 38 goals, and the Bruins have scored 29. The average margin of victory in the games is 1.33 goals.

Clearly, the Rangers have gotten the better of the Bruins, but the games have not been as lopsided as the teams’ records suggest. With the Rangers outscoring the Capitals 16-12 in their seven-game series, and the Bruins outscoring the Leafs 22-18 in their seven-game series, the two teams are in for a hard-fought series.

When it comes to the scoring, the Rangers got a pretty balanced contribution in the first round. Eleven different players scored in the seven games, with no skater scoring more than two goals. Those goals have come from unlikely sources, too, with the likes of Brian Boyle and Arron Asham, both of whom finished the regular season with just two goals apiece, scoring twice in the series.

Rick Nash, who led the team with 21 goals in the regular season, didn’t find the back of the net once against Washington, while Ryan Callahan and Brad Richards only scored once each during the first-round series. It’s a testament to the Rangers’ depth that they were able to win a series without their best scorers even close to their best, and it means the Bruins are going to have their hands full trying to keep the Rangers off the board.

Of course, the Bruins showed some good depth in the first round too, with 11 players scoring in the first round as well. David Krejci led the way with five, Nathan Horton scored four, and Patrice Bergeron scored three, thanks to his game-tying and game-winning goals in Game 7. Claude Julien’s switch of Tyler Seguin (zero goals, one assist) and Jaromir Jagr (zero goals, four assists) seemed to be effective in the team’s final game against the Maple Leafs, and it provided reason to believe Bergeron and Brad Marchand (zero goals, three assists) could begin to produce a bit more reliably for Boston.

That will have to happen for the Bruins to compete in the series, because the line of Milan Lucic, Krejci and Horton accounted for 48 percent of the Bruins’ points against Toronto. That may have worked against a lesser opponent, but against the Rangers, it’s hard to believe it will lead to many wins.

We can’t ever know what will happen in the future, and the miracle that took place in the Bruins’ Game 7 victory was just the latest reminder of that. We can look at past results to try to infer what might take place, and if the past is any indication, there’s little doubt we should be in for a long, laborious series, full of heavy hits, blocked shots and bruised bodies.

Read more from Michael by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

By Christian S. Kohl

Two of the elite talents in the American League, Miguel Cabrera and Mariano Rivera, have begun this year no differently than any other they have played. Both have dominated in a fashion that is so consistent we as fans become oddly accustomed to it. So, given that the numbers of both players are absolutely monstrous, who has been most impressive in the early going?

Miguel Cabrera created a situation for himself last year which made his 2013 performance impossible to improve upon. As both the MVP and triple crown winner, the best he could do would be an unfathomable repeat of both those accolades. His .375 average and league leading 41 runs batted in are nothing shy of astonishing, with a more than respectable eight home runs as well. In order to approach his accomplishments from last year, he’ll need to connect for more home runs as the summer approaches. Still, he sits right now on pace to drive in 175 runs, and is unquestionably the finest offensive player in the American League right now.

One has to wonder, however, if enough can be said about both the start to the season and the entire career of Mariano Rivera. The last man in baseball to wear the number 42, Rivera has amazingly returned to form a season after tearing his ACL, featuring an age higher than his jersey number. The greatest closer of all time has been perfect so far this season, converting all 16 save opportunities, 6 of which did not even allow a base runner. His ERA sits at a criminal 1.56, and he sports 13 strikeouts, proving once again to any doubters that it is in fact the movement, and not just the overpowering velocity his cutter once featured which confounds hitters and shatters bats the league over.

It is almost inconceivable to say comparing these two could be easy, especially given the tear Cabrera is on. Not to mention a direct comparison of a position player and a closer as a value proposition is ordinarily next to impossible. But Rivera has been perfect. There is no way his numbers could be any better, and at age 43 with one working knee, there is nothing to be done about Rivera except sit back and watch in amazement at one of the truly greatest players in the history of the game.

>>See More Sports Verdict Episodes Here

That doesn’t mean for one second a fan should take his eyes off Cabrera, however. He is doing amazing things a cut above even the elite offensive players in the game right now, and his contributions to his team, the season, and the game itself are right now no less special than the artistry of Mariano. The clear edge here is Rivera so far this year; still, with Cabrera at age 30 now and Rivera presumably at the tail end of his career (though once could conceive of him still splintering bats at age 50), in just a few short years their exploits will be memories, and their exploits enshrined in Cooperstown. Enjoy them both while you still can.

Christian S. Kohl is a sports contributor for CBS Local Digital Media.

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin played the last two games of the Washington Capitals’ season with what the team says is a hairline fracture in his left foot.

Capitals spokesman Sergey Kocharov writes in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday that Ovechkin’s foot was hurt during Game 6 of Washington’s first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers.

Washington lost that game 1-0 Sunday, and then lost 5-0 Monday in Game 7.

Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 32 goals during the regular season, scored only once against the Rangers, in Game 1.

He played Thursday for Russia in an 8-3 loss to the United States in the world championships in Finland.

Ovechkin’s injury was first reported by The Washington Post’s website.

Related:Jason La Canfora Says Ted Leonsis is Delusional

#Caps officially confirm that Alex Ovechkin suffered a hairline fracture in his left foot during Game 6 of ECQF vs. New York Rangers.

—
  (@CapitalsPR) May 16, 2013

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(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

By: Kevin Martin

Of the three Triple Crown races, the Preakness Stakes has been, in recent years, the most formful, meaning favorites run well and have dominated the winner’s circle. Since 2000, seven post-time favorites have won the Preakness. There is no doubt that this year’s post-time favorite will be Kentucky Derby winner Orb. He drew the number one post position at Wednesday’s Preakness draw which is not ideal but he had the same post in winning the Fountain of Youth Stakes earlier this year. In his four starts in 2013, Orb has shown that race circumstances don’t matter, he just wins.

Anything over even money on Orb, the most likely winner of the 2013 Preakness, is a good bet. Big Brown won the 2008 Preakness at 1 to 5, the shortest priced Preakness favorite this century. It’s not out of the question that Orb could sink below even money come post-time. However, the presence of Mylute, with jockey Rosie Nepravnik aboard, and Departing, the talented colt who skipped the Derby, gives some hope that Orb backers will get at least 6-5 come post-time. So I will invest $80 of my bankroll on Orb to win.

Get Tickets To The Preakness Stakes Here!

The place where I am hoping to find some value is in the exacta. Will Take Charge ran well but had a troubled trip off nearly a two month layoff in the Kentucky Derby. While it’s doubtful that any colt was going to beat Orb on Derby day, Will Take Charge would have done better than his eighth place finish with a cleaner trip. He will be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith who will give him a chance to run when they hit the stretch. He will likely go off at odds exceeding 10 to 1 and could be forgotten in the exoctics where Mylute and Departing are expected to get the majority of the play. I will play a straight exacta with Orb over Will Take Charge for $20.

While I won’t get a significant return on a win bet should Orb win, the $20 exacta play, should it hit, would mean at least a 3 to 1 return on my $100 investment.

The $100 Bet

$80 to win on the 1 (Orb)
$20 straight exacta 1 with 7 (Orb over Will Take Charge)

For a Preakness Stakes preview, click here. Good luck and enjoy this year’s Preakness!

Of course, its more fun to make your own picks, you can learn do that at Hello Race Fans. You can also see a rundown of all the starters with their annual Preakness Cheat Sheet.

Kevin Martin is the founder of the thoroughbred racing history site Colin’s Ghost and a contributing editor at Hello Race Fans

But when he was asked a hockey question off the top, La Canfora – who covered the Capitals for five years – gave owner Ted Leonsis and the entire Washington Capitals organization an unexpected verbal decleater.

“If they want to make cosmetic changes – fire the play-by-play guy, change the uniform – that’s great, but keep having a rotating door of coaches,” La Canfora began.

“I mean look, you either make fundamental changes in how you’re acquiring players, what your culture is, how you’re paying players and try to get yourself over the hump, or you can fool yourself into thinking every year, just because we made the playoffs we’re just on the cusp of the Stanley Cup,” he continued. “And if the fans are willing to continue to pay the freight and they seem to buy in, then I guess you don’t have to change.”

He crushed everybody he believes to be responsible for the team’s six consecutive failed efforts to raise the cup.

“If your team captain isn’t really a team captain, then is there a covert team captain?” he asked, hypothetically. “A guy that can actually keep him in check in the locker room?”

Then there’s Ted Leonsis, adored by Caps fans for bringing winning hockey back to the nation’s capital.

“Ted’s going to have to make some, I don’t even think some tough choices, just some big boy, real professional sports choices,” La Canfora said.

“Or again, you can keep writing blogs and deluding yourself and thinking people will buy in, that because you have this one superstar player, you know, every year its just ‘Oh, a bad break here, and oh darn, we hit a post, otherwise we’d be hoisting another Stanley Cup.’ They’re nowhere near it.”

General Manager George McPhee wasn’t immune to this barrage either.

“They’ve overpaid guys past their prime,” he said. “The kids they’ve tried to develop haven’t developed. When you look at kids they drafted really, really high that just gave them absolutely nothing, it’s just hard to overcome that.”

“I mean, we’ll see. I don’t think they’re anywhere close.”

Listen to the three-minute assault:

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The annual parade, organized by the American Veterans Center, will take place on Monday, May 27, at 2:00 p.m. and will run along Constitution Avenue in the nation’s capital. The television broadcast will be nationally syndicated to more than 100 cities and 80 million households across the country, according to the press release.

The parade is featuring honorary celebrity marshals helping to call attention to the service and sacrifice of the U.S. military.

Robert Griffin Jr. and Jacqueline Griffin, both U.S. Army Veterans, will be featured prominently with their son as part of a special salute to the sacrifices made by America’s military families.

The parade will also include musical performances by former “American Idol” winner Taylor Hicks, and Miss America 2013, Mallory Hagan.

Click here for more info.

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Zimmermann is not Zimmerman, as in former All Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the face of the Nationals during the four-plus seasons that preceded right hander Stephen Strasburg’s June 2010 debut.

Zimmermann is also not 2009 No. 1 overall draft choice Strasburg nor 2011-12 All Star left hander Gio Gonzalez, at least in terms of public perception of Washington’s starting pitchers.

All of that might be a curse to some athletes, but not to the quiet Zimmermann, who turns 27 next Thursday. To him, it’s basically a blessing that so much attention showered on presumed ace Strasburg and ace I-A Gonzalez while he’s left in near-anonymity.

However, that might be starting to change. The Nats have started running ads with Zimmermann’s photo. And as we near the quarter pole of the season – which is more than halfway to the selection of the All Star teams – the 6-foot-2, 220-pound right hander from tiny Auburndale, Wis. has been one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers with a 7-1 record and a 1.69 earned.

Not that Zimmermann’s excellence is anything new. While Strasburg’s every pitch was watched for signs of recovery or future breakdown last year in the wake of his return from Tommy John surgery in September 2011 and Gonzalez electrified Nats-watchers with his stuff and outgoing personality during his 2012 Washington debut season, Zimmermann was just as effective as were his All Star rotation mates.

The numbers:

• Gonzalez 21-8, 2.89, 1.129 walks and hits per innings pitched
• Strasburg 15-6, 3.16, 1.155
• Zimmermann 12-8, 2.94, 1.17

Zimmermann struck out fewer batters than Gonzalez but also walked fewer. While Zimmermann couldn’t complain about a lack of run support last season as was the case during 2011 when he was just 8-11 despite a 3.18 ERA and a 1.147 WHIP, the bullpen did lose four leads that he had established. Otherwise, his 2012 won-loss record would have resembled Strasburg’s.

So far this year while Gonzalez and new No. 4 starter Dan Haren have mostly struggled and No. 5 starter Ross Detwiler and Strasburg – who’s 1-5 and in a worrisome pattern of melting down when something goes wrong such as a teammate’s error — have been inconsistent, Zimmermann has been the bellwether.

The numbers:

• Zimmermann NL-leading 7-1 record, 1.69 ERA (fifth in the league) .087 WHIP (second)
• Strasburg 1-5, 3.10, 1.18
• Gonzalez 3-2, 4.20, 1.20
• Detwiler 2-4, 2.76, 1.45
• Haren 4-4, 4.76, 1.35

Since he went 4-7 with a 4.73 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP during his first 23 big-league starts in 2009 and 2010, Zimmermann has learned how to pitch. Over the past two-plus seasons, he’s 27-20 with a 2.85 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

Zimmermann has yet to allow as many as 10 hits or four runs this year. He has completed two of his eight starts after not finishing any of the 32 games he began in 2012. In fact, Zimmermann is just one complete game shy of the staff’s total of last season (Gonzalez had two and Edwin Jackson, who beat Washington and Strasburg for Chicago last Saturday, had the other) when the Nats led the majors with 98 victories and won the National League East title.

Last Wednesday in a rain-delayed start against defending American League champion Detroit whose power-paced lineup was averaging 5.47 runs, Zimmermann allowed just one in seven innings while striking out seven batters and walking just one. Of his 101 pitches, 72 were strikes.

“I take pride every time I go out there,” Zimmermann said. “I’m going to pitch to contact and attack guys. Whatever happens is going to happen.”

Or as catcher Kurt Suzuki told The Washington Post, “Here it is. This is my best. If you can hit it, you can hit it. [Jordan is] one of the fiercest competitors I’ve ever seen.”

A fierce competitor with nasty stuff and a bulldog attitude equals a staff ace.

“I don’t think anyone is an ace on this staff,” Zimmerman said. “We’re all equal.”

Beg to differ, Jordan. So far in 2013, you are the ace.

David Elfin began writing about sports when he was a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He is Washington’s representative on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and the author of seven books, most recently, “Washington Redskins: The Complete Illustrated History.” A pre-game regular on 106.7-The Fan the last three Redskins seasons, he has been its columnist since March 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidElfin

Their 3-1 loss on Wednesday night was the team’s fourth in five games. Bryce Harper returned as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning for the first time since cutting his chin and hurting his shoulder in a collision with the outfield wall in the series opener on Monday. He grounded out to first base.

There were mixed messages as to whether he would be available for Davey Johnson’s squad earlier in the day.

His return was the good news.

The bad involved Ross Detwiler (2-4), who gave up two runs and six hits in three innings — his shortest outing of the season because of lower back spasms. He walked two and struck out none as the Nationals fell to 3-5 when he starts. Detwiler is 0-6 in six career road starts against NL West opponents.

“I don’t feel that great now but hopefully tomorrow morning I’ll feel a lot better,” he said. “It started spasming up and locked up. I couldn’t get good extension to get the ball where I wanted to. The ball just wasn’t coming out like it usually does.”

Catcher Wilson Ramos left the game after he singled in the fourth, having re-injured his left hamstring. That’s the same injury that sent him to the disabled list last month.

“My hammy is sore a little bit. I’m not saying like the first time but it’s sore,” he said. “I was working hard and trying to get my hamstring stronger but I don’t know what happened. I don’t want to be on the DL again. I’m very mad right now.”

Nationals manager Davey Johnson said he expects Ramos to be out for a while.

“I think we’re going to have to be a little more cautious with him, unfortunately,” he said.

Washington trailed 2-1 in the fourth on Adam LaRoche’s homer that extended his 12-game hitting streak.

The Nats had the tying run at third base in the eighth. Steve Lombardozzi singled off Kenley Jansen to open the inning before being replaced by pinch-runner Eury Perez. He took third on Ryan Zimmerman’s single that dropped in shallow right field. Jansen then retired three consecutive batters to end the inning.

“It’s frustrating when you’re not able to have your team or your lineup together. It’s never good,” Zimmerman said. “You want to have the same guys in there all year but unfortunately things like that happen. Hopefully we’ll get all that out of the way early like we did last year.”

The injury-plagued Dodgers got a lift from the return of Zack Greinke, who pitched 5 1-3 strong innings in his first start since April 11.

Greinke came off the disabled list earlier in the day, returning three weeks sooner than expected from a broken left clavicle after a confrontation with San Diego’s Carlos Quentin last month.

The right-hander was expected to be out eight weeks. He underwent surgery on April 13 to fix the injury with a metal plate used to stabilize the break.

Greinke (2-0) made one rehab appearance last Friday for Class A Rancho Cucamonga, and the Dodgers decided he was ready to rejoin them.

He proved them right, allowing one run and five hits, striking out four and walking none. Los Angeles went 10-19 since his injury.

Greinke helped himself with a RBI single with two outs in the second that extended the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0.

Brandon League pitched the ninth to earn his ninth save in 10 chances, helping the Dodgers close out the series 2-1 and giving them consecutive series victories for just the third time this season. They are 19-4 against the Nationals at home since the start of the 2006 season.

Los Angeles held Washington to one run in the Nationals’ last 22 innings of the series.

The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Adrian Gonzalez’s RBI single up the middle with two outs. Matt Kemp scored after extending his hitting streak to 14 games with a ground-rule double.

Andre Ethier led off the second with a single. Scott Van Slyke walked and then Juan Uribe hit into a double play. Greinke followed with a single to right field, his second hit of the season.

The Dodgers made it 3-1 in the eighth on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Carl Crawford.

Notes: Detwiler walked Scott Van Slyke in the second, snapping a streak of 20.0 consecutive innings without a walk issued by the Nationals staff. … The Nats have hit at least one home run in 69 consecutive series dating to Sept. 12-15, 2011. … Dodgers LHP Ted Lilly made his first rehab start for Class A Rancho Cucamonga since going on the DL with a strained right rib cage. He hasn’t pitched since April 29 against Colorado. … Since Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw threw 132 pitches in a 2-0 win on Tuesday, he will be moved back a day and will pitch on Monday in Milwaukee. RHP Matt Magill will start Sunday in Atlanta.

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(TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — Soccer fans in the D.C. area are in for a hoppy treat: their local team is getting its own custom-made beer.

D.C.’s Major League Soccer team is partnering with DC Brau Brewing Company to brew a limited edition D.C. United beer. The beer, which is going to be a golden ale, will be a “unique, one-of-a-kind brew, crafted specifically for D.C. United and its fans to enjoy,” the soccer club says.

The team also wants United fans to name the new beer through its “Brand the Brew” online naming competition. United fans can submit their suggestions for the brew’s name on the club’s website starting May 15 through May 29.

A final list of fan-suggested names will be selected and given to D.C. United players, who then will choose the beer’s name. The person who submits the winning name will receive a field-side D.C. United gameday experience for two as well as some serious bragging rights.

DC Brau says it will brew 1,000 gallons of the beer, which will be sold at select D.C. United bar partners and at the DC Brau Brewing Company.

“My motivation for making this particular beer with D.C. United came from a willingness to make an ale that all soccer fans can enjoy,” DC Brau President and Head Brewer Jeff Hancock said in a statement. “United fans drink all kinds of different beer, and with this particular ale I wanted it to reach a broad spectrum of palettes from those who drink everything from light lagers to hoppy pale ales.”

The brew is planned to become available for order June 11.

“Anyone who walks through the Lot 8 tailgate will undoubtedly see DC Brau’s distinctive silver cans and Capitol Dome logo in the hands of our most ardent fans,” D.C. United Marketing Manager Andrew Minucci said in a statement. “The quality of their product is what our fans demand and we are excited to quench their thirst by combining the beer they crave with the team they love.”

Beer Specifications

• Classification: Ale
• Approx. ABV: 4.5-5.0%
• IBU’s: 15
• Hops: U.S. Fuggle, U.S. Cascade
• Malts: Pale, CaraPils

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Evgeni Malkin extended his points streak to seven games with a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh.

Game 2 is Friday night.

Tomas Vokoun stopped 35 shots to win his third straight start and top-seeded Pittsburgh never trailed.

Colin Greening scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson made 26 saves but Ottawa had no answer for Pittsburgh’s power play.

The Penguins are 9 of 24 with the man advantage through seven playoff games, best of the eight teams remaining in the postseason.

The Senators had the NHL’s best penalty kill during the regular season and turned aside 16 of 19 penalties against Montreal in the first round.

Pittsburgh was pushed to six games by the New York Islanders during a spirited first-round series in which the youthful Islanders had the Penguins on their heels at times.

Still, Pittsburgh advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time in three years behind the power play and a gutsy move by coach Dan Bylsma to bench top goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and replace him with Vokoun.

The 36-year-old Vokoun made his 713th NHL start on Tuesday, but his first with the stakes this big. Despite admitting to some butterflies when told he would get the starting assignment for Game 1, Vokoun overcame some shaky moments early to settle down.

Having the lead most of the night certainly helped.

Pittsburgh didn’t need to wait long to get a chance to put the power play to work. Ottawa’s Kyle Turris drew a high-sticking penalty before the game was 90 seconds old, and barely a minute later, Pittsburgh jumped in front.

Malkin worked his way into the corner then threaded a pass between two Ottawa defenders to Martin at the point. Martin’s slap shot from the point deflected off Ottawa defenseman Jared Cowen and scooted past Anderson just 2:41 into the game to give the Penguins an early lead.

The Senators didn’t take long to tie it, evening things at 1 on the kind of soft goal Vokoun had avoided during his two stellar starts against the Islanders.

Ottawa’s Erik Condra won a battle in the corner for the puck then threw it from behind the goal to the side of the net.

Vokoun, anticipating a crossing pass instead of a shot, found himself out of position. The puck squirted behind him and was inches from the goal line before Greening reached over the goaltender and poked it in.

Malkin responded with his third goal of the playoffs, though his linemates did all the hard work. James Neal poke-checked the puck away from Cowen behind the Ottawa net then fed it to Chris Kunitz.

Kunitz then zipped a pass to Malkin’s awaiting stick just outside the goal crease and all the reigning NHL MVP had to do was tap it in to put the Penguins back in front.

Ottawa, facing the Penguins for the fourth time in the postseason since 2007, had little trouble getting to Vokoun.

They even managed to get the puck by him a few times. Just not into the net. On several occasions Vokoun would find himself on the ground as the puck skittered through the crease or toward the goal. Each time it was steered out of danger.

Anderson wasn’t quite so fortunate. Pittsburgh went back to the power play late in the second period and Kunitz stuffed home a rebound off an Iginla shot to give the Penguins a 3-1 cushion.

Dupuis, whose five goals against the Islanders led the team, beat Anderson at the end of a short-handed 2-on-1 breakaway with 8:36 remaining to put it away.

NOTES: The Senators went 0 for 5 on the power play and are just 1 for 17 with the man advantage against Pittsburgh this season. … Vokoun is 13-1 in his past 14 starts. … Iginla’s seven-game point streak in the playoffs is the longest of his career. … Injured Ottawa C Jason Spezza (back) did not travel with the team for Game 1 but has not been ruled out for Game 2.

Toews, a Selke finalist for the second time, finished third in the NHL in plus-minus with a career-high plus-28 rating and placed second in the NHL in face-off winning percentage with 59.9 percent.

Bergeron, who won last year, was the NHL’s top face-off man this season at 62.1 percent. He ranked sixth overall and led the Bruins in plus-minus with a plus-24 rating and played an average of 2:12 per game with his team short-handed.

Datsyuk, a three-time winner, tied with Toews for the league lead in takeaways with 56, topped the Red Wings in plus-minus at plus-21 and won 55 percent of faceoffs.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Quick made 35 saves in his sixth career playoff shutout, and the Los Angeles Kings opened their second-round series with a 2-0 victory over the Sharks on Tuesday night.

Slava Voynov and Mike Richards each had a goal and an assist in the Stanley Cup winners’ 11th straight victory at Staples Center since March, but the Kings all thought the win rested squarely on Quick, who delivered yet another dominant playoff performance.

The Sharks’ superior speed and passing couldn’t get anything past last season’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

“We wanted to get off on a good foot, no matter how we had to do it,” Quick said after his 25th career playoff victory, one shy of Kelly Hrudey’s franchise record. “We got better during this game, but we’ve got some work to do.”

Game 2 is Thursday.

Los Angeles opened the NHL’s fourth all-California playoff series with its fifth straight victory after an 0-2 start to its title defense.

Opening a playoff series at home for the first time in 21 years, the Kings got just enough offense from Richards and Voynov, the Kings’ promising Siberian defenseman, who had the first multipoint playoff game of his short career.

But the Kings’ scorers directed any praise to their defense and Quick, who yielded just 10 goals in the six-game first round against St. Louis before frustrating the Sharks.

“We didn’t have our best first period, and it could have got out of reach quickly if Quickie wasn’t back there making some big saves,” said Richards, the Kings’ leading postseason scorer. “You could just tell he was seeing the puck well.”

Antti Niemi stopped 18 shots for the Sharks, who scored 15 goals while sweeping third-seeded Vancouver — but Quick has playoff poise that the Canucks’ two goalies still haven’t achieved.

With help from a few fortunate bounces, Quick stayed in control during long stretches when the Sharks largely dominated play, particularly in the frantic opening minutes and again while outshooting Los Angeles 16-4 in the third period.

“It’s about getting it done,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “When the night ends, you have to have the job done. You can have as many good looks as you want. You can be in all alone. You have to find ways to finish, and we have players that are very capable of doing that. We have players that are capable of scoring greasy, dirty, playoff-style goals.”

The Sharks and Kings are meeting in the postseason for the second time in three years, accentuating their already strong in-state rivalry.

San Jose eliminated Los Angeles in 2011 on the way to the conference finals, but the Sharks’ years of steady excellence were surpassed by the up-and-down Kings when they raised California’s second Stanley Cup.

The Kings had not-so-secretly hoped for a second-round Freeway Faceoff with the Anaheim Ducks, who lost to Detroit in seven games — but after Game 1, it’s clear the Sharks have the champs’ full attention.

Los Angeles beat San Jose 3-2 in both clubs’ regular-season finale to finish in fifth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Sharks.

That’s how Los Angeles got home-ice advantage in this series, starting at home in the postseason for the first time since the 1992 opening round against Edmonton.

“(Quick) made the saves he had to, (but) we have to find a way to score,” Sharks center Joe Pavelski said. “We have to produce and create more movement. We feel we can play with them. We felt we played a good game. After tonight, everyone in this room feels they are beatable. It’s not going to be easy, obviously. They are Stanley Cup champs, a team that has learned how to win.”

The Sharks began Game 1 at a furious pace, generating numerous early scoring chances and keeping the Kings on their heels.

Quick immediately had to make a handful of remarkable saves before Los Angeles matched the tempo, and Voynov put the Kings ahead with 12.9 seconds left in the first period when he ripped a slap shot through traffic on a rush.

Voynov scored two goals in the opening round against St. Louis, and both were game-winners — including the clutch overtime score in Game 5 that allowed Los Angeles to finish off the series at home two days later.

“He gets shots through, and they’re not going to give you much,” Los Angeles coach Darryl Sutter said of Voynov.

Quick turned aside several good Sharks chances in the second period before Los Angeles doubled its lead. Voynov ripped a long shot that redirected off Richards for his seventh point in seven games.

The goal gave the Kings their first two-goal lead of the entire postseason, and the Sharks had their first two-goal deficit of the playoffs.

Shortly after the Kings’ first power play early in the third period, the puck ended up coming to a complete stop next to Niemi in his crease without the goalie knowing where it was. Scott Hannan dived to knock the puck away with his hand.

 (© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

In his weekly radio address with 106.7 The Fan’s Holden and Danny, Rizzo insisted Harper is day-to-day after passing all the physical tests required by the league’s concussion policy, which Major League Baseball instituted in 2011.

Harper, who Rizzo says is already offering himself up for pinch-hitting duties, acknowledged feeling nauseous Tuesday, telling reporters he felt “a little carsick.”

Here are the Harper-related health questions from Wednesday’s interview:

Holden: We were just talking about Bryce Harper. Anything to update us on with that? Is there a concussion?

Rizzo: No, there’s no concussions. He’s feeling better. He felt better yesterday. He felt better towards the end of the day yesterday than when he arrived at the park, so we feel he’ll be ready to go in the next day or so.

Holden: Does he need any more tests?

Rizzo: No, the test was conducted the night that he had the incident and he passed the test. I was right there watching him.”

Danny: What’s his timetable? What thresholds does he have to cross in order to be back in the lineup?

He just has to feel better. He’s sore. It’s kind of a little bit like if you get into a car crash or something. You get into a fender-bender where you just get jostled or an airbag hits; you’re just sore. And that’s where he’s at right now.

Holden: My question would be more to the protocol, the procedure, because in the NFL they obviously have a lot of testing for concussions. What’s that test like in the MLB?

Rizzo: The doctor runs him through a battery of tests. Verbal and tests on the computer, and of course we gave him X-rays and CT Scans and that type of thing, and that was all done, and he passed all of them.

Holden:He felt like he was carsick. Sometimes that is a symptom of concussion.  Was there anything to him being carsick? Why did he feel nauseous?

Rizzo: Why did he feel nauseous? I don’t know when he felt nauseous, or why he felt nauseous. He said he just didn’t feel right yesterday, but he told me at the end of the game that he was available if we needed him to pinch-hit yesterday, and he’s going to be day-to-day. We’ll see how he feels. He’s sore on the left side of the body, which is the side that took the brunt of the collision. But once the soreness is gone, he’ll be able to perform for us.

So at least we do know Harper was either feeling “carsick” or he “just didn’t feel right.” What we don’t know is when he’ll return.

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In a pre-game interview with Charlie Slowes Tuesday, the longtime Voice of the Dodgers addressed the vicious collision.

“The only good thing about it is it knocked his beard off,” Scully told Slowes. “And I was delighted to see … I went down to the clubhouse because I admire his play, and there he was clean shaven, stitches under the chin.”

Related: Timetable on Harper’s Return Uncertain

Harper is still feeling the effects of his chance encounter in right field, acknowledging Tuesday he was feeling nauseous and “a little carsick.”

But Scully had more to say about Harper.

“But he’s such a fine young man and an outstanding player. And it’s none of my business, but I hope he plays clean-shaven.

Scully was disappointed he didn’t get to meet Bryce when he made his MLB debut in Los Angeles last season.

“I would loved to have met him then,” he said. “I’m grateful that I met him now. His first major league hit here was against Chad Billingsley, so I’m sure that this is a little slice of home for him. I hope so.”

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Considering Orb’s dominating performance in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago it’s hard to surmise a scenario where we aren’t talking about yet another pending attempt to end racing’s long wait for the twelfth Triple Crown winner after this year’s Preakness. Orb is now perfect this year in four starts since he won his 3-year-old debut at Gulfstream Park in January. He has a jockey in Joel Rosario at the peak of his game; a trainer in Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey who is almost as beloved by the racing community as he is good; and owners whose family has been breeding and racing horses for over a century. The racehorse named Orb has the bloodlines, ability, and human connections that would serve as a perfect prelude to a potentially remarkable story should he win his next two career races.

Get Tickets To The Preakness Here!

Four who Could Beat Orb

While Orb will be a well-deserved favorite at the betting windows and in the hearts of race fans, he will face a challenging group in this year’s Preakness. The majority of the starters raced in the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and at least three starters will be “new shooters” coming out of races elsewhere. Since 2000, all but two winners of the Preakness also ran in the Kentucky Derby.

Here are the four that have the best chance to end Orb’s chances of shipping to Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line:

Will Take Charge

As the field made the final turn in the Kentucky Derby, Will Take Charge was making a bold move, step for step with the eventual winner. As they hit the top of the stretch, Will Take Charge was blocked by a tiring Verrazano and lost all chance for an in-the-money finish. Was he going to beat Orb? Maybe not, but his sustained move passing horses in the Derby, makes him an interesting starter in the Preakness. He was off for nearly two months before his eighth place finish at Churchill and could be sitting on a huge race in his second start off that layoff. Hall of Famer Mike Smith will ride Will Take Charge for the first time and should give him a better trip than he had in the Derby.

Departing

The winner of the Illinois Derby in his last start did not race in the Kentucky Derby. While those shipping from Churchill have tended to dominate the winner’s circle in the Preakness, Departing boasts a compelling resume including four wins from five career starts. His only loss came in a third place finish in the Louisiana Derby. That race produced the second, third, and fifth place finishers in the Kentucky Derby, which indicates he has the class to possibly spring the upset against Orb.

Goldencents

As the third betting choice when they opened the gates for the Kentucky Derby, he ran the worst race of his life. After breaking well, he sat too close to what turned out to be a suicidal early pace over a sloppy and tiring track. He was done by the time the field reached the mile marker. Jockey Kevin Krigger wisely eased him well before the wire and his connections shipped to Pimlico with little hesitation. With a few speed horses signed on in the Preakness, he will need to relax and not contest the pace to have a chance. A post position on the outside with the other speed horses on the rail would be a big help in carving out an ideal trip. He might be overlooked considering his dismal Derby so he could be a square price come post time.

How I’d Bet $100 On The Preakness

Mylute

The fifth place finisher in the Kentucky Derby ran a great race at Churchill Downs. In his three races this year he has never been farther than four lengths from the winner. He just missed winning the Louisiana Derby, a race stacked with strong runners, and had a wide trip during his gallant run in Kentucky. He will be ridden by Maryland-native Rosie Nepravnik, who will be racing in the Preakness for the first time. She will be a crowd favorite in Baltimore and would be a popular winner should Mylute manage to turn the tables on Orb.

If you’d like more information about the Preakness and tips on how to play the races, check out Hello Race Fans.

Kevin Martin is the founder of the thoroughbred racing history site Colin’s Ghost and a contributing editor at Hello Race Fans.

Their admissions parallel a recent Associated Press/GfK poll that shows nearly 80 percent of all Americans are not offended by the name.

And the other 20 percent appear to be out of luck after team owner Daniel Snyder emphatically stated the name would not ever change.

Robert Green, Chief of the Patawomeck Tribe tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch the name isn’t an issue for the vast majority of members of his tribe.

“About 98 percent of my tribe is Redskins fans, and it doesn’t offend them, either,” Green said.

The team is currently fighting off claims by five petitioners that argue the name “redskins” is disparaging to a significant population of American Indians. That case was heard by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in March.

If the board, which lawyers say could take up to a year before issuing a ruling, finds in favor of the petitioners, the franchise could lose federal trademark protection.

The Redskins won a comparable case filed in 1992 after years of legal wrangling.

All signs currently point to the plaintiffs fighting an uphill battle to change the name, which has been in place since 1933 when the Redskins were based in Boston.

“I’m a Redskins fan, and I don’t think there’s any intention for (the nickname) to be derogatory,” said Kevin Brown, Chief of the Pamunkey Tribe of Virginia.

Like Green, Brown says the majority of his tribe takes no offense to the name. However, he says the tribe respects the feelings of those who do have an issue with it.

And just as a fan he adds: “I like the uniforms. I like the symbol.”

The Chief of the Rappahannock Tribe took a more blunt approach with her opinion, dismissing the debate as largely irrelevant.

“There are so many more issues that are important for the tribe than to waste time on what a team is called. We’re worried about real things, and I don’t consider that a real thing,” G. Anne Richardson told the newspaper.

“We’re more worried about our kids being educated, our people housed, elder care and the survival of our culture. We’ve been in that survival mode for 400 years. We’re not worried about how some ball team is named.”

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A faithful reader responded that he disagreed with that idea, e-mailing, “Unfortunately this loss doesn’t hurt very much as it’s gotten the point where I’m not even disappointed after last night. … I just don’t expect anything from them anymore.”

I had watched part of Caps-Rangers Game 7 with this longtime Caps fan’s brother. As Washington’s 1-0 deficit grew to 3-0 during the second period, the brother didn’t get angry. He didn’t even get depressed. He was more relieved, saying that now he wouldn’t have to spend so much time watching and worrying about the Caps and could focus more on his job. He seemed almost happy that his annual spring agony couldn’t torment him again until next April.

You know the local 30-something hockey fan for whom I feel really bad? Former Caps captain Jeff Halpern, a 37-year-old Potomac native whose Montreal Canadiens also exited in the first round, meaning he has still never won a series during his 13 NHL seasons.

But I do understand the brothers’ mentality. I love most Woody Allen movies and share much of the director’s “expect the worst so you’re pleasantly surprised when things go right” attitude. A lifelong fan of Syracuse and Maryland, two college basketball programs with a habit of blowing leads, I’m always looking at the game clock to figure out how long the Orange or Terps have to hold on to survive. And having covered the Caps in a dozen playoff springs as well as Norv Turner’s entire Redskins tenure, I’m well-versed in writing stories in which defeat is grasped from the jaws of victory.

But I worry about my buddies, the brothers. They are a generation younger than I am and don’t remember the Redskins’ glory days under Hall of Fame coaches George Allen (1971-77) and Joe Gibbs (1981-92) or the era when the Bullets (now the Wizards) were one of the NBA’s powerhouses (1969-79).

Consider that the Redskins have made the playoffs just four times in 20 years, winning just two games. The Wizards have reached the playoffs just five times in 25 years, winning a lone series. And Washington didn’t have a baseball team from 1972-2004 with the Nats going out in the first round last October in the capital’s first postseason baseball since FDR was a rookie President way back in 1933.

For local 30-somethings, the Caps’ regular spring collapses are really what they know when it comes to Washington teams and postseason. So no wonder they cringe when they hear the word playoffs and act like yet another ugly outcome can be brushed aside like sandwich crumbs.

I’m not trying to be cute or offend women who have been abused – I have two rescue spaniels who were badly mistreated before I adopted them — but I think that my friends suffer from battered fan syndrome. They not only expect their team to lose, they’re OK with it and deal with defeat by saying that now they can go about their lives. I’m no psychologist, but I know these guys do care deeply about hockey and the Caps just like another friend of mine who joked (?) that late Caps and Bullets owner Abe Pollin sold his soul to the devil for the latter’s lone championship in 1978 – a la the Senators’ Joe Hardy in “Damn Yankees” — and that his franchises are paying the price in perpetuity.

Look at the other 13 markets which have NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB teams. The Bay Area (the Giants), Los Angeles (Kings) and Miami (Heat) are all defending champions. Boston (Bruins), Dallas (Mavericks) and New York (Giants) triumphed in 2011. Chicago (Blackhawks) won a title in 2010 while Detroit (Red Wings) and Philadelphia (Phillies) did in 2008. That’s nine of the four-sport markets which have thrown parades over the last five years.

Simply put, these fans, especially New Yorkers, expect their teams to win and are shocked when they don’t. Washingtonians expect their teams to lose and are shocked when they don’t.

Phoenix (Diamondbacks) was crowned in 2001 as was Denver (Broncos) in 1998 and Atlanta (Braves) in 1995. Only Minnesota (Twins) has waited longer for a champion (by three months) than Washington, which was last on top with the 1991 Redskins.

Less well-represented markets Baltimore, Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Montreal, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, St. Louis, San Antonio and Tampa Bay have also won titles more recently than D.C.

I don’t think my buddies, the Caps-loving brothers, need to see therapists. They just need a championship, like all Washington sports fans. Give us just one title and we can do some serious healing. And some serious celebrating. Do you hear me, RGIII?

David Elfin began writing about sports when he was a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He is Washington’s representative on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and the author of seven books, most recently, “Washington Redskins: The Complete Illustrated History.” A pre-game regular on 106.7-The Fan the last three Redskins seasons, he has been its columnist since March 2011. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidElfin

Less than 24 hours earlier, the 20-year-old Washington Nationals slugger ran headfirst into the right-field wall while chasing a fly ball. The violent collision left him with 11 stitches in his chin, a sore body and a lesson learned.

Harper vowed to keep playing hard, but said he will learn how to avoid crashing into the fence with such force. He was set to sit out the remaining two games of Washington’s series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“He hadn’t been out there enough probably to realize he was even on the warning track,” Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. “Once he hits the fence enough times, he’s going to get the translation to where he feels for the wall and looks for the wall. It’s going to come with experience, and the best teacher in the world is hitting that wall hard.”

Harper acknowledged feeling nauseous and “a little carsick” on Tuesday.

“But there is no concussion or anything like that,” he said.

The reigning NL Rookie of the Year wasn’t upset about the collision, only the after-effects.

First of all, he didn’t catch A.J. Ellis’ triple. Second, he had to shave his beard so the medical staff could patch him up. And then there was the general soreness anyone would feel after running into a wall full-speed.

“Both legs, (left) shoulder, ribs, hand, wrist, chin of course,” Harper said, laying out the laundry list of his sore body parts.

And while Monday’s exam didn’t reveal a concussion, Johnson said the outfielder is likely to undergo more tests.

“His shoulder, (left) knee and head took the brunt,” Johnson said. “I’d say I’m more worried about his shoulder and his knee than I am about the stitches in his chin.”

It wasn’t the first time Harper has felt the impact of an outfield wall. Two weeks ago in Atlanta he crashed into the fence and was left with bruised ribs.

Despite the health risks, Johnson isn’t about to tell Harper to stop playing as hard as he does. And it’s not as if Harper would listen anyway.

Harper took to Twitter on Tuesday, posting: “I will keep playing this game hard for the rest of my life even if it kills me! Ill (sic) never stop!”

Now it’s a matter of hoping he never seriously hurts himself.

“It’s just something that I’ll learn,” Harper said. “When I’m on the ball, I’m trying to get that ball because that’s the only thing that matters to me. That’s how I play. I’ve always played like that.

“I’m going to play this game for the rest of my life and try to play it as hard as I can every day. That’s my life on the line. At the end of the day I’m going to look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘I played this game as hard as I could and tried to make my team win a World Series every day.’”

Harper has a team high .303 average with 10 home runs and 21 RBIs this season.

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The NHL playoffs are off to a heart-pounding start with a record 17 games going to overtime in the first round.

The end-to-end, hard-hitting action with storied franchises and superstars might become intriguing enough to attract some casual fans for the conference semifinals.

Original Six teams — Chicago and Detroit, Boston and the New York Rangers — are paired up in each conference for the first time since the 1992 postseason.

And, the other two second-round matchups aren’t too shabby.

The last five champions — Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Detroit — all have a chance to be the first to win two Stanley Cups in the salary cap era.

The Penguins were scheduled to get their series started Tuesday night at home against Ottawa, and the defending champion Los Angeles Kings were to follow by hosting the San Jose Sharks.

Chicago, the NHL’s top-seeded team, will renew a rivalry against seventh-seeded Detroit on Wednesday night in the Windy City. After getting a much-needed break following Game 7s, the fourth-seeded Bruins will host the sixth-seeded Rangers on Thursday night in their first postseason matchup since 1973.

The last time Original Six teams faced each other on both sides of the NHL postseason bracket beyond the first round was the division finals in 1992 when Montreal and Boston played in the Wales Conference while the Blackhawks and Red Wings met in the Campbell Conference, according to STATS.

Since then, the NHL has had three work stoppages, including one this season that started the season on Jan. 19 and shortened it to a 48-game sprint.

The timing off the Original Six-heavy playoffs, leading to four major markets likely spiking TV ratings, seems to be the shot the sport needs.

“I think it’s great for the league,” Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader said. “Any time you have Original Six team matchups or Original Six teams in the playoffs, it’s great.

“We’re looking forward to playing Chicago one last time before we change conferences.”

The Red Wings will be in the Eastern Conference next season as part of the league’s realignment plan, making their 13th best-of-seven series against the Blackhawks even more interesting.

Detroit, though, will have to fare better than it did against Chicago in the regular season to make the matchup compelling after the pre-series hype fades.

The Blackhawks, the NHL’s top-seeded team, beat the Red Wings twice in shootouts, once in overtime and by a 7-1 score in another game.

“Maybe we had their number during the regular season, but this is different,” said Chicago forward Marian Hossa, who played for Detroit the last time the teams met in the playoffs four years ago when the Red Wings rolled toward the Stanley Cup finals. “When I saw how they played (against Anaheim), they’ve extremely picked up their game and played well.

“We will have to be better than we were against Minnesota if we want to win.”

Boston couldn’t have finished better in the first round, becoming the first team to win a Game 7 after trailing by three goals in the third.

The Bruins were down by two with 90 seconds left, scored twice in a 31-second span and beat Toronto — another Original Six team — in the league’s 17th OT game of the postseason. The previous record for OT games in an opening round was 16, set last year.

The Rangers had a much easier time in their decisive game against Washington, winning 5-0 with Henrik Lundqvist becoming the first NHL goaltender to have shutouts in Games 6 and 7 since Detroit’s Dominik Hasek did it in 2002.

It was such a rout that New York forward Arron Asham was peeking at the Toronto-Boston score to see who the Rangers would play next.

“I looked up a few times and saw that Toronto was up 4-1, and that’s who I thought we’d face,” Asham said. “A few minutes later, it was a different story. It’s a tough way to lose.

New York took the three-game season series against the Bruins, winning a shootout and an OT game after opening the season with a 3-1 loss to them. But Boston coach Claude Julien is counting on his team building confidence from its comeback that might help its quest for consistency.

“That’s the one thing that I’m hoping, that we can grab that momentum that we had at the end and carry it into the next series,” Julien said. “We know we have to be better, we can’t keep playing well in spurts and not so well in other spurts.”

On the other side of North America, two teams will compete to be California’s best hockey club.

The fifth-seeded Kings and sixth-seeded Sharks are playing for the second time in the playoffs — San Jose eliminated Los Angeles in the opening round three years ago — and are the first teams from the Golden State to meet after the opening round of the playoffs.

“It’s a great thing for the state,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said.

Canada had one-fourth of the 16 teams in the playoffs when they began April 30. Now, the hockey-crazed country is left with only the seventh-seeded Senators going against one of the country’s own, Sidney Crosby, and the Penguins, the top-seeded team in the East.

Crosby has bounced back from a broken jaw well enough to have a point in each of his five games against the Islanders in the first round, scoring three goals and making six assists to quiet questions about his health.

The superstar was eliminated by Ottawa in his first postseason in 2007 and helped Pittsburgh knock the Senators out of the first round the next year and 2010.

Adding a layer of drama to the series, Senators owner Eugene Melnyk has called Penguins winger Matt Cooke “a goon” after his skate slashed the Achilles tendon of Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson on Feb. 13.

“I don’t think you need much motivation in the playoffs, but I think both teams should be pretty motivated,” Crosby acknowledged.

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AP Sports Writers Jay Cohen in Chicago, Howard Fendrich in Washington, Josh Dubow in San Jose, Calif., and Will Graves in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.

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(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)