Wednesday Sports Roundup

By Benny Martinez - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Thanks to a great supporting cast, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals rallied back from a 2-1 deficit late in the third period of last night's contest against the Detroit Red Wings to win their third straight game by a score of 3-2.

The Caps were out-shot by the Red Wings 46-23, but still managed to leave Verizon Center with a 'W'. Forward Nicklas Backstrom scored late in the game, evening the score at two a piece. Seconds later, Center David Steckel followed with a score of his own that gave the Caps their first lead of the night. Detroit pulled its netminder with just over a minute to play, but could not capitalize with the extra skater.

The Caps (31-12-6) travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday night to face superstar Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (31-19-1). The game marks a rematch of last year's highly entertaining Eastern Conference divisional playoff series, won by the Penguins in seven games.

Thursday Sports Roundup

The self-described, "Doctor of Democracy" will not be putting his stamp on the NFL anytime soon. A group bidding to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams has decided to drop conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh from its list of partners. The group, led by St. Louis Blues (NHL) Chairman Dave Checketts, determined that Limbaugh's participation had complicated its bid. On Wednesday, Checketts said that the group's bid will move forward despite the absence of Limbaugh...

Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Joe Torre has decided to start left-hander Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Kershaw was 0-2 against Philadelphia in the regular season. Tonight's first pitch is scheduled for 8:07 pm ET...

The Washington Capitals have recalled center Keith Aucoin from its minor league affiliate Hershey Bears. Aucoin will presumably fill the roster spot of defenseman John Erskine, who has been placed on the IR with an injured hand. The Capitals host the San Jose Sharks tonight. The puck drops at 7:00 pm ET...

Amid daily speculation regarding the job security of Head Coach Jim Zorn, two Washington Redskins players said Wednesday that they'd like the team's management to put out a statement officially endorsing him. The players, who both spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the lack of a vote of confidence will create division and uneasiness within the team...

Wednesday Sports Roundup

Wednesday Sports Roundup

The National League Championship series kicks off tomorrow night when the NL East Champion Philadelphia Phillies travel to Los Angeles to take on the NL West Champion Dodgers in a rematch of last season’s NLCS. The Phillies, who took that series 4 games to 1, will send lefty Cole Hamels to the mound. Hamels, last season’s NLCS and World Series MVP, has struggled this season, going just 10-11 with an ERA of 4.32. He’ll look to rebound from a shaky start in Game 2 of the NLDS against Colorado in which he gave up four runs on seven hits in just five innings of work. The Dodgers have yet to announce a starter for Game 1...

Meanwhile, the American League Championship Series gets underway Friday night in New York where the Yankees, owners of the best record in all of baseball this season, will look to make it back to the World Series for the first time since 2003. They’ll face the AL West Champion Los Angeles Angels, fresh off a thrilling come-from-behind 7-6 win over the Boston Red Sox that completed a sweep of that series in Boston. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi says he is considering using a three-man pitching rotation against the Angels featuring C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and playoff veteran Andy Pettitte...

Locally, All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and his team, the Washington Wizards, have each been fined $25,000 by the NBA as a result of Arenas not making himself available to the media before and after games this preseason. Arenas, who has refused to do interviews since his team’s media day on Sept. 28, scored 24 points Tuesday night in the Wizards’ 101-98 exhibition victory over the Detroit Pistons...

In hockey news, the Washington Capitals will welcome the San Jose Sharks to D.C. on Thursday night. The contest features two of the most exciting teams in the National Hockey League as Capitals forward and reigning NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin will attempt to end his team’s current four game winless streak. The Capitals’ latest setback came Monday night when they squandered a two-goal lead and lost 3-2 in a shootout at home against the New Jersey Devils. The Sharks, currently in 2nd place in the NHL’s Pacific Division, are coming off a 1-0 shootout loss against the Phoenix Coyotes. San Jose boasts two of the league’s top scorers in center Joe Thornton and forward Dany Heatley, both of whom have racked up ten points apiece already this season.