The Hoff's Sports Blog

He isn't the best skater in the world; he doesn't have the best shot in the world.  Yet from 2002 to the end of the 2010-11 season, Mike Knuble had nine straight seasons with at least twenty or more goals.  How was he able to do this?

Let's just say Knuble is a bit punk rock.  He just doesn't give a you know what.  He puts himself directly in front of 100 mile-per-hour slap shots, goalies that treat crease intruders with the rage of a Montana militia member finding a trespasser, and of course the occasional dirty defenseman.

Mike Green also once called Knuble a 'gringly player.'  It doesn't get much more punk rock than that. 

But why does Mr. Knuble choose to live such a 'gringly' lifestyle?  There are two reasons.

1. At 6'3, 230 pounds, Mike is a big boy and can handle it. "When he gets planted there, nobody's going to move him," said Daniel Briere who played with Knuble while he was on the Flyers.

2.  Quite simply, Mike Knuble crashes the crease because that is where many goals are scored.  On any given night in the modern NHL, (Especially in the playoffs) you may see far more goals come off the rebound of a shot, rather than on that initial shot.  If that doesn't make sense to you, maybe an analogy about cattle will work.  Take it away Mr. Knuble  "Guys like Brooks [Laich] and I, that's what we've done very well this year. We go to the net. We're like cattle. I mean, you know where you're gonna eat down there, so you're gonna keep going back," said Knuble in 2010.  It's still one of my favorite quotes of all-time.

Sadly however, Knuble's production this season hasn't just slowed down, it's almost stopped.

With only three goals and nine assists in sixty games, at thirty-nine, this may in fact be the last season of Knuble's career.

It's been a career that was redefined far later than most as Knuble easily has played his best hockey in his 30's.  In doing so, Knuble has knocked father time on his ass every time he rose up to challenge him.

Now however, things have changed.

Knuble barely saw any time on the first line this season, a place where in the past he's seen consistent ice-time.  Prior to last Saturday's game against the Bruins, Knuble was a healthy scratch in six of the last seven games.  Even when he does play, Knuble is often not even on the top three forward lines.  

To say it's been tough would be an understatement, and Knuble has not been shy about voicing his frustration.  Two weeks prior to the trade deadline, Knuble even went so far to tell reporters that he would rather be shipped out of Washington, then not be used.

As we all know, Knuble was not traded and actually returned to the Capitals lineup the past two games.  After Sunday's 2-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs I was able to ask Knuble how he was feeling after returning from so long.  Here's what he had to say.

"I'm feeling good right now.  You're never happy sitting there.  Just try to do your chance when you get in.  You don't try to do too much because you're just going to get yourself in more trouble. The big thing is I haven't finished this year. Missed a wide open net yesterday (Against Boston) so that's a bit frustrating, but it seems like the last two games I've played, I had a good solid chance every game."

That's obviously big of Mike to admit that he hasn't played up to the level he needs to this season.  Obviously Knuble was frustrated to not get playing time, but it appears that frustration also carries over to his own play.

Of course, we expect nothing less of the most candid man in the Capitals locker room, a guy who didn't hesitate to say that the Caps were playing like 'a bunch of losers,' earlier in the season.

Honest and also wise. Before this season began, Knuble wisely told us that you have to be build for the long run when you get ready for the season.  "You want to play good hockey in October, but you don't have to be playing your best hockey in October, you'd rather see it in March and April."

In looking at how the Capitals started the season in gangbuster style, going 7-0 and then floundering the rest of the way, that quote is especially pertinent.

We certainly hope that the Capitals current-three game winning streak is indicative of a team finally getting back to playing their best hockey.

Maybe just maybe, Knuble is also ready to show us he still has a little something left in the tank for the remainder of March, April, and anything that comes beyond.  We're certainly rooting for him.

For more on the Capitals, check out Capitals Examiner

Did Gibbs have knowledge of what Williams was doing?

A 'bounty-system' in Washington? - Most of the NFL investigation seems to hinge on what former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams recently did while defensive coordinator of the Saints in supposedly paying defensive players to take other players out of the game. As we all know though, Williams did coach in Washington, and the NFL is investigating if Washington also had a bounty reward system in place.

From all indications, they did.

Former defensive line coach Greg Blatche, (who operated during the Gibbs years,) said that Williams (who coached Washington's defense from 2003-07) did pay players for what he termed to be, 'kill shots.'  Among those we may have been targeted, and strongly affected by the targeting is Peyton Manning.  During a game in 2006, Manning took a hit that targeted his head.

The particular hit did not force him to leave the game, but according to then Colts coach Tony Dungy, Manning told backup Jim Sorgi to start warming up, and told the coaching staff that he could remain in the game but the next play would have to be a run.

Manning never left that particular game, but Dungy recently told the media it was this hit that may have started the neck problems that would eventually threaten the all -pro's very playing career.

In other 'bounty' related news, Blatche was adamant that Joe Gibbs and most of the offensive coaching staff knew nothing of William's 'kill shot' system.

But hold the press! Today, an original member of the hogs, George Starke, told WJFK that Gibbs would personally hand 100 dollar bills to playes who made big plays.  Knocking someone out may not have been an explicit demand for getting the money, but as Starke implies, it certainly wasn't frowned upon.  (This is football after all.)

But still, Starke only knows of Gibbs's first coaching turn, not his second coaching stint in the 2000's.  What still isn't known is if Gibbs did or did not know about Williams was doing.  We will say that Williams in honor of the fallen safety, did have the Redskins start with 10 members of defense in the game after Sean Taylor's death.  Gibbs would later say that he had no idea Williams was going to do that, so it certainly is within the realm of possibility that Gibbs had no knowledge of what Williams was pulling.

In fact, we can't even be sure if Willaims was running the program, that's how many different things are being said here.

Never one to shy away from controversy, former Redskisn cornerback Fred Smoot has gone on to say that the 'bounty-system' was an idea that came from the players and not from Williams. 

Smoot also asserted that it was nowhere near as vicious as some people are saying, claiming that the reward system was based on interceptions and forced fumbles, and not on injuring the other team.

"I never saw anyone paid for knocking someone out of the game. Did we as players put in pots to make plays, what we called the Big Splash Plays Pot? Yeah, we did that. WE did that. Players. That started by the captains on the team," Smoot told WJFK.  (Thanks to DC Sports Bog for the reporting of this quote.)

Welcome to football's version of whodunit.

Attention mid -level managers, you face a double -double of office productivity threats.  Not only is the dark plague of baseball fantasy drafts looming, but come mid -March, the madness begins!

You can look it up, the NCAA tournament brings $190 million a year in lost productivity, and after all that, last season's championship between Butler and UConn was about as inspiring as a John Beck downfield pass.  

'Scrappy' Butler turned 'crappy,' only making 12, yes 12 shots the entire game! Not only that, but normally fluid guard Kemba Walker was emblematic of the overall play from both teams as he went 5-19 and UConn played little better than a rec league basketball team, shooting 34.5 percent from the floor. 'Hoosiers' this game was not.

However, we sure did love that run from VCU! Poise under pressure?  The team had so much of it they could have packaged it, sealed it and sold it at wholesale!

So who's going to make the jump to the tournament in our area?   Right now it isn't a big list. 

Georgetown (12-5 in Big East.  22-6 overall.) - The only 'sure-shot' tournament team our area has, the Hoyas under a Princeton Offense that is based on making back-door cuts, high and wide spacing, and often has the center and forwards receiving the ball out of the paint near the key, while other players make back-door cuts to the basketball.  Because of this, Georgetown's forwards have tended to be good passers.  We've seen this is the past from Jeff Green, and we see it this season from Center Henry Sims who leads the Hoyas with 3. 5 assists, per game

They Hoyas are also lead by Jason Clark, a tenacious, 6'2 guard who plays just as aggressively on defense as he does leading the Hoyas on the counter-attack. 

The Hoyas are a very deep, well coach team who has excellent size, a perfect combination for the rough-and-rumble Big East where smaller, non-athletic teams simply don't have a chance.

With a win on Saturday against Marquette, the Hoyas would enter the Big East Tournament as a #2 seed.  For the far more important NCAA Tournament, they are a lock to get in, a strong candidate to go far, but could be susceptible to a good three-point shooting team that has a few forwards who can hang. (See VCU last season.)

Maryland  (6-9 in ACC.  16-13 overall.)  - The Terps just don't have the experience and the chops yet to hang late, a downfall that will keep Maryland from the NCAA tournament unless they can pull off a miracle and win the ACC Tournament.  Maryland shot 23.3% in the second half of a recent loss to Georgia Tech. The numbers were even gaudier in a blowout loss the Virginia Cavaliers as Maryland made exactly five shots in the second half and shot 20.4 % in the final twenty minutes of basketball.  Not so good. 

With Sean Mosely the only Maryland Senior who can really be relied upon, Terrell Stoglin the only guy who can create his own shot, and with a 1-8 record on the road in the ACC, a strong ACC tournament appears to be a distant pipedream. 

Virginia (8-7 in ACC.  21-8 overall.) - With a last-second loss on a three pointer by Ian Miller to give the Seminoles a 63-60 win on a game that four minutes earlier, the Cavs lead by 11, it was the second straight game that Virginia could no longer close out a team, as the Cavs missed a number of open three point shots in the last minute during a 54-51 loss to 7^th ranked North Carolina.

Now all of a sudden, in what has been  a very good season, the Cavs no longer appear to be a sure lock to make the Tourney if they stop right here. 

We don't think they will. 

The Cavs under Tony Bennett are second nationally in team defense, only giving up an average of 52.2 points per game. The Cavs are also 5^th nationally in three point defense as other teams shoot on average only at 28.8 percent.

On offense, the Cavs have been relying on power forward Mike Scott, (Who has seven double-doubles already the season.) for a long-long time. 

Jontel Evans also gives the Cavs some great outside range, shooting three pointers at a 45.5 percent clip and leading the Cavs in assist.

At 8-7 in the ACC, the game this Saturday at Maryland is a must win. 

If the Cavs do win and at least take one game in the ACC Tournament, we expect that they will finish around a 6^th seed in the Tourney.  For the first time since 1995, Virginia also has a decent chance of at least making the Sweet Sixteen if they make it in.

Virginia Tech (4-11 in ACC.  15-15 overall.)  - After beating number #1 Duke and reaching the ACC Tournament Semifinals, the Hokies should have been invited to the NCAA Tournament last year.  Maybe Hokies coach Seth Greenberg was being a little melodramatic when he said of the NCAA selection committee that, "you almost wonder if someone in that room has their own agenda and that agenda doesn't include Virginia Tech," but he certainly had a right to be mad.

This year though Greenberg can't make the same argument.  Tech is an abysmal 4-11 in conference, playing good teams like Duke to overtime and only getting beaten by 1 against #21 Florida State, but they don't give NCAA Tournament bids to teams whose major accomplishment is not getting blown out. 

VCU 25-6, 15-3 CAA) Having won 14 of the last 15 games, the Rams should be a tournament team, especially when you consider the vainglorious run they went on last season. 

However most NCAA tournament insiders expect the perennially underrated CAA to only have one team make the tournament.  That means that VCU or the also deserving George Mason (23-8 overall and 14-4 in the CAA) likely will have to beat Drexel in the finals of the CAA tournament.

With a shooting percentage of .405, you wouldn't think that VCU would even be in contention for the tournament as this team does not have the 'gunners' they had last season.

The Rams high intensity defense though often is the deciding factor in games.  In terms of pure thievery, VCU is one of the best in the nation, averages over 10 steals per game.


On offense, Bradford Burgess is the most important holdover from the Final Four team of 2010-11. Burgess is more than capable of 'going off' has the speed and ability to create his own shot, and if he starts 'feeling it' behind the arc, it's over as Burgess already has played three games in which he made five or more shots behind the arc. 

George Washington (10-19 overall.  5-10 in Atlantic 10.) Not much to see here and no tournament hopes to speak of as first year head coach Mike Lonergan has been searching for but been unable to find consistency from his Colonial squad.