Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 28, 2010; D06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
PITTSBURGH - JULY 27: Sidney Crosby (L) of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mike Knuble of the Washington Capitals pose for a photo at the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic press conference on July 27, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH -- Three seasons ago the Washington Capitals harkened back to their red, white and blue roots. In next year's Winter Classic, they're going all the way back.
Alex Ovechkin and Co. will wear jerseys adorned with the Capitals' original crest, complete with blue letters, a red hockey stick for the 'L' and six stars over the city and team name when they face off with the Pittsburgh Penguins on New Year's Day.
The complete uniform, which won't be revealed until the Capitals' fan convention in October, will strongly resemble those from the Rod Langway era based on the logo that was unveiled Tuesday at Heinz Field, home of the NFL's Steelers and site of the NHL's fourth annual outdoor showcase.
The league picked the Capitals and Penguins for two reasons: They boast the game's biggest stars in Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, and because even in the slowest time of the season, the teams' longtime rivalry never seems to cool off.
Max Talbot made sure there's no doubt about the latter. In an interview on Pittsburgh's 105.9 "The X" Tuesday morning, the Penguins winger said of Ovechkin: "I'm kind of happy he's not [in Pittsburgh for the news conference]. I didn't want to see him. I just hate the guy. . . . I can't lie, sorry."
Later in the same interview, Talbot, pressed about his disdain for the Capitals' captain, added: "[Evgeni] Malkin knew Ovechkin and introduced me to him [at the 2009 NHL Awards in Las Vegas] and the first impression wasn't great."
This Winter Classic didn't need any more fuel. But that didn't stop Talbot from pouring a can of gasoline on it.
Given the chance to explain himself at Tuesday's news conference, Talbot downplayed his comments.
"It's always a big rivalry and whatever you say the other team is not going to like," Talbot said. "He's a great player but he's not fun to play against. What can you say, stir up a little intensity?
"It was more about on-the-ice stuff than off the ice," Talbot added. "You hate to play against him. That's what I meant."
Mike Knuble and David Steckel, who represented the Capitals at Heinz Field, weren't convinced."It's bulletin-board material," Steckel said with a smirk, "and it's not quite August yet."
Knuble added: "It's the end of July and somebody's got to say something. It just adds to the rivalry. . . . I can't imagine any of our players saying something like that about Sidney Crosby."
After the trash talk and a quirky contest in which the players shot pucks from the field through the football goal posts (Steckel hit one from near the 50-yard line), NHL and NBC officials conducted a "site survey," hoping to figure out the best location for the rink inside the 65,000-seat stadium as well as ideal camera locations.
"It's the first time that our guys have got inside the building and are starting to formulate the plans," NHL chief operating officer John Collins said. "Most of the plans will get drawn off of this meeting."
Max Talbot calls Alex Ovechkin a bad word
By Dan Steinberg
The Washington Post: D.C. Sports Bog
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/
July 27, 2010; 3:20 PM ET
PITTSBURGH - JULY 27: (L-R) Pascal Dupuis, Sidney Crosby and Maxime Talbot of the Pittsburgh Penguins pose for a photo at the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic press conference on July 27, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
At 2:24 p.m. or thereabouts on Tuesday, the NHL sent out a press release about the league's "hottest rivalry." I think sports writers and the general public could normally be forgiven for casting a cynical eye at press-released claims of a hot hockey rivalry that are made in late July.
But in this case, a member of the Penguins -- one side of the rivalry -- had called the Capitals superstar "a real douche" on the radio four hours before the press release went out. Game on, press-release writers. Next time, though, please include slightly blue hygienic-product puns. I'd provide a few examples, but I'd rather not alarm the censors.
"I just hate the guy," Max Talbot told 105.9 The X on Tuesday as part of some Winter Classic press tours, when asked about Alex Ovechkin. "I can't lie. Sorry. Even moreso for a guy like Ovechkin. Like, seriously. Ok. Yeah. I don't like him."
There was lots of laughter through all of this, and the hosts were egging him on, saying "we agree completely" and "don't apologize" and the like. Then they asked Talbot when he realized that his dislike for Ovechkin extended beyond normal, competitive on-ice rivalry.
"The first time I met him, actually, when I met him off the ice," Talbot said. "You hear a lot of stories about a guy, but sometimes they're not true. You hear of guys who're not good guys, and you're like, 'Yeah, ok, I'll give the guy a shot.' The first time I met him, let's say he didn't give the best impression to me, so better reason to hate him even more."
It was the ripped jeans, wasn't it, Max? Or maybe the techno music? The cackling hosts asked Talbot what exactly happened at this first off-ice meeting.
"I was actually at the NHL Awards last summer with Malkin, and we brought the Stanley Cup over there after the season," Talbot said. "Malkin knew Ovechkin, and introduced me to him, and the first impression wasn't great. I'm not really gonna say what happened, but I'm like, 'Ok, this guy is a real douche.' "
(Note: Here is a short list of things guaranteed to make me break my vacation pledge to avoid the Internet: Confirmed jello wrestling between LaVar Arrington and Clinton Portis, the Dalai Lama making his first public remarks about Albert Haynesworth, and a Pittsburgh Penguin calling Alex Ovechkin a douche. That list may not be complete, but it's a start.)
After the interview, the cackling hosts wondered how "douche" would be translated in the inevitable Russian-language versions of this transcription. Funny, because I was wondering how you say "Brads, don't worry about it, let me take this one myself please," in Russian. Also, "Five-Minute Major." Also, "People kept throwing hats. I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop."
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