Brooks Laich First Pitch (23 of 24)

Photo credit: Chris “Effing” Gordon

Brooks Laich threw a strike.

That’s kind of his modus operandi. Ever reliable and always competent, Laich excels at pretty much everything he does. And before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Baltimore Orioles game on Monday, Laich gave time to the media on a variety of issues. He nailed that too.

In the interview, Brooks speaks at length about his fan allegiance (split between the Orioles and Expos), how his struggles in the postseason extended to youth baseball, and his totally appropriate adulation of Cal Ripken.

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Ovi wears his boot on stage. This man is clearly devoted to getting healthy. (Photos via the KHL’s Facebook page)

Alex Ovechkin played 31 games for his hometown KHL team, Dynamo Moscow, before the NHL lockout ended in January. During that time, Ovechkin scored 19 goals and had 40 points. Even without Ovi and Nicklas Backstrom, Dynamo went on to beat Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Traktor Chelyabinsk in the finals and repeat as champions. And because of his teammates’ hard work, his role as an advisor, and early season stint with the team, Ovechkin got some pretty sweet hardware for his trouble.

Ovechkin will receive the team’s championship ring, his name has been written on the Gagarin Cup, and now, Ovi has joined his Dynamo teammates on a parade through Moscow and received a gold medal. It’s not a World Championships gold medal, but hey, this will do.

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On Wednesday, Braden Holtby spoke to the media for the last time this season at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. The next day he went to his DC-area home, packed up his things, and got in his car and drove. And drove. And then drove some more.

Three days later, after making a couple of pit stops along the way (including one in St. Cloud, Minnesota where Matt Hendricks played college hockey), Holtby arrived in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Google estimates the Holtbeast had to travel 31 hours and 2,006 miles in his car to make it back home. Here’s what it looks like on a map.

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Photo credit: @nickludeman

The Washington Capitals have long been divided when it comes to music. The Capitals captain, Alex Ovechkin, loves weird Russian techno and rap, most notably Drake. Nicklas Backstrom enjoys Tiesto and pop music. Brooks Laich digs classic rock. Mike Green dabbles between both rap and hard-rock, Jay-Z and Seether in particular.

Then there are some other Caps who jam to country music. That group includes Eric Fehr, who once detailed his love of the genre during his first go around with the Caps.

“When it comes to my music, you can tell I grew up on the farm,” Fehr was quoted by the DC Sports Bog as saying. “I really enjoy listening to country music. The guys on the team don’t let me put it on in the dressing room, but I’m pretty sure they’ll come around. Alex Ovechkin could be one of the biggest country music haters of them all.”

On Saturday night, Karl Alzner and Matt Hendricks showed they are country music aficionados too, going to WMZQ Fest held at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, Virginia. The show was headlined by Luke Bryan, who recently won the Academy of Country Music Awards’ Entertainer of the Year award and is best known for his boom boom single Drunk On You.

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Alex Ovechkin’s Walking Boot (Photo)

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After Russia was eliminated from the World Championships in Helsinki on Thursday, a league source told The Washington Post’s Katie Carrera that Alex Ovechkin suffered a hairline fracture in his foot after blocking a shot in game six. Late Thursday, as the Russian national team landed in Moscow, Ovi was photographed in the terminal by R-Sport with his luggage, including a walking boot. Poor guy.

If Maria wants to make wedding plans, this is the time to do it. He’s hobbled; he can’t run away!

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Photo credit: championat.com

Alex Ovechkin flew for approximately ten hours to Helsinki with the intention of helping the Russian national team win the 2013 World Championships. Jet-lagged, he did what he could, scoring a goal and recording an assist against the United States during their quarterfinals game on Thursday. That help was not nearly enough, as the defending champions suffered their worst defeat ever in a World Championship game, a 8-3 loss to the United States. After half a year in the KHL, a shortened NHL season, a too-short playoff run, and a single game at Worlds, Ovechkin’s season is now officially over.

Ovechkin, who spoke to Sovetsky Sport’s Pavel Lysenkov after the game and had his words later translated by Puck Daddy’s Dmitry Chesnokov, was disappointed.

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Ovi arrives

Photo credit: championat.com

While the rest of his teammates conducted interviews on breakdown day, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin touched down in Finland for the 2013 World Championships. And we have some disappointing news: he only wore one pair of pants.

Ovi told Championat.com’s Igor Bragin that while he slept peacefully for most of the flight, the journey was not without challenges – all of the Great Eight’s gear was missing when the plane touched down.

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Mike Green’s Hair on Breakdown Day (Photo)

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Photo via @raedanda

If you’re looking for a symbol that articulates the Washington Capitals 2012-13 season, look no further than Mike Green‘s hair on breakdown day. Green, looking as if he just rolled out of bed, sported a massive mohawk, every hair follicle seemingly unsure which direction it wanted to point towards. The mohawk then flowed tidily into a well-kempt beard.

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Photo credit: Sport-Express

While the Washington Capitals season ended painfully last night after a 5-0 game seven loss to the New York Rangers, Alex Ovechkin will continue playing hockey. The Capitals revealed before his final press conference of the season that Ovi has been invited to Finland to join his comrades on the Russian National team competing in the 2013 World Championships. He will be flying over this afternoon.

“This morning they just called me and asked if I’m healthy and ready to go,” Ovi told reporters at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. “I said ‘Yeah, I’m ready to go.’ I’m still wanting to play. I don’t want to take off, I don’t want to watch games. I want to play hockey.”

“I’m in good shape,” he added. “Mentally I think I’m ready.”

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Photo credit: ABC7′s @BrittMcHenry

Is Alex Ovechkin frustrated with how the season ended? I don’t know, you tell me. Ovi wore a pretty expressive Nike shirt today during his final meeting with the press.

“It’s just what I already pick from my closet,” Ovi said with a frown when asked about his attire.

Additional reporting by Chris Gordon.

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