As the Alex Semin Promotional Tour™ continues, Comcast SportsNet aired its interview with Sasha Minor tonight and Jill Sorenson left no stone unturned in the gripping, Peabody-caliber exposé. “Are [your shoes] comfortable?” she asked. “Are you okay?” was another. And our favorite: “You gonna smile?” George McPhee even gave his two cents: “He cares.”

Semin, who avoids speaking to the press and conducts his rare interviews in Russian, responded to Matt Bradley’s comments over the summer: ”I don’t worry about it. Different people have different opinions.” He also talked about being the longest-tenured Capital: “I’m getting old. I’d like to stay here 10 more years. I like to play here.”  And he even showed admiration for DC: “Washington’s my second home. We have good fans.” Awesome.

We here at RMNB are sticklers for the truth though. When the Caps promoted the interview, they said it was his first-ever English interview. Not so fast, guys!

CSN Private Skating Session at Kettler

“I like working with kids,” Semin tells the camera. ”Teach them the sport.” Anyway, I see a Caps backdrop and, for a brief second, a microphone. It counts!

Nate Ewell interviews Ovechkin and Semin at Six Flags STH Event

Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin hang out at the annual STH Event at Six Flags. Beyond helping Ovi pronounce “Batmobile,” Semin tells former Caps PR Buff Nate Ewell they rode the roller coaster five times and that Varly is “not here.”

No Caps backdrop, but a Caps PR man and a Caps branded microphone. It counts again!

In all seriousness, we’re pleased to see Semin making the effort. Sure, he got lambasted over the summer by several ex-players and needed to respond in some way and show his human side, but it’s encouraging for Caps fans to see. Hopefully he’ll give this media stuff a try.