Former Capitals beat-writer Tarik El-Bashir takes a picture of former Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau. Weiiiiiird.

On Saturday night, Bruce Boudreau returned to Giant Center for the first time since he was head coach of the Washington Capitals to watch the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, take on the Bears. Sitting with friend and former boss Bears’ general manager Doug Yingst, Boudreau got to see Norfolk rout Hershey 5-1 and witness one of his former players nearly check enforcer Jay Rosehill into the team’s bench. Well with Norfolk set to take on Hershey at the Verizon Center on Thursday for the AHL Showcase, Boudreau stayed in the area, and tonight the former Jack Adams award-winner showed up on the sidelines of the Washington Redskins Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants. Aww, he looks so jolly.

So the question is: are you guys happy to see him back?

Update: Craig Laughlin and voice of the Caps, John Walton, were also at the game too.

Photo credit: @WaltonCaps

Few things are as quintessentially American as government contractors — except of course for John Carlson.

Here, Captain America helps sell us on technology firm Force 3. All this is as part of a new ad campaign by the company, with other star athletes taking part. Wait, does Joey Chestnut count?

So what do you guys thing of Carlson’s acting debut, and how does it stack up to Ovi’s fantastic natural talent for the art?

S/T to a fan post on Japers’ Rink by bagace.

Mega-sports-celebrities LeBron James and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were at the Redskins Cowboys game tonight. One rooted for the good guys and one rooted for the bad guys. That’s cool and all, but we here at RMNB don’t give a crap about them. (Though Dale Jr. was awesome in that one Three Doors Down video.) What we care about are guys with character. Guys who will take out my trash if I need them too. Guys who will awkwardly attempt 70 yard field goals with pucks on a wooden platform while in really tight polo shirts. So when we saw that Stecks and Kanoobs were hanging out at tonight’s Skins game via a Ross Hollebon photo, we had to put it up.

S/T to Melissa (@Love4Greenie) who first alerted us to this photo.

I. A Shirtless Brooks Laich

While I was doing some writing tonight, I noticed a Twitter Conversation with some of my younger followers. What were they talking about? The most good looking Capitals of course! And who came up? This guy:

Now you may say, Russian Machine, you’re just putting that up for cheap links. You damn right we are. It’s not like we’re the first ones to do it.

II. A Terrible Sergei Fedorov Fight

Maybe Feds missed the memo, but Christmas time is the season of giving. Not the season of trying to punch the head off an opponent Rock-Em-Sock-Em-Robots Style. The 40 year old Fedorov, who moved from our Nation’s Capitals to the KHL this past summer, got into a fight with 23 year old Roman Derlyuk to avenge a dirty hit on his younger brother, Fedor.

I don’t know if I’m the only one here thinking this, but is just watching this tape surreal? Why? Well it’s not because Federov’s fighting persay, it’s just because he chose playing in this league over playing with the Capitals one more year. It just looks so B-League. Fellow Russians out there, is there something we’re missing (minus the money)?

RussianHockeyFans.com also awesomely translated an interview of Roman Derlyuk and asked him what it was like to fight one of his childhood heroes:

“Fedorov is a great player, I remember watching him play when I was a kid. I’d even call myself his fan. And if someone told me that I’d ever fight Fedorov I would… I would… never believe. It just happened that he went after me, one of his punches reached my head and I… Of course I’d never start a fight against such player as Sergei Fedorov… never,” said Derlyuk to Alyona Shilova of vhockey.ru after the game.

III. Redskins Putrid Performance Forces NBC Anchors To Make Idle Chatter About The Capitals. Awkward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@#$@#$

(Picture via @Gunaxin) In attention-the-capitals-have-never-gotten-ever news, Dan Synder’s Washington Redskins are so bad that Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth actually tried talking about the Washington Capitals on air. Did it go well? You be the judge:

dcsportsbog: Al Michaels: “You know what I saw today (around town)? Alex Ovechkin’s jersey.”
dcsportsbog: Michaels: “I think people right now in this town would rather talk about the Capitals than kvetch about the Redskins.”
wbhenry2010: “The Redskins can’t put the puck in the net.” – Cris Collinsworth

Wow! A few responses we liked on Twitter were:

ChrisMottram: So, Al and Cris are shocked that DC fans are rooting for their local successful sports franchise over the one that’s currently shit?
hotpinkhope: Collinsworth, I knew your were an idiot, couldn’t you have tried to make it less obvious that you could care less about hockey?
awesome_anna: @lucybrown9 Are you seriously saying the Olson twins are WORSE than Crosby? LIES!

Oops! Got sidetracked on that Crosby one.

IV. Wale At Every Washington Sporting Event Ever

(Credit to Homer McFanBoy For Video) Yes, even Roger Mason Jr. Wale was at the Redskins game. … Okay, sorry thought it was important to share. Every other blogger talks about him so I thought I should too!

V. Capitals Young Guns Elved

Lastly, I just saw this on Punch In The Face and couldn’t stop laughing. The smug look on Semin’s face as he does the “mashed potatoe” gets me everytime. Oh man.

Also, this is the post that keeps on giving as it also supplies us with Mike Knuble in a Dress, a snowball fight between Team Crosby vs. Team Ovechkin, and Quintin Laing wishing you a Happy Festivus. God, I love the internet.