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It could be a busy Wednesday for Washington DC Pro Sports.  Here is a peak at what may be going on today. 

First off, the Washington Nationals are set to take on the Miami Marlins in the second game of the season and series.  Gio Gonzalez will make his season debut on the mound for the Nats.  The Nats are coming off a 2-0 shutout win of the Marlins fueled by two home runs by Bryce Harper and 7 scoreless innings by Stephen Strasburg.  Gonzalez will look to keep the Nats adrenaline flowing tonight at 7:05PM in Nationals Park. 

Second, the NHL Trade Deadline expires today at 4PM.  With a huge win last night to pull the Capitals to within 2 points of the Southeast Division lead and within 3 points of the 8th playoff spot, the Caps do not appear to be in position to be sellers, but potential buyers.  Rumors circulated that the Caps could shop Mike Ribeiro for a decent return.  That is unlikely now.  Caps are having ongoing discussions with Ribeiro on a contract extension to stay in DC.  In all likelihood, the Caps will stand pat because that is what GM George McPhee typically does.  At times he does pull off deals.  Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perreault are two names to watch.  The Caps also have a glutton of defenseman and could package some in deals.  Caps could use a Top 6 left winger.  Will they get it?  We shall wait and see.  The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Rangers have made moves to bolster their lineups.  All rumors point to Philadelphia being active.  Will the Caps just sit idly by? 

Thirdly, the Washington Redskins have recently resigned CB DeAngelo Hall.  People that think that deal is bad should look aagain.  Hall does provide lapses of poor coverage, but is still a decent corner on a team in need of secondary help.  Furthermore, and most importantly, they released Hall because of an over $8 million salary cap hit and brought him back a little over $2 million.  That is a $6 million cap saving on a player that was on the roster and started last season.  So what are we looking for today?  First, the Redskins are expected to sign reserve QB Pat White today.  What does that mean?  Is he just mimicking RG3 for starters benefit in practice until RG3 returns or is their a deeper meaning, like a possible trade of backup QB Kirk Cousins?  We shall see.  Keep an eye on contract restructures today.  There is still reported 'high mutual interest' between the Redskins and free agent CB Antoine Winfield.  Winfield looks at the signing of Hall as a positive, believing Hall, Josh Wilson, and himself would all compliment one another.  In order to get a deal done with Winfield, contract restructures to create cap room woudl have to be done, or player releases.  If that starts to happen today, a deal with Winfield could be in the works. 

Finally, the Washington Wizards face Toronto tonight after defeating Chicago 90-86 last night beh9nd 26 point effort from John Wall.  The Wiz have won 8 out of their last 12 and sit at impressive 28-46 on the season after starting out at 4-28.  The Wiz have won 2 out of 3 against Toronto, but do face a dismal 7-29 road record. 

John Wall takes it to the hoop against the Bulls

The Washington Wizards fell behind at home early tonight against the Chicago Bulls, playing without energy on defense according to assistant coach Sam Cassell. The Wizkids trailed by 10 in the first half and by eight midway through the third quarter, but took control thereafter to secure a narrow win the visiting Chicago Bulls, who fall to 40-33, 6th place in the Eastern Conference. The win improves Washington's record to 28-46 and 23-18 since the return of star point guard John Wall. It is Washington's eighth straight win in the Verizon Center, where the team is 21-17 overall. 

The key for the Wizards tonight was, once again, John Wall, who filled up the stat sheet with 27 points [8-17], 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and only one turnover. This is Wall's second straight game with one turnvoer, indicating the young star may be overcoming a problem that has plagued him for most of his first three years in the NBA.

The Wizards struggled on offense tonight when Wall was not in the game, reminding me of the first 33 games of the season, when the Wizards were easily the worst offensive team in the league 

The Bulls were scoring almost at will in the first quarter and quickly jumped out to a 14-4 lead behind PF Carlos Boozer [19 points, 12 rebounds] and center Nazr Muhammad. However, after a timeout, Wall led the team back with 8 consecutive points to cut the Chicago lead to 18-16. However, Chicago led 24-18 after the first quarter and Washington's offense bogged down with Wall on the bench. Nene and Wall came off the bench midway thru the second quarter to get Washington back in the game, but Chicago still led 49-42 going into halftime. 

The third quarter belonged to the Wizards, though, and John Wall, in particular. The Bulls led 62-54 with about five and a half minutes left in the third quarter when Wall took over, scoring13 of his 27 points in the third and putting Washington ahead for the first time 65-64 with 3:38 left in the period. The teams battled back and forth, with Wall trying to put the Wizards up for good and Boozer refusing to let him do it when some slick outside shooting and unstoppable moves and finishes in the paint. 

The key to the game was in that big run the Wizards started midway thru the third, when the Bulls led 62-54. From then on the Wizards outscored Chicago 38-24 to secure the narrow home victory. 

The game was still anybody's to take in the fourth quarter, with the Wizards clinging to a 70-69 lead at the start of the final 12 minutes. Both teams went ice cold from the field, going over four minutes without a field goal. The Bulls looked like they might come back and take the lead from a Wizards team that was alternating turnovers and badly missed shots on offense. However, AJ Price [13 points, 5-7 FG, 3-4 3FG] came off the bench in place of an ineffective Bradley Beal [8 points, 3-11 FG, 5 reb] and calmly sank 2 of his 3 3-pointers. In all, Price scored 8 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, providing the team with the back court scoring punch it otherwise lacked in the final 12 minutes. 

Trevor Ariza also knocked down a 3-pointer and Washington's scoring punch returned as the Bulls repeatedly left open shooters so they could collapse on John Wall, who penetrated at will and made 11 of his 13 free throws. With 1:40 left Price sank a fadeaway jumper to put Washington up 86-84 and then Wall fed Nene down low, who fed Emeka Okafor, who slammed the ball down, putting Washington up 88-84 with 46 seconds left. 

The Wizards got a couple of stops, the Bulls missed 4 straight free throws and were forced to foul Trevor Ariza with 8 seconds left. With Washington leading 88-86, it was essential Ariza hit both free throws, which he did, giving Washington a 4-point lead. The Bulls missed a desperation shot and Ariza secured the rebound for the win with less than one second left on the clock. 

The Wizards play next on Wednesday against the 27-47 Toronto Raptors. 

The Washington Capitals continue impressive play on the road winning their fifth out of their last six outside the District with a 5-3 win over division rival Carolina.  The huge road win pulled the Caps into sole possession of second place in the Southeast and to within just two points of division leader Winnipeg.  With the New York Islanders winning tonight, the Caps will remain 3 points out of the 8th playoff spot.  They will take the Isles win though, since the Isles defeated Winnipeg. 

The Capitals were fueled by three very familiar producers.  Alexander Ovechkin and Mike Green each scored 2 goals apiece while Nicklas Backstrom added four helpers in the five goal onslaught.  Ovechkin's two tallies gives him 20 goals on the season and moves him into third overall in the NHL. Backstrom's four assists moves him into third overall in helpers in the NHL with 29.  

Ex-University of West Virginia QB Pat White will visit the Washington Redskins as he tries to revive a football career that was thought to be dead and buried.

White was scheduled to meet with the New York Giants, who could use a player like White to help their defense prepare against division opponents like Robert Griffin III of Washington and Michael Vick of Philadelphia, but White reportedly cancelled that meeting in favor of visiting the Redskins.

White was a super-mobile quarterback drafted in the second round in 2009 by the Miami Dolphins, who were then running a wildcat offense scheme. However, White was not effective in Miami and the team lost interest in him. White sued the NFL over concussion injuries, but otherwise seemed to have abandoned the sport as he tried to start a baseball career. However, White recently dropped his lawsuit and CBS Sports is reporting  White is "very likely" to sign with the Redskins. 

The move makes sense for the Redskins. White will be cheap and if he does not work out, the team can safely cut him with no real cap impact. White is, as noted above, very mobile and with the Redskins now using a read option offense, there could be a place for him in Washington. There is no way White could be a starter in Washington -- or anywhere, probably -- but if he doesn't mind the backup role he could be useful. At the very least, the Redskins could use White to run the read option during the preseason when Kirk Cousins will be getting the starts and Robert Griffin III will still be rehabbing his injured knee. 

Entering tonight’s NIT semifinal vs. Iowa, Maryland (25-12) has matched its most wins in a season since also winning 25 games in 2006-07. The Terps will be heading back to New York to tip off the 2013-'14 season.....

The University of Maryland men’s basketball team will face the University of Connecticut in its 2013-14 season opener on Nov. 8 in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. It will be the first meeting between the schools since March 24, 2002, when the Terrapins defeated the Huskies 90-82 in the NCAA East Regional on the way to their first national championship. UConn holds a 3-2 edge all-time in the series.

“We’re looking forward to returning to Barclays Center to play a quality opponent in Connecticut,” said head coach Mark Turgeon. “This will be a great experience for our players and fans.”

The Terrapins played Kentucky in the opener last season in front of a sold out Barclays Center crowd. Last month, Maryland signed a multi-year agreement to continue play at Barclays Center.

UPDATE:

The Caps have made another minor trade.  The Caps acquired LW Dane Byers from Edmonton in exchange for D Garrett Stafford.  Byers was a second round raft choice of the New York Rangers in 2004 and has appeared in 6 NHL games.  This season in the AHL, Byers has 58 games, scoring 6 goals and adding 4 helpers.  The Caps send another career AHL player to Edmonton in return.  Stafford accumulated 21 points in 48 games for the Hershey Bears this season. 

UPDATE:

The Capitals have resigned D Jack Hillen to a two year contract extension.  Hillen joined the Caps this season and has played in 10 games and posting 1 assist.  Hillen was injured early in the season and missed the last two weeks of January and all of February before returning to the lineup on March 16. 

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While the Pittsburgh Penguins fortified their roster for a Stanley Cup run and the Boston Bruins acquired Jaromir Jagr, the Washington Capitals sit idly by making minor moves that give no indication of any direction the franchise make take tomorrow at the trade deadline.  Would we expect anything different from this front office?

The Capitals made a minor league trade that will have absolutely no impact on a playoff push this season.  The Caps dealt F Matthew Clackson to the Phoenix Coyotes for physical F Joel Rechlicz.  Rechlicz will make Hershey a more physical team and played for the Caps in three games last season before departing to the Coyotes in the off-season. 

In another move, the Caps have signed prospect  D Nate Schmidt to an entry level deal.  Schmidt has played the last three seasons with the Minnesota Gophers in the Big Ten.  In 40 games this season for the Gophers, Schmidt has scored 9 goals and added 23 helpers.  Schmidt was a free agent.  He signed a two year deal with the Capitals.  He will join the Caps for practice on Wednesday. 

Not for the first time, the trial of the Florida man charged with murdering former Washington Redskins defensive back Sean Taylor in 2007,  has been delayed. 

The Washington Nationals Player of the Game for game one in 2013 goes to two players: starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg and left fielder Bryce Harper. 

Stephen Strasburg:

7 innings pitched, 3 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 3 strikeouts, 19 consecutive batters retired, 20 of 22 straight batters retired.

Bryce  Harper:

2-4, 2 home runs, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, youngest player in live ball era to hit two home runs in his first two at bats on opening day. 

You know Bryce Harper's legend is growing.  Becoming the first 20 year-old to smack 2 home runs in the season opener is just another mark Harper has made on baseball as a sport.  However, his legend is growing outside the District as well.  How can you tell when a player is so good that his legend has grown outside his home team area?  Easy, when the heated rival city has nothing to cheer about, so they choose to jeer instead.  

Although Harper is only 20 years-old, his hatred status in Filthydelphia Philadelphia is beginning to rival that of another sports' superstar that has seemingly crushed the Philadelphia fan base, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby has obtained

You can find the poor souls here at Phillies Nation on Facebook.

Bryce Harper is 2-for-2 with 2 HR on Opening Day. The dislike level is off the charts. He's approaching Sidney Crosby territory.