Following a sluggish start, Maryland came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, posting an easy 86-72 win over Niagara at the Comcast Center. The Terrapins appeared to be experiencing a let down early on, after highly emotional games against Duke and North Carolina over the weekend and were tied 35-35 against the undermanned Niagara squad at the half. The Terps woke up after intermission, outscoring the Purple Eagles 21-3 early on and coasted to the easy win. Nick Faust led five Terps in double figures with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Less than 5,000 were in attendance on the College Park campus, due in large part to students being away for spring break. Maryland hosts the winner of Denver-Ohio in second round play, time and date TBA.

Our friends at FanSpeak.com have put together a nice graphic to help guide you to victory!

The Washington Capitals have today recalled defenseman Dmitry Orlov from the AHL's Hershey Bears, placing Tomas Kundratek (leg) on injured reserve to make room for the Russian blueliner.

Orlov, 21, enjoyed a sparkling rookie season for the Caps in 2011-12, as the 2009 2nd-rounder appeared in 60 NHL games in his first full North American season, scoring three goals and 19 points. Orlov has 12 points in 22 games with the Bears this year, but had until recently not played since December 6 after suffering an apparent concussion in the Bears' win over the Norfolk Admirals at Verizon Center earlier this season. 

Orlov is expected to return to a blueline badly depleted by the injuries—the Caps have already used 12 defensemen (Karl Alzner, John Carlson, John Erskine, Mike Green, Roman Hamrlik, Jack Hillen, Tomas Kundratek, Steven Oleksy, Tom Poti, Cam Schilling, and Jeff Schultz) this season—as soon as Tuesday, when the Caps face the Pittsburgh Penguins on NBC Sports Network.

The Washington Capitals have recalled defenseman Dmitry Orlov. 

Orlov was expected to be a main stay this season on the Caps blue line, but got injured in the AHL before the lockout.  Orlov was cleared for contact on February 26.  He has played in 22 games this season for the Hershey Bears and has recorded 1 goal and 11 assists for 12 points. 

Orlov will take join the Caps in Pittsburgh for Tuesday morning skate.  He played in 60 NHL games with the Caps last season.   

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall has been named NBA Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference. 

The award coincides with the best 4-game stretch of Wall's career, in which he led the Wizards to a 3-1 record. Washington swept the last three games, all at home, in wins of 13, 9 and 22 points over the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Hornets and Phoenix Suns. Prior to that, Wall scored 27 points and dished a season-high 14 assists in a 95-90 loss to the Cavaliers in Cleveland. 

The Washington Redskins re-signed RT Tyler Polumbus to a 2-year deal, Polumbus himself wrote on his Twitter account. Full financial details are not available yet. 

Polumbus, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Redskins and became the full-time starter at right tackle last  year after Jammal Brown was predictably lost for the entire  year due to chronic hip injuries. Polumbus has experience playing at multiple positions on the offensive line in a zone blocking scheme and he probably did not cost much so it made sense for the cap-strapped Redskins to bring Polumbus back.

As his Twitter post indicates, Polumbus did receive some interest from the Jacksonville Jaguars, but presumably the Redskins made him a better [or at least equal] offer. 

I graded Polumbus as the weakest of Washington's five full-time offensive linemen last season and thought he was particularly weak in pass-protection. However, Polumbus played well at times, and his problem was more of inconsistency rather than complete incompetence. In any case, he may be superior to the alternatives the Redskins now have at this position, veterans Tony Pashos and Jeremy Trueblood and Tom Compton, a 2012 6th round pick who spent most of last season on the practice squad. 

Polumbus was an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos in 2008, Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan's final year with that club. Later he moved on to the Seattle Seahawks, where he saw time at three different offensive line positions, before coming to the Redskins i 2011.

With spring training wrapping up this month and Opening Day just two weeks away, the Nationals continue to trim their roster towards the 25-man opening day limit. The Nationals now have 33 players in camp.

Six players have been optioned to Syracuse, two re-assigned to minor league camp and veteran catcher Chris Snyder was released.

Syracuse

Ryan Perry- Former first round pick by the Detroit Tigers, Perry struggled in the Spring with a 10.24 ERA over nine and two-third innings in five appearances.

Erik Davis- Davis had a sparking spring, picking up a save in eight innings or work. Davis allowed only four hits, issued but two walks and struck out eight.

Yunesky Maya- The 31 year old Maya had a decent spring, but may be running out of time. Maya posting a 2.25 ERA covering eight innings in five appearances.

Jhonatan Solano- The Nats have plenty of depth behind the plate, even trying Solano in the outfield recently. The 27 year old backstop hit .316 with an RBI in 19 at bats this spring.

Chris Marrero- The former number one pick likely has to beat out Tyler Moore to get a spot at some point this season. Marrero hit .239 in the spring with a home run and seven RBI in 46 at bats.

Corey Brown- One of my personal favorites, Brown likely has Roger Bernadina standing in his way of a spot this year. Brown picked up 51 at bats this spring over 21 games, with two RBI, while batting .275.

Minor League Camp

Ross Ohlendorf- The 30 year old Ohlendorf spent last season with Boston. He only pitched 11 innings this spring and didn't do himself any favors with an ERA of 7.36.

Zach Walters- The 23 year old middle infielder has a great future with the Nationals, just not quite yet. Walters hit a respectible .297 this spring, with a pair of home runs in 37 at bats.

Released

Chris Snyder- The Nats were rumored to be attempting to trade the 32 year old catcher, but unable to find a deal simply released him. Snyder was quickly signed by the Angels. Snyder was a solid emergency plan had Wilson Ramos not recovered from injury.

As expected, Maryland was bypassed by the NCAA selection committee, following Saturday's tough semi-final loss to North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. But the season is not over for the Terps as they are seeded 2nd in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

Maryland doesn't have much time to prepare as they host Niagra on Tuesday night at the Comcast Center at 7pm. Should the Terps prevail, they would play the winner of the Denver/Ohio game on Thursday night, also in College Park.

While the NIT is certainly a disappointment, it probably gives Maryland fans a last look at sophomore center Alex Len, before he leaves for the NBA. The Terps are a very young team with only two seniors, neither of them starters, so the additional practices and games can only help development.

The NIT field features several traditional powers this year with defending national champion Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama out to prove the NCAA selection committee wrong.

The Washington Capitals defeated the Buffalo Sabres yesterday 5-3.  A Caps win has become somewhat of a surprise, but even bigger, the fact that Jason Chimera has finally tallied his first goal of the season. 

Chimera's drought was a huge surprise to the Caps, especially given the fact they did not resign another goal scorer, Alexander Semin.  Combined between the two, they accounted for 41 goals last season for the Caps.  That's a ton of offense to be missing.  Last season, Chimera scored a career high 20 goals and a career high 39  points. Frustration clearly set in this season for Chimera, as he worked hard to overcome the drought and even missed a few open shots.  Before yesterday, Chimera had not turned on the red light since May 9, 2013.  His first marker of the season was fed by Troy Brouwer from behind the net and the frustration of a scoreless season was over for Chimera.  His tally also gave the Capitals a 3-1 lead, a lead they would not relinquish. 

The Caps got on the scoreboard just 19 seconds into the game with Alexander Ovechkin's 11th marker of the season.  Ovi's 350th goal of  his career came just 19 seconds into the game, fed by helpers from the two Swedes, Marcus Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom.  Johansson would later score in the late second period to have his first multi-point game since returning from injury since.  Since his return on March 10, Johansson has 2 goals and 2 assists in five games. 

The Caps also got goals from Brouwer and Mathieu Perreault.  Both Brouwer and Perreault ended with a goal and an assist. 

Caps net minder Braden Holtby stopped 27 of 30 shots to help the Caps to the win.  Holtby improved to 10-9 on the season. 

As for the Caps, a win is a win.  However, they still find themselves in a very precarious situation.  Even witht he two standing points, The Caps remain 6 points out of the 8th playoff spot (currently held by the Carolina Hurricanes) and 7 points away from Southeast Division leader Winnipeg.  Fact is, Braden Holtby spelled out the urgency need for aanother improbably playoff run.  

“You look at the standings right now and it’s still close, top to bottom, of that playoff race,” said goaltender Braden Holtby, who finished with 27 saves. “To get those points, it’s huge, but you know, right now, we’ll treat every game like a playoff game. We have to win every one, or else we’re done, so that’s what we’re treating it like.”

It is not impossible.  We witnessed an improbable playoff run in 2007-2008 after ther firing of Glen Hanlon and the hiring of Bruce Boudreau.  It was a magical playoff push that will long be remembered in franchise hsitory.  However, it was a different team then.  Much different.  Alex Ovechkin was a different player then.  Much different.  Things are different.  An improbable playoff run with this team?  We shall see, but there is a ton to doubt. 

Multi-Point Scorers:

Nicklas Backstrom, 2 assists

Troy Brouwer, 1 goal, 1 assist

Marcus Johansson, 1 goal, 1 assist

Mathieu Perreault, 1 goal, 1 assist

Mike Ribeiro, 2 assists

Joel Ward, 2 assist

Cornerback Aqib Talib has signed a one-year contact with the New England Patriots for $5 million. 

The Patriots and Washington Redskins were considered the primary suitors for Talib, who became a free agent this offseason after being drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers [and current Redskins GM Bruce Allen] in 2008. The free agent market for cornerbacks, even elite or near-elite corners like Talib, has been depressed this offseason because of a glut at the position and the relative flatness of the NFL salary cap. Therefore, Talib decided the best course for him was to spurn a long-term deal, bet on himeslf to play well, stay out of trouble and avoid injury in 2013 before trying again in 2014. 

The Buccaneers traded Talib to the New England Patriots in November of last year after concluding they did not want to spend the money necessary to re-sign him. Talib is a major talent and young enough to be hitting the peak of his career, but he's also a major character risk with more baggage than a 747. 

READ THIS for a complete rundown on Talib and why I'm not disappointed he won't be playing for the Redskins this year.