Lost in a week long medical breakdown of RG IIII was the addition of Phillip Merling. The defensive lineman signed by the Redskins to a reserve/futures contract.

Merling was an All-ACC defensive end at Clemson, leading to the Miami Dolphins selecting him with the first overall pick in the second round of the 2008 draft. Merling spent four seasons in South Florida and last season with Green Bay.

Merling who turns 28 in April, has the size (6'5" 315) to play anywhere along the three man front and could provide relief to a unti that was worn thin in 2012 after season ending injuries to Adam Carriker and Chris Neild. Jarvis Jenkins was forced into a starting role in essentially his rookie season, sapping the team of its main source of depth.

Make no mistake, Merling is a long shot but is getting what amounts to his final chance. In 2010, Merling was charged with aggravated battery, but charges were dropped when the accusing party did not show up to testify.

The 2013 NFL draft is becoming quite deep and stands to benefit those teams that have stockpiled draft picks. St.Louis is the only team with two first round picks, Washington currently the only team without a selection in the opening round. Miami has additionaly picks in the second and third rounds, as it stand they are the only team with multiple extra selections in the first three rounds. Tuesday is the deadline for underclassman to declare.

16 more athletes have decided to give up remaining eligibility since we last spoke, we group them for you by position.

QB

Tyler Bray Tennessee (6'5" 210) First round arm, but question marks surround maturity and technique

RB

Joseph Randle Oklahoma State (6'0" 195) Latest in long line of Cowboy running backs projects in second round

Eddie Lacy Alabama (5'10" 220) Bama cranks out another, doesn't project as high as Ingram or Richardson in draft

WR

Cordarrelle Patterson Tennessee (6'3" 200) Projection: First round value for JUCO star after one year in Knoxville

Justin Hunter Tennessee (6'4" 205) Injuries plagued the big time talent and drops him into the second round

Josh Boyce Texas Christian (5'11" 205) Projection: Third round for emerging talent

Brandon Kauffman Eastern Washington (6'5" 215 ) Two time FCS All-American projects late due to competition level

Marquess Wilson Washington State (6'2" 190) Left the Cougars program early, claming "abusive" treatment

OL

Menelik Watson Florida State (6'6" 320) Right tackle projects in the second round

D.J. Fluker Alabama (6'6" 335) Skins don't pick high enough to get him, doesn't fit Shanahan model for position anyway

Chris Faulk LSU (6'6" 325) 10th Tiger to depart early, injury in '12 may knock him down to third, nice fit for the Redskins.

Luke Joeckel Texas A&M (6'6" 310) Johnny "Heisman" personal protector could go as high as first overall.

DL

Darrinton Sentimore Tennessee (6'2" 290) 3-4 End transferred from Alabama and figures mid-draft

Kwame Geathers Georgia (6'6" 355) Projects mid to late and would be ideal backup for Barry Cofield

DB

Terrence Brown Stanford (6'1" 180) Projects as a corner with mid-round value

Dee Millner Alabama (6'1" 200) Easily top corner in draft has been climbing mocks into top-ten overall

According to several sources, the Caps may have have dodged a potentially playoff-hope-ending bullet, with news that superstar Swedish center Nicklas Bäckström is back on the ice, skating with the team at an informal practice today.

Bäckström appeared in 19 games for Dynamo Moscow, scoring 10 goals and 25 assists, but had not played since December 26 with a bruised neck.

Naturally, the fear was that the center may have suffered another concussion, especially frightening after his scary episode a year ago. 

He returned from Russia this past week, but spent the last couple of days visiting a specialist in Michigan. It looks like the news might have been good. The hope now is that Bäckström is fit to start training camp with the Caps on Sunday.

Former Washington Redskins All Pro tackle Joe Jacoby, who won three Super Bowls with the team in the 1980s and early 1990s, failed again to become a Hall of Fame finalist and it is starting to look like it may never happen for the man whose enormous size [6'7" and 325 pounds] ushered in a new era of gigantic offensive linemen. 

Former Buffalo Bills WR Andre Reed, who lost Super Bowl 26 to Jacoby and the Redskins in January 1992, made the Hall finalist list, as did LB Dave Robinson, who played with the Redskins from 173-1974, but won most of his plaudits as a member of the great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s. Robinson made the Pro Bowl in 1966, 1967 and 1969. 

Here is the full list of 2013 NFL Hall of Fame finalists: 

OL Larry Allen [Dallas Cowboys]

TB Jerome Bettis [Pittsburgh Steelers]

WR Tim Brown [Oakland Raiders]

LB Kevin Greene [Steelers, Carolina Panthers]

LB/DE Charles Haley [San Francisco 49ers, Cowboys]

OL Jonathon Ogden [Baltimore Ravens]

WR Andre Reed [Buffalo Bills]

LB Dave Robinson [Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins]

OL Will Shields [Kansas City Chiefs]

DE Michael Strahan [NY Giants]

WR Cris Carter [Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles]

DB Aeneas Williams [Arizona Cardinals]

DL Warren Sapp [Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raiders]

OL/DL Curley Culp [Chiefs, Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions]

Coach Bill Parcells [NY Giants, New England Patriots, NY Jets, Cowboys]

Owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. [49ers]

Owner Art Modell [Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens]

To me, the persons from this list who eventually belong in the Hall of Fame are, in no particular order: 

Sapp, Strahan, Williams, Carter, Shields, Ogden, Brown, Allen and Parcells. 

DeBartolo was a great owner, but disgraced himself with criminal business connections in Louisiana and Art Modell cravenly and greedily betrayed the good football fans of Cleveland to chase tax dollars in Maryland. Modell deserves nothing from the game of football. 

The Washington Capitals are busy preparing for their upcoming shortened season and their votes to ratify the new CBA.  That will come today and tomorrow.  

Looks like the Caps will kick off the season against Steven Stamkos and the Tamp Bay Lightning.  That will be on Saturday, January 19. 

Training camp opens this weekend.  The Caps have decided against inviting juniors because, according to GM George McPhee, they stand little to no chance of making the roster.  2012 first round pick Tom Wilson did get an invite and will be present.   Wilson's invite could have to do with the Nicklas Backstrom neck injury and perhaps Wilson could get a look from the Caps.  Wilson will play Friday night for Plymouth before heading tot he District.  Speaking of prospects, Caps have several prospects in the NCAA and playing in Europe, but they do have a small contingent in the CHL. 

Although we anxiously await word on the extent of the injury to Backstrom, although we believe it may be a concussion, Brooks Laich addresses a possible injury with him.   Laich apparently tweaked his groin while playing in Switzerland.  Doesn't appear ot be anything significant. 

“Just getting in a little extra work,” said Laich. “Just making sure that everything’s good to go. That was all. Nothing major.”

Asked if he is healthy, Laich laughed.

“I feel healthy. I feel good,” he said. “We’ll see. There are just a few things to work on to get better. Camp starts on Sunday and that’s exciting for us.”

As the players begin to reassert their team chemistry, the coaches themselves have chemistry dating back 15 years.   Assistant Calle Johansson is former Cap and assistant Tim Hunter was on staff with Washington during Ron Wilson's tenure.  Bench boss Adam Oates, Johansson, and goalie coach Olaf Kolzig all played together on the Caps during their one Cup appearance. 

In case you misssed it, if you are unfamiliar with some of the new Caps, we have two new player profiles completed, first one being Joey Crabb and second one being Jack Hillen. 

You can catch Alex Ovechkin's new Gillette commercial here.  More on the new beard by Ovechkin in the commercial. 

We wrap it up with another article on the return of Tom Poti.  Poti's return from a year and half injury was even a surprise to the Caps players. 

"They were excited to see me," Poti said at a press conference Thursday, recalling his teammates' reaction upon entering the locker room for the first time. "You guys know how [forward Jason Chimera] is. He was yelling his head off and everything and stuff like that. That's another thing. It's so much fun to be around the guys and hanging out. It's something that you really do miss when you don't have that." 

"It's been a while," said Brooks Laich, one of just five current Caps who have been on the team longer than Poti. "He walked into the training room and I kind of did a double take."

The NHL Lockout is over, and in the days leading up to a much-anticipated training camp, we will be profiling the newest members of the Washington Capitals organization. On Tuesday, Joey Crabb was up. Today, we profile Jack Hillen.

Date of Birth: January 24, 1986

Place of Birth: Minnetonka, Minnesota

Age: 26

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 190 Pounds

Position: D

Pro career:

Many a Caps fan was surprised when George McPhee decided to ink Jack Hillen to a one-year, one-way contract this summer.

While the price was great—just $650,000 for a 26-year-old veteran of 230 NHL games—Hillen might not be more than just another name to add to a list of bottom-two defensemen that already includes John Erskine, Jeff Schultz, prospect Cam Schilling, and maybe even the injured Tom Poti.

Hillen, perhaps best known among Caps fans for an Alex Ovechkin slapshot on January 26, 2010, which broke the Minnesotan’s jaw and left him without several teeth, adds a decent two-way mind to the Caps blueline. A good skater with a terrific outlet pass and solid offensive play, Hillen can be a factor offensively, though his relatively small stature and lack of physical bite has left him struggling to regularly hold down a place in the NHL.

It remains to be seen if Hillen will be able to nail down a spot in the Caps bottom-four, but he will definitely become a valuable depth defenseman for the group down the stretch.

Washington Redskins MLB London Fletcher, who holds the NFL record for consecutive games played, has not made a decision if he will play another season.  Here is what he had to say. 

"I'll take the same process that I've taken the last 4 to 5 years and take some time to let the emotions of the season kind of get away and refresh a bit.  Then I will sit down with my family and make a decision from there as far as whether I will continue to play." via @Redskins

The Washington Capitals front office and staff have not commented about injuries until training camp opens.  There have been numerous questions involving the injury to star Center Nicklas Backstrom.  Backstrom suffered a neck injury playing in Russia in late December.   Backstrom is now seeing a specialist in Michigan regarding his neck injury, the first indication that he will likely not be available when the season starts on January 19. 

“Nick and his agent informed us that they are being proactive with his injury and decided to visit a specialist prior to training camp," a Caps spokesman said. "Obviously, as you know until camp officially starts teams cannot perform physicals on any player.”

Reports indicated it was a neck injury, but given Backstrom's history there might be reason to believe he has a concussion.

Given the fact Alexander Ovechkin hinted at Backstrom feeling 'dizzy' after the hit, it is probably safe to assume that Backstrom is having concussion type symptoms.  Obviously, there will be no confirmation from the Caps until training camp commences. 

Training camp is set to begin on Sunday and more and more Caps are filtering into the District and taking voluntary, informal skates with one another.  As of Wednesday, 15 Caps were on hand for a skate. 

Fifteen players were on the ice for Wednesday morning's informal workout, including new arrivals Troy Brouwer, Karl Alzner, Marcus Johansson, Mathieu Perreault and Jeff Schultz. They joined Alex Ovechkin, Braden Holtby, John Carlson, Mike Green, Mike Ribeiro, Jason Chimera, Jay Beagle, John Erskine, Jack Hillen and Matt Hendricks.

The NHL Owners have ratified the new CBA that ended the NHL lockout.  The reported vote was 30-0.  The CBA will now go for a ratificiation vote to the NHLPA. 

Apparently after the vote, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman issued an apology to fans, saying "I am sorry." 

Hey Bettman --- suck it!

Now let's get Caps hockey going!  Go Caps!

Here is a link and the actual statement from Dr. James Andrews, who performed surgery on Robert Griffin III today. 

"Robert Griffin III had successful knee surgery early this morning. He had a direct repair of his LCL and a re-do of his previous ACL reconstruction. We expect a full recovery and it is everybody's hope and belief that due to Robert's high motivation, he will be ready for the 2013 season.

"The goal of his treatment is to give him the best opportunity for a long professional career."