Earlier this season, the Caps ranked first in the entire NHL – for about an hour, before the Ottawa Senators reclaimed the lead. Yesterday the Caps were tied for last place overall, and had spent two whole days in sole possession of last place in the Eastern Conference. The Senators, meanwhile, remained on top of the league with thirteen wins and one loss. Last night, with three of their top five wingers out injured, the…

At 2 p.m. the Capitals head to Nassau Coliseum to break a seven way tie for second overall in the NHL. Both the Capitals and the New York Islanders have won their first two games of this fresh season. By the time you get out of work today, one of these teams will pass Ottawa (two wins, one overtime loss) for first overall, and the other will plunge to a respectable eighth. Making things more…

When the Drive-by Truckers rolled into the 9:30 Club on July 15, 2006, it was the closest I’ve ever come to actually losing consciousness at a rock show. The gig was beyond sold-out, more vacuum-packed with sweaty bodies than any other supposedly sold-out 9:30 show I can remember. On top of that, the show fell on one of those spongy, airless summer nights that that can make the period between Independence Day and Labor…

MONDAY >> Today’s Fort Reno show features local indie poppers Greenland (***) with Statehood and Kitty Hawk. The weather report calls for clear skies, but bring water. 7:15 p.m., free. >> How about another free event? The Black Cat backstage will feature movies about punk rockers Murder City Devils and Anti-Flag. 9 p.m., free. >> This week marks the sixth year of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and…

In an interview during last night’s loss to the Devils, Caps GM George McPhee confirmed that he will be listening to offers for some of the team’s older players in these last two days before the trade deadline. McPhee told Al Koken that he had received interest from other teams, and that he would wait for offers that made the Caps a stronger hockey club. The team will look at what free agents will be…

FRIDAY: >>Do you like Hall and Oates and Haddaway? Who doesn’t? The Black Cat is hosting Crap, a dance night of bad music on purpose. We advise loosening your Macarena muscles and preparing your ears for “singers” like Don Johnson, Eddie Murphy, and Bruce Willis. 10 pm, free. SATURDAY: >>There are more art openings than we can shake a sculpture at today, so check out our Arts Agenda for a rundown. >>Anything called “Underwear Party”…

A weekend full of college basketball saw all four major D.C. area programs hosting games against teams ahead of them in the respective conference standings. Two emerged with convincing wins, while two others suffered disappointing losses. On Saturday, Georgetown leapfrogged No. 11 Marquette into second place in the Big East with a 76-58 victory in front of an announced 17,867 at the Phone Booth. Jeff Green helped break open a close one around the six-minute…

Colossal Meltdown for GW Any time you blow a 20 point second half lead, it makes for a particularly ugly loss. GW’s 74-65 loss to USC in the John Wooden Classic on Saturday qualifies as such. This one was just plain nasty. Two minutes into the second half, GW held a commanding 36-16 lead against their counterparts from USC. Up until that point, the Colonials had played sparkling defense, protecting the basket while forcing the…

Quite the sports weekend for the greater DC area. Something for everyone as they say. We’ll start out at RFK with the DC United and NY Red Bulls match, for no other reason except that I was there with the pictures to prove it. Despite considering myself to be quite the soccer fan, I’m ashamed to say that this was my first ever United game. And when the Red Bulls scored twice in the first…

The sports pages this week have obviously been dominated by paeans to the little Patriots that could, in all their green and gold glory. Theirs is a worthy story, but it doesn’t constitute the only roundball history being forged by local teams. On Monday, the number 2 seeded Maryland women’s team defeated Utah in overtime to join two other ACC teams (Duke and North Carolina) in the Final Four. This marks the second time in…