Alles Andere » Less than five seasons are declaring Josh

WASHINGTON -- The NHL wanted to provide plenty of Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin by moving the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals into the same division. The league couldnt separate them again fast enough for the Capitals given the Penguins recent domination. Pittsburgh beat Washington 4-0 on Wednesday night at Verizon Center, the fifth straight victory in the series, to maintain first place in the Metropolitan Division. Barring a sudden and unexpected change of structure, the Capitals would love to start finding answers as to why the Penguins have their number. "Based off tonight we know we have some work to do in order to rebound our next game against them," Washington goaltender Braden Holtby said. "We feel we have the players in here that are capable of beating them. Its just a matter of putting together a 60-minute game where were all on the same page and doing things we need to do to win." Instead, the Penguins did just about everything necessary to blow Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals out of their own building. They jumped out to a strong start, got two points apiece from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and a shutout from lightly tested goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 18 saves. "I think this was as complete a game as we played," Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma said. "We came out and pushed the pace, the speed of the game. ... The second half of the game was a team effort: how we played the game, managed the puck and shut them down." Bylsma used the word "smothering" to describe his teams all-around defensive effort. The Penguins outshot the Capitals 40-18 overall and perhaps more importantly 34-10 at even strength. Washington at one point had a 9:22 shot drought and midway through the game put more pucks on net short-handed than five-on-five. Thats not typically a path to success, and Capitals coach Adam Oates blamed an overall lack of execution. "Obviously you have to give them some credit, they played a very good hockey game," Oates said. "We got behind early and (its a) tough team to catch up (against), and they didnt give us anything." Getting ahead and clamping down was something the Penguins took a great deal of pride in. Crosby, who passed St. Louis Blues forward Alex Steen to take sole possession of the NHL points lead with a power-play goal and an assist, pointed to the strong start as something that set the tone for the whole night. That Pittsburgh (14-8-0) started well was not a surprise, but they had something tangible to show for it when defenceman Paul Martin beat Holtby with a seemingly-harmless shot from the blue-line just 6:38 into the game. Rookie Beau Bennett made it 2-0 a few minutes later, and the Penguins went into the first intermission with a 17-6 shot advantage despite the Capitals spending over four minutes on the power play. "I dont know if we expect to hop out to that kind of shot advantage, but certainly the pace and how we played was excellent," Bylsma said. "We got some real good scoring opportunities." The Capitals got some of their own in what Crosby called a "50/50" second period. The teams traded chances back and forth, like when Fleury stopped a driving Ovechkin and Holtby, who finished with 36 saves, denied Crosby from point-blank range soon after. But when Washington couldnt break through, the Penguins made the best of a late second-period power play. Malkin controlled the puck along the boards before setting into motion quick passes from Chris Kunitz to James Neal to Crosby, who scored from an almost-impossible angle at the side of the net. "Its high execution, its great movement, set up there to start by Geno," Bylsma said. "Its a sharp, sharp angle, but its an awesome power-play goal." By the time Neal made it 4-0 in the third period, the Penguins were well on their way to locking things down and building a three-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division. It was the kind of loss the Capitals want to just throw out after winning seven of 10 going into Wednesday night. "That was a pretty ugly game, and it might just be one of those ones that we need to forget," defenceman Karl Alzner said. "The only reason wed watch (the tape) maybe is to look and see how bad we were." Plenty was built into this game, with first place on the line. It was the first time the Penguins and Capitals were facing each other as division rivals since 1993. Fleury, who recorded his 25th career shutout and second this season, took more joy in holding on to first than beating the Capitals. "Its always a good rivalry with them, but the thing we have to focus on is the win," he said. During their five-game winning streak against Washington, the Penguins have scored 21 goals to the Capitals nine. Theyve also won the past five games Crosby has played in dating to 2011. Worried about now, Oates was less concerned about the standings than about what the loss felt like. "Its more of a measuring stick," he said. "Youre playing against your rival, its a big game and thats part of being a pro. Hopefully it deflates you right because you know its a deflating feeling in there right now." NOTES -- Malkins career-worst goal drought reached 15 games, but he finished with two assists to make it 19 on the season. ... Washington defenceman Mike Green missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. He could return Friday when the Capitals host the Montreal Canadiens. ... The Capitals power play, which entered the game ranked second in the league, went 0 for 3. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. China Autographed Jerseys . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. http://www.jerseyscheapsports.com/ . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. College Jerseys From China . -- Canadas Nicole Vandermade won the Four Winds Invitational on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory. NFL Jerseys Cheap . Sami Salo scored two goals as the Canucks overcame a hat-trick from Edmonton Oiler rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to win 4-3 in NHL action Saturday. TAMPA, Fla. -- Less than five seasons are declaring Josh Freeman was the future of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the struggling franchise is tying its hopes to another rookie quarterback. Coach Greg Schiano benched Freeman in favour of untested Mike Glennon, two days after insisting the former first-round draft pick remained the starter because he gave the Bucs the best chance to win. On Wednesday, Schiano said several times Glennon now gives the Bucs the best chance to win. The coach said he changed his mind after meeting Tuesday with general manager Mark Dominik, and later discussing the situation with ownership -- which signed off on the move. "This is a performance-based decision," Schiano said after practice Wednesday. "Were not getting the job done on the field." The winless Bucs have lost their first three games, two on field goals in the closing seconds. Freeman has completed just 45.7 per cent of his passes for 571 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Dating to last season, theyve dropped eight and nine games, and the offence hasnt played well throughout the stretch. "There are a lot of reasons for it. Its not just one guy," Schiano said of Freeman, the franchise career completions leader who is in the final year of the contract he signed as a rookie. "Buts thats a critical piece of it. ... The quarterback touches the ball every play." The Bucs did not make Freeman, whos 24-35 as a starter, available for interviews. Glennon was drafted in the third round out of North Carolina State, where he spent part of his college career as a backup to Russell Wilson. He will make his first pro start Sunday at home against Arizona. The 23-year-old did not make a push to unseat Freeman during the preseason, however he feels hes continued to grow while riding the bench and is ready to make the next step. "This is what I prepared my whole life for. Im excited about it. Cant wait," Glennon said. "Ive prepared ever since I can remember. Growing up, this is what I dreamed of doing, this is what I worked for. Im really excited about it." Glennon ran a pro-style offence at North Carolina State, and both he and Schiano believe that experience will help him. "I have five years of an NFL-like offence under my belt. Not the same terminology, not the exact same plays, but as an 18-year-old, I was running NFL concepts," the rookie said. "You watch college football, and thats not as common nowadays. So I was very fortunate." At 6-foot-6, Glennon is slightly taller than Freeman but lacks the overall size (248 pounds), strength and mobility of the player hes replacing. Schiano is confident, though, that Glennon can manage the offence and is capable of making all the throws necessary to be a successful pro. "Im not going to get into comparisons with what Josh can doo, and what (Glennon) can do," Schiano said.dddddddddddd "What I will tell you is that Mike is a smart, tough football player. I think he works extremely hard, I think he will go out and try to do what were coaching him to do," Schiano said. "Youre not going to be perfect, no one is. But I think hes going to try to do it to his ability, which is what were asking him to do in the game plan." The Bucs need an offensive jolt. After setting single-season team records for passing yards and points scored in 2012, Tampa Bay has scored just three offensive touchdowns through three games -- none in the past seven quarters. Freemans completion percentage and quarterback rating (59.3) are last in the league, and Tampa Bays had trouble scoring points despite having proven playmakers in running back Doug Martin and receivers Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. The fifth-year pro, once touted by Dominik as a franchise quarterback, has thrown for four TDs vs. 12 interceptions in the last six games. "Its not the end of his career. Hes got a lot of football left," guard Davin Joseph said, while also expressing confidence in Glennon taking over. "Starting quarterback is a hard job to keep and a hard job to get," Joseph added, "and I think Mike is up to the challenge." The switch caps a tumultuous month in which Freeman missed a team photo shoot on Labor Day, was not voted a team captain for the first time in three years and refuted reports that he was seeking a trade. Throw in his quarterback rating and completion percentage, plus a couple of last-second losses in games in which he and the offence did not perform well, and hes back on the bench. And, perhaps headed out of Tampa Bay, with the trade deadline being five weeks away. Its been a gradual, but consistent slide toward his possible exit. Freeman became the first 4,000-yard passer in team history last season, but his inconsistency down the stretch contributed to the Bucs losing five of final 6 games to finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year. The 25-year-old Freeman was the third quarterback selected in the 2009 draft behind Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford. He made his first NFL start -- a win against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers -- after Tampa Bay began his rookie season with seven consecutive losses. The former Kansas State star followed with a breakout season in 2010, when the Bucs went 10-6 but failed to make the playoffs. Freeman threw for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions that year, and the future appeared bright -- for him, the team and former coach Raheem Morris. Inconsistent play has dogged him and the Bucs since. Morris was fired after going 4-12 in 2011, leaving Freeman to learn his third offensive system in four seasons when Schiano was hired last year. ' ' '