So, now that punishment for Alexander Ovechkin's hit on Zbynek Michalek has been dispensed, the calendar shows his next game as being on February 4 at Montreal. While that seems like an eternity away, I think we can all agree that the Washington Capitals' captain is in need of some battery recharging from time to time. So behold, some things that Ovechkin may be able to do during this league-imposed exile:

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For some strange reason, after Sunday's loss to the Columbus Crew (a match in which we were without several players, and our biggest one coming off the heels of taking a knock only three days before), a word I've seen tossed around a little bit is "disappointing." I get the frustration and understand it, but along with the winnable games that haven't been, there are some things to consider in whatever form you choose.

So in number form (borrowing from my brain, the team site and ESPN soccernet game logs), some things of interest about the current DC United squad:

119 - Number of days since Sunday's starting right back Chris Korb played a full 90 minutes (since the 6/3 scoreless draw with LA). Additionally he had only appeared in one match (6/11 vs. SJ) since that date.

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Via the club's website:

D.C. United announced today that kick-off for the club’s League fixture with the Portland Timbers has been moved to Saturday, August 27 at 2:00 p.m. ET due to extreme weather conditions expected as Hurricane Irene approaches the Washington, DC area. Tickets remain available online or by calling 202-587-5000. The match will be broadcast live locally by Comcast SportsNet, with a re-air set for 8:00 p.m. ET. Fans are reminded to wear rain gear to the match in the event of rain, as stadium policy forbids entry with umbrellas.

The move has also affected previously scheduled festivities surrounding the game. Latin Fest, presented by TD Bank has been postponed. Richie Williams’ Hall of Tradition induction ceremony, previously scheduled for halftime, has also been postponed.

Per the MLSPA's release of the salaries as of 5/1 here (and on a side note, good on them as I think this is much earlier than previous years), the salaries for the DCU players. First column is guaranteed base salary, second is annual average guaranteed compensation which, according to the MLSPA site is:

"The annual average guaranteed compensation number includes a player's base salary and all signing and guaranteed bonuses annualized over the term of the player's contract, including option years.  For example, if a player has a base salary of $50,000, has a two-year contract with two one-year options and received a $10,000 bonus when he signed, his average annual guaranteed compensation would be $52,500 (base salary plus signing bonus ($10,000), with the signing bonus divided by the number of years covered by the contract (4)). The average annual guaranteed compensation number also includes any annual marketing bonus to be received in the current year and any agent's fees annualized over the term of the contract. The average annual guaranteed compensation figure does not include performance bonuses because there is no guarantee that the player will hit those bonuses."


Anyway, the numbers after the jump:

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OK, teams and stage are set, and most (if not all) of us have probably got a go to mix of songs to amp up for the second season. So in mostly alphabetical order, some of mine:

"Horror Business" - The Misfits

"Angel of Death" - Slayer

"Banned in DC" - Bad Brains

"Black and Gold" - Wale

"Blow Your Head" Fred Wesley & the JBs

"Borstal Breakout" - Sham 69

"Busload of Faith" - Lou Reed

"Can I Kick It?" - A Tribe Called Quest

"Cake Parade" - Georgie James

"Straight to Hell" - The Clash

"Click Your Fingers Applauding the Play" - Roky Erickson

"Enough is Not Enough" - Nightstalker

"The Fight Song" - Marilyn Manson

"Forget the Minions" - Karp

"Drugs" - Gift

"Going Down" - Freddie King

"I'm Gonna Kick Your Ass" - Moistboyz

"Jaguar Warriors" - Jaguar Love

"Rip This Joint" - The Rolling Stones

"Jump on Stage" - Girl Talk

"Jump Into the Fire" - Harry Nilsson

"People Get Ready" - Curtis Mayfield

"My Idea of Fun" - The Stooges

And a special one for the Rangers.

List your jams in the comments.

As there have been many new faces (er, posters) to the Rink, there has been an influx of those who wish to generate discussion via the FanPost mechanism that the kind folks at SBN have provided.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with wanting to generate discussion on topics that come to mind; however FanPosts should be given careful thought and consideration in their use. Or to put it another way, a FanShot should be the your way of saying "Hey, I've got this that the Rink might want to talk about," and FanPosts should say "Hey, I've got this that the Rink might want to talk about, and here's why I think it's important."

With that in mind, here are some helpful hints in FanPost construction, republished in part from a helpful guide located within the Community Guidelines which can be found along the left hand side of the Main Page:

What makes a good FanPost?

• Make It Substantial. When we say "substantial", we don't mean it has to be a dissertation or manifesto. But if you see the dreaded 75 word warning, it's either time to put some more thought into your FanPost or start over. If your post contains something like this:

  words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words words

  ... then it's probably better as a FanShot. On a related note, just because the "extended entry" option exists, don't feel as if you have to use it - it's easily deleted.

• Make It Relevant. Your FanPost should relate to the Capitals or hockey. If you want to do nothing more than post a link to your site, you're probably a spammer, and should expect your FanPost to be swiftly removed. If all you want to do is post a link to a news story or other online article or page, try a FanShot.

• Make It Timely. This is something that is very important. If the link you're posting is a day or two old, chances are it's been posted once or twice before either in the comments or FanShots (more later). Check to see if it's been posted before. Please use the search function (located at the upper right of the front page) to see if your topic has been covered in the last few days. If it has, your thoughts on that topic can and should be posted as a comment on the original post.

• Make It Smart. The best FanPosts expand upon a central idea with supporting examples, or statistical data, or a link to a relevant article, or a "thinking question" for others to consider, etc. Don’t just post a large quote from an article and say "What do you think?" Post your own opinion, too.
  

• Make It Readable. You are much more likely to get someone to read your post if you follow some very simple rules:

  ● Use proper spelling. You're not sending a text message. There's no need 4 U 2 use "time saving" abbreviations which only lessen the value of your post. It's like writing a position paper in crayon.

  ● Use punctuation. You wouldn't stand up and attempt to give a speech in one breath, and you shouldn't try to make your FanPost one big sentence that never ends.

  ● Use multiple paragraphs. There is something about reading text on the internet that makes reading a large block of text unpleasant and occasionally difficult. The ENTER key can be your friend in comments. In posts, use the "P" button to make paragraphs; highlight the text you want in a paragraph and hit "P"; it will put the proper opening and closing tags there.

  ● Use proper formatting. You'd be amazed how much better your piece will be received if it's formatted properly. If I'm greeted by a wall of text in your FanPost, I'm probably not going to make it all the way through. Break it up. Make it more than one paragraph. Use the 'B' and 'I' buttons for bold and italic text, respectively. (Note: The tech team at SB Nation has built a powerful WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. If you know how to format using Microsoft Word, you can make a perfectly formatted FanPost here at Japers' Rink: Start by opening Word. Write your post completely in Word, making all your formatting adjustments there. Highlight and Copy your work. Click New FanPost Click the "Paste From Word" icon (upper right icon in the WYSIWYG editor) Paste your content into the dialog box.)

• Give it a Descriptive Headline -- "Question" may, in fact, be what you are posting, a question you want us to consider; but that doesn't exactly inform us what the topic is about. Your headline should be informative, above all else, with bonus points for creativity.

I hope this helps all those who are curious in creating more content for the Rink. Your contributions are both welcomed and encouraged, and FanPosts are a good challenge to your mind to create the best possible content you can about the team and sport you love, not to mention challenge those who you want to read it.

Now that the Market & Economic Study for soccer stadia in downtown Baltimore (a.k.a D.C. United's possible home in 2012 or 2013) has been released, I glanced through it Wednesday night and again in putting this post together. On the surface, it seems like Shatz' position is that Baltimore's report would be beneficial for the community, regardless of where the community is. But maybe within the report itself, the report could be played towards the team's benefit when it comes to a SSS in (or closer to) the District if such a venture would be pursued. How so? Read ahead.

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