A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in pledge drive this season! We pledge $2835.17 in support of the Carson Kolzig Foundation!

Check out how much you're on the hook for on the spreadsheet. The column highlighted in yellow is the total for playoff and regular season combined.

So now that you know how much to send, where do you send it? You have 4 options: send directly to the Carson Kolzig Foundation by check or PayPal, or to me by check or PayPal. I will then forward all the money I receive to the Foundation. Important: if you need documentation of your donation for tax purposes, you cannot PayPal your donation to me!

To send a check directly to the Carson Kolzig Foundation:
The Carson Kolzig Foundation
4206 W 24th Ave.
Suite 101
Kennewick, WA 99338

PayPal:Visit the Foundation's SUPPORT page and click the PayPal link at the bottom.

To send a check to me, made out to the Carson Kolzig Foundation, to be forwarded with other checks and PayPal donations:
Robin Taylor
2000 P St. NW
#200
Washington, DC 20036

If you would prefer to send your donation via PayPal, my PayPal e-mail is robin[dot]taylor[at]student[dot]american[dot]edu. This PayPal account is for pledge drive, and all money goes directly to the dedicated pledge drive account. Again, I cannot provide you tax documentation if you choose to go this route.

For all checks, please put "pledge drive 2012" on the memo line. It will help the Carson Kolzig Foundation identify our donations.

Unlike seasons past, I cannot promise being able to deliver checks in person or being able to get pictures of what our pledges went to. If anyone has some connections they'd like to work, I'd be immensely grateful!

WHEW! I think that's everything. As always, this doesn't happen without the support of this awesome community. Everyone here makes this an incredibly rewarding experience each season, and I cannot thank you guys enough for stepping up to the plate each year, and opening your hearts and wallets.

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the third annual Japers' Rink Charity Pledge Drive! We pledged $2104.90 on behalf of the Carson Kolzig Foundation! And even though the Capitals season didn't exactly go as expected, there were some nice highlights, made all the better seeing that pledge total climb higher with each game. The awesome folks who make up the Japers' community make this possible every season. I can't thank you enough.

Curious as to how much you're on the hook for after the regular season? Check out the pledge tracking sheet! If you spot any errors, please let me know and I'm happy to correct them. This goes double if you were part of any stats-based bets.

And now, on to the playoffs!

Works the same as before. Post your playoff pledges here, or e-mail them to me: japerspledgedrive@gmail.com.

Didn't participate in the regular season? No worries! Join us for the playoffs. It's fun! It will help kids! DO IT FOR OLIE!

But wait, there's more.....

Becca's Playoff Charity Challenge!

Our very own Becca is willing to make a great sacrifice during these playoffs: follow Jaromir Jagr on twitter until the Flyers are eliminated! The challenge? Ten people must donate a minimum of $5 each, with the money going to the Carson Kolzig Foundation. The deadline to commit is midnight US eastern time on April 11. Same deal as other pledges: post here or e-mail me, and specify it's for Becca's challenge.

Happy pledging, and LET'S GO CAPS!

Mike Knuble will join the exclusive 1,000 games played club on Tuesday, and we here at Japers' Rink want to congratulate him on that tremendous achievement! Our favorite Penguin Slayer has rocked the red for 179 regular season games and counting. Below are some of the man affectionately known as Grandpa Slippers Caps and career highlights. Please feel free to contribute in the comments!

Mike Knuble talks about reaching the 1,000 game milestone. This one is well worth your time!

Donna Weaver recently did a fantastic photo shoot with the Knuble family. Tell me the Knublets aren't the cutest kids ever.

Tarik El Bashir's wonderful profile of Mike Knuble from earlier this season.

Being a hockey dad, though, has also benefited Knuble. In the intense world of professional sports he navigates daily, he said it’s a pressure valve. When he’s watching his children’s games, he’s not thinking about his job.

Knuble is also a past nominee for the Bill Masterton for dedication to hockey. It was Knuble's parents, who fled Latvia as children at the end of World War II, who instilled the values of hard work, charity, and perseverance in Mike and his younger brother, Steve.

Some of Knuble's most memorable moments:

Mike Knuble's gross pinkie finger injury, complete with pictures.

The time he broke his face by running into Brendan Shanahan:

The Winter Classic goal

that gave us one of the great pictures from the 2011 Winter Classic:

Mike also was one of the stars of the 2009-2010 edition of The Hockey Diaries radio show. Make sure to check out the extras that didn't make the show's final cut.

Mike Knuble's first game went down in hockey lore. Come from the brawl, stay for the Mike Knuble cameo.

I'm so excited that Mike Knuble is playing his 1,000th game in a Capitals sweater. I can't imagine a better person to be part of the Capitals family, and I cannot wait to see all his teammates take warm-ups tomorrow in #22 sweaters. Here's to

Mike Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuble!

and many more wonderful games in the future!

Um, thank god November is over?

Lack of goal scoring+goalies leakier than a sieve with a gaping hole in the middle=come up just short of $600, not including all the various special pledges and wagers that have been made. We are at $592.66 for the season, which is pretty awesome, considering how badly the Capitals have played so far.

On to December: new month, new coach, same old Mike Knuble delivering some Penguin ass-kicking.

Always, thank you so much to everyone pledging and placing wagers on this season! This does not happen without your enthusiastic support each season. (I can't believe no one was putting money on when Bruce would get fired)

Check your pledge amount on the spreadsheet!

Follow along with daily-ish update at the Pledge Blog!

Remember, it's never too late to join in the fun. And you want to join in the fun, right? All the cool kids are doing it.

As promised, your end-of-month pledge drive report!

October ended with $281.70 pledged based on the Capitals play, helped in no small part by 7 wins and 3 games with 5 or more goals. The month ended with a clunker of a game, but it was bound to happen. The Red Wings game, in case you were curious, was our biggest night as far as per-game pledge totals go. Big thank you to everyone who is pledging this season!

Couple of additional items before we turn our attention to November:

Pledge Drive has it's own blog! I post the game-by-game updates there. Leave a comment--I'm starting to think my mom is the only person that reads it! I also post messages from the Carson Kolzig Foundation  as I receive them.

Pledge tracking sheet. Please let me know if you spot any errors. The initial pledges have to be entered by hand, so mistakes do happen.

Also, it's never to late to join in the merriment of pledge drive! You can contact me by leaving a comment here, on the pledge drive blog, or by e-mailing your pledge drive questions to japerspledgedrive@gmail.com.

Ok, onward to November--there's 14 games on the schedule, so I'm looking forward to cracking the $600 mark at the end of the month.

To celebrate the return of Olie Kolzig and recognize all the great work he has done over the years on behalf of autism awareness, our 2011-2012 Pledge Drive will support the Carson Kolzig Foundation!

The Carson Kolzig Foundation is a non-profit charity that is "dedicated to education and resources for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families." It's Responding to Autism Center has been open since March 2010 and has provided nearly 3000 hours of treatment to families in Washington State's Tri-Cities area.

I am incredibly excited to be working with the Carson Kolzig Foundation, and want to thank executive director Kellee Balcom for her support so far and permission to use the logo!

And now to the ultra important details: how do you pledge?

This season, you can pledge for Capitals wins, saves, and goals scored. You can choose to do, one, two, or all three; you will just need to indicate which ones you are doing and what your per-game pledge is.

As always, flat donations are also welcome! You can also do player or stat-specific pledges, but I won't calculate those until the end of the season. I know several friendly wagers have already been made.

No pledge is too small. Every dollar counts, and every dollar is equally important.

To start pledging, post your pledge in the comments, or e-mail it to me at the nifty new e-mail address: japerspledgedrive@gmail.com!

Want to keep your pledge anonymous? No problem. Drop me an e-mail and I'll add your anonymous pledge to the list!

Once the pledges come in, I'll create a google document so you can watch your pledge grow through the season.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? E-mail me at japerspledgedrive@gmail.com!

New to Japers' and wondering about our past pledge drives? 2010: Jose Theodore's Saves for Kids; 2010-2011: So Kids Can with Mike Green.

As always, THANK YOU for your support! Our past pledge drives have been a smashing success because of the generosity of Rink members. I'm incredibly proud to be a member of this community!

Isn't this awesome?!

Today was the So Kids Can playground build day. Rink Rat Timmy came out to help, too, along with a lot of other caps fans and people who just loved the idea of building a playground (if you've never volunteered with KaBoom, I highly recommend it). We started this morning with an empty lot of lots of random stuff--well, not so random, but it looked random--strewn about and some holes in the ground. Five hours later, we had a finished playground plus picnic tables, benches, a kicking mural, and some cool planter/bench/trellises.

Mike Green brought some friends along to help:

Karl Alzner, Nicklas Backstrom, and Joel Ward. They were out there, moving stuff around, raking mulch, painting, the whole nine yards. Plus getting endlessly pestered for photos and autographs.

and this guy says THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PLEDGES!

And a big thank you from me, too, because this truly is a huge group effort each season.

Eliot Segal was also there, running around like a maniac, as he always does. (largely unrelated, but Eliot and I had a great chance to talk about the upcoming Lupus walk. So if you have nothing to do on Oct, 2, come out and join Ted, Eliot, Me, and Mama Birdie!)

and a few more playground pics and one more THANK YOU from me!

Capitals now have a story up. They're supposed to send pictures to volunteers, so I'll add those once I get them.

and VIDEO! not too much building of the playground, but a lot of the kids playing on it.

There's finally a date to build the playground for Mike Green's So Kids Can! It will take place on Thursday, Sept. 15, from 8 am to 3 pm, at ARE Inc., 45 P Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001. Breakfast, lunch, and a t-shirt will be provided.

I know that's a less-than-ideal date for most of us, but I'm going to do my best to get that day off, and I hope to see many of our So Kids Can contributors there, too!

To sign up, or get more info, visit this page on the Caps website.

Wondering what So Kids Can is? Check out our 2010-2011 kick-off post and be sure to see all the end result of all that pledging in the wrap up!

And I have super exciting news about the 2011-2012 Pledge drive to unveil soon! I hope you'll be able to join us!

Extra special thanks to everyone who participated in the So Kids Can Pledge Drive:

boutros23
Scott in Shaw
Seminrocks
RedBirdie
Sam DC
apk3000
bagace
miseenjeu
EmilyB
timmyv38
MR Laughlin18
Backeez Got Back
SOIBF Caps
Alz Well That Ends Well
STL Spidey
yoshietree
CapitalCentre
psuscott1
irockthered
cluster
reeselynn
Bman21212
docciavelli
turnituptoeleven
Gould Old Days
Emily B
bigeugene
redlineblue
capsyoungguns
stemmer
Operation Poncho 2.0, in honor of John Tortarella
anonymous 1
anonymous 2

Bon Chance, Eric Fehr! Caps fans everywhere will miss the guy who, despite extended stays in Bruce's doghouse, had a flair for the dramatic on the biggest stage. Hard working, humble, unabashed lover of country music, prolific tweeter who announced his new contract on Twitter (an NHL first), and possessing shoulders made of glass, Fehr also inspired his very own "Saves Kittens!" picture

So best of luck to Eric Fehr as he return to Manitoba to led his childhood team to the promised land of the playoffs. Us Caps fans are proud to say the Fehr represented us well and will be remembered fondly.

Here's Fehr's finest moment, on possibly the worst ice ever. And did you know ice is wet? And Eric Fehr is bad ass? Yeah, I did too.

I doubt I'll add anything new, but there was a reason Matt Bradley was a fan favorite and I wanted to collect as much stuff as possible in one place for everyone to reminisce and share their favorite memories of the NHL's most accomplished bleeder.

Steinz has a beautiful collection of links and photos, and some heartfelt writing. Kahn at DC101 posted his favorite Brads moments, and the Blogfather chose to highlight a lesser know fight, Brads vs. Lucic.

Becca wrote this wonderful five-year anniversary post last August. So many Bards highlights packed into one post. The fights. The goals. The cult following.

Of course, we all know that The Cult of Bloody Brads was because he is also an awesome person off the ice. I won a Matt Bradley prize pack at an appearance he did at ESPN Zone a couple years ago. He signed some extra cards for me, adding "Recycle or Else!" for me to hang up around the office. I think we all have stories about those sort of interactions with him.

I'll leave you with some of Brads finest moments (and it was hard to pick just a few!). Feel free to share photos, links, and general merriment the six seasons of Matt Bradley brought us. Because everyone #needsmorebrads.

Doing this way earlier than I had hoped--although not quite as early as last season. Regardless, this is both the post that I dread making because the season is over, and the one that ends up being the most rewarding.

This season, we pledged $2157.15! You can check out your final pledge total on the spreadsheet. Mike Green had a pretty good playoff right up until that injury: 1 goal and 5 assists in 8 games.

So, the information everyone really wants: how to donate. There are a couple of different ways:

• Send your donation directly to the Capitals via PayPal (scroll down for the PayPal button). Donating this way ensures you will get the proper tax documentation.
• Send your donations to the Capitals via mail. Make sure you fill out the donation form. Yes, it still says 2009-2010. Just cross that off and put the correct year in. Again, this ensures proper tax documentation. Mailing address:
  Washington Capitals Charities/So Kids Can
  627 N. Glebe Road
  Suite 850
  Arlington, VA 22203
• Send your donation via mail to me. If you need tax documentation, make sure you include the donation form. Last year, everyone who sent through me with the form received their tax document. My mailing address:
  Robin Taylor, DC Vote
  2000 P Street NW, #200
  Washington, DC. 20036
  
• Send your donation via PayPal to me. My PayPal account is: robin.taylor@student.american.edu. You will not receive any tax documentation. I will, however, be happy to write you a thank you e-mail!

I'm hoping JP can perhaps work his magic again so that I can present the money in person, get pictures, and have a nice wrap-up for everyone. As soon as I hear any details about building the playground, I will get them posted--I hope to see everyone there!

Finally, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who pledged this season, a season that absolutely did not go according to plan! Your patience and dedication are remarkable, and I absolutely cannot do this without the great support of everyone here! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Let me just say, doing the "wrap up" for round one this year sure as heck beats the one I did last year!

So, once again, a huge THANK YOU to everyone. Because of your generosity, we've pledged an amazing $1,674.35! Thanks is no small part, of course, to Mike Green's stellar playoffs and a lot of bonus pledges for winning round 1. The spreadsheet has been updated to reflect these new totals.

As we enjoy a slew of game 7s, here's to Greenie learning to not block shots with his head and a very successful round 2! And if you'd like to join in the fun, it's not too late! You can do playoffs-only, or just round 2, or whatever your heart desires. The more pledgers, the merrier!

The weather is warm, the cherry blossoms have blossomed, the scent of hope is in the air...it's playoff time!!! This spring, Japers' Rink members will continue to pledge in support of Mike Green and So Kids Can. All the money raised will go to help build a playground in a under-served DC area neighborhood.

We pledged $1328.85 during the regular season! You can check out the pledges on the spreadsheet.

To participate in the playoffs, all you have to do it let me know what you would like your pledge per goal and/or per assist to be. You can also pledge a flat donation. Additional pledges tied to playoff rounds won have also been very popular this season! All pledges, no matter the size, are welcome, and greatly appreciated. You don't need to have participated in our regular season pledge drive, either; new pledges are always welcome to join the fun!

Want to make an anonymous pledge? No problem! Just e-mail (address is in my profile) and let me know.

Ready to send your pledge in? Well.....the Capitals haven't gotten the 2010-2011 pledge for up! (oops!) Why is the pledge form important? Because the Caps will then send you the appropriate tax information for your donation. As soon as that little oversight is taken care of, I'll have the info ready to go. I'll also put the information up in the end of season wrap-up post. Which hopefully will be in June this year!

Shameless plug: don't forget to rec so So Kids can can stay on the front page!

Once again, a HUGE thank you to everyone who participates, as well as the awesome Japers' Rink leadership!

First off, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has pledged, and for you remarkable patience! I've had nothing to report for months, and yet your enthusiasm never wavered and no one ever questioned the lack of updates.

So...the good news! We have pledged $731.85! And Mike Green will be back on the ice Saturday! HUZZAH! And there was much rejoicing.  As always, check the spreadsheet. There will be a bigger total following Saturday's game since we have quite a few goalie-and-playoff related pledges.

And now for the other news....

I think it's pretty safe to say we all had hoped to give a little more for the playground construction. So, I want to throw out some options for people to consider. Don't feel obligated to pick an option:

1. Double your donation.
2. Add in Green's 2 All-Star game assists.
3. Choose a second player to use in addition to Green.

And feel free to toss out any ideas you might have as well!

Now, playoffs. On Sunday evening, I will set up a separate playoff Fanpost. As always, participation in the regular season does not mean you have to participate in the playoffs. Anyone who gave me pledges for playoff performances will be automatically included in my playoff list!

If you're new and wondering what all this is about, check out the kick-off post, as well as the 2010 summary!

And finally, another thank you! This is a community-driven drive and without you guys, I'd just be some crazy lady running a pledge drive all by my self! Caps fans rock!

After a really slow start to December, Mike Green returned to his scoring ways at the end of the month, and end the 2010 portion of the So Kids Can pledge drive on a high note! After the Habs game, we've now pledged $492.50! If we include some special donations to be tallied at the end of the season, we've cracked $500, and we're only half-way through the season. Even more exciting, since our last, not quite so uplifting update, pledges for the month of December totaled more the $100. Way to go, rats and rabbits!

Here's to a great 2011, a fabulous (and rain free!) Winter Classic to get Greenie started, and lots more pledging!

As always, thank you everyone who has pledged, and I'm always happy to add anyone who wants to join us! It's been a great 3 months since we started, and I'm looking forward to many many more. Like, 6 more months, capped off with a big silver cup! Let's Go Caps!

The incomparable Natty Bumppo suggest this might be a good time to have another Introduce Yourself open thread. We have lots of new members since the original introduce yourself open thread in summer 2009, started by VATigersFan. And some of us simply failed to introduce ourselves.

So, I'll get us kicked off. I'm RedBirdie, your rink pledge drive coordinator, an unofficial but immensely gratifying position. I'm a DC "townie" who became hooked on hockey just as the trap was coming into style, and will unabashedly admit that, like Alex Semin, I'm a lover of "pretty hockey." I spent 6 years sorta-kinda near Duluth for college and a couple extra years, and still keep my eye on the Wild and WCHA college hockey. I moved back to DC just in time for the lockout to end, and the only game I made it to that first season was Caps vs. Penguins. Which was also my first NHL game, since my parents would never take us to hockey (luckily, I've since shown them the light and we do family bonding at hockey games). Japers' Rink is addicting because of the great staff here who churns out quality content, and a huge, witty, and caring community of fellow Capitals fans who I am proud to call my friends.

Outside of the Rink, I am a former gymnast who now teaches trampoline classes as TSNY-DC while I search for a job that challenges me intellectually and creatively, while still allowing time for my Rink commenting habit. I married a Red Wings fan, Mr. B, who has a very nice tin foil hat; fortunately, he also enjoys the Caps, so he's got that going for him.

Apologies about being remiss in updating, but, well, there's been a lack of updates to report! I kept hoping that if I waited long enough, the Mike Green we all know and love and occasionally tear out hair out over would return. Alas, no such luck, so I'm hoping this update will jinx Greenie into some goals.

As of today, the Rink has pledged $403.40 for So Kids Can! Even if this lackluster points pace keeps up, I think we'll crack $1,000, plus all those bonuses you guys pledged. So far, I have a rough estimate that $22,400 of the $75,000 needed has been raised (Mike's pledge, Eliot Segal's matching pledge, our pledges, and corporate donations).

As always, it's never too late to join in the fun. For the full details, make sure to check out the kick-off post. We currently have 24 rats and rabbits participating this season, and I can't thank them enough!

Today seems like a fine day for an October summary of our So Kids Can pledge drive, what with that nice 1-goal, 3-point showing last night! After a painfully slow start and then an injury, Mike Green finished the month with 1 goal and 4 assists, totaling $151.15 in pledges! You can check out how much you're currently on the hook for on the spiffy google spreadsheet.

Even if Green keeps up this low production, and I have my fingers crossed that he's going to kick into high gear in November, we'll raise about $1,000 dollars, which is pretty darn cool. So, thank you everyone!

As always, it's never too late to join us! You can check out the details in the kick-off fanpost. Join us by leaving a comment here with your pledge, or drop me an e-mail (robin[dot]taylor[at]american[dot]edu) and I will happily add you to our list.

Questions? Comments? Spreadsheet issues? Drop me an e-mail.