Cry Me (Three) Rivers, Teddy…

Caps owner – and, coincidentally, the single person in the Caps organization I do not like – Ted Leonsis bitched today in his blog about the back-to-back games between Game 4 (tonight in Pittsburgh) and Game 5 (tomorrow in DC).

“It is a shame that both teams will have to play back to back games … because the Pittsburgh building — against NHL rules — booked a series of concerts and forced the league to alter the playoff schedule,” Leonsis wrote recently on his blog, Ted’s Take. “This is bad for the league, both fan bases and for the players.

“The playoffs are very intense and physical and players need time to recoup. No one is advantaged by playing back to back games so no one can complain but it is unfortunate that the Yanni concert takes precedence over high quality NHL playoff hockey.” (from ESPN)

You know what, Teddy? Cry me a frikkin’ river or three. You screwed us Virginia-based Penguins fans out of buying playoff tickets in your beloved Verizon Center by telling your sales people to not sell tickets to Pittsburgh area codes, nor to those DC-area hockey fans who have a history of buying (predominately) Pens / Caps tickets in DC (like me). You don’t want my dollar? Fine. But quit your sniveling and “smack” talk – leave that to Ovechkin, who has earned the right to do it. You come off as a whiny little kid and are on the road to Dan Synder-ism.

We all know you’re just aching to see the Caps beat the Pens in playoff action. We all know you’re totally biased against all things Pittsburgh hockey related. So just shut it already. Let your team talk for you, and take a page from Mario’s ownership handbook:

Be a silent partner.