
I would never be foolish enough to suggest that the Washington Capitals are a legitimate playoff contender, but at least the Washington faithful are getting a little glimpse of a much brighter future for their team. After playing nearly a third of the schedule, they had a winning record and were above .500 both home and on the road. Sometimes you've got to measure progress in tiny increments; the Caps are definitely a team on the rise.Hmm. In my book, a team that is "above .500 both home and on the road" is a legitimate playoff contender, but what do I know - I'm just a caveman. I fell on some ice and later got thawed out by some of your scientists. Your world frightens and confuses me.
Anyway, here's a second example, from The Worldwide Leader:
We might be giving the Caps too much credit here, but they're regarded as one of the hardest-working teams in the league. The Caps snapped their skid with three straight wins, their first such stretch of the season.It's ok, ESPN - go out on that limb. After all, your power rankings are, at least in part, supposed to reflect teams' current level of play, and saying that the Caps are playing middle-of-the-pack hockey after running off three straight wins against three good-to-very-good teams certainly isn't giving them too much credit.