OFF THE WALL
Ovechkin gives Trump a sweater
We just couldn’t let this stuff go …
Alex Ovechkin and his wife, Nastya Ovechkina, spent Christmas Eve at President
personal holiday dinner at his Mar-a-lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., writes Jacob Bogage of The Washington Post.
The Washington Capitals captain shook hands with Trump and presented him with a white No. 8 Capitals sweater.
Trump commended Ovechkin, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs, in remarks during the Capitals’ celebratory White House visit in March after they won the franchise’s first Stanley Cup the previous spring.
“You were led to victory by a very special athlete, a great player, captain, team captain, Alex Ovechkin,” Trump said then. “Alexander the Great, they call him, has spent his entire 13-year NHL career with the Washington Capitals, and his hard work and his loyalty paid off last season. He outscored every player in the league. Wow, that’s not bad, right? With 64 goals — it’s like Babe Ruth — he had more than every player in the league . ... 64 goals, 114 points, and was named the playoff MVP, and that was easy. Nobody did more to deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy and, Alex, congratulations.”
Ovechkin has mostly avoided talking politics during his time with the Capitals, but he is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He founded an online political campaign for Putin, “Putin Team,” in 2017.
“Be a part of this team — to me it’s a privilege, it’s like the feeling of when you put on the jersey of the Russian team, knowing that the whole country is rooting for you,” he wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a photo of him and Putin embracing, when announcing the movement.
He also posted a photo casting a ballot in Russia’s 2018 election, ostensibly for Putin because Ovechkin tagged the post “#Putinteam.”
During Trump’s meeting with Putin in Helsinki in July 2018, Trump presented Putin with an Ovechkin jersey and a hockey puck.
A Ravens security official seen wearing a Bluetooth earpiece on the sideline during Sunday’s 31-15 win over the Cleveland Browns is raising questions about whether the team violated the NFL’S policy on communication.
Darren Sanders, the team’s vice president of security, was shown on the CBS broadcast wearing the earpiece while standing behind coach John Harbaugh.
The league has strict rules regarding player-to-coach communication, but it is not certain whether the rules extend to all members of the team on the sideline during games.
An NFL spokesperson declined to comment on whether the league was looking into the matter.
In a statement to The Baltimore Sun, the Ravens called the incident a “mistake.”
“We are aware of the situation. It was a mistake, and the Bluetooth was removed as soon as he noticed he was wearing it,”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s
had some good moments in the desert, including a 2016 win over Ohio State in the CFP semifinals.
He’s also had some bad ones, like losing to Alabama in the CFP title game the year before.
But he’s maintained his love for Arizona despite the up-anddowns since it’s so different from where he grew up in Alabama.
“Every time I get on the bus you see the mountains, see the cactus,” Swinney said. “There’s not many cactus in Alabama. I used to watch Westerns with my dad all the time growing up and that’s what it reminds me of. It feels like you’re in cowboy land or something. It’s pretty cool.”
Trivia answer
Texas has played in five (3-2) Holiday Bowls. Iowa (2-0-1) makes its fourth appearance tonight, USC (1-1) its third.