Capitals

As expected, the Capitals did some tinkering before today's 3 p.m. trade deadline, acquiring center Jason Arnott and defenseman Dennis Wideman in separate deals. On Saturday, Washington claimed winger Marco Sturm off waivers. The Capitals have improved their roster in the past couple of days, but how much exactly? Arnott, 36, brings with him to Washington a wealth of playoff experience, a Stanley Cup ring from a decade ago and whatever he has left in the tank -- which doesn't appear to be much.

As of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, traffic was slow on U.S. 50 westbound at the Capital Beltway, due to an accident involving six vehicles. According to the Maryland Transit Administration, light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead. There are no other major delays reported on Baltimore area transit systems.

The Washington Capitals are the top team in the Eastern Conference and are gearing up for the playoffs with two games left in the regular season. They have one of the league's most talented and charismatic players in Alex Ovechkin. And DJ Pauly D of "Jersey Shore" fame is in their corner, so there's that. More and more Baltimoreans have been jumping on the bandwagon during the Capitals' recent rise to prominence, perhaps in part because Orioles games weren't worth watching.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker was wrong and President Barack Obama is right: Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital deserves closer scrutiny by voters. Whether a brief television ad accomplishes this is another matter. Presidential campaigns are seldom pretty. And this year's race is certain to be worse than most. The rise of super PAC spending and the prospect of tens of millions of dollars spent pounding on the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's more inflammatory sermons or the creation of more websites devoted to the plight of the Romney family dog are especially depressing thoughts.

Saturday afternoon, the Capitals return to Verizon Center. Up, 3-1, in their best-of-seven playoff series with the Rangers after Wednesday night’s thrilling double-overtime victory, the Capitals can close out the Rangers with another win. One area Capitals fan, Bruce Anderson, will be there leading the charge. Literally. Anderson, a former member of the Baltimore Colts marching band who grew up in Towson and now lives in Lutherville, has been the Verizon Center organist for Capitals home games for 12 straight seasons -- “minus the lockout,” he said.

The Capitals begin another playoff quest for that elusive Stanley Cup tonight when they host their former Patrick Division rivals, the Rangers. Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals are again the top seed in the East, but we learned last year that we shouldn’t overlook their first-round opponent. Here are five keys to beating the Rangers: No change in approach: The Capitals went through some growing pains in 2010-11 and trailed the Lightning in the Southeast Division for a big chunk of the season.

The Washington Capitals were one of the busiest teams Friday when the doors to the 2011 NHL free agent market opened, as general manager George McPhee sent goalie Semyon Varlamov to Colorado for a pair of draft picks and added three veterans to the lineup. In signing role player and former Capitals captain Jeff Halpern, two-way defenseman Roman Hamrlik and a big-bodied, hard working winger in Joel Ward, Washington elevated the leadership in a still-young dressing room and filled holes in the roster that will be left by the departure of up to five unrestricted free agents.

The Capitals hold a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series against the Rangers, but it is only natural for Washington fans to be nervous after Sunday's Game 3 loss. In their history, the Capitals have been up 2-0 in best-of-seven playoff series five times, but they squandered their should-be-commanding lead all but once. After the Rangers outplayed the Capitals on Sunday and won on a late goal by Brandon Dubinsky, the Capitals need to reclaim control of the series in Wednesday's Game 4 to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

The Capitals fired Bruce Boudreau on Monday and named former captain Dale Hunter as the team's next coach. Judging by this video, Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin might want to start back-checking and crashing the crease. [ via Hot Clicks ]

Baltimore is not at the top of Men's Health's America's Smuttiest Cities list. But it's pretty, pretty, pretty close. The magazine just released the list, ranking cities based on the number of porn DVDS bought, rented or streamed, the number of adult entertainment stores, the rate of porn searches and some other dirty-minded criteria. Interestingly, the town famous for squeaky clean Mickey Mouse topped the list: Orlando. Rounding out the top five were Las Vegas (no shocker there)

Members of the Harford County Council agreed Tuesday to hold funding for a large portion of the planned Emergency Operations Center replacement in next year's capital budget. The plan to replace the building near Routes 1 and 543 in the Hickory area is expected to cost more than $40 million, according to current county budget estimates. "My biggest concern is the necessity of moving forward at this time when I share a little bit more concern with our debt service issues than the county executive does," County Council President Billy Boniface said.

Legg Mason's stock rose nearly 7.5 percent Wednesday on news that the company will pay off $1.25 billion in senior notes held by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. to reduce its outstanding debt. Its shares gained $1.67 to close at $24.05 each. Under the terms of the repurchase, the Baltimore money manager said it will take a $70 million to $80 million noncash charge in its fiscal first quarter. The move would reduce the company's debt by a net $350 million, Legg said.

They did what they had to do, and they went home. That's the best that can be said of the special session of the Maryland General Assembly that concluded today. The tax increases, spending cuts, fund transfers and other measures lawmakers approved in 21/2 days this week protect public education, health and public safety and put the state on a path to fiscal sustainability, all while requiring a relatively minimal additional contribution from taxpayers. After a chaotic end to the regular General Assembly session, order has been restored.

Seafood company Phillips Foods Inc. will be closing its Baltimore manufacturing and distribution facility in July and cutting 100 jobs, about 13 percent of its Maryland workforce. The company warned state regulators of the cuts. A separate layoff warning notice to the state came from Capital One Financial Corp., which said 40 workers would be affected when it closes a credit-card operations facility in the Anne Arundel County community of Hanover during the last three months of this year.

After earning a split in New York to start their Eastern Conference semifinal series, it would appear that things are setting up nicely for the Washington Capitals. They return home to Verizon Center as the series against the New York Rangers shifts venues for games 3 and 4. But if there's one thing this spring's Stanley Cup playoffs have shown, it's that home ice is an advantage in name only. Road squads are 34-21 this postseason through Monday's games. The Capitals are 4-2 on the road and 1-2 at home.

Five of Maryland's six 2012 basketball commitments led the U.S. All-Stars to a 105-93 win over the Capital All-Stars on Saturday night at the Capital Classic in Alexandria, Va. Center Shaquille Cleare led the future Terps with 14 points, while combo guard Sam Cassell Jr. -- who revealed his re-commitment to Maryland at the game -- scored 12, combo guard Seth Allen had 10, power forward Charles Mitchell added seven...

The pre-Super Bowl showdown between the Capitals and the Penguins was significantly lacking sizzle with Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup. But that doesn't mean the Capitals' 3-0 win on Sunday wasn't impressive. Pittsburgh had won five straight games without its top two offensive players (Crosby has been out since suffering a concussion against Washington in the Winter Classic and Malkin had missed five games before blowing out his knee in his return last week)

In an interview with Capitol Hoops, Maryland power forward signee Charles Mitchell talks about playing with his future Terps teammates at the Capital Classic on Saturday in Alexandria, Va.