Poor play, foul mouth highlight ‘24/7’ series
Brooks Laich does not want to watch a minute of it. Karl Alzner is excited to see the show but didn’t realize until this week he does not even get HBO. Bruce Boudreau will probably watch at some point — but for now will focus on reality and not reality television.
The Capitals and the NHL have allowed HBO cameras behind the scenes to document the run up to next month’s Winter Classic — the outdoor game set for New Year’s Day against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins.
It is incredible exposure for a league that’s always looking to hook the casual sports fan. HBO personnel have wandered Caps headquarters in Arlington to document all the drama that will air in four installments of the program “24/7.” It debuted Wednesday night after the Caps lost to Anaheim, and the early reviews were mixed — if only because not everyone got home in time to see it.
Defenseman John Erskine caught the show and though the initial offering was well done. Laich refuses to watch, claiming he lived through it and could care less what the Penguins are going through. Boudreau, meanwhile, has garnered attention across North America for the curse-word filled diatribe he fired at his team in the locker room during a 3-0 loss to Florida last week. Also watching? His mother. She gave Boudreau an early phone call Wednesday to let him know her displeasure.
“It would probably be one of those things where you’d watch it if you were on a 10-game winning streak,” said Boudreau, whose team has lost seven in a row. “But we aren’t and I’ve already lived the negative.”
