Forty-one, that's the number of goals Washington Capitals rookie Alex Ovechkin has scored so far this season.  That's one less than league-leader Jaromir Jagr, and the second-highest tally for a rookie since Teemu Selanne put up a record 76 goals as a rookie in the 1992-1993 NHL season.

Scoring 41 goals in your rookie season is a remarkable accomplishment for any player, and considering the Caps have 22 games left to go this season, it's conceivable that Ovechkin will finish with more than 50 goals and close to 100 points (he has a rookie-leading 76 points now).  The 20-year-old Russian has demonstrated great strength, speed and agility with the puck.  He's also shown he not shy about giving or taking a hit.  His physical play and infectious, almost giddy joy in playing the game have quickly endeared him to teammates, DC fans and hockey fans in general.  What's even more remarkable is that Ovechkin's accomplishments have come with less than spectacular support.

Ovechkin's outstanding rookie performance has been one of the few highlights of the season for Washington fans.  There will be no playoffs in DC this year.  But fans can still dream about next season and the "what ifs." 

It's no secret the Caps are in a rebuilding mode.  Right winger Dainius Zubrus has played well and complemented Ovechkin on the top line, but DC has no true first line center.  Brooks Laich has played admirably lately and may develop into a solid second line center, but he lacks the passing and playmaking ability of a top line guy.

The Caps are well under the salary cap and Ovechkin's spectacular play and boundless enthusiasm should make DC a more attractive place to free agents in the off season.  Securing a first line center who can not only distribute the puck but take some of the defensive heat away from Ovechkin should be their first priority.

Imagine what the new Russian Rocket could do next season ...

ESPN's Page 2 is running another one of its hottest athlete polls.  I have no problem with these polls; I find them entertaining.  I can even appreciate the majority of the picks in the women's top 10, which you can see for yourself here.  In fact, I find it refreshing when guys focus on healthy-looking athletic girls like Tanith Belbin rather than your typical anorexic-looking actresses.

But my friends and I agreed that the men's list, which you can check out here, is in need of some editing.  Who selected the finalists?  We thought we shoudl chime in.  So without further ado, and in no particular order, our picks for the hottest male athletes ...

Jeremy Bloom (Freestyle Skier/NFL Prospect) - The reigning World Cup champion failed to medal in Torino but his dating life isn't likely to be impacted with abs like that.

Jason Taylor (DE, Miami Dolphins) - MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmm, sorry, we lost our train of thought just staring at him.

Henrik Lundqvist (Goalie, NY Rangers) - What is it with Swedish hockey players?  There must be something in the water up there.  Swats away 100 mph pucks like they're flies and plays in a rock band in his spare time. 

Brady Quinn (QB, University of Notre Dame) - Adorable, Irish and can throw for over 330 yards per game.   Makes us wish we were undergrads again.

Kelly Slater (Pro surfer) - The undisputed king of the waves.  Only gets better with age ... just ask Giselle Bundchen.

Hines Ward (WR, Pittsburgh Steelers) - Best smile in professional sports, hands down.  And yes gentleman, a great smile goes a long way.

Michael Owen (Striker, Newcastle United) - Keep your David Beckhams, give us clean cut good looks over Mohawks and peroxide any day.

Dhani Jones (LB, Philadelphia Eagles) - He writes poetry, he paints, he designs bowties and, oh yeah, crushes quarterbacks.  What girl doesn't love that?

Jim Jackson (Guard/Forward, Phoenix Suns) - This 6'6" swingman can do it all; smooth moves and amazing arms.

Giorgio Rocca (Alpine Skiier) - What woman can resist a rugged Italian man who likes life in the fast lane?

This represents the opinions of just a few of us girls.  Anyone else have thoughts?

Much thanks to my girls - Katy, Chrissy, Nga, Rachel and Laura - for their input.

NBC is letting viewers select one of the contestants for the next run of the Apprentice.  The kicker -- they get to select from 12 U.S. Olympic athletes.  Among the contestants are speedskater Chad Hedrick, who I'm sure would get the team player award, and bobsledder Todd Hays.  My vote goes for snowboarder Danny Kass.  If only because I loved in the run up show to the opening ceremonies how he answered the question "How has winning an Olympic medal changed your life?"  Kass' reply, "Parents seem to dig me a lot more when I ask their daughters out," or something to that effect.  Kass would make for good TV.

Check out all the contestants and vote here.

The U.S. and Canadian men's hockey teams were elminated from the Olympic tournament yesterday, by Finland and Russia respectively, leaving North America without a representative in the medal games.  Instead the Finns and Russians, along with the Swedes and Czechs will duke it out over the hardware.

This wasn't supposed to happen.  Canada, the defending gold medalists, were supposed to put up a better fight.  After all, they had a roster stacked with veteran NHL talent and scorign ability.  Likewise, the U.S. team was supposed to avenge several lackluster (and embarrassing) Olympic performances with a lineup of experienced NHLers. 

Notice a theme here?  Age.  Both the Canadians and Americans went with experience over younger talent, hoping that with scarce time to practice together and gel as a team, veteran leadership and game experience would be enough to propel them through.  So they went with the old standbys -- Chelios, Sakic, Hatcher, Draper -- instead of young guys like Crosby, Staal and Speeza, all having fantastic NHL seasons.

But there was a fundamental fallacy in their strategy.  On the larger international ice with little rest and back-to-back games, the old guys couldn't keep up.  Both the U.S. and Canadian teams, who had talked so emphatically about their goal scoring potential headed into the games, had trouble scoring.  Why?  They had no legs under them.  Both teams looked like they were skating through quicksand throughout the tournament.  They never got into rhythm, never got anything going, and fell back on trying to rely on their individual talent rather than working as a team.

Nowhere was that more evident than when both teams played Russia.  Bouyed by an influx of young talent -- 20-year-old Alex Ovechkin, 19-year-old Evgeni Malkin and 22-year-old Ilya Kovalchuk -- combining with veteran playmakers such as Alexei Kovalev and Pavel Datsuyk, the Russians out-skated, out-hustled and all over out-played both teams.

A lot of soul seraching and finger-pointing will be done in the USA Hockey and Team Canada boardrooms this week.  Blame will be hurled at the players, coaches and manegement.  While there is plenty to go around, a hard look back should be taken at the player selection process for both teams.  The strategy was obviously flawed.

Russia's Sergei Gonchar, who plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, seemed to get it, wondering aloud after the game why Crosby was left off the Canadian roster, "The big ice would be an advantage for a guy like him.  He has great speed, great vision.  He has the skills and it would be a great advantage for him to play. His style fits this game perfectly."

The Czech Republic loses to Switzerland, the Americans skate to a tie with Latvia, the Russians lose to the Slovaks then thrub the Swedes -- what the heck is going on in the Olympic hockey tournament?!?!?!

Less than two full days into group play, the Olympic hockey tournament is shaping up to be a doozy.  Olympic hockey has historically had one storyline -- is it going to be Canada, the US or Russia?  But in the 1990's things got interesting with the Swedes taking gold in '94 and the Czechs winning in '98.  The way this year's tournament is shaping up it could be anyone's game.  So far the Slovaks look strong with two wins under their belts.  The Canadians are just getting under way with Germany and should have no problem dispensing them.  Although the struggled early against Italy, so who knows what could happen.

Some key injuries could further impact the way the tournament shakes out.  Czech Slinky Dominik Hasek left yesterday's game with a hamstring pull.  Peter Forsberg is in Turin but has yet to skate for Sweden due to a groin strain and may not play at all.  Much to the chagrin of NHL executives back home, more injuries are sure to occur as play goes on.

So far this tournament has more drama than anything NBC has tried to shove down viewers throats.  While the games are being broadcast during the day on MSNBC, it's sad that primetime viewers aren't at least being treated to highlight reels.  After all, if we're being subjected to roller derby on ice, couldn't we at least get 10 minutes of highlights of a sport most viewers know and possibly care about?