they begin, 54 players battling for 25 spots and the main topic again, the contract extension of ryan zimmerman. both sides released statements moments ago saying they bridged several gaps and they're confident that they will reach an agreement. and this is what they had to say earlier about negotiations. >> if we can't come to an agreement by the end of today or whatever the deadline is, i am going to continue to discuss the contract because i want -- . >> by the end of today, we'll know yes or no whether we're going to do it or not. like i said all along, we can concentrate on baseball and not have you guys have to worry about it anymore and, more importantly, my teammates and myself. >> and they're hoping to have that contract done by tomorrow. sometimes the players' only meeting can do the trick. it seems to have worked for the capitols. on thursday, the message was don't mail it in the rest of

the year. it worked as the caps ended a three-game skid and hope to win back-to-back games. on the road at toronto, the first minute of the game. and watch johansson, skates behind the net and 32 secs in. the caps lead 1-0 and later first period, he shot and watch his determination. skates around the net and feels the puck and wrists it in and that is the 17th of the season and ovechkin and company on the feet for that one. it's 2-0, good guy and up 3-0 and the back of the net and the caps win 4-2 and washington trails winnipeg and florida by one point for eighth place and the division lead. >> and last night in the rising stars game, he would not yeast skills challenge. he was eliminated after losing the head-to-head tiebreaker and finishes the course, including

shooting, passing, and dribbling and 32.8 secs. >> time for a quick break. coming up, a hoya freshman takes a licking and keeps on ticking. stay with us, we'll be right back. 

. >> welcome back. georgetown a loss is history now. the hoyas rebounded well as they have done all year, thanks to four players scoring in double figures and this is the home finally at the verizon center and do they love playing in front of the home fans. the first shot of the game, tomson is hitting the jumper here. watch in the lane. taking an elbow to the face and is down in pain. he would leave the game and return saying afterwards he bit his tongue and that does not feel good. nate lubick, inbounds and he would score 15 points. the hoyas led by 17 in the first half. and this is thompson, scores 10 and they crush them and are in fourth place in the big east. >> and that team effort. if you look at the score and the rebounding, i thought everyone came to play and the guys did a good job, you know, piggybacking off of the first

response and did a great job of protect each other and having each other's back and supporting each other at the defensive end. >> mark turgeon and the terps on the road against georgia tech, looking for a season sweep. a big first half for the senior guard, who scored 14 points, including four 3s and maryland led by six at the break. two minutes left and maryland down by 1. going hard to the hole for the tough lay-in. the terps take a 56-55 lead and with under 30 to go, brandon reid three and his money. maryland falls to georgia tech, 63-51 and fall to 6-8 in acc play. and paul hewitt and george mason on the road. the regular season finale against bcu. in the first half, corey edwards turns it over and there you see it with the steal and goes the distance for the lay- in. bcu on a 25-5 run and take a 20- point lead. in the second half, starting to chip away at the lead and brian allen misses. pearson on cleanup duty, cutting the deficit to single

digits. bcu was out for revenge. late in the game, the touchdown pass for the dunk and falls 89- 77 and the rams earn the sec seed in the caa tournament. and au over lafayette, 76-59 and gw beats duquesne, 56-61, and howard, 63-46. virginia hosting north carolina. late in the game, john tell evans a big steal and takes it all away. the cavaliers trail 52-50 and three minutes left in the game. the final seconds, tarholes lead by one. look at the ball fake and the pretty dunk. had a game high 20. north carolina beats virginia, 54-51. and did you see this virginia tech and duke game? virginia tech struggling this year. the final secs and they're tied. eric green going for the win and his shot off. a great second effort for the win and that is no good.

into overtime and for seth greenburg not and by 3. look at seth curry, a game high 19 and fifth-ranked duke over them in overtime and tied 12-2 in the acc. we need other tv time out. when we come back here, can three but can't feed. -- hide. 

>> welcome back. dave feldman was in florida for spring training. he had a opportunity to talk about his future to everything like his elbow. >> reporter: when you think about the nationals this season, you think about piping. when you think about the nats pepping, you think about steven straussburg. 18 months removed from tommy johns surgery and now raring to g. >> i feel good. obviously, it's early, so, i am on a great program here with the nationals and, you know, i think if i keep working hard and focus on trying to get better every day, hopefully i will feel as good as -- at the end of the year. >> seems like yesterday you were injured or years ago? >> seems like a -- like a long time ago, for sure. almost feels like last year never happened. obviously, you know, time flies and when you're in the repetitiveness of rehabbing day in, day out, it messes into one

and went by pretty fast now they look back on it. >> jordan zimmerman said he talks to you sometimes and said, look, i told him, steven, you pipe, hopefully they won't -- you pitch, hopefully they won't switch start or whatever. >> yeah. >> and you do yours and when it's done, it's done. you wait a month, that's okay. you wait eight months, right? yeah. >> and yeah, well, you never know what is going happen. it's a tough situation have -- situation where i have a great year and pitch well and get to the point where they are going to shut me down. i know it's going to be hard, seeing how it was for jordan firsthand. and right now, i am focused on getting ready for the season, and i'm going to take it one start at a time and really just work on developing the routine that i am hopefully going to carry on the rest of my career. >> can you get beetedder? have we so -- better? consider have we seen the best of you or can you get better? >> i'm not going to put expecting as on myself, number

one -- expectations on myself, number one, but at the same time, i'm not going to say i'm going to only be this good. i have a lot to learn. that is the big thing, relatively i don't have much major league experience, and i feel like i have a great opportunity here, especially this year, to learn from some of the best. >> people are throwing around the p word for play-offs already and you haven't played a game. >> that is going to happen when people see who we have on our roster and stuff and that is all great and everything, but there is a lot of teams that go into the season saying they a world series down and will make it to the play-offs. bottom line, we haven't proven or done anything yet, and i think we we have to let it do the talking. >> strauss bug received a unique honor this offseason. san diego state, his alma mater retired his jersey. in viera, florida, dave feldman, fox 5 sports. >> and thanks, feld. two redskins notes, receiver hankerson devoted he had surgery on his injured hip tuesday and will be ready before the team camp begins and

will montgomery signed a four- year contract and expect that done by tomorrow. thanks for watching. see you later. ter.