My Christmas List

While people are spending time figuring out what they want for Christmas or what others want, I figured I'd go a step further and list out some of the things that would make everyone happy for the holidays:

• The Penguins: put Sykora with Sid and Staal with Malkin and let them go. This team needs to score goals to win and right now they aren't doing that. Goaltending is a legit concern but has been solid so far and isn't why this team is struggling. Get the plodding Georges Laraque off the wing of high flying Geno and get the first two lines to attack. Forget cycling down low as the only means to offense - go full speed and force odd man breaks like they did last year. Then we'll see Staal start to finish beautiful plays from Malkin and Sid form chemistry with someone. Third line center? Hall, Talbot when he returns, or Christensen. I don't care. It's the third line and a reason why it's not the first or second - get Sykora and mainly Staal off of it and let them do their thing.
• Oh, and someone get Michael Therrien a stopwatch so he can tell how much ice time Sid is getting. 17th among forwards in the league at only 14:55 of even strength time per game? Seriously, someone needs to work on this, the Kid is 20 and can skate til dawn.
  
• College football: So it's the Rose Bowl that's holding up a playoff? Who needs them? Give the Pac 10 and Big 10 champs the option of joining an 8 team playoff or going to the Rose Bowl, which is pretty much what happens now with the BCS game. Guess which they'll choose? And the Rose Bowl can be left with their game pitting the 2nd best from each conference which wouldn't be any different than the highly anticipated USC/Illinois tilt this year. Everyone else, including the two conference champs can join the playoffs. If every other bowl is ok with, this why can't the Rose Bowl figure out it's TV deal? Bet you they will if this is proposed to them. And any argument about extra games burdening players is like Scrooge telling us not to celebrate Christmas.
• Bruce Arians: the desire to run the football. At least now he admits second guessing himself about some crazy play calls that should have been runs. But why is it that offensive coordinators get so enamored of throwing the football but don't get equally excited about running it as effectively or better? Running the ball well is a more devastating tactic and has more impact on the outcome of a game (generally speaking) then being able to throw the ball. Yet for some reason offensive coordinators love to draw up gadget plays and pass routes and use them, yet ignore simply running the ball, even when you can do it well. In the Jax game, Willie Parker averaged over 7 yards per carry, yet carried only 14 times. To top it off, every pass play was fraught with the danger of the Jags right DE blowing by Marvel Smith and causing serious damage in the backfield. Yet the Steelers continued to throw the ball. Oh to have the Jags commitment to the run - what a beautiful offensive gameplan they had on Sunday - ask yourself how demoralizing it was to be on the receiving end of those runs and how nice it would be to be able to do that to others.
  
• TV talking heads: Get them a clue. What do they do all week? Isn't their job to analyze football and provide some insight that the average fan can't determine? Yet they continuously appear and spout generalities, stereotypes and nonsense that isn't backed by a shred of knowledge. More than a clue - I'd force them to actually watch game film with Merrill and Jaws and break down teams tendencies. Then they would stop saying things like: "the Steelers identity is running the football."
• Pitt basketball: They might already have what they've long needed: a player who can lift them on his shoulders and take them to the Final Four. Now it's still too early to know just how good DeJuan Blair will be and it remains to be seen how he handles a 7-footer, but he has the talent, charisma and drive that the Pitt program hasn't had since Charles Smith.
• The Pirates: a plan and the guts to follow the lead of the Indians, Twins and A's and stop trying to placate fans who they think need to see a mildly competitive team on the field. Blow it up and go with prospects. The city and fans will get behind a young team that gives higher payroll squads all they can handle.
• Pirate fans: an owner who will pay out money for the final pieces of the puzzle once the building blocks are in place. And not pay out money for the Matt Morrises, Derek Bells, Pat Meares and Jeromy Burnitz's of the game.
• Kevin Colbert: a manual explaining how to use the franchise tag. They've done it before with Gildon and one or two others, why not use it on Faneca for a year? Faneca gets big money - albeit only for a year and the Steelers keep his services, preventing a major talent loss and buy time to figure out how to plug the hole when he does eventually leave.
• Mike Tomlin: a home playoff game. Win two games to end the season and you'll have one, many of the criticisms you're hearing now will be muted, and you'll get to enjoy one of the truly great/wonderful events/weeks Pittsburgh can offer.
  
• Steeler fans: respect. Leaving the game early on Sunday was a disgrace. Act like you want to be there otherwise let someone else who will treat the game with the importance that it deserves, go in your place.
  
• Steeler fans: more tailgating space! In the list of joys of Pittsburgh, behind only a home playoff game is tailgating before that home playoff game! The NFL, corporate suits and greed are conspiring to take away Steeler fans ability to enjoy cold beer and meat on the grill in 15 degree weather. Sad days are these.
• One more for Steeler fans: A home playoff game in the snow!! How great was the game in Cleveland last week? And how awful was the string of AFC Championship games in the 90s that saw a procession of mild, even warm weather in mid January for the games vs the Chargers, Colts and Pats. If ever cold weather was called for and needed, these were the games!! Of course, it helps to have a player who loved the snow and thrived in it.
  
• Mellon Arena: one final roof-opening. It likely can't happen anymore because it lends support to all the extra seats they've added, but there were few things cooler than the World's biggest steel roof rolling open (until Skydome was built) to reveal the night sky and the top of the Steel Building. But before it's all gone and turned into a parking lot, take down the extra seats and hold a Pens practice or better yet, an open to the public skate.
• Baseball: don't forget the Mitchell Report but stop debating it already. Take it for what it is and listen to Mitchell: it shed an ugly light on a small part of baseball and it's time to move on. Don't suspend these players, everyone is culpable and many many more than were named in the report were taking them. Don't think these were the only guilty players and put asterisks next to them only. It was widespread and chasing down the "truth" of who did and who didn't will only tire everyone out. So finally begin to acknowledge what was going on, what still is going on and get to work fixing it. Forget suspensions for past events, it's more important to get better testing for HGH and other new drugs and clean up the game going forward.
• Baseball's record book: no asterisks. With no way to determine who did and didn't use roids, asterisks become an arbitrary tool of the uniformed driven by public opinion. People aren't stupid, we already look at the record book (is there really a record book anyway?) and assess the numbers based on factors in play during those eras. Just because Ty Cobb hit .400, it isn't necessarily better than George Brett hitting .390. George Foster's 50 HRs in 1977 are a lot more impressive than any one's 50 over the past 10 years, even without the hint of steroids. The public understands that, we don't need asterisks to tell us the difference between the two eras and we don't need them now.
• The new Arena: Acknowledgment outside the new arena of the rich heritage the franchise has enjoyed over the past 25 years. maybe it's too early for a statue to Sid, but let's show our pride and understanding of the great hockey we've witnessed by honoring Mario with a statue at one entrance and one of the second greatest player in franchise history, by far, at another. Remember the joy and great hockey Jagr brought the Burgh, not the way he sulked the last year or two.
• Hockey fans (and myself): cold weather and a yard big enough to build a backyard hockey rink. How awesome would it be to walk out the back door, lace up the skates and start putting wristers on goal for as long as you want? Without anyone else getting in the way? Or to have friends over for a game and some hot toddies? How great would winter seem then? You wouldn't dread the black snow of February, you'd cherish that your ice is still frozen and you couldn't wait to get back home to lace them up. And it doesn't sound that difficult to set up!
  

Thursday Trifecta

Hard to beat a night like tonight if you're a sports fan in the Burgh. But how to manage the remote? What to watch?

Clearly the Steelers will take priority when they come on the air around 8. The question will be: do I catch the start of either the Pitt or Pens game, each starting at 7, then catch the end on Tivo after the Steelers game or even tomorrow morning (for me, it will be possible to go until morning without knowing the outcome of either), or totally ignore the start to the two games and focus on the Steelers full bore and then catch the others later?

It's a tough question (and one that will require almost all the resources of my two Tivos/DVRs) and one that I'll be working through the rest of the afternoon. My initial plan as of now is to catch the start of the Pitt/Duke game then tune to the Steelers and leave the Pens until later or tomorrow morning. But that could bet blown up come 7 - we'll see.

I figure the Pitt/Duke game is more compelling at this point than game # 34 or whatever for the Pens. But it's tough.

I know at least one good thing for tonight: no Deion/Marshall Faulk teaming with Gumbel in the NFL Network booth. Thank god Colinsworth is back, though Gumbel is still horrible.

Steelers Thursday Notes

Some interesting info and thoughts floating around today:

• PFW.com wonders if the Steelers secondary can bounce back from their embarrassing performance on Sunday. Their stunning conclusion: they are still very good against everyone else but the Patriots. The Steeler defense remains #1 overall by a wide margin but is now #2 in both rushing and passing yards allowed.
  
• PFW.com also ranks Ben as the best mobile QB in the league now that a certain Atlanta QB in is jail.
• Interesting site that gives the Steelers a 98% chance of making the playoffs. A couple of other items of note from the site, after you get through all the stats, are:
• their seed is currently calculated as 3.5, meaning they are as likely to be the 4 seed as the 3 seed. Still difficult to believe the Chargers would be able to come back vs the Titans but it would be nicer if somehow the Lions knocked them off.
• For this week's games, the ones with the biggest impact to the Steelers playoff chances and seeding are: Browns/Bills: a Bills win would help the Steelers the most in terms of playoff seeding (excluding the Steeler game itself), even more than a Detroit win over SD would help.
  
• Finishing anywhere from 3-0 to 1-1-1 puts them in the playoffs.
  
• If the Steelers go 1-2 in their last 3 games, they still have a 99.5% chance of getting in the playoffs and still a 47% chance of being the 3 seed. But that might include the Chargers losing a game and they play Detroit and Denver at home and Oakland on the road - not likely to happen. Or the Browns would have to lose a game and their schedule is also pretty easy.
  
• If the Steelers go 0-3, they still have an 86.8% chance of getting in, but then they have a 44% chance to be the 4 seed and a 38% chance as the 6.
• After running 20 million computer simulations, the most likely scenario is for the Steelers to go 1-2, just edging out going 2-1. Finishing 3-0 is as likely as 0-3 (a little less actually).

Pittsburgh in Frommers Top 13 for 2008

How does this happen or rather, how much did they pay to get this acknowledgment? Ok, 2008 is the 250th birthday for the city, but there a lots of cities older and who can pronounce, let alone celebrate, a semiquincentennial.

But there it is in black and white on official Frommer's web stationary.

Who knew Pittsburgh belonged with the likes of Morocco, St. Lucia, Quito, Cardiff, Wales, Romania, Seoul, and a couple places in Nova Scotia and Micronesia? Of course, the Burgh has to hang with the likes of Denver and New Orleans, which is fine, but New Jersey? Some strange stuff going on here.

Even stranger is that the Burgh is on the list twice. The American Whiskey Trail makes the cut. It's a conglomerate of several sites and areas, including the area where the whiskey rebellion occurred, which is of course western Pennsylvania. Come to the Burgh and you can knock of two of the 13 on the list in one fell swoop!! That alone should make it THE destination for 2008.

Sid and the Pens Return East

A very positive West Coast tour for Sid and the Pens. Even though Sid didn't register a point in Calgary or Vancouver, the Pens still won both which is a very good sign for the team. They have now won 6 of 7 and are 3 points out of first in the Atlantic. As Darren Elliott at si.com points out, this season has been very streaky throughout the NHL and the Pens can be thrown in with everyone else. It will be a very close race throughout, especially in the East - the Atlantic is a very strong division. If nothing else, the Pens run through the Pacific showcased the strength of the East. Granted, the Oilers and Flames aren't strong this year but the Canucks lead the division. Maybe the Pens got lucky to catch them in that dreaded first home game after a road trip.

All of this should make for a good game on Tuesday vs Philly. The Pens are playing better now than earlier while the Flyers are not playing as well. With the Devils also on a roll, is there a tougher 4 team group in a division than the Rangers, Flyers, Devils and Pens?

-Kudos to Empty Netters for finding this video of a very young Sid the Kid. The on ice moves are the same, his basement reminds me of what Mario's looked like, his media presence is unwavering, the only difference between young Sid and today is his voice:



-Do you think fans in Calgary are more disappointed that their teams lost or that Sid didn't get a point in either game?

-Letang! Does he now belong in the top 3 shootout shooters? Methinks so. My first three shooters: Christensen, Sykora, Letang. Yep, no Sid, no Geno, no Ruutu. Has Christensen surpassed Jossi Jokinen as the best shootout artist in the NHL?

-Crosby vs Luongo. Penalty shot in OT. Great drama. Good move by Sid, better save by Luongo, who based on this one game, deserves every accolade he gets. He's scary good.

-Cool list of Sid's points in each NHL city posted by James Mirtle:

City GP G A PTS +/- PIM SOG

1 Pittsburgh 94 47 93 140 11 92 316

2 Long Island 8 3 12 15 1 14 30

3 Philadelphia 9 8 7 15 4 14 33

4 New Jersey 9 4 5 9 2 10 22

5 Washington 5 3 5 8 1 6 18

-Sid vs Vinny? It's a fair argument. Better make them while it's still reasonable, before Sid turns 21 and outdistances everyone and makes questions like this look silly. But for now, fair question.

-Kind of overlooked in winning 7 of 8 is that Geno Malkin has been generally quiet. He continues to get goals but doesn't seem to dominate at times like he has earlier in the season. Of course, that doesn't prevent people from making the "If Sid is Gretzky, Malkin is Messier" comparisons.

-What has gotten into Big Georges? Love the way he's playing, but am still concerned he's going to take a penalty at any second, kind of like Gary Roberts.

-Goodbye Recchin Ball. Good luck in Atlanta. Hope it will work out in the South.

Steelers Run into Pats Buzzsaw

34-13? Not so bad, could have been worse. Clearly, the Steelers have a long way to go if they have any hope in a rematch, which is what all of them professed they wanted after the game. Coach Tomlin said as much after the game. The problem is they have a very big game coming up on Sunday and based on their performances over the past month, the Steelers will have a tough time winning even though it is at Heinz.
A few notes & thoughts from yesterday:

• Despite Cowher and others proclaiming at halftime that the Steelers should feel good about their first half, the game was already over. Settling for field goals instead of scoring TDs against the best team only dooms you to losing. Losing teams kick FGs, winning teams score TDs. If the score was 21-17 Steelers at the half, maybe it doesn't change much of what happened in the second half, but the mentality would have been different. The Steelers could not have expected to continue to have the chances in the 2nd half that they had in the first. And the fact that they didn't take full advantage of them in the first half put them in a hole at the half even though they should have been in the lead.
  
• 36 straight pass plays? Shades on 2002 when the Pats and Raiders both dismantled the Steelers at Heinz by ignoring the run and just whipping up on the secondary. I don't think there is another team that can or will do what the Pats did, thank goodness. Well, maybe the Colts?
• Despite clearly making defensive adjustments in previous games to shut down offenses after they had early success, were any made yesterday? I won't and can't say for sure, but it sure looked to me like none were made, even after the 5 straight passes to Welker and no pressure was applied to Brady at all in the second half.
  
• Anthony Smith was burned twice and the second flea flicker from Moss to Brady to Gafney looked like it could have been designed this week in the dirt just to go after Smith.
• Belichick on Smith: "We've faced better safeties than that." Very true. Bottom line is that Smith isn't good enough right now. He needs to get better; let's hope yesterday was a learning experience.
• Ike Taylor was also guilty on the first long TD that went to Moss. Why on a play action does he even react? Why take a step toward the line of scrimmage? Taylor's task should have been to just stay with Moss. Go wherever he goes. Ignore the run. When was the last time he made a tackle on a run anyway? Smith has to come up against the run even though he bit too hard on that play fake as well. But Ike has to stay with Moss and can't let him run by him.
• Game may have been over, or just about, but facing third and then fourth and goal from the 1 and the Steelers call a fade and a gadget reverse? Do offensive coordinators out think themselves? It's not just Arians who is guilty of this, it seems all offensive coordinators are scared of running the ball too often and/or sticking with something that is working. So on third down, knowing the Najeh had already converted two short yardage situations very easily and that they were running well against the Pats, did Arians think: "well we can't do that again, they'll surely stop us this time, let's try the fade, they won't suspect that play at all." It's one yard, there is no need for trickeration. Hand it to either Parker or Najeh two times and, listen up Anthony Smith, I guarantee they get into the end zone.
• The fade pass at the goal line is the absolute worst play call I can imagine in that situation. It works maybe 10% of the time and even then only if you have a superior receiver. Antonio Gates made it work for the Chargers yesterday to tie the game, but he's an All-Pro and that was the second fade the Chargers ran at the goal line. The Jets tried it as well and failed. It fails the majority of the time. Even if you acknowledge that this play works 50% of the time (and I don't think it works anywhere near that often), are you telling me that you want to run a play from the 1 that has as much a chance to not work as work? It's one yard, your success rate better be around 80%, not south of 50. Ditch the fade please!
• I don't have as much of a problem with the 4th down reverse to Hines because I generally don't have a problem with getting the ball in Hines' hands as often as possible, especially with only a yard to gain. But again, the play there is to run the ball.
• Those two plays tell you as much about the Steelers "identity" as you need to know. The next time you hear a TV head say the Steelers identity is to run the ball and then play tough defense, pleas turn them off, they are demeaning your intelligence and clearly not watching the Steelers play. They are relying on stereotypes that are not true and stem from the image of Pittsburgh in general, which has as much to do with the Steelers style of play as Anthony Smith's guarantee had to do with the outcome of the game: nothing.
  
• Two overlooked plays that just may have changed the outcome: after taking a 3-0 lead, allowing the Pats to return the kickoff to their 48 was inexcusable. And at the beginning of the second half, on their first drive, after Willie Parker runs for 18 yards, Arians calls for a fake screen, fake draw, long pass from midfield. Woolfork blows up the play by torching Mahan and Faneca. Why not continue to run? Or if you have to throw, why call a play that requires two fakes and Big Ben to have his back to the line of scrimmage for so long that by the time he turns around, big fat Woolfork is right on top of him? Who cares if Hines doesn't have anyone within 20 yards of him, the offensive line can't hold their blocks long enough for Ben to execute two fakes. And on top of that, if Ben can see Woolfork, he avoids him easily. Leaving him without a sense as to what is happening at the line and without a sense as to where pressure is coming from takes away his best attribute: his ability to get away from pressure and make a play. This play call is a prime example of an offensive coordinator getting enamored of his own imagination and not applying the offensive talents he has to the best of their abilities. The outcome of this play not only set the tone for the drive by causing the Steelers to punt, but it set the tone for the entire second half. Again, you can't allow opportunities to slip by, and being at midfield and being able to run the ball should have resulted in points.
  
• The Steelers have achieved a nice balance on offense, but when it comes down to needing yards, to a play that absolutely has to be made, a play that everyone on offense better have confidence in and that should succeed 85% of the time, they don't run the ball. They throw. Even on fourth and 1 yesterday, they threw the ball. And that is their identity. And unfortunately it is becoming more and more similar to every other NFL team. In number of plays, they are balanced, but in terms of importance of plays, they almost invariably throw the ball.
• That may not be such a bad thing since Big Ben is their best offensive player. But then again, their offensive line is not a good pass blocking unit and their receivers, especially without Santonio, are weak.
• Just so everyone understands where I'm coming from: my idea of a perfect offensive football game is to do the exact opposite of what the Pats did yesterday: run the ball on every play. The ability to effectively run the ball demoralizes and wears down a defense that throwing cannot.
  
• But I know you have to be able to pass and that the 2007 edition Steelers are a better passing team than running team.
• Phil Simms talking about Big Ben's "excellent" game and that the Steelers offense was "doing their job" almost made me sick right on the TV. Ben wasn't bad but he made one play all night and that was a simple side step of a lineman before hitting Najeh in the end zone. Coming into the game, the Steelers needed Ben to make plays and he didn't. Someone on offense needed to make plays on offense and nobody did. Right now, Ben is their only play maker on offense. Santonio is getting there, Parker is not a play maker, he is too dependent on his o-line. The problem with Ben being the only playmaker is that he needs another playmaker to be on the other end of his passes. Maybe Sanotonio will be that soon. The Steelers are a good offense right now, they are not a great offense because they don't have the players who make the plays that decide games, or who make sure you get 7 instead of 3.
  
• The Steeler defense has players who do make plays in Troy, James Harrison and Casey Hampton. They don't measure up to Woodson, Lake and Lloyd but they do things like cause turnovers, bust up running plays in the backfield and produce defensive scores. They don't just make tackles after 2 yard gains or bat down passes. There has not been a long period of time in recent Steeler memory when they did not have playmakers on defense.
• Next Steeler defensive playmaker: Lawrence Timmons.
• I think the Allan Rossum experience should be shut down. The big show got off to a rousing start including a kickoff return for a TD early on in game 3 vs the Niners. But since then, he has been average at the very best and not anywhere near the advertised "All-Pro" returner that he is tagged with. Um, that was 2 years ago and he regressed since then. The "at least he holds onto the ball" argument is really a lame one and it only resonates because of who he is replacing: remember Ricardo? If Cowher had not lost his mind last year and had run a competent football player out to return kicks last year, Rossum's season would not look so rosy.
  
• Who else thought the Pats would keep throwing the ball when the got it with just under 3:00 to go in the game and the towel already thrown in? I'm surprised Brady remembered what to do with someone else in the backfield.
• For all the pain yesterday will inflict, mostly because the ecstasy of victory would have been so great, next week's game vs the Jags is bigger. Lose to the Jags and winning the division is in doubt, holding on to the 3 seed is in serious jeopardy and even making the playoffs becomes less than certain. That is, unless you think a 2-4 road team will somehow rebound off of two straight losses and go on the road and win: a prime time game in St Louis (no matter how bad they are, prime time games jack up the home team) and the season finale in Baltimore, who will have had enough time to regroup from their Pats effort to get up again for their hated rivals, especially if there is a chance to knock them out of the playoffs.
  

PA liquor mess

No, not Pa's liquor, though this is what he had to deal with to buy the stuff in Pennsylvania. The issue is why the good people of the state still have to deal with the arcane system and high prices that make the state of PA seem prehistoric when it comes to liquor (separate stores for beer & liquor, liquor stores run by the state, no alcohol in grocery stores & convenience stores, etc.).

So excuse me this aside but something has to be done to get PA up to modern times!!

From this morning’s Post-Gazette comes word of a new drink tax in Allegheny County. What is disclosed at the bottom is unbelievable but helps explain why PA is horrible when it comes to buying alcohol. Free markets anyone?

The new 10 percent drink tax will be on top of five other tiers of liquor taxation already in place. In Pennsylvania, all liquor license holders must purchase wine and spirits from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

1. The PLCB charges a 30 percent markup;
2. A "bottle charge" of $1.25 per bottle;
3. A round-up to the nearest 9 cents ($21.82 becomes $21.89);
4. An 18 percent "Johnstown flood tax" that was enacted in 1936 to rebuild that city but has remained in effect ever since;
5. And the 7 percent sales tax in Allegheny County.

BTW, didn’t people go crazy when a “sin tax” was proposed to pay for the new stadiums and partly as a result that proposal was rejected? And that proposal was much less than a 10% tax. Now this gets approved without public referendum?

So, to recap, in PA a $10 bottle of liquor at wholesale prices is subject to this before anyone can buy it:

1. it is marked up to $13
2. the bottle charge brings it to $14.25
3. rounding up takes it to $14.31
4. because of something that happened in 1936, the price then becomes $16.89
5. Allegheny County wants their share so it rises to $18.07
6. the new 10% PAT tax makes the final price $19.88
   

Were/Are people aware of all these markups? That is almost double the original price! Why are people in PA still paying for Johnstown’s floods and why is there a $1.25 bottle charge and a 9 cent round up? I’m outraged and I don’t even live in PA anymore.

I’d like to think that people will do something about this, but about the only guarantee is that they’ll continue to walk into their favorite bar, order a drink and moan about the new tax and how expensive drinks are now.

The Kid Heads West

As before when Sid travels to a new town, the media goes crazy. Well, this time it's Western Canada and it's crazier than ever.

Here is The Edmonton Sun's front page today.

Inside, there are 3 articles about Sid's visit:

• The Kid Comes West
• Will The Kid Still be Hot Tonight?
• Where have all Sid the Kid's groupies gone?

The Edmonton Journal chimes in with 5 stories:

• Crosby adds his signature style to NHL
• Great One says after Sid they'll be Another
• Crosby Transforms when the Puck is Dropped
• He's the Best of Everything
• David Staples' "Cult of Hockey" blog admires Sid's relative dominance

Those is Calgary can't wait until tomorrow, they're in head first already.

From the Calgary Herald:

• Sid the Kid's Flying Circus
• Sid's just a Kid
• Echoes of Gretzky's First Trip East
• Media Horde Greets Crosby in Edmonton

The Calgary Sun:

• It's More than a Game when Sid the kid Comes to Town
• Sid Even Carries His own Luggage (!!)
• Crosby's the Real Deal

Even the Vancouver Sun is already following Sid:

• Crosby Show a Gretzky Rerun

The games haven't even been played yet!

Recchi Clears Waivers

According to TSN, the Recchin Ball has cleared waivers this morning. So no other team wants him either, eh? What now for ol Rex? Can't believe he'll accept a trip to the minors and it seems like his relationship with Therrien is beyond repair.

Darren Dreger thinks Recchi's not done and has something to prove even if he has to go to the minors.

Stay tuned.

Pitt/WVU: It Actually Happened

Pitt Blather covered it well with several posts:

• Screenshots right as the game ended.
• The scene inside the Stadium in Morgantown
  
• Summarizing the national take on the officiating

What can I add?

• This game is the biggest upset for Pitt football in my lifetime and will surely stick in my mind for the complete opposite reason that the 48-14 game in 1982 does, a game I attended and left early because it was so miserable a game (a surprisingly cold too). It's nice to have a game to balance out that game from 25 years ago.
• How can a defense play so well after it played so poorly vs Navy and Virginia? Or, if Pitt's defense is closer to what we saw on Saturday, and I think they are, how could they have played so poorly vs those two?
• Pitt played two of the top 4 rushing teams in the country (Navy is #1, WVU is now #4 but was #2 coming into the Pitt game). Against one, they allowed 331 yards rushing. Against the better team that was playing for everything, the allowed 104 (net) rushing yards. Who can explain that?
• How long is Shady McCoy destined to remain a Panther? Sorry to rain on the joy but we might have only one more year to enjoy this guy.
• Interesting that there is thought going around that Pitt needs to recruit a JC QB to fill in next year, I suppose to give Bostick a full year to improve his footwork, arm strength, delivery and defensive recognition - ok, to improve just about everything. Question: how was he the PA Player of the Year? If he's such a blue chipper, he gained enough experience this year, that when bolstered by an offseason of work and without personal issues, he should be the starter in the fall.
• Oderick Turner: how cursed was he? Two phantom holding calls vs WVU that followed the phantom offensive pass interference call against him in the end zone at the end of the Rutgers game. They lost to Rutgers because of the call, at least they held on vs the 'Eers.
• I couldn't exhale until Brytus walked out of the end zone on the final play. Too many last second failures this year made me think that somehow they would punt and give up a TD.
• Great day for Wannstedt - an extension and that signature win he was looking for. The pressure to win will be high in '08, and he's adding fuel to the fire already:
  

  "We're going to win and we're going to a bowl game. ... A couple more recruiting classes and this thing will really roll. We can get this program back to where it was in the early '80s. I truly believe that."

• For at least a year, Pitt can claim supremacy over both WVU 13-9 and PSU 12-0. How Sweet it is!
  

Recchi's Pens Career Over?

Love the Recchin' Ball but it's time he retires or plays significantly fewer minutes. And today, he's been placed on waivers, meaning any other team can claim him. His Pens career is probably over. He was a great Pen, a key part of the 91 Cup team, but it's time.

Here he is scoring a late goal in 91 vs the Devils:


And here is one last one, welcoming him back to the Burgh, but it also includes perhaps his biggest goal as a Pen, his game winner in game 6 of the Wales Finals vs Boston, a classic Recchi wrister:


UPDATE: Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail thinks this might be end of Recchi's career.

Saturday

-PFW.com picks the brain of various scouts for their assessment of James Harrison: "A classic rags-to-riches story."

-Of concern is that Troy, Santonio and Marvel will all be out of the Bungles game. These injuries have gone from day to day to now over 2 weeks (except for Marvel - whose back flared up a week ago) and is a major concern for the Steelers, who haven't played well for at least 2 weeks now.

-Steve Pederson is back. Wow, didn't see that coming. Pitt hasn't had a lot of success with second go-rounds.

-Tonight: Hockey Night in Canada with the Pens in Toronto OR Backyard Brawl? Which to watch? Consider that the Brawl will be interesting for all of 15 minutes, I say start with the Pens, tune to the Panthers until it's ugly, then back to the Pens. And all along, give thanks for Tivo.

-WVU/Pitt is a rivalry. Yes it is but I've always felt that the media made more of it than it deserved. Growing up a Pitt fan with memories back to the late 70s, I've never liked WVU, but I've never really hated them either. WVU winning the National Championship would not the be the worst thing in the world. Maybe this will change when both are both competing for the Big East title. Being in the same conference and having good teams will spike the intensity.

To me however, it is Penn St. who is and always will be Pitt's rival. I hate Joe Paterno and seeing Penn St. on a football field churns my stomach. Every game they lose is reason for a small celebration and nothing brings greater pleasure than knowing the Pitt beat them 9-0 in the last game played between then two.

-In response to Dr. Z's inane rant that I highlighted yesterday and some apparent brainless Dolphs fans, both Ed Bouchette in his Q&A and Lawrence Timmons himself deny that anything intentional happened in the slop on Monday night.

The real news from those is that Jim Haslett once did intentionally step on Terry Bradshaw's head.

-The real problem with the Pens was their lack of scoring. Now that they've scored 5, 5, and 4 goals in the last 3 games, all wins, isn't it amazing how the issues and questions surrounding their defense and Fleury has faded into the background?

Thoughts for the Weekend

To consider over the weekend:

• The headline of this week's SI reads: "How the Browns Learned to Win" (subscription required). Excuse me? Win what? This sounds a a lot like Bengal-mania which has inflicted media types for the past 3 years. The diagnosis goes like this: team spends years losing, team acquires big name offensive talent, team ignores defense, team wins more games than expected, team continues to lose to the Steelers, team does not win playoff game. After this, the virus is spread infecting the media, which then displays symptoms: predicting Super Bowl for team, predicting Steelers will not win division, forgetting that defense is part of football, lamenting poor season and blaming it on the coach, continuing to proclaim QB/WR/TE/RB (pick one) as one of the best in the league despite contrary evidence, watching team slide down the standings, professing surprise that the Steelers win the division.
• I wish the above disease could include the Ravens, but unfortunately, they have won a Super Bowl and actually did win the division last year in a season when the Steelers went 8-8. For that, they seem to have avoided the trap.
• Dr. Z thinks the Steelers play dirty. Is he really a doctor? If so, shouldn't he recognize symptoms of Alzheimer's or increasing senility? If not, take the silly 'Dr.' away from him and get him to a real one ASAP! Slowing down the game to examine how a player ran down a fumble on a muddy slop of a field and concluding he was "deliberately veering off" in order to step on a player is a good sign he needs help.
• More from our favorite crazy doctor:

  "Some things, it seems, used to be [called as penalties] but just aren't anymore, my number one example being the penalty on the crowd for excessive noise while the other team is trying to run its offense."

  Is there a hotline where I can report people who use the Dr. moniker without any qualifications? In this case, any understanding of football and its fans?
• BTW: I like Lawrence Timmons a lot. Too many were tagging him with the dreaded "next Huey Richardson" tag, but remember that he's still a rookie and learning a new position. When he does get on the field, he seems to always be around the ball making plays, recovering fumbles, etc. whether on defense or special teams.
• On the flip side: I know he's hurt now, but coming out of the preseason, I expected more from LaMar Woodley this year than what we've seen.
  
• PFW gets in on bashing football announcers and pregame personalities: this column could be 5 times as long as it is. They forgot to include the "analysis" from Monday night that since it was wet and the field was muddy, teams wouldn't be able to throw and would have to revert to running the ball. Which is why Big Ben set a team record for completion percentage and consecutive completions and the Steelers moved the ball on the lone scoring drive almost exclusively through the air.
• Perplexing gambling note of the week from PFW:
  The Steelers have covered eight of their last 10 night games vs. AFC North rivals but have covered only three of their last nine contests after having held their previous opponent to fewer than 10 points.
• Bigger ice surfaces for new arenas? Why not, it's a better idea than larger nets. Why can't new arenas in the NHL have bigger ice surfaces? For years, the arenas in Boston and Buffalo had smaller surfaces; it led to home ice advantage and visiting teams had to subtly change their gameplans, but it wasn't the end of the world. In fact, it was intriguing to see how teams fared in the cramped corners of Boston Garden. The only issue with this is that preexisting arenas, including the many that are still relatively new, realistically can't increase their ice surface. But that's fine, why do all ice surfaces need to be exactly the same size? Something tells me Mario would like the idea of having Sid an Geno skating on the big ice. Hell, he might even try another comeback to give it a shot himself.
  
• Again, Eklund is out there and throws rumors around like the Yankees hand out money, but trading Recchi makes too much sense, especially if he's going to moan about not playing.
• Making a run for biggest blowhard in journalism, Mike Celezic chimes in again, this time about Sean Talyor:
  

  And is really that much different that Ben Roethlisberger? Big Ben also felt the need to show what a tough guy he was, except he did it by riding a motorcycle without a helmet. That doesn’t have the same air of danger about it that waving guns around and acting like a thug does, but it almost killed him. It seems that the underlying psychology is the same, it’s just the cultural backdrop and mode of expression that’s different.

  One guy gets intentionally shot by another person, the other injures himself in an accident. He makes it worse by bringing Josh Hancock and Thurman Munson into his head spinning argument.
• Of course, Celezic has a tough task before he can catch old Bill Conlin from Philly. On case you have missed it, do yourself a favor and acquaint yourself with the definition of a crotchety old curmudgeon who should be in a rest home by now.
  
• Best Fill in your own joke headline: Father, son cited for hunting at airport.
  

This N'@

• Sid Saves Hockey.
  

• Interesting: So far, the Pens have received the second most Eastern Conference All-Star votes as a team, behind only Ottawa. Of course, it helps to have the votes leader.
  

• Bucci's back, this time blogging a game from 1971. Good stuff.

• PFW really gets into it this week with their Audibles. It's good stuff, probably none of it is true or accurate, kind of like the E! channel for NFL junkies:
• "Randy Moss, I don’t know if he is a premier receiver."
• "Reggie Wayne drops too many balls."
• "Ownership does not have a clue. They try one thing and it does not work and now they are going back and trying to reinvent the wheel."
• "He does not get it. He cannot figure out right from left."

• Great stat passed along by a couple and noted by TMQ: Since 1970, the two winningest franchises are Miami and Pittsburgh. Those two have been 1-2 for several years now (Dallas is a close third - check here for an update as of last week). As of today, November 28, 2007, the Dolphins have 353 winns, as they have had since last year. The Steelers have 349. There are five games to go this season. It is now possible that the Steelers will pass the Dolphins this season.

• Ricky Williams' season is over after 6 carries. How does this surprise anyone? That he received so much attention is what is surprising. This is a guy who continues to come back to football because if he doesn't and retires instead, owes the Dolphins millions of dollars that he no longer has because he's spent it on pot and whatever else. So he comes back and the Dolphins welcome him back, which in itself is amazing, and decide to play him after 2 years off and 1 week of practice. Only two things will happen to an RB in this situation: he will fumble because he has not been hit by an NFL player for 2 years and he will get hurt because he hasn't been hit and involved in a real play against a real NFL defense for 2 years. Don't make a mockery of the game and pretend anything else could have happened in this situation - the Dolphs and Cam Cameron should be ashamed of themselves.

• Steeler Fury gives his interesting Steeler version of MEveningQB.
  

• Gotta love Nick Bakay. He's not breaking things down this week but does offer up some tidbits:

• "Know what else was wrong? All the whining about the rain and the turf... Okay, the game's gonna be a mudder -- so what? Yes, the field looks like one of those high school games we all played in when you had to make a mental note not to step on the exposed metal drain grids. When did football become so damn precious?"

• "It's time for Kornheiser to drop the comb-over. It's giving "Bacon strip" a bad name."

• "The image of chicken wings getting sauced or massive sandwiches being cut in half, or etouffee, or sausages, or any food product represents one of my favorite parts of prime-time football. Until they mess it up. Mark my words, you hear that John Williams Gladiator music, and you're lucky if you get a nano-glimpse of a porterhouse sizzling in a pan before they fly in the sponsor logos ... right smack in the middle of the screen! Right over the food! Instead of jambalaya, I'm staring at a logo for Hampton Inn -- a chain that doesn't even have room service, I might add!"

• Yep, they're still around, and this isn't good news. I may have to rethink my pennant winning prediction because they didn't land the infield coach they wanted. But getting Don Long to coach the hitters may balance things out.

• Don't miss the chat with new GM Neil Huntington today at 1:30. You can ask is he's going to institute any rules against bring food into PNC or how many firework shows will be held this year.

• Highly touted prospect Neil Walker isn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball in the Mexican Pacific Winter League. Again: he's an above average prospect as a catcher. As a third baseman, he is not even average.
  

• Yet, our friend Jenifer Langosch in her Bucs Q&A this week says:
  

  "As for Walker, I don't think it's a stretch at all to assume that he will be making his Major League debut in 2008. Walker is currently tearing it up at the plate while playing winter ball in Mexico."

  Since when is hitting .268 with 4 HRs and 17 RBIs in 149 ABs in Mexico tearing it up? Keep trying to reset my expectations lower Jenifer!! I'm sticking to a pennant run in '08!
  

3-0!

What to make of that disaster? Let's see:

• According to Blog N' Gold, Vince Neil was set to sing the national anthem but didn't sound so good warming up in the afternoon. Maybe that' was the real reason they didn't sing the anthem last night - not this silly excuse that TV wanted to hurry up and start the game, what does TV ever control?
• Whoever thought to put a new layer of sod OVER the old one and then do so without looking at the weather forecast should be fired. The old field would not have been worse than what they put down. Plan to put new sod down guys, but have a contingency plan in place in case the forecast on Saturday afternoon (which is only 2 days before Monday night meaning even the weather guys could be right) calls for cats and dogs living together kind of rain coming on Monday. If so, leave the field be.
• Last night's field conditions, broadcast to the entire country will go a long way to forcing the Steelers to rip up the real stuff and install fake grass for next year. Which is too bad. Players, the Rooneys, and most fans prefer real grass and playing in conditions that real grass presents is an element of football that shouldn't be taken out of the game. That said, the conditions last night were horrible, but I attribute that more to putting new sod down in the rain. Can't they get real grass that doesn't get torn up every year?
• Mike Celizic at MSNBC.com rails against the Steelers and the NFL for allowing the field to get that bad:
  

  It was a travesty of football and an insult to the NFL, the players, the fans, and anyone who turned on a television in the hopes of enjoying Monday Night Football. It was a disgrace.

  Calm down Mike.
• How is it that every year the WPIALs, Pitt and the Steelers play at Heniz on the same weekend? Can't someone ensure that either or both Pitt and the Steelers are on the road the weekend after Thanksgiving when the WPIALs are played?
• Ed Bouchette at the PG uncovers a couple of interesting notes about turf and the league:
• The new turf for last night was not from Kentucky or some other area known for its grass. It was from New Jersey!! Now it all makes sense, what does NJ do right?
• Teams wanting to change their playing surface in the middle of the season must get approval from the league office. The New England Patriots did not do that last season, when they installed Field Turf late in the season, but the league office did nothing to stop them. What? Why not? Another conspiracy here...
  

• Steeler defense with Troy in the lineup gives up 16.1 points/game. Without Troy: 0.
• Big Ben completed a team record 15 straight passes at one point - how does that happen in those conditions? Just goes to show that bad conditions do NOT mean you have to run the ball, as the TV talking heads always proclaim. You can throw the ball in the rain and mud and is often more effective than running, for many reasons.
  
• Ben's tackle on Joey Porter after his interception may have been the best tackle of the game and even the play of the game. If he doesn't slide and make that tackle, Porter has clear sailing all the way up the sideline for a TD. How big would that have seemed in the second half?
• At one point midway through the 4th quarter, Ben had attempted 13 passes (completing 11). 9 of those came in the first quarter, 10 by 14:07 of the second. He attempted 1 in the entire third quarter. Then on the last drive, he threw the ball 5 out of 9 plays - and they scored! I know they tried a few more passes and either Ben was sacked or there was a penalty but that "balance" is absurd. They threw the ball 5 of 8 on the first drive then basically put Ben's arm in hibernation until the last two drives. They need to have better balance than that.
• When they did attempt a pass, it was (until the final drive) invariably a short one, 5-10 yards at most. Why? This is a team that throws the ball downfield more than all but a couple of other teams. Weather? The Dolphins, with inferior talent, were throwing the ball vertically. No Santonio? Maybe, but someone should be able to get open against the Dolphs secondary. No time? Ahhhh, very likely.
  
• Speaking of no time to throw - for a few weeks now, teams have gotten pressure on Ben but the routes and play calling haven't changed much (until last night, though even the short routes last night took time to develop). What happened to draw plays? Might slow down a rush....
• Heath Miller was brutal last night. Two costly penalties and not a good blocking performance at all. I thought he would make a good mudder. Guess not.
• A true mudder: Hines Ward. What a game he played. No drops - these days he is usually good for one or two a game. But not last night, he had the right attitude:
  

  "We play in Pittsburgh. The weather and the field are not going to be perfect all the time."

• Longsnapper Greg Warren may be the MVP of the game:
  

  "On the winning kick, at least my feet were level," Warren said. "On the miss [late third quarter from 44 yards] one foot was about 5 inches below the other and the ball hit grass on the way out." Warren said that because the Steelers called a timeout with 19 seconds left before Reed's winning kick, he had time to tamp down the turf with his feet to get a level stance to snap the ball. The Steelers didn't call a timeout before Reed's first attempt.

• Best quote of the night comes from Larry Foote about Joey Porter's interception:

  "His mouth was moving so fast you couldn't understand him. But you know he was talking trash. He was screaming."

• The Steelers have gone 99 minutes and four seconds without scoring a touchdown.
• Despite all the ugliness, Ron Cook (for once) gets it right: It's a win and no one will remember come January.

Goals From Heaven

Two straight games with 5 goals scored; maybe the Pens are realizing that the object is to put the puck in the back of the net and not cycle around the boards with it. And the best part, even though I' love to see Sid or Geno break some scoring records, is that more players got on the scoresheet. I believe the two major reasons for this offensive semi-explosion are: a much improved transition game and better ice. Maybe they go hand in hand.

They actually had odd man breaks the past two games, a rarity so far this season. And the ice surfaces in Ottawa and even at the Igloo on Saturday night looked to be smooth and hard. No bouncing pucks and slush. For a team with this talent to be handicapped by poor ice on your home surface is shameful - invest the money or planning or whatever to ensure your stars have the best ice to work their magic.

• Mark Madden has many thoughts for Michel Therrien, including the idea that the team would be better off utilizing its speed and talent in the transition game and not cycling around the low boards. The only semi-poor idea is taking Gonchar off the 1st PP unit.
• Want to know more about the ice? It's all here and pretty much supports the fact that the NHL hasn't done much to improve the quality if ice around the league since ohhh 1920.
  
• On the Forecheck has an early look at the Hart race, focusing on Sid, Lecavalier, Zetterberg and AO. What is interesting is that he tries to include drawing PPs in the analysis, which helps Sid's argument.
• Darren Elliot at si.com thinks Sid is doing just fine as the youngest captain ever.
• Empty Netters has 2 pretty cool items today: the top 100 scorers in Pens history (Dan Frawley at #89??); and a youtube of the tribute to Badger Bob held after his death in 1991. I was at that Thanksgiving Eve game and it was emotional. I held onto my electric candle for a long while until I moved into my own place.

Whither Jagr?

He remains the second best hockey player to ever call Pittsburgh home, and he also remains misunderstood and his legacy is still forming, and even if much of his issues are self-inflicted, there can be no question that Jaromir Jagr is a great player. How good?

He's won two Cups and more than rode shotgun, scoring some huge goals in those playoffs, yet is still thought of as hockey's Alex Rodriguez - which is silly. Does he need some cathartic event to rally people to understand how good he is and has been? Does he need a summer playing with Gretzky to "learn to win" or does he need a comeback from Hodgkin's or a three year layoff for us to appreciate him? To many, Mario needed those events to make him the player he became and give him the aura he grew into, which is hogwash - he was a great player without those events. But they served to make him greater in the eyes of those who tune in occasionally. He would have won Cups without playing with Gretzky (BTW - have you gone over the Pens lineup for those Cup years? Simply amazing talent - compare it to the Oilers dynasty teams and it holds its own), and he was already the best player in the game for a long time, dedicated to winning and overcoming long odds before he had Hodgkin's or staged any comeback.

We should appreciate Jagr (even if he plays for the hated Blueshirts) for the great player he is, not the Alex Rodriguez and certainly not the Scottie Pippen of hockey, and stop criticizing him for things he has not done. That list is short, what he has done, when you think about it in comparison to other hockey players is simply amazing.

Some Jagr notes:

• Someone from Dallas tries to assess where Jagr will rank among all-time greats when he's done. It's an interesting question but one I wish someone who can remember Jagr beyond 1992 would tackle - 1999 anyone:

• Jagr to the Oilers? Eklund is the source of more wild rumors than Gammons but still...
• The Rangers are in first place, yet they are hopping on the what's wrong with Jagr bandwagon already.
  
• Then again, maybe the Rangers should trade him since he's going to need a new contract after this season if he reaches some lofty milestones, which he might do after sidekick Marty Straka returns from injury (I love Straka but how fortunate has he been to play with Jagr all these years in Pgh and NYC? I mean they are a Butch and Sundance, PB & J, Bonnie & Clyde kind of team.). But if they do, they should forget about opening next season in Prague.
  

Sickest High School Play Ever?

Unbelievable finish to the WPIAL AAAA title game at Heinz. Three TDs in the final 1:02 topped by a play that pros can't pull off. Kudos to Central and Gateway for a great game. Here's the youtube link, hopefully someone will post one of better quality, but you will still appreciate it:

Pens Off Day Notes

Turning from one disappointment to another (so far):

• Colby 1-goal Armstrong and Mark 2-goal Recchi appear to be fighting to get in the lineup. Why either might play on the second line, only Therrien knows: The second line had center Evgeni Malkin with Erik Christensen on one side and Colby Armstrong and Mark Recchi alternating on the other, raising the question of whether Therrien might choose between Armstrong and Recchi to be in the lineup tomorrow.
• Tomorrow's game is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving game. As I've written in the past, it used to be THE game of the year to attend. It no longer is: the Pens have taken to playing on the road or not at all on the day and nowadays it seems like the night before Turkey crowd has already ingested their turkey, often sitting on their hands.
• Perusing the league leaders:

POINTS
1. Lecavalier 14/20 34 +10
2. Zetterberg 14/16 30 +9
3. Crosby 11/19 30 0
4. Kovalchuk 17/12 29 +3
5. Sundin 10/17 27 +8
6. St. Louis 8/19 27 +8
7. Malkin 7/20 27 -1

Nice, but the only two guys not over 0 +/- are Pens.

• The NHL Network is on the air and it is great. For those who don't have it, run to get it, no better time filler exists; just Tivo some of their shows and you can entertain yourself endlessly. A couple of things I picked up watching it:
• "Classic Series" reviews the ups and downs of great playoff series of the past. Many of these shows have aired series from the 90s and featured the Pens. Watching the Pens at their high flying best is stunning and maybe best of all, watching Ronnie Francis take over the 92 Ranger series is something special and shouldn't be forgotten. That said, Kevin Stevens, wow, you forget how good and dominating he was, even on his own without 66.
• After watching winning series, I put myself through the 93 loss to the Isles. What is stunning is how different the game was played: goalies standing up, not tight checking, giveaways aplenty. Made for some wild games. Despite all that went on in that series, watching Benoit Hogue beat Barrasso from the blue line to give the Isles a 3-1 lead in the third period of game 7 was shocking, a goal that should never have gone in (unlike Volek's OT goal).
  
• Earlier in the series, Tom Fitzgerald (now Pens Director of Player Development) beat Barrasso twice shorthanded on the same Pens PP with slappers high to the glove side leading to an Isles win. Surely he remembered those shots three years later when he put a blue line slapper past Barrasso in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to win it for the Panthers (probably the most disappointing Pens game I've ever attended).
• Do yourself a favor and watch some of 99's early 80s games and compare the style of play to today and even to the early 90s. Not even close, Gretzky is a great player, but some of what he was able to pull would never go down today. Still, it is exciting what he and those Oilers could do.

• The Toronto Globe and Mail does a nice summary of the shootout that has now been around for several years and how GMs are still clueless about their value. A couple of thoughts:
• The Pens a middling at SOs: 18th overall at 12-13.
• The Moose has been the 2nd best Goalie at stopping shootouts
• Contrary to popular beliefs, Marc-Andre Fleury is not among the worst goalies

• I have a hard time agreeing with him about anything else, but Madden does have some sense about hockey. He thinks Recchi and Roberts should be gone.
• Canadian Idol. In case we forget how big 87 is in the Great White North.
• I queried Dave Molinari this week about the Pens blue line needs. I think they can upgrade everywhere but need someone to get the puck out of their end and up to their forwards, Dave thinks they need a big bruiser to go with Orpik. Here is a summary of our exchange:
  Dave,
  What's your take on Brooks Orpik's play so far? To me, he's been by far their best defenseman, not only maintaining his physical play, but also looking very smooth skating wise, he may be the quickest blueliner on the roster (not saying too much I know). While Orpik continues to improve, others have not. Any mention of Whitney and Norris in the same sentence should be forever forbidden - he is good offensively but much closer to Gonchar in his own end than to Lidstrom. Gonchar remains Gonchar. Sydor admittedly started slowly, Eaton looks lost at times and Scuderi just looks slow and indecisive. More than a physical d-man, I'd love to see them pick up a guy who can move the puck up to the forwards in a spot where they can press the attack instead of just slamming it off the boards.
  DM:
  1) Orpik is having a better year than many people realize, and he's their only physical presence on the blue line.
  2) I don't know of anyone who has spoken of Whitney as a Norris candidate this season. Down the road, maybe.
  3) A defenseman's primary job is to play defense, so having somebody who's willing to clear people from the front of the net is more important to me at this point than getting another guy capable of throwing a good breakout pass. Not that having one of those would hurt, obviously.
  
  

By The Tues

• Maybe we've discovered the real reason there were so many Steeler fans invading NJ on Sunday. Guess the open air rotundas don't provide the same atmosphere: Halftime Harassment.
• PFW drops the Steelers to 5th in their power poll, only down a spot.

• He's tied for first among defensemen in scoring this year and is second over the past 7, trailing only Nik Lidstrom, yet is not on the All-Star ballot, maybe that's because people call his position defenseman, not forward. Still, he should be on the ballot, those All-Star games don't have any defense.
• Sid echoes my response if someone tried to doll me up in black leather jackets for a few pics. At least he keeps a good head about him despite all the extra things he does off the ice that we don't normally see:
  

  "I'll wear whatever you want, but I wouldn't usually wear this stuff," said Crosby, who arrived in jeans, a T-shirt, a gray hoodie and a Reebok ballcap.

• They're still here!!! The Bucs may roll out the carpet for Gary Varsho today!! Bring back the golden ages. This must mean that Cecil Espy and Joe Orsulak will be coaches too.
• A new Q&A on the Bucs site where fans continue to get all hepped up if marginal Jack Wilson were ever to leave the Burgh. Of course in the same Q&A fans ask about bringing back Jason Kendall and Barry Bnds - what is it with former Pirates coming back? Get over it! Especially Kendall, who didn't leave town a second too early. Thank goodness we have someone named Jenifer Langosch, who lets us know she'll be watching the Missouri/Kansas football game on Saturday (great! Welcome to big time college football guys, while you're at it, maybe you can get over that Civil War thing), to assure us that:
  

  The change in the Pirates' general manager and manager seems to have increased the chances that Wilson will remain with the team next season. So, too, does the fact that the Pirates decided not to exercise the option on Cesar Izturis' contract. Wilson wants to stay, and the rifts that had begun to form between he and the former management should be a non-issue now.

• Two more Steeler questions:
• Are teams taking advantage of Troy's aggressive freelancing? Seems like he's trying to read plays and bust plays up but is getting burned by missed tackles or bad reads.
• Ok, the o-line wasn't responsible for all 7 sacks on Sunday (the WRs, TEs and RBs weren't exactly blameless), but in conjunction with their inability to run the football, is this the worst Steeler o-line we;ve seen since the 6-10 2003 team which had so many injuries that Faneca was forced to play tackle for 6 games? That team didn't make the playoffs BTW, despite having Tommy Maddox at the helm.
  

PFW: Offensive line not getting it done for Steelers

What Big Ben could hide by scrambling and Willie Parker could overcome by sprinting around end against poor defenses can no longer be hidden, the 2007 Steeler o-line is not good:

In short, the Jets won the battle in the trenches and embarrassed a Pittsburgh offensive line that's coming under more and more criticism.

Steeler fans on Jets' turf

Too much ugliness stemming from yesterday to get into it yet. What 24 hours ago looked like a special year, helped by a weak remaining schedule, has turned into a bizarre one leaving no room for error. My thoughts will come eventually I guess, but first some of the only good news to come out of the game yesterday: Steeler fans make another stadium their own, from Ian O'Connor:

In losing seasons past, Jets' fans have quit making the brutal commute from Long Island and Queens. Only it's hard to recall a takeover of a home Jets' game any more hostile and humiliating than this one.

Random N'@

• Trib's Joe Starkey does a nice summary of Big Ben's top comebacks in his first 50 starts.
• Recchi's fate? He finally sits and the Pens win. If Therrien sticks to his guns, Recchi, Sudor and Armstrong will all sit again tonight vs the Rangers since the Pens won without them in the lineup. Recchi doesn't seem too happy about it:
  

  With a firm shake of his head and a quiet "No," Mark Recchi yesterday declined to talk about being a healthy scratch Thursday night for the Penguins' 3-2 win over the New York Islanders, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

• Hines may not be wrong, but he may be wrong if you ask him which 70s team had the best offense. Most people think the 78 team was the best because they began to throw the ball better and could still run well. But the point of offense is to score points and it is the 75 team that scored the most points in a season, in two less games than the 78 team played. The 75 team was an explosive squad that many people overlook.
• A few days ago, Empty Netters had this post about Sid and Geno's offensive contribution to the Pens being the highest of any two teammates. This was before the Isles game, it would be nice to see an updated table to include Big George's contributions.
  

More Reason to Hate the Pats

Mondesi's House posts an email received from Steeler fan Zane in NYC who had to watch last week's game with a Pats fan. Judging from some of the post-game questions, I don't think this Pats fan is exemplary of all Pats fans, but obviously fans like this do exist:

I was in NYC for business over the past weekend and linked up with the New England rep and his fiancee to watch some football on Sunday. They're Patriot fans. Found out about a Steeler Bar in NYC, Scruffy Duffy's, donned my #36 jersey and headed over. An hour before kickoff, the place is filled with #7, #12, #32, #47, #58, #75, #86...........with more and more by the minute. As game time approaches, the Steeler polka and Here We Go is played. People are singing and my buddy asks me, "Do you know the words to this song?" Of course I do. Game starts and there's passion in the air. Folks are disappointed by the start, but no one has given up. The place is erupting with every key 3rd down pick up and exploding with Ben's touchdown run. After momentarily being silenced by Cribbs' return TD, the place builds up and explodes again with the final TD drive. Final Browns drive. The bar has a wheel that it spins with numbers associated with different plays that will result in a free drink: Interception return for TD, Fumble return for TD. The free drink for the second half was a 50 yard field goal. So as Dawson lines up, a make equals a free drink, and miss equals a victory. Victory is preferred to even a $6 beer and place goes crazy. Here We Go is being blasted again. High five and hugs for people who would be strangers if not for their Steelers garb.

The scene and passion of the past four hours has confused my Patriot friends. As we walk back to our hotel to begin going our seperate ways, the comments I heard were:

- "Why don't we (Patriot fans) have a song?

- "I'm not sure I wouldn't have been rooting for the free beer."

- "Even the girls wear Steeler jerseys. And not those pink ones."

- "You guys (Steeler fans) are crazy."

- "Do you think they have Patriots' bars in other cities?"

I have also come to find out that my buddy bought a Pats #12 jersey on Monday. It's amazing what happens when fans of other teams get a glimpse at the Steeler Nation.

The Doctor Enters the Hall

I remember his first game vividly, it was one of the greatest games I ever attended at the Igloo. Thanksgiving Eve 1987, which back then had an unmatched electricity to them. They were always sellouts, almost like reunions because there were lots of people I knew who were usually at the game, some home from college for the holiday, others looking for a good start to the biggest party night of the year. And in 1987, the electricity was running white hot because the acquisition of Coffey was the first signal that the Pens were serious about making a run for the Cup. Sure they had Mario, but at that point they hadn't even made the playoffs yet and they needed more, and getting Coffey, who had already won three Cups, was the very first step.

I remember when the trade was announced on the news a few days before the game. I was eating dinner with my family and the announcement came over the news. I couldn't eat anymore and was so excited I had to get up from the table. Nobody else at the table understood what this meant, but after following the Pens since the mid to late 70s, this was a sign of change a sign of good times to come. Later, trades would bring Barrasso, Mullen and of course Ulfie and Francis, but PC was the first sign. And on Thanksgiving Eve 1987 we wanted to see him in person.

Sitting in B-17, the game didn't start well vs the Nordiques. Trailing 4-0 in the second period was not the way we envisioned the beginning of our climb to the Cup. But then the Doctor opened up his office and chipped in three assists and the Pens stormed back to win 6-4. It was a magical game on a special night that would be a harbinger of things to come for a long beleaguered franchise and this was it's first step.

Congrats again to PC, #77, The Doctor, and the smoothest skater ever.

Pens issues

Despite their 3-2 win over the Isles tonight, Kevin Allen of USA Today has a good article about the Pens, basically advising everyone to calm down since the Pens are a young team. All this semi-panic reminds me of last year when rumors of Therrien's firing were running rampant before they went on that unbeaten streak.

The part I like most of Allen's column is this:

The most fascinating aspect of the Penguins' struggle is that it provides us the first opportunity to gauge what kind of administrator general manager Ray Shero will be. Because this is his first GM job, we have no history to review.

But my hunch is Shero will be able to walk the fine line between aggressiveness and panic. I believe he will continue to look for scoring wingers, and I believe he will continue to be patient with Fleury. I believe he will be more patient with Fleury than his coach seems to be. I think if Shero believed Fleury needed an older goalie playing beside him, he would have acquired one last summer. The most interesting aspect of the Fleury debate is that it seems like everyone has forgotten that he won 40 games last season at age 21. It also seems like the hockey world has forgotten that Carolina's Cam Ward won the Stanley Cup two years ago, struggled mightily last season, and now is back performing effectively again.

If the Penguins did want to deal Fleury, there would be a long line of suitors, and it's entirely possibly they would feel the aftershocks of that trade for years to come.