Okay... now that you have recovered from passing out.
Ouch. That hurt. What a brutal schedule.
I guess that's what happens when you win the division.
But hey, lets look at it this way. If the Steelers are going to be a great team they are going to have to beat great teams.
If the Steelers can hang around, beat the teams I believe they can beat and upset a couple, they will be right in the hunt. Finishing the season with the Ravens, Titans and Browns isn't an awful finish either.
To any potential readers.. I have been out of town, not lazy. I assure you this kind of absence will not occur again. I was at a friends lakehouse that had no TV, no phone reception and no computer of any sort. Still fun.
But...
If I had known the news about Bugsy Malone and Scary Gary I would have returned to my house to write here, then curl into the fetal position and cried myself to sleep. At least we got something for it.
Tough to see those guys go... but we knew it was coming.
I also got a bar of service while on my trip for about one minute. This excited me. Until I heard that Or-prick declined our offer. Hey, he deserves his money... I guess.
Hopefully we resign somebody. Hopefully.
Since WWGRD? and Malone are not coming back, it would be nice to see Hossa, Malkin, Flower and Orpik resign. As well as the role players. Let's not forget about all the role players who have meant so much to the squad.
___
Also, I attended the 10-0 beat-down the Yankees laid on the Bucs. You could see why they are the Yankees and why we are the Pirates. (No pictures taken... sorry.)
Something seems to be brewing with these Pirates. Possibly an above .500 record after 162 games? That remains to be seen. If they can keep the trend of playing well after the All-Star Break then who knows?
If only Pittsburgh was in California...
Pirates: 38-42.
They would be in 2nd place. 2.5 games back of first. Wow.
___
39 days til...
Joey Porter won't be there... neither will Donovan McNabb probably. He'll be injured.
I'm not sure I have ever felt better leaving a Pirates game tonight. To me, tonight's win was up there with Francisco Cordova/Ricardo Rincon throwing a combined no-hitter a few years back (I was there as well).
Tonight was special. No doubt.
Yankees Payroll- $209 million per year Pirates Payroll- $49 million per year
(For you math majors I believe thats a $160 million difference.)
Huge.
I'm not going to talk about each run and pitch. I won't talk about the fact that the Yankees left 17 runners on base or that the Pirates had 19 hits.
No.
Instead I am going to talk about the event. Not the game. The event. I was reading a fellow bloggers blog about tonights game from "Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke" (check it out-good stuff). The writer basically said that for this night, it felt like it was 1960 all over again.
Billy Maz threw out the first pitch. I felt like he should put on the No. 9 jersey and step up to the plate. It made me desire to actually have the ability to go back in time and see it for myself.
The game was sold out. Third largest attendance in PNC Park history. Sure, it was about 25% Yanks fans. So what. It was sold out. It reminded me of how baseball should be played- With everyone watching, with no empty seats. I felt like I was there when Maz hit that homer to win the World Series and I will never forget that feeling.
Just for tonight, baseball reclaimed its title as "America's Game." At least in my mind and my heart.
... ... ...
Okay enough of this sentimental baseball crap. Here are some pics. (And believe me this is the only time I will ever use the phrase "in my mind and my heart.")
Yankee fans are tools. A-Rod Sucks. So does Jeter. Don't forget Giambi.
WWGRD? He'd not come back to the Penguins apparently. This sad news story broke late last night. Roberts agent says that he would like to continue playing in the NHL, but does not feel he will be back to the Penguins.
Last season Roberts pulled in $2.5 million to be a 4th liner. Thats way too much money. Gary is a great leader for the young team and an energetic player... but the numbers simply aren't there. This will continue to open up cap space for the Pens, despite Marian Hossa deciding to test the free agent market.
While I am convinced that NO ONE is reading my blog... I will attempt to make this more mainstream... by including links to my site via Facebook, Xanga and Myspace. Advertisement is necessary.
Also, I would like to give a "shout-out" to the guys over at Pensblog. (A part of blogger). If you are a Penguins fan or a hockey fan in general it would be a great site to check out.(Link to their page on the right side of my page). They update at least once everyday. I hope somewhere down the road this blog turns into something 1% as good as what they have created. Kudos gentlemen. Now go give some Free Candy.
I also would like to tell people of a certain favorite Pens-related youtuber. Search "Yinz luv da 'guins" and you will be amazed. Jim Shearer and the gang did a great job throughout the playoffs with their videos. Also kudos.
And finally, I will be moving into a new apartment in Oakland (not California) in a matter of weeks with a friend of mine. With the Steelers season quickly approaching and the possibility of my friend having a video camera... I am considering using the inspiration I received from Mr. Shearer and Co and make a weekly video of the Steelers. It will be called "How Bout Dem Stillers n'at." Or something. This is a tentative idea. I have a Macbook so I could do the videos on iMovie and film through my built in camera... but you see too many turds doing that nowadays. So hopefully we can pull off something similar to YLDG.
Some recent news:
Don Imus is back at it. He was having an on-air discussion about Adam "Criminal" Jones of the Dallas Cowgirls. He basically ended up asking what "color" Jones is, and when told "African-American," he replied "Well there ya go!" Bad move Don. Especially after the whole Rutgers Fiasco that lost you multiple jobs. Just don't say things like that.
Apparently..... Imus says that he meant that the police are picking on Jones because he is black and that is what he meant by "Well there ya go!" Raise your hand if you buy that. My hand is down.
Olympics start soon. They have never really excited me. But I will spend my summer watching them anyways, no doubt.
On a side note:
One perk of a great job... I met Willie Parker briefly the other day. Really cool guy.
With all this said... it is time to get back to Pittsburgh sports.
Friday night I attended the Pirates/Blue Jays game. I almost fell asleep sitting in $9 nosebleed seats watching a 0-0 game go into the 12th inning. But it was okay because I was with some friends and it was fireworks night... plus dem Bucco's won in the 12th.
Tomorrow I will be attending the Pirates/Yankees game. I am very excited for this, as I have never seen the Yankees play in person. Hopefully the Pirates pull this one out too... (Pictures to come)
In closing... I will be giving a little preview for the Steelers upcoming season in the next couple weeks. It's promised to be my best work here yet.
Well well well.... Celtics in 6 over the Lakers. Where have I seen that before... Oh wait. I predicted that. I also correctly predicted the matchups in the Conference Finals.
Ok, enough tooting my own horn here. Lets get serious. I hate the NBA. Correction: I hate what it has become that is. Here is why:
AKA
Both of these men are an embarrassment to the game of basketball. Why? 1) Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games which he officiated. Last I heard he could get up to 25 years of jail time. (Probably will be 100 hours of community service) 2) While I think Tim Donaghy is the meaning of the phrase "douche-bag," I also feel as if his claim that the NBA rigs games is 100% accurate. Which means that ole Davie and Timmy should be Cellmates.
Except not nearly as cool.
Thats my beef on the NBA. Watch highlights from Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals and tell me that something isn't wrong.
Maybe I went a little overboard... but I don't care. When you mess up the purity of sports like that you deserve to be called out.
The Penguins season ended Wednesday night in the 'burgh when the Detroit Red Wings hung on to win 3-2 in a dramatic game 6. Originally I was planning on writing a blog about the finals, critiquing the Pens and what not... but I have had a change of heart. I have come to realize that in order to win a great team may have to lose first. The Wings were the better team, and they justly deserve to win, no matter how much that hurts to say. We didn't have the better team, but we had one hell of a good one. Who knows what players will be back next year, if we may never see WWGRD? again, or if this was Marian Hossa's last hoorah in his short stint this season with the Pens.
All I know is that no matter how many Stanley Cups the Pens may win over the next few years, I will never forget this run. This run has brought back hockey to Pittsburgh and has united thousands of people. As much as I love the Steelers, I have to say I was more concerned with winning this Cup than I was 3 seasons ago in our Super Bowl run. It's safe to say that WE are the best fans in hockey. At least in this country. This is now a football and hockey city. ========================================================
So, I wanted to create some list.. of the best moments from this season... I wanted it to be a 5 point list... but I can't narrow it down. There were too many memories, too many hardships overcome, too many victories to number down to 5, or even 10. Instead I will give you 14 moments from this season which I feel were phenomenal.
14. The trade for Hossa, Dupuis and Gill- Even though there was controversy in this... it was hard to hear anyone saying the name Colby Armstrong in the playoffs. I love Colby and his game... but Hossa is a superstar... and Dupuis is just as good as Colby. But this moves to #14 because losing a guy like Colby was a sad day... but an exciting one nonetheless. And Hal Gill has been great!
13. November 22 vs. Senators- Fleury goes down with a high ankle sprain. Danny Sabourin comes in the game. Jarkko Ruutu wins it in a shootout 6-5.
12. March 16 vs Flyers- The Pens blast the Flyers 7-1 without Crosby in the lineup and score 7 goals for the second game in a row.
11. December 8 vs. Canucks- The Pens go 3-0 against Western Canada, winning 2-1 in a shootout, Newcomer Kris Letang wins the game in the shootout, his second in a row. Letang would come to be known as Mr. Shootout. (see video below)
10. January 19 vs Canadiens- The Penguins hit the road after losing their captain Sidney Crosby to a serious leg injury (another high ankle sprain). They end up shutting out Montreal 2-0, showing that there is life without Sid.
9. April 16 vs. Senators- The Penguins get revenge on the team that eliminated them one year ago by sweeping the Senators.
8. June 4 vs. Red Wings- We watched the season end. We agonized, some may have cried... but we knew one thing. We knew that this would not be the end. We watched our boys almost come back to tie the game. They never quit. A team overmatched, being outplayed, being dominated almost forced a game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals. As the Conn Smythe MVP trophy was presented, the fans chanted "Fleury" and "Crosby." People knew that this team is going to go all the way eventually, just not this season.
7. May 13 vs. Flyers- The Penguins, with a 2-0 lead already in the series, all but wrap it up by dominating the Flyers in front of a hostel crowd in a 4-1 win to give the Pens a 3-0 lead in the State Championship Series.
6. April 25 vs Rangers- The first "whiteout of the Penguins season." The Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game. But, the Pens would battle back, scoring 2 pairs of goals less than 20 seconds apart from each other. The Rangers would tie it up but Evgeni would redirect a Crosby slapshot into the net late in the game to give the Pens a 5-4 win and a 1-0 series lead.
5. May 4 vs. Rangers- A tough battle all game leads both teams into overtime, the first time the Pens would see overtime in the playoffs. Malkin would score a fantastic goal during regulation on the backhand. In the overtime, Marian Hossa would score his second goal of the game to win the game 3-2 and the series 4-1.
4. May 18 vs. Flyers- Game 5 of the Eastern Finals would not be much of a contest. The Pens would rip the rival Flyers to pieces in a 6-0 win, propelling them to their first Cup Finals in 16 years.
3. May 28 vs. Red Wings- Game 3 was back in Pittsburgh. The Penguins were down 2-0 and had not scored a goal all series. The Penguins, led by Sidney Crosby's 2 goals and a jam in by an unlikely hero Adam Hall to win the game 3-2, to cut the series to 2-1.
2. January 1 vs. Sabres- New Years Day. The Winter Classic. And a classic it was. One of the most dramatic games in regular season NHL history. It was outside, in Buffalo and snowing. 70,000+ filled the Ralph Wilson Stadium, making it the largest hockey game in history. The Penguins would jump out to an early lead with a goal by Colby Armstrong. But the Sabres would tie it up, sending it to overtime. The overtime produced no winner, so a shootout was called upon. With "the game on his stick" and a 1-1 tie in the shootout, the last shooter Sidney Crosby stood at center ice. The snow was falling, the players were freezing. And the Kid took off. He moved slower than usual towards the net. He deeked, and shot the puck. Time stood still. No call. Then, as if it was sent down by the hockey gods, the referee pointed. Crosby wins it. Fantastic game... unique and traditional. Unforgettable.
1. June 2 vs. Red Wings- The Pens would face elimination for the first time, and would overcome. It will be forever known as the game that Petr Sykora called his shot. With 34 seconds left in the game, the champagne on ice, the Champion T-Shirts in the locker room, the crowd smelling victory an the Cup itself getting a last second shine, Max Talbot would end all of that. Talbot jammed the puck into the net, to tie the game and send it to overtime. The overtime will always be remembered by the performance by Marc Andre Fleury. It was Fleury's coming out party. He would stop 55 shots, including an incredible toe save to keep the Pens alive. Half way through the second OT, Petr Sykora looked at NBC announcer Pierre McGuire and said that he would score the winner. Mid way through the third OT, Sykora did just that, giving the Pens a 4-3 win and sending the series back to Pittsburgh stunning the Detroit crowd.
Never forget what this season meant to the city and to it's people. Hockey is back in the 'burgh... and it's going to be here for a long time.
I am a Junior Broadcast Journalism major at Point Park University, in Pittsburgh, PA. I love all sports... especially those played by Pittsburgh teams.
