Pittsburgh @ Philtydelphia Tonight @ 7

The Pittsburgh Penguins need to stop the bleeding before it's too late. Philly is a nice place to start a winning streak. Is it time to Panic? Yes. Should there be a coaching change if the bleeding doesn't stop? Yes. Should the Pens leave Miroslav Satan behind after the game? Yes. Instead of recalling Paul Bissonnette from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, should the Pens have recalled Janne Pesonen? Yes. All easy answers if you ask me. Now it's time. Enough is enough. Go Pens!

Go Fuck Yourself, San Diego

GO STEELERS!

BREAKING NEWS: Pirates, Others To Leave MLB

It was announced late this afternoon that the Pittsburgh Pirates and several other Major League Baseball teams will leave MLB and form the new Semi-Pro Baseball Association. The Pirates, along with the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins, Oakland A's, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, and Cleveland Indians will start the new SPBA after the 2009 MLB season is over. The new league will consist of two divisions and have a salary cap. "This is a great day for the city of Pittsburgh, the Pirates, and their fan" said Pittsburgh CEO and principal owner Bob Nutting. Each team will have a salary cap of $60 million and the cap will increase 3-5% for the first three years. "Every smart baseball fan knows that the current system in Major League Baseball is unfair and this is something that needed to be done" explained Kansas City General Manager Dayton Moore. The SPBA will play a 81 game season with the winner of both divisions playing a best-of-3 series to determine a champion. "We still don't know what to call our new championship series, but considering it's teams from the United States, we sure won't be calling it the World Series" Nutting said. The Los Angeles Angels, who are one of MLB's bigger spenders, surprised some by leaving MLB to join the SPBA. "Los Angeles should only have one Major League team so that's why we are excited about the opportunity to be a part of the SPBA" former California Angels owner and the dead Gene Autry said. As the spending on free agents has become harder and harder for some teams to compete, these ten teams saw no other resolution than to form another league. "When teams are giving good defensive players but weak hitters $6 million a year, like a Jack Wilson for example, how can all 30 teams stay competitive?" asked Nutting. When informed that the Pirates are the team that actually did that, Nutting referred all questions to former CEO Kevin McClatchy. When told that McClatchy is no longer a part of the Pirates, Nutting jumped off the Clemente bridge.

"You're no Jesus...

...Yeah, you're no fucking Elvis" Incubus- Megalomanic, 2004.


Today is The King's birthday. If he was alive (or is he?) Elvis would be 73. I was 4 when he died so this is not the place to look for Elvis knowledge. I have none. But in honer of his birthday, let's quote some songs with "Elvis" in the lyrics.

"Elvis was a hero to most, But he never meant shit to me you see, Straight up racist that sucker was simple and plain, Mother fuck him and John Wayne" Public Enemy- Fight The Power, 1989

"Cause Junior's still living in the blackboard jungle with his Elvis Presley hair" Leon Russell- Shoot Out On The Plantation, 1970

" And Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand, I always kinda sorta wished I looked like Elvis" The Gaslight Anthem- High Lonesome, 2008

"I don't believe that Elvis is dead" Bush- Everything Zen, 1994


If you can think of any more, please leave them in the comments section.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

The Pens finally won a game last night. WooHoo!. Don't get too excited, Atlanta is the worst team in the NHL.





Penn State upset #14 Purdue 67-64 last night in State College. The Lions opened up a 15 point lead early and hung on for the win. Don't get too excited, Purdue played without two starters including their leading scorer.







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Sean's Ramblings turns 4! It seemed like just yesterday...

Check Out Friday Morning Riffs, a new music blog.

Ruutu suspended- Empty Netters

and finally... Go Pens! Go Lions!

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is angry, mean, and makes you want to fight. Maybe this should be played before tonight's Pens game at the igloo because that team looks lifeless. Anyway here is Hollywood Undead with Undead. And I thought this whole rock/rap thing was behind us. Oh No!

TIGO's Top 5 Albums Of 2008

Here are TIGO's top five albums of 2008.


#5. Kings Of Leon- Only By The Night. KOL seems to be releasing albums on a yearly basis. Good thing. I have always been a HUGE Kings fan and while this album is not as raw sounding as others, it's nonetheless outstanding. This band is ignored by American radio stations and that's a shame. From the opening track Closer, to straight out rock jams like Crawl, KOL proves more than ever they need to be heard. The band has a big female following and with lyrics like "But it's not forever, But it's just tonight, Oh we're still the greatest, The greatest, The greatest" from the bands single Sex On Fire it's easy to see why. A great album from a great AMERICAN band!
Download: Crawl, Sex On Fire, Be Somebody



#4. Stone Rider- Three Legs Of Trouble. Released in January of 2008, Stone Rider started the year off right. While listing to this you would think it was 1976 all over again. Classic rock with some southern rock mixed in, this is the album Axl Rose wished he made. A true bar band, Stone Rider sounds like a mix of Jimi Hendrix and 1990 era Black Crows. Buy this now and crank it up to 11.
Download: Ramble Down, Wild Child, Back From The Dead


#3. My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges. If you are a fan of music and still haven't heard Evil Urges then you my friend are not a fan of music at all. I admit, I always thought My Morning Jacket was a jam band, and man was I wrong. MMJ has a sound like no other band out there, sometimes sounding like Prince (back when Prince was good) other times sounding like Crosby, Stills and Nash, but always sounding like MMJ. This album may take repeat listens, but in the end it is all worth it.
Download: I'm Amazed, Evil Urges, Sec Walkin'


#2. The Hold Steady- Stay Positive. How many bands out there release four albums and go four for four? Add The Hold Steady to that list. With good lyrics and a garage rock sound, The Hold Steady is constantly being compared to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and they should be. If you are in your 30's and still don't know what you want out of life, give Stay Positive a spin. You will soon realize that you are not alone.
Download: Sequestered in Memphis, Constructive Summer, Navy Sheets


#1. The Whigs- Mission Control. The Whigs are a three piece rock band from Athens, Ga. and also have a southern rock style to them. At times The Whigs sound like Neil Young and at times sound like (dare I say it) Nirvana. But that's where the comparisons end. Good 'ole Rock N Roll never sounded so fresh and fun. Overlooked by just about every major music magazine, Mission Control is strong from start to finish. How many albums have you heard this year that you can say that?
Download: Right Hand On My Heart, Like A Vibration, Already Young, heck buy the whole damn thing!

Penn State Gets Destroyed, So Does My Liver

By the time the Rose Bowl started I was feeling no pain. By halftime, I was seeing double. The 2008 Penn State Nittany Lions picked the wrong time to make so many mistakes. Anthony Scirrotto pissed me off every time I looked at him. What a horrible game for the senior to go out on. USC could have easily scored 60 but Pete Carroll is all class. We decided to do a shot every time Penn State scored. That quickly changed to every time USC scored and that was a lot of shots before halftime. The final score does not indicate how much of a mismatch this was. Overall, what a great season for the Lions. Too bad it ended in such a disaster.





The Pens played Boston again last night but I have no recollection of the game and I watched most of it. For a good post game wrap up check out The Wicked Wrister. Even the title of the post is classic!






PensFans4Ever is giving away 102.3 The Mountain T-Shirts. Don't miss out, get yours today.






Read This
One For The Other Thumb is up to his ears in dog shit.

A Rock Of Love 3 fantasy league? The world is truly coming to an end. Sean's Ramblings

Bracket Busters keeps you up to date with teams who are going to crash the dance.

Check out Pomp Culture's year in review.

and finally... it's freakin' cold out. I need a snuggie!

TIGO's Super Terrific Last Post Of 2008

For our last post of the year, let's gamble! We will start with tomorrow's bowl games. As always, bet the farm because I never lose. (DISCLAIMER: I ALWAYS LOSE)


Outback Bowl Iowa -4 vs South Carolina. Iowa beat Penn State so they must be the better team. Lay the 4

Gator Bowl Clemson -2 vs Nebraska. Take the points. Nebraska wins outright

Capitol One Bowl Georgia -8.5 vs Michigan State. Bet the bank (get it... I'm so clever) on the Spartans. The Big Ten represents!

Rose Bowl Southern Cal -10 vs Penn State. Duh! The Lions prove they deserve a shot at the National Title. Penn State wins by 3. Take the Lions

Orange Bowl Cincinnati -2.5 vs Virginia Tech. I love VT in this one. The line is moving in the Bearcats favor so that just proves how dumb I am. Take the points, you might need them. Tech wins big in an upset.

Cotton Bowl Texas Tech -5 vs Mississippi. Does Texas Tech even want to play in this game? Hell yeah. Lay the 5. Tech wins by 3 touchdowns.

Liberty Bowl East Carolina -3 vs Kentucky. If this was a basketball game I may watch. Take the ECU Pirates just because they are the Pirates.

Sugar Bowl Alabama -10 vs Utah. The Utes are every one's darling team this year. Watch them get destroyed by 'Bama. Lay the 10. Hell, lay 20 if you want.

International Bowl Connecticut -6 vs Buffalo. The what bowl? Where is this being played, Iraq? I'll take Buffalo just because I hate the Big East. That's a good enough reason.

Fiesta Bowl Texas -9 vs Ohio State. Ohio State has a lot to prove. Many people think the Buckeyes shouldn't have gotten a BCS game. I hate Ohio State, but only when they play Penn State so take the points for a backdoor cover.

GMAC Bowl Ball State -2 vs Tulsa. I once had a car loan from GMAC and they suck. So does this game. Ball State is overrated. Take the points.

BCS Championship Game Florida -3 vs Oklahoma. This should be one hell of a game, for the first half anyway. Florida pulls away late and covers the 3.

Happy New Year from This Is Getting Old. Good Luck!

Which Band Has Gayer Album Cover?

Here are your choices.
Orleans- Walking and Dreaming. Best known for their song Still The One. 1976



or...
Steam. Best know for their song Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye. A song you still here at every sporting event to this day. 1969

Online Surveys & Market Research

Bobblehead Of The Week

It seems that Sid The Kid forgot how to score. Well, that WILL change tonight against Montreal. This is Crosby's 2007 All-Star bobblehead from Forever Collectibles. Light the lamp!

Penguins @ Devils Tonight @ 7

The Pens play tonight in Jersey. It's been a while since they played because they sure as hell didn't against Tampa the other day. Malkin and Crosby are 1-2 in the league in scoring and they get shut out AT HOME against Tampa Bay! The Power Play sucks, their Power Kill is worse and this team better get it together fast.

Ho...Ho...

Ho!



Vanassa Hudgens is a slut, according to Zimbio.com. No shit. Really? I was watching High School Musical for the great acting and dancing. Wait, I never seen High School Musical. Hmmm... maybe I should. I love whores.

Penn State, Penguins, and a Great Bowl Game

Penn State plays Sacred Heart tonight at 7. The game is not on TV but there will be a live stream on The Big Ten Network's web site. I couldn't find a line on the game so I'll make up my own. Penn State is a 30 point favorite. I'll take Sacred Heart. I have a feeling PSU won't put this game away until late.




The Pens return home tonight to face Tampa Bay. Ryan Whitney will see his first ice time of the season. Kris Letang will not be in the line-up. Ryan Malone, Mark Recchi, and Gary Roberts also return to Pittsburgh as the enemy.





TCU takes on Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl. Both teams deserved a better bowl than this. Other than the Rose Bowl, this just may be the best bowl game of the year. Boise is a 3 point favorite. I'll take TCU





and finally... The guys at Doubt About It have called it quits. DAI, along with the rest on the blogroll, was read everyday by myself and I will miss their humor. Good Luck to all of you! Read their final post. You may agree or disagree with it but read it anyway. The only thing I disagreed with was the link exchange comment. I for one am glad that all of the bloggers linked my site with theirs because I read them everyday and I am thankful for that. Without them I would still be getting my Pittsburgh sports news from ESPN and other sites who have no passion.

My New Favorite Song This Week

Here is Sway from The Kooks. Great song.

Dock Ellis Dead At Age 63

Dock Ellis, the former Pirates pitcher who claimed he was on LSD when he threw a no-hitter, died Friday from cirrhosis of the liver, not LSD. No one dies from LSD.

What Would You Do With Scarlett Johansson's Snots?

So, Scarlett Johansson has a cold and blew her nose on The Tonight Show. No big deal, right? Wrong. That tissue is now up for bid on ebay. Oh the things I would do to that tissue. Some people have WAY too much money. At last look the highest bid was at $2,151.

Wait... one more because there is never enough of her.

There, that's better. You're Welcome

Penguins In The News

From The Scranton Times: WILKES-BARRE – City police reported the following:

Members of the Wilkes-Barre Fire Department reported a male suspect was in front of the fire station on North Washington Street and was having an altercation with an inflatable penguin just before 2 a.m. Saturday, police said.

The male, Kristopher Manick, was allegedly found to be highly intoxicated, police said. He was arrested and cited for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, police said.

TIGO's Top 5 Songs Of 2008

Here are the top 5 songs of 2008:


#5 MGMT- Time To Pretend A song about hitting the big time. Maybe MGMT (pronounced Management) is unknown to some but these guys had the best synthpop song of the year. With lyrics like "Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives" this song was all about the big dream. And it works. Any song about living fast and dying young are always welcome.

#4 The Blakes- Two Times What do you get when you put The Strokes, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The White Stripes and any garage band in the blender? The answer is The Blakes. Although their self-titled album was good, this song stood out from the rest. With lyrics like "You think I'm two times doing you wrong. Cocaine and drugs and alcohol" bands like The Blakes tend to fade away without ever hearing from them again. And that's just not right. You can watch the video here.

#3 Vampire Weekend- Oxford Comma If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know how bad I am at punctuation. This has nothing to do with how good this song is. VW started 2008 off with a bang and this song is what sold me. "Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma" anyway? Not me.

#2 The Hold Steady- Sequestered in Memphis Hold Steady albums should be taken in as a whole. That being said, Sequestered in Memphis had to be the song I listened to the most this year. Organs, horns, pianos, guitars all blended together to become their best song yet. "In bar light, she looked all right. In day light, she looked desperate". Amen brother.

#1 The Raconteurs- Carolina Drama Someone once said that every song tells a story. If that's true, then this is the story of the year. Jack White has always been a great songwriter, but Carolina Drama blew my mind. Every now and then a song comes along that sends chills down your spine and makes the hair on your arms stand up. You have a mother's drunk boyfriend, a priest, a murder, and the milkman. Brilliant. Fucking. Brilliant.


There you have it, my top songs of 2008. I would love to see your top songs of the year. Please leave them in the comments section.

Comcast Sucks!

Picking on Comcast has become a hobby of mine. Comcast REFUSES to add ESPNU to it's sports tier. The reason? Well ESPN wants Comcast to also add ESPN360, you know the site where you can watch live games for free. The problem with Comcast is that they already have a sports site where you can watch games for free. Yeah, shit games. You get to see Delaware, Hofstra, and a bunch of other small D-1 schools. Comcast's sport tier does have the NFL Network which is a must this time of year. It also has the NHL Network, which is the only place to see NHL highlights. Then it's gets weak. They have Fox College Sports which doesn't show much, plus the main game of the day is usually on FSN Pittsburgh. They have the Golf Channel if that's your thing and something called NBA TV. Not sure what that is. It looks like basketball but with a lot of big guys and not that much dribbling. The reason why I'm bringing this up is that the Penn State-Army game is on ESPNU tonight. Now I know Army sucks and Penn State should win this game, but after watching them play Temple, I'm not so sure Penn State is a lock. That game was so boring I'm not even sure why I'm bitching that I can't watch this game. Anyway, this Internet thing is pretty neat so there is always a way to watch anything you want, without Comcast. Check out Justin.Tv. I'm sure it will be on there somewhere. Go Lions!



The Pens play the Devils tonight at 7 in New Jersey. There was a lot of roster moves today some don't be surprised if you don't know who the hell these guys are. We still have 87 and 71. Go Pens!





The Baby Pens are also playing tonight at Norfolk against the Admirals. All WBS Penguins games can be heard online at 102.3 The Mountain. I'm sure there's a lot of new faces there as well. Go Pens!






and finally... Be sure to check out TIGO's year end music review in the next few days. We will start with the top 5 songs of 2008 and finish with the top 5 albums of 2008. See, I'm not that lazy.

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is from Dr. Dog. From their Cd Fate this is The Old Days. The only thing I could find was a live version which is not as good as the album version. Enjoy!

Temple @ Penn State Today @ 6

Penn State hosts Temple tonight at 6pm. The Nittany Lions are 7-1 and coming off an impressive win at Georgia Tech in front of a national audience. The Lions did get lucky with their horrendous free throw shooting down the stretch. That must change from the Lions if they want to keep winning. Temple comes into the game with a 3-3 record with wins against East Tennessee, Charleston and Lafayette. Their 3 losses came from Clemson, Buffalo, and Miami(OH). Penn State is just a 4 point favorite. The game can be seen on the Big Ten Network. Go Lions!




I just noticed the Pens are on. Who the hell plays hockey games on a Saturday afternoon? That's right, Ottawa. How queer does that city's name sound? The Pens just scored on a PP and now trail 2-1 late in the 2nd period. This team seems to always fall behind early and then make a comeback so I guess I'll miss some of the SEC Championship game. Fuck... Spezza just scored his 3rd goal of the game and now it's 3-1 after 2.



and finally... It's a bad day if you live in Amsterdam

Isn't It Ironic?

Barry Bonds was the best player that I have ever seen who wore a Pirates uniform. I was alive when Stargell played but way too young to appreciate him. Clemente, well I wish I could have witnessed that. As much a I hated Bonds when he left for San Fran, I still always watched their games closely because of him. Nowadays, Bonds has made a fool of himself and in my opinion blackballed from baseball. The Pirates may have the worst attendance in PNC Park's history next season. Neal Huntington should sign Bonds so we have a reason to come out the the ball game. Other than bobblehead night.

Don't you think?

Penn State @ Georgia Tech Tonight @ 7:30

The Nittany Lions play the 4-0 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets tonight at 7:30. The game will be on ESPN2. Penn State is coming off a disappointing 77-72 loss to Rhode Island in the Philly Hoops Classic. Georgia Tech may be 4-0 but they have had an even weaker schedule to start the season than PSU. The Jackets last played Jacksonville and barely came out a winner. For a better game preview, check out Crispin and Cream for all things Penn State basketball. GT is currently an 8 point favorite.


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A funny take on Sean Avery and his "sloppy seconds" comment [Clark & Heptner]

The Penguins play the Rangers tonight at MSG. Check out Puck Huffers, a penguins blog that is quickly becoming one of my favorites

An Open Letter To Plaxico Burress [Cardinals Diaspora]

Cyber Monday

Today is Cyber Monday, the day us lazy people go online and shop. I already got two gifts out the way, both with free shipping! If you have some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, here is my list of Christmas gifts you can get me.

How cool, a 1988 Yugo GVX. I always wanted a Yugo. Click here ,but hurry, the auction ends soon.







How about a Samsung 55" HDTV? Save over $800 if you get it at Best Buy . Just choose to pick it up at the Dickson City store and I'll go get it. Thanks!









If you know me, then you know I have a thing for bobbleheads, figurines, and even those Starting Lineup action figures. It's kind of embarrassing, actually. That's why you should get me this. Then I can say that all of them were gifts.





As of today I don't have any plans for New Years Eve. You can help change that by sending me here.







And as always, I take cash.

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is from The Ting Tings. The song is called That's Not My Name.

The Ting Tings-That's Not My Name - The top video clips of the week are here

Pittsburgh and Scranton

Pittsburgh was named the best city in the state to raise your child and Scranton was second, according to Business Week magazine. You can read about it here. I've been saying for years that Scranton is a mini Pittsburgh. We both have the Pens, although we have to share them with that cesspool of a city Wilkes-Barre. We both have great restaurants and bars. Both cities are ignoring the smoking ban. The Steelers are probably the most popular NFL team in Scranton. In fact, Pittsburgh is our AFC team every Sunday. The fact that the Meadowlands is only 2 hours away and Pittsburgh is over 5, that says something. Who wants to watch the Jets anyway? Feel free to add anything I may have missed.

Are You Shittin' Me?

The Penguins are off again tonight so I decided to give my full attention to Penn State. Tonight, the Lions face their toughest game of the young season at Pennsylvania. Penn is 1-2 and Penn State is 4-0. The game is NOT on TV. What the fuck? The Big Ten Network airs the NJIT and New Hampshire games but not this one. Penn State is currently a 4 point favorite, according to Bodog.

Hell Has Frozen Over

I never thought I would see this day. Look up at the sky. There is a good chance pigs are flying around. I hold in my hand the new Guns N' Roses CD Chinese Democracy. After 15 years Axl and the boys, wait, just Axl is finally back. The most surprising thing is that it's good. Correction- GREAT! This sounds like something that should have come out in 1990. Heavy guitars, good tempos, and fist pumping fun. Check out Shackler's Revenge, Riad N' The Bedouins, and There Was a Time. Skip the ballads like Street of Dreams and This I Love. By far Chinese Democracy is better than anything Velvet Revolver ever did. One of the best CD's of 2008.