Marathon Defeat

The Pens suffered a marathon 3 overtime loss Thursday night at Mellon Arena that left everyone banged up, sore, tired, and just in an overall bad mood. Oh, and by the way....Your plane for Ottawa leaves tomorrow. Matt Carkner tipped in the game winner about 7 minutes into the third overtime to give the Sens the 4-3 win and pull them back to 3-2 in the series and going back home for game 6. Of course, that might not be the best thing given the way this series has gone. Only one game so far has been won by the home team, which was the Penguins in game 2. Still, though, this game would have greatly helped the Pens as they have been dealing with injury and fatigue problems. The game started out much like it ended, bad for the Pens. The Senators scored two quick goals by Mike Fisher and Jarkko Ruutu, and it was not until the end of the period that the Pens regained their bearings. Kris Letang scored a powerplay goal to pull the Pens within one. The second was actually quite uneventful until Chris Kunitz poked one past Leclaire that was originally waved off but given back to the Pens after replay review confirmed the goal. Sidney Crosby put the Pens up 3-2 midway through the second with a diving goal that was more than worthy of the highlight reel. The Sens answered right back though when Peter Regin beat Fleury with a long, hard slap shot to tie the game up. This would be the last of the scoring until Carkner's overtime winner. When you simplify the game, it all boiled down to a goaltending battle. And while Fleury played very well (40-44 shots), Pascal Leclaire won the game for Ottawa. He stopped 56 total Penguins shots, and was incredibly sharp in the late stages of regulation and all throughout overtime. If he continues to play like this, closing out the Senators will quite difficult and Brian Elliott may not get his spot back as the starting goalie. Game 6 is Saturday in Ottawa, and while it is not a must win for the Pens, they should try to avoid the Game 7 at all costs.

Guess What? I'm Still a Pirates Fan

The Pirates lost today 20-0 to the Brewers. They were outscored in the three game series 36-1 and have been outscored on the year 111-54. They may just possibly be the worst 7-8 team in the history of professional baseball. But I'm a glass half full kind of guy.

I'm on board with the Neal Huntington plan. I do think some guys on this team can be easily replaced and they will be. Will it get worse? Probably. Not 20-0 bad but bad nonetheless. Huntington really had no choice to blow up the team the way he did. Previous management is what made the Pirates the laughingstock of Major League Baseball. Ever since Barry Bonds packed his bags and left after the 1992 season the Pirates have been rebuilding, and badly at that, until Huntington.

Pedro Alvarez, Jose Tabata and others will soon be here and some of the guys we cheer for now won't be. I'm not saying those guys will turn the franchise around themselves but along with Andrew McCutchen, Brad Lincoln, Tony Sanchez and others the future is brighter than it's been in years.

Maybe the Bucs will get blown out a dozen more times. Maybe they will start to get things in gear. Who knows. I do know that I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. Always will be. That's something I'm proud of. I just can't wait until I can rub it back in every ones face. LETS GO BUCS!

Since all the cool kids are doing it....

..... I figured I'd post a 7 round mock draft. Please note that I may possibly, and will probably hit on exactly zero picks. What the hell though it's fun to try to be a GM and embarrass myself on the internets.

1.18 Earl Thomas, S, Texas
2.52 Brandon Lafell, WR, LSU
3.82 Selvish Capers, OT, WV
4.116 Amari Spievey,CB, Iowa
5.151 Clifton Geathers, DE South Carolina
5.155 Kavell Conner, LB, Clemson
5.164 Joique Bell, RB, Wayne State
5.166 A.J. Jefferson, CB, Fresno State
6.188 Ramon Harewood, OT, Morehouse
7.242 Colin Peek, TE, Alabama

I didn't put any trades in there because I didn't feel like it. In my opinion I would like the Steelers to trade out of the #18th spot because I feel like there is value to be had, especially in the 2nd round. I even threw in the obligatory late TE. I'm sure they will grab a QB sometime as well.

The New Villain

Dan Carcillo, Scott Hartnell, Sean Avery, Chris Neil; these are all names that will most likely get you a scorn look or maybe even a few verbal jeers for even mentioning in downtown Pittsburgh (or to ANY Pens fan for that matter). These are the dirtiest players in the business and to most they are the guys everyone loves to hate. These 4 automatically come to mind as the front runners of that list, but perhaps they now have some company near the top. Meet Senators defenseman Andy Sutton. While he is most noted for his recent encounters with the Pens, he has a history with the fanbase this season dating back to mid-season. Back when Sutton was still with the Islanders, he had a run-in with Pascal Dupuis. He boarded Dupuis head first into the boards knocking him temporarily unconscious and bloody. Sutton was suspended for a few games afterwards, and there was no serious injury for Dupuis. By April, everyone was expected to put it behind them and move on. Time heals all wounds, right? That is true, but what is also true is that history repeats itself. Friday night Jordan Leopold found himself laying temporarily knocked out on the ice due to an "elbow" from none other than Andy Sutton. It has been a heavily debated topic in hockey as to whether Sutton got his elbow up, with a fair amount of people supporting each side. (Personally, I believe he did catch the bottom of Leopold's chin as well as left his feet before impact, but that is only my opinion.) Sutton had nothing more to say about the incident other than "Are you an expert?" repeatedly to the reporter who asked him about it. This interviewing failure made Sutton a Pittsburgh punchline for the next few days, that is until he struck again. Tuesday night Sutton knocked Pens forward Tyler Kennedy out of the game with a hit that was technically clean, but also a bit unnecessary. Regardless of the technicalities of the hits, that is 3 Penguins and 2 in this series. That is more than enough to expect a constant shower of booing when the Pens and the Senators face off Thursday night at Mellon Arena. How Sutton will respond to this is still unknown, but what is known is that there is now a new villain in Pittsburgh.

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins!, PIT vs. OTW (Games 1-4)

Here you go folks. Another episode of Yinz Luv 'Da Guins! from our good friend Jim Shearer.



You can also make a pledge to Jim's Beard-A-Thon here.

Big Ben Suspended

ESPN is reporting that Ben Roethlisberger will face a conditional six game suspension. Adam Schefter has also tweeted that the Steelers are in contact with teams in the top 10 range about trading Ben Roethlisberger.

I personally am not against trading Roethlisberger. I wouldn't just move him to move him though. You need to get a great value in return. It's not every day a top 5 Quarterback is available, especially one that is under control for multiple years. If Brandon Marshall and all his baggage is worth two second rounders, I would be disappointed with less than two firsts for Ben.

Why I would consider trading Ben

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not some Holy Roller, or some outraged fan riding my moral High Horse.

Ben Roethlisberger has been great for the Steelers, this really goes without saying. He has also played all 16 games one time in his 6 year career. His injury history is well known and no one knows what long term effects his motorcycle accident will have. It's a good bet he will not be playing 16 games this season as a suspension seems to be coming.

All that said he is literally an injury or two away from substantially effecting his career. Couple that with his legal troubles and there are no guarantees he doesn't miss chunks of time over the next few years, or declines rapidly in a physical sense.

If you can get two first round and a second round pick for the guy you can literally fill every hole this team has with elite talents. A top ten pick this season will probably still be a top 10 pick next season, even with Ben because first off he would miss at least a few games, secondly he would be going to a dumpy team to begin with. A top ten pick allows you to trade back a bit and possibly get another second rounder this season. That could give you two firsts, three seconds, and really you could probably move up in the third as well using some of your later picks.

Kevin Colbert has shown a complete inability to draft good players on day 2 of the draft, so maybe a top heavy draft, in a non-capped year would be good for this team. That would also give the Steelers two first round picks in a year that their very well could be a rookie salary cap, getting two elite talents for a very low cost.

Target Practice!

The Pens' scorers really came out swinging Tuesday night when they thrashed the Senators 7-4 to take their second straight road victory and take a 3-1 lead in the series. They followed up nicely on their victory Sunday with another solid team performance that saw 11 different people show up on the scoreboard for Pittsburgh. Though Ottawa did manage to get on the board, it was still a good game from Fleury who stopped 26-30 shots. Considering that 2 of these goals were 5 v 3 powerplay goals from Matt Cullen and Jason Spezza then it was actually a solid performance from Fleury. On the offensive note, the Pens managed to chase starting goaltender Brian Elliott after 4 goals and then put an extra 3 up on backup Pascale Leclaire. Evgeni Malkin kicked off the scoring by scoring the lone 1st period goal on the powerplay from a nice pass from Sergei Gonchar. Just when this looked to be a defensive battle, scoring exploded in the second. Less than 4 minutes into the second, Sidney Crosby took a nice poke pass from Chris Kunitz and beat Elliott to put the Penguins up 2-0. Just 12 seconds later, Matt Cooke scored to put the Pens in a commanding 3-0 position. Less than 3 minutes after that, Crosby scored again this time high side to put the Pens up 4 and chase Brian Elliott out of the net. The Senators were not yet prepared to go completely quietly though. Two rather quick goals by Chris Neil and Daniel Alfredsson cut the lead in half and Ottawa received yet another powerplay to cut the deficit to 1. That is when Max "Mr Playoffs" Talbot tipped in a Craig Adams pass for a shorthanded goal that would be the backbreaker for Ottawa. The Senators would score on that powerplay, but it would only be enough to bring the deficit back to 2. Chris Kunitz ripped one past Leclaire with less than 2 minutes left in the second to really put the Pens up huge. The teams would exchange goals in the third, with Spezza scoring for Ottawa and Jordan Staal scoring for the Pens and ending his small scoring draught. The Pens had no trouble lighting the lamp, and Elliott showed some rookie mistakes that Pittsburgh exploited well. It was a 4 point night for Sidney Crosby, who continued to amaze Tuesday night with his usual dazzling skating and puck handling. Chris Kunitz had a 3 point night, assisting on both of Crosby's goals and having Crosby assist on his. It is worth noting that this game did get quite chippy at times. Andy Sutton injured yet another Penguins, this time being Tyler Kennedy. Kennedy left the game early in the second, and did not return for the remainder of the game. There were also 3 Senators players that received misconducts, those being Chris Neil, Jarkko Ruutu, and Matt Carkner. I would not expect any of this animostity to spill over into game 5, though, as the Senators should be focused on getting themselves back into the series. The Pens currently lead the series 3-1 with game 5 Thursday night at Mellon Arena.

As if getting swept by the Buccos wasn't bad enough

MLB has announced that Reds pitcher Edison Volquez has been suspended 50 games for violating their Performance Enhancing Drugs Program. Volquez is currently rehabbing after Tommy John Surgery . It's not confirmed when Volquez will even be back from his surgery this season, and also no word yet on if the drugs were something he took to help aid in his recovery.

You would think being on the Reds he would have asked that Kid Rock looking clown, Bronson Arroyo how to hide it since, judging by his prior comments he seems to know.

Is it time to consider Harrison a prospect?

Last year when the Pirates traded John Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to the Cubs it was generally assumed that the major return in the deal was Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio. The other player they received Josh Harrison was viewed as sort of a fringe prospect with little to no actual MLB upside.

Josh Harrison was taken out of Cincinnati (where he was Big East Co-Player of the Year) in the 6th Round of the 2008 MLB draft by the hated Cubs. He is a small guy, standing just 5'8" and weighing 175 lbs, according to Baseball Reference. He can play multiple infield ( 2B and 3B) and both corner outfield positions. Combined last season he played for three team at two levels (A and A+), putting up a pretty impressive line of .311/.350/.436 with 30 stolen bases but 11 CS. His power wasn't unbelievable, with only 6 homers, but he did hit 28 Doubles and 9 Triples.

He played well enough to make the Opening Day Roster of the AA Altoona Curve. It's said that the real test of a college bat begins at the AA level. Well if early results are any indication his bat will play just fine. After 11 games it could be argued that he is the best bat thus far, he leads the team in batting average at .350 (which is also good for 9th in the Eastern League), OBP at .409 (11th in the Eastern League), and hits with 14 ( 7th in the Eastern League). He still isn't a great baserunner it seems, having 2 CS to 0 SB, and he has yet to hit a homer, but he does have 3 Doubles and a Triple in his 46 PA, but he has shown much more patience at the plate. In his full season last year he walked just once ever 5.69 games, this year he has basically cut that in half thus far, walking once every 2.75 games.

His plate discipline will be the key to his future success. The average has always been around .300 (career .311), and he has good enough speed to hit lots of doubles. If he can continue to be a patient hitter he has the potential to be a major league player.

End of the Road

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' season came to a shortened end Monday night when they lost 5-3 Monday night vs Albany. This "sweep" was certainly a disappointing way to end a season that had featured so many up and down moments. So it seemed only appropriate to end it with an up and down game that unfortunately ended on down note for WBS. They got on the board first and exchanged goals with the River Rats until Albany scored the backbreaker with less than 7 minutes remaining. Wyatt Smith got the Pens on the board first with a goal late in the first period. This lead would last through half of the second until Oskar Osala tied it up for Albany. Chris Conner stole the momentum back for the Pens, but for a very short time as Jamie McBain scored just 46 seconds later to tie the game up yet again. It was clear that the momentum problems that plagued the Pens for the entire series had reappeared, and at a critical moment. Nick Johnson scored just 28 seconds into the third, but once again it was negated by an Albany goal just over a minute later this time by Jerome Samson. Zach Boychuk scored Albany's go-ahead goal and Jamie McBain added a late empty netter to round the score off at 5-3. I could go into the elaborate description of all of the things that went wrong for the team this season, but instead I am taking a different route. They made the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year, and for the ninth time in the franchise's 11 year history. This was especially a challenge this year, as the Pens seemed down and out late January and early February. Instead of mailing in the season, they fought hard and turned their season around in the last few months of the season. Along with all of this playoff mania, it is often lost what the true purpose of an AHL team really is. The Penguins had a wide selection of players called up to the parent club, and some actually contributed extended stays and offensive points. The list of these players are forwards Mark Letestu, Chris Conner, Tim Wallace, Eric Tangradi, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson, defensemen Ben Lovejoy and Deryk Engelland, and goaltenders Brad Theissen and John Curry. Most if not all of these players fit well into Pittsburgh's system, and were more than adequate replacements for their injured counterparts. So, yes, many will view this season as yet another failure to win the elusive Calder Cup, but in my opinion Wilkes-Barre more than accomplished their purpose and their year will come sometime in the near future. For now, a "taxi squad" of players should be called up to the NHL Penguins to travel with them for the duration of their hopefully long playoff run. These players may include Chris Conner, Mark Letestu, Deryk Engelland, Nick Johnson, and Tim Wallace as well as Lovejoy and Theissen who are already with the NHL club.

Road Warriors!

Friday was all about the individual effort of Sidney Crosby, tonight it was all about the team. Every one of the Pens put in a strong performance on the road to get a 4-2 victory and take a critical 2-1 lead in the series. The scorers were scoring, the grinders were grinding, and the defenseman for the most part shut down the Sens. This seems to be the ideal performance that Pittsburgh has been waiting for, and they should strive to replicate it in the future. They got the game started on the right foot when Alexei Ponikarovsky ripped one past Brian Elliott just over a minute into the game. This was part of a performance that everyone has been waiting for for Ponikarovsky, who was arguably the Pens' "weak link" in the first two games of the series. As well as his goal, he racked up a good number of hits and was "in the right place at the right time." After giving up a Mike Fisher powerplay goal to start the second, the Pens fought back to answer quickly when Evgeni Malkin scored into an empty net after an impressive pass from Max Talbot. Sidney Crosby gave the Pens the ultimate momentum clincher when he took the puck in the corner boards and skated across the ice before beating Elliott on the other side of the ice. This was so important because it was a powerplay goal, and it occurred with only 45 seconds remaining in the second period. Pittsburgh and Ottawa would exchange goals in the third with Matt Cullen scoring for the Senators and Billy Guerin beating Elliott with a nice double move on a breakaway. As I previously mentioned, this was a great game for Pittsburgh. The momentum gained by playing that well, especially on the road, should likely carry over into the rest of the series. Marc-Andre Fleury also put another strong performance in, stopping 20-22 shots and getting his 2nd win of the 2010 playoffs. I said before that it was a full team effort, and not just the scorers played a part. Mark Eaton willingly dropped the gloves with an "overly-feisty" Jarkko Ruutu, who looked ready to take a run at Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang. Jay McKee, who replaced injured Jordan Leopold, was very important with his shot blocking and kept some difficult shots from hitting Fleury. Sergei Gonchar led the team with total ice time, got an assist on the first goal, and was a +2 for the game. And it was also another strong game from Alex Goligoski, who got nearly 22 minutes of time and was also a +2. If the Pens can consistently get these performances, they may be looking at another deep playoff run. It will be a challenge, though, as Ottawa will certainly not go down lightly. The certainly hungry Sens will next play the Pens Tuesday night in Ottawa, in what may turn out to be the pivotal game of the series.

Shut Down by Peters

The Pens woes in Games 1 and 2 have been due to their inability to hold momentum and defensive breakdowns at critical moments. They appeared to have fixed most of that, but what they couldn't fix was a very strong showing by Albany goaltender Justin Peters. Yes, the same Justin Peters many of you know from his strong showings against the NHL Pens absolutely shut down the AHL Pens making 31 saves and allowing just one Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goal scored late by Chris Conner. John Curry also played rather well for the Pens, but he allowed two goals. Albany's goals were scored by Mike Angelidis and Jerome Samson, both in the 3rd period. The entire game was a goaltender battle, with the teams deadlocked at 0-0 after two. In the third was when Peters really shined saving 14 out of 15 shots including a few critical ones at the end of the game when the Pens had a 6 v 5 advantage after pulling Curry. One notable absence was that of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's top defenseman Ben Lovejoy who was called up to Pittsburgh to replace Jordan Leopold. Alex Grant was the player chosen to fill in for Lovejoy, and some rookie nerves were shown. This is panic time for the Pens, and they cannot afford another loss. Coming back from an 0-3 hole will be extremely difficult but not impossible. If the Pens can just put a few pucks behind Peters, they can handle Albany and take a few games in the series. They were extremely effective against the Rats in the regular season, so it certainly can be done. It will just boil down to how badly the Penguins want it and how well the goaltenders from both teams play.

Bucs Walkoff Again

Garret Jones hit a walkoff bases loaded single giving the Bucs an improbable come from behind victory over the Reds 5-4. That's the second night in a row the Pirates won it in the bottom of the 9th.

Sometimes this team is fun to watch. The series concludes tomorrow afternoon so bring your brooms.

Here is the Box Score.

Captain Clutch!

Midway through the final period Anton Volchenkov beat goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury with a goal that would have surely put the Senators up 2-1. He calculated all the factors with the defense and just how to beat Fleury in the perfect spot, but the one thing he didn't expect was captain Sidney Crosby to come out of nowhere and perfectly swat it away on a desperation slide behind Fleury. Yeah, it was one of those nights. Sidney Crosby essentially willed the Pens to victory by scoring the game tying goal in the first, saving a sure goal midway through the third, and making dazzling moves to lose the defense before setting up Kris Letang for the game winner. Crosby took the team on his back, and helped them recover from a Peter Regin goal just 18 seconds into the game for Ottawa. He started things off by poking the puck past Ottawa goaltender Elliott midway through the first after a great move by Chris Kunitz at the blueline. After this early scoring burst, the game would become extremely nasty and violent for the end of the first and most of the second. This animosity all began when defenseman Andy Sutton left his feet on a contraversial elbow to the head of Jordan Leopold, sending Leopold out of the game while Sutton got no penalty. The ensuing result would be a cluster of post whistle scrums and Mike Rupp checking a Senator through the zamboni doors at the end of the first. The second would be similar to the first in the physicality, but not in the scoring as there were no goals recorded in the period. The third, however, was when Sid really began to shine. Aside from his sure goal saving dive, he also made one of the highlight plays of the year behind the net to set up Letang's goal. He made four turns behind the net to lose Jason Spezza and then made a pass out to Letang from his knees. Letang, as he has been so often criticized for not doing, put the shot perfectly where it had to be to beat Elliott and give the Pens the 2-1 victory. Though Crosby elevated his game to a whole other level Friday night, there were several other notable individual performances. Mike Rupp was consistent along the boards and many times held the puck in the offensive zone with solid physical play. Rupp also finished his checks all night, and was a factor in the wearing down of the Ottawa defense. Max Talbot was a "spark plug" throughout the game, and caused much confusion in front of Elliott. He also dropped the gloves with Zack Smith at the end of the first period to turn the momentum around. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was also incredibly solid saving 19-20 after letting in the early goal to Regin. Though great individual performances (like that of Crosby) are great, what really made the Pens sucessful was their physicality as a team and their adjustment to be able to move the puck through Ottawa's tough defensive front. This was a "must-win" for Pittsburgh, and the sellout crowd created an atmosphere like no other. Instead of being down 2-0 in Ottawa, the Pens are tied 1-1 in the series and ready to continue their momentum in the next game. The next game of the series is Sunday afternoon at 6:30 in Ottawa.

Heartbreak in Albany (again???)

Back on Wednesday night, the Pens fought all the way back to tie the game only to have Albany steal it away just seconds later. It couldn't possibly happen again in Game 2, right? The River Rats again found a way to beat the Pens 3-2 on a Jamie McBain goal only 68 seconds after Konstantin Pushkarev tied it up. Pushkarev scored at 14:50 and once again the game looked overtime bound, but the Rats continued their knack of answering quickly late when Jamie McBain beat goaltender John Curry for the late go ahead goal and eventual game winner. This trend of losing momentum has been a regular event for the Pens of late. They have difficulties getting refocused quickly, and are paying for it dearly. Other Albany goals were scored by Nick Dodge and Chris Terry, while Eric Tangradi had the lone other tally for Wilkes Barre. Curry played rather well making 29-32 saves after unexpectedly getting the start because of primary goaltender Brad Theissen's emergency callup to Pittsburgh. (Brent Johnson had the flu, so Theissen was needed to back up Fleury. It is unknown if he will return for Sunday's game) This is not the "be all and end all" game for Wilkes Barre, although they now find themselves in an uphill battle. It is imperative that they win games 3 and 4 on home ice and tie the series back up. Game 3 (and the Pens first home playoff game) is Sunday afternoon at 3:05.

Opening Lapse

Some of you may be wondering why is it that the Pens don't have playoff beards yet. The logical answer involves a complex explanation about the time scale on facial hair, but perhaps the more appropriate answer is that some of them did not yet know that the playoffs had begun. Though the Pens only lost 5-4 Wednesday night, it looked much worse throughout the course of the game. After a quick hot start that got them 3 quick shots on goal and a powerplay goal from Evgeni Malkin, the Pens fell into a slump that they just could not break for the rest of the game. Ottawa then scored a strange looking goal on a rebound that perfectly bounced to Peter Regin to tie the game. The Sens would strike again with enforcer and rare scorer Chris Neil scoring after a faceoff that left most of the Pens off balance. Though both of those goals were not everyday occurances, the Senators would score an even stranger one in the second. Less than 2 minutes in, the Senators just simply tried to dump the puck into the boards and Fleury went out to do a routine retrieval of the puck behind the net. The puck had other plans, though, and it ricocheted perfectly off the boards right to the stick of Chris Kelly for the practically empty net goal. The Pens did show one of their few signs of life shortly afterwards when Evgeni Malkin scored his second powerplay goal of the game, but that momentum was neutralized when Erik Karlsson scored less than 3 minutes later. (above) Perhaps the highlight of the game for the Pens came when Craig Adams scored his long awaited goal after being held scoreless for the entire regular season. Jarkko Ruutu put the game away midway through the third, though Alex Goligoski did get one back for Pittsburgh. To sum it up, it was an extremely poor showing for the Pens and one that it is imperative that they correct and put behind them. Marc-Andre Fleury was a bit off, as he was out of position for the 2nd, 4th, and 5th Senators goals. Brian Elliott on the other side for Ottawa also looked beatable, but saw only 21 shots all game. This number is extremely low for a team like the Penguins, especially during the playoffs. If they want to be sucessful against Elliott, they need to wear him down with a more constant flow of shots on goal. Coach Dan Bylsma was visably unhappy throughout and after the game, and hopefully that will translate into the team being more prepared on Friday. This is not a cause to panic. There is still much opportunity for Pittsburgh if they can come out and play so poorly and still only lose by 1 point. They just have to register more shots. Game 2 of the series is slated for Friday night at Mellon Arena in an extremely important game for both teams to take control of the series.

Heartbreak in Albany

Just when it looked like the Pens could get ahead, Albany found a way to come right back and put the Pens away 4-3 in Game 1 Wednesday night. Down 3-2 in the closing minutes, Wilkes-Barre Scranton pulled goaltender Brad Theissen to get the extra attacker on the ice. After a bit of passing, Nick Johnson was able to find the back of the net with just 1:24 to go and spark a great celebration with his teammates. Perhaps, they may have done too much celebrating and forgot that there was still time on the clock, and Albany certainly made them pay. While still sorting out and announcing Pens goal, Albany's Nick Dodge picked up the puck and managed to skate past the defense into the offensive zone. He then beat Brad Theissen to reclaim the lead just 33 seconds after the Pens tied it up. It was the second of the game for Dodge, who also scored midway through the second period. Other Albany goals were scored by Jamie McBain and Jacob Micflikier. For the Pens, Johnson had two goals and Mark Letestu also contributed a goal, but all for naught in the end. It was not a bad performance from Theissen, however, who made 34 saves but came up just a bit short at the end. Albany's Justin Peters got the win, making 30-33 saves for the Rats. The WBS Pens next play Game 2 Friday night in Albany. It may not be "must win" territory yet, but a win could very likely make all the difference when "push comes to shove" later in the series.

Game 9 - Pirates @ Giants

The rubber match. Good timing on today's game. A 3:45 start followed by Pens playoff hockey. A great day indeed.

Raised in the Bay

The Pirates squeaked out a win last night in San Francisco, 6-5. Garrett Jones hit the go-ahead single in the 8th ininng after an inexcusable error by Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria. The Bucs are back to playing .500 ball.



Jones wasn't the only one who played a good game. Aki Iwamura and Andy LaRoche homered (welcome to the '10 season Andy) and Andrew McCutchen had two more stolen bases.

There was a few web gems in this one as well. Staring pitcher Paul Maholm flipped the ball from his glove to Matt Clement for an out and Jones had a diving catch at first for the final out of the game.

Evan Meek got the win, pitching two solid inning and striking out three. Octavio Dotel got the save, although doing it in Matt Capps fashion.

The rubber match is today at 3:45. Go Bucs!

Penguins vs Senators Preview

The Pens' quest to bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to da Burgh starts Wednesday night in Mellon Arena when they take on their first round opponent, the:
Ottawa Senators

Since the Pens were unable to secure the Atlantic Division for 2010, they once again start in the 4 hole and this time face the Ottawa Senators. The Sens bring a dangerous combo of scoring talent and shut down defense that can compete with any team on a good night. This balance is rare among NHL Eastern Conference clubs who are either offensive minded (like WAS and PIT) or defensively minded (like NJD and BOS). Does this mean I do not think the Pens can handle this? Absolutely not. They are just going to have to try a bit harder than last year.

The Pens and the Sens have played four times this season, and have split the season series 2-2. What is interesting about this series is that all of the matchups have been quite lopsided for one side or the other with the Pens posting 4-1 and 8-2 victories and the Sens winning 4-1 and 6-2. The two teams have not faced each other since the end of January, however, so expect some reacquainting to be done for the first few games.

One of the keys to this series for the Pens will be controlling shut-down Dman Anton Volchenkov. Volchenkov is easily the best defenseman the Sens have and likely one of the best in the NHL. His technique is extremely good and is almost always paired against the opponents top player. The Senators will often use him against Crosby, however it may be beneficial for the Pens to match him (when they have last change at home) with the more powerful and larger Evgeni Malkin. Malkin also has "superstar status", but will match up better against the extremely technical Volchenkov.

Another key to the series will be the physical play. The Pens will have to match the Senators blow for blow on the forecheck and try to neutralize "heavy hitters" like Jarko Ruutu, Chris Neil, and Andy Sutton. They were able to do this in their two wins against Ottawa this year, and should look to do so again.

The final key, especially with all the games being as lopsided as they were, is goaltending. (Pens: Fleury, Senators: Elliott) A turning point in any series, and especially one like this, could be the "stealing of a game" by a goaltender. When a goaltender "steals" a game in the playoffs, it means that he played extremely well and kept his team in the game when their offense/defense was not playing up to par. Fleury was stellar in the playoffs last year, and appears to be ready for another run into the postseason.

Here's what the series looks like:

Game 1 @ PIT- Wed April 14

Game 2 @ PIT- Fri April 16

Game 3 @ OTT- Sun April 18

Game 4 @ OTT- Tues April 20

Game 5 @ PIT (if needed)- Thurs April 22

Game 6 @ OTT (if needed)- Sat April 24

Game 7 @ PIT (if needed)- Tues April 27

(note: the first 6 games should be televised on both FSNPIT and VS)

Around the NHL:

1. Washington Capitals vs 8. Montreal Canadiens

2. New Jersey Devils vs 7. Philadelphia Flyers

3. Buffalo Sabres vs 6. Boston Bruins

4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 5. Ottawa Senators

1. San Jose Sharks vs 8. Colorado Avalanche

2. Chicago Blackhawks vs 7. Nashville Predators

3. Vancouver Canucks vs 6. LA Kings

4. Phoenix Coyotes vs 5. Detroit Red Wings

.

Thats what the first round should look like. Should be an extremely entertaining year. LETS GO PENS!

Game 8 - Pirates @ Giants

Paul Maholm will try to get the Bucs back to .500 tonight. From his Twitter account:



The always tough Matt Cain takes the mound for SF. The Pirates like tough pitchers so you never know. If you are still up or have insomnia, join us in the liveblog below. Lets Go Bucs!

WBS Pens vs Albany Preview

First up on the playoff schedule for the Wilkes Barre Scranton Pens:
The Albany River Rats

Sure, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton may have dodged the ultimate first round bullet (the league leading Hershey Bears), but Albany certainly brings a tough enough challenge in themselves. Yes, they dont bring the explosive lineup or the flashy statistics like Hershey does, but what they do bring is a balanced attack and one of the most dangerous scoring wingers in the AHL in Jerome Samson. They also got several key players back from the NHL because their affiliate team Carolina Hurricanes failed to make the playoffs. They did not make 2nd place behind Hershey for no reason.

Despite the talent of this Albany squad, WBS has had a decent bit of sucess against the Rats this year. They finished with a 6-1-1 record vs Albany including a record setting 9-2 drubbing at home back in February. In the most recent game between the two teams, Wilkes Barre defeated them 4-3 to clinch a playoff spot.

It is obvious who the key players are to the Pens, but lets meet a few of the Rats key members:

-RW Jerome Samson- Samson tore the league apart this season totalling 37 goals and 41 assists for a total of 78 points. He also registered a total of 332 shots on goal in 74 AHL games, meaning that he will frequently put a lot of pucks on the net. Stopping him should be #1 concern for the Pens.

-C Zach Boychuk- Boychuk played 31 games with Carolina this year and totalled 9 NHL points. His experience playing with and against higher quality players and goalies should be valuable to Albany this postseason.

-LW Oskar Osala- Should be a familiar name to the Pens considering all of his time spent in Hershey, and they know perfectly well what he brings to the table with both his stick and his body. Pens defense would be smart to keep an eye out for him at all times.

Here's what the series looks like:

Game 1 @ Albany- Wed April 14

Game 2 @ Albany- Fri April 16

Game 3 @ WBS- Sun April 18

Game 4 @ WBS- Mon April 19

Game 5 @ Albany (if needed) -Wed April 21

Game 6 @ WBS (if needed) - Sat April 24

Game 7 @ Albany (if needed) - Sun April 25

Playoff mania across the league is here, and as always, LETS GO PENS!

Giants Crush Burress, Bucs

This was expected. The Giants are on fire and Brian Burress does not belong in the big leagues. It was an emergency start so I'll cut him some slack. In four innings he allowed six runs, eight hits, walked two and hit two guys. Have fun in Indy. The series continues tonight at 10 o'clock. Go Bucs!

Game 7 - Pirates @ Giants Liveblog

The Pirates made some roster moves today. Rich covered that in the post below.

Here is the pitching matchup. If you're still awake for this one, join us in the liveblog below. Lets Go Bucs!

Burress? Seriously?

Ross Ohlendorf will not go tonight with Stiffness in his back. Joel Hanrahan was brought back from the DL, Daniel McCutchen has been sent to Triple A, Hayden Penn has been released (hope he clears waivers), and Brian Burress will be making the start tonight.

Brian Burress was TERRIBLE in Spring Training this season. He has 81 ML appearances with a record of 13-20 with an ERA of 6.08. He is going because it was his turn in Indy.

In addition to being a bad pitcher, he rocks a pretty stunning porno stache! Seriously, John Russell must have hitched a ride with John Cusack in the hot tub time machine to find his starter.

Yinz Luv ‘Da Guins!, Ep. #7

Jim Shearer is back with his final regular season episode of Yinz Luv ‘Da Guins!

Tone' it Down!

Is anyone "really" surprised by the trade of Santonio Holmes this morning? I don't think there was really much chance he was going to come back after this season anyway. What seems to be the biggest source of outrage is the return. A 5th round pick seems low for a Superbowl MVP in his mid-20's. Is it though? Holmes is looking at a quarter season suspension, that probably scares a lot of teams off, not to mention this is his UFA year. Throw in the fact that one more substance abuse violation will land him a full year suspension he could easily turn into Ricky Williams.

Teams just don't give away draft picks, especially on guys that are going to be suspended. I think the best comparison is the Randy Moss trade. Moss admitted to smoking pot, and was a malcontent on the field, he was traded for a fourth round pick. He also wasn't looking at a suspension that would take up 25% of his season.

Part of this can also be blamed on Ben Roethlisberger's situation. I think without the recent coverage of his idiocy Holmes is still a Steeler. The straw that probably broke the camels back was Holmes' own Twitter. He has told a Steelers fan to "kill urself", has boasted about "laughing to the bank", and has stated it was time for a "wake and bake".

Personally I trust the Rooney's, they have given us more success than any other fan base. It's time to stick with them and back them up on this. Not blast them to take the side of an immature, womanizing, stoner.

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks favorite song is from Violent Soho. They just released a self-tilted album that brings grunge back to life. This is Love is a Heavy Word. You can buy the CD here.

Rocket Man!

It was slated to be a "tune up game" for the Pens Sunday afternoon against the Islanders. It meant absolutely nothing in the standings, and took place during some popular events like the Flyers/Rangers game and the Masters golf tournament. It seems only logical that people would have no good reason to watch. That is, except that Sidney Crosby has a bit of a knack for defying logic. Sid put together a brilliant 2 goal and 5 point night to put himself into a tie for the Rocket Richard Trophy and a tie for second with Alexander Ovechkin for most total points. The Rocket Richard Trophy is awarded to the player or players who total the most total goals on a season. Crosby's 2 goal day gave him 51 and brought him up to a tie with Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the trophy. They defeated Alexander Ovechkin, who finished with 50. It must also be said that Stamkos got his 51st on an empty net goal with 12 seconds remaining (3 total on season) while both of Crosby's were scored on Dwayne Roloson (only has 1 ENG on the season). While Crosby clearly was the focus of the day, the game itself was also quite the thriller as the Pens won 6-5 in overtime on a Jordan Leopold goal with only 35 seconds to go in the overtime. It was also quite the night for Evgeni Malkin, who had 2 goals, 4 total points, and one "not-so good" milestone. He reached 100 PIMs for the first time in his career, as he racked up 6 on Sunday. To add to the strangeness of this game, Eric Godard recorded his first goal of the season. This was an extra for Godard, who also got into an extremely long fight with New York's Joel Rechlicz in the second period. It was also the NHL debut of Eric Tangradi, who looked quite comfortable and handled the puck well. Despite all of these statistics and rareties, there were a few downsides. The Pens were again without the services of Alexei Ponikarovsky (suspension), Matt Cooke (left game Saturday after taking punch to head), Brooks Orpik (skate laceration) and Chris Kunitz. Islanders goals were scored by John Tavares (2), Kyle Okposo, Matt Moulson, and Jon Sim. This game officially closes out the regular season for Pittsburgh. They finish with a record of 47-28-7 totalling 101 points and finishing 4th in the Eastern Conference (even though they had more points than 3rd place Buffalo). They open their playoff quest on Wednesday night against the Ottawa Senators in Pittsburgh. This is also the same night that Wilkes-Barre Scranton opens in Albany for the start of their first round series. So, expect double posts from me for the first few games. And as always, Let's Go Pens!

Game 6 - Pirates @ Diamondbacks Liveblog

Curve on ESPN News

Just a reminder that the Curve will be playing on ESPNnews and www.espn360.com.

Moose on the Loose

It cannot be said that the Pens did not try to beat Johan "Moose" Hedberg. It also cannot be said, however, that he made that possible. Johan Hedberg made some incredible saves to hold the Pens off and preserve a 1-0 victory for the Thrashers. Getting shut out was hardly the worst news of the night for the Pens, however as they were officially eliminated from contention for Atlantic Division and may possibly be without several key players. Matt Cooke was laying unresponsive on the ice after taking a punch to the head from Evander Kane, but he did skate off on his own power and the FSN commentators said he "was OK" so there may not be any serious problems there. Brooks Orpik also left the game in the third after taking an accidental skate blade to the upper leg. It is unknown about the severety of the cut, but he did not return for the rest of the game. Despite these injuries, the Pens certainly made Hedberg work for his shutout, as he needed to make 33 saves. Crosby was denied several times for his 50th goal, while Stamkos and Ovechkin both have 50 in the Richard race. This is not to say that Fleury played poorly, though, as he made 21 out of 22 saves. Atlanta's lone goal, which was also the game winner, was scored by Bryan Little on a rebound that he jammed passed Fleury on the high side. Though the Pens were far from stellar tonight, they should begin to prepare for their first round playoff matchup which will be...(drumroll please) the Ottawa Senators. There will be more to come on this matchup later in the week. The Pens do have one more game left tomorrow afternoon against the New York Islanders, though it cannot improve or worsen their position in the standings. The greatest possible significance of that game would be if Sidney Crosby could score a few goals and get himself back in the race for the Richard Trophy.

Break Out the Lumber! Bucs Win

Aki Iwamura and Jeff Clement both hit their first home runs in a Pirates uniform as the Bucs beat the Diamondbacks 6-3. Zach Duke was solid going 7 innings and allowing only 4 hits and 2 runs. Octavio Dotel pitched a perfect 9th for his first save as a Bucco. The rubber match is tomorrow at 4 o'clock. The game is not on TV in the Pittsburgh market.

Speaking of TV, I was a little shocked that the game wasn't blacked out on the MLB Network tonight. MLB loves to black out games. Did you know that Scranton is home to 4 major league teams? Yep, the Pirates, Phillies, Mets and Yankees are all considered local so whenever they are nationally televised they get blacked out, regardless if you get the teams sports network or not. Luckily we get most of them. I just can never watch the Mets. Big deal. It just seems a little strange that I am in 4 teams local market. At least I get FSN Pittsburgh so I'll stop my bitch fest.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am really enjoying watching this team early on. That may be a different story come July, or we could shock the world. Yeah, that sounds better. Go Bucs!

Game 5 - Pirates @ Diamondbacks

The Other Pens

As some of you may or may not know, I am not from around Pittsburgh but instead in the northeastern sector of Pennsylvania. While living here certainly has its ups and downs, I must say as a sports fan one of the greatest joys is being able to see the future stars of your team before they become famous. Yes, I am talking about the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate. I bring this up now because Friday night they clinched a spot in the AHL Playoffs Friday night with a 4-3 win over the Albany River Rats. Though AHL hockey is often considered to be less important than that of the NHL, I must counter that saying that these men want the ultimate prize (Calder Cup) just as much as their NHL counterparts. Next week the Pens embark on the road to the Calder Cup, and I will update every step of the way. The Penguins will have either the Albany River Rats or the league leading Hershey Bears in the first round, and they can avoid Hershey if they manage to win their final games of the season.

For those unfamiliar I will introduce you to the key players on the WBS roster:

(* signifies time spent in PIT this season)

Forwards:

-Mark Letestu*

-Wyatt Smith

-Dustin Jeffrey*

-Chris Conner*

-Tim Wallace*

-Eric Tangradi

-Joe Vitale

-Nick Johnson*

-Wade Brookbank

Defense:

-Deryk Engelland*

-Ben Lovejoy*

-Brian Strait

-Robert Bortuzzo

-Chris Lee

-Steve Wagner

There you have it folks, both NHL and AHL playoff mania next week for the Pens. Lets Go Pens!

Game 4 - Pirates @ Diamondbacks Liveblog

Sorry for the quick post but I won't be around for this one. The liveblog is below. LETS GO BUCS!



Really? Still in a Braves hat. Yuk!

Show for the Ages

In front of many of the great Penguins of old, the Penguins of now closed out the final regular season game at Mellon Arena in style with a 7-3 win over the New York Islanders Thursday night. Many former Pens greats were in attendance for a pregame ceremony honoring all of the Penguins who have had noteworthy careers at Mellon Arena. Each of the former Pens that were able to attend got individually honored as they walked out onto the ice for an eventual group picture with the current Penguins before the game began. Though I doubt there was a dry eye in the house after that ceremony (narrated by Paul Steigerwald and Mike Lange), the Pens still had to get down to business as there was an important game to be played. Brooks Orpik wasted absolutely no time doing so as he put the Pens on the board just 23 seconds into the game sending the igloo into an uproar and giving the Pens the lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Alex Goligoski kept the momentum going with a wrist shot powerplay goal off of a perfect pass from captain Sidney Crosby. The Pens then settled down for the next few minutes and allowed a goal from Matt Moulsen. They would not remain settled for long. Evgeni Malkin picked up the puck in his own zone with 5 minutes to go in the first and beat Martin Biron on a breakaway shot. Though this would have been enough to call a great opening period, they were still not done. With 58 seconds remaining in the period, Sidney Crosby got the puck in the zone and managed to slap one past Biron for his 49th goal of the season to put the Pens up 4-2 at the first intermission. The Isles got a rather quick goal to start out the second, but it would be the last they scored for the rest of the game. Sidney Crosby fired a wrist shot that deflected off Billy Guerin into the goal. It was initially celebrated as Crosby's 50th for the season, but further review after the game initiated by Crosby himself overturned the goal and gave it to Guerin. Guerin would get another one in the third period, giving him 21 and yet another 20 goal season. Tyler Kennedy also scored a few minutes after Guerin's first goal to give him 13 for the year. The game meant much more than just individual achievements and Mellon Memories, however. This win combined with a 3-2 regulation loss by the New Jersey Devils to Florida puts the Pens and the Devils in a tie for the Atlantic Division lead with two games remaining for each of them. (the devils do have the tiebreak, however) Most of the problems that showed in Tuesdays game were non-existant, as Fleury looked sharp (32 of 35 saves) and the Pens were able to generate momentum without problem. They played 60 full minutes of dedicated and inspired hockey and were rewarded for that work at the end with an incredibly long standing ovation that not only celebrated the Pens' win tonight but every Pens' win that was ever recorded in historic Mellon Arena. Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup after missing the last game due to illness, however Chris Kunitz missed his second straight. Also, some "housekeeping details": Alexei Ponikarovsky was given a game misconduct after a contraversial boarding penalty. It was probably worthy of a penalty of some sort although it was clear that "Poni" had no intent to injure. Islanders goals were scored by Moulsen, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey. The Pens are now in a dogfight with the Devils for the Atlantic Division, with the Pens having the Thrashers and Islanders remaining and the Devils having the Islanders and the Sabres left. Saturday night, the Pens travel to Atlanta to face the disheartened yet ever dangerous Thrashers that were eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday night against the Devils.

Here are some of the memorable photos from the last regular season game at the Igloo:

Sidney Crosby looks on after scoring what everyone thought was his 50th goal of the year, but he would later credit the goal to teammate Billy Guerin.

Past and present Penguins pose for a team photo before the game Thursday night.

Penguins legend and current owner Mario Lemieux takes the ice to a roaring ovation from the sellout crowd before the game Thursday night.

Another picture of Lemieux taking the ice.

Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury celebrate after a 7-3 win.

(note): the title picture is after Billy Guerin's first goal in the second period.

Mellon Arena Video 4/8/10

Chills.

Game 3 - Dodgers @ Pirates

The Bucs go for the sweep today at PNC. They haven't swept the Dodgers at home since May 31-June 2, 1999. Here is the pitching matchup:



The liveblog is below. The game can be seen on FSN. I'll be a work so it's radio only for me. It's only been two games but man, this is fun. Last night's hero Ronny Cedeno is not in today's line-up. Lastings Milledge and Jeff Clement are also getting the day off. Already John Russell is screwing with the line-up. The guy drives me nuts at times. I realize its a day game after a night game but they just had an off day on Tuesday. GFJ is at first, Bobby Crosby is at short and Ryan Church is in right. So that's a total of 3 starters sitting this one out. I do like Crosby over Cedeno but that's about it. Say it with me ... LETS GO BUCS!!!

Game 2 - Dodgers @ Pirates liveblog

Unexplainable

From the perspective of a Penguins fan, the only thing I have to say to sum up their 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals is "...........". Sure, I can talk about how Marc-Andre Fleury let in two incredibly soft goals before being pulled midway through the second period. Sure, I can talk about the way the Pens were unable to hold any momentum, twice getting scored on less than 2 minutes after scoring. I can even blame the officials for disallowing a Pens goal that clearly crossed the line before being whistled dead that would have made the game 4-3 late in the second. But we all know that those problems may just disappear during the Pens' next game and possibly be replaced with a set of new ones, so why even bother. For many of the current playoff teams in the conference, it is easy to spot their strengths and weaknesses, but for the Pens it is not so easy. They have undergone a long series of various problems this season that have seemed to correct themselves but then return later on. This inconsistency can be both an advantage and disadvantage as the opposition does not know what to expect, but neither do the Pens. Marc-Andre Fleury started the game with some stellar saves and it looked to be another gem performance, but then faded into the second and gave up two very soft goals to Mike Knuble and Tomas Fleischmann. Perhaps the most commonly agreed upon problem with the Pens would be with the play of their defensemen, especially in transition. This was again an issue right off the bat, with Alex Semin beating Alex Goligoski into the slot and scoring to give the Caps the early 2-0. Alexander Ovechkin also had two goals, including an empty netter with less than a second remaining in the game. This was done for the sole purpose of Ovechkin wishing to "pad his stats" and perhaps move up in the race for various individual awards for scoring and points. Despite this whole medley of problems, there were a few bright spots. Jordan Leopold scored two goals from the points just one game after scoring his first as a Penguin in overtime on Saturday. Sidney Crosby also got his 48th goal of the season on the powerplay in the second period, and is tied with Ovechkin for the league lead in goals. Matt Bradley scored the other goal for the Capitals. The important thing for the Pens and their fanbase is not to get too caught up in the flaws shown by the team tonight. With the playoffs less than a week away, the focus shall shift to entering on a positive note, though the Pens' chances of winning the Atlantic Division suffered heavily today with a Devils win, putting New Jersey ahead by 2 points and the tiebreaker with 3 games remaining. Flaws are to be acknowledged and corrected, but not dwelled upon and the most important thing to remember is "Win as a team, Lose as a team." I encourage everyone to tune in on time for Thursday's game against the New York Islanders, as there will be a ceremony to honor many of the great Penguins of old in the last regular season game at Mellon Arena. The game will also carry massive importance, as it will be nearly a must-win situation if they want to stay in the hunt for the division title.

Greed and Lies in small town PA

This is the first post in possibly many on this subject.

I heard the Pirates played a pretty good game yesterday. There isn't much outside of my family that fills me with more joy than Opening Day, and from what I hear it was a great one.

I don't pay extra money to subscribe to FSN Pittsburgh you ask?

Well yes, yes I do. The reason I have only HEARD about this game is because I happen to be one of the unlucky schmucks who had enough of Directv's customer service calls, and wanted to help a local business. They tell you when you call about their personal approach and how great it is getting local service.

A very rosy picture to be sure. Afterall who doesn't want to strengthen their local economy?

Anyway back to the point. I arrived home from work with my eyes glistening, I searched for the remote (KIDS!) and when I finally found this boxy, fragile, piece of crap and turned to the game I was stunned to see an Auto Auction. My thoughts raced and rage began to build. I called my Cable Company, SERVICE ELECTRIC CABLEVISION, to see what was wrong, there must have been some mistake.

A woman, I believe her name was Stacy answered, when I explained my problem she gave me what at the time I thought was a very fishy response. She told me FSN Pittsburgh was trying to protect their local territory. I responded that it is their channel, how does blacking the game out help them when I've gotten every single Pirates game over the course of the last year? Her response? It has nothing to do with SERVICE ELECTRIC CABLEVISION.

Well eventually I hung up trying to believe this liar. Then I went to FSN's website and found the truth. My Cable company is too cheap to pay for the games. While they charge me extra for the channel they won't pay more for extra games.

I don't appreciate taking my money and not giving me the full product in return. Most of all I do not appreciate this rosy part of the community facade the losers at Service Electric like to put on. At least other Cable Companies released statements telling why they won't be showing the games. SECV just lies to you on the phone and blames everyone but themselves for their cheapskate ways.

Here is the first email I wrote to them regarding this situation.

I pay extra to receive these games. I switched from Directv for a multitude of reasons, one of which was the fact that dealing with Directv was a hefty task and I thought I would be getting something better from a "local" provider. Even though I am paying more than I ever did with Directv I have been perfectly content with your service. Now I can't even watch what other providers are carrying? I missed one of the biggest games of the year because of this and if it isn't rectified very soon, and I miss another game because of it, I will be canceling my service and switching back to directv.

SECV must be communist to not show something as American as Opening Day!

Jones, Pirates Crush Dodgers

Garrett Freakin' Jones hit two home runs, his first bouncing into the Allegheny River, helping the Bucs beat the Dodgers 11-5. The Legend became the sixth player in Pirates history to homer twice on opening day.

Ryan Church hit a pinch-hit three-run double and Ryan Doumit had a three run homer for Pittsburgh. Zach Duke gave up 2 runs in only five innings for the win.

The Good things: Garrett Jones. There's a lot of talk about how the Pirates will score runs this year. Hopefully Jones and company can put that to rest. GFJ also had two spectacular catches in the field.

Ryan Church. Welcome to Pittsburgh.

Andrew McCutchen. 1-4 with a double and a stolen base. The double was close to being a home run.

Octavio Dotel. Pitched a perfect 9th in a non-save situation but was fun to watch. The arm strength looked fine and he looks like a big upgrade from the closers role last year.

The bad things: The bullpen. D.J. Carrasco and Evan Meek made things a bit uneasy with a big lead. It's the first game so we'll wait and see.

Andy LaRoche. Was 0-3 while stranding four runners on base.

That's just about it for the bad things. You got to love opening day. We all know the Bucs aren't going to contend this year but wins like this gives the fans hope, plus this team is going to be fun to watch.

The Pirates are off tomorrow (good thing because Pens v. Caps is on) and will be back at PNC Park on Wednesday. Go Bucs!

One last thing. Check out Sean's Ramblings for my 2010 Pirates Predictions

Opening Day 2010- Dodgers @ Pirates Liveblog

Opening day. The best day in sports. Here is the pitching matchup. Join us in the liveblog below. If you happen to live in the Altoona or State College area, the game will not be televised on FSN Pittsburgh. This was your cable companies decision, not FSN's. Contact your cable company and demand that they pick up all of FSN's telecasts. It just won't be today. You guys will be blacked out for 35 games this season.

Your 1985 Pirates

I was looking for something the other day but found this instead. George Hendrick, Steve Kemp and Sixto Lezcano on the cover of a 1985 Pirates scorebook. Things were a lot worse in 1985 than they are today. I guess we can call them Awful Pirates. [PSaMP]



The 1985 Pirates team finished with a record of 57-104, 43½ games behind the NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals.

Pirates Announce Final Cuts - Opening Day Roster

SP Zach Duke
SP Ross Ohlendorf
SP Paul Maholm
SP Charlie Morton
SP Daniel McCutchen.

Closer Octavio Dotel
RP Brendan Donnelly
RP Evan Meek
RP Javier Lopez
RP D.J. Carrasco
RP Jack Taschner
RP Hayden Penn

C Ryan Doumit
CJason Jaramillo.

1B Jeff Clement
2B Aki Iwamura
SS Ronny Cedeno
3B Andy LaRoche
INF Bobby Crosby
INF/OF Delwyn Young.

LF Lastings Milledge
CF Andrew McCutchen
RF Garrett Jones
RF Ryan Church
OF John Raynor

The Pirates cut Ramon Vazquez, optioned Steve Pearce to Triple A and moved Joel Hanrahan and Jose Ascanio to the 15 and 60 day disabled list respectively.

Comeback Kids!

It has often been referred to amongst Pens fans as their "on-switch" or their "extra level" when talking about how the Penguins sometimes have the ability to raise their game to new heights near the end of games. Some days they flip that switch very early in games and put it away, some games they are too late and can not raise their game enough, but their timing was impeccable on Saturday as they "flipped the switch" just in time to tie the game up with 74 seconds remaining and win 4-3 in overtime. Nearly the entire game was a comeback, as the Pens did not take the lead until Jordan Leopold scored his first goal as a Penguin little over halfway through overtime. Leopold, who was a trade deadline acquistion from Florida, picked up the puck in the neutral zone off a Sidney Crosby backcheck and took the puck into the corner boards. He then made a spin move around Thrashers' defenseman Mark Popovic and threw a shot on net that trickled its way past Johan Hedberg to give the Penguins the win and 2 points to stay tied with the New Jersey Devils for the Atlantic Division. (Devils beat the Hurricanes 4-0 Saturday) While Leopold sealed the deal, it was the return of center Evgeni Malkin (who missed 7 out of 8 with foot injury) and defenseman Sergei Gonchar (who missed 4 with strep throat) that was the driving force for Pittsburgh. After giving up a late goal at the end of the first to Maxim Afinogenov, Malkin tied the game up with a quick snap shot powerplay goal that tied the game up midway through the second. While the Thrashers did manage another late goal at the end of the 2nd (Tim Stapleton), the Pens would again have an answer. Sidney Crosby threw a shot off Hedberg's pads that bounced right onto Tyler Kennedy's stick, who put the puck into an empty net to tie the game up 3 and a half minutes into the third. This joy would be short-lived, however, as Rich Peverley scored 1:04 later to put the Thrashers up again. It appeared to be another tough loss in the making for the Pens, as the Thrashers began to fall into an "infamous" trap defense (same used by Devils and Lightning). That was, until, Jim Slater got called for holding, giving Pittsburgh one last powerplay to tie the game up. That turned out to be all they needed. The play started with Evgeni Malkin dashing into the zone, but rather than take the shot, he dropped it back to Sergei Gonchar for one of his signature "cannon" slapshots. Gonchar beat Hedberg low side sending Mellon Arena into a frenzy and igniting the passion shown by many fans in overtime. This was a crucial win for Pittsburgh, who was surrounded by some doubt after their lackluster performance against Tampa Bay. This win may help to break some of that doubt, though there is still work to be done within the division. Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves for Pittsburgh, including one where he denied Maxim Afinogenov an empty goal on the powerplay. Though the story of the game centered around the return of Malkin and Gonchar, the Pens may not yet be in the clear on the injury front as forward Chris Kunitz left the game with an undisclosed injury. Atlanta faced similar problems, losing Bryan Little in the beginning of the 2nd. Hopefully both of those players and their teams will overcome those difficulties in the last week of the season. The Penguins have 4 remaining games on their schedule, the next being Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals coming perhaps to their last game at Mellon Arena (except for the possibility of a playoff series) Even though Washington has clinched the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, expect their best performance in this final regular season matchup between these two rivals