Before training camp commenced prior to this 2013 NFL season, I wrote a piece asking what this year’s rallying cry would be for the Steelers. Four months later, the boys in Black and Gold have a couple to choose from. 0-4 — By the end of September, Pittsburgh was winless. Everybody in the western world knew this was a fatal blow and a ridiculously un-Steeler like commencement to a fresh season. This team was officially playing for a draft pick was the local commentary. Blame was scattered ... Read More
Archives for November 2013
Bettis, Greene among Hall of Fame semifinalists
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced their 25 semifinalists for the Class of 2014 Wednesday night and among those on the list are former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis and defensive end/linebacker Kevin Greene. This will be the fourth time that Bettis has made it to the semifinals. As for Greene, this will be the eighth straight year he's been named a semifinalist. Jerome Bettis played 13 years in the league, played in 192 regular season games and rushed for 13,662 yards ... Read More
Dukes Win Handily, End Two-Game Losing Streak
Duquesne (2-2) held Albany without a field goal in the last 5:28 of the game to garner a 70-59 victory. The win came after a 96-83 shootout road loss to West Virginia November 17th in Morgantown. The win was Duquesne’s second home victory of the season and revenge for last year’s defeat in Albany. The Dukes led by 14 at the half, yet fell behind by a 57-56 margin with 5:28 left to play. But Ferry’s team was able to lock down defensively like they managed to do in the first half, where they ... Read More
Pens dominate Caps, 4-0
The Penguins were in a stretch of the season where their offense was struggling, their special teams was inconsistent, and their defense showed lapses. Against Washington, they looked to be back on track. The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the Washington Capitals Wednesday night at the Verizon Center, winning 4-0 against their Metropolitan foes. Alex Ovechkin's closest chance came early in the first period when he kicked a cross-ice pass to his stick and fired the puck off the far post. ... Read More
Pirates Name Jeff Branson as New Hitting Coach, Make Trade With Twins
The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced that Jeff Branson has been named Hitting Coach. The 46-year-old Branson joined the Major League staff on December 13, 2012 and spent the 2013 season implementing the club’s hitting program along with Hitting Coach Jay Bell. Branson has spent the past 12 years with the Pittsburgh organization. He served Triple-A Indianapolis as its Hitting Coach for four years (2009-2012) after managing at three different levels of the minor league system for five ... Read More
Should Fleury be considered for Team Canada?
Three months ago, I wrote an article titled "Writing on the wall" in regards to Penguins net-minder, Marc Andre-Fleury. In this article, I spoke of the the trials and tribulations that Fleury was working through as he was benched in favor of Tomas Vokoun during the 2013 playoffs, but that he was also shunned by his homeland of Canada for Olympic team tryouts. Twenty-one games into the season, Fleury has had a solid campaign for the Penguins, and for that reason, I would like to take a look at ... Read More
Can Lamar Patterson step up as Pitt’s go to guy?
Despite the lack of quality competition, it has been a nice start to the 2013-14 season for Jamie Dixon's Pitt Panthers. Through three games Dixon has done a good job of getting all his youngsters valuable playing experience as almost everyone on the roster has played a role in Pitt's three wins. The scoring has been fairly balanced with nine different players averaging five or more points per game and six different players averaging at least 8.7 per contest. However when the ... Read More
Looking at potential pitching targets for Pirates
A few days ago, we took a peek at the possible free agents available to the Pittsburgh Pirates on the position end of the spectrum. Today, we will look at the potential pitching options that could be had for a team that may be looking to upgrade their rotation – with or without A.J. Burnett in tow. The Burnett saga is ongoing. As it has been widely reported, Burnett is deciding between returning to the Pirates for one more season or retirement. He has no desire to test the free agent ... Read More
Malkin’s scoring drought isn’t a big deal
Slumps are brutal. However, slumps are a common thing in the professional workplace of the NHL. Every player at every level goes through a slump, there’s just no easy way to get out of it. Evgeni Malkin is no different. The only difference is that fans expect great players to always be great. When these types of streaks involve some of the best players in the league, they tend to get a lot of unwarranted attention. And unwarranted attention is exactly what it is. As we know, Malkin has not ... Read More
Gibbons gets the Pens back on track
In four of the last five games, the Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled mightily to score more than one goal. As a result, the Penguins have had a tough time winning games. Who knew Brian Gibbons would be the catalyst to get the Penguins off the schnide? Gibbons, playing in his first career NHL game, scored and registered an assist in what became an offensive explosion early in the third period as the Penguins defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 3-1 on Monday. Both teams took a scoreless tie ... Read More