When Christian Hackenberg arrived in State College, PA, in 2013, the quarterback was already a polarizing figure — a highly touted high school prospect who was seemingly the perfect fit for then-head-coach Bill O’Brien’s pro-style offense. Now, as Hackenberg prepares for this week’s NFL draft, the former Penn State signal caller is just as polarizing, albeit for completely different reasons. The Highs Flash back to 2013. O’Brien, the former offensive coordinator for the New England ... Read More
Archives for April 2016
Mock Draft: Who should the Steelers draft in rounds 1-4?
With the NFL Draft coming up shortly, the Pittsburgh Steelers are expected to focus on their defense, especially at safety and cornerback, where they were inconsistent last season. The Steelers seem to have hinted at drafting a cornerback, what with the release of former cornerback Cortez Allen on April 15. Still, there are other positions Pittsburgh might look at. The Steelers might draft a wide receiver, because Martavis Bryant will be out for the entire season after failing an ... Read More
Three things we’ve learned from the Riverhounds’ start to the season
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds haven’t exactly started their season the way they’d like. This season, the Riverhounds have lost two matches and have drawn once. (Most of the other USL teams have played four or five matches, but the Riverhounds’ match against the Harrisburg City Islanders was rescheduled to July 4 because of snow.) The Riverhounds lost 1-0 in their home opener on April 2 to the Rochester Rhinos, the defending USL champions. However, the next week, the team drew against Toronto ... Read More
Pirates sightseeing: Pirates win series, leave a lot to be desired
By no means was it pretty, but the Pittsburgh Pirates did just enough to take two of three games from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here are my takeaways from the weekend that was. This bullpen is still a mess I feel as though every series I have been critical of the bullpen, so forgive me if there is repetition, but this is getting ridiculous. All weekend the bullpen did not rise up to the task and once again clearly was the weak link. Regardless of weather, it should not take eight ... Read More
Why Josh Harrison deserves the everyday 2B job
This offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates were faced with change. An abundance of players moved on to different clubs, but one in particular had a way bigger impact amongst Pirates fans. On Dec. 9, the Pirates agreed to trade Neil Walker to the New York Mets in exchange for starting pitcher Jonathon Niese. This trade brought on a huge buzz amongst Pirates fans due to Walker's popularity in the city in which he was born and raised. However, as the 2016 season has gone on, the Pirates may have ... Read More
Steelers mock draft predictions: Will it finally be a cornerback?
It's officially NFL draft week, and with the draft set to begin Thursday night, there's been plenty of speculation on who the Pittsburgh Steelers will select when they are slotted to make the 25th selection of the first round. Will they select a cornerback for the first time since the Steelers selected Chad Scott way back in 1997? If you ask the majority of Steelers fans, a cornerback would be the best choice and based on what many of the latest mock drafts are predicting, they might just ... Read More
Pens send Rangers home to advance to second round
The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers, 6-3, at Consol Energy Center, and won the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, four games to one. Period One The first period proved to be slow for the Penguins, especially after the Rangers took a 1-0 lead when Rick Nash scored. After that, it was back and forth. Carl Hagelin scored the first goal for the Penguins, to tie the game. Dominic Moore quickly put the Rangers back in the lead, but the Penguins soon tied it up with a goal ... Read More
Game 5 Preview: Series victory within reach for Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins (3-1) Last time out, Matt Murray dazzled once again on the big stage and recorded his first-career playoff shootout. The offense got the job done, as well, giving the team some breathing room, building on an early lead and finishing with a total of five goals scored. The special teams of Pittsburgh played at an elite level. Not only did the power-play score on three of five chances, the power-kill played even better, giving New York no chance to establish consistent ... Read More
Pirates sightseeing: Three takeaways from San Diego
The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped two of three road games against the San Diego Padres. There certainly were some things to like and things that were not so favorable. Here are just a few of each. Jeff Locke does not have a finishing pitch Anytime you are a pitcher who does not have blow-it-by-you velocity, you have to paint corners and find other ways to succeed. Add that inability to inconsistent performance and a lack of confidence from fans, and you have Jeff Locke. Locke was ... Read More
Penguins can win series at home after decisive win
The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-1) dominated against the New York Rangers (1-3) and came one step closer to capping off the sweet revenge the Pens have sought for the last two years. Matt Murray got the start tonight in net and outperformed himself. Pittsburgh was able to put up an early 2-0 lead thanks to Eric Fehr and a Patric Hornqvist power-play goal. The 5-0 win by the Penguins puts Pittsburgh right in the driver seat of this series. The series will shift to Consol Energy Center, and with ... Read More