Well guys, it's pretty much official...John Russell will be named the new manager of our beloved Buccos...Congrats, Johnny Boy, good luck turning this bunch into anything worthwhile...
Hope we see a lot more of this...
We'll have an update in the morning about the Pens losing ANOTHER two goal lead and Pitt actually winning a Big East game (thank God Syracuse sucks).
Until the morning...
Some news and notes for all of you boys and girls...
The Buccos will name their new manager Monday, after a long, long search...No leaks have confirmed the name, but PNA (at least Snack) hopes Trent Jewett is the new man in town, seeing as he actually knows the players and won't be a complete lackey for Huntington...
You the man, Trent...
So, not that Snack remembers, but apparently last year's hot trend was designer dogs..Don't really know what the hell that means, but it's now going to be designer cats. People are paying thousands of dollars for some stupid pet that is part cat, part cheetah, and part marsupial.This is what happens when people have too much money and too much time on their hands...
In celeb news, it seems the FBI knew of OJ's plan to get his stuff back. Of course, since it was OJ and they've been trying to get him for years, they allowed him to go get his gun-toting goons and bum rush in there like he's trying to take over a bank...I guess the Juice got squeezed...HAHAHAHA
Hey man, ya'll knew what was going down...
The Steelers have the Ravens on Monday night, so here's a story from the Trib discussing their lack of a sack against the Bengals...Personally, I'm not too worried about it, and neither is my boy Silverback Harrison...I'm willing to bet that they get to Old Balls McNair at least three times on Monday.
I'm lookin' for you McNair...
As I was looking thru the numerous blogs I read every day, I noticed this story about a guy you'll all recognize donning a very, very unoriginal Halloween costume...Trust me, it's funny as hell...
Finally, the Red Sox lost the ball used on the last pitch of Game 4 of the World Series...Those drunken jagoffs probably traded it at the pub for a round of Jack Daniel's...
Time to get loose boys...
Oh yea, I'm watching the Pitt game and we look predictably pathetic...When's the first hoops game again?
Until lata...
Sorry there hasn't been a morning update yet, as your boy Snack has been tryin to learn up on his html and design to make this site better...for now, check out our boys at Mondesi's House and WWTDD...I promise I will have an afternoon links page up sometime in the early afternoon...
Until this afternoon...
So all of you have been looking forward to the Pirates naming a manager...well the two fan favorites, Joe Girardi (Yanks new manager) and John Farrell, have been spoken for. Farrell says the timing wasn't right, which basically means up yours Huntington, I'm not leavin' the champs to manage your group of bums...Anyone else with me when I say Andy Van Slyke for manager?
Oh please, not me!
Looks like Diego is nursing a hangover so I'm going to throw some more links at ya and hopefully he's back in action tomorrow...(unless we do it all over again tonight, of course)
Marvin Harrison is listed as questionable for Sunday's showdown with New England...I'm sure ESPN will use this as a convenient excuse for the Colts losing...Looks like this thing could linger for a while too...
We may not see this for a while...
I can finally gamble without having to go to West Virginia! The Steelers, Bucs and the new North Shore casino project reached an agreement that could allow for groundbreaking on the new casino to start by the end of the year...Whoo hoo, Snack sure does love to lose all his money gambling!
Our boys over at Pens Blog have a really interesting period-by-period, play by play review with a pretty funny take on it..check it out, it definitely makes last night a little more bearable.
We don't need more old guys, we need more HITS!
Finally, as the Pens look more and more mediocre, here's an argument by Damian Cox and Scott Burnside over the value of older players. I think with the struggles of Recchi and Roberts this piece is very relavent, so take a look, and stop all your whining for the Pens to pick up Forsberg!
Until lata tonight or tomorrow morning...
The Pens lost last night, 3-2 to the Colorado Avs...It was an OK game, with the Pens jumping out to a 2-0 lead, but, of course, the hometown Avs made a rousing comeback and put young Danny Sabourin in his place...At least Sid had two goals, maybe this and his four point game against the Wild will get him back on his usual God-like pace...
Hang your head buddy, hang your head ...
It looks like no matter who we have in the crease, the soft goals continue...I think we may need to get another goaltender for the stretch run if we plan on winning the Cup this year...Maybe a Chris Osgood sighting? And what ever happened to Moose, he'd be a great fit...Here's a recap of the game from ESPN for you to check out...
As far as last night went, we went to the William Penn Tavern in Shadyside...since Snack's back was in shambles he wasn't there long enough to review the bar, but he did notice low priced drinks and that the waitresses were pretty good lookin...All in all, not a bad joint, definitely worthy of your time...
For links, I'm only going to put up a couple this morning as Diego (hopefully) is doing a bunch of links and his usual Pens recap for this afternoon...
Hope you like re-runs...The Writers Guild of America is discussing walking out, which would mean production would halt on all shows using WGA writers...so basically everything but reality tv...God help us all...
Please, WGA, don't let this be all we see on TV...
Finally, it looks like Dog got ratted out by his own son, Tucker...It was Tucker's girlfriend Dog was going off about, but I think old Tucker's just pissed cause he's never on the show. His cage fighting, bounty hunting, Dog loving brother Leland is gonna beat the snot outta him...
Would you want this big-eared bastard coming after you?
Until lata...
Here goes what will probably be the final post of the day...enjoy, and don't forget to watch the Pens tonight on FSN at 9 PM...GO PENS!
First off, Andy Reid's kid is a complete druggie; he just got sentenced to almost two years of jail for his drug habit and then he goes and smuggles 89 prescription pills into the pokey with him...Make sure you read page two of that article to see how he got them in there...If you think like us you're probably guessin' right.
In other drug news, Martina Hingis retired today amid a cocaine scandal....She apparently tested positive but completely denies it (of course)...Guess we won't find out who's telling the truth since she's retiring...Deny then retire...that's not incriminating at all...
I can't feel my face...
So our young mayor is involved in another scandal, this one involving a city employee rigging an online poll for his bossman. Come on, Luke, if you're going to do some rigging, do it when it counts, not in some crappy poll...
Who is it? And what did they do?
And finally, to get everyone in the mood for the game, here's a story about the two newest members of the Penguins Hall of Fame.
Only defenseman in club history to break 100 points twice...
GO PENS!!!!
Note from Snack...
Diego emailed me some links to post this afternoon...here's the goods, and look for my dinner time posting, which will probably be the last of the evening...Diego and I are planning on heading over to South City Tavern in South Side to see our boy Jack for the game. We'll have a Pens recap up in the morning, and possibly a bar review too...sorry for the delay but trust me, you don't want a drunk Snack rambling on about the good and/or bad side of the Pens..
Steelers are undefeated at home this year, outscoring opponents 84-19, and they also have won 11 straight at home while playing on Monday Night Football.
Kornheiser can't even hold his microphone right...
Reggie Bush is still in hot water for allegedly receiving almost $300,000 while playing at USC from 2004 to 2006. What, you thought all that Cali Trainwreck was free?
Jesus freak Jon Kitna is making news, not for his play, but for his Halloween costume.
He just looks like he belongs in Cinci, doesn't he?
The Brownies picked up Ricardo Colclough off waivers. With any luck he’ll be “catching” punts for them in the November 11 match up with the Steelers.
Hope you took the over in this one. A team out of Kansas, Smith Center High School, made national headlines scoring a record 72 points in the 1st quarter. Place your obligatory Bill Belichick joke here.
He always looks like he hates life so damn much...
Could there be a new slash playing for Duquesne? Since coming to play for the Dukes, former Pine Richland standout, Greg Hough, has played fullback his freshman year, linebacker his sophomore year, and now as a junior he is the team’s starting running back and captain. He is also second in the MAAC with 372 yards rushing.
Sid the Kid visits the Colorado Avalanche for the first time in his career tonight at 9:00.
I hope Sid can deliver wins as well as he delivers season tickets...
Kelly “the Ghost” Pavlik is a skinny white boy from Youngstown Ohio, but he is also the middleweight champion of the World. With a big 6’2” frame and 75” reach Pavlik knocks people the f out using his ferocious right hand. He is an imposing 32-0 with 29 wins coming by way of knock out. Get familiar with him at his homepage. And please do yourself a favor and check out this clip of him dropping people.
If you haven’t seen the movie Grandma’s Boy I suggest you rent it off NetFlix immediately because it is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. One of the main reasons is actor/comedian Nick Swardson’s performance; this dude is hilarious. If you're looking to kill some time, check him out at his Myspace page and be sure to check out all the clips he has posted - they kick ass. Swardson, who was also in The Benchwarmers and Reno 911, just dropped his debut CD, Party on Comedy Central records last Tuesday.
Check it out...
Until tonight...
First off, I wanna thank everyone for stopping by the site and making it a huge hit after only 4 days...All of our fellow bloggers (Mondesi, penguinsbuzz, thepensblog, etc...) have been sweet so far, and I also wanna apologize for the site looking all wild sometimes, as we're still getting the hang of this, so thanks for bearing with us... All that being said, it's time for some news... Dominating my world today was the racist rant of my favorite reality star, Duane "Dog" Chapman, went on while discussing his son's girlfriend with him...
Find Christ, brah!
Come one now, Dog, was this really necessary? You were once the man that all of white trash America (no idea why seeing as you're a big Hawaian, but I digress) idolized you for your badass bear mace and your huge-boobed wife. Your image as the God-fearing criminal-turned-bounty hunter is gone...Now you're just another jagoff who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut...Dumbass...
In other news...The Post-Gazette reports that not only does it appear John Farrell will stay with the BoSox, but it also looks like we may not have an announcement on the manager until November 12...You have got to be kidding me..I guess no one wants to work for Mr. Huntington...can't say I blame them...
Keep smilin', Neal, it can only get better...
Finally, a little known fact I'd thought I'd throw out to our loyal readers...since there is no NBA team in Pittsburgh, and in good conscious I can't root for the Cavs, my favorite team is the Mavs (Cuban's from the Burgh, get off me). Anyway, in NBA news, it looks like Kobe won't go to Dallas as my man Cuban says no to the West Coast's most prolific playa...well, at least Colorado's...
Until this afternoon...
So it looks like J-Lo hasn't been getting fat...yup, she's preggo. And the best part is who spilled it and the sleazy European accent that it had to be spilled in...
It looks like the Pens will be going with Danny Sabourin again on Thursday night. Is Danny just more confident right now or is this the start of a goalie controversy? Stay tuned...
The Flower is a late bloomer...
In the "why the hell is your state slogan Wild, Wonderful" department, West Virginia changed their state slogan back to Wild, Wonderful! Silly, silly bastards...
.
OG West Virginia residents...
Finally, in the spirit of Halloween, here's a link with Arkansas' star football players in their Halloween get-ups...Funny as hell...
See you all in the mornin', Happy Halloween everyone.
Pitt basketball jumps off tonight at 7:30 with its first preseason game against powerhouse Pitt-Johnstown, and no one cares. Here is something you may care about, an article about freshman Dejuan Blair; he's a large individual...
Still deciding which was worse last night those Wild uni’s or Brian Engblom’s hair, either way, Pens win, 4-2.
Baseball’s Mike Cameron is a cheater and he got caught.
MLB is informing players of drug tests, before they get to take them. Sounds kinda fishy to me...
Philadelphia good for two things: cheese steaks and ugly people.
In honor of Halloween I am giving a shout out to the worst candy of all time, the Mallo Cup. This god awful sorry excuse for a Reese's Cup is the worst candy of all time. If you enjoy the mallo cup you should be committed Western Pysch immediately.
We can put this article in the "women buy the dumbest things" category. A South "Scarolina" (chuckle chuckle) woman stole over $2.5 million from Lube USA and spent ALL the money on shoes, clothes and jewelery. Just wait till you see the end where it tells you how much money all the stuff was sold back for.Nice investment lady....
Here's another link I'm yanking from my boy Mondesi...It's about a Seahawk fan in Da 'Burgh for the Steelers-Hawks game. It's interesting to see how well we treated him, seeing as I've been known to throw down with opposing fans on occasion (I blame the beer and their stupidity) and I know yinz have too.
Looks like Diego's uncle Joe Torre may be close to a deal with the Dodgers to be their new manager. With A-Rod hitting the free agent market, could a reunion be in the making in the City of Angels?
And just to show yinz my love of all things mafia, here's a link to Jerry Capeci's This Week in Gang Land article...It updates every week and keeps you up to date on the goings on of Jr. Gotti and all of his cohorts from across the country.
Until tonight...
In honor of the start of probably my least favorite pro sport, basketball, I will bring you my first top ten list. There’s so many possibilities when dealing with the NBA, but the one I have decided to go with is….. The Top 10 Worst Haircuts in the NBA
10. Ben Wallace- What up big perm? I’m betting he has one of those afro picks with the fist on the end of it in his locker. Although he is saving money on haircuts seeing as how he probably hasn’t had one since the early 90’s. I just hope he doesn’t sit in front of me when I go see American Gangster this weekend. Pic
9. Steve Nash- I have to kind of give him a break because he is Canadian, so he probably doesn’t know any better, but this dude and his ever changing wig piece had to make the list because every haircut he rolls with is straight rubbish. I can’t imagine how bad he must get harassed in the Suns locker room. I guess 65 million could only buy him a haircut that made him look like the lead singer of Oasis.
8. Mike Miller-Who is that chick that plays for Memphis? The long flowing locks, the thin little hair band, Miller might spend more time looking in the mirror fixing his hair then he does shooting the J. Pic
7. Anderson Varejo-I’m not even sure how to describe this one, it kind of looks like a cross between Sideshow Bob and Doc from Back to the Future. Honestly, it looks like he was hit by lightning on more then one occasion.
6. Adam Morrison- He may be injured, but that’s not getting him off the hook for this list. Morrison’s hair resembles that of a dirty hippy, and its terrible. What is this kid thinking? Don’t even get me stared on the stache that is the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen. Someone get Adam a trip to Maury so he can put him on the ever popular makeover show. Pic
5. Andrew Bogut- Last year, his hair was pretty bad. When he showed up for Bucks camp he was sporting this one. Its really f-ing bad. Seriously Bogut, did you lose a bet over the summer or something?
3. Scott Pollard- Well I didn’t know any crackheads played in the NBA, but I guess they do. That is because anyone that gets hair cuts like this guy has to smoke rocks. YIKES!
2. Drew Gooden- Drew Gooden you and your crazy looking hairstyle perplexed me throughout the entire NBA playoffs. (Just about the only NBA I watch) I mean what in the name of Zeus’s beard are you doing with that thing? At first I thought it was a joke, but soon realized he was dead serious. Is it like a reverse soul patch? Or did you grow that little gay patch of hair because underneath lies the window to your soul?
Chris Kaman- Where do I start? This dude is just plain old scary looking. He looks like a zombie from the Resident Evil video game. He looks like Hulk Hogan’s ugly derelict brother. This dude looks like he could be an extra for that stupid Caveman tv show, but he wouldn’t need any makeup. If my wig looked like that I would seriously blow my brains out, do the world a favor Chris shave your f’n head please.
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I decided to show my boy Diego up and give yinz somethin to chew on this morning...Some are just little tidbits I've picked up here and there and others are links or news I think might interest yinz...I'd also like to thank Mondesi's House for his shout out yesterday. If you haven't checked out his site then you don't know what's up...
First and foremost, our boy over at What Would Tyler Durden Do? got some pics of the cheerleader from Heroes (Hayden Panetierre) running around the beach with her friends. I never would have guessed the girl from Remember the Titans would one day turn into this...
Robert Goulet, the crooner who is probably best known for some of the commercials he has done or for the Will Farrell parody on SNL, has died at the age of 73 while waiting for a lung transplant. He was a great entertainer, and a funny, funny man. Here's a classic Goulet commercial, and if you want to check out the SNL skit it's here.
So it turns out that one of the larger wildfires that recently ravaged California was actually set by a dumbass kid playing with matches. Someone needs to kick this kid's parents in the nuts for not teaching him that matches+brush= bye bye home. I'm just anxious to see how old this jagoff is and if they throw the book at him...I'll keep yinz updated.
Bucco Blog reports a rumor sending Jason Bay to the Brewers for a 19 year old prospect named Jeremy Jeffress, who has electric stuff but a bit of a drug problem has him on thin ice with the Brew Crew. Obviously, this is ridiculous, as the Pirates would never make a trade that could actually help the team. Plus, I don't see the Brewers giving up on a 19 year old kid that early in his career.
Sticking with the Buccos trade rumors, here's another interesting one...Ian Snell to Colorado? That one can't be true; how the hell can we get rid of good young pitching? If we're rebuilding, which we're sure to do, you can't let a 26 year old pitcher with an ERA under 4.00 go. Oh wait, this is the Buccos, if past experience tells us anything we'll probably trade him for Kenny Lofton and a retiree to be named later...
Until later today...
The Pens won 4-2 tonight against the Wild in Minnesota, showing they put that overtime loss to the Habs behind them.
The first period of tonight's game was some of the most boring hockey I've ever seen. The scoring chances were few and far between, and it seemed as if they were just feeling each other out...Thankfully, the second period brought some excitment.
The scoring started at 3:30 of the second when Geno Malkin wrapped one under goalie Josh Harding for a 1-0 Pens lead. Sidney Crosby made a charge to the net but lost the puck behind the net, where Malkin took the puck. The Wild followed it up with a goal at 6:14 by Veilleux to tie it up at 1..The original shot hit the post and Danny Boy was a lil too slow finding the puck and made a lunging effort to save it. But 15 seconds later Malkin tickled the twine again, finding a rebound and slamming it home. Crosby and Malone had the assists on both of Malkin's goals.
In the third, things started off with an Adam Hall vs. Jake Sheppard fight that looked more like a slow dance. That punk Sheppard high-sticked Hall and then leveled him in the neutral zone...My guess is Hall said enough with this crap, I'm gonna teach this kid a lesson, but Sheppard wouldn't let go of his arms...Grow some nuts Sheppard.
Danny Boy let in a stuffer of a shot with a little more then 13 minutes left to tie the game at 2. The puck was just sitting in the blue ice and he shoved it in the goal. Peter Sykora gave the Pens the lead at 10:05 of the third on the power play with a wrister from the middle that found it's way behind Harding. Crosby got the assist on that one too, along with Sergei Gonchar.
The Pens gained a two goal advantage when Crosby scored on a break away at 14:29 and in doing so shut the door on the Wild. It was another good showing by Danny Boy in goal and Sid the Kid ended up getting four points on four goals, netting one and gettng three assists.
This is just the kind of convincing win I was talking about us needing earlier, however the Snackster was wrong about Fluery getting another shot. Hopefully this send us on the road to another 100 point season. We'll see... GO PENS!
PS: Did anyone catch Brian Engblom's hair on Versus? Good Lord the man looks like he's wearing a hair piece made of cat fur. Either that or a small marsupial fell asleep on his melon, I'm not sure which. He'll be on the 10 worst haircuts in hockey list for f-ing sure.
After watching MNF last night, I am pretty sure the only way to explain Favre’s play is that he is back on the meds. Not to mention that he now has the Pittsburgh connection thanks to Mike McCarthy. ABC’s Take
Looks like not only did Cowboys party boy, Tony Romo, pick up a new $67 million contract, but apparently he may have also picked up a little VD, Britney Spears style. Gotta love that bye week...Here's the Story
The Pens go on the first game of the road trip to play the number one team in the Pacific conference tonight the Minnesota Wild, and Flower will be watching, just like us, because Danny Sabourin should be getting the nod after that shoot out performance this weekend. Check it Out
Speaking of Minnesota, here is a link to an A-Z description of the Xcel Energy Center, one of the premier hockey venues in the states. If you’re like me then after 30 years of narrow hallways and mini scoreboards your ready for the Pens to get that new arena built ASAP.Xcel Center
Something that has pissed me off for a number of years are all the jagoff’s that try to have a fake ass terrible towel whenever their drill riding team makes the playoffs, it happens in every sport, or sometimes when football teams play against the Steelers. Get your own idea to support your team you unoriginal bastards or Myron Cope is gonna come kick you in the nuts...
Looks like Girardi is going to manage the Yankees. There goes Snack’s dream of him becoming the next Bucco skipper to lose 90 games in a season, maybe you should hold your breath for my uncle Joe Torre or Don Mattingly.
Speaking of Yankees, someone needs to punch A Rod directly in his adam's apple; this arrogant prick conveniently announce he was opting out of his contract the same day as game 4 of the World Series. Really Alex you’re that much of a self-centered moron that you couldn’t stand any other story in baseball taking the lead over your Excellency on Sportscenter. Take a look
CREEP OF THE WEEK: I could probably pick this part on magicians alone they are so weird, but man this David Copperfield takes the cake, just one look at the dude he freaks me the f out. I mean personally, I don’t trust a man with a weird looking mini-fro that just so happens to be able to make the statue of liberty disappear at the snap of a finger. But on the other hand, who really is the bigger creep Copperfield or this chick for 1. Going to a David Copperfield show in the first place 2. Actually going backstage after the show to try to get “autographs” (that’s what you kids are calling it these days?) 3. Not taking the 2 million dollar pay off, could it really have been that bad?
I’m going to start off my Steelers recap with a quote from one of the greatest movies of all time, Super Troopers, and the quote is, “desperation is a stinky cologne”. I feel that this quote fits perfectly for the way the Bungal’s were playing yesterday, desperate. After winning their opener against the Ravens, the Bung’s dropped 4 in a row so they needed a win in the worst sort of way at home against the Steelers yesterday. Too bad for them, the Steelers ended their season for the third straight year, beating them at home 24-13.
I don’t know which was better, seeing Chad Johnson get lit up and fall face first and helmet less to ground, seemingly spitting out his grill along the way, or seeing all of the Bung’s fans and players in Paul Brown Stadium hanging their heads in shame, as they've been used to doing for most of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Ah yes, they were both lovely sites to witness as I sat back drinking beer and eating 15 lbs of delicious ribs courtesy of Anderson’s Meat and Poultry in the Strip with some of my dudes.
The Steelers offense proved to be too strong for the sorry excuse for a defense the Bung’s put out on the field Sunday. Big Ben had a great day, mostly due to the fact that he had all day to throw. Our offensive line, which looked eerily similar to a turnstile against the weak Denver D line, held up strong today in one of the best efforts put forward by the collective group all year. Not only did Ben tear apart their secondary, but Hines Ward also seemed to return to previous All-Pro form, scoring two TD’s in the first half. On one TD he beat 1st round pick Leon Hall badly on a double-move leaving him wide open in the end zone. If Hines cheesin’ after every catch weren’t enough for you, we were also treated to not one but two of his patented end zones celebrations.It's good to know that knee injury hasn’t hurt ole Hines’ dance moves. FWP, I actually heard on the radio that he doesn’t like that nickname we gotta think up a new one, also got back to form rushing for over 100 yards and for the third TD of the 1st half.
After getting shredded up pretty well and good last week Dick Lebeau had the defense ready to go out there and hit and someone in the mouth this week. Any time a Bungal player would touch the ball someone on the D was making them pay for it. One player that especially stood out was 2nd year safety Anthony Smith out of Syracuse. This guy is a human battering ram and if you don’t believe me call Douchemanzada and ask him because 84 got lit up on a more then a few occasions by the up and coming Smith. The defensive line deserves another shout out, even though Kenny whats his name got 90 yards, they hit him so many times he had to leave the game with a concussion, and lets not forget that’s another week holding a RB under 100 yards. Silverback gorilla James Harrison also made a hellava play when he tomahawk chopped the ball from Watson's hands giving the Steelers back the ball. Harrison has been having an awesome season stepping in at starter at outside linebacker. Lets not forget to show love to the secondary; Ike and company handled business continuously covering the deep ball, while avoiding taking penalities.
What in the hell happened to the Bung’s? They haven’t been the same since imploding at halftime of the Steelers playoff victory in Cincy two years ago. This team has a lot of talent offensively, but the defensive minded coach, Marvin "The Martian" Lewis, better get this act together soon or all this turmoil is going to cost him his job this off season. Bring on them Ravens Monday Night, your boy Diego is going so I will see yinz there…
All and all a good week in sports see you guys next week look out for my top 10 column coming out later this week….
After being disappointed by Pitt I was ready to head downtown to check out the Pens for the third time this year. Before going into the game I first paid a visit to the Souper Bowl on 5th avenue so I could get my yager bomb on and try, to no avail, to lower my intake of $7.50 Labatt Blue’s inside the Igloo. One observation I’d like to share is about the pat down on the way into the arena; lets just say they get a lot more friendly with you at Heinz Field then they do at the Mellon Arena (not that I am complaining about that but come on give me a little challenge sneaking my flask and/or other paraphernalia into the game) Step your game up Mellon security.
As for the game itself it started out not so great… the Canadians were beating us up and beating us by two goals. At this point I was ready to help the teenagers in front of me jump the obnoxious Habs fans sitting rows ahead taunting us waving around their stupid Canadian flag (don’t they know they are America’s hat, stupid Canadians) The 2nd period didn’t start off too hot either as the ever unstable Fluery gave up his third goal and was subsequently pulled for back up Danny Sabourin. It seemed that Therrien had some choice words for the team at intermission because they came out playing a lot better after letting up that third goal, scoring twice to tie up the game. They had one goal from Crosby, to Malkin, back to Crosby that was absolutely ridiculous and got the crowd of 17 thousand right on their feet and cheering. (and shut up those Canadians for the time being)
The third period was a struggle but the Pens pulled Sabby and ended up scoring with under two minutes left in the game, stealing a point from the Habs. The crowd was pretty rowdy at this point even though they stop selling beers at the drop of the third. However, the Pens couldn’t score in OT and for the second time this year I got to see a shoot out, live in person. On a side note, I am a big fan of the shoot out. Who wants to sit for a whole game and have it end in a tie? That shit's weak style. What should I do, shake hands with the Canandians fan and go home? No I wanna see some more action, and action is what we got with 16 shooters going and more then one quicker then lightning glove save from the backup goalie. Unfortunately, the Pens couldn’t get the win but it was still a great comeback.
Players of the game for me were Evgeni Malkin and Danny Sabourin. Geno had three assists and seemed to be playing like a man on a mission. Danny, who came in for the piss poor Fluery, made some clutch saves prompting the crowd to chant SABBY! SABBY! Also, the nachos I ate during the 1st period were the shit (gotta love those stadium cho’s). The lowlights were the fact me and Snack were both in the house and we got a loss further confirming my theory that Snack is indeed the whammy. (I’m thinking about starting a petition to prevent him from going to the Steelers Monday nighter next week)
Are the Pens too soft or just playing inconsistent hockey? NHL.com’s take on it
Bondra hangs up the skates. Bondra’s Swan Song
Alright, well after sobering up from the weekend festivities, it's none other than Diego the great here stopping in to write his first weekend recap for pierogis n’at hereby titled the Monday Morning Hangover. In this segment I’ll recap this weekend’s sports action, the stuff I care about at least, and give you some insights and observations I made while I was watching the games, greazing, and drinking some Irons…
The weekend in sports started off pretty f’n weak, as they didn’t even give as a World Series game on Friday night. I mean I am as sick of baseball as the next guy, but there wasn’t even a college football game on Friday night. So if you were looking for any sports action your best bet would have been to go to a high school football game and hit on some “mature looking” high school students. To quote Matthew McConaughey’s Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, “That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”
Speaking of high school football did anyone else see that Jeanette Greesburg CC game Thursday night on FSN? Ya, I didn’t either, but while tuning in before the start of the Pens game they showed one highlight of the two TD’s Jeanette had already scored. It involved All-Everything QB Terrell Pryor aka Superboy faking a handoff right and running a naked boot left, scoring about a 10 yard TD, and along the way just about decapitating a poor Greensburg CC linebacker… and not only did he just about knock this kid into next week but this kid was also rewarded with Pryor giving him the longest "f you buddy I’m sure you’ll remember this when your watching me play starting for Ohio St. next year in both football and basketball stares that I’d ever seen in my life". It looks like Pryor is already a pro at bruising both bodies and egos alike. If you don’t know about this kid check out and crawl out from whatever rock you’ve been living under.
I was looking forward to Saturday because its finally that time of the year when we are getting past all the BS in college football now that the Penn St.’s and OSU’s of the world are done playing teams the likes of Florida International and Kent St we can finally see some real ball and some rivalry games. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how you look at it, I had tickets to the Pens game that evening, so I couldn’t watch highly touted OSU-Penn St match up at 8:00, I had to settle for a little Pitt-Louisville action at high noon.
My first thought after watching a few series from this Pitt game is the same thought I had after watching every Pitt game so far this year… these guys are hard to watch. With such a young group of players Pitt just looks disorganized and they have trouble executing, constantly starting out the game going three and out. Once again Pitt offense underperforms gaining only 270 yards on a team that hasn’t been able to stop anyone all year long. Pitt did do a good job of holding future NFL QB Brian Brohm to well under his season average in passing yards.
Still, the story of the game was Shady McCoy getting a case of fumbilitis on the one yard line, just as we were about to tie the game up. Although it’s easy to point fingers at Wannstache (shout out to Mondesi’s house) or Cavanaugh for the disappointing season, the bottom line is they are doing the best with a depleted roster due to injury, and with the young talent they have. After all, it’s not easy to win games when starting three true freshmen on offense in any conference, let alone the Big East.
On a positive note, the last two weeks have shown that Pitt isn’t giving up. After coming back to upset 23rd ranked Cinci, and this week almost completing a comeback against Louisville, Pitt showed that they have a solid core of young players led by freshmen starters McCoy and Pat Bostick. Hopefully Pitt can finish the season strong with a few more wins to have momentum built up for next year because after this disappointing season Pitt fans are just counting down the days till hoops starts. The Trib’s take on it
JoePA craps his pants again (figuratively) and Happy Valley is left dejected as #1 OSU silences critics and Penn St fans alike. Penn St. Sucks
West Virginia keeps their win streak alive and stays in contention for the Big East Title and BCS bowl birth. WVU Sucks
Uconn proves to skeptics they are for real taking out South Florida and staying at the top of the Big East standings. UConn Sucks Too
Well, I lied, I'm back...
I just saw the Mike Tomlin Presser on FSN and wow, does this guy just continue to impress me. First off, the crazy bastard wore jeans to the presser...not too often you see a coach in the stuffy NFL so casual tuesday morning, or if they are they're all decked out in the newest Reebok team gear, not jeans and a button-down. My man's got style, and that's before he even opened his mouth.
When he started talking he told the reporters that their opinions don't matter and that he laughs at some of the stuff they write...Bold move, young man, calling out the likes of Ed Bouchette...suprisingly though, old Ed didn't seem to mind. On the Sportsbeat post conference show he said he enjoyed the banter and was very impressed.
From what I've seen, heard and read, that seems to be the word that best describes Tomlin...Impressive.
So we didn't get as many articles as we hoped up yesterday, had some logistical problems but THEY WILL be up today...Diego's Monday Morning Hangover will be up tonite and it will blow yinz away...Diego isn't half the moron I thought he was...
As for what I, the Snack Master will be up to this fine Tuesday evening, I'll be at the Snack Shack (my crib) watching the Pens on Versus. Hopefully we start Danny Sabourin but I doubt it as I'm sure they'll try and get Fluery's confidence back up against the Wild.
I'd like to see us come out of our shell a little bit tonite too. I think a game where we score five or six goals and absolutely demolish a team could set us back on the track we were on last year. Playing .500 hockey as we are now is not good enough with the talent we have, and if we don't get hot quickly, I could very easily see Michel Therrien getting the axe around the All-Star break. He only got a one year extension, and there had to be a reason for that. Snack thinks Ray Shero wanted Therrien to prove last year wasn't a New Orleans-style fluke (with the Pens potentially leaving doesn't it seem like the team played for us the way the Saints played for New Orleans after Katrina?).
Who knows, maybe it's just a bad start and I'm making moutains out of mole hills.I guess only time will tell...
For the time being, yinz can check out this tribute to Sid the Kid I found on youtube..it'll get ya all fired up for our national TV broadcast tonite...
Until lata tonite...
So who didn't see this one coming? The Red Sox downed the Rockies 4-3 to complete the sweep in what has to go down as one of the most lopsided World Series' in recent memory.
If you forget all about that amazing hot streak that saw the Rockies win 21 of 22 it was quite easy to see coming. The Sox, a team full of proven veteran talent such as David Ortiz, Curt Schilling, World Series MVP Mike Lowell and the ever popular Manny Ramirez have been envisioning this game since April; the Rockies were at or near the bottom of their division for much of the year. If you'd like to read about how badly the Sox beat the Rockies on paper, check out Bob Smizik's article, he talks about the difference in pitching staffs. Once you read it yinz will know what I mean.
Watching all this baseball makes me think about one thing; those cheap, cheap owners of our beloved Buccos...I have been a Red Sox fan for years now (no idea why...must be my Irish side), but, as much as I enjoy them winning, I'd much rather it be our boys. Pittsburgh loves us a winner, and the city would really get behind a winning baseball team.
What bothers me is that it really wouldn't take that much more money to make us at least competitive. By Snack's estimates, if we made our payroll roughly 70 million dollars, we would be able to add the at least middle-of-the-road veterans we could really use. As is, all our payroll allows for is a small, one-year piece here and there that we always end up using as trade bait because of our awful record (or they go the way of Joe Randa and lose their starting job, costing us $4 million to find out Freddy Sanchez was for real).
At least we have the Steelers and Pens to keep us occupied for the next 3 or 4 months...we'll keep you informed on the mangerial search for the Buccos, but if you're looking for a daily update on all things Pirates, check out Bucco Blog.
PS: Keep an eye out, Diego is going to post his first "Monday Morning Hangover" segment, prolly sometime this evening. (Unline your boy Snack, he has a 9-5 type job...)
Well they won, 24-13...haha no surprise here as the Bung-Holes are always pathetic at their own place. This is the seventh time in a row we've won there, marking the complete domination of that team...sure, they may have won a few here and there over that period (like last year's forgetable effort in Pittsburgh) but all those wins were when nothing (much) was on the line..any opportunity they've ever had to shed that notion (our playoff victory over them and the chance to make the playoffs with a win last year versus our Steelers) has ended in defeat...
As far as today's game goes, kudos to Bruce Arians for RUNNING THE BALL...Willie Parker did a wonderful job, gaining 126 yards and scoring a touchdown. And let's not forget about Carey Davis, who proved to be pretty valuable today. Not only did he come in and do an admirable job replacing lead battering ram Dan Kreider, but he also made the play of the game, a great individual effort to break a tackle on a screen play, turning what was a sure loss into an 8 yard pick-up. He's turning out to be quite the young ballplayer, and I think old Danny boy's days as a Steeler may be numbered...
I also think Big Ben played rather well, completing 19 passes for 230 yards and those 2 Ward TD's. He made a few plays that no other QB in the league could make, including a first down pass with a Bengals linebacker draped on his legs. All we have to do now is get rid of that one interception he threw near the goal line and he could be playing at an All-Pro level.
MVP for the day has to go to Hines Ward for his 2 TD's, 8 receptions, 88 yards and his overall strong play. He looks like the Hines from 2005, and as we all recall, that was a good year for us...
If yinz want to see the full boxscore or just how your favorite Steeler did, check out ESPN's Game Summary
So it’s the beginning of the fourth quarter as I write this, and the Bengals just kicked the extra point to make it 21-13. Here are a few things I’ve noticed so far, and at the end of the game I’ll give yinz a full recap…
Why is it that Ben always seems to make a dumb decision near the endzone? I think he’s a great QB, but this is a habit he’s going to have to break if we are to beat those pesky Colts or Pats this year, or any year soon for that matter…Let’s see how he handles this drive…
Good to see the old Hines back…he’s catching everything thrown to him and he’s agitating and blocking with the best of them. As I type this he just made a sweet first down catch…Welcome back buddy.
Wow, here comes another fumblegate situation…thankfully Dick Ebersol isn’t the commish, or else the Bengals woulda got the ball…
Finally, Santonio Holmes looks like he’s becoming the player I never thought he’d be. I didn’t like his school or his off field problems or his size, but once again here is making another big third down catch…
More to come after the game…GO STEELERS!
So who will be Snack's first Pick of the Week?
I like our Steelers against the Bengals giving them 3-4 points depending on who you ask, however I never like to bet with or against them so for now we'll leave them out of this discussion.
I also like the Giants giving 10 to the Dolphins. With Brandon Jacobs running well and what seems to be a new-and-improved Eli Manning, they should run all over Joey Porter and his cumps in London. But with all the travel and time changes and whatknot I don't feel comfortable making this the POTW.
And now, with the first pick in the 2007 Big Snack POTW contest, Snack takes....
The JACKSONVILLE JAGS...
They're playing the surprising Tampa Bay Bucs, who are rallying behind the Hugh Hefner of the NFL, Jeff Garcia...and the Bucs are actually favored by four in this game. I feel with the complete lack of a running game in Tampa, that big, physical D of the Jags will be able to pin their ears back and slam that old man around...The Jags O, while no juggernaut themselves, can be very efficient against a defense whose best days may be behind it. I not only think they Jags will beat the spread, I think they will wint the game, we'll say something like 21-17. I doubt it will be a high scoring affair with two stingy D's, but the over-under is a very, very low 32 points. I'd bet over too, seeing as it's rare to get games scoring less then 32, but this could very well be a 13-7 type game...We'll see how I fare tomorrow afternoon....
PS: Let's not forget that Snack is a crappy gambler, so unless his advice happens to reinforce an earlier belief about a game, PNA recommends you stay as far away from his bets as possible.
