Well, looks like the Pens are still rolling, even after five days off...Last night, they beat the Stars 4-1 at the Igloo...
They have looked good for three games in a row, and dare I say it, may be on a hot streak...The fourth line has really picked it up, with Big Georges looking like the player we traded for and Tyler Kennedy providing hustle and an offensive spark...of course, I call these guys fourth liners but God only knows where they will end up on any given night, since Coach Therrien changes his lines every other shift...
And, as with any good winning streak, the big time players have been performing very well, with Sid the Kid scoring twice last night and Geno Malkin adding another...These two, along with Marc the Flower (who has looked good now two games in a row), are the cornerstones of this team, and they must perform well if we have any hope of taking home the Cup this season...
And finally, a random note from the sports page today...
Four Steeler players were subpoenaed in the Hines Ward bar case...Ike Taylor, Big Hamp, Deshea, and Nate Washington all got the nod...I don't understand what the hell these four could have to do with anything, so basically I think some jackass lawyer is trying to get his name in the news...Unless, of course, the charges are eating the $350k thats missing...Then Big Hamp may be someone to look at...
OK boys and girls, here's your end of the week links as promised...
First off, Steve Pederson is back with our beloved Pitt Panthers as the new/old Athletic Director...after a crappy term at Nebraska, Pederson is looking to bring the magic back that sent us to a BCS bowl a few years back...I like this move, personally...He seemed to know what he was doing, and was a big part of building The Pete...Good luck, brah, and if you get rid of the 'Stache I'll hunt you down like Tom Osborne did in Nebraska...
The Pirates decided to keep the ticket prices the same...No shit...If we raised prices I wouuld have to go kick Huntington in the face myslef...We're also have the longest streak of not raising prices, which is weird seeing as we also have the longest streak of not having a winning season...
In other Pirate news, the Cards are apparently interested in Jack Wilson and Matt Morris...I liked Morris, but his salary is way too high for us, and with Brian Bixler coming up through the system, I guess the Buccos feel Wilson is expendable...Let's just hope they don't pull a Pirate and sell these guys short...we need to get something quality in return, not some half-assed minor league players...
Joe Pa crapped his pants again...alright, that's just a rumor Snack started, but he did say he wants to coach another 5 years on top of the university announcing his annual salary, which is roughly $500,000...that's less then Jaime Dixon and the 'Stache, but I'm willing to bet old poopy pants makes more in endorsements (Depends, Ensure and such) and for his radio show/tv show then those two can even imagine...
The Penguins are trying too make it 3 in a row tonight against the Stars...we need to keep this roll going, now's the time to make our move...with a week off before tonight, if these jagoffs aren't flying around I will be pissed off royally...
Here's a video to remind us all of what the Pens have the ability to be...
In some somber news, it looks like police have a lead in the Sean Taylor case...Apparently the fuzz are questioning three young men about the shooting, so let's hope this gets solved sooner rather then later...
I'd like to personally thank loyal reader White Marcus for his help with this next link...
New Blog time!!! Well, at least new to me...Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians is hilarious...it's basically pics of guys who look like lesbians...It's a good way to waste a half hour if you're bored...
For those of you who live in a box and yet somehow read this blog, the Packers lost to the Cowboys last night...but of course, the big news is Brett Favre's arm injury...Since White Marcus has him on his fantasy team and is a possible playoff opponent, I say let the old man rot...but, seeing as he is the feel good story of the year, I kinda wanna see him playing again...We'll see...
Here's some links to keep yinz busy until tomorrow, when I plan on putting up a mega links page...but we'll see, we all know how Snack likes to get drunk and then sleep for 15 hours, and today is Thursday...
First off, in Bucco news, MLB Trade Rumors is really up and running good now that it's free agent and trade time...They suggest that Nady and McLouth could be traded for a 3B prospect who is in AA...The kid, Chase Headley, is the third-best third base prospect in the game, with our own Neil Walker coming in fifth...I am personally all for this move...Walker is a big boy, who could easily be moved to 1st base or the outfield, as I would imagine Headley is too...We have pitching coming out of our ears, what we need now is some sluggers to actually SCORE SOME RUNS!!!
Bucco Blog also has some trade rumors posted, as well as a review of a 30 minute Q&A with Neil Huntington...Neil seems like a bit of a jackass to ole Snack here, but I guess I'll give him some time before I start my "Fire Huntington" petition...
In "no shit, Sherlock" news, LSU has given Michigan permission to talk to coach Les Miles about the open coaching job in Ann Arbor, which, by the by, is the only coaching job he can leave LSU for...For some reason, I've always been a Big Blue fan, but this would be an absolutely horrible move...All this Miles guy does is whine and complain and say stupid stuff like "No one's beat us in regulation this year, so we should be conidered for the national title"...NO YOU SHOULDN'T, JERKY!!!...You lost two games, and last time I checked, thats 1 or 2 more losses then a lot of other teams...
And lastly, a little update on FieldGate 08'...it appears the Steelers players actually want to keep the grass field, saying it provides a home field advantage...Holy hell, Diego was actually right about something...I personally like the grass as well, but if the whole league is going to ride our nuts and say that our field is a hazard and we're a disgrace and wah wah wah, it's not worth it to me to stick with it...Plus, think of those poor souls working on the ground crew down there...They busted their asses for 36 hours straight to put that sod down and all they got for it was the entire football nation giving them shit...We'll see where they go with this one, but I think that badass new FieldTurf may be the way to go...
Oh yea, I wanted to post a little tidbit sent in to use from loyal reader SeanKidd...take a look at this video, and for those of you who don't know Snack, imagine a little more hair, a little more clothes, and all black and gold and you'll have a great mental image of me...HAHAHA
The Steeler nation would have to get a through a long day of football on Sunday, not to mention a long work day on Monday, before getting to see the Steelers play on Monday night. When waking up on Monday morning, us Pittsburghers were treated to a dark, windy, cold, and rainy start to the day. It was definitely a sign of things to come for the game later that night. Hey, at least it was Monday and it was a football night in Pittsburgh.
Finally done with work after a day that seemed to go by oh so slowly, and after turning down a couple opportunities to go down to Heinz Field and stand around in the monsoon I made my way to a bar in the strip to watch the game. This game was pretty highly anticipated not only because it was on national tv, but due to the fact the Steelers were coming off a bad loss the previous weekend to the Jets. We all saw the game, and the way I see it, there were a few major story lines in this game. The two things that left an impression on me and that I wanna talk about are the field and the commentators.
First up, the field; ever since Monday night all I’ve been hearing is moans and complaints about the playing surface. People are saying that it was the worst ever in the history of the NFL, people are saying we need field turf ASAP, and Art Rooney even issued a statement apologizing for the field’s condition. I mean what did you people expect after 4 WPIAL games Friday, a Pitt game on Saturday, and a torrential down pour for hours and hours on game day? I know everyone keeps saying this field needs to be improved but I am thinking, maybe not so much.
Obviously, this theory of mine is considered as the minority opinion of the masses. I also know that watching that game Monday was almost as boring as watching me kick Snack’s ass in a game of Madden on 360, but this field is the ultimate home field advantage! All the Steelers have to do is move their practice facility from the Southside over to Greenfield, namely Magee Field. Sure, Magee isn’t 100 yards long and it doesn’t have field goal posts, but practicing in that sloppy, muddy, mess of a field worked for Central Catholic, who practiced there in anticipation for a muddy field and ended up winning the AAAA championship on Friday night. (Note from Snack: As a proud Central alum, I wanna congraulate the Vikings on a great win...Even Diego's City League loving ass thought it was a helluva game) The proof is in the footage from Monday: the Dolphins couldn’t run, pass, or kick. I know what you're thinking, we couldn’t do any of those things either, but hey, we already have one game under our belt...with a little more practice Fast Willie will be effortlessly wading through that mud. Not to mention the fact that Willie did rush for 80 yards Monday, Ben went 18 for 21 passing, and "Heinz" Ward pretty much caught anything thrown in his direction.
One group I’m pretty sure would agree with me is the Steelers defense; they played one hell of a game pitching another shut out for the national audience. Honorable mention goes to Tyrone Carter who was starting in place of Troy Polamalu, he had 12 tackles in the game, 11 of those coming solo. The D also sacked Beck 4 times, pressuring him many times on the evening. The field proved to be a big ally for the defense, but it also didn’t hurt that Miami’s top 2 running backs left the game with injuries. If it would help them get a shut out every home game I’m sure the defense wouldn’t mind getting their jerseys a little dirtier on Sundays. So Art Rooney, don’t yield to the pressure given by the NFL let the field stay the way it is and let our defense handle business. Skippy will eventually boot us a game winner just like he did on Monday night.
One other quick point I wanted to touch on was a comment by the MNF announcers. Let me start by saying I do like Kornheiser, I watch PTI, he is awesome with Wilbon, and also Jaws is certainly an improvement over Joe Theisman (who Diego personally would like to punch in the face). Yet, I found myself annoyed when listening to the crew this Monday.
(Pic from thebiglead.com)
One Korny Bastard...
When talking about Ricky Williams, the three announcers were laughing and joking around about how he gave up millions just to smoke pot everyday. Point taken, Ricky is most definitely a bonehead for not being able to quit smoking ganja while he was in the NFL. The problem I had with all these comments was that Ricky was being singled out, because there are plenty of players in the NFL making far worse choices then smoking a joint. Albeit Kornheiser did rectify his previous comments when he said something along the lines of “I guess when you think about it, smoking pot is far more harmless then a lot of the other offenses some NFL players have been committing lately”. Well-spoken Kornehieser.
Now listen, I am not advocating the use of pot here, but its not like the substance is going to be enhancing a player’s performance in any way, shape, or form. Pot is a harmless drug, a lot more harmless then say having an cache of guns in your home (Tank Johnson), being arrested four times in three states (Chris Henry), taking human growth hormone (Rodney Harison), or facing felony charges in two states (Pacman). All offenses that have occurred this year and all, except Pacman, have received lesser punishments then Ricky Williams has for smoking a few doobies. In closing, I just think its dumb to suspend a player for a year for taking a drug that isn’t helping him in any way shape or form. Hey, Goodell, save the suspensions for the real criminals will ya?
The Pitt Panthers beat Boston U. last night at The Pete, 80-53...We have to have one of the weakest early season schedules in the country, beating their opponents by an average of 31 points per game, and yet we've moved up to #11 in one poll...This has definitely been the year of the underdog in college athletics, with the big upsets by Stanford and Appalachain St. in football, and numerous college hoops teams losing or barely surviving games with inferior opponents...I'm glad to see Pitt hasn't fallen into that trap...yet...
Ronald Ramon broke out of his shooting slump, leading the Panthers with 15 points, which is always good...I love having a pure shooter such as him on the team...One thing that didn't impress me, however, was the play of Sam Young...He's been playing so well recently, and yet in the first televised game of the year (to my knowledge), he craps his pants, turning the ball over and attempting to force the issue. Let's hope this was a one game thing, and that he doesn't turn into Karl Krauser Jr....
Finally, I am looking for big things from DeJaun Blair...He looked pretty good last night, and I was particularly impressed with his rebounding prowess. I'm thinking he won't be around all four years at Pitt, so get a good look at him while you can...
(Pic from postgazette.com)
Don't tase me brah!!!!
Pitt's next game is against a crappy Toledo team, but then comes the biggest game of this young season...Pitt vs. Duquesne...I know, I never thought I'd be saying that either...but whatever, if you write a Pittsburgh sports blog, I guess you gotta cover everyone...
Except Penn St., of course...They're more obnoxious then those damn Hoopies in West Virginia, and they even smell worse...I guess Jo Pa's "accident" is still lingering with them...
Lots of action in sports this weekend I am going to jump right into it and talk some college football to start things off this week. Week 13 was a big weekend for college football, as there are only a couple of weeks left in the season and a National Title birth is still up for grabs. In action this week WVU readily handled Uconn 66-21 to win the Big East crown and guarantee a BCS bowl bid. WVU was looking sharp on both sides of the ball, and Pat White was just too much for the Uconn defense to handle as he ran for nearly 200 yards. This win puts WVU in the driver’s seat to make a run at the National Championship.
Also, it didn’t hurt that WV received a little help from some other teams on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, the #2 team in the nation once again suffered a loss. This time it was #4 Missouri beating up Big12 rival Kansas, 36 to 28. (note from Diego: when did these teams get good at football?) The Kansas loss was big for WVU but even bigger was Arkansas, who knocked off the #1 team in the land, LSU, in a thrilling triple OT victory on Friday afternoon. Due to the turn of events this weekend, Missouri (11-1) took over as the #1 ranked team and WVU (10-1) jumped up to #2 in both the AP and BCS polls. Missouri and WVU both have only one game remaining on their schedules with Missouri facing a tough Oklahoma team in the Big 12 championship, and WVU locking it up with Pitt for the 100th anniversary of the Backyard Brawl.
Speaking of Pitt they lost again this weekend, this time to South Florida. Pitt actually was playing some aiite ball in the first half and they even managed to take a 14-10 lead into halftime at Heinz Field Saturday. Pitt’s defense came apart on the first play of the second half, when South Florida QB Matt Grothe outran all 12 men on the field for Pitt and scored on a 80 yards TD run. Bostick had a decent day passing for nearly 300 yards, but his 3 interceptions proved to be too costly for Pitt. The final score was 48-37. Shady Mc Coy was once again the bright spot for Pitt as he led the team in receiving and rushing yards, and also managed to get 3 TD’s on the ground eclipsing Tony Dorsett’s freshman record of 13.
(Pic from viewimages.com)
Will the real Shady please stand up?
Pitt has a chance to play spoiler and ruin WVU’s shot at the National Championship when these two teams meet at 8:30 Saturday night in West Virginia. Although Pitt has been looking more improved week after week they’re going to need a near perfect game to take out the #2 team in all the land. Also, the Pitt defense will have its hands full, to say the least, when it comes to stopping the potent offense of the Mountaineers. If Pitt had trouble stopping Grothe this past weekend they are surely going to have a problem with Heisman candidate Pat White this weekend.
(Pic from sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
Pat White will have the Panthers seeing red...
In my opinion, I hope WV does win (I’m still a Pitt supporter but come on gimmee a break it would be good for the Big East to be represented in the National Championship and Pitt isn’t even gonna make a bowl game this year). Also, I hope that Oklahoma can knock off Missouri. This would leave us with Ohio St. versus WVU for the National title, or how I like to refer to it, the Terrelle Pryor Bowl.
Saturday night was hockey night in Pittsburgh and Snack and Diego managed to score some seats in the club level west right at mid ice, I know people I’m a pretty big deal. Anyway the seats were really great, but the game itself was even better. The Pens seemed to carry over the momentum from their thrilling 6-5 shootout victory on Thanksgiving against the Senators. Everyone out on the ice seemed to be soaring around to the puck and the Pens unquestionably dominated play all night in this one. Therrien once again shook up the lines, putting Crosby, Armstrong, and Malone on the top line. This change was working nicely Saturday night as Crosby, Armstrong, and Malone looked to be playing with a lot of chemistry.
This game was huge for some players who had been recently in a slump. Three of these players were Armstrong, Staal, and Fleury. Staal and Armstrong ended long goal droughts by both scoring their second goal’s of the season in this game. With any luck, this will have a positive effect on both players giving them more confidence going into the next game. The same goes for the Flower, who managed to make a bunch of good saves while compiling 28 total and not letting in a goal for the second time this season. Good to see the Pens getting it together with this 5-0 win and two game win streak. Also a good sign is that their scoring has increased, with 10 goals in the last two games. Only unfortunate situation is that we don’t play again until Friday against a hot Dallas team, but as long as they keep playing like they did last week we will be good.
First and foremost, PNA would like to send it's thoughts and prayers to the Redskins and the family and friends of Sean Taylor...It's a shame he had to die in such a senseless act of violence, and hopefully this trend of NFL players dying before they should ends with him...
As for the Steeler game, I was going to post an elaborate article, all about the ups and downs of the game and digging deep into the stats and such...Well, for those of you who saw the game, there really isn't much to write about...
The Steelers won 3-0 on a Skippy Reed field goal with 20 seconds left on perhaps the worst playing field/surface in NFL history...Everyone was sloppy, there was no footing, and punts would literally stick in the ground instead of bouncing...it was horrible to watch, but at least Kornheiser and Jaws kept it light and funny, saying towards the end "the Steelers better watch out, it they score too quickly the juggarnaut that is the Dolphins offense will have a lot of time to work with"...
(Pic from postgazette.com)
Splish, splash I was takin' a bath...
All in all, it was a shitty game, but at least we won...Look for Diego to post some more stuff in his Monday Morning Hangover section to be up either later today or tomorow...
In honor of the Steelers hosting the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football tonight, I have compiled a list regarding everyone’s favorite trash talking linebacker who now is rocking the teal and orange. That’s right, I’m talking about none other then Joey Porter and this week’s Top 10 is all about him, his shocking behavior, and his glorious trash talk we all have grown to enjoy since drafting him in the 3rd round out of Colorado St. back in 1999.
10. Is Joey Porter a member of Al Quada?
Joey says he’d “welcome Bin Laden” if he could run the ball when asked about Ricky Williams return to the team. Bin Laden? I thought this was America Joey. Ha, this gem was the only talking we’ve heard out of JP in quite some time. The reason for this is of course since signing his big free agent contract in the off-season with Miami, the team still has not won a single game.
9. Who let the dogs out??
At least JP can say the bad press about him wasn’t regarding his mouth this time. Everyone remembers this news story from 2006, when Joey’s two dogs, a pitbull and a mastiff, somehow escaped his yard and killed his neighbor’s 29 inch mini horse! Porter must have these dogs running next to him on the treadmill. Cuz like you, I watch Rob and Big on MTV, and therefore I know that a mini horse is a pretty large creature to kill. I know I wouldn’t wanna run into Porter in a dark alley, but now I know I wouldn’t wanna run into his dogs either.
(Pic from dentranch.com)
Dinner is served...
8. Joey calls Colts “soft”...
After a November loss to the Colts in the regular season, Joey tells the world how he really feels about Peyton Manning and the Colts' offense, before their playoff re-match. Never one to hold back his thoughts, JP says the Colts “try to trick you and make you think” and that Edgerrin James 100+ yard effort rushing was “a cheap 100”. Some thought these comments would backfire and actually help motivate the Colts. As we all know this wasn’t the case as JP and the Steelers defense led the Steelers to victory by physically dominating the Colts offense.
7. Porter calls out refs for “cheating” for Peyton.
This 2005 divisional playoff game alone produced two of Porter’s greatest moments as he went on a tirade after the game due to a call which officials made that overturned a nail-in-the-coffin interception by safety Troy Polamalu. JP was so fired up about the call that he went as far as saying the NFL was trying to cheat for Manning because everyone loves him and wanted to see him win the Super Bowl. With the amount of commercials featuring Manning on TV these days it’s hard to argue with Porter on that one. Either way, the NFL ruled it was a bad call and JP never took a hit in the pocket book. Bonus!
6. Joey a national security threat.
After the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2006, they were due for a trip to the White House to meet President George W. Bush. JP, of course, used this opportunity in the limelight to talk some smack on the leader of the free world. It’s nice to know that if you have 20+ inch biceps, no neck, and your job description is giving running backs snot bubbles (you know you love the Program reference) that you can get away with making comments like these about the President. With this one, Joey proved that no one is safe from his trash talk.
(Pic from femmefan.com)
Who wants some of Deebo?
5. Joey calls Winslow out of closet after cheap shot.
Porter is a passionate player, so when people take cheap shots at teammates it doesn’t usually sit too well with him. Kellen Winslow found this out the hard way after a game in 2006. J Pizzy once again let his emotions get the best of him and called the Browns tight end “a fag” not once but twice. Normally, if someone in the national media spotlight would make a comment like this there would be pandemonium from gay rights groups, but seeing as how JP is a 255 lbs black man who just happens to be one of the most feared players in the league, people seemed to let this one slide a little more then they normally would.
4. Joey ruins Jerramy Stevens career.
Sometimes it's just smarter to keep your mouth shut, but Jerramy Stevens apparently never learned this growing up. Stevens made the mistake of opening his mouth, and JP, as he does most times, took it personally. Steven’s comments led to a highly publicized back and forth battle of words during the two-week grace period between conference championships and Super Bowl XL. The Steelers won their 5th Super Bowl and Stevens was cut and sent packing shortly after the season, never to be heard from again. Hey Jerramy I guess that’s what happens when keeping it real goes wrong.
(Pic from seattlest.com)
Hey, didn't I see this guy on a milk carton?
3. Joey Porter gets a cap busted in his ass during a drive by, literally.
Ray Lewis may think he is a badass because he beat a murder charge, but compared to JP he’s nothing but a wanksta. Although Porter is no 50 Cent, its still pretty ridiculous he got Forrest Gump’d outside the bar in Denver that night. Also, lets not forget the fact that this event led to the “where was Ray Lewis when Joey Porter got shot” bootleg t-shirt...classic.
2. You can take Joey out the hood, but you can’t take the hood out of Joey.
In what has to be one of the most awesome stories I have ever heard, it was reported over the summer that J Pizzy locked it up with Bengals tackle Levi Jones as the two played blackjack in Las Vegas. It is good to know that Porter, no longer even a Steeler, still hates the Bengals so much that he would willingly assault one of their players, on video tape nonetheless. Obviously this man just doesn’t give an F and basically, if you disrespect him, you’re going to pay for it. One witness described the mêlée as a scene out of a Rocky movie. My take is that Porter would give Clubber Lang, Tommy Gunn, and the juiced up Russian from Rocky 4 movie a run for their money.
1. The Joey Porter Rule
Some players talk and let their play back it up on the field; others let their fists back it up. In 2004, the Steelers were playing the Browns when before the game JP began jawing at Browns players near the 50-yard line that split the two teams. Browns running back William Green began talking back and Porter took offense, and next thing you know the two were throwing blows as players, refs, and coaches attempted to mediate the brawl. Not only did Porter and Green get fined 10 g’s and kicked out the game, but the NFL went as far as to implement what I refer to as, the Joey Porter rule. After the incident the NFL changed the rules so that no players but kickers are allowed in the 5-yard cushion on each side of the 50-yard line, because after all what is a kicker going to do? To have the NFL rewrite the rule book because you kicked someone’s ass before the game that is priceless. I tip my hat to Joey Porter, thanks for all the memories big guy!
Note from Snack: Diego left out perhaps the most homo-erotic moment in Steelers history when Ole #55 plants a big, wet one on The Chin...Take one look at this video and all of you Colts and Brownie fans will finally stop having nightmares about him chasing down your QB and flexin' his shit...
Last night, before a standing room only sell-out at the Mellon Arena, the Pens won 5-0 over the Thrashers. It was a great showing by our boys, and it was nice to see them building off that hard fought win at Ottawa earlier this week...
It was also nice because your boys Snack and Diego were in the house, sitting our uppity asses in the West Igloo Club...I know, it's not usually the type of seating you would associate with PNA, but the tix were free and everyone deserves to watch a game like a rock star every now and again...
But back to the game...Every facet of our team was running on all cylinders last night, from the powerplay to penalty killing to 5 on 5...Jordan Staal scored his second goal of the season, and Ryan Malone continued his hot streak by adding a rebound goal on the powerplay...
Kudos also go to Marc Fluery, who shrugged off his horrible showing versus the Senators to pitch his second shutout of the season...Maybe he'll turn it around, maybe he won't, but at least he has the potential to be something amazing...Now if only that damn Canadian would do it game in and game out we'd be going somewhere...
Check back with PNA for Diego's Monday Morning Hangover for more details from the game...
And finally, the Pitt Panthers ended all the talk about them squeezing into a bowl game by losing at home to South Florida, 48-37. After a deflating 80 yard TD scamper by South Florida's QB Matt Grothe to start the third quarter, the offense reverted to their early season form and could not match the Bulls punch for punch...It puts an end to any bowl hopes, and hopefully puts an end to Matt Cavanaugh's career, but I guess we'll have to wait a few weeks to find that out...
