Recapping the AFC Conference Steel(er) Cage Match

As promised, some thoughts and links from what was essentially a no-holds-barred, steel cage match last night on the frozen tundra of Heinz Field.

Some Links:
-ESPN is doing an all-day chat thing over at their site. Not worth reading up on all the different parts of the chat, as it would take all day, but it's worth it if you have a few interesting questions you'd like the "experts" at the WWL to answer.

-The Professor, John Clayton, puts together the big questions of this Super Bowl for right now. As always, its good stuff by Clayton.

-James Walker tells the critics of Ben Roethlisberger to shut their collective yaps. And yes, that includes the many yinzers who spent large portions of this season screaming at him to get rid of the ball. Does he drive people (including myself) crazy at times? Absolutely. But this is who he is, and the best one-word description of him as a football player is: Winner. And that's fine by me. Peyton and Tom can have their records, I'll take Roethlisberger any day of the week.

-Peter King's MMQB, a must-read no matter what football team you like, spends a good deal of the column discussing the Steelers-Ravens game.

-As always, Mondesi's House does a great job breaking down the game.

-Gene Collier writes about Heinz Field no longer be an AFC Championship curse. This had definitely gone through my mind more than once before the game, but it's a different situation with our new coach, Mike Tomlin, I suppose. Ron Cook says that, despite the stats that claim otherwise, the title of best defense in football was on the line last night, and the Steelers proved once and for all they are the best D in the league.

Random Thoughts
-I don't think I have ever seen a more physical game with players who just no regard whatsoever for their own personal well-being. Just ridiculous. Thank god they give the teams a bye week before the Super Bowl, because there is no way this Steeler team would be ready if they had to play again in six days. I mean, Ryan Clark's entire body probably feels like he was in a severe traffic accident yesterday, Hines Ward probably can't do much more than jog, Mewelde Moore is iffy and anything that hurts his quickness pretty much negates any value he has, the offensive and defensive lines were hitting all day long, and of course, Ben Roethlisberger took his usual lumps, including what I thought was a definite late hit from Haruki Nakamura that I couldn't believe wasn't flagged.

-I liked that Bruce Arians tried very hard to establish the run early on, but I thought that he stuck to it a little too long. Parker was unable to get anything going against that stout Baltimore defense, and I think we would have been better served giving Mewelde a few more snaps early in the game and sending a few short passes his way. Worst case they are equally as effective, getting 2 or 3 yards a pop, and best case Mewelde catches one in some space and is able to make a play or two.

-Ben Roethlisberger just does it. That's all there is too it. He wins games, he plays smart when he has to, and he's going to his second Super Bowl with a 7-2 playoff record at the age of 26. Just an amazing job yet again by our franchise QB. Right now, I'd take him ahead of any QB in football, and I really mean that. Think about it: Who knows what is going to happen with Tom Brady's knee? He may never be the same. Peyton Manning came on real strong at the end of the season, but Ben has already had much more postseason success than Manning and doesn't require 30+ passes per game to get in a rhythm at the end of a game like Peyton. Phillip Rivers put together a great season, but has leadership and character issues and his game record pales in comparison. Eli looked a little too much like the old Eli down the stretch, and I'm still not sold on him. Kurt Warner, in my opinion, has been the beneficiary of having two of the best receiving corps in recent NFL history at his disposal with the current Zona group and the Greatest Show on Turf group with the Rams. Plus, he's old. Drew Brees can sling it as well as anyone, but I can't take him seriously until he picks up a few January W's. He can keep his 5000 yard, video-game offense season, thanks but no thanks.

-Troy Polamalu vs. Ed Reed just got a whole lot more interesting. I know I said yesterday that I thought Reed was ahead of Polamalu as a safety and was one of the best in league history, but I found myself now thinking I may have underestimated our spectacular number 43. Polamalu was the best player on the field yesterday, while Reed pretty much disappeared for large chunks of the game. I guess that might have something to do with the play of the respective QB's, but I think this debate is very much alive and well.

-I don't know that I've ever seen a game quite like the one Limas Sweed had yesterday. Sweed, of course, was headed for infamy after dropping a sure-fire TD that Roethlisberger delivered precisely into his hands. He did end up hauling in a pair of passes by the end, and didn't make anymore awful mistakes. He also leveled a Hines Ward-esque block on unsuspecting Corey Ivy, knocking him clear into next week. Just a weird game for him, and I pray that Hines Ward is 100% healthy and that Limas doesn't have to set foot on the field against Arizona.

-Dick LeBeau continues to prove he's the best defensive coordinator in all of football. All we heard in the first two rounds and all through the regular season was that Joe Flacco was Joe Cool, that he was unflappable, and made plays in the biggest moments because you couldn't get into his head. Yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh so much for that thought process, eh? Flacco was definitely flappable yesterday and LeBeau flapped him again and again. Big sacks, two bad interceptions, the last one pretty much sealing the game for the Steelers. Don't get me wrong, I like Flacco a lot and think he could definitely develop into Roethlisberger Lite and be a very good QB in the NFL, but somehow everyone forgot that he didn't do anything against the Steelers in the regular season and is still a rookie QB in the playoffs. And LeBeau knew just how to rattle his cage.

-That said, I will be VERY interested to see LeBeau's game plan against the Cardinals and Kurt Warner. Warner is notoriously great at taking advantage of blitzing teams and getting the ball out in a hurry. That's not to say that I think LeBeau will abandon the blitz, as that would never happen in a billion years, but I do think some of the more exotic schemes, like bringing Polamalu and Timmons may be put on hold.

-I'm happy for the Cards and for Ken Whiz, Russ Grimm, Larry Fitz, and Gerry Hayes, but for the next 13 days, they are public enemy number 1 in my book. My old Larry Fitzgerald Pitt jersey? It's been removed from my closet where it sat next to the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Sidney Crosby, and Willie Stargell and shoved underneath my bed where it won't see the light of day again until February 2nd.
-Too many Super Bowls lately have come down to last minute scoring drives, and after watching Jeff Reed yesterday at the Heinz Field tundra, I have the fullest confidence in him to have a big game if necessary in Super Bowl XLIII.

-I was pleased, shocked, elated, and surprised to see the refs call a holding call yesterday in favor of James Harrison. Of course, he was held a minimum 15-20 times yesterday and only one was called, but at least its a start.

-Another nice day for the Steelers' secondary yesterday. Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Deshea Townsend, and William Gay played extremely well from their cornerback spots, and I think it mostly goes without saying that Polamalu, Clark, and Ty Carter did a super job at safety. Just a great performance all around. And that is huge for the Steelers because the Cardinals offense will revolve around Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner. If the Steelers can contain Fitz (there is no stopping the guy) the Cards offense is not going to be able to hang in the game.

-People have been talking a lot about the Whisenhunt connection and how it gives him an advantage because of how well he knows the Steelers personnel and all... but do you really think that doesn't go the other way, too? Mike Tomlin may not know Whiz, but Dick LeBeau worked against Whisenhunt's offense in practice countless times and, as Whisenhunt openly admits, LeBeau more than once helped him adjust to defensive schemes. Do we really think LeBeau doesn't know every wrinkle of Whiz's offense. And do we really think the Steelers aren't fully aware of countless Whisenhunt gadget plays. I see this intimate knowledge being a wash in the end.

-The Steelers O-Line had some issues with Baltimore pass rush and did take some penalties (looking squarely at Chris Kemoeautu and his incredibly stupid personal foul), but they handled that Ravens rush pretty darn well I thought. Sure they couldn't open up holes for an ant to even run through, but no one can do that against the Ravens. You can't blame them too much for that, and they managed to buy Ben at least some time. And the Cardinals D, however well they may be playing right now, is no Ravens squad.

-I expect to see another crowd heavy in Steelers support down in Tampa Bay. Florida has so many transplants or retirees from Pittsburgh it's downright absurd. This might be even more Steeler heavy than the Detroit Super Bowl XL crowd of 3 years ago. And considering the game is against the Cardinals, who probably have one of the least-established fan bases in the sport, and we could be looking at like a 85/15 or 90/10 split for this puppy. Tampa Bay will be turned into Terrible Towel city. Should be exciting.

STEELERS ARE AFC CHAMPS

After yet another too-close-for-comfort, gnawing-on-your-fingernails, edge-of-your seat game against the hated Baltimore Ravens, our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers are officially heading to Tampa Bay for Super Bowl XLIII to take on the Arizona (Pittsburgh West) Cardinals for the right to call themselves the World Champions. After spending the past couple years running amok in Oakland, I figured I'd put together a quick post here, followed by a full-on post at some point tomorrow.

It's a pretty safe bet that much will be made of the numerous Pittsburgh connections in this game, but none more so than the Ken Whisenhunt-Mike Tomlin dynamic. I'll take a little more of a look at this later on, but the subplots are so numerous that I'm having a hard time even coming up with an exact number right now (of course that could also be because I'm about 10 beers in right now, and working surprisingly efficiently I might add).

I'm not about to offer any analysis as its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for that kind of talk and we have two weeks to dissect that. For now, just enjoy the thought of being AFC Champs and playing in yet another Super Bowl. As football fans, we are truely spoiled.

One final note before I part:Friends don't let friends buy AFC Championship gear. I never understood the point of this. I mean in two weeks, this stuff is obsolete because either A) The Steelers will have a sixth Super Bowl and will be pumping out more Super Bowl Champion gear than you could possibly imagine, or B) You'll be so pissed at losing that you won't want to ever remember being there and will likely ignite any AFC Championship gear you have. We're Steeler fans folks, we've been here too many times to waste our money on this kind of nonsense. Let the Cardinal fans eat this stuff up, we're too classy for it.

Live Blog of Panthers- Cardinals

5:58 We are live from... our apartment in Oakland! All set to put together a live blog of the Pitt-Louisville basketball game that is slated to get under way in precisely two minutes. This game boasts the number one team in the nation (god I will never tire of saying that) matching up against the 20th ranked Louisville Cardinals in Louisville's Freedom Hall. The key players for our Panthers are, of course, DeJuan "The Windex Man" Blair, Sam I Am Young, and Levance Fields. For the Cards, its freshman star Samardo Samuels, Earl Clark, and 10th year senior Terrance Williams (just kidding of course, it only SEEMS like he's been there since the 80s.) Should be fun.

6:00 Soooo....yeah the Big Ten matchup of Illinois-Michigan State is going long. Its not enough that the Big Ten has to play awful basketball, they have to play slow awful basketball that forces the rest of us to inadvertantly watch them disgrace the James Naismith's game? Just appalling.

6:05 Evidently the tipoff has been delayed until 6:10 PM. Well okay then. By the way, I've seen youth league YMCA basketball games that were more interesting and better played than this atrocity of a game. There's still 3:56 left in this trainwreck.

6:11 ESPN is so appalled by having to broadcast this Big Eleven disaster with its 0.0 Nielsen rating that it briefly takes us to a split screen of Pitt-Ville where Ty Biggs drains a trey. Then they immediately switch back to Illinois-MSU. What a tease.

6:16 Panthers are up 9-2 right now and we are still suffering through this worthless Big Eleven game. I'm freaking out right now, I've seen more Big Eleven basketball today than I have in my entire life, and I understand why that is so. These teams would get debacled by Pitt.

6:18 Hey Michigan State finally F-Ing wins this game. ESPN can't cut the chord to that one fast enough. Ahhhh.... Big East basketball. Thank God. Of course they are at a media timeout. All 5 Pitt starters have scored we are told.

6:20 Superb! The wonderful Bill Raftery is calling the game alongside Sean McDonough and Fran Frischilla. This is a pretty good crew calling our game. "Send it in Jerome!"

6:21 Jermaine Dixon welcomes us to the game by nailing a 3. He is playing about 1,000 times better in the last couple games.

6:23 What happened to Edgar Sosa? Wasn't this guy supposed to be a really good player when he came here. I just looked up his stats and he has gotten worse statistically every year since he got to Louisville.

6:28 Edgar Sosa gets hacked going to the basket and falls away from the basket out of control and does a weird hug/dance thing with one of the refs. Kinda creepy. I don't think anyone knew what the hell to make out it. The Panthers are driving me crazy right now. Louisville is picking up steals and offensive boards all over the place right now. Despite a nice lead, I'm seeing a lot of the danger signs of sloppy first half play for the third game in a row.

6:36 Jermaine Dixon breathes on Terrence Williams the wrong way and gets called for a foul. This refs are calling a lot, a LOT of fouls right now. If this keeps us, there are going to be a fair amount of players on both teams in trouble.

6:40 Pitt has let the Ville back into this game, it's 23-17 as we head to a media timeout with 7:57 remaining. Too much sloppiness for Pitt after the red-hot start that no one actually saw. Ville is on a 10-3 run right now.

6:44 The refs appear to have wagered heavily, very heavily on Louisville, as Sam Young gets his second foul and is likely done for the half. Then, a Louisville player commits aggravated assault on Levance Fields and nothing gets called.

6:47 DeJuan Blair gets his second foul at the same time the ref's shirt gets untucked to reveal Cardinal Red underneath. What a bunch of B.S. Louisville takes their first lead of the game, but having 8 men on the court (including the refs) will do that.

6:50 After watching Gary McGhee play defense like he's missing a chromosome, I've determined Pitt would be better off playing with 4 men on the floor then with 4 and Mcghee.

6:55 Please God can Pitt learn to shoot free throws one of these F-ing years? Ashton Gibbs clanks two critical ones and Pitt is down 3 right now, 29-26.

6:58 Louisville is pwning Pitt on their offensive glass. I've never seen Pitt get shoved around like this on the glass. Of course DeJuan and Sammy haven't played in like an hour, so that might have something to do with it. I'd like to think we could at least hang with them though. I guess not.

7:03 And that's a half... Pitt surprisingly is up 32-30. If you had told me Sam and DeJuan would miss huge chunks of the first half with foul trouble I would not have expected to be up on Louisville at the half. So I'll take that, at least. Back for the second half.
SECOND HALF
7:20 We are back and the its good to see Sam and DeJuan back in the ball game. I'm nervous as to how the Cardinals are going to attack the foul-ridden Panthers. Biggs immediately picks up a foul, his 3rd, and this alarming stat is dropped on us: 6 PANTHERS HAD 2 FOULS AT HALFTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey dumbass refs, I think you may be calling a shade too many fouls!

7:24 DeJuan Blair is making his presence felt right now. He picks up an offensive board and dunks it in traffic and then next possession down grabs another offensive board and gets a foul called against the Cards for a reach-in.

7:26 Panthers are on a mini-run, a 7-0 stretch capped by a Sam Young trey. The anouncers celebrate it by making a weird reference implying that they went out drinking with Bill Hillgrove and Dick Groat last night. Sounds like a grand old time.

7:31 Our first Sam Young shot fake of the evening. Man I was way off! I had 6:25 in the poll. Anyway it sets up a Jermaine Dixon trey, his third of the night. If Dixon can keep up the great work on threes he could turn into a real weapon and give them the one thing they are really lacking.

7:32 Crap. DeJuan picks up his 3rd foul on a silly reach-in. He heads to the bench. Gil comes back down the court on the next possession and picks up HIS third foul. Biggs, Blair, and Brown all have three now. Not good folks, not at all good.

7:35 Sam does a double ball/head fake. That's like the unicorn of Sam Young fakes. We just saw a truly special moment. of course he celebrates by turning the ball over almost immediately after.

7:36 Biggs is freaking OWNING the offensive glass. He is a tremendous inside role guy and continues to do his season-long impression of Chevy Troutman. Sam hits a banker after Biggsy gets those 2 offensive boards. 46-39 Panthers. Timeout Ville.

7:38 Okay this can't possibly be right, but ESPN is telling me that Tim Frye played in the first half of the game. Uhmm... What? The same Tim Frye who is the stereotypical short walk-on white guard who plays only in the final minute of blowouts? I mean I know Pitt was in foul trouble, but that can't be right can it? There's no way I could have missed that, right?

7:43 Sam makes a great steal but can't control as he is racing downcourt and tosses one to Dixon who tosses it to Fields who, clearly trying to look elsewhere for a fancy pass or something, lets it slip out of bounds. Bad job by Levance who sometimes will do things like that to drive you crazy. The Cardinals come down and score to make it 46-42.

7:44 Jermaine Dixon is having a spectacular day. he snatches a rebound, outlets to Levance who races upcourt and somehow Jermaine makes it all the way back up court and takes a bounce pass from Fields for a layup. This kid is turning into a legit offensive weapon all of a sudden, and I, for one, am stunned by his exponential upward progress. I guess he just needed to get comfortable or something, but he's been great. 48-42 Panthers

7:47 DeJuan Blair comes back in. I will be watching closely to see how Louisville attacks him and how he responds. Just as I type this, Sam makes an easy steal and puts in an absolute monster dunk on a breakaway. He walks menacingly away from the hoop looking like he's ready to run through a brick wall or something. The boy is fired up.

7:50 I haven't mentioned this yet, but Jamie Dixon is employing Brad Wanamaker in a point guard role to bring the ball up against the Louisville press. I'm not sure why exactly he's doing this, but he is doing a tremendous job at it.

7:51 DeJuan picks up his 4th on a ticky-tack 4th foul. It wasn't much of anything, but Blair took an unnecessary chance and paid the price. The kid still needs to learn.

7:53 All of a sudden Louisville is only down by a point as Pitt spends three straight defensive possessions crapping themselves and taking dumb shots on offense. I don't get how they can fall apart so quick when Blair comes out of the game like that. Grrr.... Pitt had a 10 point lead at one point. I had a feeling the Cards would work their way back into this sucker, but I didn't think that THIS would happen, especially so quickly.

7:55 Bill Raftery gives us what we wanted all day... a little parody for Sam Young's earlier dunk, shouting, "Send it in... Jerome!"

7:58 Blazing hot Jermaine Dixon drills a pair of free throws, Pitt is up by 3. He now has 18 points on the night. I have a done a total 180 on this kid in the past week or two.

8:01 A monster dunke for Louisville and this sucker is tied up. Yikes. We head into the last media timeout 58-58. They just showed the replay of the dunk and Gil Brown had an alarming petrified look on his face. Not what I want to see there Gil.

8:06 Levance Fields gets called for a foul that I think the Louisville fans made from the first row. Especially because the ref clearly signalled double foul at first and then pretended like he didn't. What f-ing garbage. Such a homer call. Cardinals are up because of this homerism.

8:08 Biggs makes a god-awful pass to Blair. Just a terrible idea. 19 turnovers for Pitt today as they are playing crazy sloppy right now.

8:11 Here we go, 1:07 to go in this puppy. It's gonna be a fight. 62-58 Cardinals right now.

8:12 Clark hits a monster shot as the shot clock expired. Not sure if its a 2 or 3, the refs are reviewing. I think its a 2 though. Yup it is. Shit. 64-58 Louisville. Pitt is hanging on by a thread, if that. The worst part is Clark hopping around like an idiot afterward. I hate that.

8:14 For some bizarre reason, after Louisville grabs a rebound after another missed 3 for Pitt, the Panthers take about 10 seconds to foul a Cardinal player. Just sloppy and not wanting it enough.

8:17 Truely bizarre, DeJuan Blair gets fouled as he goes to score and the bucket is good. Pitt down 66-62. Pitt may not have the best odds right now, but at least they still have some odds...

8:19 Louisville hits both free throws to go up 68-63. It's over now. Oh, and then Sam Young makes an awful inbound pass and Blair fouls out trying to get the ball back. Ugh.

8:22 Yup that's a wrap, 69-63 Cardinals. Pitt drops its first game of the season. I don't think I'll be doing another one of these anytime soon. Sorry Panthers for jinxing you guys. Still, it was a very good effort, and kind of a weird game filled with lots of runs and streaks. I'll be interested to see where we rank come Monday morning.

Steelers- Ravens AFC Championship Preview

First, some links in this super-duper Preview of the AFC Championship edition on TRS.
-LaMarr Woodley breakout game and the weeks leading up to it are chronicled tongue-in-cheek by James Walker. I mean he wasn't really over-eating and depressed as Troy claims. I did chuckle a little when I read the line about James Harrison constantly being double-teamed. James Walker, if by "double-teamed" you mean being held by two guys at once, then I agree.

-Unfortunately Bill Simmons picked the Steelers in his weekly gambling picks column. Bad news considering the Sports Guy went 0-4 last week on his picks and openly admits that his prediction is a kiss of death.

-An update on the Ravens injury report. Samari Rolle is apparently out for the AFC Championship and Terrell Suggs figures to be a game-time decision. I have a VERY hard time believing that Suggs won't play at all in this one. even if its just as a third down pass rusher or something like that, I think Suggs finds his way onto the field.

-Ron Cook is apparently in love with Ed Reed. Reed truely is probably the most disruptive defensive player in football these days, followed closely by our own Troy Polamalu. But I agree with Cookie, Troy is number two on that list, and there's not a ton of room for debate there. I'm not gonna lie, with Ben's penchant for taking chances downfield, Ed Reed scares the bejeezus out of me for the game tomorrow. And Gene Collier pretty much backs that up in his article about the game as well.

-In an interesting piece, Mike Smith, the Falcons Head Coach and reigning NFL Coach of the Year, breaks down the two league title games. He gives some interesting insights into both squads, but also points out some of the obvious, like Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco similarities.-The always superb Peter King makes his pick for the AFC Championship game, as well as making some points about the game worth reading. King thinks the biggest difference in this game is going to be the injuries for the Ravens. I tend to agree.

-5 subplots for Ravens-Steelers. I think someone really needs to explore the similarities between Flacco and Roethlisberger. That hasn't been covered nearly enough.

-The Baltimore Sun profiles the divider line between Steeler Nation and Ravens country. I always think Nation sounds bigger than country, especially when it's all capitalized like that.

-The Sun also put together a comprehensive list of who different media outlets are picking to win the game. I really don't like when the vast majority of experts pick the Steelers. The obvious game rarely goes the way its supposed to.

-David Steele of the Baltimore Sun predicts that Steelers-Rvens is about to become the pre-eminent rivalry in football and that these two teams are set up to have incredible success for the forseeable future. I hope he's right, as Steelers-Birdies is never dull.

-Sportsline's AFC Title preview. Nothing earth-shattering here.

-John Harris and Mike Prisuta's column from the Trib. As always if you only have time for one, make it Prisuta. He is probably the most underrated writer in the Burgh. Prisuta is right when he urges the Steelers not to take unnecessary chances and tk "keep it simple" as he says. He urges the Steelers not to make the first mistake, and when the Ravens make a mistake, be sure to pounce on it. He's exactly right. The one thing that could swing this game to the Ravens, as I've already said, is turnovers and mistakes. They feed off that energy and that momentum and will bury the Steelers with it if they can.

-From the Steelers Today Blog, the Ravens are, in fact, hypocrtical about Hines Ward. I fully agree with this thought. Hines is a Raven-type player through and through. They'd love to have him I'm sure.

-From the Steel Curtain Rising Blog, another fan is equally as pissed about the ridiculous amount of holding of James Harrison that NEVER gets called, only instead of bad-mouthing NFL officials and calling them names not fit for print, this writer got a bit more creative and spun it in a humorous way.

-A weird, and mostly unprofessional list of reasons for Ravens fans to hate Steelers fans. Each one is about 3 paragraphs long, at most, which leads me to believe that the writer A) Has very little material, B) Is Lazy, or C) Is Barely Literate. Actually, I'm thinking he may have the trifecta. Why don't you goofy newspapers leave the trash-talking where it belongs: on the Blogs. I mean it's not like these are even good trash-talking points on Pittsburgh. I mean, "Weird Bridges"? Really? You can't figure out why we have 446 bridges? I don't suppose its because we have three rivers in the city is it? Maybe we should just have one insanely long bridge that is constantly congested, is that how Baltimorons (I doubt that's the name for people that live there, but its probably close) prefer it? I'd rather have hundreds upon hundred of bridges with little traffic on most than the other way around. Thanks. Glad you aren't a city planner. And you are complaining about the Fort Pitt Tunnel being a claustrophobic's nightmare? I suppose we should just ignore the fact that the Baltimore Harbour tunnel is more than twice the length of the Fort Pitt and is UNDER WATER!!!! I imagine claustrophobes have quite the issue with that, thank you very much. But then again, you're just a newspaper writer, what do you have to worry about facts for? Yet another example of the dwindling respect level in papers. (END RANT)

-Halfway down this page, the excellent Mike Lombardi gives some insight on Steelers-Ravens. Its interesting the Ravens have not won the time of possession battle in either playoff game. Also interesting that the Steelers have never lost a playoff game when Fast Willie is the starter (5-0). I hadn't thought of that.

Okay well that's enough of that, let's get to the breakdown.
5 Key Matchups

1. Ben Roethlisberger vs. Ed Reed
In case you skimmed through the above (and I don't blame you if you did), one of my key points was the work of the mighty Ed Reed. Reed can turn this game all by himself with one mistake by Roethlisberger. And with Ben's love of the downfield pass, that gravely concerns me. What we need to see is the Big Ben we saw in Round 2 who took great care of the ball, was quick to get rid of it, and any downfield chance he took was smart and had very low risk. Reed is as big of a gamebreaker as there is in football today, and probably has just as good a chance at scoring as the entire Ravens offense.
2. James Harrison vs. Joe Flacco
Some of Harrison's biggest games of his career have come against Baltimore, including that monster game a year ago when that catapulted him into a household name. Expect Dick LeBeau to unleash Harrison yet again and use him to try and rattle the seemingly unflappable young QB. As usual, expect Harrison to be illegally held every time he blitzes, and as usual I'm sure the refs will swallow their whistles whole.

3. Willie Parker vs. Ray Lewis
Obviously the matchup goes a lot deeper than this, but it's flashy symbolism for the Steelers desire to establish the run and the Ravens excellent run defense. Parker was superb last week, and I imagine Bruce Arians will do his best to try to get Parker going yet again in the early going of this one. And for that I wish him best of luck, because I can't imagine Ray-Ray and his crew letting up many yards, but if Willie shows that same burst I expect he'll be able to at least break off a few big gains even if he can't consistently pick up the yards.

4. Ravens Blitzes vs. Steelers pass protection
The Steelers O-Line was yet another pleasant surprise we got in Round 2, and if the Steelers are to win this game, they need to play well again. Expect Suggs, Scott, and Ngata to do their best to overpower and overwhem the much-maligned Steelers O-line. Max Starks has continued his fine work on the left side, but the rest of the line played very well last week as well, with the exception of the still-struggling Darnell Stapleton. Chris Kemoeautu was especially good last week as a pulling guard.

5. Dick LeBeau vs. Cam Cameron
Two of the very best coordinators in the game square off in what should be a very interesting matchup. I still think Cameron got a terribly raw deal last year in Miami and never had a shot to succeed. Still, he has been excellent handling Flacco this year and putting together great game plans for him to succeed. LeBeau meanwhile is one of the best defensive coordinators the NFL has ever seen and is known far and wide for his spectacular blitz packages that can confuse any QB, let alone a rookie.

Other Random Thoughts
-Something tells me that Hines Ward has a huge game in this one. We all know how well Hines and the Ravens get along. And we also know how Hines thrives in his role as an antagonist. He lives for games and moments like this one. He also has become one of the game's pre-eminent third down threats, and given the stingy Ravens D, I expect that third down situations will be a key to success for both squads.

-The Ravens injuries are going to play a factor in this, but I think the Samari Rolle injury is the one that hurts them the most. Rolle is a very good corner, certainly much better than his replacement, Frank Walker. With Santonio Holmes playing very well and Nate Washington turning into a legit downfield threat, having to play guys like Walker and Corey Ivy more than they otherwise would is going to end up biting the Ravens in the ass.

-I haven't watched enough Ravens games to know this intimately, but I'll be interested to see how Joe Flacco reacts to Troy Polamalu's pre-snap shifts. More experienced QBs typically audible or at least bluff audibling when they see Polamalu settle in somewhere, but I don't know if Flacco will do that, as I'm sure Cameron will have at least partially accounted for this and may not want Flacco overruling him on the field.

-I know he's been around for ages and can't possibly have a ton left in the tank, but I never like facing Derrick Mason. He's like Hines Ward without the ferocious hitting, and always seems to come up big against the Steelers.

-I'm not sorry to see Le'Ron McClain banged up. I figure Willis McGahee and (if he plays) Ray Rice will be mostly ineffective, although McGahee has had some moments against the Steelers D. What I don't want to see is a hungry, bruising runner like McClain barrelling through the middle of our D for 3 and 4 yards a pop. I don't know how effective we'd be at stopping him on a cold, bitter day like tomorrow.

-I'd like to see LaMarr Woodley build on that big game of a week ago. If James Harrison is getting doubleheld blocked by the Ravens, Woodley should be in single coverage and should be able to make the most of his opportunities to get to Flacco. I'd also like to see LeBeau deploy the unbelievably fast Lawrence Timmons get more snaps in place of Larry Foote. Sure Foote is the more stable and more sound player, but Timmons can make incredible plays happen, and can bring superb pressure from the middle of the field, as well as more than capably run with the likes of Todd Heap.

The Pick: Steelers 20 Ravens 13 This is going to be a ridiculously physical and violent game and surely won't be for the faint of heart. i expect the Ravens to do their best to try to set the tone early on with their physicality on defense. I think they also have a fair amount of success shutting down Willie Parker in the run game. But the Steelers will be persistent in setting up the ground game, even if it means a few early punts. Setting up even a mediocre rushing attack will enable Ben to test the Ravens corners downfield, and I think Santonio has another big scoring play, this time on a long pass from Roethlisberger that not even the great Ed Reed can stop. As for the Ravens offense, I think Flacco gets hit early and often but does his best to avoid taking big loss sacks and making costly mistakes. I think eventually, though, he is forced into a turnover or two and the Steelers capitalize.

So Here We Go Steelers.

I'll leave you with this

Pens a Little Gimpy

In addition to the players that were previously injured like Tenk, Zigomanis, TK, and Gonch, the Pens have a whopping 5 more players added to their injury report who will sit out tonight's game against Anaheim. Mad Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis, Rob Scuderi, Kris Letang, and, unfortunately, Sidney Crosby. It does not appear as though any of these injuries will end up costing anyone a significant amount of games, but with all of these injuries piling, should we really be THAT surprised by the current record of our Penguins?

Consider all that we have lost:
-Zigomanis- Our faceoff ace, who gave us a consistent spark early in the season, hasn't played since early December and doesn't appear close to returning.
-Gonchar- Our best defenseman who was a legit Norris contender a year ago STILL hasn't played and is just now returning to the ice to skate. He figures to be at least a few weeks away in an absolute best-case scenario. In addition to all that, he was also arguably the most important cog in our power play.
-Whitney- Another one of our top defenseman who toughed out an injury at the end of last season and who would have been able to fill in nicely for Gonch had he not been injured as well. And Whitters doesn't even look like he's playing beyond about 80-90% right now and certainly has lost a little on his offensive game, where we need him most.
-Fedotenko- A gritty yet talented winger who was a key role player in supporting the offense.
-Kennedy- Another gritty player who is a tremendous 3rd/ 4th line spark plug and is one of the better energy guys on the roster.
-Fleury- A top-notch goalie who continues to have injury issues and might still be working to get some of the timing back since his injury.

And these are just the injuries that kept guys out for long periods of time. Little nagging injuries like the ones to the guys for tonight are likely to hamper their play for some time and bring the overall quality of the squad down.

But that's enough excuses. Tonight will be a weird game to watch I think with all the youngsters playing up on the lines, and (hopefully) Janne Pesonen and Billy Thomas getting some of their first serious extended game looks of the season.

NFL Mock Draft 1

As you'll find in the coming months, I'm something of an NFL draftnik (read: Big Loser). I'm not exactly the second coming of Mel Kiper, but I do read his stuff every chance I get and do a pretty fair amount of research and analysis and put together my own mock drafts and stuff like that in preparation for that glorious weekend in April. Like I said, I'm kind of a big loser. Anyway, with yesterday being the deadline for the juniors and 3rd year sophomores to declare, we now know the exact pool of players for the draft, and I just couldn't help myself from putting together the first of probably several mock drafts I'll put on this site.
I also did this in my part to see if I believed the rumors that Shady was a borderline first round pick and I must say... I now believe it. Unfortunately LeSean did not make it into the first round of this mock draft but I was very close to getting him in there. Maybe next time Shady.

1 Detroit- Matt Stafford QB Georgia- There will be some who claim the Lions, like the Dolphins a year ago, should would be better-served going a safer route and building up their lines with an Andre Smith. I respectfully disagree. Stafford has a JaMarcus Russell like arm, and really does have just about every other physical tool that you could possibly ask of him. Stafford's experience running Georgia's pro-style offense could potentially make him as NFL-ready as Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco, although that success will be tougher to come by considering he doesn't have the talent around him. If the Lions make a play for Matt Cassell or some other QB in free agency, though, then you can switch this pick immediately to the aforementioned Smith, and expect a second or third round QB pick.

2 St. Louis- Andre Smith OT Alabama- For the second straight year the Rams have the second overall pick, and its no secret they want to address their O-Line yet again. If Smith is on the board, they should run up to the podium with the pick. I suppose there could be interest in Ole Miss's Michael Oher or Virginia's Eugene Monroe, but I think Smith is the best player on the board.

3 Kansas City- Eugene Monroe OT Virginia- A year ago the Chiefs had a draft that the experts fell over themselves praising. Unfortunately, that hyped class was not at all productive and led to new management in KC. It's hard to say what Scott Pioli will do here, as the Pats were all over the board during his tenure and were typically reloading, not rebuilding. It will be interesting to see what happens with their head coaching situation. If Herm Edwards keeps his job, then I just don't know anything anymore because he is a truly awful head coach. I don't expect to see a QB taken here, though, even if Stafford is on the board, as Tyler Thigpen put together a surprisingly capable season. Monroe is an excellent player already, and while O-Line isn't the Chiefs biggest concern (that would be their dreadful pass rush) I don't think they will reach for an Aaron Maybin or Brian Orakpo here.

4 Seattle- Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech- This pick seems too obvious to not happen, at least for now. The Hawks are in desperate need of an offensive playmaker, and Crabtree fits that bill pretty well. He might be the most talented receiver to come out of college since Larry Fitzgerald left Pitt for the 2004 Draft. Certainly the Hawks are not short on needs, though, and may consider building with the lines or another position instead.

5 Cleveland- Aaron Curry LB Wake Forest- The Browns defense was terrible last year and despite their struggles passing the ball, the struggling D was what really led to the underachieving 2008 version of the Browns. Curry is the best defender in this draft in my opinion and will be a tremendous 3-4 'backer for Eric Mangini.

6 Cincinnati- Michael Oher OT Ole Miss- The Bengals are a train wreck yet again, and I'll never figure out how Marvin Lewis still has a job. One of many needs for this team is on their offensive line and Michael Oher, one of the more hyped O-Lineman to ever come out of college thanks to the work of Michael Lewis, fits the bill. The Bengals could also use some offensive weapons, so don't rule out a Beanie Wells here

7 Oakland- Aaron Maybin DE Penn State- You can never be certain about just what is running through Al Davis' mind, especially given his penchant for irrationally selecting playmakers over team needs. If Crabtree is on the board it's pretty much a given that he's the Raiders pick, but I don't see that happening. The Raiders could use a better pass rush presence, and Maybin figures to be the best edge rusher on the board. I think he could easily slip lower than this given his one-year-wonder status at Penn State. For now I'm going to slot him in here given his natural skills, but that could definitely change.

8 Jacksonville- Jason Smith OT Baylor- The Jags need help on both lines, as well as at Wide Receiver, among some other spots. I have difficulty seeing them picking yet another early round receiver unless Crabtree falls, which I doubt. Smith projects to be a solid tackle and with Khalif Barnes expected to be peacing out of Jacksonville, Smith should get an immediate opportunity to help a pretty crappy line.

9 Green Bay- Malcolm Jenkins CB Ohio State- Certainly the Packers wouldn't mind getting a defensive lineman here, whether it be a pass rushing end like Brian Orakpo or a run-stuffer like BJ Raji. However, their secondary is also in need of a talent infusion, and Jenkins is a legit top 5 talent and would be difficult to pass up.

10 San Francisco- Brian Orakpo DE Texas- I thought long and hard about slotting USC QB Mark Sanchez here, but until I here something more from the 49ers about that, I can't believe they'd go after another top 10 QB after the unmitigated disaster of Alex Smith. Orakpo is a very good pass rushing lineman and will beef up a weak Niners D.

11 Buffalo- Everette Brown DE Florida State- The Bills definitely need more of a pass rushing presence, and that's something Brown can definitely do. He should be able to step in and fill a role immediately and could develop into a very good end for this Buffalo defense and complement their DTs. This might be construed as a reach, but his abilities as a speed rusher right out of the gate should seal the deal for Buffalo. The Bills are also one of a couple teams that may consider Mark Sanchez or could look to the offensive line as well.

12 Denver- DT B.J. Raji Boston College- The Broncos defense absolutely collapsed toward the end of the season and was undoubtedly the biggest reason this team missed out on the playoffs despite playing in the dreadful AFC West. Raji and DT is no slam dunk, though, as pretty much the best defender on the board figures to be the pick for the Broncos as they have that many different needs. A wildcard pick would Knowshon Moreno, as you've got to think the scrap heap back days of the past are over.

13 Washington- Michael Johnson DE Georgia Tech- The Skins need definite defensive line help despite the addition of Jason Taylor. Johnson is an amazing athlete and has incredible size at 6-7. They may also look to the offensive line for help if someone were to slip, but that didn't happen in this scenario. Also possible could be Mark Sanchez as its hard to tell how they truely feel about Jason Campbell.

14 New Orleans- Rey Maualuga LB USC- As usual, they are in serious need of defense in New Orleans. It remains to be seen how much upside Maualuga has, but he is already a very, very good linebacker and is probably the odds-on favorite to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year right now if he lands somewhere that lets him start in the middle right away. The Saints could also look for secondary help as well here.

15 Houston- Vontae Davis CB Illinois- The Texans have a number of needs, and after a promising finish to their 08 season, I think this team might be on the verge of finally making a serious playoff push. Davis may not be able to step right in and start, but he could certainly at least bolster the overall depth of a unit that may not be the worst in the league, but definitely leaves something to be desired.

16 San Diego- James Laurinaitis LB Ohio State- First let me say that it greatly irritates me that the Chargers made the playoffs but yet get to pick in front 5 non-playoff squads. I think the playoff teams should be moved to the back of the line. Anyway, Laurinaitis figures to be just the type of player they'll want. He is more than NFL-ready and figures to step right in and get serious playing time and play very well for a team that is nearing the end of any potential long playoff run.

17 New York Jets- Jeremy Maclin WR Missouri- The Jets certainly still view themselves as legit contenders and I fully expect them to be content to go to war with Kellen Clemens in 09. Adding a top of the line deep threat like Maclin would go a long way toward helping Clemens for the long term and hopefully for the short term. Of course there is a long history of rookie receivers not fitting in during their first season, so I expect them to look long and hard at other options, probably defensive line and in the secondary.

18 Chicago- Tyson Jackson DE LSU- The Bears probably wouldn't mind getting Maclin, as they were hurt by not having Bernard Berrian on the roster this season. However, with Devin Hester developing into a similar player that isn't necessarily a given, either. The Bears D took a step back this year, and adding Jackson gives them a monster defensive end who could maybe end up as a defensive tackle at some point. For now he projects as a very good run-stopping end even if the pass-rushing skills may not have developed yet.

19 Tampa Bay- Knowshon Moreno RB Georgia- Yeah the Bucs fans may not totally agree with this pick so soon after the Cadillac Williams bust, but I don't think the Bucs can pass up this type of player. Moreno is a rare talent and can add a big spark to that offense. They will also look at defensive tackle and offensive line as possible positions to address.

20 Detroit- Eben Britton OT Arizona- The Lions do their best to follow the Falcons blueprint of a year ago. They snatched up what they hope will be their franchise signal-caller at the top of the first round and they now reach a little bit for an offensive tackle who should step in and start immediately.

21 Arizona- Chris "Beanie" Wells RB Ohio State- I don't think there's any doubt which position the Cardinals have to be thinking about here. Of course their draft spot could be as much as 11 spots lower than this one, so things would look differently from that spot. For now, though, I think they would have a difficult time passing up on a potential franchise back like Wells given the struggles of Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower. Wells should be able to immediately give this team a starting caliber back capable of going for 1000+ yards. Of course, the Cards also need help on their defense, which struggled through much of the regular season yet has come alive in the postseason.

22 Minnesota- Mark Sanchez QB Southern Cal- This is a tough call for me. On the one hand, the Vikes aren't going anywhere without a better QB than Tavaris Jackson and will continue to waste Adrian Peterson's incredible talent. On the other, I think Sanchez is going to need at least a year or more to develop and a team coming off a division title isn't going to want to wait a year or more for its first rounder to develop. Still, I think the Minnesota fans will be rioting if the Vikes pass up Sanchez AND don't bother bringing in anyone else to challenge Jackson and Frerotte.

23 New England- Brian Cushing LB Southern Cal- The Pats are usually a pretty unpredictable team in these drafts, as Bill Belicheck is never afraid to march to the beat of a different drum. I think they wouldn't mind adding even more youth to their linebacking corps, and after the smashing success of Jerod Mayo a year ago, who can blame them? Cushing would be playing on the outside instead, and should be able to make an impact immediately as a situational player. They may also look at cornerback or a potential offensive playmaker as well.

24 Atlanta- Peria Jerry DT Ole Miss- The Falcons nearly took Glenn Dorsey a year ago, and while no one is going to argue that pick now (that pick being Matt Ryan of course), there is no denying they still need DT help. Jerry might be considered a reach by some here, but I doubt the Falcons care, as he fills a need on a team that is suddenly close to being a title contender. They could also consider another weapon for Matt Ryan to work with.

25 Miami- D.J. Moore CB Vanderbilt- Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano invested heavily in the offensive and defensive lines last year in the draft and in free agency. Now they can look more at need, though I certainly wouldn't bet against them going after more players on the lines. Moore came out a year earlier than he should have probably, but is still a first round talent and could turn out to be the best corner from this draft.

26 Baltimore- Percy Harvin WR Florida- I doubt the Ravens could have expected Harvin to last this long, and I doubt Harvin would have expected it either. He doesn't have a definite position which is why he has slipped to this point in the draft, but having that kind of a playmaker for this offense could really help out Joe Flacco and could help put some more bite into this offense. They may also consider a linebacker or a corner given some free agency issues there.

27 Indianapolis- Sen'Drick Marks DT Auburn- The Colts D Line has fallen a long way in the couple years since their Super Bowl run and they need a talented young playmaker like Marks to hopefully turn that unit around. Marks may require a bit of timebefore he develops into the player he can be, but the talent and potential are definitely there.

28 Philadelphia- Brandon Pettigrew TE Oklahoma State- Pettigrew has the talent to go much, much higher than this in the draft and very well could if the right team gets enamored with him. He is a true freak of nature and can not only function well as a receiver, but also appears to be more than capable staying home to block. They also may look at their line or a safety, but I think that Pettigrewwould be way too much of a steal to pass up at this point.

29 New York Giants- Clint Sintim LB Virginia- This pick will depend at least partially on the Plax Burress situation. If he's no longer with them or is a guest of New York state at the time, the G-Men may make a reach for someone like Kenny Britt. For now, Sintim makes sense as he is already a strong NFL-ready linebacker. Linebacker is typically one of the most rookie-friendly positions, and I think Sintim could have an immediate impact for a squad that doesn't figure to want to want to wait around for a prospect to develop.

30 Tennessee- Darrius Heyward-Bey WR Maryland- It's about time the Titans finally invested into a wide reciever who could develop into a legit top 2 receiver, and Heyward-Bey fits that billing. Heyward-Bey has very good physical skills and could jump up this board with a nice combine. For now I am sure the Titans would love to get their hands on him here.

31 Philadelphia- Duke Robinson G Oklahoma- The Eagles figure to lose at least one and maybe both of their offensive tackles this offseason, so that will certainly be a priority for them. Robinson might be a bit of a reach and projects as a guard, but this late in the first round, it'd be hard to fault them for reaching for anything along the O-Line. Keep in mind though, that there are also several solid interior linemen still on the board that rank about the same and it may just come down to personal preference.

32 Pittsburgh- Alex Mack C Cal- Just so no one accuses me of jinxing the Steelers, let me preface this by saying that I did not put them last for any homerist reason, I did it because I just went by their regular season record in predicting how the playoffs would play out, as that seemed the only logical way to do it. Anyway, there figure to be several fringe first round interior linemen on the board the way things are shaping up right now, so the Steelers will likely have to go with one of them. While Mack is technically a center, I see no reason he couldn't shift to guard instead. About the only other spot I could see the Steelers addressing would be the defensive line, which has gotten frighteningly old lately.

NFC Championship Game Preview

After a rough second round stab at picking NFL games (just 1-3, that’s what I get for picking all 4 home favorites) I’m now just idling along at 4-4 for this playoff season. Needless to say, that’s not the kind of results I was hoping for when I decided to pick this year’s NFL playoff season. I’m only picking the NFC Championship game today and will have a more in-depth breakdown of Steelers-Ravens up for tomorrow.

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals

I nailed both of these picks in the first round, but unfortunately I screwed the pooch and badly underestimated both in the second round. Awful QB play by the opposition was the key for both squads advancement to this point, as the Eagles have knocked off Tavaris Jackson and Jake Delhomme who choked so bad I thought someone was going to have to do the Heimlich Maneuver on him. The Cards benefitted from Eli Manning’s reversion to the crappy Eli Manning that we all knew and loved prior to his late 2007 surge.

For Arizona, it’s all going to come down to the incomparable Larry Fitzgerald. There shouldn’t have been any doubt prior to the playoffs, but in case some fans still weren’t aware, I think Larry has officially cemented himself as the best receiver in football. He has been unbelievable in the playoffs after yet another monster regular season, and it’s a mystery to me as to why Carolina wasn’t constantly putting 2 and 3 defenders on Fitz given that Anquan Boldin was out. If Larry gets loose again and the Eagles aren’t able to make adjustments to at least keep him in check, the Cards offense will run wild on Philly. However, while I did say that Philly benefitted from the lousy QB play of their opposition, some definite credit should go the play of their D, and it will be very interesting to see how Kurt Warner matches up against Jim Johnson’s superb unit. Warner has been in this situation too many times before to lay an egg like Eli or Jackson did, so I don’t expect to see the same struggles, but I’d be more than willing to bet that Zona’s offense is held mostly in check except for the inevitable game-changing catches that Larry always seems to make. Arizona’s running game has also come to life of late, putting together a stunning 145 yards on the ground against Carolina last week. Edgerrin James has also had some spring back in his step. I don’t expect Johnson’s defensive schemes led by the likes of tackling machines Quintin Mikell and Stewart Bradley and blitzing stars Darren Howard and Trent Cole to be susceptible to a surprise ground attack from the Cards.

The Eagles late-season rejuvenation has been led by the similarly rejuvenated Donovan McNabb. Remember McNabb being benched in favor of Kevin Kolb? Yeah, that was all anybody could talk about that week, the fall of Donovan McNabb. So much for that, eh? Now he has his team 60 minutes away from his second Super Bowl berth. And I honestly can’t figure out how he’s doing this. Brian Westbrook has a few really good plays a game in him, but he’s a little on the gimpy side. And yeah DeSean Jackson has been very good as a playmaking rookie, but I mean, c’mon, he’s still a rookie wide receiver. McNabb’s use of his feet has been probably the biggest difference maker for this otherwise very average offense. His scrambling ability has neutralized blitzes and bought him time for Jackson and Kevin Curtis to get open.


The most interesting aspect of this game, though, will be the work of the Arizona Cardinals defense. The Cardinals D was gouged for tons of points and yards numerous times this season. They gave up 35 or more points 4 times in their final 6 regular season games, a truly appalling number for any team, let alone a playoff team. And yet in the playoffs, they have been very good. They have given up yards, sure, but they have made plays all over the field when things mattered the most. I mean Jake Delhomme had 6 turnovers for god’s sake! The Arizona secondary may be occasionally vulnerable, but they have outstanding athletes like Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie back there that can change the game when you least expect it. I really have very little idea what to expect from this unit in this game, but I’m sure it will be entertaining to watch it all go down.

The Pick: Philadelphia 27 Arizona 21
Jim Johnson’s superb game-planning helps to at least neutralize Fitzgerald, and forces Warner to throw to a gimpy Anquan Boldin and his other, less-talented options like Steve Breaston. Warner, as steady as he has been this season, is forced into a few mistakes by Johnson’s blitzes. Donovan McNabb avoids the dry heaves to scramble around and make plays with his feet and with his arm to DeSean Jackson, who I think has a big game thanks to his incredible speed.

Sid appears to be Okay; Is Day-to-day

We can breathe a little easier, Pens fans. It appears as though our local hockey god, Sidney Crosby, is going to be okay after suffering some sort of leg injury last night against the Capitals. While there is still no word about exactly what type of injury it was or the exact severity of it, Crosby is expected to only miss practice today and potentially the game tomorrow against Anaheim, but after that should be able to return to the lineup. There will be no devastating high ankle sprain to derail his season like we saw a year ago.

I don't have to tell you how good it is to hear that number 87 will return to the Pens lineup shortly, as with the team's season very much in limbo, we need our best players to be at the peak of their powers, and that starts with El Capitan.

The Rivalry Is Officially On

The NHL has been pimping it for 4 seasons now, stories have floated around about cold feelings, and lord knows there is a ton of playoff history there, but until now it all felt a little forced. There should be no question anymore, Penguins-Capitals has definitely become a rivalry now thanks to the antics of one Alexander Ovechkin.

In case you missed it, the Pens dropped a very irritating and frustrating and worrisome game to the now-hated Caps, 6-3. Why was it irritating? Because Ovechkin, who had a monster night, was whooping and hollering and yelling at every chance he got tonight, doing his best to get under the Penguins' skin, and boy was he succeeding. Why was it frustrating? Because most of the Caps' goals, especially in the third period, were not very good goals, and continued to demonstrate the worrisome inconsistencies of Marc-Andre Fleury. It was also frustrating because the Caps committed a number of dumb penalties, and the pens just couldn't capitalize. Why was it worrisome? Because the Pens had about 10 healthy guys at the end of the game. Max Talbot, Rob Scuderi, Kris Letang, and (gulp) Sidney Crosby (genuflecting) all left the ice with injury concerns. Let's hope they are all okay, but all 4 looked to be at least semi-serious, and it goes without saying that losing Crosby for any amount of time would be disastrous.

As I said, this matchup, at least in my mind, has taken the spot of the second strongest rivalry the Pens have, behind of course just the Flyers. Of course it's not all Ovechkin. There's Alexander Semin's now famous disaparaging words about Sidney Crosby to consider. There's Ryan Whitney injuring Ovechkin a few years back, there's the cold war developing between Geno and Ovechkin with Crosby standing up for Geno any chance he gets. All in all, this really has the makings of a terrific rivalry, but that's really for another day and another game.

The fact remains that the Pens dropped yet another game after a nice showing yesterday against the Flyers. I just really wish this team could get itself straightened out. They continue to drive me up a wall with this inconsistency.

I know a lot of people lately have been harping on potentially firing Michel Therrien. And while Therrien also has a large amount of defenders that are in his corner, I think some sort of a change must be made. My suggestion is that this change needs to be in either getting rid of or reassigning Mike Yeo. Yeo is the guy in charge of the power play for the Penguins, and there is no denying that the Pens power play has been an absolute disaster of late. The Pens did manage a power play goal on 5 chances, but they also nearly gave up a short-handed goal on a 5-on-3 advantage. For a unit with as much talent as the Pens, there is no logical way that this team should rank 20th in the NHL. I think something should be done, and overhauling the power play is probably a good start.

Shady's Gone

It turns out that the original reports were true. LeSean "Shady" McCoy, the superstar tailback of our Pitt Panthers, is going pro. This isn't too surprising to hear, as we heard last week that Shady was going pro, and let's be honest, we've been expecting this since he first burst onto the scene last September. Shady is an NFL talent, and I think he probably thought he'd done more than enough in his time at Pitt and was ready for the next adventure.

He also added a caveat about wanting to do what's best for his family in his speech, and that is more than commendable. I think most Pitt fans will back me when I say, good luck to you in the coming months Shady as you prepare for NFL life, and we wish you tremendous success as an NFL back. You will be missed.