Busy Day In The Burgh

Sorry for the inexcusable lack of a post yesterday, but all sorts of stuff happening in the Burgh, in addition to the usual requirements of the college student's weekend (read: drinking heavily at the bar) made yesterday go by in a blur. So let's recap, in a sorta-chronological way what went down in the last 24 hours:

-The Penguins took the early shift, matching up with the hated Philadelphia Flyers. The game got off to its usual chippy start. The Pens were down 1-zip at the end of the first, but it was gonna take a lot more than that to win this game, so there was still plenty of hope. It was also good to see yet another Godard-Cote fight. Always a good old time there. The second period turned into a dandy, though, as the Pens threw up a 3 spot on the Cryers thanks to unanswered goals from Sid, Geno, and Russie. It was a hell of a period and you had to feel damn good. The Flower was looking good and the D was playing some solid puck. Maybe this Dan Bylsma is the right guy for the job after all.

In fashion typical of this Penguins season, though, this sucker was far from over. Ryan Whitney, who I think was victimized by some Body Snatchers and somehow his body ended up with the abilities of Josef Melichar, practically throws the puck into his own net when he tosses one to Mike Richards on the PK. The Flower gets pwned. The D craps the bed some more and after the Flyers get the game tied up at 4, the Kid has to go to work. Thanfully, Marty Biron momentarily loses his mind, tries to play a puck that comes into his own zone, for some dumb reason picks it up with his glove halfway out to the damn blue line even though Pascal and the Kid are charging and this would be a delay of game penalty. He then somehow only gets dumber, and instead of just taking a two-minute penalty he tosses the puck aside even though he's at least 20 feet from the goal and two Pens are in the zone. Dupuis pokes it to Sid who redirects it into an empty net. Sid goes bananas after scoring just to piss the Filthadelphia fans off a little more. I love it. 5-4 Pens. Ball game.

For the Pens this was a ha-yooge W. They are still 4 points out of 8th, but 8th is no longer the hot Florida Panthers or the tough Buffalo Sabres. Nope, its now the someone-needs-to-take-them-out-back-and-put-them-out-of-their-misery New York Rangers. I'm more worried about catching Carolina than New York. That team's a damn mess.

The Pens played again today in a game that literally just wrapped. We'll get to that in a bit.

-We had a nice little lull yesterday after the big Pens W until 7:00 when Pitt took on the DePaul Detroit Lions...I mean the DePaul Blue Demons. Hmm...let's see Pitt is 24-2, 11-2 in the Big East and number 4 in the country and playing at home in an arena that gives one of the biggest homecourt advantages in basketball. DePaul is 0-for-their-life in the Big East and probably couldn't beat some of the Pitt branch campus basketball teams right now. Needless to say, the expectations for a good game were quite low and they weren't even fulfilled.

DeJuan Blair was a one-man wrecking crew early. He had 50 rebounds in the first half. Maybe not, but it felt like it. The guy is an absolute beast, the best offensive rebounder I have ever seen in college hoops. The Grizzly Blair would play just 23 minutes in the game, putting up a disgusting 20-18 including an obscene 10 offensive boards. You know how many offensive boards the entire DePaul squad had? 4!?! What a mismatch.

This game got so out of hand they even let Gary McGhee play 13 minutes! Jamie emptied the bench at the end, getting minutes for interesting youngsters Ashton Gibbs and Nas Robinson and putting in Tim Frye, Sean Brown, and Ryan Tiesi in the game. This game was so lopsided I think Cassin Diggs could have even gotten in had he not, you know, bolted. The final score may only say a 19 point lead but Pitt could have won this by 50 had Jamie not called the dogs off in the first half. Pitt now travels to Providence for a Tuesday night game against a frisky Friars squad that shouldn't be slept on. But you're asking yourself after this game, where will the Panthers be ranked? 3 probably? Maybe they sneak up to 2? Well, the college hoops scene had a few surprises for us:

-The North Carolina Overrateds... I mean Tar Heels (man I'm having trouble with team nicknames today) took on the Maryland Terps in the Terps' home at the Comcast Center. UM may have some recent tradition but its only been a so-so year for Gary Williams and crew. Not last night it wasn't. Greivis Vasquez blew the doors off the Heels with a sick triple-double line of 35-11-10. And he's a swingman guard. Damn. DeJuan Blair would never allow an opposing guard to snag 11 boards. But Tyler Hansbrough is soft and wildly overrated and the Terps were clearly none too impressed by the Messiah's weak sauce 11-11 night. 11 points in 34 minutes in a game against an underdog on the road when your team needs you? What a stiff. Anyway this sucker goes to the OT and the Terps finish off the Heels 88-85 to slay one giant. What about the other, the Oklahoma Sooners?

-Blake Griffin got knocked silly early on by the Longhorns and you knew that was going to cause some serious issues for the Sooners. Turns out he had a concussion. I can't knock him for not playing through that, that's a toughie. Still the Sooners put up a good effort. Some dude named Willie Warren lays 27 on the Horns. I wasn't aware anyone else knew how to score for the Sooners, I thought it was just Blake. It wasn't enough though as AJ Abrams goes off for 23 points including some serious clutch-ness down the stretch. Longhorns take down the Sooners 73-68. You know what that means, folks. In almost all likelihood the Pitt Panthers will ascend back to the number 1 spot in the country come Monday afternoon. This will be the third week of the season that Pitt is at number 1, pretty amazing considering that it had never happened before in school history. Pretty exciting time to be a Pitt hoops fan.

-And then, there is the bad news. After a glorious day yesterday that left me feeling joyous and wonderful as I threw back a few Hoegaardens, this afternoon was not quite the same. I woke up only about an hour before the Pens game kicked off at 12:30. Perfect. Just enough time to grab a quick shower, call in my Pizza Steak Sub order to Uncle Sam's, trek through the snowy Oakland streets to pick it up and make it back to the apartment in time for the game. Unfortunately, that would be about as happy as I'd get.

Freaking Ovechkin buried one early for the Caps and whooped it up like a D-bag, like always. The Pens evened it up as the suddenly not-terrible Max Talbot tallied one, but the Caps took a 2-1 lead before the period wrapped. The second period would go downhill quickly. The Flower gave up 3 ugly goals in the second before being yanked for Matty Garon. Yikes. The Pens would get a weird goal from the Gonch, who has been very impressive since he returned. I didn't think Gonch would be able to come back so quickly and be so damned good, but he's already taken back his mantle of the top D-man on the squad.

Anyway, the Pens weren't able to get much accomplished in the third, although we did finally establish that, yes, Matty Garon is capable of making a save. He actually wasn't terrible and I could maybe see him getting a start in the next couple games, especially if Flower continues to be so underwhelming. All in all, not a bad couple day stretch, though if the Pens could have somehow managed to wrangle 3 points out of this weekend instead of just 2, that would have been nice. Still, the number 1 team in college hoops will soon call Pittsburgh home, and the Pens are at least keeping us interested and entertained with a more upbeat up-tempo hockey style.

Big W For the Pens

I was awfully pessimistic heading to the Igloo for last night's game. And really who could blame me? The Pens are middling along in the lower portion of the Eastern Conference and after losing at home to the second best team in the West they now had the best team in the West coming to the Igloo, too.

But the Pens stood up to the Sharks. Perhaps the most surprising, and maybe most impressive, thing was that the game was played exactly how the Sharks probably wanted it to be played. At least as far as the Sharks O against the Pens D is concerned. The Sharks were cycling like Lance Armstrong early in the game. Thankfully Marc-Andre Fleury was fresh of some gymnastics classes, as he spent the period standing on his head. To come away with a W against San Jose has to be a huge confidence booster for the Pens.

But, to borrow a gimmick the Sports Guy loves to use, Winston Wolf would be sure to caution us, "Let's not start sucking each other's dicks just yet gentlemen." And yes, I just watched Pulp Fiction this past weekend. Does it inspire hope in the players? Hopefully. Does it give the fans, especially those in attendance, hope? No question about it. But how relevant is it? Not really that relevant.

The 2 points were key. We are very much still in striking distance of a playoff spot in the East. Coming away with another goose egg in the standings would have allowed the pessimists to start tossing a little dirt on the 2008/09 Pens' season. But the Pens still have serious work to do. They need to start more consistently beating the teams they are supposed to. Next on the docket are road games at Toronto and at the Islanders. Anything less than 4 points is something of a disappointment. If the Pens are going to get back into the hunt they need to beat anyone below them in the standings every time they play. That is followed up with a home game against Les Habitents. They are 6th in the East right now and that's another game the Pens would love to have.

2008 Pittsburgh Athlete of the Year

With a New Year now upon us, I thought I'd take a look back at the past year in Pittsburgh sports with a few different angles, the first of which is the 2008 Pittsburgh Athlete of the Year. I used only games that took place in 2008, so that meant having to cut in half the seasons of the Penguins and Pitt basketball. We're gonna count this puppy down, 10 to 1, with a few honorable mentions at the end. I measured it on a sort of MVP basis, factoring a hybrid of the team's success and the player's performance and importance to that team's success. So here we go:

10 Scott McKillop
I was torn between McKillop and James Farrior for the final spot in my top ten, but decided he earned it after earning Big East Defensive Player of the Year Honors, All-American status, a Day 1 draft spot, and being the defensive leader for the most successful Pitt team of the last quarter century. Despite a loss in the Sun Bowl to Oregon State, McKillop's defense was nothing short of spectacular for the final day of 2008. That cemented this spot for the hard-nosed tackling machine.

9 DeJuan Blair
The best basketball player from the 4-1-2 area code in ages had a freshman season to remember, and has stormed back to start his sophomore season with even bigger and better results. He was a huge key to the Big East championship season last season for Pitt, and his work on Roy Hibbert in the title game was wildly impressive. If Pitt could just make it past the second or third round of the NCAAs Blair would become a Pitt legend. Let's hope 2009 sees a jump up these standings for Blair.

8 Marc-Andre Fleury
Fleury was essential to the Penguins' run of success during last year's Stanley Cup final run, and I would argue he was actually the MVP during that stretch. Unfortunately for him, he has been injured for two long stretches, missing just about 3 months of hockey during the 08 calendar. Otherwise he would have been a serious contender for that top spot.

7 LeSean McCoy
The debate over whether LeSean McCoy will stay at Pitt for what figures to be a sensational 2009 Big East season or become a First Round pick in April will rage on until after the deadline for that passes. As a Pitt fan, you have to hope he comes back, but at the same time, it could be tough for him to pass up the guaranteed millions, and surely no Panther fan would blame him for going pro if that's his decision.

6 Sam Young
Sam I Am put together a record-setting scoring pace in the 2007/08 season for the Pitt basketball team, and has continued on that tear to start this season. Young has seamlessly shifted to the small forward position and is poised to make a serious run at a future in the NBA. Young was the star in leading Pitt to the Big East Tournament Championship and remains the most important player for third ranked Panthers. This is a big season for Pitt and for Young, as both need to show they are of high enough caliber to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and anything less than an Elite Eight or Final Four bid will be considered something of a disappointment. For his part, Young is showing more ability as a leader than ever before, and is certainly much more outspoken on and off the court.5 Troy Polamalu
For the first time in ages, Troy Polamalu spent an entire season healthy, and the difference in him was shocking. He was an absolute force of nature for the Steelers, and I believe he will eventually single-handedly re-define the safety position as we know it. He demonstrated ball hawk skills that only Ed Reed possesses, and is a terror for any QB to see shifting around across the line of scrimmage.

4 Ben Roethlisberger
Yeah the numbers aren't really there like they were a year ago, but there's no denying Ben Roethlisberger's incredible importance to the Steelers. The guy just flat out wins ball games, and that continues to be a trend even while naysayers the nationwide question just how good he is. His fourth quarter comebacks have become near certainties in the postseason. He was disappointing in the lone postseason game of the calendar year, all the way back last January 5th, but he'll be getting another shot in 10 days at Heinz Field, and his reputation as a budding big-game superstar will be on the line as always. The offensive talent and the offensive playcalling that are provided to assist Roethlisberger deserve no part of a 12-4 season and a division title, but Big Ben has lifted this unit to where they are now, even if the defense is really the most important and most feared part of this team.

3 Sidney Crosby
Sid was nothing short of magical in last season's playoff push. He and Geno combined to be a force of nature that no team could match. He has been quite good this season as well, but like teammate Fleury, Sid's candidacy is knocked down a bit due to injury. He has also clearly been the second best player on his own team this season, so its hard to place him a whole lot higher than this. I will be interested to see how Sid plays in the coming months down the stretch run for a Pens team that is having a bit of an identity crisis these days. Another magical playoff stretch would also do a lot to enhance his legacy, so stay tuned folks.

2 James Harrison
It was a tough call to put Harrison at the number 2 spot here, but with little postseason success it's hard to make him number 1. Still, Harrison put up a new sack record for one of the most legendary defensive franchises in NFL History. He's one of the top 2 or 3 favorites for the Defensive Player of the Year award, has back-to-back team MVP awards, and is a lock for another All-Pro selection. Few guys are also as dominant as Harrison can be when he is on a hot streak. He is a little on the streaky side, though, and there are those who will argue that he isn't even the biggest difference maker on his own unit, and that Troy Polamalu is really that guy. Still, Harrison's pass-rushing and athleticism and eye-popping stats make him a very hard figure to ignore.
1 Evgeni Malkin
There's little question that, for the most part, Evgeni Malkin has been better then Sidney Crosby for the 2008 calendar year. The points comparison, partially due to Sid's injury, isn't even close, but even when both are healthy, Geno has easily outscored Sid and everyone else this season. Malkin was huge for much of last season's Stanley Cup run as well, but some illness issues left him hindered and ineffective for parts of the Philly series and most of the Stanley Cup. It's also been a little concerning to see his goal-scoring drop off a little this season. But a year ago the debate over best hockey player in the world would have come down to Sid and Ovechkin and hardly anyone would have thought to even include Geno in that discussion. Now though, it's difficult to imagine anyone but him being the logical choice for that mantle. Much like Sid, it's going to be a very interesting few months for Geno as the Pens gear up for the playoffs and try to get out of the slump they find themselves mired in. If Geno stays healthy and consistent, he figures to put up 120+ points and nab his first Art Ross trophy and maybe even a Hart Trophy to accompany it. Let's hope he adds a ridiculously oversized Cup to that awards list.


Honorable Mention:
Petr Sykora- Petr Gunn has consistently been the third best scorer on the Penguins for the last calendar year, and gets bonus points for one of the most memorable moments in Penguins history with the winner in the 3OT thriller against Detroit.
Ronald Ramon- One of my all-time favorite Pitt b-ball players probably shouldn't make this list, but I just couldn't help myself. And he earned points for the winning shot in the best basketball game I've ever attended.
Hines Ward- One of the all-time great Steelers added to his legacy with a suprising 2008 campaign with over 1000 yards and 80 receptions, as well as picking up his 800th career reception.
Nate McLouth- I wanted to at least put a Pirate on the honorable mention list, and he is really the only acceptable option.
James Farrior- The Steelers' defensive captain started the season with a nice contract extension and had a great 2008 season to reward the Steelers for their loyalty, making it back to the Pro Bowl.

Fleury Returns; Pens Post Impressive W

Even though Dany Sabourin has been excellent in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury, there was something very, very reassuring about seeing the Flower back between the pipes last night for the Thrashers game. And he didn't disappoint, either. Fleury put together a 28 save night, and on two of the three goals he allowed, the blame wasn't with him, but with deflected shots. Now, Fleury certainly had a few moments where you could tell it had been a few weeks since he'd been in net, but having a legit number 1 goalie in net again clearly got this time a bit fired up, as they unleashed a 6 goal night on the unsuspecting Thrashers.

It was also evident that they were in a lot better shape after 4 days rest than they were after getting whipped by the Flyers in their last game. Granted, the NHL schedule, by nature, will force teams to go through stretches like that one, but given the Pens' injury status at the time, it was just a case of bad timing for our favorite hockey club. The offense was very crisp last night, as Geno continued on his tear with a 4 point night, Sid chipped in with a pair of assists, and the offense's role players continued to chug along with solid productivity.

A big part of those role players has ben the minor league call-ups this season, and they continue to impress me (and obviously the Penguins as well) with their work. The elite-type prospects are basically gone from the Pens after a few years of either dealing them away or drafting players that were too talented to spend time in the minors, but guys like Jeff Taffe, Tim Wallace (who has been a very nice addition considering I had never heard of the guy until about a week before they called him up), Ryan Stone, John Curry, and Alex Goligoski (who has a ton of talent, but has been playing better than I think even the most optimistic people in the Pens organization could have imagined) have all proven they can be contributors on good teams like the Penguins, and while certainly some of these guys figure to lose playing time and in some cases even their roster spots as the Pens get healthy again, I feel infinitely better about the organizational depth than I did a few months ago.

The Pens are off today and return home to face the Maple Leafs tomorrow night and begin a stretch of 9 games in 16 days where they are confined to the northeast, including 5 home games. With the Flower in net, Whitters and Mad Max figuring to return in the very near future, this team figures to get a lot better in a hurry, and this stretch with no big trips could be a very productive one for the Pens.

The Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

As always on Sunday night of Monday morning, here's my weekend recap, complete with thoughts, links, stories, and inane anecdotes about all the teams from around the Three Rivers, with some other stuff thrown in to boot.

Penguins
-Sidney Crosby suddenly is a man on a mission these days. Granted Geno still holds a 5 point lead on Sid for the scoring title, but there is little question as to the identity of the hottest player on the planet right now. In the past few seasons, Sid would often go on these tears where he'd put up (at a minimum) a couple points a night, but the point totals usually were heavy on the assist side, as the playmaking gene in the Kid emerged. But this time, it's been mostly the actual scoring of goals that Crosby has been involved with. Which leads me to this bold statement: The way Sid is playing right now is the best total hockey he has played in his entire career. The goal scoring, the playmaking, the work on the PK, the way he and Geno can take over a game when they are paired together. If Crosby can even come close to sustaining this pace, he will run away with the scoring title, and the Pens will blow past the Rangers to the division title.

-I don't want to shortchange Geno, either, as he is having one unbelievable season right now. I've been very surprised to notice his development as a playmaker this season, as evidenced by his huge assist total. It's sort of interesting to note that he and Sid have sort of reversed their stereotypical roles of late, with Sid having a comfortable team lead in goals and Geno having the edge in assists. I might be an enormous Pens Homer, but I really think there is a very good chance these two end up being far and away the 1 and 2 in the scoring race come season's end. Not sure who finishes on top (at gunpoint I'd probably say Sid) but I wouldn't be shocked at all to see each go well past 120 points, assuming they both stay healthy.

-While John Curry certainly is no Ty Conklin, I thought he at least proved he has the ability to be a backup 'tender in the league. Of course, he'd be best served spending this season with the Baby Pens developing himself. Still, I was highly skeptical of his future prospects, but I thought he showed poise and skill in his two appearances.

-And of course, there's the work of Dany Sabourin, who has really brought his A game since the Flower went down. He also still sits atop the league in Goals Against Average. A downright jaw-dropping achievement if you had seen him a few years ago in his first start for the Pens when he gave up 4 goals on 14 shots in just over a period of work.

-Janne Pesonen's bizarre season continues to amplify in bizareness. The Swedish import, who some thought might spend the season playing on the wing of Geno or Sid was sent back down to Wilkes-Barre yet again this morning. It's not surprising that he was sent down if you watched the two games he actually dressed for, as he played about 6 minutes Friday night and just over 7 minutes last night. Still, I thought he put together solid efforts when he was out there, and although he was a -1 last night, I think he deserves more of a chance up here to show himself. Apparently Mikey Therrien disagrees though.

-It was also interesting that Pesonen dressed for the Buffalo game Friday night when Ruslan Fedotenko was a healthy scratch, and that Pesonen dressed again last night while Pascal Dupuis was scratched for reasons unknown.

-Marc-Andre Fleury's injury looks like it will hold our top netminder out for at least a few more games, as he was described by Mikey Therrien as being "week-to-week"

-Dave Molinari has an interesting look at the state of nutrition in the NHL these days, which includes an amusing little anecdote about our beloved Super Mario, and also gives us a reason to ask, "What do Eric Godard and Elvis Pressley have in common?"

-If you watched the game last night, is there really any player in the league that is more dramatic and breathtaking than Sidney Crosby? I mean don't even think there can be a debate on this topic. Even if you think Semin or Ovechkin or Zetterberg or whoever is the best player in hockey, none of them can make you rise to the edge of your seat like Sid can when he is playing like he is now. He was flying around the ice all night, and each of his three goals were "WOW" goals, even the empty-netter.

Steelers
-That was one heck of a show the Steelers just put on earlier tonight in their statement game win over the Patriots. To answer the question that I asked earlier today in my game preview, yes, the Steelers are a legit, top-of-the-AFC contender right now. I would put them on an even plane with the Titans, and ahead of the rest of the AFC's squads and behind only the Giants in the entire NFL after this tour de force performance.

-After a shaky start, Ben Roethlisberger really came around today. His final numbers might be a bit deceiving: 17/33 179 2 TD 1 Int, but if you watched the game, you saw a very solid performance. His receivers hurt him big time, as Heath Miller uncharacteristically dropped 2 very catchable passes, Willie Parker dropped an embarassingly easy swing pass, and Nate Washington dropped a sure touchdown pass that was perfectly thrown after making two more difficult catches earlier on.

-The defense was, in a word, dominating. The Patriots were able to make some head way on the ground with 122 yards rushing, most of it coming on 6 wildly effective carries by Kevin Faulk. Sammy Morris also grinded out 45 tough yards too. However, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley were monsters in the second half after struggling through the first. Troy Polamalu also had a monster of a game, with several passes defensed and was all over the field as usual, and added a league high 6th interception. Polamalu is even better than I thought possible now that he has been consistently healthy.

-Mewelde Moore and Willie Parker were once again a very effective tandem. Parker had some early issues and sat out the entire second quarter, probably due to lingering issue effects, but was excellent toward the end of the game at killing the clock. Moore, meanwhile, was a very dangerous run in Parker's absence, and for someone his size is also a very tough runner as well. I was also pleased to see Gary Russell punch one in for a touchdown, but with 3 carries for 1 yard, Russell still has quite a bit to prove as an everydown back.

-Ryan Clark's hit on Wes Welker was RIDICULOUS. I don't think I have ever seen a more violent hit that wasn't head-to-head in my entire life. Just a sickening sound, a sickening sight, and a sickening result.

-It would have been a very different game if Randy Moss doesn't drop that touchdown pass from Matt Cassel that he would have had 99 times out of 100. When Gostkowski shanked that field goal, you knew the Pats were in trouble, but if Moss snags that sucker, the game is on.

Pirates
-Not much to report on the Pirates these days, but you should check out Dejan Kovacevic's story about the Pirates happenings in the Dominican Republic. If you are a real baseball fan and understand the workings of the league in present day, it will give you some renewed faith in the Pirates organization's overall workings, even if their major league club may struggle mightily in 2009. Also, this is the first part of a 3-part series on the Bucs in Latin America, so be sure to check back on the PG's website the next few days for the remainder.

Pitt Football
-I covered quite a bit of Pitt football stuff in my post-Brawl column, but thought of a few more things I wanted to add.

-The experts seem to like our Panthers heading to the Brut Sun Bowl to play Oregon State. Would be interesting to see how they would fare against a team that was on the cusp of going to the Rose Bowl. It's also worth noting that this is all assuming that Pitt beats UConn.

-With one game remaining, there is a pretty strong chance that LeSean McCoy will at least tie for the national lead in touchdowns at the end of the regular season, and maybe even lead the thing outright with his 20. Javon Ringer currently leads with 21 but is done until bowl season, and Shady is tied for second with MiQuale Lewis of Ball State (who has the MAC Championship this weekend) and Dez Bryant of Oklahoma State (who is done until the Bowls).

-The Panthers are back in all of the rankings thanks to Friday's win.

Pitt Basketball
-Sam Young continued his march toward all kinds of postseason awards with a pair of excellent performances Friday and Saturday night to go with his career performance from Tuesday. What's more, those were two nice wins the Panthers put together as well over Washington State and Texas Tech. Hard to say if either is a tournament-caliber squad (I doubt Tech is, not sure about Wazzu) but wins over Big Conference schools, no matter which ones, are looked upon favorably.

-I was more than a little surprised to notice that Nasir Robinson didn't get into the game at all last night against Wazzu. Not that he'd be lighting the world on fire or anything, but I would not have expected him to be a guy to plummet to the bottom of the bench so quickly given his athleticism and reputation as the top recruit from this class. I can't really argue much with it, though either, and I think that Gil Brown's return to the lineup might make it difficult for Nas to get minutes, as they are similar types of players, and Gil is obviously the better player right now.

-While I made quite a bit about the Panthers bench and depth early on in the season, I also want to add that I think this could quickly become a team whose minutes are dominated by 6 players: Fields, Dixon, Young, Biggs, Blair, and Brown off the bench. Of course McGhee will get his minutes spelling the big guys, and Woodall and Gibbs will see time at the point when Fields is given a rest, and Wanamaker and Robinson will carve out some minutes as well, but the versatility of the top 6 guys makes it so that Jamie Dixon can rely heavily on the cream of the crop for probably 25+ minutes each. I mean think about it: Gil can play the 2,3, and even 4. Sammy is adjusting to the 3, and has a brilliant history at the 4. Blair and Biggs can both move seamlessly between the 4 and 5. And while Dixon and Fields are both probably only going to play their respective guard spots, Fields is a warrior who will probably average 35 minutes a game in Big East play, and Dixon has been nothing but impressive in his early play, and should have no trouble assuming a heavy workload.

-I've been very impressed by Levance Fields' newly found scoring touch. I would not have pegged him as the guy most likely to pick up the Panthers scoring slack this season, but he has been excellent this season. He has emerged as a surprisingly potent 3-point scoring threat, nailing over 40% of his bombs so far this year, establishing himself as the definite top option on the team in that regard.

Other Stuff
-This Texas/Oklahoma/ Texas Tech mess really makes its own case for a college football playoff system of some sort, doesn't it? I mean this is absolutely ridiculous. And since I already have my plan for a playoff system laid out, here's what it would look like as of now, if the season ended today.
Seeds:
1 Alabama (SEC Champ)
2 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ)
3 USC (Pac-10 Champ)
4 Utah (Mountain West Champ)
5 Texas (At-Large Bid)
6 Penn State (Big Ten Champ)
7 Cincinnati (Big East Champ)
8 Boston College (ACC Champ)
9 Florida (At-Large Bid)
10 Texas Tech (At-Large Bid)
11 Boise State (WAC Champ)
12 Ohio State (At-Large Bid)

First Round Matchups:
Texas vs. Ohio State
Penn State vs. Boise State
Cincinnati vs. Texas Tech
Boston College vs. Florida

Second Round Matchups
Alabama vs. Boston College/Florida
Oklahoma vs. Cincinnati/Texas Tech
USC vs. Penn State/ Boise State
Alabama vs. Texas/ Ohio State

-Lastly, I wanted to give you a heads-up, for the next week and a half or so, I will be forced to dive headfirst into school work, what with Finals week looming on the horizon, and because of this, the blog is likely to take a hit as far as activity. I'm not giving up entirely, but will be forced to tone it down. I will give it my best effort to be on here with something at least every other day, but circumstance will dicatate that.

The Weekend Recap

It was a very lively Sunday evening down at Heinz Field for me, and after coming back from the Big Mustard Bottle on the North Shore to my drafty Oakland apartment, it took me the better part of Sunday evening to thaw myself out, hence why you are getting a Weekend Recap at on a Monday afternoon, instead, of you, at the end of the day Sunday like I hope to do.

For anyone else who was in attendance, I think you hopefully more than understand where I am coming from though, as I was in no condition to do anything but spend 30 minutes in a scalding hot shower and the rest of the night curled under roughly 300 blankets.

But believe me when I tell you, it was more than worth it to say that I was there for the first 11-10 final tally in the long history of the National Football League. And to say I was there for truly remarkable performances from Willie Parker, James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, and Hines Ward, and to also say I was there for one of the weirdest, most random, yet coolest snow storms in Pittsburgh history.

So, without further ado, here are the quick hits from the weekend that was in the Burgh:
-As is always the case when it comes to us residence near The Confluence, the weekend is made or broken by our beloved Steelers, and though the game kept us on pins and needles for 3 solid hours, our black and gold warriors once again game through victorious in a truly strange game that had to leave a smile on your face. The defense continues to enforce its will upon their opposition, and two players in particular, James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, have to be considered among the best defenders in all of football right now. Both made spectacular plays yesterday, Harrison with a game-altering safety of Phillip Rivers and Troy with an unreal interception that, from my distant view at Heinz, looked like an impossible pick. And of course, there is Troy's controversial fumble return for a TD that was negated, which is all the talk today because of the gambling implications.

-I can't for the life of me understand how the refs could go under the hood to look at the fumble, call it a fumble and a Steeler TD, and then decide, without any logical reason behind it, that it wasn't a TD. A truly strange moment if I have ever seen one, and one that rightly deserved the numerous articles and thousands of jokes surfacing on the 'net today.

-Large Benjamin still looks awfully achy to me out there. He was clearly laboring on any throw that went beyond 15-20 yards downfield, and it was surprising that Willie Parker had as much success as he did running the ball when the safeties were not playing far from the line.

-This is a truly bizarre NFL season, and with no offensive skill player really emerging with big statistical numbers to gain serious consideration for the NFL MVP Award, I am throwing my full support behind the one and only Silverback, James Harrison. Harrison is one nasty, nasty individual on the football field and that mean streak carries over to the rest of the defense when they line up together. Add that to the fact that he has the pretty, shiny statistics that voters lover to see (he's on pace for about 100 tackles and a jaw-dropping 19 sacks). Not to mention the Steelers Defense has statistically been either the best or very close to the best all season long, the Steelers are almost certainly headed to the post-season, and the way that they defense single-handedly won that game and has kept them in several games this season, and I think that we have ourselves a legitimate case for MVP on our hands.

-It was very cool to see Skippy Reed get another game winner as the clock ran out last night. He has been one of the best kickers in football the past couple seasons (and should have been a Pro Bowler last season), and knocking in game winners are often what gets kickers notice in this league.

-Hines Ward may have lost a step or two and doesn't force any team to bring safety help in to stop him the way we see opposing teams do with Santonio on occassion, but that guy is an absolute warrior and was the focal point of that offense yesterday.

-I've said it before (though probably not on here) and I'll say it again: I will never buy Phillip Rivers as a franchise quarterback, and will forever be grateful that the Chargers wanted him over Big Ben back in the 04 draft when they instructed the G-Men to take him instead of Ben to complete the Eli Manning trade. I'm not saying he's not talented, and he can certainly be a complimentary QB and lead talented teams into the postseason like he did a year ago, but I don't think he has that extra gear like Roethlisberger and Eli Manning have shown where they can lift their team from a good playoff one to a great championship one, and he certainly won't ever be on the same stratosphere as all-time greats like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre.

-The Penguins continued their recent hot streak in playing from behind with a big 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres that was a much closer game then that score might indicate. To me, it seems like Geno Malkin is playing the best all-around hockey of his career right now, even better than the way he played last spring after Sid went out with an injury. He is an offensive force right now, and is the best player on the planet.

-Right now, the top two point scorers in hockey are a Penguin and a Capital, which should surprise absolutely no one who even remotely follows hockey. What should surprise them is that those two scorers are Geno and Alexander Semin.

-There are early reports this morning that the Flower, Marc-Andre Fleury, is injured. The injury is not yet known, he is day-to-day, and will miss the Minnesota game. Dany Sabourin has been excellent in relief so far this season, and I'm not concerned as long as this is a very short-term loss.

-The Darryl Sydor trade is a little strange in my opinion. I'm not the least bit surprised that he was dealt, and he has clearly wanted it for months, and he earned it after playing the good soldier for so long. But the return is what puzzles me. The man the Pens received in return, Phillipe Boucher, is only slightly younger than Sydor (35 to Darryl's 36), makes the exact same amount of money (2.5 million for this year, UFA afterward) and contributes nothing offensively. The only difference is he is a righty. So why do this deal? I mean you have to think that Boucher is just going to sit like Sydor did, and when Whitters and Gonch return, he is REALLY going to sit then. I assumed they'd keep Sydor til January or February then deal Sydor for a throwaway prospect to clear cap space for a trade where they acquire a top 2 line winger. Ray Shero, you know I hate to doubt you, because very often you end up being right, but I'm not too sure about this little maneuver.

-The win this past Saturday by the Cincinnati Bearcats sets up the biggest game of the Dave Wannstedt era this coming Saturday evening between said Bearcats and our Panthers. A full preview will be coming your way on Friday. I haven't even formulated any thoughts on this one yet other then some serious giddiness for my Panthers, as Cincinnati, while a tough and very resilient foe, looks to be a very beatable opponent, even though the game is on their turf. A W there puts there Panthers firmly in the driver's seat for the Big East crown, and sets up what would then be the new biggest game of the Dave Wannstedt Era.

Until next time folks...