Pens Pounded in Detroit

Game five didn't exactly go the way we had all planned. Actually it was enough to make any of us vomit. It was a horrible game for our Pittsburgh Penguins. I could go on and on about it, but I'm not. Fact is they got dominated by the Red Wings. If the Pens want to win the Cup, they have to win two straight, which they have done already on two occasions this playoff year (against the Capitals and against the Red Wings). It can be done. Fact is niether team has played well enough on the road to really win a game. You have to think the Penguins would have won game one or two the way they played in those games. But they didn't. They did win games three and four against a Red Wings team that looked tired and worn out. The Pens looked tired and worn out in game 5. Two days off will give the teams a chance to regroup. I suspect the Pens will win game six and we'll be going back to Detroit for a game seven.

Also remember back in game four near the end of the game when Kirk Maltby took a whack at the back of Sidney Crosby's leg and it wasn't called? That was a real classy move by Maltby, a four time cup champion. So now some moron that writes for the Denver Post has totally begun ripping on the Penguins calling them the Utah Jazz/Phoenix Suns of the NHL. What? Really? He also talked about how classless it was for the Pens to take the dumb penaltys in the game last night against the Red Wings. Hmmmm. So it's ok if a Red Wing player whacks at our star player and its not considered to be classless, but when the shoe is on the other foot,we are all of a sudden put down on the same level as the Flyers? This guy must be an idiot (LINK).

This team is very young. rosby and Malkin have a lot of good years ahead of them. For someone to say that the Pens are the Jazz/Suns of the NHL, must not have a clue what they are talking about. Besides, how can you compare the NHL to the NBA anyhow? They are two totally different games that require two totally different attitudes and psyche to play in. I don't watch alot of the NBA, but I can tell you one thing is that to play in the NHL it takes a special person, especially in the playoffs. The stuff these players go through to win the Stanley Cup is what makes it the greatest trophy in sports.

Also I really hope that the NHL takes the opportunity to rid itself of NBC's horrible coverage when their contract ends, which isn't until 2011. ESPN really needs to get hockey back because right now NBC is horrible. I think Pierre Mcguire may be the worst person I have to listen to during a game. Edzo and Doc compliment each other well, but I can't stand Edzo anymore. He was great in Pittsburgh, but I don't know what happened to him that makes him so bad now. All of the analysts with the exception of Darren Pang, who does a solid job dating back to his ESPN days and even Mike Milbury a little bit, but not often, Are horrible. I don't care for Versus much, but they are way better than NBC and they don't have nearly the population watching them that NBC does.

Pens Advance To Conference Finals!!!

What a series. What a matchup. Hockey fans couldn't have asked for anything better during the 7 games that the Capitals and Penguins played. The only thing that would have made this better, would have been if the series was the Stanley Cup Finals. Crosby and Ovechkin both showed why they are the two best players in the world. It was simply one of the best series in recent memory. Some are saying that it ranks with some of the best seven game series in hockey history.

Regardless, last night was a little anti-climatic. Pens and Caps fans probably thought going into game seven, that the game would be decided by one goal for sure, perhaps even an overtime or two. This series had every thing except for a blowout and a multiple OT game. We finally did get a little bit of everything. The better team prevailed in this series. The only reason it went seven games was because rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov stole some games and that was what made the difference in the series. If he isnt in net, this would have been a 5 game series easily, maybe even a sweep.

The play of the game last night however, was Fluery's stop of Ovechkin on a breakaway. If Ovie scores on that breakaway, I think we see a totally different game. I still think that the Pens were going to win, but maybe if that shot goes in, its a different game. Fluery made the big save when he needed to. The Pens now wait for the winner of the Boston/Carolina series.

Here is my prediction for tonights game sevens...

Boston/Carolina: Carolina had control of this series. They had a 3-1 series lead. Boston fought back to force a game seven. This doesnt look good for the Hurricanes. Boston is probably one of the best teams in hockey right now. They have a ton of depth. I think Carolina has a goaltending edge however in Cam Ward. The guy is amazing and already has one cup under his belt. But I think it is going to be a collapse for the Canes. Bruins win.

Anaheim/Detroit: Here is another great series. Both teams hate each other. Anaheim apparently is sick of Detroits ways, because at the end of Game 6, they started beating up on Detroits stars literally. This one could go either way. I think Detroit has the edge however. They are a very deep team and the defending champs. As much as I hate them and would love to see them eliminated, I just dont see it happening. Red Wings win.

One more thing.....

Phoenix filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is somthing that Penguins fans know all too well (Pens filed twice in their existence). It looks like the team may be moved but the NHL is saying they are behind the Phoenix area and want it to recover. My bet is the NHL allows the team to move. I think it would be better for everyone in this case. I hate to see it happen, but to me it is only a matter of time until the Coyotes leave town. The team would probably be relocated to Kansas City or to Canada. KC seems likely since they have a new arena in place and wanted the Pens very badly. If the team would move to Canada, its hard to say where it would go. I personally would like to see a team back in Quebec, but that is probably unlikely. Winnipeg I believe lost their team because they couldn't support the franchise. Hamilton seems likely or maybe Toronto could get a second team. I don't think that would be wise, but you can never be to sure until it happens. New York has two teams. Several other cities in other sports have two teams. Who knows.

You Had To Be There To Believe It - Pens Beat Flyers

Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Wow. Thats all I can really say concerning Game 6 against the Flyers. I was a mess the entire day, since I had to work real late the night before. I opted to listen to Mike Lange and the Ol' Two-Niner, but the warm April sun was putting me to sleep, so I watched the game on NBC instead. From the time I left my radio to the time I got the TV warmed up, it was 2-0 Flyers. Ouch. Next thing I know it's 3-0 Flyers and as much as it pains me to say this, I thought the game and possibly the series was over. I couldn't believe it. But I should have kept telling myself that momentum changes in the blink of an eye. And it did. Max Talbot sucks Daniel Carcillo into a fight, which wasn't the time for the Flyers to be dropping the gloves. It recharges the Pens. Malkin drives to the net and all of a sudden you realize that hope is not lost. Fedotenko picks up the trash and it's a 3-1 game. I honestly think that the Flyers thought they had it won at that point however. Braydon Coburn knocks down Fedotenko for no reason at all right after the goal. Typical Flyers being dumb and tyring to be tough guys. All of a sudden the momentum changes. Momentum is what the Stanley Cup Playoffs are all about. Mark Eaton knocks one out of the air to make it 3-2. Then Crosby does the same thing after Biron juggles the puck. 3-3 hockey game. You just knew that all the Pens had to do was play mistake free hockey the rest of the way. Fleury was AMAZING in the 3rd period. Gonchar rips a slapper from downtown. 4-3 Pens. At that point you knew the Flyers were toast. Crosby gets the empty netter and seals a 5-3 win for the Pens and the series. What a comeback. Now we will await the next opponent for round 2. It should be pretty exciting from here on out.


Some real quick tidbits.....

• How nice was it to not have to listen to Pierre Mcguire during the broadcast yesterday. Darren Pang was a blast from the past to the days of ESPN. Mcguire is a joke and I've lost all respect for him.


• Fluery was MVP of the series without a doubt. He played out of his mind when he needed to and thats all you can ask.


• Not sure what happened to Scuderi, but hopefully he can return to play the next round.

What a way to beat the Flyers. They had a 3-0 lead and then watched it fall apart faster than Donovan McNabb in the final two minutes of a super bowl. This could be a momentum changer for the Pens. Lets hope so. GO PENS!

Some Hockey Thoughts

Well....can I first say how much I love this time of year? Hockey has now moved into it's second season and it's getting warm outside. I LOVE THIS! This is the time of year when moments are made. Hockey fans will become so consumed with the game and their team, it will be like nothing else matters. Every shot will make you jump from your seat. Every save makes you breath a sigh of relief. Every win makes you more and more excited, while every loss makes you feel deflated. You will lose your voice cheering every goal. It truely is the most wonderful time of the year for a hockey fan. With that being said, I'd like to share some thoughts on the opening week of this playoff year.

Flying Into Philadelphia

The Penguins have a 2-0 series lead heading into the game tomorrow with the Flyers in Philly. Although last nights OT was the first playoff hockey I have gotten to see all season, I have listened when I can to Mike Lange and it really sounds like the Pens are simply out playing the Flyers. The OT last night also showed how undiciplined and stupid the Flyers can be. Here is my prediction: If Pittsburgh wins game 3 tomorrow and takes a 3-0 series lead, look for this series to get ugly. Philly will try and beat the snot out of the Pens and take as many cheap shots as possible. Keep you fingers crossed the Pens can get out without any major injuries. If Philly wins game 3, it's going to be a whole new ballgame. No series lead is safe until it is won. Even some of the best teams have blown 2-0 and even 3-0 series leads. I doubt that happens to the Pens, but momentum in hockey can change with one big goal, a huge save or a devastating body check.

Chicago Revival

How great is it to see the Blackhawks back in the playoffs. I think it was great to see them play so well this season and to have the city behind them again. Let's not forget that home games used to be blacked out in Chicago. It's nice to see an origional six team doing well again.

Big Screen Gone?

By now most know that the big screen will not show games broadcast by NBC. I will let you read what the Tribune-Review (here) and Pittsburgh Post Gazette (here) reported and what Channel 11 (here) had to say in response. Basically what it boils down to, is that NBC has poor ratings and doesn't want it to suffer anymore than it already has. It's too bad. I always wanted to go to a game and watch it outside. It's funny that this is all happening now. If it was such a big deal why didn't it happen before this playoff season? I guess thats the way the cookie crumbles. It just shows however that the hockey has a poor TV package and NBC has a shitty broadcast team. Mike Emerick is the only person I can stand to listen to during their games to begin with.

Comments On The Super Genius

I was listening to Mark Madden before the Pens game on my way to work the other night before game 2. Madden does offer solid insight to hockey and the Penguins, but i admit some nights I love him and some nights I don't. Madden was pretty good last night. One caller specific was asking about an update on Jaromir Jagr possibly coming back to the Pens (won't happen for future reference). Madden simply responded by saying "what? Didn't you hear? He's playing tonight!" First of all, Jagr is the farthest person from anyones mind right now, so why bring him up? Second, don't worry about it, cuz he ain't comin back to Pittsburgh. If he does return to the NHL it will be to the team that will pay him the most.

WTF IS HAPPENING!!!!

OK....So the Penguins have once again found a way to lose a game. It was great seeing them win seven games in a row. But now they seem to be doing another turn around for the worse. Yesterdays game was very hard to watch. They started off well but then let Ottawa back into the game in the third period. Then lost it in the shootout. OUCH! Granted it was nice to get one point, but this was definitely a game they should have gotten two points. Regardless, they need to go back to their winning ways starting today. The Pens kicked off a huge eight game homestand yesterday and there would be no tougher way to start it than by losing their first two games of the homestand.

Here are the things that the Penguins need to do if they are a serious playoff team....

1)Score on the Power Play: The Pens seemed to get their PP back on track when Gonchar came back, but the last three or four games have been shit on the PP. This to me is priority number one for them. A power play goal yesterday gives you the win. It didn't happen. Plain and simple, if you don't score on the PP, you don't win.

2)Play 60 minutes: I know the Pens are a good team. But they aren't a good team when they are playing their asses off for 5 minutes and then on vacation for 10 minutes. You dont win hockey games by playing inconsistent. Every team spaces out for about 5 minutes during the game. It happens. But the Pens seem to just totally shut it down for about 10 minutes in the third period. If there is one period you can't afford to let up it's in the third. I hate to say this, but if you do this in the Cup Finals or even the Eastern Conference Finals...YOU LOSE. It's that simple. The Pens need to start playing better through the game and especially in the third period.

3)Faceoffs: Jordan Stall was on the ice yesterday for (I think this was right) three faceoffs during the OT period in our end. As I recall, he didn't win a single one. Fleury was amazing during that 2 minute period when the Sens had a PP. A lesser goalie would have given up a goal. But the Pens need to get better on faceoffs. They were solid on faceoffs until Mike Zigomanis (pictured above) was hurt. It was about that time the Pens started playing like shit. Zigomanis is currently on IR and I don't know if he will be back for the playoffs or not. He is a very solid faceoff guy and should help them if he can return.

There you have it. Three simple ways the Pens can get better. Also this homestand is huge. The Pens host the Bruins today and will then host the Thrashers, Kings, Flyers, Flames, Rangers and Devils. Then they finish the season off visiting the Hurricanes, Panthers and Lightning, come home to face the Islanders and then travel to play the Canadiens to end their regulars season. That is a total of 12 games remaining in their schedule....the homestand being extremely important.

The Pens need to beat the bubble teams and the teams that they are fighting for a playoff spot with (Flyers, Rangers, Panthers, Hurricanes and Canadiens). The Pens have 80 points and are the 6th seed. If the playoffs began today we would play the Capitals in the opening round. I see no reason the Pens couldn't get to the 4th seed. Of their final 12 games, the Pens are playing 7 playoff teams (teams in the playoffs if they started today). It will be a tough end to the season but if the Pens get hot going into the playoffs....anything can happen.

WWIII: Crosby vs. Ovechkin

So now that hockey fans have the rivalry they so desperately wanted, I'm gonna give my take on it. I'll have links at the end for you to read and get up to date on what is going on.

I know I've said this before and I'll say it again: I love the way Ovechkin plays the game. He plays hard and he plays to win. I don't care who you are, you'd love this guy if he was on your team. But when a guy goes after another guy that isn't cool. Ovechkin tried to wreck Malkin in just about every game the two played earlier this season. Crosby now seems to be the guy that Ovie has his sights set on. I really just don't understand the point of trying to intentionally cheap shot a guy. I mean, Ulf Samuellson, as Pens fans know, ended the career of Boston Bruins star Cam Neely in a playoff game a while back. It's not cool. It is good for the game to have two stars duking it out for supremicy, but if you are going to cheap shot a guy, it's not a healthy rivalry and needs to be addressed. I don't like it when anyone goes after another player with the intent to cheap shot him. It's just flat out wrong. So I guess I am hoping that Ovie takes it down a notch and doesnt decide to cheapshot Crosby. Bottom line seems to be that the Caps are taking a little too much joy in the fact the Pens are floundering this season. That's very classy. Thankfully the two teams play only one more game this season. Unless that is, the two teams meet in the playoffs...

Check out PensBlog for more on Redskins TE Chris "I think I'm so" Cooley and what he said about Crosby.

The Post-Gazette has a little tid-bit on the Crosby/Ovechkin fued.

A Washington Post columnist shares his two cents.

The NY Times had a story about the fued.

Also, here is an update on some trade rumors as we near the deadline...

Fox Sports.com has a list of "rumors" yinz should check out.

Sporting News is reporting a Lecavalier to Montreal rumor.

Hockey Buzz has some trade rumors as well.

Penguins Trade Rumors...UPDATED

Anyone that is a hockey fan knows that this time of year is exciting, especially heading to the playoffs to see who will land where and what the biggest deal will be. It's trade deadline time and the Penguins are involved in several rumors. The biggest one I am seeing right now is the Malkin to Atlanta for Kovalchuk trade. I hate this rumor and I hope the Pens don't get rid of Malkin, but its very early to tell and as I said, this is just a rumor. I will have a list of more sites listed at the bottom of the page with more rumors but for now just let me say this. If you trade Malkin, the team's leading scorer, you lose the fan base. I don't care if you clone Mario Lemieux it's not a good idea...actually that would be pretty sweet, but the point is that Malkin is leading the league in scoring and is one of the Pens' great young players. Geno may end up being better than Bing when this is all said and done, but to me if you trade away a talent like that who clearly has better days ahead, it spells disaster. Now on to the rumors and please keep in mind that the validity of these rumors is unknown at this point....just rumors.

Fan House is reporting that Nik Antropov could be headed to the Pens and could Colby and Kovalchuk become Pens as well?

NESN is saying that Martin St. Louis could be headed to Pittsburgh.

The Hockey News is also reporting the St. Louis to Pittsburgh deal.

The Sporting News is saying Colby could be coming back to the burgh.

The Columbus Dispatch has a blog and although its from a month ago, could Stall be headed to Columbus?

HockeyBuzz.com is reporting the Malkin for Kovalchuk rumor


Also remember that March 4th is the trade deadline...3pm to be exact. So it is fast approaching.

Penguins Fire Therrien

As most already know, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired Head Coach Michel Therrien. They have brought in Dan Bylsma to try and right the ship at least until the end of the season. For the most part the Pens coaching staff remains in place. We'll get a quick look at the new guy when the Pens play today at 2pm.

It is hard for me to come to a decision on this change. I probably won't like most other things and then just agree with the experts that sound smart down the road. But I do think that there is somthing that shouldn't be lost in all of this. Here is my take.

Obviously the Pens were struggeling this season. Not having Gonchar and Whitney for half the season proved to be a negative. Take the top two defenceman from any team and they will have issues. The other thing in all of this however was that the Penguins clearly weren't the same after last season losing some key players and not getting Hossa back either. Therrien I feel was a very solid coach. But it's also tough when a guy like Satan and Sykora are supposed to be "finishers" and they are struggeling. I do think he was especially good with a team full of young players like the Penguins. Therrien's downfall though was the fact that he shuffled lines too much and was maybe too defence minded for a team with so many young talented players. Overall I think for the most part, Therrien's tenure with the Penguins will be considered a success, but this season may be remembered for his failure after coaching them to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. Overall the reason Therrien got fired, wasn't because of the team's struggles, but that they simply didn't believe in his theories and style anymore. When Therrien was first hired, everyone bought into the fact that defence would be the way to win and it was his way or the hi-way. That maybe was somthing that this team didn't want to buy into anymore with the struggles of the season. No matter what though, Therrien will be remembered for the guy that helped turn this team around and we should be grateful for that. He was the right guy at the right time for this team back in 2005-2006.

Whats With Ovie and Geno?

Whats with Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. Anyone that follows the NHL knows about the ongoing rivalry between Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals and Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins. But it was apparently resolved on Saturday night during the NHL's Super Skills competition. Geno and Ovie apparently have put their fued with one another aside. Acutally I would say that it must have been Ovie that put his fued with Malkin aside, being that he was the one trying to kill Malkin on every shift this season when they played. Regardless, from what I read it appeared that Ilya Kovalchuk of the Thrashers, who is also a russian, said they needed to get over it and that was it, everyone was friends again. This leads me to one of two theories. Either 1)Kovalchuk is one hell of peace maker. If that is the case he needs to be in politics bringing world peace and not in the NHL, or 2) maybe this was Ovechkin just being a jerk. Don't get me wrong, I like the way he plays and I like the fact that he is probably the most exciting player in the league but this all seems fishy to me. It just doesn't make sense that Ovechkin has hated Malkin for about a year or so and now they are buddy buddy again. It's too early to call this one, but stay tuned because I get the feeling more will come from this weekend in the coming days or weeks.

By the way, it was great to see Ovie do what he did in the super skills competition. Thats what this entire weekend is all about.




Here are some links to the stories...
Fanhouse & Washington Post

Sloppy Seconds Anyone?

This is our second installment about the current ongoing drama with Sean Avery.

The NHL announced today that it has suspended Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery for 6 games because of comments that he made this week about his former girlfriends, specifically Elisha Cuthbert.

I've only got one thing to say about this.....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I have an hour long drive to work everyday and on the way to work today I was thinking about worse things that Avery could have done to get a suspension. Things that would have caused a much bigger problem for the NHL.

Here is a not so short list:

1) He could have made a racial, religious or sexist slur. Think about this. Imagine if he called someone a racial name to the cameras. Or a religious slur. He could have made a comment about homosexuals or lesbians. Or he could have just flat out said that his former girlfriends were either sluts, whores or skanks, which in my opinion is alot worse than making a comment about "sloppy seconds."

2) Avery could have pulled a Marty Mcsorely or Todd Bertuzzi. Is a guy making comments about "sloppy seconds" really as bad as what the two previous goons have done. I shouldn't even have to explain this. What Mcsorely and Bertuzzi did was just god awful and although many hate Avery, he still plays within in the rules to an extent. He is by no means an angel, but he certainly hasn't done somthing like the two above mentioned players. If I was Gary Bettman I would much rather have guys make comments that you could fine than what these two nuts did. Whats worse, explaining to your kids what sloppy seconds are or having to explain why some guy just whacked the head of another player with his stick with an intent to injure?

3) What if he had started a brawl that rolled into the stands (yes I am refering to Ron Artest and the NBA!) This is hard to do in hockey because of the boards that seperate the players and ice from the fans. But in all seriousness this if he had started a brawl with some fans in the stands, that would have been far worse than anything that I have mentioned yet. How do you explain that to your kids? Thankfully I don't have any (that I know of). But imagine the NHL responding to that. I know that Avery has had fueds with fans, especially in Philadelphia, but he hasn't ever thrown a punch at one at the rink. He hasn't attempted to assault a fan at the rink. But other players or coaches have. Just a few nights ago a coach was in an argument with a fan, and I bet that it wouldn't have been to pretty if the NHL had to explain why one of it's coaches assaulted a fan that is in a sense paying the guy's salary.

4)He could have been betting on the game of hockey. This is the worse thing that any player in any sport could do. Imagine if he came out and said "I gamble" or "I bet"? I know that is a poor example because no player would ever come out and say that, but just think about it. Baseball has banned Pete Rose for life. And don't forget that Rose is MLB's alltime hits leader. The NBA just went through a nasty betting scandal with one of it's referees, which may not be over yet if others come forward. This is like the mother of all bad things an athlete could do. If Avery had done any of these things, I could see him getting suspended or worse, kicked out forever.

The bottom line is this. The only reason Avery is suspended for his comments is because he is a guy that speaks his mind and sometimes does things that he probably shouldn't do. I honestly can't confirm what this guy has and hasn't done in his career that would be detrimental to the league or game of hockey. But it's very clear that his history of comments and actions was what got him fined whether he deserved it or not. I used to hate Sean Avery with a passion, but now that he doesn't play for the New York Rangers, I don't mind him as much. Yeah he can be a jerk and yes some of the things that he does aren't good. But last night when I was watching "Inside Edition" they had a piece on the Avery situation and I laughed my ass off. First they blurred (I doubt thats the right term, but I think you all know what I mean) Avery's mouth when he said the SS word. Then they had some reporter with huge jugs go and cover the thing. She wasn't dressed professional and she had no clue what the hell was going on. That is the sign that this was blown out of proportion and is a circus. Don't forget this either. The media is the gatekeeper of what we see and hear and if this was as bad as it is supposed to be, then they should have never let us see it in the first place.

3 Things To Make Hockey Better...

I love hockey. I mean, I really love hockey. Probably more than Bice likes little kids. But anyway the NHL has a real problem.

The problem is that it just isn't as exciting as it could be. Think back to the days (if you are old enough) to when Gretzky and Lemieux were lighting the lamp every night probably two or three times easily. That may be a bit of an exageration, but think about the point totals that we saw in the 1980's and 1990's. While Wayne Gretzky was scoring well over 100 points season after season, the other players were doing the same. Take the 1985-86 season. Gretzky lead the league in scoring with 215 points. We may never see that kind of total ever again, but look at the next four. Lemieux with 141, Coffey with 138, Kurri with 131 and Bossy with 123. Scoring leaders today are lucky to get those totals. Last season Alexander Ovechkin led the league with 112 points.

1) The NHL needs to do somthing to increase scoring. Nobody likes to see games that end 1-0 or 2-1 for that matter. Things need to be like they were back in 1980's and early 1990's, with games ending 6-4 or 8-6 or even 10-9. That would increase intrest and popularity and it would be exciting. Somthing must be done to let the stars of the league score. The goalies are way better these days and their equipment doesn't need to be so big. The NHL could start with that.

2) Each conference should only have 2 divisions. It is rediculous that sometimes the third team that wins a division has the least amount of points than the other 7 teams in the playoffs and another decent team gets left out. This way two division winners would be the top two in the conference and after that the best teams would make out the playoff teams. This is the way it was through the 1980's and most of the 1990's and it worked out well.

3)Some teams need to relocate. This may happen regardless, but it is obvious that the NHL isn't doing well in places like Miami and Nashville. I don't doubt that hockey fans exist in those markets, but unless those teams start selling out arenas, it won't work. Canada needs another team or two. Quebec or Winnipeg would be good places to start and I am willing to bet that Kansas City or Seattle would be lucky to get teams too, but NO EXPANSION. It already hurt the league once, and it cannot happen again. But Canada needs another team or two so I would bet that the teams that could relocate would be the Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers. They probably all should because nobody goes to games in those cities anyway. If you watched the last Penguins game when they played in Atlanta, you know what I mean...the place was empty.

The Problem With The Post-season

Hi friends. Remember me, you're old pal Stein? I want to talk about postseason baseball. Actually all postseason sports in general, but we'll get to that. I would like to vent about it. Here is the problem that I see. The season is just too darn long. I mean, if you love baseball this is the best time of year. The playoffs of any sport are the best time of the year because you get to see the best teams compete for the opportunity to play for a championship. I enjoy watching baseball, but if the World Series goes to a game 7 this year, it is going to be in November (I think). The bottom line is that we should have had the World Series decided this week, maybe this weekend at the latest. There is aboslutely no reason that that could happen. All sports are this way. Football, hockey, baseball, basketball, nascar, golf, cricket and even chess all have seasons that go on too long. OK, maybe not cricket and chess, but all the others do.

First of all the NFL season is too long. I like the current 17 week format, but the season should start a little earlier and then eliminate the week off before the Super Bowl. I know what you are all thinking. "Stein you dumb-fuck. Those teams could use a break before the Super Bowl. It's only fair if they have an injury that the player hurt can heal up." Well I guess that is true, but I don't like waiting for two weeks to watchin the fucking game. I wan't to see it right away, and it won't be unfair at all. These teams play every week and get paid millions to do it, so I don't want to hear that bullshit. I would love for the playoffs to be played around Christmas and New Years. Wouldn't it be great to be able to indulge yourself in a football frenzy? College Football bowls and the Wild Card Playoffs all around Christmas time. What a great idea! I know. You can thank me later, but anyway that would be awesome to me and it should be to you too.

Hockey is another sport that has a season that goes too long, but it would face a much harder battle trying to shorten it. It begins in October and doesn't end until June. What a season! I will admit that hockey is my favorite sport, and I love it very much, but I hate watching it when it's 75 degrees out. It also causes problems for the ice that time of year. mid to late May is when it should be decided at the latest. But with so many teams in the playoffs, it would be a tall order to shorten the season and with such a physical playoff to begin with, I think it can't be changed unless the NHL elminates two teams from each conference making it six teams each. That would be the smart thing to do.

Basketball I don't care enough about to analyze, so we'll move on to Baseball. I would like to think that baseball can change, but it never will. Acutally none of these sports ever will, but for the fun of it lets analyze away! Baseball was alot better when they had the season end and then played the LCS. I think that baseball should elminate the divisions they have and divide the teams in each league into two divisions. At seasons end give two days off and then have the best team in each division battle in the LCS, a best of seven. then on to the world series. With this theory the World Series would have been decided about a week or two ago. If baseball wants to stay the same at least play more games in one day than usual. I love the double and even triple headers that were on at the beginning of the playoffs. There is no shame in day games and it give the the games a bit of nostalgia anyway. I like that better. The fact it however that no change is on the way. TV dominates everything and it will only get worse. I'd say the Pirates have a better chance of winning the World Series this year, than any change occuring with these season and playoff formats.

Here is an ESPN.com article written by Jayson Stark that explains the lack of excitement in the World Series...its a good one!