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.

Some Thoughts On A Crazy Week

It's been a crazy week. Not just for me, but in the sports world too. I can't blog like I want to, since I work 60 hours a week, but this is a chance I can mention some stuff, so here it goes....

• How about the Buccos? A pretty solid start for a team that isn't supposed to do much this year. I hope they continue to play this way for the entire season. Could this be the year? Maholm looks like the ace the Pirates need him to be. The Buccos are hitting well too. Home opener is on Monday against the Astros at 1:30pm. They finish up the weekend against the Reds tomorrow.


• Penguins won tonight meaning they will play the Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs! If Philly loses on Sunday, then the Pens will have home ice in the series. Malkin also won the Art Ross trophy (scoring title). He now joins Mario Lemieux (6), Jaromir Jagr (5), and Sidney Crosby (1) as the only Penguins to win the Art Ross trophy. Some early keys to the Flyers/Penguins playoff series will be the Penguins ability to score on the Power Play and Fleury's ability to shut down the Flyers. Also the physical factor always is important with the Flyers, but I think the Pens can give it right back if they need to. I think they can win the series. I say Pens in 6.


• Tiger Woods is four under par at the Masters. We never talk golf on here, but everyone wants to know about Tiger. It doesn't look good since the leaders are at 11 under par, but ya never know with old Tiger in the hunt going into the final day. I'd watch but I have to work.


• On a sad note, Nick Adenhart, a pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels was killed by a drunk driver on April 9 (my birthday for those that care). But needless to say I felt so horrible when I found out about this. Its really sad to hear about such a great young player with such talent being taken away by someone so careless. It really makes me realize how important it is to enjoy life and take advantage of every opportunity. Adenhart was only 22 and had his entire career and life ahead of him. Just a very sad incident that should have never happened. R.I.P, Nick

So what changed?

A few weeks ago on the verge of an epic collapse, I wrote a blog about our favorite Pittsburgh Penguins. In the blog I was questioning if they would make the playoffs and wondering just what the hell was wrong with them. I gave a few suggestions on what they needed to do to get back on track. If you don't remember the blog you can read it here. It turns out I am more of a super genius than Mark Madden because my suggestions were spot on. Lets go over them shall we?

Step one was to get an identity as a team and a coach who is a motivator who is likable and will get down to the basics and not switch up lines all the time.

Step one, Check.
The pens have done just that. They dropped the attempts to play a defensive game. They are aggressive and it is paying off with an offence like the pens have and defencemen like Letang and Gonchar who can score both the offence and defence have gotten better. Fluery is not facing as many shots because the pens are controlling the zone. Dan Blysma has been just what the Lemieux Group LP ordered. He is a young guy who can relate to the players but has been around the game a long time and has a style of play that really fits this club. He seems to be doing nothing wrong and the team has rallied around him and really played a better more fitting style of hockey. Blysma said it best on inside penguins hockey the other day. Hockey is a game of mistakes. If you are playing the majority of the game in the opposing teams zone when you make a mistake the negative outcome from that mistake won't lead to much other than a possession change or something small. If your opponent makes a mistake in their own zone, you can generate great opportunities to put the puck in the net. The pens have bought into that philosophy and it is showing with only one game in the month of march without bringing home at least a point.

Step two was to get rid of Ryan Whitney and Satan and bring in a winger for Crosby.

Step Two, Check.
They got rid of that bum Ryan Shitney and picked up my man, Chris Kunitz. Now not only is his name very similar to another Pittsburgh legend Rusty Kuntz, he has been a perfect fit for this team. We have him for a few more years which is also a plus. He is the winger Crosby needed, a guy with good skill and hockey sense who is tough and will park his ass right in front of the net and put home the trash. Alongside that we dropped Satan down to Wilkes-Barre so we didn't take that cap hit and we brought in another veteran leader in Bill Guerin. Now our first line is playing like the first line, our second line is playing like a first line and hell our third line is playing like a first line alternate. Jordan Staal has really emerged as the player I knew he was from the start for a while people were hating on Staal but you can't argue with his production over the past few weeks. But the biggest plus for this time was ditching Shitney.

It has been exciting to watch this team return back to premier form over the past month. As it stands now it looks like they will storm into the playoffs on a high note and lets see if they can keep it up and make it back to the Cup Finals. Maybe this time Malkin won't shit all over himself in the playoffs.

There is a God. Shitney is OUT!

This Will be short and sweet. Ryan Whitney is gone (cue applause and fanfare)! If you have been a loyal follower of our blog here, you are well aware of my long standing hatred for Ryan Whitney. I hated him before it was the cool thing to do. It seems over the last few weeks people have been joining in thinking they were the first to be anti-Whitney. I Assure you they were not. I have hated him for quite some time. People called me crazy when I would say he is the worst defensive player on the team and makes more mistakes than a bum like Eric Godard (editorial note: if you are reading this Mr. Godard you are not really a bum please don't punch me in the face). One of my best friends and fan of the blog Sam has been a long hater of Whitney and I have to give him props for propelling my extreme dislike for him into the realm of pure hatred. Thanks Sam. So even if we didn't get much in return for him, anything is better than that ass clown. Hell, I would have taken Michele Oullet back for Whitney. I think it was a move to get a cheap decent player and some cap room to possibly bring in a big name with an even bigger trade. I'm interested to see how it goes before the trade deadline. We will keep you all posted. Until next time kids.

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.

I've Got Avery On My Mind

Sean Avery is at it again. The Dallas Stars forward was suspended before last nights game against Calgary for comments he made to the press.

Here is a quick rundown for those that don't know what is going on. Avery used to date hottie Elisha Cuthbert and now she has broken up with him and has since dated two NHL players the most recent being Calgary Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf.

His comment was somthing along the lines of "It's become a common thing in the league for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds."

This was obviously a well executed stunt by Avery. But I don't think that it was all that bad for the league. He did make a comment that presents the league in a bad light, but I bet that some people may pay a little more attention to hockey now. Probably not much but maybe a few. It definately won't drive anyone away. It only makes some people hate Avery even more.

I'll admit that it was a crappy comment. Elisha Cuthbert is probably a nice girl and had her feelings hurt. But this is what celebrities do and I am sure she will have a comeback for him.

For the record I never cared much for Avery but he isn't a bad player. If he would just get on the straight and narrow he would be a little better off. And yes, I would take Avery's sloppy seconds any day of the week.

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.

10 Questions About the Upcoming Penguins Season

We have all been so caught up in the return of our beloved Steelers that some people have forgotten that Penguins season gets underway very soon. Preseason starts in a short 9 days with the Pens taking on the Lighting and the regular season starts in less than a month on October 4th in Stockholm against the Sens. There are a number of things I am looking at as the season gets underway.



1.) Will Evgeni Malkin bounce back after a piss poor performance in the playoffs? I thought at first it was a load of shit that Malkin plays better without Crosby. I thought it was just that he finally turned on the switch and was just going to continue to dominate with Crosby's return. But durning the playoffs he slowed considerably and just did not come up big for us. Who knows what the outcome would have been if Malkin had been playing in the playoffs like he did in the regular season. Hopefully he can bounce back to form and take kids to school like he did last year.



2.) Am I the only one who is super pumped that Ryan Whitney is hurt? Ryan Shitney, what the hell happened to you? I thought he was going to be the next Gonchar with even better defensive skills. He gets the big check and starts shitting himself. He couldn't keep the puck in on the PP he was making bonehead passes and mistakes that led to a lot of scoring chances for opposing teams. Hopefully with the 3 months or so he is going to need to take a seat we can have a Marc Andre Fleury effect on him. The best thing that happened to Fleury was being able to sit back and watch how Conklin managed the game. If Shitney does that, he could get back to the level we need him to be at, and if not, he is some serious contention for trade bait. Him being out also leads me to my next point...



3.) Will this season be a breakout year for Kris Letang? I have loved Letang since I first set eyes on him (not in a gay way). He's got a great shot, great speed, solid skating, great puck handling, good D. You name it the kid has it. With Shitney on the bench Letang will get more time on the PP. I think his fear of shooting the puck that he had last year will go away. I think some of the rookie mistakes will go away. I'm not saying his game will be perfect, the kid is still young. I am going to say though watching him this past year and seeing that when he did make a mistake he hauled ass and did everything in his power to fix it, I'm sure any concerns or issues with his game will be resolved coming in to this season and he will be a big piece of the puzzle this year.



4.) Will Marc-Andre Fleury continue his outstanding play? As I mentioned before, the best thing that ever happened to MAF was getting hurt last year. He came back a smarter goalie with better stick skills and more control. He is one of if not the most athletic goalie in the league. When he gets his style and form perfected, not only will he make the routine great saves, but he can make the saves that no other goalie can make just because of his athletic abilities. My only concern is that in the past he has shown himself to get rattled and be a little inside his own head, if he can shake the head trash the man will be a top 5 goalie.



5.) Could it be .....Satan? I want to see what this guy, along with Fedotenko, can do playing on a line with Crosby or Malkin. They have produced in the past, I want to see how they are going to fit in the puzzle.



6.) Will losing Malone, Laraque, and Ruutu etc. be a big deal? I have never been big on Ryan Malone, I think he played great in the playoffs and everything but the truth his his production never really went up even when playing on lines with 2 of the best players in the world. Even a shithead like Robbie Brown looked like a hero when he was playing with Mario. Malone was a behemoth who sat in front of the net, get any big guy in front and Malkin and Crosby will get you 25 goals. I'm more concerned with losing our tough guys. I loved Ruutu, and Big Georges for that matter. I am just hoping that Cooke and fill in when Ruutu left off and Godard can handle the puck behind the net or an entire shift like Laraque could.


(This picture is on the Pens Blog, It is hilarious)

7.) Will God smack the Red Wings with an injury to Hossa? You should never wish ill will upon someone so I am not saying I want Hossa to get hurt. I'm just saying wouldn't it be kind of funny if he did get hurt. That or Detroit didn't even make the playoffs. That might be even better. He wanted to go to a team that he thought had a better chance of winning the cup and they don't even make the playoffs. Lets all cross our fingers.



8.) Will the Pens stay healthy? Fucking high ankle spains galore last season almost jepordized the year for the Pens. Injuries will happen, but I think that for the most part the team shouldn't have the issues of last year and be for the most part healthy.



9.) Will Jordan Staal get out of his offensive funk? Jordan Staal is my boy. He plays great defence, is great on the PK and has solid all around skill, not to mention he is still a teenager. He was getting great chances last year and coming up short. His rookie season the shots that he had going in would hit the post last year. He still got the scoring chances and he still played great all around hockey. He had a very soild playoffs and I think that showed his maturation as a player and I think he will feed off that for this season. The scary thing about Staal is that he is so young he will only put on more muscle and get bigger, faster and stronger. I just really hope he is not a salary cap casualty at the end of this season because I think he is going to have 30-40 goals when it is all said and done.



10.) Last but not least will the Pens repeat as Eastern Conference champs? Short answer, Yes they will. There is no reason why the Pens should not repeat. Sure they lost Hossa, but we didn't have him for the majority of the season. I think that there are no teams in the East who can match the Pens, if they come out of the gate swinging this season instead of lolligagging like they did last year, I think the Pens should end the regular season tops in the East. They should then be able to march back to the Cup Finals and hopefully take the whole damn thing.

So there you have it. I just had to let people know we have not forgotten the Pens and as the season quickly approaches. Also, let's all take a moment to realize that as a city Pittsburgh has some of the greatest sports teams in the world. I hope all of you reading this realize how lucky we are to be able to go to Heinz Field to watch the Stillers or Mellon Arena for a Pens game and yes even PNC park to watch the Succo's. This shit is so sweet. Let's go Pens.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Stein!

I found a pretty good article on the canadian sports website tsn. The article is called "10 Things You Didn't Know About Sid 'The Kid.'" You can check it out here:

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/james_duthie/?id=239537

Since, me and Stein are new to the blog I decided to inform you of the "10 Things You Didn't Know About Stein." Enjoy!!



1.) He really, really likes hockey. He likes it so much that he wears Penguins pajama's to bed, has a Penguins pillow case, and Penguins posters strewn about his room. He even has a blowup doll with Mario Lemieux's face glued on to it. He claims it is something he uses for inspiration. It smells like semen.

2.) He eats with his hands. I went over to his house one day to see him knuckle deep in a bowl of ramen noodles. When I asked him "Why don't you use a fork." He thew the bowl against the wall and threatened me with a piece of the broken glass. Which leads me to my next point...



3.) Stein has a bit of a temper. Mild mannered and kind as he may seem. This man has a mean streak as long as Tommy Lee's genitals. I once saw him drop kick a poodle and roundhouse kick a five year old.

4.) He is a racist. He makes fun of Canadians, Black People, Jewish people and Native Americans. He once called me a "frivolous Jew" I asked him if he even knew what frivolous meant. He didn't. I then asked him if he realized that I was not Jewish. He then called me a "heeb." I asked if he realized that a "heeb" was another word for Jewish. He did not. So he called me a cracker and left.

5.)He has both male and female reproductive organs. Ask him about it when he is drunk. If he doesn't stab you in your cheek, he will tell you all about how his mom used to talk about him being a special boy because he had "the hot dog and the bun."



6.) He is a very smelly man. Let's just say I have pieces of my feces that smell like a steak dinner compared to Stein. He smells so bad that the flies can't be near him. I can actually see the stink coming off of him like the cartoons. I suspect he does not properly clean the female portion of his anatomy.

7.) He is as hairy as a gorilla. There is nothing else to say about this. The mother fucker is hairy as a goddamned great ape.



8.) His favorite movie is Maid in Manhattan. He says the characters have such depth and really understand the hardship that is associated with life in the big city.
8a.) Stein lives in Butler PA.

9) Stein when he was 15 used to be lead vocalist in a boy band called "Soft BUTT SEXXy" He claims that it was just for the money and fame.
9a.) Only 6 people ever saw them perform. The 5 band members and a man Stein told me was their "record producer."
9b.) The "record producer" was last seen on "To Catch a Predator."



10.) Last but not least, he invented a game called "nipple sticks." Apparently it is when you stick something to your nipple using honey. Then the other person has to lick it off in a minute.
10a.) Stein is a sick fuck.


So there you have it. Stein in a nutshell. I hope you learned a little about one of your new contributors to this wonderful blog. I know I did! See you all nex post!