Pens 8, Flyers 4; And the slaughter continues....

Where do I begin ?

Hey, this Crosby kid might turn out to be a decent player, don't ya think ??

Well, I have to be honest, for a great as Sid was last night, I am not among those that was so enthralled by the Pens' performance.

Let's face it, the Flyers really suck right now.

I mean, they REALLY suck right now.

Last night was one of those freaky games that combined a lousy defensive performance by the Flyers, along with every bounce going the Pens' way.

The result ?? That's right, an 8-4 shellacking.

But let's go back to the 1st period, where I believe if the Pens weren't playing the Flyers, they might have very well given this game away.

Two relatively soft goals by the Flyer tied the game up at 2, quickly after the Pens got a soft goal of their own that made it 2-0.

But like I said, it was just one of those nights, in a good way for the Pens, as Gonchar scored on what looked like it was tipped 32 times, made it 3-2, then Malone FINALLY scored on a flukey rebound that just happened to land on his tape to make it 4-2, and the route was on.

You could tell by the first goal of the game that it was going to be a good night, after Thorburn scored from about 20 feet on a wrist shot.

And to top it off, Staal did his best Malkin impression with 7 seconds left to beat Nittimaki, I'm sure Nittimaki just wanted to get the hell out of there.

So sure, it was a great win, possibly a historic win in terms of what we're witnessing with Sid's accomplishments.

Wasn't it interesting reading the dozens of articles today regarding whether Sid is the best player in the NHL now ?? And at 19 ??

Shoot, when I was 19, all I cared about was whether we could get some beer on the weekends.

Times change, huh ??

On to Friday, when we face the Islanders for the 73rd time this season.

And in case you've forgotten because of all the hysteria, the last time the Pens faced the Isles, they lost 5-3.

Might as well put the Flyers game out of your mind now while you got the chance.

Pens gameday; Keep your foot on the pedal, boys

Fresh off of their highly successful road trip, the Pens return home tonight to face the injury-depleted Flyers.

The Pens would be well advised to forget that tidbit, though.

Now is not the time to take the night off and get fancy.

The Pens need to keep their collective feet planted squarely on the Flyers' throats. There is absolutely no reason why the season series with the Flyers shouldn't end up at least 7-1.

Looks like Rob Scuderi will return tonight after battling the flu, and Micki Dupont will be scratched. To be honest, Micki didn't have the best game in Washington, so his scratching is probably worthy.

One week to go before the slots license is awarded. I'm sure the collective nerves are starting to build, I already know that's going to be one intense day in Penguinland.

So anyway, let's keep the momentum going tonight, and onto Friday at home AGAIN vs. the Islanders, and then in Montreal Saturday night.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Pens 5, Craps 4 (SO); Win of the Year....

I spent the first half of the 2nd period last night stewing about what the most negative adjectives were that I could think of for this post.

"Flat" - Nah, too generic.

"Uninspired" - Nah, not harsh enough.

My 13 year-old son tells me about halfway through, "the game's only half over Dad".

Grumble, grumble.

Then, that sniper Max Talbot sneaks one past Olly the Goalie. 4-1.

[[ "OK, at least they're not going to get frickin' shutout." ]]

Few minutes later, Erik Christensen rings one off the post and in. 4-2.

[[ "Hmmm, they're still two down. Don't get your hopes up just yet." ]]

About two seconds later (or so it seemed), Sid with the one-timer from the beauty feed from Geno. 4-3.

[[ "OK, NOW we've got a hockey game." ]]

From there, another Malkin-esque goal knotted the game at 4, and you know the rest.

A few items of interest from my seat at home;

• Speaking of my seat, no frickin' thanks to the NHL for not putting any of the two Pens/Caps games in D.C. on weekends this year, 'cause my hairy ass would have been there. I enjoy D.C., I was stationed at the Pentagon from '91-'94, so I know the area, and the Verizon Center is in a nice section of town.
• And what was another result of a Monday night game, even with Sid vs. Alex ?? Why, it was those thousands of empty seats that Versus did their best not to show. The announced attendance was around 13,000, and you can bet that at least 5,000 were Pens fans. They were good and vocal alright. I heard more than once "Let's Go Pens !!!". Pretty poor showing overall though, I'm sure neither the NHL nor Versus was too happy about that. Next time, schedule it for Saturday night, dunces.
• How about those rally helmets ?? Of course, it should be no surprise that it was Army's idea. But the Pens have enough loonys (Talbot comes to mind) to join in, no doubt. I even saw Geno throw his on for a while, but I'm sure someone eventually had to bring him to the side, "Uh, you have to shoot, comrade".
• LOVED the check by Orpik, clean as a whistle. I really don't know even now why Orpik was thrown out of the game, the Caps initiated the retaliation. But someone needs to tell Ruutu that it's much easier to fight with the jersey NOT over your head. And it can be argued that the fights were what turned the tide of momentum.
• Is it just me, or is Sid being VERY hesitant in the shootouts ever since he juked Theodore out of his jock ?? I mean, I don't think he's made ONE move since that game. Entirely straight on, with a simple wrist shot.
• Irregardless of the Pens comeback last night, if the Pens miss the playoffs this year, they need to look no further than the lack of intensity in the 1st periods that caused their downfall.
• Speaking of bringing Geno to the side, I think someone needs to tell him that he can't throw elbows like Superfly Jimmy Snuka.
• The Leclair situation is getting ugly, and quickly. I know Shero is being patient and respectful of Vermont's career, and deservedly so, but this soap opera needs an ending.

Great win, without a doubt the win of the year. Remember these two points in April.

Five points out of six on the three game road trip, I'll take that all day long.

Onto Wednesday night back at home vs. the Flyers. Keep the intensity up against a team with a boatload of injuries.

Pens gameday; Um, who's playing tonight ???

Little humor there, forgive me.

You couldn't build this one up anymore than it already has (unless it was on ESPN, but that was yesterday's topic, I digress).

Tonight's game at the Verizon Center in Chinatown, D.C. is just another example why I really wish the Caps were still in the same division as the Pens.

If you ask me, it's the Caps, and not the Flyers, who are the Pens' most hated rival nowadays. This isn't 1987 anymore. The Pens/Caps series over the last several years has been hard-hitting (borderline dirty), fast-paced, and has generated an excellent hatred between it's fans.

Versus is pulling out all the stops tonight. Mikes on both Sid and Alex, interviews with both coaches during the game, and pre-game interview with Geno, with Alex as his translator (that should be fun).

In terms of the game itself, I have to give Brian credit at The Pittsburgh Penguins Report, as well as a contributor to Hockeybuzz.com, 'cause he basically read my mind on this one.

I think that it's Malkin, and not Crosby, that could very well be the deciding factor in tonight's game. You'd have to know that Geno will be extremely pumped up to play against his buddy Ovechkin tonight for the first time. In addition, we should also see a continuation of Malkin's aggressiveness that he showed in Atlanta last Saturday.

I haven't seen anything indicating that the lines will be shuffled too much at all tonight, which should be a good thing. Perhaps we're seeing an indication of what Therrien believes will be the quasi-permanent lines for the team, unless injuries take their toll.

This should be a good one, I'll be interested to see how Versus pulls this off.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Confluence Soapbox; You want better TV ratings, NHL? It's quite simple...

Lately, I've read with interest the columns concerning the miniscule TV ratings in the U.S.

[[ But ya can't blame Pittsburgh for this one Canada, FSN Pittsburgh ratings are up 40%, take that !!! ]]

Also a hot topic concerns the declining attendance at U.S. arenas.

However, in my view, boosting U.S. interest in NHL hockey isn't rocket science, folks, it really isn't.

You can spell it out in four letters;

E
S
P
N

It's that simple.

Like it or not Canada, ESPN is 100% dead-on target when it advertises itself as the "Worldwide Leader in Sports".

And, unfortunately, in the same respect, the NHL needs to take a step back and realize that OLN, or Versus, or whatever the network will call itself next year, will NEVER get to the level of exposure that ESPN does now.

You cannot compare what is being done on Versus right now to what ESPN can provide.

Regular game broadcasts on ESPN and ESPN2.

Resumption of regular shows such as "NHL2Night"

Increased highlights and commentary on "Sportscenter" and ESPNEWS.

Increased discussions and interviews on ESPN Radio.

Commencement of historic and "Instant Classic" NHL games on ESPN Classic.

Not to mention the additional millions of households that ESPN hits as compared to Versus.

Ever wonder why ESPN has all of those NBA highlights and shows and discussions on talk radio ??

Because they've got the NBA contract, stupid !!!

No contract, no talk, no exposure. ESPN is without a doubt the most powerful, most influential force in sports television, absolutely no doubt about it.

Now I'll say this right off the bat, I've been very critical lately of ESPN's performance over the last several years. ESPN has become the "self-proclaimed expert" network, and that has taken away from ESPN doing what it does best, promote and highlight the games themselves. They have propped up blowhards such as Sean Salisbury, Joe Theismann, Ron Jaworski, and Joe Morgan into know-it-alls.

In addition, their level of OVER-analysis is at an all-time high.

BUT, when you think about it, in the NHL's point of view, over-analysis is EXACTLY what the NHL needs.

Say what you will about them, as I often hear the Canadian hockey media boast about their own broadcasts in comparison to their U.S. counterparts (and rightly so, admittedly), but the NHL NEEDS people like Barry Melrose, John Buccigross, Bill Clement, and Keith Jones regularly talking on ESPN about Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Phaneuf, and Iginla. And by "regularly", I don't mean the measly 10 minutes that ESPNEWS gives Melrose on Thursday's.

I don't want people to misunderstand me, I'm not saying that it necessarily needs to be Melrose and the bunch who're doing the talking. I don't care if it's the stickboy from The Igloo, but it needs to be SOMEONE on a regular basis.

I heard on XM Radio's Home Ice 204 recently (I believe it was with Bob McKenzie, but not 100% sure) that Versus' contract with the NHL is up after this season, with Versus having an option to renew it for another year if it wishes.

Without knowing the contractual implications of that deal, here's a helpful hint, Mr. Bettman;

It's like Tom Hagan telling Sonny Corleone to make the deal with Sollozzo after The Godfather gets shot.

I don't care how shitty any future deal would "initially" be with ESPN, YOU MAKE THAT DEAL.

I don't care if they're offering a three year deal for a bag of pucks, YOU MAKE THAT DEAL.

Take the hit for a few years on the contract Gary, you need the exposure it provides.

After you see the ratings go up, even a little, and you get those fringe fans that couldn't get Versus now all of a sudden watch the NHL all the time on ESPN, you'll be in a better negotiating position for the next contract.

So, until the NHL gets back on ESPN, the NHL in the U.S. will NEVER get above the lowly level that it is at right now.

Pens 4, Thrashers 3 (OT); A glimpse into the future...

Now THAT'S more like it.

Maybe the most complete game of the season for the Pens, certainly since the West Coast trip.

There was no doubt that the right buttons were pushed leading up to this game, especially the broken English to broken English talk between Therrien and Malkin on Friday. Malkin was dominant out there tonight, certainly up to the level of Sid, if not a notch above.

The thing to watch for now is whether Malkin can sustain that effort on a consistent basis, or settle back into his old routine.

But this was one of those games this year that showed the NHL what it's gonna be like having lines centered by Crosby and Malkin coming at them at a frenetic pace.

I have to give a tip of the hat to the defense as well, they really seemed to play a sound game, and yes, that includes my buddy Joe Melichar. That was his best game in a long time.

I'm not that concerned that MAF gave up three goals, the last two were fluky bounces, one off of Gonchar's shin pad, and the last off of a fortunate rebound.

Now it's onto Washington, where the NHL and Versus are doing some major advertising leading up to this game. I don't think either Sid nor Ovechkin nor Malkin will disappoint us, their competitive juices should have no trouble flowing Monday night.

Pens gameday; Lace those skates up tight, boys

I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be one helluva game.

Several factors lead me to that belief.

First and foremost, I mean, duh, the Pens need a win BADLY. They're not far away from getting over the hump, they're really not. A couple bounces that start to go their way, and those one goal losses start to turn into wins.

Secondly, irregardless of the any pregame comments by Sid you may hear that this is just another game, let's be honest, human nature itself tells you that no young man enjoys to be embarrassed in front of his peers, especially in front of 20,000 strangers. Make no mistake, Mr. Crosby has been thinking of NOTHING the last couple of days but that pussy Kovalchuk pointing at him in the penalty box last year. I expectly nothing less than an absolutely possessed effort from Sid tonight.

Thirdly (is that a word ?), speaking of possessed efforts, and as I've been commenting on the last several days, I believe we're going to see Geno take it up a couple of notches tonight. The expected happened Friday during practice in Atlanta, when Therrien had a long talk with Malkin, which I believe was long overdue. I think Geno needs to realize that he has the talent to take over games, very similar to what Sid does. He needs to take advantage of his physical skills, ones that I don't believe he's really done so far. That means forechecking, rather than taking one half-hearted stab then falling back. That means laying open ice hits, rather than just receiving them. Anyway, I think we're going to see a different Malkin tonight.

Fourthly (what the hell, I'll keep it going), the Thrashers got the dog piss smacked out of them Thursday night 8-0 by Tampa Bay. I'm sure that they had a brutal practice as well Friday.

So, combine those four elements, and you've got yourself one spirited hockey game on tap for tonight.

I believe that the lines for the most part will stay the same, which I must say is a rarity nowadays.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Bucs Winter Meeting report; Head to The Roundtable

I hate duplicating effort as much as the next guy.

So rather than forcing my brain to regurgitate all of my negative thoughts towards the boneheads known as the Pirates' management, please head on over to the Pittsburgh Pirates Roundtable, a great idea started up by Cory, also the owner of A New Pirates Generation.

So what Cory has done is gather together 14 of the biggest Pirate windbags, er, I mean bloggers, onto one site to get up on our collective soapboxes and discuss the various topics of day concerning the Buccos.

As you can see on the site, so far we've just started up by discussing our expectations heading into the winter meetings, the Pirates' current situation in the NL Central, and what we'd do if we were the GM.

Now that the winter meetings are over (and why did Littlefield even go down there), Cory will have a new series of questions that the group will input our comments on, and I believe Cory will be posting that onto the site on Monday, Dec. 11th.

This should be an excellent forum for those of us interested in the Pirates in the blogosphere, so come on over and join us.

Rangers 3, Pens 2 (SO); Pens play not to lose in 3rd, and lose

Hindsight is 20/20 and all that crap, I get it.

But I swear, immediately during the very 1st shift in the 3rd period, I just had THAT feeling.

You knew the Rangers would come out flying in the 3rd, that was a no-brainer. But what you were afraid of happened quickly, right during that 1st shift.

The Pens started playing on their heels, playing very conservative, and yes indeed, they were playing NOT TO LOSE.

And when you do that, with that dreaded 2 goal lead, you're gonna get your collective pee-pee's smacked.

Fortunate tip-in, 2-1.

Laser beam by Shanahan, 2-2.

Uh-oh.

I'll give the Pens credit, at least they didn't blow it in regulation and at least got one damn point.

And then the stinking shootout.

Why is it with two of the greatest world-class players in the world did I have absolutely no confidence when they started that shootout ??

And golly gee, was I right.

For all of the moves that Malkin has, he's awfully damn generic when it comes to the shootout. Denied.

Ekman goes basic 5 hole, denied.

Sid slows down to, oh, I don't know, Steve McKenna speed, and misses off of Lundquist's glove. Ballgame.

Outside of the final score, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the Pens though.

Sid scored on, how else can you describe it but a Sid goal. I've run out of adjectives. I guess I'll quote Sam Rosen on last night's broadcast after Sid's 2nd dash through the Rangers' D-men, but missed, "How does he do that ??" If this kid isn't the best offensive player in the NHL, I don't know who the hell is.

My concerns for Malkin are still there. And judging from Therrien's comments last night, I'm not the only one. Therrien said "Malkin's line has to give us a lot more," Therrien said. "We can't rely on Crosby's line every game. Evgeni's got to pick it up a little bit."

And what a revelation !! Was it just me, or was the power play a helluva lot smoother with a right-handed D-man in there ??

Let me rephrase, when the Pens were given a damn power play, that is.

I thought Dupont played a strong game, he's got a good hard shot, and played well in his own zone.

Malone played a strong game as well, he needs to be consistently that good for him to deserve to stay on the 1st line, though. In my opinion, anyway.

Nice physical game, probably the most physical the Pens have been in quite a long time. Orpik had a few excellent hits, his best game of the year in that respect.

The Pens will need to be that physical again Saturday night in Atlanta. They got the snot smacked out of them last night 8-0 to Tampa, so they'll be plenty pissed. And I'm sure having Kovalchuk's buddy Sidney Crosby come to town will pump them up even more.

Pens gameday; Therrien's musical lines continue

Here we go again.

Coach Therrien has shaken the lines for tonight's tilt against the Rangers up again, big time.

Malone and Armstrong have been swapped, with Malone now on the 1st line with Sid and Recchi.

Mistake, in my view. Malone is too slow, and his hands are not the greatest either.

Army is now on the 2nd line with Christensen and Malkin. Very impressed on how Christensen has stepped it up since his callup. One thing is for sure, Malkin needs a supporting cast. The defense just has one big bullseye on him, they could care less what the wingers are doing.

Staal is back in the lineup, and on the 3rd line with Talbot and Ruutu. Ekman has been demoted to the 4th line with Moore and Ouellet, who's finally back in the lineup.

Thorburn, Scuderi, and Petrovicky are reported to be the scratches tonight.

Yes, the Melichar infatuation continues.

On defense, Micki Dupont (I think I've been calling him Dumont on this blog, my bust bro) gets his first start. The other defensive enigma, Alain Nasreddine, starts again as well.

Therrien ran the hell out of the team in practice yesterday. That should result in quite a spirited effort.

Now just to get some of that spirit to actually put the puck in the damn net.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Who pissed in Darren Dreger's Wheaties ???

So I'm watching the Sens/Caps tonight on NHL Center Ice, and they're broadcasting the TSN feed.

The TSN boys are doing their thing during the 2nd intermission, which I've always enjoyed as compared to a U.S. broadcast.

They start discussing the shootout, how some like it, some don't, yadda, yadda.

Then they go into the topic of the schedule during the BOG meetings, and the example that the Western teams don't get to see Crosby and Ovechkin but every three years.

And what does Darren Dreger do ?? Immediately changes the subject and starts blasting the Penguins about only getting 12,000 through the turnstiles last night (yes we know Darren, even Tuesday night games in December against the Panthers still sell out the ACC, we frickin' get it). Calls it "unacceptable".

Bob McKenzie defends the Pens and Caps to a certain extent, saying they've been bad teams for a while now, they need to start winning in order to consistently sell tickets well. And what does Dreger respond with ?? "Well, then just let them leave"

And if Dreger had his way, surely that's exactly what he'd do.

Dreger has had a hard-on for the demise of the Penguins ever since Lemieux put the team up for sale. This guy must be getting a kickback for any future deal involving moving the Pens to Canada. EVERY commentary this guy makes slants the future of the Pens towards the possibility that Jim Balsillie "wants" to move the team, and QUICKLY dismisses the very real possibility that 1) the Isle of Capri wins the slots license, or that 2) Balsillie will actually negotiate a deal in support of Plan "B".

Darren, I fully expect to read your full and hearty congratulations to Balsillie and the Penguins on December 20th, when hopefully the Isle of Capri wins the slots license for the city of Pittsburgh.

And if the IOC doesn't win, why don't you practice some actual journalism for a change, rather than the same old boring Canadian-slanted hockey propaganda.

These Pens are a tough nut to crack

I honestly don't know where to start.

I've lost track how many times I've crept to the edge of my La-z-boy as the Pens make a nice rush up ice, only to have them blow it because of the pass was too cute, they missed the open net, or some other ridiculous reason.

The end result, by the way is the same for me, that being me falling back on the chair exclaiming "What the F%$k !?!?"

I honestly felt that the Pens played a pretty decent game of hockey Tuesday night. They moved the puck pretty well, and skated with plenty of zip. Even the power play, with two PP goals, looked better, but overall they're still falling into the same old ruts, those being the inability to bring the puck into the opponent's zone and not capitalizing on loose pucks around the net.

By the way, the Panthers had two of their goals that way. Although, with the way that the Pens are playing defense around their own net, it couldn't have been that difficult. Therrien's comments after the game last night promise to make some changes to the PK unit, so we'll see.

Can someone please tell me how long the leash is now for Joe Melichar ?? Just how bad can this guy be ??

We'll see who gets scratched in New York tomorrow when Dumont gets his chance to play.

Reading a lot of posts on the boards recently concerning Malkin's perceived lackadaisical efforts at times. I have to admit, some of those thoughts have crept into my head recently as well. For as good of a defender that he is, he really could do a better job of forechecking, and just plain checking.

Maybe a nice road trip is what this team needs. For sure, New York, Atlanta, and Washington are three teams that are not fond of Crosby and his buddies. I'm looking forward to the Atlanta game. Don't let Sid's comments that he's sure make before that game fool you, he's gonna remember that finger pointing incident by Kovalchuk very well. Look for a big game by Sid, that's easy money.

We're at the two week mark to go before the slots license award. Articles in the press now are surfacing claiming that Balsillie reportedly told Bettman recently that if the IOC doesn't get the license, it's "gonna be a war". While I think that remark is getting a little carried away, I'd like to think that this is a case of planting a few more seeds into the Gaming Board's minds. Ya know, the fear factor if the IOC doesn't win.

I'm optimistic, I really am. I can't wait until it hopefully happens, when I email all those experts (mostly Canadian press, yes I'm talking to you Darren Dreger) who were just so sure that the Pens were on their way to Canada.

Post-Gazette: LaRoche/Gonzalez deal pending Gonzo's physical

Well, it appears that Dave has blinked.

According to the Post-Gazette, the deal to send Adam LaRoche to the Bucs for Mike Gonzalez ispotentially a done deal, pending the Braves' physical of Gonzo's left elbow.

The Bucs shut Gonzo down in late August because of tendinitis in that elbow, and although interviews with him late in the season indicated that he felt good, the Bucs erred on the side of caution and did not pitch him for the remainder of the year. In fact, again per the PG, Gonzo was pitching in side sessions by late September.

There is no further word on the possible inclusion of Kyle Davies and Jose Castillo to the deal. If you ask me, they can have him too.

Besides the LaRoche/Gonzalez deal, we continue to hear about Ryan Church from the Nats, and new today is unconfirmed reports about the Bucs pursuing Adrian Beltre from Seattle. Beltre makes 12 million clams a year, not so sure about that rumor.

Pens gameday; Lots of Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Well, they aren't standing pat, that's for sure. The Pens have made several changes since their last game on Saturday.

As most everyone knows, Andre Roy is now back with the Lightning, as was pretty much expected.

Johnny Vermont is technically back with the Pens, but his status is still in limbo. Since no one even claimed him on re-entry waivers, eating only half of his salary, there's a chance he could retire, or be flat-out released. It's too bad it's ending this way, but there's really no graceful way to do this in the middle of the season.

Noah Welch has been sent back down to WBS. Some speculation on why he was really sent down, Therrien says it's because of his confidence was fading, I'd guess it was that as well, PLUS he's the only D-man on a 2 way contract.

In his place, and the other roster spots, Micki Dupont and Alain Nasreddine were called up. I like Dupont's callup, he's the right-handed D-man the Pens desparately need on the PP. He's no Lidstrom, but he's got a decent shot, so why not give him a chance.

As far as Nasreddine, I honestly don't know what Therrien's infatuation with this guy is. I've seen him play about 6 times for WBS, and he doesn't impress me much at all.

But anyway, for tonight's game, Ryan Malone will return from the broken arm. He'll be on the second like with Geno and Ekman.

Jordan Staal will be scratched for the first time tonight. I don't necessarily disagree with this, his ice time has been doing down lately. But having said that, I sure don't hope this gets to be a routine.

Michel Ouellet will continue to be scratched as well, although it's being reported that he's healthy enough to play now.

And that right-handed D-man ?? Uh, he'll be eating popcorn in the press box. Nasreddine somehow gets the start over Dumont tonight.

A lot of rumblings over the weekend concerning the tenure of Therrien should they lose tonight. Mark Madden reported recently that his job could be in jeopardy if the Pens fall again tonight. We've already seen that Shero makes moves a lot quicker than Craig Patrick did, so would I be surprised if he canned Therrien ?? A little bit, but not entirely.

Let's just hope that situation doesn't have a chance to happen.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!

Winter Meetings Update: Might as well go to Epcot, Dave

That's right, fellow Bucco faithful. You ain't missed a damn thing.

[[ By the way, thanks to the Bucco Blog for the pic, couldn't resist. ]]

And judging by the ranting of the thousands of self-appointed experts around the baseball blogosphere, ain't much going to be happening when these guys go back home later this week.

I will admit this right up front, if all of this "no trading" banter that's been reportedly coming out of the Bucs' camp is some type of reverse psychological B.S. and actually leads to a decent trade for the Bucs, I'll be the first one to raise my hand and give all the props in the world to Dave and the boys.

But until that actually happens, just what the hell is their mindset in these negotiations ??

You've been saying for a few months that you covet a power hitting 1B and RF, and a RHP.

OK, how do you expect to get ANYTHING decent if you supposedly WON'T trade any of your four starting pitchers, nor your closer ??

Has Humberto Cota suddenly become a hot trade commodity that we weren't aware of ??

I've really been trying to take all of these rumors and their supposed comments from the GM's with a grain of salt, but the more you hear of the same old song and dance, the more it ticks you off.

So anyway, I've heard about;

• Hawpe for Maholm straight up (as part of a 3 way with the Cubs as well)
• Hawpe for Maholm AND Gorzy (yeah, right)
• LaRoche for Gonzo
• LaRoche for Gonzo and Castillo
• Negotiations with FA Trot Nixon
• Gonzo or Torres to the Sox for ???

Sorry folks, the pessimism just continues for me.

Sunday tidbits at The Confluence

Didn't ya just love the 180 degree turn that Michael Strahan did this week ?? First he publically calls out Plaxico Burress (which I totally concurred with, any Steeler fan could've told you that). Then he tries to cover his ass and do what all big-mouth overpaid athletes do, BLAME THE MEDIA !! Yeah, that's it, I'll blame the media, it's all their fault. Give me a frickin' break.

Speaking of things I loved to see, wasn't it lovely seeing USC look past UCLA, thereby ruining their national championship shot. You guys made a helluva run, but perhaps you need to finally get off of your high (Trojan) horse.

Even though I don't agree with it, I'm starting to get a sneaking suspicion that the human voters are going to have Florida play OSU for the championship. The "no rematch" philosophy, plus having a 12-1 SEC Champion play OSU, rather than a runner-up Big 10 team, seems to be will be a common theme.

Baseball's winter meetings begin today in Orlando. Still quite a few marquee free agents out there, but I'll be on the lookout for the trade discussions, and just how ridiculous Dave Littlefield's demands are this time why they won't happen for the Pirates.

Bud Selig's going to retire in 3 years when his contract expires. Doesn't really matter, they'll just select whatever knucklehead that will keep the ridiculous MLB economic environment as is.

Ridiculous signing of the week; Randy Wolf, he of the 69-60 career record, signs with the Dodgers for one year, 8 million clams.

Alex Ovechkin rammed Daniel Briere into the boards face first last night at the Cap Centre/USAir Arena/MCI Center/Verizon Center. He was tossed out with a game misconduct last night. Very interested to see if and how games he'll be suspended. I've read a couple of comparisons on the hit to Brooks Orpik's hit on Erik Cole last year. We'll just see if the NHL has the cojones to suspend one of it's golden boys.

Johnny Vermont (Leclair) is now on re-entry waivers, meaning that any team that claims him now only is on the hook for half of his remaining salary. I've been reading that the Blackhawks may claim him, as well as Dallas. I hope he'll go to a situation that fits him, he's a consummate pro.

Andre Roy was claimed by Tampa Bay. Whatever. File this one under the "no impact at all" section. You just can't have guys like Andre filling up roster spots nowadays.

Anyone else tired of hearing how much tape Ron Jaworski is looking at ??

Steelers play Tampa Bay at 4:15 today, talk about an anti-climatic atmosphere. I can just imagine the scalpers up and down General Robinson. Can't imagine them getting much for those tickets.

I wouldn't have imagined this earlier in the year, but is it just me, or is Coach Cowher's body language saying "get me the hell out of here" ??

Nice to see that Shaun Alexander is back up and running, now that I'm frickin' eliminated from my fantasy football league.

Isles 5, Pens 3; Where's Hee Haw when you need it ??

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

Deep, dark depression, excessive misery

If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all

Gloom, despair, and agony on me

If that doesn't describe the Pens performance last night vs. the Isles, I don't know what does.

After missing about 3 completely open nets, hitting about 3 posts, and just missing about 3 tap-ins, the Isles converted those missed opportunities into goals, quite often directly in transition from the Pens' misfortunes.

I really thought the Pens had quite a bit of jump in them last night, there were several times that they sped through the D-men with little effort.

The problem was that several times during those rushes, their centering passes were nowhere near their target, thus resulting in 3-on-2's the other way.

I read a lot of quotes this morning describing the Pens offensive performance as "too cute", and boy is that an accurate statement. How many games will it take for the Pens to not make that last pass before they attempt to put the puck on net ??

The officiating was terribly inconsistent. How about the Isles player covering the puck with his hand in the crease ?? What the hell was that ??

So now, the Pens have all of a sudden forced themselves into a crucial point of the season. Not only did the Pens get zero points the last two games against divisional opponents Jersey and NYI, but the Devils got four points (winning in OT vs. the Flyers last night), the Rangers got one in a shootout loss to Buffalo Friday night, and of course the Isles got two last night. They are 3 points behind the Isles, and 4 behind the Rangers and the Devils, as well as only 6 points ahead of Philly. The Pens cannot afford to get too far behind, if they have any aspirations at all for a playoff run.

The Pens host Florida on Tuesday, then embark on a 3 game road trip to the Rangers, Thrashers, and the 1st trip of the year to visit Ovechkin and the Caps.

Bucs at the Winter Meetings; Yawn....

Sometimes I'm amazed that I have become so jaded as a Pirates fan.

I mean, baseball has been a major part of my life since I was about five years old (that was 1969, for those of you scoring at home). I've played baseball or softball every year since then, including my 20 years in the Navy, up until about four years ago, when I hung up my spikes for good.

That's why it irritates the hell out of me having to endure the incompetence and outright ignorance of the Pirates ownership group and management.

I have to give some credit here where it's due. My anger for years now has been directed at MLB itself, as well as the evil empires of New York, Boston, and the other big spender teams. Granted, certainly, the economics of MLB does indeed give relatively little hope for small market teams every year. However, my good buddy Pojo Risin has been telling me for years now that I shouldn't be angry at the Yankees, per se, but rather at the dipshit-edness of the Pirates' leadership. Poj, I'm here to fall on my sword and finally admit that you are 100% correct.

The Pirates have received tens of millions of dollars by the big spenders of MLB, in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreements' luxury tax and revenue sharing. It has been widely speculated, if not admitted by Kevin McClatchy, that the Pirates did NOT spend those millions of dollars on improving the product on the field, as they are supposed to be doing, per the CBA, but rather they've been using those millions on paying off debt.

If that were not bad enough, a General Manager worth a crap could at least swing a decent trade or two each year and/or sign a decent free agent to fill the team's needs every year. Is that too much to ask, I should think not. Well, not in Pittsburgh, my friends. GM Dave Littlefield is now at the unenviable position that he is now the laughing stock of all aspects of the baseball world, that being the press (check out this blistering assessment from CBS Sportsline's Larry Dobrow), the Pirate fans, and most importantly, his peers around MLB.

It has been common knowledge that Littlefield notoriously expects WAY too much during trade discussions, so much so that it has gotten to the point that GM's simply don't waste their time attempting to make a deal with Pittsburgh.

And what of the free agents ?? If you're a decent MLB player, probably making between 5 and 10 million per year in this inflated MLB market, why would you possibly want to sign with a team whose ownership doesn't spend it's money on the on-field product (unless you count bobbleheads and fireworks) ??

That leaves the fans. The Bucs got a gift from good 'ol Bud Selig when they awarded the '06 All-Star Game to the Bucs in PNC Park, even though Pittsburgh had just hosted the game 12 years earlier in '94 at Three Rivers. But let's not be naive. Everyone who has an ounce of common sense knows exactly what that was all about. McClatchy and his cohorts desperately needed a fanbase boost as their streak of losing seasons hit the decade mark. Of course, the Pirates parlayed the awarding of the All-Star Game into a much-needed marketing ploy for the purchasing of season tickets. You want All-Star tickets ?? You give us your money for season tickets. And of course, season tickets are those seats that are previously paid for, and always counted as attendance, even when those people don't actually go to the game.

The '06 All-Star game was lauded as a great success, which I have to say, I have no reason to disagree with that, it looked as much. And the Pirates reap the rewards of not only the millions of dollars that come along with the hosting of the All-Star Game, but the thousands of season tickets that were bought to garner those All-Star Game tickets, tickets that probably would not have been sold otherwise.

But now we're preparing for the '07 season. The '06 All-Star game is history. The season ticket purchase requirements have been fulfilled. No longer does Pirates ownership have the All-Star Game to use as a crutch for season tickets.

So where does that leave them ??

At the turnstile, I'm sure I'm not the only one who believes that the season attendance for the Bucs is definitely going to take a hit. There simply aren't enough bobblehead and firework nights, combined with the snowballing effect of now 14 straight losing years, to justify 30,000 fans coming to the ballpark night after night.

Trades ?? Littlefield as recently said that "it's likely that we won't talk trade for any of those four starters", in reference to Duke/Snell/Maholm/Gorzelanny. So most likely you'll see a trade made to garner talent to the level of, oh I don't know, Tony Graffanino.

Free agents ?? We've already beat that dead horse. All you need to do is look at the FA's that the Bucs signed last year (Randa, Burnitz) to get a snippet of what's to be expected this year. As was already stated, don't expect anyone that's going to make a difference to sign on the dotted line.

You know what ?? After typing all of this, not I'm not so amazed that I'm so jaded.

But you go get 'em in Orlando anyway, Dave. Bring back some Mickey Mouse ears.

Devils 5, Pens 2; Fleury flops...

It happens to the best of 'em.

All goalies have those types of nights. Doesn't matter who you are, there are just some nights that nothing is going right.

However, one thing is for sure, you CANNOT have one of those games against Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils.

And that is exactly what happened to Marc-Andre Fleury tonight.

In a game completely filled with soft goals, the Pens turned out to be no match for Brodeur and the Devils, and lost 5-2.

The Pens got the quick fluke goal by Christensen, but quickly gave up that lead on what else, a bad clearing pass by Talbot, resulting in a soft goal that knuckled through Fleury's pads. Then the defensive enigma known as Joe Melichar did what he does best, that being get in the way, to deflect the puck into his own net, and the Devils had a 2-1 lead after one perioid. The Pens had several good scoring opportunities in the first period, but Brodeur made some fantastic saves to preserve the Devils lead.

The second period quickly deteriorated, and Fleury gave up yet another squibbler that got through him for another soft goal to make it 3-1, then a rebound off of Fleury resulted in a tap-in to make it 4-1, and was the end of the road for MAF.

Thibault came in and gave up one goal, which really can't be faulted to him, rather the porous defense in front of him.

And once again, the power play, even with Malkin and Crosby together, was non-existent. Let's put it this way, if you were to get points for passing it around the perimeter, the Pens would be excelling. But you have to put pucks on net, and once again they were being too cautious, which resulted in very few scoring opportunities.

No time for the Pens to hang their heads, they've got to fly back to the 'Burgh and face the Isles tomorrow night (although I heard on the post-game that the Pens' flight may have to be postponed because of high winds in the NYC area).

Pens gameday; Beware of the hungry Devils

Tonight's game at the Meadowlands is one of those that is supposed to fall into one of hockey's categorical scenarios; That being it's difficult to win in the first home game after a West Coast trip. That scenario sure applied for the Pens, who lost to Tampa Bay 4-3 in OT after their recent trip out to the left coast.

I don't know if any of those traditional thoughts would ever apply to the Devils, who are going to play their boring-ass system until the cows come home.

The lines have been shaken up again, only this time it's on the 2nd line, where Geno gets two more different linemates, being Ekman and Christensen.

Johnny Vermont has passed through waivers. From what was reported on FSN 'Burgh last night by Rob King, the most likely scenario now is that Johnny must physically drive to WBS, report there, and then go back on re-entry waivers, where most likely he will get plucked by another team.

Andre Roy is reportedly already on re-entry waivers. Unsure whether anyone will grab him or not. While Leclair does have a little offensive ability left in the tank, Roy's repertoire is basically fighting, or nothing.

Hopefully, Sid's groin has mostly healed, 'cause you just know that Madden and the rest of the boys will be targeting him as usual.

Lots of talk in the NY/NJ papers concerning the lack of offense being generated by the Devils lately. Let's just hope that continues tonight.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!