Exciting Days Ahead

Courtesy a reader of Pensblog

So I spent the last day reading a lot of articles and getting the overall feel of what happened Wednesday night. I had extreme confidence that we would win the first playoff game. I am a very superstitious guy and have this really great Lemieux sweater that I can't wear on game day due to the fact that they never win when I wear it...even during the end of this past season. It seemed that every time I wore it during the game, they lost. Well, Wednesday night, I dawned that sweater. I knew that we would come out victorious. Now I can't not wear it. It is officially labeled my playoff sweater.

Upon opening face off the Penguins set the stage with a couple big hits. This was obviously not what the Flyers were ready for. It was pretty much all downhill from there. It was almost exactly like I said it. I predicted that the utter hatred will knock them off of their game, and it did. The Flyers were more worried about getting even the whole game that they forgot the game was won by goals, not hits and cheap shots. This is obvious not only by the scoreboard, but by the fact that Daniel Carcillo was suspended for Friday's game for a bone-headed play. He pretty much punched Max Talbot in the face with a combination of his fist and the butt end of the stick upon the final face off. Carcillo's only argument in the issue was that he was sure he hit him with his fist. Really. Who cares what you hit him with. Idiot. The point of the suspension was that you hit him. The other bonehead of the game was out favorite Flyer, Scott Hartnell. He chalked up three penalties for stupid actions and finished it off with his ten minute misconduct. If they plan on winning any games this playoff series, they need to get back to what they did in the final match-up of the season. To be honest, I don't think that would even matter. The Pens are playing on a whole new level, even higher than last year.

Onto game two. I can easily see the Flyers try to set the tone as we did Wednesday. They may at first, but they have too many goons and irresponsible players on their roster to win the type of series this is going to be. They have a ton of wins this season chalked up to brute force to a lesser opponent. We are not a lesser opponent, therefore the brute force tactic can't work. They would have to change who they are to win, and it is way too late for that. Their losing ways started with their .500 run in the last 25 games of the season. You can't win a playoff series without knowing how to win.

The Flyers are similar to the Baltimore Ravens are to the Steelers anymore. It doesn't matter what happens in the regular season because we have their number in the playoffs. The Steelers and the Penguins can take it to a whole other level when the stakes get higher.

The Pens over the last two years sorta reminds me of the Pens of the '90s. I am not just talking the early years when we won the cup, but the 11 year playoff streak. It seemed that no matter how we played, if we were within a goal or two, we could pull it out. It wasn't a guaranteed loss. I love that feeling. You know, the feeling that the score doesn't matter. You have to play 60 minutes against us and if you don't, you will lose. It is a feeling that only Pittsburgh fans know.

Let's Go Pens!

Read what some other bloggers wrote:

Penguins That Fly
The Pensblog
The Confluence
Pensburgh
The Steel City Sports Fan
Clark and Heptner
Face-Off Factor
Staal Tactics
Experiencing The Evolution
Faceoffs And First Downs

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My Playoff Predictions!

Since I didn't put in my actual playoff prediction, I will put them in here!
You have to click below to see them though.
Will I pick the Pens? I think we all know I will!

These picks, you can go on record for. They will be factual. The Pens will once again beat the Boston Bruins in the conference finals to go to the Stanley cup finals. Yes, in 1991 and 1992, we beat the Boston Bruins in the conference finals before destroying the other conference in the finals.

I don't think Washington will be able to overtake the Rangers, I believe they will get back to earlier season form.

The Devils don't have a prayer against the Hurricanes. Period. Well, one...Brodeur.

Habs and Boston will go a long, grueling series with the Bruins on top.

No one, except the Pens, will beat the Sharks.

The Redwings will have a tough time in Columbus, but will prevail.

I like the St. Louis and Vancouver matchup. I think the Canucks are just too hot right now to lose to the Blues.

Chicago has to lose to win.

This will be one of the best playoff series we will have seen in a long time. I am talking every series of every game. The salary cap made all the teams so close that a 1-8 matchup isn't so distant anymore.

Let's Go Pens!

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Here We Go Pens!

The playoffs are here! This is my favorite time of the year. I even love it more than football playoffs time. I love it more than baseball playoff time as well. I mean seriously, when I watch the NFL playoffs, the teams step it up a notch, and it is very exciting. I watch the MLB playoffs, the catches are more spectacular, but that's it. In the NHL, the teams step it up like six notches, and it is fantastic. The game gets ten times faster and even harder hitting. The saves by the goalies seem that much more dramatic. I love it. To top off the whole thing, it is almost every day for six weeks or so. You simply can't beat it.

The Penguins are once again playing the Flyers, our most hated rival. I remember last year when we beat them handily in five games, the commentators believed that there would be blood, but there really wasn't. I don't know if it was because Georges Laraque was too much of a gentleman or we just beat them too quickly, but there wasn't. We had hard hitting and that, but it wasn't what I expected. I am going to pull a paragraph out of the last blog I did about the playoffs concerning the Flyers specifically.

"The Philadelphia Flyers, our most heated rivalry other than the Washington Capitals. I don't know who we love to hate more sometimes. We have faced Philadelphia four time in the playoffs, losing the first three. Last year, we won our revenge. We lost in 1988-89 in the second round in seven games. We were destroyed in the last two games of that series with a combined score of 10-3. We wouldn't have to face them again until the 1996-97 season where we lost four games to one. In that series, we went down three games to none right away, only to win a 4-1 decision at home. We then lost the series in game five 6-3. We would then face the Flyers three years later in 1999-00, where we lost again four games to two. This was a key series that fueled the fire between us and them. We went up two games to none before coming back home only to lose in overtime. The very next game turned out to be historic, lasting five overtimes only to end badly for the Pens when Keith Primeau scored to win it. We never recovered from that and lost the series. We finally solved this playoff debacle last year with an easy four games to one. This was the most recent run at the Stanley Cup." 10-APR-2009

In that last post about the playoffs, I was pretty positive that there was no way that we were going to finish in fourth. As it turns out, the Flyers and the Hurricanes turtle shelled. I don't believe that the Flyers did it on purpose due to the fact that they lost home ice advantage as well as have to play us. The Canes had a good reason to drop the last couple games, they are playing the slumping New Jersey Devils. Now, I am not saying they did something as unsportsmanlike as that, but it sure looks that way.

I love how the commentators and major writers all feel it is necessary to start writing when the playoffs begin. It seems like they know absolutely nothing, just what others have been writing. I have been reading a lot and find in mildly humorous that people don't realize that the stats before coach Bylsma don't reflect on how the team is playing now. I just read on NHL.com that the Pens need to be more responsible in their own end because of their season average of 30.3 shots per game. I wish they could have watched the Pens all season and realized that it was the staff from before that allowed a majority of the high shot totals and Bylsma's regime has brought that number down. I believe that the commentators will realize that we are more than just Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. We are a complete team.

Now, onto the season series, we won it 4 games to two. I will honestly say we didn't look dominant at any time against this team. It is like they have the ability to bring us out of our game just because of our utter hatred for each other. The only good part is that it takes them out of their game as well. The team that can work past this will win out. I feel that Coach Bylsma will have that emotional button well within his control for his first playoff series. I also think that this is the best team we could possibly play for the first round with Bylsma. What I mean by this is that it will have everything in it, raw skill, courage, emotion, and speed. It will give him a taste of everything so he can be ready for the rounds ahead.

I was looking at all the statistics for the season between these two teams and although they look completely even, they aren't. I believe aside from the power play, which the Flyers win out easily, we dominate every other aspect of the game now. What I mean by now is that with the new confidence and coaching style, we almost fixed our season stats. They were horrible before and we improved so much that it makes us look even. This just tells me that the way we are capable of playing now is so significantly better that if we would have been able to play a majority of the season like this, we would have been in first in the east and dominated the stats sheets.

I want to compare my preseason predictions to the actual standings:

I guess I wasn't that far off!

Here are a couple links to playoff previews:
ESPN.com
NHL.com
Yahoo Sports
CBS Sportsline
The Sporting News
Here are a couple links to Penguin blogger previews:
Pensburgh
Face-Off Factor
The Pensblog
Experiencing the Evolution
Penguins That Fly
Staal Tactics

I like our odds of going deep, but I am not going to talk about that. It is time to stop shaving and get intense!

Pens will win this series in six!
Let's Go Pens!

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Win, Playoffs, MVP

A big win tonight, despite some last minute heroics by Tampa Bay, finally clinched a playoff birth for the Pens. With a final score of 6-4, some of the players finally got a monkey or two off their backs. It was also a night to add to Evgeni Malkin's resume for MVP this season. There is only two more games left in the season, one home and one away, and we can still clinch 4th in the conference for home ice advantage in the first round.

I will start off with a quick wrap up of the game, and considering I don't like giving you what is already out there and easily accessible, I won't go too far. We were up 4-0 at one point and then in a blink of an eye, we were only up 4-3. It was kinda ridiculous. We didn't let that stop us from clinching our third playoff ticket in a row. We got important goals tonight. What I mean by this is that certain players need to get back on the horse and start scoring before the playoffs start. One of them was Petr Sykora, he scored his 299th it seems like a year ago, but tonight he finally flung in his 300th career goal. Two other goal scorers are players that have, as of late, been scoring goals consistently. They are Ruslan Fedotenko and Matt Cooke. Our power play got rolling by the hands of Sidney Crosby who, finally, scored two of them in the second with helpers from Geno and Chris Kunitz. The final score ended up being 6-4, but it wasn't as close as it seemed.

We are currently relaxing in sixth place in the East and will more than likely end up playing New Jersey in the first round. The is a chance, however, that we can move up to fourth place as long as we win the last two games, home against the Islanders and in Montreal, while Philadelphia and Carolina both loses the remainder of their games. Actually, Philadelphia only has to lose two of their last three for us to overtake them. I look forward to seeing what ends up happening.

One quick note I really wanted you to realize is that we have 12 players in double digits in goals, 6 of those with 20+, and 2 are sitting at 30+. That is unprecedented depth for our team. Last year we had 11 with 10+, 5 with 20+, and one with 30+. So, basically, what I am saying is that we can roll all four lines and have one or two players on each line that has scored 10+ this season. That gives us a big advantage.

Just looking at the scoring standings between Malkin, Crosby, and Alex Ovechkin, it is getting down to the wire. Malkin is sitting at 110, Ovechkin at 108, and Crosby at 101. Unless there is some craziness occurring in the last couple games, this is how it will probably end up, just add a couple for each player. Now, it sounds funny, but the bigger thing..MVP. The very definition of the award is, "player adjudged most valuable to his team". So, you look where the Penguins would be without Malkin, or where the Capitals would be without Ovechkin. I think the Capitals would be lower in the standings, but still in the playoffs. I do not think that the Penguins make the playoffs this year without Malkin. I see a few in the rear view mirror like Pavel Datsyuk or Zach Parise. I say sure, but like the Capitals, both the Red Wings and the Devils would have made the playoffs without their star. I think there is more of an argument for Datsyuk than Ovechkin, to be completely honest. He should be the close second to Malkin. Ovechkin will get the Rocket Richard award for most goals, but he doesn't deserve any more than that. The only thing he brings to his team other than goals is hits. Datsyuk and Malkin play a more pivotal role on their respective teams. They are both centers, which requires a whole extra set of responsibilities as well as their takeaway skills and blocked shots put them heads and shoulders above everyone else. Malkin should get it though, based on his scoring lead as well as the need for him on his respective team.

Dan Bylsma has brought this team out of the depths of the draft lottery and put up right in the middle of the heap for the playoffs. If they would have replaced Michel Therrien when I asked for it in December or early January, we may have clinched the division a week ago and a playoff spot two weeks ago. Every team should be very afraid to battle us in the playoffs, they will be afraid.

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Practice, Games, then Playoffs

I don't know if everyone here gets to read about all the things that go on in practice nowadays, but I am loving it. It seems that Coach Bylsma has a serious fun side to his coaching. They have skills practices as well as tough, positioning practices. The skills practices sometimes turn into competitions, which in turn produces winners and losers. The losers have to get drinks for the team or has to grow a ridiculous mustache, amongst other things. This is the way a player want to practice. This is a good thing for this team.

I am going to dip into my Army past to explain why this is such a good thing. As a soldier just coming up in the ranks, I learned that I was willing to do more for my superiors if I wanted to, rather than if I had to. I know this sounds confusing, but stay with me here. If you want to rule with an iron fist (Michel Therrien) then expect to get exactly what you ask for, nothing more or less. If you rule by example and to the strengths of your people (Dan Bylsma) you get more out of them. They have the desire to make things better for you. They tend to try harder, which in turn, makes you look better. They succeed further than your expectations. What Bylsma is doing now is forming a re pore with the whole team as a unit. He is making them want to excel under his command. He is making them trust him no matter what. They really don't realize this yet. What they had under Therrien was the fear factor. They had to fear him to respect him, but he was never going to get any more out of this group because he made them do what he wanted. Bylsma doesn't have to use fear, he uses trust and desire to drive this team now.

We have a big game tomorrow night against the divisional leading New Jersey Devils. We faced a potential playoff opponent last week in Philadelphia, but failed to come through. We need to make a stand and show we are ready to take out the big guns. This is the final match up between these two teams this year and they lead us by a game. This is also another home game, one of the last this season. We need to prove that we won't be pushed around. The Devils are looking at getting back into the win column. This is something they haven't accomplished in five games. That's right, five. That is not the way you go into the playoffs. They are also fighting for that all important second seed just in case they play the Washington Capitals at some point in the playoffs.

Just looking at the standings and where we currently sit, it is very disturbing. We went 10-1-2 in March, but you know what? If we didn't, we would be out of the race altogether. That might clue you in on what a hole we dug ourselves into this year. We are in sixth place right now, one point behind Carolina for fifth and two points behind Philadelphia for fourth. If you look behind us, the New York Rangers are only one point and Montreal is four points behind. We lose one and Montreal and New York wins one, we drop to seventh and are a loss away from being out of it. This is an incredible race, I must say, and I liked it a lot better when we were pretty much a lock for the playoffs. The way we are playing now makes me confident that we will not only make the playoffs, but give serious challenge to the Flyers for the fourth spot and home ice advantage in the first round. Carolina has won six in a row now and will falter soon, it is inevitable.

With six games remaining against the Devils, at Carolina, at Florida, at Tampa Bay, against Islanders, and at Montreal, we have our work cut out for us. There is only one team right now that is out of it completely, that is the New York Islanders. None of these teams are going to be easy wins, without a doubt, but mark my words, we will be better prepared for the playoffs than anyone. I am excited!

Let's Go Pens!

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Breaking It Down

So, I have been watching NHL statistics, like always, and something caught my eye. I looked at a lot of things this time and came to several conclusions...one is that stats don't really matter come playoff time and another is that if a team changes style and/or coaching, that team inherits the statistics from the previous administration. Of course, you probably figured out that is the Penguins circumstances right now.

I took the teams that are most likely able to make the playoffs or that are already a lock in the Eastern Conference and evaluated them. I am going to compare individual team statistics from the Penguins to the teams they could face sometime in the playoffs to see where we stand. I also have a graphic so you can see all the actual stats at the bottom of this article.

My first look was at the hits, which is usually my favorite statistic, and I was surprised at how we compare to other teams as well as past Penguin teams. There is only one team that tops our 2051 hits thus far this season and they are, surprisingly, the New York Rangers with 2131. The top four "powerhouses" are not even within 600 hits of the Penguins. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. It can be looked at either way. I mean, if we are the aggressor in the playoffs, it will knock the other team off of their game and frustrate them. They will feel they have to match us hit for hit to beat us, which they won't be able to. You can also look at it in the respect that they all have better records than us at this point in time. I think that is weak, though, because there are so many aspects to a game you can scrutinize. If you compare this year's hit count to the Penguins of the last two year's, we are way more aggressive than in the past. For instance, 2006-07 we had a total of 1472, and last year we had 1671. They were both from all 82 games. Take that however you want.

The next stat I looked at is really, in my opinion, an art form. You have to master blocked shots so you can get the timing down and avoid injury. You also stand to help out your goalie a ton if the shots your opponent is taking isn't getting through. A bad point about having a high number of blocked shots is that it means the opponent had control of the puck alot and was open enough to take a crack at scoring. Once again, there is only one team in the top nine that has more than our 1211. Take into consideration something I said earlier, though, we changed coaches and styles, so we are a different team now. The Montreal Canadians are the only team with more blocks than us at 1259. The top three hover around 1000 and Philadelphia is not far behind us with 1186. We are pretty much on the same tract as the 2006-07 and the 2007-08 totals of 1215 and 1268 respectively.

The next two categories go hand in hand, but in my opinion, doesn't factor in as much as it should in respect to overall records. These two categories are giveaways, takeaways and their combined differences as well as goal differential. If common sense tells us that if you have more giveaways than takeaways that you would have more goals allowed than most teams. It also should tell us that if it is the other way around, it would show just the opposite. I will tell you neither is an absolute or even a remote science because of one variable involved in this. The goaltender. We are a +13 in goal differential, but a -137 in giveaway/takeaway differential (GTD). I think this is a better measuring stick to the quality of a goaltender than most other statistics. If we give it up that much and are still a +13 overall, I consider Fleury a success. Boston is a +72 in goal differential and a +8 in GTD. That says that Thomas is good, but not incredible at this point. He is doing what is necessary to win. New Jersey is a +44 in goal differential, but an amazing +204 in GTD. That shows to me that the goalie isn't great, but look who is between the pipes. Ok, so Brodeur wasn't there all season and Clemmenson is now in the minors, so what. The next thought I have is a poor offense, but their offense is on par with everyone else. Washington is a +21 and an incredible -256 in GTD. That shows someone incredible in between the pipes. I know Theodore isn't known for this at this point in time, but maybe we need to look at him a bit closer considering how much his team, specifically Ovechkin with his league leading 100 giveaways, leaves him out to dry so often. Our possible first round opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers are +27 to a GTD of -139. They are almost our equals here with Biron in net. You may be wondering at this point how we measured up against the last two Penguin playoff teams, well, we were a +31 in goal differential both years, but were a -190 in GTD in 2006-07 and a better -68 in 2007-08. So we fall in the middle this year. The only difference is that Fleury's numbers have changed. In 2006-07 he had a save percentage of .906 and a goals against average of 2.83. In 2007-08, a save percentage of .921 and a goals against average of 2.33 was achieved. Remember that this year he only played half of the games. He seems to play significantly better in the second halves. This year, he has a save percentage of .913 and a goal against average of 2.67. So, as we can see, as Fleury goes, so does this team. I think we need to appreciate him a lot more.

Like I said in the beginning of this piece, it really isn't the stats that tell the tale, it is the way a team is playing at the end of the season. Are they making more mistakes than not? Are they having fun? Are they excelling in their "system"? Are they winning? If the answers are yes to all of these, then you deserve to be in the playoffs.

Let's Go Pens!

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My Crystal Ball Could Be Right!

My Stanley Cup Final preview.

You may ask what I am talking about. I will tell you. Way back before the NHL season started, I made some crazy predictions on the playoff atmosphere and all the teams involved. I will tell you that I predicted a Calgary-Pittsburgh finals. It sounds cray, but not so much anymore. I was, at the time, picking them despite Detroit. Honestly, that was the only reason. Now, looking at everything, I see it is actually possible. It makes me look like a genius if you never read this article I am writing right now. I mean I am admitting to hating Detroit so much that I am picking against them in the finals regardless of what I truly think.

If the playoffs started today in the East, we would play Washington. I would love to see this. I know alot of people are thinking that this isn't the easiest route, but what better way to start off the playoffs with a victory against one of the top teams in the East? It is a better way to prove who is better, Ovechkin and Semin or Malkin and Crosby. We all know what I think and we all should know, but to prove it on the ice in seven games would be incredible. I love this idea.

If the playoffs started today in the West, Calgary would be playing Columbus. The Jackets would be in their first playoff race ever, and as the saying goes, you have to lose one before you win one. It makes you hungrier. Right now the Flames lead the season series 2-1. That isn't saying much.

The way we are playing right now, clicking on all cylinders, we are going to be hard pressed to lose this post season. I know, I may be jumping the gun too quick here, but it is what I think. We lost in the finals last year. We have a very young team. We know how to get there again, better than most of the teams out there. Our strengths are our physicality, our scoring touch, and our goaltending. Our weaknesses are portions of our special teams and some team defense. I believe that Coach Bylsma is resolving these weaknesses so they aren't as glaring when the postseason hits. We want the teams to fear us coming into their city. Bottom line. We want them to be thinking twice about showboating and trash talking. We want them to know that no matter what they do, we can still win the game, no matter what the score is. We are almost to that level. We had a small hiccup in the last game against the Flyers, but logically speaking, we can't win them all, and they had a really hot goaltender in Biron playing that day.

I like our odds and I am going to stick to my prediction....

Let's Go Pens!

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On The Right Track

I looked at the roster from last year's Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steelers and couldn't think of anyone else I would want on this team. In saying this I mean that I figure if we sign a majority of our free agents and come in next year with the same team, we would be in good shape to repeat. I know, I know, Coach Mike Tomlin says we aren't allowed to say that word because every year, every team is different, but I am saying it because it is so close to the same.

I see us only getting better now that we have resigned some of our key players. I know we lost Bryant McFadden to Arizona and Nate Washington to Tennessee, but out of the starters, the only important piece that we lost is McFadden. We have some strong backups in William Gay and Fernando Bryant. Grant it, they aren't as strong and McFadden, but I see him as replaceable. I mean that players like Troy Polomalu and Ben Roethlisberger aren't in the replaceable category. Out of all the Free Agents we have signed from last year, I believe the most important was Max Starks and Chris Kemoeatu.

I know its our dreaded offensive line, but we need some players to bridge the gap until we get the proper replacements. I figure the draft will help us there. We did release Kendall Simmons and didn't try to sign Marvel Smith, but I think those were very smart risks to take, as the Steelers always seem to do.

Another plus that will make us stronger this upcoming year will be the return of Daniel Sepulveda. I know he is only the Punter, but come on, look at our statistics from one year to the next and it is like day and night. In 2008, we were a combined, between Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster, 78 punts averaging 39.8 yards per punt. We had 4 total touchbacks and 23 inside the 20. Now, looking at 2007, Danial Sepulveda had 68 punts for an average of 42.4 yards per punt. A significant improvement, also, he had 2 touchbacks and 28 inside the 20. Those are much needed yards.

I am excited to see how our top two rookies from last year pan out this year. I know Rashard Mendenhall only had 19 ruches last year before breaking his collar bone, but he showed alot of spark that we needed. Willie Parker definitely need the break to keep his career going longer. Limas Sweed is the other important player now with Washington gone. I am interested to see how he answers all the criticism from last year. I would love to see him as everyone in the draft saw him, a big threat.

The last item I want to cover is the defense. We have the exact same defense as last year, minus McFadden. We should rank in the top 5 at least. I would love to see us accomplish #1 in all categories, unlike last year where we came so close, but didn't quite get there.

I am prepared to say that with this team, and the 4th easiest schedule next year, we should make another huge splash in the postseason. I am hoping, as always that we give a 7th reason for all other fans to hate the Steelers!

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What A Year!

This site is all about Pittsburgh sports. I am going to try a serious attempt to cover all of them. That's right, from the Pens to the Steelers and from the Panthers to the Pirates. After my session on the Kegs and Eggs show with Mike and Chris this morning, I realized I know alot about our teams, but not nearly enough. I hope for this scenario of me knowing all my teams like the back of my hand becomes my career someday, but that's just a dream, right? Who knows. Hopefully alot of people heard me on the radio, even though I sucked, and maybe even place some ads!

I will start with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Can you believe that game yesterday? Who could ask for more excitement. I loved the fact that we matched them in their physical play in all aspects. We also showed that we would be patient and stick to our gameplan in the face of adversity. It was Dan Bylsma's 8th win in 10 games, giving him 17 point out of a possible 20. This is a franchise record for the first 10 games, overtaking the late Herb Brooks. We are well on our way to the playoffs. There is some speculation on whether or not we should take the "interim" tag off of Coach Bylsma, but I think he is doing just fine with the job so far. The playoffs will definitely make the organization rethink this option.

The Steelers have had a few fre agency departures, but non were surprising. We lost Bryant McFadden, our promising young starting cornerback, to the Arizona Cardinals. We also lost Nate Washington to the Tennessee Titans. Anthony Smith, a third string Safety was lost to the Green Bay Packers. We have young bodies to fill these slots, luckily, and non were a big hit. We have William Gay, who was playing great with his chances last year, for McFadden, Limas Sweed for Nate Washington, and any safety on the practice squad can fill the shoes of Smith. I think one of the biggest avanues we have to look at is the offensive line. We resigned Max Starks and Chris Kemoetu, but released Kendall Simmons and probably Marvel Smith. With the draft coming up quickly, all our issues should be resolved. With the addition of Rashad Mendenhall this season after his early injury last and the resigning of Sean McHugh as a FB/TE position, we should be set on offense.

I have to honestly say I am extremely excited about Pirates baseball this year. I look at this team and realize that we are only one or two elements away from a playoff birth. Before I jump to that idea, let's get to .500 this year first. What will it take for our Pittsburgh Pirates to get 81 wins? If you watch the Bucs, you may have realized that we always seem to have one pitcher playing well and the rest playing horrible. If we could get all our pitchers to play one year together as a unit, we would, without a doubt, get at least 81 wins. I like our odds for this year. We have a great pitching coach, finally, and it is showing in the preseason already. We are 8-3 right now while outscoring opponents 61-43. Last year, we went 13-17, while scoring 150 runs to 155. We are starting off great. I fully believe that success breeds confidence, confidence breeds winning. We are having early success. Let's hope that carries onto the regular season.

On the idea of baseball, we have the World Baseball Classic going on right now. Last year, USA finished and embarrassing 8th place. You might ask why is it embarrassing? Well, considering we created the sport, we should be. The USA team turned a corner this year and are playing like a unit. The are 2-0 and into the second round. They have beaten Canada and Venezuela a combined 21-11. I know this isn't Pittsburgh, but we do have John Grabow in the games, and he is as Pirate.

Pitt Panthers basketball is now looking for a #1 seed in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. They have had an incredible season for the ages, upsetting the #1 ranked UConn Huskies twice. We are 28-3 and 15-3 in the conference, which is second to Louisville in conference play. We have been undefeated at home and lost to Louisville, Villanova, and Providence. I am really looking forward to the Big East Tournament as well as the big tournament. Let's see if we can bring back a national championship!

Last year, Pitt Panther football seemed to take a big step forward as far as a winning tradition. We were 9-4 and 5-2 in the conference. We went to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX, wich turned out to be a big snoozefest against Oregon. It ended with a loss of 3-0. That's right, a field goal, that was it. Hopefully this coming year, with the new offensive coordinator in the mix, we make an even bigger splash in college football. We have the second full class of recruits under Dave Wannstedt and also a winning season under his belt, not to mention a few nationally televised games this year. This will give the team some big stage time to prepare for the big stage that is a bowl game.

I hope this quick rundown will help out any Pittsburgh Sports anxiety you may be having. Looking at this as well as all the other college Pittsburgh area teams possibly making the big tournament, this may be the best year in Pittsburgh Sports. A Superbowl Championship, possible long run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, stopping the streak of Pirates losing seasons, possibly a National Championship, possibly a great Bowl Game, and Everything Pittsburgh celebrating its one year anniversary soon. Who knows what 2009 will lead to, but it sure is promising.

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