Twitterific

Okay, I think it’s time to admit it. I finally went ahead and registered. I logged onto that cool little site with the blue clouds and birdies; all you have to do is enter a username and password and you can “Discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” Not only that, but I can get “short timely messages” from just about any athlete I might want to stalk. That’s right, I got a Twitter.

You see, Twitter is probably the best thing a sportswriter could dream of. When I was younger, all I wanted was for my Penny Hardaway poster to talk back to me. Well now, I have instant access to thousands of professional athletes’ inner thoughts, opinions, suggestions, style tips, hairstyle advice…I could go on for hours. I did have some trouble getting past the teen surge of Justin Beiber appreciation, but after a little sight navigation, athlete stalking is as easy as typing “@.”

And hey, what more could athletes want? After they’re bombarded with grilling press conference questions about locker room tension and domestic issues, they get to go home and tweet about how they’re craving a Milky Way, or how they love that new Drake song or just the fact that they have so much swagger.

After browsing Shaq’s page, I’m beginning to think that the program was invented solely for the Big Aristotle himself. Shaqtus has been, without a doubt, the king of hilarious one-liners. As alias The_Real_Shaq, twitter gives him the chance to make people laugh even more. Check out this Shaq tweet I found:

“If you look up in the sky you can see stars, if you keep looking, you may even see pluto,but dats why pluto is pluto it can neva b a star”

Wait, what? What did the Big Daddy just say?

The more athletes I follow, the more hilarious it gets. Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair has his fair share of funny tweets. On May 2, DeJuan45 tweeted:

“Mortons steak house?? NAW!!!!!! Maybe 2 morrow! ROOM SERVICE? NAW too much 4 on thing!! Haha! I guess I'll eat dinner n the mini bar haha!”

Oh, right.

If there’s one tweeting trend to notice, it’s that these athletes have no care for grammar, or even making sense. But for us sports lovers, it’s the best chance to see into their lives, no matter how hard it is to actually comprehend.

Of course, Twitter can get athletes in trouble. These guys can be incomprehensible, but some things just shouldn’t be put out there for the world to see. The NFL is beginning to fine athletes for inappropriate tweets or tweets that are made during a game. Meanwhile, wide receiver Santonio Holmes was recently suspended, and subsequently traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers for tweeting drug related messages. Where was his head @?

Still, if athletes mind the rules and keep their cool, this Twitter thing is a dream for us sports admirers. I’d still give anything to have my Hardaway poster compliment me on my kicks, but I’ll take Twitter for now.

*Originally printed in The Dickinsonian

Did you recently join Twitter nation? Here's a link from Mondesi's House that provides all the twitter pages of Pittsburgh athletes, news sources, coaches, personalities, and pretty much anything else dealing with PGH sports.

Mound-umental Debuts

Last night, on his new stomping ground at Nationals Park, Steven Strasburg took his spotlight and turned it to max voltage. Behind the flashing lights and eye-popping stats is a monumental turning point for two rebuilding organizations: these teams aren't only opponents in this series-they're parallels.

The flamethrower phenom pitched 7 innings of nasty gas, striking out 14 Pirates and walking none to show the control, power, and domination of a premier pitcher in the National league. Never before has a pitcher zapped 14 batters without giving up a free base in their MLB debut. Never before has a Washington Nationals pitcher had 14 stikeouts. Never before has a MLB player taken this amount of pressure and clearly exceeded expectations.

No, the kid didn't pitch a perfect game. He didn't get a shut out either, thanks to one swing of Delwyn Young's Louisville. But given the circumstances, Steven Strasburg has answered the individual hype, unheard of in the team oriented MLB, with a magnificent performance that puts him atop the Nats' rotation and on pace to become one of the top pitchers in the NL. It was just one game, let's remember-but that stuff was N-A-s-T-y.

Hidden under all the hype, however smothered it may be by the radar gun reads and fanning bats, is the crucial middle stage of rebuilding for the Nationals and the Pirates. The Nationals have finally unveiled the centerpiece of their organization, while the Pirates are in the process of calling up the young guns to put together some of the pieces of their multi-year molding plan.

Let's not forget that these teams just drafted some incredible talent in the MLB Draft. The Nationals drafted 17 year old slugger Bryce Harper and highly touted pitcher A.J. Cole in the first and fourth rounds. The Pirates had a similarly successful outcome, snagging high school standouts in projected Ace Jameson Tallion and fastball king Stetson Allie. Who knows if these guys might have their own stunning debuts in a couple years.(more on the draft coming soon)

As for Pittsburgh, Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker are already established (see previous article), but the night after Strasburg's debut, Pittsburgh will send out some of it's own young talent in pitcher Brad Lincoln and outfielder Jose Tabata.

Lincoln is no Strasburg, lacking the ace material and command to put on any performance similar to the kid from San Diego. Still, Lincoln has the stuff and confidence to establish himself atop the Pirates' rotation. Tabata has dominated at the plate for the Pirates' AAA team, earning him the chance to surge some offense into the Pirates' lineup.

That's not to say that tonight's game will be anywhere near as spectacular as last night's debut, but it's certainly a much more important game for the Pirates' organization. The Nationals had their turn, and now it's the Pirates' chance to see just how far they are in rebuilding to a successful franchise. These teams have a lot of talent brewing in their organizations, and watching these young prospects make their appearances in the Majors will be a quite the spectacle in the coming years.

Walker, Cutch, Maholm, Oh My!

The Pirates may have one of the worst line-ups in baseball. The Buccos are stacked with other teams’ draft busts, young players with “upside,” and middle aged players that have already established themselves as inconsistent; Jeff Clement, Andy LaRoche and Aki Iwamura serve as prime examples to this one-two-three punch. But for the first time since Aramis Ramirez’s transformation into a decent power hitter, the organization’s farm league efforts have finally come through in the majors-And it all happened with one game-winning bucco blast.

When Neil Walker smacked his first career home run over the left field wall, scoring himself and emerging star Andrew McCutchen to win their second straight game against the Cubs, fans at long last saw a glimpse of light from the organization’s minor-league labors.

The 2000’s era has been worse than dismal for the Pirates’ farm efforts. Management has watched 1^st round draft picks fail early and often, with Bryan Bullington never reaching higher than AA and John VanBenschoten producing next to nothing in the major leagues.

Regardless of the team’s lackluster lineup, the Pirates continue to build from the bottom up. They continue to fill their farm system with talented prospects through the draft and trades-the proven method for rebuilding a team without access to premium spending money.

Andrew McCutchen is undoubtedly an emerging star in the game, and he had the potential to be the leader of the team if it reaches a playoff-caliber level. Many scouts have voiced their opinion that he could be the best lead-off hitter in a year or two. His speed, consistency, and knack for occasional power hitting make him a threat to any pitcher. Ultimately, he’s the only Pirate on this year’s roster that could start on any MLB team’s roster.

Paul Maholm (drafted in 2003) has also stepped up as the team’s most consistent and reliable starting pitcher. Although he doesn’t have the power of Duke, the pitcher drafted has developed a skillful command on the mound. He also has a good combination of pitches to keep batters guessing.

And don’t discount Neil Walker’s recent emergence. The Pittsburgh native has finally reached the majors, and he’s making the best of it. Although he struggled with attitude and consistency in the minors, the Pirates were patient with him and brought him up at the right time. Now, it seems as if he’s rewarding them. He’s already proven that his promotion is a major upgrade from Aki Iwamura at second base, and his power has given McCutchen a chance to move back to the leadoff spot.

These three guys are major league signs that the buccos are beginning their ascent to decency, but it is in the minor league system that the organization is making sure that they have the players to continue this positive movement. Sure, the Pirates had the emergence of Nate McLouth and Jason Bay as of late, but the minor league depth two years ago was next to nothing compared to its current level. There is no question that the combination of current emerging talent and depth of upside prospects has this team headed in a great direction.

With Pedro Alvarez and Brad Lincoln headlining the team’s valued prospects, the Pirates will continue to bring up young players to fuel the team in the next couple of years. Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen were only the beginning. Not only are these young prospects improving their skills in preparation, but they’re shining in their own leagues. Pitcher Tim Alderson just won the Eastern League pitcher of the week, while Brad Lincoln won a similar award just a couple weeks prior.

Maybe they won’t reach .500 this year, but 2010 will be a telling season for the Pirates. With talent popping up from the minors and young players developing in the majors, the team is moving in the right direction, and fans can finally see that fact.

It's A Rough Road for an NHL Playoff Goalie

Squatting on blue ice between two red metal posts yet again, he is the only thing between Alex Ovechkin’s lightning wrist shot and the net. Pads surely are not the heaviest thing carried on a NHL goalie’s shoulders.

In this pants-wetting situation again and again, the pressure of a net-minder in the playoffs is one of the most nerve wracking experiences one can imagine. Ultimately, a team’s ability to win consistently in the playoffs is decided by the way a goalie can handle pressure in extreme situations against the best players in the NHL playing at their highest level. As daunting as this task may sound, it is the common expectation of a net-minder in the NHL playoffs. Yet if these pressured puck-stoppers can handle their expectations, they have the ability to single-handedly carry their team to a Stanley Cup.

Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward perfected the example of carrying his team in the playoffs last year. Ward completely shut down his opponents in the first three rounds of the playoffs, scrapping the odds that his team would have an early exit with a severe lack of offensive firepower and defensive skill. Ward was the sole reason the Hurricanes were in any position to compete in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. Goalies really can make all the difference.

Star players deserve their own credit for leading their teams in the playoffs. Their squads rely on them to score timely goals and perform at their highest ability. But the expected level of consistency is nothing compared to a goalie’s daily workload. If Sidney Crosby fans on an open-net shot or Henrik Zetterberg goes pointless in one or two games, it won’t be the deciding factor in a series or even a game.

Yet if a goalie is out of position or doesn’t have the right mindset in a game, they could give up a goal too early or miss too many easy saves that could easily lose a game (or two) for his team. Furthermore, goalies have to be on the ice the entire game, expected to hold their net through power plays, two-on-one breakaways and the aforementioned zooming all-star alone on the ice.

On the other side, no matter how consistent or clutch a star player may be, if the goalie can match that intensity he can single-handedly ensure a victory. Disabling a team’s leading goal-scorer can demoralize a team or even make them change their overall strategy, which would easily change the momentum of a team in a series. Of course, even when a goalie is consistent, he can still lose a series for his team.

When every player is playing at their highest level to try and win a game for their team, even the mediocre skaters will step up in big moments. As hard as it is for goalies to be consistent, if they can’t stop the nifty stick-work and speedy slap-shots from any spot on the ice, they’ll hear their name chanted in mockery for the next five minutes of ice-time.

With starting goaltender Jose Theodore struggling against the Rangers, the Capitals went with rookie Simeon Varlamov to guard the net for the remainder of the playoffs. Varlamov started off hot and proved to be the main factor in his team’s comeback to win their first series 4-3 against the Rangers. Yet just as hot as he started, he dropped three out of four games against the Penguins in the next round. The Capitals pulled him in game seven after he clumsily let in five unanswered goals in the first period. Talk about a goalie losing a series for his team.

The Penguins, on the other hand, relied on Marc-Andre Fluery to keep their team in contention. After sliding through the first round against Philadelphia, the goalie prepared to face his most difficult competition against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Before Varlamov began to let in anything that crossed his pads, Fluery made an incredible save on Ovechkin-one that ended up making all the difference for the Pittsburgh team. After the save, Pittsburgh began its assault on the young opposing goaltender to seal a series victory. Who knows what would’ve happened if Ovechkin had scored the first goal.

The Capitals’ goaltending issues last year led to their downfall in the playoffs against the Penguins. But the Caps have the same issue this year, which leaves their fans wondering if the team will reach a similar and disappointing ending. Washington has already replaced its starting goalie, with Varlamov starting yet again in a high-pressure situation.

In a league full of talented players looking to earn the spotlight in this year’s playoffs, it is the goaltender that faces the highest expectations from his team. As much pressure as the job requires, the goalie’s performance is the deciding factor in which teams will be in serious contention for Lord Stanley.

NFL Draft Goes Prime Time

Scooch over drama scripts and sitcoms, because the NFL draft is now a smash hit in prime time television. This year, the league decided to move the draft from its normal weekend afternoon slot to prime time action on Thursday. Developing from Monday Night Football to Sunday night and Thursday night action, the successful draft in prime time is just another testament to the ever-expanding, and possibly dangerous, popularity of the NFL.

The ratings of this debut were, without question, impressive. As reported in a Sports Illustrated article by Richard Deitsch on April 23, the draft viewership increased by 32 percent from last year’s event on the first day. Here’s a startling statistic: the first round of the draft was the eighth most watched cable program this year.

After the first day of the now three-day-long event, Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “...to see the kind of extraordinary increase in viewership I think does reinforce the idea that we can put the draft on a bigger platform, and that’s great for everyone,” as reported in the aforementioned Sports Illustrated article.

There’s no question that growing popularity is beneficial to the league, but where does Goodell draw the line? Moving the draft to the prime time slot might’ve gone too far, as the NFL is sending the wrong message to its veteran and incoming players and fans alike.

The draft is undoubtedly an important component to the NFL season. Success in the draft is crucial to the depth and growth of each organization, and while it also boosts the popularity and interest in college football, that’s not to say that it should be made into a night show spectacle. Establishing the draft as a rating-boosting show only adds to the unnecessary glorification of these young athletes.

The league already deals with this problem from an economic standpoint. Rookie contracts have grown to a ridiculous figure, prompting veteran players to question why kids straight out of college are earning more than their proven teammates before even stepping on NFL grass.

Media coverage of the draft is just as overblown. ESPN assigns two experts in Todd McShay and Mel Kiper, Jr. to cover the draft for the entire year. Their job in its entirety is analyzing college athletes and making mock drafts. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated has already posted a mock draft for next year on their website. What more could the media do to give college athletes overconfidence and hype about an event that has nothing to do with the competition or current players?

Other sports have ridiculous media coverage as well. NCAA Basketball has Bracketology, while most leagues are smothered with weekly power rankings, but these commentaries are at least rooted in actual competition. The flood of mock drafts leads to even more superfluous hype.

Other sports leagues may have even taken note of the switch and how it impacts their own operations. Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, voiced his displeasure about the decision to move to prime time, mainly because it took place during an NBA playoff game.

“I just don't think the NFL is playing themselves out to be a good partner,” Cuban said, as reported by Todd Archer in an an April 21 article in the Dallas Morning News. Cuban also mentioned that the NBA doesn’t schedule games during the NCAA Basketball championship. The Mavericks owner isn’t the most level-headed or entitled voice to speak this opinion, but he does make a necessary point concerning inter-league relations.

The draft also took place during the first week of the NHL playoffs. The fact that some playoff hockey games aren’t even nationally televised presents an important question for the sporting world: should the NFL draft really take precedence over these crucial playoff games?

In the end, what the fan wants is what the league is going to provide, especially if it means an increase in money and popularity. How much will the NFL change based on the fan’s demand? The spectacle that the draft has become is dangerously crossing the line that separates fan entertainment from true competition.

College stars deserve to celebrate their entry to the NFL, but having that process on a prime time marquee is going far overboard.

The State of the Steelers

Sayonara, Santonio. It's been about a week now since the Pittsburgh Steelers parted ways with their star wideout, trading him to the New York Jets for a 5th round pick in this year's NFL draft. Their arguably most talented receiver, a Superbowl MVP, for a player who may end up not even making the team. What a great deal for the Steelers.

It's no secret that the Steelers have faced a few off the field issues recently. With their star quarterback facing sexual assault allegations (again) while one of their top receivers was facing a lawsuit in which he allegedly threw a glass at a woman in a nightclub while awaiting a suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy, it looks like the Rooneys finally decided to send a message.

This isn't the Pittsburgh Steelers we are used to seeing. This isn't the class of the NFL, the perfect professional sports organization. In fact this is nothing better than the Steelers' AFC North brethren. As Steelers' fans we used to love to laugh when we saw yet another Bengals' player suspended. You're not a true Pittsburgher if you haven't once referred to Ray Lewis as a "murderer". But now it looks like the Steelers aren't too much better. Remember when the only off the field troubles that faced the Steelers came from their kicker throwing down with a Sheetz paper towel dispenser? Ah, the good ol' days.

The Steelers struggled last year in failing to defend their Super Bowl championship from the year before, and from the looks of this offseason they may struggle again. I believe that to be the champions on the field, you first have to be the champions off of it. You can argue that off the field issues don't affect the team's play, but when coaches and players have to field more questions about their troubled quarterback than about their preparations for next season, we have a problem.

Now don't get me wrong, Roethlisberger and Holmes have both made invaluable contributions to the team's success the last few years. But because of their success, these guys have become the faces of the franchise and some of the team's leaders. And when they start making headlines for stuff like this, how can you expect the rest of the team to follow them?

Besides, it's not like Holmes and Roethlisberger haven't been given their fair share of chances. From the disorderly conduct, assault, and marijuana charges for Holmes to the pair of sexual assault accusations for Roethlisberger, sooner or later you have to draw the line.

So, yeah, I'm glad to see Santonio gone and Ben facing a suspension, and hopefully that stud we pick up in the fifth round will show a little discipline. Before it's too late, let's get back to being the class of the league. Let's get back to being the NFL's model organization. Let's get back to Steelers' football.

Dukey Dissapointment

After a March full of madness, did Duke really have to win this tournament? Is this really the ending that the 2010 NCAA Tournament deserves? When this year’s tournament was full of “well, I didn’t see that one coming” moments, Duke’s championship win didn’t seem adequate or fulfilling enough to fit the bill.

This 2010 tournament had more than its fair share of brewing upsets, dark horse teams and Cinderella hopefuls, but Duke’s victory over Butler was a dry, sugar-free cherry on top of a decadent banana split. Every day of tournament action had substantial upsets and buzzer beaters. Even on the first day, Robert Morris came close to knocking off two-seed Villanova, while Ohio knocked out three-seed Georgetown.

The tournament only got better when Northern Iowa executed one of the bigger upsets in tournament history by conquering one-seed Kansas in the second round. Cornell made its own story, reaching the sweet 16 as a 12-seed to flex the muscles of the Ivy League. Even St. Mary’s got in on the upset action, crushing two seed Villanova in the second round after upsetting Richmond in the first.

Don’t forget Duke’s foe, Butler, who’s five-seed run was much more exemplary of the unpredictable “nobody believed in us” mindset that spread over the tournament field this year. The fact that a Horizon league school reached the National Championship is a testament to the possibilities of the competition, but actually beating the ACC powerhouse would’ve been so much more…what’s the word...proper.

The Bulldogs won 25 straight games, including recent victories over one-seed Syracuse, 2-seed Kansas State and returning contender Michigan State. The team’s run wasn’t necessarily the most difficult in the dance, but it was surely more exciting and unexpected than Duke’s path. Duke’s road to the Final Four wasn’t nearly as difficult, posting West Virginia and Baylor as its greatest foes. Purdue and California didn’t provide nearly enough competition for the Devils.

Come to think of it, pick pretty much any seed in the Final Four matchups besides Duke, and they’ll spit a better line than the Blue Devils’ conventional championship victory. West Virginia and Michigan State would’ve made great headlines had they won the dance.

A victory from WVU would’ve finally erased the common thought that the Big East can’t compete in the Big Dance. Each year, Big East powerhouses fall short in unexpected and embarrassing ways. The Big East always fails to live up to tourney expectations, but every year the conference seems to breed the core of the very best teams in college basketball. What about Michigan State and a go-again run for head coach Tom Izzo? MSU fell short last year to North Carolina, but its discipline and incredible coaching earned a return to late March. But this year the Spartans were underestimated and inconsistent and were therefore seeded much higher.

The simple fact that three five-seed teams reached the Elite Eight led the nation to believe that this year’s championship would be special. That’s not to say this Duke team didn’t deserve a championship this year. Behind its talented seniors Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer, Duke earned their spot as a top seed and won six straight tourney games to prove that fact. But having three consistent and team-oriented seniors doesn’t translate to exhilarating stars and storylines for fans to focus on. The Blue Devils had the shooting, inside play and coaching to go far in the tournament; but this team didn’t have the spark to make their championship one to remember. The Blue Devils didn’t even have the favorite “everyone is gunning for us” factor they usually have in the tournament. The ACC’s dominant status in the tournament was diminished this year without North Carolina providing competition. Maryland was the closest to powerful that Duke encountered more than once in the year, and Virginia Tech was nowhere close to what UNC usually posts. Of course, no team wrote off Duke or expected the team to fail early. Sorry Durham, but the rest of the nation is writhing in boredom while you celebrate. This year’s champion just doesn’t fit how exciting this tournament really was.