The Sports Jury

Crunchtime (Mike Bennett) is now writing for the up-and-coming website The Sports Jury. Check out his writing, and other great fan perspectives on anything from MLB to MMA at thesportsjury.com.

Making a Pitch for the Pirates

Walking around the city of Pittsburgh, it doesn’t take long to realize that baseball fans are slowly waking up from a rumpelstiltskin-esque slumber. We’ve reached the month of June, and the Pirates are only two games back from .500, coming off a promising series against the Philadelphia Phillies in which they won two out of three in front of three full houses at PNC Park. They team has already matched its away record from 2010, and has made phenomenal improvements on its pitching. Alas, it only takes a Pittsburgher oblivious to sports to bring a Buccos hopeful back to earth:

“So, why is everyone so excited about the Pirates, are they doing really well?” my supervisor at work asked me.

“Well they’re only two games back from .500 and its already June!” I responded.

“I don’t know what two games back from .500 means.”

“It means….they’ve almost won as many as they’ve lost.”

“Oh.”

I guess this excitement is reserved for the long-time Pirates fans that will take any success they can get as a sign of progress. But it really did bring me back to earth on what the Pirates’ recent success means in the long run. Once the Pirates actually make it to .500, the city will celebrate like they’ve won a world series. Once we find ourselves yet again watching the MLB playoffs without the Pirates in contention, we’ll all be reminded that .500 is a miniscule landmark in baseball, and reaching championship contention is on a whole different playing field. It’s easily compared our country celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden after 10 years in hiding, before realizing that Al-Qaeda’s forces are still alive and well.

That’s not to say that a young pirates fan can’t dream. I would actually argue that if the Pirates wanted to reach .500 in years past, management could’ve easily pulled the strings. They could’ve picked up several free agents on one or two-year contracts on a mission to make the playoffs for once, if only to appease the dissolving and bitter fan base. But after spending all of their money, trading away a few promising prospects and reaching the playoffs for one year, the team would find itself exactly where it is now, only with a worse farm system. The team is trying to build a core that could, in the long-run, be poised to win a championship. I’d say that the young crew of Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez is a promising start, but the Pirates improvement on pitching and defense this season is an even more encouraging indication that the team is headed for more than just a .500 plateau.

Behind pitching coach Ray Searage, the Pirates rotation has gone from worst to decent in less than a season. Kevin Correia had heads turning when he became the first pitcher in the MLB to reach 8 wins this season. He is two wins away from matching last season’s record, and his ERA of 3.40 is more than a run lower than his career average. Then there is Charlie Morton, who last year was written off as a bust that couldn’t handle the bigs. In the off-season, he modeled his delivery after Roy Halladay to make a stunning turn-around. The third-year righty now boasts an all-star caliber 2.52 ERA in 11 starts with six wins to boot. These wins, by the way, are coming behind an injured and streaky Pirates offense that ranks 24^th in run support. James McDonald, while he struggles with control in some appearances, has often shown his ability to take over a game. With time and improvement on his control, he has the potential to thrive in the second or third spot in a rotation. Rounded out with lefty Paul Maholm and the silent-but-deadly Jeff Karstens, the rotation currently swanks an ERA of 3.53, good for fifth in the NL. If there’s anything we’ve learned from last year’s championship Giants, a strong rotation is the primary key for playoff success. The Buccos can’t be disappointed with their headway so far this year.

I’ll be honest, I’m not even certain that this Pirates team will finish the season above .500. The lineup is full of young players that still need plate experience before they can gain the consistency and confidence to produce run support for this phenomenal pitching. Also, Pirates fans have to remember that we are entering the dark months of Pirates baseball. Last June, the team went a dismal 5-20 to drop back to the all-too-familiar basement of the league. If anything, this June will indicate the true improvements of the team, and if Buccos pitching is something to take seriously in the coming years. For now, I’ll be taking every inch of progress with world-series-caliber celebration. What do us deprived Pirates fans have to lose?

Finding the Reality in Sports

I wrote this for my column in The Dickinsonian following the news of Osama bin Laden's death. Check it out.

I’d like to take this space to thank you for thumbing your way back here to our lovely Dickinsonian sports section. You could say you’ve now entered the “sports world,” and although I suppose there is also a “fashion world,” a “music world” and surely an “internet world,” I consider the planet of sports a dominion that inches closer and closer to taking over my own “real world.” I won’t let it, I swear….

While visiting Dickinson for the first time, President Durden said something that significantly influenced my decision to become a Dickinsonian. Lecturing a group of prospective students, he tossed out the notion of a “real world,” emphasizing that it is when we decide to define certain things, groups or worlds as “real” or, for lack of a better antonym, “unreal,” that we hinder our ability to fully pursue and engage the world. I’m pulling off some major paraphrasing here, but that was the message I absorbed and was inspired by.

Browsing through old sports columns during spring break, I read an article that brought me back to this separation between our real world and sports. Written by David Halberstam following the 9/11 attacks, the column attempted to put sports in perspective with the real world, a task I’ve been struggling with for some time now. Halberstam offered great insight, as he started his journalism career covering the civil rights movement for the New York Times, but shifted to sports later in his career to write several of the most outstanding books in the genre. In this particular article he places sports well below our “reality,” writing that while it can inspire, bring together and heal our society, when it comes to importance and priority, the world sports offers no even parallel.

It’s not like sports and the real world don’t come together often. Halberstam points out that the Yankees’ World Series championship in 2001 was a moment that brought together a mourning city. The Saints and Hornets did the same for New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Here at Dickinson, the women’s basketball team holds an annual Pink Zone game to aid the fight against breast cancer, just one of the many efforts that several teams make to bring together the Dickinson community and engage our world.

But during the first two days of March Madness, when President Obama interrupted a close game to give an address concerning American Military action in Libya, I witnessed plenty more outrage at the interruption on twitter and other social outlets than opinion or concern for the issue, the reality at hand. Is this, as President Durden might have been alluding to, just our sad attempt at forgetting the problems that the world is facing?

It was a different story this month, when news of Osama bin Laden’s death immediately stole attention from several live sporting events, including the televised Mets/Phillies game. Cameras captured fans chanting U-S-A! in the stands in celebration. But does it take something as large as bin Laden’s death to mesh sports and the real world?

Personally, I’m still figuring out my own stance on the issue. I come from a city, Pittsburgh, where absolutely everything rides on the success of our sports teams. When the Steelers lose, downtown looks like an abandoned Gotham, yet we throw parades bigger than any war protest or campaign to commemorate a sports championship. So if I were asked to put sports in perspective, I would have to consider it part of my own reality. That being said, it is also my responsibility as a human, student and more specifically a Dickinsonian, to delineate what holds precedence. Finding your way back here to the sports section shouldn’t signify an exit from reality. For me, it is merely a different perspective on things.

Big East Tournament Makes for Beast of a Bracket

Here’s a proposition to keep your sports-fan imagination alive and well while you’re stuck in the depths of central Pennsylvania: you have a one free all-expenses-included pass to any sporting event in the world this week. What stands will you be in? If you, dear reader, desire to witness the most competitive, back-and-forth, beastly battle of the week, your imagination will be with mine on Saturday March 12 in the stands of Madison Square Garden. The Big East Tournament Championship Game is calling.

Of course, if you’ve got the money and means of transportation then go ahead and punch the ticket. I’ll be watching on ESPN, but regardless of where you are this week, witnessing the bulk of this tournament should be at the top of your spring break checklist.

We’re talking about a tournament that brackets nine of the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 teams, including #3 Pitt and #4 Notre Dame, to battle it out for the trophy and automatic bid. The closest number of ranked teams in a conference is a mere four from the Big 12. This tournament doesn’t deserve a lousy comparison to another conference bracket. If anything, it’s a close runner up to the NCAA Tournament.

The most difficult path involves winning five straight games in five days, possibly all against ranked opponents. The distance between games, physicality of the conference and sheer quantity of ranked teams makes this tournament by far the best among conference brackets.

But it’s not just the number of ranked teams that makes this tournament special. Throw in seven more teams that are all the more hungry to cut down the nets for the simple fact that if they lose, their seasons are over. Consider this: if Pitt or Notre Dame wins out it’s a shoe-in for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If any other squad wins, it could be the difference between a #7 seed and a #4 seed, or better yet the difference between making the big dance and missing out all together. Syracuse went on a memorable run in 2006 as an unranked nine-seed. The Orange won four in a row- three against ranked opponents-, to earn the automatic bid. I don’t think anyone would be startled if St. John’s, a team that has already beaten six ranked opponents, went on a similar run this year. You could say the same about UConn, Georgetown, Louisville, West Virginia or Syracuse. The list goes on and on. You can’t say the same about the ACC, where it will be breaking news if the winner isn’t either Duke or North Carolina.

The only downside of the Big East tournament could be that it wears down the participants before the big dance starts. Compared to its yearly representation in the NCAA tournament, the Big East has boasted only two winners in the past ten years in Syracuse and Connecticut. Those two teams were also the only teams to make the National Championship game in the same time span.

What does that say about this weekend? Watch the best teams in the country play while they’re fresh. No matter which teams make it to the championship on Saturday, it will be a game that is not just won, but earned. Conference powerhouses? Check. Underrated middle of the pack? Check. Cinderella hopefuls? Check. Five rounds in five days? Check. Madison Square Garden is ready, so let’s turn on the lights and start the madness.

Originally published in The Dickinsonian, March 10 Issue

Skid Without Sid

The media praised them, HBO raved about them, and the fans surely adored them, but without Sidney Crosby, the Penguins are melting. The 12-game win streak seems like it was only yesterday, and Crosby’s 25 game point streak couldn’t have ended more than two weeks ago, right? Yet here Pittsburgh stands, facing a 3-game losing streak-one in overtime-and desperately missing its best player to a concussion. The team is 0-2-1 without Crosby, and although the locker room hasn’t come close to claiming his absence as an excuse, it’s naturally the factor we’ll be pointing to. And we’ll be doing just that until they win without him, or until he’s back on the ice.

Is Crosby’s concussion the real reason the Penguins have quickly collapsed into the team they are now? For those that haven’t been able to watch, it’s a team that is being handily trapped out of their offensive zone, with a playing style that has resorted to depending on the physical play of their fourth line and penalty kill to create any sort of offensive momentum. It’s a team that gives up goals in pairs, collapses late, and is getting next to nothing out of its best player, Evgeni Malkin.

Can the absence of one player really cause such a meltdown? You won’t hear it from them, but it’s clear the team misses his leadership, offensive attack and puck distribution on the first line. Wingers Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis have meshed with their captain better than most, but matched with Malkin, they simply aren’t first-line material. The power-play has suffered too; without Sid, the man-advantage feels like four-on-four action. Is there no one left to deflect Kris Letang’s shots into the twine? Is there no presence in front of the net to clean up loose pucks?

Send some of the blame Malkin’s way. He usually plays like the best player on the ice when Crosby is out, but not this time. Now it seems like Sid’s absence has exposed Geno, given that most of his success when he returned from injury came when #87 was right there with him. Yes, he’s shown some flashes of remarkable stick work and shake-and-bakes. Yes, he’s shooting lights out and playing with a passion. But the stats speak for themselves: the lamps aren’t lighting.

This team is lucky. They have plenty of time and room in the standings to figure out how to win without Crosby, and he shouldn’t be out more than two more games. And like HBO made so clear, this game is full of ebbs and flows-every team will have its winning and losing streaks. As of now, the Penguins have survived injuries to all three of their premier centers, and last time I checked, they’ve got four of the best players in the league headed to the all-star game in Crosby, Geno, Fleury and Kris Letang. Yes, this team dearly misses its best player. Yes, the Penguins will welcome him back with tapping sticks. But right now, they’ve got to find a way to win without him-that is, of course, if they want the hockey world to stop saying they can’t.

Haywood Jacoachme

Never in the history of the BBVA Compass Bowl has a victory in Birmingham meant as much as it did to the Pitt Panthers this past Saturday. Not only because the 27-10 beat down of the Kentucky Wildcats brought three hours of relief from a whirlwind past month for the Panthers or because it opened the door for the school to sell some sick Pitt Panther 2011 BBVA Compass Bowl Champion t-shirts (which I'm sure are selling just as well as game tickets did), but because it reminded everyone of something important, of something that the fan base seems to have forgotten during the downward spiral this program has gone through this winter: that this team has a lot of talent.

Yes, I realize that Kentucky is a mediocre at best SEC team and that much of Pitt's talent, namely guys like Jon Baldwin, Dion Lewis, Jabaal Sheard, and Greg Romeus, will likely soon be playing in games far bigger than the BBVA Compass Bowl (but really, does it get much bigger?), but there is no denying that what we saw on the field on Saturday provides some optimism for the future, something that there hasn't been surrounding Pitt football since Athletic Director Steve Pederson forced head coach Dave Wannstedt to resign following another underachieving season. The defense manhandled a dynamic Wildcat offense without both Sheard and Romeus, while Ray Graham and the offense showed that even if Lewis and Baldwin decide to leave, there certainly won't be a lack of playmakers on that side of the ball and the offense could still be dangerous with a little grooming.

Which brings me to my main point, the whole "grooming" thing. Unfortunately for the Panthers, they need more than a compass (even a BBVA one) to find their way out of the mess they currently find themselves in with regards to coaching. Following Wannstedt's firing/resignation, Steve Pederson hired Miami of Ohio coach Mike Haywood and lauded Haywood as a man of character who would instill discipline in the players. Less than three weeks later Haywood was fired following a felony charge for domestic battery, leaving Pederson and the Pitt football program as something of a laughingstock around the country. The 19-man recruiting class Wannstedt had lined up for next season has dwindled to about five or six, Pitt's assistant coaches are bolting for similar jobs at other institutions, and alumni and boosters are calling for
Pederson's head.

As the search continues for Pitt's third head coach this winter, many fans are imploring that Pederson hire someone who can salvage this recruiting class, someone with Pitt ties who knows this area.

A.k.a Dave Wannstedt.

There is a reason Pederson forced Wannstedt to resign, namely that he couldn't deliver a BCS berth to the Panthers. Year after year Wannstedt brought in some top recruits and had lofty preseason expectations surrounding his team. Yet year after year the Panthers disappointed, continually coming up short in big games, resulting in bids to lower tier bowls.

What Pitt needs now is a coach who can get these players to meet their potential, someone who can not only recruit talented players, but help them grow. There were a handful of off-the-field issues with Pitt players this season, and perhaps that had a bigger impact on the season's results than we realize. After Wannstedt's firing, Steve Pederson stressed that the new coach would be one who would give the program more integrity and discipline. Just because his first hire failed miserably, doesn't mean he should shy away from what he was looking for to begin with.

Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has emerged as the most popular candidate among the fan base, namely because of his successful recruiting skills and his ties to the area. However, as Wannstedt showed, these attributes don't necessarily translate into a successful head coach. If Pederson and his search committee believe that Bradley also has the ability to coach and groom these players, then absolutely he should get the job. But if they feel that another candidate can coach these Panthers better, then that candidate should get the job, regardless of his recruiting skills or ties to the area. Because while recruiting certainly is important, it shouldn't be a priority. Being able to lead the team and discipline the kids while getting the most out of each and every player can lead to more success than landing top notch recruits each and every season. Just ask Jamie Dixon.

Ground Rules

More than a few Steelers will lace up for their first career playoff start at Heinz Field this Saturday. The list includes several key contributors like Maurkice Pouncey (that’s a given), Ziggy Hood (barring an Aaron Smith resurrection), Mike Wallace, Lawrence Timmons, Rashard Mendenhall…

Wait. I know what you’re thinking.

Lawrence Timmons? Rashard Mendenhall?

But this is a different Steelers team. It’s a team that calls on second and third year players to make inconceivable leaps. A team that returns to the ground game weekly, even when the offensive line seems to lose players faster than Tiger Woods lost sponsorships. A team that cut their average rush yards allowed per game by almost 30 yards from 2009-2010. A team that only allowed rushing touchdowns all season, with a signature long run of 24 yards.

I didn’t mention #34 or #94 in that rambling stat-line, but Mendy and Timmons have their names written all over those accomplishments. Among the many differences between the 2009 and 2010 Steelers, their rededication to the run game and reclamation of best rushing defense in the league stand out as pivot points to their consistency, and ability to beat the teams that they’re expected to beat.

So no, neither Mendenhall nor Timmons started for the 2008 championship squad, but both turned in their best seasons yet in 2010. Timmons logged a golden stat sheet with 135 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. Mendenhall trudged for 1,273 yards behind an offensive line that, to put it nicely, made him earn every last one. It’s hard to imagine the days when Mewelde Moore was only one touchdown short of Hines Ward and Willie Parker led playoff rushing with 246 yards over three games. What’s he doing these days? Probably what Rashard Mendenhall was doing during the 2008 playoffs. Watching.

Of course, Timmons got a little taste of playoff action. He was brought in for various packages, recorded 16 tackles and recovered a fumble. But Mendenhall has yet to bleed his playoff blood, and what better team to debut against than the one responsible for his delay?

Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis made their statement this past weekend at Kansas City. They stopped Jamaal Charles, and got 142 yards on the ground from Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and a scrambling Joe Flacco. Something tells me they won’t have that kind of ground success against the Steelers.

The Ravens might still be stinging from their AFC championship game loss two years ago, but Lawrence Timmons and Rashard Mendenhall could care less. They weren’t starting that game.

You bet they’re starting for this one, ready to make their own statements. After all, it’s the playoffs.

Steelers-Jets Talking Points, Week 14

No doubt one of the games to watch this week in the NFL, and for Steelers fan it will be a strange sight to see Santonio Holmes in green and white running out in Heinz Field. Before we get started with the important stuff, I hope he gets cheers before the game as long as the defense doesn't let him do anything to silence the crowd while the clock is ticking.

All the outside-the-lines drama aside, let's approach the scrimmage line and talk football. Here are 4 topics to keep in mind for this week's game.

Polamalu-less Defense

Without question the Steeler defense, led by Troy Polamalu, has been the fuel that’s fired the team’s current 4-game win streak. But with their top playmaker most-likely sidelined to recharge for the playoffs, the unit will need to draw up another strategy to hide a secondary that has proven to be easily exposed. Enter pass rush. Simply put the play of the linebackers and defensive line could very well determine the outcome of this game. LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison will need to pressure Mark Sanchez a bit more than Carson Palmer to force poor throws, but the Patriots and Dolphins have laid the blue-print for that game plan. I think the defensive line could have just as big an impact, as they will be responsible for opening up the pocket for the linebackers and an occasional cornerback (say, Willie Gay) to rush Sanchez into turning over the ball. The Steelers need to handle the run like they have all year, stopping Tomlinson and Greene from getting into an early rhythm and taking away the ground-offense by the end of the first half. After stopping the likes of Chris Johnson, Michael Turner and Ray Rice, the run defense isn’t dealing with anything new in Greene and LT. They’re streaky backs that become useless if they aren’t used early and often. Frankly, I’d be more intimidated by the shifty and slippery Leon Washington. With regards to the secondary, the best matchup of the afternoon features Ike Taylor against Santonio Holmes. Ike has successfully shut down several big-play receivers, but as a former Holmes fan, I can’t say I’d be surprised to see a quick slant or two go for 30 yards. Dustin Keller and Braylon Edwards pose a worthy threat to McFadden the Ryans (Clark and Mundy). The Steelers need a big game out of Clark if Sanchez isn’t consistently pressured. As long as the defense as a whole doesn’t give up any huge plays, going along with their season’s trademark, it should buy the defensive front enough time to figure out how to rattle the Sanchize.

3^rd and Long

The Steeler Offense has found itself stuck and 3^rd and 6+ often in crucial situations throughout the season, but Big Ben has found receivers in the clutch, and made the necessary plays to keep the chains moving. However if the offense wants to control the clock effectively, they’ll need consistent 5-6 yard run/short pass plays to get more 3^rd and short opportunities. Isaac Redman has proven that he can get 2 or 3 yards when his number is called, and Mendenhall can break away for 15/20 yards if he catches the Jets defense is on its heels. The Jets pride themselves in stopping the run, so the offensive line will really need to drink their block-juice for this game. If Mendenhall can’t find holes and the line can’t buy Ben time, the Steeler offense transforms into a unit of hurried passing and -1 yard stuffers, which is the poorly-oiled machine that cranks out 3^rd and long situations. For the short passing game to be effective, the passing game needs production from David Johnson, Manny Sanders and Hines Ward. I’m on the lookout for the short pass to Ward or Wallace in the WR bunch-right. It will also be interesting to see if Bruce Arians or Ben will be the one to test Darrelle Revis with a Mike Wallace deep ball. That is, of course, if #7 ever gets the time to see his receivers run more than 15 yard routes.

Just for the kickers

These are two teams with inconsistent offenses, and hard-nosed defensive units. With that said, a low scoring game is in order, and the kickers will most-likely have their stab at winning the game. Shaun Suisham has been nothing short meat and potatoes as far as field goals go, but I’m not sure if Nick Folk can be trusted on the Heinz Field turf. He’s only 4-7 in the 40-49 yard range. Still, there’s got to be a reason Suisham was job-less right? I stubbornly keep waiting for him to lose his cool, but he’s kept it simple and knocked 3 points on the scoreboard when the Steelers have desperately needed the aid. With regards to special teams in general, the field position battle could be just as influential as any other aspect of the game, given the lack of offense that both teams have turned in the past few weeks. If either team can make a return-play to get their offense in opponent-territory, it could be enough to decide, or at the very least alter the momentum of the game. Antonio Brown, in a Mendenhall-like trend, looks like he could break away on any given return, but he hasn’t been doing so in the past few weeks. Will this be the week that the special teams take over the game? If so, the Steelers will have the edge with home turf and a fired-up bunch of playmakers.

Make or Break for the Jets

This week will assuredly play out as the turning point of the Jets season. Either they’re able to rebound and show the NFL that they weren’t just a team that was exposed after getting lucky in the fourth quarter in 5 straight weeks. They could very well go back to being a legitimate threat in the AFC, but recent weeks point towards the opposite. Instead, Mark Sanchez has shown his youth and inexperience, simultaneously exposing the offense as unproductive and exploitable. If a sense of urgency comes into play at any point in the Jets season, it will have to be this Sunday for the Gang Green to maintain any hope to fuel a playoff run. If the Jets come out playing with everything to prove, will the Steelers match the intensity and respond to the challenge? Or will they fall back on an almost-certain playoff bid. One thing’s for sure, the Black and Gold could definitely use a bye week to rest Polamalu and Ben, and anxiously await the verdict on Aaron Smith. If Steelers can find a way to win this game, and it’s absolutely within reach, they can rest assured that they’ll have much more potential to make a dangerous playoff run in 4-5 weeks.

Overall, I expect this game to be a thriller, even if it’s only a battle driven by special teams or defensive playmaking. However the cards fall, the matchup promises a hard-nosed battle between two talented AFC teams.

A lot to like about Pens

I’m dealing with a massive problem here as a Penguins fan. I know what you’re thinking, how could a Penguins fan have any problems with the way this team is performing? I mean, what’s not to like about how they’re playing this early in the year? Despite a below-average start and a myriad of significant injuries, the Penguins are lounging alone atop the conference and league standings thanks to a 12-game win streak. Well that’s exactly the problem; I’m spoiled with the struggle to pinpoint what exactly to like most about the team’s performance through the past four weeks.

The obvious answer is the play of Sidney Crosby. It seems as if we all forgot Crosby’s age, his steady desire to improve on every aspect of his game, and his constant leadership that comes with the C stitched on his sweater. Crosby has once more reminded the Hockey World that he is the best player in the league. Without a big-name winger on his top line, without the natural shooting skill that Ovechkin and Stamkos were gifted with, and without the star power of Evgeni Malkin and the two-way presence of Jordan Staal, #87 has taken this Penguins team on his shoulder and piggy-backed them to the top of the conference. Crosby is the first player to score 50+ points since Mario Lemieux did the same in 2002-2003, thanks to an 18-game point streak during which he scored 36 points, more than all but two other players have racked up this season. He’s on pace to score 137 points and 71 goals in an era when 100 point seasons are scarce. Behind Crosby, the Penguins are scoring 3.2 goals per game, a stat good for 5^th in the NHL.

Has Crosby finally reached his scoring peak? With his pattern of improvement, it’s far too early to guess. You want him to score more goals? This season he’s got more goals than assists, with 26 to 25 respectively. How about face-offs, he struggles in with that right? Not anymore. Crosby won a regular-season single-game high 25 face-offs in the Penguins last loss (in overtime) against the Rangers. What more can you ask for from a 23 year old? What’s not to like?

The Penguin defense deserves equal praise. From puck-blocking, to penalty killing, to the return of Marc Andre Fluery, the D is shutting down opponents on all cylinders. Let’s start with the penalty kill. After last season’s collapse in the playoffs, GM Ray Shero knew he had to look elsewhere for defensive help; he did just that by signing defensemen Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin to five year deals. The duo is already paying its dues, as the Penguin defense is seemingly unbreakable. So far in 2010 the D ranks 2^nd in the league in penalty killing, shutting down the power play 88% of the time. Want more? The PK unit is tied for second in the league in short-handed goals. This feat is even more jarring given that the unit is missing one of the best two-way players in the league, Jordan Staal. In some fashion, the Penguins have managed to turn Staal’s injury from a negative to a positive. His awaited return is no longer a crucial need , but rather point of excitement for what he could add to an already streaking team.

Just when you think the Penguins lost their Norris Trophy Candidate in Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang’s rise to the top had made #55’s departure near-meaningless. Gonchar has made Shero look like a genius with his sad decline in Ottawa, posting a -16 in 2010. Meanwhile, Letang leads defenseman in All-Star voting as a write-in candidate, and leads the league in +/- at +18. If this young man continues to play at this level, Norris trophy talks will undoubtedly return to Pittsburgh.

And then there’s Fleury. His rough start this season stalled the Penguins out of the gate, but despite the criticism, there’s no question he has returned to form. Behind MAF, the team is third overall in average goals against, allowing only 2.3 twine-ticklers per game. What’s more is that the team has also found consistency in Brent Johnson as a solid back-up. Johnson held down the fort during Fluery’s struggle, and will continue to give him needed rest during the regular season. By overcoming early struggles and receiving consistent and reliable backup, Fleury is in prime position for a strong playoff performance. And goaltending, as Penguins fans have learned in years past, is always a major factor in the playoffs.

So I’ve found one thing not to like about the Penguins: the power-play. The unit only converts with a man-advantage 16% of the time. But even with this negative, there is an obvious bright spot. This team has time to improve the power play and is still winning in spite of it. Malkin, the power-play goal machine has been off the ice, and hasn’t been scoring goals when he’s on the ice. Is there any question that he’ll return to form and bring the pens’ power play back with him?

The Penguins play their division rival Flyers tonight in Philadelphia. The winner will claim sole possession of the top of the NHL standings. Malkin is returning from an injury, as the Penguins will try for their 13^th straight Crosby will go for 19 straight games with a point. What’s not to like about this game? What’s not to like about this team? What’s not to like about this predicament?

Steve McNair Football

I was happily thrown into the past on Sunday afternoon. That’s right, the past; The only place I can escape to without hearing the continuous blowing of a whistle, without seeing referees slash their hands on their knees over and over, and if only to avoid James Harrison’s look in disbelief at another yellow flag falling to the grass.

Let’s add some background to this time-travel. It’s 3^rd down and 17 for the Steelers at the Pittsburgh 29. Four flags and seven runs ago, Rashard Mendenhall kicked off the drive with a 42 yard run, turning around only to see the team marching back the other way. Holding. It’s always something. Back to third down: As soon as Ben snaps the ball he’s hit with pressure. Announcer Solomon Wilcots thinks he’s already sacked. Steeler Nation knows better. #7 doesn’t go down in 3 seconds. He escapes to the outside, and he’s still looking for options. Getting chased by a bills defender, Ben darts for the first down. No one in front of him, one big Buffalo behind him, he makes 18 yards look like a mile. Instead of sliding at 17, he goes all out and smashes his way past the marker. That’s when I went back and simply forgot.

I forgot about the 163 yards in penalties that were called against the Steelers the week prior. I forgot about the unfair target the league has placed on James Harrison. I forgot all about Roger Goodell, and Mike Florio and Richard Seymour. I forgot about the “If Tom Brady we’re this” and “If Peyton Manning were that” phrases. All I could think about was Steve McNair on the Titans.

You see, back in Steve McNair’s glory days, no one could tackle that man. He’d play with a broken thumb, and bruised thigh and a black eye and you still couldn’t bring him anywhere close to the ground. Then he’d throw a block or scramble to a first down just to remind you that he wasn’t just a quarterback. He was the toughest quarterback in the league, and if you wanted to bring his team down, you had to bring him down first.

I can’t think of anyone that comes close to McNair’s playing style besides Ben Roethlisberger. His fairly consistent passing, his clutch style, his ability to avoid the sack unless you’ve got 3 linebackers hanging on him. I mean, you’ve got to surround this guy to bring him down, or he’ll make a play.

You had to do the same with McNair, or soon you’d be seeing those turned out hands on the side of his helmet, and you’d be 7 points down. I mean really, if McNair was still living, what would he have to say about all this? This guy would’ve shredded the injury report weekly if he had the chance. He was in the huddle and un-sackable no matter what. That’s football.

That 18 yard scrambled showed me how much of a football player Ben Roethlisberger continuously proves himself to be. It was such a fierce football play, that I couldn’t help but forget all the nonsense that’s been going on in this league of “transitions” and “safety concerns.” I just felt that Steve McNair would rather I didn’t ponder all that.

Variety: The Triumph of US Sports

One thing that’s clear about Americans is that we can’t stand too much of the same thing. We need trendy gadgets and internet networks to pop-up every year. We change the channel more than we watch a single television program. We make playlists to avoid listening to an artist’s entire album, and god forbid if that artist doesn’t come out with unique material ever year.

Ok, so this kind of makes our society look shallow and impatient, and this can be true at times. But when this need for variety affects American sports I’ve got nothing to complain about. Variety is our the American sports world’s best quality.

For those of you who have ever seen a sports highlights program in any other country, you know what I’m talking about. Every game showcased is the same sport. The top ten plays all go down in the same way. The stat sheets and matchups all have the same format. Soccer, soccer, soccer (and in Canada and Russia, Hockey, hockey, hockey).

You’ve got to love that we have four seasons of major professional sports here in the states. We get four exciting months of playoffs from each team, overlapping seasons, and if that’s not enough, we’ve got NCAA march madness and BCS bowl games to boot. We’re so spoiled that we tend get bored of ESPN in the summer when all we’ve got is late season baseball highlights and over-extensive coverage of NFL training camps. Come to think of it, there isn’t any better conflict for a sports fan than to have their favorite hockey team battling for first place in the east, their NFL team playing for the last wild-card spot in the playoffs, and their NBA squad starting its third home-stretch of the season-all in one day.

We have more than just a variety of sports and seasons, because each sport has their own unique and thrilling aspects. Nothing compares with Joe Montana’s fourth quarter comeback with two minutes left in the NFC championship game. I could say the same for Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off homerun in game seven of the 1960 World Series, or maybe Jordan’s jumper against the jazz to win the Bull’s sixth NBA championship. Don’t forget Wayne Gretzky’s hat trick and game winner in the ’93 NHL conference finals.

To celebrate this incredible variety, I made an up-to-date guide detailing the best way to watch each major professional sport in the states. Side note: Every sport’s final playoff game would have to be a must watch, so I’m excluding the playoffs from this guide to keep the, you know, variety.

NFL- Monday Night Football at a Local Bar

When your team is playing on Monday Night Football, there are three things assumed: 1)Your team is in the national spotlight, and the players and fans want to flex their muscles on national television. 2) The game is a rivalry or great matchup, given that ESPN chooses their matchups carefully to get big games on Monday night. 3) You don’t give a hoot about whatever is going on Tuesday. It’s Monday night football! Work/school can wait.

You may ask, why at a bar and not at the game? Hate to break it to you, but the NFL on an HD television can very easily best a stadium experience for this particular sport. In the stadium, it’s easy to get distracted by loud drunk fans, long lines and peanut gallery seats. In a bar you can see replays in HD, argue with other fans, and get your high-fives in-all while keeping warm.

MLB- A Saturday Night Ballgame in August with Post-game fireworks at your local stadium.

Baseball’s ballparks are second to none when it comes to a live experience. Comparing a stadium experience to a TV viewing is un-called for. Nothing is better than watching the home-team, eating peanuts and a hot-dog, singing “root-root-root for (insert favorite team)” during the seventh inning stretch, and watching day turn into night at the open and friendly atmosphere that is an MLB ballpark. And who can say no to free fireworks in the August night sky?

NBA- Lakers vs. Celtics, Christmas Day at home.

What’s a better Christmas present than watching the Lakers and Celtics matchup on Christmas Day? Sure, the players can’t enjoy working on the 25^th, but back and home on your new Flat screen HD TV that you opened that morning, you can’t beat watching this classic rivalry to keep your Christmas spirit lingering. NBA is better to watch at home, because arenas can be disappointing. All the fake crowd noise and music during games makes the live experience a distracted one, and besides, you don’t want to be away from your family on Christmas.

NHL-Caps vs. Pens, Winter Classic, New Years Day

The NHL is really lucky to have two young stars taking over the league and saving the sport’s popularity in the US. They’ve also got another popular trend in the annual new year’s winter classic. This year the league came up with the brilliant idea of combining the two, with Crosby and Ovechkin facing off in this year’s outdoor game. It promises to be a great game, and hockey is without a doubt the best sport to watch live. The back and forth action, the constant hustle, the big saves; I can’t imagine how great this would be outdoors. Heck, this rivalry is a must-see on any given night.

So there you have it. We’ve got four major professional sports, with their own unique qualities, and incomparable ways to watch them. Other countries can stick to their soccer highlights, because I’m basking in this US variety. If only I had four bank accounts to afford those winter classic tickets…

So....now what?

Days like Sunday's 9-0 victory over the Houston Astros are a beautiful sight for Pirates fans, if only because they don't come around very often. Games where pitching, hitting, and fielding all come together are a rare sight for a fanbase starving for a winning ballclub. In the words of the Great Lanny Frattare: "There's no doubt about it", it's been a tough past 17+ seasons for baseball's Black and Gold. Wading through players like Derek Bell, Brian Bullington, and Randall Simon, management has finally pointed to this roster, to guys like Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, and Brad Lincoln as the ones who will bring this franchise back to the glory days. They told this fanbase to wait, to have patience, that the arrival of these guys would turn things around for the Buccos. And now that the future has become the present things look, well...eerily similar to the way they did before.

The win Sunday raised the Pirates record on the season to 13-33 since the May 25th call up of Neil Walker signalled the beginning of the cavalry's coming to the big leagues. Now some might attribute this horrific record to the growing pains that are to be expected of young guys taking their first hacks in the majors, but, unfortunately, the rookies are not the ones to blame. These kids have had to grow up real quickly, carrying to the plate not only a bat on their shoulders, but the hopes of an entire city. And so far, the kids haven't disappointed. So with the prospects finally here, but the results still not arriving, I have to ask: now what?

The bulk of the well-known prospects from the minor league system has arrived in Pittsburgh, but there still are gaping holes in this team. The offense may look somewhat respectable, but the rotation is still a mess. Whether it has been a result of injuries or poor performance, this staff has been unable to find any stability since Opening Day. Outside of Paul Maholm and maybe Jeff Karstens not one of the countless starters we've used this year can honestly say they've had a successful season. And no one on this staff seems to have that "Ace" potential that all successful major league clubs have. So even if this offense is able to do what it is capable of, what do we do about the pitching? The answer seems to lie in Altoona.

The Altoona Curve, AA affiliate of the Pirates, has amassed an amazing 57-36 record through 93 games this season, and the main reason for the success has been terrific starting pitching. Tops on the team has been 22 year-old Rudy Owens. The curly haired kid (think Napoleon Dynamite or Semi-pro's Jackie Moon) has earned 8 wins while suffering 3 losses and posting a 3.00 ERA. Behind him comes Justin Wilson, another 22 year-old who has put up a 7-5 record while leading the staff with a 2.95 ERA. Also on the horizon is Bryan Morris, the key piece of the Jason Bay trade. Morris posted an eye-popping 0.60 ERA through 8 starts this season for the High-A Bradenton Marauders before his promotion to Altoona, where he is 4-4 with a 4.78 ERA. Now all three of these guys may be a year or two away from Pittsburgh, but if you want to start looking for answers in the rotation, there is a good chance this is where it's going to come from.

So even though the record may not show it, things are looking up for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Because of a young, talented offense at the top and some impressive pitching prospects not far behind, there is reason for hope in a city that for so long, when it comes to baseball, has been hopeless. So for the last few months of the season, and I know Pittsburgh fans haven't heard these words too often, enjoy Pirates' baseball. Enjoy watching Cutch fly around the bases like he's in the home stretch of the Kentucky Derby. Enjoy watching the Pine Richland kid dive for a line drive and Meek pump his fist after striking out the side. Enjoy watching Pedro send baseballs deep into that striking Pittsburgh skyline, and know that better days are ahead.

Evan Meek: All Star

Making your way through the ups and downs-mostly downs of this year’s Pirates team, you might look at Andrew McCutchen and his young cavalry for the bright spot of 2010. But with a closer look, Evan Meek and the bullpen bullies are really the surprise component of the ever-growing Buccos. And that, right there, is why Mr. Meek, is in All Star.

His name might serve only as a caveaut to Evan’s journey to success, because there is nothing resembling meek, tame, or spiritless about it. Instead, Mr. Meek’s ability to consistently battle back from adversity has made him a prime candidate for all star recognition. He might even serve as a symbol of Neil Huntington’s program of young development.

After being drafted by the Twins in the 12^th round of the 2002 draft, Meek consistently struggled with control problems in the Minnesota farm system, due to lack of confidence and largely to bad advice from minor league coaches.

And while that would be the end of the road for most pitchers, Huntington seemed to realize that the west coast big man was different. The Pirates acquired him with a rule 5 draft pick, and despite some early hurdles of injury and control, Meek battled back yet again, and continued to develop into the Pirates prime weapon in the bullpen.

Meek now has the confidence, the control, and the “stuff” that teams thirst for in the 7^th inning. And when he steps up to the mound, there’s no question that the Pirates’ chances of winning rise as well. Don’t look at the definition of his last name, but rather his game which is, by definition, all-star.

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.