They really do call Semin Jizz!

Good Win-Tough Games Ahead

Are the Santa Sacks something else Hartnell bites? I bet he gets something extra in his stocking!

John Stevens????

My Flyers fan alter ego! Wanna meet this guy.........I have better tats, he has better hair.......

Leadership!

Another great game to watch and two more points for the good guys. Pascal Dupuis must have been listening this summer when Bylsma told him he needed 15-20 goals this year from him. He nets another one, great job! Malkin had two great plays tonite, and his talent lifted the team to victory, yet he had so many plays tonite where he looked out of it.....I hope this gets him going.....same with Feds! Craig Adams and Jordan Staal were beasts, with Adams delivering some big checks, and Staal just dominating defensively and offensively..........the play that Adams skated right through a booming a check in the second period on the half boards in the offensive zone took place right in front of me and it was UNREAL.......same with the play that Staal shook of a hard check behind the net, came out on one knee and got a solid backhand shot on goal.

Anyway, one of the three biggest rivals comes to town for the start of a home and home series limping physically and in their play. If anybody thinks that the Flyers are done because of their current standing, just remember a certain team from the other side of the state that looked HORRIBLE for about three months in the winter last year, and the end result of that! It is an opportunity to put an extra 8 point bulge between the Pens and Flyers if we can take both games..............These two games should be the hockey equivalent of war, and will be a blast to watch........Let the ball busting begin!

Same Old Steelers this year

Thankfully I watched the Pens game, and only caught the second half of this game.....but from what I can see, it is the same old crap that has put them here.........dropped passes, poor line play, big returns against the special teams...and most assuredly HORRIBLE defense.....171 yards rushing, that is more than they get in a month...paper curtain...I just watched Ben take a STUPID sack to make what should be 2nd and ten, second and nineteen to probably seal the deal. That is fitting, as this team for the entire second half of the year, and frankly even for some of the first, has made poor decisions, and flat out just not made plays.........losing to another cupcake, hell even if they tie it and win in overtime, this team has officially made sad sack status for 2009. This Tomlin team makes Cowhers post Super Bowl XL team look like world beaters..........Weak, stupid, gutless...........Another bad throw.......Oh well, time for hockey season to heat up~! Hey Ben, the wait staff at Nakama said no more free drinks!

Time for the Bosses to BOSS

Posts have been fewer and further between this year, a lot going on............as I sit watching an excellent 2-2 game after 2 between the Pens and the Habs, I have to do something I have not done often here, which is criticize the management/coaching of the Penguins..........they have a great record, so perhaps they think they can sweep it under the rug, but the Pens power play is such a joke they truly should consider declining the penalties when the come. And IF the management of this team thinks it is okay that they have the third worst PP in the league because they are still winning, ask the Steelers if they wish they would have looked into some of the trends that have really come home to roost in taking a 6-2 team to 6-6, losing to putrid teams like the Chiefs and Raiders. They ignored the troubling trend of horrid special teams, putrid fourth quarter defense, horrible short yardage offense, and look at them now. Struggling to put away the team from the mistake by the lake to remain above .500. I am not saying that the Pens are destined to suffer a similar fate, but why should we think that it is impossible? I have now heard three different analysts discuss the issues with the Pens power play.........a consistent major symptom seems to be having Malkin and Crosby both on the right side of the ice for most of the time and BOTH gravitating towards playing the half wall because both want to. According to an Eastern Conference scout, this makes defending the Penguins power play easy because the two main threats are on the same side of the ice, allowing the defense to collapse on them and effectively take away the advantage. Add to this the continued issue of too many passes, and too few shots and you have a horrible power play populated by premiere athletes. Despite the fact that one of these guys will not like it, Bylsma needs to dictate that these two players will be on opposite sides of the ice. The power play was very effective in the 2008 playoffs with Malkin on the point and Crosby on the half boards. Malkin was not thrilled with this, but who the F cares? It was effective, and the team won. This is the first time I have heard of issues that lead me to believe that our superstars are not as "team first" as I had always believed. If Bylsma and Yeo cannot get one of these two to "take one for the team," what does that say about this team? If the power play were even average, maybe you let it slide, but thus far the PP has been anemic, and a real drain on momentum. The special teams play in the NHL is akin to the turnover ratio in the NFL. If you lose the special teams battle in the NHL you usually the game, just like losing the turnover battle in the NFL. The Pens have defied that stat thus far, but it will not be forever. Finally, an ineffective power play will encourage some of the teams like the Flyers to take runs at our key players if there is little threat of it costing them goals......A deadly power play is as effective as the best enforcer in protecting your star players. Bylsma, it is way past time to exert your control, and not allow for a prima donna attitude to diminish the potential of this marvelously talented group of players. This team is primed to compete for the hardware for years to come, but the tail cannot wag the dog, or their chances at greatness are diminished. Address it sooner, rather than later, as Mike Tomlin will tell you, the road from the top of the mountain to the bottom is not nearly as long as the road up said mountain. If all else remains equal and the PP clicks at all, this team will be very tough to deal with.

Cooke Monster

Not much to say today, but I had to post this photo! Matt Cooke looks like a serial killer in this photo and I love it!

Defending Super Bowl Champs?? Chumps maybe..........

Watching yet another horrible performance by the Steelers against a sub par team, another cornerback drop a sure interception, another game in which the offense cannot get a yard when it needs it, super Ben Roethlesberger has great stats but throws a killer pick in the end zone, and another game when the supposedly great Steelers D cannot put away a shitty team has me very happy that it is hockey season.......Ike Taylor just made another stupid play allowing the Raiders to get our 20 yard line with 27 seconds left..............the team that was supposed to repeat has suddenly become an absolute joke. Mike Tomlin and the entire staff and team should be embarrassed, I know I am embarrassed FOR them. The Raiders have beaten their season high point total and more than doubled their season average. The Raiders had 10 touchdowns all year, and scored a touchdown oneach of their last 3 drives, led by a quarterback that would be third string on ANY team in the league. They had five TD passes all year, and three in one quarter against the Paper Curtain!! A microcosm of a joke of a season from a team that has become the joke of the league in its own rite. Anybody else want to circle another game on the schedule as an easy win when they have given up 4th quarter leads in 5 of their six losses?? I am not sure you could circle a college game as a win with this team! At least we can laugh knowing that Wines Hard is about to have a stroke! And fittingly, Sweed has his hands on the ball in the end zone and cannot catch it! Wow Tomlin, way to unleash hell!!! Congrats to Bruce Gradkowski and Go PENS!!!!

Great Game at the Barn

The antidote to viagra!! Can somebody give me something sharp for my eyes?? Our whole section seemed to be disturbed by this image, sorry folks!

Though the outcome was not what we would like, the game was everything we had expected. Two quality teams playing passionate, fast paced hockey with great goaltending at both ends of the rink. You can not draw any conclusions from a game in early December, but what the hell else would I write about given the fact that many believe the Hawks will take the next step and represent the Western conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Hawks were playing the second night of a back to back while traveling from Chicago to Pittsburgh BUT they were playing the Stanley Cup Champs, and certainly looked to this game as a measuring stick for their development, so lets call it a wash...............and the Pens were missing SIGNIFICANT firepower, Crosby, Goligoski and Kunitz out of the lineup. My short conclusion is that first, there is no guarantee we come out of the East and make it to the Finals, but IF both teams arrive at that destination I saw nothing that leads to me believe that we would not handle the Hawks in a seven game series. That said, of course we would have to MAKE it there, as would they, both teams health would factor in, and we do not know what either team could do at the trading deadline, but I can tell you that leaving Hosebag one series short of the prize for the third year in a row would be REALLY great. On a personal note, Ben Eager is still sensitive about the ass whipping he took at the hands of Gary Roberts a couple of years ago. I happened to mention to him that Gary said hello as Ben was leaving the ice between periods and he offered to fornicate me or something along those lines......I was hurt and confused as that offer did not really seem sincere. So in an attempt to make up with him on his way out for the second period, I mentioned that it was ok, Gary was getting a NEW punching bag for Christmas, and he offered to fornicate me again, RIGHT there on the spot no less, and then to hurt me in some really torturous ways.............I am deeply saddened by our inability to see things eye to eye, Ben! Cant we all just get along? Heres to hoping the Pens and Hawks meet in June and Hosebag tastes bitter disappointment again, along with my new pal Ben! Go Pens!!

On a final note, two things:

First, Jonathan Toews, like Sid and Geno is worth the price of admission alone, and second, as a longtime fan of the Hawks, finding out they signed Hossa was like finding out my friend shit in my living room! Sad but True!