BACK ON TRACK?

The Captain showed the way tonight. These are the things the team captain does. Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists (4 points) after going scoreless in two games against the Islanders. It was Crosby's 23rd 4-point game since his rookie year of 2005-006, the most in the NHL over that period.

Crosby's had an assist on the first goal (by Malkin) to reach 600 points in his career, the 7th youngest NHL player to reach 600 points. Malkin's goal was his 48th and I'm betting he will get 50 by the end of the regular season. Crosby's goal then made it 2-1.

When Crosby AND Malkin score the Pens have only been defeated three times, ever.

Pascal Dupuis had an assist to extend his scoring streak to 13 games, the longest in the NHL this season. He also made a tremendous save in the final minute of the game in an empty net with Brent Johnson down on the ice.

Speaking of Brent Johnson, he played well taking into consideration how much time he has missed (his last game was in Buffalo in February). He also made a tremendous save to keep the score at 4-3. He shook of two bad goals early and proved why he is the consummate professional. It's much better to know he is the backup in the playoffs and not Brad Thiessen.


The final two minutes were interesting as Malkin inadventantly shot the puck over the glass and the Pens were shorthanded from their to the end of the game. But everyone played frantic defense, with Brooks Orpik blocking a couple of shots, and Jordan Staal got the empty net goal to secure the 5-3 victory.

Jame Neal scored the third goal for the Penguins on a beautiful pass from Crosby off of a rush on the power play.

It was a closely contested game as they all will be from here on and into the playoffs so it was good the Pens resurrected their A-game.

IS THE BARON FORGOTTEN?

Baron Batch

Since he didn't even play a preseason game I think almost everyone, including analists, have forgotten the Steelers still have Baron Batch on the RB depth chart. People are predicting the Steelers will take the likes of Lamar Miller (RB Miami) and whatnot. Batch should be as ready as anyone coming back from an injury because by the time camp rolls around he will have been rehabbing for almost a full year.

He was so "fresh" there isn't even a photo of him available online in a Pittsburgh uniform, just practice duds. So I will be amazed if he does not come back to do the great things I expected him to do when I heard the Steelers had drafted him last year.

Regarding other draft possibilities:

Safety Mark Baron from Alabama.

Baron

Nose guards Dontari Poe (Memphis) or Alameda Ta'amu (Washington).

Poe

OL--Cordy Glenn (Georgia), Kelechi Osemele (Iowa State), Jonathan Martin (Stanford) or Mike Adams (Ohio State).

Martin

Linebackers--Dont’a Hightower, (Alabama), Luke Kuechly (Boston College or Courtney Upshaw (Alabama). Actually, I'll take almost ANY player from the Alabama defense. They are beasts!!

Hightower

Upshaw

We shall see. Less than a month to go.

LOBBING GRENADES

It has been reported that all week Kentucky's John Calipari has been "lobbing grenades" at Louisville's (and Kentucky's former) coach Rick Pitino. 

Pitino brought the Cats an NCAA Championship then crept away in the dark of night for the NBA where he was out of his element. I really liked (past tense) Pitino but he spurned Kentucky and, outside of Louisville, you just don't do that and expect to remain beloved, or even human. I graduated from UK (with a Masters degree), therefore I know about this.


Again, outside of Louisville, or Lou-a-vull, as it's pronounced in my old Kentucky "home," he is probably the most despised man on the face of the earth. Particularly now when he stands between the Wildcats and a chance at another championship. If you haven't lived in Kentucky there is no way you can comprehend this.


This is probably the biggest basketball game OF ALL TIME for the Wildcats. To defeat Pitino, as it is rightly seen in this situation, is NECESSARY. To win the championship would just be GRAVY. Losing the the championship game would be OK compared to losing to Pitino. Losing in the championship game could be seen as an improvement over last season. I'm not saying losing the championship game would be good but losing to Pitino would be OFF THE CHARTS HORRENDOUS, something that would be remembered forever at Kentucky. Remember Pearl Harbor? That was a just bad day. To Louisville this is a BIG game. To died-in-the-wool Kentucky fans it is THE game.


So all I am saying, as a graduate of UK, is:

AFC NORTH

From Bob Labriola's Column:

ITEM: Competition likely at PK, along offensive line [in Baltimore]
With 11 seconds left in an AFC Championship Game that the Baltimore Ravens were losing by three points, kicker Billy Cundiff badly missed a 32-yard field goal, and the New England Patriots advanced to Super Bowl XLVI.

Maybe that one miss won’t cost Cundiff his job, but that miss at the end of a season in which he missed 10 attempts has left Coach John Harbaugh interested in having competition for the job this summer.

“Yeah, we’ll probably bring the best group of players to camp that we can,” Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun. “If we can get a kicker who is capable of competing with Billy, we’ll do it. Do you have to draft a guy? Is there a free agent? Is there a guy that will be on the street? That’s kind of hard to determine. We want competition for pretty much every position. I say that so I’m not ruling anything out, but Billy is our kicker. And I would anticipate Billy will be our kicker for the opening game of the season. I think he’ll have a great preseason. I think he’ll have a great season next year, but everybody gets competition and he’s no exception.”

During the recently completed owners meetings, Harbaugh identified another area of his team that needs work.

From ME: I've been meaning to comment on this since it happened (maybe I did but it's worth repeating). Harbaugh seems to take no responsibility for not simply calling a time out to give his kicker time to prepare. In this instance it would have been justified; nothing like Brad Garrett (or was it Billy The Kid) did to his kicker in Dallas. In fact, if I were the coach, it would be understood that my kicker could call a time out himself in such a situation if he did not feel comfortable getting the kick away. In that way the coach does not have to take on the responsibility of "knowing" what his kicker requires.

DOH!

PENS NOW SUCK?

"And he's smilin' like a buther's dog."

What at time for defense and goaltending to collapse, simultaneously .What you'd like to see is well, if your goaltending gets a little shaky, the defense and offense pick it up. Or if you defense gets lax the goaltending makes up for it, along with the offense. But what we have here, is a failure to coordinate. EVERYTHING has gone haywire at once. Yes, the offense, as well. Perhaps mercifully I was out for the evening and forgot to DVR the game. 

Marc-Andre Fleury allowed 10 goals to the Islanders, yesthe Islanders, in the two-game sweep and his goals against average was almost 10 points below his season average prior to that.


The Pens gave up two power play goals and a short handed goal to go with two at even strength.That's completely unsatisfactory for a team that thinks they can win the Cup. I wouldn't want to go into the playoffs on a tremendous winning streak but I also wouldn't want to go in playing like stumble bums.

Crosby drips "claret."

Crosby took a puck to the face and missed part of the second period. The Captain was held scoreless by the Islanders in consecutive games, a team he had scored 25 points against in his last 9 games.

About the only good moment was Pascal Dupuis' 24th goal that tied the game a 1-1 which also extended his scoring streak to 12 games. The goal came with the Pens short handed where Dupuis is at his best.

Dupuis notches his 24th  goal and keeps his scoring streak alive.

I did't see a lot of response," Coach Dan Bylsma said after the game, referring to a response to getting their asses handed to them by the Islanders on Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. I'd have to say that's pretty accurate. Are the Pens worn out? Some of them have played at avery high level for some time now in the absence of Crosby, et al. James Neal has had a career season. 

Need more glove line displays.

In fact, the offense has maintained a VERY high level of play until recently. If the defense can't pull it together we're going to have to see a lot more of this if the Pens plan to go very deep into the playoffs. They're now a full five points behind the Rangers and need even MORE help from others to overtake them. Lundqvist is maintaining his play but Fluery appears to be falling off. That won't cut it.

NHL PLAYOFF SEATING: NOW THEY'RE GETTING IT

Apparently some NHLers are getting what I brought up about a month and a half ago regarding the NHL seating of teams for the playoffs. It seems that they've finally figured out that teams with fewer points should be seated lower than teams with more points! What a concept. This being regardless of whether or not the win their "division."


This is the way it should be. So what does it take?


1. NO DIVISIONS! If you have a rivalry with another team that rivalry still exists whenever you PLAY them. It shouldn't matter how many times that is or if your in some bogus division with them. And maybe some NEW rivalries will be created. That sounds appealing. Let'smake this like golf; every man/woman/tea for her/his/its self.


2. EVERY TEAM PLAYS EVERY OTHER TEAM THE SAME NUMBER OF TIMES! This accomplished two things: 1) It takes the "bitch" factor away from the Western Conference. You know, the whining and moaning over travel. 

It doesn't really seem to affect them though as the Western conference has exactly the same number of teams with 90 points or more as the East. SO SHUT UP! And 2) Since each team plays the same schedule they can be seated by record in their conference. This also allows fans to see teams from the "other" conference more often. That should be a bonus.


So scrap the system that promotes mediocrity and makes play and travel equitable. 


"SO LET IT BE WRITTEN. SO LET IT BE DONE."

Oh, and let the NFL try it, too.

AGREE TO DISAGREE: GAY TO TEBOW

CB WILLIAM GAY IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF THE OFF SEASON--Disagree. I think James Farrior is the most significant loss. It means that the first backup at one of the LB positions will be a rookie or a player with little experience. Plus I think Farrior had at least one good season left in his career and was a leader as defensive captain the past couple of years.

KEENAN (IVORY) LEWIS WILL BE STARTING WITH IKE TAYLOR AT CB NEXT SEASON--Agree. I don't know if it's significant but that will probably be the tandem in September.

THE STEELERS ARE WINNING FREE AGENCY IN THE AFC NORTH--Ah, I dunno. If losing the least represents winning I'd have to answer with a definite maybe. Unfortunately, one of Cincinnati losses was a New England gain which is never good for the Steelers.

THE JETS ADDING TIM TEBOW WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO--Disagree. As I've stated before, this makes the Jets a true circus, hurting Mark Sanchez's confidence and sending out mixed messages to their fans. The question of Tebow's contributions will be continually asked, particularly of the players, and at some point one of them will crack and the controversy will be on.

I HATE GOING UP AGAINST LOSING STREAKS

I hate going up against a losing streak. Before tonight's game I learned the Pens had beaten the Islanders 13-straight times at home. "Bad news," I immediately think. And, yes it was. The Islanders, with The Weak Law of Large Numbers (commonly called the "Law of Averages") in their favor defeated the Penguins 5-3 to snap their losing streak in Pittsburgh and keep the Penguins from taking over first place in the Eastern Conference. The Pens are still only one point behind the Rangers in the standings but the Blue Shirts now have a game in-hand over the Penguins. Therefore, the Ice Birds now need lots of help to win the Division and Conference.

James Neal scored two goals but the Penguins were down to their 9th and 10th defensemen (and it showed), Marc-Andre Fleury gave up 5 goals on 18 shots, Eyvgeni Nabokov played well in goal for the Islanders and that spelled doom for the home team.

Sidney Crosby was held scoreless after having put up 25 points in his last 9 games against the Islanders. The two fill-ins, Despres and Strait, were actually both "even" for the night but Martin and Engelland were both minus as were Dupuis, Neal, Park, Adams, Crosby and Malkin. Which is usually the way it is when you lose.

The Pens are going to have to patch up the defense quickly. After losing lopsidedly to Ottawa and the Islanders in the last three games the tough part of their final stretch starts with a rematch on the Island then on to Buffalo to play the red-hot Sabres. Unfortunately, defenseman  Ben Lovejoy had surgery and will be out 3-4 weeks. So unless the Pens go deep into the playoffs Lovejoy has played his last game this season.

TOMLIN TAKES OWNERSHIP OF ARIANS' FIRING

Steelers' Head Coach Mike Tomlin has come out taking the responsibility for the firing of Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians. It was reported earlier that team president At Rooney II initiated the firing. Tomlin made the statement at the NFL owners meetings.


He also indicated Todd Haley was his choice as the new OC saying, "Don't get me wrong. Art Rooney owns the football team. He can do what he wants but those directives did not happen."

On January 9 Tomlin indicated he expected Arians to return in 2012. The team later forced him out and hired Haley on February 7. The abrupt change indicated to some that Rooney had intervened. Tomlin now states this was not the case but falls short of explaining what really transpired in that month. All he would say is, "I'm not going to apologize for change."

Ben Roethlisberger was very close to Arians. It appeared he had bonded with him in a manner similar as he had with his Miami of Ohio coach, Terry Hoeppner, particularly after Hoeppner died in 2007. It's unlikely Haley will fill those shoes but Roethlisberger is 30 now and should be able to handle this situation in a mature manner. Any contention may come from Haley's comments that Ben needs to change his game, which he does if for no other reason than self-preservation. If he continues to take the hits he's endured thus far in his career that career will not last much longer.

"Through my experience with both men I anticipate them getting along great because both guys have a desire to be great at what they do," said Tomlin. "Both guys are singularly focused on winning world championships for the Pittsburgh Steelers and that's a great place to begin."

WHEN IS A SUSPENSION NOT A SUSPENSION?

I guess when it involves Sean Payton! Now hear this...  So much for taking your punishment and acting humble and remorseful. Peyton supposedly is talking with "The Big Tuna," Bill Parcells, about coaching the Saints while he's off doing TV and whatnot during his "suspension."

Payton was Parcells' OC when he was with Dallas so they're buds. But I'm wonderin', "Where is Rodger "The Suspender" Goodell in all this? Didn't he put any stipulations on the most sever suspension of any coach in NFL history? Or is Peyton going to be allowed to run amock and do whateve he pleases? And do that include say daily consultation calls to "The Tuna" throught the season when he supposed to be "suspended?" When player is suspended he is not even allowed to talk with his teammates. But it appears this will not apply to Peyton. 

Goodell, you're a real piece of work! I wish you had been this lenient when you suspended our boys Ben and James. 

DOS ACES

Apparently the experts (football writers) have deemed that Tim Tebow "aced" his introduction to the media in New York today. As did Mark Sanchez by video hookup in the South of California. (sorry Mark, no internet images for you. Not to worry. That doesn't mean Tebow is number one. Calm down, son. Anyway...

Tebow and Sanchez apparently both said the right things so a Jets disaster averted for another day.

I'm still not sure how this ting is gong to work out but this is probably what the offense will look like most of the time...

Or it might just look like this...

Who really cares. I'm just gonna sit back and watch the drama.

TIGER WINS!

Last year at this time I would have been excited but the past 12 months have been such a circus with this guy that I no longer care. Sorry. I like his wife better.

WILDCATS ROLL TO FINAL FOUR

My Kentucky Wildcats rolled their way over Indiana and Baylor to make the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans next weekend.

The Cats dispatched Indiana 82-70 getting revenge for one of their two regular season losses by playing strong defense.

The win was Kentucky's 35 of the season.

To reach the final four the Cats ran wild on Baylor 102-90 the highest scoring game of the NCAA tourney thus far. The Cats enter the final four with a season record of 36-2.

Coach Calipari was all-in as he lead his third team into the final four in his career.

There were good feelings all around on the Kentucky bench nearing the final buzzer. This is Kentucky's 15th visit to the final four, winning a total of seven times. Their last championship was in 1998.

To win their 8th championship the Cats must defeat arch intrastate rival Louisville. The play the winner of the Kansas-Ohio State game. The Wildcats defeated both Louisville and Kansas in close games in the regular season.