SLAP SHOTS

It's a great day for hockey! Your Pittsburgh Penguins look to get back in the win column tonight as they faceoff against former teammate Jordan Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)The Pens have given up the man advantage 80 times in 20 games this season. They need to play disciplined, tight hockey. Stay outta the box! 2)The Pens are tied for second in the Eastern Conference in points with 26. Let's add to that total tonight! 3)Sid leads the league in points with 30, 12 on the power play. What the puck are you waiting for? Pass it off to Sid! Nothing could be fina than a win in Carolina. Cue up the Crue and let's see some Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

It's a great day for hockey! Your Pittsburgh Penguins are in sunny FLA to take on the Panthers tonight. These are your keys to the game. 1)The Pens have gone 11 straight games with at least 1 power play goal. Take advantage of that man advantage and keep those special teams special! 2)FLA has lost 5 in a row at home. Go into their house and kick 'em while they're down! 3)The Pens are 8-2-0 on the road and 18-5-0 in their last 23 versus the Panthers, winning their last 3 of 4 in FLA. The Pens are road warriors, baby! Let's go in their tonight and score some Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

Get in the fast lane, Grandma. The bingo game is ready to roll! It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Your Pittsburgh Penguins try to shut out the lights on the Tampa Bay Lightining tonight at Consol Energy Center. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)The Pens, at 12-6-0, are tied with NJ for the lead in the Atlantic Division. The Lightining are 9-7-1 on the season. Shut their lights out! 2)The Pens will try to get this win tonight without reigning MVP Evgeni Malkin who suffered a concussion in Friday night's game. The Pens are going to miss Geno's 21 points and need to step up the effort to make up for his loss. Sid is tied for second in NHL scoring with 25 points. He's right behind Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos who has 26. Tonight is a good night to pass him like he's standing still, Sid! 3)Geno's linemate, The Real Deal James Neal is tied for the NHL lead with 12 goals. Real Deal may miss those assists coming from Geno but he still needs to put it on the net. Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

How much fried chicken can you eat? It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Your Pittsburgh Penguins faceoff against the FLA Panthers tonight at Consol Energy Center. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)The Pens are looking for their 8th home win in a row versus FLA. 8 would be great! 2)Sid is tied for the lead in the NHL with 25 points. I'd love nothing more than to hear these words tonight about Sid, "He shoots and scores"! 3)The Flower is supposed to get the start in net tonight. Flower has won his last 5 starts in a row against FLA with a 1.36 GAA. Let's see that Flower bloom! And, please, always remember and don't ever forget to cue the Motley Crue: Goals, Goals, Goals. We've got to score and don't let the opponent get more! Let's Go Pens!!!

50-YARD LINE

Are we starting to see cracks in the foundation of the House that Coach Cliché built? First there were rumors of grumbling in the locker room during the season as the Steelers played their way to an 8-8 record and out of the playoffs. It seemed some players were only out for themselves, not the team. Examples of this would be Mendy’s absence from the game in which he was inactive. Butterfingers Wallace sat out OTAs and training camp and spent the season dropping passes through his butter fingers.  Lamar Woodley disappeared from the field but not the trainer’s room, Twitter, or Facebook.  People were concerned that cutting some of the leaders of the team (Ward, Smith, Farrior) would cut off the team’s nose to spite its face. Perhaps it’s more a case of the team not developing players and/or leaders. As the years go by, more and more of the players that earned Super Bowl rings will be leaving, either by choice or by necessity. We’re hearing stories of “anonymous teammates” and of players speaking out of turn. It seems that as more and more of Coach Chin’s players depart the scene and Coach Cliché’s players dominate the locker room, it’s all crashing down like a house of cards. These players are acting more like school children instead of the professional athletes that they are paid handsomely to be.  As free agency and the draft draw near, GM Colbert and Coach Cliché need to take a hard look at the players they bring into the fold. You don’t just want players that can perform on the field. You also want model, upstanding citizens in the locker room and in the community. Pick your players wisely. Go Steelers!!!!!!

SLAP SHOTS

I'll be cow-kicked! It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Your Pittsburgh Penguins faceoff against the Philthedelphia Cryers tonight at Consol Energy Center. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)The Pens have a 3 game winning streak going. 3 wins in a row? Let's get more with #4! 2)Sid has 7 points in his last 3 games. He has 24 on the season, 2nd in the NHL. What the puck, give it to Sid! 3)Flower is 6-1-0 with a 2.01 goals against on the season. The Flower is blossoming! Remember, it's the Cryers tonight. Let's see some Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

How much fried chicken can you eat? It's a great day for hockey as your Pittsburgh Penguins shuffle off to Buffalo to faceoff against the Sabres today. These are your keys to the game. 1)The Pens are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games. They've really been road warriors this year, too. They're 7-2-0 overall on the road and have given up the fewest goals on the road at 2 per game. On the road again! 2)Sid has scored at least 1 point in 12 games during his career at Buffalo. Sid must like the Buffalo wings! 3)This game will be a Tale of 2 Power Plays. The Pens have scored with the man advantage in 7 straight games. Meanwhile, Buffalo is 1 for 30 on the power play in their last 8 games. Take advantage of that man advantage! Goals, Goals, Goals, for sure! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

It's a great day for hockey! Your Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Winnipeg tonight to ground the Jets. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)The Pens blocked 23 shots in their win over Ottawa on Wednesday. Gimme a "D". Gimme a "Fense". What's that spell? D-Fense! 2)Sid had another 3-point game on Wednesday. He has recorded 4 3-point games in his last 7 contests. Feed it to the captain. He knows what to do with it! 3)The Pens are 15-3-0 in their last 18 matchups versus Winnipeg, outscoring them 73-43. Goals, Goals, Goals, baby! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Your Pittsburgh Penguins look to veto the Ottawa Senators tonight at Consol Energy Center. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)After dropping the home-and-home series with NJ over the weekend, the Penguins are looking to avoid their first 3-game losing streak of the season. Let's hope they also avoid the penalty box, as it's become their home away from home. Stay out of the box and tighten up, boys! 2)Sid has 49 points in 38 games vs. the Sens in his career including 28 in 18 at home. What the puck, give it to Sid! 3)The Pens only scored 2 goals combined in the losses over the weekend. What's that tell us? Our boys of winter need to fire up the Motley Crue. Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

THE BULLPEN

It’s that time of year again, folks. Time for pitchers and catchers to report and hope to spring eternal.  Your Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to contend for the NL Central crown and, in the process, avoid a 21^st consecutive losing season. Are you familiar with the phrase “when they think they have the answers, I change the questions”? The Pirates have a similar mindset in that they never have the answers and continuously have questions. Considering the Pittsburgh Baseball Club has had 20 straight losing seasons, I’m going to look at 20 questions for the 2013 campaign. 

1)What’s up with the right field and first base platoons? Will any player ever step up and take control of one of these positions? How many candidates are there? Let me count the ways: In right field we have Travis Snider (anyone with the twitter tag LunchBoxHero is a fave of mine), Jerry Sands (came over from the BoSox in the Hammer deal) and Jose Tabata. First base is looking at a GI Jones/Gaby Sanchez platoon. Which brings us to our next question.

2)Can GI Jones duplicate his output of 2012, 27 HR, .274 BA, 86 RBI? If so, that may answer the first base question.

3)Can Homeboy Neil Walker stay healthy? He was on his way to a good season last year but got derailed in the closing months due to a balky back. Is Homeboy back (pun intended)?

4)Can Clutch continue to be clutch and win the MVP?

5)Who is leading off?

6)Can Starling Marte make it through a full, big league season and live up to his potential?

7)Is Petey ready to step up to the plate and protect Clutch by batting cleanup?

8)Can the catchers throw anyone out any baserunners? I would like to think that Russell Martin is an upgrade over Barajas both behind the plate and at the plate.

9)Can the pitchers help out their catchers by holding runners on base and have a quicker delivery to the plate?

10)Can Grilled Cheese be the next Hammer?

11)Can AJ do it again this season?

12)Will the real JMac please stand up?

13)Will Gerrit Cole make his MLB debut this season? If so, when?

14)Can Boney Hurdle get this team over the hump and keep them in contention without falling apart as they’ve done the past 2 seasons?

15)Can Charlie Morton come back from Tommy John surgery and contribute?

16)If the Pirates fall out of the race, will Neal Huntington have a fire sale?

17)If the Pirates are in contention at the trade deadline, will they pull the trigger on a deal to get them into the playoffs?

18)If he falls to them, will the Pirates draft Mark Appel?

19)If Grilled Cheese is not the answer for the closer role, who is?

20)Like the Nationals added William Taft to their President’s race, will the Pirates add another pierogie?

The Pirates no longer have the Astros to make them look good in the NL Central. The Cardinals are going to be without Chris Carpenter but I don’t think that’s enough to slow them down. The Brewers have steroid issues hanging over Ryan Braun’s head. Maybe his brawn is medically enhanced. Corey Hart is also hurt and it’s not known when he’ll return. The Reds have pretty  much stayed pat except for the addition of Shin-Soo Choo.  The Cubs have been relatively silent this offseason. Does all this mean the Pirates can contend or, at the very least, have a winning season? Only time will tell. I will make a bold prediction though and say that this is the year the streak ends. 87 wins, 75 losses. Someone right this down and we’ll see where we’re at in October. Let’s Go Bucs!!!!!

 

 

SLAP SHOTS

It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Your Pittsburgh Penguins look to exact a little revenge against NJ for yesterday's loss as they take on the Jersey Boys tonight at Consol Energy Center. These are your keys to the game. 1)The Pens gave NJ 10 power play opportunities yesterday. There's only one way to eliminate giving your opponent the man advantage. Stay outside the box! The penalty box, that is. 2)Former Penguin Johan Hedberg is expected to get the start in goal for NJ. Hedberg is 0-4-1 with a 3.98 GAA in 5 starts in Pittsburgh. Beat him like a rented mule! 3)The Pens have outscored NJ 21-10 in taking 6 of the past 7 home games against the Jersey Boys. Goals, Goals, Goals, baby! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

Michael, Michael, motorcycle, it's a great day for hockey! Your Pittsburgh Penguins faceoff against the Jersey Boys in a battle of Eastern Conference Atlantic Division powers. This are your keys to the game. 1)The Pens are riding a 5 game winning streak. During that winning streak the Pens have outscored the opposition 23-8 and are 7 of 19 on the power play. Sounds like a recipe for win number 6! 2)Also during the winning streak Sid & Geno have combined for 4 goals and 16 points. Sid has a 6 game scoring streak. Goals, Goals, Goals! 3)It hasn't been just all offense. In the win over the Craps, the Pens recorded 19 hits and blocked 12 shots on the way to winning 58% of their faceoffs. The Flower has also blossomed. He had 23 saves for his 5th win of the season. Gimme a D. Gimme a fense. What's that spell? D-Fense! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

Great balls of fire, it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh! Your Pittsburgh Penguins take on Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Crapitals tonight at Consol Energy Center. These are your keys to the game. 1)The Pens killed 7 power plays versus the Isles on Tuesday night. True, it's not cool to see so many Penguins in the penalty box. They need to clean that up. However, if you're going to go to the box and give your opponent the man advantage, it's good to shut 'em down! 2)The Penguins are riding a 4 game winning streak. Let's keep the drive alive with number 5! 3)The Pens and the Craps are going in to completely different directions. The Pens sit stop the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division at 7-3-0 with 14 points. The Craps, meanwhile, are in the cellar of the Eastern Conference Southeast Division with a 2-7-1 record and 5 points. Talk about polar opposites! Their big man, Ovie, only has 5 points in 10 games. The Pens have a bad habit this season of taking the bad teams too lightly. Don't sleep on these guys! Ovie will want to light the lamp tonight in the House of Sid. We need some Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

It's a great day for hockey! Your Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Isles of Misfit Toys tonight on Long Island. These are your keys to the game. 1)The Pens are looking for a season high 4 wins in a row. Let's keep this streak going! 2)The Pens were 2 of 3 on the power play versus the Crapitals. We have to take advantage of the man advantage. Keep it up! 3)All 6 of the Pens wins have been against playoff teams. You have to beat the good teams and beat up on the bad teams, fellas! Also, congrats to Chris Kunitz. Chris had 5 goals over the weekend and was named one of the NHL's Stars of the Week. Keep putting it on the net, Chris! Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

Look out Loretta, it's a great day for hockey! Your Pittsburgh Penguins look to make it two in a row as they take on the Crapitals today in DC. These are your keys to today's game. 1)The Pens are looking for their 5th road victory in 6 road games this season. Love that takeout food! 2)The Craps ate 2-5-1 this season. Both of their wins have come at home. Let's see, the Pens love to win on the road and the Craps' only victories have come at home. Something's got to give! 3)Alex Ovechkin (rhymes with "Hit him in the chin") has recorded 2 of his 3 total points at home. That's ok because Sid is starting to come around. He scored 1 goal and had 2 assists yesterday. Let's see some Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!

SLAP SHOTS

Technically, it's a hockey day in Pittsburgh. No matter how you slice it, your Pittsburgh Penguins faceoff this afternoon against the Jersey Boys at Consol (Lackoff) Energy Center. These are your keys to today's game. 1)Wednesday night, against NY, the Pens killed all 4 power plays. In Jersey's last game, a loss to the Isles, they gave up 3 of 4 power play goals. Sounds like the shot in the arm our special teams needs. Score early, score often, score BIG! 2)There's no place like home? Every other team in the NHL has at least one point on their home ice. The Pens are still looking to get off the schneid at home. How about wearing the road gear for home games? 3)Marc Andre Fleury is getting the start in net today. He is 5-1-0 with a 1.49 GAA in his past 6 home games versus New Jersey. Let the Flower bloom! Time to go out their and beat old man Brodeau like a rented mule. Remember: Goals, Goals, Goals! Let's Go Pens!!!