TAKEAWAYS

     It was a tough weekend for the Black-N-Gold Nation. Our Steelers and Pens both lost on Sunday. It wasn't a fun day. Meanwhile, our Pirates continue to look like the front office is abandoning ship instead of trying to load up for another run. Today Mrs. Black-N-Gold gives you her Takeaways on some of the hot topics that are on everyone's minds.

STEELERS

Our Steelers could be enjoying their offseason sooner than expected following Sunday's loss to the Baltimorons. With that stunning defeat, Mrs. Black-N-Gold has an observation about the Steelers defense: It's all smoke and mirrors. Sure they can make waves with the splash plays. But if they don't force a turnover or get after the quarterback, they make nary a ripple. The secondary continues to be suspect. The tackling lacks technique. And the big athletic tight ends continue to confound them. Until Head Coach Mike Tomlin, DC Keith Butler and the defensive assistants "tackle" these problems, teams all over the league will outplay them. Get it together, D. Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!

PENGUINS

Our Pens showed some improvement on their recent 2-game winning streak, only to fall back to earth in Sunday night's 1-0 loss to Winnipeg. Mrs. Black-N-Gold wonders what this team would have done had C Sidney Crosby been out of the lineup for an extended period of time. Yes, Sid was on the ice for the Pens 3-1 win over Minnesota on Saturday night. But he did not play in the 5-2 win last week versus Columbus, the Pens highest offensive output of the season. Then Mrs. Black-N-Gold got to thinking.....There were the rumors early this season about a rift between Sid and owner Mario Lemieux. And did you hear about the tiff between Sid and C Evgeni Malkin? Mrs. Black-N-Gold realizes this gossip is unfounded. However, what is the common denominator in all this brouhaha? Seems to me like it's Sid. And with the recent hiring of new Head Coach Mike Sullivan, how many coaches has Sid gone through in Pittsburgh? Is it 5? Pens need to get on the stick. Let's Go Pens!!!

PIRATES

It looks like our Pirates are going to try to do more with less this season, less talent, that is. For a team that was on the cusp last year with 98 wins, you'd think that they'd move heaven and earth to get over the hump and into a World Series. But no, it's a bridge year. The Pirates have decided to cut payroll and slam shut their window of opportunity. Mrs. Black-N-Gold is at a crossroads. She can't decide if these maddening moves (or lack thereof) are the edict of owner Bottom Dollar Bob Nutting or if Neal Huntington and his cronies believe their own hype and think every move they make will turn to gold. Maybe it's all of the above. I'll tell you this, it's not giving this Bucco fan a warm and fuzzy feeling. The Bucs need to stop pinching pennies and start spending some bucks. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!