THE BLACK-N-GOLD NEWS
PENGUINS
The March of the Penguins continued on into April this week as our favorite Black-N-Gold hockey team kept finding the win column. Unfortunately, it was not without a cost. The Pens lost F Bryan Rust to a lower-body injury last week. He is still out of the lineup as his status is day-to-day. Rusty's injury meant the often-traveled F Oskar Sundqvist made the trip down the PA turnpike once again from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The Pens promptly defeated the Nashville Predators on Thursday night, 5-2.
Congrats to C Sidney Crosby. The Captain was named First Star of the Month in the NHL for the month of March. Slap me silly, Sidney!
Prior to the Pens game Saturday against the New York Islanders, it was announced the G Marc-Andre Fleury was out indefinitely due to a concussion. Flower suffered the injury in the win over Nashville. G Matt Murray was named the starter with Jeff Zatkoff backing up. Get well soon, Flower!
The Pens did have a player actually return from injury, if you can believe that. D Brian Dumoulin returned to the ice versus the Isles. The Pens celebrated with a 5-0 victory, clinching a playoff berth for the 10th consecutive season. The rookie Murray recorded his 1st NHL shutout. Congrats to Matt!
The Pens played their final regular season home game on Sunday afternoon. Who better to faceoff against than their intrastate rivals, the Philly Flyers. And what better way to end a fantastic weekend of Black-N-Gold sports than with a 6-2 shellacking of the Cryers. The Pens also notched their 10th straight 100 point season with this victory.
Murray has performed so well in Fleury's absence that he was named the NHL Third Star of the Week. Murray had a 3-0-0 record with a 1.95 GAA and .929 save percentage during that time. Congrats again, Matt!
The Pens are finishing up the regular season on the road. They took their road show to Ottawa last night. They scored 5 unanswered goals (Sid and F Carl Hagelin with 2 apiece) to comeback from down 3-0 to veto the Sens 5-3.
They'll close out the scheduled with a game in DC on Thursday and a visit to Philly on Saturday afternoon. 2 teams Pens fans love to hate. The Pens are 47-25-8 with 102 points. They're looking to secure home ice for the 1st round of the playoffs. Keep finding the net and finding the win column. Let's Go Pens!!!
PIRATES
Our Pirates began their quest for a 6th World Championship this week. But before Opening Day, they had to get their roster in order. They did so by putting Grapefruit League sensation, RH Juan Nicasio in the rotation. That meant RH Ryan Vogelsong moved to the bullpen. They also assigned more players to the minors: Cs Ed Easley and Jacob Stallings, RHs AJ Schugel and Jorge Rondon and LH Jim Fuller. That made room for LHs Corey Luebke and Kyle Lobstein to make the roster. One more move was made prior to the Pirates opener versus St Louie. INF Cole Figueroa was named to the 25-man roster.
Once all the details were hammered out, the Pirates went out and decked the Cards in front of a sellout crowd, 4-1. How did the Bucs celebrate Sunday's win? Why, the signed RF Gregory Polanco to a new deal, of course. El Coffee was signed to a 5-year contract extension that will kick in next season. There are also 2 club options, as well.
And to make everything official, the Buccos also officially placed 3B Jung Ho Kang on the 15-day DL. Kang is expected back sometime this month. Get well soon, Kang Show!
The Pirates took it to extra innings last night but it was worth the wait. SS Jordy Mercer's RBI single in the bottom of the 11th scored Polanco from 2nd to walk it off versus St Louie 6-5. They'll go for the sweep tomorrow night. RH Juan Nicasio will make his Black-N-Gold debut against RH Mike Leake. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!
STEELERS
Those crickets you hear must be coming from our Steelers South Side facility as there's not much activity over there this time of year.
The Steelers did lose another free agent. FB Will Johnson signed with the New York Giants.
They also entertained a potential draft pick. Alabama DL A'Shawn Robinson came in for a visit. The Steelers will continue to visit with players that may have their name called by the Black-N-Gold in this month's draft. Pick a winner! Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!
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