BLACK-N-GOLD N'AT

     Mrs. Black-N-Gold can't stop grinning from ear to ear. This is a wonderful time of year to be a fan of the Black-N-Gold. Today she reflects on why this is such a special time for be a fan of your Pittsburgh Penguins, Pirates and Steelers.

     As Mrs. Black-N-Gold types these words, the Pens are waiting for the puck to drop in Colorado. They open a 4-game road trip against the Avalanche, riding a 4-game winning streak. GM Jim Rutherford made a few deadline deals last week, trading D Robert Bortuzzo for D Ian Cole and D Simon Depres for D Ben Lovejoy. He also traded away a few draft picks and F Zach Sill for F Daniel Winnick prior to the deadline. Will these moves put the Pens over the top? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that it's beginning to look a lot like Stanley Cup season as the Pens gear up for a Cup run. G Marc-Andre Fleury continues to play out of his mind. C Sidney Crosby and C Evgeni Malking look to, finally, be clicking on all cylinders, too. The recent line changes by Coach Mike Johnston may have awoken the Pens from the months-long slumber. Just in time for the playoffs. Let's Go Pens!!!

      Hopefully, by the time you read this, Mrs. Black-N-Gold will be making her long-awaited pilgrimage to Bradenton to see the Bucs battle the Rays in a spring training tilt on Saturday. Yes, it looks like spring may be finally in the air. The Pirates won their first spring training game on Tuesday, defeating Toronto 8-7. Good news from that game: Both INF Jung Ho Kang and 1B Pedro Alvarez connected for homers. If ever there were two players that needed to get off on the right foot this spring, it was Kang and Pedro. Unfortunately, the Buccos lost to the Jays yesterday 4-1. But the beauty is it's spring and it's early. There is plenty of time for the Pirates to work things out en route to the NL Central title and the World Series. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!

      The Steelers have many tough decisions ahead of them in the coming weeks. They have been busy restructuring contracts to clear some cap space. They also need to work out a deal with QB Ben Roethlisberger who is in the final year of his current contract. Speaking of contracts, the Steelers failed to tag OLB Jason Worilds, deciding to let him enter the free agent market. Will they replace him in free agency or via the draft? Or will they bring back OLB James Harrison for one more go-round? They still need to make some tough calls on the fate of S Troy Polamalu, CB Ike Taylor and DE Brett Keisel, too. With free agency just around the corner and the draft after that, keep an eye here for the latest transactions as the Steelers look to get back to the Super Bowl and Lombardi #7.  Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!