PENGUINS
Tonight the puck drops for game 1 of our Pens 2nd round series with the Washington Capitals. Sid vs Ovie is being billed as the Main Event. But this match-up is much more than that. Both teams were among the league leaders in goals per game during the regular season. They also were in the Top 10 for goals against. During the playoffs both the Pens and Caps special teams were extra-special. They were ranked tops on the power play and were #1 and #2 on the PK. This will be the first time they've met since that fateful 7-game series back in 2009. You remember that, don't you? The year a new coach took over during the season and put the Pens on the path to the Stanley Cup. It seems destined to happen again this year. The Pens will have to storm Ovie's house to get to Lord Stanley. They have the right coach. They got hot at the right time. And they're just the team to do it. Let's Go Pens!!!
PIRATES
As Mrs. Black-N-Gold types these words, our Pirates are at 12-9, sitting in 2nd place in the NL Central, 3 games out. It's a familiar position for the Bucs. They had the same record at this time last year. And looking up at an opponent that is running away with the division (this year it's the Chicago Cubs at 15-5) gives them the uneasy feeling of deja vu. But something is a little, I don't know, different about the team this year. True, the pitching has been woeful pretty much from the get-go. Hopefully reinforcements will be here soon. But the offense? They lead the NL in hits with 218, batting average at .293, OBP at .379 and are 2nd in OPS at .821. Ok, so maybe they won't lead the league in home runs but thanks to the Atlanta Braves, they won't be worst in that category, either. Plus, CF Andrew McCutchen, one of the worst hitters in the Buccos lineup in the early going, is showing signs of breaking out of his early season doldrums. Mrs. Black-N-Gold always says that the Bucs go as Cutch goes. Yes, it looks like Mrs. Black-N-Gold is finally drinking the Kool-Aid that GM Neal Huntington mixed up back in the offseason. She's even down with OBP. Once they get 3B Jung Ho Kang back in the lineup and add some arms from Triple A, the Pirates can give the Cubs a run for their money. Let's Go Bucs!!!!!
STEELERS
With the 25th pick in this year's draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers take.......Many members of Black-N-Gold Nation are waiting with bated breath to see who our Steelers take in the first round tonight. Will it be a shutdown corner that they desperately need? Or maybe a defensive lineman to add some depth to a thin unit? How about taking yet another linebacker? Mrs. Black-N-Gold isn't sure whose name will be called. All she knows is that all signs are pointing to the Steelers taking a player on the defensive side of the ball with their 1st pick . The majority of the players that visited the team's South Side facilities leading up to the draft were defensive players, mostly of the secondary nature. The Steelers haven't gone with a corner in the 1st round in almost 20 years, when they took Chad Scott back in 1997. Of course, GM Kevin Colber and Head Coach Mike Tomlin are being coy about what player they'll choose. They have led the media to believe that they're just fine with the likes of CBs Ross Cockrell and Senquez Golson, talking the 2 players up leading up to tonight's draft. However, most mock drafts aren't buying it, linking the Steelers to some of the best corners available at the bottom of the 1st round. Mrs. Black-N-Gold wants to see the Steelers draft corners and safeties early and often this year. It's a passing league. You need to have players who can cover the pass. Pick a winner. Let's Go Steelers!!!!!!
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