We talk about the Pens' loss to the Rangers, the effects of playing a full season as the favorites, whether a man who owns one suit and has no professional coaching experience is the answer for the Caps, the Steelers' snoozer in K.C, and even the NBA and BCS (but only briefly, we promise).
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Selasa, 29 November 2011
Senin, 28 November 2011
GTOPG: Steelers Beat Chiefs, 13-9; Top 7 Reasons Why That Was Terrible
By Artistry
There are no style points in the National Football League. No matter how the Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, they beat the Kansas City Chiefs. They kept pace with Baltimore, and their 8-3 record keeps them in contention for the top seed in the AFC. Having said that, Jesus was that game terrible. Abominable. Verging on unwatchable. Here are 7 reasons why:
7. Troy Polamalu might have just hit a wall. And, unfortunately, he hit it with his head. He's only 30, but it's like a neanderthal, living in a cave, fighting the elements, clubbing wild animals on the head for food kind of 30. His reckless, dangerous tackling form - combined with explosive speed and instincts - makes him great, but it also makes him a perpetual injury risk. And that guy Polamalu hurtled into head first in the 1st quarter wasn't a running back or a tight end. It was 6-6, 290 pound tackle Steve Maneri. Seeing Polamalu stay down after that hit, then watching him looking dazed on the bench, streaks of silver lining his once jet black hair, it didn't feel right.
6. The defense continues to underwhelm opponents. The 3 interceptions don't mean anything. If you don't intercept Tyler Palko at least three times, you're just not trying. Here's the thing. The Steelers defense consistently sets the tone for games by giving up lengthy, time-consuming scoring drives as soon as it hits the field. I can't tell you how many times this has happened this season because I'm not looking it up, but it happened again on Sunday. Against Tyler Palko.
5. Tyler Palko. Never have we seen a quarteback gesticulate so wildly in the direction of his receivers to suggest they are somehow at fault for him underthrowing them by 20 yards. Truly impressive. Consider that Dwayne Bowe failed to make any effort to catch Tyler Palko's final pass just to see Tyler Palko's reaction. As NBC's Chris Collinsworth noted, Palko was "throwing sliders" out there. Come to think of it, having to listen to Chris Collinsworth only enhanced the unpleasantness of being subjected to 4 quarters of Tyler Palko.
We've got 4 more reasons the Steeler game was terrible, and none of them are good, after the jump...
4. General Ben won't leave any man behind, but he sure leaves a lot of plays on the field. In 15 years when NFL Films rolls out a highlight package of Ben Roethlisberger's stellar career, we'll see lots of plays like his brilliant Olé of an oncoming rusher and feathery pass to Wesley Saunders in the back of the endzone. We won't see him throwing into double coverage or winning games 13-9 when they should have been 30-9. I wouldn't trade him for anyone except Aaron Rodgers, but the man makes greatness look pretty crappy sometimes. All credit to Finesse for identifying the frustrating Ben paradox on this podcast.
3. There was a lot of ball-dropping happening out there. Mewelde Moore, in the game near the goal-line because he's supposed to be a ball-protector, fumbled (Query: has there been a Steelers' feature back less featured than Rashard Mendenhall?). Heath Miller had a couple of passes hit him in the hands that he couldn't bring down. And the increasingly cocky Mike Wallace first dropped a touchdown pass and then a perfectly thrown Big Ben bomb. He's about two of these sub-par games away from being Torrey Smith.
2. Mike Tomlin and his staff had an extra week to prepare for Tyler Palko and almost lost.
1. This game was better than Ambien. Finesse fell asleep while listening to the game on the radio, woke up while it was still going on, turned it off, then went back to sleep. Which is why I'm writing this recap, because lord knows I didn't want to.
The Steelers host Cincy next week. The Ravens get Cleveland. And you know Baltimore is going to lose one of these.
There are no style points in the National Football League. No matter how the Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, they beat the Kansas City Chiefs. They kept pace with Baltimore, and their 8-3 record keeps them in contention for the top seed in the AFC. Having said that, Jesus was that game terrible. Abominable. Verging on unwatchable. Here are 7 reasons why:
7. Troy Polamalu might have just hit a wall. And, unfortunately, he hit it with his head. He's only 30, but it's like a neanderthal, living in a cave, fighting the elements, clubbing wild animals on the head for food kind of 30. His reckless, dangerous tackling form - combined with explosive speed and instincts - makes him great, but it also makes him a perpetual injury risk. And that guy Polamalu hurtled into head first in the 1st quarter wasn't a running back or a tight end. It was 6-6, 290 pound tackle Steve Maneri. Seeing Polamalu stay down after that hit, then watching him looking dazed on the bench, streaks of silver lining his once jet black hair, it didn't feel right.
6. The defense continues to underwhelm opponents. The 3 interceptions don't mean anything. If you don't intercept Tyler Palko at least three times, you're just not trying. Here's the thing. The Steelers defense consistently sets the tone for games by giving up lengthy, time-consuming scoring drives as soon as it hits the field. I can't tell you how many times this has happened this season because I'm not looking it up, but it happened again on Sunday. Against Tyler Palko.
5. Tyler Palko. Never have we seen a quarteback gesticulate so wildly in the direction of his receivers to suggest they are somehow at fault for him underthrowing them by 20 yards. Truly impressive. Consider that Dwayne Bowe failed to make any effort to catch Tyler Palko's final pass just to see Tyler Palko's reaction. As NBC's Chris Collinsworth noted, Palko was "throwing sliders" out there. Come to think of it, having to listen to Chris Collinsworth only enhanced the unpleasantness of being subjected to 4 quarters of Tyler Palko.
 |
| "This one is coming right to you, Ike." |
4. General Ben won't leave any man behind, but he sure leaves a lot of plays on the field. In 15 years when NFL Films rolls out a highlight package of Ben Roethlisberger's stellar career, we'll see lots of plays like his brilliant Olé of an oncoming rusher and feathery pass to Wesley Saunders in the back of the endzone. We won't see him throwing into double coverage or winning games 13-9 when they should have been 30-9. I wouldn't trade him for anyone except Aaron Rodgers, but the man makes greatness look pretty crappy sometimes. All credit to Finesse for identifying the frustrating Ben paradox on this podcast.
 |
| "Yep, my arm is still attached. Good to go." |
2. Mike Tomlin and his staff had an extra week to prepare for Tyler Palko and almost lost.
1. This game was better than Ambien. Finesse fell asleep while listening to the game on the radio, woke up while it was still going on, turned it off, then went back to sleep. Which is why I'm writing this recap, because lord knows I didn't want to.
The Steelers host Cincy next week. The Ravens get Cleveland. And you know Baltimore is going to lose one of these.
 |
| "We are definitely going to lose one of these." |
Caps Fire Boudreau, Hire Coach with Even Worse Record Against Penguins
By GTOG Staff
His hand apparently forced by Alex Ovechkin and his highly paid, highly touted, totally uninspired band of underachieving brothers, Washington Capitals GM George McPhee fired coach Bruce Boudreau and replaced him with a guy who has a proven track record of losing playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in spectacular fashion.
We're genuinely surprised it took so long. It's been nearly a full year since, after watching Boudreau address the Caps locker room during HBO's first episode of 24/7, Mrs. Artistry declared: "He's totally getting fired." Every day that we've been able to look at the Capitals bench and see Bruce Boudreau standing behind it has brought a sense of warmth and security that we may never experience again.
Much more on Boudreau and Hunter after the jump...
It's hard for some to say that Boudreau is a "bad" coach given his regular season success with the Caps, but it's not hard for us to say it. As we've written before, Boudreau was incapable of getting his team to do more than one thing at a time: they were either leading the league in goals, or were focused on being a shutdown team defensively. Not surprisingly, neither approach worked because you need to do both. In that respect, he was way out of his league. But the biggest flaw with the Capitals over their history has not been talent or system; it's been emotion and attitude. They are incapable of handling success (see: countless playoff flameouts as "the favorite") and they are similarly incapable of handling failure (see: snowball effect once they lose one playoff game). Boudreau did nothing to change this; instead, he perpetuated it. He pumped his team's and star player's tires relentlessly when things were going well and threw everyone he could get his meathooks on under the bus at the first sign of trouble.
But the Ovechkin-era Caps' failures (to this point) do not rest on Boudreau. The lion's share of the blame needs to go to the captain, The Great-In-Two-Thousand-And-8. He was lauded as a young player for displaying intense passion and emotion in every regular season game and reacting to regular season goals as if he had just won the Stanley Cup. Lost in the euphoria was the fact that the euphoria was the problem. The NHL regular season is 82 games long, and then you have to win 16 more games to win the Cup. If you're hurtling yourself into the boards and unleashing primitive screams when you score to put your team up 4-1 in the second period over Florida in a game in November, chances are you're going to grip your stick tighter than a Shake-Weight when you lose a Game 1 in the opening round. Ovechkin is the definition of getting too high and too low; Boudreau was the enabler, McPhee the acquirer, and Leonsis the financier.
So with Boudreau out the door, what will Dale Hunter bring, aside from an unshakable commitment to hitting unsuspecting players from behind? It's a defensible but extremely risky choice by McPhee. Hunter will surely command respect and get a better effort out of a lineup that on paper should challenge the Penguins and Bruins in the East. Maybe that's all that's needed. But forget the NHL, Dale Hunter has never coached a single game at the AHL level. Will he implement a system that will allow the Capitals to stay consistently competitive if and when they slump or sustain injuries to key players? Does he have a coaching philosophy that goes beyond telling Sasha Semin to backcheck? Is having the balls to take the "C" away from Alex Ovechkin really all that's needed here? We don't know. As the smoke clears and the dust settles in our nation's capital this morning, only one thing is clear: Dale Hunter is a gigantic asshole.
We'll have Steelers/Chiefs GTOPG analysis coming later today.
His hand apparently forced by Alex Ovechkin and his highly paid, highly touted, totally uninspired band of underachieving brothers, Washington Capitals GM George McPhee fired coach Bruce Boudreau and replaced him with a guy who has a proven track record of losing playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in spectacular fashion.
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| "Thank you Mario, may I have another?" |
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| "My face, head, and neck are a singular entity." |
It's hard for some to say that Boudreau is a "bad" coach given his regular season success with the Caps, but it's not hard for us to say it. As we've written before, Boudreau was incapable of getting his team to do more than one thing at a time: they were either leading the league in goals, or were focused on being a shutdown team defensively. Not surprisingly, neither approach worked because you need to do both. In that respect, he was way out of his league. But the biggest flaw with the Capitals over their history has not been talent or system; it's been emotion and attitude. They are incapable of handling success (see: countless playoff flameouts as "the favorite") and they are similarly incapable of handling failure (see: snowball effect once they lose one playoff game). Boudreau did nothing to change this; instead, he perpetuated it. He pumped his team's and star player's tires relentlessly when things were going well and threw everyone he could get his meathooks on under the bus at the first sign of trouble.
But the Ovechkin-era Caps' failures (to this point) do not rest on Boudreau. The lion's share of the blame needs to go to the captain, The Great-In-Two-Thousand-And-8. He was lauded as a young player for displaying intense passion and emotion in every regular season game and reacting to regular season goals as if he had just won the Stanley Cup. Lost in the euphoria was the fact that the euphoria was the problem. The NHL regular season is 82 games long, and then you have to win 16 more games to win the Cup. If you're hurtling yourself into the boards and unleashing primitive screams when you score to put your team up 4-1 in the second period over Florida in a game in November, chances are you're going to grip your stick tighter than a Shake-Weight when you lose a Game 1 in the opening round. Ovechkin is the definition of getting too high and too low; Boudreau was the enabler, McPhee the acquirer, and Leonsis the financier.
 |
| "Check that guy in section 412; he may have a Pittsburgh zip code on his credit card." |
We'll have Steelers/Chiefs GTOPG analysis coming later today.
Minggu, 27 November 2011
GTOG Podcast: Talking “Goon” with the producer of the next great hockey movie
By GTOG Staff
Pittsburgh native Jesse Shapira started his Hollywood journey with a passion for hockey and a biography about a minor league enforcer no one had ever heard of. He ended up with the authentic and hilarious "Goon," starring Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber, Jay Baruchel, and Allison Pill. "Goon" will be in theaters in March (and on-demand in February), and the film is building undeniable momentum due to glowing reviews like the ones here, here, here, here, and here.
We sat down with Shapira to talk about how he managed to convince the writers of "Superbad" to take a chance on the project, the absolute enormity of Big Georges Laraque, and what's in store for the sequel that we are demanding. It's fun. It's emotional. It's the GTOG podcast.
You can listen to the podcast on the players below, or click here to subscribe to the GTOG Podcast on iTunes.
For iPhone/iPad devices:
[Trailer has some family-unfriendly language]
Pittsburgh native Jesse Shapira started his Hollywood journey with a passion for hockey and a biography about a minor league enforcer no one had ever heard of. He ended up with the authentic and hilarious "Goon," starring Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber, Jay Baruchel, and Allison Pill. "Goon" will be in theaters in March (and on-demand in February), and the film is building undeniable momentum due to glowing reviews like the ones here, here, here, here, and here.
We sat down with Shapira to talk about how he managed to convince the writers of "Superbad" to take a chance on the project, the absolute enormity of Big Georges Laraque, and what's in store for the sequel that we are demanding. It's fun. It's emotional. It's the GTOG podcast.
You can listen to the podcast on the players below, or click here to subscribe to the GTOG Podcast on iTunes.
For iPhone/iPad devices:
[Trailer has some family-unfriendly language]
GTOPG: Pens Do What's Right; Win in Montreal 4-3
By Finesse
Make no mistake about it, this was a huge win. Another two points for Geno. Letang with a heroic effort. No panic after falling down 3-1. Carey Price getting owned by Jordan Staal on Staal's breakaway. Dupuis with a face of unmatched intensity throughout the whole game. And Sid calling out Nick Foligno in the postgame press conference for what Foligno is -- an idiot.
Other things ... Pacioretty should be suspended, and will be ... good for the referee for not blowing the whistle on the game winning goal ... and good for the Penguins for playing until they heard a whistle.
No time for full recap today, but Pensblog gets the job done.
Make no mistake about it, this was a huge win. Another two points for Geno. Letang with a heroic effort. No panic after falling down 3-1. Carey Price getting owned by Jordan Staal on Staal's breakaway. Dupuis with a face of unmatched intensity throughout the whole game. And Sid calling out Nick Foligno in the postgame press conference for what Foligno is -- an idiot.
Other things ... Pacioretty should be suspended, and will be ... good for the referee for not blowing the whistle on the game winning goal ... and good for the Penguins for playing until they heard a whistle.
No time for full recap today, but Pensblog gets the job done.
Sabtu, 26 November 2011
GTOPG: Pens have tough practice; Win 6-3
By Finesse
When the Pens score six goals, our instinct is to pump the Pens tires, say things like "never get too high or too low" while we secretly spray each other with champagne, and run statistical models to figure out the percentage chance that Geno and Sid finish 1-2 in scoring (14%). But on this morning, there's really nothing to say other than Ottawa Sucks.
The Sens jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, largely because of Kris Letang being lazy (more on that in a minute), then spent the next 8 minutes watching, waiting, watching, and then waiting again while the statisticians confirmed that yes, Jason Spezza is the most un-impactful point-per-game player in the modern era. By the time we all looked up, it was 4-1 Pens and Sens backup goalie Alex Auld made the decision on his own to just hop the boards and come replace Craig Anderson, figuring that if the prior 8 minutes were any indication, Anderson wouldn't, and couldn't stop him.
The Pens were not particularly impressive, but that's mainly because they didn't have to be. One hallmark of a savvy, veteran, well-coached team is to figure out how to blow out a clearly inferior opponent without burning too many calories along the way. The Pens mastered that last night. On one penalty kill, Sens unlikeable winger Nick Foligno carried the puck into the Pens' zone while the Pens players watched him, thought "we're winning 5-1 and that's Nick Foligno," calmly retrieved the puck from Foligno with no resistance, and then changed lines. When Sid already had 3 points after 9 minutes, the priority became "Let's just get out of here with our health."
A few other quick thoughts:
- While Sid snares the headlines, Geno quietly has three straight 2-point games and is only 10 back of Kessel. Sid's return has freed Geno up to do what he does best: dazzle, without the weight on his shoulders.
- If we ever had Sergei Gonchar on our Raw Emotion Podcast, we imagine he'd give us his icy Russian stare and talk about the virtues of direct deposit because it's unclear if he cares at all about hockey at this point. More power to him.
- When Jared Cowen cut the Pens lead to 5-2, he fist pumped like he just bowled a 300. George MacPhee immediately called Bryan Murray and offered Semin for Cowen straight up.
- Kris Letang may be the most talented defenseman in the NHL, but he still makes way too many bad or flat-out lazy plays. Like over-bearing parents of a middle-schooler, part of us worries that he is a just kind of a punk, while the other part convinces ourselves that he's only acting out because he's so supremely gifted that school isn't challenging enough for him, so he gets bored and has no choice but to steal money from his teacher's purse.
Another game tonight. Be thankful we have our health. GTOG.
When the Pens score six goals, our instinct is to pump the Pens tires, say things like "never get too high or too low" while we secretly spray each other with champagne, and run statistical models to figure out the percentage chance that Geno and Sid finish 1-2 in scoring (14%). But on this morning, there's really nothing to say other than Ottawa Sucks.
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| "They can't be for real, can they?" |
The Pens were not particularly impressive, but that's mainly because they didn't have to be. One hallmark of a savvy, veteran, well-coached team is to figure out how to blow out a clearly inferior opponent without burning too many calories along the way. The Pens mastered that last night. On one penalty kill, Sens unlikeable winger Nick Foligno carried the puck into the Pens' zone while the Pens players watched him, thought "we're winning 5-1 and that's Nick Foligno," calmly retrieved the puck from Foligno with no resistance, and then changed lines. When Sid already had 3 points after 9 minutes, the priority became "Let's just get out of here with our health."
A few other quick thoughts:
- While Sid snares the headlines, Geno quietly has three straight 2-point games and is only 10 back of Kessel. Sid's return has freed Geno up to do what he does best: dazzle, without the weight on his shoulders.
- If we ever had Sergei Gonchar on our Raw Emotion Podcast, we imagine he'd give us his icy Russian stare and talk about the virtues of direct deposit because it's unclear if he cares at all about hockey at this point. More power to him.
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| "So, do you pay every other Friday, or on the 1st and 15th?" |
- Kris Letang may be the most talented defenseman in the NHL, but he still makes way too many bad or flat-out lazy plays. Like over-bearing parents of a middle-schooler, part of us worries that he is a just kind of a punk, while the other part convinces ourselves that he's only acting out because he's so supremely gifted that school isn't challenging enough for him, so he gets bored and has no choice but to steal money from his teacher's purse.
Another game tonight. Be thankful we have our health. GTOG.
Kamis, 24 November 2011
GTOPG: When you play 1/3 of the game, you get 1/3 of the points; Pens lose 3-2
By Finesse
Good news and bad news. The good news is that the Pens were non-existent for 2 periods, but still managed to eek out a point against a solid Blues team. The bad news is that the Pens looked horrendous in the process, and never more horrendous than during the first period where the Pens were outshot 13-4 and almost set the franchise back 10 years. Of course that's hyperbole, but I was at the game, and it was abysmal. Imagine going to a golf tournament expecting to see Tiger Woods, and you actually see Tiger Woods, but then quickly realize he sucks now and you're going to spend the next 4 hours on your tippy-toes behind 10 rows of wealthy 55-year old white guys in khaki shorts yelling "in the hole!" and talking about Amen Corner while watching Tiger shoot 74. It was nothing like that, but that would be bad.
Some notes on the game, after the jump ....
- Though Crosby was nowhere near as dominant in this game as in his first game, I came away as encouraged as ever because I was not holding my breath every time he got hit. The forrest through the trees right now is his overall heath and ability to absorb contact; whether he is scoring is a distant second.
- Speaking of him scoring, he unleashed a backhand shot at one point that made Al Iafrate question everything about his own existence.
- In person, there is no more physically impressive player than Evgeni Malkin. He is bigger than almost everyone on the ice but also so much more graceful. It's like Ray Lewis performing The Nutcracker, only with less shameless self-promotion and monopolization of camera time.
- The piling on against Paul Martin continues, and there's no question that he was off his game (again) last night. But he still wasn't our worst defenseman last night. That honorable distinction goes to Kris Letang.
- Nevertheless, Artistry believes Martin may need a night off.
- A reemphasis on the good news: The Pens played HORRIBLY in the first two periods, but still almost won.
- Brooks Orpik was a Larry Murphy-Ulf Samuelsson hybrid, patrolling the offensive zone blue line and punishing helpless Blues. His best game of the season, by far.
- Too many bystanders last night. Kunitz was invisible, and Staal restarted his Campaign Against Offensive Creativity. I feel like I'm being negative right now. I love Kunitz and Staal.
- I'm in the building again on Friday. Geno hat trick. Take it to the bank.
- Happy Thanksgiving from the GTOG family!
Good news and bad news. The good news is that the Pens were non-existent for 2 periods, but still managed to eek out a point against a solid Blues team. The bad news is that the Pens looked horrendous in the process, and never more horrendous than during the first period where the Pens were outshot 13-4 and almost set the franchise back 10 years. Of course that's hyperbole, but I was at the game, and it was abysmal. Imagine going to a golf tournament expecting to see Tiger Woods, and you actually see Tiger Woods, but then quickly realize he sucks now and you're going to spend the next 4 hours on your tippy-toes behind 10 rows of wealthy 55-year old white guys in khaki shorts yelling "in the hole!" and talking about Amen Corner while watching Tiger shoot 74. It was nothing like that, but that would be bad.
Some notes on the game, after the jump ....
- Though Crosby was nowhere near as dominant in this game as in his first game, I came away as encouraged as ever because I was not holding my breath every time he got hit. The forrest through the trees right now is his overall heath and ability to absorb contact; whether he is scoring is a distant second.
- Speaking of him scoring, he unleashed a backhand shot at one point that made Al Iafrate question everything about his own existence.
- In person, there is no more physically impressive player than Evgeni Malkin. He is bigger than almost everyone on the ice but also so much more graceful. It's like Ray Lewis performing The Nutcracker, only with less shameless self-promotion and monopolization of camera time.
- The piling on against Paul Martin continues, and there's no question that he was off his game (again) last night. But he still wasn't our worst defenseman last night. That honorable distinction goes to Kris Letang.
- Nevertheless, Artistry believes Martin may need a night off.
 |
| "Paul, this isn't a period. It's a dot dot dot." |
- Brooks Orpik was a Larry Murphy-Ulf Samuelsson hybrid, patrolling the offensive zone blue line and punishing helpless Blues. His best game of the season, by far.
- Too many bystanders last night. Kunitz was invisible, and Staal restarted his Campaign Against Offensive Creativity. I feel like I'm being negative right now. I love Kunitz and Staal.
 |
| So soft. So invisible. |
- Happy Thanksgiving from the GTOG family!
Rabu, 23 November 2011
Unhappy we haven't been paying him enough attention, Bruce Boudreau acts out
By Artistry
Granted, this clip of Caps coach Bruce Boudreau we got from a Capital's blog via Dan Steinberg @dcsportsbog is several months old, and also, the video shows he's clearly going for laughs as he complains about his portrayal on HBO's 24/7. But with the Penguins and Capitals set to meet on December 1st, seeing this now is just as delicious as the remnants of any pasta sauce you might find on Boudreau's cheek.
“The part that ticked me off the most was when they started showing their coach [Dan Bylsma],” Boudreau said. “And their coach at Christmas was down in the basement playing with his kid. He’s never played in the basement with his kid. Teaching him, well this is how you do this. Bull****."
See the clip and what $6 million man Brooks Laich has to say about Sidney Crosby after the jump...
Here's the clip:
Don't worry, we see you, Bruce. And we know it's hard trying to parent Alex Ovechkin when his counterpart in Pittsburgh looks to be all grown up, with a mustache and everything.
Speaking of Sidney Crosby, here's what Brook Laich, he of the ridiculous contract and stunning blue eyes, had to say about The Return:
“He doesn’t play for my team, so it really doesn’t matter.”
Huh. Guess we'll see if it matters next Thursday, Brooks.
Granted, this clip of Caps coach Bruce Boudreau we got from a Capital's blog via Dan Steinberg @dcsportsbog is several months old, and also, the video shows he's clearly going for laughs as he complains about his portrayal on HBO's 24/7. But with the Penguins and Capitals set to meet on December 1st, seeing this now is just as delicious as the remnants of any pasta sauce you might find on Boudreau's cheek.
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| Leader of Men |
See the clip and what $6 million man Brooks Laich has to say about Sidney Crosby after the jump...
Here's the clip:
Don't worry, we see you, Bruce. And we know it's hard trying to parent Alex Ovechkin when his counterpart in Pittsburgh looks to be all grown up, with a mustache and everything.
Speaking of Sidney Crosby, here's what Brook Laich, he of the ridiculous contract and stunning blue eyes, had to say about The Return:
“He doesn’t play for my team, so it really doesn’t matter.”
Huh. Guess we'll see if it matters next Thursday, Brooks.
Selasa, 22 November 2011
GTOPG: Leftover Thoughts on Sidney Crosby's Triumphant Return
By Finesse
Some leftover thoughts from Sidney Crosby's emotional return. For full reaction, listen to our post-game podcast.
- All 4 of Crosby's points came off of his backhand which, to anyone who has ever played hockey at any level, is remarkable. There is a fine line separating the legendary players from the great players, and the ability to be as threatening on his backhand as he is on his forehand, if not more so, is what puts Sid in the former category. I'm sure 4 points on the backhand has been done before. But not often.
Our pick for the Art Ross trophy, Ovechkin on Sid, and some numbers, after the jump...
- If we were placing bets, and we're not, we'd put our money on a Penguin to win the Art Ross trophy: Evgeni Malkin. Right now he has 16 points, 13 off the pace set by Phil Kessel, which we will point out cannot be sustained by Phil Kessel. At least three things in Geno's favor:
1) With Sid back, Geno's line will get a lot more chances to go against the opponent's second-best defensive pairing rather than its best and won't get the shutdown-treatment from the opposing team's best defensive forwards.
2) His surgically repaired knee is only going to get healthier as the season goes along. Hopefully.
3) The power-play. Again, hopefully.
- Pascal Dupuis has 17 points (4g, 13a) and is a +10.
- Jaromir Jagr has 17 (6g, 11a) and is a +7. He's also out with a groin injury.
- Alex Ovechkin has 15 points (7g, 8a) and is a -5.
- Speaking of Ovechkin, we at GTOG have no problem with anything he said about Sid's return. From Puck Daddy, quoting from somewhere:
- Is there a more well-liked person in hockey right now that Dan Bylsma?
- Conversely, is there anyone who appears to have less of an idea of what to do at any particular moment than Jack Capuano?
- Finally, with full realization that all of this euphoria could turn to despair at any moment, let's turn the final thought over to my Dad, via text message this morning:
Some leftover thoughts from Sidney Crosby's emotional return. For full reaction, listen to our post-game podcast.
- All 4 of Crosby's points came off of his backhand which, to anyone who has ever played hockey at any level, is remarkable. There is a fine line separating the legendary players from the great players, and the ability to be as threatening on his backhand as he is on his forehand, if not more so, is what puts Sid in the former category. I'm sure 4 points on the backhand has been done before. But not often.
Our pick for the Art Ross trophy, Ovechkin on Sid, and some numbers, after the jump...
- If we were placing bets, and we're not, we'd put our money on a Penguin to win the Art Ross trophy: Evgeni Malkin. Right now he has 16 points, 13 off the pace set by Phil Kessel, which we will point out cannot be sustained by Phil Kessel. At least three things in Geno's favor:
1) With Sid back, Geno's line will get a lot more chances to go against the opponent's second-best defensive pairing rather than its best and won't get the shutdown-treatment from the opposing team's best defensive forwards.
2) His surgically repaired knee is only going to get healthier as the season goes along. Hopefully.
3) The power-play. Again, hopefully.
- Pascal Dupuis has 17 points (4g, 13a) and is a +10.
- Jaromir Jagr has 17 (6g, 11a) and is a +7. He's also out with a groin injury.
- Alex Ovechkin has 15 points (7g, 8a) and is a -5.
- Speaking of Ovechkin, we at GTOG have no problem with anything he said about Sid's return. From Puck Daddy, quoting from somewhere:
When asked if Crosby's return would motivate him, Ovechkin said "yeah," but followed by saying: "It doesn't matter; Sidney over there, somebody else over there … I have to play my game." As for Crosby's four-point night in his return to the ice, Ovechkin said: "I didn't see the game, so … it's good for him, coming back from long-term injury. So it's good for him."That's exactly what he's supposed to say, isn't it? First off, "good for him" can have a snarky meaning in English, which may not translate the same in Russian (see Geno asking a mic'd up Pascal Dupuis if he was wearing a "microwave"). Second, it's not like he's going to be watching the Pens or rooting for Crosby. After all, he's got goals to not score that he used to be able to score.
- Is there a more well-liked person in hockey right now that Dan Bylsma?
- Conversely, is there anyone who appears to have less of an idea of what to do at any particular moment than Jack Capuano?
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| "To answer your question, I'm not sure I understand the question." |
Best player in the world. Just like his landlord was. We are blessed.Amen.
Senin, 21 November 2011
GTOG Podcast: Sid Returns; Sid Dominates; Pens Win
A special in-person podcast to celebrate the return of Sidney Crosby. Click here for some other thoughts that weren't covered in the podcast.
Click here to subscribe on iTunes
For iPad/iPhone:
Click here to subscribe on iTunes
For iPad/iPhone:
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| "Yeah, so, um, I'm going to go around you now." |
All Systems Go
By Artistry
We just got word that Zybnek Michalek makes his return tonight to the Penguin lineup, joining the other guy. Consol is completely overrun by Canadian reporters.
Imagine you're Jack Capuano, and somebody hands you this lineup card:
Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Neal-Malkin-Sullivan
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Adams-Vitale-Asham
Letang-Orpik
Martin-Michalek
Niskanen-Engelland
Fleury
What would you do? What could you do?
The Raw Emotion Podcast tonight is going to be electric. Here we go. LGP. GTOG.
We just got word that Zybnek Michalek makes his return tonight to the Penguin lineup, joining the other guy. Consol is completely overrun by Canadian reporters.
 |
| Media Scrum (via @KDPomp) |
Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Neal-Malkin-Sullivan
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Adams-Vitale-Asham
Letang-Orpik
Martin-Michalek
Niskanen-Engelland
Fleury
What would you do? What could you do?
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| No idea. |
Minggu, 20 November 2011
Sidney Crosby to Return Monday Night Against the Islanders
The Pens lost to Florida 3-2 last night. Snore.
The Pens announced today that Crosby is coming back on Monday night against the Islanders. Hug your children. Kiss your spouse. Hug yourself if you don't have kids or a spouse.
And buckle up.
The Pens announced today that Crosby is coming back on Monday night against the Islanders. Hug your children. Kiss your spouse. Hug yourself if you don't have kids or a spouse.
And buckle up.
Jumat, 18 November 2011
GTOPG: Their Games Sure Suck, but Tampa Bay Doesn't; Pens Lose, 4-1
By GTOG Staff
The first period had some decent pace to it. But then the second period looked like a certain 2011 playoff series. And by the third period of the Penguins' 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, we were sticking ourselves with needles to distract from the pain of watching this game.
Tampa is just not a good matchup for the Pens. It's not that their 1-3-1 is impenetrable or that Roloson is a great goalie, because neither of those things are true. But Guy Boucher's system does just enough to make the Pens look discombobulated. In the neutral zone, just watch how often Penguin D-men have to stickhandle the puck all the way up the ice before dumping it in, leaving our usually ferocious forecheckers flatfooted. By the time the "grind bitches down" portion of the proceedings can begin, Tampa is chipping the puck back up to center ice.
Here's what's deceiving about all this, and what actually prevented us from flipping over to the Tebow game: the Pens look like they're dominating because they always have the puck. But just having the puck doesn't mean much. You have to actually be able to do something with the puck, and the Pens were trying really hard to do something with it, but spent most of the night running into each other and playing 1-on-1 hockey. It doesn't matter if they have super talented 1-on-1 guys like Malkin going against Tampa's 6th defenseman -- 1-on-1 hockey is a low percentage game. None of this would be that much of a problem, of course, if Tampa just sucked. But they don't. [Oops]
More GTOPG after the jump...
- The Lightning are content to let a team like Pittsburgh outshoot them (34-18) and keep the puck most of the game because they are skilled enough at the top and deep enough throughout the lineup to score 4 goals against you without you ever thinking they're that good. So in an unfortunate way, they are that good. And if you don't think so, just remember that they were one bounce away from winning Game 7 of the ECF last year in Boston.
- If the Penguins somehow end up in a division with both Detroit and Tampa Bay - who would suggest such a thing? - just shoot us now.
- We are almost as bored with the Paul Martin debate as we are with watching the Lightning play, but it's worth noting that moving Martin last night to a pairing with Deryk Engelland and reuniting Orpik and Letang was the obvious move. When you're facing a St. Louis-Lecavalier-Stamkos line, you go with your best pairing and try to get that matchup whenever you can. The Lightning announcers made several mentions of Martin's "struggles" and referred to him as "the usually steady Paul Martin," the implication being he's not steady anymore. Guarantee this was the first Penguins game they've watched this season.
- Steve MacIntyre over Richard Park? Unless the Islanders put a bounty on Geno Malkin's head, Steve MacIntyre should not be in the lineup, period.
- Marc-Andre Fleury last night gave up his first power play goal of the season. In his 14th game. That's just remarkable.
- We can't imagine Sidney Crosby comes back for a road game against the Florida Panthers, but then we also never imagined the Penguins would be coached by Napolean III of France. So who knows.
LGP.
The first period had some decent pace to it. But then the second period looked like a certain 2011 playoff series. And by the third period of the Penguins' 4-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, we were sticking ourselves with needles to distract from the pain of watching this game.
 |
| Bouche-bag. |
Here's what's deceiving about all this, and what actually prevented us from flipping over to the Tebow game: the Pens look like they're dominating because they always have the puck. But just having the puck doesn't mean much. You have to actually be able to do something with the puck, and the Pens were trying really hard to do something with it, but spent most of the night running into each other and playing 1-on-1 hockey. It doesn't matter if they have super talented 1-on-1 guys like Malkin going against Tampa's 6th defenseman -- 1-on-1 hockey is a low percentage game. None of this would be that much of a problem, of course, if Tampa just sucked. But they don't. [Oops]
More GTOPG after the jump...
- The Lightning are content to let a team like Pittsburgh outshoot them (34-18) and keep the puck most of the game because they are skilled enough at the top and deep enough throughout the lineup to score 4 goals against you without you ever thinking they're that good. So in an unfortunate way, they are that good. And if you don't think so, just remember that they were one bounce away from winning Game 7 of the ECF last year in Boston.
 |
| So annoying. |
- We are almost as bored with the Paul Martin debate as we are with watching the Lightning play, but it's worth noting that moving Martin last night to a pairing with Deryk Engelland and reuniting Orpik and Letang was the obvious move. When you're facing a St. Louis-Lecavalier-Stamkos line, you go with your best pairing and try to get that matchup whenever you can. The Lightning announcers made several mentions of Martin's "struggles" and referred to him as "the usually steady Paul Martin," the implication being he's not steady anymore. Guarantee this was the first Penguins game they've watched this season.
- Steve MacIntyre over Richard Park? Unless the Islanders put a bounty on Geno Malkin's head, Steve MacIntyre should not be in the lineup, period.
- Marc-Andre Fleury last night gave up his first power play goal of the season. In his 14th game. That's just remarkable.
- We can't imagine Sidney Crosby comes back for a road game against the Florida Panthers, but then we also never imagined the Penguins would be coached by Napolean III of France. So who knows.
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| Dan Bylsma |
Rabu, 16 November 2011
GTOPG: A Video is Worth a Million Words; Pens Win 6-3
By Finesse
I wish we had more time to do a full recap of this game. The feeling is similar to when you have a really great inappropriate story to tell your friends, but you know that showing them pictures is the only way to really convey what happened.
The key takeaway from this game is that if you're an average team, you may not want to engage the Penguins in an undisciplined, yet exciting, brand of hockey because chances are you are going to lose. The Avalanche have some world-class talent at the top -- see the Duchene goal -- but really have no business engaging the Pens in a track meet. Even with the Pens looking sloppy and disorganized for the first 30 minutes (no one more so than Paul Martin), this game had 5+ goals written all over it right from the start when Geno went coast to coast around four Avalanche players and fired a rocket-propelled grenade that nearly broke the crossbar in half.
Other random thoughts ... not the best night for Paul Martin to get embarrassed because Artistry spent hours on Twitter defending him yesterday ... Sullivan, as we noted last game, needs to be more of a shooting threat on the 5-on-3 PP ... and clearly McGuire and Engblom read GTOG because they said the same thing last night ... Kris Letang had a rush at one point where he literally broke a man's ankles but then immediately turned it over ... if you want to throw Martin under the bus for the Jones goal (and you should), at least ask what Orpik was doing on Duchene's goal ... Jordan Staal is on pace for 41 goals ... Tyler Kennedy is not a vestibular Ferrari but it's great to have him back in the lineup ... and finally, we preach accountability here and no one is immune, including Mrs. Artistry, who failed to tape the game for my partner in GTOPG'ing. That's not So Serviceable, Mrs. A.
I wish we had more time to do a full recap of this game. The feeling is similar to when you have a really great inappropriate story to tell your friends, but you know that showing them pictures is the only way to really convey what happened.
The key takeaway from this game is that if you're an average team, you may not want to engage the Penguins in an undisciplined, yet exciting, brand of hockey because chances are you are going to lose. The Avalanche have some world-class talent at the top -- see the Duchene goal -- but really have no business engaging the Pens in a track meet. Even with the Pens looking sloppy and disorganized for the first 30 minutes (no one more so than Paul Martin), this game had 5+ goals written all over it right from the start when Geno went coast to coast around four Avalanche players and fired a rocket-propelled grenade that nearly broke the crossbar in half.
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| Just like he drew it up |
Selasa, 15 November 2011
Big Ben Has Broken Thumb, Because Why Wouldn't He?
By Finesse
Completely un-shocking news out of Steelers headquarters today, as it was revealed that Ben Roethlisberger has a fractured right thumb. He sustained the injury at some point during the game against Cincinnati, but reminded reporters that he doesn't even remember when it happened and that he didn't miss any snaps. The early word is that he will be ready to go against Kansas City in two weeks and this injury will not affect his play. In other words, he will clutch and shake his hand vigorously after completions and incompletions alike.
Reached for faux-comment at his home today by GTOG, Ben elaborated on his injury:
Completely un-shocking news out of Steelers headquarters today, as it was revealed that Ben Roethlisberger has a fractured right thumb. He sustained the injury at some point during the game against Cincinnati, but reminded reporters that he doesn't even remember when it happened and that he didn't miss any snaps. The early word is that he will be ready to go against Kansas City in two weeks and this injury will not affect his play. In other words, he will clutch and shake his hand vigorously after completions and incompletions alike.
Reached for faux-comment at his home today by GTOG, Ben elaborated on his injury:
There's no question that my thumb hurts. It's just going to be about trusting B.A., Tone, and all my guys. It's no excuse though. I played a game in 2005 with a bad thumb and threw 4 touchdowns. The docs didn't think I should play, but I stood up in the locker room and said, "My Name is Biggius Bennius Roethlisbergerus, commander of the Band of Brothers, General of My Guys, loyal servant to the true emperor, Mr. Rooney. Father to kids I probably don't know, husband to an unlucky woman. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. Band of Brothers."
Senin, 14 November 2011
GTOPG: Steelers Defeat Bengals 24-17; Have We Learned Anything?
By Finesse
Sunday was a day that met expectations. The Steelers beat Cincinnati on a neutral field in Cincinnati, the Ravens laid an egg against a bad team, and Ben Roethlisberger definitely, 100% was NOT making any excuses when he said, "It was really windy. That’s the only reason I went with the glove, because you can spin it a little better. It definitely affected some throws, but you know me, I’ll never make excuses.”
So unless you want to try to figure out whether Troy Polamalu was attempting to break up A.J. Green's touchdown catch with his mind or merely blacked out for a second, the only way to go this Monday morning is to look big picture in the AFC after the jump...
Despite having won only one intra-division game, the Steelers are alone in first place in the AFC North. The Ravens, for the second time this season, followed up a "career defining" game by Joe Flacco with a similarly "career defining" game by Joe Flacco against an inferior opponent, losing 22-17 to Seattle. If the collective "we" are going to start proclaiming every Flacco win a career defining moment, then the losses should be treated the same way, which essentially means that however we define Joe Flacco's abilities, they're much like his eyebrows in that they could show up anyplace at any time and you wouldn't be surprised.
So the Steelers head into the bye week at 7-3, with 5 of their remaining 6 games eligible for the "we really should win this, but you can be damn sure we're going to lose one of these" status. The only game where the Steelers might be underdogs is at San Francisco on Monday December 19th, but because of the 49ers' impressive start to the season, they could have the NFC West wrapped up by then meaning Alex Smith's backup is a possibility. At this point, 11-5 is all but assured, 12-4 is the expectation, and 13-3 is still on the table. With no one in the AFC doing much to really separate itself from the pack, home-field advantage and a bye week is what we should start preparing for mentally.
[Counterpoint by Artistry: "Houston looks pretty unstoppable on the ground."]
What this is a long way of saying is that we don't know enough at this point to really know anything about whether they Steelers can get back to the Super Bowl. Actually, we know that they can, but we have no idea whether they will.
If and when the Steelers play the Ravens again in the playoffs, there will be a 3rd and 8 that the Steelers need to convert to keep a 4th quarter drive going. Will they convert it? Who knows? It's 50/50 whether Antonio Brown makes a grab for 11-yards or Terrell Suggs throws Ben's head like a discuss into the 4th row.
In that same game, Joe Flacco will be faced with a 4th and 7 at midfield with 1:15 left to play and the Ravens down by 4. Will he convert it? Who knows? It's 50/50 whether Woodley clubs him to the turf or Torrey Smith puts a down payment on a condo on Gay Island.
If and when the Steelers play the Patriots, will Ben throw a pick 6 to a defensive lineman for no reason other than that's what Ben does sometimes? Who knows? It's 50/50 whether Vince Wilfork will be high-fiving his teammates on the sideline while swallowing an entire oxygen tank in one gulp or the Steelers rack up 40 minutes of possession and Ryan Clark concusses every Patriots' receiver.
In that same game, will Ike Taylor stay in Wes Welker's mouth or will Bill Belichik watch Steelers' practices and come up with a way to start setting illegal screens to free Welker? Who knows? Actually, I know. Look for 12 catches for 147 yards from Wes.
If and when the Steelers play the Texans, will their offensive line blow our guys five yards off the ball on every play? Probably, but then again, does Houston scare you at all when they only beat the Steelers by 7 at home in Week 4 and have never played a playoff game?
To summarize, here's what we know. The Steelers are good and have a legitimate shot to win the division and get a first-round bye. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. Last season the Steelers had great matchups in the playoffs, getting the Jets and the Ravens and avoiding the Patriots. This season, the Ravens are a little bit better, but the Patriots are a little bit worse. The Texans are lurking, but they have no experience. The Jets are still tough, but that's a matchup Steelers' fans should be praying for. Cincy should fade admirably into the background, and the AFC west is one week away from having four teams at 5-5.
The bottom line is that today is a day for optimism, even if we can't exactly pinpoint why.
Sunday was a day that met expectations. The Steelers beat Cincinnati on a neutral field in Cincinnati, the Ravens laid an egg against a bad team, and Ben Roethlisberger definitely, 100% was NOT making any excuses when he said, "It was really windy. That’s the only reason I went with the glove, because you can spin it a little better. It definitely affected some throws, but you know me, I’ll never make excuses.”
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| If you're not injured enough to grimace, just smile and point to God. |
Despite having won only one intra-division game, the Steelers are alone in first place in the AFC North. The Ravens, for the second time this season, followed up a "career defining" game by Joe Flacco with a similarly "career defining" game by Joe Flacco against an inferior opponent, losing 22-17 to Seattle. If the collective "we" are going to start proclaiming every Flacco win a career defining moment, then the losses should be treated the same way, which essentially means that however we define Joe Flacco's abilities, they're much like his eyebrows in that they could show up anyplace at any time and you wouldn't be surprised.
So the Steelers head into the bye week at 7-3, with 5 of their remaining 6 games eligible for the "we really should win this, but you can be damn sure we're going to lose one of these" status. The only game where the Steelers might be underdogs is at San Francisco on Monday December 19th, but because of the 49ers' impressive start to the season, they could have the NFC West wrapped up by then meaning Alex Smith's backup is a possibility. At this point, 11-5 is all but assured, 12-4 is the expectation, and 13-3 is still on the table. With no one in the AFC doing much to really separate itself from the pack, home-field advantage and a bye week is what we should start preparing for mentally.
[Counterpoint by Artistry: "Houston looks pretty unstoppable on the ground."]
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| Great in unlimited running space |
If and when the Steelers play the Ravens again in the playoffs, there will be a 3rd and 8 that the Steelers need to convert to keep a 4th quarter drive going. Will they convert it? Who knows? It's 50/50 whether Antonio Brown makes a grab for 11-yards or Terrell Suggs throws Ben's head like a discuss into the 4th row.
In that same game, Joe Flacco will be faced with a 4th and 7 at midfield with 1:15 left to play and the Ravens down by 4. Will he convert it? Who knows? It's 50/50 whether Woodley clubs him to the turf or Torrey Smith puts a down payment on a condo on Gay Island.
If and when the Steelers play the Patriots, will Ben throw a pick 6 to a defensive lineman for no reason other than that's what Ben does sometimes? Who knows? It's 50/50 whether Vince Wilfork will be high-fiving his teammates on the sideline while swallowing an entire oxygen tank in one gulp or the Steelers rack up 40 minutes of possession and Ryan Clark concusses every Patriots' receiver.
 |
| Textbook form |
If and when the Steelers play the Texans, will their offensive line blow our guys five yards off the ball on every play? Probably, but then again, does Houston scare you at all when they only beat the Steelers by 7 at home in Week 4 and have never played a playoff game?
To summarize, here's what we know. The Steelers are good and have a legitimate shot to win the division and get a first-round bye. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. Last season the Steelers had great matchups in the playoffs, getting the Jets and the Ravens and avoiding the Patriots. This season, the Ravens are a little bit better, but the Patriots are a little bit worse. The Texans are lurking, but they have no experience. The Jets are still tough, but that's a matchup Steelers' fans should be praying for. Cincy should fade admirably into the background, and the AFC west is one week away from having four teams at 5-5.
The bottom line is that today is a day for optimism, even if we can't exactly pinpoint why.
Minggu, 13 November 2011
GTOPG: Behind the scenes look at Pens 5-3 loss to Canes
By Artistry
Ever wonder what we're thinking during Penguins games like Saturday's 5-3 loss to Carolina? The best thing you can do is follow us on Twitter. The other option would be to steal one of our cell phones. We pick up the texting in the midst of a furious Pittsburgh comeback, as Chris Kunitz buries a long-range shot past Cam Ward to bring the Pens all the way back from a 3-0 deficit. Best we can do on a Sunday during the Steeler game.
Artistry, 9:24 PM - Hands.
Finesse, 9:24 PM - What a laser.
Finesse, 9:24 PM - I have a feeling Kunitz isn't done.
[Ward foils Malkin on a breakaway]
Artistry, 9:25 PM - Oh Geno.
Finesse, 9:25 PM - He needs to get his Finish back.
[The Hurricanes beat an out-of-position Brent Johnson to take the lead again, 4-3]
Artistry, 9:30 PM - I think BJ should just play entirely inside the net.
Finesse, 9:34 PM - Fleury, BJ is not.
Finesse, 9:34 PM - I think during commercial breaks the Canes announcers probably talk about how much better the Pens are. But oh well, not tonight.
Artistry, 9:35 PM - Nope. Chad LaRose. Unstoppable.
Finesse, 9:36 PM - Pens could have had 11 goals tonight. Can't win them all. Unfortunate how often our D puts itself out of position.
Artistry, 9:37 PM - What happened to Sully?
Artistry, 9:38 PM - Great Byls-stache.
Finesse, 9:39 PM - Bylsma is really making a statement with that mustache that he feels comfortable with his job security.
Artistry, 9:40 PM - We can only hope we see these guys in the playoffs. Pens in 2.
Finesse, 9:42 PM - It would make the 2009 ECF look like the Battle of Stalingrad.
Ever wonder what we're thinking during Penguins games like Saturday's 5-3 loss to Carolina? The best thing you can do is follow us on Twitter. The other option would be to steal one of our cell phones. We pick up the texting in the midst of a furious Pittsburgh comeback, as Chris Kunitz buries a long-range shot past Cam Ward to bring the Pens all the way back from a 3-0 deficit. Best we can do on a Sunday during the Steeler game.
Artistry, 9:24 PM - Hands.
Finesse, 9:24 PM - What a laser.
Finesse, 9:24 PM - I have a feeling Kunitz isn't done.
[Ward foils Malkin on a breakaway]
Artistry, 9:25 PM - Oh Geno.
Finesse, 9:25 PM - He needs to get his Finish back.
[The Hurricanes beat an out-of-position Brent Johnson to take the lead again, 4-3]
Artistry, 9:30 PM - I think BJ should just play entirely inside the net.
Finesse, 9:34 PM - Fleury, BJ is not.
Finesse, 9:34 PM - I think during commercial breaks the Canes announcers probably talk about how much better the Pens are. But oh well, not tonight.
Artistry, 9:35 PM - Nope. Chad LaRose. Unstoppable.
Finesse, 9:36 PM - Pens could have had 11 goals tonight. Can't win them all. Unfortunate how often our D puts itself out of position.
Artistry, 9:37 PM - What happened to Sully?
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| "I'm out with a lower body." |
Finesse, 9:39 PM - Bylsma is really making a statement with that mustache that he feels comfortable with his job security.
Artistry, 9:40 PM - We can only hope we see these guys in the playoffs. Pens in 2.
Finesse, 9:42 PM - It would make the 2009 ECF look like the Battle of Stalingrad.
Sabtu, 12 November 2011
GTOPG: That looked easy; Pens beat Dallas 3-1
By Finesse
If you've been paying any attention at all to the Sid-era Penguins, then you undoubtedly recognized at least two hallmarks of this team on display last night.
First, if Marc-Andre Fleury isn't tested early in a game (eg. he's faced less than 2 or 3 shots and we're 15 minutes into the game) you can rest assured the next one is going in. That's who he is, and we love him because of it and in spite of it. Last night, Dallas had a total of 5 shots in the first period. But guess what? They scored 16 minutes in.
Second, there are some games where the Pens are losing for long stretches but are playing so well that you don't care about the score because you know -- yes, you actually KNOW -- that the Pens are going to come back and win that game. Last night was that game. The Pens were playing so much better than Dallas, had the puck for so much longer, and had so many more quality chances that to lose this game would have undermined pretty much everything we ever thought we knew about hockey.
On Kunitz and a few more things after the jump...
- There's a website called The Art of Manliness that is dedicated to reminding men how to be men by, for example, wearing a suit and picking up a massive anvil.
I have no idea whether this website has ever done a feature piece on Chris Kunitz, but if they haven't, the site should be shut down immediately for incompetence. What a game by Hands. He had a nifty deflection called back for a dubious high-stick-on-the-puck and was whistled for goaltender interference to negate another goal for apparently making it too difficult for Kari Lehtonen to not stop a puck that had already bounced in off his own defenseman before Lehtonen even reached for it. Though neither of these two goals counted, they illustrate a more general point: Chris Kunitz is a rabid baby panda. He will lure you in with his delicate touch, then rip your head off.
- Don't underestimate the importance of this save by Fleury in the first period. Although, the fact that you did is a great sign: these are becoming routine.
- I don't recall hearing Alex Picard's name called once in his 12:42 of ice time. That's another great sign.
- Geno played a more responsible game last night, pushing pucks back deep into the offensive zone when he ran out of real estate out by the blue line. If he cuts out just one or two bad plays a game, Neal-Malkin-Sullivan will be even more unstoppable.
- If you haven't noticed by now, we think the Pens were fantastic last night. It would have been nice if the crowd at Consol had taken notice of that and actually cheered loudly, showed up on time, and stayed for the whole game. Baby steps.
If you've been paying any attention at all to the Sid-era Penguins, then you undoubtedly recognized at least two hallmarks of this team on display last night.
First, if Marc-Andre Fleury isn't tested early in a game (eg. he's faced less than 2 or 3 shots and we're 15 minutes into the game) you can rest assured the next one is going in. That's who he is, and we love him because of it and in spite of it. Last night, Dallas had a total of 5 shots in the first period. But guess what? They scored 16 minutes in.
Second, there are some games where the Pens are losing for long stretches but are playing so well that you don't care about the score because you know -- yes, you actually KNOW -- that the Pens are going to come back and win that game. Last night was that game. The Pens were playing so much better than Dallas, had the puck for so much longer, and had so many more quality chances that to lose this game would have undermined pretty much everything we ever thought we knew about hockey.
On Kunitz and a few more things after the jump...
- There's a website called The Art of Manliness that is dedicated to reminding men how to be men by, for example, wearing a suit and picking up a massive anvil.
I have no idea whether this website has ever done a feature piece on Chris Kunitz, but if they haven't, the site should be shut down immediately for incompetence. What a game by Hands. He had a nifty deflection called back for a dubious high-stick-on-the-puck and was whistled for goaltender interference to negate another goal for apparently making it too difficult for Kari Lehtonen to not stop a puck that had already bounced in off his own defenseman before Lehtonen even reached for it. Though neither of these two goals counted, they illustrate a more general point: Chris Kunitz is a rabid baby panda. He will lure you in with his delicate touch, then rip your head off.
 |
| Kunitz at training camp weigh-in |
- I don't recall hearing Alex Picard's name called once in his 12:42 of ice time. That's another great sign.
- Geno played a more responsible game last night, pushing pucks back deep into the offensive zone when he ran out of real estate out by the blue line. If he cuts out just one or two bad plays a game, Neal-Malkin-Sullivan will be even more unstoppable.
- If you haven't noticed by now, we think the Pens were fantastic last night. It would have been nice if the crowd at Consol had taken notice of that and actually cheered loudly, showed up on time, and stayed for the whole game. Baby steps.
Jumat, 11 November 2011
Pirates make huge splash; sign 36-year old catcher who hit .230 last year
By Finesse
Nothing gets the juices flowing in mid-November quite like the Pirates' annual foray into the bowels of free-agency. Yesterday, the Bucs put the league on notice that absolutely nothing has changed by agreeing to a one-year deal with 36-year old catcher Rod Barajas, who is coming off a season in which he hit .230, only slightly below his career average of .238. He did have 16 home runs in only 98 games, which is really impressive considering that would have tied him for second on the Pirates with Garret Jones, who only needed 148 games to reach the magical 16-homer mark.
If for some reason this signing does not excite you, maybe you'll feel better knowing just how much the Pirates and Barajas need each other. As he told the Associated Press,
Nothing gets the juices flowing in mid-November quite like the Pirates' annual foray into the bowels of free-agency. Yesterday, the Bucs put the league on notice that absolutely nothing has changed by agreeing to a one-year deal with 36-year old catcher Rod Barajas, who is coming off a season in which he hit .230, only slightly below his career average of .238. He did have 16 home runs in only 98 games, which is really impressive considering that would have tied him for second on the Pirates with Garret Jones, who only needed 148 games to reach the magical 16-homer mark.
 |
| We're almost positive this is Rod Barajas |
"They were aggressive. They gave me the feeling they really wanted me to be a part of their team. They played good baseball for four months last season and showed a lot of improvement. I thought this would be a good situation to be in."Smart guy. The Pirates did play well for four months.
Kamis, 10 November 2011
On To The Next One: The Swift Takedown of Joe Paterno
By Finesse
Something happened at Penn State these past few days that's going to take a long time to figure out. But don't worry, there's still time to take a couple more photos of an overturned news van.
Pack up the cameras and the mics. On to the next one.
[Read my full reaction here: On Penn State, Joe Paterno, and how we react to scandals]
Something happened at Penn State these past few days that's going to take a long time to figure out. But don't worry, there's still time to take a couple more photos of an overturned news van.
Pack up the cameras and the mics. On to the next one.
[Read my full reaction here: On Penn State, Joe Paterno, and how we react to scandals]
Rabu, 09 November 2011
On Penn State, Joe Paterno, and how we react to scandals
By Finesse
Penn State f'd up, big time. Everyone who is calling for accountability, for investigation, and for more answers is right. It's what the situation and the law require, and I support it. [For more, listen to our podcast].
However, in the hectic aftermath of last weekend's indictment, everyone is focusing on the questions that need to be asked about Penn State officials. It's easy to pile on. What's tougher is to think about our reaction to scandals. Why are we so certain about things? And why do we have to proclaim our certainty immediately?
Why Didn't Anyone Do More?
While there is some dispute about what Paterno was told versus what he told AD Tim Curley, what's undisputed is that Paterno had knowledge of inappropriate conduct and didn't do any of the following things: call the police, contact Sandusky, call a school counselor, etc. As he finally acknowledged in his retirement announcement today, "This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."
In 2011, it's easy to sit and say that we know what Paterno should have done in 2002. Almost everyone agrees now that he, and a lot of other people, should have done more. There was willful blindness at various levels of the university which, when it allows more kids to be harmed, is the functional equivalent of knowing everything and doing nothing. Or maybe it's just the Bystander Effect -- the more people who know something bad is happening, the less likely it is that any of them will actually do something about it. Whatever it is, it's bad.
But if we're going to ask the tough questions of Paterno, let's ask them both ways and try, even if it's difficult, to imagine that this isn't so black-and-white. We all want to think that we'd do the "right" thing. I want to think that if I were told something similar that I'd know what to do and I'd do it. But if we take what we know and weave it together, it's tougher.
As Drew Magary wrote on Deadspin:
I'm willing to believe that all of the Penn State officials implicated in this scandal wish they would have done more, not just because some are facing criminal charges, but because they realize that their inaction in the face of enough evidence that should have spurred them to more action helped enable a man to commit more crimes. I don't believe that Curley, Spanier, Shultz, Paterno, McQueary, State College Police or anyone at The Second Mile "support" child rape. They collectively made morally flawed decisions, and possibly illegal ones, when they had a chance to do something about it.
So, why didn't any of these people do more? Is it because they are all morally bankrupt, corrupt people, who care more about Penn State football than the well-being of children? All of them? What about the nuns who turn a blind eye to the priests? What about mothers who don’t say anything even when they have suspicions about people in their own house? As much as we are tempted to make things into a yes/no, black/white situation, sometimes there are shades of gray.
Why Do We React The Way We Do?
When society reacts to scandals, there is such a temptation to be immediate, complete, and severe in our judgment. It's not good enough to be outraged on Tuesday if you could have been outraged on Monday. So we read the headlines, read the salacious details, make our judgments, and move on to the next scandal. We rarely slow down to give something a second thought or to try to actually understand what happened and why.
Here, the alleged crimes by Sandusky are so heinous that it has sparked a predictable "burn-in-hell" type sentiment toward the individuals involved, the football program, and the entire university. Some woman from the Washington Post is even calling for the football program to be disbanded permanently. As in, forever.
But why are we judging so quickly and decisively? Why with such certainty, severity and venom? Why the race to be first with outrage, first to the moral high-ground, and first to shout "Shame on Penn State" or "Joe must go"?
In this case, it's predictable because child rape is the easiest of all crimes to be outraged about and to have the masses support your outrage. It's a layup for a column writer: revered institution + revered figurehead + graphic details + alleged cover up + universally reviled crime = perfect opportunity to say something dramatic, to try to write something powerful, and to be outraged. After all, who is going to disagree with a column saying that child rape is bad and more should have been done to stop it?
But given the early stages of this case and the ongoing and alarming discovery of even more people who knew about this but didn't do enough, why not slow down and be a little bit more measured in our judgment of Paterno? If what happened was immoral and wrong -- and by the looks of it, it was -- then it will still be immoral and wrong tomorrow. And a month from now. I don't have to scream it as loud as I can today.
After all, most people think there is more to this story ... but what if the "more" to the story turns out to be that these guys knew less about Sandusky than we think? Or that they did more to stop it than we think? I know that in light of the specificity of the indictments that it's hard to imagine that -- believe me, it's difficult for me to imagine that Curley and Spanier didn't know more than they let on -- but think about this: Why is almost all of the skepticism about the indictment that it doesn't go far enough? Why is there near universal distrust of government ... except when it comes to indictments?
A lot of people have convicted, sentenced, and executed Paterno with complete and total certainty. Perhaps the facts, as they come in, will bear that out. Perhaps those who have determined that Penn State and Joe Paterno are evil will turn out to be right. But I'd rather be right after we know everything than wrong before we know it all.
Based on what we know now, Paterno's failure to do more does not make him the moral equivalent of Jerry Sandusky; instead, it means the good things he's done over 50+ years at Penn State are still good, but he failed to live up to his own high standards. He will pay a price for that. And if we find out that there's more to it, then he will pay an even steeper price.
So Who Should Go?
Curley and Schultz are rightfully gone. Graham Spanier, who has always struck me as a guy who really liked Graham Spanier, should be next to go, not only because of any specific poor conduct on his part in this scandal, but because the university should hit the reset button on him anyway to help clear this stain. [UPDATE: Spanier is out].
[Side note. Dear Jerry Sandusky, Please stop wearing Penn State clothing in public. Thank you. Sincerely, Everyone Ever.]
Paterno is retiring at the end of the season. In my mind, it would have been absurd to have him back next season, so that's not really news. And to help move on from this, the entire coaching staff, Tom Bradley and Jay Paterno included, should be purged at the end of the year. Clean house, then call Urban Meyer. In fact, call anyone except Todd Graham.
The closer question is whether Paterno should be gone now. I'm genuinely conflicted and, yes, I'm hedging. I get why people are saying he needs to go, and as discussed on the podcast, this situation is probably too big for him at this point in his career/life, so that could very well be the best course. He hasn't handled press conferences well in years, so exposing him to this crush may make an already ugly PR situation that much more of a nightmare.
But assuming that he's been truthful -- and that's what the attorney general said -- then I'm not sure that all that much more harm is done if he finishes out the season. There will certainly be outrage if he keeps coaching, but just as I wouldn't think of joining a "Joe Must Stay" rally, I wouldn't join the protests either. [Moot point. I know, he's out].
What Next?
No matter how this ultimately plays out, the reputation of Penn State as an institution is tarnished. It will be the target of outrage and the subject of ridicule for many years to come. As an alum, and with a ton of family who are also alumni, that's a really sad part of this.
But there is often a galvanizing effect when one of your institutions is attacked. I wrote about this in the wake of the Roethlisberger scandal (the 2010 one, not the 2008 or 2006 ones). While no Steelers fans were condoning his behavior, the fact that the organization became the target of outrage and ridicule made the fanbase coalesce around itself. Steeler Nation had a collective chip on its drunk shoulder last season.
The way Penn State has handled all of this sucks. At minimum, they're guilty of not doing enough. At worst, some are even guilty of crimes. But Penn State is bigger than Graham Spanier and Tim Curley. As hard as it is to believe, it's bigger than even Joe Paterno. The people who go there, who work there, and who went there didn't do anything wrong and, last time I checked, the entire university isn't indicted. So while we may not be proud of our administration or Coach Paterno, we can still be proud to be Penn State alumni. I am. And that's why this weekend I'll be rooting as hard as I ever have for Penn State to beat Nebraska. In my Penn State t-shirt.
[For more, listen to our podcast].
However, in the hectic aftermath of last weekend's indictment, everyone is focusing on the questions that need to be asked about Penn State officials. It's easy to pile on. What's tougher is to think about our reaction to scandals. Why are we so certain about things? And why do we have to proclaim our certainty immediately?
Why Didn't Anyone Do More?
While there is some dispute about what Paterno was told versus what he told AD Tim Curley, what's undisputed is that Paterno had knowledge of inappropriate conduct and didn't do any of the following things: call the police, contact Sandusky, call a school counselor, etc. As he finally acknowledged in his retirement announcement today, "This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."
In 2011, it's easy to sit and say that we know what Paterno should have done in 2002. Almost everyone agrees now that he, and a lot of other people, should have done more. There was willful blindness at various levels of the university which, when it allows more kids to be harmed, is the functional equivalent of knowing everything and doing nothing. Or maybe it's just the Bystander Effect -- the more people who know something bad is happening, the less likely it is that any of them will actually do something about it. Whatever it is, it's bad.
But if we're going to ask the tough questions of Paterno, let's ask them both ways and try, even if it's difficult, to imagine that this isn't so black-and-white. We all want to think that we'd do the "right" thing. I want to think that if I were told something similar that I'd know what to do and I'd do it. But if we take what we know and weave it together, it's tougher.
As Drew Magary wrote on Deadspin:
Sandusky was Paterno's colleague (and one would assume friend) for over three decades. So imagine someone coming up to you and telling you that your friend of 30 years was raping a kid in the shower. Would you believe it? Would you want to believe it? Probably not the first time you hear it. Would you go to the police? What if the grad assistant was wrong and your friend's life is ruined because of a misunderstanding? You might not even want to explore the matter further because you can't tolerate the idea of someone you trusted doing such monstrous things. I think the reason Paterno went to his AD and didn't go to the cops is because it provided him with the chance to have it both ways. This way, he was able to "report" it, without having to be the person who takes the significantly braver step of actually calling the police. Problem solved. Conscience cleared.Read Sally Jenkins' article in the Washington Post where she interviews a former FBI agent, Ken Lanning, who spent 35 years profiling pedophiles. Even if you don't agree with her, the ultimate point is that what seems obvious to us now may not have been so easy at the time. She writes:
“Whether it’s the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, USA Swimming, or Little League, you look at these groups and say, why do they keep screwing this up?” Lanning [former FBI agent who spent 35 years profiling pedophiles] asks.
According to the “acquaintance molester” profile, it’s probably a mistake to place all of the blame on Paterno personally. Paterno was perhaps in the worst position to see or judge the alleged behavior, because Sandusky was his valued assistant from 1966-1999.
“It’s hard to identify those people close to you as a potential molester, because you know them so well,” Lanning says. No one wants to believe such a thing of a friend.
Which is exactly why someone at Penn State’s institutional level should have done better. It was the responsibility of Paterno’s more dispassionate superiors Spanier, Schultz and Curley to take a much colder-eyed, distanced organizational view of Sandusky’s alleged behavior. Instead, they failed all along the line.
"An organization is bound to a higher standard; it has an obligation to rise above” the personal, Lanning says.These are not meant as excuses for Paterno's failure to do more, but it's the beginning of an explanation. As more and more details have emerged in the days since the indictment, what's become even more clear is that a lot of people had suspicions about Sandusky, and some, like Mike McQueary, had definitive evidence. What's also clear is that none of them did enough.
I'm willing to believe that all of the Penn State officials implicated in this scandal wish they would have done more, not just because some are facing criminal charges, but because they realize that their inaction in the face of enough evidence that should have spurred them to more action helped enable a man to commit more crimes. I don't believe that Curley, Spanier, Shultz, Paterno, McQueary, State College Police or anyone at The Second Mile "support" child rape. They collectively made morally flawed decisions, and possibly illegal ones, when they had a chance to do something about it.
So, why didn't any of these people do more? Is it because they are all morally bankrupt, corrupt people, who care more about Penn State football than the well-being of children? All of them? What about the nuns who turn a blind eye to the priests? What about mothers who don’t say anything even when they have suspicions about people in their own house? As much as we are tempted to make things into a yes/no, black/white situation, sometimes there are shades of gray.
Why Do We React The Way We Do?
When society reacts to scandals, there is such a temptation to be immediate, complete, and severe in our judgment. It's not good enough to be outraged on Tuesday if you could have been outraged on Monday. So we read the headlines, read the salacious details, make our judgments, and move on to the next scandal. We rarely slow down to give something a second thought or to try to actually understand what happened and why.
Here, the alleged crimes by Sandusky are so heinous that it has sparked a predictable "burn-in-hell" type sentiment toward the individuals involved, the football program, and the entire university. Some woman from the Washington Post is even calling for the football program to be disbanded permanently. As in, forever.
But why are we judging so quickly and decisively? Why with such certainty, severity and venom? Why the race to be first with outrage, first to the moral high-ground, and first to shout "Shame on Penn State" or "Joe must go"?
In this case, it's predictable because child rape is the easiest of all crimes to be outraged about and to have the masses support your outrage. It's a layup for a column writer: revered institution + revered figurehead + graphic details + alleged cover up + universally reviled crime = perfect opportunity to say something dramatic, to try to write something powerful, and to be outraged. After all, who is going to disagree with a column saying that child rape is bad and more should have been done to stop it?
But given the early stages of this case and the ongoing and alarming discovery of even more people who knew about this but didn't do enough, why not slow down and be a little bit more measured in our judgment of Paterno? If what happened was immoral and wrong -- and by the looks of it, it was -- then it will still be immoral and wrong tomorrow. And a month from now. I don't have to scream it as loud as I can today.
After all, most people think there is more to this story ... but what if the "more" to the story turns out to be that these guys knew less about Sandusky than we think? Or that they did more to stop it than we think? I know that in light of the specificity of the indictments that it's hard to imagine that -- believe me, it's difficult for me to imagine that Curley and Spanier didn't know more than they let on -- but think about this: Why is almost all of the skepticism about the indictment that it doesn't go far enough? Why is there near universal distrust of government ... except when it comes to indictments?
A lot of people have convicted, sentenced, and executed Paterno with complete and total certainty. Perhaps the facts, as they come in, will bear that out. Perhaps those who have determined that Penn State and Joe Paterno are evil will turn out to be right. But I'd rather be right after we know everything than wrong before we know it all.
Based on what we know now, Paterno's failure to do more does not make him the moral equivalent of Jerry Sandusky; instead, it means the good things he's done over 50+ years at Penn State are still good, but he failed to live up to his own high standards. He will pay a price for that. And if we find out that there's more to it, then he will pay an even steeper price.
So Who Should Go?
Curley and Schultz are rightfully gone. Graham Spanier, who has always struck me as a guy who really liked Graham Spanier, should be next to go, not only because of any specific poor conduct on his part in this scandal, but because the university should hit the reset button on him anyway to help clear this stain. [UPDATE: Spanier is out].
[Side note. Dear Jerry Sandusky, Please stop wearing Penn State clothing in public. Thank you. Sincerely, Everyone Ever.]
Paterno is retiring at the end of the season. In my mind, it would have been absurd to have him back next season, so that's not really news. And to help move on from this, the entire coaching staff, Tom Bradley and Jay Paterno included, should be purged at the end of the year. Clean house, then call Urban Meyer. In fact, call anyone except Todd Graham.
The closer question is whether Paterno should be gone now. I'm genuinely conflicted and, yes, I'm hedging. I get why people are saying he needs to go, and as discussed on the podcast, this situation is probably too big for him at this point in his career/life, so that could very well be the best course. He hasn't handled press conferences well in years, so exposing him to this crush may make an already ugly PR situation that much more of a nightmare.
But assuming that he's been truthful -- and that's what the attorney general said -- then I'm not sure that all that much more harm is done if he finishes out the season. There will certainly be outrage if he keeps coaching, but just as I wouldn't think of joining a "Joe Must Stay" rally, I wouldn't join the protests either. [Moot point. I know, he's out].
What Next?
No matter how this ultimately plays out, the reputation of Penn State as an institution is tarnished. It will be the target of outrage and the subject of ridicule for many years to come. As an alum, and with a ton of family who are also alumni, that's a really sad part of this.
But there is often a galvanizing effect when one of your institutions is attacked. I wrote about this in the wake of the Roethlisberger scandal (the 2010 one, not the 2008 or 2006 ones). While no Steelers fans were condoning his behavior, the fact that the organization became the target of outrage and ridicule made the fanbase coalesce around itself. Steeler Nation had a collective chip on its drunk shoulder last season.
The way Penn State has handled all of this sucks. At minimum, they're guilty of not doing enough. At worst, some are even guilty of crimes. But Penn State is bigger than Graham Spanier and Tim Curley. As hard as it is to believe, it's bigger than even Joe Paterno. The people who go there, who work there, and who went there didn't do anything wrong and, last time I checked, the entire university isn't indicted. So while we may not be proud of our administration or Coach Paterno, we can still be proud to be Penn State alumni. I am. And that's why this weekend I'll be rooting as hard as I ever have for Penn State to beat Nebraska. In my Penn State t-shirt.
[For more, listen to our podcast].
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