On the Ovechkin Steroid Question, Did Ryan Lambert Just Come Off as Dumber than John Steigerwald?

By Finesse

[For additional follow up, click here]

Ryan Lambert, the guy whose articles we intentionally skip on Puck Daddy, went on Trib Live radio today to confront/get confronted by John Steigerwald. On Sunday, Steigerwald wrote a column in a newspaper no one reads (the Somewhere Observer-Reporter) in which he says that it was his personal belief that Alex Ovechkin's decline in performance was the result of him stopping use of performance enhancing drugs (with some factual "updates" here).  Lambert responded on Monday, purporting to have "squashed" the accusation.

Let's be clear. John Steigerwald is generally a reprehensible human being. We dislike him, and so does almost everyone else. Imagine if Rush Limbaugh had a baby with Rush Limbaugh and named it Rush Limbaugh and then that kid inseminated himself and had a baby named John Steigerwald. That's what we're dealing with here. But if there's one thing we like less than John Steigerwald it's when the Internet hockey media community unites in smug disdain for anything, no matter what it is. Today brought out the worst in everyone, including Puck Daddy. If we ever longed for #nowords, today was the day.

Read on for the worst, after the jump...


The landscape is littered with nonsense. Let's start with Ryan Lambert. His first mistake was going on the radio with John Steigerwald. It's a scientifically proven fact that you will lose every argument against a conservative radio host, even if you don't actually lose the argument. That's how it works. But unfortunately for Lambert, he actually may have lost the argument. His blind defense of Ovechkin, and reference in his column to anyone who dares raise the question of PEDs in regards to Ovechkin's decline as "idiots" reveals a stunning and unearned hubris, as well as an alarming ignorance of the past 15 years of professional sports.



Then you have his cohorts in summoning indignation and outrage: Greg Wyshynski and Dmitry Chesnokov.

Chesnokov began his sarcastic and mystifyingly unnecessary Steigerwald rebuttal on Twitter by asking questions like: "Would that author blame Jonathan Cheechoo's amazing rapid decline on PED taking too?" and "so, every player who is not close to being what they were should be assumed to have used PED?"

He then picks a fight with what appears to be the Twitter boogey-man: "One note: it is plain wrong to assume the city of Pittsburgh and Pens fans are all like Steigerwald. That's not true."  I guess we kind of appreciate his defense of us, but it's an obvious point in response to an argument no one is making. 



Then there is Greg Wyshynski.  If you ever feel like following someone feeling good about himself in real-time, read his Twitter feed.  Among other things, he:

1) accuses Steigerwald of libeling Ovechkin while evidently being unaware of the elements and burden of proof of such a claim;
2) tells us, "Steigerwald makes a great point: Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Alex Kovalev grew up in a steroid culture," insinuating that if Steigerwald thinks Ovechkin is on steroids then those guys are using too, which of course has nothing at all to do with whether Ovechkin ever used steroids, and;
3) pronounces that "Lambert and I both did a search for Ovechkin's links to that steroid doctor. We found none outside of Pens messages boards."  One could argue this is about as thorough of an investigation as was conducted by the NHL and Capitals.

We have no idea whether Ovechkin, or his mom, or anyone else in the NHL has ever used steroids.  Neither does John Steigerwald.  But neither does Ryan Lambert.  For Lambert, Chesnokov, and Wyshynski to rule out PEDs from the equation entirely, and, at least Lambert's case, call everyone who brings it up an "idiot," is just as irresponsible as he accuses Steigerwald of being. The truth is that we don't know, but if history serves as any guide, and it almost always does, then there's a chance Steigerwald is right.

But wait. Who the hell cares what John Steigerwald thinks, anyway?

Whatever the case, we're not "idiots" for asking the question.

[For additional follow up, click here]

GTOPG: Thank God we didn't have to listen to Jack Edwards; Pens lose to champs*, 3-1

By GTOG Staff

After last night's game, GTOG was pissed.  Angry texts were exchanged.  Plans for raw emotion podcasts were made.  We angrily called out two players who we secretly think get a little too much love in Pittsburgh (Finesse: Orpik; Artistry: Sullivan).  This morning, however, with the benefit of some perspective, we're no longer angry about the Pens' lackluster 3-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup Champion* Boston Bruins.  But we're still very disappointed.  Let's go plus-minus on this:

Minus

1. Where's the edge? The Bruins are known for playing an annoying style with hyper-annoying players like Brad Marchand (who should be suspended for the slew foot on Niskanen).  And while the Pens responded to the Bruins' peskiness, the Pens didn't initiate any of it.  Everything was reactionary: Niskanen's fight, Vitale's fight, tackling that Pee Wee with the facemask who hit Geno.  We love that our guys stand up for each other, and seeing Marchand and Colin Campbell's kid get hit repeatedly in the face is always deeply gratifying, but the whole night it felt like the Pens' "edge" was forced.

Consistently putting nose where it doesn't belong.

 2. The three-headed monster was hibernating.  Staal was way off his game (he gets a slight pass for the obviously uncomfortable eye injury he was dealing with).  Sid was good, but far from dominant -- on his first shift of the game, he had about 4 really lazy passes.  The fact that he has so many points is a testament to his unbelievable talents, because for the past 5 or so games, he has not been as dominant as we're accustomed to.  It will come.

And then there's Geno.  Oh, Geno.  You look so graceful, so pretty.  You gallop like a Clydesdale leading a pack of ponies.  But can you please bury one of your chances?  You make incredible moves and then shoot the puck about 4 inches lower than it needs to be.  The upper corner is your friend, and you treat the top shelf like it's forbidden.  You have no bigger fans than GTOG.  But we know what you're capable of, and you're capable of more.  Just sayin'.

3. Finish ain't just a language in the Finnic group of the Uralic family of languages.  It's fantastic that the Pens out-shot the Bruins 46-27, because we can stick it on the Pens' season-ending award for "most games out-shooting the opponent by double digits and still losing."  It's not going to be difficult for the Pens to get shots on anyone; the team is that good.  But before you chalk this up to Tim Thomas standing on his head, or the Pens getting some bad bounces, consider the following: Tim Thomas and his creepy mustache play for Boston.  He's a great goalie, the best in the league.  If anyone is capable of stopping 45 of 46 shots in 4 out of 7 games, it's him.  He is their team, so if you can't beat him, then you aren't better than Boston.

With his eyes closed.

[We'd be remiss if we didn't point out the 7 posts that the Bruins hit].

4.  As Mike Tomlin would say, the Penguins got outplayed "in all three phases."  It doesn't matter if Letang was out.  Failing to scoring on over 3 minutes of 5-3 PP time is unacceptable.  The ghost of Mike Yeo.

Having said all that, let's spin positive for a moment. Check out the "plus" side of the legder, after the jump...


Plus

1.  95% of Penguins fans say the Pen's will win the Cup; 95% of Penguins fans need to calm the f**k down.  The fact that the Pens -- the near consensus "Stanley Cup favorite" -- got punked on their home ice by the defending Cup champs* is not the worst thing in the world.  You need these games in December to remind you that you aren't that good, and that other teams are.  This wasn't one of those losses that exposed any structural or character flaws in the Pens -- it's a loss to a very good team that played better than the Pens. We have complete confidence that the Pens will handle this loss the proper way -- acknowledge that you got beat, and play better next time.

2.  James Neal ain't afraid of no man. There is not one ounce of back-down in Neal, and if there is one thing Zdeno Chara was thinking about when he found himself startled and awake at 3:30 am Tuesday, it's this: "I have to play 30 minutes a night. It's exhausting enough. Please don't make me do it against that guy."  Meanwhile, Bob Errey slept soundly last night just hours after regaling a live audience with repeated references to Neal's enormous stick.

Impressive.

3.  The Penguins go deep.  One thing we're not doing Tuesday is dwelling on what might have been had Letang, Michalek, and Engelland suited up last night.  Bobby Bortuzzo, Al Picard, and Simon Despres may not have what it takes to handle the defending champs*, but they certainly didn't embarrass themselves.  We love what we've seen from them, and, if anything, the Pens' highly regarded stable of defense prospects isn't highly regarded enough. Comes in handy in a pinch and/or at the trade deadline.

4.  Paul Martin is back, baby! 29:43 of some of the best defense you'll ever see.

Let's move along. Because you know where we're going on Thursday.

GTOPG: Like sands through the hourglass, these are the Bungles; Steelers Win, 35-7

By GTOG Staff

Like the crunching of the fall leaves under your feet, or the seasonal depression, every December plays out the same way: the Steelers demolish the Bengals in a game that really could have been a lot closer if not for the fact that the Bengals were involved.

De-cember Football.

As the Steelers' defense does all the time now, they were about to give up a clock-killing scoring drive on the opponent's first possession, only this time the Bengals were determined not to let that happen.  A pretty touchdown pass by Andy Dalton was called back for a false start.  On his next throw, Dalton lofted one just a few fingertips too high.  The Bengals drilled a field goal, only to have that waived off because they took too long.  The Steelers then blocked the most obviously-going-to-be-blocked field goal ever, and it was off to the races.  The Steelers went into beat-down mode.  The Bungles had arrived.

As we discussed on our podcast last week after the Steelers escaped Arrowhead Stadium with a win over a lousy Chiefs team, you should never put any stock into a Steelers' performance against a bad team.  The fact that the Steelers narrowly beat K.C. was meaningless; it indicated nothing about the Steelers' ability to beat a good team in the playoffs.  Yesterday, on the other hand, was encouraging: the Steelers were given an opportunity to bury a feisty team, and they did.

More on the game and the final quarter of the season, after the jump...




- James Harrison has 8 sacks in 8 games, and two three-sack performances in his last 4 games. And he played the first 4 games of the season at far less than 100%. He's 33. Has any linebacker ever been as dominant at that age? Kevin Greene had 15 sacks in 15 games for Carolina at age 36, which is just absurd. Anybody else in the ballpark? With only 8 years as a regular, Harrison is a "young" 33, but his production is, by any definition, exceptional and abnormal.

- With 4 games to play, it looks like the Steelers have a real shot at having two 1,000 yard wide receivers. Currently, Mike Wallace has 977 yards and Antonio Brown has 774. And Brown has at least 67 yards receiving in each of his last 6 games.

- Here's what the Steelers might not have: a 1,000 yard rusher. Rashard Mendenhall has only 634 yards through 12 games.

- The Steelers have Cleveland coming up this Thursday, and then San Francisco the following Monday night, followed by St. Louis and then Cleveland again.  We know San Francisco is good, but we also know that the Steelers always win impressively on national TV heading into the playoffs so that Chris Berman can hold both of his hands up, palms facing in with the side of the hand tapping the table, and then saying, "Don't look now...but look at the PITTSBURGH STEELERS."

"Look ... just want to say ... look ... Pittsburgh ... look ... the Rooneys ... look ... playoffs."

- So if it comes at all, where does the Steelers' fourth loss come from?  Don't worry about sleeping on St. Louis;  take an ambien, drink a bottle of wine, and then take another ambien on St. Louis.  The last game of the year at Cleveland is a win, because Cleveland will have quit by then.  That leaves Thursday at home against the Brownies.  If the Indy, Jax, and KC games have taught us anything, it's that the Steelers are capable of losing to bad teams.  They also taught us that the Steelers are so much better than bad teams that they will usually win even when they play like crap.

- To summarize: it's very possible that the Steelers will win their last 4 games.

GTOPG: Pens Squash Desparate Canes; Win, 3-2

By Artistry

Sidney Crosby took another step forward in his return to dominating the NHL on Saturday, previewing for the rest of the conference what the Penguins will look like when they roll out Sid, Geno, and Staal on consecutive shifts, you manage to limit the damage, and then Arron Asham, Craig Adams, and Richard Park jump down your throat.  This 3-2 win in Carolina will be remembered for a possibly unprecedented kill of a two-man advantage for a full two minutes at the end of regulation when Pittsburgh's top two penalty killers - Staal and Cooke - weren't even on the ice.  Brent Johnson was impenetrable.  Brooks Orpik was in beast mode.  But this was mostly about how fruitless it can be to try to keep pace with a Penguins team that has its horses up front going at a full gallop.  Incredible prelude to Monday night's game against the formidable Bruins, and a reminder to new Carolina coach Kirk Muller that he will go down in history as #2.

We're busy watching the Bengals botch field goals right now, so no full recap. Hoping Jordan Staal is OK and gearing up for tomorrow.  LGP.

BREAKING NBA NEWS: Someone implies that Chris Paul can read

By Finesse

Absolutely enormous NBA news today, as Ric Bucher cites a "source familiar with [Chris] Paul's thinking" and reports that Chris Paul has been following the news and does, in fact, understand that the New York Knicks do not have a lot of good players that they can trade for him.

According to Bucher, the "source familiar with Paul's thinking" said:

"He has not asked for a trade to the Knicks because he knows the Knicks don't have anything to offer.  He wouldn't insult the Hornets by doing that."

Via an exclusive text message to GTOG this afternoon, a source familiar with the bounds of human etiquette and decency reports that yes, the Hornets are still insulted.

In other news, an individual living inside Kobe Bryant's head has confirmed that Kobe has received a copy of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in the mail and plans on reading it at his leisure over the next two days.  This source would neither confirm nor deny earlier reports from a source familiar with a source familiar with the situation that Kobe received the copy of the CBA by email, as opposed to old fashioned mail.

GTOPG: Getting 17 shots on goal is what Dale Hunter is all about; Pens Win, 2-1

 By GTOG Staff

Sometimes the Penguins win and we write recaps that barely even acknowledge the existence of the opponent.  But sometimes, while thrilled that the Pens won, we can't objectively say that the story of the game is anything other than the opponent.  Last night was all about Washington.

We make sport out of poking fun at the Capitals and often that comes out of a place of begrudging respect for a deadly lineup.  (Other times it's because the owner writes like, and has the emotional stability of, a 4th grader.  Thank you.).  But we were in attendance last night and there was something that felt much different.  Having been to about ten Pens-Caps games in D.C. over the past 5 years, there were two constants: the fans hated the Penguins and loved the Capitals.  Last night only one of those was still true -- the fans hated the Penguins.

It's 30 games into the season so we would never write the Capitals off.  Not with that lineup.  But make no mistake about it -- the 2011-12 Capitals have a dramatically different feel than anything else from the Ovechkin-era.  As Pens fans, we couldn't be happier.  But if we were Caps fans?  Oh boy.

Sometimes the best way to gauge a team is to watch the people who watch the team every day.  If there is something wrong with the team, the fans will almost always sense it and it will manifest itself in more grumbling, less cheering, and a general expectation that they're going to lose.  Last night was almost completely devoid of the things that we had come to expect at Verizon center: an enthusiastic crowd, a sense of anticipation and excitement every time Ovechkin stepped on the ice, and even "Crosby sucks" chants.

"Wait, they aren't showing my old highlights at every game?"

There is something happening in Washington that is hard to explain.  Maybe it's as simple as sending a message by shipping out Alex Semin, although he's just an outbreak, not the actual virus.  Maybe it's as simple Mike Green getting back on the scooter and heading to the rink, but if the answer is to get a guy healthy who Caps' fans wanted to trade over the summer, then we're extremely confused.  Or maybe it's just 30 games into the season and we should follow GTOG's model of never getting too high or too low.  It matters not how you play in December, only how you're playing in May (you know, if you're still playing in May).

One thing we don't think is going to be the answer is Dale Hunter.  It seems that the thinking behind the Dale Hunter hiring went something like this:

Ted Leonsis: Ok, Bruce has to be fired.  Who should we hire next?
George McPhee: I don't know.  [Turning to Alan May].  Alan, why are you naked?
Alan May: I'm thinking about how tough Dale Hunter was in the early 1990's.
McPhee: Gee, maybe we should hire Dale Hunter?
Leonsis:  Ok.  Thank you.

The only thing that is being consistently touted as one of Dale Hunter's virtues is his toughness, to which we say, what effing difference does that make?  Dale Hunter isn't going to be able to elbow his way through the Tampa 1-3-1, or cross-check his way through line-matching during a road playoff game.  The guy owns one suit, and people are talking about that like it's a good thing.  He's a 50 year old man who has to wear a suit to work every day.  And he has one suit.  It's almost like his simpleness is being treated as his greatest asset.  Maybe it will be, but right now there's an eerie familiarity about all of this.

Much more on the game after the jump...



- In the second period, Jordan Staal carried the puck into the Caps' zone. The whistle blew. The play was off-side. Everybody stopped. Nothing to see here. The crowd was quiet, except for the guy behind us. "F**k you, Staal you f**king mother f**ker!!!! F**k you!!!" he shouted. Nothing better illustrates how wound up Capitals Nation is about everything right now.  It's also possible that guy has Tourette's.

- The most encouraging thing about this game for the Penguins? Of all the names we expected to see on the scoreboard at the end of regulation, we didn't think of this one. But we should have. Your #1 star of the game: Paul Martin. He's miscast on the top power play unit, but he played 28:11 of flawless defense and was the primary reason the Capitals struggled to get a forecheck going. When he's right, getting the puck out of his own zone and up ice is like taking a shower in the morning for the Prime Minister.

Random in-person observation: there is always a lot of snow on Martin's stick-blade.

- The other guy who makes it so hard for the opposition to generate sustained offense against Pittsburgh is Kris Letang, but where the Pens are really missing Letang now is in the offensive zone. He's not a classic power play quarterback either, but his elite skating and puck possession open up the ice for the big guns. We're huge Michalek fans, but he's replaceable. Letang is not.

- Solid showing by young Simon Despres, and another impressive game by Bobby Bortuzzo, if only because not once do we remember thinking about Bobby Bortuzzo.

- This may have been Steve Sullivan's weakest showing as Penguin. But Steve Sullivan gets a mulligan.

- When the Penguins signed Arron Asham, no one liked Asham less than we did. It didn't matter that he would now wear a Pens sweater; we were prepared to hold a grudge against Arron Asham for the rest of his career based on animosity built up during his stints in Philly and New York. Man, has Arron Asham ever turned us around. The first goal of the game was all Asham, as he set up Craig Adams brilliantly for a tap-in. Then he stood tall against Big John Erskine, who was tasked with avenging Jay Beagle. Asham knew it was coming, and he handled it with the strength and stoicism we've now come to associate with Arron Asham. Nobody ducks a punch and comes back firing like Asham. So steady.

- We leave you with a look at the game-winning goal by Chris Kunitz. Hands of baby thighs. The strength of a bull.

 

Get us to the Game: Boudreau, OvHGHkin, Despres, Keys to the Game

By Artistry

It's Thursday, December 1, 2011, and if you're in Washington, D.C., you know what it means. You can hear people talking. You can see the anticipation in their eyes. You can even smell the fear. All of us here at GTOG will be in attendance tonight to take in what for us is just another Pittsburgh Penguins regular season game, but what for many of the Verizon Center faithful is no less the biggest game in the history of the Washington Capitals. With that backdrop, let's get to our game.

- In a surprising move given that the Picard/Bortuzzo pairing was serviceable enough on Tuesday, Simon Despres is in the lineup tonight. Exhibit A that the Penguins do not consider this Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

- Suitably impressed at how little just-fired coach Bruce Boudreau was able to do with a supremely talented Capitals roster, the Anaheim Ducks apparently reasoned that if Boudreau could do less with more, it's only logical that he can do more with less. So they fired Stanley Cup-winning coach Randy Carlyle and hired Boudreau overnight, seemingly without much deliberation. Early reports out of Anaheim are that Ducks players are thrilled at the prospect of hearing Boudreau say something profound in the locker room between periods. This could actually be a good hire for the Ducks in the short term. If they had the potential to be a legitimate contender, it would be a terrible move, but if they're just looking for a spark, they could do worse.

"F**kin' you could do worse than me, f**kface!"

- Speaking of coaches who garner a lot of respect for no apparent reason, Dale Hunter is reportedly implementing a 1-2-2 in Washington. Because the Caps respond so well to rigid defensive systems that stifle creativity.  Do that, Dale. And start putting vaseline in Ovechkin's gloves. He will LOVE you.

- We remember the reports linking the Capitals with steroid use. And, like everyone else, we noticed Alex Ovechkin's precipitous statistical decline in the wake of those reports. But we never really connected the dots. Then we saw this tweet on Wednesday from @Dejan_Kovacevic: "Why is it only OK to question PED use when it comes to baseball players? Are we really that naive to think they're not in other pro sports?"  He followed that by acknowledging that we have no way of knowing whether Ovechkin did anything. Of course we don't. But do we wish we had thought of that? Of course we do. This is why Dejan is the best sports reporter in town.

- No pressure on Ovechkin tonight.

- GTOG's keys to the game: 1) Staying out of the box. The Penguins penalty kill is suddenly faltering badly. Whatever the state of the Capitals, you don't want them on the PP with no Zybnek or Letang; 2) Flower. Always Flower.

We'll be at Gordon Biersch at 5:30 pm. Come join us if you're in the area. Just look for the aura of confidence.

Much like Mario, we will all be in 5-button suits.