TODAY'S HEADLINES

Pens remain perfect in shootouts: The Penguins were able to overcome a sparkling 46-save performance from Jimmy Howard and outlast the Detroit Red Wings by a 2-1 count in OT on Sunday afternoon in front of a national NBC audience. The win gave the Pens a perfect 7-0 record in shootouts this season.

Sidney Crosby scored in regulation and in the shootout, and Evgeni Malkin added the shootout clincher as the Penguins won for the third time in their last four games. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots in regulation and both Detroit attempts in the shootout for the win in goal.

It was a playoff atmosphere at the Igloo, which was packed to above-capacity with more than 17,000 in attendance. The teams played a relatively clean game, but neither side would capitalize on the eight power plays handed out.

The Pens are back at it on Monday night against Buffalo. Gametime is set for 7 PM and TV will be on Versus. [ESPN]

Pitt scorched in Florida: Guard Dominique Jones shredded the Pitt defense to the tune of 37 points in a disappointing 70-61 South Florida victory over the Panthers on Sunday afternoon. Pitt was playing without defensive stopper Jermaine Dixon, who injured his foot in their win over St. John's on Thursday. I think it's safe to say they missed him.

The loss was the third in four games for the Panthers, who can officially be tagged as "struggling". They did get a career high 25 points from Gilbert Brown, but this one can be boiled down to free throw shooting, where Pitt was definitively weak on this day. The Panthers, who are making 70% of their foul shots on the season, shot just 54% from the charity stripe on Sunday, missing five free throws after USF's lead was cut to 54-50 with 5:33 remaining.

Brad Wanamaker scored 14 and Ashton Gibbs added 11 for the Panthers, who fell to 16-5 and 6-3 in the Big East with the loss. Next up is the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl on Wednesday night at WVU, with a 7 PM tip on ESPN. [ESPN]

Pitt to the Big Tenleven? This rumor gained a lot of steam over the weekend, and it's going nuts in a few message boards. I know I'm opening up a major can of worms mentioning anything regarding Pitt and the conference which houses Penn State, but I actually think it would be a good business move for the Panthers. And as an extra bonus, back comes Pitt-Penn State. I can hear Nittany teeth gnashing as we speak. [KC Star]

And speaking of Pitt and Penn State: Adam the Penn State fan penned an article on Black Shoe Diaries where some of you are quoted, and wanted me to pass it along. Thy will be done. [Black Shoe Diaries]

AFC wins Pro Bowl, nation collectively yawns: The AFC won the 2010 Pro Bowl with a 41-34 victory on Sunday night in Miami, with Houston's Matt Schaub, the AFC's fifth choice for QB, taking home MVP honors.

Nearly 40% of the players originally selected for the game didn't play, but the Colts and Saints did show up despite bulk complaints out of Indianapolis. Super Bowl players have to show up a night early, not have to play, and be adored by fans and media? And everything is comped? How dare you, Roger Goodell!

Of local interest, Heath Miller had one catch for 13 yards, James Harrison had a late interception, and LaMarr Woodley had a 64-yard pick six of Donovan McNabb wiped out by a 12 men on the field penalty. Didn't anyone learn anything from the Vikings game? [ESPN]

A 300 game and hole in one two days later. Had to be a former Yinzer: And it was 57-year-old Wayne Persang, formerly of Pittsburgh, who rolled a perfect 300 game while bowling in a league at Countryside Lanes in Clearwater, Florida on January 11. On January 13th at Highland Lakes Golf Course in Palm Harbor, Persang aced the fifth hole. Someone buy this guy a ticket to Vegas, because he's on fire. [TampaBay.com]

PirateFest crowds are up: Total attendance for PirateFest was 15,398, up 271 from last year, with a 1,200-person boost over last year's final day. Unfortunately, 1,000 of those people showed up expecting to see Mario Lemieux.

I kid, I kid. Of course they were there for Evan Meek. [PBC Blog]

Because you asked for it: Some of you have noticed, but I did place a little schedule of the week's upcoming local games on the right sidebar for convenience purposes. This weekend, I also added standings and stat page links for each local team as well. Chalk up this innovation to the end-of-year survey and thank your fellow readers who suggested it.

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LEMIEUX INTERESTED IN OWNING THE PIRATES? YES, PLEASE.

For years, there's been a hope that Mark Cuban would buy/save the Pirates, for the reasons being that A. he was from Pittsburgh and B. he was rich.

As weak as the Pirate ownership has been, I was never on board with the Cuban dream. Call it merely a hunch, but I didn't feel that it was the right fit, although that's certainly open for debate. And I never had a firm grasp of how serious he really was about buying it.

But the news I read last night from Dejan Kovacevic in the PG is something that I can believe in. Believe in, back, support, whatever you can do to push it forward, you can bet that I'll be on board.

Both franchises appear to be telling a different side of what happened, but one thing is for sure: the Pirates' and Penguins' head honchos recently had a closed-door business meeting. The Penguins sources are saying Lemieux's Penguin partner, Ron Burkle, made an offer to buy the Pirates. The Pirates are saying it was about another matter, and continue to insist that the team is not for sale.

Bob Nutting is no dummy. His group has been feeding this cash cow on a diet of revenue sharing and broadcasting rights for a long time, and according to Forbes, it is worth about $288 million. For comparison's sake, Kevin McClatchy paid $95 million for the team back in 1996. So basically, in the last decade-plus of strictly losing baseball, the value of the franchise has nearly tripled. One can only imagine what it would be worth with a winner on the field, selling more tickets, more merchandise, and higher local broadcasting rights.

If anyone has proven to know what they're doing in the field of pro sports ownership, it's the Lemieux/Burkle group. What they've done with the Penguins did take a matter of some luck in the draft, but also needed the right touch to finish what the lottery Gods gave them. That's hiring Ray Shero, that's managing the payroll, that's having a fan relation staff second to none. They know Pittsburgh, they know Pittsburgh sports, and they know Pittsburgh sports fans. Having their people in charge of the Pirates could be a dream come true for the long-suffering Bucco fan.

Where this goes from here is up in the air. To have this news come out during PirateFest is probably the worst-case scenario for that organization, but face it, their existence has been worst-case scenario since Sid Bream crossed the plate in 1992. They're used to dealing with bad news.

But from a fan point of view, now that's where this gets interesting. If you thought there was pressure on Pirate ownership in the past, that's going to pale in comparison to what will happen next. Mario Lemieux has been The Best Thing To Happen To Pittsburgh at least three times by my count - he saved the Penguins on the ice, he saved the Penguins from bankruptcy, and he saved the Penguins from moving. And that's not to mention the Stanley Cups and millions of dollars raised for local charities. How there's not 10 statues of this man around town is a mystery in itself.

Bob Nutting? Let's take the high road and say he's not quite as distinguished with the locals. And that league-low $35 million payroll and likely 18th consecutive losing season isn't going to win him many more friends.

This is a story that began months ago, but is only being talked about now. I think it could be one of the biggest developments in Pittsburgh sports history if it actually comes to fruition. Turning around that franchise just might be the impossible. But if there's one guy who we can count on to do the impossible, it's Mario Lemieux.

Lemieux, Penguins co-owner offer to buy Pirates [PG]

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STEELERS HIRE JERRY O

The Steelers have ended their search for Lou Spanos' replacement as a defensive assistant coach, settling on one of their former players, Jerry Olsavsky, who was with the team from 1989-1997. Olsavsky beat out another former Steeler linebacker, Earl Holmes, for the job.

I just ran through his bio a week ago or so when he was originally announced as a candidate, so for those of you who missed it...

"Jerry O", who hails from Youngstown, Ohio, was most recently employed by Youngstown State as coach of the linebackers. He was let go along with the rest of the staff at the end of the season. Olsavsky had a solid career at Pitt and entered the league as a 10th round pick of the Steelers in 1989, where he lasted until 1997. He also spent time in the Cincinnati and Baltimore organizations at the end of his career. Since leaving the pro game, Olsavsky has coached at Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina in addition to YSU.

Steelers hire former LB Olsavsky as defensive assistant coach [Trib]

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PIRATEFEST STARTS TODAY

I can actually remember going to the first-ever Piratefest 20 years ago at the Monroeville Expo Mart, and some lucky day I might actually find the photo evidence of my attendance. After standing in line for what seemed like an eternity, I can vividly recall meeting a larger-than-life Bobby Bonilla, who quickly penned his signature on my wood-grain-designed 1987 Topps card, as well meeting the one and only Jim Leyland and several other Buccos. To be totally honest, it was one of the highlights of my life up to that point, endless wait in line aside (hey, as a 12-year-old baseball lover in Fayette County, you don't get many opportunities like that).

So I'll always hold a soft spot in my heart for the event, even if it's clouded by the deserved cynicism that comes another year of kicking off a new Pirate season. I was there at the first one, so I feel some sort of connection to it. I don't know if meeting real, live Pirates holds the same importance these days with young kids as it did 20 years ago. My brain tells me it doesn't. But I still hope that one day that will change. Contrary to what some think, I do not hate the Pirates, only what's happened to the Pirates. As I always say, a bigger crime as a fan would be not caring at all.

So for all of the people not yet totally jaded by the PBC, this year's PirateFest starts today at "The Dave", and as usual, it's loaded with opportunities for autographs, as witnessed by the schedule below (click on it for a larger view so as not to strain your eyes):

Here's the info for any of you who might attend. Any photos and/or first-hand accounts you could share would certainly be passed along to the readers.

Dates and Times:
Friday, January 29: 5:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 30: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 31: Noon - 5:00 p.m.

Location:
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Hall A

Ticket Prices:
Adult admission: $12.00
Kids ages 14 and younger: $4.00

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Pens 1, Senators 4: Geno Malkin scored just 1:34 into the game, but that was all the offense the Pens would get in a 4-1 loss to Ottawa on Thursday night at the Igloo.

Malkin appears to have worked his way out of his recent slump, as he has now scored in six straight games, with six goals and five assists over that span. But it wasn't enough for a Pens team that clearly did not bring their A-game.

Pittsburgh ran into a red-hot Senators team on Thursday night that has now won eight in a row and trails them by just three points for the fourth spot in the East. Brian Elliott was the story for Ottawa, playing an excellent game in goal and stopping 30 of 31 shots to win his sixth consecutive start. He outlasted Marc-Andre Fleury, who saved 24 of 27 while continuing to battle a pesky finger injury.

The Pens are off until Sunday's clash with the Detroit Red Wings, and one goal is not going to cut it then, either. [ESPN]

Pitt gets a "W": Brad Wanamaker had 16 points, Ashton Gibbs scored 14, and Gary McGhee chipped in 10 to lead a balanced Pitt attack in a 63-53 win against St. John's on Thursday. The win ended a brief two-game losing skid for the 16-4 Panthers, who are now 6-2 in the Big East.

Pitt was down 28-24 at the half and held a narrow 54-52 lead with just 1:56 to play in the game, but went on a 9-1 run to close out the Red Storm. The Panthers were once again frigid from three-point land, shooting an abysmal 16.7% on 12 attempts, and they were outrebounded 37-27; but St. John's shot even worse, hitting on just 33% from the floor, while turning the ball over 15 times.

Some bad news to report, though: Jermaine Dixon went down with an ankle injury with 16:44 remaining in the game and did not return. Dixon has been getting worked hard by the injury bug, having missed the first eight games of the season due to a right foot he broke not once, but twice during the summer.

The Panthers go for two in a row on Sunday afternoon at 13-7 South Florida, which is led by guard Dominique Jones and a 21.0 PPG average. [ESPN]

Cignetti stays put: Pitt OC Frank Cignetti Jr. put a quick end to that Chicago Bears talk, and released the following statement last night:

"My return to Pitt last year was the realization of a longtime personal and professional goal," Cignetti said. "It was made even more gratifying by the outstanding season we enjoyed. I couldn't be more fortunate to work for Dave Wannstedt and coach these great kids.

"Despite recent reports connecting my name with other jobs, I am wholeheartedly committed to being at Pitt and continuing to establish our program among the nation's very best."

Translation: I enjoy working at Pitt and wanted no parts of Jay Cutler and Lovie Smith. [Trib]

Ohlendorf featured in SI: Ross "Mr. Wonderful" Ohlendorf scored a lengthy feature in this week's Who Dat-covered issue of Sports Illustrated because of his unique combination of Princeton, fastballs, and ranching.

One of these days, the Pirates are going to get a feature story strictly because a guy is an unreal player, and not an Indian reality show winner or Department of Agriculture intern. [SI]

AFC North All-Decade Team announced: As you can imagine, this was very Steeler-centric, with 12 members of the organization getting first-team accolades from ESPN. So don't hold your breath on my usual outrage at a national column slighting the local team. [ESPN AFC North Blog]

Hero honored by Pens: 23-year-old Army Sgt. Justin Lubash, a former Golden Gloves boxer and Serra HS hockey player, was honored at Thursday's Penguins game, and if you read the accompanying story, you'll understand why. It's a must-click. [PG]

Peezy probably done in Miami: It looks like LB Joey Porter and Bill Parcells' Miami Dolphins will finally be parting ways this offseason, as his cons have clearly outweighed his pros at this point in his career. What, you mean his constant yapping and refusal to come out of games? I have a hard time believing that any organization wouldn't want to endure another season of that. [PFT]

Pirates' farm system not quite there yet: It was 26th two years ago, 18th last year, and 16th this year. I'm talking about the Pirates' ranking in Baseball America's minor league systems, which is improved but still middle of the pack. Call it a Littlefield Hangover. [PBC Blog]

Edgar vs. Penn: Former Clarion wrestler Frank Edgar is fighting BJ Penn for the UFC Lightweight Title on April 10th at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, of all places.

Edgar is 11-1 with two knockouts and three submissions, with his last win coming on December 5 against Matt Veach at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. [FrankEdgar.com]

Miley finds a superstar in Plum: 16-year-old Amy Colalella of Plum just won Miley Cyrus' "Are You a Superstar" contest, beating out 8,000 others, by submitting a video clip singing Demi Lovato's "Two Worlds Collide." The prize? Try a record deal. So this probably isn't the last we'll be hearing about Colalella in these parts.

The McMutries visit Ellen: Local (and now national) heroes Jamie and Ali McMutrie were on an episode of Ellen Degeneres' talk show this week and received a boatload of toys and goodies to bring back for the orphans. I'm not an Ellen fan, but that was a class move. [Kiss 96.1 Morning Freak Show]

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BEARS INTERESTED IN CIGNETTI

No one wants to take the Chicago Bears' offensive coordinator job, basically for a couple of reasons:

1. Your fate is in the hands of Jay Cutler
2. Lovie Smith could be a dead man walking
3. Your fate is in the hands of Jay Cutler

The Bears have blown through their initial list of potential candidates, and they've either missed out or got apathetic responses from everyone to this point. Now, it looks like Pitt's Frank Cignetti Jr. is next on their call list, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Cignetti took over a Pitt offense coming off of a 3-0 Sun Bowl and turned it into one of the most exciting units in the country, averaging 32 points per game and flashing the ability to dial up the big play at any given time. The Bears have apparently noticed this, and have included him in their revised search, which also names Saints TE coach Terry Malone and Vikings QB coach Kevin Rogers as candidates.

Cignetti could potentially be the next Pitt coach someday, but who knows if or when that will ever happen in the fragile world of college football. He basically has to weigh the pros of another year of Dion Lewis-fueled offensive domination and Wannstache-fueled enthusiasm against a higher-paying gig that might only last one year and requires looking at this jolly mug every morning in meetings:

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GODARD OUT 4-6 WEEKS

Pens forward Eric Godard will be out 4-6 weeks with an injured groin, and to fill his roster spot, the team has recalled Nick Johnson, who has one goal in three NHL games this season. Godard has two assists and 64 penalty minutes in 42 games for the Penguins in 2009-10. His injury was suffered in the first period against the Rangers on Monday.

In other Pens injury news, Tyler Kennedy and Alex Goligoski will both miss tonight's game against Ottawa with undisclosed boo-boos, while Max Talbot and Bill Guerin are both expected to play.

Chris Kunitz, who has not played since January 3 because of abdominal surgery, skated today for the first time since the surgery and expects to be out at least one more week.

The Pens and Sens face off tonight at 7 PM, and will be televised on FSN. The red-hot Senators are riding a seven-game winning streak, so this should be a good one.

Penguins enforcer Godard out at least a month with groin injury [Trib]

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THURSDAY AT THE POLLS

It's time for another installment of Thursday at the Polls, the feature where you decide the right answer to Pittsburgh's hot button sports questions. As you can see from the photo above, the results aren't always so crystal-clear. Mr. Arians proved to be quite the divisive force in our last poll.

Other results from the last go-round:

Should Bert Blyleven be in the Hall of Fame? 79.9% yes
Will the Pitt Panthers make the NCAA tournament? 89.3% yes
Who wins the BCS Championship game? 73.4% Alabama
Which teams will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl? 53.8% San Diego
Which teams will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl? 26.4% Minnesota

With that as the primer, here's a new batch to mull over. And remember, vote responsibly.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

Online Surveys & Market Research

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CLAYTON'S TOP 10 SB PLAYS HAS ONE MAJOR OMISSION

Resident ESPN football know-it-all John Clayton just released his list of the top 10 plays in Super Bowl history, and while he ranked James Harrison's 100-yard interception touchdown #1, "The Professor" seems to have forgotten about a certain touchdown that happened at the end of that game in making his list. That's right, Ben-to-Santonio failed to get a spot in Clayton's top 10.

I know, I know, it's just one person's opinion, and really, who cares? But as another person, I have the right to my own opinion, and I can't believe that play not only isn't #1, but not even in the top 10. I guess I'll just have to get over the fact that I don't see everything eye-to-eye with John Clayton. Now I know how Sean Salisbury felt for all those years.

For the record, Clayton picked two other plays with connections to the Steelers: #3, Lynn Swann's catch in Super Bowl X against Dallas, and Larry Brown's interception of Neil O'Donnell with four minutes left in Super Bowl XXX, which he ranked ninth.

My top 10 Super Bowl plays [ESPN.com]

*By the way, there's a related feature today by ESPN called "Inside a Moment in Time" where they break down the Harrison play with interviews of the key players involved.

You can also re-rank Clayton's top 10, where David Tyree's catch in SB42 currently leads Harrison's TD by roughly 18,000 votes.

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Pitt losing a Buddy? I've always heard a lot of good things about Pitt strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris, and apparently, so have the Washington Redskins, who will interview him for a similar position on Wednesday.

Morris was Pitt's strength and conditioning coach from 1980-90 and from 1997 to 2001, moving on to hold the same position for the Cleveland Browns from 2002-05 under head coach Butch Davis. After a 2006 spent as director of sports performance at the University of Buffalo, Morris re-joined his alma mater and is credited with building up the Panthers' late-game endurance for five wins in the fourth quarter or overtime in 2008. [PG]

Duquesne axes four sports: It's a sad day for the Duquesne athletic department, which is doing away with baseball, wrestling, men's swimming and men's golf. The move will affect 70 athletes and will shift more than $1 million annually into the athletic department's 16 other sports. [WPXI]

Stan Musial: The Bridge: The Bridge Formerly Known as Donora-Monessen will soon be renamed in honor of Donora native Stan Musial, as a bill is set for a vote Wednesday in the Senate Transportation Committee.

The 89-year-old Cardinal great was a 24-time All-Star, 3-time World Series Champ and 3-time MVP. He hit .331 in his career, with 475 homers and 3,630 hits, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969.

Musial gets nowhere near the national recognition he deserves because he didn't play in New York, but this is a step in the right direction, even if only on a local level. [PG]

Ben Roethlisberger: The Football Camp: Boys and girls ages 7-14 can sign up now for this experience, which takes place on June 21-23 at Mars HS. Cost is $224 per person and includes goodies such as an autographed camp team photo. But as far as I know, you'll have to bring your own Big Ben Beef Jerky. [ProCamps.com]

Jersey Shore invades the North Shore: I totally whiffed on this, but apparently a few cast members of Jersey Shore were at McFadden's recently, and Channel 11 was there with camera in hand. If any of you fellow Italians out there are cool with the whole "Guido" thing, then click away, because the caption writer for these photos used it to describe virtually every picture in the gallery. [WPXI]

Concert season will be upon us soon: Dave Matthews just announced a concert at PNC Park on on July 10, and Megadeth will be coming to Greensburg's Palace Theatre of all places on March 12. But the big question: when is the Pants on the Ground guy coming to town?

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"WHAT IS NEW YORK?"

A kind soul named Terry saw this on Jeopardy the other night and sent it in. As the post title implies, the woman who answered got it wrong. I'm guessing she's probably not a big Mondesi's House fan either.

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COMING SOON: BILL MAZEROSKI, THE STATUE

Pittsburgh has long had a love affair with the celebrity statue, from Art Rooney to Willie Stargell to Roberto Clemente and Mr. Rogers. And that inanimate fraternity is apparently getting one more member, because a Bill Mazeroski statue will be coming to a PNC Park near you.

Dejan Kovacevic reports that the statue's plans will be made official at PirateFest this weekend, but a design and location have not yet been determined. It will be added during the coming season, not coincidentally the 50th anniversary of Maz's series-winning blast in 1960.

Bob Pompeani is touting an exclusive on the statue for Tuesday's 11 PM news, and an online article on KDKA's website says that the statue will be made in one of three poses:

- "Maz" with his gold glove fielding a ground ball

- "Maz" at bat commemorating the only walk-off homerun to win a World Series

- "Maz" rounding the bases at Forbes Field in 1960, celebrating his homerun to take down the Yankees

Pirates plan to add Mazeroski statue to PNC Park [PG]

Pirates To Make Statue For Bill Mazeroski [KDKA]

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Pens win for their papas: Freshly-recalled Chris Conner scored two goals, Geno Malkin scored on the power play, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 28 of 30 shots in leading the Pens to a 4-2 win over the NY Rangers at Madison Square Garden. As a reward for his great game, Conner was sent down this morning.

Once again in attendance were a number of the Pens' dads who were there celebrating the team's fourth annual "Dad's Trip", which I think is one of the coolest traditions going - although Ray Shero joked that if the Pens' record didn't improve during the Dad's trip games that he would change it to a "Mom's Trip" next season. Luckily, a 2-0 record this year should keep the fathers in business one more year.

Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang, and Sidney Crosby each had two assists for the Pens, and Pascal Dupuis added a victory cigar of an empty netter to officially suffocate the Rangers. The Pens played without Alex Goligoski, Max Talbot, and Bill Guerin, who were all nursing injuries.

In contrast to Sunday's game against the Flyers, this was a much cleaner contest, with the Penguins getting just two power play opportunities. The Pens' PK unit once again did a solid job, holding the Rangers scoreless on four PP attempts.

Riding a two-game winning streak, the Pens have a few days off before hosting Ottawa at the Igloo on Thursday. [ESPN, PittsburghPenguins.com]

Larry Fitzgerald, University of...Phoenix? As emailer/Pitt grad Ryan pointed out recently, how does the Pitt administration feel about Larry Fitzgerald doing ads for the University of Phoenix? [Phoenix.edu]

Willie Parker moving on? That's certainly what it sounds like, especially if you read today's article from Gerry Dulac in the PG.

Parker always seemed to divide the fan base somewhat because of his style, but he won two rings, holds a Super Bowl record, and had an unreal 3,196 total yards and 18 touchdowns between 2006 and 2007. For a guy who didn't even play in college, it was an amazing run. [PG]

"Jagoff" works its way into an ESPN broadcast: John Calipari is usually a classy guy, as long as you can overlook his distinction as the only head coach to have a Final Four appearance vacated by the NCAA at more than one school. So it comes as little shock that Coach Cal (who was born in Moon Twp) would go for the "jagoff" reference in a live interview with ESPN's John Buccigross, who also hails from western PA:


New blog alert: Be sure to check out Beamer in Korea, written by former Pittsburgher James who, as the name implies, is now in Korea.

His latest article is entitled, "Stuff Asians Like: One-Upping the People at Primantis", and fills us in on the native cuisine, including bird saliva, silkworms, and the delicacy known as Spam. I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. [Beamer in Korea]

Aaron Gray packs his bags: The former Pitt Panther is now a New Orleans Hornet, recently dealt by the Bulls for guard Devin Brown. Gray is averaging 2.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG this season, so Hornets fans might want to temper that enthusiasm. [The Big Lead]

Pirate Caravan rolls on: People aren't excited about the Pirates? Could've fooled me, judging from the recap and photos of the caravan's recent trip through Uniontown. Either that, or a lot of people were getting those free Andrew McCutchen autographs to flip on eBay this week. [Rum Bunter]

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PITT FALLS TO #17

Facing their first two-game losing streak since 2007-08, the Pitt Panthers fell from #9 to #17 in the AP poll that was just released. They are also 17th in the ESPN/USA Today Poll after losses to Georgetown and Seton Hall last week.

The 15-4 Panthers have two games on tap before next Monday's poll: a Thursday matchup with 12-7 St. John's at 7 PM and a trip to 12-7 South Florida for a 1 PM meeting with the Bulls on Sunday. If things go as they should, Pitt should then be 17-4 and staring down a trip to #9 West Virginia on February 12. Then again, most people thought the Panthers should be able to handle Seton Hall, and we saw how that turned out.

The Panthers are currently 5-2 in the Big East, trailing Villanova, Syracuse, and Georgetown. They are the fifth-ranked Big East team in the poll, behind the aforementioned trio as well as the ninth-ranked Mountaineers. I haven't had a chance to check their status in the new Bracketology yet, as I have a pre-scheduled appointment to watch paint dry.

2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings (Jan. 25)

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MILLER NAMED TO PRO BOWL

As a result of the Colts and Saints advancing to the Super Bowl, 12 spots have opened up for next week's poorly-designed NFL Pro Bowl. Luckily, at least one more Steeler is able to capitalize on the opportunity, as TE Heath Miller has been named as a replacement for Colts TE Dallas Clark.

It will be the first Pro Bowl appearance for Miller, who had a career-high 76 receptions for 789 yards and six touchdowns this season. He will be joining fellow Steelers Casey Hampton, James Harrison, and LaMarr Woodley for the all-star game next Sunday in Miami.

As lame as the process was for getting him there, I'm really glad Miller finally got some recognition. He's been stuck behind Clark, Antonio Gates, and Tony Gonzalez up to this point in his career, so it's nice to see that his wonderful 2009 campaign was rewarded on some level.

Replacements named for Pro Bowl [ESPN]

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Cooke saves the day: Matt Cooke scored on a power-play goal with 1:47 left in the third period to lead the Penguins past the Flyers, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia in front of a national NBC audience. The Pens lead the season series, four games to one, with a final regular-season meeting between the teams coming March 27 in the Steel City.

It wasn't the most memorable Pens-Flyers tilt in history, but as I like to say, a win is a win is a win. Is a win. And we've been historically beaten down enough in the past as Pens fans to appreciate any win in that city, where the Penguins failed to record a single W between 1974 and 1989 - 42 games.

The story of this game was penalties and power plays. The first period alone featured a combined 12 penalties, with two coming in the second and nine more in the third. Luckily, the Penguins were able to convert twice on six power play chances, giving them just enough offense they would need on the day. The Flyers' PP unit was not nearly as successful, going just 1-for-9 against a solid Pens PK unit.

The Pens' first goal was a power play score in the first period from the game's top star, Sergei Gonchar, whose shot in the third period was deflected in by Cooke for the game-winner. They also got a nice effort in goal from Brent Johnson, who stopped 27 of 28 to raise his record to 7-5 on the season. Johnson has won two of three as a replacement for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury in the past week.

The Penguins don't have much time to enjoy the spoils of victory, with a 7 PM game at the New York Rangers on Monday night. [ESPN]

Panthers fading fast: A frigid shooting percentage killed the Pitt Panthers at Seton Hall on Sunday, where the Pirates came away with the 64-61 victory, the biggest win in the turbulent tenure of coach Bobby Gonzalez to date. Coupled with the Panthers' loss to Georgetown last week, it marks the first time since the 2007-08 season that Jamie Dixon's club lost two games in a row.

The Panthers shot 35% from the floor and 23.5% from three-point land, the latter actually being outdone by Seton Hall's 15.4% shooting from beyond the arc. To say this was not the prettiest of games would be a massive understatement.

Ashton Gibbs led Pitt with 23 points, but was 4-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-7 from three-point land. Gibbs' last three shooting nights also include 4-for-12 (Louisville), and 3-for-16 (Georgetown), giving him a three-game total of 11-for-43. Ouch.

Aliquippa's Herb Pope (profiled in the PG on Sunday) had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Pirates, who moved to 12-6 and 3-4 in the Big East. The Pirates' win was even more impressive due to the fact that their leading scorer this season, guard Jeremy Hazell, played just 16 minutes due to foul problems. Hazell is averaging 23 PPG this season for Seton Hall.

The Panthers try to rebound on Thursday at the Pete against St. John's (12-7, 2-5). Tipoff is slated for 7 PM, with TV on ESPNU. [ESPN]

Colts, Saints advance to Super Bowl 44: And here are your local connections...

The Colts feature LB Clint Session (Pitt), punter Pat McAfee (West Virginia and Plum HS), and Sr. Offensive Coordinator Tom Moore, who was a Steeler assistant from 1977-89 under Emperor Noll.

The only player with local ties on the Saints' roster is TE Darnell Dinkins, who attended Schenley HS and played safety, wide receiver, and linebacker while at Pitt. He started his post-Pitt career with the Pittsburgh Colts semi-pro team.

Woodley to hoop it up in Miami: Freshly-minted Pro Bowler LaMarr Woodley will be playing in the Mike McKenzie Superslam celebrity basketball game during Super Bowl week in Miami.

Woodley will be joined by the likes of Chad Ochocinco, Willis McGahee, Anquan Boldin, and DeAngelo Williams, among others. The game benefits Mike McKenzie’s 34 Ways Foundation and takes place on February 5. [Boudoirmag.com]

A rarity: I agree with Ron Cook: It doesn't happen often, and that's why it's worth pointing out. But Cook is right on the money: Joe Namath is still The Man. [PG]

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COLTS ROLL OUT "TERRIFIC TOWEL"

Congratulations to the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts, who failed to impress anyone in the originality department with their "Terrific Towel" in the stands this afternoon. And to add insult to injury, the creator of this even was as far as to use the same font as the Terrible Towel. I can only hope they know the address for the Allegheny Valley School.

For the record, Mondesi's House will not be accepting any photo submissions of Terrific Towels around the globe. Just wanted to throw that out there.

*Thanks to Jim for the screen grab

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WOODLEY NAMED TO PRO BOWL

Any luster that the Pro Bowl actually had has been destroyed this year, due to the fact that A. it's being held in Miami, not Hawaii, and B. no players from the two Super Bowl teams will be suiting up.

With that being the case, players who were already named are dropping out left and right, with more to come after the championship games on Sunday. For instance, the AFC has already gone through six quarterbacks (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Phil Rivers, Matt Schaub, Ben Roethlisberger, and if you can believe it, Vince Young), with the potential for a seventh player if Manning makes the Super Bowl. As it stands now, Manning, Young, and Schaub will be the AFC signal callers, with the others bailing for "injury" purposes. By the time the game rolls around, we may see Dennis Dixon in Miami.

And with a crappy setup like that, congratulations go out to Steeler LB LaMarr Woodley, who was just named as a replacement for Texans LB Brian Cushing. Woodley will be joining Casey Hampton and James Harrison for the game in Miami, which will be his first Pro Bowl appearance.

Woodley had a "down and up" season in 2009, with two sacks in the first half and 11.5 in the second half, giving him a career-high 13.5. He also had a career-high 62 tackles in 2009. Given the fact that he is entering the final year of his contract, he picked a good time to have a surge in production, and the postseason notoriety certainly won't hurt when he goes to the bargaining table in the near future.

Steelers' Woodley heading to the Pro Bowl [Trib]

T-shirt [Believe]

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

ESPN's Brian Bennett has 10 predictions for the Big East in the next decade. Let's skip 1-9 and go straight to 10:

10. Pitt and Penn State resume playing: The biggest obstacle to the resumption of the Pittsburgh-Penn State rivalry is Joe Paterno. While I wouldn't put it past Paterno to coach into in his 90s, odds are that he will retire at some point soon. After that, expect the Panthers and Nittany Lions to start up their in-state rivalry again. It makes too much sense not to happen.

We can only hope, Mr. Bennett. We can only hope.

Steelers make it official: Well-traveled Al Everest is officially your new Pittsburgh Steeler special teams coach, having recently been cast off by Mike Singletary and the San Francisco 49ers. Let's just say Everest has a very favorable entry point for his new job, because anything less than four kick return touchdowns allowed will be viewed as improvement. [Times Online]

RIP, Bobby Bragan: The manager of the Pirates in 1956-57 has passed away in Fort Worth, Texas, at the age of 92. Bragan was a big league manager for seven years, and a player for seven seasons with the Phillies and Dodgers.

As the Bucco skipper, Bragan went 66-88 in 1956 and 36-67 in 1957 before being replaced by Danny Murtaugh, who led the Pirates to a relatively remarkable 26-25 record the rest of the way. [PennLive.com]

Mets slowly become home for old Pirates: Wildly overpaid outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. will be joining Jason Bay and Oliver Perez today as a member of the New York Mets, coming over from the LA Angels, who will be eating a large part of his salary.

If there's one recipe for success in the majors, it's assembling a Pirate throwback squad. Heck, it nearly won the 2003 Cubs the World Series. [SI.com]

PA cell phone users, listen up: State legislators in Pennsylvania are trying once again to make talking on hand-held cell phones or sending text messages an illegal practice in our state. Surely everyone must realize the bigger issue of how this could have a crippling effect on local sports talk radio. [PG]

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OVIE, CAPS GET BEST OF PENS

Last night was a big evening for the "playoff atmosphere" in pro sports. In Cleveland, Shaq, Lebron and the Cavaliers hosted Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Lakers. The atmosphere was electric, the crowd sensed the importance of the game beyond the regular season, and the home team won, meaning the vast majority of those in attendance went home happy.

Meanwhile, the city of Pittsburgh was hosting a big game for the second time in 48 hours, and just like the Pitt Panthers a night before, the home fans left their game disappointed. Alex Ovechkin and the Caps won this battle with the Pens, who famously won the war in the playoffs last season. But losing to Ovechkin stinks no matter what the stakes.

The final was 6-3, with Ovechkin netting the final goal on an empty netter at the 19:34 mark of the third, his second of the night. But this one went back and forth well into the second period, at which point the Capitals would score the game's final four goals and seal their 32nd victory of the season. Ovie was his usual ornery self, but the Pens managed to put him into his place several times with a few bone-jarring hits that delighted the Mellon Arena crowd to no end.

The difference in this game, however, might be boiled down to the absence of one man: Marc-Andre Fleury. Backup Brent Johnson has allowed nine goals in the last two games, and the Pens were lucky to win one of them. But Jose Theodore was just too much on the other end for the Caps, as he shut out the Pens for the last half of the game.

Beyond goaltending, the difference was power plays, where the Caps executed their two chances to perfection and the Penguins went 0-for-4 (although they did score a second after John Carlson's penalty ended in the second period). It was actually a surprisingly clean game, considering the history that these two franchises have with each other.

Evgeni Malkin continued to work his way out of a slump with three assists, Sidney Crosby scored the game's first goal, and Ruslan Fedotenko set up three for the Pens. They also got goals from Kris Letang and Nick Johnson, the first of his career.

As Ovechkin himself said, it's only one of 82 games. So no one should be getting too up or too down on either side, especially considering the absence of Fleury, Max Talbot, and Pascal Dupuis. The Penguins will have another shot at a rival coming up soon, when they travel to Philadelphia on Sunday. Maybe it will do one of these Pittsburgh teams some good to get on the road, because home turf hasn't been too friendly to them this week.

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Down goes Pitt: It was bound to happen sooner or later, but the Pitt Panthers finally lost their third game of the season by a count of 74-66 to the 12th ranked Georgetown Hoyas. It was only the 11th loss all-time for Pitt at The Pete, where they are now 10-3 against ranked opponents.

While the Hoyas' Greg Monroe did have a double-double, putting up 13 and 11, the bigger problem for Pitt was guard Chris Wright, who dropped 27 on the Panthers. The Hoya defense locked down Pitt for a four-minute stretch late in the second half, blanking the Panthers from the 7:48 mark until the 3:48 mark, when Gilbert Brown hit two free throws.

Pitt was led by Brown's career-high 20 points, but Jermaine Dixon was the only other Panther to score in double digits, finishing with 14. Brad Wanamaker grabbed 13 boards and had five points, with seven assists. Leading scorer Ashton Gibbs was held to just eight points, less than half his season average.

It was not the best of nights for the Pitt guards, who struggled en route to an 11-for-39 shooting night. Gibbs was the coldest of the cold, at 3-16, while Wanamaker was 4-for-12 and Dixon 4-for-11. The Panthers were also cold at the line, shooting just 58% on 17 chances, well below their 68% season average. And beyond the arc was equally poor, as the Panthers were just 4-for-18 (22%).

Pitt tries to get back in the W column on Sunday with a 2 PM game at Seton Hall. The Pirates feature Herb Pope, the well-traveled 6'8" forward from Aliquippa who is averaging 12.4 PPG and 11.4 RPG. [ESPN]

Dotel officially a Pirate: The long flirtation of Neal Huntington and Octavio Dotel has finally been consummated in a one-year contract, with a club option for 2011. His salary is expected to be in the $3 million range, which sadly makes him the Pirates' most expensive free agent signing by far this offseason. [PBC Blog]

Bucs attend Ben Sheets session: If he used to be a star and is now in the big-league equivalent of Big Lots, odds are the Pirates will take a look, which they did on Tuesday with the oft-injured 31-year-old. He hit 92 on the gun, but the Buccos are not expecting to join in the bidding. That sure was fun while it lasted. [MLB Trade Rumors]

Ben declined Pro Bowl invite: OK, so Ben Roethlisberger actually WAS invited to the Pro Bowl ahead of Matt Schaub and declined the invitation based on a recommendation to rest his shoulder. That information would've been helpful had I known it before boo-hooing on Ben's behalf yesterday, but them's the breaks. [KDKA]

Pitt players accept All-Star invites: Unlike Big Ben, four former Pitt Panthers have accepted offers to play in postseason all-star games.

DL Tommie Duhart, who actually finished his career at Valdosta State after parting ways with the Panthers this spring, will be playing in the Texas vs. The Nation game on February 6 in El Paso, Texas.

TE Dorin Dickerson is headed for the Senior Bowl on January 30; CB Aaron Berry will represent the Panthers at the East-West Shrine Game on January 23, joined there by TE Nate Byham. Maybe now that he's moved on, Wanny will learn his name and stop calling him "Nate Bynam". [Texasvsthenation.com, PG]

More accolades for Dion Lewis: The freshman sensation was just named as the Breakout Player of the Year by Yahoo's Dr. Saturday blog. As the article reminds us, the only other schools to offer Lewis a scholarship were Tulane and Miami (OH). What can be said, other than Lewis' case being a loss for college scouts everywhere and a huge, ginormous win for Wanny. [Dr. Saturday]

Tumpkin out, Getsy in at Pitt: Proving that the Steelers aren't the only team in town capable of coaching changes, the Pitt Panthers have some pending moves with their staff as well.

LB coach Joe Tumpkin is likely headed to Central Michigan to become their defensive coordinator, so the Wannstache will have a hole to fill there. But another vacancy, that of offensive grad assistant, is going to be manned by former QB Luke Getsy, who was with the 49ers in 2007 when Frank Cignetti was their OC.

Much like Joe Flacco, Getsy was a one-time Pitt QB who moved on for playing time after being beaten out for the starting job by Tyler Palko. Getsy was a four-year starting QB at Steel Valley HS, which is also the alma mater of one Charlie Batch. [Redshirt Diaries]

Everything you ever wanted to know about the McMutrie sisters: Jamie and Ali McMutrie are undoubtedly the biggest story in Pittsburgh these days, and their Haitian orphan story was the most-searched term on Yahoo last night. Pittsburgh Magazine happened to do a lengthy story on the saintly sisters back in January of 2009, and it is definitely worth your clickage. [Pittsburgh Magazine]

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SUTTON SUSPENDED TWO GAMES

That was a pretty scary (and costly) hit on Pascal Dupuis in the Pens-Isles game last night at the Igloo. Scary because it looked like Dupuis was knocked into next week, and costly because the hitter, New York defenseman Andy Sutton, will be sitting two games and forfeiting more than $31K in salary.

Dupuis is not expected to play tomorrow night against Washington and is listed by coach Dan Bylsma as "day to day".

Sutton suspended for hit on Penguins' Dupuis [PG]

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Pens win, all is well: Sidney Crosby had a six-point night, Evgeni Malkin scored a hat trick, and the power play scored four times in a 6-4 Penguin win over the Islanders last night in Pittsburgh. It was the first time that Sid and Geno both scored multiple goals in the same game, and the sixth loss in a row for the Islanders in Pittsburgh.

Brent Johnson stopped 31 of 35 shots in goal in place of Marc-Andre Fleury, and Sergei Gonchar added two assists for the Pens. Pittsburgh also got a goal and an assist from Bill Guerin.

The low point of the evening was the crushing hit laid out on Pascal Dupuis by Andy Sutton with 2:55 left in regulation. Dupuis was hit into the boards and spouted a pool of blood on the ice, but his agent says he is doing OK.



The timing of Malkin finding his mojo could not be better for the Pens, who will face Washington next on Thursday night. Is it too much to ask for another four power play goals that night? [ESPN]

Big game for the Panthers tonight: The Pete is hosting #12 Georgetown at #9 Pitt tonight, and that means uberprospect Greg Monroe will get an up close and personal view of the Oakland Zoo.

The 6'11" Monroe, likely headed for the NBA lottery, will be a tough matchup for the Panthers, who were torched by Louisville's low-post star, Samardo Samuels, for 25 points on Saturday. Nonetheless, the Panthers continue to surprise me and most of the country, so I'm not counting them out of any game before it's played. Consider that UConn has taller players than Pitt, and the Panthers out-rebounded the Huskies 40-31 last week.

Tipoff is at 7 PM, with TV on ESPNU. These are the top two scoring defenses in the Big East, so be prepared for the usual physical play and a steady stream of whistles. [PG]

Roethlisberger still not a Pro-Bowler...: To the surprise of no one, Tom Brady pulled out of the NFL's most uninteresting game, which left a vacancy at the quarterback position. His replacement will not be Ben Roethlisberger, but instead Matt Schaub, of the perennially-mediocre Houston Texans, who led the league with 4,770 yards passing in 2009. [PFT]

...But he is in the Hall of Fame: Or at least his equipment is. The Hall has placed Ben's jersey and gloves from his 503-yard game against Green Bay on display for all to gaze at. Someday you'll be there with a bigger presence, #7. [Big Ben News]

Pirates claim Brandon Jones: The Buccos picked up OF Brandon Jones yesterday off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. To make room for Jones, the Pirates designated P Steven Jackson for assignment.

Jones hit .281 with 7 HR and 57 RBI for Atlanta's triple-A affiliate last season and was the Braves #4 prospect as recently as 2007. A lefty, he goes 6'2", 195 pounds.

I'll say one thing about Neal Huntington: he leaves no stone unturned. [PBC Blog]

Steelers go back to CFL well: The Steelers signed LB Derrick Doggett, a special teams standout from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL, a year after taking a chance on the CFL's Stefan Logan. If this guy improves the special teams, most fans wouldn't care if he came from the California Penal League. [ESPN]

Matt Cavanaugh's $300K Pittsburgh home featured on HGTV: Hey, running a boring offense pays dividends. His team is in the AFC Championship, if you haven't noticed. [HGTV]

Pittsburgher on Idol: Yeah, let's never talk about this again...

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EVEN MORE STEELER COACHING NEWS

Anyone else tired of Steeler assistant coach news? If that's the case, you might want to skip this post, because the action is still fast and furious at Steeler HQ.

The team announced today that Randy Fichtner, the current Steeler WR coach, will be re-assigned to QB coach, effective immediately.

Fichtner coached the QBs at Memphis from 1990-93 and 2001-06, when he was also the Tigers' offensive coordinator. His prize pupil during his first stint at the school was WR Isaac Bruce, who now ranks fifth all-time in the NFL in career receptions. The second time around at his alma mater, Fichtner's superstar player was RB DeAngelo Williams, who would go on to be the Carolina Panthers first-round pick in 2006. For a school not exactly known as a football powerhouse, those are two nice names to have on the resume.

Fichtner also held the QB coach position from 1997-2000 at Arkansas State, where he worked alongside Mike Tomlin and mentored QB Cleo Lemon, who rewrote the school's record book en route to a gig in the NFL. This would also explain the Steelers' interest in signing Lemon in a moment of need last season after Kansas City sent two of their quarterbacks to the ER in the same game.

Fichtner joined Tomlin's staff in 2007 and his receivers have experienced virtually nothing but success on his watch. I'm guessing that his familiarity with the personnel with make this a seamless transition with his new unit.

In other Steeler coaching news, former LBs Jerry Olsavsky and Earl "The Hit Man" Holmes are candidates to replace defensive assistant Lou Spanos, who recently took a job on Mike Shanahan's Washington staff.

"Jerry O", who hails from Youngstown, Ohio, was most recently employed by Youngstown State as coach of the linebackers. He was let go along with the rest of the staff at the end of the season. Olsavsky had a solid career at Pitt and entered the league as a 10th round pick of the Steelers in 1989, where he lasted until 1997. He also spent time in the Cincinnati and Baltimore organizations at the end of his career. Since leaving the pro game, Olsavsky has coached at Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina in addition to YSU.

Holmes, a fourth-round pick of the Steelers in 1996 out of Florida A&M, was with the team through 2001. He had a colorful and productive career in Pittsburgh before signing with Cleveland in 2002 and moving on to Detroit, where he played from 2003-2005.

Fichtner Takes Over As Steelers' QBs Coach [WTAE]
Former Steelers Olsavsky and Holmes candidates for assistant job [PG]

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STEELERS CLOSE WITH AL EVEREST

According to the PG's Gerry Dulac, the Steelers are very close to a deal with Al Everest that would make him the team's new special teams coach.

Everest comes by way of San Francisco, where he was hired in 2007 by Mike Nolan. His contract ended after the 2009 season and was not renewed, with signs pointing to a butting of heads with Mike Singletary, someone you most certainly would not like to butt heads with.

The 59-year-old Everest has coached football for almost 40 years, starting with his alma mater, SMU, in 1972 and literally going around the globe since. In addition to SMU, he has also spent time with North Texas, Cameron College, the American School Foundation in Mexico City, the Legnano Frogs and Pesaro Angels of the Italian League, the PSFL's Arkansas Miners, the AFL's San Antonio Force, The Colony (Tex.) HS, the CFL's Birmingham Barracudas, the Arizona Cardinals, the New Orleans Saints, and most recently, the 49ers. So experience is certainly not an issue.

He also switched sports at one point, spending seven years (1981-87) as the head baseball coach at U.S International. So if things ever get boring at practice, he can always teach Stefan Logan how to properly execute a sac bunt.

More importantly, though, is Everest using his years of coaching experience to shore up a unit that was ghastly under Bob Ligashesky last season. And anyone who saw the Steelers' kick coverage in 2009 knows that Everest certainly has a lot of work ahead. He might wish to be back in the PSFL at some point.

Steelers close to hiring special teams coach [PG]

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

BRESMA orphans come to Pittsburgh: It's not sports-related, but the story of the Haitian orphans and the two Pittsburgh girls running their earthquake-ravaged orphanage has dominated the local news.

Children's Hospital posted some pics of the kids' trip to the Burgh, and they can be seen here. [Kiss 96.1 Morning Freak Show]

Big East Players of the Decade....were named by ESPN. Larry Fitzgerald was the only Pitt Panther to make the list, coming in at #2 behind Pat White.

Revis Island and Antonio Bryant were honorable mention, but the list of Panthers ends there. I guess the name "LeSean McCoy" did not ring any bells.

On another note, as E.J. Borghetti just pointed out, Pitt can arguably boast the top players at three NFL positions: WR (Fitzgerald), DB (Revis), and P (Andy Lee of San Fran). [ESPN Big East Blog]

A call to sign the Skipster: Ron Cook has proclaimed that the Steelers must sign K Jeff Reed, past incidents aside, basically because Nate Kaeding, Neil Rackers and Shayne Graham were terrible in the playoffs.

On his highly-publicized recent run-in with the law, Cook had this to say about Reed: "No matter what happened that night, it's nice to think it sobered up Reed and made him realize he has to do a better job watching his behavior under the bright public spotlight. It's nice to think he won't be an embarrassment to himself, his family and his team again."

I'll officially say that Reed won't be an embarrassment when he can go a calendar year without an appearance in the police blotter or in ridiculous photographs on blogs from coast to coast. [PG]

A call to sign Gonch: Mark Madden says the Penguins should pay up for D Sergei Gonchar, who's in the final year of his deal. With D Kris Letang also in the final year of his deal, Ray Shero's going to have a few tough choices coming in the very near future. [Times Online]

Gailey to Bills: Former Steeler OC Chan Gailey will be the new head coach of the Buffalo Bills, introduced at 2 PM today. Gailey had most recently worked as Todd Haley's offensive coordinator in Kansas City, unceremoniously canned after three preseason games.

Gailey came at the recommendation of Bill Cowher, who chose another year with Shannon Sharpe instead of the Bills' job. That's what's known as a lose-lose situation. [ESPN]

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PIRATES TRADE BIXLER TO INDIANS

It's time to retire that Brian Bixler Pirates jersey you've been waiting to break out, because the perennial prospect has just been dealt to the Cleveland Indians. The move clears a spot on the Buccos' 40-man roster for newly-signed reliever Brendan Donnelly.

In return, the Pirates got Jesus. That's right, Jesus...Brito.

Last year, the 22-year-old Brito was fifth among all minor league players with a .353 combined average between rookie ball and Class A, with 3 HR and 43 RBI in 60 games. He doesn't appear to be playing at PNC Park anytime soon, but the fact that Neal Huntington was able to get anything more than a bag of sunflower seeds for Bixler (let alone a potential prospect) is nothing short of a miracle.

As for Bixler, he exits the Pittsburgh Baseball Club with a .178 average, 62 strikeouts and 27 hits in 152 career at-bats, which means his strikeout average was actually better than his batting average. Probably a good thing that the Pirates parted ways with him sooner rather than later.

Pirates trade Bixler for prospect, sign Donnelly [PG]

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