At long last, the puck that Sidney Crosby put into the net to end the Olympic gold medal hockey game has a safe home.
Showing posts with label 2010 Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 Olympics. Show all posts
3/16/2010
SID'S OLYMPIC PUCK FINDS A HOME
At long last, the puck that Sidney Crosby put into the net to end the Olympic gold medal hockey game has a safe home.
2/28/2010
A NEW CHAPTER IN THE CROSBY STORYBOOK
To be totally honest, I had mixed emotions in the immediate moments following Canada's classic 3-2 overtime win over the USA in the gold medal game of the 2010 Winter Olympics. My heart broke for the Americans, especially how they lost; but if anyone had to score that goal for Canada, I'm glad it was Sidney Crosby.
After the United States' third-period comeback, I really thought the Americans had enough momentum on their side to take the game in overtime. My fatal mistake was forgetting about a certain player on the opposing team that usually rises to the occasion in moments like this. And even if you are aware of #87 on the ice in a big moment, the scene usually ends something like this:
After the United States' third-period comeback, I really thought the Americans had enough momentum on their side to take the game in overtime. My fatal mistake was forgetting about a certain player on the opposing team that usually rises to the occasion in moments like this. And even if you are aware of #87 on the ice in a big moment, the scene usually ends something like this:
For King Crosby, the past year has seen him hoist the Stanley Cup in a Game Seven and win a gold medal in the most dramatic fashion possible in his homeland. He's won an MVP, an NHL scoring title, and has experienced nearly every major feat in the game of hockey, and all by the age of 22. Where does he go from here? Is there an intergalactic hockey tournament he can participate in?
As I said earlier, if there was any player that had to beat the United States in such crushing fashion, I'd say Crosby was the most palatable option to make the hit. He's the Golden Boy of Canada, he had the bulk of the pressure on his shoulders, and he's going to get an appropriate amount of the accolades. It couldn't happen to a better person. His landlord had the '87 Canada Cup, now Sid has his own international war story of heroism to share with 66 when he gets back to town.
For the U.S., it's a heartbreaking defeat, but they should hold their heads high for an incredible run. Losing only one game - the championship - in a tournament like this is nothing to be ashamed of. But when you come so close, disappointment is usually the first emotion that comes to mind. In the short term, it's highly frustrating, but in the long run, the country really opened some eyes on the international hockey scene and some individual players really raised their profiles. There were some big wins for American hockey as an organization in these games.
Ryan Miller, who will visit Mellon Arena on Tuesday night wearing the jersey of the Buffalo Sabres, was the tournament MVP, despite giving up the winning goal in the championship game. That speaks volumes about the effort he gave throughout the Olympics, which was nothing sort of spectacular (and for the record, Miller finished with a 5-1 record, 1.35 goals against, and .946 save percentage).
Miller has seen his share of bitter disappointments before, twice losing the conference finals with the Sabres, but he handled himself with class and dignity in a lengthy postgame interview with NBC that had to be tough to do. Even in defeat, the 29-year-old netminder has surely earned many new fans around the world, and deservedly so. It should be a busy week for the clothing store he owns in East Lansing, Michigan.
Miller's greatness aside, any discussion about the Americans would be incomplete without mentioning the last-second heroics of Zach Parise, the eight points of Brian Rafalski, the punishing hits of Brooks Orpik, the leadership of Jamie Langenbrunner, and the big goals of Ryan Malone. It took a tremendous team effort to reach the finals in a shark tank of tournament like this, and that's exactly what the U.S.A. gave.
For Canada, the feeling was much like the feeling in America when an Olympic basketball team wins the gold: equal parts excitement and relief. It's their game, and they don't let anyone forget it. And when it's played in their country, they don't just expect to win, they expect to win big. Unfortunately for Canada, no one told their opponents that the script called for them to roll over and die. The result was one of the most exciting hockey tournaments in recent memory, and one of the most climactic games that will ever go down in international play. As hockey fans, that's about all we can ask for, no matter who comes out on top. But the biggest winner of all is the game of hockey. What it showed the world over these Olympics was a performance that will live for the ages, giving leagues like the NHL a boost of adrenaline that any sport would treasure. Be prepared for a taste of that adrenaline on Tuesday night when Crosby and Miller meet again at Mellon Arena. I'm counting on some of that Vancouver electricity to transfer quite nicely to Pittsburgh.
As I said earlier, if there was any player that had to beat the United States in such crushing fashion, I'd say Crosby was the most palatable option to make the hit. He's the Golden Boy of Canada, he had the bulk of the pressure on his shoulders, and he's going to get an appropriate amount of the accolades. It couldn't happen to a better person. His landlord had the '87 Canada Cup, now Sid has his own international war story of heroism to share with 66 when he gets back to town.
For the U.S., it's a heartbreaking defeat, but they should hold their heads high for an incredible run. Losing only one game - the championship - in a tournament like this is nothing to be ashamed of. But when you come so close, disappointment is usually the first emotion that comes to mind. In the short term, it's highly frustrating, but in the long run, the country really opened some eyes on the international hockey scene and some individual players really raised their profiles. There were some big wins for American hockey as an organization in these games.
Ryan Miller, who will visit Mellon Arena on Tuesday night wearing the jersey of the Buffalo Sabres, was the tournament MVP, despite giving up the winning goal in the championship game. That speaks volumes about the effort he gave throughout the Olympics, which was nothing sort of spectacular (and for the record, Miller finished with a 5-1 record, 1.35 goals against, and .946 save percentage).
Miller has seen his share of bitter disappointments before, twice losing the conference finals with the Sabres, but he handled himself with class and dignity in a lengthy postgame interview with NBC that had to be tough to do. Even in defeat, the 29-year-old netminder has surely earned many new fans around the world, and deservedly so. It should be a busy week for the clothing store he owns in East Lansing, Michigan.
Miller's greatness aside, any discussion about the Americans would be incomplete without mentioning the last-second heroics of Zach Parise, the eight points of Brian Rafalski, the punishing hits of Brooks Orpik, the leadership of Jamie Langenbrunner, and the big goals of Ryan Malone. It took a tremendous team effort to reach the finals in a shark tank of tournament like this, and that's exactly what the U.S.A. gave.
For Canada, the feeling was much like the feeling in America when an Olympic basketball team wins the gold: equal parts excitement and relief. It's their game, and they don't let anyone forget it. And when it's played in their country, they don't just expect to win, they expect to win big. Unfortunately for Canada, no one told their opponents that the script called for them to roll over and die. The result was one of the most exciting hockey tournaments in recent memory, and one of the most climactic games that will ever go down in international play. As hockey fans, that's about all we can ask for, no matter who comes out on top. But the biggest winner of all is the game of hockey. What it showed the world over these Olympics was a performance that will live for the ages, giving leagues like the NHL a boost of adrenaline that any sport would treasure. Be prepared for a taste of that adrenaline on Tuesday night when Crosby and Miller meet again at Mellon Arena. I'm counting on some of that Vancouver electricity to transfer quite nicely to Pittsburgh.
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
2/27/2010
CANADA VS. THE US - WHO YA GOT?
We'll keep this short and sweet - it's the most intriguing local storyline of the Olympic hockey tournament, and it's coming to fruition in the next 24 hours. With apologies to Sid, I think most of you know where I stand on this one (and if you don't: U-S-A! U-S-A!), but I'm more interested to hear your final thoughts as we count down to the international equivalent of a Game 7.
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2/25/2010
"THEY CAME LIKE GORILLAS OUT OF A CAGE"
The above quote can be credited to Ilya Bryzgalov, backup goalie/sacrificial lamb of the Russian team, in describing the effort by Team Canada in a 7-3 slaughter last night in Vancouver. At least he was smart enough to avoid using the word "dynasty".So who led the freshly-uncaged gorilla attack? Actually, it was pretty balanced. Six players scored the seven goals, with only Corey Perry lighting the lamp twice. And four Canadians each came away with two assists. But it was every bit as bad as the score would indicate. For all intents and purposes, the game was over after the first 20 minutes, because four goals would be enough to put away the Russians on this occasion.
From a local standpoint, the highlight would be Sergei "Niles" Gonchar's power play goal assisted by Geno Malkin in the second period, although the game was already at the too little, too late stage by then. Sidney Crosby was held scoreless on four shots, but did avenge a crushing hit on Jordan Staal's older brother, which should go over well with his Pittsburgh teammate. And once again, Marc-Andre Fleury would be there merely as a spectator.
In sports, the phrase commonly used is, "That's why they play the games". Like most sports fans, I was pretty amped to watch this one, but my expectations fell far short of the actual game itself. Storylines like Sid-Ovie and the Canadian goaltending were both relegated useless by the end of the contest, replaced by the ineffectiveness of Russian goalie Evgeni Nabokov and the disappearance of players like Alex Ovechkin.
It got so bad that I went back and looked up the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series for some historical perspective on the rivalry, to remind myself of why these countries had such a beef with each other in the first place. Since I was still five years from joining Planet Earth, I did not see it in '72, nor did I have an appreciation for what went down back then and how it helped form international hockey as we see it today. For those in my boat, I'll summarize it like this: Canadian hockey arrogance, goonery by a member of the Flyers, superstars held out because of red tape, an emotional outburst from Phil Esposito to the Canadian people, players leaving the team mid-series, a scandal over lost beer, and a series-ending goal with 39 seconds left in the last game. In other words, it was a little better than the contest we saw last night.
But last night was just one game, and there's still much more hockey to be played. The U.S. takes on Finland tomorrow at 3 PM, while Canada meets Slovakia later that night at 9:30. The losers of those games will face off Saturday night at 10 PM for the bronze, and the winners meet Sunday afternoon at 3:15 for the gold. There is still ample opportunity for a heaping helping of drama to unfold before our very eyes.
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
2/24/2010
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Sid. Geno. Ovie. Gonchar. As Fred Sanford would say, "This is the big one." It all goes down tonight at 7:30 PM on CNBC, and it figures to be one of the most intense sporting events you will ever see in a lifetime. It will be the first time Crosby and Malkin have faced off as opponents since since January 4, 2005, when Canada beat Russia in the final of the World Junior Championships in Grand Forks, ND.When asked about whether or not he'll hit #87, Malkin responded, "Yes, and not just once." Roberto Luongo will again be in goal for the Canadians, much to the bewilderment of many, including Mark Madden:
Other games today include the US and Switzerland at 3 PM on NBC, Finland-Czech Republic at 10 PM on CNBC and Sweden-Slovakia at 11:55 PM, also on CNBC. [PittsburghPenguins.com, PG]
Harangody out for Pitt-ND: When the Panthers (21-6, 10-4 Big East) and Fighting Irish (17-10, 6-8) face off in South Bend tonight, Notre Dame will be without Luke Harangody, the nation's second-leading scorer (24.1 PPG), who has a bruised bone in his knee. 6'7" junior forward Carleton Scott will start in his place, but I still look for a big night inside from Gary McGhee with the lineup change.
Gametime is set for 7 PM, with TV on ESPN2. Unfortunately, this is going to be seen by a whole lot less households in our area tonight, for the reason above. [Trib]
Tag, Skippy's it: The Steelers will be using their transition tag on K Jeff Reed, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL.com. Reed will be free to sign an offer sheet elsewhere, but the Steelers will have the right to match any offers. Reed will earn $2.629 million in 2010 if he signs a one-year deal as the Steelers' transition player.
To no one's surprise, Skippy wants a deal like the ludicrous one Sebastian Janikowski just signed with Oakland, worth $9 million guaranteed. But the presence of other kickers like Shane Graham, Neil Rackers, and Jay Feely may influence Reed to simply accept the Steeler deal and enjoy beautiful western PA and our numerous Sheetz stores for one more season. [PFT, NFL.com]
An argument for four Superconferences: I've been saying for a while that college sports conferences needs a massive overhaul, and apparently I'm not the only one. SI's Andy Staples took my thought a step further and organized four Superconferences, each with 16 teams, and Pitt would be in the all-new ACC, joining Big East brethren Rutgers, UConn, and Syracuse. An interesting read. [SI.com]
Casey Hampton softens his stance: The soon-to-be franchised nose tackle is warming up to the idea of signing a long-term deal with the Steelers, despite his previous comments suggesting otherwise.
So he can live with $7.7 million this year and a multi-year, eight-figure deal for the future? Now that's courage. [Trib]
Fleury has won seven playoff series over the last two springs. He won the Stanley Cup last spring. He stopped Nicklas Lidstrom in Game 7. He stopped Alexander Ovechkin in Game 7. He is hockey's reigning money goalie.Too bad for MAF. But hopefully he will return to the Penguins with some fire in his belly. I know one thing - he certainly will have no love lost for Mike Babcock.
But Fleury will never get a chance in these Olympics.
Other games today include the US and Switzerland at 3 PM on NBC, Finland-Czech Republic at 10 PM on CNBC and Sweden-Slovakia at 11:55 PM, also on CNBC. [PittsburghPenguins.com, PG]
Harangody out for Pitt-ND: When the Panthers (21-6, 10-4 Big East) and Fighting Irish (17-10, 6-8) face off in South Bend tonight, Notre Dame will be without Luke Harangody, the nation's second-leading scorer (24.1 PPG), who has a bruised bone in his knee. 6'7" junior forward Carleton Scott will start in his place, but I still look for a big night inside from Gary McGhee with the lineup change.
Gametime is set for 7 PM, with TV on ESPN2. Unfortunately, this is going to be seen by a whole lot less households in our area tonight, for the reason above. [Trib]
Tag, Skippy's it: The Steelers will be using their transition tag on K Jeff Reed, according to Jason La Canfora of NFL.com. Reed will be free to sign an offer sheet elsewhere, but the Steelers will have the right to match any offers. Reed will earn $2.629 million in 2010 if he signs a one-year deal as the Steelers' transition player.
To no one's surprise, Skippy wants a deal like the ludicrous one Sebastian Janikowski just signed with Oakland, worth $9 million guaranteed. But the presence of other kickers like Shane Graham, Neil Rackers, and Jay Feely may influence Reed to simply accept the Steeler deal and enjoy beautiful western PA and our numerous Sheetz stores for one more season. [PFT, NFL.com]
An argument for four Superconferences: I've been saying for a while that college sports conferences needs a massive overhaul, and apparently I'm not the only one. SI's Andy Staples took my thought a step further and organized four Superconferences, each with 16 teams, and Pitt would be in the all-new ACC, joining Big East brethren Rutgers, UConn, and Syracuse. An interesting read. [SI.com]
Casey Hampton softens his stance: The soon-to-be franchised nose tackle is warming up to the idea of signing a long-term deal with the Steelers, despite his previous comments suggesting otherwise.
So he can live with $7.7 million this year and a multi-year, eight-figure deal for the future? Now that's courage. [Trib]
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
2/22/2010
TREMENDOUSLY TREMENDOUS
Edzo, you said it all. Last night's 5-3 U.S. upset of Canada, inexplicably pushed to msnbc for TV purposes, was the rare sporting event that was as good as advertised. It was the biggest win for American hockey since the 1980 Miracle on Ice, and the first win for the U.S. over Canada since 1960. To quote Mr. Olczyk once more, those were some happy humans on the ice at Vancouver last night, indeed.
The story of the night has to be American goalie Ryan Miller's 42 saves, withstanding a furious Canadian attack that got even more intense as the game neared its climax. But a close second would have to be the continued offensive contributions of Brian Rafalski, who scored two more goals in the win. His four Olympic goals have amazingly matched his 57-game total for the entire 2009-10 season so far.
The Americans also got goals from captain Jamie Langenbrunner and Chris Drury, one of the team's few elder statesmen. But it was the team's final goal, an empty-netter by Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler, that illustrated the anything-it-takes effort that the U.S. gave on Sunday.
While the U.S. now skates to the tournament's #1 seed, the Canadian team is once again buckling against the tremendous pressure that's been applied by an entire nation. Canada must now win a Tuesday contest with Germany, but would then have to get past Russia just a day later to have a shot at the gold.
Last night was a tremendous win for the American team, but much like Pitt basketball winning the Big East tournament, it's important to remember that there's a bigger prize to be had. The game of hockey has taken a huge hit in this country. It's been pushed off of ESPN and onto the backburner of the U.S. sports consciousness, with the exception of anything involving Sidney Crosby and/or Alex Ovechkin. But last night might be a real push to getting the game back into the level of coverage it deserves. Witness the Twitter reactions of some non-basketball writers during the game last night:
CBS basketball analyst Seth Davis: "I have not watched a second of the VT-Duke game, and I don't even like hockey. Riveting!!!!!!!!"
SI.com college football guru Stewart Mandel: "I don't know a damn thing about hockey, I don't really understand what's going on, but this has been pretty darn cool."
Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock: "Last three minutes was like the greatest round of a Frazier-Ali fight. Wow. Hockey is what soccer wishes it was (ducking 4 cover)"
SI.com NBA writer Chris Mannix: "NHL better not pull pros from the Olympics. They draw more fans from this than anywhere. Hell, I'm looking for tix to the next Sabres game"
As bad as Canada is taking the loss, it really couldn't be better for the sport as a whole. Everyone is talking hockey, and we're not even into the medal round. Maybe by the time that rolls around, hockey will actually get aired on a real network.
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
The story of the night has to be American goalie Ryan Miller's 42 saves, withstanding a furious Canadian attack that got even more intense as the game neared its climax. But a close second would have to be the continued offensive contributions of Brian Rafalski, who scored two more goals in the win. His four Olympic goals have amazingly matched his 57-game total for the entire 2009-10 season so far.
The Americans also got goals from captain Jamie Langenbrunner and Chris Drury, one of the team's few elder statesmen. But it was the team's final goal, an empty-netter by Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler, that illustrated the anything-it-takes effort that the U.S. gave on Sunday.
While the U.S. now skates to the tournament's #1 seed, the Canadian team is once again buckling against the tremendous pressure that's been applied by an entire nation. Canada must now win a Tuesday contest with Germany, but would then have to get past Russia just a day later to have a shot at the gold.
Last night was a tremendous win for the American team, but much like Pitt basketball winning the Big East tournament, it's important to remember that there's a bigger prize to be had. The game of hockey has taken a huge hit in this country. It's been pushed off of ESPN and onto the backburner of the U.S. sports consciousness, with the exception of anything involving Sidney Crosby and/or Alex Ovechkin. But last night might be a real push to getting the game back into the level of coverage it deserves. Witness the Twitter reactions of some non-basketball writers during the game last night:
CBS basketball analyst Seth Davis: "I have not watched a second of the VT-Duke game, and I don't even like hockey. Riveting!!!!!!!!"
SI.com college football guru Stewart Mandel: "I don't know a damn thing about hockey, I don't really understand what's going on, but this has been pretty darn cool."
Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock: "Last three minutes was like the greatest round of a Frazier-Ali fight. Wow. Hockey is what soccer wishes it was (ducking 4 cover)"
SI.com NBA writer Chris Mannix: "NHL better not pull pros from the Olympics. They draw more fans from this than anywhere. Hell, I'm looking for tix to the next Sabres game"
As bad as Canada is taking the loss, it really couldn't be better for the sport as a whole. Everyone is talking hockey, and we're not even into the medal round. Maybe by the time that rolls around, hockey will actually get aired on a real network.
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
2/19/2010
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Sid saves the day: Sidney Crosby scored the lone shootout goal, saving Canada from a huge upset at the hands of Switzerland last night in a 3-2 win. It was another memorable moment in the rapidly-expanding universe of Crosby highlights, and this time it prevented a Swiss upset of Canada for the second time in as many Olympics. Switzerland has just two NHL players on their Olympic roster.
Crosby was not on the 2006 Canada squad that lost to Switzerland in Turin, and like he usually does, he made his point through actions last night. Because of Sid's heroics, 33 million Canadians can breathe a little easier today, but the Americans will come hungry for their showdown with Canada on Sunday.
Martin Brodeur, who allowed two goals on 23 shots, rose to the occasion by stopping all four Swiss shootout attempts. Nonetheless, it was a huge scare for Canada, which continues to struggle with line chemistry despite peppering Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller with 47 shots.
The Canada-US game is set for Sunday night at 7:40 PM Eastern. [PG]
Malone, US cruise past Norway: Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone scored his second goal of the Olympics, Brian Rafalski added a late pair, and the US defense held Norway to just 11 shots in a 6-1 win for the Americans.
Malone assisted on a first-period goal by Phil Kessel to get the scoring started, and goals by Chris Drury and Patrick Kane stretched the U.S. lead to 3-0 before Norway would get on the board. The lopsided victory is actually beneficial in this style of play, which uses goal differential as a tiebreaker, so the third-period goals by Rafalski and Malone did more than pad a lead.
The Americans, who've already outdone their 1-4-1 performance in Turin, were probably guilty of looking forward to the Canada game, where the odds will certainly be against them. If common opponents are your thing, the U.S. had much less trouble with Switzerland than Canada did, handling them by a 3-1 count on Tuesday. But I'm of the belief that this will fall into the "throw out all the records" category. [ESPN]
Slovakia sneaks by Russia: Pavol Demitra scored in the seventh round of the shootout, lifting Slovakia to a surprising 2-1 win over Russia late last night.
Former Penguin Alexei Morozov's goal for Russia held up until the 9:48 mark of the third period, when another ex-Penguin, Marian Hossa, beat Russian goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to tie the game at one.
Russia's Alexander Ovechkin and Slovakia's Jozef Stumpel traded shootout goals, but it was Demitra's that would eventually end it for Slovakia. Evgeni Malkin, held scoreless on seven shots during the game, had the final chance, but was stopped by Slovakia goalie Jaroslav Halak. [ESPN]
And don't forget about Pitt: The Panthers weren't sitting around watching Olympic hockey last night, as they were too busy beating Marquette 58-51 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
If you want to talk about balanced attacks, Pitt defined that last night, as Nasir Robinson, Gary McGhee, Brad Wanamaker, and Jermaine Dixon all led the team with 10 points each. Ashton Gibbs' game went MIA, as he was 0-for-6 from the floor and finished with just two points.
The Panthers finally got a big contribution from much-heralded and seldom-playing Dante Taylor, who had three uncontested dunks in a span of about two minutes to help Pitt go on a 14-5 run early in the second half. McGhee added a career-best six blocks, and Jermaine Dixon added seven boards to round out the Panther attack.
20-6 Pitt next faces 22-3 Villanova in an Elite Eight rematch on Sunday at the Pete. You're going down, Scottie Reynolds. [ESPN]
Hey, Penn State won a Big 10 game! Just for Adam the Penn State Fan, here's a quick congrats to the Nittany Lions for raising their conference record to 1-12 with an 81-70 win over Northwestern last night.
Chris Babb and David Jackson each scored 20 for the Nittany Lions, who shot 56% from the floor and 87% from the line on the night. [ESPN]
A Pirate already hurt: We're just days into pitchers and catchers reporting for duty and already reliever Joel Hanrahan is facing an injury.
The righty will probably open the regular season on the DL with a strained right flexor-pronator, which means another job just opened up for someone in the pen. He will visit the only sports doctor in the universe, Dr. James Andrews, for a second opinion next Thursday, but it doesn't sound good. [Trib]
Bo Duke, the General Lee, and Jake Busey coming to the Burgh: And they're not the only ones. Steel City Con, the huge pop culture fest, is going down next weekend at the Monroeville Convention Center. It's billed as the largest toy show in the US.
There are ample celebrities booked for appearances, and you can find the whole list here. You can also see unique movie and TV props, like the Back to the Future Delorean and the B-9 robot from Lost in Space. [SteelCityCon.com]
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
Crosby was not on the 2006 Canada squad that lost to Switzerland in Turin, and like he usually does, he made his point through actions last night. Because of Sid's heroics, 33 million Canadians can breathe a little easier today, but the Americans will come hungry for their showdown with Canada on Sunday.
Martin Brodeur, who allowed two goals on 23 shots, rose to the occasion by stopping all four Swiss shootout attempts. Nonetheless, it was a huge scare for Canada, which continues to struggle with line chemistry despite peppering Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller with 47 shots.
The Canada-US game is set for Sunday night at 7:40 PM Eastern. [PG]
Malone, US cruise past Norway: Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone scored his second goal of the Olympics, Brian Rafalski added a late pair, and the US defense held Norway to just 11 shots in a 6-1 win for the Americans.
Malone assisted on a first-period goal by Phil Kessel to get the scoring started, and goals by Chris Drury and Patrick Kane stretched the U.S. lead to 3-0 before Norway would get on the board. The lopsided victory is actually beneficial in this style of play, which uses goal differential as a tiebreaker, so the third-period goals by Rafalski and Malone did more than pad a lead.
The Americans, who've already outdone their 1-4-1 performance in Turin, were probably guilty of looking forward to the Canada game, where the odds will certainly be against them. If common opponents are your thing, the U.S. had much less trouble with Switzerland than Canada did, handling them by a 3-1 count on Tuesday. But I'm of the belief that this will fall into the "throw out all the records" category. [ESPN]
Slovakia sneaks by Russia: Pavol Demitra scored in the seventh round of the shootout, lifting Slovakia to a surprising 2-1 win over Russia late last night.
Former Penguin Alexei Morozov's goal for Russia held up until the 9:48 mark of the third period, when another ex-Penguin, Marian Hossa, beat Russian goalie Ilya Bryzgalov to tie the game at one.
Russia's Alexander Ovechkin and Slovakia's Jozef Stumpel traded shootout goals, but it was Demitra's that would eventually end it for Slovakia. Evgeni Malkin, held scoreless on seven shots during the game, had the final chance, but was stopped by Slovakia goalie Jaroslav Halak. [ESPN]
And don't forget about Pitt: The Panthers weren't sitting around watching Olympic hockey last night, as they were too busy beating Marquette 58-51 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
If you want to talk about balanced attacks, Pitt defined that last night, as Nasir Robinson, Gary McGhee, Brad Wanamaker, and Jermaine Dixon all led the team with 10 points each. Ashton Gibbs' game went MIA, as he was 0-for-6 from the floor and finished with just two points.
The Panthers finally got a big contribution from much-heralded and seldom-playing Dante Taylor, who had three uncontested dunks in a span of about two minutes to help Pitt go on a 14-5 run early in the second half. McGhee added a career-best six blocks, and Jermaine Dixon added seven boards to round out the Panther attack.
20-6 Pitt next faces 22-3 Villanova in an Elite Eight rematch on Sunday at the Pete. You're going down, Scottie Reynolds. [ESPN]
Hey, Penn State won a Big 10 game! Just for Adam the Penn State Fan, here's a quick congrats to the Nittany Lions for raising their conference record to 1-12 with an 81-70 win over Northwestern last night.
Chris Babb and David Jackson each scored 20 for the Nittany Lions, who shot 56% from the floor and 87% from the line on the night. [ESPN]
A Pirate already hurt: We're just days into pitchers and catchers reporting for duty and already reliever Joel Hanrahan is facing an injury.
The righty will probably open the regular season on the DL with a strained right flexor-pronator, which means another job just opened up for someone in the pen. He will visit the only sports doctor in the universe, Dr. James Andrews, for a second opinion next Thursday, but it doesn't sound good. [Trib]
Bo Duke, the General Lee, and Jake Busey coming to the Burgh: And they're not the only ones. Steel City Con, the huge pop culture fest, is going down next weekend at the Monroeville Convention Center. It's billed as the largest toy show in the US.
There are ample celebrities booked for appearances, and you can find the whole list here. You can also see unique movie and TV props, like the Back to the Future Delorean and the B-9 robot from Lost in Space. [SteelCityCon.com]
2/17/2010
ONE DAY DOWN, NO SURPRISES IN OLYMPIC HOCKEY
Aside from a scoreless first period in the Canada-Norway game, there were no major surprises in the first day of Olympic hockey yesterday. That's a good thing for U.S. fans, who watched the Americans skate to a 3-1 victory over Switzerland in the tournament's opener in front of 16,706 strong.
The City of Pittsburgh's only Olympian, Ryan Malone, scored one of the goals, with the balance of the offense coming from Bobby Ryan of the Ducks and David Backes of the Blues. It was a good, physical performance for a young U.S. team that has an average age of just over 26, featuring only three previous Olympians.
While this game looked on paper to be America's to lose, the potential for disappointment was certainly there. Don't forget that in the 2006 Olympics, Switzerland beat both Canada and the Czech Republic, and the U.S. opened with a loss to Latvia. So this was definitely a best-case scenario for American hockey fans, who got the extra boost of having 1980 hero Mike Eruzione in the crowd yesterday.
After a day off, the U.S. will be back at it on Thursday, with a 3 PM matchup against Norway. And that's a team that may have some self-esteem problems after a humbling 8-0 loss to Canada last night.
Following the aforementioned scoreless first period, Canada turned up the heat in the second period, scoring three goals and limiting the Norwegians to just six shots. The third period would get even worse for Norway, as Canada struck five times, and Roberto Luongo continued to stop every one of the shots he faced.
It was a hockey celebration for an entire nation, and the atmosphere was undeniably electric. While Marc-Andre Fleury was the only Canadian player not to dress, Sidney Crosby represented the Penguins and his country well, setting up three goals. Jarome Iginla lit the lamp three times for Canada, playing on a scary-good line with Crosby and Rick Nash. Dany Heatley netted two goals for the Canadians, who also got goals from Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry. Canada will be back in action on Thursday night at 7:30 against Sweden.
Last night's nightcap also had a degree of local interest, as Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar helped Russia to a dominating 8-2 win over Latvia. Geno scored the lone goal of the second period, and assisted on a later goal from Ilya Kovalchuk. Gonchar was held scoreless on two shots.
Alex Ovechkin rose to the occasion, netting two goals, as did Danis Zaripov of the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan. The Russians will next face Slovakia at midnight on Thursday night.
The City of Pittsburgh's only Olympian, Ryan Malone, scored one of the goals, with the balance of the offense coming from Bobby Ryan of the Ducks and David Backes of the Blues. It was a good, physical performance for a young U.S. team that has an average age of just over 26, featuring only three previous Olympians.
While this game looked on paper to be America's to lose, the potential for disappointment was certainly there. Don't forget that in the 2006 Olympics, Switzerland beat both Canada and the Czech Republic, and the U.S. opened with a loss to Latvia. So this was definitely a best-case scenario for American hockey fans, who got the extra boost of having 1980 hero Mike Eruzione in the crowd yesterday.
After a day off, the U.S. will be back at it on Thursday, with a 3 PM matchup against Norway. And that's a team that may have some self-esteem problems after a humbling 8-0 loss to Canada last night.
Following the aforementioned scoreless first period, Canada turned up the heat in the second period, scoring three goals and limiting the Norwegians to just six shots. The third period would get even worse for Norway, as Canada struck five times, and Roberto Luongo continued to stop every one of the shots he faced.
It was a hockey celebration for an entire nation, and the atmosphere was undeniably electric. While Marc-Andre Fleury was the only Canadian player not to dress, Sidney Crosby represented the Penguins and his country well, setting up three goals. Jarome Iginla lit the lamp three times for Canada, playing on a scary-good line with Crosby and Rick Nash. Dany Heatley netted two goals for the Canadians, who also got goals from Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry. Canada will be back in action on Thursday night at 7:30 against Sweden.
Last night's nightcap also had a degree of local interest, as Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar helped Russia to a dominating 8-2 win over Latvia. Geno scored the lone goal of the second period, and assisted on a later goal from Ilya Kovalchuk. Gonchar was held scoreless on two shots.
Alex Ovechkin rose to the occasion, netting two goals, as did Danis Zaripov of the KHL's Ak Bars Kazan. The Russians will next face Slovakia at midnight on Thursday night.
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
2/16/2010
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Let's get it started: Olympic hockey starts today, so plan on leaving work early to catch the USA vs. Switzerland at 3 PM. Other games later today include Norway-Canada at 7:30 and Russia-Latvia at midnight. Empty Netters is doing in-depth profiles of teams today, which is definitely worth your clickage.Per ESPN.com, the US lines looked like this at practice on Monday:
Parise-Stastny-Kane
Malone-Pavelski-Kessel
Brown-Kesler-Langenbrunner
Ryan-Backes/Drury-Callahan
and here were the lines of two other teams you care about:
Team Canada
Nash-Crosby-Bergeron
Staal-Getzlaf-Perry
Marleau-Thornton-Heatley
Morrow/Richards-Toews-Iginla
Russia
Ovechkin-Datsyuk-Semin
Kovalchuk-Malkin-Afinogenov
Radulov-Fedorov-Kozlov
Morozov-Zinovyev-Zaripov
As Ron Cook pointed out today, the US has a little extra mojo on their side in Brooks Orpik, who was named after Miracle on Ice coach Herb Brooks. But the smart money is still on Canada, at least according to Bodog.com, which has the Canadians at 1:1 odds to take the gold. Russia comes in next at 11:5, followed by the US and Sweden at 6:1. Those aren't quite "miracle" odds (that's saved for 500:1 Latvia and Norway), but an American win would still be a pleasant surprise. [EN, ESPN, PG, Bodog]
Steelers free agent update: ESPN's James Walker thinks that Ryan Clark and Jeff Reed will get extensions, Casey Hampton will get tagged, and Willie Parker will be playing elsewhere in 2010. Those all sound like realistic predictions to me. [ESPN AFC North Blog]
This is just awful: I hope swift justice is served on the creep who robbed a church pierogi sale in Butler County. I say Sauerkraut Saul should get to take the first shot. [WPXI]
Baumann coming back: Fans of the WDVE Morning Show will be pleased to know that Randy Baumann will be re-joining the program tomorrow after a brief contract dispute. Randy's been one of the biggest supporters of this site since its inception, so I'm really glad to hear everything worked out. [Bob Smizik Blog]
The Fan is up and running: Yesterday was the big kick-off for 93.7 The Fan, and guests ranged from Dan Marino to Jamie Dixon to Gary Bettman. They have an extensive website with all of the content archived, which you can find here.
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
Steelers free agent update: ESPN's James Walker thinks that Ryan Clark and Jeff Reed will get extensions, Casey Hampton will get tagged, and Willie Parker will be playing elsewhere in 2010. Those all sound like realistic predictions to me. [ESPN AFC North Blog]
This is just awful: I hope swift justice is served on the creep who robbed a church pierogi sale in Butler County. I say Sauerkraut Saul should get to take the first shot. [WPXI]
Baumann coming back: Fans of the WDVE Morning Show will be pleased to know that Randy Baumann will be re-joining the program tomorrow after a brief contract dispute. Randy's been one of the biggest supporters of this site since its inception, so I'm really glad to hear everything worked out. [Bob Smizik Blog]
The Fan is up and running: Yesterday was the big kick-off for 93.7 The Fan, and guests ranged from Dan Marino to Jamie Dixon to Gary Bettman. They have an extensive website with all of the content archived, which you can find here.
2/12/2010
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Backyard Brawl, Take Two: Revenge is the theme for the Pitt Panthers tonight at The Pete, when the West Virginia Mountaineers come to town for a rematch of the ugly contest a week ago that WVU won, 70-51.
It's a big night not only for the Panthers, but for the crowd and the Oakland Zoo cheering section, which will be under the microscope after the harsh yet justified criticism of some unruly WVU fans last week. I'll be extremely disappointed in Pitt fans if they stoop to that level, but honestly, I don't see it happening.
The game will once again play to a national audience, and you can catch it on ESPN at 9 PM. It's the 180th meeting between the two teams, and WVU owns a 95-84 advantage. Pitt has won 12 of the past 18 games between the two, and eight of the last nine at home against the Mountaineers. [PittsburghPanthers.com]
Pens, Rangers facing off at Igloo: It's going to be a big night for remote controls in the area, because there's also a Penguins home game on the slate tonight.
The Penguins have won all four games against the Rangers this season, the most recent win coming on January 25 at MSG. The Pens will be without Eric Godard and Max Talbot, who are both dealing with groin injuries.
The Penguins could move into first place in the Atlantic Division with a win and a New Jersey loss tonight.
Gametime is set for 7:30, and you can find it on FSN. [PittsburghPenguins.com]
"Big Ben towers over Manning in playoffs": Figured you'd be very interested in this article from Yahoo's Jason Cole, who is clearly a very intelligent man. [Yahoo! Direct Snap]
NFL prospects are finding their way to Pitt: With the upcoming inductions of Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm into the Hall of Fame, the Pitt Panthers will have the seventh-most players in the hall, as they join Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka and Joe Schmidt. And that's a number that should increase in the future, with Curtis Martin, Ruben Brown, and Chris Doleman having good shots, as Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis should down the road.
This information, my friends, is what's called "an excellent recruiting tool". [PG]
Mr. Madden has a busy week planned: The guest list for next week's "Cavalcade of Stars" on Mark Madden's radio show includes Sidney Crosby, Jack Ham, Kurt Angle, "Slapshot" star Dave Hanson, and many more. History has proven that cavalcades are usually very entertaining, even moreso when a Hanson brother is involved. [WXDX/Mark Madden]
Former Pens carrying the flags: Three former Penguins will have the honors for their homelands, including Jaromir Jagr for the Czech Republic, Aleksey Morozov for Russia and Ziggy Palffy for Slovakia.
You can find the team rosters of all countries here. [PG, NBC]
Greetings from the Olympics: Several Penguins headed to Vancouver taped greetings for WPXI, and when you get Geno on camera, it can only be a good thing. [WPXI]
The Olympic Opening Ceremony Drinking Game: "For entertainment purposes only", here's an interesting way to spend your Friday evening. 10 sips if Mario lights the torch! [Kiss Morning Freak Show Blog]
It's a big night not only for the Panthers, but for the crowd and the Oakland Zoo cheering section, which will be under the microscope after the harsh yet justified criticism of some unruly WVU fans last week. I'll be extremely disappointed in Pitt fans if they stoop to that level, but honestly, I don't see it happening.
The game will once again play to a national audience, and you can catch it on ESPN at 9 PM. It's the 180th meeting between the two teams, and WVU owns a 95-84 advantage. Pitt has won 12 of the past 18 games between the two, and eight of the last nine at home against the Mountaineers. [PittsburghPanthers.com]
Pens, Rangers facing off at Igloo: It's going to be a big night for remote controls in the area, because there's also a Penguins home game on the slate tonight.
The Penguins have won all four games against the Rangers this season, the most recent win coming on January 25 at MSG. The Pens will be without Eric Godard and Max Talbot, who are both dealing with groin injuries.
The Penguins could move into first place in the Atlantic Division with a win and a New Jersey loss tonight.
Gametime is set for 7:30, and you can find it on FSN. [PittsburghPenguins.com]
"Big Ben towers over Manning in playoffs": Figured you'd be very interested in this article from Yahoo's Jason Cole, who is clearly a very intelligent man. [Yahoo! Direct Snap]
NFL prospects are finding their way to Pitt: With the upcoming inductions of Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm into the Hall of Fame, the Pitt Panthers will have the seventh-most players in the hall, as they join Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka and Joe Schmidt. And that's a number that should increase in the future, with Curtis Martin, Ruben Brown, and Chris Doleman having good shots, as Larry Fitzgerald and Darrelle Revis should down the road.
This information, my friends, is what's called "an excellent recruiting tool". [PG]
Mr. Madden has a busy week planned: The guest list for next week's "Cavalcade of Stars" on Mark Madden's radio show includes Sidney Crosby, Jack Ham, Kurt Angle, "Slapshot" star Dave Hanson, and many more. History has proven that cavalcades are usually very entertaining, even moreso when a Hanson brother is involved. [WXDX/Mark Madden]
Former Pens carrying the flags: Three former Penguins will have the honors for their homelands, including Jaromir Jagr for the Czech Republic, Aleksey Morozov for Russia and Ziggy Palffy for Slovakia.
You can find the team rosters of all countries here. [PG, NBC]
Greetings from the Olympics: Several Penguins headed to Vancouver taped greetings for WPXI, and when you get Geno on camera, it can only be a good thing. [WPXI]
The Olympic Opening Ceremony Drinking Game: "For entertainment purposes only", here's an interesting way to spend your Friday evening. 10 sips if Mario lights the torch! [Kiss Morning Freak Show Blog]
Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group
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