Friday Steeler Quick Hits

Lots of good stuff on the AFC Championship today, here are a few:

-Wiz Khalifa will be performing the smash Black and Yellow before the game on Sunday. As Bill Simmons would say, "Enthusiastically co-sign." This should be the Steeler anthem for the next decade. Debate closed.

 

-Mayor Steelerstahl is back at it again, this time debating his football bet with Mayor Bloomberg and appearing on ESPN's First Take. He works hard for the money. [96.1 Kiss Freak Show]

-Rod Woodson was on with Seibel and Starkey and said he wouldn't put Big Ben in his top-5 list of QBs. Following that, Sean Salisbury was on the show and said he values winning the most in a QB, then ranked Philip Rivers 4th and Ben fifth. Let's say I'll enthusiastically agree to disagree with these two gentlemen. [93.7 The Fan]

-Bill Cowher picked the Jets to beat the Steelers. Obviously, this was an attention grab. Really, would it be a stand-alone story in the Trib if he picked the Steelers? [Trib]

-Sports media members are all writing the same Ben Roethlisberger story, says Fire Rick Reilly.

-And on that note, are the Steeler fans in this photo really how the national media sees us? I'd say that's bordering on incredibly sad. What's the message here? "OK Ben, you have to answer for your misdeeds to these grown men dressed up like it's Halloween."

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In the Spirit of Christmas, It's Bill Cowher's Wish List

The awkward day we've anticipated for nearly four years could very well happen in the next few months: Pittsburgh's own Bill Cowher could find himself on a new sideline. And to further hammer that point home, a list has surfaced of the jobs currently occupied that The Jaw has his eye on.

Bill Cowher Talks Roethlisberger

Former Steeler head coach Bill Cowher recently opened up to the AP (which is having quite the week, between this scoop and the Pirate documents), and it sounds like his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger has gotten much better with age. That's good news, because it sounds like the relationship had nowhere to go but up.

RIP, Kaye Cowher

By now I suppose you've heard the very sad news out of North Carolina, where Kaye Cowher, 54-year-old wife of former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, passed away as a result of skin cancer.

When thinking about the Cowhers as a family, I always marveled at how they seemed to be such a normal, functioning unit in an era when NFL coaches are practically expected to lead chaotic family lives. You know the storyline all too well by now. While dad is busy watching film 21 hours a day, his kids begin to make poor decisions. Some coaches have dealt with children who have drug problems. Others have children who were in prison. And in the worst case scenario, some have children who fall into both categories.

The Cowher family was different. It was almost like the plot to a sitcom. A super-intense pro football coach gets in the face of 350-pound defensive linemen by day, and watches girls' high school basketball games with his all-female household by night. Pitch that to any network and with the right cast, you've got a home run. But this was no TV show. It was the real deal.

Although coaching was his career and he excelled at it, I never got the impression that football was Bill's entire reason for being, because of his love for Kaye and their daughters. Just how important were they to him? So much that he walked away from a high-paying job he probably could've had for life in exchange for a completely different, family-centic existence in his wife's home state of North Carolina. And for that, I always admired him.

Kaye met Bill while at North Carolina State in 1976, and they were married five years later in 1981, when Bill was a member of the Cleveland Browns. 11 years later, he would become the heir apparent to Hall of Famer Chuck Noll as the newest head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Throughout Bill's career, Kaye always had a pleasant presence in Pittsburgh as a woman who supported her husband and let him follow his dream, which is summarized so poetically in the photo above.

It is unknown exactly when Kaye Cowher came down with skin cancer, which is a storyline nearly unbelievable in a day and age when everybody knows everything. But I'm virtually certain that her illness would explain Bill's longer-than-anticipated return to the pro football coaching ranks. 

Words can't express how badly I feel for Bill and all of the Cowhers at a time like this, but I know the family will have immeasurable support from the card-carrying members of Steeler Nation. Rest in peace, Kaye Cowher.

Mike Tomlin Gets 3-Year Extension

They haven't yet solved the contract dilemma of LaMarr Woodley, but the Pittsburgh Steelers put another long-term distraction to bed today, extending the contract of Mike Tomlin three years. Ed Bouchette of the PG broke the news of the deal this morning, although financial terms were not yet available. The deal will keep Tomlin in Pittsburgh through 2014.

Tomlin's original deal had one year and one option year remaining, worth $2.5 million annually. Bouchette compared Tomlin's original deal to that of Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt, who received virtually identical contracts when both hired in 2007. Whisenhunt just re-upped for five years and an annual average of between $5.5 million and $6 million, so that could be the ballpark for Tomlin's deal. 

Bouchette also reported that football operations director Kevin Colbert is in line for a new deal as well, which should quiet the rumors of a reunion with Bill Cowher at some point in the future.

Although the team had its share of struggles on the field (9-7) in 2009 and off the field as well, I'm still a Tomlin fan. I put absolutely zero stock into the columns claiming that he won with "Cowher's Team". To come into an NFL locker room teeming with millionaire divas who can't wait to roll their eyes at you and win their respect is no small feat, especially when you have no prior record as a head coach and their last coach won a Super Bowl two seasons earlier. 

Just think for a moment about the men and egos Tomlin's had to work with. If you think it's easy to get the attention of a Roethlisberger or a Holmes, think again. The list of coaches that Roethlisberger alone has clashed with in his brief NFL career is a lengthy one, filled with a number of talented football minds, including Cowher and Whisenhunt. The fact that he and Tomlin are remotely in the same ballpark at this stage of the game is a minor miracle. Sure, Tomlin's been given some talented players. But how coachable are some of these guys? That is the multi-million dollar question.

Tomlin has absolutely had some less-than-perfect moments (his ridiculous explanation of the Jeff Reed police incident and lack of discipline immediately springs to mind). And there have been some major distractions that have come on his watch, although it's ridiculous to suggest that he's somehow responsible for the actions of grown men. But sadly, those are issues that virtually every NFL coach has to deal with in 2010. Since Tomlin's introduction, the team has an overall record of 31-17, with a Lombardi Trophy to boot. I don't know what your definition of a good coach is, but that certainly fits my criteria. 

When a person suggests firing a coach or getting rid of a player, my immediate response is to ask who they would bring in to do a better job. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure there are many men I'd rather have other than Mike Tomlin coaching the Steelers for the next five years. 

ROETHLISBERGER, BRADSHAW PROBABLY NOT EXCHANGING CHRISTMAS CARDS ANYTIME SOON

A new shoe to drop in the Ben Roethlisberger saga: an icy relationship with the only man better than him at the quarterback position in team history, Terry Bradshaw. Said Bradshaw of Roethlisberger:

"Our relationship is not any good. When I told him to park the motorcycle, he got pissed. Then he had the accident, and since then he doesn't like me, and I'm learning not to like him. He wants to break all my records, and I say break 'em, I really don't care.  I've done my job, my job's over, now you have your shot. He has got to realize who he is. He is an elite athlete in the National Football League. Now he's got an image problem right now. Best thing to do is don't ever put yourself in that position again. When you're through playing football, do whatever you want to do, but right now, stay clean."

So if you're keeping score, Roethlisberger has had well-publicized rifts with his former coach, his former offensive coordinator, his future Hall of Fame receiver, and the face of the franchise during its glory years. Anyone else seeing the makings of a pattern here?

Terry Bradshaw On Ben Roethlisberger [ESPN]
Frost in Roethlisberger-Whisenhunt relationship heats up Super Bowl [USA Today]
Ward blindsided by Big Ben's comments [PG]
Steelers Notebook: Big Ben, Cowher had problems [PG]

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PENS WIN, BUT....

The Pens won for the fourth time since the Olympic break, downing Boston 2-1 at the Igloo on Sunday. Unfortunately, the post-game chatter is concentrated on the blatantly dirty hit leveled by repeat offender Matt Cooke on the Bruins' Marc Savard, which put Savard on his back for 10 minutes and required the assistance of a stretcher for his exit.

As per the current rules, no penalty was called on the play; but you can bet your bottom dollar that Cooke will be spending some time in a league-mandated time-out very soon. In case you've forgotten, this is not the first time this season that Cooke is under fire for his methods. Rangers forward Artem Anisimov sure hasn't.

Other than the unfortunate Cooke-Savard incident, it was a hard-fought, entertaining game featuring quality efforts from both goalies. The red-hot Pascal Dupuis, who's scored three goals in the four games since the break, and Geno Malkin lit the lamp for the Pens, who got 21 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. And Alexei Ponikarovsky came through with an assist on Malkin's goal and continued his fast immigration into the team's system. It was a second comeback win in as many days for the Penguins, as Pittsburgh faced a 1-0 deficit well into the second period on Sunday.


After 66 games, the Penguins currently sit second in the conference, behind our friend Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. The Pens are off until Thursday, when they face the streaking Carolina Hurricanes, 7-3 in their last 10. Maybe Bill Cowher will grace us with a guest appearance at this one.

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TODAY'S HEADLINES

Don't Call it a Comeback: With respect to the LL Cool J-inspired headline, it was actually quite the comeback last night in the Penguins' 3-2 win at Edmonton.

Jordan Staal assisted on three third period goals as the Pens overcame a 2-0 hole with goals from Tyler Kennedy, Matt Cooke, and Pascal Dupuis. The win moved the Pens to 3-1 on their nearly-completed five game road trip.

In the "concern areas", the Penguin power play was 1-for-2 and Evgeni Malkin once again failed to find the stat sheet, but did have seven shots and an effort worthy of the game's third star honor.

The game was preceded by an Olympic ceremony that included a guest appearance by the torch and loud ovations for Canadian team members Fleury and Sidney Crosby.

The Pens are back in action tomorrow night at Vancouver, with a 10 PM start. [ESPN]

Reese > Khan? It's looking like former Tennessee GM Floyd Reese is the favorite to land the vacant Seattle GM job, which means Omar Khan may stick around with the Steelers after all- at least for the near future.

Can Reese find the next Pacman Jones for Pete Carroll? We'll just have to wait and see. [NFL.com]

Pirates closing in on Dotel: The Buccos are on the verge of signing the 36-year-old to be their closer, a deal that has been discussed for weeks.

Dotel has 83 career saves and 39 career blown saves, so he probably won't cost the Pirates as much as, say, Mariano Rivera. Dotel made $6 million in 2009 with the White Sox, although the Pirates deal is expected to be much less. [Yahoo!]

Cowher waiting for Giants' job, says Bus: Jerome Bettis, a certified expert in all things Cowherian, says that the former Steeler coach is waiting for Tom Coughlin to figuratively slip on a banana peel with the Giants.

Cowher is reportedly close with the Mara family, which is as close to the Rooney family as you'll find among NFL owners. Aside from the obvious Carolina rumors, this sounds like the most realistic scenario for Cowher's post-Steeler coaching career to resume. [PFT]

LaRoche a LaDiamondback: The other half of the Flying LaRoche Brothers has reportedly found his home for 2010. Adam LaRoche will be suiting up for the Arizona Diamondbacks on a one-year deal, with terms not yet disclosed. It took a long time finding a team that was willing to go more than a half-year with the notoriously late slow starter. [Yahoo Sports]

Another story from the Russ Grimm archive: Nothing screams class like eating your own puked-up hot dog off the field. [Shutdown Corner]

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TODAY'S HEADLINES, PART DEUX

As expected, Bruce Arians has divided the readers: As of this writing, there are 1,028 votes in yesterday's "Would you keep Bruce Arians" poll question, and it's currently 50.2-49.8 in favor of bringing him back. [Vizu Poll Results]

Adam The Penn State Fan....takes on the "Sour Old Men" of the Pittsburgh sports media. Say what you want, this guy generates a debate. [BSD]

Leavitt out at South Florida: Longtime USF football coach Jim Leavitt became the most recent coach to lose his job in the wake of player abuse claims, as he was let go today.

Leavitt, who built the program from scratch, had just completed the second season of a seven-year, $12.6 million contract. He leaves with a record of 95-57, including 3-2 in bowl games. Under his tenure, USF peaked at #2 in the BCS poll in 2007. [Fox Sports]

Steve Miller to distract you from bad baseball: If you want to watch Pirates-Padres, hear "Fly Like an Eagle" live, and get "a nice night out at the ballpark", mark your calendar for July 24. [TimesOnline.com]

Pirates' Lukewarm Stove Update: The Buccos have zeroed in on Octavio Dotel as a closer, and have also shown interest in reliver D.J. Carrasco, who spent 2009 with the White Sox. The 32-year-old Carrasco, a Pirate farmhand from 1999-2002, had a 3.76 ERA in 49 appearances last season.

The Bucs appear to be backing off of free agent OF Rick Ankiel, who is represented by Scott Boras. Their plan right now is to have an outfield of Lastings Milledge, Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones, and therefore they are not promising any full-time gigs to any free agents. [PG]

Hire Bill Cowher: The Billboard: If there's one thing that could sway Bill Cowher to Buffalo, I can guarantee you that it's a billboard. How do you think the Steelers got Mike Tomlin? [PFT]

Jason Bay, New York Met: Here's the video the Mets sent to their ticket-buying mailing list (preceded by a 30-second ad, of course). Hey, they've gotta get that money some way. [MLB.com]

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"BUFFALO" BILL COWHER? NOT QUITE

Is the Carolina Hurricanes' #1 fan/CBS analyst ready to jump back into the NFL? Maybe, but if Bill Cowher does, it will not be in Buffalo.

Cowher rebuffed the recent advances of Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson, who has also pursued Mike Shanahan in his search for a new head coach. Cowher is not certain about a return to coaching and will wait until the offseason to consider his future.

Wilson may now turn his attention to one of Cowher's mentors, former Browns/Chiefs/Chargers/Redskins coach Marty Schottenheimer. The 66-year-old Schottenheimer, who was born in nearby Canonsburg, holds a 200-126-1 record in the NFL, but is a mere 5-13 in the playoffs. Former Cowher rival Brian Billick has also been mentioned as a possibility for the Buffalo job.

Bill Cowher rebuffs Bills' call; is Marty Schottenheimer next on Buffalo's list? [USA Today]

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BETTIS SMARTER THAN COWHER

Noted Detroit native Jerome Bettis was definitely paying attention to the recent hockey-related shenanigans by a certain football coach from Crafton. And he's proven that he's much, much smarter than this man:

The Bus was at Duquesne University on Wednesday, congratulating students from the Pittsburgh Rooney Accelerated Learning Academy who learned the ins and outs of computers during a recent eight-week camp sponsored by Bettis's foundation.

The Notre Dame-educated Bettis had this to say about the pending Stanley Cup matchup:

"Right now, it is championship season for hockey. The Pens are now, it looks like, going to play the Red Wings, and I'm torn," said Bettis, who hails from Detroit. "This year, it's time for the Penguins to win the championship. ... This year, it's time for the young guys to become men and become champions."

It's worth noting that Mr. Bettis does own a rather large eating and drinking establishment in the heart of Pittsburgh, and rather than go the way of Rod Woodson's old place, the Bus realized that sometimes, you have to cater to your audience. Which means you probably won't be seeing #36 throwing an octopus onto the ice during the Finals.

Detroit Native Bettis: 'Go Pens!' [WTAE/video]
Pittsburgh academy students awarded computers by 'The Bus' [Trib]

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BILL COWHER'S CAROLINA VIDEOS

I'd comment, but I try to keep the language clean on here.

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CITY OF CHAMPIONS II?

PENGUINS 4
HURRICANES 1

[From Adam]

30 years later, a new generation has a shot at experiencing a "City of Champions" era. Just months after the Steelers returned from the Super Bowl with the Lombardi Trophy in hand, the Penguins have a chance to raise Lord Stanley in the very near future.

Game Four started off with Bill Cowher furiously cranking the Hurricanes' pregame siren, as promised and heavily hyped. Of course, Versus was too busy to actually show this on live TV, lest they take away from their highly acclaimed lead-in program, Holy @#%*! But thank goodness for highlights and their screen-capture opportunities.

If Cowher decides to give up his CBS gig, he might have a scholarship offer open up as the Texas Tech Bell Ringer:


As Hot Dog Zanzabar reminds me, "Kid Crosby was waving a Terrible Tahl when announced as the number 1 star when Mr Bill's team had their Super Bowl run." Yes, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the city of Pittsburgh won't be too thrilled with Cowher's in-game interview. That's fine. He can watch his neighbor Matt Cullen golfing next week.

But back to serious business, where Eric Staal opened up the game's scoring just 1:36 into the first period, beating Marc-Andre Fleury and giving the Cowher-charged crowd even more momentum. Eric looked awfully angry after scoring, though.
About seven minutes later, perennially rosy-cheeked Ruslan Fedotenko tied it with his sixth goal of the playoffs, tipping in Philippe Boucher's shot from the point. And who else but Mad Max Talbot put the Pens ahead for good with a knuckle-puck that beat Ward with a minute and a half left in the first. What can you say? 12 goals in the regular season, four in the playoffs. He's a superstar.
The second period featured just one goal - the seventh of the playoffs for Bill Guerin, who's probably justified that conditional draft pick that the Penguins will give up for him in the draft. He was the #1 star in the Eastern Conference clincher. Thanks again for the boost, Garth Snow!
With 20 minutes to go until a second straight berth in the Stanley Cup Finals, all eyes were on Marc-Andre Fleury to hold down the fort. And MAF did exactly that, turning away all 10 Hurricane shots in the final period while getting an empty netter from Craig Adams, closing out the Canes with a surprising four-game sweep. As the clock ticked to 0:00, the Prince of Wales Trophy was given to the Pens, who decided they wouldn't treat it like it was covered in cooties this year. A bearded 66 looked on in approval.
So to put a bow on this one, Carolina peaked a minute and a half in, their goalie and their team looked physically and emotionally spent, MAF stopped nearly everything Carolina threw at him, and Bill Cowher continued to struggle in conference championships. It was time for this series to end, and the Penguins didn't mess around.

The Pens sit just four wins away from the third title in team history, and a likely rematch with Marian Hossa and Detroit awaits them, as long as the Wings can close out Chicago on Wednesday night [preview]. It's a good thing, because I'm thinking of an obvious sequel to this photo:

Check back throughout the day for more pics, video, and links, and feel free to drop me a line with your two cents. LET'S GO PENS!

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A BRIEF WORD ON MR. BILL

As you're well aware of, Bill "Benedict" Cowher will be cranking the siren for the Carolina Hurricanes prior to tonight's Game Four with the Pens. I've discussed the topic at length and ran this picture about 800 times, but for one last go-round, I'll direct you to an AOL Fanhouse article written by Adam Gretz which gets a few different Pittsburgh points of view on the topic. And for a longer take in audio form, you can listen to the most recent Mondesi's House/Dave Dameshek podcast here. I won't spoil it for you, but you can probably write my answer to this question better than I could at this point.

By Sounding Siren, Is Bill Cowher Turning His Back on Pittsburgh? [Fanhouse]

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ESPN PODCAST: THE BEST NON-MARIO GOALS AND A FULL-BLOWN CONTROVERSY

We've all seen our share of incredible Mario Lemieux goals. Heck, there's been entire DVDs devoted to them. But what are the most memorable goals in Penguin history NOT scored by #66?

Dave Dameshek and I tried to begin the task in this week's podcast, but we agreed that we're just scratching the surface with our admittedly brief list. This is obviously going to be a chore that requires reader/audience participation. The possibilities are endless...Crosby, Malkin, Jagr, even guys like Nedved and Kasparaitis have a place.

This topic was obviously a direct result of Geno Malkin's amazing goal in Game Two, which Dave and I dissected at length in this installment. We also discussed Malkin's parents, whose celebrity stock has risen to legendary status in the recent past. Honestly, who doesn't love the Malkins?

---

It appears that Dave greatly stirred the pot during a recent podcast with Bill Simmons, so much that The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg felt the urge to write about it and so kindly describe Dave as a "native of a dying industrial town". Steinberg took issue with Dave describing Alex Ovechkin as a "villain", which is obviously waaaaay off-base, as this clip below illustrates.

I guess it's hard for a native of a sports town filled with perennial winners like the Caps, Wizards, Nationals, and Redskins to see the forest through the trees and deal with the reality that his beloved Ovie enjoys the occasional run at a player, a move his Pittsburgh peers do not have in their respective repertoires. Obviously, they're just happy to accept any player with a beating pulse that can put fans in the seats and blindly look the other way when someone points out his shortcomings. After the Steve Spurrier Era, the Michael Jordan as GM Era, the Jim Bowden Era, and all those Penguin-induced playoff exits, I guess I would get defensive when someone criticized Ovie, too.

Dave and I bring it back full circle and declare that Ovechkin is good for the league, because it's always more interesting when there's a villain around (especially when you slay them...cough, cough....RavensFlyersRavensCapitalsRavens....cough, cough).

---

We wrap up with some venomous words for Coach Cowher, who appears to be on the verge of forever tarnishing his Pittsburgh legacy in the near future. It's exactly the kind of talk you would expect from two natives of a dying industrial town.

All that and much more is in this week's podcast.
To listen, just click here

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BEATDOWN

PENGUINS 7
HURRICANES 4

I'm pretty sure that everyone's either seen or heard about the Penguins' 7-4 thrashing of Carolina in Game Two by now, so this belated recap is simply here to serve as a little bit of afterglow to a contest that had a little bit of everything. 11 goals in the game, including 5 in the first period; a fake Hanson brother and a real Hanson brother in the stands; a Miroslav Satan fight; Chris Kunitz's first goal of the postseason; KENNEDY! and last but not least, an Evgeni Malkin hat trick, highlighted by this amazing goal:

The Pens looked every bit like a team capable of hoisting the Cup in the near future, with an overwhelming offensive display that would have qualified fans for a free cup of Wendy's chili in years past. Pittsburgh outshot Carolina 42-28, beating the heralded Cam Ward six times on the evening - the most goals Ward has allowed in a playoff game. Ever.

Malkin quietly slipped into first place in the playoff scoring race, leapfrogging his distinguished teammate in the process. And he even hit some Hurricanes on the top of the head like a Whack-a-mole game in a skirmish, which served as gasoline on the fire that lights the fiesty 22-year-old. As Carolina learned, you don't make The Incredible Malk angry. You won't like him when he's angry.

Luckily, Pittsburgh not only likes an angry Malkin, they love him. They littered the Mellon Arena ice with hats after Malkin's third goal and enveloped his parents in jubilation. He had such a great game that it's taken this many words to get to Sidney Crosby's two-point night, including his 13th goal of the postseason. Crosby had six in last year's playoffs.

The Penguins are trying to become the first team since the 1984 Edmonton Oilers to lose in the Stanley Cup finals one season and win the Cup the next, and if last night was any indication, they might just pull it off.

Carolina will host Game Three tomorrow night at 7:30 PM. The Hurricanes need to get their act together - quickly. Following last night's contest, Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason said, "This isn't going to be a four-game series, I'll tell you that."

Well Tim, it's quickly becoming put up or shut up time.

---

A couple Pens-related emails to share:

Can anyone help out emailer D.D., who had a minor personal dilemma on his hands for the Carolina games?

1. Can I (should I) wear my Hines Ward jersey to game 4 in Raleigh?

2. How do you defeat the spell bound Ric Flair "whoooo" during the game. Every time I hear it I want to naturally respond with an echo? It's in my DNA.

3. How can I disrespect Cowher without really disrepecting him?

And from Nipsy:

"I caught this last night during the Pens game. You know the NHL “Portal” commercial that airs on Versus probably 200 times per game? There’s a clip where the Canucks score a goal at a home game. There’s a familiar looking #7 jersey in the stands beating on the glass in celebration. It’s a little grainy in the screenshot I swiped from the youtube clip, but it’s pretty obvious in HD. Just look for it during one of the 500 times it’s shown during Saturday’s game."

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EARLY NOTES ON PENS-CANES

A few notes on the pending Penguins-Carolina Hurricanes Eastern Conference Finals, made possible by this goal by Scott Walker last night...

Series Schedule is as follows:

Monday, May 18 Carolina at PITTSBURGH 7:30 p.m. TV: Versus

Thursday, May 21 Carolina at PITTSBURGH 7:30 p.m. TV: Versus

Saturday, May 23 Pittsburgh at CAROLINA 7:30 p.m. TV: Versus

Tuesday, May 26 Pittsburgh at CAROLINA 7:30 p.m. TV: Versus

*Friday, May 29 Carolina at PITTSBURGH 7:30 p.m. TV: Versus

*Sunday, May 31 Pittsburgh at CAROLINA 7:30 p.m. TV: Versus

*Tuesday, June 2 Carolina at PITTSBURGH 7:30 p.m. Versus

Things you'll hear about:

--Eric Staal and brother Jordan Staal - often

--Bill Cowher's support of the Canes (which some people are already tired of)

--The Pens won the season series, 2-1-1, outscoring Carolina 12-8. Both victories came against backup goalie Michael Leigton.

--Ron Francis is Carolina's assistant head coach; Tom Barrasso is in charge of their goalies

--No games will be broadcast on NBC; however, Game One and Game Four of Chicago-Detroit will be shown on the Peacock.

--Carolina's power play was the worst of the teams in the second round; their penalty kill was second-best in the playoffs.

--Hurricanes have played in four straight seven-game series and won them all.

--The Canes feature Cam Ward in goal, a Conn Smythe winner. Ward is 8-6, 2.22 GAA, .927 save %. By contrast, Marc-Andre Fleury is 8-5, 2.72, .901.

--1o members of the Hurricanes won rings with the team in 2006

--Sergei Gonchar has four days to rest before the series starts

--Sidney Crosby leads all playoff scorers with 21 points; Eric Staal leads Carolina with 13 points

--Pittsburgh defensemen have scored 10 goals in the playoffs; Carolina defensemen have scored two.

--And finally, don't forget, Brooks Orpik is not popular in Carolina:


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SEVENTH HEAVEN

PENGUINS 6
CAPITALS 2

"Penguins get 2 points, but play leaves little doubt season is over" -
Gene Collier, PG, February 26, 2009

For a team that was virtually dead and buried by the Pittsburgh media, which resorted to more than one member seriously suggesting the Penguins trade Sidney Crosby, I guess Ray Shero gets the last laugh for now. Because I'm pretty sure the Pens needed old #87 last night.

Yes, Crosby is once again the best player in the world, even getting praised as the better player in the end by the Washington Post. He once again stands alone, says Scott Burnside of ESPN. It's amazing how one game can change so many people's minds, but that should speak to just how great of a game Sidney Crosby played last night in the Penguins' 6-2 slaughter of the Capitals.

He scored the first goal, he scored the last goal, and he set the pace for an outcome that many hoped for but few anticipated. He scored 13 points in the series and leads the NHL with 12 playoff goals. With a little help from his friends, most notably Marc-Andre Fleury, Craig Adams, Bill Guerin, and "Willis" Gonchar, Crosby and Company now move on to the league's Final Four for the second time in as many years. And Bruce Boudreau can take as much time as he needs to come up with injury excuses.

Sure, Simeon Varlamov came down to Earth like a comet hurling from the sky, but for every mistake the Capitals made, the Penguins took advantage, down to the great Alexander Ovechkin turning the puck over and Crosby scoring the Pens' final goal. Washington had 19 giveaways, the Penguins had four. Washington had four penalties resulting in two Penguin goals. The Penguins had zero penalties. Zero!

For a Penguin fan, it was as satisfying as a second-round win could possibly be. For Washington, they have an entire offseason to come up with reasons why Ovechkin is better than Crosby. But once again, much like fans of the Ravens and Flyers, Pittsburgh got the last laugh in this heated rivalry. It sure is a great time to follow Pittsburgh sports. And in honor of the win, a celebratory "California Soul" will be presented.


Carolina or Boston await, to be decided starting at 8 PM tonight [preview]. It's either Bill Cowher or New Englanders in the next round. But I'm guessing Pittsburgh will continue to be upset at seeing a sight like this should the Canes advance:

That's OK. We've got a coach who supports our team.

Go Pens.

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ESPN PODCAST: PEDs AND PENS

Well, I guess enough of you listened to last week's "special" podcast, because Dave and I were back at it today, gabbing it up for a half-hour full of Pittsburgh-centric sports talk. So from the bottom of my black-and-gold-bleeding heart, I thank you for your support.

Being that Dave is currently in L.A., we started things off this week with a hot topic in his area, performance enhancing drugs. But we had a unique angle to tackle: how would Pittsburgh deal with a big-name athlete that was juicing?

After initially blaming the Pirates' 16-year losing streak on their lack of players who used PEDs, I use some historical examples to make my point on where Pittsburghers would stand if this ever happened. It quickly evolved into a psychological dissertation on the city. How, I don't quite know. But hopefully it makes some sense.

We then tackle the touchy subject of Bill Cowher, Carolina Hurricane SuperFan. I explain the hurt that Pittsburgh is feeling and Dave expresses shock and outrage at The Chin, who seems to be enjoying his adopted team waaay too much.

Finally, it's time to talk Pittsburgh hockey, specifically the pending Game Four between the Pens and Caps. We talk about solving Simeon Varlamov, the roller-coaster that is Geno Malkin, and exactly how far the Pens can go in this postseason.

You can listen to this week's podcast by clicking here.

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COWHER IMMERSED IN CAROLINA HOCKEY

Maybe it's just me, but I certainly don't remember Bill Cowher ever showing up at a Penguin game donning a Penguin jersey, as Mike Tomlin has been known to do (and if anyone has such a photo of Cowher, please send it in, and I will gladly be proven wrong). So imagine my surprise when I find out that one of the biggest Carolina Hurricanes "celebrity fans" is...guess who:

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher is a ubiquitous local celebrity in Raleigh, as his latern jaw has popped up everywhere from local supermarkets to the putting greens.

Tonight, like Ric Flair and Elizabeth Dole before him, Cowher's scheduled to sound the ceremonial "warning siren" before Game 3 between the Boston Bruins and the hometown Carolina Hurricanes. It'll be the second time Cowher's had the honor.

The Jaw did an interview today with Raleigh's 850 The Buzz, in which he explained his hockey credentials and quickly steered the conversation from the Penguins-Caps series to his excitement about the Hurricanes' playoff run. From the sound of things, it certainly appears like his conversion to an ex-Yinzer is near completion.

Bill Cowher must decide: Pittsburgh for life or Caniac Nation? [Puck Daddy]

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