WHERE DO YOU WATCH THE PENS?

The Penguins' championship run is now 14 games old, with anywhere from four to seven games remaining. A fortunate few can have the privilege of watching game action from inside Mellon Arena, often at a hefty cost. But for the majority of Penguins fans, we're watching the game from somewhere else, be it outside the area, at home, at a Pittsburgh sports bar, or at an out-of-town establishment.

I'm pretty sure about 95% of you don't care for the Versus broadcasting team, and the reasons are well-documented. Not only did they appear to be Flyer cheerleaders/apologists (and for obvious reasons), but the broadcast pales in comparison to the excellence we've come to know from FSN Pittsburgh, who covered their assigned games from every conceivable angle and with a surplus of insight and analysis.

As Jim Krenn and Randy Baumann said on this morning's WDVE morning show, FSN's Dan Potash is like an embedded reporter in a war; he really injects the reader right into the action. And Potash should know - he's certainly paid his dues and spent a lot of time covering those pre-Crosby Penguin teams that history will soon forget.

When FSN broadcast their last Pens game, what followed was a lose-lose for everyone. Fans were forced to tune to Versus, and FSN (as of tonight) is broadcasting minor-league arena football between Reading and Baltimore. Quite a dropoff from Penguin playoff hockey indeed.

Despite your dislike for Versus, you're still tuning in; Game 2 of the Pens-Flyers series was the most-watched telecast (2,345,834 viewers) in the history of the network. And local TV ratings have beaten established TV titans like American Idol.

Ratings and opinions aside, the real point of this post was to discuss where you watch said Penguin broadcasts. I've fielded inquiries from readers wondering more about the outdoor Arena experience, about Penguin bars outside of the city, and even from readers who relocated who wanted to know where to watch a game in the city of Pittsburgh.

Given the fact that I watch the games from the cozy confines of home, I've had little data to share with said readers, other than what I've seen or heard. So Penguin fans, this one's up to you. Do your fellow Pittsburghers (at home and across the country) a favor and share your expertise for any or all of the following questions:

1. A loaded question: What's the best Penguin bar in or around the city of Pittsburgh?

2. If you've experienced a game outside the Arena on the big screen, is it (as I anticipate) worth the trip?

3. For out-of-towners: I know I've put this out there before with several responses, but I thought we'd consolidate it into one neat and tidy post right here...where are you planning on meeting to watch the Stanley Cup Finals?

Please, if you have any info to share, feel free to leave a comment for your Penguin brothers and sisters. I know many of you have gotten into the habit of emailing me directly, and while I certainly appreciate that, please take a second and create a Blogger account to drop some knowledge and share your opinion with the greater masses.

The News

--The Penguins snapped a four-game losing skid against the Flyers with a 4-3 win at the Igloo. The game featured better fighting than that recent boxing match at the Expo Mart.

As usual, Evgeni Malkin was front and center, scoring a goal and assisting on three others.

"He's the hottest player in the NHL right now," Umberger said of Malkin. And while Evgeni is quite handsome, he is putting up some dominating stats. Geno's notched eight goals and assisted on 13 others in the 10 games since Crosby was hurt, and he now trails countryman Alexander Ovechkin by just three points in the scoring race.

By the way, the minute someone gets that postgame interview between Malkin and Dan Potash on Youtube, you can be certain it's going up.

--By the way, has any baby been more publicized in the Pittsburgh area than Ryan Malone's? This pregnancy has had nearly as many mentions on-air as Evgeni Malkin.

--The NFC topped the AFC in the Pro Bowl, 42-30. In a sign of the apocalypse, Ben Roethlisberger threw a TD pass to TJ Houshmandzadeh, who hopefully left his Terrible Towel at home. Roethlisberger was 5-9 for 42 yards and a TD, and was the AFC's leading rusher with 18 yards on one carry. Probably why they lost.

--Here's a little more on last week's question of why the Pirates retired Billy Meyer's number.

--Steve Pederson is lowering ticket prices for Panther football games next season.

--Dejan Kovacevic and Paul Meyer predict the Pirates' opening day lineup. Book your Series tickets today!

--Bob Smizik calls out Michel Therrien for calling out Ryan Whitney.

--Ben Roethlisberger and his employer will probably begin contract talks this week.

--Great news! Roger Clemens is still going to appear at ESPN: The Weekend!

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS

Pirates Spring Preview 2008: Top Ten Issues10 best reality-TV villains
Top 12 most powerful celebrity couples
7 Signs Your Employees Don't Like You

The News

--Pens win! Pens win! And more importantly comes the revelation from a reader that Dan Potash may be the Pittsburgh equivalent of TNT's Craig Sager. All he needs is a few loud suits, and he's all set.

--Pitt wins! Pitt wins! The good news: Pitt wasn't upset by Mississippi Valley State, alma mater of Jerry Rice. The bad news: DeJuan Blair left the game with an injured tailbone. The insignificant news: the Pittsburgh XPlosion open their season at the Pete tonight. But you'll have to wait until February 1 to see the Atlanta Krunk.

--Bad news for Barry. But on the bright side, there's that offer from the Wild Things....

--A-Rod stays in pinstripes for 10 more years. So let's recap: first, he interrupts the World Series to announce that he's opting out of his Yankee contract. And now, he steals the headlines from Barry Bonds!

--After six games, ESPN already has a tracker comparing the Celtics to the 1995-96 Bulls. No, they're not overreacting at all...

--Another black eye for Penn State...and from the sounds of it, a black eye for the victim of this beatdown.

--Deshea Townsend: INNOCENT!

--In other Steeler secondary news, Ryan Clark has one less spleen than he used to.

--35-year-old Game Manager Trent Dilfer fights a 22-year-old defensive back at 49er practice yesterday. I'm guessing Mike Tirico would spin this as "the struggling team showing some fight".

--A great blog: Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians

--The one guy who left Sabathia off his Cy Young ballot explains himself.

--What's going on with the NHL All-Star voting free XM preview?

--Great news: you can now text your orders to Papa John's.

--Here's a quick site to figure out your BMI (Body Mass Index). I'm hoping for your health's sake that most of you come in at "normal weight" as opposed to "obesity".

--From the Headline Says It All Department: "Woman Finds Boyfriend Dead In Cat Door"

--If the words Ninja Gaiden, Double Dribble, and Baseball Stars ring a bell, it's time for you to take Nintendo Historian Quiz 2.

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS:

The 8 Guys You Run Into at a Sports Book

The 25 Most Baffling Toys From Around the World

The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters

Pens Lose, Ruin My Prediction

Thursday was a busy night in the Pittsburgh sports world. At 6 PM, the future of the Penguins was being discussed in Philadelphia, of all places. At 7:30, the Penguins players took the ice and tried to take care of business against the New Jersey Devils. At 9:30, the Pitt Panthers were tipping off their first game in the Big East tournament against nemesis Marquette. And at approximately 10:08, the Pens were ready for their shootout, ruining my prediction of a 10:30 shootout start time.

For those of you scoring at home, four of the last five Pens games have gone into a shootout. Unfortunately, their streak of seven consecutive shootout wins came to an end on this night, as the Devils topped the Pens, 4-3.

The Penguins beat Martin Brodeur three times, which is pretty solid work by anyone's standards. They had a power play goal courtesy of Evgeni Malkin, a shorthander by Sergei Gonchar, and their only non-Russian goal of the evening, a game-tying slapshot by Michel Ouellet.

But the Devils ruled the shootout, as Brodeur stopped the red-hot Erik Christensen, Malkin, and Sidney Crosby in succession. Patrik Elias scored on the final shot to send a crowd of 17,132 Pens fanatics home disappointed.

The Pens resume their quest for the postseason on Saturday afternoon at 1 PM against Jaromir Jagr and the Rangers. The shootout starts at 4:09.

Other notes from this evening's broadcast:

-Here's the info and picture of the Marvel character "Gronk", which is the nickname of Jordan Staal. Oh, you silly kids.

-Great interview of Marc-Andre Fleury by Dan Potash. I have yet to see or hear a Fleury interview where he didn't smile or laugh the entire time. The best part was the location of the interview, which was in front of a Coke machine. We now know that Mark Recchi drinks bottled water and feels the need to walk into another guy's interview.

-A neat feature on the Pirates who recently broke away from camp and attended the Penguins' game. Sanchez, Bay, Nady, Duke...they're all fans. Then they interviewed a heavy-set guy who didn't resemble an athlete at all. I thought they might have mixed up their tape. And then they ID'd the person as Pirate reliever Matt Capps.

John Fedko Hasn't Given Up Hope

During my usual late-night chat with my dad over the state of our respective teams, he told me that WPXI's John Fedko went on a five-minute rant about how the Steelers are still alive. My dad said that Fedko claimed the Steelers could still win the division with a 9-7 record. That would require a team that has played 2-6 ball to finish 7-1 down the stretch against the likes of Baltimore (twice), Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Carolina.

Submitted for your approval: John Fedko's sanity

Why commentators such as Fedko are making such outlandish claims is beyond me. How anyone can look at this team and think it can flick a switch is ridiculous. This isn't Shaq playing harder once the playoffs come around; this is a complete team collapse: offense, defense, special teams, and coaching. Anyone saying the Steelers still have a chance is just hurting their own credibility.

The Monday Night game tonight actually further illustrated the Steelers' sorry plight. I still cannot fathom the fact that they lost to the Raiders. Cannot, cannot, cannot believe it. Honestly, tonight Oakland looked like they don't even belong in the NFL. Their offense hasn't scored a touchdown since Randy Moss reeled in a 32-yarder in the first quarter against Arizona on October 22. That's 11 quarters without an offensive TD, for those of you counting at home. QB Andrew Walter was sacked nine times. His body language screamed of a beaten man. At least he managed not to throw any INTs. Their offensive line is ridiculously bad. Lamont Jordan had just nine carries. If I'd ever seen a hopless team, this was it. Forget talk about the Denver loss ending the season. The Oakland loss was the last nail in the coffin of the 2006 Steelers.

Seperated at Birth: Andrew Walter and Office Space's Ron Livingston

After watching a full half of the Raiders-Seahawks debacle, it was time for some hockey. The Pens took on the Anaheim "Don't Call Us Mighty" Ducks with a 10 PM EST start. For some reason, Mad Mike Therrien chose tonight to give Jocelyn Thibault his first start of the season. He managed to stop 37 shots (Thibault, not Therrien), but had me nervous on more than one occasion, with the Ducks having at least two more potential goals hit the post. But the Pens hung tough and managed to steal a point by taking the Ducks to OT. The highlight of the night had to be Nils Ekman's series of uppercuts on a Duck in front of the net with about 5 minutes left in regulation. Ekman was then tackled by Chris Pronger, who was tackled by Maxime Talbot, who was tackled by yet another Duck. Unfortunately, a questionable tripping call in OT to Noah Welch gave the Ducks one last power play, and Teemu Selanne (he of the golf course in his front yard) ended this one just 21 seconds into the extra frame. Next up is Tampa on Wednesday night. Hopefully Dan Potash didn't tire the guys out too much in California.

Sports aside, the high point of my evening was a 7 PM showing of Borat at the Destinta Theater in scenic Bridgeville, one of the 837 chosen theaters for the first week of release. There was a pretty strong turnout, considering this was a Monday night and we were in Bridgeville. I was actually carded upon buying my tickets, which is amazing considering I'll be 30 next year. And believe it or not, this theater did not have anyone taking your tickets. You could have virtually walked right in and no one would have noticed. But I recommend you pay. Because this movie was worth every penny and then some. No spoilers here, though. I will give you a great read: the "real" Borat and his frustrating story.
The "real" Borat is confused

The Wizard of Croz

Sidney Crosby scored with a deflected shot off defenseman Aaron Ward's skate with 3 seconds left in regulation, and the Penguins downed the Penguin Alumni Team (a.k.a. the New York Rangers) by a count of 6-5.

The Rangers feature a lineup loaded with ex-Pens, including Jaromir Jagr, Marty Straka, Darius Kasparaitis, and Michal Roszival. But on this night, it was Jagr's penalty near the end of regulation that gave the Penguins the man advantage as time wound down.

Sidney Crosby earned the game's first star with a career-high four points. Pens defenseman Ryan Whitney chipped in with two goals and earned 2nd star status. I never knew this, but according to ESPN, Whitney is a faceless black man. Personally, I always thought he looked like "The Blank" from Dick Tracy.

This figure just sold for $400 on ebay. I kid you not.

This game had it all: Jordan Staal's first NHL goal, Kris Letang's first NHL goal, plenty of ads for Steubenville (The Burb of the Burgh), and heavy doses of Dan Potash. Add in a hotly contested game when the lamp was lit 11 times and you have one great night of hockey.
This Pens game was Potashtic

The next game is Saturday against the NHL champion Hurricanes. There must be some rule about Pittsburgh teams starting their seasons with tough schedules. I think next week the Penguins are playing the Patriots. I'm sure Bill Belichick will be able to convert his schemes from the gridiron to ice, though.