NEWS AND NOTES

-- Game 7 goal-scoring machine Max Talbot will be having surgery on one of his shoulders and may miss the first month of the season, according to reports. But don't worry, this is not expected to affect his Superstar status at A&L Motors. [WTAE]

--Ian Snell contemplated suicide a month ago? How did I miss this? [WHTR.com]

--The Steelers' QBs are ranked 2nd in the NFL, which I can't complain about. But #1 is San Diego, which means I will complain loudly. [Fox]

--ESPN is debating who is really "America's Team", and James Walker makes the case for the Steelers. As if there's any debate. [ESPN.com]

--Speaking of the Steelers, here are the top 5 performances by Steve McNair against the black and gold. [Examiner.com]

--Four words: I Heart Bob Smizik. It's a new blog for all those who love to follow Pittsburgh's favorite retired-but-not-really sportswriter. [I Heart Bob Smizik]

--Here's a list of "the Top 10 Depressed MLB Fanbases", and the Pirates not only aren't #1, they're not even on the list. For once, I'm speechless. [Five Tool Tool]

--So Atlanta's in the market for a SS because Yunel Escobar is making Bobby Cox age even faster than normal. Could a Jack Wilson-Nate McLouth reunion be in the cards? [Fan Nation]

--The Twins are interested in All-Star Freddy Sanchez. So are the Giants. Don't act surprised, Pittsburgh. At this point, I think the Buccos would listen to offers for Clemente and Stargell if they were still on the roster. [Bleacher Report]

--And by the way, the Yankees may make a run at John Grabow, ironically because of an injury to Damaso Marte. You can't make this stuff up, folks. [NY Post]

--Dave Dameshek penned a nice article for the WWL about the nation's most beloved busted ballplayer, Manny Ramirez. Quitting on his teammates to force a trade, female fertility drugs, flaking out during games...of course fans would love him. Wait, what? [ESPN.com]

--Jamie Dixon, Ashton Gibbs and the USA under-19 team are rolling right along in the FIBA World Championships. But can they get past the Elite Eight? [Pitt Blather]

--The Panthers just snagged their 13th recruit, Woodland Hills DT Khaynin Mosely-Smith. This is the spot where I usually put the one liner, but I have none at my disposal other than mentioning continued amazement at Wannstache's recruiting prowess. [PSI]

--The Billy Mays funeral was held in McKees Rocks, and the pall bearers were clad in Mays' trademark blue shirt and khakis look:

And a few things I missed over the holidays but wanted to shoehorn in:

--Rinku and Dinesh, the minor-league baseball version of the Sedin twins, appeared in their first pro game on Saturday for the Pirates' Bradenton team in the Gulf Coast League. Dinesh threw a scoreless inning on just nine pitches, while Rinku surrendered a run on two hits in his inning. Both had one strikeout. The bad news: if this works out, they'll both be traded for prospects. [PG]

--The ESPN Ultimate Team Rankings were released, and the Steelers were 3rd, the Penguins 8th, and the Pirates...94th. If not for cheap seats in a sweet stadium, they'd surely be giving the tire fire known as the Clippers a run for their money. [ESPN.com]

--Former Tennessee Vol QB Jim Bob Cooter is facing aggravated burglary charges after allegedly getting into bed with a woman after climbing through a window of her Fort Sanders apartment. I don't know about you, but I'm shocked to hear that a guy named Jim Bob Cooter from Tennessee could run afoul of the law. [VolunteerTV.com]

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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.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

BREAKING: MANNY RAMIREZ TO BE SUSPENDED 50 GAMES

Manny just got busted for performance-enhancing drugs and will sit for 50 games as a result, says the LA Times. And the number of "clean" players dwindles yet again.

Sorry that this has nothing to do with Pittsburgh, but wow...I'm shocked, yet I'm not shocked, if that makes any sense.

Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games for positive drug test [LA Times]

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

NEWS AND NOTES

--The one-man-gang known as "ManRam" takes down the hapless Pirates, 8-2. To add insult to injury, Juan Pierre hit his first home run in more than 1,000 at-bats. Look on the bright side: the season's almost over. [Trib]

--So what is it, Sarah Palin: are you a Seahawk fan or a Steeler fan? [SPORTSbyBROOKS]

--Speaking of Sarah Palin, her portrayal by Tina Fey stole the show from Michael Phelps on Saturday Night Live. [Deadspin]

--Mike Ditka's restaurant is coming to Robinson Twp., and will eventually face off with Bettis' Grille 36 for the title of Greatest Pittsburgh Restaurant Affiliated With a Former Football Player. [Pittsburgh Business Times]

--The pinball world championships recently took place in Carnegie, and ESPN did a feature story. Take a look at this place! Who knew? [ESPN.com]

--Here's a list of 1,000-yard rushers you'd rather forget. I don't know, I had a few good memories of Barry Foster. [on 205th]

--Smooth move, DeSean Jackson. Only a couple million people saw it. [Kiss 96.1]

--Penn State-Illinois will be the ABC prime-time game on Saturday night. And unlike last Saturday night's ABC primetime game, the Big 10 will be guaranteed a winner this time around. [Trib]

--The Bengals' website is finally listing "Chad Ocho Cinco". By the way, he's got a grand total of five grabs for 59 yards for his winless, basement-residing team. I'm sure people would've been rushing to buy those jerseys. [Bengals.com]

--Ashton Kutcher coaching freshman football? Where are the Punk'd cameras? [LA Times]

--Here's the five most baffling spin-offs in TV history. Gotta agree with Golden Palace. [Cracked]

--Stern fans: here's the video of Sal the Stockbroker and Richard Christy pretending to make out in the background of a CNN broadcast on Monday. [Live Leak]

--Who are the 80 most powerful people over 80, and where is Joe Hardy on this list? [Slate]

--Where are homes selling fastest, you ask? I don't know, but I'm going to guess that Pittsburgh isn't on this list, despite the presence of a first-place football team. [Yahoo!]

--MTV's Total Request Live ends its 10-year run in November. Somewhere, Britney and the Backstreet Boys shed a tear. [Yahoo!]

--My W&J Presidents moved to 2-0 with a 49-21 dismantling of Frostburg State. That's 98 points in two games, for those of you scoring at home. [Washjeff.edu]

--And the St. Vincent Bearcats, featuring my very own cousin as the punter, win their first game in 46 years, 23-22, over Gallaudet. (The program was rebooted last year after a long layoff, but it's still cool to say "first win in 46 years" whenever you have a chance). [Stvincent.edu]

--For those of you watching what you eat (that would be about two of you), here are 20 superfoods for weight loss. [Shine]

Got news? Send it to mondesishouse@gmail.com and you could win a prize! Last week's winner of a KC Joyner book was Mike V. of Lawrenceville, who submitted the Real Clear Sports cumulative power rankings link.

AS THE BAY TURNS

As trade deadlines go, this year's version has been pretty awesome. Look at all the big names changing teams: Ken Griffey Jr., Rich Harden, Ivan Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixiera, to name a few.

But as a Pirate fan, we've become accustomed to Dave Littlefield having demands deemed by opposing GMs as way too high, followed by a price-slash panic near the deadline that brought us returns like Bobby Hill for Aramis Ramirez in the past. We are conditioned to dread this time of year.

Fortunately, Neil Huntington has been much more efficient (or so it appears) in his first trading deadline, so much to the point that Dejan Kovacevic said "...there seems to be this growing sense that it is the Pirates really dictating this process," when discussing the Bay deal. So that gives Pirate fans a small (*just a small) glimmer of hope for some better decision-making in the future.

The current buzz has ManRam approving the trade, coupled with the news of Peter Gammons suggesting the Marlins want the Sox to pony up as much as $9 million to cover more of Ramirez's salary. Of course, as I type this, I hear Jayson Stark at 1:44 PM on ESPN saying this is close to a dead deal.

Stay tuned for more updates, as we've got about two hours to go until the non-waiver deadline. Remember, trades do go down after the deadline, as witnessed by Brian Giles going to San Diego on August 26, 2003.

PBC Blog [PG]

Your Daily Time-Killing Fix

ESPN gives major love to the Penguins, ranking them 2nd in their Power Rankings. We're coming for that #1 spot, Buffalo.

The Kevan Barlow Era comes to an unceremonious end in New York. And this time he can't blame Coach Hitler.

The relationship between Mike Lange and FSN Pittsburgh sounds worse than Marty Schottenheimer and A.J. Smith in San Diego, if that's at all possible.

SI.com says the Pens are digging Bryan Smolinski.

Reggie Bush is your newest Gold Toe dress socks pitchman. Yeah, that taunting call against the Bears really tainted his image.

Manny Ramirez, antique auto auctioneer. Oh, that's just Manny being Manny. By the way, can we start a "Just Jose Being Jose" line to excuse Castillo's brain lapses this season? Maybe when he starts averaging 42 HR/135 RBI per year.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that ESPN's NASCAR coverage has been a bit much.

Check out Bishop State CC, where they had a 67-year-old disabled grandmother receiving athletic scholarships to play three sports there just months before she died. A three-sport granny? Sounds like a five-star recruit! Where were you on this one, Wanny?

A pack of ciggies is now running at $125 in California prisons. And just think, they're only a few bucks at Sheetz. That's the cost of living in certain areas.

A great video mash-up: "Batman vs. Superman: You Know How I Know You're Gay?", mixing a Justice League cartoon with the famous 40 Year Old Virgin scene.