NEWS AND NOTES

A few things while I finish up the second half of the Pittsburgh Sports Media Popularity Contest (to be unveiled at some point later today)...

--Reader Steve B. contends that guitarist Paul Gilbert (and not Rocco Mediate) is/was the best thing to ever come out of Greensburg, PA:

Considered one of the world's greatest rock guitarists for years, in the same class as Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. Plus, who else in fairly recent years from Western, PA has been on the Tonight Show and has had a platinum album with a Billbord Hot 100 No. 1 hit. (Mr. Big - To Be With You, 1992)?

Good points...but Gilbert can't take credit for knocking Tiger Woods out for the year.

--Cecil from Cecil thought we would like the worst album covers of all time.

--SOB (his real initials) sends over a Vanity Fair article on Bill Clinton that features a mention of Penguins owner Ron Burkle and his attractive, blonde, "not much older than 19 if she was that" guest.

--Our friends at Pierogis N'at came up with a new top 1o list: Top 10 Best/Worst Sports Celebrations.

--It appears that Roger Clemens sold his Bentley to Poison singer/Steeler fan Bret Michaels recently. Early word is that he sold the car to get some cash to put against his legal bills. Sorry, but I'm not buying that. According to Baseball Reference, Clemens took home at least $121 million in salary alone during his career, and their numbers only go through 2005 (not counting the ransom he took from Houston in '06 and the Yanks in '07). And that's just his on-field money. I find it hard to believe that Clemens' cash well has dried up to the point that he has to sell a used ride to a friend of Brady Quinn.

Send your interesting links to mondesishouse@gmail.com for these fun little buffers between "real" posts.

TEN POINTS

1. Nice to see a sign of life out of the Pirates yesterday. The 5-3 win was nice, but standing up to Randy Johnson? That was impressive. What, was Doug Mientkiewicz angling to make the next Robin Ventura-Nolan Ryan moment?

2. By the way, I totally forgot that Mientkiewicz was the high school teammate of one Alex Rodriguez in both baseball and football. Rodriguez was the quarterback and Mientkiewicz a tight end at Westminster High in Miami. And no, A-Rod didn't win the championship with that team, either.

3. Junior Griffey hit home run #600 last night in, of all places, Florida, one of the worst home crowds in baseball history. It was the quietest 600th home run of all time, due totally to the dilution of the number by the steroid era. But Griffey has never been associated with any performance-enhancing drugs, which is exactly why his performance has been in decline.

In a way, he's like the Mario Lemieux of baseball. You can only wonder, if healthy, how many home runs (or in Mario's case, goals) he would've accumulated in his career.

4. The Dwight White passing came as things were winding down last week, and it didn't get the proper coverage that it deserved. Another look at his obituary in the PG paints the picture of a talented, personable, extremely intelligent man whose post-football career rivaled what he accomplished on the gridiron. And that's saying something.

5. You have to read this story about retired Mississippi State baseball coach Ron Polk, who's so upset about the naming of his successor that he's vowed to take his name off of the stadium. Of athletic director Greg Byrne, Polk said the following: "I'm going to do everything I can to make his life miserable."

That's a nice example you're setting for the young men whose lives you're shaping.

6. Have any of you seen Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro? Saw it last night, and it's becoming the same tired Will Ferrell plot: he's on top of the world, he bottoms out, he re-conquers the world in the end. Have you seen Anchorman, Talladega Nights, or Blades of Glory? Then there's no need to bother renting this. And that's coming from a Will Ferrell fan.

7. On the other hand, The Strangers (in theaters now) gets two thumbs up.

8. I'm not one for watching televised golf, but I have to admit: that Tiger Woods-Phil Mickelson pairing at the U.S. Open is pretty intriguing. And it gives me the excuse to run this exquisite photo of the duo.

9. Is Pittsburgh fully prepared for the upcoming Pamela Anderson invasion? I doubt it.

10. Pierogis N'at did a nice recap of the recent Billy Gardell/Mike Wysocki/Gene Collier standup troika. That's a lot of Pittsburgh humor for one man to handle.

THE NEWS

--Have to lead with this sent in (which was only available cached, for some reason) from a very loyal reader who's given many a valuable tip in his day:

For the second-straight day Wednesday, rocker Jon Bon Jovi was on hand at Madison Square Garden to watch the Penguins practice.

A Manhattan resident and huge sports fan, Bon Jovi is co-owner of the Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul.

So Bon Jovi, Mr. New Jersey, is a closet Pens fan? This is big news! I doubt that's going to sit well with Devils fans.

--The new fashion trend among Penguins is walking boots, as Max Talbot and Rob Scuderi were both seen wearing them yesterday. Both will be game-time decisions tonight. Gary Roberts and Daryl Sydor are ready, willing, and able to replace them.

--Large Ben says he had no influence on the Steelers' draft picks...other than his request for a tall receiver a few months ago.

--In other Roethlisberger-related news, my favorite QB just dropped $100,000 on the city of Pittsburgh for the purchase of K-9 units, protective vests, and other equipment for the Pittsburgh Police Department.

--The Pens-Rangers Game Three matchup drew higher ratings than Dancing With The Stars, NCIS, American Idol, and Law & Order SVU, proving once again that Sidney Crosby > Simon Cowell.

--Pens players wish Sean Avery nothing but the best, because the Penguins are classy guys.

--Mike Prisuta says the Pens are beaking at the right time. That's right, he said beaking.

--Ian Snell is not feeling it this year - and it shows.

--Good news! The PLCB wants to set up a statewide network of 100 satellite wine kiosks. If there's one thing our state needs, it's easier access to alcohol.

--Roger Clemens is now being linked to Paula Dean Daly, AKA the former wife of John Daly. The hits just keep on comin' for the Rocket.

--Tyler Hansbrough finally took the advice of Duke fans and jumped off a roof.

--In today's New York Times: Pittsburgh surpasses Los Angeles as nation's sootiest city. AND we have an NFL team! Take that, LA!

--Is Mariah Carey really engaged to Nick Cannon?

--Exxon just announced earnings of $10.89 billion for the first quarter of 2007.

--Ashlee Simpson's new album sales were so low, they were beaten by a comedy album.

--Gas prices are so high, they're even affecting NASCAR ticket sales.

--Christina Applegate truly is one of People's 100 Most Beautiful People.

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS
The 50 Funniest Movie Scenes Ever (a must-click) (with video evidence)
10 NFL Rookies Poised to Succeed in Ideal Situations
The 9 Coolest Things About the GTA Series
25 Rejected Ideas From Grand Theft Auto IV
6 Things You Didn't Know You Could Get Addicted To
People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People
10 part-time gigs to pad your wallet
Most Congested US Cities
Top 5 Paula Abdul Television Meltdowns
Top 10 Videos Of Celebrities Attacking The Paparazzi

GOT NEWS? EMAIL IT TO MONDESISHOUSE@GMAIL.COM
YOU COULD WIN STUFF!

The News

--Penguins 1, Bruins 2. A frustrating evening at Mellon Arena. And my personal plea to Erik Christensen: SHOOT!

--As Koz pointed out in his column, MAF made his rehab debut last night: a 3-1 win, 30 saves, and white pads.

--Try out the Virtual NES. 765 games. Totally free. No need to blow in the cartridges that don't work.

--Check out the world's smallest bodybuilder. The hair is a nice touch.

--Pats fans who continue to deny their Super Bowl loss have a new home: Giantscheated.com, filled with a virtual slideshow outlining how the Pats were robbed. In other news, the entire NFL is planning to collaborate on another website: Patriotscheated.com.

--Speaking of the Pats, here's the only petition that really matters: For All New England Patriot Fans To Be Reffered To as "Nerd-Ass Idiot Dork-Jerks". I'm in.

--Possibly the worst story I've ever heard: a bride dies during her first dance.

--Jayson Stark recaps all the fun of the Clemens/McNamee circus in Washington.

--Roger Goodell has no regrets over destroying the Spygate tapes. They couldn't possibly be as entertaining as the Chris Berman tapes.

--Josh Booty got drunk. And then he got tased.

--Kelvin Sampson is on dangerously thin ice at Indiana. And if he's out, who's going to replace him? Anyone available? Anyone????

--The big Jason Kidd-t0-Dallas trade has been blocked by...Devean George?

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS
The 20 Least Romantic Movie Lines Ever
16 Celebrities Who Look Like They Absolutely Reek of B.O.

Top 10 Daytona 500s
The 6 Strangest Tales of Celebrity Body Part Insurance

The 10 Greatest Old School Sports Video Games

The World's Most Disturbing Diseases
Four most surprising college football recruiting classes

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

Alleged Clemens Photos Released

Now that's some interesting sports memorabilia!

More Rocket fun at The Smoking Gun.

The News

Another new feature for the new year: the Mondesi's House poll, which will be seen on the right sidebar. It's just a basic question that is the hot-button issue of the moment. Considering all that I've heard about the Steelers today is how they will stink in 2008, our first question: how many games will the '08 Steelers win? I know there's endless variables that will happen between now and then (to name a few: free agency losses and additions, the draft, training camp, injuries, opponents/schedule, division strength, etc), but it's your typical knee-jerk analysis that I love to witness.

--The Pitt Panthers, sans 40% of their starting lineup, evened up their Big East record to 1-1 with a 79-66 win over South Florida. Sam Young scored 22, Keith Benjamin added 20, and no Panthers were injured in the process.

--Terry Bradshaw is retiring from Fox...in 2011.

--Very entertaining post from the Post-Gazette's Blog and Gold with reader thoughts on the Steelers, ranging from signing Jamal Lewis to not being sold on their 10-win, division champion rookie coach, and closing with two classic Steeler cliches from a PG reader in Florida: "The only guarantee's on this team should be the unwritten ones: 1. We will run the ball down your throat 2. We will stop the run and punish your quarterback"

--Side note: why is the city of Pittsburgh's "blue-collar work ethic" so synonymous with a bruising rushing attack? Is there another city defined by a style of offense? Is Indianapolis filled with white-collar folks who enjoy a well-crafted, precision aerial attack?

--The Duquesne Dukes now have an RPI of 41 and are ranked 26th in the Sagarin Rankings. They're 11-3 and 1-0 in the A-10. How do I know all of this? Dukes Court, my friend.

--On the topic of rebuilding, Neal Huntington says the Pirates can't pull the plug just because they lost 94 games last year. If they lost 95, then maybe they would blow it up. But 94? Why mess with a good thing?

--Tyler Hansbrough looks pretty scared to cover 7'7" Kenny George from UNC-Asheville in this pic.

--The Washington Redskins could be going to Hollywood for a coach.

--Not a good year for bowl game TV ratings. Unless you're talking about the Ice Bowl.

--Jim Tressel's motivational DVD worked, and THE Ohio State University shocked the world by blowing out LSU in the BCS Championship...if it were held on Bizarro World.

--Great news, WVU fans: Steve Slaton is staying! Wait, Steve Slaton still played for WVU? Did he suit up in the Backyard Brawl? Must've been a redshirt year.

--Joe Gibbs is out in Washington. Bill Cowher, I'd be waiting for your caller ID to display "D SNYDER" in about 10 seconds.

--Here's the final conference-by-conference bowl records for this season. Another impressive showing by the Big TenLeven. If you consider 3-5 impressive.

--Girls Gone Sports recaps the entire Steeler season in one neat and tidy post.

--Pitt got a football commit in that game where guys play "which hat am I going to pick". Here's the video.

--Jags D-lineman Paul Spicer says the Pats should be disqualified from the playoffs for Spygate, just like an NCAA penalty. While I disagree with Spicer, I think that they should at least lose a few scholarships.

--Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee play He Said-He Said. I'll tell you what I Said: I'm tired of stories about Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee, steroids, HGH, and The Mitchell Report.

--Breaking news: Hannah Montana is a fake. I'm just as shocked as you are. Reportedly, she's considering suing Brian McNamee too.

--Jessica Simpson = Yoko Ono. So I guess that means Tony Romo is the football equivalent of one of the greatest musicians of all time, no?

--Matt Capps talks to the Pirates about a long-term deal. The reasons why he would want to sign a long-term deal with the Pirates are still unclear.

--Where Are They Now? The Original Six American Gladiators edition.

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS

The Top 25 Men Who Look Like Old Lesbians

Top 7 Athletes Turned Crappy TV Stars

Top 10 Celebrities Who Attempted To Commit Suicide

Top 10 Playoff Finishes in NFL History

6 Instances of Real Life Imitating the Simpsons

The American Gladiators That Didn't Make The Cut

10 Reasons Your Grandpa Can Out-Drink You

Four health changes to prolong your life 14 years

8 Kids Movies That Lied to Us
5 Current Genetic Experiments Most Likely to Destroy Humanity
The Top 10 Secret Celebrity Scientologists
The 6 Most Insane Crash Diets of All Time
8 Celebrities You Didn't Know Were Geeks
The 27 Most Hilarious Album Covers of All Time