THE NEWS

PICS OF THE WEEK

I'm always up for a good cheap shot at Cleveland. Like this photoshop of the Dunk Heard But Not Seen Round the World.

"As natives of the Pittsburgh area who are currently transplanted in Harrisburg, my friend Brian and I jumped all over yesterday's multi-trophy visit. Personally, we were both the most psyched to see Lord Stanley's Chalice, because it is the Trophy, not just a trophy, but hey -- who is going to say no to seeing a Lombardi as well, right? And whatever that weird pointy crown thing was that was sitting beside them. Somebody told me it had something to do with baseball, but I was born in 1982, so I didn't realize baseball had championships. Heck, I didn't even know they had a post season.* I thought the whole point of baseball was to assemble the cheapest payroll possible and change your slogan every few years. Let's go to work! But I digress...
Here are a few shots I snapped of the waiting line, and then my picture of the trophies. The line was long, but it moved remarkably quickly, mostly due to the cop/security guard guys making sure everyone had time for only one or two pictures before moving them along. I was actually rather impressed with the efficiency, overall. I swear I did nothing to doctor the trophy picture, the Lombardi was actually gleaming in the sunlight.

*Yeah, I remember the early 90s. Thankfully I had started watching baseball by that point, which I think is how I still maintain my Pirate fandom. I seriously don't know how I'll ever convince any children I might have to care about them at all." -- Mark B.
---
"I'm a Burgher transplanted in Philly, and my girlfriend and I made the hour-plus drive to Atlantic City this weekend. We were kind of surprised at how rough the city was outside of the casinos and tourist centers, and I said I had heard it was one of the top 20 or so worst cities in America. So I googled to try and validate my claim, and found a list from an old AOL archive. I didn't see AC on it, but Philadelphia was #5 worst city in America. However, the picture they had was this one:
I feel like this could be a number of things: Something that unfolded after a "Here We Go Steelers" or "Let's Go Pens" chant broke out outside Citizens Bank Park, someone finally taking action against Pirates management for embezzling the money and time of their fanbase for 17 years. But I think this would be best suited as the official photo of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball club. Not sure why, but I just do." - Matt E.
---
"I wanted to provide you with a couple of shots from my recent vacation to Disney World.
My Terrible Towel traveled with me and it was amazing to see the great opportunities.
My personal favorite is labeled Terrible Tower. That's me holding the towel and the guy two seats to my left (wearing the 'One for the Other Thumb' shirt) was from Kentucky.
He loved the photo and bought one just because the towel was in the pic. Note the two Cleveland fans sitting behind me." -- MurDelEx

INTERNET AUCTION OF THE WEEK

Raul Mondesi's game-used cleats, batting gloves, and and wrist bands can all be yours for only $109.99. A virtual steal.

LINK OF THE WEEK

The "If Celebrities Moved to Oklahoma" Gallery.
Very offensive...if you live in Oklahoma.

DAMESHEK ON E!
Dave Dameshek makes a guest appearance on the E! True Hollywood Story about baseball wives. Which is funny, because he's not a baseball player nor the wife of one. But a nice appearance by the 'Shek. And nice usage of the phrase "road beef".


VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

Franco's Italian Army, in all of its glory.

In My Hands: Salute to the Champions from Igloo Beach on Vimeo.

"We Burghers are fortunate to have so much happiness in times like these. I've been chumping all over the place trying to get a home for my Pens tribute video / ROCKIN' SLIDESHOW OF TRIUMPH, but the pitiless contentions of a certain mega-label paint it as a triple-contagious hobo hepped up on Aqua Net. My hilarity aside, the linked is intended to be uplifting, is my creation, and makes me cry. Warning: one profanity at about 0:16." -- Igloo Beach

"City of Champions - Gatorade style", from Adrian S.

And a public service announcement: Bruno opens on Friday. I have high hopes.

QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERED

"I just had a question about Pitt since I don't reside in Western PA. Do you know when the Pitt Athletic Department officially switches over to the Nike apparel sponsorship? I've heard rumblings that it is definitely going to happen. Will there be any jersey changes for the football team under Nike? Also the Basketball team? I like what Nike puts out there for the most part, especially with traditional schools like Penn State. As long as they stay away from all the piping they put on the jerseys. If you know anything or have any connections to this story I'd be interested in knowing more." -- Dan D.

"Calling the soundtracks “questionable” on those two recent Steelers/Penguins montages is an understatement. The music almost made me embarrassed to have my teams featured in the videos. I have neither the time nor the technical know-how/software to put one of those montages together, but I always thought it would be cool to see some Steelers/Penguins highlights put to the theme from the movie “300”. Either the audio from this trailer (the line “They came from the blackness” just begs for shots the Steelers/Penguins exiting the tunnel in their black unis) or the song “Just Like You Imagined” by NIN would do the trick. I don’t know if you have someone among your extensive network of Yinzers who could pull this off, but I thought it would do the teams more justice. The music is a little more, how you say, masculine?" -- Phil R.

SOME LINKS

--The former roommate of Sahel Kazemi, aka Steve McNair's girlfriend, currently resides in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, this story told me virtually nothing on the subject, so don't say I didn't warn you. [WPXI]

--Freddy Sanchez is still a Pirate at the moment, so the team's auction must not be complete. Bidders for his services include Colorado and San Francisco. So does that make Neil Huntington the fast-talking auctioneer? [PBC Blog]

--There's also spirited bidding for Matt Capps, and Florida is the latest franchise to throw their hat into the ring. [Fox]

--The Pens' preseason schedule is out, and it wraps up with...Detroit. I believe all of you are familiar with that team, no? [Empty Netters]

--Pittsburgh is grieving the pending loss of KDKA's Sonni Abatta to Fox 35 in Orlando. I know Mark Madden, for one, is beside himself. [Tuned In Journal]

--Pitt guard Jermaine Dixon, their only returning starter, injured his foot during summer league play and could be out until September. [PG]

--Is St. Louis defenseman Jay McKee going to be the next Pittsburgh Penguin? [Mark Madden/105.9 the X]

Update: Looks like they're crossing the t's and dotting the i's on the deal. It appears we've got a new Penguin.

--The Wannstache just got his 14th recruit for 2010, 6'4", 215-pound TE Brendan Carozzoni of Cleveland's St. Ignatius. He chose the Panthers over WVU, Indiana, and a bunch of MAC schools. [Trib]

--The Spurs' recent pickups of Antonio McDyess and Marcus Haislip could be bad news for Dejuan Blair, says Bob Smizik. [Bob Smizik Blog]

--Grove City's Caleb Kolb, son of former Steeler Jon Kolb, was named to the Asics High School All-American wrestling team. The nation's 20th-ranked recruit, he'll be wrestling collegiately at Nebraska. [AlliedNews.com]

AND FINALLY...

As requested on Thursday, keep that feedback rolling in. Lots of great suggestions so far. Remeember, I want to hear from you. Yes, you!

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

THE NEWS: PART DEUX

READER PICS OF THE WEEK
"From the collection of Mario's legendary wine cellars comes...Yeah, I ripped off the old Seahawks whine image and made this new version. The handshake incident required it." -- Steve B.

"I've created a picture celebrating the city's two championships this year. I thought I'd share it with you and your readers." -- Mike B., Red Fox PhotoThe newest sign in the Burgh, courtesy of our old pal, Dave Dameshek

"I had the great opportunity to go to Detroit for game 7. Three pics I thought you might enjoy. One is of Kevin Stevens (man he got big) and the second….well it seems someone (probably a Talbot) found the octopus and threw it back in the stands. The Pens fans enjoyed taking pictures with it." -- Ed H.

"Here are some pretty good pictures in the locker room with our boys celebrating with the cup." -- Mike C.

"I am attaching two photos from my wedding this weekend. We had a hockey themed wedding on June 13th which was timed beautifully, albeit completely coincidentally. B/c of the Penguins and the themed wedding, our story was featured on the front page of the PG on June 12th (Game 7 Tests Rivalries) and then we were interviewed on KDKA and WPXI 3 separate times. We had pucks as favors, hockey players as table names (we sat at the Mario Lemieux table, my best man sat at the Sidney Crosby Table), a hockey player cake topper, a ceremonial puck drop to start the reception, and then a mini-Stanley Cup there for everyone to drink out of.

Attached is the puck drop from our wedding and WPXI filming us in front of the Igloo." -- Joe B.

"Here is a screen grab from the NBC feed from last friday night, CBC never showed this angle. It is a great view from Talbot's back, so it was exactly what he was seeing. You don't need Gino's hands to find the twine with that much net showing. Talbot put it in just the right spot, but I do not believe Osgood knew where the pipes were behind him. GO PENS!" -- Matt P.

EMAIL OF THE WEEK

"Your linking of the Collier story reminded me of that one, plus two
other beauties from this season..

3) Wilbon's extremely accurate "Malkin sucks and Ovechkin is also
clearly better than Crosby because he recorded more hits than Crosby
in game 2" piece

2) Burnside's "Caps are NHL's best young team" story after the Caps
somehow took a 2-0 lead on us (despite being clearly outplayed for
long stretches by the Pens)

1) Collier's "season is over" public service announcement from February"
From Sam S.

REQUEST LINE

"Did anyone else pick-up on the exchange between Kris Letang and Alison Morris the other day on KDKA’s broadcast of the parade?

Alison Morris was at the beginning of the parade interviewing players and such as they began the parade route. I can’t recall exactly what was said but she said something like “hey, there goes Kris Letang” and when he heard his name he turned to see who it was and waved and blew her a kiss. She commented something like “oh wow, that just made my day” kind of in a subtle, subdued, sexy kinda voice. I really think she may have wet her pants, if you know what I mean. Kind of interesting now that her boyfriend has moved south to Atlanta. I only get to listen to Madden for about an hour each day and I haven’t heard him comment on it yet, you know with his pension for news broadcasters and I know Letang is one of his favorites on the team. I’ve tried to find the clip on-line but cannot (not sure if KDKA would want it out there, it was that obvious) My wife even commented. Just curious if anyone else picked up on it or sent in the clip????" -- John M.


"I've been mildly perplexed as to who does the synthetic voice of Steely McBeam on the DVE morning show, I have a good guess now - it's Mark Madden. A lot of Steely's remarks (like "That's neither here nor there") sound a lot like Madden responses." -- Jason G.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
Don't forget, there's Golden Glove boxing Friday night at 8 PM, sponsored by ESPN Radio 1250 and the Pittsburgh Athletic Association

VIDEOS, VIDEOS, VIDEOS


Here's gravel-voiced Scott Ferrall, Pittsburgh's own and now on Howard 101, calling the end of Game 7

And here's Scott Paulsen's newest release, a Marian Hossa-inspired tune

LINKS

PENS/NHL:

Steigy taking a camera pic of Geno. Instant classic. [PG]

--Alexander Ovechkin won his second straight Hart Trophy, but Geno Malkin still has the Cup. [96.1 Kiss Freak Show Blog]

--Sergei Gonchar on TMZ? Trust me, this is worth a click. [TMZ.com]

--Breaking news: Marian Hossa's going to sign with whatever team promises to not make fun of him. That eliminates Pittsburgh and Detroit. [Sports Pickle]

--Could Petr Sykora and Miroslav Satan be bound for the KHL? [Russia Today]

--Barack Obama called Dan Bylsma to congratulate him on the Pens' Cup win and invite the Pens to the White House in the fall. Was he wearing this jersey when he made the call? [ESPN]

-- Pittsburgh is now the envy of both D.C. AND Baltimore. Now that's something to be proud of. [Bleacher Report]

--And Jay Mariotti says "Pittsburgh rules". That's cool...I guess. [Fanhouse]

--Always pleasant Tom Barrasso just got a job promotion! [Puck Daddy]

--Finally, a voice outside of Pittsburgh tells people to give Sid a break. [Sportsnet.ca]

--Famous last words from Chris Osgood: "I just know how to win games." [Faceoff.com]

--Here's 56 great shots from the Stanley Cup. I must say, the photographers brought their A-game this year. [Talent Network News]

MLB/PIRATES:

--From emailer Terry K.: "I don't know if you've seen this yet. A high school pitcher in Iowa pitched a perfect game, and struck out all 18 batters he faced (the game was called after 6 innings due to the 10-run rule). And oh yeah, he's the Pirates 26th round draft pick." [Chicago Tribune]

--The Pirates dropped a 5-1 decision to Minnesota on Thursday night, losing two of three to the Twins in the series. Nick Blackburn limited the Bucs to six hits (two coming from Brandon Moss) and threw a complete game.

Mr. Wonderful, Ross Ohlendorf (4.56, 6-5) takes on Jason Marquis (3.77, 8-4) in the first of a three-game set with Colorado on Friday. [ESPN]

GOLF:

--The U.S. Open is coming back to Oakmont...in 2016. Hey, seven years isn't as long as it sounds. It's actually longer. [PG]

NFL/STEELERS:

--This got lost in the shuffle last week, but Fox's NFL player rankings finally show some love to the often-dissed Steelers and their QB. [Fox Sports]

--The A&L Motors vs. Verron Haynes bad check case is going to trial in September. Don't forget, he's an Atlanta Falcon now. [PG]

--Former Steeler Robin Cole has gotten into the cheesecake business. I'm guessing that's probably a first for a former NFL player.

PITT:

--Here's everything you need to know about the extremely popular Pittsburgh summer basketball league. [Pittsburgh Basketball Club]

--Pitt sophomore Ashton Gibbs makes the Dixon-coached USA under-19 World Championship team, while incoming freshman Dante Taylor does not. The 12-man team will play at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship July 2-12 in Auckland, New Zealand. [Trib]

--From emailer The Grizzly Blair: "I just saw a commercial about a new show on Oxygen featuring people dancing to lose weight. The one contestant looked an awful lot like Levance Fields. It isn't, but still gave me a good laugh."

MISCELLANY:

--The Artie Lange tour goes to the Adam Carolla podcast. In other Artie news, he's been banned from HBO Sports and The Tonight Show. But good news for Buck - his ratings showed a huge increase over Bob Costas'. [AdamCarolla.com, NJ.com, The Big Lead]

--Bad news for Molson retirees: no more free beer! [MSNBC]

--The upcoming G-20 summit is going to pack world leaders into the Nemacolin Woodlands resort. [WPXI]

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for...the
PENGUIN PHOTO WINNERS:
1. Ed H.
2. Mike C.
3. Steve B.
4. Joe B.
5. Bob F.

Remember, you can buy 8x10 and 16x20 Pens photos from the regular season, playoffs, Cup, and parade, as well as authenticated Penguin autographs, at The Steel City Auctions Gallery. Pics start at just $4.99! And get free shipping and a free Sid rookie card when you use the coupon mondesi on orders of $50+!

Thanks to everyone who sent in pics, emails, and links. You've outdone yourselves.

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

THE NEWS: PART I

As you've probably figured out, I'm still trying to find a rhythm and adjust to life post-Cup. There's still mountains of email to sift through thanks to a day of posting nothing but a request for people to send me email, so that's pretty much a problem of my own making. Long story short, that means The News is going to be broken into two parts. Keep sending stuff in for part two, and I'll announce the Penguin photo winners in the next installment.

T-SHIRT OF THE DAY

READER PICS

"I live in northern Virginia, and work in downtown DC, about 3 blocks from the White House. So, a few weeks back, when the Steelers came to town for their visit, a couple of my buddies (who are also Pittsburgh natives) and I walked down there to see if we could catch a glimpse and get some autographs.

Turns out we were able to find the area in the back of the White House where all of the team busses were parked, and we waited patiently with about 15-25 other Steeler fans until the team was finished and returned to the busses. While we were waiting, there were several cops standing around waiting to escort the Steelers from the White House to Walter Reed Hospital in Arlington, VA. They were all pretty nice guys, and all were really glad to be there. In fact, most of them were native Pittsburghers who pulled some strings to be on Steelers duty that day.

This pic is of a couple of the nicer cops we met, who told us the story of how they went up and down the aisles of the team busses before the Steelers got to the White House, just so they could get autographs. They had no problem gloating to us how they can abuse their power to get cool stuff like Steeler autographs!" -- Anonymous

"The perfect Pittsburgh postcard" -- Bob F., Florida

Sid coming out of PNC Park on Sunday -- Eric L.

VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

The TribTron celebration of Tyler Kennedy's goal in Game Four:

Did you know Alex Ovechkin led the NHL in scoring this year? Because I could've sworn it was Geno Malkin.

LINKS

NHL/PENS:

--A clean-shaven Mario Lemieux was inducted into the order of Quebec as a knight. He's had a pretty decent week. [Empty Netters]

--"Sidney C." writes a letter to ESPN's new Mr. Manners about post-game handshakes. [ESPN.com]

--Mark Madden chats with Sidney Crosby, Mike Lange, and Ray Shero. That's a pretty solid lineup, no? [WXDX.com]

--Caps Coach Bruce Boudreau on the Pens' cup win: "I couldn't bring myself to cheer for them." [ESPN]

--The Pens signed D Alex Goligoski to a three-year, $5.5 million deal on Wednesday, which means you can count on several of their free agent defensemen playing elsewhere next year. [PG]

--Pens commemorative SI issues hit the shelves today [Kiss 96.1 Morning Freak Show Blog]

NFL/STEELERS:

--Big Ben shot an 81 on Bethpage Black last week. But fear not, Yinzers: he's not planning on trying for a tour card anytime soon. In fact, he said on PTI last night that he wants to win five rings. That's right. Five. [PB&G]

MLB/PIRATES:

--Buccos 8, Twins 2 last night in the Homerdome. Andrew McCutchen (who is hitting .339) hit his first career dinger, and both LaRoche brothers went deep. Team Huntington is 31-34 in mid-June. That magical .500 season is right around the corner. Now there's a parade I can't wait for. [ESPN]

PITT:
--Dante Taylor and Ashton Gibbs were named to the USA Basketball Under-19 National Team Trials Roster, which is coached by....Jamie Dixon. Let's hope they don't get cut. [PittsburghPanthers.com]

--Dixon is not interested in the dumpster fire also known as USC basketball, so we can finally put that story to bed. [ESPN]

MISCELLANY:

--Dave Attell (of Insomniac fame) is one of the best stand-ups in the country, and he'll be in Pittsburgh for a few shows this weekend. [Symfonee.com]

--My take on the Artie Lange/Joe Buck train-wreck: I'm not a Buck fan....at all. I think he's a horrible choice to host a talk show on HBO. That being said, Artie (at this point in time) was an equally bad choice to have as a guest on Buck's show. I'm a frequent Stern listener, and Artie's behavior has been erratic the last few weeks, as he's entered therapy and attempted to finally clean up his life. He's verbally assaulted several low-level (and I mean low level) Stern Show guests like Amy Fisher's husband and Yucko the Clown in the past two weeks, so I'm not completely surprised by what happened on Buck's show. I've always considered myself an Artie fan and have attended his Pittsburgh shows in the past, but this is a guy that's not fit to be on the air right now, be it HBO or even Sirius radio. I didn't think Artie's Buck appearance was funny or compelling, I actually thought it was pretty sad.

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

THE NEWS: ABBREVIATED EDITION

PICS OF THE DAY

"We’re a few Western PA boys/Pens fans/U.S. Sailors stationed on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, operating from Yokosuka, Japan. We’re currently underway in the western Pacific, but are still rooting on the boys (when AFN Sports carries the game… and we can get a signal.)" -- Dave R.

"For some reason, I thought that this being the STANLEY CUP FINALS, NBC might have a little bit of pregame coverage before the puck dropped at 8:00. Unfortunately, it appears to be Dateline NBC that's getting the 7:30 to 8:00 time slot. and it's a feature story on Taylor Swift. And I'll admit it, after finding this out, I left it on for a bit, and I'm glad I did because during a scene with her critiquing a rehearsal session of some sort, I saw a familiar sight in the background. Through the beauty of DVR, I was able to capture this still shot. Maybe her tour director was filling Silverback's spot at the White House or something the day they filmed the show..." -- Matt E.

EMAIL OF THE DAY

"So that NFP writer (Matt Bowen) who ranks Palmer above Roethlisberger is a former NFLer. Guess who just sponsored his profootball-reference.com page? --
Anonymous by request

LINKS

PENS/NHL:

--Puck Daddy takes a long look at the officiating through two games of the Finals. I must say, they've been fantastic. [Puck Daddy]

--Mark Madden talks NHL and says that it's still a garage league. Agree, agree, agree. [WXDX]

--The Pens want a white-out tonight, and a DVE poll asks if enough's enough with the white-outs already. [DVE]

--Police are bracing for a huge arena crowd tonight. I'm sure they'll be on their best behavior. [PG]

--Have Penguin fans hit the panic button? Is that the thing they sell at Staples? Wait, that's the Easy Button. [PB&G]

--Here are the top 10 iconic trophies in sports. [Real Clear Sports]

--From Big Bob at 96.1 Kiss: "The Pens gave us a pair of game four tickets to give out. People text the word kiss to the number 32623 to enter. We get a winner on Thursday morning in the 9am hour."

STEELERS/NFL:

--Heath Miller, mini-golfing for charity. I never knew tight ends had such precision. [Morning Freak Show]

--Which Steeler free agents will stay and which ones will go in 2010? [Behind the Steel Curtain]

--Tragically late, here's a shot of Brady Quinn ID'd as Ben Roethlisberger at last week's Cavs-Magic game. [Sparty and Friends]

PIRATES/MLB:

--Bob Smizik says Ian Snell should be sent to the minors. Maybe we could trade him for Big Papi and solve two teams' problems? [Bob Smizik Blog]

--It's the Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Ballparks for 2009. How does a meaty Primanti's at PNC fit into this list? [PETA]

--And here are the top 10 shocking facts about modern-day Pirates. Not including Adam LaRoche. [E Justice Blog]

MISCELLANY:

--The NBA Finals are the matchup we've always waited for: Adam Morrison vs. JJ Redick. [Elites TV]

--Kimbo Slice is headed to the Ultimate Fighter reality show. How the mighty have fallen. [Awful Announcing]

--Despite getting that screw stuck in his arm, is Sam Young's stock rising? [Pitt Blather]

--A Washington Post article about Uniontown? I kid you not. Of course, it's about faltering country clubs, but still... [Washington Post]

--Any thoughts on the first episode of Conan on the Tonight Show? I'm a big fan, but you can't judge it after one night. [The Big Lead]

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

THE NEWS

*Before we get into The News, thanks to everyone who helped out and sent stuff in. I couldn't post all of it, but I hope you enjoy what's here

PICS OF THE WEEK

"Solid Picture of Captain Jolly Roger and Geno at last Friday's game...My friend took the Picture as he came by" -- Beans

"My boyfriend, Rege, and I were lucky enough to get tickets for Game One of the ECF on Monday, but had to sit in different seats, at opposite ends of the arena – the only way I could score two tickets right at 10 AM when they went on sale. I was in the second row of E16, my seat was smack-dab behind the “Pens shoot twice” goal, which was great. The seats in front of me were empty up until right before the game started, and this guy sat down in front of me, with all kinds of stuff in his hands, this cowbell being one of them.

It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen – there was a chain of sorts attached to the cowbell’s handle, with a black carabiner attached to that, which he rigged up to hook onto the railing in front of him (he was in the first row of the section). Every time he’d get up during the intermissions, he whipped out this little lock and key, and would lock the chain onto the railing, so A) no one would steal it, and B) he didn’t have to carry with him to the bathroom, concession stand, etc. Pretty clever if you ask me.

After I got past the cowbell thing, he takes out this really long piece of string and a cut-open ziploc bag, basically just a piece of plastic folded in half, filled with sparkly confetti. He spent a good while rigging this up so that he could pull the string easily and the bag would open up completely and the confetti would shower the people in the sections below us, every time the Pens scored. And then after the goal, he’d do it all over again, filling up the bag with more confetti (that he kept bags of in his pocket), and rigging up the pull-string. It was such a well-thought-out process, I found myself watching him and forgetting there was a game going on after each of the three goals were scored.

So next time you’re watching on TV, see if you notice it, or maybe you already have, but I thought it was pretty sweet. I talked to the guys around me, and they said he has season tickets – he brings the cowbell along all season, but saves the confetti-throwing bit for the playoffs." -- Lauren B.

"Just this past weekend, I pulled the trigger and dropped (to me) a lot of money at Dicks on my fav. Pens player. My faith was justly rewarded 5 hours later, when my Aunt called me saying she had 2 Thursday night tickets she couldnt use! My first Pens playoff game will be a great way to break in the new jersey. Anywho, after bringing it home, I realized something... see the attachment.... all I ask is.... Coincidence??? Go Pens!" -- Ian M.

"Attached is a picture of a friend of mine on semester in France… Her name is Lee Ziesche and she brought out the sacred Terrible Towel on top of the Eiffel Tower. GO PENS!" -- Max P., Michigan via Pittsburgh

"Here is a pic of me with a Maasas Mara warrior while I was in Kenya a few years ago. The guy loved my shirt so much (and I had 2 of course) that I had to give one to him so he could represent "Pittsburgh Pride" in Kenya! I'm also from the great "tahn" of Greensburg, PA and a Yinzer for life! Let's bring home the cup, Let's go Pens!!!" -- Matt D.

"I created this picture for the playoff run" -- GrizzlyBlair

"I have a Terrible Towel picture for you that I took at the Super Bowl while Large Benjamin was holding up Lord Vince and it just so happened that while the picture was snapped, one of the 30,000 Terrible Towels there was waved right in front. Just a cool picture that I thought other Yinzers would like." -- Jeff M., displaced in Chicago



VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

An awesome 2009 Penguins Video Tribute from Benson

"The Stinky Penguins", from The Nigerian Nightmare

LINK OF THE WEEK:
"Who are the franchise QBs?"
1. Manning
2. Brady
3. Brees
4. Palmer
5. Rivers
"On the Fence" - Roethlisberger

[From the National Football Post]

Since I've written on this topic roughly 8 billion times, I'll just link to the excellent response from Elvis Has Left and move on.

MORE LINKS

NHL/PENS:

--Bill Cowher WILL sound the siren for the Canes in Game Four against the Pens. He's officially dead to Pittsburgh. [Morning Freak Show Blog]

--Mellon Arena has not been friendly to the Hurricanes, from an injury point-of-view. [Empty Netters]

--Tampa Bay Lightning multi-millionaire Ryan Malone is pulling for the Pens. [NHL.com]

--Great article about a guy from Montreal who grew up in Mario's neighborhood visiting the Burgh and basking in Steeler and Penguin Nation. [Concordian Online]

--37-year-old Todd Reirden has been named the permanent coach at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. [KDKA Pittsburgh Sports Insider]

--Matt Cooke might have a little "Do as I say, not as I do" going on. [Puck Daddy]

--Here's your chance to learn how ice is made at Mellon Arena. [WPXI]

--SI names the most rugged players in the NHL. If only Favre played hockey... [SI.com]

--Bill Simmons announces to the world that he is once again a hockey fan... [ESPN.com]

...and if you like Bill Simmons, you can hear him in audio form talking hockey with Dave Dameshek. [ESPN.com]

MLB/PIRATES:

--The Pirates edged the Nationals 3-2, giving the Battlin' Bucs a five-game winning streak. Tonight, Ian Snell takes the hill against Craig Stammen, who makes his MLB debut. I'm sure you'll all skip the Pens game to watch. [PG]

--Bob Smizik ranks the top 5 Pirate surprises of 2009. Where's Rinku and Dinesh? [Bob Smizik Blog]

--A recent study shows that the side effects of steroids include fame and fortune. [Sports Pickle]

NFL/STEELERS:

--Big Ben does not have skin cancer. I must be slipping, because I never even heard that one in the first place. [PG]

--Andrew Stockey looks back at the story he had a major hand in, the James Harrison White House controversy. [Andrew Stockey Blog]

--And Mark Madden says Silverback should attend the ceremony out of respect for Dan Rooney. [Mark Madden/WXDX]

--Chief Nate Harper and four officers who were among the first on the scene at the Stanton Heights shooting will be at the White House with the Steelers today. [PG]

--Terry Bradshaw was on The Tonight Show recently, and if you missed it, here's the clip. [NBC]

--James Walker looks at position battles in the AFC North, and of the seven he mentions, only one involves the Steelers. [ESPN AFC North Blog]

--Big Ben's foundation bought an $11,000 German Shepherd for the Cambridge Springs police. That must be one awesome dog. [PG]

--From The Onion: "Steelers Jersey Worn to Pirates Game".

--The Top 5 Joe Namath endorsements are counted down.

I've often mentioned how much fun it would've been to blog about Joe Namath in his heyday, but luckily it looks like Mark Sanchez is trying to replicate the experience before he's even played a down in the league. I believe the early candidate for top nickname is "Jose Namath". [Manolith, With Leather, KSK]

--Very thorough analysis of the Michael Vick saga from Lester Munson. [ESPN]

--In the "No Surprise" Department: Chad Ochocinco and Carson Palmer are not on the same page. [Cincinnati.com]

COLLEGE:

--In an interesting interview, Tyrell Biggs talks about bodegas, Primanti's, and being 6'5", 230 pounds in middle school. [IMG Academy]

--Recently reprimanded Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin is named the 6th best player in the Big East conference. [ESPN Big East Blog]

--Looks like TE Andrew Devlin might be transferring from UVA to Wannyville. [Pitt Blather]

MISCELLANY:

--The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have some loyal supporters. [Scarves Up!]

--Bruce Springsteen apparently rocked Mellon Arena on Tuesday. [PG]

--Nothing says Pittsburgh like playing jump rope with a snake. [TMZ]

--A Rostraver man claims he's God and attacks a 'Devil Dog'. [WPXI]

--Pittsburgh's Kurt Angle just might be on the next edition of Dancing with the Stars. [Talent Network News]

--The Coupon Queen visits the Lawrenceville Shop N Save, and gets $168.94 of groceries for $7.13. [PG]

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