Jolly Roger Thursday

Yinzers,

Buccos are 2-0 on the road in Colorado. What are they on?





B Brog

Sexy Wednesday from 15222

Yinzers,

Nix and Truck are here in the burgh. It's a Pittsburgh Hott time.

B Brog

Elvis Has Just Left the Building

Yinzers,

Today we mourn the loss of the voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, PA announcer John Barbero. Barbero had been the PA announcer at the Civic Arena since the 1972-73 season and announced every single goal of Mario Lemieux's career at the Igloo. "On behalf of the entire Penguins organization, I want to express our deepest sympathy to John's family," said Lemieux, now the team's owner. "John was one of a kind, a true professional, and he always will be remembered as a member of the Penguins family. He will be missed."
 Barbero's last game was game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009. Since then, he had been battling a brain tumor and passed away last night at age 65. Barbero will be honored as a member of the Pens' All-time team in a new display at Consol Energy Center.

B Brog

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

Literally nothing new on the Penguins' news feed. The only thing I can say in update is that YOU ALL MUST BUY BILLY GARDELL'S DVD WHEN IT COMES OUT. Pay attention to Comedy Central in the fall months to see when it airs and then buy the DVD. DVD extras include Billy Gardell, Lisa Lampanelli and Mike Wysocki on the DVE morning show with Jim Krenn and Randy Bauman and most likely will include a ton of deleted jokes. I was literally crying at one point during the show. So watch for that and his new show this fall called "Mike and Molly."

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Yinzers,

Going to watch Billy Gardell's show tonight at the Byham. It's being filmed for his one hour Comedy Central special. Gonna be a riot.

B Brog

Jokes.com
Billy Gardell - Working Class Christmas
comedians.comedycentral.com
Futurama New Episodes It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Russell Simmons Stand-Up Comedy

Tales from Aisle 9

Yinzers,

More colorful people have been in the store recently, but only one has been worth writing about. On Monday, I had one of the funnier stories of someone shooting himself in the foot...well not exactly. So a customer comes in looking for a small set screw. Of course, he has no idea what diameter, thread pitch or length he needs, he's "just gonna eyeball it." I noticed the man had an ace bandage wrapped around his right hand, so I had to ask. "What happened there?"

"Well, I was cleaning my hand gun the other day and had an accident. I took the magazine out and began taking the rest of the gun apart and cleaning it. Once I got the barrel off, the phone rang and I went to go answer it. When I got back, I noticed there was some gunk in the chamber, so I tapped the gun on the table and the damned thing went off and blew a hole in my hand."

"Wow, that sucks..." was all I could muster up. Personally, I think there should be a comprehensive IQ test for both licensing to conceal weapons and licensing to drive vehicles. That story right there is enough to strike fear into my heart, just knowing that that guy is also licensed to drive a car.

Other than that, it has been a boring week at the store. So boring, we must entertain ourselves by wearing welding goggles and painters' hats to keep entertained.

B Brog

Caunt-Dahn till Pixburgh

A boy and his city

Yinzers,

Yinz all know that feeling, the feeling of the Saturday night before the Steelers play a playoff game....the feeling you get/got when knowing that the tickets are bought and your outfit is picked out and you are going to Kennywood the next day.........cue the music

That is the Constant feeling I have......a boy and his (BB GUN)city.

As you know( the 7 people that read this blog) I love Pittsburgh.

There is nothing in this world( other than God, Family and Friends ) that I love more than the city of Pittsburgh. I am even more excited to see people that I haven't seen in a long time.

Sports is my bread( Mancini) and Butter( giant eagle) till the day I die - but the point of this blog is that the People that I know and love from Pittsburgh is the reason I am so excited to go back.

People make the city and the Memories. I am so excited to see the three out of the Four families of Pittsburgh royalty, the Nevala's,Vero's and Brognano's( Frieses are on Vacation). These people along with so many friends( Nicole,Jarv unit, etc. etc.) make these trips possible for me. My Grandma and Aunt and Uncle are also on the top of the list.-

I could not imagine being from anywhere else on the planet. Is it bad that as we are in the 1000th day of the Oil spill the only thing I have on my mind is getting to see the last place Bucos on Sunday(1:35p) vs the 1st place Padres .

Once again I am gearing up like it is my first time going through the tunnels off of route 51 during night time traffic going into the city.....chills. We are very excited to expierence a summer time visit to Pittsburgh the first since( summer of 1998) .

So as we start the trip up the road to the Mecca,

Have a great week

Wade

Truck Tuesday: Prelude to Pittsburgh

Hey Yinz Guys,

So we are now less than one week away from my first trip to Pittsburgh. I am getting more and more excited as the days get closer, but that could also relate to the fact that Wade is acting like a 6-year-old on Christmas eve!

On the agenda: Pirates game, cookout with the Nevala family, Kennywood, Hopera Haus (Sp?), B Brog's Men's League Hockey Game, Visit to the PA One Call (work related), Duckie Boat Tour, Primantis, Strip District, Clarks concert at the fair, Trolly car to Mt. Washington, sports history museum, drive by Heinz field/the Igloo/Consol and hopefully we will have time to hit the Andy Warhol Museum...and thats all I can remember off the top of my head.

So to all the Pittsburgers out there, please tell me what I need to see/do! Any comments are appreciated.

No blog next week due to being in Pittsburgh, but the following week I will be back!

Truck

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

A few topics to discuss on this rainy Monday in the Steel City...hopefully no rust.

The Penguins re-signed forward Chris Connor to a one-year contract that would pay F$550,000 at the NHL level. Connor played up for 8 games this past season, contributing 3 points.

The NCAA has decided to award the NCAA Division I-A ice hockey championships, a.k.a. the Frozen Four, to Pittsburgh for the 2013 season. The final three games will take place on April 11 and 13 of 2013 and it will be the first time any NCAA ice hockey playoffs will take place in the state of Pennsylvania. VisitPittsburgh.com and Robert Morris University are the hosts and the games will take place at Consol Energy Center. The last time the Frozen Four was in an indoor arena, it broke the attendance record for an NCAA hockey game with over 37,000 in attendance.

Sidney Crosby earned his fourth straight ESPY for "Best National Hockey League Player" as voted by the fans. You still have nothing Ovechkin.

The Penguins signed defenseman Corey Potter from New York to a one year deal that will pay $500,000 at the NHL level. Potter has played in 8 NHL games with the Rangers and finished up with 102 points in 246 career AHL games in Hartford.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

In Africa!

Hola Yinz,
I am usually coming to you from the West Coast of the USA, but today, I am typing on the West Coast of Africa. I am in Namibia. The only way I could relate this back to Pittsburgh, is that I am a Pittsburgher in Africa. I don't have much time to write so, I just wanted to write to let you know that I am still alive.

A picture of me teaching an art lesson.

Labuda on the Left Coast....of Africa

Tales from Aisle 9

Yinzers,

Today's tale is not a tale, but a lesson. The lesson is that you never, under any circumstances, accuse your clerk of trying to pull a fast one on you because you are too ignorant to realize that they are helping you. Here's the story:

An older gentleman-probably in his late 60s-comes into the store today and hands me a handful of hardware. One 1/4" lag screw, one 10-24x2" machine screw, one 10-24 hex nut and one #8x1/2" self-drilling screw. "I need all of these in stainless, by the box if you got 'em." So I take the man back to the nuts and bolts aisles, directly to the section devoted entirely to stainless steel and begin pulling product. I hand him a box of machine screws, a box of nuts, a box of lag screws and a box of self-drilling screws. He opens each one as if I were lying to him and puts his key chain magnet in each box (stainless steel is only mildly magnetic). When he places the magnet into the self-drilling screws, a few of them stick to it. "These aren't stainless," he says.
"Yes they are sir, what's wrong?"
"They stick to the magnet, they can't possibly be stainless."
"Yes they are sir, I can guarantee you that."
"I don't think so son, they stick to the magnet, they aren't stainless."
"I realize they stick to the magnet, but they are stainless. I am 100% positive and that's because they just came off the truck on Tuesday. They are brand new, stainless screws."
After about five or six volleys of him essentially calling me a liar, he put the screws back and refused to buy them and then left abruptly in what I could only describe as ignorant frustration.

So the lesson is, if someone who knows their stuff helps you, be grateful. Do not treat them like they are inferior to yourself. That also goes for those younger than you. I am tired of getting treated like a child by customers. If you have that much of a superiority complex, don't ask me for help.

B Brog

Mike Mar-chen-ski.

Yinzer History moment of the Week.

Enjoy!

Summer Vacation

Yinzers,

Soooo, most of our staff( Brian and Truck not included) are on Summer Vacation. I would apologise for the lack of Blog - but really what they hell are we going to blog about - the Pirates?

Big Steeler news today was that the Rooney's locked up Joe Cool for another 3 years. I still want to see what he can do with this team. I know that the Steelers are not picked to do anything this year and that is right where we want them.

Penguins are picking up allot of semi-no name rs right now- I am sure that there will be like twenty penguins previews in the weeks to come.

We also are putting together a college football preview along with the 4th annual steeler preview. We also would like to know from our 7 readers what you would like to read about this fall. Please leave comments and ideas and we will respond.

Surviving the summa,

Wade

Pittsburgh Bound

Hola Yinz,

I am so excited; I am Pittsburgh Bound!!! I'm most excited about going to Kennywood! I'm looking forward to riding the new Coaster, the Sky Rocket. I'm wondering how it will hold up to coasters of the past. My personal favorite was the Steel Phantom...What's yours??? Leave me a comment, let me know.

This is a video of the new Sky Rocket. Check it out!

Happy Summer!!

Labuda on the Left Coast

Tales from Aisle 9 (Reprise)

Yinzers,

If you want to know how old a tree is, cut it down and count the rings.
If you want to know how old the earth is, take a core sample and analyze it.
If you want to see a cross-section of America, work at an old-time hardware store.

Saturday is supposed to be a laid-back, easy-going day at the store. Much to my surprise, that was not the case this morning. Around 9:00 am, I was outside trying to enjoy a nice cool breeze blowing down 7th avenue in Beaver Falls considering it has been in the high 90s for the past five days. I see a man across the street on a bicycle, he looks over and waves, so I do the natural thing and wave back. He rides across the street and rolls up to the store front and asks me “How do I get to route 17?”

“State route 17? I really do not know which road is actually state route 17,” I say.
“Well, can we look it up on MapQuest? I’m trying to get to Atlanta, GA.”
So I throw this guy a bottle of water because he was parched and we go to Google maps and print him out a set of directions to go to Atlanta, it will only take him 3 days if he rides nonstop. So I get a little curious…why would someone ride a bicycle from Beaver Falls, PA to Atlanta, GA? So I asked him and his response blew me away.

“Well, I started from Seattle, WA and I’m going to Atlanta, GA to meet up with this girl I met on MySpace. We’ve been talking for about 10 years now and the distance is a little ridiculous, so I’m going to go finally meet her in person. I been on this bike for 59 days now. Rode through the mountains and stuff, it was a rough trip. I just don’t know how to get to Atlanta from here.”
The only response I could muster up was “I hope that works out for you…” Twenty-three pages later, he had his route via the Miami Trail through West Virginia.

I can’t make this shit up.

This world is full of _____________. (Fill in the blank).
B Brog

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

Just two news items for the Nittany Lions at this point in the summer. Item number one, the eighth annual 'Lift for Life' strength competition takes place today at 1:30 in Holuba Hall. I attended this event last year and it is very impressive to say the least. Think of the 'MetRx World's Strongest Man' competition...just all Nittany Lion linemen. All sales for the event and proceeds go to the Kidney Cancer Association. About 90 Nittany Lions will be competing in teams of 20 to raise pounds and cash. Last year, just over $80,000 was taken in. It is another great way to get to know the team before they take the field and see some amazing feats of strength and speed.

Item number two is the academic integrity of Penn State's football team. This year, 40 Nittany Lion football players graduated with a 3.0 or higher. What's that USC? Pete Carrol only cared if you could run a 40 yard dash at 4.0? Ah, good luck in real life when you aren't playing in bowl games for the next two years.

56 days, kids...56 days.

For the Glory,

B Brog

Tales from Aisle 9

Yinzers,

The question is: "How many hardware store employees does it take to get a house sparrow out of a 60 year old store?" The answer would be 3 + 2 leaf rakes + a 25"X25"X1" furnace filter and it takes about 15 tries. There was a house sparrow on the loose, running wild through the aisles of Kelly Hardware, taunting us by walking on the ground just out of reach and then taking flight as we extend for a capture. Eventually, the flying foe was forced out the front door, though none of us knew how it got in.

On another note, there was a phantom cyclist who crashed a 15 speed mountain bike into a parked car at 3:30 am. Upon viewing the security camera, it was realized that the bicycle had no rider. Apparently the bicycle was pushed down the side street at a high rate of speed before it careened over the curb and into a parked car, cracking the driver's side mirror and breaking the door handle. Upon further review, there were two shady dudes walking lazily on the main road just after the bike flew across the screen. The perps? We do not know.

Way to go Beaver Falls. You never fail to keep me guessing.

B Brog

Sexy Wed Late Night.

Yinzers,

Sorry bout the two week layoff- but here in the Summer months I have now hit rock bottom without any sports to talk about. Yeah the Penguins are making moves and Gene Collier from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has picked the Steelers to win only 6 games.

So what have I been doing, Watching lots of Westerns.......

yee-haw

Truck Tuesday

Good Morning Yinz,

Yours Truly is 24 today. Woo Hoo! I love Birthdays!

I just thought you all should know that I share my birthday with George W., Sylvester Stallone, 50 Cent, and the Dalai Lama!

Nothing else super exciting happened on my birthday history except that John Lennon met Paul McCartney in 1959. I guess that was kind of a big deal.

Hope you all have a fantastic July 6!

Truck

Monday Igloo Update

Yinzers,

Jukebox Shero is at it again. Since the previous time we spoke, Ol' Ray's been doin' work, son. Here are some of the acquisitions that the Juke has made since last monday:

Defenseman Zbynek Michalek
Michalek played the last five years with the Phoenix Coyotes. The Coyotes have been developing some great talent, and seem to be taking a page out of the Pittsburgh Pirates' book and trimming some generally fruitful branches. Michalek is 27 years old, 6'0", 210 lbs and hales from Jindrichuv Hradec, Czech Republic. Michalek adorned the 'A' for the Coyotes and helped that squad have the NHL's 3rd best goals against average at 2.34. Michalek's contract with the Pens is for 3 years.

Defenseman Paul Martin
We have converted one from the dark side. Martin joins the team, converting from the New Jersey dark side. Jukebox Shero went ahead and took one of the other obstacles out of Sidney Crosby's way by signing former defensive adversary Paul Martin to a 5 year contract. Martin missed 59 games this year with a broken forearm, but I don't see that being a problem in the future. This 6"1', 200 lbs defenseman will make 6 Penguins' defensemen under the age of 30: Brooks Orpik, Kris Letang, Alex Goligoski, Ben "Reverend" Lovejoy, Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin. The future is bright.

Forward Ryan Craig
Juke also dipped into the "Pittsburgh South" pool and signed winger Ryan Craig from Tampa Bay. The deal is a one year, two way contract that will pay $500,000 at the NHL level. The 6'2", 220 lbs bruiser played most of last year in the AHL, but amassed 45 points in 73 AHL games. Bringing some more beef to the fourth line?

Forward Brett Sterling
Ray Shero picked up this pocket rocket from the Atlanta Thrashers. The kid is only 26 years old and stands at 5'7" and 175 lbs. Although he has only played in 19 NHL games, think along the lines of Tyler Kennedy and Martin St. Louis. The kid is good, he was in the top 3 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award when he attended Colorado College, and Hobey Baker went down in a plane crash (Steigy).

The Losses:
Mark Eaton - New York Islanders
Sergei Gonchar - Ottawa Senators
Jordan Leopold - Buffalo Sabres

Yet to re-sign: Billy Guerin

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Slacker Saturday

Hola Yinz,

Many apologies for being a slacker on Saturdays. As usual, life seems to take hold and get out of hand, but that is no excuse for sharing my love for the most fantastic place on earth....Pittsburgh.

So, I have a random Burgh fact for you... The Banana Split is a Pittsburgh First!


According to the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the banana split was invented by Dr. David Strickler, a pharmacist in Latrobe, in 1904. So enjoy your 4th of July celebrations with Zambelli fireworks and banana splits, you have a little Pittsburgh in you. :)


Happy 4th!

Labuda on the Left Coast

Be Thankful, Pittsburgh

Yinzers,

Read and be thankful you love our Pens.

Read the full story.

See the full standings.

Let's go Pens,

B Brog

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

There really isn't any big Penn State news on the newswire. The only announcements are that Nebraska has officially been approved by the Big-10 board to enter the conference. Other news is that Penn State and Syracuse will be attempting for the second time to renew their 70 year old rivalry. Two years ago, Penn State and Syracuse played a "home-and-home series" (no such thing in college football in my opinion) which was the first time the two programs faced off since the Big East was created in 1990. Trying to rekindle a rivalry after 15+ years of not playing each other is tough ***COUGH***PITT***COUGH***

As far as I'm concerned, you have to play a team every year in order for it to be a rivalry. The "series" between Penn State and Syracuse for the last two meetings was an embarrassment for the Orange. At the Carrier Dome in 2008, a game which I attended, Penn State buried the Orange 55-13. The following year at the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, Penn State came out with a 28-7 victory. In both games, Penn State's second team played the majority of the second half. The news about Penn State and Syracuse is that they will be playing an early season game in August of 2013 at the New Meadowlands Stadium. This is so the 40,000+ Penn State alumni in NYC can go see a Penn State football game. They are also working on another "home-and-home series" that will take place in 2020-21. This historical "series" looks more like the Steelers-Browns series with Penn State leading 42-23-5. I would much rather play Pitt than Syracuse.

As far as Pitt goes, we have not played them since 2000...so 10 years and it is not forseen to happen again anytime soon. That rivalry is dead to me. The only fans keeping it alive are the alumni parents of current Pitt and Penn State students.

For the Glory,

B Brog

Tales from Aisle 9

Yinzers,

There are some things that are simply accepted in an old school hardware store. #1: it is accepted that you will most likely get your balls busted by the employees, but then get the most stellar service afterward. #2: It is accepted that you will find what you need. #3: You do not bother your local hardware employees when they are eating their much deserved lunches.

At Kelly Hardware, we do not have an employee lounge; no break room; no private space. Therefore, we eat our lunches behind the customer service counter at a makeshift "lunch" table. A fellow college student and I were trying to enjoy our lunches at the table when a customer crept around the service counter and asked us where the hedge clippers were and then was offended when we pointed and said "the front of the store" and did not escort them. Not even five minutes later, my face buried in my Wendy's chicken club samich and Mike's equally as deep into his spicy chicken combo, another customer waltzes around the corner, drops his keys on the table inches from Mike's samich wrapper and says "I need copies, one of each" and stands back and crosses his arms.

Dear readers, please respect the lunch break. Not only at a local hardware store, but any store. At least ask before forcing helplessness upon the clerks. Just be courteous, that's all we ask.

Enjoy your holiday,
B Brog