Happy Halloween Yinz!

Hola Yinz,

I will be dawning my Polamalu costume and gracing San Diego with my presence. What are you wearing??

Make sure you get your Clark Bars :)

Sorry for the late post.

Labuda on the Left Coast

All Hallows Eve, Monolith and A win is a win......

Yinzers,

Do you remember picking out your Halloween costume when you were little. I do . I know another random strange fact from the world that I live in. I can remember going to the 5 n dime in Downtown Elizabeth Pa and looking at all the costumes that would come in the little cardboard boxes. The costumes ranged from GI Joe , to Transformers for boys to Barbie and some other dumb girls costume.

Second Thing I remember was trying to figure out how you could coax your parents into going into town and Trick or treating.I can remember that we Trick or treated in the same neighborhood as the one and only( night of the living dead) George Ramero. The other thing that i remember was that he never gave out candy. He was a bum.

What a time we had.

Halloween is now quite different. Instead of raiding your closet and having your mom or grandma make you a costume - you can go to any run of the mill Halloween stores and get whatever you want. In fact those huge Halloween stores kind of take the fun out of Halloween by pigeon Holing you into the "best Costume of the year".

Kinda dumb.

Still I fight the same old , same old dress up as Austin Powers etc run of the mill costume. It is a fact that I will never grow up. I love Halloween, and all the good that it does for kids. I think kids are being pushed to grow up to fast anymore. Let the kids Enjoy Halloween.

Even as an adult I look forward to our Annual Halloween Party and dressing up, giving out candy and watching the Steelers.

That's right Watching the Steelers,for the second time in my adult life I am throwing a Halloween party on a steelers game. Steelers and Saints write it down - Sunday 8:20. Big easy.

The thing that I don't get about Halloween is how Slutty the Girls dress and get away with it. When was the last time you saw a real sexy Bo peep, oh that's right Halloween. Hey sluts give me a break. The only true Halloween that is left, is that solid 30 minutes of The great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. ( oh that and baby Butterfingers)

Steelers win.

Ok National Media we get it, we got a boarder line win. We get it. We were given the game as usual. Not so fast. Hey if you really watch the replays - the refs gave us the game. Oh yeah and Jeff reed kicking it through- really didn't matter. Blah get over it- were 5-1.

Finally,

I am not a big tech guy, but this past week I upgraded my phone to a Tmobile, android G2 phone. It has so many applications it is ridiculous. I call it the Monolith. That's what it is.

Sorry that my Blogs have been sporadic lately, I look forward to talking more about the steelers as the weeks go into the second part of the season. I also can't wait to start talking about the Pens and their ongoing season.

But until then , Happy Hallows Eve.

And get those kids off my lawn

Wade

Truck Tuesday

Truck Tuesday

Hey Yinz,

Well the Miami game this past sunday was pretty crazy. Again, I am pretty sure B will inform you of all the details. I only saw the last quarter because I didn't realize it was on cable until then, but the 15 mins of game time that I did see definitely made me sweat. I still can't believe we were able to pull off a W.

Well Aaron Smith is done for the season (or forever?) so we will see what Ziggy Hood can do this Sunday against the Saints. We (the Igloo Club) are having our big Halloween party/Steelers viewing party on Sunday and we are expecting a pretty big crowd. I am still undecided as to whether I want to dress up or not. Look for to pictures posted next week of the big extravganza.

Hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday!

Truck

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

We'll start off with some team news today and then get right into the game recaps. As of this afternoon, forward Eric Tangradi and defenseman Andrew Hutchinson have been assigned to AHL affiliate Wilkes Barre-Scranton. This is in preparation for the returns of forward Arron Asham and defenseman Zbynek Michalek. Both are recovering from undisclosed, upper body injuries. Asham will most likely play in the next game (Wednesday in Tampa Bay) and Michalek participated in a full practice for the first time since suffering the injury back in early October. With Brooks Orpik back in action and these two on the way back, the only remaining piece of the puzzle will be Jordan Staal. It will be interesting to see who Dany Bylsma assigns to the baby pens when that time comes. Anyway, here's what you missed.

Monday October 18: Senators v. Penguins
The Pens rout the Sens 5-2 on the return trip for Sergei Gonchar. The Penguins straight up dominated this game from start to finish, starting with three goals in the first period by Mark Letestu, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Deryk Engelland went toe-to-toe with Chris Neil in Neil's attempt to win back some momentum for the Senators, but it would not help on this night. Daniel Alfredsson got a power play goal early in the second to bring the score to 3-1, but Pascal Dupuis and Kris Letang each added a goal later in the game to bring the score to 5-1 after two complete. The Senators tried to rally in the third, but he Penguins buckled down on defense, letting up just one goal to Chris Campoli. Brent Johnson continued to shine, stopping 32 of 34 shots to remain undefeated on the year.

Thursday October 21: Penguins v. Predators
The Predators used to be an "easy win" on the schedule. Not so anymore. Nashville has really developed and is showing a lot of promise in the Western Conference. This shows because they took the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins to overtime, but the Penguins still came out on top 4-3. David Legwand had the only goal in the first period, giving the Predators a 1-0 lead at home after one period. The two teams then alternated goals for the second and third period by way of Evgeni Malkin (1-1), Cody Franson (2-1 NSH), Sidney Crosby (2-2), Patric Hornqvist (3-2 NSH) and Sidney Crosby again (3-3). Also in the second period, fisticuffs flew again between Kevin Klein and Deryk Engelland. Engelland is proving why he should stay with the big club when Zbynek Michalek comes back. The kid backs down from nobody. With the score tied at three, we go to overtime and at 3:49 in OT, Kris Letang wins it for the Penguins on a slap shot. Pens take it 4-3 with Marc-Andre Fleury stopping 21 of 24 and getting his first win of the year.

Saturday October 23: Penguins v. Blues
The St. Louis Blues are another one of those teams that has been so bad for so long. Not so anymore. They finished up last season with 90 points, just missing the playoffs. This year, they are primed for a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs and showed their toughness against the Penguins. It only took one goal to win this game and it took overtime to get it. This game featured relentless forechecking, finishing of body checks and a gritty atmosphere that every hockey fan loves. There was even a brawl between BJ Crombeen and Craig Adams in the second period. Adams was by far the smaller player, but put up a good fight against the much bigger Crombeen. The game winning goal came off the stick of Erik Johnson just 50 seconds into overtime. Brent Johnson was disgusted at himself for letting it in, but what can you do? The Pens come away with one point in the 1-0 overtime loss. Brent Johnson turned away 23 of 24 and was bested by, who else, Jaroslav Halak who turned away all 31 Penguin shots.

The Pens still sit atop the Atlantic Division with a record of 5-3-1 and 11 points.

The Penguins' next game is Wednesday night at 7:30 on FSN-Pittsburgh when they take on Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Penn State Phryday Preview

Yinzers,

First off, sorry about not posting for yesterday's Steelers Lab but I had two labs of my own to work on. More specifically E. coli plasmid cloning and staining samples for microscopy (see below).

Mouse Kidneys

Now on to your Penn State preview
This weekend, the Nittany Lions travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers. The Gophers have been essentially in rebuilding since the departure of Lawrence Maroney and Matt Spaeth a number of years ago. So this game has two outcomes: neither team can score any points or both teams will put up big numbers. Minnesota comes into this weekend at 1-6 with their only win coming against an FCS (NCAA division I-AA) team. That's not to say that the Golden Gophers are a bad team. They have scored at least 20 points in all but one of their games this season. The problem is, the Gophers are far from stout on defense, giving up at least 28 in all 7 games this season. If the Gophers want to add their second win of the season this week, they will have to do it by actually playing defense and throwing screens.

As for Penn State, this is a "must-win" game for JoePa's Nittany Lions. Overall, Penn State has played relatively solid considering the number of key losses to the NFL and the number of big-time player injuries so far this year. The defense is playing well, considering they lost all three linebackers to the NFL and their two best play-makers to injury in the first half of this season. They will need to continue to hold teams to low scores to win the games they should for the rest of the year. On offense, just continue to get Robert Bolden experience. Let him take some shots down the field as long as there is more than one route for him to throw to. Control the clock with the run game and stop throwing those stupid screen passes. College football is won on the big breaks. Penn State needs to take advantage of their size mismatches on the outside and start going deep.

Game time 12:00 pm tomorrow on ESPN-U.

For the Glory,
B Brog

Truck Stop...Wednesday

Hey guys,

So this week has been manic, so much that I thought today was Tuesday and then realized it was Wednesday and then Wade asked me to blog for him, so I am blogging. I have been getting to work at 5 and 6am the past couple days to drive around the state for pipeline meetings. The speaker from these meetings is an original Pittsburgher and he lives in Ellwood City, which is near B Brog's house, I think? Anywho, just wanted you to know that I am continuing to be followed by all things Pittsburgh.

This past week the Steelers played the Browns and won, surprise. I watched the game and thought that Big Ben played well, but apparently the media did not. Oh well, I am excited for what is to come. Also, I am sure you have heard by now, but James Harrison was fined $75k for his dirty/illegal hits. It was rumored that Harrison was considering retiring, but Tomlin said he expected Harrison to be at training tomorrow. I guess we will find out soon.

Bigger News: Wade and I booked plane tickets to come up to the Steelers-Jets game Dec 19. I am excited to be attending my first ever NFL game and seeing the burgh all decorated for Christmas! Fingers crossed for snow!!

We do not have game tickets yet, so if you know of any, let us know!

Can't wait for my second trip up!

Truck

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

There have been 4 Penguins' games since we last spoke, so we'll dive right into it starting one week ago today.

Monday October 11: Penguins v. Devils
Last Monday, the Penguins went on the road for the first time in the 2010 season, after dropping their first two games at home. Maybe the change of scenery would help some. Well it did. The Penguins topped their Atlantic Division rivals 3-1, with Brent Johnson getting the win and the legendary Matrin Brodeur being issued the loss. The Penguins got contributions from Alex Goligoski and Mark Letestu with former Devil Paul Martin adding an empty net goal late in the game. Brent Johnson shined making 30 saves on 31 shots, the lone Devils goal coming from Patrik Elias. Martin Brodeur turned away 30 of 32, which is pretty good in its own right, but the new-look, defensive Pittsburgh Penguins shut down Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey offensive rush. The Penguins went 1/6 on the power play, seemingly opting for the pretty plays, rather than putting rubber to the nylon. The power play is continuing to find its identity without the services of Sergei Gonchar. The Penguins moved to 1-2 on the season.



Wednesday October 13: Maple Leafs v. Penguins
Back in Consol Energy Center last Wednesday, the Penguins were looking for their first win at home in 2010. It would not come on this night as the up-and-coming Toronto Maple Leafs steal a victory 4-3 in Pittsburgh. This game would have two lead changes and two ties through its completion. The Leafs started out ahead off the stick of Colton Orr early in the first period. The Penguins stormed back with two goals of their own from Chris Kunitz (PP) and Maxime Talbot, taking a 2-1 lead at home. The second period belonged to the Leafs, scoring three unanswered goals from Clarke MacArthur (2) and Francois Beauchemin. These goals were broken up by a Colton Orr/Deryk Engelland fight that ended in Engelland landing an absolute hay maker right on the upper lip of Orr, resulting in a TKO. Late in the period, Sidney Crosby got his first of the season, getting the Penguins within one at 4-3. That would be the final score. Marc-Andre Fleury goes to 0-3, losing all 3 home games, turning away just 14/18 on this night. He is in a funk, and will be just fine. It's better to have it now than down the stretch when it matters. The power play looked much better, scoring on 1/3 chances. The penguins move to 1-3 on the season.



Friday October 15: Islanders v. Penguins
It was about time to get the home-ice-win monkey off the Penguins' back. On Friday, the Islanders came to town, this time with Rick DiPietro who has not played since early in last season, before facing a season-ending injury. It would take overtime, but the Penguins finally got their first win at home, taking it 3-2 in overtime. The only highlight in the first period was a heavyweight bout between the Penguins' Eric Goddard and the Islanders' Trevor Gilles. Scoring didn't open until the second period when Mike Rupp beat Rick DiPietro on the backhand, picking up a fat rebound. Three minutes later, Eric Tangradi got his first NHL goal for the Penguins when he stepped out of the corner and threw a prayer at the net. It ended up going off of an Islander defenseman and behind DiPietro. A questionable, false call on a Kris Letang check would change the pace of the game. Letang annihilated Blake Comeau on the Islanders rush into the zone, receiving a 2 minute minor and a 10 minute misconduct penalty, which is standard for a blind-sided, head shot. Upon looking at the replay, Letang clearly made shoulder-to-shoulder contact, a perfectly clean hit. At any rate, the Penguins would be down a defenseman for the rest of the game. The Islanders would not go away, getting goals from Josh Bailey and Radek Martinek to close out the second period in a 2-2 tie. No scoring in the second period led to overtime. The Islanders Milan Jurcina took a hooking call on Sidney Crosby and Alex Goligoski made the Islanders pay, scoring the game-winning goal on the power play. Brent Johnson turned away 22 of 24 and moved to 2-0 on the season and the Penguins moved to 2-3 overall.

Saturday October 16: Penguins v. Flyers
After finally getting their first home win, the Penguins traveled to the Wachovia Center in Philthadelphia to take on the team that denied them a home win on opening night: the Flyers. The action started with another heavyweight bout between the Penguins' Mike Rupp and the Flyers' Jody Shelley. This is probably the toughest rivalry in the NHL. These two teams genuinely hate each other. The scoring opened on the Flyers power play from Daniel Briere. Chris Kunitz answered later in the period with his second of the season, taking the game to 1-1 at the end of 1. There would be just one goal in the second period and that belonged to Mark Letestu, who is building a resume as to why he should stay with the big club when Jordan Staal returns to the lineup. The third period belonged to the Penguins, dominating the Flyers in standard, classic fashion. Sidney Crosby got two, quick power play goals and Matt Cooke added a short-handed, empty net goal at the end of the game to seal the deal. A fitting rebuttal to the loss on opening night. Brent Johnson improved his record to 3-0, turning away 29 of 30 and the Penguins cracked the confidence of rookie Sergei Bobrovsky. More importantly, Pittsburgh is better than Philadelphia, now at 3-3.

The Penguins' next game is tonight at 7:00 when they host Sergei Gonchar and the Ottawa Senators. These two teams have met in 3 of the last 4 post seasons and don't particularly like each other. Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza's line will be the one to stop as usual. The other question is whether 0-3 Marc-Andre Fleury or 3-0 Brent Johnson will start over the blue ice for the Penguins. "It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh!" ~Mike Lange

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Frownie Browines

Hola Yinz,


Here's to the Return of BEN!

Frownie Browies :(

Labuda on the Left Coast

Penn State Phryday

Yinzers,

The Penn State Nittany Lions' football team has a bye this week. Honestly, this is the first time I can remember us having a bye in the 5 years I have been here. It comes at a much-needed time for the Nittany Lions. They need time to rest and get their heads together. I can imagine confidence is running low after losing the 2010 homecoming game to Illinois, which was the Illini's first win EVER in Beaver Stadium. Injuries to the few veteran players are the biggest concern now that this has officially been seen as a "rebuilding year" in my eyes. Jack Crawford (ankle), Mike Mauti (ankle), Bani Gbadyu (leg), Eric Latimore (hand), Nick Sukay (torn pectoral) and Andrew Daily (shoulder) are all missing time. Sukay will be out for the remainder of the season and all others are on a week-to-week basis. So this bye comes at a good time for health reasons.

Elsewhere on Penn State's campus, there are other sports going on. The men's soccer team lost a 2 OT thriller 2-1 to #1 Akron this week, bringing the Nittany Lions to 10-4 on the season. The Penn State women's soccer team pulled out a 3-0 victory at Iowa last week to bring their overall record to 5-8-2. Also this weekend, the #9 Penn State Nittany Lion women's volleyball team hosts #19 Minnesota at Rec Hall. The 3-peat champs are having a down year in their own eyes, but are still probably the most dominant team in the nation. This year they are 13-4 but still have the talent to make it far in the NCAA tournament at the end of the year.

Relax this weekend and do homework since there is no home game.

For the glory,
B Brog

Steelers Lab

Yinzers,

Today we finish up your lab assignment from last week. Here is where we left off:
Incubation of 1g Ben Roethlisberger at Heinz Field
This Sunday, your cultured Ben Roethlisberger will be introduced into the Cleveland Browns. So, what can we expect to happen in solution? Analysis:

The Cleveland Browns
Enough said? The Brownies are 1-4 to begin their 2010 campaign and are still having quarterback troubles. In the off-season, they picked up Seneca Wallace from the Minnesota Favres and Jake Delhomme from the ailing Carolina Panthers, who are now setting all their hopes in Jimmy Clausen (bad idea). On top of that, the Cleve-Brownies used their third round pick to get Texas quarterback Colt McCoy. Whats the problem? Seneca Wallace is injured after a mediocre start and Jake Delhomme is also injured from relieving Seneca Wallace. Therefore, Colt McCoy will be making his NFL debut against the Steel Curtain this weekend. Good luck, kid. But it is not all bad for the rookie. As many Steeler fans will never forget, the Browns beat the Steelers last year for the first time in recent American history. They did it mostly on special teams and relying on the sneaky Joshua Cribbs. Cribbs will again be the key to the Browns' success against the Steelers. The more they get Cribbs involved in the game, the less the Steelers will be worrying about Colt McCoy throwing the ball to other receivers such as tight end Ben Watson, who leads the team in receptions. The Browns also have a pretty nifty running back in Peyton Hillis. When the focus is on Cribbs, Hillis is capable of gashing defenses for huge chunks of yardage. The key for Cleveland offensively will be ensuring the protection of Colt McCoy and the focus shifting between Joshua Cribbs and Peyton Hillis.

On defense, the Browns have been less than stellar. Rookie strong safety T.J. Ward leads the team in tackles, nearly double the second place holder. What does that say? Either this guy is coming up and making big stops at the line (not so likely), or the Browns are letting a lot of plays get to the second and third level of the defense (pretty likely). They are 24th in the league against the run, letting up over 100 yards per game and 18th against the pass, letting up over 220 yards per game. With Ben Roethlisberger back in the Steelers' lineup and Rashard Mendenhall healthy, the Browns' defense will have to play flawless to keep the Steelers' offense off the field. The Browns only have 10 total sacks as a team, with outside linebackers Scott Fujita (2.5) and Marcus Benard (3.5) leading the team. These two will have to take advantage of Roethlisberger's tendency to extend plays if they want to be successful on third down. As John Facenda always said, "Get the man, get the quarterback."

The Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers are coming off a 3-1 stint without the central cog in their offense. Yes, we are all bitter that our one loss came to the Baltimore Rat Birds, but if you would have told me before the season that the Steelers were going 3-1 without Ben Roethlisberger, I would have laughed in your face. The biggest thing for the Steelers' offense this week will be reclamation of Ben Roethlisberger into the scheme. Without Ben, the Steelers are a stellar 7th in rushing, averaging over 130 yards per game, but dead last in passing at 136 yards per game. This was to be expected, however. Not that Charlie and Dennis are incapable of passing, it's just they aren't Ben Roethlisberger. Therefore, Bruce Ariens will most likely stick to his "iso-iso-screen" mantra this week so Ben gets his chemistry back with all his receivers. Personally, I hope they give the play calling over to Roethlisberger so we can see some shots down the field. The Steelers have to get back to a balanced football team this week. They already proved that they can run the ball, it's now time to open up the passing game a little bit to take some of the guys out of the box for Rashard Mendenhall.

The Steelers defense has been on top of their game this year. The Steel Curtain comes into this game the 4th overall defense, being #1 against the run (62 yards per game) and 20th against the pass (220 yards per game) and giving up just 11 points per game. Surprisingly, the Steel Curtain has just 11 sacks this season. Most of this is due to opponents' fear of getting sacked, so opponents are running more quick-hit style pass plays. If the Steelers' defense is as successful at stopping the run this week against the Cleve-Brownies, they will force a lot of long, third down situations, thus forcing Colt McCoy into deep drops. This is where the damage has to be done by the Curtain. The Browns have only given up 7 sacks this year, but it is mostly due to the legs of Seneca Wallace and the quick-hitting passing game. The Steelers have to get to McCoy early and often and rattle the rookie if they want to get this game put away fast.

Game time is 1:00pm from Heinz Field. The Steelers are 14 point favorites and the over/under is 37.5. The game will be on the usual CBS and KDKA with Bill Hillgrove, Tunch Ilkin and Craig Wolfley broadcasting on the radio.

Here we go,
B Brog

It's a great week to be a Cock!

Yinzers,

So This past week ( And current)I have been noticing a trend in sports. Well sports figures, not only are we reveling in the South Carolina upset win of Alabama, but other figures in Sports have shown their true colors in Being a Cock as well. Now all the Non-ant-Steeler fans out there will say that the return of the Big Ben ( the Bathroom bandit) is a shame he should have gotten 6 games etc etc. But the truth of the matter is that he is back with a 3-1 steelers. deal with it.

The other huge Cock story of the week has to do with Mr. Wrangler himself, Brett Farve. Ole number 4 got caught with his pants down and apparently his cell phone in hand when he sent the pics of ole Mr. rooster to a Jets employee. So what is going to happen to Brett. Probably nothing for the only reason he is not a Steeler.

So all in all lets recap our List of Cocks for the Week:

1. Gamecocks of South Carolina ranked #10

2. Bathroom Bandit Big Ben is Back

3. Texty Brett farve with his Wang

Have a stand up rest of your week!

Wade

Truck Tuesday (Night)

Hey Yinz,

Another late night blog, I know, I know.

So guess, who had the best weekend ever? This girl! As you all know, I do love the Tide, but the one thing I love much much more than the Tide is the Carolina Gamecocks! Last minute, Wade & I decided to go to the game and (he) spent way more than we should have, but it was definitely worth it.

At the time of the game, Carolina was ranked #19 and Alabama was obviously #1, with a 19 game win streak. Their last regular season loss was in 2007!! You know I am not much for game details, so here is a cheesy video if you happened to miss the game.



My favorite stat from the game was that in the history of Alabama football, they have never been sacked more than 3 times in a game, and we sacked em 7 times.

Great game to be at! Best experience in Williams Brice! GO COCKS!!!!

Also, in 2010 Carolina beat the number 1 teams in football, basketball, & baseball, which is a feat that few teams have ever accomplished!

Have a great Tuesday evening!

Truck!

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

The 2010-2011 NHL season is underway and the Penguins have had 2 games thus far. The Pens are 0-2, but may I remind you that it is still VERY early in the season and Jordan Staal is still out of commission, recovering from an infection on his repaired foot. Even still, the Pens have still looked good in their two losses...just a few brain farts that turned into goals. Those will be worked out. Don't worry. So, here is what happened.

Thursday October 7: Flyers v. Penguins
The regular season home opener for the Penguins saw the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Flyers in town. The Flyers came out on top in this one 3-2, but it was not due to better play. Daniel Briere opened up the scoring early in the second period with a tip-in goal on the power play. Late in the second, Blair Betts added a tip-in of his own and the Flyers led 2-0 at the end of two. The Penguins finally got on the board 44 seconds into the third period when Tyler Kennedy ripped a wrist shot past rookie goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. The Flyers answered back with with a fluke, short-handed goal by Claude Giroux but the Pens got back within one on that same power play off the stick of Alex Goligoski. That would be all the scoring in this one. Two big observations presented themselves to me in this game. Observation number one was how much we will miss the big shot of Sergei Gonchar on the power play. It seems as though none of the Penguins have the confidence to take that shot from the point if Evgeni Malkin cannot. The other observation was that the Philthadelphia Flyers have themselves a fantastic rookie goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky. The spry 22 year old knew where every shot and rebound went in that game and was very cool, calm and collected. Look out for the Flyers to lean on him this year since that is the only way they will be able to get to the Stanley Cup playoffs again.

Saturday October 9: Canadiens v. Penguins
Perhaps after losing to the Flyers, the Pens could pull out their first win in the new building against the Halak-less Canadiens. To no avail. Carey Price out-dueled Marc-Andre Fleury who let up two soft goals late in the game, leading to a 3-2 Canadiens victory. For the second straight game, the Penguins dominated puck possession and pace of the game and did not pull out a victory. Penguin killer Mike Cammalleri opened up the scoring 15 minutes into the first when he got his first of the season. Evgeni Malkin answered just 40 seconds into the second period when he put home his first of the season. The third period belonged to the Penguins all the way up to the very end. Mark Letestu contributed to the effort at 8:42 in the third. Fleury played strong all the way up until the 17th minute of the third period. Then, at 17:48, poor angles gave the Canadiens' Mike Cammalleri an easy lane for a tip-in goal, followed by a flubbed shot by Scott Gomez at 18:12 that snuck through Fleury's legs. Carey Price turned away 34 of 36 and the Canadiens left Pittsburgh with a 3-2 win.

It is slightly disturbing how the Penguins can carry the pace and possession of the first two games and still manage to lose, but I would not get too concerned. Since they did control both games, it shows that they are working hard and playing good hockey still. Things will get smoothed out as the defense finds its leader to replace Sergei Gonchar and Jordan Staal gets healthy enough to lead that third line again.

The season continues today with a 4:00 game in New Jersey. Not sure why it is at 4:00, but it is. The game is on FSN Pittsburgh but if you're at work, check out www.hockeywebcasts.com or www.myp2p.eu to stream it at your desk.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Penn State Phryday Preview

Yinzers,

Welcome home! This week is homecoming as the Illinois Fightin' Illini come to town. The parade starts at 7:00 and the game is at 12:00 pm tomorrow on ESPN2. So the Friday night air in Happy Valley will be festive and filled with the voices of Nittany Nationals from the new era and of times of yore. Ergo, get to the bars early and stay there because all the alumni coming back will be looking to relive their glory days at this great institution. I would advise hitting up the Rathskeller, the alumni spot. If you can pick out the right alums, you can drink for free all night. But enough about that, on to the game.

The Illini come into Beaver Stadium toting a 2-2 record with losses to Missouri and Ohio State. In these two losses however, they were in within striking distance for the vast majority of the game. Illinois is one of the other teams in the Big Ten, along with Penn State, that is rebuilding after the loss of some key players. With Arelius Benn, Rashard Mendenhall and Juice Williams gone, this team is struggling to find its identity. The Illini are using a spread-option style offense in which they run the ball 3 out of 4 downs in every series. They are 29th in the nation running the ball, averaging just over 200 yards per game. If they want to be successful on offense, they will keep running that option, counters and screen passes. On defense, just like all the other games this season against Penn State, the Illini should try to shut down Evan Royster and put the ball in young Robert Bolden's hands if they want to be successful.

For Penn State, somebody needs to step up and take a leadership role. There is no definitive leader on this team. For the last two years, Daryll Clark carried the spirit of the team on his shoulders and nobody has stepped up to replace him. That is the first problem that needs fixed. Earlier this week, there was a players-only meeting to discuss the team's shortcomings. Dropped passes, poor blocking and poor tackling have plagued the team this year. The defense is over-aggressive and runs right past screen plays and counters. If Penn State wants to get back on the winning track this weekend, they need to show some fire in their hearts. Take no prisoners and get back to their game plan. Get Evan Royster at least 20 carries and 100 yards to open up the passing game for Robert Bolden. Take advantage of match-ups like Derrick Moye against short corners and Devon Smith against slow linebackers. On defense, play with a calm rage. Remember your reads and just let it flow. Illinois is not going to pass all that much, so bring 8 guys in the box and get big. It's homecoming, baby. If you're not excited this weekend, you don't belong on the field. Get out there and do work.

For the Glory,
B Brog

Steelers Lab

Yinzers,

The lab procedure for this week is as follows:

Add 1g Benjamin Roethlisberger to Steel Curtain culture
Incubate 1 week at Heinz Field
Release into Cleveland Browns

Here we go,
B Brog

Truck Tuesday

Hey Yinz,

Sorry for another late post! Tuesdays always seem to sneak up on me!



Well this past Sunday, we saw a very disappointing end to the Steelers game, but everyone is saying...blah blah blah, its better that we are not undefeated, blah blah blah. So now that we got THAT outta the way, lets not let it happen again. Roethlisberger will start his first game in Miami in a week and a half. Hope he is able to make the rest of the offense not look quite so awful! I guess we will find out then!

Well Hockey season is back this week. Didn't it just end, like a month ago? I do enjoy hockey, but the length of the season does make me want to cry a little bit. You would think after living in the Igloo Club for the past year, I would be used to it, but, I'm not. Oh yeah...and my man candy, Billy G, is gone. sad day.

In other sports related news, (if you consider running a sport) I decided yesterday that I am going to run a half marathon with my mom in March in Seaside, FL. This is located about halfway between Panama City and Destin if you know anything about the Florida panhandle. I really hate admitting that I am going to do this, but the more people that I tell, the less likely I will be to backout. Maybe the following year I can try for the Pittsburgh Marathon....I know, I know, I am getting way ahead of myself.



This coming weekend ESPN gameday will be at USC for the SC/Bama game! Everybody wants to be the team that defeats the number 1 team defending their national title. Yes I am a Tide fan, but I am still paying back USC for my education (and probably will be for another 10 years) so thats where my loyality lies.

Hope Yinz have a great Tuesday!



Oh and Congrats to Nate Nevala & Heidi Tappe (who are big supporters of the Igloo Club & MSM) on their recent engagement! We Love Yinz!

TRUCK

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

The 2010-11 NHL season is nearly upon us. The Penguins start out their march to a dance with Lord Stanley this Thursday for the regular season home-opener against the Philthadelphia Flyers. It will be interesting to see Aaron Asham against his old team and I am anxious to see if the Penguins' dominance in the preseason is a showing of things to come. As for the preseason, let's take a look at how the Pens finished their regular season
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On Tuesday of last week, the Penguins took on the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks for the first of two preseason contests between the two clubs. Brent Johnson started between the pipes for Pittsburgh, posting 21 saves on 22 shots. Solid is all I have to say. Pittsburgh got contributions from Evgeni Malkin, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson and Mark Letestu with new-comer Paul Martin adding two assists. The lone tally for Chicago was scored by Kyle Beach. The Penguins out-shot the defending champs 39-22 and improved their preseason record to 4-0.

The first day of October was the second day of the meetings between the past two Stanley Cup champions. This day belonged to Chicago as they moved past the Penguins 5-2, issuing the Penguins their first loss in the preseason. The Blackhawks' goals were scored by Fernando Pisani, Tomas Kopecky, Marian Hossa (2) and Patrick Kane. The Penguins' goals came off the sticks of Alex Goligoski and Craig Adams. It was an off-game for the Penguins' goaltenders with Marc-Andre Fleury letting in 2 goals on 14 shots and Brent Johnson letting in 3 goals on 10 shots, but you can't win them all. The Penguins move to 4-1 for the preseason.

For their 6th and final preseason match, the Penguins traveled to the Joe to take on the Detroit Red Wings. It was news to me when I found out that Mike Modano, perhaps the best American-born player in NHL history and franchise player of the Minnesota Northstars/Dallas Stars, is now on the Red Wings. Just mind-blowing... New Penguin Mike Comrie shined in this game with 2 goals as the Penguins clipped the Red Wings 5-2. Other Penguins goals came from Chris Kunitz, Alex Goligoski and Evgeni Malkin. Red Wings goals were scored by Pavel Datsyuk and Mike Modano. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 of 24 and the Penguins finished the regular season an impressive 5-1.

The regular season starts this Thursday at 7:00 pm when "It's a hockey night, in Pittsburgh" as the Philthadelphia Flyers come to town. The game is on Versus, unfortunately. Ynz already know the new faces on the Penguins so I'll try and give you an idea of who to expect from the Flyers. The Flyers picked up Billy "Gray Beard" Guerin who is currently day-to-day with an injury. The Flyers had a relatively quiet off-season in signings. Apparently, they believe that they belonged in the Stanley Cup finals last year and did not want to change much. They picked up Nikolai Zherdev in addition to BG and extended contracts on many of their young players. Therefore, look for a team that is very rough around the edges and thinking that being the "Broad Street Bullies" will get them another playoff appearance. That mentality can only go so far if you don't have a stellar goaltender to fall back on when you take yourself out of the play. This is the best time of year: NFL, NCAA football and NHL all at once.

Speaking of NHL, yours truly is playing in the NHL-the Nittany Hockey League. I made my debut last night against what was supposed to be the best team in the league. Obviously I had no points playing right wing, but I think I did manage to fracture some poor soul's foot. That's hid fault for trying to block one of my slap shots with his instep. We lost 5-3 but the last was an empty-net goal.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog