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