Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

Four games to cover, so this one will be dry.

Monday November 22: Pens v. Panthers
It seems like forever since the Penguins have played good against a Floridian opponent, but they out-played the Panthers dahn in Miami last week. The Pens won 3-2 with a huge boost on the power play, scoring two of such goals. The red-hot Kris Letang had one of said goals and Sidney Crosby is now hot as well scoring the other. The game-winner came from Chris Connor at 12:56 in the third period to give the Pens the 3-2 victory. The Panther goals were scored by Cory Stillman and Brian McCabe. Marc-Andre Fleury continued to shine as he turned away 27 of 29. All the dads were in attendance.

Wednesday November 24: Pens v. Sabres
Dads game number two was a shiner for Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury turned away 30 of 30 in the 1-0 shut out of the Sabres. Pittsburgh native (and former school-mate of yours truly) Michael Weber made the starting lineup for Buffalo on defense. He generated one shot in 11:33 of ice time. I wish him the best of luck in his young career. Pascal Dupuis had the only goal in the contest at 12:05 in the first.

Friday November 26: Sens v. Pens
Black Friday did not bode well for Sergei Gonchar and the Ottawa Senators when they came to the burgh. Gonchar has had a rough go since leaving the Pens with a +/- of -12. The Penguins would take this one 2-1 in regulation with goals coming from Evgeni Malkin and Alex Goligoski, both of which were on the power play. Ottawa got the game-opening goal from Jesse Winchester. The biggest news from this game was Marc-Andre Fleury opting to drop his gloves and take a roughing penalty when Chris Neil did what he does best and got in Fleury's face. Fleury turned away 43 of 44 and continues to stay hot.

Saturday November 27: Flames v. Pens
The Penguins looked like last year's club did when the Western Conference Calgary Flames came to town. The Pens dominated this one from the get-go (not at Giant Eagle) winning handily 4-1. Aaron Asham got things started at 6:56 in the first and then Sidney Crosby took over, grabbing the hat trick. Rene Bourque broke up the natty hatty with the only Flame goal. Deryk Engelland was back in the lineup and got into a fight with Tim Jackman in the second period. What else is new? Brent Johnson stopped 30-31 and the Penguins are looking dangerous with MAF and Brent both playing great hockey.

The Pens are now 15-8-2, second in the Atlantic Division behind the Philthadelphia Flyers by two points (34-32) and fourth in the league. What is more important is that they are red-hot right now. The power play is getting goals and the penalty kill has killed off something like 70+ in a row. The Pens have won 6 straight and are 9-1-1 in their last 11.

The Pens play Monday, Thursday and Saturday this week against the Rangers, Thrashers and Blue Jackets, respectively. All games are at 7:00.

Thank god for Pittsburgh

Yinzers,

Tis the Season. Tis the start of the best of the sports seasons. Hockey is in full stride. College Football is starting to dwindle, NFL is starting to get good and decide whom is going post season, etc etc.

Tis the season to count your blessings, of the people that you know the family that you have and the place that you are from. Give thanks to being part of the black n gold family. Just think if I would have been born 147 miles to the west....the Morning Steel Mill would be some Cleavland brown spot blog....

TIs the season to start getting excited about the Panthers, Gamecocks and Lions.

Just make sure that you give thanks .

Rivals Weekend

Growing up in the Big East the one big game of the year was the Backyard Brawl. Pitt and WVU the best of the best of the big east go into this weekend looking for one team to emerge the Champion of the Big east and get to play in a BCS bowl. The other will prob end up in the Mien eke bowl in Charlotte.

The Battle of the Palmetto State is bigger than ever this year with USC having the upper hand for the first time in a decade. The cocks are riding high and going into this rival game with a swagger that has never been around these parts before. It's kinda nice to see the Gamecocks with a powerful team .

Finally the Iron bowl between Alabama and Auburn is bigger than life this year I am pulling for the crimson Tide, for Gamecock Reasons.

All in all , remember that you should be thankful for all the things in life that make you smile. Enjoy the day , football and parades.

From the Staff at the MSM

Happy thanks giving.

Wade

Truck Tuesday

Hey Yinz,

So I have been a major slacker for the past couple of weeks! My apologies!

There isnt a whole lot to report on, but I am happy to tell you all that mine and wade's trip to the burgh is less than 4 weeks away. We have our plane tickets booked, our rental car booked and our tickets to the Steelers game - only 5 rows up from the Steelers bench might I add! I hate to wish away half of Decemeber, but I am ready to get there!

Because I have lived in the south my entire life, Wade took me shopping for hard core cold weather clothes for this trip. Last January we went to the Papa John's Bowl in B'ham, Al and I almost froze...but I didnt wear socks with my flat shoes, which obviously wasn't very smart either. I'm sure at the Steelers game it will be much colder and I definitely want to be warm enough to enjoy this game. We purchased a lot for me to layer at the game...I just hope that my small jersey will fit over all the layers when we are at the game. And I am also a little bit concerned about fitting all the layers in my little carry on. There is no way I am paying $50 to check a bag.

Speaking of the airport, I am definitely looking forward to being groped in security. Apparently, it has gotten worse in the past couple of months. A Fb friend of mine even posted, " Hey TSA- If I wanted someone half heartedly patting my groin without eye contact, I'd get married." Interesting thought.

Well Yinz, thats all I have for now! I hope you have safe travels this week and a happy thanksgiving with family and friends!

Truck

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

Three games again, but once the college football season is over, we will be back to the book-end weekdays for the Fuse Box. Here's what went down.

Monday November 15: Rangers v. Penguins
What is it about "King" Henrik Lundqvist that gives the Penguins such a hard time? Is it the fact that he covers post-to-post, naturally? Whatever the reason, it seems like he always stifles the Pens, this time stopping 37 of 39. This game took overtime and the only Penguins' mistake, but it was still a win for Lundqvist. Ryan Callahan and Mike Comrie went toe-to-toe in the first, making it a traditional Atlantic division contest. Scoring opened with the only goal of the second period going to former Penguin Erik Christensen on his patented wrist shot. The third picked up pace with Chris Kunitz and Matt Cooke picking up quick goals late in the period to give the Pens a 2-1 lead in the waning moments. But the younger Staal added a short handed goal when New York pulled Lundqvist with under 2:00 to tie the game at 2 and force overtime. As I said before, the Penguins made just one mistake all game and it came at 3:38 in overtime. Zbynek Michalek stumbled and fell transitioning in the neutral zone, leaving Ryan Callahan and Brian Dubinsky with a 2-on-1. Naturally, they scored and stole the extra point from the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 22 of 25.

Wednesday November 17: Canucks v. Penguins
The Sedin twins were in town with arguably one of the best squads in the Western Conference in the Vancouver Canucks. Once again, the game opened up with a fight, this time between Craig Adams and Kevin Bieska. Sidney Crosby scored late in the first to put the Penguins ahead 1-0, a lead that they would take into the first intermission. The rest of the scoring took place in the second period. Mad Max Talbot put a short handed goal on the board and Aaron Asham got his second of the year to give the Pens a 3-0 lead. Dan Hamhius would put one past Marc-Andre Fleury to make it 3-1, but that would be the last goal scored in the game. Fleury turned away 29 of 30 and Roberto Luongo turned away 26 of 29. The Pens moved to 10-8-2 and second place behind the Philthadelphia Flyers.

Friday November 19: Hurricanes v. Penguins
Over the summer, the Carolina Hurricanes went out to try and secure as much of the bloodline as possible when they acquired Jared Staal (the youngest of the 4) from the Phoenix Coyotes for a first round pick. He has not played with the big club yet this year, but I would look for it in the future. This game was an epic back-and-forth throughout. Scoring opened up just 42 seconds into the game when Brandon Sutter snapped a shot passed Marc-Andre Fleury. Chris "enfuego" Kunitz and Tyler Kennedy added goals in the middle of the period to give the Pens a 2-1 lead, but Patrik Dwyer sneaked one past Fleury to tie the game at 2 going into the first intermission. The teams exchanged goals in the second with Jussi Jokinen answering Sidney Crosby's tally and the game would be tied at 3 after 2. Chris Kunitz got his second-and what looked to be game winning-goal on the power play, but Jussi Jokinen got his second as well with under one minute to go, forcing overtime with the game tied at 4. A hint of controversy was added to this bag-o-chips when there were no goals scored in overtime and the Hurricanes asked the ice crew to widen the stripe of fresh ice because "Jussi Jokinen goes really wide on his shoot out attempts and he will be shooting." It wouldn't matter. Kris Letang made Justin Peters look simply silly with his trademark, double-move to the backhand. Jeff Skinner followed with a miss for Carolina. Sidney Crosby sniped the five-hole of Peters to put the Pens up 2-0 in the shoot out with the game riding on the stick of none other than Jussi Jokinen. As if on-cue, he took it nearly to the wall but MAF stood him up, getting the Pens the 5-4 shoot out victory.

The Pens play tonight at 7:30 when they travel to Miami to take on the Florida Panthers. We all know how the Pens do against Florida teams, but let's try and rectify that tonight. Then it's off to Buffalo on Wednesday at 7:00 and then back-to-back afternoon games at 1:00 on black Friday against the Ottawa Senators and Saturday against the Calgary Flames.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog

Blood Fued.

The Wind is a mighty Raider,

More like they Blow....
Here We GO!

Steelers Lab

Yinzers,

Let's all just forget about last week. The Steelers simply did not show up to play. If you read the MSM, it was a damn good game plan to win, but the Steelers simply did not show up. Even with the loss, the Steelers are still tied with the Rat Birds for first in the AFC North. Let's talk more about this week.

The Oakland Raiders are in town this week, but they are absolutely not the same Raiders that beat the Steelers just a year ago. This year's Raiders team is far better than last year's. The Raiders rank 2nd in the league in rushing offense. This is mostly due to Darren McFadden finally living up to his Heizman hype in the NFL. McFadden is getting both tough and fast yards to the total of 757, averaging 5.4 per carry. Do the math and the Raiders get a first down generally every other time McFadden touches the ball. Their pass offense is nothing too spectacular, but it is enough to keep some balance. The Raiders finally got rid of Jamarcus Russel and replaced him with a similar style QB in Jason Campbell. He can make throws when he needs to and is also fairly elusive with his legs. His favorite target is TE Zack Miller, but Darius Heyward-Bey is also coming into his own in the NFL. The Raiders' defense is also ranked 2nd in the NFL against the pass, allowing just under 185 yards per game. Richard Seymour and Kamieron Wimbley are getting to opposing quarterbacks with relative intensity, each with 4.5 sacks. If the Raiders want to beat the Steelers to get to 6-4, they will have to get Ben Roethlisberger on the ground, blitzing the mediocre Steelers line all day and stay stout against Rashard Mendenhall.

The Steelers just need to wake up. This week may be the first week where the MSM is going to say "It may not be a good idea to go deep to Mike Wallace this week." The only reason I say this is because Oakland is so athletic in their defensive secondary. It's not that they have anyone that can go stride-for-stride with Wallace, it's that the double team may actually work for this Raiders' defense. Heinz Ward, coming off a concussion last week, and Antwaan Randel El will be the key players for this week's pass offense. It's tough to go down the field on the Raiders' secondary, so the short, quick-hitter routes will be the safest way to get 5-10 yards per play. The Steelers also have to take advantage of the 24th ranked rush defense they will be facing. So basically, the offensive line needs to show up this week. On defense, the Steelers need to stay balanced. The Raiders run:pass ratio is almost 1:1. They like to pound the ball between the tackles, so the famous Dick Lebeau A-gap blitzes will be the most effective. If the Steelers are to avoid being beaten by the Raiders two years in a row, they have to stay balanced, get their blocks and control field position.

In case you haven't heard, Jeff Reed was cut by the Steelers following Sunday's loss to the New England Patriots. There were many factors involved with this decision: the drunken battles with vending machines and paper towel dispensers; his poor numbers this year including missing at least 3 important field goals; his comments about the "poor turf" and high expectations from fans. Reed is replaced by Shaun Suisham. Will Allen is still out with a concussion, Brett Keisel is still limited in practice from the hamstring, Chris Kemoeatu is limited from the ankle, Troy Polamalu did not practice due to an Achilles, Lawrence Timmons was limited due to the hip and Heinz Ward underwent a full practice in spite of concussion symptoms. The Polamalu injury is news to the MSM and I have no further info on it. Keep checking it out on FSN Pittsburgh or most likely ESPN.

Game time is 1:00pm. Get your hard hats on and get back to work.

Here we go,
B Brog

Fuse Box Monday

Yinzers,

Wednesday November 10: A Day to Forget
Last Wednesday, the Pens took on the Bruins in Consol Energy Center. The Penguins and Bruins played a tough, even first period and came out tied into the first intermission. The Penguins scored the book-end goals of the period off the sticks of Arron Asham and the ever so dangerous Brooks Orpik. The tweeners for the Bruins were scored by the Recchinball, Mark Recchi and Brad Marchand. There were also two more fights, which seems to be a common theme for this year's Penguins team. The first was a heavyweight bout between Shawn Thornton and Eric Goddard; the second between Gregory Campbell and Mad Max Talbot. These fights are most like due to residual bad blood from the Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard a year ago. The Penguins owned the second period, scoring two goals and winning another fight. Chris Kunitz and Sidney Crosby had the goals and Arron Asham beat up on Adam McQuaid...more importantly, the Penguins led 4-2 after two. Then everything fell apart. The Penguins defense, Brent Johnson's confidence and the Pittsburgh offense. The Bruins scored 5 unanswered goals in the third period. They came from Nathan Horton, Zdeno Chara, Shawn Thornton, Blake Wheeler and Milan Lucic. This was just the second loss for Brent Johnson this year, the only in regulation and Tim Thomas moved to 9-0 on the season for the B's.

Friday November 11: Revenge?
The Penguins looked to bounce back two days after their huge, embarrassing failure when the Tampa Bay Lightning came to town. Marc-Andre Fleury came out of his coma and stood on his head in this one. He turned away 15 of 16 shots, but many of those saves were of the outstanding variety. After an idle first period for both teams, the Penguins took control for the final two periods. Pascal Dupuis and Alex Goligoski scored in the second period to give the Pens a 2-0 lead after two complete. Steven Stamkos scored a power play goal early in the third, but it would be the only goal the Lightning could muster up. Max Talbot, Sidney Crosby and Deryk Engelland finished off with goals and the Penguins took the 5-1 victory.

Saturday November 12: Back on Track
The next day, the Penguins traveled to Atlanta to take on the Thrashers. Marc-Andre Fleury played out of his mind again. Atlanta opened up with the first and only goal in the first period, but that would be the last time that Atlanta held the lead. Brent Sopel got said goal, but then the Penguins took over, starting with a fight between Chris Thorburn and Mike Rupp. Evgeni Malkin got the equalizer in the second period, the only goal scored in the second. So after two complete, the Penguins and Thrashers were knotted at 1. The third period was all Penguins with goals coming from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (2), giving Geno his first hat-trick this season. There was one intermittent goal for the Thrashers scored by Niclas Bergfors, but it would not help the Thrashers. The Pens win 4-2 with Marc-Andre Fleury showing signs of strength stopping 31 of 33 shots.

The Penguins have a week-long home stretch this week, competing against the other Staal brothers. It starts tonight against Marc Staal and the New York Rangers. They then play Wednesday night when the Vancouver Canucks come to town and Friday night as they welcome Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes. All games are at 7:00 pm.

Let's go Pens,
B Brog