Pittsburgh Sports Fan Blog

Tomlin talks regularly with his QB

GameSetMatch — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:56:57 +0000

The Pittsburgh Steelers are working closely with troubled quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to make sure he turns his life around, although coach Mike Tomlin didn’t offer any specifics Wednesday about what the team is doing.

Tomlin said he talks regularly with Roethlisberger, who recently underwent a behavioral evaluation as part of the six-game suspension handed down April 21 by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

“He has a commitment to being what we desire for him to be and what his team needs him to be and that’s my focus,” Tomlin said. “I’ve seen Ben quite a bit and communicated with him quite a bit throughout all of this.”

Roethlisberger was suspended after a 20-year-old Georgia college student accused him of sexual assault in March. No charges were filed.

Roethlisberger is also being sued by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2008 but faces no charges.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

LaRoche’s gem sets up Pirates’ late victory

GameSetMatch — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:07:10 +0000

The Pirates and the 20,235 vocal fans at PNC Park had much to like from this Memorial Day matinee, a 2-1 late victory against the Chicago Cubs …

Ross Ohlendorf pitched seven strong innings, charged with one undeserved run.

Garrett Jones homered and doubled.

Bobby Crosby’s pinch-hit RBI single scored Jones after the latter to break a 1-1 tie.

And Octavio Dotel closed it out with a strikeout for his 11th save and the official end of the team’s five-game losing streak.

Even the weather cooperated, with pockets of thunderstorms all over the county but somehow dodging the North Shore.

Nice day, right?

Well, forget it all and focus instead on what reliever Evan Meek called “the play that won this game,” a defensive gem by third baseman Andy LaRoche that might have been, in its own way, among the Pirates’ best this summer.

Click here to read the full article – By Dejan Kovacevic of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Father’s Day Is Coming

David — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:45:05 +0000

Come to Team-Superstore.Com for all of your Father’s Day needs! By entering in “DADSDAY15″, you can get 15% off all orders until 6/25/10!

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Start Dixon

David — Wed, 19 May 2010 19:22:56 +0000

With Ben Roethlisberger focusing more on taking advantage of ladies than football this past off-season, the Pittsburgh Steelers need a new starting quarterback for the first 4-6 games of the upcoming season. As of right now, it sounds as if Byron Leftwich will be that starting quarterback. However, if rumors are true that Dennis Dixon has looked good, then it might be best for Pittsburgh to choose him as the starter. Let’s be honest; there is no way Roethlisberger will ever be traded while he is still an elite player. And at the same time, Leftwich is a serviceable backup, but not the type of player that teams will be yearning to have.

Teams will always seek young quarterbacks. Players like Brady Quinn are traded on a regular basis. Suppose Leftwich starts the beginning of the year, and lives up to expectations. Nothing will change. But, if Dixon starts, and plays well, he has instant trade value. And the Steelers could be shipping away an undrafted player, and get quality value in return. It is a tough risk for a team that is clearly in win-now mode. But if they want to win now, and win later, Dennis Dixon should be their man at the beginning of the season.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Crosby helps Penguins light up Sens in 2nd as elimination looms

GameSetMatch — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:35:40 +0000

With a wildly offensive second period straight out of the 1980s, Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins moved within one victory of advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Crosby had four points, including two of Pittsburgh’s five goals in the second, leading the Penguins to a 7-4 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night and a 3-1 series lead.

Crosby assisted on Evgeni Malkin’s power-play goal 11:50 in, the only score of the first period.

Crosby scored two of Pittsburgh’s three goals in a 2:25 span early in the second. Matt Cooke scored 12 seconds after Crosby’s first goal to make it 3-0, and the Penguins’ 22-year-old captain added his fourth goal of the series at 6:12 to chase Brian Elliott.

“I feel like I’m creating things,” Crosby said. “That’s what I want to do and the puck’s gone in.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Steelers, Roethlisberger Await Goodell’s Ruling

jmw24 — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:20:54 +0000

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers are waiting for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s ruling on whether the quaterback will face disciplinary action from the league. League sources believe that Goodell will suspend Roethlisberger for at least two games this season. Roethlisberger’s possible suspensions stem from two sexual assault accusations in the past year and a half. Although the Steelers star has not been charged with a crime in the wake of these accusations, Roger Goodell has stated that Roethilsberger did break the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

While Ben Roethlisberger may be a free man, it seems that he has alot of work to do to repair his image and win back the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many seem to be done with the off field issues that have plauged Roethlisberger, and some believe that the Steelers should trade or release the quaterback who has led the team to two Super Bowl wins. While it is expected that the Steelers keep Roethlisberger, they did trade troubled wide reciever and former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes, dumping Roethlisberger would not be a complete shock.

by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Crosby, Malkin point Penguins to 2-1 series lead over Senators

GameSetMatch — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:47:16 +0000

Even faced with the constant attention of the Ottawa Senators’ top pair of defensemen, Sidney Crosby keeps finding ways to lead the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Crosby had a goal and an assist, Evgeni Malkin scored his third playoff goal, and Pittsburgh beat Ottawa 4-2 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference series.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves and Alexei Ponikarovsky and Bill Guerin also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins, who won their second in a row following a 5-4 loss to the Senators in the series opener.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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Pirates parting ways with infielder Vazquez

GameSetMatch — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:27:13 +0000

The Pirates unconditionally released infielder Ramon Vazquez on Thursday. If he signs elsewhere, that team will be responsible for $400,000 of Vazquez’s salary, and the Pirates will be on the hook for the other $1.6 million. If Vazquez does not sign with anyone this year, the Pirates will have to pay his entire $2 million salary.

» Second baseman Aki Iwamura got his first hit in a Pirates uniform, singling in the third inning off Chad Billingsley.

» The Pirates started three bench players: Ryan Church in left field in place of Lastings Milledge, Delwyn Young in right field for Garrett Jones and Bobby Crosby at shortstop in place of Ronny Cedeno. Jones started at first base for Jeff Clement.

» John Raynor, a Rule 5 pickup from Florida, made his major-league debut as a pinch hitter in the ninth. He walked.

Click here to read the full article – By Karen Price of PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

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Shero, Pens ‘Poni’ Up For Scoring-Line Winger

TheHockeyGuy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:57:14 +0000

General manager Ray Shero wasn’t afraid Tuesday to pony up for a scoring line winger the night before the NHL trade deadline expired.

After the Penguins’ 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres at Mellon Arena, Shero announced a deal with Toronto for scoring-line winger Alexei Ponikarovsky – a 6-foot-4, 229-pound winger who will likely play to the left of center Evgeni Malkin.

Ponikarovsky is likely to join longtime friend Ruslan Fedotenko on a line with Malkin, the leading scorer during the regular season and playoffs last year. Ponikarovsky, 29, and Fedotenko were born a year apart in Kiev, Ukraine.

He’s a good, hard-working winger,” said Fedotenko. “He drives to the net hard. He’s a good player. I think it’s a good addition.

“We’re ready for the last 19 games now, and the playoffs.”

Shero agreed, and acknowledged he was surprised the Penguins could land a scoring winger after dealing a second-round pick to Florida on Monday for defenseman Jordan Leopold.

“It pushes some guys down in the lineup,” Shero said of this acquisition, adding that the Penguins are “capped out” on making another move related to the NHL roster before the today’s 3 p.m. trade deadline.

Click here to read the full article – By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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Penguins’ Orpik Knows About Miracles

TheHockeyGuy — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:54:48 +0000

To paraphrase a famous orator and the architect of the greatest sports moment of the 20th Century, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik was born to be a hockey player.

OK, maybe not.

“I lived the first seven years of my life in San Francisco,” Orpik was saying the other day. “I didn’t even know what hockey was until we moved to Buffalo.”

Let me try this again.

Anybody named after Herb Brooks just had to gravitate to hockey sooner or later. Brooks coached the United States team to a staggering upset of Russia at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y., after delivering one of the great motivational speeches of all time. Seven months after that amazing club secured the most unlikely gold medal in history, Orpik was born.

“My dad is from Boston and he liked hockey,” Orpik said. “I don’t know how he ever talked my mother into that name.”

Here’s guessing she didn’t like Herb.

How proud Brooks would be of the way Orpik has turned out. As the Penguins’ most physical defenseman and a key member of the 2009 Stanley Cup champions, to be sure. But especially as a proud U.S. Olympian.

Today, Orpik is in Vancouver, getting ready to pull on a red, white and blue sweater for Team USA’s first game against Switzerland at the 2010 Games.

Too bad Brooks isn’t alive to see it.

Click here to read the full article – By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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