*** If you think the Penguins power play is going to suddenly get better because they are getting some healthy bodies back in the lineup, you might want to think again. The team that won the Stanley Cup last year was 20th in the league in power play percentage. With all the talent they have when healthy, it might be time to blow the thing up and start from scratch. Either that or start declining penalties. Momentum swings after the Penguins fail on the power play have caused more than one game to end the wrong way this year.



And by-the-way. Marc-Andre Fleury is probably too nice of a guy to get angry at his teammates for blowing his shutout in the third period Saturday night in Atlanta. But a two-on-one break against you while on a four minute man advantage late in a 3-0 game is inexcusable. The second goal the Thrashers scored most likely would not have happened if it's still 3-0 because they would not have pulled their goalie.



***American League Cy Young winner Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals was the 6th pick in the 2002 draft. The Pirates had the first pick overall that year. They took Bryan Bullington.



***So the Pirates say they will play it cautiously during the free agency signing period. I can't believe it. I was so excited thinking they might sign someone like Chone Figgins or maybe even Jason Bay again. I see Adam Laroche is available. You do't' suppose...nah.



***The Steelers final regular season game in Miami isn't looking as easy as it did a few weeks ago. They came close to beating both New Orleans and Indianpolis, the elite of both conferences, and they've won three out of four overall. They look like a team that will need that final game to either make the playoffs or solidify positioning.



***Larry Johnson may have some issues. But the Cincinnati Bengals are used to players with issues. They made a terrific decision to sign Johnson after he was released by Kansas City. For one thing, he provideds depth for a pretty good running attack that has Cedric Benson less than 100 percent healthy. And secondly, he's a bargain for any role. The Bengals only have to pay him $255,290. The Chiefs are responsible for the rest of his $4 million salary. Cinci can decide after the season if he is worth signing for next year. Maybe things are really changing in Cincinnati after all.



***Has there ever been a regular season coaching decision in the NFL that has drawn more second guessing that Bill Belichick going for it last Sunday on 4th and 2 at his own 28 yard line? The Patriots of course failed to covert and Indianapolis improved to 9-0 by going 29 yards for the game winning touchdown in the final two minutes. While Belichick defied conventional football wisdom, it would be a far more interesting sport to watch if coaches made a move like that more than once every 20 years. Was anyone paying attention to the Peyton Manning and the Colts twice driving 79 yards for touchdowns that took a total of 3:53 off the clock? A coach has to play the percentages. Since Tom Brady's first year as a starter the Patriots are have made 76.4 percent of their 4th down coversions of less than two yards. If they make five feet, they clinch the game and hand the Colts their first loss. If they punt, they put the game in the hands of their defense. They had a greater chance of making the five feet. I always feel the worst for the WPIAL football teams that lose in the semifinals. Losing a championship game is not easy, but at least if they lose in the finals, they had the chance to play at Heinz Field.



***Penn State's win over Michigan State gave Joe Paterno his 21st 10-win season. Only six schools can claim that many. Penn State most likely will get an invitation to a big New Year's Day bowl. But it's hard to look at this season and feel the Nittany Lions accomplished all they could have. They played two ranked teams at home and lost to both by double digits. Don't laugh but their most impressive wins were aganst Northwestern and Temple. Northwestern is going to a bowl in consecutive seasons for the first time in 13 years. And Temple is unbeaten in the MAC conference and 9-2 overall. If they beat Ohio University Friday, they will be in the conference championship game. Penn State's bowl game will give them one more opportunity to beat a quality opponent and change the perception of their season.

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***If someone would have told you back in August, that Pitt quarterback Bill Stull would be ranked just two places behind Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen in passing efficiency when Notre Dame visits in November, you would have thought Clausen was going to have a bad year. Clausen came to town third in the country in passing efficiency and Stull started Saturday night ranked fifth. Where did all those people go who were booing him in September?



***Pitt's win over Notre Dame Saturday leaves head coach Charlie Weis with a 35-26 record with the Fighting Irish. That is a winning percentage of .583. The exact same as predecessors Ty Willingham and Bob Davie. The were both fired. With all the talk of who should replace Weis as Notre Dame coach if they make a change, my vote goes to Bill Cherpak. What he has done as head coach of Thomas Jefferson High School is truely remarkable. Forty-eight straight wins against WPIAL teams? Are you kidding? Of course I'm serious about the job Cherpak has done, but not about taking over Notre Dame. The transistion from high school to South Bend just doesn't work. Ask Gerry Faust.



***Iowa freshman quarterback Jeff Vandenberg didn't look like a freshman until taking a sack in overtime Saturday against Ohio State. Makes you wonder about Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark. He's a senior and was playing at home against the Buckeyes just last week and had a lot less success than Vandenberg the freshman did in Columbus. He was 20-33 for 233 yards 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Last week Clark was 12-28 for only 125 yards, no touchdowns and 1 interception.



***Penn State did not play well in the first half Saturday against Indiana but they came back to win and that is not a surprise. The Nittany Lions are 12-1 after a loss over the last five seasons.



***Just because a team plays a weak schedule, doesn't mean that team isn't any good. West Virginia had not played a ranked team this year until they lost to Cincinnati Friday night. But that was a pretty good battle the Mountaineers gave the undefeated Bearcats, perhaps proving more in the loss than they have in many of their wins.



***Last week's AP collegiate football poll was the 1,000 since the first one was released October 19th, 1936. It is interesting to look at that first one which more closely resembles a basketball poll of today. Some of the schools on it no longer have football programs. The original top five were Minnesota, Duke, Army, Northwestern and Purdue. Notre Dame was seventh, Pitt ninth, Yale 10th, and Duquesne 11th. St. Mary's (California) was 12th. Holy Cross was 17th and Marquette 20th. Of the 120 current FBS teams, 103 have appeared at least once on the AP Poll. Forty-one current FBS teams have been ranked first at least once. Oklahoma has the all time most points.



***The Penguins score one goal in three games. Gino Malkin returns to the lineup and it takes just 1:48 for him to set up a goal. Then he sets up the tying goal with less than a second to go and the Penguins win in overtime and break a four game losing streak. They scored 6 goals against Boston Saturday night, half of which Malkin set up. Amazing.



***Sidney Crosby is taking way too many penalties. He already has 35 penalty minutes and is on pace for 143 minutes for the season which would easily be a career high. Two years ago Crosby had only 39 minutes all season (in 53 games). The Penguins have had a lot of injuries. But they have players to take care of that stuff. He is way too valuable to be sitting in the box.

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***If Hines Ward played fullback or tight end, he would never be voted the dirtiest player in the NFL as he was last week on an SI.com poll (of a very limited amount of NFL players). Most of those guys should be embarassed to be taken out the way they are by a guy of Ward's age and size. Many of them complained about being blindsided. That's mostly because they aren't looking to be hit like that by a receiver. He's been in the league long enough now that all opposing defensive players should be aware of him. He takes it as a compliment and he should. Think about it for a second. With all the tough hitting defensive players in the league, a wide receiver is considered the dirtiest. Ya gotta love it.



***It was great that the Steelers beat Brett Favre and gave the Minnesota Vikings their first loss. But tonight's game in Denver is so much more important. If the Steelers win tonight, they will reach the halfway point of the season in the drivers seat. If they take care of business the rest of the way, they would win the division and most likely only have to travel to one place for a playoff game and that would be Indianapolis. That's not saying they won't lose again. It's just that all things being equal they wouldn't need help from elsewhere. The players may have to take it "one game at a time" but I don't . If they lose tonight, they fall into an AFC caldron of second tier playoff hopefuls that could have them figure more likely into a wild card spot or a division winner that has to travel in the postseason. Do you want them going to Denver again, most likely having to play again without Ryan Clark? Now of course there are a lot of things that could happen with half the season left to play. But it sure would be nice to start the second half, owning the tiebreaker over Denver and New England with a chance of evening things with Cincinnati next week.



***The Penguins were bound to cool off sooner or later even if Gino Malkin, Max Talbot, Sergie Gonchar and Tyler Kennedy were all healthy. Their third period collapse in Los Angeles last week ended an incredible seven game road winning streak to start the season. As disappointing as that was, just three games from the NHL record, consider that there were three seasons in Penguins history in which they won seven road games or less the entire season. In 1984-85 they won seven road games but in 1982-83 they won just four. And their worst road season ever was in 1970-71 when they won just three road games all year.



***The Calgary Flames organization should be ashamed of itself for allowing players, their families and management, to get H1N1 flue vaccines (through special means) while Joe Canadian citizen waited in long lines where many were turned away because there wasn't enough vaccine. How would you feel if you had a child that died from that flu? I don't think it would make you feel any better than the Flames won the night before with a healthy lineup.



***Here's a stat Penn State fans did not expect this year. How about a 1-2 conference record at home?



***The Pirates pick up of infielder Akinori Iwamora from Tampa Bay last week, in a trade for pitcher Jesse Chavez, is a move that adds salary. He actually becomes the highest paid player on the team. While most of his numbers are similar to Freddy Sanchez', he comes at a cheaper price. Sanchez has re-signed with San Francisco for a reworked cheaper deal of $12 million over two years. He says he wants to prove to the Giants and their fans that he is the player they thought they were getting. Bravo for him. It's one of the reasons he's such a likable guy. And while Chavez showed some potential and led the Pirates in appearances last year, Tim Alderson who the Pirates got from the Giants for Sanchez, and Iwemora look like a better duo. This looks like a win for Neal Huntington.

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***The Steelers win over the Vikings last week was equally exhilarating and strange. What else can you say about a game where the defense scores more touchdowns in the fourth quarter than the offense does the whole game. But the game next Monday is far more important. While the Steelers still need to worry about winning the AFC North Division or at least qualifying for a wild card playoff spot, it's not too early to think about home field advantage for the playoffs. The ability to avoid a trip back to Denver in January, or Indianapolis, or Foxboro, could be the difference in going to another Super Bowl, or bowing out on the road. Don't look at the three road wins it took to get to Super Bowl XL. It will probably be a long time before that happens again. Beating Brett Favre and an unbeaten Vikings team was great. And beating a lousy Detroit team was expected. But I'd gladly trade either for that loss to Cincinnati.



***By all rights the Penguins should have lost in Columbus Friday night. You aren't going to win very often when losing by two goals with under three minutes to play. But by all rights they should have won Saturday night against Minnesota. You aren't going to lose very often when you outshoot the opposition 35-15. But if sports were predictable and logical, would we watch?



***By-the-way, that was coach Dan Bylsma's sixth loss in 39 regular season games behind the Penguins bench Saturday night. He better be careful or he'll be looking for work.



***Speaking of watching, TV ratings for the World Series have been great. Especially when compared to the all time low of last year's ratings. Let's see, the Phillies played in both Series'. But last year they played Tampa Bay and this year they are facing the Yankees. I would deduce that the Yankees have something to do with the number of people paying attention. Like the Steelers they have a national following that is not based just on folks who grew up in New York rooting for them. There is also a lot of national hate for the Yanks. Either way it's a win for FOX. People will watch because they love or hate the Yankees and want to see them win or lose. Few other baseball teams, or sports teams period, bring out passion beyond their own geographic limits.



***I've hated all things Philadelphia since experiencing the obnoxious Philly sports attitude in person while living next to some fans from the city-of-brotherly-hate in college. But looking at the hysterical joy on the face of a young man who caught Jayson Werth's second home run in game three of the World Series Saturday night, I must admit I felt good for him. I must be getting soft in my old age.



***It's a great time of the year with the NFL and college football near midseason, the NHL and NBA at the beginning of their seasons, college basketball is awakening, and the World Series is wrapping up the baseball season. There is something there for every taste. But doesn't it also make you realize that all the seasons are way too long if they can all be happening at the same time?



***For a long time the lack of a scheduled football game between Pitt and Penn State didn't bother me. Both teams had some tough times and for a while there was rarely a year where both were ranked and playing well. But with the strong seasons both are having in 2009, a game the day after Thanksgiving this year, the way it used to be, would look pretty delicious right about now.



***Women's collegiate volleyball doesn't get much attention from the mainstream sports media, but it's worth mentioning that Penn State's women's team won it's 88th straight match last Friday night against Minnesota. That ties UCLA's mens basketball streak of 88 straight wins under coach John Wooden for the fourth longest streak of any kind in NCAA history. The longest known streak belongs to the University of Miami men's tennis team that won 137 straight matches from 1957 to 1964. Five more wins for Penn State and they would pass the North Carolina women's soccer team that won 92 straight games from 1990 to 1994.

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***The Penguins know all about life without defenseman Sergei Gonchar. He missed the first 56 games last year and they barely played .500 hockey. It was a major contributing factor that lead to a coaching change. Now he's hurt again and the Pens will have to deal with his absence for four to six weeks. Although it shouldn't be the problem that it was last year. First, it's a much shorter time that he'll be out. Second, young offensive defensemen like Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski are more experienced and should be able to pick up more slack than last year. Goligoski has a five game point streak going already. Third, Marc-Andre Fleury is playing so well the team could withstand me playing a few games on defense. And lastly, starting the year 9-1 leaves them a lot of wiggle room. They've split the first two games without him so far. But even a .500 record till the end of November would leave them around 18-10 heading into December. And there are worst ways to head into December.

***Maybe it was in honor or Sarge's injury. But did you see the record for goals in a game by defenseman was broken last week when Nashville beat Ottawa 6-5? Eight of the 11 goals were scored by defensemen, breaking the old record of seven.

***Jeff Reed has been an excellent placekicker for the Steelers. So the fact that the team gave him a low ball contract offer earlier this year must be because of his off-field reputation which took another blow last Sunday night in a Northside parking lot. He's one of the nicest guys in the world to talk to when he is sober. But it seems like that isn't often enough. And it appears that is going to cost him more than his reputation.

***Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger went head-to-head this past Sunday, the old guard and the new in NFL quarterbacks. Consider that Favre has led more 4th quarter and overtime comeback wins of any active quarterback in the league. (41) But since 2004, Ben Roethlisberger is first in that department. (19)

***Daniel Snyder has ruined the Washington Redskins and watching head coach Jim Zorn twist in the wind only emphasizes Snyder's incompetence. It was a brilliant idea Dan to hire a guy to be your offensive coordinator (Zorn) and when you can't get who you want to be your head coach, just move the coordinator into that role even though he's never even called plays at the NFL level before. Then Snyder cuts off Zorn's legs, giving him a vote of confidence by hiring a guy who was calling Bingo games a few weeks ago (Sherman Lewis) to take over Zorn's play calling duties. It should be a heck of a Monday night game tonight when the D.C. soap opera makes primetime.

***Penn State better work on getting their punts off more quickly. A block by Iowa was a major factor in the Nittany Lions only loss. Another one at Michigan Saturday could have been a factor had the Wolverines had the ability to get out of their own way.

***Penn State's schedule has been weak but the loss to Iowa looks less-and-less a blemish with every Iowa win. Their miracle final minute at Michigan State Saturday night gave them their 12th straight win dateing back to last year. The only school in the country with a longer streak is Florida with 16 straight wins.

***Thank goodness Major League Baseball saw the error of it's ways with the lousy umpiring we've witnessed this postseason. Instead of giving poor performing umpires like CB Bucknor a chance to umpire his first World Series, they are going back to crew chiefs and guys with experience. Not that experience alone will cause the Series to be well umpired. But the percentages go up. This will be just the second World Series in the last 26 that will not have at least one ump working the event for the first time. Good. It's supposed to be the best teams and the best players participating. The same should hold true for the men in blue.

***I wish the media would stop comparing guys like Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez with Lou Gehrig in categories like most consecutive postseason games with RBI's and home runs. Hitting home runs in four straight World Series games or getting RBI's in eight straight World Series games is a lot more impressive than doing it in playoff games. Seperate the accomplishments please.

***Maybe losing to the Devils Saturday night wasn't such a bad thing for the Penguins. You don't want the boys getting bored, do you?

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