Happy New Year

Here are some things to look forward to in 2010:
Penn State beating LSU in the Capital One Bowl.
The Steelers making the playoffs and returning to the Super Bowl.
The Pens defending their Stanley Cup.
The Pirates ... never mind. We'll get to that next year.

Who You Gonna Call? Penguins Beat Phantoms 4-3

Dustin Jeffrey scored two goals and had an assist to led Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over Adirondack 4-3. Lane Caffaro got his first career AHL goal and Eric Tangradi also scored for the Pens. It was the 3rd win in three nights for WBS. Here are some pictures I took and posted on Twitter. If you follow me then you may have already seen them. For the other 23 people who come to this site by searching for "how to stop getting old", then these are especially for you. By the way, good luck with that.

The Dynasty Continues

The Penn State Lady Lions won their 3rd straight NCAA volleyball championship beating Texas 3 sets to 2. It was their 102 consecutive win, second in Division I team sports, behind only the Miami men's tennis team's ridiculous 137 straight victories from 1957-64.

One of the greatest college teams ever! We Are...

My New Favorite Song This Week

The band is named fun. The song is All The Pretty Girls. Pretty girls = fun. Sold.

Pirates Give Matt Capps The Hook

Another bobblehead pushed to the back of the shelf. In news that sent shockwaves through the Pirates blogosphere, the Bucs did not offer a contract to Matt Capps yesterday making him a free agent. I guess we will have to find someone else to blow games for us. I wasn't the biggest Capps fan so this news is rather exciting to me. I mean seriously, the guy has one pitch, a fastball with no movement what-so-ever on it. GM Neil Huntington has a set of balls on him though because I think we can all agree that this can backfire on him. Relievers are so unpredictable year after year so Capps could return to his 2007-08 numbers and make Huntington like like a jackass. I'm with our GM on this one. It became obvious after this was announced that Capps had little or no trade value. Cut ties and move on. There was no need to offer him salary arbitration and overpay for a closer who might not even be the closer out of spring training. I'm in the minority on this so click on these links for other opinions.

Pat's take [WHYGAVS]

Tim's piece at [Bucco Fans]

Brian will miss the Bull-Rider video the most [RTJR]

Jon from [The "Mc Effect] weighs in

Shaftie's thoughts from [Rum Bunter]

Keep the faith kids. 2011. Mark it down. Go Bucs!

Do The Hokie Pokey- Virginia Tech 66 Penn State 64

Talor Battle tied a career high with 32 points but missed the one that would matter most, a layup at the buzzer as Penn State falls to Virginia Tech 66-64. Free throw shooting once again killed the Nittany Lions as they went a dreadful 13 for 22 from the stripe. Penn State also went just 7 for 24 from 3 point range. Ouch. Tech was led by Malcolm Delaney who had 27 points including some clutch free throws late in the game. Up next for the Lions is a home game next Saturday against Gardner-Webb. The game starts at 9 o'clock and can been seen on ESPNU.

Pirates Sign Bobby Crosby ... But More Importantly ...

The girl on the right is his better half. Yahoo indeed. Almost as nice as Miss Anna Benson. I can deal with this for one year.

Penn State 58 UMBC 42

Did you know that UMBC stood for the University of Maryland-Baltimore County? I didn't. Did you know that their nickname is the Retrievers? I didn't. Did you know that UMBC was 0-7 on the year? I didn't. Regardless, the Nittany Lions won. Jeff Brooks led the way with 14 points and Andrew Jones added 10 with 10 rebounds. Talor Battle had just 7 points. Up next is Virginia Tech this Saturday at 7. The game is on ESPN2. Go Lions!

Bucco Bits

Today was the first day of baseball's winter meetings so let's get caught up on what our Buccos have been up to.

Infielder Luis Cruz, who was placed on waivers, was claimed by the Brewers.

The Pirates signed right-handed reliever Vinnie Chulk to a Minor League deal. He pitched for Cleveland last year. He has a career record of 7-15 with an 4.33 ERA. Sounds about right.

The Bucs also outrighted Jeff Sues to Indianapolis to clear room on the 40-man roster. The roster now stands at 38 players. Are we making room for a run at Roy Halladay? More like making room for a Rule 5 pick (or two).

Former manager Danny Murtaugh fell four votes shy for the Hall of Fame.

Will GM Neil Huntington make any big moves this winter? Many fans don't think so but I have a feeling Zach Duke has pitched his last game for the Pirates. I also think Ryan Doumit will be moved. If anything major happens we will post it, otherwise the Bucs take a back seat around here until spring training.

Penn State To The Capital One Bowl

I agree that Iowa should have been picked over PSU for a BCS game. I don't agree with the BCS putting TCU and Boise State against each other. Pussies. It looks like the Lions will face LSU on New Years Day. More on this later.

This Is Why I Don't Watch The NBA

They won't let me. The Washington Wizards at Detroit game is blacked out in northeastern Pennsylvania. You've got to be kidding me! Let's go to the map...



The game is not on anywhere else in this area so why is it blacked out? Not that I care, I can't stand the NBA but this is not right. Plus I pay extra for this channel just to get the NHL and MLB Networks.



Our "local" teams in the Scranton area are the Nets and the 76ers. Two teams with a combined record of 6-34. We can live with that.

Whooo Hooo Whoo ... Temple 45 - Penn State 42

Some will call it a defensive battle. Some will call it bad basketball. I'll go with the latter. Talor Battle was held to 8 points, shooting just 3 of 15 from the field while missing all five of his 3 point attempts. This game had ugly written all over it. The Lions had just 22 points at the half and they were even worse in the 2nd half. Temple wasn't much better. The Owls would go on to shoot just 26% in the 2nd half and still managed to win. Penn State had a chance to tie the game but couldn't get a shot off in the final 30 seconds. Yikes. Up next is UMBC Tuesday at 6:30. The game is on the Big Ten Network. Tune in to watch this team continue to confuse us.

Penn State Survives Virginia Rally 69-66

Talor Battle scored a career high 32 points as the Nittany Lions held off a late comeback from the Cavs. Penn State trailed by as many as 10 in the first half before a 13-2 run in the second half gave the Lions a lead they would not give up. Tim Frazier chipped in with 11 points but this game was all about Battle. Battle was 9-of-15 from the floor and 5-of-9 from downtown. Virginia was led by Sylven Landesberg who scored 18 and Sammy Zeglinski who just couldn't miss hitting 3's down the stretch to get U.Va back in the game. He did miss the one that would matter most, at the buzzer. This was the third straight win for Penn State in the Big 10/ACC Challenge. Up next for the Lions (5-2) is a short drive to Philly to take on Temple (4-2) this Saturday at 4. Go Lions!

I Want Wiz Khalifa's Chain

My New Favorite Song This Week

Hide the kids. This weeks favorite song comes from Steel Panther. This is Death To All But Metal. A parody metal song that makes fun of just about everyone, including Papa Roach and Eminem, is okay in my book. Plus Sarah Silverman is in the video. Always a plus. Rock on, bitches!

Penn State Gets Beat By UNC. That's UNC Wilmington

Really Penn State? Just when I start to think that this basketball program has turned the corner and is actually a legit team, they lose to UNC Wilmington. The Seahawks were 0-2 on the year with losses to Appalachian State and George Washington. They are not a power mid major team you don't mind losing to. Talor Battle did tie a career high with 29 points including his 1000th point of his career and 300th career assist for the Lions but when you only shoot 32% from the field as a team you will lose most of the time. No time to dwell on this one because Penn State takes the court at 12:30 today to face Tulane in the Charleston Classic. The Charleston Classic, good times! The game is not on TV. Classic.

Penn State 80 Robert Morris 61

A 23-4 run in the second half lifted Penn State past Robert Morris 80-61. The Lions went 12-26 from 3 point land and after a sluggish start, Penn State rolled. Tim Frazier led the way with 19 points including 4-5 from downtown. Chris Babb finished with 15 and Jeff Brooks added 12. Robert Morris held Talor Battle to 8 points on just 2-9 shooting. The Colonials were led by Russell Johnson who scored 11. Next up for Penn State is UNC-Wilmington on Thursday at 4 o'clock. The game is on ESPNU. Robert Morris' next game is Friday vs Detroit Mercy.

"Afghanistan is worse than Scranton"

From last night's SNL. The fun starts around 1:20 into the video.

My New Favorite Song This Week

I heard this song on college radio the other day and I can't get it out of my head. There is no official video so just sing along. This is Brand New with At The Bottom.



Wait, watched you throw out your bouquet
Now I think about you everyday
I'm alone now in my bed

And there's a lake
And at the bottom you'll find all my friends
They don't swim cause they're all dead
We never are what we intend or invent

Cause I make little lies and then I pull them apart
Think something dark living down in my heart
And if I wanted to die before I got old
I should have started some years ago digging that hole

Well I carry this box to the proper place
And when I lower it down
I let it you fade away
I hope that you would do this for me
I'd serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me

A deer that a hunter shot in the heart
Some dogs that got hit by cars
All came to spill their guts
And we spoke
About the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
And which songs we had loved the most
And then we all turned to dirt
And dust

Some men die under the mountain just looking for gold
Some die looking for a hand to hold

Well I carry this box to its proper place
And when I lower it down
I let you fade away
I know that you would do this for me
I'd serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me

I'm slowly bringing you down from the heavenly gates
Now I'm drowning in the flood I made
Well explain myself to me on the other side
I'll watch from Heaven when I die

Well I carry this box to the proper place
And when I lower it down
I let you fade away
I know that you would do this for me
I'd serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me

“Mean” Joe Greene and Tommy Okon Will Reunite Before Steelers/Bengals

I got this in my inbox today:

Hello,

I wanted to let you know about a fun pre-game ceremony with legendary Steelers defensive tackle “Mean” Joe Greene that’s happening before this Sunday’s huge Steelers/Bengals game.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the famous Coca-Cola commercial with Greene that TV Guide called one the best commercials ever. Well, this fall marks the 30th anniversary of the ad and Greene will be at Heinz Field this Sunday (11/15) to accept his Clio award for his work in the ad, which recognizes creative excellence in advertising.

Greene won the award in 1979 but wasn't available to accept the award at the time, and never received the hardware over the past 30 years. Coca-Cola recently secured the trophy and is presenting it to Greene in the special pre-game ceremony with Tommy Okon, the boy in the commercial who famously offered Joe his Coke. As part of the event, Greene and Okon will reunite for the first time in years.



This fall marks the 30th anniversary of the iconic “Mean Joe” TV ad for Coca-Cola, which featured the feared lineman limping down a tunnel to the locker room, followed closely by then-nine-year-old Tommy Okon, who offered a battered Greene his ice-cold Coca-Cola. As a gesture of thanks, Greene tossed his coveted jersey to the boy, who stood in amazement after encountering his hero.

The “Mean Joe” ad debuted on network television during the 1979 Major League Baseball playoffs and has been universally lauded – TV Guide called it one of the best commercials ever, and it was named among the most innovative, creative and effective spots of all time by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

After it aired, tens of thousands of viewers sent letters to The Coca-Cola Company, and Hollywood producers even capitalized on its popularity by developing a made-for-TV- movie starring Greene, entitled “The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid.”

In January 2009, Coke Zero offered a new twist on the old favorite, this time debuting an ad starring current Steelers great Troy Polamalu.



So there you have it. This Sunday. Go Steelers!

Pitt Moves Up To #12 In BCS Standings, Penn State Drops To #18

The Pitt Panthers have their highest ranking in 20 years. Pitt is ranked #8 in the AP poll and #9 in the coaches poll. The computers don't have the same love, ranking Pitt #12. There was a lot of Penn State bashing by Pitt fans Saturday night, and rightfully so, but lets see how the season plays out. When the final rankings come out, will Pitt still be ranked higher? I doubt it. As a Penn State fan, I have no problem rooting for Pitt. In fact I probably root for Pitt 85-90% of the time. I will be a huge Pitt fan this Saturday. Pitt fans on the other hand despise Penn State. Most of the Penn State fans I know like watching Pitt so it must be a jealously issue with them. I tend to root for all the schools in my state unless they are playing a Big 10 school. The reason why Pitt is getting no love from the BCS? Look at their only loss. Pitt lost to NC State 38-31. NC State has 3 other wins. They are against Murray State, Gardner-Webb and a bad Maryland team. The Wolfpack also lost at home to Duke. Pitt's highest ranking in quite some some comes after beating Syracuse, the same Syracuse team that the PSU haters ripped Penn State for playing.



Now if Pitt wins out they will indeed go to a BCS Bowl, but that's a big if. Notre Dame, at West Virgina and 5th ranked Cincinnati await. Their schedule just got tough. There's all this talk about Penn State's weak schedule but Pitt has wins over Youngstown State and Buffalo. Not the best out of conference schedule and very comparable to Penn State's. Pitt's strength of schedule is 84 while Penn State's is 48. Something tells me the haters forgot to look that up. The Big East is not a better conference than the Big 10. Never will be. TCU just jumped Cincinnati in the BCS rankings. That's how much respect there is for the Big East. In fact this was the poll question on ESPN today:



As for Penn State, when will Darryl Clark show up for a big game? Ohio State had their way Saturday and Penn State's dreams of a return trip to a BCS bowl are now over. Maybe, just maybe, Pitt and Penn State can meet in a New Years Day bowl. Wouldn't that be nice?

Penn State Says NO to the Terrelle Pryor T-Shirt

After alumni and students complained that the shirt does not reflect the schools values, Penn State has pulled the plug on the Terrelle Cryer T-Shirt. Make him cry again anyway. Kickoff is at 3:30. We Are ... Penn State!

My Waffle House Check

Yesterday I woke up with a craving for waffles. We decided to go the the Waffle House for breakfast because they have the best waffles. It's in their name. When we got our check I saw something funny. Our beverage order was a coffee and a sweetened iced tea.



Now I get what the "C" is for but what does the "UNT" mean? Unsweetened tea? Maybe. Was she calling me that? Maybe. Is this a total misunderstanding and no one in the world except me would have noticed it anyway? Probably.

VIDEO: Sidney Crosby's Save Against the Ducks

The kid can do it all!

Pirates Trade Jesse Chavez To Tampa For Akinori Iwamura

In other news ... McDonald's sells about 4.2 million hamburgers a day in the United States. See, much more interesting.



The exact details of this trade probably won't be revealed until the World Series is over. The waiting is the hardest part.

**UPDATE** This looks like the whole trade according to multiple media outlets. I can't say I'm a big fan of it but whatev.

My New Favorite Song This Week

This weeks song isn't new but a classic! Today, Nirvana's Live at Reading DVD was released. Yes! New Nirvana! This is School off the DVD.

Yinz Luv 'Da Guins is baaaaaaaccckk!

The great Jim Shearer is back with another Yinz Luv 'Da Guins. These just keep getting better and better!

Evgeni Malkin Out 2-3 Weeks

Geno Malkin will miss the next 2-3 weeks because of a right shoulder strain. Malkin has 14 Points (4 goals) in 12 games this season. Good thing the Pens are deep (that's what she said). Two weeks would be 7 games and three weeks will be 10. Not a big deal. Good move by sitting him than letting him play through this injury. Go Pens!

Andrew McCutchen Named Baseball America's Rookie of the Year

Andrew McCutchen has been named rookie of the year by Baseball America. McCutchen batted .286 with 26 doubles, 9 triples, 12 home runs, 54 RBIs, 22 stolen bases and had a .364 on-base percentage in just 108 games for the Pirates. Garrett Jones was also named to the all-rookie team. Jones hit .293 and led all rookies with 21 home runs. Not bad for a team that finished with 99 losses. We should expect a bobblehead from both these guys next year. That's what Pirates fans look forward to ... bobbleheads.

My World Series Nightmare

Around my neck of the woods your are either a Yankees fan or a Phillies fan. In fact it probably goes Yankees first, then the Phillies followed by the Mets and Red Sox. The Pirates? Not in the top 10. Even though we get FSN Pittsburgh here the Pirates are not on the radar. Sucking for so long will do that to a fan base. In football it's the Steelers first. In hockey it's a fight between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. This World Series is unwatchable for me. I hate both teams equally so now I don't know who to root for (or against). It's late October anyway and my baseball season ends somewhere around May so needless to say I won't be watching this one.

Goldy Gopher Apologizes to Penn State and Holy Rollers Everywhere

In a story that nobody gives two shits about, Goldy Gopher, the mascot for the University of Minnesota, has apologized for mocking Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes as he prayed before last Saturday's game. If anything we should want an apology from the skank cheerleader at the end of this video. The "story" starts around the 25 second mark. Really ... this made ESPN?

My New Favorite Song This Week

Wolfmother is one of the best new bands out there. This is their first single off the new album Cosmic Egg called New Moon Rising. The album comes out this Tuesday. Buy it.

Are The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers Done?

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers will not play in the 2010 season. The Arena Football League 2 (afl2) franchise will cease operations because the team could not find a buyer in time for the upcoming season. The Pioneers were one of the most successful franchises in the afl2, losing in the leagues championship game the last two seasons. I have been to a few Pioneer games and, although I hate to say it, was not impressed. The one game I went to the final score was something like 59-55 and it was boring as all hell. Although the attendance was strong for these games, without an owner I guess there was no other choice. That leaves the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre with only one tenant, The Wilkes-barre/Scranton Penguins. I hope somewhere down the road the team will find a buyer and indoor football will return to NEPA. There can never be enough professional sports teams in your hometown, even if you're not a fan.

Fox Sports Radio- Your Home For ... Polka Music?

Sports fans in Northeastern Pennsylvania get a real treat every Sunday on Fox Sports Radio. From the morning hours right up until 1 o'clock, instead of getting pregame news, weather reports and injury details, the lucky fans of NEPA get hours of polka music. I didn't realize that people who listen to polka music were still alive. Taking a line from just about every sports jock on FSR, we have to tune in to the "four letter" station to get our sports fix.


The Game AM 1400, proving once again that anything with the word Fox in front of it is a total joke.

Link Dump

Last night was the dumps for sports. Good thing we got a Pens game tonight. There is some great stuff on the web today so check it out.

Click On This

Sean did an interview with Jim Shearer. Good stuff. [Sean's Ramblings]

Pens @ Carolina tonight [The Wicked Wrister]

Fantasy Football Owners Opposed to Rush Limbaugh Joining Their League [Real Fake Sports]

Blackhawks Are the Anti-Cubs As They Actually Pull Off Comeback Win [Thunder Matt's Saloon]

and finally... Captain Lou Albano died this morning at age 76. I have a lot of memories of Lou as a kid. This is not one of the good ones.

Question

Who was everyone rooting for last night? I hate everything Philly but I also hate everything Jim Tracy. I caught myself cheering for the Phils for the first time in my life. I'm still stunned and depressed about that. So...

Online Surveys & Market Research

My New Favorite Song This Week

This is Tiga with Shoes. Strange but I like it.

I've Said It Before, I'll Say It Again

I don't like to post so I'll repost, which according to spell checker isn't a word.

Get Well Soon, Stan

Legendary Pittsburgh sports reporter Stan Savran is currently in the hospital after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery. The Pens games already aren't the same so here's to a speedy recovery. The photo is from an old 1985 Pirates scorebook. I have no clue who the first two guys are but either Stan is very tall or the WTAE sports department was very short. Get well soon, Stan!

Penguins Banner Raising Ceremony Video

Make Room!

Penn State Signs Ed DeChellis To Contract Extension

Normally I wouldn't care about the signing of a coach who has never taken his team to the NCAA tournament to an extension but I like this move by Penn State. The new agreement will keep DeChellis in Happy Valley until the 2013-14 season. Terms were not disclosed but this is Penn State we are talking about, we didn't expect them to be. I guess winning the NIT does mean something. Last season was the first season in a long time I actually followed the team so we might as well see how things turn out. If Penn State doesn't make the NCAAs this season, lets just go back to the old contract.

Link Dump

How about them Buccos!!! Taking 3 or 4 from the Dodgers is always nice. Too bad FSN stopped televising Pirates games. I would have liked to see it. Its on to Chicago tonight to face the hated Cubs and guess what... FSN will have the game! No shit! I'm fully recovered from a dreadful sports weekend. Other than the Pirates (go figure) the rest of the weekend was forgettable. The Pens open their season on Friday. Good thing... they didn't have the best pre-season going 1-5. The big screen will be back for the opener so we can all watch that glorious banner being raised. Finally, for the first time in a week I can get to my email. There was a problem with the server so if you sent in links and stuff sorry its taken so long to reply. On to the links...

Click On This

Tim wrote a great article on why MLB is different from the NFL and NHL when it comes to Pittsburgh finding success [Bucco Fans]

Penguins sign Ryan Bayda to a one-year, two-way contract [PensBurgh]

What now for Penn State? [Nittany White Out]

Penn State's October 10th game vs Eastern Illinois will air live on ESPN Classic at noon. Classic. [GoPSUSports]

Pitt doesn't deserve Top 25 ranking [The Sports Monitor]

Overrated But Inexcusable

If you asked any knowledgeable college football fan before last nights game, they would have said Penn State was overrated. If you asked a Penn State fan, they probably would have said the same thing. The Lions were ranked #5 in the nation because a lot of teams ahead of them lost. That is no excuse for the way the team self destructed. Daryll Clark was awful. He threw 3 interceptions and fumbled in his own end zone, leading to an Iowa safety. Not to take anything away from Iowa. They got down early, stuck with their game plan and deserved to win this game.



The turning point in the game was the blocked punt returned 53 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter. After that play, Penn State was done. In order to be considered an elite team, Penn State cannot implode the way they did, especially at home. Turnover after turnover, this was ugly. The O-line is a joke and the coaching was pathetic. There is so much more we can say about this game but I don't feel like talking about anymore.

Another Jab at the Pirates

John Cole, the cartoonist from The Scranton Times, is one funny man.

The Pirates Played a Game Today But Did Anyone Notice?

Take a look at these incredible pictures from the Post-Gazette and the PBC Blog. In case you do care, the Bucs lost again, 4-1. Is everyone staying home until G20 is over?

My New Favorite Song This Week

The video is weird. The band is good. Off of their 4th album Change Remains, this is The Starlight Mints with Power Bleed.

Yinz Luv 'Da Stillers!, Week #2 (PIT vs. CHI)

These just keep getting better. The best character in the history of YLDS - Harvey "Too Fresh" Williamz.

ESPN College GameDay is Coming to Penn State and We are Going to Look Like a Bunch of Idiots

This Saturday ESPN's GameDay crew will be at Beaver Stadium for the Penn State vs Iowa game. They will be broadcasting live from outside the Bryce Jordan Center from 10am to noon and 5pm to 6pm. Organizers are asking everyone to wear white because it is a white-out game. They are also asking you to bring a white BLANK poster board or sign. Yes, blank. How freakin' stupid is this going to look on TV? This may be the easiest photoshop ever for PSU haters come Sunday morning.

Favorite Jersey Day... Today!

Click to enlarge

Wear your favorite Penn State jersey to the Temple game today. I think most people already do that so I'm not sure what the point is. Wear it anyway! Go Lions!

Black and Gold Game Pics