My blog n'at

Pittsburgh may be down 3-1 in the 2012 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to Philadelphia but one thing is for sure, they put a humiliating beating on the Flyers on their ice last night.

Odds aren’t in their favor to win the series because overcoming 3-0 in best of 7 is almost impossible. That’s what most people would say about scoring 10 in Philly during the playoffs.

Pens win 10-3.

Game 5 in Pittsburgh tomorrow night.

DO IT!

One thing that I’m bad at is remembering the year. I kept thinking it was 2010 for some reason and have no idea why 2012 doesn’t seem far fetched. Maybe I have a thing against years with odd numbers? This past year was eventful personally but when it came to blogging it was kinda meh. Either way here’s a quick recap so my kids don’t have to sift through archives.

January 2011
Year started off great with the Winter Classic (even though Pens lost) and spending the first 2 weeks home with my new baby. I also decided that I would attempt to go a full year without drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors product. Not to be some elite prick but to see for myself how tough it would be. With the amount of picnics we attended and moments of weakness for going cheap I’m proud to say I’ve made it a full year and some days.

February 2011
Kept the busy pace with a quick trip to Baltimore to pick up the first of what would be many awards for a website I made. Even thought it was winter I was falling in love with the city. I will be going back soon. I also hit my mid 30′s while only suffering a minor “oh shit, I’m getting old” moment and Teaspoon got his first haircut while hitting the terrible 2.

March 2011
2 things happened, we got sick and I ate a lot of fish.

April 2011
My mom wanted to know why I didn’t invent Facebook, the internet or cure cancer. I had some views on the sale of Iron City which turned out to piss off a bunch of yinzers and Pittsburgh purists. Eh, it happens.

May 2011
Should I Drink That turned 5 years old on the 5th and we had a whirlwind bash in Boardman, Ohio as we took over the Big Tap In after party. We cracked open a 101 oz bottle of Double Arrogant Bastard that we have been sitting on for 4-5 years. It came with a padlock. Nuff said. I figured out how you can take a trip with Megabus to Erie (or Pittsburgh from there) and have a very low cost time. I celebrated national Craft Beer Week and if you haven’t heard me talk about it yet, am on the planning group for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week coming in 2012. This month also was record breaking numbers as we raised money for March of Dimes which helps preemies such as my boys.

June 2011
After many years of hard work I graduated cum laude from college. It was incredibly stressful when I threw work and the family into the mix but the support was fantastic! I’ll probably have my student loan bills paid off when Teaspoon is starting school.

I probably could have worded that better but I won’t. That’s exactly how I feel right now.

I will not being going to the Winter Classic with the ticket I was offered through the Pens by the NHL. If you know me I would go to the ends of the world for my Penguins (I’ve been a ticket holder for 10 years and sat through the no playoff debacle, I can say they’re MY Pens) but here is why I gots to do what I gots to do… n’at.

When the email came out I was getting a ticket because of my season ticket holder status it was like Christmas morning. the details were sketchy but I was happy. Early August came and the invoice showed up. $140 for 1 ticket! Heck it’s the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh I cant miss this! Then I continued to read. I’m in the 500 level at the top. That’s right, the far back corner at the top. Lovely eh? Whatever, I was still happy because I was going. Then the shocker. Money was due August 25th (that would be today). That’s in between pay periods for me. UGH!

I called the Pens to see if there was anything they could do with the due date since I would get paid in a couple days. I thought maybe some Ticketmaster giftcards I had or add it to my ticket package would work. A very snippy ticket rep (she was probably tired of these calls) told me this was an NHL event, not a Penguins one and that if I didn’t pay by the 25th I would lose my seat.

Lushie and I sat down to see if we could make it work. I had sold some school books online so there was extra income but I thought about it and finally stopped. Why am I going through all of this trouble trying to figure out how to get money together for a game? Its not that I don’t want to go bad enough, it comes down to responsibility. I just finished moving, we still have a lot we need for the house plus a kid on the way in January. I could borrow it but since we started saving for the house last year its been a “If I don’t have the cash, I wont do it” mentality. No charging. Yeah I’m missing out on some things but so what, I need to do whats best for the house. (Holy shit, when did I become an adult). Now the NHL thinks they can give me 2-3 weeks to come up with $140 without any prior indication of what we may be paying besides rumors on the internet?  Screw that.

The NHL doesn’t care. They know the seat will get sold and that’s what counts. I’m tired of how half assed the league keeps doing things. It sucks when you get 2-3 weeks notice that you have to make a payment on playoff tickets for the Pens but we know what to expect to spend at least.

So thank you NHL and the decision makers for this. Thank you for having an unrealistic approach for ticket holders of the teams involved.

I’ll find someway to get into the game but it’ll be on my own terms. I’ll still buy the hat and the shirt because I support hockey and am a cheerleader for Pittsburgh. Besides, sitting on my couch with Teaspoon is a great way to watch hockey.

I just hope Lushie doesn’t go into labor…

Today could be huge in many ways.

1) Today would have been my dad’s 76th birthday. Cheers old man, wish you could be here for…
2) game 7 of the Pens/Habs series and
3) Potentially the last game EVER at Mellon Arena

Now I know that every game that I’ve attended could have very well been that for me and the arena but tonight the harsh reality is here. It’s game 7! Around 10pm EST tonight someone will be calling to make tee times and I hope its not the Pens.

With all of the talk today about the game I want to bring something up. Your superstitions have nothing to do with the outcome. Previous records in game 7′s, with home ice and blah blah blah. What tonight comes down to is who wants it more. Who gets the bounces and who gets the calls. Doesn’t matter what market you live in the news will skew the odds so that your team will be favored. Fact of the matter is both teams are dead even. Playing in Pittsburgh is a plus for the Pens because of fan energy but besides that put away your inflatable whatevers and that jersey you haven’t washed in a year.

If the Pens lose I’m ready to walk out one last time. I’ve said my goodbye to the arena already. I just don’t wanna shave this dead sexy pimpin beard I have off yet. Not like this at least.

LETS GO PENS!

This is in reply to a piece that Jessica Isner wrote titled “Top 10 Reasons Boston Will Dethrone Pittsburgh as Best Sports City in 2010“. Lets address each of her claims as to why Boston will win.

10. Pittsburgh has no MLS team and no NBA team.
Didn’t realize people actually followed MLS and NBA teams still. That’s SO 90′s. We’ve been too busy to notice down here, you know, winning hockey and football titles. Honestly, if not for ESPN would anyone even know the NBA was around? My bet is that if you throw a bunch of “pro” teams at a city eventually one of them will win.

9. The Penguins may be better than the Bruins, but…
But nothing. Penguins are 5-1, Bruins are  2-3.  No Stanley Cup since 1971-72? Wow that’s almost as pathetic as Toronto. suck it.

8. The Charles River trumps all three rivers in Pittsburgh.
Here’s the part that kills me, “The Charles has history, collegiate regattas and celebrity fans.”. Darlin, you may want to check out the Three Rivers Regatta and Head of the Ohio. Since you’re up on history I’m assuming you know about Fort Pitt? right? What a joke. Did you even fact check?

7. Pittsburgh doesn’t have cool celebrity fans.
What does this have to do with best Sports City? Oh well I’ll humor it. If you could fill your seats on your own you wouldn’t need celebs. That’s why we have waiting lists to get into our games.

6. Sam Adams > Iron City.
Iron City? Really? I like Sam and all but I think you need to have a few beers from East End Brewing. You’ll find the emerging craft beer scene here quite impressive. Take off the beer goggles.

5. Boston is a college hockey utopia.
Granted you have a GREAT hockey program up there but you should check your facts. True that Pitt doesn’t have a  Div 1 hockey team but Robert Morris does and look at the score sheet of the last time they played.

4. After much debate, it’s true: BC football is better than Pitt football.
Debate with whom? the mailroom guy?

3. Fan devotion
Steeler Nation would destroy you and Penguins fans would trample your weak and hurdle your dead Bruins fans. no contest.

2. Speaking of the Patriots and the Steelers …
Yeah speaking of, I forget, which city does your football team play in again? Ours is actually IN Pittsburgh so I was just curious.

1. This is a baseball country, and — shocker — the Pirates just don’t cut it.
Its whatever country you want it to be when you’re trying to grasp for hope. Pirates have lost for 17 straight years and the only person this seems like news to is you. Seriously, we don’t even notice anymore.

(photos from the google. photoshopped by me)

Last year I made a post offering a guide to Steeler Fans on what is and how to understand the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The feedback was incredible and since this city is coming off it’s 6th Super Bowl title I think a refresher may be needed. Especially when a backup quarterback’s contract is headline news.

It can’t go unnoticed that Penguins mania is all over Pittsburgh. As a lifelong Pens fan it’s refreshing to see people wearing something other than a Steelers jersey. If you’re not from the Pittsburgh area, a Steelers jersey is considered by many as acceptable form of clothing for ANY occasion even if it’s at a different sport’s event. After a recent walk through downtown I saw the trend start to shift as people in Pens jerseys were everywhere. Granted it is the Stanley Cup playoffs season but in the past that didn’t matter to yinzers.

Seeing this lead me to think, how is Yinzer Nation dealing with Steeler pre-pre-pre training camp news not leading broadcasts? Maybe some have seen the light that there is life outside the walls of Heinz Field. For those fans confused as to what Penguins hockey is about I’ve made this list to get you ready for the Flyers series and eventually the Stanley Cup Finals.

• Kenny the COTTON CANDY HERE guy and TC the Beer Guy have jobs outside Steeler games. Do not get confused when you see them.
• Pens Station is the main store for Pens swag. There is never enough room to walk around so do NOT go in after you bought that tray of nachos with double cheese.
• Those people in Pens sweatsuits are The Pens Patrol They’re the crowd motivators… we think. Honestly besides throwing t-shirts and smiling we don’t really don’t see them.
• While you may enjoy ripping your shirt off and pouring beer over yourself while in a cheering frenzy at Steelers games, please stay dressed here.
• Face fainting, body painting and wearing loud obnoxious clothes are perfectly acceptable. Just ask the Penguin Lady.
• Don’t try to open the roof.
• Average price for a beer at the arena is $8.25. A 30 pack of Beast Ice at the local distributor is $16.50. Do the math for the same quality of beer. (*hopefully at the new arena they have craft beers. Pens, call me. we’ll talk*)
• Eat like a champion – If you want loaded nachos and fries there is a stand behind the walking ramp on the South End. Want a burrito the size of your head? By the  B/C12 entrance think… don’t quote me, blame Stoosh. I will say from experience though these are the best nachos. E north by the stairs to F. Pizza Hut stand.
  
• Stay in your seat or in the entrance to your section until there is a stoppage in play. If you walk while game is in play you will be hauled up to F Balcony by fans and tossed off. Frankly this should be a rule in all sports. ESPECIALLY Pirates games.
• We have a mascot who is a Penguin, We love Iceburgh and will defend him to the end. Plus he’s no where near as freaky as that Steely guy.
• Cleveland to you is Philadelphia to us.
• If you don’t know what is going on that is perfectly fine but don’t compensate by yelling “SHOOT THE PUCK!”, “HIT HIM!” or “DO SOMETHING”.
• There are 4 lines in hockey just as you swap players on the field. Sidney Crosby won’t play a full 60 minutes. Don’t worry, you won’t even notice.
• The Stanley Cup is the most celebrated trophy in sports. Each member of the winning team gets to spend a day with it and the stories are legendary. It’s also the most accessible trophy to the public and like hockey fans, knows how to party.
• Remember Philly is orange and black. Any other mix is probably some version of a jersey that a player had in minors or high school. We’re obsessive like that.
• The Flyers havent won since 1975. What a joke.
• “There’s no wave in hockey!” – F2 Sign Guy. Start one and he’ll pound you.

There you go. Anyone else feel free to add to this list. Most importantly enjoy the game.

GO PENS!

This is it! Lushie’s big present! She said that since today is my last full day at work I need something to pick up my spirits and go out in style. For years I’ve said that I wanted to get my own jersey and never have. Something always came up and I’d blow it off. Apparently she’s had this planned since the season started and it’s been killing her not to say anything.

Now to explain the jersey. 22 is the number I usually wear in sports and it’s also the date in October when we got married. I guess you can also say it’s Groundhog Day with 2/2.  Spoon is a nickname I was given in college by Griff (long story if you don’t know it) and always stuck as even my family calls me that more than my real name. The “C”, Lushie tells me, is because I’m the captain of our family and when Jackson arrives he can be my little “A”.

I’m not taking this off until Lushie rips it from me!

cheers!

I, like so many others I read online yesterday, thought the NHL All Star game has taken a long walk off a short pier. A waste of time. The NHL All Star Game will take a break next year for the Winter Olympics so they have 2 years to fix some serious problems that I saw over the weekend and would like to share.

1) Take the voting away from the fans until they can play nice – This is supposed to be the BEST of the best. Instead some jagoffs from Montreal spammed the ever living hell out of the voting so it would be an all Montreal team. Pens fans came out in forces to get Sid selected but Caps fans failed to get Ovechkin starting. Slackers.

SOLUTION: Until integrity can be restored to the game have the players, coaches and GM’s vote.

2) Make the game mean something – There’s no hitting, no defense and not effort to make plays. It’s become a lackadaisical spin off of what hockey is or what the “hockey is too violent” freaks want wrapped up in a hug. What I saw Sunday was 3 periods of watching pre-game skating without the drills. Do some skating and fancy moves then shoot.

SOLUTION: Follow MLB’s style and have the winning league get home ice for the cup finals. Some may bitch that it’s not fair when teams work so hard during the season. Try playing 162 games and then playoff games to not have home field. MLB can do it, suck it up buttercup. You fought to play in the game, not to host it. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy then get rid of the All Star Game completely or move it to the end of the season like the NFL when no one cares.

3) Fix the Skills Competition – I don’t think the clock for timing players skating around the rink has ever worked. The trick shots (which should the equivalent to the NBA Slam Dunk and MLB HR Derby) was harder to watch than SlapShot 2 sober. The only saving grace was the accuracy competition which is as exciting as watching someone pitch a ball through a tire hanging from a tree.

SOLUTION: Find players with actual skills to do trick shots. I saw MAYBE 3 decent shots while the rest were sloppy puck handling, unmotivated, drunken Stars on Ice quality attempts. You want accuracy? Put Randy Quaid in net and be the ball. Speed skating should hire the people who time trials at the Olympics.

4) Versus needs an upgrade – WORST.CAMERA.WORK.EVER!  The game was decent but the skills competition was a mess. It was like someone with A.D.D. was working the boards. You’re watching the net, then the skater, then the far end of the ice, then from the stands, from the men’s room, WOOHOO NACHOS, from outside, a fan laughs, back to the ice, over to the goalie, overhead shot! All within a minute. That’s what it felt like.

SOLUTION: Talk to the guys at NBC. They don’t have much coverage but they do it right. No matter what happens don’t let Fox take over. I can’t deal with a glowing puck or robots fighting.

Let me know what you thought of the weekend. What would you keep or change?

go pens!

P.S. – Check out this sick goal Malkin made. Just about the only highlight from the game

12:30pm – Penguins vs Rangers (NBC)
My first love is hockey so it’s only fitting that this is how my day starts. Pens (48 points) are barely hanging in the playoff picture while the Rangers (58 points) are dominating the Atlantic. Plus side is that when you think of it in other sports terms, the Pens are only 5 games out of first. Pens are sporting the powder blues which have been a jinx thus far. Come on guys start the day off right!

3:00pm – Eagles vs Cardinals NFC Championship (FOX)
Normally I am anti-everything Philly in sports but for this day our Pennsylvania brothers shall have my support. I want a Philly/Pittsburgh Super Bowl. Reality though, I think the Cardinals are going to win. Prove me wrong Eagles!

6:30pm – Steelers vs Ravens AFC Championship (CBS)
This game worries me. 2 strong defense systems but I think that this will be a mental cluster for Flacco. It’s in Pittsburgh, it’s snowing and Steeler Nation has been drinking since Monday.  I wouldn’t want to play there.

9:00pm – Big Love (HBO)
If you haven’t watched this series yet I suggest you start now. HBO has once again given me more broadcasting crack with Big Love. Big Love is an HBO television drama about a Mormon fundamentalist family in Utah that practices polygamy. The show is about family, drama and whack jobs still living on the compound. Guys, if you think this is just for the ladies, I’d like to point out that there is plenty of Ginnifer Goodwin.

So far I have:

• Started the gym thing again
• Stayed offline as much as I could while on vacation (not including job searches)
• Got the layoff (as in unemployment, not a typo’d playoff) beard started
• Watched a lot of Welcome Back Kotter
• Had a vision of how this site will be redesigned
• Made the rough sketch of a business idea that I’ll probably never do because it’s so badass the world couldn’t contain its awesomeness. Srsly.
• Created a baby registry and will have it public shortly.
• Registered for baby CPR classes
• Came up with another idea for a blog, just need a name for it.
• Kept my promise of 2009 being a bigger year for SIDT

OK that last one is vague but it has to be for now. How do we top being in national publications? You’ll find out shortly. Somehow I have been sucked into the enjoyment of new media marketing and pushing SIDT further. Sponsors maybe? exclusive road trips? bigger contests? Subscribe and you can have the next 11.5 months to find out

Here are some more random things…

• My bowling still is the sucketh. Maybe if I actually bought a decent ball and had time to practice I would be better. Maybe I could bring world peace but I don’t see that happening either.

• All of my in-laws are Penn State fans. I grew up loving and attended PITT. You can imagine what my holidays are like. 80 million vs one. Lushie eggs them on.

• We had an incredible meal at a new local restaurant. Manager asked me to suggest a new craft beer menu. That’s right, hell hath frozen over.

• Listening to Pearl Jam’s 10 and VS right now. I’m not kidding. There hasn’t been a greater band since.

• Bitch all you want that the Pens are the sucketh right now but they’re only 7 points out of first in the Atlantic or 3.5 games to you baseball folk. Beating Atlanta last night was like Kramer fighting kids. You’re expected to win and all it does is build confidence for playing Nashville, the “How did you get invited to the party?” of the NHL.

Escape is never the safest place. A dissident is here.

There are very few rules I tend to stick with when I write on here. The number one golden rule is no picture of Lushie (only if approved) unless I want to die. She’d rather stay off this thing and I can respect that. Well unless she wants to rant.

Last night the 2 of us were invited by the Pens to have Christmas photos taken on the ice at Mellon Arena. Yet another reason why they treat their season ticket holders better than any other sports team in the city. We started with a picture on the Zamboni followed by the goal on the south end, penalty box, players bench and finally the moment of truth… center ice.

I have to admit that actually standing at center ice and not just where it may or may not be because of flooring was pretty freakin cool. I had chills. This was like stepping up to home plate at PNC Park. I had to take a moment to reach down, touch the ice with my hands and absorb the moment. I’ve played hockey and even curled for a bit so I know what it’s like to be on ice but when it’s the one of the team you love, it’s special.

We have a nice collection of pictures that the Pens have given us a chance to make into greeting cards. The one above is from my camera phone so trust me when I say the quality is hella better. We’re probably going to have some made for family once Lushie finds the one she likes. After that I may post them online.

Tonight is Pens vs Flyers at the Mellon Arena. Drew is probably already drinking in Philly to numb the pain of the impending doom. After the comeback in Detroit is there really any question?

cheers!