The Sports Monitor

I wasn't too enthusiastic when a possible return of Jaromir Jagr started not too long ago. I'm even less enthusiastic after the Pittsburgh Penguins offered $2 million and were expecting to hear an answer from Jagr. Instead, no one seemed to know where Jagr was on Wednesday, the day is was supposed to decide his future. Maybe he's trying to get more money from the Penguins or another team. Or maybe he's being the same old Jagr. Either way, I'm not too thrilled with the Penguins getting strung out like this by a 39-year-old primadonna. A simple, "I'm still deciding" would have been sufficient. We'll probably hear today, but I'd rather not see a reunion. Let some other team deal with Jagr and is baggage. I don't think it's in the Pens' best interest to sign him.

By all accounts the Pittsburgh Penguins improved on the first day of free agency Thursday. A little sampling: The P-G's Ron Cook calls it a change for the better . The Trib Review has the Penguins positioned for many Stanley Cup runs . And USA Today has the Pens as the No. 1 winner after Day 1 . One a team featuring plenty of offense, Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin, the new acquisitions, should add what was missing from last year's team. I agree with Cook's assessment that this team needs to focus on defense. That's what winning's all about on the playoffs. But as for the No. 1 winnner? It's wayyyyy too early to tell. Michalek and Martin might not mesh with the Pens. I've seen it too often in many sports when a free-agent acquisition or player acquired in a trade hasn't led to a championship as originally thought. We'll need to wait and see. But what is encouraging is GM Ray Shero is being aggressive and filling needs. That's...

It's been two months since I've posted last. To those that check out this blog with any regularity, I apologize. A lot has happened in the sports world since. The Penguins lost in the playoffs much earlier than anyone had hoped, the Pirates continued to lose at alarmingly frequency and Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was suspended by the NFL. I'm recently coming off a vacation to Cape May, N.J., that included a stop at Six Flags to ride Kingda Ka, among others. Maybe I'll have a post in the coming days on that trip, which was pretty cool. I also took some time to move my kids into another bedroom to make way for a new son or daughter coming in a couple months. The kids have their "new" room, and now we need to get their "old" room baby ready. And right after our Cape May trip, I threw out the first pitch at an Altoona Curve game. That was tremendous. I'm sure I'll post a video soon an add some additional thoughts. Again, thanks for rea...

I love playoff hockey. I really love overtime playoff hockey. I'm convinced there's nothing better. But it stinks when you invest three overtimes in watching a game and see the Penguins fall short. So Thursday's 4-3 triple-overtime heartbreaker isn't the end of their series with the Ottawa Senators. Pittsburgh still is in control with a  3-2 lead. But now I'm worried. Senators goalie Pascal Leclaire stopped about 1,327 shots in the nearly six periods of hockey at Mellon Arena. Or did it just seem like it? For a guy that hadn't seen much action and was making his first postseason start in the NHL, it was an impressive game. It was as impressive as the Penguins' start to the game was sloppy. They were down 2-0 before the NFL draft even got interesting. That the Pens rallied was good. It was even better when they led 3-2 in the third period. Instead, they head back to Ottawa on weary legs looking to close out a team that's found new lif...

Pittsburgh loves the Penguins, and rightfully so. A rough estimate of 375,000 fans gathered in the city Monday to celebrate the Penguins' Stanley Cup championship. There estimate was higher than the number of Steelers fans in February celebrating the Super Bowl championship. Monday was a great day for a party, much better than a cold February afternoon. Either way, the sight of fans lined up in parking garages, along streets and climbing on whatever they could to get a glimpse of their favorite players and Lord Stanley's Cup, was amazing. It was the same route and same scene as four months earlier, but I'm still amazed. The Pens' first Cup celebrating drew about 80,000 people at the Point in 1991. In 1992, they celebrated in Three Rivers Stadium. My, how times have changed. So after Monday's Stanley Cup hangover, I have a question about the Pirates. Would a Pirates celebration draw as many fans? Yeah, I know, the chances of the Pirates winning a World Series are as ...

Four months ago it was the Steelers. A few hours ago it was the Penguins. Both are champions. Both bring pride to the city of Pittsburgh. The label City of Champions was used back in the late 1970s with the Steelers and Pirates (yes, the Pirates actually won back then) were world champions. Now, it's back where it belongs. The Penguins' thrilling win Friday was one to remember. The last five minutes of Game 7 were excruciating to watch, but a thrill-a-minute as well. I'll say this, this new version of the City of Champions has a flair for the dramatics. Santonio Holmes' touchdown catch in the Super Bowl was one to remember. Marc-Andre Fleury's saves at the end of Game 7 kept you on the edge of your seat. Now, it's time for another victory parade. This stuff never grows old.

The wait is finally over. It's not as bad as the off week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, but the two days between Game 6 and Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals has taken a long time to get here. Now that it's here, how will the Penguins do? I'm still confident in their chances tonight against the Red Wings. A guy at work last night asked me if I thought they could win at Detroit. "Oh, yeah," was my quick response. The Pens played well enough to win Games 1 and 2, they won in Detroit in the regular season and they won there in the finals last year. So, why not tonight? Odds certainly aren't in their favor, as the home team always seems to win Game 7s. That's OK. I'll take the Penguins' chances. Marc-Andre Fleury is coming off a great game, Sidney Crosby is due to break out, and the Pens are in line to have a few bouncing pucks go there way. Whatever happens, it's been a great ride during the postseason. This team was...

For 20 minutes Tuesday night, the Detroit Red Wings were perfect. At least that's what some people were saying at intermission of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. And the second period sure did look like a perfect effort, if you didn't glance at the scoreboard and see the game still tied 2-2. But it was tied and the Pens had life. They turned everything around, getting a power-play goal and empty-net goal to cap a 4-2 win and climb back into the series. I don't think this series is over. In fact, a win Thursday night and this series is the Penguins' to win. Why the optimism? The Red Wings got plenty of breaks and bounces in Games 1 and 2. Missed penalties? Check. Penguins' shots hitting posts instead of the back of the net? Check. 2-0 series lead like last year? Check. That's where the similarities end in my book. With all going right for the Wings, they should have won Game 3. Instead, the Pens' survived that second period Tuesday night and put on a displa...

Just when you thought there was a bright spot to the Pirates' season, they go and do it again. First they lost to the Nats, the worst team in baseball. I can give them that one, I guess. After all, they had taken the first three games in their series against them. But they go out and get shut out by a team that gave up 20 runs the night before. It's a good thing I have the Penguins to provide a nice little distraction.

Yeah, that's the way I like it. Just like Game 7 in the Capitals series, the Penguins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. That's good enough to grab another drink, kick back and relax while cheering every check, shift and shot by the Pens. Unfortunately, the Pens didn't rout the Hurricanes like they did the Caps. It would have been fun, but it wasn't necessary, either. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury overshadowed Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Staal brothers with a strong 25-save performance. This could be a sign that Fleury is getting hot at the right time. A hot goaltender can carry a team. And not to get too far ahead of things, but if you look down the road, a potential matchup against the Red Wings looms. Fleury could be the difference if he's in the zone. But let's get back to Monday night. Malkin had a goal and an assist, Crosby didn't score (!) but he did have an assist, and the Hurricanes were stuffed on offense. The only problem is we'...

Any time you have a team on the ropes, you need to put them away. The Penguins had an early lead (1-0) against the Capitals in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals Monday night. They blew it. The Penguins also had a third-period lead (3-2). They blew that also. The Pens were fortunate that Sidney Crosby scored near the end of the regulation to tie the game and force overtime. The goal was a beauty, with Sid slapping the puck in mid-air into the net. It could have been one to remember for a long time. Instead, it'll be archived after the Capitals' David Steckel scored 6:22 into overtime. The Pens had a lot going their way in this one. They always had closed out the Capitals. In fact, they had owned the Caps in the playoffs. It all ended Monday night. The Pens still have a chance to wrap up the Capitals on Wednesday in Game 7 of an excellent series. Let's hope the Pens don't blow it this time.