Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals...

The NHL's top three superstars will be facing off in the second round match up of The Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The series will feature the last three points leaders in the NHL, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby was the top point getter two years ago, the Caps Alexander Ovechkin won it last year, and the Pens Evgeni Malkin took it this year. This has been a match up that the NHL has been hoping for since Crosby and Ovechkin were taken as the top two picks in the post lockout draft. These two teams have been linked together ever since that draft with the constant comparisons of who is better between Crosby and Ovechkin and more recently because Malkin and Ovechkin are from the same country. These three guys finished 1,2,3 in this year's scoring race with Malkin ultimately winning out over Ovechkin and Crosby. Washington won the regular season series 3-1 with the Penguins only win coming in the their last match up on the road. The season series is a little skewed because when they face off the first three times the Pens were not the team they are right now. This playoff series will only take the rivalry to a whole new level giving the winner more than just bragging rights but an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. These teams have taken drastically different roads to get to this point. The Penguins struggled early this year and needed to rebound late and they got into the playoff mode by having to win almost every game just to have a chance. The Capitals dominated all season long and cruised into the playoffs. The Pens faced a familiar foe in their first round series defeating Philadelphia in six games. The Caps squared off against the struggling New York Rangers and fell behind 2-0 and needed to rally to force a Game 7, which they eventually won. Both teams look to be on top of their game so this series should be really good. For the sake of the NHL I hope it goes seven games and every game is highly competitive. I think the Pens will win the series in 6 games. Game 1 will be in Washington on Saturday at 1pm.

GO PENGUINS!

Exclusive Nate Washington interview...

Nate Washington is a Toledo, Ohio native who played college football at Division III school Tiffin University. While attending TU Nate set eight school records including receptions (13) and yards in a game (299), receptions (70), yards (1,428), and touchdowns in a season (16) and ultimately receptions (212), yards (4,214), and touchdown receptions (47) in a career. Washington was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent. Nate played very little during his rookie season but had a key pass break up in the AFC Championship game. Nate slowly developed into Big Ben's favorite deep threat averaging 17.8 yards per catch last season along with 4 touchdowns. After winning Super Bowl 43 Washington signed a 6-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.

Steelers plan to release Foote...

In an economic move the Pittsburgh Steelers plan to release starting linebacker Larry Foote. The Steelers apparently tried to trade him during the draft but either the price was to high or nobody was willing to give anything up. Foote played in every game for the last six seasons at middle linebacker, including starts in both Super Bowls. The Steelers are putting a lot of stock in the third year Lawrence Timmons, who in my opinion hasn't shown enough to be the starter but the Steelers are usually right about these things. It is sad to see him go but I would rather see him play elsewhere than sit the bench. Good luck to Larry Foote you will be missed as a Steelers!

GO STEELERS!

NFL Draft 2009...

So overall I'm pretty excited with the Steelers draft picks. There weren't any sexy names that they drafted like they have in the past(Polamalu, Big Ben, Holmes, or Miller) but they drafted guys that were beasts at their respective positions. Ziggy Hood, I had never heard of, but he was 1st team All Big12 and 2nd team All Academic in the Big12 and he seems like a beast at tackle standing at 6'2'' and 300 plus pounds. The thing I really like about their picks is that they are all four year starters and they all seem to have a good head on their shoulders. All of the players drafted for Pittsburgh are multi faceted players, the offensive lineman can play any position on the o-line, the d-lineman can play any of the front three, and the wide receivers/ defensive backs can play their respective positions and they can return kicks. They hopefully addressed their short yradage situation by drafting Frank "Tank" Summers from UNLV. Tank stands at 5'10'' and 230 pounds and he seems to have a nose for the end zone plus he was the featured back at UNLV so he should be able to do more if need be. Another thing I liked was that they didn't go after the big name lineman, they drafted Kraig Urbik from Wisconsin who was a 4 year starter and was the anchor of the Wisconsin running game. But the steal of the draft for the Steelers was A.Q. Shipley from Penn State. Shipley was another 4 year starter who also was a 1st team All-American at center and he won the Rimington award for being the top center in the nation. I'm not sure how he dropped to the seventh round but the Steelers got lucky and he will hopefully turn in to a long term starter for the Steelers. There offensive line wasn't as bad as everyone made it seem, when they won the Super Bowl the only guy who was still at his original position was Justin Hartwig and they signed that off season. The other guys were working together for the first time and/or it was their first time starting, usually against a top 10 defense almost every week. The Steelers look locked and loaded to defend their Super Bowl crown, now just bring on the regular season!

GO STEELERS!

Penguins defeat Flyers 5-3, win series 4-2...

The Pittsburgh Penguins looked sluggish and contempt on going back home for a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 just 24 minutes into the game, but they woke up and scored 5 unanswered goals to defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3. Evgeni Malkin finished with two assists including the first goal for the Pens and the game winning goal which was put into the net by veteran Sergei Gonchar. Sidney Crosby scored two goals, the first was the game tying goal in the third and an empty netter to seal the deal. Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded from his off night in Game 5 with 22 saves. The Penguins will have a few days off so they can rest but they won't know who they will play for another day or two.
PENGUINS WIN SERIES 4-2 OVER FLYERS

GO PENGUINS!

What a lousy sports day ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins got embarrassed at home in Game 5 being shut out 3-0. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were shut down by a physical tough Flyers defense and Crosby's #1 line gave up an early goal to Philadelphia's 4th line. Penguins coach Dan Bylsma made a lineup change before the game which proved to be costly because one of the guys he brought up made a lazy pass that resulted in a turnover and Flyers goal to go up 2-0. Game 6 is in Philadelphia on Saturday.
PENGUINS LEADS SERIES 3-2 OVER FLYERS

GO PENGUINS!

The Chicago Bulls were demolished at home by the Boston Celtics 107-86. The Bulls showed their inconsistency once again committing 22 turnovers, shooting a dreadful 37 percent from the field, and were a ridiculous 17 of 27 from the free throw line. Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose scored only nine points, committed seven turnovers and was outplayed once again by Rajon Rondo who scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished six assists, and had five steals. Ben Gordon followed up his 42 point Game 2 performance by scoring 15 on five of 15 shooting. The Bulls looked like they might be able to take this series to at least seven but after last night they will be lucky if they get another victory against Boston. Game 4 is in Chicago on Sunday.
CELTICS LEAD SERIES 2-1 OVER THE BULLS

GO BULLS!

And to top it off The 2009 National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels found out that Ty Lawson and the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player Wayne Ellington are leaving for the NBA. This didn't come as a shock but it still hurts. If Lawson and Ellington would have returned the Heels would be a favorite to repeat, but with them leaving the Tar Heels are just another team that might make some noise come tournament time. North Carolina is losing there top four scorers for the second time after winning a national title in the last five years with Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington all moving on. The Heels aren't in that much disrepair though, they will return senior forward Deon Thompson, senior guard Marcus Ginyard, sophomores Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, and point guard Larry Drew III. They also are bringing in the top rated recruiting class for this season, so who knows what will happen.
At least I'm not a fan of Dteroit sports so I guess it could be worse!
GO TAR HEELS!

For the love of Detroit don't draft Matthew Stafford...

The Detroit Lions should not draft Georgia QB Matthew Stafford with the #1 pick in this weekend's draft. Stafford is no Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco, both of those guys were 5th year seniors, the most talented players on their teams, and they actually won games. Stafford was the second most talented player on his team behind Knowshon Moreno, and the team/Stafford choked under the expectations of being the preseason #1. Atlanta and Baltimore already had some key components in place for those guys to win, like a consistent running game, a solid offensive line, and a veteran defense. Drafting Stafford will not fill the void of a porous defense or an offensive line that has given up the most sacks over the last few years. Daunte Culpepper is a good enough QB that he can lead this team for the next year or two before next year's draft which will be heavy on QBs that are better than this year's class. The Lions have to realize to have a future you need to take the necessary steps now that may not reap big rewards immediately, but that make sense in the long run. The Lions drafting Stafford would be under the guise of the big reward right now. The pick that makes the most sense for the Lions is Baylor offensive lineman Jason Smith. The choice of Smith would not only solidify a huge spot on the offensive line protecting the QB's blindside, but it would also allow those on the o-line to move back to their original position that have been playing out of place. Just look at the offensive lineman taken in the top 10 of the draft over the last 10- 12 years...Jonathon Ogden, Orlando Pace, Joe Thomas, Jake Long,Walter Jones and Willie Anderson just to name a few, all of them have made immediate impacts on their team making it so they don't have to worry about that position in the draft for a long time. Drafting Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry would also make sense because you pair him with veteran Pro Bowler Julian Peterson and rising star Ernie Sims and your defense looks that much better already. Plus Curry is so versatile that he could even line up at defensive end and tee off on the QB. So far the management has done a good job of assembling talent, like trading Roy Williams for a 1st and 3rd draft pick this year, trading for Julian Peterson, and the recent signing of Terrelle Smith. So if the Lions want to continue this recent trend then for the love of Detroit, don't draft Matthew Stafford.

Derrick Rose wins 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year...

Derrick Rose lead his team to an unexpected playoff berth this year and now he will be rewarded with the NBA's Rookie of the Year award. Rose was second among rookies in scoring with 16.8 points and lead all first year players in assists(6.3) and minutes played(37). Rose hasn't been the most consistent player this year but this was way more than I ever expected. He was over hyped coming into the draft and I think the Bulls should have drafted Michael Beasely. But so far management has done a good job of putting good veteran players around him that fit his style of play contributing to him getting this award. The Bulls put a lot of pressure on Rose right away making him the starter and forcing Kirk Hinrich to the bench, but he's responded tremendously leading Chicago to a first round upset of Boston in Game 1, scoring 36 points and having 11 assists. Rose joins Michael Jordan and Elton Brand as the only Bulls to win the Rookie of the Year award. Chicago looks to continue their playoff run with Rose in Game 3 against the Celtics on Thursday.
BOSTON AND CHICAGO are TIED AT 1-1

GO BULLS!

Fleury saves Penguins enroute to a 3-1 win, series lead...

Marc-Andre Fleury faced a flurry of shots, 46 to be exact, but stopped 45 of them to keep the momentum in Pittsburgh's favor in a 3-1 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia. Sidney Crosby scored his second goal of the post season just 3 minutes into the second period but this one contained some controversy. On the play Crosby slid skates first into the net and poked the puck in with his stick for a goal. Flyers goalie Martin Biron was whining about interference but, after the review to see if Crosby used his body to deflect the puck into the net, the goal was upheld. MMMMMMMMMRRRRRRRR. Kennedyyyyyyyy, Tyler Kennedy also scored his second goal of the postseason after not scoring at all in 20 playoff games last year, which gave the Pens a 2-0 lead. Philadelphia looked poised to make it a game scoring in the third but after that Fleury clamped down and locked up the win 3-1 after Pittsburgh picked up an empty-net goal. Fleury was the reason this team went as far as they did last year, and if they want to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals Fleury will need to be more dominate then last year.
PENGUINS LEAD SERIES 3-1 over FLYERS

GO PENGUINS!

BGSU head football coach Dave Clawson...

The new head football coach for the Bowling Green State University Falcons Dave Clawson got his start as an assistant coach for the University of Albany in 1989 coaching their quarterbacks and running backs. Clawson stayed with the team for a year before moving on to the University of Buffalo taking over the same duties there. He became offensive coordinator for Lehigh University for two years before taking the same position at Villanova. Coach Clawson would get his first chance at a head coaching gig when Fordham University came calling. Clawson coached Fordham for 4 years leading them to a 29-29 record during his time. Clawson left Fordham for his second head coaching job this time with the Richmond Spiders where he coached for three years leaving with 29-20 record. While at Richmond Dave won the Division 1-AA football coach of the year award twice, in his final year the Spiders lost in the Division 2 playoffs semifinals to Appalachian State. Clawson was hired as the Offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Volunteers and legendary coach Philip Fullmer. Tennessee had there worst statistical offense in 30 years and after Fullmer resigned new head coach Lane Kiffin did not renew his services. Dave Clawson was hired by Bowling Green on December 12, 2008 to replace former coach Greg Brandon.

Penguins routed by Flyers 6-3 in Game 3...

The Philadelphia Flyers set the tone early and let up on the Pittsburgh Penguins muscling their way to a 6-3 route and changing the momentum of the series. The Flyers still made their mistakes but played suffocating defense on the penalty kill forcing the Penguins to a 1-11 on the power play. The game opened up with 4 minutes of fighting penalties and 2 for roughing and the Flyers had a quick 2-0 lead. The Penguins would come back though with Evgeni Malkin getting a late first period goal to stop some of the Flyers momentum. Pittsburgh quickly tied it 13 seconds in the second period on a goal by Rob Scuderi. 4 minutes later the physical style of Philadelphia started to wear on the Pens as they gave up an easy goal and then blew a power play opportunity giving up a short handed goal making the score 4-2 at the end of the second. Malkin would pick up another goal but it was to little too late and the Penguins lost 6-3 and possibly gave the momentum to the Flyers for the series. It was only one game and after the way the Flyers lost the last two game I expected them to eventually rebound. Pittsburgh needs to come out early in Game 4 and establish their quick style of play if they want to keep their stranglehold on the series.
PENGUINS LEAD SERIES 2-1 over FLYERS

GO PENGUINS!

Bulls upset Celtics in Boston in overtime thriller 105-103...

In his first ever playoff game Derrick Rose scored 36 points and had 11 assists while leading the Chicago Bulls to a 105-103 overtime thriller win in Boston. Tyrus Thomas scored 16 points including the game winning basket with 51 seconds left in OT. Eventhough Kevin Garnett did not play in this game it is still a huge step forward for this young Chicago team. I expected the Bulls to defend their home court by winning at least 1 but I never thought they would take a game on the road. Joakim Noah had 11 points and 17 rebounds in his playoff debut, he has really come into his own this season leading the Bulls in rebounds during the regular season. Look for Boston to come out on Monday and reestablish home court. The Bulls may make a strong showing but they will come up short.
CHIGAGO LEADS SERIES 1-0 OVER BOSTON

GO BULLS!

Pittsburgh Penguins take 2-0 series lead with 3-2 victory in OT

The Philadelphia Flyers regrouped and came out strong early only to crumble in OT losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. The Flyers took an early 1-0 lead when Scot Hartnell scored on a power play goal in the first period. The Penguins veteran Bill Guerin worked with young stars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby to even the score just minutes before the end of the second, giving Guerin his 29th career playoff goal. Philadelphia rookie Darroll Powe got past Marc-Andre Fleury early in the third for his first career playoff goal and the Flyers looked poised to win the game 2-1. But another Philly penalty would ruin their momentum as Malkin tied the game up at 2 on another power play oppurtunity. The Penguins picked up a penalty in overtime but the Flyers returned the favor 30 seconds later making it 4-on-4. Then Philadelphia made the ultimate mistake giving the Pens a 5-on-3 advantage and Guerin scored his first game winning playoff goal in his 17 seasons with 27 seconds left in the 2 man advantage. The Penguins take a 2-0 series lead and hope they can keep the momentum going on Sunday in Philadelphia.
PENGUINS LEAD SERIES 2-0 OVER PHILADELPHIA

GO PENGUINS!

University of Toledo Spring Game

Penguins lead series over Flyers 1-0...

After The Philadelphia Flyers choked away home ice in the regular season finale The Pittsburgh Penguins dominated the Flyers 4-1 at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Right from the get go the raucous home crowd motivated the Penguins to an early 1-0 lead off of a Sidney Crosby power play goal that was assisted by Evgeni Malkin. Malkin picked up his own goal that was unassisted in the third giving the Pens a 3-0 and putting the game out of reach. Crosby later picked up an assist on a Mark Eaton goal and Marc-Andre Fluery stopped 26 shots even-though he didn't face a shot for the first 10 minutes of the game. The Penguins dominated the Flyers in the regular season and last years Eastern Conference Finals and that continued last night. Like I expected the Flyers got down big early and reverted back to their dirty style of play ending the game with 3 players in the penalty box. I expect more of this from the Flyers as the series goes because they think they can throw the Penguins stars off with a physical style of play, although once they get down it just becomes cheap shots and agitation. Game 2 is tomorrow night in Pittsburgh and I think the Flyers will get much of the same thing from Pittsburgh and they will take a 2-0 lead into Philadelphia.
PITTSBURGH LEADS SERIES 1-0 OVER PHILADELPHIA

GO PENGUINS!