#24 Slippery Rock 35, Cal U 17 With playoff and PSAC rankings in jeopardy, Slippery Rock was able to pull out a pivotal 35-17 win over Cal U. The two teams traded blows in the first-half, but Slippery Rock would dominate the end of the second quarter, scoring 21 points in the final eight minutes. The Vulcans wouldn't be able to catch up. Nigel Barksdale ran for 125 yards and added 274 yards through the air while tossing two scores and running for another. John Schademan went over 100 ... Read More
Georgia Tech sends Pitt to second straight defeat
For the second consecutive week the Pitt Panthers football team got a look at one of the nation’s most prolific rushing attacks. For the second consecutive week the Panthers got a look at the triple option. And for the second consecutive week the Pitt defense couldn’t get off the field late in the game as the Panthers dropped their second in a row, this time a 21-10 defeat to Georgia Tech in ACC Conference play. However this time it was the pass that beat the Panthers. Trailing 14-10 ... Read More
Pens sweep home and home behind Zatkoff’s shutout
The Columbus Blue Jackets expected to have a tough time scoring against Marc-Andre Fleury. Jeff Zatkoff? Probably not. Zatkoff stopped all 18 shots from Columbus en route to his first career shutout as the Penguins emerged victorious 3-0 at Nationwide Arena. It was a much better effort for Zatkoff, who had given up ten combined goals in his first two starts this season, both resulting in losses. Deryk Engelland broke a scoreless tie 6:46 into the second period. Joe Vitale wired a ... Read More
Roethlisberger is good but not elite
Ben Roethlisberger has done a lot for the Pittsburgh Steelers since being selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. He's been a major part of two Super Bowl titles and almost pulled off a third championship with a last minute drive in Super Bowl XLV. He is, without a doubt, the best quarterback the Steelers have had since Terry Bradshaw. But he is not an elite quarterback in the NFL. The elite quarterbacks are Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers ... Read More
Flyers, Penguins in opposite directions thanks to general managers
Over the summer, I wrote an article titled, "General Managers, The Good and the Bad." In this article, I was comparing the decision making of Penguins and Flyers general managers Ray Shero and Paul Holmgren. Furthermore, I discussed how Shero has been the standard for general managers not just in the NHL but in all major sports across the board. Shero continues to make good, solid decisions for the Pens organization. Holmgren, on the other hand, has the Flyers looking lost and desperate, most ... Read More
Pitt vs. Georgia Tech Preview
For the first time since its 1976 national championship season, Pitt will travel to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. This will turn out to be a big game as both teams need a win to keep pace with the upper tier in the ACC Coastal Division. The Panthers are coming off a disappointing loss at the hands of Navy last week while the Yellow Jackets enter as winners of two straight. This is a game that could go a long way to gaining a bowl bid. Pitt needs the win badly as they ... Read More
Pens explode for three goals in the second to down Jackets
The Penguins welcomed the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Metropolitan Division rudely, Friday night. Pittsburgh scored three goals within 4:24 in the second period and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 37 of 39 shots en route to a 4-2 victory at Consol Energy Center. Fleury was electric in the first period, stopping all fourteen shots that included back to back saves on Cam Atkinson late in the period, and unbelievable pad stop on Ryan Johansen. The Blue Jackets had two power plays in the first but ... Read More
Robert Morris hoops preview
Following a successful season that saw them stun the college basketball world by knocking off defending national champion Kentucky in the first round of the NIT, the Robert Morris Colonials will look to carry that momentum forward as they look to turn last season’s huge win into a tournament bid. The Colonials, who have not won an NCAA tourney game since 1983, were last season’s Northeast Conference regular season champs, but they were unable to clinch the automatic bid, falling in the ... Read More
Big Ben’s clock tick-tick-ticking
Discussions around the water cooler in Pittsburgh offices have been lacking the usual celebratory and optimistic tone that football fans here have become accustomed to having on Monday mornings. Our Steelers are 2-5 and in dead last in a mostly mediocre AFC North. Questions about who should be cut loose and what future additions need to be made are running rampant and everyone has an opinion regarding how to fix the problems. Analyze this team in the short-term or the long-term, and you will ... Read More
Penguins need to address backup goalie
What's been lost in the great start that Marc-Andre Fleury is having is the fact that the Penguins don't have a reliable backup. And what happens if for whatever reason, Fleury goes down for any amount of time due to an injury? Does anyone in Pittsburgh want to see Jeff Zatkoff skating (or trying to) out to the cage every game? Sure, it's a small sample size, but so far Zatkoff has a lofty goals against of 5.06, and a meager save percentage of .818. Sure, you could trot Zatkoff out there ... Read More