General Manager Ray Shero has been very busy this summer so far when it comes to keeping his core in tact and bringing back free agent acquisitions such as Rob Scuderi and Pascal Dupuis. The Penguins are $676,667 in cap space under the $64,300,000 million limit. However, with two qualifying offers on the table to Dustin Jeffrey and Robert Bortuzzo and the recent signing of Forward Matt D’Agostini to a one year contract worth about 550,000. The Penguins will be over the cap. Ray Shero is now ... Read More
Steven Adams’ Journey
You guys remember Steven Adams? Of course you do. He’s the guy who left early to chase his NBA dream. He was the one and done, and he got a fair share of criticism for that. He gets drafted 12th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yeah that team with Kevin Durant that will contend for championships for years to come. But how dare he leave Pitt, right? I mean, there is no danger in playing another year, just ask Kevin Ware. Steven Adams is not ready for the NBA, right? As the saying goes, you ... Read More
LeBarron stays undefeated, lifts Wild Things to 3-1 victory
New pitcher Zach LeBarron picked up his third win of the season tonight as the Washington Wild Things were able to pull off a 3-1 victory over the Lake Erie Crushers at home. LeBarron threw another solid game on the hill, as he's done all season since joining the Wild Things, as both teams bats seemed to be cold until a little after midway through the game. The Wild Things, though, struck first in the bottom of the fifth inning. After AJ Nunziato led off with a triple, Darian Sandford drove ... Read More
Erik Harris continuing football career in CFL
Some fans think that if a player doesn't get drafted into the NFL, their football career is over. That is far from the truth. Just ask former Cal U defensive back Erik Harris, who has now found a home with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League. Harris and the Tiger-Cats are going into their third week of the season. So far this young season, Harris has appeared in both games and has racked up five total tackles. During his CFL debut on June 28th, Harris recorded three ... Read More
From SlapShot to the Penguins, Dana Heinze is living the dream
Dana Heinze grew up in a town with a very rich hockey history, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Johnstown was the home to the Johnstown Jets that inspired the cult favorite, "SlapShot" and the Johnstown Chiefs. Heinze was the head trainer of the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs on two occasions (1988-92, 1995-98). During the 1988-89 season with the Johnstown Chiefs, Heinze had to dress as the back-up goalie because their goalie at the time had been called up. Later in the third period, there was a line brawl ... Read More
Pitt Panthers Notebook: James Robinson help Team USA U19 Team to Championship
With not much new going on around the Pitt Panthers football and basketball teams this time of year, I'm back with my Pitt Panthers notebook to take a quick spin around Pitt's athletic programs. Perhaps the biggest news going on over the course of the past couple of weeks came in the form of Pitt freshman guard James Robinson, who helped Team USA capture the FIBA U19 World Championship Gold Medal with an 82-68 win over Serbia in Sunday’s title game. The victory gave the United States its ... Read More
Steelers among most aggressive red zone teams in NFL
For years, the major complaint from Steelers' fans towards former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was that every time the team drove down the field, they often had to settle for field goals rather than touchdowns. Visually that perception may not have changed much during Todd Haley's first season employing his "dink and dunk" offense, but when the Steelers got into the red zone, Haley's play calling became surprisingly more aggressive. According to ESPN Stats & Information, 59.3 ... Read More
Wild Things fall victim to long ball, lose 6-4
In an early game that saw rain clouds, the Washington Wild Things weren't able to shake their own personal rain cloud, as they dropped another game to the Lake Erie Crushers, 6-4. The Crushers wasted no time getting on the board, putting up the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning. Wild Things pitcher Shawn Blackwell allowed a leadoff walk before giving up a triple to Max Casper. On the triple, Casper was able to score on a throwing error by All Star CJ Beatty. The ... Read More
Matt Cooke Turned Over a New Leaf During His Time in Pittsburgh
Matt Cooke has been labeled a dirty player, a thug and a criminal element on the ice. Cooke, however, has reformed his game the last couple of years despite what Eugene Melnyk, the Ottawa Senators owner, would tell you. For those of you who don't know what I'm referring to, On February 13 of this year, Cooke is blamed for engaging Erik Karlsson from behind to sabotage his leg. The fact of the matter is that this lifting of the leg by Cooke is a common play that checking forwards commit to when ... Read More
Wild Things pitching falters in 4-2 loss to Crushers
Despite only giving up one more hit than they mustered up themselves, the Wild Things, behind Gary Lee, fell to the Lake Erie Crushers by a score of 4-2 at CONSOLE Energy Park. The Wild Things started their bats off early in the bottom of the second inning. Shain Stoner hit a two-run shot, his seventh of the season, to put Washington up 2-0. The Wild Things drew two walks, two hits, and two runs in the inning. Lee pitched 3.0 innings of no-hit baseball for the Wild Things, but managed to ... Read More