SEATTLE - On the shoulders of an early offensive explosion, and another fantastic outing from Jeff Locke, the Pirates knocked off the Mariners tonight by a score of 9-4. The game started off with a bang, as the first hitter of the game, Starling Marte, lead the game off with a triple. He scored on a Jordy Mercer ground out, and the Pirates finished the inning up 1-0. The second inning was a huge one for the Bucs, as three players hit home runs. Russell Martin hit a solo shot to lead off ... Read More
Smith allows six runs, Wild Things fall 7-5
Shawn Smith sure knows the ins and outs of taking the mound, but he didn't have much luck tonight against the Florence Freedom. Smith struggled early and often and the Wild Things weren't able to fight their way back, despite two strong half innings in the middle of the game, as the Wild Things fall to one game above .500 in a 7-5 loss. The Freedom came out of the gate swinging. Literally. Freedom shortstop Junior Arrojo started the bottom of the first inning off with a double. Two batters ... Read More
All 22: The Importance of Film Study
No matter what position you play, study film until see it in your sleep. It’ll pay off Sunday. Mention Peyton Manning and one of the first things you’ll hear back is his devotion to film study. And it’s his ability to prepare for that week’s opponent that makes him so successful. The end results of players who don’t take the time to break down film are all too common. But it isn’t just quarterbacks that need to grind away in front of film during the week. All 53 men on the roster stand to ... Read More
Steelers Top Training Camp Priorities
The Pittsburgh Steelers will open their 2013 training camp in just over a month. As things stand now the Steelers are trying to get back on track after a disappointing 8-8 season in 2012. To do so they will have to rely on some old faces and some new ones. As we move closer to the beginning to the 2013 NFL season here are important keys for Steelers fans to keep an eye on: Big Play from the 2007 Draft Class Last season the Steelers had only two players left from their 2007 draft class in ... Read More
Manny Ramirez to the Pittsburgh Pirates?
Manny Ramirez recently quit the Taiwanese baseball league to attempt a comeback in Major League Baseball. With the Pirates in need of outfielders, is Ramirez worth the time of a phone call for Neal Huntington? At the time of Ramirez's last MLB game he ranked number one in all time post season homeruns and post season RBIs. He is 41 years old and in 49 games with the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League he has hit .352 with 8 homeruns and 43 RBI’s. His drug suspension ... Read More
Some potential trade targets for the Pirates
We are approaching one of the most exciting times of year right now for serious baseball followers, the upcoming trade deadline. During the last two seasons with the Pirates on the edge of legitimacy there were a lot of calls to buy in on the moment and sell the farm for a big name deal. We have heard big names such as Hunter Pence, Justin Upton and Shin-Soo Choo mentioned as potential trade targets. I will admit that I have been on board with just about any big name trade mentioned, if for ... Read More
Did Pitt make the right call with Rushel Shell?
Pitt head coach Paul Chryst was faced with a difficult decision on Monday when he elected to not allow former Panthers running back Rushel Shell to return to school, after Shell elected to not to transfer to UCLA. While the Shell saga is apparently now closed as it relates to the Panthers, only one question is left unanswered- did Chryst make the right decision? Naturally there are two schools of thought on this situation. The first is in regards to allowing Shell to ... Read More
What’s next for Rushel Shell?
A year ago at this time, the future looked so bright for then Pitt freshman running back Rushel Shell. In the last calendar year though, very few would have predicted Shell's fall from grace from can't miss prospect to a player that's currently simply looking for a place to play next season. In the past two days, we have found out that UCLA is no longer an option for Shell and the door he hoped would be open for a return to Pitt was slammed shut in his face. That begs the question of what's ... Read More
Rushel Shell not allowed to return to Pitt
Apparently the crazy saga that is Rushel Shell's collegiate football career has finally come to a conclusion, at least as it regards the Pitt Panthers. Just one day after expressing his desire to return to Pitt, Shell won't get the chance as he found out today that the University has no intentions of allowing him to return. As I reported on Sunday, Shell had a change of heart and elected not to transfer to UCLA after all and expressed an interest in returning to Pitt, where he would have ... Read More
All 22: Dick LeBeau’s Zone Blitz
The majority of our All 22 articles have been devoted to breaking down offenses. But when it comes to Pittsburgh, one of the first things to come to mind is Dick LeBeau’s famous zone blitz. He isn’t the father of the concept but can be credited with perfecting the scheme. Today, we’ll travel back to Week Four versus the Eagles on a play where the zone blitz worked as well as LeBeau could have drawn up in his 40 years of coaching. To start off, an aerial and end zone look at the Eagles’ ... Read More