The Pittsburgh Steelers announced earlier today that they have signed Maurkice Pouncey to a five-year, $44 million extension. The extension will not only allow the Steelers to keep Pouncey in the fold for the next six seasons, it will make Pouncey the richest player at his position in the NFL. In fact, no center has ever received such a lucrative contract in NFL history. To put it in perspective, Pouncey's deal not only pays him more than the Cleveland Browns Alex Mack, his $13 million ... Read More
From ‘Punky Brewster’ to record setter, Horton just loves the game
Lisa Horton has always had the game of Football in her blood. From a young age, Horton was busy playing the game she loved, and being a girl was not going to get in the way. Horton fondly related her early love affair with the sport. "My family was always involved with the game, my brother, cousins, they all played, so it was a natural thing for me to follow their lead," Horton said. "I remember playing Flag and Pee-Wee football when I was very young. I was the Punky Brewster of the ... Read More
WPIAL Earns 19 Gold Medals at PIAA Championships
After a season filled with abysmal weather conditions that included rain and more rain, this weekend's PIAA Track and Field Championships had abundant sunshine and the WPIAL made sure to take advantage of it. Hempfield girls were able to win their second consecutive team title and were led by Junior standout Maddie Holmberg. Holmberg won three gold medals over the weekend including wins in the Long Jump, Intermediate Hurdles and 4x100 relay. Holmberg's 20 foot, one inch long jump narrowly ... Read More
BREAKING: Ray Shero Fired
The Pittsburgh Penguins have fired Penguins General Manager, Ray Shero. Despite of helping build a team that made consecutive Stanley Cup appearances in 08-09', and being named the NHL GM of the Year just last season, the Penguins have struggled to find playoff success since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. There is speculation that Dan Bylsma will be next to go, but no announcement has been made at this time. According to Chris Peters from CBS Sports, the new GM will determine Bylsma's ... Read More
WPIAL Spotlight: Montae Nicholson
In today's high school landscape, the true multi-sport standout has become a rarity. The focus on one varsity sport such as football or baseball, along with the increased focus on non-school related commitments such as AAU basketball/volleyball and club soccer, has made the accomplishments by Gateway Senior Montae Nicholson all the more impressive. You see Nicholson is not just a standout football player who will be moving on this fall to Michigan State University to play for the Spartans, ... Read More
Much On The Line in Game 7 for Pens
I've heard a lot of varying opinions as to why the Penguins have gone from shoe in to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, to a team on the precipice of total collapse in the span of a weekend. On Friday night, the Penguins hosted a Rangers squad that seemed devoid of hope, staring at a three games to one deficit and the very real possibility that their season was about to come to an end. Fast forward a few days later. There's an undeniable sense that the tables have turned completely, and ... Read More
Jokinen and Martin are latest under the radar stars for Pens
The Stanley Cup playoffs — a time when players rise to the occasion and heroes are made. Over the years, the Penguins have had their fair share of playoff heroes. Some of them have been considered some of the greatest players in NHL history. Others, few outside of Pittsburgh have ever heard of. Lemieux, Malkin, Crosby, Coffey, Jagr, Stevens, Guerin, Tocchet and Gonchar are just some of the names that come to mind when you think of the stars who have contributed to the Pens three Stanley Cup ... Read More
Penguins look to make it 5-0 all-time against the Rangers in postseason play
If history is any indication, the Pittsburgh Penguins should have plenty of confidence going into their Eastern Conference second-round match up against the New York Rangers. The Pens have never lost a playoff series to the Rangers in four tries, and the hope is the fifth time won't be the charm for the Rangers. Playoff success has been hard to come by for the Rangers, as they have not advanced beyond the second round since they won Lord Stanley in 1994. History is not the only advantage the ... Read More
Pens must rely on defense to advance past Rangers
Theres an old adage in sports, you've probably heard it a million times. You might even place it high on the list of cliches you absolutely despise. Defense wins championships. Agreed, it's tired. Yes, I concur it's overused. Sure, many will argue that it is overvalued in it's importance. However, when it comes to hockey and, specifically, playoff hockey, few sayings have more relevance. Stanley Cup champions have leaned heavily on it, and there is little reason to doubt that this year's ... Read More
Dropping Marte in the Order Can Only Help Him
After a promising rookie season, a freshly signed contract extension and the hope for improvement offensively from Pirates left fielder Starling Marte, it's been a rough start to say the least. A .229 average, an OBP of .308 and 37 strikeouts are not exactly what the Pirates had in mind when they placed him in the lead off spot opening day. To put in context, only the Mariners Abraham Alamonte has more strikeouts in all of baseball with 39. In fact, Marte has struck out twelve more times than ... Read More