It's been a tough past couple weeks for the Pirates and their fans, and that continued today with their seventh straight loss. James McDonald once again had a bad start pitching only 3.2 innings. He allowed four earned runs in his outing, and other than two starts against the St. Louis Cardinals this second half, has been awful. The team used seven other pitchers throughout the course of the game. Justin Wilson, Chris Leroux, Kyle McPherson, and Chad Qualls all had scoreless outings. Tony Watson ... Read More
Duquesne’s Sean Patterson Hoping to lead Dukes to Big Things
It was only a matter of time before the Duquesne Dukes started the season in an 0-2 hole. The way their offense had moved the ball for over three quarters against the Dayton Flyers, things didn't look good at all for the Dukes. But for Jerry Schmitt's team, it was only a matter of time- until quarterback Sean Patterson got going and led Duquesne to a come-from-behind 17-7 victory. "With a guy like Sean back there, we just wanted to stick to our game plan," said Schmitt. "He's a veteran ... Read More
Week 2 NFL Headliner Games
Week 2 has many intriguing headlines heading into Sunday. There are a few "must win games" for supposed contenders, and a few "prove it to me games" where some teams who surprisingly won last week want to show everyone that they are for real. Baltimore at Philadelphia -- Baltimore dismantled the Bengals in every way possible. Their defense was stingy, and the new hurry up offense was displayed for the first time. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco looked great. Flacco, who is in the last year ... Read More
Division II preview: Cal U, IUP looks to continue dominance
California Last week: defeated Kutztown, 48-45. This week: at Edinboro, 6 p.m. After picking up a win over defending PSAC champion Kutztown, the Vulcans moved up to No. 6 in the Division II coaches poll. California will look to keep the early success going when they travel to Edinboro Saturday. The Fighting Scots (0-1) fell to the 19th-ranked Bloomsburg, 30-14, last week in their season opener. Junior quarterback Cody Harris threw for 209 yards and a touchdown in week one. His top ... Read More
The Imminent Lockout
I really did not want to write this, but forces far beyond my power are forcing me to do so. Unless a miraculous deal comes down before Sunday, the NHL will begin its lockout next week. There were a few grumblings about things potentially being closer, and then the legend Bob McKenzie at TSN dropped some knowledge in this tweet: “You can get bogged down with the #s, but all you need to know is NHLPA says won’t take an actual decrease to $ spent on salaries, and the NHL is asking for an ... Read More
The “Dude” Who Cried Wolf
A few days ago Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips took to his Twitter account (@DatDudeBP) after a 14 inning victory to accuse one of the Pittsburgh Pirates of shouting something racial at him. He used the hashtags #RealTalk and #Racism to emphasize his point. There’s only one problem with that, none of the Pirates said any such thing to him. So much for “Real Talk.” Naturally the Pirates player in question, pitcher Jared Hughes, quickly and rightfully defended himself but ... Read More
Roethlisberger Among the Elite on 3rd Down
We've all seen Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger come through countless amounts of times when his back has been against the wall. The countless comebacks and big plays from Big Ben have earned him a spot among the game’s elite quarterbacks. We saw that again on Sunday night. Despite a late interception that pretty much sealed the game, the Steelers wouldn't have been in the game without the performance of Roethlisberger. He finished the game with decent numbers, ... Read More
A More Painful Route to a Losing Season
Remember the old days, when the Pirates would be 20 games under .500 before the All-Star break and half the city of Pittsburgh cared more about who would be the backup left tackle for the Steelers? Those seemed like dark times but, compared to now, they may have been easier on the heart. For the second straight season, the Pirates are in the midst of an epic collapse in September, and with 20 games remaining, it seems unlikely they will finish the season with their first winning record in ... Read More
Deem’s Week 2 NFL Spread Predictions
We have a lot of must win games for some 0-1 contenders out there. Only 3 teams have ever won the Super Bowl after starting out 0-2, the 93 Cowboys, 01 Patriots, and 07 Giants. Week 2 predictions Chicago vs Green Bay -6 Tampa Bay + 9 vs NY Giants Arizona vs New England -14 Minnesota -1 vs Indianapolis New Orleans vs Carolina -3 Kansas City +3 Buffalo Baltimore +3 vs Philadelphia Oakland vs Miami +3 Cleveland +7 vs Cincinnati Houston -7 1/2 vs Jacksonville Dallas vs ... Read More
Does Anyone Want the Second NL Wild Card?
Prior to the start of this year’s major league baseball season, Bud Selig and Co. implemented a second wild card (per league) to allow more teams to be competitive longer through a season . Well, in the NL, the second WC has done the direct opposite. In the middle of August the Pirates, Cardinals, Braves and Dodgers looked to be the only four teams battling for the final two spots as they were pulling away from the pack. Then the great collapse happened. Nobody wanted to win to put themselves ... Read More