Steelers give big present to Big Ben

By Ed Bouchette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sunday, April 27, 2008



Limas Sweed

Big Ben Roethlisberger finally has his big wide receiver.

Limas Sweed, who stands nearly 6 feet 4, became the Steelers' tallest wide receiver when they selected him on the second round of the draft yesterday. It fulfilled a wish Roethlisberger expressed in mid-January, when he said he would ask the team to add a tall receiver in the offseason.

"No doubt, man, I think I fit it," the Texas University product said last night. "A lot of people were saying he was looking for a big wide receiver and now he has one."

The Steelers not only had a first-round grade on Sweed, they ranked him among the top 25 players in the draft and the best three receivers. They used the 53rd pick of the draft to get him.

A big reason others may have shied away from Sweed is a wrist injury. That August injury required surgery Oct. 16 and it limited him to 19 catches last season after he caught 46 for 801 yards (17.4 average) and 12 touchdowns in 2006. He was not fully healed by the Senior Bowl, but he impressed the Steelers with his individual workout at Austin. All their medical tests judge him to be fully healed.

"We just couldn't understand why Limas was still out there," Steelers receivers coach Randy Fichtner said.

No receivers were drafted in the first round, and then they came off the board in clumps -- Sweed was ninth of 10 wide receivers selected in the second round.

"He can break tackles, he's still got size and probably a lot more room to get bigger,'' said Fichtner, mentioning the wrist injury limited his ability to lift weights. "But he definitely finishes on tape. When he catches a ball across the middle, there's a chance that he can take that and finish it, and the year prior to [last], he did it a lot."

Fichtner said the thought of having Sweed join his receiving corps "tickles you too death." He lumped Sweed with starters Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward when he said, "You're looking at a three-group that's really strong and a possibility of Nate Washington being four is really exciting."

"I love his range," Fichtner said. "The circle of catches is extremely large. The area of miss is big. He's got the longer arms. When we were down there [in Austin], he vertical jumped 36 or 37 [inches] compared to 33 or 34 at the combine. You couple that with the idea that he's almost 6-4, you're talking about a larger frame and target."

He's just what Ben Roethlisberger ordered.

First published on April 27, 2008 at 12:00 am

Steelers draft RB from Illinois, WR from Texas to protect Big Ben

By Ed Bouchette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sunday, April 27, 2008



John Dixon/Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette
Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall: The first running back taken by the Steelers since 1989.

The absolutely, positively, largest need the Steelers had entering the draft -- everyone knew it -- was to protect their $102 million quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.

A big offensive tackle would do the trick.

Or, how about a big, powerful, fast running back and a tall receiver Big Ben requested?

"There are two schools of thought to protect a quarterback," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "You can get linemen, or you can get him weapons."

That's the plan, anyway, after the Steelers selected Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall with the 23rd overall pick, and 6-foot-4 wide receiver Limas Sweed of Texas in the second round.

Mendenhall became the first running back they drafted in either of the top two rounds since 1989, and he truly was a player few expected to last that long -- most mock drafts had him gone by the middle of the first round.

As for Sweed, the Steelers not only had a first-round grade on him, they ranked him among the top 25 players available in the draft and among the best three receivers.

Mendenhall is power-packed at 5-10, 225 pounds, runs a blistering 4.41 in the 40-yard dash for a man his size and catches and blocks to boost.

He should provide the perfect compliment to Fast Willie Parker, a Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, if you will. For the record, Tomlin said Parker, their two-time Pro Bowl back, remains No. 1.

Parker led the NFL in rushing last season when the fibula in his right leg was broken on his first carry in the 15th game. He finished with 1,316 yards, his third consecutive season above 1,200.

"We have a Pro Bowl running back," Tomlin said. "This guy's going to help our football team. At this point, he's a young guy trying to fit in. He'll be backing up Parker."

Ultimately, however, they could be No. 1 and 1-A on the depth chart, two talented backs on a team that has rushed for more yards than any other since the NFL merger with the AFL in 1970 (they ranked third last season). Tomlin has said since he arrived as head coach last year that teams need two effective backs. Now the Steelers appear to have them, and in contrasting styles as well.

"This is an exciting running back," said director of football operations Kevin Colbert, obviously delighted. "He'll run a sub-4.5, he runs with power, he runs with moves, he can catch, he'll work as a blocker. This is something that's very exciting for this organization."

Mendenhall ran for 1,681 yards last season, including 155 on just 17 carries against Southern California in the Rose Bowl (9.1 average). He averaged a whopping 6.4 per carry for the season.

Colbert said the Steelers had an idea to try to trade down in the first round, but had 15 players on a list in which they would draft at No. 23 regardless. Mendenhall was one of those players.

Much of the pre-draft speculation about possible running backs falling to the Steelers centered around Oregon's Jonathan Stewart and not Mendenhall because few believed Mendenhall would drop that far. As it was, running backs Darren McFadden (Oakland at No. 4), Stewart (Carolina at No. 13) and Felix Jones (Dallas at No. 22) went ahead of Mendenhall, who admitted to disappointment the longer he waited.

"It was tough, I ain't going to lie," Mendenhall said. "As it started rolling, the sweat started rolling as well."

Funny, he said, he felt he received less attention from the Steelers than he did many other teams. He spent some time with them at the combine workouts in Indianapolis, but he was not on the list of 30 candidates they were permitted to bring to Pittsburgh for further inspection before the draft.

In the end, "I feel like the Steelers made a great pick," said Mendenhall, who compared his style to NFL rushing champ LaDainian Tomlinson. "You look at his footwork and his agility, he's a real balanced runner. He can catch the ball and he can run you over as well, so I can make the comparison to L.T."

"He's fired up, needless to say," Tomlin said. "And so are we."

Parker said last week that he would like to see the Steelers draft another back, not only to help the team but to give him some rest and to lengthen his career.

"We need somebody else in here," Parker said. "If they bring somebody else in here, I'm all for it."

Besides breaking an 18-draft drought at the top by taking a running back, the Steelers also hope to snap a 36-year lack of success at drafting any in the first round who panned out. Since taking Hall of Famer Franco Harris in 1972, the Steelers drafted three other backs in the first round before yesterday. None topped 1,000 yards in a season.

By their reaction yesterday, the Steelers believe they got it right this time. Tomlin called him a "humble, blue-collar worker" and a "quality human being."

"In terms of what he brings to the table, he's a complete back," Tomlin said. "He can run inside, he can run outside. He's a powerful runner. He's elusive and, of course, he has the speed to go the distance.

"It shouldn't be too difficult finding ways that he can contribute to this football team."

First published on April 27, 2008 at 12:00 am

Pens, Rangers put on a show

By Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, April 26, 2008



The Penguins' Evgeni Malkin celebrates his game-winning goal in front of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist late in the third period Friday, April 25, at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

The occasion was such that on the eve of the NFL Draft, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was among those filling the seats at Mellon Arena.

Tomlin didn't participate in the first-of-its-kind "Whiteout," but he kept his give-away T-shirt draped over his shoulder (perhaps trying to capture the spirit of the thing), even while signing a few autographs between periods.

The first round of the draft, apparently, could wait.

This was Penguins--Rangers.

Game 1 of what's anticipated to be a six- or seven-game struggle, one that might decide Eastern Conference supremacy, confirmed that the NHL's postseason has moved beyond the point where participation by the likes of the Ottawa Senators is permitted.

The Penguins somehow won it, 5-4.

Five or six more games of this will be as difficult to decide as they promise to be breath-taking in nature.



A shot by the Rangers' Chris Drury gets past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury during the second period Friday, April 25, at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

The talent amassed on both benches was such that the Rangers deployed forwards Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez and Chris Drury on their power-play unit -- their second power-play unit.

The Blueshirts' first unit was as familiar as it was lethal at 13:40 of the first period -- Martin Straka scoring off assists from Jaromir Jagr and Michal Rozsival.

The goal also was as playoff-ugly as they come -- Straka's centering feed deflected off the skate of Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar and past goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury -- and a reminder that such grandiose matchups aren't above being influenced by a deflection or a bounce.

The Rangers got another such fluke from Drury; the Pens got a Jarkko Ruutu ricochet off Rozsival.

Ruutu's gift sparked a two-goals-in-14-seconds uprising by the Pens.

A similar such outburst, third-period goals 20 seconds apart by Marian Hossa and Petr Sykora, confirmed that these Penguins have indeed evolved to the point where they don't fall apart when faced with a little adversity (a 3-0 deficit perhaps qualifies as more than "a little adversity," but you get the idea).



Penguins' Petr Sykora buries the puck behind Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundquist in the third period of game 1 Friday, April 25, at Mellon Arena.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

The Rangers, likewise, are a serious enough bunch that they can hemorrhage a 3-0 lead and keep coming.

The skill was apparent, the grit everywhere.

It was one of those nights when neither team blinked. Not the Pens after they had allowed their third-period lead to dissipate, and not the Rangers after Straka was whistled for interference with 3:20 left in regulation.

Well, not until Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin helped untie it once and for all on the Penguins' first power-play goal of the evening and the only one they would need at 18:19 of the third.

The goal, initially credited to Crosby, had to withstand a replay review (as did Drury's near high-stick tip in the second) before being confirmed.

It was eventually deemed to have gone in off Malkin's knee or shin (the ever-popular lower-body game-winner), making the goal as appropriate as it was lustily celebrated inside and outside of Mellon Arena.



The Penguins' Sidney Crosby watches as New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist can't stop a goal by Marian Hossa during the third period Friday, April 25, at Mellon Arena.
Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

And still, the Rangers weren't officially finished until Gomez deflected a Jagr pass off the goalpost with 14.2 seconds remaining.

It's only the second round, but this is a whole new ballgame, one as compelling as it promises to be fiercely contested.

Tomlin won't be here Sunday afternoon; he has a prior commitment.

Is there any doubt he'll have a TV turned on in the "war room?"


Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.

Tough guys worth their weight

By Ron Cook
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, April 26, 2008



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Crosby celebrates the winning goal.

If the Penguins go on to take out the New York Rangers in the spring hostilities that began last night at Mellon Arena, they'll long be talking about the Evgeni Malkin power-play goal that won Game 1 of the amped playoff series.

It wasn't all that spectacular, as many Malkin goals are. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time, parked in front of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist when teammate Sidney Crosby fired a one-timer from the right point. The shot took a most fortuitous bounce, off Malkin's skate, behind Lundqvist and into the yawning Rangers' net with 1:41 left.

Lundqvist looked as if he didn't have a clue what hit him as he fished out the puck that gave the Penguins an unlikely 5-4 win.

Certainly, Petr Sykora's goal that brought the Penguins all the way back from a 3-0 deficit and gave them a brief 4-3 lead in the third period also deserves mention.

Now that was fabulous.

The bing-bang-boom passing play from Ryan Malone to Malkin to Sykora was the type of play that world-class players are born to make.

So, go ahead, give Malkin and Sykora all the credit in the world.

But, please, don't be blinded to the work of a couple of other Penguins, the real stars on this night.

How about a little love for Georges Laraque and Jarkko Ruutu?

I know, I really have to twist the arms of this crowd when it comes to those two.

The Penguins were in that 3-0 cavern early in the second period and were looking hard at an 0-1 hole in the series when Laraque took the ice with a purpose. He quickly found Rangers tough guy Colton Orr to deliver a message that I'm guessing went something like this:

"You know, Colton my friend, you might be up 3-0, but we aren't going anywhere. We're here for the long haul so you better not be thinking it's going to be this easy the whole series."

Or maybe not.

"I just told him I wanted to fight," Laraque said, shrugging. "I wanted to change the momentum."

Orr's response?

"He just said, 'C'mon, Georges, it's 3-0. I can't,' " Laraque said. "He was smart. He was doing what any coach would tell him to do. Why would you want to fight when your team is up 3-0?"

During the next shift, Ruutu -- Laraque's linemate -- made it a point to put his stick in the face of Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival before a faceoff.

Surely, he was delivering that we're-here-for-the-duration message.

"He got his stick on me earlier so I was just saying, 'If you want to play this game, I can play it, too,' " Ruutu said. "I think maybe it took him off his game a little."

Penguins coach Michel Therrien was sure of it.

He was convinced both Laraque and Ruutu served a valuable purpose.

"They sent the message that we're not going to quit," Therrien said.

Darned if they didn't.



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Jarkko Ruutu and the Rangers' Jagr collide in the third period.

It was during that same shift that Ruutu made a far more tangible contribution to the Penguins' cause. He fired the puck toward the front of Lundqvist's net and ended up with a goal when it clanged off Rozsival's skate to cut the Rangers' lead to 3-1.

Talk about hurting Rozsival more than any high stick ever could.

Suddenly, the Penguins were on their way.

"That Jarkko, he's like Avery," Laraque said, making the comparison to the Rangers' noted disturber, Sean Avery.

"Both are agitators, but both can play and both can score. That was an unbelievably big goal for us. That got us started."

Enjoying all of it from the Penguins owners' box was another noted tough guy, Gary Roberts, who sat out the game with a bad groin. Nobody appreciates the physical game -- especially at playoff time -- more. Nobody has a better understanding of how it can win a tight game.

"Georges does his job as well as anyone in the league," Roberts said.

"He's so smart. He knows when it's time for him to change momentum.

"And Jarkko, what can you say about Jarkko? That shift changed the game.

"I was pumped for those guys."

That gave him something in common with the frenzied white-out crowd of 17,132.

It also gave him something in common with Therrien.

"Those guys," he said, smiling, "set the tone, no doubt."

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 26, 2008 at 12:00 am

Whiteout went from wipeout to right turn for Penguins

By Gene Collier
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Saturday, April 26, 2008



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
The Penguins celebrate the winning third-period goal.

There was no need nor apparent inclination to panic on the part of the Penguins last night, not even when the manufactured whiteout morphed toward a wipeout.

"We knew it was the first game and we knew that we were a little rusty, and maybe things didn't go our way early," said Marian Hossa five minutes after the Penguins got off the deck for a 5-4 victory in a desperately entertaining Game 1. "We knew if we scored the first one, we'd start rolling.

"And that's what happened; we battled our way back."

With white-shirted Penguins fans filling every seat at Mellon Arena for purposes that are still unclear, the white-shirted hockey players went smartly about the business of winning the game, at least for a good chunk of the episode, which I don't think was the intended effect.

This tedious whiteout caper never made sense, frankly. At Penn State, where it became popular through some corporate marketing spasm, it never made sense because the visiting team always wears white.

Last night, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals no less, the New York Rangers joined the Penguins audience in an even whiter shade of pale, very nearly skating off with a victory and a bold opening bid in this best-of-seven series.

Had Scott Gomez's deflection of a Jaromir Jagr centering pass not kissed off the post to the right of Marc-Andre Fleury with less than 10 seconds left, Game 1 would have been tied for a third time and headed toward some incalculable outcome.

The Penguins put the first eight shots of the series on the doorstep of Henrik Lundqvist, but it was New York that bolted to a 3-0 advantage before the middle period was even half over. The first two Rangers goals were almost purely by accident, which was one reason the Penguins resisted the jitters.

It appeared that center Brandon Dubinsky got the ice-breaker, as it was he who was planted in front of Sergei Gonchar and Fleury with less than seven minutes remaining in the first period, and it was he who celebrated first when Fleury turned to fish the first goal of the series out of the net.



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Sidney Crosby checks the Rangers Colton Orr in to the boards.

Replays showed credit for the goal should go to Martin Straka, who whipped it into the slot off the skate of Gonchar. New York's second goal was even more dubious, if not downright cartoonish.

Mark Staal launched a slapshot from the left point that might have landed on the roof of the Church of the Epiphany down the street had not Chris Drury's stick diverted it toward the ice at a 90-degree angle. That explains why Fleury's reaction seemed reminiscent of Fred Flintstone leaping to avoid the cat when he flings the front door open. With Fleury in mid-air, the puck trickled past him at ice level.

A considerable delay ensued as officials pondered the question of whether Drury's deflection had been made possible only by a high stick.

"That was controversial," Penguins coach Michel Therrien would say later. "At that point we were a little shaky, but this shows the character of this team. This was a great accomplishment, for these young guys to bounce back against a veteran Rangers team that is committed to defense."

Not until New York Agitator General Sean Avery blistered one from the right faceoff circle under the retreating figure of Brooks Orpik and behind Fleury for a 3-0 lead did the Rangers have a goal of serious intent, resulting in a halfway serious predicament for the only people in the building not wearing white, the Penguins.

But the Penguins' response typified its scary offensive capabilities, chopping the lead to one goal in a span of 14 seconds in the second period, with Jarkko Ruutu flipping home Tyler Kennedy's pass to at least suggest Lundqvist's vulnerability, and Sidney Crosby filching the biscuit from Christian Backman behind the Rangers goal and setting up Pascal Dupuis in front on the very next possession.



Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Evgeni Malkin flies over the Rangers' Fedor Tyutin in the third period.

The same kind of lightning then overturned New York's lead altogether, with Marian Hossa beating Lundqvist through the five hole and Petr Sykora converting Evgeni Malkin's pretty cross-crease pass only 20 seconds later to make it 4-3 Penguins.

"We have a lot of guys who can score goals; it was just a matter of time," Sykora said. "You just keep forechecking. I had a perfect shot, and I hit the pipe, but you've just gotta be patient."

The opportunity for panic now switched chairs, but the Rangers were having none of it either. Scott Gomez buried a tying goal at 10:04 of the third.

Some six minutes of manic skating later, Straka took a fateful interference penalty, unleashing Malkin to torture Lundqvist for an extended period. His first shot of the power play leaked toward Henrik's skates but not through, then Rangers defenseman Daniel Girardi had to throw himself on the ice to block a Malkin slapper. But with 22 ticks left in the man-advantage, Crosby wound up at the top of the right faceoff circle and fired the puck off Malkin's skate past Lundqvist to win it.

Malkin was likely Game 1's white knight.

Wearing black, of course.

Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1283.
First published on April 26, 2008 at 12:00 am

Pens-Rangers '92 clash still resonates

By Rob Rossi
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, April 25, 2008



Mario Lemieux skates off the ice with the trainer after injuring his wrist against the New York Rangers, May 5, 1992.
Photo by Bill Stahl Jr.

"Other than the Cups, beating them that year was the most satisfying thing of my career."

- Phil Bourque, on the 1992 Patrick Division final between the Penguins and Rangers

Some memories never fade, and those from the Penguins' against-the-odds triumph over the New York Rangers in the 1992 Patrick Division final figure to last a lifetime.

"There is a hatred that builds up when you're playing the Rangers," former Penguins forward Phil Bourque said. "A lot of people picked them to win the Stanley Cup that year. But we were the defending champs, and this was the big stage, and it was our chance to get to another level."

The Penguins did - defending the Cup by reeling off a single-season playoff record 11 consecutive victories. That streak started May 9, 1992, with an epic Game 4 against the Rangers, which rates among the most memorable contests in Penguins history.

"You could probably say that about the whole series," said Bourque, now a Penguins broadcaster. "It didn't just have a little bit of everything. It had a whole lot."

May 3, 1992

Game 1, at Madison Square Garden: Penguins 4, Rangers 2

Riding the momentum from overcoming a 3-1 series deficit against Washington in the first round, the Penguins stormed to a 3-0 lead on goals by Troy Loney, Larry Murphy and Kevin Stevens. They iced the game late in the third on Ron Francis' first goal of the playoffs, set up by Lemieux, whose two points apparently struck fear in late-Rangers coach Roger Nielsen.

• Penguins lead series, 1-0

May 5, 1992
Game 2, at Madison Square Garden: Rangers 4, Penguins 2

Kevin Stevens' second goal of the series at 1:29 of the opening period silenced a nervous crowd at "the world's most famous arena." The Rangers, whose 105 points topped the NHL, were reeling - until "The Slash" less than four minutes after Stevens' goal.

Adam Graves denied deliberately hacking Mario Lemieux's left hand as the Penguins' captain carried the puck near the blueline in the Rangers' zone. Coach Scotty Bowman and the Penguins disagreed, but Graves' slash resulted in a broken hand for Lemieux, who would miss the remainder of the series.

The Rangers scored three third-period goals to overcome a 2-1 disadvantage.

"It was a very emotional room after that game," Bourque said. "We wanted to get back at Graves, do the same thing to him as he did to Mario - and we knew we couldn't."

• Series tied, 1-1

May 7, 1992
Game 3, at Civic Arena: Rangers 6, Penguins 5 (OT)

Adam Graves not only played - to the dismay of Penguins fans who called for his suspension - but he staked the Rangers to a 1-0 lead with an early first-period goal. The Penguins trailed, 3-1, when Ron Francis, elevated into Lemieux's center spot on the top line, tallied for the second time in the series to open the second. Francis' third goal of the playoffs and Larry Murphy's fifth pulled the Penguins even, 4-4, entering the third.

"At that point, it felt like an unbelievable opportunity," Bourque said. "They thought they had us because they had taken out Mario."

The Penguins wasted their opportunity and the home-ice advantage they earned with a Game 1 win. Kris King scored at 1:29 of overtime, setting the stage for a memorable fourth game.

• Rangers lead series, 2-1

May 9, 1992
Game 4, at Civic Arena: Penguins 5, Rangers 4 (OT)

Furious Penguins fans were satisfied by the NHL's suspension of Adam Graves, but the Rangers' strong early surge threatened to give them command of the series.

"We had to regroup," Bourque said. "We were at a crossroads. If you want to win a Stanley Cup, you have to overcome certain hurdles. We had the Stanley Cup, and we wanted to keep it."

Trailing, 3-1, very late in the second period, Ron Francis scored arguably the most important goal of his storied career. His long-range shot from the neutral zone eluded Rangers goalie Mike Richter at 19:54, and the Penguins rode that momentum into overtime - thanks to third-period goals from, yep, Francis and Troy Loney.

"Ronnie Francis - that's what I remember from the series," Bourque said. "And not for the reason you'd think. That overtime goal for the hat trick was the stuff of legend."

Francis' sixth goal of the series on a power-play at 2:47 of overtime sent the crowd into a tizzy.

"Our fans went nuts," Bourque said. "I've never heard the arena that loud."

• Series tied, 2-2

May 11, 1992
Game 5, at Madison Square Garden: Penguins 3, Rangers 2

Jaromir Jagr's on-ice style was loud, but his production had been quiet entering a game both clubs considered pivotal. Two of his three assists in Games 3 and 4 set up tying goals, but Jagr had not tallied in the series despite 13 shots.

Rangers fans were convinced their team's Stanley Cup drought - the Blueshirts had last raised the chalice in 1940 - was destined to end, even when Rick Tocchet's first goal of the series pushed the Penguins ahead, 1-0, only 1:15 into the contest.

"We had the type of team that relished playing in New York," Bourque said. "We relished that stage. The more important the game, the louder the crowd, the brighter the lights - we really enjoyed playing in New York and winning big games there. The way (Rangers) fans are was built-in motivation.

"But I think Jagr just wanted to score a goal."

He did, finally, at 7:04, toasting Rangers goalie John Vanbiesbrouck on a penalty shot - the first for a Penguin in playoff history.

The Rangers could feel their grip on the series slipping, and they played the next 50 minutes with noticeable desperation. New York tied the score, 2-2, early in the third on Mike Gartner's goal, but all that did was set the stage for Jagr to bitterly disappoint the fans he now entertains.

His fifth goal of the playoffs at 14:27 provided the Penguins a 3-2 lead, and goaltender Tom Barrasso was terrific late to hold that advantage. Barrasso turned aside 32 shots and improved to 4-1 in playoff games at the Garden.

"What is the saying: 'Great players do great things at great times,'" Bourque said. "Jagr and Tommy were killer in that game."

• Penguins lead series, 3-2

May 13, 1992
Game 6, at Civic Arena: Penguins 5, Rangers 1

A chant that had haunted the Rangers for far too long - "Nine-teen Four-teee!" - tortured them over the final 40 minutes. Rick Tocchet, Jagr and Shawn McEachern scored in the first period, and the Rangers never recovered.

McEachern, a rookie, deserved a goal after recording three assists over the five previous games. He was one of countless Penguins to "step up," according to Bourque, and that group included the famed "Muskegon Line," a forward unit consisting of minor-leaguers Jock Callander, Mike Needham and Dave Michayluk.

"It was a total team victory in that series," Bourque said. "We were without our big gun, but we had other weapons."

No weapon proved more potent than Ron Francis, who scored into an empty net with 41 seconds remaining for his seventh goal of the series. Francis finished with 12 points.

"It showed you what he was made of," Bourque said. "It showed what our team was made of. Everybody thought the Rangers were going to win the Stanley Cup, especially after the Graves stuff. But we showed in that series why we deserve the rings on our fingers."

• Penguins win series, 4-2

Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or 412-380-5635.

Jagr returns to scene of prime for Round Two

By Shelly Anderson,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Friday, April 25, 2008



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Jaromir Jagr

It never has been easy to get a fix on Jaromir Jagr's emotions. One moment he's wearing them on his sleeve, opening up to a surprising degree. The next, he's taking it all back, denying, dodging.

Often, his expressive face belies his words. The grin as wide as a river and the deep, infectious laugh comes easily at times. Other times, his words might look upbeat on a page but are darkened by the cloud that shadowed their delivery.

Moody is the label the New York Rangers' captain got during his days as a spectacular right winger with the Penguins, although Jagr is likable.

"He's got a great personality," said Penguins winger Petr Sykora, a fellow Czech who played with Jagr half a season with the Rangers and on several Czech Olympic and national teams, and now rents Jagr's South Hills house.

Penguins fans and Jagr's Rangers teammates could find out tonight how he reacts to facing the club that drafted him for the first time in the playoffs. The teams meet at Mellon Arena in the opening game of their second-round Eastern Conference series.

It's difficult to tell how Jagr will respond to unforgiving Penguins fans, who apparently consider him a traitor and have booed him every time he has touched the puck here since he became unhappy and was traded away before the 2001-02 season.

"They've been pretty tough on him when he's played here in the past. I don't expect anything different with the emotion of the playoffs," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. "As fans, they want to see us win and they want to do whatever it takes to give us that edge."

Asked about getting "the treatment" at times on the road, especially in Philadelphia, Crosby had a strong reaction, turning away, bowing his head and flashing a sheepish smile before regaining his composure.

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I think after a while you just kind of get used to it and you learn to play," Crosby said, then stifled another embarrassed smile before continuing, "but, yeah, I guess I've gone through that."

True to form, Jagr has wavered about how he feels about getting "the treatment."

After the Rangers downed New Jersey in the first round, when New York center Scott Gomez, formerly of New Jersey, got a lot of grief from Devils fans, Jagr told the New York Post, "It's not easy playing against your former team. I hate it. The booing, the bad energy, it takes something out of you. It affects you, even if you say it doesn't."

Which he then did Wednesday, when he told reporters he will use the booing as motivation in the series.

"I'm not going to cry about it," Jagr said.

Sykora figures Jagr is harder on himself than an arena full of 17,000 fans might be.

"He puts a lot of pressure on himself," Sykora said. "He wants to be at his best at all times.

"I know Jags. I think he can get this stuff out of his head. He's focused on hockey only."

That said, count Sykora among those who are put off by the way the city turned on Jagr.

"I don't understand why he gets booed here because he did some great things for the city," he said.

Jagr, 36, who was selected fifth overall by the Penguins in the 1990 NHL draft, was on the club's Stanley Cup champion teams his first two seasons.



Penguins photo
Jaromir Jagr, right, celebrates with the Penguins after winning the 1992 Stanley Cup.

The sure Hall of Famer is second all time in Penguins history in games played (806), goals (439), power-play goals (114), assists (640), points (1,079), playoff goals (65), playoff assists (82), playoff points (147) and playoff game-winning goals (14), and first in winning goals with 78, four more than the guy who tops all those other categories and owns the team, Mario Lemieux.

With the Penguins, Jagr won the Art Ross Trophy as NHL scoring champion five times and the Hart Trophy as league MVP once.

Although he was once tremendously popular locally and highly recognizable with a curly mullet, Jagr saw things unravel around the millennium, and he began to talk about seeking a trade.

The diatribe that seemed to alienate Penguins fans the most came after a 3-1 loss Nov. 28, 2000, at Boston, his fourth consecutive game without a point.

"I feel like I'm dying alive," he said. "Maybe something's going to happen pretty soon. I don't know.

"I just don't feel comfortable here right now. It's not the same for me right now. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'm going to think about retirement pretty soon. What else am I going to do?"

Retirement, or at least an exit from the NHL, might be close after what for him was a down season -- 25 goals, 71 points in 82 games after 15 seasons in a row with at least 30 goals.

Jagr, traded to Washington in the summer of 2001 and to the Rangers in January 2004, has kidded in that dark way of his that this might be his final NHL season.

That would mean his final bows -- or at least handshakes -- could come against the Penguins, possibly at Mellon Arena, if the Rangers lose this series.

After failing to meet numbers during the season that would have triggered a contract option, he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer unless he wins the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Around the end of the regular season, he met with Anatoly Bardin, general manager of Avangard-Omsk, the Russian Super League team where Jagr played during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Then again, perhaps he will be rejuvenated by a strong spring. He perked up with 24 points the final 23 regular-season games, including seven goals and an assist in the last five. Against New Jersey in the first round, he had eight points in five games.

"I think he's going to really be ready to play because he's coming into Pittsburgh," Sykora said. "He wants to prove that he can still play hockey."


Shelly Anderson can be reached at shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721.
First published on April 25, 2008 at 12:00 am

JAGR: SIDNEY NOT IN MARIO'S LEAGUE

By JAY GREENBERG
New York Post
April 24, 2008


OW HEAR THIS: Jaromir Jagr talks with the media after Rangers practiced yesterday.

Trust the guy who once rode shotgun: Nobody Jaromir Jagr has ever seen drove like Mario Lemieux.

"With all due respect for [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin, I don't think they are Mario Lemieux," said Jagr, preparing to go to Pittsburgh, his first NHL home, for tomorrow's night second-round opener between the RangersNew York Rangers and Penguins.

"I say that with all due respect because the game has changed.

"The gap between the best and worst players on a team [today] is very small. The gap between Mario and the rest of the guys when I was in Pittsburgh was so huge he was able to score 20 points in one series. I don't think those kids are able to do it. If I am wrong I am going to apologize and [say], 'Great job.'

Mario Lemieux- 1991 Stanley Cup Finals

"There were games we won 6-5 that Mario scored six points. The next night, 5-3, he scored five. [Crosby] can do it once in a while but not every game like [Lemieux].

"Some nights you can't tell who is first line and fourth line in this new NHL. [Wayne] Gretzky in the '80s was far better than anyone else. So was Mario in the '90s. You came to watch the individual because they were so much better. I love to watch highlights of when great players dominated.

"I wish I could do it. It's not working anymore."

Jagr means a guy has to work harder anymore, especially when he is 36 and has slipped from 123 points in the first season of the post-lockout, call-every-little-hook-NHL to 71 points two years later.


Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby

"I don't feel old, don't act old," Jagr said. "It's not about age, but it's all about how you act."

Against the Devils

New Jersey Devils , he acted like he was offended by reports of his decline, continuing a late-season surge with eight points.

Jagr still could trigger a one-year contract renewal clause with a Conn Symthe Trophy. Or, with a long Ranger spring run, make a case for a new $5 million-$6 million, one-year deal.

If, indeed, he wants that, he will have to earn it in this series while getting booed each time he touches the puck in Pittsburgh.

"It was the place I was playing my best hockey, the place I learned everything I know about hockey from Mario, keeping my eyes opened watching the best player in the league."


Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux

There never has been such a combination of skill and size on a hockey rink as Lemieux, ranking with Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull as all-time, top-five, game-changing figures. But might there be some comparison between the swift, lanky, inventive, dead-eye Malkin and a swooping, powerful, young Jagr?

"He has better numbers than I had at my age, that's for sure," said Jagr. "I didn't have that many responsibilities until Mario retired for three years.

"[Crosby] and [the Caps'] Alex Ovechkin are truly one-two best players in the league. The game has changed to their advantage. [Crosby's] going to have a great 15 years ahead of him, probably."

And that's because he has some Jagr in him?

"I think he has more than that," said Jagr, then smiled.

"Maybe not this week."

jay.greenberg@nypost.com

Kiner's launch 58 years ago unforgettable

By Gene Collier
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Monday, April 21, 2008



October 1950

Tom Hennen figures he'll talk for about 20 minutes in the presentation that's scheduled for Saturday at the History Center, 20 minutes that seem plainly inadequate when you consider he has waited 58 years for this moment.

It was 58 years ago tomorrow, April 22, 1950, to be precise (and this story is really all about precision and its bumbler of a sibling, imprecision) that Hennen and some buddies watched Ralph Kiner launch one of his 369 career homers out of Forbes Field.

"It was a Saturday, the second game of the first homestand that year, against Cincinnati," Hennen said yesterday as he adjusted his hearing aid, a common pastime of 89-year-olds. "We always sat in the bleachers but it was so crowded that day we went all the way to the top row.

"That was fortuitous."

From the top row of the bleachers that faced the left-field foul line, Hennen had an unobstructed view of Schenley Park, and was in fact closer to Schenley Park than he was to Kiner as the great Pirates slugger stood in against the not terribly crafty lefty Kent Peterson.

The fastball Kiner crushed cleared the left-field scoreboard by 50 feet, according to newspaper accounts of the day, and Hennen followed its entire flight to where it bounced ("10 or 15 feet into the air") on a sidewalk adjacent to a grove of trees.

"People turned to look at each other; we were astonished," Hennen said. "We were babbling."

Kiner, make no mistake, had that effect on people. My uncle used to tell this story about sitting along the third-base line in Wrigley Field when Kiner roped one toward the left-field wall. "By the time we turned our heads to see where the ball was," he'd say. "The ball was coming back out of the ivy."

Uh-huh. Need another beer Charlie?

Hennen's story is the undisputed truth, of course, but it's not unlike 100,000 others in the ready memories of baseball fans of his age and intellect. It's not something you present to the SABR folks (the Society for American Baseball Research) this coming Saturday, unless ... Well, let's just say that Hennen has seen enough baseball and read enough baseball history, from microfilm to blogs, that he's not at all uncomfortable with the suspicion that the ball Kiner hit that day 58 years ago before his naked eyes is the longest homer ever.

Ever.

"It could be," he says. "That's what we're doing Saturday. I've written it and re-written it. Now it's all written up, finally. My friend Joe Norden helped me. He'll be explaining the trajectory."

From the moment Kiner's clout kissed the sidewalk that day, Hennen figured he was one of the few people who'd seen its entire arc, and eventually resolved to pace it off one day to measure it precisely.

"Then they tore the place down and I thought, 'Oh, there goes my story.' But then last August I saw in the paper where someone had written a book about Forbes Field. There on page 123 I found a picture I'd been looking for for 57 years."

An aerial shot taken from behind the right-field wall shows the sidewalk, the grove, and most of Oakland, providing enough visual relativism for Hennen and Norden to have calculated a flight path of 570 feet.

"That's conservatively," Norden said. "I'm an educator who just likes baseball and I just helped Tom with some of the physics. We've got some power point slides to show, but I'll be turning this over to Tom. He's the star of the show. I'll just talk briefly about the myth-making associated with some of these homers."

In baseball's vast and imperfect literature, the most recognized measurement in this discussion is 565 feet, which is often transposed into 656 feet, but in either case, Mickey Mantle owns it. That homer in Washington April 17, 1953, has since been discredited and more precisely reported at 510 or 506 feet. Dave Kingman's 630 foot rocket beyond Waveland Avenue in Chicago in 1976 has since been accepted as more like 530 feet. Most of Babe Ruth's monster shots -- and Ruth hit more of these than anyone -- are often awash in hyperbole and predate reliable measurements.

Even as advanced trigonometry can determine the precise arcs necessary to quantify these distances, the discussion of the game's most prodigious bolts remains maddeningly imprecise. Just as surely as you can find someone who'll tell you that Josh Gibson once hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium (which the new testament tells us no one ever has), you can find a physicist who'll tell you a home run of more than 475 feet is simply beyond human capacity.

Academics once estimated Reggie Jackson's shot off a Tiger Stadium light tower in the 1971 All-Star Game would have traveled 630 feet unimpeded, but even that missile off Dock Ellis is sometimes attributed to a misapplied cotangent. Or something.

But what Kiner gave Hennen that day is larger than any of this. This Saturday, just like that one 58 years ago, Tom Hennen's going to be talking baseball. He'll tell this story and maybe raise some gooseflesh on his arms in his 90th year. That's what long, long homers are for.

Gene Collier can be reached at gcollier@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1283.
First published on April 21, 2008 at 12:00 am

Ruutu is Penguins' new cult hero

Tuesday, April 22, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Keith Srakocic/Associated Press
Jarkko Ruutu: Unbelievable discipline the whole series

It turns out that coaching a Stanley Cup contender involves more than just picking the right goaltender, matching lines and sending out an All-World power play. In Michel Therrien's case, there was a brief man-to-man in his office with Penguins cult hero Jarkko Ruutu before the first-round playoff series against Ottawa.

"I told him I thought he was taking too many penalties," Therrien recalled yesterday.

There had been a bunch, at least four minutes of penalties in five of the final nine regular-season games.

"How can I send you out there in a tight game in the playoffs?" Therrien said he asked Ruutu. "How can I trust you when I don't know when you're going to take a penalty?"

Ruutu's response is what makes coaching so rewarding at times.

It also went a long way toward helping the Penguins to sweep the Senators into the offseason.

"He showed unbelievable discipline the whole series," Therrien said. "He didn't take one penalty."

Therrien didn't feel the need during their chat to tell Ruutu to play responsible defense. That's pretty much a given these days, the prime reason Ruutu had more than 12 minutes of ice time a game against the Senators. Certainly, Therrien never thought to tell Ruutu to score the series-clinching goal, a goal so pretty you had to look twice to make sure it wasn't Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin who scored it.

I couldn't help but ask Ruutu yesterday if he had heard from Wayne Gretzky after that spectacular goal.

"I think he lost my number," Ruutu said, grinning.

"But I've had a lot of other messages. Nobody expects me to be the one who scores the winning goal. Everybody has been asking, 'Where did that come from?' "

Ruutu's goal, which gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead late in the second period of Game 4, merely added to his legend. Is it just me, or have Pittsburgh hockey fans started to take to him the way they did to Ulf Samuelsson a lifetime ago?

Like Ulf, Ruutu has an unusual, yet pleasing name. Ruutu has a way of rolling off the tongue, especially when a standing-room-only crowd of 17,132 is chanting it in unison at Mellon Arena.

Like Samuelsson, Ruutu has an edge to his game. He doesn't mind that he was voted the third-dirtiest player in a recent Sports Illustrated poll of NHL players. That sort of thing never bothered Samuelsson, either.

Then, there are the wicked facial scars that Ruutu wears proudly, the same ones that endear him to the home fan base. He made it through the Ottawa series unscathed, but still has nasty zipper work on both cheeks, above both eyes and along both sides of his nose. His upper lip also looks twice the size of normal thanks to a high stick and 15 stitches earlier this season.

"I don't look in the mirror much," Ruutu said.

Would you, if you were him?

"It's all about inner beauty, right?" Ruutu said, fairly giggling now.

"I don't know, the scars probably make me look better. I don't mind them. They remind you that you're playing hard and leaving everything on the ice."

Isn't that really why the fans like Ruutu so much?

"He plays a really physical game, an in-your-face type of hockey game," Therrien said. "It's an old-time hockey game. Players don't like to play against him."

Just like Ulf, right?

Guys loved him when he was on their team, hated him when he wasn't.

It's the same with the fans.

"They've been amazing with me," Ruutu said. "[The Ruutu chants] started my first game here. I never expected that. It really feels good."

That Ruutu calls Pittsburgh "probably the best hockey city in the United States" might lead to him staying after the season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

"I just want to win," Ruutu said. "I think we have a good chance here this year and down the road. In the end, that's why we all play. It's so hard to win that, if you can do it, it brings a group of guys together forever. To get your name on the Cup and get that ring, they can't ever take those things away from you."

Ruutu knows there is plenty of work to do before these Penguins reach that ultimate goal.

Plenty of in-your-face hockey.

Plenty of scars.

And maybe, just maybe, the odd terrific goal.

After that clinching one in Ottawa last week, Ruutu might not have gotten a call from Gretzky, but he did get a big smile and hearty handshake in the Penguins' dressing room from Mario Lemieux.

Which brings to mind a question they've been asking around here for years:

Who needs Gretzky when you've got Lemieux?

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 22, 2008 at 12:00 am

TV Review: New documentary paints loving portrait of late Pirates' star

By Diana Nelson Jones
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com
Sunday, April 20, 2008

As luminous as his life was in just 37 years, Roberto Clemente's post-life has been static in the media 35 years since his death. Even if you couldn't watch him enough when he played and sit riveted to every rehash of clips, footage and remembrances of him, new tidbits are welcome .

Bernardo Ruiz has assembled a documentary of old broadcast moments and well-used commentators, but his one-hour "American Experience" film, "Roberto Clemente" (9 p.m. Monday, WQED), offers fresh faces and insights, too. It also pays proper homage to Clemente's beloved Puerto Rico, its people and to Nicaragua, his last chapter still largely unexplored.

From his unbringing in the sugar cane fields to his death in 1972, the Pirates' superstar right fielder has become iconic, in part because of his death on a failed flight one mile off the Puerto Rican shoreline. He was bound for Managua, Nicaragua, with supplies for victims of a leveling earthquake eight days earlier.

His body was never recovered.

Described by historian Samuel Regalado as "a complicated individual, because he stepped into some very complicated times," one could argue the Pirates' superstar was complicated regardless; all times are complicated.

He was artistic, musical and open to non-traditional practices, such as chiropractic. He had a sensitive and fiery mind, one so much more active than the average ballplayer's but impeded by delivery in English in a city that had not heard Spanish spoken on broadcasts, if at all.

In Puerto Rico, blacks and whites share the same culture. Here, he found the bewildering and damaging parallel universes that still exist -- maybe the only part of life in Pittsburgh he would recognize were he to come back.

Arguably the richest and most poignant film clip from any World Series clubhouse celebration is included in this film, from 1971: Bob Prince has grabbed the ebullient Clemente, the catalyst of the team's win, for an interview and, before answering, Clemente speaks briefly to his family in Spanish.

The film, narrated by actor Jimmy Smits, includes many interviews with friends, family, teammates historians and writers, including David Maraniss, who wrote "Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero."

Steve Blass, the winning pitcher in the last game of the 1971 World Series, recalls Clemente walking up the aisle to him on the team airplane from Baltimore and saying, "Come here, Blass, let me embrace you."

"What cracked me up about Roberto was in a lot of interviews. ... he would start talking about life," says teammate Al Oliver, "and the writers just weren't ready for that."

Writers Roy McHugh and George Will comment on his eagerness to complain about what ailed him, which Mr. Will said put a lot of people off because it was unseemly for a ballplayer to bare his feelings.

Carol Bass was a girl when she approached Clemente for his autograph after a game, trying out her nascent Spanish and being regaled with a stream of Spanish in return. They became friends and, in fact, she was a guest of the family the night Clemente's doomed plane went down.

Vera Clemente recalls the look her husband gave her as he headed toward that plane: "He looked at me with a very sad look," she said. "I read many things in that look."

Historian Rob Ruck's comment that Clemente, near the time of his death, had blossomed into a man who would transcend baseball, set the stage for Osvaldo Gil's teary conclusion to the film.

Mr. Gil wondered what sense to make of his friend's death, and said his mother gave him "the only explanation that made sense," he said. "'If he had died as a player, only the sports fans would have remembered him. But because he died while helping others, the wider world would know him as a humanitarian.' "

'American Experience: Roberto Clemente'
When: 9 p.m. Monday, PBS.
Narrator: Jimmy Smits

Diana Nelson Jones can be reached at djones@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1626.
First published on April 20, 2008 at 12:00 am

Pirates must be held accountable

By Bob Smizik
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sunday, April 20, 2008



Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press
Adam LaRoche throws his bat after striking out during the eighth inning of Friday's baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago. The Cubs won 3-2.

The word we heard so often over the winter and into the spring from the new Pirates management was "accountability." It was, we were told, to be demanded from the players -- without exception.

Left unsaid was that too often in the past accountability had not been expected from Pirates players.

The phrase we most heard during that same span was "change the culture of losing."

Left unsaid was that previous administrations had not done enough in that direction.

So here we are almost three weeks into the new season and what's different?

No one expected the culture to be changed quickly, but nor have there been any radical attempts to do so. As for the accountability, an area where it's easier to show fans concrete examples, there seems to be nothing different in terms of demands on the players.

When the Pirates stressed accountability -- and we're talking about president Frank Coonelly, general manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell -- it left the impression there would be no putting up with bad attitudes and sloppy play, that there would be repercussions for those who did not do as they were supposed to do.

The accountability factor was stressed so much it left some people expecting in-game tirades from Russell at non-performing players. There is a segment of the fan base that would love to see the manager on the top step of the dugout berating offending players as they come off the field. That wasn't going to happen, nor should it. No one, be it a player making millions, a teacher, a newspaper reporter or a construction worker, should be treated in such a manner. Public humiliation of any kind is not the way to go. It might have worked 40 years ago; it doesn't work today.

But shouldn't there be -- especially considering all the talk about accountability -- something done or said about the level of play when it often has been unacceptable?

We're talking about the other night in Los Angeles when third baseman Jose Bautista missed a tag on a rundown in which the Dodgers player basically gave himself up. Bautista was in so much of a hurry to get a possible second out on the play that he neglected to properly execute the tag -- as basic a fundamental as there is.



Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press
Dodgers right fielder Matt Kemp ducks under the tag of the Pirates' third baseman Jose Bautista between second and third base as he is caught in a rundown during the first inning of Wednesday's baseball game, in Los Angeles. Kemp made it safely to third on the play.

We're talking about Ryan Doumit nonchalanting it on a foul pop up close to home plate and dropping the ball last week in Los Angeles.

We're talking about Doumit trying to stretch a single into a double against Florida in the ninth inning of a one-run game and being an easy out.

We're talking about Bautista being picked off second base.

We're talking about Adam LaRoche commenting on all the double plays missed: "There's no error on that, but how many times have you seen it?"

None of these examples rise to the level of indifference exhibited by Joggin' Ronny Paulino last season, but considering the stress on accountability, they merited the kind of attention they did not receive.

And what about accountability on the part of management?

Based on a his spring training showing, the Pirates kept Luis Rivas on the roster as the backup middle infielder. Someone must have missed this fact: In 564 major league games, Rivas had played second base in 555 of them and shortstop only nine times. His unfamiliarity with the position was obvious as he repeatedly has embarrassed himself when playing it during Jack Wilson's absence from the lineup.

Changing the culture is a long process, but in the meantime there's been too much acceptance of losing.

We're talking about Russell excusing Brian Bixler's baserunning gaffe -- that cost the Pirates the game -- on opening day because Bixler was so inexperienced. That's an excuse that condones bad play. Bixler has been running 90-foot bases since high school. He should have known what to do.

We're talking about Russell saying after the same game, in which the Pirates came back from a large deficit only to lose in extra innings, "There are a lot of positives to take out of this."

Sure, there were positives, but you don't change the culture of losing by extolling positives in defeat.

We suggested a few months ago that a "honeymoon" period was in order for new management since it was not involved in the previous 15 years of losing. We stand by that. But at the same time Coonelly, Huntington and Russell must take steps to make sure their own ideas, the ones they pushed so hard, are properly implemented.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 20, 2008 at 12:00 am

Penguins played the right team

By Joe Starkey
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 17, 2008



The Penguins' Jarkko Ruutu put the puck past Ottawa Senators' goaltender Martin Gerber in the second period at Scotiabank Place in Game 4 of first-round Stanley Cup action, April 16, 2008. The Penguins won, 3-1, and swept the series, 4-0.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

OTTAWA -- Senators coach Bryan Murray was wrong when he charged the Penguins with tanking their final regular-season game in order to ensure a first-round playoff matchup with his team.

The Penguins played their No. 1 goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, in the 2-0 loss at Philadelphia and used all of their best players not named Sidney Crosby.

Still, any rational observer could see the truth: The Penguins, having clinched the Atlantic Division, abandoned their previously stated goal of earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and put a premium on avoiding injuries.

They didn't try to lose, but if losing meant a first-round date with the sickly Senators, well, who needs the top seed in the East, anyway?

Wednesday night, 11 days after their Philly flop, the Penguins swept Ottawa out of the playoffs with a 3-1 victory at Scotiabank Place -- the same building that saw the previous season end, 363 days earlier, with a bitter handshake.

This time, the post-series shake had a different feel for the Penguins.

"A little more smiling," said Fleury, who was sublime in the series, stopping 107 of 112 Senators shots.

Credit the Penguins for delivering a playoff kill shot, a new experience for most of them. They maintained their focus and intensity for most of the game last night, even though Murray's crew had clearly lost interest.

If you listened hard enough, you could hear the Senators' golf carts firing up (not that they tanked the game or anything).



The Penguins' Evgeni Malkin scores on Senators goaltender Martin Gerber in the second period of Game 4 in first-round Stanley Cup action at Scotiabank Place, April 16, 2008. The Penguins won, 3-1, and swept the series, 4-0.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

Finishing the job so swiftly and decisively was a testament to the Penguins' newfound maturity. Coach Michel Therrien liked what he saw afterward.

Rather, what he didn't see.

"They're happy about winning the series," Therrien said. "But one thing I know with that group -- and I went into the dressing room after the game - they're not overexcited."

The potential downside to having played the Senators isn't so different from the upside -- the fact they were such an easy out.

The Penguins should not be misled by that. Ottawa was a badly banged-up club that had posted the NHL's worst record after Jan. 1. Any of the other 14 playoff teams (and probably a bunch who missed out) would have beaten the Senators in a best-of-7 series.

Sometimes, a good first-round test is necessary to steel a team for stiffer competition.

On the other hand, you have to believe the Penguins will adjust quickly to a radical upgrade in competition in the second round, whether it be the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals, the New Jersey Devils or even the Boston Bruins.

At this point, anything less than a trip to the Stanley Cup final would be considered a major disappointment, and anything less than advancing to the conference final would be a massive underachievement.

When Murray congratulated Therrien after the game, he told him, "You have a real good team and very definitely a chance to win the East."



Penguins Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin celebrates Malkin's second-period goal against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in Game 4 of first-round Stanley Cup action, April 16, 2008. The Penguins won, 3-1, and swept the series, 4-0.
Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

No less an authority than Senators winger Martin Lapointe, a two-time Cup winner with Detroit, believes the Penguins have the goods to win it all.

"What can you say about (Sidney) Crosby and (Evgeni) Malkin? They really showed up," Lapointe said. "It's all about confidence, and obviously, the Penguins have a lot of confidence right now.

"I think if they keep playing hard like that, they have a really good shot at it. It's not out of the question, in my mind."

The instant management traded for Marian Hossa at the trade deadline, the mandate was clear: Win now. Given the constraints of the salary cap, this group is unlikely to return in its current form, which only underscores a seize-the-moment mentality.

In acquiring Hossa, Pascal Dupuis and Hal Gill, the Penguins appear to have made some shrewd moves at the deadline.

It looks like they took the right approach in the regular-season finale, as well. In drawing the Senators, the Penguins were able to gain a massive dose of confidence and survive reasonably intact.

They will be well-rested whatever lay ahead.

Joe Starkey can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com or 412-320-7810.

A lot to like in annihilation of Senators

Thursday, April 17, 2008
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Ryan Malone and Sidney Crosby bask in the Penguins' series sweep of Ottawa last night at Scotiabank Place.

OTTAWA: So what did you like best about the Penguins' four-game annihilation of the Ottawa Senators?

Good luck trying to answer that one.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien thought about the question for a second late last night and gave up.

"I'm pleased with everything we did."

Everything?

"Everything," Therrien said, firmly.

When's the last time you heard any coach say that?

Then again, when's the last time a hockey team had such a dominant playoff series performance from start to finish?

"We earned this," Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said shortly after officially sweeping the Senators into the offseason with an empty-net goal that made the Game 4 final, 3-1.

I repeat, good luck trying to pick out what you liked best about all of it.

Was it the fabulous goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury? His win in the clincher made it three times in four games he allowed one or fewer goals. That Ty Conklin controversy seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Fleury stopped 107 of the Senators' 112 shots in the series, prompting Therrien to again call him the hottest thing in goalie pads.

Was it that Crosby and Evgeni Malkin did what stars do in big games by playing their best under the bright lights? Malkin scored the first goal last night after a terrific set-up pass from Crosby. Each finished the series with two goals, Crosby with six assists, Malkin with five. I'll let you decide which one is the best player in the world. To me, they are 1 and 1A. In no particular order.

Was it that the Penguins' power play scored in each game, including Malkin's goal last night? You would think a unit with Crosby, Malkin, Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Sergei Gonchar would score every time, but, really, that's not going to happen. As it was, 6 for 23 isn't bad.

Was it the Penguins' suffocating penalty-killing? The Senators' power play went 0 for 2 last night, 1 for 13 in the series.

Was it the Penguins' defensive dominance all the way around? Ottawa stars Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza each had just an assist in the series. Spezza had a mere 10 shots, Heatley nine. Heck, Hossa had nine shots last night.

Was it the Penguins' lopsided offensive edge? They outscored the Senators, 16-5, in the four games and outshot them, 161-112. The Senators' only lead in the series was 1-0 in Game 3 for 4 minutes, 28 seconds.

Was it that the Penguins got great work from their third and fourth lines? Third-line winger Jarkko Ruutu scored the winner last night, fighting off defenseman Brian Lee and beating goaltender Martin Gerber with a spinning backhanded shot.



Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Owner Mario Lemieux, left, worked his way through the victorious Penguins locker room in the moments after they completed their sweep of the Senators last night in Ottawa == the Penguins' first series victory since 2001.

Here's one final question for you to ponder:

Did you see anything in the four games that makes you think the Penguins can't go a lot deeper in the playoffs? To the Eastern Conference final, perhaps? All the way to the Stanley Cup final, even?

I didn't, either.

It was an amazing four games.

Maybe the most remarkable aspect of the series was the killer instinct the Penguins showed. Last night, it was Ruutu's marvelous goal just 4 minutes, 57 seconds after the Senators' Cory Stillman scored to tie things, 1-1. In Game 3 Monday night, Max Talbot quickly wiped out the Senators' brief 1-0 lead with a goal and then Crosby and Jordan Staal buried the Senators with goals in the first 90 seconds of the third period.

"Give all of the credit to the players," Therrien said. "We really dictated the game tonight."

All four games, actually.

The matches ahead will be much tougher. It doesn't matter what team the Penguins play in Round 2. Washington, the New Jersey-New York Rangers winner or even Boston will be better than the Senators, a dysfunctional bunch in the best of times and a decimated team in this series because of injuries to top players Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher.

But the games in Round 2 won't be so much about what the opponent does. It will be all about the Penguins. As Malone put it, "We know if we play our game, we're a tough team to play against."

All the Penguins need to do is play like they did against the Senators.

In a way, it's a bit troubling that they could have as much as a week off before the next series. You hate to see anything threaten their momentum, although, as defenseman Brooks Orpik noted, "It's like [Petr] Sykora said, 'Sometimes, rest can be a big weapon.' "

Malone, who's banged up, and Gary Roberts, who has a groin problem, won't complain about the time off. Nor will Malkin and Staal, who have played in all 86 games so far.

No, the next series will get here soon enough.

In the meantime, the Penguins are going to spend a little time enjoying what, for many of them, was their first series victory.

"Team picture in front of the mural," Orpik said, rather loudly, a reference to the huge picture Senators management hung outside the Penguins' locker room, showing the handshake line after the Senators took out the Penguins in five playoff games last spring.

What a difference a year makes.

It only seemed appropriate that Orpik rubbed the Senators' noses in it one final time.

The Penguins spent four games doing just that.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 17, 2008 at 12:00 am

Perception of Bay unfair

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Bob Smizik, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Jason Bay hits a solo home run off of Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Jared Burton during the sixth inning of a rain delayed baseball game Friday April 11, 2008 in Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Don Wright)

Jason Bay has become the subject of considerable criticism among Pirates fans, many of whom see him as underachieving and overpaid. Worse, he's often portrayed as someone who doesn't care and as a result of that and low productivity should be benched, traded or demoted.

Let's try to set the record straight because this perception is incorrect and most unfair.

Until last season, Bay had not just been a very good player; he had been an excellent one -- by any standard. He was a player to build a team around.

Let's look at his accomplishments, and to do so we will use the baseball statistic OPS, which is on-base percentage plus slugging percentage. It is widely considered to be the best statistic in evaluating a player's offensive ability.

Bay joined the Pirates in August 2003, coming from the San Diego Padres, along with Oliver Perez, in exchange for Brian Giles. Since he was 24 at the time of the trade and the Pirates were his fourth organization, there was some suspicion about Bay. He almost immediately erased them.

In 2004, he was the National League Rookie of the Year, the first Pirates player to win the award. He hit 26 home runs, drove in 82 runs, had a .282 batting average and a .550 slugging percentage (anything over .500 is good).

In 2005, he built on that to the extent he could have been called the best offensive outfielder in the National League. His OPS was .961, second in Major League Baseball to Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox. For those who prefer more conventional statistics, his 32 home runs and 101 RBIs tied for fourth and fifth among National League outfielders.

In 2006, his OPS was .928, third best in the National League, behind Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday. Among outfielders, he was fourth in RBIs with 109, fifth in home runs with 35. He did this despite playing half of his games in a stadium not friendly to right-handed hitters.

In additional to those offensive accomplishments, he also showed himself to be an above-average outfielder, albeit with a below-average arm, and an excellent base runner.

Understandably, the Pirates signed him to a long-term contract before the 2007 season.

He regressed quite a bit in '07. His home run total fell to 21, his RBIs to 84 and his OPS dropped to .745. His once-keen batting eye, which had helped him accumulate 95 and 102 walks the previous two seasons, vanished. He walked only 59 times. Worse, his defense declined at an alarming rate.

It was one bad season after three exceptional ones, yet Bay has become a public whipping boy. A common criticism, heard much too often, is that Bay doesn't hit in the clutch.

His lifetime batting average is .281. His lifetime batting average with runners in scoring position is .288. His lifetime slugging percentage is .515. His lifetime slugging percentage with runners in scoring position is .536.

The statistics speak for themselves.

Part of the animosity toward Bay relates to his laid-back style. For some reason, fans think players need to show a degree of anger when they fail. If they don't, it's taken to mean they don't care. Bay cares, although his expression rarely changes, whether he strikes out or homers.

Such a style would not figure to be a problem in Pittsburgh since it worked rather well for Willie Stargell, Franco Harris and Mario Lemieux.

The criticism of Bay has not abated this season, although it is much too early to make a judgment on whether he will return to his 2004-06 form or continue to disappoint. After 13 games, Bay had three home runs, which is good, and five RBIs, which is not good.

The player many fans would love to see in Bay's place is Steve Pearce, who had an amazing romp through the minors last year -- excelling at Lynchburg, Altoona and Indianapolis. There's nothing that whets the appetite of fans more than a hot prospect. Hope springs eternal, and prospects represent hope.

Let's take a look at what Pearce has done. After hitting 31 homers and driving in 113 runs in only 487 minor league at-bats, he was promoted to the Pirates in September. In 68 at-bats, he did not homer. There was mild outrage when Pearce was cut from the Pirates in spring training, where he had hit four home runs, despite the fact the had to learn to play the outfield after being almost solely a first baseman in his pro career.

Going into last night's game at Indianapolis, Pearce was batting .245 with no homers in 49 at-bats. That was 117 at-bats (spring training doesn't count) in which Pearce had not homered.

This is not to suggest Pearce is not a prime prospect. He is. In fact, there's a good chance, if he continues to mature as a hitter, that some day he might have the kind of productive major-league seasons that Jason Bay has had.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 16, 2008 at 12:00 am

Steelers' rugged schedule rocks around the clock

Five night games and late afternoon kickoffs predominate

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



The days of the traditional 1 p.m. Sunday kickoff will be rare for the Steelers in 2008.

Not only do they have the toughest schedule in the league, but the NFL also issued them one in which they won't have the chance to feel comfortable with any one kickoff time, particularly the 1 p.m. start at home. The Steelers play at night in three of their first five games, have only two 1 p.m. kickoffs in their first 13 games in 2008 and just two overall at home all season. Four of their first six games are away.

Their schedule, released by the NFL yesterday, contains the maximum of five initially scheduled night games -- two on Sunday, two on Monday and one Thursday. And there could be more.

All five of their final Sunday afternoon games are subject to the league's flexible scheduling. They could be moved to later Sunday afternoon or Sunday night. The NFL provides at least 12 days' notice of time changes, except for the last game of the season, in which only six days' notice is required.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said that "it certainly looks to be one of the more exciting and challenging schedules that we have ever had. Certainly the number of premier teams that are visiting Heinz Field this year will make it an interesting year for our fans, and we are looking forward to the challenge."

The Steelers open Sept. 7 at Heinz Field against the Houston Texans and then go right into the teeth of their AFC North Division competition Sept. 14 at Cleveland, an 8:15 p.m. start. The Browns and Steelers are virtual co-favorites in the AFC North, according to early odds, and it appears the NFL schedule makers see it that way as well. Besides the meeting in prime time in the second game, the teams close out the regular season at Heinz Field.

The Browns and Steelers tied atop the division at 10-6 last season, but the Steelers earned the title based on their two wins against the Browns, who did not make the playoffs.

The Steelers' off weekend comes Oct. 12, after they play five games.

On Oct. 26, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants will make their first visit to Heinz Field. The Giants last played a regular-season game in Pittsburgh in 1991, Chuck Noll's last season as head coach.

No team has a higher combined opponents' winning percentage from last season than the .598 of Steelers' foes. All four teams in the AFC North are in the top nine for their strength of schedules next season. Each plays a similar schedule except for two games: As division champions, the Steelers, for example, play the champions from the AFC East, New England, and champions of the AFC West, San Diego. Cleveland plays the second-place teams from those two divisions, Cincinnati the third-place teams and Baltimore the teams in last place from those divisions.

"I really have to say that it is a group of teams that are formidable teams; it will be a true test,'' Rooney said at Steelers headquarters. "I think that the message for everybody in this building is they better be working very hard to get ready for this season."

2008 STEELERS SCHEDULE

Sept. 7 Houston 1 p.m. KDKA
Sept. 14 at Cleveland 8:15 p.m. WPXI
Sept. 21 at Philadelphia 4:15 p.m. KDKA
Sept. 29 Baltimore 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Oct. 5 at Jacksonville 8:15 p.m. WPXI
Oct. 12 Bye
Oct. 19 at Cincinnati 1 p.m. KDKA
Oct. 26 New York Giants 4:15 p.m. WPGH
Nov. 3 at Washington 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Nov. 9 Indianapolis 4:15 p.m. KDKA
Nov. 16 San Diego 4:15 p.m. KDKA
Nov. 20* Cincinnati 8:15 p.m. NFL
Nov. 30* at New England 4:15 p.m. KDKA
Dec. 7* Dallas 4:15 p.m. WPGH
Dec. 14* at Baltimore 1 p.m. KDKA
Dec. 21* at Tennessee 1 p.m. KDKA
Dec. 28* Cleveland 1 p.m. KDKA

*-subject to NFL flex scheduling and could change

NOTES -- Former Penn State tight end Kyle Brady, an unrestricted free agent, visited the Steelers yesterday. Brady, 36, has played for the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots, who released him Feb. 29. He was the ninth overall pick in the 1995 draft by the Jets. ... The Steelers will honor the memory of Myron Cope, who died Feb. 27, before the home opener Sept. 7. ... The date for the Steelers' preseason opener at home against Philadelphia, previously undetermined, has been set for Aug. 8.

Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 16, 2008 at 12:00 am