Bettis: Steelers will hit their stride if they run the ball

Thursday, February 04, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Jerome Bettis weaved through traffic at the Super Bowl as if he never retired from the game, although he was stopped a few times Wednesday.

The field spread before him was the famous "radio row" at the Super Bowl media headquarters, where Bettis hopped from station to station as a pitchman for Monster.com this week. The jobs he wanted to talk about most, though, belong to the Steelers, specifically those who work on their running game.


Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Former running back Jerome Bettis agrees with Art Rooney II: The Steelers need to get back to running the ball more frequently.

The Bus did not need team president Art Rooney II to inform him the Steelers need a better running game if they are to return to the Super Bowl.

"The problem the Steelers have is they weren't built to throw the football 40 times," said Bettis, who keeps close tabs on his former team and maintains a presence in Pittsburgh during the football season with his weekly show on ESPN Radio 1250. "They are built to run the football. You have these big guards, these big tackles, these guys go forward better than they go back. So you got to let them go forward and be the offensive line they can be. What that does, it makes the passing game even that much more lethal."

The good news, Bettis said, is not only do the Steelers have the pieces in place, but they do not need to change much to improve the run. It was a good thing they kept Bruce Arians as offensive coordinator and now all they need to do is "tweak" some things on offense, Bettis added.

"They have work to do, they're not in trouble, though. I think the only thing that needed to happen was emphasis needed to be put back on the running game. I think that's being done.

"There were a couple games last year they weren't able to close out and win because they couldn't pound the ball in the fourth quarter and close out the games. And it cost them, it cost them an opportunity to make the playoffs."

The Steelers ran nearly 60 percent of the time in 2004 when they became the first AFC team to win 15 regular-season games.

But they have an accomplished quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, so there is no need to go back to that heavy of a dose of the run, according to the Bus.

"I think it was a good move to have Arians back. All it needs is tweaking. It doesn't need a total overhaul. And if you would overhaul that, it would be a mistake. Ben is maturing into one of the best passers in the game. Now the running game has to develop.

"If the running game develops, now you have an offense that is close to unstoppable."

Unstoppable?

"Because you can pound the football, but you also have the ability to throw the football with the receivers and quarterback you have," Bettis explained. "So you're never out of a game and you always put pressure on a defense because of your ability to run and pass.

"If they can get back to closer to 50-50 -- not even 50-50 but closer to 50-50 -- then this team becomes dominant, because the defense is always going to be good."

Bettis recalled the 2004 training camp when Bill Cowher promoted Ken Whisenhunt to offensive coordinator after the Buffalo Bills hired Mike Mularkey as head coach. In 2003, Cowher and Mularkey changed the Steelers' offense to the Tommy Gun to their everlasting dismay. They promoted Amos Zereoue to starting halfback over Bettis because they felt he more suited their new plan to become a passing team behind quarterback Tommy Maddox.

The Steelers went 6-10 in 2003 and Cowher ordered a return to the running game.

"It starts with a philosophy," Bettis said. "When you go to training camp you say, 'We're going to run the football.' That's exactly what we did. There was a great example of that when we got to the goal-line drills. We ran the ball all four times."

And that was just with the first team. The second team followed suit, and when the Steelers had their second live goal-line drill in their 2004 camp, it was all run again. Even during practice, there were more of the so-called "middle drills," which were all run.

"It was the mindset that we are going to run the football and that was never more evident than in training camp," Bettis said. "And what that did was send a message and set the tone, that 'We are running the ball, gentlemen. So guys up front, get ready for it.' "

Bettis believes the 2010 Steelers can become even more formidable on offense than the 2004 team or his last one in 2005 that ended with a Super Bowl victory in his hometown of Detroit.

"I'm happy they didn't make a knee-jerk reaction and lose Arians because I really think Ben understands the philosophy and Bruce knows what Ben is good at and he knows what he's not good at. He makes sure the plays they run have the possibility of success.

"They were explosive this year and that was great to see. All you have to do is add the running game and I think this can become one of the dominant teams the Steelers ever had -- if they can do it."

His bottom-line message to them: "You go into training camp and you say, "We ... are ... going ... to ... run ... the ... football."

Winning offer: An open letter to Pirates owner Bob Nutting

Thursday, February 04, 2010
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/

Dear Mr. Nutting,

Major league sports is a brutal business. What with aggressive player agents, deep-pocketed competitors and more venues vying for the public's entertainment dollar, it is not a pursuit for the faint of heart.

Still, your family has had an ownership stake in the Pirates for 14 years and you've been the controlling owner since January 2007. Not once during the Nuttings' involvement has the team had a winning season. The Pirates' streak of 17 losing campaigns exceeds any run of futility in the history of professional sports. It is, no doubt, as frustrating for you as it is for the fans.

The difference between you and the other Pirates faithful, though, is you can do something about it.

When you took over the Pirates, you talked about your commitment to win. It hasn't happened and, even with the latest clutch of young prospects, it's unlikely that 2010 will be a winning season. When you installed a new management team, they said they were out to change Pirates culture. That cultural shift produced more Pirates losses in each of the last two seasons than the year before. When the fans showed their growing impatience, you said there would be accountability. Let's draw a hard line in the infield dirt on when the Nutting regime will be accountable and return this storied franchise to a modicum of respectability -- or else depart the scene.

That change could come sooner if you were open to the reported offer by Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle to buy the baseball team. Your insistence that the Pirates are not for sale would seem to put an end to the whole idea. Let's hope not.

As a sports owner powerhouse, Lemieux-Burkle has been able to put the necessary money into the hockey team to keep top talent on the ice. To no one's surprise, the Pirates and Penguins are poles apart in terms of image, success and symbols of Pittsburgh.

The Pirates ownership of the Nutting era has never spent much on players. Yet team officials over the years have resisted the notion that this has any bearing on the 17 losing seasons. Even this year, the franchise will be a bottom feeder in terms of total salary in Major League Baseball, with the added twist that ownership is now trying to sell cheapness as a virtue, saying it is necessary to save money for when today's Pirates prospects blossom into the superstars the team will want to keep tomorrow. If only it were so.

That's why you shouldn't dismiss an offer by the Penguins' co-owners out of hand. With their management smarts, superior finances and record of success, they could build this team into not only a sure winner but also one with staying power. Like the Pirates we remember.

In that way, by selling the team you can finally deliver on your promise of producing a winner, and probably years ahead of schedule. You would become an overnight sensation, Pittsburgh's newest baseball hero. It's worth thinking about.

Sincerely,
More than a few Pirates fans

Steelers commit to re-establishing run

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, February 2, 2010

MIAMI -- The New York Jets led the NFL in rushing this season by following a similar approach to one taken by the Steelers in 2004. Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca played on both teams, and he might have trouble recognizing his former one.


Running back Rashard Mendenhall should see more work next season.

Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review

The Steelers passed the ball 56 percent of the time in 2009 -- they passed more than any other Steelers team in the 2000s -- and that stands in stark contrast to the team running the ball 68 percent of the time in 2004.

Such a discrepancy may show how far the Steelers have strayed from the philosophy of pounding opposing teams with the run -- and from themselves, as team president Art Rooney II recently suggested.

Rooney said one of the top Steelers' top priorities during the offseason will be moving toward a more run-oriented attack, a process that started with the hiring of new offensive line coach Sean Kugler last month.

"I think we've got to get better at the run," Steelers tight end Heath Miller said. "I think when you're able to establish the run everything else just branches off that, the offense just kind of opens up. There were games this year when we didn't run the ball as well as we would have liked."

The Steelers had a 1,000-yard rusher -- second-year back Rashard Mendenhall -- but their touchdown rate of 48.2 percent when inside the opponents' 20-yard line ranked 21st in the NFL.

That is a reflection of the team's inability to consistently run the ball near the goal line and in short-yardage situations. Those shortcomings prompted Rooney to say the Steelers need to run the ball better in 2010 and that "it's certainly something that traditionally has been one of the foundations of the team."

The Steelers have run the ball differently since 2007, Bruce Arians' first season as offensive coordinator.

Arians has opened up the offense and has not had much use for a traditional fullback.

The Steelers typically use a tight end as a lead blocker in short-yardage situations if they run at all in them.

No play served as more of a flashpoint for fan and media criticism than when the Steelers went with an empty backfield early in a must-win game Dec. 10 at Cleveland. They tried to throw the ball on third-and-1, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was sacked on the play that set the tone in the Steelers' 13-6 loss.

There had been speculation that Arians might lose his job even though the Steelers had a 4,000-yard passer, two 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher in a season for the first time in franchise history.

Arians survived what could be considered a minor shakeup to Mike Tomlin's coaching staff. But he may be under pressure to nudge the offense in the other direction after the Steelers have gone from running the ball 54 percent of the time in 2007 to 51 percent in 2008 and 44 percent last season.

"My last year there we kind of got away from that dedicated ground-and-pound aspect," said Faneca, who left the Steelers as a free agent after 2007 following 10 seasons with the team. "We were more of a mix-the-run-and-pass together. We weren't necessarily just trying to jam the ball down your throat."

The 2009 Jets and 2004 Steelers did just that. The two offenses were remarkably similar in that each protected a rookie quarterback by taking advantage of two talented running backs and a physical offensive line flush with first-round draft picks.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the 2009 Jets and '04 Steelers averaged 172.2 and 154.0 rushing yards per game, respectively.

If the Steelers want to get back to what they did in the middle of last decade -- they ran the ball 59 percent of the time in 2005 and averaged 124.5 rushing yards that season -- it may not happen right away.

No starters along their offensive line were drafted before the third round.
And they haven't had an offensive lineman make the Pro Bowl since Faneca in 2007.

By comparison, three of the Jets' offensive linemen played in the Pro Bowl on Sunday night, including Faneca. All three were first-round draft picks.

The one significant change the Steelers made before the free-agent signing period and draft is replacing Larry Zierlein with Kugler.

Kugler, whose patchwork unit in Buffalo helped Fred Jackson rush for 1,062 yards this season, said the linemen that compete and finish plays are the ones who will be on the field next season.

What the Steelers do in the NFL Draft in late April may also be an indicator of how committed they are to running the ball next season.

ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay said the Steelers could use their first-round pick (No. 18 overall) on an offensive tackle and play him there or move him inside to guard.

McShay said the 2010 draft class is deep at offensive tackle.

"I get the sense from talking to people in the league that (the Steelers) want to get back to becoming a little bit more of a physical offensive football team," McShay said. "As much as they love Ben and as much as they love throwing the ball, they need to be able to run the ball when push comes to shove."

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Crosby's hat trick lifts Penguins over Buffalo

By Rob Rossi, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, February 2, 2010

His first 50-goal NHL season isn't quite in the bag, but center Sidney Crosby skated several strides toward that elusive plateau on Monday night.

PITTSBURGH - FEBRUARY 1: Forward Sidney Crosby(notes) #87 of the PIttsburgh Penguins fires a shot past forward Derek Roy(notes) #9 of the Buffalo Sabres in the third period on February 1, 2010 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Crosby scored three times in the second period for the hat trick to pace the Penguins to a 5-4 win over the Sabres. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Crosby's third hat trick, and the fifth of his five-year career, fueled a 5-4 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at Mellon Arena. Crosby's 37 goals are tied with San Jose center Patrick Marleau for the league lead.

"It always helps when Sid has a game like he did (last night)," goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said after stopping 30 shots, including 20 of his final 22 faced. "That was huge."

As was this victory for the Penguins, who improved to 2-6-0 against the Eastern Conference's elite - Washington, New Jersey and Buffalo, the lone three clubs ahead of them in the standings.

The Penguins overcame a 3-1 deficit against a top defensive team and goalie Ryan Miller, a Vezina Trophy candidate and the likely starter for Team USA at the Vancouver Olympics later this month.

Center Jordan Staal's 14th goal and two by Crosby within a minute and 25 seconds turned that deficit into a two-goal advantage late in the second period.

"We were concerned," Staal said after snapping a 12-game goal drought. "We haven't had one of those comeback wins in a while."

The Penguins (35-21-1, 71 points) have won a bunch lately. They are on a 9-5-0 stretch - not an elite measure of excellence, as defenseman Brooks Orpik suggested, but good enough to climb within a point of New Jersey for the Atlantic Division lead.

The Devils have three games in-hand, and as Orpik noted the Penguins "can still play a lot better."

Teammates cannot imagine better from Crosby, whom Orpik said has "never played this consistent" offensively.

A fanned one-timer and a gift turnover from poor puck-handling preceded Crosby's pretty finish of a 2-on-1 with defenseman Kris Letang, which staked the Penguins a two-goal lead late in the second period.

That tally afforded a sellout crowd the chance to litter the ice with promotional giveaway black tote bags - creating a scene similar to Dec. 23, when the artificial surface was covered by black book bags after center Evgeni Malkin's hat trick against Ottawa.

PITTSBURGH - FEBRUARY 1: Forward Sidney Crosby(notes) #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates off the ice after the Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 on February 1, 2010 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Crosby had a hat trick in the second period to lead the victory for the Penguins. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Former right wing Jaromir Jagr was the last Penguins player to score four goals in a game, against the New York Rangers on Oct. 14, 2000.

No Penguins player has scored at least 50 goals since Jagr posted 52 during the 2000-01 campaign, his last with the Penguins.

Crosby's single-season best is 39 goals, which he hit a rookie four years ago. He is on pace for 54, but last night downplayed this latest turn.

"It was great plays by a lot of guys," he said. "I was fortunate enough to bury them."

Malkin was one of those guys making great plays. His two assists against Buffalo extended his points streak to eight games. He has posted six goals and eight assists over that span.

He and Crosby have scored or assisted on 21 of the Penguins' past 22 goals.

The exception was a first-period goal by center Mark Letestu, his first in the NHL, only 47 seconds into the game last night.

"It's been a long time coming," Letestu said.

For Crosby, 50 goals might not be far off.

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The 5-year trial is over: Scrub the shoot-out

BY DREW SHARP
DETROIT FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
http://www.freep.com/section/SPORTS
February 1, 2010

The shoot-out concept was cute at first. The NHL acquiesced to short attention spans after the owners' lockout five years ago, guaranteeing a quick resolution to regular-season overtime games. Turn 65 minutes of grinding endurance into a dazzling, gimmicky one-on-one skills competition for an extra point.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 31: Sidney Crosby(notes) #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores past Jimmy Howard(notes) #35 of the Detroit Red Wings during the shootout at Mellon Arena on January 31, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Red Wings 2-1. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

There stood Jimmy Howard outside the crease Sunday, knowing that nothing friendly stood between himself and two of the NHL's most lethal stickmen -- Sidney Crosby on one rush and Evgeni Malkin on the next -- during the Wings' shoot-out against the Penguins.

Both made splendid moves to score on Howard. Crosby went top shelf off his backhand, and Malkin patiently waited for Howard to commit before calmly tucking the puck behind the fallen goalie's skate.

Pittsburgh got the point, but the NHL is missing the point.

Maybe I've simply grown tired of the shoot-out, because it seems to happen so frequently that there's no longer anything fresh about it. Perhaps the NHL should acknowledge it made a mistake in cheapening the value of victory for the sake of creating easy highlights for "SportsCenter" (That is, on those rare occasions when "SportsCenter" shows hockey highlights).

It's February. Points are a premium now. There isn't much breathing room separating the 10th team in the conference standings from the fifth team. The Wings are ninth, one spot out of the final playoff spot among the Western Conference field following their 2-1 (shoot-out) loss to the Penguins, but they're only nine points shy of fourth place and home-ice advantage in the first round.

Points are too precious not to go to those who fight hardest for them. The shoot-out has turned regular-season overtime into a white-flag surrender. Motivation isn't there to get two points by old-fashioned methods. Teams would rather play it safe through overtime, get the point and take their chances in the shoot-out, where the best scorers are free to operate without a defensive bull's-eye on their back.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 31: Evgeni Malkin(notes) #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins scores past Jimmy Howard(notes) #35 of the Detroit Red Wings to win the game in the shootout at Mellon Arena on January 31, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Red Wings 2-1. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Give the NHL points for outside-the-box thinking, but if it's heresy determining playoff games through such gimmicks -- and it is -- then why not apply the same principle when doling out crucial late-season points necessary for earning final playoff berths?

The Wings are 4-6 in shoot-outs.

Fear not. They're going to make the playoffs. Johan Franzen should return just before the Olympics. And Howard has been nothing short of spectacular, stopping 46 shots Sunday. He's the primary reason they got one point when they probably shouldn't have.

The NHL added the shoot-out to showcase individual skills, an attempt at proving to novices that NHL hockey is as much an exercise in speed and grace as it is in physicality and grit.

I understood it then. I applauded the forward thinking then. But there's just something cheap about it now.

There's nothing wrong with perseverance making the point in the regular season.

Contact DREW SHARP: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com. Catch "Shep and Sharp" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WDFN-AM (1130).

Staal scores with defensive play

By Kevin Gorman, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Monday, February 1, 2010

As if seeing Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin on the ice together for the opening faceoff wasn't daunting enough, imagine what was going through the minds of the Detroit Red Wings when Staal split their top defensive pairing for a shorthanded shot in the second period.

Anyone have a flashback of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final?

Detroit tends to bring out the best in Staal, who has tortured the Red Wings in their past nine meetings by scoring five goals, including a third-period hat trick in an overtime victory in November 2008.

"I guess so," Staal said. "They're always big games and they're always tough. It's always exciting and challenging for any player out there."

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 31: Evgeni Malkin(notes) #71 and Jordan Staal(notes) #11 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate their shootout victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena on January 31, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Red Wings 2-1. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Staal didn't score a goal Sunday afternoon, but Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said it would have been befitting if Staal had, considering how close he came and how he otherwise starred in the 2-1 shootout victory over the Red Wings before a standing-room-only crowd at Mellon Arena.

"It's been a long time since I had one," Staal of his drought since scoring two goals against Atlanta on Jan. 5. "I thought I was going to get one, but I'm going in the right direction and I'm going to keep playing that way."

Bylsma had multiple motivations for putting Staal and Malkin on the same line. One was to help snap Staal's 11-game goal-less streak by pairing him with Malkin, who endured a similar streak but has scored seven goals and 17 points in the past 12 games. Another was to add a two-way presence to play alongside Malkin, who is minus-6 in that span.

"I like the defensive presence that Staal brings to that line," said Bylsma, referring to Staal's team-best plus-12 rating. "It gives Geno a chance to focus on his speed, getting the puck and playing in the offensive zone.
"They obviously played very well."

Well enough that Staal and Malkin won't mind if they stay together.

Even though Malkin left his comfort zone by playing on the right wing, he endorsed the idea of staying on the same line with Staal when the Penguins play host to Buffalo at 7 tonight.

"I think (so) because we won and we played good - the whole team," Malkin said. "Why not stay?"

And Staal doesn't seem to mind, either, even though having Sidney Crosby, Malkin and Staal center their own lines has been pivotal to the Penguins' success, especially against the Red Wings the past two Cup Finals.

"We'll see how long that will last," Staal said. "We both deserve to play center, but it's always nice to play with such a talented player. It felt good, playing with Geno. You just try to give him the puck and go to the net. When you're playing with him, good things happen."

Except for the time Malkin's inadvertent stick opened a gash across Staal's nose, just after Malkin fed Staal for a shot between the circles. For drawing blood, Malkin told Staal that he was owed a goal.

And Staal came incredibly close to getting one.

When Malkin drew a tripping penalty in the second period, Staal stole the crowd's breath by splitting defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski for the shorthanded shot from the left circle. For a moment, it was reminiscent of Staal's Game 4 goal in the Cup Final last year, when he shrugged off Rafalski to score, tying the game and turning the series.

In the third period, Malkin set up Staal for a backhand from the right side of the net, one that hit the post and skimmed across the goal line. Later, Staal swatted the puck in mid-air and bounced it off the post again.

But Staal's real value isn't with his scoring but rather his strength in the defensive zone, which is why his 24 minutes, 36 seconds of ice time was the most among Penguins forwards. His best play came in the final minute of regulation - when he broke up Pavel Datsyuk's shot that sent Staal's stick flying - and in overtime. When Sergei Gonchar drew a hooking penalty, Staal was on the penalty-kill unit that kept the Red Wings from scoring.

"That's a young man who's not that old," Bylsma said of the 21-year-old Staal, "but doesn't play like it."

And a young man who hasn't scored a goal in a long time, but proved that he doesn't need one to be dominant.

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Opponents' fear of Harrison helps Steelers

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Monday, February 1, 2010

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - James Harrison generally has as much use for excuses as he does quarterback protection rules.

But the Steelers' no-nonsense outside linebacker said there are reasons why his sack total dipped from a team-record 16 in 2008 to 10 last season.

"I started dropping a little more in coverage, would show blitz, and when I normally go, I didn't go," said Harrison, who played in his third consecutive Pro Bowl Sunday night. "They'd do things on my side and end up leaving (LaMarr Woodley) open. And 'Wood' came through for us at the end of the season."

The question now is whether Harrison, who didn't have a sack in the Steelers' final six games last season, will be as dominant as he was in 2008.
That's when Harrison turned in arguably the finest season ever by a Steelers linebacker, punctuated by an interception returned 100 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII.

Last season, in an effort to counter teams keying on him, the Steelers didn't always blitz Harrison. But the player who was cut four times before finally sticking in the NFL no longer enjoys the cloak that once came with being an undrafted free agent.

"They're going to be looking for him," Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said of Harrison, "and he's one of the reasons that LaMarr is successful on the other side."

Woodley played in his first Pro Bowl last night, and his ascent could take some of the focus off Harrison.

What is certain is that if Harrison doesn't return to the otherworldly level he played at two seasons ago, it won't be because of a lack of effort.
As relentless as the 6-foot, 242-pounder is on the field, Harrison is borderline maniacal when it comes to training.

Last year, Harrison signed a six-year, $51.175 million contract that made him the highest-paid defensive player in franchise history. And it only made him more driven, according to the performance trainer who has worked with Harrison since long before he became a star for the Steelers.

"Ever since day one, James' work ethic is second to none, and he's not a guy that needs to be showy about it," said Steve Saunders, who owns Power Train Sports Institute. "James is probably awful for referrals because he doesn't talk about what he does."

Harrison is frequently not much for talking at all - as one media member at the Pro Bowl found out last week.

Asked to answer a question into a cell phone for a new media sports website, Harrison fixed his trademark flinty stare on the inquisitor.

He was assured that just 30 seconds of his time was needed. Harrison said he would give 20.

That kind of edge has long been as much a part of his persona as on-field intimidation, and it can be argued that Harrison did his share of the latter in 2009.

Despite notching only two sacks in the second half of the '09 season, Harrison led the Steelers in quarterback pressures with 20.

"I don't measure my impact in sacks," Harrison said. "A pressure can be better than a sack depending on what happens with that pressure, if he throws a ball that's off and one of the (defensive backs) or linebackers picks it off."

The perception that Harrison gets held more than his fair share on the way to the quarterback and the nagging injuries he played through last season may have contributed to the drop in sacks.

But Harrison said he is simply focusing on what he can do to get better.

As for the Steelers, Harrison said he is glad their nucleus will be kept together. That affirms his belief that the Steelers are closer to the team that won a Super Bowl in 2008 than the squad that underachieved in 2009.

Said Harrison: "I don't see too many things that need replaced or fixed."

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Calling Cooke an 'agitator' a disservice

Monday, February 01, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/penguins/

Their lockers are just a few feet apart in the Penguins' room, but Sidney Crosby and Matt Cooke might as well be from different planets. Crosby is well on his way to being one of the NHL's all-time superstars, the face of the league and soon to be the face of the Olympics. Cooke is, well ...

How would you describe Cooke?

I took a shot at it and used the term "agitator" Sunday after the Penguins' 2-1 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena. Cooke smiled politely. But he clearly didn't like it.

"I've always kind of been in that stereotype and I've always tried to get out of it," he said. "An agitator, to me, is someone who gets 10 points a year and does his job. I like to think I contribute more to the team than that. I can get you 30-40 points a year and 10-15 goals."


Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Matt Cooke, right, congratulates Evgeni Malkin after Malkin scored in the shootout against the Red Wings Sunday.

You know what? Cooke is absolutely right. Calling him an agitator just won't do. Forget his 11 goals and 22 points so far this season. The term doesn't fairly describe his defensive work, especially as a penalty-killer.

I'm here this morning to call Cooke huge in this latest Penguins' win.

"There's no real stats to show that," Crosby said. "But we don't win that game without those guys doing their job."

The penalty-killers.

Wingers Cooke, Jordan Staal, Craig Adams and Pascal Dupuis, primarily.

Their five kills Sunday made it 20 in a row for the Penguins and 26 of the past 29. Three came consecutively with the game scoreless. The biggest came in overtime after defenseman Sergei Gonchar was called for hooking with 1:21 left. Cooke and Staal did most of the work in that 4-on-3 situation -- along with defenseman Mark Eaton -- and limited the Red Wings to just two shots.

"That's a tough penalty to kill," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "Those guys really minimized their opportunities."

Added Crosby, speaking from his superstar perspective, "We appreciate what they do because we know how difficult it can be playing on the power play against guys like that. They can really frustrate you."

That's the sort of thing Cooke brings to the Penguins every game. He brought it in his first season here last season -- along with 13 goals and 31 points and another goal and seven points in the playoffs -- when the team won the Stanley Cup. He plays with a physical edge that every team needs.

Yes, Cooke will disturb the peace, occasionally. Philadelphia Flyers winger Arron Asham made a big deal of it after the teams played Jan. 24. He accused Cooke of biting him during a scrum late in the game, then called him "gutless" for not fighting when he challenged him later. "He's garbage to me and I have no respect for him at all," Asham said.

Suddenly, agitator didn't seem like such an insulting description, you know?

"He can say whatever he wants," Cooke said, dismissively, denying again that he snacked on Asham's finger. "If he's worried about me and yapping at me, he's not worried about the task at hand. With nine minutes left in a 1-1 hockey game, he wanted to fight. I wanted to stay on the ice and help my team win."

So Cooke did. He got the deciding goal in a 2-1 win on the power play when he deflected in a Gonchar shot with 1:47 left. Of late, he has been getting more ice time on the power play because of his willingness to take a beating in front of the net. Clearly, he takes as well as he gives.

Cooke is among the Penguins who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. You think he wants to stay? You have no idea.

"I love it here. It's an amazing place," Cooke said. "It's one thing to be a part of a winning atmosphere. But this team and this city have made it very comfortable for my family. I spent a long time in one city" -- Vancouver for nearly nine years ---- "and to be able to feel like I found a home again is a nice feeling."

Gonchar and Eaton also will be free agents, and their contract status surely will get more attention between now and then than Cooke's. It's nice to think the Penguins will keep all three. It's really nice to think they'll keep Cooke.

That physical edge, remember?

"You need all sorts to win," Cooke said. "You need superstars. You need points-getters. You need grinders. You need role players."

Notice the man didn't say agitators.

I know this:

I won't make that mistake with him again.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com. More articles by this author

First published on February 1, 2010 at 12:00 am

On the Penguins: Team of the '00s

The 2000s have shown us the worst and best of the franchise. And, oh yeah, proof that lightning can strike twice in one lifetime.

Sunday, January 31, 2010
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/penguins/

The past 10 seasons have been, in a lot of ways, a microcosm of the Penguins' time in the NHL.

There were seasons -- it must have felt like 100 of them to people in the organization -- when they were anchored at the bottom of the overall standings and lacked the financial resources to even think about being competitive.


Clockwise from bottom, Sidney Crosby, Brooks Orpik, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Malone.

But there also were heady times such as the draft lottery in 2005, when the Penguins hit on a 1-in-30 shot at getting the rights to Sidney Crosby, and the spring of 2009, when they earned their third Stanley Cup.

And while a lot of forgettable players have passed through here since the fall of 2000 -- anyone thought much about Patrick Boileau or John Jakopin lately? -- there also have been some guys who left an indelible mark, and they provide the foundation for the Penguins' Team of the 2000s.

The intent, as with the teams from the previous four decades, was not to identify the 12 most talented forwards and six most skilled defensemen, but to assemble a team that follows the rough template of the 2009-10 Penguins:

Two lines counted on to drive the offense, a third that's good at both ends and an "energy line" that blends physicality with responsible defense. The defense pairings are intended to offer a balance of offense and defense.

Players were selected on the basis of their performance for the Penguins during the period of 2000-01 through the present.


Thumbnail notes

Armstrong: Classic third-liner who delivered some crushing checks when he was here.

Cooke: Blends versatility with a nasty edge.

Crosby: Has lived up to the hype that surrounded his arrival in the NHL.

Eaton: Smart and sound, a good fit with an offense-oriented partner.

Fleury: Should end up owning almost every franchise goaltending record.

Gonchar: Overcame miserable start in 2005 to become cornerstone of defense.

Guerin: Has accomplished a lot in just 11 months here.

Hedberg: Became a folk hero during stretch drive and playoffs in 2001.

Kovalev: When he was on his game, few were better.

Kunitz: Fierce forechecker with potential to be a 25-goal man.

Lemieux: The only guy to make the cut in three decades, and at two positions.

Malkin: A pretty nice consolation prize for losing out on Alex Ovechkin.

Malone: Best power forward to come through this franchise in some time.

Morozov: It took a while, but he finally produced to his potential.

Orpik: One of the best hitters ever among Penguins defensemen.

Scuderi: Fearless, if not flashy. The prototype defensive defenseman.

Staal: Has accomplished more by age 21 than most players do in a career.

Talbot: Versatile and hard-working, with a knack for rising to the occasion.

Tarnstrom: Good offensive defenseman on some very bad teams.

Whitney: Excellent puck skills, but played smaller than he is.

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Roster for the Team of the 2000s

For more on the Penguins, read the Pens Plus blog with Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Dave Molinari can be reached at dmolinari@post-gazette.com.

Penguins Plus, a blog by Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson, is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.

First published on January 31, 2010 at 12:16 am

Dapper Dan Awards: Top honors for Malkin, Penn State volleyball

Sunday, January 31, 2010
Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

When Evgeni Malkin's parents got rock star treatment during the Stanley Cup run, the bond between the Russian-born star and Pittsburgh entered the realm of extraordinary.

"The fans and the people of Pittsburgh have been like family to me," he said. "It's my second home."


Peter Diana / Post-Gazette

Penguins Evgeni Malkin

To that end, after winning the NHL scoring title, earning playoff MVP honors and parading the Stanley Cup along city streets, Malkin has added a new award to his trophy case. He is the Dapper Dan sportsman of the year for 2009.

And for the first time, the Dapper Dan sportswoman award belongs to a team rather than an individual. The Penn State women's volleyball team, having won three consecutive national championships to cement its status as a dynasty, has made history again.

The winners, along with lifetime achievement award honoree Bruno Sammartino, will appear Thursday, March 25, at the 2010 Dapper Dan Dinner & Sports Auction presented by BNY Mellon. In addition, winners will be announced for best play, best sports moment and breakthrough athlete. The event will be held at the Petersen Events Center.

Malkin, 23, hails from the steel town of Magnitogorsk, which means Iron City, where the local hockey team is called Metallurg, which means Steelers. He may not recognize the names of past Dapper Dan winners such as Billy Conn, Bullet Bill Dudley or Ralph Kiner, but he joins a growing list of Penguins to win the city's oldest and most prestigious sports award.

Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, coach Bob Johnson and Sidney Crosby are all part of Dapper Dan lore.

"It's a tremendous honor," Malkin said. "I want to thank the fans and all the people who voted. It's like a dream."

Ballots were cast through the mail and on-line, with final decisions made by the Dapper Dan's six-person executive committee.

Now in his fourth season, Malkin has come a long, long way in a short time.

"For a young man who had to learn a new language and a new culture, it's been a tough transition in a lot of ways," said Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. "But you're finding a guy who's comfortable being with a young team in this city. He's a fun-loving kid with a great personality. There's something real personal about how Pittsburgh embraced him and his family."

And of course, success goes hand in glove with hometown awards.

"There are other great players in the league that are young. Others seem to be as dynamic. But with both Sid and Geno, there's more to it than just scoring and more to it than being good players," Bylsma said. "There's been winning and there's been a championship at a young age. That coincides with the relationship they have with the fans."

Malkin's parents, Natalia and Vladimir, may be on hand for the banquet. They're coming from Russia to see him in the Olympics and will stay for the remainder of the NHL season. The 17th Street Café on the South Side, still offers a dish called Mama Malkin's Borscht. The restaurant sold 350 gallons of it during the Stanley Cup finals. Now that's some home cooking.


Penn State celebrates their third straight NCAA national championship.

At Penn State, meanwhile, the women's volleyball team last lost on Sept. 15, 2007, to Stanford. Since then, there have been 102 consecutive victories and three national titles.

"It's a great honor," coach Russ Rose said of the Dapper Dan award. "I'm proud to accept it on their behalf, but it's all about the players. It's a great collection of kids who worked really hard."

Although nobody on the current roster is from western Pennsylvania, Rose said Penn State ascended to national prominence with Pittsburgh area talent.

"In the early years, half of our team was from western Pennsylvania. All of them shaped the program and the culture of success," he said.

He specifically mentioned Christa Harmotto of Hopewell High School, a three-time All-American who was a big factor on some national championship teams. She was previously nominated for Dapper Dan sportswoman of the year.

"Not very many people are as deserving of recognition for the type of person she is," Rose said. "She was all about the concept of team. She was the heartbeat of our team."

For more information on the banquet, go to http://www.post-gazette.com/dapperdan.

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First published on January 31, 2010 at 12:00 am

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Dapper Dan History

Steelers: Saturday is judgement day for Dermontti Dawson

Voting him in should be a snap

Sunday, January 31, 2010
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Chuck Noll, an old guard in his playing days with the Cleveland Browns, drafted one in 1988 in the second round from Kentucky. In the next round, he drafted a center from Notre Dame.

He and the Steelers believed they had just acquired two-thirds of their interior offensive line for the next decade. They were wrong, half wrong anyway. They found their center and missed badly on the other guy, but not the way they had planned.


Courtesy Pittsburgh Steelers
Dermontti Dawson

Chuck Lanza, the center from Notre Dame, washed out quickly. Dermontti Dawson, the guard from Kentucky, moved to center one year later and not only succeeded Hall of Famer Mike Webster to continue the team's grand tradition at the position, but many believe he exceeded Webster's play over the next decade.

Dawson, among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010 that will be chosen Saturday in Miami, set a new standard for centers throughout the National Football League. Before Dawson, the center position featured men of strength to take on defensive tackles and nose tackles, and smart players who could call the pass protections and adjust blocking schemes for the entire line.

Dawson did that and more. He revolutionized the position because he also had such athletic ability, quickness and speed that he often led sweeps around end, blocked men not just in front of him but to his right, and rarely needed a double-team to block a defensive lineman as most centers did.
There are some who will say he was the greatest center who ever played in the NFL.

"I don't know if he was the first center to snap the football and lead on the sweep, but I've never seen a center do it as good," said Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson. "The guy was a tremendous athlete, the strongest and probably most athletic offensive lineman I've ever seen."
Dick LeBeau has been in the game for 51 years and agrees with Woodson.

"He's the first guy I ever saw as a center pull and lead sweeps," said LeBeau, who coached against Dawson and with him. "And they would lead Dermontti on what we called the 'plus nose tackle,' the guy who sat outside his shoulder with the play going to that side. His blocking assignment was to cut that guy out of that onside gap, almost impossible. But Dermontti could do it because of his quickness. You just don't see that very often."

Dawson not only made seven Pro Bowls before hamstring injuries forced him into retirement after the 2000 season, he was chosen first-team All-Pro six times as the best center in the NFL. He earned the first-team nod at center on the NFL's Team of the Decade for the 1990s. He also was chosen as the NFL's offensive lineman of the year in 1993 and '96 by two organizations and he played in 170 consecutive games.

Those Steelers teams of the 1990s did not dominate the league running the ball just because they wanted to do it.

"To me he was the best athlete to ever play that position," said former Steelers coach Bill Cowher. "He was very powerful and explosive, just a rare combination of quickness, explosion, and he was a very dependable player. This guy hardly ever missed a game.

"He redefined the position. Looking schematically, when you start to design the center to pull after the snap, not many can do it. When you look at the numbers we had in the running game, everything we did worked from the inside out, and to have a guy like Dermontti and such stability, that was a staple of every offense we had."

Cowher might be considered biased on the topic of Dawson, Bill Belichick cannot.

"He was one of the best players that we have ever played against at that position," said Belichick, who played the Steelers twice annually when he coached the Browns in the 1990s. "He had exceptional quickness.

"I think that really is the measure of a center is his ability to play against powerful guys that are lined up over him and try to bull-rush the pocket and collapse it in the middle so that the quarterback can't step up. Dawson had great leverage and quickness with his hands and his feet where he did a great job of keeping that pocket clean for [Neil] O'Donnell and those guys who played behind him.

"The other thing that I think was a key to the Pittsburgh running game for years is when the nose tackle or the defensive tackle is offset to the play side; if you are running to the right and the nose tackle is lined up in the center-guard gap on the right, or sometimes even on the inside shoulder of the guard; that is a very hard block for the center to get. Defensively, you feel like they should not be able to cut him off from the center position, but Dawson made that block consistently."

That is precisely what LeBeau said. Belichick continued his praise of Dawson.

"Without him making those blocks inside, a lot of those runs for [Jerome] Bettis and [Barry] Foster would not have been able to get downhill like they did. As great as those Steelers' running games were over the last decade-and-a-half that I played against them, the effectiveness of the center position has had a lot to do with that. Dawson was outstanding; as well as his protection in the passing game."

Webster and Miami's Dwight Stephenson were considered two very different styles of centers. Webster had the strength, Stephenson the quickness. Both are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Stephenson played from 1980 to 1987, made six Pro Bowls, five All-Pro teams and was the center on the all-1980s decade team.

"People referred to Dwight as the No. 1 guy but I think Dermontti was every bit his equal in all phases of the game," LeBeau said. "He played ahead of Dermontti, year-wise, but still I think Dermontti was the guy who popularized the pulling center. Dwight did a little bit but Dermontti did it a lot."

Tunch Ilkin, a two-time Pro Bowl right tackle, played on the offensive line with Webster and then with Dawson, and played throughout Stephenson's era.

"In my day, we always argued with guys around the league who was better, Webby or Dwight Stephenson," Ilkin said. "Everyone who picked Dwight picked him because of his athleticism. Those who pick Webby picked him because of his strength, toughness and power.

"If you put them both together, you've got Dermontti Dawson."

For more on the Steelers, read the new blog, Ed Bouchette On the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.

Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.

First published on January 31, 2010 at 12:00 am

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Dermonti Dawson Hall Qualifications

Pirates to Penguins' owners a hot idea

Sunday, January 31, 2010
By Ron Cook
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

There's nothing quite like the right newspaper headline to brighten a frigid winter morning.

Penguins owners offer to buy Pirates

Unfortunately, there's no one quite like Pirates owner Bob Nutting to make it feel like it's minus-15 outside.

"The team is not for sale."


Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle

Unless you have spent the weekend hibernating, you probably know the Post-Gazette reported Saturday that Penguins owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle made an offer to buy the Pirates during a meeting with Nutting four months ago. My initial reaction to the news probably was the same as yours: I wanted to go find a mountaintop and start screaming, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

If not Mark Cuban as the Pirates' savior, Lemieux and Burkle would do just fine, thank you very much.

Actually, anybody would be an upgrade over Nutting.

We can dream, can't we?

Then, I read Nutting's strong no-sale response in Saturday's story. It brought back horrible memories of something he told the Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic in August after the Pirates had completed their annual summer salary dumps. Asked if he would consider selling the team, Nutting said, "Absolutely not. My family plans to own this franchise on a multi-generational level, and I look forward to my daughters being involved someday, as well."

Never have more chilling words been spoken by a Pittsburgh sports figure. An endless future of Nutting baseball? What did we do so wrong to deserve that?

So Lemieux and Burkle have no chance, right?

Not necessarily.

Ask yourself two questions: Has Lemieux ever failed at anything? Doesn't he always get what he wants?

You know the answers.

Yes and yes.

Suddenly, that dream no longer seems quite so farfetched.

Word is Lemieux and Burkle are serious about buying the Pirates. Altruism isn't their primary motivation. They aren't all that interested in saving a suffering city from Nutting's terrible brand of baseball, although that would be a wonderful benefit. They see a huge potential value in owning two sports franchises in town. From regional television to cross-marketing, the possibilities are endless.

On the surface, Nutting's no-sale stance would seem to rule out the Lemieux/Burkle Pirates. Clearly, he is making significant money from the team. He can't possibly be in baseball for the winning; the Pirates have lost for 17 consecutive seasons with no end to that streak in sight despite all the happy talk at PirateFest this weekend about making a "return to the playoffs" and competing for a "championship." Really, wouldn't it be nice if the club actually won, say, 70 games in a season before the organization had the nerve to try to make us think a championship was a possibility.
Nutting also can't enjoy being called one of the worst owners in all of sports, as so many of us consider him. I mean, it's not hard to imagine a "Sell the team!" chant breaking out at PirateFest today. Where's the fun for him there? He has to be in the business for the profits and nothing else.

But isn't it striking that Nutting at least agreed to visit the Penguins' offices last fall and listen to what Lemieux and Burkle had to say? I've always said he is a good businessman. If the price is right -- I mean really right -- maybe he would do a deal. Really.

That's where Burkle comes in.

His involvement is every bit as encouraging as Lemieux's.

Lemieux might be the iconic figure in the Penguins' team picture, but it's easy to forget that he wasn't such a hot owner before the NHL's lockout in the 2004-05 season evened the economic ice for its teams and before the Sidney Crosby Ping-Pong ball bounced the Penguins' way against all odds before the '05 NHL entry draft. There almost certainly would be no NHL team here without both developments and no beautiful, new arena on the way in the fall. Sometimes, it really is better to be lucky than good.

Burkle brings a different dynamic to the mix. He has the money to make a deal for the Pirates, then to do what Nutting can't or won't -- make the team successful on the field. He's a multi-billionaire. I repeat: That's billionaire with a capital B. Like Lemieux, he's almost always successful. And like Lemieux, he almost always gets what he wants.

I gotta tell you, this thing has me excited.

It's another frigid winter morning out there today, but I'm imagining sunny, 75-degree days just ahead.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com.

Penguins Plus, a blog by Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson, is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.

First published on January 31, 2010 at 12:00 am

Linkage to the Post-Gazette's coverage:

> Analysis: What will be the next step, if any?

> Reaction: Chuck Finder gets responses about this at PirateFest, including Frank Coonelly's address to the crowd on the topic and some feedback from fans in attendance.

> Video: Fans at PirateFest talk about it.

> Opinion: Columnist Ron Cook writes, 'We can dream, can't we?'

> Opinion: Blogger Bob Smizik predicts that the pressure on Bob Nutting to sell 'will increase tenfold.'

> Penguins: Sidney Crosby and Brooks Orpik endorse the idea of their bosses buying the Pirates.

> Poll result: An overwhelming result in favor of selling.

> Hot Stove: Will the Pirates' defense stay at No. 1? John Russell sounds optimistic, but the statistics might spell a different story. Also in here for those who missed Chuck's blog item yesterday, Neal Huntington had some rather blunt remarks about the Pirates not ranking well-known prospect Bryce Harper in their top 10 for the 2010 draft.

Today's rematch won't heal Red Wings' Stanley Cup wound

BY HELENE ST. JAMES
DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.freep.com/section/SPORTS
Posted: Jan. 31, 2010

To this day, Dan Cleary has to tried to let go of what happened the last time the Red Wings met today's opponent, the Pittsburgh Penguins, because it resulted in the Wings being dethroned as Stanley Cup champions.

That was nearly eight months ago, and whatever happens today at Mellon Arena on national television, it won't change who owns the Cup. For the Wings, however, it is a significant game because they need points, and getting a pair from the defending champions would be a confidence booster.

"I think it's up to us to show something, especially the way things have gone lately with us not having played up to our potential," veteran forward Kirk Maltby said. "Any time we've won a championship, it's always been that you measure yourself against the team that won the Cup last year."

Detroit's Brian Rafalski, Johan Franzen, Kris Draper and captain Nicklas Lidstrom wait to shake hands with the Pittsburgh Penguins after the Penguins defeated the Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last June. (JULIAN H. GONZALEZ / DFP)

The Wings won the Cup in 2008 when they beat Pittsburgh in six games. A year later, they came so close, leading 2-0 and 3-2 in the series, only to lose Game 7 at home.

"I felt it pretty hard right away," Cleary said, "and still do. When I'm just sitting alone thinking, I think about it a lot and I keep telling myself to try to get it out of my mind. But it's something I'll never forget."

Stanley hero Talbot hobbled by injuries

Maxime Talbot is struggling -- but what good does that do the Red Wings now?

The Game 7 Penguins hero from last year's Stanley Cup finals has had shoulder surgery and groin problems and hasn't made much of an impact at all this season, with one goal in 28 games. But he'll always be the guy who scored twice June 12 at Joe Louis Arena, doing the seemingly inconceivable in rallying the Penguins to the Stanley Cup championship after the Wings had taken a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

It was an ending that first stunned and then stung.

"It didn't hurt as much at first as it did as time passed, when you really realized how close we were," said Chris Osgood, who finished the 23-game playoff run with a 2.01 goals-against average. "We were up 2-0 and 3-2. If you were to tell me again we'd be up in that series, I'd still say we're going to win. When we didn't ...

"I think the initial reaction right afterwards was that we'd played real hard and that we had a lot of injuries; that we'd given it all we had. Then time passed and it was more of a squandered opportunity. ... You play 82 games and then we fought so hard in the playoffs to get to that point, and to not finish it off -- it hurts now more than it did then. It was 0-0 after one period. We were 40 minutes away from repeating."

The Wings did have significant injuries last spring, ranging from Nicklas Lidstrom requiring emergency surgery after getting speared in the groin to Brian Rafalski suffering a herniated disk to Kris Draper dealing with torn cartilage after taking a stick to the throat to Pavel Datsyuk missing seven games with a charley horse to Dan Cleary playing through a significant groin injury.

"Guys weren't 100% and maybe that caught up with us," Brad Stuart said. "No point in analyzing it to death. A lot of it comes down to breaks and the year before we seemed to get all the breaks and last year, we had a lot of them go against us. We had some pretty significant injuries, and not just to third-and-fourth line players, and even when guys did come back, they were still a little bit banged up.

"Losing was very disappointing at the time, but we all had a long summer to think about it and I think at some point you just have to move on."

Today the Wings have bigger concerns: They need points, they need to string together victories; they need to develop a swagger. The Penguins are going through their own issues -- they're in the mid-bottom in the NHL in team defense, their power play is in the bottom five, and they're in a tight battle with New Jersey for the division lead -- which is why today figures to be a high-spirited game with a focus on the present.

"For us, it's more of a game that we need to measure ourselves and look at ourselves in the mirror and make sure we come ready to play," Kirk Maltby said. "As far as history, I personally won't be thinking of that little slash Sidney Crosby gave me at the end of Game 1 or 2, whatever it was."

There was that slash, and there was eventual Conn Smythe winner Evgeni Malkin grabbing Henrik Zetterberg from behind in the dying seconds of Game 2, goading him into a fight, and then escaping suspension. While the individual battles of a year ago may be brushed aside, having gone at each other for two straight springs will stoke today's event.

"Obviously the rivalry has been built," Dan Cleary said. "For us, we're battling for our lives and each game is critical, but this game is on NBC and so I'm sure it's going to be amped up. I look forward to playing it, that's for sure."

Cleary is one of many Wings who still rue what general manager Ken Holland last June called "a giant, wasted opportunity." For Cleary, the images flash when he's by himself, and don't stop even when he tries to force them from his mind. For Maltby, the memories intrude when he's catching up on the world of hockey.

"I have the NHL network at home and they show commercials and it stings a lot when you know what could have been," Maltby said. "People say, well, you've won four Cups -- but it doesn't make you feel any better. When you see Crosby lift the Cup on TV and you see the background and it's Joe Louis Arena, and you think about what could have been ... it's still tough to swallow."

Contact HELENE ST. JAMES: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com.

Lemieux, Penguins co-owner offer to buy Pirates

Pirates downplay recent meeting; Nutting repeats: 'Team not for sale'

Saturday, January 30, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Mario Lemieux, left, and Ron Burkle ride together in the Stanley Cup parade last June.


Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, co-owners of the Penguins, recently made an unsolicited offer to buy the Pirates in a face-to-face meeting with that team's owner, Bob Nutting, but the offer did not receive a response.

Sources on the Penguins' side last night described the offer made by Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle as "very serious," without divulging a dollar figure, and said they remain interested in following up.

The Pirates characterized the matter far differently.

Mr. Nutting, the only person in the meeting to comment on it, was adamant that no serious discussion about a sale had taken place. And he firmly reiterated that the Pirates are not for sale.

"Honestly, I'm not sure there's a situation to describe," Mr. Nutting said last night when asked about the meeting. "I like Ron. He's an extremely competent businessman and deal-maker, and we've talked about a wide range of topics. But I think the simplest way to say this is that there never has been a substantive or formal offer for the team. The team is not for sale."

Mr. Nutting was asked if the Pirates ever have been for sale, since he took control of ownership in January 2007.

"The team has not been for sale and is not for sale," he replied. "I'm excited about where we are. We've made some tough decisions, made a lot of progress and, frankly, we're just getting started with where we're headed. A sale is simply not an option that's on our table."

Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle could not be reached.

The Penguins, through a spokesman, declined comment.

"We don't discuss private business matters," vice president of communications Tom McMillan said.

Because the teams' stances on the meeting vary -- greatly in some aspects -- this is a story with two distinct sides.

According to sources on the Penguins side, the meeting happened four months ago at the Penguins' front-office headquarters in Chatham Center, Uptown. Mr. Lemieux, Mr. Burkle and Mr. Nutting were present, and the intent of the meeting was for the Penguins owners to offer to buy the Pirates. Mr. Burkle made a financial offer.

According to the Pirates, the purpose of the meeting was about another matter, and no serious discussion about an offer or sale took place.

The reasons Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle would want to buy the Pirates will not be clear until they speak to that, though that is not expected soon, if at all.

One possibility, according to a source, is that a joint ownership of the Penguins and Pirates could create a business "synergy" that would allow one to pick up the other in tough times, and vice versa. It would help, the source added, that the NHL and MLB seasons have little overlap and that the teams currently have the same local television rights-holder in FSN Pittsburgh.

Major professional sports leagues once frowned on having their franchise owners venture into other leagues, but it has become more common in the past two decades. In this case, between the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, there would be no issue other than that all potential new owners must be approved in a vote by fellow owners.

The city's hockey and baseball teams have been at polar opposites in recent years.

The Penguins are fresh off a Stanley Cup championship, have two of their sport's brightest stars in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, have sold out Mellon Arena for 144 consecutive games and are about to move into the new Consol Energy Center.

The Pirates are fresh off a 17th consecutive losing season, had an average attendance last year of a little more than half the capacity of PNC Park, and will enter 2010 with a promising core of young players but a $35.6 million payroll that could be the lowest in the majors.

Forbes magazine estimated the Pirates' value last year at $288 million, with only the Florida Marlins below them. The Pirates have acknowledged being profitable the past six years, and have one of the most lauded stadiums in sports in 9-year-old PNC Park.

Mr. Lemieux, among the most accomplished and beloved athletes in the city's history, has had one previous venture into baseball: That came as minority owner of the Pirates' Class AA affiliate in Altoona when Pittsburgh attorney and friend Chuck Greenberg was the owner there earlier in the decade.

Mr. Burkle, the California grocery magnate whose net worth was estimated by Forbes magazine at $3.5 billion in 2008, broke into sports by joining Mr. Lemieux as co-owner of the Penguins with a $20 million investment in 1999. He also had expressed interest in baseball's Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs when those franchises were for sale in recent years.

Mr. Greenberg and a group of investors last week reached agreement to buy baseball's Texas Rangers at a price of more than $500 million.

Mr. Greenberg previously had expressed a strong desire to buy the Pirates, his favorite team beginning with childhood, but his interest -- which was not believed to have reached the offer phase -- was rejected because, as he was told, the Pirates were not for sale. Mr. Greenberg was not involved in the offer made by Mr. Lemieux and Mr. Burkle.

Mr. Nutting has bought out several minority owners in recent years and now has a dominant stake, in the range of three-quarters.

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com

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First published on January 30, 2010 at 1:00 am

NT Hampton doesn't want the franchise tag

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, January 30, 2010

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Steelers want Casey Hampton, an unrestricted free agent, to return to the team. The Pro Bowl nose tackle wants to stay in Pittsburgh.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner passes under pressure by Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton during the second quarter of the NFL's Super Bowl XLIII football game in Tampa, Florida, February 1, 2009. (Reuters)

How the two sides arrive at that common ground is where it gets a little complicated and potentially messy.

Hampton said Friday "it will be a problem" if the Steelers use a franchise tag and offer him a one-year contract instead of signing the accomplished veteran to a multi-year deal.

"You say we're family, and you'll take care of me. All I've done for this organization, and I feel like that's a slap in my face if you franchise me," Hampton told the Tribune-Review following a Pro Bowl practice at St. Thomas Aquinas High School. "That's not right. You don't do business like that. I want to be treated fair, and I think franchising me is not fair."

A franchise tag would essentially prevent Hampton from hitting the open market when the free agent signing period begins March 5.

Hampton didn't elaborate when asked if he would skip offseason practices — most of which are voluntary — or hold out of training camp should the Steelers use a franchise tag on him.

"It will be an issue," he said. "I told (the Steelers) that."

If the Steelers tag the 32-year-old Hampton, they have to offer him a one-year contract that's the average of the top five salaries made by defensive linemen in 2009. That figure will be released next week by the NFL Players' Association.

Hampton, who signed a five-year contract with the Steelers in 2005, made just more than $4 million last season.

The Steelers used a franchise tag on offensive tackle Max Starks last February to extend their negotiating period with him. They signed Starks to a four-year contract in June.

Hampton said he doesn't want the Steelers to take the same approach with him.

If the two sides can't reach an agreement on a long-term contract before early March, Hampton said, the organization should let the player known as "Big Snack" shop his services elsewhere.

"I believe they're going to try to get something done. But at the end of the day, if the two sides don't come to terms, let me see what's out there," said Hampton, a five-time Pro Bowler. "Don't hold me back because you didn't want to sign me before the (2009) season. It's your time to make it right. That's how I see it."

The Steelers declined comment yesterday, citing their policy of not talking about contract negotiations.

The Steelers traditionally don't sign players in their 30s to long-term deals, though they have made exceptions in recent years with linebackers James Harrison and James Farrior.

The organization is in a delicate situation with Hampton. His backup, Chris Hoke, is less than a year younger than Hampton, and finding a capable replacement for the 6-foot-1, 325-pounder in this year's draft is not exactly a sound contingency plan.

"Everybody wants one, but there is just not a lot to go around," ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said of nose tackles. "That's the one spot that's so hard to find a guy that's big and is a good football player."

Hampton has been both since the Steelers took him with the 19th overall pick of the 2001 draft.

The former Texas star has been a vital part of their 3-4 defense because of his ability to occupy multiple blockers and stand his ground at the line of scrimmage.

Hampton is coming off one of his better seasons — he had 42 tackles and a career-high 2.5 sacks in 2009 — and he said he has plenty of good years left provided he stays healthy.

Nose tackle is a critical if unsung position in the base defense the Steelers play. Enhancing Hampton's value is the trend that has seen more teams switch to the 3-4 alignment that the Steelers use.

"He's definitely one of the top nose tackles in this league," said Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff, who also will play Sunday in the Pro Bowl. "I watch him, and I learn from him. A guy that size you don't expect him to move the way he does."

Hampton said he isn't in a hurry to leave the Steelers. But, he added, it comes down to the Steelers showing him the same commitment he has given them.

"I love the organization. I love the owners. I love the coaches. But this is all about being fair and doing what's right, and I'm big on that," Hampton said. "I want to be in Pittsburgh. There's no question about that.

"Can we make it right? That's what it's going to boil down to."

Note: The Steelers hired Jerry Olsavsky yesterday to be their defensive quality control coach. Olsavsky fills the spot on Mike Tomlin's staff left by Lou Spanos' departure. Spanos recently became the Washington Redskins' linebackers coach. Olsavsky played linebacker for the Steelers from 1989-1997. A former Pitt star, Olsavsky coached at Youngstown State last season.

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