Collapsing Pirates brace for Cardinals

BY JOE STARKEY

http://triblive.com/sports/

September 4, 2016

Milwaukee Brewers' Jonathan Villar (5) rounds third after hitting a grand slam off Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Juan Nicasio, rear, during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Gene J. Puskar AP Photo

Read more here: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/sports/article99991832.html#storylink=cpy

For all of their steep climbing these past four years, the Pirates have yet to emerge from base camp, largely because of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Base camp isn't a bad place to be. It's far above sea level. But it's also not near the summit.

The following facts should have you seeing red:

• Since the beginning of the 2014 season, a span of 458 games, the Pirates have spent just five days alone in first place in the NL Central — all in the first week of April.

• The Pirates have finished behind the Cardinals for 16 straight seasons and trail them by 3 1⁄2games for the second wild-card spot with the Cardinals arriving Monday for a three-game series.

The visit comes in the wake of a humiliating sweep at the hands of another nemesis, the Milwaukee Brewers, who outscored the Pirates, 18-4, in three games. The final tally Sunday was 10-0, the only consolation being that the Brewers eschewed a late field-goal attempt.

I sat in the crowd for most of the game and couldn't remember the last time the building felt so lifeless.

Oh wait, it was Friday night.

I wondered if Pirates manager Clint Hurdle felt fortunate that his team, losers of six in a row overall and eight of their past nine at PNC Park, still has a pulse.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I've been on teams that were out of it by now. It's early. The opportunity is great.”

Early? I guess, in a late kind of way. You can't help but wonder if the Cardinals again are going play executioner with the Pirates' season.

It's the Cardinals who kept the Pirates from celebrating division titles each of the past three years, by a total of seven games.

It's the Cardinals who eliminated the Pirates from the 2013 playoffs (thank you, David Freese) and dropped them into one-game death matches against Madison Bumgarner and Jake Arrieta the next two years.

It's the Cardinals who continue to sustain roster-ravaging injury epidemics only to keep marching forward like some indestructible cyborg, riding the annoying exploits of players such as Jedd Gyorko who seem specifically designed to drive Pirates fans insane.

And it's the Cardinals who stand in the Pirates' way again.

There is no mystery to the Cardinals' mastery. They always beat the Pirates when the games matter most — in August and September. Look at the Pirates' recent record against the Cardinals in those months:

• In 2013, they were 3-7, including a devastating September sweep in St. Louis.

• In 2014 they were 2-4, including a devastating September sweep in St. Louis.

• Last year, they were 4-5, including the infamous Charlie Morton meltdown.

That's 9-16 altogether, and that won't get it done. Besides this series, the Pirates will end the season with a three-game set in St. Louis. Finishing ahead of the compromised Cardinals —who were destroyed by injuries earlier this summer but managed to stay afloat — would not guarantee a playoff spot, but finishing behind them again would be unacceptable.

And if the pattern stays the same, don't the Pirates become the Cincinnati Bengals to the Cardinals' Steelers? The Washington Capitals to the Cardinals' Penguins?

The Pirates have faced their share of adversity this season, too, just not as much as the Cardinals or, say, the Dodgers. It's not surprising at all that the Pirates remain in the postseason hunt. More than half the teams — pretty much the non-tanking teams — in the National League are locked into the postseason or have a legit chance.

We might soon witness the end of the Andrew McCutchen era, you know. It's visible from here. The Pirates have accomplished amazing things in this era, and yet, when you really look at it, all of their significant achievements have occurred near base camp, none near the summit.

That is mostly because the Cardinals keep punching them in the gut.

It's about time they punched back.

Joe Starkey co-hosts a show 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on 93.7 FM. Reach him atjraystarkey@gmail.com.

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Starkey: Penguins primed for another run

Sidney Crosby: It’s O.K. to doubt me; sometimes I even doubt myself

SIDNEY CROSBY

http://www.si.com/thecauldron/

September 1, 2016

Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates with the Stanley Cup after their 3-1 victory to win the Stanley Cup against the San Jose Sharks in Game Six of the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Final at SAP Center on June 12, 2016 in San Jose, California.

(June 11, 2016 - Source: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

I can’t say there weren’t some doubts starting to creep in.

When you’re in your late 20s with 10 NHL seasons on your legs, and suddenly you’re not scoring and your team isn’t winning, the little voice inside your head can tell you things you don’t want to hear. That was the voice that started talking to me in December.

And my lack of production on the ice made it feel like the voice had a point.

Almost a quarter of the way through the 2015–16 season, I only had a handful of points and wherever I was on the list of NHL scoring leaders, it wasn’t high. I wasn’t playing up to my expectations, but even worse, my failures meant that the team wasn’t winning. Nothing we did seemed to work. Offensively we struggled and with each frustrating loss, we fell further and further behind the competition.

Forget being in the conversation as Stanley Cup favorites, we weren’t even in position to qualify for the postseason. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one with doubts, either.

After each and every practice and game, reporters were there to remind me that things weren’t going well. “Why aren’t you scoring?” . . . “Why can’t the offense get going?” . . . “Why is a team with so much talent struggling to win?”

Sure, those kinds of questions always come during a scoring drought, but last year’s drought — that was something different. It lasted for three full months, practically the entire regular season.

And I didn’t have any answers. At least not good answers.

Truthfully, I have never been one to seek out what is being written and said in the media — good or bad. I’m pretty motivated as it is without needing extra fuel for the fire. The most diehard fan or angry columnist doesn’t expect more out of me than I do of myself. No matter how much pressure anyone else heaps upon me, I still put more pressure on myself.

Maybe it’s cliché to say that, but for me, it also happens to be true. Winning and wanting to be the best while still enjoying the game have always been the biggest motivating factors for me.

That’s why when the media repeats the same questions — particularly when the team isn’t winning consistently — you already know that whatever is being said out there, it isn’t good. You can feel the atmosphere in the arena and see the look in people’s eyes. It’s hard not to hold the stick a little bit tighter. It’s hard not to want to fix it all with one big game. It’s hard not to over-think and over-work and try to make perfect plays instead of just playing.

Still, despite my awareness of the noise, I knew the game hadn’t passed me by. Deep down inside, athletes know what they are capable of, and we know what we need to do in order to meet and exceed our own expectations. And sure, I know there are ups and downs in a season, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t have to look in the mirror and answer some hard questions about my game — if only to evaluate where I was and truly understand what I needed to improve on. Honest self-evaluation comes with the territory — no matter how well or poorly you’re playing at any given moment.

Just playing. That’s what ultimately helped me break out of the funk I was in. Going out onto the ice and playing instinctively.

Not that fixing things came overnight. It’s not that easy. You can’t just flip a switch and resurrect your best self. There were things I wanted to adjust about my own game, but it would’ve been overwhelming to take it all on immediately. Instead, my focus was to simplify things and just try to improve incrementally, piece by piece. When the little things got ironed out, the bigger stuff simply fell into place.

Eventually, the hundreds of hours we put in as a team at practice as a team paid dividends. By dedicating ourselves to preparation and development before games, we were able to play instinctively in games, confident — certain, actually — that our hard work would pay off.

Over time, we slowly developed an identity as a team based on how we wanted to play. Undeniably, that happened a lot slower than everyone wanted it to happen. As a result, a coaching change was made (which is difficult as a player to have rest on your shoulders), but the wins finally started to come.

Predictably, the scoring numbers people normally expected from me arrived in tandem with the team playing better as a whole. When you think about scoring and producing in hockey, you want chances. It’s not points so much as chances. Chances give you confidence. No hockey player can really control what his or her point total is from night to night. That’s not how the game works. What I try to do is just generate chances. I knew if I could do that, everything else would follow.

t’s simple math, really: The more scoring opportunities you create, the more of them will find the back of the net. Eventually.

As we collectively fixed all the little things in our games, the chances increased and our point totals increased along with them. The fast-paced style we wanted to execute eventually became ingrained. That became our identity. It was natural. It became Penguins hockey and the memories of those early season struggles vanished as if they had never existed.

Winning the Stanley Cup was amazing (obviously), but it was made all the more sweet on account of how we started the season. We were an afterthought, a punchline — and then we weren’t.

If I am being honest, winning it all for the second time was partly a relief, too. Making it to the Finals, taking that incredible journey together, you want to come out on top. It wasn’t just about overcoming the struggles of last season, but also what happened between the two cups, falling short in other years when expectations were high and my injuries prevented me from being on the ice. Everything we had been through made this one so incredibly special.

After the series ended, after the playoff beard got shaved off — a playoff beard that was disappointingly not much better than the one I “grew” in 2009 — I took a month off. Relaxed. Went home to Nova Scotia and got my two days with the Stanley Cup, including taking it to my hockey school so the kids could see it and touch it.

And then it was back to work. The start of my off-season training program began in mid-July, coinciding with a photo shoot I did for adidas’s new line of workout attire at the old Forum in Halifax. New season, new training gear. The page is turned.

I won’t rest on my laurels. I just can’t. Winning is special. If last season taught me anything, it was how thin the line is between being “washed up” and lifting the Stanley Cup. I don’t want to struggle like that again. That October to December stretch was awful; the lowest point of my career outside of injury. I’ll put in any amount of work I have to so I don’t have to go through that again.

As if outrunning the downside of my career wasn’t motivation enough, the new guys coming into the league will surely have my attention, too. These are the young and hungry guys. The guys that want to be where you are. They’re fast. They’re strong. And with all the young talent throughout the league, it just makes you want to get better yourself. That’s such a fun (and underrated) part of the game to me. I love having to adjust and adapt my game year-to-year to find ways to be my best.

The off-season individual work, the hours you put in at the gym, is for the team as well. If you don’t keep yourself strong and your skills at a high level, you’re not being accountable to the guy next to you. We have a great group and mostly everyone is returning from last season. Some Cup teams get broken up because of the salary cap, but we’ve been fortunate to maintain much of the same group that played so well together in the spring.

Naturally, winning the Stanley Cup is the hardest thing to do in this sport. The six years of postseason disappointment between 2009 and last season were a good example of that taught me that.

Still, this year’s team has as good a chance as anyone. There’s a lot of belief in our dressing room and a confidence that we all know our roles and how to play together. We know it’s going to be tough. There’s a reason no one has gone back-to-back in almost 20 years. Everyone is gunning for you and over an 82-game season and four rounds of playoffs, it’s hard to keep winning. Rest assured — even if the doubts creep back in — we’ll do our best to try to make it happen.

I don’t want the first half of last season to happen ever again. I want the second part. I want to keep the Cup.

Sidney Crosby on top of the World (Cup)

BY MIKE ZEISBERGER, TORONTO SUN

http://www.torontosun.com/

September 3, 2016

Canada’s Sidney Crosby waits for a face-off against Sweden during the gold medal hockey game at the 2014 Winter Olympics Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP/Matt Slocum)

Can you imagine how lethal two of hockey’s brightest stars could potentially be on the ice together?

Sidney Crosby certainly can. And has.

On this Labour Day weekend, Crosby is discussing the upcoming World Cup of Hockey in an exclusive one-on-one chat with Postmedia. At this particular moment, the Team Canada captain is pondering the question we’ve just posed to him: Which player on the roster might you like to be linemates with? It doesn’t take long for him to respond.

“I haven’t played with Stammer before,” he said. “That would be an interesting combination. His shot, he doesn’t need a lot of time to release it. He’s a right-handed shot. He’s one guy.”

But Crosby isn’t finished.

“Obviously I’ve played with (Patrice) Bergeron in a number of tournaments,” he continued. “And it would be cool with Brad Marchard, With him being from the same area (of Nova Scotia), I’ve skated a lot with him in the summer. I’m happy to see him on the team. It’ll be fun.

“But I think anyone on the team will tell you it’s an honour just to put on that jersey, no matter who you play with.”

Maybe. But let’s be honest: There is a school of thought out there that Crosby is difficult to play with because of his shiftiness on the ice.

Is that true, Sid? Are you hard to line up beside?

“I hope not,” he said, adding with a chuckle that “I can be a little demanding at times.

“In these types of short events, you just have to get on the same page with whoever you are playing with. It’s something that either clicks or it doesn’t. You don’t have the luxury of playing a number of games with someone.

“There’s speed, there are shooters and there are playmakers. You hope to get a combination of that. Lines that are dependable at both ends of the ice. All that goes into the decision-making, I think.”

Whichever combinations coach Mike Babcock opts to use, Crosby is pumped to lead Team Canada into this tournament, one that will take place on home soil.

“We know the expectations on us,” he said. “No one puts more of those on us than we do.”

In a lengthy interview covering topics ranging from Connor McDavid to No. 87’s favourite international moments, we present Sidney Crosby Unplugged: World Cup Edition.

NO GIMMICK

Naysayers of the World Cup already have accused the tournament of being nothing more than a cash grab by the NHL and NHLPA. Moreover, they point to the fact that two of the teams — Team North America (U.S. and Canadian players 23-and-under) and Team Europe (players from European countries other than Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland) as evidence of that.

But Crosby rejects any notion that this is just a glorified exhibition tournament.

“I haven’t heard many of the critics but, for me, you don’t have to look too far to see how (legitimate) this event is,” Crosby rationalized. “Just look at the lineups. Look at the talent, the skill, the depth of every team. The hockey and the product will speak for itself. Combine that with the fact that it’s in Canada, a place where hockey is such a passion.

“I can only speak for myself and being Canadian but any time you put on that jersey, regardless of the event, there is passion and pride to go with that. That’s the best way I can put it.”

WHAT OF-SEASON?

His NHL season ended in mid-June when he hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

His hockey season will resume Monday when Team Canada congregates for its first on-ice World Cup workout.

And you thought your summer was brief.

Crosby doesn’t mind, though. In fact, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s been short, sure,” he said. “But that’s a good thing because it indicates you’ve played some big games, some important games late into the season.

“Having that same mentality is going to be important in a short tournament like this.”

CAPTAIN CONNOR?

Almost a decade ago, Crosby was the youngest player to be named captain of an NHL team, receiving the coveted ‘C’ in 2007 from the Pittsburgh Penguins when he was just 19 years and 297 days old. Gabriel Landeskog would eclipse Crosby’s mark when he was named captain of the Avalanche in 2012 when he was 19 year and 286 days old.

Now there is talk that Connor McDavid — considered the first so-called generational player to enter the NHL since Crosby — could be named captain of the Edmonton Oilers in the coming weeks. And in Crosby’s opinion, No. 97 has the maturity, skill and leadership to handle such an honour if it plays out that way.

“I really do,” Crosby saod. “I think when you’re talking about the type of responsibility that is put on his shoulders and what he’s dealt with to this point, there’s a lot you’ve already learned. Your learning curve is fast-tracked. There are a lot of things you go through that are not typical things for a 17-, 18-, 19-year-old to go through. That definitely helps your awareness of things and your ability to be a leader.

“Everyone’s different. But if the team and player both feel he’s ready, I don’t see age being a factor. It’s whatever is going to get the best out of him.”

As for those who perceive this tournament as a potential coming-out party for McDavid, Crosby feels the Oilers star already has established himself as one of the best players on the planet.

“It’s been a short period of time because of his injury last season but it’s pretty well known and understood he’s a world class player,” Crosby said. “He’ll have an opportunity again to show it on a big stage but he’s already shown it already.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll be motivated to prove something, but I think people already know what type of player he is.”

YOUNG GUNS

Like most of us, Crosby is intrigued by Team North America. With McDavid, Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews in the mix, youthful talent and swagger will be front and centre.

“When you go through the rosters, there are no weak teams,” Crosby said. “But I do think the team that fans will find exciting is the 23-and-under team. They’re going to be fast. They’re a group with lots of speed and a really high skill level.”

FAMILIAR FACES

In handicapping Team Canada’s chances in the World Cup, Crosby sees the familiarity many Canadian players have with each other as an edge in such a short tournament.

Consider this: Twelve of 23 Team Canada players have NHL teammates on the roster. In breaking it down, that includes forward duos Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry (Ducks); Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand (Bruins); Joe Thornton-Logan Couture (Sharks); and defence pairs Drew Doughty-Jake Muzzin (Kings); Alex Pietrangelo-Jay Bouwmeester (Blues); and Brett Burns-Marc Edouard Vlasic (Sharks).

While those players won’t be partnered up on every shift, they certainly will see time together in situations like power plays and penalty-kills.

“I think there’s definitely some thought that goes into that,” Crosby said, noting that such a blueprint was purposely cobbled together by Team Canada management. “In a short-term event, it’s important to get chemistry as soon as possible when you have that. It’s not everything, but it does help guys adjust a bit quicker.

“That’s something that, if it can be done, it can work out well.”

FACING OFF

Crosby knows it’s coming. And he’s ready for it.

During the Stanley Cup final, the Sharks’ Logan Couture accused Crosby of “cheating” on faceoffs. Now, less than three months later, the two will step on to the ice as teammates Monday for Team Canada’s opening World Cup practice in Ottawa.

Knowing the press will be asking about it, Crosby might feed the journalistic beast, in a sense.

“Maybe we’ll take a few (draws) against each other just to lighten the mood,” he laughed. “It’ll be fun.

“I guess at this point, since we’re going to be teammates, it will be brought up. I think that was just the heat of the moment. That’s the great thing about hockey.

“I remember I got into a fight with Matt Niskanen and shortly afterwards he was my teammate. We joked that that’s just how it goes.”

SID AND BABCOCK

In two previous stints representing Canada under the guidance of head coach Mike Babcock, Crosby won Olympic gold both times. It’s a relationship that has proved productive for both.

According to Crosby, it’s Babcock’s ability to keep his mandate clear and simple that has led to such recent international success for Canada.

“He and his staff have just been so organized,” Crosby said. “They’ve been very direct in letting us know what they expect out of us as a team and as individuals. You don’t have a lot of time, so it’s important you know how they want you to play as a group and what your role is within that to go out there and do it.

“Just the organization, the plan, just being clear has been the biggest thing. And giving us the opportunity to do that.”

MAPLE LEAF DREAMS

When Crosby was a kid growing up in Cole Harbour, N.S., even he could not have predicted he’d be captaining Team Canada one day. Having said that, he did dream of wearing the fabled Canadian jersey one day, a goal that was spurred by the 1998 Nagano Games and the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

It was the heartbreak in Japan and the jubilation in Utah four years later that drove Crosby to want to represent his country one day. Nagano saw Canada losing its semifinal in a shootout to the Czech Republic before rebounding four years later to win this country’s first Olympic gold medal in 50 years.

“The Olympics always had that special feel, not just for hockey but for everything,” he said. “I was always glued to the TV, whether it be the Summer Games or Winter Games. There’s so much pride that goes with that.”

TOP CROSBY MOMENTS IN

A CANADIAN UNIFORM

(According to Sid)

1. The Golden Goal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver

This is an easy choice for Crosby — or anyone else who saw him score the gold-medal winning overtime goal in overtime of the title game against the U.S.

“Vancouver was different in that it was at home and there was pressure to have success,” he recalled. “This (World Cup) tournament will be kind of like that in that we’ll be at home again.

“I think every one is unique in it’s own way but the Vancouver one is pretty special.”

T2. Canada’s gold medal at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia

“The Sochi Olympics had its own challenges - the bigger ice surface and the fact we didn’t score a lot.” No matter. A suffocating defensive system and unflappable goalie Carey Price led Canada — a team captained by Crosby — to the title.

T2. Gold medal at the 2005 world juniors, Grand Forks, N.D. (photo below)

“It felt like we were playing at hime because so many Canadians made the trip down. That was pretty cool.” So was winning the gold medal.

Steelers first-rounder Artie Burns takes step forward in NFL debut

Jeremy FowlerESPN Staff Writerhttp://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/September 2, 2016

Artie Burns (Steelers.com)

In his NFL debut, first-round pick Artie Burns looked like a player ready to compete for the third cornerback job with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The No. 25 overall pick shrugged off a few shaky moments early with multiple pass breakups Thursday against the Carolina Panthers, including a diving near-interception in the red zone. Burns failed to close a gap rush on a big Panthers rushing play in the first quarter, but he responded with active hands and the ability to break on routes.

The Panthers won the game 18-6, and their quarterback was Joe Webb. Many cornerbacks look good against Joe Webb. But after a quiet preseason with a quad injury, Burns created positive momentum this week. He also had two interceptions in Monday's practice.

If Burns offers at least functional NFL snaps, he gives the Steelers flexibility at corner opposite veterans William Gay and Ross Cockrell. That allows Pittsburgh to play rookie safety Sean Davis at his original spot or as a slot corner, where he spent time at during camp.

Draft night: The Steelers' first three draft picks in 2016 -- Burns, Davis and third-round defensive tackle Javon Hargrave -- played together with the first-team defense. The team sat most of its defensive starters, but these three held their own for the most part. More than once, Hargrave got an inside push while dealing with double teams. He has created consistent pressure throughout the preseason.

QB depth chart: Landry Jones got in and out with a 4-of-5 performance. Bryn Renner followed with a 5-of-11 performance for 39 yards. This was no laser show. New third-string quarterback Zach Mettenberger was not available after the team claimed him off waivers Wednesday. He needs more time to learn the playbook.

Maybe that dude could start: If outside linebacker Bud Dupree continues to be sidelined with a groin injury, Arthur Moats is more than capable of playing starter's snaps. Moats spent significant time in the Panthers' backfield with 1.5 sacks. Moats was one of several disruptive Steelers pass-rushers, including linebacker Anthony Chickillo and defensive end Ricardo Mathews, who might have to start if Cam Heyward's ankle injury doesn't heal. Matthews was considered a depth signing in free agency, but he looks refreshed in Pittsburgh.

Who got hurt? Mathews was taken to the locker room with a neck injury. Chickillo left the game with a foot injury. Rookie outside linebacker Travis Feeney left the game with a concussion. All players are being evaluated.

Just enough: Daryl Richardson entered the game with the chance to solidify the No. 3 running back spot. He didn't have a big night, but his 26-yard burst downfield was the Steelers' biggest offensive play on the night. Richardson rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown on his first nine carries.

Reasons to be concerned: Tight end Xavier Grimble was impressive at times in training camp, but he dropped a catchable pass for the second time this preseason. The Steelers need Grimble as the third tight end with sure hands while Ladarius Green is on the regular-season physically unable to perform list. Also, cornerback Doran Grant appeared to be in compromising positions in coverage for much of the night. He'll be a close roster call when the Steelers make final cuts Saturday by 4 p.m.