Polamalu's return makes defense whole

Monday, January 03, 2011
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Troy Polamalu intercepts a pass from Browns quarterback Colt McCoy in the first quarter.

CLEVELAND -- You have to give Steelers linebacker James Farrior credit. He keeps coming up with new ways to describe safety Troy Polamalu and what he means to the defense. One week, he called him "the most instinctive player I've seen at any position." Another week, he praised his football I.Q.: "He studies so hard and prepares so well that he knows what the other team is going to run." Finally, in what seemed like the topper a few weeks ago after Polamalu returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals, he gushed, "He's the best player I've ever been around, bar none."

But Farrior was there again Sunday, ready for the Polamalu question after Polamalu made one of the two big plays that led to a satisfying and playoff seeding-pleasing 41-9 win against the woeful Cleveland Browns. He didn't disappoint.

"Having him back there changes our whole attitude as a defense," Farrior said. "He keeps doing what he's doing and it gives us a different type of confidence. I don't know what it is. With him back there, there's just this feeling that everything's going to be all right."

So it was for the Steelers in a game that wrapped up their AFC North Division title and the No. 2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

Polamalu said he was told by coach Mike Tomlin Saturday that he would play. He had aggravated a lower leg injury on that second-quarter interception return against the Bengals and, though finishing that game, missed the next two against the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers. There was speculation Tomlin would keep him out against the Browns to make sure he was ready for the playoffs, but Tomlin said it was an easy call to play him after he was cleared by doctors.

"Early in the week, I didn't think he'd make it," Farrior said. "But I talked to him later on and he said there was no way he was missing this game."

Polamalu came through it just fine, calling it a day at halftime when the Steelers led, 31-3. "I felt really good today ... a lot better than I thought I would." But even if Polamalu had hurt his leg again, it would have been the right decision to play him. You can't take anything for granted when a first-round playoff bye and a second-round home game are at stake.

It didn't take Polamalu long to make an impact. On the Browns' second play, he made a diving interception at the Steelers' 44 after the ball bounced off tight end Benjamin Watson's hands. Tomlin and Polamalu made it sound so easy, almost lucky, both saying that Polamalu was "in the right place at the right time." But it's not luck when the big plays keep happening.

"He never misses his opportunities," Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton said. "You'll see other guys drop an interception. He ain't dropping it."

Do you think the interception inspired the Steelers?

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace on the next play and the rout was on.

The interception was Polamalu's seventh this season, matching his career high set in 2008, when, coincidentally, the Steelers blew out the Browns in their final regular-season game to take the division title and the No. 2 seed for the playoffs. They went on to win Super Bowl XLIII.

I'm just tellin' ya.

"Like coach Tomlin said, this [division championship] is just a piece of hardware you pick up along the way to where you want to go," Polamalu said.

That would be to Super Bowl XLV Feb. 7 in Dallas.

"Now," Polamalu said, "the tournament starts."

If there were any doubts that Polamalu would be ready even after his interception, he put an end to them by nearly making a spectacular athletic play on the first play of the second quarter. Remember how he timed the snap perfectly and leaped over Tennessee guard Leroy Harris to tackle quarterback Kerry Collins for a 1-yard loss on a sneak way back in September? He almost did the same thing to Browns quarterback Colt McCoy, jumping over the left guard-center gap to get "a piece of his shoulder pad" as McCoy scurried away to safety.

"A lot of things go into a play like that," Polamalu said. "Part of it is guessing. Part of it is film study. Part of it is trying to get in coach [Dick] LeBeau's head to try to figure out what he's thinking with his defensive call ...

"But most of the time, it's just guessing."

You should have seen Polamalu grin.

It seemed like everyone in the Steelers' locker room was grinning.

The great Polamalu had made it through the afternoon healthy and will be ready to go in that first playoff game.

Now, all of Steelers Nation is grinning.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11003/1115232-87.stm#ixzz19yQYbUqq

Pittsburgh Steelers pleased by razor-sharp offense in rout of Cleveland Browns

By Dennis Manoloff, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/
January 2, 2011

Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer

The large throng of Steelers fans who made the trip to Cleveland had something to cheer about before many fans had taken their seats on Mike Wallace's 56-yard TD reception in the opening minute Sunday.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In a meeting with reporters Friday, Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan assured his unit would be ready for the Pittsburgh Steelers two days later.

"We're the Cleveland Browns and we're going to go in here and beat the [heck] out of these guys," Ryan said. "We know we're from Cleveland, we know how big of a game it is, and we're going to get in there and get after their [behinds]."

What sounded good in the press room did not quite translate on the field. The Steelers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and rolled to a 41-9 victory Sunday afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"What he said doesn't even matter, really," Pittsburgh receiver Mike Wallace said. "I guess that noise wasn't too loud. You saw what happened."

Two Browns got after Wallace's rear end on Pittsburgh's first play from scrimmage, cornerback Joe Haden and safety T.J. Ward chasing it into the end zone. Wallace caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger with 14:17 left in the first quarter.

Wallace, who lined up on the right, ran a post pattern to daylight after Roethlisberger faked a handoff.

"With any type of field, that was going to be our first play of the game," Wallace said. "It was scripted. We know their guys are really frisky on the play action and like to bite down, and we got them."

The Browns' coverage was loose enough that it had Wallace scratching his helmet. "I couldn't tell you what they were in, to be honest," he said. "All I know is, I had room and I went and got it."

Roethlisberger said Wallace's skill set made the play possible.

"You see the single half safety, and he is back in perfect position," Roethlisberger said. "Mike is so fast that I can just throw it out there and he can do the rest for me."

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 02: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throws as outside tackle Jonathan Scott blocks linebacker Matt Roth #53 the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on January 2, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

The eight-second TD enabled the Steelers to fully capitalize on a Troy Polamalu interception of Colt McCoy on the game's second play from scrimmage.

"It was very important to score right away, to come in and knock the air out of them," said Wallace, who finished with three catches for a game-high 105 yards. "We wanted to make the stadium go kind of flat -- except for the Terrible Towels."

Steelers fans could not get their yellow towels in the air fast enough. Roethlisberger's 4-yard TD pass to Heath Miller made it 28-3 with 4:53 left in the first half. A Shaun Suisham field goal on the fifth possession pushed the advantage to 31-3 with 1:30 remaining.

By halftime, Pittsburgh held a 273-134 advantage in net yards. Roethlisberger, who owns the Browns alongside Randy Lerner, was 11-of-16 for 218 yards and two touchdowns.

"We showed how good we can be when we start fast, when we get in the red zone and score touchdowns," Wallace said.

The Steelers led, 38-3, through three quarters.

"We probably made it look easy, but it wasn't," Wallace said. "The reason it might have looked easy is because of all the work we put in to prepare. We had a good week of practice. We knew what was at stake."

The Steelers (12-4) needed a victory to win the AFC North and secure the second seed in the AFC playoffs behind New England. Wallace said the Steelers were not seeking to make a statement.

"Statements are for outsiders; we were just trying to play some ball, handle our business and win the AFC North," he said. "That's what we did."

As the Cleveland Browns flail and fail once again, it's a familiar farewell to another lost season

By Terry Pluto, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/browns/
January 2, 2011

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 02: Defenders Larry Foote #50, Lawrence Timmons #94 and James Harrison #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers tackle tailback Peyton Hillis #40 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on January 2, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If you're a Browns fan, you have to be so sick of seasons that end like this -- a nearly empty Browns Stadium where nearly the only people left are wearing black and gold and waving Steelers terrible towels.

These type of seasons end with another Browns coach staring at the field, his jaw dragging on the ground, his face looking like a man who just discovered his best friend no longer takes his call -- and knowing his time as head coach is ticking down to its final hours.

These seasons end with another horrible record. This time, it's 5-11 after the Steelers 41-9 spanking of the Browns. This game was so disturbing, the Steelers were treating the Browns like a junior varsity team -- helping up the guys in orange helmets after they were tackled.

It was so bad, that even those who favor the return of Eric Mangini has head coach -- like me -- find themselves depressed and discouraged.

The case for Mangini included playing close games -- this thing was over early in the second quarter. It included a defense that was the only NFL unit not to allow 30 points this season -- the Steelers had 31 at halftime.

It included the fact that the Browns finished last season with a 4-game winning streak to save Mangini's job. This season, it's a 4-game losing streak, which will lead to a coaching change.

It included the assertion that the players respected and hustled for the coaches -- but not on this day. They were like a bunch of students refusing to even crack open a book because spring break begins tomorrow. Their message was clear -- they had little concern for the future of the coach.

There was so much wrong about this game -- aside from the Browns' lack of effort.

Why was Colt McCoy in the game during the second half? The Browns were behind, 31-3, at the intermission. McCoy was taking a frightening physical beating and there was absolutely nothing for the rookie to learn -- other than how to avoid decapitation from a blitzing linebacker.

Why did the Browns kick a field goal early in the second quarter when they were behind 14-0? If my job is on the line and I finally get the ball to the Pittsburgh 2, I am not kicking a field goal.

I know Robert Royal dropped not one, but two potential touchdown passes. I still go for the score. McCoy can throw off the run. His rollouts did create time to find an open receiver. Just take Royal out and throw the ball to someone else.

But the Browns kicked the field goal.

There's no more reason to dissect this game, because the real story is what comes next.

Be it team president Mike Holmgren or someone else, the new coach will be the sixth in 13 years since the franchise returned. For the fans, it's the same awful story, over and over, since the Browns' return in 1999. The Romeo Crennel era ended with a six-game losing streak and 31-0 whipping at Pittsburgh in 2008. Chris Palmer's final game was a 24-0 defeat to Tennessee in 2000, along with a five-game losing streak.

Butch Davis' days ended with what he called "a panic attack," as he watched the Browns lose, 58-48, to the Bengals -- and then he quit with five games left in the season -- and was paid for that season, plus three more years.

Too bad the season ticket holders didn't have the same option.

What makes this seem worse is the Browns started the season at 1-5. They battled back to 5-7 and seemed on their way to at least a 7-9 record. Instead, they fell apart when it meant the most.

Now, the Browns are back to where they usually are at this time of year -- looking forward to the hiring of a new coach while trying sort through the rubble of yet another losing season.

Highlights: Steelers 41, Browns 9

Personal persuasion

Steelers' Wallace keeps draft oversight by NFL teams in mind

By Marla Ridenour
Akron Beacon Journal sports columnist
http://www.ohio.com/sports
POSTED: 07:54 p.m. EST, Jan 01, 2011

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace breaks away from a Carolina Panthers defender after catching a pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, on the way to a second-quarter touchdown during a game in Pittsburgh in Dec. of 2010. (AP Photo/Gene Puskar)

Whenever he needs motivation, Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace thinks about his third-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft.

Going 84th overall, he was the 11th receiver picked, after the Browns tabbed Brian Robiskie (36th) and Mohamed Massaquoi (50th).

''I always take it personal. I'm going to always take that with me every time I go out and make a play,'' Wallace said. ''Every team looked over me twice, and it was on the way for everybody looking over me a third time.''

But actually Wallace, a 6-foot speedster from Ole Miss, went much higher than most draft analysts expected. Although he was timed as fast as 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash and said he has run it in 4.21, Pro Football Weekly projected Wallace as a late-round pick or priority free agent. Even a 40-inch vertical leap didn't sway the gurus.

Wallace was criticized for his suspect hands, trim build, mostly straight-line speed, problem changing direction, lack of instincts and strength, poor blocking and catching the ball with his body. Now in Pittsburgh, his name is being mentioned in the same breath with John Stallworth.

Going into the regular-season finale today against the Browns in Cleveland, Wallace has 24 receptions of 20-plus yards, the most by a Steeler since Stallworth in 1984. He ranks second in the NFL in yards per catch with a 20.2 average, a category he led last season (19.4). Only two receivers in NFL/AFL history — Bill Groman (1960-61) and Wesley Walker (1977-78) — have led the league in that category their first two seasons.

Wallace tops the Steelers in receptions (57), yards (1,152) and touchdowns (nine). When he scores, the Steelers are 11-1. That includes a 28-10 victory over the Browns on Oct. 17, when Wallace caught three passes for 90 yards, one for a 29-yard touchdown.

Wallace still doesn't know what the NFL draftniks didn't like about him.

''Those draft analysts can either make you or break you,'' he said. ''If you don't get any hype, you'll kind of get overlooked. The only thing that matters is they did look over me and I'm out to make them pay for it.''

Browns coach Eric Mangini called Wallace ''a home run waiting to happen on any play.'' Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the development of Wallace was one of the reasons the team was comfortable trading receiver Santonio Holmes to the New York Jets in April after Holmes was suspended for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Today against the Browns, Wallace will match up against rookie cornerback Joe Haden, his former SEC foe from Florida. Wallace isn't sure how Haden will try to cover him.

''Every week I see something kinda different,'' Wallace said. ''Some guys try to jam me up so I don't get off the line with a safety over the top. Some guys try to give me cushion so I don't get deep.''

Haden said he would play Wallace ''high to low.''

''He's very, very, very fast,'' Haden said. ''You make sure you take away the deep route and try to make him come back to the ball. I'll make sure I give him his cushion so when he does end up breaking, I'll have enough space to break back on him.''

Wallace gave props to Haden, who had the first of his six interceptions against the Steelers and was named a fourth alternate to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday.

''Joe's getting better and better every week,'' Wallace said. ''He's showing why they used a top 10 pick on him and why they paid him all that money.''


Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at http://marla.ohio.com/. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MarlaRidenour.

Classic, HBO breathe life into NHL

By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Sunday, January 2, 2011

Evgeni Malkin works in the corner against Washington Capitals' Mike Knuble in the first period of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011. (AP)

Scenically speaking, Saturday night’s Winter Classic was the most spectacular sporting event I have witnessed in nearly a quarter century of witnessing sporting events for a living.

And I’m just talking about the pre-game.

The change in starting time, from 1 to 8 p.m., was a blessing, because an outdoor event always feels bigger at night. The skyline lit up in all its glory, providing a magnificent backdrop for Heinz Field, which exploded in cheers as the Penguins and hated Washington Capitals walked side-by-side down the runway.

"That was kind of awkward," admitted Penguins forward Mike Rupp.

It was impossible to tell what there were more of — flash bulbs, Terrible Towels or goose bumps.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will never admit as much, but this game has become bigger than the Stanley Cup Final. That is not an insult. It’s a compliment. The Classic has carved a serious niche on a day traditionally reserved for college football. It has breathed new life into the sport and captured new audiences in a way that, say, Vancouver-San Jose at 10 p.m. on Versus never could.

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis compared the ambiance to a Monday Night Football game. From this vantage point, the lead-up felt more like a Super Bowl. The result — a 3-1 Penguins loss — was largely incidental, as was the rain that sometimes made play sloppy.

This was an event, not a game, and here’s the best part: It will be that much more riveting when it’s run through HBO’s magic machine Wednesday night on the final installment of "HBO 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road To The NHL Winter Classic."

The NHL finally is figuring out what the NFL learned decades ago: Neither being at the game nor watching it on TV is enough. People want more. They want to hear the game. They want to know what players and coaches are saying on the bench and in the locker rooms.

They want an all-access pass.

They want humanity.

And they cannot get enough.

That is how NFL Films became so critical in fueling the NFL’s rise to supremacy in American sport. Hockey never had anything like it. The NHL was the sporting equivalent of a silent movie.

Recent advances in the televised product sparked a change. HBO might be sparking a revolution.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Fans cheer after Evgeni Malkin scores against the Washington Capitals during the second period of the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Dave Harmon, producer of the HBO series, told me yesterday that an average of 2.8 million viewers tuned in for the first three episodes of 24/7 and that he planned to attack the Classic even harder than he did last week’s Pens-Caps matchup in Washington.

HBO’s treatment of that game was ground-breaking, particularly in the way it displayed Sidney Crosby’s competitive ferocity. This wasn’t the polished Crosby we see in interviews, or even the one we marvel at — without sound — during games.

Instead, we were transported inside the glass and exposed to a raw Crosby raining F-bombs on a referee. It was beautiful. And contrary to what one might think, Crosby had no problem with the scene.

“I’ve heard he was really happy with it,” Harmon said, “because it showed he’s just another player with emotions and intensity, just like everyone else.”

Harmon said HBO’s game plan last night included microphones on five players from each team, plus coaches Dan Bylsma and Bruce Boudreau and the referees. One camera was placed in the replay booth, six others elsewhere.

Among the best stuff from the first three shows:

• Boudreau telling his players in a pregame meeting that Evgeni Malkin was prone to retaliatory penalties — and then seeing Malkin take one in the third period.

• Boudreau ripping his team during a bad loss, dropping expletives at a rate that would make Rex Ryan blush.

Harmon: “When we got that on video, we said, ‘We have to show this. This is fantastic stuff.'"

• Marc-Andre Fleury and his accomplices rearranging the hotel-room furniture of teammates Ben Lovejoy and Mark Letestu. "Fleury is much more of a practical joker and character than we thought." Harmon said.
"We knew he was a good guy, but I’m not sure many people knew that side of him."


• Capitals star Alex Ovechkin eating a home-cooked meal prepared by his mother.

I asked Harmon if HBO tried to get home footage of Crosby or Mario Lemieux. "Well, we asked," he said. "But when they say they want their privacy, we have to respect that."

Harmon said nobody from either team has requested that footage be withheld. One of the keys to the show’s success is an experienced crew that has made the players comfortable. Letestu acknowledged as much, saying the crew had practically become part of the team.

"We might have some separation anxiety when they leave," he said.

Harmon grew up around hockey. His father worked for NHL Productions in the 1970’s. But, like his viewers, his eyes have been opened wide by the series.

"What I learned," he said, "is that no amount of time watching the game from the stands will ever teach you what they say in the locker rooms, what they say during fights, what the referees are saying to the guys. Things like that."

As good as it was live, the Classic will be even better Wednesday night.

Related:

Congenial spirit pervades the crowd at Winter Classic -
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_716322.html

Inside and out, matchup a Classic

Sunday, January 02, 2011
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Sidney Crosby is held by Washington Capitals' Mike Green in the first period of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2011.(AP)

Blessedly at 8:12 p.m. Saturday, the weeks-long Pittsburgh Meteorological Festival was interrupted by an actual hockey game, saving National Hockey League officials and their broadcasting cohorts from the inconvenience of having to build an ark and sail off toward some semblance of winter.

Instead, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin shook hands in front of celebrity puck-droppers Mario Lemieux, Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Bradley T. Tinstman and 68,111 hyper-paying customers.

Wait, could I get a little more build-up?

No, the Winter Classic was finally overtaken by the Penguins and the Washington Capitals, whose difficult interpersonal politics can pull together a pretty decent hockey game just about anywhere, anytime, even here in the tropics of a Pittsburgh's January.

For the entirety of the first period, it was easy to see why the Capitals had allowed only 12 goals in their previous seven games, why they hadn't lost in two weeks, why, for all their woe-is-us character development in the HBO "24/7" docudrama in which Bruce Boudreau attempted unsuccessfully to break the f-bomb record set by New York Jets big-mouth Rex Ryan in the latest "Hard Knocks" caper, they're never to be underestimated.

Thus Crosby managed but one shot in the first 20 minutes, Evgeni Malkin no more than that, and in the second period the Capitals screwed things down even tighter, allowing only eight Penguins shots in the entire session.

Somehow that didn't keep Malkin from making history at 2:13 of the second, flashing behind Capitals defenseman John Erskine and burying the biscuit for a 1-0 Penguins lead. So the city that played host to the first World Series night game a mere 39 years ago has now hosted the first Winter Classic night game, with Malkin scoring the successful venture's first after-dark goal.

If the 8 p.m. starting time winds up bringing NBC a healthy rating, don't be surprised if the Winter Classic never sees daylight again.

"That's something we'll have to discuss with our network broadcast partner," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman 15 minutes after this slop-fest ended without apparent injuries. "Best answer to that question will be an analysis of the ratings when they come in."

Translation: It's all but predestined.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: John Erskine #4 of the Washington Capitals and Michael Rupp #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins fight during the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

In the future, incidentally, all sporting events will start at 8 p.m. or after, or risk irrelevance. I mean if it hasn't happened on prime-time television, has it really happened?

What happened in this one was a pretty fair representation of what the NHL game is all about -- which is the oft-stated mission of the Winter Classic -- to present the game in all its traditional winter majesty to the uninitiated, so that they might appreciate the game's noble heritage and flowing beauty.

Cut to Mike Rupp pummeling Erskine earnestly about the face and head, and Erskine responding enthusiastically with one haymaker after another to lowlight that first period. That's called five for fighting.

But Malkin's marker didn't hold up for even five minutes of game clock against Boudreau's boys, whose manic net-crashing tied the score when Mike Knuble scored with help from Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom to make it 1-1.

No one watching in Heinz Field or anywhere else could have missed the significance of Eric Fehr's goal late in the same period, which was more than merely the act that pushed Washington into the lead; it sent the Penguins to the locker room trailing after two periods, a situation in which they were a perfectly dismal 0-7-1 for the season.

Fehr's huge shot was purely the fault of Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who was inexplicably fiddling with the puck at the rear boards behind the goal he was "tending," when the disc flipped free to Fehr in the right circle and was in the net one blink later.

Fleury immediately tried to break his stick over the crossbar in abject frustration, but that, too, was unsuccessful.

Had the Penguins any solution to this late-night predicament, it was the unheralded Fehr who made it doubly difficult late in the third when he broke in on Fleury and whistled home his second goal of the game (representing a mere 40 percent of his goal production in the club's first 39 games).

A third Capitals goal these days is another harbinger, it so happens. Washington is 22-0-2 in games when it scores at least thrice.

The 3-1 loss no doubt stung the Penguins personally, as it was likely the most conspicuous hockey game they will play until April, but just because they weren't great in this Winter Classic doesn't mean they weren't in the previous one.

No, not the inaugural version in Orchard Park, N.Y., against the Buffalo Sabres three years ago, the one in Washington Dec. 23, the one that went into overtime and into seven rounds of shootout before Pascal Dupuis ended it for the season's most memorable delivery of two points.

Now that was classic.

Not only was it classic, it was indoors.

Isn't that a good idea?

Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11002/1115111-150.stm#ixzz19tC8Umla


Related:

Winter Classic: Penguins fall, but scene 'amazing'-
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11002/1115106-61.stm

Capitals proud of Classic finish

By Nicholas J. Cotsonika, Yahoo! Sports
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl
January 2, 2011

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Semyon Varlamov of the Washington Capitals walk to the ice prior to the start of the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)


PITTSBURGH – Alex Ovechkin found owner Ted Leonsis in the dressing room late Saturday night. He gave him a hug. They smiled.

“Good for you, man,” Leonsis said.


Alex Ovechkin didn't score a goal, but he was all smiles as the Caps picked up the important win.

Ovechkin hadn’t recorded a point. He had registered a minus-1 rating. But the Washington Capitals had won 3-1. They had beaten Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Winter Classic, the NHL’s annual outdoor showcase, in front of 68,111 fans at Heinz Field and a U.S. national television audience. They had gone from losing eight straight to winning five of six, all while being tailed by TV cameras.

Technically, this victory meant only two points in the standings. Emotionally, it meant so much more. It was the culmination of a crazy month that the Capitals hope will help prepare them for playoff success.

“This is, like, as close to the Stanley Cup as we’ve gotten,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Rewind four weeks. HBO embedded cameras for its four-part all-access reality series “24/7 Penguins/Capitals: The Road to the NHL Winter Classic.”

It was unnerving enough. The teams felt naked – not just literally, because the cameras were catching the players changing in the dressing room, but figuratively, because the cameras were catching everything else, too.

“The first time, you felt like you were standing in front of a group and stripping down to your underwear,” Capitals forward Mike Knuble said. “They were filming strategy and the way we talk about the team. … You’re just not used to being exposed like that.”

And for the Capitals, the timing seemed terrible. While Crosby and the Pens were hot, Ovechkin and the Caps were cold.

The first episode seemed to confirm every criticism of the Caps, who won the Presidents’ Trophy last season as the NHL’s top regular-season team, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs. They had skill but lacked defensive discipline and mental toughness – the kind of character you need to win in the playoffs.

Boudreau dropped F-bomb after F-bomb. The Caps lost game after game.

“I’ve owned the team for 12 years, and there were things that I saw watching that I didn’t know about,” Leonsis said. “I didn’t experience a lot of those things. I think you’re seeing this unvarnished, inside view that’s really once-in-a-lifetime. I’m proud of the organization for – good times and bad times – saying, ‘Come on in.’ We didn’t try to hide anything.”

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals shoots against Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

After a series of dramatic dressing-room speeches, the Capitals snapped their losing streak in the second episode. They lost to the Penguins in the third episode, but it was a thrilling 3-2 shootout game. And that only set the stage for the finale.

The Capitals cruised last season. They were so good offensively that they didn’t have to bear down defensively. So when they got to the playoffs, when the going got tough, they didn’t know how to react.

“Last year, we had the wind at our back through the whole regular season and nothing bothered us,” Capitals forward Brooks Laich said. “This year, it’s been the opposite. The wind’s been in our face.”

The wind literally was in their face Saturday night, along with the rain. The ice was awful most of the game thanks to warm, wet weather that pushed the start time back by seven hours, from 1 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. The Capitals couldn’t rely on their skill. They had to play a simple game – a playoff-style game. This time they seemed prepared.

“We knew the fancy tic-tac-toe stuff wasn’t going to work,” Boudreau said. “So we knew we had to dump it in, and we had to win the game below the circles.”

Mental toughness? After the Penguins took a 1-0 lead – Evgeni Malkin racing down the right wing and scoring, pumping his fist and jumping into his teammates, making the Pittsburgh fans twirl their Terrible Towels – the Capitals responded with a gritty goal. Knuble jammed in the puck in front.

Defensive discipline? Ovechkin didn’t score – Eric Fehr netted the next two goals, not the superstar – but he bought into what the Capitals had been preaching: Get the puck deep. Take fewer risks. Play the system. Be smart.

“He wants to do better, and you watch later on in the game, he was doing whatever it took to win as a team,” Boudreau said. “I mean, long ago – and last summer – he said he didn’t care about numbers, what he cares about is winning. I truly believe that, and he’ll be just as happy if he gets 45 goals or 40 goals and he wins something in April, May and June as if he got 70 goals and had any individual award.”

In some ways, in this pseudo-Super Bowl atmosphere, it felt like an ending. The final HBO episode will air at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday, but the narrative was written Saturday night. The way things worked out, the Capitals are glad the cameras recorded everything.

“It was good for our season,” Knuble said. “It was good TV, too.”

Said Leonsis: “It isn’t a made-for-TV drama, but I guess it has a good arc, right? You’re lost, and then you’re found. And so I think the fourth episode will treat us better than the first episode did.”

But the Capitals understand this must be a beginning, the birth of a better team that will win a big game that – technically and emotionally – is worth more than two points in the standings. They don’t want this to be as close as they come to the Stanley Cup.

“We learned last year that points in the regular season don’t matter,” Leonsis said. “It’s what happens when you get to crunch time. There’s so much time left to go.”

Nicholas J. Cotsonika is a hockey writer for Yahoo! Sports.

Highlights: Capitals 3, Penguins 1

A little rain won't derail Winter Classic

By Scott Burnside
http://espn.go.com/nhl/
January 2, 2011

NHL great and owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins Mario Lemieux (2nd from L), former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall-of-Famer Franco Harris, Bradley T. Tinstman and Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis (R) drop the ceremonial first puck as captains Alex Ovechkin (L) of the Washington Capitals and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins wait before the start of the NHL's Winter Classic hockey game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania January 1, 2011. (Reuters)

PITTSBURGH -- As the rain teemed down in the third period of the NHL's fourth Winter Classic on Saturday night and the puck bounced around the rink plunked down in the middle of Heinz Field like a tennis ball on steroids, we were reminded that sometimes you have to choose between the spectacle and the game.

And if spectacle is OK, then the Winter Classic is once again a winner, even if the unusually heavy rain first pushed the start time back seven hours and then stripped the game of any flow or finesse.

"What a wonderful hockey experience," a beaming Washington GM George McPhee told ESPN.com after his Caps had vanquished the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1.

"Coming down the tunnel [onto the field], it's a pretty amazing feeling," Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby added. "And playing hockey in front of that many people, it's something that probably none of us ever dreamed of doing. Would have been nice to be on the other side of things, but it's still a privilege to be part of that."

But if you believe the integrity of the game should never be compromised regardless of how many additional eyes were on this game and the league, then Saturday's waterlogged Washington victory is a debacle.

The conditions witnessed by an announced crowd of 68,111 so adversely affected the way the game was played, the Penguins will not even rate their players as they normally do after every game.

"It's hard to evaluate your guys, so we'll take the experience," Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero told ESPN.com. "It's great to be part of it."

But know this: In both locker rooms, not a discouraging word was heard about how this event unfolded, even in the Pittsburgh room, where they dropped two points to one of their biggest rivals.

The Penguins have played in two of the four Winter Classics, and there were parallels to the first one they took part in four years ago in Buffalo. That night in 2008, increasingly heavy snow prompted numerous interruptions of the third period for additional cleaning of the ice, and by the time Crosby scored in a shootout, you could barely see the puck.

Despite the disappointing outcome Saturday night, both on the scoreboard and in terms of the conditions, Shero remains a Winter Classic fan.

"As long as the safety of the players is not compromised, it could be rain, snow, sleet, doesn't matter, it's fantastic to be part of it," he said. "We're so fortunate to be part of two. It's a great event."

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he was in constant contact with ice guru Dan Craig and the league's hockey operations department throughout the game and there were no complaints from either team. "I think we were fine, just fine," Bettman said.

The commissioner noted he has heard many complaints over the years about the ice conditions in indoor rinks, so people shouldn't be too critical of Saturday's conditions.

"This is reality hockey when you take it outdoors. It becomes a little unpredictable," Bettman said. "It may be, just like the game in Buffalo, the elements had an influence, and when you look back on this event, it will have its own legend, its own storyline because of what we saw tonight."

Surprisingly, none of the Penguins (at least publicly) had any issue with the game being played. Not one suggested the league should have delayed the game or done anything other than play.

"I definitely think the ice was playable. We could definitely play on it," Pittsburgh forward Mike Rupp said. "I don't think there should have been any more of a delay of any sort to wait for better time. I think that those guys did a heck of a job getting the ice ready and it was as good as it could be."

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Water collects on the ice from the rain at the feet of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Washington won 3-1. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

In the end, the question the league has to ask is whether it was worth it. The players seemed to agree unequivocally that it is.

"I think so. Look at the stage we were on. It's good for hockey," Pittsburgh forward Max Talbot said. "You want to sell the game, you want to sell the market in the United States. I don't know the ratings, but I'm sure it was great, and I'm sure that the fans enjoyed the game, so, yes, it's worth it, and for us players, it's fun too."

So, now what?

A little drizzle sure isn't going to derail the Winter Classic machine, that much is certain. And with four of these under its belt, the league is entering an interesting phase in the event's evolution. The naturals have all been done -- the trips to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, the Ovechkin-Crosby matchup. These games have provided a solid foundation moving forward, but now is when things get trickier. The league must balance introducing new blood into the mix while not endangering the foundation put in place by the first four efforts.

We've already seen the Penguins twice in four years. Guess what? We have no problem with that. If Crosby et al take part in the Classic every third or fourth year, there will be no shortage of rivals itching to get on the bill with them and the ratings will still be through the roof.

The Washington Capitals are expected to host a Winter Classic in the next two or three years, presumably at FedEx Field, and if they wanted to throw the Pens and Caps together for Sid and Ovi Outside, Part Deux, we would have no problem with that either.

"The answer is yes. I can't wait to do it," Caps owner Ted Leonsis told a small group of reporters in a jubilant Caps dressing room Saturday when asked about hosting the event. "But just watching and looking at the all the logistics involved, it's pretty daunting. Pittsburgh was fantastic, fantastic hosts. The highlight for me was two sections filled with Caps fans and Pens fans and they looked at each other and they started chanting, 'Flyers suck.' It's like they bonded around something."

As our colleague Pierre LeBrun reported Friday, Philadelphia is an early front-runner to host the 2012 Winter Classic at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. If that's the case, look for the New York Rangers, the only American-based Original Six franchise yet to take part in the Classic, to be the opposition. NBC has long loved that matchup and the two teams are great Atlantic Division rivals.

Yes, the Flyers were in the 2009 Winter Classic as visitors in Boston. So what? Along with the Flyers, Chicago, Detroit and Boston can all count on being regular participants in the Classic.

"I think there is an ongoing debate, which you're very familiar with, about how do you keep it special and then how do you really meet the fan demand, the city demand, the business partner demand for more of these games," NHL COO John Collins said this week. "How do you not go back to Chicago and Boston in the next 15 years? It seems like you'd want to be able to do that."

He's right.

Why not have the Blackhawks at Soldier Field?

The challenge for the NHL is in opening the door to other teams, other venues. It must remain a cruelly selective process, though. Many have suggested Minnesota would be a natural to host a Winter Classic. Not a chance. Not with the team defined only by its mediocrity. This isn't a knock on the good fans in Minnesota, but simply having a lot of snow shouldn't be a ticket to getting a Winter Classic.

We think Denver and the Avs remain an intriguing possibility. The Avs are a young and dynamic team. What about a game in Detroit at the University of Michigan's Big House featuring the Wings and the Avs in the next couple of years? Then, if the Avs continue to evolve and become a Cup contender, go to Denver for a Winter Classic.

There are other issues that must be resolved, including the Heritage Classic being jammed into this year's schedule in Calgary next month.

If you scrap it, there will be complaints from the six Canadian franchises who will say they are being frozen out of the NHL's signature regular-season event. To that we say, too bad. This is an event designed to capture the imagination of Americans; that mandate remains, regardless of any carping from north of the border.

Scott Burnside covers the NHL for ESPN.com.

Winter Classic turned into a showcase on slush

By Tracee Hamilton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 2, 2011; 12:11 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: A general view is seen as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Washington Capitals during the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)


PITTSBURGH - Like many a good party, the NHL's Winter Classic here Saturday night was marred a bit by the lack of one simple yet crucial ingredient: ice.

Both teams slogged through some Slushie-like conditions on the temporary rink at Heinz Field before the Capitals came away with a 3-1 victory over the Penguins.

Afterward, owner Ted Leonsis, wearing a bright red sweater and an ear-to-ear grin, was the only member of Washington's entourage who was happy with the ice. The result might have had something to do with that.

"It was the greatest [ice] I've ever experienced," Leonsis said.

Would he like to hold this event in Washington? "Let's go back out and play another one now!"

That's an attitude Gary Bettman will love. The commissioner said after the game that the league office closely monitored conditions. "This is reality hockey when you take it outdoors," he said. "It becomes a little unpredictable."

It's unfair to expect Bettman to be Mr. Freeze, but if the league is going to bill the Winter Classic as its Super Bowl, it's going to need to handle the event with care. The weather was not a deciding factor; no one was injured as a result of soft ice. But the league may have missed a chance to bring some non-hockey fans into the fold - and if you think that's not part of the purpose of this game, then think again.

Despite the switch in start times from day to night, the event itself was a lot of fun - 68,111 fans of both teams thought so - and it wasn't a boring game by any means. But it rained during the morning, the temperature was 59 degrees around 3 p.m. and had only fallen to 52 when the puck dropped. Then came the third period, half of which was played in a heavy rain that caused the puck to shoot up plumes of water as it slid across the ice. Still, players agreed that the ice hardened as the game went on.

"The first period was soft," defenseman Scott Hannan said. "The second and third were better. It's good to get that game finished."

"It got better as the game went on," defenseman John Carlson said. "The ice was bumpy, no potholes, no bad bounces."

Granted, it's unfair to complain about the weather for a hockey game after flooding in California, tornadoes in the Midwest and blizzards in the Northeast. But if you're going to stage an outdoor hockey game you'd better hold it somewhere with some guaranteed ice and snow, like Manhattan, or the Metrodome.

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on from the net in the rain during the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic against the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Washington won 3-1. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The NHL did yeoman's work in producing a playable surface at all, but players sometimes seemed to be skating through water - as indeed they were. Alex Ovechkin had a slip and fall in the first period. On the Caps' first goal, in the second period, Mike Green took a shot on goal, fell in the crease and Mike Knuble just kept chipping away, literally, until the puck finally got by Marc-Andre Fleury.

"We were hoping they'd call it on account of rain in the third," Coach Bruce Boudreau said.

That was a definite possibility, and the NHL had detailed plans in place for such an occurrence. The Winter Classic may be a return to hockey's roots, but Saturday's game featured two of the most skilled teams in the NHL. No one wants to watch Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby slog around the ice like, well, farm kids on a frozen pond. They entered the game dead even in career points (571), and what started as playful jockeying has turned into a real rivalry in the Bird-Magic mold.

And it's not just the star players. Overall, as Keith Jackson would say, these two teams plain don't like each other. The Caps have played the Penguins more than any other team in the league, and the series stands at a taut 84-86-16-5. The Caps are 8-0-2 in their past 10 meetings and are 4-0-0 on New Year's Day against Pittsburgh.

It's the kind of rivalry the NHL needs to showcase on a holiday Saturday night on prime time television, and it's the kind of opportunity to grow its fan base that the NHL doesn't want to miss, or waste. Bettman said the prime time factor was not a consideration in moving the start time but admitted, "That's something we'll have to discuss with our network broadcast partners, obviously. . . . I can't tell you how good or bad this was. My guess is it was good until we ultimately see the ratings."

The idea of an outdoor game is a grand and noble one, and the league should stick with it. It honors the sport's traditions in a way that throwback jerseys and "The Hockey Song" just can't, despite a loss of intimacy with the fans seated far from the glass. It exposes non-hockey fans to the game, on a holiday, as an alternative to 12 hours of football.

But if the NHL hopes to keep the Classic from turning into a gimmick, it needs to make sure fans and potential fans alike see the sport at its very best.

Sid vs. Ovi: A Classic Duel

Don't forget Harrison in Defensive MVP discussion

By Jim Wexell
http://www.profootballweekly.com/
Posted Dec. 31, 2010 @ 2:05 p.m. ET


The players on the right side of a Steelers defensive front that's causing so much havoc these days in the NFL arrived in Pittsburgh as mere afterthoughts in 2002.

Brett Keisel, the right defensive end was drafted in the seventh round — selection 7b, to be more precise — and James Harrison, the right outside linebacker, came along as a free agent after the draft.

And to again be more precise, Harrison was only signed then because the Steelers wanted one of his agent's other prospects, a since-forgotten cornerback who didn't sign with the team. So the Steelers were stuck with the throw-in of this little recruiting tale.

Some throw-in.

"James continues to be the beast that everyone fears," Keisel was saying more than eight years later. "And he only gets better each year. I don't think there's a better outside linebacker, a harder worker, a harder player in the National Football League than James."

He just goes by James now. He was "Silverback" as a reserve behind Joey Porter and Clark Haggans, and then he became "Deebo" after rising to first-team status in 2007. But he became just James sometime after being named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, making arguably the greatest play in Super Bowl history in 2009 and becoming the first player in Steelers history to record double-digit sacks for a third consecutive season in 2010. The latter is a feat that surprises those who have been around for awhile.

"That is surprising to me because Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene were great outside 'backers, great pass rushers," said defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

Of course, there have been a few other pass rushers in Pittsburgh — guys named Russell, Ham, Lambert, Greenwood, Merriweather, Gildon, Porter. But none has done what Harrison has done the past three years with his 37 sacks heading into Week 17.

"He plays every down," was the way LeBeau chose to define him. "You'd still think he was an undrafted free agent trying to make the football team. He's been our Most Valuable Player, been three times to the Pro Bowl, but you'd think he was still trying to make the football team. He's a great leader by example. He plays every down."

And he's pretty much being held on every down. It's been a weekly complaint by Harrison, his teammates, his fans, and the media covering the team since he became a starter in 2007.

The holding is easy to spot on tape, the same tape the league has used to throw $125,000 worth of fines against Harrison.

After a $75,000 fine for a bang-bang, catch-and-hit of Browns WR Mohamed Massaquoi, Harrison considered retiring. But he came to his senses and went on to endure two things he dislikes nearly as much as fines: He twice stood in front of reporters and answered every single question, and he got on a plane to fly to New York to talk to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Neither course proved satisfying, but Harrison has since been supported by friend and foe alike.

"I think he's being targeted," Steelers defensive captain James Farrior said. "It's unfair and somebody's got to do something."

"I think he's being red-flagged," Ravens ROLB Terrell Suggs said. "Referees are kind of looking for him to see if he breathes on the quarterback wrong and he might get a flag. I think there is definitely some injustice and I think that's where the game has went."

Harrison vowed not to change his game, and he didn't. His sack of Jimmy Clausen on Dec. 23 was his 11th of the season. He leads the team in sacks but appears to be a distant second behind SS Troy Polamalu in the race for team MVP, which in this 11-4 season could equate to being the NFL Defensive MVP.

"You've gotta go with Troy right now," Farrior said. "The way he's been playing, the impact he's been making every game when he's out there is just unbelievable.

"But James is James. He's always going to be up there in the conversation for MVP. He's always going to have the numbers. It's just a matter of somebody outdoing him a little bit."

"You could say James is MVP every year as far as I'm concerned," LeBeau said. "He's there every down. He plays hard every down. He's always got double-digit sacks. He's excellent against the run. I don't know what the MVP is, but he always qualifies."

As for James?

"I'll just say I think I'm having a pretty good year," Harrison said. "I think in my career this is maybe second to the season I had in 2008, which was my best one.

"If you go and look at my play at my position of outside linebacker, I don't think anybody's doing better than I'm doing. There might be people with a few more sacks, but look at it all around. ... I think I'm doing a pretty good job. But without my teammates and coach LeBeau's great understanding of the game, I wouldn't be where I'm at."

The 6-0, 242-pound Harrison is in the top five among NFL outside linebackers in tackles with 94, and he leads the league in forced fumbles with six. More impressive is his standing in an organization that has been represented by some of the best defenders in league history. Harrison is second on the team's forced-fumbles list and seventh in sacks. But at age 32, after a well-chronicled late professional start, how much does he have left?

"I'm not going to sit here and say I could play eight or 10 more years," Harrison said. "I'm thinking maybe four, max of five. It depends on how the body holds up. That has a lot to do with just praying and what God blesses you with. God willing, hopefully I can get five more years."

God, of course, helps those who help themselves, and Harrison's workout routine is legendary among teammates. Three days after Super Bowl XLIII, for instance, he was back in the UPMC Sports Performance Complex weight room getting ready for the next season.

"Yeah he's serious about his job," Keisel said. "He's serious about the body of work he puts out every Sunday and about winning games. I don't know if anyone has a more rigorous offseason workout than James does. As far as his diet and rest and exercise, everything is focused around football and being the best player he can be. It's tough to find that in this league, especially as you get older."

Keisel might know Harrison better than anyone else. In fact, Harrison has called Keisel his best friend. So here's the up-close rundown:

"His nickname's Deebo," Keisel said. "Anyone who's seen the movie 'Friday' knows that's the bully of the movie, so everyone thinks that's the type of guy he is. And that is the type of guy he is on the football field. They're exactly right. But off the football field, around my son, around his son, around other kids, he's a big softie. He's a big family man and all that matters to him are his boys and his family. That's what makes him special. He knows what's important in life, and he's worked his tail off to get to this point."

Harrison's work with kids is almost as well-known as his work in the weight room. Harrison recently used the money that fans donated to the Facebook page "Pay James Harrison's Bogus Fine" to establish the James Harrison Family Foundation to assist children in emergency situations. And Harrison routinely disrupts postgame interviews to play with the children of his teammates. It not only amuses him, but also keeps him from having to bother with other adults.

"That might be true," Keisel said with a laugh. "Hey, you met his mom. What did she say? Kindness is a sign of weakness? So, I mean, you know what he's about."



Jim Wexell is the publisher of www.SteelCityInsider.net.
.

In Classic Matchup, the Penguins’ Star Shines the Brightest

By JEFF Z. KLEIN
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2010

The stars align at Heinz Field: Alex Ovechkin, left, will lead the Capitals against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins in a night game outdoors.(Jamie Squire/Getty Images, left; Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH — Each N.H.L. Winter Classic has had a theme. The first, amid the fat snowflakes of suburban Buffalo in 2008, was about playing outdoors to celebrate the origins of hockey. The next two were about playing at two iconic baseball stadiums, Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Boston’s Fenway Park.

This year’s game, to be played at Heinz Field on Saturday, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, is mainly about Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.

The latest Crosby-Ovechkin showdown will occur under the stars after the N.H.L. announced Friday that the game’s start time would be moved to 8 p.m. from 1 p.m. because of a forecast for rain Saturday afternoon. The move to the evening adds a new dimension to the Classic, and to the personal rivalry between Crosby and Ovechkin, which fans have been getting an intimate look at through HBO’s “24/7” series.

But the Penguins’ Crosby said he did not see the outdoor game as being particularly meaningful when it came to the competition between the two stars and their teams.

“I think it’s like that every game we play, whether it’s this situation, a regular-season game in Washington or here,” Crosby said Friday. “That’s always going to be there. We both understand that. But we both want to win at the end of the day. We both bring the best out in each other, and that’s been the case for a number of years.”

The Eastern Conference-leading Penguins (25-11-3) have been on a tear over the last six weeks, winning 16 of 20 games as Crosby produced a 25-game point streak, the longest in the N.H.L. since 1992-93. The streak ended Wednesday in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Crosby leads the league with 32 goals and 65 points, and his defensive play has also excelled — his plus-20 differential is No. 2 in the league.

The Capitals (22-12-5) have been better lately, with four victories in their last five games. But before that they lost eight in a row, and HBO viewers were treated to Coach Bruce Boudreau’s profanity-ridden pleas to his team to stop seeming so depressed.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, has 14 goals in 39 games, putting him on track for his worst N.H.L. season. That figure includes goals in his last two games, but before that he had scored only twice in 19 games.

Given the contrast between their performances and those of their teams, it is hardly surprising that the Crosby that HBO viewers have seen is outgoing, polite and always with a ready smile. The Ovechkin they have seen has sometimes seemed quiet, even sullen.

Reporters know that Crosby is like that all the time, at least in public settings. But while Ovechkin can be monosyllabic and is sometimes grudging in giving interviews, he has never seemed quite as downcast as he has this season.

It is probably a simple matter of how badly things have gone for Ovechkin since the Vancouver Olympics last February. The Russians were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Canada, which went on to win the gold medal on Crosby’s overtime goal. Then the Capitals were eliminated by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

That early exit at least enabled Ovechkin to join the Russian team playing at the I.I.H.F. World Championship tournament in Switzerland. But Russia lost in the final to the Czech Republic, a fitting capper to an annus horribilis for Ovechkin.

After the events of last season, the Capitals’ occasional struggles this season and the unflinching eye of the HBO series, Ovechkin’s aura seems diminished.

This week, for example, an ESPN poll of N.H.L. players asking which player they thought was better gave a unanimous result in favor of Crosby. A larger Sports Illustrated poll taken last season resulted in a 50-50 split.

Crosby got a vote of confidence from Mario Lemieux, the former Penguins great and current team owner in whose home Crosby lived until last summer. Lemieux had not spoken publicly in a formal setting since the 2009 playoffs, so his words carried extra weight.

“I think so,” said Lemieux, when asked if he thought Crosby dominates the game to the same level Lemieux once did. “It’s much tougher now to dominate, the way the league is set up. For him to go out there and do the things he does every night, every shift, is incredible.”

Lemieux, who had just come off the ice after recording two assists in the Penguins-Capitals alumni game, added: “His talent is unbelievable, his strength and his skating ability and his shooting ability has gotten better over the last couple years. His work ethic is the best in the world, and that’s why he is the best in the world.”

It is hard to argue with Lemieux, but he is probably inclined to back Crosby. In the larger scheme of things, it is hard to choose between Crosby and Ovechkin.

Crosby has one Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player; Ovechkin has two. But Crosby has a Stanley Cup title and an Olympic gold medal, and Ovechkin has neither.

In 20 head-to-head regular-season matchups, Crosby has 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points to Ovechkin’s 17 goals and 13 assists for 30.

In their one playoff matchup, the memorable 2009 quarterfinal won by Pittsburgh in seven games, Crosby had 8 goals and 5 assists for 13 points to Ovechkin’s 8 goals and 6 assists for 14.

Capitals' Ovechkin not doing his part

Saturday, January 01, 2011
By Gene Collier, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin makes use of his bubble gum Friday during a team photo at Heinz Field.

No one can pretend to know exactly when they'll finally drop the puck for tonight/tomorrow's Winter Classic, but, when they do, I'm fairly confident it will be on TV.

For this is, first and foremost, fivemost and sixmost, essentially a TV show, even if it is a show that currently seems doomed to chase the Buffalo Ideal that accompanied its birth four years ago.

Buffalo never looked so good as it did on NBC Jan. 1, 2008, with its Orchard Park wonderland playing snow globe to Penguins-Sabres in a stunningly picturesque three hours that turned hockey's wintry heritage into an Andrew Wyeth hologram.

Or something.

The Pittsburgh aesthetics, a paler shade of white, will have achieved reasonably success merely by preventing SlushFest 2011.

But, for all of NBC's support, and for all of HBO's consistent documentary excellence in the month-long ramp-up, this show can still be called The O.C.

That's Ovechkin vs. Crosby, which remains a raw and pure hockey topic at the dawn of 2011, as genuine today as when their head-to-head meetings and earnest NHL comparisons began in 2006.

In his white Capitals hoodie and red sweatpants, Alexander Ovechkin was found purchasing sportswear Friday at a merchandize table inside Heinz Field. He wanted four extra large somethings and three large something elses, and the Penscentric home audience Saturday surely hopes he wasn't ordering goals and assists for the weekend.

"A lot of the success he's had against us has been on the rush, coming down the wing, dancing on a defenseman and getting off that shot," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said when asked to describe the coaching antidote to all that. "The best thing is for our tracking forwards to come back, to establish a gap and snuff that kind of situation before it forms. It's a tall order, and not something one guy can do or even a shutdown pair can do.

"On the power play, it's a whole other issue because we've seen him work behind the net and we've seen him out front in the one-time position."

The one thing the Penguins haven't seen so much from Ovechkin this winter is the same thing the rest of the league has witnessed with dramatically less frequency --Ovechkin with his arms pumping, celebrating a goal.

In 39 games, Ovechkin has sent the puck across a goal line just once in the first period, twice on the power play, four times on the road, 14 times in all, a flaccid fraction of the muscled Muscovite's typical thumping production.

No one has more NHL goals (283) than Ovechkin since the moment he pulled on a Capitals sweater, but that typical 54-goal season appears to have been swiped from his repertoire. He is projecting for this 2010-11 season at 29.

Frankly, as we reach the point where we can see the other side of this mountain of hype, the point where we only need a coroner to declare officially that we've talked the Winter Classic to death, I'm left wishing that Ovechkin were having a better year.

Yeah, it's great that the NHL's showcase event matches two of its top four or five or six teams, and it's great that the Penguins and Capitals continue to just utterly despise each other, but wouldn't it be tastier to many NHL palates if Sidney Crosby had 32 goals and Ovechkin had 31, or 33? If instead of trailing Sid, 65 points to 42, Ovechkin were the league's second-leading scorer instead of No. 8?

No. 8 at No. 8? That eighnt right.

"The reason is all about me," Ovechkin told a late afternoon news conference Friday. "I've had chances to score goals and I haven't, so now people will say, you know, 'he's no good anymore,' and then I'll have a 10-, 15-game scoring streak, and that will all go away again.

"I'm not worried about it."

That would be the official organ-I-zational position as well, underlined by the supportable position that Ovechkin has not gotten gobs of help this season (Nicklas Backstrom has 11 goals and Alexander Semin, despite a team-high 18, has just one in the past 12 games).

"I think his scoring touch will come when our power play starts to click the way it's supposed to," said Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau. "This time last year, we had about 25 power-play goals, and he must have had about 12 of those. Now, he has two. As that unit improves, his numbers will come right back up to what he's used to."

More urgently perhaps, the mere visage of the Penguins' logo generally brings us the best of Ovechkin, his plus-15 against Pittsburgh representing his best such figure against anyone.

So there's that, and the tidy fact that Crosby has spent the past month underlining the timely fact that he is the best player on the globe.

Thus, it's still quite delicious, this holiday collision.

It all happens tonight on the O.C.


Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11001/1114831-61.stm#ixzz19nUFrLEE

Penguins already Winter Classic winners

By Kevin Gorman, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, January 1, 2011

A penguin ice sculpture frames downtown Pittsburgh, Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. (AP)

Before Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin skate onto the ice today at Heinz Field, one forecast is crystal clear.

The Winter Classic has been a smashing success for the City of Pittsburgh and, especially, the partnership between the Penguins and Steelers to turn it from the NHL's signature game into an outstanding event.

Only the magic touch of Mario Lemieux could have created an atmosphere where Pittsburghers spent the final week of the NFL regular season — Steelers-Browns with the AFC North title and No. 2 seed in the playoffs on the line, no less — captivated by hockey instead of football.

"It's exciting for the franchise, for the players and, of course, the fans supporting us throughout my career since I've been here," Lemieux said. "Anytime you can host a Winter Classic in your own city is very special."

No matter what happens today against the Washington Capitals, the Penguins already are winners for how they have handled the Winter Classic and HBO's "24/7" series by portraying Pittsburgh in such a positive light and bringing the region what Penguins CEO and president David Morehouse predicted would be a "dramatic economic impact."

"Huge winners," said Morehouse, a Beechview native. "Pittsburgh's just a great sports town, and Pittsburghers recognize hosting an event of this magnitude is a special thing.

"It's not something we often get to do ... so it's been embraced by Pittsburgh sports fans and it's been good for hockey in the region."

The only thing that could screw it up is the NHL.

The league did, of course, by capping ticket sales for the Penguins-Capitals alumni game at 10,000 when it could have sold out the 70,000-seat stadium for what was a pseudo-reunion of the 1991 and '92 Stanley Cup champions.

And, likely, Lemieux's last game in a Penguins uniform.

Not only that, but the league left those in attendance disappointed by not allowing the 5-5 tie to be settled by shootout. Instead of watching Lemieux and four other Hall of Famers shine in the spotlight one last time, the NHL insisted on sticking to its schedule, entertainment be damned.

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 31: Pascal Dupuis #9 of the Pittsburgh Penguins wears a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet during practice for the 2011 NHL Winter Classic between the Penguins and the Washington Capitals on December 31, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

"The biggest problem we've had is we haven't been able to let as many people who have wanted to participate in as possible," Morehouse said. "It's a good problem to have. We're disappointed we couldn't open the game up to more. I actually think we could have sold this out - there were 14,000 that showed up to see Wilkes-Barre (play Hershey on Thursday at Consol Energy Center) - so I think we could have easily had 60,000 here.

"Unfortunately, the magnitude of the event - it's like hosting a Super Bowl - to have an event the day before, the league didn't think they could change the stadium over in time for the Winter Classic. But we gave it a shot ..."

Shame on the NHL for not taking advantage of the fan interest, even if the alumni game was Lemieux's late-developing idea added to the Winter Classic weekend. The league owed it to Lemieux, who saved hockey here in the mid-1980s and again earlier this decade, to have his moment almost 10 years to the day he returned from retirement.

"The thing I like about Mario isn't just that he was a great hockey player, but that he stuck with Pittsburgh," said Paul Coffey, the Hall of Fame defenseman who played on the Pens' first Cup champions. "When they had financial problems here, he could have left and gotten $10 million or $15 million a year to play in Montreal. That, to me, is his defining moment."

Maybe as a player but, as an owner, this Winter Classic is only adding to Lemieux's legacy of being a powerful presence that moved mountains to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh, help get a new arena (Consol Energy Center) and form a partnership with the Rooney family and Steelers to bring such a major sporting event to the city.

After crowning it the City of Champions with a Super Bowl and Stanley Cup in 2009, this winter showcase has proven this to be a two-team sports town. It's no longer the Steelers and everyone else. Today, the Penguins and Steelers don't just rub shoulders.

They stand side by side.

And that's classic.

Lemieux displays scoring touch in alumni game

By Josh Yohe, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Saturday, January 1, 2011

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 31: Mario Lemieux #66 of the Pittsburgh Penguins carries the puck against the Washington Capitals during the 2011 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game on December 31, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)


They could have played this game in the middle of Siberia, and plenty of Pittsburghers would have attended. When Mario Lemieux laces up the skates, it's a big deal.

Before there was a Winter Classic, there was Lemieux. The icon took the ice, perhaps for the final time, contributing two assists and looking typically dominant as the Penguins alumni team tied the Capitals, 5-5, at Heinz Field on Friday morning.

"Just to be out there with Mario," former teammates Phil Bourque said, "was a special thing."

As always, Lemieux was the final player to exit the locker room before the puck dropped. A soothing voice from the Penguins' past made the moment even more special. The voice of John Barbero -- the former Penguins' PA announcer who passed away last summer -- boomed over the Heinz Field speakers, introducing Lemieux.

Missing this game wasn't an option for those who were invited.

"Not too many guys passed up the opportunity to play knowing that Mario was playing," said Gary Roberts, who never played with Lemieux.

In typical fashion, Lemieux was the dominant player on the ice, effortlessly weaving around Washington players and dishing passes with precision. He didn't score a goal, though it was pretty evident he could have at any time. On this day, he was a facilitator.

"He should have shot a couple more times," said Eddie Johnson, who coached the alumni team almost 27 years after drafting Lemieux. "He was wide open and passed it over. But that's Mario. He was always happy with an assist."

Everyone was happy to see Lemieux on the ice.

"It was a lot of fun out there," Lemieux said.

The crowd roared every time the puck touched his blade, and along with putting on his customary show, Lemieux took care of some unfinished business.

He and Rob Brown played on the same line during the 1989-90 season. Brown finished with 49 goals that year.

Early in the first period, Lemieux swooped behind the net and set up Brown for the game's first tally.

"It took 23 years, but he finally got me my 50th," Brown said.

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 31: Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens and Ron Francis watch from the bench during the 2011 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game against the Washington Capitals on December 31, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

All of the alumni players, even Lemieux, looked noticeably slower than during their playing days. But on certain occasions, especially late in the game, Lemieux showed flashes of his old form.

On a late power play, Lemieux danced around two Washington players before setting up Larry Murphy for a goal that was disallowed because Kevin Stevens essentially assaulted Washington goalie Don Beaupre in the crease.

The goal being disallowed was irrelevant.

Seeing Lemieux turn back the clock, if even for a moment, left his old teammates in awe.

"It was awesome to see the stuff he was doing," Bourque said. "You could see it on the power play. The hockey sense never goes away."

Neither does the magic.

It seemed as though Lemieux could still dominate, and still be the center of attention, regardless of his age. Even at 45 and maybe beyond, he was still a second ahead of the play. And, for one morning, the game -- and the city -- still revolved around him.

"A lot of great players play this game," said Paul Coffey, who played with Wayne Gretzky but admitted that Lemieux is the most talented player he ever teamed with. "But only a certain amount think the game as well as play it."

Certainly no athlete in Pittsburgh history can produce magical moments quite like Lemieux.

"It was great to see him out there again," Coffey said.

Lemieux lauds Crosby ... and Ovechkin

Penguins majority co-owner Mario Lemieux, also a Hockey Hall of Famer and the best player in franchise history, spoke at length Friday morning after the Winter Classic alumni game at Heinz Field. Highlights from his comments yesterday:

• On Sidney Crosby's 25-game scoring streak:

"It was just a matter of time. He's got the ability to do pretty much whatever he wants out there when he puts his mind to it. I'm not surprised that he's had the success he has this year."

"What he did this year with the 25 games with points, it's pretty hard to do in this day and age. It's not the same as it was 20 years ago -- you have good goalies, good defensemen that can skate, and defensive schemes are very good compared with 20 years ago.

"It's pretty impressive what he's been able to do. Just his work ethic is the best in the world, that's why he is the best in the world."

• On Crosby's big lead in the NHL scoring race:

"I think it's much tougher now to dominate the way the league is set up. For him to go out there and do the things he does every night, every shift, is incredible. His talent is unbelievable -- his strength, skating abilities, his shoot(ing) ability has gotten better the last couple years. What he's doing now is much more impressive than what I did years ago."

• On Crosby's approach:

"He thinks about hockey 24 hours a day, even in his sleep it seems like. His work ethic, preparing himself and doing the same thing every day, I don't think what the opposition does really bothers him. He goes on the ice, knows what he has to do and tries to do it every shift."

• On Crosby and Alex Ovechkin being compared to him and Wayne Gretzky:

"They have two different styles from Gretzky and myself. Of course, Ovechkin is very physical, and he's got a great shot. Sid is more about controlling the play and using his strength."

"I think these two, Ovechkin and Sid, do everything they can to promote the game. I think they're doing a great job."

Video: Mario Lemieux talks about his comeback, Sid and Ovie

Video: Mario Lemieux talks about his comeback, Sid and Ovie from Greg Wyshynski on Vimeo.

Highlights: Penguins/Capitals Alumni Game