Pittsburgh Penguins Season Update 2

21 games into the season, you would think the first place Pittsburgh Penguins would be happy with their performance a quarter of the way through the season.  The reality, it is not all that impressive.  Their record is 13-8, which is good enough for 1st place in the newly constructed (and poorly named) Metropolitan Division and 2nd in the Eastern Conference.  While all of these are great achievements, it's early in the season and anything could happen.  The truth is, as of late the Pens have been playing well below standards.  Recently they lost 3 straight games, 2 of which are were division opponents in the Rangers and Flyers, who as of now aren't even contending to take the top spot in the division.  The problem is, that in the month of November, the Penguins are 3-4, and only scoring just 2.25 goals a game and giving up 2.125,  the only bright spot coming in a 3-0 shutout of the average at best Columbus Blue Jackets.  A loss to the Flyers, being shutout by the Rangers, and getting played off the ice by a very good St. Louis Blues team should have made the Pens want to work harder.  Evgeni Malkin has not hit the back of the net in 14 straight games, Pascal Dupuis has been removed from the first line, and the Fleury's play hasn't been all that spectacular.  The Penguins better get their act together before things get too out of hand.

Penguins Season Update 1

So far the 2014 season is looking bright for the Penguins.  They are off to an 11-4 start at the end of October. The team recently underwent a small 3 games slide where they were outscored 9-4, but this short streak may have been overshadowed by the return of Kris Letang, who was out with an injury for most of this month, and a few injuries to key players such as James Neal and Rob Scuderi.  Being without James Neal for nearly the whole month of October has hurt the team's production.  The return of defensive star Kris Letang has seemed to put a little jolt in the team, but the team is still missing something.  With the possibility of Neal returning to the lineup in the upcoming week, it gives hope to the fans and the team.  The return of Neal may also spark a pitiful power play.  Hopefully the Penguins can make a habit of winning in the month of November to help keep their playoff hopes alive.

Bringing the Cup back to the Burgh?

Most hockey fans know that last year was a disappointing one for the sport.  The lockout took almost half of the season away, many players were lost to injury because of their lack of conditioning, and the most dominant team in the league scored only 2 goals in a 4 game sweep in the eastern conference finals.  It seemed that during the whole season the Pittsburgh Penguins would not be stopped.  They were the highest scoring team in the league, and they were led by captain Sidney Crosby who even after he was hurt, sat on the scoring title for quite some time.  The Penguins breezed through the Playoffs, seeming destined to win the Stanley Cup.  Then, they met the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals.  The highest scoring offense in the league managed to put up 2 goals in 4 games against the Bruins.  This season however is looking different, after clearing up some space on their roster because of the salary cap (losing Iginla, Morrow, Kennedy, and nearly Kris Letang), the Penguins are back.  They have a few fresh faces like Chuck Kobasew and Olli Maata combined with their usual cast which includes Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, (the injured) James Neal, and Kris Letang.  Coach Dan Bylsma is looking to recreate the offensive success from last season combined with a new commitment to defense.  I guess we'll have to wait and see if this new strategy will help bring the Cup back to the Burgh.

NFL: National Felons League

In recent months it seems that more and more professional athletes are in the news for getting arrested or committing crimes.  The most famous recent one obviously is Aaron Hernandez, who was recently put in prison for murder.  Only until the last few years have these constant arrests seem to be making an impact to the success of teams.  This season with the absence of Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, it is obvious that the New England Patriots are not the same.  Other good examples of star players missing time due to run-ins with the law are Plaxico Burress and Mike Vick.  Each player had experienced success in the NFL and then served prison sentences.  Who or what is to blame for this?  Is it the way the athletes are being raised or is it the new friends and money that they inherit when they reach the big time? In some cases it's both.  The NFL thinks that it does enough to make players aware of the off-field trouble they can get into.  Every year after the NFL Draft, a rookie symposium is held to help the new players make the transition into such a different life.  Clearly this isn't helping because arrest totals keep going up.  It will be interesting to see if the NFL does anything to help prevent all of this from happening (e.g. new punishments or suspensions).  All I know is that something big needs to change and fast.

"Get in the hole!!" Golf Crowds are Out of Control

There is an epidemic going around the golf world.  Spectators have this idiotic need to yell the most ridiculous things after a player hits his/her shot.  There has always been that moron that shows up screams "get in the hole" after a player tees for on a par 4 or 5.  They think they're being funny, but nobody it laughing.  The PGA needs to being to make it a part of the spectator rules that some loud mouthed idiot will get kicked out for screaming "mashed potatoes" right after a player makes contact with the ball.  This game used to be a game of high class individuals, and while times have changed and seemingly everyone can play golf, the fan base seems to get rowdier and rowdier.  Augusta has it right, during the Masters there is a team of security guards who follow the players from hole to hole.  These guards have the authority to remove anybody from the grounds if they decide to scream yaba daba doo after someone hits their shot.  These patrons don;t just get removed for the day or week, it is a lifetime ban.  If only every golf course and tournament director followed with the Masters.  It seems that fans are getting louder and louder, often distracting golfers who are on holes near them.  At what point does the PGA do something?  When do they step in and say enough is enough?