Sun's Still Shinnin': sotd 4.28.11

Guess the world isn't over yet.

JJ!! sotd 4.27.11

All is as it should be.

DO IT!!!

Stanley Cup Playoffs ECQF Game 7: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins - 8PM EST

Game Day after the jump.........

Get Your Mind Right

After a long 82 game season and 6 wild playoff games, the season comes down to tomorrow night at 8pm. Forget all that has happened in the past, and don't you dare look ahead to the future. 60 minutes of hockey await us. 60 minutes that will have to be the best 60 minutes that we've played this year. We might even have to play more than 60 minutes, and you better believe those better be the best minutes we've played all year. When Malkin and Crosby went down with injury I bet most Pens fans would have taken this opportunity. We all knew this wouldn't be easy, but then again nothing worth winning ever came easy. Those going to the game tomorrow scream your head off. Get behind this team when they need you the most. If we go down, we go down swinging. You might not breathe for about two and a half hours tomorrow. Its playoff hockey...it's a beautiful thing.

LETS GO PENS

Ch'Check It Out!! sotd 4.26.11

Yeeeeeah, ya know I'm gettin silly!

I believe you can find the entire 30ish minute short over on hulu. But here is the video for the new single from the new album.

Beastie Boys are always on point for tha summer!!

BALLS

We're going 7. See yinz on Wednesday.

Rick Monday: Baseball Player & True American Hero

Today is the 35th anniversary of what Tom Lasorda called "The greatest heroic act that's ever happened on a baseball field"

Here is the story of Rick Monday, a true American hero...

I Felt the Pain; sotd 4.25.11

Saturday struck a nerve. Like running your tongue over the empty space along your gums after a high-stick from some joker smashed out some of your chompers. A raw nerve. It didn't feel good.

Everything kinda felt like this:



Hits a little close to home, don't it? When you see what a team like Chicago is doing right now, with the chips all down, it makes you think. It can happen to anyone.

Dig deep pens, we ain't ready to hit the links yet. Let's lick the wounds, put it behind us, and go out there and kick some ass!!

"Its' a great day for hockey" -Badger Bob

Stanley Cup Playoffs ECQF Game 6: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning - 7PM EST

Game Day after the jump.....

Do you feel? sotd 4.22.11

Happy Birthday Peter Frampton!! Millions of high school stoners from the 70s right up through present day owe you a huge debt of gratitude for the anthemic song and album that helped form so many after school rides, summer days in the park, late nights partying by the juke box.

And coincidentally, today tickets go on sale for Frampton at Station Square later this summer, July 13th. The story is, Peter is recreating the entirety of Frampton Comes Alive throughout this summer tour. I mean this is not to be missed! This IS the stuff that summers are made of.

Today I offer you a classic that can indeed be found on said album. Complete with signature sound. And a newer song, a take on a modern grunge classic. Shows he's still got the guitar chops and...the signature sound. Oh and it features Matt and Mike form PJ...how fuckin' cool is that!?

THE PENITENT MAN WILL PASS:

NEEEEALLLL!

check the link for knowledge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtuyQDgXUmw

James ******* Neal

Pens win 3-2 in double OT

Stanley Cup Playoffs ECQF Game 4: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning - 7PM EST

Game Day after the jump......

Toke Up; sotd 4.20.11

STAAL: THE BEAUTIFUL MESS

Tampa, FL -- Jordan Staal, resident warrior-poet of the Pittsburgh Penguins has battled, stumbled, and Thunder Bay-ed his way into the hearts of Pens fans everywhere, but lately, his finishing skills have been sub-par. Sometimes it seems as if his stick is a few inches too long or made entirely of rubber. This would explain why the puck seems to fly off it in practically every direction besides the net.

Now before the scores of teenie-bopper Staal lovers come looking for my head, let me say that Staal's overall play has been consistant during his time with the Pens. Hell, in the midst of the Cup run 2 years ago he was dominant, blowing up opposing first lines with reckless abandon and killing penalties with unmatched shorthanded swagger. But the Pens need a little more out of 'ol Staalsy this postseason.

The return of The Kid is sketchy at best (see diagram)

Concussions, as we know are serious business and I wouldn't be surprised if Shero & Co. have already pulled the plug on his season.

The fact of the matter is, the Pens can't expect the Ashams, Rupps and TKs of the world to keep turning on the red light the way they have. Led by post-season superstar Max Talbot, the Penguin's role players have stepped up their game, but big #11 needs to start scoring if the Pens plan on advancing very far in the Eastern Conference.

Wu-Tang: sotd 4.19.11

Way to go Pens AND Buccos!! Big road wins yesterday. Let's fully appreciate the day off.

Here's Wu-Tang, for no other reason than why wouldn't you wanna take a moment to watch a Wu vid? This one was always my favorite.

Holler atcha boy!

Kunitz, Downie Both Get 1 Game Suspensions

TSN on top of things

Not too surprised. Thought Kunitz could have gotten 2 games. As Pens fans we'll take it.

GETTING BACK TO THEIR GAME: Pens Win 3-2. Take 2-1 Series Lead

Recap after the jump.......

Firin' Shot!! sotd 4.18.11

Series 1-1. First road game of the playoffs for the Pens. Tonight is crucial. I'd like to win two, but we all know we gotta split at the very least. Best to keep the ball rollin' and come in to Tampa hot tonight!! Keep it boiling, pressure on, shots firin'!!

Stanley Cup Playoffs ECQF Game 3: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning - 7:30PM EST

Game Day after the jump.........

Forget About It: sotd 4.16.11

Penguins lost yesterday. Buccos just got their asses handed to'em right now over in 'Natti. Let's just forget about sports for the rest of the day. Instead let's think about hip-hop, about...the Beastie Boys!

With a new album about to drop, a cool 30ish minute short making the film fest circuits, and MCA nicely recovered from his throat cancer issues, the boys are back at the front of our collective consciousness just in time for summer. Warm weather and fun funky Beastie grooves just seem to go hand in hand, don't they? So today I have a few things I'd like to share with you, dear readers.

Let's start with the trailer for the film. You seen this yet!? Killer cast, excellent cameos and a pretty goofy (the good kind) premise, this thing looks like sure fire fun!!



And this is the new single, 'Make Some Noise' from the forth coming album Hot Sauce Committee Two.



And lastly, my favorite jam from my favorite album...'So What'cha Want' from Check Yer Head!!

Only Cool Thing From Last Night's Loss

Love Jimerson but this is awesome to see, really sets the tone for the crowd.

PENS LOSE 5-1

Nothing to report.

Get Up Out'cha Seats!! sotd 4.15.11

It's Friday night and it's the playoffs. On Wednesday MAF played out of his mind and on top of his head! Brooks dished out the candy early and got the place roaring! Neal to Kovi brought the swagger!! Charlie Bronson (that's Aaron Asham to those on the outside) brought the big time play that he has been capable of in post seasons elsewhere!! Add some solid D and some great chances by Stahl and the Consol was ROCKING on Wednesday!!!

Now it's the weekend. I know we can make even more noise, fans!!

So here's a little funky somethin' to get you out'cha seat and on your feet!! It's a party, baby!!!

It's the "eight wonder of the world! Theeeese...are the JBs!!!"

Pass The Peas

and a bonus

Givin' Up Food For Funk

Playoffs!! sotd 4.13.11

Ain't nothin' like the NHL playoffs! Second Season they call it. So gritty. So unforgiving. Get out there on the ice and do battle. And it ain't no single elimination. Gotta venture out there again and again, don't let'em pull you down, leave a little flesh and blood behind and go for the cup!

LET'S GO PENS!!

Stanley Cup Playoffs ECQF Game 1: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins - 7PM EST

GAME 1

Game Day after the jump.....

Historical Edition: sotd 4.12.11

Today marks the 150 year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. It would take over 4 years to come to a conclusion and over 500,000 people would die at the hands of their countrymen.

Tomorrow we start our own battle with the south when the Lightning march on Consol and try to deny us our right to the cup.

Today I offer up a slice of the south from a band that contained only one true southerner and a handful of spaced out Canadians. No not the Habs, tho we may be seeing them before the battles are done this second season. Here is The Band from The Last Waltz with their soulful lament for Gen. Lee, rebels and ol' Dixie...

click me, please

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Eastern Conference 1st Round Preview

Full 1st round preview of the East after the jump....

NEWSFLASH: Vinny Lecavalier Is A Homo

Thank you to tampabay.com for providing us with this gem.

When C Vinny Lecavalier and D Pavel Kubina were roommates during the 1999-2000 season, their daily activities included a combination wrestling and pillow fight before turning in at night.

"Oh, God, don't write about that," Lecavalier said, laughing.

But Kubina was quite forthcoming.

"We were teenagers pretty much," he said. "Wrestling fight every night."

But not always a fair fight.

"Always it was like (Lecavalier) would say, 'Not tonight,' and I would say, 'Okay,' and the other guy would jump him," Kubina said. "The next night it would be, 'Not tonight, let's go to sleep,' and the other guy would jump him."

Yikes...

Early Thoughts On Pens 1st Round Matchup?

What are your thoughts/opinions on the Pens 1st round matchup vs Tampa Bay?

LETS GO PENS

THE JIGGAMAN 5

VIDEOS YOU NEED TO SEE















Hopefully, I'll be making this a weekly post. Lemme know what you think

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Western Conference 1st Round Predictions

Had a full preview up, but the laptop got epiliepsy and I lost it. So just previews for the wild wild West. I'll come back strong with the East tomorrow. Predictions after the jump.....

Blah: sotd 4.11.11

It's Monday. Nothin' happenin' today but work and the promise of more work. Guess it's gonna rain. Playoffs don't start for a couple days.

I don't like to complain about the days of the week, cause one day we all run outta days, and I'm sure I'd take whatever kinda days I could get then. So instead of complaining, I'm gonna play a song that feels for me, from an age of melancholy. It's called Pay No Mind, which sometimes helps, but usually just delays the inevitable. There are better versions of this song on youtube, but none cooler. Plus there's some very cool and irreverent bonus footage.

Whatever. Meet me at happy hour, I think I'm gonna get drunk.

Bring It

Tampa yinz.

Suck it.

LETS GO PENS!!

Pittsburgh Area Youth Throws $8500 Down The Drain

Fox Chapel, PA - Cliff Forrest, possibly the dumbest 10 year old north of Pittsburgh, took almost 9 grand from his college fund to buy William "Refrigerator" Perry's Superbowl ring, only to give it back to him.

The "Fridge" was so blown away by Cliff's generosity that he gave him two whole signed jerseys but here's the kicker: they weren't even Steeler jerseys. That's right, they were Bears jerseys, practically worthless on the street. I mean, where was this kid when Mike Webster was living out of his car? And it doesn't stop there. I can name thousands of better causes that young Cliff could have donated his future to: tsunami relief, cancer research, the Pittsburgh Pirates--just to name a few. Turns out this little Beiber-a-like had his heart set on a bigger cause...

Pens & Buccos Win

Fuck Recaps this is just how we feel tonight...

It's Raining All Over the Burgh: sotd 4.8.11

Not that I think there's gonna' be a big to do between the Pens and Isles tonight, but I agree with Dew (see below) Gillies is in for it.

And it's raining. I hope them Buccos get their game in tonight as I've not had many chances to watch yet this season.

Anyway today's selection seems pretty fitting.

And it never hurts to get a little funky on a Friday evening.

Gillies: The Bell Tolls For Thee

Ding! Ding! Well Pens fans, this is the game we've all been waiting for (I can't believe I just said that. Usually a game vs the Islanders defines the term meaningless)

Enter Trevor Gillies, the man who taunted and cheap-shotted his way into hockey conciousness (or unconciousness: see Eric Tangradi) will hopefully be on the ice tonight and not hiding in the runway to the locker room. Such a pro...

So who will it be? Who's gonna give Trevor his comeuppance? Engelland? Rupp? Goddard? Personally, I wish that during February's fiasco on the isle, Goddard would've left the bench to take care of Gillies instead of defending Johnson. I mean, we all know our backup goaltender can handle himself.

The Pens seem to be downplaying any sort of revenge, citing the importance of getting two points and the possibility of winning the division, but I think they'll be something special in the gameplan tonight for Gillies.

My prediction:

Pens 5 Isles 2

Engelland 1 Gillies 0

GAME DAY: Game #81 - Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Islanders - 7PM EST

Fight Night Game Day after the jump..........

What The Buc? Buccos Lose 7-1

Recap after the jump....

PENS WIN: Inch Closer to Philly

PENS WIN 4-2

Recap After the Jump...

Hump Day Bump Day: sotd 4.6.11

New tunes from (mostly) new artists. Most Wednesdays from here on out I am going to try to focus on artists, albums, videos or singles that would be considered new. Maybe it will be a breaking artist, maybe an old artist with a new album. Now I'm not promising that this is going to be something released in the last week, but it should at the very least be from the last 6 months, maybe longer if it takes a while to get to these aging ears.

I am doing this for you, dear reader, as much as for myself. You see I fear lately that I have been becoming one of those crotchety old coots who doesn't think the coming generations have anything to offer me musically. Man, I am discovering I am dead wrong!!

You'll never catch me in a pair of skinny jeans. I'm not a PBR drinker. None of my tats could be considered "ironic." But good tunes is good tunes, and I will never turn my back on that.

So today I have for you two emerging artists. First, tUnE yArDs, with the lead single 'Bizness' from their new release, 'w h o k i l l'. Followed by Morning Teleportation's 'Expandin Anyway' from the album of the same name. Both bands hail from Portland, but different coasts. The former from the east and the latter from the west. Both of these albums were released in the new year, making them both quite fresh. I hope you enjoy and maybe learn something new with me.

RIP Kurt, sotd 4.5.11

17 years ago today was the first time in my life that a major cultural trauma effected my generation and burned itself into my memory for the rest of my life. Per usual, I got home from high school and turned on MTV. It was MTV Spring Break and there was Kennedy droning on about The 4 Non Blondes or some such.

But what mattered, what shocked and frightened me were the words scrolling across the bottom of the screen. I don't remember exactly what it said, but the gist was that a prominent and dearly loved figurehead or "grunge' music had suffered some sort of terrible event and the news was to follow on MTV soon.

My heart sank. Somewhere inside I knew. Initially I thought to myself, "Kurt or Eddie. One of them died. We lost someone." I grabbed the phone and called my good friend Bill and told him to turn it on...and we waited

I will never forget that day, and I will never let the world (as if it could) forget Kurt Cobain

Bucs take 2 of 3 in Windy City

Series wrap up after the jump........

Bylsma in the Conversation for Coach of the Year! sotd 4.4.11

So last week we got this story about the youthful and energetic coach Bylsma. Great stuff, talks about how he keeps the guys motivated and in touch. How they keep it light and fun, but also keep the focus dialed in. And there is an amusing anecdote about how he got the job and what became of his old WBS contract.

Then today we are provided with this exciting headline! This is some buzz I've been waiting to hear for a week or so now. Here we have a man who is keeping control when all the pieces are falling away. He's proving that he can coach the greatest talent in the NHL, and can still coach when that talent is missing.

All in all I'd say we are being provided with a pretty good picture of a coach who is both man and boy. Friend of the team, but a driven coach who does not waiver from the plan, and does not let his players lose heart or focus.

April 4th is Muddy Waters birthday. Here is his Mannish Boy.

Sunday Edition sotd 4.3.11

Got tewnty minutes?

Good.

Here's NOFX - The Decline



Happy Sunday.

Neil Walker Grand Slam Wrigley Field

one hopper out the park....1st place boo-yah!!

MLB Adopts New 164 Game Schedule

In response to Dewie D's Buccos prediction

82-82

That's right folks. You heard it here first: the Buccos will be a solid .500 team this season. No more; no less. I know our pitching is unarguably the worst in the league, but this year the bats come out!

Analysts Pick Buccos for NL Wildcard!!! sotd 4.1.11

Psych naw...in fact they're picked to finish dead last in the MLB this year. April fools. They're like 650-1 to win the pennant, 100-1 to win the NL, 12-1 to even have a winning season...but don't quote me on those.

Yes it is April, and the Buccos take the field this afternoon at Wrigley. Pittsburgh's boys of summer are back to play their brand of "baseball" for another year.

Looks like Mother Nature is making fools of us all though, here in Pittsburgh. All signs should point to spring. But this snowy April afternoon is maybe the cruelest prank of all.

Oh well, warm weather is around the corner, just be patient. Foolish or not, the 5G5W gang will be soakin' it in out at PNC this year, rootin' for them Buccos...