MLB: 5 teams showing interest in Pirates FA target
Are the Pirates a longshot to sign Pitcher Paul Byrd?
Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-3) at Atlanta Thrashers (7-8-2)
Intriguing matchup: The Altanta Thrashers are 5-1 in their past 6 games and the Penguins are 6-0-1 in their past seven games Penguins projected Lineup Talbot – Crosby – Satan Fedotenko – Malkin – Sykora Cooke – Staal – Kennedy Dupuis – Zigomanis – Godard D-Pairs Orpik – Letang Gill – Scuderi Goligoski – Boucher Dany Sabourin will start in goal Thrashers Projected Lineup Kovalchuk – Christensen – Williams Kozlov РWhite – Little Thorburn РReasoner – Armstrong Perrin РSlater – Boulton D-Pairs Hainsey – Exelby Enstrom – Havelid Valabik – Oystrick Pavelec is expected to start in goal
Steelers vs Bengals Update
Heath Miller will play tonight. Miller is coming back fairly quick from a high ankle sprain but indications are Miller can’t do any more damage to his ankle. Miller will likely play in 70%-75% of the offensive plays tonight according to Bruce Arians following yesterday’s practice. Casey Hampton may be a bit limited tonight: Expect to see Chris Hoke a lot tonight. Hampton remains bothered by a groin injury that will likely hinder him the rest of the season. The Bengals have deactivated Chad Johnson: Johnson has struggled with Carson Palmer out of the lineup and only has 41 receptions this year. Johnson is still a good receiver but he is a deep threat and is a non-factor with Ryan
Morning Buzz
The Penguins have caught many around the league by surprise in their ability to overcome the losses of Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar. Ryan Whitney is skating and looks to be in the best shape of his career. Whitney is determined to resemble the player he was two seasons ago and I expect him to have a big season when he returns to the lineup in December. Is Ryan Whitney trade bait? The Penguins have received a lot of inquiries about Whitney in the past year and despite the emergence of Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang, the Penguins view Ryan Whitney as the heir apparent to Sergei Gonchar and GM’s around the league know if will take an offer the
Capitals – Hawks eye third team to finalize deal
The Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks continue to work on finalizing a potential deal that would send Capitals center Michael Nylander to Chicago. The Capitals and Hawks are looking for a third team to finalize the deal. Shanahan to Washington? Sources tell me the Capitals eye the chance to clear enough cap space to sign forward Brendan Shanahan to Washington. Sergei Fedorov has played an vital role in trying to get Shanahan to Washington according to sources. Shanahan appears willing to wait to see if the Caps can clear enough cap space but for how long remains a question mark. Shanahan is also believed to have offers on the table from the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and New Jersey
NHL: Shero & Paul Krepelka have productive talk
Pittsburgh could be inching closer to a long-term extension according to sources. Read more for the Latest
Game 18: Wild snap Penguins 6 game winning streak
Minnesota Wild 2 – Pittsburgh Penguins 1 The Minnesota Wild’s trapping defense frustrated the Penguins at times and the league’s top penalty kill unit held Evgeni Malkin & Co scoreless on the power play. The Penguins were 0-for-4 on the power play and failed to capitalize in overtime after Wild forward Brent Burns drew a high-sticking penalty with 1:28 remaining in the overtime period. The Wild were able to force a shootout and goaltender Niklas Backstrom, put on a strong performance Tuesday night at Mellon Arena, stopping 24-of-25 shots, turning aside Petr Sykora, Alex Goligoski and Sidney Crosby in the shootout to the lead the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win. The loss snapped the Penguins 6 game winning streak.
The Latest Penguins Buzz
The Latest Insider Report, including updates on Sergei Gonchar, Mark Eaton. Plus a update on the latest contract talk between Jordan Staal and the Penguins.
The Latest MLB Buzz; Red Sox join Burnett sweepstakes
This talk of the Braves being out of the Jake Peavy sweepstakes is being a bit overblown. The New York Post is reporting the New York Yankees are prepared to make A.J. Burnett a offer that could be worth $80 million over five years. This comes on the heels of the Yankees making an initial offer to pitcher C.C. Sabathia in the range of $140-145 million over 6 years. The Red Sox have also joined the Burnett sweepstakes According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Cubs are close to re-signing Ryan Dempster to a four-year contract. The deal is believed to be in the range of $52 million. As expected the Baltimore Orioles have begun their pursuit of Maryland-born
Game 18: Pittsburgh Penguins (11-4-2-24) vs Minnesota Wild (10-4-1-21)
Penguins Projected Lineup Fedotenko – Malkin – Sykora Talbot – Crosby – Satan Cooke – Staal – Kennedy Dupuis – Zigomanis – Godard D- Pairs Orpik – Letang Gill – Scuderi Goligoski – Boucher Dany Sabourin will start in goal The Penguins are coming off of a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres Saturday night to extend their winning streak to 6 games.