Steeler News……
Bill Cowher announced today at his weekly press conference Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu will be out this week and both most likely will miss the game against Cleveland on the 7th of December. Coach Cowher was asked whether he will make lineup changes to build towards next season and he said “No”. Nate Washington will replace Hines Ward and Tyrone Carter and Mike Logan will take the place of Troy. Washington replacing Ward instead of Holmes replacing Ward is just another mistake Cowher is making. The Steelers have mismanaged all of their 1st round wideouts they have drafted since Troy Edwards and Holmes not seeing the field is another miscue from Coach Cowher. Holmes has a lot to learn and now is the time, not next season. Rookie safety Anthony Smith is expected to see some time with Troy being on the sidelines but Smith and Holmes should be getting groomed now for a starting spot for next season. Cowher also announced Willie Reid is questionable for Sundays game and will have a role in the return game.
Penguin News……
Sidney Crosby will return tonight against the New York Islanders. Crosby has been missed on the power play as the Penguins are 2-23 in the last 3 games. Rw Michel Ouellet will out for up to another week with a shoulder injury. Crosby will center Recchi and Armstrong, while Malkin will center Talbot and Christensen. Eric Christensen will get his chance to tonight to show what he can do on the wing.
Rumors……. Marcus Nasland back to the Pens?
Eklund of http://www.hockeybuzz.com/ is reporting the Penguins, Rangers, Canadiens Senators and Sharks have been putting packages together to land Marcus Nasland. Nasland makes 6 million per but he only has 1 year left at 6 million per after this season. He fits the kind of salary the Penguins can absorb because he will off the books when Crosby is eligible for a max contract. We’ll see in the coming days whether this rumor is legit.
Pirates Pursuing Pitcher Jeff Suppan
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting The Pirates are among a dozen teams pursuing free agent Jeff Suppan, the St. Louis Cardinals’ best pitcher during their run to the World Series. “There are a lot of teams reaching out, a tremendous amount of interest in Jeff,” Suppan’s agent, Scott Leventhal, said yesterday. “And Pittsburgh is one of those teams.” The Buccos have done absolutely nothing since free agency began but do have 14-17 million to add payroll so we will see what happens with Suppan. Former Pirate pitcher Jason Schmidt has been offered a 3yr – 44 million deal from the Chicago Cubs.
