TUESDAY’S DAILY FIVE: “Horsing Around”

TUESDAY’S DAILY FIVE *Rumblings, musings and opinions* 1. Sandusky “Horsing Around”: Bob Costas of NBC conducted an exclusive telephone interview Monday night on NBC News’ “Rock Center,” with Jerry Sandusky What came out of it is that Sandusky is taking the angle of “horseplay” not sexual conduct in regards to what happened, claiming his innocence. “I am innocent of those charges,” Sandusky said who denied to Costas that he’s a pedophile. “I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them, and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact.” Where things got weird was when Costas asked Sandusky if he was

MONDAY’S DAILY FIVE: On Board with Malkin, Staal playing together once Crosby returns

1. On Board with Staal/Malkin together for a “Regular Season” Look: Jordan Staal (8G-4A-12Pts) is showing signs for the first time in his career to carry a scoring line and he’s scoring some goal scorers type of goals, evident in his first of two third period goals in Saturday night’s 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Should Staal’s progression offensively make it a no brainer for the Penguins to at least explore Staal centering Evgeni Malkin on the second line when Sidney Crosby returns? It sure does. [instory] We are still in November hockey and there’s no reason for the Penguins not to explore that route when Crosby returns. When the organization made the decision during the summer of 2010 to

Wednesday’s Daily Five: Paterno set to retire but will he get to go out on his own terms?

MORNING BUZZ: WEDNESDAY’S DAILY FIVE *Musings, Rumblings and Opinions* 1. Will Paterno get to go out on his own terms and should he?: Joe Paterno this morning has issued a statement indicating that he will retire at the end of the season. Here is the Statement: ” I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief. I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today. That’s why I have

MONDAY’S DAILY FIVE: Big Enough Sampling for Staal?

1. Big enough sampling for Staal?: Jordan Staal is always a hot topic in Penguin circles and among the fan base. He will be an extremely hot topic among fans this summer when Staal is expected to be a top priority for the team along with Sidney Crosby on the extension front when the calendar hits July 1, 2012. A storyline for Staal this season is whether he’s going to take that next jump offensively. Staal has points in four of the team’s first six games and ranks third on the team in both goals (2) and points (5). Here’s an intriguing stat. Over Staal’s last 42 games dating back to January 12, 2011, Staal has accumulated 35 points (13G-22A), an

Friday’s Daily Five: On PITT, Taking Page out of Bills Playbook, Sean Lee & Eric Tangradi

1. SPECTACULAR WIN FOR PITT: Todd Graham’s high-octane offense finally hit the gas and went into high gear Thursday night, routing No. 16 South Florida 44-17 in primetime. It was a spectacular win for Pittsburgh (3-2, 1-0), who desperately not only needed a win to open Big East play at home, but needed the type of dominating performance they put on playing Graham’s system. It’s a win that could get the fan excited about what to expect in the foreseeable future, regarding a brand of football that Todd Graham and his staff have been preaching. Pitt had 523 yards on offense and held the ball for 36:03, controlling the game. Running back Ray Graham was sensational, rushing for 226 yards

Tuesday’s Daily Five: Until 87 returns, Malkin needs to play with Neal

Tuesday’s Daily Five 1. Malkin has to play with Neal Right Away!: Evgeni Malkin’s strong training camp continued Monday night in the Penguins Black and Gold Game. Malkin scored twice while centering a line with Steve Sullivan at left wing and James Neal on his right wing for the most part. While Malkin centering Sullivan and Tyler Kennedy is the Penguins ultimate plan when Sidney Crosby returns to game action, the Penguins would be foolish not to play Malkin with Neal right away with Crosby sidelined, regardless of what the long-term plan might be with Malkin’s line. And, It needs to start this week when preseason action begins Wednesday night at home against Detroit. As a coach you play your

Monday’s Daily Five: After months of worries, Pitt joins their dream conference

The Daily Five Is a feature that will be posted Monday – Friday to kick off the morning, centered around rumblings, musings and opinions on five emerging stories in the Pittsburgh Sports Scene: 1. Whether you like the decision or not for Pitt to join the ACC, they deserve a lot of credit for not waiting around for the Big East to suddenly become a football conference again (It’s never going too) and be left in a situation that West Virginia might soon be in. Pitt officials took a lot of heat for not aggressively pursuing a move to the Big Ten last summer but it’s takes two to make a deal. As Pitt was aggressive in orchestrating a move to

Wednesday’s Daily Five: Worst Call Ever?

Wednesday’s Daily Five (photo via Bob Pompeani’s twitter page) 1. The ending of the Braves – Pirates 19 inning marathon is already being labled as “the worst call ever”. Pedro Alvarez’s throw to the plate to Michael McKenry was clearly on time as Julio Lugo tried to avoid McKenry’s tag with a pop-up slide. Replays clearly indicated McKenry made the tag, but home plate umpire Jerry Meals called Lugo safe. “I didn’t feel the tag,” Lugo said. “He made the right call. I got in there, ” Lugo said via Associated Press. “I saw the tag, but he looked like he oled him and I called him safe for that,”umpire Jerry Meals said. “I looked at the replays and it

Monday’s Daily Five: Why isn’t management trying to rally around Alvarez?

Monday’s Daily Five 1. After looking hard into the Pedro Alvarez situation this weekend, I’m convinced there is more to it then the Pirates wanting him to become less pull happy. All signs point to team President Frank Coonelly being a driving force behind Alvarez’s demotion with Pedro’s in-season condition being something the Pirates continue to make a big deal about internally. While I understand the Pirates sticking to their initial plan of keeping him in the minors for an extended period, but why hasn’t the front office tried to rally around Alvarez from a PR standpoint? Case in point: “The statistics are a little bit misleading. last week he went 7-for-8, I think he hit one ball hard, ” GM

Tuesday’s Daily Five: Why Pirates need to be all in for Hunter Pence

Tuesday’s Daily Five 1. The Pirates have checked in on the availability of Houston Astros right fielder Hunter Pence. In an ideal situation, Pence is the long-term bat the Pirates are said to covet but what are the chances of the Astros dealing him and are the Pirates willing to center a deal around one of their top pitching prospects? According to reports, the Astros would have to be overwhelmed and major league sources say that a trade of Pence is more likely this winter then this season. Even if that’s the case, there’s nothing wrong with the Pirates establishing an open line of communication. Pence is the type of player the Pirates need to decide to go all in