Pittsburgh Passion Sportscenter Clip. Finally

I've been trying to find this clip for a while, but to this point, it had been unavailable on this fascinating World Wide Web. Crazy information superhighway was denying me access to see Lisa Horton as Sportscenter's play #6 in the top plays.

Yes, this isn't from the Cleveland game. Its from the game prior, when the team beat the Western Michigan Mayhem to advance to the Conference Finals. My sister saw this during the original airing and told me about it, but before I saw this clip, it hadn't reached my eyes. That's fixed.

Passion kicker Christy Laudadio uploaded the video to YouTube, so a huge Thank You must go to her. Also, a bigger shout out must go to reader smarchit, who emailed the awesome vid to PSaMP. Without their work, you wouldn't be able to see this. Simple as that.

One more day...til Nashville...

Passion Defeat Mayhem, Land in Semis

PSaMP, your official unofficial Pittsburgh Passion blogger, is proud to report that the team has won their second consecutive playoff game, with a convincing 34-6 win over the Western Michigan Mayhem.

Lisa Horton stole the show, completing 10 of 18 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. When she wasn't using her arm, Horton turned to the ground, scoring two rushing touchdowns.

The two other members of the 3-H rushing group of Lyndsi Hughes and Torina Henley, combined for 180 yards on the ground and two scores. Hughes had 13 rushes for 91 yards, while Henley rushed 18 times for 89 yards. Hughes scored both touchdowns.

This end of the bracket's top team, the Mass Mutiny, who went undefeated in the regular season, dropped their playoff game to the Cleveland Fusion, 12-7. This leaves the Passion, the 2 seed, as the highest-seeded team left. By way of the Mutiny's loss, next week's semifinal game against the Fusion will be played at Cupples Stadium. Home field advantage, baby!

Although the team swept the season series versus the Fusion, PSaMP expects a tough game out of Cleveland. They held the top team to only 7 points, so the 3-H group will really have to turn it on.

The best thing about the Passion? The fans. This poster (above) just barely demonstrates the level of enthusiasm present at Cupples. Last week, I saw what could be my favorite fan sign of all time. It read, Torina Henley is my Aunt! How many Duce Staley is my Uncle signs have you seen at Heinz Field over the past few years? Nada. Family, friends and fans of all sorts come to the games, and that fan base will only continue to grow along with the team's success!

PSaMP is a Witness

No, this isn't about LeBron James, but it does involve a team making it to the playoffs, and showing everyone that they belong.


Behind a creative offense, the Passion rolled to a victory over the Erie Illusion. The final score was 63-7.

Lisa Horton hit Wilma Walton for a 73 yard touchdown on the opening play of the game. It was all downhill from there for the Illusion.

Score at the end of the first quarter: 28-0.

Halftime score: 49-0.

It was actually 49-0 with about 7 minutes to play in the first. And this was against an Erie team that only allowed 33 points all season. I looked at my buddy and said, "Every time the ball is snapped, Erie doesn't have a chance. When they're on offense, the Passion have 3 defensive line (wo)men in the backfield before the ball is handed off. On defense, the Passion are just having their way with the ball." He wanted the Passion to score 63 before the half was over.

And before the half, Torina Henley got her Reggie Bush on. At their own 49, Lisa Horton handed off to One-Two. Henley ran to the right sideline, coming face to face with several Erie defenders. Stopping on a dime, Torina cut back around the left side, picked up a key block from Horton, and turned a sure-fire loss into an 11 yard gain.

She finished the game with 133 yards on only 6 carries. She also scored twice.

Horton was a major bright spot, completing 7 of 22 passes for 210 yards and 5 touchdowns. She also scored a touchdown with her feet. Horton started the game with 3 touchdowns on her first 3 pass attempts.

In the 3rd, Kate Sullivan trotted out onto the field and lined up on the right side. My buddy looked at me and said, "Touchdown." Sure enough, Horton took the snap, waited, and fired a perfect pass over Sullivan's right shoulder. It was pretty much the icing on the cake.

Erie finally managed a touchdown in the fourth quarter, but only after all the Passion first-stringers were out of the game.

Being a 2 seed, the Passion will play at least one more playoff game at Cupples Stadium.

2 more wins, and the team will play in the championship game in Nashville, Tennessee. Next week's game will be against the Western Michigan Mayhem, who went 6-2 in the regular season. They defeated the Baltimore Burn 33-14 yesterday.

CORRECTION. Lisa Horton went 7 for 11. Damn 1s and 2s are so close to each other on the keyboard.