Big Ben is MAF

Tec...you're crazy man. I love you...but you're crazy.

I can hear it now. "How does a hockey goalie even remotely mirror an NFL quarterback? Aside from both of 'em playing in Pittsburgh and recently getting contracts? Other than that, they're completely separate monsters...amiright?" No, you aren't.

We fans sit in a frustrating position as it pertains to the sports we watch. The players play, the owners own, the coaches coach. The fans cheer, boo, cry, whatever, but we don't influence said players,owners, coaches. Sure, we may try with walkouts and the such, but we don't always have the power that we think we have.

I sat in my apartment watching the Steelers game on Sunday night, throwing verbal barbs at ref Ron Winters for calling James Harrison's legal hit on Garrard a foul. My screaming did nothing to change the play or the outcome of the game, but that speaks to the connectedness AND disconnectedness that the fans experience.

So this is where Big Ben and Fleury come in.

This past weekend was awesome, what with the Steelers avenging their playoff loss and the Penguins opening their season with an OT win. However, in both games, the fan passion that I outlined above came into play. And the guys I was directing my shouts at were Big Ben and MAF.

We can't beat it into the ground any more. Ben...GET RID OF THE BALL! We know you can extend plays and get it to your receivers, but that's no excuse for taking 45,000 sacks. I'm sure that $100mil+ can buy a lot casts and surgeries, but that doesn't benefit the team paying you that scratch. Everyone watching the games probably says the same thing when Ben is dragged down by a pursuing defender...but that doesn't mean Ben hears us. Sucks...I know.

MAF has been fantastic of late, just like Big Ben. Both players are primary reasons that their teams are in the position (currently and long-term) that they're in. But watching the games in Sweden with me sitting on this side of the pond, I felt I had to scream louder...QUIT TRYING TO HANDLE THE PUCK! YOU AREN"T MARTY TURCO!

And this isn't just from the current, respective young seasons. Ben had the same problems last year, and MAF kept trying to display his new puck-handling skills more often after his injury and leading into the playoffs.

Both guys are trying something that isn't working with the efficiency needed to cell them successful plays. Ben will elude some tackles, but takes way too many sacks. MAF will toss a clean outlet pass from time to time, but he still almost turned the puck over to Jarkko Ruutu in Sweden.

Look, we know you're both elite players. That's why we cheer. But you guys are stressin' us out. Just play the game, plskthxbai?!

One Video Explains Cooke and Godard's Roles For The Penguins

Earlier today, I linked to G5H's Matt Cooke man-love, including the new Cooke-y Monster Facebook page. The signing came over the weekend, when most bloggers take time off and, you know, do things not involving a computer. I didn't update on this deal, which Faceoff Factor lists at 2 years, $2.4 mil.

Today, I decided to put my sportsblogger research skillz (Google news-trolling, Youtube-watching, blog browsing, pizza-rolls-eating skillz) to work, and actually found the above video, in which newest Pen Cooke gets into a scrape with prior Pittsburgh free agent signee Eric Godard.

Knowing the roles both players are taking over (Godard - enforcer, Cooke - pest), this is the equivalent of watching a Laraque/Ruutu fight before both came to Pittsburgh. Now, this was more of an excited exchange rather than a blow-for-blow fight, but its still unique to see our two new acquisitions having some words. Wonder if that will cause some tension in the locker room?

At least we know that Godard is ready to fight, even after dishing out a late hit. And Cooke might not fight like Godard does, but he's clearly good at provoking the opposition.

And here's an interview where Cooke-y confirms his role as a pest. Looks like we have a new Jarkko.

The Penguins and Free Agency Updates

How are the Pens doing in the early hours of free agency?

Pascal Dupuis. 3 years, $1.4 mil a season.

Mark Eaton. 2 years, $1 mil a season. Might end Orpik's tenure with the Pens.

Evgeni Malkin. Still not 100% finalized, but seems to be 5 years, $8.7 mil a season.

Reports say Ruutu's been offered a contract, and the Pens are possibly after Jaromir Jagr.

This will be updated in case anything cool happens or more players sign.

UPDATE:

Ty Conklin is now a Red Wing. If you can't [play against 'em in the finals], join 'em? 1 year, $750,000.

UPDATE 2: Tampa Bay signed Adam Hall for 3 years, $600k a year. They're murdering our UFAs.

UPDATE 3: Penguins sign RW Eric Godard for 3 years and an undisclosed amount. He played in no more than 21 games for the Flames in each of the last two seasons, so I'm guessing this isn't a massive contract.

Thank God For Jarkko

(You've probably seen this picture before. But honestly, why not use it?)

Jarkko Ruutu just saved the season.

No joke...Jarkko Ruutu...saved the season.

Sure, you probably had many questions when Jarkko appeared in the shootout. "Why is he in?" "Is he going to use the same move?" "Does he even try?" "What the shit?"

All these are legitimate questions, but Jarkko shut you up. Big time.

For one night, last year's playoff loss to the Sens was a distant memory. The Pens rallied from a huge 3rd period deficit against arguably the best team in the entire NHL. We got 2 points when we should've got none. Without Jarkko, there's no 6-5 shootout victory.

The Sens have 30+ points so far this season. Even with the win, the Pens are sub-20. Turning point of the season? Can't really say. However, its always easy to ride the adrenaline high when dudes like Jarkko or Georges Laraque win the game for you.

Thank you so much Jarkko. You've healed Penguins Nation. At least for one night.

Here's the moment...

Dirty.

Fleury, Rest Of Pens, Have Rough Playoff Debut

wow. that was a tough game to watch. the pens got dominated in every aspect of the game, and fell to ottawa 6-3. that score doesnt even do the senators any justice. ottawa did lead 6-1, before gonchar and crosby added "confidence-booster" goals in the waning moments. therrien and the team had been quick to brush off the teams youth and inexperience, but had to face the music after this one was over. therrien accepted that his team was tight, and crosby felt the team was watching rather than setting the early tone. both were understatements. the senators clearly came out with more passion, and were able to leave their mark on the game from the drop of the puck. andrej meszaros scored 1:37 into the game, and chris kelly added a goal only 5 minutes later.

despite giving up 6 goals, i cant place the blame solely on maf. mark eaton tipped a shot that was easily picked up by ottawa for an easy goal. laraque's intended drop pass to ruutu lead to a senators breakaway that resulted in an easy goal. the defense couldnt get the puck out of their own zone. the ottawa forwards were more physical than the pittsburgh defense. the pens couldnt handle simple passes and stick-handling maneuvers. daniel alfredsson was allowed to take hack after hack at the net, and the score would have been 10-3 if the ottawa captain quit missing the cage. ryan whitney struggled to a -2 rating. in case you dont get the point, i can keep going on about why the pens lost. maf looked nervous at the beginning, settled down for a bit, then imploded upon himself. as frustrated as i was, though, there were plenty more reasons for this loss rather than just the poor play of maf.

"apparent kicking motion." remember those words. any chance of the penguins swinging game momentum last night was crushed by the "war room" in toronto, who disallowed sidney crosby's goal in the opening moments of the 2nd period, which would have closed the ottawa lead to 4-2, after dany heatley scored only 15 seconds prior. colby armstrong crashed the net, and sid put the rebound past emery, thus revitalizing the pittsburgh bench. after talking to the "war room," the refs disallowed the goal, because crosby's sliding foot touched the puck before it scooted past emery. crosby took a legitimate shot with his stick, and was falling to his knees like he has done in the past. however, last night, crosby was right in front of emery, and wasnt trying to break his body in half as he crashed the net. he went from his knee to his butt, and the puck tipped the heel of his stick, hit his sliding foot, and went in. the thing that gets me, is we dont know if the "war room" has any bias against the kid. sid is legendary in the league for his lower body strength, and has been known to use his skates like 2 additional sticks. ive never seen a player protect a puck like crosby can, by passing the puck between his skates and his stick with such ease. if anyone in the "war room" (i cant stand that they call it that) has watched any of crosby in his first 2 seasons, they would know the kid's abilities. i seriously hope that the geniuses in toronto didnt hold this against crosby while making their decision to disallow the goal. i understand "apparent kicking motion," but sid actually took the shot with his stick, and as he was falling into the cage, his eyes were still focused on where the shot from his stick was supposed to go. "apparent kicking motion" is supposed to deter players from kicking pucks into the goal, not for overanalyzing a guy falling down while trying to make a legitimate shot. the pens beat the sens back in march after falling down 4-1, and crosby's goal could have sparked the turnaround in this 4-1 game. instead, any momentum was gone once the ref waved the goal off (to steigy and errey's surprise), and maf allowed 2 more goals before being benched for t-bo.

this is, in no way, critical of ottawa. they clearly won the game. they exerted their influence, and flat-out beat sid and company. hopefully the team can build off of the failures in game 1, and come out with more purpose on saturday.