Potpourri

I haven't posted in a few days, so I'll take this time to talk about various subjects:

• I'm sure all my loyal readers were psyched to hear my opinions on Monday night's Steelers carnage at Heinz Field, and were disappointed at my lack of posting. Fact is, that game made me speechless. When you put a 35 spot on your biggest rivals before halftime, there's really not much to say. Scoreboard speaks for itself. James Harrison jersey sales will be skyrocketing in Pittsburgh over the next two months. I remember seeing him walk out of tunnel before the game and he had a look on his face like he wanted to kill somebody. Nice foreshadowing. Speaking of "sales" in "Pittsburgh", there is no crazier time in that city than the holiday season when the Steelers are in the playoff hunt. Doesn't matter where you go - every single store will be selling some kinds of Steelers merchandise, no matter what kind of store it is. If you think State College is crazy during PSU football season, you haven't seen anything yet.

• Pens lost last night to the Flyers, dropping their record to 7-7-1 (7-8). Is it time to be concerned? Not at all. The NHL season is a marathon, and it is most important to be playing your best hockey at the end of the season. Teams that get off to incredibly hot starts (see Ottawa at 13-1) will never be able to keep up that pace, and it may be difficult to rediscover in the playoffs. Case in point: Buffalo Sabres from last year. As long as we avoid huge losing skids, we should be fine. Big game tonight at Madison Square Garden.

• Can we start making fun of the Big East again? Disappointing seasons from Louisville, Rutgers, and most recently South Florida have put this league back into its rightful place as the most mediocre BCS conference. Reason I bring this up: Louisville plays at West Virginia tonight, in a game that was originally supposed to be a BCS showdown but tonight is just another Thursday night ESPN game. WVU is sitting at #7 in the BCS, but have yet to beat a team with less than 4 losses, and that won't change tonight, as Louisville is 4-4.

• The Eastern Conference finals in the MLS start tonight. Why do I bring this up? Because OF COURSE the New England team is involved. Seriously people, this is getting ridiculous. The Patriots and Red Sox, and now even the Celtics are destroying people! And you know what the most disgusting part is? All three of those teams built themselves by dishing out money to free agents, rather than grooming their own draft picks. It annoys the hell out of me when teams that are awful one year sign a bunch of free agents and become good out of nowhere (see Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Flyers). At least when the Pens turned things around they did it using their own talent, accumulated by many years of drafting early. Grr. So, I'll be rooting like hell for the Chicago Fire tonight (like anyone in NE will care).

• NBA season has started, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Suns are piddling at 3-2, 2 losses at home to the Lakers and at Atlanta. Like the Pens, I'm not concerned yet but those are two bad losses.

• College basketball season has started, and how! Already, the Big Ten has had TWO teams (#8 Michigan State, and Oden-less and unranked Ohio State) lose "exhibition" games to Division II teams. Ok, it was funny when it happened to Michigan in football, but I'm getting a little tired of seeing Big Ten teams on the wrong end of colossal upsets. Why can't it happen to a different conference? WISH GRANTED!!! Last night, the Kentucky Wildcats got smoked on their home court by....the Fightin Bulldogs of GARDNER WEBB. Even better, this was in a tournament in which the winner goes to Madison Square Garden to play more games! So not only do the Wildcats get embarrassed, they have to miss out on the trip to New York they've been planning all summer! HA HA!!

That's all for now. I'll be trying to make more frequent posts in the future, I want the Blogger award for November!