Tree of Life

29 Mar

Pittsburgh Power at Milwaukee Mustangs Preview by Dominic Errico

published in category: College Sports on Thursday, March 29th, 2012 – 10:38 am

The Pittsburgh Power (1-1) looked at last week's showdown with Philadelphia as a litmus test for where they stood as championship contenders. They found out there are still some kinks to work out in their quest for the Foster trophy. They will travel to Milwaukee on Thursday night to take on their division rivals, the Milwaukee Mustangs (1-1)

Quarterback Bill Stull took over as the starting quarterback for the Power last week and looked strong early, but faltered in the 4th quarter. He finished the day 26 of 42 for 299 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He has to put a halt to the turnovers if he expects to be a successful arena football league quarterback. His accuracy also seemed to falter a bit in the second half. Perhaps fatigue played a part in the late struggles.

Stull will have the full confidence of his teammates and coaches and should fare a bit better against Milwaukee. His favorite target last week was Randy Hymes. The former Baltimore Raven had 7 catches for 112 yards and two scores. His size (6'3" 215 pounds) is a big advantage in the AFL.

P.J. Berry has had a slow start to the 2012 season so far at least on offense. I do believe his foot injury has impacted him a bit more than he had hoped, but it's only a matter of time before he has the kind of game Power fans were hoping for when he signed with the team. This could be the week he finally makes his mark in a Power uniform.

Speaking of making their mark. Tyre Young left a lasting impression on the Consol Energy Center turf last week after scoring a touchdown. I'm all for sharing, but I doubt the CEC faithful wanted to share his pregame meal with him quite the way he did. I think any Young touchdowns from here on out should be sponsored by Stanley Steemer. All joking aside, Young has shown why he was the best AFL running back in 2010 and he will be a strongly utilized part of the Power offense in 2012.

Milwaukee's offense funnels through quarterback Gino Guidugli (Pronounced Ga-duel-ee). The second year quarterback has been strong so far on the season connecting on 43 of 65 passes (66.2%) for 603 yards, 10 TD's and only 2 interceptions. There were high expectations for Guidugli entering the season and so far he's lived up to them.

His top target so far has been 6'3" receiver Jared Jenkins. Jenkins has 17 catches for 248 yards and 4 TD's early on in his AFL rookie season. He lines up next to another AFL rookie in Jonathan Wilson, who has added 11 catches for 183 yards and 3 TD's.

Milwaukee has scored exactly 65 points in both of their games this season, and that seems to be a likely scoring level again in this week's contest.

Defensively last week, the Power did what they had to do to secure victory. Don't let the 84 points that Philly put up fool you, the Power D had two interceptions and three recovered fumbles. Anytime you get 5 turnovers as a defense in the AFL you should win handily. I think linebacker John Green showed a lot of great instincts with the ball, but unfortunately he had a fumble of his own after an interception which negated the big play.

Bryan Williams and Chris LeFlore seem to be around the ball on just about every play. No defensive back in the AFL is perfect, but these guys have a chance to make plays throughout the game and that's what you want. I am very impressed by what I've seen from the Power secondary so far.

Milwaukee's biggest strength was on defense in 2011, and they held the New Orleans VooDoo to 42 points in a 65-42 victory in the Graveyard last week. They will pose a strong test for a Power offense still trying to develop a rhythm early in this AFL season. Luis Vasquez already has 2.5 sacks this year, Dwayne LaFall has added 1.5 sacks, and both Ryan McFoy and Marcus Everett have pick sixes for the Mustangs.

The biggest weakness we saw from the Power last week was the kicking game. Collin Wagner made his AFL debut and it's one he'd prefer to forget. He missed three extra points, including one returned for two points the other way, causing a five point shift on the scoreboard. Some of his kickoffs failed to make it to the rebound nets. You need to cause some chaos on kickoffs if you're going to have a chance. I'm not convinced he's the right guy to replace Taylor Rowan.

Opposite of Wagner, you have Ryan Gates who is 8 of 9 on his extra points and has made the only field goal he's attempted. AFL games are so close, and often times missed extra points end up being the only difference between two teams. If the Power keep Wagner in the saddle, he has to improve this week or it could be another loss for Pittsburgh.

Keys to the game for Pittsburgh
? Shake off the mistakes from last week. This team has a lot of playmakers on offense and they are much better than the six turnovers we saw against the Soul.
? Put the pressure on Guidugli early. If the Power can force him to make some errant throws, I think Bryan Williams, Chris LeFlore, John Green and company can come up with a few turnovers and get the Bradley Center faithful out of it.
? Lonnell DeWalt, P.J. Berry, Randy Hymes, Tyre Young or even tight end Moqut Ruffins. Stick with what is working.

Keys to the game for Milwaukee
? Force Bill Stull to make accurate passes. Many of Stull's big plays were to wide open receivers against Philadelphia. Play tighter man coverage against the Power receivers and Stull will have to make the tighter throws for completions. This may open him up to a few more interceptions.
? Enjoy homefield advantage. This is such a big thing in the AFL with the fans right on top of the field. Make it tough early on for Pittsburgh.

I personally think Pittsburgh is a lot better than the final score showed last week against Philadelphia, but we still need to see them prove it on the field. The week one win over Orlando didn't prove anything just yet, so look for the Power to be very hungry in this one.

Milwaukee's defense could be key. I don't think their offense is quite on the same level as what we saw out of the Soul last week. I also don't think their defense is as strong either. Not to take anything away from the Mustangs, but I just feel this matchup is a lot easier for the Power. Milwaukee will get a boost out of the Bradley Center faithful, but I just like the Power's playmakers a bit more.

It'll be close, but I think the Power get the job done on the road.

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Posted in College Sports

 

28 Mar

PHILADELPHIA SOUL LEAPFROG TO TOP SPOT IN WEEK 3 COACHES

published in category: College Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012 – 4:52 pm

The Philadelphia Soul (2-0) jumped from fifth to first in the Week 3 Coaches' Poll, after a loss to the top-ranked San
Jose SaberCats (1-1) caused a shift in this week's rankings. Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh had seven touchdown passes in the Soul's
84-59 win on NFL Network's "NET10 Arena Football Friday" over their in-state rival, the Pittsburgh Power in the "Keystone Collision."
The team leads the League with 73.5 points per game and will face the top-ranked Cleveland Gladiators defense on April 1, who only
gives up 40.0 points per contest. The Soul received 11 first-place votes and 146 points total.
The League's only other unbeaten record — and the Poll's second ranked team — belongs to the Chicago Rush (2-0), who were
propelled to a 51-49 victory over the Orlando Predators by five touchdown receptions from WR Reggie Gray. Gray currently leads the
AFL in scoring average with 27 points per game, and the Rush will need that as they travel to Iowa this week. The Barnstormers (1-1)
fell out of the top ten during their Week 3 bye, but will be looking to make a statement against the Rush. Chicago tallied two first-place
votes and 127 total points in the Week 3 Poll, five more points than they received last week.
Out in the West, the San Jose SaberCats (1-1) and Arizona Rattlers (1-1) — both of which have been ranked either first or second in
each of the previous Polls — are now ranked third and fourth, respectively. The SaberCats fell in Utah after a game-winning field goal
attempt went wide, losing their top-ranked spot in the process. The Cats look to rebound this week on the NFL Network, when they
take on the Spokane Shock. The Rattlers, who received three first-place votes and 116 total points overall, return from last week's
bye with a game against Kansas City (0-2) on March 29.
The Utah Blaze (2-1) impressed voters with an upset victory over the San Jose SaberCats, which helped them move from eighth to
fifth in the Week 3 Poll. The Blaze are led by red-hot quarterback Tommy Grady, who took on San Jose's Mark Grieb in a shootout —
and won. The Blaze's 104 points this week are more than double their total in the Week 2 Poll. The Blaze will look to keep rolling this
week, as they face the new-look New Orleans VooDoo on March 31.
The Georgia Force (2-1) also won in Week 3, cruising to a 28-point victory against the defending champion Jacksonville Sharks. This
win, along with the success of quarterback R.J. Archer, has helped them consistently win over voters each week, and come in ranked
sixth going into Week 4. Their 74 total points are up from their 53 of last week, and coaches also moved them from seventh to sixth.
The Force are idle until an April 7 meeting with the Philadelphia Soul.
The next two spots belong to newcomers in the Coaches' Poll, as both Milwaukee and Spokane were not ranked last week. The
Mustangs (1-1) seem to have corrected their offensive woes of last season, winning 65-42 in New Orleans last week. Quarterback
Gino Guidugli has been consistent this season, and ranks third in the League in pass efficiency. The Mustangs will play the Pittsburgh
Power (1-1), who fell out of the top ten this week, in a March 29 game in Milwaukee.

!
The Spokane Shock (1-1) returned to the top ten this week at eight, even though they were off during Week 3. In their last game they
defeated the San Antonio Talons (1-1) who have dropped to ninth in the Poll. The Shock will have their hands full with the SaberCats
on March 30, but will look to the hometown crowd for an advantage. San Antonio, who was also idle during Week 3, will travel to
Orlando for a match up with the Predators on March 29.
Jacksonville (1-1) rounds out the Week 3 Coaches' Poll at tenth, reeling after a tough home loss to the Georgia Force. Quarterback
Omar Jacobs has struggled recently and threw four interceptions against the Force defense. The Sharks will take on their rival the
Tampa Bay Storm on March 30. The Sharks loss was their first since July 15, 2011 and was their first in franchise history to the
Georgia Force.
WEEK 3 COACHES' POLL
RK Team (1st place votes) W-L Pts Last Week
1 Philadelphia Soul (11) 2-0 146 5
2 Chicago Rush (2) 2-0 127 3
3 San Jose SaberCats (1) 1-1 120 1
4 Arizona Rattlers (3) 1-1 116 2
5 Utah Blaze 2-1 104 8
6 Georgia Force 2-1 74 7
7 Milwaukee Mustangs 1-1 45 –
8 Spokane Shock 1-1 45 –
9 San Antonio Talons 1-1 37 4
10 Jacksonville Sharks 1-1 32 6

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Posted in College Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

27 Mar

Pirates Should Send Alvarez to AAA by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 – 8:39 am

Over the weekend, Pirates' GM Neal Huntington confirmed that Pedro Alvarez would be joining the team in Pittsburgh to start the season, instead of being demoted to AAA Indianapolis. The news was somewhat surprising given Alvarez's lack of success -more importantly at the plate- over the past year.

After a stellar rookie campaign in 2010 when he hit .256/.326/.461including 16 home runs, Alvarez took a giant step backward in his sophomore season. By the middle of the season Pedro was designated to AAA and sustain minor injuries along the way. His final line in 2011 was .191/.272/.289 with just 4 home runs and 80 strikeouts in 235 at-bats.

After deciding not to play winter ball, despite his club's suggestion, Alvarez worked out with "super agent", Scott Boras. When fans saw him at Pirates' Fest over the winter, Alvarez looked a lot thinner and in much better shape, overall. That, alone, caused fans to believe he would have a bounce back season.

While another big step forward is still in the cards for Pedro Alvarez this season, his horrible performance in spring training suggests more of the same from 2011. In 14 games in the Grapefruit League, Alvarez is hitting .133/.156/.333. Even more alarming is the high number of strikeouts (15) in just 33 at bats. Yes, it is spring training. And yes, the averages, ERAs, OBPs, and OPSs in March do not necessarily set a preview for the six months of real season. But striking out in nearly half as many at-bats is still alarming. It is one thing to have a low average due to at 'em balls, bad luck, or barely mistiming pitches; but to consistently go up to the plate and get overpowered is disturbing.

Neal Huntington believes a lot of Alvarez's struggles have to do with his knee, which suddenly tweaked last week during a game. Maybe he's right. After all, he's been around Pedro from the start. At the same time, what evidence has Pedro Alvarez shown that he deserves to play on April 5th? Has he shown the ability to take an outside pitch the other way, something that has been a weakness since he turned pro? Has he shown the ability to turn on an inside fastball? Has he done these things consistently enough to prove that a breakout is right around the corner? Based on his numbers and from what we can observe on TV the answer is no.

Therefore, send Alvarez to Indianapolis and work through his struggles there. He added a new toe-tap as a timing mechanism in the offseason. Rather than sending him to Pittsburgh to face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels in the opening series of the season, let Alvarez work on his new swing and get comfortable. A demotion should not be seen as punishment but rather an opportunity to get better and gain confidence.

Pittsburgh Pirates' fans are growing restless with Pedro Alvarez. The stunt his agent pulled during contract negotiations following his draft already put him in a negative light. At this point, Pirates' fans are almost waiting for him to fail so they can cast him off with previous first round picks who failed to pan out. While that behavior, in my book, is completely unjustifiable and idiotic, it still won't erase the high probability that Pedro Alvarez will get booed if he fails to produce at the beginning of the season.

Send Pedro Alvarez to AAA. Let him get comfortable with his approach to the plate before he stands in the box against some of the elite pitchers in the league.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates

 

26 Mar

Power Knocked Out in Keystone Collision by Dominic Errico

published in category: College Sports on Monday, March 26th, 2012 – 10:20 am

Two weeks after a season opening victory in Orlando using replacement players, and coming off a week 2 bye, the Power finally got their first chance to show the fans what they could do at full strength. After their 84-59 loss to the Philadelphia Soul, the Pittsburgh Power still have a lot of work to do.

Turnovers were the story of the game for both teams. Both teams lost three fumbles, and Pittsburgh lost the interception battle 3-2. The Power also lost the fourth down conversion war too going 0 for 2 in that department.

Despite all of the momentum killing mistakes, Pittsburgh hung in there tight with the Soul and you started to think they might steal one. Unfortunately, the mistakes just kept coming.

Quarterback Bill Stull seemed to outplay his Philly counterpart well into the fourth quarter before he was forced into desperation mode. He finished the day 26 of 42 for 299 yards, 6 TD's and 3 interceptions. One of the picks was as he was being hit from behind. He failed to connect twice on fourth down overthrowing his receivers badly.

Randy Hymes stepped up in this game with 7 catches for 112 yards and 2 TD's. Mike "The Joystick" Washington also caught 9 passes for 80 yards and a pair of scores.

Despite the 84 points on the scoreboard, the Power did a very good job defensively of containing the Soul outside of Donovan Morgan. John Green had a huge interception but unfortunately fumbled near the goal line to negate a crucial six points. Justin Parrish returned a Dan Raudabaugh fumble for six the other way. Anytime you get five turnovers in the AFL you should win comfortably, but alas this wasn't the case Friday night.

Rookie kicker Collin Wagner had a rough AFL debut missing three extra points, plus one attempt was returned for a two point conversion the other way causing another five point swing towards Philly.

Overall the Power just weren't able to capitalize on the chances the Soul were giving them. We saw a lot of the same out of the New Orleans Voodoo last week in a narrow 63-62 loss to this same Soul team.

Perhaps some more practice with the team will help Bill Stull get a better chemistry going with his teammates.

Pittsburgh travels to Milwaukee on Thursday March 29th for a big early season divisional matchup.

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Posted in College Sports

 

24 Mar

Pens Chasing Top Seed; Closing in on President's Trophy by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, March 24th, 2012 – 2:23 pm

With the Penguins continuing to pile up wins down the final stretch of the regular season before battling for the Stanley Cup, suddenly, another trophy enters in mix.

The Presidents Trophy is awarded to the team with the most points in the NHL by the end of the season. Since its inception in 1985, 15 different teams have won the trophy with the Detroit Red Wings (6) winning it the most.

Currently with a game in hand, the Penguins are one point back from the New York Rangers to take the top spot in the Eastern Conference. It is obvious the Penguins have made a hard push to reach the number 1 seed which would guarantee them home ice throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs. But what about the fourth round?

The Penguins aren't far from attaining that goal either. The St. Louis Blues hold the top spot in the NHL with 101 points, placing the Penguins three points back. However, Pittsburgh has played two less games, opening the opportunity to take over the league-lead by the end of the season. Overtaking the Blues in April could potentially determine the outcome of the Stanley Cup finals in June. The Blues are 29-4-4 at home and 17-16-5 on the road. An extra home game would be extremely beneficial, just going by those numbers. At the same time, this is completely hypothetical, given the unpredictability of the playoffs.

That's not to say the Presidents' Trophy is an automatic bypass to Stanley Cup glory. In fact, that notion would be far off base. While the trophy does guarantee home-ice throughout the playoffs, history has shown that it does not guarantee playoff success. Of the 25 Presidents' Trophy winners, only 7 have gone on to lift Lord Stanley in the same year, while 5 trophy winners were eliminated in the first round. History has shown it only takes a hot goaltender or a tough defensive team to derail a Presidents' Trophy team. Montreal eliminated Washington in the first round two years ago because of the excellent play from Jaroslav Halak. The Bruins knocked off the Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals because of Tim Thomas.

The 1992-1993 Pittsburgh Penguins -believed to be the best team in franchise history- won the Presidents Trophy, finished the season with 17 consecutive wins (and a tie), only to fall to the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs. Penguins fans will never forget David Volek's game winning goal in overtime in Game 7 to send Pittsburgh packing.

Nevertheless, the Pittsburgh Penguins are going for home-ice advantage and why not? The Penguins have shown that, when healthy, they are nearly invincible. Evgeni Malkin is playing at an MVP level, Sidney Crosby is making his presence felt with third line centers, and Marc-Andre Fleury continues to shine. The Penguins have made it their mission to go after the top spot in the Eastern Conference and, as a result, they have put themselves in position to have a higher point total than everybody in the league.

Dan Bylsma appears to have put a target on the Rangers' back and the idea of getting home-ice secured is not lost on their Hall of Fame owner, Mario Lemieux. After all, it was Lemieux who said his biggest regret as a player was not being able to win the Stanley Cup at home. Could this be the year the Penguins raise Lord Stanley in Pittsburgh? On March 24th, it is impossible to be sure but, the Penguins wouldn't mind picking up a second Presidents' Trophy along the way to a potential fourth Stanley Cup.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins

 

23 Mar

Sean, the Saints and the Snitch! by Dominic Errico

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday, March 23rd, 2012 – 11:00 am

When I read online yesterday that the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell had suspended Saint's Head Coach Sean Payton for the year, my first reaction was "You gotta be kidding me!", but as I read on it all be came clearer to me and this is how I see it. Obviously, somewhere there Sean lied to someone in the league. He had already been warned once and told the league he was cleaning things up, which he definitely didn't do. He was also accused of telling people before they went to testify that the organization needed to have their "ducks in a row". (A threat maybe?) But as we look at the situation here I agree the league had to come down hard. I am surprised they did it harder on Payton than they did for Gregg William's, but as the head coach, it is your ship. It goes where you tell it to go.
Now it will be interesting to see the repercussions from this and how it plays out. General Manager Mickey Loomis will be suspended for half the season, though he WILL be allowed to handle the draft, training camp and everything leading up to the season. Payton is gone for the year. Now Ram's defensive coordinator William's is gone "Indefinitely", which is going to be at least a season, I am thinking maybe 2 or 3 unless he gets down on his knees and begs. And I have no love loss for William's. He showed his ego a few years back with his comment about "Look-Out hits" on Peyton Manning. Even if you do it, what kind of Einstein goes on a radio show and says you are targeting the other teams quarterback in the Super Bowl. This gets even more interesting knowing that Drew Bree's is already involved in contentious contract negotiations. And the team could very well lose defensive playmaker Jonathon Vilma if they decide, he too, lied to the league. Vilma being the only player named at this point. What quarterback wants to have the franchise tag hanging over their head when they lost their head coach, general manager and defensive leader for at least half a year?
Finally, comes the question, how did the league know about these accusations? I really have mixed feelings here, and it is hard to debate this fact with a non-sports related person. It just doesn't make sense to them. Warren Sapp, former pro-bowler and now league analyst for the NFL Network, stated on his twitter that he has very solid sources telling him that the snitch was in fact, former Saint's tight end Jeremy Shockey. Shockey, of course, denies the claims. Again, I do not argue with any of the punishments, they are all deserved up to this point, but the locker room is hollowed ground for a lot of the people involved. To me it is no different than sitting with your family confessing to a crime, and then finding out your brother or sister went and told the police. And we aren't talking murder here, maybe a little grand larceny is a better fit. You teammates are your brothers, for some people even closer than that. To know that what you say in a locker room could be open fodder for the media, fans or the league really touches a cord with me. I have coached in arena football, and just about every team I played with had a "sack pot", or one for turnovers or special teams plays. Though I have never heard of one for actually hurting anyone, big hits were certainly encouraged. I think you also see how sore of a subject it is for former players as well. For Sapp to bring these to light and actually name names, while he is en employee of the NFL, could put his job at risk for revealing whistleblowers, though he says that his information did not come form anyone in the league offices nor would he ask anyone from the league offices.
This is the kind of punishment that could lead the Saint's back to the days of the"Ain'ts". The league set a precedent with this one and the ripples could be felt for years to come as the League puts their foot down, teams have to re-think the way they do business and the players are left to wonder who can they really trust.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

20 Mar

Steelers All-Time Leading Wide Receiver Hines Ward Retires

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 – 12:11 pm

Steelers' all-time leading wide receiver, Hines Ward, has announced that he will retire after 14 seasons with Pittsburgh.

Ward was originally drafted by the Steelers in the third round (92nd overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft out of Georgia. The Forest Park (Ga.) native played 14 seasons for the Steelers, which ties for the second longest tenure in franchise history behind Hall of Fame center Mike Webster (15). In his 14 seasons, Ward helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls, three AFC Championships and six division titles.

Ward became the team's all-time leader in receptions (1,000), receiving yards (12,083), receiving touchdowns (85) and 100-yard receiving games (29). From 1999-2009, Ward led or tied for the team lead in receptions. Ward is the eighth player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career receptions and joined Hall of Famer Jerry Rice as the only two players in league history to post 1,000 career catches and win multiple Super Bowls. Ward became the third player in NFL history to reach 12,000 receiving yards while playing for one team during their entire career (Marvin Harrison, Ind. and Steve Largent, Sea.).

Ward was the MVP of Super Bowl XL after leading the Steelers to a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. In three Super Bowls, Ward registered 14 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers' 2008 Walter Payton Man of the Year, Ward was named to four Pro Bowls (2002-05) and was a member of the team's 75th Season All-Time Team.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

20 Mar

"New" Matt Cooke Paying Off for Penguins by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 – 8:37 am

In 71 games this season, Matt Cooke has tallied 31 points including a career best 16 goals despite averaging a little under 16 minutes per game. Those numbers rank him outside the top 150 forwards in the league, and way outside the group of top six wingers.

But for Matt Cooke, it is more than just the number of points.

Cooke has 30 penalty minutes this season. That's it. A stark contrast to the previous three seasons where he easily racked up 100+ minutes. Before this season, he was more than a pest, he was a dangerous player; one that did not respect an opponent's well being, not only as an athlete but as a person.

Over the last four seasons, alone, Matt Cooke has placed himself in hot water with the NHL, receiving numerous suspensions. He is infamous for elbowing Marc Savard in the head, causing Savard to miss so many games with a concussion that he is strongly considering retirement. Meanwhile, the NHL decided not to discipline Cooke which was a grave injustice.

The following season, Cooke was suspended four games after boarding Fedor Tyutin on February 8th, 2011. Rather than come back as a less aggressive player, Cooke was penalized, again. This time, after elbowing Rangers' defenseman McDonagh in the head.

The league suspended Matt Cooke for the remainder of the 2010-2011 season and the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. During that time, the Penguins were torched by the Tampa Bay Lightning en route to another game 7 home loss to end the season.

In the offseason, Cooke sat down with the Penguins' front office along with head coach Dan Bylsma. They talked about his game and how he had to change his tactics when it came to hitting players. While none of us were in the room during the meeting, you can almost guarantee the Penguins left Cooke with an ultimatum: change your game or you're out. After all, the Penguins could not keep a player who egregiously ignored the safety of the league while Mario Lemieux publicly denounced the NHL's disciplinary policy.

So Matt Cooke came back for the 2011-2012 season determined to change his game while still contributing in a positive manner. Over the course of the season, there certainly were some growing pains. At one point, Pens' fans criticized him for being too timid, claiming he forgot how to hit. Those criticisms have started to taper off as Cooke has produced. Whether he's had Jordan Staal or Sidney Crosby centering him, Cooke has made the most of his opportunities.

He's also been tested by several opposing players who were not as willing to believe he was a changed man. Cooke has had to take cheap shots while the refs seemingly looked the other way. Rather than retaliate, Cooke turned the other cheek and continued to play hockey the right way.

He's also continued to be one of the key pieces to the Penguins' 3rd ranked penalty kill and was the team nomination for the Masterson Trophy. This is a huge honor, considering the trophy represents perseverance, usually by a player coming back from injury to play extremely well. With Evgeni Malkin returning from a torn ACL to lead the league in points, it would only make sense to nominate him for the trophy. But the players chose Matt Cooke, maybe out of greater respect that he not only changed his game, but did so in a manner that made him more respectful and more productive.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Penguins

 



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