The Pens have a chance to send the Washington Capitals golfing if they can put their rivals away with a win at home in Game Six. With Sidney Crosby back, and PPG Paints Arena electric, I expect the Pens to come out flying. They need to end this series Monday night! Hopefully their third period meltdown in Game Five was nothing more than a temporary setback. The last thing the Pens want, or need, is for the Capitals to win again and have a chance to come back from a three to one deficit with a Game Seven back in DC. It’s time for the stars, notably Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel to shine. If they come through, and Marc Andre Fleury does what he has done in goal, the Pens will advance to the Conference Finals. My pick is Pittsburgh to win Game Six.
• I honestly thought that we would not see Sidney Crosby again this year after he suffered his latest concussion earlier in this series. The hit he took in Game Three was brutal and made me wonder if Crosby’s career could also be over. Yet somehow Crosby was back on the ice and looked really good in his return in Game Five. Wouldn’t it be great if Crosby lights up the Caps in Game Six? I’d love to see it happen. I’d also like to see the NHL finally do something about these hits to the head.
• Marc Andre Fleury has been brilliant throughout these playoffs, with the exception of the third period in Game Five in Washington. Truth be told, you can’t pin the loss on Fleury. I thought he was hung out to dry by his team. The Pens were completely outplayed and Fleury was the guy who paid for it. I’m not of the belief that Fleury has suddenly lost it, or is cracking under the pressure. This is, afterall, a guy who has taken the Pens to two Stanley Cup Finals. Fleury can only do so much himself. He needs support from his teammates. If he gets it, the Pens will end the Capitals’ season early once again. And should that happen, expect some major changes in Washington.
• I find it incredibly sad that the family of Roberto Clemente is about to auction off a lot of his memorabilia. The family has every right to cash in, and by all accounts they will to the tune of a few million dollars. Still, I find it troubling that his two sons would be willing to part with his World Series rings from 1960 and 1971. In my opinion, those are priceless heirlooms that should be kept in the family for generations. Once they are sold they will be gone forever. I wonder what the Great One would think about all of this? I think it’s horrible, and from what I’ve read and heard, so do many others.
• The Pirates are tough to watch these days. On the positive side, the Buccos took two out of three from Milwaukee over the weekend. On the negative side, the Pirates continue to play some really bad baseball. The team’s defense remains horrendous. Two Pirates’ miscues, including another misplayed ball by outfield John Jaso, gave the Brewers’ easy runs. Furthermore, Gregory Polanco, who is terrible on the base paths, got picked off first base again. On Saturday, the Pirates had a chance to break a scoreless game wide open when they had the bases loaded and nobody out. They failed to score. How many times have we seen that the past few years? This is the major leagues, fellas. Start playing like major leaguers.
• Gregory Polanco has sure been a disappointment for the Pirates. I’ve said all along that given his body-type and the fact that he’s a left handed hitter, Polanco should hit 20-30 homers a year. He finally showed some power during the second half of the 2016 season, but has shown none so far this season. That’s unacceptable. Entering the weekend Polanco had not homered and had driven in just four runs. Talk about disappointing. So, is Polanco the guy who seemed to put it together last year and made us all believe he would be a star, or is he the guy who struggled early in his career and is doing so again right now? I wish I knew. What I do know is the Pirates need Polanco, and he isn’t delivering. If he doesn’t, it will be a really long year for the Buccos.
• We’ve heard so much about the Pirates trading Andrew McCutchen, and that could still happen before the year is out. Now comes a story from the New York Daily News that suggests the Yankees might be interested in dealing for Pirates’ pitcher Gerrit Cole this season. Cole is signed through 2019, which is good for any team that would make a move for him. And let’s face it, there’s no way he’ll sign with the Pirates when he hits free agency. So, if the Pirates are out of it at the All Star Break or trading deadline would Neal Huntington deal away his ace? Frankly, I doubt it will happen this year. Then again, I wouldn’t be shocked if it were to happen. The New York tabloids are famous for stirring things up. A lot of the things they write are pure fiction. This one could actually make sense.
• It was nice to see Tyler Glasnow finally get his first major league win. I’ll admit that when he gave up a three run homer in the first inning I turned the game off. I was pleasantly surprised when I tuned back in and Glasnow was still on the hill and was pitching well. I honestly expected him to get knocked out again. The kid has the stuff, but he’s been a real underachiever to date. He had a second straight good outing on Sunday. Unfortunately, the defense behind him wasn’t very good and he suffered the loss. Still, the last two starts have been encouraging for both Glasnow and the Pirates.
• Ben Roethlisberger had some high praise for rookie James Conner. Big Ben told Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette that he pushed for the team to draft the former Pitt running back. The two players share the same agent, and Roethlisberger said the two worked out together prior to the draft. It’s obvious that the Steeler QB is really bullish on his new running back. And that should be great news for all Steeler fans.
• Is there a more deplorable person in sports these days than LaVar Ball, the blowhard father of future NBA draftee Lonzo Ball? After all the major shoe companies refused to do business with this clown, Ball’s company, Big Baller Brand, released a Lonzo Ball shoe with the eye opening price of $495. Good luck selling many of those, LaVar. There’s no question that Lonzo Ball is a great player, and his younger brothers are also said to be great basketball players as well. That said, I wouldn’t want anything to do with them, because if you have them in your program you also have this blowhard father around as well. I don’t care how good Lonzo Ball is, I wouldn’t draft him. And I sure as heck wouldn’t wear a pair of Lonzo Ball shoes, even if you gave them to me for free.
