March 4, 2015
Podcast: Troy, trades on 105.9 the X w/ Madden
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Here’s the podcast of my weekly visit to the 105.9 the X studio with Mark Madden. We talked Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. Good stuff, too.
About Dejan Kovacevic
Posts by Dejan Kovacevic:
March 4, 2015
Duquesne 81, Fordham 66
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for tipoff …
Game: Duquesne (10-17, 5-12 Atlantic 10) vs. Fordham (9-18, 4-12), 7:05 p.m., Rose Hill Gym, New York
Video, radio: Atlantic 10 Digital Network, WJAS 1320 AM, iHeartRadio 3WS HD2
Online: GameTracker / Multimedia / Official game notes
March 4, 2015
Blue Jays 4, Pirates 1
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates vs. Toronto Blue Jays, exhibition, 1:05 p.m., McKechnie Field, Bradenton, Fla.
Pitchers: RHP Gerrit Cole vs. RHP Marcus Stroman
Radio: MLB.com
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
March 4, 2015
Morning Java: Five finest of Tomlin era
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
The Steelers could be in for a stormy few days, depending on how the statuses of Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Brett Keisel and Ike Taylor are handled, so it got me thinking about the best of the best in the Mike Tomlin era.
Hence, this terribly non-scientific top-five list, just for fun.
Obviously, feel free to offer your own in the comments below.
March 3, 2015
Pirates 8, Blue Jays 7
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Getting ready for first pitch …
Game: Pirates vs. Toronto Blue Jays, exhibition, 1:07 p.m., Florida Auto Exchange Stadium, Dunedin, Fla.
Pitchers: RHP Casey Sadler vs. RHP Aaron Sanchez
TV, radio: MLB Network (national), 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Official game notes
March 3, 2015
Tuesday 12 Qs: Despres, Pouliot, Kang, Worilds
People flock from far and wide to the new Simon Despres statue on the North Shore. — Photo-illustration DALI KOVACEVIC
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. and offers you a chance to carry the conversation. Use the comments below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling.
UPDATE 9 a.m.: And off we go …
dsglass74: I understand your perspective on the Pens’ trades, but doesn’t the extreme focus on 2015 — as shown by the draft picks traded, as well as trading a 23-year-old for a 31-year-old straight up — concern you? The Pens have a window now, sure, but farm system depth can extend that window, and there isn’t much depth at all left in the system.
DK: One thing about Simon Despres, before he’s bronzed and sharing space alongside Mario Lemieux and Roberto Clemente in the Pittsburgh sporting pantheon, is that despite his youth, he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency after next season. I should have brought this up in the column you cite because it’s relevant: A decision was looming as to whether to pay Despres at an open-market rate, regardless of his age. His current contract pays an average of $900,000. By mere virtue of free agency, it was going to rise exponentially, even if he never got any better.
March 2, 2015
Column: Penguins build on strength, not size
Ben Lovejoy checks the Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin in a Feb. 15 game at the Ducks’ Honda Center. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Let’s start with the most cynical summation possible for Jim Rutherford’s performance at the NHL trade deadline today: The Penguins, a well-below-average physical team, traded away their top two hitters, Simon Despres and Robert Bortuzzo, for two other defensemen, Ben Lovejoy and Ian Cole, who skate more swiftly and make prettier plays.
Sound about right?
Well, sure, it sounds so right that it probably isn’t cynical at all. Rutherford did part with his most physical defenseman — check that, his only physical defensemen — and he did replace them with two more of what he already held in plentiful supply. That’s not opinion. That’s cold, hard truth.
Oh, and what’s more, in the more significant deal, he sent a 23-year-old, theoretically up-and-coming player in Despres to the Ducks for a 31-year-old thoroughly known commodity in Lovejoy.
Not even the GM himself would dispute any of the above.
Nor, apparently, will he apologize for it.
March 2, 2015
News/views: For Steelers, less is Moore
Lance Moore made 14 catches in his lone season with the Steelers. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
News: The Steelers make their first significant purge of the offseason, releasing wide receiver Lance Moore after just one season. They’ll save $1.1 million in cap space.
Views: Oh, do try to look surprised.
Moore was hurt in the final exhibition game, never came close to establishing any rapport with Ben Roethlisberger, visibly fell out of favor with the coaching staff, wound up with only 14 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns, and he was sadly inactive for the playoff game vs. Baltimore. Also, depending on whom you believe, he asked for his release once the season ended.
This is what mathematicians call addition through subtraction.
Also, as expected, the Steelers did not apply a tag to linebacker Jason Worilds by the NFL’s 4 p.m. deadline to do so. He can become a free agent next week.
March 2, 2015
News/views: Penguins reacquire Lovejoy
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
News: The Penguins made a second trade for a defenseman, reacquiring Ben Lovejoy from the Ducks in exchange for Simon Despres.
Views: Now that’s a surprise. On both ends.
I think I’m going to write a full column now combining both trades, so I ask your patience.
March 2, 2015
News/views: Penguins get Cole for Bortuzzo
Ian Cole backtracks with the puck in a game last month in Washington. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
News: The Penguins have completed a trade of bottom-pair defensemen, sending Robert Bortuzzo and a 2016 seventh-round draft pick to the Blues for Ian Cole.
Cole, 26, is a 6-1, 219-pound left-handed shot who had four goals, five assists and a plus-16 rating in 54 games for St. Louis. The games played represent a career high, as Cole never topped 46 in his first four NHL seasons, something of a disappointment for a first-round pick in 2007.
Views: Initial thought is that these are two teams exchanging seventh defensemen who better suit their needs, and little more. Cole is more mobile, Bortuzzo more physical, and perhaps Cole fits better in the role of being able to step in and replace one of the Penguins’ top defensemen in the event of injury.
