February 13, 2015
Podcast: Rapid fire on 970 ESPN w/ Todd
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Here’s the podcast of my weekly rapid-fire segment on 970 ESPN Pittsburgh with David Todd, this covering all kinds of Penguins stuff and some Pedro Alvarez, too.
Pittsburgh Pirates
February 13, 2015
Friday Insider: Steelers veering away from vets
Troy Polamalu and his secondary mates share a moment late in the playoff loss to the Ravens. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …
• The Steelers have absolutely, positively not made up their minds about any of their four classic veterans — Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Brett Keisel and Ike Taylor — but that fact alone, coupled with what I’ve learned this week is their intention to keep other players at those same positions, is making a return look immensely unlikely.
And I mean for any of the four.
Situations can change, of course, but the current defensive priority on the South Side, based on conversations I’ve had this week, is twofold:
February 11, 2015
Morning Java: Home improvement
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
From someone who gets stuck watching way too much HGTV as background noise, here are three wholly unsolicited home improvement suggestions for our big-league sports facilities.
February 10, 2015
Tuesday 12 Qs: Borts, Big Mac, Brandon, baseball
Robert Bortuzzo and the Canucks’ Zack Kassian fight Saturday in Vancouver. — GETTY
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. (Which undoubtedly is a great idea given how sensationally I’m recovering from seven flights in six days!)
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, then monitor new entries once we go live.
UPDATE 9 a.m.: And away we go …
turk482: Everyone seems focused on a top-six winger, but watching the Pens in some recent struggles, it seems that they miss the physical presence of a Brooks Orpik-like defenseman more than another winger. Neither Robert Bortuzzo, Scott Harrington or Rob Scuderi seem to fill that need. Should this be their trade deadline focus?
DK: It is, actually, as I reported from Western Canada. And yes, it absolutely should be.
February 6, 2015
Podcast: Rapid fire from Calgary on 970 ESPN
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
CALGARY, Alberta — Here’s the podcast of my weekly rapid-fire segment with on 970 ESPN, Gregg Henson filling in for David Todd. We talked Penguins-Flames and more.
February 6, 2015
Friday Insider: ‘Time running low’ for trade plan
Blake Comeau scores in the Penguins’ Dec. 12 win over Calgary. He’s due back next week. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
CALGARY, Alberta — Roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …
• The NHL trade deadline is March 2, which is almost a month away and, yet, far too close for the Penguins’ comfort, if one asks Jim Rutherford.
“Time’s running low,” the GM was telling me yesterday as part of a wide-ranging conversation we had on the state of the team. “If you think about it, we’ve really only got a couple of weeks.”
Couple of weeks rather than a month?
“We need to see what we’ve got.”
That made immediate sense. Because as Rutherford went on to explain, management’s foremost priority as it relates to the deadline is to find out if they’ve already got the top-six wingers they need. And that, of course, means waiting on Blake Comeau, who should be back in action next week.
February 4, 2015
Podcast: Talking pucks from Edmonton w/ Madden
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
EDMONTON, Alberta — Here’s the podcast of my weekly appearance on 105.9 the X with Mark Madden., this coming by phone, obviously. We talked Penguins-Oilers, Pirates, much more.
February 3, 2015
Tuesday 12 Qs: Sid, J-Hay, Jarvis, Blake, Elias
Maxim Lapierre gains the Nashville blue line Sunday at Consol Energy Center. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 9 a.m. — a new time — 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, then monitor new entries once we go live.
UPDATE 9 a.m.: And away we go …
Joey Pittsburgh: I realize this may be an unpopular opinion….but at what point does Sidney Crosby start getting a share of the blame for the past five years’ worth of playoff letdowns?
Coaches coach and players play the game but the guy who wears the C is a peer leader, the voice in the locker room who leads by example. Letting a team sink to the level of the Flyers, rolling over for the Bruins, losing to the Rangers after being up, 3-1 … and this team is in yet another funk. It’s body language and attitude. This team gets up for one game and forgets to lace up the skates the next.
I’m not advocating pulling the C, but where are the results to match his leadership and talent?
DK: That’s obviously pretty broad for a chat, Joseph, so I’ll bypass playoffs from the past and focus on your latter emphasis on the current team.
January 30, 2015
Podcast: Rapid fire w/ Todd on 970 ESPN
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Here’s the podcast of my weekly rapid-fire segment with David Todd on 970 ESPN. We discussed Beau Bennett’s scratch, Jaromir Jagr’s future, the Travis Snider trade and more.
January 30, 2015
Friday Insider: Lambo ‘beyond excited’ for chance
Andrew Lambo trots off the field at PNC Park during a game last September. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Weekly roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our teams …
• The reason the Pirates traded Travis Snider to the Orioles two nights ago wasn’t money — only $1.5 million was saved — but rather that Neal Huntington has been and remains eager to see what Andrew Lambo can bring with 250-300 plate appearances in the majors.
And Lambo, to hear him, is both appreciative and apprehensive about that.
“I’m excited. I’m beyond excited for the opportunity,” he was telling me Thursday from his California home. “At the same time, I liked Travis. Everyone liked Travis. I know he was a big part of the team, a big part of the clubhouse and … well, I just have to be myself. I have to be the player, the person I am and show up every day to help the Pirates win. I’m grateful to be getting that chance.”
It really shouldn’t be a surprise. Huntington stood behind Lambo, a 2010 trade acquisition, in a rare anointing of a young starter last spring, and he stuck by Lambo even through the catastrophic 4-for-42 Grapefruit League that followed. But Lambo recovered from that and from a subsequent thumb injury to bat .328 with 11 home runs in 238 Class AAA at-bats and was back in Pittsburgh by late August, then went 10 for 39 in 21 games.
