Pirates columnist takes swings at Penguins, Crosby, & Co.
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:rolleyes:Now that the Penguins have gone belly-up in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years in the Sidney Crosby era, maybe we'll hear less about how their ownership will turn around the Pirates in no time if given the chance.
The fact is, despite every conceivable advantage from first or second overall choices in four consecutive drafts to the mother of all lottery picks to a league that operates with a salary cap to a pucks-mad fan base, the Penguins have been unable to dominate their own division let alone the entire league.
Or did you know that, while the Pirates have gone 17 years without a sniff of .500, the Penguins have hoisted exactly one Stanley Cup in that period?
[snip]
God help the franchise if Sid the Kid goes down any time soon. Cart him off and the Penguins are the New York Rangers all of a sudden.
I wouldn't wish that on even a Philadelphia Flyer let alone Crosby, who represents everything that is good about professional sports. I wouldn't wish that on any team owner let alone Mario Lemieux, a guy that only the devil could root against.
It's just that, before people wish for the Penguins to step in and save the baseball team in this town, they should remember that the Penguins have to help themselves first.
Trying to find the link (heard the article was deleted). Saw thin on HFboards. -
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Edit: the article was on piratereport.com, and has been taken down.
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Heretic
Who was the columnist? The pathetic "I'm going to be the Pirates pro writer version of what thedave, NCF, etc. are to Cleveland sports" attitude made me think Bob Smizik immediately. -
Mooney44Cards
Ummm....he's right? -
Heretic
^^
How??? Other than making generic, wide-reaching comments to prove a flawed point?
The Pens have only won one Cup in the 17-year losing record streak of the Pirates and were admittedly even more pitiful than them to a degree (the period where there was a legit chance they'd be leaving the city). But during that time period, the best season for the Pirates was one where they were a bit above .500 and in contention in mid-August, only to fall apart down the stretch and finish about 77-85. The Pens have a Cup, a loss in the Finals and other playoff bids, including this year's second-round defeat.
They might not be the be-all, end-all of the NHL, but they're one of the better teams in the league. Hell, unlike the Cavs and LeBron (another 2009-10 pretender...who, unlike the Pens, also were an also-ran in 2008-9), the Pens and Sid actually have won a title. Shit...only one title in five years for Sid??? I can think of a lot of teams who wish they could fail that badly. -
lhslep134
Ignorance is bliss, right?Heretic wrote: ^^
How??? Other than making generic, wide-reaching comments to prove a flawed point?
The Pens have only won one Cup in the 17-year losing record streak of the Pirates and were admittedly even more pitiful than them to a degree (the period where there was a legit chance they'd be leaving the city). But during that time period, the best season for the Pirates was one where they were a bit above .500 and in contention in mid-August, only to fall apart down the stretch and finish about 77-85. The Pens have a Cup, a loss in the Finals and other playoff bids, including this year's second-round defeat.
They might not be the be-all, end-all of the NHL, but they're one of the better teams in the league. Hell, unlike the Cavs and LeBron (another 2009-10 pretender...who, unlike the Pens, also were an also-ran in 2008-9), the Pens and Sid actually have won a title. Shit...only one title in five years for Sid??? I can think of a lot of teams who wish they could fail that badly.
You bring up Lebron and the Cavs and then fail to mention the Penguins have 2 OF THE TOP 5 PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE
In fact, there are some NHL circles that feel Malkin is even better than Crosby.
Give Lebron another top 5 player and they win the championship every year.
God your attempt to bring in the Cavs and try to prove a point failed miserably you asshole. -
rock_knutneFirst I've heard of this, no one's talking about it on the radio here.
IMO, the author is off his rocker if he believes what he wrote. My question would be, unlike the Pens, why don't the Pirates invest more money in to their team........or call up their minor league prospects who are dominating right now? The Nutting are making plenty of it. -
Heretic
That's kind of an "apples-to-oranges" statement. The NBA is far more individual-centric than the NHL, so a team there with two superstars would be better equipped to win a championship than a team in the NHL (or the other major American pro leagues). In a key playoff game, an NBA superstar sees very little bench time. For example, in Game 6 against Boston, I believe the box score had LeBron at 46+ minutes out of 48. As opposed to the NHL, where in the final two games of the Montreal series both Crosby and Malkin were playing 20-29 minutes out of 60 per game. That's a lot of time where an individual player has no impact on the game, which is far different than the NBA.lhslep134 wrote:
Ignorance is bliss, right?Heretic wrote: ^^
How??? Other than making generic, wide-reaching comments to prove a flawed point?
The Pens have only won one Cup in the 17-year losing record streak of the Pirates and were admittedly even more pitiful than them to a degree (the period where there was a legit chance they'd be leaving the city). But during that time period, the best season for the Pirates was one where they were a bit above .500 and in contention in mid-August, only to fall apart down the stretch and finish about 77-85. The Pens have a Cup, a loss in the Finals and other playoff bids, including this year's second-round defeat.
They might not be the be-all, end-all of the NHL, but they're one of the better teams in the league. Hell, unlike the Cavs and LeBron (another 2009-10 pretender...who, unlike the Pens, also were an also-ran in 2008-9), the Pens and Sid actually have won a title. Shit...only one title in five years for Sid??? I can think of a lot of teams who wish they could fail that badly.
You bring up Lebron and the Cavs and then fail to mention the Penguins have 2 OF THE TOP 5 PLAYERS IN THE LEAGUE
In fact, there are some NHL circles that feel Malkin is even better than Crosby.
Give Lebron another top 5 player and they win the championship every year.
God your attempt to bring in the Cavs and try to prove a point failed miserably you asshole.
Sure, it's better to have the superstar(s) than to not have them, but it's flawed to insinuate that having two elite players in one sport is directly comparable to having two elite players in another. If that was the case, St. Louis should have cruised to the World Series last year.