Saturday, January 5, 2008

And it's over...

Despite our best efforts to make a comeback, the Steelers lost tonight 31-29...

I'm not in a real good mood because of this, so this is gonna be short and sweet - We screwed ourselves with those three picks in the first half, and then we got screwed on a phantom holding call lodged against Sean Mahan on our two point conversion attempt in the fourth.

What really blows is the conversion originally was good on an outstanding grab by Hines Ward. The play should have at the very least had offsetting penalties as Ward was molested while catching it. Even John Madden, who I think may be the worst and dumbest announcer ever, made a comment about how you can't make that call in a game of this importance.

I know, I know, I'm just crying over spilt milk now, but honestly, we probably didn't deserve to win this game. It was a crappy way to end the season, but at least we get a better draft pick...Let's hope Tennessee wins tomorrow so we get a lil closer to that 20th pick...

Until tomorrow, when hopefully Pitt wins or you may have to put Snack on suicide watch...

Real quick post...

Hey guys, I just wanted to let you all know the Pens won 3-0 against the Panthers behind strong goaltending from Ty Conklin.

Conklin stopped 35 Panther shots to record his second shutout of the season, and has won his sixth in a row. During that run, he's only allowed 8 goals. Absolutely amazing goaltending cheif.

Geno Malkin, Sid the Kid and TK48 (Tyler Kennedy...I will make this nickname stick) all scored for the Pens, and Crosby and Malkin each added an assist. That also makes it back to back games that Geno and TK48 scored goals in, which is another very good sign for the boys.

The last thing I noticed about the game was the Pens only had one penalty the entire game, which is great to see. I'm going to take it as a sign of us maturing, but I can see some people saying they just got lucky enough not to be caught. I'll let you make the decision for yourselves...

Sorry for the quick post, as I am about to sit down and watch the Steelers beat the ever living snot out of the Jag(off)s...GO STEELERS!

Until lata...

PS - We have some very exciting news about PNA's future that we can't discuss yet, but believe me when I say it will make us bigger then Jesus (Sorry God)...More to come on that as we can release it...


Friday, January 4, 2008

Diego's Playoff Preview...

It seems like only yesterday that the Steelers were kicking off the 2007 season against the Browns. A lot of time has passed since then, a lot of football has been played, and a lot of injuries have occurred. All that is now the past, and its now time for the Steelers to put that behind them and look ahead to the future, namely the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The last couple weeks of the season the Steelers were motivated to win games in order to secure the #3 playoff seed, and to avoid a first round match with the Jags and a second round match against the rested Patriots. The Steelers couldn’t get the job done, thus they must face a Jags team that beat them at Heinz field a few weeks back, but you guys already knew that.

Going about my business this week it seems like the Burgh is a lot less fired up for this playoff game then they were for some of the one’s we’ve had in previous years. I know the reason for this is the ass whooping given to the Lers at the hands of the Jags a few weeks back, but come on people this is the playoff’s! I’ve been hearing ramblings all week on the radio, on tv, in the paper, on the blogs that the Steelers have shown us nothing in the last few weeks to make us believe that they can actually beat the Jaguars on Saturday night. I hear where the haters are coming from, and don’t get me wrong the Steelers definitely have a lot of issues to deal with, but come on if you are a true Steelers fan then you have to support the team and you have to believe they can win. In case your still have some trouble doing this then here’s a few reasons why the I believe the Steelers can pull off a victory in front of the home crowd tomorrow night….

First and foremost lets get this straight, we are playing a home game in the playoffs. This is the first playoff game at Heinz field since the Patriots defeated the Steelers in 2005 in the AFC Championship. This is significant for a many reasons, one of which being that the Steeler Nation will be going buck wild on Saturday because its been 3 long years since the team has played host to a playoff game. Not only that but they gave us the night game which gives us plenty of time to drink a whole bunch of iron and IC light. Regular season games are usually ri-god damn-diculous at Heinz, so you have to figure that during tomorrow’s game Heinz Field will be rockin and that the sea of gold terrible towels will be vast. (I can’t wait to hear me some Styxx Renegade I’m about to go to happy hour and put it on a non stop loop to get myself fired up) All this is well and good, but the most important fact is that no one has ever beat the Steelers twice in one season at Heinz Field.

Now I wanted to break down the quarterback showdown taking place in this Wildcard game. First off we’ve got David Garrard who played his way into his first starting job during this year’s camp. This year has by far been the best one he has had in the NFL leading the Jags to a 11-5 record and a playoff birth. Garrard’s stats are impressive, as he has passed for 2,500 yards, 18 TDs, and only 3 INTs on the season so far. Garrard is known for his good decision making ability and also for his aptitude at using his legs to escape trouble. However, Garrard has never started a playoff game, ever. He has zero playoff experience and this could hurt him in a hostile environment such as Pittsburgh, especially if the Lers can rattle him early on in the game.

On the other hand, Big Ben has plenty of experience when it comes to the playoffs, his record is 5-1, and of course we all know he is the youngest QB ever to win the Super Bowl. Ben has passed for 3,154 yards, 32 TD’s, and 11 INTs this year. This just goes to show you what a healthy Ben is capable of doing. I know that my opinion is biased, but who wouldn’t rather have a QB that’s been through the playoffs before, as opposed to one that hasn’t.

Another advantage that the Steelers have is their playoff record. Since 1995, the year the Jaguars entered the NFL as an expansion team, the Steelers have gone 13-5 in playoff games… The Jags are only 3-2. That means the Steelers have lost as many playoff games as the Jags have actually played from 1995-2007. Also, the Steelers have won all 4 Wildcard games that they have been in since that time, while the Jaguars are only 2-2 in Wildcard games. Let us hope history repeats itself tomorrow night.

Lastly, I’d like to talk about motivation. Motivation is a huge factor in football games. The Steelers should have plenty of motivational factors for this game. First off, the Steelers are one point underdogs in their own house. This is just straight up disrespect as the Steelers are the higher seed and have home field advantage, not to mention the 70 thousand drunken Steelers fans cheering them on. (and yes you better believe Diego will be there) If that doesn’t motivate them, then the fact that Coach Tomlin had the previous Jags-Steelers game on a continuous loop playing inside all the Steelers practice facilities on all tv screens, all week, should do the trick.

Alright that’s it for me folks if you aren’t convinced yet then go screw yourself… oh ya and don’t forget GO STEELERS!!!


A Few Pics to Fire You Up For Tomorrow...

A reader named Joe, a displaced yinzer who lives in Youngstown, sent us these pics of some famous Clevelanders getting ready for tomorrow's big game...Who knew these guys were our boys?

Drew Carey Steelers Pic

Come on down, you're the next contestant on Cleveland Sucks...

LeBron Loves PGH

I'd rather be in Pittsburgh...

Thanks again Joe, we appreciate the help. Who knows, maybe we'll have Carey singing "Pittsburgh Rocks" on WDVE real soon...

Until lata...


Pens win 6-2...

Last night, our Penguinos beat the hated Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 at Mellon Arena. Diego and I watched the entire game from my penthouse suite in Greenfield, and I gotta say, it was probably the best Pens game all season.

The game started out sluggish, with the Pens falling behind 1-0 after the first. I don't know if it was a hangover from the Winter Classic, but they kinda looked like crap. It was a good thing Ty Conklin (who ended up with 33 saves) was on his game, or we could have been in some deep, deep trouble.

Erik Cristensen tied it early in the second on a physical wrap around, which is good to see. He was a beast last night, hitting everything that moved, leveling a Maple Leaf behind the net, and just playing a physical, aggressive brand of hockey. Looks like he finally fiigured out how to be a skilled forward with a little grit. Let's hope he continues to play this way and that this wasn't a one game only situation.

Speaking of physical play, Jarkko Ruutu was the sole reasoon we won last night. A little more then halfway through the second, Ruutu decided to spur the Pens on by fighting notorious tough guy Darcy Tucker. What ensued was one of, if not the best fight I've seen in years, but why take my opinion, take a look for yourself...

This beatdown really fired the boys up, and from then on the game was theirs. Around the 15 minute mark of the second, Geno Malkin flipped one in off of a Sidney Crosby rebound to give the Pens a 2-1 lead. That's how the second would end scoring wise, but the third had some excitement in store.

With 17 minutes left in the third, Tyler Kennedy notched his seventh goal of the season on a rebound of his own shot. He fired a wrister at the goal, and then beat a defenseman to put his own rebound in the back of the net. Then Malkin lit the lamp again 37 seconds later on a sweet backhand flip over the goalie's shoulder, making the score 4-1 Pens. Finally, 11 seconds later, Petr Sykora scored his 12th of the season, ending the run at three goals in 48 seconds. What a way to start off the third boys, a nice four goal lead never hurt anybody.

Malkin made a play late in the third that only superstars make, and it reminded me of a young Jagr when he was with us. His combination of size, speed and skill make him a very, very dangerous man. Take a look at it and tell me this doesn't make you excited to be a Pens fan...

This was the first hat trick of Malkin's career, which I didn't know and kind of suprised me, considering his goal scoring prowess last season, but I guess they are kind of a rare. I'm assuming there will be many more in his career, and who knows, now that he got that monkey off his back, maybe another 1 or 2 this season.

The final was 6-2, with Jason Blake scoring both goals for the Leafs. Like I said, it was a helluva game, and finally, FINALLY we're looking like the team that people predicted would be in the Stanley Cup this season.

3 Stars

Third Star : Jarkko Ruuto

Second Star : Ty Conklin

First Star : Geno Malkin

Announcer Quote of the Night : After Sykora's goal made it three in 48 seconds, Bob Errey said "Are they really gonna leave him in?"...HAHAHA...That poor, poor soul from Toronto never saw that coming.

And since I know you're wondering, yes, they did leave him in...

Until lata...


Thursday, January 3, 2008

Why the Big Tuna should hire Big Snack as the new head coach...

As many of you have heard, Cam Cameron was fired by the Big Tuna down in Miami...Dude may have gotten a raw deal, seeing as he only had one season, but, as we all know, life ain't fair cheif...

(Pic from abcnews.com)

Hey Bruno, this is the guy you're looking for...

Diego suggested that Big Snack himself would make a good candidate to replace Cameron with the 'Phins, so here's a few things I'll put on my resume when I send it to Parcells...

- I went to the Univerisity of Dayton, which has produced 5 Super Bowls from the coaching ranks...Four by Chuck Noll and one by John Gruden. In fact, I had a class with a professor who taught Gruden, and he told me I got a better grade. So seeing as my Journalism 301 class skills are better then his, I will definitely win AT LEAST 2-3 Super Bowls for them.

- I also will tell Coach Parcells that my philosophy for the draft will NOT include drafting a 5-9, 155 lb. wide reciever in the first round. My opinion is if you play pro football and don't weigh at least 200 lbs., you're useless to me and my organization. Football is a game of men, and real men are over 200 lbs.

- Another thing that might make the Tuna lean toward the Snack is that fact that I'm bigger and probably tougher then almost all of their offensive line. I can pull a Mike Tice and shove my 6-5, 300 lb. ass into some pads and teach these boys a thing or two. I played ball at Central Catholic, which some would argue is a better football team then the Dolphins right now anyway.

- One more coaching philosophy that might intrigue the Tuna is that I would DRAFT a quarterback and let him learn under me, ala Big Ben, Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, etc... I wouldn't bring in a trailor full of washups like Trent Green, Joey Harrington, AJ Feely and Dante Culpepper. None of them have worked out, with the lone exception being Trent Green, who got his head bashed in very early in his tenure and never had the chance to fail.

- Finally, I've logged more hours running a franchise in Madden 08 then just about anybody on God's green earth. My team, the Pittsburgh OG's, have won 14 consecutive Super Bowls, have had 9 consecutive league MVP's, and have never had less then 13 wins in their 15 year existance. Add to that the fact that I've managed to get the first pick in the NFL Draft 6 times (I'm an expert at dumping vets and draft picks to move up in the draft) and you have yourself one pretty complete coach. Hell, if he didn't just hire a GM I'd throw my name in that hat too.

So what do yinz think? Should Snack be the new coach or what?

Until lata...


Wednesday, January 2, 2008

White Marcus' Pics of the Pens vs. Sabres...

As promised, here are the pics our boy White Marcus took at the Winter Classic in Buffalo...

This last guy apparently got snowballs thrown at him the whole game...poor bastard, but you gotta love the pride...

(Pics courtesy of White Marcus)

Until lata...


Diego's Evening Ramblings...

First off, I know Big Snack already recapped the Ice Bowl/Winter Classic results but I figured I would throw in my two cents as well. Man this game was awesome, actually with all of the rowdy drunken fans, pyro, and patriotism it kinda felt more like a WWE wrestling match then it did an actual hockey game, but I am pretty sure that is a good thing.

PNA associate White Marcus was in attendance yesterday, and was kind enough to text me some pictures he took during and after the game. Word from Marcus was that the game was a great time and huge success. He said the game looked to be about 30% Pens fans, but he also told me that, “if I have to hear Sidney Crosby is a (homo) one more time I’m going to stab somebody.” Well played Marcus, I’ve been to Ralph Wilson for a Bills Steelers game and you are definitely right those Buffalo residents are some real scumbags.

The game play itself wouldn’t be described as top-notch hockey, but it was more about the ambiance for this one. Those Pens jerseys were ill and that mask Conklin was wearing was simply ruthless, way more serious then that gay little sock Miller wore on his head during the game. It kicked ass seeing these players skating around playing in the snow, and the crowd was simply unreal standing up for most of the game.

This game led me to thinking that maybe the Pens should try to incorporate some type of roof that opens up in their new arena. Now I’m sure this will be more expensive and time consuming, but just think about how bad ass it would be to have an arena where you could open the roof. (one that actually works that is) I dunno just a thought I guess; lets get you started with Diego’s first links of the New Year…

Here's a recap how yesterday’s Ice Bowl was for some of the fans in attendance.

Sid the Kid mighta got most of the admiration for the Pens win yesterday, but Ty Conklin also played a hell of a game. (not to mention wore a bad ass mask)

(Pic from nytimes.com)

Not sure which was prettier that mask or Conk’s lightning quick glove hand...

The Pens home game this Saturday has has been moved from 7:30 to 3:00 due to the Steeler game kicking off at 8 Saturday night. So now some maniacs can actually attend both games.

Steelers end season for Starks and Kriedwalt, and also sign a couple more fat bodies and a guy who is best known for his skiing.

(Pic from towelroad.typepad.com)

Hang on, is this guy a kicker, a skier, or an underwear model? Either way he can still probably return kicks better then Willie “Most Useless WR Ever” Reid...

The Philly newspaper calls for a WHAAmbulance for Freddy Taylor in response to his diss of Heinz Field.

Looks like everyone is jumping on the Jags bandwagon. They are the media’s sexy pick as underdog Super Bowl contender in the AFC.

With the team depleted by injuries, can can Big Ben be the difference maker this Saturday night for the Lers?

Adrian Peterson, aka Cash Register, aka Purple Jesus, aka Diego’s fantasy MVP has won rookie of the year honors. Too bad he couldn’t pass LT to win the rushing title too, this kid gives everyone a reason to watch the Vikings he’s simply that good.

Former Yankee is in some real hot water to start out 2008. Hope he still has some of that Steinbrenner money to pay for a lawyer.

Check out USA Today for a recap of yesterday's bowl game action.

Rumors are swirling that Reggie Bush has asked his girlfriend, and homemade porn star, Kim Kardashian to marry him.

(Pic from blackvoices.com)

She is smoking hot, but definitely more booty call hot then wife material. Wake up Reggie she’s just a semi-famous groupie!

Until lata...


Best and Worst of 2007...

OK guys, we all realize this is a day or two late, but we figured we'd give you a little recap of the best and worst of 2007...

Enjoy...

Steelers

I’ll start out with the worst of the year for the Lers, and that had to be the disappointment of not making the 2007 playoffs coming off a Super Bowl victory in the 2006 playoffs. The team just fell apart during the 2006 season and millions of Steeler fans around the world watched in disbelief as their team was held out of the playoffs. On the bright side however we did manage to hold the hated Cincy Bungals out of the playoffs by beating them in the final week of the season.

Honorable mention: Fast Willie breaking his fibula in the Thursday night game against the Rams. Damnit Santonio if only you coulda took that pass to the house instead of being tackled, we might still have Fast William for our playoff run. (not that he did much against the Jags the fist time we played them)

The best moment for the Steelers in 2007 is a tie between Cowher parting ways with the team, and the signing of new coach Mike “OG triple OG” Tomlin. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Bill Cowher, but all the speculation from the media about him resigning was just getting to be too much of a distraction for the team. I wish Bill and his enormous new chompers good luck on whichever team he decides to coach within the next couple years, either way he’s gonna get paid.

As for Tomlin, this guy is one smooth SOB if I do say so myself… As Mondesi pointed out the guy has an amazing hairline, and as I have pointed out he could probably kick most coaches in the leagues’ ass. More importantly Tomlin is an awesome coach who gets his players motivated and who always seems to say the right thing to the media. Good call Rooney’s I can see Mike Tomlin in his all black Steelers gear roaming our sideline for a long, long time.

Honorable Mention: Big Ben not getting hurt doing anything stupid this off-season. See what happens when your healthy Ben?

Penguins

The best moment for the Pens had to be finally getting out of the funk and actually making the playoffs in 2007totalling 105 points for the season. The young guys put together a pretty mean winning streak in January 2007 to do so. The Penguins earned points in sixteen straight games of 14 wins and only 2 overtime losses during that month. Our playoff run didn’t last long as we were beat by the Ottawa Senators in five games, in the first round. Although we didn’t make it very far in the playoffs it was clutch to get these young guys some playoff experience and that should pay off if we can make it again this year.

Honorable mention: Crosby sweeping the NHL awards, winning the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, and Lester B. Pearson award. Also, Sid being name the Pen's captain, the youngest player ever to wear the C.

The worst moment for the Pens had to be them getting their faces scrubbed in the first round of the playoffs by those pesky Ottawa Senators. We were completely overmatched in every aspect of the game, and even our boy Gary Roberts' physical, emotional brand of hockey couldn't save them. They worked their tails off but in the end, the youth and inexperience doomed the 2007 version of the Pens.

Honorable mention: The Pens releasing Mark Recchi. It was a sad day at the end of 2007 when the Pens decided they could do without the services of the Recchin' Ball. He won a Cup with us, and has been a Pittsburgh favorite for years, and it's always sad to see such a familiar face go on their way on someone else's terms.

Pirates

The best moment for the Bucs was when they decided to "blow the whole thing up" and get rid of everybody from the top down. Kevin McClatchy had never had a winning season as team president, nor had Dave Littlefield as a GM, so everybody was glad to see them go. Add to that the axing of manager Jim Tracy and his laid-back-treat-everyone-like-a-professional attitude, and this was a pretty good offseason for us. Tracy didn't display the fire that is usually needed to take a bunch of youngsters to the next level, and my guess is his approach only works with a team full of veterans, not a bunch of AAA players like the Bucs had.

Honorable mention: The Pirates trading for Adam LaRoche. I know he didn't have the best of years, but when we traded Gonzo for him before the season, it stoked the fan base and got us all fired up. It ended up being another crappy year for us, but at least it was nice to feel optimistic, even if was just for a little bit.

The worst moment was picking Daniel Moskos in the first round of the draft. This isn't meant to be a knock on Moskos, who could turn out to a good reliever, but rather it's meant to show how bad the Pirate's ownership has become. Moskos was BY FAR not the best player available, but the Bucs chose to draft him because of his signability. It's horrible that we can't/won't draft the best player out there simply because we don't want to make the financial commitment needed to get a top draft pick to sign with us.

Honorable mention: Would be this entire offseason thus far. We have a new GM, team president and manager, and yet we have done pretty much nothing this offseason. It's nice to see that we haven't sold the farm for nothing as we've been known to do in the past, but I still think there's much work to be done. And you can't tell me that there wasn't a reasonable offer out there for Marte at the trade deadline last year or certainly over the offseason.

Pitt (football and basketball)

The lowpoint for Pitt, in my eyes, was losing to Navy in football this year. While Navy did make a bowl, they had no right beating us on our home field. Our linebackers are as big as their linemen, and yet we still succumbed. You could also count the loss to Louisville in there as well, as that skid we hit in the middle of the season was the true low point.

Honorable mention: Pitt basketball losing in the Sweet 16. Pitt basketball once again failed to get past the round of 16 in the NCAA Tourney, losing to UCLA. Pitt's program has come a long way in the past ten years, but their inability to get into the big show has a dissappointment. This year was looking good, with a balanced team full of youth and experience, until Fields broke his foot and Cook killed his knee. Who knows though, maybe this will be the year.

The high point would have to be Pitt beating WVU, ending any hope the Mountaineers had of going to the National Championship. What makes it even better is their coach flew to Michigan, leaving them without their head coach and without their star recruit, Tyrelle Pryor. We at PNA love any opportunity to berate our neighbors to the south and west, so this definitely ranks as our high point.

Honorable mention: Even though this was very recent, it technically was last year, so the victory our Panthers hoops team had over Duke has to be mentioned. They beat Duke in OT at Madison Square Garden, and on national TV to boot. Pitt overcame a huge first half defecit and climbed back into the game on Dejuan Blair's 20 rebound performance. Quite a game to prepare them for the regular season.

Hope you all enjoyed our year end review, and look for more an update either later today or tomorrow...

Until then...


Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Winter Classic

In what was quite possibly the longest game of the season, the Pens beat the Sabres 2-1 in a shootout during the Winter Classic in Buffalo, played before 70,000+ fans in Ralph Wilson Stadium during a winter squall...

Colby Armstrong scored 20 seconds into the game, making it look like the Pens would plow their way through the snow and sleet to an easy victory...not so fast boys...that'd be the end of our regulation scoring...

The game was fun to watch, but was more of a spectacle then an actual game...The ice had to be cleared every ten minutes to take the snow off, and there had to be 10 stoppages for some guy to come on the ice with a bucket and what looked like a hockey stick to fill in holes...plus there were interviews with players during the game and, let's face it, a hockey game played in the driving snow and freezing rain before 70,000 people has to be considered a spectacle more then a real 2 point game...

During the first, the action was a little slow as everyone was trying to feel each other and the conditions out...the second brought on some better play in every aspect except shooting for the Pens. We finished checks, played OK defense and had good goaltending (except for the Brian Campbell goal, which I think was a mix of bad D/Goaltending, but I'm staying positive in this post), and the pace of the game definitely picked up...

The third was an exciting, if uneventful period, bringing on the overtime period...It didn't help that we started the OT out shorthanded due to what I percieved as a phantom hooking call on Colby (how the hell can you make a call like that at the end of the third when you've only called FOUR PENALTIES all game?...it's beyond me), but what I think sucked even worse was the game being stopped halfway through the third and OT to switch ends...I understand that it was a fairness issue, but how can you have this be a real game when there have to be rule modifications? I think it should have been an exibition, but once again, that's a post for another day...

The real action came in the shootout, where things didn't start off too well with Ty Conklin giving up a goal on the first shot he faced and Christensen missed his attempt...Then Conklin stonewalled the next two Sabres to go against him, and Kris Letang and Sid the Kid sealed the deal for the Pens by scoring on their attempts...

Like I said, it was a fun game and I'm glad we got the two points, but in the future it should be just that - a fun game that doesn't affect the standings...

3 Stars

Star 3 - Ryan Miller

Star 2 - Ty Conklin

Star 1 - Sidney Crosby

Until lata...


Monday, December 31, 2007

New Years Eve Post...

Well boys and girls, 2007 has been one helluva year...Snack moved back home from Craphio and Diego has gone the whole year without being arrested (thus far)...Thanks to everyone who's looked at the site, and we look forward to an even better year in 2008...

Here's a few final links for the year, we'll be back with our normal posts on Wednesday...

The Steelers lost yesterday afternoon and no one really cares...Charlie Batch was starting, we sat a ton of starters and we just looked like we didn't give a damn the whole game...Next up is Jacksonville in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, let's hope we don't have a repeat performance of a few weeks ago...(look for much more coverage of the game on PNA in the coming days...)

My boys at the University of Dayton gave Pitt their first loss of the season Saturday by pulverising the Panthers at UD Arena...Brian Roberts, that guard that Snack said was legit as hell, dropped 31 all over Pitt's face, earning him Player of the Week honors from Andy Katz...The real bad news is guard Levance Fields broke a bone in his foot, putting him on IR for at least 8 weeks...It'll be tough for our boys to keep this great start going without Cook and Fields, but if there's one thing I've learned about Pitt it's that you can't ever count them out, so we'll see...Maybe Ronnie Ramon will step up and be the leader Pitt envisioned him to be...

And finally, PNA's favorite Pen, Gary Roberts, is down for a while with a broken fibula (or some other bone in his leg)...suprisingly, there's no article in the PG about it, so I'll have to give you my expert medical opinion, which is Gary Roberts' bones are made off pure titanium, so as soon as he gets the parts flown in from China he'll be back in the lineup...My guess is to allow 4-6 weeks for delivery, what with it being New Years and all...

Until 2008...