Thoughts on the NCAA's

I love this time of year. The weather is finally improving, and the NCAA Tournament is about to get underway. What could be better? (Well, for me, maybe a job!) Here are some random thoughts as we head into "March Madness."

-I have no problem with Louisville getting the number one overall seed. They won the toughest league in college basketball, and they won the Big East Tournament. Pitt, UCONN, UNC, and Memphis had their chances, but how can you not give it to the Cardinals?

-Save your arguments about teams like Arizona and Maryland getting bids while St. Mary's and Creighton stay home. These teams have a track record, they've been to final fours, and they've won national championships. When in doubt, I believe the selection committee goes by one simple rule: Go with what you know!

-Any of you Pitt fans out there that think that the Panthers tanked their Big East Tournament game against WVU to get a little extra 'R and R' before the Big Dance are only fooling yourselves. Pitt was merely outplayed by the 'eers, and they lost, end of story!

-Don't tell me conference tournaments don't mean anything. Pitt could have been the top overall seed if they had won the Big East, (same could have been said for UNC and UCONN)and Syracuse was no more than a 4-6 seed before that tournament began. But they played hard at MSG in the Big East, beat UCONN, and gave Louisville a scare in the final. The committee fell in love with them and now they're a 3 seed. These tournaments can improve your profile greatly.

-I hate the term "The Big Dance!" Stop saying it!

-I'm not filling out a bracket, but I will give you a national champion: Oklahoma. Of course, I hope I'm wrong and either Syracuse or Pitt wins! Enjoy the tournament. I know I will!

Pens Should Keep Staal

The Penguins are fighting for their playoff lives, which is rather hard to believe after watching this team make it all the way to game six of the Stanley Cup Finals. As the trade deadline nears, GM Ray Shero will no doubt field several offers for young forward Jordan Staal. My advice to Mr. Shero: ignore them. Staal has certainly been inconsistent since his spectacular rookie season three years ago, one which saw him score 29 goals. Staal is an All-Star in the making and the Penguins would be foolish to give up on him. Staal has the ability to take over hockey games which he's done a few times in his career. The problem? He's should be playing wing, not center. The Pens top two centers, Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin, are playmakers. Staal is a sniper. He presents matchup problems, especially when he goes hard to the net. The Penguins need to accept the fact that the center project isn't working and put him at wing on the second line with Malkin. The other NHL teams know that Jordan Staal would be a fine addition to their lineup, they know the potential this kid has, but the Penguins should not trade him under any circumstances; even if it means missing the postseason. Yep, he's that valuable.

Too Little Too Late For Penguins?

So Michel Therrien gets the axe as the Penguins are in serious danger of missing the NHL playoffs one year after making it to game six of the Stanley Cup Finals. I don't necessarily agree with the move, especially after hearing the players were beginning to tune Therrien out. In my opinion, the inmates should never run the asylum. If Therrien was good enough to get them back in the postseason and to the Cup Finals, he should have been allowed the opportunity to coach his way out of his team's slump. Oh, well. What's done is done. So now, the new coach says: Forget the trapping, and the defensive-minded style of play, we're going to play to our strengths, play more wide open, and score. They plan to be the St. Louis Rams of hockey. You wanna beat us, outscore us! Maybe that will be enough to get back into the postseason, but one has to ask: Is it too little too late? Pens GM Ray Shero says he didn't like the way the team was playing, so he canned Therrien. Not a huge surprise when you considered he inherited Therrien in the first place. But, when a team has two of the best players in the world, there's pretty much no excuse for not making the playoffs. If this move backfires, Shero deserves a good bit of blame as well. He couldn't convince Marian Hossa to come back, he let Ryan Malone walk, and he mis-fired on the signing of Miroslav Satan. Shero's a good GM, but make no mistake about it, the pressure is now officially on his shoulders. Stay tuned!

Penguins Miss Malone

The other night, I had the pleasure of the attending the Penguins/Sharks game with my friend and colleague Mike Prisuta from the DVE Morning Show and the Tribune-Review. Mike and I sipped a few adult beverages and watched a hard-fought, tough hockey game that the Pens eventually won in a shootout. (Sidney Crosby got the game winning shootout goal, so you know all was right with the world.) It seems like these gritty efforts have been few and far between for the Penguins these days. Many say the Pens struggles have to do with a so-called sense-of-entitlement the players feel after pushing the Detroit Red Wings to six games in the Stanley Cup finals last spring. Others say the players have tuned out head coach Michel Therrien and his demanding style. My theory: this team misses Ryan Malone and his intense two-way play. In my opinion, Malone was the heart and soul of the Penguins last season. He was the guy who would step up and get physical when needed, he repeatedly paid the price in front of the net which often created scoring chances for the team's more skilled players. Whatever "it" is, Malone had it last year, and the other players seemed to feed off of it. Sure, Malone was playing in the final year of a contract, so there was plenty of motivation for him to play well. But after a great rookie season, "Bugsy" kind of got lost in the shuffle once Crosby, Geno Malkin, and Jordan Staal came into the fray; that is before last season. Immediately after the Penguins season ended, I told anyone who would listen that the Pens should have made Ryan Malone their top off-season priority and not Marian Hossa. My theory was with Crosby and Malkin as your top two centers, anyone with half a brain could play wing on their lines and score 25-30 goals. But, few players can inspire the way Malone can. So now Malone is playing his hockey in Tampa, and the Pens are in danger of not even making the playoffs. Coincidence? I'm not so sure. Now, there's no need to panic: The Penguins are too talented to not make the playoffs, they will get in. But without Malone, how long will they last? Stay tuned.

Superbowl Thoughts

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've been recovering from my "JB World Tour." Started off in Miami where I blew off a little steam, made my way to DC to visit family and give big-ups to our new president, then I made my way to Tampa for Superbowl 43. What can I say? It was one of the best Superbowls you will ever see. Here are some random thoughts from someone who covered the Steelers virtually the entire season before I was....well...nevermind!

-Place Ben Roethlisberger's face right next to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the Mount Rushmore of current NFL quarterbacks. Big Ben's performance on that final drive against the Cardinals was nothing short of legendary. (Kind of reminds me of what a certain Giants QB did on his final drive a year ago!) His last two throws were as good as it gets. High and away, either your guy gets it, or no one gets it. That's a sign of greatness! My advice to Ben: Understand that after 2 Superbowl wins in 5 years, the demands for your time will increase ten-fold! Be ready for it!

-Santonio Holmes has now arrived! Quite frankly, when I covered the Steelers, I thought this guy was all flash and no substance. But all that changed in Tampa. This guy WANTED the ball on that final drive, and he made the plays! Expect to see number 10 take his place among the elite of NFL wide receivers in the near future!

-Mike Tomlin is now a made man in Pittsburgh. It took him only 2 years to do what Bill Cowher needed 14 to do. With the tough schedule, all the injuries, and the inconsistent offense, to win 12 games and the Superbowl? Nothing short of amazing. I heard rumbles from some people closely affiliated with the Steelers that Tomlin wouldn't last long as an NFL head coach because he worked his players too hard, and he relied to heavily on his assistants. Well, he's already accomplished what a lot of so-called great coaches have yet to do, and he's more than earned his players' respect. Wait til he figures out what he's doing!

-As someone who's a huge fan of former Pitt Panther Larry Fitzgerald, I was heartbroken for the kid. After getting virtually shutout in the first half, he was clearly the best player on the field in the second half. He came this close to bringing home a championship to Arizona, he just scored a little too early.

-Don't be surprised if the Steelers go on a Patriots-like run over the next few years. With Roethlsiberger at quarterback, and Dick LeBeau running the defense, the Black And Gold will be in the mix for the AFC title for the foreseeable future.

-Steelers vs Giants at Superbowl 44! Who's with me?

Big Ben A New Man At Superbowl 43

Hope you all don't mind that I used regular numbers in the title, I'm not good with the Roman kind. This year's Superbowl reminds me of the last time the Steelers were in the Big Game three years ago. I remember after the game as I walked into the Steelers locker room to grab some interviews. It was quite a scene, Joey Porter and James Harrison were puffing on the biggest cigar I've ever seen in my life, 325 nose tackle Casey Hampton was walking around in a bath towel looking like an over-grown Tony Soprano, head coach Bill Cowher was smiling ear to ear and hugging his players. Then there was Ben Roethlisberger. He was sitting at his locker with his head in his hands. He seemed a little emotional but not because he had just won the biggest game of his life. A group of reporters gathered around in hopes of getting a few more quotes. Ben picked his head up, looked at the group and snapped: "Guys, I'm not doing any more interviews, go away!" After the scrum cleared, I walked over, extended my hand and said: "Ben, I just wanted to say congratulations." He replied: "Thanks, J.B., thanks." Then, he put his head back in his hands. The reason why? Well, I think he realized that the Steelers beat the Seahawks on that cold day in Detroit in spite of him. Ben played poorly that day, completing only nine passes, tossing two interceptions (the second one killed a game-clinching touchdown drive) Remember, it was Antwaan Randle El who threw the game winning touchdown pass that day, not Ben. While Roethlisberger was the youngest QB ever to win a Superbowl, he was also posted the lowest rating of any quarterback ever to win one as well. This time around, Ben is much more mature, he's established himself as a true team leader, and I think he would like nothing more than to play a solid game on Sunday and take home the Lombardi trophy AND a Superbowl MVP award. Trust me, Ben keeps track of what's going on in the league. He saw what Eli Manning, a player who was drafted ahead of him in 2004, did last year for the Giants. Ben admits nerves were a huge factor in his poor play three years ago, don't expect that this year. Don't be surprised if Big Ben plays the best game of his life on Super Sunday against the Cardinals. I certainly won't be.

Cardinals Will Provide Tough Challenge For Steelers

If you think the Pittsburgh Steelers will have an easy time against the Arizona Cardinals in Superbowl 43, think again. First of all, the Cards haven a quarterback in Kurt Warner who has seen virtually every defensive scheme in his long career. It will be hard for Steelers Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau to come with a package that will fool Warner. Plus, with all the offensive weapons Arizona has (Boldin, Fitzgerald, Breaston) if the Steelers don't "get home" with their blitzes, Warner has the ability to make them pay. Plus, let's not forget that Ken Whisenhunt would like nothing more than to beat the team he helped win a Superbowl three years ago. "Whiz" was a finalist for the Steelers head coaching job which eventually went to Mike Tomlin, and he's probably still a little miffed that he didn't get the Steelers job after serving as the team's offensive coordinator. Whisenhunt helped develop Ben Roethlisberger as a quarterback, but it seems a rift between the two developed during Big Ben's injury-riddled 2006 season and the hard feelings haven't subsided. Whisenhunt said after the season (one which saw the Black and Gold go 8-8 and miss the playoffs) that Roethlisberger wasn't physically able to perform at his best after his near-fatal motorcycle accident, emergency appendectomy, and concussion. In 2007, the week before the Steelers played the Cards in the regular season, I asked Roethlisberger about his relationship with Whisenhunt. He didn't have too much to say and seemed uncomfortable talking about him. (BTW: The Cards won that game in Arizona and Roethlisberger threw a critical interception the endzone.) Here's another thing to consider: The Arizona Cardinals are pretty much "Steelers West." Besides Whisenhunt, their Offensive Line Coach is former Steelers assistant Russ Grimm, another finalist for the Steelers job which went to Tomlin. Wideout Steve Breaston is from Pittsburgh, fellow Wideout Larry Fitzgerald was a star at Pitt as was linebacker Gerald Hayes. Outside linebacker Clark Haggans was a starter on the Steelers 2005 Superbowl team (how fired up do you think he is for this game?) The point I'm making is: A lot of people don't expect much from the Cardinals, but they're dead wrong. Expect the Cardinals to play a physical game to try to match the Steelers intensity on Super Sunday. So: Who wins? Well, I'm not ready to give you my fearless prediction yet, keep logging on as the big game gets closer.

Later,

jb