Black and Blue and Gold

Chris Taft: Riches to Rags

joel — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:36:42 +0000

The Broomfield Event Center lights glare down on Chris Taft. They burn bright, like his promising basketball career once did. What little fans are left of the sparse crowd are hushed in sympathetic silence.

This is basketball purgatory.

Taft reflects on how hard he worked just to get here; just to get to the NBA Development League. Another comeback has fallen short. His spirit is as broken as his body. His reputation as a dud is cemented.

Read the rest of Chris Taft’s article at Pittsburghsportsreport.com.

Hero, Healer, Leader

joel — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:35:37 +0000

Twelve shots. Five wounded. One dead. The departed: Duquesne’s basketball program. After 12 years on life support, the Dukes flat-lined on September 17, 2006. Recovery was the school’s only option. Those roots started nearly a decade earlier.

Read the rest of Aaron Jackson’s story at Pittsburghsportsreport.com.

Fresh Ice: Alternatives to the NHL Lockout

joel — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:15:20 +0000

Desperate for hockey? You’re not alone. Nearly 22 million fans attended NHL games last season. All are without hockey this year. While the NHL may be locked out, the sport is booming among lower ranks.

Read the rest at Pittsburghsportsreport.com.

NHL lockout

joel — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:14:05 +0000

The NHL and the NHLPA are playing a $3.3 billion game of chicken. Sadly, the casualties of this game are not the players or the owners. Rather, those most hurt are the thousands of employees whose livelihoods depend on the league. To them, three lockouts in 18 years isn’t embarrassing; it’s downright infuriating.

Read the rest at Pittsburghsportsreport.com.

Gator Dilemma

joel — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 16:43:04 +0000

Maybe you have heard of Pete Antimarino. He is the WPIAL football legend who guided Gateway to 236 wins, 17 conference championships and five undefeated seasons. For 32 years he marched the Gators into battle.

California at Clairton

joel — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:43:50 +0000

The California Trojans are playing against more than just the Clairton Bears on Friday night. Brady Barbaro’s squad is also challenging a 49-game win streak, three top-flight WPIAL recruits and the PIAA’s reigning champion.

Stepping Stones

joel — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 03:10:33 +0000

College is a stepping stone. Penguins Development Camp and Olli Maatta: Stepping stones. That is the adopted outlook for the 209th overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft.

Maatta and Scott Wilson were selected 186 picks apart—Maatta in the first-round, Wilson in the seventh—but one month ago they were both in Pittsburgh, on the same ice, playing for the same team. The success rate for seventh round picks is less than 8 percent, based on a sample size of the 2006-08 draft classes. Seventy-nine skaters were selected over those three years. Only seven of them have suited up for more than 15 NHL games.

Pitt football season predictions

joel — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 03:05:32 +0000

Warning: These projections are cautiously optimistic.

5 Issues facing Pitt

joel — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 03:00:12 +0000

Louisville is the lone Big East representative in the preseason AP Top-25 and one of only two ranked teams on Pitt’s schedule this season. The Panthers will play both opponents at home. Pitt’s chances of winning the Big East will hinge on those two games, and these other points.

1.) The offensive line: Continue reading.

Pitt Camp Notebook: Panthers Complete Second Scrimmage

joel — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 04:46:19 +0000

The 2012 Pitt Panthers are rounding into shape. While there was a lot to like about Saturday’s scrimmage, Pitt’s second of the preseason, not everybody was happy. Count head coach Paul Chryst among those who were quick to point out that this … Continue reading →

Headed West

joel — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:04:11 +0000

Welcome to the Big 12, West Virginia. It took $20 million and eight months to officially defect from the Big East, but the move is worth it for a perfect match. That’s what this is, afterall: a perfect match.

Pitt Camp Notebook

joel — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:02:33 +0000

Playmakers on offense, NFL prospects on defense; Pitt is loaded with talent. After a disappointing 2011 and off-season coaching change, the Panthers are finally getting down to football. Plain and simple football.

Another New Era at Pitt

joel — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 16:01:05 +0000

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Pitt is the most skilled team in the Big East. The defense is laden with talent and the offense is star-studded, but can the Panthers finally live up to the hype?

Jones, Offense shine in win

joel — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:47:17 +0000

All the tools were working for Pittsburgh this afternoon. Starter AJ Burnett became the first Pirates pitcher in 13 years to win 15 games while Garrett Jones totaled six RBI in a 10-6 win.

Read the rest of this article

The Meaning of Sacrifice

joel — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:12:11 +0000

Brian Taylor Urruela knows the meaning of sacrifice. A former baseball player in high school, Urruela still looks the part eight years later. Pegging the lightly stubbled, broad shouldered man as an athlete is not a thin limb to climb out on at first glance. It is only after scanning the 26-year-old’s lower body that you might second guess yourself.

Urruela stands on one leg, not two.