After having quite the scare from my laptop, it suddenly has started to work again(Knock on Wood) but I feel like I should catch up on some topics, Nationally, and of course Pittsburgh flavored. So here we go.....
1. The Madness, first weekend.- As always my favorite weekend of the year did not disappoint, and I find it hard to believe it ever will. The Madness caught fire across the nation and we saw some very unusual things. A 15 seed beating a #2, not once, but twice! Unreal. Norfolk State absolutely shredded my bracket, and many others. And the mighty Duke Blue Devils lost to Lehigh. Wild, wild times and many ripped up brackets. Kentucky looks poised to make it to New Orleans, and it is certainly their tournament to lose. UNC and Syraucse lost starters, and Michigan State is overachieving to say the least. I don't know if anyone can take down Calipari and his Freshman all star team, but thats why they play the games.
2.
Paul Chryst's First Recruit!- Todd Graham had an unusually slow start to recruiting last year, but Paul Chryst's drought didn't last as long. Scott Orndoff, a 6-6 Tight end from Pittsburgh is the first official recruit of the Paul Chryst era. I think its a pretty good start. He held offers from Wisconsin, Michigan,Michigan State, and WVU. He is pretty highly coveted by the Big Ten, and should receive better rankings as the year progresses. He was a Wisconsin commit originally, and predictably switched to Pitt. Chryst and Rudolph have teamed up to churn out productive Tight Ends at Wisconsin, and they have two very talented recruits to start things off with in Pittsburgh. JP Holtz in the incoming class, and Orndoff in the current recruiting class could team up to be a very lethal duo for the Panthers. The recruiting class can certainly shape up to be a productive one, but Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State are Pitt's chief rivals in recruiting and they are well behind those teams.
3.
Streaking Penguins-The boys in Black and Gold put on a show the past few weeks, and maybe a show for things to come. The Pens reeled off 12 straight and basically looked flawless. Fleury has been a force and looking like a goalie you can ride through the playoffs. Kris Letang's return to the defense is almost as important as any one player the Penguins have. And of course, Sidney Crosby looks like a pretty nice midseason addition. Sid hasn't been lighting up the goals, but certainly has opened things up for everyone around him. He is setting up guys at a rapid pace, and joining Malkin and James Neal on the power play may be the scariest thing the NHL has seen in decades. Evgeni Malkin has upped his game to world class levels, and is the best player in the world right now, and its hard to argue that. The Penguins have the offense, defense, and goaltending to win a Stanley Cup. They may or may not catch the Rangers in the standings, but will be a tough out for anyone come playoff time.
4.
The McCutchen Deal- Andrew McCutchen signing for a big extension is a positive step for the futile Pirates organization. McCutchen is the face of the franchise, and the most popular Pirates in a long time. He is a legitimate building block for the team and the city. McCutchen's willingness to sign an extension shows that he is ready to the centerpiece to the future for this team. McCutchen is a rare "5 tool" player that has garnered recognition nationally. He isn't the typical Pirate's best player that is relatively unknown, he is a known commodity and well recognized star in this league, and will be even more known if he continues to produce. It is hard to imagine he will take a slide. He should only get better, and may be one of the selling points to future free agents if the origination is ready to sign outside talent.
5.
Peyton Manning- Manning signing with the Denver Broncos is big, big news. And it certainly can change things around for the next few years. Peyton at full strength is one of the best of all time, no questions asked. His career stats can be mentioned with the greats of the game, and if he returns to form there is no doubt Denver can make a Super Bowl push. The fact that a team can depend on one player for so long, and crumble the first year without him is puzzling, or it can be considered remarkable how valuable Manning truly is. If Peyton was the entire key for Indy, and it was worthless without him, says a lot about where he can take a more talented Dever team. Denver has a solid defense, better than most Manning had with the Colts. The Broncos also have two young receivers that are on the rise, Erik Dekker and Demaryius Thomas stand the best in the whole situation. But where does Tim Tebow factor in? Who knows? But the guy that captured ESPN's full attention for an entire season might be able to catch on elsewhere, or learn from one of the vest best. Its hard to predict how Peyton's health will be. Will he come out and provide the same type of impact Brett Favre made in his late career, or will he fade dramatically like a Donovan McNabb? Time will tell, but Denver's prospects became a lot more interesting this offseason.
6. The CBI- Pitt's ridiculous attempt to make this season any longer is very, very agonizing. This season needs to rest in peace. Pitt's program should be above accepting this invite, and quite frankly it is. Pitt has been the Big East's most winningest team over the last decade, that featured 10 NCAA appearances. The team has had a streak of success that has never graced the program, and don't expect it to go away. Pitt had a very young team, and ran into some strange and unusual issues this past season. That should all last all of one season. Pitt will introduce Steven Adams to the Big East next season, and he should not disappoint. The 7 footer is an agile big man that has great skill, and an even greater upside. He should make a similar type of impact that Cody Zeller made for Indiana this past season. Pitt may not be a top 10 team next season, they may not even be a consistently ranked team. But they will be back in the tournament, and will be better than this past season. The talent within the program, the talent coming into the program, and the coaching will turn things around very quickly.
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