Weekend Review: Classic was great, glad it's over

By Jeff

Despite a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, the Winter Classic was great. The entire city was focused on hockey for a week, it brought a lot of attention to Pittsburgh and the game itself was entertaining.

With that being said, it's nice that all the hype is over. I say hype because the game was just another regular season game worth two points. The Capitals and their fans might object to that last statement, as they started acting like they had just won the Stanley Cup with 10 seconds left in the game, but that's the truth. Now the Pens, Capitals and their fans can set their sights on more important matters, like getting into playoff form.

Despite the hype, neither player did anything.

To be fair, the Capitals played a better game than the Pens and deserved the win. Brain farts by Marc-Andre Fleury, Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek lead to goals, while the Pens didn't punish the Capitals for their mistakes. As with most hockey games, the team that wins is not the one that makes the least mistakes, but the one that takes advantage of the opposition's mistakes. Obvious? Absolutely. But it's also true.

Wednesday will be game 41 for the Pens. They have some issues that need addressed over the final 41 games of the season. First, the power play needs to get better. The Pens' power play is performing at 16.5 percent, which is 21st in the league. That's right below the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ouch.

Second, the team needs secondary scoring. Crosby is playing great, but it's doubtful he is going to go one a 25-game scoring tear again this season. Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and the rest of the team need to do their parts. In the past two games Crosby hasn't scored, the team has registered only two goals against the No. 9 and No. 28 defenses in the league.

Third, the Pens need to stop taking bad penalties. Right now the team is averaging 16.8 penalty minutes per game, which is the most in the league. Fortunately, the penalty kill is playing great at 87.1 percent. But it's too much asking the penalty killers to continue this effort if they're going to be called upon eight times per night.

OK, so that stuff didn't happen this weekend, but they all played a role in the Winter Classic, so it kind of makes sense to include in the weekend review. The rest is below.

• Jordan Staal is back and looked pretty good. If he and Malkin click on the second line, this team is going to be very scary going forward. As if they weren't already.

• The Steelers destroyed the Browns 41-9 and locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC. They needed it. A healthy Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith will do wonders for this team when it matters the most.

I wish I was fast enough to
nickname myself Fast Money.

• Anyone really missing Santonio Holmes? Mike Wallace finished the year fifth in receiving yards (1,257), tied for seventh in touchdown receptions (10) and second in yards per reception (21). Not too bad for a second-year guy. Holmes missed four games, had 746 yards and six touchdowns. Not to say Holmes was bad as a member of the Steelers, but trading him was supposed to significantly weaken the team's receiving core. It didn't.

• Maurkice Pouncey made the Pro Bowl. He deserves the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Too bad Sam Bradford will win it.

• The Indianapolis Colts-Tennessee Titans games was a lot more exciting than I expected. Kenny Britt is looking like he could be a very good receiver in this league. Too bad he still won't have a quarterback next year.

• I get that there has never been a 7-9 team make the playoffs in the NFL. But losing teams have made the playoffs in the NBA and NHL and I don't see all of the experts crying for change. Too be fair, maybe they did when it happened for the first time. Whatever, the system is fine and the Seattle Seahawks did enough to make the playoffs. 

• Eric Mangini is out in Cleveland. One year too late. Hell, he should have never been hired in the first place. He sucks.

• Charlie Weis is leaving Kansas City at the end of the season so he can take the same position with the University of Florida. Yeah, because his first trip into college athletics worked out so well. 

• I've already touched on the Brett Favre topic, but Sunday was his last game, and he watched from the sidelines. Not the way I wanted to see him leave, but seemed fitting for the way this season was going for him and the Minnesota Vikings.

Maybe not the best choice to be
teaching life's lessons to college athletes.

• Pitt is on the prowl for another head football coach after recent hire Mike Haywood was arrested on felony domestic violence charges. Haywood allegedly choked and pushed the mother of his child. When he was hired, Pitt officials were touting his character and integrity. I think it's safe to say they missed on that one.

• "Kick-Ass" is a fun and violent flick. If you go in thinking it's a comedy, you're going to be surprised. While their are some funny parts, it's not a comedy. I also had nightmares of an 11-year-old coming to my house and killing me with a twin-bladed spear. 

• Don't see "Little Fockers". It sucked. This was one of those movies where the makers know they will make money, so they don't even bother with a decent script. If it means anything, I didn't want to see this.

• I still haven't watched an entire college Bowl Game. I almost saw all of the Wisconsin-TCU game, and what I saw was fun, but then I had places to go. Not really, but the lady friend wanted to see "Little Fockers".

• My PS3 came on Friday. Any suggestions for games that aren't obvious?

• I went 11-5 with my picks in Week 17. Of course in the most meaningless week of the season I do the best I have all year. My overall record for the season was a disappointing 121-129-6. 

Flickerstick - Coke