Moved to...

http://battleofpenn.blogspot.com

Due to some techinical difficulties I've moved the site to the above address.

Pittsburgh to Move

Well it looks like Mario is about to throw in the towel. The City and Gov't seem to have screwed this one up pretty bad from my point of view. From what I've read from different sources the Pens had agreed to paying 4 million dollars a year versus the 2.9 and build a parking facility. But the Gov't won't agree or that Barden fellow won't agree to it.

It is a damned shame when the Gov't turns down a FREE rink, close to $1 billion dollars tax free to redevelop the area that would be the Old Mellon arena. Can anyone tell me that makes sense?

Now they are going strong arm the team out of town and lose Millions of dollars in local revenue that the team brings in.

Well I guess this blog will go off the air before it really gets started.

I want to say that I don't Blame Mario Lemieux for any of this. The man has put his heart and soul into keeping Hockey in Pittsburgh, but there is only so much 1 man can do. You can't keep beating the same dead horse (Gov't) for 7+ years and only start to get a response when you are in dire straights. Thank you Mario for all you've done for the Penguins.

Ryan Smyth

Man if only there was more time for the Oilers to deal him. If Pittsburgh could have landed him it would have been a guaranteed Cup!! Well almost.

From what Don Meeghan said on a interview with TSN up here in Canada the talks broke down at 2:40 this afternoon . Didn't leave much time to trade him. Guess a lot of GM's were pissed that they couldn't get in on it. Wonder if Shero knew about it.

More Pens Trades

Hat tip to Spector and the Post-Gazette "THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE REPORTS THE PENGUINS ARE PLANNING TO SEND A FOURTH ROUND PICK TO THE FLORIDA PANTHERS FOR DEFENCEMAN JOEL KWAITKOWSKI AND A SEVENTH ROUND PICK TO THE SAN JOSE SHARKS FOR GOALIE NOLAN SCHAEFER. "

Well Thibaults days are numbered witht he pick up of Schaefer. Great pick up for a 7th round pick. Not going to contribute immeadiately but a good prospect.

Kwiatkowski is a decent D-man. Was hoping for Norstrom but Kwiatkowski will add to the defense.

Definately adds to the team. Just wanted to say congrats to Ray Shero and the Pens management for making some good deals without decimating the team.

Trade Deadline

Well great day for Penguins fans. We got Roberts and Laraque for some decent players but no one off the NHL roster. Lost Dominic Moore for a 3rd round pick but the other moves make up for that.

I've heard that we might get Nortstrom from LA though Anaheim is believed to be the front Runner. I guess we'll see in a bit.

Discuss

Thoughts through 2 Periods

Pittsburgh is looking like they are playing for the Playoffs. I haven't seen this team play this well since Mario's return. Crosby has to be the strongest player in the league with the puck. the stuff this kid can do amazes me every game. Praise the lord the Penguins got this kid & Malkin, Staal, Fleury.

Montreal is playing well, but they just don't seem to have the same drive the Penguins do. They are taking unnecessary penalties.

If Pittsburgh can keep it up during the third they should move up to a tie for 5th. I think it's safe to say this team has turned the corner on the last few years in the last month. The beginning of the season they still looked a bit error prone and the defense weren't the best. But now everyone has bought into Therrien's system and they are playing amazing. This should be fun to watch in the next few years.

More to Come.....

Battle Of Pennsylvania? What is it?

OK so you'll see here so far there are a few penguins related posts here. The point of this site as it gets going is to bring on a few more Penguins & Flyers bloggers to blog about both teams and give you Pens and Flyers fans to comment on the posts.

I got this idea from some commenters on the Battle Of Ontario. I live in Ottawa (Up in Canada) so I don't get to see many Pens games live, have gone down to Philly to see some battle of Pennsylvania's. Trying to head down to see the game in Pittsburgh on the 18th against the Flyers.

If you are interested in contributing to the Battle of Pennsylvania send me an email at battleofpennsylvania@gmail.com I will also be scouring the web to see if I can find some guys/ladies to contribute.