Tag Archive: Steve Mears

Stretch Shortcomings Email to Jedi Master Mears @penguinslive 4/2/2012 @pghpenguins #Pens #YinzerTalk

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Sports, Stories ( #yinzerTalk )

April 2, 2012

I sent this into Steve Mears on Penguins Live today.  I asked him some loaded questions today.  Feel free to give me your thoughts too.

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Jedi Master Mears!

Happy Monday. Rough loss yesterday but some interesting turn of events that look like they will set the scene for the playoffs. I have a few things to say and a question for you.

You’ve mentioned this on the show before and I’ve talked about it on a number of occasions as well, the Pens haven’t been doing a good job stepping up to answer the cheap shots taken on their stars. Yesterday they did. Vitale did it with class, laying that awesome and perfectly clean, open ice hit. Asham and Engelland followed up with making their fighting presence known that looked to say “the cheap stuff just wont fly anymore”. The crosscheck that Crosby took coming off the ice, long after play had stopped, was just flat out unnecessary. In another light, if Cooke pulls that on someone’s star player, he gets tossed and we all know that’s the truth.

Goal tending hasn’t been what we’re used to, but the defense and turnovers seem to be even worse. Uncharacteristic things for the Pens, like Crosby making blind passes across the front of the net and tons of pucks being turned over in the neutral zone – they’re killing us. Letang and Orpik being split to babysit Z and Martin is just nerve-wracking because teams seem to have figured out how to take advantage of that now. Where do the Pens start cleaning it all up? How do you see the Pens being able to get back to their game on all ends of the ice, but especially on the defensive end of the red line?

LETS GO PENS!!!
-The Pittsburgh Jedi

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Bruins Duper Crosby Email to Jedi Master Mears @penguinslive 3/12/2012 @pghpenguins #Pens #YinzerTalk

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Sports, Stories ( #yinzerTalk )

March 13, 2012

Jedi Master Mears,

How’s it going today?  I’m back from the Big East Tournament in NYC, so I’m back in show attendance.  I got to hang out with the New York Pens Chapter while I was out there.  Is it any shock that all the coolest people I met in NYC were all from Pittsburgh?  Inherently, none of them were cab drivers.

I’m still struggling but I wanted to agree with a point you made.  The Pens attacked Boston early and really muscled into Chara all game.  Chara, being the team captain, made some serious un-captain-like moves because of it.  We capitalized on our opportunities.  It was great to see the Pens zero in on the Bruins and not let Boston set the physical pace.  Despite sloppy spans of time throughout the game, the Pens never let the game slip away.  As a fan, you always get nervous when that 2 goal lead appears and there’s a ton of time left on the clock.

The support lines are still being amazing behind the 1st line.  Dupuis deserves a ton of credit.  He’s a quiet player as far as his presence on the ice.  His speed, vision and physical play is second to none on our team.  Acquiring him couldn’t have worked out any better.  People used to talk about Talbot being the locker room personality but after seeing the 24/7 series and the James Neal 36 Hours episode, Duper deserves WAY more credit.  He had me rolling with all of the pranks and constant jokes he slings around the locker room.  That’s a huge dynamic to add to a team.  It’s so important to have a fun, stress-free personality like that and have it compounded by solid productivity on the ice on top of it.  If people haven’t recognized yet, Dupuis is far more valuable than what we get to see on the ice.

It goes without saying, we’re all excited to see Sid come back.  Waiting for the final confirmation is like dangling a juicy steak just out of the reach of a hungry animal’s cage.  I’ll make no predictions as to when he’ll be back or what will be done with him when he does come back.  I don’t envy coach Disco for having to figure that one out but that’s certainly one hell of a high-class problem.

When Letang comes back to a full, healthy lineup, the Pens potential will just be gargantuan.  Astronomical.  Absolutely terrifying.

LETS GO PENS!!!

-The Pittsburgh Jedi
www.pittsburghjedi.com

 

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Support Lines Email Into Jedi Master Mears @penguinslive 3/6/2012 @pghpenguins #Pens #YinzerTalk

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Sports

March 6, 2012

Jedi Master Mears,

Welcome back.  I dare you to try to laugh more during the show than Michelle did in your stead.  Her laugh is pretty contagious when something gets her started, which never seemed too difficult.

Great game on Saturday night.  Even though Colorado came off of a shutout loss rolling into the Pens game, they had been doing well enough prior to that to be nervous over.  The first 7 to 10 minutes of the 1st period, was enough to make you nervous if you weren’t already going into the game.

I wanted to address our support lines.  For the 1st time in a seemingly long time, only 1 goal was produced by the top line.  There’s always been some talk and worry about what would happen if the 1st line went flat or was held to 1 or no goals.  This Saturday was a great example of what the result of that really is.  Our depth is much deeper than what I hear credit being given.  Seeing Engelland and Asham score and in the fashion in which they did it, reminds you that there’s solid offensive threat from front to back in the Pens lineup.  I love Asham’s slapshot, by the way. It makes me a happy Jedi.  Props to Park for capitalizing on his 1 on 1 opportunity.

I’m excited to see what tonight holds for us.  Phoenix being a division leader makes this game seem a lot bigger.  They’re surging right now and so are the Pens, with a 5 game win streak under their belts.  I’m excited to see how both teams attack the other and what strategies they choose to try to break the other down.

Quick mentions.  Sulli is really showing his value right now.  Everything seems to be going his way right now, whether its as a goal scorer or a play-maker.  Duper is very much the same way in his constant effort, speed and vision on the ice.  Players like these two are extremely necessary to make a schedule like the one Pens face this next month, not seem so difficult.  They make plays you don’t get from your ordinary support player.  We’re lucky to have them.

Its a Monday but at least its a hockey Monday.  LETS GO PENS!!!

Good luck tonight fellas.

-The Pittsburgh Jedi
www.pittsburghjedi.com

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Trade Deadline Email Into Jedi Master Mears @penguinslive 2/28/2012 #Pens #YinzerTalk

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Sports, Stories ( #yinzerTalk )

February 28, 2012

Jedi Master Mears,

How’s it going? Work has been a little nuts but hopefully I can get this email off to you before the show ends.

Everyone seemed to be disappointed by the very uneventful trade deadline happenings.  I guess that really goes to show how many teams are still in the playoff race.  That, in and of itself, should make for an interesting last 5 or 6 weeks of the season.

As far as the Pens and making no trades, there’s not a ton to say.  I kept hearing people say that we could unload Staal and pick up someone with a little more firepower.  I’m pretty sure they have concussion-like symptoms because how can you be upset when the kid is averaging a goal every other game???  Total nonsense.

I only really saw three things the Pens could have done, provided there was a way to do it.  Unloading Paul Martin wouldn’t upset me, even though he’s had some solid games since they’ve mixed up the defensive pairings.  We have Lovejoy and Simon Despres who I think both could easily slot into Martin’s position effectively.  I think the goal is to have Letang and Orpik back on the same line.  It seems like having them split is more of a babysitting assignment.

I also thought the resurfacing of Tangradi to the lineup was to show him off a little bit right before the deadline and use him as bait.  He doesn’t really seem like a solid Penguins fit despite all the chances he’s had to prove otherwise.  I actually see his style of play to be effective for a team who runs the trap.  That’s just me though.

The last thing I thought would be beneficial for the Pens is to somehow dump Tyler Kennedy.  Before anyone tries to crucify me for saying that, I was the 1st person in the city to have a TK jersey.  When he first started playing, his jersey was nowhere to be found, so I contacted a military buddy who was stationed in Korea to have one made for me and ship it back to the states.  I also have an authentic signed stick that I battled for on ebay.  I really liked TK and his constant hustle.  I figured with that much desire to leave it all out on the ice, there’s really no other option than to start being a goal scorer.  He’s had a terrible year and since he’s been injured, his line is on fire and I have yet to hear a single person say “man… I really miss TK”.  I think the 4 year deal is a turn off for other teams to pick him up, on top of his unproductive season.  Four years was too much to me, especially at the expense of making a deal with Jagr.

Those were the only things I saw that the Pens could have done to acquire something beneficial.  Notice I haven’t said what that beneficial thing could be, because I really don’t know what you can bring in and be certain not to disrupt the Pens’ chemistry right now.

The Pens schedule through the end of the season is a tough one.  I wish them the best and hope they are able to stay healthy, come out on top and roll into the playoffs firing on all cylinders.

LETS GO PENS!!!

-The Pittsburgh Jedi (Eli)
www.PittsburghJedi.com

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#Pens Email to Steve Mears on Penguins Live @penguinslive – 2/13/12

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Sports

February 13, 2012

I have made a fairly consistent habit to write into Penguins Live with Steve Mears in the mornings on weekdays.  In fact, through a small conversation we had through facebook, he inspired me to start this site.  I always have a lot to say and some questions to ask.  Steve playfully refers to them as novels and always reads most of what I write, if not all of it.  Here is what I wrote into him today, and feel free to leave your own thoughts or comments.

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Hey Steve,

What a weekend, huh? As far as Saturday is concerned, I know I love seeing the Pens scoring 8 goals, but not at the expense of our defensive responsibilities and our goal tending.  It was a nerve wracking game for me and it seemed to be that way for everyone on my twitter and facebook feeds, so I know I’m not alone there.  I had a hard time being able to summarize the entire game because I had so many conflicting feelings on what all occurred on the ice that afternoon.  Because so many of the goals were really pretty, I ended up just doing a Pens video goal review on my site: PittsburghJedi.com.

I wanted to know if you noticed this or feel this way at all, now that Malkin is pretty much unstoppable, have you noticed a more relaxed take on Sid’s return?  From my point of view and the sports news I’ve been hearing and reading, I’m sensing a new lack of urgency for Sid’s return because of the continued success we’re seeing out of the team that we didn’t bank on lasting.  I’m not saying that people don’t want Sid to come back, but I’m now wondering if the stir about Sid’s injury is more of a split matter?  Half focus on the mysterious nature of concussions and the circumstances of Sid’s health/return and half on “how long can this Pens team keep up this success streak without Sid in the lineup?”.  I’m hearing less and less about, when Sid will return and how long it will be until he returns, etc…, but more general mentions of his return: “and when Sid returns…”  With the Pens’ continued success, have the fans and media become more satisfied with the team that’s currently out there, and have less of a sense of urgency for Sid’s return?  Again, not saying that they don’t want him to come back, I just feel like the push for him to come back has softened in a big way with the teams success and especially Malkin’s success. Thoughts?

Quick points…

Malkin can do whatever he wants on the ice.  Its almost comical how bad people want to stop him but just cant.

Staal constantly shows how valuable he is by the success and productivity his line churns out when he’s out there with them.

Letang is playing amazing and making up for all the flat play he had last year after the All-Star break.

Neal and Kunitz have proven time and time again that they are the wingers, or perfect type of wingers Malkin has always needed to be the player he loves to be.

I can’t wait to see the evolution of the team come the trade deadline.

LETS GO PENS!!!

-The Pittsburgh Jedi
PittsburghJedi.com

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