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Empty Netter Assists - 06-13-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on .

Penguins

-Evgeni Malkin gets paid.

-Dan Bylmsa gets to stay.

-"I am not getting rid of Marc-Andre Fleury." - Ray Shero.

-What does Malkin's contract mean for Kris Letang (above)?

-Shero speaks:

-Happy 57th birthday to former Penguins forward Blair Chapman. A first-round pick in 1976, Chapman spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. Appearing in all 80 of the team's games in 1976-77, Chapman recorded 37 points as a rookie. During that spring's postseason, he contributed two points in three games. In 1977-78, he hit the 20-goal mark for the first time by scoring 24 goals and 44 points in 76 games. After recording 18 points in 71 games during the 1978-79 regular season, he scored one goal in seven postseason games that spring. Chapman was traded after one game in 1979-80 to the Blues in exchange for Bob Stewart. In 227 games with the Penguins, Chapman scored 99 points, 86th-most in franchise history. In 10 postseason games, he recorded four points.

-Happy 50th birthday to former Penguins forward Randy Gilhen. Acquired in the 1989 offseason in a deal along with Jim Kyte and Andrew McBain in a deal which sent Randy Cunneyworth, Rick Tabaracci and Dave McLlwain to the Jets, Gilhen spent two seasons in Pittsburgh. The 1989-90 season saw him play in 61 games and record 16 points. In 1990-91, Gilhen appeared in 72 games and set career highs in goals (15) and points (25). Gilhen played in 16 games that postseason, scored one goal and helped the franchise earn its first Stanley Cup title. In the 1991 offseason, he was claimed by the North Stars through the expansion draft. In 133 regular season games with the Penguins, Gilhen scored 41 points.

-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins forward Dave Roche. A third-round pick in 1993, Roche spent parts of two seasons with the Penguins. As a rookie in 1995-96, Roche appeared in 71 games and recorded 14 points. In the 1995 postseason, Roche appeared in 16 games and contributed nine points. The 1996-97 season saw Roche appear in 61 games and record 10 points as well as a team-high 155 penalty minutes. After spending the entire 1997-98 campaign with Syracuse of the AHL, Roche was traded in the 1998 offseason to the Flames along with Ken Wregget in exchange for German Titov and Todd Hlushko. In 132 regular season games with the Penguins, Roche recorded 24 points.

-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Matt Bradley. Acquired at the 2003 trade deadline in a deal which sent Wayne Primeau to the Sharks, Bradley missed the rest of 2002-03 due to a broken wrist. In 2003-04, he appeared in all 82 games and scored 16 points. Following the 2004-05 lockout, he signed with the Capitals. He spent this past season with TuTo of Finland's Mestis league.

-After the Jump: The Blackahwks and Bruins go late into the night for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and Mark Streit heads to Philadelphia.

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SPANX shapewear for men? Yes, it's a real thing

Written by Sara Bauknecht on .

Spanx Men Web

Most women who've ever had to squeeze into a hip-hugging dress have heard or tried SPANX shapewear. But what about men?

If they haven't already, they might see -- or even try -- it soon. The SPANX for Men collection offers a mix of compression undershirts, control undershirts and underwear to help guys look smooth and slim in all the right places. Some even claim to include built-in lumbar support to help him improve his posture.

Check out a couple options from the collection below (a Father's Day gift idea, perhaps?), or browse the whole line at www.spanx.com. 

Spanx 1

SPANX zoned performance top, $75 for tank style. 

 

Spanx 2

Zoned performance top in black, $78 for V-neck style.

 

Spanx 3

Cotton compression undershirt, $58 for crew-neck style. 

 

Spanx 4

Cotton control undershirt, $58 for V-neck style. 

 

 

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Officially on the Great Allegheny Passage: from Day 5 to Day 6

Written by Mila Sanina on .

 It’s Day 6 of the cycling expedition and the Point Made! team is pedaling along, They are scheduled to ride 44 miles on Thursday from Rockwood to Dunbar.

Yesterday they officially started riding on the Great Allegheny Passage. According to one of the cyclists, Sara Carr, who is writing a blog about the trip, “The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) experience was much different than the rugged and muddy C&O. The surface of the GAP is similar to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh.” Overnight they stay at Seven Springs.

mile0

(Mile 0 on the GAP, photo by David Tucker)

The group enjoyed lots of sights on the GAP on Day 5: Bone Cave (Mile 4 on the GAP); Helmstetters Curve (the sweeping 180-degree horseshoe curved railroad is like candy for rail enthusiasts and photographers); Brush Tunnel; Frostburg (the depot station is worth a visit, we hear); Borden Tunnel (not as spooky as the Paw Paw Tunnel, but it is not lighted, so watch out). And, of course, they crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, and our Pete Zapadka wrote about The Line on the blog yesterday (Pete is THE authority on the subject).

bikedave

(On the Great Allegheny passage, photo by David Tucker)

And then…. OF COURSE... Big Savage Tunnel (Mile 22). It’s the longest tunnel on the trip. The tunnel was built in 1911 and is 3,300 feet long. It was reconstructed for trail use in 2003. David Tucker who is one of the Point Made! cyclists shot a video of it… IN it. And yes, it’s lit up. So, check it out!

We also found some photographs in our archive from the days when Big Savage Tunnel was being reconstructred. This photograph captures the workers applying a sealant mixture to the exterior of the west portal of Mt Savage. The photo was taken by the former PG photographer VWH Campbell.

6OZ00KER

But back to Day 5... there were also some occasional falls, but it looks like team's attitude is right ;)

On Day 5, the team also crossed one of the most distinctive structures of the GAP, the Salisbury Viaduct. It's 1,908 feet long. Abandoned for rairoad use in the 1980s, the viaduct was decked for trail use in 1999. 

03-29-41 salisbury-viaduct 420

Photo of Salisbury Viaduct by Len Barcousky/Post-Gazette from 2003

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Find that Artwork!

Written by Diana Nelson Jones on .

 

 

arbuckle
 
Pittsburgh is so rich in public art that many of us fail to notice a lot of it. It’s high up in relief on a building or in a lobby we never visit or it’s a subtle part of something bigger or it’s ina place we don’t expect to see art so we don’t see it...
 
... or it’s functional, like a lighting design that helps us see in the dark. Many of us don’t think of something functional as art, but if you have walked directly from Ellsworth Avenue across to Eastside, you know that a bridge can be art. Sheila Klein’s pedestrian bridge is being dedicated tomorrow at 4p as part of the Americans for Art convention.
threebirds 
AforA picked the ‘burgh over bigger cities that have a heftier national reputation, but Mitch Swain, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, made the point that they don’t have any heftier cultural and arts institutions. Back in the day, Pittsburgh was one of the 10 most populated cities.
 
Thanks to Renee Piechocki, director of the Office of Public Art, I just got my brand spankin’ new copy of the OPA’s “Pittsburgh Art in Public Places,” a guide booklet that directs you to public art Downtown, on the North Shore and in the Northside. 
 
Little Kelpie  designed this beautiful little prize, and Renee Rosensteel took the bulk of the photos. The guidebook is available at the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, at public
libraries, and for download at publicartpittsburgh.org.
 
With this little book, I fancy a new game for high-brows: Find That Artwork! The person who’s “It” can challenge other players if, for instance, he stops them in front of the Park Building at 355 5th Ave., and commands them to “find that artwork!”
 
If they look up, they will see a row of telamones, sculptures of the male figure that serve as structural supports. 
 
Just inside the entrance of 425 Fifth Avenue, to find that artwork! our fearless game players  have to look up to see Three Birds in Flight, an aluminum sculpture by Mary Callery commissioned by the Aluminum Corporation of America in 1953.
 
If they’re standing in front of the former Western Pennsylvania headquarters of Bell Telephone on Stanwix Street, they might wonder whether the globe and clock on the facade of what is now an apartment building is the artwork It is challenging them to find.
 
It is!
 
Art is so many things that so many of us aren’t trained to see. It’s the glass block with neon in the Steel Plaza T station. It’s the Smithfield Street Bridge. It’s the August Wilson Center, whose architectural design drew inspiration from the shape of East African trading ships. 
 
And if you’re sitting on those granite chairs at 500 Grant Street wondering where the public art is, you’re sitting on it. chairsforsix
 
 
    
Photos by Renee Rosensteel
 
Top photo:Arbuckle Coffee Building stone reliefs, on Cherry Way between Sixth Avenue and Strawberry Way, artist unknown
Middle photo: Three Birds in Flight, aluminum sculpture by Mary Callery 
Bottom photo: Chairs for Six, granite sculpture by Scott Burton

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Penguins agree to eight-year extension with Malkin - 06-13-13

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on .

A day after announcing contract extensions for head coach Dan Bylsma and staff, the Penguins have agreed to an eight-year contract extension with center Evgeni Malkin worth a total of $76 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $9.5 million, the highest on the team and second highest in the NHL after Washington captain/forward Alex Ovechkin $9,538,462

Malkin still has one year remaining on his current contract with a salary cap hit of $8.7 million.

Appearing in 31 games this past regular season, Malkin, 26, scored 33 points (nine goals, 24 assists).

A first round pick in 2004 (No. 2 overall), Malkin has spent seven seasons with the Penguins. In 458 career regular season games, he has scored 560 points (217 goals, 343 assists). A two-time winner of the Art Ross Trophy (2008-09 and 2011-12), Malkin won the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Trophy as MVP in 2011-12. He also won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2006-07/

In 83 postseason games, he has scored 97 points. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009 while helping the franchise win its third Stanley Cup title.

EN Says: The timing of this is hardly a coincidence.

After getting Bylsma's future squared away, the Penguins could move on to Malkin.

The Penguins needed to eliminate any doubt on Bylsma's future in order to get a long-term commitment from Malkin. The Penguins players - and more importantly, their stars - enjoy playing for Bylsma. He allows them to play their brand of hockey and he treats them well off the ice. With Bylsma under contract for the next three years, Malkin was ready to commit to the Penguins' long term.

As we said yesterday, the idea of making major decisions to keep star players happy might seem preposterous but that's simply a reality. The Rangers face a similiar situation with star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who grew tired of head coach John Tortorella. During his team's exit interviews days after being eliminated from the postseason, Lundqvist was asked if he was ready for sign a long-term extension with the team, Lundqvist was vague and replied, "We'll see."

Days later, Tortorella was fired.

What is really interesting is how this move impacts the future of Kris Letang. Letang is scheduled to became an unrestricted free agent next offseason and is eligible to sign an extension this offseason. With Malkin re-signing for a huge cap hit, is there cap space to re-sign Letang who, as a Norris Trophy finalist, could command top dollar?

The Penguins faced a similiar situation last year when they tried to re-sign Jordan Staal. After Staal rejected their offer of a 10-year extension, due in part for family reasons, he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Letang seems happy here under Bylsma and assistant coach Todd Reirden who runs the defense. That said, it might be a matter of numbers and not desire which could dictate Letang's future with the Penguins.

(Photo: MalkinJustin K. Aller/Getty Images; Malkin and Bylsma-)

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