The Return of Had A Bad Day - Episode 6

(Ahhh, the good old days)

I haven't posted one of these in awhile because I was trying to look on the bright side of being a Pittsburgh fan.  With the NFL draft completed, the Steelers have signed all but their top two picks and training camp is just around the corner.  Big Ben has been out of the news for a few weeks and things are starting to look up on that front.  The Penguins, while missing out on defending their Cup, struck gold in the FA Frenzy a couple weeks ago by letting Gonchar walk but getting the top two defenseman available.  It's also the All Star Break in baseball and the Pirates are going into it with a 6 game losing streak and are 18 games out of 1st.  Okay so all the news isn't great but did anyone really think this was the Bucs year?

So that little segue brings me to the 6th day on my list of bad days as a Pittsburgh fan.  In fact, yesterday marked the 9 year anniversary of the day my favorite hockey player of all time was traded to Washington for a box of nails, some half-used chapstick, and a bag of chocolate donuts.  Yes, my friends, today's episode recaps the events that turned Jaromir Jagr into a Capital.

(Possibly the greatest hockey haircut of all time.)

I spent a good portion of my youth having the luxury of having two of the biggest hockey players to walk the face of the earth on my team.  When the Penguins drafted Jaromir Jagr in the first round of the 1990 Entry Draft, I really didn't know who he was or why I should care about a guy from Czechoslovakia that couldn't speak English.  The only thing that I did know is that he and I shared the same hair cut; thick dark brown/black hair that was as wavy as the ocean, with a little party action in the back for good measure.  The only thing missing was the Aqua Net.

Anyone who didn't know about this phenom was quick to find out.  Jagr was a key element in the Penguins winning back to back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.  His talent was virtually unmatched on the ice and his playmaking abilities were only shadowed by the fact that he always played on the same team with Super Mario.  In fact, the comparisons between the two are so great that if you scramble Jaromir's first name, you get Mario Jr.  Freaky, isn't it?  Denying his offensive talent is impossible considering there were only three Art Ross winners from 1981-2001...Wayne Gretzky (10-only because he had no equal until 1986), Mario Lemieux (6-only because of lingering injuries and cancer cutting his career short), and Jaromir Jagr (5).

I'd like to know who the scout was that was quoted on the back of his 1990-91 Score rookie card.  He said "He is not real flashy; he doesn't attract you with his finesse as much as his overall performance in all areas of the game."  That is priceless.

After Ron Francis took off from Pittsburgh to be reunited with his original franchise in Carolina, Jagr took over the captaincy of the team.  For four straight seasons, he led the league in scoring and capped off an 11 year playoff run.  But in 2000, things went south.  His relationship with his teammates became strained when he fell into a scoring slump.  He lashed out at both players and coaches and publically criticized team officials, alienating himself in the process.  Despite efforts to appease Jagr, like bringing in a European friendly coaching staffs and picking up some of his fellow countrymen as teammates, he was desperately unhappy and it showed.  2001 was the year the Mario came out of retirement but even "getting the band back together" did little for his motivation.  Jagr began asking to be traded.

On July 11, Craig Patrick called Jagr at his home in the Czech Republic, letting him know he had been traded.  Prior to his departure, he was costing the Pens (already bankrupt for the second time) about $10 million per year, which many people felt was what kept the Pens from adding that key element to pushing them over the top.  The Rangers tried to broker a deal but fell short in the negotiations.  Washington, fresh off the "Jordan Experiment" were happy to take a shot at the man that single handedly killed their playoff runs each and every year.  Jagr became the highest paid player in NHL history with his $77 million dollar contract. 

Trading for arguably the best player in the world is going to surely cost you something.  If you are adamant about adding that kind of caliber talent, you have to be prepared to give up some draft picks, semi/all star talent, and some cash.  So what did the Pens get in return?  3 minor league players...Michal Sivek, Ross Lupaschuk, and Kris Beech!!  Not since the indians traded Manhattan had their been such an insult of a trade (at least in the mind of Pittsburgh fans).  But wait, you say!  These are some quality prospects, you say!  Well, let me break it down for you...

At that point in time, here is what we gave up:

Games Played - 806
Goals - 439
Assists - 640
Points - 1079
Hart Trophy in 1999 (4 other as a finalist)
5-time Art Ross Trophy
2-time Pearson Award (Player MVP)
6-time First Team All Star (1 Second Team)
All Rookie Team
Olympic Gold Medal Winner

And....drumroll please.....here is what we got in return:

Michal Sivek - Second round draft pick of the Caps in 1999.  Played 38 games for the Penguins in 2002-03, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists.  Returned to the Czech Republic in 2004.

Ross Lupaschuk - Second round draft pick of the Caps in 1999.  Played 3 games for the Pens in 2002-03 racking up two penalties and no points.

(Just the fact that he is touching the Cup makes me want to throw up.)

Kris Beech - The #7 draft pick in the 1999 Entry Draft.  Played in 95 games for the Pens over three years (technically 100 because he came back in 2007 and played 5 more).  Contributed a total of 27 points in both "runs" with Pittsburgh.  My favorite was his awesomely bad -25 in +/- rating.  He also played for the Predators, Capitals again, Blue Jackets, Canucks, and now resides in Sweden.

So let me sum this up.  A franchise player, one of the greatest of all time, leads the league consistently, is a proven winner, and has a cult-like fan following is worth on the open market in trade value...3 unproven draft picks from a few years ago that will ultimately amount to NOTHING!  What a deal!! 

That was the beginning of the downward spiral for the Pens.  They would live in obscurity and became the virtual joke of the NHL.  This time in Pens history is referred to by many as the "Dark Ages" because of the lack of talent and futility of competition that was brought to the team.  That is, of course, until a random bounce of a lottery ball in 2005 changed Penguins history forever.

Had A Bad Day #5

The 2003 NFL Playoffs - Titans vs. Steelers

Joe Nedney flops his way into Pittsburgh infamy

This game will forever be remembered as being won by the Academy Award winning dive heard round the world.  The win put the Titans into the AFC Championship game and sent the Steelers packing, despite their previous week heroics verses Cleveland that gave me chronic chest pains. 

The game itself was brutal.  It was easily comparable to any Steeler/Oiler battles back in the 70s and 80s.  Plaxico Burress busted his hip and left the game early.  Kendrell Bell was also knocked out of the game with an ankle injury.  I think it was the first play of the second half when Eddie George collided in a helmet-to-helmet smash with Casey Hampton.  He had a concussion and didn't come back.  Even Steve McNair had his thumb almost ripped off when it got caught in someone's helmet.  It was pretty disgusting looking and they only showed it once on TV.  There were numerous other players sidelined as well with injuries, lacerations, and other wounds. 

The game was so intense that I remember at one point, Jeff Fisher having to be pulled away from Tommy Maddox as they got into some argument over something.  But that's playoff football.  You get two teams to knock the crap out of each other and the team standing at the end wins, right?  RIGHT?  Not in the NO FUN LEAGUE they don't.

This was one of the prototypical ref's deciding a teams fate games.  The league officiating had been under the microscope all season and especially that last week.  In the previous Sunday's playoff game, the Giants lost to the 49ers in a controversial ending that the NFL admitted the officials botched the play. 

Let's lay out the scenario...regardless of what happened in regulation, overtime begins with Tennessee getting the ball first.  In typical "Air" McNair fashion, he is able to drive them down the field.  It also helps that Dewayne Washington can't tackle to save his life.  Nedney lines up for a field goal, which was ok by me since he missed the last one in regulation to put them in this position.  The kick is up from 31 yards...and...it's...Good!!  NO!  Wait, the Steelers called time out. 

So five minutes later, or what seemed like an eternity, they line it up again.  The kick is up...and...it's...NO GOOD!!! NO GOOD!!! NO...What the he....a penalty!!

The replay comes up and as (who else but...)Dewayne Washington goes into block the kick, he brushes by Nedney's leg.  Broadway Joe flops to the turf like a week old fawn that has just taken a hip full of buckshot.  The replay clearly shows his embellishment but the refs buy it hook, line, and sinker.  5 yard penalty on Washington and another re-kick.  This time, you know he isn't going to miss.  It goes right down the middle. 

The game ends with Titans screaming for joy and the stadium goes bananas.  Cowher immediately races toward Ron Blum, the referee, and proceeds to yell something at him before sprinting down the runway to the locker room.  Of course, the customary handshake with Coach Fisher never occurs so Cowher takes the heat for that for weeks to come, but what was it that he yelled at the refs?

Apparently, as you can later see on replay, the team attempts to call another time out before the kick is in the air.  Jason Gildon said he asked the umpire for the timeout and was told they didn't have any. Gildon said, "Then I pointed to the scoreboard and we had two left."  At the coin toss before overtime, Blum had announced that each team had three timeouts. That's a change from the regular season, when they only get two timeouts.  "It's another example of officials just not being at the top of their game," Gildon said. "It's the playoffs, there is a lot at stake. If anyone should be ready, then it should be them."



Regardless of whether they had a timeout, or if it was called before the snap, the kick stood.  Dewayne Washington became the goat because of his poor tackling, the fact he can't cover anyone (all year for that matter), and the "penalty" he drew on Nedney.  Cowher gets labeled as a poor sport because he leaves the field in a fit of chin-rage, and the Titans go on to be destroyed by the Raiders for a trip to the Super Bowl (in which the Raiders are eaten alive by the Buccaneers defense).

Joey Porter said after the game, "There is one thing that is going to stick in my mind and that's the ref took that.  Let it come down to us losing the game and not the ref losing the game for us."




In the post game press conference, Cowher took it a step further to make his point that games shouldn't be allowed to end like this.  "For a game to be decided on that call is ludicrous.  A game can't be decided because a kicker takes two steps and we have someone slide into him. We had some chances to win but we had some taken away from us, too."

The worst part wasn't the fact that they lost.  It was the fact that the refs took the game away.  Even Nedney said himself after the game was over that he was hit but after his career in the NFL he was going to become an actor.  I would much rather be blown out then to lose a heart-breaker that comes down to poor officiating. 

Had A Bad Day #4

4. 2007-08 Stanley Cup Finals Game 6 - The Wings beat the Pens 3-2

This one still stings because it happened so recently. Winning the Cup the following year in an epic rematch was sweet justice but the Pens had a team that was built to win at that moment. They were the obvious underdogs against the favored Wings team and the fact that it even got to 6 games was a miracle. The Pens nearly tied it in the closing seconds but fell short in the end. I can go on and on about this game but it was so recent that most hockey fans, and non-hockey fans for that matter, remember this one all too well. 

So rather than ramble on for five screens about my pain and anguish over this one, I will just leave it at that.  I now have a deep seeded hatred for the Red Wings and anything else coming out of Detroit.  Until then, I really was indifferent toward the Motor City.  In fact, I kind of felt bad for the city having to endure the hardships of the auto industry decline and the fact that three of their four major sports teams were pathetically awful.  Now, I hate them all.  The Lions, Pistons, and Tigers all will suffer my dislike and general disdain because they are guilty by association. 

Like I said, redemption was sweet a year later.  We will see we get a chance at a tie breaker this year.

Okay so I was being lazy on this one and kind of phoned it in, so to speak, but I promise I will do better next time.

Had A Bad Day #3

3. 1992-93 Patrick Division Finals Game 7 - Islanders shock the Pens in OT - What does 56 wins, 119 points, the President's Trophy, 4 players with 100 points, 5 players with 30 goals, and a 17 game winning streak (which by the way, has never been bested) get you?

NOTHING!!!

This was the year that Super Mario was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease and he missed a ton of games (24 to be exact). If he played all year at the pace he set, he would have easily broke The Great One's scoring records for both points and goals. Not that it mattered that much, but it was also the year they traded one of my all time favorite Pens, Bob Errey to the Sabres for Mike Ramsey (third from the left in the top row of the picture.  He had 6 assists in the playoffs, but contributed little else to the team beyond that).  I'm not bitter about it though.  He is back with the team now, as a color commentator and analyst.

The Pens easily handed the Devils a 4-1 loss in their best of 7 series to open the playoffs and things looked great for Pittsburgh's chance to 3-Peat. The Islanders were the 3 seed in the Patrick going into the playoffs and in round one they took it to Washington, winning the series 4 games to 1.  The pending matchup looked to be a good one for the Pens against the Isles.  The Penguins had the regular season record over NY 4-3.  But as we all know, this is the playoffs and regular season records mean nothing.  The stars apparently aligned in a backwards, out of sync test pattern, pigs took flight, Satan (the real one, not Miro) strapped on his skates and the Isles took this to 7 games.

The game was a hard fought, back and forth battle that saw the Pens, as usual, outshoot the Islanders 45-20.  I still remember watching Kevin Stevens collide full speed with Rich Pilon, only to fall face first in a heap on the ice.  I thought he was dead.  So did half his Pens teammates on the ice, including Mario who quickly motioned for the trainers to get out there.  There was blood everywhere.  He was taken to the hospital right after that with a broken face.



Down 3-2, the Penguins pulled Tom Barrasso with about 1:00 left in the 3rd period.  In a frantic press in the Islanders zone, Larry Murphy stretched out to save the puck from going out of the zone.  He shot it toward the net and the mass of humanity in front.  It went through Rick Tocchet and was deflected off of Ron Francis' stick and went into the net behind Glen Healey.  3-3 with almost no time left on the clock.  These were the Cardiac Pens I had come to know and love.

But it all quickly came to an end.  With 5 minutes ticked off the clock in OT, David Volek took a shot from the corner and became the unlikely hero, stunning arguably one of the greatest teams in hockey history to not win a cup.  I think this was actually the last time the Isles won a playoff series that I can remember. Forgive me if I'm wrong.  Or don't.  This also ruined the "dream" matchup in the finals of Lemieux vs. Gretzky.  The Pens would have knocked of the Kings for sure but we will never know.  Montreal beat L.A. instead and won their 23rd Stanley Cup.

Mario Lemieux went on to win the Art Ross (Points Leader), Bill Masterson (Sportsmanship), Lester Pearson (NHLPA Outstanding Player), and the Hart (League MVP) trophies that year.  He also won the Sportsman of the Year Award at the ESPY's but I don't think anyone cares about those.  He would never hoist the cup again as a player which is why it made it that much sweeter when he was able to hold the cup (and have it at the bottom of his pool [rumor and innuendo, not really]) again in 2009 as an owner.

Had A Bad Day #2

With baseball season kicking off, I thought I would take a moment and reflect on day #2 in my look at the worst days of being a Pittsburgh sports fan.  This was the day that started my downward decline of interest in the majesty of our National Pasttime.

2. 1992 NLCS Game 7 - Sid Bream beats his old team - Sid Bream should have still been a Pirate at that point.  But in typical Pittsburgh fashion, they don't pay players to play ball here.  If they did, this game would have had a different outcome.  Or at least in my mind it would have.

Doug Drabek had pitched an almost flawless game through 8 innings, not surrendering a single run and getting out of his bases loaded jam up during the sixth.  Drabek was an animal that day and I hadn't seen him pitch like that, well, ever in my life to that point.  The Bucs took a 2-0 lead into the ninth and were inching closer to a World Series birth.  That's when the wheels fell off.

Jim Leyland, who must have been high on Jim Beam and cigarettes at the time, decided to let Doug finish it out, despite the obvious fatigue setting in.  Terry Pendleton led off with a double.  Jose Lind decides to play the ball off his foot instead of his glove, sending David Justice to first (who I don't think was quite married to Halle Berry, yet).  Drabek then walked Sid Bream.  I always liked Sid Bream.  He was always very accomadating and humbled by the fan attention before and after games and was always obliging when it came to autographs.  He always signed bible verses to his signature too.  Turns out...he was the DEVIL.

Finally Stan Belinda came in for relief.  Here we go!!  Close these guys out.  Ron Gant blasts one almost out but is instead caught at the warning track.  Pendleton scores.  2-1.  Belinda then walks Damon Berryhill on at least two if not three questionable ball/strike calls and the bases are loaded again.  Brian Hunter pops out and I am ready to jump out of my skin.  Francisco Cabrera, the last guy on the Atlanta bench, and pinch hitter was due up.  He had only had 10 at bats all season.  This one was over....CRACK!!

A single to left field!!  What?  Justice came trodding across the plate and the pokey Bream decided to head for home.  Bonds launched the ball from left and I was sure that Spanky would have caught that ball and had plenty of time to establish position and tag Sid out.  The ball was about a foot too far toward first and as LaValliere turned to swipe at the slide, Bream was called safe at home.  There was definitely crying in baseball for me that day. 

(Bream slides past the tag of Mike Lavalliere (from Getty Images; Sports Illustrated Pictures Collection))

The last play of the game single handily changed the course of baseball history in Pittsburgh.  Oh, and not for the better, in case you were wondering.  Bonilla left, John Smiley left, and Bill Landrum was let go at the end of the season.  After 1993, Drabek and Bonds weren't resigned.  Van Slyke left...the list goes on and on.  For the sake of my fingers, that's enough detail of the epic dismantling of the team that began after that fateful game.  They haven't had a winning season since.  17 consecutive years of losing.  Go Bucs!!

Had A Bad Day #1

With the Pirates season getting ready to kick off, the dismal season the Steelers had last year, and the Penguins season winding down (hopefully not with a thud), I am reminded of many disappointing periods over the last few decades.

Being a Pittsburgh sports fan has not always been the thing to swoon over the last 20 years, despite the 3 Stanley Cups and 2 Lombardi Trophies.  There have been many heartaches and heart breaks through the years and I think these posts will epitomize that fact.  Why focus on the negative?  It keeps me grounded for when my teams fail to accomplish a goal and it makes the victories that much sweeter. 

With that being said, I want to kick this off with what I think is probably my personal worst fan day.

1. Super Bowl XXX - Steelers lose to the Cowboys - When the best part of the game was Rod Woodson taunting Michael Irvin by pointing to his surgically reconstructed blown ACL, you know it's not going to be a very good day.  Woodson played well.  Not his best game of his career, but better than most of the guys on the rest of the team.  Irvin would have the last laugh in the end, though.

This was Neil O'Donnell's final game as a Steeler.  You have to understand how hard it is to even type his name without breaking the keyboard.  It wasn't until after the 2006 Super Bowl that I could actually say his name out loud without going into a fit of rage.  I spent the previous years cursing his name and denying the fact he was even a member of the team.  I even went as far as cutting all of his cards into four sections.  Not tearing, because that would be too quick and painless, but cutting.  The four sections were then destroyed in four different calculated destruction ceremonies.  One pile was burned.  One pile was thrown in the trash.  One pile was buried in the little strip of grass we had on the side of our dorm building.  The final pile was released out the window of a moving vehicle while traveling at a high speed down Interstate 74.  This assured that none of the pieces would somehow find their ways back to each other and reform into some kind of Franken-card and continue to taunt me with their wickedness. 

I still hold a grudge against is cheatin' ass. Yeah, that's right.  Cheater, cheater, punkin eater.  Sour grapes, jealousy, hatred, call it what you want.  I will go to my grave believing Jerry Jones somehow paid him off.  How do you think it looks when you take a team to the Super Bowl, blow the game with completely unforced throws to phantom receivers that are easily picked off, only to follow it up the next day by jumping to another team for the highest paid QB contract in the league?  He had to get out.  People would have found out the truth had he stayed. 

PAID OFF! 

I'm not taking anything away from the play of Cowboys in this game.  They obviously wanted it more and played like they did.  It just hurts a little or a lot.  The two Lombardi's since then has somewhat eased the pain.

That was actually a little theraputic.  I can't wait to get day #2 off my chest.