412 Sports Talk

I recently had the pleasure of having Taylor Haase from dkpittsburghpsorts.com on my podcast. We talked a lot about what the Pittsburgh Penguins will do and should do this offseason. Taylor, along with other people that cover the Penguins are pretty sure Pens' defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph is ready for a full-time spot on the big club. Joseph, a former first-round pick, was the key part in the trade that sent Phil Kessel to Siberia, I mean Arizona.  Joseph is a key part of the Penguins going forward mostly because there is no other NHL-level defenseman in the pipeline. The cupboard is bare, especially after the Penguins sent Calen Addison to the Minnesota Wild to acquire Jason Zucker. Not to mention, the Penguins have made one first-round selection in the last five seasons, and that was used on a forward. This is the cost of trying to compete for championships every season I suppose.  Joseph appeared in 16 games for the Penguins and made an impact right away, tallying a poi...

The NHL has a new team, the Seattle Kraken, and because of that, we are blessed with another NHL entry draft. I got to admit, these drafts are pretty cool. They are a real-life version of a fantasy draft for a new team, with real-life and salary implications. As you may know, the Pittsburgh Penguins have will have to leave certain players unprotected, seven forwards, 3 defensmen, and a goalie to be exact. If you're unaware, the Penguins have to protect Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Evgeni Malkin, because of their no-movement clauses. That leaves five forwards left and I have to be honest, I'm a little taken back by the suggestions I've seen by both fans and local media regarding these lists.  Let's start with coming up with the rationale of why you would and wouldn't want to protect certain players. The number one thing is salary and value. Take for example Jake Guentzel, the Penguins' best and most productive winger. I've seen some calls, albeit wrong cal...

Jack Johnson is no longer a Pittsburgh Penguin. Mission accomplished, pop the champagne. No really, Johnson no longer being a Penguin automatically makes this team better. If you're reading this you probably are already aware of how much of a black hole he was to this team. Ok so the Penguins, who lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the play-in-round of the 2020 Covid Stanley Cup Playoffs are "better".  How much better, I'm really not sure. Let's start with addition via subtraction. We already know Johnson is gone but so his "almost as bad" defensive partner Justin Schultz. Schultz was good in 2016 and 2017 in the back-to-back Stanley Cup runs, but recently he turned back into a pumpkin. Schultz is a replacement-level defenseman who provided less offense than his skills and payrate would suggest, while being a defensive landmine. Everytime the Penguins trotted out Schultz and Johnson as a defensive tandem I started getting PTSD flashbacks.  The Penguins re...

  Pittsburgh Penguins' general manager Jim Rutherford has taken quite a beating this off-season when it comes to criticism of his transactions, and deservedly   so. Rutherford's signing of Johnson, giving away assets like he's Michael Jackson, and constantly moving guys in and out of Pittsburgh even led to some of the players on the team criticizing him anonymously. And while I agree that Rutherford is at the forefront when it comes to blame, he's far from alone. The players have a share, since they are the ones actually playing, but also we need to look at Penguins' head coach Mike Sullivan as well.  Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston as head coach about 1/3 through the 2015-2016 season and instantly turned things around. Not only did the Pens have the best record in the league from the date Sullivan was hired until the end of the season, they steamrolled their way to a Stanley Cup, then won it all again in 2017, while using two goalies, and playing without their numb...

Pittsburgh Penguins' General Manager Jim Rutherford has won three Stanley Cups in his career as a GM, two of them coming as Penguins' GM, and no one can ever take that away from him. That said we live in a world where it's about "What have you done for me lately?" and lately, Rutherford has failed the Penguins as GM. Not to be hyperbolic, but if you graded every move he's made after the back-to-back Stanley Cups, Rutherford would be sent to summer school. 

One drum that I have personally been beating for a while now is that goalies in the NHL and running backs in the NFL should be treated the same when it comes to utilization and salary. I am not a fan of drafting goalies or running backs early in their respected drafts, unless you feel you have a once in a lifetime type of player (Adrian Peterson for example). I also feel that you should get the most of your goalie and/or running back, thank them for their service, and allow another team to give them that big contract they have earned. 

 "Pride comes before the fall"- Proverbs 16:18  In the summer of 2018, coming off of a humbling defeat to their rival and eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals, the Pittsburgh Penguins were still looking to be in damn good shape. They had won back-to-back Stanley Cups the previous two seasons, and won their consecutive playoff series, only to finally run out of gas as the Capitals finally overcame the hump and dethroned them as champs. It happens, most people, including myself, weren't all that mad that the Pens did not win three consecutive cups. Let's be realistic here. 

I have wanted to write this blog for a while now. Ever since my son was born, honestly. I just wanted to do it right and make sure that I was in a position where I felt I was truly ready to speak on it. Today is finally that day and I'm ready to talk about my life as a father. Not just a father, a single father, with 50-50 custody, to the sweetest, loving, awesome little boy ever, Jameson Thomas Nolan. A few things I want to get out of the way before we proceed. I will not be bashing my son's mother in this post. I'm writing this to give a glimpse into the day and a life of what's it like for me as a single father with shared custody of my son. I am not special. This post is not to gloat or say "Look at how great of a dad I am" Ok. Let's go. Background: I grew up without my biological father. I never saw him, knew him, heard him, of him, didn't know his name or why he wasn't around. It was as if someone literally deleted the idea of a ...

As I begin to write this blog, I am quite sure that some people will say that another person should not be a reason for you changing for the good. I am sure that people will say that you should not need a reason for being a better person. I agree with that premise but that doesn't make it untrue. My son, Jameson Thomas Nolan, born April 23rd, 2018, not only changed my life, but he changed my entire outlook on life. He saved me. Growing up, I never knew my father. Let's take that a step further, not only did I not know my father, I never saw a picture of him nor was I even given a name. I was told different stories about what happened for me to be born and why he wasn't around. Some of those stories were not happy ones. Growing up, I became jaded and resentful for not having a father, and used it as a crutch to fuel my bad behavior and depression. So many nights I blamed god and asked him why I didn't have a father As a child I looked to my pap to be my father figu...

You can say that you've been sad before but you don't know how I feel. You can tell me to get over it, but this illness is still real. You can try to pick me up but it doesn't mean I won't still be down. You can say you see me laughing and playing but on the inside I still frown. I can tell you how I'm feeling but I can't make you feel my pain. I can appreciate you trying to help while still taking your gesture in vein. I can laugh and smile and seem normal while still loathing I exist. I can get through the day but that doesn't mean I still didn't want to quit. I hate that I can not make you feel and see what's going on in my mind. I hate that I seem mean and hateful; I wish I truly mean to be kind. I hate that the fact that I can't make this madness ever go away. I hate that the fact that I feel like I'll never believe that you will always stay. Your words and gestured don't go unnoticed just to let you know. I needed to...

Why did I say that? What was I thinking? Have you ever said something to someone that you didn't mean? If you're a human being you've probably asked yourself these questions before. If you suffer from depression you might ask yourself these questions every single day. I know I do. Regrets are something must humans have, but when you suffer from depression, they are quantified and can eat you alive. Especially if you burn a bridge with someone that you once or still care about. That happened to me recently and this probably won't be the last time. I recently wrote about what it's like to date someone with a mental illness. I myself was seeing someone recently that inspired said blog post. I consider myself a very loyal, very guarded person, traits that are inspired by my depression. I've been hurt a lot, so those that have stayed loyal to me, I consider people that I would do anything for until the end of my life. However, when someone breaches that loyalty, m...

I suffer from depression. For those that have been following me or know me personally, this isn't breaking news. No, I'm not in a funk and no I'm not lazy or looking for pity. I didn't ask for this, I was born with a chemical imbalance in my brain that causes me to be sad, scared, and angry for no reason. It also causes me to make compulsive decisions, be overly-affectionate, and sometimes angry to the point that I scare people. It fucking sucks.  Despite the fact that I suffer from not one, but two mental illnesses, anxiety being the other, I can sometimes manage to get girlfriends or even get laid. Sometimes I even manage to date really amazing and beautiful women that makes me question life and how it works altogether. When it comes to dating someone with depression, or high-anxiety disorder, or even bipolar disorder, there are some things you need to realize.  The first thing is, they can't help the way they are. I'm not saying that you should give them ...

Every single day you relive your own nightmare. It's always a different story with the same ending. People you  thought you cared about or cared about me, turn their backs on me. Problems with money or my job. And the thought of impending doom. After a while, you're no longer living. You're on autopilot. You wake up every day. You're still living, medically speaking. You might still interact with people. But you're not you. You haven't been since you can remember if you even can. I know I can't. Colors are dull. Food tastes bland.  Movies no longer hold your interest. You wonder why you're still going.  Then a diamond in the ruff appears. Someone from the opposite sex that knows how you feel, shares your pain, shares your dark world, and looks absolutely fucking amazing. They are your crazy diamond. Do you put yourself out there? Is it worth it? What's the point? They're probably too good to be true. You already know how it's going to end....

My eyes are open. My heart is racing. Here I am yet again, I feel like I’m fucking drowning. The walls feel like they’re closing in on me. Everyone sees my flaws. I feel so naked. My nightmares are there in broad daylight. They mock me. I hear their whispers; I can feel them over my shoulder.The brand new day is finally here, the day that I convinced myself was going to be better than yesterday, just last night. It never ends, it will never end. I know that. There are moments of actual light, I try to cherish those. I try to think of those good times, no matter how sporadic and meaningless they were. Sometimes you even give those up to the darkness, it consumes everything. My brain is made of thunderstorms. It feels like something is digging around in my mind, playing with it, playing with me for its own amusement. I’m cursed…. Or crazy. Or both. My mind wonders off its leash. I feel like my mind knows when I’m talking about it. I’ve often felt separated from my body. I look ...

RIP Pap  As you open your eyes and the day begins, you lay in bed, worrying about what is going to go wrong today. You lay there, feeling hopeless, feeling unloved and un-valued, wishing that you had never wakened to begin with. As you begin to start your day, depending on what kind of unwarranted mood you are in, anxiety is soon to set in, whether it be making your mind race with overwhelming negative thoughts, or going into a state of anxiousness thinking about things that you want to happen, but have absolutely no control over. On top of that you will probably have a low self-esteem, and a low capacity for pleasure in everyday life This is just the beginning of the day in the life of living with depression and anxiety, at least for me, realizing that others suffer from different symptoms as well.  While fighting through a total lack of will and motivation to succeed that day, you finally get yourself going to where you need to be. You go to work, or school, or run...