Mike Prisuta’s Sports Section
A weekly look at the games people are playing and the people who are playing them.
Pittsburgh Pirates Looking for Relief from Their Bullpen
The just-completed, pivotal 10-game stretch began and ended the same way for the Pittsburgh Pirates –– with no one having an answer for the faltering bullpen.
History Can Wait Until Penguins Are Done Making It
The desire for more a year ago helped fuel the Penguins’ quest to repeat this season. Should their thirst for yet another Cup prove as unquenchable next season, there’s no limit to what they might yet achieve. Even a Three-peat.
Pittsburgh's Belief Might Be What Ultimately Outlasts Nashville
What separates these two championship-caliber teams? Just ask Mike Sullivan.
Penguins Good at Exploiting Predators' Few Mistakes
The Predators have taken to forcing things that aren’t there. Not often, but often enough to give the Penguins a sliver of room to exploit.
Frightened about Game 7? You Should Be
A win will send the Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals for a second year in a row and re-write team history.
Time Running Out for Penguins to Respond to Senators
The Penguins suddenly have a lot to sort out as they attempt to respond to another disappointing playoff loss.
Pens' Game 7 Resurrection More a Reminder Than a Surprise
The Penguins are at their best when the stakes are high, which is what allows them to keep their heads when many around them are seemingly losing theirs.
Capitals' Skill is No Match for Penguins' Will
Patric Hornqvist's play in Game 4 is the perfect personification of what the Penguins had clearly dedicated themselves to becoming in the wake of losing Sidney Crosby.
‘Use Him Like ‘Troy Polamalu’ – Steelers Should Jump on This Pick
If Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers is still available, the Pittsburgh Steelers would be wise to make him their first-round pick in the NFL draft.
A Life Well Lived: Dan Rooney's Humility and Humanity
Delivering the Homily at Rooney's funeral, Cardinal Donald Wuerl acknowledged a longstanding Rooney philosophical belief: “You can get anything done if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
The Unknown Should be Embraced in the Chase for the Cup
At some point, maybe a couple of times, the Pens are going to have to benefit from something that few if anyone anticipated, from something it would have been impossible for Mike Sullivan and his coaches to script.
Pens Send Blue Jackets a Message That Resonates
The Penguins’ ability Tuesday night to score gritty goals against the Blue Jackets is a development that will have an impact in both locker rooms.
Penguins Uncertain About More Than Just Their Goalie
The Penguins’ inability to simplify their game of late has complicated things considerably.
Steelers’ Philosophy Back on Display After Hightower Flirtation
Even as they entertained Dont’a Hightower for nearly seven hours during a free-agent recruiting trip to the South Side, the Steelers never lost sight of who they are or what they’re all about.
Madness That Captivates On The Way to One Shining Moment
The NCAA Men's Basketball tournament is a happening that captures the imagination of the hard-core and the casual fan, seemingly from coast to coast, no matter who’s making a run and who’s inexplicably gone bust.
Bucs’ Sorting-Out Process Will Extend Well Beyond Bradenton
Many unresolved issues surround the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, and they won’t be sorted out by the time the team heads north in a few weeks. However, the Bucs have the potential to make it an interesting summer.
Pens Didn’t Get ‘The’ Defenseman, But They Got What They Needed
Assuming everyone’s healthy again by mid-April, the Penguins will be eight deep along the blueline heading into the this season’s playoffs.
Dave Hanson and the Enduring Legacy of Slap Shot
The Hanson Brothers and other stars of the classic hockey film will return to Johnstown this weekend for a 40th anniversary celebration.
Love Affair Between Pittsburgh & Keisel is a Two-Way Street
Where else but Pittsburgh would a football player, two years removed from his playing days, be able to raise about $85,000 in one night for the staging of an event that involves the gathering of a crowd to watch a man shave?
Hard Sell by Bucs Implies Complications with McCutchen
Moving Andrew McCutchen to right field should’ve been a routine matter; the way the Pirates handled it suggests it may have been anything but.
Penguins Must Recapture a Defense-Wins-Championships Mentality
At the All-Star break, the Pens appear to be one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the league. But something is missing that will need to be found if the team is to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.
Steelers 2016: More Than an Also-Ran, Less Than a Champion
The Steelers didn't reach the promised land this season, but to an expert observer of the game, this team is much more than a Super Bowl wannabe.
Tomlin Needs to Be Tomlin Against Brady, Belichick
The Steelers are going to have to attack the game to survive it, to grab it by the throat and choke it to the desired conclusion.
You Can Hope, but Don't Expect an Easy Steelers' Win in KC
Pittsburgh blasted Miami because the Steelers performed as expected against an opponent that was depleted by injury and overwhelmed by its circumstances. But that isn’t likely to happen again.
The Bell Finally Tolls for Tomlin and the Steelers
With the playoffs looming, Le’Veon Bell could change the narrative of the past few seasons.
Steelers' Arthur Moats Loves Being Superhero Off of The Field
Moats is the Steelers’ nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which annually recognizes community service.
Is Mike Tomlin an Under-Appreciated Winner? You Bet He Is
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has been winning since he got here, and he’s winning still. But unless he winds up winning Super Bowl LI, Tomlin will continue to have his detractors.
Pittsburgh The Heart of the NFL? Yinz Got that Right
At the NFL Scouting Combine, at the NFL Draft and wherever NFL games are played, there’s often something of a Western Pennsylvania reunion taking place.
Big Ten-Champion Nittany Lions More Worthy Than Buckeyes
For some reason Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in the latest playoff rankings and Penn State is No. 7. That has to change if Penn State beats Wisconsin on Saturday night.
A Kiss to Remember and Validation For a Program at Pitt
Pat Narduzzi can't explain why he kissed his kicker in the seconds after he missed an extra point in the second quarter of Pitt's showdown with Clemson. But after Pitt's upset victory, no one is complaining.
Steelers Want You to Believe, But Do They?
Their regular season is half over and among the questions yet to be answered is who are these guys?
Epic Series Reminds Us Why We Love The Game
The ebb and flow was almost too much to take, especially when Game 7 went to extra innings but first had to endure a rain delay.
Steelers’ Lack of Progress Ominous Entering Bye
The performance of the defense recently inspired blunt criticism from one of its own players while the offense, too, has been too inconsistent.
Pats' Impending Arrival Fortifies Hatred That Won't Fade
With the twist of a knee, anticipation has turned to dread for Sunday's showdown at Heinz Field.
Crosby Concussion Shouldn’t Blindside Penguins
Sidney Crosby’s latest situation, while worthy of concern given his history with concussions and his stature in the organization and in the game, is merely a continuation of what the Penguins became quite accustomed to overcoming a season ago.
‘Steeler for Life’ Has a Nice Ring To It For Greene
Kevin Greene may have played 20 percent of his career as a Pittsburgh Steeler –– but he retired 100 percent black and gold.
About This Blog
Mike Prisuta is a veteran of Pittsburgh sports reporting since 1985.
Mike can be heard Monday through Friday talking sports with Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show.
His favorite sport is whatever’s in season.
Follow him on Twitter @DVEMike
