December 2, 2025 • 37 mins
Tom talks Pens, Steelers, takes your calls. Then Pierre McGuire joins the program to discuss the state of the Penguins after their victory in Philadelphia.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Penguin's needing points badly as they are in the thick
of just a really tightly compacted playoff race. Not only
got two points in Philadelphia last night, but they kicked
some Flyer ass in the process. And here's some takeaways
that I have from the game last night. Sids nak
for killing the Flyers, especially in Philadelphia, is just incredible
(00:22):
to see. I mean, since year one when they knocked
his teeth out, he has just owned that city. As
Marcus said frequently, he is one of us truly gets
off a little bit, I think, to shoving it up
the Flyers backside.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
And he did it once again last night.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Scoring two goals is fifty eighth and his fifty ninth
of his career against Philadelphia. He's got the most goals
against Philadelphia than any individual player. He's got more points
than any individual player against Philadelphia. He is truly the
Flyer's daddy. And it never gets old, does it. It
never gets old? And I Philadelphia, I gotta be honest
with you, I don't think it's ending anytime soon. I mean,
I think he's going to be dropping down on that
(00:58):
one need scoring goals on until he's forty four to
forty five years old. Tristan Jari. He's making a real
strong push to be the starting goaltender. Not you know,
full time like he's Schusterkin Vasilevsky type of starting goaltender,
but definitely a one A emphasis on the A. She
Lovs have also been struck, has also been struggling lately.
(01:22):
I give Jari the net the rest of the week.
I put him back out there Thursday against Tampa Bay.
I put him in there Sunday against Dallas as long
as it doesn't go catastrophically wrong Thursday in Tampa. But
you got some nice cushion there between games, a couple
days off in between him. It's not like you're gonna
overwork him. You got two Cup contender opponents. Tampa Bay's
(01:45):
the hottest team in the NHL right now, seven straight wins.
They played a night in New York against the Islanders.
Dallas second most points in the NHL with thirty eight,
behind just Colorado, who's crazy. Only lost one regulation game
so far this year. But you got, you know, a
step up greatly in competition. Here a number one team
in the East and Tampa number two team in the West.
(02:07):
In Dallas see how Jarry responds. And you can also
let she Lovs get a nice little reset because even
if you start leaning more towards Jari getting the net
and you start, you know, getting away from that rotation,
that strict rotation, you're gonna need. She loves and She
Loves has been very good this year. Two bad starts,
I don't think undoes all the good he's done earlier
(02:28):
this season. I love a good kid line. They played
with energy, as you'd expect. They didn't score, but that's
definitely gonna come. Kindall is such a force already, so
impressive to see an eighteen year old kid just take
the league, take being a professional athlete. In stride, Mark
joined us earlier in the show noted that Kendall's parents
(02:50):
were professional athletes. That's got to help in this when
it comes to, you know, not being overwhelmed by anything.
He is so far ahead of schedule than any eighteen
year old, and it's a lot of the reason why
the Penguins look like they're ahead of schedule right now
when it comes to their rebuild.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
A lot of that is credit due to Ben Kendall.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
A Rutger McGroarty looked like he wants to be a
Penguin for good now and I think he will be
completely belonged in the NHL Coividen was flying but he's
got a score. I mean, there's no excuses there. But
I think he will playing with Kendall and McGroarty. I
hope that kid line continues to be a thing moving forward.
Eric Carlson is playing his best hockey as a Penguin now.
(03:32):
Maybe that motivation is coming from him wanting to be
on Sweden at the Olympics. In fact, I'm almost positive
that a lot of the motivation is coming from him
wanting to be on Sweden at the Olympics. But I
don't care because the Penguins are reaping all of the
benefits for that. Sure, he's ticked off that he wasn't
preliminary named, preliminarily named to the Olympic team for Sweden,
but that's good because it ticked off. Eric Carlson is
(03:54):
playing his best hockey as a Penguin. This is the
Eric Carlson that Kyle Dubis thought he was getting when
he traded for him a few years back to assist
last night, finally starting to see the guy who won
all those Norris trophies and it's been huge for the Penguins.
When these forwards come back, Justin Brezo and Ricard Raquel,
(04:16):
when the team gets healthy, look out for them.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
They will have depth.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
They will have an elite number one line with Raquel,
Crosby and Rust And if goal tending can hold up,
it sure looks like a playoff team. And then you
look around the East and there really isn't that many
teams that are impressing you. Sure the Lightning are hot,
but we'll get a nice little litmus test of where
the Penguins stack up against the Lightning coming up on Thursday.
(04:42):
I'd also keep Boco Imama up as that last player
on the fourth line. Borky said yesterday on the show
that the team puffs the chest out.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
A little bit more when he's in the lineup.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Mark said earlier today, it doesn't matter who the wings
are on the fourth line. If that wing brings you
just that little extra edge to put the team over
the top, does that one thing good, then he deserves
to get a spot in the lineup every night. Eric
Christensen's a great example. Mark often brings up. All he
could do was shootouts. He was great in shootouts. You
put him on the fourth line, he wins you four
(05:16):
or five shootouts throughout the season. Those are valuable points.
So I'd keep Boco in the lineup. I'd keep him
on that fourth line. Pen's play with that edge. Penn's
play with a little bit more freedom, I think when
he is there, and he's not terrible, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
What I mean.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
He's not just like you know, some guy out there
that looks like Doug Glatt can barely skate and all
he does is punch people in the face. No, Boco's
got some skill. He can play hockey as well as
being a nice physical presence on the ice. After going
three for four yesterday, the Penguin's power play is back
(05:52):
to the top of the league at thirty three point
three percent. But perhaps even more impressive in the game
yesterday and maybe even on the season, is the Penguins'
penalty kill. They killed off six of seven Flyers power
plays yesterday and they have the fourth best PK in
the NHL. You can't solely rely on special teams, but
(06:13):
that's a formula that's gonna lead to you making the playoffs.
If you're top five in both power play and penalty kill. Again,
you can't solely rely on it, but you can rely
on it to win you quite a few games, just
like they did last night. And speaking of making the playoffs,
I think they are going to do it. This was
a big past week for the Penguins leading into and
(06:35):
coming out of Thanksgiving, and they got six out of
eight points.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
That's a job well done.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
And they didn't even play that great in most of
the games, like they took the first two periods off
in Columbus, came storming back one in overtime. But for them,
you know they're going to be right on the edge
going into the last week of the season. It's going
to be either slightly in or slightly out of the
playoff pickch playoff picture.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
But what's giving you hope.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
That maybe after eighty two is all said and done,
eighty two games, they'll be on the right side of
the cut line is the fact that, hey, they had
a big week in front of them here. That in
or out of the playoffs by Thanksgiving thing is a
real thing. It's like seventy four whatever percent of the time,
if you're in at Thanksgiving, you're in. Well, they were
(07:24):
out going into that game, against the Sabers on Wednesday,
and like I said, they've picked up six of eight
points since then, so I think they'll make the playoffs.
I think they'll end on the right side of that
cut line. And if they do not, then this season
will be just a bigger disaster than you could ever
really describe. Nothing could go worse than this team finishing
(07:47):
in ninth place, finishing directly into that mushy middle.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
I'm already kind of rolling out.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Them collapsing and getting into the lottery with some favorable
odds to get a top five pick. So you better
make the playoffs, and they're on a good path right
now to do so, and beating the Flyers last night
was a big, big deal. They are direct competition when
it comes to wild card, when it comes to top
three in the metro. When I come back, I got
(08:14):
a college football take that I want to get off
my chest to Mark's not here so I can finally
let it ride.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I'm Tom Offraman an Infomark.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
It's one of five ninety x Tom Offerman an Infra
mark Man Today, Mark does not like college football. I
love college football, but boy, they make it so hard
to love it lately, doesn't it that sport. It really
is just so gross, and the way they try to
figure out this playoff, I think is just so misguided.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
We'll get into that in just a second.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
It is also three p fifteen though, that means it's
time for calls on the fifteen.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
James in Sarasota. What's up, James?
Speaker 4 (08:49):
How are you doing? Good to be on.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
It's good to have you on, James. What I want
to trust?
Speaker 4 (08:55):
I want to discuss and I think this is a
very big point and it's just coming to notice lately
in the Steeler nation people were starting to see this
tight end situation.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I'm not sure where Arthur.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Smith has this, this fantasy that John hu Smith is adequate.
It's the tight end position number one. He can't block,
he gets the most plays. He obviously it came to
light he's not coming to the meetings. So he missed.
He missed the touchdown path because at twenty three fifteen,
(09:31):
we have a real game on our hands, maybe a
little bit a shot of adrenaline for the Steelers. And
Aaron called him out on not going to the I
know Arthur Smith and this guy have a past in
Atlanta or somewhere but Pat fire Moose is their big
tight end, probably the best hands on the team. Why
(09:51):
is John hu Smith getting more reps in more game
time than Pat fired Moose and Washington. I'm gonna listen
to you.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I don't have an answer for you, James, but I agree
with you, especially when it comes to the Firemouth part
of things. I think it's clear that he is the
best tight end that the Steelers have, and he only
ran nine routes in the passing game against the Bills.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
That's just inexcusable.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
You paid this guy so much money too, so you
obviously like him, You obviously see something and him you
give him a second contract. Pat Firemouth's usage, to me,
is one of the more egregious things that's happening on
this offense. And you're right, John neu Smith gets a
lot of snaps. But I also think they're just so
enamored with this Darnel Washington thing.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
And I think it's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Don't get me wrong. I think he is a nicer
wrinkle to this offense. But he's never James gonna be
the type of tight end that goes like eight catches
one hundred and twenty yards in a touchdown.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Pat Farremouth is that type of.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
Doun no, And I am a painy bit of a
Tomlin Apologif I know everyone wants his head on the wall,
I seem to give him a little bit of empathy.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
And I look at the.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Player's gotta play, the player gotta play and the fact
that the one real big problem that I have with
the coaching is the tight end situation. I think that
that is like at least lost them a couple games
this year. I mean, Pat Farmus, it could be one
of the best tight ends in the league if they
use them.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
He's got great hands.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Did you see him catch against Cincinnati?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yeah, I wouldn't go that far, James.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
I don't know if he would be one of the
best tight ends in the league, but he's definitely better
than what they're getting out of him, and I think
he can provide a lot more to this offense if
he was used correctly. College Football Playoff this is a
huge week when it comes to shaping the bracket. I
think the penultimate bracket comes out tonight. Got the college
conference championship games this weekend, and then you'll get your
(11:44):
College Football Playoff bracket and the big debate this.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Year is Miami Notre Dame.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Miami fans are so mad at Notre Dame being in
over them, despite Miami beating Notre Dame, them both being
ten and two and them both having similar resumes. And
I think Miami te me has misplaced their anger here
their political campaign, and don't get it twisted. That's all
this has become now is a sports politic thing where
(12:10):
we set the college football playoff based on who can
go out and stump harder for their team or for
their conference. But Miami's campaign, they've picked the wrong target.
You will never convince a room of suits that Notre
Dame at ten and two, whose only losses are to
two ranked teams, two teams one in the playoff in
(12:33):
A and M, and another playoff contender in Miami. You
will never convince them that that team is not going
to be in the playoff ever ever. And you probably
won't be able to convince them of what I'm about
to say either, but I certainly try. Ole miss or
Oklahoma should be the two teams that you look at
on the outside looking in all mis lost their coach,
(12:54):
and you know, whether it's fair or not, they should
be out of the playoff. In my opinion, I don't
want to see this bummy defensive coordinator coach ole Miss
in a playoff game.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Their defense stinks.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
The draw for ole Miss was the offense and Lane Kiffin. Now,
Lane's a scumbag for leaving like this, and I do
feel for the players, but I'm sorry, life's not fair.
Get him out of the playoff. I don't want to
see ole Miss in there. There was precedent when Florida
State lost Jordan Travis a couple of years ago. Yeah,
I get it, it's a different thing. He's the quarterback.
(13:26):
He got injured. But the committee said it was then
a four team playoff that we left Florida State out
because of the variables changing with their quarterback getting hurt. Well,
pretty big variable changed when it came to Old Miss.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Head coach is gone.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Their entire identity is based on him and his offense.
Get him out of the playoff, Miami and over Old
Miss and then I don't think there's a bigger fraud
in these playoffs than Oklahoma. They're gonna get in. I
think Ole Miss you have more of an argument against
because of the coach thing. But I will be betting
big against them round one, as long as they don't
(14:01):
draw like two Lane or Duke. But like if it's
Oklahoma Notre Dame, like the brackets have been shaping up,
no name's gonna blast them.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Oklahoma stinks And.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
What a joke is the What a joke the ACC
is by the way, I mean, they just embarrass itself
at every turn. Jim Phillips commissioner, He's incompetent. He doesn't
play the politics at all. He should be out every
single show saying that Miami would boat race Ole Miss
and Oklahoma if they played. If Well Miss and Oklahoma
combined teams, Miami would win by three touchdowns. That's what
(14:31):
he should be doing. Instead, he's watching Duke in Virginia
potentially nuke the entire conferences participation when it comes to
the college football playoff altogether.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That's just great work, Jim. The ACC is in good hands.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Honestly, you can convince me that Jim Phillips is a
double agent for the SEC, getting paid to sabotage the
ACC just to get eight to nine. Screw it, the
full twelve team playoff field as SEC teams. All right,
we come back, We'll get back into hockey talk. Pierre
McGuire gonna join us for the best hockey talk you
(15:06):
will here in town all week when he joins the
Mark Madden Show. That's next on one O five ninety X.
Tom up from an in for Mark Man today. Always
love filling in from Mark on Tuesdays because that means
I get to talk hockey with our next guest, Pierre McGuire.
He's brought to us by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Pierre. Always great to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Big win for the Penguins last night against a really
good Philadelphia team that they're fighting for a wildcard spot with,
and Sidney Crosby led the way as he so often
does against Philly.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Tom, it was so much fun to watch that game.
Number one because of what you just said with Sidney
Crosby with two goals are really like Brian Rus's game
and a goal and to assist. But to me, the
biggest thing about the Penguins, the power play has been
great all years, functioning at almost thirty four percent, was
three for four last night. When you can go on
the road and play against the Rick Pocket coach team
(15:58):
and have that kind of success on the power play
and That says a lot about your preparation and the anger.
I think Tom Moore than anything else that they had
have to be enthrobbed him on Saturday Night by Toronto.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, no doubt Special Teams told the story last night.
We'll get to that in a second. But with Sid,
why do you think he embraces being the villain so
much against Philadelphia? Because you can see he likes it
a little more when he goes into that barn and
puts up goals.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Mariyol was very much the same way, you know, and
I had the privilege of being around him. I did
most of Sid's games early in his career, and that's
when Peter Lovey had led early on in Sid's career,
in early on in Cloe Drew's career said, you know,
it's interesting that we had the very best player in
the world leading cloturew and on powerful pyraphreezing. But I
(16:45):
think that kind of stuck in Sidd's crawl a little bit.
And every time he went into the new building in
Philadelphia after the Spectrum got torn down, I mean, it
was just a different deal, and the fans were after him.
You know again, I gotta tell you I was there
up for a lot of it. Fans after him a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I thought Tristan Jarry was just fantastic and net last night. Pierre,
would you start him again in Tampa Bay on Thursday
and maybe start leaning more towards him, or would you
stick with that true rotation they've had gone with him
and she LOFs because you have.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Such a big break before the next game. They don't
play in Tampa till Thursday, right and I think they
had their team Christmas party to night, which is a
good thing, not a bad thing. I would say that
I go back to Tristan because then on Sunday and
again you got a big rest before you have to
go into Dallas, and then you've got three home games.
So I don't know. I don't think this is a
(17:37):
heavy work road for Tristan right now. You'd like to
see him get in a little bit of rhythm, Tom
and I think that'd be a good thing for him
and for the team.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
No, I completely agree with you, Pierre.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
I honestly would maybe just give him the rest of
the road trip, let him play Thursday in Tampa as
long as that goes well, give him Sunday against Dallas
and then maybe go back to she Lofts to start
that homestand and it's not just Jarry who's playing well
and deserving of it. Pierre, I think she lost could
use a little bit of a reset. He's had some struggles,
been pulled in two of his last starts.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, no, I agree with that. I mean, obviously the
whole team wasn't particularly good against Toronto, so that's one
of those really trying to say to the firm the
tape please. But no, I there's something to be said
for what you know, younger players in particular. It's not
like she lost as a total mea play. He's never
been in the league and I played a lot of
(18:29):
big games for Vancouver earlier when he was there and
before coming to Pittsburgh. But I do think there's something
to be value by what you said, Tom in terms of,
you know, guys sometimes need to push a reset button,
and I think in the case of Archers in particular,
this might be the best time to.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Do it now.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
As you mentioned, Pierre, last night in Philadelphia, the special
Teams was awesome for the Penguins. They were three for
four in the power play. They successfully killed six of
seven flyer power plays, and that's really been the story
for the Penguins all year long, hasn't it? The number
one power playing hockey, the number for penalty kill.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
That's coaching, that's players paying attention to detail. And it's
not that long ago when they're talking about the malais
of the Pittsburgh Penguin power play and how bad it
was into the previous coaching staff, And it wasn't bad
for like six months. It was bad for like three years.
And so you know, absolutely, I think this is tremendous.
And you got to give a lot of credit to Mike'stuthers,
(19:23):
who's a big part of the penalty killing. You've got
to give a lot of credit to Todd Nelson, who's
a big part of the power play. But one other
thing that I think is really important. When Dan Newston
was with the New York Rangers in particular, their penalty
kill was really good and they did a lot of
damage shorthanded. So I think Dan Deserre's some credit with
this as well. So it's total team effort in terms
(19:43):
of the coaching staff. But I think the players are
responding to the new message. Tom, I think you'd agree
with me most punling stoff. Before this season started, Pittsburgh
wasn't going to be a viable cannedy for a playoff position,
Didney Cross, You had a really good chance to be traded,
this said, a chance to be just a disaster. And
all three of those things are wrong right now, all
(20:05):
three of them. And that's great. I think that's so
fantastic for the city and for the organization and Pierre.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I think a big reason why all three of those
things are wrong right now, and I think a big
reason why the power play has had such success the
best in the league right now is due to Ben Kendall.
And I'm not leaping everything onto the eighteen year old
kids shoulders and saying you're the reason why solely, but
he has been such.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
A revelation for this team.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
He's become a force, you know, driving play five on five,
and boy, he's really been remarkable on the power play.
I mean, he looks like he's going to be an
elite power play player for his entire career at this
light in this league, Well said.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
They're not a lot of eleventh overall picks that come
into the league as an eighteen year old. They're able
to do what this young man's doing. Sydney's got to
be happy about it. Gino's got to be happy about it.
Ryan Rust got to be happy about it. And you
know the guy that's really starting to thrive besides Kindall
and the power plays Eric Carlson, that play that he
made last and transporting the part from his own zone
into the flyer zone and then moving it over to
(21:04):
Brian rescue eventually gets it over to Sid. That's the
old Eric Carlson that I'm used to seeing. And you
can see there's a whole lot of being bigger and
vitality in his game right now. And that's great to see.
That's so awesome to see.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
No, I was actually going to bring that up as well.
This seems like it's the best Eric Carlson the Penguins
have seen. This is the Eric Carlson that Kyle Dubas
was trading for a few years back.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
And why do you think that is?
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I'm not, you know, so naive to rule out that
he's motivated by being left off of that preliminary roster
for Team Sweden. Little motivation there, and hey, I'm okay
with that because the Penguins are reaping the benefits for it.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
That is such a good point. And I'll tell you
one thing that's really important. I saw you are a
good friend, Paul steiger Wall this morning. I saw her
Carlson in the World Junior. I saw her Carlson play
in the Olympic Games, and Eric Carlson in twenty four
team helped get Sweden to the gold medal game where
they got hammered by Canada to do nothing. But that
(22:05):
game wasn't even close. And one of the only players
from Sweden that you could say, man, this guy belonged
in this game was Eric Carlson. He was stupendous. He
played on the right side, he played on the left side.
I mean, he created so many chances. So that's the
Eric Carlson I'm used to seeing. I'm used to seeing
him with the Ottawa Senators making unbelievable plays against the
(22:25):
Boston Bruins or against the New York Rangers of the
Buffalo Sabers. And when I saw him go from San
Jose to Pittsburgh, I was like, this can't be the
same unit. It can't be. And all of a sudden,
he's got this pop to his step and he's back
to the player that I'm used to see him. So
you bring up the Olympics, that's gotta be near and dear.
It was hard and you think about it, the Swedes
(22:47):
and O six that was their really shining moment they
win the gold in Toronto. I did that game with
Doc Emerck and with John Davidson, and I would tell
you this right now, Sue, because of their death and
defense and in goal, they think they got a legitimate
chance and compete for the gold medal in Courtina. So
(23:08):
that'll that'll be a team that I'm sure they'll want
to be partner.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Pierre, call me crazy, but when Justin Brazil and Rick
card Raquel get healthy, this Penguin's lineup is really going
to start to take shape, and it's going to be
pretty deep, especially if the kid line that we saw
last night a McGroarty, Kindle and coyven and starts to
gain some traction and some consistency throughout the year. I mean,
this is a team that is really taking shape or
(23:32):
looking like a playoff team.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Uh No, you can't. Nobody can doubt their ability to play.
They just got to stay healthy. You talk about Raquel,
it'll be a huge addition. Brazil will obviously go back
on with MalCon and Manta. That line was shitting in
the NHL at the start of the year. And let's
not forget Nola chari Ye. Nola Cherry is a really
important player, is a death player. This is not taking
(23:55):
anything away from bocal Imana, who I thought did some
really nice things last night. Even though play a time,
he still get some nice things. Knowles has got a
little bit more savvy than Boco right now, but that
doesn't mean Alna can't play. He can. I think things
are starting to slought a lot better for Pittsburgh. You
see Crosby Malcolm Kindle, that's a good one too. Three
(24:16):
down the middle, that's perfect for Kindall. He's not going
to be exposed in a lot of big moments as
he gets more and more fatigue. Is that will happen
right after Christmas, you'll see. And Lazat's a real good
four And if Lizzatt can't handle it because he's undersized
and the charity can be play center. So Pittsburgh is
definitely looking like a roster that's going to be able
to push for the bottom part of the playoffs for sure.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Well, TENG let's go to Tampa Bay on Thursday PR
Tampa's won seventh straight. They're the hottest team in the NHL.
They do play tonight in New York against the Islanders.
What do you think's gone into them lately in their
hot stretch.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I think they're just part of people saying they're no good.
And what happens when you're camping and you're watching them play,
and I've watched all their games. They hadn't been playing
with bradon Points, they hadn't been playing with Victor Headman,
they hadn't been playing with Eric Chernock, and they hadn't
been playing with Ryan McDonough. So you got all these
guys they're not, you know, really big name guys on
defense in particular, and they're saying, you know what, I
(25:12):
prefer riding on the big plane and staying at the
four seasons of the Rich Carlton and riding on the
iron long and smelling diesel human eating fast food. This
is what you do in the American Hockey League a lot.
So I think a lot of guys are saying, you
know what, I want to show not just the Tampa
day Light, but all the teams that were playing against
while I'm up here that I got a chance to
be in NHLer. So they got a lot of PPW
(25:34):
going on proving people wrong. They're in Tampa and it's
really working for them. I give him a lot of credit,
John Keeper, because you're a huge prais. And then the bottom,
the last part of it is they're getting goalpenning. They're
getting eleague goal tending by Basileski and that's been huge
for them.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And then, as we mentioned, the Penguins wrap up the
road trip in Dallas and Pierre.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Colorado only has one regulation loss to date this year,
and yet Dallas has just one LEF win on the
season and they're right there four points behind Colorado in
the Central Division. Are those your top two teams right
now in the NHL? I know points wise they are,
But are the standings lying or telling the truth?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Well, the standings are telling the truth. And here's the
one giveaway that nobody really looks at the gold differential.
Colorado's plus forty eight Dallas is plus twenty two. Those
are the two best goal differentials in the league. Those
numbers don't lie, you know, Usually those are the teams
that have the best goal differentials or at the top
of the standings. Nobody wants to talk about it, but
(26:33):
it's just the way it is in the business. The
Central Division is a division of death. It really is Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota,
and then you start looking, Chicago's starting to come up,
Utah's starting to come up. Winnipeg hasn't played very well.
They've only won four in their last ten. But to me,
the biggest thing is is that that division, especially the
(26:55):
top end teams and the ones that are starting to
evolve like Utah and chicag wrote, make that division extremely difficult.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
And you led me into what I was just going
to bring up.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
You talked about Chicago and then coming on, Connor Bodard
has been fantastic this year. Macklin Celebrini has been great
in San Jose, Carlson with Anaheim, There's a lot of
young superstars really coming into their prime. And unless we
forget Logan Cooley, the local kid for the Utah Mammate
all great points.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
And I just remember I remember talking to Mark about
this time not that long ago, you know, when when
Gretzky and Lemiir were going out of the league. There
was a big concern who's going to fill the boy. Well,
they get very lucky that Ovetskin ended up in Washington,
and Crosby and knock And ended up in Pittsburgh, and
those three guys kind of steered the league for a
(27:42):
long time. And then Cam and Taves came in and
that kind of game. Those guys some insulations, so it
was really good. Now you just nailed a bunch of them,
like just a whack of those great young players. I
watched Carlson play last night. He was outstanding in Saint Louis,
and I just can't say enough about what's going on
and sell a Greening, what's going on with the Dart
(28:03):
and this kid Matthew Schaeffer with the Andders. Yeah, he's
a real deal. This kid's really special. The one thing
I'd say, just because we're getting close to the Olympics
now and people are asking me all kinds of Olympic questions,
Canada has an embarrassing array of riches. Offensively, they're not
as good in gold and they're not as good on
defense as some of the other countries. I wouldn't be
(28:25):
surprised if one of the two Fella Greene or the
Dart makes the tea or makes the team, so that's
going to I don't think both of them all. I
think one or the other will and that will be
interesting to see. And part of why I say that
Canada winning their less than LL six when they left
Crosby home and they got embarrassed in Tono and they
(28:48):
never made that mistake again in twenty ten or twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Finally, Pierre, if Sidney Crosby keeps up the scoring pace,
which I have no doubt he will as long as
he stays healthy, and if the peng was make the playoffs,
which I'm starting to believe that they're gonna do that
as well, Don't you think Sidney Crosby should be getting
serious MVP conversation come the end of the year.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Oh my gosh. Yeah. The only problem is is Buddy
in Colorado.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Tearing it up.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Yeah, is just shredding the league right now. And then
the guy down in Tampa by the name of puture
Off that's had this unbelievably understated season for the Tampa
Bay Lightning. But no, I gotta think Sid's in the
conversation for most of the pundits that are actually watching
the games. The guys that don't watch the games, they'll
(29:34):
never think that Sid, or they just won't vote for Sid.
But the guys that are actually watch and girls that
are watching games don't know that Sydney should be in
that conversation for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
And if he keeps scoring goals like this, Pierre, he'll
have an eye popping number that way, you know, fifty
goal season that even the people that don't watch the
games will be like, whoa Sid scored fifty goals?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
That'll be something to think about.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Yeah, it would be. And again, I think most people
didn't have Pittsburgh being a playoff team this year. So
the fact that they're even gonna be by the halfway point,
we by the time all the great players hit over there,
you know, fourteina, I would say that the Pittsburgh Penguins,
if they're still in a playoff position, there's gonna be
a lot of buzz around Sydney in the MVP conversation.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, I would agree with that, Pierre.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Thanks as always, it's always great talking to you every
week on the show. It's a special treat when I
get to fill in for Mark and do it myself.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
We'll catch up next week, Tom.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Thanks so much. Have a great rest of the week.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Everybody there.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
He goes Pierre Maguire, best hockey talk you will hear
in town, really anywhere, to be honest with you. And
he's brought to us by Always Say Flagging and Traffic
Control making traffic safe again. Call four one two three
oh one two three hundred or visit us online at
awsafe dot net for a quote.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Today, we'll keep the sound bite segment going. Next.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
I got a couple of interesting sound bites I want
to play for you.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
That's next.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
We got Wesley Yuler, We got Mike de Fabos still
to come in the show as well. Tom up from
an Inframark one nine X. This segment is brought to
you by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get direct from the
team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers
dot com. Tom up from an Inframark Man Today. Wes
Steeler is going to join us in just a few
minutes from now. Talks some more Steelers. I have Steelers
(31:16):
news though. Cornerback Darius Slay and the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Have agreed to mutually part ways.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
So Slay has been released by the Pittsburgh Steelers. And
who really cares because as long as everybody was healthy,
he would have been a healthy scratch, inactive every week
moving forward. What a terrible signing that was by the
Steelers in the offseason. Ten million dollars into a guy
that didn't even make it to December.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Not good.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
But it's better to recognize the air of your ways
and part ways with him or make him inactive than
keep trotting him out there because he has a big paycheck.
So do give them credit there. James Pierre is in
the concussion protocol. Got to keep an eye on that,
and that's not something that we can even you estimate
right now and say, oh, he'll probably be good to
(32:10):
go come Sunday. Against the Ravens concussion protocol. There is
no gray area there. You either clear it or you
do not, So that is something to monitor. But Darius
Lay will not be getting a helmet in Pierre's absence
if Pierre can't go, because Leay's not a Steeler anymore.
And I think a little bit of what a Sante
Samuel Junior had to do played into this decision as
(32:30):
well for the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
We'll get into that more.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
With Wes, along with some more Steelers topics, but I
do want to play a couple soundbites here that I
found interesting, and we start with dan Orlowski, who shares
a pretty stunning stat when it comes to the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Crazy stat for really this week, but also one for
the whole season. There's no defense in the NFL that
has played more snaps than the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have
played eight hundred and twenty snaps of football on defense,
most in the NFL. And there is no offense in
the NFL that has played less snaps than the Pittsburgh
(33:07):
Steelers at six hundred and sixty seven.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
That is the least amount of offensive snaps in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
That's the difference of one hundred and fifty seven snaps
two and a half games or so.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Now, I feel like if you're the offense that plays
the least amount of snaps, it would only naturally be
the defense that plays the most snaps in the league too.
Like it kind of feels like that kind of goes together.
But anyway, that's still a shocking thing to hear and
to highlight just how much more the defense is played
almost two and a half games worth of snaps. You know,
(33:42):
you're not making any excuses for the highest paid defense
in the league, and they should be a lot better
than they are. But how good can you really be
when you're playing that much more when your offense is
just that inepted time of possession. They're the worst time
of possession team in the NFL twenty seven minutes on
average per game, and that took a nosedive with their
(34:05):
eighteen minutes time of possession against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Here's a really interesting SoundBite from James Harrison. This is
maybe the first ex Steeler player that I've heard put
voice to a coaching change and moving on from Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
I had never been a person that thought coach Tomlin
was a great coach. I thought he was a good coach.
A good coach gets you to play to your potential.
And right now, the players we have on that team
I have seen play. I know they can do it.
(34:44):
I have seen them do it, and they're not playing
up to their potential. And a great coach, a great coach,
a great coach gets you to play beyond your potential.
And I know the Steelers historically don't move on from coaches,
(35:05):
but I think it's time the history be made.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Wow, Mike Tomlin's not a good coach, or a good coach,
not a great coach. That's really the first time I've
heard an next player, you know, put voice to that
and say that they don't think Mike Tomlin is a
great coach. And James Harrison's right. I know that the
Steelers have a history of never firing a coach, but
it's time to make some history. I think at this
(35:31):
point there's really no other options. If the Steelers were
to move on from Mike Tomlin, Marcus Spears knows who
should hire him.
Speaker 7 (35:42):
If the Pittsburgh still is a moving away from Mike Tomlin,
Joe Shane should hire Mike.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Tomlin to be the head coach for the New York Giants.
Speaker 7 (35:49):
And it's because he understands organization and structure, and there
is a quarterback in New York. I believe that Jackson
Dard is the future of the New York Giants. And
if you want somebody to come with unquestioned leaderships, you've
seen do it at a very high level, and they
could immediately galvanize the guys on this football team. I
think Mike Tomlin would be perfect for the New York Giants.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Same old cliche as there ever was right, Mike tomin
will be perfect for the New York Giants. They already
got the quarterback. Bring Jackson Darts already there. Here's the thing, though,
Marcus Spears, what evidence do you see that would make
you believe that Mike tom would be the perfect coach
to shepherd Jackson Dart to his full potential. I want
an offensive minded coach when it comes to a player
(36:32):
like that, not a defensive one. I think Damaico Ryan's
a great coach in Houston. Look at CJ. Stroud's development,
kind of struggling a little bit. There got a kick
ass defense. I just prefer the McVeigh, the Shanahan, the O'Connell,
the offensive mind, the guy to match up with my
young rookie quarterbacks. So I don't know what Mike Tomlin
would do for Jackson Dart as far as the leadership
(36:52):
he brings, the galvanization of the locker room. Sure that
could happen, but there's no reason. It isn't a reason
to not move on for Mike Tomlin just because another
team would pick him up. In just thirty seconds, west
Yuler is going to join us in studio to keep
the steeler talk going tom on.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
From an in for Markets one of five nine, the
X
Penguin's needing points badly as they are in the thick
of just a really tightly compacted playoff race. Not only
got two points in Philadelphia last night, but they kicked
some Flyer ass in the process. And here's some takeaways
that I have from the game last night. Sids nak
for killing the Flyers, especially in Philadelphia, is just incredible
(00:22):
to see. I mean, since year one when they knocked
his teeth out, he has just owned that city. As
Marcus said frequently, he is one of us truly gets
off a little bit, I think, to shoving it up
the Flyers backside.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
And he did it once again last night.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Scoring two goals is fifty eighth and his fifty ninth
of his career against Philadelphia. He's got the most goals
against Philadelphia than any individual player. He's got more points
than any individual player against Philadelphia. He is truly the
Flyer's daddy. And it never gets old, does it. It
never gets old? And I Philadelphia, I gotta be honest
with you, I don't think it's ending anytime soon. I mean,
I think he's going to be dropping down on that
(00:58):
one need scoring goals on until he's forty four to
forty five years old. Tristan Jari. He's making a real
strong push to be the starting goaltender. Not you know,
full time like he's Schusterkin Vasilevsky type of starting goaltender,
but definitely a one A emphasis on the A. She
Lovs have also been struck, has also been struggling lately.
(01:22):
I give Jari the net the rest of the week.
I put him back out there Thursday against Tampa Bay.
I put him in there Sunday against Dallas as long
as it doesn't go catastrophically wrong Thursday in Tampa. But
you got some nice cushion there between games, a couple
days off in between him. It's not like you're gonna
overwork him. You got two Cup contender opponents. Tampa Bay's
(01:45):
the hottest team in the NHL right now, seven straight wins.
They played a night in New York against the Islanders.
Dallas second most points in the NHL with thirty eight,
behind just Colorado, who's crazy. Only lost one regulation game
so far this year. But you got, you know, a
step up greatly in competition. Here a number one team
in the East and Tampa number two team in the West.
(02:07):
In Dallas see how Jarry responds. And you can also
let she Lovs get a nice little reset because even
if you start leaning more towards Jari getting the net
and you start, you know, getting away from that rotation,
that strict rotation, you're gonna need. She loves and She
Loves has been very good this year. Two bad starts,
I don't think undoes all the good he's done earlier
(02:28):
this season. I love a good kid line. They played
with energy, as you'd expect. They didn't score, but that's
definitely gonna come. Kindall is such a force already, so
impressive to see an eighteen year old kid just take
the league, take being a professional athlete. In stride, Mark
joined us earlier in the show noted that Kendall's parents
(02:50):
were professional athletes. That's got to help in this when
it comes to, you know, not being overwhelmed by anything.
He is so far ahead of schedule than any eighteen
year old, and it's a lot of the reason why
the Penguins look like they're ahead of schedule right now
when it comes to their rebuild.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
A lot of that is credit due to Ben Kendall.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
A Rutger McGroarty looked like he wants to be a
Penguin for good now and I think he will be
completely belonged in the NHL Coividen was flying but he's
got a score. I mean, there's no excuses there. But
I think he will playing with Kendall and McGroarty. I
hope that kid line continues to be a thing moving forward.
Eric Carlson is playing his best hockey as a Penguin now.
(03:32):
Maybe that motivation is coming from him wanting to be
on Sweden at the Olympics. In fact, I'm almost positive
that a lot of the motivation is coming from him
wanting to be on Sweden at the Olympics. But I
don't care because the Penguins are reaping all of the
benefits for that. Sure, he's ticked off that he wasn't
preliminary named, preliminarily named to the Olympic team for Sweden,
but that's good because it ticked off. Eric Carlson is
(03:54):
playing his best hockey as a Penguin. This is the
Eric Carlson that Kyle Dubis thought he was getting when
he traded for him a few years back to assist
last night, finally starting to see the guy who won
all those Norris trophies and it's been huge for the Penguins.
When these forwards come back, Justin Brezo and Ricard Raquel,
(04:16):
when the team gets healthy, look out for them.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
They will have depth.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
They will have an elite number one line with Raquel,
Crosby and Rust And if goal tending can hold up,
it sure looks like a playoff team. And then you
look around the East and there really isn't that many
teams that are impressing you. Sure the Lightning are hot,
but we'll get a nice little litmus test of where
the Penguins stack up against the Lightning coming up on Thursday.
(04:42):
I'd also keep Boco Imama up as that last player
on the fourth line. Borky said yesterday on the show
that the team puffs the chest out.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
A little bit more when he's in the lineup.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Mark said earlier today, it doesn't matter who the wings
are on the fourth line. If that wing brings you
just that little extra edge to put the team over
the top, does that one thing good, then he deserves
to get a spot in the lineup every night. Eric
Christensen's a great example. Mark often brings up. All he
could do was shootouts. He was great in shootouts. You
put him on the fourth line, he wins you four
(05:16):
or five shootouts throughout the season. Those are valuable points.
So I'd keep Boco in the lineup. I'd keep him
on that fourth line. Pen's play with that edge. Penn's
play with a little bit more freedom, I think when
he is there, and he's not terrible, you know.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
What I mean.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
He's not just like you know, some guy out there
that looks like Doug Glatt can barely skate and all
he does is punch people in the face. No, Boco's
got some skill. He can play hockey as well as
being a nice physical presence on the ice. After going
three for four yesterday, the Penguin's power play is back
(05:52):
to the top of the league at thirty three point
three percent. But perhaps even more impressive in the game
yesterday and maybe even on the season, is the Penguins'
penalty kill. They killed off six of seven Flyers power
plays yesterday and they have the fourth best PK in
the NHL. You can't solely rely on special teams, but
(06:13):
that's a formula that's gonna lead to you making the playoffs.
If you're top five in both power play and penalty kill. Again,
you can't solely rely on it, but you can rely
on it to win you quite a few games, just
like they did last night. And speaking of making the playoffs,
I think they are going to do it. This was
a big past week for the Penguins leading into and
(06:35):
coming out of Thanksgiving, and they got six out of
eight points.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
That's a job well done.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
And they didn't even play that great in most of
the games, like they took the first two periods off
in Columbus, came storming back one in overtime. But for them,
you know they're going to be right on the edge
going into the last week of the season. It's going
to be either slightly in or slightly out of the
playoff pickch playoff picture.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
But what's giving you hope.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
That maybe after eighty two is all said and done,
eighty two games, they'll be on the right side of
the cut line is the fact that, hey, they had
a big week in front of them here. That in
or out of the playoffs by Thanksgiving thing is a
real thing. It's like seventy four whatever percent of the time,
if you're in at Thanksgiving, you're in. Well, they were
(07:24):
out going into that game, against the Sabers on Wednesday,
and like I said, they've picked up six of eight
points since then, so I think they'll make the playoffs.
I think they'll end on the right side of that
cut line. And if they do not, then this season
will be just a bigger disaster than you could ever
really describe. Nothing could go worse than this team finishing
(07:47):
in ninth place, finishing directly into that mushy middle.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
I'm already kind of rolling out.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Them collapsing and getting into the lottery with some favorable
odds to get a top five pick. So you better
make the playoffs, and they're on a good path right
now to do so, and beating the Flyers last night
was a big, big deal. They are direct competition when
it comes to wild card, when it comes to top
three in the metro. When I come back, I got
(08:14):
a college football take that I want to get off
my chest to Mark's not here so I can finally
let it ride.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
I'm Tom Offraman an Infomark.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
It's one of five ninety x Tom Offerman an Infra
mark Man Today, Mark does not like college football. I
love college football, but boy, they make it so hard
to love it lately, doesn't it that sport. It really
is just so gross, and the way they try to
figure out this playoff, I think is just so misguided.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
We'll get into that in just a second.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
It is also three p fifteen though, that means it's
time for calls on the fifteen.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
James in Sarasota. What's up, James?
Speaker 4 (08:49):
How are you doing? Good to be on.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
It's good to have you on, James. What I want
to trust?
Speaker 4 (08:55):
I want to discuss and I think this is a
very big point and it's just coming to notice lately
in the Steeler nation people were starting to see this
tight end situation.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I'm not sure where Arthur.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Smith has this, this fantasy that John hu Smith is adequate.
It's the tight end position number one. He can't block,
he gets the most plays. He obviously it came to
light he's not coming to the meetings. So he missed.
He missed the touchdown path because at twenty three fifteen,
(09:31):
we have a real game on our hands, maybe a
little bit a shot of adrenaline for the Steelers. And
Aaron called him out on not going to the I
know Arthur Smith and this guy have a past in
Atlanta or somewhere but Pat fire Moose is their big
tight end, probably the best hands on the team. Why
(09:51):
is John hu Smith getting more reps in more game
time than Pat fired Moose and Washington. I'm gonna listen
to you.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
I don't have an answer for you, James, but I agree
with you, especially when it comes to the Firemouth part
of things. I think it's clear that he is the
best tight end that the Steelers have, and he only
ran nine routes in the passing game against the Bills.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
That's just inexcusable.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
You paid this guy so much money too, so you
obviously like him, You obviously see something and him you
give him a second contract. Pat Firemouth's usage, to me,
is one of the more egregious things that's happening on
this offense. And you're right, John neu Smith gets a
lot of snaps. But I also think they're just so
enamored with this Darnel Washington thing.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
And I think it's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Don't get me wrong. I think he is a nicer
wrinkle to this offense. But he's never James gonna be
the type of tight end that goes like eight catches
one hundred and twenty yards in a touchdown.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Pat Farremouth is that type of.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
Doun no, And I am a painy bit of a
Tomlin Apologif I know everyone wants his head on the wall,
I seem to give him a little bit of empathy.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
And I look at the.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Player's gotta play, the player gotta play and the fact
that the one real big problem that I have with
the coaching is the tight end situation. I think that
that is like at least lost them a couple games
this year. I mean, Pat Farmus, it could be one
of the best tight ends in the league if they
use them.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
He's got great hands.
Speaker 4 (11:17):
Did you see him catch against Cincinnati?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yeah, I wouldn't go that far, James.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
I don't know if he would be one of the
best tight ends in the league, but he's definitely better
than what they're getting out of him, and I think
he can provide a lot more to this offense if
he was used correctly. College Football Playoff this is a
huge week when it comes to shaping the bracket. I
think the penultimate bracket comes out tonight. Got the college
conference championship games this weekend, and then you'll get your
(11:44):
College Football Playoff bracket and the big debate this.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Year is Miami Notre Dame.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Miami fans are so mad at Notre Dame being in
over them, despite Miami beating Notre Dame, them both being
ten and two and them both having similar resumes. And
I think Miami te me has misplaced their anger here
their political campaign, and don't get it twisted. That's all
this has become now is a sports politic thing where
(12:10):
we set the college football playoff based on who can
go out and stump harder for their team or for
their conference. But Miami's campaign, they've picked the wrong target.
You will never convince a room of suits that Notre
Dame at ten and two, whose only losses are to
two ranked teams, two teams one in the playoff in
(12:33):
A and M, and another playoff contender in Miami. You
will never convince them that that team is not going
to be in the playoff ever ever. And you probably
won't be able to convince them of what I'm about
to say either, but I certainly try. Ole miss or
Oklahoma should be the two teams that you look at
on the outside looking in all mis lost their coach,
(12:54):
and you know, whether it's fair or not, they should
be out of the playoff. In my opinion, I don't
want to see this bummy defensive coordinator coach ole Miss
in a playoff game.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Their defense stinks.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
The draw for ole Miss was the offense and Lane Kiffin. Now,
Lane's a scumbag for leaving like this, and I do
feel for the players, but I'm sorry, life's not fair.
Get him out of the playoff. I don't want to
see ole Miss in there. There was precedent when Florida
State lost Jordan Travis a couple of years ago. Yeah,
I get it, it's a different thing. He's the quarterback.
(13:26):
He got injured. But the committee said it was then
a four team playoff that we left Florida State out
because of the variables changing with their quarterback getting hurt. Well,
pretty big variable changed when it came to Old Miss.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Head coach is gone.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Their entire identity is based on him and his offense.
Get him out of the playoff, Miami and over Old
Miss and then I don't think there's a bigger fraud
in these playoffs than Oklahoma. They're gonna get in. I
think Ole Miss you have more of an argument against
because of the coach thing. But I will be betting
big against them round one, as long as they don't
(14:01):
draw like two Lane or Duke. But like if it's
Oklahoma Notre Dame, like the brackets have been shaping up,
no name's gonna blast them.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Oklahoma stinks And.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
What a joke is the What a joke the ACC
is by the way, I mean, they just embarrass itself
at every turn. Jim Phillips commissioner, He's incompetent. He doesn't
play the politics at all. He should be out every
single show saying that Miami would boat race Ole Miss
and Oklahoma if they played. If Well Miss and Oklahoma
combined teams, Miami would win by three touchdowns. That's what
(14:31):
he should be doing. Instead, he's watching Duke in Virginia
potentially nuke the entire conferences participation when it comes to
the college football playoff altogether.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That's just great work, Jim. The ACC is in good hands.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Honestly, you can convince me that Jim Phillips is a
double agent for the SEC, getting paid to sabotage the
ACC just to get eight to nine. Screw it, the
full twelve team playoff field as SEC teams. All right,
we come back, We'll get back into hockey talk. Pierre
McGuire gonna join us for the best hockey talk you
(15:06):
will here in town all week when he joins the
Mark Madden Show. That's next on one O five ninety X.
Tom up from an in for Mark Man today. Always
love filling in from Mark on Tuesdays because that means
I get to talk hockey with our next guest, Pierre McGuire.
He's brought to us by Always Safe Flagging and Traffic Control.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
Pierre. Always great to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Big win for the Penguins last night against a really
good Philadelphia team that they're fighting for a wildcard spot with,
and Sidney Crosby led the way as he so often
does against Philly.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Tom, it was so much fun to watch that game.
Number one because of what you just said with Sidney
Crosby with two goals are really like Brian Rus's game
and a goal and to assist. But to me, the
biggest thing about the Penguins, the power play has been
great all years, functioning at almost thirty four percent, was
three for four last night. When you can go on
the road and play against the Rick Pocket coach team
(15:58):
and have that kind of success on the power play
and That says a lot about your preparation and the anger.
I think Tom Moore than anything else that they had
have to be enthrobbed him on Saturday Night by Toronto.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
Yeah, no doubt Special Teams told the story last night.
We'll get to that in a second. But with Sid,
why do you think he embraces being the villain so
much against Philadelphia? Because you can see he likes it
a little more when he goes into that barn and
puts up goals.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Mariyol was very much the same way, you know, and
I had the privilege of being around him. I did
most of Sid's games early in his career, and that's
when Peter Lovey had led early on in Sid's career,
in early on in Cloe Drew's career said, you know,
it's interesting that we had the very best player in
the world leading cloturew and on powerful pyraphreezing. But I
(16:45):
think that kind of stuck in Sidd's crawl a little bit.
And every time he went into the new building in
Philadelphia after the Spectrum got torn down, I mean, it
was just a different deal, and the fans were after him.
You know again, I gotta tell you I was there
up for a lot of it. Fans after him a lot.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
I thought Tristan Jarry was just fantastic and net last night. Pierre,
would you start him again in Tampa Bay on Thursday
and maybe start leaning more towards him, or would you
stick with that true rotation they've had gone with him
and she LOFs because you have.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Such a big break before the next game. They don't
play in Tampa till Thursday, right and I think they
had their team Christmas party to night, which is a
good thing, not a bad thing. I would say that
I go back to Tristan because then on Sunday and
again you got a big rest before you have to
go into Dallas, and then you've got three home games.
So I don't know. I don't think this is a
(17:37):
heavy work road for Tristan right now. You'd like to
see him get in a little bit of rhythm, Tom
and I think that'd be a good thing for him
and for the team.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
No, I completely agree with you, Pierre.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
I honestly would maybe just give him the rest of
the road trip, let him play Thursday in Tampa as
long as that goes well, give him Sunday against Dallas
and then maybe go back to she Lofts to start
that homestand and it's not just Jarry who's playing well
and deserving of it. Pierre, I think she lost could
use a little bit of a reset. He's had some struggles,
been pulled in two of his last starts.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Yeah, no, I agree with that. I mean, obviously the
whole team wasn't particularly good against Toronto, so that's one
of those really trying to say to the firm the
tape please. But no, I there's something to be said
for what you know, younger players in particular. It's not
like she lost as a total mea play. He's never
been in the league and I played a lot of
(18:29):
big games for Vancouver earlier when he was there and
before coming to Pittsburgh. But I do think there's something
to be value by what you said, Tom in terms of,
you know, guys sometimes need to push a reset button,
and I think in the case of Archers in particular,
this might be the best time to.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
Do it now.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
As you mentioned, Pierre, last night in Philadelphia, the special
Teams was awesome for the Penguins. They were three for
four in the power play. They successfully killed six of
seven flyer power plays, and that's really been the story
for the Penguins all year long, hasn't it? The number
one power playing hockey, the number for penalty kill.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
That's coaching, that's players paying attention to detail. And it's
not that long ago when they're talking about the malais
of the Pittsburgh Penguin power play and how bad it
was into the previous coaching staff, And it wasn't bad
for like six months. It was bad for like three years.
And so you know, absolutely, I think this is tremendous.
And you got to give a lot of credit to Mike'stuthers,
(19:23):
who's a big part of the penalty killing. You've got
to give a lot of credit to Todd Nelson, who's
a big part of the power play. But one other
thing that I think is really important. When Dan Newston
was with the New York Rangers in particular, their penalty
kill was really good and they did a lot of
damage shorthanded. So I think Dan Deserre's some credit with
this as well. So it's total team effort in terms
(19:43):
of the coaching staff. But I think the players are
responding to the new message. Tom, I think you'd agree
with me most punling stoff. Before this season started, Pittsburgh
wasn't going to be a viable cannedy for a playoff position,
Didney Cross, You had a really good chance to be traded,
this said, a chance to be just a disaster. And
all three of those things are wrong right now, all
(20:05):
three of them. And that's great. I think that's so
fantastic for the city and for the organization and Pierre.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I think a big reason why all three of those
things are wrong right now, and I think a big
reason why the power play has had such success the
best in the league right now is due to Ben Kendall.
And I'm not leaping everything onto the eighteen year old
kids shoulders and saying you're the reason why solely, but
he has been such.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
A revelation for this team.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
He's become a force, you know, driving play five on five,
and boy, he's really been remarkable on the power play.
I mean, he looks like he's going to be an
elite power play player for his entire career at this
light in this league, Well said.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
They're not a lot of eleventh overall picks that come
into the league as an eighteen year old. They're able
to do what this young man's doing. Sydney's got to
be happy about it. Gino's got to be happy about it.
Ryan Rust got to be happy about it. And you
know the guy that's really starting to thrive besides Kindall
and the power plays Eric Carlson, that play that he
made last and transporting the part from his own zone
into the flyer zone and then moving it over to
(21:04):
Brian rescue eventually gets it over to Sid. That's the
old Eric Carlson that I'm used to seeing. And you
can see there's a whole lot of being bigger and
vitality in his game right now. And that's great to see.
That's so awesome to see.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
No, I was actually going to bring that up as well.
This seems like it's the best Eric Carlson the Penguins
have seen. This is the Eric Carlson that Kyle Dubas
was trading for a few years back.
Speaker 2 (21:28):
And why do you think that is?
Speaker 1 (21:30):
I'm not, you know, so naive to rule out that
he's motivated by being left off of that preliminary roster
for Team Sweden. Little motivation there, and hey, I'm okay
with that because the Penguins are reaping the benefits for it.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
That is such a good point. And I'll tell you
one thing that's really important. I saw you are a
good friend, Paul steiger Wall this morning. I saw her
Carlson in the World Junior. I saw her Carlson play
in the Olympic Games, and Eric Carlson in twenty four
team helped get Sweden to the gold medal game where
they got hammered by Canada to do nothing. But that
(22:05):
game wasn't even close. And one of the only players
from Sweden that you could say, man, this guy belonged
in this game was Eric Carlson. He was stupendous. He
played on the right side, he played on the left side.
I mean, he created so many chances. So that's the
Eric Carlson I'm used to seeing. I'm used to seeing
him with the Ottawa Senators making unbelievable plays against the
(22:25):
Boston Bruins or against the New York Rangers of the
Buffalo Sabers. And when I saw him go from San
Jose to Pittsburgh, I was like, this can't be the
same unit. It can't be. And all of a sudden,
he's got this pop to his step and he's back
to the player that I'm used to see him. So
you bring up the Olympics, that's gotta be near and dear.
It was hard and you think about it, the Swedes
(22:47):
and O six that was their really shining moment they
win the gold in Toronto. I did that game with
Doc Emerck and with John Davidson, and I would tell
you this right now, Sue, because of their death and
defense and in goal, they think they got a legitimate
chance and compete for the gold medal in Courtina. So
(23:08):
that'll that'll be a team that I'm sure they'll want
to be partner.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Pierre, call me crazy, but when Justin Brazil and Rick
card Raquel get healthy, this Penguin's lineup is really going
to start to take shape, and it's going to be
pretty deep, especially if the kid line that we saw
last night a McGroarty, Kindle and coyven and starts to
gain some traction and some consistency throughout the year. I mean,
this is a team that is really taking shape or
(23:32):
looking like a playoff team.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Uh No, you can't. Nobody can doubt their ability to play.
They just got to stay healthy. You talk about Raquel,
it'll be a huge addition. Brazil will obviously go back
on with MalCon and Manta. That line was shitting in
the NHL at the start of the year. And let's
not forget Nola chari Ye. Nola Cherry is a really
important player, is a death player. This is not taking
(23:55):
anything away from bocal Imana, who I thought did some
really nice things last night. Even though play a time,
he still get some nice things. Knowles has got a
little bit more savvy than Boco right now, but that
doesn't mean Alna can't play. He can. I think things
are starting to slought a lot better for Pittsburgh. You
see Crosby Malcolm Kindle, that's a good one too. Three
(24:16):
down the middle, that's perfect for Kindall. He's not going
to be exposed in a lot of big moments as
he gets more and more fatigue. Is that will happen
right after Christmas, you'll see. And Lazat's a real good
four And if Lizzatt can't handle it because he's undersized
and the charity can be play center. So Pittsburgh is
definitely looking like a roster that's going to be able
to push for the bottom part of the playoffs for sure.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Well, TENG let's go to Tampa Bay on Thursday PR
Tampa's won seventh straight. They're the hottest team in the NHL.
They do play tonight in New York against the Islanders.
What do you think's gone into them lately in their
hot stretch.
Speaker 3 (24:50):
I think they're just part of people saying they're no good.
And what happens when you're camping and you're watching them play,
and I've watched all their games. They hadn't been playing
with bradon Points, they hadn't been playing with Victor Headman,
they hadn't been playing with Eric Chernock, and they hadn't
been playing with Ryan McDonough. So you got all these
guys they're not, you know, really big name guys on
defense in particular, and they're saying, you know what, I
(25:12):
prefer riding on the big plane and staying at the
four seasons of the Rich Carlton and riding on the
iron long and smelling diesel human eating fast food. This
is what you do in the American Hockey League a lot.
So I think a lot of guys are saying, you
know what, I want to show not just the Tampa
day Light, but all the teams that were playing against
while I'm up here that I got a chance to
be in NHLer. So they got a lot of PPW
(25:34):
going on proving people wrong. They're in Tampa and it's
really working for them. I give him a lot of credit,
John Keeper, because you're a huge prais. And then the bottom,
the last part of it is they're getting goalpenning. They're
getting eleague goal tending by Basileski and that's been huge
for them.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
And then, as we mentioned, the Penguins wrap up the
road trip in Dallas and Pierre.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Colorado only has one regulation loss to date this year,
and yet Dallas has just one LEF win on the
season and they're right there four points behind Colorado in
the Central Division. Are those your top two teams right
now in the NHL? I know points wise they are,
But are the standings lying or telling the truth?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Well, the standings are telling the truth. And here's the
one giveaway that nobody really looks at the gold differential.
Colorado's plus forty eight Dallas is plus twenty two. Those
are the two best goal differentials in the league. Those
numbers don't lie, you know, Usually those are the teams
that have the best goal differentials or at the top
of the standings. Nobody wants to talk about it, but
(26:33):
it's just the way it is in the business. The
Central Division is a division of death. It really is Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota,
and then you start looking, Chicago's starting to come up,
Utah's starting to come up. Winnipeg hasn't played very well.
They've only won four in their last ten. But to me,
the biggest thing is is that that division, especially the
(26:55):
top end teams and the ones that are starting to
evolve like Utah and chicag wrote, make that division extremely difficult.
Speaker 2 (27:02):
And you led me into what I was just going
to bring up.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
You talked about Chicago and then coming on, Connor Bodard
has been fantastic this year. Macklin Celebrini has been great
in San Jose, Carlson with Anaheim, There's a lot of
young superstars really coming into their prime. And unless we
forget Logan Cooley, the local kid for the Utah Mammate
all great points.
Speaker 3 (27:22):
And I just remember I remember talking to Mark about
this time not that long ago, you know, when when
Gretzky and Lemiir were going out of the league. There
was a big concern who's going to fill the boy. Well,
they get very lucky that Ovetskin ended up in Washington,
and Crosby and knock And ended up in Pittsburgh, and
those three guys kind of steered the league for a
(27:42):
long time. And then Cam and Taves came in and
that kind of game. Those guys some insulations, so it
was really good. Now you just nailed a bunch of them,
like just a whack of those great young players. I
watched Carlson play last night. He was outstanding in Saint Louis,
and I just can't say enough about what's going on
and sell a Greening, what's going on with the Dart
(28:03):
and this kid Matthew Schaeffer with the Andders. Yeah, he's
a real deal. This kid's really special. The one thing
I'd say, just because we're getting close to the Olympics
now and people are asking me all kinds of Olympic questions,
Canada has an embarrassing array of riches. Offensively, they're not
as good in gold and they're not as good on
defense as some of the other countries. I wouldn't be
(28:25):
surprised if one of the two Fella Greene or the
Dart makes the tea or makes the team, so that's
going to I don't think both of them all. I
think one or the other will and that will be
interesting to see. And part of why I say that
Canada winning their less than LL six when they left
Crosby home and they got embarrassed in Tono and they
(28:48):
never made that mistake again in twenty ten or twenty fourteen.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
Finally, Pierre, if Sidney Crosby keeps up the scoring pace,
which I have no doubt he will as long as
he stays healthy, and if the peng was make the playoffs,
which I'm starting to believe that they're gonna do that
as well, Don't you think Sidney Crosby should be getting
serious MVP conversation come the end of the year.
Speaker 3 (29:08):
Oh my gosh. Yeah. The only problem is is Buddy
in Colorado.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
Tearing it up.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Yeah, is just shredding the league right now. And then
the guy down in Tampa by the name of puture
Off that's had this unbelievably understated season for the Tampa
Bay Lightning. But no, I gotta think Sid's in the
conversation for most of the pundits that are actually watching
the games. The guys that don't watch the games, they'll
(29:34):
never think that Sid, or they just won't vote for Sid.
But the guys that are actually watch and girls that
are watching games don't know that Sydney should be in
that conversation for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
And if he keeps scoring goals like this, Pierre, he'll
have an eye popping number that way, you know, fifty
goal season that even the people that don't watch the
games will be like, whoa Sid scored fifty goals?
Speaker 2 (29:53):
That'll be something to think about.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
Yeah, it would be. And again, I think most people
didn't have Pittsburgh being a playoff team this year. So
the fact that they're even gonna be by the halfway point,
we by the time all the great players hit over there,
you know, fourteina, I would say that the Pittsburgh Penguins,
if they're still in a playoff position, there's gonna be
a lot of buzz around Sydney in the MVP conversation.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, I would agree with that, Pierre.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
Thanks as always, it's always great talking to you every
week on the show. It's a special treat when I
get to fill in for Mark and do it myself.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
We'll catch up next week, Tom.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Thanks so much. Have a great rest of the week.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
Everybody there.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
He goes Pierre Maguire, best hockey talk you will hear
in town, really anywhere, to be honest with you. And
he's brought to us by Always Say Flagging and Traffic
Control making traffic safe again. Call four one two three
oh one two three hundred or visit us online at
awsafe dot net for a quote.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Today, we'll keep the sound bite segment going. Next.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
I got a couple of interesting sound bites I want
to play for you.
Speaker 2 (30:53):
That's next.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
We got Wesley Yuler, We got Mike de Fabos still
to come in the show as well. Tom up from
an Inframark one nine X. This segment is brought to
you by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get direct from the
team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop dot Steelers
dot com. Tom up from an Inframark Man Today. Wes
Steeler is going to join us in just a few
minutes from now. Talks some more Steelers. I have Steelers
(31:16):
news though. Cornerback Darius Slay and the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Have agreed to mutually part ways.
Speaker 1 (31:23):
So Slay has been released by the Pittsburgh Steelers. And
who really cares because as long as everybody was healthy,
he would have been a healthy scratch, inactive every week
moving forward. What a terrible signing that was by the
Steelers in the offseason. Ten million dollars into a guy
that didn't even make it to December.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Not good.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
But it's better to recognize the air of your ways
and part ways with him or make him inactive than
keep trotting him out there because he has a big paycheck.
So do give them credit there. James Pierre is in
the concussion protocol. Got to keep an eye on that,
and that's not something that we can even you estimate
right now and say, oh, he'll probably be good to
(32:10):
go come Sunday. Against the Ravens concussion protocol. There is
no gray area there. You either clear it or you
do not, So that is something to monitor. But Darius
Lay will not be getting a helmet in Pierre's absence
if Pierre can't go, because Leay's not a Steeler anymore.
And I think a little bit of what a Sante
Samuel Junior had to do played into this decision as
(32:30):
well for the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
We'll get into that more.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
With Wes, along with some more Steelers topics, but I
do want to play a couple soundbites here that I
found interesting, and we start with dan Orlowski, who shares
a pretty stunning stat when it comes to the Steelers.
Speaker 5 (32:46):
Crazy stat for really this week, but also one for
the whole season. There's no defense in the NFL that
has played more snaps than the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have
played eight hundred and twenty snaps of football on defense,
most in the NFL. And there is no offense in
the NFL that has played less snaps than the Pittsburgh
(33:07):
Steelers at six hundred and sixty seven.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
That is the least amount of offensive snaps in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
That's the difference of one hundred and fifty seven snaps
two and a half games or so.
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Now, I feel like if you're the offense that plays
the least amount of snaps, it would only naturally be
the defense that plays the most snaps in the league too.
Like it kind of feels like that kind of goes together.
But anyway, that's still a shocking thing to hear and
to highlight just how much more the defense is played
almost two and a half games worth of snaps. You know,
(33:42):
you're not making any excuses for the highest paid defense
in the league, and they should be a lot better
than they are. But how good can you really be
when you're playing that much more when your offense is
just that inepted time of possession. They're the worst time
of possession team in the NFL twenty seven minutes on
average per game, and that took a nosedive with their
(34:05):
eighteen minutes time of possession against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Here's a really interesting SoundBite from James Harrison. This is
maybe the first ex Steeler player that I've heard put
voice to a coaching change and moving on from Mike Tomlin.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
I had never been a person that thought coach Tomlin
was a great coach. I thought he was a good coach.
A good coach gets you to play to your potential.
And right now, the players we have on that team
I have seen play. I know they can do it.
(34:44):
I have seen them do it, and they're not playing
up to their potential. And a great coach, a great coach,
a great coach gets you to play beyond your potential.
And I know the Steelers historically don't move on from coaches,
(35:05):
but I think it's time the history be made.
Speaker 1 (35:10):
Wow, Mike Tomlin's not a good coach, or a good coach,
not a great coach. That's really the first time I've
heard an next player, you know, put voice to that
and say that they don't think Mike Tomlin is a
great coach. And James Harrison's right. I know that the
Steelers have a history of never firing a coach, but
it's time to make some history. I think at this
(35:31):
point there's really no other options. If the Steelers were
to move on from Mike Tomlin, Marcus Spears knows who
should hire him.
Speaker 7 (35:42):
If the Pittsburgh still is a moving away from Mike Tomlin,
Joe Shane should hire Mike.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
Tomlin to be the head coach for the New York Giants.
Speaker 7 (35:49):
And it's because he understands organization and structure, and there
is a quarterback in New York. I believe that Jackson
Dard is the future of the New York Giants. And
if you want somebody to come with unquestioned leaderships, you've
seen do it at a very high level, and they
could immediately galvanize the guys on this football team. I
think Mike Tomlin would be perfect for the New York Giants.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Same old cliche as there ever was right, Mike tomin
will be perfect for the New York Giants. They already
got the quarterback. Bring Jackson Darts already there. Here's the thing, though,
Marcus Spears, what evidence do you see that would make
you believe that Mike tom would be the perfect coach
to shepherd Jackson Dart to his full potential. I want
an offensive minded coach when it comes to a player
(36:32):
like that, not a defensive one. I think Damaico Ryan's
a great coach in Houston. Look at CJ. Stroud's development,
kind of struggling a little bit. There got a kick
ass defense. I just prefer the McVeigh, the Shanahan, the O'Connell,
the offensive mind, the guy to match up with my
young rookie quarterbacks. So I don't know what Mike Tomlin
would do for Jackson Dart as far as the leadership
(36:52):
he brings, the galvanization of the locker room. Sure that
could happen, but there's no reason. It isn't a reason
to not move on for Mike Tomlin just because another
team would pick him up. In just thirty seconds, west
Yuler is going to join us in studio to keep
the steeler talk going tom on.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
From an in for Markets one of five nine, the
X
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Are You A Charlotte?
In 1997, actress Kristin Davis’ life was forever changed when she took on the role of Charlotte York in Sex and the City. As we watched Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate relationships in NYC, the show helped push once unacceptable conversation topics out of the shadows and altered the narrative around women and sex. We all saw ourselves in them as they searched for fulfillment in life, sex and friendships. Now, Kristin Davis wants to connect with you, the fans, and share untold stories and all the behind the scenes. Together, with Kristin and special guests, what will begin with Sex and the City will evolve into talks about themes that are still so relevant today. "Are you a Charlotte?" is much more than just rewatching this beloved show, it brings the past and the present together as we talk with heart, humor and of course some optimism.