This article has been submitted by Stu ‘Daddy’ Wilkinson.

On February 26th, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent two roster players, a high-level prospect by the awesome name of Angelo Esposito, and a first round draft pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. In the short term, meaning the 2007-08 NHL season, this is a good move for the Penguins. Marian Hossa adds even more firepower to the Penguins already impressive offense, and Pittsburgh only subtracts Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen, two good but not great top nine forwards.

The loss of Colby is especially disheartening to Pens fans now – they’ll definitely miss his physical play and goofy presence off the ice – but after Hossa starts ripping pucks past opposing goalies they’ll be content again. As for Christensen, the man I call “Fake Alex Kovalev” for his sweet wrist shot, well he’ll be missed for his great potential more than his contributions on the ice this year (20 points in 49 games). Both of these guys are tough to part with, but the addition of Hossa makes the losses worthwhile, at least for this year’s playoff run. But the real question for the Pens is not how this trade affects the team this season, but rather how it affects the team in the long run.
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This article has been submitted by the man in the Marbury t-shirt, Stu Wilkinson.

If there’s one thing I like doing, it’s metaphorically raining on metaphorical parades, so let’s get right to it. Everyone loved the props involved in last Saturday’s Sprite Slam-Dunk Contest, and rightly so. Dwight Howard’s Superman outfit and Gerald Green’s cupcake excited fans worldwide, and brought the Dunk Contest “back” for the fifth time in six years – Gerald Green, Nate Robinson, Josh Smith and Jason Richardson have also done it. Howard brought the contest back in a different way than the others, though. D12 used a prop that wasn’t related to the NBA in any way to bring the fans to their feet, and that’s what has me worried.
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This article has been submitted by Stu “Big Country” Wilkinson.

So apparently Kelvin Sampson, Indiana basketball’s new head coach, is about to get canned for major recruiting violations. I’m no journalist, nor am I an NCAA regulator, so I’m not going to go “fact-finding” or “researching” in order to better understand the nuts and bolts of the situation. All I know is that Kelvin was a cheat at Oklahoma, and now everyone at Indiana is shocked and appalled that he’s been accused of cheating at their school, even after he miraculously got star freshman Eric Gordon to nullify his commitment to Illinois and come play for the Hoosiers. Who could have seen this coming?!

Sarcasm aside, I’m now excited by the potential for a good old-fashioned coaching carousel to start up thanks to Kelvin’s alleged indiscretions (my interpretation of the situation is that he played Charles Barkley to Eric Gordon’s Dwyane Wade). Indiana, despite its recent struggles, is a top-notch coaching job in college basketball, and it will attract interest from elite candidates. UCLA’s success under Ben Howland and Georgetown’s recent revival under John Thompson III have proven that a legendary program like Indiana can reverse its recent run of poor form by making a smart coaching hire, so the pressure is on Indiana to finally find the right man for the job (I didn’t mind Mike Davis, but that’s another story).

I love sticking my nose in other people’s business, especially when I really have no background information about the business I’m sticking my nose in, so let’s get right to it. I’m going to go ahead and speculate wildly about the candidates to be the next Indiana head coach. Feel free to join the fun in the comments.
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This article has been submitted by Sewi-Stu Wilkinson. 

“Yeah, it sucks that you have to root for them.”

-Blake Murphy, on me and my Pittsburgh Pirates

I feel comfortable saying that rooting for the Pittsburgh Pirates is the most unique experience I’ve had in my 22 year career as an avid sports fan. Sure, I’ve cheered for incredibly inept teams before — the Pens after Jagr but before Crosby, the Flames before the Red Mile, and the University of Pittsburgh football team during the Dave Wannstedt era (the suckage at Pitt has ended, as they will win the Big East next season) come to mind.
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This article, obviously, has been submitted by Stuart A. Wilkinson, Esq.

Dear Mr. Lemieux,

What’s up M-Dog? You probably remember me from trick-or-treating at your place in the blue-collar town of Sewickley about a decade ago – I was Kenneth Starr and my friend was Bill Clinton, and your wife gave us bags of skittles. Two old friends like us don’t need to waste time making small talk, so I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve been thinking about the new arena you’re going to build right across from the Igloo, the one that’s due to host the Penguins starting in 2010.

You know what I think? I think you’ve got a great opportunity to be a leader in the NHL. Sure, you may have already been a leader in terms of being an awesome player, a Stanley Cup winner, the savior of the Penguins, and all of that stuff. But the opportunity you have now is better than all that combined. The opportunity you have now is to help grow the game in the United States even more than you grew it as “Le Magnifique” back in the day.
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This article has been submitted by the man in the Raiders jacket, Stu Wilkinson.

Normally I’m a pretty reserved guy. I stay on an even keel for the most part, like a version of Tim Duncan that’s only a few inches shorter but not as good at basketball. Rarely do I explode with joy or sorrow at hearing some life-changing news. But today, all that calmness goes out the window because of one thing – the Knicks are only 7 games out of the playoffs!
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This article has been submitted by Mr. 412, Stuart Wilkinson.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, the sporting public will inevitably start complaining about the dearth of exciting sporting events on this month’s calendar until the NCAA Tournament begins in March (if this guy doesn’t represent the sporting public, I don’t know who does). “February is brutal for sports, the highlight is a dunk contest,” they’ll say to you. Now, there’s a reason that Sports Illustrated puts out its swimsuit issue in February, and it’s not because the ladies are going to be flocking to stores to buy the latest two-piece that some girl from Brazil is wearing. It’s because people don’t really get into sports in February.

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This article has been submitted by The Seven Foot Punjabi Giant Stu Wilkinson.

Super Bowl XLII was pretty awesome (Eli! Plex!), but if you’re like me, two things are true. First, you’re really really good looking. Second, you know the real pinnacle of athletic competition didn’t happen this past Sunday in Arizona, but will take place this Wednesday in the Dean Dome. That’s right folks, it’s Duke against North Carolina in another instalment of the best rivalry in sports. My world will shut down for two hours on Wednesday night for this battle, and I hope yours will too. If the high poll spots that both teams currently occupy can’t convince you to tune into the game (it’s on The Score) don’t worry – by the end of this fairly well-written piece you’ll be ready to run through a wall just to see this game.

Below are, in my eyes, five of the most important storylines or “things to watch” for the game. Once you’ve read this, you’ll be ready to watch Duke travel to North Carolina for what’s sure to be another memorable game in the rivalry that makes Yankees – Red Sox look like Bill Simmons – Gregg Easterbrook.

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Note: This article is a collaborative piece from Blake Murphy, Stu Wilkinson, Alex Pennycook, Samuel Cassady, Dave Power, Trevor Smith, Deven Hiscock, and Kyle Norton.

This Sunday while I’m deep into a medium pizza and a pound of wings ($20, Double Double Colossus Deal, what it do!) and an intense NBA Jam Session rematch with Stu (last year I defeated him in my rookie contest, this year we will be posting our box-score and a review article), the rest of the world will be watching the SuperBowl. Have you heard of it? Every television station and website (sports or not) has been covering the event non-stop for two weeks and I’ve actually made an active attempt to limit the amount of football coverage on the site to this Super Article. Upon launch of the site, I e-mailed all of our writers (potential or legit) with five questions they had the option to answer as part of an enormous SuperBowl panel. Well, here is my space- and time-saving brainchild come to fruition, with the responses of eight different writers to five burning SuperBowl questions. All the hype you need in just one article.
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In March of 2007, Stu Wilkinson and Alex Pennycook waged war in a battle of wits that some would say neither was equipped for. In a six question showdown, Pennycook was awarded a split-decision victory by the judges. Stu protested the decision with fire and fury, getting himself a second shot at P-Cook. The second battle took place in June of 2007, where Stu outlasted Alex in a five question showdown with the NBA Draft as a topic. Again the judges scored it a split-decision, and this time it was Alex who protested vehemently. With the controversy of two split-decisions separating the Twin Towers at 29 Clergy St. West, they have asked me to provide them a third and final outlet to determine the King of The Counterpoint. Today, we bring you Point, Counter-Point: Wilkinson vs. Pennycook III – The Rubber Match. The battle will last seven questions.

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