The Penguins? They're in crisis.
They haven't been winning a lot lately, and they've been consistently coming up short against the NHL's better teams.
It was distressing to hear first-year coach Mike Johnston almost gush about his team's performance in last Sunday's 2-1 shootout loss in Chicago. Was he that desperate for a hopeful sign that he could find solace in an effort that produced one goal?
The Penguins have clearly slipped from the elite level of the Blackhawks. That's why Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma are gone. But it was still jarring to hear Johnston acknowledge the Penguins were happy just to keep it close against the Blackhawks.
Sidney Crosby is one of the few players who has to apologize for a season in which he's among the league's scoring leaders. But that comes with the territory.
His sputtering performance in last year's playoff series against the Rangers helped trigger the offseason overhaul that swept out the general manager, coaching staff and a good chunk of the roster.
Crosby is never more than one game away from a breakout, and it's still foolish to bet against him. But his recent lack of production is baffling.
There's a new stat that says an NHL forward's peak years are between 27 and 29. Crosby is 27. If he were showing the effects of the concussions and broken jaw, that would have happened earlier. He won the scoring title last season and was an MVP finalist.
It's a mystery, one of several surrounding the Penguins. How does a power play fail so badly when it includes Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang? How does it get zero goals when it's possible to score off two skate deflections, a goal post and a defenseman's shin? Is there a big fix-all deal out there that GM Jim Rutherford can fit under the salary cap?
The danger here is getting consumed with February hockey. It will soon be a distant bad memory, just like the snow piled outside the front door and that stupid burrowing rodent in Punxsutawney.
The 1992-93 Penguins, the best team to not a win a Cup, had a 2-7-1 streak in February and early March before setting a record with a 17-game winning streak.
The 2009 Cup-winning Penguins were five points out of a playoff spot on Feb. 15, 2009 when Bylsma was promoted to replace Michel Therrien.
February in the NHL: Learn from it, but don't get consumed by it.
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--DELIVERY FAILURE
The February sweeps period has ended for local TV. Sweeps bring out the worst in the hype-meisters who create promos. That spilled over to a sports story, KDKA-TV's profile of Johnston.
The promo promised viewers would see Johnston as they never have before. Lip synching to Lady Gaga? Assisting on surgery? Skydiving?
None of the above. The story was a standard 1-on-1 sit down with reporter Rich Walsh. It revealed that Johnston likes college football, particularly the up tempo style of Oregon, and he listed some of his favorite restaurants.
It was an OK story, but it didn't come close to matching the revelatory promises of the promo.
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--OUT OF PRIME TIME
ESPN pulled Dick Vitale off its Duke-North Carolina broadcast and used Jay Bilas as the analyst, much to the consternation of Vitale.
That's a big game, and Vitale considers him a big-game broadcaster. But he's also 75, which means ESPN is undoubtedly greasing the skids for his exit.
Younger is better in TV, which is why Tim McCarver was bumped off the national stage in the last couple of years. When the desired audience considers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine old-timers, those stories about Bob Gibson don't connect.
Missing Duke-UNC undoubtedly stung, but Vitale should get used to it.
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--MIRACLE WANTED
Moon native John Calipari's success as a college coach is undeniable. However, there isn't enough space for the debate about his methods.
He's won at Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky, although it might be hard to prove since the NCAA vacated the Final Four appearances of his first two schools.
Calipari is 56, still in the prime of his career. There's one more job he should take before retirement, though.
He should come home to coach Duquesne and transform the Dukes into a top 10 team. His legacy as a wizard would be minted if he could do that.
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